At the end of Qin, I became a son of the plane

Chapter 204, busy Zhou Zhang and the psychological battle against Qin soldiers
September 37, the th year of the First Emperor's reign.

Chenjun, Prime Minister's Mansion.

Although it was already late at night, the Prime Minister's Mansion was still brightly lit, with a large number of officials coming in and out, making it extremely busy.

"How is the return of frontline civilians?" Zhou Zhang asked.

"The residents of Yingchuan County have been returning home for a month. Most of the residents of Chen County and Nanyang County have just returned home. The residents of Jiujiang County, Nan County and Hengshan County who are far away are still on the way." Prime Minister Xiao Hehui reported.

"Order officials at all levels along the way to take good care of these civilians returning home, and try their best to meet their needs. These civilians are the heroes of our Han army. Don't let them have any accidents on the road." Zhou Zhang instructed.

There were 27 civilians withdrawn from the front line this time. He was worried that there were too many people and local officials would ignore the civilians and cause accidents.

"No!" Xiao He nodded.

Then Zhou Zhang said with a smile: "This time Yingbo's capture of Aocang has really solved our big trouble. Otherwise, I wouldn't dare to watch this autumn harvest."

Obtaining Aocang is not only a huge amount of grain for the Han Dynasty, but more importantly, it can greatly reduce the number of civilians transporting grain and grass, allowing almost all of the nearly 30 Han civilians to go home to harvest grain.

Xiao He hesitated for a moment and then said: "If our army transports grain from Aocang back to South Korea, it must recruit civilian men again. However, this is the critical moment of the Central Plains War. Such a large-scale change in the movement of grain and grass may be detrimental to the war. I think this year’s land tax will be waived for all citizens. The Prime Minister’s Office will issue a tax exemption certificate to every citizen’s family. This will also allow local officials to reduce taxation matters.”

When Zhou Zhang heard about 500 million shi, he knew that the local counties could not afford so much grain. Zhou Zhanghao said forcefully: "Transport grain from Aocang back to Han to pay the salaries of the people."

Zhou Zhang thought for a while and said to Prime Minister Cang Cao: "The newly recovered land in Kuaiji County is the time when our army wants to show kindness to the people. Look at how much inventory the steel factory has and allocate half of it to Kuaiji County."

Then Zhou Zhang looked at the Prime Minister's Office Si Zhi and said: "You must supervise the county and township officials at all levels. If our Prime Minister's Office is exempt from taxation, the officials below will continue to collect taxes, causing public resentment and turning good things into bad things."

Hu Cao nodded and said: "No."

The 30 soldiers who are fighting are exempted from tax, and the 30 civilians are exempted. The only taxes that the entire Han Dynasty county government can receive are commercial taxes and taxes from powerful people in various places. How much they can collect depends on their own ability.

Prime Minister Sizhi said excitedly: "I would like to thank you, Prime Minister, for your appreciation."

According to the 100% tax in the Han Dynasty, each household generally has 30 acres of land. One year of tax exemption is equivalent to reducing the tax of these farmers by dan. The people must be happy, but the local officials will not be happy. No matter how honest the government is, Collecting taxes also requires leaving a lot of money, not to mention that after collecting the taxes, the Han Dynasty will also have to leave a certain amount of food crops for the daily expenses of the government. Even officials who want to make progress will also rely on this tax to build water conservancy facilities. , water tanker and other infrastructure construction.

Zhou Zhang continued: "Rewards and salaries must also be in place at the same time. This is related to the credibility of our country. We order officials at all levels to issue the salaries that civilians deserve in a timely manner."

Zhou Zhang thought for a while and said to Cao, the Prime Minister's office: "It's feasible. At the same time, tell the county government that their taxes will not be sent to Chen County this year to be used as salaries for officials at all levels and as local construction funds."

Xiao He continued to report: "I have 300 Han officials led by Governor Ye Teng and have taken over the entire Kuaiji County. Governor Ye came to report that all the food, grass and weapons in Kuaiji County were taken away by Xiang Liang and the others. The entire Kuaiji County is weak and the people are poor. 2 Only one household can afford an iron plow, so Governor Ye applied to the Prime Minister for 5 sickles and 1 plowshares to meet the agricultural needs of Kuaiji County."

Zhou Zhang had been imprisoned in the Qin State. He knew very well how the lower-level Qin officials poached the Qin State. Therefore, Zhou Zhang understood that this was not a benefit to the country that could be rolled out just by setting a good policy. Benefit the people. But it depends on how the officials below do it. If they want to poach the Han State, no matter how good the policy is, it will harm the people. Supervising the Han officials and strictly implementing the policies of the Prime Minister's Office is the most important thing.

