Chapter Thirty-Four: The Young Master’s Power

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Until the sun began to slant westward, Prince Fusu remained standing before Zhangtai Palace. The guards on duty had already been replaced once, yet the court assembly showed no sign of ending.

Several eunuchs standing behind him had long since grown sore-footed. But Prince Fusu was still standing there, eyes closed as though deep in thought, without moving an inch.

At last, a jumble of voices drifted over, followed by the intermittent sound of footsteps.

The dense footfalls suggested that everyone was in a great hurry.

Fusu looked up and saw the assembled officials in their court robes descending the steps of Zhangtai Palace in groups of two and three, conversing among themselves.

At the very front were the scholars from Qi and Lu. Their numbers at court had been steadily increasing.

From their conversation, it was clear that they were discussing various matters concerning the rites of Zhou.

Leading this group of scholars was Chunyu Yue.

Fusu did not consider himself particularly familiar with Chunyu Yue, but when the man approached and bowed, Fusu returned the gesture with both hands clasped before him.

Compared with the Chunyu Yue he had seen two years earlier, the man seemed to have aged more than a decade in the years since Li Si had become Chancellor of Great Qin.

“I hear that Your Highness has completed the Xianyang Bridge.”

Fusu replied, “Yes. I have come especially to report it to Father.”

Chunyu Yue inclined his head slightly, then departed with the group of scholars.

On the higher steps of Zhangtai Palace, Zhang Cang, who had not yet descended after the court assembly, also noticed Prince Fusu.

Li Si sauntered over and said, “Your Highness could easily have sent someone else to report the completion of the Xianyang Bridge.”

Zhang Cang slowly lowered his head. “This matter should have been reported to His Majesty by me.”

Li Si smiled again. “Was this something else you taught the prince?”

“I do not know what the Chancellor means.”

Hearing the slight unease in his voice, Li Si lowered his own and said, “This is quite good as well. They may not know why the prince is standing here waiting for the court assembly to end, but surely you and I can see it plainly?”

Zhang Cang took a small step backward.

Li Si lightly patted him on the back and murmured, “The prince has grown up. The prince wants power.”

Zhang Cang still wore a furrowed brow and remained bent in the posture of obeisance.

“Ever since Shang Yang’s reforms, Qin has followed the principle that authority goes to those who render merit. The prince has completed the Xianyang Bridge. If he wishes to obtain greater authority, naturally he must come to Zhangtai Palace in person.”

As he listened to the Chancellor, Zhang Cang remained bent in salute, saying nothing.

Li Si smiled, savoring the thought. Could Zhang Cang truly not see it?

Heh. Chunyu Yue, on the other hand… had most likely seen through it already.

Zhang Cang never let a word slip from his mouth, leaving Li Si uncertain how he might gain a hold over the man.

A Prince Fusu who desired power was certainly no bad thing. Li Si felt that Qin was blessed beyond measure to have such an ambitious prince.

The prince’s actions and motives filled Li Si with genuine delight. Otherwise, to whom could the future of Great Qin be entrusted? Naturally, to the prince who was now coming of age and had already begun to show the first glimmerings of his edge: Prince Fusu.

Who had said that after living beside the Xianyang Bridge for nearly a year, the prince had almost forgotten the affairs of court?

Who had said that he had done nothing during that year beside the bridge?

Who had said that a prince who had overseen the digging of canals for two years and the construction of a bridge for another year had no interest in politics?

After nearly a year apart, Li Si realized that the prince truly had changed.

Li Si also felt that Zhang Cang had taught him well. Before Zhang Cang had begun participating in the affairs of state, he too had stood beneath the steps of Zhangtai Palace, waiting for the emperor to summon him.

Moreover, Li Si was convinced that the prince’s desire for power was something Zhang Cang had taught him.

“Chancellor, His Majesty summons you.”

At the words, Li Si, who had been standing before the hall, turned and walked inside.

Zhang Cang remained where he was. He stood dazed for a moment before finally descending the steps.

Once he reached the bottom, Zhang Cang bowed. “Your Highness.”

“Teacher, it has been two months since we last met.”

“The Chancellor has gone to see His Majesty. You will be summoned shortly.”

The moment he finished speaking, a eunuch came hurrying over.

“Your Highness, His Majesty summons you.”

“I shall go see Father first.”

Zhang Cang considered the matter for a moment, then hurried toward the Chancellor’s residence.

Fusu entered the spacious, empty hall of Zhangtai Palace. Within, the First Emperor still sat in his place, reading a bamboo manuscript by the light of the candles.

Chancellor Li Si stood beside him, explaining his policy for relocating the people.

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Fusu walked to one side and listened to the Chancellor.

The empire still harbored dangers. To the north, the Xiongnu were eager to make their move, while the former aristocrats of the Six States still dreamed of restoring their old kingdoms. In the south, conflicts continued without cease.

Fusu stood quietly to the side, listening to Li Si speak.

