The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 311 The Last Nobles of the Chu People
Every year, a new decree is issued. This seems to be the annual routine of the new emperor. These decrees are never intended for the emperor's own enjoyment or for the enjoyment of the princes and nobles, nor are they used to increase or decrease taxes.

On the contrary, it seems like a thankless and arduous task: literacy education?

Fan Zeng felt that once the literacy campaign began, the county officials in each county would complain bitterly.

But considering that the officials in Qin are now familiar with the new emperor's strictness, they won't complain much.

Although Fan Zeng was recruited as a scholar by the Imperial Academy and was considered a member of the Academy, he was still unwilling to take up a post at the Imperial Academy. Instead, he lived in the house arranged by Lang and planned to stay in Tongguan for some time.

Upon entering the house, Fan Zeng saw Xiang Yu again, who was placing a still-warm flatbread and a bowl of soy milk on the table.

The young boy who was supposed to be taking care of things here was standing to the side.

Facing Fan Zeng, Xiang Yu bowed and said, "Old sir, please have your meal."

Fan Zeng sat down at the table and said, "You don't need to do these things."

Xiang Yu bowed and said, "This soy milk is a local specialty of Guanzhong, and it tastes really good."

Fan Zeng took a sip of soy milk, feeling the warm soy milk flow through his internal organs, and then he took out a piece of paper from his sleeve.

The paper had been rolled up, and Fan Zeng placed it in Xiang Yu's hand, whispering, "This is news from Huan Chu."

Xiang Yu opened the paper and looked at the place names on it.

Fan Zeng added, “Qin keeps records of every instance of forced labor and exile. I had my tutor, Fu Zilang, inquire with the governor of Tongguan. Indeed, a group of over three hundred prisoners from Chu were sent north that year. I don’t know if Huan Chu was among them, but you can go and take a look.”

"Thank you, old sir."

Seeing that Xiang Yu was about to leave in a hurry again, Fan Zeng called out to him, "Wait."

Upon hearing this, Xiang Yu turned around and saw the old man handing him a bronze token.

Fan Zeng said, "This is the token of the Academician's Office. Take it and carry it with you. With this token, officials in various places will treat you well. Nowadays, the people of Qin treat academicians very well."

Xiang Yu bowed once again.

After Xiang Ji left the study, Fan Zeng remained in his room, drinking warm soy milk and taking another bite of a pancake.

Seeing that the boy behind him was still standing, Fan Zeng tore off half a pancake, handed it to him, and said, "Eat it."

"Mr. Xie."

After finishing his meal, Fan Zeng stood up and went back to his couch in the room to lie down and take a short rest.

Throughout this journey, Xiang Yu had been taking care of him. The reason he spoke to Lang in that way was firstly to protect Xiang Yu, and secondly to guard against the Qin army's questioning.

In retrospect, the Chu people's attempt to rebel against Qin ended after Xiang Liang's death and the exile of more than two hundred former nobles from Chu.

Qin Ting did not pursue the matter further.

At least in the eyes of this new emperor, there was a ringleader of the rebellion against Qin, and as long as those who were incited to rebel did not actually raise an army, the emperor would not make things difficult for them.

Furthermore, after the new emperor ascended the throne, he disbanded a large number of Qin troops and vigorously restored agriculture and production. This was practically announcing to the whole world that the war was over and the Qin army would no longer attack Qi or Chu.

Looking back now, the move to let the old Qin soldiers return to their hometowns was very clever. Whether it was to manipulate people's hearts or to benefit the people's livelihood, this matter only had advantages and no disadvantages.

Three days later, the counties in Guanzhong began collecting grain.

Lang sat with Sima Xin, the prefect of Tongguan.

"Did you really inform Fan Zeng of the news?"

"Ah."

"Did he inform Xiang Ji of the news?"

Li Zuoche bowed and said, "Reporting to the Prefect, this humble general has indeed discovered a person's trail heading from the northwest."

Sima Xin's expression became even more cautious as he asked, "Should we be wary of this person?"

Seeing that Fu Zilang did not answer immediately, Li Zuoche interjected, "No need, I have confirmed that he is all alone."

Sima Xin looked at Lang in front of him again and said with a smile, "Back then, you young people left Hangu Pass, and now you've all returned and started families."

Lang said, "The prefect doesn't look any older."

Sima Xin suddenly smiled bitterly and said, "That's because I'm not old enough yet. Some people say that if we get old, it will happen overnight."

Lang nodded and asked, "What is Fan Zeng doing now?"

Li Zuoche bowed and said, "This year, the grain harvest in Guanzhong is bountiful, and there are sacrificial ceremonies in various counties. His father is currently traveling around to see the offerings."

As Li Zuoche said, Fan Zeng walked along the Jingye Canal and saw fields stretching as far as the eye could see.

The eight hundred li of Qin land in Guanzhong seems to be a blessed land bestowed upon Qin by heaven, with more grain grown there than could be eaten.

The children of Qin grew strong and healthy by eating these grains.

After the emperor issued his new policies, literacy campaigns were launched in all counties, and children and young adults alike were required to learn to read.

Learning to read is a difficult process, but it is excellent if young adults can learn some characters every day.

In order to implement the emperor's new policies, each county came up with all sorts of ingenious methods, including not only scrambling to find teachers, but also encouraging the people of the county to read and write by giving them grain as a reward, and even having the county magistrate personally teach.

