Chapter 14 I am the right prime minister of the Qin Dynasty. How can I do what you say?
Feng Quji kept chattering along the way, but Li Si kept smiling and didn't respond. He was just secretly happy in his heart, because he had the same worries as him before.

As soon as those words fell, the two of them walked through the long corridor and entered the outer hall.

At this time, Ying Heng was sitting in the seat of honor, sipping tea leisurely, while Zi Yi was serving him smartly. This scene came into the eyes of the two.

Without waiting for Feng Quji to react, Li Si took the lead and stepped forward, behaving very respectfully, performing a standard etiquette of a subject and bowing deeply.

"Your humble servant Li Si pays respect to you, sir!"

With a "click", Ying Heng casually closed the lid of the teacup and handed it to Zi Yi beside him, then raised his eyes and responded with a nasal sound.

"Ah."

Then he ordered: "Wait aside first."

Li Si followed his instructions and walked to the guest seat in the hallway and sat down.

At this moment, Feng Quji stood in the center, like a student who had made a mistake, feeling awkward and uneasy.

He thought to himself, Prime Minister Li actually showed such great courtesy to the Thirteenth Young Master, and his words were so humble and polite, what was the meaning of this?
Was this done deliberately for me to see?

Even if Prime Minister Li was playing with the Thirteenth Young Master, he wouldn't act like this, right?

Ying Heng turned his gaze to Feng Quji, only to see that he had a square face and slightly graying hair.

It is vaguely remembered from historical records that Prime Minister Feng did have outstanding qualities and great achievements, but the knowledge of people at that time was limited.

Despite his good reputation and merits, Feng Xiang chose to die to show his determination after Hu Hai forcibly conscripted the people to build the Afang Palace without listening to advice.

A prime minister who chose to commit suicide because he was unable to convince the emperor was not a heroic act in Ying Heng's opinion, but a cowardly act that showed a lack of responsibility.

He sighed in his heart, after all, he was not qualified to take on big responsibilities.

Feng Quji stood there for a long time, waiting for about ten breaths. Seeing that the Thirteenth Young Master still ignored his words, he couldn't help feeling anxious.

"My Lord, I don't mind the jokes between you and Li Si, but the Qin Empire is not something you can just play with."

He advised earnestly: "I hope you can return the power to me and Li Si as soon as possible. You can play around as you like, but I have to go back and deal with the important matters concerning the fate of the Qin Dynasty."

Another important official who was blinded by blind loyalty. Ying Heng looked at him with interest. It seemed that most civil servants of this era were like this, with shallow knowledge and unable to keep up with the pace of the times.

"Before my father was in power, I was unwilling to interfere in government affairs. However, now the great Qin is in turmoil. If I don't step forward, I'm afraid the Qin will collapse within three years."

Then he said in a deep voice: "Prime Minister Feng, I invite you in today because I hope you can join me in turning the tide, quelling internal and external troubles, expanding territory, and jointly creating the eternal glory of our Great Qin."

Feng Quji was about to politely decline, saying that he did not have the ability to change the situation, but he heard Ying Heng continue, "Of course, this process will be mainly led by me. At most, I will need your assistance and just give me a hand."

As soon as these words were spoken, Feng Quji's eyes widened in anger, feeling extremely insulted.

"Mr. Thirteen, you invited me in just to humiliate me like this?!"

"I am the Right Prime Minister of the Qin Dynasty, and my status is higher than Li Si's. How can I condescend to work with you?"

Sir, do you think governing a country is as easy as child's play and that you can expand territory with just a wave of your hand?
Feng Quji went straight to the point and questioned mercilessly.

"Let's not talk about other potential disasters for now. I will only explain the current predicament facing the Great Qin. Right now, famine is raging, and the common people are starving, while the nobles of the former six countries are hoarding food, buying horses, and accumulating strength, secretly coveting it."

"Sir, do you have any countermeasures to deal with this chaos?"

Ying Heng nodded in agreement and sighed, "The rich are feasting and drinking, while the poor are freezing to death on the streets. This is a sign of a chaotic world." He then responded, "I have two strategies for this: one to treat the symptoms and the other to treat the root cause. If we use both, we may be able to break this deadlock."

"However, before that, I would like to hear how you, as the Right Prime Minister of the Qin Dynasty, view and plan to deal with this thorny issue."

Although Feng Quji was not willing to deal too much with Ying Heng, in order to seize more power from Li Si, he suppressed his temper and analyzed the situation in detail.

"During this time of natural and man-made disasters, the aristocracy controlled most of the society's wealth. Once they took this opportunity to hoard food on a large scale, ordinary people would have no choice but to rely on them to survive."

"In this way, they will easily control the livelihood of the people. If some of them harbor the intention of rebelling against Qin and restoring the country, and take advantage of the people's support and financial resources to rise up, the situation will change rapidly and be difficult to control."

The situation described by Feng Quji hits the nail on the head exactly.

Now, the Qin Dynasty has only been unified for a dozen years, and it is not easy to achieve the same track and writing system. It is even more difficult to completely subdue the nobles of the original six countries and make them submit wholeheartedly.

Fortunately, the Qin Emperor was a man of great talent and strategy, and was able to deter the rebellious hearts of these old nobles.

However, once the news of the First Emperor's death spreads, there will be an uproar in the world.

At this critical juncture, Daqin was hit by a sudden famine, which undoubtedly made the already difficult situation even worse.

Prime Minister Feng Quji was well aware of this and after pondering for a long time, he made a serious suggestion.

"Under the current circumstances, I believe that the only way is to open the government warehouses and distribute food to appease the people and stabilize their hearts, thereby slowing down the pace of the remnants of the six kingdoms recruiting soldiers."

Indeed, most people who have food are unwilling to set foot on the battlefield where the mortality rate is extremely high.

However, Ying Heng shook his head slightly after hearing this, and worry was revealed in his eyes.

"This move is nothing more than drinking poison to quench thirst. It will only temporarily postpone the crisis facing the Qin Dynasty for a year or two."

When Feng Quji heard this, his face changed and he widened his eyes to express his objection.

Ying Heng then asked a question that hit the point directly.

"If we open the warehouses and release the grain now, how will the hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the Great Qin feed themselves?"

"If the Xiongnu and Baiyue take advantage of this opportunity to invade, how can we resist the foreign enemies?"

This question was like a soul-searching question, deeply hurting the hearts of Li Si and Feng Quji.

They knew very well that this was an unavoidable dilemma - at that time in the world, the main food crops were millet and sorghum, and without the aid of chemical fertilizers and modern farming techniques, the yield per mu was only 200 to 300 kilograms relying solely on natural resources.

Once a natural disaster or man-made disaster occurs, there may be nothing to harvest.

The Qin Dynasty's heavy military service and labor system meant that hundreds of thousands of soldiers and millions of laborers all had to rely on grain collected from the public to make a living.

It was a time of famine and the people had no food to eat. If the government granaries were opened to provide relief to the people, the soldiers and laborers would face the threat of starvation.

If the Huns took advantage of this opportunity and invaded, the Qin Empire would be in a precarious situation.

However, if the government granaries were closed and the people were allowed to exchange their own children for food, the fertile land would instantly become a living hell with starving people everywhere. Not only would the people suffer, but it would also give the remaining nobles of the six kingdoms an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

They only needed a very small amount of food to recruit countless hungry people as soldiers, and marched straight to the city of Xianyang with weapons in hand. By then, the Qin dynasty would still be in danger.

(End of this chapter)