Afterwards, Zhu Xiang's mood seemed to return to normal.
It is a pity, but he and Chunshen Jun were enemies, and it would probably be the same if it happened again.
Chunshen Jun and the King of Chu shared hardships for ten years when they were young, and helped the King of Chu return to his country and succeed to the throne. Only then could a nobleman from another family like Chunshen Jun serve as the Prime Minister of Chu, becoming the first feudal lord of Chu and the only one among the four princes of the Warring States Period who was not a prince of the royal family.
For both emotional and reputation reasons, he would not leave Chu; even if he left Chu, he would go to a country other than Qin to retire and would not be hostile to Chu.
Originally, Chunshen Jun could have chosen the latter path, but when he went against the wishes of the Chu nobles to save the people, his fate was doomed.
It is really ridiculous that disaster relief and rescue of the people in Chu State went against the wishes of the Chu nobles.
But the truth is so ridiculous.
In the scattered Chu State, you, Chunshen Jun, used righteousness to pressure the feudal lords to agree to provide disaster relief to save the people. This promoted the names of the King of Chu and Chunshen Jun, and disturbed the hearts of the Chu people in their fiefdoms. Of course, they were unwilling.
They would definitely not be happy to do such a lowly task. They could not do it with their own strength. They had to concentrate the power of Chu and coordinate the entire Chu in the name of the King of Chu.
Although the Chu State was in a fragmented state, after Wu Qi's reforms, the status of the King of Chu was still higher than that of the Emperor of Zhou in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty and comparable to that of the Emperor of Zhou in the Western Zhou Dynasty.
So it is best for no one to do anything, so that everyone can appear to be in agreement, and the people of Chu will accept their fate.
Chunshen Jun was sentenced to death. Except for the Crown Prince of Chu and some lower-level scholars and officials who wrote letters to plead for mercy, the great nobles and royal family members of Chu basically stood by and watched, which shows how much he was hated.
So although Chunshen Jun died in such a blaze of glory, the reputation of the King of Chu in the State of Chu did not change much. No one used this incident to force the King of Chu to abdicate or ask Prince Qi to return to his country.
The matter just passed uneventfully.
Prince Han became Crown Prince Han, an elder from the Qu family became the new Prime Minister, and Chunshen Jun's fiefdom was taken back and turned into a county. Chunshen Jun's reputation was still circulating abroad and among the people, but it had cooled in the court of Chu and no one mentioned it anymore.
There is no difference between Wu Qi and Qu Yuan.
Not even as good as Zhao.
When Zhu Xiang returned to Qin, he did not go back to Xianyang immediately, but instead inspected the surrounding lands first.
Lian Po said that he would "escort" Zhu Xiang back to Xianyang, but when he returned to Qin and knew that Zhu Xiang would not be in danger, he let Zhu Xiang run around.
Logically speaking, generals like him and Li Mu should not run around Qin, but the King of Qin wrote to Zhu Xiang, saying that Zhu Xiang could run around and help him check the situation of the fields in Guanzhong and Guandong of Qin, so they regarded themselves as Zhu Xiang's guards.
Lian Po was still in very good health, much better than when he first entered Qin.
Zhu Xiang was surprised. Did Lord Lian's health improve the more he fought? This was too amazing.
Lian Po laughed triumphantly and said that he could still fight for another five or six years, and it would be best if he died on the battlefield or on horseback, so as not to waste his military life.
Zhu Xiang echoed the nonsense, saying that being wrapped in one's horse's hide was the highest funeral for a general.
Li Mu rolled his eyes as he listened.
If Lian Gong really died on the battlefield, Zhu Xiang would have fainted from crying.
After years of recuperation, the efficiency of Qin officials was very high again, and students from the Xianyang Academy went to the countryside to provide guidance from time to time. The farmland in Qin was in very good condition and water conservancy developed rapidly.
There is no need for large-scale wars, and all the money is used to build roads and water conservancy projects.
However, Zhu Xiang still saw the problem.
