Chapter 7: Prince Takes a Liking to Planting Trees

Li Si said, "There are some matters the Prince need not handle personally; it is enough to let others attend to them. Furthermore, some matters should not be handled in the Prince's name. If there are matters that are inconvenient, this subject can step forward on your behalf."

Fusu nodded and said, "Mm, thank you for your guidance, Teacher."

Li Si smiled and nodded, then continued to sit upright.

Most of the people in the hall had someone they could chat with happily, save for the Teacher, who sat alone.

Perhaps it is that most who study the Legalist school have few friends.

The banquet did not end until nightfall. The Teacher saw the various Great Generals off, while Fusu watched the palace maids and Attendants clean up the place.

He then saw a group of Attendants walk out from the rear hall. Fusu looked up and saw his Father, the Emperor, looking somewhat bleary-eyed; it must have been that his afternoon nap had lasted until now.

Fusu rose and bowed, saying, "Father."

Ying Zheng nodded slightly, took a cloth to wipe his face, then sat down and asked, "You and Li Si are very close. Some have submitted remonstrances, asking Me to arrange other teachers for you."

No sense of worry could be heard from Father's voice.

Seeing boxes of Bamboo Slips being carried up, one could tell by the scene that he was about to handle state affairs again.

Fusu replied, "Father, those who submitted remonstrances are mostly harboring ulterior motives."

"What motives do they have?"

Ying Zheng's voice was low, his gaze already fixed upon the Bamboo Slips.

Fusu bowed and replied, "Father, the so-called 'instruction' for your son is actually a pretext for the ulterior motives of those who remonstrate. They worry that your son will become a person like Li Si; they fear Li Si, and they fear even more that a Prince of Great Qin will become the next Li Si."

"A single Li Si makes them afraid?"

Fusu nodded.

The hall was quiet for a moment longer; even the palace maids and Attendants walking about softened their movements.

Standing below, Fusu could even hear Father's occasionally heavy breathing.

Facing Father, Fusu wanted to speak again, but saw Father wave his hand, signaling for him to leave.

"Your son takes his leave." Fusu bowed once more and exited the great hall.

He could not even say three or two sentences in a single meeting. Standing outside the hall to put on his shoes, the night sky outside was like ink, with only a few stars twinkling.

Today is a new moon; the slender moon hangs silently in the night sky.

Fusu walked on the road back to Gaoquan Palace, thinking to himself that although he did not know how Father usually got along with Li Si, he also did not know how Father had gotten along with Lv Buwei in the past.

It is currently the busiest Spring Ploughing season in Guanzhong. He heard there were still a pile of matters in the court, and these matters all had to be arranged by Father and the Teacher.

It had been several days since he last saw the Teacher, though Fusu would occasionally see the scrolls sent by the Teacher, learning of some recent events in the court.

However, the Prince of Great Qin still had no power, nor could he involve himself in power.

Aside from the identity of being the First Emperor's son, he could barely manage to say a word or two in front of Father.

Recently, Prince Fusu has acquired a new hobby; the Prince has actually taken a liking to planting trees.

The weather is currently turning from cold to warm; by noon, the sunlight can even make one feel a bit sweaty. In the distant fields, there are still farmers working.

Fusu finished planting this tree, then stood up and looked up.

The saplings he planted were water-green trees and mountain-white trees. As luck would have it, he also discovered a pear tree sapling in Shanglin Park, so he transplanted that as well.

Fusu washed his hands using water from the canal and looked up to see that in the distance, there was also a family eating in the fields.

Taking the bowl of bean rice handed over by Tian An, Fusu also watched the other family eat. It was a family gathered in a circle, like a family of several brothers and sisters, each taking out their own food, then sharing it among the family.

The people of Qin are very simple; their way of eating is also very simple. Wherever they work, they eat there. During the farming season, both meals of the day are finished in the fields.

And their entire day is also spent in the fields.

Fusu ate the bean rice, admiring the scene of Spring Ploughing. The strength of Great Qin is closely related to the land; in other words, the reason Great Qin is able to be strong is because of the fields. Great Qin distributed fields to the common people, and people exchanged Military Merit for fields, which also brought the Qin Army invincible combat power.

The more books he read, the more he understood the true face of the Feudal System.

In the ancient Feudal System, ordinary farmers could not privately possess land; farmers had no ownership of the land. At that time, land was held only by kings, nobles, and grandees, with an extremely exaggerated gap between rich and poor.

The so-called fiefdom was a vast territory handed over to one person, and then this person was the king. A king occupied the land within the territory and then distributed the land to his grandees.

So it is said, "Are kings, nobles, and generals born of noble stock?" But everyone wants to become a king, noble, or general who possesses everything.

Yet Shang Yang gave the common people land, gave them fields they could use, fields that could grow grain, and thus they had a home where they could take root.

So, is the current Qin Law truly harsh?

