Qin Official

"Chen Ping, a resident of Kushangli, came here to answer the orders of Youyou."

In the early morning of the next day, before the morning fog had completely dissipated, Chen Ping arrived outside the gate of the Qin army's garrison camp. After stating his purpose in a loud voice, he tried to raise his head so that the Qin soldiers guarding the gate above could see his face clearly.

Chen Ping was wearing clean washed linen clothes and carrying a backpack on his back. Inside was a bald pen and a piece of bad ink, which he used on daily basis. Although the camp will definitely provide him with everything, he still brings it with him to be prepared. It also contained his breakfast and supper, including cornmeal rolled into balls. Although Chen Ping felt that he must have eaten with the soldiers in the camp, his sister-in-law still made it and let him take it with him.

The Qin soldier guarding the gate was very cautious because he could not understand what Chen Ping said and did not know who he was, so he asked someone to report it. Taking advantage of this gap, Chen Ping also carefully observed the Qin army's camp. This is the most mysterious place in the eyes of the villagers of Hufu for more than half a month. Not only is it strictly guarded and no one is allowed to enter, but even the Qin soldiers inside rarely come out.

But I saw that the camp gate was tall, and although the entire camp occupied a small area, it was well surrounded by wooden stakes seven feet high. Looking up, I saw that the Qin soldiers standing guard were solemn and did not desert secretly. When Chen Ping arrived, it happened that they were changing guard. The Qin soldier, whose armor was covered with dewdrops, yawned and left, replaced by his comrade who was refreshed after a night's sleep.

Chen Ping was not kept inside for long. After a while, the camp door opened, and Zhong Ming from Hanoi County came out and said to Chen Ping: "Chen Ping, I never thought that you would come so early."

It was just after sunrise and it was not yet time for the meal. Chen Ping had indeed arrived very early. He was embarrassed to say that he had deliberately chosen the time to come and see if he could join the Qin army's meal.

His family was poor and had no choice but to worry about every meal. Chen Ping was not the kind of person who would rather starve to save face. He was very adaptable.

Zhong Ming did not disappoint Chen Ping. He said that Youyou had just gotten up and was taking the soldiers out for morning exercises. After the training, they would be ready for food.

"Morning exercises?"

Chen Ping had never heard of this term, but after following Zhong Ming into the camp, he could faintly hear shouts coming from the camp.

When the two of them walked to the open space of the military camp that had been converted from a lilu, the wandering Heifu they had seen yesterday was standing here. He was not wearing armor, with his hands behind his back, watching dozens of Qin soldiers standing in several rows, holding Sword and shield drills.

Heifu also saw Chen Ping, but he just nodded to him and did not come over.

Chen Ping also took the opportunity to observe the scene in front of him. He had no experience in military camp life in the past, so it seemed quite fresh to him. What's more, these simple and strong-looking soldiers in front of them are actually the biggest enemy that has made Wei people fear for generations: the Qin army.

He was born in the year when King Anli of Wei died. During those years, Qin and Wei almost never went without fighting.

In 242 BC, the first year of King Jingmin, Qin conquered twenty cities of Wei and took them as Qindong County. Wei was surrounded by Qin on three sides and was in danger of subjugation.

In 241 BC, under the lobbying of Tang Ju, the last vertical alliance was achieved. King Kaolie of Chu was the commander, with Pang Nuan as the general, and the commanders of Han, Wei, Zhao, Yan, and Chu attacked Qin and captured Shouling. Qin sent troops, and the troops of the five countries stopped and returned. Qin took the opportunity to seize Chaoge, which had just been taken back by Wei, and moved Wei's small vassal Weiguo to Yewang.

In three years, 240 BC, Qin Bazhi. In the fifth year of the Qin Dynasty (238 BC), in the cities of Bayuan, Puyang, and Yan, the Wei State humiliated itself and sued for peace.

That year, Chen Ping was only 6 years old. Because the King of Wei sued for peace in time, the war did not reach his hometown.

