Lian Po originally planned to flatten Korea in one wave.
Even if Qin could not take over so much land, he could first surround the capital of Han and let the King of Han pay some money to buy the capital, which would not let the King of Qin down.
As a result, King Zhu of Qin told him to fight slowly and cultivate the land while fighting, there was no rush.
Lian Po was very puzzled. How could you not be anxious to fight a war? With an army of 100,000, aren't you anxious for food and fodder
King Zhu of Qin wrote in a letter that there was no rush as Zhu Xiang was working hard on the land and storing grain.
Lian Po didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
However, the King of Qin also revealed to him the reason why he was "not in a hurry" in the letter, making the letter seem less like a joke.
The biggest rival of Qin is Chu. The King of Qin is ready to give Chu a hard blow, so all his energy must be used to deal with Chu. In order not to alert the King of Chu, the battle here in the Three Jins will be fought slowly, as long as there is no loss.
Lian Po scratched his scalp so hard that it almost broke.
This... What do you mean by no loss? King of Qin, are you planning for me to lead 100,000 people to rob the land of Han and plant it, just like Li Mu did when he was on the frontier, and turn the battlefield into a "county city"
Li Mu should be the one to do this! I only know how to fight with money! I am not good at farming!
Lian Po wrote a letter to the King of Qin, hoping to go south and exchange places with Li Mu.
Isn't it just a water battle? With some practice, he might not be incapable of it. He wanted to be like Li Mu, with Zhu Xiang providing logistics and only needing to fight.
But the King of Qin only sent a lot of money and property to Lian Po, asking him to do a good job.
I believe in Lian Qing!
Lian Po felt a little pain in his eyes when he received the king's disgusting letter for the first time.
It is rumored that the King of Qin is very mushy towards his trusted ministers, and it turns out to be true.
However, he did not believe that the words in the letter from the King of Qin were true, because the King of Qin was truly heartless when he abandoned his trusted subjects.
Although Lian Po was very rational, he still went to farm because of the embarrassing letter.
The scholars at that time all believed this, even if they knew it was fake. They were really helpless.
Although Lian Po was not good at farming, he had lived in Zhu Xiang's house for so long that he had learned something from what he saw and heard.
After Zhu Xiang left Zhao, Lian Po worried about Zhao's food shortage for a long time with Lin Xiangru and did a lot of things, so it's not that he was really incapable of these chores.
Lian Po was just impatient.
Lian Po was inspecting the situation of the military farms while scolding Zhu Xiang and Li Mu. You two young people don't come to do such tedious work, but let an old man like me do it. This is simply disrespectful to the elderly.
When Zhu Xiang traveled thousands of miles to deliver cabbage seeds to Lian Po's army to improve Lian Po's food, Lian Po praised Zhu Xiang for his filial piety to everyone he met.
Praise today, scold tomorrow; praise in the morning, scold in the afternoon. Lian Po's lieutenants were almost having split personalities after hearing this.
"The craftsman we captured this time seems to be very good at repairing canals for irrigating farmland?" Lian Po scolded Zhu Xiang again today, and then thought of whether he should send something to Zhu Xiang. "Isn't he tinkering with these in the south? Send them to him."
Lian Po was inspired and sent people to the south with the craftsmen he had captured from Han to give gifts to Zhu Xiang.
Zhu Xiang, who was far away in Wu County, didn't know that he was about to receive a big gift package from a water conservancy expert tied with a bow ribbon.
After he calmed Ying Xiaozheng's stomach, he took over the pacification work of Wujun.
The dead cannot be resurrected. The people killed by Ying Xiaozheng did violate the Qin law, and Zhu Xiang could not overturn the Qin law and say that Ying Xiaozheng did something wrong. Zhu Xiang simply pulled the families of those people out of the fields and returned the fields they had originally registered to them, allowing them to continue to be rich.
However, Zhu Xiang changed the land and asked them to go to Qianzhong County or Nan County to become rich.
The prerequisite is that they move to a new place, can keep their own land, and have enough land to pay taxes openly.
