My brother Ying Zheng, who dares to kill me?.

Chapter 673: A textbook on self-preservation! He is indeed a talent that makes the prince's younger brother shudder!
The atmosphere in the Qilin Hall was quite solemn.

The newly promoted scholar Xiao He actually confronted the King of Qin in the center of power of Qin!
There is no compromise at all.

The upright minister and the powerful king both expressed their thoughts without any compromise!

Ying Chengjiao, who was watching the whole process, couldn't help but... happily took a bite of the honey Chang Chu cake and watched the whole show.

As for worry?

Don't make trouble.

In the original history, in the 16th year of King Zheng of Qin, Ying Zheng, who had basically rectified the court, completed China's first census with his tough tactics!
This not only marked milestone achievements such as the 'first order for men to be recorded' for the Qin Dynasty and the 'self-filling method for respondents' for China, but also laid the foundation, accumulated experience and established a system for the census model for the next two thousand years!

But this is not the end.

From then on, Ying Zheng conducted a population census every year. The content of the census was gradually expanded from men to the entire population, and the information of the census was also gradually expanding.

Now, it is the fourteenth year of King Zheng of Qin. Even if Ying Zheng has not planned to start the census immediately, he must have had the inclination.

As the first person in China to participate in the census, how could Ying Zheng really resist the census!
As for Xiao He?

It would be even more interesting if this person really was the Xiao He who was worthy of being recorded in history.

You know, that Xiao He was hailed as a textbook example of how to protect oneself, and he was the old Gou who could compete with Wang Jian in the art of Gou!

But now he is confronting Ying Zheng face to face and giving him frank advice as if he is possessed by a dragon?

Outrageous!

Leaving a big spectrum!
Ying Zheng and Xiao He were so absorbed in their acting that Ying Chengjiao had no interest in disturbing them. He just felt that the persimmon cake in his hand was quite sweet.

as predicted.

After more than twenty breaths, Ying Zheng, who had originally had a cold face and stern eyes, suddenly laughed heartily: "Hahaha~"

"The one who understands me is you, my dear Lord!"

"If I hadn't known that you were from Pei County and had no relatives in the court, I might have suspected you!"

Xiao He was startled, and his eyes subconsciously turned to Ying Chengjiao, and at the same time he bowed loudly: "Your Majesty, I swear on my life!"

"My thoughts and words are all from my heart, without any guidance from others."

"If a minister deceives the emperor, then the heaven and earth will not tolerate him!"

At a time when Qu Bi, Mi Li and others have just been executed for cheating in the exam, cheating is an extremely sensitive topic.

Xiao He finally understood why Ying Chengjiao was sitting here.

It is obvious that Ying Chengjiao is the person who manipulates Ying Zheng!

After the final test, Ying Zheng stood up, walked down the stairs, and helped Xiao He up with both hands: "My dear minister, why are you doing this?"

"I have no intention of suspecting you, my dear. Please get up quickly!"

After trying to appease Xiao He with kind words and asking him to sit down again, Ying Zheng did not return to the high platform. Instead, he pulled over a soft couch and sat down in front of Xiao He, saying in a gentle voice, "To be honest, my dear."

"I have long believed that the records of my Great Qin are too simple and crude, and I have been thinking about changing them."

Xiao He asked with a surprised look on his face: "I thought the king would be quite proud of the books, after all, the books of the Qin Dynasty are the best in the world."

"I never thought that the king would actually change his mind!"

This time, Xiao He was really surprised.

The reason why Xiao He dared to stick to his own opinion was because he knew that his plan was beneficial to Ying Zheng's core demand of strengthening local rule.

Xiao He also knew that Ying Zheng would not give up strengthening his control over the local area just because of the slight unrest that occurred there.

But Xiao He never expected that Ying Zheng had already had the same idea as him!

What is this called?
Heroes see the same thing!

Ying Zheng smiled and said, "The larger the territory, the more I feel that the thirteenth number of the country is not enough."

"I am discussing with the doctors that in August of every year, all the people will gather in the county, and the officials will check the records to find out the ages of the men."

"After registering, if there is a man without age on the list, he will be punished!"

Xiao He said excitedly: "If we can make all men record their ages, then the ridiculous scene of young children fighting in wars and old men not getting married will no longer appear in the Qin Dynasty!"

"But, I think this is still insufficient."

Ying Zheng nodded in agreement: "It is indeed insufficient."

"But my brother once said that we should do things step by step."

"In the future, the Qin Empire will also register the marriages of the heads of households and their children, the ages, statures, and titles of the males in the household, the number and size of the fields owned by the household, the size and size of the houses, the surnames, clan names, and given names of the servants and concubines in the household, and the number of livestock such as pigs and dogs."

"To help the people of Daqin and Ming!"

Xiao He clapped his hands and praised: "Great! Great!"

"These are major events that concern all the people of the world. We should proceed step by step. We must not rush into anything!"

"Your Majesty is wise!"

"But I don't think I've ever heard Your Majesty talk about the wealth of the people in your books?"

This time, Ying Zheng perked up: "People have many ways to hide their wealth, but officials have few ways to check it."

“Moreover, a detailed investigation of the wealth of the people is more likely to lead to dissatisfaction among the people than to determine their strength, and may even cause conflicts between officials and the people.”

"I have no intention of raising taxes on the rich, so why should I keep a record of their wealth?"

Xiao He shook his head and said, "I think that even if we don't levy taxes based on this, this is still an item that must be recorded."

"Shang Jun wanted to weaken the people, while Wen Xin Hou wanted to strengthen the people."

“However, whether the people are weak or strong, we should first understand the poverty and wealth of the people.”

