The war in the southwest has since turned into an encirclement and suppression war, but Qin State has not been greatly affected by this. Qin State itself is very wealthy, and the wealth collected from Qi State and Hou Sheng can fully support it.
Three such wars are effortless, not to mention that the Qin State has continuously increased its national power through various new policies over the years. A brand-new empire is still at its peak strength, and it cannot be shaken by a few wars.
The Qin State, or the Great Qin Empire, has reached its peak period after several generations of struggle. Whether it is in terms of household registration, territory, grain production, military equipment, etc., today's Great Qin is at its peak.
Standing at an unprecedented top. Regarding this, the ministers and officials of the Qin State all know this. It is precisely because of this that the officials of the Qin Dynasty all seem a little arrogant and arrogant.
After all, during the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors era, there had never been such a powerful political power in China. This was the first time that a unified centralized empire appeared in China, and the arrival of Zhao Kuo made this empire countless times more powerful than before.
Over the years, Zhao Kuo has been thinking about what his arrival has brought to the world. Zhao Kuo has always felt that what he has done is not enough and that he is insignificant, so even now, he still wants to do more
What, do something more.
Over the years, Zhao Kuo's actions finally created this tyrannical Qin that was far beyond its original appearance. Zhao Kuo's behavior was like blending two completely different empires together. The rigorous and brutal Qin and the loose
As for the rational Han Dynasty, the two empires were forcibly integrated by Zhao Kuo. In terms of local systems, there were both the filial piety system of the Han Dynasty and the stern-faced Qin officials. There were also standing armed forces such as the Northern Army of the Han Dynasty.
No border guard troops were lost.
A huge empire that was equally strong in internal affairs and military and highly tolerant was gradually taking shape. Zhao Kuo did not feel that this had much to do with him. After all, he was just an old farmer working outside Xianyang.
The war in the southwest was just something the people of Qin had to do after dinner. No, there is no tea to drink now. It should be just a conversation after dinner. Even if hundreds of thousands of people in Chu were involved in this war, it was nothing, because
With the existence of Zhao Kuo, even if Li Si intended to let these Chu people serve in the southwest for several years, he would not be able to complete it because he knew that if he did so, Zhao Kuo would definitely hit him on the head with a cane.
Therefore, the Qin State's corvee work was carried out in batches, so that it could not delay the cultivation of mulberry trees, and it was paid. Yes, the Qin State provided meals and some additional subsidies to the people who participated in the corvee work. In this way, Chu
The local people are no longer so resistant to corvees. When the King of Chu used corvees, they were all free of charge. Although such batches of actions would make Li Si even busier, he had no other way.
No one in the temple dared to provoke Zhao Kuo. When they were formulating the southwest strategy, Zhang Cang once suggested that they could eliminate the enemies in the southwest by polluting water sources. As a result, he was almost beaten to death by Zhao Kuo without saying whether this would affect the
The surrounding Chu people, even those in the southwest, cannot be treated like this. There are not only enemies there, but also many innocent people.
Han Fei had heard Zhang Cang complain many times that Zhao Kuo was too pedantic. He just smiled but did not stop him. It is probably because of his unique pedantry that he is the Ma Fujun respected by everyone.
Today, Zhao Kuo is busy with matters in the Western Regions on the one hand, and on the other hand, the university. Zhao Kuo's three-step education strategy has been implemented, with an elementary school responsible for enlightenment and a middle school responsible for training officials.
, as well as universities with academic research institutions. The primary school has been basically settled. The No. 1 Primary School in Xianyang has trained many teenagers, and these teenagers have received some basic education.
After they completed their studies, the changes in them were huge. From all aspects, they became the core force at the grassroots level. They knew the characters, the laws, and mathematics. They were like the connectors between the temple and the place, breaking the
Monopoly power may arise in the local area. If officials do something that violates laws and disciplines, these people who have received enlightenment education will not let them go and solve the problem through legal means.
Zhao Kuo's middle school is even more useful. Although the middle school has only produced the first batch of graduates so far, these graduates have gone to serve as officials in various places. It can be said that the middle school will continue to have a steady stream of graduates in the future.
