Qin Official

At the end of September, the weather gradually became colder. On the newly opened fields at the eastern foot of the Helan Mountains, the buds of the wheat that had been sown appeared. The local garrison still had to rely on military rations sent from the mainland. Once winter comes, the food roads will be cut off, so only one-third of the people can be left to guard, and the rest will be withdrawn to the interior for the winter.

The soldiers and civilians in Longxi have been led by Li Xin and Meng Yi and have withdrawn to Longxi County at the beginning of the month. The soldiers in the north will also leave in early October. Heifu is discussing the withdrawal of troops with the supervisors and generals.

At this time, Wu Shiyan came to report with the news he learned from the Yuezhi envoy, saying that Maodun had beheaded Man and established himself as Chanyu in Juyanze.

Heifu didn't find it strange, but he was curious whether the process was the same as in history. Young Master Fusu looked particularly surprised:

"Patricide!?"

Young Master Fusu was a little unbelievable that someone in this world could actually do such a beastly thing, and he mentally labeled Mao Dun, who was about the same age as him, as a "very evil person".

"If in Qin, if Mao Dun did this, he would be the target of public criticism. Everyone could kill him. How could he be embraced as the new chanyu?"

Although it was not uncommon to kill one's father to seize the throne during the Spring and Autumn Period, for example, King Mu of Chu killed King Cheng of Chu because he could not stand. But as time goes by, filial piety becomes more and more important. Although various schools of thought have many differences in many aspects, they are surprisingly consistent in their treatment of filial piety.

Needless to say, Confucianism, no matter which school, places filial piety in a very high position.

Even the Mohists believed that "subjects' unfilial piety to their emperor and father" was the cause of the chaos in the world. They advocated that while you love your own parents, you should also love the parents of others, so that others will love your parents. Only by loving each other can we benefit each other.

Prince Fusu was deeply influenced by Confucianism and Mohism, so he naturally abided by filial piety. Even though he was somewhat estranged from the emperor due to the death of his mother and uncle, he often spoke out and contradicted Qin Shihuang. But he was always very filial to his father and never delayed in greeting him morning and evening. Even Qin Shihuang couldn't find fault with this. He didn't like Fusu's compassion, but he admired his filial piety.

Even in Qin where Legalism was in power, filial piety was very important. At that time, Shang Yang listed filial piety as one of the "six lice" that poisoned the country. However, after Shang Yang's death, Qin began to encourage his descendants to practice filial piety.

In the "Qin Code", the punishment for unfilial people is very severe. If a sixty-year-old man accuses his son of being unfilial and asks for the death penalty, the government does not need to forgive him. He should arrest the unfilial son quickly and don't let him escape!

When Heifu first arrived in Xianyang, he saw a case in which Wu Bing, a scholar from a certain area in Dongmen, was unfilial to his parents and even kicked his own father. His father requested that Bing's feet be cut off and he be exiled to a remote county in Shu County, so that he would not be able to return home for the rest of his life. The government accepted the case and exiled Bing to Chengdu according to his father's advice...

Therefore, in Qin, being unfilial is a serious crime and requires legal responsibility. Qin Shihuang did not want to be accused of "unfilial piety", so he finally welcomed his mother Zhao Ji back to Xianyang from the palace.

He was discussing filial piety with Fusu about Maodun's father-killing. Heifu listened to Fusu's talk, but then he remembered that Fusu in history was sentenced to death because of a crime of "unfilial piety"...

"The father told the son to perish, so the son had to perish?"

This is probably Fusu's values. If the historical story is true, Fusu committed suicide without saying anything after receiving the order, without even suspecting that it was false.

Should I call him sincere or stupid? Or maybe the promotion of filial piety by Confucianism, France and Mohism has penetrated into his bones?

Fusu and Maodun were of the same age, and both were eldest sons, but they were two completely different types of people.

Cruel and ruthless, black and white lotus...

When they encountered that their position as heirs was not guaranteed, they made completely opposite choices.

