The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 206 The Imperial Attendant of the Grand Master of the Palace
It's the warm season on the grasslands, the best season for herding horses and raising sheep.

After lighting the cow dung, Han Xin placed a kettle on the stove and then hung some mutton on the side to roast.

After finishing these tasks, Han Xin turned around and saw his wife kneading dough.

Han Xin traveled from Huaiyin all the way to Guanzhong, and then from Guanzhong to this northern grassland, but even living here, he didn't miss Huaiyin that much.

Even in Huaiyin, Han Xin felt there was no one he particularly missed.

If I had to say who I miss the most, it would be that old village headman. But I'm sure he's doing well since I left.

Along the way, Han Xin felt that he had met many good people, and he was especially grateful to Prince Fusu.

Once, at Tongguan, Han Xin remembered Li Mi's words. Li Mi said that people can change their own destiny, and they were all working hard towards this goal.

Originally, Han Xin thought he might spend his whole life in Huaiyin, but now he has met someone who can change his fate, which makes him extremely happy.

After lunch, Han Xin went back to the carriage to take out all the books inside. He accidentally discovered a bag of tea leaves with a scroll of books tied to the bottom of the bag.

Han Xin took out the tea leaves and the book, and began to read the contents of the book.

After a long while, Han Xin mixed the milk and tea leaves together and stewed them.

"Was this also written by Prince Fusu in his book?"

Upon hearing his wife's question, Han Xin looked at his book, took a sip of milk tea, nodded with great enjoyment, and gestured for his wife to take a sip as well.

She smiled and shook her head, saying, "This young master is really strange, even teaching people how to eat."

Han Xin looked at the book and said, "There is a saying among the people of Guanzhong: the most important thing in life is to eat. Only when you eat well can you continue to work."

As dusk fell, Han Xin drove the horses and sheep back to the stables.

In Han Xin's tent, there were mostly books. Reading was probably the thing he did most after leaving home. He read more books in that year than he did in the previous ten years of his life.

The next day, Han Xin opened the sheep pen as usual, and then a troop of cavalry came from the side.

The newcomers were Qin soldiers, and the one who dismounted was a general, none other than Hei Yuan.

"How did you end up in the military?"

Hei Yuan said, "Although I am a volunteer teacher, I still have to serve in the military."

Han Xin nodded slightly, then looked at the crowd behind him.

Hei Yuan explained, "General Meng Tian read your paper and said that you, Han Xin, are a good reader, and he wants us to follow you and learn from you."

Upon hearing this, Han Xin smiled awkwardly and said, "All I know how to do is read books."

It's strange, but why would General Meng Tian care about a horse-raising officer? It's probably because this man entered the army through the examination given to Prince Fusu.

Therefore, he would receive advice from General Meng Tian.

Some people think that Han Xin is really lucky.

When it comes to reading, Han Xin didn't think it was a difficult thing.

Therefore, Han Xin took out the books from his tent and distributed them to everyone. Then he sat in front to read the books, while everyone else sat in the back to read the books.

For Han Xin, the task assigned by General Meng Tian was too simple; it was as simple as herding sheep.

Actually, to be precise, these books were sent by Jingye County.

Han Xin also did not know why Prince Fusu had these books sent to the grasslands.

Since the book was sent to the army, it must be for the soldiers to read.

Han Xin looked at the contents of the book, which contained information about what people were discussing at the moment.

People say that after Qin unified the six kingdoms, the various schools of thought declined.

The First Emperor abandoned the scholars from Qi and Lu, but even so, the scholars from Qi and Lu were unwilling to acknowledge the Qin laws.

The doctrines currently prevalent in Guanzhong are mostly those of Xunzi, Mozi, or Shang Yang.

With all the philosophers gone and the Jixia Academy no longer standing, people seem to have lost their direction in learning. So now, the only book people read is the book of teaching in rural areas.

The teachers who volunteered to teach in rural areas studied various commentaries on different schools of thought from various ancient Chinese philosophy, and all of them emphasized love for the people and moral character.

On the contrary, universal love shines brightly during the teaching support process.

Those who are able to volunteer as teachers are people who advocate universal love; they love all children in the world and teach them to be good people.

After Han Xin finished reading the book, he turned around and saw that most of the soldiers who had been reading had fallen asleep.

Only Hei Yuan was still reading the book.

Han Xin scratched his head and woke up the sleeping person.

As dusk approached, the crowd gradually dispersed. Han Xin gathered up the books scattered on the ground and put them back in the tent.

Afterwards, Han Xin drove the horses and sheep back, and by the time he finished, it was already dark.

I eat two meals a day and sit here quietly reading every day.

