The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 108 Re-deployment to Shangjun
Inside the main hall of Zhangtai Palace, the brazier was still burning. Fusu looked at the prime minister beside him, who was eating heartily.

It seems that the arguments during the court meeting did not affect the prime minister. No matter how fierce the argument was in Zhangtai Palace, this prime minister of Qin could still eat his meal in peace.

Fusu picked up the pancake on the table, took a bite, and found that there were some scallions inside.

While eating, Fusu felt that Dr. Qilu was not actually important. However, it would be better to climb Mount Tai in front of Dr. Qilu, and then perform the sacrificial ceremony to Heaven and Earth in front of Dr. Qilu, and when the ceremony was not the same as that of the Zhou emperor, and then look back at Dr. Qilu's expression.

Fusu took another sip of mutton soup. It turned out that his father and the prime minister wanted to climb Mount Tai but did not want to perform the rites of the Zhou emperor. They never thought of turning back, whether facing Wang Wan or Chunyu Yue and the scholars from Qi and Lu.

Neither the Emperor nor the Prime Minister yielded an inch. The Emperor and his minister had already made up their minds. The Emperor and the Prime Minister were in their prime, and the great cause of changing the world had only just begun.

After the meal, Fusu sat in the main hall, listening to the prime minister tell the First Emperor about the current situation in the former territories of the six states.

In the afternoon, the Emperor would take a short nap.

Fusu and Li Si walked out of Zhangtai Palace.

"If Dr. Qilu is unwilling to go to Mount Tai, things may get complicated."

"Please rest assured, my lord. Even if they are unwilling to go, I will have them bound and taken to Mount Tai."

After saying that, Li Si looked at the sky again and said in a low voice, "Hmm, it's probably going to rain today."

The two parted ways at the foot of the steps of Zhangtai Palace. The Prime Minister had to attend to many state affairs. When Fusu returned to Gaoquan Palace, it indeed began to rain.

The weather is still very cold, and it will probably freeze again by tomorrow morning after this rain ends.

Fusu sat under the eaves and looked at his wife beside him. She was cutting some cloth with Wang's mother-in-law, all for their unborn child.

In the rain, Tian An led a group of people to deliver a truckload of case files.

Tian An quickly walked to the eaves, bowed and said, "Young Master, Imperial Censor Zhang said that these are all the files from the Western Inspection Tour, and he wants you to take a look."

"Bring it in."

A cart full of bamboo slips was placed inside the palace, making the already crowded Takasen Palace even more cramped.

Fusu looked at the bookshelf to the side and said, "So there are so many books. We should find a place to store them."

Tian An replied, "We can clean out a warehouse."

Fusu said, "Yes, let's expand it again."

Upon hearing this, Tian An immediately sent someone to give the instructions.

The following day, Xianyang returned to its winter appearance. After the court meeting, the court resumed its state of rest until the agricultural rites and sacrifices were held, after which state affairs would resume.

Fusu flipped through the documents sent by Zhang Cang, which were all county annals of various counties in Longxi.

These county gazetteers record the current situation of various counties in Longxi, and these records are of great use in planning the Hexi Corridor.

In the eyes of the palace servants at Gaoquan Palace, Prince Fusu was busy with state affairs most of the time.

A bowl of millet porridge was placed in front of him. Fusu looked up and saw his wife, only then noticing that it was getting dark outside.

The couple ate their dinner quietly. After dinner, Fusu stopped dealing with state affairs and instead helped Tian An move the books that had been stored for many years to the storeroom in the back hall.

The rain lasted for two days until the beginning of spring. Thick clouds appeared in the blue sky, and clear blue skies could be seen through the gaps in the clouds.

Just looking at this sky makes you feel at ease; warmer weather is just around the corner.

Today, Fusu arrived at the Prime Minister's residence. Since it was still the holiday season, there were few people there, only two or three minor officials and Cheng Miao on duty.

Upon seeing that it was Prince Fusu, Cheng Miao, who had been drowsy, perked up and bowed, saying, "Prince."

The remaining people from the Prime Minister's residence bowed together.

Fusu walked into the mansion and said, "You all go about your business."

Everyone then sat down again and began organizing the documents in the Prime Minister's residence.

Fusu sat in his seat, with the position of Shaofu Ling (Minister of the Imperial Household) next to him. His father-in-law was becoming increasingly indifferent to state affairs.

I don't want to think about my father-in-law's retirement life right now; there are still some national affairs that need to be addressed first.

When Fusu saw Cheng Miao hand him a scroll of documents, he asked in confusion, "Did this come from the Imperial Academy?"

Upon seeing the Doctor's Residence label hanging on the bamboo slip, would Fusu's first thought be Chunyu Yue's proclamation against Li Si?

Cheng Miao replied, "The list of newly arrived doctors at the Doctor's Residence."

