Qin Official

My co-teacher guessed wrong. Unfortunately, Heifu heard clearly the conversation between their uncle and nephew...

However, Heifu had no intention of reporting it, because at this time, the Qin Dynasty, which had tightened control over speech after the "Book Burning" incident, was relatively loose on private discussion. As long as they did not blatantly call for rebellion or sympathize with the assassins who assassinated the king, they were basically free. Won't lose your head.

Gong Ao angrily scolded Lord Wu An fifty years ago. He was indignant that his family was affected by the war and almost died. If this matter was really pursued, it would be regarded as an "unreasonable" crime. It would be fine and fined. At most, it would be over. It will make Gong Ao lose his position as a thief.

Therefore, there is no need to offend the Gong clan for something that is of little benefit to him and add another enemy to himself.

Therefore, Heifu deliberately turned his head and looked at the city wall, pretending not to hear, so as to avoid trouble.

Master Gong seemed to admire Heifu for rising to the rank of pavilion chief on his own at a young age. He was somewhat optimistic about him, so he said that Gong Ao had just turned 18 and was one year younger than Heifu. He was considered his descendant. He hoped that on the way north, Please take care of me, Heifu.

But Gong Ao looked dissatisfied and muttered: "Can a Guizhou leader who doesn't even have a family name be able to take care of me?"

"You're such a bastard, you really don't know what's good or bad!"

The co-teacher angrily rebuked: "Heifu Pavilion Chief has a hairpin, isn't he taller than you?"

Gong Ao was just a young gentleman. In front of a real title, he had no choice but to shut up and bow to Hei Fu reluctantly. Now it is Qin instead of Chu. The status is not determined by the surname, but more by the title and official position.

Speaking of which, Bai Qi, whom they mentioned earlier, may be the biggest beneficiary of this system. It is said that Bai Qi is a descendant of Bai Gongsheng of Chu State, also known as Gongsun Qi. However, when he was young, he was reduced to the status of a servant. In the Chu State, he would be an unpopular descendant of a traitor, with no chance of success in his life. But in the Qin State, Bai Qi gradually became a military official by beheading people in the army, and relying on the support of Ranghou Wei Ran, he rose to the top and had the opportunity to shine...

Between Qin and Chu, Bai Qi chose Qin without hesitation.

After this episode, Heifu returned to the pavilion and told everyone that they would go on the road together with the Yan County garrison. After everyone heard this, they all breathed a sigh of relief. This meant that they no longer had to bear the risk of the prisoner escaping alone.

It was night. Heifu looked at the dark Yan County city wall in the night and thought thoughtfully: "Actually, Gong Ao is right. Bai Qi was in Yan. He left not only Yu Wei in Nan County, but also the local people. Hatred for Qin..."

The Battle of Yanying, from a military point of view, was a beautiful battle to destroy the country. Bai Qi's boldness and military talent were perfectly reflected. But like all the battles under Bai Qi's command, too many Chu people died in this battle.

During the offensive and defensive battles of Yan City, hundreds of thousands of people were buried in the belly of fish. Because there were so many corpses, the whole city smelled so bad that the Pichi in the east of the city is still called the "Stinky Pond". The memory of that war is also passed down by word of mouth, keeping young people like Gong Ao fresh in their memories.

Similarly, many Chu people died unexpectedly in the Battle of Yingdu.

Therefore, after the war, almost every household that survived in Yan and Jiangling had a grudge against the Qin State. Although many people had moved from Qin after fifty years of rule, the locals still had strong opinions on the rule of the Qin State. But the situation of dissatisfaction has not changed.

Hei Fu finally understood why Du Xian repeatedly said with emotion that "Yan Di is difficult to cure" when they met. In the 19th year of the Qin Dynasty, Nanjun was on guard. In addition to the thieves in Yunmengze, Jiangling and Yancheng were also unsafe.

On the contrary, in Anlu and other counties that were not greatly damaged during the Qin-Chu war, Qin's rule was easier to establish. Anyway, for the common people in the capital of Guizhou, regardless of whether he is a prince of Chu or an official of Qin, who should he pay taxes to? In this era of revenge, whether anyone in the family has been beheaded by the Qin army largely determines one's stance towards Qin.

"If Yancheng, which has been established as a county for fifty years, is like this, wouldn't Han, Zhao, Yan and other places that were just conquered have more serious hatred towards Qin?"

Especially in Zhao Di, the scars left by the Battle of Changping have not yet healed. After the fall and massacre of Handan, a new wound may have been added. Those generous and tragic people of Yan and Zhao were more difficult to rule than the Chu people of Nanjun. The royal families of the two countries left Baodai County and Liaodong and still resisted stubbornly. A rebellion also broke out in Xinzheng, South Korea, in September. It is said that it has just subsided, and there is still some chaos in Yingchuan County...

