Ba County now has a large area, a small population, and little arable land. Therefore, after the Qin State established counties along the Yangtze River and major transportation routes, other places were continued to be controlled by the original Ba people.
The most important tribe among the Ba people was called the Bandun barbarians, who were famous for their skill in using wooden shields and were well-known mercenaries. Due to the lack of arable land, serving as a soldier was an important means of income for the Bandun barbarians.
Zichu went to Ba County to seek out the leader of the Bandun barbarians to recruit soldiers.
In order to appease the Ba people, the Qin State granted the title of "Bu Geng" to all the tribal leaders of the Ba people, and also reduced the taxes of ordinary Ba people.
The leaders of the Ba tribe gradually moved down the mountain and settled in the county, becoming the first powerful people in Ba County. Their living habits gradually became the same as those of the people in the Qin and Han dynasties.
This trend has already begun.
Zichu originally went there just to recruit soldiers, but unexpectedly he encountered a civil unrest.
On the way, Zichu explained the civil unrest to Zhu Xiang.
"Because the leaders of the Bantun barbarians govern themselves, the governor of Ba County is subject to many constraints. When it comes to recruiting soldiers, performing corvée labor, collecting taxes, etc., they often entrust the local leaders first. Due to poor communication, the transmission of orders is often delayed."
"The King of Qin requested that a road be built to connect Ba County and Guanzhong. Although the governor of Ba County informed the leaders of the Ba people that they should use Qin's weights and measures, he did not properly inform the people who were doing the corvée. Now that the road has been built, it cannot be used, and the governor of Ba County requested that it be rebuilt."
"There were also wealthy merchants from the Ba people who supplied carts to the Qin army and government, but the axle ratios were not right, so all of them were returned."
"I don't know who started it, but it's all messed up."
When Zichu talked about this, his expression was very indifferent: "But the civil unrest was quickly put down."
Li Bing, who was forced to follow the two men and handed over the responsibilities of the county governor to his subordinates and son, added: "I am afraid there are many deliberate intentions."
Zhu Xiang was silent.
Zichu said: "Someone must have tried to test the Qin State. However, the governor of Ba County was also guilty of not noticing this. Although he put down the civil unrest, he had to return to Xianyang to apologize. Before the new governor of Ba County is appointed, he will temporarily take over the post of governor of Ba County to atone for his sins."
Li Bing asked, "Zhu Xiang, why don't you speak?"
Zhu Xiang shook his head and said, "The unification of weights and measures was something that the first lord promoted when he was about to die. After your succession, it was gradually extended to the Qin territory outside Guanzhong and Guandong. The road in Ba County was not built by Qin State with all its strength, so only the local people were used. It is normal for such a road to take five to ten years to build, so after the unification of weights and measures, the ratio of the roads built first and the carriages collected first is not right, which is normal."
Zichu frowned immediately.
After all, he had spent less time working at the grassroots level, and the information he learned during his trip to Ba County was also told to him by the county magistrate of Ba County, so he did not think about it so deeply.
However, when Zhu Xiang mentioned it, he immediately understood and said with hidden anger: "The governor of Ba County deliberately concealed it!"
Li Bing thought about it and sighed, "He didn't conceal it on purpose. Does that mean the policy of the people above is wrong? If he said that, the crime that can only lead to dismissal may become a capital crime."
In the Qin State, no one could disobey the King of Qin's policies. If the King of Qin had issued an order, then if the local officials did not carry it out, it would be the local officials' fault. If he expressed his complaints about the King of Qin's order, it would be much more serious than incompetence.
Therefore, the prefect of Ba County had no way to express his grievances and could only lie to Zichu. He would rather say that it was his own stupidity that caused the civil unrest than to say that it was the King of Qin's policy that was wrong.
Zichu looked at Zhu Xiang: "Perhaps other people around me have seen it, but I'm afraid no one dares to tell me this except you."
Zhu Xiang hummed, but did not comfort Zichu, and continued to frown and think hard.
Zichu saw that Zhu Xiang was thinking and did not disturb him. He closed his eyes and took a nap, also lost in thought.
