The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 6: Simple Experience

Li Si's face was devoid of smile. He stood in the moonlight and said in a deep voice, "The young master wants to offer sacrifices to Xunzi."

Feng Quji smiled and said, "That's great."

"But my lord, I don't know which country's customs to use for worship."

Feng Quji seemed to be thinking about something.

Li Si closed the door of the study behind him. The old wooden door creaked again until the door was completely closed, and some dust fell due to the collision with the door frame.

"Tomorrow you will make a proposal to the emperor."

Feng Quji lowered his voice and asked, "What do you want to advise the emperor about?"

"Now that the rebellion in Chu has been quelled, it's time to redistribute the counties."

Feng Quji nodded.

In front of the emperor and the prince, Li Si often had a kind face, but in front of Feng Quji or others, the prime minister often had a stern face and was decisive.

Li Si and Feng Quji parted ways in front of the mansion gate.

As he was walking back home, Li Si was holding a scroll of bamboo slips in one hand and was followed by several Qin army guards.

He suddenly stopped, and the guards behind him also stopped.

After a night breeze, Li Si suddenly realized something: he had made a mistake today, and this mistake almost caused the young master to misunderstand him.

That is, when giving land to the prince, he asked the emperor for too little and should have asked for more.

The young man is studious and mature, a young man who wants more and is willing to negotiate, so he cannot be treated as an ordinary child in the future.

As the night deepened, in the silent city of Xianyang, the footsteps of Qin troops on patrol could occasionally be heard.

In the east city of Xianyang, most of the houses here are larger than those of ordinary people, because most of the people living here are ministers who can participate in the court meetings of the First Emperor.

There weren't so many people living here before, but as the Qin State continued to absorb officials from the old nobles of the six states in the past two years, many of the vacant mansions here now have owners.

After midnight, most of the houses had turned off their lights, only one house was still brightly lit.

Inside the mansion, a thin man who looked to be in his fifties was looking through the gap in the door at the main street outside.

As soon as he saw the Qin soldiers on night patrol passing by, he hurried back into the house and said to Chunyu Yue who was eating, "Have you noticed that there are more Qin soldiers on night patrol than before?"

Hearing this, Chunyu Yue just looked up at the person who was speaking, handed him a bowl of bean rice, and signaled him to eat first.

The guest in front of him was named Zhou Qingchen. He was originally from Qi, but he came to Xianyang because Qin had recruited capable officials from the six countries in the past two years.

Chunyu Yue felt a little unhappy. Everyone was "invited" to Xianyang by Ying Zheng's people, saying that they were serving the Qin Dynasty. But looking at the old people from the six countries back then, how many of them were truly serving the Qin Dynasty?

Chunyu Yue did not want to speak up for the Qin Dynasty, but he was quite disgusted with the guest in front of him, especially Zhou Qingchen, who was so scared that he lost his appetite at the slightest sign of trouble.

Just like now, Zhou Qingchen was eating bean rice while looking back from time to time, fearing that the Qin army would break in and tear all of them, the doctors of the six countries, into pieces or beheaded.

Qin kings of all dynasties have done this kind of thing.

After finishing the bean rice in the bowl in one gulp, Zhou Qingchen wiped his hands and mouth. He did not see any Qin army breaking in, and the night was still silent.

He relaxed a little, sighed deeply, and said, "Do you know why there are more Qin soldiers patrolling here than before?"

Chunyu Yue was reading the bamboo slips in one hand and ignored the other party's words.

Zhou Qingchen slapped his thigh anxiously and said, "It's you! How dare you go against Li Si in court?"

Chunyu Yue did not think that there were too many Qin troops outside, and he even suspected that Zhou Qingchen was overthinking it. Besides, even if there were a few more Qin troops, so what?
Zhou Qingchen whispered, "If you offend Li Si, I'm afraid all of us six state doctors will be troubled. Do you know Wang Wan?"

Chunyu Yue's eyes were still fixed on the bamboo slips as he replied, "Didn't he leave?"

Zhou Qingchen lowered his voice and said, "Haha, after Wang Wan left Xianyang City, he traveled five hundred miles in three days. Do you know why?"

Chunyu Yue fell silent again.

"Wang Wan offended Li Si, and he fled Xianyang City fearing another assassination attempt." Zhou Qingchen's tone rose a few notches. "Do you think you can convince Ying Zheng to take you seriously with just a few words? You even mentioned Prince Fusu. Do you know he's Li Si? What kind of person is he?"

