Chapter 78: Politicians are also [Jinjiang genuine exclusive release · Divide sugar, divide salt...

"The Great Wall and the war against the Baiyue were not the business of the Qin imperial family alone! Nor were they the massive projects and expeditions Qin Shi Huang single-handedly launched for the sake of prestige, regardless of the hardships of the people, for the sake of his country!"

"Even though Ying is not even two years old yet, she can understand why Grandfather insisted on mobilizing millions of laborers to build a Great Wall from the southwest to the northeast!"

"Now the Qin is strong and the Hu are weak, but things in the world are always changing. The Qin are stronger than the Hu now, but the Central Plains dynasty may not always be stronger than the Hu! If we don't take advantage of the Qin's strength and build the Great Wall early to resist the barbarians outside the Great Wall, when the Hu people become powerful, wielding scimitars and riding their iron cavalry, and the foreign races invade the Seven Kingdoms, and the Central Plains dynasty is too weak to resist, the ruthless barbarians outside the Great Wall will never show mercy to the Central Plains dynasty!"

"When the crisis of national destruction and family ruin comes, the descendants of the nobles sitting in this palace today will be treated like pigs, like cattle, like sheep by the barbaric barbarians from outside the Great Wall! They will be mercilessly and cruelly slaughtered with laughter!"

"Today you are a noble in the halls of the Qin Empire, tomorrow you will be a prisoner in the tents of the barbarians!"

"On this yellow land we stand on, countless men will be brutally murdered by foreigners, and countless women will suffer inhumane abuse! The elderly will be slaughtered like old livestock by those raw meat-eating barbarians, and the children will be killed and eaten alive as if they were pieces of tender meat!"

"The Great Wall that my father wanted to build was never a terrifying project to devour the Qin people. It was a magnificent product of his far-sighted thinking! A great project that would benefit the present and future generations! It was my father, the founder of the first unified dynasty in history, willing to bear the misunderstanding and insults of 20 million Qin people alone, and he was determined to build it. With wood! With mud! With bricks! With manpower! He painstakingly built a towering black dragon on the loess land for the descendants of the Qin people, a towering black dragon that would stand forever on the loess land, a tower that would protect the Qin Empire for my father even a hundred years later, winding for thousands of miles and safeguarding the people of China!"

"Grandfather is wise! But there are very few wise people in the world who can understand you!"

"Although the Great Qin Empire was founded last year, it is still precarious. Outside the borders, the barbaric Hu people, Xiongnu, and Yue people covet Qin territory. Inside the borders, the remnants of the six kingdoms, motivated by their own selfish desires, attempt to assassinate my father and overthrow the Great Qin. These barbarians and remnants have never given up their desire to destroy the Great Qin!"

"In Ying's opinion, truth cannot be understood without argument, and love cannot be known without expression! Although the common people of the world are somewhat ignorant due to their lack of literacy, they are definitely not people who cannot distinguish right from wrong. The common people can distinguish between good and bad, and can also clearly see through good and evil!

"In the two great undertakings of building the Great Wall and subduing the Baiyue, the more than 20 million Qin people should unite firmly. With this massive project at our forefront and our national vengeance at our doorstep, every Qin person in every county and town under heaven should shoulder their responsibility. Those with money should contribute money, and those with strength should contribute their strength!"

"The imperial court should issue a clear notice, telling the common people the importance and necessity of building the Great Wall, and the irrationality and cruelty of the Baiyue barbarians! On these two major national issues, the common people may not have the money, but they can contribute their labor! The nobles and wealthy may not want to contribute, but they must pay!"

"If the Qin people, even though they are powerful today, cannot face up to their true internal and external predicament, and if this generation does not work hard and unite to ensure the safety and well-being of their descendants, then how can the Great Qin prosper in the future? Relying solely on the father, who bears the infamy that millions do not understand, commanding this and organizing that! Such a Great Qin, no matter how powerful it becomes, will eventually fade like a meteor and end sooner or later!"

Hearing the little baby shouting in a loud and powerful voice the audacious words "The Qin Dynasty is going to be finished", Fusu, as a father, was instantly shocked, and even the civil and military officials in the court widened their eyes in panic.

