The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 289 The World Isn't That Bad

Childhood is especially precious; one only has one childhood in a lifetime.

Zhang Ping recalled his childhood. When he was young, he followed the Qin army to the border. At that time, his family had no connections, and that was originally his elder brother's opportunity.

His elder brother, however, said that he already had a military post in Xianyang and did not need to go to the border, so he gave up the opportunity to him.

Zhang Ping still remembers that the two brothers were almost destitute at the time. The elder brother had to talk to several squad leaders for a long time with a forced smile before they finally got the spot.

But things are better now; my elder brother has become a great general, and the most difficult time is over.

Gongzi Heng spent his youth studying at Tongguan, and now he has come to the border. He has experienced war and killed enemies. In this precious time of his youth, he should also visit the various border passes. This Central Plains is so vast, at least he will have no regrets.

Zhang Ping said, "This humble general did not fight him, but in the mouths of the Xiongnu, he is an extremely cruel Chanyu. His subordinates could not bear his humiliation and their hearts had long been broken. The one who fought against Modu was General Zhang Han, and General Meng Tian swept away the entire Gobi Desert."

Through Zhang Ping's account, Heng and Zhang Jing understood the full picture of that battle. Zhang Han's fighting style coincided with that of General Meng Tian. Both of them knew that speed was of the essence in grassland warfare. It was common for warhorses to gallop thousands of miles in a single day. When Maodun left his Beihai camp.

General Meng Tian sent men to cut off Modu's retreat, while General Zhang Han sent troops to distract Modu. In this back-and-forth, the two generals commanded more than 50,000 troops to cut off Modu's retreat, completing the encirclement almost overnight and cutting off his escape route.

How could this not happen quickly? Almost overnight, the grasslands changed dramatically.

Heng then asked, "Will my uncle attack the Buyeo Kingdom?"

Zhang Ping shook his head and said, "The Buyeo Kingdom is located deep in the mountains of the northeast. The forests there are dense, and the natural barriers formed by thousands of years of old forests are not something that can be crossed by human hands. Moreover, the terrain is not suitable for a large army to advance, and there are many ferocious beasts."

Heng asked, "So there won't be any more wars after that?"

Zhang Ping said, "There will be war, but it won't start so soon."

Qin abolished the enfeoffment system, so Prince Gao remained Prince Gao without any fiefdom or title, while the emperor's other brothers were all in the northwest.

Heng knew very little about them, and was only close to his uncle Gao.

As for the others, Heng had never even met them. He heard that they had gone to Yongcheng and were given residences and fed. Without a director, that was all they could do.

Heng said, "Father... will Father allow me to stay in the army for a few more years? I still want to go to the Northeast, I want to go to the Hexi Corridor, just to see..."

Zhang Ping said, "This humble general will write a document immediately and inform the Prime Minister's office."

Heng lay on the grass, facing the starry sky, chewing on dried meat, and said, "Thank you, General Zhang."

As Zhang Ping stood up, he patted Zhang Jing on the shoulder, hoping that he would keep a close eye on the young master.

Zhang Jing nodded in understanding.

Zhang Ping wrote a document, had Dong Yi affix his seal, and then sent it to Xianyang.

Heng returned to his room and saw his drunk grandfather inside. He picked up the sheepskin that had fallen to the ground and covered his grandfather with it, then covered him with his cloak as well.

Seemingly sensing the warmth, Wang Ben, in his drowsy state, grasped the sheepskin in his hand and continued snoring loudly.

Heng sat to one side, lit an oil lamp, and took out a scroll to continue reading. This was a book that the old master had sent, delivered almost every month. Even in the northern camp, Heng could not slack off on his studies. To govern the country well, he needed to learn more knowledge. He had seen some knowledge in his father's books before, knowledge that differed from that of the various schools of thought. It contained writings about the relationship between productivity and labor, or the distribution of production resources.

I only glanced at it when I was a child. I was young then and somewhat resistant to studying, so I didn't pay much attention. I just had a fleeting impression of it.

If Heng were to take another look at those books, he felt he would definitely read them several more times.

Those books must contain the methods of governing a country, but my father never told me. The light of the oil lamp shone on the books as I pondered my father's ideals, as well as the methods and approaches to governing a country.

At the Great Wall, Huan Chu placed a heavy stone in the mortar. With the arrival of his meal, he knew that his hard labor for the day was over.

Huan Chu accepted the cake offered by another laborer and said, "Thank you."

The people here are all people who have made mistakes, either evading military service or breaking the law, and who have come here to do hard labor.

Huan Chu still had friends here, former nobles of Chu who had worked with Xiang Liang back then.

The food for these laborers was very poor; they only had one flatbread to barely fill their stomachs.

Huan Chu sat on a stone mortar by the Great Wall, chewing on a biscuit and looking brightly eastward toward Langya County. In Langya County, there was an old man who needed his care and care. That was his teacher, so he had to complete ten years of hard labor.

The current emperor is a man of his word; once they have completed ten years of hard labor, he will surely release them.

When Huan Chu learned of Xiang Liang's death and saw Xiang Liang's head, the last embers of his anti-Qin sentiment were extinguished.

For Qin, and even for some of the Chu people who were implicated, Xiang Liang's death was well-deserved.

But Huan Chu knew that Xiang Yu was still alive, and for him there was nothing better than that.

Therefore, even while doing hard labor, Huan Chu still felt hopeful.

The Great Wall of Qin was very long, really very long. Huan Chu looked at the continuous Great Wall and beacon towers. Behind him was the dark desert, while in front of him were cities and villages, with lights illuminating each household. The area inside and outside the Great Wall was almost two different worlds.

The desert is cold and silent, while the area inside the Great Wall is warm and inhabited.

The world wasn't as bad as Xiang Liang described. There was a new emperor, but unfortunately, he didn't forgive those who had been forced into hard labor after he ascended the throne.

Although Xiang Liang betrayed Huan Chu, he had already received the consequences he deserved. Huan Chu believed that he had fulfilled his promise and done what he was supposed to do. Although he was punished with hard labor, following Xiang Liang was the biggest mistake of his life. He was blind.

Huan Chu never betrayed anyone. Even here, he supported each other with many former nobles of Chu who had been exiled here to do hard labor.

Although the State of Chu is gone and the world has changed hands, they are still alive and will at least be distant relatives in the future. The world is not so bad.

In the Guanzhong Plain north of the Wei River, outside Jingyang County, groups of old Qin soldiers were searching for their families. They knew that Jingyang County had moved to Baiqu. These old Qin soldiers had joined the army as teenagers and had fought against the Xiongnu for more than ten years. They had made many military achievements and wanted to know if their military achievements had truly benefited their families and if they had really been given land.

When they joined the army and left their hometown, Jingyang was then the Jingyang County under the rule of Lord Jingyang. Now that they have moved, they can't find their families for a while.

All counties must treat the old Qin soldiers well; this is an imperial edict. Even the local villages must treat them well. Bullying the old Qin soldiers is a disgrace to the Qin army and will result in being whipped by the county or exiled to hard labor.

(End of this chapter)