The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 39 Civilian Husband
When autumn rains fell once again in Guanzhong, a month had passed since the completion of Xianyang Bridge.

Squads of soldiers came from the west, their warhorses trotting across the sturdy bridge. Approaching them were large herds of warhorses coming from the west, hundreds and thousands of them neighing and galloping.

Those who didn't know better might have thought the Xiongnu had crossed Shangjun and were attacking Xianyang.

Fortunately, people saw the armor of the Qin soldiers and the black Qin banners, which reassured them considerably.

General Wang Ben had been away from Guanzhong for nearly half a year. This time, when he returned from his trip to the Western Rong, he brought with him three thousand warhorses.

This news was undoubtedly exciting. After these warhorses were tamed, they would be sent to Shangjun to Meng Tian, ​​who was defending against the Xiongnu.

Wang Ben braved the rain to return to Xianyang and report to the First Emperor.

At that moment, by the canal in Jingye County, Zhang Han, wearing a straw hat, stood and watched as troop after troop of soldiers headed south.

In the heavy rain, Shusun Tong also came wearing a bamboo hat, and when he stood next to Zhang Han, he was much shorter.

Noticing Zhang Han's clenched fists, Shusun Tong said with a sigh, "If you're going to help the young master dig the canal here, there's no place for you among the generals of the southern expedition."

Rain dripped from the edge of his straw hat. Zhang Han said, "I have my duties to perform, so I will not leave my post without permission."

Shusun Tong sighed, "Someone sent a message from Xianyang earlier..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Han headed towards the county.

Seeing this, Shusun Tong quickly followed, talking as they walked.

Zhang Han was always annoyed by the discussions among the people of Xianyang, especially those about the First Emperor or Prince Fusu.

Zhang Han felt uncomfortable all over if he heard or saw anything more than a little bit.

Zhang Han didn't want to get involved in or discuss anything that didn't concern him; he just wanted to keep his head down and do his own thing.

Seeing that Zhang Han didn't want to listen at all, Shusun Tong still insisted on speaking.

One didn't want to listen, while the other insisted on speaking.

The two walked one after the other in the rain. Zhang Han wouldn't listen, and Shusun Tong insisted that as the general in charge of supervising the construction of the canal, he couldn't be ignorant of everything.

Shusun Tong only stopped nagging when he returned to the county, because he had to go and give a lesson to Gongzi Gao.

Zhang Han took off his straw hat and came to a courtyard. At this moment, the people here were going through the process of building a county from scratch. They even had to build government offices and post stations, recruit county officials and jailers, and set up prisons.

This put an even greater strain on Jingye County, which was already burdened with the heavy task of digging canals.

Zhang Han had to manage both affairs, but fortunately, the young master was now the Vice Minister of the Imperial Household Department, and had sent many craftsmen from Xianyang.

These days, Zhang Han often stands by the canal, watching the troops marching south.

The city of Xianyang is currently preoccupied with the southern campaign, with several troop formations heading south every day.

Shusun Tong understood that Zhang Han truly wanted to go to war.

But his uncle, Sun Tong, is also very busy now, and only has a little free time when he is eating.

A group of people were having a meal together. Shusun Tong was sitting in the official residence that was under construction. While chewing on celery, he said to Zhang Han, who was sitting at the head of the table, "It doesn't matter if we miss the southern expedition."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Han paused briefly in his action of scooping up noodles with his chopsticks.

Shusun Tong continued, "Let's not talk about those rumors outside for now. Even if I did, you wouldn't want to hear them."

Zhang Han slurped the noodles into his mouth with gusto, chewing them as he placed his hands on his knees and breathed through his nostrils.

When Shusun Tong ate, he became much more refined. He then asked, "Why is Meng Tian delaying his northward advance when he is building the Great Wall to defend against the Xiongnu?"

Zhang Han remained silent.

Shusun Tong emphasized: "If the north and south of the Central Plains are not united, war will surely break out again. Without pacifying the south, the Central Plains will find it difficult to resist the Xiongnu in the north."

At this point, seeing that Zhang Han was still eating with great relish, Shusun Tong continued, "I have heard that the cattle and sheep that General Meng Tian obtained were given by only a small tribe. General Meng Tian often sent scouts to the north to investigate. The Xiongnu people have more than ten thousand sheep, and their warhorses are everywhere."

After Shusun Tong finished speaking, Zhang Han also finished eating the noodles in his bowl.

"General Zhang Han, there are still many wars to fight in the future, so don't rush things."

Zhang Han picked up the sword on the table and stood up, ready to leave.

Shusun Tong was still eating his noodles.

After taking two steps, Zhang Han said solemnly, "You are a scholar who has come to Qin, and you are not my strategist. You cannot say such things."

