Chapter 56 Weak people, weak people

Author: March

Chapter 56 Weak people, weak people

"Besides, you are no longer in charge now. When new grains are planted, the doctor will be stable." Wang Li comforted Zhao Si.

"Even if there is no new food, you should be promoted to doctor."

Zhao Si nodded. He was not in a hurry. More than a month had passed and the sweet potatoes, corn and potatoes were about to mature.

As for the yield, don’t worry. The yield of sweet potatoes is measured in kilograms. Even considering that sweet potatoes lack artificial domestication and there are no chemical fertilizers, there is no problem at five hundred kilograms.

"By the way, do you have a collection of books at home?" Zhao Si asked.

"Yes!" Wang Li nodded.

The Wang family is a Chehou family, and the family has a large collection of books. In this era, the collection of books is a precious wealth, and the amount of books collected is also one of the criteria for judging the strength of a family.

"Can I borrow some?" Zhao Si asked.

After reading "Xianxue" and "Five Worms", Zhao Si realized more deeply that he lacked understanding of this era. The thoughts of this era were already very advanced to a certain extent. What ancient times lacked was only the mode of production and the means of understanding the world.

, Zhao Si's superiority over the ancients only lies in his vision.

If you want to truly integrate into this era, understanding this era and reading are the easiest ways.

"What's so difficult about this?" Wang Li waved his hand.

The wealth of the Wang family lies not only in their gold and silver treasures and the amount of cultivated land, but also in their family heirloom knowledge and incomparably rich collection of books.

Not to mention that the former Wang family's retainers gathered together, and there were many talented people. To put it bluntly, the former Wang family's retainers could directly form an administrative team.

However, after Wang Jian successfully conquered Chu, he had already dismissed his retainers. Nowadays, the retainers are few and far between. There are only three or two big cats and kittens left. Most of them are related to several generations and are inseparable.

A top-notch aristocratic family has more than ordinary things.

Zhao Si nodded and just patted Wang Li on the shoulder.

Borrowing books in this era is not a simple matter. In the novel, just borrowing books to study is worthy of a special book. Even teachers and students will not easily open up the collection of books.

Otherwise, Cheng Menlixue’s allusion would not have been passed down through the ages.

Fortunately, Wang Li is a careless person, and the Wang family is really rich and powerful. Wang Li can really speak in the Wang family. If he were a common disciple of the Wang family, he would have trouble copying and reading, let alone

Make the decision to lend books to outsiders.

"But... you have to wait until I get back. By the way, what books do you want to read?" Wang Li asked.

"Ducheng, Confucianism, Mohism, Taoism, hundreds of schools of thought, all schools and sects, whatever they have, I want to see." Zhao Si said.

He wanted to know more about the thoughts of this era and the thoughts of various schools of thought.

"Xianxue" and "Five Worms" opened the door to Zhao Si's sincere pursuit of learning.

"Family scholars basically have some collections of books, but other schools and sects are in trouble." Wang Li said.

"It doesn't matter, just watch whatever you want." Zhao Si smiled.

After all, this is someone else's book collection, and he doesn't need a bicycle. If he is willing to lend Zhao Si a book to read, Zhao Si should be grateful.

And in the palace on the other side...

The First Emperor sat on his knees in front of the desk, looking at the bamboo slips and lost in thought.

In his mind, he silently considered several matters currently being carried out in Da Qin.

The Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang is in progress.

Construction of the Longxi Great Wall is in progress.

The construction of Tianxia Chi Road is in progress.

Baiyue advancement is in progress.

Changing customs is in progress.

Currency unification is in progress.

Afang Palace is in progress.

Construction of roads and channels in cities and towns across the country is in progress.

Daqin is currently working on quite a few projects, and these are only major projects.

The level of infrastructure in the Six Kingdoms region is not at the same level as that in Great Qin. The average level of roads and canals in the city is not even a tiny bit worse than that in Qin.

Most of the wealth of the six countries was in the hands of the nobles.

The wealth of the Qin State was mostly used for city construction, road construction, and canal construction and water conservancy projects.

It was not without reason that Qin destroyed the six kingdoms.

When Qin built the Zheng Guo Canal, he knew it was a conspiracy and still fell into it, which explains everything.

The State of Qin really regarded infrastructure projects as a top priority. Of course, there was also an important factor in this.

Regardless of whether there is a war or not, Qin's national conditions determine that the people cannot stop to recuperate.

Today, the same is true for the First Emperor.

The First Emperor was diligent in his work, but he could not be said to love the people.

Today, the total number of conscripts from all over the Qin State is nearly two million.

What is the concept of a country where one-tenth of the population is working as a concubine?

The Qin State is currently on the verge of collapse, but squeezing the last bit of the country's mobilization capacity has become the administrative philosophy of the First Emperor.

As a king who unified the world, he did not treat the people as independent individuals, but as unified resources that could be used.

No matter how much power you have, you can do great things. If you don't use any power, it will be a waste. This has basically become the consensus of all the kings of the Qin Dynasty since Shangjun's reform.

The administrative philosophy of the Qin State has always been this way. Basically, every generation of Qin monarchs used the policy of extreme pressure. The First Emperor only took it to the extreme.

According to normal circumstances, these huge projects have basically reached the limit of the current Qin Dynasty. The first emperor did not want to waste any available power, and he was not rushing to subjugate the country.

But now, the situation is different again.

Because of Zhao Si!

This young man who lived up to the king's orders and returned from the sea!

New grain! Sun-salted method!

what does that mean?

Grain and salt are the lifeblood of the country.

Food has not yet been grown, and it will take a long time to popularize it, so we can leave it aside for now.

The salt-drying method has been verified. When the large-scale test of the salt field led by Meng Yi is successful, the original salt-cooking process can be destroyed in an instant, and by the way, some nobles who rely on boiling salt for a living will launch a wave of devastating attacks.

.

Once the sun-dried salt method was developed, the quality and output of salt improved, and the cost dropped. Basically, all the existing nobles in Qi lost their money.

The price of salt has fallen, production has increased, and when new grains are popularized, this means that a little more energy can be used.

To put it bluntly, with lower salt prices and more grain, Guizhou’s bearing capacity has become stronger, and more forces can be mobilized.

Since Shang Yang's reform, no matter how Qin's laws are changed, there is no doubt that it restrains and oppresses the people at the bottom. The only difference is how much.

The policy of tiring the people and weakening the people is one of the basic policies of the Qin Dynasty.

It is not that easy to advance through Qin's military meritocracy system, and Qin's explicit oppression is much more ruthless than that of the Six Kingdoms.

It's just that Qin's laws are stricter and all systems are on the surface.

Qin's oppression is not without a bottom line. At its extreme state, it will leave a bit of breathing space and a channel for improvement.

The First Emperor also knew very well that this breathing space and this negligible upward channel cannot be shaken, squeezed, or shaken.

But what is clear now is that Daqin's available resources will inevitably increase as new grains become more popular and the sun-salt method becomes more popular.

So, what kind of project can we do to avoid wasting this extra energy?
Chapter completed!