Ying Fusu

However, from another perspective, the Qin Dynasty's demise after only two generations, or rather, its fall to the third generation under Ziying, indeed indicates that the Wuguan Pass defense line was far less secure than the Xiaoguan Pass to the north and the Hangu Pass to the east.

—Even when the Qin Dynasty had lost the hearts of the people and even the Minister of the Imperial Household, Zhang Han, surrendered to Xiang Yu, the Hangu Pass defense line was still able to withstand the full-scale attack of Xiang Yu!

In contrast, Wuguan Pass was breached without much effort from Liu Bang; it was taken through a combination of persuasion and a surprise attack.

When the news reached Hangu Pass, Xiang Yu was so enraged that he disregarded the gentlemanly agreement of "whoever enters Guanzhong first shall be king" and insisted on holding a Hongmen Banquet to appease his anger.

Why?

Isn't it just that Xiang Yu fought to the death outside Hangu Pass, while Liu Bang stole the unparalleled feat of destroying Qin without lifting a finger from Wu Pass?

Let's get back to the present.

Fusu had a clear understanding of the fate of the Qin Dynasty, which ended after only two generations in history.

From a political perspective, the incompetence of the Second Emperor Hu Hai, the usurpation of power by Zhao Gao, and the heavy burden of corvée labor on the people were all decisive factors.

All of the above can be corrected by Fusu in the current plane.

The Second Emperor Huhai was replaced by the Second Emperor Fusu;

The powerful and corrupt officials Zhao Gao and Li Si were replaced by more reliable and upright ministers such as Feng Quji, Meng Tian, ​​and Feng Jie.

Fusu was also trying to find a solution to the heavy corvée labor and the burden on the people—and to solve it as soon as possible.

The above measures, from a political perspective, fundamentally prevented the Qin Dynasty from facing a dire situation of universal rebellion in a short period of time, thus avoiding the historical precedent of "dying after only two generations."

But there's always a chance of something going wrong.

What if all the above corrective measures fail to dispel the anti-Qin sentiment sweeping the world, as Fusu hoped?

What if Chen Sheng and Wu Guang still launch an uprising in Dazexiang and shout something like, "The Second Emperor Fusu should not be enthroned; the one who should be enthroned is Prince So-and-so"?

Don't think that this possibility doesn't exist.

Not only do they exist, but their levels are extremely high!

Even in the eyes of most people in later generations, the historical statement by Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, "The Second Emperor Huhai is tyrannical and should not be enthroned; the rightful heir is Prince Fusu," was merely a fig leaf for their rebellion.

—We are not rebelling, nor are we against the Qin Dynasty, but against the tyrannical Second Emperor Huhai. We hope to support the more benevolent Prince Fusu.

That's what they said, but when it comes to actually explaining it: Why did they support Prince Fusu as emperor?

Because he was kind?

Because he would treat all people kindly, unlike Hu Hai who was tyrannical.

This is just empty talk and a cover-up.

The real reason is that Prince Fusu had already died when Chen Sheng and Wu Guang launched their uprising.

When Chen Sheng and Wu Guang said, "The Second Emperor Huhai should not be enthroned; the rightful heir should be Prince Fusu," no one objected.

Even if they raised an uprising under this banner and eventually overthrew the Qin court, no one would step forward to force Chen Sheng and Wu Guang to actually support Prince Fusu.

—The person is already dead.

At most, it was just for show, posthumously honoring and bestowing the title of Prince Fusu.

Ultimately, the widespread rebellion against Qin stemmed from the fact that ordinary people could no longer make ends meet. Thus, the remnants of the six former states still harbored the desire to restore their kingdoms, and the two sides quickly reached an agreement, leading to a widespread uprising.

As long as this objective reality remains unchanged, whoever sits on the throne of Qin can be the "tyrannical and unfit to be emperor" Qin Er Shi, as described by Chen Sheng and Wu Guang.

The current second emperor, Fusu, is no exception.

It was precisely because he clearly realized this that Fusu was so anxious.

That's why, even before the First Emperor's body was cold and before he himself had warmed his seat on the throne, he hurriedly halted the project and reduced taxes and corvée labor in order to alleviate the burden on the people as quickly and to the greatest extent possible.

But in the end, it's still the same old story;

Governing a country is not a game of strategy.

It's not that if Fusu issues an edict, the lives of everyone in the world will suddenly improve overnight.

Even clearly reduced or exempted taxes and corvée labor may take a month or two to be communicated to local counties.

When orders are transmitted to local areas, they still need to be passed down layer by layer—from the prefecture to the county, and then to the township, pavilion, and village.

Several months will have passed by the time the policy is fully implemented.

Then comes implementation.

Corvée labor is easy to handle; once the policy is issued, it can be implemented.

However, taxes are collected every year after the autumn harvest, so people can only feel that "life is getting better and the burden is getting lighter" after almost a year later.