"I think that the Qin Dynasty does not need to determine how much money the people have. It can divide the people into poor and rich according to the system of lower households, middle households, and upper households. This will help the court to distinguish the rich from the poor, and also help the court to distinguish the strength of the people's livelihood."

"Only by knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the people, the rich and poor, can the government make policies based on the people's strength, and not make the people's lives difficult to maintain because of the government's policies."

Ying Zheng shook his head and said, "Those with titles own land, and those with land are rich."

"Those without titles have no land, and those without land are poor." "It is meaningless to keep the wealth of the people in the books."

Xiao He said sincerely: "Those who have no title or land but engage in business will become rich by themselves."

"The low-ranking officials have their own fields and rely on Chang'an's plows and golden juice to treat manure, and the farmers are rich."

"Those who have titles and lands but are oppressed by local tyrants and officials will become exhausted and destitute."

"Titles and land can indeed help the court distinguish between the rich and the poor of the people, but they are not enough for the court to determine the rich and the poor of the people."

“And based on the number of households, middle households, and lower households on a given land, the court can also infer the power of the local people.”

"It will be of great use to the country!"

After a moment of silence, Ying Zheng slowly nodded: "My dear minister, your advice is reasonable!"

"My dear minister, please write down all your thoughts in a memorial and present it to me."

Xiao He persuaded Ying Zheng.

For a king who already has a strong desire for control, he would not refuse to further control his country.

Ying Zheng just needed a reason.

Xiao He stood up excitedly and bowed: "Your Majesty, I obey your command!"

Ying Zheng smiled and waved his hand, asking Xiao He to sit down before continuing to ask: "I have seen you admonish me in the Minglu volume that I should emphasize the law, but should put etiquette first."

"Don't you think this is contradictory?"

Xiao He explained: "In my opinion, etiquette is law, and law is etiquette."

"The goals of ritual and law are the same, they are just different in appearance."

"The law moves like thunder, and the etiquette moistens in silence."

"I think that before the thunder strikes, it can be softened by courtesy."

"I have read the advice of Chang'an Jun on the 'Three Articles of Law' and also read the 'Provisional Law of the New District' which was formed from the Three Articles of Law."

Xiao He bowed to Ying Chengjiao and said with emotion: "Watching this is like drinking sweet rain!"

"We should first form a simple etiquette, or easy-to-understand rules, with the three articles of law. Once the people accept the etiquette set by the court and return to peace, they will naturally be more likely to accept the laws built on this etiquette!"

Xiao He thought that if he were faced with such a chaotic situation, he would also advise to establish three rules, first stabilize the situation with easy-to-understand etiquette, and then enforce the law to strengthen his rule.

So when Xiao He heard Ying Chengjiao's three-point proposal to set up laws, he happily drank three glasses of wine in a row!

If the person who made the remonstrance was not Ying Chengjiao, who was always willing to destroy a country, Xiao He really wanted to make this person a close friend!
Ying Zheng also smiled and said, "My dear, your thoughts are similar to those of my brother."

"But this strategy is only suitable for the newly annexed lands. I'm afraid it won't be of much use for the old Qin land."

Xiao He explained seriously: "How can it be useless?"

"It's very useful!"

Ying Zheng interrupted Xiao He's explanation and shouted proudly: "Come here! Bring us some wine!"

"Bring on the wine!"

"I want to drink and chat with you, my dear!"

Below the high platform, Xiao He and Ying Zheng sat opposite each other, and the more they talked, the more cheerful they became.

Under Ying Zheng's deliberate pulling and drinking, Xiao He spoke out more and more ideas.

Ying Zheng was also inspired by the good advice Xiao He suggested.

He is indeed a talent who can make the king's brother change color. Although he is still a little naive and lacks experience, he is definitely a wise minister!

This time, I have selected talented people through imperial examinations!

After two full hours, Ying Zheng reluctantly stopped the interview when he thought of other talented people waiting.

"My dear minister, you are so talented!" Ying Zheng held Xiao He's hand and said seriously, "It is my great honor to have you, my dear minister!"

Xiao He excitedly grasped Ying Zheng's two little fingers and said, "I have heard that Qin is like a tiger and a wolf, and that the king is tyrannical."

"Now I know how deeply the people of the world have misled Your Majesty!"

"It is my honor to be able to share the king's worries!"

Ying Zheng smiled and asked seriously, "I want you to join the Agricultural Research Office first, as a Research Assistant, with a salary of 600 stones, to travel around the Agricultural Research Office to determine the number of acres of land, promote the golden juice to treat manure and other agricultural research techniques to the local areas."

"My dear, what do you think?"

Ying Chengjiao, who was so full from eating, blinked and said, "Your Majesty, you can keep such a talented person by your side. Why do you need to send him to the Agricultural Research Office?"

Ying Chengjiao was already 70% sure that the man in front of him was the famous Xiao He who had gone down in history.

Moreover, this person's thoughts and strategies are above average. As long as he is honed more, even if he is not the Xiao He who is famous in history, his future achievements will definitely not be low.

Shouldn't such a person be a minister beside Ying Zheng and be taught by Ying Zheng himself?

How come he was thrown to the Agricultural Research Office under his control!
Ying Zheng looked at Ying Chengjiao helplessly: "Did Lord Chang'an just focus on eating the honey Changchu cake?"

Ying Chengjiao said confidently, "Of course not."

"This persimmon is sweet and sour, and quite delicious!"

Xiao He:......

Ying Zheng:  …

Ying Zheng laughed and scolded: "You are so lazy!"

"That's it!"

Xiao He stood up and bowed without any dissatisfaction: "I thank the king!"

"Greetings, Shangguan!"

(End of this chapter)