The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 261 Arrival at the Grassland
The emperor's procession traveled for half a day, and by nightfall, they were very close to the snow line on the mountain.

The team found a flat spot in the mountains and set up camp to rest.

The starry sky here looks very low, as if you could reach the stars by building a tall building.

Under the bright moonlight, you can see the distant grasslands undulating like ocean waves as the wind blows.

Looking back on his life, Li Si felt that if he hadn't joined Qin, he might have spent his life as a strategist in the household of a famous official from one of the other six states.

Such a life might be peaceful, but as long as the six kingdoms are not unified, the war will continue and will eventually endanger them.

Li Si never felt he had any great sense of righteousness, and perhaps he would have lived a more selfish and self-serving life, and would have fussed over trivial matters for a long time.

After thinking it over, Li Si found Zhang Han, who was guarding outside the camp, and had a long talk with him.

At the beginning of the conversation, Li Si could sense that Zhang Han was reluctant, but he would not openly refuse to talk.

Therefore, Li Si could only talk to himself in front of Zhang Han, which was a very boring process. He only took a break when he got tired of talking.

The next day, Li Si reflected on his conversation with Zhang Han the previous night. He figured that Li Si was probably planning to retire, which was why he had said so much to Zhang Han.

Even Li Si couldn't recall what he had said the night before.

The following morning, the emperor descended the mountain and returned to Wuwei County. After resting for a few more days, he prepared to continue his western tour.

Before leaving Wuwei County, Li Si wrote a letter and had it delivered to Prince Fusu.

Afterwards, Li Si continued to sit on the emperor's carriage and accompany the emperor on his western tour. Once they returned to Xianyang, Li Si could take off his prime minister's robes and no longer concern himself with state affairs, thus continuing to live out his later years in peace. This is probably the life that everyone wants.

Li Si thought that Han Fei must have thought about it back then, and he must have wanted to live such a life in his later years.

Upon further reflection, Li Si realized that his later years would likely be extremely lonely.

After Han Fei died, Li Si lost all his friends. When he retired, no one came to visit him, let alone drink and congratulate him.

He spent the rest of his life quietly in his mansion in Xianyang.

On the way to the Hexi Corridor, Li Si helped the emperor write an imperial edict and sent it to Prince Fusu in Xianyang, instructing Prince Fusu to oversee the construction of the Lishan Mausoleum.

Li Si felt that after spending the rest of his life in his mansion in Xianyang, he would receive a reward and be buried in a mausoleum. This was his final wish.

As the imperial carriage was leaving Wuwei County, Li Si received a letter written by Imperial Censor Chen Ping.

Li Si was surprised that this censor named Chen Ping would write him a letter.

Moreover, in the letter, Chen Ping said that Mao Heng had left, and before leaving, he got very drunk and even scolded him, the prime minister.

Li Si finished reading the letter with a wry smile.

Whose letter was it?

"It's a letter from Tongguan. Mao Heng has left." Li Si handed the letter into the carriage.

A moment later, a voice came from inside the carriage, saying, "You, Li Si, are truly detestable."

Upon hearing the emperor's words, Li Si replied, "Only Mao Heng dares to dislike me, because he is my only friend who is still alive."

"But now he's gone too, and he no longer appreciates your kindness."

Li Si was somewhat worried. He felt that Mao Heng had said in his letter that he wanted to follow in the footsteps of his former teacher Xunzi and travel the world again.

Based on my understanding of this friend, Mao Heng must have accumulated some wealth in Tongguan. However, Mao Heng is a man who doesn't know how to plan ahead. After he spends all his money outside, he will probably starve to death.

This was not just Li Si's wild imagination. Twelve years ago, Mao Heng did not want to accept the goodwill and did not want to stay in Guanzhong because of Li Si's feelings, so he left in a fit of anger.

But then, less than six months later, Mao Heng was starving to death and returned to Guanzhong.

Now, twelve years have passed, and Mao Heng is leaving again. Li Si sighed and whispered, "I wonder if he will come back this time if he starves to death again."

Let him go. When Mao Heng left last time, Li Si didn't try to stop him either.

It was out of consideration for their past relationship that the young master spared Mao Heng's life.

Now that Mao Heng is leaving, the young master will no longer show him any mercy. It is his own choice to leave, and Li Si will not try to persuade him to stay.

In terms of attitude towards life, Li Si greatly admired Zhang Cang, who would never care about Mao Heng's life or death and would respect Mao Heng's decisions.

Because Zhang Cang never offered advice to anyone.

Zhang Cang knew from a young age that anything involving persuading someone to change their mind would ultimately end badly.

Persuading people to do the right thing is the most useless and meaningless thing to do, so respecting the fate of others is Li Si's understanding of Zhang Cang. Now, Li Si also wanted to live that way, but suddenly realized that he, Li Si, was not as wise as Zhang Cang in living.

"Do you really think there will never be another Hundred Schools of Thought like the Hundred Schools of Thought again?"

Li Si replied, "I do not know either."

Ying Zheng said, "Mao Heng said there won't be any more."

