The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 4 My Ancestor is Xunzi

Fusu sat up straight again and continued to look at the contents on the bamboo slips. His father had already read the battle report, and his teacher had copied a volume of it. The teacher's small seal script was actually very neat. Among them was the military report sent by Wang Jian, which contained news about the Xiang family of Chu and the King of Chu.

In fact, Xiang Yan might have been spared, as Wang Jian and General Meng Wu had not originally intended to exterminate all the nobles of Chu.

But after Xiang Yan fled, he and the old nobles of Chu State supported Prince Changping Jun of Chu as the King of Chu, and led troops to resist the Qin army in Huainan, where he died in battle.

After only a month of exchanging war reports and letters, Fusu finally realized that the war for Qin to unify the six kingdoms was just coming to an end.

We can also learn from this book of our teacher that the Qin Dynasty's transformation of the world has just begun.

People are wondering what kind of person the First Emperor is. If the First Emperor can accept Li Si's county system and the system of three dukes and nine ministers, then the First Emperor should be the person who is most willing to accept innovation.

Compared to Xiang Yan, who was determined to recover the Chu territory and even wanted to restore his country at one point, the First Emperor was the one who was most willing to accept change.

I read it twice, but the book did not mention the process of Xiang Yan's killing or the war situation.

Of course, Fusu did not see the saying that even if there are only three households left in Chu, Chu will be the one to destroy Qin.

There was no record of the demise of the State of Chu or the process of General Mengwu's expedition; the teacher simply mentioned it in a few casual words.

For the teacher, the Chu State was destroyed and Xiang Yan was dead. How could the teacher's ambition be affected by Xiang Yan?

After all, he is Li Si.

The content of the book was just a simple work report, and Fusu felt like he was being treated like a child by his teacher.

The night wind blew into the hall, making the flame of the oil lamp flicker. Fusu put down the bamboo slips and set them aside without writing a reply or picking them up again. Instead, he looked at the map carefully.

In the eyes of the palace people here, the First Emperor asked Li Si to teach the prince, but the prince seemed to have no interest in the political affairs of the court. If the prince cared about political affairs, he would definitely ask about it.

There was an old eunuch in Gaoquan Palace, who was over sixty years old and named Tian An.

Ever since the death of Empress Dowager Huayang, this old eunuch has been cleaning up this place. He bent over with a broom in hand, sweeping the ground outside the hall. He walked at the door and stood in the dark, just able to see the situation inside the hall. The young master was holding an oil lamp in his hand, looking at the map hanging on the wall.

He looked up for a moment, then left Gaoquan Palace with his broom.

The Xianyang Palace was particularly quiet under the cover of night, but the Zhangtai Palace was still brightly lit. The First Emperor was sitting in the palace, reading reports submitted from all over the country.

Tian An stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Young Master, you have read the Prime Minister's book again today."

Few people in the palace knew when this old eunuch with white hair had been in Xianyang Palace. It was remembered that this old eunuch had been in the palace long before Lu Buwei came to Xianyang Palace. At that time, he was taking care of the daily life of Queen Dowager Huayang. Now that Queen Dowager Huayang has passed away, he still stays in Gaoquan Palace.

The emperor gave Gaoquan Palace to Prince Fusu to live in. Fusu was the most beloved great-grandson of Queen Dowager Huayang, so the First Emperor allowed him to continue staying in Gaoquan Palace and take care of the prince.

Ying Zheng chewed a walnut and stared at the memorial in his hand. He said in a deep voice, "Didn't Li Si go to see him?"

"The young master did not see Li Si, and Li Si did not ask to see the young master."

The emperor had a deep and deep voice.

Ying Zheng was still hesitating about the candidates for the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers of the Qin Dynasty, especially now that Wang Jian and Meng Wu had not returned yet.

After thinking for a moment, Ying Zheng waved his hand to signal the eunuch to leave, and then lay down on his side.

Sometimes the Qin people's life was very boring. They spent most of their time working, getting up in the morning to work and returning home at sunset, repeating the same cycle over and over again.

Xianyang City was a city with a strict hierarchy, so strict that there were requirements on what kind of clothes a person wore, what kind of house he lived in, and even the room he slept in.

Under the regulation of Qin law, not only the city of Xianyang, but everyone in the entire Guanzhong area lived this kind of life.

For rulers, clear hierarchy is also beneficial.

In the future, everyone in the world will live like this.

Half a month later, Li Si would still have someone deliver the day's decrees to Gaoquan Palace to show them to Prince Fusu. This was his necessary duty as a teacher.

