Chronicles of the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 148, Section 147: The Laborers of Lishan
Prince Qian, however, spoke with great conviction:

"If I learn the skills well, why should I worry about people not respecting me?"

"Sister, you've got the priorities backwards."

Princess Wen snorted coldly: "If you didn't have the status of a prince, no matter how capable you are, you wouldn't have the right to order others around."

The two started arguing again as they talked, and Qin Shi listened silently, just to pass the time.

Looking out the car window through the silk gauze, she could vaguely see yellow dust flying around. Her mood for enjoying the wind vanished instantly. At that moment, she took out some parchment paper and a pencil case from the table and started writing and drawing again.

Seeing this, Princess Wen couldn't help but say, "The Qin ruler is far too lenient with his subordinates. Even though this carriage is cramped, there are places for servants to stay in the corners."

"You had him stand aside, and you didn't have to do the writing yourself. Now, it's even worse; no one is even helping to pour him a cup of hot tea..."

She'd been arguing for a long time and was thirsty.

Wang Ziqian casually stretched out his hand; the kettle was still magnetically attached to the shelf beside him. He picked it up and poured the water directly into the cup in front of him.
"That's enough tea, sister. You had time to instruct the servants, and you've already had your fill."

Moreover, the procession was long and constantly moving.

Inside the carriage, everything was fine, but outside, everyone was covered in a layer of yellow dust. If you called people out of the carriages behind, the tea they poured might not even be as clean as it is now.

However, he had no objection to the servants waiting in the corner.

Qin Shi, however, felt it was unnecessary.

Nowadays, people don't ride in a car with three people crammed together in a row, all close together.

Instead, they each have their own identities and their own positions.

Although this carriage is relatively spacious, it is still far inferior to a palanquin, and therefore cannot accommodate a fourth person.

Even Yan Cong knelt at the carriage door.

As for the servants "waiting by," they had been seen in the Qin King's carriage during the Qin Dynasty.

They knelt quietly in the corner, silent and still, their presence barely perceptible. Like candles in the corner, they knelt motionless, not even daring to lift their heads.

Although she was used to serving, the carriage was really cramped now, so why add another person to squeeze into the corner?
Besides, once they reach Pinyang, they will be able to rest, while the others will have to stay alert.

Humans can be used, but they cannot be used without restraint.

Qin Shi shook his head and glanced out of the carriage again: "Young Master Yan, you don't need to wait here for long. If you are thirsty or hungry, please help yourself."

After saying that, he lowered his head and continued writing.

She had carefully inquired about and memorized all the rituals and ceremonies related to the funeral, but a bad pen is worse than a good memory, so it was always good to repeat them a couple more times.

As they were talking, the carriage seemed to slow down.

Qin Shi turned to look and saw a different figure outside the silk gauze carriage window, on the outer edge of the pine trees on both sides of the road.

Moreover, the procession was long and the movement was slow.

She pushed open the car window, and fine yellow dust rushed in.

Along the edges of the pine trees on both sides of the road, on the path worn by people, a row of ordinary people appeared at an unusually close distance.

No, they can't even be called ordinary people.

Because this is completely different from any film or television work, or any artificially imagined portrayal of people at the bottom of society.

They were dressed in hemp clothes and straw sandals, their hair was disheveled, and their faces were dark yellow.

He carried a simple bag on his back, wrapped in a straw mat, and his thin, bare legs were visibly swollen.

Some people tightly wrapped their calves with grass leaves, but the longer they walked, the more swollen their legs became, and deep bruises appeared on them.

As for why cloth wasn't used for wrapping—

Linen also costs money. The saying, "Men's hard work in the fields is insufficient to provide food and provisions, and women's spinning and weaving are insufficient to make curtains," is not just a single record.

Princess Wen also glanced outside, her brows furrowing. "Are these criminals? Why aren't they tattooed with names? And why are they so destitute..."

Qin Shi shook his head: "No, they should be ordinary people."

As for why he was so destitute...

Because of harsh laws and severe punishments, because of countless corvée labor, because of taxes that could crush people—land rent, household tax, poll tax, and miscellaneous taxes.

All of these require payment of money and grain.

If you ask why not earn money if you don't have any, or why not cultivate the land properly if you don't have any food?
Because I have to serve in the military.

The Qin state stipulated that men must begin performing corvée labor at the age of fifteen and continue until the age of sixty.

Now that the King of Qin has unified the world, he has built highways, canals, the Great Wall, palaces, and mausoleums...

The Qin state had a population of only about 20 million, but the number of people serving in the military each year exceeded 2 million. Just like in this army, when there weren't enough able-bodied men, even able-bodied women were used to fill the gaps.

Now, under the scorching heat, hunger, thirst, and exhaustion have left their faces numb and distressed, devoid of any sense of life.

Qin Shi's heart suddenly felt heavy.

She looked them over carefully.

The central section of the imperial road in the Qin state was reserved exclusively for the king; no one else was allowed to trespass upon it.

However, ordinary people are allowed to pass through the extremely narrow area on both sides of the road.

However, the laws were equally strict when walking on it: the law that "those who throw ashes on the road will be tattooed" meant that if you lost something on the road, you would have your face tattooed.

The group of people in front of them found even lifting their feet extremely difficult, and no one could guarantee that something wouldn't fall in a moment of distraction—straw sandals, tattered hemp, broken bowls.

As a result, people would walk along the grassy area at the edge of the road, and over time, this formed a road.

Qin Shi looked over at each one with an extremely serious expression.

Just then, a gaunt man walking along the road suddenly collapsed to the ground.

The people beside him dragged and pulled him up, and then he quickly took two steps to get himself ready again before the soldiers could check, and rejoined the group.

Otherwise, if they were implicated, wouldn't that be an undeserved disaster?
Someone beside them urged, "Hurry, hurry, if we don't reach Lishan tonight, we'll all be punished..."

With a motorcade of dignitaries beside them, the group dared not make a sound.

But this oppressive silence permeated and lingered in Qin Shi's heart.

Even in later generations, even when looking at international news reports about people living in the heart of war, nothing has ever been as bleak and impoverished as this.

They were all emaciated, old, and some were enduring great pain.

There were even one or two women whose breathing was reduced to hoarse gasps...

Those emaciated, skeletal people from the lower classes!
Qin Shi's voice instantly went hoarse; even countless descriptions in writing could not match the shock of seeing it with one's own eyes.

"These are laborers."

Yan Cong bowed and replied, "The construction of the Lishan underground palace is enormous, so there is always a shortage of manpower. This year, we have already recruited three times."

As they were speaking, another young man with a youthful physique knelt down on the ground.

The next moment, nearby soldiers approached, wielding long spears: "Get him up! Go! Go now, or you'll be fighting to the death at Mount Li!"

　This is the reality for ordinary people at the bottom of the Qin state.

　　But the Great Wall could not be left unbuilt, the Qin King could not be left unconstructed at Mount Li, the Lingqu Canal connected the north and south, and the imperial highways facilitated the dissemination of government orders... All of this required human lives to save.

　　(End of this chapter)