The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 131 Survive First
These days, Zhang Cang will stay in Weinan to build the Weinan camp.

Sima Xin was also kept behind to help Zhang Cang manage things here.

At that moment, Shusun Tong, the prefectural assistant of Weinan County, was at the village entrance, distributing documents to the scholars who were about to leave Guanzhong.

Chen Ping followed a group of people to Shusun Tong. He took the document handed to him and asked, "Can I go to Longxi now?"

Shusun Tong stroked his beard and said, "What? You don't want to go?"

Noticing the expressions on the faces of those around him, Chen Ping quickly added, "I'm willing."

He dared not say he was unwilling, especially in the face of the gazes of those around him, people who were all willing to die for Prince Fusu.

After receiving the documents, Chen Ping left with the group of people.

After finishing his business, Shusun Tong returned to the village.

The village was bustling with activity. As Zhang Cang had arranged, three huge workshops were to be built here: one for forging weapons, another for weaving clothes, and the third for various woodworking projects.

Although the village was in a flurry of activity, with the manpower of hundreds of thousands of people in Weinan, everyone felt that there was nothing they couldn't accomplish.

This year, a group of children around ten years old were taking shelter from the summer heat in the underground canal. In previous years, Shusun Tong would also enter the cool underground canal, sit with these children, and sometimes tell them stories.

The young master left many books in Jingye County. I heard that those books were sent from Gaoquan Palace in Xianyang by the young master.

From the stories of the Qin people to various interesting anecdotes, Prince Fusu always managed to tell the stories of the various states in a very interesting way.

When the prince returned from his eastern tour, he probably went to the former territory of the Yue Kingdom and heard the story of Fuchai and King Goujian of Yue.

Later, the prince wrote the story of King Goujian of Yue.

In the past, Shusun Tong had heard of the deeds of King Goujian of Yue, but he had never heard of a story about King Goujian written so movingly as the prince has written.

In Shusun Tong's understanding, Fuchai was not as arrogant as the prince described, and whether Goujian truly endured hardship and humiliation was unknown.

But whether it's true or false doesn't matter; as long as the story is moving enough, it will resonate in everyone's heart.

Shusun Tong met Sima Xin again. He had discussed Sima Xin with Zhang Han when Weinan Commandery was first established.

It is quite normal for the prefect and his ministers to discuss a county magistrate within their own territory.

Shusun Tong felt that Sima Xin was indeed a loyal person to the Qin Dynasty, and he was also an official from the Qin people. Everyone has flaws, and Sima Xin's flaw was that he was too serious about his work. Such a person would be very tired, and those who worked under him would also be very tired.

In Sima Xin's eyes, one is one and two is two, which makes him prone to offending people.

Fortunately, he was a county magistrate. If he were an official in Xianyang, he probably wouldn't be as comfortable in Weinan. Thinking about it this way, Shusun Tong felt that Sima Xin should continue to stay in Weinan.

Weinan Prefecture also built several large canteens, and most of the grain was transported there.

The canteen is still under construction, but many people are already eating there. Once families no longer need to cook for themselves, people will not need to spend time cooking, thus improving production efficiency.

Shusun Tong sat down in front of Sima Xin and ate a bowl of noodles.

Sima Xin ate a pancake and drank a bowl of mutton soup.

Uncle Sun asked, "Eating so late?"

Sima Xin sighed, "Young master, you've built the Weinan camp but haven't stationed any troops there. If the war ends, will these workshops and this large canteen remain idle?"

Before Shusun Tong could speak, Sima Xin muttered to himself with some worry, "It can also be used as a warehouse."

Shusun Tong took a bite of noodles and said, "We can build large workshops in the future."

"A large workshop?"

“It’s a large workshop where hundreds or even thousands of people work together.” Shusun Tong sighed, “Weinan has so little land, yet it supports so many people. It’s fine for a year or two, but the population will only continue to grow.”

Sima Xin nodded.

Given the size of the counties in Guanzhong, Weinan's population does indeed face such a predicament.

Shusun Tong swallowed the noodles in his mouth and said, "The people of Weinan will have a hard time in the future, but it should also be the richest prefecture."

At this point, Shusun Tong said with some melancholy, "Let's see about it later."

The construction of Weinan is entirely decided by Prince Fusu. Whatever the prince says Weinan will become, that's what Weinan will become. Currently, all the weaving and construction in Weinan is for military use, and Weinan is being transformed in this way.

The following day, autumn rain began to fall in Guanzhong. Chen Ping followed a group of people across Xianyang Bridge and headed west.

