The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 196 The Prime Minister's Excessive Concern
There are many treasures in the Qin Xianyang Palace. Besides the bronze viewing mirror, there are many other treasures in the legends. People say that after Qin unified the world, the emperor collected all the treasures in the world for his own use.

For example, the "dragon bones" at the foot of Shangyan Mountain.

After the prime minister and his ministers met them that time, no one ever saw them again, and even the emperor lost interest in the bones.

Some say that the He Shi Bi jade was hidden in Xianyang Palace, and that it remained there after Qin unified the six kingdoms.

Fusu had never seen the legendary He Shi Bi jade. Some people said that the He Shi Bi jade became the emperor's national seal.

Fusu had seen the Imperial Seal. Normally, the Imperial Seal was always in a wooden box on his father's desk. The seal could only be seen on imperial edicts when they were issued.

When Fusu returned to Gaoquan Palace, he saw his youngest son playing with toys.
This child is quieter than Heng.

Of course, Tian An liked all of them, regardless of which young master he was.

During the two years that Heng studied at Shangyan Mountain, Tian An would often prepare some food and send it to the child.

When we first went to Shangyan Mountain, this child would come back three to five times a month. At that time, the child missed home very much.

But after being away for so long, he hasn't come back more than a few times in the past six months.

But this is good, at least things are quieter at home now.

As Fusu entered the Gaoquan Palace, Granny Wang had the day's meal brought out.

Today's meal was simple: a bowl of soup made from dried vegetables and a flatbread.

Fusu took a sip of the salty dried vegetable soup and ate a bite of the flatbread.

Tian An said, "We dried a lot of vegetables this year. They were all sent by Pin Yang Gong. We stock up on dried vegetables every autumn."

After finishing the soup and vegetables in the bowl, Fusu continued eating the pancakes while flipping through the book.

The food we eat on a regular basis is very simple. In fact, there's not much good food to eat in autumn besides meat. The most common food in Xianyang right now is mutton.

Every autumn and winter, countless flocks of sheep are sent into Guanzhong.

After that, mutton was everywhere in Xianyang.

Tian An placed a plate of dried meat on the table and said, "This is beef jerky presented by Zhang Han."

Fusu picked up a piece of dried meat and chewed on it, then asked, "Are there many kinds of beef jerky in the Northwest?"

"Yes, I heard it was presented to General Zhang Han by the Qiang people."

Fusu asked, "Do they have a large herd of cattle?"

Tian An further explained: "Legend has it that the Qiang people lived in a valley in the Western Sea. The old Qin people called them the Western Qiang people, and it is said that the Western Qiang lived in the Western Frontier, which is what the Qiang people often referred to as the Western Sea."

As they were talking, Tian An's eyes showed a look of reminiscence, and he continued, "The Qiang king had a heavenly staff cast in gold, which he used to command the various Qiang tribes."

After listening, Fusu roughly understood.

The Western Sea, as people refer to it today, should be Qinghai.

The valley of Xihai, which is now the Qinghai region, is where a lot of highland barley is grown.

If this is the situation Tian An described, then the heartland of Qinghai today must be a very prosperous region.

There were indeed wars between Qin and the Western Qiang. Back then, the Qin army often fought against the Western Qiang in Lintao, but the Hexi Corridor was very chaotic at that time.

Now that Qin has taken over the Hexi Corridor, the Western Qiang have come to offer beef jerky as a tribute.

Fusu said, "Since they have the Golden Heavenly Staff, surely they have more than just these dried beef jerky as a tribute?"

Tian An nodded.

It is now late autumn, and the greatest threat to the Qin Dynasty is Modu, who is freezing in the north.

As for the threat from the Western Qiang, now that the Hexi Corridor has been taken over, Fusu is not in a hurry to deal with them.

After the conflict between the Western Qiang and Qin, the Qiang tribes should have become more civilized. When the Western Qiang learned what the Qin people and the Xiongnu people were like, they would learn from them.

There are actually not many records of Qin's records related to the Western Qiang.

Even if there are any, they are from many years ago and don't have much practical reference value.

The following day, during a court meeting at Zhangtai Palace, the topic of newly appointed officials from various counties came up again. These officials had all been transferred after the major examinations.

These newly appointed county officials were distributed across various counties in Guanzhong. Fusu planned to give them a probationary period, but after observing them for half a month, the results were neither too good nor too bad.

The evaluations of these new officials varied across the counties, ranging from positive to negative. Some issues concerned interpersonal conflicts, others the trivialities of official duties, and a whole host of other problems.

Of course, there were also positive reviews.

Fusu stood behind the Prime Minister, remaining silent.

It's best not to speak at this time. If anything goes wrong, the Prime Minister and the Right Prime Minister will speak up for you.

It will take time to bring a new system in line with the current Qin laws.

Adaptation takes time. With so many people suddenly pouring into the counties of Guanzhong, it's normal for conflicts or difficulties in integration to arise in most places.

Nowadays, when people have objections, they only complain a few times.

There can be no compromise on the system; the examination system must be rigorous and fair.

Despite all the complaints, Fusu refused to back down or loosen the system in the slightest; this crucial point absolutely could not be relaxed.

After the court meeting concluded, everyone bowed and left Zhangtai Palace.

As they descended the steps of Zhangtai Palace, Fusu noticed that his teacher's pace had slowed slightly, so he also slowed his pace a little and waited for his teacher to come closer before walking together.

