Diqin Designer

Chapter 430 Fusu's Competitive Spirit

The First Emperor did not comment on Fusu's words, neither saying they were right nor wrong, but instead asked, "What do you think of Qin's current foreign policy?"

Although the First Emperor did not send Fusu the latest and most timely policy information from the court when he was in the provinces, Fusu still had some understanding of the main policies of the Qin Dynasty through the monthly official reports.

Fusu had also considered this question and knew his father's intention in asking him it. If it were the old Fusu, he might very well have opposed the Qin Dynasty's current foreign policy.
The world has only been unified for a short time, yet Father Emperor has already sent troops to attack the Donghu and Yuezhi. Such disregard for the people's strength makes me fear that the world will be in turmoil. Moreover, our Great Qin is a great power and should have the magnanimity of a great power. We should not conquer such foreign tribes as the Donghu and Yuezhi. We should first show them benevolence and righteousness so that they will appreciate the benevolence of our Great Qin. How can we directly resort to arms?
Doing so would cause Qin to lose its reputation for benevolence and righteousness among the other states, and which foreign tribe would sincerely submit to Qin in the future?
But the burly version of Fusu replied, "In my opinion, it's excellent!"

The First Emperor pressed further, asking, "What's so good about it?"

Fusu said, “The world is vast, and it is not just the Qin Dynasty. There are many other countries and ethnic groups outside of the Qin Dynasty. We used to regard these lands as barbaric and desolate places, but now we know that they are no worse than the Qin Dynasty, and are even better.

"Therefore, if Great Qin does not fight for certain things, they will be taken by other countries. In the future, these countries may use these things to harm Great Qin. Rather than letting other countries obtain them and cause harm to Great Qin in the future, it is better for Great Qin to seize the initiative now and take them to eliminate future troubles!"

Historically, many dynasties in China were limited, not because they lacked technology or military strength, but because they often held the idea that "the outside world is all barbarian land, how can it compare to our Celestial Empire?" They failed to realize that the vast lands outside were no less than the land of China.

Furthermore, some individuals and ideologies intentionally suppressed the country's outward development, causing many dynasties to focus heavily on internal affairs and neglect outward expansion, thus missing out on the Age of Exploration and geographical discoveries.

If the Ming Dynasty had taken a few more steps outward, the Age of Exploration and the Age of Geographical Discovery might have been rewritten. By then, they would have been able to build ships for long voyages, enabling Zheng He to make seven voyages to the Western Ocean.

Because of Li Nian, Fusu now knows that the outside world is vast, with many countries and ethnic groups, and that the conditions in some places are no less than those of the Great Qin, and may even surpass them.

Fusu had simply placed too much trust in Renzhi in the past; he wasn't stupid, so he naturally knew what to do in this situation. Besides, Fusu had changed now.

Upon hearing Fusu's reply, the First Emperor still did not comment on whether his words were right or wrong. Instead, he brought up another matter: "I heard that you brought back many books?"

When the First Emperor asked about this, Fusu replied, "Your Majesty, that is not a book, but rather my experience and insights gained from serving as a Qin official for over a year. I recorded it down to prevent myself from forgetting it."

Upon hearing this, the First Emperor nodded and stopped asking Fusu questions. Instead, he said, "When you left Xianyang, you did not say goodbye to Xi Man and the others. Now go and reunite with them!"

To keep Fusu's transfer to a local post a secret, even his wife and daughters were unaware of his departure from Xianyang.

When the First Emperor mentioned his wife and daughters, Fusu was stunned. It had been almost two years since he had seen them, so how could he not miss them? But due to the agreement between him and his father, he couldn't even send a letter to his wife and daughters.

Fusu immediately bowed to the First Emperor and said, "Your subject takes his leave!"

Inside Yichun Palace, Fusu's wife was doing "women's work" with several palace maids. This was a common skill among women in the Qin Dynasty, namely needlework.

Several people sat around a stove, working in the warmth of the fire. The door was open, both to make the room brighter and because it was said that the coal was poisonous, and if the doors and windows were closed and there was no ventilation, the people inside might be poisoned.

To prevent anyone in the palace from being poisoned, someone would come over every day to remind them, so they naturally didn't dare to be careless and kept the door open even when using the stove for warmth.

Suddenly, the group of people who were concentrating on their work felt that the light seemed to have dimmed, as if someone was blocking the light.

The group quickly looked in the direction where the light had dimmed and saw a man standing at the door, his body blocking some of the light.

The man had dark skin, a strong physique, a unkempt beard, and wore coarse cloth clothes. He was clearly a rough and uncultured man who was often exposed to the elements. He was either a farmer, a laborer, or a craftsman... in any case, he was not a prince or nobleman.

