Simultaneous travel: City, infinite evolution

Chapter 240 A Discussion of Law with Fusu (Part Two)
Listening to Chen Hong's eloquent listing of data, which starkly revealed the terrifying over-exploitation of human resources by the Qin Dynasty.

Everyone was filled with fear and trembling. They were afraid that if they heard these words, they would not see the sun rise tomorrow.

Everyone in the Qin Dynasty knew that corvée labor was a heavy burden, after all, which family hadn't had its men conscripted?

But precisely because everyone knows that this problem does exist.

It's so real that it's all the more sensitive.

In the Qin Dynasty, discussing the issue of corvée labor and expressing dissatisfaction with the conscription of corvée labor was tantamount to questioning Qin Shi Huang's great talent and strategic vision.

If the neighbors report it, you're basically in trouble.

Sending you to the Great Wall to experience it firsthand for a few years would be too lenient.

Fusu's expression also turned somewhat grim, and he glanced at Meng Tian.

They seemed to be considering whether to arrest all the onlookers who had overheard the secrets.

After all, this kind of data belongs to the Qin Dynasty's top secret, and the common people cannot know so much about it.

The more you know, the more thoughts you have, and you start to think about waiting for an opportunity to rebel.

Therefore, dynasties throughout history have never allowed the common people to know too much core information about their dynasty, and have tried to block as much information as possible.

What the common people know is either unimportant or cannot be kept secret.

Fusu gave a signal with his eyes, and Meng Tian whispered something to his subordinates.

Fusu began to take Chen Hong seriously.

I thought I was just casually strolling around the streets, observing the people's conditions, and meeting a knowledgeable person. I planned to explore the opinions of knowledgeable people among the common people regarding the imperial court.

Unexpectedly, a big shot was revealed.

A real dragon burst out of the small pond; it's unbelievable!

Fusu suddenly became much more humble, and bowed respectfully to Chen Hong.

"gentlemen."

"Since you know that our Great Qin has the problem of excessive corvée labor, do you have a brilliant plan to resolve this problem?"

Seeing Fusu bow solemnly to him, Chen Hong uttered a single word with unwavering resolve:

"Have!"

Fusu sat up straight immediately, overjoyed.

"Please sir, teach me!"

Meng Tian looked at Chen Hong in surprise, and everyone pricked up their ears.

I'd like to hear what this wise man from the streets has to say.

Even Yi Xiaochuan listened intently, because even he, a transmigrator, couldn't think of a solution to this problem.

"As everyone knows, in our Great Qin, the entire population is a soldier and performs corvée labor."

The system used was a tiered conscription system of "Gengzu", "Zhengzu", and "Shuzu".

Men were required to register their household registration at age 15 and become "reservists" until age 60.

The soldiers were required to serve one month of "serving duty" each year, performing local labor such as road repair, river management, and transportation, but they received no military training.

"When he was about 20 years old, he was promoted from a junior soldier to a regular soldier and served for one year."

They received military training at the county level, including drills, signal recognition, battle formations, and physical training (such as Cuju and stone throwing).

Responsible for local security and defense, they were divided into infantry (commanders), charioteers (light chariots), cavalry (knights), and naval personnel (ships).

"After completing their regular term of service, they will be transferred to garrison duty and serve for one year."

Most ordinary soldiers were sent to guard the border or to participate in projects such as building cities and repairing the Great Wall.

Soldiers must bring their own food, as they are soldiers and subject to military law; delays or desertion will be severely punished.

A small number of elite garrison soldiers were selected for the central army (such as the Beijing garrison), and due to their high level of specialization, they were exempt from ordinary corvée labor.

"After their term of service is completed, soldiers will be transferred to the reserve force, and will still be required to serve a rotation every year and be ready to be called up for combat at any time."

"At 23, he was already a conscript, and he was required to perform one month of corvée labor every year."

"But this is actually just a regulation on paper."

