xymnovel Chapter 24 The Whistling Arrow on the Grassland and the "Labor Reform Economics" of Xianya
Chapter 24 The Whistling Arrow on the Grassland and the "Labor Reform Economics" of Xianya
At the foot of Yinshan Mountain, the once desolate ancient battlefield is now presenting a wondrous scene that would leave later historians speechless.
There were no corpses strewn across the field, nor rivers of blood. On the contrary, the place was bustling with activity and dust flying everywhere. If you didn't see the Qin army overseers holding whips, you would think it was a large mutual aid cooperative.
Eight thousand captured Xiongnu strong men were stripped of their fur robes and replaced with uniform gray coarse cloth short tunics (unsold goods that Liu Bang had brought from Xianyang). They no longer wore soft boots suitable for riding horses, but instead were shackled with heavy iron chains.
Strangely, these normally unruly wolves were behaving unusually docile at this moment.
Before them stood a huge wooden sign, upon which two options were drawn in blood-soaked Hunnic imagery:
Option 1: A severed head.
Option 2: A bowl of steaming hot... mutton offal soup, plus a white steamed bun.
"Listen up, all of you!"
Liu Bang stood on a mound of earth, holding his signature tin megaphone, and shouted in a few broken phrases of the Xiongnu language he had just learned, accompanied by a variety of gestures:
"In the Qin Dynasty, we neither support idlers nor kill useful people!"
"See that pile of stones over there? Move them over! One cartload, one steamed bun! Ten cartloads, an extra bowl of meat soup!"
"If you dare to slack off, or try to run away..." Liu Bang pointed to a row of black-armored ironclad soldiers standing beside him, the foremen personally led by Xiang Yu, "then ask their swords if they'll allow it!"
A burly Hun centurion looked at the heavy precast concrete block in his hand, then glanced at the fragrant mutton soup in the distance, and swallowed hard.
He fought on the grasslands to grab food. Now he doesn't have to fight; he can eat white flour just by moving stones. This... doesn't seem like a bad deal?
"Move it!" the centurion roared, hoisting the stone and heading off.
With a leader in place, the remaining prisoners sprang into action. What were originally destined to be beheaded and displayed as spoils of war had now become the cheapest and strongest labor force for the Qin Empire.
Han Xin sat in the accounting room to the side, his abacus clicking away.
"Eight thousand laborers would cost twenty thousand coins a day if they were paid according to the wages of common laborers in the Qin Dynasty. Now, all we need are a few pots of offal soup and flour, and the cost is less than two thousand coins."
"But their efficiency is 1.5 times that of laborers." Han Xin adjusted his non-existent glasses and wrote a line in the ledger: [The Xiongnu people possess excellent stamina and are well-suited for heavy physical labor. Long-term introduction is recommended.]
Xiang Yu rode his horse around and came to Han Xin's side, looking displeased.
"Han Xin, you're just going to let these wolf cubs move bricks here? That's too lenient on them. If you ask me, you should bury them all alive and build a mound of skulls. That's the only way to intimidate the grasslands."
Han Xin didn't even look up: "Commander Xiang, that's the behavior of a spendthrift. His Majesty said that this is also a form of war."
"What war?"
"An economically complementary war." Han Xin pointed to the Xiongnu people who were working up a sweat. "The grasslands lack food, but have plenty of strength. Qin lacks labor, but has plenty of food."
"Squeeze their strength dry and turn it into our city walls and our roads. Once they get used to eating steamed buns and living in brick houses, they won't be happy to be driven back to the grasslands to starve."
"This is called... labor reform."
Xiang Yu sneered, "Nonsense and heresy. I think they deserve to be killed."
Although he said that, Xiang Yu did not take any action. He had also discovered that these Xiongnu people were indeed very capable workers. The foundation of the surrendered city, which would normally take a month to build, was dug by these people in just three days.
……
Meanwhile, deep in the northern desert.
Having escaped, Modu led a few dozen defeated soldiers back to the royal court like stray dogs.
Although his physical wounds were bandaged, the wounds in his heart were still bleeding.
That crushing defeat haunted his mind like a nightmare.
The Qin people's iron chariots, their heavy armor, and the stark contrast between the bone arrows that shattered at the slightest touch and the iron armor that couldn't be cut through.
"Technology," Maodun muttered to himself, his lips cracked. "The gap lies in technology."
When he entered the golden tent of the royal court, he was not greeted with comfort, but with Touman Chanyu's cold eyes and the gloating smile on the face of his half-brother—his rival who should have inherited the position of Great Chanyu.
"Twenty thousand elite cavalry... and you brought back only a handful?" Touman Chanyu smashed his wine cup. "Modu, you are a disgrace to the steppes!"
"Father, the Qin people have changed!" Maodun knelt on the ground, his voice hoarse. "They have iron armor! Men and horses are encased in iron! Our arrows can't penetrate it at all! They are monsters!"
