Chapter 59: The Nightmare of the Prince of Chu

In recent days, at dusk, one could always see groups of two or three people walking along the edges of the fields, carefully inspecting the growing crops.

When the wheat ears began to show signs of ripening, a good number of officials arrived in Weinan. Most of them came from Xianyang, traveling here to see whether Weinan had truly yielded such an abundance of grain.

And when they arrived, witnessing with their own eyes tens of thousands of hectares of fertile land teeming with crops, they all marveled that simply digging a canal could bring forth such bountiful fields.

To Fusu, Guanzhong still held immense development potential—a potential that stretched far beyond what was visible before their eyes.

At this moment, Fusu was enjoying mulberries brought from Jingye County and grapes offered as tribute from the Western Regions.

Fusu watched his younger brother, Prince Gao, trying to catch fish in the river shallows.

On the riverbank, his younger sister, Princess Yinman, was pointing at the water where fish were darting about.

Prince Gao bent down and scooped, but caught no fish, only stirring up a cloud of silt from the riverbed, which made the water murky and the fish even harder to find.

Eating a mulberry, Fusu remarked, "I hear the mulberries in Xirong and the Western Regions are larger and sweeter, and they have more grapes than they can possibly eat."

Xing Sheng ate a grape and replied, "Your Highness is quite right. The Western Regions are indeed a land of great wealth."

Fusu asked, "Has anyone been to the Western Regions before?"

Xing Sheng answered, "As early as the reign of Duke Xiao, scouts were sent to the Western Regions. I have heard they did not travel very far. Back then, it was a time when various states were fiercely competing in reforms, and Qin poured all its energy into contending for hegemony against the other six states, naturally leaving no spare effort for the Western Regions."

Having said this, Xing Sheng noticed a thoughtful expression on Prince Fusu's face. It seemed the Prince harbored designs upon the Western Regions. Yet, such a vast empire was not yet settled; the old nobility of the six states, hiding everywhere and plotting the restoration of their states, still remained. How could such an ambition be easily achieved?

Fusu smiled as he watched his brother and sister, continuing to eat his grapes.

The grapes had been presented as tribute to the First Emperor by Xirong and sent here by Prince Gao.

Tian An was busy mending a hemp sack. Prince Fusu was the First Emperor's most beloved child and the prince he relied upon most heavily. Perhaps the First Emperor had permitted the Prince to develop Weinan precisely to temper him.

Before long, failing to catch any more fish, Prince Gao returned in frustration, hugging a large river mussel.

Glancing at his disheveled younger brother, Fusu found it rather surprising. River mussels were indeed plentiful here.

Perhaps because this stretch of the river was protected by the Qin army, villagers from Tongguan were unable to catch river delicacies nearby and had to go further upstream or downstream, leaving the ecosystem of this particular river section much more thriving.

Gao changed into dry clothes and asked, eating a grape, "When will Elder Brother return to Xianyang?"

Hearing this, Fusu looked toward his sister Yinman, who was also watching him, and replied, "Once the harvest here is gathered, I shall return to Xianyang for a visit."

Yinman smiled. "By the time Elder Brother returns, the fish in Gaoquan Palace will all be nice and plump."

Gao added, "These official documents were sent by Royal Father, and the Crown Prince must read them."

Fusu nodded and said, "Very well."

With that, Prince Gao and Princess Yinman boarded their chariot and returned to Xianyang Palace.

Fusu shared the remaining grapes with the two old attendants and turned to read the documents brought by his younger brother.

He first unrolled two or three scrolls. These documents recorded the conditions of various commanderies and counties; Guanzhong had welcomed the flood season in July.

However, other parts of the Central Plains were different: the Chu region suffered from waterlogging, while the Zhao region was plagued by drought.

Reading these dispatches felt to Fusu like observing a terribly fragile civilization—if rain failed to fall for a single month, rivers would dry up and crops would fail completely.

The documents sent by the First Emperor via Prince Gao were like heavy burdens, telling Fusu that this civilization born between the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers remained deeply fragile.

This agricultural society was still primitive. The documents lacked official seals; normally, they should have borne the seal of the Chancellor's Office. Their lack of seals indicated they were transcribed copies meant to be archived in the record repositories.

Deep into the night, Fusu was still reviewing the documents. He selected several scrolls, added his annotations, and instructed Tian An to send them back to Xianyang.

Over the next few days, many more documents arrived from Xianyang, and Fusu even discovered that several scrolls were originals, prompting him to add his notes to those as well.

Afterward, the flow of memorials did not decrease, but nearly all of them were originals.

It was not until late July that Fusu finished processing the documents sent the previous day and had them dispatched back to Xianyang.

Having completed this task, Fusu stepped out of the small courtyard and saw Qingbi and his craftsmen arriving with stacks of scaffolding components.

"Old man here has modified them according to the Prince's requirements."

