Chapter 7 The truth of history
The Truth of History: The Dazexiang Uprising
This is the title of Liu Hongmin's paper and also the theme of the paper.
The Shuihudi Qin Bamboo Slips record an important law: If the imperial court issues a levy and fails to carry it out, he shall be fined two armors. If he fails to meet the deadline by three to five days, he shall be punished; if he fails to meet the deadline by six to ten days, he shall be fined one shield; if he fails to meet the deadline by ten days, he shall be fined one armor. If there is water or rain, the prosperity shall be eliminated.
In the Records of the Grand Historian, there is a record about the Daze Township Uprising, which was that Chen Sheng, Wu Guang and others were unable to arrive on time due to heavy rain when they were serving in the army. According to the law at that time, they would be beheaded. When everyone sees this, they will feel that the Qin law is inhumane and worthy of the reputation of "tyrannical Qin". Therefore, overthrowing the "tyrannical Qin" is just, Chen Sheng and Wu Guang are like this, Xiang Yu is like this, and Liu Bang is even more so.
However, the discovery of this law on late arrival proves that Qin law was not inhumane. If you fail to arrive on time, you will have to pay the price of two sets of armor; if you exceed the deadline by three to five days, you will be severely reprimanded; if you exceed the deadline by six to ten days, you will be fined the price of a shield; if you exceed the deadline by ten days, you will be fined the price of a set of armor. If it is due to weather reasons, you can be exempted from the tax.
So, the question is, why did Sima Qian write this way?
Many of Liu Hongmin’s classmates believed that Sima Qian was lying in order to make the Han Dynasty established by Liu Bang legitimate.
But Liu Hongmin doesn't think so, because the historical records show that Chen Sheng and Wu Guang were garrison soldiers. In other words, Chen Sheng and Wu Guang were not corvée labor, but garrison labor, that is, military service. The laws of corvée labor do not apply to garrison labor. The laws of the Qin Shihuang period do not apply to the Qin Ershi period.
The Records of the Grand Historian states: In April, the Second Emperor returned to Xianyang…There were too many people to feed, and it was estimated that there was not enough, so the counties were ordered to transport beans, millet, fodder, and straw, and all were ordered to bring their own food. No one within 300 miles of Xianyang could eat grain. The use of the law became more and more severe.
"The law became more and more severe" means that the punishments during the reign of Qin II were heavier than those during the reign of Qin Shi Huang, and they were getting heavier and heavier.
Therefore, the records in the Shuihudi Qin Bamboo Slips and the Biography of Chen She in the Records of the Grand Historian are not the same thing.
It took ten days to roughly write the paper. Then Liu Hongmin went to Ge Chaoguang to verify it by comparing it with historical materials from the Qin and Han dynasties. After finding no errors, Liu Hongmin began to polish the paper.
"Professor, this is the paper that Ge Chaoguang and I wrote together. Please help us correct it."
Professor Tao looked at Liu Hongmin and Ge Chaoguang in surprise, "Why do you want to write a paper?"
Liu Hongmin said: "Students have different opinions on the contents of the Shuihudi Qin Bamboo Slips. Many students say that Shuihudi overturned the contents of Chen She's Family History and that Sima Qian lied. Ge Chaoguang and I have different opinions, so I want to write a paper to prove that my point of view is correct."
Professor Tao nodded. "None of us knows what history is like, so it's normal to have another debate. Academic debate is not about quarreling, but about using papers to prove that your own ideas are correct. Leave the paper with me first, and I'll get back to you after I finish reading it."
"Thank you, Professor. We'll be leaving now."
Professor Tao watched the two leave, glanced at the title of the paper, and suddenly his face turned strange: "You are quite confident."
After picking up the paper and reading it for a few times, Professor Tao was immediately interested in it. The paper was perfect in terms of both its viewpoints and arguments. If it weren't for the fact that the writing seemed a little immature, Professor Tao would not have believed that this was Liu Hongmin's first paper.
"This kid is very talented, but unfortunately he is a bit off topic."
Professor Tao knew that Liu Hongmin was writing a novel. If it had not affected Liu Hongmin's studies, he would have stopped it long ago.
He is very optimistic about Liu Hongmin, a student who is not only smart, but also has unique views, is very persistent, and is willing to take action. In Professor Tao's opinion, Liu Hongmin is very suitable for academic research and will become a qualified historian in the future.
Picking up a pen, Professor Tao filled in the missing arguments in the paper. These books were ancient books collected by Professor Tao himself, which Liu Hongmin and Ge Chaoguang had not read. After adding the arguments, some content in the paper also needed to be revised. Professor Tao added arguments and revised them at the same time. When he finished, it was already dark.
Liu Hongmin didn't know that his paper had been valued by Professor Tao, so he took Ge Chaoguang to find Zou Shifang and Liu Zhenyun to have a meal together. Liu Hongmin had only met with the two a few times in the past month, and he missed these two friends a lot.
"Hongmin, you are finally out of the customs."
Zou Shifang also missed Liu Hongmin. After Liu Hongmin went into seclusion to write his thesis, he had not come out to eat. The cafeteria at Beijing University also had meat dishes, but following Liu Hongmin, he had become picky about food and was used to eating out. How could he tolerate the big pot meals?
Seeing Zou Shifang eagerly picking up the menu, Liu Hongmin teased, "Are you thinking about me? Or are you thinking about delicious food?"
"It's all the same, all the same!" Zou Shifang said as he ordered the dishes.
Liu Zhenyun was a little disgusted with his starving appearance, "Hongmin, have you finished writing the paper?"
"Yes, I just handed it to the professor." Liu Hongmin handed the menu to Ge Chaoguang, "Old Ge, you also order two. Let's celebrate today."
Ge Chaoguang felt a little embarrassed, but still took the menu.
Zou Shifang served tea to the three of them. "Hongmin, you've been in seclusion for a month, and the editors of Unnamed Lake have missed you very much!"
Liu Hongmin was stunned. "What's going on? What do they want to do with me?"
Liu Zhenyun said, "Of course I miss your novel. The sales of this issue of Unnamed Lake are obviously not as good as the previous issue. It is said that there are one or two thousand fewer copies."
"So much less?" Liu Hongmin looked at Zou Shifang in surprise, "Really? Old Zou, are you guys being lazy?"
Zou Shifang looked at him speechlessly, "It has nothing to do with us. The main problem is the quality of the manuscript. Hongmin, Zha Jianying told me to write more manuscripts during the winter vacation. The sales of "Unnamed Lake" next year will depend on you."
Liu Hongmin was very surprised. He had never thought that Shao Bao would one day become a magazine's flagship work.
He scratched his head. Was it because he didn't know enough about this era? Or did he underestimate his own ability?
Ge Chaoguang asked in surprise: "So, the novel written by Hong Min is very popular?"
Zou Shifang nodded, "Of course, I heard that students from other schools bought the previous issue of "Unname Lake" just to get "Famous World".
Ge Chaoguang asked in confusion: "Hongmin, didn't you say your novel wasn't very good?"
Liu Hongmin spread his hands, "How would I know what's going on? The fee for Weiming Lake is yuan per thousand words, which should be the lowest fee standard."
Zou Shifang coughed awkwardly, "Well... "Unnamed Lake" is just starting out, and funds are a bit tight, so I can only give you yuan per thousand words."
"Only?" Liu Hongmin's face looked a little unhappy. These scumbags actually suppressed my royalties?
(End of this chapter)
