Chapter 6: Simple Experience

Li Si's face held no smile; he stood under the moonlight and said in a deep voice, "The Prince wishes to pay respects to Xunzi."

Feng Quji smiled and said, "That is very good."

"But the Prince does not know which state's customs he should use to pay his respects."

Feng Quji looked thoughtful.

Li Si closed the door to the study behind him; the old wooden door creaked again, and until it was completely shut, it would still shake some dust loose from the doorframe upon impact.

"Tomorrow, you shall submit a remonstrance to the Emperor."

Feng Quji lowered his voice and said, "Submit a remonstrance to the Emperor about what?"

"Now that the rebellion in the Chu lands has been quelled, it is time to re-demarcate the commanderies and counties."

Feng Quji nodded.

In front of the Emperor and the Prince, Li Si was often amiable, but in front of Feng Quji or others, this Prime Minister was mostly tight-faced and brooked no dissent.

Li Si and Feng Quji parted ways in front of the residence gate.

As he walked home, Li Si still held a roll of Bamboo Slip in one hand, followed by several Qin Army guards.

He suddenly stopped his footsteps, and the guards behind him stopped as well.

Blown by the night wind, Li Si suddenly realized one thing: today he had made a mistake, a mistake that nearly caused a misunderstanding with the Prince.

That was, when giving land to the Prince, he had asked the Emperor for too little; he should have asked for more.

The Prince was studious and mature; if a Prince wanted more and was capable of negotiation, then in the future, he could not be treated as an ordinary child.

The night grew deeper; within the silent Xianyang City, one could occasionally hear the footsteps of squads of the Qin Army on night patrol.

In the East City of Xianyang, the vast majority of residences here were larger than those of ordinary families, because most of those who lived here were ministers capable of participating in the First Emperor's Court Discussion.

There were not so many people living here before, but as the Qin state had continuously absorbed the officials of the old nobility of the Six States over the past two years, many of the vacant residences here now had owners.

After the hour of the Rat, most residences had extinguished their lamps, with only one residence still brightly lit.

Inside the residence, a man with a thin build and a face that looked over fifty years old was looking out from the gap in the door toward the main street outside.

As soon as he saw the patrolling Qin Army pass by, he hurried back into the room and said to Chunyu Yue, who was eating his meal, "Have you noticed? The patrolling Qin Army is more numerous than before."

Hearing this, Chunyu Yue merely raised his eyes to look at the person speaking, handed him a bowl of bean rice, and signaled for him to eat first.

The guest before him was named Zhou Qingchen; this person was originally from Qi, but only because the Qin state had been widely recruiting talented officials from the Six States over the past two years had he come to Xianyang.

Chunyu Yue felt somewhat unhappy in his heart; everyone had been "invited" to Xianyang by Ying Zheng's people, supposedly to serve Great Qin, but looking at the old people of the Six States from back then, how many were truly for Great Qin?

Chunyu Yue did not want to air grievances for Great Qin, but he felt quite repulsed by the guest before him, especially since Zhou Qingchen would be too frightened to eat or drink at the slightest sign of trouble.

Just like now, while Zhou Qingchen ate his bean rice, he would look back from time to time, fearing that the Qin Army would break down the door and have them, these Doctors of the Six States, all torn apart by chariots or cut in half at the waist.

It was not as if the past Kings of Qin had never done such things.

Finishing the bean rice in his bowl in one breath, Zhou Qingchen then wiped his hands and mouth; he saw no Qin Army breaking down the door, and the night remained completely silent.

His expression relaxed slightly, and he let out a long sigh, saying, "Do you know why the patrolling Qin Army here is more numerous than before?"

Chunyu Yue was reading a Bamboo Slip in one hand and did not respond to the other's words.

Zhou Qingchen anxiously slapped his thigh and said, "It's all because of you! How could you oppose Li Si during the Court Discussion?"

Chunyu Yue did not feel that there were more Qin soldiers outside, and he suspected even more that this Zhou Qingchen was overthinking; furthermore, even if there were a few more Qin soldiers, so what?

Zhou Qingchen said in a low voice, "You have offended Li Si alone; I fear all of us Doctors of the Six States will be made difficult. Do you know of that Wang Wan?"

Chunyu Yue's gaze remained on the Bamboo Slip, and he replied, "Didn't he leave?"

Zhou Qingchen lowered his voice and said, "Heh heh, after he, Wang Wan, left Xianyang City, he traveled five hundred li in three days. Do you know why?"

Chunyu Yue fell silent again.

"That is because Wang Wan offended Li Si; he fled Xianyang City for fear that someone would go to assassinate him." Zhou Qingchen's tone rose a few notches, saying, "You think you can make Ying Zheng value you with just a few words? You even mentioned Prince Fusu; do you know who he is? He is Li Si! What kind of person is Li Si?"

