Diqin Designer

Chapter 378: The times are rolling, and the great era is coming

Listening to what Li Si said, many ministers couldn't help but feel that the trend of the times was rolling in and a great era was about to come. The changes that were to take place this time were even more drastic than before!

Even they did not dare to say that they could see clearly what the world would become and where Daqin would go.

What they can do now is to take control of the giant ship of Daqin so that it will not be overturned by the tide of the times, but will sail further and further.

After Li Si finished speaking, he said to the First Emperor and his ministers, "The above is what I thought. It is just my thoughts. If it is crude and shallow, please correct me, Your Majesty and the others!"

Wang Jian laughed and said, "If what Li Xiang said is crude and shallow, then what are we thinking? Li Xiang is too modest!"

Feng Quji also said: "What Prime Minister Li said makes sense. After this war, there are many things that need to be adjusted in Daqin. One of them is to formulate more appropriate laws. However, I think there is another important point that needs to be considered, which is to cultivate more talents!"

Everyone looked at Feng Quji again, and heard him say, "Now the Qin Dynasty has temporarily alleviated the shortage of talented people by means of 'changing soldiers into officials' and the Xianyang examination, but as the Qin Dynasty becomes stronger and its territory becomes more vast, it will need more talented people."

We can imagine that as the territory and institutions of the Qin Dynasty increased, the number of talented people needed would inevitably increase as well.

It is impossible to take over the places. If we cannot even staff them with basic officials, how can we control them?

Feng Quji said: "Not only do we need talents in governing the country, we also need talents in other areas. As Prime Minister Li said just now, 'We need more people who can discover advanced skills in our Great Qin'. Compared with those who are learned and have skills, how likely are those who are ignorant and unlearned to discover advanced skills?"

"We, the Great Qin, also need talents in farming, weaving, smelting, carpentry, etc. If farmers are good at farming, they can increase agricultural output and feed more people. The same is true for weaving. If weavers are more skilled, they can make more clothes and ensure that the people of the Great Qin have enough food and clothing."

"Not to mention that the expansion of the territory of the Qin Empire will require more talented people to govern it, but as more countries establish diplomatic relations with the Qin Empire in the future, the Qin Empire will have to set up embassies in these countries. Where will the ambassadors and embassy staff come from? In addition, as more people from various countries come to and from the Qin Empire, the Qin Empire will also need corresponding personnel to manage them. Where will these people come from?"

Although Feng Quji did not directly say that education can make a country strong, he told everyone that they should attach importance to education in Qin by saying that if Qin did not cultivate talents, it would lack talents in the future.

Feng Quji added: "I am not trying to make everyone literate, but if the Qin wants to go further, become stronger, and always be ahead of other countries, then we must consider this matter."

Daqin is now carrying out reforms in education, but Feng Quji believes that the current efforts are not enough to support the development of Daqin and more efforts are needed.

Li Si mentioned that Qin's laws must be changed, and Feng Quji mentioned that the talent model of the Qin Dynasty must be changed. Wang Wan nodded in agreement and said, "If there are many talented people, the country will prosper, and if there are few talented people, the country will decline. The number of talented people can indeed affect the rise and fall of a country. However, we must also remember that it takes time to cultivate so many talented people, and talented people also need food, clothing, shelter and transportation. Cultivating and employing a large number of talented people will also be a burden on the finances of the Qin Dynasty."

When everyone was wondering what Wang Wan was going to say, he suddenly changed the subject and made a surprising proposal, "I think the corvée and taxes of the Qin Dynasty must also be adjusted. If not, it may be difficult to support the Qin Dynasty in the future with the previous taxation system!"

Seeing Wang Wan's serious expression and tone, the ministers realized that the prime minister was serious. However, corvée and taxation were the lifeblood of the country. If they were not adjusted properly, the whole country would be in chaos.

Wang Wan made this proposal because he discovered it from the data of Daqin in the past year. He found that if Daqin continued with its previous corvee and taxes, it could only maintain its status at a certain level and it would be difficult for Daqin to continue to rise.

Even if it can rise, the space for rising is limited, and it will soon reach its limit, and then become stagnant and fixed there. All that can be done next is to maintain this state. If it is maintained well, the dynasty can survive, but of course it will no longer become strong. However, if it is not maintained well, it will decline.

After Wang Wan conducted a lot of investigation and analysis, he came to a conclusion: If the Qin Dynasty wanted to become more powerful, many aspects needed reform, not only the laws of the Qin Dynasty, but also the cultivation of talents, corvée and taxation were one of them.

After Wang Wan's speech, other ministers spoke one after another. Because of the sudden good news, the court meeting turned into a discussion on how to transform the Qin Dynasty in the future. However, the matters that should have been dealt with at today's court meeting had not been dealt with yet.

