Prime Minister of Great Qin

Chapter 359: When in doubt, make money first! (Please subscribe)

Fusu looked heavy.

Just thinking about that scene made him feel terrified.

He looked at Ji Heng and said in a deep voice: "Now that you have seen the hidden dangers, do you have any solutions?"

Ji Heng ignored it.

He just continued to drink tea. After finishing the bowl of tea, he put down the tea bowl and said calmly: "In fact, there is no need for you to be so nervous and worried. The powerful and the country squires are indeed very harmful, but if they really have the ability to subvert the world, , how can he always be suppressed by the nobles and scholars? The reason is that in addition to the powerful people deliberately avoiding it, the more important reason is the lack of strength. "

"A strong man and a country squire don't have that kind of strength."

"However, powerful men and country squires were not noticed in the past."

"It's really profitable for them."

"But as I said before, powerful people actually belong to the class of 'scholars', but they belong to the lowest level of 'scholars'. They have a lower status than ordinary scholars, and everything they own is actually attached to ' Right on."

"They don't hold the power themselves."

"So we can only rely on officials."

"So targeting powerful people will ultimately end up targeting officials."

"It's just that officials are not easy to target. The local areas are mixed and various forces are entrenched. The court's control over the local areas is not that strong. If you attack the officials rashly, it will only force more forces to rebel against Qin."

Fusu was silent.

This is indeed a problem.

But according to what Ji Heng said, aren't the policies he continues to implement ultimately targeting officials?

Why would Ji Heng say that he has the greatest influence on powerful people and country squires?
He was a little puzzled.

Just when Fusu was secretly wondering, he suddenly thought of something and reacted instantly. These policies have indeed had a great impact on the local political structure and will also cause great turmoil for local officials. However, no matter how much fighting there is between officials, Fierceness is just internal fighting, and it will only show up in the form of 'powerful' substitutions.

And the original tyrant will not sit still and wait for death.

Therefore, they will only collude with local officials and try to suppress or even directly kill these officials to eliminate the threat to their own families. This also means that, to a certain extent, local officials are Can profit from it.

Because in order to protect themselves, the powerful will only give more benefits to the officials.

But that's not right either.

The arrival of new officials will definitely affect the original local structure. The local officials may not give up and will inevitably cause a fight between dragons and tigers in the local area. However, this does not seem to have any impact on the imperial court.

in a moment.

Fusu had a strange look on his face.

However, Fusu soon calmed down. If the newly appointed officials could change the old local structure, it would be acceptable. If not, it would prove that there is no water to pour in, and the government's decrees will always be the same. Perfunctory.

How is this different from the fiefdoms of the past?

How can this court tolerate it?
Fusu cupped his hands and said, "In your opinion, sir, what should the court do?"

"And from Fusu's point of view, no matter how the officials change, the powerful ones will have the greatest influence. I'm afraid they will not sit still and wait for death. They will definitely take various measures. But Fusu is a little confused. What will the powerful people do? Will they really do it? Dare to take action against Qin?"

Ji Heng shook his head.

He chuckled and said, "I do have the intention to rebel against Qin, but I don't know if I have the courage."

"They are not nobles."

"All they control is the land."

"Even if you rebel against Qin, I'm afraid you will make more wedding clothes for others."

"How could they easily cut off their own way of survival?"

"Land is something that cannot be moved or moved. Firstly, they do not have a prominent family background like the nobles, and secondly, they do not have hundreds of years of money accumulation like the nobles. Once something happens, they will basically lose their money and money."

"Today's powerful forces are too weak."

"But this weakness is only temporary. With the withdrawal of nobles and scholars, the powerful will step by step onto the stage of history. Now the powerful are just colluding with the officials to bully the local people in the fish and meat countryside. When they themselves enter the official career, they will When an official becomes a local official and controls the power of a place, the tyrants become real local nobles!"

"So the system that makes the capital of Guizhou independent of the real field must be abolished."

“The return of land to the public must also continue to be implemented.”

"It's just not the time yet, but it's already time for the powerful to recognize the current situation."

"Things like tyranny cannot be eradicated directly."

"The only thing the court can do."

"Just let the powerful men change their positions every once in a while."

"Avoid being powerful and powerful."