Chunyu Yue's expression was very calm; he was not as panicked as Zhou Qingchen.

"What is wrong with Li Si becoming Prince Fusu's teacher? Do you intend to contend with him, Li Si..."

Listening to the other person becoming more and more agitated, increasingly restless, and increasingly panicked.

Chunyu Yue still did not respond, nor did he want to persuade the other to calm down; ever since arriving in Xianyang City, not just Zhou Qingchen, but the many other Doctors of the Six States, they all feared the Qin officials, and they also feared Ying Zheng.

And now, the Doctors of the Six States feared Li Si, who was now the Prime Minister of Great Qin, even more.

Zhou Qingchen had been brought into the Qin state, and even brought into Xianyang City, although the First Emperor and Li Si had given them many courtesies and generous treatment.

But just like this panicked person before him, they were all cautious and timid, and now they were afraid that Li Si would take revenge.

Not to mention how Li Si was in the past, let's just talk about the present.

They felt that Wang Wan, noble as the Prime Minister of Qin, had been stripped of his position by Ying Zheng just because he opposed Li Si, and would also be retaliated against by Li Si.

In truth, Li Si had never thought of retaliating against Wang Wan; in his eyes, Wang Wan was not a threat at all.

Chunyu Yue felt a sense of emotion in his heart; Xunzi, that elder, was a great sage of Confucianism, yet he had taught Han Fei and Li Si, these two Legalist disciples, and both of these disciples were figures with profound mastery of Legalist scholarship.

A few days ago, Wang Wan had sent a letter saying he had arrived home safely; all signs indicated that Li Si had not sent anyone to retaliate, but even so, it could not stop these people from being afraid.

East of Xianyang City, outside Hangu Pass, a Qin Army force of tens of thousands arrived outside the pass.

The one leading this great army back was none other than the Great General of Qin, Meng Wu.

The first batch of soldiers who had attacked Chu for Great Qin had returned; behind them, a steady stream of Qin soldiers were coming toward Hangu Pass. They were all Qin people returning home after the war. At this moment, some had already begun to pack their belongings in a panic, and there were soldiers who saw their families waiting behind Hangu Pass at a glance; they were watching intently, and upon seeing their loved ones return home, they were already streaming with tears.

Two Zhao soldiers wearing Qin armor were also in the ranks; in fact, there were many Zhao people, Yan people, or people from the former Six States in this force, and most of them would fight alongside the Qin Army.

One asked, "Do you think that since we killed so many enemies, the King of Qin will give us land?"

"He will, I suppose. I remember that after many Qi people defected to the Qin state in the past, the King of Qin would also give them land."

A young man in his early twenties smiled toward the west of Hangu Pass; that was the direction inside the pass, and also the direction of home. He grinned as he said, "I still have a mother, an older brother, and a wife waiting for me to return home."

The few were strangers and could only smile awkwardly.

The news of Great General Meng Wu's return was sent all the way from Hangu Pass; as long as the First Emperor's permission was obtained, the great army could enter Hangu Pass and go home.

The news of the great army's return was sent to Xianyang City by fast horses, traveling day and night.

Three days later, an imperial edict from the First Emperor arrived at Hangu Pass, ordering Great General Meng Wu to lead the entire army home.

"Going home! To see mother, to see the wife, to hold the children!"

Cheers erupted from the great army; those two men from Zhao State saw that young man in his early twenties had already followed the army into Hangu Pass, and it turned out this young man had a brother, and the two brothers had gone on the campaign together.

As unit after unit entered Guanzhong from Hangu Pass, Guanzhong, which was in the midst of Spring Ploughing, seemed to regain its vitality and vigor.

The soldiers had all returned home, so there were people to till the fields, and the once-depressed Guanzhong recovered a bit of its spirit.

Outside Xianyang City, Fusu held a land deed map in his hand, while Tian An was nagging in his ear, saying that one must be extremely cautious when using the land; if one could not grow grain or changed the crops to be planted at will, the punishment would be a reprimand from the Emperor at best, or all the servants would go hungry at worst.

Although the Prince would not go hungry, if the servants were starved to death, he would also be punished by the First Emperor.

Fusu saw a family of several people walking together in the distance and said with a smile, "Those must be the soldiers returning home."

Tian An replied, "The Emperor issued an edict, allowing Great General Meng Wu to return."

"No wonder General Meng Tian did not come to escort me today." Fusu held the land deed in his hand and said to Tian An, "Let them plant some wheat; I like to eat wheat."

Tian An nodded slightly.

Fusu then instructed, "The more than ten thousand qing of land on the west side of the Chan River needs to be reclaimed; dig a canal."

Tian An asked in confusion, "Prince, that was not granted by the Emperor."

"Although it is not land granted to me, the Prime Minister did not say I could not use that land, did he?"

Tian An fell silent again.