Zhou Zhang nodded and said: "You should work harder during this period and supervise officials at all levels to implement the policies of the Prime Minister's Office. When the King of Han comes back, I will recommend you to the King of Han to become a county guard with two thousand dan."

But Kuaiji County is south of the Yangtze River, Xiong Xin, you don’t have a navy to take over. The most important thing is that Kuaiji County has been run by Xiang Liang for many years, and everyone from top to bottom is Xiang Liang’s confidant. They also hate Xiong who stabbed Xiang Yu in the back. Xin and others took the initiative to contact Zhou Zhang and wanted to join the Han Dynasty, so Zhou Zhang appointed Ye Teng as the governor of Kuaiji County, leading 5000 soldiers and 300 Han officials to take over Kuaiji County.

Prime Minister Si Zhi assured Zhou Zhang: "My subordinates will begin to patrol the entire Han Dynasty tomorrow, and any lawless Han officials found will be brought to justice."

Xiang Yu sold all three counties of Chu to Xu Fan, Sishui County and Donghai County. Because of the relationship between Xiong Xin and Song Yi, the powerful people in Chu, Xu Fan did not want to cause any trouble, so he did not move.

Normally, the official warehouses of county governments at all levels still have enough food, but because of this war, the food in each township and county was transported to the county capitals Yangzhai and Chenjun. There was not much food in the granary of the townships and counties at all, making it difficult to complete the task. The settler's settlement. "

Zhou Zhang has such confidence that he dares to settle the labor remuneration as soon as possible. This is the confidence given to him by Aocang's billions of shi of grain. Five million shi of grain is just a drop in the bucket for the Han State. For this small amount of grain, the Han State is harmed. The court's credibility is not worth it.

Because transporting grain from Chen County to the front line, although there was a communication gap, it was still going upstream. Civilians were required to pull transport ships all the way, and there was also a land route in the middle. It took hundreds of thousands of civilians to carry the grain north to the battlefield in Handan.

Xiao He hesitated and said: "From the time when our country of Han recruited civilians in March, the time these civilians help our big men escort grain and grass is generally 180-200 days. Calculated based on 30 civilians, the salary of these civilians is about 450 million dan to 500 million. stone."

When Yingbu captured Aocang, not only did he reduce the number of grain roads by thousands of miles, but Aocang also transferred the grain to the Yellow River, so that transport ships could go down the Yellow River to the battlefield of Handan. This alone saved 90% of the manpower. Now there are no Han civilians in the entire Handan battlefield, replaced by tens of thousands of Zhao civilians, which greatly reduces the pressure on Zhou Zhang and others.

Kuracao nodded and said: "No!"

Zhou Zhang continued: "At the same time, Ye Teng was ordered to build a shipyard and dock in Kuaiji County to supplement Kuaiji County's food with fishery resources.

When Zhou Zhang and Xu Fan played war games, Xu Fanke told him that Kuaiji County was a treasure land that could develop shipbuilding, fishing, and salt industries. If Kuaiji County developed well, it could withstand the Qin State for ten years. Although Zhou Zhang could not Da knew how to develop, but ordered Ye Teng to lay a good foundation. When Xu Fan comes back, Xu Fan will formulate the development plan for Kuaiji County.

Xiao He took out a letter and said: "There is a letter from Ji Bu, the general of the southern expedition, saying that the Qin army is gathering in the Bashu area and has the intention to attack our country of Han. The general of the southern expedition wants to take the initiative to attack the Qin army in the Bashu area."

Zhou Zhang smiled bitterly and said, "Ji Bu is worried."

Originally Ji Bu was the first general of the Han army, and whenever Xu Fan divided his troops, Ji Bu would be the commander in chief. Even in this Northern Expedition to the Central Plains, Ji Bu independently led the troops to fight in the southern Xinjiang to protect the rear of the Han army. This shows that Xu Fan has great influence on the Han army. Ji Bu's trust and attention.

Xu Fan sent Ji Bu to garrison in Qianzhong County because he was worried about Qin's hundreds of thousands of troops from southern Xinjiang. As a result, there was a mutiny in southern Xinjiang and Zhao Tuo blocked the road to Wuling. This resulted in Ji Bu having no opponent and could only watch other colleagues fight. Zhongyuan has made meritorious service.

When Yingbu annihilated 10 Qin troops and captured Aocang, which shocked the entire Han Dynasty, Ji Bu's calm heart could no longer be calm. He understood that Yingbu's contribution this time was too great and he could have replaced him. location.

Ji Bu was naturally unwilling to give in. He wanted to continue to suppress Ying Bu, so he could only give Ying Bu enough credit. Ji Bu looked at the enemies around him. Zhao Tuo's southern border was a barbaric land. The First Emperor sent troops to fight for many years, and he had no confidence that he could pacify southern Xinjiang in the short term.

