Creak.
The door of the house was opened a crack.
Fusu stepped into Ji Heng's room.
He bowed to Ji Heng and said, "Mr. Ji, it's really presumptuous of me to bother you in the middle of the night."
Ji Heng asked: "What happened in the field today?"
Fusu nodded and said in a deep voice: "In the morning, you asked me to wait for my brothers to inquire about the situation. I did learn some truths, but I really have no idea how to solve the affairs in the village, so I took the liberty to go forward. Come and disturb me.”
"Please forgive me, sir."
Ji Heng waved his hand and said casually: "Go ahead."
Fu Su raised his forehead and said: "The reason why the women in the fields today are loosening the soil at this time is to prepare for the beginning of spring. There are very few men in the area right now. They are either being drafted to build the Great Wall in nearby counties or being drafted as soldiers." , there are only old, weak, women and children left in the family, Da Qin has been relatively heavily rich in these years, farming cannot be delayed, and there is a shortage of men in the place, so the old and young alone cannot finish the work."
"So we can only loosen the soil in advance and hope that during spring plowing, the fields will be relatively loose so that spring plowing can be completed."
“But that approach doesn’t actually do much.”
"I can also clearly feel that this woman has deep resentment towards the government, and it is probably not just one household but almost all of Guanzhong who have this resentment. Sir, you are very resourceful. Is there any way to soothe her?"
Fusu bowed to Ji Heng.
He was really scared.
In the past, when he was in the palace, he could hear some things, but his feelings were not strong. It was only when he actually went to the fields and asked about the situation that he became fully aware of the critical situation.
This is in Guanzhong.
The hinterland of Daqin.
Now that even the people in Guanzhong are complaining so much, how can this not frighten him?
Ji Heng glanced at Fusu indifferently, shook his head simply, and said: "You think too highly of me. I am just a supporter, how can I solve so many things."
"And the woman has told you the solution."
Fusu was stunned.
He looked at Ji Heng in confusion and asked, "Sir, why did you say this if you didn't follow?"
Ji Heng sneered and said calmly: "You just said it yourself. The biggest problem among the people is the lack of men. If you want to solve it, just send these men back. Isn't this a ready-made solution?"
Fusu gave a bitter smile and said helplessly: "Sir, please don't joke with me. If the imperial court could do it, I would have done it long ago. As my husband said before, various fortifications in Daqin are constantly going on, and there is already a demand for manpower. Extremely, this method is simply not advisable at the moment.”
Ji Heng said coldly: "Since sending the person back is not possible, then just give him a reward as in the past."
"Let them feel that what their men do is good for the family."
Fusu pondered for a moment and said doubtfully, "Sir, could you please explain this in detail?"
Ji Heng said indifferently: "The most straightforward thing is to give money."
"The reason why local people are so complaining is that apart from the fact that their men have left their hometowns, the other reason is that their men are doing corvee for free and cannot provide any help to the family."
"If the imperial court can provide a certain amount of money and food to alleviate the living pressure of local people, even if they are still dissatisfied, they will not be so resentful."
Hear the words.
Fusu smiled bitterly.
How come he doesn't know this method, but he really can't do it.
There are millions of people serving as corvees in the world. How can the court have so much money and food rewards?
It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s that I can’t do it.
Fusu said: "Sir's method is really difficult to achieve."
Ji Heng said: "People don't want to be let go, but they also want people to serve for free. Sometimes they even ask the local government to provide food and clothing themselves. Ordinary land rent and payment are also common. So why can't you accept the overwhelming resentment of the local people?"
"Don't you think your idea is too much?"
Fusu was silent.
How could he not know this?
It's just that the current situation is like this, what can he do about it?
Fusu solemnly bowed to Ji Heng and said seriously: "Please sir, please help the Qin Dynasty in trouble."
Ji Heng shook his head and said: "You need to remember that a wise woman cannot make a meal without rice. When there is nothing, don't try to solve the problem with a few words. Words cannot solve the problem."
“It’s always the stuff that solves the problem.”
"It's material!"
"You should also understand that the reason why you go deep into the place this time is not to solve the problem, but to understand the problem and discover the problem. Now that you have discovered some problems, you only need to write them down and wait until you have the conditions to start gradually in the future. solve."
"If a delusion is achieved overnight, it is just a fantasy."
"It's just not realistic."
Fusu's face turned pale.
Ji Heng said: "The problems you see are actually too few."
“Local problems go far beyond the fields.”
"There are also local officials."
"You have communicated with Shi Yue before. What do you think of this person?"
Fusu pondered for a moment and said slowly: "This person is quite capable. He manages the pavilion in an orderly manner, treats people and things very kindly, and is more tactful than ordinary old soldiers."
Ji Heng nodded and said, "But he is just a pavilion chief."
Fusu's face darkened.
He knew what Ji Heng was revealing.
With Shi Yue's current ability, he should not be considered a pavilion chief, not to mention a county official, at least a county official. However, he is nearly forty years old and has served in Qin Pavilion for nearly ten years, but has not made any progress. This is actually It doesn't make sense.
