The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 17: A Snowy Day

Going around the front hall of Zhangtai Palace is the back hall.

Fusu followed the eunuch on the way to the back hall, and glanced sideways at Li Si who was half a step behind.

There were so many people in the court who opposed relocating people to guard the border. The angry shouts in the Zhangtai Palace hall were still ringing in my ears. Looking at the teacher now, he still had a face full of confidence and composure.

Just as he was about to reach the back hall, he heard the sound of chimes being struck. Fusu looked up and saw a group of beauties dancing in the hall.

Fusu was led by the eunuch to sit on one side, while the teacher sat on the other side.

Looking at the emperor sitting in the seat of honor, he was eating cake and looking at the beauties in front of him with interest.

Perhaps it is because the nobles of the six countries have always liked to watch beautiful women dancing while eating.

Fusu looked at the food brought by the palace maid: a bowl of mutton, a bowl of cut bread, and a bowl of wine.

The wine tasted sour, so Fusu took another bite of the cake. The method of making this cake came from Shang Yanshan.

Tian An learned how to make this kind of cake, and even the women living at the foot of Shangyan Mountain learned how to make it. It was not surprising that this kind of cake appeared in the palace.

Each piece of cake was cut into the size of a palm, and each piece was about the thickness of a thumb.

Fusu took a bite of the cake and then put another bite of mutton into his mouth.

After the meal, the bell music stopped.

The First Emperor waved his hand, and a group of palace maids and eunuchs retreated.

When the table in front of him was cleared, the hall returned to silence.

"Fusu, do you know what the Qin people were like in the past?"

Hearing his father speak, Fusu perked up and replied, "I have heard that the Qin people in the past were brave and valiant. I think the Qin people today are the same."

Ying Zheng picked up the wine jar and took a sip of the wine.

Li Si, sitting on the other side, closed his eyes to rest. He listened to the young master's words and replied, "I still remember that I went to Qi to study at the Jixia Academy. Later, I became a disciple of Xunzi and came to Qin."

Ying Zheng nodded, signaling him to continue.

"When I first arrived in Qin, I saw a vast army everywhere. Their eyes were filled with hostility, not just towards me, but towards everyone who came to Qin."

"I didn't know why at first, but later I realized it was their ambition. Even a small Qin soldier has the ambition to kill the enemy and gain merit. Later, I met more Qin people."

"The Qin people are different from the people of the old six kingdoms. The biggest difference is that after Shang Yang's reforms, the Qin people have hope in their eyes. They have land to cultivate and can build a home next to the land. In this way, they have hope."

"Since Shang Yang's reforms, all Qin people have access to arable land. Not only that, they can join the army, kill the enemy, and earn merit, thus becoming a marquis. With military merit, they have confidence and the foundation for their lives..."

The teacher was particularly happy at today's banquet. It seemed that he had not enjoyed himself so much for a long time.

The teacher talked about hope, but also about numbness.

Li Si's family was not wealthy before. He came from a poor family and relied on his hard work to gain the appreciation of the nobles. He could only be a minor official, and it was very difficult to get this position.

You must know that this is just the appreciation of the nobles who are high above you.

From then on, Li Si left to look for a place where he could truly display his talents.

Therefore, the teacher could understand very well what the numbness of the people in all parts of the six kingdoms at that time was. The children of nobles were still nobles, the sons of soldiers were still soldiers, and people without land would sooner or later starve to death.

While listening to his teacher's speech, Fusu noticed his father's expression again. Perhaps his father and Li Si both understood how the world needed to change.

For this reason, Li Si was able to point at dozens of famous officials from Qi and Lu and shout loudly in the Zhangtai Palace, and still remain so confident and calm afterwards. It was because the First Emperor had the same ideal.

Fusu self-righteously felt that ideals and hopes were extremely important to his teacher and father.

Li Si said, "Your Majesty, I believe that the official document will be issued tomorrow to begin the relocation of the people."

Seeing his father looking at him, Fusu bowed and said, "Father, what the teacher said is absolutely right."

Li Si raised his head slightly and actually smiled.

Ying Zheng said in a deep voice: "Bring the map."

A eunuch came hurriedly holding a piece of cloth. The cloth was so big that it required five people to hold it horizontally.

Then he spread the map on the ground, and a map showing the northern defense line appeared before his eyes.

The teacher was pointing in the direction of Bingzhou and talking about the process of migration.

Fusu stood aside and listened, his eyes also looking at the northern defense line. In fact, about a hundred years later, there was also an emperor named Emperor Wu of Han who adopted the same strategy of relocating people in order to resist the Huns in the north.