Since then, the State of Wei has completely surrendered to the State of Qin. The King of Wei has twice courted Qin and has become a vassal of the State of Qin. He has made constant contributions every year. He attacked Qin to destroy Han and Zhao, attacked Yan in the north, and defeated Chu in the south. Stand back and watch.

There was no way, Wei had lost Lord Xinling, and had lost its backbone. It was so scared of being beaten by Qin that it covered its face and never dared to say anything wrong.

Therefore, except for the first few years, during Chen Ping's boyhood and youth, wars were relatively rare. Therefore, the people of Wei State at his age had no chance to meet the Qin people. Their impression of the Qin Army mainly came from the stories of the old soldiers...

Chen Ping remembered that when he was a child, there was a disabled old soldier in Kushangli who liked to bask in the sun with his broken arm on the bluestone beside the well. He would sometimes tell Chen Ping and the others more than ten stories. The war between the Five Kingdoms and the Qin Dynasty that they experienced years ago.

The old warrior talked a lot. Because he was still young at the time, Chen Ping only remembered the words that impressed him the most.

"We, the men of Shandong, were equipped with armor to fight, but the Qin people on the opposite side actually donated their armor and disciples to chase the enemy, carrying human heads on their left and prisoners on their right, like hungry tigers and vicious wolves..."

He still remembered that when he said these words, the fearless old soldier's eyes were filled with fear!

Wei's fear of Qin is like people's natural fear of beasts. It is deeply rooted in their bones and passed down from generation to generation. From the king of Wei to the soldiers, they are everywhere.

So the kings and nobles of Wei thought that if they could avoid being beaten by kneeling, then kneel down. It's a pity that even when they knelt down to the end, they couldn't avoid the Qin army turning around and attacking Wei. Looking at the situation of this war, Qin was determined to destroy Wei.

The country's demise was imminent, and the dignitaries in the court had to kneel in front of the country and cry, regretting their stupidity and short-sightedness. However, ordinary people like Chen Ping had to think about where to go from now on in the new order of the Qin army.

Recalling the past, Chen Ping couldn't help but feel a little lost, but found that the training of the Qin soldiers had ended with the order of Xiaohan.

Heifu took the cloth handed over by Ji Ying and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He didn't show much enthusiasm for Chen Ping, but just let him eat the morning meal with everyone.

…

We ate in the courtyard of a big house, which was originally a wealthy family's home and has now been converted into a special kitchen.

Heifu arranged for five people to be responsible for washing vegetables and cooking, which was equivalent to a cooking class. The rice used was the one hundred and fifty dan given by Zhang, and the fresh vegetables and meat were purchased from the market in the township.

At this time, Heifu arranged the first task for Chen Ping.

"Chen Ping, from now on, you will go to the township market with the commander here to buy vegetables every other day. What you want to buy and how much of each item will be written on wooden slips. The soldiers do not understand the local dialect, and the vegetable sellers I am also illiterate, and Qin's coins cannot be used locally, so I can only exchange them with cloth, so it is very inconvenient. It will be much easier if you help me."

Heifu did this not out of the bad taste of "asking the future Prime Minister of Han Dynasty to help me buy groceries". It's because today's Chen Ping is a humble citizen, and he is a poor scholar who has been working together for eighteen years and still cannot carry his shoulders or lift his hands. He is very similar to those in later generations who have just graduated and entered the society, with high aspirations but unable to do anything. As a college student, in this small camp, Chen Ping doesn't have any big things to do, so he should start with small things first.

He also just wanted to see if Chen Ping, besides being eloquent and good at seizing opportunities, could do practical things.

If you don't sweep one house, why sweep the world? Chen Ping still has a long way to go in the future. As a person who also started from a humble background and is still a humble person now, Heifu met a young celebrity and wanted to teach him some life lessons...

After Heifu finished speaking in a local dialect mixed with a Nanjun accent, Chen Ping finally understood that what he had to do was not only paperwork, but also a lot of chores.

He didn't think it was humiliating, but readily agreed.

