The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 299 The New Emperor's First Year

It was the season of heavy autumn rains, and Fusu once again came to the northern suburbs of Xianyang City. His wife was about to give birth, and he planned to wait for the child to be born here.

Seeing the emperor pacing back and forth in front of the palace, it was mostly because he was worried about the impending birth of his child, which was naturally seen as worry by the guards.

Any man would react the same way when his wife is about to give birth; the emperor's composure and calmness at this moment are truly remarkable.

But it's also possible that the emperor was still worried about state affairs.

The people in the Prime Minister's office were very busy, and the officials in various counties dared not relax either.

Someone once told the officials of various counties that no matter how hard they tried to govern the country, the emperor would never be satisfied.

In recent years, the emperor has also been dissatisfied with the Imperial Academy and the governance of various counties.

What in this world could possibly please an emperor?
The courtiers really wanted to kneel down and weep, telling the emperor that the world was already good enough.

Officials in Guanzhong are living a miserable life now, and it won't be long before officials all over the country are living a miserable life. If Fusu hears these words...

Fusu would only say that you feel very tired and bitter, but the reason is that the division of powers is not detailed enough and there are not enough officials.

As emperor, Fusu wished he could force all officials to work as hard and without complaint as Sima Xin.

People need to have noble character, so officials need to learn from Sima Xin. People need to establish good character, so they need a good role model.

Such role models could be Xunzi or Shusun Tong.

But Fusu felt even more strongly that when they died, the spirit they left behind was priceless.

This autumn rain has been falling continuously for ten days, and the sun has not yet appeared.

Granny Wang had the bedding and clothes replaced with new ones, as she kept complaining that the items in the palace had recently developed a musty smell.

Finally, amidst Grandma Wang's complaints, the sun came out that day.

Fusu and his wife also named their unborn child Suqiu.

Autumn is characterized by the cool, white frost and the clear, white waters of autumn.

The next day, the lady finally went into labor, and Fusu stayed by his wife's side.

Grandma Wang held the little princess in her arms with a smile. She felt that God loved this family. This family was missing a daughter, so God gave this family a little girl.

Not long after the child was born, Fusu had Tian An deliver rice and grain to the Nine Ministers and officials of various prefectures to celebrate with the officials, but there was still no day off.

After today's court meeting concluded, Master Qi came to see the emperor again and presented the list of teachers selected for this year's rural education support program.

Fusu remained seated in the front hall of Linguang Palace, looking at the register, with the words of Master Zizhi beside him.

Master Qi said, “In the past two years, no children of the old nobles have come to Tongguan to study. The old nobles of the six states did not actually live very well, and were not even as well off as the farmers in Guanzhong.”

Fusu asked, "Those who went out in the past two years were all commoner students, right?"

"Yes."

Today's students are still learning the doctrines of the Hundred Schools of Thought from ancient times, but their books have been processed and optimized, with love for the people as the primary goal and the maintenance of national unity as the secondary goal.

Fusu didn't know what these students would become in the future, but at least for now, he couldn't see any harm in them.

"Sometimes, I also wonder whether these things are right or wrong."

Master Qi stood to one side. He was stricter than Master Wang and had a higher prestige in the Imperial Academy. He said, "Nowadays, all the teachers who teach in rural areas support unification. They all know that dividing up land and establishing kings will lead to war."

Fusu said, "Thank you for your help over the years. Tian An will send some cloth and silk to Tongguan."

Tian An nodded and went to make the arrangements.

Before long, Zhang Cang arrived and reported on the various matters concerning the beginning of autumn this year, as well as the tax situation in various regions.

After autumn comes the off-season for farming, which leaves a large surplus of labor.

Everyone should pursue a good life.

Fusu said, “In the past, I often told you that Weinan’s land was limited, but Weinan had 200,000 people. Such a large population needed more food. However, as the population grew, food and land were ultimately limited. The land could not produce more food to support the population. But the large paper printing workshop in Weinan solved Weinan’s land problem. People had extra work outside of the agricultural off-season and gained extra income.”

Master Zi stood aside; he did not leave immediately, but stopped quietly.

Fusu continued, “Xiao He did a very good job. He built workshops that brought extra income to the people in the county. I still believe that the population should be used as a productive force as much as possible, but the counties should not force people to work in workshops. Diligent people will work on their own.”

Zhang Cang nodded and said, "I will go and inform the counties immediately."

"Thank you for your help, teacher."

Li Si and Zhang Cang were his teachers back then, and now that he has ascended the throne, he still addresses them as his teachers.

Even if we don't really want to learn skills from these two teachers, we still need to rely on their abilities.

After they all left, Fusu continued looking at the list of volunteer teachers alone. Later that night, Fusu chatted with his wife about some recent interesting events.

In the Hexi Corridor, snow fell early. At the foot of the Qilian Mountains, Lou Jing and Wu Shi Luo were drinking wine. Lou Jing said, "Wu Shi Luo, why don't you let the people of the Western Regions study?"

Wu Luo said, "People from the Western Regions only love beautiful women and gold; they don't love reading."

"Can our teacher go to the Western Regions to teach?"