Seeing that Fusu was still filled with righteous indignation at Mao Dun's actions, Heifu smiled and said: "The Huns' custom is to despise the old and the weak. Touman was defeated and has lost people's hearts. Mao Dun took the opportunity to kill. This is quite in line with the character of the Huns. "

"A son who kills his father and then marries his stepmother is like an animal."

Fusu shook his head: "It's really hateful and pathetic."

But then he said helplessly: "Although Qin has criminalized unfilial piety, the folk customs are also not good. Qin people have rich families, and when their sons grow up, they separate and live alone; families are poor, and when their sons grow up, they marry into other families. Lend your father a plow tool, and you will show an expression of favor; your mother will take the dustpan and broom, and just stand there and scold her. When you breastfeed your child, you will not shy away from your father-in-law; if your daughter-in-law is not on good terms with her mother-in-law, she will retort with sarcasm."

"If you ignore and treat your parents lightly, if this kind of behavior is allowed to continue, it will no longer be much different from the Huns."

In the Qin state, if there were two men but they did not separate their families, the land tax was doubled. As a result, the big family disappeared and a large number of small peasant families appeared. Naturally, they became estranged after the families were separated. The taxes were heavy and the land was poor. Each family only had enough to feed themselves and support their children. They often relied on each other to provide for themselves in old age. There were not many people like Heifu and his family who loved each other.

Writing filial piety into Qin laws was also a means to force these poor and weak families to assume the responsibility of providing for the elderly again.

What else? Can you still count on the state to help you with your retirement? This is something that future generations will not be able to do. From "it is good to have only one child, the state will help provide for the elderly" to "cannot rely entirely on the government for elderly care." In the end, you still have to rely on yourself and cannot count on others.

After saying this, Fu Suchao Heifu handed over his hand: "Qin has committed the crime of unfilial piety and has no sense of caring for the elderly. This is really a big shortcoming. On the contrary, General Wei opened the Invalids Hospital in Beidi County so that orphaned veterans can live in and care for themselves. This is really a great achievement. Good governance should be promoted in inland counties and counties!”

"Something is wrong."

Hei Fu secretly thought that this young master seemed to have strong opinions on the Qin Dynasty's "rule of law and filial piety". However, this kind of social problem cannot be blamed on the laws and regulations of Qin. It is the same in every dynasty and every generation. Human nature is evil.

It was related to national laws and regulations, and Heifu could not discuss it in depth with Fusu, so he coughed, skipped the topic, and talked about things that were more closely related to them.

"General Li and I were just partial divisions of the army, so we defeated the Xiongnu and fled. King Yuezhi saw this and was already frightened. He really wanted to make peace with the envoy Qin Tong. Even though he was a vassal state of Qin, he was willing to surrender to his majesty. , previously promised to kill Maodun and offer his head. Now that Maodun has established himself as a chanyu, King Yuezhi sent an envoy to explain the whole story to Wu Shiyan, and also promised to send a son to Helan to accompany us to Xianyang to see His Majesty... …”

Fu Su nodded: "Huang Fu comes to court, this is a big event."

Qin Shihuang never liked collecting tributary states. At most, he would first annex them and then set up "vassal states" under the counties. In fact, they were only equivalent to small chieftains.

But Yuezhi is different. This is a big Western country. Since the Zhou Dynasty, it has never entered the Central Plains again. The emperor should be happy.

Heifu said: "King Yuezhi also promised one thing. Starting from next spring, Hexi will be opened to allow Qin merchants to have direct access to the Western Regions without any obstruction. He will also send back all the Qin merchants who were previously detained..."

A year and a half ago, Heifu persuaded Wu Shiluo to try to open up the "Jade Road" and explore the Western Regions in the name of finding the Queen Mother State of the West. Wu Shiluo then sent a caravan, detouring through Longxi and Qiang regions, heading to Huangzhong, and heading northwest along the Qaidam Basin.

