Diqin Designer

Chapter 160: Giving Surnames to the People
Li Nian knew that many people in the Qin Dynasty only had names but no surnames, but he did not expect that he could ask Ying Zheng to grant surnames to all the people in the world.

Although he had a search engine in his mind that could search for information from later generations, he was ultimately just an ordinary modern person. There were many things that could be done in Qin that he had never thought of, and those that he had thought of were not necessarily comprehensive.

If he had not thought of giving surnames to those Qin soldiers today, he would not have thought that many people at this time did not have surnames, and in fact they could be given surnames as well.

As soon as Li Nian said this, a minister immediately refuted: "Minister Li, what you said is not right. Surnames are a courtesy. How can we give them to the people so easily?"

After taking a look at the minister, Li Nian understood what he meant.

At that time, surnames were generally only possessed by nobles, representing the glorious glory of their ancestors and embodying their nobility. If common people also had surnames, how could it be reflected?

However, Li Nian did not refute. He was not here to engage in the intrigues of the ancients, and the First Emperor would not let him waste time on this.

As expected, Ying Zheng ignored the minister's words and said directly to Li Nian: "Tell me about it!"

This scene shocked all the ministers again. The weight of Li Nian in His Majesty's heart was even more important than they imagined. Fortunately, he was not a prince, otherwise no other prince could compete with him.

Li Nian sorted out his thoughts and said, "Nowadays, many people in the world only have names but no surnames. This is quite inconvenient in terms of governing the world."

"Since there are no surnames, people are quite casual in naming. For example, if someone is named 'Xi', after entering it into the file, if there are too many characters, how can we find this 'Xi' among them?"

"Not only that, if we need to find a relative of Xi for something, and his relatives are named like him, how can we find him? How can we know their relationship?"

"This kind of situation will happen especially when registering the household registration, which is not only inconvenient to search and manage. If we can give the surname 'Xi', so that the son and the father have the same surname, for example, let the surname 'Chen' and the given name 'Xi' be combined into Chen Xi, wouldn't it be convenient to find it later?"

"His father and son are also named 'Chen', which is not only more convenient when registering the household registration, but also allows one to know the relationship between them at a glance."

Many ministers nodded in agreement when they heard this, especially officials from the Ministry of State Council such as Wang Wan, Li Si, and Feng Jie.

This method sounds really good. It will make it much easier to collect taxes or impose corvee labor in the future.

Some people even thought of it more comprehensively than what Li Nian said. With so many benefits, all they had to pay was just to give the people a surname and a family name.

Moreover, this is also a good thing for Your Majesty. Granting surnames to all the people in the world will surely increase Your Majesty's reputation among the people.

Wang Wan immediately stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I think Minister Li's plan is quite feasible. I have looked at the registers of various places and found that within a few generations, the people included in the registers will be in chaos, which will be inconvenient for taxation and labor service."

"I have been thinking about the solution but have not found one. Today I heard the proposal of Minister Li. If it is implemented, it will surely reduce the chaos and will be beneficial to the country. Moreover, the world is in a good time to re-register its households. If the people hear that Your Majesty wants to establish a surname for them, they will surely be grateful for Your Majesty's great kindness!"

Indeed, the world had just been unified, and the household registration system of the Qin Dynasty had not yet been implemented in all the six kingdoms. If one really wanted to establish surnames and clan names for all the people in the world, this was the perfect opportunity to do it.

Although Li Si did not like Li Nian's advice to let the soldiers learn to read and write, he agreed with this approach that would make it easier to govern the people of the world, saying, "I also think that Minister Li's plan is feasible." Afterwards, many officials supported Li Nian's plan. Even though some officials felt that commoners should not be given surnames, seeing this trend, they knew that it could not be stopped unless His Majesty did not want to.

But will Your Majesty stop it?
Ying Zheng asked Li Nian, "How do you think we should establish our surname and clan name?"

In fact, Ying Zheng knew how Li Nian wanted to decide on his surname and clan name, but his ministers did not know, so he asked this question.

Li Nian said: "I think it is too troublesome to establish a surname and a clan name for the people. It would be better to just establish a surname and add a given name to the surname. What do you think, Your Majesty?"

This kid really erased his clan name, leaving only his surname and given name. But according to this kid's idea, shouldn't he be called "Ying Zheng"?
Chunyu Yue stood up and retorted, "Your Majesty, this is not possible! Since ancient times, there have been surnames, clan names, and given names. How can we erase the clan names and leave only the surnames and given names? This is against etiquette and against our ancestors! Minister Li's plan may seem to be able to rule the world, but it goes against our ancestors and etiquette, and will cause unrest in the world."

In later generations, surnames and clan names were merged into one. This is the general trend of historical development. After all, people are more willing to accept simpler things rather than complicated ones.

Like now, the surnames are separated, and there are names and characters. It is possible to remember them, but for ordinary people, it is indeed very complicated, such as Xiang Yu, Xiang clan, Ji surname, named Ji, and character Yu.

In a certain anime, it is believed that Gao Yue is the descendant of the Ji clan and has the bloodline of the noble Ji family that has been passed down for thousands of years. In fact, according to history, Xiang Shaoyu is also one of them.

Ying Zheng also knew that the unification of surnames was the general trend, so he made the final decision and said, "I think what Li Nian said makes sense, and the Ministry of State will discuss this. What Chun Yuqing said is also very reasonable, but since the people have no surnames, where are their ancestors and where is the etiquette?"

Ying Zheng directly blocked Chunyu Yue's mouth. The people don't even have a surname, so what are you talking about? If you want to talk about violating ancestors and violating etiquette, you must have something to violate first.

Ying Zheng had an even bolder idea in his mind which he had not yet spoken. After listening to Li Nian's proposal to establish a surname and a clan name, he wanted to unify the surnames of all the people in the world. He would set an example for the world and unite the Ying and Zhao clans into one surname, "Ying".

However, once this method is implemented, it will inevitably arouse opposition. This is different from giving surnames and clan names to the people of the world. Those nobles really have surnames and clan names. Forcing them to give up their surnames or clan names will make these people dissatisfied even if he can force it to be implemented.

"If this is the historical emperor that Li Nian mentioned, I'm afraid he has already issued the order!"

Ying Zheng thought to himself that he was too impatient in history and he must not repeat the same mistake.

After this matter was settled, Ying Zheng asked Li Nian again: "Is there anything else?"

Li Nian said seriously, "Yes, I think we can set up a separate navy or navy, separate the navy from the other armies, and set up a naval school. The navy will be needed for many interests of our Great Qin in the next hundred years, or even a hundred years later. Its importance will not be less than that of the army, and may even be greater!"

At this point, Li Nian bowed to Ying Zheng and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, please present the globe and world map to you!"

Ying Zheng agreed and ordered: "Bring us the globe and world map!"

Soon, the ministers saw a large globe and a large world map being carried into the hall by the guards. The globe was much larger than the one they had seen before.

(End of this chapter)