Prime Minister of Great Qin

Chapter 382 Is everything just the beginning? ! (Please subscribe)

mid-October.

The First Emperor's parade finally returned to Xianyang.

It's just that Xianyang now has long lost the excitement and hustle and bustle of half a month ago, and has become relatively calm and peaceful.

The streets are still full of people, but they are also much sparser.

Officials from all major counties and counties across the country who had gathered in Xianyang had left one after another in the past half month.

The annual Shangji Conference has also ended.

The First Emperor failed to catch up after all.

Although this time's Shangji Conference did not seem very enthusiastic due to the frequent events in the imperial court, the absence of the First Emperor still made many courtiers doubtful.

after all

This was the first time that the First Emperor was absent since he took office.

Whether it was during the unification of the world or the tour after the founding of the country, the First Emperor never missed the Shangji Conference, which also made many officials feel a strange atmosphere.

Perhaps the First Emperor was really delegating power one after another.

With the return of the First Emperor, naturally, the courtiers who were originally dissatisfied with the major political affairs finally had an outlet to vent their anger. Notices like snowflakes were sent to the palace one after another, presenting the First Emperor's major case. superior.

But the result was not what these courtiers expected.

The First Emperor ignored it at all.

Pressed down directly.

Seeing the actions of the First Emperor, all the officials were completely awakened. Fusu's actions may have been tacitly approved by the First Emperor. Perhaps the First Emperor also approved of Fusu's bold implementation.

After understanding the attitude of the First Emperor, no one in the court had any objections.

Zhang Cang's position as Shaofu was completely changed.

This "political movement" that shocked the whole country was finally carried out firmly, and the order conveyed by Fusu last month finally reached the hands of local county officials after being transmitted by postmen day and night. .

It also caught the ears of local scholars, nobles and powerful people.

a time.

They kept coming.

Surabaya County.

The world has turned cold.

There are very few people on the streets in the county.

Families with a relatively well-off family wear thick clothes all over the house, while poor families, although still wearing single clothes, are also busy storing firewood and winter grain for the winter.

Hope you can survive the coming winter this year.

At this moment, a figure was walking through the city, twisting and turning through several alleys, and stopped in front of a low and solid stone door. Liu Ji raised his hand and knocked on the door three times, and then waited patiently.

for a moment.

The door creaked softly, and a woman said in surprise: "Ah! Brother Liu is here, come in quickly."

Liu Ji grinned and walked in casually.

The woman closed the door and hurried forward, shouting to the candle-lit main room: "Brother Liu is here."

Following the woman's voice, a man in the room loudly agreed.

Then a medium-sized, slightly chubby figure walked out quickly and said with a smile: "Brother Liu, it came faster than I expected."

Liu Ji smiled and said, "That's natural. You, Xiao He, managed to have a banquet at home. How could I, Liu Ji, not come over when I heard the news? But your house in this county is too simple."

"These county officials are really unworthy of men."

Liu Ji couldn't help but curse.

Xiao He was a magistrate of Sishui County, so he ended up living in this shabby house.

Xiao He chuckled and said: "The houses in the county are expensive. This house cost me nearly one or two months' salary. The other party rented it to me cheaply because I am a county official. Otherwise, I’m afraid I won’t be able to rent it yet.”

"Let's go! Go inside first."

Liu Ji was not timid at all, just as if he were at home, looking up and down, feeling very sorry for Xiao He.

After all, Xiao He was too self-sufficient.

If he were just a little greedy like other officials, if nothing else, he would at least have a high-end mansion, and even good farmland and property in the county might have been purchased long ago. How could he live in such poverty?

But he also knew Xiao He's ambition.

So I just made a few comments.

Go into the house.

The woman who just opened the door was already pouring hot tea on a large plate.

Xiao He smiled and said: "This is brewed with Zhenze Spring Tea. Although it is not as good as the Xincha from Guandong, it is better than the coolness and fire-fighting, and it tastes good."

The woman was a gentle and virtuous young man. She poured the tea in an elegant manner and left.

Liu Ji looked at the tea in front of him suspiciously, took it up and drank a few sips, spit out the tea leaves in his mouth, and said speechlessly: "I really don't know why you admire this tea so much, what's so good about it? Extremely indifferent."

"Where can I get good drinks?"

"Why don't you give me some sugar water with honey?"

heard.

Xiao He smiled casually.

He said slowly: "The wine is indeed sweet and delicious, but the imperial court has explicitly banned alcohol. There are only a few days a year where drinking can be done publicly. As for the rest of the time, it is illegal, and the imperial court does not waste so much food."

