The Great Qin Empire---Qin Li

"When someone asks you your name, you should say you are Xiang Ji, remember that?"

The young man nodded heavily and assured his uncle: "Nephew, don't worry!"

"What's your name?" Xiang Liang suddenly turned around and asked when the servants were harnessing the shaft of the carriage.

"Xiang Zhuang..." The young man answered subconsciously, and then changed his mouth under his uncle's stern eyes, pursed his lips and reported the name of his cousin who was far away in his hometown.

"My name is Xiang Ji!"

"Remember not to answer wrong, otherwise, the Xiang family will be destroyed!"

Xiang Liang carefully instructed again, and then patted Xiang Zhuang and let him sit in the carriage.

The carriage was an ordinary, inferior horse carriage. Xiang Zhuang, who had been used to riding in a high carriage with four horses since he was a child, always felt that it was too narrow to fit in. But there was no way, his uncle told him that Chu had perished, and the Chu people had become slaves of a conquered country. The Xiang family was no longer a famous family that had held the imperial seal for four generations, but had become a "Shandong exile" and had to be cautious to survive.

Even so, Qin Shihuang did not forget them. In the migration order, Xiang Liang's name was included.

Even the strongest local tyrants are afraid to leave their nests. If the Xiang family was uprooted and left the familiar Jianghuai, they would probably be seriously injured.

Fortunately, Xiang Liang had a trick. He bribed the household official of Xiaxiang and separated from his younger brother Xiang Chan (Xiang Bo). Because the document of Sishui County said "Xiang Liang moved it", the Xiang family was divided into two. Xiang Liang brought his family to Guanzhong, while Xiang Chan and Xiang Sheng stayed in Xiaxiang with their followers.

Logically, his brother's son Xiang Ji should also migrate together, but Xiang Liang knew Xiang Ji's temperament. Although he was only thirteen years old, he was born with supernatural power and a bad temper. He was the kind of person who would kill people in the street if he didn't agree with him. In addition, he hated the Qin people very much. If he was brought to Guanzhong, it would be easy to cause trouble. So when the household official came to count the native place and write the verification, he asked another nephew Xiang Zhuang to pretend to be Xiang Ji and bring him to Guanzhong.

Xiang Zhuang was slightly younger than Xiang Ji, but he was taciturn. He had an unsharpened sword hanging from his waist, and was lost in thought as he stared at the street scene of Liyang on the side of the carriage.

Of the 120,000 captives who entered the pass, some continued to move to Longxi, Shangjun, Beidi, and Bashu to defend the border, the remaining half went to the Wuyuan south of Xianyang to open up wasteland and cultivate land, and the rest were dispersed and settled in various counties in Neishi.

The Xiang family and many nobles of Chu settled in Liyang. They arrived at the end of September and had just settled down. Today was the first time Xiang Liang took Xiang Zhuang out.

In the carriage, a gust of wind blew. Even though he was wearing winter clothes, the young man still shivered. He didn't say it was cold, but just frowned, thinking that it was so cold on the first day of October. How could it be in two months?

He missed the warm Dongchu and Xiaxiang by the Sishui River. In the warm river water in summer, the boys of the whole family laughed and played in the water, and the girls held lotus leaves as umbrellas and sat on the boat to watch them laugh. The fields were full of flowers. It was also good in autumn. The citrus fruits shipped from Huainan were sour, sweet and refreshing. He ate until his stomach couldn't hold it anymore...

Xiang Zhuang didn't like the north, didn't like Guanzhong, and didn't understand why the Qin people on the street were so happy. Some of them caught chickens and ducks, carried dog legs and fresh fish, went in and out of the market, and congratulated each other with smiles on their faces. The way of greeting was extremely ugly. There were also people in the village standing on wooden blocks to replace the peach charms on their doors, just like the New Year.

"Qin celebrates the New Year on the first day of October."

Xiang Liang, who drove the car himself, explained: "Today is the first day of the year."

Xiang Zhuang opened his eyes wide and felt unreasonable.

How could the New Year be celebrated in October?

This is why Xiang Liang chose to go out today. Like many places in Qin, the whole of Liyang was immersed in the atmosphere of the festival. The government was on holiday, and the petty officials who usually kept a close eye on the Shandong immigrants also relaxed and went home to eat millet.

In this atmosphere, Xiang Liang happened to visit his old friend, in the name of New Year's greetings, to inquire about some news...

Although Liyang is only a county, the city is not small, because it was the former capital of Qin. In order to compete with Wei, Qin Xian Gong moved the capital from Yongcheng to here, and then moved to Xianyang during the reign of Qin Xiao Gong. Liyang then became deserted, but with the construction of Zhengguo Canal more than ten years ago, passing through the northern part of Liyang, the land in Liyang was irrigated, and it became a granary in Weibei, and it has become more and more prosperous in recent years.

