The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 66 The Young Master is Realistic (Bonus Chapter)

Zhang Cang was still writing with his pen in hand when he took out a pancake from his pocket and ate it while writing.

Li Si sat down again and continued reading the documents.

Tonight, the lights in the Prime Minister's residence are still bright.

As darkness gradually fell, only a sliver of sunlight remained in the western sky.

Gongzi Gao arrived at Tongguan, wanting to see the place where his elder brother had once lived.

This is my elder brother's residence. Gao does not intend to move in without my brother's permission.

Today was special, though. Young Master Gao saw groups of villagers piling their flatbreads, bowls of noodles, or small bags of wheat at the entrance of the courtyard.

An old man held a ceramic bowl filled with his wheat. He poured the bowl of wheat at the entrance of the small courtyard and then bowed respectfully, but he did not kneel, because Prince Fusu was still young and could not accept it.

Shusun Tong explained, “My lord, they were supposed to be offering sacrifices today. They wanted to thank Heaven and Earth for providing the grain. It was Prince Fusu who had this canal dug, which gave Weinan thousands of acres of fertile land. While the canal was being dug, you were guarding this small courtyard day and night. When you were here, the officials of the various counties dared not slack off, and the people of the various counties also trusted you, Prince Fusu.”

Gongzi Gao asked, "Are they thanking their elder brother?"

Shusun Tong stroked his beard and nodded, saying, "Originally, they were all penniless people. They couldn't send the grain to Prince Fusu in Xianyang. Prince Fusu appreciated the villagers' kindness and wanted to express his gratitude, so he left it at the entrance of this small courtyard. In fact, they didn't give much, just a bowl of wheat and a flatbread, but it was their heartfelt gesture."

When he said this, Shusun Tong felt that if there were any unrest in Guanzhong in the future, or if there were any wars in the world, as long as Prince Fusu wanted to fight, these 200,000 people would be the first to risk their lives for Prince Fusu. It was Prince Fusu's insistence that allowed their children to have food to eat.

Shusun Tong recalled the events of the past few years. It took four years to build this canal. In the first two years, the grain supply to the Jingye Canal was still very tight. In the last two years, the whole of Weinan was busy. It was really not easy to achieve such results.

Whenever he saw these people, Shusun Tong was deeply moved, as he had also managed the grain and fodder for them.

Young Master Gao sat back in his carriage, ready to return home.

Shusun Tong added, "Young master, you can come here again tomorrow. Tongguan will be very lively tomorrow."

"Why?"

"Because a fortified city, Tongguan City, is to be built here."

"Does the teacher mean that many people will come to work here tomorrow?"

Shusun Tong sat on the oxcart and laughed, "Yes, building a city requires a lot of laborers and a lot of grain."

The young master sat high on the oxcart, swatted a mosquito on the back of his hand, and asked, "Is there any food?"

Shusun Tong cracked his whip, urging the ox to move, and replied, "Yes! Our Jingye County has more grain than we can eat. This year's harvest was bountiful; there's so much grain we can't possibly consume it all."

The oxen walked slowly, as if taking a stroll. The young master sat high on the oxcart, watching as the last ray of sunlight in the west disappeared, leaving the inky night sky overhead.

Shusun Tong brought Prince Gao back to Jingye County, and the county government office became the residence of the prince and princesses, which is now in a mess.

Yin Man was chasing after Prince Hu Hai and Prince Jiang Lü with a whip, while her other younger siblings were also making a ruckus.

When the older young master Gao entered, the county government office immediately fell silent.

Once his younger siblings had all come over, the young master Gao announced loudly, "Starting tomorrow, you can all seek out a teacher..."

Shusun Tong walked outside the county government office and saw Zhang Han, who was handling official business. He asked, "How is it?"

Zhang Han put down the bamboo slips in his hand and sighed softly, "Everything that needs to be arranged has been arranged. Mao Heng and Lou Jing will arrive at Tongguan tomorrow to assist General Xin in the construction of Tongguan."

Seeing that Shusun Tong was still hesitant, Zhang Han said again, "It's alright. If they don't do well, General Xin will punish them. It's just that the young master also said that he wants to plant trees along the canal and build workshops, which is a bit difficult."

Shusun Tongdao said, "The canal is repaired and the fields have been dug, but we'll be busier and busier from now on."

Zhang Han nodded.

"Alright, General Zhang Han should also go and rest. If the young master has any further instructions, we should send someone to deliver them tomorrow."

As Shusun Tong had predicted, news arrived from Xianyang at noon the next day, and it was sent to all the counties in Weinan.

Shusun Tong was somewhat surprised when he received the document, as the young master had actually ordered Jingye County to recruit teachers.

Zhang Han went off to attend to his own business early in the morning, and only then did Shusun Tong realize that this kind of thing was most likely going to happen to him.

In Xianyang, Fusu sat in the Zhangtai Palace, handling state affairs with his father, the emperor.

Last night, Wang Ben arranged for many princes and princesses to go to Weinan. The fact that they were able to attend the court meeting this morning means they must have rushed back to Xianyang overnight. If they didn't enter Xianyang before curfew, they probably slept in their carriages and only came in when the city gates opened at dawn.

A palace attendant hurried over, bowed, and said, "This is a letter from the young master from Weinan."

