Chronicles of the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 324, Section 323: The Succession of the Nation
With the cement completed, Qin Shi was naturally overjoyed.

To get rich, build roads first.

This slogan, which once adorned the walls and road signs of remote villages across the country, gradually disappeared after the "Village-to-Village Road" project reached every household, but the truth it conveyed remains undeniably true.

Inconvenient transportation prevents timely communication and ensures that government orders cannot reach the counties and prefectures, thus hindering the monarch's control over the country.

This would never have been a good thing in ancient times.

When royal power clashes with local forces, it is the common people who suffer.

Moreover, although merchants may not have a high social status nowadays, anyone who has studied economics knows that the convenient flow of goods is a crucial aspect of social progress.

The road surface made of rammed loess is wide, flat, and produces little vibration, so it won't hurt horses or livestock...

But no matter how good it is, whether it's frying or boiling loess, or tamping the road surface by hand with hammer blows, or rolling it round and round with a stone roller...

Both require a huge amount of manpower.

The solid foundations surrounding the capital city, discovered a thousand years later in Xianyang, bear the imprint of countless people's blood and tears.

Qin Shi followed Xin hastily to a secluded palace, with Chi Nu Wu Zi and her servants accompanying them. Just then, the Queen casually remarked from ahead:

"Xin, with this one thing, you will surely be remembered in history."

That's not an exaggeration.

If the King of Huainan could be remembered for making tofu, how could the name of the maker of cement, something that will eventually be used in every household, not be remembered?
Xin had long recognized the importance of cement. But upon hearing the Queen's words, he was still filled with fear and shame.

"I have not achieved anything; this is all thanks to the secret techniques and mystical methods given to me by the Queen..."

Qin Shi smiled.

People with little social experience may not understand one thing—

That is, finding someone who is loyal, obedient, has strong execution skills, makes their own decisions in all matters, and can do things just right is already a rare talent at the senior management level.

The two tasks she assigned to Xin so far, aside from timely progress reports, have not presented any problems or troubles to Xin during this period.

And yet, it produces results so efficiently...

Even copying homework can lead to mistakes, and Xin, who moved from the Imperial Stud to various workshops, clearly had considerable skill in dealing with superiors, subordinates, and colleagues.

Otherwise, such efficiency would not be possible.

Therefore, Qin Shi only earnestly said, "You deserve it."

"You have that ability."

Xin paused for a moment, his back tensed, and his body trembled slightly.

A moment later, he bowed deeply again and then followed the Queen forward.

A scholar dies for a confidant.

Back in the State of Yan, he hoped that the ruler of Yan would unify the world and become a great ruler of the time.

But the King of Yan feared the State of Qin, and even went so far as to kill his own crown prince to save himself. Heartbroken, he fled to the State of Qin in haste. Just when he had finally found a way to establish himself, he became embroiled in a noble affair and was captured and forced into labor.

Under the heavy labor at the ironworks, he truly felt that he might not be able to endure it—he had once been a man of impeccable taste, and his noble status could not be compromised.

Later, she took the initiative to befriend Mo, not because she felt that a commoner was a suitable match, but simply because she saw his clear mind and felt a slight pity for him after experiencing the ways of the world.

At that time, he no longer cared about his ambitions.

But now...

He walked briskly, and the Red-Robed Chief Secretary beside him smiled and said:
"Congratulations, Lord Xin."

Ahead, the Queen looked at the pile of gray powder and river sand and began to laugh.

"good."

……

In cold weather, cement does not harden easily and is prone to freezing and cracking.

Fortunately, the Ganquan Palace complex is vast, and although some palaces are remote, the temperature is always slightly higher than in the open fields. However, by the time the hardness of the cement could be thoroughly tested, it was already November.

The Qin dynasty was still somewhat unaccustomed to the current calendar.

With the New Year's Day celebrations over, she felt as if it were already the first month of the lunar calendar. But in reality, the real temperature drop was still a long way off.

The Grand Astrologer borrowed the wristwatch and never returned it. It is said that he still carefully winds it and copies the new calendar day by day.

After turning the calendar past New Year's Day, he looked at the upcoming Lesser Snow, Greater Snow, Lesser Cold, and Greater Cold, comparing them with the weather in previous years, and was secretly alarmed.

But the palace where he was now was warm and inviting. Through the stained glass windows, the clear sunlight shone down, and hot steam rose from the stone walls beside him, wafting through the palace.

He was already warm enough in his spring robes.

Alas, I wonder how you gentlemen kept warm in the Qin Dynasty two thousand years from now?

At the same time, Qin Shi was also thinking.

It's been two months. What has been the success of those merchants who promoted honeycomb briquettes to various counties and prefectures?
Human life is fragile and manpower is so scarce. She never imagined that even now, as the ruling class, she would still be short of manpower to do things.

Construction is not advisable in many places due to the frozen ground in winter. However, if many people can survive the harsh winter, then the fact that there has been no reduction in manpower this year is a great joy.

In that case, it's time to go and report the good news to the King!

……

When Qin Shi arrived at Zhangtai Palace, the palace was completely silent.

Apart from the rustling sound of turning bamboo slips and paper, the audience remained completely silent.

Thinking about it this way, Princess Wen is quite similar to the King. Although she's not entirely clueless, she's often unhappy.

"What's wrong?" she asked Zhou Ju softly in the side hall.

Zhou Ju wore a bitter expression: "His Majesty is currently discussing the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai with the other gentlemen. He said that during the ceremony, the Qin Dynasty's laws and regulations will be promulgated, that His Majesty and the Queen will jointly offer sacrifices to Heaven, and that there are various policies to benefit the country..."

They were talking excitedly, their future looked bright, when suddenly that old man, the Imperial Clan Head, lost his mind and, in the midst of such joy, reported:

"Your Majesty, I have something to say."

"Your Majesty is now thirty-seven years old, and your children are not empty. For the sake of the Qin Dynasty, please appoint a Crown Prince as soon as possible."

He hesitated.

The late king, whose life was short, was already buried in his tomb at such an young age.

The king wanted to travel to Mount Tai, and every time he went on his tour, all the ministers were filled with anxiety.

Now he plans to be with the Queen again.

If something unexpected happens on the way, and there is no one in power in the palace, wouldn't it be in complete chaos?

In the harem, Prince Chenghu, though weak, possessed wisdom.

Prince Qian was also a brave and valiant young man.

If the two sides were to clash in battle before establishing a formal relationship, the hard-won unified Qin state would be torn apart once again.

Zongzheng sighed deeply.

He also knew that these words were very unpleasant, and that even the queen in the harem, who had not yet given birth to a prince, would probably not like to hear them.

only……

Ugh!
Qin Shi laughed: "I see..."

She slowly walked into Zhangtai Palace.

Ji Heng was frowning, flipping through the papers in front of him, but Qin Shi was not intimidated by his expression. At this moment, he simply served a cup of tea slowly beside him, and then spoke softly:
"Zongzheng is loyal to our Qin state, has planned ahead, and speaks frankly and truthfully. Your Majesty should reward him. Why be unhappy?"

"As for the matter of the Crown Prince..."

　Coming!
　　(End of this chapter)