Qin Official

"Mr. Zheng Guo is truly a god."

In the west of Daliang City, at the Qin Army's camp, 15-year-old Wang Li stood outside the tent, looking at Daliang surrounded by rolling floods to the east, and expressed his heartfelt admiration.

On the order of his grandfather, he came to visit his father on the front line and brought him summer clothes sewn by his mother. Along the way, we leave Hangu Pass, pass Luoyang, and go to Chenggao. When he was passing through Xingyang, he happened to see tens of thousands of Guizhou prisoners opening the Xingyang port defense and letting the river flow into the chasm...

"Now the land of Wei may be reduced to a vast land."

A guest from Dongjun who escorted Wang Li to the east said this, and also talked about what he saw when he was defending the country.

"More than fifty years ago, when I was still an eight-year-old child, King Zhao Huiwen led his army to Dongyang of the Wei Kingdom and defeated the White Horse. He used the river as the vanguard to defeat the Wei family. As a result, the river flooded from Puyang to Suanzao. Tens of thousands of people were buried in the belly of the fish, and the great countryside was reduced to water."

While talking, the old retainer kept shaking his head. He was not very optimistic about Wang Ben's water attack strategy. He thought that although it could hurt the enemy, half of Wei's land might have been eroded by the river and turned into a wasteland. Such a wasteland could not be used. What's the use?

But when the group arrived at the foot of Daliang City, they were surprised to find that the unruly river followed the chasm and was directed into the newly dug ditch. It only irrigated Daliang City and did not cause any damage to the surrounding areas. .

All of this is the credit of Zheng Guo, the "chief designer" of this project...

"As expected of Mr. Zheng, who dug the Zheng Guo Canal."

Wang Li was full of admiration, and at the same time he clenched his fists and said to his father in the commander's tent: "Father, if this happens, Daliang City will probably be in ruins and unable to move forward. This city is about to be destroyed!"

"It's not that easy to build a century-old city and destroy a country of ten thousand chariots."

Wang Ben changed out of his armor and wore regular clothes. He sat behind the case, but he was not looking at the map of Daliang City, but looking through a batch of slips delivered by military officials.

This is data about the food stored in the army. Every time he reads a volume, Wang Ben's brows tighten.

Although Wang Li was born as a general, he had been studying military science under the influence of his ancestors and father since he was a child, but he was still immature and didn't know what his father was worried about in such a good situation, so Wang Ben asked him a question.

"In the eighteenth year of this king's reign, your great father, on the orders of the king, led an army of two hundred thousand to Jingxing, and fought fiercely with Li Mu of the state of Zhao. The stalemate lasted for a long time. It was not until the nineteenth year that Handan was finally defeated."

"The year before last, Crown Prince Dan of Yan sent Jing Ke to assassinate the king. After the defeat, the king ordered your eldest father to command an army to attack Yan. It was a long journey north to Yan. It became even more difficult after winter. After several months of siege, it was not until the end of spring last year that we were able to attack Yan. Finally conquered the capital of Yan, killed Prince Dan, and ousted the King of Yan."

These battles were all the achievements of Wang Li's grandfather, the great concubine Wang Jian, who was famous all over the world. Wang Li had heard of it many times and boasted about it to his peers in Xianyang so many times.

However, his father changed the topic and asked him: "Do you know, after your uncle came back, he said that he could win these two battles, who should he thank the most?"

"Thank you, Your Majesty?" Wang Li asked, scratching his head.

Wang Ben stood up and held his hands to the west: "If the king had not made clear laws, raised troops to punish violence, and trusted the Wang family, naturally he would not have succeeded in defeating Zhao and destroying Yan."

Then he shook his head and said, "But your uncle said that the person who deserves the most thanks is Mr. Zheng Guo!"

"Thank you Mr. Zheng?"

Wang Li was stunned for a while. Although he admired Zheng Guo's ingenuity in guiding Dahe, this unruly yellow horse, into a sharp blade for the Qin army, it did not affect the people in the surrounding cities. But for a while, I didn't think about the direct connection between Zheng Guo and these two wars.

