The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 35 The Confused Person

In fact, Mao Heng was quite dissatisfied with Shusun Tong, and he always regarded himself as a guest of a prince.

When Shusun Tong was reading words like "dedication to one's job" to the children, Mao Heng understood the meaning.

Zhang Han did not ask him where he was going, but just gave him some dry food.

Now Zhang Cang is in the court helping Prime Minister Li Si, and the young master has not been here recently.

The next day, Mao Heng, feeling bored, left Shangyan Mountain.

Zhang Han looked back at Shusun Tong who was giving a lecture to the children.

Even in the small Shangyan Mountain, Zhang Han could feel the hidden struggle, and he saw that the construction of this canal had already passed the halfway mark.

Noticing Zhang Han's gaze, Shusun Tong stepped forward and asked, "General Zhang Han, is there something on your mind?"

Zhang Han, still as serious as before, replied: "Why do you want Mao Heng to leave?"

Shusun Tong whispered, "He, Prime Minister Li Si, and Imperial Censor Zhang Cang are all disciples of Xunzi."

"so what?"

"May I ask, General, if Mao Heng takes credit for the completion of the canal?"

Seeing Zhang Han still looking somewhat displeased, Shusun Tong patiently said, "I read your letter last night. The so-called post is to place everyone in a fixed position that cannot be easily shaken and for which one must bear responsibility. I would like to ask, General, if Mao Heng were to stay here forever?"

After spending a year together, Zhang Han knew what kind of person Mao Heng was.

Shusun Tong added, "A man skilled in poetry would not stay in one place for long. This is not only for Mao Heng, but also for General Zhang Han."

Seeing Zhang Han about to leave quickly, Shusun Tong said again: "General, you are loyal, but you must always think of yourself first."

Hearing this, Zhang Han stopped again.

Seeing that he was able to persuade him, Shusun Tong then said, "Young Master is now serving as the Minister of the Imperial Household, in charge of water conservancy projects. What about the future?"

Zhang Han turned around and suddenly glared at Shusun Tong, saying in a deep voice, "How dare you speculate about the young master?"

"How dare I? I'm just trying to clear up the confusion for the general."

Seeing Zhang Han leave in anger, Shusun Tong shook his head and sighed.

Now the only people in charge of Shangyan Mountain were General Zhang Han and himself. In order to resolve the feud, Shusun Tong had no choice but to write another letter and have it delivered to Zhangtai Palace.

Three days later, Gaoquan Palace delivered the young master's reply.

When Shusun Tong put down the reply, Zhang Han did not even read the contents of the letter. Instead, he asked, "How dare you disturb the prince with this matter?"

Shusun Tong said in a deep voice, "This matter is for the stability of Shangyan Mountain. There can only be one person in charge of this territory. This person cannot be Mao Heng, but only you, General Zhang Han. If Mao Heng is to be the leader, do you think the young master will be torn between the Prime Minister, Zhang Cang, and the general?"

Zhang Han struggled internally for a while, then picked up the letter and looked at it carefully.

Shusun Tong explained, "I have advised the prince on the management of Shangyan Mountain. The prince has said that I will be responsible for correspondence with Shangyan Mountain and the surrounding counties, while General Zhang Han will lead all the troops and servants here to supervise the construction of the canal."

The general meaning is that two people are in charge of this piece of land, one civil and one military, complementing each other.

Shusun Tong added, "Your Excellency also said that in the future, you can recommend yourself for matters like this. You are wise to accept such advice."

After reading the contents of the letter, Zhang Han was silent for a long time, and his heart was shaken.

Feeling the fear of scholars, Zhang Han nodded and said, "If I become useless in the future, will you also advise the young master to drive me away?"

Shusun Tongdao said: "General, you worry too much."

There were some things that Zhang Han didn't know, but his uncle Shusun Tong could still hear some rumors about what had happened recently in the Xianyang Palace.

The young master is now the Minister of the Imperial Household. In the future he will become the Minister of the Imperial Household, and then one of the Nine Ministers. After that, will he be the second emperor?
At least that's what it looks like now.

Shusun Tong whispered, "Our young master is a down-to-earth and studious person. Serving him is not a bad idea. Zhang Cang is working for the Prime Minister, and he won't be paying close attention to this place. He also instructed me to work with the general."

Looking at Shusun Tong again, Zhang Han took a deep breath and said, "I will follow your instructions, sir."

In the following days, Shusun Tong not only continued to teach the children in the village, but also took charge of village affairs.

That day, Zhang Han came to the upper reaches of the canal carrying a stone tablet. On the stone tablet were written five words: Love your job and be dedicated to the canal.

This name was given by Prince Fusu, and it has been the name of the canal ever since.

