The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 296 The Emperor's "Intensified" Actions

Du Shui Changlu saw the approaching figure on horseback and asked, "May I ask who you are...?"

Zhang Jing bowed and said, "Zhang Jing, Deputy General of the Right Army of the Helan Mountain Camp, greets Chief Du Shui."

Upon hearing this, Lu bowed and said, "General Zhang."

Zhang Jing explained, "This is Prince Heng."

In fact, Heng had already dismounted and stepped forward, saying, "Du Shuichang, don't you remember me?"

Lu thought for a long time, looking at the person in front of him as if he were reminiscing.

Heng then said, "It is I, Heng."

"Ah..." Empress Lu belatedly realized, and said, "Young Master has grown so tall, he's almost taller than me."

Heng was dressed in leather armor and had arrows at his waist. He looked very different from the humble young man he had met in Guanzhong. The young man now looked quite imposing.

This is generally what boys trained on the frontier have—a certain fierceness in their eyes.

Lu looked the young master up and down and said, "It's been many years, I didn't recognize you."

The three stood in the field, laughing as they spoke.

After all, when Heng and Zhang Jing saw Du Shuichang off at Xianyang Bridge, Heng wasn't very tall back then.

Du Shuichang led Gongzi Heng along the ridge of the field.

It was summer, and the rice in the fields had grown to knee height. Du Shuichang pointed to the other side of the field, where the spring wheat had just been harvested.

In this field, Du Shuichanglu recounts the climate and soil changes of the Liaodong Plain.

"The month when frost falls in Liaodong is very early. According to the new twenty-four solar terms, it should be around the autumnal equinox. Compared to the seasons in the Central Plains, the frost falls early in Liaodong, so the grain needs to be harvested early. Once autumn arrives, the grain will mold. The winter in Liaodong is even more freezing, with frozen soil several feet deep. No living things can be seen in the fields. It is precisely because of this frozen soil that there are fewer pests in this area."

"The western part of the Liaodong Plain is actually a vast expanse of dry land, even more so than the Guanzhong Plain. Water conservation and irrigation are very difficult. Look at what's in front of you, young master. Don't be fooled by how well the rice is growing now. If it suddenly gets cold in May, the harvest will be ruined. If there's a rainstorm in June, the fields will be destroyed. The emperor often says that the grain we grow in the fields is very fragile. We must be vigilant about the changing seasons."

"The land of Liaodong is characterized by spring droughts, summer floods, autumn harvests, and winter storage. I believe we should prepare for droughts in the spring, floods in the summer, and rush to harvest grain in the autumn..."

Du Shuichang said a lot, then he said in a low voice, "People are afraid of heavy rain in September, but the fields are there. Does that mean we shouldn't plant crops because we're afraid of heavy rain? Who would dare not plant crops? Who would dare let anyone go hungry?"

These words silenced Heng. He had experienced war and killed people on the battlefield. He knew how cold the wind was during a forced march in the dead of winter, and how many soldiers suffered frostbite. He also knew how reassuring it was for the soldiers to have enough to eat at the border.

Upon hearing Du Shuichang's words again, Heng fell silent once more. He had witnessed the immediate results of his father's land reclamation policy within the past six months. Thanks to the prime minister's relocation of people to guard the border, the current land reclamation policy was progressing very smoothly.

Back inside the city gate of the Great Wall in Liaodong, Zhang Jing lit a fire to boil water and said, "After we got heated kang beds, many people from Yan went to the mountains to cut firewood. They said there were so many trees in the deep mountains that they couldn't cut them all down."

Heng held a scroll in his hand, looking at it, still remaining silent.

Zhang Jing put some firewood into the brazier, filled the kettle, and placed it on the fire to heat it.

A few days later, Gongzi Heng, who was still in Liaodong, wrote a letter and had his soldiers deliver it to Xianyang and give it to the emperor.

After staying in Liaodong for half a month, Heng and Zhang Jing, carrying plenty of water and dry food, set off again, gazing at the Great Wall before them. This time, they would travel from the easternmost point to the westernmost point.

Before rejoining the Great Wall, Heng stopped and looked back at the village in front of him. He saw that many villagers were still chopping firewood, which they would store for the winter.

After looking at it, Heng withdrew his gaze and continued walking westward with Zhang Jing.

Du Shuichanglu spent twenty years controlling the waterways, from the Lingqu Canal to Longxi and now to Liaodong. He really did spend twenty years, which is an extremely long time for a person.

In the first year of the new emperor's reign, in June, summer had already arrived in Guanzhong.

Zhang Cang has already risen to the rank of one of the Nine Ministers and is serving as the Director of the Imperial Household Department.

Today, Zhang Cang arrived at the foot of Mount Li. There is a mansion at the foot of the mountain where Prime Minister Li Si lives.

Led by several servants, Zhang Cang entered the mansion.

In recent years, Prime Minister Li Si has not returned to Xianyang. Since his return from the western tour, he has been living in Lishan.

The prime minister could only live at the foot of Mount Li, while the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty lived on the mountain.

Upon entering the residence, Zhang Cang saw a fishpond and the Prime Minister feeding the fish with wheat bran.

At first, Prince Fusu liked to raise fish, and now the Prime Minister also likes to raise fish.

Zhang Cang stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Prime Minister."

Li Si washed his hands with water from the fishpond, then wiped them clean with a cloth nearby, and said, "The grain is growing really well this year."

Zhang Cang said, "I've seen them along the way."

Li Si sat down, poured a bowl of hot tea, and said, "Once you drink this for a long time, you won't be able to live without it. You and I will drink it together."

