After the meeting, the ministers dispersed and went to deal with their own government affairs.
Meng Yu and others also accompanied Qi Shitian and rushed out of the palace.
Zhao Tuo did not leave immediately. He wrote a letter asking to see the queen, and then stood waiting in the palace.
After a while, a servant from the palace came.
"The king has summoned me, and I also ask the young master Zao to follow me to pay homage to the king."
"Thank you."
Zhao Tuo smiled and thanked him. He noticed that this man had no eyebrows on his face, but an eunuch with nothing under his crotch.
The eunuch was flattered and said he didn't dare, but he couldn't hide the smile on his face. He walked in front and guided Zhao Tuo to the back hall.
"Although the status of eunuchs these days is not as outrageous as that of later dynasties, as a servant in the palace, you still cannot offend easily. Befriend these people and give them some kindness, which may have unexpected uses in the future."
Zhao Tuo secretly thought that this was the experience he gained after reading thousands of years of history. These eunuchs should not be easily turned against each other. They may not be able to help you succeed, but if they are malicious, they are very likely to ruin your success.
According to Zhao Tuo's observation when he was the Zhonglang in the palace, Qin's central guard system consisted of four parts.
At the innermost level are these beardless, castrated eunuchs. It is led by the eunuch Ling, who is subordinate to the Shaofu and has a rank of six hundred shi. These eunuchs accompany the king, enter and exit the harem without scruples, and are in charge of the palace guards.
In the past, Lu Buwei offered Lao Ai to the palace because he wanted to act like this kind of eunuch. However, Lao Ai only plucked her eyebrows and did not deal with it below. In the end, it led to a drama of fornication in the palace.
In addition to eunuchs, there are "eunuchs and emperors". That is to say, the "Lang" troops commanded by Lang Zhongling, all Lang Zhong and Zhong Lang's subordinates are of this type, and are mainly responsible for the guards outside the palace.
Further outside, there are the guard troops commanded by the guards, and the lieutenant army commanded by the lieutenant who is responsible for internal security.
Four levels of security are enough to ensure the safety of the king.
While Zhao Tuo was thinking, they had walked outside a side hall.
After reporting to the outside world and getting permission.
Zhao Tuo took off his shoes and walked into the hall wearing only white socks.
"Your Majesty, Zhao Tuo, pays homage to your Majesty."
Zhao Tuo stepped forward to salute, and noticed that Zhao Gao was also standing by the side. When he saw him coming in, he smiled and signaled.
King Qin Zhengze was sitting on the couch reviewing the slips. When he heard Zhao Tuo's voice, he raised his head and said, "Sit down, please see me. Is your strategic contribution related to these princes?"
Zhao Tuo sat aside and said: "Your Majesty, the strategy I proposed is related to today's Han Cheng incident. In the past, I returned from Yue, passing through Chu, Wei, Han and other places to enter the pass. I saw the old places of these princes. The situation is very different from that in Guanzhong and Qin."
"In the land of Qin in the Guanzhong, after hundreds of years of popularization of the Qin Law, the people are honest, the officials are solemn, the scholar-bureaucrats are clear and transparent, and the court listens to everything and leaves no stone unturned. Therefore, the Qin Law can pass through the countryside, and the king's orders can be passed through the villages. , all the people obey the command, and there is no treachery to hide.”
Seeing that King Qin was listening attentively, Zhao Tuo changed his subject and said: "This is not the case in the hometown of the princes. As I saw along the way, our Qin army was brave and powerful. Wherever it passed, the five kingdoms were wiped out. But after the army withdrew, Although there are guards, lieutenants, and censors sent by the king to govern the place, Qin has few officials and many princes and people. With a small number to control the people, the power is insufficient."
"Therefore, the Qin officials in various counties and counties cannot implement the law into the villages and towns, and they need to rely on the local powerful clans for management. County officials, township officials, and local officials all use local powerful officials. If the lower levels collude, then the upper ones will keep, The lieutenants and censors must be deceived, which is why bandits such as Han Cheng and Zhang Liang can roam Yingchuan and Dongjun, but the guards and lieutenants cannot capture them."
Zhao Tuo's voice was clear and clear, and he laid out a problem faced by Qin.
Not only now, this is a serious problem that the Qin Dynasty will face after the reunification.
Why were Han Cheng and Zhang Liang able to run all the way to Qi after launching a riot in Xinzheng, and even sneak into Dongjun to carry out assassinations?