Then came Xiong Xin and Song Yi from Chudong, but they only occupied two counties and had less than 2 old and weak soldiers. It was easy to capture Chudong, but they did not achieve much credit.

In the end, Ji Bu took a fancy to the land of Bashu. Although Bashu was pretty good, it had experienced hundreds of years of development, and the territory was vast. By occupying Bashu, he could solve the enemy of the Han Dynasty to the west. In terms of area, occupying Bashu would destroy the Han. The area of ​​the country has doubled, and the most important thing is that if you occupy Bashu, you can take advantage of the situation to attack Guanzhong, so that you can achieve unparalleled achievements. But Zhou Zhang did not want Ji Bu to attack Bashu, because at this time there was no need for Han to open a battlefield in Bashu. He thought for a while and said: "Tell General Ji Zhengnan that Bashu is in a dangerous terrain, and the 5 Nanzheng County in his hand will not be able to conquer Bashu. Wait." The King of Han won the battlefield in the Central Plains, and then opened the battlefield in Bashu."

Xiao He nodded and said: "No!"

"Finally, the King of Han ordered the prime minister to prepare a batch of supplies and goods to reward the three armies and reward the heroes."

Zhou Zhang said happily: "It seems that the King of Han is going to win in the Central Plains battlefield."

But he soon frowned. The King of Han almost emptied the treasury for this war. If it hadn't been for the capture of Aocang, he would now be discussing with the powerful people of Han how to implement the grain collection bill.

The treasury of the Han Dynasty was empty. All the gold was used to purchase weapons and equipment, and silk cloth was used to make inner armor and military uniforms. After Aocang, there was a lot of food. When food was given to the soldiers, they accepted it enthusiastically, but if thousands of stones of food were given to Yingbu, a hero, it would really become a joke.

Xiao He thought for a while and said: "This year's sugar cane has also matured. Last year, rock sugar was robbed by noble merchants. It is said that the price has risen to the same price as gold."

Zhou Zhang said: "When this batch of sugar cane has a good harvest, the price will go down."

This year, Chen County has planted tens of thousands of acres of sugar cane, all of which can be made into rock sugar, which can reach a million pounds. Zhou Zhang also understands the principle that things are rare and valuable. If you can make thousands of dollars by waiting for this batch of rock sugar to be put on the market, it will be a lot.

Xiao He whispered: "If the Prime Minister maintains this price and rewards the heroes with rock candy, it should be able to solve a big problem."

Zhou Zhang pondered for a long time and said seriously: "The king of Han also left behind white sugar and the method of making sucrose. This rock sugar is as white as snow and as sweet as honey. It is difficult to make. The price for selling gold is reasonable."

Zhou Zhang decided to make half the rock candy this year than last year.

September 37, the th year of the First Emperor's reign.

Handan County, the battlefield of Qin and Han Dynasties.

The soldiers of the Qin army were still busy with their earthwork projects. Meng Tian was very familiar with such large-scale civil engineering projects. He divided his soldiers into groups, including those who made rattan baskets, those who dug earth, and those who transported them. A simple set of The assembly line of fortified soil appeared on the battlefield, and the soldiers of the Qin army were extremely busy every day. If their equipment were not out of date, Xu Fan would have thought that this was a large construction site in later generations.

Of course, under the command of Meng Tian and with the busy work of the Qin soldiers, their results were extremely brilliant. A hill several feet high had already appeared in front of the Han army camp.

"The birds on the trees are in pairs, the green water and green mountains are smiling. From now on, we no longer have to suffer the pain of slavery. The husband and wife have returned home~~~" Several actors from the opera troupe sang "The Match of an Immortal" in front of the soldiers of the Qin Army.

It's not like Xu Fan didn't do anything during this period. Xu Fan performed all the dramas of "The Match", "Butterfly Lovers" and "The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl".

It can only be said that after becoming the King of Han, Xu Fan had too many resources. He just asked Lu Shu to roughly tell the stories of "The Match of Heaven", "Butterfly Lovers" and "Cowherd and Weaver Girl" without having to do it himself. People like Lu Shu quickly helped Xu Fan wrote the script, which is much better than the scripts written by later generations of artificially retarded AI.

Even if the Qin soldiers on the base were doing something, they tried their best to keep their voices down. Listening to the songs coming from the Han camp, the soldiers were afraid that they would not be able to hear the voices on the other side if they moved too loudly.

The officers of the Qin army were helpless when they saw this scene. They did not dare to drive away the soldiers or even scold them.

At first, when the Qin army officers discovered this situation, they would whip the slow-moving soldiers, especially those who eavesdropped on the opera in the Han army camp. They would be severely punished. As a result, thousands of soldiers were punished within two days of this punishment. The Qin soldiers simply fled directly to the Han camp.