The Chancellor proposed relocating fifty thousand people first, settling them in the lands south of Shu, chiefly in the southwestern region.

According to his plan, the people would be relocated first. If relocation failed to bring stability, then Qin would resort to force.

Fusu remained silent throughout, breathing quietly as he listened to the Chancellor finish.

The First Emperor continued sitting there. He had read several bamboo manuscripts by then, yet still said nothing.

The hall was silent. Only Li Si’s voice could be heard; even the sound of his breathing between sentences was distinct.

Li Si spoke for nearly half an hour. The First Emperor continued reading his bamboo manuscripts and finally said in a low voice, “Have Tu Rui go to Shu and inspect the situation.”

Li Si bowed in acknowledgment.

Only then did Ying Zheng notice the son standing inside the hall. Drawing a deep breath, he asked in a grave voice, “The Xianyang Bridge has been completed?”

“Reporting to Father, the Xianyang Bridge has been completed.”

“You will serve as Deputy Superintendent of the Lesser Treasury and oversee the construction of canals in the Guanzhong region.”

Ying Zheng raised his eyes slightly to look at the son who had grown considerably taller. After nearly a year apart, the boy had grown taller again. He then gave another order.

“Wang Ben is still occupied with military affairs, while Meng Tian is in the north repairing the Great Wall. The office of Superintendent of the Lesser Treasury is vacant. As Deputy Superintendent, you will oversee all matters under that office. From now on, Jian Lu will serve as Director of Waterworks.”

“Your son accepts the command.”

Ying Zheng gave a slight nod.

Li Si understood and bowed. “I take my leave.”

Fusu followed him out of Zhangtai Palace.

Outside the hall, the two of them put their shoes back on. Fusu asked, “Teacher, are you still arguing with the scholars?”

Li Si finished putting on his shoes and walked a few steps. “Your Highness need not concern himself. Men such as Chunyu Yue are not worth worrying about.”

Naturally. How could his teacher possibly take such people seriously?

As they descended from Zhangtai Palace, Li Si walked half a step behind the prince and continued, “Men such as Chunyu Yue merely wish Qin to follow the rites of Zhou.”

How long had the court been arguing over this matter? Fusu did not know whether Li Si was tired of it, but his own ears felt ready to grow calluses. And yet those men kept bringing it up again and again, never seeming to tire of it.

When they reached the entrance to the Censorate, Fusu stopped. Li Si said, “Now that Your Highness serves as Deputy Superintendent of the Lesser Treasury, you ought to read more documents.”

“I shall remember your instruction, Teacher.”

When Prince Fusu entered the Censorate, the censors who had been working there all raised their heads and stared blankly for a moment.

Right Chancellor Feng Quji rose and bowed. “I heard that Your Highness has always enjoyed reading documents from the various regions, so I had a place prepared.”

Beside the bookshelves of the Censorate stood a dedicated seat, with even a candelabrum placed nearby.

Fusu noticed several relatively new bamboo manuscripts. “Were these all received this year?”

At the prince’s question, perhaps because everyone had grown nervous, no one answered immediately.

Seeing this, Cheng Miao set down his brush, braced himself against the desk, and rose. He hurried over in small, quick steps and explained, “Your Highness, these are documents delivered to Xianyang after the beginning of autumn.”

As he spoke, he pointed to several rolls.

“These came from Yan. These are documents from Shang Commandery, and these are from Chu.”

Fusu listened, then suddenly said, “Oh? Cheng Miao, you are still here after a year?”

“It has indeed been a year since Cheng Miao last saw Your Highness.” He bowed with a smile. “I am an official of the Censorate. Naturally, I ought to be here.”

At those words, the other officials of the Censorate were astonished. When had Cheng Miao become acquainted with Prince Fusu?

Then they remembered that, during that bitter winter, Cheng Miao had apparently been the only one at the Censorate while the prince had been exceptionally eager to learn.

Someone murmured, “Prince Fusu has been away from the palace for an entire year constructing the Xianyang Bridge.”

Indeed, no one had seen the prince during that year.

He had spent an entire year building a single bridge. Now that he had finally returned, he did not even think of resting, but had come straight to the Censorate to examine documents.

Another person said, “When the prince submitted the records concerning the bridge, he stood outside Zhangtai Palace for an entire morning.”

The speaker lowered his voice to a whisper, yet nodded with complete certainty to the people around him as he spoke.

Everyone knew how diligently the First Emperor attended to the affairs of state.

Prince Fusu was worthy of being the First Emperor’s son. Some even felt that the future successor of Great Qin would surely command the support of all.

These remarks, both favorable and unfavorable, drifted in scattered fragments to the ears of the Right Chancellor. Feng Quji glared at them, and the others reluctantly fell silent.

Fusu read the documents while asking Cheng Miao questions from time to time. Cheng Miao simply sat down beside him.