Xiang Liang also used a lot of connections to make his family's migration place neither a remote border county like Bashu nor Xianyang under the eyes of Qin Shihuang.

In his own words, "If the world is stable, I will live in Liyang and teach my sons and nephews to not forget the national hatred and family feuds; if the world changes, I can escape and return to the east..."

With ulterior motives, Xiang Liang needed an informed information channel.

He walked from the west of the city to the east of the city, and the carriage stopped. Xiang Liang got off the carriage and asked the servants behind him to hand over the gift to him.

The gift is a gift for Shandong nobles to meet each other, especially when people of low status visit people of high status. When they meet, there must be a gift. What Xiang Liang is holding in his hand is a dried green-headed wild duck, which is called Qingshou in Chu and "Wu" in Zhongyuan.

Before the fall of Chu, Xiang Zhuang had attended banquets with his family and remembered some banquet rules. He whispered, "Uncle, didn't my family always hold lambs when visiting others in the past?"

Xiang Liang smiled bitterly, "I hold the leather and silk, the nobles hold the lambs, the officials hold the geese, the scholars hold the pheasants, the common people hold the geese, and the businessmen hold the chickens. My family is no longer a top pillar of the state or a top ruler, but just an ordinary peasant!"

"Popular peasants..." Xiang Zhuang lowered his head. When he was a prime minister, his cousin Xiang Ji would get angry every time he read this word, saying that it meant slaves.

At that time, he didn't feel it deeply. After entering Guanzhong, he understood the humiliation of it.

Their uncle taught them to recite Li Sao. The Xiang family was also a descendant of the Mi family, a descendant of Emperor Gaoyang, with the blood of Zhurong flowing in their bodies. In the Chu State, they were hereditary nobles respected by everyone. After entering Qin, they were just ordinary peasants...

Their social status was not even as good as those ordinary Qin farmers who had no hats and belts and dug for food in the fields!

Xiang Liang just didn't tell Xiang Zhuang that there was a whole pound of gold hidden in the belly of this dried green head!

The home of the venerable they visited was in a village. When the village guard saw them dressed in Chu costumes, he immediately became alert and shouted at the uncle and nephew to show their ID cards, explain the reason for coming here, and register on the wooden slip before letting them in.

It is said that in Qin, every village is so strict, but Xiang Liang thinks otherwise. The Qin people are intoxicated with the victory of unifying the world, enjoying the wealth plundered from the six countries, and have become increasingly lax. In the past, there was no loophole, but now a needle can be inserted...

Arriving at the back door of a tall courtyard, Xiang Liang dressed neatly and knocked on the door himself. Soon the door opened. A servant in black clothes stuck his head out and saw Xiang Liang, smiled. After the door opened, he saw Xiang Zhuang following behind, and couldn't help scolding: "You can come by yourself, why bring a child!"

Xiang Liang was flexible and smiled and said: "Bring him here to broaden his horizons." At the same time, he stuffed a small bag of money into the servant's palm.

After weighing the situation, the servant smiled again and said, "Come in quickly and don't make a sound."

Although Xiang Zhuang did not say anything, he saw it all and felt that this family was too rude. In Chu, the host would personally go to the main gate to welcome guests...

He didn't know that when Xiang Liang first visited, he was ignored for an hour. This time, he spent enough money, and the servant led them directly to the study.

A woman, in her early forties, with heavy makeup and wearing a noble red dress, sat behind the desk, chatting and laughing with the beautiful housekeeper, and behaved intimately...

"Madam Wei!" Xiang Liang smiled and asked the servant to pass the heavy blue-headed wild duck on his behalf. He then pulled Xiang Zhuang to bow at the door.

"It's Xiang Jun who is here."

The middle-aged woman withdrew her hand from the housekeeper's hand, straightened her clothes, and saw that it was Xiang Liang, and her eyes swept to the housekeeper again.

The steward weighed the duck and knew that there was enough gold inside, so he nodded to the hostess.

The woman smiled, asked the servant to take a seat, bowed and said, "Mr. Xiang has done a favor to my late husband, why are you so polite?"

This woman was called "Mrs. Wei", and she was the wife of Wei Ju, the illegitimate son of Wei Zhuang, the right prime minister of Qin.

Wei Zhuang was a Chu person. He went to Qin alone in his early years, and his son and daughter-in-law stayed in Chu, where they lived a miserable life. Xiang Liang was a man who liked to be chivalrous and make friends widely. He helped Wei Ju a lot and made him his retainer, so that Mrs. Wei could have fish and meat every meal.

