Daqin Engineering Corps

Page 224

But at this time, the streets and alleys were covered with notices.

This is tantamount to pointing out a way out for these Chu people, so they looked for various opportunities to leave the city and vote for Qin.

When Fusu saw Shen Bing again, his expression was a little awkward... He didn't want to come, but the duty of supervising the army is to participate in the command and decision-making of the troops, otherwise how would he "supervise the army"?

This was the order of his father, and Fusu did not dare to disobey, so he would at least visit Shen Bing's camp every day to check.

Shen Bing didn't say anything, but said something after saluting:

"My lord, everything is going well."

Fusu was very surprised by Shen Bing's words.

Originally, Fusu thought that Shen Bing would show off a few words, even if he didn't dare to say it, his conversation was barbed, but Shen Bing's words did not have the slightest bit of sarcasm, and he didn't take Fusu's disdain at all to heart.

Fusu didn't say much, just said "hmm", then knelt down in front of the case and flipped through the roster...

Then the more I watched, the more frightened I became.

Because this register not only records the common information required for household registration such as the names and full names of the people who came to Jiangchu, but also appends a valuable information booklet.

Such as mountains and rivers, hydrology, number of defenders, garrison situation and so on.

Seeing these, Fusu sighed:

"The deputy general's mind is so careful, Fu Su admires it."

Shen Bing cupped his hands and replied:

"Each thought may cost hundreds of lives, and my subordinates dare not neglect it."

Fusu nodded, and then asked in a puzzled voice:

"Since the deputy general is so kind-hearted, why bother to be obsessed with war?"

Shen Bing smiled and replied:

"If the subordinates can make the world not fight, they will not be obsessed with war."

"But if war is inevitable, we can only try to end the war with the least loss."

Fu Su was stunned for a moment, and then asked back:

"What the deputy general said meant unifying the Central Plains?"

Shen Bing secretly praised in his heart.

At least this Fusu wasn't as pedantic as Chun Yuyue.

The benevolence Chun Yuyue believes refers to "maintaining the status quo", that is, it is best for everyone to stop fighting under the current situation... This is of course the situation with the least loss and casualties, but it is basically impossible to achieve.

There is a saying that "if you fall behind, you will be beaten". Qin is strong and Chu is weak. For example, Yan is weak but still assassinates and even attacks Qin. Is it possible to avoid this war?

If the "non-annexation" is maintained for a long time in this state, it will cause the greatest casualties.

Fusu obviously thought about this too, that's why he asked this question.

Shen Bing replied:

"Exactly."

Fusu asked again:

"The lieutenant thinks...the war can be stopped after unifying the Central Plains?"

Shen Bing answered very simply:

"No."

Fusu was a little surprised, and then looked at Shen Bing angrily:

"If the war cannot be stopped after unifying the Central Plains, isn't the lieutenant general seeking meritorious service with the lives of the people and soldiers?"

"What is the difference between the deputy general's move and others?"

Shen Bing didn't answer but instead asked:

"My lord, have you heard of the catfish effect?"

Chapter 2: Population Loss

Fusu seemed a little unwilling to listen, so he replied casually:

"It's nothing more than wolves, deer, flowers and the like."

In fact, it's not that Fusu doesn't want to hear it, but that he doesn't like to see his outlook on life and the world shattered again.

Shen Bing nodded and said:

"Although they are different, they are not far from each other."

"A fisherman once caught fish and kept them in wooden barrels. Because the water in the barrels was stagnant, the fish would die one after another soon."

"However, one day a fisherman put a catfish that was going to feed on the fish into a wooden barrel, but found that the fish was hiding everywhere, and the result was that it could live for several days without dying."

"There is also this phenomenon among wolves and deer. If there are no wolves in the forest, the deer will not need to run to avoid the pursuit of wolves, but will lose their vitality and even shorten their life span."

Fusu couldn't help laughing:

"What does the deputy general mean, that if there is no war, the lifespan of the people will be shortened?"

"People only need food and clothing to live, so why do they need war?"

"Fusu has never heard such a rambunctious statement."

Shen Bing shook his head and said:

"This subordinate doesn't mean that."

"I use catfish and wolves as metaphors, which means that if there is no war, society will progress slowly due to lack of motivation."

"It's even going to stagnate."

Fusu looked up at Shen Bing in shock, and asked:

"Why did the deputy general make such a statement?"

"Everyone in the world regards war as a scourge, but only the lieutenant thinks it can make society progress!"

Shen Bing explained:

"It is said to be born in sorrow and die in peace."

"My lord, think about it, if the world is peaceful and the people have a surplus, why do you need to think about how to make the fields produce more crops?"

"Why do you need to make tools such as hand saws to cut wood and make various siege equipment?"

