The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 175 The Child I Know

Even after Qin unified the world, there were still many soldiers guarding Hangu Pass.

As the night passed, the footsteps of the Qin soldiers coming and going never stopped.

As dawn broke, Han Xin hadn't slept well that night. Only after he had actually entered the pass did he begin to wonder if his previous decision had been wrong, and whether he really should go to Guanzhong.

I wouldn't say I was anxious, just a little confused.

These students seemed quite happy. They had left their hometowns and come to Guanzhong. From their words, Han Xin knew that they were about to face a different kind of life.

In the morning, Han Xin ate some bread, carried his bag, and headed west towards Hangu Pass.

This was indeed a formidable pass. Han Xin walked out of Hangu Pass and looked back at the city.

Li Mi asked, "I'm going to Weinan. Will you come with me?"

Han Xin looked back again, but saw no one else.

Li Mi added, "Hei Yuan has gone to teach in a rural area again. He said there's a place that needs a volunteer teacher and asked me to take care of you."

"Thank you." Han Xin nodded and followed him toward Tongguan City.

About ten miles behind Hangu Pass is Tongguan City. When Han Xin first stood under Tongguan City on the banks of the Yellow River and saw the tall city walls and the crowds coming and going, he was stunned. He had never imagined that there would be so many people outside a city.

Most of them came to Guanzhong to find work. It's like a population distribution center, where there are people recruiting and people looking for work.

While Li Mi was reporting to the county official, Han Xin stood in front of the city gate and observed for a while. He noticed that as long as people here reported their skills, they would be taken away in less than half an hour. Whether they were men or women, as long as they had skills, they were useful in Guanzhong.

"Brother, are you here looking for a job?"

Han Xin nodded.

The other person spoke fluent Guanzhong dialect and asked, "Do you know how to farm?"

Han Xin shook his head.

"You know carpentry?"

Han Xin shook his head again.

"A bricklayer?"

Han Xin shook his head again.

The other party said impatiently, "Can't you at least put in some effort?"

Seeing Han Xin shake his head again, the other party said, "Brother, not only is Guanzhong short of people, but the Hexi Corridor is the most in need of people. If you go to the Hexi Corridor, you might be able to fight a war."

Han Xin shook his head again.

The other party then ignored them and went to ask someone else.

Li Mi has not come out since entering Tongguan City.

Han Xin waited for two hours, but no one came. A group of people left the city of Tongguan, and then a large group arrived. This large group had also come from Hangu Pass.

So Han Xin simply waited by the river.

By dusk, the people who had gathered in front of Tongguan City had all left.

"Han Xin!"

Hearing the call from behind, Han Xin turned around and saw Li Mi.

Led by Li Mi, Han Xin finally entered Tongguan City. As soon as he entered the city, he heard the sound of children reading aloud.

Unlike the bustling outside the city, the city was very clean. Even the roads were paved with clean stone slabs. The city was filled with groups of children, some dressed in fine clothes and others around 15 or 16 years old.

Li Mi asked, "Didn't you ever think about going into the city?"

Han Xin replied, "No."

The two entered a restaurant in the city and ate there. Many children were eating there. The setting sun shone on the huge restaurant, and the children left one after another after they finished eating.

Afterwards, several more people entered the restaurant. They heard that the person in question was from the Chu region. Their clothes were not very nice; their coarse linen clothes were somewhat dirty, even worse than their own. Yet, they were respected by the people here.

Han Xin noticed that the people here respected others, were respected, and had enough to eat and wear.

This was a feeling that Han Xin had never experienced before in Huaiyin.

There is a curfew in Tongguan City at night. After the curfew is lifted, the whole city becomes quiet.

The next day, Xiao He and Cao Shen arrived at the library in Tongguan.

Just then, Han Xin also arrived at the library; he wanted to read some books.

The library in Tongguan City was larger and had more books, most of which were printed on paper.

Han Xin met the person he had seen at the restaurant yesterday, but the person was also reading a book after arriving here.

Neither of them disturbed the other, and they each continued reading their books.

For a month, more and more people came to Tongguan City to take the exam, and most of them lived in Tongguan City.

Han Xin was eager to know how Guanzhong had been governed in such a way.

After Li Mi went to Tongguan, he never returned. However, living in Tongguan City, Han Xin did not have to worry about food, clothing, or lodging, because he had previously worked at the library in Sanchuan County, and with Li Mi's recommendation, he was able to continue working at the library there.

Han Xin resumed his life of eating, sleeping, waking up to read, and eating while reading.

After entering Tongguan City, Han Xin was able to see more books about Prince Fusu and the construction of Guanzhong.

Recently, more and more people have been wanting to become officials in Qin. In just half a month, there were already hundreds of such people.

The restaurant was a very orderly place.

Indeed, for the Qin people, eating was a very disciplined affair. First and foremost, they could not waste food; not a single grain could be wasted.

