The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 323 Clerical Script
Guan Ying's sincerity lies in how much the other party can give him.

To him, Liu Fei, who was young and kind-hearted, had endless potential.

In Zhangye, Guan Ying would do everything he could to meet Liu Fei's every request.

Looking back, Liu Fei realized that when Brother Guan Ying approached him and spoke to him for the first time, he had a purpose.

But none of that mattered; Liu Fei didn't care.

That day, Guan Ying was leading a camel caravan to Mazong Mountain, and Liu Fei happened to be going there as well, as he had long wanted to see the scenery of the Western Regions.

The windy season has just ended this year, and trade between the Western Regions and the Hexi Corridor has already become bustling again.

Liu Fei saw groups of three or five Western Region people carrying goods heading towards the Hexi Corridor. Some walked together, while others rode camels in caravans.

Whenever these people from the Western Regions saw Liu Fei's Qin army camel caravan, they would greet the Qin army warmly in their Western Region language.

Liu Fei had seen Western Region people in Wuwei County who could joke and drink with Qin soldiers, so he asked, "Brother Guan Ying?"

"Hmm." Guan Ying rode on the camel, completely relaxed, his body swaying with the camel's movements, looking languid.

Liu Fei asked, "Have these people from the Western Regions always been this easy to get along with?"

Guan Ying explained, "Those who can walk together are friends, and those who can drink and live together are brothers. They are our friends from the Western Regions, our brothers from the Western Regions."

Seeing that Liu Fei still looked confused, Guan Ying explained, "There was a saying that circulated in the Prime Minister's residence, and I think that saying is truly the best life experience in the world."

"What?"

Guan Ying raised his voice slightly and said, "Let us have more and more friends, and fewer and fewer enemies."

Liu Fei said, "These are words that the emperor once said."

Guan Ying opened the water pouch, took a sip of water, and said, "It doesn't matter who said those words, but the Qin army and the people of the Western Regions are friends. If those kings of the Western Regions bully the brothers of the Qin army, the Qin army will have a reason to send troops. That is wisdom."

"Hahaha..." Guan Ying laughed proudly as he spoke, and then said, "This is the benefit of having friends. We can help our brothers in the Western Regions teach those kings of the Western Regions a lesson."

Seeing Liu Fei remain silent again, Guan Ying said, "Don't say we have bad intentions. Are those kings of the Western Regions all good people?"

As the team headed north, the desert grew ever larger. Guan Ying pointed to the distant Gobi Desert and said, "Look at this barren land, how many soldiers can it support?"

People need land to support them, and they need food to feed them. Without sufficient food reserves, a valiant army cannot be raised. Liu Fei also understood Guan Ying's words. It wasn't that Brother Guan Ying looked down on the Western Regions, but that these Western Regions were simply too barren, and they simply couldn't raise a large-scale army.

Brother Guan Ying said that with just 500 soldiers, he could conquer one or two small countries and present them to the emperor. This might not be just empty talk.

The group had come out to inspect the area. Seeing that there were no Western Region troops active outside the surrounding fields, they rested for the night and were ready to return to Zhangye County.

The group rested in a sheltered spot in the Gobi Desert, sitting around a campfire. The Gobi Desert was very cold at night.

Liu Fei was recording everything he saw in a book while listening to Brother Guan Ying's story. He said that after the windy season, it was the most active season for bandits in the Western Regions, and even the Qin army would not easily be alone outside.

Every year during the windy season, the Qin army would sweep away the bandits in this area of ​​the Western Regions. After many years of sweeping, there were actually not many bandits left. Moreover, when the Qin army swept away the bandits, they would capture people to do hard labor and confiscate all their money.

When the Qin army captured bandits, they wiped out entire dens, making them even more thuggish than the bandits themselves.

The next day, as soon as a sliver of dawn appeared on the horizon, the group set off again back to Zhangye County.

Having witnessed the desolation of the Gobi Desert and returned to Zhangye County, Liu Fei thought of the prosperity of the Hexi Corridor. He admired the emperor's vision even more. The emperor's decision to let General Zhang Han take over the Hexi Corridor first was such a brilliant foresight.

It was only after acquiring the Hexi Corridor that the horse farm we have today came into being.

Liu Fei had read books about Tongguan City and the events of that time. The Qilian Mountains held great significance for both the Xiongnu and Yuezhi people, who often performed sacrifices while gazing eastward from the Qilian Mountains.

However, if the Qilian Mountains had been captured by the Xiongnu or Yuezhi people, it would have been a huge threat to the Qin Dynasty.

Once the Xiongnu have captured the Hexi Corridor, their troops can reach Wushaoling, plunging the entire Longxi region into war. From Wushaoling, they can attack Xianyang with only a day and a night's time, and their army can besiege Xianyang.

Now, the Qin army has acquired the most prosperous region of the Hexi Corridor, which is why it has such a large military force.

Because of his identity, Liu Fei also gained access to the county government and entered the county government's archives. He saw the archives from the early days of Zhangye County's construction and learned that the Hexi Corridor had been exploring the Western Regions for many years.

For the Qin Dynasty today, the Western Regions are a vast area. For Liu Fei, he once again felt the vastness of the world. This world is really vast, and there are still vast territories outside of Qin.

