The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 109 They are Dust

As Fusu ate his noodles, he said, "These noodles are quite good today."

Tian An said, "These noodles are all made from the new wheat from Weinan."

"Send these noodles to the Prime Minister and the Duke of Pinyang as well."

"I'll arrange it right away."

Every year, as winter turns to spring, it is a rare time of leisure for the people of Guanzhong. In another month, they will begin to work hard for spring, summer and autumn.

The officials of the Qin Dynasty were responsible for maintaining order and efficiency in people's year-round production and labor. In a sense, the Qin laws were for the sake of production. Everything else, such as weddings and funerals, was simplified.

Production and labor are the most important things for survival, because in this era, if people do not cultivate the land, they will not have food and will really starve to death.

Fusu stayed at Gaoquan Palace, tidying up the newly built library.

Occasionally, a few volumes of documents would be delivered here.

As Fusu watched, he was talking about... the few scholars who were to be sent to Shangjun tried to escape halfway, but were caught by the soldiers and punished by military law.

The deaths of a few PhDs are insignificant compared to the major national events of building the Lingqu Canal, the southward war, or the northward relocation of prisoners to guard the border. They are merely dust in the wind.

Just like Mr. Luli who came to Xianyang back then, this great sage was useful to the First Emperor and the Prime Minister, but he was useless to his own son.

Of course, Fusu felt that those Shandong PhDs weren't actually that important.

Aren't these PhDs opposing unification and calling for the division of the land?

Therefore, Fusu felt that his father and the prime minister were very tolerant and kind in keeping these scholars around.

Among them, the ones who understood it best were probably Mr. Luli and Shusun Tong, who left Xianyang.

Hou Sheng and Lu Sheng may have only come to Xianyang to serve the First Emperor; in other words, they were just there to earn a living and their crimes did not warrant death.

However, Fusu did not order them to die. It was on their way to Shangjun that they tried to escape, were caught, and were thus punished by military law.

Looking at the scroll in his hand, he saw that it contained Chunyu Yue’s claims about how Prime Minister Li Si had plotted to harm the Qi Lu Doctor.

Standing behind the young master, Tian An whispered, "Chunyu Yue only mentions Prime Minister Li Si, but doesn't mention the young master at all. It's because he knows that he can offend Prime Minister Li Si, but he can't offend the young master."

Fusu said, "He, Chunyu Yue, isn't even afraid of the Prime Minister, so why would he be afraid of me?"

Tian An added, "Chunyu Yue knows that once he offends Prince Fusu, not to mention what the people of Xianyang will do, the nearly 400,000 Qin people in Weinan will tear Chunyu Yue apart alive."

Fusu laughed and said, "It's not that bad, you're exaggerating."

With a kind smile, Tian An gave those 200,000 poor people a meal and land to cultivate. For the people of Weinan, this was an immense act of kindness.

Although building Tongguan City required a great deal of resources, it was all supplied by the prince's private grain reserves. The people of Tongguan County did not have to contribute anything other than their labor.

With the protection of the sturdy city walls, the 20,000 people of Tongguan will remember the young master's kindness. If anyone displeases the young master, he can prevent them from leaving Tongguan with just a word. Tongguan guards the most important passage between Guanzhong and Hangu Pass.

Not to mention Huayin, which made a lot of money growing scallions, and Dali County, which enjoyed the convenience brought by the Longshou Canal. The Jingye Canal has been under construction for nearly five years. The young master's reputation in Guanzhong is probably something that even the prime minister would be wary of.

However, the Prime Minister need not be afraid. As long as the Prime Minister is loyal enough to the Prince, Li Si will remain the Prime Minister.

And then there's the Xianyang Bridge. The more people in Guanzhong who benefit from that bridge, the more often people will remember Prince Fusu's achievements. Back then, the prince stayed by the West Wei River for nearly a year to build this bridge.

The young master is responsible for major national undertakings, which usually take several years to yield results.

Tian An had met the princes of the other six kingdoms, and Prince Fusu was different from the princes of the other six kingdoms.

Fusu looked at Chunyu's insults with great interest and asked, "Has the Prime Minister seen them?"

Tian An said, "I haven't seen it yet."

Fusu said, "Let the Prime Minister take a look."

In mid-March, a new library at Takasen-gyu Palace was completed. Only after all the books in the hall were moved out did people realize how large the main hall of Takasen-gyu Palace actually was.

Today, the lady said she wanted to eat fish, so Tian An personally caught the fattest fish by the fishpond. The fish at Gaoquan Palace didn't have a muddy taste and were very plump.

During this month, Fusu planned to stay with his wife until the baby was born.

