Volume 1: Entering Great Qin for the First Time Chapter 41: Labor and Placement

  Looking at a group of high-ranking officials of the Qin Empire who were all old and venerable, bowing to him, Hu Hai felt a bit uncomfortable - he steadied himself and smiled: "All of you, dear ministers, please get up quickly."

  "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

  Li Si and the other officials all stood up, standing quietly on both sides of the great hall waiting for Hu Hai to enter first. Hu Hai also did not say anything more and walked into the front hall where they would discuss politics.

  Entering the hall, all that can be seen is that the hall of the council chamber is spacious and high, but the furnishings are extremely simple, and there is no such luxurious grandeur as Hu Hai had imagined.

  In the center of the hall was a striking black wooden screen that almost spanned the entire hall, with two large copper characters on it that were particularly eye-catching. Unfortunately, Hu Hai didn't recognize them, which made him feel quite annoyed.

  In front of the wooden screen, in the middle position, there is a long and large desk. On both sides of the desk at the lower edge are rows of slightly smaller desks.

  Outside the bookcase area, there are two huge bronze tripods and two incense burners that are almost as large. Apart from these, no other decorative furnishings can be seen. The white jade floor is not covered with red carpets, and even the seat behind the desk is made of ordinary woven grass.

  As soon as Hu Hai entered the hall, he immediately felt a sense of emptiness and coldness. The palace was completely different from the noble and luxurious palace he had imagined, and everywhere gave him a "cold and hard" feeling.

  Isn't this grand hall, which is decorated with the simplest furnishings, a true reflection of the Qin people's tenacity and frugality? And perhaps it was this very quality that made it possible for the great Qin to conquer the six states, rather than the other five nations such as Chu or Zhao.

  Hu Hai looked at the grand hall filled with a "cold and hard" atmosphere, and walked towards the large desk in front of the wooden screen with reverence and solemnity. After arriving at the desk, he turned around and said: "Everyone, please take a seat."

  "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

  The sound of the neat voice was particularly loud in the vast and high hall. Obviously, Li Si, Feng Qidu, Wei Liao and other dignitaries of the Great Qin Empire also had a deep respect for this simple and cold palace.

  Hu Hai lifted his robe and sat down with a slightly awkward cross-legged posture, but in his heart he was thinking that this chair must be made as soon as possible, otherwise, sitting cross-legged every day would eventually turn him into a barbarian slave with bowed legs.

  Li Si and other officials sat cross-legged one after another, quietly looking at Hu Hai, waiting for the Emperor to speak.

  Huhai's desk was obviously higher than the desks of the ministers on both sides, and the grand hall was brightly lit. With Huhai's eyes being absolutely 1.5 diopters without any myopia, he could clearly see every change in expression on the faces of these top officials of the Qin Empire below.

  Among these people, apart from Li Si, Feng Jie, Feng Ji, Wei Liao, the Meng brothers and Zhang Han, whom he was already very familiar with, the rest of the ministers he found were not all unfamiliar to him. At least a few of them left some vague impressions on him, although he couldn't recall exactly when they had met before.

  "Li Ai Qing, can the grain and military equipment needed by Wang Li's department be properly arranged?"

  Huhai asked, and after finishing speaking, he waved his hand to stop Li Si from getting up to pay respects, and continued.

  "Today's discussion is informal, so there's no need for excessive courtesy, just sit and talk."

  "Thank you, Your Majesty!" Li Si and others said in unison.

  "Your Majesty, the military supplies and provisions that General Wang Li needs have been sent ahead by me with a messenger on horseback to inform the Blue River Camp. They are preparing as ordered. As for the supplies needed along the way, according to Your Majesty's orders, they will be carried by soldiers under General Wang Li's command to meet their daily needs. However, this may slow down the speed of General Wang Li's march."

  "My dear, do not worry. I have ordered Wang Li's army to bring only five days' worth of rations for each soldier and hurry to the large camp at Lantian Slope. As for what is needed in the armies from Nanyang to Chen Commandery, it will be sufficient to replenish enough at Lantian Slope to reach Chen Commandery, so I have ordered you to inform the large camp at Lantian Slope to prepare enough mules and horses for Wang Li's use."

  "Why doesn't Your Majesty order the dispatch of laborers to follow General Wang and transport grain and military equipment?"

  Meng Tian asked.

  "My dear, can the current Xianyang of Great Qin still mobilize enough laborers for an army of 100,000? Even if we can mobilize enough laborers, I think General Wang Li won't have to lead his troops all the way to Chen County." Hu Hai said calmly.

  "Your Majesty, what does this mean?" Meng Tian was puzzled.

  "Because at that time he was going to make me surrender in Xianyang! Haha!"

  Huhai smiled, but his smile was somewhat bitter.

  One sentence made all the ministers in the hall speechless, and after a while they said in unison.

  "Long live Your Majesty!"

  "My sacredness is not important, what's important is whether I can protect our great Qin empire!"

  Hu Hai sighed and continued without waiting for the reaction of the other officials:

  "Li Ai-qing and Feng Ai-qing, have the imperial edicts been sent to Xishan and other places where the straight roads are being repaired?"

  "Your Majesty, I, your old minister, have taken charge of the handling of labor services on all the straight roads. The imperial edict was issued this morning, and I also dispatched officials from the Granary Office and the Ministry of Works to leave Chang'an at noon to rush to the various places where the straight roads are located. Officials from the Left and Right Supervisory Offices will also accompany them to supervise the actions of these two offices and maintain order, in order to prevent chaos."

  Li Si finished speaking and looked at Feng Qiju sitting opposite him. Apparently, the two construction sites in Lishan were under his responsibility.

