The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 215 Government Decrees
Zhang Jing said, "It seems like Shui Changlu has an endless amount of work to do."

Some things are just never-ending. Heng remembered what Grandpa Tian An said when he was a child: his father had so many things to do in his whole life to govern the country.

Suddenly feeling hungry again, the two found a restaurant near Xianyang Bridge.

Zhang Jing didn't have much money on him, only five copper coins. After buying two pancakes, he ate them as he walked.

It was winter, and the wind was still quite cold in the morning.

As he walked, Zhang Jing shivered from the cold wind, looking at the crowds heading towards Xianyang. He said, "I've heard from the elders in Jingye County that people in Guanzhong used to stay indoors all winter, and there weren't so many Qin people out and about at this time of year."

Heng listened while eating his pancake.

After returning to Jingye County, Heng began his school life, and the nine-year-old boy began his arduous studies that winter.

For several days in a row, Hengdu stayed in Tongguan, studying diligently by the oil lamp until late at night.

In the morning, Heng woke up in his small house in Tongguan City.

Sima Xin usually oversees the affairs of Tongguan City, so he naturally knew that the young master had come to Tongguan and came to visit him with food in the morning.

The meal consisted of two hot flatbreads and a bowl of mutton soup.

Heng was not wearing expensive clothes, but rather the same coarse cloth clothes as the students here.

Most of the time, students here live frugally, and everyone has to wear these coarse clothes. Anyone who wears expensive clothes will be looked at differently.

The new clothes that his parents sent him this year, Heng only wore once, when he went to Pinyang to see his great-grandfather for the last time.

Since then, Heng has never worn new clothes, which is not a pity, as they can be saved for his younger brother Li.

A nine-year-old child woke up alone, pushed open the door, lit the stove in front of the house, and then sat down by the stove to boil water.

Sima Xin admired Prince Fusu's way of raising his children. The young prince of Qin had been pampered since childhood, but he was not always pampered. Such a child deserved the most noble status and was also able to endure hardship outside.

Such a child is indeed rare; Shusun Tong raised a fine child for Prince Fusu.

When Zhang Han went to guard the northwest, he left his son Zhang Jing behind. At that time, Shusun Tong treated Zhang Jing as his own child and taught him to be the learned Zhang Jing he is today.

For this reason, Shusun Tong would also carefully teach the young master, raising him to be an extremely sensible child.

Sima Xin thought to himself, this young master doesn't actually need to be very talented or have profound knowledge, as long as he is sensible.

Such a young master cannot be corrupted and will surely become a good person.

How could a Qin king who conquered six states have such a good son?

And this emperor's grandson was also such a sensible child.

The people of the world all thought the emperor was terrifying, yet he raised the Prince Fusu, who was respected by all, and a grandson who was so resolute and sensible.

Sima Xin was truly envious of the emperor for having such a fine descendant.

Thinking of his dull-witted son, Sima Xin felt that he was no match for him at all.

But Sima Xin had heard that the young master's mother was very strict, which was why she raised such a sensible young master.

Heng's hair was still a bit messy, and he looked rather short. He rubbed his hands together in front of the house, waiting for the water to boil, with a few loose strands of hair fluttering in the wind.

Sima Xin walked over and handed over two pancakes.

Upon receiving the cake offered by the other party, Heng accepted it and bowed, saying, "Heng thanks the Prefect."

Sima Xin asked, "Are you cold?"

Heng said, "It's not cold. I heard the promotion document has been issued. The Prefectural Assistant is going to be promoted to Prefect."

The news had already spread throughout Tongguan, and Sima Xin had indeed received the promotion document.

This year, the Prime Minister's office seems to have promoted many people in order to increase the manpower of the Qin court.

Sima Xin was thus promoted.

Sima Xin said, "Some people say that this is another tactic by the Qin court to win people's hearts and appease the relationships among the various prefectures. With this promotion, the next one may never come in this lifetime."

Heng ate his pancake, brushing the stray hairs from his face, and replied, "If this was what they experienced when they were the rulers of the six kingdoms, then it's only natural that they would think this way."

Sima Xin said, "The exam will be held again next year, and Prince Fusu will have to keep his promise. Those who made speculations will naturally realize that they were wrong."

Heng nodded and said, "To govern the country, one must also be subject to speculation and criticism. No wonder my maternal grandfather said that my father and grandfather were always very busy and tired."

Sima Xin smiled and nodded, listening to the child's still somewhat immature voice as he spoke about his understanding of national affairs.