"Why do you need to build a city wall between you and me, and develop the law of war and the way of governing the country?"

"There is no need to make weapons, armor, arrows, etc."

"Young master, do you think so?"

Fusu couldn't help being stunned.

What Shen Bing said was that if there really was no war, what the common people would have to do would be to farm, eat, weave and dress.

Even if there is no war, there is no need for the existence of the country, so there will be no way to govern the country.

Then all the ideas of Confucianism and Legalism are useless, as long as "government by doing nothing" is enough.

It's very much like the school of fish being chased by catfish and the herd of deer being chased by wolves... because there are catfish and wolves chasing them, so they will progress.

The same is true for people.

Because there is war threatening them... If they fail, they may be enslaved or even die, so they have to progress, they have to reform, they have to move forward, so society can develop.

After thinking for a long time, Fusu sighed thoughtfully, nodded and said:

"A good saying is 'born in sorrow and died in peace'."

"There is nothing like this in the world."

"What the deputy general said is reasonable, Fusu has been taught!"

After a pause, Fusu asked again:

"Fusu has never heard what the deputy general said, but I don't know if it is what the He family said?"

Shen Bing was taken aback.

This is analyzed using dialectical and scientific methods. How can there be any home?

If there's one thing to say... it's scientists.

After thinking about it, Shen Bing could only answer:

"This is just a subordinate's wild imagination, and there is no source."

Unexpectedly, Fusu admired him even more:

"The deputy general is too modest, and what the deputy general said is easy to understand and reasonable, so how could it be a wild idea?"

"In the past, although Fusu read all the books of sages and sages, he still had many puzzles."

"Now listening to the lieutenant general's words, I suddenly feel enlightened. Fusu thanked the lieutenant general!"

Shen Bing was naturally polite.

At this time, Fu Su had already accepted Shen Bing's theory in his heart.

This is not surprising at all.

Because indeed, as Fusu said, although a hundred schools of thought are contending and various ideas emerge in endlessly at this time, each school is actually in the immature and groping stage, and there are bound to be many problems that cannot be explained clearly.

Shen Bing, a modern person, possesses the outlook on life and the world of modern society. He only needs to apply these to this era... and the unexplainable things can be explained immediately.

Shen Bing hasn't brought up such things as industrialization and separation of powers yet.

Therefore, the experience of modern society is still very useful. This is not only about the inventions and creations, but also the advanced ideas that can be borrowed.

Especially people like Fusu who care more about governing the country or the common people in the world, you have to use these ideas to subdue him.

Shen Bing's side took over the surrendered Chu Min step by step, while Chu Wangqi's side was in chaos.

Because the leaflets were not only sent to the fiefdoms of the nobles of Chu State, but even reached Dongting and affected the common people of King Qi of Chu.

To be precise, it was not "sent" to Dongting.

Shen Bing was not the one who had the leisure to infiltrate leaflets into Dongting to influence Chu Wangqi.

The reason why the leaflets are "posted" here is because they are easy to hide and take away...It's just a piece of paper, folded in half and then folded in half, folded into a small ball and stuffed in the corner of the clothes, if you want to find it It really takes a lot of thought.

Then there will inevitably be relatives, friends, etc. among the cities of Chu State. In addition, this paper can be worth eight or ten yuan, and merchants will buy it at a low price and sell it to the south with a higher price. ...So it naturally circulated to the hinterland Dongting.

That's the great thing about flyers.

Prior to this, news was often passed on by word of mouth, among which there were "words without proof" and then they were diluted. As a result, no one believed it and there was no "lethal power".

But leaflets are different. Leaflets are "certificates", and you will believe them once you read them: as long as you go to the Huaihe River to surrender to Qin Dynasty, you will get land, land, and new tools for free.

What do the people need?

Isn't that what you've been doing all your life?

There are so many landless people in Chu who can only work for the nobles and get a little food...

This is different from the feudal system of Qin State.

The state of Qin has a tax rate, such as one out of twelve, so the more you work, the more you have to pay the tax and there is still a surplus.

In the state of Chu, the serfdom system purely purchased labor power, and the amount produced in the fields had nothing to do with the serfs. It was right to give so much food so that you would not starve to death and then work in the fields all day long.

What else is there to think about?

Of course, he chose to flee to the Huaihe River to join the Qin Dynasty, not to mention that there are many fellow villagers there, and it is said that some people have been there and successfully obtained fields...

So even Dongting began to lose population.

This can make the king of Chu worry.

He and Xiang Yan deliberated to control the loss problem but found it very difficult.

Because it is impossible to close the city gate and lock all the people in the city and not let them leave... The people have to go out of the city to work in the fields outside the city. If the city gate is closed to death, these people will actually lose their effect.