The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 157 The Retreat Period of the Great Qin
There is only one answer in science, and Fusu felt that his greatest strength in science in his previous life was quite mediocre in front of Zhang Cang.

Effort made later in life cannot compare to that of a genius.

People who are good at science tend to have simple lives and ways of thinking, because they only have one goal and only one answer.

Tian An hung the two calendars on the wall and compared them. When he glanced to the side, he saw the young master in the pavilion, looking at Xianyang Palace.

No palace servants passed by on the road below the pavilion, and the west side of Xianyang Palace was always desolate and quiet.

This place contains a lot of miscellaneous items, as well as some old furniture.

The Prince's palace is now filled with his toys, and there's hardly any room left for ordinary furniture.

Tian An felt that Gongzi Heng was the happiest child in the world.

"Has the tea been delivered to Zhang Cang?"

Tian An said, "Reporting to young master, it has been sent. Prefect Zhang is most fond of tea from Sichuan."

Fusu sat in the attic, eating walnuts and enjoying the tranquility of the cold winter. In another half month, the Qin people's wintering season would end, and the Qin court would be busy again.

"Young master, there's a trend emerging in Weinan lately."

What kind of trend is this?

Tian An said, "They said they dislike idlers."

"What? Are there still idlers in Weinan these days?"

"There are none in Weinan. I heard that Zhang Han is in the Northwest now. All the idle men in Longxi who wanted to escape have been captured by General Zhang Han. There are no idle men in Longxi now."

After eating a walnut, Fusu drank a sip of hot tea.

Ever since Zhang Han conquered the Hexi Corridor, he has been sending them an endless supply of walnuts.

The Hexi Corridor shouldn't be a major producer of walnuts. Fusu frowned as he ate them, wondering if the small kingdoms of the Western Regions had offered them as tribute because they saw how brave Zhang Han was.

A powerful nation naturally attracts rulers from the Western Regions to seek its allegiance.

Fusu cracked open another walnut, picked out the kernels, and shared some with Tian An. He then asked, "Do you think officials in various regions would feel proud of building up the country?"

Tian An was unable to answer for a moment.

Fusu smiled and said, "Let's go back and prepare lunch for today."

Tian An nodded in greeting.

Even though the New Year had arrived, the ice and snow between heaven and earth showed no signs of melting. Ying Zheng sat in his detached palace on Mount Li.

The Lishan Palace was originally built by the Zhou royal family. After King You of Zhou, it was abandoned and rebuilt several times, only to fall into disrepair each time.

Hot springs are wonderful, but the emperor didn't seem to like their smell.

Therefore, after staying here for half a month, the emperor returned to Xianyang.

This year is another long and harsh winter. As the cold winter drags on, Tian Anhui will ask some of the soldiers who have returned from guarding the north how many Xiongnu people have frozen to death in the north.

This was one of Tian An's hobbies. Guanzhong was so cold that countless cattle, sheep, and people must have frozen to death in the north.

In previous years, there should have been a period of clear weather at this time of year, but it is still snowing lightly, which is probably the coldest winter in the last ten years.

Fusu walked into the hall and stood in front of the assembled officials, but he was still half a step behind the prime minister, standing behind him.

Feng Quji turned around and looked at Prince Fusu standing behind him, giving him a smile.

Fusu responded with a smile.

Once the emperor entered the main hall, the Nine Ministers began to report on their respective duties. Fusu, dressed in a black court robe, stepped out of the court and recounted the national projects currently being overseen by the Minister of the Imperial Household Department.

The two most important projects were the Baiqu Canal and the Hexi Corridor.

Fusu also held the position of Grand Master of the Imperial Stud, and the state's horse administration was mainly located in the north and northwest. Qin law had extremely strict regulations on horse administration.

Therefore, Fusu did not need to modify the horse administration; everything could be arranged according to the Qin law, and officials in all counties and prefectures throughout the country would also manage the horse administration according to the Qin law.

Therefore, Fusu simply summarized the reports from Zhang Han in the northwest and Meng Tian in the northern grasslands over the past year and informed his father.

Prince Fusu is now handling state affairs with increasing ease, and Feng Quji is pleased for Prime Minister Li Si. He then glances at Li Si standing to the side out of the corner of his eye.

Sure enough, Li Si smiled so broadly that the corners of his mouth turned up.

Feng Quji really envied Li Si.

After the court meeting ended, Fusu left Zhangtai Palace with the other officials, talking to the Minister of Justice Feng Jie as they walked.

"Court Official, can those who refuse to teach in rural areas be punished?"

Feng Jie wanted to reply, but after hesitating for a moment, he swallowed his words and gave the young master a smile.

Seeing the other person's smile, Fusu also laughed and said, "I was just saying it casually. Do you think I would kill those who refuse to teach in rural areas?"

Feng Jie let out a long breath and said, "What you say is absolutely right, young master."

Fusu then looked at the Imperial Physician on the other side and asked, "How has Father Emperor's health been lately?"

The Imperial Physician, Xia Wuqie, replied, "The Emperor's health is currently fine."

This Imperial Physician Xia didn't actually have good connections in Xianyang Palace, and probably no one wanted to get too close to him.

When Jing Ke attempted to assassinate the King of Qin, it was Xia Wuqie who gave him the medicine bag, and Jing Ke later died. Some even suspect that Lü Buwei was also poisoned by Xia Wuqie.

