The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 280 Return from the Western Expedition
The entire Guanzhong Plain is like a giant pool, and once the pool is full, it will overflow.

When the county magistrates came to the Prime Minister's residence again, it was Zhang Cang, the Prefectural Assistant, who received them. After the matters of each county were settled, Zhang Cang and Cheng Miao went to report to Prince Fusu.

Government orders must reach every county. If even the counties under the emperor's jurisdiction cannot be governed, how can one talk about governing the country?

These are the words of the newly appointed Magistrate of Xianyang, Prince Fusu.

Because military reports had arrived that the emperor was returning from the north, the thirty-five-year-old Prince Fusu would stand on the imperial road in the northern suburbs every day after the court meeting, waiting for the emperor's return.

The emperor's long western tour took him from the Hexi Corridor in the northwest to the Helan Mountains in the north, covering the entire northern border of the Qin Dynasty.

This was also the longest of the emperor's several western tours.

The border has expanded to the northern grasslands, so it's only natural to take a good look at it; there's nothing wrong with that.

"Young master, these are the documents submitted by each county this time, all of them have been compiled."

Seeing that the young master had carefully examined the dossier, Cheng Miao continued, "In each county, land has been distributed to those who have no land. Not only have the farmers been allowed to have their land, but idlers have also been allowed to return to farming. Each county has also set up public granaries and is conducting inspections and guidance during the farming season."

Agriculture in this country is still fragile, but the country cannot do without agriculture. Agriculture is the foundation, and food is of paramount importance.

The Guanzhong Plain needs to "store water," which can be for storing grain, for storing population, or for establishing a sense of identity.

"Driving fish into deep pools and blocking roads with ochre-colored clothes" refers to Prime Minister Li Si's policy of relocating people to guard the border, and also to grant land to the relocated people to encourage them to grow food in the north.

After Qin unified the world, whether it was standardizing the written language or the gauge of carts, the emperor and Prime Minister Li Si were changing the world and its people.

While everyone shares the same ideals, putting them into practice is extremely difficult. It's impossible to do it well, let alone perfectly, and there's even a possibility of going down the wrong path and never turning back.

After the agricultural ceremony this year, the Prime Minister's office discussed the promotion order for the year. Fusu saw Wu Gong on the promotion list. Wu Gong was the Prime Minister's disciple and an honest man.

The Prime Minister's office wanted to transfer him to the Prime Minister's office, and Fusu agreed, so he sent the news to his teacher.

But the message sent to the north still received no reply.

Fusu stood on the imperial road, his black robes fluttering in the wind, and asked, "Has the northern border been able to grow any grain?"

Zhang Cang said, "This year, Shangjun, Yunzhong, and other northern prefectures have all had a bumper harvest."

"Is there enough food in the north?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Cang and Cheng Miao remained silent for a moment.

Zhang Cang said, "The people of the North practice animal husbandry and crop rotation, and these years have been prosperous."

As Fusu walked back, he said, "The Great Wall is a border defense, and it is also the result of the hard work of tens of thousands of laborers. Grain must grow on our border."

"Yes, after I return, I will draft a document and send it to inquire."

Fusu nodded.

We still haven't seen the Emperor's entourage return today; it may be some more days before they arrive in Xianyang.

Heng went to the north to join the army last winter and will not be back for another two years. Yesterday, a letter arrived saying that he had won a great victory in the north and had finally learned how to fight.

Cheng Miao rode ahead of the prince's entourage, ensuring that government orders reached every county and that grain was grown along the border.

This is what Prince Fusu has been most concerned about lately.

How can this country be governed? I remember when Qin unified the country not long ago, people were saying that such a large country still needed to implement the prefecture and county system, and that the emperor simply could not govern such a large country.

The Zhou Dynasty lasted for eight hundred years. People were used to the era of warring states. No country had ever been able to unify the six states or have such a large country, let alone conquer the south and the north.

The Qin Dynasty is now even larger than it was during the most prosperous period of the Zhou Dynasty.

Although the counties in the Central Plains are still of varying quality, and there are civilized and barbaric places in this world, it will take time to govern them.

Nowadays, people in the Prime Minister's office often say that governing a country is very tiring and difficult. Even the states in the past had their shortcomings in governing their own countries, so it is impossible for Qin to do everything perfectly. Therefore, do not let the words of others disturb your mind, do not take your anger out on others, and do your own job well in a down-to-earth manner. That is enough.

Therefore, since Prince Fusu took charge of state affairs, his various governance methods have always been subject to discussion, and some people have always felt that they are not working properly.

But that's just how things are; it's impossible to please everyone. All the Prime Minister's office can do is fulfill its duties and do its best.

Fusu sat in the carriage returning to Xianyang.

Zhang Cang rode up and reported, "The young master is ahead."

"Let him come to the carriage and talk."

"Yes."

The carriage stopped, and Li climbed onto the carriage shaft and entered the carriage to find his father looking at documents.

"Father, I miss my brother. Has he written to me?"

Fusu pushed a piece of paper forward and said, "Here it is."

Li grinned, picked up the letter, looked at its contents, and said, "Huh? My brother actually killed the enemy."

Fusu said, "Heng said that he conquered the land in the north, and from now on, anyone who dares to shorten the measurement by even half an inch will have their head chopped off."

Li replied, "The border was won by the soldiers with their blood and sweat, so it cannot be short even a little bit. What you say is right, brother."

"Hmm." Fusu nodded in agreement, then asked, "How have you been studying lately?"

