The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 130 Additional Troops
A month after General Meng Wu passed away, the summer harvest in various counties of Guanzhong was completed, and many national affairs returned to normal.

In a restaurant in Xianyang, Zhang Cang and Li You had their meal and then parted ways.

Li You was ordered to take his wife and children to Longxi ahead of him, and then another 500 cavalrymen rushed to Longxi.

In recent years, Weinan County has become accustomed to its current development model. Shusun Tong received a document from Prince Fusu. After receiving Prince Fusu's reply, the prince agreed to increase the grain tax for students in Jingye County, but also said that labor could be used instead.

As for how to utilize labor to realize value, he was still at a loss.

In his view, food is still the best option, labor is temporary, but food can be stored.

After putting down the scroll, Shusun Tong walked out of the house with a heavy heart. He saw the county magistrates of various counties leading young people to the county, all of whom were of marriageable age.

Now that troops are being reinforced in the north, these young men will all be sent to the Great Wall.

Jingye County sent fifteen young men, one from each household to serve in the military, and Zhang Han would then grant them household registration.

Once they had household registration, they were no longer servants of Prince Fusu, and they could cultivate their own land.

Jingye County has a small population. According to the Qin Dynasty's normal standards, a county should have at least 600 households. Fortunately, they can still provide 50 or 60 young people of working age.

Although Jingye County has a small population, the population of Weinan as a whole is quite substantial. Two hundred thousand people were relocated to Weinan for land reclamation.

Today, this population of 200,000 has become Weinan's greatest source of strength. No other place in Guanzhong can produce 30,000 young people from Fuzhou like Weinan.

Those who were penniless back then have, over the past five years, been able to support themselves and their children.

Now those eleven-year-old children have finally grown up and become young soldiers capable of fighting.

This is just the young people among the 200,000 people. If you include the able-bodied men, it wouldn't be difficult to raise 80,000 soldiers.

The fact that they've only managed to pull out 30,000 young men to participate in military service is already quite astonishing. Which prefecture could muster such a large army? Anyone who didn't know better would think that Prince Fusu had hidden 30,000 private soldiers.

Zhang Cang arrived in Jingye County in an oxcart. As soon as he got off the cart, he saw Zhang Han leading a group of children carrying weapons.

Most of them did not have warhorses and had to walk to Shangjun. The imperial road in the northern suburbs of Xianyang City led directly to Shangjun, and along the way, one could see groups of young people heading to Shangjun.

The First Emperor's call for troop reinforcements was never a trivial matter. Facing over 100,000 or even 200,000 Xiongnu people, the Qin state machinery was once again mobilized for this war.

The mighty Qin Dynasty seemed to smell the scent of war merit once again. Teams of young people emerged from various counties, carrying their credentials and weapons, and headed north.

The previous generation fought to unify the Central Plains; this generation of young people is going north to protect their homeland.

Once the Xiongnu invaded the south, they would plunder their food, wives, children, and land.

Fortunately, the men of Guanzhong have fought their way up from the battlefield generation after generation, and the children of today are growing up under the guidance of their fathers.

And the experiences their fathers, who went to war when they were still young, could teach their children were all about how to kill enemies on the battlefield and how to survive on the battlefield.

Previously, the campaign was to advance eastward; now it is to launch a northern expedition.

This is the scene Zhang Cang has witnessed on his journey, and it is what is happening right now. Accompanying him is a group of armored soldiers, who are pulling carts loaded with jars of liquor.

When Zhang Cang arrived, Zhang Han smiled slightly. Whether it was the annual land tax or this conscription, Weinan had always been the most outstanding among the counties in Guanzhong.

Weinan has a small land area, yet it supports several times the population of the other counties.

Zhang Han said, "The roster is ready."

Zhang Cang is currently the Vice Minister of the Imperial Household Department, but he also serves as an Imperial Censor. He works for both Prince Fusu and the Prime Minister, so he is always quite busy.

A group of young people stood before me, most of them around twenty years old, with the younger ones being seventeen or eighteen.

These people were wearing coarse cloth coats, each of them in a dark gray color.

Zhang Han said in a low voice, "They're all here."

Zhang Cang looked towards the back of the group and asked, "Have the people from each county arrived?"

Prefectural Magistrate Shusun Tong said, "We are still missing Sima Xin from Huayin County."

Zhang Han said, "Wait a little longer, we should be there soon."

Zhang Cang looked at the roll of names in his hand and nodded, then said, "Li You has gone to Longxi."

"Is it to guard against the Western Rong troops?"

