The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 26: An Old Man and a Young Man

A successful general will always count his past opponents in detail, then bring out the shortcomings of his opponents and talk about them again, and then summarize all the experiences.

What the old general just said...is most likely the situation as above.

But then I thought about it again and it didn't make sense. King Wei of Qi should be a generation younger than General Wang Jian, and Sun Bin had been dead for many years.

In the blink of an eye, a lot of thoughts flashed through Fusu's mind, and then he stepped forward to support the old man and said, "Old General, please rest first."

Wang Jian waved his hand and said, "This old minister has not yet saluted you, sir."

"No need to be polite."

"An old minister still has to pay his respects."

The old man and the young man argued for a long time, and finally, in front of everyone, the old general and the young man saluted together.

The old Qin soldiers around were watching this scene with smiles on their faces.

Zhang Han heard the discussions around him.

"Has our young master grown this tall?"

"My grandson is this tall too..."

"Look at this young man, his hands and feet are so well-shaped, he is obviously a good boy who can practice fighting in the army."

Everyone's voices were simple and friendly. Zhang Han heard them, but he still stood solemnly, not daring to smile.

But looking at the scene of Prince Fusu and old General Wang Jian standing together, the old and the young supporting each other, it is indeed a reassuring scene.

Originally, with the old general back, all the civil and military officials in the court should feel at ease.

It is normal for the old general who has made such great contributions to be a little arrogant when he returns, and Prince Fusu comes to greet him.

Now, when people see the humble and polite Prince Fusu, they think that it should be the prince who takes the old general back. Wouldn't that be a good story?

It is such a good thing that Prince Fusu personally welcomes the old general into the pass.

The old Qin soldiers of the Great Qin were relieved after seeing this scene.

Wang Jian was supported by the young master, his gray beard swaying in the wind. He whispered, "Young master, if my grandson refuses to go north..."

"Don't worry, General. Even if I have to tie him up, I'll take him north."

Wang Jian nodded heavily and sighed, "Young Master is much more promising than my children."

Fusu smiled awkwardly and said, "Just kidding."

"I'm not joking," Wang Jian said, his tone becoming more emphatic. He pointed quietly at Wang Ben behind him and said, "I've spent my entire life observing people and fighting battles, from Zhao to Chu. I've seen all kinds of people, but you alone... are bound to be extraordinary in the future."

Fusu felt that the old general's words had an implicit meaning, which was that he was entrusting his entire family to him.

Listening to it again, I felt that the old general was just trying to cheer up the child.

Wang Jian grasped the young master's hand and said, "I will pack up now and return to Xianyang with you."

Fusu stood where he was and saw the old general Wang Jian striding back.

This big step was really vigorous and powerful, not at all like a candle in the wind.

Then, Wang Ben hurriedly followed.

In the middle of the camp, there was a prisoner van with a middle-aged man in it. The man was dressed in tattered clothes, looked crazy, and was smiling foolishly.

Zhang Han explained, "Sir, this man is the King of Chu."

Only now, seeing the captured King of Chu in front of him, did Fusu feel that Qin's war to conquer the six states was truly over.

Fusu asked, "How will the emperor deal with him?"

Zhang Han faced the young master, clasped his fists and saluted, saying, "The emperor has issued an edict to treat the captured rulers of the six kingdoms with kindness, but..."

Hearing this, Fusu nodded and said, "If it's difficult, then it's better not to say it."

Zhang Han took a step back and stood straight aside.

The First Emperor did say that the rulers of the six kingdoms should be treated well. Fusu knew all this. In the past, the Qin Dynasty treated the King of Han well and gave him a place to live. However, the King of Han took advantage of the Qin-Chu war and launched a rebellion in Xinzheng.

Afterwards, under the anger of Emperor Qin Shi Huang and his ministers, Han An, the last king of Han, was killed.

After the Qin army conquered Qi, King Tian Jian of Qi did not die at the hands of the Qin army, but was starved to death. In fact, he could have avoided starvation, but no one in Qi was willing to help their king. Perhaps the people of Qi also hated the king.

As for the King of Chu in front of him, Fusu felt that the war between countries was not only a competition of military strength, but also a competition of which country could hold on longer and who could outlast it.

During Fu Chu's reign, the State of Chu was in a period of internal chaos and external instability.

As for the State of Yan, alas...

The night wind blew, blowing up a cloud of yellow sand in front of Hangu Pass.

Fusu remembered a saying of Han Fei: When a tree is broken, it will be infested with termites; when a wall is damaged, it will be cracked.

In other words, it can be said that no matter how good a bricklayer is, he cannot repair a wall that is about to collapse.

