The Great Qin Empire---Qin Li

That night, at the residence of the miser Zhang Bo in the east of the town, Zhang Bo and Zhang Fu discussed in a low voice for a long time, and finally gave an answer to Hei Fu who was sitting opposite them.

"Dong Zhang can contribute 300 shi."

"Xi Zhang can contribute 200 shi."

"The remaining 1,500 shi will have to be contributed by 1,000 households in the town. One and a half shi per household is not too much..."

Zhang Bo bowed to Hei Fu and said, "Youjiao, this is the result of our discussion."

Hei Fu sighed in his heart and looked at Chen Ping who was sitting upright at the end of the hall.

As expected, just as Chen Ping expected, Zhang, who owned half of the cultivated land in the town, was only willing to contribute a quarter of the grain.

Fifty years ago, during the reign of King Zhao of Qin, Fan Ju proposed a "Lui Min Order". The basic idea was that Qin had vast land but a small population, and could not fully develop farmland and resources, so it was necessary to attract immigrants from the east of Mount Xiao.

Han and Wei were located in the Central Plains, with cities facing each other and densely populated, which was exactly the opposite of the population and land situation of Qin. They had many people and little land. The "Lui Min Order" metaphorically said that Han, Wei and other countries had narrow land and many people, and their houses were mixed and coexisted. Because of the lack of sufficient farmland, a large number of people poured into the mountains and swamps to develop wasteland. Even so, each family could only get 20 to 30 acres like Chen Ping's family to barely maintain their lives. In this way, there were still a large number of people without land, who could only become tenants, or do business, wander around, or be slaves.

This is because their land is not enough to support their people, which seems to be more than the Qin people who are not enough to fill their land!

Therefore, in Han and Wei, the problem of land annexation has already appeared. Local tyrants often occupy most of the local land, and a large number of landless people have become tenant farmers.

"The rich have fields stretching across the fields, while the poor have no place to stand" is not the situation in Qin, but the current situation in Han, Wei, and Qi.

In this case, Hei Fu was ordered to collect grain, and the majority of the grain was naturally from Zhang and other tyrants, but now, they are unwilling to bear too much share.

Zhang Bo still had a bitter face and said to him, "The tyrants don't have any surplus grain. The grain they used to supply the roving guards and soldiers has been emptied."

Hei Fu didn't believe this at all. If he hadn't investigated it clearly, he wouldn't have visited them.

"Really? Why did I hear that Dong Zhang has 20 hectares of land in Huoyou Township, with an annual yield of 4,000 shi, and Xi Zhang has 10 hectares of land, with an annual yield of 2,000 shi?" Hei Fu said with a smile.

"And Zhang Zihu is an official in Xianyang, and he often exchanges letters with his family. I heard that he predicted a war between Qin and Wei several years ago. The two Zhangs started to buy grain and store millet three years ago. Now there are at least four or five thousand dan of grain in the two granaries..."

The amount estimated by Heifu was almost the same as the Zhang family's stored grain, and Zhang Bo's face suddenly stiffened. Then he put away his smile and said in a hard voice:

"So what? These grains are all saved by my two brothers who are frugal, one grain at a time, for fear that wars will break out and people will starve to death at home. The Zhang family is big and has many people to support. There are hundreds of servants and slaves alone, and they eat 500 dan a month. Could it be that the patrol wants Zhang to pay all the 2,000 dan of grain?"

That's what I plan to do, Heifu thought. The wheat will be ripe in May and the autumn harvest will be in July. Even if 2,000 dan are paid, the remaining grain of Zhang will be enough to eat until then.

But he smiled and said: "Of course not, but the two families are the best in the village, why not give a little more and make up a thousand, which will not only reduce the burden on the people, but also bring extra benefits..."

"What!" Asking Zhang Bo to pay grain was more uncomfortable than cutting his flesh, and he immediately slammed the table and roared.

Zhang Fu, who was more shrewd than him, stopped the impulsive cousin and asked: "May I ask what benefits are there for patrolling?"

"Title." Hei Fu smiled and pointed to the board crown on his head and said: "I don't want to change it. The warrior Dongmen Bao outside the door is already a hairpin, and Zhong Ming, who sits below me, is also a senior. May I ask what titles you two have?"

