Diqin Designer

Chapter 241 Chapter 84 You are all citizens of the Qin Dynasty
After the war, Wang Ben led his army over, and a group of rebel soldiers knelt respectfully on the ground. If you could see their faces, you would see that most of them had fear and confusion on their faces, without any trace of the bravery and fearlessness they had just shown on the battlefield.

The war was over, and the rebels who had forced them were destroyed, but the Qin army came. How would the Qin army deal with them? Although they were forced to join the rebels, rebellion was rebellion, which was a serious crime. Could the Qin army pardon them?

The Qin people had a precedent. Thinking of what Qin had done to Zhao in the past, the rebel soldiers became even more uneasy. They would not be killed by the Qin people like hundreds of thousands of Zhao people, right?

Wang Ben also noticed the tense atmosphere and knew that these rebel soldiers were like a taut bow. If one of them was not handled properly, they might explode at the next moment.

Looking at the rebel soldiers kneeling on the ground, Wang Ben decided to solve the problem first and appease these rebel soldiers.

Because in this kind of tense and worried atmosphere, people tend to think too much, especially the worst, and the more they think, the worse it gets, and finally they come to the conclusion: The Qin people want to kill us, so we might as well rebel!

Wang Ben stopped his horse and said, "My fellow villagers, I am Wang Ben. I'm sure many of you have heard of this name?"

After hearing the translated words, many rebel soldiers showed surprised expressions on their faces, because before the war they only knew that the Qin army was coming and they had to fight with the Qin army, but they did not know who the Qin general leading the Qin army was.

But if you think about it, you will know that the rebel leaders must have deliberately kept it from them. Wang Ben is too famous. If they knew that it was Wang Ben who led the army, they would definitely be afraid before the battle even begins.

Wang Ben's words made many rebel soldiers feel relieved. The famous Qin general Wang Ben called them "fathers and fellow villagers", so he should not want to kill them...

"You elders and fellow villagers may be thinking, 'You, Wang Ben, are from Qin, and we are from Chu, or Yue. You didn't grow up here, so how can you be called an elder and fellow villager?'"

The rebel soldiers did not need to answer this question. Wang Ben asked and answered it himself. He said in an affirmative tone: "Of course they can be called that, because no matter whether they are Chu people, Yue people, Zhao people, Qi people, or Wei people, they all have a common name now - Qin people."

"All of you fellow villagers are now Qin people, and are also the subjects of the Great Qin ruled by Your Majesty. How can you not be considered Wang Ben's fellow villagers?"

Although Wang Ben's words did not completely allay the rebel soldiers' worries, the atmosphere was obviously much more relaxed and no longer as tense as before.

"Since we are all citizens of the Great Qin and are under the rule of Your Majesty, why do we need to kneel here? Please, fellow villagers, please stand up and speak!"

But after Wang Ben finished speaking, no rebel soldier stood up. Wang Ben continued, "Do you want me to help you all up myself? It's not impossible, but there are too many of you. If I help you all up one by one, I'm afraid I won't be able to help them all by nightfall. Please stand up and talk to me, fellow villagers!"

After another "please", some of the rebel soldiers began to stand up. With these people taking the lead, many rebel soldiers stood up one after another, even those rebel soldiers who did not hear Wang Ben's words because they were too far away also stood up.

Although they couldn't hear clearly what Wang Ben said due to the distance, the fact that everyone was allowed to stand up let them know one thing: this Qin general didn't seem to want to kill them, otherwise he should have let them continue kneeling!

Looking at the rebel soldiers who stood up, Wang Ben smiled and said, "That's right!"

Wang Ben continued, "I know what you are worried about. You are worried that the rebels will take your lives. However, you don't have to worry about this. Before leaving Xianyang, His Majesty has given me an order." As it concerns their own lives, the rebel soldiers all perked up and listened carefully. Wang Ben said, "Your Majesty knows that you may be forced by the rebels and think that the rebels are the culprit. How can you punish you for this? Therefore, you have given me an order to pardon the death penalty for you!"

Hearing that they would not die and that it was the Emperor Qin's order, the rebel soldiers finally breathed a sigh of relief, but their worries were not completely eliminated.

Because what Wang Ben said was "pardon the death penalty", which means that the living crime will also be counted. The death penalty can be pardoned, but the living crime cannot be escaped!
Yes, what they did was treason. Although they were forced to do so by those inhumane rebels, rebellion is still rebellion, and it is a serious crime. The Emperor of Qin would not be considered excessive if he killed them and their families.

The Emperor of Qin has now pardoned their death sentences, which is already magnanimous. It is also reasonable to pardon them from living crimes. I just hope that they will not be sentenced to punishments such as cutting off the nose or feet.

That's not right. These tortures have been basically abolished in the Qin laws today and replaced with flogging and corvee labor.

As expected, Wang Ben said, "Although there are reasons for you to join the rebels in the rebellion, it is also a fact. You can be pardoned for the death penalty, but you cannot be spared from the crime of living. His Majesty has ordered that you be sentenced to thirty years of corvée labor!"

Thirty years of corvée labor meant that they would have to do corvée labor for the rest of their lives. Many rebel soldiers were bitter, but they had no choice but to accept it. At least they would not have to die for corvée labor, and they had committed a crime punishable by the death of their entire clan...

Thinking of collective punishment and clan extermination, the rebel soldiers became nervous again. Would their relatives also have to serve in the 30 years of corvee labor?

Wang Ben said at the right time: "This punishment will not be extended to your relatives and friends, and you also have the opportunity to reduce your sentence, such as letting your relatives and friends share the length of labor service. One person will serve thirty years, two will serve fifteen years, and three will serve ten years. In addition, if you have made meritorious services, such as killing enemies on the battlefield and making things that are beneficial to the Qin Dynasty..."

After hearing Wang Ben's words, the rebel soldiers suddenly felt that the Qin Emperor was really good to them. The worries in their hearts were almost gone. Not only did he not execute them, but he also allowed them the opportunity to reduce their sentences.

But they still had some concerns, fearing that Wang Ben was deceiving them in order to stabilize them first and then find an opportunity to execute them all, just like the hundreds of thousands of Zhao surrendered soldiers, Bai Qi also stabilized them first and then killed them.

If the Zhao army knew that they would be killed by Bai Qi after surrendering, how could they surrender? They would definitely fight the Qin army at all costs, because they would be killed if they surrendered anyway!

The rebel soldiers were not from the Zhao army. If they did not want to believe Wang Ben, they could only truly rebel. But a real rebellion...

Wang Ben added: "Fellow villagers, rest assured. This is the order of His Majesty. You are not kidding. Moreover, this rebellion was caused by the old nobles of the six countries. They are the main culprits, and all of you villagers are also victims!"

Everything was the fault of the kings, princes and nobles of the six kingdoms. The Qin Dynasty still needed these rebel soldiers and their relatives as living evidence of the rebellion caused by the old nobles of the six kingdoms. How could it kill them?

What these people said and experienced would be recorded in a book and spread throughout the world. Some of them would even be asked to travel to various places and tell the story of the crimes of the nobles of the six countries in person, so that they could be nailed to the pillar of shame and have no soil for the nobles of the six countries to grow in this land.

Of course, maybe a few hundred years later, someone will reverse the verdict on the nobility of the Six Kingdoms and start a wave of people believing that the nobility of the Six Kingdoms actually had many desirable qualities, but that is not today.

(End of this chapter)