The land that Zhu Xiang "returned" was all the land that they had registered themselves. The hidden land that Ying Xiaozheng later found out was not included.
The so-called local tyrants today are the aristocratic families whose ancestors were nobles or officials.
They once had fiefs in the local area. Although their descendants may have been useless and could no longer stay in the court, the fiefs were taken back, but years of operation allowed them to take root in the local area and form a large clan.
In this era, scholars were the foundation of the country. Common people were truly livestock like cattle and sheep. Like some large countries with a surname system in later generations, most scholars did not consider themselves to be of the same species as common people.
The "common people" they mentioned all refer to people with names and surnames, whose ancestors were scholars and officials, but later lost their official positions and could only farm at home. It is rare for great sages such as Xunzi to regard farmers as common people.
Now Ying Xiaozheng has actually overturned the foundation of the local scholars. The scholars in Wu County are terrified, and many of them are planning to flee north.
After Zhu Xiang came back, these people paused for a while, wanting to see if Zhu Xiang could overturn Prince Zheng's decision.
Their land and power are all on this land. If they flee north, they will truly become commoners. Unless they are pushed to the extreme, they are unwilling to leave their hometown.
Zhu Xiang invited all the scholars to a banquet and asked, "Have you heard about Shang Yang's reform and the erection of a bamboo pole at the city gate?"
All the scholars nodded to indicate that they had heard of it.
Whether they are willing to reform or not, they certainly know about the major events of the Seven Kingdoms.
Zhu Xiang said: "Qin was governed by the doctrine of Legalism. The Qin laws were always strict. Even the teacher of the crown prince of Qin was punished for breaking the law. Do you think you can escape?"
Zhu Xiang glanced at the scholars present and said with a straight face: "Prince Zheng killed them only because they violated the Qin law. Violating the Qin law is violating the Qin State. You probably don't realize that you are already Qin people. If you think that the Qin law is harsh, you should obey the Qin law first, and then write to the King of Qin to request changes to the Qin law, instead of disobeying the King of Qin's orders. Do you understand?"
The scholars were awakened by Zhu Xiang and left the banquet in a daze. They cried bitterly when they returned home, secretly cursing the Qin State for being barbaric and the Qin King for being tyrannical and unkind.
How could the Qin State, which treated scholars like this, unify the world? Isn't this a tyrant like Xia Jie and Shang Zhou
"Uncle, is this what you call appeasement?" Ying Xiaozheng found out that Zhu Xiang was not angry, and he started to tremble again. He came to Zhu Xiang to point fingers at him, saying that Zhu Xiang did not do well enough.
Zhu Xiang ruffled Ying Xiaozheng's hair and said, "Of course it counts. I first gave them sweet dates and pardoned the family members of the criminals who were originally exiled. Then I told them that they are now Qin people and must abide by Qin's rules. There are many examples of those who don't abide by Qin."
Ying Xiaozheng held his head and blocked Zhu Xiang's rebellious hands: "This is not appeasement, it is a threat. If uncle threatens them, will it be detrimental to his reputation?"
Zhu Xiang laughed: "How can a person like me who hangs out with the peasants have any reputation? When they talk about my reputation, I wonder how much they despise me behind my back. It's just because I have a high status, the full support of the King of Qin, and there are many magical legends, they dare not scold me openly."
Zhu Xiang patted Ying Xiaozheng's messy hair and said, "I don't have any reputation, and I don't care about it. Zheng'er, don't be swayed by false reputation in the future."
Ying Xiaozheng said in a dignified manner, "Okay. Alas, why do you want to lecture me when you are talking? Uncle, you are so long-winded."
Zhu Xiang was speechless.
Is it true that his little nephew is only a little emperor when he is not around, and is usually just an annoying and naughty kid
You are already twelve years old, be more mature. Gan Luo, who was twelve years old, became a prime minister!
Ying Xiaozheng said that he was very mature, at least much more mature than his uncle and father who quarreled every day.