Although he was happy about the victory, he could not forget the matters that should be dealt with in the court meeting. The First Emperor reminded him, "What you said makes sense, but today's matters have not been decided yet. Don't give up the present and look for the future. You can think about your ideas in detail after the court meeting and report to me!"

This matter concerns the changes of the entire Qin Dynasty and cannot be decided in a single court meeting. Moreover, many ministers acted on impulse and did not think things through. They were not as well prepared as Li Si.

The First Emperor had already spoken, and all the ministers immediately followed his orders and resumed the rhythm of court meetings before the victory news arrived.

However, the good news and Li Si, Feng Quji, Wang Wan and others had already had an impact on them. When discussing matters, they could not help but consider what they should do to be in line with the future of the Qin Dynasty. As a result, some of the advice they had originally intended to put forward were abandoned, and new proposals were given.

In the Sixth Camp Palace, Li Nian, who did not attend the court meeting, was writing something at his desk. Suddenly, Guo Dian reported: "Sir, His Majesty sent someone to deliver a message!"

After hearing this, Li Nian did not stop writing and said without raising his head, "Let him in!"

The First Emperor would send people to him almost every day, and Li Nian had long been accustomed to it.

An eunuch walked into the hall and saw Li Nian writing at his desk. He did not dare to be disrespectful and bowed to Li Nian, saying, "Mao Gui greets you, sir. I am delivering a message to you on the order of His Majesty..."

This eunuch was also an old acquaintance of Li Nian. He was often responsible for delivering messages to Li Nian on behalf of the First Emperor: "General Wang Ben and General Meng Tian have won great victories over the Donghu and Yuezhi in the north. The King of Donghu and the King of Yuezhi have both surrendered and will return with their captives soon! Your Majesty said that the battle you wanted to start the dynasty was won by the Qin!"

After hearing this news, Li Nian put down his writing, looked up at the eunuch, and confirmed again: "Did General Wang Ben and General Meng Tian win?"

The eunuch nodded and said, "There is a secret letter from General Wang Ben, which will be presented to Your Majesty immediately!"

Li Nian put down his pen, stood up and walked back and forth in the hall: "Good, good, good, it's good to win this battle, General Wang Ben and General Meng Tian have made great contributions!"

Although he believed that victory was inevitable for Wang Ben, Meng Tian and others who brought artillery against the Donghu and Yuezhi, Li Nian was still quite excited after hearing the good news.

This was not only the change he brought to the Qin Dynasty, allowing the Qin Dynasty to achieve unprecedented victories during this period of time, but also the first step in the grand blueprint he planned for the Qin Dynasty.

There is nothing more satisfying than having something designed and manufactured by yourself succeed as you wish, not to mention that you are designing a country's development path. The sense of achievement gained from letting a country develop according to your wishes is incomparable to anything else. This step must be a big victory, a small victory is not good, and failure is even worse. If he fails, the plan he made for Daqin will be delayed and he will have to pay a higher price.

The main purpose of this step is to establish the prestige of the Qin Dynasty and to solidify its status as a superpower in the eyes of other countries, so that they will fear, respect and admire the Qin Dynasty, which will make it easier for the Qin Dynasty to do many things.

This is the way the world is. Only when you are strong enough can you have the confidence to be tough with others. If you are not strong enough, and others insist on imposing tariffs on you and treat you like a fish to be slaughtered, there will be nothing you can do, and you may even have to swallow your anger and compromise.

The only way for Great Qin to make other countries feel that it is very powerful is to show its strength to them. Otherwise, how about we join Great Qin and become its lackeys?

This will make other countries feel that the Qin Dynasty is too strong and they cannot afford to offend it. They must cater to the Qin Dynasty and do things according to the Qin people's wishes and cannot go against them.

With the victory in this battle, the Qin Empire's hegemony truly began, and the grand blueprint officially set sail. What kind of country will the Qin Empire in this world become?
Li Nian was also quite curious, which was the main reason why he devoted himself to the design and development of the Great Qin in this world. He wanted to see what the Great Qin in this world would become under his influence.

Today, he heard that the first step of the design was successful, which would open the era of "Da Qin and other countries, Da Qin and the world". The journey of Da Qin in this world officially began from here. No wonder he was so happy!

After being excited for a while, Li Nian said again: "I will go to congratulate His Majesty in person!"

When Li Nian went from Liuying Palace to Zhangtai Palace, the court meeting in Zhangtai Palace had already dispersed, and the First Emperor was talking to Wang Wan, Wang Jian, Feng Quji, and Feng Jie who stayed behind.

The First Emperor said: "Wang Ben, Meng Tian and others fought well in this battle. They suffered little damage, but they defeated the Donghu and Yuezhi in one battle. Not only did they eliminate the threat from the north to our Great Qin, but they also shocked other countries."

