my grandfather was qin shi huang

Chapter 338 Small Cabinet

Outside Zhangtai Palace.

Zhao Ying stopped again and looked back at the First Emperor beside him.

The warm winter sun shone slantingly on the tall and straight body of the First Emperor. From this angle, one could just see the First Emperor's face as sharp as a knife and an axe, as well as the growing number of white hairs on the temples.

In the sun, it is slightly dazzling.

"Uncle, I am going and will come back as soon as possible. You must not work too hard in the palace. There is no need to do some government affairs personally. Prime Minister Feng has matured and managed the country. Prime Minister Li is good at making decisions. Meng Ming is meticulous and pragmatic. Dear courtiers , and they all work hard. With them here, the government of our Great Qin Dynasty can be guaranteed to be safe..."

When the First Emperor saw his eldest grandson, he was nagging and admonishing him again and again, just like a child. He knew that the child was worried about his health from the bottom of his heart, so he didn't find him annoying.

Smiling and nodding.

"Okay, okay, Dad knows, you must eat well, practice boxing well, and rest well..."

Zhao Ying: ...

Seeing the First Emperor coaxing him like a child, Zhao Ying became more and more worried. He turned around and took the First Emperor's hand and persuaded him earnestly.

"Father, I'm serious. Your body is more important than anything else! You are the Dinghai Shenzhen of our Great Qin. As long as you are good and good, no one in the world will dare to sit down and eat nothing and ignore the government orders. Those who are spreading everywhere Rumors and those who try to subvert are just clowns and cannot make any waves——"

Having said this, Zhao Ying looked at the First Emperor, hesitated for a moment, and then tentatively said.

"Before I come back, I might as well put away those memorials that are not too urgent. If you really can't wait, you can leave them to Li Chen, Zhuo Yi and Xu Zhi. Although these three people are young, they are extremely talented and have control over the world. You need to know your priorities - you may be able to share your worries for me and make some simple comments on the contents of the memorial first, and then my father will make the final instructions..."

In fact, this was the prototype of the Ming Dynasty's cabinet and ceremonial supervisor.

Zhao Ying originally didn't want to say it, because this kind of thing is actually a bit taboo. Even now, he has won the favor of the First Emperor, and he does not dare to test it easily when it is related to such a major matter of the reform of the country's political system.

Because he was well aware of the First Emperor's obsession with concentrating imperial power.

For this reason, the First Emperor abolished enfeoffment and promoted counties. The generals who led the army only had temporary powers. After the war, they had to hand over their military power.

Such a person, do you want him to delegate the supreme authority of reviewing memorials?

He really didn't want to say it.

But he knew the First Emperor too well, and he knew that as soon as he left Xianyang, the First Emperor would definitely turn into the workaholic he used to be.

Once I get caught up in Jiangnan's affairs and cannot come back in time, all the abilities I have made to improve the body of the First Emperor will definitely be destroyed in a very short period of time!
Because the First Emperor was too desperate, "Everything in the world, big or small, is decided by the superiors. The superiors use weighing stones to measure books, and they submit day and night. If they fail to deliver, they will not be able to rest."

This is recorded in "Historical Records".

Since many documents had to be reviewed every day, the subordinate officials in the palace even had to use the unit of "stone" to measure the various documents that the First Emperor wanted to review.

The First Emperor was extremely strict with himself, even to the point of harshness. He set specific quotas for the documents he had to process during the day and night. If the number of reviews did not reach the quota, he would not rest.

According to historical records, the documents he needs to process every day amount to one to two hundred kilograms and nearly 30 words.

It would take nearly twenty hours to review all these documents.But looking at this number is enough to make one's scalp numb, and the First Emperor has been doing this for decades!
This is why when the First Emperor was less than fifty, his temples were gray, his body was exhausted, and he even had to swallow pills to boost his spirits.

And all this is what Zhao Ying does not want to see.

Today's Great Qin cannot live without the First Emperor.

If the First Emperor could live for another day, the Qin Dynasty would be more stable. If the First Emperor could live for thirty more years, no, even for twenty more years, the world would be peaceful without rule!
When the time comes, wouldn't it be nice to be a third-generation emperor or a second-generation emperor with peace of mind?

Therefore, he hesitated and made this suggestion.

However, he did not dare to mention the flattery of the Supervisor of Ceremonies, nor did he dare to mention the cabinet votes. Instead, he took a compromise path and found a few "newcomers" with shallow qualifications and low grades, but who were highly valued by the First Emperor.

