xymnovel Chapter 17 A Thug Who Doesn't Want to Be a Foreman Isn't a Good Emperor
Chapter 17 A Thug Who Doesn't Want to Be a Foreman Isn't a Good Emperor
On the construction site of the Qin Straight Road in the northern suburbs of Xianyang, dust, like a yellow haze, lingered all day long.
More than 100,000 convicts and laborers gathered here. The cracking of whips, the heavy chants, and the shouts of overseers mingled together, creating a symphony of despair. In the past, during the Qin Dynasty, this was the entrance to hell; the only way out for those who entered was to die from exhaustion, then be wrapped in straw mats and buried in the desolate graves beside the roadbed.
But today, amidst this somber hue, there's an unusual touch of warmth and life.
"Make way! Make way, everyone! Freshly made roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) hot!"
A middle-aged man dressed in coarse linen clothes with his sleeves rolled up high was skillfully weaving through the crowd during a break, pushing a modified wheelbarrow. His face was greasy, his hair was somewhat loose, and his always-squinting eyes revealed a shrewdness and a roguish air.
It was Liu Bang, Liu Ji, from Pei County.
Since buying government bonds and acquiring the honorary title of "Honorary Scholar," Liu Bang had completely settled in Xianyang. He keenly sensed the money flowing along this straight road. 100,000 people needed to be fed; this was a huge business opportunity.
"Liu Ji! Give me two! The ones with lots of fat!" shouted a head convict with tattoos all over his face.
"Alright! Two extra-fat ones!" Liu Bang deftly cut open the flatbread, stuffed it with the stewed, tender salted meat, poured on a spoonful of rich broth, and handed it over. "Six and a half taels of silver, please. No credit, you still owe me from last time."
The leader took the pancake, took a big bite, his mouth greasy, and mumbled, "You stingy bastard! I'll give it back to you after I serve my three-year sentence."
Liu Bang chuckled, not annoyed at all, and turned to greet the next person.
Xiao He, who was keeping accounts not far away, watched this scene and shook his head helplessly. He put down his brush, walked to Liu Bang's side, and whispered, "Liu Ji, stop bothering with those few copper coins. Look over there."
Xiao He pointed to the other end of the construction site.
There, dozens of overseers were brandishing whips, trying to drive a group of laborers slumped on the ground to move the newly arrived precast cement slabs. But no matter how the whips were lashed, the laborers wouldn't budge. Even when their skin was torn and bleeding, they would only numbly protect their heads and faces, making groaning noises.
"This is called 'lying flat'," Xiao He said with a serious expression, using a new term that had recently become popular in Xianyang. "People get tired. In the past few months, in order to meet the construction deadline, they have been working seven hours a day, eating stale rice and vegetable leaves. Their strength has long been exhausted. If this fighting continues, not only will they be unable to work, but it may also incite a popular uprising."
Liu Bang wiped the oil off his hands, glanced at the laborers with vacant eyes, and curled his lip: "These overseers are stupid. Even a donkey pulling a millstone needs a carrot; all they know is whipping you. Who's going to work for you?"
"Carrots?" Xiao He sighed. "The court's budget is tightly controlled. Although Prime Minister Li Si made money selling glass, this cement road is a bottomless pit. Where will the money come from to feed these 100,000 people?"
Liu Bang stroked his stubble beard, lost in thought. "If you can get these people to work willingly, that's real skill. Xiao He, do you think our eccentric emperor will pull off another magic trick this time?"
……
Xianyang Palace, Qilin Hall.
Ying Zheng wasn't performing any magic tricks; he was simply angry.
A huge "Project Schedule" floats in mid-air, and the curve on it, which should have been rising steadily, has recently shown a precipitous drop.
"What's going on?" Ying Zheng's voice echoed in the empty hall, filled with suppressed anger. "The cement is there, the roadbed is leveled, and the money has been allocated. Why is the daily paving distance reduced by 30%?"
Li Si knelt on the ground, his forehead covered with gold bricks, not daring to raise his head: "Your Majesty, it is not that we are negligent. It is simply that... human strength has its limits. The convicts are weak, and with the continuous rain, many have caught colds and are unable to work. The overseers have pushed them too hard, and there have even been small-scale acts of disobedience in a few places."