This kind of life lasted for half a month, and Han Xin finally saw some military reports and the current situation in the northern desert.

Two years have passed since Modu annihilated the Donghu. During these two years, Modu has assembled more than 200,000 cavalrymen from the northern desert.

Han Xin chewed on mutton. Maodun's territory stretched east to the Liao River, and he was still driving out the Yuezhi people to the west.

The territory controlled by Modu was more than three times that of Touman Chanyu back then, and his cavalry was more numerous than those of General Meng Tian in the Battle of Helan Mountain.

The former Touman Chanyu was defeated, but he nurtured an even more ruthless Modu Chanyu.

Its territory alone was three times that of the former Mancheng Chanyu, and Maodun also annexed the Donghu.

The 200,000 cavalry mentioned in the military report should be true.

Maodun resided in the royal court in the northern desert. His northern territory extended all the way to the North Sea, and his eastern territory reached the Liao River. As for the west... if it weren't for General Zhang Han's restraint, he might have expanded westward to the Great Altai Mountains.

The Xiongnu enemy that Qin faced was extremely powerful. Touman Chanyu was insignificant; the truly powerful one was Modu.

It's no wonder that General Meng Tian and General Zhang Han shared the same idea: stationing troops on the border and relying on the vast pastures of Helan Mountain and the farmland of Shangjun would allow them to be self-sufficient.

Advancing rashly could lead to losses in the rapid movement of cavalry.

Every day thereafter, a troop of Qin soldiers would come here to read books. Han Xin got used to it and simply set up another cowhide tent outside specifically to store the books.

On just one day, Han Xin met a Western Rong man named Wu Shi Luo, who brought him twenty fine Tian Shan horses.

This was the first time Han Xin had seen Wu Shi Luo in the six months since he arrived here.

Wu Shi Luo also looked at the young Qin soldier in front of him and saluted, saying, "General."

Han Xin said, "My name is Han Xin, and I am a sergeant in the Qin army. I am not a general."

Wu Shi Luo said, "These twenty warhorses are to be given to Han Shiwei."

Seeing Han Xin's suspicious expression, Wu Shi Luo explained, "Prince Fusu is concurrently in charge of the Grand Steward. I was ordered by Prince Fusu to collect the best warhorses for the Qin army. Originally, one hundred warhorses were to be given to the northern border troops, but General Zhang Han kept some extra." Han Xin said, "Since it is the prince's order, move the horses into the stables."

Wu Shilu gestured to the servants behind him to lead the horses into the stable, and then he looked at the grassland and said, "It's still the same here, nothing has changed."

These words caught Han Xin's attention again.

Wu Shi Luo explained, “This used to be my pasture. After the Qin army defeated Touman Chanyu, I offered this pasture to General Meng Tian. I used to graze horses and raise sheep here.”

Han Xin asked, "Are you that merchant from the Western Rong?"

Wu Shi Luo bowed and said, "My name is Wu Luo."

As they spoke, he noticed the milk tea that Han Xin was brewing. Wu Shi Luo sniffed it and said, "This is..."

Han Xin explained, "Milk tea."

As he spoke, Han Xin served the other person a bowl of milk tea.

Seeing that the Qin soldier had no suspicion of him, a Western Rong man, and was actually quite amiable, he respectfully took the bowl, drank a sip of milk tea, and exclaimed, "Delicious!"

Han Xin explained, "This was taught to me by Prince Fusu."

Wu Shi Luo retorted, "I've been to Guanzhong, and the Qin people don't drink tea like this."

Han Xin sipped his milk tea and said calmly, "I know."

"Your accent doesn't sound like that of someone from Guanzhong."

"I am from Huaiyin."

What kind of place is Huaiyin?

"Huaiyin..." Han Xin thought for a moment and said, "Huaiyin is a very peaceful place."

Wu Shi Luo didn't know where Huaiyin was, but she was still a little surprised to hear Han Xin say that.

Although he was a Western Rong person, Wu Shi Luo had seen many people and was extremely experienced in worldly affairs. He asked the young man in front of him where his hometown was.

Logically speaking, a young person who is far away from home should miss his hometown very much, and he should say how wonderful his hometown is.

But all I heard him say was that his hometown was a peaceful place.

Han Xin countered, "How are the Western Rong people doing now?"

Wu Shilu described the current situation of the Western Rong people. The Western Rong people who originally lived in the Hexi Corridor have now moved to Longxi. A few years ago, General Zhang Han's ban was still very strict.

Later, under the command of General Zhang Han, there was a man named Chen Ping who released some of the Western Rong people back to the Hexi Corridor. He told the Western Rong people that as long as they could cultivate the land properly, they could return to the Hexi Corridor.

