Qin Official

"The thing I regret most in the past few years is that in the 21st year of the reign of King Wang, on the evening after completing his corvee service, I did not stay with Ji Ying, Xiao Tao, and Dongmen Bao to wait for the county captain..."

In mid-August, in a farmland next to the village of Zhunshui Township, Shi Wu Zhen was wearing a coarse linen brown clothes, stepping barefoot in the golden rice fields, looking up at the geese flying south, his face full of regret.

I think back then, Hei Fu was their senior leader when they were doing corvee work. They trained together, built walls together, and got money together, so they had some friendship.

However, on the evening when the service ended, because Heifu was called away by the then county right lieutenant Yun Man, Hei was in a hurry to go home, so he took his cousin Mu to take a step forward...

It was not until now that he saw that Ji Ying and Xiao Tao, who were also the first soldiers of Guizhou Province like them, had received titles and were still serving as officials in the county. Dongmen Bao commanded 500 people and was so majestic that he realized that he What exactly did you miss!

If he had stayed back then and went to Huyang Pavilion with Hei Fu, and went to Wei and Chu together, now, even if he couldn't command the whole village like Dongmen Bao, he would at least be a food-fighting official, right?

As he spoke, Zhi sighed again, looked at Mu who was quickly waving a sickle to cut rice in the field, and said angrily: "Cousin, don't you regret it?"

Mu, who was tall but dull by nature, raised his head blankly, wiped his sweat, and showed an honest smile: "No regrets, now I have been drafted for military service. The county captain saw me when he was patrolling the camp, and he still remembered what happened back then. , chatted with me for a long time, and finally asked me to be his flag bearer. I was treated the same as a short-distance bodyguard. Each meal could have one more bowl than the average soldier, and he also had onion, leek and fish soup with his rice! "

"Eat, you know how to eat!"

When Mu said this, Pig became even more angry. Now it seems that his cousin has finally boarded the county captain's ship, but he is short in stature and has not been drafted. He is about to miss this opportunity to be promoted and make a fortune!

He threw the sickle away in frustration, sat on the field ridge and sulked: "When you come back, at least you will be a civil servant... No, it's better! But I'm still a poor countryman!"

The honest male didn't know what to say, so he could only continue to bury his head and speed up the harvesting of rice. Originally, they had no chance to go home. Thanks to the kindness of the county captain, they were allowed to return to the countryside under the leadership of the village chief and the chief to help their family with the autumn harvest and also say goodbye to them. It is now August 14th. , we have only four days to go back to gather.

His arms were strong and strong, able to carry the banner of the county captain, and he was not sloppy in his farm work. He quickly cut an acre of rice, carried it to the ridge and put it away, and said with some surprise: " The rice is growing really well this year!”

"It's natural."

Zhi, who had been sulking for a long time, finally answered: "Tianzuo officials have preached the method of composting and retting as early as the summer season, and it is still used in public fields. However, many people in the countryside still use the old method and dare not try it. When I heard that it was The method proposed by the county captain's family felt that it must be reliable, so he asked the family to use it in the ten or so acres of rice fields. This year, each mu of rice fields will yield at least three or five more bushels of millet!"

Mu went to Xiangting to apply for recruitment and training at the end of June, so he didn't know much about it. When he heard about it, he told Mu the "public toilet" he saw in the county town.

"That day when I was hoisting the flag at the top of the city, I heard the county lieutenant discuss with the county magistrate, saying that when the autumn harvest comes, in addition to the county town, we will also build a public toilet in the three townships to collect manure..."

The combined population of the three villages is between five and six thousand, and the amount of manure available for public toilets in a year is also considerable. Therefore, the county magistrate Yong He will continue to implement the "public toilets in the countryside" campaign as long as he waits for the county's approval.

This sentence awakened Zhi. He patted his thigh and stood up immediately.

"That's right! My brother, the public toilets are under the control of Tianzuo officials and are cleaned by the prisoners. They must need a small official to look after them? The noble men in the countryside will definitely not be willing to do this dirty job. How about I apply for the job? As long as it is something initiated by the county captain, it will definitely be good! Maybe you can get a chance to make meritorious service and get a title!"