Fusu listened quietly to his teacher's explanation of the general plan, with the attitude of not answering unless asked. From the original 3,000 households, the teacher added another 3,000 households, a total of 6,000 households.

Ying Zheng said: "Those Confucian scholars will still criticize."

Li Si bowed his head and saluted. As long as these people continued to appear in Zhangtai Palace, there was no way to control their mouths.

Ying Zheng said: "I really want to kill them."

Hearing this, Li Si nodded slightly, because in his heart, especially the Qilu Doctor Chunyu Yue, had died many times in his heart and dreams, in various ways.

Li Si cleared his throat and said, "These people cannot be killed. They are useful to the Qin Dynasty if they are alive."

Fusu felt that his teacher was actually an extremely cruel person. Some people lived because they were useful to him, but if they were not, he would kill them?
"Have Shusun Tong and Fu Sheng visited you recently?"

Hearing his father's question, Fusu replied, "I haven't seen those two old gentlemen since then."

At this point, Fusu added, "Today, I saw that the Qilu doctors in Zhangtai Palace were so excited about the migration. Why not follow your advice and send a few doctors to the north to take a look?"

People always have to investigate and observe before they can draw conclusions.

Only with investigation and actual observation can one have the right to speak.

As for the comments of those doctors, give them what they lack. Now they lack observation.

Li Si smiled and said, "You are absolutely right, sir."

Ying Zheng looked at the sky and said, "You can go back."

Fusu bowed and left the hall.

Just as I turned around, put on my shoes and was about to leave, I heard the words of my teacher and father again.

Maybe the teacher was saying that your method is feasible.

My father is saying that teachers should give more guidance in their daily lives.

Fusu sighed secretly...

A child is a child after all. Prince Fusu grew up under the care of the people in the Xianyang Palace, not only the old general Meng Wu, but also the old general Wang Jian, Li Si and Tian An.

Just by overhearing a little more, Fusu heard his father and teacher talking about the anti-Qin forces.

Although the world seems peaceful now, there are still anti-Qin forces.

Until now, Fusu still didn't know where Xiang Liang, Xiang Bo, Xiang Yu, and Zhang Liang were.

It is not easy to be alive, especially for those who have experienced turbulent times.

The capital of Chu has been destroyed, so what is there to fight for?

Fusu felt that this kind of war was boring and unnecessary, so he walked past the main hall in front of Zhangtai Palace and back to Gaoquan Palace. When he reached the backyard of Gaoquan Palace, he could still hear the sound of water flowing into the fish pond.

Fusu looked at the pond full of fish and remained silent for a long time.

Tian An stood by and watched. The young master was probably choosing which fish to eat today.

Just as he was about to speak, he saw the young master stand up and walk into the hall with an unhappy look on his face. Tian An then realized that the young master didn't want to eat fish today.

But today, the prince and the prime minister met with His Majesty, and the prince also participated in the morning court meeting.

The palace maids and eunuchs of Gaoquan Palace could all see that the young master was very worried today.

Tian An asked, "Sir, what are you having for dinner?"

"And any celery?"

Tian An hesitated for a moment, then said, "There are more."

"Then have some celery."

Tian An ordered people to go to the palace to see if there was any celery. If there was none in the palace, they should look for it outside.

Before I knew it, it was night. With the arrival of winter, the days have become shorter.

The eunuch came over with a basin of bright green celery, and the man replied, "There is no celery left in the palace. General Zhang Han planted some on Shangyan Mountain, and these are all that are left."

Tian An boiled the celery and placed it on the young master's table, and heated up a pancake.

I watched the young man put celery and mutton into a pancake, rolled it up and ate it.

As the night deepened, the young master was still reading.

This is how the young master is on weekdays. He reads when he is happy, and he also reads when he is unhappy.

Heavy snow fell outside the palace again. Tian An instructed, "The young master loves celery. Tell General Zhang Han to plant more next year."

A night passed, and the sky was not yet fully bright. The light outside the palace was still gray. Fusu woke up from his sleep lying on the couch, and took a book to read.

Even when sleeping in the bedroom, I could still feel the cold outside.

Until he felt a little tired of lying down, Fusu sat up, put on his outer clothes, and opened the palace door.

A cold wind blew towards us, bringing chill and snowflakes into the hall.

Standing on the thick snow, Fusu looked at the snow scene in front of him, holding a book in his hand.

Tian An came hurriedly, "Sir, the emperor has issued an edict, saying that court will be closed for a month in the twelfth lunar month."

