The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 179 Even in-laws need to settle accounts clearly.

Li Si, standing to the side, replied, "The soldiers are on their way back and will arrive in half an hour. This year's winter hunt has been very fruitful."

Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng smiled and nodded.

Li Si returned to his seat.

In less than half an hour, cartloads of game were brought into the winter hunting camp.

Sometimes, when the emperor went on winter hunts, he wouldn't actually go into the mountains and forests to ride and shoot. Instead, he would enjoy the fruits of his soldiers' labor upon their return.

And all these achievements belonged to the emperor.

Li Si watched as the emperor distributed the prey.

After the prey was divided, someone presented the emperor with a whole bear skin.

After noon, smoke rose from the camp, and the aroma of roasted meat filled the entire camp, carrying for miles on the wind.

Ying Zheng picked up a slice of meat, put it in his mouth and chewed, his eyes still fixed on a scroll of documents, looking at the latest state affairs.

Li Si handed a large piece of roasted meat to a soldier beside him and asked, "Where did that bear skin come from?"

"Reporting to the Prime Minister, it was sent by General Zhang Han, who is stationed in the Hexi Corridor. I heard that they saw a bear in the Qilian Mountains. This bear is called the Qilian Bear. I heard that this bear eats people. When General Zhang Han found this bear, it was seriously injured."

"General Zhang Han was a man of great courage. He treated the bear's wounds, and then every few days the bear would leave its prey in front of the general's house. It would bring the prey at nightfall and leave at dawn. Unfortunately, that day the bear seemed to have been bitten by other wild animals and was dying in front of General Zhang Han's house."

"General Zhang Han believed that the Qilian bear had many wounds and had encountered a pack of wolves. Later, he indeed found a pack of wolves on the mountain. There were dozens of wolves, including a wolf king. The bear fought the pack and won. The bear skin can also protect the emperor."

Upon hearing this, Li Si gave the guard another piece of roasted meat.

This is an extremely interesting story. Li Si looked at the emperor, who was still focused on reading the documents. The beautiful bearskin was draped over the emperor's body, and his gray beard and hair were mixed with the black bear fur.

The current emperor has more white hair than black hair, and Li Si pondered that he had been emperor for thirty-four years.

In fact, the emperor was nearly fifty years old. After catching a cold once, his health was not very good, and he would occasionally feel cold.

Li Si felt that he was getting old, and that one by one, the old people of Qin were leaving this world.

Sometimes, Li Si also felt that he wouldn't live much longer.

"Lee Si."

Upon hearing the emperor call his name again, Li Si stepped forward and bowed.

"Fusu is to begin the examinations next autumn, but the imperial edict has not yet been drafted?"

"The young master said that the imperial edict is to inform the world. This year is a holiday, and we will discuss it with the court officials at the next court meeting."

Ying Zheng nodded and finished reading the dossier.

Li Si glanced at the scroll the emperor was looking at; it concerned the construction of Weinan.

"Fusu wants to send the offspring of all of you to the distant border. What are your thoughts on this?"

“Your subject will obey your orders, my lord. If we do not do so, how can the county officials of the world be obedient, and how can Your lord win the hearts of the people?”

Li Si spoke with utmost sincerity.

Ying Zheng smiled.

Li Si's son was indeed on the frontier, guarding the Hexi Corridor in the northwest.

Even Wang Jian's grandson lived in the north.

With the treatment given to the offspring of these two men, it would be enough to convince the public. In the future, county officials throughout the land would be able to follow Li Si's example and implement the same policy smoothly.

When Li Si first heard the prince say this, he suspected that the prince had already planned to send Li You to the northwest.

"Recently, I have also heard about something concerning the young master."

Ying Zheng asked in a deep voice, "What is it?"

Li Si said, "Recently, you have been advocating the reclamation of Guanzhong and Longxi, and it seems to be quite effective. Now you are also encouraging people to plant more trees, with 10,000 trees to be planted every year."

Ying Zheng chewed on a slice of meat, saying nothing.

In the emperor's eyes, this was just a trivial matter and there was no need to mention it too much.

Li Si also felt that if 10,000 trees were planted every year, only a portion of them would survive. Planting 10,000 trees was not a difficult task; he could simply mobilize the manpower of various counties in Guanzhong.

Some say that Prince Fusu ordered Shusun Tong to plant 10,000 mulberry trees in Weinan.

That's because ever since Shusun Tong started teaching at the foot of Shangyan Mountain, every disciple who graduated and left would plant a mulberry tree at the foot of Shangyan Mountain.

Nowadays, the most common trees planted along the Jingye Canal are mulberry trees, and every summer the dark mulberries are more than you can eat.

Some say that Prince Fusu gave the Western Rong River Valley a name, and that place is now Qin territory, where prefectures and counties have been established. It is said to be called the Hexi Corridor.

People were discussing the Qin army's victory over the Xiongnu cavalry at Mazong Mountain.

Some people say that General Zhang Han also planted many mulberry trees in the Hexi Corridor. It is said that the mulberries in the northwest border are bigger and redder, and Zhang Han planted a million mulberry trees in the Hexi Corridor.

