The Qin Dynasty built the Great Wall, and the manpower investment was large, how to ensure the needs of life
The Great Wall, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is the crystallization of ancient Chinese wisdom and a priceless treasure left to the world. Originating in the Western Zhou Dynasty, its main function was for military defense.
After Qin Shi Huang unified the Six Kingdoms, he began the Northern Expedition and ordered Meng Tian to take charge of building the Great Wall. This huge project requires not only the firm determination to defend against foreign enemies, but also the efforts of tens of millions of laborers and soldiers.
High-intensity work requires the consumption of a large amount of food, so solid food security is the backing of this project.
So what are the living conditions of the laborers who have been stationed in the high-altitude mountains for a long time? And how did the Qin royal family ensure their basic living needs? The Great Wall of Qin, as an important military defense project in ancient China, spanned many provinces and underwent repairs by many dynasties.
It is a very important section of the Great Wall in the past dynasties. The First Emperor ordered a large number of people to be gathered together for construction. Both the Records of the Historians and the Book of Han record the involvement of "300,000 people" in the construction of the Great Wall, and these people are divided into two main categories: soldiers and criminals.
Suitable for the prison officials who are not upright, build the Great Wall and the South Vietnam. In addition, civilian crimes can also be offset by hard labor and become one of the Great Wall laborers. The Bamboo Slips of the Qin Tomb in the Sleeping Tiger Land records the prisoner "Chengdan", who needed to be punished for building the city wall.
Food is the most critical factor in ensuring the basic livelihood of a huge population. At that time, the country had just been reunited, and all aspects of society were recovering. In order to demonstrate the supremacy of imperial power and strengthen the centralization of power, Qin Shi Huang carried out large-scale construction projects.
In addition to the Great Wall, the Afang Palace, the Mausoleum of the Qin Emperor, water conservancy projects in various places, and the extensive transportation network are all in full swing. As a result, almost every adult male workforce is required to serve in forced labor.
However, this large-scale engineering activity has led to the separation of farmers from the land, and food production has been severely affected. And the construction of the Great Wall first needs to ensure food **.
According to the law of the Shang Dynasty Reform Law, one acre of Qin land is equivalent to more than 400 square meters now.
According to the Book of Han, Li Kui, a reformer during the Warring States period, once said: "An adult man can manage 100 mu of land, and the annual harvest per mu of land is one and a half koshi, and a total of 150 koku of corn can be harvested." ”
Some scholars have calculated that a family of five could harvest about 3,300 kilograms of grain per year. According to the History of the Chinese Population and the Compendium of the General History of China, scholars generally believe that the population of the Qin Dynasty was about 20 million.
A family of five will typically have two adult male laborers. According to this calculation, the annual grain output during the ideal period of Qin Shi Huang should be 13 million tons.
However, history is not a fixed number, and it is impossible for every family to have 100 acres of land, nor can they always live a stable life. When studying the annual grain output, scholars will combine a number of records, and in the case of halving the output, the estimated annual grain output should be about 6 million tons.
During the Qin Dynasty, the construction of the Great Wall required a large amount of food rations. According to the Bamboo Slips of the Qin Tomb in the Sleeping Tiger Land, the distribution of rations between male and female laborers was different. Male laborers need 5 litres of rations a day for breakfast and 3 liters for dinner33 liters of rations.
Female workers and light manual laborers need 3 for breakfast and 3 for dinner33 liters of rations. Scholars calculate that a male laborer engaged in heavy manual labor needs about 25 tons of grain per month, which is equivalent to 37 in modern times5 kg.
If 300,000 people need so much food a day, then it would take 13 a year to build the Great Wall50,000 tons of grain. According to the laws of the Qin Dynasty, the grain tax was a "tithe".
* One-fifth of the annual tax revenue is allocated for the construction of the Great Wall, which is a relatively large part of the state budget. With the completion of the construction of the Great Wall, a new challenge arose – how to transport grain from the farmland to the Great Wall station in the mountains and forests.
This area includes agricultural and pastoral areas north of the Yellow River and Inner Mongolia, where the soil is not suitable for growing food, and the soldiers rely on transportation for their rations.
In ancient times, land and waterways were the two main modes of transportation, and waterways were the main means of transporting grain during the Qin Dynasty. However, the loss of this mode of transportation is very large, and it takes "thirty minutes" to get a stone of grain.
Although this ratio may be a bit exaggerated, it is a very large loss to transport 192 stone of grain to get one stone. In addition, natural weather and the distance traveled along the route are also factors that cause loss.
In order to reduce these losses, the Qin Dynasty built a famous project known as the ancient version of the "highway" - Chidao. The aim of this project is to transport food quickly and efficiently, reducing losses caused by factors such as weather and travel.