This March, Guanzhong experienced another freezing rain, but this did not affect people's sacrificial and agricultural rituals. After the rain stopped, people in Weinan began to work in the fields.

Zhang Han would check the condition of the fields every day. After the rain, the weather cleared up quickly, and the governor of Weinan personally inspected the underground canals.

In other places, the prefect probably wouldn't have gone to the fields personally to see the situation in each region.

But Zhang Han really knew how to do these things, and not only that, he also guided the people of each county on how to cultivate the land better.

Shusun Tong accompanied Zhang Han as he traveled to various counties, saying, "The people of Xianyang all say you are good at farming."

Zhang Han looked at the fields with a serious expression and said nothing more.

Shusun Tong continued, "I always remember that Jingye County was a very poor village back then. I thought you were good at farming, but you were even better at governing the army."

Zhang Han glanced at Shusun Tong, whose beard had turned mostly white, and continued walking, asking, "Don't you have to teach today?"

"With older children teaching younger ones, I have much more free time. If I stay in the village, I'm afraid that Li Nu'er will say that I don't teach and just eat food."

Shusun Tong quickened his pace and barely kept up with Zhang Han's steps, then said, "I heard that winter wheat has indeed been grown in Longxi."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Han paused slightly and asked, "Really?"

Shusun Tong nodded, "Of course it's true. The young master sent Du Shuichang to Longxi precisely to cultivate grain, and also..."

Just as he was about to continue, he saw Zhang Han walk ahead again. Shusun Tong breathed a sigh of relief. Walking with Zhang Han was quite tiring. How could this man walk so fast?
"Also, this year, rice from the south will be planted in Sichuan, and even the Nanshan area will be planted with rice."

The Nanshan mentioned by Shusun Tong refers to the area south of Zhongnan Mountain. Zhang Han thought to himself, "The young master always says that there is not enough food. If there were more food, Guanzhong could support a larger population."

Shusun Tong whispered, "There are some rumors circulating in Huayin County."

"Huayin County grows winter scallions. Although the quality is not good, they are still winter scallions, but they are too expensive."

Shusun Tongdao: "The people of Huayin County all say that Sima Xin will not live past fifty."

"Why?"

"They said that Sima Xin was too diligent in his duties, keeping a close watch on Huayin County, and often neglecting to eat or rest because of county affairs."

Zhang Han said, "I tried to persuade him. Three years ago, the old eunuch by the young master's side saw through Sima Xin's character and tried to persuade him, but it was no use. He will accept the advice, but he won't change." Shusun Tong felt that Sima Xin was not a bad person, but he was too stubborn and seemed very independent. The people of Huayin County would say that Sima Xin was too overworked and would not live to be fifty.

Shusun Tong thought it would be difficult for this person to live to the age of forty.

Upon returning to Jingye County, Shusun Tong met Princess Yinman, who was playing chess with Mr. Fusheng.

Princess Yinman is a very sensible girl. She had previously been given a difficult task: how to get people to find her the most beautiful necklace.

The answer is actually quite simple: she tells people that she will reward the person who finds the second most beautiful necklace.

In this way, people will flock to her and risk their lives for her.

This isn't a great story, but the princess offers another answer, convincing people that the simplest necklace is the best, and that's enough.

In the princess's mind, there is no such thing as the most beautiful necklace in the world. Essentially, whichever necklace people think is the best is the best, and it cannot satisfy everyone.

Instead of searching, change people's mindsets.

Shusun Tong pondered this as he returned to his study. Gongzi Gao shared the same opinion, which surprised Shusun Tong. It seemed that before teaching the princess and the prince, they had already been instilled with a certain idea.

This concept is that everything is only related to people and has nothing to do with the things themselves, so neither of the two children will pursue extravagance in the future.

I heard the sound of reading aloud; it was Prince Gao teaching the children to read.

At night, Shusun Tong cut a piece of tofu, fried it in mutton fat, sprinkled it with chopped green onions and salt, and ate it with millet rice. This was his favorite delicacy.

The following day, Lou Jing arrived in Jingye County to visit Shusun Tong.

Shusun Tong received the man and chatted with him while eating breakfast.

Lou Jing asked, "Some children from Tongguan County want to study in Jingye County. We previously said that each child would receive ten dou of grain per year. Why do they now need fifteen dou?"

Shusun Tong sighed, "Last year, the grain harvest in all the counties of Weinan was bountiful?"

Lou Jingdao: "Of course."

"Now that we have a bumper harvest, we should increase our grain production."

"Fifteen bushels of grain is too expensive. Even if this matter were placed before Prince Fusu, I would still have a point."

Shusun Tong drank a bowl of millet porridge and said, "You can stop the children from coming to my place for lessons; you can teach them yourself."

