The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 50 Prince Fusu's Construction

Huayin stands against Mount Hua, and Ningqin County was later known as Huayin.

Fusu sat by the field watching people cultivating the land. They had to hurry and start cultivating the land, as the Grain Rain season was approaching.

The houses are being built, and this place will have a new look. It is already taking shape, and the situation is very promising.

After several rain showers, the weather doesn't seem so cool anymore.

Feeling the wind blowing in his face, Fusu asked again, "Is Linjin County willing to change its name?"

Tian An replied, "The county officials of Linjin County are naturally willing to obey your orders, young master, but there has been a dispute between the east and west banks, as if they are unwilling to be incorporated into Weinan."

Fusu said in a low voice, "I understand."

Seeing that the young master had no further instructions, Tian An stood quietly to one side.

At this time, the people of Xianyang were talking most about the newly repaired canal and Prince Fusu.

It is unknown which busybody advised the First Emperor that Prince Fusu was leading 200,000 subjects at Shangyan Mountain, and that once these 200,000 people formed an army, they would be a great threat to Guanzhong.

Later, for some reason, this busybody suddenly disappeared from Xianyang.

Later, there were rumors that he had been sent by Prime Minister Li Si to work on the Great Wall in Shangjun.

Xianyang remained peaceful, Prince Fusu's reputation for virtue continued to spread far and wide, the court and the countryside remained calm, and the civil and military officials performed their duties.

Today, Li Si is holding a scroll of bamboo slips and walking briskly up the steps of Zhangtai Palace, heading towards the palace step by step.

The guards in front of the palace noticed that the prime minister seemed to be in a good mood, as even his steps up the steps were much lighter.

Li Si, holding a scroll of bamboo slips in one hand and lifting the hem of his court robe with the other, walked up the steps in a few steps and stood in front of the main hall of Zhangtai Palace with a smile on his face.

The guard watched as Prime Minister Li Si straightened his clothes, then took off his shoes and entered the main hall.

Ying Zheng was eating a bowl of noodles, with stacks of bamboo slips in front of him.

"Your Majesty, the Prime Minister is here."

Ying Zheng, still chewing noodles, looked up at the person before him, his expression still cold and dignified, and asked, "What is it?"

Li Si handed over the bamboo slips in his hand and said, "Your Majesty, these were sent by Feng Jie."

Feng Jie was both the Minister of Justice and the Imperial Censor.

Normally, although Feng Jie, the Imperial Censor, did not hold a prominent position in the court, even Li Si had to treat him with great respect.

Because Feng Jie was the Imperial Censor, he was able to monitor the Prime Minister.

Now even Feng Jie is praising Prince Fusu, how could Li Si not be pleased?

Ying Zheng used his chopsticks to stir the bowl, finished the soup, and then ate the remaining vegetables.

The sound of chopsticks stirring the bottom of a bowl echoed inside the hall.

Li Si handed the document to the eunuch beside him, thinking to himself that the young master had been away from Xianyang Palace for half a year again, and even the First Emperor had not seen the young master for half a year.

Now, Li Si is starting to miss the food at Gaoquan Palace.

Now, the young master is not at Gaoquan Palace; it is Young Master Gao who is guarding it.

Ying Zheng put down his chopsticks, took the document, opened it and read it carefully. The contents of the book were actually quite simple, mostly describing how Prince Fusu governed the people.

After reading it, Ying Zheng said, "Does Linjin County also need to be renamed?"

Li Si then said, "My lord, you intend to rename Ningqin as Huayin County, Linjin as Dali, and re-establish Tongguan and Linwei towns, as well as Zheng County, Xiagui, Liyang, and Baishui."

Ying Zheng said, "This is not just limited to Weinan."

Li Si replied, "From both banks of the Wei River, across the Luo River, all the way to the west of the Xiao Mountains, you, my lord, have redefined the boundaries of Weinan."

What do you think of Fusu's plan?