Zhang Cang shook his head and said, "No, it's that this time, young master really intends to take the river valley of the Western Rong."

Zhang Han felt sorry for the Western Rong people. Wang Ben had given them thousands of cartloads of rhinoceros hides, hoping they could negotiate with the Xiongnu for a while longer, but he did not expect them to be defeated so quickly.

He asked, "The situation in the Western Regions is complex. How were the Xiongnu able to achieve such a victory there?"

Zhang Cang also shook his head and said, "I don't know. I heard there was a Xiongnu king who came from the Yuezhi and was very brave."

Looking at Zhang Han's expression, Zhang Cang whispered, "Prefect Zhang, there's no need to worry. Although Li You is a sergeant, he actually has no experience in actual combat. If the Western Rong start a war, they will need a general. General Zhang Han fought against the Xiongnu in Hedong back then, didn't he?"

Zhang Han nodded.

Zhang Cang gave him a look and said, "No rush, let the young master arrange it step by step."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Han's expression brightened; how could he not understand Zhang Cang's meaning?

The worst-case scenario is that Meng Tian is alone in the north and needs someone to support him, while Tu Ju and Zhao Tuo are unable to leave the south, and Wang Ben, now serving as Grand Commandant, no longer leads troops. Looking around, Zhang Han feels that the opportunity has arrived.

Zhang Cang patted him on the shoulder and said, "Prefect Zhang, you were born into a military family, you shouldn't have wasted what you learned in your youth."

Zhang Han thought of his father and his ideals, just like when he saw Li You off during the southern expedition and watched Li You head towards Shu. Zhang Han was really envious.

Hearing Zhang Cang's words, and the phrase "waiting for the young master to make arrangements step by step," Zhang Han felt his heart burning. He had almost forgotten that he was once a military general, born into a fallen military family. He envied Meng Tian and Wang Ben, and he longed for this opportunity.

Zhang Cang looked at the more than 30,000 young soldiers in front of him. They had just taken up their weapons, some with halberds, some with bronze swords, and others with shields. They were all wearing leather armor and dirty black-gray clothes. They stood together, and they were of different heights, weights and builds.

They were testing their weapons, or some were pushing and shoving each other, comparing them.

These children may not realize for a moment that while they are laughing and joking, they are actually facing a real war that will kill people.

Sima Xin arrived late, not because of dereliction of duty, but because he had to go to Tongguan to bring all the artisans led by Qingbi here. With everyone present, Zhang Cang looked at the rosters sent by the county magistrates and confirmed the numbers. A total of 65,000 young men from the six counties of Weinan Prefecture were participating in the Northern Expedition.

Zhang Cang greatly admired Prince Fusu's foresight. Weinan, with the least amount of land, fed the largest population and made the greatest contribution to Guanzhong.

The 200,000 shi of grain used to build Guanzhong back then is negligible in today's terms.

The hardships endured back then, and the digging of this canal, have now paid off, and paid off handsomely.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Zhang Cang announced loudly, "Let's have a farewell feast. We'll be leaving the pass tomorrow."

Zhang Han repeated in his booming voice, "We'll leave the pass tomorrow!"

The voice echoed at the foot of Shangyan Mountain as canisters of liquor were brought up and distributed to the young soldiers present, with everyone required to drink.

This is a tradition of the Qin people. Ever since Duke Xiao of Qin reformed the laws, whenever there was a war in the east, the soldiers would be given wine.

Because of Qin law, the Qin people rarely drank alcohol in normal times. However, these young warriors were now allowed to drink a sip of wine from Guanzhong to remember the taste of this wine.

The young men of Jingye County scrambled for the remaining wine. Zhang Cang gave Qingbi a scroll of bamboo slips and instructed him, "The young master has ordered the construction of the Weinan Camp to forge military equipment for the northern war."

"Qingbi obeys the order."

In the past, there was a large camp in Guanzhong. Today, Lantian still retains the function of a Qin army camp, and Lantian also belongs to the present-day Neishi County.

The Weinan Prefecture planned to build the Weinan Grand Camp, aiming to rival the Lantian Grand Camp, and even on a larger scale, because the area had a very abundant labor force.

As instructed by the young master, the spinning wheel was to be converted into a spinning wheel for weaving coarse cloth, to weave clothes and shoes for the soldiers of the vanguard, and even to refurbish old armor.

The grain and fodder supplies in Weinan were kept open to facilitate the army's retrieval of supplies at any time.

