When the First Emperor was in Xianyang, he was worried about Meng Jiangnu's incident. He thought that the Great Wall was a great national defense project. With it, it could ensure the peace of the people on the border. In addition, the Qin State built roads and canals extending in all directions across the country. This It is also conducive to the development of agriculture and the convenience of transportation. These projects are all very good, but why are so many people opposed to them? One day, the First Emperor summoned the civil and military ministers in Xianyang Palace and asked them about the status of the project. Censor Zhang Cang said enthusiastically: "Your Majesty, there are two people who have made great contributions to the construction of the country, and one of them is actually a woman!" The First Emperor was shocked and said: "Really? Tell me who it is?" Zhang Cang said: "The Bajun Shou reported that there is a widowed old woman named Qing in Zhi County of their county. She is over sixty years old this year, because her family is a big owner of Danxue Mine." The family has a very strong financial background. When the canal was being built in the south, she actually borne half of the cost, and often donated money and materials, making a significant contribution to the construction of the country!"
The First Emperor happily said: "This man is really honorable and upright!" Zhang Cang added: "In addition, the governor of Beidi also reported that there was a big businessman named Ruo in Wushi County of their county. He used silk from the Central Plains people. In exchange for the livestock of the northern nomads, he became rich. He never counted his cattle and sheep, but calculated them by valleys, that is, mountains and valleys. This man also gave away nearly a thousand horses for free He donated land to the border guards and provided cattle and sheep to the army free of charge. When building the highway and the Great Wall, half of the cattle pulling the carts and the mutton eaten by the sergeants were provided by this businessman. As individuals, these two people, It's really rare for someone to contribute to the country like this!" After hearing this, the First Emperor was very happy and said: "These two are my nobles, you should send someone to invite them immediately, I want to see them in person." Zhang Cang sent envoys separately. Go and invite these two people.
Wushi County is located in the southern part of today's Guyuan, Ningxia, and the northern part of Pingliang, Gansu. Because it is close to Xianyang, the big businessman Luo arrived first. The First Emperor received him ceremoniously and then gave him a state banquet. It turns out that this person used to raise sheep by himself, sell them when they grow up, then use the money to buy a large amount of silk fabrics, and then go to nomads to exchange for cattle and sheep. Later, when he had savings, he felt that the cost of raising sheep was too high and was not cost-effective, so he stopped raising sheep. Instead, he used the remaining money to directly buy silk fabrics, and then took the silk fabrics to the north to exchange for nomadic cattle, sheep and horses. The number of cattle and sheep is increasing, so that the valleys are used to count them. When the Qin State built the Great Wall, he built pens for cattle, sheep, and horses in the interior, and then let them graze. With the protection of the Great Wall, the livestock would not be lost. When there were very many livestock, he hired shepherds to tend the sheep. He hired thousands of shepherds, so the business grew bigger and bigger. The biggest one was the deal he made with King Rong. Because King Rong's family usually wore very rough clothes, but now that they had silk fabrics, their family members also wore extremely beautiful clothes. The concubines, princes, and princesses were also very happy. In addition, this man can speak well, and he often praises King Rong, saying that our emperor of Qin often greets you. In order to show his goodwill, King Rong donated cattle and sheep to Luo, which were several times more than the value of silk. Luo then gave the cattle and sheep to the Qin army who was building the Great Wall. Since the Great Wall has been repaired, there is no longer a tense atmosphere of fighting and killing on the border. After listening to Luo's story, the First Emperor felt happy, so he gave the businessman the title of "King of Wushi" and allowed him to ride in a luxurious car and travel in and out of Qin at will, and he could also participate with Qin's ministers. some major events. A little sheepherder has now been conferred a title by the great First Emperor. This is the greatest honor in the world.
After some time, this female entrepreneur from Zhi County, Bajun also came to Xianyang. The First Emperor also welcomed him with very solemn etiquette, and then held a state banquet in honor of him, accompanied by ministers. It turns out that this woman's husband's family is a family that runs the Danxue Mine in Zhi County. She was sixteen when she married into her husband's family. Her husband died two years later, and she became a widower at the age of eighteen. Because she was childless and Qing was very beautiful, many young men in the village wanted to pursue her. Some were greedy for her beauty, some were greedy for her money, and there were also some swingers who were ready to take her forcibly and then pursue her. But Qing was not only strong-willed, but also very smart. She was determined to run the cinnabar mine and to keep her husband's integrity, so she insisted not to marry again. In order to protect her reputation from damage, she often asked her female relatives to follow her. Later, she even formed a team of men to serve as her personal bodyguards. In short, whether at home or out, there are a lot of men and women. She never lets outsiders catch her, just to let people see that she is a chaste woman.
