Zhao Tuo saw the First Emperor looking at him, his expression was calm, and there seemed to be expectation in his eyes.
Everyone's eyes fell on Zhao Tuo.
He is a Marquis of Wugong, a figure who has climbed to the level of Marquis Lun by relying on the system of military merit and nobility. He is the only one in the entire Qin State. It can be said that he has enjoyed the benefits of military merit and nobility. Now he is facing the emperor's conferment of nobility.
, what kind of views will it have?
Zhao Tuo took a deep breath. Naturally, he couldn't say in public that the emperor would make a bad start by doing this, and sooner or later the system would be destroyed.
He thought for a moment, then stood up and cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, I think that the conferment of titles may have the effect of calming people's hearts and making the heads of Guizhou in the world appreciate your kindness. However, I, the Qin Dynasty, have always paid tribute to those who have meritorious service, and given land to those who have titles.
If a title is granted to the head of Guizhou in the world, the corresponding land, fields and houses must be distributed to make him grateful and virtuous."
"I don't know the exact number of Guizhou heads in the world, but I think if your Majesty grants titles to everyone, the number of recipients must be millions or more. With such a number, tens of thousands of acres of farmland and tens of millions of acres of homesteads will have to be distributed.
! I would like to ask, are there still such a large number of fields and houses in the world today?"
After the words fell, everyone's expressions changed slightly.
This is the truth.
The reason why Qin's title is precious is that it comes with rewards, which is completely different from the empty titles of Han Dynasty.
According to Qin's military merit system, he was promoted to one level of title and given a hundred acres of land and nine acres of house.
If there are one million people, the number of land granted will reach 10 million acres, and the number of homesteads will be 9 million acres.
If there are five million people, that would be 50 million acres, and 45 million acres of homestead land!
Of course, this is just an ideal number. In fact, in the later period of the unification of the Qin State, because wars were too frequent and the number of knights was too large, the number of lands and houses received by these knights after returning home was often reduced.
.
But even if it is a 50% discount based on this figure, it is still a very scary figure.
Since the Qin State began to implement the military merit worship system, it has never dealt with such a huge amount of land grants.
Even the First Emperor on the imperial couch suddenly shrank his eyes.
Zhao Hai, Wang Ben, Wang Wu and others were all discussing whether the scope of conferring titles would be too broad, whether it would shake the foundation of the military title system, and whether it would affect the soldiers' fighting spirit, but no one thought about this.
What a great Zhao Tuo, once the economic accounts were laid out, many people were really frightened.
"Your Majesty, if you cannot confer corresponding land and houses at the same time as the title, then the value of the title will be reduced. The heads of Guizhou in the world will no longer expect to receive the title, and they will even be disappointed. This approach will not only fail to reap the benefits.
Winning the hearts of the people in the world will only make the people resentful and have the opposite effect!"
Zhao Tuo's voice was low, with a feeling of heartache.
Because everything he said was true.
The First Emperor granted many titles in history, but was unable to issue corresponding rewards. As a result, by the end of the Qin Dynasty, titles were indiscriminately used. In the hometown of the Six Kingdoms, those with titles who did not change their ranks not only did not have the corresponding land, but were reduced to
Become a debtor and pay off your debts by doing hard labor.
Under such circumstances, even if the head of Guizhou had a title, it would be impossible for him to appreciate the emperor's kindness. On the contrary, it would make the title even less valuable.
"I think what Marquis Wu Gong said is true. Our Qin Dynasty has just finished defeating Beihu. There are many knights in the army. Their land has not yet been distributed. Many counties can't even come up with the corresponding land. If your Majesty is here,
Shi Guang granted me a title of nobility, but where can I find the land and the land?"
As a Taiwei, Wang Ben was responsible for the promotion of military sergeants, and he immediately echoed Zhao Tuo's words.
Zhao Hai even said unceremoniously: "However, if you grant a title without land and a house, the title system will be destroyed, and the people who receive titles in the world will also complain that your majesty is unfaithful!"
All the generals saw the situation and agreed together. For a time, there was quite a momentum in the palace.
Even Wang Wu didn't object. He was shocked by Zhao Tuo's calculation just now and thought it would be better to wait and see the situation first.
The First Emperor frowned at Lao Gao.
He said solemnly: "We, the Great Qin Dynasty, won the Northern Expedition and opened up thousands of miles of territory. There are vast fertile fields on both sides of the river. How can we say that we have no land to give? Not to mention that now our army will destroy the Yueshi, and the land is thousands of miles away.
, this is not a farm or a house! There is also Baiyue in the south, there is boundless land, and all the fields and houses you need are available!"
hiss……
Everyone took a breath of cold air.
In connection with the just-announced relocation of 50,000 households to the northern border of Xinjiang, one can vaguely guess the emperor's intentions.
Good guy, you, the emperor, actually plan to allocate the land of those who have been honored to the newly opened areas where the barbarians live. Even the Yueshi and Baiyue who have not yet been conquered are thinking about it.
Zhao Tuo's eyelids twitched. It turned out that the emperor had not settled this debt, but was too obsessed with it.
The Qin State did not have enough land, so it divided the land among the barbarians. Even before the land was conquered, they began to think of conferring nobility first.
