The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 98 Heard Again
Outside Zhangtai Palace, palace servants were very busy, carrying dishes into the hall one after another.

Tofu and pancakes might just be considered appetizers; the subsequent dishes include meat, pancakes, and even noodles and meat soup.

After eating a flatbread, the First Emperor continued eating tofu stewed with millet.

Li Si held a wine bowl and talked about the interesting things that had happened in Xianyang recently. Fusu would occasionally look out of the palace, where the wind and snow continued.

Ying Zheng said, "Fusu."

Upon hearing this, Li Si, who had been chatting with Zhang Cang, also stopped talking.

"My son is here."

"After the snow, you shall visit Duke Pinyang on my behalf."

Fusu said, "Your subject obeys."

Ying Zheng nodded slowly.

Seemingly unable to hold his liquor, the First Emperor left the palace again.

Then a palace attendant quickly walked to Prince Fusu's side and whispered, "Your Highness, the First Emperor has already gone to sleep."

Fusu said, "Yes, take good care of Father."

The eunuch bowed again, then took his leave.

After saying this, Fusu raised his wine bowl and said, "A toast to my two teachers."

Now that the First Emperor was no longer in Zhangtai Palace, Fusu was drinking with his two teachers.

While they were eating, Fusu said, "Even though Mao Heng is in Tongguan these days, he always has to say a few words whenever the Prime Minister is mentioned."

Li Si was used to this. He waved his hand and said, "I am a fellow student of Mao Heng. Don't worry, my lord, I will not hold it against him."

It's not a big deal for the Prime Minister of Qin to attract some criticism.

As they were talking, another person walked up to the front of the hall. The person was none other than Lord Wu.

Upon seeing the guests arrive, Li Si felt that the banquet should end for the day.

Seeing that Li Si was about to stand up while holding onto the table, Fusu stood up first and said, "Prime Minister, there is no need to leave the banquet."

Upon hearing this, Li Si sat down again.

While the Prime Minister's expression changed upon hearing the arrival of the visitor, Zhang Cang continued to eat the dishes in front of him with his head down.

Fusu said, "Let them into the palace."

Lord Wu was the prime minister's most trusted disciple.

Fusu felt that although Wu Gong was somewhat slow-witted and confused, he was also very honest, which is why, despite his average abilities, he was always kept by the Prime Minister's side.

Xunzi once said, "If a ruler has jealous ministers, then virtuous men will not come to him."

Li Si had foolish but honest people around him.

Even around a monarch, not everyone is a talented and virtuous person. Li Si was the prime minister of Qin. His subordinates were all talented, but they also had their own strengths and weaknesses.

Wu Gong walked into the hall somewhat awkwardly, and his steps were not very large, as if he was worried that his feet would damage the floor of the hall.

When the others approached, Li Si said, "Speak."

Wu Gong bowed and said, "A message has come from Qi; they have found Zhang Liang."

Li Si nodded, signaling him to continue.

"They were about to capture Zhang Liang when several county constables and a prefectural constable leading over six hundred men came to arrest him, only to find that he had escaped under cover of night."

Li Si remained calm, which was nothing new, and there was no need to show any surprise or doubt.

This prime minister of Qin had probably heard this kind of news many times before.

Wu Gong looked at Prince Fusu sitting on the other side and said in a low voice, "We also met a student from Weinan who said that he had stayed at the village head's house with Zhang Liang. After investigation, it was found that the student and Zhang Liang had indeed only met by chance."

Li Si had already closed his eyes.

"Prime Minister, although we did not find Zhang Liang, we discovered a group of rebels, and we even found weapons on the spot. The troops that were pursuing them fought with the rebels and several people died, but fortunately they were all captured. They were all from Di County in Qi."

As he spoke, Master Wu raised both hands and handed over a scroll of bamboo slips.

He seemed unsure whether to give it to the Prime Minister or the young master, and stood frozen in place, holding the bamboo scroll.

Fusu stood up first, picked up the bamboo scroll and looked at it. It recorded the events that had occurred in Di County. As he read it, he heard the Prime Minister sigh softly.

This sigh was probably not because Zhang Liang had not been captured, but because of the group of rebels.

They've been trying to catch Zhang Liang for so many years, it wouldn't hurt to keep him for a few more.

Perhaps because the First Emperor had not yet spoken, and whether or not the arrests were truly intended to be carried out, Li Si did not send additional personnel. He merely sent arrest warrants to various regions, with censors supervising each prefecture. That was all.

What Li Si lamented was that it was because of this group of rebels.

Wu Gong replied, "We spared three people and found out they were from the Tian brothers of Di County. They originally planned to ambush Zhang Liang."

