The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 275 Uniting More People
Power should be cherished and protected; power is like a knife that needs constant sharpening.

Zhang Cang said, "The prefecture-county system is the brainchild of the Prime Minister and the Emperor. Young Master is even more aware of how important county governance is. If the county is not well governed, the prefecture cannot be well governed, and the country cannot be well governed. If the Prime Minister's office can be tied to these county magistrates, things will be much easier to do in the future."

Cheng Miao stroked his beard and said, "Yes, young master hopes they can unite."

“Those who are not united need to be replaced.”

To build Guanzhong well, we need to pool our efforts. Officials must support the country, love the people and love the country; this is the prerequisite for everything.

It seems that the cause of supporting education in rural areas must continue, so as to cultivate generations of the best talents to build the country.

Zhang Cang said, "The Prime Minister will probably think that the young master in the past really wanted to concentrate power in the Prime Minister's residence. Now that the Prime Minister's residence has been tied together with the county magistrates, the young master's concentration of power has gone a step further."

Cheng Miao countered, "Does the Prime Minister dislike this?"

Zhang Cang said, "The Prime Minister naturally hopes that the young master will get better and better."

The two reached an agreement and returned to the Prime Minister's residence.

When Xiao He returned to Jingyang County from Xianyang, it was already late at night.

Liu Fei was reading a book inside the county government building when he saw the man return. He went up to him and said, "Uncle Xiao."

Xiao He said, "Aren't you going to rest?"

"I want to read a little longer."

Upon hearing Liu Fei's reply, Xiao He noticed the oil lamp and the scrolls on the table.

Liu Fei added, "Uncle Cao has prepared noodles."

Xiao He sat down again and watched as Cao Can brought over a bowl of noodles.

Today, the county magistrates of all the counties have been invited to the Prime Minister's residence. It is hard to tell whether this is a good thing or a bad thing. All the counties are very concerned. Looking at Xiao He's expression, Liu Fei felt that it might be a bad thing.
Xiao He said, "Get some rest."

Liu Fei bowed and said, "Yes."

After Liu Fei and Cao Can left, Xiao He took out a scroll and began to collect provisions for the northern army. Weibei took on this task.

The task of building waterways for Luoyi and providing manpower and craftsmen was taken over by Weinan.

The repair of the imperial road in Nanshan and the imperial road in Nanjun were taken over by the magistrates of several other counties.

Furthermore, the counties of Chencang should frequently visit Longxi to continue land reclamation next year.

Xiao He sat alone in the main hall of the county government, unaware of the time. The sky outside was beginning to brighten, and it was almost dawn. He closed his eyes and recalled the conversation he had with that young man on that cold winter day.

It wasn't until she met Prince Fusu at the Prime Minister's residence that she realized the face she had seen three years ago in winter was exactly the same, without any difference whatsoever.

Xiao He closed his eyes for a short rest. When he opened them, he saw that the noodles that had been served last night had been left uneaten and had gone cold.

Uber picked up the bowl and said, "I'll make another bowl."

"No need, it can be eaten after heating it up."

Wu Bo said, "There's nothing much going on in the county today. I and Magistrate Cao can handle everything else. You should get some more sleep."

Xiao He sat up and said, "Yesterday, the Prime Minister's office issued an order that I have something to do."

Uber took out a warm pancake and handed it to him, saying, "Eat something first."

Xiao He nodded and said, "Thank you, Uncle Wu."

Seeing people eating the bread, Uber held the bowl of cooled noodles, and a smile returned to his face.

The sun is shining brightly today, and it feels very comfortable on my skin.

Xiao He, accompanied by several stewards and local militia, began inspecting the county's granaries.

In the past, grain from the north was shipped directly from Xianyang.

The entire Weibei region had enjoyed three years of bountiful harvests, which at least laid a foundation. Xiao He first calculated the total grain output of the county, and then had Cao Can send a document to the Prime Minister's office inquiring about the size of the northern army. Since the great victory of the last northern expedition, many soldiers from the northern army had returned.

