January passes and February begins, and the coldest season of the year passes quietly.
In the governor's mansion, Bai Yan and Yang Duanhe knelt down in the study and looked at the bamboo slips presented by various cities in Yanmen County. They not only recorded the situation of the cities in detail, but also recorded the situation in the cities.
The number of people who freeze to death during winter.
It is not uncommon for people to freeze to death. Every year after the onset of winter, people freeze to death in many places. After reporting these in Xianyang, Xianyang can have a general understanding of the situation in the local counties.
This is not the second time that Bai Yan has counted this kind of thing. Compared with the situation after last year's cold winter, the situation in Yanmen this year is infinitely better.
When Bai Yan took over Yanmen, the people in Yanmen had no food at all, and they all relied on relief. During the winter, food was difficult, and countless people gnawed tree bark. After the winter passed, they froze to death.
The number of people there made Bai Yan tremble with fear.
Looking at the bamboo slips at this time, in terms of the number of people, it was already many times better.
but
There are still many people who have frozen to death.
"General!"
A trusted soldier held a bamboo slip and then came to Bai Yan's side.
Bai Yan took the bamboo slip, opened it, read it, and handed it to Mr. Yang after reading it.
"Although the Zhao region suffered from severe drought for many years in the past, the Yan State was also affected. Now that the Yan State has been besieged for several months, the city's food reserves must have been exhausted!"
Bai Yan said to Mr. Yang.
Although when Qin attacked Yan, the most important thing to pay attention to was the Qin army stationed in Gaotang. However, Wang Jian also sent a letter to Bai Yan privately, worried that if something happened once he attacked Yan, Bai Yan would be able to lead the troops to help Yanmen.
The army of Qin.
Bai Yan naturally understood what Wang Jian meant, Donghu from the north!
"I heard some time ago that some Confucian scholars from the Yan State were in front of the Linzi Palace and yelled at the King of Qi for not saving him. Speaking of which, the King of Qi was also wronged."
Bai Yan said.
For other things, Bai Yan didn't know the specific situation, but now here in Yan State, King Qi really can't be blamed.
After the Five Kingdoms conquered Qi, the generals of the Chu State outside the Five Kingdoms killed the King of Chu. Although the Qi State was restored, the Qi State after the restoration had a grudge in its heart. Later, the Zhao State lost to Qin and made up for it with Qi. This directly
He sent troops to the east to capture the Gaotang area of Qi State and brought dozens of cities with the most fertile land into Zhao State's territory. This move also completely cut off the border area between Qi State and Yan State.
Nowadays, not to mention the King of Qi, even those nobles in Qi who are determined to resist Qin have no way to stop them from Gaotang where the Qin army is stationed.
As for those Confucian scholars in Qi State who were short-tongued, they naturally would not scold the nobles of Qi State, so they could only look at the King of Qi with complaints, resenting that Qi State was willing to send troops to attack Qin State.
"If there are no accidents, the Yan Kingdom will be destroyed soon."
After Yang Duanhe read the bamboo slips, he nodded in agreement with Bai Yan's words.
After finishing speaking, Yang Duanhe and Bai Yan discussed the situation in Donghu. The most important thing to watch out for right now is Donghu. After all, no one knows what will happen to the Yan State in the battle between trapped beasts.
After a while, another soldier came to Bai Yan and said something. When Mr. Yang saw this, he asked Bai Yan to go back and deal with important matters first.
Bai Yan nodded.
After saying goodbye and leaving the governor's mansion, Bai Yan took a carriage and came to Lu's Restaurant.
"County Lieutenant!"
A servant had been waiting outside the restaurant door for a long time. When he saw Bai Yan, he quickly greeted him.
After entering the restaurant, since Bai Yan arrived earlier, there were not many guests in the restaurant yet. Several waiters were wiping the wooden tables and the exquisite wall panels in the aisle.
"pity!"
Bai Yan was walking when he saw Cen Qing protecting a stumbling child and stopped.
Cen Qing also saw Bai Yan at this time, and quickly stood up and stood on the spot, clasping her hands together. The child, who was obviously not very skilled at walking, also slowly came to Bai Yan's feet.
