The Six Arts of the Gentleman in the Bright Moon of Qin Dynasty

Chapter 1008: Counties are Cold-Blooded [Subscribe*Monthly Tickets]

"Is the Qin State going to completely abandon the feudal system?"

After Yan Yan pondered for a moment, he looked at Li Si and asked.

"The feudal system will only cause the unified situation that Qin has finally achieved to return to the Zhou Dynasty era. Once the feudal system is resumed, the world will fall into a situation of chaos among the princes within a hundred years. Therefore, Tonggu does not want the feudal system to continue to be the national system of Qin." Li Si said seriously.

What the Qin State wanted was a unified centralized power, rather than a return to the era when princes were divided into fiefdoms, each fighting among themselves, and the emperor ruling from the throne.

"The Confucians will kill you, and the nobles will be eager to drink your blood and eat your flesh!"

This is not a joke. Confucianism is still easy to deal with. The head of Confucianism is Master Xun, Li Si's teacher. Fu Nian and myself are not people who are not adaptable, so we can still suppress it. However, the nobles in the world may not be able to do so.

Without the fiefdoms, it would shake their foundation.

"Everyone is destined to die!" Li said calmly.

"After Shang Yang, the Qin State divided its territory into counties, from the royal city to the local areas, into three levels: capital-county-county..."

Yan Yan spoke slowly. This was the one that had the greatest impact on history. It completely clarified the differences between counties and prefectures, instead of being as chaotic as other princes.

Just like the Chu State when Yan Yan had just left Yushan Academy, the counties and prefectures in the Chu State at that time were in chaos. Some counties were able to manage counties, while some counties were not as good as townships.

This chaotic situation was not changed until the Qin State occupied the Chu State and divided the Chu State into various counties.

Li Si listened carefully. Yan Yan was not only the emperor recognized by the world, but also the leader of Confucianism. His profound knowledge was second only to his teacher in Confucianism. That was why he thought of looking for Yan Yan to solve his doubts when he was confused.

Yan Yan analyzed the current system of the Qin State in detail. Li Si also knew all of this, but Li Si did not interrupt.

If you want to solve a problem and answer questions, you must first know what the problem is and what the background of the problem is.

If these are not clear, how can we solve the doubts?
"Mr. Tonggu, what do you think a qualified unified and centralized system should look like?" Yan Yan asked in return.

While Yan Yan and Li Si were discussing, Mo Ya also received an order to invite Prime Minister An Qisheng, Li Ren, Zhao Gao, and the Nine Ministers of Bingzhou and above to the School Administration Hall.

Li Si looked at the sand table in front of him. The sand table was already filled with words. It was a circle of stars scattered all over the sky, but the circle of Xianyang in the center was bigger.

"The Qin State is not obvious enough. The most obvious one is the Chu State, the most cruel one is the Zhao State, and the most disgusting one is the Qi State!" Yan Yan summed up.

The feudal system still existed among the princes. Although the Qin State had counties, it also had a lot of fiefdoms of varying sizes.

Of course, the state with the most serious problems was Chu, which was a top-level aristocratic self-government, equivalent to a small Zhou Dynasty. The states with the most serious conflicts and the most brutal fighting were Handan and Daijun of Zhao. As for Qi, they were simply disgusting.

An Qisheng and others were also watching, because they knew that this would also be a problem that Bingzhou would face.

Bingzhou completed its unification and gave many people new official positions and titles, but the attitude towards fiefdoms has always been ambiguous, mainly because there are really not many places that can be divided in Bingzhou.

Even in the eyes of Bingzhou officials and nobles, it would be better to give themselves a workshop in Bingzhou than to give them a fiefdom.

Li Si looked at the sand table in front of him, then tentatively smoothed out the names of the fiefs one by one, leaving only the counties and the capital, and connected them together with lines.

Finally, Li Si erased all the words, leaving only Xianyang sitting in the center.

Looking at Xianyang in the center, Li Si pondered for a long time before continuing to write down the counties.

"Vertical!" Li Si looked up at Yan Yan.

"Yes, it's more like a triangle than a vertical one!" Yan Yan drew a triangle on the basis of Li Si, including Xianyang, the county, and the prefecture, and then separated the three with a horizontal line, forming a pyramid, with Xianyang at the top of the pyramid, the prefecture below, and the county at the end.

As for the countryside, given the current situation, it is difficult for the royal power to reach the countryside.

"What should we do with these?" Li Si wrote a place name of a feudal lord or marquis outside the triangle.

This represents the interests of the nobility.

So, as Li Si wrote down the names of the fiefs one by one and finally left the word "powerful and noble", all the officials in Bingzhou looked at Yan Yan nervously, as this also represented their future.

“There are also differences among the powerful and the noble!” Yan Yan wrote the words royal family and local people under the powerful and the noble.

"Use the public office to restrict the powerful, and the powerful to check and balance the public office?" Li Si understood it immediately.

Yan Yan shook his head. The Rebellion of the Eight Kings was no small matter.

"Kill the chicken to scare the monkeys. Start with the public office and show it to the powerful!" Yan Yan said murderously.

"This..." Even Li Si, who remained calm even when faced with a mountain collapse, took a deep breath.

This is going to overturn the table.

"Daqin is heading towards an unprecedented path, which is full of thorns. So what do we do in the face of thorns?" Yan Yan looked at Li Si and asked.

"Break through all obstacles!" Li Si understood.

There is no construction without destruction. The Qin State was on the verge of destroying the six states and its military was at its peak. No one dared to stand up and resist.

But in this way, the King of Qin would be standing against all the powerful people.

It would be fine if Ying Zheng was in power. If Ying Zheng passed away and the new king succeeded to the throne, when his foundation was not yet stable, he would inevitably face a full-scale counterattack from these powerful people.

"So, is Mr. Tonggu ready?" Yan Yan looked at Li Si and asked with a smile.

After all, they both came from Confucian families, and he also wanted to save Li Si.

If Li Si had determination and ambition, no matter how many Zhao Gaos appeared in Qin, Li Si would have been able to ensure Fusu's smooth succession to the throne and help Fusu stabilize the court.

Li Si's hands were shaking with fear, nervousness, shock and excitement.

"If Qin is unable to suppress the rebellion, will Bingzhou send troops to take over the Central Plains?" Li Si suddenly spoke and looked at Yan Yan.

If Yan Yan had not cultivated his righteous spirit, he would have suspected that Yan Yan deliberately led the Qin State down a path that would lead to total collapse if it was not careful.

Once the Qin State falls apart, the one with the best chance of becoming the common ruler of the world will not be the powerful people in Qin State, but Bingzhou.

"Bingzhou can guarantee that it will not send troops south until Qin is able to control and resolve the rebellion." Yan Yan did not give a definite answer.

Li Si understood that if Qin was unable to suppress the rebellion, Bingzhou would still send troops, and by then, the Central Plains of China might also change hands.

"You have to understand one thing. If Qin is unable to suppress the rebellion, it proves that Qin is doomed, the royal family and court officials are incompetent, and Bingzhou cannot help even if it wants to!" Yan Yan continued.

(End of this chapter)