The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 127 Pragmatism is a prevailing trend

When I left last year, it was harvest season in Guanzhong.

This year, Guanzhong has had another bumper harvest, and it's still summer, so the army has returned.

A year has passed, and when the army first entered Guanzhong, the place looked unchanged.

The incident at Xiangshan did not occur, and Fusu returned to Guanzhong smoothly, which relieved him.

Feeling the summer heat of Guanzhong, Fusu looked at the books he brought from Dongting County, as well as the legends of Xiangshan or the customs of Xiangjun.

These events are all written in the book. He went on an eastern tour for a year and brought back sixty cartloads of books, enough for him to read for two years.

Fusu was reading a book when he saw his son about to climb out of the carriage.

With a sigh, Fusu lifted his leg, and his son poked his head out of the carriage. He then pulled him back inside, but the boy was still defiant and tried to climb out again.

Fusu held his son's leg with one hand, shook the bamboo slip in his hand with the other, and continued reading.

Finally, the boy couldn't climb any further, so he simply lay down on the carriage floor.

Fusu read for a while longer, and seeing that he had fallen asleep peacefully and seemed too tired to move, he put him back in the cradle.

During the year of raising his son, Fusu noticed that the more his son ate, the more he moved around. If he ate an extra bite or two, he would have to climb a few more steps. This seemed to be a constant form of energy expenditure.

When Wang Tang'er woke up from her afternoon nap, she sighed, "Time to go home."

Fusu nodded and said, "Yes, I'm home."

She could tell that the young master's tone was much more relaxed.

Wang Tang'er understood that only if her father stayed safely in Guanzhong could the young master feel at ease.

Now, the young master is in a state of peace and relaxation. As his wife, she is very good at analyzing her husband's state by observing his expression and the tone of his voice.

Fusu grasped her hand and said, "Should we go see Duke Pinyang?"

Wang Tang'er slowly shook her head and said, "If we go back to see Grandpa now, he will only feel apprehensive."

Fusu placed his palm on the back of her slightly cool hand, their fingers interlocked.

His wife was right; going to see Lord Pinyang now would only make the old man nervous and fearful.

“That’s right, you’re right. Let Grand Commandant Wang go and visit Duke Pinyang first. Duke Pinyang has been so cautious all his life. It would be bad if we disturbed him.”

Wang Tang'er nodded.

Let Wang Ben visit Wang Jian first. Once Wang Jian is at ease, he won't need to visit him himself; Wang Jian might come in person.

Fusu asked, "Do you think it's not easy being the wife of a young master like me?"

Wang Tang'er said, "It's not that it's difficult to be one."

A murmur of conversation came from outside the carriage, and Fusu frowned as he looked out the carriage window.

Tian An reported: "Young Master, something has happened in Xianyang."

"What happened?"

"The General has passed away."

Upon hearing this, Fusu was also taken aback.

The supreme general of the Qin Dynasty was none other than Meng Wu, the father of Meng Tian.

Meng Tian is still stationed in Shangjun to this day.

Fusu saw a large army rushing ahead. It turned out that his father had sent someone ahead on fast horses to Xianyang.

Two days later, the army arrived at Huayin County and rested there.

The Wei River, located near Huayin County, continues to flow as usual.

As night fell, Fusu stood by the river, and someone came to report to him.

The one who came to report was a palace attendant.

When the Emperor saw Meng Wu's body, he couldn't bear to leave it for too long in the sweltering heat.

This morning, Meng Wu was buried, and Li Si presided over the funeral on the orders of the First Emperor.

Previously, no one had sent a message to Meng Tian, ​​but now Li Si personally delivered the First Emperor's edict to Shangjun.

It would have been wrong for Fusu to send a letter to Meng Tian privately before the First Emperor issued his edict.

The emperor's edict did not specify whether Meng Tian would allow Meng Wu to inherit the position of Supreme General and the symbolic staff of the Supreme General at this time, but this position would certainly belong to Meng Tian.

Because Wang Ben was already the Grand Commandant, and Wang Ben did not have any real military power.

There were three people who held actual military power, and the most powerful military power among them: Meng Tian, ​​who guarded the Great Wall in the north, Zhao Tuo, and Tu Ju.

Fusu thought that one day, after the south was stabilized, he would summon Zhao Tuo and Tu Ju back.

Although the south has been unified, conflicts of all sizes still occur frequently there, and these two generals are still needed to guard the south.

Fusu met Sima Xin again in Huayin County.

Sima Xin was still the same as before, looking extremely thin, as if he hadn't had a full meal in many years.

Sima Xin bowed and said, "Young master, I brought some tofu."

Fusu asked, "Does Huayin County also make tofu now?"