During meals, one must not whisper or make noise, and especially must sit upright.

When even children as young as ten or under could follow the rules, Han Xin began to eat properly as well, and those who came later unconsciously integrated into this system.

In the words of the Qin people, eating well is very important.

After the meal, those who came to take the exam also needed to find work in Tongguan City. Some were responsible for printing books, some for organizing papers, and everyone who came here had something to do.

Han Xin felt that his job was the best, as he could read books while working.

Among these people, Han Xin noticed a newly arrived man named Lou Jing, a volunteer teacher from the Hexi Corridor.

According to Lou Jing's account, Prince Fusu governed Guanzhong and benefited hundreds of thousands of people in three to five years, and nearly a million people in ten years. The people of the world submitted to him, he subdued the Western Rong people to repair the Hexi Corridor, and distributed land to the people.

Since the Zhou emperor established Qin as a capital city 800 years ago, Guanzhong has never been so prosperous.

Prince Fusu was born to be emperor.

Han Xin listened with curiosity, for all of this was thanks to Prince Fusu.

According to the book collection records in the library, Han Xin did indeed read books related to the construction of Guanzhong.

This seems to further corroborate the fact that Prince Fusu's construction efforts in Guanzhong were genuine.

As Lou Jing finished speaking, someone said loudly, "Who doesn't know that you, Lou Jing, have been in Guanzhong for so many years without ever seeing Prince Fusu? Back then, you offered Prince Fusu your national policies, but they were never adopted by him."

Outside the restaurant, a murmur of discussion arose, but Lou Jing couldn't find the person who was speaking.

Xiao He left the crowd first, and Cao Can, who was walking behind, said, "I heard that this Lou Jing has indeed been in Guanzhong for several years, but judging from his words and deeds, he seems unreliable."

Xiao He said, "Don't worry about them."

Cao Shen nodded.

Many people wanted to become officials in Qin this time, and they said they would enter officialdom through examinations. This means that the Qin court selected the best candidates, and among these people, some would definitely be eliminated.

Xiao He returned to his residence. "I heard there are people outside Tongguan who can deliver letters?"

Cao Can said, "Those are all government officials."

Xiao He nodded.

That night, Xiao He, using his position as a county official, contacted the prefectural administrator of Weinan County through the garrison at Tongguan.

It is unknown how Xiao He did it. Cao Can only knows that Xiao He discussed it for a while with Sima Xin, the prefect of Weinan County, and Sima Xin agreed to include the letter that Xiao He wanted to send to the teacher in Langya County when he delivered the documents to Langya.

Cao Shen didn't ask any further questions, and the two continued as usual.

The construction of Tongguan City was mainly based on the schools within the city, and all the facilities here were also mainly for the purpose of serving the schools. Although there were many people coming and going, people's transactions were still mainly based on grain, with very few transactions using copper coins; most transactions were barter.

If a very wealthy person came to Tongguan with a large amount of money, he would find it difficult to buy what he wanted with copper coins.

Besides being an academic city, Tongguan was also a hub for the transfer of labor. As a large number of people poured into Guanzhong, many of them would come to Tongguan, the first stop in the region, to hire laborers.

Guanzhong seemed to always need people, and Xiao He would occasionally leave Tongguan City to visit various parts of Guanzhong.

Xiao He discovered that roads were being built, fields were being reclaimed, canals were being constructed, and houses were being built everywhere in Guanzhong.

All the roads in this pass converge in one direction, and at the end of all the roads is Xianyang City.

Standing by the Jingye Canal, Xiao He saw the stone tablet that recorded when Prince Fusu began building the canal and when it was completed.

When Xiao He returned to Tongguan City, it was already night, and he met Sima Xin once again.

Sima Xin said the letter had been sent to Langya County, but with the round trip, it would probably take two months for the recipient to receive it.

Xiao He didn't care about these things. The prefect was already very kind to be able to send his letter to Lang through the convenience of document transmission.

If it were someone else, they might refuse.

Facing Sima Xin, Xiao He bowed and said, "Thank you."

Cao Shen also bowed in greeting; most people would have refused such an offer.

Sima Xin said calmly, "It's alright, I know this child, Lang."

This time, it was Xiao He's turn to be puzzled.

Sima Xin continued, “When I first took office in Weinan, Lang was among the first group of people to go there to teach. Three years ago, this boy came back once. He could have stayed in Guanzhong as an official, but he said he wanted to continue teaching. Since then, he has never come back. However, last year, one of Lang’s students came to Guanzhong and told me about him.”

After a pause, Sima Xin stood by the Yellow River and sighed, "That boy married a very beautiful wife and had a son. Lang lives by the sea. Although he hasn't returned for many years, more than ten of his students come to Tongguan every year. They are all children taught by Lang. They are as studious and kind as Lang."

(End of this chapter)