When other people's families hold funerals, he has to go out early and come back late to help put makeup on the dead person, shovel dirt and bury the coffin. He is very busy, just for a bite to eat, isn't it just to buy food for Qin Jun, it doesn't matter. Anyway, all he had to do was talk the talk and leave the physical work to the strong Qin soldiers.

The vegetables in Wei are somewhat different from those in Nanjun, but the main ones are all there, such as leeks, rutabagas, bitter gourds, sunflowers, and green onions, all of which were common in various countries during this era. When the Qin people were stationed here, they couldn't always just eat rice. Heifu would occasionally add food for them and buy some meat to make a big pot of soup.

Soon, the aroma of food wafted over, and several Qin soldiers came up carrying large wooden barrels. Inside were cooked corn rice, yellow and orange.

At this time, Chen Ping saw for the first time the strict hierarchy of titles in the Qin army. Heifu did not deliberately engage in "same food and clothing as the soldiers" like ordinary officers. Instead, under the envious eyes of everyone, he received half a bucket of polished rice. , filled with a plate of dark bean paste, vegetable soup with sunflower leaves and diced meat, and even a few green onions to go with the rice.

"Because the title of Youyou does not change, which is naturally different from ours."

Zhong Ming explained to Chen Ping what a title was, and then walked rather proudly to the polished rice reserved for nobles, pointed to the other end, and asked Chen Ping to hold a pottery bowl and a bamboo tube. There was no decoration on the past and bun. Taxis queue up together.

Chen Ping finally received a third of a bucket of brown rice and a bamboo tube of coriander soup with a hint of oil floating on it, which was almost the same as their family's food.

At any rate, he was able to eat enough. For Chen Ping, who came from a poor background, it was not bad to be able to make a living.

"If you were in the Daliang military camp and the military laws were stricter, you wouldn't be able to provide even this food if you weren't a soldier."

Zhong Ming said to Chen Ping mysteriously, and then laughed: "But as you said, we are eating the food sent by Zhang anyway, so it doesn't hurt to have one more of you."

Chen Ping laughed along, but felt a little weird in his heart. His identity as a "Wei man" had not been completely erased.

For the first time, Chen Ping experienced the Qin State's strict hierarchy of titles at close range. If he wanted to change his status and treatment, he had to perform meritorious service. Meritorious service meant that he needed to kill more enemies to obtain military merit and titles. The combat effectiveness of such an army can be imagined.

"Donating armor to chase the enemy, carrying human heads on the left, living prisoners on the right..."

Chen Ping swallowed the last mouthful of corn, and for some reason, he recalled the words of the old warrior, and said to himself: "The state of Wei attaches great importance to warriors, recruits warriors, and makes them wear armor of three attributes, wield stone crossbows, and bear the target." At fifty, wear a gun and carry a sword. Wei soldiers are elite soldiers who can travel hundreds of miles a day. The state provides them with fields and houses, so that the people can support them throughout their lives."

"Therefore, in Wei State, wars are often only wars between kings, nobles and soldiers, and have little to do with us common people. There is no reward for success, and punishment for mistakes. Who is willing to die? But soldiers are often past their prime. They gradually age, and it is impossible for all of their descendants to be as strong as their fathers and ancestors. And the wars get bigger and bigger, and the few soldiers are often unable to change the situation of the war."

"Qin is different."

He looked at the Qin people in front of him, who were alone in a foreign country, but still in order, practicing every day, and the black husband who commanded them, and thought to himself:

"The people have narrow ways to make a living and live in poverty. The king is also cruel and harsh in using the people. He uses titles and benefits to seduce and threatens with laws and punishments. This makes Qin's wars concern everyone. Therefore, it can be strong for a long time. No wonder the Qin army can be invincible. The world."

"When I was on a study tour, a good friend of the Master's Zhao State once mentioned to me the military discussion between Xunzi and Lord Linwu in Handan. Xunzi was right, the warriors of Wei could not meet the warriors of Qin. From this point of view, Wei's The country’s defeat is not unjust!”

For a moment, Chen Ping's eyes became eager.

For the nobles of Wei State, the fall of Wei was the fall of an era.

But for a poor man like him, is this not a new beginning?