Diqin Designer

Chapter 377: Good News Arrives, Emperor Qin Begins to Fly
If it wasn't a defeat, then it must be that the Qin Dynasty had won a great victory in the north, and what these Qin cavalrymen wanted to convey was the good news!

A few Qin cavalrymen, unaware of everyone's speculation, galloped along the road into Xianyang.

Today is the day of the imperial court meeting. In the Zhangtai Palace, all the civil and military officials of the Qin Dynasty gathered to review and discuss the recent situation of the Qin Dynasty, as well as to brainstorm and discuss how to deal with some of the more difficult problems.

The ministers in the hall were discussing heatedly. You proposed, I gave advice, I pointed out the shortcomings and drawbacks in yours, and you pointed out the problems and hidden dangers in mine. We were arguing fiercely. Although it was not like a vegetable market, it was quite lively.

In this rather "lively" atmosphere, a guard entered the hall from outside, instantly attracting everyone's attention and causing the two ministers who were debating to stop.

During court meetings, all the ministers gathered in the Zhangtai Palace to discuss matters. Naturally, they could not have one person come in to report, and then another person come in to report. Would the matter still be discussed, and would the meeting still be held?

But things happen all the time in the world, and some things need to be dealt with urgently.

Therefore, special regulations were made for court meetings. General matters were not allowed to disturb the court meetings. A situation like a commoner woman suddenly rushed in when the court meeting was going on and cried out for justice to the emperor and a group of court officials was absolutely impossible to happen. Only in the case of emergency military information or a serious disaster somewhere would a commoner be allowed to enter the palace to disrupt the court meeting.

Li Nian's affairs were also listed at this level by the First Emperor. If the matter was related to Li Nian, he had to report to him at any time no matter how far the court meeting progressed.

The First Emperor looked at the guard and asked, "What's the matter?"

The guard knelt on one knee and said, "Your Majesty, General Wang Ben has news from the north!"

After hearing what the guard said, the eyes and expressions of many people in the hall changed slightly. Was the news coming back from the north a victory report, or something else?

The First Emperor asked, "Where is the messenger? Summon him to the palace!"

Several cavalrymen were summoned into the palace. One of them took out a sealed copper tube from his bosom. Meng Yi took it and examined it. Then he said to the First Emperor, "Your Majesty, this has never been opened. Judging from its shape, it was indeed sent by General Wang Ben."

The First Emperor nodded and said, "Thank you, Meng Qing!" Meng Tian then took the copper pipe and went into the side hall with several eunuchs.

After Meng Yi left, the ministers stopped discussing matters. The First Emperor also reminded them to discuss matters. The Zhangtai Palace Hall, which was the center of Qin's political power, became quiet for a moment. No one had the mind to discuss matters anymore. They were all waiting for Meng Yi to translate the secret letter in the copper tube.

After a while, Meng Yi returned to the main hall from the side hall, carrying a tray on which lay the copper tube, a leather scroll, and two pieces of paper covered with words.

The eyes of the First Emperor and his ministers all fell on Meng Yi.

After Meng Yi returned to the palace, he held a wooden tray in his hand and saluted the First Emperor: "Congratulations, Your Majesty. Congratulations, Your Majesty. General Wang Ben has defeated the Donghu and Yuezhi in the north and captured a lot. The King of Donghu has surrendered and will return with the captives soon!"

Upon hearing the news, the First Emperor and his ministers all smiled. All the ministers stood up and saluted to congratulate the First Emperor: "Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty!"

The First Emperor said: "This is not the achievement of me alone. If it were not for the dedication of all the ministers in the court, the service of our Great Qin soldiers outside, and the payment of taxes by our Great Qin people, how could we have won this victory? Therefore, this victory is not the victory of me alone, but also the victory of all the ministers. The victory of the Great Qin should be celebrated for the Great Qin and for all the ministers!"

The First Emperor's voice was so powerful that it not only echoed in the hall, but also spread outside the hall, as if it was going to spread throughout the sky of the Qin Dynasty and let all Qin people know.

Meng Yi presented the tray to the First Emperor, who picked up the secret letter that Meng Yi had translated and read it while praising him, "Wang Ben, Meng Tian and the others fought well in this battle. After this battle, our Great Qin will be known to all quarters. Who dares not to submit? Who dares not to be a vassal?"

After reading the secret letter, the First Emperor put it back on the tray. The joy on his face remained undiminished. He was ready to share this joy with his ministers and said with a smile: "My dear ministers, please take a look! Also, send someone to tell Li Nian that the battle he wanted to establish the dynasty has been won by the Qin Dynasty!"

After asking the eunuch to take the tray to the ministers for review, the First Emperor looked at the Qin cavalrymen who were still in the palace and asked, "Did you participate in this battle?"

If they had participated, they could have let these Qin cavalrymen describe the battle in detail based on what they saw and knew. After all, the secret letter was too short to fully describe the situation of the battle.

