Chapter 18: Shusun Tong

Wind and snow fell upon Xianyang City; Chunyu Yue watched carriage after carriage depart, each carrying a Qilu Doctor, and all under the thorough escort of the Qin Army.

Looking back again, Zhou Qingchen had also boarded a carriage.

Chunyu Yue said, "On this trip to the north, be obedient to the Qin Army; do not defy military orders."

Zhou Qingchen sat in the carriage, saying not a word, and let the Qin Army drive the carriage to take him out of Xianyang.

Chunyu Yue watched these people leave with a grave expression, only then noticing that another person was still standing beside him, also watching the departing carriages.

This person was none other than the Waiting Doctor invited to Xianyang by the First Emperor and Prime Minister Li Si, Shusun Tong.

Chunyu Yue said, "I hope these people can return safely after they go."

Shusun Tong stroked his beard and stood facing the wind, saying, "They will return; Li Si merely wants them to see the situation in the north, not to kill them."

Chunyu Yue said again, "I hear you have met Prince Fusu?"

Shusun Tong sighed and said, "I met him once."

"It is a pity that the Prince has not seen this old man since."

Shusun Tong added, "I have a few old friends to see today."

Chunyu Yue looked displeased and wanted to say something more, but when he looked back, he saw that Shusun Tong had already walked away with quick steps.

Xianyang City in the snowy weather was very desolate.

Fusu felt that when the sky was about to turn to night, it actually made people feel that Xianyang City was very warm, because when night fell, lamps were lit in every house in Xianyang City.

Darkness shrouded Xianyang, the sky was filled with wind and snow, and there was still snow piled on the windowsills of every household.

The specks of lamplight shining from people's windows appeared exceptionally warm in this cold night.

Fusu walked down from the drum tower by the city wall; having just stood on the drum tower and looked at the scene of ten thousand lights, this feeling was very good.

The soldiers coming to change guard hurriedly saluted when they saw the Prince.

Fusu nodded and said, "Thank you for your hard work."

The soldiers bowed and saluted once more.

Ever since Shang Yang's Reforms, the people of Qin were all adept at pursuing the elevation of their own value; in fact, this had nothing to do with whether they were Qin people—if it were someone else, it would be the same for anyone. Hundreds of years had passed, and people were too hungry for a channel through which they could rise.

Fusu thought of his own servants; several women would become hostile toward one another just to compete for a high-efficiency spinning wheel.

Li Si's promotion from Commandant of Justice to Prime Minister was an elevation of self-value.

Tian An handed over a scroll of Bamboo Slip and said, "Prince, this is the roster sent by General Zhang Han."

Fusu took the roster, confirmed it, and said, "Go get some rest early."

Hearing this, Tian An withdrew from the Prince's bedchamber.

In this life, Fusu had already grown accustomed to a life where he did not know what time he went to sleep or what time he woke up each day.

Only when he woke up each day, after asking Tian An, did he know what time it was.

It was probably because he went to sleep too late yesterday; Fusu washed up after waking, and after asking Tian An, he learned it was now the hour of the dragon.

However, since court was currently suspended, there was no need to care about when he went to sleep or woke up.

After washing, Fusu used a cloth soaked in hot water to scrub his face vigorously, then let out a long breath in the cold air, the heat turning into a cloud of mist.

After washing, Fusu prepared his own morning meal by hand.

Today's weather was still gray and hazy; Fusu sat by the stove, waiting for the rice porridge to boil.

An Attendant came over in a hurry, "Prince, someone is here to see you."

On ordinary days when the teacher came to visit, these Attendants would directly say the Prime Minister had arrived.

Fusu drank a bowl of hot water and said, "Who is asking to see me?"

"It is a man named Shusun Tong, who says he has come to return a book."

Fusu held the bowl in one hand, the hot water in the bowl still steaming, and said, "Invite him in."

The morning at Gaoquan Palace was busy; palace servants were coming and going, cleaning the place and sweeping the snow from the ground.

The snow in the palace looked thicker; Shusun Tong walked along the cleared path until he reached the front of the hall.

Prince Fusu was sitting in front of the hall, and in front of him were three stoves, each with clay bowls of varying sizes on them.

Shusun Tong held the Bamboo Slip up with both hands and said, "Prince, this is the Classic of History borrowed by the old gentleman Fu Sheng; I have come specifically to return it."

Fusu signaled for Tian An to take the scroll, while he lifted the lid of a clay bowl, placed some sliced fish into the bowl, and let it cook for a moment longer.

Shusun Tong observed the Prince's actions with some curiosity and blinked in confusion.

Shusun Tong's beard and hair were gray; judging by his beard and hair, he should be over fifty, but judging by his complexion and slightly chubby cheeks, he was probably forty. It was truly difficult to distinguish the age of the ancients nowadays.

