The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 172 The Haggard Prime Minister

Maodun was a cruel man, yet he was able to gain such prestige on the northern grasslands. Perhaps the more savage and cruel a person is on the grasslands, the more they can gain the trust of others.

Moreover, Maodun was indeed a cruel man. He killed all those who refused to submit, those who had grudges against him, and those who were unwilling to obey.

On the grasslands, Maodun killed almost everyone who deserved to die.

But to the Qin army, Touman and Modu were no different; the Xiongnu people in the north remained unchanged.

After Modu's father, Touman Chanyu, was defeated by Meng Tian, ​​the Xiongnu forces on the grasslands were severely weakened.

However, under Maodun's reorganization, he launched a night raid on the Donghu royal court, killing all the people of the Donghu royal court in one day and one night, and plundering a large number of people and livestock.

Then Maodun made a raid of a thousand miles and killed the Yuezhi king at Mazong Mountain.

However, Zhang Han's appearance thwarted Maodun's gains, forcing Maodun to retreat north temporarily. According to Zhang Han's military report, Maodun dared not hastily engage the Qin army's charge.

However, based on people's understanding of Modu, after this battle, this new Great Khan of the Steppe would certainly retaliate against the Qin army.

Because the Qin army angered Modu twice.

"A letter from General Meng Tian, ​​the young master."

The Prime Minister had left sometime earlier. Fusu took the letter, opened it, and looked at it. He hadn't seen Meng Tian for so many years. In the past, he had only read Meng Tian's battle reports written on bamboo slips.

This was the first time Meng Tian had written a military report on paper, and the handwriting was somewhat messy.

However, the brushstrokes confirm that it is Meng Tian's handwriting. The general was in the north, which is different from Guanzhong. Nowadays, students in Guanzhong are used to writing in clerical script, but General Meng Tian still used seal script.

That's fine, since Qin officials were all proficient in seal script and clerical script.

After reading the letter, Fusu took it and headed towards Zhangtai Palace.

For the past two years, the Emperor's Zhangtai Palace has been very quiet.

It seems that the Emperor is also reading about the new system for supporting education in rural areas.

The First Emperor completed the initial establishment of a country, but the continuation of a country is a long and complex process. The political and economic aspects, along with the military and education, are almost the limits that this slash-and-burn agrarian civilization can achieve.

Economically, the country remains in the early stages of an agricultural civilization nurtured by Mesopotamia.

From a national political perspective, this country has only been unified for ten years.

From a military perspective, this country has a Great Wall defense line and a powerful army.

Education, however, is still in a process of accumulation.

All of these are actually consistent with the political goals of standardizing cart tracks, unifying writing, and establishing identity and cultural identity.

Then a palace attendant came to report, "Young master may enter the palace now."

Fusu then entered the main hall with the letter in his hand.

As usual, Tian An stood guard outside the main hall.

Fusu entered the main hall and saw that his father was indeed looking through the exam questions, seemingly quite interested.

Yes, when Father Emperor is interested in something, he eats a lot of walnuts; it's a habit of his.

The emperor still looks healthy, but inevitably has a lot more gray hair.

My father is still diligent in his duties, maintaining the same diligence he had in the early days of the Qin Dynasty. However, my father now has several capable assistants, including myself as his son, as well as many teachers who have gone to rural areas to teach and important officials in the court.

Even when he was compiling these exam questions, Fusu wondered if he should have set this precedent in Qin, since this precedent had both advantages and disadvantages.

The scroll that the Emperor was reading was a treatise on hereditary succession and emoluments.

Fairness in education has always been a major problem. Once it involves official careers and power, it spreads like a spider web, which is a huge chain of interests that generates various resources, leading to powerful clans and families, as well as protection from those in power.

Fusu felt that this rule should have been stricter from the very beginning to prevent the country's talent appointments from becoming a means for other people's families to continue their interests.

Systems can be patched up, but they cannot be relaxed. Systems can only become stricter, not looser, even if they are so harsh that some people feel they are unreasonable.

This is also what Han Fei said: "When there is too much love, the law cannot be established."

In short, if a nation must go through this process, then that nation must be a ruthless machine.

"What's the matter?"

Seeing that his father had put down the examination paper, Fusu handed over the letter in his hand, saying, "Father, this is a letter from Meng Tian."

The eunuch took the letter and placed it on the First Emperor's desk.

The young master is a very honest person and will never hide anything from the emperor. It is normal for the young master Fusu and General Meng Tian to have corresponded since childhood.

However, the prince still took the initiative to hand the letter to the emperor, which shows how honest the prince Fusu was.

Prince Fusu had no secrets from the emperor; he would not hide any of his actions from him.

The old people in Xianyang Palace all knew that the emperor's most beloved child was actually Prince Fusu.

The letter states that Zhang Han attacked Mazong Mountain, and after Modu retreated north, he gathered many chieftains of the Xiongnu tribes. He made a pact with those chieftains to sacrifice three thousand livestock, and that one day they would conquer the Great Wall of Qin.

