The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 211 Zhang Liang's Life in Shu

People say that the emperor's southern expedition will bring about the downfall of the country, but Zhang Liang knows that the southern expedition was indeed a victory, and the emperor has unified the south.

But that southern expedition was a victory that no one cheered for, and it left the population of the Central Plains depleted.

Over the past decade or so, the counties and prefectures in the Central Plains have begun to recover and are slowly regaining their vitality.

Sichuan was very close to the battlefield of the southern expedition, and it was also the first place to restore people's livelihoods.

As soon as Lü Matong arrived, a lot of food had to be prepared. This man ate a lot, so Ju busied himself preparing a rather sumptuous dinner.

A pot of Sichuan wine, a few pieces of cured meat, a bowl of vegetables and fish.

From Lü Matong's account, Zhang Liang could also discern the current situation in Guilin Prefecture.

It was a place rich in fish and rice, and with proper development, it could become a prosperous land. However, nowadays, not many teachers go to Guilin County to teach; most of the areas are under the control of the Qin army.

After the southern expedition, many Qin soldiers stayed in the south; some started families, while others became officials.

In short, Guilin County has been stabilized, but Xiang County is still somewhat chaotic, and General Tu Ju is still suppressing the rebellion.

This trip to the south didn't bring back only good news.

Tu Ju and Zhao Tuo remained stationed in the south, and the emperor seemed to have no intention of transferring them. He even allowed Qin soldiers to settle down and start families in the south.

Generally speaking, the emperor probably didn't care whether the general was still loyal or not. As long as the prefectures and counties were established, the south would continue to be referred to as prefectures and counties.

The next day, Zhang Liang took Ju to teach early in the morning.

Meanwhile, Lü Matong was still fast asleep.

Ju knew that Brother Lü Matong had been working hard since returning from the south, so he didn't disturb him.

Today, while I was teaching, the county magistrate came with several people to invite Zhang Liang to measure the fields.

Master Han is a good person, and therefore he has gained a certain reputation in Jiangyuan County. This reputation is not only due to his status as a volunteer teacher, but also because he can indeed help the people here.

Although he was a teacher in a rural area, Zhang Liang helped the county magistrate investigate the tax accounts, ensuring that the taxes paid by the two thousand households in Jiangyuan County were not wasted.

Not only that, Zhang Liang also helped measure the land so that each family's land could be allocated fairly, and that it was clear who owned how many inches of land.

There were also conflicts between neighbors, matters concerning weighing and measuring, and dealings with merchants traveling to and from Gangwon County.

Zhang Liang mostly helped with trivial matters in the county, but he was of great help to the local people.

The county magistrate came today to arrange a marriage. He said, "Master Han, why don't you settle down and start a family in our county?"

Zhang Liang bowed and said, "My mother passed away last year."

Upon hearing this, the magistrate sighed and said, "I have never heard you mention this matter before."

Zhang Liang withdrew his gaze and told the children who had finished their lessons to leave the schoolhouse first.

After the children had all left, the magistrate and Zhang Liang walked out of the study and onto the edge of the field.

The magistrate added, "Another document has arrived from Guanzhong today."

What document is it?

The magistrate took a scroll of documents out of his sleeve, handed it to him, and said, "Take a look."

Just as Zhang Liang took the document, a group of children ran past him.

"Master Han!"

The children bowed in unison, and then ran off quickly.

Zhang Liang smiled at the children, his gaze fixed on them as they ran into the distance along the paddy field ridges. The rice would soon be ready for harvest, and this year would be another bumper harvest in Shu.

Seeing the children playing in the fields, Zhang Liang opened the scroll and read it carefully.

The document contained the decree on the promotion of officials, and officials in various regions and counties could be promoted as long as their performance evaluation was good enough.

This document also bears the seal of the Prime Minister's office, specifically the seal of Prime Minister Li Si.

When the Warring States still existed, Zhang Liang remembered that the selection of talents and the promotion of officials were all decided by the word of the feudal lords or by the advice of nobles.

Qin delegated this power to the officials responsible for the evaluation, and the officials participating in the evaluation were selected annually from various prefectures by the Prime Minister's Office, according to the written document.

In other words, there are no officials specifically assigned to conduct evaluations, and the officials responsible for the evaluations each year are not fixed, which ensures the fairness of the evaluation process.

Zhang Liang said, "That's very good."

The magistrate said, "I'll say it again: if you can become an official, I will recommend you."

Zhang Liang shook his head again.

The magistrate said anxiously, "Master Han, such opportunities are becoming increasingly rare. In a few years, as more and more people participate in the examinations, these opportunities for recommendation will disappear."

Zhang Liang said, "That's fine too."

The magistrate stood by the field, watching Master Han's retreating figure and sighed.

Back at his lodgings, Zhang Liang corrected the children's essays. The papers were filled with clumsy handwriting; some were neat, some were crooked, and some had many spelling mistakes.

Zhang Liang meticulously revised the text, knowing exactly which child had poor handwriting, which child was talented, and which child was the laziest.

Teaching means spending years with children, day and night.

In just over a year, Zhang Liang felt he understood these children very well; he could tell what they were thinking just by looking at them smile.

After carefully grading the assignments, Zhang Liang remembered the document he had seen earlier that day, a document concerning the important matter of official promotion.