Looking at Cen Qing who lowered her head and said nothing, Bai Yan knelt down and looked at the particularly cute child in front of him.
Seriously speaking, Bai Yan is still her brother-in-law.
Seeing that the child seemed to like him very much, Bai Yan squatted down and teased the child for a while, then stood up and followed the servant towards the private room.
In the private room, a man in his twenties and two men in their thirties were already admiring the graceful dancing of the Zhao women and listening to Zhao's tunes. When they saw the door of the private room being pushed open,
The three of them turned their heads to look.
When they saw five or six Qin soldiers following Bai Yan, who was wearing Qin official uniform, the three of them were immediately stunned. Then they quickly stood up and raised their hands to salute Bai Yan. The women who were dancing also stopped one after another.
Come down.
"Zhuo Zicheng meets Lieutenant Bai Jun!"
"Fu Zhi pays homage to Commander Bai!"
"Tai Gao meets Bai Junwei!"
When the three of them saw Bai Yan, their expressions were full of nervousness. No matter whether it was words or actions, they did not dare to be disrespectful in the slightest.
"Bai Yan has met three of them!"
Bai Yan raised his hand to return the salute, then extended his hand to indicate that he should continue sitting down: "Please!"
When the three of them saw this, they all raised their hands to Bai Yan again, but they did not actually sit down. Instead, they waited for Bai Yan to take his seat before they sat down.
In the private room.
The dancing woman had given way. Bai Yan walked through and came to the wooden table that had been left at the top of the private room. He slowly knelt down and sat down. Several close friends were standing in various corners of the private room.
Looking at the table in front of him of good wine and good food, including six or seven kinds of meat, Bai Yan rarely spends so extravagantly in a restaurant. He recalled that not long ago he saw people dying of freezing and starvation in other places in the county.
The huge contrast made Bai Yan sigh in his heart.
"Go down first!"
Bai Yan raised his head and looked at the dancing women in the restaurant, and whispered instructions.
Soon, all the women in the private room, including the piano player, left the private room one after another. Cen Qing also happened to come to the private room at this time. After seeing the women leaving, she slowly came to Bai Yan's side and fell for Bai Yan.
liquor.
Seeing that Bai Yan didn't let her out, Cen Qing breathed a sigh of relief.
"The three of you have worked tirelessly and come all the way to Yanmen. Bai Yan would like to toast you all to express his apology!"
Bai Yan picked up the newly filled wine baron on the wooden table with both hands and toasted to the three of them.
Zhuo Zicheng, Fu Zhi, and Tai Gao naturally did not dare to neglect Bai Yan's toast, and they all raised their wine glasses in return.
"There is no such thing as hard work!"
Following the courtesy, they drank a glass of fine wine and put down the wine glass. The three of them all sat upright and looked at Bai Yan.
Among the three, Fu Zhi is a descendant of the Fu family in Zhongren City, Tai Gao is a clan member of the Tai family in Shu and Tai Jing, and the youngest Zhuo Zicheng is the son of the Jia Zhuo family who was the richest man in the country of Zhao.
In terms of wealthy businessmen in Zhao State, no one can match Guo Zong. After Guo Zong, there is the Zhuo family. The Zhuo family is also like Guo Zong, starting from iron ore. However, the difference between the Zhuo family and Guo Zong is that the Zhuo family
After several generations of continuous exploration, it has already possessed cast iron technology that far exceeds that of Guo Zong, which even Guo Zong cannot match.
Previously, when the Qin State besieged the Zhao State's Handan, the Zhuo family spent all their wealth during the three-year "Handan War" to help the Zhao State defend Handan.
Then for decades, he continued to help Zhao State resist Qin State. Such actions also caused the Zhuo family to become a criminal after Handan was conquered by Qin State. According to Qin law, he was sent to the remote Shu land.
Zhuo Zicheng is the son of the couple.
"I wonder if Commander Bai summoned Zicheng this time, but he has something to give?"
