my grandfather was qin shi huang

The collection of summer grain has also come to an end.

Because of the promotion of Champa rice, grain harvests in various places have increased significantly this year, especially in Nanjun, Changsha County, Lujiang County and Kuaiji County, which were personally promoted by Zhao Ying. On average, the harvests increased by almost 30%.

The taxes of the Qin Dynasty were collected according to the harvest, more in good years, less in bad years, or even nothing. Therefore, after this wave of taxes, the money and grain bags of the court were greatly enriched in an instant.

These days, Zhisune Shiteng has been speaking with a tougher tone.

His face was flushed and he was in a very good mood.

This was due to the fact that the local area was extremely suitable for growing Champa rice, and also because Zhao Ying took the opportunity to reorganize the wealthy families in the south of the Yangtze River and distribute the large amount of land he had acquired to ordinary people.

The common people got their own land and received support from the court's Qingmiao Loan, which further boosted their enthusiasm.

The achievements of Kuaiji County, which is guarded by Prince Jianglu and Li You, this year have almost blinded everyone's eyes. The grain output this year has skyrocketed by nearly 40%!

The canal construction in the polder that Zhao Ying presided over completely changed the agricultural infrastructure of Kuaiji County and greatly increased the arable land area of ​​the people.

It has greatly stimulated the local people's enthusiasm for farming.

It unexpectedly made Kuaiji County a land of fish and rice that attracted the attention of both the government and the public.

"Zuo Xiang, you gave birth to a good son..."

The First Emperor looked at the report in his hand, stroked his beard, and looked at Li Si, who was standing with his hands down, with an approving look. Upon hearing this, Li Si bowed respectfully and thanked him.

"Thank you for your praise. I can achieve what I have today thanks to your Majesty's guidance in Kuaiji County and Mr. Jianglu's unremitting support..."

When the First Emperor heard this, he couldn't help laughing.

"Left Prime Minister, there is no need to be modest. Your son has made an indelible contribution to the current situation in Kuaiji County."

Of course, he knew clearly why Kuaiji County could achieve its current success.

If it weren't for his eldest grandson who went there and carried out drastic reforms in Kuaiji County, causing those stubborn and despicable local nobles to scramble to reclaim wasteland and spend their own money and effort to build dikes and embankments, and if it weren't for his silly son who cooperated and mobilized almost all of Kuaiji County's troops to reclaim wasteland and carry out military settlements, it would have been almost wishful thinking for Kuaiji County to achieve what it has today.

Of course, Li You’s contribution cannot be ignored.

Apart from anything else, if there had not been the county magistrate Li You, who was willing to follow suit and spared no effort to support the policies formulated by his eldest grandson, Kuaiji County would definitely not have been able to achieve its current situation.

The two old fellows, Emperor Qin Shi Huang and Li Si, were pretending to be Versailles to each other, and Zhao Ying couldn't help but laugh.

Once people become parents, no matter what their identity or status is, once their children have some success, they can't help but feel very happy and want to show off in front of others.

Of course, Li Si and the First Emperor's Versailles are of a relatively high level.

"Uncle San and Magistrate Li You have indeed done an excellent job. I feel that if I don't commend them, it will not be enough to show their achievements—"

Zhao Ying said this seriously.

"I intend to issue an edict to establish Kuaiji County as a model, and order all counties in the country, especially those in Jiangnan, to learn from Kuaiji County's experience, so that more fertile lands can emerge in Jiangnan..."

The First Emperor nodded.

"Many of Kuaiji County's practices are quite effective. I also think that they can be tried out in the counties south of the Yangtze River..."

Li Si bowed and agreed.

"Good, I also think that the measures taken by Kuaiji County are quite clever and a way to break the impasse. They are worth promoting."

In this era, the Jiangnan area was not yet the land of fish and rice that it would become in later generations, nor did it have any Jiangnan style to speak of. It was still a wild and desolate place that everyone feared.

Xiong Qu's words "I am a barbarian" were not just a rejection of the Zhou royal family.

This was also the general impression of the Jiangnan region in that era.

A lot of land was not developed, with swamps everywhere, wild grass, mosquitoes, flies, snakes and insects everywhere, and miasma everywhere, which was daunting. Even until many dynasties in later generations, Jiangnan was regarded as a place of exile...

It is almost impossible to carry out large-scale development of Jiangnan simply relying on the power of the imperial court.

