The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 151 The Great Relocation Plan
“When I sent the document, I wrote down this idea. I also said that if we had a fleet of ships at sea to transport armored soldiers, we could even control the Chu region from Langya County. If there is any change in the Chu region, our Langya fleet can go south and attack the Chu region from the sea. Last month, Prince Fusu sent me a document, instructing me not to rush this matter.”

Lang drank the local special wine. The wine in Langya was somewhat similar to that in Chu, but not as strong as the wine in Guanzhong.

But this rice wine is easy to get drunk on. After drinking a small bowl, Lang was unwilling to drink more. Instead, he ate the grilled fish. This kind of anchovy was still Xu Fu's favorite snack to accompany his wine.

After drinking the wine, Xu Fu asked, "How long do you plan to stay this time before returning?"

Lang patted the bundle he was carrying and said, "I want to stay here for a few years. I brought a lot of books with me and will continue to teach here."

Upon hearing this, Xu Fu laughed and said, "That's great. You'll have to help me a lot with governing Langya County."

Lang did not refuse.

The next day, Xu Fu and Lang went to see the shipyard built at the mouth of the Yellow River. The Qin people had a characteristic in their actions: no matter what they built, they had to build it big enough. Therefore, the ships here were also like this. The pointed-bottomed ships could draw a lot of water and were very stable at sea.

Xu Fu explained, "We built twenty such large ships, each capable of carrying a thousand armored soldiers."

Were these armored soldiers transported to the Chu region to fight?

As long as Chu does not wage war, Langya's ships will not sail south.

But if Chu dares to raise an army, Langya's fleet will definitely attack the rebels' rear immediately.

On his way to the Yue people's beach, he heard Xu Fu tell him that the old chieftain of the Yue people had passed away a year ago. The old chieftain told his people to trust Prince Fusu, because they, the Yue people, had no other hope but to trust Prince Fusu, who kept his promises.

In the Great Qin Dynasty, having such a prince who always keeps his word and does what he says certainly attracts many people to pledge their loyalty.

In fact, anyone would be willing to serve such a person, and if such a prince were to become the next emperor, even more people would be willing to pledge their loyalty.

Lang walked alone to the seaside, and on the edge of the cliff, he met a girl who was waiting there.

When the girl saw Lang, she smiled brightly and said, "You're really back!"

Lang said, "Yes, I am a disciple of Prince Fusu, and I will definitely keep my promise."

Her smile grew even brighter as she said, "You are now a centurion in the Qin army, no longer the schoolteacher you once were."

“I’m here to marry you, and I’m also going to introduce you to my family. This has nothing to do with whether I’m a centurion or not.”

The girl suppressed a laugh, turned her back to the man, and faced the sea, standing in the sunlight. But she couldn't hide the smile on her face.

Half a month later, Lang married the girl here and continued to teach here.

Xu Fu stood on Langya Terrace, looking at the document sent from Xianyang. This document was written on a thin piece of silk. According to the description in the document, this thing was paper. This thing was easy to carry, and in the future, there would be books written on paper that would spread throughout the world.

For Qin, books were very important. Only with a unified written language could government decrees be effectively implemented, and only with the wider the circulation of books could the country become more stable.

In the document, Xu Fu saw that Prince Fusu was going to expand the scale of the education support program, and that a large-scale migration of people was going to begin in the Qi region this year.

This should be a migration of hundreds of thousands of people. All the residents who were moved to Guanzhong had to be poor. After the migrants entered Guanzhong, they were able to be allocated land.

After seeing the scroll, Xu Fu went to Qi Commandery and met with the commandery governor.

This matter was originally none of Xu Fu's business, and there was no reason for him to relocate the people of Langya County.

This migration mainly targeted the Qi and Lu regions, and Xu Fu felt it necessary to observe how the prefect of Qi implemented it.

Relocation is a major event, and this time it is on a very large scale.

When Zhou Qingchen arrived in Qi, he watched as the Qin army led groups of people to Guanzhong. He then spoke with several Qin soldiers.

Kong stepped forward and said, "Sir."

Kong Sui was the son of Kong Fu and was a well-known figure among the famous officials of Lu and Qi.

"Did the Qin people bring these people to Guanzhong to build palaces?"

Zhou Qingchen replied, "Build canals and cultivate fields."

Kong Sui asked, "Last time, 200,000 people were brought into Guanzhong after the canal was dug. How many people will be needed this time?"

Zhou Qingchen added, "The 200,000 people who migrated to Guanzhong back then still live in Weinan. No one wants to leave, and they are all doing very well."

Why are you helping the Qin army, sir?

Kong Sui frowned, voicing his doubts and confusion.

After the First Emperor performed the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai, he ordered the demolition of the shrines in Qi and forcibly replaced them with Qin law. Prince Fusu even followed the twenty-four solar terms calendar.

Whether it was the First Emperor or Prince Fusu, they both wanted to suppress the original customs of Qi and Lu and implement everything there according to Qin law.

According to Kong Sui, after Ying Zheng performed the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai, the prominent figures of Qi and Lu, including the old nobles of Chu, became even more hostile towards Qin. Furthermore, after Chunyu's death, more and more people in various regions wanted to rebel against Qin. Zhou Qingchen was a scholar who, along with Chunyu, was summoned to Qin by the First Emperor.