"In fact, everyone knows that large-scale national projects (such as the Lishan Mausoleum, the Great Wall, and the Epang Palace) often require the conscription of a large number of laborers, whose service period is far longer than one month."

A trip to a remote place like the Great Wall can take more than a month in some areas.

This often results in missing the peak farming season.

"If local projects are not completed on schedule, those serving in the military are required to 'make up for the lost time,' which results in an extension of their actual service period." (Source: "Qin Bamboo Slips from Shuihudi: Legal Questions and Answers")
Local officials may use the pretext of "temporary conscription" to require people to serve multiple times or extend the duration of a single service.

Some unfortunate service members may find themselves working year-round without a break.

"In conclusion, I recommend reducing the service time from one year and one month to 20 days per year."

The system also adopted the "cumulative corvée labor days method," stipulating that the annual corvée labor time is capped at 60 days.

For example, a laborer who was supposed to serve his full 20 days this year had to work an additional 40 days because the project was delayed.

Then he won't have to perform corvée labor for the next two years.

Once he has worked 60 days, he can no longer perform corvée labor.

The corvée rotation system should be implemented to allow other laborers who have not yet performed their corvée duties this year to take his place.

Ensure that he is not overexploited, and give him a period of rest and recuperation to restore his strength and return to farming.

The government must guarantee the basic survival of those who come to perform corvée labor, providing them with food, lodging, wages, and rations.

A fixed 8-hour workday, with overtime paid at triple wages, would force project management officials to stop exploiting laborers and treating them like expendable resources, leading to their deaths from overwork.

"However, the above suggestions are only temporary solutions and do not address the root cause."

The Qin Dynasty's exploitation of human resources had reached a point where it was difficult to adjust flexibly.

The Qin Dynasty launched too many epic projects in one go, draining the people's labor to the point of exhaustion.

Chen Hong sighed, "So, we still have to start from the root."

"We need to slow down the construction process and avoid undertaking so many epic projects all at once."

Less important projects like the Lishan Mausoleum and the Epang Palace were scaled back; a tomb has no practical value, and a vanity project is too extravagant.

Fusu was startled when he heard Chen Hong's words.

Everyone was terrified, even though they knew Chen Hong was telling the truth.

But this would clearly offend the great First Emperor.

His Majesty the First Emperor had only unified the six kingdoms a few years ago and was at the height of his success.

When building a palace, it should be grand and luxurious.

When building their mausoleums, they wished they could stuff a miniature version of the Qin Dynasty inside, so that it would be immortalized.

Chen Hong downplayed these two projects, his words subtly implying that the First Emperor was wasting the people's resources and exhausting the resources of the people.

Is this something I can hear?

Yi Xiaochuan was now somewhat impressed by Chen Hong's audacity; he dared to say anything, he was really courting death.

Gao Yao, on the other hand, didn't feel anything. He didn't know history, didn't understand much, and hadn't personally experienced forced labor, so he wasn't particularly moved.

After hearing Chen Hong's suggestion, even Fusu felt that his elderly father would not accept Chen Hong's suggestion to slow down the project.

Even if it was indeed a case of draining the pond to catch all the fish, wasting a lot of manpower and resources, and causing countless people to suffer terribly from forced labor.

But in the eyes of that emperor, compared to his own eternal and everlasting achievements...

The people may suffer temporarily, but they will get through it if they persevere.

Only great achievements are immortal.

Even if I die one day, I want to be the emperor of the underworld, commanding thousands of troops and achieving immortality.

This is the gap between strategy and actual execution.

Even if you know what to do, there's nothing you can do if the emperor doesn't want to.

Even if the policies that benefit the country and its people are truly implemented.

However, when it came to implementation at the local level, officials, powerful clans, aristocratic families, and nobles did not cooperate, so there was nothing that could be done.

Take, for example, the famous Wang Anshi Reform.

The strategies were well-intentioned, but when it came to implementation, the officials below made a complete mess of it.

Among them was a large group of officials who took this opportunity to extort and oppress the people to amass wealth, turning what was originally a well-intentioned new policy into a cruel and exploitative one.

