The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 31: Questions That Lead to Nothing
Fusu accompanied Gao outside the house and watched him get on the carriage and return under the escort of a group of soldiers. He frowned and asked, "Does Gao live in Shangyan Mountain?"

Tian An replied, "Young Master Gao lives in the palace. He studies in Shangyan Mountain during the day and returns to the palace at night."

Watching the carriage go farther and farther away, Fusu glanced at the riverbed, where the croaking of frogs could be heard one after another.

The next morning, as soon as the sun came out, the scorching heat hit us. Jianlu was leading his team, pulling cartloads of wood to the river.

Fusu stood by the river and saw the laborers holding small wooden hammers in their hands and hammering on the wooden boards of the bridge.

They used mortise and tenon joints to fix the wooden boards. Although it cannot be said to be a perfect fit, it is very strong.

In addition to facilitating the passage of troops and horses and the transportation of food and fodder, the Xianyang Bridge was designed to be 37 feet wide, enough to accommodate five war horses passing side by side.

It spans both sides of the Xiwei River and is 1,200 feet long.

This bridge is the largest bridge on both sides of the Wei River so far.

The Qin Dynasty unified the world, so naturally it adopted a fearless attitude. When building bridges, it was necessary to use the best wood at the most critical location to build the most beautiful bridge.

Fusu was very satisfied with Jianlu's design. Although he only named it Xianyang Bridge, in later generations, it was originally called Xianyang Bridge. How could he not be happy?

In his spare time, Fusu would read the military reports sent by Zhang Han. As the general in charge of the construction of the Shangyanshan Canal, he was as diligent as ever, reporting every day on every detail and the progress of digging the canals and shafts.

Daqin is still a very classical business environment. Even now, most people still trade with goods, and grain is the most trustworthy trading tool.

Fusu watched the laborers working diligently on the bridge surface. In three months, a beautiful Xianyang Bridge would be born in their hands.

The laborers held up wooden hammers in their hands and hammered again and again. As the sun got higher and the temperature got higher, beads of sweat the size of beans dripped onto the newly repaired bridge surface.

Fusu saw a stingy man running towards Zhang Cang. When he got close, he hurriedly said, "Reporting to the workshop, several people came forward and refused to tie the safety ropes."

The construction requirements were set by Prince Fusu. Everyone who went up the bridge to lay the deck had to tie a thick hemp rope around their waist to ensure safety.

It is now the flood season of the Wei River. The river is so wide that once you fall into it, it will be too late to rescue you.

Hearing this, Zhang Cang said sternly, "Bring those people out and confiscate a day's wages as a fine."

The miser ran away quickly to give orders.

The position of the Sefu has always been a relatively grassroots link in the national political system, and in the Qin Dynasty, which is undergoing centralized rule, the Sefu still plays a very important role. The Sefu of a county usually knows the population distribution of a place, the number of young people, and the elderly.

Among the stewards, there were those who mobilized the laborers, those who managed the horses, or those who looked after the families who owned weapons in the counties and pavilions.

In this way, if something happens, or someone dies, even if there is a private fight, these misers can inform the government at the first time.

Generally speaking, these misers do most of the work related to construction and labor.

They are also the practitioners of the Qin Fa Zhongjiang concept of "using law as teaching and officials as teachers".

Fusu stood by and watched his teacher Zhang Cang give instructions to the miser.

Therefore, those who did not wear safety ropes were fined one day's food.

Fusu felt the various troubles people encountered in the process of implementing Qin law, and these troubles were resolved one by one under Zhang Cang's orderly arrangement.

Originally, Zhang Cang was the Imperial Censor of the Qin Dynasty and was a man of great talent. It was really a waste of his talent to use him to manage a fortification with hundreds of people.

In the evening, thunderstorms came again. As the thunderstorms came, the water flow of the Wei River became more and more turbulent, and the water level became higher and higher.

Being by the bridge is boring most of the time.

Fusu heard that Gao Zhen persuaded Shusun Tong to allow Gao to attend classes with the children of the servants and live in Shangyan Mountain.

Originally, I wanted my younger brother to be independent as soon as possible. He is indeed very sensible and does very well.

The only interesting thing was that Wang Ben would occasionally bring a group of beauties with him, and everyone could listen to the sound of stringed instruments, drink wine, eat meat and watch the beauties dance.

Fusu remembered that when he was watching the beauty dancing and drinking that day, his teacher Zhang Cang once said that Mao Heng loved beautiful women and fine wine the most.