Zhuo Zicheng looked at Bai Yan with a somewhat uneasy expression. Before the Qin State conquered Handan, Zhuo Zicheng was a famous disciple in Handan City. Not to mention eating and drinking, he would go to restaurants. Not only was he always in the presence of beauties, and the dancers were there to entertain him, the banquet was
When making friends, he does not hesitate to spend money.
Likewise, Zhuo Zicheng, who had never been to a battlefield and had never killed anyone, when he saw Bai Yan, who was also young, did not dare to meet Bai Yan's eyes.
Zhuo Zicheng always felt that Bai Yan's eyes were scary.
"Yes! If Lieutenant Bai is in need, all he has to do is ask, and the three of us will die without mercy!"
Tai Gao glanced at Zhuo Zicheng, then smiled and echoed, raising his hand to salute Bai Yan.
Speaking of which, Tai Gao couldn't help but feel lucky. If it hadn't been for Bai Yan's secret letter, the Tai family wouldn't have noticed the Zhuo family at all. Fortunately, thanks to Bai Yan's secret letter, now the Zhuo family has found iron ore again.
Shan, the Tai family also followed suit and made a fortune.
Who would have thought that Zhuo, who seemed to be a kind-hearted person, was a shady person. Although Zhuo didn't say it, based on the current situation, I'm afraid that a long time ago, before the Qin Kingdom was destroyed, Zhuo
He already had a premonition of his fate, so he paid attention to the place of Qin's exile very early, and finally learned that there were many mines in a remote and wild place in Shu, which was beyond the reach of even the King of Qin.
Everyone in the world is rumored that Zhuo and his wife knew their fate early in the morning and dispersed their clan members and all their servants and maids, leaving only the couple in the mansion.
In fact, this incident is just an illusion. The Zhuo family members have already arranged their place. As for when they went to Shu, the Zhuo family bribed officials and dreamed of immortals. They were also lies. You must know that all the money was lost.
The Zhuo family, which was confiscated by the Qin State, could still afford two to three hundred gold after arriving in Shu.
In the private room.
Bai Yan glanced at Tai Gao, then looked at Fu Zhi and Zhuo Zicheng, thinking for a few breaths.
"To be honest with you three, Bai Yan wants to buy iron ore from these three people, which is rich in iron armor!"
When Bai Yan said this, he looked at the three people in front of him calmly.
Bai Yan had plans for heavy cavalry, iron pawns, and these powerful weapons very early on. Not only did Bai Yan inform Ying Zheng of this matter in a letter, but he also personally talked to Ying Zheng during his stay in Xianyang and told Ying Zheng that
The purpose is to fight against the Chu State.
Looking at the world, the only way to smelt iron ore is to strengthen Zhao. With the strength of Zhao, attacking the shield of Chu will be powerful~!
Later, with Ying Zheng's consent, Bai Yan secretly ordered people to speed up the construction of armor and cavalry while hiding the matter. Even when he received the order to dispatch Bai's cavalry to Yishui, Bai Yan did not
Let the iron cavalry take them there, and when the Xiongnu army went south, the side cavalry fought fiercely in the clouds, but Bai Yan did not use his iron armor.
Bai Yan didn't know much about the Chu State, but the only certainty was that the Chu State could pull out at least 600,000 Chu troops, and the vast Chu State would never be short of troops as long as it had a little time to live.
troops.
It was like this when Qin and Chu fought, it was like this when Chu was destroyed, and it was like this in later generations.
Therefore, if there is really a war with Chu State, apart from Chu State's national power, the most important thing to note is Chu State's continuous military superiority.
Bai Yan is not Wang Jian, Bai Yan is not sure that there will be no surprises, not to mention that even just in case, Bai Yan needs heavy riding and iron armor.
What is helpless is that the speed of forging iron armor has always been very slow. More than a year has passed, and the quantity of iron armor still cannot meet Bai Yan's requirements.
"armor!!!"
Not to mention Zhuo Zicheng and Fu Zhi, even Tai Gao opened his eyes wide when he heard Bai Yan's words and looked at Bai Yan in disbelief.
You must know that not only iron armor, but also privately owned iron swords are against Qin law.
