Chapter 24: Ziji Lifts the Tripod, Han Xin Enters Xianyang
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Meanwhile, Yu Huatian and Meng Yi also led their men out to receive Han Xin and Zhang Ao.
Xiao He had originally been an official of Great Qin, though he held a very minor post.
When they found Han Xin, he was trying to sell the treasured sword passed down through his family, hoping to repay the laundress who had once given him a meal.
Yu Huatian appeared and told him that, if he came to Xianyang, a fortune of gold would be his—and no one would take his sword from him.
Han Xin possessed nothing and had no attachments. He had previously made a living by fishing along the river, and going without food had long been an ordinary part of his life.
Thus, he agreed to come to Xianyang without the slightest hesitation.
With that, the three men destined to stir the winds and clouds of the realm had all been gathered by Ying Ziji.
...
Several days passed.
Ever since Ying Ziji had slighted the aristocrats, undercurrents had been surging through Xianyang.
Many people were discussing the matter in private, and all manner of speculation had arisen.
“One is merely a junior clerk from Pei County, while the other is an idle peasant. Could these two really transform from sparrows into phoenixes? I wonder what the Young Prince saw in them.”
“They probably have barely read a book in their lives. What qualifications could they possibly have?”
“I have studied diligently since childhood. Might the Young Prince take a liking to me as well and give me an official post?”
“How could a nineteen-year-old prince think of appointing ministers? There may be His Majesty’s influence behind this... Could it be that His Majesty intends to strike at the great families?”
“Quiet... My friend, be careful what you say. That is not something one can speak of recklessly.”
...
As the instigator responsible for all of this, Ying Ziji paid no attention to their speculations.
Within the palace chambers, a tiny figure was holding aloft a great bronze cauldron utterly disproportionate to his size.
Any ordinary person who saw it would have been frightened senseless. Surely such a small body would be crushed beneath a cauldron weighing more than a thousand pounds?
Yet, astonishingly, Ying Ziji was perfectly fine. He even looked rather relaxed as he muttered to himself.
“This cauldron is no lighter than the one Xiang Yu lifted, is it? What a pity. I still haven’t managed to test the limits of my strength. It is the heaviest thing in the palace...”
Ying Ziji hurled the bronze cauldron away.
Boom!
A muffled crash rang out. The ground trembled, and the thunderous clash of metal against stone shook the ears.
“Young Prince, what happened?”
Ying Ziji had just dusted off his little hands and was preparing to move the cauldron back when an anxious voice came from outside the hall.
“I’m fine. The cauldron rolled down just now, but it didn’t hit me.”
Ying Ziji watched as Zhang Liang ran through the doorway, then raised his hands and looked him over from head to toe.
Unfortunately, the cauldron could not speak.
Otherwise, it would have burst into tears at that very moment.
It was clearly that little monster who had thrown it!
“Cauldrons can roll that far?”
Zhang Liang stared blankly at the enormous vessel, which had flown several yards and cracked the ground beneath it, and fell into deep thought.
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At that moment, Ying Ziji’s voice interrupted his thoughts.
“Master Zhang, what brings you here today?”
Only then did Zhang Liang return to his senses. He bowed respectfully.
“I came mainly to inform the Young Prince that the Confucian scholars have finished copying all the books. Once the academy is completed, they can all be transported there.”
“However, the copying has been extremely laborious. One set of books may not be enough. Should I have them make several more copies?”
If the academy were open only to the aristocracy, a single collection would indeed suffice.
But the Young Prince had said that the academy’s purpose was to welcome impoverished scholars from across the realm.
There were countless poor scholars throughout the land. Once they all gathered at the academy, a single copy of each classic would certainly not be enough.
After thinking it over, the only solution was to let the Confucian scholars serve as free laborers for a while longer.
Ying Ziji, however, waved his little hand.
“That won’t be necessary. One set will be enough as a model. The matter of quantity is easy to solve.”
“Easy to solve?”
Zhang Liang was stunned.
The collection of books was no small thing. Dozens of Confucian scholars had nearly written their hands off, and only today had they managed to complete a single copy.
And that was despite their unusually rapid handwriting.
“The Gongshu family can solve this.”
“The Gongshu family? Do you mean that they should join us and help copy the books?”
“Come with me to the Gongshu family and you’ll understand. I wonder whether they have finished the curved-shaft plow. We can take a look while we’re there.”
