The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 110 Duke Pinyang and the Old Grand Commandant

Whether Chunyu Yue's illness is serious or not is still uncertain, but looking at the classroom now, that spot should have been filled with PhDs.

But today, the first day of court discussions after the agricultural ceremony, so many scholars from Shandong and Shandong are absent.

Fusu wondered if the Qin court had persecuted them?

Fusu then looked at Zhang Cang and Cheng Miao beside him and thought that they were all just working people, working from dawn till dusk, and not even working 996. The Qin Dynasty had given them houses to live in and provided them with stipends, yet they were still unwilling to come to the court meeting.

Now, Fusu was starting to regret it. If he hadn't confirmed that Hou Sheng and Lu Sheng were indeed fraudulent sorcerers, he probably wouldn't have sent them to Shangjun. They might even have died on their way to Shangjun, and who knows... their remains might be dead by now.

Even if Hou Sheng and Lu Sheng's initial intention in coming to Xianyang was to curry favor with those in power, at least they were genuinely there to earn a living; they were all just working people anyway.

With the arrival of the First Emperor at Zhangtai Palace, this year's court council began.

After the Prime Minister finished his report, Wang Ben, the Minister of the Imperial Household Department, spoke first about the winter wheat in Longxi. The Imperial Household Department was in charge of land and resources, and the collection of winter wheat in Longxi was an achievement of the Minister of the Imperial Household Department.

Everyone knew perfectly well that this achievement had nothing to do with Wang Ben, but rather with Prince Fusu.

However, the credit was arranged by so many people in the Shaofu (Minister of the Imperial Household Department). The head of the waterworks, the palace manager, and the assistant minister of the Shaofu all contributed. Wang Ben's daughter even married Prince Fusu, so there's no need to divide the credit among them.

The achievements of the Minister of the Imperial Household Department added a touch of joy to today's court meeting. Since the victory in the southern expedition, Qin had not heard any good news for a long time. Apart from the prince's wedding, the country had been healing its wounds, which were left by the southern expedition.

The southern expedition was a victory, and the First Emperor unified the south.

But illness comes like a landslide, and recovery is like pulling silk from a cocoon.

The southward expedition of hundreds of thousands of people, along with the construction of canals, should have taken only three to five years, but it will take more than ten years... perhaps even decades, to recover the productivity lost during the southward expedition.

For Li Si, a politically astute man, who was faithfully changing the world according to the First Emperor's will, such a political master would not care about such sacrifices. In this respect, Li Si was also a man without mercy.

That makes sense; if the First Emperor had shown even a hint of compassion, the unification of the empire would not have been possible.

Do not be sentimental because of loss. Fusu sometimes felt that he could learn a lot from the Prime Minister's behavior, and whether these skills were suitable for him needed to be viewed dialectically.

After the court meeting concluded today, Fusu and the Prime Minister walked out of Zhangtai Palace together.

"Prime Minister, should we send someone to check on the health of those scholars from Shandong and Shandong?"

Li Si took a deep breath silently, then slowly exhaled and said, "I will make the arrangements."

Fusu nodded, watching the Prime Minister walk down the steps.

A short while later, Wang Ben came from behind.

Wang Ben's wife had already gone to Gaoquan Palace to visit Tang'er, and Fusu took Wang Ben there.

Tang'er is nearing her due date, and Fusu doesn't want to do anything but wait for the baby to be born.

Among the memorials sent by the water conservancy chief was a suggestion regarding the relocation of people.

Fusu placed the memorial from Longxi, detailing the relocation of people to cultivate land and the deployment of troops to settle farmland, in front of Wang Ben.

"Does the young master wish for me to handle this matter?"

Fusu said, "Zhang Cang can handle it."

"Zhang Cang is an imperial censor, and he is the prime minister's man."

"It's alright, the Prime Minister will do everything in his power to help."

Wang Ben finally picked up the heavy bamboo scroll, opened it and looked at it: 200,000 mu of irrigated fields in Gangu County.

Terraced fields in the mountains of Qingshui County cover 100,000 mu (approximately 6,66

Xiaolongshan, 90,000 mu.

Qin'an County, 150,000 mu.

Fusu then said, "If we can take over the river valley of the Western Rong people, we can obtain a million acres of arable land."

Wang Ben was naturally tempted, but most of his troops were currently in Shangjun, and mobilizing them required the approval of the old Grand Commandant and even more so, the First Emperor's approval, making the matter very difficult.

Looking at his daughter, who was smiling happily, and the child in her womb, Wang Ben gritted his teeth and nodded, saying, "I will hand it over to the Emperor."

Fusu said, "Let's take our time with this. Let's eat."

The food at Gaoquan Palace was very plentiful. Tian An had been pulling noodles all morning, and the palace servants laughed and said that Tian An's hands were shaking when he held chopsticks today, probably because he was tired from pulling noodles.

