Under the guidance of Zhang Mei, Shen Bing met King Loulan who was hiding in the study and restless.
As soon as King Loulan saw Shen Bing, he hurriedly came up to him and said:
"The general arrived just in time."
"Hurry up and help me suppress the rebellion. I will be grateful to you..."
It should be said that King Loulan was a little naive. As long as Shen Bing nodded, King Loulan's life was no longer his, so what could he use to express his gratitude?
What's more, the soldiers and civilians outside want to merge with the Qin Army, so how can the Qin Army suppress them with force... Doesn't this mean he is slapping himself in the face and warning all the grassroots soldiers and civilians in the Western Region not to join the Qin Army?
This also shows that at this time, King Loulan was in a state of confusion and did not know how to think.
Shen Bing replied:
"Your Majesty, Shen Bing may be able to suppress the army and the people."
"But I, Da Qin, have always paid attention to public opinion."
"We have a saying, 'Water can carry a boat or capsize it'..."
Shen Bing paused for a moment when he said this. He suddenly realized that he hadn't said this yet, but who cares, King Loulan didn't know this.
Shen Bing continued:
"What this means is that public opinion cannot be violated, otherwise the Qin army will not be able to gain a foothold in the Western Regions."
"So the king's request really puts Shen Bing in a difficult position!"
King Loulan couldn't help but said anxiously:
"So what should we do?"
"Public opinion cannot be violated...Does the General want me to let them go?"
"I knew you wouldn't be so kind..."
King Loulan wanted to say something else, but he didn't dare to say any more after being snorted.
At this time, the life and death of King Loulan depended on Shen Bing's thoughts, so how could he dare to be so presumptuous?
Shen Bing was not angry and said pleasantly:
"The king has misunderstood."
"Shen Bing thought, why doesn't the king take this opportunity to enrich the country and strengthen the army?"
King Loulan couldn't help but wonder:
“Rich country and strong army?”
"This... I see that my throne is not guaranteed, how can I enrich the country and strengthen the army?"
Shen Bing explained:
"The king doesn't know something."
"There were originally seven countries in the Central Plains, and many countries treated their people as slaves and servants just like the Western Regions."
"However, the Qin Dynasty was the first to establish a system of twenty military merit titles so that people could be promoted based on merit."
"This is how we destroyed the other six countries one by one and unified the Central Plains."
King Loulan thought for a while and said:
"The General's intention is to implement reforms at the request of the people?"
Shen Bing nodded and said:
"Your Majesty, just imagine."
"If people work all their lives but cannot afford to eat, they will naturally become passive and slow down their work."
"If an army fights bravely to kill the enemy and fights to the death, but has no achievements after death, who dares to risk their lives?"
"If this is the case, how can the country become strong if the people do not work and are not good at military work?"
"If the country is not strong, Loulan will be just Loulan."
Loulan thought about it and felt that it was true as Shen Bing said. Under the rule and exploitation of the nobles, the army and the people lacked enthusiasm. Especially the army, which was good at controlling the people internally, had almost no effect on external enemies.
But King Loulan still had concerns and said:
"But, in this case, the nobles..."
Shen Bing knew what King Loulan was worried about.
Loulan does not belong to King Loulan alone. Each noble has its own power, so King Loulan will naturally consider their interests.
Shen Bing smiled and said:
"If the king comes out of the palace now to cheer up the people and agree to the people's demands to implement reforms...how can the nobles dare not agree?"
After saying this, King Loulan understood that this was the support of the grassroots people, so he could not only keep his throne, but also take this opportunity to eradicate the aristocratic forces and consolidate power into one body.
So King Loulan no longer hesitated, and immediately asked his servants to tidy up his clothes, then calmed down and walked out of the palace...
Needless to say what happened next, King Loulan quickly controlled the form.
The price paid was to give the people a certain amount of power and freedom, especially by copying the Qin Army's twenty-army system.
These are all based on the sacrifice of the interests of the nobles, including King Loulan.
For example, when the people have power and freedom, it means that the nobles and the people have less control.
Another example is the promotion and rewards of the Twenty Military Merit System, which means that the common people can achieve the status of being on an equal footing with the nobles through their military merits, and the land they receive as rewards also comes from the nobles' fiefdoms.
But the Loulan nobles, including the Loulan King, were helpless, because if they did not agree, they would be overthrown by the army and the people on the spot.
Among them, King Loulan's interests can be said to have suffered the least... This was the result of him following Shen Bing's advice to win the support of the people first, so he only gave up a small part of the fiefdom in a symbolic way, but the nobles suffered a lot.
But what Loulan King didn't know was that it was Shen Bing who made the most profit.
First of all, everyone knows that reconciliation can only be reached after Shen Bing takes charge of the overall situation.
Then Loulan soldiers and civilians understood: If King Loulan wanted to look at Shen Bing's face, how could they not obey Shen Bing's orders?
Secondly, under the stimulation of the twenty military merit title system, the combat effectiveness of the Loulan cavalry will soon increase exponentially, which is obviously beneficial to the Qin army.
Thirdly, what is more important is that it protects the interests of the nobility to a certain extent while causing internal conflicts.
In the past, the interests of King Loulan and the nobility were tied together. King Loulan was a member of the nobility, and could also be said to be the largest nobility.
This interest relationship is very solid and cannot be broken easily.
However, the situation changed after Shen Bing took the initiative to propose reforms with King Loulan as the leader.
Because this will create a phenomenon of preemptive advantage:
Among the interest groups of the aristocracy, whoever is the first to stand up to support the people in promoting reforms will suffer the least losses and gain the greatest benefits.
This is not only true for Loulan, but also applies to the other thirty-five countries in the Western Region.
As a result, nobles from all over the world were in a state of panic, worried that someone would be the first to stand up to support the reform, and they were even ready to take action but worried about the gains and losses.
It goes without saying what the result will be. This will intensify conflicts within the nobility and make them suspicious of each other. It may even stimulate various countries to take the initiative to implement reforms and implement the Qin army's twenty military merit title system.
Because the nobles of various countries are not fools, they all know that the Qin Army's twenty military merit title system is the general trend... With Loulan's living and successful example, the people of other countries will naturally no longer want to be slaves and servants for their whole life after being stimulated. Soon they will all follow suit.
At that time, the nobles will have only two options:
Either use force to suppress it or implement reforms in accordance with the demands of the people.
Suppression by force is almost impossible, because it is not only related to the interests of the grassroots people but also to the interests of the grassroots army... It is impossible for the army to oppose itself and side with the nobles.
Therefore, there is actually only one way for the nobles to go, which is reform.
Once the reform is successfully implemented and the twenty military merit system and title system are implemented, the army will be eager for war.
The best target for the war is obviously their common enemy...the Huns.