"Disobey orders?" Ying Zheng's eyes sharpened. "Then kill him. Make an example of him."
This is his ingrained way of thinking from the past thirty years. Legalist governance means killing those who disobey until they submit.
"Wait a minute."
Ying Zheng suddenly stopped talking. He remembered the curse of "dying after only two generations" and Chen Sheng and Wu Guang's question, "Are kings and nobles born with a special destiny?"
If they were to start a massacre now, wouldn't these convicts, armed with shovels and pickaxes, turn this straight road into a tomb for the Qin Dynasty?
He looked at the light screen.
"Little G, didn't you talk about 'scientific management'? People are already working themselves to death, how can your science still work?"
The light screen flickered, seemingly undergoing massive calculations.
Your Majesty, this is precisely the problem that Taylorism has yet to solve: human nature.
You are currently operating under a "slave-driven mode," the core logic of which is fear. Fear can motivate, but it cannot make people fast, much less make them better.
To break through this bottleneck, you need to transform "I have to do it" into "I want to do it."
[Proposed solution: Monetize the "sentence".]
Ying Zheng frowned slightly: "Speak like a human being."
In simple terms, it quantifies their imprisonment into "points."
For example, a prisoner might be sentenced to three years, which is a little over a thousand days.
Previously, regardless of how much he worked, he had to complete those 1000 days. Therefore, the smartest approach was to slack off, as long as he didn't get beaten to death.
Now, we're changing the rules: we don't set specific dates, we set specific workloads.
[One point for carrying a brick. Ten points for paving a meter of road. Once he accumulates ten thousand points, even if it only takes a month, he will be released on the spot and regain his freedom.]
This is: A reduced-sentence version of the piece-rate wage system from the Qin Dynasty.
Upon hearing these words, the anger in Ying Zheng's eyes gradually dissipated, replaced by a deep and unfathomable contemplation.
This is an extremely dangerous attempt.
The laws of the Qin Dynasty have always been based on the principle that "the law does not favor the noble, and the rope does not bend." A three-year sentence is a three-year sentence; how can it be changed arbitrarily? This seems to undermine the seriousness of the law.
But then Ying Zheng thought again, what is the purpose of law? It is to punish evil and to govern the country. Now that the country is paralyzed because the road construction is not going well, what's the use of adhering to those rigid rules?
Moreover, this practice of selling "freedom" as a commodity to prisoners gave this big businessman a strange sense of excitement.
"Li Si," Ying Zheng suddenly spoke.
"Your subject is here."
"By imperial decree, effective immediately, the 'Great Qin Labor Reform Points System' shall be implemented on a trial basis at the Qin Straight Road construction site."
"Tell those convicts, I don't want their lives, I want the road. If the road is built well, their lives are their own. If the road is not built well, their lives are the foundation of the road."
"Furthermore," a glint of shrewdness flashed in Ying Zheng's eyes, "to prevent the overseers from embezzling points, these points cannot be recorded by anyone. Zhao Gao!"
Zhao Gao, who had been hiding in the corner pretending to be invisible, trembled: "This servant is here."
"Didn't you just make glass? Create a kind of 'points coin' for me. Make it from glass, with special patterns embedded inside for anti-counterfeiting. Issue coins on the spot after each job is completed. Anyone who dares to counterfeit or withhold will be made to swallow those glass shards."
Zhao Gao said with a pained expression, "Your Majesty, this...the workload is too great."
"Big?" Ying Zheng sneered. "Then how about I send you to lay bricks on the straight road, and replace you with a convict to burn glass? Would you trade?"
"I'll go burn it right away! Burn it immediately!" Zhao Gao scrambled out of the room.
……
Three days later, at the Qin Straight Road construction site.
When the specter called "freedom" drifted into the ears of every convict through a piece of paper posted on the bulletin board, the entire construction site erupted in commotion.
"Really? As long as I collect 10,000 of those 'glass coins,' I can go home?" An old convict who had been lying on the ground pretending to be dead suddenly sat up, his eyes gleaming like a wolf.
"You must be kidding me. When has the imperial court ever been so kind?"
"Whether it's a scam or not, you'll find out by trying it!"
Just as everyone was still doubting, a foreman came over carrying a basket of crystal-clear, gem-like round glass coins.