When did the palace have such a roughneck? And why is this person in Yichun Palace?

A palace maid immediately stood up and demanded of the man, "Who are you? Do you know where you are?"

The palace maid didn't think too much about how a commoner could appear in the Qin Imperial Palace so easily. If a commoner could just wander into the palace so casually, then the security of the Qin Imperial Palace would definitely be in serious trouble.

Fusu originally wanted to give his wife and daughter a surprise, so he deliberately didn't let the guards report it. However, he didn't expect that instead of giving her a surprise, he was questioned by a palace maid. The emotions he had been cultivating about the long-awaited reunion were all ruined by the maid's question.

Fusu took a deep breath, looked at the palace maid, and smiled, "You must be Xiao Tao?"

Hearing the man call her name, the palace maid's eyes widened. Did this rough man know her?
But she doesn't seem to recognize this person?

After taking a few more glances, the palace maid named "Xiao Tao" felt that this person looked somewhat familiar, as if she had seen him somewhere before, but she couldn't quite place him.

Seeing that this person seemed to recognize her, the palace maid Xiao Tao softened her tone slightly and looked at the man with a puzzled expression, asking, "You know me? Who exactly are you...?"

Just as the palace maid Xiao Tao was about to ask further questions, Fusu's wife Xi Man stood up from her seat, her expression excited: "You are... my husband?"

Upon hearing what Fusu's wife said, several palace maids were dumbfounded, especially Xiao Tao, who wondered if this burly, dark-skinned man was their young master.

If these words hadn't come from the lady herself, they would have vehemently rebuked the speaker for talking nonsense, saying that their young master didn't look like that at all, that he was so dark-skinned and rough-looking.
Their son is His Majesty's eldest son, of noble birth, with a refined and elegant demeanor, fair skin, handsome features, and a tall and well-proportioned figure. He wouldn't be so muscular, nor would he wear such coarse cloth clothes.

But the lady is the young master's wife, so she shouldn't be mistaken. Besides, they also felt that the man looked familiar, and now that the lady said he was the young master, the more they looked, the more they felt that he was the young master.

Could this rough-looking man really be their young master?

The change was too drastic; the once gentle and refined young nobleman had now become a rough man like a common laborer.

Where has the young master been all this time? And why has he become like this?

Fusu nodded and said, "It's me, I'm back!"

Fusu's wife rushed over immediately, cupping his face in her hands and examining him closely. Fusu allowed her to look at him. After a moment, the two embraced tightly. Fusu patted his wife's back and whispered, "I'm back!"

Several palace maids also turned around at this moment. If this person was not Prince Fusu, then he would never have come to Yichun Palace. Moreover, the lady had personally confirmed that this person was indeed their prince.

Although they were still curious about why Prince Fusu had become like this, the palace maids dared not be negligent and quickly bowed to Fusu, saying, "Greetings, Prince!"

The palace maid Xiao Tao was frightened. She had actually questioned her young master just now. Given the original young master's temperament, he would not have punished her, but it was hard to say about this dark and muscular version of the young master.

The palace maid Xiaotao took the initiative to apologize, saying, "This servant was unaware of the young master's return and spoke rudely. Please punish me, young master!"

Upon hearing Xiao Tao's words, Fu Su's wife separated from Fu Su's embrace and said to him, "Xiao Tao was worried that a villain might break into the palace, so she questioned him just now. Please don't be angry, husband!"

Fusu smiled and said, "I know she meant well, so how could I blame her? In fact, I should thank them. They were the ones who stayed with you and your daughter while I was away."

Upon hearing the mention of "mother and daughter," Fusu remembered that his daughter seemed to be missing, so he asked, "Where is Qile? Why isn't she here?"

As the eldest son of the First Emperor, Fusu was already married. The wife originally betrothed to Fusu was from the royal family of Chu. However, as Qin sought to unify the world, the conflict with Chu deepened, and the First Emperor deposed her.

The First Emperor also wanted to choose women from the families of important officials such as Li Si and Wang Jian to marry Fusu. However, considering that he already had great favor with Li Si, and that Wang Jian and his son were cunning and powerful, especially Wang Jian, who was the number one general of Qin, it would be easy for Fusu to send a bad signal if he married a woman from their family. If problems arose later, it would be difficult to deal with. Therefore, the First Emperor gave up on this idea.

Ultimately, the First Emperor chose a woman from a middle-class noble family in the Qin Dynasty for Fusu. The two married and had a daughter named "Qile".

Xi Man said, "Qi Le has been sent to the Six Heroes Academy and hasn't finished her studies yet. The Six Heroes Academy has now set up a special college to teach young children, and Qi Le is studying there as well."