"Excuses!" Touman roared, kicking Maodun in the chest. "The Qin people are nothing but a bunch of sheep who only know how to farm! You lost, that's all. What nonsense are you spouting? Guards! Drag this piece of trash out and send him to the North Sea to herd sheep!"
Maodun was dragged out.
But he did not resist, nor did he beg for mercy. His eyes turned utterly cold at that moment, like a stagnant pool, unfathomable.
He got it.
His father, an old man obsessed with the fine wine and glass marbles sent by the Qin people, had lost sight of the times. He was still dreaming of being invincible in horsemanship and archery, while the Qin's steel torrent had already reached his doorstep.
If this senile old man continues to lead the Xiongnu, their only fate will be to be captured by that devil of the Qin people named "Han Xin" and forced to do manual labor.
It was late at night.
Maodun sat in his tent, holding a specially made whistling arrow in his hand.
This was his invention. Wherever the arrows were shot, his personal guards were to shoot in the same direction.
"The reason the Qin people are strong is because they have only one voice." Maodun looked at the arrow in his hand. "That Ying Zheng can do whatever he wants, and no one dares to oppose him."
"And we, with our numerous tribes, are not united. Our father is old and senile."
"To survive, to avoid being crushed by that stone road..."
"The Xiongnu also need a First Emperor."
The next morning, at the hunting grounds.
Touman Chanyu, accompanied by his beloved youngest son and a group of concubines, was hunting gazelles. He rode the tall horse that the Qin people had given him, wore the silk that the Qin people had also given him, and held the exquisite glass wine bottle in his hand, looking quite pleased with himself.
Just then, the sound of rapid hoofbeats came.
Maodun appeared on the hillside with his five hundred personal guards, his last remaining loyalists.
"Who is that? Why is that good-for-nothing back?" Tou Man squinted, somewhat displeased.
Maodun remained silent. He drew his bow and nocked an arrow, the whistling arrow aimed directly at the warhorse beneath Toman Chanyu.
"Ugh—!"
A sharp whistle pierced the sky.
"Whoosh whoosh!"
Five hundred arrows followed closely behind, instantly turning the priceless warhorse into a pincushion.
Touman tumbled to the ground in a sorry state, the wine bottle shattering. He roared, "Modu! Are you insane? Do you want to rebel?"
Maodun remained expressionless and drew his bow again.
This time, the whistling arrow pointed to Touman's most favored concubine.
"Ugh—!"
Without any hesitation, the five hundred guards unleashed a rain of arrows, and the concubine was nailed to the ground before she could even scream.
Touman was completely dumbfounded. Looking at his expressionless, machine-like guards, a profound fear rose within him. Was this still the son he used to beat and scold? These were clearly a pack of trained wolves!
the last time.
Maodun raised his bow.
This time, the tip of the whistling arrow was aimed at the old man who was slumped on the ground, his face filled with fear—his father, the Great Chanyu of the Xiongnu.
"Modu! I am your father! I am the Chanyu!" Touman roared, trying to suppress fear with his authority.
Maodun's fingers did not tremble at all.
His mind flashed back to the indestructible iron cavalry of the Qin army, and to the cement road that was stretching towards the grassland.
"Dad, you're getting old."
"Your era is over. To prevent the extinction of the Xiongnu, please die."
"Ugh—!"
This time, some of the guards hesitated. To shoot the Chanyu was a grave act of treason.
But many more people were either captivated by Modu's suffocating ruthlessness or, in their fear of the Qin people's steel monsters, chose to follow the strong.
"Whoosh whoosh-!"
Hundreds of sharp arrows, carrying the cruelty of the new era, brought an end to the miserable existence of the old.
Touman Chanyu died with his eyes wide open in disbelief.
Maodun rode his horse down the hillside, drew his sword, and severed his father's head. He held the head high and roared like a wolf king at the terrified tribal chiefs.
"From this day forward, I am the Great Khan!"
"All tribes, muster your forces immediately! Ditch those useless jars and pots!"
"We're heading west! Westward!"
"The Qin people are too tough; we can't handle them. But to the west... I've heard there are some easier targets there, like the Yuezhi and the Donghu."
"We're going to steal their iron, steal their craftsmen! We'll come back after we've learned how to make those iron pots!"
The butterfly's wings flapped.
Because of Ying Zheng's "infrastructure construction" and "heavy cavalry," the Xiongnu completed the centralization of power ahead of schedule and were forced to begin their westward migration.
This upheaval would bring a catastrophe known as the "Scourge of God" to Central Asia and even Europe over the next few centuries. But at this moment, it was merely a piece on Qin Shi Huang's chessboard that had been forced to jump off the board.
……
Xianyang Palace, Qilin Hall.
Ying Zheng was unaware that Maodun had already helped him complete the "survival of the fittest" process. He was currently busy dealing with the "chain reaction" within the country.
The front-page headline of the Daqin Daily, "Three Thousand Break Twenty Thousand! The Ironclad Cavalry's Divine Might Shakes the Northern Desert," completely ignited public opinion in Xianyang.