"Listen up, everyone! Starting today, transport a cartload of gravel, you'll receive one white coin! Pave a ten-foot stretch of road, you'll receive one blue coin! One white coin is equivalent to half a day of imprisonment, one blue coin is equivalent to three days!"
"Now, who wants to try?"
A dead silence.
Suddenly, a thin figure rushed out. It was a young convict, only sixteen or seventeen years old, who had been sentenced to tattooing for stealing a chicken.
"Me! I'll do it!"
The boy grabbed a wheelbarrow and charged towards the pile of rubble like a madman. His thin body burst forth with astonishing strength. He loaded the wheelbarrow to the brim with stones, gritted his teeth, and pushed it all the way to the roadside.
"Splash!"
The stone fell.
Without a word, the foreman took a shiny white coin from the basket and tossed it to the boy.
The boy caught the still-warm glass coin, clutching it tightly in his hand as if it were his life. He looked up, his face streaked with dirt and tears, and roared at the crowd, "It's real! It's real! I have money! I'm alive!"
In that instant, the crowd erupted.
The once lifeless construction site was instantly transformed into a boiling pot of oil.
Those convicts who had previously complained of being tired, feigned illness, or lay down were now acting like they'd been injected with adrenaline. They scrambled for tools, for wheelbarrows, and even fought over who could carry an extra brick.
"Don't steal it! These stones are mine!"
"Get out of my way! I'm going to earn ten white coins today! Anyone who gets in my way, I'll fight them to the death!"
Standing on the high ground, Xiao He looked at the crazy scene below and felt a chill run from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
too frightening.
The person sitting in Xianyang Palace, with just a small change in the rules, transformed these 100,000 prisoners who were originally just waiting to die into 100,000 tireless beasts.
Is this the art of imperial rule?
"Good heavens..." Liu Bang's roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) fell to the ground. "This isn't road construction, this is playing with fire!"
But he quickly regained his senses, and a sharp glint appeared in his narrowed eyes.
"Xiao He! A huge business deal! A massive business deal!"
Liu Bang grabbed Xiao He's sleeve, spitting as he spoke with great excitement.
"Think about it, these people are working day and night to accumulate points. They need to eat and drink while working, and they even need to eat something good to nourish themselves! From now on, we won't accept copper coins for our roujiamo (Chinese hamburger), we'll only accept those glass coins!"
Xiao He was taken aback: "Why would you accept that? It's for reducing sentences, and we're innocent."
"We're innocent, but we can sell these coins to wealthy young men who can't work but have money to atone for their crimes!" Liu Bang lowered his voice, his smile as cunning as an old fox. "There are quite a few former nobles from the six states here, arrested for their crimes. They're pampered and can't work, but they're rich. We can buy coins from these convicts at low prices and sell them to them at high prices... one in, one out..."
Xiao He gasped.
This isn't just about middlemen making a profit; it's about reselling "freedom"!
"Liu Ji, your audacity... it's unbelievable. If this gets out..."
"What's there to be afraid of!" Liu Bang patted his chest. "Anything not prohibited by law is permissible. The notice only said that points could be earned to atone for sins, it didn't say that the points had to be earned through one's own actions. We're promoting... promoting the flow of resources!"
Thus, on this bustling construction site, a new underground industry was born.
Liu Bang became the biggest "foreman" and "black market merchant." With his left hand, he used roujiamo (Chinese meat sandwiches) to exchange for points from the convicts, and with his right hand, he used those points to extort money from impoverished nobles who wanted to go home early.
The construction speed of the Qin Straight Road tripled under the dual stimulus of the "points system" and the "Liu family black market".
……
Inside Xianyang Palace.
Hu Hai was sitting listlessly in a side hall, holding a small file in his hand, vigorously rubbing a glass coin.
"Father, this thing is so poorly made." Hu Hai blew away the glass dust, looking disgusted. "That old dog Zhao Gao's skills are getting worse and worse. I could carve this anti-counterfeiting pattern with my eyes closed."
Ying Zheng sat at the head of the table, reviewing memorials. Upon hearing this, he said without looking up, "Since you can carve it, then the matter of preventing counterfeiting is entrusted to you."
"Huh?" Hu Hai was dumbfounded. "Father, I came here to find fault, not to do any work!"
