The Conflicted Hearts of Conquerors Chapter 5

"General Meng, how does my wine taste?"

There was a table with three hot dishes, one cold dish and two jars of wine. Nathaniel Ying and Oliver Meng sat opposite each other and drank together.

Oliver Meng's face was exposed to the sun due to years of military service, and was dark yellow with a hint of black.

But now, there is only one color on his face, red!

Bright red and rosy face!

"Tian has never led an army, so he cannot be called a general."

There were no generals among the Qin officials. Only when they went out to fight and led troops into battle would they be temporarily given titles such as general or lieutenant general.

In principle, the title of general cannot be used when there is no fighting outside.

This is also part of the Qin law, which penetrates into every aspect of the Qin State and covers everything.

Of course, if Nathaniel Ying was replaced by a friend that Oliver Meng was familiar with, Oliver Meng would not be so cautious.

"Tian had never drunk such a strong wine in his life. The Hu wine of Zhao State was famous for its strong taste, but it was far inferior to Chang'an Jun's wine."

In fact, although Zhao State's Hu wine is famous for its strong taste, wine lovers generally agree that in terms of strength, Chu State's king wine is the recognized leader.

When Nathaniel Ying heard that Oliver Meng did not mention the King's wine of Chu, but compared it with the Hu wine of Zhao, his smile became even more intense.

He would not think that Oliver Meng,   who had attacked the State of Chu, had never tasted the king's wine.

"Hahahaha, I'm glad you like it. Come on, bring two more plates!"

"No!"

Oliver Meng dissuaded him.

He thought he could drink a lot without getting drunk, but this time, he began to doubt himself.

There was nothing he could do. He was a little confused now. If he drank any more, he was sure he would get drunk. This wine was too strong! Even stronger than the wine of the King of Chu!

Alcohol was prohibited among the people of Qin. Although there was wine in the residences of Qin officials, it tasted bad and was not strong enough, which was far from that of other countries.

The main reason for this phenomenon was that the Qin State did not have a good winemaking method and did not want to study it.

In the Qin State, everything was responsible for two things: farming and fighting.

Farming provides food for war, and fighting provides land for farming, which forms a simple closed loop.

Not only does winemaking have no positive effect on farming and warfare, it has a negative effect because wine is made from grain.

The Qin State believed that using grain to make wine was a huge waste.

Therefore, not only was alcohol prohibited among the people, the royal family also did not encourage drinking, and Adrian Ying himself did not encourage drinking.

This was the attitude towards wine among the people in Qin State from top to bottom, so naturally no one would study winemaking.

Since no one is studying winemaking, the quality of Qin wine naturally cannot be improved.

In a nutshell, anything that does not have a positive impact on farming and warfare cannot develop in the Qin State.

"Changan Jun, if you drink any more, Tian will get drunk."

Nathaniel Ying picked up the wine jar and drank it all in one gulp, which made Oliver Meng a little surprised.

The two of them had been drinking together, one bottle each, and Nathaniel Ying drank as much as Oliver Meng.

But now Oliver Meng's face was as red as Guan Gong in the Three Kingdoms period in later generations.

Nathaniel Ying's face remained calm, and he didn't look drunk at all, as if they had not drunk the same wine.

Oliver Meng's fingers unconsciously stroked the wine bottle in his hand.

This guy can drink a lot. That's right, the royal family has plenty of wine. He is uneducated and has been drinking for fun since he was young. After practicing for many years, it is normal that he can drink more than me.

Fortunately, the late king brought Your Majesty back from the State of Zhao, otherwise the State of Qin would have fallen into these humiliating hands, let alone unifying the world, and it is unknown whether the State of Qin would still exist in the world.

The last king of Qin was named Ying Yiren, but later changed his name to Ying Zichu, known in history as King Zhuangxiang of Qin. King Zhuangxiang of Qin had only two sons, Adrian Ying and Nathaniel Ying.

More than ten years ago, if King Zhuangxiang of Qin had not brought Adrian Ying back from the State of Zhao, Nathaniel Ying would have succeeded the throne of Qin.

"Are you satisfied with this dish?"

"I am very satisfied. It is as good as the one your majesty gave me at the banquet."

Oliver Meng told a lie here, but luckily his face was very rosy, so it was not visible from his expression.

