The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 332 The Emperor and Xiao He

Building a county town on the original site of the Cheshi Kingdom was not a difficult task in Gongzi Li's view.

But things don't always go as planned. It was easy to conquer this oasis, but it's very difficult to govern it.

Previously in Zhangye County, I heard people from the Western Regions talk about how much they loved the Qin Dynasty and how much they liked its books.

But only by actually coming here can one see the difficulties in spreading Qin Dynasty books.

Gongzi Li returned to Cheshi County, where General Shejian was whipping several people from the Western Regions.

This is a punishment for these people; if Qin wants to govern this place, it must first govern the people.

Qin granted them freedom, freeing them from the oppression of the local royal family, but that didn't mean they could do whatever they wanted.

Otherwise, they would become bandits, murderers, or do other bad things.

Therefore, very strict rules were established in this county, and a curfew was imposed.

Prince Li was still in charge of the land reclamation and settlement, while General Shejian, leading a thousand soldiers, continued to strictly manage the city according to military regulations.

After several discussions, it was decided that turning this place into a military town for land reclamation was the best course of action.

That night, Gongzi Li wrote a letter and had it sent to Xianyang.

In the winter of the fourth year of the new emperor's reign, a winter rain had just fallen, and the cold wind outside was biting.

Fusu flipped through the reports sent by various prefectures and counties, some of which reported the results of the establishment of local schools, and others on the achievements of literacy campaigns.

Most of these results are good, because you can't expect things to get worse as you go along.

"Reporting to the Emperor, Prefect Xiao has arrived."

Upon learning that it was Xiao He who had arrived, Fusu put down the documents in his hand and said, "Let him enter the palace."

"Yes."

The little princess was sitting on a felt mat on the first floor of the main hall, playing with building blocks. When Xiao He entered the hall, she only glanced at him before continuing to arrange the blocks.

Xiao He entered the main hall, held up a scroll with both hands, and bowed, saying, "This is the memorial on the construction of Weibei this year."

The memorial was taken by Tian An and placed in front of the emperor.

Fusu opened the memorial and looked at its contents, then said in a low voice, "The population of Weibei has reached 200,000, which is very good."

Xiao He said, "I wish to expand the counties."

"can."

The emperor replied calmly, as if he had agreed to something insignificant.

A palace attendant hurried over, handed over a leather cover, and bowed, saying, "A letter from the young master."

Fusu opened the leather case and took out a letter. The letter was written by Li, who was currently building Cheshi County.

The war against the Cheshi Kingdom was decided by the Prime Minister's office and was also decided by the Emperor himself, who issued the imperial edict.

In the minds of everyone in the Prime Minister's residence, this battle was a must, and the books exported by the Great Qin must be guaranteed.

This is also related to their belief in volunteer teaching, and it's even a bit extreme. For them, burning books is a trampling on the cause of volunteer teaching.

The new students of the Great Qin Dynasty absolutely cannot accept such a thing.

When the necessity and justice of this battle are satisfied, and the court officials collectively decide, this battle will inevitably have to be fought.

Fusu looked at the letter his son had sent and politely explained the various difficulties he faced in governing Cheshi County.

His son had come to him, the emperor, for help; he couldn't just ignore it.

Human abilities are limited, and everyone has their own shortcomings.

Chen Ping understands this best, and he also understands the inherent weaknesses of human nature best. We can learn more from Chen Ping in this regard.

Fusu looked at Xiao He again, put down the letter, stood up and walked out of Zhangtai Palace. The ground outside was still wet.

Fusu breathed in the chilly winter air, then looked at Xiao He beside him and said in a low voice, "Li has sent a letter, wanting to ask me, his father, how to govern Cheshi."

Xiao He kept his head down and did not speak.

Fusu knew that Xiao He would not get involved in the emperor's family affairs. Since it was a letter from Prince Li, it was not only a matter of politics in the Western Regions, but also a matter between father and son.

Would Xiao He dare to casually say something like that?

That's obviously not acceptable.

It is inappropriate for a subject of the emperor to discuss the manners of the emperor and his sons.

Furthermore, one should not comment on the emperor's son.

Fusu said, "Li, this child, wants to govern Cheshi County well. He has encountered some problems and has written to me for advice."

At this point, Fusu sighed again, "This child has good intentions, but he is too presumptuous. Some things cannot be accomplished exactly as he wishes. If you want to do something perfectly, in the end, it is enough to achieve 60% of what you originally envisioned, or even 50% or 30%."

“Moreover, he won’t stay in the border regions forever.” Fusu added, “Just like those remote counties nowadays, even though I have repeatedly issued orders, some counties can only achieve 60% of what they were promised, or even show no improvement at all.”

"Li Chang said that Shusun Tong was a very pessimistic person, but in my opinion, his pessimism was not wrong."

Xiao He bowed and said, "I think it is enough for you, my lord, to do your best."

Fusu nodded and asked, "Have you been in contact with those old friends from Chu lately? For example, your good friend Liu Ji."

Xiao He secretly breathed a sigh of relief; Liu Ji had actually been mentioned by the emperor.

"Liu Ji wrote to inquire about this before autumn this year."

Fusu asked, "Have you come to urge you to return to Chu?"