Fusu stood still and said to Zhang Han beside him, "It turns out that it is quite easy to take the old general back."

Zhang Han remained silent and responded solemnly.

After hesitating for a moment, Fusu raised his head and said, "Originally... it should be quite easy."

Thinking of the large number of old Qin troops still in the camp and the long way back to Xianyang, Fusu ordered: "Please ask General Zhang Han to go ahead and prepare food and fodder at the various important roads back to Xianyang."

"I obey your command." Zhang Han jumped on his horse, called a team of centurions, and headed towards the upper reaches of the Yellow River.

The sky gradually darkened, the bright moon hung high in the sky, and the night sky was dotted with stars. After the Grain Rain, there were even more stars in the night sky.

With nothing to do, Fusu sat at the gate of Hangu Pass and stewed dinner for tonight.

Tian An brought mutton, asparagus and wild fruits.

When eating and music are put together, eating becomes a very artistic and sophisticated thing. It would be even better if there is the sound of music, or a group of beauties dancing in front of you.

But at the foot of Hangu Pass, not only is there no music of stringed instruments, but where can one find beautiful women?

After Fusu cut the asparagus, he put it in a clay pot, put a layer of chopped mutton on it, and put it on the stove to cook.

Tian An put the pulled noodles in a bowl, then wiped his hands, added some wood to the stove, and opened the air vent under the stove, so that the fire in the stove became bigger and bigger.

This stove was repaired by the young master. It is easy to carry and use.

Tian An saw steam coming out from the gap in the pot lid and went back to pulling the noodles with a smile on his face.

Soon, the aroma came out of the pot. Fusu opened the lid and saw the mutton boiling in the soup.

“What a delicious meat.”

Hearing the old general's words, Fusu quickly replaced the lid, put down the spoon, and asked, "Old General, have you had your meal yet?"

"I..."

Halfway through his words, Wang Jian looked at Tao Guo and said seriously, "What a pity, my son has chosen Li Si as his teacher. It's a pity that I was too slow in fighting back then."

"how you said that?"

"If I had attacked the State of Chu earlier, I might have been able to capture Xunzi alive and bring him to Xianyang to teach you, young master."

When the conversation became lively, Fusu took the pot of mutton and let the old general eat while talking.

Wang Jian was still chewing the hot mutton in his mouth.

Fusu asked, "Have you ever met Xunzi, old general?"

"I can't remember the last time I saw Xunzi."

When Fusu saw that the noodles were cooked, he scooped some up and put them into the old general's bowl.

Wang Jian finished the mutton in the pot, and then ate the noodles with the remaining soup in one gulp.

After eating, the old man breathed a sigh of relief and said with emotion: "This pot of food, sir, is worth a million dollars." Tian An continued to pull the noodles diligently.

Fusu listened to General Wang Jian talking about the war that year.

An old man and a young man sat at the foot of Hangu Pass, one willing to listen and the other willing to speak.

As for the deeds of conquering the world in those days, General Wang Jian could be said to have fought without stopping for three days and three nights.

Under the escort of Wang Ben and Zhang Han, Fusu rode in the same carriage with the old general, and listened to the old general talk about the past along the way.

When they arrived at Hangu Pass, the team had only one thousand cavalrymen. Now that they were heading to Xianyang, the team had expanded to six thousand people.

In addition to the one thousand cavalrymen who were still escorting, there were still five thousand old Qin troops.

Six thousand people is not a small number. If six thousand soldiers move together, they might empty out the place they arrive at.

Which village or county can afford the food and clothing of 6,000 people?

Zhang Han was a very capable person. He ran around to various places to collect food all night long. After the army had marched for a day, the place where they would be stationed and the food and fodder had been prepared in advance.

Zhang Han should be arranging food supplies for tomorrow now.

Wang Jian asked, "Were these all arranged by the young master?"

Fusu explained, "I asked General Zhang Han to do it. I have a habit of making the old general laugh."

"What are your habits, sir?"

“Always think about tomorrow today and summer in spring.”

Wang Jian stroked his beard, smiled, and nodded, "This is a good thing."

Fusu asked, "Is Xiang Yan very powerful?"

"I have an army of 600,000 men. Even if Xiang Yan is so powerful, can he really defeat an army of 600,000 men?"

After saying this, Wang Jian laughed heartily, "Hahaha!"

Fusu nodded in understanding. The process of Qin's conquest of Chu was very tortuous. Only these old Qin soldiers and Wang Jian knew the exact process and the nature of the enemies and opponents. The old man had simply put it.

The journey back was obviously smoother than the journey here.

After Grain Rain, the climate in Guanzhong becomes noticeably warmer, and you will feel a little sweaty if you stay in the sun for a long time.