Fusu put down the bamboo slips in his hand and began to wash.

Tian An's voice muttered again in his ears. He said, "It's probably those Qilu doctors who made His Majesty unhappy. They actually dared to openly refute the emperor and the prime minister in the hall. They really should all be killed."

Fusu said: "The teacher said that those people would be useful if they were kept."

"Sir, do you want to have breakfast?"

"Do you still have the celery from yesterday?"

"There are still quite a few left."

Fusu ordered, "Since I don't have to go to the court meeting today, I will make some food myself and bring some celery."

Usually, the young master cooks his own meals, and his cooking skills are very good. It is rumored that the Queen Mother Huayang taught him this skill.

Therefore, the current emperor also likes the fish soup cooked by the prince very much.

Whenever Tian An thinks of this, his eyes are always filled with tears.

Because no one else knew, only Tian An knew that the young master's cooking skills were not taught by Queen Mother Huayang, and Queen Mother Huayang also said that the young master's cooking skills were very good.

Tian An still clearly remembers that at that time, the young prince sat beside the Queen Mother Huayang's couch and cooked soup for her.

The young man was so young at that time, but he was able to cook meals by himself without any complaints.

At that time, the Queen Mother Huayang was still alive. She always looked after the young prince and loved him very much.

The young master grew up at the lap of the Queen Mother.

To this day, the Queen Mother Huayang has passed away, and people do not know the hidden truth of that year. The Queen Mother never explained it when she was alive, so Tian An naturally let this misunderstanding continue to be passed on.

Now everyone in the Xianyang Palace knows that the Queen Mother Huayang's favorite child was Prince Fusu, and the Queen Mother taught the prince how to cook.

Tian An allowed this misunderstanding to expand in the palace and never explained it. Even if it was a misunderstanding, at least now when people in the palace see the young master, they will not forget Queen Dowager Huayang.

Tian An naturally felt that he was the most loyal servant of the young master.

Fusu first put some millet into a ceramic bowl and cooked it on the stove. Then he put two eggs into another bowl and put it on another stove with a smaller fire and cooked them slowly.

Then I read a book while patiently waiting for today's breakfast to be cooked.

After another half an hour, Fusu put the chopped celery into the pot and cooked it for another half an hour.

In this way, the two eggs were cooked. Fusu put down the book in his hand and ate his meal quietly by himself.

It was still snowing outside the temple, and the snow on the ground was getting thicker and thicker.

After dinner, Fusu planned to go out for a walk.

There were palace maids clearing snow everywhere in the Xianyang Palace. Fusu walked on the city wall of the Xianyang Palace, from where he could overlook the city of Xianyang.

If a person reads a lot of books, then he must be very knowledgeable.

Fusu felt that if he studied for a few more years, he could become a learned person. If... he could become a learned emperor in the future, that would be great too.

On this quiet snowy day, Prime Minister Li Si began his plan to relocate people, and increased the original 3,000 households to 6,000 households.

Not only that, Li Si also appointed sixteen doctors from Qi and Lu to go to the north to preside over the migration of people and record the construction of the Great Wall.

If those doctors from Qi and Lu refuted Li Si's plan to relocate people during the court discussion, it would be an act of provocation.

Now Prime Minister Li Si is using the issue of relocating people to deal with Doctor Qilu. This is a counterattack and an act of provocation.

Several doctors from Qi and Lu were shouting at the door of Prime Minister Li Si's residence, using all the dirty words they had learned throughout their lives to curse the Prime Minister of Qin.

Unfortunately, the door of the Qin Prime Minister's residence was closed and no guests were allowed.

It’s freezing cold, who would want to receive guests?
A few elderly people were throwing a tantrum in front of Li Si's house and were taken away by some Qin soldiers patrolling the streets.

For some reason, Fusu felt ashamed. After all, it was he who proposed to arrange for Dr. Qilu to be part of the relocation plan, and his teacher actually arranged it. It was too mean.

After seeing this unpleasant scene today, Fusu actually felt a little embarrassed, turned around and walked down the city wall.

Today, another group of Qin troops left Xianyang, and among them were Dr. Qilu. These old men were invited to get on carriages and go to the north to inspect the border defense.

What is surprising is that Chunyu Yue is not on the list of doctors sent to the north this time.

It was snowing heavily, and Chunyu Yue was bidding farewell to his old friends who were going far to the north. Among them was Zhou Qingchen, a friend he had made at the Jixia Academy when he was young.

(End of this chapter)