Serving the People

A certain place.

Jia Yanli was sent here by the imperial court, and almost a year has passed in the blink of an eye.

When I first took office, the place was very desolate, the roads were difficult to travel, the granaries were empty, and the people were struggling to make ends meet.

In just one year, the lives of ordinary people visibly improved.

On this day, Jia Yanli led several village officials on an inspection tour of the countryside.

The local official, holding the register, followed by the village official, and reported in a low voice: "Sir, since the beginning of winter this year, the number of deaths in this area has been significantly lower than in the same period of previous years."

"In previous years, many elderly people and children couldn't survive the cold and hunger when winter came. This year, they have cotton-padded clothes to keep warm, and the government is also providing grain and rice. The situation is much better..."

After listening, Jia Yanli let out a long breath of white air, his heart filled with relief.

He stood on the country road, watching the wisps of smoke rising from the village chimneys and the villagers walking back and forth in thick cotton-padded clothes.

At this moment, he suddenly understood the question Song Ye had asked in the lecture hall before the imperial examination: What does it mean to have seen the world?

When you truly witness the hardships of the working class, and you start thinking about how to improve their lives...

This is when you truly show you've seen the world.

Truly! Serving the people!

......

西南山地。

Ba Wan was the top female scholar in the second imperial examination.

Assigned by Song Ye, he came to the southwestern mountainous region to oversee local governance, and half a year has passed in the blink of an eye.

This was her first New Year spent in the mountains of Southwest China.

She was considerate of her subordinates who were away from home and tired, so she gave them all the annual leave early so they could go home and reunite with their families.

In the vast prefectural governor's mansion, she was the only one left.

Ba Wan sat alone in the hall, staring blankly at the flickering candlelight, her thoughts drifting far away, lost in thought.

Just then, there was a soft knock on the door.

Ba Wan's heart stirred, and she got up, walked to the door, and raised her hand to open the wooden door.

A group of local people stood outside the door, holding various foods in their hands, such as smoked meat, multigrain cakes, and pickled fruits in bamboo baskets.

The villagers stood at the bottom of the steps, their hands and feet a little awkward, and they pushed each other a few times.

The girl in the lead spoke cautiously, "Prefect Ba, we heard that you were spending the New Year alone in your residence, so we all thought we'd come and visit you."

A woman nearby quickly handed the bamboo basket forward, adding shyly, "There's nothing valuable here, just food made at home. Please don't mind, sir."

Looking at the simple and honest faces before her, Ba Wan felt a sudden warmth in her heart.

She stepped slightly to the side, smiling as she made way for the doorway: "Please come in quickly, it's windy outside, don't catch a cold."

Upon hearing this, everyone's faces broke into smiles.

The once quiet hall suddenly became lively.

"Happy New Year, everyone," Ba Wan said with a smile.

At this moment, she was just like Song Ye in his first year in Pei County.

At the same time, there were countless "Song Ye" in various counties and prefectures of the Qin Dynasty.

-

Qin Shi Huang reigned for thirty years, during which spring was warm and flowers bloomed.

The results of the third Daqin Scientific Expedition were released as scheduled.

The first batch of talented scholars were ordered to go to the mountainous southwest region.

The southwest is currently a wasteland waiting to be cultivated, and it is precisely at this time that manpower is most needed.

This group of newcomers stayed in various counties and prefectures in the southwest, following Ba Wan to work at the grassroots level, building roads, opening up fields, and implementing new policies, stabilizing the new land in the southwest bit by bit.

The remaining second batch of talented individuals were assigned to the Donghu, Fuyu, and Sushen regions as reserve personnel for overseas construction.

Upon the announcement of this policy, the entire court lamented once again: In the past, everyone was scrambling to stay in Xianyang and secure a high position.

Nowadays, when selecting officials in the Qin Dynasty, not one of them did not start from the grassroots, and not one of them did not build their career through hardship.

What? You want a promotion? Fame? A foothold in the world?

The only way: be down-to-earth, take root in the local community, and benefit the people.

-

After the scientific expedition, in mid-April.

The spring breeze is gentle, and all things are thriving.

Chen He, the agricultural official in charge of the nation's agricultural and sericulture development, brought a piece of great news that shook the court and the public.

After a full year of repeated screening, improvement, trial planting, and domestication, they studied day and night the rice variety that could be harvested three times a year and finally succeeded in cultivating it!

The news spread, and people from all walks of life were thrilled.

The previous two rice harvests had already doubled the grain output of Daqin, solving the problem of food and clothing for most of the people.

The advent of triple-cropping rice varieties means that the Qin Dynasty will completely bid farewell to the hidden dangers of food shortages.