The old general and Prince Fusu walked, talked, and ate all the way.

Along the way, the old Qin army dispersed and most of them returned to their homes.

We were almost reaching Xianyang and were near Shangyan Mountain.

The prisoner cart carrying the King of Chu was firmly in the procession. Fusu asked quietly, "Are there no people from Chu coming to seize the prisoner?"

Wang Jian shook his head and said, "No."

"Why?"

"Even the Chu people themselves look down on the King of Chu, so who would come to save him?"

"Fusu has learned his lesson."

As he spoke, Fusu was still surprised. It turned out there was such a thing...

Wang Jian added, "Sir, there's no need to be so modest. Everyone knows about the troubles in Chu."

After Chunshen Jun of Chu, the powerful minister Li Yuan and King You of Chu were indeed not good people. They were rotten to the core, and everyone wanted to get more and everyone wanted power.

Wang Jian said, "Sir, Chu originally had a chance. Haha... I am certain that the King of Chu does not have the courage to kill the powerful ministers, nor the courage to make decisions on state affairs."

"Yes……"

Fusu nodded continuously. Compared with the Qin State, they would kill at will. Even when they overthrew Lu Buwei, they did not hesitate at all. When they wanted to kill Lu Buwei, his father just struggled in his heart and gave him a letter in a tactful way.

Then, without the need for executioners, Lu Buwei committed suicide.

So, for a king to be in power, courage and decisiveness are very important.

"Fusu has learned from the past experience. Thank you for your guidance, old general."

"Hahaha!" Wang Jian laughed even more heartily. The more he looked at this young man, the more he admired him. Although he was still young, he was already so wise and humble.

The team temporarily rested at Shangyan Mountain, and Fusu had to go to the village to deal with some matters.

Wang Ben stayed by his old father's side. For some reason tonight, his old father seemed to be dreaming and was laughing in his dream.

The next day, Xianyang City was in sight, and before dawn the team set off for Xianyang.

Wang Jian woke up early and asked, "Master, have you made all the arrangements?"

"Everything is fine here, please mount your horse, old general!"

"Ben'er, put on armor for me!"

The old general, who was originally wearing cloth clothes, put on his armor again and looked ten years younger.

But the old general was really old and needed Wang Ben's help to mount his warhorse.

Tian An came over with a horse and saluted, "Sir, the horse is ready."

The horse was dark all over, and it even had some shiny reflections in the sunlight.

The warhorse looked tall and powerful. Fusu grabbed the reins and jumped on the horse.

The horse just stamped its hooves twice impatiently and then became quiet.

Fusu patted the horse's neck again. This warhorse had been trained and was therefore particularly docile.

Zhang Han said loudly, "Master, everything is ready."

Fusu faced the direction of Xianyang, then looked back to the east. The sun had not yet risen. If they set out at this hour, they could reach Xianyang before noon if everything went smoothly.

"Let's go to Xianyang."

Zhang Han said loudly to Wang Ben in front of him, "The prince has given orders. Move out to Xianyang!"

This was the last stretch of the journey to Xianyang. The team walked very quietly, and pedestrians on the straight road avoided them. The closer they got to Xianyang, the more officials and soldiers there were along the way, and they were maintaining order on the road.

When they were only a few miles away from Xianyang City, the horses stopped running and, under Wang Ben's command, they walked slowly because there were too many people watching on both sides of the road.

Fusu turned around and looked at the King of Chu who was driving the prison cart.

King Chu was named Fu Chu. The name Fu Chu means carrying firewood on one's back. Probably when the name was given, people hoped that the King of Chu could carry the country on his back.

Fusu confirmed again that there were indeed no Chu people coming to rescue prisoners along the way.

Just as he was thinking about it, another person stood by the roadside, holding up a bamboo slip and said, "Sir, this is a letter from the Prime Minister."

Tian An took the bamboo slips and handed them to Fusu.

Wang Jian, who was riding beside him, asked, "What's the matter?"

After reading it, Fusu put away the bamboo slips and replied, "Some Confucian scholars said that I was too harsh on Shang Yanshan's servants."

"Where did this scholar come from? How dare you talk about the young master's servants?"

"Don't be angry, old general. The teacher has already helped me clear up the misunderstanding."

Fusu put the bamboo slips away again.

Wang Jian smiled again and said, "That's very good."

Everyone dismounted and took off their armor in front of Xianyang City, and then a eunuch stood on the city wall and read out the Emperor's decree aloud.

After the decree was read, Prime Minister Li Si walked to the city gate. In just a few steps, he grabbed Wang Jian's hand and said excitedly, "Your Majesty is relieved that the general has returned."

(End of this chapter)