Qin Official

"The chief of the right concubine advises your Majesty that the people north of the Dahe River will garrison the three northern counties, Yuyang, Shanggu, and Youbeiping; the people south of the Huaihe River will garrison Jiangnan and Jiangdong; the people from Guanxi will garrison Longxi, Beidi, and Shangjun, and that of Henan , Where should the people from the counties in Huaibei garrison?"

Chen Ping was from Dangjun. He found that Heifu didn't mention the Central Plains area, so he asked. He was still very concerned about the future of the township party members.

Hei Fu had just asked Zhang Han, and then discovered that Qin Shihuang was interested in the Queen Mother of the West and decided to focus his national policy on the northwest. At the same time, he did not expel the Yanqi alchemists. He still asked the young master to pay a sum of money to let them go to the seaside. Shipbuilding and looking for immortals...

In Heifu's view, instead of pursuing a vain search for immortality, it is better to study how to safely and effectively cross the Bohai Strait and closely connect Qidi and Liaodong. With today's navigation technology, Korea and Japan cannot get through, but the Liaodong Peninsula is not difficult. The Bohai Sea is an inland sea with little wind and waves. There are various small islands for anchorage along the way. Landing at the mouth of the Liaohe River or the Yalu River, the garrison soldiers from Linzi and Jiaodong counties can quickly reach their destination...

Of course, this was just an idea of ​​his and was not written into the memorial. He planned to add it after returning to Xianyang to meet the Holy Spirit.

Except for the southeast, northwest, and northwest, the only real Central Plains area left was only about one-sixth of the area of ​​the Qin Dynasty. There were more than ten counties, but it had half the population of the Qin Dynasty!

After more than a thousand years of development in the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, the population of these counties has become saturated. The land is small and the people are small. A few families in the first Guizhou Province live in small houses.

Chen Ping nodded and agreed. For example, his family used to have only thirty acres of thin farmland. The two brothers farmed together and could barely make ends meet.

This is not bad, but one-third of the households in their warehouse have no land and can only work as farm laborers for the rich households. The same is true in the neighboring counties of Sanchuan, Yingchuan, and Chen. The land is concentrated in the hands of a few people, and farm laborers are everywhere. Many people are forced to become merchants. This is the reason why there are many merchants in the Central Plains.

In Heifu's view, these homeless poor people, farm laborers, and traders can just immigrate to the real border!

The people under the fortress are not well paid and benefited, and cannot be allowed to live in a dangerous place for a long time. The punishment of imprisonment is waived, the normal status of the son-in-law is restored, the farmer is given a title, tax exemption and exemption from service for ten years, farmland is granted to farm workers, and whatever is needed is given to him. With these three moves, many counties in the Central Plains will definitely be moved.

In short, there were landless people in the Central Plains. After traveling westward and entering the customs, they were moved to frontier fortresses with fertile land, abundant water and grass, but sparsely populated areas. Build houses and cities for them, settle down families and purchase land, and organize them according to the number of Shiwu. In the first three years, the government provided winter clothes and sufficient food, as well as necessary cattle, farm tools, and seeds until they were self-sufficient.

Three years later, the land had been opened up and the government could purchase grain nearby, so the border officers no longer had to rely on traveling long distances from the interior to provide food.

During the off-season, the immigrants were given military training, weapons were distributed, and soldiers were stationed in the fields. They could work in the fields during peacetime. After war, they were not expected to kill the enemy, but they could serve as a logistics brigade and accompany the army on expeditions.

This kind of armed colonization will be carried out in Longxi, Beidi, and Shangjun. In the future, as the empire's borders move forward, it can be extended to Hexi and Hetao...

Heifu also suggested that in order to establish medical witches to cure diseases and perform sacrifices, men and women could get married and care about each other in life and death. They would plant trees and raise livestock, and the houses would be safe. After one generation, the graves would follow each other, and the immigrants would become I have become acquainted with the local indigenous people and have the desire to live there forever.

After listening to Heifu's detailed account, both Zhang Han and Chen Ping thought this was a good strategy. Zhang Han said that Qin Shihuang ordered the prime minister, imperial censors, and court officials to discuss the matter, and the result was almost there.

Zhang Han said: "Everyone knows that His Majesty is determined to expand westward, so there are very few people who oppose it. What's more, this strategy has precedents as early as King Zhao."