All able-bodied men in Weinan aged between thirty and fifty are not allowed to leave Weinan Prefecture. If the war at the front becomes critical, these able-bodied men will be required to step up. If that is not enough, then the white-haired old Qin soldiers will probably have to go to the battlefield again.

However, that was the worst-case scenario. Zhang Cang felt it was not yet time to send the white-haired Qin soldiers to the battlefield.

Qingbi led his three hundred craftsmen to build a blacksmith's workshop to forge weapons.

Perhaps because Prince Fusu left some room for maneuver in the development of Weinan, this large prefecture with a population of over 300,000 was able to smoothly change its production direction and devote all its labor force to war logistics.

Farmers, artisans, population, and food are the four most important elements in modern warfare, and these are also the things that Weinan County has the most of.

Zhang Cang sat with several county magistrates and discussed the arrangements for Xianyang with them.

After hearing Zhang Cang's explanation, Zhang Han realized that Li You had gone to Longxi to find the leader of the Western Rong people, negotiate with him to obtain their warhorses, and that the Qin army would send troops to aid the Western Rong people.

Zhang Han asked, "Will the Western Rong people share the Hexi Corridor with the Great Qin in the future?"

Logically, that should be the case. Zhang Cang did not answer the question directly because he knew that Prince Fusu and the Prime Minister had never intended to share land with them. Great Qin would not share land with anyone, even if it was not Great Qin's land yet, it would belong to Great Qin in the future.

Zhang Cang said to everyone, "Last year, Guanzhong recruited many teachers, and the young master said that some people need to be sent to accompany Li Shiwei to the Western Rong."

Upon hearing this, the five county magistrates looked at each other in bewilderment.

As a capable assistant to the Prime Minister, Zhang Cang had his own way of doing things. He placed bamboo slips in front of the five county magistrates, one for each of them, and whispered, "Write down one name for each person, and each person can only nominate one person."

Then, Zhang Cang handed the pen to the first person, Sima Xin, the magistrate of Huayin County.

Having served the Prime Minister for so many years, Zhang Cang knew that the Prime Minister valued efficiency and decisiveness. He was no different; he wouldn't wait for the other party to speak, to allow him two days to think it over, or to listen to what others had to say, or engage in any other delaying tactics.

If everyone says that, things will just drag on and on.

Zhang Cang only follows orders. He never gives the other party a chance to consider or think about the pros and cons of a matter; he simply lets them make a choice.

Just like now, Zhang Cang didn't let them go back to choose a teacher, but instead placed a pen in front of them and asked them to write on the spot.

Night had fallen, and outside, the drunken young soldiers were fast asleep. They would head north after they woke up.

Zhang Cang remained in Weinan County, as there were still many things he needed to do for Prince Fusu.

Sima Xin wrote a name on the bamboo slip and then handed the pen to another person. The name he wrote on the bamboo slip was none other than Chen Ping.

Sima Xin held the bamboo slips in both hands and handed them back to Zhang Cang.

After writing down the name, Sima Xin smiled, feeling both relaxed and self-assured.

Letting Chen Ping leave Weinan was the best decision he made.

Sima Xin felt no guilt whatsoever. He felt that letting Chen Ping leave was to prevent people like him from setting a bad example.

Moreover, someone like Chen Ping could easily survive even if thrown into the ranks of the Western Rong people.

Sima Xin returned to his seat and waited for the other county magistrates to write down their names.

Before dawn, some people woke up, while the still-drunk soldiers packed their bags, took their weapons, and left Jingye County in small groups. They were comrades-in-arms, heading to the battlefield to fight.

Having not slept all night, Zhang Han saw off these young soldiers with red eyes.

"Father! I also want to go to war."

Zhang Han's son spoke loudly.

Zhang Han patted his son on the back of the head and said, "You should learn to read and write first."

When Chen Ping was pulled from his sleep, he never expected that Sima Xin would send him to Longxi, where he would have to follow Li You's orders and even travel to the valley of the Western Rong people.

When Chen Ping learned that all of this was arranged by Sima Xin, he felt frustrated and helpless.

Chen Ping currently holds no official position and is subject to whatever the county magistrate Sima Xin says. He knows that Sima Xin has always looked down on him, but he never expected Sima Xin to treat him this way.

Sima Xin was an upright county magistrate from the Qin state. He was simple and honest in his dealings.

Chen Ping also disliked Sima Xin, but once someone like him became disliked, it would be difficult to find an opportunity to deal with him. This kind of person devoted all his efforts to the county government and had no weaknesses.

But this time, the two of them really held a grudge.

(End of this chapter)