Zhang Han felt that this was not only a warning to himself, but also a message to the world that everyone should love their jobs and be dedicated to their work.

Although Shusun Tong was not as capable as Zhang Cang in managing affairs, he was still able to cope with it. He assigned positions to the people of Shangyan Mountain, all of which were allocated for the construction of canals.

This made people vaguely feel that this area was really going to be different.

In fact, for the servants, their lives have changed a lot compared to before. They have a lot of food stored and no longer have to worry about starving.

In the Xianyang Palace, Fusu has been busy presiding over the affairs of the Shaofu recently. The functions that he, as the Shaofu Cheng, can directly handle are limited to water conservancy and craftsmen.

The remaining powers still lie in the hands of Right Prime Minister Feng Quji.

Fusu got to know Feng Jie during the court discussions these days.

At first, Li Si was the Chief Justice, but now that he has become the Prime Minister, the position of Chief Justice has been handed over to Feng Jie.

Also, because the current prime minister was the former chief justice, the court and the public have even more respect for the position of chief justice.

Feng Jie, sitting in the position of Chief Justice, couldn't help but wonder whether Li Si did it on purpose.

Feng Jie accompanied Prince Fusu out of the Zhangtai Palace. The court meeting had just ended, and in the eyes of everyone, the prince was getting closer and closer to the officials of Li Si's faction.

To the extent that, recently, Chunyu Yue would leave Zhangtai Palace with a gloomy face every time after the court meeting.

People are all guessing about Prince Fusu's intentions. Could it be that he wants to rely on the support of Li Si's people in the future, and then become the next emperor and continue to promote the Legalists?

Not only that, Prince Fusu might also promote the teachings of Xunzi.

As Feng Jie walked down the stone steps of Zhangtai Palace, he said, "Yesterday, Your Majesty and the Prime Minister went to see the Xianyang Bridge. The Xianyang Bridge, which was built under the supervision of the young master, amazed the Prime Minister, and even Your Majesty was quite impressed."

This Feng Jie looked to be about the same age as Li Si, but a little darker.

Hearing the flattery in his words, Fusu said, "I just hope the bridge will be repaired, but I'm not sure it will be very good."

Feng Jie asked, "I heard that the young master is serving in Shangyan Mountain. As the Minister of Justice in charge of the prison, I wonder if I could go and take a look?"

Fusu said: "It's okay, the court judge can go."

"Thank you, sir."

Fusu said, "The Chief Justice can rest assured. All arrangements for Shang Yanshan are in accordance with Qin law and will not exceed the regulations in the slightest."

Feng Jie bowed again and said, "I'll take my leave."

After the beginning of autumn, more and more documents came and went from the Censorate. Fusu walked into the palace and sat there to review them as usual.

After Qin unified the six kingdoms, the population dropped sharply for a time. The war almost wiped out the population in various places. Many fields in the old territory of Qi were deserted and no one cultivated them.

After Li Si's several migrations, most of the population moved to Guanzhong, and some went to the border areas. Now, the situation in most parts of the Central Plains is not that there is no farmland, but that too many fields are barren and uncultivated.

The war almost wiped out a generation. Fusu remembered the old Qin soldiers he saw at Hangu Pass.

If the world wants to recover, will it take another ten or twenty years?
With the population declining, productivity has dropped sharply, and grain production has not even recovered to half of the level during the period of competition among nations.

Even in this predicament, troops had to be sent to resist the Huns. Considering the current shortage of productivity, it was necessary to ensure both the troops guarding the border and the supply of food and grass in the rear.

Prime Minister Li Si made the decision to relocate people to guard the border, moving a large number of people to the border to resist the Huns, while farming and supplying the border troops.

Fusu looked at the correspondence documents, and each county and prefecture was reporting its own situation.

It was very difficult for the Qin State to become stronger, and it is actually quite difficult for the Qin State now.

In late autumn, every morning, white frost covers the ground.

Today, Feng Jie did not attend the court meeting, but came to the Aigang Jingye Channel early.

This canal was dug by Prince Fusu. The name of the canal is very nice and long.

"Love your job and be dedicated to it?"

Feng Jie read it doubtfully and walked into the village.

As the morning sun shone into the village, a group of children were seen holding sticks and swinging them.

Feng Jie shivered in the cold wind and walked closer.

Just as he was about to speak, a soldier came forward and asked, "Who are you?"

Feng Jie took out his copper talisman from his sleeve.

When the soldier saw the bronze talisman, he realized that the person in front of him was the Chief Justice, one of the Nine Ministers, and he saluted hurriedly.

Feng Jie laughed and said, "Are these all the young master's servants?"

"Exactly."

