The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 119 The Young Master's Diligence
As I walked down the mountain along the trail, the rain grew heavier and heavier.

Led by the eunuch, the group arrived at the mansion.

There were about twenty doctoral students in the department, some standing with bows and others kneeling to the side.

Fusu took the umbrella from his father and the prime minister and handed it to Tian An, who was standing outside the door.

When his father and the prime minister entered the courtyard, Fusu stood outside, listening to the conversations inside. The scholars were all talking about the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai.

There were also some words about the current situation of PhDs from various parts of Shandong.

Tian An personally carried four umbrellas and waited quietly to the side.

Fusu did not go inside, but listened to their conversation while quietly eating dates.

The conversation inside the room touched on Kong Fu.

Including Chunyu Yue, and the other scholars from Qi and Lu, none of them genuinely wanted to invite Kong Fu to meet the First Emperor.

However, when Chunyu Yue and others went to see Kong Fu, Kong Fu was no longer in Qi. As for where he was, his family only said that he had gone on a trip.

The rain stopped after two hours.

When the rain completely stopped, a palace attendant came to report that the First Emperor had gone to rest.

Fusu nodded and looked into the courtyard. Only the teacher was still facing the scholars, arguing about the Fengshan ceremony. Several scholars had their faces flushed. It seemed that the Prime Minister's staff and the scholars from Qi and Lu were each holding their own opinions.

The professors won't really care about the opinions of these PhDs.

The reason for summoning so many PhDs to discuss the matter was simply for the sake of appearances, since having more people participate in the Fengshan ceremony is not a bad thing.

The autumn rains on Mount Tai are not as long as those in Guanzhong.

The next day, the weather cleared up again.

Fusu took the child from Tang'er's arms, and his wife could then wipe the child's body and wrap it in a clean cloth.

Tian An's voice came from outside the carriage, "Young master, in ten days the emperor's edict will be issued for the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai."

"it is good."

Fusu responded with a sound.

The six-month-old Prince Heng has loved crawling since he was a baby.

"Grandma Wang said that this child will be able to walk a long way in the future, and that he will be very persevering."

Upon hearing his wife's words, Fusu knew that this child must be very precious. His maternal grandfather was from the wealthiest Wang family in Guanzhong, and he was also the son of the Qin prince.

Seeing the child's clear eyes looking at him, Fusu smiled silently.

This child has no idea what kind of world he is about to face.

If the future world is wonderful, Fusu will be at peace.

The First Emperor intended to appoint Kong Fu as Grand Tutor, but the Kong family and its disciples seemed to be deliberately opposing Qin.

Kong Fu has been away from home for a trip and hasn't returned yet. So much time has passed that a round trip would be enough. The message must have reached him, but he still hasn't come back. Most likely, he's too afraid to come and isn't coming back at all.

So much so that he didn't even reply. Kong Fu must have been so afraid that he didn't dare to let anyone pass on his message and hid somewhere, not daring to utter a sound.

A few days later, on the third day before the First Emperor was to perform the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai.

These Heavenly Fathers have already begun their sacrifices at the foot of the mountain.

Fusu, along with Zhang Cang and Cheng Miao, planned to go to Kong Fu's house to borrow books.

"Kong Fu was Shusun Tong's teacher. Even if Kong Fu wasn't there, I should still visit him on behalf of Shusun Tong.

Fusu casually made up an excuse and told it to Zhang Cang and Cheng Miao, who were beside him.

Escorted by Li Shiwei's cavalry, Fusu was about to leave when he encountered Xu Fu again.

Xu Fu bowed very respectfully and said, "Prefect Zhang, Chief Secretary Cheng, Young Master..."

Fusu asked, "What brings you here?"

Xu Fu hurriedly replied, "Han Zhong said he was going on a long journey. He couldn't see the young master and had already submitted a document to the Imperial Academy, but the Prime Minister was busy with the sacrificial rites, so I could only..."

As he spoke, Xu Fu handed over a scroll of documents.

Fusu took the document and said, "I was just about to go to Xue County. Would you like to come with me?"

Xu Fu stepped back and said again, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty wishes to go to the East Sea."

"Are you here to say goodbye too?"

"Yes."

"It's fine, you can go if you want."

After bowing once more, Xu Fu left the place.

Zhang Cang glanced at Xu Fu as he walked away, but didn't ask any further questions.

Cheng Miao didn't ask any questions, and simply looked around at the scenery.

Li Youxin knew that Zhang Fucheng and Cheng Changshi, who were by the young master's side, were both a bit strange. These two only cared about their own affairs and never asked about other things.

Zhang Cang was like this, and so was Cheng Miao.

Xue County looked no different from the other counties we came from, except that there were more people, but it was all black and gray at first glance.