Zhang Bo and Zhang Fu were a little embarrassed. Although they were local officials, they were only granted the title of "gongshi" after surrendering.

"As expected." Hei Fu sighed, looking worried about the two men: "Qin is different from Wei. Everything must be based on the title. Just as Shang Jun said, their wealth must match their titles. The two kings enjoy the wealth of officials, but only the title of Gongshi. This is inconsistent with the name."

Zhang Fu responded: "But Qin titles are difficult to obtain. They must be beheaded in battle. Most people in the village, regardless of their wealth, are soldiers... Could it be that the patrol knows other ways?"

Hei Fu clapped his hands and said: "Yes, Qin has a system of internal grain to be awarded titles, which is implemented in famine and wartime. This policy may benefit the Zhang family!"

"Internal grain to be awarded titles?" The two Zhangs looked at each other.

Hei Fu knew that they would not believe it easily, so he nodded to Zhong Ming on the side and asked him to explain the situation to the two Zhangs.

"I am from Henei County."

Zhong Ming bowed to the two Zhangs and said, "More than 30 years ago, when I was not yet born, Qin and Zhao fought in Shangdang Changping, and the Zhao army was besieged by the Qin army. At that time, the King of Qin heard that Zhao's food supply was cut off, so he personally arrived in Henei, granted each citizen a rank, and sent those over 15 years old to Changping to block Zhao's reinforcements and food. In addition, he ordered the wealthy families in Hedong and Henei who could donate 1,000 stones of grain as military rations to be granted a rank... In Wen County where I am located, three families donated 1,000 stones of millet and were promoted from soldiers to public officials."

"Is there such a thing?" Zhang Bo and Zhang Fu were from Wei and did not understand the Qin system very well.

"This is a true story, and it's not an isolated case."

Hei Fu continued, "Twenty years ago, in the third year of the reign of this king, locusts came from the east, covering the sky and causing great famine in Guanzhong. Moreover, Nanjun and Nanyang were also infected with plague, and the counties were short of food. So the king ordered that the people would be granted a rank of nobility if they donated 1,000 dan of millet. There was a merchant in this county who donated 1,000 dan of millet at that time and was granted a rank of nobility, from a public official to a high-ranking official..."

Hei Fu was talking about no one else but the Yuanbai family, whom he had dealt with when he was doing corvée labor in Anlu County and who had given him a lot of money for free.

"In the wars against Zhao and Yan a few years ago, people in counties and prefectures near the front line were asked to offer grain to receive titles. This is a precedent. If I am not mistaken, General Wang has asked the king to implement the order of offering grain to receive titles in Wei, which has surrendered to Qin, but it has not been issued in time."

This seems to be the "buying officials and selling titles" criticized by later generations, but it is not the case. Shang Yang established titles to encourage farming and fighting. Farming is to get more food. The local farmers of Qin worked hard and made the fields have a good harvest. Sometimes they were awarded the first level of title. In the counties and prefectures that Qin had just occupied not long ago, offering grain to receive titles, because there were few people with titles in the local area. At most, they were given a public official or a senior official, but they could get 1,000 grains, which could feed 1,000 soldiers for more than half a month. This was a good deal.

Moreover, the title obtained by offering grain to receive grain would not exceed that of a doctor, and would not harm the foundation of the military title system.

After talking about the system of offering titles with grain, Heifu said, "That's why I said that since the two Zhangs have to contribute grain in the end, why not contribute more and collect 1,000 dan, and say that they are from the same family. When the titles are issued, you two can discuss which family will get it first..."

"That's not a bad idea."

Zhang Cang, who was far away in Xianyang, wrote home, saying that Qin attached great importance to titles. Now that they heard that if they contributed 1,000 dan of grain, they would have a great chance of getting a title, the Zhang brothers' minds became active.

After discussing with their heads down, the two made a decision. Anyway, they all had to contribute grain. There was no benefit in contributing 600 dan, but there was a chance of getting a title by contributing 1,000 dan, so they might as well contribute a little more. Anyway, because they prepared early, they had thousands of grains stored at home and were not short of food at all.

"Good!"