But now Mao Heng can only eat cakes and teach in Shangyan Mountain. He probably can't see beautiful women or drink good wine.

After August, Wang Ben did not come to see the construction of Xianyang Bridge again. It might be that there were more important things to deal with in the court. I heard that this matter was related to the south.

Fusu could only let Tian An find out some fragmentary information, and he did not know the full picture of the matter.

When the fun is gone, people are tired of this long summer and hope that this long and hot summer can end soon.

Bridge construction is a task that requires great patience. It cannot be completed overnight and can only be built step by step with down-to-earth efforts.

Fusu thought of Meng Tian, ​​who was still building the Great Wall in the north. He probably had the same idea.

Fusu sat alone under the eaves, fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan and reading a book. When he heard the sound of a wooden hammer hitting the wooden board on the bridge, he felt at ease.

This shows that the laborers are working hard. You can even listen to the frequency of the sound of hammers to confirm whether they are more diligent or lazy today.

The sweat of the laborers soaked the newly smoothed bridge surface. Someone stepped on a wooden board soaked in sweat, slipped, and fell to one side.

One side of the bridge was not paved and he fell off.

When Fusu heard the scream, he took his eyes off the book in his hand and looked up. He saw a man hanging under the bridge, very close to the water surface. The thick hemp rope around his waist saved his life.

Then, one after another, misers walked towards the bridge.

The person hanging under the bridge was pulled back to the bridge little by little. Fusu withdrew his gaze and continued to read the book in his hand.

Jianlu came hurriedly to report, "Sir, the person has been pulled up, he's fine."

Fusu ordered: "Security must be strict."

"I accept your order."

Tian An was in the back, washing celery for the young master and preparing today's meal. He whispered, "Young master, General Zhang Han sent someone to say that the mulberry trees at the foot of the mountain are growing very well. From now on, these mulberry trees will be planted by the river. The mulberries they produce are black and sweet."

Hearing this, Fusu nodded, changed a scroll of bamboo slips and continued reading.

When the knocking sounds on the bridge stopped, the laborers finally finished their half-day work. They gathered in groups of three or four and left the bridge.

A dangerous incident that happened today became a hot topic among the civilians.

Fusu was still looking at the book in his hand. This book came from Lüshi Chunqiu, which was brought from the library among Lü Buwei's inheritance. It contained many theories of various schools of thought, and the one he was reading at the moment was agronomy.

In Lüshi Chunqiu, there is also a detailed description of farming. The Ren Di and Bian Tu chapters record the crops on the land of various countries.

Among them were records of Shu, the granary, and the black soil of Liaodong. Fusu read them while picking up the brush beside him and carefully recording them.

With the intention of doing what he read, Fusu opened up a field by the river and planted a kind of millet. This kind of millet can be sown in June and harvested in October.

Fusu came to the edge of the field he had opened up, holding a book in one hand, and looked at the millet he had planted despite the scorching sun.

This kind of millet is also a light yellow millet. It was found in Hexi in the west. This kind of millet usually grows in river valleys.

Fusu crushed the millet husk and got a grain of millet. The grain of rice was very small, smaller than the millet in Guanzhong.

Although the harvest was not good, Fusu was not discouraged.

Food has always been the foundation of a country, which can be seen from the period of wars among various nations. It is recorded in Lüshi Chunqiu that Guan Zhong advocated enriching the country and strengthening the army, and by making great efforts in food, he could annex small countries one by one. Guan Zhong's words and deeds were also the main propositions of the Legalist school of Qi State.

In fact, the Legalists in the world were not limited to the Qin State. The Legalist school existed as early as the Shang Yang period and was scattered among various countries.

By late August in Guanzhong, counties across the country had begun to harvest grain.

Zhang Cang sent the able-bodied laborers back, leaving behind dozens of elderly people who still had the strength to continue repairing the bridge.

As for the rest of the matters, this prince of Qin would not have to worry about it. Fusu felt that he did not need to participate in the rest of the matters at all, and Zhang Cang would implement the construction specifications he formulated very well.

When he had free time, Fusu had the leisure to study crops. He studied it for more than a month, but apart from planting some millet, he gained nothing. It was indeed nothing.

Because there are not many grain seeds to be found in Guanzhong.

Tian An saw the young master sitting by the river, his expression full of disappointment and frustration. He stepped forward and said, "Young master, Nanjun is going to build a highway."

Fusu nodded slightly and ignored it.

Tian An stood aside and said no more.

