Poverty Alleviation in Qin: A Sky-High Review of "I Am the Female Prime Minister of All Time&qu

However, Qin Shi Huang, as a ruler with exceptional insight, saw through the abyss hidden within the feudal system at a glance.

He knew all too well that a rule based on blood ties could not last long and be stable.

The first generation of imperial relatives maintained harmonious relations, but by the third or fourth generation, blood ties had thinned, and they were practically strangers. Once the central court's power waned, local vassal states inevitably amassed their own armies and carved out their own territories.

Isn't the root cause of the centuries-long wars and conflicts during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods precisely this?

If we follow the established conventions and habits that people generally accept, the Qin Dynasty would simply be another, more powerful Zhou Dynasty.

[When the First Emperor passed away, the Central Plains would have become like Europe in later times, with numerous small states constantly fighting each other for land and resources, never able to unite into a cohesive whole.]

The words were spoken, and the next moment...

A map of Europe was displayed before everyone.

"What is this?!" someone exclaimed.

As soon as he finished speaking, an unfamiliar map with a sea-blue background was spread out on the sky.

Ying Zheng stood on the high platform, his gaze suddenly locking onto that map, his pupils contracting sharply.

The map is densely divided into countless territories of varying sizes, with intersecting and fragmented borders, one country right next to another, like jagged teeth.

Although he didn't recognize the characters on the map, it didn't stop Ying Zheng from immediately recognizing that the map before him represented a vast land far exceeding the Central Plains of Qin.

Its territory was vast, several times larger than the Nine Provinces he had unified.

Ying Zheng stared intently at the map showing the fragmented territory, his aura terrifyingly heavy.

The world was far more vast than he had imagined.

The abolition of the feudal system and the establishment of prefectures and counties were not a wrong path.

The officials below also craned their necks to look at this foreign land they had never seen before.

The officials who had just held a grudge and agreed with the enfeoffment were now all silent, no longer daring to voice any objections.

"Someone! Quickly bring silk, brush, and ink, and make a complete copy of this painting!"

Upon hearing the sound, the eunuch hurriedly turned around, but before he could retrieve the silk and paintings, the map of foreign lands marked with countless countries vanished into the sky in an instant.

Upon seeing this, a hint of undisguised disappointment flashed across Ying Zheng's eyes.

It's a pity that this entire panorama of the landscape beyond our borders couldn't be preserved.

But this sense of melancholy vanished in an instant.

The man looked up at the sky again, his heart surging with heroic passion.

Now that we know that beyond the nine provinces there is such a vast and expansive world, what is there to fear about Europe?

Once the foundation of the Great Qin is solid and it has recovered and thrived, its iron cavalry will one day step out of the Central Plains and conquer this unfamiliar territory!

Plant the Great Qin Black Dragon Banner on every inch of distant land in Europe!

With this thought in mind, sweet words followed: "The vision and ambition of the First Emperor, Ying Zheng, far exceeded the imagination of everyone in that era."

He was not content with merely being the acknowledged leader of the various warlords; he wanted to completely eradicate the foundations of warlordism.

What he was fighting against was never the remnants of the six defeated states, but the old political traditions that had been rooted in this land for thousands of years.

Breaking with millennia-old traditions—how easy is that?

This is tantamount to completely reshaping and rebuilding an entire civilization from scratch.

To accomplish this almost fanatical grand plan of unification, Qin Shi Huang became one of the most decisive reformers in history, using swift and forceful methods to push forward a comprehensive and rigid unification.

Speaking of this, we must mention the six-character policy we all know from history textbooks: standardizing writing and unifying the width of cart tracks. Historical records only mention this briefly, but a closer look reveals countless bloody battles hidden behind these six characters.

Upon hearing these words, the people of Pei County looked at each other blankly.

Bloodshed? They didn't really feel it.

At first, when the new regulations were implemented, everyone found it inconvenient and difficult to adapt. However, after Lord Song guided them step by step, over time, everyone felt that the system was not difficult to implement.

Some things that seem difficult are actually quite simple.

[Let's start with standardizing the written language. This is far more than just a simple matter of unifying the font; it's about laying the foundational code for the transmission of Chinese civilization from generation to generation.]

During the chaotic Warring States period, the written language of the world was fragmented and collapsed.

The character for "horse" alone has seven completely different forms in seven different countries, each with its own independent writing system.

As he spoke, two pictures were displayed on either side of his face.

~

Song also glanced at it and said: It's fortunate that Qin Shi Huang unified the six kingdoms.

What kind of nonsense are those other vassal states spouting?

At least the Qin seal script can be identified as "horse," but what are the rest?

Unified? Globally!

Hurry up, let's run!

The barriers of written language stood as a constant presence across the land, preventing people from communicating and hindering the dissemination of imperial decrees. The nation remained fragmented and lacked any sense of unity.

Having clearly grasped this crux of the problem, Qin Shi Huang decisively issued an edict abolishing the different scripts of the six states and establishing Qin Small Seal Script as the standard for writing throughout the world.

It's easy to imagine how drastic this change must have been back then.

Those Confucian scholars who devoted their lives to studying classical texts and reciting the classics of the Six Kingdoms found their lifelong learning almost useless after a sudden change in the political landscape, waking up to find themselves illiterate.

The Confucian scholars: "..."

Song Ye: "No Less Than Making an Old Man Over Fifty Learn a Foreign Language"

The regional cultural heritage and various schools of thought that the six states once took pride in quickly became obstacles to unification.

Many people frequently cite the "burning of books and burying of scholars" as evidence of Qin Shi Huang's tyranny, criticizing him for destroying cultural traditions and stifling thought.

[A closer examination beyond a one-sided perspective reveals that while Qin Shi Huang's book burning preserved practical texts on medicine, agriculture, industry, and technology, it primarily destroyed books recording the histories of the six former states and advocating for feudalism and regional separatism.]

Ultimately, these scrolls never carried pure culture, but rather regional prejudices that divided the world, ideological barriers that supported division and feudalism, and the greatest hidden dangers hindering the unification of the world.

Qin Shi Huang's attitude was clear: he did not need the fragmented and divisive arguments of the Hundred Schools of Thought; what he wanted was a unified empire where all people were of one mind and united under one rule.

A unified written language means a unified cultural tradition and the ability to unite people's hearts.

Even though the languages ​​spoken in the north and south are vastly different—the Cantonese of Lingnan is melodious, and the Qinqiang opera of Guanzhong is powerful and resonant—and people may not speak the same language or have different accents, as long as they put pen to paper, they can understand each other's hearts and have no barriers.

This is also the most resilient foundation of Chinese civilization. Even after the Qin Dynasty collapsed and the country was divided and fragmented thousands of years later, as long as someone stood up and raised their voice to advocate for unification, all people under heaven would always share the same origin and ancestors and recognize one lineage.

Tianmu's words were like daggers to the heart, and those remnants who had been hiding and lurking throughout the Qin Dynasty finally couldn't hold back any longer.

"Nonsense! Pure sophistry!"

"That is the cultural heritage of my Qi state, the history of my ancestors! How precious! How could it become the root of division and calamity?!"

Several surviving Confucian scholars from Qi and Lu trembled with rage, pacing back and forth, pounding their fists and stamping their feet: "The tyrant is cruel and tyrannical! He burned the classics and erased the cultural heritage of the six states, and yet his descendants are trying to whitewash him?!"

Some people, their eyes red with anger, jumped up and down, cursing: "What unification! What cultural unification! It's clearly Qin Shi Huang trying to sever the foundations of the six states and cut off our path to restoration!"