It provided fresh blood to the Qin State and allowed the official machinery to run. As for the university, it had just built a building. Under Li Si's supervision, this institution was quite luxurious, almost like a brand new city.
Scholars invited by Zhao Kuo from various places also gathered here. Under the guidance of Zhao Kuo, they began academic research. Of course, the happiest person was Lu Buwei. The "Lu Spring and Autumn Annals" summarized by Lu Buwei originally included hundreds of schools of thought.
Now that hundreds of schools of thought have gathered together, Lu Buwei thought this was an opportunity to improve his work. He distributed his work and said that whoever could change a word in the book could receive a thousand gold coins from him.
"Lu's Spring and Autumn" is the first book written by an official organization. It can be said that it has gathered the wisdom of thousands of people. It is still very difficult to change it. Even if someone can change it, it probably won't be done due to Lu Buwei's face.
Choosing to take action. Lu Buwei sat among the scholars, raised his head, and looked at them proudly. He was filled with pride when he saw hundreds of scholars looking at their books and meditating hard.
He finally completed a "perfect" book. These scholars had paper and pens beside them. If they felt they could modify it, they could write it at any time. However, everyone just looked at it, and no one actually modified it. Zhao Kuo
Sitting opposite Lu Buwei, he looked at it for a moment, and suddenly looked at the pen and ink on the side. At this moment, Lu Buwei shuddered, but did not say much. Zhao Kuo looked at the pen and ink, and then looked at the book in his hand. Lu Buwei
Breathed a sigh of relief.
He looked at Zhao Kuo thoughtfully, seeming to understand something in his heart.
After a brief discussion, everyone went about their own business, while Lu Buwei and Zhao Kuo went to his study room in the university town. They collected a lot of books here and lent them to others for free.
.Walking on the road, Lu Buwei suddenly asked: "I heard that Gan Luo often stays in your mansion recently?" Zhao Kuo nodded and said, "I want him to go as an envoy beyond the Great Wall."
"He should be very happy to agree."
"He did agree, but he didn't know the languages beyond the Great Wall. He needed to send an envoy and solve the language barrier before he could go. I actually wanted to open up the connection with the Western Regions. You don't know, this is very important. Moreover, now
This is the best time." Zhao Kuo revealed some of his strategy for the Western Regions. Lu Buwei listened carefully for a moment and said, "I understand what you mean."
"If you need someone who is proficient in languages beyond the Great Wall, then I can introduce you. I once had a junior whose father was a businessman in the North. I did business with his father. His father can speak Lin Lin fluently.
Under the influence of his father, he also mastered many languages such as Hu and Xiongnu. When he grew up, he devoted himself to studying these things and became proficient in many languages."
"Oh? Then where is he now?"
"It should be in the Northland. I can send someone to bring him back. He is a good guide and a good translator."
Zhao Kuo agreed to him, and then the two fell silent again. No words were spoken for a long time. When they arrived in the study, the two slowly sat down. Lu Buwei rubbed his sore legs and sighed helplessly, "I'm old.
"I'm old." He looked at Zhao Kuo and said, "I heard that a general died during this expedition to the south?"
"Yes, a general was killed in the battle, and the emperor was very angry. If I hadn't stopped him, he even wanted to organize soldiers in many counties in Chu to attack the enemies in the southwest and southwest for a second time. The reason why they are difficult to deal with is because they hide
In the mountains and forests, no matter how many soldiers there are, it is useless. We can only surround them little by little, and achieve the blockade by improving facilities such as the post road and so on."
"If you had gone to the southwest, the war would have ended long ago."
"No, even if I'm in the southwest, I can only take down the enemy slowly."
The two fell silent again.
"Wuchenghou, I'm afraid I won't be able to survive this cold winter." Lu Buwei said suddenly. Zhao Kuo was stunned and looked at his old friend in front of him, "Why do you say that?" Lu Buwei looked ahead calmly and said in a daze:
"I often felt suffocated. Sometimes, I couldn't even breathe for a long time. I thought I was going to leave. However, I survived again, and this situation began to become more frequent."