But so what?

Zhang Liang felt that such matters were far removed from his own life; they were matters of the Prime Minister's office and the officials of the Qin Dynasty, and had nothing to do with him, a teacher in a rural area.

Zhang Liang didn't want these matters to concern him. As for how the world would turn out, he could wait a few years and see.

Setting down his pen, Zhang Liangcai replied, "Where did Commandant Lü go?"

Ju replied, "He went to the army, it seems he went to the Five-Foot Road."

Zhang Liang nodded slightly, stood up, and relaxed his slightly sore lower back.

Ju saw that Master Han was holding his lower back and knew that his long-term sitting posture was making his back uncomfortable.

The next day, Zhang Liang woke up and pushed open the door of the bamboo house. He first moved the giant panda sleeping in front of the door with his foot. The bear woke up reluctantly and seemed to be a little grumpy. It twisted its fat body and walked to the other side of the yard before going back to sleep.

Ju returned with a cartload of bamboo, and today he also brought some old bamboo. He said, "I learned some craftsmanship from my grandfather, so I can make some tables and chairs."

"You can also do carpentry?"

When Han Fuzi asked the question, he smiled and said, "Tongguan was built by my grandfather."

When the child talks about how his grandfather built Tongguan City, he always wears a proud smile.

That makes sense; it's something to be proud of.

He said that his grandfather was named Qingbi, and that among the names of Xuan Zao written on the stone in front of Tongguan City was the name of the master craftsman Qingbi.

His grandfather was a very accomplished craftsman, and his family must have been quite wealthy. Zhang Liang asked, "Why did you come here to teach?"

Ju Xiu said, pointing to each bamboo joint, "We hope this world can be a better place."

Haven't you thought about anything else?

"I'm the dumbest in my family, which is why I came out to teach in a rural area."

Hearing this, Zhang Liang didn't ask any more questions.

Just as I was getting ready to go to teach today, I saw a couple hurrying towards me. The man called out loudly, "Master Han!"

Zhang Liang asked, "What's wrong?"

My child is sick.

"Ju, you will give a lecture at the bookstore in my place."

"Okay," Ju replied, glancing at the couple with a look that seemed to ask if there was anything he could do to help. Seeing Master Han hurrying away with the couple, he also slung his book bag over his shoulder and went to the study.

Zhang Liang arrived at a family's house in the county, where a child was fast asleep on a bamboo couch.

The woman, suppressing her sobs, said, "I couldn't wake her up this morning; she was burning up all over."

The child looked only five or six years old. Zhang Liang checked the child's temperature and said, "Bring some cold water."

A number of villagers had gathered outside, watching as Master Han arranged for people to work busily, brewing medicine and wiping the child's body.

Finally, in the afternoon, the child woke up, but still couldn't get out of bed.

Zhang Liang stayed there all night, and only felt at ease the next day when the child had really recovered a lot.

The child's parents bowed repeatedly, saying, "Thank you, Master Han."

“No need for formalities, I was just doing it on a whim.” Zhang Liang added, “I have been frail and sickly since childhood, and I have become quite knowledgeable about medicine through long illness.”

Then, Zhang Liang said to the children who had recovered considerably, "Take good care of yourself and rest for three days before coming back to class."

"Yes, disciple will listen to Master."

Zhang Liang left the house, and when he returned to his residence, he saw that Ju had made a bamboo chair.

The chair has an odd design, but the curved backrest makes it quite comfortable to sit in.

Ju ate his rice with cured meat and asked, "What is this promotion order that the magistrate mentioned?"

Zhang Liang said, "It means that as long as the county magistrate does a good job as an official, he can enter the prefecture as an official and then move up level by level. This is also to urge officials in various places to do their jobs well."

“I know,” Ju replied. “This is dedication; it must be a decree issued by Prince Fusu.”

“How come you see?”

"It was the young master who named it Jingye Canal, because he advocated that officials should be dedicated to their work."

Zhang Liang nodded as he ate his rice.

However, the next day, Zhang Liang also caught a cold, which was probably related to the child he had treated.

As summer transitions into autumn, temperatures are starting to drop in Sichuan.

So Zhang Liang took a few days off to recuperate from his illness. During those days, he ate very well, with more eggs and duck eggs than he could finish. They even gave him a few live chickens.

This made the pandas living here unhappy for a long time.

Finally, Zhang Liang instructed Ju to return the live chicken to its owner, while keeping the chicken eggs and duck eggs.

Wearing an overcoat, Zhang Liang sat at his doorstep peeling and eating a hard-boiled egg.

A giant panda sat to the side, munching on bamboo shoots while glancing at the half-eaten egg in Zhang Liang's hand.

Only after Zhang Liang ate the other half of the egg did the panda turn its gaze away and continue to fiercely chew the bamboo shoot.

Since the beginning of autumn this year, the weather has been getting colder day by day, and the temperature difference between day and night is large. As of today's class, the children were sniffling all over the place.

Therefore, many children caught a cold, but fortunately, none of them were serious.

When the sun is fully up, it gets a bit warmer in Sichuan, and you can see the rice drying in the sun from the windows outside the study.

After the lecture, two or three children would gather together, reading books while watching over the rice drying in their own yards.

(End of this chapter)