The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 114 Old Han Territory

The column did not move quickly. The column at the front had already traveled a long distance before the column at the rear began to move. Along the way, cavalry patrolled back and forth on both sides of the road.

As they traveled further along the imperial road, many county residents knelt on both sides of the road, paying their respects to the First Emperor's carriage.

Court Minister Feng Jie sat in the carriage, looking quite troubled. Among the officials who held the position of one of the Nine Ministers in the court, many wanted to ride in the same carriage as Prince Fusu.

But when it was actually his turn to sit in the same carriage as the young master, Feng Jie looked quite uneasy.

"Shouldn't we advocate for unity and friendship? As the Mohists said: 'One must love oneself first, and then love all people under heaven.'"

Feng Jie wanted to refute, but after listening carefully, he still felt that what the young master said made a lot of sense.

The carriage was still moving, and Feng Jie was still pondering, when he saw Prince Fusu get out of the carriage again and talk to Zhang Cang outside.
After that, the young master left with Zhang Cang.

Feng Jie, sitting inside the carriage, thought it over and over, then got off the carriage and ran quickly forward.

The procession was not moving fast, and the carriages were moving very slowly. It would only take a few steps to catch up with the carriages in front. Feng Jie caught up with Prime Minister Li Si's carriage, explained his purpose, and was pulled onto the carriage shaft by the coachman and entered the carriage.

Li Si's carriage was much more spacious, so the prime minister sat cross-legged inside with his eyes closed.

As the carriage moved, it swayed, and the sunlight streaming into the carriage became intermittent as the curtains fluttered.

Feng Jie sat up straight and asked, "Prime Minister, the young master said a few words to me."

Li Si did not open his eyes, but nodded slightly.

Feng Jie relayed the young master's words to the Prime Minister, but Li Si did not comment on them.

Even as he left the Prime Minister's carriage, Feng Jie still hadn't gotten the answer he wanted.

After a day's journey, the caravan finally reached the territory of Shangyan Mountain. Ying Zheng and Li Si, escorted by Wang Ben and a group of armored soldiers, arrived at the Jingye Canal.

Our first stop today is Jingye County. Two months ago, Zhang Cang had granaries built in Weinan. When the 60,000 troops arrived here, they would have enough food and fodder, especially for feeding the horses. After the summer harvest, there was an endless supply of fodder in Guanzhong.

Of the 60,000 troops, 30,000 were actually imperial guards. The original plan was to travel 70 li a day, but so far they have only traveled a little over 50 li.

We walked a little slower than expected, but the route was simple, roughly following the Wei River towards Luoyang.

As the night breeze blew, it felt neither too hot nor too cold. Fusu sat by the campfire grilling fish when Cheng Miao rushed in to report. He bowed and said, "Young Master, the Prime Minister says that Jingye County does not have enough people."

According to the Qin system, there were certain requirements for establishing a county. The urban population needed to reach 600 households and the annual grain tax needed to exceed 10,000 shi (a unit of dry measure), which is roughly equivalent to 300,000 jin (another unit of dry measure) in later times.

However, there was another geographical condition for Qin to establish a county: it needed to be located on a major road and control the passage of a major road.

The prefecture-county system also stipulated which places could be established as counties and which places could not.

These counties are like nails, driven into every important thoroughfare.

Of course, there is one exception, concerning Xianyang Bridge.

The Xianyang Bridge changed the direction of entry into Xianyang City from Longxi, thus altering people's routes and making the road west of the Xianyang Bridge the main road into Xianyang.

Later, when Zhang Cang moved the three counties of Fufeng, Wugong, and Xingping to the west side of Xianyang Bridge, there were not many obstacles. The main road had changed, and the location of the counties also had to change.

This is one of the basic logics behind the establishment of prefectures and counties in the Qin system.

This was done both to facilitate the movement and mobilization of troops and to ensure that key passes could not be captured without taking down the counties during wartime, thus ordering each county to guard its respective key passes.

Back to the present, Jingye County was not originally a county; it was just a small village at the foot of Shangyan Mountain.

Therefore, initially there was no county here.

After the Jingye Canal achieved its goal, things changed dramatically. Jingye County was located at the canal's inlet, and since it controlled the upstream of the canal, it was imperative to establish a county there, which is how Jingye County came to be.

To this day, Jingye County still has fewer than 600 households. The main reason for this is that Jingye used to have 300 servants, and the situation here has not changed since then.

Cheng Miao said, "The Prime Minister only mentioned it briefly, young master, you don't need to worry about it."

Fusu then said, "Tell the Prime Minister that I will restore the household registration of the servants here in the future."

Cheng Miao accepted the order and left.

Then Fusu and his wife continued to sit by the campfire.

