The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 149 "Bargaining"

Ying Zheng asked, "He said he wanted to improve the soil and increase income in the Weibei region, and to build canals in the three counties of Jingyang, Sanyuan, and Gaoling. What is the name of that canal?"

"It's called Baiqu."

"Let's go back to the northern suburbs."

After speaking, Ying Zheng closed his eyes again, listening to the commotion outside the carriage and the generals' commands.

The convoy changed direction and headed towards the northern suburbs.

Just as the caravan was about to move on, another rider hurried up, handing over a bundle and bowing, saying, "Reporting to Grand Commandant Wang, these are books made in Weinan, presented to the Emperor by Prince Fusu."

Wang Ben took the bundle and came to the Emperor's carriage, saying, "Your Majesty, these are the books presented by the young master."

"Send it in."

The bundle was placed into the emperor's carriage. Wang Ben was about to continue leading the entourage to the detached palace in the northern suburbs when he heard the emperor's voice coming from inside the carriage.

"Go to Weinan."

"Yes."

Zhang Cang invented paper in Weinan. He thought his work here was over and he could relax for half a year or a year. But he didn't expect that the young master's second big project was about to begin. The young master was going to dig canals again.

The prince is skilled in water management, and he will continue to use his expertise to govern the country. This is Shusun Tong's assessment.

Looking back now, what Shusun Tong said ten years ago was very true.

Zhang Cang believes that the longer you live, the clearer you see things.

Just as Zhang Cang was about to leave Weinan County with Qingbi and head to Weibei with many craftsmen to participate in the next national project, the emperor arrived in Weinan.

Shusun Tong led the people of Jingye County to welcome the emperor. The emperor, escorted by the Qin army, entered the workshops of Jingye County and, apart from summoning Zhang Cang, did not summon anyone else.

As night fell, the emperor left Jingye County again.

After the emperor's carriage left, Shusun Tong followed Zhang Cang and asked, "What did the emperor ask?"

Zhang Cang said with a worried look, "I've said everything I needed to say."

Shusun Tongdao: "What needs to be said, naturally must be said."

"I should go to Weibei."

After leaving those words, Zhang Cang led Qingbi and a hundred craftsmen away from Weinan.

Upon hearing that the emperor had arrived in Jingye County, Sima Xin immediately rode his horse from Tongguan to Shangyan Mountain. By the time he arrived, it was already night, and the emperor had already left.

Shusun Tong watched Zhang Cang walk away and said, "It's good to be young. When you're young, you're willing to risk your life. I'm getting old after all."

Sima Xin said, "The young master's new canal will connect to Liyang."

"Isn't this good?" Shusun Tong retorted.

"Of course it's good; the fields in Liyang are becoming more barren year by year."

Shusun Tong said, "I hope that the young master's canal repair will proceed smoothly this time as well."

Sima Xin nodded, looking towards Xianyang. Before the canal was built, no one knew whether it would be good or bad. Only when the canal was completed and crops were actually grown in the fields would the people who benefited from it remember Prince Fusu.

The following day, when the Qin laws written on paper were presented to Li Si, the prime minister examined the paper for a long time. These thin sheets of paper were inscribed with characters, and these characters read as the Qin laws. This was the first book written on paper in the Qin Dynasty, and this book was called the Qin Laws.

Upon seeing the words "Qin Laws," Li Si walked to the front of Zhangtai Palace with tears in his eyes.

The emperor returned to Zhangtai Palace, and the first person he summoned was Prince Fusu.

Fusu walked to the front of the main hall and saw his teacher, whose eyes were still a little red.

Li Si said, "Please go first, young master."

Fusu entered the main hall first, and Li Si also took off his shoes and entered the hall.

Inside the main hall, Ying Zheng was flipping through the scroll when he saw Fusu and Li Si enter. He said in a deep voice, "Zhang Cang said that this kind of paper can be made into thousands of feet a day."

The paper mills in Jingye County were large-scale and used the water power of the Jingye Canal, but Fusu was not satisfied with the current scale.

"Father, the papermaking workshop in the future will be a large workshop that can accommodate thousands of people, and the paper produced will be more than a thousand feet long."

Ying Zheng asked, "I remember that when we were on the Northern Expedition, you built Weinan into a major camp for manufacturing armor and weapons for the army."

“Father, after the war ends, the camp can be converted into a papermaking workshop. It’s just changing the use of the workshop.”

For a long time, people seemed to have forgotten that Jingye County had once built workshops.

Who is Prince Fusu? He is the man who can turn the barren land of Weinan into fertile soil.

Given sufficient manpower and resources, this young master will always be able to accomplish great things that benefit the country.

He seems to be a natural-born builder.

Talent is talent precisely because it is something that is innate and that others do not possess.

Even people in Guanzhong were inquiring about what Prince Fusu ate to grow up, so they would give their own children more of it.

"Father, I have another matter to ask of you."

Ying Zheng flipped through the Qin law scroll, which was exactly as written, and asked, "What are you requesting?"

Fusu said, "The Great Qin has always valued farming. I ask that Your Majesty grant permission to the paper mills in Jingye County so that the people there can work in the paper mills during the busy farming season."

"Alright." Li Si noticed that the emperor seemed to agree without much thought.

Then the First Emperor asked about the matter north of the Wei River. Li Si answered all his questions, but when Fusu said that 200,000 households would be relocated to the north of the Wei River, he was so frightened that he almost bit his tongue.

He thought the relocation of people to the border region was already a big deal, but who knew that this young master would propose relocating 200,000 households to the north of the Wei River.

What does 200,000 households mean? That would be 500,000 people.