This means that, under the most ideal circumstances, Fusu's series of measures to reduce taxes and corvée labor would not begin to show results until the autumn of the first year of the Second Fusu reign at the earliest.

Only after two or three years of steadily implementing policies of reduced taxes and corvée labor will the people of the land be able to say from the bottom of their hearts: "Life is finally getting better."

Note that this is the ideal situation.

However, in the grand topic of governing a country, the most ideal situation is often impossible to achieve.

So what is the normal situation?

—After Fusu's policy of reducing taxes and corvée labor was issued, there may still be corrupt officials in local counties who take advantage of the information gap between themselves and the people to make a fortune!

The imperial court is talking about reducing taxes and corvée labor?

Then let's send less money, grain, and taxes to Xianyang~

As for the common people?

They don't know that the imperial court has reduced taxes and corvée labor; wouldn't it be better not to tell them?

Collect it as is.

The extra money is just a hard-earned reward for us upright officials.

...

Those with a conscience might just grab this last bit of profit and tell the people under their rule: the court has reduced taxes, but it will only start next year;

This year, we'll pay the original amount one last time, and things will be easier from now on.

Those without conscience might simply bury their heads in the sand, continuing to collect taxes and conscript labor at the original standards, profiting from the tax difference year after year until the situation is completely exposed.

Fusu was certain that the farther away a place was from Xianyang and Guanzhong, the greater the probability of similar incidents occurring, and the less one could rely on the "conscience" of local officials.

The saying "the mountains are high and the emperor is far away" perfectly illustrates this point.

...

In this situation, it is no exaggeration to say that Fusu's predicament was almost identical to that of Qin Er Shi (Hu Hai) in history.

—It was still those remnants of the six former states who seized every opportunity to fuel the flames, intending to overthrow the Qin Dynasty;

Those people who couldn't endure those days, overwhelmed by heavy taxes and corvée labor, might rise up at any moment and rebel against the Qin Dynasty.

The only difference is that Fusu had the title of "eldest son to be established," which was somewhat more legitimate than that of Huhai, the eighteenth son of the First Emperor in history.

The problem is that people are struggling to make ends meet because of the heavy taxes and corvée labor.

And all of this originated from the First Emperor's handiwork!

It was the First Emperor who unified the country and then set up tax and corvée standards that made it impossible for people to make a living!

People may not dare to say "tyrant Qin Shi Huang" but only "tyrannical Emperor Er Shi Hu Hai," but that doesn't mean they really think that way!

Ultimately, what people hate most is the tyrannical Qin dynasty.

What they hated was the "tyrannical Qin" that destroyed the six states, causing them to lose their homeland, and then subjected them to extreme oppression.

The Second Emperor Huhai was the second emperor of Qin, and the Second Emperor Fusu was also the second emperor of Qin.

They were all emperors of the "tyrannical Qin," so how could the people's perceptions be any different?

Therefore, after the First Emperor was laid to rest and he himself truly ascended the throne;

After realizing that his measures to reduce taxes and corvée labor would not be effective in the short term, Fusu understood that in this world, the Dazexiang Uprising was most likely unavoidable.

Perhaps not in Dazexiang;

Perhaps it wasn't Chen Sheng and Wu Guang.

But eventually, there will be a group of people like Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, who are driven to the edge of a cliff and decide to try their best to fight to the death, and ignite that prairie fire.

What should I do?

Fusu decided to take a two-pronged approach.

Even knowing that doing so would likely not prevent an uprising in a certain township, Fusu still decided to reduce taxes and corvée labor.

This is a long-term perspective, giving hope to the people of the world.

--yes;

—Life is tough these days;

The year ahead, as far as the eye can see, will still be difficult.

—But soon.

Things will get better soon.

—The policy has been established and issued; it's just waiting to be implemented so that things will get better.

With this hope, the probability of people fighting to the death against Qin can be greatly reduced.

Of course, many people will still decide to risk their lives to overthrow the Qin Dynasty, to win wealth and glory, or to seek a peaceful life for their descendants.

But there will definitely be many more people who think: let's wait and see.

Everyone says things will get better soon, so let's wait and see.

If things really don't improve—if the "tyrannical Qin" regime is truly incorrigible, then it's not too late to fight the "tyrannical Qin" to the death.

This is to control the scale of the rebellion and the number of participants as much as possible, and to minimize the subsequent impact of the rebellion.

Furthermore, it also fundamentally abolished the Qin Dynasty's oppressive rule over the people, allowing the Qin Dynasty to enter a healthy and sustainable state of rule.

In the long run, reducing taxes and corvée labor will eliminate the contradictions between the rulers and the ruled. In the short term, it is natural to make early preparations for the peasant uprising that is highly likely to occur—and very likely to occur this year.

Both approaches should be prepared.

Sending Zhang Han to Aocang in Xingyang to check the accounts, and then Emperor Fusu personally came to oversee the Guandong region, was more of a show of force.