As he read, Fusu recorded the essential points of the various documents: how many fields a certain county in Wei possessed, how many acres constituted a household’s holding, how many inhabitants had been counted in another county, and so on. In these first few years after Qin had unified the Six States, such matters made up the bulk of the records.

The documents allowed Fusu to gain a fuller understanding of the general conditions in each region.

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As dusk approached, the officials of the Censorate gradually departed.

Night had fully fallen outside. Cheng Miao sat nearby, leaning against the corner of the wall, half asleep.

Only when a savory fragrance drifted into his nose did Cheng Miao open his eyes slightly. Two braziers had appeared before him, along with a tall, thin old man dressed in eunuch’s robes.

After rubbing his eyes, Cheng Miao realized that it was the prince cooking by the braziers. Horrified to discover that he had fallen asleep and behaved so improperly, he rose at once.

“Your Highness, I…”

Fusu filled a bowl with noodles and handed it to him. “It is nothing. Eat something first.”

His stomach was already rumbling with hunger. Cheng Miao accepted the bowl from the prince and looked at the noodle soup inside. To his embarrassment, his old face flushed red.

“It is mutton noodles,” Fusu said. “Eat slowly.”

Cheng Miao nodded as he ate.

Fusu asked again, “Normally, I copy the documents I wish to read and take the copies home. The originals are returned to their proper places, yes?”

Cheng Miao slurped down the noodles heartily and nodded again and again.

After finishing his evening meal, the prince departed.

Cheng Miao remained there, savoring the bowl of mutton noodles. Alone, he extinguished the oil lamps and candles in the Censorate, then went outside and closed the main gate.

In the late-autumn night, the cold wind roared past. Perhaps because he had eaten that bowl of mutton noodles, Cheng Miao felt that even the wind tonight was not cold.

The next day, Fusu went to the court assembly early in the morning. The day’s discussion concerned the construction of the Great Wall, as well as the major matter of relocating people northward for the second time to defend the frontier.

The court assembly did not end until the afternoon.

That day, Fusu did not go to the Censorate. Instead, he returned to Gaoquan Palace.

The canal-digging project at Shangyan Mountain had achieved considerable results. Fusu was reading the military reports sent by Zhang Han, which even mentioned who had recently had several more children.

Tian An came hurrying over.

“Your Highness, this old servant sent someone to inquire. Your letter was indeed delivered to Censor Zhang’s residence.”

Normally, letters sent to his teacher Zhang Cang would receive a reply the following morning.

The lack of a reply this time probably meant that Zhang Cang was truly too busy to spare the time, occupied with the great undertaking of standardizing the written language and making the tracks of carriages uniform.

Fusu also reorganized the various personnel and duties at Shangyan Mountain, dividing the workforce more finely and assigning them to individual posts according to their present working methods and procedures.

From then on, they would all be household servants with designated positions. Fusu was trying to plant the concept of a position like a seed in Shangyan Mountain.

He hoped that more people would respect their work and take pride in it, and that more would be able to hold fast to their posts when the crucial moment came.

Halfway through writing, Fusu turned to Tian An, who was cleaning the brazier.

“If I want every matter to be handled as well as possible, am I being too greedy?”

Tian An briskly wiped the brazier with a cloth and replied, “Whatever Your Highness commands, this old servant will certainly carry out to the very best of his ability.”

Fusu gave a helpless smile. The old man had misunderstood him.

Never mind.

Fusu continued writing, recording each of the newly divided positions one by one.

In truth, the soldiers of Great Qin were all exceedingly loyal. Fusu merely hoped that more people would perform their duties well. Shangyan Mountain would remain busy for many years to come.

Digging the canals was not the end of the matter.

The prince wrote three bamboo scrolls, which were sent out of the palace at once and carried all the way to Shangyan Mountain.

Zhang Han, who was overseeing the canal project, sat beside the waterway. Behind him hung a map depicting the entire canal.

“General, a letter from the prince.”

The three bamboo scrolls were placed on the desk. Zhang Han swallowed the celery in his hand in one bite.

The scrolls sent by the prince contained a great deal of information. The more Zhang Han read, the more deeply he furrowed his brow. He then summoned Mao Heng and Shusun Tong.

Had Zhang Cang been there, he might have understood and implemented the prince’s instructions after only a few words.

Shusun Tong said, “In truth, these matters are not difficult to arrange.”

Zhang Han nodded.

“But for people to love their work and devote themselves to it, someone must explain it to them.” Shusun Tong nodded slowly. “I teach the children to read and write. I can have them speak of these principles to the people every day.”

“Master, you are right,” Zhang Han said. “If even the children understand such principles, their parents cannot fail to understand them—and dare not fail to understand them.”

Shusun Tong smiled and nodded.

“I shall write down a plan at once and have someone deliver it to the prince.”

Outside, the sound of the children playing drifted over once more. Shusun Tong realized that although Zhang Han relied heavily on him, the general would not simply obey every word spoken by an old scholar like himself. The generals of Qin truly were extraordinary.