Chronicles of the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 105, Section 104: Dwelling in China
The Rites of Zhou states: "The earth is the center where heaven and earth meet, where the four seasons intersect, where wind and rain converge, and where yin and yang harmonize; therefore, all things prosper and live in peace, and thus a kingdom is established."

The Lüshi Chunqiu states: "The ancient kings chose the center of the world to establish their country, the center of the country to build their palace, and the center of the palace to build their temple."

Although the "Lüshi Chunqiu" no longer exists, the Zhou rites remain of paramount importance.

The idea that "the center of heaven and earth is where a nation is established" is deeply rooted in the hearts of all rulers.

Only in this way can one demonstrate that they are ordained by Heaven to govern the world and that their rule is legitimate.

The Zhou Dynasty was like this, and so was the Qin Dynasty.

This "Center" refers not only to Luoyang under Ji Heng's rule, but also to Luoyang in later generations, and even more so to the ancient empire he conquered.

But now...

Qin Shi looked at the world map on his phone.

Enveloped by the vast ocean, landmasses are connected piece by piece, and China, where she is located, accounts for only about 6.4% of the world's land area, which is not particularly remarkable.

The Qin state today has a territory of less than three million square kilometers, which is only about one-third of the territory of later China.

No matter how ambitious Ji Heng was, he could not tell his subjects that the great Qin Dynasty was located in the center of the world.

For an authoritarian ruler, any risk of wavering in his ruling ideology is unforgivable.

Therefore, this world map may only be shown to Ji Heng in this lifetime.

Anyone who can understand it will surely face—

No mercy.

It's actually quite good that someone with black eyes can't read.

Because he was literate, no matter how capable he was, he would not live past the day after the painting was completed.

As long as one is illiterate and his freedom is restricted, he can barely survive if he is useful.

Nowadays, the lives of people at the bottom of society are nothing more than survival. Freedom is too elusive and unattainable for them, so he naturally wants to seize this opportunity.

Coincidentally, Qin Shi's phone also contained many things that he needed to sketch with just a glance.

...

Looking at these cramped, tense, and bewildered criminals from the bottom of society, even though she now knew to suppress her pity, she still couldn't help but sigh.

If such a talent were placed in later generations and were given the opportunity to read and write, who knows how many earth-shattering things he could accomplish, and he might even be recruited by the state.

Now, he doesn't hide his abilities, yet no one cares.

He was still a convict who worked as a laborer.

She has been in Xianyang for less than half a month and has not even received any paper yet. How long will it take before she can persuade Ji Heng to select officials and recruit talents?

Qin Shi felt only that the task was arduous and the road ahead was long.

……

Hei Mu truly cannot read.

He was born to a singing girl from the State of Chu, and his biological father is unknown.

However, once this talent was discovered in his childhood, he was taken to a nobleman's mansion and subjected to incomprehensible and tedious lectures every day.

After his country fell, he was hastily sent to the Qin state.

Just then, the Qin army was escorting convicts to the Ironworks. When they reached Neishi County, they were suddenly caught in a sandstorm that swept across the land, making it impossible to distinguish people from animals.

Taking advantage of this golden opportunity, someone murdered the son of a convict who resembled him.

They had been secretly observing for a long time. The person close to this criminal had died suddenly from illness two days earlier. All he needed to do was change into tattered burlap and let his hair down to cover his face, and naturally no one would notice.

He was illiterate, and no one taught him to read.

Some people have weighed the options, but they have no shortage of literate people from Chu, and they will always reveal their weaknesses, which is particularly bad.

Therefore, he was sent out exactly as he was.

Hei Mu naturally didn't understand any grand principles; he only knew that Chu was his homeland, and that his purpose in this life was to live among the Qin people.

If necessary, I will serve the restoration of the nation.

Am I wronged? No.

Because his current life is no different from his previous life as the son of a courtesan in the State of Chu. Does he want revenge? No.

His life really didn't change much.

His ability to remember things was also not valued by anyone; he was just treated as a toy, and he did whatever the nobles told him to do.

As the son of a courtesan, he often used this method to win a smile from a nobleman and then receive a reward.

As a descendant of a convict, all he could do in this ironworks was to memorize as many details as possible so that he could report them to anyone who contacted him in the future.