"Lieutenant Bai, iron armor is strictly prohibited."
Tai Gao swallowed his saliva and looked at Bai Yan and smiled. However, despite his panic, his smile lasted only two breaths before he returned to his frightened look.
"Not to mention you, but the clansmen behind you, how many things have happened to offend Qin officials in the past?"
When Bai Yan heard Tai Gao's words, he glanced at the three of them inadvertently.
Bai Yan did not tell what Ying Zheng agreed to. Bai Yan would hide this matter from everyone. If someone betrayed him on the way, Bai Yan would also know who it was. Besides, compared to telling what happened between Ying Zheng and him, it would be better for these three
From now on, the noble clans have nothing to fear, and Bai Yan hopes to cooperate with each other for profit, which makes the three noble clans full of fear. They also think that by seizing Bai Yan's leverage, everyone will be in the same boat in the future.
Tai Jing has already sent a letter to the Zhuo family about the scale of smelting. Bai Yan knows how many armors the Zhuo family can produce every month, not to mention the Fu family in Zhongren City.
As long as these three people agree, Bai Yan will benefit these three noble families.
But if he doesn't agree, then it will be these three noble families who will regret it. Bai Yan has enough ability and confidence to make these three noble families lose everything in front of them in an instant and become nothing.
"this!"
Tai Gao, Zhuo Zicheng, and Fu Zhi looked at each other, but they couldn't tell what Bai Yan meant. Looking at Bai Yan's calm look, the three of them were so nervous that they couldn't breathe, and their eyes were full of worry.
This is no small matter!
The most important thing is that they don't know why Bai Yan wants to cast iron armor in private. What exactly does Bai Yan want to do?
Thinking of this, the three of them looked at the sword-wielding soldiers standing in the corner of the private room with some fear.
Even Zhuo Zicheng couldn't help but secretly look at Bai Yan, who seemed to be thinking about something while Cen Qing was pouring wine, with doubts in his eyes.
Xianyang, Qin State.
In the palace, with the end of the next dynasty, Ying Zheng returned to the study day after day, dealing with the bamboo slips weighing two stones.
Meng Yi was still at the side, presenting the bamboo slips to Ying Zheng. After Ying Zheng had finished handling them, he took them to the wooden frame and placed them on them.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty Yao Jia has returned to Xianyang and is waiting outside the palace gate."
A eunuch hurriedly came to Ying Zheng to report.
When Ying Zheng heard this, he quickly asked the eunuch to bring Yao Jia in. When he thought of something, Ying Zheng turned his head and glanced at Meng Yi. This time, Ying Zheng did not let Meng Yi leave. Instead, he asked Meng Yi to go to the wooden frame and take whatever he wanted.
After a period of time, a bamboo slip was sent from Qi State.
"Kings!"
After a while, Yao Jia came to the study in a hurry and bowed to Ying Zheng.
"Yao Shangqing is finally back. I have been waiting for him day and night!"
When Ying Zheng saw Yao Jia, he sighed with emotion. After waiting for so long, he was finally expecting Yao Jia to come back.
When Yao Jia heard what Ying Zheng said, a smile appeared on his slightly fat cheeks and he saluted Ying Zheng.
"It is a great honor for me to have the king miss you so much!"
Yao Jia said gratefully, as a minister, it is a happy thing to be able to serve the king and be recognized by the king.
"Does Yao Shangqing know why I hurriedly asked Shangqing to return to Qin?"
Ying Zheng had already put down the bamboo slips at this time, asked the maid to bring the seat, and then looked at Yao Jia.
Seeing this, Yao Jia bowed gratefully to Ying Zheng, then came to Ying Zheng's wooden table, slowly sat down on his knees, looked at Ying Zheng, and then glanced at Meng Yi who was standing behind Ying Zheng.
"Your Majesty, you want to find the old man riding the bull?"
Yao Jia turned his eyes back to Ying Zheng and asked.
When he was in Chu State, Yao Jia heard about what happened in Qi State. Even because it happened in Tian Mansion and many nobles happened to be present, Yao Jia even knew about it earlier than Ying Zheng.