Li Bing sighed again in his heart and looked outside the carriage.
He also experienced what the prefect of Ba County is facing now.
It was just that Shu County was developed earlier, and not only was there Yuze that Zhu Xiang led people to reclaim, but the canals and dams he built also gradually came into play. In recent years, Shu County has had several bumper harvests and abundant money and grain.
With money in his pocket, Li Bing took the initiative to compensate the laborers and barely appeased the common people's complaints.
However, Ba County did not have the money and food to appease the common people, so it could only arouse public resentment, suppress it with the Qin army, and then use bloody threats to intimidate the common people into continuing to serve.
The roads built by the order of the King of Qin must be repaired, and the vehicles collected from the public to transport food and other supplies must also meet the specifications.
The common people will have to suffer.
Li Bing did not directly state the twists and turns. Zhu Xiang had been the "Dai" county governor for so many years. He walked from the heartland of Qin to Shu County, and then walked along the south bank of the Yangtze River all the way to the mouth of the Yangtze River. Of course, he could see the reason.
Ba County was the most important part of Zhu Xiang's plan to cause chaos in Chu. If there was chaos in Ba County, it would mean that Wang Jian's rear area would be in chaos. In order to successfully implement the plan to cause chaos in Chu, Zhu Xiang had to go and see for himself to see if he could find a way to appease the people.
Furthermore, this was a civil unrest and Zhu Xiang happened to encounter it, so he had to go and see if there was a universal way to solve the problem and then promote it to other parts of Qin.
Even though Zhu Xiang knew there was little hope.
There were originally roads between Ba County and Shu County. Although they were dangerous, the Qin army had walked back and forth so many times that they had found a way out even if there was no road.
Crown Prince Zichu returned to Jiangzhou County, the capital of Ba County, and the prefect of Ba County was extremely distressed.
But after seeing the white-haired young man next to Crown Prince Zichu, the pain in his heart was alleviated a lot.
“Duke Zhu Xiang!” The governor of Ba County tightly grasped Zhu Xiang’s hand with both hands, tears about to flow, “I have long heard of your great name!”
When Duke Zhu Xiang came to Ba County, could he also help increase the grain production in Ba County
Although there were not many fields in Ba County, if it could be doubled, he might only be demoted instead of dismissed when he returned to Xianyang.
"Let me take a look at the account book of Ba County first." Zhu Xiang did not hesitate to state his identity as a firefighter. "Please ask the county governor to invite a few more locals, one from each county. I need to inquire about the land situation in Ba County."
The prefect of Ba County looked at Crown Prince Zichu.
Prince Zichu said: "Changping Jun's request is the King of Qin's order."
Crown Prince Zichu did not mention himself, but directly carried the King of Qin out.
The prefect of Ba County immediately understood and ran over to make the arrangements himself.
Zhu Xiang said: "The governor of Ba County is also a capable official."
The corner of Crown Prince Zichu's mouth twitched slightly, and he said unhappily: "He is indeed a capable official."
If he hadn't happened to come to Ba County, this small civil unrest would never have spread to Xianyang City.
There were countless civil unrests in various parts of the Qin State, and they were all suppressed directly by the county governors.
The King of Qin does not need to worry about such a small matter, as it is the job of the county magistrate.
Therefore, the governor of Ba County originally aroused a little civil unrest and completed the task assigned by the King of Qin. This ability is already quite remarkable. If it were a more ordinary official, he would either arouse greater public resentment or fail to accomplish the task even after arousing public resentment.
Now the road in Ba County is being rebuilt in an orderly manner, and it is almost impossible to tell how many bloody events had taken place there.
To put it bluntly, how could the heavy corvee imposed by the Qin State not cause resistance
As long as the local officials can suppress it, it won’t be a big deal.
It was a pity that Crown Prince Zichu happened to run into him, and that was a big deal.
The prefect of Ba County must have been crying out for injustice in his heart.
Prince Zichu asked, "Given your character, you shouldn't praise him."
