The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 9: The Canal of the Old Friends

If the First Emperor had killed all those who opposed him, perhaps there wouldn't have been so many things that happened later.

Actually, the tyrannical Qin Dynasty was not brutal enough.

Fusu sat back on the carriage and let Tian An go up the river. From here, they can go all the way to the canal mouth, which is the canal mouth and starting point of Longshou Canal.

A connecting ditch was dug between Luoshui and Weihe Rivers. This ditch passes under Shangyan Mountain. This is the full picture of Longshou Canal.

Since the water cellar was built earlier, the servants' water problem has been solved.

Now Zhang Han led his servants to drive away the wild beasts in the mountains and forests, and built a row of houses at the foot of the mountain, thus solving the housing problem of the servants.

Moreover, Zhang Han personally visited two counties and gave this area a name, Shangshan Township.

Therefore, there is a village called Shangshan in Guanzhong. The people here have a new identity. They are servants from Shangshan.

This is what Zhang Han has been doing these days, and he has implemented everything thoroughly.

This person is reliable in his work and is low-key and does not show off. He always does what is necessary and does not do more than necessary, and always remains unknown.

Tian An pointed to the distance and said, "Previously, these servants wanted to build a mansion for the young master at the foot of the mountain. They were also grateful to him. Last night, when Zhang Han learned about this, not only did he not allow them to build it, but those who wanted to build a mansion for the young master were also punished by Zhang Han with a meal."

Fusu sorted out Tian An's words, and it was basically that these servants wanted to build a mansion for his "benefactor", but were stopped by Zhang Han, who also punished those servants.

Fusu hesitated and asked, "Why did Zhang Han stop them?"

Tian An whispered, "Zhang Han learned that they were going to build a mansion for the young master, and he sent someone to deliver the news to the Prime Minister."

"Then?"

"Then the Prime Minister gave Zhang Han a reply, asking him to punish these servants."

Fusu asked again: "Why?"

Tian An sat on the shaft of the cart, squinting his eyes and facing the sun, and replied: "How can the young master be burdened by external things? The young master of Qin State has three thousand servants, but he never seeks pleasure for himself."

"The teacher has good intentions."

Tian An heard the young master's words in the carriage and whispered, "If it were someone else, I'm afraid these servants would have been beaten to death."

It doesn't sound like a big deal.

Logically speaking, such a person would not attract attention in the army. Now with the help of Prime Minister Li Si, he is still working diligently.

Whenever Zhang Han encountered problems, he would go to the prime minister and clearly distinguish the prime minister's responsibilities from his own.

Fusu was still sitting in the carriage, looking at the "Lüshi Chunqiu" which was compiled by Lü Buwei with three thousand followers. During the Warring States Period, writing a book was a very glorious thing for the family.

The book Lüshi Chunqiu incorporates many ancient viewpoints from the Warring States Period.

There are many Taoist ideas in it, and perhaps Lu Buwei was more inclined to Lao Tzu's thoughts, but if you look at the content of this book again, you will find that it has more elaboration on Mohism.

Fusu put down the scroll in his hand, rubbed his brows and relaxed his eyes. He suddenly felt that Lu Buwei, a top-level figure in the merchant class, was really good at writing books. Instead, the talents he used were all well-known retainers among the various schools of thought.

With such a large team of 3,000 people, he was still able to select a few outstanding ones. Lu Buwei's vision is just like his business vision, and he can always find gold.

Tian An said, "Sir, the Prime Minister said that this book was too difficult to read, and some people even advised him not to write a book."

"Then why did you write Lüshi Chunqiu?"

Tian An replied, "Qin had powerful generals in the past, such as General Wei Ran and General Bai Qi, but it lacked scholars. King Zhaoxiang of Qin wished Qin had someone like Lin Xiangru, but Qin always lacked famous officials. Even Zhang Yi and his ilk were not from Qin."

Fusu listened quietly to Tian An's story and looked at the scenery outside the carriage quietly.

"At that time, Wei had Wei Wuji, Lord Xinling, and Chu had Huang Xie, Lord Chunshen. Even the usually uncivilized Zhao had Lord Pingyuan, and Qi had Lord Mengchang. But Qin had no such famous officials."

The more you listen to Tian An, the more you will feel that Tian An actually has a very broad knowledge. He can even name several of the people who compiled the Lüshi Chunqiu.

And these things are exactly what Queen Dowager Huayang is concerned about.

Tian An suddenly wiped his tears with his sleeve. "These things were asked by Queen Dowager Huayang. After Queen Dowager Huayang allowed the emperor to ascend the throne, Lü Buwei became the prime minister. But at that time, Lü Buwei was extremely powerful in the Qin State, and only Queen Dowager Huayang could control him."

"Lü Buwei dared not disrespect the Queen Mother Huayang. Without the Queen Mother, there would be no Lü Buwei, the Prime Minister of Qin. As long as the Queen Mother was around, Lü Buwei dared not act rashly. Later, when the Emperor grew up, Lü Buwei was monitored by the Queen Mother's people until his death. This old servant personally watched Lü Buwei die."

