The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 193 A Letter to Zhongyangli

When the Baiqu Canal was being excavated, Jingyang County had only just begun construction, and the county was completed just two years ago. The position of county magistrate is still vacant.

Not only is there no county magistrate, but the people there are also commoners who moved to Guanzhong in the past two years. However, there has been no trouble and the situation has remained stable.

This piqued Xiao He's curiosity.

Xiao He, who was reading a book, heard voices not far away. He looked up and saw someone talking to the Qin soldiers guarding the place.

Then, a Qin soldier came quickly over carrying a basket. When he opened the basket, there were four bowls of hot noodles. He said, "This is what Zhang boy gave you. He added ginger to the noodles. The autumn rain in Guanzhong is very cold. Eating this will help you ward off the cold."

It turns out that the person who had just spoken to the Qin army was Zhang Xiaozi.

Xiao He secretly made a mental note of it.

The soldier took the noodles out of the basket and left with the empty basket.

First, finish the noodles, then drink the mutton soup in the bowl, which will warm your internal organs.

After finishing a bowl of noodles, Xiao He continued reading his book, unaware of what time it was at night, as the autumn rain was still falling.

The village remains heavily guarded.

Only after feeling sleepy did Xiao He put down the book in his hand.

The next day, when Xiao He woke up, he found that the young couple was no longer there.

“They left half an hour ago. They said that Yunzhong County, where they were going, was a long way away and they had to keep going.”

Xiao He went outside and saw that the scenery was wet and drizzling. The two put on straw hats, carried their bundles, and continued their journey north of the Wei River.

Xiao He had only taken two steps when he heard laughter and chatter coming from afar behind him.

Looking back, I saw a large group of people heading towards Jingye County. They were in small groups, including men, women, and children.

Seeing that Xiao He had stopped, Cao Can also turned around and saw crowds of people pouring into Jingye County.

"Rumor has it that there is a large workshop in Jingye County that can accommodate thousands of people."

Xiao He looked towards Jingye County again, and after a moment, he turned his gaze away and continued walking north of the Wei River.

The newly established Jingyang County is located at the border of Sanyuan County and Gaoling County, and the three counties are very close to each other.

After leaving Weinan, Xiao He and Cao Can first passed through Pinyang County, and it was the morning of the second day when they arrived in Jingyang County.

The autumn rain finally stopped, and the sun finally came out. Xiao He entered Jingyang County, where there was only one small village, and the houses were dilapidated and the roads were muddy.

People, dressed in thin clothing, were still busy carrying grain.

Cao Can walked to the side, looking somewhat unhappy. He had finally managed to pass the exam and obtain the position of county magistrate, but when he arrived in Jingyang County, no one came to greet him.

Xiao He remained silent throughout the journey; Jingyang County appeared to be a very poor county.

It's far inferior to Tongguan and the counties of Weinan.

After walking for a while, the two finally found the county government office on the north side of the village. The county government office was located on the banks of the Baiqu Canal. It looked very large and seemed to be newly built, but there was only a gatekeeper who was fast asleep in front of the gate.

Cao Shen woke up the gatekeeper, who looked to be in his early fifties and spoke with a distinct Guanzhong accent.

Upon seeing the visitor, he muttered a few complaints in his Guanzhong accent, but when he saw that both Cao Can and Xiao He were carrying swords, he immediately became polite.

After Cao Can explained his identity, the gatekeeper finally bowed.

The gatekeeper pushed open the door and entered, saying, "County Magistrate Xiao, you can tell me anything in the future. I am Old Wu, and the villagers call me Uncle Wu."

"Uber?"

Old Wu smiled and said, "I had a lot of things to do at home last night and didn't sleep well, so I fell asleep sitting in front of the door. Please don't take offense, Magistrate Xiao."

Upon arriving, Cao Shen knew that no matter how high his status was, he couldn't be arrogant. The other party was clearly an old official from Guanzhong, so he had to be polite.