Wang Ben was a little disappointed with this son who was slower than his father and himself, so he reminded him: "Wu Sunzi's battle chapter, please memorize it quickly."

Wang Li was so excited that he immediately recited with his hands behind his back: "Sun Tzu said, any method of using military force is to use thousands of chariots, thousands of leather chariots, a hundred thousand armors, and food supplies for thousands of miles, so there are expenses inside and outside, for guests, glue and paint. The materials, the chariots and armor, cost thousands of gold per day, and then the troops of one hundred thousand can lift them..."

"If you use battles, you will win. If you use them for a long time, your troops will be blunt and your enemies will be weakened. If you attack a city, your strength will be weakened. If your troops are violent for a long time, your country will be short of resources..."

After reciting it until this point, he suddenly realized it and said excitedly: "Father, I understand! My father's intention is that if Mr. Zheng Guo had not dug the Zheng Guo Canal a few years ago, Guanzhong would have been fertile and there would have been no bad years. If the country becomes prosperous and the food warehouses are full, there will not be enough food sent to the front line to support him in winning these two country-breaking wars that last for many years! Right!"

Wang Ben nodded, pointing to the stacks of tents outside, and the more than 100,000 people who were busy living during this period, and said: "Isn't this the case for this big battle with me as the coach?"

In Wang Ben's view, there is only one factor left to determine the outcome of this war, and that is food.

According to those who surrendered, King Wei and Prime Minister Wei seemed to have made preparations a long time ago. There was no shortage of grain in Daliang City since millet had been accumulated for a year. If you save it, you can feed the whole city until autumn. So even though the city was flooded, the King of Wei was still struggling to hold on. The only hope of Wei was that the Qin army outside the city was out of food and grass and could no longer besieged...

Although this hope is slim, it is not impossible. As the commander-in-chief, Wang Ben knows very well that after the construction of the Zhengguo Canal, Guanzhong has experienced great harvests almost every year. However, in the past three years, too many troops have been used, and the battles have been fought too far and too large. Even the food in the fertile fields of Guanzhong is somewhat difficult to supply.

“It’s all the fault of Prince Yan Dan.”

Wang Ben inherited his father's "stability" and was a general who liked to make moves step-by-step and did not like plans to be disrupted.

"Without Jing Ke's assassination, we should have destroyed Wei first, and then slowly conquered Yan. As a result, the order completely changed. When my father defeated Yan, because the Yan territory was too far away, just transporting grain from Guanzhong was no longer enough. After half a year, almost The grain reserves of the entire Hedong, Hanoi, and Dong counties were exhausted, and many laborers died of cold and starvation. Shortly after Zhao Di returned to the country, he was in turmoil and could not collect much grain. At this juncture, Xinzheng, Yingchuan County, also broke out in rebellion. .”

"Therefore, when I presided over the battle to defeat Wei, we could only rely on food supplies from Nanyang and Sanchuan. The army and garrison numbered more than 100,000 people, and after two months, there was not much left."

Food from Guanzhong is still being shipped out in a steady stream, but what Sun Tzu Wu said is good, "A country that is poorer than its teacher will lose far, and if it loses far, the people will be poor." Guanzhong is really far away from Daliang, and three stones of rice were delivered. Maybe there is only one stone left to eat, and the final result is: "The expenses of the common people are reduced to seven out of ten; the expenses of the public are reduced to a broken car and a horse."

The State of Qin cannot exhaust its old foundation in this battle. In Wang Ben's eyes, his so-called general is actually just a vanguard. The destruction of Wei is just a side dish, the real grand feast is yet to come.

In Chu State, the plump bear paws that must be cooked slowly and carefully before they can be eaten must be finished by his father Wang Jian himself...

Therefore, in order to solve the food problem and reduce the pressure of food supply, Wang Ben thought of two ways.

The first one is to let Yang Duanhe and Qiang Yu lead partial divisions to attack Jiyang, Taoqiu, and Suiyang. Firstly, these big cities in Wei State can be eradicated. Secondly, the main battle force can also be divided into areas to eat. Reduce the burden on.

