Emperor Qin

In the 16th year of King Qin, Dai State had been included in the territory of Qin State.

So far, in the territory of the world, only Qi State is still under the shadow of the empire, lingering and panicking all day long.

However, the King of Qin did not go all out to take down Qi.

In the spacious and bright hall, the atmosphere was somewhat depressing.

King Qin sat on the throne, staring indifferently at the Shaofu and Zhisu internal history ministers under his rule.

The reason for not raising troops to attack Qi is very simple, Qin's money bag is empty.

According to King Qin's plan, Daidi's batch of grain and grass must not be used up, so he can take advantage of the trend and go south to Qi State to take Qidi in one fell swoop.

However, the earthquake on behalf of the earth not only consumed the batch of food and grass, but also turned the land of Yanzhao into a disaster area. Although Qin State used the method of pumping money to relieve the disaster, it also filled a lot of food and grass, and there was no way to continue Raise troops and attack Qi.

The King of Qin opened the memorials submitted by Zhisu Neishi, then read the Shaofu memorials, and then browsed the names of his money spent in the past few years, and finally had to admit that he was really out of money. If you take Qi again, you will have to add another mouth tax to the world—that is, the head money for the newborn.

But for this matter, he has to consider the consequences.

Head money is not so easy to collect. Many common people who can't pay their taxes will kill their children to avoid bankruptcy.

If it was in the past, the king of Qin would have unceremoniously increased taxes and requisitions, and the life and death of the common people, how could it be important to rule the world?

But after knowing some things, he had to consider whether Mie Qi was really in a hurry.

It should be known that since he came to power, that is, since the ninth year of King Qin, he has not stopped using weapons for a year. The battle of destroying Chu last year hurt the vitality of Qin even more. There were even famines in Guanzhong and Shu.

Furthermore, after the appearance of Quli, two oxen dragging one plow were replaced by a single ox plowing the field, which greatly helped the development of Guanzhong's agriculture, but none of these could conceal the fact that Guanzhong was already insufficiently populated.

In the seventh year of Qin Wangzheng, the chaos of Chang'an was pacified; in the ninth year, 15 troops were raised to attack Yan; in the ninth year, 11 troops were raised to attack Ye; 12 troops destroyed Zhao, 30 years destroyed Yan; 13 years, 14 troops attacked Chu; 20 years, 15 troops attacked Chu; 60 years, 16 troops attacked Dai...

It can be said that from the day when the King of Qin was in charge, the common people of the state of Qin never rested for a day. The soldiers were either on the battlefield or on their way to the battlefield. If it grows longer, it will definitely not be able to support it.

"Take a break, at least we will raise troops next year." Yan Jiang responded with a slight smile: "Besides, don't worry about the state of Qi being prepared."

"Oh, how do you say it?" Qin Wang glanced at him and knew that A Jiang was about to take another bad breath.

"The land of Qi doesn't collect much money, and everyone relies on the benefits of salt and iron. The rich and powerful are extravagant," Yan Jiang pawed at the tiger, and said leisurely, "If you don't attack it, you will save it. The Qin army will be replaced by Qi's grain."

Shao Fu and Zhi Su Nei Shi looked blank, asking Qi State for food?They are not fools, are they willing to give the land or not the king of Qin's army?

Isn't that opening the door and stealing?

Yan Jiang was very confident, but he just blinked at the king, and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, do you still remember the matter of Qi Wan Lu Jin?"

Qin Wang thought for a moment, and understood that A Jiang wanted him to ban the salt and iron of Qi, but salt and iron are the top priority of the people, and it must not be cut off. plan of.

So he immediately recruited Shangqing Yao Jia, and Li Shiqi who Yan Jiang personally brought back.

Soon the envoy of the State of Qin took the letter of credentials written by King Qin and rushed to the State of Qi.

……

"In today's world, the six kingdoms are peaceful, and the world is peaceful. However, Qi is plundering the world's wealth based on the benefits of salt and iron. It is not an ally. Today, I, the King of Qin, are benevolent and righteous. I don't pursue the past. I only let the two countries rule the world... "

The king of Qi was drenched in cold sweat after receiving the letter from the state of Qin. He accepted Qin's request almost without discussion, and was willing to sell salt and iron to Qin at the lowest price. I feel that although the price is a little lower, there is still money to be made, and it is not a big deal.

As for the reduction in income, that is also easy to solve, just pass the cost on to the salt households. They are masters, how can they live a life that is almost the same as that of ordinary people?

As long as the state of Qi can be preserved, everything is not a problem.

Under the high pressure of Qin State, Qi State operated at full speed, a large number of salt fields were opened up, and a large number of iron ingots were transported to merchant ships and imported into Qin State.

The conscripted soldiers finally had a respite and were able to return to their hometowns to multiply.

For a while, the world unexpectedly quietened down strangely.

Without the battlefield to restrain his energy, King Qin also freed up his hands to clarify things such as road post, trade, taxation, weights and measures, and writing.

Li Si became a ball in a hurry, and Han Fei, who had just taken the post, did not disappoint the King of Qin. The latter had been a priest in the Xianyang Academy for nearly seven years. He studied under Xunzi and studied all kinds of schools of thought. It's not that there is much favoritism, it's just that in the past few years, the relationship between Li Si and him has been clearly seen.

Han Fei is definitely not a fool to be able to write a masterpiece like "Han Feizi". In his first month as "Official Cao", he formulated a set of official evaluation system, and assigned different positions to different positions. The assessment was based on the scoring basis, and it was not limited to the assessment of middle and low-level officials. Li Si, the court lieutenant, was also included in the assessment. For a while, he almost offended the officials of the Manchu Dynasty.

