The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 23 Old Qin Army

Fusu placed Cheng Miao's calligraphy in a wooden box and kept it safely.

This is the most original copybook of official script, and is particularly precious.

Tian An felt that the young master also liked to appreciate calligraphy.

The next morning, at dawn, the cold wind was howling.

It was March, and the old farmers in Guanzhong went out early, looking at the sky with worry. The thing people were most worried about had finally come. This year's warm spring did not come, but a late spring cold snap came.

Shusun Tong woke up early, picked up a bucket of water from the river, and asked, "Old brother, the weather is getting colder."

The old farmer, who was called "old brother", smiled and said, "I remember your village has a water cellar, why do you still come to the river to fetch water?"

Shusun Tong put the bucket aside, found a clean stone to sit on, and explained, "The water cellar is not used often. It's already March in Guanzhong, and it's still so cold."

"You're not from Guanzhong, are you?"

"I come from Qi."

"Qi..." The old brother's eyes seemed to be filled with reminiscence, and he whispered, "I once went to Qi to fight and killed many Qi people."

After saying this, there was still a proud smile on his face.

Shusun Tong was about to say something, but swallowed his words back.

It has only been a short time since Qin conquered the six states, and it has only been a short time since the nations were at war. The older generation is still around, and they often remember it vividly.

The old brother continued, "Now that we have nothing to fight, let's grow more food."

"It's still so cold, aren't you afraid that the seedlings will freeze to death?"

"Guanzhong is a blessed land. It doesn't matter if we plant half a month later." The old brother sat by the river and said, "Because the summer in our Guanzhong is very long, so... we are not afraid of the cold spring. We were born and raised here and we are used to it."

Shusun Tong noticed the way the other party's belts and hair bands were tied, which was a dressing habit unique to the Qin army.

The old brother in front of me is an old Qin soldier.

Shusun Tong bowed slightly and left.

The banks of the Luo River were very quiet. Shusun Tong walked along with a bucket of water in his hand. He could only hear his own breathing and the occasional sound of the wind.

There was already green grass on the ground, and Shusun Tong saw in the distance groups of Qin troops galloping across the Guanzhong Plain.

This Qin army brought a lot of people, and these people were to live and farm in Guanzhong to make up for the population consumption in Guanzhong.

Fortunately, these new people who moved to Guanzhong did not live at the foot of Shangyan Mountain, otherwise the people of Shangyan Mountain would have to worry about food and water again.

There was a lack of water sources at the foot of Shangyan Mountain, and before the canal was dug, there was never enough water.

The water in the water cellar was for emergency use, so Shusun Tong woke up early and filled a bucket of water.

Both water and food are extremely important.

Returning to the village, Shusun Tong saw Zhang Cang busy at work, and saw him and a group of villagers carrying potted plants one by one. He asked, "What are you doing?"

Zhang Cang explained, "Young Master is coming today."

Shusun Tong put the bucket aside and sighed, "There will really be no more wars in this world."

Zhang Cang said, "I hope so."

Shusun Tong asked again: "Don't you think so?"

"Prince, love your people. Prince Fusu treated his servants this way, and he will treat the people of the world this way in the future." Zhang Cang added, "The Mohists said that people must first love themselves. After loving themselves, they can love others, and finally love the people of the world."

Shusun Tong was confused for a moment and asked, "Are those Mohist disciples still here?"

Zhang Cang continued, "I asked you how to practice universal love, and you said, as Mozi said, when the people are harmonious, the country is prosperous, and the wealth is sufficient, and all the people are warmly clothed and well-fed, then there will be no worries."

A cold wind blew by, and Zhang Cang's long, messy hair on his temples moved with the wind. He raised his head slightly, with a look of pity on his face.

Shusun Tong was secretly surprised to find that the young master and Zhang Cang often corresponded with each other and talked about Mozi.

As the morning light gradually brightened, the golden morning light shone on everyone's face.

Mao Heng has started reading the Book of Songs with a group of children. Every time he reads a sentence, the children follow him and recite a sentence.

Everything here is very quiet. People speak in low voices in the morning. When wisps of green smoke rise up, the fragrance of rice and flour will spread throughout the village.

Because a lot of wheat and beans were planted in the fields at that time, most people in Shangyan Mountain mainly ate rice, flour and bean rice.

This year, the wheat and beans here have a good harvest, and several nearby counties have also decided to plant more wheat during the spring plowing season. To do this, they need to report to Xianyang and wait for permission from the court.

To the west of the village, a group of cavalry were galloping towards them. It was General Wang Ben who was escorting the young master.