After crying, Tian An suddenly smiled and said, "It's good now that Lü Buwei is dead. The Queen Mother Huayang can finally leave this world in peace."

Fusu listened to these words. Tian An was a man of few words on weekdays, but once this old man talked too much, his moods would change from mood to mood.

Fusu simply sat on the shaft of the carriage, looking at Shangyan Mountain, and was treated like a child by his teacher again.

Gaoquan Palace was never involved in the construction of the mansion.

The teacher took the initiative to punish the slave. Isn't this being looked down upon by others?

If you cannot make decisions about your own affairs and instead let the decisions be made by the teacher, then you are being treated like a child.

Perhaps the teacher was also afraid that the prince of Qin would bear some responsibility, and protecting the prince's reputation was one of the teacher's responsibilities.

If outsiders knew that the Prince of Qin asked his servants to build a mansion for his own amusement, it would be a different matter.

Don't be misunderstood by outsiders because of your own or others' good intentions. As a disciple of the Legalist school, you must guard against this.

To be honest, whether it was his teacher, Zhang Han, or Meng Tian, ​​Fusu found that the Qin Dynasty was very beautiful.

Haha! Today's Great Qin is full of loyal ministers.

The carriage reached the south side of Shangyan Mountain. Zhang Han stepped forward after getting Tian An's permission. He bowed and said, "Sir, I will have people cultivate the land tonight and plant crops on all the fields here."

Fusu looked up at the clear sky, as pure as a piece of blue jade, and said, "Is it too late to plant at this time of year?"

Zhang Han added, "There's still time. We can harvest a month later in the autumn or winter."

"Well, you arrange it."

"The last general takes orders."

Fusu really didn't understand how the Qin people at that time farmed. Cultivating the fields required not only water, but also pest control and weed removal.

The knowledge in books, even if read countless times, is not as good as the farming experience of an old Qin person in half a lifetime. They know the land under their feet best, and they even know the difference in taste between the soil in Guandong and Guanxi.

The soil and water in Kansai and Kanto are different, and the crops grown there are also different.

The young master probably doesn't like staying in the palace anymore.

He would leave the palace at dawn every day and return at dusk. Occasionally, on rainy days, the young master would stay in Gaoquan Palace.

The fish raised in Gaoquan Palace were getting fatter and fatter. Fusu personally selected two of them, removed the scales, killed them, and stewed a bowl of soup. He then ordered, "Tian An, send this to the teacher and father."

Tian An left with the pottery bowl in both hands.

Inside the Zhangtai Palace, Ying Zheng was still looking at the documents. Unifying the writing system was not something that could be accomplished with just one decree. He also needed to look at the replies submitted by counties and prefectures across the country.

After looking for a while, a bowl of fish soup was placed in front of him.

Ying Zheng's eyes fell on the bowl of white fish soup. The soup was a little cloudy, with some shredded ginger and scallions floating on top. The eunuch beside him explained, "The young master said that the fish he raised were too fat, so he made fish soup and sent another fish to the Prime Minister."

Ying Zheng nodded, his eyes still on the bamboo slips in his hand. He picked up the wooden spoon beside him and took a sip of the fish soup. He frowned slightly. This bowl of fish soup was unexpectedly delicious.

In Xianyang City, opposite Lu Buwei’s old residence, there is a mansion, which is the new residence of today’s Prime Minister Li Si.

This mansion is closest to the Xianyang Palace. There are pavilions, waterside terraces and more than a hundred houses in the courtyard.

Every day when the prime minister went out, he would visit Lu Buwei's residence, and then go to court in a very solemn manner.

Perhaps he used Lu Buwei as a warning.

Li Si was sitting in one of the rooms, dealing with the remaining files and documents.

"Prime Minister, the young master sent someone to deliver fish soup."

Li Si looked up and saw Tian An standing at the door. He said, "Thank you for your gift, Master."

Tian An placed the still warm ceramic bowl in front of Li Si's desk and said, "Young Master said that this fish soup won't taste good if it gets cold."

Li Si put down the bamboo slips in his hand, opened the lid of the pottery bowl, and said with a smile, "Good soup."

Tian An smiled and said, "The young master cooked it himself."

Li Si took a sip and nodded continuously, then ate with relish. He not only drank up the fish soup, but also ate up the fish meat, leaving only a bowl of fish bones.

Li Si spread out the bamboo slips in front of him and asked, "Who is around you now?"

"Replying to the Prime Minister," Tian An thought for a moment and replied, "The only two people who are close to the young master are Zhang Han and Meng Tian."

Meng Tian needs no introduction, but Zhang Han...

Li Si asked, "What kind of person is Zhang Han?"

Tian An replied: "I can't tell anything else, but he is very hardworking in farming."

Li Si continued writing and wrote after his name, "Good at farming."

So among the talents recommended by the prime minister, there was Zhang Han, who was good at farming.