Ying Xiaozheng didn’t understand why his uncle and father had so many quarrels every day. Aren’t they tired
Ying Xiaozheng quietly said to Li Si, Han Fei and Meng Tian: "My uncle and my father together are only five years old, no more."
Li Si, Han Fei and Meng Tian had stiff expressions, not wanting to hear Prince Zheng speak ill of their uncle and father.
When Zhu Xiang was appeasing the scholars of Wu County, he rejected Chunshen Jun's visiting letters several times on the grounds of being busy with official duties.
Zhu Xiang was not rude and asked Ying Xiaozheng to receive Chunshen Jun. Ying Xiaozheng even visited Chunshen Jun several times to ask Chunshen Jun about the general situation of the world, giving Chunshen Jun a lot of face.
The status of Qin Gongzi Zheng was higher than that of Changping Jun Zhu Xiang. What's more, Ying Xiaozheng asked him for advice.
Seeing that Zhu Xiang had been refusing to meet him, Chunshen Jun became more and more certain that Crown Prince Zichu might not have recovered from his injuries.
What Chunshen Jun is most puzzled about now is that Crown Prince Zichu’s injuries have not yet healed and he is in such danger, why did he travel thousands of miles to Wujun
Crown Prince Zichu should return to Xianyang immediately to recuperate.
One of Chunshen Jun's retainers speculated, "Perhaps it is because Crown Prince Zichu is about to die that he came to Wujun. In the south of Chu there are Li Mu and Meng Wu, both of whom support Crown Prince Zichu. If he dies in Xianyang, I'm afraid everything will end; but if he comes to the south, he can make arrangements for Qin Gongzi Zheng to rebel before he dies."
Chunshen Jun thought it made sense.
The only doubt about this speculation is that, given Zhu Xiang's character, he does not seem like someone who would commit treason.
Even if the one who wanted to rebel was his nephew.
"Zhu Xiang would rather be killed than rebel. His moral character does not allow him to do so." Chunshen Jun said, "I am worried that Crown Prince Zichu is just setting a trap for the Qin princes in Xianyang who want to take away the crown prince's position."
The servant said, "As long as the master sees the crown prince Qin, he will know whether his injuries are too serious."
Chunshen Jun sighed. It was an "open secret" that the Crown Prince of Qin had come to Wujun. An open secret was still a secret, so he could not directly hand over a visiting card to the Crown Prince Zichu.
When will Zhu Xiang accept his invitation? Will it keep dragging on
Chunshen Jun did not dare to leave the State of Chu for a long time.
He was a new noble. The old feudal lords of Chu hated him and did not want him to hold the position of prime minister. If he left Chu for too long, the king of Chu would be filled with slander against him.
He waited another ten days. If Zhu Xiang still ignored him, he would have no choice but to go back in shame.
Are they going to block Zhu Xiang's carriage
Just when Chunshen Jun was considering whether to humiliate himself and block Zhu Xiang on the road, Zhu Xiang finally made an appointment with him to meet.
Chunshen Jun felt relieved but also worried. Could it be that Crown Prince Zichu's injury had improved
This is not good news.
Zhu Xiang ignored Chunshen Jun not because he was putting pressure on him, but because he was too busy.
Ying Xiaozheng enjoyed killing people, but after he killed all the local tyrants, Wu County was almost empty of officials.
As we all know, local clerks are almost all local scholars, and local tyrants have absorbed most of the scholars. Ying Xiaozheng overthrew the tyrants of Wu County, which was equivalent to overthrowing the officialdom of Wu County.
Zhu Xiang looked at Ying Xiaozheng and somehow thought of Zhu Yuanzhang.
This is what happened to Zhu Yuanzhang after he killed half of the court, and he took full responsibility for everything.
Are all you “tyrants” the same
Ying Xiaozheng insisted that he could be full of energy with only two or three hours of sleep a day, and even without sleep for several days in a row. This little government affairs was not enough for him.
Zhu Xiang said, "You have no problem at all, go and have a rest," and reluctantly took on Ying Xiaozheng's overly heavy government affairs and began to select new minor officials.
If there are not enough officials in Wu County, then we will recruit people from Qianzhong County and Nan County.