However, Zhao Ying's practice of giving up part of his interests in exchange for the support of local wealthy families in Kuaiji County and letting them spend their own money and effort to develop the local area did not help open up a new idea for the court.

When Zhao Ying did this, many officials in the court had objections, but they were all suppressed by the First Emperor.

Looking back now, it was an extremely clever move.

Although the wasteland reclaimed by the local wealthy families belonged to the local wealthy families, they still had to pay the taxes as usual. Although it seemed that the court had lost the management rights of the local canals, and even these canals became a tool for the local wealthy families to make profits, it greatly promoted the development of local farming, irrigated the local farmland, and increased the local grain production.

Both the imperial court and the local people benefited greatly from it.

The most important thing is that the ownership still belongs to the imperial court.

The management and use of these wealthy families are still under the jurisdiction of local governments.

Zhao Ying had originally been quite confident in this model of future generations. Now that he had received the dual approval of the First Emperor and Li Si, Zhao Ying had no more worries and immediately looked at Zhang Liang standing aside.

"Mr. Zhang, you can ask the cabinet to draft an imperial edict for me according to what I just said..."

Soon, Zhang Liang came back with a memorial.

Looking at Zhao Ying examining it carefully, he nodded slightly with satisfaction, and his hand had already reached out to the imperial seal beside him.

Zhang Liang coughed lightly, took a step forward and bowed.

"Your Majesty, the method used by Kuaiji County is indeed quite ingenious, but this method is a great test of the character and means of local officials. If local officials are corrupt and collude with local wealthy families to steal the power of the court for personal gain, the consequences will be disastrous..."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ying's hands paused slightly and he slowly raised his head.

The First Emperor and Li Si, who were standing by, also looked thoughtful.

"Zhang Qing, is there any remedy..."

Zhang Liang bowed his head and said respectfully.

"I think we can set up a special patrol duty office to strengthen the patrol strength in the areas south of the Yangtze River and supervise this matter to deter the local authorities from acting recklessly..."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ying couldn't help but look at Zhang Liang deeply.

Zhang Liang's suggestion is quite similar to the inspection team of later generations. As expected, the wisdom of each person is the same, and the wisdom of the ancients should not be underestimated. What the later generations can think of, the ancients are also similar.

Just like reading historical novels in later generations, many people talked about the work-for-relief policy with great relish. In fact, that was something left over from the State of Qi and was nothing new at all.

Zhao Ying thought about it and nodded slightly.

"Good, let's follow Zhang Qing's advice!"

At this point, he looked at Zhang Liang who was standing with his back bowed. "Then we will set up an Inspection Department to be responsible for supervising this matter. The Inspection Department has an important position and a noble position—"

Having said that, Zhao Ying looked at the First Emperor standing beside him.

"I think that the position of director is equivalent to that of one of the nine ministers. What do you think, father?"

The First Emperor's eyes moved slightly and he glanced at Zhao Ying imperceptibly. Seeing that Zhao Ying looked calm, without any strange expression, he smiled and nodded slightly.

"I think it's great too!"

After getting the approval of the First Emperor, Zhao Ying turned around and looked at Zhang Liang again.

"During this period of time, you have been by my side, working diligently and conscientiously, working hard and never complaining. Your abilities, methods and character are all first-class in the world. It is a bit of a waste of your talent for you to continue to stay by my side and serve as a small carriage official. Why don't you serve as the first director of the Inspection Department..."

Zhang Liang was shocked when he heard this. He glanced at Zhao Ying secretly with mixed feelings, then quickly retracted his gaze.

He knew exactly how he ended up in the hands of His Majesty.

He knew that this Majesty valued him very much and had always kept him by his side, entrusted him with important tasks, and involved him in many secrets that outsiders were unaware of. But he also knew that this Majesty was extremely wary of him, and once he showed any signs of ill will, he would be doomed to fail.

He never expected that this Majesty would, if he were not promoted, directly become the Director of the Inspection Department, a position higher than that of nine ministers!

"How about it? Do you have the confidence to do this job well..."

Zhang Liang looked up and saw Zhao Ying looking at him with a gentle smile, his eyes full of encouragement. He couldn't help but feel inexplicably warm in his heart and bowed his head.

"I will do my best to repay your majesty's kindness today!"

Zhao Ying smiled and nodded.

"Later, my official edict of reward will be delivered to you. Go down first and think carefully about how to transfer those people and set up the framework of your government office as soon as possible..."