"Although the tea is light, the taste is really good."

"It doesn't hurt to drink more."

Liu Ji shook his head, but didn't drink anymore.

Xiao He didn't mind either.

The annual Shangji Conference has ended.

This time, the official who went to participate in the plan was no longer Xiao He, but Cao Shen.

Today, Xiao He calculated the time and it was the day when Cao Shen would return, so he prepared to greet Cao Shen at home.

At the same time, he also sent a message to Liu Ji and others.

As for Lu Ze, Zhou Bo and others, they could not get away because they were on duty in local pavilions.

I don’t have time to come to Surabaya County either.

finally.

Liu Ji was the only one who came.

Liu Ji knew very well why Xiao He wanted to wait for Cao Shen.

Last month, the imperial court issued an order to build several large transit warehouses in various places in Guandong. Among them, Jiujiang Shouchun, the Linjun of Sishui County, is one of them.

Their Sishui County will recruit thousands of civilians to go.

Xiao He and Liu Ji didn't pay much attention to the recruitment tasks under the imperial court. Over the years, the imperial court had issued countless relevant orders. They had long been accustomed to it. However, they were very suspicious of the imperial court's construction of warehouses in Guandong. .

Shouchun is the old capital of Chu State.

It used to be called Ying.

Shouchun is located in Jiujiang County. As the name suggests, Jiujiang County has accessible waterways and connects several nearby counties.

If the warehouse is really rebuilt in Shouchun, it will actually be of great benefit to all parts of Guandong. However, in the past, the imperial court has always suppressed Guandong. Although it was not stated clearly, anyone with a discerning eye can see it.

Why did the court make such a big turn?

Just because His Highness is inextricably linked to Chu Di?

But they have had contact with His Highness. How could His Highness really change the stance of the entire court because of this relationship?

The resistance faced is self-evident.

In this regard.

Both of them were confused. So I want to seek some answers from Cao Shen.

Liu Ji leaned on the case, still feeling unhappy, and asked directly: "Xiao He, why do you think the court did this? Is it really to save some money and food on the road?"

Xiao He put down the tea bowl, shook his head and said, "I don't know."

"We are in Sishui County, too far away from Xianyang, and we know too little information. We may not know the specific situation until Cao Shen comes back. However, during this period, news has been sent back from Xianyang. In the past few months, Here, His Highness made a lot of moves and was very noisy, but what we know is too general and too fragmented."

Xiao He looked solemn.

He had a premonition that something big had happened in Xianyang.

But he couldn't imagine what big things could happen in Xianyang.

Liu Ji's eyes flashed and he whispered: "Xiao He, do you think these warehouses will eventually fall into the hands of the nobles? With these warehouses, the strength of these nobles will be greatly increased, and they will even have the confidence to rebel openly. .”

Xiao He glanced at Liu Ji, but did not speak.

He pondered for a while and said solemnly: "It is indeed possible, but we can all think of it. It is impossible for the imperial court to not think of it. In addition, the imperial court strictly guarded Guandong in the past, so it is unlikely that such a big change would be made suddenly. , there must be something we can’t think of, but we can’t see through it at the moment.”

Liu Ji nodded.

They really couldn't see clearly what the imperial court was doing.

but.

The two didn't wait long.

The officials who went to participate in the plan have returned one after another.

However, most of the officials received the relevant information as soon as they returned to the county, then greeted each other and walked towards the major houses in the city, Cao Shen was no exception.

Soon.

There was a knock on Xiao He's stone door.

Xiao He and Liu Ji looked at each other, with smiles on their lips.

This time the people who went out to greet him were no longer women, but Xiao He and Liu Ji.

Open the door.

As expected, Cao Shen appeared outside the door.

His face was relatively haggard, but his eyes were bright and clear.

Looks very energetic.

Cao Shen saluted Xiao He and Liu Ji.

Liu Ji looked around and said with a smile: "We people are so polite. If you don't come again, I will starve to death. Xiao He spent a lot of money to entertain you this time, good tea and good meat." "

Cao Shen couldn't help but smile.

The three of them entered the room. Before Xiao He and Liu Ji could speak, Cao Shen took the initiative to speak.

Cao Shen said: "Xianyang is different."

heard.

Xiao He and Liu Ji looked at each other with solemn expressions in their eyes.

They asked Cao Shen to sit down first, and then asked curiously: "You have been in Xianyang for more than ten days. What happened in Xianyang? Have you heard any specific news?"

