The people named, including Li Si, immediately stood up: "I am willing to dedicate the fields in the city to the imperial court!"
I smiled slightly and stroked the table: "You are all loyal ministers of our Great Qin, and I feel very relieved. However, as the emperor, how can I rob my ministers? Ying Jiang, when you discuss with Baichong and plan the new city, At the same time, we will replace the fields in Xianyang City and increase them by half from the original ones."
Ying Jiang and Baichong both claimed that they were, and everyone thanked them together.
What a harmonious scene of kings, saints and ministers! It almost made me cry tears of emotion!
That night, when the palace lanterns were first lit, Ying Jiang arrived at the Sihai Palace and reported in detail who occupied how many fields.
It was all as expected, and I said calmly: "You are not stupid, you all know that the fields in the city are fertile."
Ying Jiang thought of what happened during the day and wondered, "Why didn't Your Majesty let me tell you in the palace?"
I breathed a sigh of relief and leaned on the couch: "There are two reasons. First, if the clan uncle tells it directly, I'm afraid they will hate the clan uncle. After all, some people's background is not right. I won't pursue it, and they won't. Naturally, the guilt will not be too resentful; secondly, they are all three public servants and nine ministers, but they only occupied some fields, so there is no need to humiliate them in front of so many people and just return them to the court."
Ying Jiang suddenly said: "Your Majesty is wise! At that time, I only wanted to solve this matter once and for all. I didn't think much about it. Thank you for your love and care!"
I stood up and said, "We are all clan members. My clan uncle is thinking of me, so I should be thinking of my clan uncle. It's getting late, so go back and rest."
Looking at Ying Jiang's retreating back, I chuckled and walked towards the bedroom.
The defeated Northern and Southern Army is right next to my bed. I have to protect his father...
————
The days that followed were mainly about the survey of the new city, involving fire prevention, drainage, distribution of cities and towns, etc. There were many things to do, and it was estimated that it would take until spring for all the survey and design to be completed.
The construction of the Princess's Mansion started in the winter months. Ying Zheng's daughters are very sensible, and under the leadership of Ying Tao, they jointly signed a memorial requesting that the length and width of the eldest princess's mansion be halved.
Although the ministers and I were filled with emotion, no matter how frugal the court was, it could not ignore such an important matter as marrying a princess. Since the people to be married were basically important ministers, the court regulations could not be rashly changed. In the end, they decided to stop repairing the garden in the backyard and leave it to them to build it according to their own wishes.
At the beginning of winter, in the Sihai Palace, the fire was booming.
Li Si read the report from Feng Youcheng and handed it to Feng Jie.
"But I didn't expect it to be so cold north of the Great Wall this winter. Countless cattle and sheep died in Beihu due to freezing. Does Your Majesty want to agree to Zalut's request for help from Great Qin?"
Feng Jie read it, and then Zhang Han took the report and read it carefully.
I nodded: "Zarut is a chess piece I left behind to deal with the Huns. If it is allowed to perish, Da Qin will have a very difficult time facing the Huns. Nowadays, Da Qin has many projects, and they are all major events that are beneficial to the national economy and people's livelihood. They can no longer Distract your energy to deal with the Huns."
Feng Jie frowned slightly: "But Zalut has not fulfilled his agreement to trade with Great Qin within half a year. If we help him easily, I am afraid that Zalut will become arrogant and escape the control of Great Qin."
Looking at the report that Zhang Han put back on the case, I narrowed my eyes slightly and said, "This is exactly what I am worried about!"
Li Si thought for a while, then held up his hands and said: "Your Majesty, Zharut said before that the reason why Beihu failed to trade with Daqin as agreed was because Beihu was just established, and the cattle and sheep had not yet reached the scale that could trade with Daqin. Although this is because of Ha Zhusu corroborated it, but there is no conclusive evidence after all. Now that Shanggu County Sheriff has confirmed this matter again, I think I can believe it."
I stretched out my hand and leaned in front of the stove: "What Mr. Li means is that Zarut didn't lie to me?"
Li Si nodded: "If he intends to deceive His Majesty, there is no way so many people have not discovered it!"
"What does Mr. Feng think?"
Feng Jie frowned, a little undecided, and said hesitantly: "What Li Xiang said is certainly reasonable, but we don't have to be unscrupulous in seeking the country. If Zalut deceives His Majesty, it will cause huge losses to the Qin Dynasty. Besides, Donghu also needs food relief. It is a new county of Da Qin, so it should be given priority. I think we need to be cautious."
Hearing this, Li Si was also a little shaken. At that time, it cost a lot of manpower, money and food to conquer Zalut. Da Qin also helped him occupy the southern grasslands. If Zalut rebels after helping him this time, all the efforts made by Da Qin will be in vain.
I glanced at Zhang Han: "Zhang Han, please tell me."
Zhang Han cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, I only know how to fight. Although Zarut surrendered to the Qin Dynasty, he acted secretly and rebelled without any moral constraints, so I treat him as an enemy. From the perspective of the art of war, he His situation is that of a wolf in front of him and a tiger in the back. To the north is the enemy Huns who are eyeing him, and to the south is the Qin Dynasty that will annex him sooner or later. I guess that he is now in a dilemma. "
My eyes lit up: "Go on."
"Yes. If there are two evils, choose the lighter one; if there are two advantages, choose the heavier one. Not to mention that the Xiongnu is located further north in the Beihai area and suffers even more from the severe cold. Even if there is abundant water and grass, he can't get it from the Xiongnu. to get what he needs. So I think that he is more inclined to continue to submit to the Qin Dynasty. As for whether it can help him make up his mind, it just depends on how your Majesty responds to his request this time."
Then he glanced at Li Si and Feng Jie: "The worries of the two prime ministers are not unreasonable. I suggest that your majesty can agree to Zalut's request, but it cannot be attributed to him, but to Da Qin and to your majesty. Let Bei Hu knows that although Da Qin defeated Dong Hu and almost destroyed Bei Hu, Da Qin did it out of helplessness at that time. But now, Da Qin is willing to ignore the past grievances and live in peace with Bei Hu."
Li Si nodded slightly: "This is a clever plan, Lieutenant-General. This will give Zarut a reason to choose to defect to Great Qin openly. Once he chooses to coexist peacefully with Great Qin in the eyes of the world, there is no need to worry too much that he is just Secretly surrendering to the Qin Dynasty, you can rebel at any time without losing morality."
Feng Jie agreed: "That's right. First, if Zarut doesn't take this opportunity to show his kindness to Great Qin, it is almost certain that he has disobedient intentions. Secondly, Great Qin will not give out food in vain without being able to harvest it. Beihu’s kindness actually made Zalut’s wedding dress.”
I looked at Zhang Han approvingly. His analysis was exactly what most people would choose when faced with a conflict between two parties.
"Very good, then according to what Zhang Han said, the momentum must be huge, not only to let the people of the Northern Hu know the goodwill of the Qin Dynasty, but also to let the conquered people of the East Hu know the broad mind of the Qin Dynasty."
Zhang Han heard this and added: "It's just to prevent Zarut from being unable to control Beihu. After all, his foundation is still shallow. Whether he chooses to reconcile with Da Qin may not be his alone."
I smiled calmly: "Seven hundred cavalrymen reestablished Beihu's reputation. If Zarut couldn't even do this, I wouldn't have chosen him as my chess piece in the first place."
