The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 279 Eliminating Idleness

Shusun Tong knew that the young master had seen through his thoughts, but he was not surprised. Instead, he said, "Please give these scrolls on the table to Master Fusheng."

"Yes."

The next day, Li woke up early, fetched water from the Jingye Canal, washed himself, and then put a pot of water on the stove to boil, so that there would be hot water available whenever the old master woke up.

After doing all this, Gongzi Li carried his book bag and headed towards Tongguan.

As soon as it was light, villagers drove their cattle toward the fields to the south.

"Young master, are you going to study?"

Upon hearing this, Li stopped and said, "Yes."

"Young master, you're going to Tongguan by oxcart. I'm going that way anyway."

"Thank you very much"

After saying this, Li sat on the oxcart, which saved him some effort.

Weinan changes almost every year. This year, there are more houses, several new village roads, and one or two more ditches.

The morning dew made the ground wet, and when you smelled the aroma of the cakes, it meant you were very close to Tongguan.

Li bought a pancake by the roadside to fill his stomach and then parted ways with the county resident who was pulling the oxcart.

It's been over a month since the winter solstice holiday started, and school only resumed today, so Tongguan City was quite lively.

There were many students coming and going on the road, and these students were all wearing all kinds of clothes.

Li was eating a pancake while walking through the crowd when she saw someone she recognized.

This person is Liu Fei, who studied with his elder brother.

"Liu Fei?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Fei turned around and asked, "Courtesy?"

"Long time no see?"

"Yeah, we haven't seen each other for a month."

Liu Fei was three years older than him. He had already entered the Imperial Academy and would either become a volunteer teacher or take the exam to become an official.

In Li's opinion, Liu Fei must be a very promising person. He is very studious and learns very quickly. The teachers at the Imperial Academy often praise him.

Others may not know, but Li was able to contact the teachers at the Imperial Academy and thus know their evaluations.

The two walked through the crowd and entered Tongguan City Gate. Li looked up at the city wall and saw Li Zuoche on duty. As always, Li Zuoche would appear at his post at the right time.

Liu Fei, carrying his book bag, looked around at the people and said, "There seem to be even more people in Tongguan this year."

"Yes, it's even more crowded now." Li walked through the crowd, her brows furrowing slightly as she expressed her dislike for the congested streets.

As Liu Fei said, the new year begins after the winter solstice, and the city of Tongguan becomes even more crowded after the New Year.

When Liu Fei first arrived in Guanzhong, everything felt unfamiliar and he was not used to it.

Now, Liu Fei has fully adapted to life in Guanzhong.

When the two arrived at the Imperial Academy, there were already many students there.

According to the current rules of Tongguan, young students need to study in the academies within the city. Only those who pass the examinations will be selected to enter the Imperial Academy.

The students of the Imperial Academy were all carefully selected from various study rooms.

Li easily entered the Imperial Academy; one exam was enough, and the questions were very easy for him.

Li sighed inwardly, knowing that he had been taught by the best teachers. He would be ashamed if he couldn't get into the Imperial Academy.

As soon as Liu Fei arrived at the Imperial Academy, he was called to do chores. On the first day of classes at the Imperial Academy, there were no lectures; instead, he started cleaning.

Everyone was busy when Wang Yu walked over and said, "Young Master."

"Master Wang".

"Young master, please come with me."

Li followed Wang Yu into a room where some dried fruit and snacks, a pot of hot water, and some books were already laid out on the table.

"I don't need these."

Wang Yu said, "We wouldn't dare let the young master do those things either."

Not wanting to make things difficult for the other party, Li said, "I will go see the prefect."

"it is good."

The busiest time at the Imperial Academy is also the most difficult time for the teachers, as they are made aware of their status and are expected to be cautious in all matters.

It would be better to visit the prefectural governor's residence at this time.

Back then, my elder brother often went to the prefect's residence, and Li also became familiar with him.

The prefectural governor's mansion remained unchanged. Li walked in and greeted the clerks and guards.

Sima Xin was talking to a county magistrate, and only after giving instructions did he look at the young master.

He said politely, "I'm just sitting here. Don't worry about me."

Sima Xin sat down again and instructed, "Pour water for the young master."

Li said to the minor official, "I only drink hot water."

The clerk nodded with a smile.

This young master neither drinks alcohol nor cold water, and he is also very clean.

Li took the hot water brought by the clerk and picked up the documents beside him to see what Tongguan was dealing with recently.

The Prime Minister's office did not have any days off this year, so the prefects and magistrates in various places naturally did not dare to take days off either. This was the case in Guanzhong, but it is unknown what other places would be like. They should be much more relaxed.

"Do you have any letters from the eldest son?" "No." Li shook his head and said, "My brother is currently fighting the Wuhuan King. I don't know when we will be able to take his head."

At noon, Li Zuoche, who had just finished his shift, returned and heard what the young master said.

The Qin people have always been like this; they enjoy beheading people in battle, and this habit is really bad.

Even the young master was affected.

He remembered the young master's words: the young master would help him fight the war.

The thought of such a clean-looking young master with heads hanging all over his body made Li Zuoche feel uncomfortable no matter how he thought about it.

Sima Xin added, "We launched an attack on the Wuhuan King last winter solstice, and now it should be time for results."

