The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 40 Bones in the Canal

Upon seeing that it was General Zhang Han, everyone quickly made way for him.

A soldier in armor strode over, saluted, and said, "General, there's something in the shaft."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Han descended the vertical shaft without a word, displaying an attitude of wanting to destroy whatever was below. What on earth was trying to obstruct the Qin Dynasty's canal construction?

Upon descending to the bottom of the well, they discovered that there were already quite a few armored soldiers there.

Zhang Han nodded to himself, thinking that the soldiers around him were all capable. He looked in the direction of the culvert and was about to walk into the dark culvert when dirt mixed with snow fell from above.

Looking up, Zhang Han saw Shusun Tong coming down the ladder and hurriedly went to help him. When he looked up, he saw that the snow was falling even harder, with dense snow almost blocking the view from the well.

Once Shusun Tong stood at the bottom of the well, Zhang Han stopped looking up.

"I heard that something happened in the underground canal, so I came to take a look."

Zhang Han nodded slightly, somewhat annoyed, and pushed away the oil lamp offered by the soldier. Finding the lamp not bright enough, he lit a torch and strode towards the culvert, leading the way.

Shusun Tong followed closely behind Zhang Han. In fact, there were oil lamps lit along the way, making it quite bright.

Zhang Han switched hands to hold the torch. The underground canal was now about thirty feet deep, and the laborers used oil lamps and shadows to determine the direction of the digging.

I don't know if it was half an hour or a little less than half an hour.

Shusun Tong estimated the distance based on his own pace and saw that Zhang Han had stopped.

The underground canal had come to an end, and Shusun Tong saw Zhang Han holding a torch, looking up and down at the rock wall as if he were looking at something.

Because Zhang Han was so tall, Shusun Tong, who was already short, turned slightly to the side and squeezed to the other side, and finally saw the situation clearly.

There appears to be a pattern on the rock face, and the color of this pattern is clearly different from that of the rock face.

Although it is unknown what it is, it is certain that it is a skeleton embedded in the rock wall, extending all the way to the other side of the wall.

As Zhang Han brought the torch closer and peeled away some rubble and mud, the scene before him became clearer: a skull nearly five feet wide.

It should be noted that a normal man's waist is no more than four feet wide.

Although we do not know how long it is or have seen its full appearance, just looking at such a wide skull is enough to tell what a colossal beast it is.

Zhang Han, along with Shusun Tong and a group of soldiers, emerged from the shaft and returned to the surface.

Someone said, "General, we will go and report to Xianyang immediately."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Han looked at Shusun Tong, almost instinctively.

Even though the two were at odds, they had worked together for so long that Zhang Han actually admired Shusun Tong's methods. Even if he disliked the old man's childlike nature, how could Jingye County be so peaceful? It was all thanks to this old rascal who managed things.

Shusun Tong, whose hair and beard had turned mostly white, slowly shook his head.

Zhang Han's heart skipped a beat. It was hard to say what was dug up, or whether it was auspicious or inauspicious. But if this matter were to be used by someone with ulterior motives, it would be detrimental to the prince and the First Emperor.
That's still up in the air.

Shusun Tong's shaking of his head immediately snapped Zhang Han out of his daze. As a general, he had studied military books since childhood and knew about various wars between the states. Now he understood even more clearly that he could not be led by others and had to deal with the situation calmly.

In the instant after thinking it over, Zhang Han swiftly reached out and grabbed the man's collar.

The man who was about to report to Xianyang was pulled back by a force from behind as soon as he took a step. When he turned around, he saw General Zhang Han with a stern face.

Scanning the people around him, Zhang Han added, "No one here, nor anyone who knows about this place, may leave."

After speaking, Zhang Han's soldiers put a watchful eye on everyone around the shaft and blocked the news from spreading.

"Thank you for making the trip, Master."

Seeing Zhang Han say this, Shusun Tong had no choice but to get on a donkey cart and head to Xianyang ahead of everyone else.

The snow fell heavier and heavier. After traveling for half a day, Shusun Tong finally arrived at the gates of Xianyang. He was invited into Xianyang City because of his status as a scholar who had entered Qin.

At this moment, there were few pedestrians in Xianyang City. Most people were taking shelter from the snow, making the streets seem deserted.

Shusun Tong walked very fast, his wide sleeves swaying back and forth as he walked.

As he walked, Shusun Tong arrived at the gate of Prime Minister Li Si, and not far away was the gate of Xianyang Palace. He stood there and pondered for a moment.

After much deliberation, Shusun Tong still dared not decide whether to inform Prince Fusu or Prime Minister Li Si about the matter first.

