The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 183 The Great Mountains of Bashu
The two chased the bear for a while along the mountain path, but the bear disappeared into the forest. Lü Matong tightened his grip on the sword at his waist and exhaled heavily.

Zhang Liang stood on the mountainside, looking out at the distant mountains as far as the eye could see.

In the end, the two abandoned the so-called shortcuts they had heard about. Zhang Liang believed that those so-called shortcuts into Shu were probably only known to some people in Shu. For the two of them, who were going to Shu for the first time, taking the official road was the best option.

After this setback, Zhang Liang comforted Lü Matong.

While expressing his apologies for taking the shortcut on his own initiative, Lü Matong concluded that he should not believe hearsay in the future.

In reality, it was barely a proper road, winding and twisting with no end in sight.

The two used tree branches as walking sticks and walked for two days before finally seeing signs of human habitation.

Because Lü Matong was carrying a large bundle containing armor and an iron helmet hanging at his waist, he asked a family living by the roadside for directions and was rewarded with a bowl of hot rice porridge.

Lü Matong did not enter the courtyard of this Shu family, but sat at the door of their house eating rice porridge and talking with the owner.

Zhang Liang was also eating, holding his bowl, listening to the conversation between Commandant Lü and the other party.

They were talking about the current situation in Sichuan.

Upon learning that Zhang Liang was a teacher, the woman handed a piece of cured meat to the two men, saying, "Please accept this, teacher."

Zhang Liang refused, saying, "How can I take it..."

“Teacher, please take it. Our children are studying in the home of a volunteer teacher. You teachers always say that teaching one child is the same as teaching a group of children. We don’t need the food you send.”

Zhang Liang accepted the cured meat from the other party.

When the two embarked on their journey to Sichuan once again, the road ahead became much smoother, and the population gradually increased.

Lu Matong said, "Since the Qin kings of successive dynasties governed Shu, Shu Commandery has five large counties: Chengdu County, Pi County, Linqiong County, Guangdu County, and Fan County. Our Qin army has three large camps in Shu: the camp in Bidao County, the camp in Jiangyuan County, and the camp in Yandao County..."

As Zhang Liang listened to Lü Matong's account, he was surprised that this young Qin army captain knew so much about the territory. He probably learned most of it from the records, since it was indeed Lü Matong's first time in Shu, otherwise he wouldn't have gotten lost.

The fact that Qin managed to govern Shu by dividing it into so many counties is something Zhang Liang admired about the Qin kings throughout history.

The King of Qin was indeed better than the King of Han. Qin was also the country that respected talent the most. For this reason, Zhang Liang believed that talented people were willing to serve Qin, including Zheng Guo, Zhang Yi, and Li Si.

"We are going to Jiangyuan County, which is located on the banks of the Min River."

Zhang Liang nodded.

After reaching the Sichuan region, the two still needed to travel for two more days to reach the Minjiang River.

It snowed again in Sichuan in winter. Zhang Liang and Lü Matong found an abandoned house to stay in. After lighting a fire, they took off their shoes to keep warm.

It snowed all day, and the two of them had been traveling all day. The snow on their bodies melted due to their body heat, making their clothes sticky inside and out.

The journey had been arduous, especially since Zhang Liang noticed that he seemed to have caught a cold.

However, Lü Matong was a captain in the Qin army, and if he was even a day late, he would be punished according to military law.

The next day, before dawn, the two continued their journey.

When they arrived in Jiangyuan County, Lü Matong's feet were covered in blisters, and Zhang Liang was in no better shape, having come all the way to the county despite having a high fever from a cold.

The magistrate of the county, upon learning that the visitors were a military captain and a teacher sent to teach in a rural area, naturally dared not neglect them.

On the second day after arriving in Jiangyuan County, Zhang Liang woke up from his sickbed and felt like he had come back to life. He turned around and saw an old man brewing medicine.

Zhang Liang propped himself up and looked at the bamboo hut.

The old man smiled and said, "We don't have much else here, but we have a lot of bamboo."

As they were talking, Zhang Liang saw a fat bear on the ground. The bear's black and white fur was rising and falling, indicating that it was asleep.

The old man said, "These bears don't eat people. They eat bamboo, and then they sleep after they've eaten their fill."

Zhang Liang was still somewhat stunned.

The old man added, "It's cold outside, but it likes to sleep inside because it's warm."

The bear was fast asleep. Feeling that he had regained some strength, Zhang Liang stepped forward and observed it.

The old man stomped his foot heavily, trying to shoo it away, but it remained fast asleep, its fur still rippling. It only slightly moved its paw.

The bear was so big that the old man couldn't move it, so he could only let it sleep there.

Zhang Liang put on his coat and went outside. He saw the snow scene in Shu and the distant mountains. The snow had stopped, but it was still raining.

An elderly man sitting inside, still sorting through medicinal herbs, said in a low voice, "Our Sichuan region is known for its abundant rainfall."

Zhang Liang saw the deep mountains shrouded in mist, and looking at his own clothes, he realized that he would be hiding behind these mountains from now on, living under a different identity.

Zhang Liang knew he hadn't forgotten his grand plan to overthrow Qin and restore the country, but the current situation remained very difficult.