Fusu sighed. In fact, Qin Law is not harsh at all, and it is better than the laws of any of the Six States.

Qin Law pays great attention to detail; it is rigorous but not tyrannical, and it is very compassionate toward the common people. The Qin Law teaches the people how to farm, and Qin Law is meticulous about state affairs.

The reason they say Qin Law is harsh is mostly because they fear Qin Law, and they dare not implement Qin Law to harm their own interests.

For some reason, Fusu felt a sense of desolation in his heart, and he did not know if this world today could bring any comfort to Shang Yang's heart.

Fusu had never met Shang Yang, but for some reason, he understood Shang Yang very well and admired Shang Yang.

After finishing the bowl of bean rice, Fusu noticed a shifty gaze not far away. It was a girl dressed in simple clothing; it seemed she noticed his gaze and hurriedly dodged, lowering her head.

She was still wearing thick, black-gray clothes, sitting beside her parents, head lowered as she ate.

Fusu did not mind; he handed the empty bowl in his hand to Tian An. Seeing Zhang Han bringing men to deliver more saplings, he continued to plant trees.

Everyone in the entire Qin is very busy. The First Emperor is busy with his earth-shattering great cause, Li Si is busy fulfilling his ambitions and career, and the officials of Qin are riding horses, rushing along the official roads, delivering documents, and dispatching officials.

There are also the people of Qin, busy rushing to farm according to the season.

It seems everyone is very busy; Fusu feels that only he is the most idle.

Mm, I suppose I am the only one with nothing to do.

Fusu heard that after Wang Wan left Xianyang, he traveled five hundred li in three days; he did not know if it was true or not.

For an old gentleman of his age to still be able to travel like that, it can be considered a heaven-sent talent.

"Prince, the Well Canal has been dug."

Hearing this, Fusu washed the mud from his hands and followed Zhang Han to the bank of the Chan River. This place was originally a stretch of dry plateau, and also a piece of wasteland with higher terrain.

This place was even more of a saline-alkali land, and thus had remained barren.

A gust of wind blew past, stirring up the sand and dust on the ground. Fusu put on a bamboo hat to shield himself from the sun and arrived at the side of the Well Canal.

Zhang Han said, "Prince, the Well Canal here is easy to dig; we finished clearing it in three days."

According to Zhang Han's account, the excavation of the Well Canal was exceptionally smooth, but the single well before them was far from meeting the standards of the Longshou Canal.

There was no helping it; Zhang Han's manpower was limited. It was the season of Spring Ploughing, and ploughing and warfare had always been the top priorities for Qin.

Now that the fighting had ceased, ploughing was the only top priority, so naturally, they dared not mobilize manpower for large-scale canal excavation.

Fusu looked back and saw the two County Assistants and five Village Heads who were fawning over him. The County Assistants appeared to be middle-aged, while the Village Heads looked to be only sixteen or seventeen years old.

Fusu asked, "Are the Village Heads here all so young?"

They were quite a distance away, so the County Assistants and Village Heads naturally dared not approach; the Prince was surrounded by guards holding swords.

Although the others could not hear their conversation, Zhang Han still replied in a low voice, "Prince, Guanzhong is not like other places. Back when we were conquering the Six States, the manpower of Guanzhong was all sent away. Sometimes, a Village Head would take all the men from their respective township to fight; often, once they left, it was the Village Head leading all the men of a township."

"It is because their elders died in battle that the positions of Village Head were passed down to their children, which is why they are so young."

Upon hearing this, Fusu stood where he was, silent for a long time.

Tian An had someone give rewards to the Village Heads and several villagers in the rear, then handed over a scroll of cloth, saying, "This is the map the Prince ordered to be drawn."

Spreading this map out on the ground, Fusu found it hard to recall what the original Longshou Canal looked like, though he did know for certain about Shangyan Mountain.

It was a good thing that the current Shangyan Mountain was still called Shangyan Mountain.

The Longshou Canal had to pass through a mountain range several miles wide, and it required digging an underground channel beneath the mountain; only by connecting the downstream to the Wei River could the majority of the work be considered complete.

Fusu tied a hemp rope to a bucket and lowered the wooden bucket down. The sound of water came from the Well Canal, and he pulled up some murky water.

The water quality was actually very good; as long as it settled for a few days, it would become clear.

Zhang Han said, "The villagers upstream even came to cause trouble, but I drove them back."

Fusu said, "It is no matter. If we can irrigate the fields, we can share some with those upstream."

Tian An whispered, "Actually, many people wanted to visit the Prince today. They are all waiting at that residence in Xianyang City."

"What kind of people are they?"

"Some say they are disciples of Xunzi, or old friends of the Prime Minister, and others are those who have heard of the Prince's virtuous reputation and came to pay their respects."

Fusu poured the water onto the wasteland nearby and instructed, "Zhang Han."

"This subordinate is here."