Li Si actually ordered the Imperial Physician to send medical officers to the residences of many scholars.

For a time, the south alley of Xianyang City was bustling with noise.

"Am I ill?"

"..."

"What does this have to do with Li Si!"

Some people roared, but they couldn't withstand the "enthusiasm" of the officers and soldiers. Doors of one house after another were kicked open, and the medical officers entered the homes of the doctors to observe, listen, and diagnose.

As it turned out, the vast majority of these PhDs were not sick, except for Chunyu Yue, who actually caught a cold; the rest were perfectly fine.

They were rebelling against the First Emperor's Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai. Fusu stood in the rear hall of Gaoquan Palace, feeding the deer.

Upon hearing this news, Fusu was not surprised. While feeding the deer, he thought the scholars' actions were foolish; they were trying to oppose the First Emperor's Fengshan ceremony in this way.

Even if they died, they could not stop the First Emperor from performing the Fengshan ceremony.

On this very day, in Shangjun, there was a scholar from Shandong named Zhou Qingchen. He sent a congratulatory letter to the First Emperor, congratulating him on finally going to perform the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai.

Tian An said, "Young Master, Chunyu Yue saw Zhou Qingchen's congratulatory letter and heard that he had just recovered from a serious illness but was so angry that he fell ill again."

Fusu walked to the edge of the fishpond and began feeding the fish again.

Tian An added, "I heard that Zhou Qingchen and Chunyu Yue lived in the same house back then, and they were also scholars who came to Qin together."

Upon hearing this, Fusu became somewhat worried and said, "Please, please don't let it cause you to die from the illness."

Regardless of whether the Fengshan ceremony was good or bad, and no matter how much these Shandong scholars criticized the First Emperor in their books, it was still propaganda for the Fengshan ceremony, and the more people who could witness the First Emperor's Fengshan ceremony, the better.

It was the third day after Wang Ben entered the Grand Commandant's office with a scroll of memorials.

Today is only three days into April, and the Takasen-no-miya is very busy because the lady's child is about to be born.

Granny Wang and her maid from Pinyang were busy at work.

Fusu was standing outside the palace when he suddenly heard the cry of a child. The child had finally been born.

Grandma Wang smiled and said, "Young master, it's a boy, very strong."

Fusu said, "Alright, thank you for your trouble, Mother-in-law."

The Wang Ben couple standing to the side breathed a sigh of relief. Wang Ben's eyes were filled with joy, but his legs were a little weak. With his graying temples, he held his wife's hand, and the two supported each other.

Fusu entered the palace and walked to his wife's bedside. He saw a child who was still crying and breathing heavily.

Not long after, the First Emperor sent a scroll of books to him.

Tian An opened the scroll and said, "These are the characters chosen by the Emperor. You may choose one from them, my lord." Fusu chose the character "衡" from a list of characters, and from then on, the Qin Dynasty had a third generation of children, who were named Prince Heng.

The First Emperor also sent a pair of beautiful jades, a lot of cloth, and a woman skilled in taking care of him.

The number of palace servants at Takasen-gyu Palace has almost doubled, which has greatly elevated Tian An's status.

The emperor decreed that court be suspended for three days and a banquet be held at Gaoquan Palace to celebrate.

Wang Jian, the Duke of Pinyang, came to the banquet by imperial decree of the First Emperor. He walked with the old Grand Commandant Meng Wu.

Meng Wu, leaning on his cane, said, "I haven't heard from you in so long, I thought you had died of old age."

Wang Jian said, "You didn't die of old age either."

Both elderly ministers, leaning on canes, walked up the steps one by one.

Wang Jian said in a low voice, "Look at the spots on your face. You've aged faster than me in the last two years."

With his face covered in age spots, Meng Wu lowered his head and stepped heavily on the steps. After walking for a while, he got tired and stopped, saying, "Prince Fusu has a child, and the First Emperor has a grandson. I cannot fail to come and celebrate."

Originally, Wang Jian had planned to stay at home ever since his granddaughter married the young master.

Meng Wu exhaled heavily and said, "Young Master Fusu is an extremely talented child. This child is too talented."

Meng Wu said this because he had seen the strategy of mobilizing troops and cultivating land presented by Wang Ben.

Wang Jian walked to his side, looked at the old man, and said, "You still say that the young master is a child."

Meng Wu suddenly smiled and said, "He still looks like a child, how come he's already married and has a child?"

After resting for a while, the two elderly people continued up the steps and walked all the way to Zhangtai Palace.

Inside Zhangtai Palace, Prince Fusu was pouring wine for the many guests. Only after the old Grand Commandant and the Duke of Pinyang arrived did the sound of chime bells begin.

The First Emperor entered the main hall, where his ministers offered their congratulations.

Fusu sat beside the Prime Minister and said, "The old Grand Commandant has agreed to the policy of relocating people to strengthen the border."

Li Si said, "Zhang Cang has told me about this matter."

