The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 24 The Rule-abiding Young Master
Tian An ran forward quickly and took the military order.

Wang Ben stepped forward and said, "Please report back. I will personally escort you to Hangu Pass."

The messenger nodded, turned his horse around, and rode back towards Xianyang.

Fusu took the token. The token was old and black, but judging from the gold on the edge, it was probably a copper token.

After dinner, Tian An asked someone to bring all the necessary items for the trip.

Hangu Pass is not too far from Xianyang. If you ride fast, it will only take three or two days to go back and forth day and night.

Even if you walk slowly, it will take more than ten days to make a round trip.

Fusu waited for the arrival of a thousand cavalrymen, and took the opportunity to sit on a newly made bamboo chair and take a nap with his eyes closed.

The sound of children reading could be heard again in the village. It was Mao Heng who was teaching the children to read again.

Mao Heng was well versed in the Book of Songs, which had been passed down among various nations for a long time, and was indeed very knowledgeable.

Several puppies were lying under the young master's recliner, sleeping.

The midday sun feels very comfortable on the body. In this cold spring weather, only at noon can we feel warm for a moment.

Fusu was lying on a bamboo chair with his eyes closed, taking a nap. Zhang Cang and Shusun Tong were standing beside him. The two men were silent, like two statues.

Zhang Han's voice was heard in my ears.

Fusu opened his eyes slightly and saw Zhang Han and Wang Ben talking.

After Wang Ben's repeated questioning, Zhang Han talked about his childhood.

"I've been living in my uncle's house since I can remember. I have a younger brother named Zhang Ping. My uncle was a general in the Qin army. He said I had no choice but to join the army. That's when I joined the army and fought..."

As he spoke, Zhang Han looked up to the sky, as if trying to find the scene at that time in the air above his head.

"I remember that General Wang Ben was fighting against the State of Wei. I was in the army and saw with my own eyes the flooding of the Wei State's Daliang."

At this point, Zhang Han became a little excited again. He clenched his fist and said excitedly, "That battle, General Wang, you fought brilliantly!"

"Hahaha!" Wang Ben reached out and patted Zhang Han on the back, showing the care of an old military general showing concern for his juniors, and also showing concern for his subordinates.

Zhang Han was unwilling to talk about what happened later. Wang Ben also knew what happened later. Zhang Han's uncle died in the battle.

In fact, it was not easy for Qin to conquer Chu.

Li You was still digging wells and canals with the villagers.

Fusu felt that he had both civil and military personnel around him, including Zhang Cang for civil affairs and Zhang Han for military affairs. Who else was missing?

Tian An put the boiled water into a water bag and went to prepare a stove for the young master to use for his trip. He even asked someone to bring some books from the palace so that the young master could read on the road.

The thousand cavalrymen came very quickly. Less than half an hour after Fusu had rested, a group of soldiers appeared before him.

A thousand soldiers and horses were actually not a small number. Fusu looked up and saw that all the Qin soldiers were wearing black iron armor, riding on horseback and waiting for orders.

Wang Ben stepped forward and said in a loud voice, "Zhang Han, put on your armor and follow me to escort the young master to Hangu Pass."

"Zhang Han obeys the order."

The warhorse was breathing out of its nostrils. The horse was very strong and gave people a strong sense of power.

After arriving here, the troops were very quiet and waited for orders.

When Tian An arrived in a carriage, Fusu realized that the horses in the carriage were even shorter than the war horses.

Zhang Han usually did not wear armor because it was very heavy. He would only wear it when necessary. The stitching on the armor was intact, which showed that he took good care of it.

This is how the Qin army acted. Once they received an order, they had to set off immediately without any delay.

Wang Ben and Zhang Han led the troops on the left and right, and were ready to set off.

Before leaving, Fusu said to Zhang Cang, "I'll leave this village to you, Master."

Zhang Cang saluted and said, "Don't worry, sir."

After saying this, Fusu got on the carriage and said, "Let's go."

Tian An drove the carriage forward, and the one thousand black-armored cavalry of the Qin army protected Prince Fusu's carriage.

Zhang Cang stood where he was, watching the escort team and the young master's carriage go away.

Shusun Tong stood aside and remained silent for a long time.

Hearing the sounds of children playing behind him, Shusun Tong asked in confusion, "Why send Prince Fusu to meet General Wang Jian at this time?"

Zhang Cang held a scroll of bamboo slips in one hand and placed it on his back, saying, "In fact, the First Emperor really loves this son. He values ​​the prince very much and has high hopes for him."

Shusun Tong stroked his beard for a moment, watching the Qin cavalry moving further and further away.

