The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 195 The Prince Who Enjoyed Governing the Country

Whenever Zhang Cang read the young master's book, he would ponder it repeatedly, which was both mentally taxing and troublesome.

Many of the prince's ideas were things that Zhang Cang had never seen anyone implement before. Moreover, when the emperor unified the world, he would choose a governing philosophy from the various reforms of previous states.

Finally, the emperors of various states disapproved of the reforms implemented by the other states, which led to Prime Minister Li Si's policies of standardizing cart axles and writing.

The more Zhang Cang looked at the tax book, the more unreliable it seemed.

Since the country is to be governed by subjects, and the emperor has promised them salaries, how can they...?

Zhang Cang frowned and looked at it repeatedly, confirming that every word on the scroll was written by the young master.

Zhang Cang really wanted to ask, "Young Master, who did you learn all this from?"
Unable to figure it out for a moment, Zhang Cang put down his book. He felt sleepy after eating, so he stopped reading and fell asleep while lying down.

When Zhang Cang woke up, he was startled awake by a nightmare in which the world was in chaos.

Cheng Miao, carrying cakes and wine, had already arrived at home sometime earlier.

Zhang Cang said, "I had a dream that the world was in chaos."

Cheng Miao nodded solemnly and said, "The world is indeed about to descend into chaos."

Zhang Cang countered with, "Really?"

"Yes, after the Tongguan Grand Examination this year, many people felt that Prince Fusu's actions were not fair enough."

"what?"

Cheng Miao placed the wine on the table and continued, "How many people support Prince Fusu? There are arguments and fights outside."

“Alas…” At this point, Cheng Miao sighed again and said, “Back then, how many people did Shang Yang kill in order to divide up farmland and prohibit private feuds? Now, although Qin has unified the world, I’m afraid private feuds will become rampant again.”

Zhang Cang perked up, "If it's just a private fight, not raising troops isn't a big deal."

Cheng Miao sat down, took a sip of wine, and said, "Raise an army? How easy is that? Who in the world dares to raise an army?"

Zhang Cang continued, "This year, in order to guard against the north, some people have mentioned several times that the conscription of soldiers is too heavy."

In response, Cheng Miao shook his head and said, "Young Master often says that the Qin Dynasty is still very weak and the country is not actually strong. Back then, the war between the states almost emptied the population of the Central Plains. If we don't conscript soldiers, the northern border will be empty. The Xiongnu are still gathered in the northern desert. If it weren't for General Meng Tian guarding the Helan Mountains, Modu's Xiongnu would probably have really moved south again."

After taking another sip of wine, Cheng Miao said, "If you talk about universal love with people from the Western Regions or the Yuezhi, or talk about the Analects and Confucius, they might understand. But as for the Xiongnu people in the north, it's useless to talk about universal love with them."

"Men are born to protect their homes. The prince once said that if anyone refuses military service, he will kill them. The Qin Dynasty is not the same as the Yan, Zhao, Wei, and Han of the past. Now, the Qin Dynasty is re-establishing the household registration system so that all registered men in the world will participate in military service and pay taxes."

Actually, it's not difficult at all. Even Wang Jian's grandson and the prime minister's son joined the army when they turned seventeen. Even teachers who went to teach in rural areas had to serve in the army for two years.

Cheng Miao said, "These are all matters that have not yet been decided. Young Master has always been wise and finds joy in governing the world. We will do our best to assist him."

"Yes, there are very few people in this world who are willing to extinguish their humanity."

Cheng Miao largely agreed with this statement.

Zhang Cang breathed a sigh of relief and clinked wine bowls with him.

Both of them believed that a person who doesn't seek happiness in life is truly inhuman.

How could one not feel moved by a prince named Fusu who took pleasure in governing the country?
The two reached a consensus, filled their bowls with wine, clinked their bowls together again, and drank the wine in one gulp.

Even after autumn arrived, the emperor continued to diligently attend to state affairs, just as before. Sometimes, even when he went hunting, he would still inquire about state matters.

Although Prince Fusu was handling some state affairs, the emperor would still inquire about them.

Inside the Zhangtai Palace, the emperor was reviewing documents from various regions.

Meanwhile, on one side of the main hall of Zhangtai Palace, Prince Fusu sat to the side, writing replies on documents.

The young master has been serving as the Minister of the Imperial Household Department since he was twenty-three years old, and it has been four years now.

The young master is twenty-seven years old this year.

In the eyes of the old servants in the palace, Prince Fusu still seemed to be the same as when he was a boy.

He still looks like the young man he once was, but Prince Fusu has already begun to govern the country and is in charge of its development.

Zhang Han once sent someone to deliver a map, which was then laid out on the ground of Zhangtai Palace.

The emperor at that time stood with both feet on that map, his eyes fixed on everything on it.

At that time, many palace servants in Zhangtai Palace also saw the map and saw what the Hexi Corridor looked like.

The Hexi Corridor drawn by General Zhang Han is like a sword thrust out from Guanzhong, piercing the throat and making the enemies in its path tremble with fear.

This is how people feel when they first see the Hexi Corridor.

It must be said that Prince Fusu was very competent as the Minister of the Imperial Household Department and had great vision, as he immediately recognized the key location of the Hexi Corridor.

Zhang Han is currently stationing troops in the Hexi Corridor, while Meng Tian is raising horses in the north.

Both of these generals were extremely cautious. Unless they took action, once they did, they would bring countless livestock and people, as well as slaughter countless enemies.