The construction of Chidao greatly improved the efficiency of grain transportation and played an important role in ensuring the grain of the Qin Dynasty.
By improving the mode of land transportation, Qin Shi Huang greatly increased the flexibility and geographical scope of transportation, making it more suitable for short-distance grain transportation. This method not only strengthened the centralization of power centered on Xianyang, but also became the earliest "national highway" in Chinese history.
In order to prevent the natural loss of grain, the Qin Dynasty also enacted strict laws to prevent the loss of grain caused by human activities. For the illegal sale of military rations and the fraudulent sale of military rations, the law stipulates severe punishments for the parties involved, those who are negligent in their duties, and those who do not report it.
The management of grain before it is transported to the granary and distributed is an important task. The Qin Dynasty had a well-developed management system for this. In the "Warehouse Law", the management system of various types of granaries is recorded in detail, including the main warehouse, Taicang and transshipment warehouse.
The main warehouse is the main body of the granary management system, which is responsible for the regular storage of the land rent of each county every year. Taicang is the largest granary in the country, mainly responsible for transporting grain to the capital. Between the main warehouse and Taicang, the transfer warehouse is used for transfer.
In addition, there are strategic grain storage silos, such as Langya and Huangcang, which are used to transport grain from the grain-producing areas to the quartermaster's office.
The Bamboo Slips of the Qin Tomb in the Sleeping Tiger Land records the meticulous warehousing management system, including grain storage, registration, sealing, and transfer, as well as the allocation and working methods of management personnel.
In addition, the Act provides for penalties for poor management. For example, if the grain is damaged and inedible due to rain leakage in the granary, the person in charge will be reprimanded and punished according to the amount of damaged grain.
The penalty consisted of a fine of 1,344 yuan or 44 stone of grain, and if neither could be both, 244 days of hard labor. Through these management measures, the basic livelihood of the Great Wall workers and soldiers was guaranteed.
Through a strict logistical support system, grain loss has been greatly reduced, the problem of favoritism and malpractice has been effectively solved, and the loopholes in grain operations have been basically plugged.
In this way, the problem of "food" in "food, clothing, housing and transportation" has been solved. "Clothing", "food" and "transportation" are basically the same, but "housing" is different. Soldiers need about 120 people to defend each kilometer of the Great Wall from the field to the city wall, so where do they live?
They stayed in the watchtower while they were on duty, and they had charcoal fires for warmth, as well as knives and guns**. When not on duty, they live in a nearby health center. Behind the guards, forts were set up at important passes, and in the event of a military situation, soldiers would go to the front line to support.
The castle was not only a fortress where the soldiers lived, but also the core of their defense. The exterior of the castle is usually made of rammed loess, built with bricks, and is sturdy and durable. Inside, there are areas with different functions, such as residential areas, government offices, leisure venues, and temples, providing a comfortable living and working environment for the soldiers.
The forts of the castle are also very well equipped, including enemy platforms, corner towers and horse faces. The horse face is the concentration point of the castle's firepower, which is able to effectively strike the enemy. Enemy Taiwan is divided into "hollow" and "solid".
There is space inside the hollow enemy platform, which can not only store food, ammunition and **, but also serve as a rest and ambush place for soldiers, and can also set up windows for lookout and attacking the enemy.
The solid enemy platform has no internal space and windows, and only a treadway for soldiers to climb to the top for defense, which is more powerful and strong. Overall, the castle was a safe haven for the soldiers and an important barrier for them to defend their homeland.
The fortress on the edge of the Great Wall is not only a place of daily life, but also a key stronghold of the military defense line. They improved the defense of the frontier, ensuring the safety of people and property in the city, and at the same time, due to the moderate distance from the Great Wall, they could quickly come to the city to support in the event of an enemy situation.
In addition, there are various classifications of forts, such as command type, post station type, garrison type, etc., each with its own specific purpose. In general, the Great Wall is one of the outstanding projects in human history, it is not only a treasure of ancient Chinese civilization, but also a precious cultural heritage left by the ancients to future generations.
Its value is not only reflected in the material level, but also in the spiritual level, and it represents the wisdom and courage of human beings.
The majesty of the Great Wall is not only a historical relic, but also a symbol of the hard work, bravery, wisdom, perseverance and creativity of the Chinese working people. On the spiritual level, the Great Wall has become a representative of the endless spirit of the Chinese nation, and its indomitable and tenacious spirit symbolizes the spiritual outlook of the Chinese nation.
The passage of time has not diminished the charm of the Great Wall, but has allowed it to precipitate more historical stories and cultural connotations. For the study of the Great Wall, there is still endless space for exploration, and we look forward to future generations to discover and inherit it.
References: "Historical Records", "Book of Han", "Bamboo Slips of the Qin Tomb of the Sleeping Tiger".