The Great Qin Empire---Qin Li

When he and Ba Zhong came to his residence next to Wei Bridge, Hei Fu couldn't help but admire the tall buildings, carved beams and painted buildings, "What a big house."

It's not that he didn't have any experience. He had already entered the Zhangtai Palace. Where else in the world could there be a bigger house than that? Moreover, Hei Fu's residences in Jiangling and Anlu were no smaller than Ba's residence.

But this is the capital. Later generations said that it was not easy to live in Chang'an. The housing prices in the capital are not comparable to those in third- and fourth-tier cities like Jiangling and Anlu.

Legend has it that Zhou Gong established the nine numbers when he made rituals. During the Warring States Period, the study of arithmetic was widely spread. There were many arithmetic books in the six kingdoms. Now these arithmetic books are concentrated in the stone chamber of the Censorate. When Hei Fu went to find Zhang Cang, he was collecting the remnants of the old texts and making deletions and additions.

So Hei Fu happened to see the math problem above.

"Now there is a bail, the price is 2,500 per year, now take 1,200 first, how much will it be on the day?"

In the words of later generations, Zhang works for others, with an annual salary of 2,500 coins. Now he wants to buy a house, but has no money for the down payment. He wants to advance 1,200 coins of salary. How many days does Zhang need to work to pay back the 1,200 coins?

The annual salary of Dou Shi Li is 96 shi of rice. Based on the current price of 30 shi of rice, plus some travel subsidies, the annual salary is about 3,000 coins. This is the income of ordinary civil servants in Xianyang.

With such an income, it is not easy to buy a house in Xianyang. It is said that a small house of more than 100 square meters that can accommodate a family of five starts at 10,000 coins. Compared with later generations, it is not too expensive. After working hard for a few years, relatives can help to collect and at least pay the down payment...

As for the courtyards where the nobles and officials live, the price ranges from 500,000 to 1 million depending on the size of the area!

Ba Zhong's current title is Gongcheng. According to the system of famous land and house, he can own 20 houses and nearly 80 mu of homestead. He bought this big mansion, which is located in a prime location like Weiqiao. Without two million yuan, he would never be able to get it!

But two million yuan is a drop in the bucket for Ba!

The standard of a well-off family in the Qin Dynasty was a family fortune of 100,000 yuan, and the standard for those rich families who moved to Xianyang was one million yuan. If they could reach 10 million yuan, they would be "rich and noble".

But Ba's family fortune should probably be described in the unit of "100 million". Every year, just mining and refining cinnabar and selling it to the government can make a lot of money, not to mention the business of Bai children, well salt, and horse caravans. It is said that Ba has a thousand child servants, two thousand private armed forces, and tens of thousands of followers in Ba County, which shows his strong financial resources.

"This was originally the retreat of Lao Ai's retainers. After Lao Ai fell, my mother bought it and renovated it so that I could live there when I entered the capital."

Ba Zhong smiled and hinted, "There are actually many houses like this in Xianyang. If the Zhonglang Huling needs one, you can choose any one..."

As expected of a rich man, a mansion worth two million, just give it away!

Heifu has now become a close minister of the emperor. Ba's move is not without the intention of currying favor, but the Qin law is very strict in this regard. The imperial censor who is responsible for supervising all officials and making achievements by beating big tigers can be watched at any time. Heifu dare not take risks.

So he declined politely, saying, "Qin law, accepting a penny will also be sentenced, let alone a house? Brother Ba, please don't say it again!"

"Of course, I was just joking, joking." Ba Zhong laughed and invited Heifu to the house for a banquet.

Heifu was not envious. As the left minister, he was much higher than Bazhong in social status. As long as Heifu had money, he could also buy seventy houses in Xianyang.

But the problem was that he had no money...

His annual salary was 1,000 dan, equivalent to half a tael of money and thirty thousand, but it was far from enough to buy a big house with just a salary. In the past few years of fighting, relying on rewards and plunder, Heifu's net worth exceeded one million, but he invested all his spare money in the brown sugar business, so when he arrived in Xianyang, he could only make do in a small courtyard for officials to live in.

"I wonder how my cousin is selling brown sugar in the market in Xianyang, Weibei?"

Heifu was busy with the guards these days and did not pay attention to this matter. So before entering Bazhong's house for dinner, he asked the driver Sangmu to go to the other side of the Wei Bridge to see the situation. His plan to buy a house depended on the big sales of brown sugar in Xianyang.

…

After entering the mansion, Heifu followed Bazhong to a small pavilion. Although it was not yet night, candles were lit around the pavilion, making the surroundings as bright as day. A beautiful maid bowed her head and served by her side. There were wine vessels on the stone table, some vegetables and fruits were placed in the lacquer tray, and wine was cooked on the stone table.

According to Qin law, more than three people were not allowed to drink together. There was no ban on alcohol for officials, but they could not be too arrogant. The only exception was that when there was a celebration in the court, the subjects were allowed to gather and drink, which was called "granting wine".

Today, after the emperor announced the edict, in order to celebrate the establishment of the empire, he also announced a great wine feast throughout the country. Once the ban on alcohol was lifted, the two sides of the Wei Bridge were filled with the aroma of wine.

The two sat down and drank wine, wishing each other a happy birthday. Bazhong congratulated Heifu on his promotion to the position of Zuo Shuzhang and Zhonglang Huling, so that he could always be with the emperor.