As they were talking, the water in the pottery kettle boiled. Heng put down the unfinished cake in his hand, picked up the kettle, poured a bowl of hot water for Sima Xin, and invited the prefect to sit down.

Sima Xin looked around and asked, "Where is Zhang Jing?"

"I was punished by the old master to grind tofu."

"Why was he punished again?"

“I asked Brother Zhang Jing to take me out to play. I wanted to see Xiao He, but I ended up seeing Du Shui Changlu instead. We didn’t return all night, so the old master punished him.”

Sima Xin smiled in surprise. This was almost the norm; whenever the young master made a mistake, it was always Zhang Jing who was punished.

This time, the Prime Minister's Office issued a promotion order, which is actually the same as the Grand Examination.

As people say, this time the Qin court was merely trying to win over the hearts and minds of the people in all the counties and prefectures of the land.

So what if it's just to win people's hearts?
Whether it was the work of Chancellor Li Si or the scheme of Prince Fusu, this promotion order from the Qin court boosted the confidence of officials in all counties and prefectures across the land.

The Qin court was essentially telling all officials that as long as they performed their duties well, the Qin court would promote them and increase their salaries.

But all of this is predicated on officials increasing the population and land of a local prefecture or county, and understanding the people's sentiments.

Everything complements each other.

Sima Xin glanced back at the book in the young master's room. This book was a summary of the classics of various schools of thought compiled by the former prince Fusu, and it contained many of the sayings of these philosophers.

Sima Xin said, "When you were young, I served as the magistrate of Huayin County. I was there for seven years, and I finally managed to govern Huayin County well."

Heng said, "I know that the scallions from Huayin County now are the best in Guanzhong."

Sima Xin smiled and said, "Back then, I thought many times how wonderful it would be if I could serve Prince Fusu. But at that time, the prince was always worried about the affairs of the world and did not pay attention to me."

Heng wondered what his father was like when he was young, facing Sima Xin or the old master.

But the people here have great respect for the father.

Heng could only learn about his father's childhood activities from the old master, Sima Xin, and other people.

As a prince of the Great Qin, Heng had heard them tell stories about his father many, many times. Sometimes, listening to them made him feel a lot of pressure.

Sima Xin added, "I have no special skills. It took me ten years to get the position of Prefectural Assistant, and only now am I the Prefect."

Heng said, "Father has always seen it all and will never forget you."

“Yes.” Sima Xin suddenly smiled, sighed deeply, and said, “Young master, you can tell me if you need anything.”

"Ah."

Heng nodded.

As the sun rose higher, Tongguan City began to bustle with activity.

After the young master finished eating, Sima Xin took his bowl and chopsticks and left, as he also had to get back to work for the day. Although Sima Xin had received his promotion documents, the county magistrate's office was still preserved, and no county governor's office had been built. It was likely that this place would be converted into the county governor's office; they would just need to change the facade.

This was also Sima Xin's own plan.

Just as he reached the door, he saw someone, who was none other than Cao Can from back then.

Cao Shen bowed and said, "Greetings, Prefect."

Sima Xin stood at the door hesitantly and asked, "What is it?"

Cao Can said, "Magistrate Xiao said he would come to Tongguan tonight to meet with the Prefect."

Sima Xin felt that whatever he thought of today had come to pass. However, there was also a young guest in Tongguan City who wanted to see Xiao He, so he said, "Alright, he can come tonight."

"Yes."

After bowing, Cao Shen quickly left.

In the morning, Heng was here listening to a lecture by a teacher from Tongguan with a group of children his age.

Among his peers, Heng's knowledge was considered excellent, but it was still far behind Zhang Jing's.

Now Brother Zhang Jing can teach other students.

Today's lesson was given by a teacher named Zhui, who was among the first group of teachers to venture eastward and later led hundreds of students to study in Guanzhong.

He is now a very important figure among the many scholars in Tongguan City.

What Master Zhui was talking about was the knowledge of the Hundred Schools of Thought after the Qin Dynasty unified the world. The famous philosophers who were renowned throughout the country were no longer around.

Now only knowledge has been preserved. What should future generations learn?

Master Zhui expressed the idea that few descendants of the various schools of thought, such as Confucianism, military strategy, Yin-Yang philosophy, Taoism, and Mohism, are still alive today.

It's almost as if there's no one left to carry on the legacy.

When the emperor made his eastern tour, his son collected books from all over the country and compiled a new collection of Hundred Schools of Thought, which became one of the most important parts of the many books we know today.