Lou Jing hesitated and said, "You are a scholar from Qilu, while I, Lou Jing, am nothing. People only know Shusun Tong, not me, Lou Jing..."

At this point, he added, "But I know you rarely teach children yourself."

Shusun Tong twitched the corner of his mouth. There were too many children in Jingye County, currently more than three hundred. He would be exhausted if he had to teach all of them.

Shusun Tong continued, "Fifteen dou of grain, not a single dou less and there's no room for negotiation."

Seeing Lou Jing leave angrily, Shusun Tong shook his head and remained silent.

This scene was witnessed by Zhang Han. Zhang Han never interfered with Shusun Tong's teaching affairs. There were plenty of people who would bargain with Shusun Tong, and he didn't need Lou Jing.

Sometimes Zhang Han understood Shusun Tong. Zhang Han was not good at teaching, but he knew how to manage people and production. If there was leniency, there would be no rules, and without rules, production could not be controlled.

As the farming season approached, Shusun Tong and Zhang Han left Jingye County and traveled all the way to Huayin County.

Nowadays, almost every household in Huayin County has a nursery. They spread soil on shelves, and then plant layers of scallions on the shelves. This is Sima Xin's method, a win-win solution that does not occupy land while growing scallions.

He even planted a lot of garlic and bean sprouts, which are all part of Huayin County's wealth.

People in Huayin County often guard the village entrance to prevent people from entering at will.

Today, Shusun Tong and Zhang Han arrived, and Sima Xin personally came to greet them. He bowed and said, "Greetings, Prefect and Assistant Prefect."

The three men went into the county government office and talked. After discussing the governance of the county, they started talking about Xianyang today.

The events in Xianyang had already spread throughout the counties of Guanzhong, and Li Si's advice to the First Emperor to perform the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai had drawn the ire of many scholars from Qi and Lu.

There was even a group of doctors from Shandong who were sent to Shangjun, but they escaped on the way and were punished by military law.

Zhang Han said, “This is how things are in the army. If one person escapes and we don’t let it go, a second will escape, a third… If it were me, no matter how far they escape, I would bring them back and punish them according to military law in front of the whole army. Only in this way can we keep the morale of the army in order. Otherwise, how can we govern the army? How can we defend the border?”

Sima Xin looked at Shusun Tong.

Shusun Tong also remained silent.

Seeing that this person did not seem to be on the side of Dr. Qi Lu, Sima Xin felt relieved; otherwise, he was worried that Shusun Tong would affect his progress.

But a long silence followed...

Shusun Tong finally spoke up, saying, "Although the Prime Minister personally approved this matter, the person was taken away by the Meng family generals of the old Grand Commandant."

The Grand Commandant was one of the Three Dukes of the Qin court, in charge of the army of the entire country for the First Emperor, so naturally the Grand Commandant was the general escorting him.

Shusun Tong continued, “The news sent from Xianyang says that someone claims that Prime Minister Li Si instigated Prince Fusu, but in my opinion, it is more likely that Prince Fusu asked Prime Minister Li Si to do so. Perhaps the prince would prefer that the First Emperor perform the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai.”

The Prime Minister, the First Emperor, Prince Fusu, the old Grand Commandant, the scholar from Qi and Lu… Zhang Han felt his mind was in a whirl as he gazed at the scenery outside the county government office. He remained silent.

Zhang Han admired Shusun Tong's abilities, but sometimes disliked Shusun Tong's boldness. Shusun Tong always had a knowing look on his face, as if he had seen through Prince Fusu's intentions. In some cases, he would arrange things on his own initiative without the prince having to tell him.

Afterwards, Zhang Han discovered in the documents exchanged between Xianyang and Weinan that Shusun Tong had not done anything wrong.

Fifteen bushels of grain a year is indeed a burden, but the burden is even greater in Jingye County, where teaching a child is actually quite costly.

When they left Huayin County, Zhang Han and Shusun Tong headed towards Tongguan County. There they saw many villagers tending to the mansion where the prince had once lived, which showed how much the prince Fusu was loved by the people. They put some wheat into a small cloth bag and hung it outside the mansion as a gift to the prince.

Zhang Han, driving the oxcart, asked, "Do you think Longxi will have a bumper harvest?"

Shusun Tongdao: "Yes."

"Isn't Longxi's population actually insufficient?"

"If the population is not enough, we will relocate more people."

"Right."

As April approached in Guanzhong, the day after the agricultural ceremony ended, the Zhangtai Palace began its first formal court meeting of the year. Few Qi and Lu scholars attended the meeting today, as it was said that Chunyu Yue had fallen seriously ill and was unable to attend.

(End of this chapter)