In the first year of Qin's pro-government, he dealt with Lao Ai and Lu Buwei, and firmly held the power in his own hands. He wants to create a new situation, twist all the ministers in the court into one, go all out to the outside world, and complete the great cause of unification! However, where there are people, there are rivers and lakes, and there are fights! Under the surface of the peaceful court, there are already undercurrents.
Before he knew it, it was the second year of his pro-government. One day when he went to court, Xiong Zhao reported that the treasury was almost empty and it was necessary to reduce court expenses.
The King of Qin was a little displeased and said, "Why haven't you heard about the empty treasury before? Did you report that the treasury was empty as soon as you became prime minister?" The pro-government King of Qin just wanted to make some achievements when he heard that the treasury was empty, which made him a little angry!
"Your Majesty, now is the time when the Zheng Guo Canal is being completed. The cost is huge. Previously, the silver taels used for the project accounted for 30-40% of the annual income, but now it has reached 50-60%. Coupled with the military expenditure over the years, it is almost impossible to make ends meet!"
"That's unreasonable! How can a small canal cost so much? Didn't Zheng Guo Canal calculate how much it would cost when it was first built? How can I, the Qin Dynasty, be exhausted by just one canal!"
Zhongcheng Feng Quji said: "Back to your Majesty, the estimated cost of canal repair before the start of construction is only two-tenths of the annual income!"
King Qin sternly rebuked: "Who was responsible for the original budget?"
Feng Quji said: "The budget was calculated by Lu Buwei, the prime minister at the time, and Zheng Guo, the hydraulic engineer."
It turned out that nine years ago it was Lu Buwei who decided to accept the suggestion of the Korean Zheng Guo and start building the Zheng Guo Canal. Once this canal is completed, it will turn the Guanzhong Plain into thousands of miles of fertile wilderness, and Qin's grain output will also double. At that time, according to Zheng Guo's spending budget, it reached at most two-tenths of the national treasury revenue. Unexpectedly, once construction started, more and more investment would be made, and the burden on the national treasury would become heavier and heavier.
Lu Buwei was Prime Minister at that time. Although the project greatly exceeded the budget, considering that he insisted on building the canal, and that it would indeed significantly increase annual income after completion, he always tried every means to ensure the construction of the canal, even if it was There is no need to hesitate to reduce official salaries. When he was Prime Minister, he never mentioned in the court the huge cost of building canals!
"Now that Lu Buwei is dead and Zheng Guo is supervising the work, how can we confront him?" King Qin asked.
"I remember that it was Zheng Guo, the hydraulic engineer recommended by Lord Chang Wen. Your Majesty, you can ask Lord Chang Wen." Feng Quji replied.
"Han Qi, how do you explain?" King Qin asked sternly.
Han Qi was already fearful at this time. King Han Huan had asked him to carry out the plan of "tiring Qin", hoping that Qin would put all its energy into building canals and stop encroaching on South Korea. Because Han Qi had the support of the Queen Mother of Xia, he didn't think much about it at the time. He felt that this plan would be beneficial to both Qin and South Korea, so he tried his best to brag to Lu Buwei about the benefits of building the canal. And introduced the hydraulic engineer Zheng Guo to Qin. At this time, Qin State lacked talents who could complete the canal, so it agreed to appoint Zheng Guo to supervise the construction.
Seeing that he could no longer hide it, Han Qi prostrated himself in the tunnel and said: "Your Majesty, forgive me, this is all the conspiracy of King Han Huan. He wanted to use this to weaken the Qin Dynasty and make it unable to invade the six eastern countries! The minister felt at the time that although it would It strained the treasury of the Qin Dynasty for a few years, but in the long run it is harmless, so I did not stop it. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"
The King of Qin was furious: "You guest ministers really have ulterior motives! You actually plan to weaken our country Qin! It is a heinous crime! Come here, arrest Zheng Guo! I will interrogate you personally! Ask for the details and deal with them!"
The meeting broke up unhappy. As soon as the court was over, everyone began to discuss the guest's affairs.