Perhaps he also had another purpose in doing this, that is, when he moved to Qianshou and Shibian in the future, he could do it in the name of land allocation to reduce the resistance of the immigrants.
It is really a good plan to bestow titles, buy people's hearts, gain the reputation of kindness, and at the same time migrate to the country in an honest and upright manner, gaining both the name and the reality.
Zhao Tuo made this guess in his mind, and vaguely felt that something was wrong, but at this time he had no choice but to bite the bullet and speak.
"Your Majesty, if that's the case, it would be better to follow King Zhaoxiang's strategy of recruiting people to migrate to Anyi, and only grant the immigrants titles. In this way, these immigrants will feel your Majesty's kindness and happily go to northern Xinjiang. As for granting the title of the head of Guizhou in the world, we can postpone it for a while.
2. Otherwise, if everyone in the world is bestowed with titles, the immigrants’ titles will not be highlighted, and there may be complaints.”
Hearing this, Zhao Hai, Wang Ben and others also nodded and said yes, saying that the strategy of Wugong Hou had the precedent of King Zhaoxiang to follow, and that the land and house could be put into practice.
Seeing Zhao Tuo come up with a compromise method, and everyone praised it, the First Emperor's brows were still not loosened, as if he was not particularly satisfied with Zhao Tuo's answer.
This scene was seen by Li Si, the court lieutenant. All the ministers and generals opposed the emperor's conferment of titles, and even the martial arts lord Zhao Tuo personally came to the scene to offer advice.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Only Li Si did not invest in it, but observed silently. Now he was thoughtful and vaguely guessed the emperor's true thoughts. After Zhao Tuo spoke,
Afterwards, he stood up.
Li Si said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, I think what Marquis Wu Gong said is reasonable. However, your Majesty's ability to unite the barbarians under one roof must be revealed to the world, so that the leaders of Guizhou in the world will be virtuous. It is better to grant titles to immigrants who move to the frontier, and at the same time give them a slight
Taxes will be reduced or exempted for the heads of Guizhou in the world, and cattle and wine will be given to celebrate. By doing this two-pronged approach, the immigrants will get titles, lands and houses, and the heads of Guizhou in the world will also gain real benefits. They should all praise Your Majesty's kindness."
The First Emperor's brows relaxed slightly.
He was not particularly satisfied with this answer, but when he glanced around the palace and saw the achievements of many generals, from Wang Bi to Zhao Hai to the lowest, they all expressed objections. Especially Zhao Tuo and Li Si, his most trusted figures, also raised objections to this.
He is not very stubborn.
Moreover, Zhao Tuo's contribution and Li Si's supplement could, to a certain extent, help him achieve his goal.
The First Emperor said calmly: "In that case, according to what the Marquis of Wugong and the Tingwei said, the first-class title will be given to the head of Guizhou who moved to the northern Xinjiang. He will also be given cattle and wine from all over the world, and tax exemptions. The specific amount will be discussed by the ministers."
Hearing the First Emperor's concession, Zhao Tuo breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly followed Wang Ben and others to bow down and said: "Your Majesty, you are wise!"
By preventing the First Emperor from bestowing the title of Chief of Guizhou in the world, did this change history?
When Zhao Tuo raised his head, he was a little dazed, but then he woke up.
He was keenly aware that, in addition to the opposition of many generals and his compromise in granting immigrants titles, Li Si's final addition also played an important role in prompting the First Emperor to change his mind.
It seems that the First Emperor's previous insistence on granting the title of Guizhou head to everyone in the world had a deeper meaning.
Zhao Tuo didn't guess it.
But Li Si guessed it.
Zhao Tuo couldn't help but look at Li Si.
Li Si noticed the gaze and showed a meaningful smile to Zhao Tuo.
This smile made Zhao Tuo firm up his thoughts.
The First Emperor definitely had other intentions!
This idea has been lingering in Zhao Tuo's mind.
Even after he returns home from the next court, he will still be unable to forget it and still be haunted by it.
"It seems that he has been away from the court for too long. He has not been in Xianyang for more than a year. He can't even guess the emperor's thoughts. He is not as good as Li Si in this regard."
Zhao Tuo sighed secretly, but then, a person appeared in his mind.
Yes, because he had been away from Xianyang for too long, it was difficult to understand the emperor's thoughts in a short period of time, and he did not fully understand the situation in Xianyang at the moment.
But he knew someone who knew the emperor better than Li Si and was more well-informed.
"Brother Zhao Tuo, I pay my respects to my elder brother..."
Zhao Tuo wrote a letter carefully. Apart from his greetings, he did not mention anything about today's court affairs, but he left some obscure hints. He believed that the person would understand.
The letter was sent out by Zhao Tuo's cronies along with the local specialties from northern Xinjiang.
Reply very quickly.
At night, Zhao Tuo received a small note.
Zhao Tuo was sitting alone in the study, the candlelight flickering, illuminating his face in and out of light.
He looked very unhappy and picked up the note again and took a look at it.
She sighed quietly.
"What is supposed to come will come."
He reached out and placed the note in his hand on the candlelight.
The flames flickered and turned the note into ashes in the blink of an eye.
But the two seal characters on the note were deeply engraved in Zhao Tuo's heart.