Old Wu led the two into the county government building. He continued, "Prefect Zhang used to oversee the construction of the Bai Canal right here. After the Bai Canal was completed, Prefect Zhang left, leaving behind this county government building and this old man like me. Our county is the largest of the three counties, and also the most populous..."

Old Wu kept talking on and on, while Xiao He and Cao Can looked around the county government building.

Are you the only person here?

"I am the only one here. This county is newly established, and there are many things that I still need to wait for the county magistrate to give me instructions on."

Having fewer people also has its advantages. Xiao He didn't think it was a difficult task. He and Cao Can worked slowly and steadily and were able to build up the county well.

Without a county magistrate, Xiao He was the highest-ranking official in the county.

That night, the two stayed at the county government building.

After tidying up, Cao Shen said, "This county government isn't bad at all. I heard from Lao Wu that he'll be going to Xianyang tomorrow. You can go there to collect rice and flour."

Xiao He nodded and continued writing.

Cao Shen looked at the contents of the letter and asked, "Is this a letter for Liu Ji?"

"Not only Liu Ji, but also the county magistrate of Zhongyangli, and our relatives."

Upon hearing this, Cao Shen sat down to the side. He missed Zhongyangli and wanted to eat the rice from Zhongyangli.

However, upon thinking of Liu Ji, Cao Shen quickly finished the porridge in his bowl and said, "If this letter really reaches Liu Ji, he will definitely send the child over."

Xiao He said, "I haven't seen Liu Fei and Liu Ying for a long time."

Cao Shen sighed and went to rest.

This place is different from Tongguan. In Tongguan, you don't have to worry about food and lodging. You eat well every day, and the accommodations are actually quite nice too.

But the food and lodging here can only be simple. Cao Shen doesn't know how to cook, and the porridge he made had a burnt taste.

The next morning, Xiao He walked through the village and observed the situation in various parts of the village. The village was built in a very neat and orderly manner, as if they had built the most houses with the least amount of land, and then saved more land for cultivation.

After observing the situation in the village, Xiao He then went to check on the situation at Baiqu.

Because Cao Shen was to oversee the county government, and if there were any issues in the village, he could go and take charge first, so he wasn't asked to come along. It was currently autumn, and all the inlets along the Bai Canal were closed, so the water level in the Bai Canal was very high.

Xiao He knew that this was a unique autumn flood in Guanzhong. Every year during the autumn flood, the water level of the river would rise. Just as Prince Fusu wrote in his book, Guanzhong was a plain crisscrossed by rivers.

Guanzhong prospered because of its rivers, but the rivers also led to uneven distribution of water resources. In other words, there are tens of thousands of hectares of dry land, and it is common for fields near water sources to be flooded.

Water management was the most important task in Guanzhong.

Xiao He walked to the stone tablet by the Baiqu Canal and saw the inscriptions on it, including the four characters "Gongzi Fusu Xuanzao" (公子扶苏宣造), as well as the names of the people who participated in the construction below.

Xiao He then saw Zhang Cang, the Junior Chamberlain Zhang Cang.

I first saw this name in books about Tongguan. It is indeed engraved on the stone tablet of Baiqu. It is said that this Zhang Cang was also a disciple of Xunzi.

Standing by the Baiqu Canal, one can see the fields stretching as far as the eye can see.

The Qin Dynasty became powerful because of its land, and the current Qin Dynasty is the same, becoming wealthy because of its land.

Prince Fusu spent five years in Weinan constructing the Jingye Canal, which added tens of thousands of hectares of fertile land to Guanzhong.

Back then, the State of Zheng built the Zheng Guo Canal, which added tens of thousands of hectares of farmland to Guanzhong. Now, Prince Fusu has built the Bai Canal, which can support hundreds of thousands of people.

Prince Fusu was indeed working on flood control, and he achieved remarkable results.

Xiao He recalled the situation in Chu. Even back when the emperor made his eastern tour, many people in Chu still wanted to restore Chu.

Xiao He didn't know if the Chu region would change during the two years he was away.

