Chapter 63: Li Si's Governance

  "What's wrong. The Xiongnu have come to kill us Qin people, attack our cities, why worry that they won't come?" a young voice asked in puzzlement.

  "Xiao Wu, we've been stationed in Jiuyuan for so long, isn't it all about achieving military merit and securing titles for our children? Besides, when have the people of Qin ever feared the Xiongnu barbarians? If they don't come to attack us, how can we gain military merit? Without military merit, what will you use to marry a beautiful wife and warm your bed?" Shi Chang laughed.

  That young knight was apparently still a half-grown boy, hearing what he said, suddenly his face turned bright red, and with an embarrassed mumble, he whipped the horse's buttocks and rushed to the front.

  "Haha, this Xiao Wu guy really thinks about women." Zhao Chang laughed loudly as he saw the knight named Xiao Wu run away with his head down, looking like a startled rabbit.

  Seven or eight Black Armor Knights around him burst out laughing "Haha" at the same time.

  "So let's move forward for another day today, and return to Jiuyuan early tomorrow. Let Xiaowu go back to reunite with his lover earlier, haha!" Shizhang shouted loudly, suddenly urging the horse to catch up with Xiaowu.

  "Haha!"

  A group of black armored knights rode their horses into the depths of the prairie with a string of hearty laughter.

  ……

  "Does the old love not know whether he can share worries for me?" Hu Hai asked, sitting in the account at the top. The password and shouting voice of the big school field in the middle of the camp came into the account from time to time. The Imperial Guard and 4 million prisoners had already begun to practice Hu Hai's new training method.

  On the grand plain, more than 200,000 convict's crime bamboo slips and more than 180,000 slave-born slaves' household registers were burned to ashes by Hu Hai. The convicts who wanted to return home had only a few tens of thousands of old and weak people left, but there was not a single slave-born child.

  The Imperial Guards and the 390,000 prisoners of war are now all staring at the Tiger Flag and the Tiger Armor on the drill ground, practicing with all their might. The Imperial Guards do not want to be outdone by a group of prisoners, and the prisoners are determined to join the Hu Bao Army, so they train with extra effort.

  Hu Hai's current task of sharing troubles with Dun Ruo is to let Dun Ruo stay in the Bashang Great Camp to help him supervise the training of these 6 million troops, while also letting Dun Ruo hand over the "Iron Eagle Swordsman" of Hei Bingtai and the intelligence system to Long Ba.

  "I am now old and worn out, but I can still share your worries, Your Majesty. If I die, I will have no regrets."

  Dun weak did not show any dissatisfaction, and respectfully knelt down on the ground saying.

  "Elder beloved, please rise. I know that you are loyal to me and the Great Qin with all your heart, unlike some ministers in court who only care about their own interests and neglect the world of Great Qin. With you by my side, I can rest assured and return to Xianyang."

  Hu Hai smiled and said that when he mentioned some officials, a thread of murderous aura made the old man's weak and pale eyebrows jump uncontrollably.

  With a weak and feeble sigh in his heart, he was an old widower with no other high-ranking officials in the court to consider, nor did he need to think about too many gains and losses, which is why Emperor Shi Huang let him take charge of Hei Bing Tai.

  He knew what the ministers were up to from the time Hu Hai cleared the land. Now that he heard Hu Hai's words, he originally wanted to comfort him with a few words, but after thinking about it, he just sighed and didn't say anything in the end.

  Hu Hai understood what was on Dong Zhuo's mind, but he didn't plan to say it directly. After all, the internal struggle in the imperial court had not yet reached a critical point, and there was no need to put things on the table for discussion.

  "I will return to the palace now, and the matters at Xianyang will require your extra attention, old love. If there is anything in the camp, you can have Longtian and Longdi send a message to me at any time." Hu Hai said, supporting himself on the armrests as he stood up.

  Eight male guards were named by Hu Hai using the Tian Xuan Di Huang universe, while four female guards were given names that Hu Hai thought were vulgar. Long Ba and Long Jiu were renamed Long Jiao and Long Mei, and Shi Liu and Er Shi Si were renamed Long Bing and Long Xue.

  "Your humble servant obeys your orders. I respectfully bid farewell to Your Majesty!"

  ……

  "Master! Master!" The butler hastily rushed into the hall and shouted.

  Li Si was pacing back and forth in the center of the main hall, with reports coming in from Wang Li and Julu, but these military matters were not something he could intervene in, and he couldn't find Hu Hai either. Hearing the voice of Guan's family, he turned his head to rebuke: "What a big fuss, what kind of behavior is this?"

  "We know our fault!" The steward knelt down on the ground and begged for forgiveness.

  "What's going on? Why so much panic!" Li Si said impatiently.

  "His Lordship, an imperial edict has arrived summoning you to enter the palace for an audience!"

  "Your Majesty has returned? Prepare the carriage, prepare the carriage!" Li Si said as he hastily rushed out.

  At this moment, Hu Hai is in Xianyang Palace with Wei Lü. Before Hu Hai arrived at Xianyang Palace, he had Zhang Han send someone to summon Wei Lü into the palace.

  "How is the land survey going?" Hu Hai asked faintly.

  "Your Majesty, Vice Premier Feng has led the Ministry of Land to complete the land survey in the vicinity of Xianyang. However, I am not aware of the specific details." reported Wei Liao.

  "What does your love think about our land survey?"