For example, a young man in his twenties who grew a long beard—if one did not shave the other's beard, just by looking at that face full of whiskers, one would guess the person's age to be over thirty.

And looking at the appearance of the ancients, Fusu also discovered that there were quite a few people with white beards and hair in their middle age; perhaps a person with gray hair and beard was only thirty-something or forty-something?

Noticing the other's gaze, as well as these thoughts above, was what Fusu had pondered in the span of a few breaths.

Facing the other's curious gaze, Fusu said, "What, is it strange for a Prince of Great Qin to cook his own food?"

Hearing this, Shusun Tong hurriedly saluted again and explained, "I... I just find it rare."

Fusu said, "Actually, cooking is a very interesting thing, especially in terms of consuming time and the sense of accomplishment; you can just consider me, this Prince of Great Qin, as being too idle."

Shusun Tong smiled in surprise and said, "The Princes of Great Qin are indeed different from the Princes of the Six States back then."

It had to be said that listening to this man speak was very comfortable; there were still those among the Qilu Doctors who knew how to speak well.

Fusu picked up the fish porridge, set it aside to cool for a moment, and then took down the Soy Milk that was boiling on another stove.

"This is called Soy Milk; it is ground by the people of Shangyan Mountain. Grinding this thing is very tiring."

Tian An understood the Prince's meaning and brought the table over.

In front of Shusun Tong were placed a bowl of Soy Milk and a bowl of fish porridge.

Fusu ate on his own, while also glancing at the Bamboo Slip set to the side.

Shusun Tong looked around; every Attendant and palace maid here was looking at him with a smile.

Seeing that the Prince had almost finished his bowl of porridge, Shusun Tong finally picked up his own bowl and took a sip of the hot porridge; the warm porridge entered his mouth, still having a salty taste, mixed with some fish meat.

This bowl of porridge was so delicious that it made Shusun Tong's eyes widen, and he gulped it down until he had finished all the porridge in the bowl.

He then picked up the soy milk to the side, tilted his head back, and finished it in one go.

With that, Shusun Tong let out a satisfied burp, then realized he had been impolite in front of the Prince, and hurriedly bowed in apology with a look of shame.

Fusu said, "It is fine, I do not care for such etiquette... Hmm, it is no wonder you all say the people of Qin are boorish."

Shusun Tong said, "This subject does not think the people of Qin are boorish."

Fusu's gaze remained on the Classic of History as he continued, "Back then, whether it was the people of Yan, Zhao, Qi, or Chu, they all said the people of Qin did not understand etiquette."

Shusun Tong said, "This subject believes that so-called etiquette is not about being constrained by every word and action, but lies in the system; so-called ritual systems..."

Once this was said, this Qilu Doctor began to speak incessantly about matters of etiquette.

In fact, most of what he said was unimportant, often intended to make you dizzy, after which you yourself would forget why you had asked the question in the first place.

Fusu added, "I heard that yesterday the Prime Minister asked you Qilu Doctors to go to the north, and you were still shouting insults in front of the teacher's door?"

Shusun Tong pondered for a moment and hurriedly replied, "This subject was visiting a good friend yesterday."

Fusu had seen yesterday's events with his own eyes and had intended to give this Doctor a hard time.

It had to be said that he was a very cunning and clever man; with one sentence, he offended neither side and simply produced an alibi.

The implication was: I was not there, I do not know what happened, I was eating at a friend's house.

More or less...

Fusu asked, "Do you have many friends in Xianyang?"

Shusun Tong said, "Actually, those people are not all this subject's friends; they are old friends of this subject's teacher. Most of them admire this subject's teacher's reputation and hope to send their children to the Qi State to study, which is why they curry favor with this subject. To tell the Prince the truth, as long as this subject is in Xianyang, there are people inviting this subject every day."

So, the value of the descendants of Confucius is still very high.

Everyone wants their child to have a teacher from a prestigious family, and in this era, the best academic background is mostly Shusun Tong's teacher, the descendant of Confucius, Kong Fu.

Fusu had never met Kong Fu, but judging by these matters, the ancients of this era already placed great importance on the effect of famous teachers.

The ancients were never stupid, just like Shusun Tong; he did not turn anyone away, but whether he would agree to their request for schooling was another matter.

Therefore, the problems faced by the ancients are also very worthy of study and have profound value for reflection.

Fusu continued, "My teacher is the current Prime Minister, and the Prime Minister studied under Xunzi. In this way, I can also be considered a disciple of Xunzi, but I am lacking in talent and learning, and my teacher is busy with state affairs and is truly unable to spare the time. However, there is one thing I do not know if the old gentleman could assist with."

Shusun Tong said, "The Prince may speak freely."

"I have three thousand servants under Shangyan Mountain, as well as over three hundred children under the age of ten. I want to find a teacher for them; I do not know if the old gentleman could teach them."

