My son, Fusu, please abdicate the first emperor!

Chapter 817 Your Majesty, how should your mausoleum be built?

Some of them were clearly guilty, yet they were allowed to enter the military camp.

This is a violation of the new military regulations.

Meng Tian frowned.

If that's the case, the impact will be huge.

It should be noted that the system of military merit and nobility has been abolished, but as long as there is a war, military ranks can still be awarded and high-ranking officials can still be granted, but the original system of military merit and nobility is no longer used.

No matter which dynasty or era, the so-called changes are all the same.

This may make some people wonder, what's the point of abolishing the military merit system?
Ever since he became the crown prince, Qin II had been clamoring to amend the system of military merit titles, including allowing people to receive military merit titles for issuing orders on the battlefield and capturing people alive.

What kind of mess is this change and abolition of military merit titles?

In fact, the original system of military merit titles had been used for hundreds of years, resulting in the Qin State being full of titles.

This is the fatal problem that threatened the Qin State mentioned earlier.

As the saying goes, things are valuable because they are rare, and only rare goods can be found. But when the lords are everywhere, this title is worthless.

People's hearts are always high and they want more. If it is not abolished, the Qin Empire can only be tied to this wheel and keep rolling.

Of course it's not to say that there is no solution. There was a practical solution in history, which was to fight until the heads were broken and bleeding, until the brains were bleeding, until only one person in the family was left, until they were scared of the consequences, and until no one wanted to fight anymore. Then the system of military merit and nobility would naturally be abolished.

Otherwise, if we only rely on gentle reform methods, people's desires will be aroused and everyone will want to be the best. They may be at peace today, but they will come back again tomorrow.

When will it end?

Therefore, starting from the Qin Shi Huang, people have been considering solutions. The Qin Shi Huang used beatings, because human nature is evil and cannot be appeased.

Fusu chose to take a risk and find a different way.

Since the hearts of sentient beings are so stubborn and difficult to tame, the only way we can do is to take advantage of the situation.

It is better to let them rob money than to kill people for titles.

Therefore, the new military system can be understood as a new name and the creation of a new system of military merit and nobility.

From the perspective of historical development, the "military merit system" was constantly changing throughout almost the entire feudal dynasty era.

As the social promotion system of the previous dynasty developed over the times, gradually everyone ran to catch the rope thrown down by the court. When everyone only set their eyes on this rope, the court was in danger.

Therefore, the successors of dynasties said they would establish a new dynasty, but in fact they denied the promotion method of the previous dynasty and established another one.

Meng Tian was well aware of the emperor's original intention of reforming the military merit system. The emperor never implemented new policies just for the sake of implementing new policies. Everything was driven by the current situation, and he had to take this path.

However, many people do not understand the seriousness of the matter and always think that the emperor is just daydreaming.

Therefore, the abolition of the military merit system actually announced that the path to pursuing titles in exchange for a higher social status was blocked.

The old hierarchy doesn’t work anymore.

It won't be long before Qin II releases a new military official rank system, which will divide the ranks of military soldiers into new levels from low to high, and then provide corresponding treatment according to the levels.

This was something that Qin II and Meng Tian had already discussed and decided on.

It seems that the second generation has an easy life every day, but that is physically and behaviorally speaking.

To be honest, Qin II was very busy, but his busyness was in his brain.

He thinks almost every day about how to point out the right path for future generations.

Almost every approach is wrong, because in the end you will return to that fatal logical dead end - human nature is evil.

This is an awkward compromise.

However, it will also be the greatest political victory of Qin II, because through this incident, he will have fewer enemies and more friends.

The so-called abolition of the military merit system was, after all, only a temporary measure designed to help the Qin Empire overcome this great difficulty.

Whether the Qin Empire can eventually establish such a utopian society and create the legendary Garden of Eden depends on the century-long plan designed by Fusu and implemented by the future Qin State, which is culture, education and science popularization.

However, chaos broke out in the army. Because of the emergence of the factory, the soldiers' desires were boiling in their bodies and they could no longer calm down.

After receiving feedback from his generals, Meng Tian immediately reported these matters to Qin II.

"Your Majesty, what is happening now is actually reasonable. When Your Majesty abolished the military merit system, without the fat piece of meat of nobility hanging over the heads of the people, they no longer yearn for the army."