Even on rainy days, the market west of Xianyang Bridge remains bustling with activity.

The only person Chen Ping could rely on was the young man beside him, whose name was Ju.

Ju is the name for a ruler. Ju is only seventeen years old and is Qingbi's second son, the second oldest in the family.

Chen Ping leaned closer and said, "If you hadn't wanted to teach and had followed your father as a craftsman, you wouldn't have to go to Longxi like you are now."

Ju replied, “The eldest son can help Father at home. Father said that we should let our children explore different paths. My younger brother will join the army in the future. In this way, our family will have a craftsman, a teacher, and a soldier. This will be better.”

The autumn rain wasn't heavy; wearing a straw hat was enough to keep out the rain.

Chen Ping finally understood what he meant. Back in Tongguan, Chen Ping, with his skill in making friends, had befriended the three sons of Qingbi, a master craftsman in Tongguan.

Judging from what Ju said, it seems that Qingbi intends for his family to grow stronger.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have arranged things for his sons this way.

Chen Ping lowered his head, feeling dejected. He could only accept his fate now; the difference between being a commoner and an official was like heaven and earth.

Ju then asked, "Didn't you want to become an official?"

Chen Ping nodded.

"How's your study of Qin law going lately?"

"I've memorized them all."

To become an official in Qin, one had to first learn Qin law. Only those who were well-versed in the law could become officials; this was a condition for Qin to employ officials.

Ju then said, "Since you want to become an official, why not go to the army?"

Chen Ping replied, "My family is from Wuyang County, not Guanzhong. Guanzhong sent reinforcements to the north but not to Wuyang County. Alas... During the war, I was just a child but I had already seen corpses everywhere. Our Wuyang County doesn't have that many people."

Ju added, "There weren't this many people in Guanzhong before." Shouts came from ahead, indicating that the troop had stopped, and a group of Qin soldiers led the group to a post station to rest.

Ju explained, "This is Xingping County. When Prince Fusu first took office as the Vice Minister of the Imperial Household Department, he oversaw the construction of Fufeng, Wugong, and Xingping counties. In order to provide places for the troops to rest along the way, these post stations were built. We can rest along the post stations as we travel west from here."

As they spoke, the group followed one by one into the inn.

After everyone sat down, they ate their dry rations, and the inn's cook served each of them a bowl of hot porridge.

While drinking the porridge and eating the pancakes, Chen Ping noticed that many people around him ate very quickly, and then lay down to rest after they finished eating.

After Ju finished eating, he also lay down on the hay.

Before long, the air was filled with snoring.

It was still raining outside, and the rain was getting heavier as night fell. Chen Ping was only thinking about how to survive, and how to survive better.

He was no longer as poor as before. After marrying Zhang Fu's daughter, Chen Pingyuan thought he was living a better life and that a wealthy life was coming, and that he would be able to make more friends with famous people.

But now, upon further reflection, Chen Ping realized that no matter how wealthy his family was, it wouldn't matter given his current situation.

Moreover, Zhang Fu hoped that his son-in-law could gain a foothold in Guanzhong. If he couldn't gain a foothold in Guanzhong, Zhang Fu would cut off all his money, and he would return to a life of poverty.

Isn't this marriage arranged because Zhang Fu saw that I, Chen Ping, am good at talking and thought that I, Chen Ping, could achieve great things in the future?

Ultimately, Zhang Fu was only acting in his own self-interest.

Chen Ping suddenly smiled contemptuously. He had long seen through Zhang Fu's true colors, but he hadn't said anything.

"If I, Chen Ping, ever achieve anything, I will first leave Zhang Fu's daughter behind," Chen Ping thought to himself.

The next day, after daybreak, the group continued their journey. Chen Ping walked along the official road and saw deep ruts left by the army transporting troops and supplies. Since Prime Minister Li Si implemented the standardization of cart tracks, all carts used the same tracks. As a result, the wheels of the carts would get stuck in the ruts on the road, and the horses would head west at high speed.

Chen Ping once again felt the great wisdom of Prime Minister Li Si, and he thought to himself.

Ju said in a low voice, "Once we leave Xianyang Bridge, there aren't many people to the west."

Chen Ping withdrew his gaze and continued walking forward.

Just as Ju said, Chen Ping discovered that after leaving Fufeng County, he had entered the territory of Chencang County, which was indeed very desolate and sparsely populated.

Listening to the hushed discussion, Chen Ping heard them say that they would reach the Longxi region in two more days.

As everyone sat on the ground to rest, Chen Ping opened his bundle, thankful that he had brought an extra piece of clothing; otherwise, he would have been freezing in Longxi after autumn.