“No,” Sima Xin shook his head and said, “Huayin County doesn’t have enough beans to make tofu.”

Fusu smiled and said, "That's true."

Sima Xin continued, “Speaking of eating tofu or mutton, people in Guanzhong nowadays are increasingly fond of eating scallions. I believe that the best thing in life is to sprinkle a handful of scallions on steaming hot tofu and then eat it spoonful by spoonful with a wooden spoon.”

As he spoke, Sima Xin handed the young master a bowl of tofu and sprinkled some chopped green onions on top.

Tian An loved tofu the most, and he hadn't eaten it during the entire year's eastern tour. He first took the bowl of scallion tofu that Sima Xin handed to the young master, and then began to eat it.

Fusu then asked Sima Xin to serve him another bowl.

Sima Xin also ladled himself a bowl from the wooden basin and said, "I have heard of the General's passing and hope that you will take heed of my grief, my lord."

Fusu, while eating tofu, asked, "How is things in the county?"

"Everything is fine in the county."

Fusu nodded and took another bite of tofu.

Sima Xin then took out two more scrolls and slowly handed them over, saying, "I've heard that you enjoy reading, young master. These two scrolls were left behind by Lord Shang in Liyang."

These two bamboo scrolls are covered with leather cases, and they do look very ancient.

Sima Xin began to recount the origin of this book, saying, "Back then, when Duke Xiao of Qin and Lord Shang were reforming the laws, Liyang was still the capital of Qin. At that time, Lord Shang and Duke Xiao of Qin discussed the reforms of Qin all night long in Liyang. So many years have passed..."

"After Shang Yang became the Grand Minister of Works, he built the capital city of Xianyang. In the following ten years, Liyang declined and lost its former prosperity, but it was still the ancient capital of the Qin people. Back then, I was just a child. I was cleaning the old palace with my elders when I found these two scrolls."

“Back then, the elders of the clan gave me these two books. Later, I discovered that these two books were extremely precious. They were left behind by Lord Shang at the beginning of his reforms, and I have been reading them since I was a child.”

Fusu said, "You can keep such an important book."

Sima Xin placed the two scrolls in front of the young master and said, "I have memorized all the words in these two scrolls."

Fusu placed the scroll aside and said, "Alright, I'll accept it."

After finishing the tofu in his bowl, Sima Xin returned to his county government.

The following day, Prince Fusu left Huayin County under the escort of the army and went to Xianyang.

Sima Xin stood by the bridge over the Wei River early on, watching the procession depart into the distance.

Only after losing sight of the army did Sima Xin return to his residence.

Sima Xin's residence was located within the county government compound. In the backyard of the county government compound, there was a small house where Sima Xin's wife and children also lived. If you stood outside the county government compound and listened carefully, you could actually hear Sima Xin's wife scolding the children.

Sima Xin's wife always hoped that her children would be successful, so she was almost harsh on both Sima Xin and her children.

Sima Xin, who was sitting in the county government office, was still looking at documents when a county official came to report, "Magistrate, Chen Ping has arrived."

Sima Xin looked down on Chen Ping.

Especially for officials like Sima Xin, who were born and raised in the ancient capital of Qin, his ambitions were actually very high.

There are actually not many people who can truly convince and appreciate Sima Xin.

Sima Xin's gaze remained fixed on the documents, and he said again, "I do not receive guests."

"Yes."

The county official then drove away Chen Ping, who was requesting an audience outside the gate.

Watching Chen Ping leave dejectedly, the county official could only smile helplessly; this was not Chen Ping's first visit.

The county official hurried back to report, "Chen Ping has left."

Sima Xin continued looking at the document, nodded, and said, "The people of Qin are not fond of socializing. Chen Ping, however, has dealings with people from Qi and Lu, enjoys socializing, and likes to befriend famous scholars and officials from all walks of life."

The county magistrate bowed and nodded.

Sima Xin noticed that the county official in front of him seemed somewhat confused and did not understand the implied meaning.

He held a pen in one hand and looked at the county official in front of him.

The other person noticed the look in his eyes and also got a jolt.

Sima Xin looked at him and said, "Don't associate with people like Chen Ping in the future."

The people of Qin are all pragmatic, and Sima Xin was also a pragmatic person. He preferred that his subordinates also be pragmatic.

Therefore, Sima Xin especially looked down on Chen Ping, a person who did not do practical work, liked to socialize all day, only talked big, and was also a glutton.

Sima Xin then asked, "What is this person's background?"

Upon seeing the magistrate suddenly ask a question while holding his pen, the county clerk hurriedly replied, "He is from Wuyang County. He came to Guanzhong saying he wanted to be a teacher, and he is currently teaching in Tongguan."