…

At the same time, in the morning sun in Huyang Pavilion, Gongshi Quji also finished harvesting millet in the dry land at home.

His wife was wearing a ge-shirt, carrying her one-and-a-half-year-old child in a basket, and carrying a clay pot to deliver meals to her husband and the people who came to help from the same village...

When he went to pick up the clay pot to drink water, his wife said softly: "Fortunately, the county magistrate showed mercy and allowed my beloved to come back. Otherwise, I wouldn't know what to do with this hundred acres of land by myself." …”

"yes."

Qu Ji sighed with emotion: "I haven't repaid my previous kindness, and now I owe the county captain another favor... No, it's two favors!"

The year before last, he discovered that the inner prison gate was colluding with thieves outside to rob graves. Because I was afraid of retaliation, he put the matter through an anonymous letter into the carrier Ji Ying's basket. Heifu, the head of the pavilion, pulled it out. The case was finally solved, and all the prison gatekeepers and tomb robbers were arrested. However, according to the law, Qu Ji also committed the crime of throwing letters and had to pay a fine of 4,000 yuan.

At that time, their family had just finished a funeral, and his wife was pregnant. They could not afford so much money and had to work hard instead. However, Heihu directly "lent" 4,000 yuan to him and burned the bond on the spot... …

With Hei Fu's rescue, Qu Ji was able to use his family's money to hire a doctor for treatment, and he successfully waited until his wife gave birth and gave birth to a fat boy.

Looking at his wife and children, Qu Ji felt satisfied. The only thing on his mind was that he never had the chance to repay the kindness. Although Hei Fu was getting higher and higher, he didn't care.

This time, it was Quji's turn to serve again. After arriving at the military camp with an uneasy heart, the county lieutenant discovered him while patrolling the camp. After chatting with him, he found that he had no martial arts skills and could barely shoot a bow. He thought about it. After thinking about it, I asked him to be my assistant...

"I remember that your handwriting on the submission letter was pretty good."

The county captain said it was easy, but it was like receiving an amnesty when he was cured of his illness. He regarded this as the county captain's care, which was a second favor.

In addition, this time the soldiers were sent home to harvest in the autumn, this was the third favor.

"How should I pay it back..."

Qu Ji is very distressed, and at the same time he is also worried that after he leaves, it may be a year and a half before he comes back. How will his wife live with a child? Although as a civil servant, Tian Dian would allocate a servant to help tend the fields, but the wife had to do the work of pounding rice herself.

While coaxing the child, the wife comforted him and said, "With the treadmill, it won't be too painful."

"Besides, last month, after Tian Dian went to the countryside, he came back with a few craftsmen and set up a water mill room in the village. He said that he could let the villagers bring rice to pound for a fifth of the price. Just the grain, this is also an utensil made by the county captain’s family. If I can’t step on the rice mill anymore, I can go and pound the rice!”

…

The day was approaching day by day, and the husband and wife were about to say goodbye, and they were reluctant to part. On the last day, when they woke up in a daze, the woman said the cock crow, and the man said "Midan". But no matter what time it is, it is always necessary to get up. The king's affairs are all over the place, and there is no need to leave. As a common man, once he is recruited, he has no choice.

When the gentleman went to the pineapple tree of Ji's house, his wife stuffed another pair of newly made shoes into his already bulging luggage. Her eyes were red and she gritted her teeth and said, "If my dear man does not follow the military law, then I will sit with you." Death by law!"

This was the customary instruction from the State of Qin to send relatives to join the army. Quji smiled helplessly and stuffed a grasshopper he had knitted yesterday into his son's pink little hand...

"Wait until I come back!"

At the same time, the door of Shiwumu's house in Zhunshui Township also opened, and the tall flag-carrying soldier walked out of the house. His parents and wife, even after he walked far away, were still shouting at him: "No title, no honor." return!"