Cinnabar is a very scarce mineral resource with a wide range of uses. It can be used to make cinnabar pigments and as a sedative. It can also be used in surgery to treat skin diseases such as scabies. In addition, cinnabar is both toxic and antiseptic. , so the ancients believed that the golden elixir made from cinnabar could make people immortal. When the First Emperor sought immortality, cinnabar was particularly important and he bought a lot from her. Cinnabar can also refine mercury, so the First Emperor also needed this kind of thing when he wanted to build the Lishan Mausoleum. At that time, the population of Zhixian County was 50,000, and her family had 10,000 miners, as well as private armed forces protecting the mines, so Qing was the leading wealthy woman at that time. Measuring her assets in silver, it would be 700 billion taels; in gold, it would be over 500 billion taels. So she is as rich as the country. The First Emperor respected her very much and treated her with the same courtesy as his elders.
During the Qing Dynasty's stay in Xianyang, the First Emperor also accompanied her to travel around and enjoy the scenery. After she stayed for a while, she asked to go back. On the day before she left, the emperor personally led all the civil and military officials to send her to Shanglin Garden. The Qing Dynasty was very moved and promised to transport all the refined mercury to Lishan Mountain for the First Emperor to build the Daling Mausoleum after returning. He also promised to spend huge sums of money to help Qin build the Great Wall and avenues. The First Emperor gave her the title of "Mrs. Qing".
But this kind-hearted and selfless female entrepreneur, after going through all the bumps along the way, returned home and died of illness not long after. When he died, he left a will: Donate the mine to the country free of charge. Mrs. Qing was not only rich and benevolent, she also went all out to improve the welfare of workers, and actively helped the poor. She made a significant contribution to the prosperity of her hometown and was regarded as a living god by the villagers. When the First Emperor heard about Mrs. Qing's deeds and saw that she had passed away, he felt infinitely sad. He admired this woman very much because she never married again after her husband's death. She was still very young at that time. She worked hard all her life for her husband's huge family business, and she still stayed true to her integrity.
This is a great irony for the prevalence of sexual promiscuity among women in the pre-Qin period, especially the Queen Mother Xuan Miyue of Qin and his mother the Queen Mother Zhao. Because after Ying Zheng ascended the throne at the age of thirteen, his mother and Prime Minister Lu Buwei monopolized power, returned to chaos in the palace, gave birth to an illegitimate son with her lover Lao Ai, and attempted to usurp power. This was inconsistent with the chastity and uprightness of Mrs. Qing. It formed a sharp contrast, so the First Emperor sincerely admired the old widow and issued an edict to the local officials, asking them to build the "Huaiqing Terrace" on Longzhai Mountain in Qianfozhaigou, Mrs. Qing's hometown, so that future generations could He will miss this woman forever, give her the title of "chaste woman", and build a chastity arch for her in recognition.
The First Emperor was moved by the story of Mrs. Qing, so he started the historical precedent of "martial women not marrying two husbands". This was rare in the Qin Dynasty and even in ancient Chinese society. However, from today's perspective, Mrs. Qing's observance of the law and her refusal to marry was only her personal behavior and cannot be promoted among most widows. It is entirely possible for single women to bravely pursue their own happiness only under the premise of moral principles. There is a kind of herbal medicine under the stage of Huaiqing, which has extremely high medicinal value. People call this medicine Ligustrum lucidum and the flower it blooms is called Ligustrum lucidum. They are all named after her. There is a poem "Ligustrum Flower" written by Shan Shan in the Song Dynasty:
Ba Fu was able to patent the elixir point, and the First Emperor called her Nu Huaiqing.
This flower is from the Qintai species, and its red jade burnt branches have a good reputation.
There is a poem from Ming Dynasty praising Mrs. Qing Dynasty:
It is said in Dan Acupoint that you should not fight for the future, use your wealth to protect your country and keep your integrity.
Dragon Ancestor's power dominates the world, but he still builds a high platform and cherishes his wife Qing.
After these two experiences, the First Emperor became more confident, so he once again recruited strong men from all over the world to actively build the country. More importantly, he also quickly built roads for patrols, and asked officials to issue a call for more young men from all over the world. Death's edict.