Zhu Xiang said: "If the decree is enforced by force, there will definitely be chaos. But I only said that he is a capable official, not that I approve of him."
But Zhu Xiang would not say that he did not approve of him. Because all officials of this era were like this. Even Li Bing would do the same thing.
So Zhu Xiang disagreed, but he didn't say anything.
He knew that everyone in this era was like this, and the Ba County Magistrate was doing a pretty good job. But his words carried a lot of weight, and as long as he said something bad about the Ba County Magistrate, the Ba County Magistrate's life would be over.
The prefect of Ba County quickly arranged what Zhu Xiang had asked.
Zichu and Li Bing also helped Zhu Xiang to sort out the data in the account books. The governor of Ba County was so scared that his back was sweating.
Even though he had known Changping Jun's status in Qin, he still couldn't believe it after seeing it with his own eyes.
Although Duke Zhu Xiang was not the prime minister, I am afraid that even the prime minister did not have a higher status than Duke Zhu Xiang.
How dare the Prime Minister ask the Crown Prince of Qin to help him
He misunderstood Zhu Xiang. Because Cai Ze really dared.
Zhu Xiang quickly sorted out the people's livelihood data of Ba County.
It's horrible.
The location of Ba County is Chongqing in later generations, as well as the mountainous area at the border between Chongqing and Sichuan.
After the Three Gorges Dam was built, Chongqing was able to become strong through its industry, tourism, and transportation. However, in the feudal era, the inability to farm almost nailed this area to poverty.
Although the Yangtze River also has a transportation function, the road section in the Three Gorges is very dangerous, which makes the throughput of the Yangtze River's transportation industry far from enough to support the entire Ba County.
Moreover, the internal transportation in Ba County is not smooth, and the gap between the riverside and the mountainous areas is very large.
The Qin State's sphere of influence was limited to the Yangtze River and the plank road.
"Some mountainous areas in Ba County can be used for terraced fields, but most places are still difficult." Zhu Xiangshou drew a simple topographic map of Ba County. "We need to develop more commerce along the river. Even if merchant ships sink, as long as Shu County and Wu County continue to develop at both ends of the Yangtze River, this trade route will surely prosper no matter how many merchant ships sink."
"It is estimated that the commercial tax and other measures can only be re-determined after the Qin State unifies the world, but we can prepare now." Zhu Xiang continued, "For mountain planting, pumpkins, potatoes, and beans are not picky about the land, so they can be promoted. For the scattered plains along the river, we will focus on high-yield rice and strive to harvest twice a year."
"Bamboo and fruit trees can be grown in the mountains of Ba County. Bamboo, in particular, has huge economic benefits. As long as the trade routes are unobstructed, it can generate a lot of income." Zhu Xiang asked, "Papermaking in Ba County has not been promoted yet?"
The governor of Ba County wiped the sweat off his forehead and said, "Ba County has a lot of bamboo and wood, so we still use bamboo slips and wooden tablets."
Zhu Xiang shook his head: "Paper will completely replace bamboo slips and wooden tablets. Ba County has many bamboo forests, which is a good opportunity to develop high-end paper made from bamboo. If Ba County's bamboo paper can become famous, the production of bamboo paper alone can support many people. Now the papermaking technology has been improved a lot. I will tell you the improved papermaking technology, and you can send people to learn it well."
Zhu Xiang looked into the eyes of the governor of Ba County and said, "Don't be greedy. If you can make amends, I can help you report to the King of Qin and exempt you from punishment."
The governor of Ba County was surprised and asked, "Do you really mean what Lord Changping said?"
Zhu Xiang said calmly, "I know there are civil unrests in various places. The people of Ba County are fierce. You have done a good job in terms of the scale of the civil unrest and the speed of its quelling. If people who have done a good job are punished because of the unspoken rule of 'just happened to be caught by the prince', it would be unclear about rewards and punishments. This was not my idea. The prince was originally going to make a memorial for you."
Prince Zichu had never thought about it: "Yes, you did a good job. But this is the unspoken rule of the officialdom, so if you want to stay here, you have to work harder."
