The Moon in the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 101: Restoring Qin Law
In the Qin court, after Meng Ao returned home, Emperor Ying Zheng rewarded Meng Ao greatly. This battle was very necessary, and Meng Ao's ruthlessness of "acting on his own initiative" also completely suppressed some of the floating people's hearts in the country.

The world also knew that the new king of Qin was no pushover, and Ying Zheng successfully added a layer of majesty to his reputation.

Nothing can be accomplished without authority. It was necessary to establish authority this time, and of course it was successful.

The Qin State finally recovered, and Ying Zheng also recovered.

After regaining Jinyang, in Zhangtai Palace, Ying Zheng and a group of important ministers formulated the basic national policy, which was to keep a low profile for the time being, accumulate national strength, and slowly erode the Three Jins, starting with Han. Han was not loved by its grandmother or uncle, and there were no capable ministers who could turn the tide. There were only a group of insects with ulterior motives, making them the best targets for bullying.

It was also decided to completely revise the Qin laws and gradually change the Qin policies. This matter was put on the agenda as soon as Zichu ascended the throne. The four schools of Confucianism, Mohism, Taoism and Legalism, who were important officials in the court, worked together for several years to come up with a plan, which they planned to implement step by step to change the atmosphere bit by bit.

The specific major principles cannot be changed. Now is not the time for major changes. We can just relax them slightly so that the people of Qin can take a breath.

It is true that Qin law was harsh, and this harshness was not only directed at ordinary people, but was also extremely harsh on officials and nobles. It was not bad in the past, because the results of the wars were great and they could be rewarded or punished heavily.

It is no longer possible now. The Qin State is growing larger and larger, with more and more people. What is certain is that there will be more new land and population absorbed in the future. The harsh Qin law is not conducive to the stable rule of the newly acquired land and population. Since the disadvantages outweigh the advantages, changes must be made.

Military merit can be regarded as a survival points system. The higher the points, the better you live. If you don’t have enough points, you will die.

Although Qin's farming and warfare system allowed both farming and fighting to earn titles and receive rewards, it still mainly relied on military merit.

Heavy rewards and severe punishments were mainly obtained through military merit, and then the complicated and comprehensive Qin laws were used to impose heavy punishments on the people, squeezing out all their abilities.

This is something that requires a good sense of proportion, and it is very difficult to do, because if you are not careful, the people will really not be able to survive, and if it really collapses, it will be the end. It must be maintained at a balance point, a point that can be accepted with gritted teeth.

But the people have a limit to what they can bear. When there are not enough military merits, it means there will be no generous rewards. In this case, the complicated and comprehensive severe punishments must be abandoned. At least some daily matters will not be fatal.

Severe laws and harsh punishments are meant to force the people to fight in the war and win titles, to ensure survival and a better life. If there are enough opportunities to make meritorious contributions, heavy rewards and heavy punishments are acceptable, but now it is obvious that there are not so many opportunities to make meritorious contributions. Since "income" has decreased, "expenditure" must also be reduced appropriately, otherwise they will die.

At present, the gain and loss of points are no longer proportional, and the point system must be appropriately modified. The rewards cannot be changed, as everyone has to be kept on their feet by this. The principled penalties cannot be changed either, as it is easy for people to lose motivation. We can only relax some minor and strict laws first, and then make major changes to the non-principled laws that reduce points after the system is unified.

Now it is enough to let the people take a breath and survive. We must give people a way to survive. This road may be difficult to walk, but we must give them a way. If we don't give them a way, they will not be able to survive, and then we can only fight with you.

In addition, Ying Zheng also emphasized that when planning new national policies, the current principle that everyone must pay taxes must be retained.

Both nobles and officials had to pay taxes, and were only exempted from corvée labor based on their status.

And the systems of collective responsibility and denunciation must also be retained.