Chunyu Yue looked very calm, not as panicked as Zhou Qingchen.

"What's wrong with Li Si becoming Prince Fusu's teacher? Do you want to compete with him?"

I heard the other person getting more and more excited, anxious, and panicked.

Chunyu Yue still ignored him and did not want to persuade the other party to calm down. Since arriving in Xianyang City, not only Zhou Qingchen, but also many doctors from the other six countries were afraid of Qin officials and Ying Zheng.

Now, the doctors of the six kingdoms are even more afraid of Li Si, who is now the prime minister of the Qin Dynasty.

Zhou Qingchen was brought into the State of Qin and even into the city of Xianyang, despite the many courtesies and favors given to him by the First Emperor and Li Si.

But just like the panicked man in front of them, they were all cautious, and now they were afraid that Li Si would retaliate.

Let’s not talk about what Li Si did in the past, let’s just talk about the present.

They felt that Wang Wan was the prime minister of Qin, but because he was against Li Si, he was deprived of his position by Ying Zheng and would be retaliated by Li Si.

In fact, Li Si never thought about taking revenge on Wang Wan. In his eyes, Wang Wan was not a threat at all.

Chunyu Yue felt deeply moved. Xunzi was a great Confucian sage, but he taught two Legalist disciples, Han Fei and Li Si. These two disciples were both outstanding figures in Legalist scholarship.

A few days ago, Wang Wan sent a letter saying that he had arrived home safely. All signs showed that Li Si had not sent anyone to retaliate. But even so, they were still afraid.

To the east of Xianyang City, outside Hangu Pass, a Qin army of tens of thousands of people arrived outside the pass.

The one who led this army back was the Qin general Meng Wu.

The first batch of Qin soldiers who attacked Chu returned, and in the rear, there were still a steady stream of Qin soldiers coming to Hangu Pass. They were all Qin people who wanted to return home after the war. At this moment, some of them began to pack their luggage in a panic. Some soldiers saw their families waiting behind Hangu Pass at a glance. They were watching intently, and they were already in tears when they saw their loved ones returning home.

There were also two Zhao soldiers wearing Qin armor in the team. In fact, there were many Zhao people, Yan people, or people from the six former countries in this team. Most of them would follow the Qin army to fight.

One person asked, "You said we killed so many enemies, will the King of Qin give us land?"

"Yes, I remember that many people from Qi surrendered to Qin and the King of Qin gave them land."

A young man in his early twenties smiled and faced the west side of Hangu Pass, which was the direction inside the pass and also the direction of his home. He grinned and said, "I have a mother, an older brother, and a wife waiting for me to return home."

The few people didn't know each other and could only smile awkwardly.

The news of General Meng Wu's return was sent all the way from Hangu Pass. As long as the First Emperor allowed it, the army could enter Hangu Pass and return home. The news of the army's return was sent to Xianyang City at full speed.

Three days later, an imperial edict from the First Emperor was delivered to Hangu Pass, ordering General Meng Wu to lead the entire army back home.

"Go home! See my mother, my wife, and hold the baby!"

Cheers were heard from the army. The two Zhao people saw the young man in his early twenties who had followed the army into Hangu Pass. It turned out that the young man had a brother, and the two brothers went to the expedition together.

When one team after another entered Guanzhong from Hangu Pass, Guanzhong, which was in the spring plowing season, seemed to have regained its vitality.

The soldiers all returned home, and the fields began to be cultivated. The originally depressed Guanzhong region recovered a little.

Outside the city of Xianyang, Fusu was still holding the land deed in his hand, and Tian An was nagging in his ear, saying that one must be extremely cautious in using the land. If one fails to grow crops or changes the crops to be planted at will, the emperor will punish him at best, and all the servants will starve at worst.

Although the prince would not starve, he would still be punished by the First Emperor if his servants starved to death.

Fusu saw a family of several people walking together in the distance and said with a smile, "Those must be the soldiers returning home."

Tian An replied, "The emperor issued an imperial decree to allow General Meng Wu to return."

"No wonder General Meng Tian didn't come to escort us today." Fusu held the land deed in his hand and said to Tian An, "Let them grow some wheat. I like wheat."

Tian An nodded slightly.

Fusu then ordered: "The more than 10,000 hectares of land west of the Chan River must be reclaimed and a ditch dug."

Tian An was puzzled and said, "Sir, that was not given by the emperor."

"Although the land was not given to me, the Prime Minister did not say that I could not use it, did he?"

Tian An was silent again.