Shusun Tong paced back and forth, his hands behind his back, looking quite conflicted, as heavy snow continued to fall on him, and he remained silent with his lips pursed.

After lingering there for about half an hour, Shusun Tong immediately decided to meet with the young master and let him know about this matter first. If others in Xianyang were to be informed first, it would put the young master Fusu and the Jingye Canal in a very passive position regarding whether to continue digging.

I'm afraid someone might use this to their advantage and say it's an ominous sign.

Shusun Tong was about to walk forward when he heard the creaking sound of the heavy wooden door opening.

Just as he was about to head towards Xianyang Palace, Shusun Tong stopped in his tracks. He glanced to the side and saw that the gate of Prime Minister Li Si's residence was open. What a coincidence!

Inside the Prime Minister's residence, Li Si frowned as he looked at the three scrolls of documents before him. Li Si, who had always been quite knowledgeable about calligraphy, believed that he had considerable insight into calligraphy and writing and could write beautiful characters.

But now, looking at the documents in Zhangtai Palace, he fell into deep thought.

The three scrolls before me consist of three parts: one just delivered from Zhangtai Palace, one from Prince Fusu's Gaoquan Palace, and the other a previous reply from His Majesty.

Comparing the three volumes, Li Si felt that if his judgment was correct, a clear and remarkable fact would emerge when he compared the handwriting of each of the three volumes.

I never imagined that Prince Fusu would grow up so quickly in the past few years.

Li Si stroked his beard and nodded, becoming even more certain of his thoughts.

"Prime Minister, Shusun Tong requests an audience."

When Li Si realized that Shusun Tong was in charge of the canals and private property for Prince Fusu, he said, "Please invite him in."

The heavy snow continued in Xianyang City. Shusun Tong stayed at the Prime Minister's residence for half an hour, and then... he hurriedly left Xianyang City.

Half an hour later, the Prime Minister also left the mansion and went to Xianyang Palace.

Inside Zhangtai Palace, Fusu was writing documents, while his father, the Emperor, sat on the throne, eating noodles. He chewed and then had another bowl because he felt he wasn't full.

The guards stood before the hall and announced loudly, "The Prime Minister requests an audience."

Ying Zheng looked up at the heavy snow outside the palace.

The First Emperor merely glanced outside the palace, continuing to eat his noodles, and nodded slightly.

Then, Li Si strode into the hall and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, Young Master."

When Li Si saw His Majesty eating noodles and the young master reviewing documents, he was quite surprised, which confirmed his earlier suspicions.

Seeing that the young master was still reviewing documents, Li Si bowed and said, "Your Majesty, young master, I have learned that General Zhang Han has unearthed a huge skull at Jingye Canal." Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng slowed down his chewing of noodles.

Fusu picked up his brush and paused slightly as he wrote.

Li Si then said, "I have ordered Zhang Han to dig it out and present it to Zhangtai Palace."

Ying Zheng still held the bowl and chopsticks in his hands and said calmly, "Give me noodles."

Li Si bowed again and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Inside Zhangtai Palace, Li Si was sitting to the side eating a bowl of noodles bestowed by His Majesty. His Majesty, having finished his noodles, was sitting upright, resting his head with one hand on his temple and his eyes closed. Meanwhile, Prince Fusu was still focused on reviewing documents.

Everything was calm and normal.

It was as if the wind, snow and noise outside had no effect on the main hall.

At this moment, most of the people in Jingye County are holding torches and standing in the wind and snow.

When Shusun Tong returned, it was already night. Zhang Han still ordered his soldiers to surround the area, and the laborers who had previously worked in the well and the culvert were all left behind.

Fortunately, the canal construction was organized into teams based on vertical shafts, and the workers in each shaft were fixed, making it much easier to manage.

Now that Shusun Tong has returned from Xianyang, Zhang Han has ordered the area to be surrounded.

"General Zhang Han," Shusun Tong strode over and asked, "Has anyone left?"

Zhang Han turned to look at the gathered laborers and shook his head, saying, "No."

"Alright." Shusun Tong nodded first, then let out two breaths and said, "Dig, dig it out and present it to Zhangtai Palace."

Zhang Han beckoned to his adjutant who was not far away and gave him a few instructions. Then a group of soldiers led a group of laborers down into the vertical well. He then announced loudly, "Each person will receive a bowl of ginger soup to ward off the cold, and each person will receive an extra five dou of grain."

After descending the shaft, Zhang Han saw that Shusun Tong had also come down. He said, "Let the Master go and rest first."

Shusun Tong looked worriedly at the flickering firelight deep in the culvert and said, "I'll sleep here; it's warmer in the culvert."

