"After Your Majesty swept through the Six Directions, the reason why you did not take down all the nobles of the six countries was that you hoped to use both kindness and power to stabilize the situation as much as possible and buy more time, right?”
Su Han said in a deep voice,
In the beginning, he, like many people in the later generations, felt that the First Emperor was too kind and that it was a big mistake to let the nobles of the six countries go.
However, after interacting with Meng Yi, Wang Jian, and the others, Su Han finally understood that the First Emperor was often forced to do so.
Great Qin's army was indeed good at fighting, and even the armies of the six kingdoms combined were no match for it. However, Old Qin's land was only one of the seven kingdoms, and its population was only a few million.
Old Qin's main force, which was completely loyal and could still fight, only had three to four hundred thousand soldiers.
This number might seem huge, but it was not enough to be spread out over hundreds of counties, not to mention that the main force was actually defending the Xiongnu in the north and conquering the Baiyue in the south.
Therefore, after much deliberation, in order to maintain the stability of the situation, the First Emperor not only incorporated the surrendered soldiers of the six countries into the various armies as support, but also appointed many local dignitaries to hold important positions in the old territories of the six countries.
Under such circumstances, the First Emperor naturally could not kill all the nobles of the six states. He could only reduce their privileges to a certain extent, depose them, and move them to the vicinity of Xianyang to monitor them as much as possible.
Otherwise, not only would the original six states fall into chaos again, but the officials and scholars in the Old Qin region would also inevitably feel sad. The huge empire might very well collapse.
As a result, even though Great Qin was currently in a Prefectural and County system, many of the more remote regions were playing around and distorting government decrees. The ones who truly held power were the local gentry.
The First Emperor went on a continuous tour in hopes of intimidating the officials and the aristocrats behind them, increasing the prestige of Xianyang City and stabilizing the Great Qin Empire.
Among them, the situation in Qi State was the most serious.
After all, when King Qi had surrendered, even though Great Qin had suffered a lot less casualties, it had also allowed the nobles of Qi Land to be better preserved. The situation of them openly obeying the order and secretly disobeying the order was the most serious.
Even when the First Emperor arrived in Linzi, there were still many people in the county government who secretly tipped off the Confucians, which was why the Confucians were able to quickly come up with a plan to borrow books for free.
"Since you know about this problem, do you have a countermeasure?”
A hint of joy flashed through the First Emperor's eyes.
The reason why he liked to listen to Su Han's Romance of the Three Kingdoms the most was that under the surface of countless strategies, he profoundly elaborated on a problem:
That was, once the imperial court's ability to restrict the local areas was insufficient, the emperor's power would be gradually taken over until it fell into discord.
Although the various vassals of the Three Kingdoms were all-powerful, it was actually the aristocratic families and clans that really decided the ownership of the various regions. Take Xuzhou as an example. No matter how many ostensible masters changed, the ones who really held the power of Xuzhou were still the aristocratic families like Chen Deng.
The reason why Cao Cao massacred Xuzhou was not only to avenge his father, but also to intimidate the aristocrats.
Based on Great Qin's current situation, apart from those who were just making up the numbers, the majority of the Confucians were from large families and clans.
In the end, those who passed the examination and became officials of the imperial court would have a large proportion of descendants of aristocratic families.
Even if this group of people were talented, if their thoughts were not completely focused on the court, they would still be a big hidden danger.
However, compared to the past, the method of selecting officials through the examination was already a big breakthrough. At least, it allowed the learned among the children of the poor families to have a relatively smooth channel to enter the house for the first time.
The First Emperor had been troubled by this for a long time, but he had never had a good solution. Now that Su Han had taken the initiative to mention it, he was filled with anticipation.
"Actually, the problem of aristocratic families and clans, or the problem of nobles suppressing civilians, has not been completely resolved even in the later generations!”
"The reason is actually very simple. Relying on the advantage of the Pioneers, these people occupy far more resources and channels for advancement than ordinary people.
In order to ensure that their own disciples could continue to maintain their high and mighty status, they would naturally eliminate dissidents!”
"To use a term from the later generations, it's a group of people with established interests. They will reject any government decrees that affect their monopoly!”
"Take the current situation of Qi Land as an example. Although the imperial court encouraged the people to open up wasteland, the fertile land that they worked hard on would often be taken by the aristocratic families and clans. The government could not win a lawsuit or even suffer worse.”
" However, if they do not open up wasteland, their own fields will not be enough to fill their stomachs. The people can only be tenants for the aristocratic families and clans, relying on the despotic and evil gentry that they hate very much in their hearts to survive!”
"It's a little too difficult to completely solve this problem for the time being. However, there are still some ideas to reduce it!”
" The first point is that the imperial court needs to establish the image of being the ruler of the people. After taking down those officials and despotic and evil gentry who have committed all kinds of evil, they will be replaced by a group of capable officials. With more publicity, the people will naturally be grateful for the imperial court's kindness!”
"Punishing lawless officials is not only a matter of law, but also the will of the people. As long as we control the area, no matter how angry the aristocratic families and Confucian Sect are, they won't be able to cause any trouble!”
"At least no matter how thick-skinned Kong Kong is, he wouldn't dare to say in public that taking bribes and bending the law is correct, right?”
"In addition, the aristocratic families and clans are not united. We can completely use the method of recruiting one faction to suppress the other and cause them to fall into discord!”
"For example, the Confucians have many factions, and the ideals they pursue are often very different!”
"For example, the Gongyang Doctrine, which focuses on revenge for nine lifetimes, is very unpopular within the Confucian school. Moreover, because of this, only a group of young and hot-blooded people are left.”
"There are so many aristocratic families in Qi Land, and there are bound to be a few heretics who have dreams and want to truly make a name for themselves!”
"Since this group of people came from Qi Land, they are very familiar with those sects. If they use them well, they will definitely be a great killing weapon!”
"If they come a few more times, the influence of the imperial court will increase day by day, and the power of the aristocratic families will be continuously reduced.”
Su Han said with a smile.
"Mister is indeed wise!"
The First Emperor's eyes lit up, but he soon regained his composure and said,""However, according to Mister's words, one must eat one mouthful at a time. If we want to punish corruption, we must first have better reserve officials. All of this depends on Mister and Meng Qing choosing more virtuous people in the assessment!”
Su Han shrugged helplessly.
As expected of the First Emperor. He had seen through his little thoughts.
Fortunately, he had already successfully rejected the position of the main examiner. He would let Meng Yi and Wang Jian have more headaches.
.................................................................
P.S. New book set sail, begging for support!、Votes, comments, support!
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。