Because the roads and buildings are mostly black and gray, and people's clothes are all simple linen clothes, a splash of red in the crowd would be extremely eye-catching.

This was the feeling Fusu had when he entered the city.

Kong Fu's home was not in the city of Xue County, but in a county outside the city, which could be easily reached by passing through Xue County.

Li You's cavalry cleared the way from all sides, preventing any unauthorized personnel from approaching within ten paces.

Because the prefect of Xue County had not been informed beforehand, when the prefect learned that Prince Fusu had arrived, he personally led his troops to clear the streets.

Passing through Xue County, not far away is Qu County, which is where Kong Fu lived.

Fusu asked, "Did Confucius live here back then?"

Zhang Cang shook his head.

Judging from his shaking his head, it was unclear whether he didn't understand or was denying it.

Cheng Miao looked into the distance and remained silent.

The governor of Xue County personally led Prince Fusu to Qu County, where many of Confucius' disciples were studying.

Before Fusu even arrived in Qu County, he could already notice many curious gazes directed at him from all around. From these gazes, he could sense hostility, vigilance, curiosity, or even delight.

After a long silence, Zhang Cang finally spoke, saying, "In the past, most of the learned scholars from Qi and Lu in this area wore plain white robes. The so-called plain white was actually plain cloth that could not be dyed. In order to show their modesty, most of them wore deep robes, and some also wore square scarves. Different schools of thought and different factions in different places also had different clothing."

Fusu thought that the current First Emperor had not yet burned books, and after the decree to burn books was issued, Confucian robes were banned.

Upon reaching the county, Fusu pulled on the reins, stopping the horse. He scanned the surroundings and asked, "How many villagers are there in this county?"

The prefect reported: "Your Highness, seven hundred households."

With 700 households, assuming each family has four members, that's nearly 3,000 people.

The prefect added, "There are still more than six hundred disciples of Confucius in this area."

Fusu looked around at the armored soldiers and troops escorting him: over a hundred cavalrymen and over three hundred armored soldiers, all of whom were Li You's troops.

It's uncertain whether Prefect Xue's troops will defect.

Fusu instructed, "That's enough for now, Li Shiwei."

"The end will be here."

"I enjoy reading, could you borrow some books from Kong Fu's family for me?"

Li You led a group of armored soldiers into the county. About an hour later, groups of armored soldiers carried boxes of bamboo slips onto carts and pulled them out.

Following them came a group of Confucian disciples dressed in plain clothes.

They had assumed that Prince Fusu would enter this county, but the students here were all prepared to die. If Prince Fusu dared to disrespect Kong Fu, they would definitely fight to the death.

Fusu remembered hearing from the Court of Justice Feng Jie that Prime Minister Li Si wanted to ban private schools.

If Kong Fu was also a private school, then it would certainly have been banned. Qin law was very harsh; not only would the teachers be executed, but even those who supported private schools might be arrested.

Fusu sighed. Although the various schools of thought are good, if the teachers are not right, then the students they produce will also be wrong.

In this world that has only recently been unified, and where the standardization of writing has only been implemented for six years, how do you get the former nobles of the six states to work together with everyone else to maintain and protect the current peace, and how do you get them to support the Qin Dynasty, resist the Xiongnu, and develop the south together?

Li Si's concerns were valid, and his worries were justified, which is why he proposed to the First Emperor to ban private schools.

The existence of private schools would breed waves of anti-Qin figures.

If teachers oppose the Qin dynasty, their students will also oppose the Qin dynasty.

On this point, Fusu felt that he shared the same thoughts as the Prime Minister.

Prince Fusu then left with boxes of books, leaving the students and people there completely bewildered, wondering why the prince would do such a thing.

As they passed through Xue County once more, Fusu, who was about to return to the caravan, asked, "Li You."

"The end will be here."

Are these really all the books?

"This……"

Fusu hesitated and asked, "Do you think they would keep it for themselves? And what about those other students?"

Li hesitated for a long time before being unable to speak.

Fusu then instructed, "Take more men and search the place thoroughly. I enjoy reading. Since Kong Fu is not here, leave a written note saying that I borrowed these books and will return them to him in the future."

Tian An added, "Li Shiwei, Prince Fusu has loved reading since he was a child, so please be careful."

"The last general takes orders."

Li You turned back once again.

Fusu returned to his residence at the foot of Mount Tai and had someone open the boxes of books. He picked up a scroll, and what he saw was not Qin seal script, but the script of Qi.

Upon seeing it, Fusu frowned and looked displeased.

Back in the Imperial Censorate, Fusu had become familiar with the scripts of the six states. In fact, the differences in the form and meaning of the characters were not too great, and he could barely understand them.