This was actually modeled after the scaffolding of later generations. Qingbi had known how to build scaffolding before, but the ones they made were neither tall nor complex in design.

Fusu asked, "How many laborers do we have now?"

Qingbi replied, "Your Highness, it is currently the busy farming season. The most laborers we could find are sixty men, provided by the magistrate of Huayin County."

"After the summer harvest, once the busy farming season passes, we will have more laborers."

In the courtyard, Tian An was humming a folk tune while stretching noodles.

Recently, quite a few people had moved into the fields—they literally lived and slept in the fields.

Most likely, the crops in the fields were the only possessions these newly relocated peasants had left.

When they first arrived in Guanzhong, apart from their families and the clothes on their backs, they could be said to possess absolutely nothing.

When Zhang Cang selected these people, the vast majority chosen were those entirely destitute.

Late into the night, when people walked through the fields, they could hear the rise and fall of snoring echoing across the wheat fields. The wheat was nearly ripe, and the people guarded the grain as if guarding their own lives.

Tonight's moonlight was splendid, and there was no rain. Fusu walked along the banks of the Yellow River, watching the moonlight wash over the endless expanse of fields. It was still the height of summer, yet the night breeze offered no real coolness.

Fusu felt fortunate—fortunate that the Chancellor had initially given him three thousand family retainers and several hundred hectares of land.

In this era, as long as you had grain and people, truly nothing could defeat you.

With this foundation as private property, Fusu realized the Chancellor was indeed far-sighted. The Chancellor understood better than anyone what a prince of Qin required, what difficulties he might face in the future, and what resources he would need to resolve those troubles.

Fortunately, for now, the work he was undertaking could still rely on those three thousand retainers and those fields.

What about the future? Fusu gazed up at the bright moon in the night sky, falling into a silent reverie.

He could hardly turn back and blame the Chancellor for not giving him more at the start.

Returning to the small courtyard by the river, Fusu tidied the bookshelves and found the bronze seal of the Grand Master of the Equalities. Before building the Xianyang Bridge, His Majesty had handed this seal to him, and to this day he knew neither its purpose nor whether he should return it.

Could His Majesty have forgotten about it?

Or should he remind His Majesty and return the bronze seal?

Fusu quickly dismissed this thought. The Grand Master's office concerned the empire's horse administration. Since it had not been asked for back, keeping it in his hands might prove useful in the future, much like knowledge.

Fusu did not fear acquiring too much knowledge to digest, and the same applied to power—naturally, the greater the power, the better.

The next day, just past noon, after the court audience in Zhangtai Palace concluded, Ying Zheng arrived at Gaoquan Palace.

Prince Gao had been temporarily staying here and, having learned early on that his Royal Father was coming to Gaoquan Palace, waited outside the grand hall.

Dressed in black, Ying Zheng gazed at Gaoquan Palace and said in a low voice, "Gao, have you been managing all of this?"

Bowing low, Prince Gao replied, "This is merely what your son ought to do."

Before stepping into the hall, Ying Zheng caught sight of two plum trees outside. These plum trees had not grown well.

"Royal Father, Elder Brother has always tended to these two trees."

Ying Zheng nodded and stepped into the main hall. As soon as he entered, he saw rows upon rows of bookshelves lining the interior, making the originally spacious hall appear rather crowded.

On a nearby table, bamboo scrolls lay scattered—these must have been the books Gao had been reading earlier. Ying Zheng picked up one of the scrolls; it was a copy of the *Spring and Autumn Annals*.

Yet Ying Zheng felt that Fusu read books very quickly, grasped the knowledge within them swiftly, and would never leave scrolls scattered about the table in such a messy fashion like Gao.

Fusu was, in truth, a very modest child. That child respected knowledge, valued books, and treated every single scroll with care.

In terms of learning capacity, Prince Gao could never catch up to Fusu in a lifetime.

In terms of modesty and deep contemplation, Prince Gao was also inferior to Fusu.

Seeing his Royal Father browsing his books, Prince Gao eagerly said, "Royal Father, your son wishes to be like Elder Brother and study more."

With an expression as stern as ever, Ying Zheng slowly said, "Li Si once said that Fusu always thinks about autumn in the spring; even during spring plowing, he is already considering the summer harvest. That child looks far ahead."

Gao said with a look of utter adoration, "Royal Father, when will Elder Brother return?"

Ying Zheng put down the scroll and spoke in a low voice, "Soon."

To the attendants accompanying the First Emperor, this was all the answer His Majesty would give. Prince Fusu was currently developing Weinan, and while he might return soon, no one could say on which exact day.

Ying Zheng walked toward the rear hall of Gaoquan Palace, where a spirit tablet was housed—the spirit tablet of Dowager Huaoyang.

Among the guesses of the attendants and court ladies of Gaoquan Palace, it turned out the First Emperor had come today to pay his respects to Dowager Huaoyang.