And then there were the other people in Xianyang Palace who died mysteriously.

A royal physician skilled in using poison was someone no one dared to offend, and could only keep their distance.

The group left Zhangtai Palace and went their separate ways at the palace gate outside.

However, Xia Wuqie... as the Imperial Physician, he was highly respected in the Imperial Physician's Office. His ability to treat patients was indeed superb, and the medical officers in the Imperial Physician's Office respected him greatly. Otherwise, the medical officers of the Later Han Dynasty would not have compiled Xia Wuqie's medical books and named them Xia Gongfang.

In the hearts of later physicians, Xia Wuqie will be referred to as Master Xia.

Fusu returned to Gaoquan Palace first, planning to have lunch before going to the Prime Minister's residence.

There aren't many vegetables available in winter, so for lunch today I had a bowl of fish soup and a bowl of noodles.

Tian An then gave instructions to have lunch sent to the emperor.

Fusu watched as his wife taught their child to eat. If the boy wasn't supervised while eating, he would make a mess of the table.

Wang Tang'er took on the heavy responsibility of being a strict mother, teaching her children very rigorously.

After instructing the eunuch who brought lunch, Tian An said to Granny Wang, who was standing to the side, "Young Master is not like Young Master. Young Master has been obedient since he was a child. He learns everything quickly, including eating. When Young Master was the same age as Young Master, he could eat by himself and wash his own dishes."

Grandma Wang frowned as she looked at Tian An, wondering if he was getting old and talking nonsense.

But seeing the other eunuchs with longing smiles on their faces as they listened to Tian An speak, Granny Wang felt that if Young Master Fusu was really like that, then his precocious intelligence was simply too unbelievable.

As Fusu ate his noodles, he paid no attention to what the people behind him were thinking. Instead, he was thinking about what he had seen and heard recently.

For example, people's lives are still quite leisurely now, and people's material needs are related to production and daily life.

Without demand, there is not much labor or work, so after the farming season, there are many idle people in Guanzhong with nothing to do.

It is precisely because of people's simple lives and simple material needs that people today live a relatively leisurely life.

If we consider the leisure time after the busy farming season as surplus value of labor, then using this value for national development is the best approach.

While eating, Fusu's brain would be very active, and he would always think about some irrelevant and far-fetched ideas, before returning to the Prime Minister's residence after the meal.

Fusu would forget the questions he was thinking about while eating, and even for a time he would forget them altogether.

Because I need to focus on the task at hand.

When the need arises, Fusu will recall from his memories that he once considered this issue.

After the Northern Expedition, the country entered a period of relative peace. In February, Tu Ju, who was in Guilin, had some fruit from Guilin delivered to him.

Fusu looked at the large basket of tangerines that was half a person's worth, peeled one, and ate it himself.

If you feel you can't finish the food, ask someone to divide it up for you.

Cheng Miao said worriedly, "There are still several carts outside."

Fusu said with distress, "Send it to Zhang Cang."

"Yes."

While Guanzhong is still in the depths of winter, Guilin has an endless supply of tangerines and small mountain oranges.

Sure enough, Guilin has an endless supply of fruit.

Guilin is truly a blessed land for Guanzhong, a region lacking in fruit production.

On the third day after a cartload of tangerines was delivered to Weibei, Fusu discovered during the morning court meeting that some people had developed a sore throat from eating too many tangerines.

Before the emperor arrived and the court meeting began, and after the country entered a period of relative calm, Fusu had fewer state affairs to attend to. Standing in his seat, he quietly asked his teacher, "When will Tuju be able to return to Guanzhong?"

Li Si said, "Xiang County is not yet stable, and it may take some more years."

Fusu nodded. What his teacher almost said was that if the south wasn't pacified, Tuju might spend his entire life there.

Li Si added, "My lord, rest assured, Tu Ju sent the fruit not to curry favor with me, nor to return to Guanzhong. He sent a document saying that he will do his best to pacify the south and not cause Xianyang any worry."

Cheng Miao handed over a scroll of paper and said, "My lord, this is an urgent report that was sent from Weibei to Xianyang City overnight and delivered to me this morning."

Fusu took the paper and glanced at it. It said that the river embankment in front of the Baiqu Canal collapsed during construction, damaging the newly repaired canal. Fortunately, it happened at night and no one was killed, but a month's worth of effort was wasted.

The construction of the Baiqu Canal was much more difficult than that of the Jingye Canal. Firstly, the land north of the Wei River is mostly dry plateau, and the soil is looser than that south of the Wei River.

Zhang Cang and Qingbi's work on excavating the Baiqu Canal was not going smoothly.

Flood control is always a long process, and Fusu is patient with it. He also hopes that Zhang Cang and Qingbi will be patient enough.

Two years of peaceful life passed, and it was the thirty-third year of the First Emperor's reign. During these two years, Prince Heng grew to be five years old.

Today, the twenty-six-year-old Fusu accompanied the emperor on the autumn hunt with Prime Minister Li Si.

Li Si's beard had turned gray, he looked old, and his face was lined with wrinkles.

Fusu noticed that his father was the same, with black and white hair.

Before I knew it, there were more and more people with gray hair around me.

As for Tian An, he is still the same as before. He was just as old as he was before, and he has not shown any symptoms of presbyopia or deafness.

(End of this chapter)