The Great Qin Empire---Qin Li

"It's an unfortunate coincidence that Zuo Shuchang came. Xi Jun was just transferred to Dongting County last month."

Heifu didn't have many acquaintances in Jiangling. The day after visiting Li You, he went to the county prison to see Xi, only to find out that he had been transferred.

Dongting County was a newly established county, merging the western part of the former Dongting County of Chu State with the Qianzhong County of Qin. The approximate scope was equivalent to Xiangxi and part of Guizhou and Chongqing in later generations. The counties under its jurisdiction were all concentrated along the banks of Yuanshui, Lishui and Youshui, and the county seat was Yuanling County.

"I wonder what position Xi Jun will take in Dongting County?" Heifu asked the clerk in the prison.

"Appointed as the magistrate of Qianling County." The clerk smiled and said, "A 400-stone official is also considered a promotion."

Qianling County (now Liye) is on the bank of Youshui River, and the transportation is quite convenient. Heifu felt it was unfortunate, but he was also happy for Xi's promotion.

However, the situation in Dongting County was not much better than that in Jiangxi. There were few registered people in the territory. In addition to the Qingshui Ba people that Heifu had dealt with, there were Wuxi barbarians living near the Lishui and Youshui rivers. There were also a large number of Yue tribes near the upper reaches of the Yuanshui River, which were close to Xiou. They were rebellious and undecided. Moreover, the land was not as flat as that in Nanchang. Those places were mostly deep mountains and old forests. It was not a good job to be an official there.

The prison official said to Heifu: "Most of the officials in Dongting County were retained from the original Qianzhong County, and the rest were mostly transferred from Nanjun. In addition, there were also many transferred to Changsha County. At present, there are fewer officials in Jiangling City, and they all went to serve in new counties and prefectures."

This is the same as what Heifu saw in Jiangxi. After the elimination of the Chu State, Qin's territory increased by one third in an instant. The officials in Guanzhong and Shandong did not understand the Chu dialect, so they were easily framed and deceived. Therefore, the Qin officials in Nanjun, who belonged to the same Jingchu dialect area and had been immersed in Qin law for many years, became popular. The former Doushi clerks were transferred there to be in good order, and the former assistant clerks were transferred there and became senior clerks.

This approach facilitated the implementation of Qin law in the new counties, and in this way, Heifu's previous connections in Anlu and Nanjun were spread to Jiujiang, Dongting and Changsha counties, which was not a bad thing.

Since he could not visit the happy person, Heifu returned to his residence. The next day, he brought the most solemn gift and went to the county governor's mansion to visit Ye Teng who was about to be transferred...

...

Heifu used to be a frequent visitor to the county governor's mansion, but when he came again, he found that the mansion looked like it was about to move. Ye Teng's staff, the chief secretary Lu Dang, was directing the servants and slaves to pack up various things.

"We have to go to Xianyang before the first month of spring. It's really a bit hasty to go north in the winter."

Lu Dang complained, but his face was happy. He was Ye Teng's personal staff and could go to Xianyang with him. Naturally, his status and identity also rose.

He led Heifu to the study, where old man Ye Teng, who made Heifu grit his teeth, was looking through books, and seemed to be hesitating which ones to take and which ones to leave. After Heifu entered, he immediately bowed and said, "I am Heifu, the humble official, and I am honored to meet the Nei Shi!"

Ye Teng turned around and saw that it was Heifu, whom he had not seen for two years. He did not scare him like he did when they first met, but smiled:

"I have not officially taken office yet. Now I am neither a county governor nor a Nei Shi. I am just an old and annoying person."

It turned out that after the destruction of Chu, the King of Qin rewarded the county governor Teng according to his merits, and of course he did not leave out the county governor Teng who had paid an extra two million shi of military grain in two years. In addition, Ye Teng's remarkable achievements in governing Nanjun for seven or eight years, so he was officially appointed as the Great Shangzao and removed from the position of "Nei Shi". This matter has spread throughout Nanjun.

At present, Qin has more than 30 counties. The newly conquered border counties are the lowest, followed by the Shandong counties, but Nei Shi is the most important. This administrative region governs the capital Xianyang and more than 40 counties in the capital area, governs the entire Guanzhong Plain and Shangyu, has the largest population and the richest taxes, and can only be held by a senior minister.

Therefore, the internal historian is privately called the "Tenth Minister", a senior official in the capital area who can compete with the nine ministers in the court.

Ye Teng asked someone to find a seat for Hei Fu. After the two sat opposite each other, Hei Fu saw that he seemed to be a little older, with deeper wrinkles on his forehead and a few more white hairs on his temples.

Ye Teng saw that Hei Fu had been to the distant south, and seemed to be tanned. After growing a beard on his lips, he looked much more stable.

"You led three thousand young men from Nanjun, went deep into the barren land, opened up a thousand miles of land, and opened up six new counties. In one year, all the money and grain taxes in these places went into your hands. You are called the county magistrate and Sima, but you are actually the chief official of the frontier. How do you feel? Are you proud?"

Heifu replied: "There are times when I feel proud, but more often, it feels like I am standing on the edge of a cliff, or like I am stepping on a thin layer of ice."

"That's right."

Ye Teng had some intention of guiding and testing Heifu. He was very appreciative when he heard what Heifu said, and laughed: "The higher the official position, the greater the power, the more you should do this!"

He nodded at Heifu again: "I heard that the king also summoned you to the court. Do you know what official position you will be?"