The First Emperor, seated at the head of the table, listened to his grandson's long, childish voice. When he lowered his gaze, tears seemed to glide across his eyes. Then, when he looked again, they were filled with a deep, profound feeling. Isn't that right? The Qin dynasty's reign was as short as the lifespan of a small animal. After his death, a mere three years had passed, less than a thousand days, and it was completely over...

At this moment, all the civil and military officials in the court fell silent. No matter whether they were civil officials or military generals, none of them wanted to watch the "royal show". They were filled with shock.

As if he had just experienced a terrible tsunami, Fusu, with his head buzzing, stared at his fat son blankly. He saw his fat son take the bottle handed over by Meng Yi, drink half a bottle of milk, wipe the white beard around his mouth with a handkerchief, and opened his little mouth as if he had something to say.

Qin Ying hadn't finished what he was saying yet. He drank half a bottle of milk in one gulp, moistening his dry throat. After realizing that his long string of words had completely silenced his silly father and the ministers, the little chubby boy handed the bottle back to Meng Neishi. He then turned around on the imperial steps, leaned forward slightly towards his father with eyes full of admiration and said,

"Grandfather, the black bird once told me—every man is responsible for the fate of his country."

"Even though Ying is not yet a 'common man', with national hatred and a major project at stake, I, your grandson, still want to contribute to the Great Qin and share some of your worries with your grandfather."

"Grandfather, I am willing to take out all the small treasury that my mother has kept for me since I was born. I will take out all the money and jewelry inside so that I can support you in leading the Qin people to fight wars in the south and the north, so that you can build the Great Wall and destroy the Baiyue people!"

Seeing his grandson's tender little round face and listening to his sensible and heartwarming words, Qin Shi Huang, a tough man of 1.98 meters in height, was moved and his heart felt both bitter and warm.

Old Li, who was sitting at the bottom and almost in tears, stood up at the same time as Tongwu Hou and leaned over to the Emperor at the top and said:

"Your Majesty, I, your humble servant, am also willing to give away my wealth and forever follow Your Majesty and the Emperor's eldest grandson in their campaigns, building the Great Wall and destroying the Baiyue!"

After the two important officials, one civil and one military, finished speaking, the rest of the civil and military officials also stood up from their seats and bowed to the leader, saying:

"Your Majesty, even though I am not talented, I am willing to donate my family wealth to support the military. I will always follow Your Majesty and the Emperor's eldest grandson in their campaigns, build the Great Wall, and destroy the Baiyue people!"

The usually iron-fisted emperor couldn't help but feel a little sour in his nose when he saw the ministers in the palace willing to bleed for the first time. But he couldn't tell for a moment whether this "excited sourness" was due to his grandson's sincerity, or because he was finally understood by his confidant for what he insisted on doing despite bearing countless insults.

Fusu turned his head and looked at the group of ministers behind him who stood up from their seats and shouted that they would follow their father and fat son forever. He hung his head in despair. At this moment, he truly felt his father's disappointment in him and the real gap between himself and the fat son.

Qin Ying listened to the voices of the ministers behind him, then turned to look at the crowd of ministers below who were clamoring to take out their treasury and generously donate money for the sake of the country. He then raised his two chubby hands and gently pressed down. Seeing that the excited officials in the hall gradually calmed down, he smiled and praised them loudly in a baby voice:

"You loyal ministers of the Great Qin are truly worthy of being my father's right-hand men! Your generous actions in sharing the country's worries and my father's worries have been witnessed not only by my father, but also by the black bird in the sky."

"Today, you, the ministers, have been so generous as to donate money for military expenses and the construction of the Great Wall for the sake of the righteousness of your country and the safety of future generations. Your generosity is as dazzling as the sun in the sky and as bright and flawless as the bright moon in the night sky. This heroic act of unity between the monarch and his subjects deserves to be recorded in detail by the historians for future generations to respect and admire."

Upon hearing the words of the emperor's eldest grandson, all the civil and military officials in the court instantly turned their attention to the corner of the hall.

Sima, the historian who usually sat in the corner of the hall and acted as a background recorder, was saluted by all the civil and military officials in the court for the first time!

As a faithful recorder of historical documents, Sima the historian really did not expect that so many things would happen in the hall today, and the twists and turns would be so great. The young eldest grandson of the emperor, who was speaking at the court for the first time, could say so many insightful opinions. He was in charge of waving the brush to record on the paper. His face was flushed with excitement, and he had written three full pages of large seal characters. He still hated that his hand was not fast enough!

