Facing the elders of Xianyang, who welcomed the Royal Army with baskets of food and pitchers of drink, Luo Yi gently tugged Liu Bang's sleeve and whispered, "Your Majesty, just as we discussed."
After receiving Han Xin's dispatch, Liu Bang and Luo Yi had led the ministers of Han State toward Xianyang. On the way, Xiao He, Luo Yi, and Liu Bang had discussed how they would govern the lands of Three Qin.
"Abolish the harsh laws King Xiang imposed on the Qin people out of vengeance. This is the quickest way to win their hearts, and the first thing you must do."
The laws Xiang Yu imposed on the Qin people were fundamentally different from those of the former King of Qin Dynasty, naturally. They were more a form of political retaliation than a concrete legal code.
After all, Luo Ling had just carried out Treading Down the Law in Zhao City, and he would naturally not overlook it.
In the Qin lands, he had not established laws designed to ensure stability, as Shang Yang had before. He had simply raised taxes and oppressed the Qin people.
Luo Ling's Treading Down the Law actually trampled two kinds of things.
One was the art of rule that concerned Luo Ling most: systems that imperceptibly turned people into slaves.
This was what the Luo Clan loathed most deeply, their bottom line. Whoever dared use such a system, no matter what enlightened ruler or sage sovereign he might be, no matter how many achievements he had, would be killed if he refused to change.
The other kind was different: what it trampled were tyrants who levied ruinous taxes and exactions. Xiang Yu now showed some inclination in that direction, but his retaliation arose from personal feelings, so it was still somewhat different.