Qin Gang unified the Central Plains, but internal development was actually very difficult, especially at the grassroots level, which was a problem that had existed for almost every dynasty.

Li Si put down his wine bowl. His previously relaxed expression was now furrowed. This was not to say that the matter was wrong, but rather that the young master's way of doing things was becoming more and more like that of a king who would stop at nothing.

Does the young master act like the First Emperor?

There are still differences. The First Emperor would eventually listen to advice, such as the memorial advising against expelling foreign guests. The First Emperor would accept advice.

Will Prince Fusu listen to the advice?

Many times, Prince Fusu was simply issuing orders.

After the order was issued, it achieved great results, and people praised Prince Fusu's virtuous reputation.

Therefore, whether it was Zhang Cang, Cheng Miao, or even himself, the prime minister, he had never opposed the young master.

This is what Li Si is worried about. He is not worried about the Qin Dynasty. A successor like Prince Fusu is actually a more ruthless person. The prince probably doesn't care about the life or death of Chunyu Yue and the others.

Things are different now, and the young master is no longer the child he once was.

The First Emperor has a grandson, and the prince has a child; it's time for the prince to think about his own future.

Facing the prince, Li Si felt a profound sense of uncertainty. This uncertainty stemmed from the fact that while he had indeed read Legalist classics and was willing to implement them, he was ultimately not the First Emperor, even if he became the next Qin Emperor…

Li Si slowly looked at the prince with a kind smile on his face, and suddenly thought that even if he became the next Qin emperor, he would inherit this great cause, but he was not the First Emperor.

The banquet was lively, with the sounds of bells and drums rising and falling. Amidst the celebratory cheers, Li Si suddenly realized that all these years, he had never truly seen through this child.

While the banquet was still ongoing, Wang Jian announced loudly, "This old minister requests that the First Emperor perform the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai."

The old Grand Commandant also held up his wine bowl and said, "Please, First Emperor, perform the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai."

Li Si snapped out of his daze, picked up his wine bowl, and said loudly, "I request Your Majesty to perform the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai."

When Li Si said those words, he let out a long sigh of relief.

As long as Li Si remains loyal to the Qin Dynasty, he and Prince Fusu will not be enemies.

The banquet lasted from morning until night before it ended.

At Gaoquan Palace, Fusu sat in front of the hall. He had made a cradle for the child, who was sleeping soundly in it.

Looking back, he saw his wife and Wang's mother-in-law still making clothes for the child to wear in the future.

Seeing a eunuch trying to fawn over Prince Fusu by pouring him a bowl of tea, Tian An glared at him, and the eunuch immediately shrank back.

At night, the young master does not drink tea.

Fusu looked through the accounts sent by Jingye County. Today at the banquet, so many people petitioned their father to perform the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai, led by the Duke of Pinyang and the old Grand Commandant. However, the father neither agreed nor objected.

The accounts of Jingye County have always been written by Shusun Tong. This year, Shusun Tong is still taking in children to teach, but this year he needs fifteen dou of grain for the whole year.

In another volume, written by Lou Jing, he rebuked Shusun Tong for his insatiable greed, for taking advantage of the bumper harvest to demand even more grain.

After reading Lou Jing's tearful complaint, Fusu felt even more strongly that only someone like Shusun Tong could govern Jingye County well, ensuring that the people of Jingye County would not go hungry.

Shusun Tong was a very clear-headed person. He knew that governing Jingye County only required reporting to Prince Fusu, not to Lou Jing, and not even to Lou Jing or the Prime Minister.

Conversely, if a different person were chosen, perhaps the people of Jingye County wouldn't be able to live a better life.

The spread of knowledge is not about teaching one person at a time; Fusu opposed the teaching methods of those famous scholars.

According to the current teaching method in Jingye County, a child studies for six years, and after six years he can teach what he has learned to ten or a hundred people, and these hundreds of people can teach thousands of people, and then tens of thousands of people.

One day, when no one in Guanzhong will deliver grain to Shusun Tong anymore, he will have achieved great success.

In the future, Fusu can leave Shusun Tong with a name that will be remembered for all time.

Seeing his wife approach, he said, "It's night."

The couple had an agreement that they should not look at these things after nightfall. Fusu put down the bamboo slips in his hand and told her what had happened in Jingye County.

"Is it that complicated?" she asked, very curiously.

"The lower you are, the more complicated it becomes. Fighting against heaven or earth is relatively simple; the struggle between people is the most difficult. In our long lives, we often get through these struggles with each other."

She asked with some concern, "Is it because of Dr. Qi Lu?"

Fusu gazed at the night sky and slowly said, "It's not just them, there are others, all sorts of people... the Xiongnu, those who want to rebel against Qin, those who want to restore their country..."

At this point, Fusu asked again, "Has the Duke of Pinyang gone to sleep?"

"Grandpa just went to sleep."

"Let him stay here a few more days."

(End of this chapter)