Seeing that the historian was really recording diligently, the ministers began to clamor for tribute. However, they saw the emperor's eldest grandson standing on the steps raise his two small hands again, smiling at them with his eyes curved:

"My grandfather knows about your generosity, and the black bird in the sky has been watching you all the time. However, the cost of military expenses and the construction of the Great Wall is a bottomless pit. It is not enough to rely solely on your generosity." After Qin Ying finished speaking, she turned her little body and looked at her grandfather, cupping her little hands and saying:

"Father, I propose that we raise funds for these two major events through crowdfunding from around the world."

“Crowdfunding?”

The First Emperor repeated these two unfamiliar words in a gentle voice with a smile in his eyes.

Ying·Little Fatty immediately nodded his head with sparkling eyes, and explained in detail with a baby voice and a smile:

"Grandfather, Ying suggests that you erect a memorial tablet every hundred miles along the Great Wall. Then, raise funds from wealthy individuals within a hundred miles of the area. Regardless of the amount of donations, their names and hometowns will be engraved on the tablet, leaving it for future generations to admire!"

"The Great Wall will stand for thousands and thousands of years, and the names and donation amounts of these generous donors will be spread along the borders of the Qin Dynasty for thousands and thousands of years! The merit stele will record the contributions in order of the amount of money donated. The more donations a family makes, the higher their ranking will be. Not only will their reputation spread further, but they will also be more likely to be seen by the Xuanniao. The Xuanniao will protect these families and ensure their safety year after year!"

At the mention of the words "merit stele," the Emperor, a lover of stone carving, instantly lit up, and the gazes of the entire court also lit up! They had thought that donating money would only earn them a good reputation in His Majesty's eyes, but they hadn't expected that donations could also lead to the creation of a stone tablet to commemorate their achievements, and their good name would be passed down through the ages. This kind of extraordinary "name recorded in history, immortalized through the ages" was unbearable for not only the wealthy but also the wealthy and powerful nobles and officials, but also these wealthy and powerful nobles and officials!

Qin Ying looked at his father and the other civil and military officials, all clearly moved, and continued, "Not only should there be a monument dedicated to donations for the construction of the Great Wall, but every county town should also have a monument dedicated to donations for the expeditions to conquer the Baiyue in the south, to the Western Regions, and to the Xiongnu in the north. This monument should record the fact that on a certain day in a certain month in a certain year, a certain wealthy man generously donated a certain amount of Qin Banliang to support his father's expedition to resolve the threat posed by the barbarians on the Qin Empire's borders. This monument should be inscribed with the stories of these philanthropists who, with their hearts set on patriotism, donated a certain amount of Qin Banliang. This monument should also allow the good names of these philanthropists to spread for thousands and thousands of years along with the long-lasting destiny of the Qin Empire!"

One great thing followed another, and the "merit stone tablets" mentioned by the emperor's eldest grandson were indeed very likely to collect a large amount of money from the local wealthy people, which could greatly alleviate the financial pressure on the Qin treasury raised by the eldest son. Not to mention that the First Emperor was a little restless, the ministers standing below were also unable to stand. They once again bowed down excitedly and said:

"Your Majesty is wise, and His Royal Highness Changsun is wise. Please agree to His Royal Highness Changsun's suggestion to raise funds nationwide to engrave a stone to commemorate the meritorious service!"

Seeing that his grandfather seemed so moved and happy that he didn't know what to say, Qin Ying threw out a long list of "insights" and then took out his last trump card!

Under the astonished gazes of the ministers, the little grandson of the emperor took out four bags of white things from his arms. Under the puzzled gazes of the officials and the emperor, he first took two bags of white things and respectfully placed them on the emperor's large lacquer table with his short legs. Then he stood beside the lacquer table, held up the other two bags of white things with his two small hands, looked at them standing below with a smile, and said happily:

"The Black Bird is above! It protects the Qin people all the time!"

"The Xuanniao has great magical powers and knows everything. This morning, when I was reading in the side hall, the Xuanniao came to tell me about the wisdom of the Qin emperor and his ministers, as well as the ability of the Qin people. The Xuanniao said that not only will the great cause of the Qin father having the people build the Great Wall be successfully completed, but the Qin army's conquest of the Baiyue in the south will also be invincible! They will successfully conquer those barbarians in the south!"

