Chapter 218 Liu Guobi repeatedly confirmed that she was not...
After confirming again and again that she was not joking, several elderly people who chatted with her said: Although we have no land, we have children in our families who are in their prime and are willing to serve the king!
Dai Xuan laughed and said, "Who said you have no land? Those nobles were captured and taken to Xianyang. Their land now belongs to the state. The most important thing the king sent me here for is to distribute the land to the elders."
"Divide the land? Give it to us?"
Everyone was in disbelief and felt like they were dreaming.
"Of course!" Dai Xuan nodded vigorously and explained, "It's just that no one has made any contributions, so we can only distribute it according to household registration. Each family can only get ten mu of land, and those who support their parents can get an additional five mu.
If you want more, the elders will have to urge their families to either work hard on the land and pay more taxes, or have their children kill the enemy and receive rewards."
At that time, fields were measured using a "step ruler," with one step equal to six feet, and one mu (approximately 16 steps) was considered one foot long and one foot wide. Ten mu (approximately 1000 square feet) of farmland wasn't much; with today's grain production, it was barely enough to support a family of five, provided one was not lazy and avoided major disasters.
"Is what the Lord said true? Could it be that I am old and my ears are no longer useful?"
"Of course it's true." Dai Xuan suppressed his smile and said seriously, "Although our Qin State likes to use some tactics in diplomacy with other countries, when it comes to our own elders, we always stick to our words and never joke!"
To support her words, she also told everyone the story of Shang Yang setting up a tree as a sign of trust.
"Just for moving a piece of wood from East Market to West Market, you're going to give me so much gold?"
"Did you really give it to me? You won't want to go back later, will you?"
"Of course it was. At that time, our Qin State was bullied by the State of Zhao and was left with only ten miles of land. If it hadn't been given, how could the elders have believed Shang Yang's words so firmly and obeyed his orders? If not, how could our Qin State have the vast territory it has today?"
She kept saying "our Qin State". No matter whether it was the old people talking to her, the young people watching, or even the children curled up in their parents' arms, they gradually came to accept their identity as "Qin people".
Listening to her proudly talking about the vast territory of Qin today, the old people of the three counties also felt proud of it.
Dai Xuan also led everyone to measure the land and divided a hundred households into a village. The land of each village was around the village to facilitate farming for the people.
Korean customs are different from those of the Qin State, and it still has the ancient clan settlement system.
In order to get more land, many families were urgently dividing their families. With the exception of the eldest son, who was left to support the elderly, all married men were separated. Those who were of marriageable age but still unmarried were also hurriedly seeking wives or sons-in-law. Everything was done quickly and simply.
Meng Tian, who was leading the troops to assist Dai Xuan, learned of this and reported it to her with concern. Dai Xuan, however, smiled and said, "Isn't this a good thing? They've split up their families and dispersed their power, making it easier to manage. We don't have to be the bad guys."
Meng Tian suddenly understood and said respectfully, "So the Lord has already made a plan. I was just worrying too much."
Looking at the young general before him, Dai Xuan praised him generously: "You are still young, but you are already better than many veterans in the art of war. You and I have our own specialties, so why be so modest?"
Meng Tian said happily, "Your Excellency is too kind to praise me."
Dai Xuan smiled and said nothing more. Instead, he asked, "Those retainers left behind by the Korean nobles didn't cause any trouble, did they?"
Meng Tian said, "There were some small groups that rebelled, but we've completely suppressed them. The Lord has been visiting the people these days, spreading the message of our Great Qin's policies that benefit the people through the elders of the three counties. The people are all drawn to the king's rule. Without the support of the locals, those knights-errant are mostly just stray dogs, unable to achieve anything significant."
Dai Xuan nodded and said, "You can start recruiting them. I'll take people to survey the land first. Once you've recruited or suppressed most of these stabilizing factors, I'll have the land measured. Then, I'll distribute the land to the people. Only with land in hand can they truly feel at peace."
"Yes." Meng Tian took the order and left.
Under Dai Xuan's leadership, the elders of the three counties obtained the land they had longed for and soon became loyal to the Qin State.
At this time, Meng Tian recruited soldiers again, and young men aged fifteen to thirty-five were brought by their parents to sign up for enlistment.
After Meng Tian gave them some simple training, he incorporated them into the army and gradually replaced them with troops from other places.