Otherwise, you can also snatch people from the north.
Although there will definitely be many spies when the clerk team is expanded this time, it doesn't matter, as long as we can get the job done.
With Wujun's current control over grassroots administration, it doesn't matter if the petty officials are rebellious. Zhu Xiang only requires them to be able to do their job.
Even if they are not spies, they may not do their job well, so it doesn't matter. Petty officials can't get any confidential information, and as long as Qin is not in chaos, petty officials who are spies can't do anything.
Only after Zhu Xiang had filled half of the vacancies of the clerical clerks did he have time to meet Chunshen Jun.
When Chunshen Jun saw Zhu Xiang's extremely dark circles under his eyes, he couldn't help but hesitate again.
Could it be that Crown Prince Zichu’s condition was indeed not good, which was why Zhu Xiang looked so haggard
"There are a lot of things going on in Wu County. I haven't had a rest for several days. I don't look good. I am sorry to have made a fool of myself in front of Lord Chunshen." Zhu Xiang bowed.
Chunshen Jun hurriedly said: "There is nothing rude about this. It is rude for me to visit Changping Jun when he is busy."
Zhu Xiang asked, "What is it that Chunshen Jun came to see me for?"
Chunshen Jun made an excuse.
His excuse for coming here was cotton planting. Seeing that Chunshen Jun had prepared this excuse very well, Zhu Xiang pretended to believe it and talked to Chunshen Jun about the problems that might be encountered in the cotton planting process.
Chunshen Jun sighed: "I used cotton cloth. Cotton cloth and cotton are indeed good things. In winter, cotton is stuffed into the quilt, which is much warmer than dry grass. Changping Jun has created a great merit again."
Zhu Xiang frowned and said, "The cotton is there. I just found it and taught the farmers how to grow it. It's not a big merit."
Chunshen Jun smiled and said, "That's not true. God puts gifts on the ground, and someone has to pick them up to be considered a real gift. Otherwise, they are just weeds."
Zhu Xiang said, "Chun Shenjun is overpraising you."
After they exchanged pleasantries, Chunshen Jun turned the topic to the Crown Prince of Qin.
Chunshen Jun asked: "I heard that the Crown Prince of Qin came to Nanchu?"
Zhu Xiang said: "It's Nan Qin."
Chunshen Jun did not answer, and Zhu Xiang did not dwell on the matter.
"Crown Prince Zichu is indeed in Wujun." Zhu Xiang said calmly, "It turns out that Chunshen Jun has been staying in Wujun not to wait for me, but to wait for Crown Prince Zichu."
Chunshen Jun said: "Of course I am here to wait for Changping Jun. It's just a coincidence."
Zhu Xiang smiled but said nothing.
Chunshen Jun looked at Zhu Xiang's smile and had the illusion that Zhu Xiang saw through him.
But now that he's here, there's no reason to retreat.
Chunshen Jun asked, "Can Changping Jun introduce me to someone?"
Zhu Xiang asked, "What do you want to see Crown Prince Zichu for?"
Chunshen Jun said: "Crown Prince Zichu acknowledges Queen Huayang as his mother, which means he is related to the State of Chu. I think he might also be willing to meet the people of Chu."
Ying Xiaozheng, who was eavesdropping against the wall, raised his eyebrows and glared at his biological father who was eavesdropping with him.
Zichu knocked Ying Xiaozheng on the head.
Although he didn't know what Ying Xiaozheng was glaring at, he just had to suppress him back.
Zhu Xiang laughed: "Do you believe this?"
Chunshen Jun said: "I believe it, how can I not believe it?"
Zhu Xiang looked at Chunshen Jun with a smile.
Chunshen Jun looked at Zhu Xiang calmly.
After a while, Zhu Xiang ended his eye-glaring contest with Chunshen Jun and said, "If you want to see Crown Prince Zichu, I will introduce you to him. As for whether he will see you or not, I don't know."
Chunshen Jun said confidently: "When Crown Prince Zichu hears that I have learned that he is coming to Wujun, he will definitely come to see me."
