The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 266 Jiangdong
Chu region, east of the Yangtze River.

This is the nineteenth year since the fall of the Chu Kingdom. Standing on the banks of the Wu River, Xiang Liang can still recall the scene when Xiang Yan died in battle. When the dark mass of Qin troops swept in, General Xiang Yan did not retreat even half a step.

Over the years, Qin has never stopped harassing the former nobles of Chu. Back then, Qin exiled a large number of Xiang clan members.

This place is Zhenze in Wuzhong.

Xiang Liang gathered many heroes in this place, and as long as he occupied Zhenze Lake, he would control the grain supply in the south.

Now, Xiang Liang recalled the emperor's eastern tour back then. The emperor should have come here to see that the rivers and fields in the south are actually very prosperous.

Xiang Yu and Huan Chu stood aside, watching their uncle pour wine into a pot as he was offering a sacrifice to the souls of the fallen Chu people.

Xiang Yu could still see hatred in his uncle's eyes.

Today, Xiang Yu met a man named Qu Su, who was one of the old nobles of the Chu state who responded to his uncle's uprising.

"Please, Lord Xiang Liang, save my Chu clan!" Qu Su cried out, kneeling on the ground.

Xiang Liang had his back to him, his gaze fixed on the river, and remained silent.

Qu Su continued, “The Qin army has captured all our relatives. I urge Lord Xiang Liang to raise an army now. If we can capture two or three cities, the Qin army will surely compromise. Once we occupy the south, we can negotiate with the Qin army, and they will not dare to harm our relatives.”

In order to suppress the chaos in Chu, the Qin army did indeed capture many Chu nobles.

But upon hearing Qu Su's words, Xiang Yu's eyes showed a hint of suspicion, and he said, "How do you know that the Qin army will negotiate with you after taking two or three cities?"

Qu Su said, "That's for sure. As long as Lord Xiang Liang raises his arm and calls out, the people of Chu will surely respond from all directions."

He still spoke as if it were perfectly natural.

But Xiang Liang became even more confused, and his eyes went from doubt to wariness.

"Xiang Liang!" Qu Su changed his tone and stood up to question him: "Don't forget, it was because you, Xiang Liang, killed Han Zhong that the Qin army entered Chu to capture you. Yin Tong confessed everything. It's all because of you that we've all been harmed. So many of our relatives have been captured by the Qin army, and now you, Xiang Liang, are doing this..."

Qu Su pointed at him, his eyes blazing with fury, and said, "Xiang Liang, who are you trying to impress with your sacrifices here? Instead of thinking about saving people, all you do is offer sacrifices here? Don't forget, none of us wanted to rebel against Qin. Even when the King of Chu was captured and taken to Xianyang, he didn't say he wanted to restore Chu. What gives you the right to plot an uprising? Now we've all been implicated by you, and instead of thinking about saving them, you're offering sacrifices here!"

His voice carried far along the riverbank, but Xiang Liang did not reply. Instead, he led Xiang Yu and Huan Chu away.

Xiang Yu, following behind his uncle, remained silent.

According to Qin law, the winter solstice has now passed, and it should be the new year.

The wind by the river was cold. The three of them left the riverbank, leaving Qu Su alone, still cursing and shouting by the river.

Arriving at their lodging by the river, the uncle and his nephews had been staying there for some time. The magistrate of Wu County was a good friend of the uncle.

While the Qin army was indeed capturing the uncle and nephew outside, it wouldn't have been difficult for them to find a place to live in Jiangdong or Chu.

Inside the house, Uncle and Xiang Bo were talking.

Xiang Yu stood outside the house.

Xiang Yu has changed in the last two years. When did this change begin...? Huan Chu pondered that it probably started after he met that Master Jing.

At times, Xiang Yu began to rebel against Xiang Liang's teachings.

Huan Chu said, "I've come today to say goodbye."

Xiang Yu asked in confusion, "Are you leaving?"

"Yes, I'm going to see my teacher."

"That's wonderful!" Xiang Yu said happily. "This time when you go to see Master Fan Zeng, you might be able to get him to support your uncle's restoration of Chu."

"I hope so," Huan Chu said, then went inside to see Xiang Liang.

Xiang Yu didn't know what Huan Chu and his uncle had talked about, and then Xiang Bo saw him off.

During the two years that Xiang Yu lived in Wuzhong, he felt lost. He felt that he and his uncle were isolated and helpless here, and his uncle often said that they must never forget to restore Chu.

What the former Chu state was like was unfamiliar to Xiang Yu. He had little memory of the former Chu state, having followed his uncle around since he could remember.

My uncle said that the State of Chu used to be wonderful, and the Xiang family used to have unparalleled glory in the State of Chu. Even the King of Chu respected the Xiang family very much.

But that was all there was to it. Xiang Yu didn't even know if that beautiful Chu Kingdom truly existed.

Before meeting Master Jing, Xiang Yu would have listened to his uncle, but now Xiang Yu still keeps a scroll hidden away, a book that Master Jing gave him.

This book records sayings that teach people about the importance of the people, similar to the words of Xunzi.