Now that Mr. Chunyu has passed away, instead of helping the people of Qi and Lu, he is helping the Qin army.

This was what puzzled Kong Sui. He looked at the Qin soldiers warily and asked in a low voice, "Sir?"

Zhou Qingchen said, "I am not working for Qin. I am just doing what I want to do. A child told me that if Qin is acting for the sake of the people, then I am also acting for the sake of the people. So it is the same for me to help the Qin army."

Kong Sui was speechless for a moment. Zhou Qingchen seemed like a completely different person after returning from Qin.

Zhou Qingchen looked at Kong Sui, who was about the same age as him, and said, "Your Kong family only has a few children left now. Live well and stay away from those people."

Upon hearing the other party's advice, Kong Sui countered, "Does the gentleman intend to abandon the alliance he made with Master Chunyu and the renowned scholars of Qi and Lu?"

I originally intended to give the other person some advice, but they instead asked me a question in return.

"What alliance? Is it to rebel against Qin?"

"Sir, there's no need for you to ask further questions."

Zhou Qingchen patted him on the shoulder, gave him a look that told him to take care of himself, and then headed towards the prefectural governor's mansion in Qi.

Kong Sui quickly followed, heading towards the prefectural governor's residence.

At the prefectural governor's residence, Zhou Qingchen met Xu Fu. Xu Fu recognized Zhou Qingchen and greeted him with a smile.

Upon returning to Qi, Zhou Qingchen heard about Xu Fu and the two began to talk, ignoring Kong Sui who was following behind.

Xu Fu said, "Among the scholars from Qi and Lu who went to Qin at that time, only you, sir, guarded the Great Wall in the north for several years."

Zhou Qingchen smiled and nodded. He also knew about Xu Fu's experiences. These things were not hard to find out. They were not very noticeable in Guanzhong, but many people in Qi knew about them.

Upon entering the prefectural governor's residence, the group encountered the prefect of Qi, who looked rather troubled, as well as several county magistrates who also appeared distressed.

"How many laborers and how many people were conscripted to build the Great Wall? It's only been a few years, and now we have to relocate so many people again."

I don't know who it was, but someone complained first.

"Back then, Prince Fusu almost completely relocated many poor people from the Xiaohan Road and the former Han and Wei territories in order to build the Jingye Canal. I heard that this time, 20,000 poor households from the former Han and Wei territories were relocated to Qin. The population of each county was almost emptied. These were people who brought their families with them. 100,000 people were moved away in just a few days."

Listening to these people's words, Xu Fu realized that this was indeed a huge project. This time, the poor people of Qi and Lu would also have to be relocated. According to the rules for this relocation, poor people with less than two mu of farmland or only two mu of farmland would be relocated first, followed by those with less than three mu, less than five mu, and so on.

The prefect looked at the crowd and said, "Originally, according to the Prime Minister's intention..."

Upon hearing that it was the Prime Minister's decision, the twenty-six county magistrates present all perked up.

The prefect said to everyone with deep concern, "The prime minister wanted to relocate people according to their numbers, but then I heard that he changed his mind and wanted to divide the poor according to their land area. The original plan of 50,000 households now seems to be insufficient even to 100,000 households."

Another county magistrate said, "I heard that this is because Prince Fusu wants to repair the canal again."

"Why do they build canals in Qin every year? Where do they get so many canals to build?"

“We also have so much dry land in Qi and Wei, why don’t you come here to build canals?”

"Perhaps, in a few years, Prince Fusu will build a canal right up to your doorstep."

The water management and canal construction in Guanzhong seem endless. This time, the prefect came to inform the county magistrates, not to discuss matters with them. The elderly prefect instructed, "You all do as the prime minister instructs. If I find out that you have done something wrong, don't blame me for being impolite."

After everyone had left, when Xu Fu and Zhou Qingchen were about to depart, the prefect deliberately kept them behind.

The governor of Qi was also surnamed Tian, ​​but he was not one of the old nobles of Qi like Tian Rong.

The prefect smiled and said, "Gentlemen, I heard that another document has been sent from Xianyang?"

Xu Fu replied, "Indeed, a document has been sent, stating that Langya County will not participate in the relocation of people."

The old prefect said, "Of course. Langya County is an important place built by Prince Fusu. Magistrate Xu can tell me if he needs anything."

He then looked at Zhou Qingchen and said, "Sir, you are still Dr. Qin. I hope you can give me some guidance on this relocation."

The prefect was very polite to Xu Fu and Zhou Qingchen. There was nothing he could do about it; these two were people who could directly pass messages to Prince Fusu and were worth winning over.

Xu Fu knew that this prefect loved the people. He flattered Prince Fusu and Prime Minister Li Si in order to protect the people of Qi. In order to capture the three Tian Rong brothers who had rebelled against Qin, this prefect was still kept very close by the officials of various counties.

After autumn arrived, the harvest was over in all parts of the Central Plains. Every day, groups of people entered the Qin territory along the main road from Mount Tai to the old Han territory, all the way west to the Xiaohan Ancient Road and into Hangu Pass.

(End of this chapter)