Why in history, Zhang Liang was able to escape smoothly after being assassinated by Bolangsha. After Liu Bang released the laborers, he could run to Mangdang with impunity. Peng Yue, Yingbu and others formed large-scale thieves gangs in various places, but the local governments could not control them.
All of this is because although Qin conquered the six Shandong countries, it was unable to implement effective management and control.
During the era of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, the Qin State encroached on the territory of the princes in a restrained manner. Every time it occupied a city or town, it established counties and counties, dispatched officials to manage them, assimilated the local people with the Qin method, and slowly turned the land of the princes into the land of the Qin people, digesting it. relatively successful.
But now, the King of Qin is destroying the country too fast. In less than ten years, it has destroyed five countries and occupied tens of thousands of miles of vast territory.
In such a short period of time, the Qin State could not provide a sufficient number of officials to govern the six kingdoms' homeland, and it inevitably fell into a state of indigestion.
For example, this time the Qin State destroyed Jingchu and occupied the Lu land of Huaibei, Huainan and Jiangdong. There were countless cities in such a vast land. Every county and county had to send Qin officials to govern it, right?
But how could the Qin State have so many officials to send out? The three Jin and Yan lands had already sent a large number of Qin officials there, but they were still not enough.
For the newly conquered Chu land, it would be good to send at most a few people from one county to serve as guards, lieutenants, and censors. The remaining county officials would not all be filled by local powerful officials.
Can the few lonely Qin officials sent out really be able to command the powerful local clans?
Moreover, this may also involve the problem of Qin officials sent out by the central government being corrupted by sugar-coated bullets.
As Zhao Tuo finished speaking, Zhao Gao on the side was full of surprise.
Qin Wangzheng's eyebrows wrinkled.
What he knew about the local situation was reported by the local county governor, county lieutenant, and censor.
Although some people mentioned that there were too few officials and petitioned for the dispatch of officials, they never attracted attention because even the Qin officials in Guanzhong were not enough.
Now that Zhao Tuo spoke so openly, King Qin realized that this was a big issue that could shake the country.
There were too few officials in Qin, so although Qin was able to conquer the six kingdoms, it was unable to completely rule the people of the six kingdoms.
This is also the core reason why Han Cheng, Zhang Liang and others can come and go freely in Yingchuan County and Dong County.
Qin Wangzheng tapped his fingers lightly on the wooden case in front of him. He stared at Zhao Tuo and asked, "In Zhao Tuo's opinion, how should we solve this problem?"
Zhao Tuo said: "I think this problem is because there are too few officials sent out to effectively control the hometown of the princes. One of the solutions is to increase the number of literary and legal officials in Qin and find ways to train a sufficient number of officials. member."
"Increase the number of grammarians?"
Qin Wangzheng's eyebrows furrowed even more.
In addition to military merit, most of the officials of the Qin State came from schools.
A large number of grammarians who were proficient in Qin laws and trained in schools were the core and pillar of the entire Qin officialdom.
But not everyone can enter the school. Qin's law says, "If you are not a scholar, you do not dare to study in the school. Those who violate the order will be guilty."
Only the children of Ling and Shi, that is, the descendants and relatives of civil servants in the Qin Dynasty, could enter the school to study.
This limits the qualifications of the students in the school, so the number of people who can become Qin officials is limited and cannot be increased as much as you want.
And judging from the problem Zhao Tuo just mentioned, in order to solve it, the number of grammar officials that need to be increased is definitely quite large, and it cannot be solved by recruiting just one or two.
Qin Wangzheng whispered: "What you said, how can we increase it?"
Zhao Tuo raised his head and said: "I believe that the law restricts that only the sons of Ling and Shi can enter the school and become grammar officials, which is out of date. Your Majesty may be able to increase the law to suit the current situation of Qin."
As soon as these words came out, Zhao Gao, who was standing in the palace, changed his face and stared at Zhao Tuo with his eyes.
This guy is so brave!
He had no idea that Zhao Tuo, who was not yet twenty years old, would actually want to change Qin Lu. This was really courageous.
Compared to Zhao Gao's horror.
Qin Wangzheng didn't react much. For him, as long as the problem could be solved, changing the law didn't mean anything.