This register was not something he needed to look at himself, but thinking of the argument at Zhangtai Palace a few days ago, Fusu opened it and took a look. After just one glance, Fusu suddenly put the bamboo scroll down again.

Seeing this, Cheng Miao looked suspicious, thinking to himself that he had seen this list beforehand.

There's nothing particularly remarkable written on it, so why does the young master look like this?
Cheng Miao continued eating his pancake, watching as the young master's hand remained pressed against the scroll of names.

Fusu saw a name on the scroll. The name of this person was Hou Sheng. According to the records in this bamboo scroll, Hou Sheng was a man from Qi. He was a nobleman of the Qi state and a student of the Jixia Academy. He was a disciple of Zou Yan, a scholar of the Yin-Yang school.

Zou Yan was one of the representative figures of the Yin-Yang School, and he was a contemporary of Mencius.

Fusu didn't quite understand why Hou Sheng, a disciple of the Yin-Yang School, would speak of immortality.

There is another person on this list named Lu Sheng, who in the not-too-distant future will say that it was Hu who destroyed Qin.

Hou Sheng and Lu Sheng both entered the Imperial Academy as literary and magical practitioners.

Currently, these two are still inconspicuous sorcerers in the Doctor's Mansion.

Cheng Miao was still eating the cake Tian An had given him when he watched as Prince Fusu hurriedly left the Prime Minister's residence.

Fusu recalled the burning of books and burying of scholars alive that would happen after the Fengshan ceremony. The ashes of four hundred Confucian scholars, mixed with the ashes of bamboo slips, fell like snowflakes onto the surface of the Wei River.

The people in the Prime Minister's residence were very curious as to why the young master had come and gone in such a hurry today.

The next day, the people in the Prime Minister's residence heard that several scholars from Qi and Lu were to be taken out of the Prime Minister's residence by Prime Minister Li Si's men in the morning and sent to Shangjun to supervise the construction of the Great Wall.

Cheng Miao glanced at the list sent to Shangjun and noticed several new names that the young master had seen yesterday, including Hou Sheng and Lu Sheng.

Outside Xianyang City, a group of fifteen doctors from Shandong Province marched out of the city and headed neatly towards the northern suburbs.

Several of these scholars never expected that they would be sent to Shangjun as soon as they arrived in Xianyang.

On the city wall of Xianyang, Fusu bowed and said, "Thank you for your help, teacher."

Li Si said, "It's a small matter."

Fusu, unaware of the profound sorrow in the hearts of these scholars, said, "Teacher, these scholars from Qi and Lu, upon learning of the generous treatment they received from the six states in Xianyang, came for the sake of that treatment, not to serve the emperor."

Li Si stroked his beard and said, "I have recently come to believe that having too many scholars is not a good thing."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a furious shout came from below the city wall.

"Lis!"

Upon hearing this, Li Si looked down and saw Chunyu Yue roaring under the city wall.

"Li Si! You've sent me to Shangjun too..." Faced with the angry shout, Li Si, who was standing on the city wall, waved his hand lightly, and some armored soldiers dragged the furious Chunyu Yue away.

The surroundings quieted down considerably. Fusu said, "These scholars will probably leave Xianyang."

Li Si smiled and said, "Young master, there's no need to worry."

Upon seeing the Prime Minister's smile, Fusu felt inexplicably treated like a child again. Others may treat you like a child, but they can't really treat you like one. He then asked, "Sending these scholars to Shangjun will surely make the other scholars fearful."

A cold wind blew by, making Li Si's hair and beard sway. He said in a low voice, "Young master, Xianyang is not a place where these scholars can come and go as they please."

His voice was soft, yet it carried an aura of complete control.

Fusu learned another lesson from his teacher, a lesson that made him clearly realize a reality.

The reality is that Li Si could decide the fate of Chunyu Yue or other scholars from Qi and Lu with just a single sentence.

In the Qin Dynasty, Li Si was the prime minister, while the First Emperor was an autocratic emperor.

The establishment of prefectures and counties led to centralized power, which in turn amplified the power of the prime minister.

Tian An followed behind the young master. He had been observing the whole thing from beginning to end. The prime minister was a very loyal man. He didn’t even ask the young master why. The young master said to send these people to Shangjun to supervise the construction of the Great Wall, so the prime minister sent them there.

Tian An felt that he was getting old and would die one day. He felt quite at ease knowing that the Prime Minister was so loyal to the young master before he died.

Today, many more documents from Sichuan and the south were delivered to Zhangtai Palace.

Late at night, Fusu and his father, the Emperor, were in the main hall of Zhangtai Palace reviewing these documents and battle reports.

Previously, Tu Ju was asked to send some rice from the south. The rice was not sent directly to Guanzhong, but first to Shu. These rice seeds will be planted on a hundred or so acres of land in Shu. After planting, the harvest will be assessed. If the yield can be increased, the planting area can be gradually expanded.