Most of the laborers had left at once, which made Zhang Cang's burden much lighter. He sat on the bridge and looked at the article he had written last night.

The young master once heard that during the periods of war among nations, the population sometimes decreased sharply, but the land always remained the same. If all the arable land in the world were divided equally, each person would get at least a certain number of acres of land.

Zhang Cang remembered his answer to the prince at that time. His original answer was that the land could not be divided equally. First of all, the land belonged to the king, then to the princes, then to the literati, and finally to the common people.

Therefore, equal distribution of land is impossible.

After that, the prince asked another question using the county system as a condition, which led to the prince's subsequent question, which was how many people the county system and the feudal system could each support.

The Qin Dynasty annexed the six kingdoms and obtained their wealth and land, and eliminated so many kings and princes, causing the monarchs of various countries to lose their land. After implementing the county system, could it support a larger population than during the period of feudal division?

Zhang Cang wrote an article and made a brief question and answer.

After thinking it over again and again, Zhang Cang put down the bamboo slips in his hand. He always felt that many conditions were missing, such as how to farm, how to divide the land tax, and how to divide the land.

A big problem often leads to many small problems.

Zhang Cang has been thinking about the question raised by the young master for half a year since last year.

Half a year has passed, and Zhang Cang still hasn't received a satisfactory answer.

Looking further into the distance, Zhang Cang saw the young master holding a stalk of wheat and observing it.

By September in Guanzhong, the laborers had returned one after another, and the construction of the Xianyang Bridge was finally about to resume. The main structure of the bridge had been completed, and the remaining work was all delicate work on the bridge, which required fewer people than before.

As the director of the workshop, Zhang Cang was able to mobilize craftsmen, and he brought a team of craftsmen from the palace to the Xianyang Bridge.

Fusu found that he had grown taller and the clothes he wore last year were a little short for him.

Tian An looked at it and said, "Let the palace make new clothes."

Fusu didn't care. The clothes were loose to begin with, so they didn't restrict him at all. He stepped forward and asked, "Teacher, how is the court?"

Zhang Cang smiled and replied, "Everything is fine at court, and Guanzhong has a bumper harvest this year."

Fusu said, "That's great! With a good harvest this year, we can finally breathe a sigh of relief."

Zhang Cang hesitated and said, "I did hear something."

Seeing that his teacher looked unhappy, Fusu asked, "What's the matter?"

"Baiyue."

Zhang Cang said two words briefly, and Fusu fell silent.

Zhang Cang further explained, "During the court meeting today, there was discussion among the government and the public about whether to launch a southern expedition against the Baiyue. I only heard about it."

Fusu said: "The court and the public will probably continue to discuss this."

Zhang Cang nodded. "Sir, the Xiongnu are harassing the border in the north, and the south is actually not stable. The Prime Minister is still promoting the unified writing system. At this time, there is endless discussion in the court and the public. Some people say that we can take 500,000 criminals from the six kingdoms and send them to the southern border to garrison and cultivate the land."

Looking at the situation ahead, Fusu said, "Let's hurry up and build the bridge."

Zhang Cang bowed and said, "I obey your command."

Shang Yanshan, the current Shusun Tong has changed his Confucian scholar dress when he first came to Qin State. He now speaks with a thick Guanzhong accent. After the harvest this year, the granaries in various counties are very sufficient.

Especially when he saw the Shang Yanshan warehouse full of grain, Shusun Tong laughed so hard that tears came out.

The canal has been dug for nearly a hundred miles and irrigated hundreds of hectares of farmland. Only a small part of the work has been completed, but it has turned large tracts of dry land into fertile fields.

Shusun Tong has been here for a year. During this year, he has witnessed people working to dig canals and witnessed the wasteland becoming fertile fields. He is really happy at this moment.

Li You dug vertical shafts here for a year, and he participated in the digging of fifteen vertical shafts along the canal.

Li You was wearing coarse linen clothes and sitting barefoot on the side. He was dark all over and had calluses on his palms. He was talking to an old man with a smile.

As he was speaking, a court official hurried over, found Li You and said loudly, "The Prime Minister asks the schoolmaster to go home."

Hearing this, Li You straightened his clothes and said, "I thought my father had forgotten me."

When the official saw Li You stand up, he subconsciously took a step back. He suddenly felt that Li You had grown a lot taller, and even his demeanor when speaking was different from before.

Li You dusted himself off and returned to Xianyang under the official's surprised gaze.

(End of this chapter)