He glanced at Li Si inadvertently and continued: "Some people fear power but not virtue, and some people fear virtue but not power. If Beihu still chooses to fight against Da Qin even when there are countless livestock casualties, it shows that they have no respect for both. Don’t be afraid, even if heaven wants to destroy them! If I can destroy them once, I can destroy them a second time!”
Li Si was keenly aware that I glanced at him, and the sharp look in his eyes made him feel a chill in his heart. He thought to himself: 'Did your Majesty look at me accidentally just now, or...'
No matter what Li Si was thinking, I waved my hand and said, "Go and get ready. The Great Court Meeting has just ended, and there is this year's new grain in the treasury, which can be used for these things. Remember to inquire about the population of Beihu, and the grain sent will be used for these things." As long as they don’t starve to death, don’t give them the opportunity to stock up on food.”
The three of them surrendered.
I wrote two edicts, one to Feng Youcheng, asking him to pay close attention to Zalut's movements; the other to Zalut in person, telling him Great Qin's plans, asking him to cooperate with Great Qin Haosheng, and strive for success. Complete Beihu's favorability.
Soon after, when Beihu was about to starve to death countless herdsmen, Da Qin's 500,000 stones of corn were transported to the foot of the Great Wall.
Feng Youcheng widely distributed my edict, which stated that the war between Da Qin and Beihu and Donghu was because Donghu and Beihu jointly attacked the Qin army first, and the Qin army had no choice but to fight. Now the Emperor of Da Qin is willing to make good friends with Beihu, and has specially sent 500,000 stones of corn. When the water and grass are plentiful next year and the land is full of cattle and sheep, Beihu will return livestock of the same value to Da Qin at the market price. If five hundred thousand stones of corn is not enough, Da Qin can continue to send it.
Although this statement is a bit clumsy, no matter whether the people of Beihu believe it or not, half a million shi of life-saving corn is placed in front of them. After Zalut suppressed several thorns, Beihu nominally turned to Da Qin, but after all, there was still something wrong. A few "Hu traitors" were grateful to the Qin Dynasty.
There is a steady stream of food being transported to Beihu, while in Xianyang, Xianyang has turned into a large construction site throughout the winter.
The road construction was originally planned to be handed over to Baichong's general, Shaofu, and civilian men were recruited to carry out the work. Later, I thought about it. First, it was winter. It was difficult to recruit so many people to Xianyang in a short period of time. If someone froze to death on the way, it would greatly affect the image that the court had finally established. Furthermore, having so many people gathered in Xianyang City was a destabilizing factor, and the court spent too much money and food.
I simply issued an edict calling on all people in Xianyang City to participate in road construction. Anyone who participated in road construction would be exempted from corvee once.
Now everyone in Xianyang City was in motion, and the fired green bricks were no longer available for use. After all, compared to serving in other counties, serving at home is a huge advantage. There is nothing to do in winter, and you can go home to rest at night. Where can you find such a good thing?
During this period, I heard that court officials, including Li Si, sent people from their homes to participate in the road construction. On a whim, I took the palace guards to the area around Xianyang Palace and moved a few bricks myself. Then he ordered them to continue building roads after changing defenses, and gave them overtime subsidies.
There are more old Qin people in Guanzhong in Xianyang City. When you look at it, the Emperor of Qin personally leads people to build roads. There is no cheating or sneaking around. There is no need for officials to urge them, everyone works hard. Some even mobilize their children to help carry water, hold firewood, etc., and they work in full swing!
This road construction not only re-rammed the road surface in Fangshi, and spread sand, gravel, and bricks on three layers, but also repaired the potholes on the main road, dug deep drainage ditches, and reserved soil for planting trees next spring. Pit, improve domestic waste disposal, etc...
After the road was built, there was a lot of bricks and wood left. I also ordered that anyone who took the initiative to repair a house could buy the bricks and wood they needed at half price. The court would also subsidize three and a half taels for each house after the repairs were completed.
So in the spring of the next year, the entire Xianyang city took on a new look, with rows of houses on both sides of the streets, and the city no longer became muddy and slippery when it rained, which unconsciously increased the prosperity of the city.
In May (February) of the fifth year of Qin II, after the spring plowing ceremony, Sihai Palace.
I stared at Li Si, Feng Jie and Yu He were silent next to me. In the hall, only the copper kettle leak made a regular "tick, tick, tick" sound.
After a long time, I said calmly: "I am very relieved that Mr. Li is old enough to seek the country!"
Li Si's stiff body trembled visibly, as if he breathed a long sigh of relief, and said quickly: "Your Majesty, I should have reported this matter to Your Majesty long ago, but the relationship is complicated, and it was not until today that I fully investigated it. Please come down." crime!"
I waved my hand: "Sit down. I have already said that you have been in Xianyang for a long time, so it is understandable that you are unclear about some things."
Li Si thanked him before he dared to sit down.
Everything was due to the fact that hundreds of people froze to death in the winter when they swam under the water in De.
When I saw Yu He's report, I was extremely shocked. For nine years, no one told Ying Zheng or me about this matter.
At this moment, Baichong came in a hurry.
"See Your Majesty!"
I glanced at him: "Has the transformation of Xianyang been completed?"
Baichong bowed and said, "Your Majesty, everything has been completed as of today." Baichong has been busy with the reconstruction of Xianyang recently. I specially ordered him not to attend the court meeting and concentrate on repairing the road.
"Sit down. Yu He, please briefly explain the cause and effect of the matter."
Yu He cupped his hands and said: "Yes. The censor came to report that more than 200 people froze to death in each of the three counties downstream of Dongde River, all because there was no firewood to keep warm. The censor secretly investigated and found that not only the three downstream counties, but also De In the fourteen counties along the river, every tree that has been there for more than ten years has been cut down to the last tenth."
"The imperial censor was greatly shocked and continued to conduct in-depth investigations. Finally, he discovered that since the 33rd year of the First Emperor, in order to increase the number of households, counties and counties along the Deshui River have forcibly separated unmarried men into families, and some even required minors to The women were also forced to separate their families. When a family was separated, a new house was built. In order to 'help' the head of Guizhou realize the purpose of dividing the family, the government ordered people to cut down trees and use the trees to pile up simple houses."
"But such a house not only requires more than twice as much wood as a normal house, but the untreated wood will become moldy and rotten soon, so we can only continue to cut down and build new buildings. In addition, the construction of Lishan Mausoleum and Afang Palace The timber mainly comes from Nanshan and along the Deshui coast, and because Deshui is easy to transport, the felling is even more intensive. In addition, with the increase of household registration, a large number of fields have been cleared for slash-and-burn cultivation. After nine years, the usable timber around Deshui has been cut down to less than ten percent. .”
"However, the forests, mountains and rivers are all owned by the imperial court. In order to prevent the imperial court from discovering the indiscriminate deforestation in various counties, the new county guards and county magistrates forced the people not to cut down any grass or trees anymore, especially in the three downstream counties, resulting in three Nearly a thousand people in Guizhou froze to death in the winter."
