Daqin Zhentiansi

Chapter 601 The winds of change rise in the East, and the winds of change in the East are seen in Donghan.

The Great Qin Imperial City.

Household Department.

Inside the Ministry of Revenue's office, a celadon teacup was slammed heavily onto a rosewood table.

Minister of Revenue Zuo Qian stared at the words "Price Listing of Donghan County" in the official gazette, veins bulging on his forehead: "The pricing power of eight thousand kinds of goods, can Li Cheng, a mere outlaw, just take it away like that?"

His fingertips almost pierced the paper: "The Ministry of Revenue hasn't been able to budge a single copper coin from the grain merchants of Jiangnan in thirty years!"

“More than just copper coins?” Zhou Yan, the Vice Minister of Revenue, grabbed the abacus and started clicking away. “Just from the silver fish from Jiuchuan alone, the river management department takes five copper coins per catty as a ‘dispatch fee.’ In just three days, they’ve earned half a year’s worth of taxes from the Salt and Iron Bureau!”

The abacus beads rattled in his palm: "This isn't a river management office, it's clearly a money-making rake!"

Zhou Yan's words caused the expressions of everyone in the hall to change.

The Ministry of Revenue is the purse bag of the Qin Dynasty, yet it now stands by and watches as the Waterway Administration steals its money.

Who wouldn't be upset?

But this suffering is unbearable, and there's nothing I can do about it.

The last petitions impeaching the Marquis of Qingyang were all kept secret by His Majesty.

Now, who dares to mention this matter again?
"Actually, it's a good thing," the old steward in the corner suddenly sneered. "Last month, the Ministry of Rites impeached Li Cheng for being 'of humble origins and unfit for office,' but now he's driven down grain prices in Jiangnan by 30%—"

He deliberately dragged out his words: "I heard that Minister Wang smashed his favorite inkstone this morning."

"And the Ministry of Personnel, it is said..."

Amidst the uproar of laughter, Zuo Qian slammed his fist on the table and shouted, "Shut up, all of you!"

He grabbed the Donghan Merchant Alliance's order form and threw it at the crowd: "Look at their salt crystal prices! Fifty wen a jin, plus shipping! The salt tax reform that the Ministry of Works just proposed is all worthless!"

The duty room fell into a sudden, deathly silence, with only the sound of the corner of the official gazette being lifted by the draft.

“Well done, Marquis Qingyang…” Zuo Qian loosened the collar of his official robe, his voice hoarse, “He abandoned the small taxes of the river management office, but seized control of the Qin Dynasty’s commercial lifeline.”

He suddenly stared out the window towards the imperial city, and a slight smile appeared on his face.

"The Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel should be anxious now. They have been selecting talents for the country for a hundred years, but they are not as good as Zhang Qingyang, who caught a bandit on the river!"

"If Zhang Qingyang really steals the spotlight this time, Wang Anzhi and Sima Qingguang will probably not look good."

Zuo Qian's relationship with Qingyang Marquis wasn't too bad, and Princess Yu Ruo's Yu Yuan Trading Company had a lot of business dealings with the Ministry of Revenue.

But personal relationships aside, his demotion to the Ministry of Revenue meant that the Donghan County Water Conservancy Bureau had snatched away his pricing power, which was a slap in the face to the entire Ministry of Revenue.

……

Ministry of War.

Inside the Ministry of War's office, Li Si tapped his knuckles on the vermilion-sealed dossier sent from the Eastern Border, while the tea in the celadon cup cooled down three times.

"Fifty million mouths..."

He ran his finger over the words "700,000 shi of grain consumed daily" in the dossier, then looked up at the several vice ministers sitting around him. "The Ministry of Rites is too busy to impeach the Marquis of Qingyang right now. Just the three hundred Confucian scholars mixed in with the conscripted laborers are enough to keep them arguing for three days."

Zheng Yuan, the official transferred from the Ministry of Justice, suddenly sneered: "Yesterday, Minister Sima smashed his inkstone and said that the Ministry of Personnel would have to add 'river engineering education' to all the assessments this year—guess what?"

He deliberately lowered his voice: "The roster of people sent by Donghan County contains a full 800,000 people!"

Amidst the gasps of the room, Li Si grabbed a teacup and gulped down a mouthful of cold tea: "The Marquis of Qingyang is putting the Ministry of Personnel on the fire. Evaluating 800,000 people is enough for them to stamp official seals for three years."

The teacup slammed heavily onto the "Regulations for the Recruitment and Training of Soldiers," the author wrote, "but it's this power of allocation between civil and military officials—"

"Don't even think about it!" came the deep voice of Guo Ming, the Minister of War, from outside the door. An old man in purple robes strode in, carrying a military report. "The lifeblood that the six ministries have fought over for two hundred years, are you going to hand it over to the Ministry of War?"