Then, in future wars, the calculation of military merits was changed a little. Capture and capture equal military merits. The enemy surrenders and the merits are halved, giving the enemy a chance to surrender. Killing prisoners is strictly prohibited, and the main goal is to conquer the enemy without fighting, so as to reduce killings. This is a temporary trial. The uses of the captives have been found. There are many places where Qin uses hard labor, and of course, some hope must be given to them. As long as they serve hard labor for a certain number of years, tentatively set at five years, they will be released back to their hometowns and can enjoy the treatment of Qin people. After five years of hard labor, there is no need to worry about rebellion. People are useless and can no longer participate in the war. Moreover, after five years, their hometowns are likely to be Qin territory.

Five years of hard labor was enough for them to earn back the value of their military merits.

The homeless can also be arranged for immigration, it’s easy to deal with.

It is also allowed to redeem captives, but it is relatively expensive. As long as there is food, the corresponding value must be more than three times the military merit of Qin. It is estimated that the royal nobles of various countries are likely to be reluctant to do so. This way, they can also spread rumors that are unfavorable to them, so they will not lose in any way.

The people's hearts are not lost all at once, but once lost, it is difficult to regain. Gradually conquering justice is as important as victory on the battlefield, or even more important.

Major changes were also made on how to consolidate the newly conquered cities. The most important change was to give the newly recruited people the same treatment as the Qin people in Guanzhong. Apart from anything else, the annual distribution of land and the reasonable promotion mechanism of the Qin Dynasty far surpassed those of the six kingdoms.

It is easy to win the hearts of the people. Compared with the Qin officials, the nobles of the six countries are the most anthropomorphic creatures. The Qin law is strict, but at least there is a law. In other places where the nobles rule more severely, it is truly lawless.

There is only one thing that is a little slower than the Qin people in Guanzhong, and that is to join the army and become an official. Only those who have not rebelled in this area within three years and have no record of rebellion can join the army and use their military merits to become an official.

To put it bluntly, as long as you be an honest person for three years, you will become a complete Qin citizen.

They are mainly the old nobles of the six countries. This group of people controls the most resources in a city, and we cannot force them to death at the beginning. After all, this group of people still has enough motivation to surrender, and we must give them hope of surrender.

It is not possible to kill them all directly, as the relationship is complicated and future sieges will easily lead to desperate resistance, which is not conducive to future expansion. However, this group of people cannot be allowed to die, as there are not enough resources to distribute to the people and meritorious soldiers. Only by killing the great nobles, exterminating their clans and confiscating their property, will Qin have enough resources to reward expansion and achieve a virtuous cycle.

Of course, some small nobles were also willing to sincerely surrender to Qin. After all, even small nobles would find it difficult to have opportunities for advancement locally, but Qin did have them. No matter what, the opportunities in Qin were much greater than those of the six countries. Their foundation was always stronger than that of ordinary people. As long as they had the opportunity and were willing to work hard, their chances of advancement were always much stronger than those of ordinary people. After all, their resources for civil and military education were much better than those of ordinary people.

In the era of aristocratic dictatorship, the class stratification of the hereditary aristocracy system was unimaginable to later generations. To be a king, a prince, a general, or a minister, one had to be of real character. The class stratification in modern Kyushu must be multiplied by at least ten times before we can even see the taillights of the hereditary aristocracy system.

Even though it is now the end of the Warring States Period, the upward channel has only loosened a little, and it is unimaginably difficult to rise. Why did the talented scholars of the Six Kingdoms come to Qin even though they knew that Qin's laws were strict? Because there was no other way, and Qin gave them a chance.

What they feared most was not being given opportunities, but now that they have been given opportunities, as long as they work hard, the Qin State will expand year after year, and there will be many opportunities for advancement. There are many smart people who can see through it, and there are also many people on this land who are unwilling to be lonely and ordinary and are willing to give it a try.

The secret of politics is to have more friends and fewer enemies. Don't push everyone to the enemy side, that would be too stupid.

The target is the great nobles who cannot become friends, as well as some small and medium nobles. The small and medium nobles and scholars who are willing to serve the Qin Dynasty can be absorbed.

(End of this chapter)