Chapter 154 The First Emperor’s Hesitation and Troubles

Author: March

Chapter 154 The First Emperor’s Hesitation and Troubles

"I have been thinking about it recently, and the reason for the current troubles caused by bandits is nothing more than the resentment of the people. However, at the beginning of the Qin Dynasty, the six kingdoms were pacified, and there were laws suppressing them. The bandits were severely punished and rewarded, and the old nobles of the six kingdoms were barely able to survive, so they could not vent it.

, if the eviction order is forcibly implemented, cutting off the nobles' livelihood, and taking the opportunity to cause trouble, it will cause a bigger chaos than Changping Lord's rebellion against the Qin Dynasty." Li Si put down his chopsticks with a sad look on his face and thought deeply.

In the past, he looked at the country from the old path of the Shang Lord. While maintaining the stability of the nobility, he placed exploitation on the common people, and used criminal laws to strengthen the army to frighten the nobility. Naturally, he could not see the crisis of the situation.

But now that he has begun to set foot on a new road that no one has ever walked before, he can clearly see what kind of situation Da Qin is in now.

Zhao Si is right, this is a time of great strife.

It seems that the war has stopped and the smoke has dissipated, but a terrifying haze has enveloped the entire Qin Dynasty, and a greater disaster is brewing.

The nobles are famous, powerful, and wealthy, but the common people have resentments, anger, and hatred!

If there is a slight mistake and the two are connected together, it will lead to huge disasters.

"The old nobles of the Six Kingdoms don't even need to do anything. They just need to tell Li Shu and restore them to their previous taxes... I'm afraid Li Shu will win the grain and king cong." Li Si said seriously.

It’s no joke that Qin’s taxes are twenty times higher than in ancient times.

Two to one add to five, and the Qin State is half of the seeds and half of the crops.

Looking at the taxes in other countries, there is no precedent for taxes exceeding 30%.

Of course, this is only on the surface. The advantage of the Qin Dynasty is that it has strict laws and clear administration. If you are told to take 50%, it will be 50%. It will not take less, but it will not take more, and there are no other inexplicable complications.

There is no way to pay miscellaneous taxes, let alone to name them cleverly. Whatever is written in the law is what it is.

On the surface, the taxes in the Six Kingdoms are not high, but when it comes to local governments, they are not much better. In some places, the chief officials and nobles are colluding. On the surface, the taxes are only 10% to 20%, but they can drive the common people to death.

"In the past, the laws of the Qin Dynasty were strict, and the officials governed the Qingming Dynasty. The area under management was not limited to the pass, and Qin officials were enough. However, now that the world has been established, there is a serious shortage of officials. The original 50% tax, the people could barely survive, but now I am afraid that the local area has already been

The situation is in dire straits, and I am afraid that the old nobles of the Six Kingdoms, under the guise of Great Qin, will harm the interests of Great Qin, which will only bring infamy to Your Majesty. The people's anger and resentment will eventually fall on Great Qin..."

"Nowadays, the promotion of military honors can be barely maintained. I am afraid that local officials have already been corrupted. If we only rely on cultivating officials to govern without reducing taxes and corvees, and want to quell the people's anger and resentment, it will take a hundred years for the officials to rule the Qingming Dynasty." Li Si said seriously.

to excuse Zhao Si.

"Well..." The First Emperor just nodded.

This was not the first time that Zhao Si proposed reducing taxes and corvees. The First Emperor's attitude was still not clear, and he just continued to work without comment.

"This is my dereliction of duty..." Li Si lowered his hands and sighed...

The First Emperor did not answer, while Li Si lowered his head and frowned.

If you want to achieve extraordinary achievements, you must do extraordinary things.

If we proceed steadily step by step and rely on the old methods of training officials and improving official administration to govern the Qin Dynasty, it will be a matter of time. As long as the decrees are consistent, one or two wise kings after the First Emperor may not be able to quell the resentment of the people.

50% of the tax and a large amount of corvee, as long as the officials can ensure clean governance, the people will not be unable to survive. This is something that Lord Shang has already verified, and it has also been verified by the Qin Dynasty.

But Li Si obviously didn't want to wait that long.

There is really no risk in following this step by step. He only needs to do what he should do well, but equally, he will never have the chance to surpass Shang Yang, and he will never have the chance to see all this in his lifetime.

Moreover, if some troubles occur in the later generations of Great Qin, I am afraid that this time will be extended indefinitely.

The glory of Great Qin in the past covered up all this.

The wise kings of the Six Dynasties of the Qin Dynasty, not to mention how capable they were, at least they were able to maintain basic national policies and implement administrative decrees, at least the laws and orders were consistent, and they did not cause trouble to the country. At the very least, the Great Qin Dynasty was always on the upswing.

Take the First Emperor with you, and you will be the hero of the seventh generation.

Old experiences even formed a fixed mindset, making Li Si and even the First Emperor subconsciously believe that the Qin Dynasty would proceed step by step.

They only need to make a good initial plan, and then people will continue to implement it unswervingly.

But Zhao Si ruthlessly exposed all this...

Li Si buried his head in thought. He had to deal with this problem deeply, but it was not easy even for Li Si to persuade the First Emperor to relax the corvee and reduce taxes.

The title of saint and son deeply tempted Li Si, but after the relationship with the First Emperor eased, Li Si did not stop thinking of repaying his kindness with his life.

