Chapter Forty-Four: Strange Dreams, Emperor Qin's Songs
The First Emperor lived in Huiji County for a long time. During this period, he went south again, passing through Wucheng, Yuhang, Qiantang, and Shanyin, and climbed Huiji Mountain for sightseeing. The First Emperor went on this tour, his body had already shown symptoms of discomfort, and his health was extremely poor, and he was only sitting when he met the ministers along the way, and the rest of the time was lying in the car. After he worshiped Queen Yu in the temple of King Yu in Huiji Mountain, he said to the hundred officials: "King Yu has the world in mind and has accumulated work to cure floods, so the people respect him very much." He also accounted for the country's taxes and assessed the political performance of the princes here, and since then people have called this mountain Huiji Mountain, which means accounting. I also have the credit for unifying the world, and after thousands of generations, I don't know what people think of me? Li Sicheng said with trepidation: "Your Majesty destroyed the Six Kingdoms, abolished feudalism, and created counties and counties, which is a great initiative that will affect future generations. When Emperor Shi listened to Li Si's words, he immediately felt very pleased.
The First Emperor remembered Mrs. Qing again, so he said to Li Si: "Aiqing, you should write another inscription to promote Mrs. Qing's chaste and moral character to the people of the world, and you must correct people's conduct." Li Si wrote an inscription, and then asked the stonemason to engrave it on the stone tablet, which is the "Huiji Carved Stone". In addition to singing praises of virtue, the text also has the educational function of persuading others to be kind, correct conduct, and improving one's self-cultivation.
To correct the wrongs of the people and to preach the righteousness, if the husband dies and has children with him, but abandons the children and marries someone else, she shall be punished for her unchastity for a felony. It is also necessary to use etiquette to isolate the inside and outside, strictly prevent it, prohibit adultery and adultery between men and women, and men and women must be clean and honest. If a married man (jian) commits adultery with someone else's wife, then killing the adulterer is not a crime. If a man behaves properly and his wife runs away from another man, the child may disown her as a mother. In this way, the common people will be educated and will become honest and clear. To govern society, it is also necessary to change some despicable and evil customs, so that the whole people can bear a certain amount of education, so that the good scriptures and beautiful scriptures can change everyone. If everyone knows how to keep the law, then the neighbors will live in harmony and friendship, and the people of the world will obey the king's commands. If the people are pure and beautiful in their hearts, then people can voluntarily obey the law, and auspicious celebrations and joys can ensure peace in the world. If the people of later generations abide by the law, the country will be able to maintain peace and stability for a long time, just as it is the same principle that a car or ship will never capsize.
The edifying ideas revealed in these words are still of great practical significance today. The First Emperor then returned to Wu County, and then implemented the achievements of the doctors. A few days later, he drove north, came to Jiangcheng, changed to a steamer, and went out to sea along the Yangtze River, until he came to Langxitai. The first emperor took the stage again to watch, he recalled the incident of Xu Fu going to sea nine years ago, everything was vivid, and he looked up to the sky and sighed: "Life is like a white horse passing through a gap, even if it is a lifetime, it is only a moment." I remember how many people wanted my life in the past, and they stabbed me with their swords, or threw them, or struck them with their awls, or slashed them with their knives, and killed me no less than five times, but I am still alive today! And what about them? It is like the grains of sand in the sea, which have long been swallowed up by the merciless sea. But the destiny is in me, how can people be worthy? But what worries me is that there is a saying circulating in the Jingchu area: 'Although Chu has three households, if Qin dies, Chu will die'. Why do they hate me so much? Li Si said: "Although the common people cannot understand His Majesty's strategy for governing the country in a short period of time, but after thousands of generations, your great deeds will definitely be noticed by future generations!" The first emperor said: "I am in my fifties, and my prime of life is coming to an end, I only hate that the number of days is limited, and the life expectancy is limited, so I really can't change the law of birth, old age, sickness and death!" I had asked Xu Fu to seek the art of immortality, but he never returned; Mao Ying's quest for immortality is also a deception; Lu Sheng's alchemy is also a lie, and what is even more hateful is that they spent a lot of money, and as a result, I failed to seek immortals, but was condemned to the world, this is all their fault! When the ministers saw that the emperor sighed and blamed himself, they shouted together: "Your Majesty cherishes it! ”
The First Emperor was a very confident man, and he always thought that he would always shine on the earth like the sun, and would never fall. But the sun also has morning, noon and dusk, and he doesn't know that he is already the sun at dusk. On the way out on the tour, his physical strength was getting worse day by day, and at this time he had a premonition that the threat of death was approaching, so he often felt lonely and lonely, especially the unprecedented fear of death, so he did not let people mention the word 'death'. In the past few days, he has always been in low spirits, unable to eat, unable to sleep, and is not allowed to be disturbed by others......
Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and the First Emperor saw a golden-armored god jumping out of the sea, holding a long sword in his hand, he shrugged and jumped onto the clouds, standing in the air and laughing, looking quite terrifying. The First Emperor asked, "Hey! Who are you a monster making waves here? The golden armor god said: "You are the king of a small state, why don't you know me?" What a lonely and unheard of! Haha, what skills do you have to dare to come here to shake your majesty? When the First Emperor heard his insulting words, he said angrily: "Where did the monster come from, who dares to despise me? I am the first emperor of the Great Qin Kingdom, how dare you say that I am the king of a small state? Jinjia Shen said: "I am in charge of the vast waters, there are islands in all directions, there is water outside the island, there are islands outside the water, and I dare not be respectful." Instead, you falsely claim that the place you manage is the size of the tiles and the Great Qin Kingdom? Dare to call yourself the First Emperor? What a foolishness and ignorance! The First Emperor pleaded: "You say that my country is only the size of a tile, what proof do you have?" Poseidon said: "You come with me, so that you can understand." ”
The First Emperor jumped into the air, stepped on the clouds, suddenly heard the wind whirring in his ears, and flew out of the clouds after a while. Poseidon shouted: "Stop! The First Emperor opened his eyes and looked down, and was astonished. I saw that the blue sea was indeed boundless, and only a few small islands were exposed on the water. Looking at the Qin State carefully, the Great Wall built in the north is vivid, but the Great Qin State is really the size of a tile. The First Emperor thought to himself: The Liuhe under my control is indeed very small, and if the city is all fenced, it will not be impossible. The First Emperor was silent for a while, and said: "I want to take all the waters, mountains, rivers, and seas in the world, and really want to be a veritable emperor." The sea god laughed and said, "This is easy to do, just you and me duel, if you defeat me, I will give you the waters of the eight directions!" The First Emperor said: "A word is a certainty, but you can't regret it!" "Poseidon is ready to challenge. The First Emperor fought a duel with the god of the sea. The two of them fought from top to bottom, and from bottom to top, for hundreds of rounds. The First Emperor was accidentally kicked in the heart by the Golden Armor God, screamed, and fell to the clouds. Suddenly waking up is a dream. The First Emperor suddenly felt sweaty, and his heart seemed to ache faintly.
The next day, the first emperor told his ministers about the dream. While everyone was discussing the dream, someone suddenly came in and reported that a guest had come from the sea. Qin Shi Huang let the seafarers come in. After a while, the seafarer came to the Cuihua tent and saluted: "I have come to meet Your Majesty on the order of King Xu. The first emperor was shocked and asked, "Which King Xu?" Haike said: "It's Lord Xu Fu, since he arrived at the East China Sea Immortal Island, the immortals ordered him to be the king of Dongying." Now that the children have grown up, King Xu let those boys and girls marry them, and the gods are also very satisfied. "The First Emperor thought to himself: I dreamed last night that the surroundings of the Great Qin Kingdom are all waters, this is probably the scope of the Sea God's jurisdiction, right? Since he doesn't have the ability to manage the waters, why don't you let Xu Fu take charge of it. smiled and said: "Okay, good, when you grow up, you will become a husband and wife, as long as the gods are happy, your King Xu is satisfied, I will be relieved!" He asked the seafarer if he had found the art of immortality. Haike replied with trepidation: "There is an immortal mountain in the East China Sea, and there is also an elixir of life on the mountain, and our king has tried his best to collect medicine in the mountain. However, when the big ship approached the shore, it was often attacked by large sharks, making it impossible for the boat to dock. Now our king begs Your Majesty to send thousands more boys and girls, and if the immortals are satisfied, they will surely be able to climb the fairy mountain smoothly and take the immortal medicine. ”
The First Emperor pondered, "What's so difficult about this? Then he turned back and asked the doctor, "I dreamed of a duel with the god of the sea last night, is there a relationship between the god of the sea and the big shark?" What is the relationship between the god of the sea and the big shark, the emperor asked strangely, and the doctor replied strangely: "No one knows the true face of the god of the sea, but they often appear under the pretense of other things, for example, they may become fierce beasts like big sharks, because the fierce gods often attach themselves to the body of fierce beasts, so the big shark is likely to be changed by the god of the sea." Your Majesty is a pious person, and whenever he encounters a god, he sacrifices it, and now this kind of fierce beast still appears, and it should be eliminated! The First Emperor said to the seafarers: "I will immediately collect two thousand boys and girls for your King Xu, and then let the Hercules escort them into the sea, which will surely satisfy the immortals?" When Haike heard this, he was pleasantly surprised: "If this request can be met, the immortal medicine will be at your fingertips!" ”
The First Emperor ordered officials at all levels to recruit boys and girls in various parts of Shandong as soon as possible. When the common people heard the news, there was a cry of mourning everywhere, but the wails were to no avail. A month later, the officials recruited another 2,000 boys and girls from all over the coast. The first emperor asked the seafarers to take them to sea, and gave the seafarers a lot of money. Seeing that the First Emperor was so generous, the seafarer smiled and accepted all the gifts, and then hurriedly boarded the ship and left the shore. The First Emperor looked at the sea, but stared at it for a long time, and then said to himself: "Who said that the Qin State is only as big as tiles, and the vast sea area will definitely be owned by the Great Qin State...... but who would have thought that Japan in the future would be a country of tigers and wolves.