Shusun Tong, holding chopsticks in one hand, sat cross-legged, looking up at the tall general, watching him walk away.

After a moment of silence, Shusun Tong put down his chopsticks. He had never intended to be Zhang Han's strategist. What was his purpose? It was to build the canal. If he couldn't keep Zhang Han in check, how could the canal be built?

Shusun Tong looked left and right, his anger rising. He looked down at the unfinished noodles, his meal thoroughly disappointing. In a fit of rage, he picked up the bowl again and finished the noodles, putting them into his mouth with his chopsticks, thinking that he never wanted to eat with Zhang Han again.

No sooner had Zhang Han left than a soldier came to report, "Master, three village chiefs have arrived with two hundred laborers."

Shusun Tong wiped his mouth and nodded, saying, "Bring the men in."

Zhang Han was still wearing his straw hat. The rain wasn't heavy today, but it was unclear when this continuous autumn rain would stop.

The excavation of Jingye Canal has reached its most critical stage. People are currently digging the canal below Shangyan Mountain. Once this underground canal under the mountain is completed, things will be much easier from now on.

Zhang Han went down into the shaft. Oil lamps were lit on both sides of the shaft. There was no water here yet, and the soil underground was still dry.

While the excavation was underway, many laborers were using wooden frames to secure the excavated rock face.

The young master has rules: whenever he starts digging underground channels, he must stabilize the rock walls with wooden stakes, and if he feels any discomfort, he must immediately go to the shaft opening for fresh air.

The culvert is not very deep yet, only about ten feet deep.

As Zhang Han watched the laborers carrying away the soil, he thought that they could probably dig another ten zhang or so today.

Outside the wellhead, Shusun Tong was leading three pavilion chiefs, explaining the current canal-digging work. The rain wasn't heavy today, and many people didn't seek shelter from the rain, working in the rain.

"Which county are you all from?"

"Lantian".

Shusun Tong understood, and looking at the three village chiefs again, he said, "Did you all go to fight in the State of Chu together back then?"

The three pavilion chiefs nodded in unison. One of them had gray hair and beard, while the other two looked younger.

The characteristics of the old Qin soldiers are actually quite obvious, especially the way they tie their belts and the way they style their hair. Anyone who has fought in the Qin army for a few years and has that kind of temperament will recognize these traces very clearly.

Lantian County was a Qin army camp a long time ago, which further confirms that these laborers were originally Qin soldiers.

Seeing them looking around, Shusun said, "One dou of grain a day. If you think that's not enough, you can do some more strenuous work."

As he spoke, Shusun Tong pointed to the distance, where someone was hammering on a wooden stake.

“One bushel a day, that’s fine.” The oldest of the village chiefs nodded, and the other two chiefs echoed him.

Under the Qin system, the pavilion chief played a crucial role. Ever since Prince Fusu petitioned the First Emperor, all the counties in Guanzhong knew that people were needed to work along the Luo River, and they would be given one dou of grain per day.

Shusun Tong has been in contact with a lot of laborers these days, the vast majority of whom are led by several village chiefs from various counties.

The head of the pavilion must ensure that his subordinates receive food when they come to work here, and that their work yields a reward.

The pavilion chief was an official, and if they encountered other officials, they could get help from the pavilion chief.

On the contrary, there were few people who came alone looking for work. Most of them came in groups led by the village head, with a group of laborers and strong men banding together. They were also afraid that people from their own county would be bullied, so they helped each other.

When it was time to distribute the grain, several women in the village watched the scene of the grain being distributed.

The one who felt the most heartache was Li Nu'er. As she watched cartloads of grain being transported out of the warehouse, she lamented, "How much grain is that?"

A plump middle-aged woman standing nearby said, "Sending out this much grain now is nothing. If we can cultivate a few more acres of land next year, it will all come back."

On the other side, a slightly thinner aunt was weaving linen and said, "They say they need to transport ten more cartloads."

Li Nu'er clutched her chest, her heart aching more and more. With each missing grain of food, her pain intensified.

Her aunt patted her on the back and said with a laugh, "Oh dear, if you feel sorry for her, then don't look at it. You still have to come and see."

As she spoke, Li Nu'er threw herself into Aunt Pang's arms and burst into tears.

The aunties around smiled wryly. That's just how this child is; he'll feel bad even if someone else gets an extra bite of food.

One hundred cartloads of grain were sent out in a single day, but the people of Jingye County were not very enthusiastic. Having any savings was a very difficult thing.

As everyone watched the canal being dug southward, knowing that they could use it to cultivate large tracts of land the following year, they felt much more at ease.

Another document was sent from Xianyang City to Jingye County. Zhang Cang had not come here since the young master started to build the Xianyang Bridge after Grain Rain.