The prefect of Ba County was so grateful that he burst into tears and couldn't even bow.
He thought his career was over, but unexpectedly it turned out to be a miracle.
Li Bing felt much more relaxed.
Although he and the prefect of Ba County did not get along very well, he could not help feeling sympathy for one another.
After Zhu Xiang appeased the governor of Ba County and ignited his enthusiasm for work, he continued to arrange with him how to quickly make up for the chaos in people's livelihood caused by corvee labor.
After the elders from various counties summoned by the prefect of Ba County learned that the person in front of them was the legendary Duke Zhu Xiang, they almost cried when answering Zhu Xiang's questions.
If they could not answer Zhu Xiang's questions, they would kowtow to him immediately, hoping that he would wait for a while. They would go back and ask a few more people, and they would definitely answer Zhu Xiang's questions.
It seemed that as long as they could answer Zhu Xiang's questions, their lives would get better.
While Zhu Xiang was chatting with elders from various places, Wang Jian received an imperial edict from the King of Qin and secretly came to Ba County.
As soon as Wang Jian saw Zhu Xiang, he punched him on the shoulder.
Zhu Xiang covered his shoulder: "Do you want to kill me?!"
Wang Jian said with a straight face: "I will hold back my strength. It will hurt for a while, but you won't get hurt. Don't worry."
Zhu Xiang pointed at Prince Zichu and said, "Why don't you beat Xia Tong? Doesn't Xia Tong deserve to be beaten more?"
Wang Jian said sternly, "You are my friend, so I beat you; the prince is my monarch, so I cannot beat him."
Crown Prince Zichu turned his face to the side and coughed dryly, with a gloating smile on his face.
Zhu Xiang rubbed his shoulders and sneered: "This is definitely what Li Mu taught you."
When he saw Li Mu throwing the tiger talisman to him and saying that he wanted to go to Ba County, Wang Jian almost couldn't stop him.
Fortunately, Prince Zheng was there. He jumped on Li Mu's back and stopped him. Then, after much persuasion, Li Mu continued to stay in Wujun.
"Prince Zheng was also very angry." Wang Jian said, "Prince Zheng said that his father and uncle were both troublesome."
Crown Prince Zichu coughed dryly and said, "How can Zheng'er, a child, speak of his elders like this?"
Zhu Xiang said: "Zheng'er is right, both you and I are worried, reflect on yourself!"
Crown Prince Zichu: “…” He cursed in his heart.
Li Bing suppressed a smile: "Indeed."
Zhu Xiang said: "Now that Wang Jian is here, we can do the next thing."
Wang Jian raised his eyebrows: "Is there a place where we need to mobilize troops?"
Zhu Xiang said: "Suppress the bandits."
Wang Jian asked, "Are we really suppressing bandits?"
Zhu Xiang said: "Both the Crown Prince and Lord Changping said they were bandits, so they must be bandits."
Prince Zichu said, "That's right. Zhu Xiang, what bandits are you suppressing?"
Wang Jian: “…”
Was Prince Zichu originally such a person? Or was Prince Zichu like Prime Minister Lin, who became strange when he was with Zhu Xiang
Zhu Xiang said: "Some powerful people control the county, set up their own army, and do not obey the command of the county governor. Although the county governor of Ba County has suffered greatly from them, if we wipe them out, it will not only take a lot of twists and turns, but it will also be difficult to manage after the elimination."
Zhu Xiang tapped the map and said, "I am now going to take back several counties along the Yangtze River and on the main transportation routes. If they refuse to hand over power, we will fight them. No matter who they are, if they refuse to allow the Qin army to enter the Qin county, it is a rebellion."
Zhu Xiang examined the data on corvée labor during these civil unrests and found that exploitation and oppression at all levels was the most important cause of the unrest.
The corvée in Ba County is equivalent to the "contracting system" in later generations. The governor of Ba County knew that the people of Ba were tough, and he also knew that it was unreasonable for Qin to suddenly abandon the previously built road and rebuild it. So he gritted his teeth and barely gave enough money and food this time.