A few days ago, the words the Prime Minister had conveyed were roughly this meaning: what the Emperor granted was ultimately limited, but the land the Prince could use was a different matter.

As long as it did not affect the ownership of the land, the Prime Minister had plenty of ways to make a matter seem justified.

Now that the first batch of soldiers who attacked the Chu State had returned, and quite a few people had moved in with them, at least there was no need to worry about manpower.

Being a Prince of Great Qin had another benefit, which was not having to worry about one's own family property.

With just one word, Tian An would arrange the Prince's private property perfectly.

Among the Six States of those years, which Prince did not have some private property?

Meng Tian was not by his side to guard him; the one guarding him now was an unfamiliar young general. Fusu looked at this general who was slightly older than himself and asked, "How should I address this general?"

There were many young generals in Qin, and there were also several elderly Grand Generals, and Fusu did not recognize the vast majority of these people.

The other party replied respectfully, "This subordinate is Zhang Han."

As he spoke, he bowed and saluted; he seemed somewhat flustered, his hands were still trembling, and the sword at his waist swayed because he had just let go of it.

Fusu withdrew his gaze and said, "Zhang Han? I haven't seen you before."

"This subordinate..." Zhang Han said with a flustered expression, "This subordinate was previously serving within Xianyang City; it was General Meng Tian who asked this subordinate to come and guard the Prince."

A person's sense of security comes from weapons and one's own strength; the guards by one's side are very important, and often those who hold swords beside those in power can change the situation.

If such a person is loyal, then even if one is surrounded, he can protect you and fight a bloody path out.

If such a person is disloyal, one will not be able to eat or sleep in peace.

Fusu handed him a pancake and said, "Eat something with me."

Zhang Han held his hands high to receive the pancake handed over by the Prince, still maintaining a cautious appearance.

Tian An watched this scene with a meaningful expression.

Fusu continued, "General Zhang Han, can you invite a few people to a meal on my behalf?"

"I do not know whom the Prince wishes to invite?"

Zhang Han still held the pancake bestowed by the Prince with both hands, answering with his head lowered.

Fusu looked into the distance and said, "The Village Head of the five villages west of the Chan River, and the two County Assistants; the location is the old residence of Lv Buwei. Tian An, you go and preside over this matter; I will trouble General Zhang Han to bring the people tomorrow."

"This subordinate obeys the order."

To serve as a guard for Prince Fusu, one had to listen to Prince Fusu's arrangements; he dared not delay and left immediately with his men to handle the matter.

The people of Qin have always been straightforward in their dealings; the next day, Tian An reported that Zhang Han had brought all the people, and the County Assistants and Tingzhangs had all agreed to help the Prince build the canal and irrigate the fields.

Great General Meng Wu had returned, and these days the Imperial Father had been feasting with the Great General.

The atmosphere in Xianyang was also much better than before; with more people returning, the somewhat depressed Xianyang City gradually regained its prosperity.

Great General Wang Jian had led an army of six hundred thousand to fight, which had almost emptied the foundation of Qin; how could Xianyang City not be depressed?

Today, Fusu received a summons from the Imperial Father to feast with the generals and soldiers.

In Zhangtai Palace, Fusu smelled the scent of wine all around; this was the first time he was meeting with many Great Generals in the capacity of a Prince of Great Qin, and it was by the Emperor's edict, appearing extremely formal.

The Emperor's meaning was quite clear, which was that his eldest son had reached a suitable age, and he wanted the various Great Generals of Qin to look after him.

No one dared not give face; since the Emperor had invited the Prince over, as long as the Prince said a word in the future, they would all be willing to go through fire and water.

Looking at the Imperial Father sitting in the seat of honor with a smiling expression, Fusu stood up, faced the several Great Generals, held his wine goblet, and said loudly, "Fusu thanks the Great Generals for fighting for our Great Qin."

After he finished speaking, the various Great Generals bowed one after another.

With the wine in their bellies, the atmosphere in the hall became much better; the Emperor was a bit drunk, so he stood up and left, tacitly allowing everyone to be more relaxed.

With the First Emperor not in the hall, everyone relaxed a lot; Fusu sat beside his teacher, listening to the discussions of the generals around him.

Emboldened by the wine, everyone opened up; once they were a bit drunk, they would talk about some interesting things, or how the women of Chu were beautiful, how the women of Yan and Zhao were fierce...

Or they would talk about where the wine was good, how the soil and water in certain places of Qi State were better, or which place in Chu State had difficult roads and the most wild beasts.

Everyone's words were simple and true, all valuable life experience; Fusu listened patiently, thinking that perhaps he could use them in the future.

"This subject has heard people talk about the affairs of Chan River County; the Prince has done very well."

The teacher's words came from beside him; Fusu took the wine pot warming in the pottery jar nearby and personally poured hot wine into the teacher's bowl.

(End of this chapter)