"You don't know, these days, I am always lingering on the edge of death. At the beginning, I was very scared, but now, I am used to it. I even feel that if I can leave earlier, it will not be a bad thing."
He smiled bitterly, pointed to his chest, and said, "I have severe pain here. When the pain comes at night, I keep coughing and I can't sleep. It's really torturous."
If it were Zhao Kuo in the past, he might comfort Lu Buwei or interrupt him, but at this age, Zhao Kuo has looked away from many things. He can understand Lu Buwei's mood. People always hope that their
Relatives can stay with them forever, so they hate them mentioning death and even don't allow them to leave them. However, they don't know what the person involved really thinks.
Perhaps the only one who can understand Lu Buwei is Zhao Kuo. Like Lu Buwei, he has been busy for most of his life. Now, only this tired and old body is left, like a decayed machine, running tremblingly and making violent noises.
They can always feel tired and tired from the unpleasant noise. No matter what they are doing, whether they are asleep or awake, they cannot get rid of that kind of fatigue.
Coupled with the pain caused by the hard work in youth, death sometimes becomes a good relief.
Zhao Kuo said with deep understanding: "I know that when I was young, I was hit by an arrow, and the injured place is now starting to hurt. I didn't take it seriously at first. I didn't expect that they would start to bully me when I got older." Zhao Kuo pulled away
Sleeve, he looked at his arms to Lu Buwei. Lu Buwei had some pity in his eyes, really pity. Although his body was not in good condition, the scars on his body were definitely not as many as those of Zhao Kuo.
Zhao Kuo went through hundreds of battles and was scarred, and when all these pains broke out, the pain Zhao Kuo suffered was unbearable by Lu Buwei. This is also a common problem among military officers. When he was young, he fought on the battlefield regardless of any scars, but when he got older,
After that, these scars became life-threatening talismans and devils that tormented them. Later, those seemingly thin civil servants always lived longer than military generals, and there were very few old generals who continued to fight from their youth to their old age.
Most of the old generals are late bloomers and did not experience too much pain when they were young. Of course, there are also some generals who have been reckless from their youth to their old age.
In comparison with Zhao Kuo who was covered in injuries, Lu Buwei's mood seemed less heavy. Compared to Zhao Kuo, he was still very lucky. Zhao Kuo calmly told him what he had suffered these days.
Every wound on the body has a story, and behind these stories is an old and painful figure struggling at night. Zhao Kuo has never been willing to show his pain, and he is definitely not saying it now just to get something.
Lu Buwei's sympathy was just another way to comfort Lu Buwei.
"When I was young, I always wanted to be a saint. But now, I have given up. Xunzi once said that anyone can become a saint. But I have struggled for a long time and have not been able to become a saint. Now, I no longer think about those things.
What I wanted to do has been done, and the book I wanted to write has been written," Lu Buwei said without much disappointment on his face.
He has completely let go of his obsession and no longer wants to become a saint. He has focused on the things he did in the past and his books. In the past, he did these just to become an ideal through these.
The saint in the world, but now, it is just a pure interest.
Zhao Kuo laughed, shook his head and said, "In fact, you have fulfilled your ambition a long time ago, but you just didn't realize it."
Lu Buwei was stunned and looked at Zhao Kuo in front of him. He was stunned for a moment and then suddenly started laughing.
The cold winter of this year was as cold as usual. Lu Buwei did not lie. In the cold winter of this year, Lu Buwei passed away. He passed away very peacefully. He fell asleep quietly on the bed and did not get up again.
When the retainers came to wake him up, they discovered that he had left. Lu Buwei's death made many people cry. Many people came to pay their respects to the Qin Prime Minister. Of course, Zhao Kuo also came, but he did not
No crying.
He still remembered what Lu Buwei told him that day.
This is just a relief.
ps: My body really can’t handle it anymore, and my chest hurts so much that I have to take some good treatment after writing this book.