Fusu paused for a moment and sighed, "It seems I've missed a lot in the past year. Qile started school for the first time, but I, as her father, wasn't there."

Xi Man said, "Qi Le will be overjoyed if she knows that her husband has returned. She often talks about him!"

The two chatted for a few more minutes, and then Fusu and Ximan sat down in the palace. Ximan asked Xiaotao and other palace maids to prepare tea for Fusu.

Upon hearing about the tea, Fusu asked curiously, "I've heard of this tea in other places. It's said to have been made by my brother-in-law, but I've never tasted it. Is it really as wonderful as the rumors say?"

Xi Man said, "It was indeed made by my brother-in-law. Whenever new tea is made, he sends a portion to Yichun Palace. During the time my husband is away, he has taken good care of Yichun Palace, especially Qile, whom he is quite fond of. However, Shunying has not yet married into the palace, so he can only be considered a prospective brother-in-law!"

Fusu nodded upon hearing this, noting it down in his mind, and said with a smile, "It's only a matter of time before Shunying marries him. It's said that her husband thinks Shunying is too young to get married, which is why the two haven't married yet."

Xi Man steered the conversation back on track, saying, "The tea my brother-in-law made does indeed have a unique and wonderful flavor, but it varies from person to person. If you don't like the taste, you won't find it delicious. You'll know once you've tasted it, my husband!"

Fusu laughed and said, "Then I must taste it carefully and see if this tea is as wonderful as the rumors say."

At this moment, Xi Man spoke in a voice only Fusu, who was sitting beside her, could hear: "For over a year, my husband has been missing without a trace. We all thought he had been..."

Before he finished speaking, Fusu already understood his meaning. It was perfectly normal for him to have disappeared for more than a year, and to believe that he had been secretly imprisoned or executed by his father. Otherwise, how could one explain the sudden disappearance of the eldest son of the empire, who had vanished without a trace?
Some people might be pleased by his disappearance, after all, he was the eldest son of the empire, and among all the sons, he was the most likely to become the crown prince. His disappearance would just eliminate one of the biggest threats.

Some people, such as his wife and daughters, would worry about his disappearance. And for families like theirs, his disappearance would bring not only worry but also fear.

Because he's gone, who knows how others will treat them, mother and daughter, once they take over?
Fusu took Xi Man's hand and gently comforted her, "Don't worry, it's all over now, I'm back!"

Fusu understood that the bet between him and his father was still a test from his father, and that his father's willingness to test him meant that he had not given up on him as the eldest son and was willing to give him a chance.

Although the Emperor did not give a direct evaluation during his conversation with him today, it was already good that he did not give an evaluation, because in the past, when he submitted memorials to offer advice, he would be severely reprimanded by the Emperor.

During this question and answer session, his father did not reprimand him. Although he did not say whether he was right or wrong, this attitude of not making a judgment already indicated that his answer to his father was satisfactory!

Among all the princes, he remains the eldest son whom the emperor favors the most, and he is still the most likely to become the crown prince of Qin.

Although he had previously wanted to compete for the position of crown prince, he also had the idea that he could accept whichever of his brothers his father ultimately chose as crown prince.

But now, he has changed his mind. It would be best if the position of Crown Prince of Qin remained in his hands. Only by becoming the Crown Prince of Qin, and then further becoming the ruler of Qin, could he put his ideas into practice. Only by reaching that position could he protect the people he values.

That's the lesson I learned in that godforsaken place: one must strive. If you think that if you don't strive, others will let you off the hook, you're just daydreaming.

"This must also be one of the reasons why Father deliberately prevented me from telling Xi Man and the others where I went, so that they would know how worried and fearful they were when I returned. Father wanted me to understand that if I fail to accomplish my goal, I won't even be able to protect my wife and daughters!"

Fusu was confident that, compared to his other brothers, the Qin Dynasty could be governed better under his rule. Only by taking the throne could he inherit the foundation of the Qin Dynasty, make it stronger, and set a good precedent for the future.

Whether for the country or for his family, he will fight hard this time!
Fusu asked, "While I was away, did anyone bully you?"

Xi Man always felt that her husband who had returned this time was very different from her previous husbands, both in appearance and temperament. Asking this question now clearly showed that he wanted to know who had bullied them and then take revenge. Her previous husbands would not have done this.

Xi Man said, "When my husband was away, my father, Shunying and my brother-in-law took great care of us, and no one dared to bully us."

Fusu looked at Xi Man and asked again, "Is it really not true? If someone has bullied you, you must tell me. How can my wife and daughters be humiliated by others?"

(End of this chapter)