"What can really be avoided is to break the old local structure, introduce new forces, and set off a struggle between local forces, so that local governments can avoid being dominated by one company."

"The 'scholar' class must always be on guard."

"They will never die."

"But if we target the local officialdom so blatantly and change its appearance, the court cannot control the local government now, and the local officials will not be convinced, so we can only go back to the old ways. .”

"Co-opting divisions and suppressing them."

"Divide the local forces into several parts."

"Win some people together, suppress some people, and divide some people."

"Then the officials of the imperial court can intervene, thus forming a landing point for the imperial court to strengthen its control over the local area in the future. Now the local areas are still afraid of the imperial court, and the power of the First Emperor can still intimidate the local area, so it is better to go faster than slower."

Fusu nodded.

But he said with some doubts: "But these officials in Guandong have been serving in the local area for many years. I am afraid they are deeply rooted and have been connected with each other for many years. Even if the court puts some people in, I am afraid it will be difficult to form an effective breakthrough. "

"What should I do?"

Ji Heng sneered and said disdainfully: "The fortresses are all disintegrating from within. They may indeed be united now, and they are unanimous in dealing with the outside world. They cover up each other's problems, but the hustle and bustle in the world is all for profit and gain."

"Once interests are involved."

"No matter how united our allies are, they will become fragile."

"They will be no exception."

Fusu sat upright.

He took a deep breath to keep himself calm and said in a deep voice: "Sir, please elaborate."

Ji Heng chuckled.

He refilled himself a bowl of tea.

Subsequently.

Ji Heng said with a deep look: "You actually don't know much about this. The harm of officials colluding with powerful people is far greater than you think, and it is much greater. However, the powerful people have only been around for a short time, so you can realize that they are There are really not many people who are doing harm right now.”

"It's quite excusable."

"You think the imperial court should suppress those officials?"

Fu Su frowned.

He lowered his head in thought and asked uncertainly: "A stingy man related to the fields?"

Ji Heng shook his head.

Fusu asked again: "Officials related to personnel affairs?"

Ji Heng shook his head again.

Fusu looked at Ji Heng, hesitated for a moment, and then said again: "Where are the censors and judges related to the law?"

Ji Heng still shook his head.

see.

Fusu smiled wryly.

He said helplessly: "Fusu can't think of it, please let me know."

"Yanguan Iron Official." Ji Heng said.

Hear the words.Fusu was stunned.

"Yanguan, Tieguan?" Fusu looked at Ji Heng in disbelief, and said solemnly: "Sir, did you say it wrong? Wasn't Fusu the one who created these relevant offices? These offices were established not long ago. How much does it have to do with local powerful people?"

Fusu was really confused.

Ji Heng smiled faintly and said calmly: "It is precisely because it was founded not long ago and you are in charge of it, so starting from Yanguan Tieguan is the least likely to catch on and is the easiest to be accepted by the local government."

"Why is this?" Fusu asked.

Ji Heng said one word simply and clearly: "Profit."

Fu Su frowned.

"Salt and iron, whether produced, transported or sold, will generate a lot of benefits."

"It's just that in the past, these benefits largely fell into the pocket of the imperial court. It's just been two years since the implementation of the Salt and Iron New Deal. How could it not create a shady story? How could it not breed corruption?"

"How can such abundant benefits not make people jealous?"

"But do you think these benefits will eventually fall on local officials?"

Fusu shook his head.

It must be impossible.

If there is really a case of corruption.

The leading official must have the majority, and other officials can only envy them.

immediately.

Fusu also understood.

If a problem is really discovered, these officials will definitely be investigated and punished. How can local officials not be jealous of such a lucrative position?This will inevitably create fights among local officials, and then tear apart their original unity.

It's just that this method will hurt the enemy eight hundred and damage one's own one thousand.

He was also quite helpless.

This is all his own money bag.

Ji Heng's eyes were deep and he said quietly: "It is not enough to just investigate the salt and iron, and it is not worth the effort, but there is still much to be done by extending the salt and iron to the investigation of 'city officials'."

"What Da Qin promotes is the market."

"Each county has its own fair."

"There is also a lot of oil and water in it. In the past, you relied on salt and iron to make money, but now you have your hands in the 'market', it will not attract too many people to object. What the local government loses is only the interests of a small number of officials, and the vacant But they are three highly profitable official offices.”