Zhang Cang continued, "Of the First Emperor's children, only Prince Fusu was able to have the Prime Minister as his teacher. He was also able to participate in government affairs and be close to the generals. He even allowed General Wang Ben to get along with him without suspicion. Everything the First Emperor could give him was given to him. As for the other children of the First Emperor, they could only watch Prince Fusu from afar."

This is indeed the fact. Shusun Tong has never seen the other descendants of the First Emperor. Besides, the other descendants of the First Emperor are still very young, so he has never seen them anyway.

Shusun Tong did not like Zhang Cang's way of speaking, as he spoke too calmly.

Zhang Cang added, "I'm still worried, but I hope I'm just worrying too much."

Sometimes I feel very emotional. Xunzi had a disciple named Zhang Cang. This disciple was so knowledgeable that Shusun Tong felt inferior to him. He whispered to him, "Zhang Cang, listen to what I have to say. The more people learn, the more worries they have."

Zhang Cang nodded and left.

As the young master's teacher, I also need to build this village for him. In the remaining days, I will be very busy as I rush to catch the spring plowing and grain rain seasons, and wait until the late spring cold weather is over.

As dusk approached, the wind in Guanzhong became stronger. This is how it is in this season, it is always windy at night.

Fusu sat in the carriage, looking at a volume of the Book of Changes in his hand. His body swayed with the shaking of the carriage, and the sound of horse hooves, sometimes fast and sometimes slow, filled his ears.

The majority of the war horses were slow-moving, and they were guarding the carriage.

The sound of galloping horses was mostly from the Qin army scouts passing by. They needed to ensure the safety within a few miles, to ensure that there were no ambushes ahead and no people or horses following behind.

Fusu felt that the Qin army should be the most loyal army in the world because their military achievements were directly converted into wealth.

In this era when food is still scarce, anyone who can earn a few more acres of land for his family and earn a title is a good man.

Therefore, compared with the other countries that successively carried out reforms at that time, the Qin army was the most loyal.

"Sir, it's almost nightfall. Should we camp?"

"General Wang, please arrange it."

After hearing the prince's reply, Wang Ben loudly informed the front army that the troops should rest in the southeast of Luo River.

Fusu got off the carriage and saw the Qin army's tight defense in the afterglow of the setting sun.

Zhang Han was looking around.

The Qin army still had a shadow over assassinations. Qin kings of all generations had experienced many assassinations, especially Jing Ke in those days, or Gao Jianli a few years ago.

Tian An caught a live fish at some point. The fish was the size of a palm. He held a wooden stick in one hand and pressed the fish's body which was constantly swaying with one hand. He raised the stick and tapped it skillfully with his strength. The fish stopped moving. Then he hummed an unknown song while skillfully taking care of the fish.

Fusu watched the smoke rising from the distant village. After a moment, he looked back and saw Tian An had already lit two stoves, boiling water in the earthenware pot. He sat by the campfire again, gazing at the sunset for a moment. Then, looking back, Tian An had already placed the fish in the pot and chopped the scallions and ginger.

The soldiers who were on duty around also sat down in groups of three or four. They sat together and built a fire to keep warm for the night.

Soon, Tian An had prepared a bowl of fish soup and a bowl of millet rice.

A layer of bitter vegetables is also spread on the millet rice.

Tian An said with a smile: "Sir, the old Qin people prefer a bitter vegetable."

Fusu took a bite of the bitter herb, which contained some light yellow rice grains, and chewed it.

Although it is a bitter vegetable, after chewing it twice, it no longer tastes bitter.

Zhang Han was eating roasted rabbit meat when he saw the young master sitting not far away. The young master's food was very simple.

Wang Ben came over and sat down beside him, saying, "Your Excellency is different from the princes of other countries."

"How different?"

As Wang Ben spoke, wild vegetable leaves still clinging to his teeth. He said, "Even children from noble families, when they go out, they want to play and walk around, even if it's just to visit other places. But look at Prince Fusu. He's sitting there, protected by the army. He won't wander around."

After hearing what Wang Ben said, Zhang Han found that it was true. During the whole journey today, the young master never said that he wanted to go somewhere else to have a look or take a walk.

Even if the young master says he wants to go to other counties, the army can escort him there, and it doesn't matter if he arrives at Hangu Pass a day or two later.

Zhang Han nodded without saying anything, but in his heart he felt that such a young man made him feel at ease and reassured.

In fact, Fusu didn't think so much. The scenery along the road was not enough for him to see, so how could he think about going somewhere else?

The eight hundred miles of Qinchuan are too vast to be seen in one glance.

Fusu sat by the fire, holding a piece of cloth in his hands. Drawing on the cloth was a map of Guanzhong. The Yellow River had not changed its course yet, and Hangu Pass was still the gateway to Guanzhong and the most important pass in the Warring States Period.