This caused an uproar in the entire Qin army camp. Even Meng Tian paid attention to the situation here and sent thousands of soldiers to guard the deserters. At the same time, the soldiers took turns to build soil. The result was that after watching "Chu Zhaonu", these thousands of soldiers watched. "To Live", after reading "To Live", I learned that the king of Han not only divided the land, but also abolished all corvee services. As long as there was no war, even military service was very small. Ordinary people like them only had to cultivate the land in peace and order.

This policy was much better than that of Qin. At this time, the prospects of the Qin army were not good. Even these soldiers could see it. So a soldier contacted other Qin soldiers and said, "It would be better to die in battle or be captured." Take the initiative to seek refuge with the King of Han,"

So these soldiers killed two to five hundred leaders of the Qin army, and nearly 2000 soldiers with fortifications defected to the Han army.

This matter attracted Meng Tian's attention. If this continued, there would be no need to fight, and his military morale would collapse. So he accelerated the reincarnation of the soldiers in the base, and at the same time sent his Guanzhong national guards to guard the place, so that no major disasters occurred. question.

Meng Tian, ​​who was inspecting the earthworks, also heard the operatic voice of "Both husband and wife returned the house~~~".

He felt a little relieved in his heart, but he still frowned and said: "Xu Fan is a great man of his generation, but he shamelessly arranged for His Majesty the First Emperor. Isn't he afraid of the ridicule of the world?"

This is an opera compiled by Xu Fan. Naturally, there is no need to use the Emperor of Heaven as a metaphor for the solidification of classes. He directly uses the First Emperor as the biggest villain. Dong Yong’s wife is no longer the Seven Fairies, but the Seventh Princess of the First Emperor. The Cowherd’s wife has also become She became the daughter of the First Emperor, and Liang Shanbo’s wife also became the daughter of the First Emperor.

Xu Fan did not use these stories casually. Dong Yong represented the poor scholars and aroused their hatred towards the First Emperor. The Cowherd represented the most basic of the Qin State and was also a self-cultivated farmer. Therefore, among these three stories, the story of "The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl" They are most popular among soldiers of the Qin army, because their family property and status are similar to those of Cowherds, and they also want to have a wife like the Weaver Girl. This kind of story resonates most with the lower-level soldiers of the Qin army.

In the story of "Butterfly Lovers", Liang Shanbo also becomes an officer of the Qin army, stitching together the story of Mulan joining the army, and this time Ma Wencai's role becomes Meng Tian. Liang Shanbo is Meng Tian's subordinate. In order to marry Zhu Yingtai, he Liang Shanbo was forced to death.

So much so that the soldiers of the Qin army looked at Meng Tian with extremely strange expressions. They did not expect that Meng Tian, ​​with thick eyebrows and big eyes, would force Liang Shanbo to death in order to marry the daughter of the First Emperor.

After Meng Tian learned about this, he explained to the entire army that his wife Bu was not the daughter of the First Emperor at all, and that there was no such thing as a woman joining the army in the Qin State, let alone a princess joining the army. This was all done by the rebels. Don't believe the rebels who are making up random stories, but believe what the court says.

But these soldiers and low-level officers didn't believe it at all. The court didn't keep its word. If anyone really believed what the court said, the grass on their grave would be three feet high.

The soldiers firmly believed that one of Meng Tian and the First Emperor forced Liang Shanbo to death, and the other forced Zhu Yingtai to death. This Bu family must be the new wife later.

This explanation was the answer that convinced everyone, so the soldiers looked at Meng Tian with the expression of always looking at the scumbag, which could not be explained at all. Now Meng Tian frowned very tightly when he heard "Butterfly Lovers".

Shejian looked at the listening soldiers and said angrily: "This is a false story as soon as you hear it. How could they be so stupid to believe it? She is a princess, a person from heaven. How could she marry a commoner like them?"

The Wang family and his son destroyed the six kingdoms, and only then did the First Emperor marry a princess to the Wang family. Among these three stories, the one with a better status was actually Liang Shanbo. After all, he had the status of an officer. The worse one was the Cowherd, who was directly a farmer. , how could such a person come into contact with the princess.

Su Jiao sighed and said: "The rebels came up with these stories not for us, but for the soldiers. Of course we know that these stories are false, but the soldiers are willing to believe them. As long as they are willing to believe them, these lies will It becomes real. Think about "Chu Zhaonu" and "Alive". This is the enemy attacking our hearts. Xu Fan is not attacking our hearts, but the hearts of the soldiers at the bottom. If they all turn to betrayal, Army, there is no way we can win this battle."

(End of this chapter)