—You all better behave yourselves!

—Show your head and you're done!

While he was intimidated, Fusu did not entirely expect that the historical rebel armies—especially Liu Ji, who had already become an outlaw, and Xiang Yu, the overlord who had uttered the famous line, "I can take over the First Emperor's throne"—would truly be intimidated.

It would be best if it could deter them;

At least it will deter most of the rabble, making the suppression of the rebellion easier and less troublesome.

As for those that cannot be deterred, the only option is suppression.

Suppression, however, requires discussion of strategic arrangements.

As the art of war says: Before calculating victory, calculate defeat.

A successful strategic plan must be based on the premise of the worst possible outcome, and make arrangements and responses in advance.

Specifically, for the Qin Dynasty today, the premise is that the world is in chaos, the area outside the pass is completely out of control, and the rebel army is approaching Hangu Pass/Wu Pass, threatening the foundation of the Central Plains. Therefore, countermeasures are being considered.

Thus, Fusu's attention naturally fell on the only less reassuring pass in Guanzhong: Wuguan Pass...

"The fact that Liu Bang went through Wuguan Pass into Qin and was surrendered by Ziying, the third emperor of the Qin dynasty, can already be considered a 'historical lesson'."

"Now, I am leading the Qin Dynasty to be reborn, to experience it all again..."

"The problem at Wuguan must be resolved."

Thinking this, Fusu finally raised his gaze from the huge map spread out on the ground in front of him and turned it toward Meng Yi, who was holding a long pole.

"If chaos truly breaks out in Guanzhong this year, with me and the Minister of the Imperial Household stationed in Xingyang, the Hangu Pass will be able to make accurate judgments."

"Beixiao Pass is even less likely to be threatened by foreign barbarians. No matter how well the rebel army from Guandong can bypass it, they cannot bypass Xiao Pass."

"Only Wuguan Pass—once chaos breaks out, it will be of utmost importance to the safety of the ancestral temples and the state, and must be treated with utmost care."

...

"Your Excellency, do you have any insightful suggestions?"

Sensing the gravity in Fu Su's words, Meng Yi's face, as usual, showed an unnatural look of suspicion.

In Meng Yi's view, Fusu seemed to have become a different person since the Sand Dune Incident.

The former Prince Fusu was so gentle, easy-going, and composed.

No matter what happens, he always appears calm and collected, calmly and steadily devising countermeasures, and taking steps one by one to plan his strategy.

But ever since the Sand Dune Incident and the death of the First Emperor, Fusu has inexplicably become more impatient.

It was as if something terrifying was chasing Fusu from behind, forcing him to be constantly anxious and even somewhat impulsive.

Previously, the establishment of an empress to rule the inner palace and the hasty halting of various projects and reduction of taxes and corvée labor were the first signs of this trend.

The recent appointment of a crown prince is further proof of this mentality.

Right now, everyone is talking about how "this year is not peaceful" and "the Guandong region is not stable." First, they sent Zhang Han, the Junior Steward, to Xingyang, and even the phrase "to pacify the Guandong region" has emerged.

Judging from the current situation, even Fusu himself is going to go and take charge of Guandong to deter the villains from all directions.

I haven't forgotten that.

—Right now, they're starting to make an issue of 'the Wuguan defense line not being stable enough,' clearly intending to reinforce the defense line?

"Turbulence has broken out in Kanto..."

"Could it have gotten this chaotic?"

"How much chaos must there be for His Majesty to take this so seriously, even threatening Guanzhong?"

With these thoughts swirling in his mind, Meng Yi finally shook his head, clearing his mind of all the jumbled thoughts.

After regaining his composure and thinking it over carefully, he finally answered Fusu's question.

"Brother... Grand Tutor Meng often said: 'An incompetent general can cause the death of the entire army.'"

"Whether it's offense or defense—if you want to change the appearance and combat power of an army as quickly as possible in a short period of time, the most direct way is to send a sufficiently outstanding general."

"The more outstanding a general is, the better he can bring out the strengths of his army and the better he can avoid its weaknesses."

"In addition, with knowledge of military strategy and tactics, one can bring the army's combat power to its peak in a very short time, or even exceed its inherent combat power limit."

...

"The First Emperor once said that Grand Tutor Meng was such a general."

"The former Lord Wu'an, Bai Qi, and the general Wang Jian were also among them."

"And Wang Li and his son Wang Ben—Wang Ben is a little lacking in experience, but he is still quite usable."

"Wang Li is far from being good enough; he needs to hone his skills for another ten years before we can see any signs of his talent."

At this point, Meng Yi's expression turned slightly serious, and he cupped his hands slightly.

"Your Majesty, perhaps you could send a seasoned general to garrison Wuguan Pass."

"As for who to send..."

"Forgive my ignorance, but I do not know who is the best candidate."

"Your Majesty may consult with the Grand Tutor."