After saying this, Zhang Cang accepted the hot tea that the Prime Minister had brewed.

Li Si asked in a low voice, "How is the new emperor doing lately?"

Zhang Cang replied, "In the past, more officials have been dispatched to the counties in Guanzhong. The emperor once said that government orders should not only be issued to the counties, but also to the villages, and officials should also go to the villages. I'm afraid it won't be long before the situation of village chiefs governing the villages is abolished."

Li Si nodded. The Prime Minister was the new emperor's teacher, and many of the current national policies were still based on the governing methods used by the previous Prime Minister.

The prime minister, who always advocated governing the country by law, naturally disliked the situation of village chiefs governing the village. The governance of a place could not rely solely on a respected village chief, but rather on officials who understood the law.

In other words, Prime Minister Li Si's strictness towards the law stemmed from his distrust of human nature.

The more steadfastly someone upholds the law, the more they believe that human nature is the most unreliable thing.

The only fair thing is what is written in the law.

The new emperor so strongly supported the policies left by the prime minister that he even "went to extremes," and some people said that Prime Minister Li Si might be laughing in his sleep.

How many scholars from Qilu were enemies of Prime Minister Li Si back then?

How many people now regret not having acted like Jing Ke at Zhangtai Palace?

However, the target was not the King of Qin, but Li Si.

They believed that once Li Si was dead, the laws of Qin would no longer be so harsh on them.

In other words, from another perspective, those who support the prime minister see him as a good teacher and the new emperor as a good ruler.

Li Si said, "It's been a long time since we've heard from Mao Heng."

Zhang Cang remained silent. He had no idea whether Mao Heng was alive or dead. He might have really starved to death outside. It would be very easy for the Prime Minister to find someone. He only needed to say one word, and the Qin army would be dispatched to search for him.

Since the emperor neither granted the prime minister's request to retire nor appointed a new prime minister, Li Si remained the prime minister of Qin, even if only in name.

Unless the emperor himself says so, Li Si was not the prime minister of Qin.

But how could such a good emperor say such a thing?

Zhang Cang had many thoughts in his mind, but he only thought about them. Naturally, he wouldn't say what was on his mind. Instead, he drank a sip of tea with a blank expression.

Li Si said, "I heard that Mao Heng went to pay homage to Mao Sui."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Cang, who was drinking tea, almost choked on his tea.

Li Si frowned and said, "I know Mao Heng well. Even if I gave him 100,000 troops, he wouldn't dare to rebel against Qin."

Zhang Cang nodded and said, "Yes."

The prime minister was still holding a grudge; back then, Mao Sui had allied with the State of Chu against Qin.

However, Mao Sui ultimately failed. Mao Heng's trip to pay homage to Mao Sui was certainly inappropriate, especially since Prime Minister Li Si was an extremely vengeful person.

Li Si added, "After he paid homage to Mao Sui, he went to the Chu region to pay homage to Xunzi."

Zhang Cang lowered his head and placed the teacup in his hand on the table, thinking to himself that the Prime Minister knew exactly where Mao Heng was.

Li Si said, “Back in Qi, when I said goodbye to my teacher, he said you were talented, that Han Fei was too upright, that Mao Heng was too naive, and that I, Li Si, was too demanding. He only praised you.”

Zhang Cang said, "Xunzi thinks I am the most foolish, and my achievements are the smallest."

“When we have time in the future, you and I will go to Qi to pay respects to our teacher. Mao Heng is too foolish; how could he possibly pay respects to his teacher in Chu?”

"Yes," Zhang Cang nodded in agreement.

Li Si added, "You should advise the new emperor to appoint a new prime minister as soon as possible."

Zhang Cang said, "Now that we have the Right Chancellor assisting us, the new emperor has never said he wants to appoint another Chancellor."

Li Si took out a letter and placed it in front of Zhang Cang, saying, "The governor of Guangyang County said that the weather in Liaodong has been warm in recent years, and the north is even warm enough to grow beans. This is something I would never have believed in the past."

Seeing the Prime Minister place the paper in front of him, Zhang Cang reached out and took it, his expression remaining calm, and replied, "I will inform the Emperor."

Li Si stood up, picked up some wheat bran, and continued feeding the fish.

Before leaving, Zhang Cang said, "Prime Minister, Mao Heng really won't rebel against Qin."

Li Si waved his hand, seemingly indicating that the guest should be seen off.

Zhang Cang bowed once more and hurriedly left the residence.

The prime minister would suspect others, isn't it because Li Si still considers himself prime minister? He said that if another prime minister were appointed, people's hearts are hard to fathom... He said he wanted the emperor to appoint another prime minister, but most likely he didn't want anyone else to sit in the position that Li Si once held. It's true that the older people get, the more suspicious they become.

After returning to Xianyang, Zhang Cang went to Zhangtai Palace to pay homage to the emperor.

Standing at the foot of the steps of Zhangtai Palace, looking up at the high steps, Zhang Cang now misses his life in the Prime Minister's Mansion. How convenient it was to report state affairs back then!

Now, Zhang Cang could only walk up the stone steps one by one, and after waiting for someone to report, he entered Zhangtai Palace.

Inside Zhangtai Palace, Fusu was looking at a map spread out on the ground. It was a map of the Western Regions, west of the Hexi Corridor.

Seeing the emperor's actions, Zhang Cang looked around and, seeing that there were no ministers or generals around, felt somewhat at ease.

I thought the emperor was going to launch a westward invasion to attack the Western Regions. Apart from the Yuezhi people's warhorses, I don't know what else the other Western Regions have to offer. They are all incredibly poor.

(End of this chapter)