Heng listened very attentively. This was a rather novel argument that he had never heard from any of his many teachers, and it was also a topic of great discussion among people today.

Some people refer to the knowledge taught by today's volunteer teachers as Qin studies, which are books that integrate the doctrines of various schools of thought.

However, those who insist on their own family traditions and think highly of themselves are actually quite boring.

Just like the teachings of Confucius, it doesn't have to be the teachings of the Confucian school. Confucius had so many disciples back then, all over the world.

So now, Qin studies should be the same, and its students should be found all over the world.

These are all topics of discussion in the world today.

In fact, neither the teachers who volunteered to teach in Tongguan, nor even the people of Tongguan today, have ever claimed this knowledge as their own, nor have they ever claimed that this knowledge is Qin learning.

The knowledge of the various schools of thought in ancient China should belong to all people.

Qin was merely putting this process into practice.

The class lasted all morning, starting with the character "隹" and ending with it, and more and more people came to listen.

This was already a hot topic of discussion, and after class, the students in Tongguan City would surely continue to talk about it.

Heng walked out of the school and saw Zhang Jing carrying a food box.

"The prefect told us to come to his residence for dinner that night."

The food box contained two bowls of noodles, and each person ate one bowl while sitting outside the school.

In fact, many students in Tongguan City also ate and rested under the eaves. Although there were restaurants in Tongguan City, there weren't enough seats, so many children had to compete to eat at the restaurants.

If you arrive late, there won't be any food left.

To balance the distribution among students, the academy encourages students to bring more food from their own homes.

Heng knew that his father valued food very much, and several other restaurants were being built in Tongguan City in preparation for future needs.

The afternoon lesson was about Tian Ji's horse race. This story was written between the correspondence between my father and my uncle, Gao.

After his uncle wrote the story, his father incorporated it into the curriculum, and with Shusun Tong's permission, it became a lesson that the volunteer teacher had to teach.

The story of Tian Ji, a general of the State of Qi, and Qi Wei is indeed very interesting and thought-provoking.

Heng had already read this story when it was first delivered to the old master, but he learned it again with everyone else.

Learning is like this: reviewing the old to learn the new, repeatedly digesting and learning.

When night fell, Heng and Zhang Jing arrived at Sima Xin's house.

Sima Xin was especially pleased that the young master and Zhang Jing could come to visit his home. The young master was a sensible child, and Zhang Jing was the most outstanding student in Tongguan this year.

Sima Xin's family ate simple, everyday meals.

Sima Xin liked to put scallions in his pancakes, and the pancakes with the aroma of scallions did have a unique flavor. This newly promoted prefect especially loved eating scallions.

However, scallions can be paired with any ingredient, and Sima Xin's family's dishes always have a scallion aroma.

Before long, Xiao He and Cao Can also arrived.

Upon seeing that Sima Xin had two children, one young and one old, I was initially taken aback.

Cao Jian had seen both of these young men.

Sima Xin introduced, "These two are both students from Tongguan. This is Xiao He, the magistrate of Xiao County."

"Student Heng has met with Magistrate Xiao."

"Student Zhang Jing greets Magistrate Xiao."

The fact that the two young men could be guests at Sima Xin's home naturally indicates that they are of high status.

Xiao He vaguely felt that the name Zhang Jing sounded familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before, but he couldn't remember where.

However, there was another child who looked to be only about ten years old, whom Xiao He had never seen before.

Xiao He and Cao Can sat down on the other side of the two young men.

The two boys were eating, chewing their food, and seemed unwilling to speak. Xiao He also sensed that no matter what he said to the prefect, they would not participate in the rest of the matter.

Sima Xin said, "It's been a year since we last saw each other."

Xiao He raised his wine bowl and said, "I toast the Prefect."

Sima Xin added, "I've heard that you've made considerable progress in developing Jingyang."

When Sima Xin said this, the smile on his face showed that he had not misjudged the situation.

Sima Xin was right; Xiao He was indeed a capable man.

Moreover, Sima Xin was certain that as long as the evaluation criteria for promotion orders remained in place, Xiao He could continue to be promoted. "What does Magistrate Xiao think of the current promotion orders?"

Xiao He replied, "The previous examination was a selection process for the Qin court to choose talents, and this promotion order is another selection process for officials throughout the country. I heard that this is the Prime Minister's decree."

Sima Xin didn't think so; he believed it was a decree issued by Prince Fusu.

(End of this chapter)