The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 146 Beginning of Summer
Maodun looked at his elderly father and said to the people behind him, "Bring the fine wine from the Western Regions."

Touman was even happier to see his son had brought him fine wine.

The father and son went into the tent, where they drank wine and ate stewed mutton.

Maodun looked at his father, who was already drunk, and asked, "Where are those people?"

"A person?" Touman mumbled in confusion.

"The chieftains of those tribes."

Upon hearing this, Tou Man, whose face was already flushed from drinking, suddenly smiled and said, "Let's go back."

Will they still listen to you?

"Yes!" Touman stared straight ahead and said, "They will all listen to the Great Chanyu."

Maodun chuckled and poured his father another glass of wine.

But Touman didn't get a sip; instead, he got drunk.

The cow dung was burning in the stove, making the tent relatively warm. Maodun drank his wine while looking at Touman, who had already passed out drunk on the wool mat.

For some reason, looking at his father who had once tried to kill him, Maodun suddenly smiled bitterly.

Previously, Maodun did not know why Touman would sell him to the Yuezhi people and then kill him.

Later, Maodun learned that Touman had taken a fancy to another woman and wanted to make his child with another woman the next Chanyu.

Touman got a good night's sleep, while Maodun sat beside him, deep in thought.

During this time, some of his own men came to inquire, but Maodun dismissed them all.

Now, Maodun kept thinking about how hundreds of thousands of Xiongnu cavalry could have been defeated. Was the Qin army really incapable of winning?
As dawn broke outside, Maodun, who hadn't slept all night, kept thinking about how he had lost the battle.

The sun had already risen, but Touman Chanyu was still asleep. Maodun walked outside the tent, thinking about the war in the north. Touman had once gathered the tribes of the grasslands to attack the Great Wall, but they had lost.

In fact, Meng Tian's forces were not large; the Qin army only mobilized 50,000 men, while the various tribes of the grasslands at that time had a combined force of at least 200,000.

Standing by the shore of Beihai Lake, Maodun realized something: all the soldiers in the Qin army listened to Meng Tian alone, while Touman, who had gathered various tribes, was just a group of people who only knew how to drink and eat sheep.

Maodun saw Touman come out of the tent again and thought to himself, "I must not live like this father."

With his son by his side, Touman became even more proud and gave a box of jewels to the only son who was willing to come and see him.

In fact, Touman Chanyu had long lost all prestige. Ever since he fled to the North Sea, the old Chanyu had been abandoned by all the tribes.

As night fell, snow began to fall again in Beihai, and the father and son were about to go hunting together.

Seeing that his father had summoned some cavalry from somewhere, Maodun didn't care about these Xiongnu people who had come at his father's invitation.

Snowflakes from Beihai kept hitting him. Modu, riding on horseback, said to his father beside him, "Father, let's seek revenge on the Qin army together!"

Touman shouted, "We can't defeat the Qin army!"

Upon hearing this, Maodun slowed his warhorse down, but suddenly picked up the longbow at his waist, drew the bow, and released an arrow into the distance.

The arrow made a sharp whistling sound as it cut through the air.

This is Maodun's signal arrow.

Upon hearing the sound of arrows, the Xiongnu cavalrymen who had been lying in ambush all around came down from the high slopes in the distance.

Several more arrows whistled towards them and landed on the ground in front of them. One of the Xiongnu warriors next to Touman was pierced in the throat by an arrow and fell to the ground.

Touman remained seated on his horse, watching his son Maodun, who was moving slowly behind him. The thought of Maodun's cruel acts in the Western Regions that he had heard about made him increasingly panicked.

"This son has come to kill me," Touman thought with utter terror.

All around, Xiongnu cavalrymen fell one after another. Suddenly, the whistling of arrows came from behind. Touman felt a sharp pain in his back. When he turned around, he saw Maodun holding a bow, about to fire another arrow.

Another arrow was released, this time piercing the warhorse's lower abdomen.

In Modu's calm yet ruthless gaze, the warhorse resembled his father, old and fat.

Finally, his warhorse collapsed to the ground. He struggled to his feet, his hair and beard disheveled, and looked back at his son. He tried to stand up and run back despite the pain in his back, but found that the cavalry had already surrounded him.

Seeing his disheveled father, Maodun dismounted and said, "Father, do you still remember how you harmed me back then?"

Touman took two steps back, but then fell and sat down on the ground.

Maodun, leading his warhorse, looked at the old man and said, "At that time, I was very afraid of dying at the hands of the Yuezhi people. I stole this warhorse from the Yuezhi and rode it all the way from the Qilian Mountains to my father's royal court, but my father still wanted to drive me away."

Touman saw the warhorse beside Modu, which was breathing hot air and looking down at him.

“I am your father…” Touman said slowly.

“Yes, my father, your actions have taught me how to be a son.” Maodun took the golden crown and arrows of the Chanyu, nocked them, and rose up. He continued, “Foolish father, only after you die can I seize the position of Great Chanyu. It is because you are my father that I let you drink a cup of wine before you die.”

Having said that, he released an arrow, which pierced Touman's throat.

Watching his father slowly die, Modu took all the gold jewelry from his father's body, including his Great Chanyu crown, until the old Chanyu truly died.