"In the past, when Shang Jun was reforming, he was faced with what Du Zhi said: There is no law in ancient times, and there is no evil in following etiquette. He once replied: Legislation is made at that time, and etiquette is made according to events. Rituals and laws are determined by the time, and regulations and orders are all in order. It is appropriate to use weapons, armor, and weapons for their own purposes."
"What you Zhao Tuo said makes sense. If the problem of insufficient officials in Qin can be solved, it is not impossible for me to amend the law. But how do you think it can be improved?"
Zhao Tuo felt happy.
The Qin State after Shang Yang's reforms was indeed different from those dynasties in later generations where "the laws of the ancestors cannot be changed".
Although the Qin State seems rigid and strict in some systems, fortunately, the Qin people are practical in everything. As long as they can enhance national strength and solve the practical problems faced by the country, there is nothing that cannot be changed. Otherwise, there would not have been Shang Yang's reforms in the past.
Even the seemingly majestic and sacred laws of Qin can change according to the times.
The king of Qin was not the kind of king who adhered to the ancient laws and regulations.
Zhao Tuo took a deep breath. Faced with the king's inquiry, he would naturally not say anything inappropriate like "imperial examination".
He replied: "Your Majesty, our Qin State now occupies the territory of the princes. The number of scribes and officials is insufficient, but the number of those who have been awarded titles due to their meritorious service is large. The ministers and historians in the country are not enough to train and use them, and the ministers are ignorant of their opinions. Maybe they can Increase the qualifications for the children of knights to enter the school."
"It is not limited to the positions of Ling and Shi. But the children of a certain title can be qualified to enter the school. Then the source of the children of our Qin State School can be greatly increased. In just a few years, a large number of grammar officials can be trained. , sent to the hometown of the princes to help the king in governance and control."
"In addition, the children of those who have won the title can enter the school. This is also a benefit and honor of the title. It is in line with what the former Shang Jun said: "The rank of noble and humble is high. Those who have merit will be honored, and those who have no merit will be rich but not rich." The principle of "So Fen Hua." can further increase the benefits of my Qin title. I believe that in the future, the soldiers will fight harder and win a good future for their children!"
Zhao Tuo's eyes were bright.
After the war that destroyed the five kingdoms, there were countless people in the Qin army who won titles for their merits.
Setting a standard for a title and allowing the descendants and relatives of those who hold this title to have the qualifications to enter the school will not only increase the source of children in the school. Moreover, it does not violate the Qin State's principle of supremacy of "military merit", and even makes the title more valuable.
Some Qin people wanted their children to enter schools and have a good future. If they went to the battlefield in the future, they might work harder to earn titles.
Sure enough, I heard Zhao Tuo's answer.
A bright light flashed in Qin Wangzheng's eyes.
However, he did not make a decision immediately. Instead, he said to Zhao Gao beside him: "Write down what Zhao Tuo said and send it to Tingwei later for discussion."
"only."
Zhao Gao took a deep look at the young man in the palace, then lowered his head and started recording.
What Zhao Tuo said today greatly exceeded his expectations.
In addition to military warfare on the battlefield, did Zhao Tuo also have the talent to govern the country?
When Zhao Tuo saw that Qin Wangzheng ordered Zhao Gao to record it, he was very happy. It seemed that the probability of this matter being successful was very high.
This time, in addition to trying to solve the problem of the Qin State's shortage of grammarians and difficulty in controlling the hometowns of princes, he also used this matter to test Qin's laws.
Can the laws of Qin be changed?
If he can change a law this time, it will not be impossible to make bigger moves in the future.
Just when Zhao Tuo was secretly happy, Qin Wangzheng spoke.
"Zhao Tuo, the 'one of the solutions' you just mentioned, is there another way to help me control the hometown of the princes?"
Zhao Tuo secretly praised the carefulness of King Qin's administration and said hurriedly: "What the King said is true. In addition to increasing the number of grammatical officials in our Qin State and sending them to various places to strengthen the King's control over the local areas, it can also weaken the power of the local powerful nobles. "
"I think that although our Qin Kingdom has destroyed the five kingdoms, the clans of the five kingdoms are still in the hometown of the Guandong princes. In addition, the local powerful clans collude with each other, disorderly laws are rampant, and even harbor criminals, making it difficult to govern. I hope that the king will move to Chu. Zhao, Qu, Jing, Xiang, and the descendants of Yan, Zhao, Han, and Wei, as well as heroes and celebrities, live in Guanzhong!"
(End of chapter)