"Under the general trend of the times, the undercurrent is still surging." Thinking so, Heifu fell into a deep sleep.

…

When Heifu and the others left Yancheng, they joined three to four hundred people led by Zuo Wei of Yan County. The number of people recruited in Yan County was more garrison soldiers than prisoners, so the chance of Chengdan's subordinates fleeing was greatly reduced. With their help and care, and Heifu asked Bu Cheng to use superstition to deceive the Anlu prisoners into peace, the rest The journey is much easier.

On the winter solstice, a group of several hundred people arrived at Canglangshui.

The tombs lead to the Yangtze River, which flows eastward to the Han Dynasty and to the east is the Canglang River. This is the boundary between Nanjun and Nanyang counties...

As a tributary of the Han River, the Canglang River is not wide and fast, but if it rains, the soil from the upper reaches is washed down, and the Canglang River becomes turbid and reddish-brown.

But it is winter at this time, the Canglang water is light green and clear, and the morning mist spreads on the river, as light as a spider's web. There were several ferries on the water, slowly sailing towards them through the light mist. The boatmen were still singing the song that Confucius heard when he passed here hundreds of years ago...

"The water in Canglang is clear, so I can wash my tassel; the water in Canglang is turbid, so I can wash my feet..."

After hearing this, Gong'ao, an angry young man standing side by side with Heifu, said meaningfully: "This water is very muddy. It would be great if I could wash my feet without having to wash my tassels."

Ji Ying, the Dongmen Leopard on the side, was an uneducated outsider and could not understand the metaphor, so he said somewhat confusedly: "This water is very clear, not muddy."

Heifu smiled and shook his head.

Whether the water is clear or muddy is very different in the eyes of people of different classes.

If the Qing Dynasty is clean, wash the tassel, and if the Qing Dynasty is dirty, wash the feet, so you can take it yourself. This is certainly the ideal of the scholar class in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. However, in the face of the real great era, no matter what class or status you are, individuals have no choice.

Keep to yourself? It did not exist at the end of the Warring States period when King Qin conquered Liuhe.

You can only choose to be a stubborn rock with a mantis' arm like a chariot, and be smashed to pieces by the stormy waves called "unification".

Or choose to be a wave under the command of Feng Bo, go with the trend, protect yourself, and then take advantage of the opportunity to rise higher!

Although Gong Ao never forgets his family's old feud, Gong's family in Yancheng still chose the latter, otherwise Gong Shi would not be so cautious in interacting with people, and would let Gong Ao work as a thief and infiltrate the system. Hatred belongs to hatred, survival belongs to survival. If the family wants to continue, it must bow to reality.

As for Heifu? The good news is that his background and experience mean that he doesn't have to make a choice at this moment.

"Unification is the general trend of the world. It is vast and powerful. Those who follow it will prosper, and those who go against it will perish!"

With this thought in mind, Heifu boarded the boat crossing the waves. The boat sailed north, taking him away from Nanjun and into Nanyang. He was getting further and further away from his peaceful hometown, but getting closer and closer to the drumbeat of war...

…

Just as Heifu and the others were waiting for the ship to dock in the cold wind of Canglang River, hundreds of miles away in the northeast in Chen Ying (Huaiyang), at the end of the chasm, two generals of the Qin Army were also outside the tall city wall. waiting.

The two generals stood side by side on the heavy horse army chariot. Their armors were exquisitely made and colorful: brown-black armor, vermilion sash, lace around the armor, and gorgeous animal patterns painted on a white base. There are also several colorful rosettes on the chest, back, and shoulders, like medals of later generations, showing their different ranks and titles.

He is a tall and burly general who wears a long swallow-tail crown and a mustache. He is over thirty years old. His armor is decorated with fifteen knots, which means that his title is the 15th level of "Made for Young Masters"!

He is short and stocky, wears a chopstick crown on his head, and has a white beard. If he is over forty years old, his armor is decorated with fourteen flower knots, which is the symbol of the "middle watch" of the 13th level knighthood.

Behind them were tens of thousands of heavily armed Qin troops, which were so dark that they surrounded the entire Chen Ying. But despite the large number of people, they all squatted on the ground, as if waiting for the general's order...

After waiting for a long time, not only the soldiers were tired, but also the horses in the military chariot were impatient. The horses' hooves stepped on the ground restlessly, making a "clack-clack-clack" sound.