Shusun Tong secretly calculated the time in his mind. If the young master came here at this time, he would most likely have left Xianyang City at dawn.

When the villagers learned that it was the young master who came, they came out to pay their respects.

Fusu got off the carriage, looked around at his private property, and then helped Zhang Han, who was standing in front of him and saluting, to his feet.

Judging from his position, Zhang Han was Wang Ben's subordinate.

A young man dressed in black stood in front of the crowd, and he seemed to be taller than last year.

Yes, fifteen or sixteen is the age when a boy grows the most.

Fusu said, "General Zhang Han, let them each go about their own business. There's no need for them all to gather here."

Zhang Han saluted and then went to give orders.

After hearing the young master's words, they dispersed.

Fortunately, they dispersed early, otherwise more and more servants would come to pay their respects, and Fusu would feel that it was too grand to be so crowded.

Shusun Tong was still standing respectfully by the side.

Zhang Cang, dressed in tattered cloth, was also standing by, while Mao Heng was the only one who ran off to teach the children the Book of Songs.

The matter of relocating people to guard the border has officially been put on track, and the cold winter is about to pass, so the excavation of canals in Shangyan Mountain has become a major national affair for the Qin Dynasty.

After finishing the current tasks, everyone turned their attention back to this place. Some wanted to see what kind of results this newly built village could achieve, what kind of merits it could accomplish, or what kind of troubles it would cause.

In addition to these, there will definitely be people who think that Prince Fusu enslaved his servants and will enslave all the people in the world in the future.

As a prince of the Qin Dynasty, your every word and action is bound to be speculated by some people.

Fusu had been wandering around the village all morning when he heard that some people from Guizhou, who had recently been relocated to Guanzhong, had tried to escape back to Chu but had been recaptured. He watched a quarrel in the distance and, upon closer inspection, discovered it was a family of five arguing with several Qin soldiers.

"Teacher, why don't they want to stay here and farm and settle down? Guanzhong has clearly given them farmland, and there are no landowners who come to demand their food. As long as they work hard and cultivate the land, they can get more than they did in Chu before."

Hearing this, Zhang Cang whispered back, "Because they have never seen the Qin people, they have only seen the Qin army."

"Teacher, what you said makes sense." Fusu understood.

"Sir, in the eyes of the other nations back then, Qin was a tyrannical state. Those who had entered Qin and witnessed it firsthand knew that. They were afraid and distrustful of the Qin people. The solution is simple. Find someone from a prestigious family in Chu to lead the effort and persuade them. That would solve the problem."

At this point, Zhang Cang whispered, "If one family flees, three more will follow, and five more will follow. My lord, please be aware that the county magistrate has arrived. They will not allow those who have moved to Guanzhong to leave. They hold official positions and understand the situation better than you do. There's no need to worry."

After saying this, Zhang Cang did not wait for the young master's reply. He turned around and saw that the young master was no longer looking at the argument here, but was looking at the saplings. He then felt that he had said so much, and it seemed that the young master did not worry too much. It was he who was worried that the young master would worry too much, but he was the one who worried too much.

Zhang Cang took a deep breath and walked to the young master again.

"March and April are good seasons for planting trees. What kind of trees do you think would be good to plant?"

"What kind of tree do you want to plant, sir?"

Fusu said: "Of course, the easier it is to grow a tree, the better."

Zhang Cang hesitated for a moment, then took out one of the saplings and said, "Sir, plant a mulberry tree."

"mulberry?"

Zhang Cang added, "Mulberry trees are more valuable than other trees. If we can plant more than ten acres of mulberry trees, Shangyanshan will become prosperous."

"Isn't the peach tree good?"

"Sir, mulberry leaves can be used to raise silkworms, and silk can be used to weave clothes. Three-year-old branches can be made into walking sticks, ten-year-old branches can be used to make bows and sword handles, and twenty-year-old branches are excellent wood for carriages."

Zhang Cang continued, "A fine carriage is worth ten thousand coins. Not to mention the silk and mulberries, the wood alone is enough to provide a worry-free life for the people of a region. Mulberry trees, from their leaves to their branches to their fruit, are all valuable. What do you think of mulberry trees now, young master?"

A knowledgeable and talented person is indeed very useful. As long as you ask, he can answer you at any time and you don’t need to learn anything.

It’s no wonder that powerful people like to associate with knowledgeable people, because their knowledge may make you richer and more powerful.

Their few words of advice often reveal great value.

Not to mention that in those days, in order to seek reform and become stronger, various countries even spent huge sums of money, compensated their daughters, and gave away houses and land to invite those learned hermits.