After getting the answer, Heifu breathed a sigh of relief, but just when the Zhang brothers thought the matter was over, he suddenly said: "Now there is a shortage of food, and the villagers don't have much surplus food at home. If each household contributes one stone, they can only barely fill their stomachs. Some families can't even make it until the summer wheat harvest. Since the two gentlemen have contributed 1,000 stones, why not also contribute the 1,000 stones of grain that will be distributed to the farmers in the village first!"

"What!"

As soon as these words came out, the two Zhangs were horrified, and Zhang Bo even slammed the table and stood up, pointing at Heifu and said: "Heifu, don't go too far! Do you think that my Zhang family is weak and can be bullied?"

Heifu looked at Chen Ping. The strategy of "jue" written on his palm had been used up. Next, it was up to Chen Ping...

Chen Ping immediately stood up and bowed respectfully to the furious Zhang Bo and the silent Zhang Fu, saying, "Don't be impatient, the purpose of the tour is not to let Zhang's money go to waste, but to lend the surplus grain in the family to 1,000 households in the town, one stone per household, in this season of lean season when the people have no grain to pay. It is not too late to sign a contract with them and take it back when the summer and autumn harvests come..."

"Lend grain to the villagers?" Zhang Bo and Zhang Fu were both stunned. As wealthy families in the village, they had done a lot of lending and borrowing of grain and money, but lending one stone to every household in the village at one time was unprecedented.

This was the true meaning of the word "loan" written on Chen Ping's palm, which was also a common thing in previous years. The two Zhangs would not be unfamiliar with it, but it would take some time to convince them to pay the grain first.

So Chen Ping said: "When I was studying in a neighboring county, I heard such a story. In Qi, there was a man named Dongguo Chang, who had a family of ten thousand gold and great ambitions. His disciple was poor and asked for help, but Dongguo Chang refused to give it and threatened, "I plan to save up ten thousand gold and then use the money to seek an official position in Linzi." Afterwards, the people of Qi said that Dongguo Chang cherished what he had not yet obtained, but was unwilling to help his disciple who was about to starve to death. This was unkind. So Dongguo Chang finally saved up ten thousand gold and sought an official position in Linzi, but when he returned to his hometown to serve as an official, the villagers disrespected him..."

After telling this story, Chen Ping said: "Now the two gentlemen are willing to give a thousand stones of millet to obtain the title of Qin, but are unwilling to borrow the same amount of grain to help the villagers tide over the difficulties. If this matter is spread, they will be condemned by the villagers. How is this different from Dongguo Chang of Qi? Don't just pursue the title, but lose the local reputation..."

After a speech, Zhang Bo was still thinking, but Zhang Fu was already thinking about it.

Hei Fu also admired Chen Ping's eloquence. These scholars in the Central Plains always liked to tell a fable first when persuading others.

Seeing that the two Zhangs had begun to consider this matter, Chen Ping continued to persuade them: "What's more, haven't you heard about Mengchangjun's three burrows?"

"In the past, the King of Qi abolished Mengchangjun's position as prime minister, and Mengchangjun had to retreat to Xue. The people of Xue had received the favor of Feng Nuan's burning of the deed. When they heard that Mengchangjun was coming, they carried the elderly and children and walked dozens of miles to line the streets to welcome Mengchangjun. This is the benevolence and righteousness that Feng Nuan has bought for Mengchangjun. From then on, Mengchangjun had another burrow in addition to the Linzi court."

Zhang Bo was ignorant and stunned when he heard it, but Zhang Fu knew this story. His eyes lit up and he looked at Chen Ping and said: "What you mean is..."

"Yes, the burrow of the Zhang family, first, is Zhang Zihu in Xianyang; second, the official position and title in Qin; third, it is the local respect and the gratitude of the local people..."

When talking about "gratitude", Chen Ping looked at Heifu. He was also grateful. Heifu gave him a stage to show himself again. This was the second time.

He calmed his mind and said to everyone in the hall: "Therefore, today Zhang's grain loan is not grain, but benevolence and righteousness!"

Chen Ping spread his hands and smiled: "When the autumn harvest comes, not only can we get back thousands of stones of millet, but also the gratitude of the villagers. This is a two-pronged strategy. Why don't you two do it?"