In the middle of the night, Qiang Yu (lěi) held his hand on the carriage rail and looked anxiously at Chen Ying's gate. It was covered with scars but was tightly closed. He couldn't help but said to the general beside him: "General Xiao Wang, Lord Changping, It’s been an hour since we entered the city!”

Upon hearing this, the young commander Wang Ben, who was accustomed to being called "Little General Wang", said to Qiang Yu, the veteran general who followed his father in the southern and northern wars: "So what?"

Qiang Yu whispered: "No matter what you say, Mr. Changping, he is still the son of the Chu Kingdom. If he..."

"Afraid that he will betray Qin and surrender to Chu?"

Wang Ben smiled and said: "In the thirty-sixth year of King Zhao (271 BC), Changping Jun was born in Xianyang. His father was King Kaolie of Chu who was a hostage in Qin at that time, and his mother was the daughter of King Zhao of Qin. , it has been forty-five years. Later, King Kaolie was sent back to the Chu Kingdom by Huang Xie, but Lord Changping was kept by the Queen Mother Huayang, and stayed with the great dynasty in the palace. He was called cousin, but he was actually a brother. "

"In the ninth year of this king's reign, the king was in charge, and Lao Ai caused chaos in Xianyang. The king ordered Lord Changping to bring peace to the people. In the tenth year of this king's reign, Marquis Wenxin was dismissed and Lord Changping succeeded him as prime minister. He served as the prime minister of Qin for eleven years. During this period, he worked conscientiously and helped the king to destroy Han and Zhao, and his contribution is indispensable..."

"Isn't it true that Lord Changping's position was exempted by the king?" In the eyes of Qiang Yu and others, this was a sign that Lord Changping had lost the trust of the king.

"Although Lord Changping was dismissed as prime minister last year, the king still trusted him more and ordered him to ride in the king's chariot and inspect the eastern counties. During this period, he also put down the rebellion in Xinzheng and killed King An of Han."

Wang Ben raised his riding whip, pointed at Chen Ying's city gate and said: "Now, Lord Changping has come to the front line. In order to avoid the destruction of life in the city and heavy casualties during the siege, he also entered the city to persuade General Chen Ying to surrender. You are right, he is It is true that he is a son of the Chu State, and that he has the blood of the royal family named Mi flowing in his body. However, in the past forty-five years, Changping Lord has been living in the Qin State as a Qin citizen and has never set foot in the Chu territory. Could it be that he just entered the state of Chu? In one hour in Chu City, the identity of the Prime Minister of Qin for the past eleven years can no longer be maintained?"

Besides, the king ordered in the edict that Lord Changping should go to Chenying to persuade him to surrender. Isn't this a test for him?

The king also seems to want to see what choice Changping Lord will make between Qin and Chu...

Of course Wang Ben hoped that Lord Changping would choose Qin like people from Chu like Wei Ran and Bai Qi. He thought to himself: "Even if Lord Changping doesn't care about himself, he still has to consider the eldest son..."

The eldest son Fusu, who was far away in Xianyang, was born to the sister of Lord Changping. Although Fusu is only ten years old, he is already very intelligent and wise, and has the appearance of a benevolent king. Lord Changping's decision is not only related to himself, but also to the status of Young Master Fusu.

I hope he can think it through.

After saying this, Wang Ben ordered: "I believe Lord Changping will not be so confused. Since we have made an agreement with him, we must keep our word and order the three armies to continue waiting. No attack on the city until three poles above sunrise!"

Qiang Xu had no choice but to agree, but he secretly thought that compared to General Wang's combination of right and wrong, General Wang's behavior was still a bit too upright...

Fortunately, his worries were unnecessary. Another hour passed, and just as the appointed time was approaching, Chen Ying's city gate finally slowly opened!

A handsome gentleman with a long crown and brocade robes and a long beard reaching to his chest came out of the car. He was none other than Lord Changping! The carriage drove until it was in front of the Qin army. Lord Changping took it in his hand and threw the bright red phoenix bird flag of Chu into the sand in front of the formation. At the same time, he waved his arms and shouted:

"Chen Ying, surrender!"

"Qin will be victorious!" Tens of thousands of Qin soldiers raised their weapons and cheered! It shook so much that the tiles at the top of Chen Ying City were shaking!

"how?"

Amidst the noisy cheers, Wang Ben looked at Qiang Fu and laughed: "It seems that Lord Changping has made a choice between Qin and Chu!"

After saying that, Wang Ben no longer looked at the city in front of him, but turned back and looked to the northwest, looking at the other end of the chasm!

There, there was a more magnificent and magnificent city waiting for Wang Ben.

Waiting for him to conquer! Waiting for him to establish the country-destroying city! Waiting for him to gain a great reputation like his father!