Diqin Designer

Chapter 548 Provoking the Western Situation

The king understood what Alsack I wanted to know by asking this question.

What this person wanted to know was not simply how the Qin Dynasty dispatched officials to govern the local areas, but rather how the Qin Dynasty structured its administrative divisions, how officials were dispatched based on these divisions, and how local officials were supervised.

This person wanted to learn from the Qin Dynasty and then use that experience to transform his country.

The royal family naturally welcomed Arsak I's desire to learn from and draw upon the advanced experiences of the Qin Dynasty.

The more countries like this, the better!
Wang Ling replied, "The officials who govern the local areas in our Great Qin are divided into two parts: one part is directly appointed by the imperial court, such as the local officials at the prefecture and county levels, who are appointed by the imperial court."

Don't think that county magistrates are insignificant officials. In fact, county magistrates have considerable power. A county can be considered the equivalent of a city in modern times, and as the highest-ranking official in a county, the power of the county magistrate is self-evident.

However, Li Nian felt that the Qin Dynasty's prefecture-county system needed to be reformed. The counties were still too large and should be divided into smaller administrative divisions. Moreover, the county magistrate, as the head of the county, had all the affairs within the county under his jurisdiction, which not only made the county magistrate too powerful but also hindered the development of the county.

There is only one county magistrate, and not everyone is a workaholic like Emperor Hongwu. How could he possibly handle all the affairs of a county properly?
The county must be divided into smaller administrative regions!

In Li Nian's plan, a prefecture is equivalent to a province, a county is equivalent to a city, and below that, there will be townships.

Although the Qin Dynasty had townships at that time, and below them were pavilions and villages, in reality, the court's control over local areas only reached the county level, and even the county level might not have been well controlled. Otherwise, the Xiang clan would not have been able to act so brazenly and without restraint in the area.

Li Nian wanted to change this situation, and at least wanted to find a way to implement it at the township level.

Li Nian hasn't started yet, for a simple reason: to realize his idea, he needs enough officials, and the Qin Dynasty doesn't have enough officials right now.

Furthermore, with the increase in officials, salaries had to be paid to them. It was impossible to expect people to work for Qin without food or drink, but the Qin's financial capacity had to be considered when paying salaries.

The number of officials cannot be increased at will; otherwise, it will become redundant and harm the national treasury. The Northern Song Dynasty seemed wealthy, but its finances were tight, and the redundant officials, one of the three redundant systems, played a significant role in this.

"The other part is not appointed by the imperial court, but selected by the local authorities. For example, the minor officials in the prefectures and counties are mostly appointed by the local prefectures and counties themselves."

If even a minor official in a county is appointed by the central government, then the central government must have far too many things to deal with every day.

In a later era with advanced information technology, it would be feasible for the central government to directly manage the selection of local officials. However, in this era of inconvenient transportation and poor information access...

Wang Ling continued, “The prefectures and counties are the administrative divisions of our Great Qin. A prefecture is equivalent to a province of your state, and a prefecture is further divided into multiple counties.”

Arsak I nodded. In that case, the highest official of a prefecture in Qin would be equivalent to a provincial governor, and the highest official of a county would be the lord of a city.

But he still couldn't figure out how the Qin people prevented the highest officials of a prefecture from becoming too powerful.

In any case, the provincial governors he appointed were difficult to control. Although they obeyed him and recognized him as king in the next year, in reality, those governors were the local kings.

Arsak I failed to understand that this was because the situation in the Qin Dynasty was different from that in their Western countries, and that the governors of the Qin Dynasty were not the same as the provincial governors in their country.

Wang Ling then pointed out the difference, saying, "The prefects of each prefecture and the magistrates of each county are appointed by the imperial court, and can naturally be dismissed by the imperial court. Moreover, although the prefects and magistrates are the heads of a prefecture or county, the power of the prefecture or county is not entirely concentrated in their hands."

“The prefect and magistrate are in charge of the administration of the prefecture and county and handle the political affairs of the prefecture and county, while the military power of a prefecture or county is held by other officials.”

Upon hearing this, Arsak I understood that even if he knew how the Qin people governed their regions, it would be difficult for him to learn from or emulate them.

The governors of Qin could be appointed or dismissed, but the powerful governors within Qin could not be dismissed at will.