But after the money and grain had passed through layers of contract work, they finally reached the hands of the laborers, who had difficulty even getting food.
Common people are always very patient. When there is a civil unrest, if they really can't survive, they might as well fight to the death.
Because the common people all knew that they would gain nothing even if they fought to the death, and they were going to die anyway, so they might as well die with others.
Now the road in Ba County must be repaired. Even Zhu Xiang and Zichu cannot let Qin State fail to build the road that needs to be built.
Therefore, Zhu Xiang needed to wipe out a few powerful people and take money out of their mouths.
With Wang Jian around, it is easy to wipe out the powerful.
With him and Crown Prince Zichu in charge of Ba County, it would be no problem for them to mobilize troops without authorization.
"I didn't expect Zhu Xiang would actually do it himself." Li Bing sighed, "But this is not the first time."
Several people were silent.
Zhu Xiang’s first action was in Chengdu, and his second action was in Yunmengze.
This is the third time now.
Prince Zichu said, "This is the first time I've seen Zhu Xiang say he wants to kill someone with a knife. It really opens my eyes. When I return to Xianyang, I'll tell His Majesty about it. He will surely be very interested."
Wang Jian said, "Leave it to me which cities you want to attack."
Zhu Xiang said: "I leave it to you."
He circled the cities that needed to be "occupied".
If the powerful people in these cities can "migrate" obediently, they can retain their wealth and status.
Zhu Xiang was willing to let them go directly to Qianzhong County and Wu County, give them good land in the plains, and let them bring their servants to reclaim the wasteland.
If they refuse to migrate and insist on staying in Ba County, then the lives of their entire family will be in danger.
Zhu Xiang did such a cruel thing again.
If there is one, there will be two, and if there are two, there will be three.
After Zhu Xiang arranged this matter, he informed the governor of Ba County.
The prefect of Ba County was so frightened that he turned pale.
"If we do this, will the Ba people rebel?" The governor of Ba County said, "Those tyrants are not ordinary people. They were originally the leaders of the Ba people. If they join forces..."
Zhu Xiang said: "No. We will use courtesy first and then force."
The governor of Ba County shook his head vigorously: "Even if we use courtesy first and then force, they may not obey."
Zhu Xiang said: "First we should use courtesy and then force. Wang Jian is the leader of the army. Even if they rebel, it will be fine."
Ba County Magistrate: “…”
He looked at Wang Jian, whose reputation was not particularly prominent.
Wang Jian actually felt a little nervous, but he still gave the governor of Ba County a nonchalant look.
That’s right, as long as I’m here, it won’t matter even if Ba County rebels.
Zhu Xiang comforted him, "Ba County will not rebel. With the prince and me here, if Ba County rebels, it will be against the entire Qin State. They have enjoyed wealth and prosperity for so many years, they will not want to return to the mountains and become barbarians."
Zhu Xiang paused and continued, "Besides, I gave them the opportunity to move from the poor and bad land of Ba County to the fertile land of Qianzhong County and Wu County. Anyone with a little foresight would know how to choose. When someone is willing to leave, it will be even more unreasonable for the rest to rebel. Even those who want to leave will hate them for blocking their way to wealth and honor. They will split from within and will never unite to rebel against the Qin State."
Prince Zichu added: "With my status and Zhu Xiang's reputation, they will believe that going to Qianzhong County and Wu County is really a blessing. We really let them enjoy it."
The governor of Ba County heaved a sigh of relief and said, "I will fully cooperate."
Li Bing asked, "Should I go back to Shu County?"
He always felt that if he stayed here any longer, his future would be worrying.
As the governor of Shu County, why would he interfere in the affairs of Ba County
Prince Zichu said, "You don't want to be General Wang's deputy general? General Wang has no deputy general now."
Wang Jian nodded.
Since he is Zhu Xiang's friend, he should be able to serve as his deputy general. It is better than someone Ba Jun doesn't know.
Li Bing: “…”
He sighed, "Okay."
The prince has spoken, what can he do? Can he just say he won't go
He shouldn't have come to Ba County!
The prefect of Ba County looked at Li Bing's helpless expression and felt a little sad.
