Daqin: When I return from sea, I will offer you a map of the world

Chapter 523 The Impatient First Emperor
"Your Highness...this..."

Upon hearing this, the ministers were immediately ready to speak out to dissuade him.

Where can I pay in installments? There were real slaves in their house.

Moreover, there are quite a few.

It sounds like an exchange of equal value, but it's hard to say whether we can get the money back from the government.

"What? Do you not trust Gu or the government? Are you afraid Gu won't pay you back?" Zhao Si raised his eyebrows slightly.

"I dare not..."

Zhao Si blocked their retreat with just one sentence. He really couldn't believe what he said, but he couldn't say it openly.

"You're right if you don't dare!" Zhao Si glared at the minister who spoke.

"Okay, all the ministers, you are all ministers of the country. At present, the Great Qin treasury is not rich. There are constant wars in Lingnan, and Longxi is also in urgent need of money and food for reclamation. I don't want to give the money to you directly. This amount of money is really not a small amount. The army is now in full swing. When the time comes to launch an expedition to the Mauryan Dynasty, you might as well do the math, as one trip and one trip will be all expenses.

The release of official slaves is free of charge. The reason why I let private slaves redeem themselves is because of the respect of the ministers.

"Lingnan, Longxi, and Chu, wherever people are needed, they can be sent there. They are slaves. Once they are freed, they will not have much resistance when they are released to reclaim the wasteland. If there are family members who are willing to move with them, they will be sent as well." ." Zhao Si said.

But the current situation is like this, and you, all ministers, should also take care of yourself. "Zhao Si spoke earnestly.

It had been more than three days, and the release of the slaves was a bit sudden to the civil and military officials, but Li Si was the first to know about it.

The ministers looked at each other in confusion and spoke with intention. Seeing Zhao Si's eyes widening, they knew that it was a foregone conclusion and they didn't know how to refute.

Regardless of whether the redemption money can reach them, at least there is an IOU, right?

For Li Si, it was nothing more than writing down the thoughts in his mind on paper and sending them through the court to inform all officials.

"They are all technical talents. If these craftsmen are allowed to farm, they will be overqualified. Let's draw up a charter to distribute salaries..." Zhao Si said.

"Your Highness Taisun... alas..."

"See Your Highness!" 2
Zhao Si sat down and waved his hand: "There is no need to be formal. The court will issue an order to release the slaves, but someone must be responsible for implementing it. I summoned you two for this purpose."

"I have a question..." Xian Gong spoke immediately after sitting down.

At the end of the court meeting, the courtiers could not calm down for a long time because of the heavy news of the release of slaves. Zhao Si was not idle after he retired from the court, and sent Jizhu to summon Li Si and Xian Gong.

"So, now that we have finished talking about today's court meeting, we can call it a day!" Zhao Si did not give the courtiers any room to react. He waved his hand and ran away, leaving a bunch of courtiers looking at each other in shock.

When Zhao Si held a court meeting, they could at least refute one or two things, and based on objective evaluation, Zhao Si at least compensated them.

"Then take it out as soon as possible. We will just issue an edict to all counties and counties all over the world and implement it as soon as possible." Zhao Si said.

"There are many slaves in the Shaozuo Mansion, and most of them are craftsmen. If the slave liberation law is implemented, the Shaozuo Mansion may not be sustainable for a while..." Xian Gong said in a deep voice.

"Good!" Zhao Si nodded.

"The cultivated land is all inhabited. With so many slaves released, we can only open up wasteland. This reclamation... I'm afraid it will be difficult to make ends meet in the first two years. Official slaves are fine, but private slaves will have to pay extra taxes to redeem themselves... I'm afraid it will be difficult to make ends meet. Continue." Li Si said.

Reclamation of wasteland...

Zhao Si naturally struck while the iron was hot, and while the courtiers were still not clear-headed and had no time to huddle together, they looked at Li Si and spoke.

Including but not limited to the correction and modification of laws, the promotion and implementation of policies.

"To be honest, it's already written in my heart." Li Si smiled and said.

When I think about it this way, I feel a lot better.

When it was time to change the court clothes into regular clothes, Li Si and Xian Gong were already waiting in the East Palace.

"Does Prime Minister Li have any idea about the changes in the law?" Zhao Si asked.

"As for the young master, we have to get busy. There are so many slaves who are farmers and they have nothing. All the plows and plows have to be provided by the government. During this time, the young master will increase production and try to use whatever is in stock." Come out, there are not enough manpower, so I promised to serve as the Shaofu for three months, and the spring plowing is about to start again. During this time, there is no chance of slacking off." Zhao Si looked at Xian Gong and said.