After finishing the last volume, Fusu sat down at his desk and said, "Father, Zhang Han has sent several people to Mazong Mountain to investigate."

Ying Zheng nodded, signaling his son to continue.

"General Zhang Han believes it is not the right time to send troops out of Mazong Mountain." Ying Zheng nodded and said, "Wang Ben also thinks so."

When it comes to fighting, Fusu really doesn't know how. It's always been advocated in Qin law to leave professional matters to professionals.

Having guarded the Great Wall for many years, Meng Tian understood the temperament of the Xiongnu people.

Now, Meng Tian is herding his horses at the foot of Helan Mountain. This general is looking towards the Xiongnu people in the northern desert and waiting for an opportunity.

Although General Zhang Han had once marched into Mazong Mountain, he only did so after learning of Maodun's movements.

After Maodun withdrew north, Zhang Han withdrew back to Wuwei County.

In General Zhang Han's argument, if the troops continue to advance westward, the battle lines will be stretched and supplies will be insufficient.

If, while advancing westward, Modu's cavalry were to launch a blitzkrieg against Wuwei County, the Qin army would be truly thrown into chaos on both fronts.

Therefore, Zhang Han did not advance rashly, and instead adopted a stance of not moving until Maodun made his move.

Actually, this is for the best. In this way, General Meng Tian and General Zhang Han can sit back and watch as more Xiongnu people freeze to death this winter.

At that time, Meng Tian would also send the news, and whenever Tian An heard such news, he would happily cook tea eggs to eat.

The environment that Modu faced was much worse than that of the Qin army. The winters were getting longer and longer each year. Guanzhong could withstand it, but it was much harsher for the northern deserts.

As the Grand Master of the Treasury, Fusu was only responsible for corvée labor, flood control, or the construction of the Great Wall and new city gates.

And the city walls of various prefectures and counties, wherever repairs are needed, require the approval of the Junior Treasury Officer.

Generally speaking, the Shaofu Ling (Minister of the Imperial Household) was responsible for construction, corvée labor, and taxes.

Fusu handed the newly written document to his father, the emperor.

Fusu believed he lacked the ability to command Meng Tian and Zhang Han, and in fact, his father would not give them much command either.

After all, the emperor trusted Wang Jian back then, and Meng Tian only had a few hundred thousand border troops under his command.

Ying Zheng held the document in his hand and looked at it quietly.

The rain was still falling outside. Zhangtai Palace was so big that I couldn't hear the rain outside, but I could feel the warmth by the candlestick.

After reading the document in his hand, Ying Zheng said, "You plan to conscript another 50,000 soldiers next year."

Fusu said, "Among the household registrations submitted by various prefectures and counties, there are indeed 50,000 registered residents."

Ying Zheng continued reading the documents and saw that 40,000 soldiers were to be conscripted to the north and 10,000 to the northwest.

"How many people have moved to Guanzhong now?"

"This year, 1,600 households moved here, and 8,000 people registered. In fact, there are still more than 30,000 people traveling to and from Hangu Pass, but they have not settled down in Guanzhong."

Ying Zheng looked at his son's extremely detailed work report and said nothing more.

Fusu then said, "Father, I shall take my leave now."

Ying Zheng put down the document and nodded once again.

After Fusu left Zhangtai Palace, Ying Zheng looked at the document repeatedly and then took out two documents from Weinan Prefecture.

Whether it was Zhang Cang or Sima Xin, these county officials under Fusu wrote very detailed articles, down to the number of people traveling to and from various counties, whom they referred to as the "flowing population."

Statistics is a very tiring task, but Fusu, as the Minister of the Imperial Household Department, is best at statistics. This boy is good at writing down population, land, and taxes into statistical figures.

Next year, people will face military service again, and it's unknown how many people will be killed or arrested in an attempt to evade it.

If Li Si were here at this time, he would definitely support Fusu.

Half an hour had passed since Fusu left Zhangtai Palace. Ying Zheng put down the book in his hand, got up and walked into the main hall of Zhangtai Palace.

My gaze fell on the autumn rain falling from the gloomy sky. This scenery in Guanzhong has always been the same; I've seen it for almost forty years.

The eunuch standing to the side reported: "The young master had the blueprints for the armillary sphere sent to Langya, escorted by soldiers along the way. This object is of particular importance. He ordered the magistrate of Langya County to cast bronze ware and complete it before the summer of next year."

Ying Zheng said, "I heard him say that he wants to build a huge armillary sphere at Langya Terrace to observe celestial phenomena."

Even the palace eunuchs noticed that Prince Fusu had been paying particular attention to celestial phenomena lately.

But to be honest, I didn't care that much. I would just glance at the armillary sphere in my spare time from handling state affairs.

What's even more puzzling is that the young master once said that the armillary sphere was used to calculate the position of the sun or stars.

But now it's a rainy day. During this long autumn rainy season, let alone seeing the sun, there aren't even any stars at night. How can we observe the stars?
Inside Xianyang Palace, Fusu usually just left from Zhangtai Palace and then walked past the armillary sphere in front of him.

In the past, there was a Grand Historian in the State of Qin. The bronze viewing mirror that is now kept in the Qin Grand Historian's Palace was presented to the King of Qin by this Grand Historian, who said that it could be used to see the immortals in the sky.

Now, that viewing mirror is placed below the armillary sphere, so it cannot be used to see the immortals in the sky.

The First Emperor, of course, knew that this was just a rumor.

There aren't that many magical things in this world. As a prince of Qin, Fusu hopes that there will be more materialistic people in the world.

(End of this chapter)