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

Chapter 1217 Invincible Navy [Please Subscribe*Please Vote for Monthly Tickets]

The world was generally at peace, but rebellions did occur. These were the accumulated grievances of several generations or even several eras, and it was not easy to quell them.

Ying Zheng's constant inspections, besides personal reasons, were also driven by political ones.

When the First Emperor went on tours, he was escorted by a large army. Wherever he went, the people submitted to him. This was not only a demonstration of military power to the world, but also a way of telling the common people that the world was unified and that it now belonged to the Qin state.

Otherwise, the Qin state would not have wasted so much money and resources on each imperial tour, simply for Ying Zheng's personal hobby.

If it were truly just Ying Zheng's personal hobby, Li Yao would be the first to jump out and stop him.

In addition to Ying Zheng's eastern tour, Xianyang also dispatched inspectors to inscribe steles on famous mountains and rivers throughout the Qin territory, proclaiming that the Qin state had officially established itself as the ruler of the world.

In an era of limited communication, this was the fastest way for the king to extend his authority to the countryside and the most effective way to change the public’s mindset.

This is a war of public opinion without the smoke of gunpowder, and also a means to limit the autonomy of local nobles to the greatest extent.

The Qin state aimed to establish an unprecedented unified, centralized state, rather than the autonomous system of ministers and officials under the feudal system.

"Sometimes I really envy Bingzhou!" Ying Zheng sighed.

Although Bingzhou is vast, it has a small population, few cities and counties, and therefore fewer places to manage directly, resulting in less workload.

But the Qin Dynasty was different. Bingzhou had a population of at most three million, while the Qin state had a population of over twenty million. They were not even in the same league.

Therefore, Ying Zheng also needed to devote nearly ten times the energy of Yan Yan to governing this unprecedentedly vast empire.

Furthermore, Bingzhou did not have such complex historical problems and did not have to deal with the legacy of various ethnic groups and former states, which enabled Bingzhou to achieve the unification of people's thoughts and the centralization of power more quickly than Qin.

“The existence of Bingzhou is also a good thing for Qin. At least Bingzhou and Qin have the same goal. They can move faster, and we can follow suit step by step and avoid the problems encountered in the process of centralization,” Li Si said with a smile.

The reform was inherently fraught with uncertainty. He piloted it in one or two prefectures of Qin before extending it nationwide, and the existence of Bingzhou provided them with even more inspiration.

Therefore, in Li Si's view, Bingzhou was not without its merits as a pilot prefecture for the Qin state.

Especially since Han Fei was still in Bingzhou, he could have easily followed Bingzhou's path and avoided risks by standing on Bingzhou's shoulders.

Moreover, Bingzhou had geniuses like Yan Yan, An Qisheng, and Han Fei, whose talents were rare even in centuries, actively exploring new paths. He was essentially reaping the benefits of these achievements, standing on the shoulders of these outstanding individuals to pave a path for the Qin Dynasty that had no precedent in history.

"Could this be considered finding joy in hardship?" Ying Zheng was also relieved.

If you want to wear a crown, you must bear its weight.

Bingzhou was like a pioneer of the Qin state, blazing a new trail for Qin from scratch.

They only need to follow the footprints left by Bingzhou in the fog, step by step, avoiding risks and forging their own path.

Therefore, Bingzhou and Qin were not enemies, but rather like a pair of friends who loved and hated each other.

"Chen Zijian contacted the Water Lord Wei Jiu, requesting the navy to sail south and explore the open ocean..." Li Si continued.

Bingzhou made no secret of its covetousness and schemes regarding the Kunlun slaves, thus the Luo Wang (Net of Heaven) and Yingmiwei (Shadow Guard) obtained firsthand information immediately. However, the slave trade was not something to be discussed openly, so Qin defined it as a side activity during its ocean exploration.

After all, it's reasonable for people to bring back some local specialties during ocean voyages and explorations, right?
"As you know, my dear minister, expanding our territory and exploring unknown lands are extremely costly. The navy alone cannot sustain this. How could my Great Qin allow the navy to bear this burden alone?" Ying Zheng said with a serious expression.

If Bingzhou is paying for something, how could Qin not follow suit?
However, calling it the sale of Kunlun slaves would be too degrading and lack the dignity of an empire, so even if the Qin state wanted to participate, it could not do so under the pretext of buying and selling slaves.

"Your Majesty is right. The navy is, after all, a child of our Great Qin. How can we let the navy bear the burden alone, or even borrow money from Bingzhou? If word gets out, it will only make our vassal states think that our Great Qin can't afford to play this game!" Li Si said with a smile.

Reforms cost money, a lot of money.

Although Li Yao strongly supported his reforms, there was never enough money.

Kunlun slaves were very valuable and profitable.

"Don't just focus on the Kunlun slaves. Have the Qin Academy send some scholars to follow them and see if there's anything that China doesn't have, anything that's beneficial to China's development. Bring it all back!" Ying Zheng's vision was far-sighted.

He did not believe that ocean voyages would only encounter things that China possessed along the way, and that there must be things that China did not have, which would greatly benefit China's development.

"The work that the Bingzhou envoy did, the navy might be able to do as well, right?" Ying Zheng blinked.

Wherever they went, in deserted places, they carved inscriptions and planted flags, waiting for future generations to come and collect them!
That's what they call "since ancient times."

Instead of constantly having various schools of thought revise the histories of different ethnic groups and forcibly link them with their ancestors, they might as well become the ancestors of future generations and the ancients since ancient times!

"Yes!" Li Si nodded with a smile.

Many people may not know how powerful the navy is, but he has witnessed the current strength of the navy.

If the war were to break out along the banks of major rivers, no army in the entire world, whether it be the Qin Dynasty or Bingzhou, would dare to say that they could definitely defeat the navy; in fact, the chances of them suffering a crushing defeat would be even higher.

The fact that the Chinese coast has never encountered a powerful enemy like the navy proves that the navy is very likely the strongest and only navy in the world today.

Such a force, setting sail on distant oceans, would likely not be concerned about its safety from the navy itself, but rather from the foreign barbarians it encountered along the way.
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"A trade?" Wei Jiu shouted at Langya Port, staring blankly at Chen Jian. "I am the universally recognized Water Lord. All that is under the sun and moon's light, and all that belongs to the rivers, are my children. Do I have to pay for my children's things?"

"..." Chen Jian also fell silent. He had seen shameless people before, but he had never seen anyone as shameless as this.

But what you said makes so much sense.

There are many feudal lords in the world, but Wei Jiu is unique in that he was jointly appointed and recognized by two countries.

Moreover, what Wei Jiu said doesn't seem to be wrong. Since he is the Water Lord, Wei Jiu has the right to manage people and things related to the water, right?
Why should a father pay his son for taking his things?

This is unfilial.

"Suikoden, you can decide for yourself. Anyway, in the realm of water, no one who can defeat you has been born yet!" Chen Jian shrugged.

If the navy dares to hunt even the mythical Kunpeng, what else is there that the navy can't do?

(End of this chapter)