Qin Official

"The reason why the Ba people rebelled was because the government broke its promise first?"

The sky gradually darkened, the torches at the top of the city were lit, and preparations for the Yidao war were carried out in an orderly manner under the organization of the county officials. The county officials nervously watched the upper reaches of the Yishui River, and Heifu also learned from Ba Zhong, I learned a little about the "inside story" of the Yidaoba rebellion.

Ba Zhong said: "Of course, the leading ruler Fan Qin claimed that originally the Yi Dao officials had made an agreement with the local tribes of Ba people. Each tribe counted the number of people, and each Ba tribe paid 56 copper coins as corvée tax. , so you don’t have to be drafted into corvee service..."

Heifu knew that the so-called "訨" was the Ba people's name for money, and that this money was collected as compensation for the corvee tax. In addition, the export tax for each household was eight feet and two feet of cloth. If converted according to the "Golden Cloth Rules", it would be worth about 113 qian, which was less than half of the Qin State's head tax of 240 qian per person. As for the thirty pheasant feathers used as arrow tails, it is not difficult for the Yidaoba people who mainly hunt and fish.

The economic burden borne by the Yi Daoba people was much easier than that of the ordinary people who were registered as households. This was also Qin's gentle approach to stabilize the border and ensured that there had been no major rebellions in the Yi Dao in the past few decades.

Bazhong continued: "However, last year, Qin and Chu fought in Qingyang and Jiling. The Yi Dao was short of manpower, so they temporarily recruited various tribes to serve as garrison soldiers to fight against the Chu people. At that time, there was a young prince named Fan You who was there. When he was serving in Jiling, he heard that his wife was going to give birth, so he escaped with fifty of his men. Afterwards, the county captain of Yidao led people to arrest Fan You, and brought him back to Yidao to be tried by the county magistrate and the jailer."

The warden was right in front of him. Hei Fu asked him to come over. When he mentioned this matter, the warden looked a little embarrassed: "It is true that I am trying this case. Since Fan You and his subordinates have been recruited as garrison guards, they have already Those who accept the recruitment documents, regardless of whether they are barbarians or not, should be regarded as soldiers and placed under the jurisdiction of the captain. Those who fled before arriving at the camp are in violation of military law."

The ruler of the Ba people named Fan You did not sit still and wait for death. Although he did not understand the law, he found a "Xia Zi" who understood Qin's laws to defend himself. They moved out the "Attribution Law" used by the Qin State to manage ethnic minorities. Based on the Laws of the State and the Laws of the Barbarians, I believe that the laws clearly allow the Ba people to be exempted from military service, and gentlemen who break the law can also get exemptions, so even if they have to be punished, they can be punished lightly and the money can be fined...

The jailer said, "That being said, the "Barbarian Code" only mentions that people can be exempted from corvee, but does not say that they can be exempted from garrison service. The "State Code" does not forgive the death penalty. Moreover, the government has ordered the recruitment of Fan You and others. Even if you are a garrison soldier, you should be managed according to the "Garrison Law". If you die, you will be guilty and will be severely punished! In the end, the Yidao County Court could not decide the case, so it was reported to the county court and asked for a ruling..."

After the warden said this, Heifu finally understood the ins and outs of this matter. Looking at the whole process of the trial, the procedure was legal and fair. After Fan Yu was brought to justice, when the Yi Dao officials interrogated him, cross-examined him (cross-examination, argued), 鴫 (the judge read out the conclusion of the court investigation), and 鰳 (reported to discuss the crime), they all focused on the "death" of the client. conduct and the relevant provisions of the "Garrison Code".

The people invited by the defendant to help defend themselves cited the legal provisions of the "Barbarian Law" and "State Law" to defend themselves. In the end, when the officials at the Yi Dao were unable to determine the defendant's crime and sentence, they reported it as a suspicious case according to the memorial procedure.

On January 3 this year, the magistrate of Nanjun made a verdict, ruling that Fan You should be cut in half. The fifty people who fled with Fan You were all captured and beheaded as deserters...

This case was like throwing a big stone into a pond that could overflow at any time, causing an uproar immediately!

In the eyes of Qin's Nanjun and Yi Dao officials, they just executed a group of people who deserved to die in accordance with the law. However, in the eyes of the Ba people, this was simply unreasonable. They only felt that they had been deceived by Qin and agreed to be exempted from military service. The benefits of reduced crime are all false.

The envoys from the Chu State saw this opportunity and went to various ministries to lobby. The rulers of the Ba people heard that the Qin State was defeated last year and seven captains died. After a quick calculation, Nanjun only had three or four captains at most. ah! So he suddenly rebelled against Qin and attached himself to Chu.

In this way, it was a murder caused by a big lawsuit...