Maodun truly hated the Great Wall to the core, and Zhang Han's actions thoroughly enraged him.

Maodun will definitely attack the Great Wall, but it's unclear when. Ying Zheng said in a deep voice, "Do you think we should attack Maodun now?"

Fusu shook his head and said, "Just as Meng Tian said, the grasslands are too vast. Modu's royal court is located in the northern desert. If the Qin army has no goal or direction and marches hastily for no reason, it may be surrounded and annihilated by the Xiongnu."

Seeing his father frown, Fusu continued, "As long as Modu dares to lead the Xiongnu troops to attack the Great Wall, Zhang Han in the Hexi Corridor can send troops to encircle Modu's main Xiongnu force. It's not that Zhang Han and Meng Tian are afraid of Modu, but because as generals, they know best that behind every soldier in the Qin army is a family, and every bite of food eaten by the Qin army is grown by people with hard work. Both generals know that they should use the least cost to achieve the greatest victory."

Ying Zheng observed this son, who was closely associated with both of the two generals from the northwest and the north.

Zhang Han goes without saying, and Meng Tian grew up with Fusu.

Ying Zheng was not worried about whether Zhang Han and Meng Tian were loyal to him. As long as they were loyal to Fusu, it didn't really matter.

Having reported everything that needed to be reported, Fusu then asked, "What does Father Emperor think of this examination paper?"

Ying Zheng looked down at his desk. He had answered several questions on the exam paper. These questions were very difficult, especially those about the aristocratic system that had been created by hereditary privilege.

This is similar to the old aristocracy during the Warring States period, where the children of the old aristocracy remained the old aristocracy, and the ministers of the king were usually the sons of these old aristocrats.

Hereditary succession and stipends are indeed the best way to win over meritorious officials.

The more people like this there are, the greater the potential threat to the country.

If the descendants of officials continue to hold official positions, it will create a situation where power protects each other, which is another huge hidden danger.

“Very good, show it to the Prime Minister.”

After hearing his father's brief reply, Fusu bowed and took his leave from Zhangtai Palace.

The examination paper that the Emperor had just looked at was sent out to Prime Minister Li Si.

As night fell, six-year-old Prince Heng was gesturing with a wooden sword when he saw his father arrive and quickly went to him.

Fusu walked into the palace, listening to his son's words. He kept asking behind him when he could go to study with Shusun Tong.

This winter, Fusu visited Jingye County again. Originally, Fusu only wanted Shusun Tong to get acquainted with Heng, but unexpectedly, Shusun Tong made the child very happy.

Fusu had gotten used to seeing a large pile of toys in the palace every time he returned, most of which were made by Tian An.

Despite his advanced age, Tian An's craftsmanship remains excellent, whether it's pottery or carpentry, these are almost all his areas of expertise.

However, he was tired of playing with all these toys.

The six-year-old child was at the most playful age, and his wife was pregnant.

After the child had walked away, Wang Tang'er held her forehead and said with a pained expression, "I will send Heng'er to study in Jingye County this spring."

Fusu sat down and began to examine the documents that Tian An had brought from the Prime Minister's residence, saying, "Alright, I'll make the arrangements."

Six-year-olds are at their most mischievous age. Children of this age have an unbelievable amount of energy, and their destructive power is almost enough to destroy the whole world.

Wang Tang'er beats the boy every two or three days. Now that she is five months pregnant, she needs to be well taken care of.

Not only his wife, but all the other palace servants in Takasen Palace were unable to handle the current prince.

His condition was expected to continue for another five or six years. Fusu patted his wife's hand, showing his complete understanding.

The people in the palace were exhausted from taking care of the young master, but Tian An always had a doting expression on his face.

After the annual agricultural ceremony this year, Fusu and Wang Tang'er took their child to Jingye County.

Fusu saw Sima Xin again. This man always looked the same, with no smile on his face and appearing thin. He only had two expressions on his face: one was frowning in thought, and the other was calm.

Fusu had only ever seen these two expressions on this person's face.

Shusun Tong respectfully saw off Prince Fusu and his wife, then looked at the child before him and said with a smile, "Want to study?"

Heng asked, "Where do I live?"

There is a house next to my residence.

"Thank you teacher."

This child is really not at all shy; he didn't even bother with the formal apprenticeship ceremony and called me "teacher" the moment we met.

Shusun Tong was very satisfied. The young master was unpretentious, cheerful, and very clever. He was a rough gem that was worth polishing.

On the third day after Gongzi Heng went to study in Jingye County, he sent a letter.

When Fusu saw the letter, he was on an outing with his father, the emperor, to enjoy the spring scenery of Guanzhong.

Li Si asked, "What did the young master say in his letter?"

Fusu handed the letter to the teacher standing beside him.

After only one glance, Li Si hesitated and said, "Shusun Tong said... the young master is the dumbest child he has ever taught."

Fusu nodded and said, "The people who took care of him in Jingye County said that Shusun Tong did say that, and the child cried very sadly."

"or……"

"Let him stay in Jingye County."

(End of this chapter)