If you don't give up, I'd like to be your adoptive father.

Chapter 786 Thoughts

After a moment of silence, Gou Jiao asked, "Master, do you think that general just now lied?"

Xiao Yu said, "Why are you lying? I'm going to arrest you and send you to do corvée labor. Do I still need to lie to you?"

Gou Jiao said with a serious expression: "He said that many of the conscripts have military merit titles, and one of them is even Zuo Shuchang. Zuo Shuchang is a high-ranking title."

Before Shang Yang's reforms, only the royal family of Ying could serve as "Shuzhang".

The Shuchang can be an officer on horseback and govern the people when he gets off the horse. He is more powerful than the current prefect.

Now.
Once the quantity of something increases, its value will definitely decrease.

Nowadays, "Shuchang" only has a title but no official power.

However, Zuo Shuchang is after all a "high-ranking title" of the tenth rank.

With this title, it is easy to become a senior officer and local governor by joining the army.

Xiao Yu said: "Your rank of Gong Dafu is only two levels lower than Zuo Shuzhang, have you received any preferential treatment?
Or maybe what the general said was true. If he couldn't get enough men to serve, he would just squeeze himself in."

Isn't this another way of saying "You have missed the deadline, and if you miss the deadline you should be beheaded. A real man would rather die than die, and if he dies he should leave a great name behind"?
Well, before you raise your name, first throw away your moral integrity and your respect for Qin law.

He has been declining step by step, and now he doesn't even care about the Qin laws. Wouldn't it be natural for him to "raise a great name" in the future?
"Master, you don't understand what I mean. Those who have military merit and titles are rarely from Luzuo."

Gou Jiao said with a stern expression: "Although the laws of the Qin Dynasty are strict and the corvée and military service are very heavy, in the past it was the people on the right side of the street who paid and the people on the left side of the street served.

Now they are arresting even the good people in the neighborhood, and they are not doing it secretly in the countryside, but in the county town, openly arresting people at the city gate.

How arrogant is this? What does this mean? "

Xiao Yu sighed, "You've been wandering around outside for three years. Is this the first time you've seen something like this?"

Before coming to Daqin, she thought that the military merits and titles of Daqin were very impressive.

When she became the Great Qin Shangzao, she had to admit that she was secretly happy for a long time.

After wandering around the countryside and markets of Daqin for several months, Xiaoyu's filter of "China's Great Country" in his mind was shattered.

The promotion and rewards for military merit and titles in the Qin Dynasty were indeed very strict.

The process of review and canonization is very standardized.

It looks very sacred and majestic.

But the nonsense is that there are strict regulations for promotion, but it is very simple for demotion and revocation of title.

It could even be called sloppy.

For example, the Qin Dynasty had the law of collective responsibility.

You are honest and hardworking, you farm and pay taxes, and you never miss corvée or military service.

Because you have military merits and titles, you can also be exempted from some taxes and labor service, so you live a pretty good life.

As a result, your neighbor's cousin got into trouble and ran to your neighbor's house to hide for two days, and you didn't know anything about it.

The government arrested your cousin, your neighbor was thrown into jail, and you also committed a crime and used your title to atone for your crime. The military merits you earned by killing people on the battlefield with all your might immediately vanished.

In fact, the military titles of ordinary people are not for enjoyment at all, but are specifically used to atone for sins.

Xiaoyu met many common people who served in the army and earned military merits just to allow their parents and brothers who were prisoners in their hometown to return home and to free their wives and children from their slave status.

In other words, the Qin Dynasty (Shang Yang) first imposed a DeBuff on all the people. The so-called military merit reward was just to cancel or weaken this DeBuff so that you can live like a normal person.

Instead of being a normal person, you get a "social master buff" as a reward for military merit, which allows you to live an endlessly happy life like a winner in life.

There is only one true winner in life, the "royal family" in Xianyang city!
"In today's Qin Dynasty, military merit and titles have depreciated severely and are of no use at all," Xiao Yu said.

She believed what the generals said. Three of the laborers outside the city had served as Zuo Shuchang. The key word is "had served".

He used to be one, but now he has used his military merits and titles to atone for his crimes and has become an ordinary person.

If she hadn't used the fake seal to fool hundreds of generals, wouldn't Gou Jiao have been immediately demoted from the eighth-level official to the level of "Shangzao"?
Xiaoyu had seen and even experienced these things personally, so naturally he was not surprised or surprised.

He just couldn't understand how the situation changed so quickly.

"In the past, I have encountered a situation where a village headman could not catch enough 'people from the left and right' and randomly arrested merchants and travelers on the highway.

But those guards only dared to do what they wanted in remote areas, and the county officials did not dare to violate the law. "He said.