"Your strategy seems to both develop Weinan and strengthen the defense of the Xiaoshan Mountains, especially Tongguan. Although it is located behind Hangu Pass, building a fortified pass here would make Guanzhong more secure."

A huge map was spread out on the ground. Li Si stood on the map and explained to the First Emperor the importance of the geographical location and how farsighted it was to build Tongguan.

Ying Zheng continued, "Did you teach all of this to Fusu?"

Upon hearing this, Li Si was about to explain when the First Emperor spoke again.

"You and Zhang Cang have worked hard to teach Fusu. This is a matter of great importance concerning hundreds of thousands of people, and you must not slack off."

Li Si said loudly, "Your subject obeys."

Originally, Li Si wanted to explain that he had never taught Li Si about the construction of Linwei and Huayin, he really hadn't, but the First Emperor didn't give him a chance to explain.

Li Si could only let the First Emperor look at the map and admire the new landscape east of Guanzhong in the future.

However, upon closer examination, Li Si realized that these things probably weren't taught by Zhang Cang. Although Zhang Cang was learned, he shouldn't have had such insight into military affairs and geography.

This is because the young master built Tongguan, which connects Huayin, linking the banks of the Wei River and the Luo River together, and there are also counties in Linwei behind it.

These counties were all built along the Wei River, connecting the entire Weinan area and also enabling the transport of grain and troops to Tongguan.

In the future, Tongguan will be the most important town within Hangu Pass, and may even be able to provide reinforcements to Hangu Pass.

Li Si considered himself a learned man, and the application of geography was clearly a military science, and he was a highly experienced military strategist, so only he could have such unique insight.

What foresight Shang Yang had when he built Xianyang!

Now Li Si understood; no wonder the prince often read Shang Yang's books back then.

Ying Zheng said, "I heard that you have sent quite a few people to Shangjun to build the Great Wall?"

Li Si hurriedly explained, "Your Majesty, they were all there to oversee the construction of the Great Wall. These matters have absolutely nothing to do with Prince Fusu."

Ying Zheng glanced at him.

Li Si's expression hardened as he felt the First Emperor's gaze, a gaze that seemed to say... it's best if this has nothing to do with Fusu.

Seeing that His Majesty was about to deal with today's documents again, Li Si bowed and withdrew from Zhangtai Palace.

After leaving the main hall, Li Si walked down the steps.

Li Si suddenly stopped, turned around to look at the eaves of Zhangtai Palace, then looked away, remembering the past.

That was the first time Li Si had served as an official in the Qin court since entering Qin and had stood with other ministers in the Zhangtai Palace to meet the King of Qin.

Yes, at that time, the First Emperor was still the King of Qin.

After a routine court meeting, Li Si spoke his mind freely at Zhangtai Palace and left with the others.

Li Si remembered clearly that it was a snowy day. A young boy was pushing a wooden chair with wheels. An old man was sitting on the chair, smiling and dressed in fine clothes.

Later, Li Si learned that the old woman was Empress Dowager Huayang, and the young man pushing the wheeled wooden chair was Prince Fusu.

Later, it was said that Prince Fusu was often by Empress Dowager Huayang's side, although Li Si had seen Prince Fusu a few times.

It wasn't until Empress Dowager Huayang's funeral that Li Si heard what Prince Fusu said.

The people in Xianyang Palace all said that Prince Fusu was a very filial child.

Even Li Si couldn't believe that Prince Fusu could have such insight simply by reading the books of Shang Yang or Han Fei.

Or perhaps the young master was exceptionally intelligent from a young age and was always protected by Empress Dowager Huayang.

……

On the banks of the Luo River, several county officials stood before Fusu. Linjin County was to be renamed Dali County, and the entire county was to be expanded several times over, with an increase in population, and the surrounding Ting Township was to be annexed.

Such a significant undertaking will naturally not be accomplished overnight.