The two directly brought Guan Si to the front of King Qin's case.

King Qin comforted them each, and took the evaluation rights of the "Nine Qings" into his own hands, and this was the end of the matter.

Meng Yi was by Han Fei's side, and he finally understood. Don't look at Li Si and Han Fei's brothers and sisters calling each other affectionately when they met. In fact, the relationship is as thin as paper. When the wind blows, it will fly away, and when it rains, it will fly away. scattered.

As the son of South Korea, Han Fei had only one path. The princes of the court were clearly divided, and he was a pure minister of the King of Qin. Only in this way could he avoid any possible suspicions.

The King of Qin was not in a hurry to unify the writing, but first clarified the degree of control of Qin officials in various places, and then implemented Qin money in the places with the strongest control. Money is the most direct writing and the easiest to change.

He acted vigorously and decisively, but landed extremely smoothly. In less than half a month, Qin coins from Han and Wei had passed through unimpeded, and then he began to deal with Zhao and Yan. He was gentle and suppressed the local opposition.

After swallowing a land population twice as large as itself in one go, the giant beast of Qin finally slowed down temporarily and began to digest the sky-high amount of food.

Qin Wang was quickly overwhelmed by trivial matters.

Yan Jiang saw that these were not what he was good at, so he did not continue to be an advisor to King Qin. He enjoyed the rare freedom and went to meet Zhang Liang.

The flimsy young man back then has become a jade tree facing the wind, and anyone who sees it will praise him as a "good man".

With his hard work these years, the imperial caravan under his banner has traveled all over Baiyue and Yinshan.To the north, I passed the Donghu, Loufan, Linhu, Xiongnu, Suimo and other tribes, and to the south I passed Ouyue, Yangyue, Luoyue, Minyue, and Yangyue, and even found the traces of the Yelang Kingdom.

The countless cattle and horses he brought back from the north effectively supported the agricultural development of the Qin State. In these years, the King of Qin was able to send troops to the six countries continuously, and Zhang Liang wanted to record his achievements.

Yan Jiang tasted all kinds of tea brought by Zhang Liang one by one, and asked leisurely: "How is the ovary recently?"

"Xie Ciqing is caring, very kind." Zhang Liang is no longer the impulsive boy he used to be after walking through the southeast and northwest. He calmly explained what he has seen and heard over the years, and at the same time he keenly discovered the differences in Qin over the years.

"Are you married?" Yan Jiang asked with a smile.

"No, I'm wandering outside, so why waste a woman's life," Zhang Liang said with a slight smile, "My father urged me a few times, but after my brother has a son, he is no longer impatient."

When the Zhang family entered Qin Dynasty, his younger brother was only eight years old. He had suffered for a while, but now he has married and is studying in Xianyang Academy, preparing to serve in the Qin Dynasty.

Yan Jiang recalled the story in history that Zhang Liang's younger brother died without being buried, and Zhang Liang traveled all over the country to find a strong man, and said with a smile: "Congratulations to Zifang."

After the two exchanged a few polite words, Zhang Liang took out a silk map with great care, on which were painted the pastures of the Huns, the number of people, and the details of the hides of cattle, sheep and horses.

Yan Jiang looked at them one by one and thanked Zhang Liang.

"It's just for the peace of the world." Zhang Liang sighed.

"Why, seeing through the world of mortals and wanting to go back to the mountains and forests, have you cultivated to become a god?" Yan Jiang laughed.

"Didn't Yan Zi claim to be the envoy of the Queen Mother of the West? If gods and immortals are like you, then it's not good." Zhang Liangmian said with a hidden needle.

Yan Jiang laughed loudly: "I will accept this as a compliment."

After being silent for a while, he still asked: "What are your plans, the master of the trade road, do you want to continue?"

Zhang Liang said with a smile: "Yan Zi, is this trying to hide everything?"

"I'll give you a chance, if you don't want it, I don't know when the next time will be," Yan Jiang said leisurely, "You are not me, so it is difficult for you to be your home everywhere."

Zhang Liang suppressed his smile.

Yan Zi is inviting him to join the court.

The Zhang family had served Han for five generations, and his father had made it clear that he would not serve the King of Qin. The question now was whether he would take on the burden of revitalizing the family's glory.

"King Qin's behavior is much softer now, I think it's the work of the second minister." Zhang Liang tentatively said.

"It's him who is wise." Yan Jiang said vaguely.

"I understand." Zhang Liang had already got the answer and knew what he should do, "I will take my leave first."

Yan Jiang shook his head helplessly, most afraid of this kind of monster who can guess the whole thing at a glance, but in this day and age, such people are everywhere.

Just as he was about to get up and say goodbye, Yan Jiang saw a plump bird landed on the edge of the window.

So he kept smiling: "Then I won't give it away."

Seeing Zhang Liang go away, Yan Jiang followed Mao to His Majesty: "Your Majesty is so happy, do you think something good happened?"

His Majesty squinted at him, snorted lightly, and then proudly asked A Jiang to go back.

There are some things that Ah Jiang has to learn to get used to, such as spending more time with himself.

There are some things that I have to learn to get used to, such as A Jiang's fraternity.

Back in the palace, King Qin gave him a memorial book.

Yan Jiang looked carefully, but it turned out that the cheap mud salt sent by Qi State was sold well in various countries, and in exchange for a lot of money and food, he estimated that it was enough for 30 troops to chew for half a month, and these were only the first batch If this momentum continues, at most half a year, Qin will be able to mobilize its troops again and take down Qi.

"This way of business is very interesting." It was the first time King Qin used business to solve a problem, and he actually felt happy.

A Jiang said that business is like a soldier, and there are positive and strange things, but it is not to coax me.