Upon hearing the news, the First Emperor was overjoyed. He immediately took Song Ye and a group of core ministers to test the rice fields outside the city and personally went to the fields to check the growth of the rice seeds.

The group arrived at the farmland on the outskirts of the city. Looking around, the entire experimental field was lush and green, with the verdant rice seedlings growing vigorously, far more robust and vigorous than ordinary rice varieties.

Chen He stepped forward and reported: "Your Majesty, Prime Minister, and Your Excellencies! This rice variety is not only cold-resistant, flood-resistant, and pest-resistant, but it is also suitable for the land of most counties and prefectures in both the north and south of our Great Qin..."

"Sow in spring, harvest in summer; sow in summer, harvest in autumn; sow in autumn, harvest in winter—three harvests a year!"

As soon as the words were spoken, everyone present stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

Li Si bent down to examine the rice seedlings in the field closely, his expression filled with excitement: "This is unprecedented in history! Unprecedented in history!"

Upon seeing this, Ying Zheng immediately issued an edict: to heavily reward Chen He and the other agricultural officials who had devoted themselves to breeding.

At the same time, an imperial edict was issued ordering all prefectures and counties across the country to quickly select capable agricultural officials to learn the methods of cultivation and management, in preparation for future nationwide promotion.

-

July, the summer sun is blazing.

The Fuyu, Sushen, and Donghu were officially incorporated into the Qin territory.

With the war in the north settled, the army returned to the capital immediately.

-

Mid-September, outside Xianyang City.

The autumn wind, carrying the dampness of the Wei River, swept over us. The poplar leaves on both sides of the official road had mostly turned yellow, and with a gust of wind, they fell down, carpeting the ground in gold.

The area outside the city gate was packed with people.

There were elderly people with canes, women holding children standing on carts, vendors who had abandoned their businesses at the market and rushed out, and many villagers.

They all came before dawn to wait after hearing the news that the army was returning home today.

"Here it comes!"

Someone shouted, and the crowd surged forward a step.

Dust billowed in the distance as a dark, imposing army appeared at the end of the official road.

Leading the way, Wang Ben rode at the very front on a tall horse, his beard and hair stained with the frost of the frontier, but his back and waist were even more robust than when he set out.

Zhou Bo and Lü Ze rode side by side behind them.

Next, Han Xin, Xiang Yu, and Wang Li each led their own troops.

"Father! Father's back!"

A seven or eight-year-old girl rode on her father's shoulders, pointing at the distant military formation and screaming.

"Where's my pillar? Where is the pillar?" An old woman with gray hair stood on tiptoe and peered forward, her withered hand shielding her forehead from the sun.

"There it is! Third row! See it?"

"I see it! I see it! You've lost weight! You've gotten darker!"

"A tan is good! A tan makes you look like a soldier!"

Crying, laughter, and shouting mingled together.

The army stopped three hundred paces outside the city gate. Wang Ben dismounted, and the soldiers behind him dismounted and lined up in order.

The crowd could no longer contain themselves and surged forward—

"My son! You're finally back!"

"mother!"

"Brother! Brother, what happened to your leg? Are you okay? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine! Just a scrape! Look..." A young soldier rolled up his trouser leg, revealing a hideous scar on his knee.

Upon seeing this, his mother burst into tears, wiping them with her sleeve as she yelled, "You call this nothing?! Do you think I'm blind?!"

As soon as Lü Ze dismounted, he was surrounded by his parents and sisters.

"It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back," Mother Lü murmured, wiping away her tears.

"Don't cry, look, our son is standing here perfectly fine," said Grandpa Lü.

"It's good that my brother has returned safely."

"Brother, you're over there in Donghu...!"

Zhou Bo was quickly surrounded by Fan Kuai, Lu Wan, and the others, who patted his shoulder and massaged his back.

"Well done, brother! You've done a great job in this battle in the northern frontier!" Fan Kuai said in a loud voice, slapping him hard on the shoulder.

Lu Wan chuckled and joked, "You're finally back alive! You must have suffered a lot out there, right?"

Zhou Bo, amused by their commotion, smirked and replied in a gruff voice, "It was tough, but we won the battle, so it was all worth it!"

Seeing this, Xiang Yu couldn't describe how he felt.

Turning around, I realized that Han Xin was nowhere to be seen; he had already run to the pancake stall on the street.

"Boss, how much is this pancake?"

The stall owner waved his hand with a smile: "General, you've worked hard! It's free, it's on you!"

Han Xin's eyes lit up upon hearing this. He picked up the pancake and began to take a big bite, thanking the owner profusely, "Boss, you're so kind!"

"..." Xiang Yu looked at his carefree appearance and twitched his lips.

Just then, a familiar voice suddenly rang out.

"Ji'er!"