The Moon in the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 705 Customization (I)

Ying Zheng smiled slightly, and then said: "Today, the world is unified and has become counties. All the millions of subjects in the world are my subjects."

"The Son of Heaven builds virtue, and bestows surnames upon people based on their birth, and names their clans based on the land they are given. I am the Son of Heaven, and my dynasty will continue forever. All the land in the world belongs to me, and I have surnames but no clans."

"From now on, all surnames in the world will be unified. There will be no distinction between surnames. The royal family will use Ying as their surname."

"All the people in the world are my sons. For those who have no surname, I will give them the surname Zhao of their ancestor. The surname is Zhao!" Ying Zheng's voice echoed in the hall. This unexpected gift made everyone dizzy.

No one has ever given their noble surname to those peasants, which is simply trampling on the glory of their ancestors.

However, the emperor's behavior is not considered appropriate. On the contrary, it is appropriate! The emperor has no clan name, and he is the father of all people in the world!

The faces of the ministers were filled with shock, and they looked at each other with disbelief in their eyes. This was undoubtedly a great gift from heaven to any humble person in the world!
The emperor bestowed his ancestors' "Zhao" to all common people. This is the highest honor and grace! It is worth dying for!
As for the unification of surnames and clan names, it really doesn't matter. The whole world belongs to Qin, and there are no fiefdoms anymore. Surnames and clan names are no longer meaningful.

As for the fact that surnames originally played a role in preventing close relatives from marrying, it is now even less worth mentioning. The world is too big, there are too many people, and there is a clear household registration management. This situation is impossible unless it is intentional.

All the ministers bowed in unison, with reverence on their faces, and shouted: "Your Majesty cares about the people and loves them like his own children. Your Majesty is a saint! Long live the king and father!"

There were a few ministers of humble origins in the hall, who had no surnames but only a name. They were so excited that their eyes were filled with tears, and their words of thanks were shouted out while crying.

All those who do not have a surname are no longer lowly people, and no longer have a lowly status. Now they are given the surname of the former royal family.

It is conceivable that when everything that happened today spreads throughout the world, it will have a huge impact on everyone in the world.

Especially for ordinary people, they will truly and deeply understand what it is like to live under the rule of a holy monarch.

For Ying Zheng, this was undoubtedly a move of great political significance, as it gave supreme naming rights to the lower-class civilians in the world, a group that accounted for the largest proportion of the world's population.

Don't underestimate this matter. It is enough to gain a lot of gratitude. People need face and trees need bark. Face is something that everyone wants.

In the past, people with surnames were noble, while people with just a given name were lowly. Everyone recognized this.

But now it is completely different. People without surnames now have the most noble surnames, and no one dares to question it. It is conceivable that when this matter spreads throughout the world, it will cause a great response, enough to win the hearts of the people and become a good story for all ages.

People always say that the emperor is the father of all people in the world, but in the past people did not have much real feeling about it. But now, this feeling is extremely obvious!
The emperor gave the highest honor to everyone!
Ying Zheng raised his hand slightly, asking the ministers to stand up, and then said solemnly with a serious expression: "Everything is renewed, not just my name, the whole world should make great progress, the past national system is not enough to govern the world."

"There are distinctions between the superior and the inferior, and order between the old and the young. Without rules, there will be no order. Only when the emperor, his subjects, and the people each perform their duties and observe their own etiquette can there be peace." Ying Zheng glanced at his ministers with a sharp gaze, and his words were filled with unquestionable majesty.

"Now, the ranks of civil and military officials are divided into nine grades, each grade is divided into two levels. One is the most noble, and nine is the least noble. Everything is renewed. From now on, the left and the right will be replaced. The left is more noble in the world."

"The titles of honor for both civil and military officials were redefined, with nine ranks and eighteen grades."

"Officials eat salaries, and those who hold titles enjoy salaries."

"The nobility's titles have been redefined to six levels: Marquis, Earl, Viscount, Lang, Wei, and Shi. Each level has three ranks. Anyone with a title in the world will be given one in turn."

"Above the Marquis, there is the Duke, which is ranked as the Super Grade."

"Marquis is a county marquis, a township marquis, a baron is a county baron, a township baron, a pavilion baron, and below are all first, second, and third ranks."

Ying Zheng explained the new system of aristocratic titles and official positions in a clear and orderly manner.

All the ministers bowed down and agreed, praising the emperor for his wisdom.

The ministers who were able to stand in the hall had a general understanding of these changes, even if they were not clear about the deep-seated reasons. After all, Ying Zheng had already spread the news like a breeze, so it did not cause much controversy at this time.

In the eyes of everyone, it is nothing more than a change of name to make the division clearer.

There is still a chance of unifying the world. Your Majesty will redistribute the cake. This is inevitable and no one can stop it.

What everyone is thinking about now is what grade and position they will be assigned to.

Official rank determines salary, honorific title determines welfare benefits, nobles can enjoy more honors, and wealth can be passed on to descendants for a longer time. No one can be a noble without merit. Combined with the previous land policy and distribution system, this set is considered complete.