A large number of young and strong men enlisted in the army and left the three counties, completely eliminating the foundation for rebellion in Han. Dai Xuan then governed calmly and even petitioned Ying Zheng to use the three counties as a pilot to reduce some of the overly harsh and cumbersome penalties.
This move was exactly what Ying Zheng wanted, so he agreed immediately. He not only sent a group of officials who were proficient in Qin law and Shu law, but also sent children from the Nong family and the Mohist school to be deployed according to Dai Xuan's request.
In the three counties, Dai Xuan revised and implemented the laws, urged the Mohists to improve their tools, and asked farmers to research good varieties suitable for the three counties. The lives of the people in the three counties became better and better.
The people's lives are getting better and better, and Dai Xuan's prestige is getting higher and higher.
It was not until this time that she began to crack down on obscene sacrifices and impose severe punishments on all kinds of wizards who defrauded the people of their money and lives.
The Shu Kingdom had comprehensive education. Dai Xuan gathered the elders together and exposed all the scams of gods and immortals appearing in front of everyone, so that everyone would not be fooled, let alone contribute money or even young boys and girls.
She also knew that ordinary people needed faith, so after petitioning Ying Zheng, she introduced the beliefs of the God of Wealth, the God of Work, Nuwa, the God of Food and others from Shu to the three counties. However, she did not lead the sacrifices in the name of the government, but spread it privately through rumors, guiding the people to perform the sacrifices spontaneously.
Zhao Gongming and Taiyi Zhenren, who were far away in Heaven and Qianyuan Mountain, noticed that they suddenly had a stronger faith, and it was getting stronger and stronger, so they naturally had to pay attention to check it out.
Seeing that they were not ordinary people from Shu, but had developed a new belief, he rushed over to show his support. He picked out a few people with great merits and devout faith, and gave them some guidance using the art of entering dreams.
After the God of Food Hua Jing Yuanjun learned about it, he also picked out some people with no sins and appeared in their dreams to teach them some snacks suitable for doing business.
Only the Saint Nuwa was far away in the thirty-three heavens and could no longer have any contact with the prehistoric world, so she could only pretend not to know.
However, the appearance of the God of Wealth, the God of Work, and the God of Food in dreams also brought popularity to the Nuwa Temple, and the faith of the three counties was completely renewed.
Dai Xuan spent three years governing the Han area and made the people of the three counties completely recognize that they were Qin people.
Ying Zheng also waited for him for three years, and during these three years he did not send troops to destroy any country.
Just when the five states in Shandong were ready to rest assured, the Qin army came like thunder and swept across the world.
In the tenth year, King Zheng of Qin conquered Wei, in the eleventh year, he conquered Zhao, in the twelfth year, he conquered Yan, and in the thirteenth year, he conquered Chu.
In the 14th year of King Zheng of Qin, under the persuasion of Prime Minister and uncle Hou Sheng, the young King Jian of Qi voluntarily surrendered.
From then on, the six kingdoms were gone!
In the Xianyang Palace, Qin Shi Huang's eldest daughter Ying Yan was only eight years old, his second daughter Ying Miao was only five years old, and his youngest son Ying Sen was just over a month old.
These three sons were all born to the queen. According to the plan of the good doctors of Shu State, one child should be born every three years, which can minimize the harm to the mother and maximize the health of the fetus.
After giving birth to Ying Sen, Zheng Jia discussed with Ying Zheng that she would not have any more children. If Ying Zheng felt that there were not enough children, he could have children with the princesses of the six kingdoms who were included in the harem.
From the beginning of the conquest of Han, Zheng Jia suggested to Ying Zheng that he should take all the princesses of marriageable age from the King of Han into the harem, and follow the same practice when he conquered the other five countries in the future.
——This is the tradition of their Shu Kingdom, which is intended to appease those who miss the previous dynasty.
But Ying Zheng believed that after each kingdom was conquered, he would only select one princess to be included in the harem. And before Ying Yan came of age, he would not allow any of the princesses of the six kingdoms to have children.
Yes, Ying Zheng has chosen his eldest daughter Ying Yan as his heir.
Firstly, Ying Yan was a very talented person, and secondly, Ying Zheng valued Shu more than the six kingdoms in the Central Plains. Choosing his daughter as his heir would further reduce the resistance of the Shu people when he destroyed Shu in the future.
