The great commander of Qi State, Ma Tian Chong, successfully completed his mission as envoy to Qin State.
After a short stay, the Qi fleet loaded up with many treasures and gifts given by King Qin in return and embarked on the road back to Qi.
Zhao Tuo welcomed Da Sima into the customs in the past, so today it is natural for him to send Da Sima out of the customs. It is the way to treat guests with a beginning and an end.
Outside Hangu Pass, the sun is just right, the mountains are verdant with cypresses, and the yellow birds are singing.
"The exquisiteness of Da Sima's art of war made Zhao Tuo admire him endlessly. What happened in Zhencheng in the past was actually Zhao Tuo's deceitful conspiracy rather than a fair fight with Da Sima. Thinking about it now, Zhao Tuo feels very ashamed. Today he must pay tribute to Da Sima apologizes."
As soon as the words fell, the waiter who had been prepared immediately brought the drinks.
Zhao Tuo raised his glass to pay respect to the great Sima Tian in front of him.
Looking at the "sincere" young general in front of him, Tian Chong felt the "sincerity" of the other party, took the wine with a smile, and drank it down in one gulp.
He nodded and said: "General Zhao is determined. As you said in the past, soldiers use deception. However, deception can only be used for temporary benefits and is not a long-term method. If you use all your troops to win through deception, Will the enemy not be on guard in the future? Once the enemy is on guard, or even resorts to tricks, all you will do is bring about your own destruction. Therefore, you should still follow the righteous path of a military strategist, which is the only way to achieve victory."
Zhao Tuo said sincerely: "What Da Sima said is that if there is an opportunity in the future, Zhao Tuo should go to Qidi and ask Da Sima for advice on the art of war."
Tian Chong thought he was talking about a military simulation similar to yesterday's, and said with a smile: "Then I will wait for General Zhao."
After a "goodbye", the two said goodbye.
"Da Sima, move slowly."
Under Zhao Tuo's watch, Tian rushed into the envoy's chariot, and the mighty Qi convoy drove onto Sanchuan Avenue.
"Da Sima is indeed a master in the art of war."
Zhao Tuo shook his head.
Tian Chong's attainments in the art of war were indeed very high. Zhao Tuo didn't know if Wang Bi and Meng Wu had let slip in the art of war deduction. Anyway, Zhao Tuo was indeed no match for Da Sima in the chessboard battle, and was defeated by Tian Chong.
After all, Tian Chong is known as the "soldier fanatic". He has painstakingly studied the art of war in the mansion for more than 20 years and has profound attainments.
He, Zhao Tuo, had studied the art of war for less than five years, so it was normal for him to be no match for him based on theory.
"It's a pity that Great Sima's strength is limited to deduction."
Zhao Tuo sighed.
In the Qin Palace, all the generals were defeated by the great Sima, but they were just imitating Chang Ping's praise of Ma Fuzi in the past, and gaining a greater advantage for Qin in the subsequent war of annihilation.
In a time of great strife, the wars between the various countries are inherently based on intrigues and deceptions, and they use all possible means.
Looking at the Qi State convoy in the distance, it disappeared into the billowing smoke.
Zhao Tuo whispered: "The birds of prey are about to strike, and they fly humblely and fold their wings; the beasts are about to fight, and they bow down with their ears cut off; the saints are about to move, but they must be foolish."
"What we do is also the art of war."
…
After sending away the great Sima of Qi State, Xianyang City fell into calm again.
However, the brief calm was soon broken, because at the next court meeting, Qin Wangzheng announced a new order.
"There is a saying in the Qin Code: If you are not a scholar of history, you do not dare to study in the school. Anyone who violates the order will be guilty."
"However, today Qin has merged with the five kingdoms and ruled them according to the territory of the princes. The land is large and the cities are numerous but the officials are few. As a result, it is difficult for the few people to convey the political orders to the land of Shandong. If the political orders are not understood, how can it be a strong country."
"Therefore, we should follow what Lord Shang said: Legislation is based on the time, and etiquette is controlled according to the situation. Etiquette and law are determined by the time, and the regulations and orders are all in accordance with their suitability. Now the young master Zhao Tuo has made a suggestion, and the descendants of those who have won the title can also In order to increase the number of Qin officials and allocate land in Shandong, I will promote my majesty and virtue and promulgate the laws of Qin. I said, "Yes."
"Those who have a title of hairpin or above, regardless of whether they are Ling or Shi, their children can enter the imperial court. After passing the examination, they can serve as grammar officials in various places to consolidate the Qin Dynasty."
As the King of Qin promulgated the revised law, there was no big disturbance in the Qin court.
Many ministers had heard about it a long time ago and were prepared in their hearts. At this moment, they all bowed their heads and obeyed the order, and no one objected.
Seeing this scene, Zhao Tuo secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
This was his first test of Qin's laws. Now that no one in the court raised any objections, he suddenly felt reassured.
Once you get this started, it will be easier if you want to gain some benefit from Qin Fa in the future.
"But we can't take it lightly. Since ancient times, opponents of reform have always gathered together to resist the new law because it infringed on their interests. If the new law is harmless to them, unless they are stubborn, there will always be a minority of outspoken opponents."
