Diqin Designer

Chapter 145: Qin Ling Spreads Far and Wide (4.0)

He answered several more questions from the public, and when no one asked any more questions, the magistrate said, "Anyone who can read and wants to see the paper can come up to the stage and take a look."

Many of the onlookers wanted to see the paper, but when they heard the county magistrate specifically request that only literate people be allowed to view it, they gave up the idea, but became even more curious.

The county magistrate made this request in order to prevent everyone from coming to see the paper. If there were too many people, accidents might happen. This paper was specially given by Xianyang to attract talented people and various schools of thought in the world to Xianyang. It would be bad if it was damaged.

Not long after the county magistrate finished speaking, an old man walked out of the crowd and said to the county magistrate, "Why don't I take a look first to see what's so special about this paper!"

The county magistrate recognized the old man and bowed to him, saying, "It's Mr. Lu. Please come up to the stage and have a look!"

After returning the greeting to the county magistrate, the old man walked up to the platform and reached into the box held by the county official. As soon as he touched the paper, he felt that it was different from cloth. He couldn't help but exclaimed "Huh!" and took the paper out of the box.

The county magistrate said, "Mr. Lu, this item is easily damaged, please be careful!"

The old man nodded, took the paper carefully in his hand, stroking it while looking at the Qin seal characters written on the paper. As time passed, the surprise on the old man's face became more and more intense.

Compared with bamboo slips, this thing is much better. If there is a problem with this thing, there may be only one uncertain question: Is this thing easy to make?

The old man asked the county magistrate, "Compared to cloth, is this easier to make?"

The county magistrate said: "According to the news from Xianyang, this thing is not difficult to make, and a lot can be made in a day."

After listening, the old man put the paper back into the box, shook his head and sighed, "If Qin has this thing, the world will change!", then he walked off the stage.

This thing is easy to make, and the method of making it is in the hands of the King of Qin. All the schools of thought and many talented people in the world will be under the control of the King of Qin.

The old man has already seen that this item will definitely replace the bamboo slips and influence the entire world, and this influence is in the hands of the King of Qin...

With this paper, the King of Qin could control all the schools of thought. If anyone did not want to be controlled, he would not be given paper, making it difficult for his doctrine to spread.

After the old man, another person came up to the stage to look at the paper and came to the same conclusion as the old man, seeing through the Qin King's intention.

Not long after, in a house in this county, several people were sitting inside with solemn expressions. They were all Mohists, but they were not Qin Mo who had long since defected to the Qin State, but Chu Mo.

The man sitting at the top asked, "Have you seen the paper today?"

After everyone nodded, the man continued, "This will definitely replace bamboo slips and wooden tablets. In the future, people all over the world will use this to write, and hundreds of schools of thought will also use it to record classics. Whoever can get more paper will be able to spread their classics to more people."

"On the contrary, the classics of the Hundred Schools of Thought, which have less access to paper, will be spread to fewer people. If this continues, the Hundred Schools of Thought, which have less access to paper, will become increasingly weaker and even disappear."

The man at the top sighed, "You are worthy of being the King of Qin. You can come up with this plan to control the hundreds of schools. Once this paper is published, if you don't know how to make it, all the schools in the world will be controlled by the King of Qin."

One person understood what the man at the top meant and asked, "Master, do you want to?"

The man at the top was none other than the Chu Mo leader of this generation. Who could have thought that such a dignified Chu Mo leader would be in this small county.

Chu Mo Juzi said: "The King of Qin took out this paper to lure us and force us to go to Xianyang. If I don't go, he will definitely restrict us from getting the paper, and the things I said will happen, causing us to gradually decline."

After hearing what the master said, one person said, "Even if you go to Xianyang, you may not be able to get paper from the King of Qin. Instead, you will be in danger."

The paper is in the hands of the King of Qin. It all depends on his idea as to how much to give to whom. It is not certain that you will get it if you go there.

Master Chu Mo looked at the speaker and said, "You are right, but I think we can get the paper without any danger."

"If the King of Qin wants to gain the trust of the Baijia, he will definitely give a batch of paper to the Baijia who go to Xianyang. The quantity may be different. As for safety, the King of Qin will be more attentive than us."

"Not only will I be safe if I go, but I can also get a batch of papers. If I don't go, I will have no chance at all."

Another person said, "You don't have to go there in person, you can send us!"

Chu Mo, however, had made up his mind: "I have made up my mind, don't say anything more!"

The hierarchy within the Mohist school is extremely strict, and all Mohist disciples must obey the orders of the leader. After Leader Chu Mo said this, the others had no choice but to obey.

This time he went to Xianyang, not only to get the paper on behalf of Chu Mo, but also to take a look at the Xianyang examination and check the origin of the paper.

This trip may affect Chu Mo's future survival, so how can I not go in person?

In another part of the county, there were also several people in a room. Their faces were more serious than those of the Chu Mos. They could no longer be described as serious, but rather as uneasy. Because they were once nobles of the Chu State.

The man sitting in the main seat looked at the others in the room and said in a deep voice: "Everyone, once the King of Qin's decrees are implemented, it will be difficult for us to start an uprising and restore our country in the future. What can we do?"