He unfolded the military report, revealing the imperial edict that read, "The affairs of the Eastern Border shall be arranged by the Eastern Border Campaign itself." "But the Ministry of Works has already stamped the 'urgent' seal this morning for the 300,000 strong bows that Marquis Qingyang requested." The duty room suddenly fell silent, with only the draft seeping through the window cracks stirring the scrolls on the table.

Your Majesty's biased stance is far too obvious.

The Eastern Frontier Camp has far too much authority.

Li Si suddenly clapped his hands and laughed: "I was wondering yesterday why the Ministry of Works was willing to move the century-old ironwood used for the restoration of the imperial mausoleum—"

The young manager in the corner suddenly brightened up: "After screening out five million elite soldiers, forty-five million able-bodied men who have been trained in archery and horsemanship are left..."

The sound of his Adam's apple bobbing was louder than the cicadas outside the window. "Just give it a name like 'reserve battalion,' and the border army won't have to worry about recruits for ten years."

The ministers exchanged glances and then simultaneously reached for their teacups.

Amidst the billowing white mist, the smiles on everyone's faces were as irrepressible as the rising steam.

"I heard that Marquis Qingyang feeds the new recruits meat at every meal?" Minister of War Guo Ming suddenly asked out of the blue.

"More than that!" Li Si flung out a secret report from the Eastern Frontier from his sleeve. "The Nine Rivers Alliance is using cargo ships to transport live pigs, and there are even water spinach growing on the decks—this isn't military training, it's clearly raising tigers and wolves!"

"Tsk tsk, I bet the Ministry of Rites will be submitting another impeachment petition."

Someone said this.

Immediately, the atmosphere in the hall became lively again.

Not only the capital of the Qin Dynasty, but also the capitals of the three kingdoms of Qi, Zhao, and Wei, all eyes were on Donghan County.

The recruitment of fifty million new soldiers is an astonishing undertaking.

In the Wei Kingdom's imperial study, the lamplight illuminated the bronze beast-shaped furnace, making it resemble a crouching, ferocious beast.

Emperor Yuwen Tuo of Wei threw the secret report on the head of the kneeling guard. The gold-inlaid armor scraped against the four characters "Donghan New Army" on the rosewood table, splashing a few ink marks.

"Back then, three thousand elite Qin soldiers defeated my one hundred thousand border troops..."

The jade pendant shattered into pieces upon impact with the star map, the sound of which startled the officials of the Imperial Observatory, causing them to tremble and prostrate themselves on the ground.

"Send the assassins with the city-burning crossbows to ambush at Eagle Fall Gorge. I want to see if his new army is faster, or my crossbows!"

On the Zhao State's Star Gazing Platform, the night wind whipped up the emperor's dark robes.

Emperor Zhao Ji stroked the broken tortoise shell in his hand; the cracks reflected the secret letter from the eastern border containing "fifty million new troops":
"Fifty million able-bodied men? Does Zhang Qingyang think the Eastern Territory is just a pasture for livestock?"

He suddenly chuckled and crushed the snow lotus presented as tribute from the State of Qi on the table with his fingertips.

"Issue an imperial decree to Lu Chenzhou, ordering him to write several more essays on 'The Marquis of Qingyang's Militarism and Aggressive Warfare' at the Jixia Academy. I want these rumors to fill the ears of the Qin grain merchants within three days!"

Deep within the Qi Kingdom's palace, the scent of incense could not mask the stench of blood.

"Your Majesty, three hundred disciples of the Yunqi Sword Sect have infiltrated the laborers of the Eastern Territory." The purple-robed eunuch prostrated himself, lowering his voice, "Headmaster Yao asked this old servant to convey a message: if Marquis Qingyang truly trains five million elite soldiers..."

"Elite troops?"

"Twenty years ago, when I slaughtered the entire city of Luyang, Zhang Qingyang was still a baby in his mother's womb!" Jiang Yuanliang's eyes flashed with coldness.

"Tell the Ministry of War that the military farm system in the six northern prefectures will be implemented three years ahead of schedule, and each farming household will be taxed an additional 1 shi of grain."

"I would rather let the farmers starve than allow the Qin Dynasty to raise a second elite infantry battalion!"

The winds of change sweep across the land from the east; the winds of change in the east are seen in the Eastern Han.

The first batch of one million soldiers recruited by Donghan County arrived at the camp outside Yunming Prefecture in just ten days.

(End of this chapter)