Li also said, "The Donghu Wuhuan tribe is not wealthy. The Linhu King is just a tribal chief in the mountains. He has no more than a thousand able-bodied men who can fight, which is less than one of our counties."

According to the young master, the Donghu were very weak.

Li Zuoche handed over today's documents, saying, "These are the generals who will be on duty today."

After reviewing the roster, Sima Xin stamped it with his seal and said, "All done."

Li Zuoche retrieved the document and said, "This subordinate will make the arrangements immediately."

Li held a bowl of hot water and drank it, watching Li Zuoche leave.

Sima Xin took out a scroll and said with a smile, "This is a message sent from Chu."

Li took the document and asked curiously, "What news?"

"You'll understand once you see it, young master."

Li took the document and looked at it carefully. The document recorded the history of the Chu state. Some of the former nobles of Chu had migrated south to Wuling and changed their surnames.

Qu Yuan's clan dispersed, and after they split up, they went to various places. Some went to southern Hunan, and others went to the Qi region.

Qu Yuan's descendants still exist, but his clansmen changed their names and surnames and went to live in various places.

After the fall of the State of Chu and the death of Xiang Liang, the spirit of Chu's restoration was also lost.

The influence of Xiang Liang's death continues to spread, and has begun to reach the former noble families of Chu.

Half a month later, the battle report from the north finally arrived.

Initially, when the Qin army attacked the Wuhuan king, the Wuhuan king repeatedly offered to serve the Qin army and guard the border for them.

However, General Meng Tian rejected the idea. With the emperor's approval, General Meng Tian ordered Zhang Han to lead 30,000 troops to attack the Wuhuan.

Meanwhile, the Wuhuan army of 50,000 men defended against the enemy.

The battle lasted less than ten days. The Qin army used a stratagem to lure and kill 30,000 Wuhuan kings and annihilated the Wuhuan forces at Bailang Mountain.

The wars fought by Meng Tian were all about annihilation. For example, the mass grave he left behind north of Helan Mountain is still haunted by wolves, because there are endless bones to be dug up there.

After the Battle of White Wolf Mountain, King Lin Hu fled eastward toward the Buyeo Kingdom.

In this battle, the Qin army wiped out the Donghu and reached the Yan Great Wall along the Great Wall defense line.

The King of Wuhuan was a fickle man. After the Qin army defeated Touman Chanyu, the King of Wuhuan supported the Qin army.

However, after the remnants of Modu destroyed the Donghu royal court, the Wuhuan king, who was the only remaining member of the Donghu royal court, immediately abandoned the Qin army and turned to Modu.

In the past ten years or so, if the Qin army had not been on guard against Modu, they would have destroyed the Wuhuan king long ago.

Meng Tian was a cruel general. With the mass grave at Helan Mountain as a precedent, the Wuhuan king's repeated actions were tantamount to suicide.

When the Qin army was free to focus its efforts and showed signs of advancing eastward, the Wuhuan were destroyed.

This victory had little impact on the lives of the people in Guanzhong; the battlefield was too far away, and the fields in front of them needed to be cultivated as soon as possible.

It was the time of this year's agricultural ceremony, and people were offering sacrifices. The people of Weinan placed bowls of grain in front of the small house where Prince Fusu once lived. This was also the busiest time of the year in Tongguan, and Li Zuoche had to lead his troops to maintain order among the people.

Originally, the Prime Minister's office hoped that the county magistrates would not allow people to do this.

But that still couldn't stop people's desires.

Chen Ping was inspecting various counties on behalf of the Imperial Censorate when he witnessed this scene. The people here are very simple; they are loyal to whoever feeds them.

Whenever Chen Ping saw such a scene, he felt that Prince Fusu would be the next emperor.

The war was won, but people had no time to care about how this victory would affect their lives. Since they had won and their families were still alive, that was good enough.

Residents in each county are busy making a living this year, with every household taking their families to the fields.

In the fields, all family members must participate in the farming.

Workshops in each county ceased operations, and schools in each county also stopped teaching.

People devoted all their labor to the fields.

The families worked in the fields from morning till night before gradually returning home.

They went out to the heavens and earth at dawn, and then returned home under the stars and moon.

After several rounds of rectification and relocation in the counties of Guanzhong, people have more land to cultivate and their lives are much busier than before. If each family has extra land, they can support one or two more people, which in turn increases the population.

This year, the price of grain in Guanzhong reached 7 qian per dou, which is almost the best price for grain.

There wasn't much grain trade in Guanzhong, since the emperor was the one who owned the most grain.

Because of consecutive years of bumper harvests, no one knows how much grain is stored in Xianyang's granaries over the years, which is the biggest source of confidence for the Qin court to maintain grain prices.

This year's farming season was very lively, and the streets of Xianyang and its counties were deserted. As a result, the problem of idlers that the Prime Minister's Office had mentioned before was immediately resolved.

There were no idlers left. Even if there were, they had been arrested by the county magistrates and would be whipped by the county officials if they did not work.

The county officials could only govern the idlers with even harsher rules, because an imperial censor named Chen Ping was inspecting the counties.

After the idlers were eliminated, even the public security in the counties improved to an unbelievable degree.

(End of this chapter)