"The young master has been replaced," Cao Shen said.

"Young Mansion?" Xiao He frowned, somewhat unclear as to what he meant.

Cao Shen said again: "It's Zhang Cang instead."

"Zhang Cang?!" Xiao He and Liu Ji were shocked. They knew that Zhang Cang was recruited into the Affairs Office precisely because of Zhang Cang's recommendation. However, Zhang Cang was just an ordinary imperial officer at that time. History, and now he has suddenly become the young mansion of an important minister of the Nine Qing Dynasty?

This speed is a bit too fast.

but.

It's good for them.

After all, they are also from Zhang Cang's lineage.

Cao Shen continued: "The news I learned from Xianyang is that before Zhang Cang took over as the Shaofu, he had a debate with the courtiers and then proposed a set of methods of 'increasing revenue and reducing expenditure', among which 'increasing revenue' means easing relations with the Xiongnu. Exchange what is needed.”

"And 'saving money' means building warehouses in Kanto."

"But that's not all."

"Master Zhang Cang's measures are even more extreme. Not only does he want to ease the relationship with the Xiongnu, he also wants to stop building the Great Wall. Moreover, before I left, the twelve golden men placed in the city had also been forcibly returned to the furnace, and Afang Palace has also been suspended for repairs, and now Young Mansion Zhang Cang seems to be full of energy and wants to do something big, even if it means deviating from past policies, he will never change."

"Many people in the DPRK say this is the first thing that matters when a new official takes office."

"."

Cao Shen told everything he had learned.

After listening.

Xiao He and Liu Ji were both silent.

They had thought about it a lot before, but they had never thought that the root cause was the change of Shaofu.

The new official took office three fires.

If you look at it this way, you can indeed understand it.

According to the existing policies, it is difficult for the young government to achieve results. After all, it is difficult for a clever woman to make a meal without rice, so the new official will definitely seek changes when he takes office. However, the changes are so big and the changes are so sudden, it really catches people off guard.

It also makes them think too much.

Liu Jidao: "What is Your Highness's attitude towards this?"

Cao Shen said in a deep voice: "As far as I know, His Highness strongly supports it and even refuted General Meng Tian for this. The reason why the court has such a big turn is actually related to His Highness. It is said that His Highness imprisoned himself in After a few days in the palace, the Yuan Shaofu and Zhang Cang were summoned, and not long after, the relevant government orders were issued."

"I guess this is also His Highness's thoughts."

"Your Highness is determined to change!"

Xiao He frowned even more tightly.

He felt that it was not that simple, but he couldn't think of the reason.

Because he was too impulsive and bold.

It seems that he doesn't care about the consequences at all, and he doesn't care about the consequences at all. It's as if His Highness has formed a path dependence. In the past, His Highness relied on "Guan Shanhai" to pave the way for him to become a prince. Now he is trying to follow the same pattern, by controlling the young manor. To further seek more money and food, in order to consolidate their status and prestige.

But it's too adventurous.

These policies are clearly those of the Xiongnu and Guandong.

At least that's what it looks like on the surface. The Xiongnu had already retreated thousands of miles away, but now they can come back. Guandong is under heavy pressure and high taxes, and the people have very little food, so rebellion is basically unlikely to happen. Now building warehouses in Guandong, wouldn't it be wrong? Give Kanto a chance to become bigger and stronger?

Liu Ji frowned.

He is not as negative as Xiao He.

After pondering for a while, Liu Ji asked again: "Does the court have any follow-up measures? Or is there any news coming out of Xianyang? I don't really believe that the court just implements it and doesn't care about the follow-up."

Xiao He also looked over.

Cao Shen stroked his beard, thought carefully, and said uncertainly: "Before I left, there seemed to be some news that the imperial court would build an officer academy in Beiyuan to strengthen the training of military generals. .”

"What else?" Liu Ji continued to ask.

"That's all." Cao Shen shook his head.

Liu Ji tapped the table with his fingertips, his brows furrowed, as if he was thinking about something. At this time, Xiao He and Cao Shen stopped talking. They just sat quietly aside, waiting for Liu Ji to speak.

a long time.

Liu Ji raised his head and said uncertainly: "Perhaps the imperial court is not implementing policies indiscriminately, but has made detailed preparations long ago and has made all countermeasures, whether it is northern Xinjiang or Guandong. , In fact, I have always been applauded by the court."

"Maybe this is just the beginning!"

(End of this chapter)