Chapter 21 The Magistrate's Visit (Revised) A hazy rain had just fallen...
A light drizzle had just passed, and the plants, having drunk their fill of water, had their leaves washed clean of dust, revealing an astonishing green hue.
The magistrate, with his hands behind his back and a few subordinates, strolled leisurely and comfortably around the territory of the Keluo people.
An led the way, standing a step ahead of him. Logically, when a local official like the magistrate came to the territory of the Keluo people, Lin Fengzhi should be the one to meet him. However, she had recently been extremely busy, seemingly engrossed in some research with Sheng Kuan, a disciple of the Mohist school.
An knew that this child always had many wonderful ideas and was always able to put them into practice, so she let her be.
When the magistrate arrived, she simply came out of the weaving room to greet him. In name, she remained the chieftain of the Koruo people.
Although unaware of the magistrate's purpose, An led him and his entourage freely to observe the development of the Keluo people during their stay in the tribe. Based on their experience working with the magistrate, the magistrate was an ambitious and results-oriented person, and Lin Fengzhi could offer him far more than he had imagined. Lin Fengzhi respected An and would not want to cause him any discomfort, thus affecting their cooperation.
The sound of children reciting their lessons came from a brightly lit room. The magistrate was surprised and looked in the direction of the sound. He saw a group of little boys reading and practicing their writing. The teacher was also young, a boy with a serious face, writing small seal characters on a wooden board behind him.
For some reason, the children were full of enthusiasm for learning, and they were all in high spirits.
The magistrate was greatly surprised.
He himself was educated, but reading wasn't exactly fun. He simply couldn't stand it, so he abandoned his studies to join the army, carving out an official position in the Qin state where military merit was the primary path to advancement. His child is now of school age, and every day he has to awkwardly pay his respects to his teacher.
How strange and wonderful!
However, literacy was an extremely rare and precious quality in ancient times, especially in the early stages of feudal society. In the Qin Dynasty, military merit was the primary path to advancement, but holding a civil service position was also an important route. Literacy was the key to entering this path and gaining power and a higher social status.
However, opportunities to learn to read and write are not equal; nobles and wealthy families often have access to better educational resources.
The magistrate was quite surprised.
He listened quietly outside the window for a moment, then slowly said, "...Exceptional and outstanding. His actions are truly unique. Though initially arduous, he will ultimately achieve his goals..."
"This is the Cangjie Pian written by Li Xiang."
An smiled slightly. Ever since Lin Fengzhi introduced the reward system, both adults and children in the clan had become enthusiastic about learning. An knew what being able to read and write meant, and she wouldn't discourage her clansmen's enthusiasm for learning. She simply quietly changed the learning materials from classics like "Heavenly Questions" and "Nine Songs" to the Qin Dynasty's officially recommended primers for literacy, "Cangjie Pian" and "Boxue Pian." She tried her best to help her clansmen avoid violating Qin laws and prevent unnecessary trouble.
The magistrate asked his subordinates, one of whom, named Chen Ming, was specifically responsible for communicating with the Keluo people. Having lived among the Keluo people for a long time, he knew the situation in the area very well.
He then described Lin Fengzhi's educational reward system, his admiration barely concealed in his words.
The magistrate thought to himself, Lin Fengzhi is truly not greedy at all. The Qu family presented her with a great deal of treasure, and she was able to distribute it to her clansmen without any resentment. However, the magistrate was also pleased, as if having more scholars among the Keluo people would also be considered an achievement of his administration.
"It's all because the Great Shaman cares about his people, and everyone in the tribe is grateful for his merits." An felt very happy and proud as he listened to his subordinate's praise of Lin Fengzhi.
The magistrate looked at the rosy-cheeked, energetic children in the room, and then at An, who was sprightly and full of spirit, and felt that he was completely different from four years ago.
This wasn't his first time here.
When he first took office as the magistrate of Qianling County, he rode his horse and toured the area under the jurisdiction of Qianling County. His first impression of Qianling County was that there were countless barbarian tribes.
