The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 173 Imperial Edict Spreads to Various Regions

Upon hearing this, Li Si said, "Very well."

Fusu looked toward his father, the emperor, who was watching beauties dance with Wang Ben while having lunch.

Seeing that Li Si's eyes were somewhat dark, Fusu asked, "Teacher, haven't you been resting well lately?"

Li Si, with one hand behind his back and a hint of helplessness in his eyes, said, "The emperor sent me an examination paper, and I have been racking my brains over the questions these past few days."

"Thank you for your trouble, teacher."

"It doesn't matter."

Li Si waved his hand to indicate that he was alright.

Since it was an exam paper sent by his father, how could Li Si not take it seriously?

If Li Si cannot answer, how should he respond when the emperor brings up the matter again?

Perhaps the Emperor thought that Li Si, as the Prime Minister of Qin, would definitely answer the questions on that exam paper, so how could Li Si dare not write the answers?

When the teacher handed the letter back, Fusu put it away, as if he could see his son crying and complaining.

Fusu looked at his wife walking with many female relatives. Since their son was sent to Jingye County, his wife had been smiling more, and Gaoquan Palace had become much quieter.

Tian An served the roasted meat to the emperor and the Grand Commandant.

Fusu sat at the banquet with his teacher, watching the many beautiful women dancing.

Li Si took a sip of wine and said, "Young master, you seem to be in a very good mood lately?"

Fusu said, "The population of Guanzhong has increased by 200,000 this year."

"is it?"

"Yes, the more people the better. Guanzhong has such a vast land, but only such a small population. Our population should be as large as possible."

People are the source of productivity. The population of Guanzhong is far from enough, and this fertile land can support even more people.

Fusu calculated the population of Guanzhong. Excluding Longxi Prefecture, the population of the twelve counties in Guanzhong was only 200,000 households, totaling 850,000 people.

We are still 150,000 short of reaching the million-person mark.

These 150,000 people are waiting for the next batch of children to be born.

A larger population is naturally a good thing, as national development requires a large population. Fusu had calculated that the land in Guanzhong could easily support a million people based on the current grain yield.

Therefore, the population should not be too concentrated, and Xianyang's population should not be too large.

To disperse the population as much as possible across counties, this can be achieved by controlling the number of local teaching positions available.

A single place in a school can be used to initiate a second round of redistribution and population migration.

This cycle of population migration should be coming soon, and more people will migrate into the country in the future.

The emperor's decree was issued from Xianyang last autumn, and it was not until the beginning of this spring that Zhongyangli received the imperial edict. This edict traveled thousands of miles from Qin to Chu.

Xiao He had heard from the teachers who came to teach that most of the writing in Guanzhong today is in clerical script, but imperial edicts are still written in seal script.

The meaning of this edict is very simple: all citizens, regardless of age, can participate in examinations to enter officialdom, and local officials can also participate in further selection.

"Summon Cao Shen," Xiao He ordered from inside the county government office.

A moment later, Cao Shen arrived in a hurry.

Xiao He asked, "Did you see the imperial edict?"

"This matter is being talked about all over the county."

Xiao He stood up, looking out the window at the bustling crowd on the street. He put his hands behind his back, still somewhat puzzled, and said, "Did Prince Fusu really do that?"

Cao Can said, "This is a good thing."

“This is certainly a good thing.” Xiao He turned to Cao Can and said, “It’s also an opportunity for you.”

Cao Can looked at Xiao He with excitement, knowing in his heart that it was a real pity that Xiao He was stuck in such a small county with his talents.

This is an opportunity for Cao Shen, and also an opportunity for Xiao He.

Xiao He asked, "Do you think this is the emperor's way of appeasing the people?"

In the past, when the states were at war, the soldiers charged ahead, but the promised rewards for beheadings made by the old nobles of the states rarely actually came to fruition.

Rewards may not actually come your way, and the promises of the old nobles were nothing more than empty dreams.

Cao Shen bowed and said, "If it were an edict from the former King of Chu, people might not believe it, but this is an imperial edict. The edict states that the examiners are Chancellor Li Si and Prince Fusu."

That young master Fusu always kept his word and was fair in rewarding and punishing.

This young master has kept all his promises.

During the emperor's eastern tour, there was a rumor that took place in Langya County. The emperor wanted to relocate the Yue people to Langya County, and in order to win over the hearts of the Yue people, Prince Fusu promised to preserve their place of residence.

After that, the Yue people in that area did not actually migrate into Langya County; they were simply incorporated into the territory of Langya County.

This was said by Lang, and later rumors confirmed it.

Cao Shen waited for Xiao He's reply. If Xiao He did not participate in this exam, Cao Shen would not participate either.

For several days in a row, Xiao He did not give Cao Shen an answer.

The spring rains in the Chu region have been incessant, and this year the rivers in various parts of Chu have overflowed, flooding many fields.

A fast horseman arrived at Zhongyangli and delivered a scroll of letters to the county government.

Sitting in the county government building, Xiao He was resting with his eyes closed, also worrying about this year's flooding of the river. Cao Shen, his clothes and shoes still wet, hurried into the room, holding a letter in his hand, and said, "A letter has arrived from Langya County."