  "Your Majesty, I, your old minister, am responsible for the completion of the labor services at the Maoling Mausoleum and the palace. The imperial edict and subsequent officials will also treat Lord Li in the same manner."

  Feng quickly said with concise words and a lazy tone.

  "Can the grain for compensating the people of the three places for their labor be prepared properly? Is there enough grain near Xianyang?"

  Huhai was a bit worried about this. Although he knew that the Great Qin had twelve large official warehouses, the nine official warehouses of Ao Warehouse in Sanjiang County, Chenliu Warehouse in Dan County, Langya Warehouse in Langya County, Huang Warehouse in Jiaodong County, Zhen Warehouse in Linzi County, Beihewan Warehouse in Jiuyuan County, Chengdu Warehouse in Shu County, Wan Warehouse in Nanyang County, and Dudao Warehouse in Dong County were not in Guanzhong.

  If the grain stored in the three official warehouses near Guanzhong Xianyang is not enough, then grain will have to be transferred from nearby official warehouses in Guanzhong. The nearest one, Ao Warehouse of Sanchuan County, is also hundreds of miles away from Guanzhong, which would be a huge problem for today's Great Qin.

  Why? Because it's impossible to recruit laborers, and there are no more people who can be recruited. Can't just call back the people who have just finished their labor service and send them to transport grain again, right? It's doable, but would they be willing to do so?

  Without laborers, they could only rely on the army to transport them. It's not worth mentioning how many troops and routes would be consumed. The key is that the distance is so far, and it takes a lot of time for a round trip. All of Hu Hai's plans would be disrupted.

  Li Si obviously knew what Huhai was worried about, and cupped his hands to say, "Your Majesty doesn't have to worry. The labor force of the three places is over 4.3 million, according to Your Majesty's intention, one person needs about 40 million stones, and the grain in the three warehouses of Neishi County only needs two warehouses."

  Huhai was really "shocked" by Li Si's words. Well, this is just three official warehouses near Xianyang, not the most famous Ao Warehouse in later generations that he knew. With so much grain in two warehouses, how many are there in Ao Warehouse?

  As he knew, at the end of Qin Dynasty, there were continuous wars and people's lives were miserable. At that time, everyone was busy fighting and could not engage in agricultural production. After Ao Granary was occupied, the grain stored inside supported Liu Bang and Xiang Yu to destroy Qin, then supported Liu Bang to destroy Chu, and even during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, grain could still be allocated from Ao Granary.

  It can be seen that Ao Cang stored a lot of grain.

  These twelve official warehouses, except for the Chenliu Warehouse in Zhejiang County which has already been looted, must keep their grain safe. In this era, food is the most important strategic material, especially at this time.

  Huhai secretly made up his mind. Suppressing what he was thinking in his heart, he nodded and said,

  "Today, inform the three places of this decree. Those laborers who wish to return home will be allowed to do so; I suppose by then my imperial edict would have reached all counties and no one will dare to obstruct them. As for those laborers who do not wish to return home, you two officials must find a suitable place to settle them, absolutely cannot let chaos arise."

  "Your Majesty, this..."

  Li Si and Feng Quji hesitated, saying that the order from Hu Hai was different from what they had previously discussed. Originally, all laborers were to be sent back to their hometowns, but now Hu Hai wanted those who did not want to return to stay behind, which was a fixed policy.

  The other officials also whispered among themselves when they heard Hu Hai's words.

  "My dear ministers, there is no need for you to worry, I have a plan."

  Hu Hai calmly said with a composed tone. Seeing the Emperor like this, Li Si and Feng Quji exchanged a helpless glance and nodded in response.

  "These three places have over 4 million laborers, all of you must assist the two chancellors to handle it properly, and absolutely cannot cause chaos. However, the officials who were sent out are only those who rely on power to bully the people, and those who are greedy for bribes will be beheaded immediately, and their property will be confiscated by the state treasury. If any of you obstruct or hinder this, don't blame me for not showing mercy!"

  Huhai's murderous words made all the ministers, whether they understood him or not, tremble in their hearts. Regardless of their willingness, they immediately stood up and said: "Your subjects obey your orders!"

  If it weren't for Li Si, Feng Quji, Wei Lü, the Meng brothers and Zhang Han, etc. to help him make up his mind, Hu Hai might still have considered the opinions of these ministers and consulted with them.

  But now that the troops of Xianyang are all in his grasp, and with these famous ministers and generals to assist him, Hu Hai decided to resolutely use what he considered the most correct method and the fastest speed to solve the turmoil in Guanzhong and Shandong.

  Not only is it preparing for the impending war, but more importantly, it is for the early recovery of China's vitality after the war. Apart from these two reasons, there is another most important reason that he cannot articulate.

  That's why, after returning to Xianyang, Hu Hai had a inexplicable sense of crisis in his heart, urging him on. He didn't know where this sense of crisis came from, but it always existed, making his heart skip a beat.

  These two days have made him feel a bit over-sensitive, but thinking again, with his arrival many historical events have changed, would there still be an archenemy that originally didn't exist in history?

  He didn't dare to be certain, but making early preparations is always good. When the time comes, even if a powerful enemy he doesn't know about really appears, he can still respond calmly.

  "You are all pillars of our great Qin, and naturally understand the current crisis we face. I implore you to unite with one heart and defend our great Qin empire, so that the foundation built by my father's lifelong efforts can be continued! I entrust this to you, esteemed gentlemen!"

  Huhai stood up and bowed deeply to the many ministers below the hall, saying solemnly.

  It's a tragedy for an amateur writer without drafts, so please forgive me. Jiuzhou will definitely post more updates if possible, and I'll work hard to have some drafts in the future. So, I don't have much confidence in asking for votes, but still, I'd like to ask everyone to vote for me if you can. Also, thank you to the Imperial President brother for your reward.