"One more thing..." Li Si pondered for a moment before speaking.

"All the fertile land in the pass has its owner, and there are not too many wasteland that can be cultivated. After these slaves are released..." Li Si asked.

Well... for a moment, the officials began to miss the First Emperor who went to the hot spring to warm himself.

After all, Li Si is the prime minister, and he is an outstanding person after all. He has prepared for nearly two months in advance, and many things have been brewed.

"Leave it to Prime Minister Li to revise the laws of Qin. In addition, Prime Minister Li will have to worry about the release of official and private slaves in the pass." Zhao Si said.

And Gu is not a big father after all. After the slave release order is promulgated, there will inevitably be people who are lucky enough to stare here. Zhi Jinwu will be very busy in the near future..." Zhao Si sighed.

"Alas...this...the world has just settled down, and if we have to free the slaves again, I'm afraid there will be another turmoil for the rest of our lives..."

If it were the First Emperor, I'm afraid the result would be the same.

"Since no one objects, the matter is decided as such. Da Qin is in urgent need of population and encourages childbirth. It is also imperative to free slaves. Official and private slaves involve many Qin laws, so the laws also need to be revised. I will give you three days to revise the laws involved. Can Prime Minister Li do it?" Zhao Si asked.

But then I thought about it, how could the First Emperor not know about such a big thing as the liberation of slaves? All said and done, the First Emperor acquiesced in Zhao Si's behavior.

"Three days is enough!" Li Si nodded.

If it were the First Emperor, he might not even have the money to redeem himself.

This job is not that simple. In the first two years, it is normal to make ends meet.

"It is Li Xiang who makes the decision within the pass. For example, there is no need to bother in the Chu land. There is a lot of wasteland that can be reclaimed. Just register and fill in the household registration in the Chu land... Prime Minister Li has to worry about these things. Who should he let do it? Who will be responsible.

As early as Zhao Si began to supervise the country, Li Si was fully prepared.

The feudal dynasty was naturally aware of this situation, so when a land was reclaimed, it would usually be tax-free for three to five years, and then tax collection would begin when the land was mature.

"Then we will be tax-free for three years... There are high-yielding grains, as well as sweet potatoes and potatoes. No matter what, we can survive in the first two years. After three years, the fields will be mature, and it will not be too late to increase the tax by then." Zhao Si spoke.

"Then if this happens...there may be criticism from the world." Li Si said in a low voice.

"What are you criticizing? Do we have to force the capital of Guizhou to death? How can we repay the money if they all starve to death? Wait for three years, when the land is mature and there are high-yielding grains, then we will impose more taxes and the people will be able to live. Their money can also be repaid, which is a win-win situation." Zhao Si frowned.

"But in this case, there are some discrepancies with what was said at the court meeting. His Highness originally ordered the slaves to be released. The money should be paid separately. Instead of paying it off in one lump sum, it will take three years..." Li Si looked embarrassed.

"What I'm saying is that it's Gu who owes money now, not them. They can pay it back whenever Gu says. If they have any dissatisfaction, let them come to Gu. Besides, Gu only said how to pay it back at the court meeting, but not when. "Why is Mr. Li still worried about this? Is he afraid that Gu won't pay you back?" Zhao Si glanced at Li Si and said.

As the head of a hundred officials and a great nobleman, Li Si naturally had no shortage of slaves in his family.

"That's not the case..." Li Si shook his head quickly.

"Although my family's land is vast and there are many slaves, His Highness is kind-hearted and allows hiring people. After all, there is no way to survive. The family's land is just for hiring people to cultivate. All these slaves are given up. It is a lie to say that it is not painful. But Chen's family has some wealth after all, and it's not like they can't even afford to hire people.

But...those poor families..." Li Si started to say. "With one or two hundred acres of land at home, do you have any spare talent...

For those who have hundreds or thousands of slaves, the slaves will be released as soon as they are freed. It is false to say that they cannot survive, but it is those who have one, two, two or three slaves at home. Without these slaves, it is true. His bad deeds, his family’s financial resources are already weak, and if it lasts for another three years..."

Zhao Si nodded thoughtfully upon hearing this.

understood!

The slave manumission order was, at most, a pain in the ass to the nobles.

It must be very friendly to people at the bottom.

It is quite fatal for those middle class people who are neither upper nor lower.

Slaves were synonymous with property in this era.

Moreover, it was quite valuable property. The price of a healthy slave was at least as much as that of a donkey.

For the middle class, slaves may even account for half of their total assets…

"We can still get through it in the end... Let's just pay them back when we pay back the money..." Zhao Si sighed.

No policy can be perfect...

