The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 331 Reconstruction
Chen Ping was a man who could see through people's hearts. He knew long ago that the nobles of the Western Regions would not accept Qin's ideas because those kings of the Western Regions were extremely cruel to their people.

Now, the Qin emperor in Xianyang, who loves his people, is deeply loved and respected by the people.

As one thing rises and the other falls, prosperity in the Hexi Corridor is inevitable. Whether internal strife will occur in the Western Regions is still uncertain, but more and more people from the Western Regions will definitely come to the Hexi Corridor.

Upon receiving the order from the Prime Minister's office, the Qin army set off the very next day.

Speed ​​is of the essence in war. When the Qin army arrived at Mazong Mountain, the people of Cheshi Kingdom realized that the Qin army was coming to attack them.

After the Qin army left Mazong Mountain, the prince of Cheshi sent envoys to various countries in the Western Regions to request assistance.

Less than three days after the envoy from the Cheshi Kingdom was sent out, the soldiers on the earthen city wall of the Cheshi Kingdom saw a dark mass of people crossing the poplar forest in the distance and heading towards them.

They saw the black banners bearing the mythical bird, which belonged to the Qin army.

While the people of Cheshi could not see the south, Han Xin, with an army of five hundred, had already positioned himself on the shore of an oasis lake on the southern side of Cheshi, his gaze fixed on the direction of Loulan to the south.

Once the troops were fully prepared, Han Xin beckoned to a lieutenant and announced loudly, "Inform the general that Han Xin has secured the southern pass and can attack Cheshi with peace of mind."

"Yes!"

After the messenger cavalryman left, Han Xin addressed the soldiers before him in a loud voice: "Listen up, everyone. Although I do not have the orders of the Grand General, if the Loulan troops dare to attack us, we will not only destroy their reinforcements, but also march south and destroy the Loulan Kingdom."

"Yes!" the Qin soldiers responded in unison.

When on campaign, the Qin army was known for its arrogance. Anyone who dared to offend the Qin army in the slightest would have their city seized and their country destroyed.

As the wind and sand blew by, Han Xin sat at the back of the main road on the south side of the oasis, looking at a map, while in front of him stood the Qin army in neat rows.

These Qin soldiers were very lucky; many of them were young men who had come to guard the border for the first time when they encountered such a battle.

For most people, they might not even get to touch a crossbow once in two years of guarding the border.

Han Xin looked at the map and gestured, only then did he realize that Loulan was so far away from Cheshi. From the map, he thought they were right next to each other, but now he realized that Loulan was not next to Cheshi, but in a place further south of Cheshi.

At this moment, to the east of the oasis, the Qin army began its attack on the city.

The front and rear armies were still quite far apart, but General Shejian was right. He really only used three hundred soldiers to break through the defenses of Cheshi and storm into the city.

Gongzi Li looked at the Qin army pouring into the city and said in a low voice, "Three hundred men really are enough."

Looking at the ever-growing Qin army behind them, Liu Fei said, "The Prime Minister's office thinks the oases of Cheshi can support three thousand soldiers, while the Western Regions are barren and unsuitable for large-scale military campaigns. They lack food and supplies, and don't know where the water source is, unless..."

Liu Fei gazed at the western horizon, at dusk, and continued, "Unless we take Tianshan first."

Li looked at the Western Region soldiers following behind the Qin army and said, "These Western Region soldiers are willing to fight alongside the Qin army; they can help the Qin army fight."

Liu Fei said, "Young master, if you want the Western Region soldiers to command the Qin army, you must first win their hearts."

Gongzi Li smiled and said, "I think this is not difficult. In the future, the people of the Western Regions will definitely be loyal to the emperor and support the Great Qin."

Unlike Gongzi Heng, Gongzi Li was not capable of leading troops into battle; he merely watched from afar in the rear.

Li Zuoche said, "This humble general is willing to escort the young master into the city to fight the enemy."

Li shook his head and said, "General Li, please do as you please. I am not good at killing people."

"Yes!" Li Zuoche immediately spurred his horse toward the city where the fighting was raging.

Looking from afar, the sky here had changed from a dark gray sunset to a bright new moon.

Slowly... the sky turned completely dark, with only a few stars twinkling in the night sky.

The Qin army fought all night in the city of Cheshi, and even wiped out the surrounding small tribes.

The following morning, while the Qin army was tidying up the city, Prince Li entered the city of Cheshi under the escort of the Qin army.

Shejian dragged the three men into the street, threw them to the ground, and shouted, "These three are the sons of the old King of Cheshi! They dared to burn our books!"

As soon as he finished speaking, three heads fell to the ground. Shejian made a clean and swift cut, and then the heads of the Cheshi royal family were hung on the city wall.

In this blitzkrieg against the Cheshi state, only eight hundred soldiers were actually used. The Qin army was simply too valiant, leaving the troops in the rear with no opportunity to fight.

At noon, Han Xin returned with his troops and reported, "General, we have not seen any reinforcements from Loulan."

Upon hearing this, Shejian nodded, then looked at Gongzi Li and asked, "Young Master, do you have any instructions?"

Looking at the domed Cheshi Palace, Li said, "General, you are valiant! The prisoners of war and provisions here are at your disposal."

Shibuma replied loudly, "Yes!"

Another resounding response followed; the city was quiet after the battle, the echoes even lingering. The rest of the Qin army entered the city, and Han Xin wrote down the results of the battle and sent them to Xianyang.