This was roughly what the Prime Minister said a few days ago. The emperor's gift was limited after all, but the land that the young master could use was another matter.

As long as it does not affect the ownership of the land, the prime minister has plenty of ways to make things legitimate.

Now the first batch of soldiers who attacked the State of Chu have returned, and a lot of people have moved in with them. At least there is no need to worry about manpower.

Being a prince of the Qin Dynasty has another advantage, which is that you don’t have to worry about your property.

With just one word, Tian An would arrange the young master's private property properly.

In the six kingdoms back then, which prince didn’t have some private property?
Meng Tian was not guarding him. Instead, he was guarded by a young, unfamiliar general. Fusu looked at this general, who was slightly older than himself, and asked, "What is your name, General?"

There were many young generals in the Qin State, as well as a few old generals, and Fusu did not know most of them.

The other party replied respectfully, "I am General Zhang Han."

As he spoke, he bowed and seemed a little flustered. His hands were still shaking, and the sword at his waist was swaying slightly because he had just let go.

Fusu retracted his gaze and said, "Zhang Han? I've never seen you before."

"This general..." Zhang Han said in a panic, "I have been serving in Xianyang City. It was General Meng Tian who asked me to come and protect the young master."

People's sense of security comes from weapons and their own strength. The guards around them are very important. Often, people who hold knives next to those in power can change the situation.

If such a person is loyal, then even if you are surrounded, he can protect you and help you fight your way out.

If such a person is unfaithful, you will not be able to sleep or eat well.

Fusu handed him a piece of cake and said, "Eat some with me."

Zhang Han raised his hands and took the pancake handed to him by the young master, still looking reserved.

Tian An looked at this scene meaningfully.

Fusu then asked, "General Zhang Han, could you please treat a few people to a meal on my behalf?"

"I wonder who you want to invite, sir?"

Zhang Han still held the cake given by the young master in both hands and replied with his head down.

Fusu gazed into the distance and said, "The five village heads and two county magistrates west of the Chan River are to be dispatched to Lü Buwei's former residence. Tian An will be in charge of this matter. I would like General Zhang Han to bring them there tomorrow."

"The last general takes orders."

To be a guard for Prince Fusu, he had to obey Prince Fusu's arrangements. He did not dare to delay and immediately left with his men to do the work.

The Qin people have always been straightforward in doing things. The next day, Tian An reported that Zhang Han had brought all the people there, and the county magistrate and the pavilion chiefs all agreed to help the prince build canals to irrigate the fields.

General Mengwu has returned. The Emperor has been feasting with him these days.

The atmosphere in Xianyang was much better than before. With more people returning, the originally depressed city of Xianyang gradually regained its prosperity.

General Wang Jian led an army of 600,000 to fight, which almost emptied the Qin State's finances. How could the city of Xianyang not be in decline?
Today, Fusu was summoned by his father to have a banquet with all the generals.

Inside the Zhangtai Palace, Fusu smelled the odor of alcohol all around him. This was the first time that he met with so many generals as a prince of the Qin Dynasty, and it was by the emperor's order, so it seemed extremely formal.

The emperor's meaning was quite clear, that is, his eldest son had reached the right age and should be taken care of by the generals of Qin.

No one dared to disrespect them. Since the emperor had invited the young master here, they would be willing to go through fire and water for him as long as he said a word in the future.

Looking at his father, who was sitting in the seat of honor with a smile on his face, Fusu stood up and faced the generals, holding up the wine jug and said loudly: "Fusu thanks the generals for fighting for our Great Qin."

After saying this, all the generals saluted.

After drinking the wine, the atmosphere in the hall became much better. The emperor was a little drunk, so he stood up and left, tacitly allowing everyone to be more casual.

Since the First Emperor was not in the hall, everyone relaxed a lot. Fusu sat next to his teacher and listened to the discussions of the generals around him.

Under the influence of alcohol, everyone started talking. When they were a little drunk, they would talk about some interesting things, or talk about how beautiful the women in Chu were, and how strong the women in Yan and Zhao were...

Or they might talk about which place has the best wine, which part of Qi has better soil and water, or which part of Chu has the most difficult roads and the most wild animals.

Everyone's words were simple and true, and they were all valuable life experiences. Fusu listened patiently, thinking that they might be useful in the future.

"I heard about the incident in Chanshui County. You have done a great job, young master."

Hearing his teacher's words, Fusu took the hot wine pot from the pottery jar beside him and poured hot wine into his teacher's bowl himself.

(End of this chapter)