Three days later.
Ji Heng and others set off.
Not as the eldest son, but as an official under the Yushifu who compiled the history of Qin.
There were less than ten people traveling with us.
Fusu is now a "Shaoli" with an official rank of two hundred stones. He wears a bronze official seal around his waist. Different from the square ones of later generations, the official seal of the Qin Dynasty is round and thin in shape, much like a coin. On the back It is like a button with a yellow ribbon tied through a small hole.
This is the lowest official seal.
That is, the copper seal and the yellow ribbon.
They did not have a carriage for this trip.
But an ox cart.
The Golden and Stone Rules of the Qin Dynasty stipulates: There are official officials in the capital and stingy husbands who have left the official position, each of whom has one person to support, and his assistant, historian, and others will support them together; there are ten people, one chariot and one oxen, and one person who sees the oxen.
Each 'ranked' official can be assigned a 'yang', who is responsible for cooking for the ranked official and his deputy 'zuo', secretary 'shi' and others. The ranked official and his subordinates, each One ox cart can be equipped for ten people.
This trip was very simple.
In addition to Ji Heng, Fusu, and Hu Hai, there are also Gongzi Gao and Gongzi Jianglu.
The remaining five are attendants.
Ji Heng and four young masters were sitting on an ox cart. There were many bamboo slips piled on the cart, some were blank and some recorded the history of Qin. The five attendants followed on foot.
The bullock cart moves very slowly.
But the young masters in the car didn't care about this, and looked around curiously, as if they were seeing the world for the first time.
This is a completely new experience.
In the past, even if they went out of the city, they were tightly protected. They basically never had any contact with the outside world, and they still maintained such a relaxed attitude.
Ji Heng turned sideways, leaning on the wooden board, holding a bullwhip, and swung it hard. He was now the 'raiser'. The buffalo was in pain and let out a mooing cry, and its four hooves swung wider. For a while, the group of people drove away from Xianyang in such a leisurely manner. The tall city gradually disappeared, and what came into view was a field.
After walking for a while, the nervous mood of the young masters seemed to relax.
Ji Heng looked at the long scroll of mountains and rivers in the water area, and could not help but think of Sima Xiangru's "Zixu Fu" in his mind, and said softly: "It's as if eight rivers are diverging, and they are opposite to each other. From east to west, from north to south, there are pools flowing back and forth, beyond the boundaries of Jiaoqiu." , traveling to the Puzhou Yuzhipu."
Fusu smiled and said: "Although I am deep in the palace, I have also heard the old Qin people's proverb: Nine waters and eighteen pools, eight hundred miles from east to west."
"This sentence means that Guanzhong is rich in water and the mountains and rivers are beautiful."
"The mountains and rivers of our Great Qin are also known as land and sea."
Ji Heng frowned slightly.
Today's Guanzhong is indeed uniquely endowed.
It is completely different from the scarcity of water resources in later generations.
The "Nine Waters" mentioned by Fusu are not empty words, but there are actually Nine Waters.
That is, Weishui, Jingshui, Fengshui, Luoshui, Bashui, Chanshui, Pianshui, Jianshui and Laoshui.
These nine waters are all surging waters with tributaries. If the tributaries are included, the number of large and small rivers in Qinchuan will be at least fifty, and the Qin State is divided into counties. It is also known that each county has its own mountains and rivers. ' said, this also shows that the Qinchuan confluence lake is now balanced and rich.
As for the Eighteen Pools, they are eighteen large and small lakes distributed in Qinchuan, which is 800 miles away.
It is rich in water, fertile fields for farming, surrounded by mountains and rivers, and difficult to invade.
This is Qin Chuan.
It is also a place recognized by the world as a beautiful place since the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.
This soil gave birth to the Zhou people who created a ritual civilization based on a profound farming tradition, and also gave birth to the Qin people who were half farmers and half pastoralists and finally shocked the world with their agricultural and legal civilization.
However, in ancient times, there were still floods here, frequent floods, and majestic mountains and Xiangling mausoleums.
When this water town of Zeguo truly became a land of water benefit, it would have to start with Dayu's control of the water and the dredging of the river into the sea. It was also after Dayu controlled the water that the Qinchuan water system began to calm down, and all the rivers returned to the river and the river entered the sea. The way out, the blind torrent of rampant water, has completely disappeared.
It was governed by the people of Zhou and Qin.
Nowadays, the floods in Qinchuan have been greatly reduced, the waterways are unblocked, and the fertile and arable land has increased greatly. This is the current grand scene of a large river basin, wells and fields, many cities built, and continuous villages.
This is why it became the birthplace and cohesion of Chinese civilization.
Flood control has now entered the Chinese culture.
Ji Heng looked at the continuous water in front of him and felt quite sad. Who would have thought in this world that the Qinchuan land and sea, with abundant water, would become a land covered by white dust and lack of water resources in the future?
The oxcart went all the way west.
After walking for nearly two hours, everyone entered the open central part of Qinchuan.
But there were only a few people in the fields in front of me.
Moreover, not only are there few people, but it is rare to see strong men working in the fields. Except for the white-haired old man and the children in charge, almost all the others are women. At the moment, these people are in the fields, bending over to pull out the new seeds planted in the fields. of barnyard grass, and at the same time plowing the ground with iron weeds to loosen the soil.