There is a big problem with the promotion of local officials.
Fusu said in a deep voice: "There is a problem with the selection of officials in this county."
Ji Heng shook his head and sneered: "Is it just this one county? I think it's the entire Daqin."
"I don't know much about Shi Yue's ability to handle political affairs at the moment, but the Qin Pavilion is well organized and the people in the pavilion treat him with courtesy and respect. This is enough to prove that Shi Yue is capable, at least he can convince the public."
"His talents may not be as good as those of the courtiers, but judging from the past situation of Great Qin, at the age of forty, he should at least enter the county level. But now he is afraid of falling into trouble and losing his position as pavilion chief."
"This proves that there is a big problem with Da Qin's political system."
Fusu looked sad.
There was a solemn look in his eyes.
Ji Heng said: "Ignoring Guandong, the promotion of people in Guanzhong relied mostly on military merit in the past. With the end of large-scale wars, the people at the bottom no longer have the opportunity to obtain military merit. This also means that the people at the bottom have lost their room for advancement."
"As far as the past goes."
"The official appointment system of Da Qin is very complete."
"Every year, there is a special accounting committee to assess officials at all levels, and then they are promoted or dismissed. However, this official assessment system was adopted at the beginning of the founding of the Qin Dynasty. After the Renzi system was established, it was almost half abolished."
"Especially Guanzhong!"
"Because there are many people in Qin who have military merit."
"The 'appointment system' has started again, so a large number of officials' children have flooded the local area. There are people above these officials' children. How many of the local officials dare to offend?"
"In the end, those who are in the corpse position make up the majority."
"The talented and capable are in ruins, the virtuous are coaxed, and the villains are successful."
"This is the current situation at the bottom of Da Qin."
"At the moment, local Guizhou leaders are complaining against Da Qin. When local officials completely lose confidence in the court, it will be time for Da Qin to be buried."
"It's not that far away from then."
"The problems at the bottom cannot be solved by just saving the people, but also by saving the officials."
Fusu's breathing was a little rapid.
He argued: "There are indeed many local problems, but this is not what the court wants."
"When the world was first established, within a month of the promulgation of the official edict and the official worship edict, the imperial court began to integrate the government offices. The most important government offices of the three gongs, nine ministers and twelve officials absorbed a large number of officials. One government office added nearly a hundred officials."
"It was only when the preparations for the establishment of the imperial government, the three ministers, the nine ministers and the twelve government offices were completed, thirty-six county governors, and the appointment of officials for more than a thousand county magistrates had to be solved. At that time, the counties were first established, and new counties and old counties were intertwined. There is a mixed bag of good and bad officials, many new frontier counties have no county governors, and the shortage of county magistrates is as high as 60%."
"It was precisely due to the extreme shortage of officials that the imperial court implemented the 'appointment of officials according to locality'."
"One is to screen the old officials of the six countries and select those who are capable and have no major flaws. The other is to issue an order to all counties and counties to recruit traveling scholars to serve as officials in the counties and counties. Later, they will be reported to the imperial censor's office for approval."
"Even so, there is still a shortage of officials."
"In the end, His Majesty added another way to employ people."
"I will be appointed as the son of a meritorious official."
"This is really an emergency measure, but also a last resort."
"Sir's criticism is completely unreasonable."
Ji Heng's expression remained normal and he said slowly: "Since it is an emergency, has there been any change after nine years?"
Fusu's expression froze.
Ji Heng added: "I remember that these officials were appointed to 'fake' positions, and their political performance will be checked in the future. But has the imperial court really seriously verified the political performance of these officials?"
"in addition."
"Does the court really care about the lower-level officials?"
"Today's Great Qin has completely abandoned the bottom class, not only abandoning the ministers at the head of Guizhou, but also the most basic officials. To a certain extent, Great Qin's political innovation has failed."
"The Qin Dynasty has intentionally abolished the military merit system in recent years, but has not provided any replacement. It just wants to appease the middle officials and tries to stabilize the world with these heroes and heroes."
"But I said that a long time ago."
"The world has changed!"
"What Great Qin has lost is not only the hearts of the people, but also the hearts of the lowest level officials. At present, local officials, due to past habits, still maintain a certain respect for Great Qin, but this awe is destined to fade after successive cold encounters. .”
"Qin is a majority united by interests."
"Once Da Qin abandons the majority due to the balance of interests, it is destined to be abandoned by the majority."
"This is Da Qin's own choice."
Fusu's face turned pale.
Ji Heng continued: "In the past few years, many people have this understanding of Da Qin. There is more than enough innovation, not enough observance, great political success, and no foundation for people's livelihood. But in my opinion, this understanding is wrong."
"Da Qin wanted to cover everything, but actually accomplished nothing."
"And he still insists on having his own way."
Ji Heng's words were serious.
It even made Fusu a little hard to accept.
(End of chapter)