After the stone mill was promoted, the area for planting wheat with higher yields expanded rapidly, and almost every household planted wheat.
The Qin State also issued decrees requiring farmers to grow more wheat. In many places, Qin officials interfered too much in the cultivation of crops.
Zhu Xiang did not come forward to stop it directly. The matter of government orders needed to be resolved by the King of Qin.
He wrote down his observations and suggestions in an official document, and when he arrived in Xianyang, he presented it directly to the King of Qin and his court officials for discussion.
Lian Po sneered at Zhu Xiang's talk of "procedural justice".
There are many scholars who offer advice to the monarch in private, and the monarch will use them if he thinks they are useful. Why is it necessary to go through so much trouble
Zhu Xiang insisted on going to the court, saying it was more formal and would give face to the king and the court officials. I don't know what face Zhu Xiang was talking about, but he couldn't feel it anyway.
Li Mu seemed to be thinking about something, as if he had learned something.
After Zhu Xiang found the problem, he did not return to Xianyang immediately, but continued to inspect Guanzhong and Guandong, and supervised the autumn harvest.
After the autumn harvest, when Zhu Xiang was preparing to return to Xianyang, Zichu wrote a letter saying that he had left Xianyang and was going to Hanzhong to spend the winter, and asked Zhu Xiang to come directly.
Zhu Xiang sighed to Lian Po and Li Mu, "He used to come to greet me, but now he doesn't even stay in Xianyang to wait for me! It seems that Xia Tong has become aloof since he became the King of Qin!"
Lian Po didn't even bother to pay any attention to Zhu Xiang.
Li Mu nodded twice in agreement, feeling a little nervous.
He had guarded Southern Qin for many years, and neither the previous king nor Zichu had returned to Xianyang. Although he wrote letters frequently, he was still a little worried when they didn't meet.
The relationship between a ruler and his subjects is very sincere when it is genuine, but it can also deteriorate very quickly.
He didn't know how much Zichu had changed after becoming the King of Qin.
Li Mu arrived at the Qin King's summer resort with Zhu Xiang in a trepidation. Zichu came all the way from afar, disguised as an ordinary scholar, to pick up Zhu Xiang.
Zichu: "Zhu Xiang!"
Zhu Xiang: "Xia Tong!"
One of them got off the car, the other got off the horse, they held hands and looked at each other with tears in their eyes.
Zichu: "I heard that you went to the battlefield and went to Chu with Li Mu, taking risks one after another. Did Lord Lian beat you? He must have beaten you, right?"
Zhu Xiang: "I heard that you and Lin Li always pushed everything onto Cai Ze, making Cai Ze so angry that he resigned several times. Did you beg Cai Ze to give you another chance? You must have begged him, right?"
Zichu smiled.
Zhu Xiang smiled.
The two men drew their swords at the same time and started fighting.
The guards behind Zichu: "???!"
The guards brought by Li Mu and Lian Po: "!!!"
Li Mu held his forehead with his hand.
His uneasiness might be due to overthinking. Why did he feel that the King of Qin was more outrageous than when he was the crown prince and the son of a noble family? Could it be that when he was the crown prince and the son of a noble family, the King of Qin needed to make a good impression on his elders, but now he can let loose
The veins on Lian Po's forehead bulged.
What's wrong with these two people? Xia Tong, this brat, is the King of Qin, so why is he still messing around with Zhu Xiang? Does the King of Qin not care about his dignity? Why don't you become like King Zhaoxiang of Qin and still have some of the King of Qin's majesty
Lian Po walked over angrily, kicked Zhu Xiang down, and then glared at Zichu.
Zichu asked awkwardly, "Mr. Lian, what's wrong?"
Lian Po said, "If you want to make trouble, go back and make trouble. How can you behave in public? You are the king now, why are you still messing around with Zhu Xiang like before?"
Zhu Xiang, who was kicked to the ground by Lian Po, said: "That's right!"
