The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 21 Results
Shusun Tong was still pushing the small millstone and looked at the pile of bamboo slips brought by Zhang Cang.

Zhang Cang was still standing aside, probably with an attitude that meant he wouldn't leave unless you looked at him.

Shusun Tong supported his injured lower back with a suspicious look on his face. He was surprised to find that Zhang Cang, like Li Si, was a disciple of Xunzi. When did Zhang Cang become so supportive of Prince Fusu?

Prince Fusu, Prime Minister Li Si, and Censor Zhang Cang, when did these three people come together?
Before entering Qin, Shusun Tong had heard of Prince Fusu's wisdom and considered the current situation...

For some reason, Shusun Tong felt increasingly uneasy.

This feeling of unease is growing day by day. When did it start?
It should be from the first time I met Prince Fusu that I felt uneasy.

Shusun Tong walked to the table and opened the bundle. As the ropes of the bundle opened, several rolls of bamboo slips rolled down. Then he picked up one of them and looked at it carefully.

The wind was still cold outside, and there was still some unmelted snow in the corners and on the roadside. Zhang Cang looked at the children playing in the village.

Inside the house, Shusun Tong read a book for a long time.

Zhang Cang looked at the scenery outside the window and said, "Young Master also said that if you don't want to teach those children, I can come and teach them. In the future, I, Zhang Cang, will also come to teach the children here."

Upon hearing this, Shusun Tong placed the scroll in his hand on the table and said, "These are all stories about the ancient Qin people."

Zhang Cang was about to leave when he said, "Thank you for your help."

Shusun Tong bowed and said, "Since it is the prince's order, I will do my best."

Shusun Tong thought it was not a difficult task to just tell the children stories about the Qin people, especially since they were all very good stories.

When the New Year comes, people will think about when this year's Grain Rain will arrive, and they all hope that this year's spring plowing can start earlier.

Fusu left Xianyang City in a carriage and came to the south of the Wei River, where there was a forest garden called Shanglin Garden.

The area of ​​Shanglin Garden is not very large today. It was not until the reign of Emperor Wu of Han that the area of ​​Shanglin Garden was expanded.

Now Shanglinyuan is like a small garden.

It is already February, but the cold wind is still blowing. No birds or animals can be seen in Shanglin Garden, and the rivers and canals are covered with a thin layer of ice.

Tian An sat on the shaft of the carriage and whispered, "Sir, recently the Imperial Household Order wanted to inquire about Shang Yanshan's cooking methods, the Imperial Household Order asked about the length of your clothes, and the Junior Household Order asked about the selection of people to build a bridge over the West Wei River."

"It's the beginning of the new year, and it seems everyone is very busy."

The young master's words were heard from the carriage, and Tian An smiled and said, "I'm afraid it will rain today."

"It's okay, we can take shelter from the rain in Shanglin Garden."

Today, the administration of the Qin State is still quite clear. At least compared with the six previous states, the Qin State can be said to have achieved the goal of assigning professional people to do professional work and promoting specialized production.

Among the six kingdoms that successively carried out reforms, only Qin State implemented this system most completely.

Because the Qin State only recruited professionals as officials, such as Zheng Guo who built the Zhengguo Canal.

As for the other six countries, the candidates for these key positions would more or less be their own clan members or blood relatives of the nobles.

From the perspective of the personnel selection system, it is extremely important that professionals do professional work.

The so-called "taking officials as teachers" and the Qin people's practical national policy forced officials to master the corresponding abilities and the ability to deal with actual government affairs.

Today, Fusu came here to meet another water conservancy expert from Qin State, whose name was Jianlu.

Jianlu was originally ordered to repair Shanglin Garden. When he learned that the young master wanted to see him, he waited outside Shanglin Garden.

When the carriage came closer, Jianlu bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I, Jianlu, greet you, my lord."

Fusu got off the carriage and said with a smile, "No need to be so polite."

Jian Lu continued, "I have been ordered to repair the Shanglin Garden. When I heard that the young master was coming, I waited here."

Fusu looked up at the sky covered with dark clouds and said, "Let's go in and talk."

Jianlu bowed again and followed the young master into Shanglin Garden.

In fact, Shanglinyuan had many names in the past. It has always been the place where Qin kings of all dynasties cultivated land. After Shang Yang's reforms, only this piece of land was left.

In fact, there is nothing interesting about Shanglinyuan. It is just a few acres of land, some trees, and a small river.

Jianlu built a river embankment here to prevent the fields from being flooded by floods.

Several people walked into a house beside the field. The house was covered with dust. After entering, Tian An's brows were furrowed.

He probably didn't like the environment here. It seemed like every breath he took would fill his nose with dust, ruining his good mood.