The second one is to let the miscellaneous troops from Nanyang and Nanjun attack the neighboring counties. After the county captains and Youyou who took office on the front line took control of the counties and villages, Wang Ben issued a general order asking them to quickly search for food locally and send it down to Daliang City!

Six thousand stones for the county town, two thousand stones for the big township, and one thousand stones for the small township!

"It is in line with what the Art of War says: use the food for the country, and because the food is given to the enemy, the army will have enough food." Wang Li now fully understood that his father's arrangement was to allow those who originally belonged to the Wei State to Counties and townships continuously sent grain to Daliang City to sustain the army until the city was broken.

Wang Ben nodded: "If we can get one hundred thousand stones, it will be enough for the army for a month."

But Wang Li was a little worried: "But the Wei region has just gone through war, and the summer harvest has not yet arrived. When I came, the bean sprouts and wheat were not mature. I'm afraid the counties and villages won't be able to collect much food."

There was something else he didn't say. If food was forcibly searched, what would the local Wei people do if they had nothing to eat?

"There will always be."

Wang Ben's eyes were as cold as iron. He looked outside the tent and said calmly: "Military orders are like mountains and laws are as iron as iron. For this matter, the garrison in counties and villages must complete it even if they scrape a layer of local land! Either deliver food to pay, or , just come to me with your head!"

…

"What are the military orders?"

More than a hundred miles away in Hufu Township, Yangwu County, Heifu was also thinking about this problem.

Military orders are tasks that must be completed once issued, regardless of whether you are happy or unhappy.

In the State of Qin, laws and orders are as iron as iron. Officials who abide by the law and perform their duties, and those who fail to follow the king's laws, will not be pardoned for their crimes, and the three clans will be punished.

In the army, general orders are like king's laws... subordinates are not allowed to question the orders of their superiors and can only obey unconditionally.

The general orders you to defeat the enemy. If you attack, you will be defeated. If you fail, you will die. You may die in battle or die at the hands of military judges. By the way, you will be trapped together with people who are in the same group.

The general orders you to defend the city. If you defend, you must defend. If you don't, you will die. You may die on the city wall or die in the post-war trial. You will leave a reputation as a "military thief" and bring disaster to your family.

The same goes for searching for food. This is Heifu's main mission when he comes here to travel.

The military order required the handing over of two thousand shi of food, but you only paid 1,000 shi, and then you stiffened your neck and said that you should not be too harsh on the local people to prevent them from rebelling. The military judge nodded and said that you have really thought it through, but in the final analysis, you have not completed the task. If you disobey the order, you will be punished severely. Take off your miter and join the army of prisoners digging ditches.

The military order required the handover of two thousand shi of grain, specifying grains, but you only handed over one thousand shi of aged millet, and the rest was dried fish and kudzu powder. Maybe you will laugh and say that these things are more nutritious, but in the eyes of the military judge, this is like asking a hundred people to behead thirty-three people, but you took the heads of three women and children with you. It is considered cheating. Not only is it against the order, but also Those who commit the crime of "not being straight" will be punished even more severely.

Those who have merit go to the front, and those who fail later are not punished by punishment. There are those who are good at going forward and those who are too behind. This is not a disadvantage.

Even if you violate the order and have hidden secrets, it will not affect your sentence. This is the rule of the Qin army.

After Heifu concluded, he found that the easiest person to complete the task was the Qin official who followed orders in everything. The people who are most likely to get stabbed are modern time-travelers who like to come up with random ideas.

The more ideas, the greater the trouble.

In fact, there are only two choices, either to be a good guy that no one remembers, unable to complete the task, and waiting to be killed.

Either be the "Qin Kou" you are supposed to play, be a bad guy, keep a straight face, and do whatever you want.

After thinking about it, Heifu decided to be a bad guy.

He named Dongmen Bao, Gong Ao and several other men with the strongest combat effectiveness.

"Follow me to the house of the three old men and the mischievous husband."

Heifu alone could not collect grain by himself. He had to negotiate with the local tycoons and use their hands to complete the matter.

However, after leaving the camp gate, Heifu found that Chen Ping, who was supposed to go home, was standing by the door and saluting him.

"Ping Dare, I dare to ask You You, how do you plan to collect grain?"