Upon hearing this, Fusu was quite surprised. The Qin army and the three Tian brothers were both on their way to capture Zhang Liang, but they did not run into Zhang Liang. However, these two groups of people encountered each other.

Li Si asked, "Have you captured the three Tian brothers?"

Wu Gong bowed and said, "We only captured Tian Dan, but we haven't found the brothers Tian Heng and Tian Rong. A messenger sent a message to the Prime Minister's residence, saying that Tian Dan's life should be spared to deal with Tian Heng and Tian Rong."

The three Tian brothers caught one of them, the eldest, but the two younger ones escaped.

Li Si then inquired about the governance of Di County.

The two brothers, Tian Heng and Tian Rong, mostly hid outside and dared not move around in public again.

As for Tian Dan, it wouldn't hurt to spare his life. If Tian Rong and Tian Heng dare to come to Tian Dan's rescue, we can just capture all three brothers.

One must be patient in dealing with state affairs. Li Si felt that a few rebels were nothing to fear, but he was worried about the governance of Di County.

The banquet ended in disappointment because of this news.

Li Si, Zhang Cang, and Wu Gong left Zhangtai Palace.

Fusu stood in Zhangtai Palace, looking at the news in his hand. At first, it was not difficult to find Zhang Liang's whereabouts. He thought he would go to Chu, but now he had disappeared again.

The palace servants inside the hall had already cleared away the bowls and chopsticks. Tian An said, "Young Master, everything is ready."

As Fusu walked outside the Zhangtai Palace, the wind and snow came towards him, and the cold northwest wind whipped up layers of snow, howling down.

At this hour, his father should still be fast asleep. Fusu stepped down the steps and instructed, "Prepare some tofu. I will send it to Duke Pinyang after this heavy snow stops."

Tian An said, "Okay, I'll go prepare now."

Tofu was merely a legend in the imperial court, but Fusu believed that if Jingye County could also produce tofu, it would become a popular dish on people's dining tables.

Most people probably wouldn't ask why tofu has to be square; to Fusu, this is how it should be.

If we could provide people with one more dish, that would be a good thing.

It would be a wonderful thing if people could have more longing for food.

Fusu returned to Zhangtai Palace and saw his wife reading a book. She was holding her back, carrying a small life in her belly, and was doing everything very carefully.

Grandma Wang often said, "Madam, you can be more carefree. That little life isn't actually that fragile."

Fusu told his wife what his father had instructed him to do.

Wang Tang'er sat in the chair, watching the heavy snow fall, wondering when it would stop.

In the next few days, there will be no state affairs in the court. The heavy snow has been falling for a day and a night without stopping. On the second day, the First Emperor sent tofu to many important officials in the court, and also to the scholars of Qi and Lu. Those who can receive the First Emperor's rewards are all ministers who can enter the Zhangtai Palace to participate in court discussions.

In a few years, tofu might become a common food.

Afterwards, further rewards would seem ordinary. Since we should reward more now, Fusu said to Tian An, "Have someone send a message to Weinan. Send a large piece of tofu to each of the counties in Weinan. After it is sent to each county, let each county divide it among themselves."

Tian An nodded and went to give the instructions.

A brazier sat beside Fusu, and a deer nestled behind him. Fusu rested his head on the deer's back, looked at the book in his hand, and felt the warmth from the brazier. Fusu unknowingly became sleepy and thought he would close his eyes and rest for a while. When he woke up, it was already night.

The deer that used to be resting on my head is no longer there.

"What time is it?"

Wang Tang'er sat to the side, reading a book, and said, "It's almost midnight."

Fusu sat up and looked at the book in her hand. He saw that she was looking at some of his own insights about Han Fei.

"Can you understand it?"

She shook her head and said, "I can understand some of it, but I can't understand some of it."

Fusu said, "To understand these books, we need to rebuild our way of thinking."

"what is that?"

For Fusu, some of the rights and wrongs of this era were actually quite simple; for him, they were almost all open-book exams.

However, this was not the case for Wang Tang'er, because some knowledge was not explained more correctly until later generations. From the perspective of later generations, this knowledge was naturally different from Wang Tang'er's understanding.

This has nothing to do with the differences between people, but rather that later generations have broken free from the shackles and the constraints of thought.

Fusu patiently explained the current national policies and the knowledge in the book to his wife.

The young couple sat together as if they had endless time to spare, and they could get through the harsh winter with this long conversation.

A few days later, when the snowstorm had completely stopped, Fusu heard Tian An talk about the situation in Weinan, where the heavy snow had collapsed many houses.

Winter in Guanzhong is a time for rest and recuperation, a custom passed down from the ancient Qin people, which has become a habit for them.