“This curved-shaft plow... what exactly is it?”
Zhang Liang was not an arrogant man, but he considered himself wiser and more intelligent than ordinary people.
Yet during the days he had spent at the Young Prince’s side, he constantly felt that his mind was not quite keeping up.
As a strategist, he felt he had failed to fulfill his responsibilities...
The Brocade Guards had prepared a carriage.
Ying Ziji invited Zhang Liang to ride with him, and they set off directly for the Gongshu family estate.
“Young Prince, once the academy’s true purpose is revealed, the great families and aristocrats will inevitably grow dissatisfied. Have you not acted too hastily by rushing to appoint Xiao He and me, while placing several obscure, unknown men in the imperial court?”
“And are those men truly capable of handling such positions?”
After hesitating for a moment, Zhang Liang finally voiced the doubts in his heart.
These past few days, the news had spread throughout Xianyang.
Three unknown nobodies—and even the heir of an anti-Qin faction—had somehow gained seats in the court of Great Qin.
Even Zhang Liang felt that it was rather unconventional.
“I did not choose them at random. Every one of them is a peerless talent no less capable than you.”
“Besides, when I appointed you, did that conform to the rules? Extraordinary people cannot be judged by ordinary standards.”
Ying Ziji sat inside the carriage, watching the endless stream of people moving through Xianyang.
Take it slowly? He did not have the time.
There were still many matters left unfinished.
Hearing this, Zhang Liang was momentarily speechless.
That was true enough.
He himself had once been an assassin bent on opposing Qin, yet had become the head of the academy—and had even ended up as the teacher of the aristocrats.
“Those men... are peerless talents?”
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From Ying Ziji’s tone, Zhang Liang sensed how highly he regarded them.
His curiosity about those men deepened.
“Master Zhang, you needn’t dwell on it. Let us go to the Gongshu family first and settle the matter of the academy’s books.”
“Yes. I look forward to seeing them.”
Creak, creak—
The carriage traveled along the main avenue and arrived in the southern city, where the Gongshu family resided.
Getting the Gongshu family to work for him was quite easy.
They paid little attention to anything else. They never participated in court debates and devoted themselves almost entirely to their own studies.
Naturally, their efficiency was remarkable.
The potatoes in the fields were nearly ripe. Once large-scale planting began, a batch of curved-shaft plows would have to be produced. That way, grain could be sent to the northern frontier much more quickly.
After the time it takes half an incense stick to burn, a sizable estate came into view.
This place was not merely a residence. It more closely resembled the beginning of a factory.
“What an impressive carriage. Who is inside?”
“I believe it is the one His Majesty ordered us to build especially for the Young Prince. I personally watched the carriage being made.”
“Didn’t you notice the guards dressed in brocade? They seem to appear only beside the Young Prince. What are they called again... the Brocade Guards?”
“The family head said that if the Young Prince came, we were to lead him directly to the rear garden.”
“Then let us hurry and receive him.”
...
As they watched the carriage escorted by dozens of riders, strange expressions flickered across the faces of the Gongshu family members standing at the gate.
Recently, the Young Prince had become a frequent subject of conversation throughout Xianyang.
Moreover, according to the eldest young lady, the iron-smelting techniques, the stirrup designs, and the curved-shaft plow she had brought back had all come from the Young Prince.
For the past several days, they had heard Gongshu Youlan praise Ying Ziji so often that their ears had nearly grown calluses.
He seemed... rather different from the troublesome child described in the rumors circulating through the city.
As for this young regent, they were more curious than anything else.
They had no time to think further, for the carriage had already arrived.
Ying Ziji lifted the curtain and hopped down.
“Greetings, Young Prince.”
“Your humble servants greet the Young Prince. The family head is in the rear estate. Allow us to lead you there.”
The Gongshu family members lowered their heads one after another, displaying the utmost respect.
They might discuss him in private, but he was still the First Emperor’s son—and the regent of the empire.
“Very well. I’ll trouble you, then.”
Ying Ziji rubbed his aching little backside.
Riding a horse or sitting in a carriage in this era was truly a torment. His bottom felt as though it had nearly been jolted into four pieces.
Zhang Liang and Xiao He followed close behind, while the Brocade Guards remained outside the Gongshu estate.
The intimidating aura of those imperial hounds was simply too frightening. If they brought them inside, anyone unaware of the situation might think they had come to confiscate the entire household.
...
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