When the imperial edict arrived in Shandong, the governor of Sishui asked Xiao He to distribute the number of people to each county. In this way, Peixian County will recruit 300 more soldiers. Xiao He knew that Fan Kuai was a strong man and he cherished talents very much. He was afraid that he would be recruited into the ranks of more soldiers, so he wrote a special letter to County Magistrate Zhao, asking him to recruit Fan Kuai quickly and not let him leave Peixian County. When County Magistrate Zhao received Xiao He's letter, he did not dare to neglect it and discussed with everyone the matter of recruiting more soldiers. But Zhou Bo said: "There are not many prisoners in Peixian County. In any case, there is no way to recruit 300 people. Magistrate Zhao was worried about this matter and couldn't think of a good way for several days."
Suddenly one day, the county captain Wanqi suddenly came to the county magistrate and said: "We will recruit strong laborers according to the books and rosters. If there are people who resist the recruitment, we will send officers to catch them. This is the only way now." The county magistrate said: " The people's resistance was very strong. Many people ran away as soon as they heard that more soldiers were to be recruited. Even if they went to catch them, they wouldn't be able to catch them." The county captain said, "I have a way." The county magistrate asked what the way was. The county captain said: "Didn't Sir Xiao ask you to recruit Fan Kuai? This is great. During the last martial arts competition in Peixian County, Fan Kuai lost his temper. Now Sir, please summon Fan Kuai to the county first, and then appoint him as a prison guard." , and asked him and Zhou Bo to go around to capture the people who were resisting the conquest. With their ability, three hundred people could easily levy enough. In this way, Mr. Xiao was satisfied, and the mission of the county guard was completed. What's the point? Why don't you do it?" After hearing this, Zhao Feng was still worried and said: "When I saw the butcher, I felt very unhappy. How can I let him serve as the jailer again?" The county captain said: "My lord, now the court frequently recruits people. There will be another time to recruit soldiers. People are not willing to be soldiers, but the court's laws are extremely strict. If the three hundred soldiers are not collected, what will happen to the county governor? You summon Fan Kuai Come and reuse it, firstly, to satisfy Xiao He, and secondly, to be able to complete this hard work, is it really the best of both worlds?" Zhao Feng agreed after thinking about it.
But after thinking for a long time about who to summon Fan Kuai, he became worried again. The county lieutenant said: "I heard that Cao County Cheng and Fan Kuai are on good terms. I sent Cao Shen to summon Fan Kuai. Fan Kuai will definitely come." County Magistrate Zhao summoned Cao Shen and said to him: "Fan Kuai is a strong man. Last time I sent him The temper is gone, and the county wants to call him to the county to be a jailer and assistant. What do you think?" Cao Shen said: "Sir, I know this man, I'm afraid he won't come." Zhao Feng said: "He remembers me. But this time it's Mr. Xiao He's wish. You go and call him back now. This county must reuse him and never break his promise." Cao Shen couldn't shirk, so he had to agree. The county magistrate then asked people to post notices everywhere in the county calling for more soldiers.
Cao Shen is a powerful official in Peixian County. He has broad cheeks and tiger eyebrows, a black beard and a long beard. He often wears a black official uniform. He is as powerful as an iron tower and has a very majestic body. Because Cao Shen used to manage prisons, he was very familiar with the laws and regulations, and because he often dealt with criminals, he also developed martial arts skills. On this day, he walked out of the lobby, then walked to the stables, took a horse and walked out of the Yamen towards Fengyi.
When Cao Shen came to Fan's Village in Fengyi, he inquired about Fan Kuai's home. One of the villagers said: "The evil man is selling meat in the market town at the entrance of the village." Cao Shen went to the town to find Fan Kuai. But when he came to the store, Fan Kuai was nowhere to be seen, so he asked the waiter: "Where is Master Fan?" The waiter said: "Master Fan never sees anyone from the government!" Cao Shen thought to himself: This must be Fan Kuai's order. , he deliberately avoided seeing it. You can't beg such a straight man to come out to meet, you can only provoke him to come out. He called the waiter and said, "Go to Fan Zhuangshi immediately. I have something important to see him." The waiter went to find Fan Kuai. But after a long time, Fan Kuai was nowhere to be seen. Cao Shen grabbed another boy and said, "Go and call Fan Kuai, or we will destroy the shop and make him do a loss-making business!" Seeing that the momentum was not right, the boy went to look for the owner again. But after going there for a long time, Fan Kuai still didn't come.