The reforms, instead, became a new tool for exploiting the people.

There is also partisan strife, with rival old parties dragging you down and causing you trouble.

No matter what new policies, reforms, or strategies are implemented, they are all in vain.

Ultimately, it all comes down to people.

If officials are honest and capable, they can overcome any difficulty.

If all officials are scheming and despicable, no matter how brilliant your strategies are, they will be useless.

Even Zhuge Liang would be at a loss, completely helpless.

Fortunately, the Qin Dynasty still had some vitality at this time, and it had also undergone the reforms of Shang Yang to strengthen the country.

Having emerged from the brutal battlefield of the Warring States period, officials were generally pragmatic and efficient.

They utterly crushed the Song Dynasty by hundreds of streets.

It seems that there is still hope for the Qin Dynasty.

If we could just brainwash Qin Shi Huang and stop him from being so eager for quick success and instant benefits, always thinking that one generation could do the work of ten, exhausting the people's strength and causing widespread resentment.

Furthermore, with Chen Hong's extraordinary abilities, using mechanical power to replace natural human labor, the Qin Dynasty, operating under heavy load, was able to catch its breath and recover.

Allowing the people to rest and recuperate, with a balance between tension and relaxation, is the only way to ensure long-term stability.

Fusu dared not ask any more questions about the corvée labor projects.

This involves the issue of the elderly father's grave and house.

Everyone else can say it, but he alone cannot.

Otherwise, it would be considered "unfilial".

So Fusu turned and asked, "Sir, you have just explained the three drawbacks in the Qin law system and their solutions."

The first principle is: minor offenses should be severely punished, and collective punishment should be strictly enforced.

Secondly, the provisions are complex and the standards are vague.

Thirdly, the heavy taxes and corvée labor exhausted the people's strength.

"May I ask, sir, what problems exist regarding the enforcement of Qin law?"

Chen Hong took a sip of wine and began to speak in a leisurely manner:
"Firstly, the law enforcement is brutal and torture is abused."

The strict performance evaluation system of the "Effect Law" led officials to levy exorbitant taxes in order to meet their targets.

The actual land rent and straw that commoners had to pay were several times higher than the legally stipulated amount, driving the people to rebellion. (From the Liye Qin Bamboo Slips)
In order to meet their performance targets, local officials often use the pretext of "catching thieves" to arrest innocent people indiscriminately.

For example: A certain village head, failing to complete his arrest quota, falsely accused civilians of being thieves in order to inflate the number of thieves arrested. (From the Yunmeng Qin Bamboo Slips)
The Qin law stipulated more than ten types of death penalty, including dismemberment by chariot, waist-cutting, and beheading. Corporal punishments included cutting off the nose, cutting off the feet, and tattooing the face.

Torture was rampant and varied, violating human nature and causing extreme fear among the people of the officials who controlled punishments. They dared not disobey in the slightest, and resentment accumulated day by day, growing ever deeper.

"Secondly: Nobles are exempted from punishment and can redeem themselves with money."

Although Shang Yang proposed "no distinction between different levels of punishment," in practice, members of the royal family, meritorious officials, and nobles were often pardoned.

No matter how harsh the criminal law is, it does not apply to doctors.

It is in fact a violent tool for ruling the people, and there is no fairness whatsoever.

Even the wealthy could pay money to atone for their crimes.

According to the "Legal Q&A", "redemption from tattooing" (a form of punishment involving facial tattooing) required a payment of 12 shi of millet, which was unaffordable for ordinary people.

However, the wealthy could easily produce 12 shi of millet to avoid the punishment of facial tattooing.

Fusu fell silent, and so did Meng Tian.

This time, Fusu didn't even dare to ask how to solve these problems.

He feared that Chen Hong would speak recklessly and offend all the nobles, officials, and rich people.

Fusu himself was also a nobleman.

He and Meng Tian were both part of the privileged class.

(End of this chapter)