One of them angrily pounded the table in front of him and said, "What can we do? Didn't you see how happy those foolish men and women were when they heard about the reduction of corvée and taxes? They all forgot that they are Chu people and they are only too happy to wag their tails and act like dogs to the King of Qin!"

Another person analyzed: "The King of Qin issued this decree just to appease the world and make it governed by him. If he really succeeds, it will not only be difficult for us to start a rebellion and restore our country, but it will also be difficult for us to survive."

The reason these former nobles were able to survive and live well was because of the prestige their families enjoyed among the people of Chu.

But once the people of Chu no longer trust them and are pulled over by the King of Qin, not only will their food, clothing, housing and transportation become problems, but even their safety will be threatened.

Therefore, after learning of the decree announced by the county magistrate, these talents gathered here in a hurry, as the King of Qin's decree threatened the foundation of their survival.

Seeing that everyone else was looking at him, the man continued, "The only way now is to destroy the King of Qin's decree and prevent it from being accomplished. The best way is to make those foolish people and stupid women not believe in the King of Qin's decree."

"I think we can make the following preparations: First, let someone spread the news that the King of Qin's decree is false. For example, the King of Qin held the Xianyang examination to kill all the talented people in the world. As for the paper, we can spread the news that it is made of human skin."

When one person heard this, he doubted, "How could anyone believe such a rumor?"

The man said in a positive tone: "How can those foolish people and stupid women distinguish between truth and falsehood? The more absurd and weird it is, the more likely they will believe it! And we don't need their belief, as long as they have some doubts in their hearts."

"Second, on the first day of next month, the King of Qin will proclaim himself emperor and invite those foolish people and women to the county to see the things he has sent from Xianyang."

"Given the distance from Xianyang to here, if we send the things here today, unless the cavalry travels day and night, it will be impossible to deliver them on the first day of next month."

"I think those things are either already in the county town or in the county. You should do more research in the next few days to find out what they are so that you can make further plans."

The meaning of the words was very clear. They wanted to find out what the King of Qin had sent from Xianyang, and try to destroy it so that the King of Qin would lose the trust of the people.

At this time, a person sitting behind said: "If we do this, we will no longer be tolerated by the King of Qin. If he sends out the Qin army, what should we do?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the room fell into a long silence. Even the person who had analyzed and offered suggestions fell silent: They could undermine the decree issued by the King of Qin, but what would be the consequences?

Even if they let the Chu people continue to stand on their side, what would that do? Even if they relied on the Chu people to start an army, what would that do?

It is nothing more than letting the King of Qin attack Chu again and destroy the six kingdoms again. As long as those powerful Qin soldiers still support the King of Qin, the King of Qin was able to destroy Chu in the past, and he can still do it now and in the future.

Why not just be a good citizen under the rule of the Qin Dynasty?
If there is a chance for improvement, then we should seize the opportunity. If the Qin Dynasty remains strong, then we should stay calm.

A discussion ended unpleasantly because of this person's words.

After all, the Xiang family and Zhang Liang were a minority among the nobles of the Six Kingdoms. These talents made up the vast majority of the nobles of the Six Kingdoms. They hated Qin, but were also deeply afraid of it.

They wanted to rebel against Qin, and they could analyze and come up with strategies, but it was difficult for them to muster the courage to truly rebel against Qin.

Qi, Jixia Academy. After Qin conquered Qi, many scholars left the Jixia Academy because no one knew what the Qin King's attitude was towards it. However, there are still many Confucian scholars left, and it has almost become the base camp of Confucianism.

These Confucian scholars also knew about the King of Qin's decrees, but they were generally satisfied with them, believing that they were benevolent policies and that the King of Qin was transforming into a benevolent monarch.

Of course, there were also some dissatisfactions. The most dissatisfied one was that the King of Qin used paper to lure and force them to go to Xianyang.

At this moment, a group of Confucian scholars were gathering together to discuss who should go to Xianyang and how to persuade the King of Qin to continue to implement benevolent policies.

As the discussion was heated, a Confucian scholar suddenly spoke up: "It is a good thing for the King of Qin to reduce corvée and taxes, but the governance of the world must have taxes and corvée. If the King of Qin reduces too much, how can he govern the world?"

This question made all the Confucian scholars ponder: Yes, corvée and taxes are necessary for governing the world, but the King of Qin exempted the Qin people from corvée and taxes for ten years, the Han and Zhao people from seven years, the Wei and Chu people from five years, and the Yan and Qi people from three years.

If such reductions or exemptions lead to insufficient taxes and corvee labor, it will not only not benefit the country, but will be harmful!

Although he wanted the King of Qin to be a benevolent monarch and implement benevolent policies, he also wanted the country to be governed uncontrollably.

Many people in the present-day Qin Dynasty are wondering about this question: After the King of Qin reduces corvée and taxes, how can he support the governance of the entire world?

Little did they know that Ying Zheng would use salt, honeycomb coal, iron, paper, etc. to make up for the loss. These things brought huge profits, and the reduction of corvée and taxes did not mean that they were completely exempted.

(End of this chapter)