Ying Zheng has formulated a new "Qin Li", which will be officially announced in a moment.

As productivity increases, various standards must also be improved. This is a practical need that everyone has, and there is no need to suppress it. In fact, this improvement is beneficial to everyone. Only when Ying Zheng himself takes the lead in improving regulations can the ministers below follow suit.

Now that we have conquered the country, we must rule it and redistribute power, responsibilities, and benefits.

For governing subjects, there is nothing more obvious than classification, and nothing is easier to divide the rule.

Moreover, Ying Zheng completely separated civil and military powers, as well as officials and nobles, and required them to check and balance each other.

The purpose of increasing the number of honorific titles for officials is to give rewards, and it is also to facilitate more smooth handling of officials who have made meritorious contributions or have committed crimes after leaving office.

Since there has to be a redivision, there will inevitably be some people who are satisfied and some who are dissatisfied.

Today, everything is new. In this vast country, the interest structure has not yet been completely locked down, and there are too many power gaps and interest gaps.

Since power must be divided, those who have made contributions but suffered losses in the power adjustment must be compensated with wealth. After all, it is not good to disappoint the heroes who have just conquered the country.

The empire is already large enough, and productivity has increased many times compared to eight hundred years ago, so the treatment of the empire's ruling class must also be enhanced accordingly.

Everyone has this need. Instead of suppressing it by force, it is better to kill two birds with one stone, satisfying the needs of everyone and using it to buy over the ministers to promote the smooth progress of reform.

This is truly a win-win situation for everyone.

After a lifetime of hard work, the world is peaceful. If you don't let people enjoy it, it's strange that you can sit firmly on the throne. If you force the power holders to exercise their subjective initiative, it will not be a good thing for the greatest ruler.

Improving treatment and redividing things is a good thing.

The empire is clearly divided into different classes, and each class enjoys completely different treatment, with completely different standards in all aspects of food, clothing, housing and transportation.

Take the number of wives and concubines and slaves that a person can have, for example. There are detailed and clear requirements, and everything is clear and understandable.

Including official uniforms and aristocratic clothing, from color to patterns, there are extremely strict regulations. The clothing specifications of superiors can cover subordinates, but subordinates must never overstep their authority over their superiors.

For example, the official uniforms of civil officials were decorated with flying birds, those of military officials were decorated with walking animals, and those of nobles were decorated with auspicious signs. The dragon was a special pattern for the emperor, the phoenix for the empress, and the black bird for the prince.

The twelve-chapter patterns were upgraded to eighteen-chapter patterns, namely the sun, moon, stars, dragon, phoenix, black bird, mountains, thunder, peony, tiger, ape, algae, fire, powder, rice, fu, fu, and bell.

Nobles of different ranks gradually used fewer specific emblems, but the sun, moon, stars, dragon, phoenix and black bird were not allowed to be used, and those used individually by titles below earl were not considered emblem ceremonial dress.

The regulations for the emperor's travel have also changed. The emperor's six-horse carriage is no longer applicable. Now it has been upgraded to twelve horses for the emperor, eleven for the empress, ten for the crown prince, nine for the prince, eight for the duke, six for the marquis, five for the earl, four for the sons and men, two for the officers and lieutenants, and civilians can only use a single horse to drive. Of course, there are also strict requirements on the size of the carriage and the decoration regulations.

The amount of salary, the number of acres of land, the size of the house, the number of slaves, the configuration of wives and concubines in the house, and even the regulations on medical rations, titles, etiquette, and ceremonial guards, can all be said to make a world of difference with a difference of one level.

All of this is not just a symbol of identity and status, but also real benefits that concern people's material and spiritual needs.

Although they are all nobles, there are still differences in status. If a noble of lower status meets a noble of higher status, it is illegal not to greet him/her politely. It is a serious violation of the law and must be dealt with strictly.

People's sense of happiness often comes from comparison, from the differences between each other, and from what I have that others don't.

The government defines people's classes and clearly divides them into different levels, keeping everyone within these rules so that no one will have any random thoughts.

In this way, everyone will have the motivation to climb up and a clear and definite goal, which is more conducive to centralized and authoritarian rule.

If everyone were truly equal, then what would be the need for an emperor?

Of course, even without artificial divisions, true equality will never be achieved in this world. But artificial divisions are undoubtedly more conducive to governance.

Ying Zheng then said solemnly: "The old official positions are no longer sufficient for me and my ministers to govern the world. Now that the official ranks have been determined, the official positions must also be changed."

After saying this, Ying Zheng waved his hand, and the eunuch beside him immediately held the "Qin Li" and "Official Records" books and respectfully distributed them to the ministers one by one. Seeing this, the ministers hurriedly stretched out their hands, carefully took the books, and couldn't wait to check them out.

After the booklet was distributed, Ying Zheng went to the back hall temporarily. It would take some time for all officials to digest these systems.

(End of this chapter)