At that time, the county magistrate knew that although the Qin Dynasty had established a county in Qianling, it had not actually achieved complete control over it. Qianling's jurisdiction basically only extended to the area along the main stream of the Xiang River. The tribes in the deeper mountains were completely beyond its control. This had always been the case for remote border regions, and the imperial court did not have high expectations for its officials; maintaining stability was sufficient.
He was also very clear about his position: he didn't want to push his barbarian tribes too far, and he wanted to bring them under the control of the Qin Dynasty as much as possible. Otherwise, if things went wrong, these tribes might become unhappy and retreat to the deep mountains.
After much deliberation, the magistrate used salt, iron, and oxen—materials that were usually difficult to obtain—to lure the barbarian tribes toward the center of Qianling County.
Such behavior is effective.
During his four years in office, the magistrate had persuaded more than twenty tribes, large and small, to register as households in Qianling County, officially becoming members of the Great Qin Empire. The magistrate also showed some preferential treatment to the barbarians; for example, among the Ba people, adults only needed to pay thirty bunches of chicken feathers to offset their corvée labor.
Even with such preferential treatment, the magistrate knew that many Ba people were unwilling. This was unavoidable; the south was characterized by a network of waterways and mountains, crisscrossing rivers, dense forests, and continuous swamps. Although communication between them was inconvenient, the superior natural conditions and easy access to necessities meant they naturally lacked the motivation to transition to a state.
The Ba people were like this, as were the Keluo people, and the tribes that had lived on this land for many years.
Then, he formed a second impression of the barbarian tribes in Qianling County—poverty.
He still remembers the scene when he first came to the territory of the Korlos.
The Kolo people were poorly clothed and fed, and their faces were pale and emaciated. When they first saw him, their eyes were filled with wariness, and besides wariness, they were also calculating whether they could "keep" him. Their gazes lingered on his clothes and horses from time to time.
After the elder who had led the way explained things, the wariness and hidden greed turned into fear.
He persuaded An, the chieftain of the Koruo people, to be incorporated into Qianling County. An was not yet sixty years old at the time, but perhaps because he was worried about the future of the entire tribe and about food and shelter, wrinkles had already crept onto his face, making him look much older than his actual age.
He didn't know that what made An join Qianling County was not his eloquence or his sincerity, but the formidable Qin army he led.
Maybe he knows, but he just doesn't care.
The economic situation of the Korlo people did not improve as a result. Seeing that the local people practiced slash-and-burn agriculture, he sent people skilled in agriculture to teach them, but they were rejected by the xenophobic tribes.
The magistrate did consider using force, but the relationship between the barbarian tribes and the Qin Dynasty was already extremely fragile. The Qin Dynasty had just unified the Chu region. What if they rebelled if he used force again?
When Lin Fengzhi asked him for people from farming families, the county magistrate found it hard to believe.
He was very much looking forward to seeing what changes she would bring to the people of Corro and to him.
The cloth sales had been going on for over half a month, and the profits had astounded the county magistrate. The profits from this short period alone were almost equivalent to half a year's tax revenue for Qianling County. The magistrate was deeply moved.
With this in mind, how could he not come out on top in this year's exam?
His family has considerable assets, so he doesn't care much about economic gains or losses. If he can use this opportunity to enhance his political achievements or even get promoted, his entire family will be proud of him.
What? You're saying that the Qin Dynasty strictly prohibits commerce?
There are always ways to circumvent policies. He wasn't the one selling cloth; who would give up such enormous profits and a promising future?
The magistrate looked again at An, who seemed several years younger, and thought to himself, "When one person attains enlightenment, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven." The benefits generated by the oblique loom devised by Lin Fengzhi alone were enough to elevate all the Keluo people, not to mention that she was also the great shaman of the Xiang River basin, capable of commanding those tribes that worshipped the Xiang Lord.
In some ways, it's more useful than his title as county magistrate.
"I heard that Qu He has been staying here these days?"
An guessed that the magistrate and his entourage had arrived in a hurry and probably hadn't eaten yet. She parted the flowers and willows, weaved through the crowd, lifted the curtain, and led the magistrate to the dining area. As soon as they sat down, she heard the magistrate mention Qu He. She gave the kitchen staff a look, signaling them to bring the food.