Right now, Xiao He needs to achieve enough results so that he can return to Chu and rebuild the region in the future.

Or perhaps we could bring more Chu people to Guanzhong, and then let more Chu people return to build their hometown.

These were all Xiao He could think of. On the way back, he kept thinking about the situation at Tongguan and how to develop Jingyang.

Jingyang is different from Tongguan.

Tongguan is adjacent to Hangu Pass, and its location contributed to the prosperity of Tongguan's population.

Jingyang is different. It is located in the heart of the Guanzhong Plain and has no neighboring cities or passes.

Upon returning to the county government, Wu Bo indeed brought a lot of rice and flour, and even a bag of money, all of which were given by the Prime Minister's residence.

Xiao He entrusted the matter to Cao Can and began preparations for the construction of Jingyang.

Although Jingyang does not have a location like Tongguan, nor the fertile fields of Weinan, even with the irrigation from the Baiqu Canal, it is not something that can be done overnight to cultivate the land well.

Xiao He had seen the grain harvest of the previous year in this area. According to the standards of other counties in Guanzhong, Jingyang County's grain output was still at the level of a poor county.

Xiao He did not think these difficult questions would stump him. Although he was appointed as the county magistrate by Prince Fusu, it was only at this moment that Xiao He truly saw the questions that Prince Fusu had set for him.

This Jingyang is the question given by the young master.

Xiao He looked towards Xianyang. Even from the highest point in Jingyang County, he couldn't see Xianyang. Looking into the distance, he could only see the northern suburbs of Xianyang, where there was a highway that was said to lead directly to the Great Wall in the north.

The young man named Han Xin traveled north along this route.

During his half-month stay in Jingyang, another autumn rain fell in Guanzhong. Besides being a gatekeeper, Lao Wu was also a skilled cook.

Cao Can spent a long time with this old man, Wu, and learned that Wu had five sons, which was a great burden for him.

Thinking back to the first time he met Lao Wu, he saw him sleeping in front of the county government building, looking haggard. Cao Can felt a little guilty, remembering that he had secretly criticized Lao Wu.

Old Wu is a widower. His wife passed away ten years ago. His four sons are all married, and his youngest son went to the Northwest to join the army.

Old Wu fought hard on the battlefield and earned merits, which is why he now has land to support his large family.

Old Wu said his biggest regret was that he was fighting in the war and couldn't see his wife one last time. Now his son and he don't get along, and they argue every time they meet.

Old Wu had no choice but to move to Jingyang.

This is about Lao Wu. Xiao He saw that Cao Shen was most moved by this story, and he was about to become sworn brothers with Lao Wu.

In Xianyang, the autumn rain had just stopped when Fusu visited his teacher's home.

Li Si personally brewed tea for the prince, saying, "Zhang Cang said he can't live without tea, and now I feel the same way."

The brewed hot tea was still steaming when Fusu said, "Some people say that war in the north may be imminent, and we should increase taxes."

Li Si drank a sip of tea without saying a word.

Fusu observed the teacher, who had aged even more in the past year.

"Regarding the events of the past two years... I thank Teacher Fusu for his support."

Li Si said, "My lord, there's no need for that."

Fusu continued, “In this year’s exam, I have intentionally added a few questions on taxes. Some people say that a large country needs more taxes to support a larger army and officials, while others say that a country needs to reduce or exempt taxes to maintain stability.”

Fusu then said, "Taxes cannot be reduced or exempted."

Li Si frowned slightly.

"I don't want to increase taxes, but I hope that taxes will be more reasonable."

Taxation has always been a major problem. Since Qin unified the country, taxes in various regions have been collected according to Qin law. This matter should be brought to the emperor's attention.

It is rather presumptuous of Li Si and the prince to be discussing national taxes here.

Deep down, Li Si's loyalty reminded him that the prince was not yet the emperor.

……

PS: I'm taking a break. I'll go to bed early and spend time with my family. There will only be one chapter today. I'll add the missed updates to my schedule and try my best to make up for them.

(End of this chapter)