After that, everything was still fine. Some edicts often came from Ying Zheng. Feng Quji could basically handle them. I would participate, but I rarely expressed opinions and focused on learning. Again, in addition to modern knowledge, the wisdom of the ancients is no worse than that of a person who has received higher education, and I am also happy to be free.
Some people froze to death in Epang Palace and Lishan Mausoleum. For Zhang Han and Bai Chong, this was commonplace and not surprising, as long as it did not affect the project.
As for promoting some new things, firstly, there is no Mo family or similar people around me, so it is difficult to implement. Secondly, except for the pulleys, which are indeed used well, there has been no new news from Mengtian. I want them to make such a You still need to practice how to use fine iron tools, as the effects will not be seen in a short time.
Moreover, this winter has been much longer than before. Huns’ herdsmen, cattle and sheep suffered numerous casualties. Touman Chanyu failed to launch the expected offensive in the spring. It will take a short time to see the effect, so I am too lazy to waste my energy anymore. It’s exhausting.
At the same time, in order to avoid being found inappropriate in front of people I know well, except for discussing some matters with Feng Quji at the Prime Minister's Mansion, I rarely go out. Shusun Tong came to see me many times during the period, and I always asked the white-collar son of the middle-class concubine to stay. The excuse was to avoid seeing him, and the reason was easy to say: Yingzheng was not in Xianyang, and it was not convenient for me to have too much contact with the ministers.
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However, at the beginning of spring, I asked Meng He and Laner to accompany me around Xianyang City.
After being bored in Xianyang Palace all winter, I have long wanted to go out for a walk, but there is really nothing to see in Xianyang City in winter. There is no business to sell in winter, and people wandering on the street are afraid of stepping in a pit. Apart from firewood sellers, the only people staying outside during this season are those freezing to death on the streets.
It coincided with the spring equinox, the weather was getting warmer, everything was recovering, and the city's popularity was gradually increasing, so I took Meng He and Lan'er to visit Xianyang City together.
Xianyang City is the capital of the Qin State. It has a relatively large flow of people and a lot of people coming and going for business. There are quite a lot of things for sale in the market, including livestock and poultry, grains, fruits and vegetables, cloth and silk garments, copper pottery pots, various farm tools, etc., are all for sale. In addition, hotels and restaurants can be found everywhere. However, most industries are government-run, such as salt, iron, paint, civil engineering, and a considerable number of handmade products, which are restricted to private manufacturing and sales.
However, it can be seen from the relatively prosperous business of the Qin Dynasty that although the Qin Dynasty focused on agriculture and suppressed business, the profit-seeking characteristics of the Qin people did not allow this social system to be faithfully implemented.
Huainanzi, a book written in the Western Han Dynasty, once commented on the Qin State: "The customs of the Qin State are to be greedy for the wolf and strong, to be ungrateful and to seek profit." This has been recognized by many people. It is understandable that Qin's development ideas and history, including Shang Yang's reform that restricted commerce, will definitely lead to Qin people having such characteristics, and Qin people are afraid of poverty!
There are two other phenomena that caught my attention.
While wandering around the market, I looked at a shed where trading was going on. There were many people tied up with ropes in the shed, mostly men and only one or two women. Next to me, a man in brocade was handing over money to the owner of the shed. , and then left with two of the kidnapped people.
I asked Meng He in disbelief: "Are you selling people?"
Meng He lowered his head and said, "Yes, Your Highness, these tied people are slaves."
Then I thought about it, there were slaves in the Qin State, and many of the people who were building the Great Wall and the Lishan Mausoleum were slaves. But suddenly it appeared in front of me in the form of a sale, and I didn't react for a while. The Qin Dynasty was the beginning of two thousand years of feudal society, but there was still trading of slaves?
I was thinking as I walked, and unknowingly I came to a secluded place, and saw a courtyard appearing in front of me. Two peach trees were planted in front of the courtyard, and they were already in full bloom. There were two big words written on the plaque: Peach Pavilion.
It was just time to have breakfast. I was tired after shopping for a long time, so I walked in with Lan'er and Meng He. After all, we are now considered prominent people, so we can find a good restaurant to experience the feeling of being a rich person!
As soon as we arrived at the door, a boy took us in. Once inside, we found a completely different world.
There are two wing rooms on both sides, and three two-story attics in the middle. The first and second floors are connected by a covered bridge. The gray-white building is hidden among the peach blossoms, mixed with the willows that have just sprouted green buds, which is a beautiful sight.
Visually, the total area of the three buildings is almost the same as the main palace of my crown prince. The reason for building it this way is simply that I want to build it bigger but I am afraid of exceeding the limit. Qin Fa is relatively tolerant of this, as long as you are not alone. If the building area exceeds the limit, they will generally not care about you. And to be able to occupy such a large area in the city, there must be some background.
The waiter took us into the loft in the middle. The hall on the first floor was decorated with many newly folded peach branches and willow branches. On the second floor were guest rooms. Several people were already seated in the hall, but none of them had ordered yet.
Meng He and I found a place to sit down and said with a smile: "'The beauty of peach blossoms shines brightly', it seems that the owner here loves peach blossoms."
Lan'er whispered: "Your Highness, the peach blossoms are indeed quite beautiful."
Meng He also nodded in agreement.
I reminded: "Just call me Young Master, don't make us look like thieves."
Lan'er giggled and said, "Yes."
At this time, a boy came over, handed us a roll of white silk, and said, "Master, please take a look!"
I took the white silk and asked curiously: "Is your store so luxurious that you use white silk for the menu?"
The boy didn't reply. He didn't even raise his head after handing me the white silk, which made me feel uncomfortable for a while.
After opening the white silk, I was even more confused. I saw that there was only one personal name on the white silk, and it seemed that they were all women's names. Each person had an introduction at the back, including what kind of piano they could play, what kind of dance they could dance, and what kind of poems they could write. , what kind of paintings can you make...
I was dumbfounded. This didn't seem to be a place to eat, but more like... some kind of place to do bad things. But did it exist in the Qin Dynasty? It's not appropriate...
Meng He saw my expression and asked cautiously: "Sir, is it too expensive? How about we change the store?" Lan'er also looked at me doubtfully. She has hardly spent the emperor's reward for so many years. Why are you so scared after eating in a restaurant?
Just when I was embarrassed, a woman walked over with a smile on her face. She was wearing a white linen skirt with a deep skirt. She was in her twenties and her appearance was quite beautiful. She did not use any makeup on her face to add a touch of purity.
When I got closer, the woman said to me, "Is this your first time coming to Tao Pavilion, sir?"
I nodded and said nothing, really not knowing what to say.
The woman continued to ask: "My name is Taoyao. I have met the young master. May I ask his surname?"
"Names are the representation of people. Since I am here, why do I need to know names?" I said with a smile.
The woman named Tao Yao did not hesitate and saluted: "Young master is right. I think you already know the purpose of Tao Pavilion. I see that the master is not a person of this kind, so I won't keep him much, so I will send him off."
I was slightly stunned. It was easy to chase people away, but I didn’t want to stay here any longer. He bowed his hands and said in return: "Farewell!"
Then he took Meng He and the others out of Tao Pavilion. After doing this, I lost my mood to continue walking outside. I took the two of them back to the palace without even eating. The two of them looked at me and didn't dare to ask questions.
The first time I came into contact with the outside world, I made a big fuss. I lost interest in going out for shopping and started to retreat into retreat mode again.