Whether Prince Zichu was really injured or pretending to be injured, he needed an "outsider" to help him pass on the message. So Chunshen Jun was confident that Prince Zichu would not refuse to see him.
Ying Xiaozheng mouthed to Zichu: Reject, reject him!
Zichu gave Ying Xiaozheng a cold look.
Zhu Xiang smiled and said, "Since you said so, I guess he will come to see you."
Zhu Xiang thought, according to common sense, he should indeed meet you. But Xia Tong is sometimes particularly bad-tempered, especially when someone is backing him up, so he might really refuse to meet Chunshen Jun because of "What? You said I would definitely meet you?"
If it were Zheng'er, he would definitely do the same.
After Chunshen Jun got the answer he wanted, he left the county magistrate's office.
Zichu and Ying Xiaozheng, one big and one small, walked out from the corner with their hands behind their backs.
Ying Xiaozheng said with a stern face: "He said to meet? Who is he? Father, don't meet him! If you meet him, it means that the Crown Prince of Qin is following the orders of Chunshen Jun of Chu!"
Zichu said, "I'm not as childish as you."
He paused, then said, "But I really don't need to see him."
Zhu Xiang glanced at the father and son and said, "It is still necessary for them to meet. How can you set a trap for him if you don't meet him?"
Zichu sat down and said, "What's the point of setting a trap? I have no use for him."
Ying Xiaozheng also said: "Yes, there is no place to use it."
Zhu Xiang said: "Yes. Let him know the truth, so that he will persuade the King of Chu not to act rashly. But if the old feudal lords of Chu think that you are in trouble, then he will stand on the opposite side of the old nobles of Chu. And the King of Chu should believe him."
Zichu said: "Well, since you said so. But Chunshen Jun is very timid, and I'm afraid he can't bear the burden of arousing the desire of the Chu nobles to split Chu."
Zhu Xiang shook his head: "It's not about whether he does it or not, but whether others say he does it or not. Three people make a tiger."
Zichu and Ying Xiaozheng thought of the story of three people making a tiger, and couldn't help but reveal a very similar smile.
Ying Xiaozheng said: "But he may be too timid and retreat in the face of battle. If he resigns and retires, I'm afraid all the efforts we have put into him will be in vain."
Zhu Xiang said: "No, he won't retreat."
Zhu Xiang sighed and said, "He worked so hard to climb up from an ordinary scholar to the position of Ling Yin. Even if he died in the position of Ling Yin, he would not retreat. All his concessions were to maintain his position. If he retreated, it would be putting the cart before the horse."
Zichu's eyes twinkled: "Indeed."
He felt the same way.
Ying Xiaozheng thought for a moment and said, "Well, maybe that's the case. But I still think that his ability is not enough."
Zhu Xiang said: "Then give him a few more feudal lords as allies. If those allies also think that he wants to reform and are willing to recognize him as their leader, everything will be settled."
Zichu thought for a moment and said, "There were six families competing for the position of Prime Minister of Chu. Now there are only three left. We can promote the remaining three families."
Ying Xiaozheng said: "The State of Chu also has new lords who were appointed because of their prowess in battle. Those lords have probably been dissatisfied with the old lords for a long time, so they can also be used."
Zhu Xiang said: "I have taken the lead, you guys can decide who to choose."
Zhu Xiang rubbed his dark circles and yawned, "I'm almost dying of sleepiness. Next, Xia Tong, you will meet with Chunshen Jun by yourself. You two can figure out how to deal with it."
Ying Xiaozheng said: "Can I cancel my nap?"
Zhu Xiang scolded, "I told you to take a nap, but it's like asking you to die. Why can't you just take a good rest? Xia Tong, you too!"
Zichu covered his ears.
Zhu Xiang is good in every way except that he is too talkative.
Ying Xiaozheng also covered his ears.
That’s right, my uncle is good in every way except that he is too nagging.
so annoying.
Zhu Xiang was so angry at these two people that he laughed.
What does it mean to be a father and son
(End of this chapter)