Li replied after reading the letter: "The teachers are teaching more and more profoundly. It's okay to read the doctrines of the various schools of thought superficially, but to study them in depth is very arduous."

"really?"

"Yes." "Reading is very important."

“I know that reading is a lifelong endeavor. People should keep learning even when they get old. My father once said that one should keep learning as long as one lives.”

Seemingly afraid of being nagged, Li put away the letter and said with a smile, "I'm going back to the county now."

Fusu said, "Visit various counties more often."

"understood."

The son's voice came from outside the car, and the child ran away in a few steps.

Fusu pondered for a moment, then thought to himself, "I'm only in my thirties, why am I starting to ramble on?"

It was dusk when they returned to Xianyang. By then, everyone in the Prime Minister's residence had left, and Tian An helped put the documents and files into the bookshelf.

Because it is the busy farming season, there have not been many documents reported by the counties recently, so the officials have gone home early.

After Fusu left the Prime Minister's residence, he had Tian An close the heavy doors inside.

Upon returning to Gaoquan Palace, Fusu saw Li Nu'er and his wife chatting and laughing.

Tian An looked at this girl as if she were his granddaughter. The industry in Jingye County was related to Qin Ting's paper business, and she had been in charge of it recently, and she had indeed managed it very well.

Every year, the lady would give her three thousand coins as her payment.

You should know that ordinary people have to work hard and grit their teeth to earn eight or nine hundred coins, or even a thousand coins, after a year of hard work.

The following day, another rain fell in Guanzhong. Chen Ping, who was still inspecting the counties, received a proclamation from the Prime Minister's office. This proclamation was to be spread throughout the counties. It said: "To punish without teaching is cruelty; the abuse of legal cases and wrongful convictions causes people to leave their homes; when the ruler is greedy, the people below will be deceitful."

Its purpose is to teach people to be polite and righteous, and to promote noble virtues.

The penal system must be strict and fair, and the wrongful convictions must be avoided, otherwise the people under your rule will be forced to leave their homes.

The saying "When those above have many desires, those below will be deceitful" means that the practice of nobles and officials competing with each other should be prohibited. If an official is wealthy, the people under his jurisdiction will be mostly cunning.

In other words, the Prime Minister's Office hoped that the people of each county would have good moral character, that officials would be diligent and frugal, and that the law would be strictly enforced.

Sitting in the newly built county government building of Linwei County, Chen Ping said to the clerk beside him, "Tell those county magistrates to write down these words and hang them in the main hall of the county government so that they can see them every day."

"Yes."

The first step was to relocate and gather people from various counties, expand the farmland, and facilitate governance. It took Guanzhong three years to complete this task.

Then the county and township names were changed, and the population was increased. Guanzhong took another two years.

Since last year, allowing officials from the Prime Minister's Office to speak directly with county magistrates has been another change.

During the two years that Prince Fusu served as the magistrate of Xianyang, everything he did was within his authority, and he repeatedly changed Guanzhong.

Now that the nine ministers of the Prime Minister's office have become closer to the magistrates of various counties, Prince Fusu has begun his second round of education, this time with three proclamations.

Unlike before, Prince Fusu simply instructed each county to spread these words so that the people of each county would know.

Relocating various counties, disseminating government orders, encouraging agriculture and granting land, eliminating idlers—up to the three proclamations to this day, Prince Fusu has taken every step with steadfastness.

Chen Ping thought that if such a young master became emperor, the world would become like the twenty-four counties of Guanzhong, how wonderful that would be.

Chen Ping also felt that the counties had been governed well enough, really well enough.

The following day, news arrived in Xianyang. At the time, a court meeting was being held in Zhangtai Palace, and the news came that the emperor's carriage had left Shangjun.

For the remaining days, Fusu would inquire every day about the whereabouts of the emperor's carriage.

On this day, a thunderstorm had just passed through Guanzhong. Prince Fusu led his officials to the detached palace in the northern suburbs of Xianyang and saw the emperor's carriage. The Qin army's armored soldiers formed a long dragon, escorting the emperor's procession as far as the eye could see. The black banners fluttered in the cold wind after the thunderstorm, and one could almost hear them rustling.

When the imperial carriage arrived, Fusu led the officials in paying their respects.

First Zhang Han walked by, then Meng Tian, ​​and then Prime Minister Li Si.

Young Master Heng, Young Master Gao, and Wang Ben remained in the north.

Only the emperor, the prime minister, Zhang Han and Meng Tian, ​​and the accompanying western inspection army returned.

The emperor's carriage stopped in front of the assembled officials, and the carriage doors opened.

The emperor, with his graying hair and beard, stepped out of his carriage and looked at his ministers and Fusu, who was standing in front of them.

Ying Zheng, with one hand on the bronze sword at his waist, glanced around and then silently walked towards the northern suburban palace.

The officials remained in place, bowing, but Li Si stepped forward and said, "Young Master, the Emperor summons you."

Fusu replied, "Yes."

Li Si then smiled and said to the assembled officials, "Go back now. The emperor has been unwell lately, but state affairs will continue as usual."

After he finished speaking, the ministers who were bowing and not daring to move began to make small movements, which eventually turned into a lot of whispering.

When the Prime Minister also headed towards Lin Guang Palace, the officials returned in twos and threes.

The sky remained overcast after the thunderstorm, but the next morning the court officials learned that the court meeting had been cancelled and that Prince Fusu had been left at the imperial palace in the northern suburbs to continue reporting state affairs to the emperor.

……

P.S.: I had some things to do during the holidays, so I got back a little late today. I'm really sorry. I'll only update one chapter today, and there will be a follow-up update tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)