Sima Xin was extremely thin, with deep-set eyes, and sometimes he was quite frightening if you didn't pay attention.

"Go ahead."

"Yes," the county official replied and quickly left.

Before the pen in his hand could even fall, Sima Xin was still somewhat worried. The young master loved reading, and as long as the world knew of his hobby, even thieves would steal his collection of books and hand them over to the young master Fusu.

As always, Zhang Han, the prefect of Jingye County and Weinan Prefecture, personally went to the fields to check on the grain situation.

He was practically living in the fields himself. Shusun Tong stood beside him and said, "The young master is back, and the people of Guanzhong are at peace."

Noticing Zhang Han's gaze, Shusun Tong added, "The emperor has returned, and so have the people's hearts."

Zhang Han bent down and carefully examined the rice in front of him, saying in a low voice, "This year, the Xiongnu have invaded Shangjun several times."

"They were all driven back by General Meng Tian."

Shusun Tong responded with a single sentence.

"If there is one time, there will be another. More and more Xiongnu will attack Shangjun. War is coming soon, either this winter or next autumn."

Shusun Tongdao: "You are not a general."

Zhang Han's expression remained serious as he said, "I must safeguard the grain. The more intense the war, the more important the grain becomes. If the grain spoils, the war will also be ruined."

Shusun Tong sighed, "I think Prefect Zhang wants to go to Shangjun."

"Teacher!" Young Master Gao rushed over, "Should I go see my father, the Emperor?"

"The General has just passed away, yet there is still no court meeting at Zhangtai Palace?"

Young Master Gao shook his head.

Shusun Tong thought for a moment and then said, "We will go to see him after the court discussions are resumed, including Prince Fusu."

Gongzi Gao then asked, "Why?"

"Not suitable."

Shusun Tong only gave a brief reply.

Gongzi Gao took his younger brother Jianglu back home.

Jiang Lü asked, "Brother, why can't we go to see Father?"

Gongzi Gao turned back to look at his teacher who was walking away, "The teacher said it wasn't appropriate."

Jiang Lü was a head shorter than the young master, and he scratched his head, asking, "Why do you need to ask the teacher?"

Gongzi Gao patted the back of his not-so-bright younger brother's head and said patiently, "The Supreme General has only passed away a few days ago. If we go to see Father Emperor at this time, we will offend him or be impolite. Father Emperor will blame us."

Jiang Lü then said, "But..."

"For us, it's just blame; but if it involves the teacher, it means the teacher didn't teach us well, and then the teacher..."

Prince Gao was about to tell us about a very serious consequence, especially since General Meng Wu had passed away and his father was in deep grief.

Seeing his younger brother's still clueless expression, Gongzi Gao said, "Never mind, let's go back."

Inside Gaoquan Palace, Fusu sat by the fish pond, watching the fish.

Prince Gao, Jiang Lü, and their other younger siblings did not come to the palace.

But Shusun Tong was a very intelligent man.

The Emperor was still grieving the loss of the Supreme General. Although they could not come in person, they could send letters first.

The letters from my younger siblings are quite ordinary, mostly about everyday things and what has happened to them in the past year.

Shusun Tong still complained in his letters, still demanding fifteen dou of grain per year to accept students.

Now he was somewhat annoyed. Even if he harvested fifteen bushels of grain a year, it would still be a loss. Fifteen or sixteen-year-old children are at the age when they can eat the most, and their stomachs seem to never be full. These children only eat one meal a day here.

But these children eat so much that fifteen bushels of grain are not enough to feed them for a year.

Shusun Tong suggested that he should add five more dou of grain, and collect twenty dou every year thereafter.

Twenty bushels of grain was not a small amount, but Fusu felt that they could collect grain in another way, such as through labor.

As for what kind of labor it is, that question can be left to Shusun Tong.

Tian An had someone bring over cartloads of bamboo slips, saying, "Young Master, you've packed them all."

"Are all the documents that Chief Du sent here?"

"These are documents sent from Longxi over the past year."

Another eunuch came to report, saying, "Young master, the emperor summons you."

The position of Shaofu Ling is very important. He accompanied the Emperor on his eastern tour for a year and has now returned. The bamboo slips piled up in front of the Prime Minister's residence are almost a mountain.

Those documents were not all from the Imperial Household Department; some were from the other Nine Ministers.

However, there were still many matters to attend to in the Imperial Household Department. The General had passed away, and although we were grieving, state affairs could not be neglected.

These days, Zhang Cang and Cheng Miao are probably both extremely busy.

On the way to Zhangtai Palace, Fusu asked a few more questions. It turned out that he wanted to pay homage to the Supreme General with his father.

(End of this chapter)