In hundreds of villages in Anlu County, countless families are repeating these two sentences. Parents, brothers, wives and children are all standing by the door, watching their children wearing winter clothes, summer clothes and thin quilts on their backs. , chewing dry food, left the warm home, met with their chiefs and corps commanders at the inner door, and after counting the number of people, they gathered towards the pavilion like streams...

…

On August 17, the eve of the assembly, Heifu was at his new home in the suburbs of Anlu County. The family had a "reunion dinner" and waited for his mother to rest. After doing the last bit of filial piety this year, Heifu discovered that his younger brother was shocked. Before falling asleep, he walked around the courtyard with some anxiety.

"Brother Zhong."

Jing said with some anxiety: "Tomorrow is the day of assembly. If someone really doesn't come..."

He had learned the law and was worried that if too many people escaped, Brother Zhong would not be able to deal with it, and he might even be punished by the county captain for not having enough soldiers.

"You are actually worried about this!"

Heifu smiled helplessly, invited him to sit down by the pond, and said, "Do you know why I want to give priority to the wealthy people in my recruitment this time?"

He nodded in surprise and said: "Brother Zhong told me that those who have permanent property have perseverance, and those who do not have perseverance!"

"Yes, those who have no permanent property but have perseverance can only be talented! In the Qin army, they always like to use good family members with permanent property, but do not like frivolous young men and people with no permanent property. The first reason is that, A good man can prepare enough clothes for the battle, but the people of Luzuo can't even buy winter clothes and summer clothes..."

In the original history, Heifu and Jing, who participated in this war, were considered good family members. Their family could at least send them clothes and money.

"Secondly, a good man is easy to obey military orders. Fighting alone may not be as good as a bad boy, but once he fights in formation, he is countless times stronger than the light knights fighting alone. This means that the martial arts of Qi are not as good as the soldiers of Wei, and the soldiers of Wei are One of the reasons why he is not as good as the warriors of Qin."

"Thirdly, even though these good family members are afraid of war, they will not run away rashly because it will harm their families. They can only go to the battlefield bravely!"

This means that a monk who can run away cannot run away from the temple.

Furthermore, Wei Liaozi once said that there are five requirements for an elite soldier: "To be a general, forget your home, to forget your relatives when crossing the border, to point to the enemy and forget yourself, to live if you must die, and to win quickly." Only in this way can a hundred people be killed. The sword will lead to chaos; thousands of people will be killed, and the enemy will be captured and killed; ten thousand people will be killed, and the world will be rampant!

But being ordered to do so requires you to forget about your family, and when you go abroad to fight, you have to forget about your parents. These two points are not easy to say.

Human beings are not animals, and it is difficult to completely abandon the family. Sometimes, the more you don't let the soldiers go home, the more concerned they will be. On the contrary, if you let them go back to finish the autumn harvest, seeing that the family's granary is sufficient, and their father also encourages them to "don't go back if you don't get a title," they can feel more relieved. , fighting wholeheartedly to win the title.

This is similar to the effect that during the last war, Heifu proposed to Li You that Nanjun soldiers who had been away from home for too long write letters home to boost their morale.

After hearing the surprise, he was convinced and bowed to Hei Fu: "Brother Zhong, I think your method of training and controlling troops has the style of a famous general!"

"What kind of famous general am I?"

Heifu laughed loudly when he heard this. He has his own self-awareness: "When it comes to using troops in the military competition, I am just a chick with eggshells on me. I am a chick that has just opened its eyes. I still have a lot to learn!"

He looked towards the far north and said expectantly: "Old General Wang Jian, who will command an army of 600,000 this time, is a famous general!"

Qi Mu Po Jian was one of the four famous generals of the Warring States Period in later generations. Lord Wu An committed suicide by killing Du Ting, Lian Po died of old age in Daliang, Li Muzhong rebelled and died, but Wang Jian was the only one left!

Hei Fu is now extremely looking forward to meeting this general who is as steady as an old dog in fighting!

"Being able to witness his duel with Xiang Yan is also a blessing for a junior like me!"