I was stunned: "The five princes have been dead for many years, right? Deng Lingzi is still alive?"
He Xian laughed sarcastically: "Your Majesty, you are joking. Deng Lingzi and Xiang Liqin are almost the same age, and they have long been turned into withered bones in the grave. But Chu Mo must also have Juzi. With their attitude towards Da Qin, I am worried that they are still dormant. The old Chu land intends to overthrow the Qin Dynasty!"
I frowned slightly. In this case, with Chu Mo's behavior, it was really possible and I had to guard against it.
"Well, you are right to remind me. I will order people to be careful."
He Xian stood up and cupped his hands and said, "I can feel at ease now! I just deceived your majesty. I hope your majesty will forgive me."
I chuckled and said, "I feel very relieved that you can come and remind me, so why would I blame you? Don't worry, I will clear Qin Mo's name when I return to Xianyang."
He Xian thanked him and left.
I called Meng He in and ordered: "Instruct the clean room to carefully check whether there are any traces of the Mo family's activities south of the river. Be careful. They believe in the Rangers' ways and may not appear in the open. It might be possible in the deep mountains and old forests, so it’s better to be careful.”
Meng He took the order and left.
————
The next day, the convoy set off and continued south, arriving at Jiangling, the seat of Nanjun County, in mid-March. Chu Liu had become quite concerned about building roads since he and Jihe were scolded by me last time. After Zhang Liang came back, he treated the three counties with affection and reason, and helped them figure out that they would gain greater benefits once Chidao was built. The three were no longer so resistant to private trade.
Without making any further stops in Nan County, the convoy continued south to Xiang County, the seat of Changsha County.
After receiving my order, Jie Wu, Sima Li and other county magistrates did not make a big fuss, but went to the palace to wait for me.
After a few people sat down, Jie Wu gave a detailed report on the situation in Changsha County. In just three short years since Jie Wu took over Changsha County, Changsha County has returned to normal. It can be said that the officials are in good governance, the people live and work in peace and contentment, and the conditions detected in the clean room are basically the same. In this way, the people were full of praise for Jie Wu.
Sima Li was even more immersed in the governance of Linxiang County. Under his governance, Linxiang County ranked among the best, with many virtuous people and excellent officials in the past years.
I am very satisfied with his performance, which at least shows that my worries are completely unnecessary. How can a person who can serve as county magistrate for three years without slacking off do things that harm the country and the people?
I also gave Jie Wu an imperial writing brush, and I left Sima Li alone.
"Sima Li, how do you feel about being in Linxiang County? Do you feel that you are overqualified for your talents?"
Sima Li respectfully replied: "Your Majesty, governing a country is not easy, and managing a county is equally difficult. In Linxiang County, I encountered private fights over water, witnessed the annexation of land, and also advised parents against selfishness. None of them are as good as handling state affairs. Easy. I enjoyed it and never felt that he was there."
I nodded with satisfaction and said with approval: "It's good that you think so. Zhao Tuo is now the governor of all three Lingnan counties, but he has been in charge of Nanhai County and fighting in Xiang County. There are many things that cannot be taken care of at the same time. I want to If you go to Guilin County to serve as the county governor, you should think about it. I will leave in two days and come back after considering it."
Lingnan has always been isolated from the Central Plains. There are dense jungles there and no taxes can be collected. There was no need for strong management in the Qin Dynasty. They could only slowly assimilate them through ethnic integration, which is what Ying Zheng was doing. .
But it’s different now. I know that behind the primitive jungle is the Indochina Peninsula, where there is a large area of land that can be cultivated. The Indochina Peninsula is rich in rice. The Champa rice brought back by Zhao Tuo originated there, and at this time, ancient times had not yet formed there. The civilizations are all inferior to the tribes in Lingnan. It is simply unreasonable not to occupy them.
Daqin's occupation there has two advantages: first, it can produce rice and transport it to various parts of Daqin by sea, which can save more losses on the road than transporting it from Lingnan to the Central Plains; both of them can be used as a springboard to attack the Indian Peninsula in the future.
Now that Da Qin has included the Western Region, further west are Guishang, Kangju, and Hujie. Unless Da Qin can have cars or trains, it is not advisable to continue westward. Alexander and the Tang Dynasty have proven that in ancient times, apart from satisfying their own desire for conquest, the benefits gained from fighting far away from the homeland were far outweighed by the effort, so the best option was to turn to the Indian Peninsula.
But in order to completely incorporate the Indochina Peninsula into its territory, the premise is that nothing happens to Lingnan. Once there is chaos in Lingnan, if Daqin cannot solve it quickly, the land and sea routes to the Indochina Peninsula are likely to be cut off. So I hope someone can help Zhao Tuo stabilize Lingnan as soon as possible. Now it seems that Sima Li is a good choice.
Sima Li didn't hesitate much, just thought for a moment, cupped his hands and said: "Thank you, Your Majesty, I am willing to go!"
It's no surprise to me. Sima Li has a great advantage: he is extremely confident in himself! There was almost no hesitation when he was asked to be the county magistrate last time.
However, I still reminded: "Guilin County is not as good as the Central Plains. It is 1,200 miles east to west and north to south. It is close to Bashu on the map, but there are countless mountains, rivers, and various barbarians. You have to think about it."
Sima Li smiled slightly and responded: "Your Majesty, hundreds of thousands of Qin troops can hold out there for more than ten years, so I have nothing to fear."
I looked at him with appreciation and told him my plan: "Very good. There are two main things you should do when you get there. First, vigorously develop waterways. It is possible to build roads in the east of Lingnan, but in the west of Lingnan It is unrealistic. The only ones that can be used are local rivers, such as Heishui (Jinsha River), Beipan River, Nanpan River, etc. Although these rivers have fast currents and undercurrents, if they are just transporting some goods, they should It’s not a problem, you can learn from the local indigenous people.”
"Second, when dealing with the barbarians there, you must convince them with virtue and never convince them with force. The local Qin army understands this and does not intensify the conflict between them and Da Qin. We must pay attention to persuasion and education, just like Zhang Gou in the north As Hu and Meng Hanyu did in Hexi, you can choose people who are good at educating like the supervisors to participate in local governance. I will also ask Shusun Tong to select a group of Confucian scholars to help educate the local area."
Sima Li listened carefully to my words, nodded and said, "Please remember this! I will certainly live up to His Majesty's expectations!"
I stood up and told Qi Wan: "I ordered Zhao Tuo to be removed as the governor of Guilin County and Sima Li to take over. The magistrate of Linxiang County will select a suitable person to take over from among the gentlemen."
All officials above the county magistrate and county magistrate level were directly appointed by the emperor, so during the Qin Dynasty the emperor still had very strong control over the local area.
He also encouraged Sima Li: "When the new county magistrate takes office, you will immediately set off for Guilin County. There are many diseases in Lingnan and the people are fierce. Take care of yourself before discussing political affairs."
Sima Li bowed deeply and said gratefully: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