Many years ago, King Zhaoxiang of Qin thought that the Qin State was vast and sparsely populated, so he implemented the policy of "Raising the People": Anyone who came to submit to the vassal states would be given a rank of nobility, granted a hundred acres of land, exempted from ten years of corvee and tax, and would This policy, written in laws and regulations, eventually attracted 100,000 poor peasants.

Heif's proposal is just an improved version of this strategy, and there is already a successful case.

"However, three years ago, after I led my troops to wipe out Yuzhang, Your Majesty moved thousands of households from Nanjun to Nanchang City, allowing the soldiers and civilians to open up wasteland. This can be regarded as the beginning of farming. Now there are nearly 10,000 people in Nanchang County. What was once a barren land is now a wealthy city in the south of the Yangtze River!”

Nanchang City, this is the joint achievement of Heifu and Zhang Han. The two of them toasted each other with a glass of wine while talking.

Of course, Heifu did not mention that many of the immigrants planted sugar cane in their own plantations during their slack time. As brown sugar has become popular in Kansai in the past two years, and even sold as far away as Yueshi, sugarcane brown sugar has become profitable. In addition to Nanchang County, Heifu's old subordinates in several other counties have also begun to follow suit and burn waste seeds in their own fields. The sugar cane is pressed and then sold to Heifu's cousin. The Black Party has a tendency to turn into a Sweet Party...

With both legal support and successful precedents, Heifu's farm policy will definitely pass if nothing else happens. This is why Zhang Han congratulated Heifu on his "promotion" again.

"Heifu continuously writes letters and proposes national policies. If your majesty adopts them, the merits of his suggestions cannot be lost. He will be promoted to an official position and become a nobleman, just around the corner!"

Zhang Han guessed that according to the practice of official promotion in the Qin Dynasty, if Heifu was promoted again, he might be able to serve as a feudal official such as a guard or lieutenant in the county. He was envious for a while...

At this time, he remembered something again and said with a smile: "I just said that I have gone to work in the fields. I haven't told you yet how the court is arguing about what you said about shearing wool for clothing!"

"What's there to argue about?" Heifu felt incredulous.

“The Ph.D. students who praise Confucius’ teachings don’t think so.”

Zhang Han imitated the doctor's manner of being polite and lacquer-carving, and shook his head and said: "Everyone said that China's Rong and Yi, the people of the five directions, all have their own nature, which cannot be changed. The people in the east are called Yi, and they are sent to the country, and they are not fire-eating. That’s it. The south is called Man, with carved and feathered bones, and there are those who eat without fire. The west is called Rong, and there are those who eat clothes and skins, and there are those who don’t eat grains. The north is called Di, who live in caves with feathers, and there are those who don’t eat grains..."

"They think that Qin is a country with great attire and great etiquette, so it is called Xia. It has the beauty of clothes and seals, so it is called Hua. The descendants do not seek Xia, and the barbarians do not disturb Hua. The attire, robes, and robes were taught by the sages. Now, Mr. Hei wrote a letter to make Chinese people wear feathers and live in woven skins. This is to disturb the Chinese clothes and hats with the customs of Rong and Di, and it is like returning to the behavior of animals!"

Because in Heifu's proposal, woolen clothing can not only be worn by border guards, but can also be extended to the entire north in the future, so it is inevitable to be opposed by Confucian scholars. They do not want to see Qi and Lu being full of "military uniforms" in the future. .

"Being the same as Rong and Di" was a term used by the Six Kingdoms of Shandong in the Hei Qin Dynasty. Different from the Qin people, Confucian scholars in Wei, Lu and other places valued this very much. They believed that a gentleman should act in obedience and wear orthodox clothes. Only by wearing clothes can you do things. Your Majesty will never agree to this.

In the end, the Confucian scholar defeated Heifu's army.

"This is not conducive to His Majesty's decree of 'One World's Customs'."

"It's like they don't wear furs in winter." Chen Ping calls himself Mr. Huang, and he can't stand these rigid Confucian scholars.

Heifu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He really didn't expect that such an incident would happen again.

However, he was not worried, because Confucian scholars and doctors were just mascots used by Qin Shihuang to decorate the court, and they had little say. Even if it related to dress tradition, which was their area of ​​expertise, there were people from other schools who opposed it.

For example, the Mo family...

