Chapter 312: Winning over Fan Zeng
Fan Zeng was not at all disappointed, "Of course I will continue traveling."
"To Qi or Chu?" Zhao Yuanxi asked again with a smile. Seeing that he didn't speak for a while, he knew that he had guessed correctly.
It seems that this old man really has a lot of opinions about the Qin State.
"Where am I going? Are you going to stop me?"
"This isn't a place for business, so how could it be a place where people can only leave but not come in? But I don't understand why you chose Chu and Qi over Qin?"
"Qin conquered the world through violence and has lost the hearts of the people. Although I am not a gentleman, I do not want to associate with them."
"Sir, what you're saying, do you think you can conquer the world and still talk about benevolence, righteousness, and morality? You don't even believe it yourself!"
How can this guy still have double standards! When he was assisting Xiang Yu, he didn't stop Xiang Yu from killing fewer surrendered soldiers!
Fan Zeng's heart choked. He knew that to conquer the world, there would be sacrifices. Wasn't he trying to refuse? Shouldn't the Queen Mother of Zhao be furious and accuse him of being short-sighted?
"The Qin state's legal system is out of balance. Over-reliance on strict laws and the power of the monarch to govern the country is not a long-term solution."
Zhao Yuanxi nodded in agreement. "Sir, there is some truth in what you say. I also feel that Qin law is too harsh. It manages the people with meticulous care, while allowing the nobles to run rampant and tyrannical."
…
He wanted to discourage Queen Dowager Zhao from winning him over, not to discuss the pros and cons of Qin with her.
"In short, I will not go to Xianyang." Fan Zeng was very angry.
"The problems you mention are not unique to Qin. Why are you so harsh in criticizing Qin? Is the King of Chu wiser than the King of Qin?"
Although the current King of Chu cannot be said to be stupid, he is indeed incompetent. Not only has his power been usurped by powerful ministers, but the court is also controlled by nobles. It is no exaggeration to say that he is a puppet. As for the King of Qi, he is just an ordinary king who maintains the status quo.
"Or does it mean that you have a feud with the Qin State?"
“No.”
Zhao Yuanxi smiled. "If you haven't, then why do you have such a prejudice against the Qin State?"
"The mountains in Qin are high and the roads are long, and I am not in good health..."
After saying this, Fan Zeng himself couldn't believe it. If he was not in good health, he wouldn't still be traveling around in his fifties.
"Sir, if you don't want to stay, I have no reason to force you. But you can give Qin some opportunities and travel around the Qin territory first. Then you can decide whether to enter Xianyang. I am waiting for your visit at any time."
It is not easy for Zhao Yuanxi to say that Qin is better than other vassal states. After all, according to various standards, Qin does not have an advantage in many aspects, but even if it is not the best, it is definitely not the worst.
Fan Zeng agreed.
The first thing Fan Zeng did after he was able to walk freely was to bid farewell to Queen Dowager Zhao. When he went to the front yard to look for someone, he heard the servants of the county magistrate's office say that the Queen Dowager had taken people to the river bank.
He had long heard about Queen Dowager Zhao's visit to Dang County to build canals and dikes.
Dang County is located between the two major water systems of the Yellow River and the Huai River. It belongs to the heart of the Central Plains and has flat land. Only Mangdang Mountain stands here.
Zhao Yuanxi remembered that Liu Bang's uprising started in Mangdang Mountain, but now Mangdang Mountain is just an ordinary hilly area.
Taking advantage of the terrain around Mangdang Mountain, Zhao Yuanxi built many reservoirs nearby. Today she came to see the construction progress of the reservoirs.
After the locust plague, there was no food in Dang County, and a large number of refugees chose to flee the famine. Zhao Yuanxi could only use work-for-relief to appease these refugees, letting them dig canals and build embankments here, and the government provided them with daily food.
The government was willing to provide food, and they only needed to provide labor, so these people were naturally willing to do so, especially since they understood that after these ditches and reservoirs were repaired, the fields would not be completely harvested in future disaster years. They also heard that these things could also be used to prevent locusts, so they were eager to have them repaired as soon as possible.
As Zhao Yuanxi approached the riverbank, many people came to look at him. Listening to the whispers around him, the county magistrate couldn't help but frown and said, "I will drive them away right away."
"Why chase them away? If they want to watch, let them watch. I'm not ashamed of seeing people. There are so many people here, you can't shut them up."
Those looks were not malicious, just curious!
Zhao Yuanxi felt that he had gradually gotten used to this since coming here.
"Don't let them go out during the noon time. The weather is too hot and people may die easily. If we really need to rush the work, we can postpone the daily working time a little bit or start it earlier." Zhao Yuanxi glanced at the rising sun. She was sweating profusely after just a walk outside. These people who worked under the scorching sun were really likely to suffer from heatstroke.
The county magistrate nodded quickly.
When they were halfway there, Zhao Yuanxi suddenly stopped and asked, "You also recruited young children?"
The county official was startled at first, then followed the empress dowager's gaze and saw, indeed, several half-grown children struggling to move stones. He quickly explained, "I have never conscripted children. I will send someone to investigate the reason."
"People are right here, why not just ask?"
Zhao Yuanxi walked up to the children and asked gently, "Why are you working here? Where are your parents?"
The little guys seemed frightened and quickly ran away. They were caught by the guards and knelt on the ground, crying and begging for mercy. "Please forgive me, my lord, please forgive me. We brothers are really hungry. We heard that we can get food here by working, so we came here!"
A nearby foreman heard the noise and immediately ran over. Seeing the children kneeling on the ground, he was furious. "Great! I gave you a bite to eat, and you're causing trouble here! Please forgive me, these are just children from the neighborhood, they don't know any better. Beat them if you want, but don't get angry over them."
Although the foreman did not know Zhao Yuanxi, he knew the county magistrate and probably guessed who she was. He was afraid of angering her.
"Don't curse first, did you bring them here?"
"Forgive me, sir. I mean well. They are children from the neighborhood. Their families can't afford to raise them, so they have no choice but to find food on their own. I will drive them away right away so that they won't cause any trouble for you."
The foreman turned pale with fear. The Qin State prohibited the conscription of young children for labor. If he had not felt sorry for these children, he would not have allowed them to come. Even if he allowed them to come, he would have asked them to pretend to be adults and the foreman would not have interfered. But he did not expect that today he would be visited by the superiors.
"How old are you both?"
"twelve."
"Thirteen."
"eleven……"
As they reported their ages one by one, the foreman's face turned paler.
These are a group of children who are not even fourteen years old.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
