"Ugh—haah." Qin Shi Huang, who had been reviewing memorials in his bedchamber, suddenly felt a tightness in his chest. He frowned, his expression turning ugly.
With a sigh, Qin Shi Huang picked up the cup beside him and took a sip of tea, easing his breathing somewhat.
It was now 213 BC.
He had just personally issued an edict.
The Book Burning Edict.
He had ordered the destruction of all historical records of the other six states that he could collect, except for the Annals of Qin. Aside from the books kept in the Academy of Erudites, nearly all other books fell within the scope of the burnings as well.
Implementing the commandery-county system was imperative. If the old enfeoffment system were still followed, it would merely create another age of Warring States chaos. The old contained both essence and dross; useless things would only stand in his way, so he needed only to kick them aside.
Yet there were always people who wanted to oppose his new system. Even now, after the commandery-county system had been implemented for several years, there were still foolhardy erudites who stepped forward to advocate restoring the old enfeoffment system.
They used antiquity to condemn the present and slandered the court. If Chancellor Li Si had not berated that erudite in court, Qin Shi Huang would have wanted to cut him down with a single sword stroke.
But if the matter were simply left hanging like this, someone would surely bring it up again in the future. He himself could clearly see that it was unworkable, but his descendants might not.
Fusu, Gao, Jianglü, Hu Hai—these sons of his were fine enough to dote on, but if they were made to sit in his position, Qin Shi Huang did not think any of them