The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 218 A Harmonious Winter

At this time of year, Xianyang Palace is quiet and solemn, and most of the palace servants coming and going are very busy.

Fusu brought his family to the front of the Ji Temple.

Heng saw his grandfather's back; his grandfather's hair was whiter than ever before.

Fusu walked to his father's side and said, "The reports from all the prefectures have arrived this year, all saying that there has been a bumper harvest in various places."

Ying Zheng nodded, gazing thoughtfully at the memorial tablets of past Qin kings.

Fusu followed his father toward the side hall of the Imperial Temple.

Heng and Li are bowing to the many memorial tablets.

Inside the side hall, Ying Zheng stared at a map in silence.

This map shows the expansion of the Great Wall; the northern section of the Great Wall needed to be extended all the way to Wushaoling.

Fusu said, "The Hexi Corridor is not suitable for building the Great Wall, but it can be used to build city gates."

Ying Zheng withdrew his gaze and asked, "How are the officials in each prefecture?"

“There are good and bad things.”

Ying Zheng said in a low voice, "Li Si and I have spent more than twenty years but have not been able to change the hearts of the people from the former six states."

Fusu said, "This is a long process and cannot be accomplished overnight."

"At that time, Li Si discussed with me the idea of ​​letting the former nobles of the six states live off their land, but fortunately you made Weinan have a bumper harvest."

Not being in the Emperor's position, I don't know his intentions.

Sometimes Fusu would wonder what the First Emperor would think if he faced those endless anti-Qin forces that he could never kill or capture.

The southern campaign was a victory that no one cheered for. Even if the northern campaign against the Xiongnu had been a victory, it would not have won over the hearts and minds of the former nobles of the six states.

Ying Zheng said, "Back then, Li Si wanted the world to know that Qin was willing to govern the world and the people of the former six states, but in the end, all he got was bloodshed and Li Si and the scholars from Qi and Lu.

Fusu listened quietly to his father's words, remaining silent.

Changing yourself to please others is indeed a very draining thing.

When Fusu first summoned the scholars from Qi and Lu to Qin, he knew it was definitely not a good policy, but at that time he was not yet able to participate in the important affairs of the country.

"Young master, the time has come."

Ying Zheng slowly nodded, indicating that his son should preside over today's ancestral worship ceremony.

Under the supervision of Prince Fusu, incense was lit at the Ji Temple.

Tian An stood beside the First Emperor, reporting on the recent activities of Prince Fusu.

Ying Zheng listened quietly, his gaze sweeping over the family with a smile, yet he remained silent and kept his distance.

It seemed the emperor didn't want to disturb the scene, so Tian An stood silently to the side, smiling without saying a word.

Before the memorial tablets of the Qin kings of all dynasties, Heng, along with his younger brother Li, kowtowed to the kings and knelt to announce their identities.

Fusu repeatedly corrected the two children's improper manners.

"Father, are these things we need to learn?" Li asked.

Children are always curious, and as they grow up and become more sensible, they have more and more questions.

However, when bowing, Fusu needs to stand aside. Actually, he didn't understand these etiquettes when he was a child; they were all taught by his great-grandfather.

Now that my great-grandfather has passed away, only my generation remains of the Ying clan of Qin.

As for the rest of the imperial family, they no longer concern themselves with matters of the imperial family.

Now, Fusu needs to teach his children the Qin etiquette he learned from his great-grandfather.

Fortunately, both children are very sensible and eager to learn.

"You must remember these customs and pass them down from generation to generation."

The two children nodded in unison.

The winter solstice marks the beginning of the year. After the ceremony, Heng will be ten years old, and Li will be five.

I don't know how much of it the two kids will remember; they might forget it after playing outside for a while.

The weather is still gloomy today, and the two children need to stay at the temple overnight.

Fusu stayed here with them.

Father Emperor has left sometime ago, probably preoccupied with other matters.

In recent years, the Emperor has been visiting the Northern Suburbs Palace more and more often, and staying there for longer and longer periods of time. Sometimes he stays for two or three months at a time, and sometimes he goes to the palace again after visiting Xianyang for half a month.

As Fusu was pondering this, the two children finished their rituals and sat down in front of the temple to talk.

While drinking tea, Fusu listened to their conversation. Heng was telling Li about studying in Jingye County.

Li was very curious about studying outside, and he also wanted to study.

But he is still young. It won't be too late to go when he is three years older.

Fusu pondered that for Shusun Tong, teaching one child was the same as teaching, and teaching more children would be convenient too.

At night, the family would have dinner in front of their ancestors at the temple.

Tian Anlai reported: "Young master, the emperor has gone to the northern suburban palace, saying that military reports from the north have arrived."

Fusu nodded without asking further questions, and then said, "You should eat something too."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li handed the bowl to the elderly Grandpa Tian An.

After taking the bowl, Tian An smiled so much that the wrinkles on his face smoothed out. He sat down next to the two young masters and quietly ate his noodles.

After finishing their meal, Tian An cleaned up the temple until the night deepened and the lady left with her two young masters.

Prince Fusu stood before the assembled Kings of Qin.

Tian An thought that the emperor's life had been extremely lonely, both during his youth as a hostage and after returning to Xianyang. Now, Prince Fusu had such a happy family, which brought a smile to the emperor's face. Perhaps the life of Prince Fusu's family now made the emperor happier.