Xiao Yu asked, "In the past few months, you have been concentrating on practicing the Righteous Qi Sutra. Have you not noticed the major events happening outside?"

Gou Jiao asked doubtfully, "What's the big deal?"

"Have you seen the corvée notice posted by the government at the city gate earlier?" Xiao Yu asked.

Gou Jiao said: "I was focused on the generals and didn't have time to read the notice on the city wall. What did it say?"

Just as Xiao Yu was about to speak, she suddenly saw the entrance to the government office in front of her, so she pointed to the "BBS bulletin board" at the intersection and said, "Look for yourself, there's a new notice on it, too!"

Gou Jiao walked a few steps quickly and read the notice on the wall: "The Queen Mother of the Great Qin has issued an order: In compliance with the will of Heaven, I hereby declare to all the people in the counties: Now that the palace of Mount Li is under repair, all registered merchants, unregistered idlers, and peddlers in the streets must respond to the king's orders. The able-bodied men must carry their hoes and hoes, and the old and weak must carry firewood and charcoal."

He turned back in confusion and said, "This is the same as usual. Only the registered merchants, unregistered idlers, and peddlers in the streets are being recruited."

Xiaoyu said: "Pay attention to the date."

Gou Jiao looked back and saw a line of words stamped with a seal in the corner of the notice: April 2nd of a certain year.

He still didn't quite understand, "What's wrong with the date? Recruiting laborers in the spring will easily delay the farming season.

But this is not the first time, not in the countryside."

Xiao Yu shook his head and sighed, "You are indeed a bookworm who is oblivious to the world outside and only cares about the truth.

Last year, the Queen Mother also conscripted laborers to build the mausoleum.

I think she is courting death, but I can't find any fault with it from a legal point of view."

Building a mausoleum for the emperor, even if it required mobilizing hundreds of thousands of able-bodied men, was considered natural and reasonable by people of that era.

She continued, "The construction of the mausoleum started a long time ago, and every year, civilians were conscripted. But the next year, the Queen Mother started to build palaces on a large scale.

This is something that didn’t happen in the past two years, but it just happened this year.”

When Gou Jiao thought about it carefully, it was just as Xiaoyu said.

A few years ago, Queen Dowager Zhao even temporarily stopped the construction of the "Afang Palace" which had not been completed during the reign of Emperor Renhuang.

He thought for a moment and asked, "Is it because of the great victory in the north? In the past few years, labor and military service have been mainly used for the defense of the Great Wall. With the great victory last year, there should be no large-scale conscription of civilians to the northern Great Wall in the summer and autumn of this year. Does the Queen Mother think that the manpower used for the defense of the Great Wall can be used to build the Afang Palace?"

"That should be it." Xiao Yu frowned and said, "Meng Yi and Meng Tian fought hard just to win a great victory, so as to put an end to the situation where the Hu people attacked the border every year and Shenzhou imposed heavy labor service every year, so that the Qin Dynasty could take a breath and recover some vitality.

They got what they wanted and finally won a victory. The Donghu and Zuoguli King's troops were no match for them.

But the Queen Mother started to make trouble again."

She didn't feel sorry for Daqin, she just felt sorry for Meng Yi and the others.

Lu Lingzi, Changchun Sanren and others probably didn't care at all about Queen Dowager Zhao's crazy and suicidal behavior.

They even welcomed it: to destroy the Qin Dynasty sooner, to end the catastrophe of heaven and earth sooner, to establish the new dynasty sooner, and to allow the new emperor (who would probably be downgraded to "Son of Heaven") to prepare to deal with the unified Huns in the north sooner.

Only Meng Yi and Li Xin, who were loyal to Ying Zheng and the Ying Dynasty, were so angry that they wanted to vomit blood.

Gou Jiao was silent for a moment, then said solemnly: "The Queen Mother Zhao should return power to Prince Fusu and let Fusu ascend the throne as emperor.

I have never met the Left Prime Minister Li Si and the Right Prime Minister Feng Quji, but they have assisted the Emperor for a hundred years, and their reputation and wisdom are known to everyone.

There was no way they couldn't see how tired Daqin was.

They must have also advised the Queen Mother.

The Queen Mother is not a wise ruler. She has been greedy for power and throne for nine years. It is time to let the true emperor take the throne."

As soon as he finished speaking, a loud shout came from the side, "You bold lunatic, a lowly person like a beggar, you are not qualified to criticize the court and slander the empress dowager in front of the government gate? You really think this county lieutenant is nothing!"

Gou Jiao turned his head in surprise and saw a tall and strong man with his eyes wide open and his hair and beard standing up.