The space before Dowager Huaoyang's spirit tablet was immaculate. In truth, this was not because Fusu lacked filial piety or because Prince Gao had acted on his own accord, but rather due to instructions left by Dowager Huaoyang during her lifetime.

Looking at the spirit tablet, Ying Zheng said softly, "Grandmother, Fusu is twenty years old now."

When the First Emperor began speaking to the spirit tablet, Prince Gao and all the attendants withdrew from the rear hall.

Inside the rear hall, Ying Zheng continued, "Back then, Grandmother said Fusu showed premature intelligence, and you always warned Fusu never to display such cleverness outwardly, fearing someone might snuff out such a gifted child. Now he is twenty..."

"Grandmother, in the past you worried someone might harm the precocious Fusu, so you constantly protected the child. The Fusu of today is resourceful; he knows what should be done and what should not. In truth, he has long known how to protect himself..."

The group sat outside the doorway of the rear hall. After about half an hour, the First Emperor finally emerged.

Just as he was about to leave Gaoquan Palace, Ying Zheng caught sight of the fishpond in the courtyard and said in a low voice, "Gao, take good care of this place."

Prince Gao stood before Gaoquan Palace to send off the First Emperor.

As they departed Gaoquan Palace, Ying Zheng inquired about the captured King Fuchu of Chu.

An attendant nearby replied, "King Fuchu of Chu resides in the eastern city of Xianyang, amusing himself all day long. Word is he has lost his mind."

Out of regard for Dowager Huaoyang, Ying Zheng had spared the life of King Fuchu of Chu.

With a dark expression, Ying Zheng walked toward Zhangtai Palace and asked, "How did he lose his mind?"

"King Fuchu of Chu worries that the Xiang clan of Chu will come to kill him. The Xiang clan believes it was Fuchu who caused the death of the great Chu general Xiang Yan."

Ying Zheng gave an order: "Summon Li Si."

An attendant immediately went to deliver the command.

Ying Zheng strode up to Zhangtai Palace, entered the main hall, and asked, "Have today's documents been sent to Fusu?"

"The Chancellor has already had them dispatched."

"Good."

Ying Zheng acknowledged and walked into the hall.

Before long, Li Si hurried into Zhangtai Palace.

Ying Zheng informed Li Si of the matter concerning King Fuchu of Chu.

Li Si bowed and said, "This subject believes this matter is of no concern."

Qin had unified the Central Plains; the grievances between the six states and Qin were endless, and the feuds among the old nobility of the six states were equally countless. The messy entanglements of the six-state nobility were beyond counting.

Li Si continued, "The old nobility of the six states are indeed still around, and among them... quite a few are plotting to restore their states."

Ying Zheng's expression grew a shade darker.

Standing upright without a trace of fear, Li Si went on, "People must eat grain. The old nobility of the six states have plotted restoration for years, constantly traveling across various regions to unite with their so-called 'men of ideals.' In truth, those among them with genuine capability are exceedingly few. Most merely use their status as former nobility to wander around cadging free meals, while actually living in extreme poverty."

"How many mouths can the harvest of a single mu of land feed for a year? If they labor not for years on end, they will have no grain..."

Ying Zheng listened to Li Si's endless stream of words. Li Si excelled in Legalist scholarship, so when asked to analyze this issue, he naturally wove together fields, grain, people, and political ambitions.

Li Si argued that lacking sufficient reserves, the rebels could only worry about whether their immediate food supply would last, rendering them incapable of considering long-term matters.

Having heard Li Si's words, Ying Zheng had someone dispatch this problem to Weinan as well, so Fusu could examine the situation.

In Tongguan, Fusu was helping Qingbi tamp down the foundations of the city wall while learning civil engineering knowledge of this era from him, along with various construction techniques.

Every day brought new insights, making Fusu feel that each day was fruitful.

As today's labor ended, Fusu and a group of craftsmen jumped into the river to bathe, instantly washing away the summer heat in the cool water.

In the future, these craftsmen would be able to boast that they had swam in the same river alongside Prince Fusu.

Soaking wet, Fusu returned to the small courtyard, changed into clean clothes, and washed the ones he had taken off. At that moment, Tian An was cooking, and judging by the aroma, they would likely have flatbread today.

Fusu hung his washed clothes in the courtyard to dry.

"Your Highness, you shouldn't be doing these chores," Tian An said as he brought out a bowl of mutton soup and a freshly baked flatbread.

The freshly baked flatbread smelled delicious. Just as Fusu was about to take a bite, he noticed someone approaching the courtyard gate.

Seeing this, Fusu took a bite of the flatbread first. The visitor was about his own age.

It was Master Wu from the Chancellor's Office. Fusu had heard Tian An mention that Master Wu was a fellow townsman of Chancellor Li Si and a disciple of the Chancellor.