An attempt was made to desensitize the First Emperor to the issue.

Sure enough, when I heard that Zhao Ying wanted Li Chen, Zhuo Yi, Xu Zhi and others to give him preliminary opinions, he just frowned slightly and did not directly deny Zhao Ying's proposal.

Zhao Ying couldn't help but secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile.

"My eldest father, Li Chen, Zhuo Yi and Xu Zhi, although they are very talented and knowledgeable and have the enthusiasm to serve the imperial court, they have little qualifications and lack of experience. My eldest father just takes this opportunity to examine and cultivate their abilities—— I believe that with the cultivation of my great father, the three of them will soon stand out and become the rising stars of our Great Qin..."

The First Emperor originally wanted to refuse, but when he heard this, he couldn't help but feel moved in his heart. He glanced at his eldest grandson, who still had a trace of childishness in his eyebrows, pondered for a moment, and then nodded with a smile.

"Okay, then I'll listen to you. Let the three of them come over and help me briefly handle the government affairs first - I'll say yes first, and give it a simple try first. If they don't have that ability, or something goes wrong , then don’t blame me..."

When Zhao Ying heard this, he was overjoyed and smiled.

"That's natural. Father knows rewards and punishments..."

The First Emperor kicked him angrily.

"Go away, go away, go away. The majestic grandson of the emperor will flatter me and pour me soul soup..."

Zhao Ying smiled and jumped to the side, running away.

Behind him, the First Emperor couldn't help laughing.

"Remember to inform Li Chen and the other three to get ready and report to me every morning!"

……

The First Emperor stood behind the railing until Zhao Ying's figure completely disappeared outside the palace gate, then he gently turned around and looked at Hei who was following not far behind him.

"Let people check the background of Li Chen, Zhuo Yi and Xu Zhi..."

"promise!"

Black bowed down.

The First Emperor slowly walked back to the main hall with his hands behind his back.

"Perhaps it's time to consider preparing some teams for him..."

The First Emperor sat down slowly and looked at the memorial in front of him, one name after another flashing through his mind.Then he subconsciously picked up the brush and gently wrote three names on the manuscript in front of him:

Li Chen, Zhuo Yi, Xu Zhi!
Then, he gently wrote three big words:
Confucianism, Taoism and Law!
Then, he leaned back on the chair, narrowed his eyes slightly, and stared at the three big characters below. His eyes were as deep as an abyss, and no shadow could be seen. …

After leaving the First Emperor's side hall, Zhao Ying turned around and went to where Li Chen, Zhuo Yi and Xu Zhi worked.

"Are Yushi Li, Yushi Zhuo and Yushi Xu here?"

The three people were responsible for affairs in all directions, and had to deal with a large amount of official documents every day. They also had to draft edicts and submit them to the First Emperor for sealing. They were so busy that sometimes they didn't even have time to drink water.

At this time, while he was looking over his head, contemplating the words for an edict, he suddenly heard a voice outside and quickly raised his head.

Seeing that it was the official who was assisting, he led Zhao Ying in.

He quickly put down what he was doing and hurriedly greeted him.

"I didn't know that His Royal Highness, the Emperor's eldest grandson, was coming to visit me. I missed you from afar, so please forgive me!"

Zhao Ying was their examiner. Although in this era, there was no such thing as a master, Zhao Ying was indeed a blessing to them.This made them respect Zhao Ying even more.

Zhao Ying stepped forward with a smile and held their arms.

"You three don't have to be polite. I just came over for a visit and wanted to inform you of something..."

Hearing that Zhao Ying had something to do, the three people suddenly became serious and bowed.

"Your Highness, please give me instructions!"

Zhao Ying smiled and waved his hands.

"You don't have to be so restrained in front of me——"

As Zhao Ying spoke, he walked to the table where the three of them were just now, picked up the edict that the three of them had just drafted, glanced at it, and saw that it was the letter he had just approved in the morning regarding Hanzhong County's request to relax salt. Monument on iron monopoly and allowing private participation in operation.

Then he put it down quite casually and smiled.

"What do you three think about the salt and iron franchise in Hanzhong County..."

Seeing Zhao Ying suddenly asking about this, the three of them couldn't help but look at each other. They didn't understand what Zhao Ying meant and didn't dare to talk rashly.After all, Xu Zhi, who was born in Legalism and had Li Si as his teacher, stood up and said.

"Your Majesty has already made a final decision regarding the salt and iron franchise. The officials and others are only responsible for passing the news on, and do not dare to comment..."