"Your Majesty has provided many good conditions for the factory. The salary is much higher than that of a soldier. The workers can go home every day and even live nearby. However, once the soldiers join the army, they have to stay in the barracks."

"The above is my opinion. The final solution will depend on your majesty's decision."

Meng Tian spoke in a rather polite manner, which Fusu was not used to.

Meng Tian had collaborated with him many times in the past, and the cooperation between the two of them was almost higher than that between any other ministers.

But for the Meng brothers, Qin Shihuang's status and even image in their minds are definitely much higher than their own image and status in their minds.

In a sense, the brothers were so calm about their usurpation of the throne out of Qin Shihuang's respect.

After all, he was a son who usurped the throne, but he was a kind-hearted man and had no psychological trauma from the usurpation of the throne. Instead, he felt that what he did was natural and right.

Therefore, Fusu never felt shy about this matter. As for how many people's interests were violated by this matter, let those people with dark minds think about it in a dark and dirty way in the corner alone.

Fusu didn't want to take care of it anymore. He had too many things to do, and each one was a big deal, so these small things had to be put aside.

"Then according to your idea, the treatment of the soldiers should be changed."

"Since Your Majesty has abolished the conscription system and replaced it with recruitment, the treatment of soldiers under the original conscription system will naturally change as well."

Upon hearing this, Fusu just sighed deeply.

"It takes money to improve the treatment of soldiers. Where can our Great Qin have so much money?"

Fusu looked up at the ceiling.

The emperor was wearing a white robe made of tiger skin. If Meng Tian remembered correctly, the emperor also wore this robe to spend the winter last year.

Meng Tian knew that after the emperor came to power, he had extremely cut down on palace expenses.

All the singing and dancing palace maids were dismissed and left. Also, some of the old eunuchs were given money to be released and allowed to return to their hometowns.

Otherwise, if they stayed in the Xianyang Palace, they would only be thrown out of the palace when they were no longer useful. The people in Yongxiang were responsible for handling the dirty work for the emperor and the high officials in the palace.

In addition to the emperor's frugality in spending, the queen and Mrs. Lu were also responding to the emperor, and for this reason, they had a conflict with Mrs. Xiong in the palace. This was inevitable.

In addition to this, what moved all the ministers the most was that just one month after Qin II ascended the throne, the Qin Zong Zheng stood up and openly asked Qin II how to build his mausoleum.

Meng Tian remembered very clearly that at that time, no one dared to speak in the court of the Qin Dynasty, because the situation in Qin State had become so chaotic that it could not be more chaotic.

The forced succession of Qin Ershi not only pointed out that Qin Shihuang's so-called new clothes were fake and that he was just a naked old man, but also revealed the actual status of the empire to all the ministers who wanted to make as much money as they could with their eyes closed.

The empire was filled with chaotic projects, with conflicts abounding between the common people and the law officials, and there were too many false cases, impersonations, and trafficking of drugs, and the court was in urgent need of someone to step up and stop them.

When Qin II first ascended the throne, the one who was under the most pressure was never the emperor, but his ministers.

When it came to that point, they were hoping that Qin II would step forward and take over the entire mess.

When everyone was happily waiting for Qin II to deal with the stall, Zong Zheng threw out a question, "Your Majesty, how should your mausoleum be built?"

Everyone knew that according to the series of policies that Qin II had just promulgated and formulated, and considering the current situation of the Qin Empire, the question raised by Zong Zheng at that time was simply a difficult problem for Qin II.

But Zong Zheng was not specifically trying to sabotage Fusu.

According to convention, every Qin king would immediately begin building the mausoleum when he took office.

In that era, the most important affairs of the country were sacrifices and wars.

Such a major matter as sacrifice fell on the king, and the construction of his mausoleum concerned the entire country.

At that time, all the ministers thought that this important matter would be delayed for further discussion, or that the emperor would order a delay in the construction of his mausoleum.

But to everyone's surprise, the emperor actually gave a solution on the spot.

"Since ancient times, kings have built their own mausoleums. There are very few joint burial mausoleums. Even if there are joint burials, it is the king and the queen, or the king is buried with his subjects."