"Have some beans planted."

"This subordinate obeys."

As the most idle person in Guanzhong now, Fusu had plenty of time to do some meaningless things. In the eyes of Tian An and the others, the Prince of Qin should take this opportunity to build more connections.

Tian An's intentions were mostly the Emperor's intentions, and also the thoughts of Prime Minister Li Si.

But the world was so beautiful; it would be too much of a waste to spend all this good time dealing with those people.

After Fusu walked away and looked back, he saw a group of children surrounding the spot, vying to look at the Well Canal.

Fusu suddenly thought, in the eyes of his teacher... haha, I am also a child.

Shangyan Mountain was situated by the Luo River. With this mountain stretching across, both sides of the mountain were wasteland, difficult to irrigate.

I really want to see this beautiful world everywhere, to see the Yellow River before it changed course, to see the beautiful Hangu Pass of today, or to stand at Jieshi and gaze at the vast sea in the east.

Zhang Han was a very diligent person; as long as he was given some favor and care, he could do the work of ten people by himself.

Arriving at the foot of Shangyan Mountain, Zhang Han had hunted two rabbits on the mountain at some point.

By the afternoon, these two rabbits were roasted by Zhang Han.

From hunting, killing the rabbits, roasting the rabbits, to accompanying the Prince on a walk along the way, and not neglecting to guard the Prince—this man probably had something to do every moment, and every moment he was serving Great Qin with loyalty and devotion.

As Fusu ate the rabbit meat, he saw a flock of birds land in a meadow. When the wind blew, ripples stirred across the grass, and the flock of birds took flight once more, flying toward the distance.

The Guanzhong of now was very beautiful; the Yellow River had not yet flooded the fields due to a raised riverbed, and Guanzhong was not yet suffering from sandstorms from the Loess Plateau.

Perhaps, one could even see herds of rhinoceroses in the south.

It was said that even the Xiongnu in the north had endless flocks of sheep. Fusu sighed, "Guanzhong is so beautiful. Such a beautiful Guanzhong should have more trees planted to make it even more beautiful."

Zhang Han stood to the side, silent.

News regarding the Prince soon reached the palace. Li Si, who was discussing with the Emperor how to handle the Chu region, stood up and said, "Emperor, many prisoners of war have been brought from the Chu region recently. Since both sides of Shangyan Mountain are wasteland, why not hand them over to cultivate it?"

Ying Zheng nodded slightly.

Li Si added, "Emperor, I will arrange this matter."

"I have heard that many people have been wanting to pay respects to Fusu recently." Ying Zheng took out a Bamboo Slip and threw it onto Li Si's desk, saying, "This was given to me by Chunyu Yue. He said that famous scholars of the Six States came to pay respects to Prince Fusu, yet the Prince refused to see them. This matter has left the scholars of the Six States disappointed, and he even said that Fusu is perhaps too self-important."

Ying Zheng said in a deep voice, "I know you have always been at odds with Chunyu Yue, but!"

The Emperor's words paused, and Li Si had already stood up, bowing with his hands cupped.

"But no matter what you teach Fusu, the Prince of Qin cannot be caught between you and the famous scholars of the Six States, even if he is Chunyu Yue."

Leaving Zhangtai Palace, Li Si's pace was fast; he now really wanted to have that fellow Chunyu Yue executed at the marketplace.

The First Emperor was right; the Prince could not become a bargaining chip in his secret struggle with Chunyu Yue.

That is to say, even if he and Chunyu Yue fought to the death, it should have nothing to do with the Prince.

In other words, something like the Wang Wan affair could only happen once; no one could use the Prince.

Even if the Prince made a mistake, the only person who could reprimand the Prince was the First Emperor himself.

Walking out of Xianyang Palace, Li Si kept a straight face and gave up the thought of executing Chunyu Yue, beckoned the servants waiting there, gave a few instructions, and then left.

Recently, a turtle had appeared in the fish pond of Gaoquan Palace; this was also presented by Zhang Han. Fusu threw it into the pond and paid it no more mind.

Meng Tian was usually a man of few words, but he was very dignified. Being the son of Meng Wu, he also held great prestige in the army; he did not need to fawn over anyone to have a bright future.

Zhang Han, however, was different. Although he also came from a prominent family, he had no backing in Xianyang. Without a patron, having finally obtained an opportunity, he would naturally work very hard.

Recently, there were two pieces of news that were not very pleasant: a man named Zhang Liang was gathering various old nobles to prepare for a rebellion against Qin, and there was another man named Xiang Liang, whose whereabouts were still unknown.

"Prince, the Prime Minister has sent one thousand men to General Zhang Han, and the General is currently leading them to excavate the Well Canal."

"Teacher, where did these men come from?"

"They say they are prisoners of war from various states."

Fusu sipped his tea and sighed with emotion, saying, "Teacher, you are truly providing all-out assistance."

(End of chapter)