Liu Fei now understands the Prime Minister's decision. Governing such a vast territory is already a great strain on Qin. At present, Qin's internal affairs are not yet solid enough. If it continues to launch westward expeditions at this time, it will only get bogged down in war, and coupled with the heavy burden of internal affairs, it will only face difficulties both at home and abroad.

Therefore, if the emperor wanted to increase the number of officials, he needed to increase the support for education and also collect more taxes.

These issues were discussed and brought up in the Qin court almost every year, with reports of improvement each year, and the population of Guanzhong was approaching one million. Yet, the emperor remained dissatisfied.

This was certainly not satisfactory. The governance of Guanzhong was indeed very effective, but that was because Guanzhong was under the emperor's control. However, the Central Plains were so vast that not all places could be governed as effectively as Guanzhong.

As Liu Fei gazed at the bright moon over the Western Regions, he thought of his uncle, Xiao He.

It's no wonder that Uncle Xiao became the prefect of Guanzhong, but he harbored the ideal of developing the Chu region.

Liu Fei admired four people most in his life: his father and mother, the emperor, and Xiao He.

Liu Fei had seen Xiao He's talent. He was a man who could build up the three counties of Baiqu from scratch and make them rich counties in Guanzhong in just three years. How many people in Guanzhong could do that?
The emperor helped the common people and made them officials. The status of the old nobles was no longer useful in Qin. In the current Qin court, there are almost no nobles from the six states. Some say that the current emperor is too centralized, while others say that the current emperor is too cruel.

But to govern such a large country, especially one that had only recently gained a foothold and whose anti-Qin sentiments had only recently been eradicated from the six former states, was a challenge.

Faced with a country burdened with such a heavy burden, the emperor had to centralize power and be strict.

It was that time of year again when autumn rains fell in Guanzhong. A fast horseman crossed the wet Xianyang Bridge and arrived in Xianyang City. After being sorted at the city gate, many letters and documents were sent to the Prime Minister's residence and others to various counties.

Xiao He, wearing a bamboo hat, stood before a huge horse pen, which he had finally completed.

“A letter from Prefect Xiao, from Zhangye County.”

Xiao He took the letter from the armored soldier, opened it and read it. It turned out to be a letter from Liu Fei. The boy was still as simple and honest as ever. He wrote down everything he had seen and heard in Zhangye, and also wrote down his thoughts.

Liu Fei is like a transparent child; he will tell you all his true feelings.

He didn't treat everyone this way; Liu Fei only treated his uncle this way.

This child never hides anything; he even writes down the discussions about the emperor and domestic affairs in the letters.

Xiao He returned to his residence in Qizhou and wrote a letter to inform Liu Ji of the recent situation of Liu Fei and Liu Ying.

Especially Liu Fei, who has been in Guanzhong for six years, has been thoroughly influenced by books, and the child has almost become the kind of person the emperor wanted.

If one were to ask what kind of youth the emperor hoped for in the world, it would likely be someone like Liu Fei.

He was honest, hardworking and resilient, a good reader and always eager to learn. He was able to serve as a teacher at the Imperial Academy and also serve on the frontier.

Such a child is almost without flaws. Xiao He believed that as long as Liu Fei maintained his good qualities, his future achievements would definitely surpass those of his uncle.

As he wrote, Xiao He suddenly smiled. He knew that Liu Ji would be very proud when he saw this letter, because it was Liu Ji who insisted that both of their children come to Guanzhong to study.

Tongguan City is like a huge talent pool. The teachers and books there will reshape those children into the kind of people the country needs. There are also teachers who go out to teach, shaping children in various places as well.

The Qin dynasty's standardization of writing and cart axles was a complete success. The clerical script was printed on all books through papermaking and printing techniques, and spread throughout the world through books.

The emperor said that clerical script was the most beautiful script because it was square and upright, with a regular structure and clear, straight strokes, making it naturally suitable for Qin.

The people of Qin in the past favored the Small Seal script. The Clerical script evolved from the Small Seal script and was created by Cheng Miao. Even when the emperor was a young boy, he highly praised this script and called it the Clerical script.

After writing the letter, Xiao He asked Cao Can to have it delivered by someone.

Cao Shen felt homesick; he hadn't seen his old comrades from Zhongyang Village for many years.

The horse farm in Qizhou was completed, and the construction in Weibei was carried out in an orderly manner, with the addition of several more townships and roads.

A light rain was still falling outside, and the oil lamp shone on Xiao He's face, which always looked serious and full of worries.

Cao Shen was already used to Xiao He's expression; he always looked worried and had endless things to do. It was like this before in Pei County, and it was even worse now.

The autumn rain poured down on Xianyang City at night, but the Zhangtai Palace was still brightly lit. Inside the palace, the three-year-old princess was sleeping in the emperor's arms. She didn't want her father to always be busy with state affairs, but as she tossed and turned in his arms, she fell asleep first.

The emperor held the little princess in one arm, her arms wrapped around his neck, her cheek resting on his shoulder as she slept soundly.

The emperor, meanwhile, was quietly reading a document in one hand.

(End of this chapter)