Fusu immediately approved the document, granting permission to the decision made in Shu.

Ying Zheng said in a deep voice, "I heard that you sent a team of scholars to Shangjun by Li Si."

"Indeed, it was your son who instructed the Prime Minister to do so."

"From now on, Li Si doesn't need to do these things; let the Court of Justice handle them."

"Your subject has remembered."

The emperor did not ask for the reason, but simply sent a few scholars to Shangjun to supervise the construction of the Great Wall, as if it were a perfectly normal thing.

Anyway, among the previous batch of people sent to Shangjun for border defense, there was a man named Zhou Qingchen, and he's doing just fine in Shangjun.

Fusu met three young men from Jingye County through a document in Shu. They were teaching in Shu.

In some respects, Li Si's idea was correct. Education is very important for a country. After the unification of the Central Plains, the standardization of writing and the standardization of cart axle width were implemented.

Education is an extremely time-consuming task that can take decades, or even a generation or two.

Fusu thought of Teacher Xu from his previous life, who dedicated most of his life to the cause of supporting education in the mountains, helping one group of children after another leave the mountains.

Fusu felt that the teaching support work that took nearly a generation to complete in his previous life should also be applicable in Daqin, because Teacher Xu and others were the same; he himself walked into the mountains step by step.

This is no different from the people of the Qin Dynasty today. One by one, the masters left the bustling places and went to remote mountain villages, relying only on their beliefs.

Fusu felt he still had enough time, but he needed many, many people who had firm beliefs, and the kind of teachers they had was very important.

Ying Zheng read a scroll of bamboo slips and then had it handed over to Fusu.

"Son."

Fusu, who was deep in thought, came back to his senses and took the bamboo slip, only to find that his father was already engrossed in reading the next scroll.

Opening this bamboo scroll, one sees the events of Longxi County. The winter wheat in Dushui County was planted in three batches, in early October, early November, and January of last year.

Shanggui County has a terrain that slopes from west to east, boasts the largest forest area in Northwest China, and has fertile land. The fertile and flat fields of the Longxi Plain should be more suitable for winter wheat cultivation.

As night deepened, after finishing reviewing his own documents, Fusu also reviewed the documents on his father's desk.

Seeing that he had finished reviewing all the documents in front of him, Ying Zheng waved his hand, signaling his son to go back and rest.

After Fusu bowed and left Zhangtai Palace, Ying Zheng picked up a scroll of documents that had already been approved on the table. At the end of the documents were his comments and many instructions.

It must be said that this son always wrote things down in great detail, for fear that the officials might make mistakes.

When Fusu returned to Gaoquan Palace, the lights there were still on.

Tang'er was especially happy to see her wife chatting and laughing with Wang's mother-in-law.

It's already mid-February, and the nights aren't as cold as they were in January.

Granny Wang, holding several rolls of cloth, said, "Young master, Madam said the baby in her belly kicked her today."

Fusu said, "No wonder you're so happy."

Grandma Wang smiled and said, "He seems to be a very robust child."

Fusu nodded and said, "Alright, send someone to deliver a message to the Minister of the Imperial Household and the Duke of Pinyang, saying that the lady and the unborn child are both safe and sound."

Upon hearing this, Tian An immediately went to give the instructions.

Granny Wang looked back at Tang'er, who was feeding the deer, and said, "Madam will most likely give birth in the next two months."

"Is there anything I need to prepare?"

"Young master, there's no need to rush. This old woman has everything ready."

Fusu said, "Okay, thank you for your trouble."

Late at night, Fusu glanced at his wife who was fast asleep beside him, got up and got out of bed. He heard faint crying again, and when he pushed open the door and went out, the crying became clearer.

Fusu followed the sound to the side hall and saw Tian An speaking in front of the memorial tablet of Empress Dowager Huayang.

As Tian An spoke, his voice choked with emotion. He said that the Prime Minister was very loyal to the young master, and that even after he died, the Prime Minister would continue to help the young master. In the past year, everyone in Gaoquan Palace had served the young master and his wife, and their child was due to be born in the next two months…

At this point, Tian An cried a little louder.

As Fusu listened to these words, he lost track of time. He saw that his wife had also woken up and was walking towards him, wearing a cloak and supporting her back.

Fusu made a shushing gesture, then took his wife's hand and draped a cloak over their shoulders together, listening to Tian An's tearful plea to Empress Dowager Huayang.

Only after Tian An's crying stopped did the two quietly return to their bedchamber.

The next day, the couple slept in an hour later.

In front of Tian An, the couple ate breakfast as usual.

"Did those doctors arrive in Shangjun safely?"

As Tian An cleared away the dishes, he said, "They said someone escaped, but young master, there's no need to worry. All those who escaped have been caught and dealt with according to military law."

(End of this chapter)