Until autumn, Li Si could not forget the taste of the bowl of fish soup that the prince sent him in the summer.

This year, the autumn rain in Guanzhong came later than in previous years, and the grain on the north and south sides of Shangyan Mountain finally had a good harvest.

Before the autumn rain fell, Zhang Han and his three thousand servants harvested the last crop of wheat from the fields.

The sky was gloomy and the autumn wind blew by, bringing a few drops of rain.

First, a few drops of rain wet the ground. Zhang Han was running in a panic while carrying a bundle of wheat straw, but a drop of rain fell on his face.

Zhang Han wiped the cold rain off his face, looked up at the dark clouds in the sky, and then a heavy rain poured down, and the autumn rain came.

Zhang Han turned around and scolded the servants who were left behind. Several of them wrapped wheat in clothes and ran quickly into the warehouse where the grain was stored.

At the foot of Shangyan Mountain stood a row of soldiers and horses, all of whom were protecting Prince Fusu and Prime Minister Li Si.

There was a pavilion on the mountain. Fusu sat in the pavilion and roasted the cakes by the fire with a few pieces of mutton beside them.

Mutton and bread were very filling. Li Si ate a piece of bread and a few pieces of mutton and was full. He bowed and said, "I have reclaimed 600 hectares of land. Now we have a good harvest. This is really good news."

Fusu added some wood to the fire. "Now, my servants have finally solved the problem of food. The surplus food can be given to the army. From now on, this will be done every year. Only enough food will be kept in Shangshan."

Some autumn rain was blown into the pavilion by the wind. Li Si sat upright, not caring about the rain falling on him, and said, "I, on behalf of the officers and soldiers of the army, thank you, young master."

Fusu said, "Since the beginning of this spring, the excavation of the Longshou Canal has not been completed. I am sorry to have embarrassed you, teacher."

Hearing this, Li Si stood up and looked down the mountain. He could see that there were more vertical shafts on the edge of the former wasteland.

In a trance, Li Si felt that the original Zheng Guo was still alive, and the Zheng Guo who built the Zhengguo Canal should still be alive in Daqin.

A gust of cold wind blew by, and Li Si suddenly realized that Zheng Guo, whom he had met when he entered Qin, had died of old age in Qin and had a good end.

Zheng Guo died of old age in Xianyang City, and the Zhengguo Canal will make his name known through the ages.

At first, I thought the young master just wanted to build a canal to reclaim wasteland, but now it seems that the geographical location of this canal is no less wonderful than that of Zhengguo Canal.

It could also transform tens of thousands of acres of land into fertile fields. Li Si said, "It's a pity that Zheng State can't see this canal. I can petition the Emperor to recruit laborers to help you dig the canal. How many men would you need?"

"It's hard to manage too many people." Fusu hesitated for a moment and then said, "I wonder if the teacher has someone to organize the manpower to build the canal."

Li Si nodded, and suddenly his eyes became wet as he looked at the fertile fields stretching for thousands of miles.

Seeing the teacher wiped away tears, Fusu called out: "Teacher..."

Li Si wiped his tears again and said, "It's okay. I was thinking of an old man who has passed away. His name was Zheng Guo. When I first came to Qin, he was repairing the canal."

Fusu suspected that Sima Qian had made a mistake. According to Sima Qian's records, fossils were unearthed when digging the Longshou Canal during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han.

I don’t know if I chose the wrong location based on my inference based on the relics of later generations?
No fossils have been found so far.

Emperor Wu of Han employed tens of thousands of people to dig this canal, but he himself only had 3,000 servants. It was unknown how long it would take to dig this canal that was hundreds of kilometers long.

Since the prime minister was willing to help, Fusu naturally would not refuse.

The next day, at Gaoquan Palace, Fusu paid homage to Queen Dowager Huayang and met another person.

The teacher said that someone was sent to organize people to build the Longshou Canal. At first, I thought he was an expert in water conservancy.

But after listening to his self-introduction and the other party calling him "Young Master" very affectionately.

Only then did Fusu realize that the person sent by the teacher was his son, Li You.

The teacher is really down-to-earth. He lets his son do things that benefit the country and are harmless to people and animals.

At this moment, Li You, who was about the same age as him, stood in front of him. Fusu held his temple with one hand and asked, "How many hands did the teacher give?"

Li You said: "Two thousand people."

"General Wang Jian is back?"

"General Wang Jian hasn't returned yet, and neither has the army."

Fusu hesitated and said, "Then... where did the teacher get the manpower?"

Li You explained, "There are many prisoners being held in the various counties of Guanzhong. My father selected some of them and brought them out to General Zhang Han. There are two thousand of them in total."

"Guanzhong, are there so many prisoners?"

Li You looked exactly like the Prime Minister, almost a younger version of Li Si. He smiled kindly and said, "Excuse me, sir. We captured many during the wars, and we don't know what to do with them now. It's just that we've captured fewer people in recent years."

(End of this chapter)