A few years ago, when Wei Zhuang became rich and replaced Changping Jun as the right prime minister, Wei Jiu took his wife to Qin to enjoy wealth and honor, but he died of illness in Xianyang. After losing his son, Wei Zhuang did not mistreat his widowed daughter-in-law, and bought her a large house in Liyang, where she lived a rich life.

Madam Wei was a woman who knew how to manage things, and soon became a noble lady in Liyang that no one dared to offend. People often came to her to inquire about court news, personnel appointments and dismissals...

The two had not been in touch for many years, and when they met again, the host and guest had reversed.

Xiang Liang was not dissatisfied, and his family was able to settle in Liyang thanks to Madam Wei's help.

Madam Wei looked at Xiang Zhuang and said, "Is this your son?"

"He is my nephew." Xiang Liang glanced at Xiang Zhuang, who was silent, and said, "His name is Xiang Ji, the eldest son of my uncle, whom Madam had seen in the past."

"He has grown up so much." Madam Wei sighed, but did not recognize that this was a fake.

Xiang Liang was relieved. Madam Wei was the only person in Guanzhong who had seen Xiang Ji. She had not seen through him, so the matter was safe.

Madam Wei was very polite to the person who gave her money. She asked the servants to serve hot soup and a plate of reddish-brown sugar cubes.

She introduced with great joy: "This is the last batch of brown sugar on the market this year. It has increased from 500 coins per catty to 1,000 coins per catty. Although doctors say that this thing has the effect of replenishing blood, it is too expensive. Why don't you grab it? I heard that the new brown sugar will not be shipped to Guanzhong until the beginning of spring at the earliest..."

It seems to be complaining, but it is actually showing off. She showed off that her family had special channels to obtain brown sugar that was sold out in Xianyang South Market a few months ago, and asked Xiang Zhuang not to be polite and taste it.

"I have been in Guanzhong for many years. I still remember drinking the mulberry juice sent by Xiang Jun when I was in Huainan with my late husband. The taste is unforgettable... It is said that brown sugar is shipped from Nanjun. The sugar is not made from malt, but from wild mulberry trees on the edge of Yunmeng Lake. Nanjun is also the land of Western Chu. Eating brown sugar really tastes like wild mulberry trees, which can be regarded as the taste of hometown. Come, little gentleman, try it!"

Xiang Zhuang looked at Xiang Liang and saw that his uncle nodded in agreement. Then he picked up a piece and put it in his mouth. It was sweet and greasy, far more sweet than citrus, and it really had a familiar mulberry flavor...

This is the taste from Jingchu, the taste of the sunshine in the south. Before the fall of Chu, he drank mulberry juice with Xiang Ji and other brothers. The memory of laughter and joy emerged in front of him, making him inexplicably depressed, and the honey in his mouth seemed to become bitter.

Madam Wei was still showing off her well-informedness. She told Xiang Liang that Wu Shiluo had already taken a fancy to this product and ordered several thousand kilograms. She would sell it in the Diqiang and Yuezhi areas west of Lintao in the early spring of next year...

Xiang Liang nodded repeatedly and began to tentatively ask about the origin and market price of brown sugar. He even had an idea in his mind.

"Brown sugar is more valuable than gold and iron in Guanzhong, and is especially loved by the rich. There are also many tangerines in Huainan and Jiangdong. The ones in the Chu King's Palace in Shouchun are especially sweet and delicious. If the merchants in my family can study the production method and plant them in Dongchu and Nanchu, it may become a new source of income for my family!"

Madam Wei saw Xiang Liang's thoughts and smiled, "Xiang Jun should give up this idea. I heard that half a year ago, when brown sugar was first sold to Xianyang, the left minister Mai and the fifth doctor Shi of Nanshi were dissatisfied with the brown sugar's occupation of the market. They once instructed their merchants to make trouble and sue the brown sugar vendors, but they ended up in disgrace!"

"Oh? Is there a backer behind the brown sugar vendors?" Xiang Liang has been in the underworld for many years and is familiar with the officialdom. He understands that this means that the real owner of the brown sugar is not small.

"The brown sugar is sold in the name of an unknown old woman in Anlu County, Nanjun. Just like the widow Qing was called the cinnabar widow, merchants secretly call her the sugar woman."

"But do you know who the son of this sugar woman is?"

Xiang Liang was very poised and said, "I hope Madam Wei can help me solve this puzzle."

Madam Wei picked up another object on the table, which was a light yellow sheet that looked like silk but not silk, like cloth but not cloth, and was full of words.

This was a new thing that appeared in Guanzhong last month. Qin Shihuang ordered the internal historians to try it out in various counties. Now it has flown out of Xianyang and spread to all the counties in the capital. This is a sensational event, and Xiang Liang naturally heard about it.

His face changed slightly: "Heifu paper, is it the right minister Heifu?"