"Bring the picture."

Hearing the young master's instructions, Tian An handed over a roll of cloth.

Jianlu wiped the table with his sleeves, which were now covered with grayish-white dust. He smiled with a relaxed expression, "My clothes can be changed and washed, no problem."

From a political standpoint, the identity of a prince of Qin and a disciple of the prime minister is essentially an excellent political resource.

No one in the Qin Dynasty dared to offend such a young man. He was the eldest son and the prime minister's disciple. Although he was extremely powerful, he had great authority behind him.

For many things, just one word from you can make many people work hard for it. This was Fusu's initial experience of power.

Of course, Fusu also felt that this feeling would become more and more obvious in the future.

Seeing Jianlu smiling, Fusu spread out the map and said, "This is the map of the West Wei River."

Jianlu frowned and looked at the river map.

The house was quiet for a moment, and then the sound of rain was heard outside. The rain mixed with ice particles fell, and then the ice particles became more and more. Then the rain stopped, and all that was left was the ice particles hitting the roof with a rustling sound.

Fusu marked the map and asked, "Master Craftsman Lu also thinks this is the best place to build a bridge?"

Jian Lu bowed hurriedly and said, "Lu, I am unworthy of being called Master Craftsman."

Therefore, this person was the one who built the Lingqu Canal. At least that was the secret in his heart. Fusu habitually addressed him as he had already given him a name. He was so happy that he had seen a great master who was still alive. He spoke without thinking and changed the subject: "I have seen your documents in the Imperial Censorate. You have experience in building rivers and bridges, and you have worked with the State of Zheng."

"Lu, I'm sorry for my shallow opinion, sir."

Fusu put the map away again and handed it to him, saying, "I know you don't have many friends in the court, but I have a good relationship with the Minister of Finance. He can send people to help us build the West Weihe Bridge."

When Tian An heard the young master call out "we", he noticed that Jianlu's expression became more and more uneasy.

Fusu said: "After Grain Rain, I will arrange for the Shaofu's men to come and see you."

"I accept your order."

After making the agreement with him, Fusu prepared to leave. Ice particles were still falling from the sky, but not as hard as before.

"Sir, please don't blame me for being so talkative. I am just worried that he will not be able to handle the important task."

"Vice Prime Minister Feng is quite discerning. He kept the official documents from Jianlu and even asked him to repair Shanglin Garden..."

After saying that, Fusu felt that Feng Quji, the deputy prime minister of the Qin Dynasty, would definitely recommend Jianlu to the First Emperor at an appropriate time.

Tian An wore a bamboo hat and let the ice particles hit his body. He drove the carriage with a smile on his face. The young master read documents in the Censorate for a month, and even Cheng Miao gained a lot of weight in that month.

After reading the documents for a month, the young master had a clearer understanding of the government affairs, and he knew exactly who to contact for what tasks.

The young master is good at learning. He can often master skills very quickly, which take others a long time to master.

Not to mention, the young master went to the Censorate to read documents for a whole month, regardless of wind or snow. And the young master would sometimes sit alone in the Censorate for an entire day, not talking to anyone, just quietly reading the documents.

Tian An's eyes were moist. He felt that the young master was just like the Qin Xiaogong of the past. The kind and tough Qin Xiaogong had returned.

The freezing rain didn't stop until noon, and a thick layer of ice particles formed on the ground.

After Fusu returned to Gaoquan Palace, he sent another letter to Zhang Cang.

As night fell, someone brought Zhang Cang's reply.

Fusu was picking the bones from a grilled fish to kill time. He waited until Tian An handed him the letter from his teacher, then he opened the bamboo slips and read it.

Tian An said, "Sir, this fish will taste fishy if it gets cold."

Fusu looked at the bamboo slips and said, "Feed the fish."

Tian An smiled, picked up the plate, and threw the grilled fish into the fish pond.

The people in Gaoquan Palace were very happy. The plum blossoms that the young master had been looking forward to had finally bloomed. The plum blossoms that were supposed to bloom in early winter last year only bloomed in February this year.

It was a little late, but it finally opened.

The important task of the young master to build the Xiwei Bridge has finally been settled.

The Qin State had a rule of holding a grand court meeting at the beginning of spring. During the long and cold winter, the Qin State would adjourn the court and would not hold a grand court meeting until after the Grain Rain of the following year.

This rule has continued to this day. Now the warm spring has not yet arrived, but the freezing rain has come first.

The weather is worrying, so we must not delay the farming season.

The Qin people were accustomed to a life of farming and fighting, and they were looking forward to the cold winter leaving Guanzhong as soon as possible so that they could go to work in the fields earlier.