Sure enough, Zhang Han said happily: "As soon as the students finished speaking, Master Tang and Cheng Shang, the Mohist scholars, retorted on the spot, saying: "The words of the students are different, Mozi once said, but the practice is not obeyed!"

The Mohists also cited scriptures: In the past, Duke Huan of Qi had a high crown and a broad belt to govern his country, and his country was governed. In the past, Duke Wen of Jin used large cloth clothes and sheep fur to rule his country, and his country was governed. In the past, the king of Chuzhuang wore a fresh crown and tassel, and wore crimson clothes and rich robes to govern his country, and his country was governed. In the past, King Goujian of Yue had his hair cut and tattoos in order to rule his country, and his country was governed.

These four monarchs had different clothes, but they all created their own governance. It can be seen that the so-called etiquette and clothing cannot determine the governance of a country. Confucian scholars are particular about whether a piece of clothing is made of linen, silk or wool. Pedantic.

This is the view of the Mohists. In their view, as long as they are comfortable, it is okay for the garrison soldiers who go to the north to be given left ribs, and it is okay for the soldiers to go to the south to be tattooed and have their hair cut off. As the mortal enemies of Confucianism, the views of both sides have gone to extremes. , you can’t pee in a pot at all.

Just when the two families were quarreling, the Legalists headed by Li Si also spoke.

"Your Majesty, Mr. Shang once said that laws should be made according to the times, and rituals should be made according to the situation. Laws and regulations should be followed according to their own needs. Clothes and equipment should be used for their own purposes. Therefore, there is no need to follow the ancient rules to facilitate the country! I think that clothes are for Ease of wearing and etiquette are for the convenience of doing things. If it can benefit its people and benefit its country, it is not a bad idea to slightly change the material of the clothes."

"Now the advice of the right concubine Chang Heifu is just to imitate the Qiang people's method, using wool as thread and making clothes to protect the soldiers from the cold. It does not mean that all Chinese people will be given left-hand collar. It is really surprising that all living beings are so opposed to it!"

It is not difficult to guess Li Si's opinion. As long as the change is beneficial to the country, Legalists support the change. The Qin State has been strong for hundreds of years because of this mentality of being brave in change.

Zhang Han said: "Finally, even Zhang Cang stood up and spoke for you."

"Oh, doesn't Zhang Zihu just like to study behind closed doors and not ask about political affairs? What did he say?" Heifu was very curious about what shocking words this intellectual geek would say.

"He just said one thing."

Zhang Han said with a smile: "Zhang Cang said that people who live in warehouses know etiquette, and people who have enough food and clothing know honor and disgrace. It's better to let the border garrison have enough food and clothing before we talk about the importance of etiquette and the beauty of uniforms!"

"Well said! One sentence is enough!"

Heifu was very pleased. This was the benefit of inheriting the legacy of hundreds of schools of thought. Different opinions collided in the government and the public, and the mind was open and enterprising. Instead of claiming to be a heavenly dynasty and being autistic, he was autistic.

Finally, Qin Shihuang also made a decision:

Zhang Han recounted: "Your Majesty said that those who have great achievements in the world will be burdened by the legacy of the world; those who have the worry of being independent will be feared by the common people!"

"At that time, King Wuling of Zhao, who was riding and shooting in Hu uniform, was ridiculed by the common people, but he was able to continue the work of the emperor, destroy the country of Zhongshan, open up the hometown of Hu and Zhai, and then Zhao had Yunzhong and Jiuyuan."

"Now, according to Heifu's words, by slightly changing the material of the clothes, the soldiers can avoid the suffering of frost, guard the borders of the country, and open up new territories. If one day they can cross Yunzhong and Jiuyuan, and take Hetao and Yinshan, this will It’s also the work of sheep and cloth!”

"Your Majesty, His Majesty." Heifu clasped his fists in the direction of Xianyang Palace. It was not easy to meet an emperor who was brave enough to change.

"By the way, Dong Yi told me that during the month when Hei Fu was on the road, His Majesty had another favorite by his side." Zhang Han said smoothly.

"Oh, could it be that Youzhan (zhān) has returned to the palace again?" Youzhan has been ignored by the emperor since the last time he and Fusu admonished each other. Hei Fu felt a little sorry for him since he was not summoned to the palace for a long time.

"It's not Youzhan."

Zhang Han smiled and said: "It's a musician from Yan State named Gao Jianli!"