The Life and Times of Master Han Fei

Chapter Twelve

"Learning without thought is naught; thought without learning is dangerous"
-Confucius

Zhenghua leaned forward, his face so close to Han's. "Tell me," he whispered. "What do you know about Legalism?"

"Enough."

"You will soon realize that "Enough" will no longer be enough. It does not qualify as an answer in my tribe. Now, let us try again. What lies have you learned in the past about Legalism?"

The prince scowled in response.

"Must I have to bring in my aides? They are ready with their whips at all times."

Han raised his eyes to meet his brother's cold, dead orbs. "Legalism," he breathed. "One of the Hundred Schools of Thought. Currently influences the Qin kingdom-"

"And the Northern Tribe of Qiang," exhaled the chief, who was clearly doing his best to keep his cool.

Han continued, racking his brain for any additional facts about the doctrine in question. The problem, he soon realized, was that because his kingdom had been so anti-Legalism due to its own bad experiences with Legalism, he had learned less about the creed and more about the late and reviled Legalist Chancellor of the Han Kingdom, Shen Buhai.

"Legalism was once used by the traitor Shen Buhai-"

"Not a traitor," his brother cut in with a dangerous glint his eyes.

Han looked away, anywhere else from his brother's eyes. He trained his eyes onto the ground, studying the cracks that ran across the dirt floor, at the scars the earth bore. "One thousand perished died under Legalist rule in the Kingdom of Han."

"And five thousand died in the famine that followed Master Shen Buhai's ouster. The Kingdom was in a time of drought, before, during, and after Master Shen Buhai's governance. I will leave it up to you to draw your own conclusions from this statistic."

"You lie!" accused the prince in outrage. "The Marquis restored order to the Han kingdom!"

"My dear, foolish, young, and naïve dolt of a brother," the chief smiled condescendingly. "Shen Buhai supplanted the Marquis's position. Remember, the Marquis was ineffective when the food shortages first began. He did not know what to do, so he appointed Master Shen Buhai.

"Shen Buhai then revitalized the economy, despite the fact that the kingdom was still suffering the damaging effects of drought. People began to look to Shen Buhai for solutions instead of the Marquis, which ruffled the Marquis's feathers. He had Shen Buhai ousted, had him murdered to make an example of him, and then spent the rest of his sorry existence slandering the noble reputation of Shen.

"He executed Shen Buhai for sedition and treason. Shen Buhai killed a thousand people!" countered Han Fei.

"Indirectly. So Shen Buhai's laws broke a few bad eggs! So what? Shen Buhai made the laws very clear. Some people, namely the dregs of society, broke those laws. He enforced the laws he had created himself. I don't exactly see a problem with his actions!"

"He was charged with sedition and treason," maintained Han stubbornly.

Zhenghua laughed disbelievingly. "Sedition? Treason? Shen Buhai was the government at the time! How can anyone rational even believe that he could even be guilty of those false charges?"

The prince opened his mouth to rebut the chief's mocking remarks, but one of the Qiang men burst through the entrance, speaking of a "Code Four" violation. Zhenghua's lips curled with disgust, and after ordering the stocky man to wait outside, he asked the prince to rise. "It is time for you to experience Legalism in its actual form," he declared. "Come with me."