"The magistrate is right. Qu He lost the challenge to the shaman and offered money and the chief priest's prayers. He then stayed here. He followed the shaman around all day. Now that I think about it, he was with the shaman and Sheng Kuan by the river."
"Oh? By the river?" The magistrate raised an eyebrow, his curiosity piqued. The Qu clan's territory was in the county seat, and the magistrate, who governed Qianling County, had dealt with Qu He quite a bit. Qu He was not an easy person to deal with, and the magistrate was very curious about how Lin Fengzhi had managed to win her over.
An picked up the bowl of tender white tofu from the table and said, "This story begins with this bowl of tofu."
The magistrate became interested. Tofu, as the name suggests, should be made from soybeans. But what he saw in the earthenware bowl was a soft, white substance that didn't seem like something that could be made from soybeans.
Having spent a long time in the land of the Keluo people, Chen Ming knew how to eat all these dazzling array of things. He also knew the magistrate's tastes, so he picked out honey from the condiments the cook brought and added it to his bowl, serving a bowl of sweet tofu pudding to the magistrate.
The magistrate scooped up a spoonful and put it in his mouth. The tofu pudding, nourished by honey, was incredibly delicate, melting in his mouth with a sweet and fluffy texture. The magistrate's eyes lit up, and his appetite was instantly whetted.
An explained the origin of tofu to him and strongly recommended that the magistrate try other soy products, such as soy milk, dried tofu skin, tofu knots, and bean curd sheets...
Unable to refuse such hospitality, and also because the magistrate himself was genuinely interested in these things, he tasted them all.
After the stone mill was officially put into use, Lin Fengzhi suggested grinding the hulled rice and wheat into powder, which led to the production of rice flour and wheat flour. Lin Fengzhi then used the wheat flour to make noodles, steamed buns, and so on.
Sometimes it's no wonder that Shengkuan and Quhe can't leave the territory of the Keluo people.
The county magistrate was engrossed in eating rice noodles.
As he ate, he thought to himself, "The people of Keluo are really wealthy; they even have money to buy honey and refined salt." The magistrate's family was quite rich, so the salt they ate daily was naturally refined, with impurities removed as much as possible. When he took his first bite of noodles with meat sauce, he couldn't help but praise it highly, and he couldn't help but complain to Shengkuan that he hadn't told him about such good things.
Perhaps considering that first-timers would be tempted to try a little of everything, the portions on each plate were small. The magistrate ate to his heart's content, almost forgetting the connection between the tofu and the riverbank.
An explained the connection between the stone mill and the river: "The stone mill does not take much time to build. It was only because the great shaman took pity on the hard work of my people that he proposed to tame the power of the water."
The magistrate slowly stopped eating, almost doubting that he had misheard.
What does it mean to tame and utilize water power?
Seeing the magistrate's shocked expression, An remained outwardly calm but inwardly very proud: "Our tribe has recently been short of manpower, and animal power has not yet caught up. Tofu and noodles are good, but feeding thousands of people is an incredibly daunting task. The great shaman looked at the ever-flowing river beside our tribe's land and said that the water would replace manpower and animal power."
This sentence instantly opened up Seungkwan's mind.
After studying it for three to five days, he finally used Jiegao to create a water-powered millstone that was in the initial stages of its creation.
The so-called Jiegao refers to a labor-saving water-lifting system constructed by supporting a horizontal wooden frame. Simply put, it is a lever device used for drawing water in the pre-Qin period.
Lin Fengzhi was greatly impressed. Sheng Kuan said that the ancestors of the Mohist school had recorded similar technology in the book "Mozi", but few people used it in water power.
Lin Fengzhi borrowed the Mozi and was surprised to find that the chapters "Preparing the City Gates" and "Preparing the Water" recorded the application of pulleys, levers, and cranks, indicating that the Mozi already had the ability to design composite machines and had a preliminary physical definition of gravity, buoyancy, and inclined plane motion.
Before the magistrate could ask further questions, a commotion arose outside, growing louder and louder until it almost lifted the roof off.
An frowned slightly, apologized to the magistrate, and got up to go to the source of the sound.
A note from the author:
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*The Qin Dynasty's policy towards barbarians as seen in the Liye Qin bamboo slips_Wang Yong
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