Furthermore, the governors of Qin were subject to checks and balances from other officials, unlike other countries where the governors held both military and political power. Who could possibly challenge their authority?
If he wanted local governance to be like that of the Qin Dynasty, he had to first solve the problem of the governor-general.

The key issue is that the governors wield too much power. Only by weakening the governors can we prevent powerful governors from rebelling when the monarch is weak or when the country faces problems.

The key is to suppress the governor-general and reclaim local governance power from him.

Based on Wang Ling's own understanding of these Western countries, these countries were not of the same kind as the Qin Dynasty, but were more like the Zhou Dynasty.

The kings of these states were called "Zhou Tianzi" (Son of Heaven), and the nobles and governors with fiefdoms were called vassal states.

On the surface, nobles and governors revered the king as the supreme ruler of the country, just as the feudal lords of the Zhou dynasty revered the Zhou emperor.

However, just as the Zhou emperor could not govern the vassal states, the kings of these western countries could not govern the fiefdoms of their nobles and governors.

To prevent governors from rebelling in his country, Arsak I needed to weaken the power of the nobles and governors, allowing the monarchy to extend its authority over the nobles' fiefdoms.

The nobles and governors, however, would not stand idly by and watch their power be diminished and their fiefdoms seized; they would certainly oppose the king.

Therefore, if Arsakh I wanted to truly solve the problem, there was only one way: to unify the country by force and then learn from and draw lessons from the Qin Dynasty.

That is, to first subdue the nobles and governors of the country by force, to achieve substantial unification, and then to consolidate the results of unification using the methods of the Qin Dynasty.

But this is difficult to do in these Western countries, because the power of nobles and governors is too great.

Parthia still had some possibility of achieving this, because Arsakh I was founded by local rebels, and the state had not been established for many years, so the power of the nobles and governors under his command was not yet that strong.

If it were countries like Bactria, Ptolemy, or Seleucus, it would have been almost impossible to change.

Wang Ling was unaware that this situation in the western countries would continue indefinitely, and that no one would solve the problem.

But Parthia still has a chance to make changes. However, the longer it drags on, the stronger the power of Parthian nobles and governors will become, eventually turning it into a country as unshakeable and unchangeable as Bactria, Seleucus, and Ptolemy.
Wang Ling did not care that Parthia, after resolving the issues of nobles and governors and achieving unification like the Qin Dynasty, would pose a threat to the Qin.

Arsak I had this ambition, and there was still a chance for his peaceful passing, but achieving it was still not an easy thing.

Because Arsaj I wanted to achieve this, he knew that Parthia would inevitably descend into internal strife.

Although the Parthian nobles and governors were weaker than those of Bactria and Seleucid, they still existed.

These people will not let Arsaj I's sword fall; they will definitely resist, and then internal strife will break out in Parthia.
Even if Arsace I possessed great talent and ambition, suppressing all rebels and successfully unifying Parthia, it would still take him a long time to develop Parthia to the level of the Qin Dynasty. The Qin Dynasty wouldn't stand still and wait for Parthia to catch up. Furthermore, now that Arsace I had resolved the issues of the nobility and governors within the country, how would his neighbors view him?

His neighbors all practiced a system of governorships. Seeing him slaughter the Parthian nobles like vegetables, these neighboring nobles and governors would certainly be afraid that such a thing would happen to them.

These people are likely to unite and send troops to suppress this Parthian heresy!

Therefore, not only should there be no need to worry about Arsak I resolving the issues of nobles and governors and allowing Parthia to develop, but efforts should also be made to attract Arsak I to follow this path.

Wang Ling deliberately said, "The things that Your Majesty is worried about have actually existed in our Great Qin as well."

Arsak I's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he asked, "Does Great Qin also... have this worry?"

Wang Ling said, "Actually, it wasn't Qin that had it, but Zhou. Zhou was the state before Qin. It had the things that Your Majesty was worried about, but it was Qin that solved those problems for it."

It was indeed resolved, and Zhou was also taken care of along with it.

Arsak I asked, "May I ask, envoy, how did Great Qin resolve this?"

Wang Ling said calmly, "Nothing more than destroying all the countries, suppressing all the rebels, and unifying them."

Upon hearing this, Arsak I understood perfectly what the Qin envoy was trying to tell him about the solution: to fight, to unify the country by force, to subdue everyone, and naturally the problem he was worried about would be solved.

No wonder the Qin state fought in the east for hundreds of years; it turns out it was all for this purpose.