Ying Zheng even mentioned that he would choose a member of the Zheng royal family as Ying Yan's principal wife to further deepen the ties between the two royal families.
However, Zheng Jia firmly opposed inbreeding and explained the dangers of inbreeding to him in detail, which finally dissuaded him from the idea.
——Although the marriages of kings are all political transactions, it is better to avoid such "surprises" as giving birth to fools or deformed children!
Zheng Jiadao said, "The original intention of bringing the princesses of the six kingdoms into the harem was to appease the old nobles of the six kingdoms. If you don't intend to let them have children, you will have to reconsider the placement of those old nobles."
Ying Yan is only eight years old this year. Even if he becomes an adult at the age of eighteen, it will take ten years.
Although the princesses of the six kingdoms who entered the palace at that time were less than 30 years old, which was the best childbearing age, the old nobles of the six kingdoms could not wait that long.
Ying Zheng made the decision, "Then give them a good beating. The common people are the majority of the people. As long as they are loyal to the Qin, those old nobles will not be able to stir up any trouble."
Now, Ying Zheng is obsessed with benefiting the people and accumulating merits in order to be deified after his death, so that he can live forever and enjoy the wealth and honor of heaven forever.
This future was so bright that worldly beauty had no appeal to him in comparison.
As for the old nobles of the six kingdoms, Ying Zheng had already seen through that peace in the world was essentially about peace for the people. As long as the people lived a good life, no matter how much the old nobles incited them, few people would follow them.
Zheng Jia nodded, indicating he understood what he meant, and sneered, "If that's the case, those whose homeland is in the north should be sent to the southern border, those whose homeland is in the south should be sent to the northern border, those in the west should be sent to the east, and those in the east should be sent to the west. Keep them away from their old country and people, and don't give them any chance to rebel."
Ying Zheng said, "The Queen has thought it through thoroughly. I will listen to her."
On this point, the two of them were in agreement, both wanting to cut off the source.
However, Ying Zheng was confident enough that he felt that under his leadership, the people of the world would be able to live and work in peace and contentment, and the nobles of the six kingdoms would have no manpower to cause chaos.
Zheng Jia was more cautious. He did not give the nobles of the six countries any chance, but gave the common people who might have some uneasy thoughts a chance to live and work in peace.
After talking about the nobles of the six countries, Zheng Jia took out two pieces of paper, one was a map of the entire Central Plains, and the other was a blank piece of paper.
"Now the entire Central Plains has been unified. There are no longer six kingdoms, only the Great Qin. However, there are still barriers between the people of the seven kingdoms.
I think the jurisdiction should be redivided, and a piece of land from each of the two or three adjacent countries should be placed in one county and governed by the same official.
Over time, as we accept the same policies, participate in the same activities, and work on the same projects, those barriers will naturally disappear."
The two of them got together and used the Central Plains Fengshui as a model, while discussing and redividing the area on the white paper.
Only after the new jurisdiction was roughly delineated did he summon important officials to discuss the details.
Ying Zheng sighed somewhat unhappily, "Ever since the Right Prime Minister left to govern Han, there's no one in the court who can handle things on their own. We have to do everything ourselves!"
Zheng Jia thought for a moment and suggested, "Why not hold another imperial examination?"
It’s not that there is no capable person in the court today, but that they lack prestige and qualifications.
If the imperial examination is reopened, the number of talents that can be selected is secondary. The most important thing is to let the prime minister who is favored by Ying Zheng preside over the imperial examination and increase his qualifications.
Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng gently held her hand and said with a smile, "The queen really understands me!"
Zheng Jia glanced at him and sneered, "No matter how well I know you, there's no chance you'll be able to favor Li Si. He's too inexperienced. If he were to preside over the imperial examinations, no one in the court would be convinced."
Li Si was originally a retainer of Lu Buwei. After Lu Buwei resigned, his retainers became rootless and many of them were at a loss.
Only Li Si remained calm and went straight to Dai Xuan to recommend himself. After Dai Xuan had tested him, he felt that he was a talent that Ying Zheng would like, so he recommended him to Ying Zheng directly.
After some comments, it turned out that Li Si really suited Ying Zheng's taste and he immediately became the most favored guest official in front of the king.
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