The team set out from the upper reaches of the Luo River, went down along the Luo River, and then went east to reach Hangu Pass.

The journey is not far, and you can eat fresh Yellow River food and enjoy the beautiful scenery along the way. It is such a pleasure.

These 1,000 cavalrymen all brought their own dry food. They ate one piece of bread a day, which they ate for two meals. They would replenish their dry food when they arrived at Hangu Pass.

After Fusu figured out his next route, he went to bed early after dark.

Even when he is away from home, this young man eats well, sleeps well, and goes to bed early and gets up early.

The next morning, the weather was still as cold.

The late spring cold in Guanzhong is very strange and capricious.

Normally, the late spring cold ends in mid-March, but in Guanzhong, there will still be extreme late spring cold until April, and there may even be heavy snow in April.

After three days of marching, the team arrived at Ningqin County, which is Tongguan in later generations.

This place is very close to Hangu Pass, so Fusu moved directly into the county government office here and was talking with the county magistrate.

And today, it rained heavily outside.

Rain continued to fall into the Yellow River. Soldiers who wanted to avoid the rain hid under the eaves. Some soldiers pulled their war horses to the stables and fed them with hay.

Tian An stood under the eaves, watching the rain fall with a smile on his face. This rain came at the perfect time. He said to Wang Ben, "Sir, you have been looking forward to the early arrival of this year's Grain Rain, and now it has arrived."

Wang Ben sat on a bench, chewing a piece of bread and asked, "Sir, can you really achieve what you want?"

Tian An smiled again and said, "The young master said he wanted to see two more snowfalls. This year's snow has been falling for a long time."

Zhang Han sat on the side, looking straight ahead, chewing the cake hard, his mind focused.

This person is very focused in everything he does, and when he eats, he concentrates on eating.

In the county government office, Fusu looked at the county's written records. Through these documents, he could see the business and population exchanges here.

The county magistrate stood aside, respectfully standing there, not daring to be negligent at all.

Fusu said: "In the past two years, more and more people have entered Guanzhong, but fewer have left."

All people entering and leaving the city were recorded in documents, even down to the specific county and household.

The county magistrate replied, "In the past few years, there have been wars everywhere. Many people have gone out to fight, but few have returned."

Fusu could hear a lot of meaning from just a short sentence.

The county magistrate continued, "Sir, the war is over, and more people are entering the pass than before."

Guanzhong has been increasing its population in recent years. People say that the war is over and they should grow more crops and raise more children. The armies returning from Chu have brought a lot of people, adding a lot of vitality to the originally depressed Guanzhong.

"Report!"

I heard soldiers running outside.

Wang Ben shouted, "What's the matter?"

The man came in the rain, his armor still dripping with water. He held a bamboo tube in both hands and said in a loud voice, "This is a letter from General Wang Jian, and I am giving it to you, my lord."

Wang Ben first took the bamboo tube, handed it over with both hands, and said, "Sir, this is a letter from my father."

Fusu took the bamboo tube, pinched open the wax seal on it, opened the lid, and took out a roll of thin cloth from it.

The surroundings became quiet, with only the rustling sound of rain outside.

Fusu read it, then looked at Wang Ben standing beside him and said, "The old general said that he wants Wang Li to go north to help Meng Tian resist the Xiongnu and build the Great Wall."

Wang Ben hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Li'er?"

Fusu handed the letter to Wang Ben. This should be a family affair of the old general, asking his grandson to go to the north. Wang Li was Wang Ben's son.

Although the old general did not say it explicitly, he would not come back unless Wang Li went to the north.

But Fusu guessed that the old man had ulterior motives.

"I will write a letter to my father, please rest assured."

Fusu looked at the Grain Rain outside and thought that it would be best if there were no twists and turns in welcoming the old general. Everyone would feel at ease if he could bring him back earlier.

As for the old general's family affairs, Fusu naturally didn't want to get involved.

Wang Ben was writing a letter home when Fusu said to Zhang Han outside, "We'll set out for Hangu Pass as soon as the rain stops. The sooner the better. Have everyone prepare some dry food and water."

Zhang Han clasped his fists and bowed, "I obey your orders."

The rain lasted for two days and two nights, and the water level of the Yellow River rose significantly.

Fusu was able to see the Yellow River rushing by.

Zhang Han, however, looked worried. He reported, "Sir, this year's late spring cold snap is long and late, and the Grain Rain has arrived early. With the contrast between the cold and warm weather, I'm afraid... this year's peach blossom season is about to arrive."

Fusu said: "I will write a letter to inform my father and ask the court to prepare in advance."

Zhang Han said, "I will prepare a fast horse and have someone send it to Xianyang overnight."

(End of this chapter)