Xiao He shook his head and said, "No, Liu Ji's two sons are studying in Guanzhong. Liu Ji, well..." For a moment, Xiao He was speechless. He exhaled a breath of warm air in the cold wind and said, "He, Liu Ji, would probably say that he, Xiao He, would never leave Guanzhong in his life, and that he would never return to that backward and poor Pei County."

Xiao He continued, “Liu Ji means well. He sees that I have achieved something in Guanzhong and hopes that I can enter the Prime Minister’s office and become the emperor’s right-hand man. But I will definitely return to Chu.”

"Father!" His daughter was walking quickly behind him.

Fusu turned around and opened his arms, and his daughter rushed into his embrace.

Holding his daughter in his arms, Fusu looked at Xiao He beside him and said, "Call him Uncle Xiao."

Upon hearing this, Xiao He quickly bowed and said, "Your subject dares not."

The little princess still said, "Uncle."

Seeing Xiao He's fearful expression, Fusu said, "It's alright. You and I are ruler and subject, but in my heart you are the same as the people in the Prime Minister's mansion. You are both my subject and my friend."

"Your Majesty..." Xiao He hesitated for a long time before saying, "Your Majesty obeys."

If someone else were to come here at this moment and see the emperor standing with Xiao He, they would surely be curious as to why Xiao He was walking so close to the emperor.

Starting this year, Xiao He has been coming to the palace very frequently, reporting everything directly to the emperor without going through the Prime Minister's office.

The Prime Minister's office only knew that Xiao He was serving in Weibei, but they did not know that he was so close to the emperor.

This time, Xiao He actually came to report on the Tongchuan coal mine, to expand Tongchuan County, and to build workshops, academies and markets with the coal mine as the core.

This is what Xiao He will be doing for the next six months; he only came to discuss the plan this time.

As Fusu carried his daughter in his arms, he walked in front of Zhangtai Palace and said to her, "I hope their lives will be more collective, with dedicated people to resolve conflicts between families, as well as people to arrange various matters and sacrifices."

Xiao He asked, "Is this a matter for the county?"

Fusu said, "If the county is divided into another level, it would be best to let the newly relocated residents choose for themselves."

Xiao He tried his best to understand the emperor's words, and after a moment replied, "I will make a plan after I return."

Fusu nodded and said to his daughter, "Say goodbye to Uncle Xiao."

The little princess waved and said, "Goodbye, Uncle Xiao."

A goodbye made Xiao He smile suddenly. This little princess was very infectious, and for a moment, most of his weariness disappeared.

After bowing, Xiao He left.

Fusu returned to Gaoquan Palace with his daughter in his arms, while his two sons had their own things to do.

"Father said that it's too early to send Li'er to guard the northwest frontier now."

Hearing his wife's words, Fusu said, "His old man is heartbroken."

Wang Tang'er said, "I told my father that no matter how hard or tiring it is, it's the child's own fault. If he feels sorry for the child, he should go to the Northwest to be with him himself."

Fusu frowned and said, "He wouldn't really have gone?"

Wang Tang'er shook her head and said, "I didn't go, I sent someone to deliver a letter."

Fusu handed his daughter to his wife, then went to the fishpond behind Gaoquan Palace, took some wheat bran to feed the fish, and said, "Tian An, prepare the carriage. I will go to see my father tomorrow."

"Yes."

The next morning, the emperor was going to Mount Li. It was unusual that the court meeting was not held. Although it was said that the court meeting was not held, it was not said that everyone could rest. Everyone simply skipped the court meeting and continued to go to the Prime Minister's residence to be on duty.

The emperor's entourage left the palace and, escorted by General Zhang Han, went to Mount Li.

As before, Mount Li is heavily guarded at its foot. Even an innocent bird flying by could not escape the arrows of the Qin army.

When the emperor's carriage arrived, Li Si was already waiting at the foot of the mountain.

Zhang Han led his troops to the front, and then the troops dispersed to both sides.

Fusu, dressed in the same black as all seasons, helped his wife and daughter down from the carriage.

Fusu asked, "Teacher, how have you been lately?"

Li Si's hair had turned even whiter; now, one could only find black hairs among the white ones. He said, "Very good."

Fusu said, "Come with me to see Father Emperor."

"Alright."

Li Si nodded.

The emperor helped the old prime minister walk in front, while his wife, carrying the little princess, walked behind.

As they walked, Li Si said, "My health is very good. Xia Wuqie said that it would be even better for me to climb Mount Li every day to exercise."

Seeing that the teacher wouldn't let him help her, Fusu had no choice but to let go and watch the teacher walk step by step on the mountain path.

Fusu took his daughter from his wife's arms and continued walking up the mountain.

When the group reached the mountaintop, the palace, after several renovations, was cleaner than before, with several more palaces added.

Fusu carried his daughter to his father's side and said, "Call him Grandpa."

The child was still unfamiliar with this grandfather, but she obediently called out "Grandpa".

Fusu, sitting to the side, said, "A letter has arrived."

Ying Zheng sipped his tea and said, "That child went to guard the border for a year, and he even went out to fight?"

This matter could not be kept from the Emperor any longer, Fusu replied, "Yes, we have taken over a small kingdom in the Western Regions."

(End of this chapter)