Wu Luo hesitated and asked, "Why?"

Lou Jing poured him a bowl of hot wine and said, "My friend, don't you want the emperor to love the people of the Western Regions as well, and for them to support the emperor?"

“We, the Western Rong people, have all become Qin people. We support the emperor, and so do I.”

Lou Jing looked at the other person, picked up a scroll from the side and placed it in front of him, saying, "General Shejian has already arranged for some teachers to instruct students from the Western Regions."

Wu Luo was familiar with the Qin people, and he knew about some of the things that happened after Qin unified the world. He naturally respected the emperor of Qin, but he was also afraid, afraid that these Qin people would plot against the Western Regions.

Lou Jing said, "Don't worry, General Shejian will not attack the Western Regions, as long as the Western Regions and Great Qin live in harmony."

Wu Luo said in a low voice, "My respected magistrate, if those children from the Western Regions read the books of the Qin people, they will overthrow their king and lead their people to serve the Great Qin."

Lou Jingdao said, "Isn't this a good thing?"

Wu Luo shook his head and said, "That's not good."

“My friend, this will make you even richer,” Lou Jing said in a low voice. “I know you have a lot of private soldiers.”

Wu Luo did not immediately agree to the decision. He simply took the scroll given to him by the magistrate and then took his leave.

After everyone had walked away, a person walked out from behind Lou Jing.

Lou Jing turned to look at the clerk, his smile vanished, and he said sternly, "Tell Chen Ping that I did everything he said. If he really makes a contribution in the future, I will not get any credit. I will personally go to Xianyang and fight him to the death."

"Yes."

Upon receiving the message, the clerk mounted his horse and departed.

Lou Jing picked up the wine pot and said in a low voice, "I've been abstaining for so many years, but I still drank... Chen Ping, you've really done me a disservice."

This time, I drank with Wu Luo, but I didn't get drunk; I stopped when I felt comfortable.

After returning to the county government, Lou Jing went to see Shejian and told him about his arrangements, to which Shejian had no objections.

Grand Commandant Meng Tian of Xianyang sent several letters urging him not to act rashly.

Lou Jing then said to Shejian, "General, you must not act rashly."

With his large, bell-like eyes, Shibuya looked at the other man and said, “I know that now is the time for the emperor to reduce the number of troops and let the soldiers go back to their hometowns to farm. This year, there has been a bumper harvest in various places. The grain harvest has been better year by year for the past two years. The soldiers have all returned to their hometowns, and the morale of the army is even better.”

The morale of the troops was naturally high. The soldiers knew that they were guarding the border and that they would be able to go home no matter how long it took, so they had something to look forward to.

Not long after the new emperor ascended the throne, 20,000 troops were dismissed from the Hexi Corridor. Now, only a little over 10,000 troops remain to guard the border in Hexi. It is said that even more troops have been dismissed from counties in the Central Plains.

As for how many troops were dismissed from the various prefectures in the Central Plains, Shejian did not know. These files were sealed away, and only the emperor and the Grand Commandant probably knew. Since it involved military secrets, even the officials in various places probably did not know how many troops were in their respective prefectures and counties.

Just like Lou Jing didn't know how many soldiers were in his Wuwei County, military power was completely separated from local governance power.

Taking advantage of this downsizing, the emperor's edict also included a clause stating that border troops were not allowed to enter counties or prefectures without an order from the Grand Commandant's Office.

This means that border troops are not allowed to enter the country, and any border troops that leave the border and enter the prefectures or counties will be regarded as rebels.

Now, everyone knows the benefits of military farming, but military farming is in the hands of the county magistrates.

The emperor established a barrier between the military and the government, and also ensured that the magistrates and prefects of each county knew very little about the troops. Even if they knew that some places were Qin army camps, they did not know how many troops were in the camps. Even the army's food was allocated by the Grand Commandant's Office, and the counties were not allowed to interfere.

Therefore, when Shejian spoke with Lou Jing, Shejian only told seven parts and three parts, and both were wary of each other.

This was one of the new emperor's methods of controlling the country, namely, to prevent the generals leading troops from colluding with the county officials and to separate the two sides.

After meeting Lou Jing, Shejian also met Lü Matong.

Lü Matong was originally a general in Shu, later went to Guilin County, and now he has come to the Hexi Corridor.

Shejian looked at the young man and said, "Since the emperor ordered the reduction of troops, there are almost no soldiers left in Longxi. We are the only ones left to defend this area."

Looking at the other person's expression, standing by the brazier to warm himself, his shoulders still had some snow on them. Shejian said again, "Winter comes early in the Northwest. Are you not used to it?"

Lu Matong replied, "I can get used to it. This is the roster of scholars who have come to the army."

The scholars were people sent by the Imperial Academy in Xianyang. These scholars were there to teach the soldiers in the army to read and write.

Not everyone in the army was literate, so the Imperial Academy sent people to teach in the army. This was another way for the emperor to reduce the number of troops, to teach the soldiers to maintain unity, and to tell them what they could and could not believe, what was right and what was wrong, so as to cultivate their ability to distinguish right from wrong.

(End of this chapter)