Suddenly, a rider on horseback entered the post station; the rider was a Qin cavalryman dressed in full armor.

As soon as this person arrived, someone handed him hot soup and bread, and even mutton.

This Qin cavalryman was treated exceptionally well. Even the cook had to wait by his side while he ate. The inn was very quiet, and you could even hear the Qin soldier chewing his food.

Chen Ping then saw the Qin army general who was escorting him step forward to ask him questions.

One was a Qin army soldier from the northwest, and the other was a general heading to the northwest. After listening to their conversation for a while, everyone heard some remarkable news.

General Meng Tian led his elite cavalry to attack the Xiongnu cavalry in the Beihe River. In this battle, he killed more than 2,000 Xiongnu, captured 5,000 warhorses, and seized countless livestock and sheep. He also set a fire that destroyed the Xiongnu's fodder.

After the Qin cavalryman finished speaking and had eaten his fill, he continued his journey, mounted his horse, and galloped towards Xianyang City, traveling day and night.

Ju asked, "Is this a great victory?"

Chen Ping nodded and said, "Of course it was a great victory."

"How can we achieve a great victory?" someone else asked, getting closer.

Chen Ping had some schooling in his youth. Although his family was poor, he had made many friends over the years and was quite knowledgeable.

He only needed to think about the location of Beihe for a moment to understand how brilliant General Meng Tian's surprise attack on Beihe was.

The so-called North River is the north bank of the Yellow River, which was the Yunzhong Commandery of the Zhao State in the past, now Jiuyuan County of Yunzhong Commandery, which the Xiongnu people called Bayannur.

It is both a water source and a granary.

Chen Ping sat by the oil lamp, picked up a few pebbles, and whispered to Ju and the others around him about the current situation.

"Autumn came so early to Guanzhong this year, it must be even colder in the north. Meng Tian seized this place and burned the Xiongnu's grain supplies, just to make the Xiongnu suffer from hunger and cold. Do you know how important Jiuyuan in Yunzhong Commandery is?"

Several people shook their heads. Under the dim light of the oil lamp, the young scholars looked on with curiosity, and even showed an expression of admiration as Chen Ping recounted his story. It was as if, in their imagination, they were also participating in this great battle, following Chen Ping's words.

Chen Ping continued, “Yunzhong County is adjacent to the Hetao region. General Meng Tian’s surprise attack was just to prepare for the great battle in the rear. Now that the Xiongnu’s granaries have been burned, the Xiongnu who are entrenched in Jiuyuan have no choice but to retreat. Otherwise, General Meng Tian could have let these Xiongnu starve to death. In this way, Yunzhong County will be vacated.”

At this point, Chen Ping said in a low voice, "Once winter comes this year, neither General Meng Tian nor the Xiongnu will send troops. When spring comes next year, General Meng Tian and the Xiongnu will definitely have a great battle."

After he finished speaking, everyone's expressions became clear.

With just a few words, Chen Ping became the most knowledgeable person in the eyes of these people, and he thoroughly enjoyed the admiring looks he received from those around him.

Most of these people are children who grew up in Guanzhong, and they have never seen what the outside world is like.

Tonight, Chen Ping was also given an extra pancake by the Qin army.

Even the generals of the Qin army felt that Chen Ping's words made a lot of sense.

Chen Ping, who had eaten an extra pancake at night, was also in a dilemma. He used to mingle in the old lands of Qi, Lu and Han and was quite well-known, but he had never been to Longxi. He didn't know what Longxi was like, or whether he was going to follow Li You to fight against the Western Rong people or the Xiongnu people.

People die when there's a war. He came to Guanzhong only to teach and make more friends so he could have a better life as an official in the future.

The autumn rain lasted for five days before stopping, so the group could only rest for two hours each day, spending the rest of the time traveling.

When Chen Ping finally entered the territory of Longxi and met the Prime Minister's son, Li You, he felt much more at ease.

Chen Ping has met Li Shiwei.

Along the way, Chen Ping rose to become the leader of this group of teachers, which he felt was only natural given his intelligence.

Chen Ping added, "They are all like me, here in Longxi to teach."

As he spoke, Chen Ping maintained his aristocratic demeanor, bowing meticulously and even tidying his hair and beard. Who was Li You? He was the person closest to Prince Fusu, a peer whom the prince trusted implicitly.

If he could befriend such a person, Chen Ping might be able to meet Prince Fusu, but first he needed to survive this war in which the Xiongnu invaded the north.

(End of this chapter)