A huge breath rushed towards him, making him feel suffocated.

Gou Jiao took two steps back and looked around. Apart from Xiaoyu who had already moved away a few steps, he didn't see any other passerby.

There were a few officers watching on the side.

"Sir, I am not a beggar. I am a student from Julu."

He took out his wooden sign again.

The county lieutenant took the wooden sign and looked at it. His expression and tone softened a lot. "Why are there scratches on the wooden sign?"

Another officer trotted over, whispered something in his ear, and glanced at Xiaoyu with awe.

"Even if you are a registered scholar in the county government, you should not talk nonsense in front of the yamen." said the county lieutenant.

Gou Jiao couldn't help but say, "Sir, I won't just say it at the gate of the government. When I return to Julu, I will join hands with the county literati to write a letter to the county governor, asking the court to seriously consider the matter of enthroning a new emperor.

This is a major national event that concerns the well-being of all people in the world.

Since I have read the books of the sages and understand the truth, I cannot keep it in my heart and be afraid to speak it out. "

Hearing this, the county lieutenant not only did not get angry, but his attitude and eyes became respectful.

"Mr. Mu Xian, you are wise and righteous, and you are mighty and unyielding. Zhao Yan admires you."

He no longer called himself "County Lieutenant" but gave his name directly, and respectfully addressed Gou Jiao as "Mr. Muxian".

"Muxian" is the name that the prostitute gave himself.

In this era, if a person has a "zi" (name), calling him/her by his/her name shows respect, while calling him/her by his/her name directly shows contempt.

For example, the Overlord Xiang Yu, his courtesy name was "Yu" and his given name was "Ji".

Later, after the Chu-Han contention ended, Liu Bang ordered that all officials were not allowed to use the titles "Xiang Yu" or "King Xiang" to refer to Xiang Yu.

When referring to Xiang Yu, you can only use "Xiang Ji", whether verbally or in writing.

Calling Xiang Yu "Xiang Ji" is a sign of contempt and disrespect.

An old minister of the Chu State insisted on respectfully addressing himself as "King Xiang", and although he did not lose his life, he lost his official position and was sent back home by Liu Bang to eat his old rice.

Officials who obeyed Liu Bang were promoted.

County Magistrate Zhao introduced himself by his full name without adding his official title, but he used his courtesy name to address Gou Jiao, which was an expression of humility and respect.

"However, this is the entrance to the government office, and it is definitely not the place to discuss important matters of the country."

Zhao Yan took two steps closer to Gou Jiao, put his left hand on his right sleeve, and made a "Zilu asking for directions" gesture, saying: "What important matters have brought you two wise men to Guangchuan this time? If you need anything, I, as the landlord, am willing to do my best to help."

Just as Gou Jiao was about to politely decline, Xiao Yu smiled and said, "In a couple of days, there might be a chance to meet County Magistrate Zhao. Where is the County Magistrate's residence?"

Zhao Yan and Gou Jiao were both somewhat surprised and confused.

However, neither of them showed their surprise.

Gou Jiao remained silent, and Zhao Yan told him where he lived.

Guessing that they were outsiders and unfamiliar with the streets and terrain of Guangchuan County, he pointed out the approximate direction.

Xiaoyu bowed in return, then said goodbye with a smile, and took Gou Jiao to a spacious but quiet street next to the county government office.

Zhao Yan stood at the gate of the county government office and could even see them walk more than twenty steps before knocking on the door of Mr. Xun's house.

It was probably past midnight (eight o'clock in the morning), which was neither early nor late. The servant of the Xun Mansion had just opened the second door and was sweeping the floor at the entrance.

The young Taoist priest, whom he regarded as a great man, bowed with a smile and spoke a few words to the servant in a humble manner.

Then the servant entered the mansion from the second gate with a puzzled look on his face.

Not to mention opening the main gate and calling Mr. Xun to come out to greet them, the servants did not even welcome the "two wise men" that Zhao Yan thought of into the west corner gate, nor did they let them wait in the corridor inside the gate.

They were simply made to stand outside and wait for a full quarter of an hour.

Zhao Yan could hardly hold back and wanted to go over and teach Mr. Xun a lesson.

But the little Taoist priest and the beggar pretending to be scholars were always peaceful.

Even from a distance, one could feel that their hearts were as calm and indifferent as they appeared on the outside.

After calming down, Zhao Yan felt more and more that the two were not ordinary people, and he became more and more willing to make friends with them.

In the end, he still stood at the gate of the county government office, waiting until the Xun family servant came out again. He led the little Taoist priest and the down-and-out scholar in with an impatient look, and then turned back into the government office.

(End of this chapter)