Today, a group of people passed by Shangyan Mountain. Zhang Han saw the scale of the carriage from afar and immediately saluted. Who else could be escorted by General Meng Wu and Wang Ben with such a scale? It must be the First Emperor.

The carriage was not close to Shangyan Mountain, about three or five miles away.

Soon, a team of cavalry came galloping, led by General Meng Wu and Deputy Prime Minister Feng Quji.

Zhang Han stood aside with his head bowed, allowing General Meng Wu and Feng Quji to enter the village.

The army did not take the food here, nor did they ask about Shusun Tong and Li You who bowed their heads in greeting. Only the deputy prime minister asked a group of children.

Shusun Tong blinked hard. The deputy prime minister of the Qin Dynasty was really asking the child.

Under the worried gazes of the young master's servants, their children answered the deputy prime minister's questions very calmly.

After hearing the children's calm responses, even Shusun Tong felt...

He probably really taught three hundred extraordinary disciples, but the people who taught these children were not only himself, but also Li You and Zhang Cang.

The First Emperor's carriage was parked just north of Shangyan Mountain.

Feng Quji rode his horse to the side of the carriage and saluted, saying, "I have made inquiries."

"What did Fusu do there?"

"The young master asked Shusun Tong and Zhang Cang to teach those children."

"Teach? Hehehe..."

The First Emperor's laughter could be heard from the carriage. "Shusun Tong was a disciple of Confucius' descendants, and Zhang Cang was a disciple of Xunzi. It's quite interesting that Fusu put these two together."

Feng Quji said, "I asked those children what they had learned, and they said they learned to move the tree and establish trust."

"Moving trees to establish trust?"

"When Shang Yang carried out reforms, in order to make the people of Qin trust the officials, he issued a decree that anyone who could carry a piece of wood to the north of the city would receive 100 gold coins. But at that time, no one believed him. But when someone actually carried the wood to the north of the city, Shang Yang really rewarded him with 100 gold coins. From then on, the people of Qin only trusted Shang Yang."

The carriage became much quieter, and Feng Quji also believed that the First Emperor knew about this matter.

Because this story is true, it was spread among the Qin people a hundred years ago.

Before the First Emperor could reply, Feng Quji continued, "I asked the children why I told them these stories. They said that Qin law clearly distinguishes between rewards and punishments, and that meritorious service must be rewarded. To be an official in Qin, one must earn the trust of the people. Only by earning the trust of the people can Qin law take root."

"Officials must have responsibilities, and they must keep their promises and follow through on their actions. This is the courage of officials to carry out their duties. If they cannot gain the trust of the people, what is the point of being an official?"

"Alas, the world is so vast, how many Shang Juns can there be?"

The First Emperor sighed in his carriage, and all the officials and generals outside saluted solemnly.

"Go back to the palace. I also want to read those stories."

Meng Wu said loudly: "Return to the palace!"

This huge escort team only came out for half a day and then hurried back.

One story made the First Emperor give up the idea of ​​going out to see the spring scenery.

On the way back, someone brought me the story of Shang Yanshan.

Along the way, Ying Zheng flipped through the stories and asked, "Are those children Fusu's servants?"

Feng Quji replied, "I have asked those children, they are the young master's servants."

"Well...I gave it to him."

Ying Zheng just remembered this matter, but it was because Li Si was pestered by Doctor Qilu that he asked Fusu to open a government office to recruit famous officials. However, this matter was later left unresolved.

Looking back, Ying Zheng realized only later that Fusu had already done so much.

Fusu had no idea what his father had seen and heard during his trip today.

At this moment, Fusu was standing in the old house of Lu Buwei. Everything in the old house was very old. The house had been in disrepair for a long time and was leaking. There was still rainwater on the ground. Tian An and his men were patrolling everywhere to see what needed to be repaired and what furniture needed to be replaced.

There was a man standing in front of Fusu. His name was Mao Heng, and he was also a disciple of Xunzi.

He studied under Xunzi at the same time as Han Fei and Li Si.

Mao Heng had an uncle named Mao Sui, who recommended himself.

"Heng greets the young master and is willing to serve you." Mao Heng said in a very loud voice.

"Wait." Fusu sorted out his thoughts and remained silent for a while before saying, "Is Mao Sui your uncle?"

"Exactly."

"Back then, Mao Sui joined forces with Huang Xie, the Lord of Chu, and your uncle swore a blood oath with the King of Chu to fight against Qin."

Mao Heng was silent for a moment, frowning and saying nothing.

Fusu whispered, "With such a deep connection, why are you still serving me? You and Qin must be enemies forever."

……

Note: Jianlu presided over the construction of Lingqu Canal. Some people called him Shilu. Here the author uses Jianlu.

(End of this chapter)