Zichu immediately said, "He actually drew his sword against the king! He is the one who should be taught a lesson!"
Lian Po said: "So I kicked him!"
After saying that, Lian Po raised his fist as big as a bowl and smashed it on Zhu Xiang's head.
Zhu Xiang hugged his head, tears welling up in his eyes.
Although Lian Po didn't use much force, Zhu Xiang's head was not made of iron and it hurt.
Lian Po then looked at Zichu with a threatening look and said, "Go back and learn from each other slowly."
Zichu immediately put away his sword: "Yes, yes."
He was glad that he was the King of Qin now, otherwise Duke Lian would definitely hit him twice.
When he was in Handan, he, Zhu Xiang and Lin Zhi were beaten by Lian Gong many times. Although Zichu knew that Lian Gong would not beat the King of Qin, he was still a little scared when he saw Lian Gong's anger.
Zhu Xiang held his head and taunted, "Oh, you coward."
Lian Po raised his fist again, and Li Mu quickly pulled Zhu Xiang up and protected him behind him.
"Lord Lian, forget it. They have a sincere relationship and haven't seen each other for a long time. It's okay to have some quarrels. Your Majesty is only appearing as a scholar now, and no one will know that you are the king." Li Mu said, "Even if someone sees you, they will not believe that Your Majesty and Lord Changping are fooling around in public."
Lian Po retracted his hand and snorted coldly: "Hurry up and leave! Once the door is closed, you two can fight as long as you want."
Zhu Xiang and Zichu nodded in unison, then Zichu got into Zhu Xiang's carriage and pulled Li Mu in as well.
Lian Po sighed and ordered the guards to move away from the carriage so that they could chat freely.
After the carriage started, Zichu said with a smile: "Look, you got beaten."
Zhu Xiang rubbed his head and said, "If you were not the King of Qin, Lord Lian would definitely beat you up."
Zichu was proud: "But I am the King of Qin now, no one can beat me."
Zhu Xiang sneered: "I can."
Zichu said disdainfully: "You? Can you beat me?"
Zhu Xiang said disdainfully: "You used to be able to compete with me. Now you are busy with paperwork, you haven't exercised for a long time, right? I carry a hoe every day and have even been to the battlefield!"
Zichu was even more disdainful: "Go to the battlefield? Go to the battlefield with a bruised face and swollen nose in the chariot? I am a chariot driver. Li Mu, don't you agree?"
Li Mu held his forehead and said, "I don't know. I haven't seen it."
Zichu said, "You should stand on the side of your king."
Li Mu said: "Okay, I believe that Jun Shang and Zhu Xiang can continue to share the same strengths."
Zichu: “…”
Zhu Xiang said, "I said it well in the letter, didn't I? Li Mu's mouth is really irritating sometimes."
Zichu said: "It's true."
Li Mu was speechless. What did Zhu Xiang say to the King of Qin in the letter
Li Mu and Zichu were not particularly familiar with each other, but when Li Mu first entered Qin, they lived in the same house as Zhu Xiang.
So many years have passed, the friendship we had back then must have faded.
However, with Zhu Xiang as the bond, it would be easy for them to get familiar with each other again.
Both of them knew how much the other protected Zhu Xiang, so they recognized each other.
Zichu pulled Li Mu into the carriage because he wanted to hear the details of Zhu Xiang's scandal from Li Mu.
Ying Xiaozheng only knew how to praise, and Zichu felt unsatisfied.
Li Mu said angrily, "You wrote to Zheng'er, who had just left, urging him to come back quickly, saying that Wujun's affairs were too busy. As a result, you left Wujun in a hurry as soon as you received his departure letter, leaving all Wujun's affairs to Zheng'er. Do you still have the nerve to complain?"
Zhu Xiang coughed dryly: "The more capable, the more work. The more capable, the more work."
Zichu originally wanted to keep Ying Xiaozheng in Xianyang for a while to learn how to be the King of Qin.