Today, an imperial edict came from the Xianyang Palace, and the First Emperor appointed Li Si as the Left Prime Minister.

Fusu felt that this should be the most glorious day in Li Si's life.

Well, absolutely.

It was also on this day that Fusu handed in his "homework" to his teacher Li Si. Given his status, which teacher would dare to assign homework to a prince of Qin?

Li Si was certainly a competent teacher. Under his guidance, Fusu had initially mastered the official system of the future Qin Dynasty, the official system of the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers.

Understanding the future official system of the Qin Dynasty was the first thing Fusu learned from Li Si's teachings.

After handing in his homework to the teacher, Fusu went on a spring outing like most Qin people.

The one escorting Prince Fusu was still Meng Tian, ​​the son of General Meng Wu. The carriage was not moving fast on the straight road, but followed the Zhengguo Canal all the way, enjoying the spring scenery along the way.

Everyone inside and outside the Great Wall knew that Prince Fusu was wise, but Prince Fusu was only fifteen or sixteen years old, an age when a young person is most likely to change.

No one knew when it started, but this young master of Qin stopped interacting with people of his age, and he would never even take a second look at the toys his peers liked.

This is the child of the First Emperor, he will always be a little different from ordinary people.

Even Meng Tian himself thought so.

"Do you military strategists often read military books? For example, Sun Bin's Art of War."

The young master suddenly asked, and Meng Tian quickly came back to his senses and replied, "I have never read Sun Bin's Art of War."

How brilliant was Sun Bin's strategy of besieging Wei to save Zhao. Although it is an allusion, it is also a real war practice.

It is true that Sun Bin's Art of War was actually written during the Han Dynasty.

This Great Qin was very close to the heyday of the various schools of thought.

Han Fei and Li Si's teacher, the legendary Xunzi, how long has it been since he passed away?
As a prince of Qin, can I also call Xunzi "ancestor"?

Fusu thought to himself, besides, if Xunzi is still alive in heaven, how could he reject his disciple like me?
Meng Tian said, "I think General Wang Jian's military strategy is better."

"is it?"

Hearing the young master's question, Meng Tian continued, "My father once said that General Wang Jian is good at conquering cities and territories, and he is even better at commanding an army. The food and drink expenses of 600,000 soldiers are all decided by the general alone. Such skills are worthy of the general."

Meng Tian is a taciturn person who doesn't talk much. Although he doesn't talk much, whenever he speaks, it is always the truth.

Just looking at the fact that General Wang Jian was able to command an army of 600,000 and ensure that the army was mobilized in an orderly manner, this ability is indeed rare in the world.

Not to mention that the Qin laws were strict, even if it was placed in a class in a team in later generations, would there be fewer rules than the Qin laws?
But even in later generations, it is not easy to lead a class well.

Not to mention an army of 600,000 people. When the carriage reached an official road, Fusu picked up the map and compared the environment in front of him with the map in his hand.

Zheng Guo was a rare water conservancy expert in the Warring States Period. He built the Zhengguo Canal, making Guanzhong a prosperous place. This was also an important project at the beginning of the first year of King Zheng of Qin.

Whether it is the Dujiangyan or the Zhengguo Canal, they are both major projects that benefit thousands of people. When it comes to experience in water conservancy project construction, Qin's experience is ahead of the other six countries.

Even the Qin laws taught people how to farm in a very humane way, teaching them what kind of land should be used to grow what kind of crops, and what kind of land should be used to grow what kind of crops to produce higher yields.

Qin law is not only a law, but also the simple experience accumulated by the working people in the process of production.

As for the fact that some people still say that Qin laws are harsh, most of them are rumors.

Fusu looked at the map and then looked towards the direction of the Chan River, then got off the carriage and walked towards the wasteland.

When Meng Tian saw the young master bend down and dig out a handful of soil, he was a little curious but didn't ask.

Fusu clearly remembered the location of Longshou Canal, which was located west of Chanshui River. Emperor Wu of Han dug the Longshou Canal. After several reconstructions in later generations, the 40,000 hectares of saline-alkali land in Guanzhong became fertile land.

Now Fusu looked at his feet and saw that the saline-alkali land was still there, but the Longshou Canal had not yet been built. There was nothing he could do about it, as he was more than eighty years older than Emperor Wu of Han.

Fusu pondered here for a long time, looking at the spring scenery and the simplest people under the sunshine, who were also the most hardworking people.

Sitting in the carriage again, on the way back, the time traveler Fusu was getting familiar with the Qin Dynasty while thinking frequently.

Think about your situation, the responsibilities you have and what you want to do in the future.

Now, I understand two things.