Xiao He opened his eyes, reached out and took the letter, opened the bamboo tube and poured out a piece of paper, which was obviously another letter from Lang.

Unfold the paper and look at the rows of text. Lang's letter is very simple, with only one sentence: first, enter officialdom, then bring people from the village into officialdom, or build up the Chu region.

Xiao He lowered his gaze after reading Lang's letter.

Lang is right. Only if Xiao He passes the exam and enters officialdom can the others participate. For Qin, Chu desperately needs a role model. This role model can inspire the people of Chu and influence Qin's governance of Chu.

These days, Xiao He is worried about the overflowing river; this year's spring floods have been far too severe.

Lang's words resonated with Xiao He. Only by becoming an official in Qin could he, as an official from Chu, bring benefits to the land.

After much deliberation, Xiao He slowly raised his head and said, "Write a letter and have someone send it by fast horse to Langya County, saying that I, Xiao He, have agreed."

Upon hearing this, Cao Shen grinned and hurried to make arrangements.

Xiao He took a deep breath. He had made a major decision in his life, a decision that might change his life forever. He didn't know what the future held for him.

Huaiyin County is located on the south bank of the Huai River. It is named Huaiyin County because it is south of the water and is called Yin.

A young man was holding a sword and looking at the imperial edict posted on the city wall.

People around him pointed and whispered. The young man, who was holding a sword and looked like a nobleman, was dressed in shabby clothes and had been standing motionless in front of the imperial edict at the city gate for half an hour.

Several local thugs were mocking the young man.

The young man read the imperial edict word by word, making sure he hadn't misread it. He turned around and walked towards the county town, attracting even more rascal laughter along the way.

This young man has almost no friends here; his only friend is a volunteer teacher.

He was a destitute man. He came to the house of the head of the Nanchang Pavilion once again. However, as soon as he entered the house, he heard the voice of a woman.

"Here we go again, begging for food. Why don't we just starve to death outside!"

The words were harsh to hear, but he still stepped forward, bowed to the elder before him, and said, "Chief, I've come to say goodbye."

The elder asked, "Han Xin, where are you going?"

"I'm going to Guanzhong."

How are you going to get there?

"I..." At this point, Han Xin lowered his eyes, unsure how to answer.

The village headman went into the house and came out a moment later, holding a scroll of documents in his hand. “Several new teachers have come to Huaiyin County to teach. Now the teachers have been rotated, and some of them are going back to Guanzhong. This scroll of documents is for those teachers. Please pass it on for me. Also, here is your verification and document. You can use it to verify your identity at the checkpoint.”

Han Xin solemnly accepted the document with both hands, nodded in agreement, and said, "Okay."

"Hmm." The village head nodded again and said, "You can travel with those teachers from Guanzhong. They are taking many students into Guanzhong."

Han Xin bowed to the elder before him and said, "Thank you, Pavilion Chief."

"Go."

The village head seemed to see right through Han Xin's thoughts and knew what Han Xin was going to do.

Han Xin bowed again to his sister-in-law, who had just complained about him, and said, "Thank you, sister-in-law."

There was no response from inside the house. Han Xin, holding the document, lowered his head and quickly left.

When he arrived in Huaiyin County, he opened the document given to him by the village head. Huaiyin County did not yet use paper; they still communicated using bamboo slips.

Han Xin untied the rope binding the bamboo slips, and several coins immediately fell out.

Han Xin picked up the fallen copper coins, put the document back into his bundle, and counted the copper coins—nine in total.

This was placed in the bamboo slip by the pavilion chief. Han Xin felt the pavilion chief's kindness and the guilt that arose in his heart.

Han Xin traveled to a village outside the county. He knew there was a teacher from Guanzhong there who was going back to Guanzhong, and he also knew that the village head was the one who wanted to return to Guanzhong.

Han Xin walked to a courtyard. The courtyard was dilapidated, but many children were playing around. At a glance, there were more than thirty children, all around ten years old.

Just then, a young man carrying a bag came out. Upon seeing the newcomer, he said he looked familiar, "You are..."

Han Xin recognized the man before him. When he first came to Huaiyin County to teach, he had come to inform the village head. He then quickly took out a document and handed it to the man, saying, "This is for you."

The other person took the bamboo slip and looked at it for a while, then nodded and said, "Hmm, I was just about to go and get this document."

Han Xin then asked, "Who are these children...?"

“Someone will come to teach them to read.” The volunteer teacher walked out of the courtyard and looked into the distance. Just then, he saw another young man riding a donkey and explained, “He’s here to take my place.”

Han Xin nodded again.

Han Xin remained silent as he watched the two teachers, both younger than himself, conversing and exchanging matters.

Seeing that the other person was about to leave, Han Xin hurriedly followed and asked, "Are you going to Guanzhong?"

"correct."

"I'm going to Guanzhong too."

You can call me Li Mi.

"My name is Han Xin."

Li Mi waved his hand towards the distance, and a group of young people who wanted to go to Guanzhong with him surrounded him.

These people all spoke with accents from Huaiyin. Han Xin looked at the volunteer teacher again and wondered who had taught these young people. These teachers who traveled to various places all had a kind of fearlessness and freedom.

(End of this chapter)