But Zhu Xiang's letter urging Ying Xiaozheng to save his life came so quickly and urgently that Zichu had no choice but to let Ying Xiaozheng go.
Xue Ji also took Master Cheng Jiao away.
Queen Mother Huayang said that she was not very good at educating children, and was unwilling to let Prince Chengjiao return to his biological mother for fear that he would be taught badly, so she asked Xue Ji to raise him instead.
Zichu also felt that it would be better to let Xue Ji and Zhu Xiang raise Prince Cheng Jiao.
When Zhu Xiang was in Xianyang, Prince Chengjiao grew fat even though he was in mourning and ate vegetarian food. As soon as Zhu Xiang left, Prince Chengjiao ate meat every day, but he still became thin
Zichu felt that the people in the palace did not know how to raise children, and that the warm climate in the south might be more suitable for Cheng Jiao, who was prone to illness in winter, to recuperate.
Zhu Xiang didn't care. Zheng'er was already able to support himself, so he asked Zheng'er to raise another little Chengjiao. The more capable, the more work. Zheng'er would definitely have no problem with that.
Li Mu was speechless. King Qin, do you still remember that you are the biological father of Zheng'er and Cheng Jiao
But Zichu could just leave Ying Xiaozheng to Zhu Xiang and forget about paying child support. He would never reflect on it.
After learning about the two parties' separation in the carriage, Zhu Xiang asked, "What about Lin Li and Cai Ze? Even if Cai Ze wants to guard Xianyang, it is impossible for Lin Li not to want to sneak away."
Zichu said, "Lin Li wanted to come, but Cai Ze said that if Lin Li and I left him alone in Xianyang, he would just resign and leave without even writing a letter of resignation. I was helpless and could only have people surround Lin Li's mansion to prevent him from sneaking away."
Zhu Xiang was laughing loudly, gloating over his misfortune, and Li Mu was so frightened that his eyes almost popped out.
The King of Qin had his people surround the Prime Minister's residence? Just to prevent the Prime Minister from escaping without an imperial edict
What happened to Zichu and Lin Zhi after he left Xianyang
He had never seen what Zichu and Lin Zhi looked like in Handan, so he could not imagine how the most solemn and terrifying city of Xianyang could become like this.
He looked at Zhu Xiang who was giving bad advice and suggesting nailing wooden bars on Lin Zhi's door.
Zhu Xiang wasn't surprised at all?!
Li Mu began to sympathize with Cai Ze. He finally understood why Cai Ze could serve as an official comfortably under two Qin kings, but wanted to resign from the position of prime minister five times after his good friend Zichu became the Qin king.
Zhu Xiang said: "If Cai Ze is really angry, you can give him a few years off and let him take a job in a local area to rest. I think there won't be any wars recently, so you can let Li Mu be the prime minister. He is a talent for generals and ministers, and he can be anything."
Zichu said without thinking: "Okay."
Li Mu immediately said, "I won't go! Even Cai Ze can't stand it, how can I?!"
Zichu was helpless: "Li Mu, this is the position of the prime minister of Qin State, is it so despised?"
Li Mu said, "I am not talented and well-educated, so I won't go. If Cai Ze doesn't take the position, let Lin Li take it. He should be held responsible for driving Cai Ze away. I'd better guard Southern Qin for you. Otherwise, I can go to Jin or Northern Hu. I am a rough man and I don't know how to govern a country."
Zhu Xiang said, "Don't you believe him? He just doesn't want to clean up the mess for you and Lin Li. Why don't you really let Lin Li be the prime minister and see what tricks he can come up with?"
Zichu said: "Then I will clean up his mess? Don't even think about it. If Li Mu refuses to be the prime minister, then you will be the prime minister."
Zhu Xiang crossed his hands in front of his chest: "Reject!"
The carriage arrived at the destination, Lian Po approached the carriage and told the people to get off. As soon as he walked to the carriage, he heard the people discussing the position of prime minister of Qin.
Lian Po took a deep breath.