Xiang Yu disliked reading from a young age, especially the classics of various schools of thought, despite his uncle finding him teachers several times.

However, Xiang Yu disliked those classic texts, and all that he had learned and knew was given to him by his uncle. It wasn't until he read the book by Master Jing that he began to doubt the ideas his uncle had taught him.

But at least compared to the other two, once a conflict arose, Xiang Yu would still unconditionally trust his uncle.

On the riverbank in Wu County, Xiang Bo handed the bundle to Huan Chu, saying, "Qu Su's arrival is too suspicious; it's not that we don't believe him."

“I know it’s very strange that this person was able to get out of the dungeon in Xianyang.”

“Yes,” Xiang Bo said again, “but he is a descendant of the Qu family, and we cannot neglect him. We can only leave him in Wu County for the time being.”

"Xiang Liang did the right thing."

The river water lapped against the small boat. Huan Chu was going to take this boat to leave Wu County and go to Jiujiang first. His teacher, Fan Zeng, was from the Fan family of Jiujiang, and he needed to handle some of his teacher's family matters on his behalf.

Thinking about the current situation of volunteer teaching, Qin hopes that everyone in the world can read the same books, and for this, clan and family learning must be erased, just like the teacher's Fan family in Jiujiang.

It was precisely because of the volunteer teaching program that conflicts arose within the Fan family in Jiujiang.

Qin wanted to erase the family traditions and scholarship of aristocratic families like the Fan family of Jiujiang, rendering them useless and outdated, and then replace them with rural education support programs.

Xiang Bo cautioned, "There are still many Qin soldiers searching for us outside. You must be careful on your journey."

Huan Chu said, "Don't worry, Xiang Bo. When I see my teacher, I will persuade him to help Xiang Liang Gong again."

"it is good."

Xiang Bo smiled as he saw Huan Chu off.

Once Huan Chu had settled on the boat, the boatman rowed upstream.

The boat was very clean, and the occasional waft of incense made Huan Chu feel sleepy. It was rare to see a fishing boat so clean and fragrant.

Perhaps due to exhaustion from the past few days, Huan Chu fell into a deep sleep.

When I woke up again, it was already night outside, and the boat was moored on the riverbank, but I didn't see the boatman.

Huan Chu stood up and was about to get off the boat and go to the shore when he saw that the boatman was holding a knife.

"Young brother, I'm sorry, Lord Xiang Liang ordered me to kill you."

Seeing this, Huan Chu even laughed self-deprecatingly. As expected, Xiang Liang didn't even trust him. Would Huan Chu really go and inform the Qin army?
Just as the other side was about to make a move, Huan Chu was also ready to fight back.

An arrow flew through the air and pierced the boatman's lower abdomen.

Squads of Qin soldiers came from all directions.

Huan Chu turned around and jumped into the river, swimming towards the opposite bank.

After swimming for a while, Huan Chu didn't see the Qin army pursuing him, but instead saw Qin soldiers holding torches on the opposite bank. In the moonlight, he could see the Qin soldiers' black armor.

He looked back first, then looked ahead; the icy river water made it difficult for him to breathe.

The Qin army waited patiently on the shore, while Huan Chu was adrift in the water, where he would either freeze to death or drown from exhaustion.

Seeing the ships slowly approaching, Huan Chu finally understood the Qin army's intention: they wanted to spare prisoners.

When the boat approached, the man on board announced loudly, "I am Zhang Ping. If you have something to say, come aboard and we'll talk."

Huan Chu was annoyed, but there was nothing he could do. When Zhang Ping reached out his hand, he could only grab the other's hand and climb onto the boat in a disheveled state.

"I didn't expect Xiang Liang to be so ruthless, even killing you."

After speaking, Zhang Ping saw that Huan Chu was shivering, clearly too cold to speak.

Zhang Ping ordered the boat to row back and waved his torch towards the people on the opposite bank. The Qin army on the other side also withdrew.

Huan Chu was led into a dilapidated house by the Qin army. They lit a fire, and once there was flame, he felt his breathing become easier. The warmth gradually restored feeling to his hands and feet, which had been almost numb from the cold.

“Young master, this is Huan Chu, a man close to Xiang Liang.”

Huan Chu glanced sideways and saw a seemingly frail-looking man.

“I am Gao.” Gao looked at Huan Chu sitting by the fire and said, “You don’t need to guess anymore, Fusu is my elder brother.”

Huan Chu lowered his head and asked, "Was Qu Su sent by you?"

Gao replied, "It was just a little trick, but I didn't expect it to actually work."

"You've been eyeing Wu County for a while now?"

"Yes, after Qu Su met Xiang Liang, our men captured the magistrate of Wu County."

Huan Chu said, "If we harbor the chief criminal Xiang Liang, many people in Wu County will die."

Gao said, "Xiang Liang is guilty of killing the Qin scholar. He needs to confess. He is not a criminal worthy of sympathy. When Xiang Liang raises an army to restore Chu, will you applaud him when he kills people? Does Han Zhong deserve to die?"

Huan Chu kept his head down and did not answer.

"Report! The magistrate of Wu County has been brought here."

He nodded.

Zhang Ping continued, "Would you like to make your move now, young master?"