Zhang Han nodded and walked into the culvert, joining the laborers in chiseling down the entire rock face.

The snowstorm didn't stop until the next morning. When it was fully light, the laborers who came to Jingye County saw pieces of what looked like stones being pulled out of the vertical shaft of the culvert.

People were standing far away and couldn't see clearly, so the items were placed on the car and covered with a black cloth.

It took until noon today, last night, to finally remove all the bones from the rock strata.

After examining the rock strata several times and confirming that there were no more bones in the strata, Zhang Han dug a few feet deeper and, after confirming that there were none left, stopped.

This time, however, instead of sending people from Jingye County to Xianyang, the Xianyang Palace dispatched troops to take the remains away.

The heavy snow had stopped, but the strong wind continued, making Shusun Tong's long robe flutter loudly.

Seeing the worried look on Shusun Tong's face, Zhang Han said in a deep voice, "Don't worry, no one knew about this place before."

Now that troops have arrived at Xianyang Palace, the news must have spread. However, Prime Minister Li Si was informed beforehand, and Prince Fusu and the First Emperor should also know about it.

Shusun Tong raised his head and looked in the direction of Xianyang, saying, "In the future, I should go to Xianyang less often."

After speaking, seeing that Zhang Han was still standing silently to the side, Shusun Tong felt rather disappointed and instructed again: "Give each of the laborers who dug the canal an extra dou of rice. Tell them that we dug up something good, and it's a happy event."

Zhang Han asked in confusion, "Why is that?"

Shusun Tong said, "It's useful. I've been to Xianyang and met with the Prime Minister. General Zhang Han, please don't panic."

Zhang Han let out a heavy sigh, still somewhat doubtful.

After today's court meeting concluded, the several cartloads of goods sent by Jingye County were finally transported into the Xianyang Palace.

All the civil and military officials had withdrawn to attend to their own affairs.

The snowstorm had just stopped, and the Qin Dynasty was as busy as ever.

However, most people saw the five carriages covered with black cloth, and the civil and military officials in the court still did not know what the five carriages were carrying.

But as long as these people ask, and combine what they saw and heard in Jingye County last night with what others have said, they will eventually find out.

At this moment, there are five carts at the foot of the steps in front of Zhangtai Palace, and these five carts are loaded with various kinds of stone materials.

Ying Zheng frowned and remained silent as he looked at the skeletons embedded in the rock walls.

Fusu knew these things were fossils. More than eighty years later, during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, dragon bones were unearthed while digging a canal. The same thing could be found now.

Upon further reflection, Fusu understood. Yes, it was only eighty years apart, not a long time.

For the land and soil layers over such a long period of time, these few decades are really nothing.

Regardless of whether what Emperor Wu of Han dug up was dragon bones, as recorded in historical books, even with these fossils in front of him, Fusu was not sure if they were dinosaur fossils.
Of these five cartloads of fossils, the clearest one is a huge skull, but only half of it is visible, and its full appearance is unknown.

From a more rigorous paleontological perspective, Fusu believed it to be a giant ancient creature like the Yellow River saber-toothed elephant, or perhaps an ancient elephant.

Of course, judging from its current appearance, apart from half a skull, the rest of the fossils are scattered and fragmented, making it extremely difficult to piece them together.

Fusu looked at Prime Minister Li Si, who was equally curious.

Li Si was holding a fossil in his hand, examining it closely.

"What does the teacher think this is?"

"minister……"

Upon hearing the prince's words, Li Si first glanced at the First Emperor, his expression conflicted. The Prime Minister of Qin was momentarily speechless.

Fusu walked to his side and whispered, "Prime Minister, should we continue digging this canal?"

Li Si countered, "What do you mean by that, sir?"

Fusu raised his head, looking at the cartloads of scattered fossils in front of him, and said, "If someone says that they want to stop the canal digging because of these, what do you think, Prime Minister?"

Li Si was an extremely astute ruler and a political expert who was very sensitive to the current situation. How could he not understand the prince's meaning?

If the canal-digging work were to be halted because of these bones, not only would the efforts of the past three years be wasted, but it would also affect the prince and the First Emperor.

Furthermore, the scholars from the six states who came to Qin were already making things difficult for them in various ways. Wouldn't they seize this opportunity to criticize the First Emperor and Prince Fusu?
Furthermore, the Great Wall is currently being built in the north to defend against the Xiongnu, and the army is currently on a southern expedition.

It is said that the prince was precocious from a young age, and within just two years of being involved in politics, he was able to help the First Emperor handle state affairs. What kind of person is this prince Fusu? How could he not understand the implications?

"Prime Minister, shall we continue digging this canal?"

(End of this chapter)