The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 102 Duke Huan of Qi's Regret
Eight hundred years have passed since the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty, followed by centuries of conflict between various states and the rise and fall of wars.

Among the Zhou emperors throughout history, the second Zhou emperor, King Cheng of Zhou, performed the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai.

More than 800 years have passed, and countless generations have gone by. Can people still really remember what it was like when the Zhou emperor performed the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai?
Fusu remained skeptical about this.

Tian An placed the basin of water containing the soaking red beans to the side.

The next day, Gaoquan Palace made red bean paste. Today, Fusu plans to make steamed rice cakes. Since it snowed, Pinyang Gong sent some glutinous rice.

Fusu used the glutinous rice to make steamed rice cakes.

The steamed rice cake was still warm when it came out of the oven. Wang Tang'er ate it, her eyes squinting with delight at how delicious it was.

Fusu put the steamed rice cake into a food box, then left Gaoquan Palace and headed towards Zhangtai Palace.

The heavy snow in Guanzhong has just ended, and the weather has finally cleared up for a couple of days. Although the cold wind is still blowing, it makes people feel much more at ease.

When Fusu walked up the steps and arrived at the front of the Zhangtai Palace, he saw Prime Minister Li Si inside, seemingly explaining something to the First Emperor.

The guards in front of the hall said, "Young master, please enter the hall. There is no need to announce your arrival."

Fusu nodded and entered the hall, where he heard Prime Minister Li Si speaking loudly about the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai.

This matter was eventually brought before the First Emperor for discussion.

It is currently the time of court recess, and the Emperor and the Chancellor would not discuss this matter in a grand manner during the court meeting at this time.

Upon seeing that it was Prince Fusu, Li Si stopped talking.

Fusu placed the steamed rice cake from the food box in front of his father's desk.

Ying Zheng asked, "How did you prepare this food today?"

Fusu replied, "The snow disaster has just passed, and the people of all counties are safe and sound. That's why we made steamed rice cakes, hoping for peace and tranquility in the future."

Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng divided the steamed rice cake into three pieces.

Each of the three people in the palace—the emperor, his ministers, and his sons—had one piece of furniture.

Li Si then brought up the matter of the Fengshan ceremony.

Fusu asked, "It has been eight hundred years since the last Zhou emperor ascended Mount Tai. Has anyone climbed Mount Tai since then?"

The last Zhou emperor to perform the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai was King Cheng of Zhou.

After eight hundred years, the topic of the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai has been brought up again, and the First Emperor may be the most qualified one in these eight hundred years.

Eight hundred years is an extremely long period of time, encompassing the entire Zhou Dynasty, the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, and the period from when the Zhou Dynasty unified the world until now.

In other words, it's been close to a thousand years.

For an agrarian civilization, a thousand years is too long to forget some things. Fortunately, some history has been preserved in the stories passed down by word of mouth, and this history is the proof that this agrarian civilization is a civilization.

Li Si replied, "Back then, it was said that King Mu of Zhou went on a western tour to see the Queen Mother of the West, but did not go to Mount Tai."

Fusu nodded.

"Back then, King Xuan of Zhou was busy pacifying the border troubles in the north and west. Because of pacifying the Rong tribes, he was unable to make an eastern tour."

Fusu listened attentively.

Li Si continued, "After King Ping of Zhou moved the capital eastward, the feudal lords ignored the Zhou emperor, and no Zhou emperor ever ascended Mount Tai again."

Seeing that his father was still eating steamed rice cake, Fusu asked again, "Then did any of the dukes from the various states ascend Mount Tai to perform the Fengshan ceremony back then?"

Li Si replied, "Back then, Duke Huan of Qi wanted to climb Mount Tai, but Guan Zhong dissuaded him. At that time, all the feudal lords were still around, and he was worried that disrespecting the Zhou emperor would lead to attacks from the feudal lords, so he gave up the idea."

Li Si took a bite of steamed rice cake and said, "Afterwards, some local lords also had thoughts about the Fengshan ceremony, but none of them succeeded."

Ying Zheng asked, "What do you think of the scenery of Mount Tai?"

Upon hearing this, Li Si's expression changed, and he said, "Your Majesty, I request that you perform the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai to inform the world of the change of the Mandate of Heaven."