But it seems that other methods are not very effective, as those people will not voluntarily hand over their fiefdoms and power; only force can do so.

If only the Qin envoy had arrived before he established his state, he could have directly learned from everything Qin had done and avoided using the Macedonian system to establish his state from the beginning, thus avoiding these problems.

Before he established his state, the Qin people were probably still fighting with other states in the east and had not yet achieved unification, so it was impossible for them to send envoys.

Now, the Qin envoy has arrived, but it's a bit late!

But it's better to be late than never. His peace still has a chance to make changes, and if he doesn't make changes now, it will be even more difficult for him to change things in the future.

Arsak I also realized that this was the last time to make changes in his deathbed, and the longer it was delayed, the more difficult it would become.

Even if he suppressed those nobles and governors and reclaimed their fiefdoms, it would be difficult for him to maintain the unification like the Qin state.

To maintain unification, talent is needed, but he is short of talent, and talent cannot be cultivated in a short time.

Arsak I weighed the pros and cons in his mind, deciding whether it was better to make changes to Parthia or not.

Without change, his resting place will remain a problem for the nobility and governors, a poisonous thorn stuck in the nation.

He may be able to suppress this thorn in his heart during his reign, but will his descendants be able to suppress it?

If his descendants cannot suppress this poisonous thorn and allow it to erupt, his descendants will be slaughtered and the peace he established will be taken away by others.

Making changes would mean removing this thorn from the shoulders of future generations in advance, but this would plunge Parthia into internal strife, and removing the thorn would bring other difficulties.

Arsak I did not comment on the king's words, but changed the subject, saying, "I have heard that your country has a weapon called 'cannon,' which you may sell?"

The topic shift was abrupt, but Wang Ling knew that this reflected Arsak I's inner hesitation and indecision.

However, Wang Ling didn't care. It would be better if Parthia could fall into internal strife, but if it didn't, it wouldn't be a loss to the Great Qin.

Moreover, Wang Ling felt that there was a high probability that Arsakh I would adopt the method he had suggested. Arsakh I was a man who founded the country through rebellion, and as long as his ambition had not been worn down by time, he dared to rebel against Seleucus and would also dare to take action to resolve the issues of nobles and governors.

It's difficult for an ambitious founding emperor like this, who knows where the problems are, to simply stand by and watch them go unresolved.

Wang Ling laughed and said, "Our Great Qin does indeed have cannons, but I must disappoint Your Majesty, the cannons will not be sold to foreign countries for the time being."

Although Yan had known for a long time that the Qin people would not sell their cannons to foreigners, he was still somewhat disappointed when he heard the Qin envoy refuse.

Wang Ling's refusal further convinced Arsak I and others that cannons were a powerful weapon of the Qin state; otherwise, why would the Qin people refuse to sell them to foreign countries?
It seems that the only way to obtain cannons is to send people to the Qin state to learn and see if they can acquire the technology to manufacture cannons.

Arsak I then asked, "I have heard that your country possesses the power of thunder. Is this true?"

Upon hearing Arsak I's question, the Parthian ministers in the hall all looked towards the royal tomb. They were also eager to know what was going on. It was best if the Qin people didn't possess the power of thunder!

Otherwise, that would be too terrifying. The power of thunder is a power that only gods can wield. If the people of Qin really mastered it, which country in the world could stand against them?

But Wang Ling replied, "Your Majesty, our Great Qin has indeed mastered some of the power of thunder!"

Upon hearing Wang Ling's answer, the hearts of many ministers in the hall finally settled down. How could the people of Qin wield the power of thunder?

Of course, some people didn't believe it, thinking that the Qin envoy was lying, arguing that the power of thunder was something no mortal could possibly control.

Wang Ling ignored these gazes and continued, "Everything in the world has its own principle and its own way. As long as you understand the principle, you can master it. My Great Qin also mastered the power of thunder after it came to know it."

"But our Great Qin's mastery of the power of thunder is still very rudimentary, far inferior to the thunder between heaven and earth."

Wang Ling was telling the truth, and there was no point in hiding it, because the Qin Dynasty had exhibited it at the exposition. If the Parthians really wanted to find out, they could find out with some effort.

Although what Wang Ling said was true, Arsak I and others did not believe it and thought that Wang Ling was lying.

The people of Qin must have had a deep understanding of the power of thunder. The cannons were an application of the power of thunder by the people of Qin, which is why the cannons were so powerful.

(End of this chapter)