Chen Ping also waited here after thinking again and again. Although he had been slandered by the villagers, and although others were gentle, he learned about it today. As a native of Humou Township, his hometown was harmed, and he was also harmed, so he could not Stand back and watch.

Moreover, isn't this an opportunity to shine in front of the villagers and Qin officials?

But when the scholar met the soldiers, he couldn't explain it clearly. Dongmen Bao, who had not moved his muscles for a long time since the injury, was furious when he heard this: "Boy, you are just a mere clerk, how dare you ask about this matter?" He strode over after saying that. , picked up Chen Ping like a chicken, and was about to throw him aside.

"Wait a minute."

However, Heifu stopped the Dongmen Leopard. Looking at Chen Ping who was almost beaten but not panicked, he thought to himself that this glorious figure in history might be able to help him...

So he said to Chen Ping: "Then let me tell you, military orders are like mountains and laws are like iron, food must be levied, and two thousand stones, one liter cannot be less, but this levy method..."

Heifu thought of three ways. One was to distribute the two thousand dan evenly to more than a thousand households in the township, giving each family two dan. This will make most families hungry for a month before the winter wheat and beans mature, and they can only eat a bowl of gruel every day.

This move can please the local tycoons, but it will offend ordinary people. With the Wei State resistance group headed by Zhou Shi appearing in Yangwu County, it is better not to push the local people too hard.

The second plan is to do the opposite and only let the local tycoons headed by Dong Zhang and Xizhang provide food. Heifu knew that the combined surplus food of these two families amounted to more than two thousand dan, and with the sages from all over the country attending the banquet that day, he could always collect it.

However, although this move benefits ordinary households, it is equivalent to attacking the local tycoons to take advantage of the big ones. It will make the local tycoons completely fall out with the black men. Some dissatisfied people may contact the Zhoushi and send servants and retainers to cooperate. Zhou Shi, kill Heifu and the other fifty people...

At that time, even if Mr. Hei screams at the top of his lungs, no local residents will come to help him. You may think you are giving a favor, but others may not think so.

So plan one and plan two were initially rejected by Heifu.

The only one that seemed feasible was plan three.

The village tycoons and ordinary households each contributed a thousand dan. In this way, the village tycoons did not suffer much loss, and the common people could also save some food to last until the summer harvest.

But is there really any difference between fifty steps and one hundred steps?

Heifu was worried that if he did this, he would still be dissatisfied with both sides and offend both parties.

So after much thought, Heifu picked up Plan 2 again.

"I have a plan. Maybe I can persuade the Zhang family to provide food without letting the households suffer from starvation. But whether it can work or not, I want to hear your idea." Heifu pointed at Chen Ping and said.

Chen Ping seemed to be greatly inspired, and he lowered his head and said: "Ping also has a plan, which may be able to persuade Zhang to fully bear the two thousand dan of grain..."

"That's really a coincidence."

Heifu was stunned for a moment, then laughed loudly: "Do you and I have the same strategies? Chen Ping, did you bring a pen and ink?"

"Scholar, how dare you not bring this thing with you?"

Chen Ping put down the backpack behind him and took out his bald pen and a piece of bad ink.

Heifu smiled and said, "How about you and I write our respective strategies in the palm of our hands and unfold them at the same time?"

Chen Ping's eyes lit up and he immediately agreed, so Dongmen Bao and Gong Ao found a stone and polished off Chen Ping's bad ink.

"Youyou please come first."

Hei Fu was not polite. He first picked up the bald pen, dipped it in some ink, quickly wrote a word in his palm, and then handed the pen to Chen Ping...

Chen Ping took over the pen, hesitated for a moment, and then wrote a word in the palm of his hand.

The two approached, and under the setting sun, they opened their palms at the same time. One was a calloused warrior's hand, and the other was an idle scholar's hand. One was black and the other was white, the contrast was clear.

But he saw the word "jue" written on the palm of Heifu's hand. Chen Ping was surprised when he saw this word. This was something he had not expected beforehand.

Heifu also looked at Chen Ping's palm. There was also a word written there, Qin Guozhuan, but it was different from his...

"loan?"