The officials before him were all recounting their grievances, explaining the helplessness they felt as county magistrates in exercising their power, and how they had to consider the interests of the elders and relatives of the Qin people. Their complaints grew louder, but Fusu remained all smiles as he listened.

Although it was a smile, in Tian An's eyes, the young master's smile carried a hint of coldness.

Fusu remained silent, but then he remembered a teacher. In his previous life, he was a child who grew up in the mountains, and Teacher Xu, who came to the mountains to teach, was his mentor. Teacher Xu even gave him an umbrella.

Later, I went to high school in the county town.

At that time, Fusu remembered his high school homeroom teacher. The homeroom teacher was very old. He was the oldest homeroom teacher in all grades and was also a teacher who was nearing retirement.

The old teacher said that he had been teaching all his life, but he was still just an old teacher. He had never been promoted and had been rooted in this small county, teaching year after year.

Our teacher's surname is Chen. Calling him "Grandpa" makes him sound old, which displeases the old man. So, he has a nickname, "Brother Chen." When students see him affectionately, they also call him "Brother Chen," which the old man appreciates.

Fusu thought of Teacher Chen because Teacher Chen was an old man with a very bad temper. Teacher Chen had extremely strict rules, and he would pursue anyone who broke his rules to the end.

Fusu recalled how Teacher Chen had scolded a new young teacher for forty minutes back then, which was almost a whole class period.

It's true that the older you get, the bigger your temper becomes.

Teacher Chen's attitude towards life is very simple. He never changes himself; he only thinks about changing others and making them adapt to him.

Returning to the present, Fusu looked at the various county officials, each with their own troubles, and casually said, "Bring a table and let them write down their difficulties. Once they've finished, they can go back."

Then, Tian An waved his hand, and people carried tables and desks and placed them in front of the county officials.

Fusu got up and left. He didn't want to hear their complaints about the difficulties they faced at work, nor did he want to hear their reasons. He was there to build up this place, not to solve the problems of these county officials.

Therefore, there's no need to listen to their grievances.

Teacher Chen taught his whole life, but because of his attitude towards life, he had no friends.

This attitude towards life was very useful. Not only was it useful, but Fusu also felt that he benefited greatly from it. The old man never thought of changing himself.

Therefore, if he were to encounter such a situation again, Fusu felt that he could persuade the people of Ningqin County to change its name to Huayin County. Compared to the current county officials, Sima Xin was a man of merit.

After Prince Fusu left, the banks of the Luo River remained quiet.

Tian An looked at the dozen or so officials in front of him and said in a low voice, "Hurry up and write, the sooner you finish, the sooner you can go back."

At this moment, these county officials sat here, not daring to pick up their pens to write anything. Of course they didn't dare to write anything. They couldn't very well say that some family elders had obstructed the merger of Linjin County, nor could they say that it was because of their obstruction that Prince Fusu was unable to build Weinan. That would be like sending someone to the executioner's block.
The county officials looked at each other, all equally perplexed and sweating profusely.

Of course, this can be written. Once it is written, Prince Fusu will certainly punish those who obstruct the construction.

But what happened next... It was these county officials who exposed the clan elders of others. How could these county officials maintain their position in this place afterward? They would most likely be resented by the villagers.

The group struggled for a long time, surrounded by soldiers.

Two hours later, as night was about to fall, Fusu received an imperial decree from Xianyang, in which his father, the Emperor, approved the renaming of Ningqin County to Huayin County.

Fusu walked along the newly built path, which was bordered by fields stretching out in acreage, all of which had only recently been cultivated.

Looking further into the distance, the county government office is under construction.

This was arranged by Cheng Miao. To build a new county, the county government office had to be built first, and then all the other buildings were built around it.

This is the new home for 200,000 migrants, and this place will become a prosperous land in the future.

Fusu felt that he, as the prince of Qin, didn't need to do much construction. Throughout history, people have built their own settlements with their own hands. They built their homes, raised their children there, and then protected their homes.

