The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 152 The Xiaohan Road in Autumn and Winter (One chapter added for now, another chapter to be added tomorrow)
Almost every day, you could hear the children crying or laughing, as well as the cries of separation. Family members saw them off all the way to Hangu Pass.

Zhang Liang stood on the ancient Xiaohan Road, gazing at the massive migration procession. They were all bringing their families into Guanzhong; it was a monumental undertaking of migration.

The population of Guanzhong was insufficient for development, so Prince Fusu and Prime Minister Li Si relocated people to Guanzhong.

“Zifang, Guanzhong certainly can’t support such a large population,” Xiang Bo said loudly, pointing towards Hangu Pass.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Liang turned to look at Xiang Bo's expression, but said nothing more and continued to frown as he watched the massive relocation project.

Xiang Bo came to Wuyang County to see his old noble friends. Zhang Liang originally did not want to see Xiang Bo, but he heard that Chu had recently rejected the offer of a teaching position.

Zhang Liang knew in his heart that this matter must be related to Xiang Liang, so he wanted to get some information from Xiang Bo.

Among the many righteous men who oppose the Qin Dynasty, Zhang Liang is a rather unique individual. Every year at this time, he returns to the Han region to pay homage to the deceased people of the past.

A gust of cold wind blew by, and Zhang Liang coughed twice more. He still had to go and pay his respects to Lord Canghai.

Xiang Bo stroked his beard, a contemptuous yet confident smile on his face, and said, "Prince Fusu is young and impetuous, unaware of the importance of the nation, daring to initiate such a large-scale migration. Prime Minister Li Si, the prime minister of the country, has so indulged Prince Fusu. Zifang..."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Liang looked at Xiang Bo with a puzzled yet humble expression.

Xiang Bo snorted and said, "In my opinion, Qin's fate is sealed."

Zhang Liang didn't know where Xiang Bo's confidence came from. Perhaps in his view, Qin couldn't afford to support hundreds of thousands of people moving into Guanzhong, and he even suspected that a rebellion would break out on the way.

However, in Zhang Liang's view, Xiang Bo underestimated Prince Fusu and also looked down on Prime Minister Li Si.

When the First Emperor made his eastern tour, he built grain transport routes and granaries in various places before his troops even set out. These granaries were left behind after the First Emperor's eastern tour.

Now, these granaries have become an important source of support for the migrants, and people along the way who are busy with the migration don't have to worry about not having enough food.

These people were all poor and did not own much land. Once they entered Guanzhong, they would receive ten times more land than in their original hometowns. It should be noted that as long as they entered Guanzhong and built canals, they would receive thirty mu of land.

As long as one has the courage to go to the Hexi Corridor to cultivate the border areas, a household can obtain fifty mu of land, a privilege that was almost only available to scholars and officials in previous dynasties.

If it were someone else, they might not believe that Qin would give people so much land.

But the one who did this was none other than Prince Fusu, the Prince Fusu who loved the people and the world, valued his word, and always kept his promises.

Perhaps due to the influence of the First Emperor, the people of Qin loved large-scale projects, and Prince Fusu was no exception; he also wanted to build the country through large-scale projects.

These hundreds of thousands are indeed a burden, but for Qin, as long as they can get through these two years, the population of Guanzhong will double, and Guanzhong will become unprecedentedly powerful.

Zhang Liang saw and considered far more than Xiang Bo.

In the days following the arrival of autumn, Xiang Bo would sit on the mountain every day, watching the procession of migrants enter Guanzhong. He boasted that he wanted to see a good show of rebellion in Qin due to the large-scale migration, and that he wanted to see the counties in Guanzhong rebel because they did not have enough food to support the people.

Xiang Bo waited on the mountain for a month, but still saw no chaos. Yet he patiently waited, watching groups of people being led into the Hexi Corridor by the Qin army every day.

Zhang Liang ate the autumn pears unique to Han, and also shared some with Xiang Bo. They then stayed in the mountains once again.

The Han region under Qin control was no different from before; it remained the same, except that the people in charge were now county officials of Qin, and the people stationed there were Qin soldiers.

As for Xiang Bo, who was self-righteous and somewhat endearingly confident, Zhang Liang put him out of his mind and spent the rest of the days paying homage to the old friend from back then.

Zhang Liang knelt before a memorial tablet, and standing beside him was an old man.

This old man was actually the true owner of the restaurant, and it was in his restaurant that Lord Canghai fought desperately against the Qin army and died.

Zhang Liang looked at the memorial tablet and said in a low voice, "It was Zifang who wronged Lord Canghai."

The old man bowed and said, "Young master, you must not do this."

Only this old man maintained the etiquette of the Koreans from that time, and he even recognized Zhang Liang as a prince of the Korean state.

Zhang Liang said, "If I had known the Qin army's intentions in time, Lord Canghai would not have died. He followed me to Han, and he said that even if he died, he would die in front of the King of Qin's carriage..."

The old man patted Zhang Liang on the shoulder and sighed, "Lord Canghai is afraid that he has delayed your plans, but he will not blame you. You don't need to blame yourself."

Zhang Liang kowtowed heavily, took several deep breaths, and then raised his head again.

Another month has passed. After the autumn rains in Guanzhong ended, winter began to arrive in Guanzhong, and winter also arrived in Handi.

Zhang Liang lived in seclusion on the mountain, dressed in thin clothes, intently reading through bamboo slips.