The leading Qin cavalry said, "Your Majesty, we are delivering a secret letter from General Wang Ben, and we are not participating in this battle with General Wang Ben!"

These Qin cavalrymen did not go to the north to participate in the war at all. They were cavalrymen deployed by the Qin Dynasty to deliver messages in the local area. The messengers sent by Wang Ben delivered the secret letters to them, and they then forwarded them to Xianyang.

As for why Wang Ben's messenger was not sent directly back to Xianyang, it was because the distance was far. Even if the horses could be changed on the way, the soldiers on horseback could not withstand galloping for several days without stopping. If they died suddenly on the road, it would be detrimental to the timely transmission of the message.

Hearing the words of the Qin cavalry, the First Emperor was a little disappointed, but he also knew that it would be difficult for Wang Ben's messenger to deliver the secret letter all the way back to Xianyang. He smiled and said, "If you report back the victory, you will be rewarded handsomely!"

Although the First Emperor did not say what kind of reward he would give, how could the reward promised by His Majesty the Emperor be bad?
Moreover, what exactly is the reward?
What they value is that they can get the reward promised by His Majesty the Emperor himself. Even if His Majesty rewards them with a few useless stones, it is still a great honor and they would not exchange it for a thousand gold coins.

Several Qin cavalrymen immediately showed joy on their faces and thanked him in unison: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for the reward!"

Several Qin cavalrymen left the hall, and the ministers expressed their opinions on Wang Ben's great victory.

Wang Ben led his troops to attack the Donghu together with the Xiongnu, while the Qin army that was divided into two groups to attack the Yuezhi was commanded by Meng Tian. This victory report not only reported Wang Ben's great victory over the Donghu, but also Meng Tian's great victory over the Yuezhi.

As for the Qin Dynasty's expedition against the Donghu and Yuezhi, no one had any doubt that the Qin Dynasty would win. The Qin Dynasty had even destroyed the other six kingdoms, let alone the Donghu and Yuezhi.
It was just an expected victory, but the First Emperor was so happy, because in the blueprint of the Qin Empire that Li Nian drew for him, this battle was the first step in the Qin Empire's journey. Only if this step was taken well and steadily, the rest of the road would be easy to walk!
It can be said that this was the first flap of his Great Qin Empire's wings. This flap must not only be successful, but also beautiful, so that the world can feel the strength and prosperity of the Great Qin.

His Great Qin Empire, his great achievements that surpassed all the kings in history, all had to start with this step, and now this step was extremely perfect, which naturally made the First Emperor happy. From now on, everything else that the Great Qin wanted to do would be smoother. The sky is high and the sea is vast, and the Great Qin will soar, dominate the countries, and shock the four directions. It is no longer just the description of that kid Li Nian, but will become a reality step by step.

Zhao Gao said with a smile: "After this battle, all the other countries will know the might of the Qin Dynasty and submit to it. This will make it easier for the Qin Dynasty to interact with them! There will be even more foreigners in Xianyang!"

Wang Wan said: "But while they are submitting to and fearing the Qin, they will certainly step up their efforts to catch up with the Qin. They will certainly use all means to obtain the Qin's secrets. We must not let down our guard!"

A year ago, they were still considering how to govern the unified Qin Dynasty that they established after destroying the six kingdoms and unifying the world. Although they had experience in governing a country, they had no experience in governing such a unified country. They never expected that the current situation would become even more beyond their expectations.

What they have to govern is not only a unified country that has never been seen before, but also an international superpower facing other countries.

The situation became more complicated, and many of their previous experiences were no longer reliable. They needed to keep learning and figuring out. Fortunately, there was that person who showed them the way, otherwise if they had to rely on themselves to figure it out, they would definitely end up in trouble.

After all, this is the first time that a country has been unified, not to mention that it has to face the whole world and other countries, states and tribes in the world.

Wang Wan's words were recognized by others, and they quickly calmed down from the joy of victory. The Qin Dynasty won the war, which was definitely a good thing, but it did not mean that the Qin Dynasty could sit back and relax from now on. On the contrary, there would be more things to come!

Everyone knows that it will be the beginning of a brand new era, but in this new era, can they still find their own position and the right way to keep Daqin moving forward?
The answer is definitely yes. They are the top talents in the Qin Dynasty. They believe in themselves, in His Majesty the Qin Emperor, and in the magical Master Li Nian.

Li Si said: "What the Prime Minister said is very true. I think we must use laws to regulate all aspects of the Qin Dynasty before the various countries and ethnic groups come to pay tribute. Master Li Nian once said, 'Everything in the world is changing. What happened yesterday may not be suitable for today, and what happened today may not be suitable for tomorrow.' I agree with him."

"The Book of Changes also has the same saying, 'When the Yijing is exhausted, it changes. When it changes, it is smooth. When it is smooth, it lasts long.' The same is true for the law. I think we must conduct a deep review of the current laws of the Qin Dynasty, eliminate those that are out of date, and add more appropriate laws."