Zhao Ying smiled and waved his hands.

"It's okay. Today we are just going to talk in private. No matter whether it is right or wrong, it will stop here. You will not leave this room. You can just speak freely..."

The three people immediately looked at each other.

Knowing that this was probably the emperor's eldest grandson's attempt to test himself and others, perhaps it had something to do with the so-called notice he had just given. Knowing that it was about their own future, they all immediately cheered up.

Xu Zhidao.

"The salt and iron franchise is the foundation of the country. It is related to the taxation of the imperial court and the foundation of the country. Merchants and their like are naturally profit-seeking, buying low and selling high. Once the buttons are loosened, it will inevitably have an impact on the income of the imperial court. I believe that your majesty's This decision is truly a wise one!"

Zhao Ying smiled and nodded, looking at Zhuo Yi aside.He had a good impression of this young man who had been following Chun Yuyue silently, and he was looking forward to his opinion on this issue.

Zhuo Yi hesitated for a moment and bowed.

"I come from a family of ordinary people. Perhaps I can speak to His Highness about this matter as an ordinary person. The imperial court's monopoly can certainly enrich the national treasury, but because of the imperial court's monopoly, many places are overstaffed, resulting in a shortage of salt and iron resources in various places and low prices. In Gaoqi, a home for ordinary people, not only eating salt has become an extremely difficult matter, but even getting an iron pot is extremely difficult. Just like the home of Wei Chen, before he became an official in the court, even For cooking, ordinary pottery is used, which is extremely inconvenient..."

Having said this, Zhuo Yi raised his head and looked at Zhao Ying.

"Your Highness, if I ask you to speak, I think that the imperial court may open an opening to allow some local gentry families with good character and law-abiding conduct to operate this matter. This may be a help to the imperial court, and ordinary people can also benefit from it. Profit..."

After saying that, he bowed deeply again.

"Your Highness, please think twice..."

Zhao Ying smiled and nodded.

In fact, he naturally understood what Zhuo Yi said.

As long as any resource is monopolized in any era, problems will inevitably arise.Although the current salt and iron monopoly system in Da Qin can increase the wealth of the court in a short period of time and strengthen control over the people, it is not conducive to the development of industry and commerce, and has even become a disaster area that breeds corruption. In some places, officials are corrupt. It has become a scourge, making people's livelihood miserable.

In fact, originally in history, the Han Dynasty, which was built on the bones of the Qin Dynasty, learned this lesson. One of the reasons for the demise of the Qin Dynasty was that throughout the early Han Dynasty, before Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the monopoly system was abolished. .

In addition, the war had been going on for a long time and the people's minds were settled. Those careerists also grabbed what they wanted during the war in the last years of the Qin Dynasty and began to settle down. In time, the court came up with some relatively stable economic, political, and foreign policies. Only then came the Wenjing rule and a prosperous and prosperous scene in the early Han Dynasty.

Therefore, what Zhuo Yi said makes sense.Relaxing the salt and iron monopoly policy is an inevitable trend, but it cannot happen now.

Seeing that Zhao Ying was noncommittal, Zhuo Yi stepped back with some disappointment.

Zhao Ying looked calmly at Li Chen, who was silent on the side, wanting to know the Taoist apprentice's attitude towards this matter.

Li Chen bowed in confusion.

"Governing a big country is like cooking small dishes. Only by letting nature take its course and maintaining policy stability can the world be blessed. There are advantages and disadvantages to monopolizing salt and iron, but liberalizing policies and allowing private operations must be done carefully. How to liberalize and what to liberalize. After liberalization, how should people respond, how to tax, how much to levy, and how to balance prices and ensure the interests of the people are all problems. If these issues are not considered well, I think it is better to maintain the status quo for the time being and deal with those who have problems. The place needs to be renovated first..."

One question and three different answers.

Not only was Zhao Ying not disappointed, he was in a good mood and laughed.

"Good! The three of you are indeed outstanding and have the talent to govern the country!"

Li Chen, Zhuo Yi and Xu Zhi looked at the emperor's eldest grandson with some confusion. Just when they were confused, they heard the emperor's eldest grandson laugh.

"Your Majesty wants to establish a cabinet to help you draft memorials to various places..."

When Li Chen, Zhuo Yi and Xu Zhi heard this, they couldn't help but take a breath of cold air, and then they realized the hidden meaning in Huang Changsun's words, and their hearts beat wildly!

Looking at the three people who were already blushing, Zhao Ying finally turned serious.

(End of this chapter)