If I had the opportunity to get along well with Zhu Xiang, I would never refuse like Li Bing did.
Zhu Xiang was stationed in Jiangzhou County. Zichu and the governor of Ba County went in person to ask the powerful people in several small towns controlled by Zhu Xiang to relocate.
Originally, Zhu Xiang should have gone, but Zichu did not trust Zhu Xiang's eloquence and let Zhu Xiang be responsible for logistics.
Zhu Xiang said: "It's too dangerous for you to go!"
Zichu said unhappily, "It's not dangerous for me to go. Who dares to touch the Crown Prince of Qin who has been assassinated once and is still injured? With your eloquence, can you convince them? You can only put out the benefits and then have a gentleman's negotiation with them. But those barbarians are not gentlemen. In order to get this done, you should do what you are good at."
Zhu Xiang wanted to say something, but Zichu continued to persuade him: "If we can successfully persuade them to leave, there will be less fighting and killing."
Zhu Xiang moved his lips and could only agree.
The prefect of Ba County and his friends left to do their respective jobs, while Zhu Xiang stayed in Jiangzhou County to deal with the affairs of the prefect of Ba County.
Those rebel leaders who were imprisoned and awaiting execution were also under Zhu Xiang's jurisdiction.
Zhu Xiang's friends all ignored this matter.
Because in everyone's eyes, executing rebels is not a big deal.
Even though Zhu Xiang loved his people, he would not show mercy to the rebels.
There would be a last meal before beheading. Zhu Xiang personally carried a pot of wine and met with the two rebel leaders who were about to be executed.
This wasn't the first time he had met them.
When Zhu Xiang was collecting information about the corvee rebellion and people's livelihood in various places, he also came to the prison to interrogate them in person.
At that time, Zhu Xiang treated the two men's injuries, gave them a bath, and changed their clothes, in exchange for the information they had received with his final bit of decency.
"General Wang Jian has already led his troops to set out." Zhu Xiang poured wine for the two of them, "There should be news in a few days."
There was light in the eyes of both of them, but the light dimmed in an instant.
When a person is about to die, he may talk a lot.
The two asked Zhu Xiang if he wanted to hear their story.
Zhu Xiang didn't want to listen, but he could only say that he wanted to listen.
One is a small businessman.
Qin Jun's "order" had a very low interest rate to begin with. He gritted his teeth and finally completed the order, but was asked to redo everything and was not paid. He immediately lost everything.
Unable to bear the blow, his parents hanged themselves. His pregnant wife had convulsions and a difficult labor, resulting in two deaths.
I have lost my home, so I rebelled.
One of them is a servant.
His parents had starved to death long ago, and he and his wife and two daughters barely made ends meet. The land was allocated to him, and he was good at swimming, so he could fish. Finally, his family started to get better.
His wife was weak and could not give birth to a son. He had already discussed with his wife that one daughter would marry and the other daughter would marry a son-in-law, so that the family would have a son in the future. This was how the family would live their lives.
The family was left without a pillar of support after being conscripted for labor service, and he longed to return home as soon as possible.
Unexpectedly, the period of corvée labor was extended, and the money and food in his hands became less and less. He had nothing to send back. He could not bear it any more, so he secretly fled back home, and found that his wife's belly was swollen and her body was smelly, and his daughter's body was incomplete.
"The whole village is gone." The laborer said indifferently, "All the men and able-bodied women in the village have been conscripted for labor service. The old, weak and sick can't even support themselves. The government still wants to collect taxes. We can't survive."
The small merchant glanced at the servant, lowered his head, showed sympathy on his face, and burst into tears.
He was miserable enough, yet he still sympathized with others.
"Duke Zhu Xiang, it would have been better if you had come earlier." The servants and the small merchants said so. Then they said, "It's better to come now than not to come. With Duke Zhu Xiang, Ba County has changed."
Zhu Xiang left the prison carrying the empty wine jug and climbed onto the roof with a ladder.
He sat on the eaves, looking at the bright full moon in a daze for a long time.
(End of this chapter)