The Xiangbang is commonly known as the Prime Minister, which means that this position is comparable to the deputy monarch and is the most important position in a country.
How can you treat the position of prime minister as a joke? If others find out, Zhu Xiang, Lin Zhi, Cai Ze and Li Mu will definitely be labeled as evil villains who control the government!
Lian Po only knew how to speak with his fists. He could beat up Zhu Xiang and Li Mu, but he couldn't beat up the King of Qin.
Usually at this time, he would look for Lin Xiangru and persuade the king with words. Now Lin Xiangru had been gone for many years, and Lian Po had no friendship with the Qin officials. After thinking about it, he could not think of anyone who could persuade the King of Qin.
Until he saw a hunchbacked old man walking towards the palace gate with a cane.
Xun Kuang!
How could he have forgotten this stubborn old man!
Lian Po hurried over to greet him: "Xun Qing!"
Xunzi, who had followed the King of Qin out for the winter, asked: "Mr. Lian?"
He showed a suspicious look. He and Lian Po had different personalities, so why was Lian Po so enthusiastic? There was a problem!
Lian Po held Xunzi's hand and said anxiously, "Zhu Xiang acted improperly. He first fought with the King of Qin at the middle gate of the official road, and now he and Li Mu are discussing the position of prime minister with the King of Qin."
Xunzi frowned and said, "Improper discussion?"
Lian Po lowered his voice and simply told Xunzi what he had heard.
Xunzi: “…”
Can you push the position of the Prime Minister of Qin back and forth like this? It seems that apart from you few people, no one else in Qin can be the Prime Minister. Isn't this a disguised way of saying that you control the government
Xunzi walked towards the carriage angrily: "Zhu Xiang, get out!"
Zhu Xiang and Zichu were talking about riding a horse-drawn carriage happily, and Li Mu covered his ears.
When Xunzi's voice sounded, Zhu Xiang suddenly had an idea.
His face turned pale as he said, "Xia Tong, you didn't say Xunzi was here."
Zichu said: "Huh? You didn't ask."
Xunzi lowered his voice and said, "Sir, you too, get out here."
Zichu: "… The Prime Minister actually told me to get out. How angry are you? I didn't do anything wrong. Even if I did something wrong, you can't scold me."
Zhu Xiang pulled Zichu out of the carriage and said, "Do you think you can avoid being punished by Xunzi just because you start calling yourself 'I'? Don't even think about it! We share the same suffering!"
Li Mu considered whether he should hide in the carriage.
But obviously, he will definitely be dragged along to share the joys and sorrows.
Xunzi understood etiquette very well. No one understood etiquette better than Confucians.
So Confucians will not fight with the monarch, but they will point at the monarch's nose and scold him. This is normal, right
Lian Po folded his arms, watched with a sneer, and occasionally agreed with a few words.
Deserve to be scolded!
After Zichu and Li Mu were severely devastated by Xunzi's words, they thought Zhu Xiang would be even worse off, at least get a beating.
Unexpectedly, after Xunzi finished scolding Zichu and Li Mu in turn, he said to Zhu Xiang: "You have done very well. In terms of 'benevolence and righteousness', I have nothing more to teach you."
Zichu and Li Mu: "..."
Zhu Xiang's face was full of pride, like a child who had been praised.
"Thank you, Xunzi. Learning has no end, and I will continue to learn." Zhu Xiang was very proud, and his expression was exactly the same as Ying Xiaozheng's.
Xunzi said calmly: "Don't learn anymore. If you continue to learn, you will be ahead of an old man like me."
Zhu Xiang’s smug smile froze.
The smile shifted to Zichu's face.
Li Mu tried hard to keep a straight face, knowing that he couldn't laugh now.
Xunzi cast a calm gaze towards Zichu.
Zichu immediately put away his smile, frowned and said seriously: "Zhu Xiang, listen to Xunzi. Don't take risks again. If you take risks again in the future, I will severely punish Li Mu!"
