The Great Qin Empire---Qin Li

"I'm afraid I can't accompany you to visit Xiangshan and the temples of Xiangjun and Xiangfuren."

In late January of the 27th year of the reign of Qin Shihuang, in the house of Anlu, Heifu stroked his wife's hand with a guilty look on his face.

Heifu had just married, and when the wind and snow stopped, he took a wedding leave to take his new wife back to Anlu to meet his mother and elder brother. His return, as usual, caused a sensation in the entire Anlu County. Now Heifu, who had become a big man, was respected by everyone from the county magistrate to the servants. Those who wanted to be his guests lined up outside the door, but were rejected by Heifu one by one.

He behaved very low-key in Anlu. Even if he wanted to invite guests, he asked them to go to Nanchang, Fanyang and other places to manage his fields and houses and look after the sugarcane and brown sugar industries.

In addition, many of Nei Shiteng's former officials and followers came from neighboring counties to meet Heifu. Nei Shiteng had served as the governor of Nanjun for seven or eight years, and his influence was huge. Heifu previously only had some old subordinates among the newly promoted military nobles in various places, but now he has also established relationships with county chiefs and assistants, and his political foundation is very strong.

He didn't want his rare vacation to be filled with social events. After sending away some visitors and politely declining overly expensive gifts, he planned to take a spontaneous trip with his wife.

After leaving Xiakou, go south to Yunmeng and Dongting, visit the famous scenic spot Xiangshan, and worship the temples of Xiangjun and Xiangfuren, which Ye Zijin likes very much. If there is enough time, float down the river to see the beautiful scenery of Jiujiang Lushan, where Heifu is familiar and can serve as a tour guide.

But just before they set off, an imperial edict from Qin Shihuang made the couple's honeymoon trip come to nothing.

Ye Zijin, who had just become a wife, was also a little depressed. Although Heifu was of humble origin, he was not vulgar. In addition, the couple had a harmonious life, and the two were in love.

But she still said seriously: "The ancients said that when the king summons you, you should go without waiting for the carriage to be ready. It means that when the king summons you for something, you should rush out without waiting for the carriage to be ready. It is polite to rush to the king's order. My dear, you should return to Xianyang as soon as possible!"

She stroked Heifu's black claws with her white hand and smiled: "Besides, what is different?"

"But His Majesty summoned me back this time, I am afraid that he wants me to travel with him." Heifu shook his head helplessly. There was nothing he could do. Who made him have an emperor who liked to travel...

When Heifu left Xianyang, the governor of Longxi County just delivered a good news to the palace: the highway from Xianyang to Lintao was completed!

The Chidao was another major project of Qin Shihuang after the Six Royal Palaces and the Twelve Golden Men. It was prioritized over the Mausoleum of Mount Li and the Guanzhong Palace Gardens, which were being built at the same time.

Hefu fully supported this project. The ruling territory of a country was limited by its military transportation capacity. After Qin unified the country, although many passes and bridges were flattened, it took months or even a year and a half to send officials and mobilize troops in many places, which was very inconvenient.

So since last year, Qin Shihuang asked counties to repair roads and turn the original muddy and narrow paths into "highways" that could accommodate several carriages running side by side!

At that time, Hefu had just proposed a "five-year plan" to promote Qin seal script, official script and paper within five years, which was later changed to three years by Qin Shihuang.

The emperor included the Chidao in the three-year plan, requiring that within three years, the "Western Road" from Xianyang and Yongcheng to Longxi and Beidi County, the "Eastern Road" from Hangu Pass, through Luoyang, Xingyang, Chenliu, and directly to the coast of Qi, and the "Wuguan Road" from Wuguan to Nanjun must be completed.

Among the three roads, the Western Road is the shortest and has the least distance, so it was completed first, so Qin Shihuang was busy and was going to start his first long-distance trip after unifying the world, a tour to the west in March.

"Your Majesty destroyed the six kingdoms, unified the world, and unified the **. Such a great achievement must be reported to the ancestors of all generations in the ancestral temple of the ancient capital Yongcheng. After that, you may continue to go west to visit Xichui and Quanqiu, where the Qin State originated, or go to Lintao, climb the Great Wall, and look at the land outside the domain..."

At this point, Heifu fell into deep thought.

When the couple returned to Nanjun, they also led thousands of garrison soldiers south with the newly appointed Changsha County Lieutenant Tu Sui. Zhao Tuo was also in the army. Last June, the Yue people in Dongting County rebelled, and the Yue people in Changsha County were not very peaceful. All kinds of evidence pointed to Xiou and Nanyue in Lingnan, as well as the remnants of the Chu State who fled there. This undoubtedly gave the emperor a reason to use troops in Lingnan. Repairing the Wuguan Nanjun Road and sending Tu Sui as the governor of Changsha County may be a precursor to a large-scale war.

