In fact, there is not much difference between the bandits surrendering and not surrendering.
Because in this critical period, Wang Jian could not spare them lightly and had to "kill the chicken to scare the monkey".
So early the next morning, the notices were posted one by one.
The gangsters were all locked in prison cars and driven to the street... There were more than three hundred gangsters, and the prison cars were lined up in a long queue.
It was this effect that Wang Jian wanted, so as to intimidate those people who were still cautious.
In front of the convoy were hundreds of heavily armed Qin troops clearing the way. Soldiers in front and behind were beating gongs and shouting:
"The gangsters are doing evil and parading in the streets to show off to the public!"
"Prohibitions and laws will be overturned by ourselves!"
…
The team circled the main road of Handan City three times before escorting the prisoner to Caishikou.
Shen Bing didn't want to see this scene.
But because it was he and Zhang Xuan who caught these bandits, they had to come in person.
That scene was scary enough:
Thirty people in each batch knelt, and thirty executioners stood at the back. With a command and a wave of the bronze sword... dozens of heads rolled down, and blood gushed out from the broken necks like a fountain.
Then another batch, and then another batch... It's like slaughtering animals.
Soon the corpses were piled up into a hill, and the heads with various expressions of pain on their faces were carried to the side in a basket, and then tied one by one with hemp rope and hung high.
This is the ancient "showing the owl's head to the public".
It usually takes three days to hang up, just like when the Qin army used the enemy's head to discuss their merits, they also had to show it to the public for three days to verify.
This isn't the end yet.
After a night of torture, these bandits confessed all the people who had helped them.
Qin's law lectures were repeated, so this arrest implicated more than 2,000 people.
Fortunately, except for the dozens of civilians who directly sheltered the bandits, the rest of these people were used as hard labor.
But this is not considered "lucky", because what awaits them will be fatigue, hunger and death.
Shen Bing couldn't bear it. After all, most of these people were just implicated, and quite a few of them didn't even know about it.
Yet there was nothing he could do.
These are the rules of this era, and you have to follow them if you want to survive.
All Shen Bing can do is launch another "propaganda offensive."
This time the "propaganda offensive" has been slightly modified.
It's the same as sending food, but the content adds that suspicious situations must be reported promptly, which is the so-called "reporting adultery".
Qin law stipulates that only those who actively report adultery can avoid being implicated in "continuous sitting".
This was a two-pronged approach of kindness and power, and it soon had results... Soon a lot of gossip was spread one after another.
At the same time, when Shen Bing and others used the "lead the snake out of the hole" strategy again, no one was fooled.
At this time, the people also knew that this was the Qin army's "fishing for law enforcement". If they were still fooled, there would be nothing to say.
On the fifth day, Ying Zheng's approval document arrived from Xianyang to Handan.
As expected, Ying Zheng simply agreed to the tax reduction proposal.
Ying Zheng has no reason to disagree:
If the people's morale is unstable and the troops are insufficient, it is very likely that all three counties will be lost. Compared with this, a little tax is nothing.
What's more, the reason why Ying Zheng imposed heavy taxes before was because he hoped to collect more grain next year.
Now that the drought has been cured, we can expect a good harvest, so why bother ourselves?
What Shen Bing didn't know was that after Ying Zheng found out that Shen Bing had made a waterwheel and it overturned, he praised him very highly.
That's what Wang Jian said a few days ago when he reported the situation of drought control to Ying Zheng.
Wang Jian did not name him specifically, but only referred to him as "gunner and engineer".
This is the usual practice of reporting to Xianyang, because if the name of a small person is specific, it doesn't mean much, and the king doesn't know who it is.
But Ying Zheng understood.
"Artillery division? Isn't it Shen Bing?"
"Well, you, Shen Bing, can not only make such good things as stone mills, but you can also make waterwheels and turn over wheels."
"This relieves everyone's worries!"
Ying Zheng held the bamboo slips and laughed.
He had previously hoped that Xu Ying could control the drought, but unexpectedly, Xu Ying failed to play a role, but Shen Bing solved the problem.
These days, Ying Zheng has been worried about the affairs of the three counties.
Grain transportation, drought, household registration, bandits, and people's hearts...
Until this moment, he dared to breathe a sigh of relief, because the most important and difficult problem was solved.
Ying Zheng was right. Only when the drought situation improves will the people's sentiments be stable, and then other problems will be solved.
Then Ying Zheng sighed:
"If this water tanker overturns, it will not only benefit the three counties."
"From now on, all the people in Qin will be able to use water trucks and overturned trucks to farm fields."
"Why worry about the four kingdoms not being destroyed?"
What Ying Zheng said is the same. You must know that according to the previous farming method, Gaotian could only use clay pots to carry water.
But with a rollover, water can be guided upward layer by layer very quickly.
So no matter how high the field is, there is no need to worry about water use.
Where there is water, there is food.
If you have food, you can fight.
Able to fight... With the strength of the Qin army, is it still worried that it will not be able to defeat the four countries?
Thinking of this, Ying Zheng was filled with joy, and then he asked Zhao Gao next to him:
"The scallion pancake hasn't been made yet?"
Zhao Gao quickly apologized:
"Your Majesty, I just went to the dining room to ask."
"The imperial chef still doesn't know how to make the scallion pancake..."
Ying Zheng snorted:
"A bunch of trash!"
At the same time, I felt regretful.
When I left Handan, I just said that this scallion pancake was not difficult to make. If Shen Bing could make it, the imperial chef should be able to make it, so I didn't ask carefully about how to make it.
I don't want to come back, no matter how hard the chef tries, he can't divide the scallion pancake into several layers.
Although it is also crispy, the taste is much worse, and it does not have the unique fragrance made by Shen Bing.
Thinking of this, Ying Zheng sighed.
Handan is a place that brings him countless nightmares and a place he hates.
If it weren't for revenge, Ying Zheng would never have even taken a step into Handan.
However, at this time, he found that he actually missed Handan.
A few days later, another memorial came from Handan, which was about tax reduction, and the "gunners and engineers" appeared again in it.
Ying Zheng couldn't help but be shocked:
"This Shen Bing is not only superb at woodcraft, he also knows how to defend the city!"
"Talent."
"But I don't know what else this engineer can do?"
Without thinking much, I immediately agreed to reduce the tax and rushed the goods back to Handan for 800 miles.
As soon as the tax reduction news came to Wang Jian, he immediately announced it to the three counties.
This is like a reassurance, ensuring that the lives of the people in the three counties will not be bad in the future.
Because everyone has calculations in their hearts:
The drought has been cured and the Daitian method has been used, so we can still get tax exemption next year.
All that needs to be paid is the tax on renting grain, and it is reduced to one tax per twelve.
Do you still need to consider it?
If we put in more effort into farming this year, we will definitely have a large surplus of grain next year.
Food is the most important thing for the people!
In addition, Shen Bing launched another "propaganda offensive."
A trend of leasing grain seeds for farming soon arose in Handan, and grain seeds were in short supply.
But this is of course a good thing.
Because what the authorities are afraid of is that people will have nothing to do.
Once people have nothing to do or are hungry, they will commit crimes and think of rebellion.
If everyone lives and works in peace and contentment, whoever has enough to eat and nothing to do will risk his or her life.