The merchants bribed the Qiang chiefs and recruited guides all the way, but they were not in trouble. In the end, they walked for several months before arriving at the country named "Wusun" from the Qilian Pass. The location was probably in the Dunhuang area in later generations, and the population of Wusun was One Hundred Thousand, like the Xiongnu, was a nomadic nation.

They spent the winter in Wusun. In the spring of this year, they originally wanted to continue heading west to see "Loulan", which Wusun people call "Loulan". However, it happened that the Yueshi attacked and plundered Wusun. This group of Qin merchants were captured and brought back to Zhaowu. City, detained for more than half a year.

It happened that Qin had launched a war against the Xiongnu. The Yuezhi watched from the sidelines. Seeing that Qin was so powerful and could attack the Xiongnu like nothing, they did not dare to kill the merchant envoys. This time, they also sent them back with a lot of cattle. Sheep gift…

The Yueshi population is only over 200,000, with tens of thousands of string-controlling people. Moreover, they are a semi-settled nation. They do not have the depth of the Xiongnu. They do not want to invite the Qin Dynasty’s army to conquer. No matter how nice Maodun’s words are, the Yueshi king will not He was willing to fight with Qin, so he turned around and sold Maodun, hoping to please the Qin Dynasty.

"It would be a good thing if the Western Regions could be connected without a fight." Fusu had some complaints about Qin Shihuang's quest for immortality. In his opinion, there was no need to resort to force if things could be resolved peacefully.

"False words are not reliable after all."

But Heifu shook his head and said: "Those merchants brought back not only the situation in Wusun, Loulan and other states, but also found out that there is a road from Wusun directly to Juyanze, and from Juyanze across the quicksand desert, and There is a road to Helan and Hetao!"

"I have a plan for this."

Fusu nodded: "General, please speak."

Heifu said: "This man, Maodun, can sacrifice his wife and horses to seek shelter. He is extremely forbearing and kills his own father. He is really a wolf's ambition. His behavior is quite similar to Goujian. If he is not removed and allowed to rule the Huns, I am afraid that become a hidden danger.”

"It is better to send troops to attack Juyanze again, firstly to eliminate the remnants of the Xiongnu and avoid future troubles; secondly, we can also set up outposts and trading stations in Juyanze, so that the Central Plains will have another road to the Western Regions without having to take the false route to the west of Hexi. "

Two reasons, the first one is more important.

Out of disgust for Mao Dun's act of patricide, Fusu didn't have much objection, but he added:

"Modun still has troops with thousands of horses, and Yanze is thousands of miles away, separated by the quicksand desert. Many horses died in the previous battles. Now that winter is coming, it is difficult for the soldiers to move and transport. I am afraid that the losses will be too great. …”

In this attack on the Xiongnu, the Qin army suffered the greatest loss not its soldiers, but its horses. They were much more delicate than humans, and most of the horses they had accumulated in border counties over the past few years were consumed. Fortunately, many Xiongnu horses were robbed, otherwise the Qin army's cavalry would have to wait for several years before they could have one man and two horses.

Heifu said: "What the young master said is true. The army is withdrawing one after another. It is cold and freezing in winter, so it is indeed inappropriate to use troops."

"But the envoy of King Yuezhi said that Maodun will spend the winter in Juyanze, and will not move north until the snow melts next year. Our army can join Beidi, Longxi, Shangjun, Shuofang, and Yunzhong chariots. In early January, when it is warm and cold, we rush to Juyanze! We will annihilate Maodun and the remaining Huns!"

Of course, Heifu, who is always cowardly in everything, would not personally go to such a dangerous matter. When he arrives in Xianyang and reports the matter to Qin Shihuang, he will strongly recommend Li Xin as the commander...

After hearing this, Fusu said nothing for a long time, but looked at Heifu strangely and said:

"The general is really obsessed with killing Mao Dun..."

Has it been seen? Heifu also knew that it was indeed obvious that he was chasing after Maodun time and time again and would kill him quickly, but he no longer cared about it and said with a smile:

"I just feel that cultivating virtues will bring prosperity and eliminating evils, that's all!"