After Heng returns, he will stay in the palace for a while longer so that Fusu can choose a congratulatory gift to give to Shusun Tong.

The gift should be neither too heavy nor too light. Fusu took out a token with the words "Imperial Academy" on it.

The idea of ​​building the Imperial Academy had already taken shape long ago. Tongguan is still a big pot, and all sorts of people live in this pot.

But talented people need to be selected, and young people need a place to advance in their studies, and that place is the Imperial Academy.

Those who excelled in their studies at Tongguan were able to enter the Imperial Academy.

Students who entered the Imperial Academy were not necessarily destined for officialdom; rather, they became candidates for the position of Academician.

A country needs a large pool of talent, which requires both continuous selection and replacement.

Fusu wrote down these thoughts in a book and put the token engraved with the Imperial Academy Order into a bundle, saying, "Tian An, have someone send this bundle to Shusun Tong."

"Yes."

If Shusun Tong agrees, he will accept the token and entrust the affairs of the Imperial Academy to him from now on.

But it doesn't really matter if he doesn't agree; Shusun Tong will find a way to return the token.

After the winter solstice, the children have all grown a year older.

Twenty-nine-year-old Fusu arrived at the Prime Minister's residence. Yesterday at the Temple of the Supreme Harmony, Tian An said that a military report had been sent from the north.

After the emperor read the military report, he would have it delivered to the prime minister's residence.

As Fusu sat in the Prime Minister's residence, he indeed found the military report sent from the northern suburbs among the piles of documents.

This military report was sent by Meng Tian, ​​who mentioned Han Xin in it.

Han Xin met with Meng Tian and shared his views on horse administration.

Warhorses are a symbol of a nation's military strength.

Han Xin made his request to Meng Tian. Han Xin felt that since he needed to raise warhorses, he needed a cavalry to train the horses, so he asked Meng Tian for troops.

Meng Tian inquired about Han Xin's methods for training warhorses, but Han Xin refused to answer.

In the military report, Meng Tian also said that Han Xin was slow to speak.

This assessment is quite interesting; it essentially says that Han Xin spoke haltingly and was unwilling to explain his specific methods.

Providing troops is acceptable, but this matter needs to be confirmed by Xianyang.

Furthermore, Han Xin was the censor of the Shaofu Ling (Minister of the Imperial Household), meaning he was under the Shaofu Ling's command and required his consent.

Fusu wrote his reply on the scroll, granting Han Xin three hundred men to train warhorses.

Sometimes you don't need to worry about your subordinates having bad intentions; at least give them some authority and allow them enough manpower to use their abilities.

After writing the reply, Fusu had the military report sent back to the north.

Seeing that there were other documents in front of him, Fusu simply began to approve them as well.

Yesterday was the winter solstice, and people are celebrating it today. It should be the most lively time of the year, but only Prince Fusu is busy here.

However, there were only about ten volumes of documents that needed to be approved today, and the young master quickly completed the approval process.

It was afternoon when they returned to Gaoquan Palace from the Prime Minister's residence. When the emperor was away, Prince Fusu was in charge of arranging many things in Xianyang Palace, but when things came to Gaoquan Palace, it was ultimately Tian Changshi who made the arrangements.

Most of the time, Fusu was teaching his two sons.

Actually, when he's out in the world, Heng is in a state of learning and playing at the same time.

Back in the palace, Heng only had to study, and he was personally taught by Prince Fusu.

Sometimes even the lady of the house would sit quietly to listen.

Under the eaves, two children sat side by side, and Fusu was reading from a book.

Li, being still young, didn't understand much; he could only listen in at most. Some of the truths they would only understand when they grew up.

As for Heng, he didn't know much either. Fusu could only tell him that as a prince of Qin, he needed to be careful about his words and actions.

Uniting people is a very important skill; making more friends and fewer enemies is something Heng must learn first.

It's hard to say about other skills, but for someone Heng's age, there are many peers to play with outside, and the ability to unite people can be cultivated from childhood.

Furthermore, you can start exercising in a small group of a few people.

Heng asked, "Are there more people like Sima Xin?"

Fusu nodded and said, "The more the better. One person's talent is unique, but a diligent person can influence a group of people and make more people act diligently."

Heng nodded thoughtfully.

Fusu ended his speech here. He didn't expect the two children to understand too much from what he said today, but he hoped that they would remember these words in the future and make them their own.

Even after the winter solstice, heavy snow continues to fall in Guanzhong.

Heng stayed in Xianyang Palace for half a month before leaving.

On the second day of heavy snow in Guanzhong, military reports concerning the northwest border defenses finally reached Guanzhong.

The affairs of the Qin state remained stable. Every year at this time, Prince Fusu would summarize the state affairs of the year.

After completing the summary, the young master would write down the summarized state affairs and send them to Prime Minister Li Si's residence.

At such times, Prime Minister Li Si would summon Zhang Cang to his residence for a chat.

Throughout the court and among the common people, the relationship between Prince Fusu and the Prime Minister, and between the Prime Minister and many other ministers, was very harmonious.

……

PS: I stayed up all night writing last night and haven't fully recovered yet. It seems I'm really getting old. I'll let Xiao Zhang get some rest and try to catch up on all the missed updates once he's awake.

(End of this chapter)