"Picking out problems without solving them is just nonsense." Ying Zheng put down his pen, looked at his troublesome son, and said, "I heard that you have a group of sculptors in the palace, carving walnuts and olive pits for you all day long? Their skills are quite good."
"Go, design a new anti-counterfeiting mold for me. It has to be the kind that... no one but you can replicate. If a counterfeit coin appears on the market, I'll deduct a month's allowance from your pay."
Hu Hai, with a mournful face, cried out, "Father, this is exploiting child labor!"
"You don't have to do it," Ying Zheng said calmly. "Then I'll let Zhao Gao manage your allowance."
"No! I'll do it! I'll do it, okay?!" Hu Hai jumped up, gritting his teeth as he charged out. "Zhao Gao! You just wait! I'm going to design a pattern that you'll never be able to create in your entire life! I'm going to carve a 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival' on it!"
Watching Hu Hai's departing figure, Ying Zheng's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile.
This son, though unruly, still possesses a certain intelligence if used properly. It's better to let him outwit Zhao Gao and those counterfeiters than to let him idly harm the people.
"Little G".
【exist. 】
"The points system is progressing smoothly. The roads are open, and people's hearts are stirred. But..."
Ying Zheng stood up, walked to the map, and his gaze fell on the southwest corner of the map.
That place is Bashu, and it is also the granary of the Qin Dynasty.
"No matter how fast the roads are built, people still need to walk on them. I not only want the roads to be open, but also the goods to flow freely."
"What has Qing, the widow from Sichuan, been up to lately?"
[Your Majesty, Widow Qing has been very busy lately. She bought 100,000 coins worth of your national bonds and became an "Honorary Doctor." Now she's busy opening a chain of inns along the Straight Road; she's already decided on the name: "Great Qin Yue Lai Inn."]
"She's a smart woman." Ying Zheng nodded. "Send an edict to her. I grant it. Not only will she be allowed to open an inn, but I will also give her a portion of the operating rights for the 'gas stations'—that is, the post stations—along the straight road."
"However, I have one condition."
"She has to help me sell something along this road to the whole world, even to the Xiongnu."
What is it?
Ying Zheng took out a jar of dark liquid from his sleeve.
That's not petroleum, it's a specialty of the Qin Dynasty—lacquer.
But this is not ordinary lacquer; it is "Da Qin Guo Lacquer," which has been improved by the "Royal Academy of Sciences" and has added preservatives and special fragrances.
"I want the Xiongnu to know that bows and arrows coated with this lacquer will not be infested with insects; and saddles coated with this lacquer will not rot."
"I will use this jar of lacquer to exchange for their cattle and sheep, for their furs, and finally... for their lives."
trade war.
This was the real killing move that Ying Zheng had laid on this cement road.
He not only wanted to conquer the north by force, but also to use economic chains to firmly bind that nomadic people to the Qin chariot.
……
A month later.
The completion ceremony of the Qin Straight Road.
There were no flowers, no red carpet. Only the ten thousand prisoners who had accumulated enough points, had their shackles smashed on the spot, and regained their freedom, knelt on the hard cement road, facing the direction of Xianyang, and let out a deafening cry.
"Long live the Qin Dynasty! Long live the Great Qin!"
For the first time, there was no hatred in that voice, only gratitude for being reborn.
Standing in the crowd, Liu Bang patted the thick stack of "exoneration documents" he had exchanged and the money bag he had made ravenously, and chuckled.
"Xiao He, do you see that?"
"This is what you call a win-win situation. The emperor wins face, we win substance, and these poor folks win their lives."
"This Qin Dynasty... seems to actually have some potential."
At this moment, Ying Zheng was standing on the high altar, looking at the gray dragon that stretched all the way to the horizon, but he did not feel much joy.
Because he knew that the opening of the road meant even greater challenges were ahead.
The smoke signals from the north are already faintly visible.
"Meng Tian".
"Your subject is here."
"I've repaired the road for you. If this winter comes, the Xiongnu horses will still be able to set foot on the Great Wall..."
Ying Zheng turned his head, his eyes sharp as knives.
"Then you can bury yourself in this roadbed and fill the hole for me."
"Yes!!" Meng Tian knelt on one knee, his roar like thunder.