The First Emperor and his ministers all looked at Li Si and listened carefully to his speech. What Li Si revealed was very simple: to make a profound reform to the laws of the Qin Dynasty, abandon the past, and make it more suitable for the current Qin Dynasty.

Under the influence of Li Nian, the Qin Dynasty had already carried out a wave of reforms in the law, such as abolishing those cruel corporal punishments and reducing the penalties in the Qin law to make them less harsh.

However, Li Nian's influence on the Qin law was not that great, and the timing was not appropriate at that time. If the law was changed too quickly, it would cause chaos. However, what Li Si proposed at this time was to make real and profound changes to the Qin law.

Li Si was never an old stubborn person. He was an extremely smart man who was extremely greedy for power. He had long seen that Qin laws could no longer keep up with the current pace of progress of the Qin Dynasty.

And today is a good time for him to bring it up!

Li Si had obviously done his homework beforehand, and continued, "The laws that the Qin Dynasty used to have with other countries were mostly set during the Seven Kingdoms era."

"At that time, the relationship between the Qin Empire and the six kingdoms was that the Qin Empire wanted to destroy the six kingdoms, and the six kingdoms wanted to resist the Qin Empire. But now, the six kingdoms have all disappeared, and the relationship between the Qin Empire and the other kingdoms is no longer the same as it was then."

"If we still use the same laws as those for the six kingdoms to deal with the kingdoms that are currently interacting with Qin, there will be many inconveniences. For example, if Qin wants to trade more with the kingdoms, but the merchants from the kingdoms are restricted like they were in the six kingdoms, it will be difficult for them to do business, and Qin's profits will naturally be affected."

"As Vice Commander Zhao said, in the future, there will be more foreigners in Daqin. How should we treat them? Should we treat them the same as Daqin citizens, or completely distinguish them from Daqin citizens, or give them some treatment equal to Daqin citizens?"

This issue was raised when the Qin Dynasty established diplomatic relations with the Huns, but since we were only establishing diplomatic relations with the Huns, there was no need to think too far ahead about how many Huns could send to the Qin State.

But now, after defeating the Donghu and Yuezhi, the Qin will extend its tentacles to the grasslands, to the Western Regions, to Nayangzhou (India), Jizhou (Central Asia)...

There is no telling how many people from foreign countries will come to Daqin by then, so this must be taken into consideration!

After flapping your wings for the first time, you should consider how to fly higher, longer, and farther, instead of hovering at low altitude, not daring to fight the storm and just flying in the gentle breeze.

But how can an eagle fly out of the gentle breeze, and how can a tenacious flower bloom in the greenhouse?
Li Si continued: "As the Prime Minister said, other countries will be intimidated by the strength of the Qin Dynasty, but while they are submissive and afraid of the Qin Dynasty, they will step up their efforts to catch up with the Qin Dynasty and use various means to obtain the secrets of the Qin Dynasty! What secrets will they want to obtain from the Qin Dynasty?"

Although he was asking a question, Li Si did not ask for others to answer it. He asked and answered it himself: "The reason why our Great Qin can be as strong as it is today is because of the wise and brave kings of all dynasties and the great talent and strategy of Your Majesty..."

Li Si also knew how to flatter. While answering the question, he flattered the First Emperor, "You are loyal and wise, the soldiers are brave enough to risk their lives, the people of Qin are hardworking and simple, and the various skills of Qin are better than those of other countries, and we can forge sharp swords and tough armor!"

"It is difficult for other countries to learn other things, only skills are the easiest for them to learn, and it is also the fastest way for them to strengthen themselves. They will definitely use any means to obtain our Great Qin's skills. Master Li Nian once mentioned that we should not teach our Great Qin's advanced skills to other countries. This makes sense, but how to do it?"

"I personally think that we cannot ban it completely, otherwise it will be detrimental to the relationship between our Great Qin and other countries. However, we cannot pass on the most advanced skills to them either, so we must strike a balance."

"I think we should establish laws to classify and evaluate skills, and divide them into grades. Skills within a certain grade can be granted to others, while skills of other grades cannot be granted to others. In addition, we should use laws to reward discoverers of new skills, so that our Great Qin will have more people who discover advanced skills."

This is the policy that Li Si came up with based on Li Nian's emphasis on arithmetic and the study of things. Arithmetic and the study of things are about being able to create new skills.

This is also part of the influence that Li Nian has brought to the Qin Dynasty. Among the ministers of the Qin Dynasty today, because of Li Nian, many people are actively learning arithmetic and studying things. Li Si is one of them.

He is already quite old, but he is still actively learning. It is not that Li Si is studious, but if he does not learn and others do, he will be left behind, and the power and position he holds now may be taken away by others.

The real purpose of Li Si raising these issues today is that he wants to seize the power to amend and reform the laws of the Qin Dynasty at the beginning of a new era. This is within his professional field and is relatively easy to obtain, and he has done sufficient preparation work beforehand!
(End of this chapter)