You have to understand how small the population of Guanzhong is now. Even if you moved all the counties along the Xiaohan Road, you still wouldn't be able to gather 500,000 people.

"Your Majesty, I still need to relocate 100,000 households to the Hexi Corridor."

Li Si asked, "How should we relocate the people?"

“Those who migrate to the Hexi Corridor will be granted fifty mu of land per household, and those who migrate to Weibei will be granted thirty mu of land per household.” After saying this, Fusu handed over a scroll and said, “Father, I have had Cheng Miao measure the land, and Zhang Han has also measured the land in the Hexi Corridor. It has all been recorded. Please have Father and Teacher review it.”

When the prince said he wanted to relocate 200,000 households, Li Si was about to reluctantly agree. But when the prince said he would relocate another 100,000 households, Li Si found it hard to agree even if he had to force himself to.

Fusu continued, “Father, Teacher, whether it is building the Hexi Corridor or the Baiqu Canal, we need labor. The quotas for corvée labor in Guanzhong counties have been exhausted after the Northern Expedition. I can only come up with this policy of relocating people to exchange for labor.”

Li Si's expression was complicated; he was still hesitating whether to agree or not, paying particular attention to the First Emperor's expression.

There is always a compromise. Li Si felt that relocating so many people at once was unrealistic, so he said, "Young master, how about relocating 10,000 households first?"

Fusu said, “Each of the 10,000 households contributes three strong laborers, which is no more than 60,000 laborers. The Bai Canal is longer than the Zheng Guo Canal. When the Zheng Guo Canal was dug, 60% of the laborers were conscripted for corvée labor, of which 30% were prisoners of war from the six countries, and another 10% were convicts. There were 200 surrendered soldiers from the Korean state who worked on the waterworks, and 500 imperial censors and legal officials, totaling 160,000 laborers.”

"The teacher's claim of 10,000 households is simply not enough to dig a canal."

Li Si then said, "Thirty thousand households."

Fusu replied, "Fifty thousand households."

Li Si first observed the emperor's expression, and seeing that the emperor's expression had relaxed slightly, he said, "Alright, fifty thousand households."

After leaving Zhangtai Palace, Li Si negotiated a price of 50,000 households with the young master. For some reason, Li Si felt that he should agree to the young master's offer immediately.

Even if we emptied the entire population of Luoyang and Qi, so what?
As long as Guanzhong becomes strong, there is no need to fear the resurgence of people from the former territories of the six states.

I feel that the young master's strategy is correct.

Under the moonlight, the young master walked in front of him, and Li Si turned back to look at the brightly lit Zhangtai Palace.

Wherever the emperor was, the place was always brightly lit.

The emperor once said that Prince Fusu was a child who was not afraid of the dark.

The moment he opened his mouth, he proposed relocating hundreds of thousands of households. It's not that the young master isn't afraid of the dark; the young master is a fearless person.

Back at home, Li Si suffered from insomnia again. He repeatedly looked at the paper filled with Qin laws, thinking that governing a country required fearlessness.

How ambitious Li Si was when he proposed standardizing writing and cart axles!

Li Si felt that the young master now had more spirit than he had when he was young.

The night wind blew through Xianyang City, blowing the paper around. A roll of paper was rolled up by the wind, and then page after page was turned in the wind.

The emperor has already performed the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai, and the northern expedition has been a great success. Meng Tian now holds significant military power in the north.

Li Si drank his wine and gazed at the night sky for a long time without saying a word.

After the First Emperor returned to Xianyang, Prince Fusu continued to preside over state affairs as usual, and the prince had become the First Emperor's best assistant.

Just as the Baiqu Canal was about to begin construction, it was still the height of summer in Guanzhong. Fusu walked on the barren land, scorched by the sun, to personally come and see the construction of Xianyang City.

The laborers provided by each county entered the fortifications in teams.

Zhang Cang used the same management methods that Zhang Han had previously employed to manage these laborers.

Zhang Han knew how to improve production efficiency. Without strict discipline, there can be no high efficiency; focusing on production without focusing on discipline will result in no efficiency.

Therefore, Zhang Han's management style was based on military law.

Fusu could only visit Xianyang where the construction had begun before returning to the city.

When Zhang Cang saw the young master off, he understood that the young master could no longer live by the Xianyang Bridge when it was being built, or by the river when it was being built.

The young master is now concerned with the nation's development and cannot leave Xianyang for too long.

The young master can only stay here for half a day before returning to Xianyang.

From the Lesser Fullness of Grain to the Summer Solstice, the twenty-four solar terms divide the year into twelve months, and this new calendar was sent to the Chu region.

Along with it came a scroll of letters.

The letter was posted as a notice on the city wall of Kuaiji Commandery. Xiang Yu was studying there when Xiang Liang, who was away from home, and several former nobles from Chu came to the city gate to read the letter that Prince Fusu had sent to them.

Prince Fusu and Prime Minister Li Si issued an order to send teachers to support education in rural areas. However, the Prime Minister and the people of Chu in Kuaiji County drove away the Qin teachers who were sent to support education in rural areas.

Xiang Liang looked at the letter on the city wall.

Someone asked, "Was this letter really written by Prince Fusu?"

Xiang Liang looked at the scroll, but his face showed difficulty. The contents of the scroll were the prince's self-reflection, but this self-reflection was not that the prince felt he had done wrong, but rather that Prince Fusu wanted to do better.

The people of Chu refused the order to send teachers to support the country because Qin's rule over the world was still in its infancy. Fusu reflected on this and realized that he should devote himself to governing the country and live up to the expectations of the people of Chu...

In other words, your refusal is the greatest motivation for Prince Fusu to govern the country.

(End of this chapter)