Xiao He was not clear about the situation in the north, but if the information he heard from others was correct, then the troops in the northwest could be self-sufficient thanks to the Hexi Corridor.

The army in the Hexi Corridor should number around 30,000, while the northern army had 200,000 during the Northern Expedition and should now have around 50,000. Including the emperor's western tour entourage, the total number is at most 70,000.

Cao Shen left on horseback in the morning and returned with a reply in the evening.

"The Prime Minister's office replied very quickly." Cao Can handed over a scroll and said, "They replied in just one hour."

Xiao He nodded and picked up the file to look at it.

Cao Can whispered, "I also saw people from several other counties outside the Prime Minister's residence. They all had requests to make of the Prime Minister's residence."

After speaking, seeing that Xiao He ignored him, Cao Shen felt awkward and stopped talking.

Since being promoted to Prefectural Assistant, Xiao He has become increasingly quiet.

Cao Shen stood aside, feeling inexplicably disappointed. The more books he read in Guanzhong, the more he felt that Xiao He had changed. His behavior was different from before, and he even spoke less.

Another night passed, and Xiao He, while calculating the accounts, said to Cao Can: "Give each of the two counties of Gaoling and Sanyuan five hundred shi of grain, and Jingyang one thousand five hundred shi of grain. You shall set off today to escort the grain to Shangjun."

"Today?" Cao Can, who was originally sleepy, suddenly perked up. He looked at the still dark sky outside the county government building, but before he could speak, he heard Xiao He's voice again.

"Going right now."

A document and a token were placed on the table.

Cao Can took a deep breath and could only grit his teeth and hurriedly leave with the token and documents.

As dawn broke, Cao Can was sorting grain with a group of militiamen. After loading bags of grain onto carts, they were to be sent to Shangjun via the imperial road in the northern suburbs.

Cao Shen mounted his horse and began to call out to a group of laborers and clerks.

When the magistrates of Gaoling County and Sanyuan County arrived, Cao Can and the laborers left with the grain.

These two thousand shi of grain were naturally not enough; this was only the first batch, and Xiao He still needed to find a way to get the second batch.

Wang An, the magistrate of Sanyuan County, wanted to curse Xiao He. Although Xiao He was only the prefectural assistant, he had bypassed the two county magistrates, opened their granaries, and even transported their grain away. This was too much of a bullying.

Wang An wanted to speak, but swallowed the words back.

Xiao He seemed more dignified than before, perhaps because of his higher rank. Wang An no longer dared to smile at Xiao He.

"I will truthfully inform the Prime Minister's Office about the grain situation in your county."

Wang Andao said, "That's only right."

Luan Tao said, "Prefect Xiao, you should speak frankly from now on."

"Next year, when the spring plowing is done, I can negotiate with the counties upstream to ask them to allocate more water to us downstream."

"really?"

Xiao He said, "I will explain this to the Prime Minister's office, and no one will give up grain for nothing."

Upon hearing this, Wang An and Luan Tao's expressions improved considerably.

As county magistrates, they needed to give an explanation to the people of the county; since they had taken the grain, they had to give something in return.

If Xiao He wanted to govern these three counties well, he needed to win over the people, and the first thing he had to do was to win over the two county magistrates.

These matters in Weibei were not difficult for Xiao He. Of the twenty-four counties in Guanzhong, the remaining twenty-one each had their own difficulties. The Prime Minister's office was watching who did well and who did poorly.

Being an official in Guanzhong is tiring, and the people of Guanzhong also have it tough.

I heard that in the past, people in Guanzhong would hibernate every winter. Nowadays, the people of Guanzhong County, especially those in Weibei and Weinan, have not hibernated for several years. They are busy all year round. Their lives are more prosperous, but they are also busier and more tired.

(End of this chapter)