While the Hexi Corridor does indeed have millions of acres of fertile land, saying that it could plant millions of mulberry trees is a bit of an exaggeration. Fusu stood in Gaoquan Palace, looking at a map of the Hexi Corridor. The current Qin Hexi Corridor only included Wuwei County, Zhangye County, and the under-construction Guzang City, which was located next to Wuwei County. The current Hexi Corridor was only about half the area of ​​the later era.

Heng finally went home today, and Shusun Tong gave the child three days of freedom.

Three days after returning home, he had to go back to Jingye County to study hard.

Fusu told Heng the origin of the name Guzang City: "Long ago, the Yuezhi people of the Altai Mountains called this isolated city 'White Tent,' meaning that Guzang City was their eastern victorious city. Later, the Xiongnu people occupied it and called the city 'Gaizang City.' According to the earliest legend, the Zhou emperor once visited Guzang City to search for the Queen Mother of the West."

Heng asked, "Did the Zhou emperor find the Queen Mother of the West?"

Fusu laughed and said, "If the Zhou emperor found the Queen Mother of the West in Guzang City, then Zhang Han should also find the Queen Mother of the West."

Heng nodded thoughtfully and said, "So the places in the stories aren't necessarily real. Why did Father call it Guzang City?"

Fusu said, “The white tent in the Yuezhi’s Altaic language is actually Gaizang, which is the same as the Xiongnu language. However, if we really want to find a basis for this, we can look for it in the Rites of Zhou. There is a musical note called Guxi in the Rites of Zhou, so I call it Guzang City.”

Heng looked down and said, "This house is ours now."

Fusu smiled and nodded.

During the three days the young master returned to Gaoquan Palace, he ate an unusually large amount each day.

People in the palace even wondered if the young master was not eating well in Jingye County. Some even began to unite in their anger and wanted to ask Shusun Tong if he had mistreated the young master.

Tian An knew that the young master was actually doing very well under Shusun Tong's tutelage.

He just wanted the food that Grandpa Tian cooked himself.

We had another delicious meal today. The young master has left Xianyang once again to study in Jingye County.

Tian An stood in front of the palace gate to see them off, and after a long while he returned and said, "Madam, the young master said that he has made many friends in Jingye County."

Wang Tang'er said, "He is at the age when he needs playmates the most, so let him play outside. We can't always keep him locked up in the palace."

Tian An added, "Madam, rest assured, Shusun Tong will teach the young master well."

Fusu and Wang Tang'er were both at ease about this, as Shusun Tong was a thoroughly good person who always taught his students how to be good people.

These days, Granny Wang often keeps the lady company.

Granny Wang said that the lady would give birth in about half a month.

But less than half a month later, three days later, the lady went into labor.

The entire Gaoquan Palace was bustling with activity. This time, King Ben and his wife also came to the palace, the elderly couple nervously guarding the gate.

As the sound of a baby crying came from inside the hall, Granny Wang came out and said, "Congratulations, young master, congratulations, Grand Commandant Wang, your wife has given birth to another son."

Fusu walked into the house and looked at the newborn child.

The royal family of Qin had indeed dwindled, and there was no one to preside over the important matter of choosing a name, so Tian An could only wait for the prince to choose a name.

Unfortunately, the Qin royal family lacked an elder to oversee these matters. When news of the prince's second son's birth was sent to the emperor, the emperor sent two beautiful jade tablets as a gift.
The jade tablet was originally a ritual object, but it was indeed of excellent quality and a rare find in the world.

Fusu looked at the list of members of the imperial clan, but put it down after a short while. He then looked at the jade tablet in front of him and named the child Li.

Wang Ben liked the name very much, perhaps because he felt that the emperor's gift of ceremonial objects had such a meaning, and the reason why the young master was named Li came from this.

Wang Ben was naturally delighted, as if the emperor had bestowed the name upon him.

The following year, Heng turned eight years old, and Fusu told Wang Ben about the current situation of his eldest grandson.

Wang Ben listened very attentively, especially to the child's antics at Shangyan Mountain's school, which made him burst into laughter.

Fusu said, "I plan to send Heng to the army for training in the future."

Upon hearing this, Wang Ben hesitated.

Fusu then said, "I was thinking of having someone from the army teach him, but after thinking it over, I think the Grand Commandant is the most suitable..."

Wang Ben bowed and said, "Your subject obeys."

Fusu continued talking to his father-in-law, all about the future of the two children.

In Tian An's view, this was something the young master had to explain. It might seem like just casual conversation, but in Tian An's eyes, it was the young master's promise and explanation to the Wang family.

Furthermore, it was said that Prince Heng was to be trained in the army, and that the Grand Commandant would take Prince Heng into the army.

The young master's true intention was to make a promise to the Grand Commandant when he left the Qin court in the future.

Many years later, Wang Ben will surely leave his position as Grand Commandant, and then he can take his eldest grandson to the army for training.

This was both to allow Wang Ben to enjoy his old age with his grandson growing up and to ensure a stable transfer of power.

Reality is reality, family is family, and national affairs are national affairs. Even in-laws should keep clear accounts and exchange benefits.

All of this was contingent on Prince Fusu becoming the next emperor.

On the night of the birth of the young prince Li, after everyone had gone to sleep, Tian An sat alone in front of the memorial tablet of Empress Dowager Huayang. He said in a low voice, "The young prince is becoming more and more like an emperor. Now the young prince can weigh the pros and cons and will make conditions to exchange with those close to him."

(End of this chapter)