Heifu first wished that Bazhong's mother would be publicly praised by the First Emperor and be named a chaste woman.

"Being personally praised by the emperor, there has never been such an example in the past three generations!"

Speaking of which, people these days are more open about gender issues, and men and women can freely fall in love during the Shangsi Festival. Chen Ping of Yangwu County chose his marriage partner and did not mind Zhang's daughter marrying many times.

Even so, there are many widows in the world, but this is the only case where the emperor can set up a chastity archway. For a woman from a border county and a merchant, it is really an honor...

It's not like some bloody TV dramas. What does the emperor think of Widow Qing? According to Ba Zhong, his mother is already in her fifties, and the emperor is only thirty-eight this year. It is impossible for him to have such a strong taste.

As far as Hei Fu knows, the emperor respected Widow Qing for two reasons.

First, Qin Shihuang really attached great importance to women's "chastity".

This is understandable. The emperor's mother, Zhao Ji, was a man who was good at dancing with long sleeves in Handan in her early years. She first hooked up with Lu Buwei and then married Prince Yiren. After becoming the queen mother, she even hid Lao Ai in the palace and committed adultery.

The mother's dissolute behavior probably left an indelible impression on the emperor's childhood. Therefore, after Qin Shihuang pacified the Lao Ai Rebellion, he sacked the two sons born by the queen mother and imprisoned the queen mother in a side palace. Although he later welcomed the queen mother Zhao to Ganquan Palace due to public opinion, the mother and son had become enemies and never reconciled until their death.

Qin Shihuang has not forgiven the queen mother Zhao to this day. When discussing the title of emperor, he respected King Zhuangxiang of Qin as the emperor, and the mausoleums of his grandmothers, the queen mothers Huayang and Xia, were also conferred titles, but the queen mother Zhao was missed.

The shadow of childhood made the emperor very sensitive to improper relationships between men and women. He once asked the Imperial Censorate and the Imperial Court to change the relevant laws on adultery and encourage catching adulterers. It has reached the point where adulterers are directly thrown into pig cages and beaten to death after being caught...

Now he deliberately raised the memorial archway of the chaste woman to commend the purity of the widow Ba, perhaps hoping that women all over the world would follow suit.

Secondly, the Ba family also reciprocated the favor by repeatedly donating money and food to the army to help Qin conquer the six countries. Ba Zhong has been running around in Ba County and Nan County all year round to ease the relationship between the Ba tribe and the Qin government.

In addition to thanking the emperor for his gift on behalf of his mother, Ba Zhong also had another mission when he came to Xianyang this time.

"It is not easy to transport thousands of stones of cinnabar from Ba County to Guanzhong, whether it is on the plank road or by taking a detour through Wuguan."

After drinking, Ba Zhong whispered to Hei Fu about their family's biggest business.

"Your Majesty likes cinnabar. I heard that alchemists can use cinnabar to refine elixirs. In addition, cinnabar turns into mercury when burned, and the mausoleum that Your Majesty ordered the court to build in Mount Li also requires a huge amount of mercury!"

The mausoleums of the Qin State in the early years were all built in the ancient capital Yong. It was not until Qin Xiaogong that a new royal mausoleum area was demarcated in Zhiyang County east of the Ba River. King Huiwen, King Zhaoxiang, Queen Dowager Xuan and others were buried there.

Only the mausoleum of Qin Shihuang was set at the northern foot of Mount Li east of Zhiyang. Although the emperor was in his prime, this mausoleum had been built for a full 26 years since he ascended the throne at the age of 13, and it has begun to take shape...

But now, as Qin Shihuang was promoted from King of Qin to Emperor, the specifications of the mausoleum had to be upgraded to a higher level, so he decided to start construction again. According to Qin Shihuang's temperament of doing something unprecedented, it can be imagined how grand the Mausoleum of Mount Li would be.

Heifu thought secretly: "Since the big project of Mount Li has been launched, the Terracotta Warriors should also be fired, right?"

He had been to the Terracotta Warriors in his previous life. In addition to being amazed at the expensive tickets, he also had a new impression of Qin. He also wandered around the Qin Mausoleum Park for an afternoon and posted a circle of friends. At that time, he did not expect that he would one day become Qin Shihuang's guard.

"It is said that the Terracotta Warriors were fired with the Langzhong Lingjun and Weiweijun as templates. Maybe someone from the Shaofu will come to me and make a general figurine based on my appearance and height!"

Thinking of this, Heifu found it particularly interesting. History and reality seemed to be intertwined.

Just when Heifu imagined himself turning into a large pottery figurine, standing in a glass frame for future generations to watch and study, Ba Zhong's subordinate, Danhu, the Ba warrior who had given Heifu salt on the boat, walked in and said something in the Ba language.

"Zhonglang Huling."

After Ba Zhong nodded and let Dan Hu go, he said to Hei Fu: "My family's people in Xianyang market reported that Jun Zhi's cousin seemed to have encountered some trouble there..."

"What?" Hei Fu was stunned at first. Who was so bold as to cause trouble for him!

As soon as Ba Zhong finished speaking, hurried footsteps were heard outside. It was Sang Mu who came back. He came to the pavilion and bowed, saying: "Master! Something happened!"