The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 351 No More Hun Kings

Right Chancellor Feng Quji stepped forward from the court and expressed his views. In the past, the nomadic people of the grasslands lived in tribes and obeyed the orders of the tribal chief. As a result, once a tribe had a large population, it would have soldiers and horses, which would be a natural cavalry force.

"I believe that the tribal system on the grasslands should be abolished. There should be no more tribal chiefs on the grasslands. Instead, herders should be registered as families and their households should be listed. They should only obey the orders of the Qin army and the emperor."

Upon hearing this, everyone in the class fell silent; no one objected.

The Right Chancellor's intention was simple: to break the tribal chief's control over the grassland pastures and distribute them to individual families so they could manage them as they saw fit.

The members of a family will naturally protect the pastures and livestock on which they depend for survival. As a result, there can only be herdsmen on the grasslands, not large groups of cavalry.

There can be herdsmen on the grasslands, but not groups of cavalry. They can still herd horses and raise sheep, but they cannot be allowed to gather together.

Furthermore, counties and prefectures still need to be established on the grasslands, and taxes must still be paid.

After the court meeting ended, the officials left Zhangtai Palace exhausted. Officials from the Nine Ministers and various departments were almost all reporting on the matter. Fortunately, the emperor did not say who did well or who did poorly.

The emperor never spoke ill of anyone in front of his ministers, not even once.

Even if there is a reason, we'll just ask a few more times and then let it go.

If the emperor truly felt something was amiss, he would keep his ministers behind for a private conversation.

Since it was a private conversation between the emperor and his ministers, no one knew what was discussed, and any mistakes could be corrected later.

The officials felt reassured working under this emperor.

In the northern desert, just as autumn was beginning in Guanzhong, heavy snow was already falling in the north.

The new Xiongnu king, Laoshang Chanyu, had just woken up from his sleep. He let out a burp, lifted the cloth covering the tent flap, and took a few steps outside, about to relieve himself.

The wind and snow came head-on, and I was already used to the cold, but the wind carried a fishy smell.

The Chanyu took a deep sniff, his nose twitched, and he slowly opened his eyes to see people walking not far away.

It was probably about slaughtering sheep. The old Chanyu didn't pay any attention. He wiped his hands with the sheepskin on his body and was about to walk back to the tent when he suddenly heard a loud shout behind him.

The old Chanyu only paused briefly, presumably because his subordinates were fighting, but he still didn't pay any attention.

Just as he was about to enter the tent, the old Chanyu had already stepped one foot inside when his back foot was grabbed.

He turned around and saw that it was his old subordinate. He smiled and was about to speak when a knife came slashing at him.

Blood splattered on the spot, splashing all over the old Shangshang Chanyu's face.

Seeing his subordinates being cut down on the ground, Lao Shang Chanyu suddenly sobered up. He wiped his face, slowly turned around and saw a group of people killing his subordinates.

Upon seeing someone wearing armor, the old Chanyu stabbed one of his own subordinates to death.

Blood had flowed onto his leather boots. The old Chanyu was now fully awake. It seemed the killing was over, and men in armor, carrying swords or halberds, surrounded him.

The old Chanyu took a few steps back and spoke a few words loudly in the Xiongnu language.

"What is he saying?" a young Qin soldier asked.

"He said he was the son of Modu Chanyu and the new Great Chanyu of the Xiongnu."

The young Qin soldier asked again, "Is he really?"

The old soldier asked another question in the Xiongnu language. The old Chanyu immediately understood. He took out a golden crown from his tent, which was adorned with a beautiful sapphire, along with a whistling arrow and a leather whip wrapped with gold thread.

The old Chanyu wore a crown on his head, held a whistling arrow with a golden arrowhead in one hand, and a leather whip with gold thread in the other.

The veteran nodded and said, "Back then, when the army marched north, they killed Modu but did not find the crown of the Xiongnu king. I have heard what this crown looks like. I never thought it would be in the hands of Modu's son. There is no mistake, it must be him."

After he finished speaking, several Qin soldiers came up and, under the bewildered gaze of the old Chanyu, were tied up. They were then thrown onto a cart by the Qin army and transported to the Great Wall along with a flock of sheep.

On the first night, Lao Shang Chanyu was still confused, but on the second day he finally realized that he had been captured by the Qin army and that the Qin emperor wanted to arrest him.

Along the way, the Qin army would still give him some food and drink to prevent the captured Chanyu from starving to death.

It wasn't until late autumn in Guanzhong that this old Xiongnu chieftain was efficiently transported to the outskirts of Xianyang via the imperial road connecting the Great Wall and Xianyang.

Surrounded by the citizens of Xianyang, the old Chanyu revealed what he considered to be the friendliest smile.

Then his messengers were brought out, their faces ashen.

On the city wall, Chen Ping was loudly reading the emperor's edict, which roughly meant that from now on, any person in the northern grasslands who declared himself a Xiongnu king would be killed by the Qin army.

After saying this, Qin Jun, carrying a knife, kicked the old Chanyu in the back knee, forcing him to kneel down.

Then the broadsword immediately fell, and before the old Chanyu could even understand what was happening, his head fell to the ground.

Then several more heads fell to the ground, and the humiliation of killing one chicken to scare the others came to an end.

The emperor's edict also stated that nomadic herders were allowed to live in both the southern and northern deserts, but the reinstatement of the Xiongnu king was not permitted. The same script and cart tracks were to be used on the grasslands, and counties and prefectures were to be established to abolish tribes. All herders were to be registered in the household register.

Some officials also posted the emperor's edict on the city wall for everyone to see.

The emperor still loved his people; he loved all the people under heaven, including the herdsmen on the grasslands. But the war between Qin and the Xiongnu had not been over for long, and the body of the brutal Modu Chanyu was still warm. How could there be another Xiongnu king on the grasslands?

As for the gold, warhorses, cattle, and sheep offered by the other side... these things were readily available to the emperor, and Qin had no need for them now.

The Chanyu's golden crown was presented to the emperor, so there was no need for the Xiongnu king to offer it.

The emperor merely glanced at the golden crown before ordering it to be sent to Mount Li.

One month after the death of the old Chanyu, the counties finally submitted their land registers. From then on, the land in Guanzhong was registered and recorded. Whether it was mountains and rivers or dry land and plateaus, the arable land could only be more, not less.

In a courtyard in Xianyang City, which is still the opposite door of Lü Buwei's former residence, Li You is in the Prime Minister's mansion.

The mansion had been vacant for so many years, and the father and son couldn't just not come, so Li You had no choice but to come and take a look. "The old man doesn't know how to raise fish. I don't know how he got the idea to raise fish back then."

Li Youdao said, "Fill up the pond and stop raising fish."

There are no fish left in this fishpond now, and even the water smells bad.

The old servant said aggrievedly, "This is the Prime Minister's favorite fishpond!"

Li You didn't care about any of that and ordered, "After filling in the soil, plant trees, plant mulberry trees."

"If you change the water in this pond, you can still raise fish."

“Now that he’s back, it’s not too late to dig up some more persimmons to raise fish.” Li You looked at the persimmon tree in front of him, its branches laden with persimmons, and said slowly, “I’m afraid he’ll die at the foot of Mount Li.”

(End of this chapter)