Compared to the spirited Prime Minister Li Si of ten years ago, he now looks like an old man. Everyone can see this. As for Li Si's disciples, apart from that Duke Wu, there is only Prince Fusu.

Li Si stepped down the steps, thinking of his teacher Xunzi. His teacher would not pass on all his knowledge to one person, but instead gave poetry to Mao Heng, books to himself and Han Fei, and the Spring and Autumn Annals to Zhang Cang.

Noticing that the young master had been waiting for him in front of the palace for a moment, Li Si was still quite objective. He said, "Recently, I have read the reports from various counties and discovered a man named Lu Jia who is quite talented."

"What are your instructions, teacher?"

Some officials on their way to the Prime Minister's residence turned around and saw Prince Fusu bowing to the Prime Minister.

Now that you have achieved so much, you hold the Prime Minister in even greater respect than before.

Li Si then said, "He can go to the south."

Fusu said, "I will follow your instructions, teacher."

"Hmm." Li Si nodded and bowed to the young master again.

This time, the teacher came to ask for someone back, but he only said that he should go to the south, which is most likely related to Zhao Tuo or Tu Ju.

However, these were all matters for the teacher, and since it was the teacher's arrangement, Fusu couldn't ask too many questions.

The situation in the north is not exactly dire, but we cannot afford to be complacent.

Li Si returned to the Prime Minister's residence and saw Wang Ben, whom he hadn't seen for many days. He only glanced at him before preparing to attend to his own business.

Just as he was looking at the documents that had just been delivered today, Wang Ben came up to him.

Despite being the young master's teacher and now facing his father-in-law, Li Si still put on a smile and asked, "Grand Commandant Wang, what is it?"

Wang Ben pondered, "There are some matters concerning the allocation of grain and fodder."

After speaking, he handed over a scroll of documents and placed it in front of Li Si.

Li Si took the document, opened it, looked at its contents, and said in a low voice, "Grand Commandant Wang, have you been checking on the situation in the south recently?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Ben replied, "I read the military newspaper every year."

The south is far from Guanzhong. Zhao Tuo is currently in Nanhai Commandery, while Tu Ju is still in Xiang Commandery.

These two generals are still stationed in the south, and in the past two years, the major and minor disturbances in the south have been much more peaceful.

What worried Li Si was that there was a commandery officer named Ren Xiao in the south, who was serving in Zhao Tuo's Nanhai Commandery.

Zhao Tuo was sent to the south at the suggestion of Meng Wu and the emperor, while Ren Xiao was recommended by Li Si. Now that I think about it, Li Si is not worried that Zhao Tuo might have ulterior motives.

Li Si was worried about Ren Xiao, who sent a military report this summer saying that he had quelled the rebellion south of Yangzhou.

The military report was certainly good, but it was Ren Xiao who made Li Si very uneasy. This unease stemmed from his sensitivity after holding the power of prime minister for many years.

Because Ren Xiao was resourceful and decisive, he helped Zhao Tuo resolve many issues over the years.

I can't trust someone like that to stay by the side of a powerful general.

That is why Li Si introduced Lu Jia to Prince Fusu.

When Li Si was still young, he met Lu Jia when he followed Xunzi. Lu Jia was eloquent and a talented debater.

Otherwise, Lu Jia wouldn't have made a name for himself at the Jixia Academy.

At that time, Xunzi and Lu Jia still had some contact.

Lu Jia had always wanted to become Xunzi's disciple, but Xunzi neither agreed nor refused, so he could be considered half a disciple of Xunzi.

When Han Fei was at the Jixia Academy, he was always able to stay by his teacher's side. Li Si still remembers the image of Han Fei standing next to his teacher in his dark robe.

However, after he entered Qin, he never saw Lu Jia again.

Unexpectedly, I saw the name Lu Jia again because of the young master's teaching exam.

Therefore, they wanted to send him to the south to keep an eye on Ren Xiao and Zhao Tuo.

Looking back, he saw the bustling Prime Minister's residence again, with Wang Ben still standing in front of him. Li Si looked up at him and, for some reason, felt a deep envy for the Grand Commandant.

Whether it's state affairs or military matters, this Grand Commandant doesn't really need to worry too much.

Whoever arranged for his daughter to marry Prince Fusu, the prince will help him resolve all matters.

"And then there's me, your teacher. I can help you handle state affairs, and incidentally, I can also help with Wang Ben's matter, keeping an eye on the south for him, the Grand Commandant," Li Si thought to himself.

Wang Ben's life was enviable; it seemed as if he had ascended to the position of Grand Commandant simply to collect his salary.

He's not there when you need him, but he occasionally shows up when you don't.

"Prime Minister?"

Upon hearing Wang Ben's words, Li Si withdrew his gaze, wrote a reply on Wang Ben's grain allocation document, affixed the seal of the Prime Minister's Office, and returned it to the other party.

Seeing that Wang Ben was about to leave after receiving the document, Li Si added, "Grand Commandant Wang, please take a closer look at the situation in the south."

Wang Ben nodded and said, "Prime Minister, rest assured."

Li Si took a deep breath and continued to attend to state affairs without saying much.

What else can be done? It just means the prime minister has to put in more effort.

Not long after, Prince Fusu, who had probably eaten at Gaoquan Palace, arrived. Because of his arrival, the transmission of documents in the Prime Minister's residence was accelerated considerably.

(End of this chapter)