There are many ways to eat steamed buns. Fusu roasted the buns by the fire until the skin turned slightly yellow, then he could tear them apart piece by piece to eat.

The next day, at the crack of dawn, Prince Gao, Princess Yinman, and their other brothers and sisters bowed and bid farewell to their father and elder brother who were traveling far away.

The procession set off once again. Fusu sat in the carriage looking at the documents. The emperor's journey was accompanied by eighty-one carriages and a thousand grain transport carts.

According to Fusu's original plan, there was no need for grain transport carts. Zhang Cang had been making arrangements for more than two months, and grain supplies were no longer a problem.

Over the next few days, this massive entourage passed through Huayin County, and when they reached Tongguan County, the First Emperor even visited what is now Tongguan City.

Construction within Tongguan City is essentially complete. Today, Tongguan has 815 households, and after its development, the area has begun to demonstrate its strategic geographical value.

Xin Sheng and Li Si had a very special relationship. It is said that Xin Sheng and Li Si entered Qin together.

The old man always had many stories to tell, such as the lingering resentment between Yan and Zhao concerning Xin Sheng, and the war between Yan and Zhao back then.

All the past events had made this old man even more weathered, but now the First Emperor had finally allowed him to retire, waiving his military post but retaining his rations, which would continue for life.

The First Emperor ordered his prime minister, Li Si, to carve a stone tablet at the foot of Tongguan Pass and at the end of the Jingye Canal.

After resting for three days, the group left Tongguan, passed through Hangu Pass, and arrived at the Xiaohan Road.

As the group traveled along the Xiaohan Road, Wang Ben looked back at Prince Fusu behind them. The prince was riding his horse and guarding Tang'er's carriage. It seemed that the prince's actions had become very cautious since leaving Hangu Pass.

The young master seemed to notice his gaze as well. Wang Ben understood the young master's meaning and asked the adjutant beside him, "How far is this place from Sanchuan County?"

"Reporting to the general, it's twenty-five li away."

Wang Ben solemnly ordered, "Investigate all counties in Sanchuan Prefecture to see if there are any blacksmiths or soldiers hiding there."

"The last general takes orders."

A troop of cavalry received orders and left the slowly advancing column, heading towards Sanchuan County. On the Xiaohan Ancient Road, relatively close to Sanchuan County, there was a place called Bolangsha.

Fusu wondered if he could meet Zhang Liang at Bolangsha.

Sanchuan Commandery wasn't always called Sanchuan Commandery; that name was given to the area after the First Emperor. The original Sanchuan Commandery was actually part of the Han territory.

The hometown of Han Fei, the Prince of Han. Today, the land of Han no longer has its former glory; it has become a prefecture of Qin.

That night, in a restaurant in Sanchuan County, a burly man sat eating meat, gazing at the darkness outside.

A villager came running up and said, "Lord Canghai, we still haven't found Master Zifang."

This burly man was none other than Canghai Jun, Zhang Liang's sworn brother. Last year, Zhang Liang thought the King of Qin would make an eastern tour, so he waited here for a year, but the King of Qin never came.

After that, Zhang Liang left the place and fled to an unknown location to avoid capture by the Qin army.

A month ago, Canghai Jun saw carts of ritual objects emerging from Hangu Pass on the outer road, heading towards the land of Lu. At that time, Canghai Jun felt that the King of Qin, who had proclaimed himself emperor, was about to perform the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai.

This was an opportunity that Zifang missed for a year. The King of Qin did indeed make an eastern tour, not last year but this year.

As for why the King of Qin did not make an eastern tour last year, the reason is still unknown. Logically speaking, Zifang's predictions have never been wrong.

It was only wrong once when it was applied to the King of Qin; it wasn't last year, but this year, just one year off. Master Zifang was still right after all.

But now, Canghai Jun wanted to find Mr. Zifang again, but no news came. The Qin King's army was about to reach Sanchuan County, and the opportunity was right in front of him.

Lord Canghai, gnawing on the meat on a bone stick, slammed the stick heavily onto the table in frustration, angrily saying, "Master Zifang, are you going to abandon us?"

Upon hearing this, the burly man roared angrily inside the restaurant.

The people in the restaurant were all former residents of Han, so they weren't surprised. They all knew each other, and everyone in the restaurant was one of their own. This restaurant was opened for the former residents of Han who were fighting against Qin.

The restaurant owner couldn't help but smile wryly as he looked at the annoyed Canghai Jun. Canghai Jun was indeed tall, but not composed enough.

As night deepened and everyone was about to give up, a man hurried in, carrying a bamboo tube. He said, "News, Master Zifang..."

Upon hearing this, Canghai Jun stood up with red eyes and snatched the bamboo tube away.

During the warring states period, spies used these scattered bamboo slips as secret messages. Usually, a roll of bamboo slips would be broken up and then transported to their respective countries, where they would be reassembled and translated by the contact person. This kind of secret communication was even more frequent during the reforms of various states.

