After a bumpy journey of nearly half a month, the First Emperor finally returned to the Xianyang Palace.
During the past two weeks, he sent people to conduct a very detailed investigation of the people along the way and learned about the current situation of the Qin Dynasty.
The current corvée labor and taxes in the Qin Dynasty are far too severe.
In the countryside, almost any adult male would be taken away by local officials to perform arduous corvée labor.
As a result, idle fields throughout the land were left uncultivated and abandoned.
At the same time, corruption at the grassroots level is very prominent. Officials say one thing to your face and another behind your back. On the surface, they flatter the First Emperor's low tax policy of one-thirtieth of the tax, but in reality, they raise the tax to an extremely high level of three-tenths of the tax.
Such a large amount of taxation would be unaffordable for ordinary people in normal years, let alone now.
As a result, under immense pressure, small groups of refugees have emerged in the Chu region due to the influence of the nobles of the former six states!
What does the appearance of refugees signify?
It signifies the impending doom of a nation!
This caused him great distress.
Unexpectedly, less than a decade after unifying the country, the people have become even more impoverished.
Whose fault is this?
"Your Majesty, it is late. You have to attend the morning court session tomorrow. You should rest now!"
At this moment, the eunuch accompanying him came to urge him to go to bed.
Looking at the shocking bamboo slips, how could the First Emperor possibly sleep?
The Qin Dynasty had just fulfilled the long-cherished wish of previous generations of rulers under his rule. Could it also be destroyed under his watch?
Over the years, he had no idea that life in ordinary people could be so difficult.
Ordinary people live in such dire straits.
If he had known earlier, he wouldn't have been in such a hurry to launch so many large-scale projects!
no!
These matters must be made known to these incompetent ministers at tomorrow's morning court session, so that they can come up with a good plan to save the Qin Dynasty!
"Gao Shu, you've been by my side for over thirty years, haven't you? When have you ever seen me so unable to sleep tonight?"
"Your Majesty, the first time I saw Your Majesty so unwilling to sleep was the night Your Majesty ordered the siege of the State of Qi. At that time, you and Minister Zhao Gao were discussing whether King Tian Jian of Qi would surrender without a fight!"
"Hahaha, yes, back then, I was so excited about unifying the six kingdoms. I had countless fantasies about how to rule the Qin Dynasty, which was about to unify the land. But now, I've discovered that people's hearts can change!"
Ying Zheng shook his head, his tone filled with helplessness.
At this time, he was already forty-six years old, long past his prime, and had entered his twilight years.
And the Qin Dynasty, like the setting sun, gradually lost its glorious splendor.
This is the Great Qin Dynasty.
It seems that it flourished because of him, and gradually declined because of his twilight years.
"Your Majesty, please accept our condolences. Now that Your Majesty has discovered the problems of Great Qin in time, as long as Your Majesty is determined to change them, Great Qin will surely be revitalized!"
Gao Shu wiped the sweat from his forehead. Although he had been with the First Emperor for more than 30 years, he was still a little afraid when speaking to the First Emperor face to face.
It wasn't that he was afraid of the First Emperor, but rather that the First Emperor's aura was so overwhelming that it forced him to be afraid.
"Okay, you can go now!"
"promise!"
"Wait, I asked you to investigate Li Lin's matter half a month ago. Have you made any progress?"
"Your Majesty, the investigation into Li Lin is still completely unsuccessful. On the surface, Li Lin seems to be just an ordinary scion of a noble family, quite arrogant and unconventional. It seems that all the information only reveals that he is arrogant and unconventional, but there is not a single piece of information that seems to match what Your Majesty said. He seems to be an ordinary person..."
Gao Shu didn't know what to say. He had found a lot of information about Li Lin in the past two weeks.
However, all the information indicated that Li Lin was a good-for-nothing, a good-for-nothing playboy who just wanted to live off others.
He was not at all the great talent that the First Emperor had described him as, a talent who had concealed his abilities.
Therefore, he could only repeat what he knew.
"Hahaha, as expected, as expected, this lad is truly hiding his true abilities. I'm becoming more and more interested in him! By the way, when you go back this time, keep a close eye on Li Lin's movements. If you find any signs that he's trying to escape, you must bring him to me alive, understand?"
"promise!"
The First Emperor then picked up his teacup with satisfaction and gestured for Gao Shu to leave.
Gao Shu then moved his legs, which were almost numb, and slowly left the palace.
When he left, the clothes covering his entire back were soaked with sweat.
"Why is Your Majesty so concerned about Li Xin's younger brother, Li Lin? Li Lin is nothing but a spoiled brat with no real talent or ability. Why does Your Majesty pay so much attention to him?"
He shook his head, puzzled. He couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he tried, so he simply stopped thinking about it.
At this time, Li Lin, who had been traveling for half a month, finally returned home.
The Qin people implemented a small family system, requiring any male in the family who was over eighteen years old to live independently.
He happened to run into this law and separated from the Li family before the new year.
Since he was unmarried, he lived with his elder brother, Li Xin.
Li Xin is also an old bachelor.
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