The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 180 Reencounter with Zhang Liang
Late at night, Tian An muttered to himself, "If you want to become emperor, you must think of yourself as well as the people of the world."

It was late at night, and Tian An wiped the table in front of the memorial tablet one last time before going back to rest.

The next day, before dawn, Tian An woke up early and began to busy himself with the day's tasks, especially kneading dough.

It was fully bright that day. Fusu was having breakfast with his wife. The baby had just been born, and his wife was still very weak and needed Granny Wang's careful care.

As noon approached, the prince sat in the Gaoquan Palace, busy with state affairs.

In previous years, there weren't many state affairs to handle during the winter, and few official documents from various places were sent to Xianyang during this cold winter.

When there are occasional state affairs, the young master never delays; he usually arranges everything on the same day and also has documents sent to various places on the same day.

The news that Prince Fusu's second son had been born quickly spread throughout Xianyang.

According to the customs that the people of Qin developed under the Qin laws, when someone had a happy occasion, other families would not usually offer expensive gifts to congratulate them.

Even now, the Qin people prohibit extravagance in marriage, and this prohibition of extravagance naturally extends to childbirth.

Needless to say, the Duke of Pinyang had already given the old residence of Pinyang to his young master Heng. In fact, it was more of an inheritance than a gift.

Of course, some people congratulated Prince Fusu, and the people of Weinan were all celebrating for him.

Han Xin, who was in Tongguan, saw the people there placing bags of grain in front of a house. The house was not very big, but it had been empty for a long time. He heard that someone cleaned it every three to five days.

Everyone placed their grain in front of the house. The amount of grain given was not much; each family received only a bowl of wheat.

Han Xin asked the people around him, and they all said that this was to celebrate Prince Fusu.

After the Baiqu Canal was repaired, Qingbi had a long vacation, the length of which depended on when Prince Fusu needed him to do something.

During his year off, Qingbi lived a life just like any other ordinary person.

"Old sir, since people want to celebrate for Prince Fusu, why don't they go to Xianyang?"

Qingbi listened to the other person's accented speech and knew that this person was not from Qin. In those days, the population of Tongguan was increasing, and naturally, more and more outsiders were moving into Qin.

Qingbi explained, "How long have you been in Tongguan?"

Han Xin looked to be under thirty years old. His clothes were old and patched, suggesting that he was living in poverty.

"I've been in Guanzhong for four months now."

Qingbi nodded and said, "You probably don't know what Tongguan used to be like."

Han Xin shook his head.

Qingbi, who was already of age with grandchildren, said, "Tongguan used to be very poor. It was located on the banks of the Wei River, and every autumn or spring flood would inundate Tongguan. The people living in Tongguan could not grow much grain each year, and with the floods every year, many people did not want to stay in Tongguan."

"Back then, Tongguan wasn't called Tongguan, and Huayin County wasn't called Huayin County either. A long time ago, Huayin County was called Ningqin, and Tongguan was just a small village outside Ningqin County. The people here lived a very difficult life back then. You can ask Sima Xin, the county magistrate here, about these things. He served here back then."

As Han Xin gazed at the sturdy city walls of Tongguan and listened to the old man's story, he learned that Tongguan, and indeed the entire Weinan region, was built up bit by bit by the people themselves. The people here spent ten years, a full ten years of perseverance, to transform Weinan and make it the richest place in Guanzhong.

Before the Jingye Canal was dug, there were large areas of dry land in Weinan, and thousands of acres of farmland could not be irrigated. During the rainy season and flood season, the fields would be flooded. The Wei River could provide people with food, but it could also destroy people's homes repeatedly. Therefore, Prince Fusu ordered the construction of the canal to control the water.

These are ditches dug by the barefoot people here, with tattered rags covering their bodies, using their bare hands.

At the young master's command, construction of the canal began.

At first, people had doubts, but when they saw that the barren Shangyan Township had been transformed into thousands of acres of fertile land by a canal, it moved many people and also alarmed the Qin court.

Then, the relocation of people began.

These stories even brought tears to Han Xin's eyes.

Qingbi said, "Hundreds of thousands of poor people entered the pass. Under General Zhang Han's orders, they reclaimed land, built canals, and constructed houses. At first, those poor people had nothing when they entered Guanzhong. All they had was the hope given to them by Prince Fusu. That hope was the Jingye Canal. Those people survived the most difficult year by relying on that hope."

"That year, these poor people couldn't even support their children. It was Shusun Tong who took in all the children and helped the poor people grow grain, which they then used to exchange for the children. The entire Weinan region, including Tongguan, was built from a barren and impoverished place."

"Fortunately, this canal has been dug." As she spoke, tears welled up in Qingbi's eyes.

From having nothing to becoming the richest place in Guanzhong today, the journey has been incredibly difficult. Now, those poor people have fertile land to support their children. Before entering Guanzhong, they were also poor people without land. After entering Guanzhong, they gained land, a home, and a better household registration.