The former nobles of the six states, who had been observing and even secretly cursing the Qin army's defeat, were now in utter despair.
Inside the secret chamber of the Zhao clan of the Chu state.
"We've lost... utterly lost." The Zhao family head slumped into his chair, the newspaper falling to the floor. "Even the most ferocious Xiongnu were slaughtered like vegetables. What... what do we have left to fight against Ying Zheng?"
"Our private soldiers carry bronze swords and wear leather armor. If they encounter those so-called 'Iron Pagodas,' they probably wouldn't even be able to stop their horses' hooves."
"Master, what should we do? Should we still buy the government bonds?"
"Buy! Of course we'll buy!" The Zhao family head jumped up suddenly. "Not only will we buy government bonds, but we'll also...we'll find a way to get involved!"
"Didn't you see what the newspaper said? Besides that traitor Xiang Yu, Liu Bang also deserves credit this time! A roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) vendor was actually granted a title because of his excellent logistics!"
"Times have changed. Simply hoarding land and money is no longer effective. We need to get involved in... 'real industry'!"
"Go! Send someone to the Imperial Household Department to inquire whether the cement factory is still looking for shareholders, and whether we could take a stake in the glass factory."
"If you can't beat them, join them! That's your only way to survive!"
……
Inside the Qilin Hall.
Ying Zheng looked at the [Domestic Stability: 95%] and [Economic Activity: 120%] displayed on the screen, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.
"Little G".
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Modu fled?"
Yes. According to satellite maps (although I don't have satellites, I can estimate based on trajectory), he is consolidating tribes, preparing to annex the Donghu and Yuezhi to the west.
[Congratulations, Your Majesty, you have successfully diverted the trouble to the west.]
Ying Zheng stood up and walked to the map.
"This isn't called shifting the blame westward. This is called... putting some pressure on the world."
"However, the most urgent task at present is not to pursue Modu. The grasslands are too vast, and it would not be worthwhile to chase him in."
"I now have eight thousand free laborers at my disposal, as well as a steady stream of money."
Ying Zheng's gaze fell on the center of the map—Xianyang.
"Construction on the Epang Palace has been suspended for a long time."
"Since we don't need any more people now, let's go back to work."
[Oh? Your Majesty, you're building another palace? This is a classic case of hedonistic restoration! Be careful, you'll be cursed by future generations!]
Ying Zheng sneered.
"Enjoyment? You think I built the Epang Palace just to live in?"
"What I want to build is not a palace."
"What I want to build is a... 'Great Qin Central University City' and a 'Great Qin Industrial Expo Park'."
"I intend to turn those eight thousand Xiongnu prisoners into the first batch of 'industrial workers.' I will gather all the Confucian scholars, alchemists, and craftsmen there."
"I want to make the Epang Palace the brain and heart of the Qin Dynasty."
"Li Si!"
"Your subject is here."
"Issue the decree. Construction on the Epang Palace shall resume. But these blueprints need to be revised."
"Give me those grand palaces filled with song and dance. Build me laboratories! Build libraries! Build grand lecture halls!"
"And another thing," Ying Zheng remembered something, "give Liu Bang, that 'magistrate of Xianyang,' some more responsibility."
"Let him be in charge of attracting investment for the Epang Palace."
"Tell him that I want to build a 'commercial street' next to the Epang Palace. Let him lure all the nobles from the six kingdoms who want to make money here to open shops."
"I want the Epang Palace to be not only an academic center, but also... the world's largest money pit."
Li Si was dumbfounded.
Turning the royal palace into a university town and commercial street? This...this is simply unheard of!
But think about all the things His Majesty has done recently, isn't every single one of them unheard of?
"Your subject...accepts the decree!"
……
Xianyang West Market.
Liu Bang was distributing money to his men. He had made another fortune from the logistics of this Northern Expedition.
"Brother! People from the palace have arrived!" Fan Kuai shouted in a loud voice.
Upon hearing that he was to be in charge of "attracting investment" for the Epang Palace, Liu Bang's eyes instantly turned into the shape of copper coins.
"Good heavens! Is His Majesty trying to turn me into a 'capitalist' too?!"
Liu Bang stroked his chin.
"The Epang Palace... that's a place of great feng shui. If we could open a 'Liu's Bath Center' or a 'Great Qin's Number One Barbecue City' there, we could use Xiongnu captives to roast lamb..."
"Wow, this scene is so beautiful."
Liu Bang stood up and straightened his clothes.
"Let's go! Let's go to the palace to meet the Emperor!"
"Tell His Majesty, I, Liu Ji, will take this job! I guarantee I'll swindle those nobles out of their underwear... oh no, I mean, I'll make them rich!"
Driven by Qin Shi Huang, the wheels of history have completely veered off course.
The Epang Palace will no longer be a place of extravagant burning of gold and silver; it will soon become a center integrating scientific research, education, and commerce…
Daqin Silicon Valley.