The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 161: Academy City
The autumn wind was blowing and it felt a bit cold. This coldness made Li Si feel the aging of his body and that he was gradually getting old. He coughed twice and said, "This long spear was made in Weinan County. It is said that it takes highly skilled craftsmen to forge this spear. Those craftsmen are now all under the command of Prince Fusu."

Although long spears are expensive to manufacture, the craftsmen who can make these weapons are even more valuable.

What impressed Li Si even more was that he had entrusted these craftsmen to the young master, and who could have imagined that six years later, Qingbi would be able to create a weapon like the long spear under the young master's command.

Legend has it that these weapons were forged under the guidance of Prince Fusu.

Now, it has become the greatest asset of the northern cavalry.

Li Si took a deep breath and said, "You bear the heavy responsibility of defending Xianyang, go back... don't make Grand Commandant Wang think too much."

"Yes."

Li Si looked up at the gloomy autumn sky. It was likely that it would rain again. Not only was he getting old, but even the emperor was slowly growing old.

When Prince Fusu was digging the Jingye Canal, he unearthed huge animal bones in a hidden channel at the foot of Shangyan Mountain. Now, according to rumors, dragon bones have been unearthed in the canal, which is considered an auspicious omen.

It is both an auspicious omen and a cold reality. No matter what kind of animal bone it is, it shows that even the biggest beast will eventually become a skeleton, buried underground for hundreds or thousands of years, and then dug up by future generations to admire.

On the banks of the Baiqu Canal in Weibei, Zhang Cang sat in a house by the canal, which would later become the county government office of Jingyang County.

Jingyang County needs to set up thirteen pavilions and twenty-nine townships, with a total of eight thousand households.

Cheng Miao pushed open the door and entered, carrying a basket filled with warm flatbread. He said, "This new county looks really nice."

Zhang Cang put down his pen, handed over a scroll, and said, "These account books have all been checked. Please give them to the young master."

Cheng Miao took the account book, placed the cakes on it first, and then put the account book in the basket. While eating the cakes, he said, "These cakes were a gift from the young master, who sent them over."

Zhang Cang nodded as he ate his pancake.

Cheng Miao said, "Young Master came to the Prime Minister's residence today with the Right Chancellor. They were both busy looking at documents from various places. Attendant Tian brought some cakes, so everyone in the Prime Minister's residence could eat hot cakes."

As they talked, Cheng Miao remarked with emotion, "For years, the young master has brought cakes to the Prime Minister's residence every day at noon. Today, Attendant Tian cooked tea eggs."

Zhang Cang listened to Cheng Miao's explanation while eating a pancake, then looked at the mathematical problems in front of him.

The question is very complex; it involves calculating the cycles of the sun and moon.

Cheng Miao's words still echoed in his ears. After hearing them so many times, Zhang Cang stopped looking at the questions and walked out of the county office.

It rained last night, and the ground was still a bit muddy. Zhang Cang was still eating his pancakes, with three or five armored soldiers by his side.

The water in the Baiqu Canal is still flowing, and many new county residents are emerging from the vertical shafts. This structure, which combines vertical shafts with underground channels, is called a karez.

As you walk along the village roads, you can see the respectful and friendly looks from the villagers all around you.

Zhang Cang continued to explain the upcoming events to Cheng Miao.

Because Guanzhong provided them with enough land, the county now needs to provide them with grain, so the people here will not be able to reduce or exempt their taxes next year.

The excavation method of Baiqu was actually simple. The relocated people had to exchange their labor for food. Every day, the food was distributed in full, and there was even a surplus.

After the Baiqu Canal is completed, the roads and houses in each county will also need to be repaired. It should be completed by the summer of the following year.

After completion, the summer harvest will begin, and then we will be able to collect taxes from three counties and 50,000 households.

Cheng Miao then asked, "Does the young master still think we don't have enough manpower?"

"As long as Hangu Pass remains open, population will not be a problem."

Cheng Miao was about to ask another question when Zhang Cang continued to explain, "Before the construction of the Baiqu Canal, I had someone take another look at the east side."

Cheng Miao knew that the "east" Zhang Cang mentioned should refer to the various regions of Qi and Lu east of Sanchuan County.

Zhang Cang continued, “There have been great changes in Guanzhong in the past ten years. Canals have been built, people have been relocated, new counties have been established, and Longxi has been opened up. However, many places in the east have not changed much. This summer, Qi suffered another drought, and large areas of farmland yielded no harvest. Do you know what people outside are saying about Guanzhong?”

Cheng Miao shook his head.

"They said that there was an endless supply of food and land in Guanzhong, and that children in Guanzhong could all study and become officials. As long as one fled famine to Guanzhong, one would not starve to death. Moreover, wealthy people would fight tooth and nail to enter Guanzhong, as if entering Guanzhong would change their lives."

Zhang Cang looked into the distance and continued, "These words are quite true. Qin needs people to govern the world, and some people can indeed change their lives by coming to Guanzhong first."

After listening to Zhang Cang's explanation, Cheng Miao also felt that population was not a problem. Even if the Qin court did not act, as long as Guanzhong was governed well enough, more and more people would enter Guanzhong.

