Qin Official

"It's an unfortunate coincidence that Mr. Zuo is here. Mr. Xi was transferred to Dongting County just last month."

Heifu didn't know many acquaintances in Jiangling. The day after he visited Li You, he went to see the county prison chief and found out that he had been transferred.

Dongting County is a newly established county that merged the western part of the original Dongting County of Chu State and Qianzhong County of Qin. The approximate scope is equivalent to parts of western Hunan, Guizhou, and Chongqing in later generations. The counties under its jurisdiction are concentrated along the Yuan River, Li River, and You River, and the county government is Yuanling County.

"I wonder if Mr. Xi will take any position in Dongting County?" Hei Fu asked the prison officer.

"I am appointed as the Prime Minister of Qianling County." The junior official smiled broadly and said, "A senior official with four hundred stones is considered a high promotion."

Qianling County (today's Liye) is on the edge of Youshui River, and the transportation is relatively convenient. Heifu feels deeply unlucky, but he is also happy that he has been promoted.

However, the situation in Dongting County is not much better than that in Jiangxi. There are fewer households in the territory. In addition to the Qingshui Ba people who Heifu has dealt with, there are Wuxi barbarians living near Lishui and Youshui, and in the upper reaches of Yuanshui. There are also a large number of Yue tribes in Xiou, who are uncertain about their rebellion. And the land is not as vast as Nanchang. Most of those places are deep mountains and old forests. It is not a good job to be an official there.

The prison officer said to Heifu: "Most of the officials in Dongting County were retained from the original Qianzhong County, and the rest were mostly transferred from Nan County. In addition, many were transferred to Changsha County. At present, there are fewer officials in Jiangling City. Less than half of them went to serve in new counties."

This is the same situation that Heifu saw in Jiangxi. After the Chu State was eliminated, Qin's territory instantly increased by one-third. Officials in Guanzhong and Shandong did not understand the Chu dialect and were easily deceived by false claims. Therefore, the Qin officials in Nanjun, who also belonged to the Jingchu dialect area and had been immersed in Qin laws for many years, became hot commodities. The former junior official Dou Shi was transferred and became a senior official, and the original assistant official was transferred and became a senior official.

This approach facilitated the implementation of Qin laws in new counties, and in this way, Heifu's previous contacts in Anlu and Nanjun spread to Jiujiang, Dongting, and Changsha counties, which was not a bad thing.

Since the visit was unpleasant, Heifu returned to his residence. The next day, he took the most solemn gift and went to the Sheriff's Mansion to visit Ye Teng, who was about to be transferred...

…

Heifu used to be a frequent visitor to the governor's mansion, but when he came again, he found that the mansion looked like it was about to move. Ye Teng's staff chief Shi Ludang was instructing the servants to pack various things.

"We have to go to Xianyang before the month of Mengchun. Going north in the winter is really a bit hasty."

Lu Dang complained in his mouth, but he was happy on his face. He was Ye Teng's personal staff. He could go to Xianyang with him, and his status would naturally increase.

He led Hei Fu to the study. Old Ye Teng, who was gnashing his teeth at Hei Fu, was looking through books here. He seemed to be hesitating about which ones to take with him and which ones to keep. After Hei Fu entered, he immediately bowed and said: "Jiang Hei Fu, see you. Pass the internal history!”

Ye Teng turned around and saw Hei Fu, whom he had not seen for two years. He did not scare him like he did when they first met, but smiled:

"I haven't officially taken office yet. Now I am neither a county guard nor an internal historian. I am just a disgusting old man."

It turned out that after the Chu was destroyed, the King of Qin rewarded him for his merits. Of course, the governor of the county, Teng, who had paid an extra two million stones of military rations in two years, and Ye Teng's remarkable political achievements in the seven or eight years of governing Nanjun, were officially honored as the Grand Superior. It was made and dismissed as "internal history". This matter has spread throughout Nanjun.

At present, the Qin State has more than thirty counties. The newly conquered border counties are the most humble, followed by the Shandong counties, but the internal history is the most important. This administrative region is in charge of the capital Xianyang and more than 40 counties in Gyeonggi Province. It governs the entire Guanzhong Plain and the commercial areas. It has the largest population and the richest taxation. It cannot be taken over except by the minister.

Therefore, the internal history is also known as the "Tenth Minister" in private, and he is a senior official in the capital who can compete with the nine ministers in the court.

Ye Teng asked Hei Fu to show him his seat. After the two sat opposite each other, Hei Fu looked at him as he seemed a bit older, with deeper wrinkles on his forehead and a few more white hairs on his temples.

Ye Teng saw that Hei Fu had gone to the far south. He seemed to be even more tanned. After growing a beard on his lips, he looked much calmer.

"Lead 3,000 sons of Nanjun to penetrate into the barren land, open up thousands of miles of land, and open up six new counties. In one year, all the money, grain, and taxes in these places have come into your hands. You are called the county magistrate or Sima, and you are actually the official of the frontier. How does this feel? Are you proud?"

Heifu responded: "There are times when I feel proud, but more often than not, it feels like standing on the edge of a cliff, or like stepping on a thin layer of ice."

"now it's right."

Ye Teng had some intention of giving some guidance to the school. Hearing what Hei Fu said, he was very appreciative and laughed: "The bigger the official position, the greater the power, the more it must be like this!"

He nodded again to Heifu: "I heard that the king also summoned you to join the court. Do you know who will be your official?"

Heifu said: "Li Junshou told me that he may be appointed as a Lang officer, but I don't know if he is a Lieutenant General, a Wai Lang General, or the lower three positions of Zhong Cha, Zhong Qi and Zhong Hu."