Seeing that Shusun Tong did not agree immediately, Fusu added, "If they can achieve success under the old gentleman's tutelage, in the future I will let them go north to kill the enemy. Once they have merit from killing the enemy, I will restore their household registration and let them serve as officials in Great Qin."

Shusun Tong still did not agree.

Fusu continued to paint a big picture, saying, "In this way, you will have three hundred disciples, and these three hundred people will all be officials of Great Qin. If even three or five of these three hundred people can become high-ranking officials of Great Qin, the old gentleman can also become famous throughout the world."

Upon hearing this, Shusun Tong's expression clearly changed slightly; he bowed very respectfully, feeling a sense of vigilance in his heart—this Prince of Qin was truly formidable.

"Might this subject be allowed to consider..."

"Half an hour."

"This..."

"Old gentleman, if you are unwilling, I will not force you."

It was originally Fu Sheng who had borrowed the book from the Prince, and he, Shusun Tong, had come to return the book. How did the favor Fu Sheng owed the Prince fall onto his own head, and he even encountered a Prince with such a sharp tongue?

After thinking it over, the Prince had already laid out all the benefits, and he already owed a favor.

Shusun Tong was truly at a loss for words, and finally, unable to find a reason to refuse, he had to bite the bullet and say, "This subject accepts the order."

After speaking, Shusun Tong regretted it so much his guts turned green; if he did not agree, the Prince might have people gossip about his teacher Kong Fu, and the consequences would be even more unimaginable.

The Prince of Great Qin was still a youth, and Shusun Tong truly did not expect that the wise Prince Fusu would actually make such a request.

Fusu looked at the sky and added, "Tian An."

"Present."

"Arrange a carriage to take the old gentleman to Shangyan Mountain. If he arrives at Shangyan Mountain now, he can still hold class in the afternoon. Have General Zhang Han arrange the lodging and teaching schedule."

In a few words, Prince Fusu sent this old gentleman away.

Until he was sitting in the carriage, Shusun Tong was still repeatedly regretting: how did he agree to it?

Tian An was naturally happy; the Prince had found a teacher for the children at Shangyan Mountain in just a few words.

Tian An walked to Gaoquan Palace and reported, "Prince, I am only afraid that this old gentleman will not teach well, or will not teach properly."

Fusu was still calculating his private property and added, "It does not matter, if he does not teach well, we will change him. Recently, are there still miscellaneous items being sent from the army to Shangyan Mountain?"

Tian An took a Bamboo Slip from the bookshelf and replied, "General Zhang Han has recorded them all in the files."

"Clatter..."

Fusu opened the Bamboo Slip and checked the items one by one. Under the governance of Qin law, incoming and outgoing documents must be recorded meticulously, including every detail, just like every piece of wood and every foot of cloth sent from the army to Shangyan Mountain must be crystal clear.

For one, this is to give an account to the army and let the army rest easy, and these records of exchanges are also to protect himself so as not to give others cause for gossip.

Tian An added, "Prince, the residence arranged by the Prime Minister—the Prince has still not gone to see it."

Fusu said, "Are there still people visiting that residence now?"

"Replying to the Prince, after the start of winter, no one has visited; people have almost forgotten about it."

Fusu nodded slightly and added, "Organize the bookshelf."

Tian An nodded and personally tidied the bookshelf for the Prince. Which scroll of the Classic of History was placed in which compartment and which category of books was in which row were all marked; they could not be placed incorrectly, nor could they be placed in disorder.

By noon, Tian An heard the Attendants gossiping, so he came to report, "Prince, someone went to visit the Prime Minister today."

After Shusun Tong arrived at his destination, Fusu was still waiting for Zhang Han's report, and while feeding the fish, he wondered, "I remember that since the suspension of the morning court, the teacher has not seen guests."

"This person entered the Prime Minister's residence and was even hosted to a banquet by the Prime Minister."

"What kind of person?"

"Replying to Prince, the person is named Zhang Cang. It is rumored that he is a close friend of the Prime Minister, and that they studied under the same master; he is also a disciple of Xunzi. He currently serves as a Censor in Xianyang, and it was the Prime Minister who originally recommended him to His Majesty."

Fusu was still reading the classics of the venerable Xunzi, among which was the venerable Xunzi's evaluation of Mencius.

Fusu said: "Zhang Cang is a Censor?"

"Replying to Prince, although Zhang Cang is a Censor, he is in charge of documents and archives. In daily life, when officials need to consult archives or check the Classic of History, they must all obtain Zhang Cang's approval. The number of books in Xianyang Palace is also managed by him, and the Emperor has evaluated him as being learned and knowledgeable."

The venerable Xunzi had many disciples, but the disciples he taught were truly each different.

(End of chapter)