Regarding that rumor, Yao Jia couldn't say for sure. After all, Yao Jia had not seen the rumored bamboo slips with his own eyes, and he didn't know if there really was an old man riding a bull.
"yes!"
When Ying Zheng thought about the rumors about Qi, his eyes were full of fire, and his longing eyes were not hidden at all.
But just as Ying Zheng was speaking, Han Ye outside the study suddenly came hurriedly holding a scroll of bamboo slips.
"Your Majesty, the bamboo slips sent by Qi State!"
Under Yao Jia's gaze, Han Ye held the bamboo slips in both hands, came to the wooden table, and handed the bamboo slips to Ying Zheng.
When Ying Zheng heard that it was another bamboo slip sent from Qi State, he quickly picked it up carefully, opened it and looked at the contents. Even Yao Jia was not as important as the bamboo slip. It can be seen that in Ying Zheng's heart, what is the status of the old man riding the bull?
How important.
"Your Majesty, as far as a humble minister is concerned, rumors are just rumors after all. Your Majesty, you must not have high hopes!"
Before Yao Jia came to the palace, he had a premonition from Ying Zheng's edict that Ying Zheng was eager to see the rumored old man. However, when he saw Ying Zheng's appearance in front of his eyes, Yao Jia knew what Ying Zheng's expectations were. I'm afraid
It also exceeded his expectations.
Because of this, Yao Jia just frowned slightly and reminded Ying Zheng with some worry, in case this was a false rumor.
"Wonderful~! Color, big color!!! Color!!!!"
Suddenly, under the gaze of Yao Jia, Ying Zheng looked at the bamboo slips and suddenly shouted loudly and even stood up in excitement.
This move surprised Yao Jia, and even Meng Yi was caught off guard. He looked at Ying Zheng in confusion, not knowing what was in the bamboo slips that could make Ying Zheng so excited.
"Cai! What a great talent! I must meet this old gentleman!"
Ying Zheng walked back and forth, holding the bamboo slips and looking at them lovingly, his hands trembling slightly under his excitement.
"Yao Jia! I must see the old man riding the bull!"
After Ying Zheng read it, he stopped and looked at Yao Jia with his eyes wide open, his tone unprecedented solemn.
"Promise! I will do my best to find this person for the king!"
Although Yao Jia didn't know why, he still bowed his hand to Ying Zheng.
"Your Majesty! When I was in the Kingdom of Chu, I heard that the old man was praised by the world. He was said to be a great man. Now I finally see that the king has the old man's book."
Yao Jia thought for a while, looked at Ying Zheng with some doubts, cupped his hands and stretched out his hand to face the bamboo slips in Ying Zheng's hand.
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, could you let me take a look at the old gentleman's books?"
Yao Jia requested.
Yao Jia really didn't understand why the old man was so praised in the rumors, why everyone said that the old man had the ability to govern the world, and why even Ying Zheng was so obsessed with him, even to the point of going crazy.
"Can!"
Ying Zheng saw Yao Jia's curiosity and a smile on his excited face, and then handed the bamboo slip to Yao Jia.
This move undoubtedly revealed Ying Zheng's trust in Yao Jia.
In front of wooden table.
Yao Jia took the bamboo slips handed over by Ying Zheng with both hands, slowly opened them, and slowly started to read them. At first, he looked expectantly and curiously, but as he continued to read, Yao Jia's eyes gradually became serious and solemn. Later,
became panicked.
"Kings!"
After Yao Jia read the bamboo slips, his face turned pale, and he looked at Ying Zheng at a loss, with shock in his eyes.
He finally understood why Ying Zhenghui was so excited when people all over the world complimented the old gentleman so much.
Although this bamboo slip contains a story, many places reveal a system that has never existed in today's world.
Filial piety and integrity inspection system!!!
Every year, prefectures and counties select some scholars to go to the royal palace where the power center is located. After verification, they will be selected as the masters. They will then stay in the palace to be taught by the learned scholars of the palace. After being evaluated by the king, these scholars will be transferred to various places.