Many nobles of the Qin State hated the guest officials and believed that they had taken away the official titles that should belong to them. Now that Lu Buwei, Han Qi, and Zheng Guo were in trouble one after another, they thought this was the best time to catch all the guest officials.
In the next few days, the old nobles of Qin State came to the palace to persuade King Qin.
The old minister Ying Cheng said to the King of Qin: "The guests from the six eastern countries who came to Qin did not really want to revitalize our country, but they all had bad intentions. First there were Lu Buwei and Lao Ai who were in power, and now there are Han Qi and Zheng Guo who are tired of Qin. No one really cares about our country, Qin! I hope that the king will expel the guests from the country and re-employ the Qin people."
Ying Ji continued: "Only your own family can be relied upon! The Zhou Dynasty has been able to spread for eight hundred years, and it is all thanks to the fact that the heirs were assigned to various places as kings, and the princes defended the Emperor of Zhou, which made the world peaceful. Guests from all over the world come to Qin only for their own sake. For the sake of seeking benefits for their motherland, how can any old Qin people be trusted!"
The King of Qin has just taken over the throne and is full of blood. Now he encounters these guests one after another doing things that are harmful to Qin. How can he bear it? Now I heard that the Qin nobles were so resentful, and I thought it would be worthwhile to expel the guests to win their support and trust! Then he said angrily: "These guests are very abominable! I will immediately issue an order to expel them! Drive all the guests from the six countries out of Qin!"
Ying Cheng said: "Your Majesty, Shengming, we old Qin people will definitely surround Qin like we protect our own home! Serve your Majesty like your own parents!"
The next day, King Qin issued an order:
"To govern Qin, we can only rely on the strength of the people of Qin! The guests from the six countries are all evil, stealing from Qin to enrich their own pockets, and destroying Qin to benefit the six countries.
People like Lao Ai and Lu Buwei took their salaries from the Qin State, but what they did was destroy the Qin State and humiliate the Qin State. It was really abominable! Now the hydraulic engineer Zheng Guo is carrying out the treacherous plan of weakening Qin for South Korea. He colludes with Lu Buwei to build river canal projects, which consumes a lot of people and material resources. This makes Qin weak, unable to send troops to the outside world, and unable to deal with natural disasters internally. As a result, the anger of heaven and the resentment of people almost led to a catastrophe. disaster.
If this can be tolerated, what else can't be tolerated! The guests and ministers from the six countries all have evil intentions and act as spies for the six countries, which is unacceptable under the national law! Therefore, the State of Qin decided to expel all the guests from the six kingdoms of Shandong! Since the expulsion order is issued, all foreign guests holding official positions in Qin must leave Qin within ten days, otherwise they will be punished as spies! "
With the banishment order, some people in the court are happy and some are sad.
The nobles of Qin were extremely happy. They were eager to expel all the guests and get back their rights! Since Shang Yang's reform, the nobles of Qin no longer have special privileges. To obtain a title, they must achieve military merit. Now they all hope to get the privilege of inheriting the title again, so they all praise King Qin's wisdom and call him the most sage king of the old Qin people!
However, everyone in Keqing is in danger. Xiong Zhuang, Han Qi, Li Si and others are all targets of expulsion. They have been operating in Qin for many years and will lose everything if they are expelled. But in the face of the angry King of Qin, everyone dared to be angry but dare not speak out. They all remained silent for the time being, thinking about how to fight back!
Li Si had just entered the court and was about to show off his skills, but he encountered the bad luck of being expelled. He was very unwilling to do so! According to my understanding of King Qin, King Qin was not a narrow-minded person. He must have been deceived before giving the order, so he decided to remonstrate.
Two days later, Li Si wrote a letter to remonstrate and expel the guests:
"I heard that the officials are discussing expelling the guest, but I think this is wrong.
In the past, Duke Mu of Qin asked for scholars, and he got Youyu from Rong in the west, Bailixi from Wandi in the east, Uncle Jian from Song Dynasty, and Pibao and Gongsunzhi from Jin Dynasty. These five people did not grow up in Qin, but Duke Mu used them and annexed twenty small countries, making Qin dominate Xirong.