Gao didn't want to see Xiang Liang kill Qu Su. In fact, Qu Su's crime didn't warrant death. He was to be exiled to build the Great Wall. The Great Wall of Qin was very long and is still under construction today.

Gao Dao said, "Alright, thank you for your trouble, General."

Zhang Ping led a group of people and left quickly.

In fact, the Qin army had always followed Qu Su.

Huan Chu noticed that this young master actually had the leisure to sit down and write.

As Gao wrote, he said, "You are Fan Zeng's disciple. I met him when I went to Langya County."

Huan Chu looked up, somewhat dazed, and asked, "Is Teacher alright?"

"He was a very kind man, and he even told me about his Chu studies." As he spoke, Gao took out a scroll and handed it to him, saying, "This is a book that he and I compiled."

Huan Chu took the scroll with both hands. He opened it and saw records written in clerical script. These records sounded like the teacher speaking in his ear. This was indeed the Chu learning that the teacher would teach.

Winning hearts and minds is actually quite simple, and it wasn't difficult for Huan Chu. Gao then asked, "If Xiang Liang escapes, where will he go?"

Seeing that the other party did not speak, Gao said again: "Xiang Liang has long lost the hearts of the people in Chu. Now that he is treating Qu Su like this, Qu Su will tell all the old nobles of Chu about Xiang Liang's actions. Let alone restoring Chu, Xiang Liang will have a hard time standing in Chu in the future. You don't need to protect him. Xiang Liang only thinks about himself."

Zhang Ping, who was standing outside, did not leave. Instead, a guard from inside came out and handed him a piece of paper.

Looking at the map on the paper, Zhang Ping then led his men away.

The night passed slowly. Huan Chu curled up by the fire and fell asleep again. Gao Ren took a look and found that he was sick with a high fever.

They summoned a doctor overnight to treat him.

Gao also noticed that the man was still holding the scroll of Chu studies, which was very important to Huan Chu.

The winter in Chu was also very cold, not much better than in Guanzhong. Gao went outside and saw that the ground was still covered with a thin layer of ice. It seemed that there would be another frost when he woke up tomorrow morning.

"Young master, it's cold at night."

Gao sighed, "I hope Zhang Ping will have a smooth journey."

As dawn approached, the magistrate of Wu County was brought before him. Gao first examined the magistrate's confession and ordered, "Send him to Xianyang and hand him over to the Court of Justice for punishment."

"Yes."

"My lord, will Xiang Liang really find it difficult to establish himself in Chu in the future?"

The one who asked the question was Huan Chu, who said, "Well, Qu Su has stayed in Pengcheng for several months and has gathered many heroes from Chu to denounce Xiang Liang. It's just that most of you in Wu County don't know about it."

Huan Chu belatedly realized, "No wonder Qu Su said that."

Of course, all of this was arranged by Chen Ping. Chen Ping was the culprit who made it difficult for Xiang Liang to gain a foothold in Chu. He ruined Xiang Liang's reputation in such a simple way.

Gao thought it would be very simple for Chen Ping.

Others are probably still blindly searching for Xiang Liang, but have not found any trace of him.

Chen Ping's strategy was very effective; even if Xiang Liang couldn't be found, he could still ruin Xiang Liang's reputation.

Xiang Liang was a suspicious man, and his reputation and noble status were always the things that the Xiang clan of Chu cared about most.

When Chen Ping peeled away Xiang Liang's skin and revealed his true colors, Xiang Liang was just as despicable.

Yes, that's easy. In less than half a year, Chen Ping ruined Xiang Liang's reputation.

And those who denounced Xiang Liang, like Qu Su, would they cheer for the Qin army after seeing Xiang Liang die?
With this thought in mind, Gao pondered how to write about Xiang's fate in the book.

At noon, Zhang Ping returned, carrying Xiang Liang's head. "Young master," he said, "Xiang Bo has fled across the river with his two nephews, one named Xiang Yu and the other Xiang Zhuang."

Looking at Xiang Liang's severed head, Gao whispered, "Does Xiang Liang look a lot like Xiang Yan from back then?"

Zhang Ping said, "This humble general has never met Xiang Yan."

Gao sighed and ordered, "Have someone send the head to Xianyang. Don't go too fast. Let the old nobles of Chu see this head."

"Yes."

Seeing the man leave carrying the severed head, Zhang Ping asked again, "Should we arrest his nephew?"

"Back then, Xiang Liang ordered Canmu to kill Han Zhong, but Xiang Yu and Xiang Zhuang were unaware of it. They were only eleven years old that year; they knew nothing. They were just children then," Huan Chu said excitedly. He knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Gongzi Gao, saying, "Xiang Yu and Xiang Zhuang are innocent. They never killed anyone, nor did they ever do anything to harm anyone. Xiang Yu only occasionally got into private fights, but at most he only injured people..."

Huan Chu's voice choked again as he said, "Xiang Liang wanted to kill me, and I hate him too, but Xiang Yu and Xiang Zhuang are innocent."

Gao said again, "We will only act in accordance with the Qin law, and Xianyang will make a decision on this matter."

(End of this chapter)