In a county, the county governor, county officials and other officials are all appointed by the court, and the appointed officials cannot be from the local counties, while the remaining officials under the county and county officials must all be
Call locals to serve, and those who serve.
Selection and recommendation like this should be done once a year.
In the study room.
Yao Jia held the bamboo slips and looked at them blankly, his expression dull.
From the Zhou royal family, the princes were enfeoffed, and after the princes, there were ministers and husbands. From then on, in addition to the king, the son of the minister inherited the minister's position, and the son of the official inherited the husband's position. This system of blood inheritance continues to this day.
This system was an extremely serious threat to the king, and the once powerful Jin State perished because of it.
Then it was not until the Qin State completely derived another system, the military merit title system, that the Qin State became completely powerful, and the military merit title system was also broken and replaced by the original blood inheritance.
In addition to bringing hope to the people of the Qin State, the benefits of this military title system also continuously weakened the rights of the gentry. After all, in the Qin State, except for the title of marquis for this king, the other titles were generals, nobles, ministers, etc.
In the future, his son will only be the husband's heir, and the second son will have no choice but to have no change. The other heirs will all have hairpins, and the title will be the heirs of the husband, and they will be descended step by step.
For kings, this system is far better than the blood inheritance of nobles. Shang Yang, who originally formulated the military merit title system, offended countless old nobles because of this, and was eventually torn apart.
However, this military merit title system is not without its disadvantages, which is that the Qin Dynasty's court became a court extended by the military merit title system. The ministers in the court are all military meritorious nobles who hold military power, such as the Wang family, the Li family, and the Yang family.
Clan, Meng clan and many other noble clans with military merits.
In the Qin State, in addition to the King of Qin, the military elites firmly controlled all the rights of the Qin State, whether inside or outside the court.
Most people also have the option of pursuing a military-only title system.
But now.
The bamboo slips in Yao Jia's hand vaguely revealed another system, a system that once again broke the monopoly of military merit.
Just like Shang Yang broke the monopoly inherited by the bloodline of the old gentry in the past, it will definitely break the interests of the military gentry. The most direct thing is that all the high officials in the court in the past are no longer the children of the military gentry.
"Your Majesty, this matter must not be carried out in Qin!"
Yao Jia thought of something, his face was pale, and his eyes, still in shock, suddenly looked at Ying Zheng with worry.
Now that the Qin State was about to conquer the Six Kingdoms, Yao Jia knew that he must not implement this brand-new system rashly, otherwise the entire Qin State would be shaken to its foundation.
Although Yao Jia knew that once the Qin State implemented this system, it would be a transformation, a brand-new transformation, for both the king and the country.
"Yao Shangqing, I naturally know the pros and cons, so you can rest assured!"
Ying Zheng looked at Yao Jia and said with a smile, his eyes full of fire.
Ying Zheng is not stupid. It is naturally impossible for Ying Zheng to destabilize the state of Qin at this time. However, this does not hinder Ying Zheng's desire for the old man. The more he understands the old man riding a bull, the more frightened Ying Zheng becomes.
Longing to see the old man.
"Mao Jiao has gone to Qi State, Yao Shangqing, this time you must find the old gentleman for me! No matter what, I must see the old gentleman with my own eyes!"
Ying Zheng looked straight at Yao Jia, his words contained unprecedented expectations, and he did not hide the desire in his heart.
He had said at the beginning that the Qin State in the future would definitely have that old man.
Now after reading this bamboo slip, although it is not suitable for the current Qin State, it makes Ying Zheng more certain. He Ying Zheng must get that old gentleman, he must!
Even if he searched to the ends of the earth and everywhere in the world, he, Ying Zheng, would still find it.
This is a system that has been continuously reproduced after going through the Qin Dynasty and the Han Dynasty after checking the information with a knife. This is the most important and significant change in the political system in history, and it is of great significance.
This is also the beginning and starting point of Qin's future transformation.
The system is not written in too much detail, it is nothing more than to break the monopoly of military merit groups and weaken the rights of military merit groups.
This system must not be proposed by Bai Yan, at least until it is changed, the world must not know that it was Bai Yan who created it.