Li Mu: “…”
All right, Zhu Xiang takes the risk and I take the punishment. It's my fault, I admit it.
Zhu Xiang sincerely admitted his mistake: "I know, there won't be a next time."
He said the same thing last time, and it was exactly the same as Ying Xiaozheng's character of sincerely admitting his mistakes and refusing to change despite repeated admonitions.
However, Zhu Xiang had admitted his mistake, so it was not appropriate for them to continue to hold onto the matter.
Besides, Zhu Xiang was tired from the journey and it was time for him to rest.
There are many hot springs in Hanzhong.
Zhu Xiang once mentioned the hot spring to Zichu. After Zichu learned that someone in Hanzhong had also dug out a hot spring, he tried his luck and dug in the palace. Unexpectedly, he also dug out a hot spring, so he expanded it and built a large hot spring pool.
The winter in Xianyang had recently become cold again after a few years of rising temperatures. Zichu would cough and suffer from minor illnesses every winter.
After spending the winter at the Hanzhong Hot Spring Palace, Zichu felt much better during the winter.
Zichu showed off the hot springs to Zhu Xiang, who was extremely envious.
Hot springs should be able to be dug out in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, but unfortunately he didn't know the exact location of the hot springs. He didn't have as good luck as Zichu, who could dig out a spring with just a little digging.
What is the King of Qin? Tactical retreat.
Li Mu also felt that Zichu was extremely lucky.
When he was stationed in Shuzhong, someone dug out a warm spring near the station. However, he often did construction work in the camp and had never seen a hot spring.
He is worthy of being a man who could transform from a hostage into the King of Qin, and also pick up a good friend and brother-in-law like Zhu Xiang for free.
"I wanted to formally present you with the document, but if I hand it over to Xianyang now, Cai Ze will probably complain that I'm adding to his work, so I'm telling you first. Call together the ministers to discuss it." Zhu Xiang said, "As long as the proportion of staple food is guaranteed, farmers should be given some space to grow miscellaneous grains. Not only do miscellaneous grains have a high yield, but they can also prevent a single grain from being damaged and causing a national grain shortage."
Zichu became serious: "Tell me in detail."
Zhu Xiang talked about what he saw and heard in Qin, the "one-size-fits-all" approach of some Qin officials, and the benefits of growing a variety of grains.
It is very suitable to grow millet and wheat in regular fields; rice consumes a lot of water and has high temperature requirements, so it is not suitable to be grown in Guanzhong and Kanto areas; beans, pumpkins, potatoes and the sweet potatoes he brought now are all suitable for growing in corners and can also be used for crop rotation.
Now, in order to blindly increase grain production, the local officials of Qin State have destroyed the rotation rules set by Zhu Xiang before.
However, Zhu Xiang did not set a fixed rotation system, so officials could operate on their own.
But crop rotation cannot be fixed and needs to be adjusted based on farmers' experience.
Zhu Xiang said: "I also found that some officials even stipulated how deep to plow the land and how much water to irrigate. I heard that some people hope to add this clause to the Qin law. Isn't this nonsense! Those who do this should be punished by planting crops for a year!"
Zichu said, "I understand. Take your time, don't be impatient."
Zhu Xiang took a deep breath and said, "How can I not be anxious? Look at the State of Chu. They worked hard for a year, but just because of a rain before the harvest, they almost suffered a famine. Even though the grain in Guanzhong and Guandong is growing well, if a wheat field gets sick, it can spread to the entire Guandong and Guanzhong. The germs are spread by wind, water and animals, and the speed of spread is unimaginable. And now we can only prevent it, there is no way to cure it."
Without pesticides, if crops get diseased, they are almost hopeless and will die.
Therefore, organic, pesticide-free and naturally grown products can only be used by rich people to improve the taste of food. Without chemical fertilizers and pesticides, grain production will never increase.
When Zhu Xiang saw the food structure in Guanzhong and Guandong, he was so frightened that even his nightmare changed from the death of a friend to a famine in Qin.
(End of this chapter)