Perhaps his father was merely curious about the scenery of Mount Tai and made a casual remark, but in Li Si's eyes, it was an extremely important decision. Li Si suddenly stood up, his expression excited, and even gave a deep bow.

Fusu stood up and said, "Father, I also wish to accompany you to climb Mount Tai."

Ying Zheng ate his steamed rice cake without saying a word, but simply waved his hand and said, "You two may leave."

Li Si remained standing there, displaying an air of determination that he wouldn't leave until the First Emperor agreed.

"I will consider it."

Upon hearing this, Li Si and Fusu then left Zhangtai Palace.

As Fusu was about to descend the steps, he looked at the Prime Minister and asked, "If we want to climb Mount Tai, those scholars from Qi and Lu will probably demand it according to the rites of Zhou."

Li Si stopped, his eyes filled with determination, and said, "Back then, the Zhou emperor was confined to Luoyi and was powerless to change the strife among the feudal lords. Back then, Duke Huan of Qi looked up at the top of Mount Tai and sighed. Those scholars from Qi and Lu not only demanded that the First Emperor follow the Zhou rites, but also wanted the First Emperor to become like Duke Huan of Qi, who could only look up at Mount Tai and sigh."

Fusu countered, "Does climbing Mount Tai necessarily have to follow the rites of Zhou?"

The current First Emperor will not listen to the so-called Zhou rites of those Qi and Lu scholars. As Li Si said, most of those Qi and Lu scholars hope that the First Emperor will become a second Duke Huan of Qi, leaving the First Emperor to stand at the foot of Mount Tai and sigh at the peak.

What Fusu saw in Li Si's eyes was determination.

"Why should we listen to them?" This was probably the emotion Fusu saw in Li Si's eyes.

Fusu followed Li Si to the Prime Minister's residence. It was during the court recess, and only Zhang Cang and Cheng Miao were there.

The Prime Minister's residence was quiet. As soon as Li Si returned, he began to take charge of state affairs.

Since Qin summoned those scholars from Qi and Lu to Qin, the scholars from Qi and Lu have been at odds with the Qin system, and this discord has intensified day by day. Fusu could sense that his father and Prime Minister Li Si's patience with the scholars from Qi and Lu was also waning.

Fusu sat in the Prime Minister's residence for two hours, then left when he felt there was nothing to do.

Upon returning to Takasengu Shrine, the place remained tranquil, especially with the deer adding a touch of life to the shrine.

Fusu saw Tian An wiping the table in front of Empress Dowager Huayang's memorial tablet, and Wang Tang'er preparing swaddling clothes and clothes for her unborn child.

After three to five days of clear skies, Guanzhong was once again blanketed in heavy snow.

Tian An often saw Prince Fusu sitting in front of the palace, gazing silently at the snow falling all around.

Whenever Tian An saw the young master's solemn expression, he felt that this year's snow was endless and very annoying.

When the official in charge of water management in Longxi County delivered the document, half a month had passed since he last ate steamed rice cakes with his father and teacher at Zhangtai Palace.

The long winter is still not over.

Beside Fusu was a stack of bamboo slips, which were records of the solar terms from the Imperial Censorate. Qin had four solar terms, but the other states also had their own understanding of the solar terms.

Recently, Fusu saw a name among the visiting scholars from Qi and Lu. There was a scholar named Xu Shi, who had just entered the scholar's office last year. He was from Langya in Qi.

This person handed over a scroll of astronomical books to the Prime Minister's residence, and Fusu then remembered that this person actually had another name, Xu Fu.

Speaking of astronomy and solar terms, Fusu felt that winter and summer in Guanzhong were extremely long, but since the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, different countries had different customs and people had different understandings of the seasons.

There is rarely a unified account, and the Qin calendar is not detailed enough.

After much deliberation, Fusu did not trust Xu Fu.

He wrote down this idea and wanted to ask Zhang Cang if the solar terms and calendar could be made more complete. Fusu even used relevant astronomical and meteorological knowledge to deduce the division of solar terms and sent a letter to Zhang Cang to inquire.

The letter was sent, but Zhang Cang did not reply for several days.

Revising the calendar and solar terms is an extremely long process. As early as last year, when Fusu lived by the Yellow River in Tongguan, he had this idea.

I sent a letter to Zhang Cang at that time, but he never replied.

This teacher doesn't answer all questions, and there are always some he can't answer.

(End of this chapter)