"this......"
At this time, the First Emperor was already in his twilight years. If he were ten years younger, he might still have had the ambition to sweep across the land again, but he was already old.
As people get older, their willpower weakens.
This is a characteristic of humans.
No one can avoid it.
"Your Majesty, the current state of officialdom is chaotic, leading to inconsistent laws and regulations. Local officials are colluding with powerful local families, and the common people are being bullied by these powerful landlords. Land annexation is rampant. Although there seem to be many barren fields across the land, they are all nominally controlled by landlords. As a result, despite the vastness of the land, there is no place to stand. The efforts of tenant farmers are being exploited by landlords and powerful families. Those who pay taxes receive less than a year's worth of food. Your Majesty, please take heed of this situation!"
The First Emperor opened his majestic eyes and looked at Li Lin, who was showing him genuine affection, and was immediately thrown into turmoil.
He originally thought that Li Lin would only offer some superficial solutions to slightly alleviate the problems of the Qin Dynasty.
But unexpectedly.
Li Lin actually got serious and revealed all the problems of the Qin Dynasty.
In this way...
Li Lin will become the target of everyone's criticism!
Now, I can no longer live a life of ignominy. Before, I wanted to keep a low profile and not get caught up in this long vortex of political struggle, but why are you forcing me like this? I just want to be a carefree scoundrel like Li Lin in the Qin Dynasty, not a reformer, not someone who will be remembered for eternity. Everything I'm doing today is because of you. If I don't throw you all into the dustbin of history, I will no longer bear the surname Li!
The Qin Dynasty's problems were far more serious than this. If I were to reveal them all, I probably wouldn't leave this Qin palace alive today. The Qin Dynasty was rotten to the core; from the very beginning of Shang Yang's reforms, its path to destruction was sealed.
“Lord Li, what you said is very apt about the current situation of Great Qin. Last time, I issued a lenient policy to reduce corvée labor and taxes for people in various places, but the effect was not very ideal. Perhaps this is the reason!”
The First Emperor sighed silently.
He actually knew the mess that Qin was in better shape than anyone else, especially after he realized that Qin's national conditions were not as good as he had imagined. He then sent people to conduct a thorough investigation.
The conclusion reached was even more serious than what Li Lin described today.
But he has been slow to take any action to change the situation.
Because he did not know when he would die in the near future, he could not guarantee that after Fusu came to power, he would be able to withstand the pressure and continue to implement his policies.
So he chose to delay.
By waiting until Fusu is ready, we can hand over this opportunity to him and let him choose a method to handle the situation himself. This will allow him to establish his prestige and gain a lot of popular support.
"The imperial power not reaching the countryside is a common problem that Your Majesty cannot solve. If you want to solve it, you must be prepared for the risk of the Qin Dynasty's imminent collapse. Secondly, regarding my three suggestions, if Your Majesty implements them all, I dare not boast much, but they can extend the Qin Dynasty's national fortune by fifty years!"
"Lord Li, I underestimated you. You are not only knowledgeable in astronomy and geography, but you also have a knack for governing the country. Today you pointed out the problems and also the mistakes I made in my early governance. I did indeed choose the wrong direction back then, which is why the problems of Great Qin have accumulated to such a heavy extent!"
The First Emperor sighed.
There's nothing we can do. Since Li Lin has already brought up the reality, let him handle it.
"Li Lin, listen to my command! I hereby promote you to Prime Minister of Qin and entrust you with all the affairs of Qin. All matters concerning the reform of Qin, personnel reduction, and the drafting of regulations will be decided by you!"
"This... Your Majesty, I am currently the Vice Censor-in-Chief and also in charge of the Construction Bureau. I'm afraid I'm a bit overwhelmed!"
"Hmph, you brat, don't be so smug. I'll just hand it over to someone else for the construction company. Do you have anyone you'd like to recommend?"
"Your Majesty, I have someone to recommend."
"who?"
"I recommend Zhang Han as the commander of a separate department of the Construction Bureau. In addition, Your Majesty, you have asked me to be the Prime Minister of Qin. I can do it, but my Prime Minister's office must have the authority to recruit retainers!"
"I can agree to Zhang Han's matter, but if you want to establish your own government, I will consider it further."
"Your Majesty, if you do not allow me to establish my own residence, then grant me one request."
"Speak."
"Your Majesty needs three assistants to help you handle matters related to reforming the country and governing the country."
"Tell me the names of those three, and I will grant them all!"
"Your Majesty, these three are Zhang Liang, the son of Yingchuan Chengfu; Han Xin, the son of Huaiyin County, Sishui Commandery; and Xiao He, the son of Fengyi, Pei Commandery."
"Alright, these three people, right? I'll have someone recruit them for you shortly."
The First Emperor waved his hand generously and agreed to transfer these three unknown people to Li Lin.
This made Li Lin ecstatic.
The other ministers, however, looked extremely grim.
"Your Majesty, this old minister believes it is unacceptable. Even if what Minister Li just said is accurate in its points of advantage and disadvantage, he is still young. How can he be the prime minister of our Great Qin? Your Majesty's move is simply absurd. I urge Your Majesty to reconsider!"
Upon hearing this, the First Emperor looked troubled. Looking down, he saw that it was Ying Lin, the Minister of the Imperial Clan.
I immediately realized how tricky it was.
If Ying Lin disagrees with Li Lin becoming prime minister, the matter will be handed over to the court for deliberation, which would be even more disadvantageous for Li Lin...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