Modu dragged his father's body back and had a Xiongnu woman by the North Sea bury him. A few days later, news spread across the steppes that Touman, the Great Chanyu, had died. Modu led his cavalry through the various tribes of the steppes, killing Touman's other sons and using the promise of pastureland to win over the hearts of the people.

Half a month later, Maodun had a valiant cavalry force of more than 10,000 men by his side.

This news was quickly delivered to Meng Tian, ​​who was stationed at the camp at the foot of Helan Mountain.

Meng Tian hesitated and asked, "What kind of person is Maodun?"

The soldiers who had just returned from their reconnaissance reported: "General, Maodun's actions are different from Touman Chanyu's. Although Maodun only has 10,000 cavalrymen, they are all very brave and are selected from among the best. Maodun has visited the tribes that were allied with Touman Chanyu in the past."

Meng Tian ate his mutton and listened quietly.

"Modu killed all the tribes that refused to submit, wiping out more than ten tribes in total."

While listening to the soldiers' stories, Meng Tian also looked at the military report in his hand. This Maodun was the son of Touman Chanyu, but his style was the opposite of Touman Chanyu's. He visited several tribes in succession, and those who were willing to submit submitted, while those who were unwilling to submit were killed.

Maodun was not afraid of a sharp decline in the population of the grasslands; he was only afraid that there were too many people living on the grasslands.
"General, it is said that Modu rose to power in the Western Regions and had a considerable number of troops there."

Upon seeing the name Maodun, Meng Tian immediately wrote a military report and sent it to Xianyang.

In May, Guanzhong is already hot just as summer begins, and it will definitely get even hotter in June or July.

Inside Gaoquan Palace, Wang Tang'er served a bowl of pomegranate juice to the young master.

The pomegranate juice was pressed by Grandma Wang, who was drinking it from another bowl herself.

Fusu sat in front of the Gaoquan Palace, drinking pomegranate juice and reading the military report sent by Meng Tian. In the end, Maodun killed Touman Chanyu.

He turned to look at his son, who was fast asleep inside the hall.

Tian An smiled and said, "Children grow the fastest at this time of year."

Previously, Tian An had watched Prince Fusu grow up. Now, Tian An was looking at the young prince, who looked exactly like Prince Fusu when he was a child.

Originally, the Emperor should have returned to Xianyang to preside over state affairs long ago, but after the agricultural ceremony, the Emperor stayed in the northern suburbs until the Prime Minister and Right Prime Minister Feng Quji returned.

My father is still in the detached palace in the northern suburbs, which is a good place to escape the summer heat.

Fusu has been handling many state affairs over the past six months.

Around noon, Fusu stayed with his wife and children until the afternoon sun was no longer so intense before he left.

This year, a new canal was built in Guanzhong. The canal is located on the Feng River, which is actually the site where the emperor later built Kunming Pool.

The Qin Dynasty did not build Kunming Pool, and Fusu did not devote too much manpower to building a large reservoir.

The lower reaches of the Feng River are chronically short of water, and their water source depends on a small canal. The river is cut off for as many as 180 days a year due to drought.

Fusu left Xianyang Palace in a carriage and headed towards the Feng River.

The driver was Tian An, and the guard was Cheng Miao.

Originally, it should have been Wang Ben who escorted them, but as the general guarding Xianyang, Wang Ben could not leave his post without authorization.

Wang Ben then ordered Cheng Miao to lead troops to escort the prince.

The group continued until they reached the Feng River, where the canals had been repaired and the river was flowing.

The young master of the Guanzhong construction project personally investigated all of them.

Fusu and Cheng Miao walked along the canal, which connected to the Cao Canal and then branched off to the Hao Pond.

Before the Qin Dynasty built Chang'an, the city was not yet built, and the Haochi Pond was not connected to the Weiyang Palace. There was only a canal that flowed all the way to the Shanglin Garden.

Furthermore, a pool was dug in the center of the canal to store water.

When Fusu saw an old farmer carrying water to irrigate his fields, he led Cheng Miao forward.

"How is your family, sir?"

The old man sized up the distinguished young man before him, the officials beside him, and the officials standing behind him. He quickly bowed and said, "Old General Hangu Pass garrison commander, greetings..."

Fusu stopped the old man who was about to bow. There were too many old Qin soldiers in Guanzhong. At least seven out of ten old men were old Qin soldiers from back then.

"The Imperial Household Department ordered you to dig the canal, so I've come to take a look."

Old Ju replied, "Yes, this canal is well dug. I thought they would only think about Weinan and not about us."

Fusu asked, "Did you think that way before?"

"You must be officials from Xianyang," the old man asked.

"We are imperial censors, here to investigate," Cheng Miao replied, handing over his official badge.

Old Ju said, "Everyone in Guanzhong knows that Prince Fusu dug the Jingye Canal. Several counties in Guanzhong are following the lead of Weinan and doing things for Weinan, all to curry favor with the prince. It's a pity that those poor counties in Guanzhong are still so poor."

“We know that Prince Fusu is wise and capable. He built Tongguan and Weinan, which shows his great ability. Even if he doesn’t help us, we will not complain.”

(End of this chapter)