In short, if a county has a small number of literate people, it will be labeled as a failure in literacy campaigns.

The person who carried out the judgment was Chen Ping.

Chen Ping was the most troublesome and difficult imperial censor in the eyes of the county magistrates of Guanzhong.

In short, as long as the number of literate people in their county is greater than that in other counties, then their county is not considered to have failed in its literacy campaign.

The county that falls last will certainly be punished by the Prime Minister's office.

Therefore, the magistrates of each county were arguing fiercely over this matter.

The situation was more lenient in the counties and prefectures east of Hangu Pass, and the Prime Minister's office would investigate as appropriate. Just as Fan Zeng was finding this situation amusing, he met Chen Ping by the Jingye Canal.

Chen Ping knew of Fan Zeng's name, but Fan Zeng did not know Chen Ping at first.

During Chen Ping's youth, he learned that among the famous scholars from various places was Fan Zeng, a renowned scholar from Chu, who was respected even by the King of Chu.

However, Chen Ping did not achieve anything during his studies abroad, so he naturally did not attract the attention of many people.

Chen Ping met the old man by the Jingye Canal and bowed, saying, "Chen Ping greets the old gentleman."

Fan Zeng chuckled and said, "You are Chen Ping, the one who makes all the county magistrates fear him."

Chen Ping was also deeply moved. He was clearly handsome, yet he had become a representative of the cruel officials of Guanzhong, and was even ridiculed by this old gentleman.

Even if there is unhappiness in my heart, it is too late to undo what has been done.

The fact that Chen Ping was a cruel official could not be changed, and the county officials in various counties feared him like a tiger.

But if the new emperor needs a cruel official like him, Chen Ping is naturally willing to become such a person. In Chen Ping's view, everyone in this world is useful, and there is no useless person in this world.

Upon meeting Fan Zeng, Chen Ping was ridiculed, which made him dislike the old man even more.

Then he thought that the old man was quite old, while he was still young, so he decided not to argue with him and went to the next county to continue his inspection.

Fan Zeng became a leisurely old man in Tongguan City.

Guanzhong is indeed very busy. Some people have white hair and are still working in the fields. They are also the main labor force in their families.

Only people like Fan Zeng could leisurely watch others busy themselves.

In Tongguan City, there were also elderly people who were too old to work. Fan Zeng would walk with these elderly people and say things that the elderly should say.

However, these people no longer had the same ease with which they could have engaged in lively discussions with Master Lang back in Langya County.

These elderly people mostly talk about trivial matters; they don't understand anything about matters of state.

Fan Zeng didn't want to go to the Imperial Academy, so he could only discuss matters of governance with Master Lang when Master Lang came to visit him.

After the summer harvest, cartloads of wheat were delivered to Tongguan City every day.

There are many granaries in Tongguan City, and every summer these granaries are filled with grain.

The heat in Guanzhong is truly intense; to escape the sweltering heat, people only go out in the morning and evening.

Today, on a patch of yellow earth in Longxi, a person is walking.

Despite the sweltering heat, the man's pace did not slow down at all.

On the northern side of the Great Wall at Wushaoling, a group of laborers were carrying bricks and stones.

It wasn't until nightfall that Huan Chu finally got a sip of cool water, and his skin, which had been reddened by the sun, seemed to begin to cool down.

Normally, no outsiders would come and go here, except for the Qin army coming and going.

Huan Chu was eating a pancake when he heard voices outside the camp, as if someone was coming.

The people beside him all looked outside, and Huan Chu also looked out. It wasn't until the newcomer was brought into the camp that Huan Chu recognized him. He quickly stood up and called out, "Xiang Ji?"

Xiang Yu's gaze swept over the group of laborers, landing on a gaunt man. He stepped forward and asked, "Are you still alive?"

Huan Chu suddenly smiled, feeling the warmth of the large hand resting on his shoulder. He asked, "Why are you here?"

Xiang Yu looked behind him; the Qin army had already gone far away, but he still couldn't take Huan Chu away.

Xiang Yu first led Huan Chu to a corner of the camp.

Huan Chu asked, "You came from Wuzhong in Chu to Longxi, a distance of tens of thousands of miles from east to west. How did you get here?"

Xiang Yu explained, "I first went to Langya County to see Master Fan Zeng. When Master Fan Zeng came to Guanzhong, I came too."

"The teacher has come to Guanzhong?"

Xiang Yu nodded.

Huan Chu asked in a low voice, "Teacher, he..."

Xiang Yu said, "The old man is doing well, so don't worry."

"Six more years," Huan Chu added, "Six more years and I can finally end my hard labor."

"Yes, then you can go back to the old man's side."

At this point, Xiang Yu felt guilty towards Huan Chu and said, "What happened back then..."

Huan Chu lowered his gaze and said, "That was Xiang Liang's decision, it has nothing to do with you."

Xiang Yu was speechless for a moment.

"It's getting late."

The voices of the Qin army could be heard from not far away.

Xiang Yu looked up at the Qin army that was shouting.

Huan Chu took a piece of cloth from his bosom, placed it in Xiang Yu's hand, and instructed, "Please give this to the teacher."

Xiang Yu held the cloth and nodded heavily.

Huan Chu had already walked up to the Qin soldiers, smiling and apologizing.

When Xiang Yu returned to Tongguan and crossed Guanzhong in the sweltering heat, even if he was as brave as he was, he would be scorched by the heat.

(End of this chapter)