  "Your Majesty is wise, this is a blessing for our Great Qin for all eternity!" said Wei Liao with great comfort.

  "A blessing for a thousand autumns and ten thousand generations? Hehe, Old Love, take a look at this." With that, Hu Hai handed over a scroll of sheepskin paper to Long Ba, indicating that he should pass it on to Wei Liao.

  Wei took over the sheepskin paper, opened it roughly and glanced at it for a few eyes, his face suddenly changed greatly. The first line read: "Feng Fu, 4,369 family slaves, 350,000 mu of land. Three days ago, 2,300 family slaves were released, now there are 10,000 mu of land, 2,069 family slaves, and 50,000 mu of land are being offered. Sima Fu..."

  "Your Majesty, is this news true? From where..." Yu Lian asked, holding a sheepskin scroll in his hand, but stopped halfway through the sentence.

  He thought of Hu Hai's actions over the past three days, wasn't Hei Bing Tai specifically doing this kind of thing? It's just that Your Majesty's move was too quick, did you already know things would turn out like this from early on? Why...

  "Do you still think this is a blessing for our Great Qin dynasty for generations to come?" Hu Hai said with a faint smile.

  "Your Majesty..." Wei Liao hastily knelt down on the ground.

  Hu Hai's eyes stared straight at Wei Liao and asked, "Did the Grand General know that things would turn out this way from the very beginning?" This was the main reason why Hu Hai wanted to show Wei Liao the sheepskin paper.

  That night, Wei Liao's shouting was the most intense and the most supportive. If Wei Liao really had the same idea as the other officials, then Hu Hai would not know where to find another strategic master to help him plan again.

  "I, your old minister, have handed over all my land as required, not a single mu was withheld. I hope Your Majesty will clearly see this." Wei Lü heard Hu Hai call himself "Guo Jun Da Ren" and knew that Hu Hai was really angry, so he hastily said loudly.

  To be honest, Wei Liao didn't expect that these loyal and dedicated officials of the Great Qin would be so deceitful, including Feng Qidu who was in charge of this matter. They pretended to release the household slaves, making them ordinary people, but in reality, their slave status remained unchanged, and they were given land ahead of time.

  Even more slaves were released as landless commoners, and if the imperial court granted them land in the end, the land owned by these people's households not only did not decrease at all but instead increased after re-measurement.

  Wei Liao was a military man rather than a politician. He overlooked human greed.

  "This scroll only has a few sparse characters, but from this one can see the whole situation. Are these people taking me for a deaf and dumb fool?" Hu Hai angrily shouted. He had received Xing Yi's letter on his way back to Xianyang.

  Originally, Hu Hai thought that these people would only conceal some land, which was nothing, but now they actually use house slaves to occupy more land, this is something Uncle Hu can tolerate, but Auntie cannot.

  "Your Majesty, please calm down. For now, our Great Qin should prioritize external matters, I hope Your Majesty will deal with this matter slowly." Wei Lü hurriedly advised him. He was really afraid that if Hu Hai got angry, he would kill some people including Feng Qi, and the Great Qin would be completely chaotic.

  "Huh!" Hu Hai took a deep breath and said calmly, "Don't worry, I still know what's important. You just need to know about this matter, don't spread it outside." Hu Hai instructed.

  "Your Majesty, Prime Minister Li requests an audience." The eunuch outside the grand hall reported.

  "Sit down!" Hu Hai waved his hand at Wei Liao, indicating for him to take a seat.

  Li Si came in and knelt down on the ground, saying: "Your minister Li Si pays homage to Your Majesty, may Your Majesty live for ten thousand years, ten thousand years, and forever!"

  "Chancellor, please rise and sit down. Have there been any reports from Xianyang in the past few days?" Hu Hai asked with a smile, raising his hand.

  "Your Majesty, General Wang Li's letter has arrived. He is now in Shang County and will soon depart from Wu Guan to head south. Reports have come in that the rebel army led by Li Zuoche has taken control of two counties, Wu Yuan and Cu County, and now the entire county of Juelu has fallen under their control. The rebel army led by Li Zuoche has gathered over 50,000 soldiers and more than 300 war chariots, and is now heading straight for the county seat of Juelu." Li Si stood up, sat down behind a low table, and nodded to invite Yu Rong to speak.

  Li Si's letter was reported to Hu Hai, who did not seem too surprised and asked: "Among the four counties that have been conquered, which one is closest to Julu and how far is it?"

  "Your Majesty, the county of Ju (now near Xianghe Village, Nanjing Township, Nangong City, Hebei Province) is closest to Julu (now near Xingtai City, Hebei Province), less than 300 miles away."

  "In less than three hundred miles, I suppose it should have been occupied by Li Zuojing by now." Hu Hai said with a smile.

  "Your Majesty need not worry, this letter was sent immediately after Li Si's troops left Nanpi County. I suppose Li Si has just arrived at Xianyang County."

  "Hmm, let's discuss this later. I summoned the Prime Minister today to discuss other matters." Hu Hai said. "I plan to have the Prime Minister act as my proxy in governing the country, and from now on, I will focus solely on military affairs, quelling the rebellions of the six states. What does the Prime Minister think?"

  Thank you ~ feelings ╱ ☆, cold nine head two brothers' reward, because work is too busy, every day rushing to code and upload, so I forgot to thank the cold nine head brother's reward, sorry.