But Heifu did not want Qin to rush to use troops in Lingnan. Once the war started, the old subordinates and soldiers of Nanjun who were related to him would definitely bear the brunt. It was already difficult enough in Jiangxi. Traveling far to Lingnan, fighting with the Yue people in the jungle, and epidemics in tropical areas, I don't know how many people would die.

So Heifu has been planning how to dispel the emperor's idea of conquering Baiyue, at least to delay for a few more years, so that the old subordinates can farm for a few more years.

But after serving as a close guard for a year, Heifu gradually understood the emperor's character. He said that the success rate of direct advice was extremely low, and he had to find another way.

This time, Qin Shihuang visited Longxi in the west and summoned Heifu to accompany him, which gave him an idea.

"The world west of Lintao is much wider than the south of the Five Ridges, and it is not far from Guanzhong. There are also highways, so it is very convenient to dispatch troops."

The most important thing is that if there is something wrong in Longxi and Beidi, it is impossible to dispatch Heifu's direct troops to the north.

"Why don't I try the strategy of using someone else's strength to replace someone else's strength?"

So Heifu really hopes to participate in this western tour to see if there is a chance to divert the emperor's attention.

The only thing he can't let go of is his newly married wife who accompanied him home not long ago.

Heifu was very satisfied with Ye Zijin. She was not only fair-skinned and beautiful, but also a lady from a noble family with a good cultural background. More importantly, she was the first noble woman Heifu met after he came to this era who did not discriminate against his family background...

Other women, upon hearing that Heifu had no surname, either mocked, despised, or snickered. Only Ye Zijin said to him in public, "You should be proud of your achievements and not be ashamed of having no surname."

This sentence touched Heifu's heart, and he also remembered this little girl deeply.

Mutual respect is the first prerequisite for Heifu to find a partner.

After returning to Anlu after marriage, Heifu also secretly observed that Ye Zijin did not show any disrespect when she met Heifu's helpless old mother. Although she did not pour water to wash her feet in person, she did what a daughter-in-law should do, treating her mother with respect and chatting with her mother in simple words.

She was also polite to Heifu's brother and sister-in-law, who had calloused hands and the color of a husband and a peasant woman. She also personally taught Heifu's niece Xiaoyue how to weave and sew. The little girl, who was in her early teens, was full of stars in her eyes. She just felt that this Zhongmu was the person she wanted to be in the future.

This made Heifu feel relieved. Although he came from a time travel, he also inherited Heifu's body and ties. He attached great importance to his family. It was his most basic requirement that the new wife respect her mother, brother and sister-in-law, and love her niece.

So he showed more love to his young wife, and said hesitantly: "I will accompany you to the west, for two months at the shortest, and half a year at the longest..."

Ye Zijin knew that her husband was afraid that they would be separated for so long after getting married and neglected her, so she smiled and said: "Then I will not return to Xianyang, but stay in Anlu."

Seeing that Heifu was a little surprised, she began to count the benefits of staying in Anlu by counting her fingers.

"Although my hometown is in Han, I have been in Nanjun with my father for seven or eight years and have become a southerner. I like rice and water, so it's just right for me to stay in Anlu."

"Besides, Xianyang is noisy and people's hearts are unpredictable. When dealing with those noble ladies, every word must be considered again and again. Instead of being cautious in the capital, it is better to stay in Anlu and be a rich woman who is not disturbed by anyone."

A trace of loneliness flashed across her eyebrows, but was soon covered by longing.

"In February, I can take Xiaoyue to pick peach blossoms and make peach blossom cakes. In March, after the thunderstorm, go to Yunmengze to see the rainbow, pick herbs, and make sachets to send to my beloved. In April, I can raise silkworms and weave silk with my mother and uncle and sister-in-law, and make clothes for my beloved..."

After listening to this, Hei Fu breathed a sigh of relief: "With a wife like this, what else can a husband ask for?"

The newly married Ye's daughter wanted to say something but stopped, and finally turned into a sigh with a smile.

"Who made my beloved have the ambition to be a marquis? If I hinder him everywhere, I will be too ignorant."

...

Although Ye Zijin imagined that life in Anlu should be very peaceful, on the fifth day after Hei Fu left, she was teaching Xiaoyue to read, but she heard shouts coming from outside the house...

"What happened?" Ye Zijin frowned and asked the maid to go out to see.

The old Fu Mu brought from the Ye family in Xianyang came in with a gloomy face, leaned close to her ear, and told her an astonishing news!

"Madam, there is a woman outside, crying and wailing..."

"Why is she crying, can you tell me clearly?" Ye Zijin thought it was the family of Hei Fu's old subordinates who came to appeal for justice.

Fu Mu wanted to say something but stopped, Ye Zijin understood, and asked the maid to take Xiaoyue out, her face became serious, put her hands on her knees, and asked Fu Mu to explain clearly.

Fu Mu gritted his teeth and said, "Madam, that woman is holding a black boy, saying that he is the son of the Right Minister and her!"