Zhang Liang bowed again, stepped back a few steps, then turned around and walked away.

His body, which had always been slightly bent, gradually straightened up as he took steps forward.

Zhao Ying's facial features were sharp, far surpassing those of ordinary people. Naturally, he noticed the change in Zhang Liang's spirit at that moment. He nodded slightly, with a hint of relief in his eyes.

A talent like Zhang Liang should not be kept in a cage. He should be given a chance to display his talents.

Now, Daqin has passed the most dangerous time.

With myself and the First Emperor around, no one, let alone Zhang Liang, can shake the Qin Dynasty in the slightest.

Talents like Zhang Liang can be put to great use!

It doesn't matter if you have ulterior motives, as long as you do things honestly for me. Otherwise, the only result will be that your entire family will be wiped out.

After Zhang Liang left, the First Emperor looked at Zhao Ying standing beside him.

"Zhang Liang is a man of extraordinary ability, and a rare helper for you. You let him go, but have you ever thought about who can take his place..."

Che Fuling, don’t underestimate him because of his low rank.

But it was extremely important and not something that ordinary people could do. This was also the reason why the First Emperor, knowing that Zhao Gao was a criminal and possibly resenting the court, continued to use him.

Ah, now that I think about it, this pair of grandparents and grandchildren are exactly the same in the way they employ people...

When Zhao Ying saw the First Emperor asking this question, he immediately smiled and said.

"Zhang Cang, the county magistrate of Dunhuang, is a man of great knowledge and ability. I originally wanted to transfer him to Julu to serve as the county magistrate and give him some experience. But now it seems better to let him take up the position of the car magistrate first, work by my side for a while, and help me with daily chores..."

"Zhang Cang?"

Upon hearing this, the First Emperor could not help but frown slightly.

"Which group of candidates passed the imperial examination last year?"

Zhao Ying smiled and nodded.

"This person is quite talented. I didn't choose him as the leader at the beginning. It was also my fault. I wanted to take this opportunity to observe and train his character. Now it's finally time for him to show his talent..."

After hearing what Zhao Ying said, the First Emperor nodded with relief.

"Okay, since you have already thought it through, let Zhang Cang do it..."

In fact, in his heart, he was quite inclined to the former Imperial Chariot Officer Zhao Gao. He originally wanted to take the opportunity to recommend him to Zhao Ying, but seeing that Zhao Ying already had his favorite candidate, he gave up.

Zhang Cang himself was a little dazed when this piece of pie falling from the sky hit him on the head. Ji Bochang was also surprised by Zhang Cang's good luck. He excitedly pulled Zhang Cang's hand.

"Brother Zhang, now that you are rich and powerful, please don't forget me—"

This guy was happier than if he had gotten a promotion. He kept circling around Zhang Cang like a donkey pulling a millstone, sighing over and over again as he walked around.

"Brother Zhang, where can we go to seek justice for this matter? Suddenly, the county magistrate has become the magistrate of the carriage office..."

Zhang Cang: ...

However, he was suddenly transformed from a small county magistrate in a remote county to the commander of the imperial carriages by the emperor's side. Even though he was a calm person, he could not help but feel excited. That night, at Chunfeng Tower, the two brothers raised their glasses and drank to celebrate.

The next morning, Zhang Cang got up early, packed his clothes, sat on his donkey, and hurried to the palace.

It’s not that the salary of the Qin Dynasty is so pitiful, but these two have no family to burden them, and they are quite fond of drinking, so they can’t save any money at all.

But a donkey is also a mount, so if they have it, we can have it too.

The only thing that made him feel a little uncomfortable was that he was quite tall and the donkey was quite short, which made him look quite funny sitting on the donkey's butt.

Therefore, along the way, I attracted many people's strange looks.

He didn't take it seriously and remained calm along the way, turning a deaf ear to the discussions on the roadside.

When he arrived at the palace, he solemnly handed his donkey to the guard beside him, and instructed him to take good care of it and give it some food and fodder, so as not to let the mount starve.

The imperial guards at the palace gate couldn't help twitching their eyes when they heard this.

However, knowing that this guy was the new commander of the Chariot Office, they did not dare to be negligent in the slightest. They suppressed their smiles, took the donkey respectfully, tied it to the manger, thought for a moment, and diligently added some more food and fodder.

Those who can serve at the palace gate are all top-notch people with quick eyes. The Chariot Officer is obviously a very interesting person.

We can't hate this kind of person. (End of this chapter)