He originally thought he could pour out many bamboo slips from the bamboo tube, but when Canghai Jun opened the bamboo tube, he was stunned to find that there was only one bamboo slip inside.

Take out this bamboo slip, on which are written two words: “Abandon, depart”.

"Abandon" means to tell Canghai Jun to give up this assassination attempt, and "leave" means to tell Canghai Jun to leave as soon as possible.

The people in the restaurant passed the bamboo slip around, and then many silently packed their bags and prepared to leave.

They were all willing to follow Mr. Zifang's arrangements. Mr. Zifang must have had his reasons for asking everyone to give up, and perhaps he had other concerns.

"Ah!" Lord Canghai was so angry that he raised the table in front of him and slammed it down heavily.

Before long, the people who had just left the restaurant returned, looking flustered.

Then came the sound of warhorses' hooves. Canghai Jun looked out through the crack in the door and saw squads of Qin cavalry entering the city.

Inside the restaurant, people had already begun to clean up. Although there was a sense of panic among the crowd, everyone worked efficiently.

Canghai Jun's eyes were bloodshot, his gaze fixed on the cavalry outside, and he desperately wanted to rush out.

The next day, the cavalry showed no sign of leaving. The local officials spread the word that the emperor's carriage would be passing through the area, and everyone should stay at home and not move around unnecessarily.

"Did you hear that? King Zheng of Qin is coming!" Canghai Jun whispered.

Outside Sanchuan County, Fusu remained on his horse in the same spot, guarding his wife and children. When he saw Wang Ben riding up, he smiled and said, "Grand Commandant Wang."

Upon hearing the title "Grand Commandant Wang," Wang Ben nearly fell off his horse, but managed to maintain a serious expression.

"Young master, we have sent men to investigate the vicinity of Bolangsha, but we have not found any ambushes or underground tunnels."

Fusu hesitated and asked, "Is there any news about Zhang Liang?"

Wang Ben replied, "Zhang Liang fled to Qi to avoid being captured back in Luoyang. His last appearance was also in Qi. It doesn't seem to be in Sanchuan County. However, a blacksmith's workshop was indeed found in a village outside Sanchuan County. But that village has been abandoned, and the blacksmith's workshop has been abandoned since last year."

Logically speaking, in Fusu's memory, the attack on Bolangsha should have happened last year. Last year, his father did want to make an eastern tour, but because the southern expedition had just ended and he also had his own marriage, his father gave up the idea.

Fusu hesitated and said, "So you mean there were iron tools in that village last year?"

Wang Ben nodded and said, "Young master's guess is correct. Logically speaking, there should be anti-Qin people hiding in Sanchuan County, otherwise a village would not be abandoned for no reason. That village back then was used to hide the blacksmith's workshop."

To this day, Fusu does not know Zhang Liang's height, weight, or build; he only knows that Zhang Liang has repeatedly managed to evade the Qin army's search and capture, and has even been able to devise plans to deal with other anti-Qin figures.

Fusu held the horse's reins in one hand and said in a low voice, "The Prime Minister once taught me a saying."

What are your thoughts?

"Most of the former nobles of the former six states do not know how to farm. The Prime Minister said that if a young man does nothing every year, does not engage in production or labor, yet is still able to live a life of plenty, has a wide circle of friends, and has friends from afar visiting him every year, such a person is most likely an anti-Qin figure."

"Given these characteristics, Grand Commandant Wang might as well send someone to inquire about them again?"

Wang Ben nodded and prepared to leave.

Fusu then said, "Grand Commandant Wang, please tell Father not to pass through Sanchuan County; it doesn't feel safe..."

Wang Ben said, "Okay."

"If you have time, arrest some of the old nobles of Han and interrogate them thoroughly, not for any other reason than to serve as a deterrent."

……

Within the Sanchuan Commandery, as Canghai Jun and his men watched the cavalry continuously depart, he whispered, "I really want to fight the Qin army to the death! Let's gather our brothers, charge out of the city, and kill that Qin King Zheng who calls himself emperor."

Despite his words, no one was moved.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the cavalrymen leaving one after another.

The restaurant owner said, "Master Zifang told us to leave, but we can't leave now. Please stay here for a few more days..."

Just as everyone was relieved that the shopkeeper had made arrangements, a dispute broke out outside before anyone could speak.

Then the wooden door of the restaurant was kicked open, and Qin soldiers in armor broke in.

The restaurant owner grabbed Canghai Jun's hand, signaling him not to act rashly. The moment the Qin army rushed in, the owner clearly felt Canghai Jun's hand trembling.

Lord Canghai is a renowned strongman in this area, possessing immense strength.

(End of this chapter)