The taste of the dishes in Chang'an Junfu is far better than that in the imperial palace, otherwise Julian Ying would not have come here to eat again and again.

"Okay, since you are the same age as my brother, I will call you Brother Meng. Now that we have eaten and drunk, Brother Meng, it's time to talk to me about Confucianism."

As expected, this boy really cares about the eldest son, Oliver Meng thought to himself.

Oliver Meng looked down on Nathaniel Ying, but he still stayed to eat and drink. His words were obviously different from when he first arrived, all for Julian Ying.

Otherwise, even if he knew in advance that the wine in Chang'an Junfu was so delicious and the food was so tasty, he would not stay.

To be precise, he would not stay, for he would think it was a shame to drink with Nathaniel Ying, who was so greedy for pleasure and indulged in his appetite.

"Your Majesty is the ruler of all people. How can Tian be on the same level as Your Majesty? Let Chang'an Jun call him brother. Chang'an Jun can just call Tian by his name."

Nathaniel Ying nodded.

He knew that Oliver Meng didn't want to have anything to do with him, and didn't even want to call him by his name, and was trying to distance himself from him, but he didn't care.

So what?

He just wanted to learn about his eldest nephew's situation through Oliver Meng.

The two people have the same goal, so this can be considered a two-way journey.

"The eldest son's teacher is Edmund Chunyu, a native of Qi. He was once a doctor of Qi and is now serving as our minister. He is a Confucian scholar and has great influence in Confucianism. The eldest son's words and deeds are deeply influenced by Edmund Chunyu. His contradicting Your Majesty in the court today must be related to Edmund Chunyu!"

Nathaniel Ying took a sip of wine and smacked his lips.

"Did Confucianism have a great influence in the Qin State?"

According to Nathaniel Ying's understanding, Qin has always been a world ruled by the Legalists.

Confucianism, a school of thought that became extremely prominent in later generations, was never welcomed in the Qin State.

Oliver Meng's hands trembled and he gritted his teeth.

If it weren't for Julian Ying, he would have left the table in anger at this moment.

What an uneducated disgrace!

Even the power of the court is not very clear!

I don't know how this guy could persuade Your Majesty to postpone the eldest son's departure from the capital when both prime ministers couldn't persuade him.

Maybe Your Majesty has figured it out himself and realized that this guy is just a detour and I am wasting my time here!

Oliver Meng thought so, but he didn't dare to bet whether Adrian Ying had figured it out himself, so he could only continue to explain: "After the unification of the world, Your Majesty will recruit talents from all over the world, and all the philosophers can serve as officials in Qin. Confucianism is the most prominent school of thought in the world, with the most students. Now the number of Confucian scholars in the court has exceeded that of legal students."

Since Shang Yang's reforms, Qin has always been a holy land of Legalism.

It is also the only country in the world that purely governs by the Legalist school, gathering all the laws of the world.

Once the number of people gathered reaches a certain level, they will seek the right to speak, not to mention the situation of a hundred schools of thought contending.

When the right to speak is given to the Qin court, it is called political demand.

"I see."

Nathaniel Ying nodded.

"I'll take care of this."

If someone else had explained it clearly, Oliver Meng would have believed it. But when it came to Nathaniel Ying, Oliver Meng remained silent.

clear?

What do you unserstand?

Do you really understand?

It seems that what I said was not so clear.

Seeing that Oliver Meng did not respond, Nathaniel Ying said, "Confucianism advocates governing the country with rites, winning people over with virtue, and restoring Zhou rituals. My nephew has been used and has become a mouthpiece for Confucianism. I will explain this to my brother at the court meeting tomorrow."

Oliver Meng said gratefully: "Thank you, Lord Chang'an."

Does this guy really understand?

What was a very common thing for other people seemed incredible to Oliver Meng when it happened to Nathaniel Ying.

In the eyes of the Qin people, Nathaniel Ying was really bad.

After sending Oliver Meng away, Nathaniel Ying poured himself a drink. The Jasper who had just stopped Oliver Meng walked in without knocking and sat where Oliver Meng sat.

"Oliver Meng was arrogant at first but respectful later. He is a mean person! The generals of Qin State are getting worse with each generation."

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