It was impossible for Da Qin to come up with the cash to redeem millions of slaves in one go. Even if it could get it, how to distribute it would be a big problem.

Someone has to bear the losses caused by policies.

After all, they are the middle class who have food, land and savings. Without slaves, they can only farm by themselves. Their vitality may be seriously damaged, but it is not really fatal.

No matter how miserable it is, how miserable can it be for a group of slaves who don't even have human rights but have to start farming and carry a lot of debt?
"One more thing..." Li Si said in a deep voice.

"Li Xiangda can finish it in one breath..." Zhao Si sighed.

"I'm afraid your highness has to go to the hot spring." Li Si said.

"I have to go there..." Zhao Si rubbed his eyebrows.

Changing the law is not a trivial matter. Although Zhao Si supervises the country, this kind of thing requires a jade seal to pass down the country.

Zhao Si had to stamp it. Not only that, but when the slave liberation order was to be issued, Zhao Si also planned to ask the First Emperor to stamp it.

After finalizing the details with Xian Gong and Li Si, Zhao Si ran to the palace to explain to his father Fusu before setting off.

Time was running out. Legal provisions and edicts would be promulgated in three days. Zhao Si had to run back and forth to Tangquan within these three days.

It’s all about planning, except sleeping, and there is almost no time for rest.

The most important matters of freeing the slaves and starting a war against the Maurya Kingdom have been finalized, and the remaining details have just been handed over to Fusu.

Regarding the matter of freeing slaves, all civil and military officials were stunned by Zhao Si. They had no time to prepare. Before the edict was issued, they had to write a letter to dissuade Zhao Si. Think about it again, there is indispensable harassment information, and these three days can be considered as avoidance. After being bombarded with information, wait until you get back to issue an edict directly to confirm the facts, which will save you the trouble.

Galloping all the way...

The sun is out of sight when I look up, the sky is a little dark, and the howling cold wind blows across the desolate land...

"Your Highness, maybe it's going to snow..." Ji Zhou looked up at the sky and said.

"The clouds haven't formed yet. Hurry up and try to get back before it starts snowing." Zhao Si poked his head out and took a look and said.

This winter has been relatively normal, much warmer than in previous years, and spring is almost here, so it snowed, and it wasn't very heavy.

In the past few years, heavy snowfalls almost caused disaster every year. Even though Guanzhong is located to the north, the Qin Dynasty was not in the Little Ice Age, which is a bit outrageous.

Tangquan is not too close to the palace. After leaving Xianyang, we walked for several hours, riding fast and hard. In the end, Zhao Si simply skipped the car and rode directly. By the time we reached Tangquan, it was already dark.

"Why did Your Highness come so late..." Meng Yi hurriedly came out to greet him.

"If we want to revise the law, we should hurry up and let the Great Father use his seal." Zhao Si smiled.

"Dad, have you rested?" Zhao Si asked.

"You have to ask the Zhongche Mansion..." Meng Yi smiled and led Zhao Si into the palace.

Not to mention that the First Emperor came to the hot springs to keep warm. It was different with the hot springs. It was much warmer inside the palace than outside.

However, there are also fire dragons in the palace, and apart from doing a little work, they are actually no worse than Tangquan.

"Is the eldest father asleep?" Zhao Si looked for the CRRC Mansion Order.

"I just took the young master to rest, I don't dare to disturb..."

"Guide the way, I'll go and see..." Zhao Si waved his hand.

The weather was bad and Zhao Si was worried about snow, so he did not dare to delay.

Light snow is fine, but if it snows heavily and the roads are blocked, the decree may be delayed.

Under Qian's leadership, the two cautiously entered the house together.

After explaining in a low voice to the palace servant, the palace servant who was responsible for waiting for the call carefully opened the door and entered.

"Your Majesty..." The palace attendant carefully came to the bed and leaned in front of the First Emperor and called.

The First Emperor raised his hand slightly, and the palace attendants immediately held their voices.

The First Emperor took a careful look at the little child slave who was sleeping in his arms. His arm was pressed by the child slave and it was difficult to pull it out, so he turned slightly and spoke.

"what happened?"

"Your Highness Taisun is here..." the palace man replied in a low voice.

"Why?"

"It said that he wanted to revise the law and use a seal...so he found it."

A faint smile appeared on the Emperor's face, and he waved his hand impatiently.

"What should I be..."

"Go and tell him that the little slave is asleep and we will talk tomorrow." The First Emperor said,
"The weather is bad. It may snow. Your Highness is worried that the roads will be blocked by then..."

Upon hearing this, the First Emperor showed a trace of impatience on his face...

"Okay, okay, go and ask Qian to hand over the seal to him!"

(End of this chapter)