In her spare time, Wang Tang'er helped the young master translate these books into Small Seal script.

The news of what happened in Qu County quickly spread throughout the caravan. It was also heard that Li You had broken into the homes of various students and searched for many books, leaving many of the disciples of Confucius without books to read.

When the scholars from Qilu heard this news, they thought that the emperor had invited Kong Fu to Qin to serve as Junior Tutor, but Kong Fu refused to reply.

Prince Fusu harbored resentment and ordered his men to search their books.

When the scholars tried to get to the bottom of things, they were all stopped by the Minister of Justice, Feng Jie.

"Young Master Fusu has loved reading since he was a child, please stop making a fuss."

The Minister of Justice patiently advised that the First Emperor was currently performing a sacrifice and could not be seen for several days, while the Prime Minister was accompanying him.

These matters naturally fell to him, the Minister of Justice.

"How could you, young master, confiscate Kong Fu's books?"

Feng Jie sighed again and said, "You can go and ask the people in Qu County. Young Master Fusu had Li Shiwei write a document. Kong Fu can bring the document at any time, and the young master will return these books to Kong Fu."

"Does Kong Fu need to come in person?"

Someone asked this question.

Upon seeing Feng Jie nod, the crowd's previous anger vanished.

Until Wang Ben returned with his troops, it seemed that the First Emperor and his prime minister had returned.

Feng Jie said, "If you have anything to say, you can speak with the Prime Minister."

Everyone waved and left.

Feng Jie saw off the group of doctors with a smile on his face.

The emperor and prime minister Li Si were escorted back by Grand Commandant Wang Ben.

After returning to his troops, Wang Taiwei arranged for men to enter Mount Tai and send out troops overnight to control the surrounding area, as the First Emperor was about to ascend the mountain.

At night, cavalrymen came and went in an endless stream, and the neighing of warhorses never ceased.

At the foot of Mount Tai, Fusu sat before his father, the emperor, with the prime minister and Grand Commandant Wang standing on the other side.

"I've heard you've borrowed many books?"

"Your subject would like to see those books."

"Borrowed?"

Upon hearing his father ask the same question again, Fusu replied, "I have left a written agreement. If Kong Fu wants to take it back, he can come and get it in person, and I will return it to him. If he does not come, I will return it to him after I have read it."

Li Si smiled meaningfully and said, "Young master, you are merely borrowing books, which is already a great courtesy. You are leaving a written agreement to show your respect; if Kong Fu comes to retrieve them, you will return them in their original condition, which demonstrates your trustworthiness. Such courtesy, trustworthiness, respect, and learning are all perfectly combined."

"Young master is humble and polite, and his reputation for virtue has spread far and wide. He is studious, and everyone in the world knows that. When young master seeks knowledge, should all the famous scholars in the world keep their knowledge to themselves?"

Wang Ben was used to Li Si's sharp tongue and talent; otherwise, how could Li Si have become the prime minister?
Ying Zheng said, "After dawn, you will climb the mountain with me to perform the Fengshan ceremony."

Fusu bowed and said, "Your subject obeys."

Ying Zheng nodded, his expression still thoughtful.

The next day, before it was fully light, the sky was a deep blue with a hint of gray.

At the foot of Mount Tai, a large crowd of people stood, a dark mass of Qin soldiers standing in neat rows, ramrod straight, to escort the First Emperor up the mountain.

A mountain breeze blows, and wisps of smoke rise from the incense burner.

Fusu watched as the First Emperor, dressed in black robes, stepped onto the stone steps, then followed with a second step, climbing one step after another.

Fusu followed behind, catching up at a leisurely pace, two steps behind.

Behind them, a large group of civil and military officials, led by Li Si, lagged more than ten steps behind, following solemnly and silently.

The footsteps behind him were very dense. Fusu took two more steps forward, getting closer to the First Emperor, and could even hear his breathing.

The decision to climb Mount Tai was one that the First Emperor had considered for three years.

As the sun rises in the east, it illuminates the entire Mount Tai.

After walking up the stone steps for an hour, Fusu looked back and saw that the entourage led by the prime minister was far behind, even further away.

Some of the court officials are old and cannot walk fast.

Fusu let out a long breath and looked up; the mountain path seemed to stretch on forever.

Mount Tai is very high, extremely high. From here to the summit, it would take about a day and a night, and we would arrive at the top in the early hours of the next day.

With every step the First Emperor took, Fusu also took a step forward.

If the First Emperor were to sway even slightly, Fusu felt he should immediately go and support him, even if the First Emperor were unable to walk.

Even if it meant carrying him on his back, Fusu was determined to carry the First Emperor up Mount Tai.

There was no other reason than that he was the First Emperor.

(End of this chapter)