164: Chapter 164 Ziying

After the solicitation of public opinion for the (Revised Draft) of the qin law regarding collective punishment and public warfare was published in the Great Qin Empire Weekly, the reactions from various factions in Xianyang were all different.

Under the collective punishment of the qin law, commoners and nobles were treated equally; not only would commoners be punished collectively, but nobles would be as well.

The more powerful a noble family was, the more likely they were to have their entire clan executed.

The reason for this was related to the political system.

In a society where the political system was based on 'the world as a family,' the entire society was essentially ruled by the imperial family as the leader, along with other supporting great families.

The other great families and the imperial family were all related by marriage.

They were intertwined, each part of the other.

Therefore, the marriages of great families were all political alliances.

The other families were only weaker than the imperial family, but that did not mean they lacked the ability to shake the imperial family's foundation.

Since they could no longer get along, the imperial family would exterminate their clans to make an example of them, ensuring other families would not dare to rebel.

Zhao Fusu's proposal to abolish the collective punishment system had its supporters and its detractors.

"Your Majesty the Paramount Leader."

"Zi Ying requests an audience."

Deputy General Pang walked to Zhao Fusu's study to announce the visitor.

"Oh!"

Zhao Fusu was somewhat surprised to see Zi Ying coming to find him.

Zi Ying was the son of the First Emperor's brother, making him Zhao Fusu's cousin. They were of similar age, both around thirty.

The impression Zi Ying gave Zhao Fusu was that of an unlucky kid.

In history, after Hu Hai was killed by Zhao Gao, Zhao Gao sought out Zi Ying to be a puppet king. What Zhao Gao didn't expect was that after Zi Ying was installed, he struck first, joining forces with several loyal officials to kill him.

Zi Ying began to vigorously reorganize the court and appoint virtuous officials.

But he was only left with forty-six days. Liu Bang had already bypassed Hangu Pass with a hundred thousand men and was heading toward Wu Pass. Zi Ying immediately sent the last remaining troops of the Great Qin to block them.

Just as Liu Bang was about to engage the Qin Army sent by Zi Ying, Zhang Liang persuaded him otherwise.

The Qin Army held Wu Pass and had a geographical advantage; attacking it would result in heavy losses.

It would be better to send a top-tier lobbyist like Lu Jia to persuade the Qin soldiers guarding the pass to join the rebellion against Qin.

Just as this group of Qin soldiers was moved by Lu Jia and prepared to rebel with Liu Bang, Zhang Liang told Liu Bang to launch a sneak attack while the Qin Army was unprepared and distracted by the talk of rebellion.

Liu Bang was persuaded by Zhang Liang and attacked the defenseless Qin Army.

The result was predictable; the Qin Army sent by Zi Ying was defeated by the treacherous Liu Bang.

At that point, Zi Ying had no cards left in his hand.

It was like Zelensky facing Trump, with Trump constantly saying he had no cards left.

Zi Ying also looked helpless.

He had no choice but to surrender to Liu Bang.

Liu Bang accepted Zi Ying's surrender and, recognizing his talent, wanted to appoint him as Prime Minister.

But it just so happened that a traitor named Cao Wushang appeared in Liu Bang's camp. He told Xiang Yu about this, and Xiang Yu was furious, dragging Zi Ying to Caishikou to be cut in half at the waist.

"Zi Ying."

Zhao Fusu snapped out of his thoughts and asked, "Are you here to see me about the abolition of the collective punishment system?"

"Exactly."

Ying Zi Ying replied with a serious face, "I believe it is inappropriate to abolish the collective punishment system."

As a member of the imperial clan, he naturally wanted what was best for the Great Qin Empire.

"Sit!"

Zhao Fusu looked at this unlucky kid and gestured for him to sit down.

"Come, tell me, what is so bad about abolishing the collective punishment system?"

Zhao Fusu was very polite to this unlucky kid.

When Zhao Gao instigated Hu Hai to execute the brothers Meng Tian and Meng Yi, Zi Ying thought it was wrong and advised Hu Hai not to act recklessly, but Hu Hai still forced the Meng brothers to commit suicide.

Under Zhao Gao's delusion, Hu Hai then raised his butcher's knife against his own siblings, killing all of Qin Shi Huang's children until only he remained.

As a member of the imperial clan, the reason Zi Ying wasn't killed by Hu Hai might have been that he was too low-profile, making Zhao Gao think he was incompetent.

After killing Hu Hai, Zhao Gao couldn't directly declare himself emperor; he wanted to first install Zi Ying and then have Zi Ying abdicate the throne to him.

Zi Ying's brow furrowed slightly. For some reason, he felt that the way Zhao Fusu looked at him was a bit off.

However, Zi Ying felt that as a member of the imperial clan receiving an imperial allowance, he had the responsibility and obligation to stand up and advise Zhao Fusu.

When Zhao Fusu was implementing the constitutional monarchy, he had wanted to stand up.

Zhao Fusu's proposal for a constitutional monarchy placed restrictions on the emperor, which would have a massive impact on the power of the imperial family.

But his voice carried little weight. Facing Zhao Fusu, who could directly mobilize the entire Guanzhong Army, he knew that speaking up would be useless.

Then, seeing Hu Hai's pathetic performance in court, he suddenly felt that having power in Zhao Fusu's hands wasn't so bad, so he didn't stand up to oppose it.

But now that Zhao Fusu wanted to touch the collective punishment system, he couldn't sit still.

Fearing that Zhao Fusu might not know the details of the collective punishment system established by the Shang Yang Reforms, Zi Ying first gave a brief introduction.

"Your Majesty the Paramount Leader, this collective punishment system began during the Zhou Dynasty and was developed in our State of Qin, making our social organization extremely tight."

"The collective punishment system established by the Shang Yang Reforms includes: prohibiting fathers, sons, and brothers from living in the same room."

"Any household with two or more adult males must split up and register as independent households. Simultaneously, the entire population is organized according to military structure: five households form a 'Wu' and ten households form a 'Shi'. They are not allowed to move without permission and must monitor and report each other. If a crime is not reported, all ten households are punished collectively."

"Through such harsh laws, we can firmly bind the farmers to the land. Our State of Qin could directly control the labor force of the entire country, ensuring tax revenue."

"After our State of Qin destroyed the six states, this was promoted throughout the entire Great Qin Empire."

Zi Ying said in a heavy voice, "Your Majesty, if you abolish this collective punishment system, it means farmers can leave their homes without being reported."

"If farmers all leave their homes and head to various commanderies and counties, not only will we be unable to collect taxes, but it will also put immense pressure on those commanderies and counties."

"You make a very good point!"

Zhao Fusu's expression gradually became serious.

The establishment of this collective punishment system was indeed intended by Shang Yang to restrict population movement.

He stared straight at Zi Ying. This guy was indeed quite capable; no wonder Liu Bang wanted Zi Ying to be his Prime Minister.

Zhao Fusu felt more and more that Zi Ying was an unlucky kid.

Zi Ying's ability was not only above Hu Hai's but also above Fusu's.

If the First Emperor had given the throne to Zi Ying and let him lead the Great Qin Empire, perhaps the Great Qin Empire's rule would have been stabilized by him.

It just so happened that by the time Zi Ying got the Great Qin Empire, it was already unstable, and after Hu Hai's reckless actions, Meng Tian and Meng Yi were dead.

If Meng Tian hadn't died, perhaps the counterattack of the Remnants of the Six States could have been suppressed by him.