Diqin Designer

Chapter 28 The Qin people are tired too, let’s destroy them quickly
When the First Emperor was alive, his prestige could intimidate everyone and prevent the hidden dangers caused by the Legalists from materializing. But when Hu Hai came to power, he did not have the prestige and ability of the First Emperor, and he continued to act recklessly and increase pressure. It would be a miracle if the world was not in chaos.

Li Nian continued to analyze: "Legalists govern the country with harsh and cruel punishments, which frightens the people and makes it easier to govern. When there are serious threats from foreign enemies, this method is feasible and can quickly gather people's strength, enhance national strength, and make the country prosperous. The old Qin people at that time could accept the governance of the Legalists. I think the reasons are as follows:"

"First, although the Legalists ruled the country with harsh laws, they did make society stable and let the Qin people feel obvious benefits, such as fewer murders and thefts, and they no longer had to worry about their own safety at all times; second, the existence of the military merit system."

Does this have anything to do with the military merit system?

This was something Ying Zheng had not thought of, so he perked up and listened carefully to what Li Nian said.

“Human beings are creatures with desires. After satisfying their basic survival needs, they will naturally develop higher-level needs.”

Li Nian did not immediately talk about the relationship between the Legalists, the Qin people, and the military merit system, but instead introduced a new concept to Ying Zheng.

Afraid that Ying Zheng didn't understand, Li Nian explained: "Your Majesty, you can think of it as when people are well fed, well clothed and well clothed, they will want to eat better, drink sweeter, have a beautiful wife, and live in a more spacious house."

Ying Zheng nodded to show that he understood. Li Nian continued, "It was the same for the Qin people. After they had enough food and clothing, they naturally had higher demands and wanted a better life. At that time, although the criminal law of the Legalists was harsh, the military merit system provided them with a step for promotion and gave them the opportunity to live a better life."

"With the hope of climbing up, the Qin people will naturally accept the governance of the Legalists and be willing to maintain the social order established by the Legalists. Moreover, although the Legalists are harsh, as long as they are followed, there will be no problems in normal times. On the contrary, the society under the rule of the Legalists is quite stable. For the Qin people at that time, the benefits of the Legalists outweigh the disadvantages!"

Ying Zheng understood what Li Nian meant. The system of military merit and titles was an important reason why the Qin Dynasty could maintain its rule by the Legalists. It gave the Qin people hope and enabled them to accept the harshness of the Legalist criminal law.

Before Li Nian could continue, Ying Zheng took the initiative to answer, "Now that the six kingdoms have been destroyed and there are no more wars in the world, it has become difficult to gain merit on the battlefield. The military merit system is only in name only for the Qin people. They can't see the benefits, so they will naturally be dissatisfied with the strict laws."

"It's not that the Qin people didn't complain about the Qin laws in the past, but they had benefits back then, so they could still tolerate it. Now that there are no benefits, there are problems everywhere!"

Li Nian said: "This is human nature!"

Ying Zheng looked at him and continued, "Daqin has changed, and the Qin people have changed. If we continue to govern Daqin with the old Legalist methods, it will surely lead to disaster."

Li Nian nodded and said, "That's right! In fact, I think there are two more points: The reason why the Qin people are willing to fight for their country is that they hope to live a better life after swallowing up the six kingdoms and unifying the world, rather than continuing their life before unifying the world. If after unifying the world, they still live the same life as before..."

"Before unifying the world, they lived that kind of life. After unifying the world, they still lived that kind of life. Isn't it a waste of time to unify the world?"

Ying Zheng thought about it and realized that it was true. If the situation before and after the unification of the world was the same, then the old Qin people would be disheartened and would no longer work hard for the Qin as before. Anyway, winning or losing would not make any difference to them, so why bother so much. "Secondly, everything has its limits. Even an iron string will break, and so will people. The Qin has been ruled by the Legalists for hundreds of years, and the Qin people have accumulated too much dissatisfaction. If the king continues to rule the country with the Legalist ideology of the past, dissatisfaction will continue to accumulate and will erupt sooner or later."

"The reason why Qin II died was because the Qin people had lost their hearts to the Qin Empire and did not want to fight for it anymore. So when Emperor Gaozu of Han entered the pass, they surrendered on their own initiative."

Ying Zheng and Meng Yi were stunned when they heard this. The reason they were so surprised was that in their minds, even if the Qin Dynasty was going to perish, it was the old Qin people who were reluctant to see it perish and fought bloody battles for it, but the enemy was too strong and they eventually died with regret.

But what we hear now is that the old Qin people don't want to resist at all, and surrender voluntarily, as if they can't wait for the Qin Dynasty to be destroyed!

Ying Zheng couldn't tell what his mood was now. In just over a decade, had his Great Qin fallen to the point where even the old Qin people didn't like it?
This time, he truly felt why people in later generations said that the Qin Dynasty would surely perish, and felt the seriousness of the Qin Dynasty's problems. It was far from what he thought that as long as he was alive, the Qin Dynasty would not perish!

'Did your ancestor Duke Xiao feel the same way? Change brings life, change brings death! Duke Xiao had Shang Jun, I have Li Nian, I will do better than Duke Xiao! '

After talking about the influence of Legalism on the Qin people, Li Nian talked about the influence on the people of the six kingdoms: "The people of the original six kingdoms were different from the Qin people, not that complicated."

"The people of Qin had accepted the rule of the Legalists for hundreds of years and could still tolerate it, but the people of the six kingdoms had never been ruled in this way, so they would naturally feel uncomfortable and even dissatisfied. Of course, harsh punishments could temporarily suppress this dissatisfaction, but dissatisfaction would accumulate and gradually turn into hatred and enmity."

"When the Qin conquered the six kingdoms, it attacked and killed people. It already had hatred for the people of the six kingdoms. Now it is forcing them with the harsh punishments of the Legalists. The hatred will naturally grow stronger. These hatreds are like weeds growing in the wilderness. When autumn comes, as long as someone throws a spark, it will set the whole prairie on fire."

"People always yearn for freedom. The harsh laws of the Legalists can frighten people temporarily, but they cannot frighten them forever. This is human nature. When people can no longer endure it, they will rise up and break the cage created by the Legalists."

Ying Zheng also thought that the Legalists in Qin were not suitable for governing the people of the six kingdoms, but what he wanted to know was what to use instead of the Legalists?
Ying Zheng said: "According to your words, all the Hundred Schools of Thought are useless. Then how do you think we should govern the Qin Dynasty?"

Li Nian knew his own capabilities very well. He might be able to discuss politics with others on the Internet, but he would not be able to govern the country, let alone a country as big as Daqin.

The major policies and guidelines still had to be decided by the First Emperor himself. Li Nian could only make some suggestions based on later history and point out certain flaws in the First Emperor's policies, such as why Confucianism and Legalism were incapable of governing the Qin Dynasty.

Therefore, before answering this question, Li Nian first put on a layer of armor for herself.

"My king, I am only a commoner in the future, not a political figure. It is fine for me to serve as a reference for future generations, to make suggestions, and to correct mistakes. But if you really ask me to come up with a practical strategy for governing the Qin Dynasty, I cannot do it! I only have some personal opinions. If Your Majesty wants to know, I will tell you!"

(End of this chapter)