If there is a radius of 100 miles, if mountains and hills occupy one-tenth of the country's land, lakes and swamps account for one-tenth of the country's land, valleys and rivers account for one-tenth of the country's land, urban roads account for one-tenth of the country's land, thin fields account for two-tenths of the country's land area, and fertile land accounts for four-tenths of the country's land, these lands can be used to feed about 50,000 peasants engaged in agricultural production. The valleys and rivers can supply all kinds of raw materials, and the roads of towns and cities are enough for their people to live, which is the law of dividing the land established by the ancient emperors.
At present, there are five areas of land in the Qin State with a radius of 1,000 li, but the fields that can grow crops do not account for two-tenths, the number of well fields is less than 1 million, and the raw materials and treasures in the lakes, swamps, valleys, streams, mountains, and rivers in the country cannot be fully utilized.
The neighboring countries of Cheng and Qin were the three kingdoms of Han, Zhao, and Wei after the three divisions of the Jin Dynasty; What Qin wanted to attack with troops was Han and Wei. These two countries have small land areas and large populations, and their houses are messy and intertwined; Among them, the people who were engaged in business could not fill in their names, and they did not have land or dwellings below, but they were engaged in business and handicrafts with cunning occupations to support themselves; More than half of the people dig holes in the low-lying areas of the north and south of the mountains and lakes. The land of these countries was not enough to support its people, and it seems that it was more than the people of Qin were enough to fill their land.
Guessing the mood of the people, what they want is fields and houses, but Sanjin really doesn't have them, and Qin's fields and so on are also surplus. In this case, the people of Han, Zhao, and Wei did not enter the Qin state westward, because the Qin scholar class was sad and the people were hard. Personally, I think that although the king's officials are wise, their opinions are wrong. Therefore, they did not fight for the people of the Three Jin Dynasty, because they were stingy with their titles and attached importance to rent and exemption from military service.
They said: "The reason why the Sanjin Dynasty is so weak is that the people of the Sanjin Dynasty pursue happiness, and the imperial court easily allows people to be exempted from rent and military service, and easily gives people titles."
The reason why the Qin State is so strong is that the people of the Qin State are willing to work hard, and the imperial court does not easily grant people free of rent and military service, and they can easily give titles. If we also give more titles to the people and extend the period of rent exemption and exemption, it will be the reason why the Qin State is so strong and the reason why the Three Jin Dynasty is so weak. ”
This is the saying that the king's officials value the title and are stingy with rent and service. Personally, I don't think that's true. Therefore, we asked the people to endure hardships to strengthen our forces in order to attack the enemy country and realize our own wishes. The Art of War says: "When the enemy's forces are weak, our forces will be strong." ”
This means that if we do not lose the conditions for attacking, the enemy will lose the conditions for self-defense. Now the Three Jin Dynasty can't defeat the Qin State, and it has been four generations. Since the king of Wei Xiang, they can't defeat Qin in the field, and the defending city will definitely be captured by Qin. In this way, they did not give in because the Qin state could only take their land, not their people.
Now the king has issued a great preferential policy, and all those who come to the vassal states will be immediately exempted from three generations of conscription and taxes, and will not have to participate in the war.
Within the four realms of the Qin State, there were no taxes on the slopes, dirt mountains, and wet lands for ten years, and these were written into the law, which was enough to attract millions of people engaged in agricultural production. First of all, I said: "Guess the mood of the people, what they want is fields and houses, but Sanjin really doesn't have them, and Qin's fields and so on are also surplus." In this case, the people of Han, Zhao, and Wei did not enter the Qin state westward, because the Qin scholar class was sad and the people were hard. ”
Now they are given land and dwellings, and they are exempted from the taxes of three generations of servitude, and this is what they want, and they are not allowed to do what they hate. In this way, there was no people in the six countries other than Qin who did not come to Qin. And it's not just empty words, it's actually true. For the people from all nations have enriched the barren land, exploited its natural treasures, and engaged a million people in agricultural production, and have created many benefits, is it not just that they do not lose the power to attack?
Qin's fear was that sending troops to crusade against the enemy would lead to poverty, and if he settled down to farm, the enemy would get rest. This is what the king cannot do both. The past three generations of kings have won battles, but the vassal states of the world are not convinced. Now use the original people of Qin to deal with the army of the enemy country, and let the newly recruited people engage in agricultural production, although the army lives abroad for hundreds of days, the country will not delay a little agricultural time, this is the effect of both rich countries and strong soldiers. When I say the use of troops, I do not mean to use them all, but to investigate the food and forage that can be supplied to the army within the borders of the country. The princes of the world did not obey, and the king used these armies to surround their fields in the spring, to eat the grain they had stored in the summer, to take the grain they had already harvested in the autumn, to dig up the grain they had hidden in the winter, to shake their kingdom with great force, and to appease their descendants with generosity. If the king did this, would there be no one in the vassal states who was not the same as the Qin state within ten years? Why would the king be stingy with the title and reluctant to be exempted from military service?
After the victory in the battles of Yique and Huayang, the Qin army attacked east after cutting off many heads. It was also clear that there was no benefit to attacking to the east, and that the king's officials believed that they would be able to perform great feats because they would harm the enemy. Now we use the uncultivated wasteland to recruit the people of Han, Zhao, and Wei, and then let them engage in agricultural production, so that the destruction of the enemy has the same effect as the destruction brought by defeating the enemy, and the Qin state receives the grain grown by the people of Han, Zhao, and Wei. Besides, how much did the Qin State lose in the Battle of Yique, the Battle of Huayang, and the Battle of Changping? How many of the original people of the Qin State and the people recruited by the Qin State were unable to engage in agricultural production because of the war? Personally, I think there is no way to calculate. If any of the king's courtiers used these forces, using only half of them, to weaken the strength of Han, Zhao, and Wei and make the Qin state strong, the king would surely increase the reward as if he had won three battles. Now the method I am talking about is to make the people not subject to a day's conscription, and the government does not waste much money, but it can weaken the strength of Han, Zhao, and Wei, and make the Qin state stronger than those three battles, but the king thinks that it is not feasible, and I am really so ignorant that I don't understand.
There is a man named Dong Guo Chang in the Qi country, who has lofty ideals and hopes that he can have a lot of wealth. His apprentice begged him for relief, but he refused, saying, "I intend to use my money to get a knighthood." The apprentice was furious and left him for the Song Kingdom. Someone lied: "This man cherishes what he has not acquired, so it is better to give the money to his existing apprentices first." ”
Now there are people in the three kingdoms of Han, Zhao, and Wei, and the Qin state still spares to exempt them from servitude and taxes, is this also cherishing what they do not have, but losing the apprentices they already have? In ancient times, there was Yao Shun, who was praised at that time; In the Middle Ages, there was Shang Tang and King Wu of Zhou in the position of monarch, and the people at that time were convinced. These four emperors have been praised for generations, but their methods of governing the country cannot be used by future rulers. Now, if the tax of the three generations of conscription is exempted, then the people of Han, Zhao, and Wei will all be recruited.
Didn't this matter of attracting the people of the Three Jin Dynasty rely on your wise position to establish it now, and let the people of later generations adopt it for the king? Then it seems that it is not the special statement of the saint, but that it is difficult to follow the teachings of the saint!