"No matter who the general is, he will serve the king. After all, you have been my subordinate, so I will give you a word of caution, as if walking on thin ice, as if facing an abyss. With too much sharpness, the violent tiger Feng He can indeed attract people's attention, but if If you step on nothing, you will be like Li Xin, and you will be doomed."

Heifu answered: "I heard that General Li was appointed by the king again. He made great achievements in conquering Liaodong and is likely to be favored again."

Ye Teng sneered: "Superficial, Li Xin can never return to his previous position. He has disappointed the king once, and just this one time is enough to prevent him from joining the court forever. Do you still remember the first time you came to see me?" "

How could Heifu forget that time when Ye Teng exposed his background, he was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat, and for a time he regarded this old guy as his biggest enemy. But slowly, he discovered that Ye Teng just liked to play with power and pry into people's hearts, and had no intention of embarrassing him, so the hostility slowly dissipated.

Of course, the good impression Ye Teng's daughter had on Hei Fu might also be at play in this.

Now, both of them are going to Xianyang, and they are both outsiders. When Heifu looks at the old leader again, he feels a little more cordial. Maybe he will rely on him in the future.

Ye Teng sneered: "Compared with the ministers in Xianyang, who am I? When they interact with you, they seem to be like a spring breeze, but in fact, they are thinking about everything about you all the time. In front of them, if you are not careful, a person If you’re not careful, you’ll be eaten with all the bones and flesh!”

"So when you arrive in Xianyang, remember to talk less, listen more, and see more!"

"Boy, remember the teachings of internal history!"

Heifu bowed again and when he raised his head, he hesitated and talked about what happened in Nanchang.

"The king promoted the soldiers to titles, but also ordered them to reclaim wasteland and station in various counties. They were not allowed to return to their hometowns. The soldiers did not think of this as a reward, but as an exile. It was difficult for me to suppress their resentment. , and also promised to report the situation to the king after arriving in Xianyang and see if there is a more appropriate solution..."

After Heifu returned to Jiangling, he inquired and found out that what happened in Nanchang was not an isolated case. There were similar incidents in Changsha and Dongting. The soldiers in Nanjun were in love with their hometown and were unwilling to stay in the wilderness to work as a production and construction corps. If this matter is not handled properly, they may forever lose the motivation to serve as the King of Qin and fight for the country of Qin.

Ye Teng knew King Qin's temperament very well, so Hei Fu wanted to ask him first, whether he should say something, and how to say it?

"There is no better way."

Ye Teng sighed and said: "There is only so much land in the world, and the land in the Central Plains is no longer enough. Do we have to take it from the mouths of the people and nobles of the five countries? That is adding fuel to the fire! Your Majesty is doing this. Yes, in a few decades, these new counties can become sacred places..."

"As for the soldiers' thoughts? Don't worry too much."

Ye Teng did not take the resentment of the thousands of soldiers to heart and said with a smile: "Shang Jun once said that the people should not start with worries, but can achieve success with them. Those who are extremely virtuous are not in line with the customs, and those who achieve great achievements do not seek help from others. ! In ten or twenty years, they will know that the king’s decision is right!”

This sentence made sense, but Heifu saw an infinite black hole: if Qin State's unique military merit system was to be maintained, more and more land would be needed, and the most convenient way was of course to continue to expand. But the more wars are fought and the more military achievements are gained, sooner or later the land will not be enough, and new wars will be needed. This is an endless cycle. When the Six Kingdoms were still around, it was easy to say that they could just keep annexing them. But now that the world is about to be unified, King Qin will sooner or later attack the Xiongnu and Baiyue.

Looking at this process from the perspective of a traveler, the expansion of territory and the spread of civilization are undoubtedly beneficial to the entire country and nation. But this is unfair to the soldiers who are sent to the frontiers to open up wasteland. There will be more and more people with grievances. If this continues, sooner or later it will shake the credibility of the government and even endanger the foundation of rule...

"Ye Teng said that seizing the land of the wealthy and noble people in the inner county would add fuel to the fire, but King Qin's method is not to put out the fire with money."

Heifu thought secretly, but for a while, he had no better way, so he could only make arrangements after arriving in Xianyang.

At this time, a gentle voice sounded from behind.

"Mother asked me to ask if father would like to have guests over for dinner?"

Heifu turned around and saw a girl wearing a white fox fur and a green undershirt. She was tall, with bright eyes, and an appearance like finely carved white jade. She had a smile on her lips and a graceful manner, giving her a charming look. It feels like everyone is a lady.

Heifu almost didn't recognize her. He looked at her for a long time before realizing, isn't this Ye Teng's daughter Jin?

The cheeks that were originally a little baby fat have now become sharp fox faces, and the chest, which was once nothing, has become fuller.

After not seeing each other for two years, the girl's body has grown, as if after bathing in the spring rain and summer wind, the little buds bloomed into delicate flowers...

What remains unchanged is the wisdom in his eyes, with a hint of cunning inherited from Ye Teng.

If two years ago, she only made Hei Fu's eyes brighten, then now, she is enough to make people salivate!

"Could it be that Chief Zuo doesn't recognize me?"

Seeing the girl hiding her mouth and laughing, and Old Ye Teng coughing in dissatisfaction behind him, Hei Fu knew that he had lost his composure and quickly lowered his eyes to greet her.

"My lady's encouragement on the last Si Festival, Mr. Hei has engraved it in his heart, how dare he forget it?"

He secretly praised in his heart: "Sure enough, it is a female major transformation. The female high school student has finally grown into a female college student!"