Qingbi said, "Look how strong and healthy our children are. We live such a good life now. You don't need to be envious. Back then, this was the poorest place in Guanzhong."

He continued, "The young master once said that wealth does not come from nothing, but is built by people's own hands."

Han Xin stood there, speechless for a moment.

The people here deeply respect and love Prince Fusu. Indeed... how could they not respect and love a prince who can provide them with food, support their children, and give them a home?

These are the people who trust the young master the most, so what else can't they trust?
They will be loyal to whoever can provide them with enough to eat, support their children, and enable them to live a better life.

Putting himself in Fusu's shoes, Han Xin felt that if he were in Fusu's shoes, he would also be extremely loyal to him.

Now, Han Xin felt he owed Prince Fusu a debt. He had been reading and eating at Tongguan, but had never thought of doing anything for the prince. Han Xin slowly lowered his head, remaining silent.

Not knowing what the person in front of him was thinking, Qingbi said, "Back when the canal was being built, this house was where Prince Fusu lived. He lived here for more than a year. When Prince Fusu was in charge of building the Xianyang Bridge, he personally lived here on the west bank of the Wei River. Later, when he wanted to build the Jingye Canal, he lived near Tongguan City."

At this moment, Han Xin also wanted to put a bowl of grain in front of this courtyard, but he also understood that he was a penniless person and had nothing at all.

Han Xin stood motionless, gazing at the house with immense respect.

If there is anyone in this world who can command the respect of all, it is probably only Prince Fusu.

People in the world may think that the emperor who unified the world was awe-inspiring and feared by the former nobles of the six states.

Prince Fusu, on the other hand, is a person who will be respected and loved by the world.

The reason is actually quite simple: Prince Fusu loved his people and all the people under heaven.

The current Prince Fusu loves the people of Guanzhong so much that he has allowed countless poor people to enter Guanzhong, enabling them to live a better life.

In the future, Prince Fusu will also love the people of the Central Plains in the same way.

This is people's most basic judgment.

A cunning and untrustworthy person may have capable people to help him, but no one will ever be loyal to him to the death.

A person who values ​​integrity and helps others will surely gain the support of the majority.

Moreover, this person is the emperor's son.

Han Xin recalled what Lou Jing had once said: that Prince Fusu was born to be an emperor.

The following day, the notices in front of Tongguan City were changed. One notice that read "Major Snow" was taken down, and another notice that read "Winter Solstice" was posted.

To popularize the 24 solar terms, almost every county would post such notices on its city walls, letting people know what solar term it was and what time of year it was.

The winter solstice marks the beginning of the new year.

As the saying goes, autumn is for harvesting and winter for storing, so it's time to take out the stored grains to eat and slaughter the livestock, chickens, and ducks that have been raised for a year.

However, classes are still being held in the various schools in Tongguan City today. If nothing unexpected happens, Tongguan City will become a city that gathers students from all over the world in the future.

The original Tongguan city was built to accommodate a population of 300,000, so the current city can fully accommodate 300,000 students.

Nowadays, 300,000 students is a frightening number.

Even at its peak, the Jixia Academy only had a few hundred to a thousand students.

Xiao He believed that as long as the policy of supporting education in rural areas continued, the number of students in Tongguan could reach this scale.

In other words, the current Tongguan area, including the relocated residents, is far from being able to fill the area.

Xiao He finally understood why Prince Fusu wanted to select talents: the country needed more people to build it up and needed to set up more officials and soldiers to maintain the operation of the country.

Tongguan is busy from early morning.

At noon, hungry children ran out of the school and rushed to the various eateries, as it was the winter solstice and this was almost the most sumptuous meal of the year.

Inside the restaurant, there was an abundance of meat, and steam rose from the boiling soup in the cold wind. Through the steam, there were smiling faces of children scrambling to eat the meat and drink the soup.

Zhang Liang, who was also from Sanchuan County during the winter solstice, didn't know when the custom of feasting and drinking during the winter solstice had developed. He stood on the straight road and looked at the present-day Sanchuan County from afar.

Li Si's disciple became the prefect of this region, but after what happened last time, he could no longer enter Sanchuan Prefecture.

Standing on the former land of Han, Zhang Liang frowned and remained silent.

A young boy hurried over, handed over a roll of paper, and bowed, saying, "Sir, this is what my teacher asked me to give you."

Zhang Liang took the paper, bowed, and said, "Please convey my gratitude to your teacher."

"Mm," the child replied and quickly ran off.

Zhang Liang never expected that Wang Yu would still be willing to help him, even though he had deceived him in the past.

Upon reading the letter, Zhang Liang was very grateful for Wang Yu's help.

Instead of reporting him, he was willing to help him.

Three days after the winter solstice, Zhang Liang arrived at the agreed meeting place as promised.

Wang Yu was still wearing his worn-out clothes. He said, "If you hadn't wanted to change your identity to teach in a rural area, I would have reported you."

(End of this chapter)