The young masters who were talking and laughing in front immediately became quiet.
The fields in Mengdong in October looked particularly cold due to their emptiness and loneliness, and the breeze under the sun also carried a bit of chill.
Young Master Gao Ning said: "It is already the Mengdong season, why are they still plowing the fields?"
"And why did I see so many strong men?"
It was quiet all around.
No one spoke to answer.
Only the buffalo walking in front shook its head.
It seems to be expressing ignorance.
After hesitating for a moment, the attendants who accompanied him said slowly: "Back to the young master, Meng Dongzhiyue, the government is building the city and guarding the border, while the chief officer of Guizhou is responsible for guarding against the winter, checking the doors, windows, and firewood for the winter."
"Ding Zhuang. Maybe he went to stock up on hay and firewood."
Hear the words.
Fusu and others nodded slightly.
Ji Heng suddenly pulled the reins and stopped the cart.
Fusu and others looked surprised.
Ji Heng pointed to the field and said indifferently: "If you want to know the specific reason, just go over and ask. Why are you acting so coquettishly here? It's only a few steps away. It's just a rest for the cows."
Young Master Gao's expression froze.
Sitting aside with an awkward expression, he looked at Fusu slightly awkwardly.
Clearly a bit overwhelmed.
Fusu's face was slightly solemn. He looked at the old, weak, women and children working in the fields, and nodded, saying: "Mr. Ji is right, we are only a few steps away, so we should go and ask. We are not just for fun this time. We should go deep into the local area and understand the sentiments of the people.”
Said.
Fusu jumped out of the bullock cart and strode towards the figure on the ground.
Young Master Gao and Young Master Jiang Lu looked at each other and followed quickly. Hu Hai showed a hint of hesitation in his eyes, and finally did not choose to get out of the car. The attendants hardly hesitated, holding swords in hand, and wanted to follow, but were blocked by Ji. Heng stopped drinking.
Ji Heng said coldly: "Have you forgotten your identities?"
"You are protecting me, not them."
"Remember your duty."
"If they can't even fend off a few old, weak, women and children, and encounter other dangers along the way, then why do they still need people to keep an eye on them? They are here to go deep into the place, not to play. If they can't even protect themselves, If you die, you will die."
Several attendants looked at each other.
They didn't dare to accept this. Ji Heng dared to say it, but they didn't dare to admit it. If something happened to that young master, it would really be a big deal.
Ji Heng looked indifferent.
He will not give these gentlemen any face.
They are not 'young masters' at the moment, but just a few ordinary officials. Even officials can't protect themselves, so they might as well die, otherwise they will die early or die late. Besides, they are here to get in-depth contact with the local area. , if you don’t even dare to go to the fields, what is the difference between it and cheating?
the other side.
After Fusu measured it for a while, he walked towards the two figures who bowed their heads.
A woman and a young boy.
Fusu bowed and said, "May I ask, eldest sister, why are there so few men in this field?"
The woman who was plowing the ground with an iron shovel stopped what she was doing and glanced at the visitor suspiciously. Her yellow and thin face was filled with numbness. When she saw the official clothes on Fusu's body, her eyes immediately flickered. There was a hint of nervousness, and he pinched the corners of his clothes with his hands nervously.
Fu Suzuo bowed and said, "Sister, don't be nervous."
"I was just passing by here and I was a little surprised to see you still in the fields during the winter season. It is not the time of spring plowing and autumn harvest. Even if the fields are leveled, when winter comes, the loose fields will be close together again. Why do you want to Are you loosening the soil and plowing it now?"
The woman raised her head tiredly and wiped her sweat, and said calmly: "You are really good at joking, man? You still don't know where the man has gone? Who has a man in the past few years? Men are precious."
"Just the two of us, if we don't loosen up the fields in advance, how can we finish it by the time of spring plowing?"
"The land rent you charge will not be less."
Fusu looked embarrassed and asked tentatively: "Man, are you doing corvee service?"
"If you're not an emperor, what man doesn't want to be at home? It took two years to build the Great Wall, which is a long way away." The woman said coldly, and kept wiping the sweat on her forehead with her thick black hands.
"Mom, don't be sad, there is still me," the young man whispered.
The woman's face suddenly darkened with hatred, and she said angrily: "You? You haven't grown up. When you grow up, you won't build the Great Wall, or you will be like your uncle and go to the south to be a refugee. It's a hard life, and you won't You know when it’s over.”
"I used to say it would be fine after the war."
"Now that the war is over, life has not improved, but the man has disappeared."
"It's better to be at war,"
"At least then I can still see my man every year."
Fusu looked embarrassed and fell silent for a moment.
He had no excuse.
He looked at the young man and said seriously: "Young man, your father will come back, and it won't be long."
"The days will get better and better."
Finished.
Fusu bowed deeply to the woman, but did not dare to stay any longer and left as if running away.
He has no face to face a woman's anger.
Young Master Gao and General Lu also bowed deeply to the woman and left in a hurry. On the way back, none of the three of them spoke.
The atmosphere was very depressing and gloomy.
When the three returned to the bullock cart, Ji Heng glanced at them lightly and did not ask. He just asked his entourage to pull the buffalo grazing on the roadside back to the road, then whipped it hard, and the group continued Hit the road.
At dusk, Qin Ting arrived.
(End of chapter)