Subsequently, the first emperor continued to go north, passed the Chengshan corner, and then climbed the Fu Mountain. Once, the First Emperor sat on the bow of the ship and looked at the sea with great interest, so he called Hu Hai to his side. When the First Emperor saw that he had grown into a handsome young man, he was very happy and asked him a few questions. Who expected Hu Hai to be able to answer like a stream. The First Emperor was very satisfied, and he joined him to view the sea. Suddenly, someone shouted, "Look, big shark!" "The people looked ahead and saw dozens of great white sharks brushing past the bow of the boat. The First Emperor thought to himself: the day before yesterday, he was defeated by the Poseidon in a dream, but the Poseidon turned into a big shark to demonstrate here, so he immediately ordered Hercules to shoot the big shark with a repeater. Hercules killed several of them with arrows. The First Emperor laughed and said, "The sea god is nothing more than that! But that's it! Hahaha! Unexpectedly, the First Emperor didn't come up in one breath, and suddenly fainted on the boat. The ministers were shocked when they saw this, so they urgently ordered the dragon boat to dock. After the ship docked, everyone hurriedly carried the First Emperor to the shore. It was only at night that the First Emperor woke up. The doctor hurriedly treated him, and everyone was very busy.
It was only after three days that the First Emperor's condition improved. It was summer because of the hot weather. The First Emperor beat his spirits and walked out of the big tent, only to see the ministers kneeling down in a large area, and the First Emperor said: "The day before yesterday, I asked the Hercules to shoot the big shark, and today I am going to hold a celebration banquet, you all have to accompany me to drink!" The ministers shouted in unison again. The first emperor sat under the luan cover, and the civil and military attendants sat on both sides. After three rounds of drinking, the First Emperor raised his glass and said: "Although I am not feeling well, I am very relieved to be able to have fun with all Aiqing today." Now I sing a song to help Yaxing today. The ministers said: "Your Majesty sings first, and we will sing along!" The First Emperor drank several cups in succession, and then sang:
Where is the auspicious light shining on Fushan Mountain? For 500 years, who will save Li Yuan?
All nations are united and the law is set as an example. Riding the long wind and hanging cloud sails, En was guarded by the four seas.
Driving the jade chariot to look at the cape, the cup does not stop the drum and piano. With a long tassel to bind the whale, what is the god of the sea and the god of the sea?
The sky is boundless and the earth is endless, and people have worries and longevity. Dongming is full of clouds and fog, where does Penglai Xiandao know?
When the ministers saw that the emperor was singing very emotionally, they were all so excited that tears rained down. However, the First Emperor drank a few large cups in a row, and said, "Everyone, Aiqing, you can tell me that Xu Fu is looking for the art of immortality for me, can this matter be successful?" Yushi Zhang Cang was upright, so he said: "Your Majesty, does the minister think that the art of immortality does not exist?" Is there really no basis for the theory of immortals? No one has been able to live forever! Xu Fu led the boy and girl into the sea, and the minister wondered if this would be a scam? In the humble opinion of the ministers: It is better to ask Your Majesty to recall those children to appease the anger of the people! The First Emperor suddenly changed color and said, "You dare to blaspheme the gods? Since the gods exist on the sea, why should they recall the children? Today is thanks to the celebration banquet, spare you from death! "Just degraded Zhang Cang as a commoner, never used again. Zhang Cang was shocked, so he had to thank him and retire, and went back to his hometown Yangwu County.