For Zhao Tuo, the reason why he chose to start with the law of "qualifications for entrance hall" was not only to strengthen the country and benefit the people and help consolidate Qin's rule over the hometown of the princes, but also because the change of this law did not It will not affect the interests of many ministers.
In the Qin State, in addition to recruitment, recommendation, and military merit, the official selection system also had a very important one, which was Baozi.
If their fathers are officials, their children can enjoy the blessings of their fathers and embark on the path of becoming officials.
This is the path that Li Xin, Li You, Meng Tian and other high-ranking officials' children took when they became adults and were elected to the Qin Palace as Lang.
The school is actually a kind of Baozi system, but it is a privilege for grassroots civil servants such as Yu Ling and Shi. Their children can be admitted as "disciples" and after completing their studies, they can serve as grammarians and embark on official careers.
Therefore, Zhao Tuo proposed to increase the qualifications for the children of nobles to enter the school, which expanded the selection scope of lower-level officials, but had no impact on the upper-level officials.
The two are not on the same track.
Moreover, most of these newly trained students from the school will be sent to the hometown of the princes outside the customs to work as grassroots grammarians. In this way, there will be no conflict of interest.
In addition, this law is indeed beneficial to the country and has the support of the king, so there is a sound of agreement in the court.
In addition to the ministers in the court, this revision of the law also considered that it would affect the interests and privileges of the original order and Shi's disciples, so there were some more stringent regulations in the specific implementation.
For example, the recruitment of students to the school is not unlimited, but is limited based on the number of officials needed.
Originally, the children of Ling and Shi had priority. After recruiting them, the children of those with titles would be admitted into the room based on their titles.
And through discussions between the Lord Lieutenant, Ting Lieutenant, Bang Lieutenant Mansion and other institutions, the titles that can enjoy these rights have been set at the third level hairpin and above.
First, this title can be obtained by beheading people on the battlefield. There are not many people who hold this title, which can achieve the purpose of greatly increasing the number of officials.
Secondly, it further highlights the preciousness of Qin's title. Gongshi and Shangzao can only get some land. If they want to find a good future for their children, they should work hard to get titles and upgrades. This is enough to make some Qin people even crazier for titles.
Although there are various restrictions in the specific laws, it is of great significance. It not only has the effect of strengthening the country, but also opens a way for the children of nobles at the bottom who have no official status to enter the officialdom.
The king of Qin praised the court and said: "Zhao Qing told me that it is easy to conquer the princes, but it is difficult to govern and subdue them. I do this, and all the ministers should be like Zhao Qing, and make suggestions for my cause of unifying the world. , to help our Qin State be able to conquer the four seas."
"Only, we should learn from the young master."
All the ministers worshiped and praised Zhao Tuo together, and many people's eyes fell on Zhao Tuo, full of surprise.
This law was actually proposed by Zhao Tuo.
Isn’t this person a man who can fight for generals in the army? How can he still know how to govern a country?
He even raised issues that even important ministers like them ignored.
"The young master can build horses that can fight wars, and dismount horses that can calm the people and govern the country. He is truly an all-rounder."
Tingwei Li Si even praised the young master's ability with a smile in public, and looked at Zhao Tuo with "gentle" eyes, full of "praise".
"Zhao Tuo's insignificant ability can be compared with that of other princes."
Zhao Tuo hurriedly handed over his hands in humility, sweat dripping from his forehead.
He didn't expect that the king would publicly praise him in the court and ask the ministers to learn from him, which really made him feel uneasy.
…
With the promulgation of this newly revised law on "school children".
It had little impact on the upper-level officials, but the lower-level people in Guizhou were extremely excited, and the entire lower-level people in Guanzhong were excited.
Since Shang Yang's reform and the implementation of the military merit and title system, the children of Guanzhong have fought in wars for more than a hundred years, and many people have inherited titles from their families.
Although the inheritance of titles in the Qin State is a "reduction of titles" system. Except for the above special circumstances such as marquisship and death in battle, most of them are inherited by downgrades. However, the accumulation of several generations, coupled with the succession of descendants of Guanzhong in the past ten years, After participating in several wars to destroy the country, there are still many people with hairpins, Bugen and other titles.
Those who have a title can become officials, but the positions are always limited. Therefore, in addition to owning land and some privileges, most of the people who have a title are still common people, not officials. Their children are not qualified to enter the school.
This time, the suggestions put forward by the young superior Zhao Tuo actually opened up a way for their descendants to leap forward into the social class.
"Nai Gong's son can enter the school, and he can become an official after completing his studies. Hahaha, Nai Gong is going to drink a lot of juice today and go to his daughter's house to celebrate, so be happy!"
"My brother can be admitted to the school as a disciple, and I will fight in the battlefield in vain. This is really the virtue of a great king!"
"I heard that this advice was given by General Zhao. If it hadn't been for General Zhao, our children would have had the opportunity to enter the school."
"General Zhao?"
"It's Young Master Zao, General Zhao Tuo!"
There is no record of the succession of titles in the Qin Dynasty, but according to the unearthed "Second Years of Laws and Regulations: Posthumous Regulations", the children of marquises can inherit the title in full, and those below the rank of minister can inherit the title by reducing the title.
This Han bamboo slip is the decree of Empress Lu in the second year of her reign. It is not far from the Qin Dynasty and may not completely match the situation of the Qin Dynasty, but it should be the closest reference.