If no one contacts him, he just needs to live his own life.

Now that he has been brought back by Qin Shi by a twist of fate, he is not flustered, because he still has to remember those things.

He simply does what the important person says, regardless of which country the important person is from.

But... what is this thing in front of me?

He was led to a side hall, where soldiers surrounded him and maids stood guard at the side of the nobleman.

He was ordered not to kneel, but only to memorize the picture and draw it.

This small board is covered with brightly colored line drawings and strange little characters that are definitely not Qin seal script.

Although the treasure is extremely small, it can clearly display all the lines in it!

So much so that after a quick glance, he couldn't help but look at it a couple more times.

The nobleman personally held the treasure in front of him and asked softly, "Would you like to see more?"

Hei Mu cautiously glanced at the nobleman.

The other person had gentle features, fair skin, and a face that wasn't thin at all. He had never seen such a distinguished person in his life—even when distinguished people came to the Ironworks, they were usually not noblewomen.

And Consort Qin's eyes... are so soft.

It was like the warm, sun-drenched waters of the Wei River at sunset in spring. There was a hint of pity in it, and the smile was exceptionally genuine, as if he were truly asking for his opinion.

—That's so strange.

Hei Mu felt strange all over.

He had never met such a kind and approachable person.

The nobleman, seeing that he did not answer, was not displeased, but simply asked again in a gentle voice:
"Do you want to watch it again?"

Black Eyes shook his head.

With his skill, looking at him once or looking at him ten times makes no difference.

However, the other person placed two fingers on the object and gently stretched it outwards.

And the picture on the treasure was instantly magnified!
He was immediately horrified, instinctively looked up, and took two steps back!
However, the nobleman did not punish him, but only sighed as well:
"Don't be afraid. As long as you copy them one by one, I will do my best to protect you from death in front of the king."

"Now, is there anything you want?"

Black eyes shifted uneasily.

Although he didn't understand anything, he knew that talking about restoring a kingdom nowadays would mean execution.

The nobleman had previously said he would bestow gold ingots upon him, but he had never seen a gold ingot in his life, not even a single Qin Banliang coin…

He hesitated for a long time, looking flustered.

The other party did not urge them, but continued to zoom in and display the picture while waiting.

After a long while, until the entire picture had been enlarged and displayed, he took a deep breath and dared to make his request:
"I, I want to eat meat..."

The nobleman was taken aback, then smiled sheepishly: "It was my fault for not eating meat porridge, I forgot about your situation... But you haven't eaten any oily food before, so eating meat all of a sudden might cause you diarrhea."

She said as if she were consulting with someone: "Therefore, we will only eat a little meat later, along with steamed egg custard and millet porridge."

"Is this good?"

These are things I've never heard of before.

My vision blurred, and I felt saliva welling up in my mouth and my stomach rumbling like a drum.

The inscription on the He Zun reads: "When the king first established his rule, he resided in Chengzhou. He received the king's rites and blessings from Heaven. On the day of Bingxu in the fourth month, the king proclaimed to the young princes in the capital chamber, saying: 'In the past, your father, the Duke, conquered King Wen, and King Wen received this mandate. When King Wu conquered the great city of Shang, he reported to Heaven in court, saying: I will reside in this central land and govern the people from here. Alas! You, though young and ignorant, have made meritorious contributions to the Duke and have received the mandate from Heaven. Respectfully enjoy it!' The king's virtue is abundant with Heaven, and he instructs me, though I am not clever. The king proclaimed this. He bestowed thirty strings of cowrie shells to be used as a precious vessel for the Duke of Yu. This was in the fifth year of the king's reign."
-
The inscription roughly translates as follows: In the fourth month of the fifth year of King Cheng's reign, the Zhou king began constructing the capital city of Chengzhou and performed a grand sacrifice to King Wu. On the day of Bingxu, the Zhou king addressed He, a young member of the royal clan, in the main hall of the capital palace. He recounted how He's ancestor, Gongshi, followed King Wen, who received the mandate of Heaven to rule the world. After King Wu destroyed the Shang dynasty, he offered sacrifices to Heaven, establishing this place as the center of the world to govern the people. The Zhou king rewarded He with 30 strings of cowrie shells, and He thus commissioned the creation of a bronze vessel as a memorial.