The so-called parroting of others' ideas, Xunzi has passed away, even if his spirit is in heaven, I, a prince of Qin, have read Han Fei's books well and have Li Si as my teacher, so my ancestor must and can only be Xunzi.

Thus, the "academic circle" among the hundreds of schools of thought that have been passed down since the Warring States Period

I, Fusu, the prince of Qin, have become one of them. This is both a ticket and an identity.

In this era, it is very important to find a legitimate reason, which is extremely important for gaining political resources and connections that may be necessary in the future.

Another thing was to dig the Longshou Canal to make Daqin richer.

Xunzi had passed away before, and the Longshou Canal had not yet been dug.

During this period, Fusu thought that the plan of copying others was a good one.

At dusk, Fusu returned to Xianyang City and happened to meet Wang Wan who was about to leave Xianyang.

There were many young students following Wang Wan. Some of these students were wearing expensive clothes, while others were wearing simple clothes. They were all Wang Wan's retainers or students, and a few of them were court officials who wore swords at their waists.

Everyone was reluctant to leave, and Wang Wan was already in tears as he looked at the many disciples who were paying their respects.

The former prime minister of Qin was about to leave, and Qin had a new prime minister named Li Si. Li Si was a young prime minister with great ambitions.

Fusu took another look and whispered, "Return to the palace."

Meng Tian drove the carriage and entered Xianyang City from the south gate in front of Wang Wan.

Everyone saw the luxurious carriage, General Meng Tian escorting it, and the young man they saw when the curtain of the carriage was blown up by the wind.

Everyone present saluted. How could they not salute when they were being escorted by General Meng Tian and sitting in such a luxurious carriage?

In front of everyone, Wang Wan, with gray hair and beard, bowed tremblingly.

At this time, Wang Wan deeply felt the coldness and cruelty of the Qin State. If this powerful Qin State wanted to move forward and become stronger, it would abandon all useless burdens.

Whether it is the former King of Qin, the current First Emperor, or even this Prince Fusu.

There was no place for him to stay in Xianyang, but at least the emperor gave him generous retirement conditions.

In the process of achieving goals, learning and accumulation are a process that cannot be ignored. Fusu sighed that he had never seen Xunzi's Jixia Academy. The academy was probably destroyed in the war. Xunzi finally died peacefully of old age in the old land of Chu State.

Fusu originally wanted to ask Li Si about the Jixia Academy and wanted to know what Xunzi was like when he was alive.

But since submitting his "homework" last time, Li Si no longer sent any letters, nor even allowed anyone to visit Gaoquan Palace to pay his respects.

The reason why Li Si could become the teacher of my young master was because of a word from my father.

It was probably because Li Si told my father about the conversation in front of the coffin of Empress Dowager Huayang that night in Gaoquan Palace that my father felt that he, the young master, needed someone like Li Si to teach him.

In front of Gaoquan Palace, there was a newly made chair. Fusu sat on the chair with a wooden plaque in his hand in a daze. This wooden plaque was originally used as a spirit tablet for the old man Xunzi. There was no inscription on this wooden plaque so far.

Because Fusu also didn't know whether he should follow the customs of Zhao or Qi when commemorating Xunzi.

Does this mean that Xunzi died of old age in the State of Chu and should be commemorated according to the customs of Chu?

Customs vary from country to country, so after much deliberation, Fusu gave up.

People sometimes act on impulse, and sometimes they think it over again and then give up.

Tian An's footsteps are particularly obvious. His shoes always make some dragging and friction sounds when he walks. The footsteps of this old eunuch are easy to identify.

"Sir, the Prime Minister is here."

Fusu then turned around and saluted, saying, "Teacher."

Li Si bowed and stood up straight, then smiled gently, "I have been busy with government affairs lately and have neglected you, young master."

"You are busy governing the country. Thank you for your hard work, Prime Minister."

Li Si took out a scroll of bamboo slips and said with a smile, "This is written by the young master."

When Fusu saw the thin hemp rope tied with the bamboo slips and the quality of the bamboo slips, he knew that this was indeed the one he had given away.

Li Si sat on the chair, and did not feel any discomfort. He began to explain the homework, and Fusu listened attentively.

The prime minister seemed to be in a good mood because the young master was very studious. It was like having a place to rely on and feel at ease in his originally busy life.

As he was explaining, Li Si saw that the young master was able to apply what he had said before to other situations. He was surprised at his talent and felt proud to be his teacher.

Li Si had just finished explaining the core differences between the selection of officials under the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers system and the officials under the feudal system.

Fusu replied: "Teacher, I have learned it."

You can vote now!



(End of this chapter)