Diqin Designer

Chapter 144: Qin Ling Spreads Far and Wide (3.0)

The decrees of the Qin Dynasty were also being spread throughout the six kingdoms, but due to limited manpower and local control capabilities, they were not notified to each village one by one like in Qin. However, these places also had methods of notification.

In a county town in Chu, a loud drum sound suddenly rang out in the city, attracting many people's attention. Who was beating the drum and what happened?
As people were guessing, the drums stopped and a voice was heard: "Fellow villagers, come and listen! Great news is coming!"

A good thing, or a very good thing?

People's curiosity was aroused, and they went to look for the source of the drum sounds and human voices. They saw a high platform built outside the county government office, with several county officials standing on it with a big drum beside them.

It was obvious that the drum sound just now was made by these county officials.

At this moment, a county official was repeatedly shouting "Good things are coming!". After this county official shouted for a while, another county official began to beat the drum. After beating the drum for a while, another county official took over and continued shouting.

The repeated beating of drums and shouting attracted more and more people, and the platform was completely packed.

Some people could not wait any longer and asked the county official on the stage, "What good news is there? You want us to come and listen, but you won't tell us. What's the reason?"

As soon as this was said, many people immediately agreed, saying that if there is good news, tell it quickly and don't let them wait here in vain and waste their time.

A county official on the high platform said, "Don't worry, fellow villagers. The county magistrate will come and tell you what good news it is. It's really good news, a great good news. Just wait a moment!"

With the county official's comfort, everyone became patient again.

Soon, the county magistrate came out of the county government office, surrounded by more than a dozen county officials, and his target was the high platform.

The crowd surrounding the platform quickly made way for the county magistrate. Someone noticed that the county official following the county magistrate was holding a wooden box in his hand.

The county magistrate climbed onto the high platform, glanced at the people below, and said directly: "I have received an order from Xianyang. Today I have great news to tell you, fellow villagers."

"Now that the seven kingdoms have been unified, the world has become one. Your Majesty will be crowned emperor at the beginning of next month. Although we were once Chu people, we are now all citizens under Your Majesty's rule. Your Majesty wants to celebrate with the whole world and invites us to join in the fun. He will give special favors to the world."

"First, for the next five years, our corvée and taxes will be reduced. The specific details of the reduction will be announced in the county at the beginning of next month."

The first thing the county magistrate talked about was the reduction of corvée and taxes. After hearing the county magistrate's words, the people of Chu around him were silent for a while, and then they reacted: What, the King of Qin wants to reduce their corvée and taxes for the next five years?

The crowd immediately erupted in cheers. Even though the specific amount of the reduction had not yet been announced, it was still a good thing after all, and it was a reduction for five consecutive years.

As people of a defeated country, it was good enough that the King of Qin did not impose heavier corvee and taxes on them, and he could even reduce them, which was indeed a great thing.

The King of Qin truly treated them as his own people.

The people of Chu couldn't help but think, "The King of Qin doesn't seem that scary. Maybe we will live better under his rule than before."

The county magistrate then went on to talk about other decrees from Xianyang, which caused the Chu people surrounding the high platform to exclaim again that the King of Qin actually wanted to revise the Qin laws and abolish those cruel punishments therein.

"Third, the king will hold a grand examination in Xianyang. All talented and capable people, regardless of their background or age, can go to Xianyang to take the exam." "The best candidate in the grand examination will be the top scholar, the second best will be the second place, and the third best will be the third place... Their names will be known to the world!"

When they heard the county magistrate announce this decree, several people in the crowd changed color. The King of Qin wanted to recruit talented people from all over the world to serve him, and this trick was really effective.

But before they could finish being surprised, they heard the county magistrate on the high platform say: "If all the philosophers come to Xianyang, the king will give you something..."

Having said this, the county magistrate turned slightly, opened the wooden box held by the county clerk beside him, and took something out of it.

Everyone saw that the object looked like cloth, but it was not, and it was covered with dense Qin seal characters.

The county magistrate held the object in his hand and showed it to the onlookers from Chu: "This is paper, given by the king. It can be used for writing. It is better than bamboo slips. As for what is so wonderful, those who can read and write can come and see it for themselves later."

Seeing the paper moving effortlessly in the county magistrate's hands, the faces of several people in the crowd who had changed color became more serious. Just by looking, they could tell that this thing had a major advantage over bamboo slips: it was lighter than bamboo slips!

The county magistrate put the paper back into the box and explained the government decree to the onlookers.

After listening to the county magistrate's words, the people felt as if they had not woken up, and everything seemed like a dream: How could the King of Qin be so good? Is this still the cruel King of Qin, or the tiger-like Qin?
All these policies and decrees made them feel unreal, as if the wolves suddenly stopped eating sheep and instead approached the sheep in a friendly manner, calling them brothers.

Looking at the silent people, the county magistrate asked: "If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. At the beginning of next month, the county will send people to preach in the city every day, and I would like to ask you to tell those villagers who have not yet known about it."

A citizen bravely asked, "May I ask the county magistrate, is this true or false?"

The county magistrate said, "Of course it is true. This order has been passed down throughout the country, so how can it be false? If you don't believe it, you can go to other counties to check."

The onlookers nodded secretly. It might be possible to cheat a county, but it was unlikely to cheat the whole world. Even if they were not very knowledgeable, they knew the consequences of breaking faith with the whole world.

This made many people feel relieved and happy. If these decrees were true, then they might not have a bad life under the rule of King Qin.

Another citizen asked, "County Magistrate, if this order is passed on to the whole country, the Qin people will also be exempted from corvée and taxes. I wonder how many years they will be exempted for?"

These words made the onlookers curious, and they all looked at the county magistrate. Although they knew that the Qin people would definitely receive more preferential treatment from the King of Qin, they still wanted to know how much preferential treatment they would receive.

The county magistrate looked at the citizen who asked the question and replied, "The number of years of exemption is determined according to the time of our unification. Han and Zhao were the first, with seven years, Wei and Chu were the next, with five years, and Yan and Qi were the next, with three years."

"As for the Qin people in Guanzhong, their corvée and taxes will be exempted for ten years. After ten years, corvée and taxes will be the same across the country."

In fact, it is impossible to be the same. Yan and Zhao are cold and their productivity is not as good as other places. The corvée and taxes collected must naturally be adjusted accordingly and adapted to local conditions.

When they heard that the Qin people would share the same corvée and taxes in ten years, the people of Chu gathered on the high platform felt even happier. This meant that the King of Qin treated them the same as the Qin people, and did not discriminate against them just because they were Chu people. He truly regarded them as his own people.

In terms of treating the Qin people and the people of the six kingdoms equally, it turns out that Qin Shi Huang in history did it. He really treated everyone equally without deliberately favoring anyone. No matter whether they were Qin people or the people of the six kingdoms, they were all placed under his harsh rule!
(End of this chapter)