The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 338 Past Events of Pinyang County

Gongzi Heng, carrying a bag of honeycomb briquettes, walked into the county government with Liu Yingmei, still talking about their recent experiences in Tongguan.

Inside the county government building, Xiao He greeted the visitor with a bow, saying, "Young Master."

Heng said, "I just visited my grandfather, and he asked me to bring this coal."

Xiao He said, "Back then, there were quite a few troubles in building the coal workshop in Tongchuan, but fortunately General Zhang Han helped us."

That happened last year, when Hengzheng and Chenping were inspecting various counties.

It wasn't until he came to Weibei to assist Xiao He in managing the affairs of various counties, as arranged by his father and teacher, that he learned about the construction of the coal-making workshop.

At that time, in order to free up the coal mines, Tongchuan County had to be mobilized to relocate, and there were many disputes over land issues.

Those who caused the disturbance were all former Qin people who owned land back then. Some of this land was acquired by former Qin people through military merits, and under the auspices of the Prime Minister's office, more land was offered up for exchange with the county residents.

That's how Tongchuan County came to be. Tongchuan County is a county centered around coal mines, where people of all ages and genders work around those mines.

Heng once asked Xiao He what to do with the many coal mines in the Central Plains.

Xiao He simply said that the Emperor and the Prime Minister's office would have a solution, and that the young master need not worry about this matter.

Upon seeing Xiao He hand over several scrolls of documents, Gongzi Heng took them and began reading them.

Although Prince Heng was not serving in Weibei, he was still able to remain there as an imperial censor in the Qin court.

After inspecting various counties in the Central Plains, Heng's views changed somewhat when he saw some of the county government files.

After Liu Ying left, Heng said, "I heard from Magistrate Cao that Prefect Xiao is going back to Chu?"

Xiao He nodded.

Xiao He is now the prefect of a prefecture, a position that has been held for the past five or six years.

With his talent, he might be able to enter the Prime Minister's residence soon, and perhaps even become one of the Nine Ministers in the future.

Heng felt this was inevitable. Not only him, but also the ministers in the Prime Minister's office thought so. Nowadays, the emperor and the Qin court often only look at ability when choosing people, without considering their background or family history.

Moreover, many children of commoners now serve in the Qin court, and have even become a large group within it.

There will be more and more people like this in the future.

Heng then asked, "Is there trouble in Chu that you're still concerned about the prefect?"

Xiao He said, "I have already made an agreement with the emperor."

Heng didn't know what kind of agreement Xiao He had made with his father, but he felt a little regretful when he thought that someone like him would leave Guanzhong.

After seeing the situation in various parts of the Central Plains, Heng naturally understood that the country was not actually that good.

The other counties in the Central Plains need people like Xiao He even more. Heng has seen the current state of Chu. He didn't know what Chu was like before, and he had no impression of the outside world.

When he was a child, Heng also accompanied his grandfather on his eastern tour, but at that time he was still an infant.

After talking with Xiao He for a long time, Heng finally rested in the county.

The next day, while it was still dark, Gongzi Heng led his horse out of the county early, mounted it, and headed towards Xianyang.

Although he was appointed to a post in Weibei by the Imperial Censorate, Gongzi Heng did not want to miss any court discussions.

Each morning court meeting was an opportunity for him to learn about state affairs.

As soon as the sky began to lighten, Prince Heng arrived in Xianyang City. He rushed from the city gate to the Xianyang Palace Gate, just as the palace gates were opening.

Today's court meeting was somewhat unusual, as there were two more generals in the military ranks, which gave everyone some fresh topics to discuss.

Otherwise, if everyone talks about the same things every day before the court meeting, it would be too boring.

Now, Zhao Tuo and Tu Ju are standing in the ranks of military officers, and many people are willing to talk to them.

When the emperor arrived, the court officials quieted down. Today's court discussion mainly focused on the appointment and removal of officials after the autumn harvest, and there were still many old officials who needed to be replaced.

After the court meeting ended, Zhao Tuo and Tu Ju went to Tongguan City together.

In the eyes of people today, if you want to study or enter officialdom, you must go to Tongguan. Tongguan is not only a city of learning, but also a way for thousands of common people to enter the power system of the Qin court.

Since the vast majority of those who came to Tongguan to study were of commoner origin, Zhao Tuo was momentarily stunned when he saw such a large city.

Upon entering Tongguan City, Zhao Tuo was received by Sima Xin, the local prefect, and finally met his offspring after the children finished their morning lessons.

Sima Xin was usually very busy and had no time to take care of Zhao Tuo's family. Besides, their family affairs were for them to discuss themselves.

When Sima Xin arrived at the Imperial Academy, he saw an acquaintance and said, "Master Wang."

Wang Yu greeted the visitor, saying, "Prefect."

"Zhao Tuo has come today; I'm afraid he will send his child back to the south."

Wang Yu sighed, "I've heard about this."

Sima Xin sighed again, "Chen Ping has some impressive skills."

Wang Yu shook his head and said, "I don't think this is Chen Ping's method."

Upon hearing this, Sima Xin pondered for a moment and then said, "That's right. If it were Chen Ping's methods, Zhao Tuo would most likely have suffered a great loss upon returning to Guanzhong, instead of escaping unscathed."

Wang Yu shook his head and smiled bitterly.

Both men's understanding of Chen Ping came from the rumors about his inspection tours of various counties over the years. People didn't know how many merits Chen Ping had made, but bad news about him spread very quickly.

Of all the censors in the Imperial Censorate, you can offend any of them, but never provoke Chen Ping.

Just as winter was approaching, another freezing rain fell in Guanzhong. Tonight, Fusu was sitting in his carriage, heading towards Pinyang County.

Since we were here to pay homage to General Wang Jian, the carriage stopped in front of an old house in Pinyang County.

The old house, which usually keeps its doors closed, finally opened its doors today.

An elderly man with white hair and beard was sitting outside the main hall. When he saw that it was the emperor's family, he hurriedly bowed.

Upon entering the courtyard, the elderly man with white hair and beard was none other than Wang Ben.

Fusu reached out to help Wang Ben, who was bowing, and was surprised that his father-in-law had aged so quickly in the past two years.

When the other person stood up, Fusu nodded without saying a word, thinking to himself, "How can he not get old?"

He himself, the emperor, was forty years old.

Fusu then looked into the hall, where two elderly people were talking in hushed tones; they were his father and his teacher.

No matter how we tried to persuade him before, he refused to leave Mount Li. But this time, because of the matter of paying homage to General Wang Jian, he did leave Mount Li.

Fusu walked into the hall, still reaching out to support his father-in-law, while his wife and daughter stood behind him.

Inside the quiet old house, Wang Jian's memorial tablet sat on the table, with no one else around.

Ying Zheng turned to look at his son, "How have you been lately?"

Fusu replied, "Everything is fine."

"Has Xu Fu not returned yet?"

"There is still no news of Xu Fu."

……

PS: I'm taking a day off today and will only be updating one chapter. Please allow me to rest for a day and go to bed early.

(End of this chapter)