Qin Official

Two months after Heifu took control of Xianyang, order in the imperial capital had been restored to its original state.

The regent acts decisively and monopolizes power. The nine ministers all act under the orders of Marquis Wu Zhong. The central government operates normally and the situation is stable. There is no need to worry about coups happening every now and then. The wars between various forces spread throughout the city.

The Northern Expeditionary Army and the surrendered Lieutenant Army took over the security of Xianyang and patrolled continuously every day. Xianyang people had long been accustomed to this scene. The footsteps of the soldiers in unison did not feel disturbing, but made them feel at ease.

With this force under control, at least there is no need to worry about criminals committing theft, robbery or even killing. If there are really daring people, they will be arrested afterwards and punished according to the laws that the Qin people have long been accustomed to - Marquis Wu Zhong abolished Some of the laws changed by Hu Hai and Zhao Gao kept the laws written by the First Emperor almost intact, with only slight modifications. For example, the punishment of corruption was limited to criminals who raped women. If the soldiers of the Northern Expedition dared to commit crimes, they would also be punished by law. No mercy!

Only such severe punishment can control the Qiu Ba's restless lower bodies.

"The problem is with the person who made the law, not the law itself." This is Wu Zhonghou's point of view.

This is good, the farmers living outside Xianyang City - most of them are landowners with high military honors. After threshing the grain and paying half the rent, they are counting the surplus grain in the warehouse, which is slightly more than in previous years. I couldn't help but praise Marquis Wu Zhong.

"I heard that Marquis Wu Zhong also came from a farmer's family. He really knows the hardships of farming. This year, the family will have more food left."

In troubled times, nothing is more reassuring than a barn full of food.

But the farmers had just begun to enjoy their leisure time. The pavilion chief and Li Zheng went from door to door to inform everyone: "Tomorrow, you are not allowed to visit each other, and every household stays in its own home!"

The numerical sequence was also marked with earthen blocks on the doors of each house.

Sure enough, on September 15th, after eating the morning meal, the local pavilion chief, Li Zheng, came with four minor officials. Along the lane, every house knocked on the door.

"Who?"

"Open the door, the government will check your household registration!"

He opened the door cautiously, and a whole family of young and old stood in the yard. The farmers looked unhappy and murmured secretly:

"Look at this posture, could it be that the Kou Fu is about to be closed? Didn't the Kou Fu say that there will be no more conquests this year?"

The Qin Dynasty began with the tenth month of the year. In this "thirty-eighth year of the First Emperor of Qin", Hu Hai had imposed four oral tributes on the people of Xianyang in order to build the Lishan Mausoleum and maintain the war needs, causing the whole city to complain. It's the end of the year, and Heifu certainly can't put any more burden on them. He even announced that starting from next year, the population tax of minors will be halved.

"Could it be that since the regent government has no money in its treasury, it will break its promise like Hu Hai?"

The farmers were overthinking it. The officials were really just checking their household registrations. Their purpose was that Heifu wanted to reorganize the household registration data in the capital.

As early as Shang Yang's reform, one of the measures was to rectify household registration and establish a system of name registration and household residence. It stipulated that "within the four borders, husbands and children are all named above, and the living will inherit it, and the deceased will lose it." To put it bluntly, it means that for future generations, Census of...

It’s not just about the number of people, “the number of warehouses in the territory, the number of strong men and women, the number of old and weak, the number of officials, the number of people who eat, the number of people who benefit from it, the number of horses, cattle, cud ", the number of manuscripts", the population composition, and the amount of property must be counted one by one every autumn when local officials come to collect rent and taxes. Of course, there is only one purpose.

Prevent tax evasion...

Therefore, among the seven heroes in the world, Du Qin has the highest tax collection efficiency. Other countries' finances are like a leaky sieve from the local to the central government. There is not much left. However, Qin is able to collect enough and mobilize the domestic population resources to the maximum extent, thus making the country rich. The army is strong.

This is the job of the household officials who manage the history of millennium, and they do it with ease. One person holds the data found in the treasury and checked the data from the thirty-sixth year of Qin Shihuang, while the other person writes down the current situation on yellow paper.

"The head of the household in West Street is not more powerful than Man Qiang, the corps commander." Man Qiang is a thick-set man who walks with a limp.

"My wife said, Zhao Gao died in the market during the rebellion and is missing." It seems that this family has also been hit hard by the current situation.

"The eldest woman is young and unmarried." The woman was sixteen years old and was watering the vegetable garden. She looked pretty good. Li Zheng said with a smile that if she didn't marry next year, her wealth would be doubled. She had better pick a son-in-law quickly. Bar.

"Little man hunchback (underage), twelve years old." The young man was also very silent, his eyes could not be separated from the sword of the official in black standing at the end.

The household official took out the tape measure he carried with him, measured him, and then added: "Height six feet."

Next came property, and the family also had two slaves.

"I say Ju, and my little girl says Xia."