When the First Emperor made his eastern tour, Prince Fusu intended to collect all the books in the land and bring them to Qin. Two years after the tour, it seemed that the prince intended to send all the books eastward to educate the people of the land.

This seems to complement the educational support policies implemented by Prince Fusu.

In order to implement the Qin laws, the First Emperor divided the state of Han into two commanderies, namely the former state of Zheng, which had long been destroyed, and governed them separately. To this day, a large number of troops are stationed in Xuanyang to control the Xiaohan Pass.

The First Emperor ordered the Qin army to build a county government office on the rammed earth of the old palace in Han, as if using the Qin county government office to suppress Han.

In order to rule the Han region, Qin relocated and replaced the original nobles and people of Han. Prime Minister Li Si had been doing this all along. Most of the people living in Sanchuan County now are not actually the original Han people who lived here.

Zhang Liang could discern some of Prince Fusu's ambition to govern the world from these bamboo slips; this prince was quite shrewd. The policy of supporting education in rural areas required enormous costs and time, but for Prince Fusu, it was enough to unify the hearts of the people—a cost actually less than the Qin army's conquests.

Yes, educating the people of the world is a heavy burden and a task that requires a long period of time.

But Prince Fusu just happened to think of this method. Would all the students in the world become his disciples from now on?

The whole world will be loyal to Prince Fusu...

It might not be this generation, it might be the next generation.

Contrary to what Xiang Bo claimed, Prime Minister Li Si was not arrogant. In fact, Zhang Liang believed that Prime Minister Li Si was a man of exceptional ability and skill.

How could such a person go astray? Prince Fusu's plan must have been devised with the help of Prime Minister Li Si.

The strategy of sending teachers to rural areas requires time and a sustained effort to send teachers to these areas to educate people across the country.

The implementation of such a national policy requires the executors to have unwavering conviction in order to consistently carry it out.

This national policy was devised by Prince Fusu and Chancellor Li Si.

If we want to see results, the next person to inherit Qin's great cause can only be Prince Fusu, who can consistently implement the policy of supporting education in rural areas.

Only if Prince Fusu becomes the next emperor will the scholars of the world continue to serve Qin.

Zhang Liang put down the bamboo slips in his hand and looked at Mount Song in the south. After reading only three or five scrolls, Zhang Liang understood the interests involved and the intentions of Prime Minister Li Si.

Prime Minister Li Si would definitely support Prince Fusu to become the next Qin emperor.

Xiang Bo was still observing the Qin army's large-scale relocation of people.

Zhang Liang has already started attending the classes taught by those volunteer teachers.

After learning of Li Si's intentions and Prince Fusu's purpose, Zhang Liang took the initiative to approach the teachers who were sent to teach in rural areas. This was the second time he had approached these teachers since he left.

This time, Zhang Liang will also attend a lecture by the volunteer teacher.

Wang Yu placed a book in front of Zhang Liang and said, "If you want to participate in the rural teaching program, you should read this book."

This was the first book Zhang Liang had ever seen that was bound with paper.

The title of this book is on the first page; it consists of just two characters: Qin Law.

"Take a look," Wang Yu said generously.

"Thank you." Zhang Liang bowed politely, coughed lightly, and picked up the book made of paper to look at it.

Wang Yu noticed the other person's cough and asked, "It's been cold lately, did you catch a chill?"

Zhang Liang waved his hand and said, "I have been weak since I was a child, and I am prone to illness."

Wang Yu nodded; he still had to teach his next class.

Seeing that the man was about to leave, Zhang Liang pressed on, asking, "Master, are there many such books in Guanzhong?"

As Wang Yu was being pulled away by a group of children, he replied, "I have as many as you want."

Zhang Liang was left standing there, stunned. Children are the simplest; they will be grateful to the teachers who volunteer to teach them if they can go to school. These selfless volunteer teachers are the most popular, and they will also be popular with the children.

There were five teachers in Sanchuan County, and Zhang Liang met the others.

He saw more books made of paper, stacked in volumes, with text written on each page in clerical script.

When snow fell in Sanchuan County, Zhang Liang picked up his brush and wrote the character "Han" in clerical script on a piece of paper for the first time.

After an autumn, Xiang Bo had lost a lot of weight. He still hadn't seen any rebellion, nor had he heard of any poor people in Guanzhong who had been relocated and who had starved or been beaten to death.

The three-month relocation project has ended. The Xiaohan Road is no longer the place where large numbers of poor people entered the pass. In winter, the Xiaohan Road is deserted, with only occasional merchants passing by and officials riding by on horseback.

Xiang Bo, carrying his baggage, bid farewell to Zhang Liang in disappointment, bowing and saying, "Zifang, I've troubled you these past few days."

Zhang Liang quickly helped the person who was bowing and said, "You absolutely mustn't say that."

"Alas!" Xiang Bo shook his head and sighed heavily, saying, "I don't know what's wrong with people in this world? How can they be so willing to be driven around?"

Zhang Liang accompanied the other person down the mountain.

Xiang Bo then said, "Zifang! There's no need to see me off. Once I return to Chu, I will send someone with gold and silver to thank you for your care these past few days."

Zhang Liang said, "No need. People always need a place to stay when they travel far. I hope the people of Xiang Ji will help me when I go to Chu."

Xiang Bo bowed again with great solemnity.

(End of this chapter)