Wang Jian smiled and said, "The Xiongnu are probably having a hard time sleeping now. They are afraid that the Qin will attack them like it did to the Donghu and Yuezhi. Touman will definitely send people to return the land they have taken from Zhao and write to Your Majesty to express their loyalty."

The First Emperor said: "A year ago, Touman sent Maodun as an envoy. I ordered them to return the territory, but they refused to do so. Now they are eager to return it immediately."

Suddenly, a guard entered the palace and reported, "Your Majesty, Master Li Nian requests to see you!"

The First Emperor said to Wang Wan and the others, "I told you that once Li Nian got the news, he would definitely come over even if I didn't summon him."

Then, the First Emperor said to the guard, "Let him in!"

In fact, they were waiting for Li Nian to come and prepare to hold a small meeting. Except for Wang Ben and Meng Tian who were leading the troops outside, those who remained in the hall were all members of the group who listened to Li Nian talk about later history.

Li Nian entered the palace and saw Wang Wan and the others there. He realized that they were waiting for him, so he bowed and congratulated the First Emperor, "Your Majesty, I, Li Nian, congratulate you! Congratulations, Your Majesty! After this battle, the might of the Qin Empire will spread far and wide, and all nations will come to pay tribute and send envoys."

The First Emperor said: "If it weren't for your planning and the creation of the cannon, how could we have won today? You also deserve some credit!"

This war was not a spur-of-the-moment plan. The initial plan originated more than a year ago. This war was bound to happen sooner or later, but the target at that time was not the Donghu or Yuezhi, but the Xiongnu.

Because the Xiongnu had a much greater reputation in history than the Donghu and Yuezhi. The Xiongnu were fierce warriors who had fought against the Han Dynasty for many years. Li Nian naturally regarded them as a powerful enemy and planned to let the Qin Dynasty take action against them.

It not only weakened the power of the Huns, making it impossible for them to grow strong enough to compete with the Han Dynasty, but also used the great victory over the Huns as a battle to establish the Qin Dynasty and shock all sides. However, it was unexpected that the Huns recognized the Qin Dynasty as their big brother!
The Xiongnu has now become the younger brother. As the older brother, it would be difficult for the Qin Dynasty to deal with its own younger brother?

What's more, this little brother is quite sensible and has no disrespect to the Qin Dynasty.

This forced Li Nian and Daqin to choose another target. Looking around, they found that the Baiyue tribes had already established diplomatic relations. The Qiang tribe in the west was in the mountains and the roads were long and dangerous. The small countries in the southwest were also in the mountains and the roads were dangerous. They were not well-known, so even if they won, it would not reflect the strength of Daqin.

The only two countries left among the surrounding states were Donghu and Yuezhi. Therefore, even if Donghu and Yuezhi did not have conflicts with Daqin, Daqin would find reasons to attack them.

This was a necessary step in the development strategy of the Qin Dynasty. The Donghu and Yuezhi were unlucky, they were too close to the Qin Dynasty, and the Xiongnu had surrendered to the Qin Dynasty first, so the Qin Dynasty had no choice but to choose them as sacrifices.

The Donghu and Yuezhi had already perished a year earlier when the Xiongnu surrendered to the Qin Dynasty, but were buried in the ground by Wang Ben's army only a year later.

Li Nian shook his head and said, "I only provided some ideas and advice. The success is still the credit of Your Majesty and the gentlemen!"

This is not Li Nian being modest, it is indeed the case. The ideas and advice he put forward seem to be good, but in fact many of them are not suitable for the Qin era. The First Emperor and others need to revise and reform them according to the actual situation of the Qin Dynasty.

If they did not make any changes and continued to govern the country entirely based on Li Nian's ideas and advice, the Qin Dynasty would be in chaos within a few months.

This is not an exaggeration. Although Li Nian comes from later generations and has broader horizons and knowledge than people of this era, he has no experience in governing a country in modern times. He only learned it from books and the Internet. He is just a keyboard warrior.

If you ask him to talk about how to govern the country and how to develop it, he can indeed speak very clearly, but if we really follow his methods, he will most likely lead the country into a ditch. Besides, Daqin is still an ancient country, and he lacks in-depth understanding of that era.

But this was the situation a year ago. Now Li Nian has a certain understanding of the Qin era and has accumulated certain experience in governance.

After listening to Li Nian's words, the First Emperor looked at Li Nian and asked, "What do you think will happen to the Qin Dynasty after this battle? And how will it take the next step?"

Although the First Emperor had heard Li Nian's ideas about the Qin Dynasty many times when he summoned Li Nian privately, he still asked about it today.

Li Nian said seriously: "The changes will involve many aspects, and will not only affect Your Majesty, but also every citizen of Daqin!"

(End of this chapter)