Fusu's gaze was still fixed on the scroll before him. He reached out and took the scroll that the other party had handed him. The father and son, sitting quietly in the main hall, remained silent.

There was only the occasional clinking of bamboo slips.

After a night's rest, Fusu felt much better. He opened the letter from Weinan, written by Gongzi Gao, as a way of letting him know that his younger brother and sister had gone to Jingye County.

After reading it, Fusu put it aside.

Fusu took the scroll and glanced at it. He had ordered it to be sent to the Prime Minister's residence yesterday, but the Prime Minister's residence had sent it back to him.

Then another eunuch hurried over and whispered a few words in the First Emperor's ear.

Ying Zheng said in a deep voice, "Let Wang Ben enter the hall."

After Wang Ben entered the hall, he bowed and paid his respects.

Ying Zheng asked, "How are you preparing for what I told you yesterday?"

Wang Ben took out a roll of cloth from his sleeve, bowed, and said, "I have had it all drawn."

He had the eunuchs spread out a cloth, revealing portraits of women, each with its age recorded beside it. Ying Zheng descended and approached, looking at the portraits of these women.

Wang Ben said, "When my father heard about this, he had someone draw it."

Wang Jian accepted the marriage proposal, and the women of the Wang family were drawn up for the First Emperor and Prince Fusu to choose from.

"My father often says that he is worried that the women in the family are not good enough and may affect the young master's handling of state affairs. He is also worried that the young master will not like them."

Ying Zheng watched quietly without replying.

While the emperor and his ministers were still discussing the marriage, Fusu, the protagonist of the marriage, remained busy with his own affairs and paid little attention to the many portraits in front of him.

Ying Zheng said, "Fusu, why don't you choose one?"

Upon hearing this, Fusu looked up and noticed that these women only had their ages and no names; these women were all surnamed Wang.

Fusu's gaze skipped over the fifteen or sixteen-year-olds and landed on the oldest one, saying, "Twenty years old."

Wang Ben said, "Among my father's granddaughters, she is the most spoiled."

Ying Zheng said, "Go and make the arrangements."

"I accept your order."

The Emperor and Wang Ben were still discussing the marriage. Marriages in the First Emperor's family were not something that could be arranged in a few words; many matters still needed to be carefully discussed.

Fusu stood up and said, "Your subject will return first."

Ying Zheng nodded.

Wang Ben bowed respectfully once again.

"Yesterday, I was grateful to Prefect Wang for escorting my younger brother and sister to Jingye County."

After saying this, Fusu smiled and left Zhangtai Palace.

Wang Ben could sense that the young master's smile was genuine and that he was happy. The young master's steps were hurried, and he seemed to have many things to do.

Seeing that the young master had no objection to the marriage and was even happy about it, Wang Ben felt much more at ease.

Ying Zheng said in a low voice, "Wang Ben."

"The minister is here."

"Fusu is a very sensible child."

The First Emperor's words put Wang Ben under immense pressure.

Ying Zheng then said, "Alright, with this marriage arranged, Wang Jian should be able to relax."

Upon hearing this, Wang Ben immediately bowed in respect.

Ying Zheng patted him on the back and said, "You should go back soon too. I have nothing else to do here."

"My minister retire."

Wang Ben retreated step by step from the main hall, and upon reaching the outside, he encountered Prince Fusu, who had not gone far.

The Wang family was naturally grateful to the First Emperor for bestowing this marriage upon them. For the Wang family, their descendants were incompetent, but if they could marry Prince Fusu, they could now get rid of those incompetent descendants.

In the future, the Wang family will stand with the young master. Wang Ben knows that his father has always been dissatisfied with the grandchildren of the Wang family, just like Wang Li, who is also a child with great ambitions but little talent.

Therefore, Wang Li was mediocre and spoiled from a young age, and Wang Ben was often scolded by his father for this.

Later, the father simply sent Wang Li to Shangjun, hoping that the child could gain experience.

When Wang Ben returned home, he saw his wife bustling around, while his youngest daughter sat beside him with a bewildered expression.

After walking around the house for a while, Wang Ben left his home in Xianyang.

Pinyang was located within the territory of Tongchuan. At present, there is no place called Tongchuan in Guanzhong. This place was called Pinyang County.

This county has a small population, but vast fertile fields.

Wang Ben rode his horse into the county and arrived at his own residence.

The mansion was very large. Wang Ben had to walk through one house after another, and with the help of servants, he even had to cross a winding boardwalk over a pond before he could reach the waterside pavilion in the pond and meet his father.

Wang Jian sat alone in the waterside pavilion, squinting at a scroll of bamboo slips. He was old and his eyesight was not good, so reading the bamboo slips was very difficult.

Knowing that his son had arrived, Wang Jian said, "Look, what's written on this?"

Wang Ben took the bamboo slip without even reading what was written on it, since it was mostly about troop movements. He then said, "The marriage is settled."

"Oh?" Wang Jian hesitated and asked, "Which of my granddaughters have you taken a fancy to?"

Wang Ben replied, "My little daughter."

Wang Jian pouted and thought, "It's good, hmm...it's good. Was it chosen by the First Emperor?"

"It was Prince Fusu who personally selected him; the First Emperor only saw his portrait."

“It was chosen by the young master himself.” Wang Jian squinted and looked into the distance. “That’s even better. You must do your best to assist the young master from now on. He is the only one our Wang family can rely on.”

(End of this chapter)