After the completion of Xianyang Bridge, Zhang Cang was busy with many political affairs, and it is said that he was assisting the Prime Minister.

Zhang Cang sent over two scrolls of documents: one was the emperor's reply, and the other was Zhang Cang's own written instructions.

After Zhang Han finished reading the two volumes of documents, it was Shusun Tong's turn to read them.

The documents were laid out before him, and Shusun Tong immediately noticed the first scroll, which was the emperor's reply. However, upon seeing the exceptionally neat and square handwriting, Shusun Tong immediately sensed something was amiss.

Shusun Tong studied under Kong Fu and read many documents, paying particular attention to handwriting. When he first arrived in Xianyang, he visited the Imperial Academy and saw the First Emperor's edict and saw the First Emperor's handwriting.

Some people have long, thin handwriting, some have long, flowing handwriting, and some have bold, unrefined handwriting. Shusun Tong, who had seen the First Emperor's handwriting, said it was definitely not like that.

This neat font is like a grid, arranged horizontally and vertically, with each character seemingly in a square grid, neither too big nor too small, all square.

The long, detailed explanation below is all about relocating people to cultivate land.

Shusun Tong hesitated about the document, feeling that it was not approved by the First Emperor. However, he was only surprised for a moment before taking the document and leaving.

When the first snow of the year fell in Guanzhong, Shusun Tong invited the village heads and county officials from several counties southeast of Luoshui to discuss the land reclamation plan for the coming year.

Zhang Han sat under the eaves outside the official residence, eating noodles, while the sounds of people arguing inside the residence filled his ears.

These were all things that the young master had asked Shusun Tong to do; Zhang Han didn't care how difficult these things were.

If Shusun Tong fails to handle the matter properly and affects the progress of digging the canal, Zhang Han will tie Shusun Tong up like a pig and hand him over to the prince to beg for forgiveness, allowing the prince to slaughter him at his discretion.

Zhang Han had a long celery stalk in his mouth, and the celery leaves swayed slightly as he chewed.

"General Zhang Han, why are you eating out alone?"

Upon hearing the childish voice, Zhang Han looked down and saw that it was Gongzi Gao. He quickly put the celery, leaves and all, into his mouth.

After chewing a few times and swallowing, Zhang Han bowed and said, "Young Master."

The young master raised the small earthenware jar in his hand and said, "This is... a radish that Gao personally pickled, for the general."

Zhang Han hurriedly accepted the pottery jar with both hands, saying, "Thank you for the gift, young master."

Gongzi Gao glanced at the small cart he was pulling behind him, on which were two pottery jars, and said, "I'm going back to the palace. These two jars are for my brother and father."

Zhang Han held the pottery jar in both hands and bowed as he saw off Prince Gao.

As he watched as Prince Gao boarded the carriage, Zhang Han straightened up again, exhaling a breath of warm air in the cold wind. He then heard arguing coming from inside the official residence, which sounded like someone had less land and someone else had more.

It seems someone else said, "How many cows does your county have? You need so much land, can you plow it all?"

Someone shouted, "Damn it! How much you took advantage of our county before! The county remembers it all, down to how many bushels of rice were taken from half an acre of land."

"A few bushels of rice, I'll spit it all out for you..."

……

The county officials in front of him were arguing heatedly, their faces flushed, and the argument was getting more and more heated. Shusun Tong looked pained, and it was clear that the argument could not continue.

Until Zhang Han, carrying his sword and with a stern face, walked into the official residence.

The people arguing in front of them immediately fell silent and dared not cause any more trouble.

This Zhang Han was a military general who had also killed people.

Then he came in carrying a sword, his eyes looking fierce as if they were about to pop out of their sockets.

The county officials sat down again, feeling apprehensive.

Shusun Tong straightened his expression and ordered, "Everyone out, come in one by one."

Zhang Han sat on the sidelines the whole time, watching as the county officials went out and came in one after another, one going out and another going in.

Afterwards, the group wrote down several volumes of documents, as if making a guarantee, and each left with several volumes of documents.

Shusun Tong saw the county officials off with a smile.

Zhang Han had gained some understanding of Shusun Tong's abilities when, just then, a laborer came running frantically through the heavy snow, panting heavily, pointing towards the culvert and saying, "General, we've dug... dug it..."

Zhang Han countered, "What did you dig up?"

The laborer gestured with his hands, saying, "Bone...bone..."

"What bone?"

The laborer stammered for a long time.

Zhang Han ignored the man's explanation and strode into the snow, heading towards the culvert.

At this moment, a crowd had gathered at the entrance of the shaft leading to the culvert. Everyone seemed to have been standing there for a long time, with snow piled up on their shoulders and heads.

(End of this chapter)