With such an arduous task, the First Emperor finally handed it over to Li Si without any hesitation, and Li Si also said that he must be my minister without any hesitation.

After more than ten years, those barriers were put aside, and the tacit understanding and trust between the monarch and his ministers seemed to have been buried, but they were never lost.

Faced with the generosity of the First Emperor, Li Si also had reasons to do all this well.

The First Emperor really had reasons and charisma that made people worthy of death.

It was so heavy that Li Si couldn't even eat. Of course, the bigger reason was that the food was really unpalatable and difficult to swallow.

At present, Li Si has long been self-taught. He eats less in the palace and cooks a small stove at home. He has already communicated with Zhao Si about his experience in this area.

It's a pity...the excuse of being worried about national affairs and not having a meal is not very useful.

After the First Emperor finished eating, he looked at the food that Zhao Si had cleaned up and the food that only two chopsticks were piled in front of Li Si. He twitched the corner of his mouth slightly and pointed at Li Si's desk.

"The food is not delicious?" the First Emperor said softly.

"I am worried about the affairs of the country. I have failed to fulfill the divine grace and made many mistakes in the past. I am not in the mood to have a meal..." Li Si spoke without telling a lie.

He is indeed reflecting on himself and whether some of his past actions are accurate. He is opening up a new path. Every day he examines himself from the previous day to check for omissions and fill in the gaps to lay the foundation for the next brand-new path.

It's true that I don't want to eat.

It's just that this art of speaking didn't work for the First Emperor. The First Emperor just nodded slightly and then a smile appeared on his face.

"Don't waste it!"

After all, Li Si couldn't fool him, so he could only empty his head and empty the food.

Zhao Si was holding back his joy on the sidelines. He had long been familiar with some of the little evil things in the life of the First Emperor.

The First Emperor always liked to show his bad taste in trivial things. He seemed to always be able to understand people's hearts. Zhao Si had long stopped playing tricks in front of the First Emperor.

Seeing that Li Si was exhausted and the little interaction was over, Zhao Si happily took the lunch box and sent it away.

It's hard to endure hardships. It's hard to endure hardships by being alone with the First Emperor. After having Li Si, the left prime minister of the Qin Dynasty, accompanying him, Zhao Si felt much more comfortable. He didn't even feel that the weight loss meal was so unpalatable.

Zhao Si turned his back and strode out, but he didn't notice that Li Si's face was lowered and facing the case, and he couldn't help but smile a little.

Li Si... and the First Emperor were once a couple who were compatible with each other. They had countless duels before the Emperor, when the First Emperor was in high spirits.

How could he not understand the little evil tastes of the First Emperor?

The food is really not delicious, but the hidden things in Li Si's heart are already ready to come out...

"Taxes...corvees..."

The First Emperor, who lowered his head, also fell into deep thought.

The current treasury of Daqin is really empty... The construction of the Hetao area requires money, the paving of Chidao requires money, the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang requires money, the construction of Afang Palace requires money, and the construction of the Baiyue area requires money. If it were not supported by high taxes,

Therefore, Da Qin is simply unable to carry out so many measures at the same time.

In the same way, there is still a battle with the Xiongnu over there in Longxi, and the 300,000 men may not be able to withdraw for a while. The construction of Qin Shihuang's Mausoleum also requires a lot of manpower, not to mention the construction of Afang Palace, the immigration construction of Baiyue, and the construction of cities.

Road communication cannot stop either.

These projects cannot be abandoned halfway...

Especially in Longxi and Baiyue, where there are millions of people in total and a large amount of grain and grass investment, once it is stopped or repeated slightly, it may lead to catastrophe and all the previous efforts will be wasted.

Da Qin really didn't have much room to reduce taxes and corvee.

There is no turning back when the bow is fired, so we can't withdraw our troops from Baiyue in Longxi now and stop construction, right?

Lowering taxes and ending corvee labor is a slippery slope that cannot be touched.

Anyone who dares to speak out in the court will be eaten alive in an instant. Longxi and Baiyue are the only areas in the Qin Dynasty that are still conquering and can continue to gain military exploits, involving two-thirds of the military aristocrats of the Qin Dynasty.

Li Si only excused Zhao Si, and he did not dare to openly raise these two matters in the court.

"So...where do taxes come from? Where do corvees come from? Where does money come from?"

There was not much room for choice for the First Emperor.

Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor...and Afang Palace...

Road communication in various places cannot be stopped, nor can the construction of channels in various places...

For the current Great Qin, the only things that stop having a particularly big impact are his mausoleum and palace...

So for the First Emperor, Zhao Si’s proposal to reduce taxes and corvees was not an offense?

This is also the reason why Zhao Si has repeatedly pointed out that the First Emperor has not expressed his position so far.

The two people in the house had different thoughts, but Zhao Si outside strode in.

Then he naturally sat down in front of the table. Of course, Zhao Si had not thought clearly about the twists and turns. What troubled him was that the First Emperor had never made his position clear.

If taxes and corvees are not reduced, everything will be stripped blind. In the final analysis, it depends on whether the First Emperor has this idea.

Li Si actually raised his head and glanced at Zhao Si, who was full of liveliness, and felt a little emotional in his heart.

"It's great to be young..."

"It's just too young..."
Chapter completed!