"In order to reward my father and make Daqin even richer, the Black Bird gifted Ying two bags of snowflake candy and two bags of snowflake salt. They also gave Ying the methods of making sugar and salt!"

"If we want to ease the financial pressure on the Great Qin, the internal Qin Banliang is limited. The Great Qin also needs to develop trade routes abroad. Xuanniao said that the barbarians outside the Great Qin may be stupid, but they do have money!"

"Baiyue is located in the extreme south. Although it is filled with miasma, the climate there is humid and extremely suitable for growing sugarcane. Even rice can be harvested twice a year, or even three times!"

"The Black Bird has given Ying a prescription that can fight against miasma. As long as the imperial physician can make pills according to the prescription to fight against the terrible miasma, our Qin army will take the medicine in advance and will be able to attack Baiyue again with unstoppable force!"

Upon hearing the final thunderclap from his grandson/eldest grandson, the First Emperor stood up from his seat. All the civil and military officials in the hall were shocked and took steps forward, wishing they could open their eyes wide to see what the two bags of white grains held high by the little guy looked like.

The First Emperor could not help but walk to the chubby boy and stretched out his big hand to gently touch his grandson's furry little head. Although there was no "salt and iron monopoly" policy at present, and there was no distinction between official salt and private salt among the people, the huge profits of "salt" and "sugar" were understood by not only the elites standing in the temple, but even the common people outside the temple who were illiterate understood it!

If the Qin Dynasty could obtain the "method of making salt" and the "method of making sugar", these would truly be two treasure troves. Furthermore, according to today's popular state-owned enterprise system, if the royal family could allow all officials and local wealthy people who have made contributions to participate in this profitable venture, as long as the Qin Dynasty does not perish, relying solely on this great venture, future generations will never lack money to spend!

Ying, the little fat boy, looked up at the love, affection, and touching feeling in his grandfather's eyes, and immediately smiled brightly. Then he looked at his grandfather and said in a childish voice:

"Father, Ying would like to share these two bags of snowflake candy and snowflake salt with the gentlemen in the hall for them to taste."

The First Emperor smiled and nodded.

Qin Ying immediately tore a small hole in a bag of sugar and a bag of fine salt under her father's dazed gaze, and walked down the imperial steps. The First Emperor followed quietly behind her.

I watched the little fat boy take the two bags of extraterrestrial treasures and walk in front of the eighteen blood-stained soldiers who had returned from Baiyue. Under the soldiers' surprised, stunned, and shy gazes, he poured salt and sugar into the black and rough hands of each of them, and comforted them in a childish voice:

"The eighteen of you, carrying the earnest expectations of the fallen Qin envoys, have traveled thousands of miles from the miasma-ridden southern barbarian land back to Great Qin, bringing back detailed information about the Baiyue people for my father. You are all meritorious officials. In your left hand is the snowflake candy bestowed by the black bird, and in your right hand is the snowflake salt bestowed by the black bird. Your contributions will be remembered by my father, by all the officials in the court, by the historians, and by the black bird itself!"

"You are the main force in the Qin Dynasty's conquests. Your achievements will be remembered by millions of future generations!"

The exhausted soldiers who had been struggling at the bottom of society all their lives had never imagined that one day they would hear such words praising their merits from the mouth of the emperor's precious eldest grandson. Looking at the fair and tender face of the little baby, there was no expression of disgust at all. As he spoke in a gentle voice, he poured the snow-white and extremely precious snowflake salt and snowflake sugar into the dirty palms of these rough men one by one. Obviously, the snow-white grains held in the two palms were only as big as a fingernail, but the eighteen soldiers felt as if they were holding two heavy mountains of salt and sugar. Their lips trembled with emotion and they burst into tears.

Qin Ying didn't say anything more after seeing this. After distributing the fine salt and sugar to the eighteen warriors, he walked over to the officials. Under the surprised gazes of his grandfather and Old Li, he smiled and said:

"I have just seen clearly that all of you are very positive and progressive. However, the Marquis of Tongwu and the Minister of Justice are the first military and civil officials willing to contribute generously. Please extend your hands as well, and I will pour sugar and salt for you."