Of course, Zhang Liang felt that restoring the kingdom was difficult and that he needed to wait for the right opportunity. But for Prince Fusu, wasn't governing the world a challenge?
When Zhang Liang first entered Hangu Pass, he also wanted to ask Prince Fusu in Xianyang how he planned to govern this vast country.

The Qin state was vast, and for Prince Fusu, governing the country was undoubtedly a major challenge.

In fact, everyone was in the same situation. Zhang Liang felt that Prince Fusu was no better off than himself in the face of the pressing problem of governing the country.

Today, Lü Matong brought the magistrate of Jiangyuan County to visit, and also brought glutinous rice.

In the eyes of ordinary people, eating glutinous rice can cure diseases and ward off misfortune.

Reflecting on the past, Zhang Liang, after visiting Tongguan, remembered something he had overheard: a sentence he had inadvertently heard in Tongguan County.

That saying is, "Eat well."

In fact, after so many years of facing Qin army searches, Zhang Liang hadn't had such a quiet and peaceful meal in a long time.

As Zhang Liang ate the glutinous rice in his mouth, he saw the county magistrate hand him a piece of paper. The paper contained a teaching support order and also had Han Yuan's name on it.

Qin still placed restrictions on the teachers sent to rural areas; each teacher was supervised by the county magistrate.

However, the volunteer teachers could also report on the county magistrate, and even the military officer Lü Matong could supervise both the county magistrate and the volunteer teachers.

Zhang Liang stamped his fingerprint on the volunteer teaching order, and from then on became a volunteer teacher here, named Han Yuan.

After resting for half a month, the frail teacher who had been the subject of much discussion in Jiangyuan County finally came out to teach in rural areas.

There are quite a few school-age children in Jiangyuan County. From those who started elementary school at the age of ten to those who were able to write essays at the age of fifteen or sixteen, there are a total of three hundred children.

Zhang Liang needs to teach alongside the other three volunteer teachers.

The Min River flows very clear. Zhang Liang often stood here looking south. He heard that the Qin army marched south from here, and that the local people said that more Qin soldiers went there than returned.

It wasn't until Zhang Liang saw the county annals of Jiangyuan County through Lü Matong that he realized the enormous price Qin had paid for its southern expedition.

In the past, Zhang Liang would have thought like everyone else: was the emperor's southern expedition too hasty and opportunistic? Perhaps others wouldn't have thought of unifying the south either.

But the emperor did just that. Some people said that what the emperor did was wrong, and others said that the emperor's actions would cause public outrage. If it weren't for the powerful Qin army, people in various places would have already risen up to restore their kingdoms.

Zhang Liang then thought of the young master Fusu in Xianyang.

If Prince Fusu had truly succeeded in governing the country, and the Qin Dynasty had indeed prospered as a result.

Then everything the First Emperor did would be considered correct, and those former nobles of the six states who now claim to be rebelling against Qin would be a joke.

Zhang Liang felt that Xiang Liang in Chu might be a force among the anti-Qin forces, but he was not that powerful.

Or perhaps the three Tian brothers from Qi, who, though powerful, lacked prestige.

"Brother Han!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Liang turned around and saw Lü Matong carrying fish. He smiled and said, "We're having fish tonight, and we also got some Shu wine. Let's drink together."

"I still need to prepare for my teaching assignment tonight, so I won't be drinking."

Lu Matong, still smiling, said, "Then let's eat fish together."

Zhang Liang said, "Alright."

Shu is indeed a wonderful place. Only after Zhang Liang lived in the Shu Plain surrounded by mountains for a period of time did he realize how peaceful life was there.

There are no grudges between the former subjects and nobles of the six states here, nor are there people traveling from place to place who are determined to rebel against Qin, or those who seek fame and fortune.

This place is like a secluded paradise, so peaceful that you don't want to leave. The people here live simple and honest lives; although they are not wealthy, they don't have many worries.

Before coming to Shu, when Han was still under the rule of the King of Han, Zhang Liang had read many books as a child. The books at that time said that Shu was a very bad place, not a place where people could live. It was all mountains and forests, where no food could be grown, and where there were many snakes and insects.

But now it seems that Zhang Liang really thought this place was a blessed land. In fact, the county annals record that the grain harvest here was very abundant and that it was a granary set up by Qin in Shu.

Shu Commandery was divided into counties, and within each county were townships. Each township had three elders in charge of farming and production, a tax collector (Sefu) to collect land taxes, and a patrolman (Youjiao) to maintain order.

The Qin administration in Shu basically continued the governance methods that followed Shang Yang.

While eating fish with Lü Matong that night, Lü Matong mentioned that the exams would be held next year, and that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the news would be sent to Sichuan after this winter.

In the days that followed, Zhang Liang continued to learn about Shu under Qin's rule, including the Brocade Weaving Village, the Cart Official Village, the Chariot Manufacturing Village, and the Salt Well Village, which had the most salt wells.

The Qin army controlled the Five-Foot Road in Shu, a vital passage for defending against the southwestern barbarians.

The Shu region was not only not a place of exile as described by people from the Central Plains, but it was actually a prosperous land, so prosperous that it was astonishing.

Zhang Liang sighed inwardly, thinking how vast the world truly was, encompassing the Qin Plain stretching for eight hundred miles and the Bashu Mountains for eight hundred miles.

(End of this chapter)