Population migration is a massive undertaking. After Prince Fusu relocated people to Guanzhong to build the Baiqu Canal, they were all penniless and would be grateful to him. As Zhang Cang said, if they lived well enough in Guanzhong, the world would know that there was an abundance of food and that all the children in Guanzhong would have access to education. This would attract more and more ambitious people and wealthy individuals seeking opportunities to enter Guanzhong.

That's how land is: land with people is worth a fortune, land without people is worthless.

The so-called water management, soil improvement, income increase, and farmland expansion are all about this land worth a fortune.
After circling Jingye County, Cheng Miao returned to the county government and recorded everything that had happened there. He suddenly asked, "Will people who have fled famine also enter Weibei?"

Zhang Cang shook his head and said, "Most of them stayed in Tongguan, and Tongguan is in great need of manpower."

The next day, before dawn, Cheng Miao and Zhang Cang left Jingyang County. He didn't return to Xianyang but instead drove all the way to Tongguan.
Zhang Cang does indeed need to go to Weinan. He is currently acting as the prefect of Weinan, and he needs to personally oversee many matters in Weinan.

As dawn broke, the carriage passed through the quiet Jingye County, then through Shangyan Township at the foot of the mountain, traversing a fertile plain, and heading towards Tongguan.

Previously, the road from Weinan to Tongguan was difficult to travel, but now a new road has been built from the Yellow River north of Tongguan directly to Xianyang City, making the journey by carriage very smooth.

Zhang Cang and Cheng Miao arrived at the foot of Tongguan City. It was almost noon. As soon as they entered Tongguan City, they could hear the sound of students reading aloud.

Sima Xin welcomed Zhang Cang and Cheng Miao into the city and invited them to eat the river delicacies unique to Tongguan.

Tongguan today is indeed a huge educational city, where almost half of the children in Guanzhong study.

Every morning, the whole city is filled with the sound of children reading aloud, as if they are competing to see who can read the loudest.

If you listen carefully, you can clearly hear that they are reciting the Mohist concept of universal love.

When the autumn rain fell, the schoolhouse sheltered the children from the wind and rain. Under the eaves, there was another group of children who were dressed even worse or were barefoot, because they were not children from Weinan, nor did they have food to pay for their studies like other children from Guanzhong.

They fled to Guanzhong with their families because of the drought in Qi.

In fact, the Qin court provided grain relief as soon as the drought struck Qi, but even so, it could not stop these people from traveling thousands of miles to settle in Guanzhong.

The autumn rain grew heavier and heavier. Sima Xin led the two of them along the eaves of the schoolhouse. The eaves of the schoolhouse were lined up one after another from south to north. The further they went into the street, the older the children in the schoolhouse became, with the oldest being around twenty years old.

Sima Xin said, "The grain in Guanzhong is never given away for free; everyone who eats grain has to work."

"Cough cough..." Zhang Cang stopped and coughed lightly twice.

Cheng Miao, who was writing and taking notes, asked, "What's wrong?"

Zhang Cang explained, "This was not originally a rule in Guanzhong; it was a rule established by Zhang Han when he dug the canal."

Cheng Miao recalled, "Back then, Lou Jing advised Prince Fusu to write a book inviting powerful and noble people from various states to Qin. However, Prince Fusu rejected this idea. Now that I think about it, the prince did not allow the powerful and noble people from various states to Qin, but instead allowed the poor people from various states to Qin."

Sima Xin smiled knowingly and said, "General Zhang Han is admirable. Prince Fusu loves the people and the world, just like the Mohist concept of universal love. However, Prince Fusu is also strict. All students here must take exams, even those who are just auditing the classes."

In the future, students studying in Weinan will need to take an exam; to be precise, this is a test of their qualifications to graduate.

Children who pass the exam are registered, and the best-performing child is sent to the Academy for further study. This is a selection system in which all citizens of Qin are eligible to take the exam.

Zhang Cang has always been directly involved in the prince's arrangements. Perhaps next year or two years from now, in order to add more talent to the Qin court, an examination will be held for people all over the world.

As Cheng Miao was walking, a piece of paper floated to his feet. He looked down and almost stepped on it. Then a child of about ten years old picked it up.

Cheng Miao asked in a low voice, "Why do you think the young master chose to build the academy in Tongguan?"

Zhang Cang replied, "This place is closest to Hangu Pass, which leads eastward."

When Sima Xin led the two into a library, the towering library resembled a tower. Pushing open the door, they saw students reading there, and books on the high shelves required ladders to reach.

Sima Xin explained to the two, "These are all printed paper books, delivered from workshops in Jingye County..."

"Lord Jun, the magistrate of Dali County has arrived."

Upon hearing the report from a minor official, Sima Xin stopped speaking.

Cheng Miao first glanced at Zhang Cang, who was still looking around beside him, and then said to Sima Xin, "We'll just take a look ourselves. The Prefect should go and deal with this first."

Sima Xin smiled apologetically and hurriedly left to attend to official business.

Zhang Cang and Cheng Miao walked out of the library, and looked back once they were out.

There is also a small house by the Yellow River, which was built by Prince Fusu when he was building Tongguan.

(End of this chapter)