Upon hearing this, Wang Ben and Li Si immediately raised their hands proudly in front of the young prince. Qin Ying took two bags and poured a fingernail's worth of fine salt and sugar into the palms of each of them.

The next moment, I saw my rough-tempered grandfather lick the sugar and shouted in surprise: "Your Majesty, this snowflake candy is so sweet!"

Then, he naively poured the fine salt in his palm into his mouth. His facial features instantly twisted together, and he couldn't help but sigh, "Your Majesty, this snowflake salt is really salty!"

Seeing Wang Ben's funny and comical look with his facial features twisted together by the saltiness, the First Emperor, who had experienced anger, rage and joy in the morning, couldn't help but burst into laughter.

When all the civil and military officials saw that the emperor was finally amused, they all laughed out loud with relief. Only Fusu stood there in a daze, as if he had been laughed at stupidly.

Qin Ying looked at her grandfather's funny face, which was twisted by the salty taste, and felt a little touched. She understood that her grandfather was deliberately trying to make her grandfather happy. On the one hand, it was to support her, and on the other hand, it was to make her grandfather calm down his anger towards his silly father.

The little guy looked at his silly father helplessly. His silly father was charging forward in the front with his stubbornness, and he didn't know how many people followed behind him to clean up the mess.

Oh!

He withdrew his gaze from his silly father, grinned, and took the bags of salt and sugar in his hands to distribute sugar and salt to all the civil and military officials in the court.

In just a moment, the whole hall was filled with cries of surprise, "So salty" and "So sweet". Qin Ying bought two bags of white sugar and two bags of fine salt with two orders outside the hall. These were the fine condiments of later generations. The elites of the Qin Dynasty were probably tasting such pure sweetness and saltiness for the first time today.

After walking around the hall, Qin Ying was left with only two empty plastic bags.

When the little guy returned to his grandfather's side with two empty bags in his hands and his short legs, he once again enjoyed his grandfather's "Simba-style lift".

Sitting in a corner, brush in hand, the historian Sima wrote furiously as the Emperor laughed heartily, grasping the eldest grandson under his armpits and lifting him aloft in public. Sima also faithfully wrote down a famous saying of the First Emperor, which has been passed down through the ages throughout China ever since it was uttered that day:

"The one who founded the Great Qin in the past was Ying Zheng, and the one who will revive the Great Qin in the future will surely be Ying Ying!"

Hearing the Emperor's words, which were so straightforward and practically declared "the Emperor's grandson as the Second Emperor," all the civil and military officials in the court cheered with jubilation, except for the eldest son, who bowed his head.

"Your Majesty is wise! His Royal Highness Changsun is wise! Long live His Majesty, long live His Majesty, and long live His Royal Highness Changsun, a thousand years, a thousand years, a thousand thousand years."

The cheers in the hall spread outside through the open doors and glass windows. The series of events that took place at the court meeting in the morning, including everything said by the eldest son and the eldest grandson, also swept through the entire Xianyang Palace complex in the afternoon. By dusk, the advice given by the eldest grandson during the court session flowed happily outside the palace along the Wei River and Fanchuan within the palace walls.

After hearing what happened at the court meeting in Zhangtai Palace during the day, Lü Zhi and Zhang Cang, who were editing books in Qinxue Palace, wanted to get out of this situation quickly and be seen by His Majesty the Emperor. However, Zhang Huai frowned and even with his eyes closed, he recalled in his mind the child's baby voice saying, "The remnants of the six kingdoms are only interested in their own interests! Their desire to destroy Qin has never ceased!"

That night, Sima, the historian, who had been excited all day, sat alone in his study. In the light of the candle beside him, he looked at the ink words recorded on paper at today's court meeting, and prepared to stay up all night to organize them into an article and carve them on bamboo slips with a carving knife.

The candlelight was dim. When Sima Tan, the ten-year-old son of the historian Sima, ran to the study to look for his father, he saw his father's last words clearly engraved at the end of the bamboo slips:

[…The emperor smiled and said, "It was politics that founded the country and unified it; but it is the power that will prosper and prolong the prosperity of the nation that must lie in the people!" Before he had finished speaking, the ministers were overjoyed and shouted "Long live the emperor!"