Feng Jie nodded again and said, "These children are really strong."

The soldier replied, "This place has had a good harvest year after year, so the children are naturally well fed and strong."

Feng Jie walked towards the village, saying, "You take the children and continue to practice. I'll go for a walk and take a look. Don't disturb General Zhang Han."

The whole village is built very neatly. The ground here is paved with some fine stones, and you can hear the sound of stones squeezing when walking on the road.

Until the sun came out completely, people from every household came out, and Feng Jie saw a large group of children running to their homes to eat, and then running to class after eating.

Feng Jie naturally knew Shusun Tong, but he just watched from afar without disturbing him.

It was not until Zhang Han noticed him that Feng Jie smiled awkwardly and bowed again, saying, "I came here to see what is happening. The young master agreed."

Zhang Han nodded and said, "No need to be so polite, Chief Justice."

"The channel of loving one's job and dedicating oneself to one's work has been much discussed. As the Chief Justice, I have come here personally to investigate. I apologize for the inconvenience."

"Don't bother me."

The warm sunshine shone down, and when the frost all around melted, the whole village came back to life and people began their day's work.

When the whole village began to work around the canal, everyone had something to do except the children and himself, the court judge.

Among them were an old woman knitting clothes and a woman preparing meals.

Feng Jie stayed in this village for a day and looked around for a day.

The next day, in the Prime Minister's Mansion, Li Si was looking at the reports sent from various places.

Sitting next to him was the Imperial Censor Zhang Cang, who was also sorting out documents from various places.

These documents were reports sent back from various places after the imperial edict on the unification of writing system was issued.

The Prime Minister had said in Zhangtai Palace that standardizing the writing system and the wheel gauge was the top priority at the moment, and the emperor's edict put great pressure on counties and prefectures.

The bamboo slips in front of the Prime Minister's Mansion were piled up in piles, almost forming a small hill that was one person tall, and the piles were still increasing.

It was the busiest time of the year for the Prime Minister's Mansion when Feng Jie walked in quickly. He held a scroll of bamboo slips in his hands and walked into the Prime Minister's Mansion. He bowed and said, "Prime Minister, I have an important matter to report."

"Hua La..." Li Si opened a roll of bamboo slips, his eyes still looking at the contents on the slips. He just frowned slightly when he heard the words.

A clerk nearby noticed the Prime Minister's expression, took the report handed over by the Chief Justice Feng Jie, and placed it next to the Prime Minister's desk.

Then the clerk stood by, waiting for instructions.

Time passed by breath after breath, and many officials came and went in the Prime Minister's Mansion, while the Prime Minister kept looking through documents from various places.

Not to mention Zhang Cang who was sitting here. He was sitting there, writing continuously with the pen in his hand. Every time he finished writing a scroll, he asked someone to take away the written bamboo slips, and a new set of bamboo slips was immediately laid out, and he continued to write.

Li Si finally looked up at Feng Jie and asked, "Do you have anything else to say?"

"Report..."

Li Si glanced at the unopened report lying on the side and said, "I will take a look at it myself. You can go back now."

Seeing boxes of bamboo slips being carried into the Prime Minister's Mansion, Feng Jie bowed and wanted to say something, but seeing that everyone in the mansion was busy, he kept silent and swallowed his words. He bowed again before leaving.

At this moment, in Gaoquan Palace, Fusu listened to Tian An's narration that Feng Jie had been to Shangyan Mountain and wrote a report.

"Sir, the Prime Minister is busy reviewing documents from various places right now and has no time to pay attention to Feng Jie."

"Everything in Shang Yanshan is within the rules, don't worry."

Tian An said in a low and somewhat anxious voice: "How dare those Qilu doctors talk about the young master enslaving his servants."

Fusu was sitting on a Hu stool, killing a fish.

Tian An continued, "It is said that the young master made his servants work all day long until dark to dig a canal. The corvée labor he was conscripted to do was no more than that."

Having said this, Tian An didn't dare to say anything more. He was afraid that the young master would be unhappy if he said too much. He secretly wanted to ask the prime minister to deal with these Qilu doctors.

Fusu put away the fish in his hand and said, "Prime Minister, do you know?"

Tian An added: "I have sent someone to inform the Prime Minister."

Fusu placed the killed fish aside, then put a piece of mutton fat into the ceramic pot, added onion and ginger and fried them, and then put the processed fish in.

After frying, pour in clean water and cover the pot.

While the fish soup was cooking, Fusu finally had some free time. He sat by the stove, drank the hot water and said, "It's good to build a canal or cultivate the fields."

"The wasteland became fertile farmland, and the fertile farmland produced grain. This was all earned through their labor. Labor can bring food, and food is wealth."

(End of this chapter)