Heifu said: "Li County Magistrate told me that you may be a Langguan, but I don't know whether it will be Langzhongjiang, Wailangjiang, or the lower three lieutenant generals of Zhongche, Zhongqi, and Zhonghu."

"No matter who the general is, he will serve the king. After all, you have been my subordinate. I will tell you a word. Be cautious and tread on thin ice. If you are too sharp, you can indeed attract attention, but if you miss a step, you will be like Li Xin, and there is no way back." Hei Fu continued, "I heard that General Li was reappointed by the king. He has made great contributions in the Liaodong expedition and has a tendency to be favored again." Ye Teng sneered, "Superficial, Li Xin will never be able to return to his previous position. He disappointed the king once, and this time alone is enough to prevent him from entering the court forever. Do you remember the first time you came to see me?" How could Hei Fu forget that time when Ye Teng exposed his past, which scared him so much that he broke out in a cold sweat and once regarded this old guy as his enemy. But slowly, he found that Ye Teng just loved to play tricks and spy on people's hearts, but he didn't mean to embarrass himself, so his hostility slowly receded. Of course, this may also be due to the good impression that Ye Teng's daughter gave Hei Fu.

Now, both of them are going to Xianyang. As outsiders, Hei Fu looks at his old leader with a little more intimacy. Maybe he will have to rely on him in the future.

Ye Teng sneered: "Compared with the nobles in Xianyang, what am I? When they interact with you, they seem to be in a spring breeze, but in fact, they are always thinking about everything about you. In front of them, if you are not careful, you will be eaten up with bones and meat!"

"So when you arrive in Xianyang, remember to talk less, listen more, and watch more!"

"The boy will remember the teachings of the internal historian!"

Hei Fu bowed again, and when he raised his head, he hesitated for a moment, and still talked about the incident in Nanchang.

"The king promoted the soldiers' titles, but ordered them to reclaim wasteland and garrison in various counties, and they were not allowed to return home. The soldiers did not think this was a reward, but an exile. I finally suppressed their resentment and promised to report the situation to the king after arriving in Xianyang to see if there was a more appropriate solution..."

After returning to Jiangling, Hei Fu asked about it. The incident in Nanchang was not an isolated case. There were similar incidents in Changsha and Dongting. The soldiers in Nanjun were homesick and were unwilling to stay in the wild land to serve as production and construction corps. If this matter was not handled well, they might lose the motivation to fight for the King of Qin and the Qin State forever.

Ye Teng knew the King of Qin's temperament very well, so Hei Fu wanted to ask him first whether he should say it and how to say it?

"There is no better way."

Ye Teng sighed and said, "There is only so much land in the world. The land in the Central Plains is not enough. Can't we take it from the people and nobles of the five countries? That would be adding fuel to the fire! The king is right to do this. In a few decades, these new counties can become fertile land..."

"As for the soldiers' thoughts? Don't worry too much."

Ye Teng didn't take the resentment of the thousands of soldiers to heart, and smiled: "Shang Jun once said that the people can't be discussed at the beginning, but can be happy with the completion. Those who talk about the highest virtue are not in line with the customs, and those who have achieved great achievements do not consult with the public! After ten or twenty years, they will know that the king's decision is right!"

This sentence makes sense, but Hei Fu saw an infinite black hole: If Qin's unique military merit system wants to be maintained, it needs more and more land, and the most convenient way is of course to continue to expand. But the more wars, the more military merits, and sooner or later there will be not enough land to share, and new wars will be needed. This is a vicious circle. It was easy to say when the six kingdoms were still there, just keep annexing them, but now the world is about to be unified, and sooner or later the King of Qin will take action against the Xiongnu and Baiyue.

From the perspective of a time traveler, the expansion of territory and the spread of civilization are undoubtedly beneficial to the entire country and nation. But this is not fair to the soldiers who were sent to the frontier to open up wasteland. There will be more and more people with grievances. If this continues, it will sooner or later shake the credibility of the government and even endanger the foundation of the rule...

"Ye Teng said that seizing the land of the nobles and common people in the inner county is adding fuel to the fire, but isn't the King of Qin's method just adding fuel to the fire?"

Hei Fu thought secretly, but he had no better way for a while, so he could only make plans when he arrived in Xianyang.

At this time, a gentle voice sounded behind him.

"My mother asked me to ask if my father wants to entertain guests?"

Hei Fu turned around and saw a girl wearing a white fox fur coat and a green skirt. She was tall, with bright eyes, but her appearance was like a finely carved white jade. She smiled and behaved gracefully, giving people the feeling of a lady from a noble family.

Hei Fu almost didn't recognize her. He looked at her for a long time before he realized that this was Ye Teng's daughter Jin.

The cheeks that were originally a little chubby now became a pointed fox face, and the chest that was once not good-looking also became fuller.

After not seeing each other for two years, the girl's body has grown up, just like a small bud blooming into a beautiful flower after being bathed in spring rain and summer breeze...

What has not changed is the wisdom in her eyes, with a hint of cunning inherited from Ye Teng.

If two years ago, she only made Hei Fu's eyes light up, then now, she is enough to make people salivate!

"Does Zuo Shuzhang not recognize me?"

Seeing the girl giggling and the old man Ye Teng behind her coughing in dissatisfaction, Hei Fu knew that he had lost his composure and quickly lowered his head to greet her.

"Lady's encouragement on the Shangsi Festival, Hei Fu has remembered it in his heart, how dare he forget it?"

He secretly praised in his heart: "Girls really change a lot when they grow up. The high school girl has finally grown into a college girl!"