Therefore, even if they didn't say anything, these 200,000 laborers would build houses on their own initiative.

Now, looking around, there are rows of simple houses. Some of these houses are built with mud, and others with stones. Some people also decorate their new homes, build a fence around them, and raise a few poultry.

As night was approaching, a child carrying several bamboo scrolls approached and said, "Young master, they have begun writing."

Fusu took the bamboo slip from the boy's hand. The boy looked to be about twelve or thirteen years old and was a child trained in Jingye County. He was now able to help with some matters.

Tian An also liked these children very much, because he had watched them grow up and they were very loyal.

"Have they all finished writing?"

"Reporting to Young Master, there are still five people writing."

Fusu glanced at the child and asked, "What's your name?"

"My name is Wu Sang."

"Wusang?"

“My mother said that my family originally raised horses in the Western Rong region. Later, the Xiongnu came and my father was killed by them. My mother brought me to the Qin state. My mother was a member of the Wu clan, and after my father died, I also took the surname Wu.”

When the child spoke, he had the hoarse voice typical of boys going through puberty.

He must have arrived in the Qin state about ten years ago.

However, according to many records of the Qin state, after the Qin state annexed the Yiqu, there was indeed the Wu clan among them, and the Wu clan had always made their fortune by herding horses.

The hometown that Wu Sang mentioned should be the Hexi Corridor area.

When Fusu returned to the banks of the Luo River, he looked at the county officials. Those who had finished writing were ashen-faced, as were those who had not yet begun writing.

Actually, they don't all need to write about it. They probably only write about the same few things and the same few difficult people.

Among the people of Qin, there are enlightened individuals and those who are not.

But in a county, there are only two or three like that.

Fusu instructed, "Old General."

Xin Sheng stepped forward quickly and said, "Your subordinate is here."

Fusu said, "Go and arrest the people according to the documents written by these people."

"The last general takes orders."

The next day, just as dawn broke, Xin Sheng came with his men to report, "Young master, everything is done. No one objects to changing the county name now; they have agreed to relocate."

Fusu nodded and said, "Even if we expand the county, we won't need to make a big fuss. I didn't expect it to be so troublesome."

Xin Sheng smiled awkwardly. "This is too much trouble?"

If it were someone else, this matter would likely have dragged on for a long time, but the young master resolved it in just one day, so it wasn't that troublesome.

Fusu said, "I want to go to Tongguan to take a look. First, let Zhang Han take charge of Weinan."

"The last general takes orders."

If you travel east along the beautiful Yellow River, you will reach Tongguan, which is only about 20 li (approximately 10 kilometers) from Jingye Canal, so it's not actually that far.

Tongguan was the end point of the new Weinan Prefecture and the starting point for entering the pass from Hangu Pass.

Not to mention that Hangu Pass is a natural stronghold that is easy to defend and difficult to attack, even if Hangu Pass were to fall, there would still be Tong Pass, another important town.

Three hundred and fifty years later, there was a man who valued this place by the Yellow River highly. This man lived three hundred and fifty years later and his name was Cao Cao.

Cao Cao recognized the strategic importance of this place in the war and named it Tongguan.

For hundreds of years afterward, Tongguan Pass replaced Hangu Pass and became an important town in Guanzhong.

Fusu rode on horseback, traveling eastward along the Wei River, recalling the wars that raged around Tongguan Pass and the dynasties that rose and fell because of it.

The group arrived at a loess plateau, where the future Tongguan Pass would be located. At present, it was a simple small county with a small population and was not wealthy.

Fusu said, "Bring the stone tablet here."

Xin Sheng waved his hand, and several soldiers came carrying a huge stone tablet.

Under the curious gaze of the villagers, Fusu ordered the stone tablet to be buried and then hammered with a wooden mallet to firmly fix it in the soil. From then on, this place was called Tongguan.

(End of this chapter)