The battle yielded 100,000 shi of grain, five cartloads of gold, and captured 30,000 people, along with countless camels and mules, all of which were sent to Jiayuguan.

Gongzi Li began to oversee the construction within the city. Looking at the royal palace before him, he said, "Tear down the royal palace and build a county government building instead."

Upon hearing this, Liu Fei noted down these words and called upon a group of people from the Western Regions to begin rebuilding the place.

The Qin army conquered the Cheshi Kingdom in just one day and one night, achieving a complete victory in this blitzkrieg.

After another day of rest, on the third day they recruited laborers from the Western Regions and immediately began rebuilding the place.

The somewhat awkward-looking Western Region script on the city wall was erased and replaced with two beautiful clerical script characters: Cheshi.

From then on, this place became Cheshi County of Qin.

Gongzi Li was outside the city, and he ordered a stele to be erected outside the oasis. The stele was placed on the yellow earth and inscribed with the name of Qin: Cheshi County.

This stone tablet is buried very deep, and the stone used is of the highest quality, ensuring that it will still stand here a hundred years from now.

From then on, Qin's borders extended to this area.

Li walked through the oasis and returned to the city, where he heard General Shejian, General Zhangjing, and Li Zuoche discussing the situation in various parts of the Western Regions.

The Western Regions are vast and the land is barren, making them unsuitable for large-scale military raids.

Moreover, there were countless bandits in the Western Regions, and the Qin army would easily be ambushed if it rashly marched westward.

After taking control of the area, the three generals agreed that they would follow the Prime Minister's office's arrangements from now on.

Gongzi Li was very satisfied with the decision of the three generals. As long as he listened to the decision of the Prime Minister's Office, he would not go wrong.

The Kingdom of Cheshi was incredibly wealthy, especially on the day of their victory, when cartloads of gold were pulled out, dazzling the eyes.

The military reports and the spoils of war were sent to Xianyang, and Li began construction within the city.

According to rumors among the people of the Western Regions, the emperor's son, Gongzi Li, has arrived in Cheshi City. Elsewhere in the Western Regions, some people who support Qin are devout and follow Qin etiquette. They would say to other people from the Western Regions: "Gongzi Li will build Cheshi into the Cheshi County of Qin, and Gongzi Li will build Cheshi County into the most beautiful place in the Western Regions."

Just as these rumors suggest, half a month after the Qin army captured Cheshi, Prince Li ordered the excavation of karez wells there, destroyed the Cheshi royal palace, and built the Cheshi county government on the ruins above it.

Furthermore, this Prince Li did something significant: he transported many books to Cheshi County, encouraged more people from the Western Regions to read books from the Central Plains, distributed a lot of food to the Western Region slaves there, and killed all the Western Region nobles living there.

By September in Cheshi County, Prince Li had already won over a large number of people in Cheshi City, as well as the support of many people from the Western Regions.

At night, Liu Fei accompanied Gongzi Li to discuss the land in this area.

For Gongzi Li, the land and productivity here are the most important assets.

Liu Fei attributed this to the emperor's teaching of his sons, which must have been different from that of ordinary families. The emperor's approach to educating his children was broader and more insightful, and he was better able to see through the true nature of wealth.

The winter wheat, which should have been planted in September, was only started being cultivated by Gongzi Li in October.

Outside Cheshi County, there was a magnificent scene. The former slaves of the Cheshi royal family had become landowners from the Western Regions. It was Prince Li who had allocated them land and allowed them to cultivate it. More and more people from the Western Regions knelt down and worshipped Prince Li when they saw him.

Gongzi Li had only been in this city for less than two months, yet so many people from the Western Regions were willing to kneel before him. In the eyes of the people from the Western Regions, Gongzi Li was like a saint.

The young master ordered the construction of a type of vertical well and underground canal called a karez, allowing water to flow over barren land. Thanks to the irrigation provided by the karez, thousands of hectares of farmland outside Cheshi County could be reclaimed.

Prince Li ordered the execution of the Western Region nobles of the Cheshi Kingdom, and distributed grain, land, and houses to slaves and destitute Western Region poor people, and allowed them to cultivate land outside.

Today, Gongzi Li and Liu Fei were observing the soil of this oasis by the field. The land here is actually very fertile, and it is excellent for growing wheat or millet.

Li picked up some soil and said, "I have read the records of the Cheshi Kingdom. If their records are correct, the yield of the land here is one and a half shi per mu."

Liu Fei pointed to the wasteland further away and said, "If the karez wells are dug far enough, the wasteland over there can also be irrigated."

Li brushed the dirt off his hands and said, "Yes."

Liu Fei continued, "Including the fields by the lake, we have..."

After a quick calculation, Liu Fei arrived at the result and replied, "At least four thousand hectares."

Li looked up at the sky and said in a low voice, "When winter comes, this place will become extremely cold. At night, water can freeze instantly. I heard that the days here are shorter than those in Guanzhong."

Liu Fei nodded. According to what the young master said, it would be difficult to grow crops well in such a climate. However, he thought of the winter wheat in Longxi and asked, "In Longxi, winter wheat is flooded before the frost season to help the seedlings grow. Can the Western Regions do the same?"

Li replied, “In the records of the Western Regions, the people of Loulan and Cheshi planted alfalfa every year after harvesting millet, and then cultivated it again after three years. I heard that the people of Jingjue buried felt under the grapevines in order to protect the soil for growing grapes.”

(End of this chapter)