Because all nations know that knowledge is extremely important if they want to make their country strong.

So, even if the theories of the various schools of thought were written two thousand years ago, if we put them in later times and combine them with the ideas and concepts of later times, we will find that the theories of the various schools of thought are very remarkable.

And now, I have Zhang Cang by my side, and my teacher has good intentions.

Fusu personally planted several mulberry saplings.

Shusun Tong, having heard Zhang Cang's speech, said, "Sir, we don't have enough people to plant mulberry trees."

A person's labor capacity is limited. The young and old people in Shangyanshan are all digging canals, so where can they find the manpower to plant trees?

In fact, mulberry trees are very easy to grow. Fusu planted a mulberry branch, watered it, and waited for it to sprout and take root.

Before Zhang Cang could answer Shusun Tong's question, Fusu nodded and said, "Master Shusun Tong is right. We don't have enough manpower, but it's not a difficult task."

Shusun Tong bowed respectfully and asked, "Sir, do you have any countermeasures?"

"Let the children from other counties come here to attend classes, so that they can also read and write, and become Shang Yanshan's disciples. Every student who comes here to study must plant a mulberry tree for Shang Yanshan every day and take care of the mulberry trees every day."

Shusun Tong was silent for a moment, not knowing whether to say whether this strategy was good or bad.

Since becoming a student of Kong Fu, Shusun Tong has been good at observing people's words and expressions. Seeing that Zhang Cang was silent, he also remained silent.

Teaching resources are so important. In this era of material scarcity, no one has enough food to eat, and teaching resources are another kind of high value-added resource besides material resources.

For the Prince of Daqin, it is too easy to use this resource.

At lunchtime, which is also the busiest time in the village, a group of children rushed home, fearing that they would starve to death in the next second. A large group of children ran to the dining table with all their strength and then began to eat voraciously.

But they were probably really hungry and hadn't eaten for most of the day.

Fusu discovered that Mao Heng was not as lively in front of him and was rather restrained.

I remember that in Zhang Han's report, Mao Heng was almost about to climb up the roof and tear off the tiles.

Before, Mao Heng thought that as long as he became a disciple of Prince Fusu, he would be able to have no worries about food and clothing, and even appear glamorous in front of others.

But now, what stood before Mao Heng were a few dilapidated thatched houses and a large group of dirty children wearing linen clothes and straw sandals.

These children are also very playful and difficult to manage.

Originally, Mao Heng thought he should live in a guesthouse in the big house in Xianyang City?
Fusu took a sip of hot water and asked, "How is it here, sir? If you are not used to it, Fusu will find another place."

Shusun Tong smiled. What the young master meant by looking for another place might be a place even more miserable than here, perhaps the bitter and cold north.

Mao Heng saluted and said, "I am very happy here."

Shusun Tong, who was looking forward to the show, heard the reply and his expression became a little disappointed.

Zhang Cang and Zhang Han sat next to each other and ate very seriously.

During a break in the conversation, Shusun Tong put the half-eaten cake into his sleeve and asked, "Sir, do you want those three hundred children to be employed by you after they finish their studies?"

Fusu asked, "Master, what do you think of these children?"

"If these three hundred children can learn and succeed, and if you wish to rule the world, and have three hundred capable and loyal ministers to assist you, then the three generations of the Qin Dynasty will have no worries."

Shusun Tong's words were a bit exaggerated, but he spoke with great skill and always made people feel comfortable listening to him.

Tian An stood aside, watching the meal scene in front of him. He placed a bowl of bean rice in front of the young master, and then continued to look at everyone.

Around the prince were General Wang Ben, General Zhang Han, Zhang Cang, Shusun Tong, Mao Heng, and the prime minister's son Li You.

Tian An felt very relieved. He lowered his head and wiped the moisture from the corners of his eyes. He missed the Queen Mother Huayang again. The Queen Mother had passed away for more than a year. The young master was surrounded by learned people, famous officials of the time, and loyal generals.

The young master has been more gifted in etiquette than ordinary children since he was young. Now that he has these people to assist him, I believe that the Queen Mother Huayang would be relieved if she were still in heaven.

Just as he was thinking about this, a galloping horse came up, kicking up a cloud of dust. The rider came closer and said, "The emperor has decreed that Prince Fusu lead a thousand cavalrymen to Hangu Pass to welcome General Wang Jian into the pass!"

Fusu didn't even need to think about it, he knew this must be another arrangement by his teacher, and it must be his teacher who was advising his father.

(End of this chapter)