The slave father and daughter were dressed in brown clothes. They were very envious of the pardon for the prisoners in Lishan. Unfortunately, Marquis Wu Zhong was very evil. The reform only reformed the royal property that no one had decided yet, and never touched private property interests.

In the government files, the status of concubines was only one level higher than that of livestock, and their residence was next to an empty pigsty.

"No pig, a male dog."

That is, the old yellow dog that was grinning at the clerks under the mulberry tree in front of the door was kicked hard and ran to the backyard with its tail between its legs.

The tax collector of the Shaofu walked around the house and recorded: "The house has two rooms, each with a door, both covered with tiles, and a wooden gate. It is fully equipped and has ten mulberry trees in front of the door."

This is a middle-class home.

After the registration was completed, Manqiang, the head of the household, took the opportunity to report that he had a disability, which was an injury sustained while serving in the army. He was lame on one foot. He even walked a few steps on the spot to show it to the officials.

"Why are you still not lame in thirty-six years?" The household official raised his eyebrows and expressed doubts about this person's report.

"It fell last year, last year."

Man Qiang lowered his head with a guilty conscience. He was injured when he was sent to fight in the south. He was lucky enough to save his life, but he was afraid of being settled by the new government.

Fortunately, the officials didn't care about it, and the head of the village also testified for Man Qiang, so the junior official marked it, which was regarded as exempting Man Qiang from the corvee.

But he also warned that if he conceals his adult status and fails to declare it, or declares his physical illness or disability falsely, he will be fined two sets of armor, and Li Zheng and Li Lao will each be fined one set.

The three household officials and tax collectors had finished their work, but the taciturn official in black was just about to start. He spoke with a Nanjun accent and was obviously a "hero of the Northern Expedition" who had recently been assigned to various government offices in Xianyang.

Because Man Qiang was the "commander" in the neighborhood, this person asked him about his neighbors, such as whether there were any outsiders visiting, and whether there had been any suspicious behavior recently.

Before leaving, he also dropped a sentence: "If someone is suspicious and does not report it, whoever hides the criminal will be punished, even if he is imprisoned!"

After all the household registrations in the city were checked at the end of the day, the four officials asked Li Zheng to emphasize to all the residents: "You can't leave the country without passing the test, and you can't leave the city without the festival. If you are caught, you will be deported directly. If you don't return after nightfall, you will be sent back immediately." Submit it to the chief of the pavilion!"

In a word, if you have nothing to do, stay at home and don't even think about visiting people in the city until you get a letter of introduction. All the floating people will be strictly checked in the city's hostels for travelers.

Like later generations, the purpose of checking household registration and restricting migration was to facilitate military recruitment and tax collection.

There is another thing that Ji Ying is very concerned about.

Maintain social security and guard against enemy agents!

…

The next day, the household registration files of each household and li in Xianyang City were copied into three copies and sent to Zhisu Neishi, Shaofu and the newly established organization "Heibingtai".

What interests Zhi Su Nei Shi is the household registration and the number of acres of each family's fields. Xiao He, who has taken office as a new official, must live within his means and determine next year's revenue and expenditure budget. In particular, he must find out whether Guanzhong's economy can support next spring, when Wu Zhonghou How many soldiers and civilians need to be mobilized according to the plan of dispatching troops?

What the Shaofu is interested in is the composition of the population and the property status of each family. Zhang Cang has to prepare for the collection of oral taxes next autumn.

What Hei Bingtai is concerned about is whether there are any suspicious characters among the people recently. They want to follow the clues and find out the "Six Nations spies" lurking in Xianyang City...

During the time of the First Emperor of Qin, the household registration system in Xianyang was even better than it is now. The pavilion chiefs liked arresting tourists the most. There were very few suspicious people who could sneak in, including those with official status and those holding talismans. Can flow unimpeded.

But as Guanzhong turned into a battlefield this year, people's livelihood was in turmoil under the chaos, the old regime collapsed, and the new regime was established. At this handover, it was the easiest time for spies to sneak in, either as merchants or pretending to seek refuge with Wu Zhong Hou's scholars are hiding in the city. Of course, they are not capable of overthrowing the regime, but they are indispensable for secretly colluding with those who oppose the regent.

About ten days ago, when Black Ice Platform was established, Ji Ying solved a major case:

According to the clues provided by the censor Yang Wei, it was said that a Zhao businessman was trying to contact the "royalists". Earlier, this Zhao businessman also met with an aide from Chang Yi of Shu County...

Ji Ying secretly arrested the man, and after being tortured and interrogated, he learned that this man was a close friend of Kuai Che of the State of Zhao. He was a merchant from Taiyuan and lived in Shangjun. After the Six Kingdoms withdrew from Xihe, he pretended to donate chariots and horses to the Northern Expeditionary Army. , took the opportunity to escape to Xianyang, lived here, and tried to alienate the relationship between Heifu and Shu County.

Also known was the bold plan of "Shu County to establish the young Gongsun as the emperor, and to unite with Liaodong to support Su to fight against the Qin thieves".