"In my opinion, when the states were at war, the reputations of the philosophers were too great. In order to win over a scholar, the states promised him generous gifts, which were nothing more than land, marriage, and noble status. The influence of the philosophers was too great. The states fought tooth and nail to win over the philosophers and scholars. This was actually wrong. The states would also go to war over this. Your Highness is not saying that you should not allow the philosophers to continue to be passed down. If you stifle the reputation of the philosophers, people in the world will only be able to read the Qin books in the future."

Li Si said, "Back then, when I suggested banning private schools, you thought that instead of banning private schools, it would be better to control books. People need a unified ideology, so there must be a book to teach people to do so. That is the book of Qin. There should never again be a situation where a famous person's words can cause students all over the world to respond in unison."

"Education is especially important. As long as the scale of education support expands and more and more people teach, then famous scholars will disappear from the world. This is because everyone can read. I understand even more clearly that there is no distinction between high and low in reading. When people all know how to distinguish between lies and truth, there will be no more famous scholars in the world."

"That is why people in the future will admire the books of the ancients and respect the doctrines of the various schools of thought. In my opinion, that is all there is to it."

Silence fell inside the carriage as the emperor pondered.

Traveling north from the Hexi Corridor required passing through the Wushaoling Mountains. When the emperor's carriage actually entered the Wushaoling Mountains, Lou Jing, who was in the farewell party, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Shejian stood still, seemingly intending to watch the emperor's carriage disappear into the distance.

Lou Jing first went to see Han Xin.

Han Xin, still herding horses at the foot of the snow-capped mountains, was reading a book with his sleeping son beside him.

Lou Jing stepped forward and said, "The emperor has left."

Han Xin did not look up, but turned a page of the book and said, "This year's new books sent from Guanzhong are really interesting."

Lou Jing asked, "The Prime Minister's office said that we officials must also learn, and learn until we die. We must discard our old ideas and seek new concepts and more efficient ways of governance for the new situation."

Unable to think of anything to say for a moment, Lou Jing simply uttered the most important sentence from the document he had sent to the Hexi Corridor yesterday.

Han Xin had naturally seen the scroll, and it was given to him separately.

Lou Jing then asked, "I heard that the Prime Minister and the General were talking about the Yuezhi people on the snowy mountain. Do you think there will be another war in the future?"

Han Xin turned over and continued reading while lying on his back.

Lou Jing continued, "I am very worried about Xianyang. Chen Ping has coveted the Western Regions for so many years. He will definitely slander the young master and the emperor, and may even persuade the emperor and the young master to launch a western expedition against the Yuezhi."

Han Xin said, "You're saying this because you're jealous of Chen Ping."

Lou Jingdao said, "He is now an imperial censor and has the power to report directly to the emperor. I am worried about the country."

The thought of war made Han Xin put down his book. Magistrate Lou's words made sense; Chen Ping was too cunning, and he might really be slandering him.

But so what? Could Han Xin still interfere in the affairs of the Prime Minister's residence?
Ever since he killed someone during the Northern Expedition, Han Xin truly felt that fighting was exhausting.

If there were no war, I could stay here and raise horses until I die, and have several children. What a wonderful life that would be!

Seeing that the procession that had seen off the emperor had also returned, Lou Jing said, "Very well, if Chen Ping continues to slander the emperor, I, Lou Jing, have no choice but to take the lead and personally lead the troops to conquer the Yuezhi in the west."

Han Xin nodded, remaining silent.

Lou Jing was at a loss for words. Han Xin was also a very boring person, and all the people in the Hexi Corridor were just as boring.

Upon returning to his county government, Lou Jing immediately began to attend to the county's mundane affairs.

Lou Jing felt annoyed whenever he saw these trivial matters. He thought Chen Ping certainly didn't have to deal with these things all day long, and he must be living a good life in Xianyang right now.

In the late autumn of the fortieth year of the First Emperor's reign, during his western tour, letters were occasionally delivered to the imperial entourage, informing the emperor and his prime minister that the country was still stable and peaceful, and that another examination had been completed this year, selecting two hundred officials.

The emperor's son, Prince Fusu, continued to fulfill his promise, allowing commoners to study and become officials, instead of relying on reputation and recommendations from famous scholars as had been done in the previous six states.

Li Si smiled as he read the letter, for he saw that the prince had written complaints about the former nobles of the six states.

He walked with the emperor on the grasslands south of the Gobi Desert, recounting past events. Back then, Li Si had gone through great hardship to obtain an official position. Nobles and famous figures looked down on Li Si's talent and at most offered him a minor clerical job.

"When I left, I cursed them. From now on, I'm afraid no one among the nobles of those six kingdoms will need to employ me again, because I cursed them as rats in the granary."

Now Li Si has finally gotten his revenge. When the prince chooses commoners as officials and abandons the old nobles, those fallen nobles will think that Prince Fusu is taking revenge on them for his teacher.

Because they also abandoned Li Si back then.

Life is truly fascinating. Prince Fusu deliberately wrote down the complaints of the former nobles of the six states. If the emperor hadn't been by his side, Li Si would have burst out laughing.

(End of this chapter)