Chapter 355

Since Qin destroyed the states one after another and took the land and people of the various states of Shandong as its own, almost every period of time, new decrees would be issued to all parts of the world.

Even though many people in the states of Shandong that had been destroyed were unwilling to accept Qin's rule and were not accustomed to Qin's laws and systems, the general trend was such that they could only submit to reality.

If they did not accept Qin's rule, the only thing waiting for them was death!

Therefore, in order to survive, they could only work hard to adapt to everything in Qin and work hard to make themselves a "Qin person"!

And for the scholars of the various states of Shandong.

After their old states were destroyed, they had no hope of restoring their states. If they wanted to exert their learning, they could only work hard to study Qin's characters and read Qin's laws. In that case, they would have the opportunity to become a glorious... Qin official!

After all, Qin did not have the atmosphere of recruiting guests like the various states of Shandong. They could not rely on nobles as they had in the past, become their guests, and then climb to high positions. The only person in Qin who imitated the four princes to keep guests was Lu Lu Buwei. After Lu Lu Buwei was dismissed, his guests all went their separate ways. Since then, this atmosphere had also been cut off in Qin.

Although Qin officials were the lowest-level officials in Qin, for the scholars of Shandong, it was the only path to rise upward.

Well, there was actually another one, and that was joining the army. Qin paid attention to the military merit system. As long as one could kill enemies on the battlefield, one could obtain a title, but not all scholars were good at martial arts and had the ability to kill enemies. If they joined the army rashly, it was more likely that they would die on the battlefield.

The shortage of Qin officials was extremely huge. Originally, the number of Qin officials was sufficient, but after destroying several states in a few years, the shortage became larger and larger. So, in order to make up for this huge shortage, Qin also relaxed the restrictions on people from the various states of Shandong. As long as they could recognize Qin's characters and understand Qin's laws, they would have the opportunity to become Qin officials.

After the destruction of their old states, if they could become a Qin official, it could be considered entering the system, which once caused a learning trend among many scholars of Shandong.

Besides learning Qin's characters and laws, they also paid close attention to the new decrees issued by Qin.

Whether they agreed with Qin's new decrees and whether they scolded Qin in private was one thing.

But if they wanted to mix in this new era, they had to understand everything about Qin.

Sishui Commandery, Pei County!

After Qin destroyed the State of Chu, it gradually governed the State of Chu as it had in the past.

Officials from Qin entered various parts of Chu and began to gradually improve Chu with the laws of Qin.

Because the number of Qin officials was not enough, every time they went to a place, they would select some local scholars to serve as subordinate officials to assist them in handling official business.

"Xiao He, you are here!"

In the county office, the Pei County Chief Clerk looked at Xiao He, a small official who had just joined the job not long ago, and had no high-and-mighty airs, greeting him very casually.

The Chief Clerk was a subordinate official of the County Magistrate, in charge of the advancement and retreat of officials. The position was not high, but for Xiao He, it was his immediate superior.

The current Chief Clerk of Pei County looked to be in his forties, and he thought highly of Xiao He.

Although Xiao He was very young, he could handle many official duties in an orderly manner. More importantly, Xiao He was not from Qin. Before this, he was a Chu person. A Chu person who started from scratch to learn Qin's characters and laws and passed the assessment ceremony for Qin officials showed that Xiao He was smart enough.

As a Chu person, choosing to become a Qin official not long after the destruction of Chu also showed that Xiao He knew the times.

Such a capable and sensible person would sooner or later make his mark.

After greeting Xiao He, the Chief Clerk remembered something else and took out a stack of things and handed them to Xiao He.

"Xiao He, what do you think of this?"

Xiao He was stunned, then took the things handed over by the Chief Clerk.

When it was in the Chief Clerk's hands earlier, he thought it was cloth, but when he really touched it, he found it wasn't.

This made him a little confused, and he couldn't help but look at the Chief Clerk, waiting for his explanation.

The Chief Clerk explained, "This thing is called paper. It was sent from Xianyang. Because this thing has not been made for long, some were sent to us first to try it out."

"According to the statement from Xianyang, this thing can replace bamboo slips and cloth to write official documents and files."

After Xiao He heard the Chief Clerk's explanation, he couldn't help but look at the thing in his hand again.

"In terms of texture, it is not as tough as cloth, but it can indeed be used to replace cloth to write official documents..." After evaluating the thing in his hand, Xiao He asked another question, "I don't know the cost of this thing?"

If the cost was expensive, even if it could replace bamboo slips and wooden slips, it would have no meaning.

Why is it that in the current world, everyone is used to using bamboo slips and wooden slips? Isn't it because the cloth used for writing is too expensive? Only when the Emperor issues an edict would such expensive things be used.

"I don't know much about the cost, but according to the statement from Xianyang, it doesn't seem expensive. Now, they just sent some over for us to try out first. After a while, it seems that there will be special merchants to sell this thing."

— Author's Notes —

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