"Chang Yin's staff Yan Jin has gone south with the emperor's envoys. Will Chang Yin repeat himself?"

Heifu wasn't entirely sure.

This case directly triggered Heifu's military operation against Shu County. He ordered Xiaotao, who was waiting for Chang Yun in Hanzhong, to see the right opportunity and not hesitate to use force to ensure that Chang Yun's journey north was safe!

I just don't know if Xiao Tao can succeed now, and the big net to catch the six countries' spies in Xianyang City is slowly opening.

"The Six Kingdoms are determined to destroy me, and their lobbyists and spies are hiding in you, lurking in the shops, ready to make a move!"

"The suspicious people in the households must be investigated, and those merchants from Guandong must be thoroughly investigated!"

The households with confirmed household registrations were only checked incidentally. Ji Ying's main target was those merchants who had no fixed residence. He asked Heifu to authorize him to arrest all the merchants, large and small, in Xianyang City and screen them one by one. …

"Ji Ying, Ji Ying, please spare those poor merchants. The Zhao spies sent by Kuai Che can sneak into Xianyang. This is a special case. How many of them can there be in the city? There is no need to make a fuss."

Now, unlike later generations, the main role of spies is to alienate and bribe. There is neither flying pigeons to send messages nor wireless communications. Even if the information is obtained, it cannot be sent back in time - Heifu has ordered that everything from Jiuqing to the common people be suspended. For the delivery of private letters among civilians, only the military and government can use the postal system.

This time, Ji Ying didn't even have to open the letter.

Seeing that Ji Ying didn't understand what he meant, Heifu smiled and said, "I asked you to set up this trap, so you won't catch the birds that occasionally fly by in the sky."

He pointed to his feet.

Ji Ying understood immediately: "But the insects hiding in the ground?"

"Yes, those who should be tested have been tested. Li Si has expressed his attitude to me. Xiao Taogang sent someone to report that the situation in Shu County has been controlled. Chang Yan continues to go north and will reach Xianyang in the near future. There is no way to keep him. Of great use, it is better to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys..."

"Okay, close the net!"

…

Wang Ren is the grandson of Wang Wan, the old prime minister of Qin Shihuang, and he studied under Dr. Chun Yuyue, who had similar political views to Wang Wan. Chunyu Yue served as Fusu's staff, so Wang Ren was suppressed and imprisoned during the Hu Hai period. It was not until Heifu came to Xianyang that he was released and served in the Yushi Mansion.

But in the past two months, Wang Ren finally saw Hei Fu's true face: "He is called a loyal minister, but he is actually a traitor!"

"For the delay in establishing an emperor with the surname Ying, he may have the intention of usurping usurpation."

Out of loyalty to the royal family, Wang Ren was the main initiator of the secret gathering of young officials in Xianyang a few days ago.

It was also his suggestion that everyone found Yang Wei, a former prison inmate, and took him as their leader. While criticizing the New Deal, they also tried to protect Sheji with the surname Ying by contacting Shu County Chang Yuan, former Lang Zhongling Li Liang, Hangu Pass Zhao Ben and others. , and find a way to contact the eldest son.

On the 17th, Wang Renxiu was at home. It was already dawn. He had planned with his colleagues last night and stayed up all night, but he was still sleeping soundly at this time.

In his confusion, Wang Ren dreamed that Prince Fusu had returned to inherit the throne. Under the pressure of the ministers and the old Qin people, Hei Fu was trembling, knelt and walked forward, bowed to the prince, and handed over the power in his hands. Belong to the new emperor...

Since then, a good emperor has been on the throne, the chaotic government has been abolished, the people are upright, and the Qin Dynasty has finally revived...

At this time, there was a leisurely knocking sound outside his door.

"What's the matter?" Lao Yan stood up and asked through the door.

"Officials, open the door and check household registration."

In the past few days, the government has indeed conducted household registration checks in various areas of Xianyang City. Qin people, regardless of whether they are farmers or officials, and regardless of their title, must register.

The man glanced through the crack in the door and saw that the other party was wearing official uniform and showing the seal and ribbon talisman. Without doubting that he was there, he asked someone to report to the owner and opened the door.

"Where is the head of the household?" The officials were polite and asked with a smile after bowing.

"Master is resting..."

"Which room? Let's go and see it." After all, it is the former prime minister's house, so it is quite big.

"It's time to go to bed. You'd better wait in the hall..."

But after hearing this, the officials winked at each other and walked straight to the main bedchamber. They walked faster and faster, and finally turned into a gallop. People wearing armor and holding weapons kept pouring in from outside the door. Capture all the servants.

So when Mr. Wang was awakened, he saw a group of wolf-like and tiger-like lieutenant soldiers rushing into the room and putting swords on his neck. Behind them were several officials from Heibingtai. They rushed in, holding ropes. sneered:

"Wang Ren, you, a spy from the Six Nations, are you going to be captured without hesitation!?"

…

ps: Chapter 2 is at night.