Duke Xiao promoted Shang Yang's reform strategy and changed Qin's backward customs. As a result, the people were prosperous, the country was prosperous, and the people were willing to serve the country. , still firmly rules.
King Qin Hui adopted Zhang Yi's strategy of connecting and conquering Luoyang. He annexed Ba and Shu to the west, Shangjun to the north, Hanzhong to the south, annexed the land of Jiuyi, and controlled the territory of Chu. Yan, Ying; went east to occupy the dangerous Hulao and occupied fertile land. As a result, the alliance of the six kingdoms was broken up and they all went west to serve Qin. The effect continues to this day.
King Zhao obtained Ju Fan, abolished Ranghou, and expelled King Huayang, strengthened and consolidated the power of the royal family, blocked the situation of the monopoly of politics by the powerful, gradually embezzled the princes, and enabled Qin to become an emperor.
These four monarchs all achieved success by appointing guest ministers. From this point of view, what can the guests do to Qin? If these four monarchs refuse to visit guests, close their doors to foreign guests, and alienate foreign lands without using them, Qin will not be rich and strong, and Qin will not have a strong reputation.
Now Your Majesty has acquired the beautiful jade from Kunshan. In the palace, there are pearls from Suihou and the jade from the He family. The clothes are adorned with pearls that shine like the bright moon. He is wearing the sword of Tai'a. He is riding on a precious slim horse. The building is decorated with emerald green. The flag is decorated with phoenix feathers, and the display is a good drum covered with the skin of a spirit fox. None of these precious things are produced in Qin, but your majesty likes them very much. Why is this?
If it must be produced in the Qin State before it can be used, then this kind of luminous jade will never become a decoration of the Qin court;
Objects carved from rhinoceros horn and ivory will not become His Majesty’s playthings;
The women of Zheng and Wei who are good at singing and dancing will not fill His Majesty’s harem;
The famous horses from the north will never be enriched in His Majesty's stable;
The gold and tin from the south of the Yangtze River will not be used by His Majesty, and the paintings from Xishu will not be used as colorful decorations.
If all these things that are used to decorate the harem, serve as concubines, make people happy, and be pleasing to the eye must be grown and produced in Qin before they can be used, then hairpins decorated with jewelry, jade pendants on the ears, silk clothes, brocade None of the decorations will be presented to His Majesty;
Those beauties who are elegant and changeable and can adapt to the changes of the times will not stand beside His Majesty.
The banging of pottery, the clapping of the zither, and the singing of the crows are indeed the authentic music of the Qin Dynasty; the singing of Zheng and Wei Sangjian, "Zhao Yu" and "Wu Xiang" The music can be regarded as foreign music.
Now, Your Majesty has abandoned the authentic Qin music of tapping pottery vessels, and adopted the obscene and sweet music of Zheng and Wei. Instead of Qin Zheng, he wanted "Zhao Yu". Why is this? Isn't it because foreign music can be satisfying and satisfy the needs of the ears and eyes? But now your Majesty is not like this with his servants. Regardless of whether they are available or not, regardless of the merits, anyone who is not from the Qin Kingdom must leave, and all guests must be expelled.
This shows that what your Majesty values only is the beauty, appearance, and beauty; but what he despises is the people. This is not a method that can be used to control the world and subdue the princes!
I heard that if the territory is large, the food will be abundant; if the country is large, the people will be numerous; if the weapons are sharp, the soldiers will be brave. Therefore, only if Mount Tai does not reject the soil can it become a majestic mountain; only if rivers and seas do not abandon streams can it become deep water; only if a person who is king does not abandon the people can he show his virtue. Therefore, the land is not divided into east and west, and the people, regardless of their nationality, are rich and abundant all year round, and ghosts and gods will also come to bless them. This is the reason why the Five Emperors and Three Kings are invincible! Now your Majesty abandons the people to help the enemy, refuses guests to strengthen the princes, and causes the people of the world to withdraw from Qin and not dare to go west, and are afraid to enter Qin. This is exactly what people say: giving food to robbers and giving away weapons Lend it to the enemy!