Ba Zhong said helplessly: "So when Fan Qin encouraged the Ba people to rebel against Qin, his excuse was to betray his trust and avenge his blood relatives."

As a Ba man, Ba Zhong strongly advocated that the two sides should not fight, so he still advised Heifu: "Zuo Bing Cao Shi, according to my rough observation, it was mainly Fan You's brother Fan Qin who was instigating it, not all Jun Jun. The capital wants to rebel against Qin. If I are allowed to lobby again, I may be able to change many people's minds..."

"That's too late."

Heifu shook his head: "If it had been before today, there might have been some room left, but now that both the county magistrate and the county captain of Yidao are dead, the knot is completely dead. You have been running around all day, so go down and rest first. The matter of persuading surrender will be done later. Say goodbye."

After letting Ba Zhong go down to rest, Heifu said to the generals and county officials at the top of the city: "The Ba people just won an ambush and killed the county magistrate and county captain. They will be proud of their victory. Now they are sending people to persuade them to surrender. The effect is not great, but it makes us look cowardly. We have to wait for the Ba people to attack the city and give us a head-on blow! Let the Ba people know that it is a wishful thinking to break the city. Wait until the reinforcements arrive and the Ba people feel regret. Send people to recruit surrender, so that all the tribes can fall apart..."

The officials thought so, but at this moment, someone shouted: "There is fire in the distance!"

Heifu and the others looked up and saw a large amount of light moving towards the upper reaches of the Yishui River. During this period, every village they passed was set on fire. Each village burned like a beacon. …

"Fortunately, Cao Shi, the left soldier, has sent people to bring those Qin people to the city." The county magistrate, prison officials and others were still frightened.

Heifu said: "The Ba people are very popular and have Chu people to help them. They will definitely not wait until tomorrow morning to attack the city."

As he spoke, he also counted the approximate number of torches. There were nearly a thousand. According to the rule of one torch for each Qin army, there must be four to five thousand people, right? Is this the only number of young and strong men in the entire Yidaoba tribe? Of course, it is also possible that the marching team was deliberately lengthened to make the number appear larger, so as to scare the defenders in the city.

To be prepared, Heifu said to the officials on the side: "Let the old men and women under the city wall hurry up and prepare the things to defend the city!"

They called out all the men in the city and only had about a thousand people. It was still difficult to resist the attack of so many enemies.

As he spoke, as the Ba people got closer and closer, it seemed as if the entire Yi River was burning under the illumination of the blazing torches. In a daze, the small Yidao City seemed to be in the boundless river of flowing fire. Trying to resist its waves, an indescribable pressure filled everyone's hearts.

The forward Ba people also arrived outside the ditch under the city, and their appearance was finally revealed. They were not much different from the Ba people Heifu saw on Bazhong's boat. They were all barefoot and had simple cloth wrapped around their waists. Clothes or animal skins, buns or broken hair.

The warriors held wooden shields and willow leaf spears or willow leaf swords in the other hand. Under the loud shouts of the commanders of the various ministries, they stopped in front of the ditch. However, they were not as silent as before the Qin army attacked the city. Everyone’s loudest voice, while shouting the Ba people language, while dancing...

Although it looks chaotic, there are many people and there is an extraordinary momentum.

Everyone on the left and right looked a little ugly, and even the few behind could not help but take a few steps back...

Heifu also became serious: "Thousands of people sang, tens of thousands harmonized, the mountains shook, the valleys rippled... Is this the Ba warrior who sang before and danced behind?"

At this time, the Ba people automatically separated to both sides. A Ba people riding a horse, wearing an exaggerated feather crown and a leopard skin, came to the trench. Although his appearance could not be seen clearly at night, the man could not be seen clearly. One hand raised a willow leaf spear high, with a bloody human head stuck on the tip of the spear...

"That person is Fan Qin." The county magistrate said through gritted teeth. He rubbed his eyes again, stared at the head, and said in horror: "That head, could it be..."

It is the head of Yidao County Magistrate!

Fan Qin shouted in the language of the Ba people, and laughed at the same time. The Ba people behind him also laughed with him, jumped and danced, making it even more noisy, as if they were not going to a battlefield, but attending a party.

A bilingual jailer on the side translated to Heifu: "Fan Qin said that he came today to avenge his brother Fan You who was treacherously executed by the Qin officials! If everyone in the city wants to survive, they must return quickly! "

"tell him!"

Heifu looked at the arrogant Fan Qin below the city and the Ba people who were singing and dancing. He said to the people behind him: "Qin has generals who open up the territory and expand the territory, and they will surrender the barbarian officials without abandoning the land! We would rather be jade pieces than do this." Wa Quan, what happens tonight is just a fight to the death!"