"How can they not be moved by this?"

"And as long as the court continues to investigate, something will happen to the relevant officials."

"This has changed the old pattern."

"When the court arranges more people to go down, it will be easier to control."

heard.

Fusu nodded excitedly.

He is fully aware of the huge profits of salt and iron, and the huge profits of the market are actually not inferior to those of salt and iron.

Daqin's 'cities' are divided into many categories. The free market dominated by private traders is called 'Jia Shi', the 'official city' run by the government and belonging to the state-owned economy, the 'military market' that meets the daily needs of frontier soldiers are called 'military market' and so on.

In the past he could only affect salt and iron.

If you can control the market.

He believed that the money and food collected by the imperial court would only increase.

Da Qin is very short of money.

Ji Heng's suggestion immediately won Fusu's approval.

He said happily: "This is a very good plan."

"Da Qin has done a lot this year and has spent a lot of money and food, so it needs to find supplements in money and food. However, the money and food collected by Salt and Iron in the past two years have indeed been less, so the court has every excuse to investigate, and the market has also been the bulk of tax revenue in the past. , in order to make money, the imperial court also went to investigate, which is justifiable."

"It won't trigger too many people's sensitivities."

"Through this move, the imperial court can not only ensure the taxation of money and grain from salt and iron, but also collect more related city taxes to a certain extent. This will also be a great supplement to Daqin's already somewhat short-term treasury."

"The most important thing is that it all makes sense."

"In this way, although the imperial court cannot really control local city taxes, it can still collect a lot of municipal taxes through this incident. It can also make local officials fight with each other openly and secretly, stir up the local situation, and make them have no energy to fight against the imperial court. Then reduce their threat to the court."

"Multiple actions."

"Wonderful!"

Fusu couldn't help but clapped his hands and praised.

Ji Heng shook his head.

Fusu was a little too optimistic.

He never thought about the importance of salt and iron.

Following this decree from the imperial court, the relevant government agencies were shocked and panicked.

How could they really sit back and wait for death?

Winter will begin in just a few months.

If something goes wrong with the salt and iron at this time, it will only cause greater turmoil. If it is to be truly implemented, the normal supply of salt and iron must be guaranteed, which Fusu did not consider.

He sighed inwardly.

Fusu's insight into human nature is ultimately insufficient.

He said coldly: "Governmental orders are not just written down, and officials will follow them. If their own lives and wealth are involved, how can they really obey? Moreover, the imperial court has tightened its control over officials. This discerning person will If you can see it, how could they not notice it?"

"Plan and then act."

“It’s impossible to only consider the results and not the process.”

"You think too little."

heard.

Fusu calmed down for a moment.

The excitement on his face disappeared instantly.

Replaced by apprehension.

He cupped his hands uneasily and said, "Fusu got a little carried away with his pride, but Mr.'s idea was really wonderful. Fusu couldn't help but forget about it. Please forgive me, Mr."

Ji Heng shook his head and said: "It's all about interests to win over and divide people."

"And benefits don't come for free."

"Just diversion."

"Before the imperial court really implements it, local officials will not fight among themselves, let alone criticize each other. Only when the dust has settled, will these irrelevant officials beat up the fallen dog. Before that, they will just wait and see what happens. , but how could these officials who were targeted remain indifferent? How could they ignore them and let the ax of the imperial court fall on their heads?"

"The shipwreck in Huai County was only two years ago."

When he heard the shipwreck in Huai County, Fusu's expression suddenly changed, and his whole person instantly became serious.

The shipwreck in Huai County scared him. If it happened again in Guandong, he was not sure that it could be solved properly. Once there was a problem with the salt and iron involving tens of millions of people, it would really be a big deal.

"Fusu is wrong." Fusu said.

Ji Heng snorted coldly and said indifferently: "The imperial court is indeed responsible for rectifying the salt, iron and market, but this cannot be said openly, and it cannot be known to outsiders. Only when everything is prepared can it be implemented."

"Otherwise it will be self-defeating."

"even."

"A crushing defeat."

"Cultivation of human affairs to defeat heaven, this is what you should do."

(End of this chapter)