During this time of year, the people of Qin usually don't go out.

However, at this moment, Fusu was about to go out. He was taking his wife to visit the Duke of Pinyang.

Grandma Wang often said that Tang'er was in good health and that it was fine for her to move around a lot.

After Tian An finished getting ready, Wang Ben was already waiting outside the palace gate.

Fusu was quite happy to see his father-in-law again, as his father-in-law looked much better than before.

After autumn arrived, this Junior Steward had been resting.

Fusu was in charge of many affairs of the Imperial Household Department.

Fusu stood by the carriage, watching his wife and father-in-law talking.

After a long while, Wang Ben finally put his daughter into the car.

Right now, the son-in-law and father-in-law are still standing by the carriage, while Tian An stands at the front of the caravan, waiting for the young master's words. As soon as the young master gives the order, the caravan will set off for Pinyang.

Fusu remained standing by the carriage and said, "The Junior Steward looks much better."

Wang Ben said, "Thank you for your concern, young master."

Fusu said, "I will have to trouble you, Shaofu, to take good care of things in Longxi."

The matter concerns the length of the Du River, including land relocation and troop deployment. Wang Ben's help is indispensable in these matters. Although this Junior Minister of the Imperial Household Department has not been busy with state affairs these days, the affairs of Longxi really cannot be separated from him.

In recent years, Wang Ben has had many interactions with the Western Rong people. He is very familiar with the Western Rong and the Hexi Corridor, and he will likely need the help of this Junior Minister of the Imperial Household in the future.

Therefore, Fusu felt that he should stay in the position of Junior Chamberlain for a few more years.

Wang Ben said, "Young master, if needed, I can make a trip to Longxi."

Fusu replied, "The Xiongnu and the Western Rong are currently engaged in fierce fighting, so we are not in a hurry."

The two discussed state affairs for a while, and after Wang Ben mounted his horse, Fusu also got into the carriage.

The group then slowly left Xianyang City.

Wang Ben rode up beside the carriage to guard it, saying, "Young master, since the Xianyang Bridge was repaired, more and more people have been coming to Xianyang City every morning looking for work."

"The construction of Xianyang Bridge was also largely thanks to the assistance of the Junior Steward."

With a smile on his face, how could Wang Ben dare not do his best to help?
The Xianyang Bridge has truly brought benefits to Xianyang City, and its effects have become increasingly apparent in the past two years, making Xianyang City even more prosperous.

A capital city should be as prosperous and populous as possible.

After leaving Xianyang City, the group headed towards Pinyang County.

Before Prince Fusu even arrived in Pinyang, a messenger had already delivered the message; the messenger was arranged by Wang Ben.

Wang Jian was sleeping during the winter. When the Qin people hibernated, it was best to stay asleep, just like some animals hibernating, such as bears. When they got hungry, they would find food to fill their stomachs and then continue to hibernate.

Because Prince Fusu was coming, Wang Jian sat on the bed and had his servants put clothes on him.

Although the sun was shining brightly outside, it was still very cold.

Wang Jian dressed, put on his cloak, and took a few steps outside, then walked a few more steps.

"Lord Pinyang, Lord Pinyang..."

A flustered voice came from behind. The person who came was a servant of the house, holding a cane.

Wang Jian then remembered that he had forgotten to bring his cane. He picked it up and, leaning on it, he looked quite old and frail.

At the entrance of the village in Pingyang County, the snow on the county roads has already been cleared.

Wang Jian, the Duke of Pinyang, walked slowly to the official road outside the county, leaning on his cane.

"What are you doing?"

Wang Jian turned to look at the older brother who had spoken and said, "Brother, what brings you out here?"

"My grandson at home kept asking for meat, so I traded some mutton for it and brought it home." After saying this, the older man asked, "What are you doing out here?"

The older man had wrapped a leg of lamb in a black cloth. The leg looked like it had just been slaughtered and was still steaming.

Pinyang County has always been a wealthy county in Guanzhong because the men from this county were known for their bravery in battle.

Wang Jian said, "My granddaughter is coming to see me."

"The one who got married this year?"

Wang Jian nodded.

"I saw it myself. That young man married your granddaughter, and he was escorted by soldiers. Is he a general in Xianyang?"

"Hehehe..." Wang Jian laughed with a hint of smugness.

Seeing this, the older brother asked again, "Is he really a general from Xianyang?"

Wang Jian shook his head and said, "It's not a general, it's that a general is escorting us."

"That's just an official in Xianyang, not a general, that's good, not a general..." The elder brother breathed a sigh of relief and said, "We dare not let the children go out to fight again."

Wang Jian's gaze remained fixed on the distance, where a procession appeared at the end of the road.

(End of this chapter)