"As long as I am the emperor, I will naturally be buried in the Qin ancestral temple after my death. This is inevitable."

"At this extraordinary time, I will set a precedent and break the rules of my ancestors. I hope that my ancestors will understand and forgive my mistakes."

"I intend to set a precedent for the joint burial of father and son. My tomb will be placed next to the Mausoleum of the Supreme Emperor. When the main mausoleum of the First Emperor is completed, a tomb will be opened for me to be buried next to it."

"In short, I don't want to build any new mausoleums anymore."

"You guys take care of the rest."

If you want to call on others, start with yourself.

Qin II perfectly put into practice what he once said.

Until now, this incident is still firmly engraved in Meng Tian's mind.

The empire's economy was in decline and most people were living in hardship. Once the war stopped, more people would be left without food.

Stopping the war was to save money, and cutting expenses in the palace was also to save money.

The emperor sympathized with the farmers, so he reduced taxes, which was also a way of saving money in a sense.

But this would reduce the country's income.

The economic situation was very poor throughout the early days of the empire.

"Although planning for the people's livelihood and economy is not within the scope of my duties, I have seen that Your Majesty has been suffering from this for a long time. I can't help but make a few suggestions."

"You speak." So far, all the ministers have followed his arrangements, and no minister has taken the initiative to make any suggestions.

This also made Fusu feel quite numb, because his ministers had no passion to do things or start a business.

Anyway, everyone was looking at him eagerly.

It seems like they won't be able to do anything without me.

Zhang Cang is a pure troublemaker. He spends a few days in jail for a year or three months, and the rest of the time he just makes trouble for himself.

To be fair, I don't have any shortcomings.

Meng Tian is still the best.

After all, he is from a noble family, has a solid background, and is of just the right age, so he can get along well with me.

Zhang Cang was like a stone in a toilet, smelly and hard. Liu Ji only thought about how to be granted a title of nobility and become a peerless hero. Ji Bu was purely a personal hero, and his mind was filled with the idea of ​​"a gentleman will die for his friend."

Chen Ping is too cunning and Shao Ping is too honest.

Although these young people are very capable, they cannot help Fusu with major political policies.

Fusu didn't know what they were busy with every day. They seemed to be very busy and conscientious every day, but they did not provide any substantial assistance to him.

Sometimes, Fusu would ask himself, are they really the helpers he found?
As for those old ministers, they are very old, but they are very energetic and do all kinds of things every day.

At present, the basic situation of the entire Qin Empire is that it is composed of lifeless and stressed young people and energetic and well-fed old people.

The comparison between the two is really disturbing.

The old man refuses to give up his position and occupies the toilet without doing anything.

The newly-minted young people have nowhere to use their talents and can only live their lives in a muddle-headed manner, drifting with the flow.

The old ministers have great power and prestige, and the forces under them are also complex and intertwined.

He would not speak easily, and if he did, Qin II would find ways to stop him.

In recent days, Fusu clearly smelled that Wang Wan was beginning to have the scent of old age.

However, Feng Quji was in high spirits.

Neither of these two people was able to propose major policies and guidelines to Fusu. At most, they were just cooperating. Perhaps they were still considering whether their own approaches were right or not.

There is only Meng Tian, ​​who is close to himself in age, has great power and prestige, and can make targeted suggestions on major national policies from time to time.

It can be said that, leaving Guan Fu aside, it is true that Meng Tian is Fusu's most beloved minister.

"Your Majesty is right to want to increase revenue, but you also have to consider the reality. I'm afraid there are some places where you have to collect revenue."

"We must not be careless in the construction of the army. Although your majesty has signed a ceasefire agreement with the King of Nanyue, and both sides have agreed not to clash again, the Nanyue people have already formed a hatred with our Great Qin. When they have strength, they will definitely think of counterattacking."

"Ren Xiao's strength alone is not enough to resist."

"Of course, compared to Nanyue, there is actually a greater threat to my Great Qin."

Meng Tian's expression became solemn.

Fusu understood, "Are you talking about the northern barbarians?"

"Yes. Over the years, the grass in the north has become less and less. The Hu people can no longer survive by relying on livestock alone. They have always kept their eyes on us in the Central Plains."

(End of this chapter)