Wu Shi Luo knew that this was nothing more than Chen Ping's conspiracy. He had selected a few more obedient Xirong people to return to the Hexi Corridor, just to put on a show for the rest of the Xirong people and to appease them.

Furthermore, as Chen Ping said, if people could truly cultivate the land in Longxi and grow an abundance of food, they would not want to return to the Hexi Corridor.

In truth, Chen Ping offered no benefits whatsoever, nor would he make any compromises with the Western Rong people.

This matter was agreed upon by General Zhang Han, and Zhang Han and Chen Ping were of one mind on foreign affairs.

This is Wu Shilu's understanding of the Qin army in the Hexi Corridor.

Although the Qin army in the Hexi Corridor was not as large as the northern army, that Qin army was very resourceful.

After hearing his words, Han Xin recalled the relevant books he had seen at Tongguan.

These words are actually the same as the records Han Xin saw in Guanzhong.

Han Xin said, "The Qin army has seized the territory of the Western Rong. You should hate the Qin army, so why are you still working for them?"

Wu Shi Luo took another sip of milk tea and continued, "Actually, more than three hundred years ago, the Qin people and the Western Rong people often interacted. Our Wu clan of the Western Rong also had a considerable population in Guanzhong, but they all became Qin people. Back when the Xiongnu drove my people to Wushaoling, if Qin had not helped them, they would have had nowhere to go."

Han Xin said, "Rather than be killed by the Xiongnu, why not serve the Qin people?"

Wu Shi Luo nodded dejectedly, but his eyes were filled with disappointment. He said, "Young Master Fusu is a very good person. At least my people are still able to survive in Longxi. Young Master Fusu has fulfilled everything he promised."

Han Xin had a lot of questions about the horse merchant from the Western Rong region in front of him. As the official in charge of raising horses, he naturally needed to learn about horse breeding and understand the horse merchant in front of him.

I heard that Wu Shi Luo had been herding horses here long before the Battle of Helan Mountain.

Han Xin asked Wu Shi Luo about the battle between the Xiongnu and the Qin army years ago.

But before that, Wu Shi Luo asked a question, "Are you working for Prince Fusu?"

To explain, Han Xin produced a document from the Grand Master of the Palace.

After confirming, Wu Shi Luo said, "Young Master Fusu has found a place for my people to live. There may be no more Western Rong people in the future, but I still owe Young Master Fusu a favor."

Out of gratitude, Wu Shi Luo recounted the battle at Helan Mountain to Han Xin.

Han Xin then asked about the Xiongnu's fighting methods.

These were things that Wu Shi Luo knew best, as he often interacted with the Xiongnu people when he grazed his horses in this area.

Wu Shi Luo stayed here for one night, and the two talked until late into the night. After all, in the past six months on the grassland, there were very few visitors, and even fewer guests willing to talk with Han Xin all night long.

Sometimes, you can't see anyone for half a month at a time.

The next day, Wu Shilu looked at a strong warhorse and said, "A warhorse is most beautiful when it is running. Such a good warhorse should run more."

Han Xin mounted his horse, still a bit clumsy, but the stirrups made it more stable.

Wu Shi Luo, however, did not use stirrups; he sat on the back of his horse and urged it to go into the distance.

Han Xin took a deep breath, mustered his courage, and swung his whip.

Han Xin, who grew up in Huaiyin, was not very good at riding horses, and even when he came to the grasslands, he would not easily take risks.

However, influenced by Wu Shi Luo, Han Xin also wanted to test just how good the warhorses from the foot of Tianshan were.

With a crack of the whip, the warhorse neighed and galloped off into the distance.

Han Xin leaned forward on the horse's back, feeling the wind whistling past his ears. The warhorse was running extremely fast, and he looked up and saw that it was about to catch up with the warhorse ridden by Wu Shi Luo.

Looking at the robust steeds around him, they exuded power as they galloped.

Wu Shilu laughed loudly and said, "Young man, if you don't understand warhorses, you don't understand the Xiongnu. If you don't ride a horse, you can't fight the Xiongnu."

"What did you say!" Han Xin shouted back, but the howling wind made it impossible for him to hear what the other person was saying.

Wu Shilu laughed and continued forward.

Han Xin cracked his whip again, and this time his warhorse crossed a stream and ran even faster.

After running for an unknown amount of time, Han Xin chased after Wu Shi Luo until they reached a high slope. Wu Shi Luo sat on horseback, looking into the distance from the high slope.

Han Xin rode up to him, wiped the sweat from his hands from nervousness, and asked, "What did you just say?"

Wu Shilu didn't say much, but raised his chin to indicate that he should look into the distance.

(End of this chapter)