Many things are not produced in Qin, but there are many that can be regarded as treasures; many Tousi people were not born in Qin, but there are many who are willing to be loyal to Qin. Now we are expelling guests to help the enemy, reducing the population of our own country and increasing the strength of our enemies. As a result, we are weakening ourselves internally, and we are enmity with the princes of other countries externally. This is impossible to do to prevent the country from being in danger! "
King Qin was deeply moved after reading it and began to regret his impulsive move.
News of the banishment soon spread to the harem, and Queen Mother Huayang also knew about it. She quickly recruited Mi Hong and Xiong Xiang into her palace to discuss countermeasures.
Xiong Zhuang said: "The king must have been bewitched by the old nobles in the court! Now that the situation is serious, the king orders the guest to leave Qin within ten days, otherwise he will be punished!"
Queen Mother Huayang shook her head helplessly and said: "Your Majesty is still too young and has not considered things thoroughly..."
Seeing the calm look of Queen Mother Huayang, Mi Hong was very anxious and said: "I originally planned to persuade the king, but the king has always opposed the interference of concubines in political affairs. Please ask my aunt to come forward to persuade the king!"
Empress Dowager Huayang said: "The reason why the king hates the harem's interference in politics is not because his biological mother, the Empress Dowager Zhao, brought shame to him! It's up to me to persuade him on this matter!"
King Qin was shocked when he heard that the Empress Dowager Huayang, who had not listened to politics for a long time, summoned him. He hurried to the Empress Dowager's palace to say hello.
Empress Dowager Huayang said: "I heard that your Majesty wants to kill Zheng Guo? Drive away the guests from all over the world? I don't think it is appropriate! If Zheng Guo is killed now, who else can take on the important task of building Zheng Guo Canal? If we stop building the canal, what happened before? Wouldn’t the effort be in vain?
If you expel both the prime minister and the prime minister from Qin now, will there be anyone in Qin who can take on this important task? How will the country be governed? Our country, Qin, has always had a reputation for treating guests with kindness. I hope your Majesty will consider this matter carefully! "
Queen Mother Huayang mentioned King Qin's pain points in every sentence. King Qin thought for a moment and said, "My grandson must consider this matter carefully! It's all because my grandson didn't think carefully and made my grandmother worry!"
Three days later, Zheng Guo was brought to Xianyang for trial. King Qin personally interrogated Zheng Guo and deliberately said: "The conspiracy of your Korean monarchs and ministers has been exposed, what else can you say now?"
"I was indeed entrusted by the King of Han to come to weaken the Qin State. But after I inspected the field, I found that if this canal can be built, the grain output in Guanzhong will more than double! What a great benefit this will be to the Qin State! I It extended Han’s life for several years, and contributed to Qin’s achievements for eternity.”
Zheng Guo has been living in the Qin State in the past few years. He has seen the Qin State's national power flourishing under Lu Buwei's governance, and everything has laws. He has also seen that the Korean monarchs and ministers are not enterprising and the country's power is declining. He has long thought of no plan to weaken Qin. Now he I only hope that this canal can be completed and Guanzhong will truly become a fertile wilderness!
"It is certainly beneficial to build this canal, but why is the cost so huge? Especially in the past two years, it has doubled! The Qin Dynasty is very exhausted!"
"Your Majesty, you should know that building a canal is like building a house. It becomes more and more difficult as time goes by. Not only are the stones and wood transported far away, but the labor damage is also greater. The increased cost is a precursor to completion! If there is another year, the canal can be completed. ! How could your Majesty give up this opportunity to make Great Qin rise just because of temporary difficulties!"
The King of Qin was overjoyed when he heard this and gave Zheng Guo wine and meat.
The next day, the King of Qin publicly admitted his mistake, revoked the order to expel guests, and still asked Zheng Guo to take charge of repairing the canal. He promoted Li Si to the rank of Tingwei, continuing the Qin State's tradition of treating guests favorably.
