Qin Official

Xianglige lied. There were not thirty Mohists in Ruyin City, not even ten. Apart from him, there were only three people.

"Xianglige will not come back."

At the top of Ruyin City, looking up at the sun above his head, Master Deng, the only and final leader of Southern Mo in Chu State, sighed, with a sad expression on his face.

Except for the old Mr. Deng, Ku Li, a strong man who was nine feet tall and as tall as a high wall, and Qi Qi, who was thin and had rotten teeth due to a difficult life since childhood, looked at each other with some sadness.

Xianglige was different from those of them who were half-way into Mohism. He had been a Mohist for generations. Xianglige was Mr. Deng’s most proud disciple and the only one among them who could lobby.

It's a pity that this person is too stubborn and idealistic. Qi Chi can tell even if he closes his eyes that the Qin army outside can't give up the attack on the city, but Xianglige insists on giving it a try.

"It seems that people can become stupid if they read too many books." Qi Qia, who had only joined Mo Zhe less than two years ago, thought to himself.

Now, Xianglige has been away for a long time and has not returned. The three people speculate that he may have angered the Qin general because of his rude words, and his head was cut off to sacrifice to the flag.

But no one doubted that he would be ashamed to return because his lobbying was not enough, or he would surrender directly.

"Such fragile people among Mohists have disappeared one after another in the past twenty years, and it is impossible for them to remain until now." Mr. Deng said.

Mr. Deng is an old man with shaky teeth. He is the "teacher" of Xianglige, Kuli and Qiqi, and the person who teaches them Mohist morality. Only he was lucky enough to have seen the scene forty years ago when Southern Mo gathered dozens of people, responded to Lord Pingyuan's request, rushed to Handan, and joined the world's benevolent people to help the old, weak, women and children of Zhao State resist the violent Qin army.

At that time, Master Deng was only eighteen or nineteen years old, and the Southern Ink Painting at that time was still very prosperous.

But that was their last glory. After that, the Wei State attacked and defended, and Mo Zhe helped defend the city. Most of them were killed or injured, and only Mr. Deng and a few others who stayed in the south remained.

This person has passed away, and the living people are congratulating them on a well-deserved death and wandering with ghosts and gods. At the same time, they must also start to recruit new Mohists to replenish their manpower.

However, in this world, ambitious scholars are all pursuing fame and wealth. The Mohist school is no longer a prominent scholar and is not favored by the princes. Who is still willing to be a Mohist?

It is better for the warriors to be knight-errants and enjoy grudges than to impose strict rules on disciples and prohibit private fights.

It is better for the scribes to be Confucian scholars, with wide sleeves and broad belts, to talk eloquently, and to be in the role of a king, than to be a scholar wearing brown fur, squatting in clothes, and burying his head in dealing with wood and stones.

Southern Mo was strict with self-discipline, endured hardships and stood hard work, and went against social customs. He advocated frugal burials, and dreamed that people in the world would be as frugal and restrained as they were, and would love the world like brothers. All of this is daunting. Therefore, even the common people in the head of Guizhou would rather continue to be their workers, merchants, farmers, and even perform singing, dancing, medicine, and divination than being a Mohist.

The Mohist preaches the will of heaven, advocating that the big should not attack the small, the strong should not bully the weak, the strong should not rob the few, the deceitful should not deceive the foolish, the noble should not be arrogant and the humble, the rich should not be arrogant on the poor, the strong should not take away their old age...

However, everyone in the world likes to rely on the strong and bully the weak. Who is willing to help them fight against the strong and uphold morality?

So in the end, there were fewer and fewer Moists, and those who occasionally joined them were only the disadvantaged groups who were grateful for the Moists' help, and they also died one after another...

Although Kuli was nine feet tall, he was ignorant and was teased in the street. After being rescued by Mr. Deng, he followed him stupidly, never leaving.

Qi Qi came from a poor family and was a Huaibei craftsman. He lived under the title of the emperor and lived a fairly comfortable life. But when the war between Qin and Chu broke out, his family was also affected, and everyone in his family died. It was Master Deng and Ku Li who pulled him out of the dead. After that, he also joined the ranks of Mohists.

Xiangli Ge, on the other hand, has been a scholar for generations, and his own branch has inherited two hundred years of persistence and stubbornness.

It is these four people who constitute the last Southern Mo...

"Now, only the three of us are left to guard this city."

The corner of Qi Qia's mouth was bitter: "The old man, the foolish man, and me, the widowed man."

This scene is really ironic. When Ruyin was in danger, it was not its lord Dou Ran or Xiang Yan who protected it, but these three people.

Qi Chi was a little pessimistic. He didn't think that Ruyin, with its low walls, could resist the Qin army's attack by relying on just three Mohists.

He asked Master Deng: "Master once told me that in ancient times there were people who knew how to defend a city, but they did not touch the people at home, did not make peace with foreign countries, and alienated countries with more troops when they had fewer troops. A person who is weak but despises a powerful country will end up losing his country and be ridiculed by the world... Therefore, you must be careful when helping others. Otherwise, if you don't know how to defend the city, you will be burdened. "

"Now, are we also tired of our own city defense skills?"

"It's a contract."

Although Mr. Deng is old, he is like them, wearing a short brown coat and working at the top of the city. He said: "The great men of all ages have a last word. If a strong one bullies a weak one, and a big country invades a small one in an unjust war, the weak one will fight against the small one." If the Mohist family asks for help, the Mohists must not refuse!”

Because of this contract, countless Mohists have died in the battle to defend the city over the past two hundred years, but they still continue to fight, as if their sacrifices can be turned into firewood, so that the fire of ideals will never be extinguished...

Master Deng turned around and pointed to the local residents below the city who had come to the city wall to help defend the city under the arrangement of the Chu prince and the Mohist: "Qin and Chu fought three wars in two years, and the people were desperate. And now the Qin army has entered Chu territory. , shānyi cut its crops, killed its children, the people were frightened, and regarded Qin as a tiger and wolf. Compared with Qin, they were of course weak. At this moment, what they looked forward to most was to help them conquer the Qin Dynasty. Keep tigers and wolves out of the city, and do not let them bite those who take their lives.”

He then pointed at those officials who, when the disaster was approaching, finally gave up their noble status as officials and enlisted their wives and concubines to join the army and helped boil water in the city: "These ordinary rich and noble people , but the Qin army defeated Chu, cut down its trees, felled its walls, filled its ravines, seized and killed its livestock, burned its ancestral temples, and moved its important weapons. Now, they are also helpless, weak and widowed. If they don't work hard to save themselves, Then they can only be reduced to fish meat."

The Mohists did not join every war without choice, but when the weak made their voices heard and wanted help, they would get involved in the war and always stand on the side of the weak.

It is never allowed for a strong person to unilaterally kill a weak person!

This reminded Qakichi of himself. When he was helpless in the chaos and danger of the city, it was Mo Zhe who saved him.

"Moreover."

Mr. Deng smiled and said: "This city may not be undefendable. Although the city of Ruyin is not high, it is very strong. It has the tools to defend the city and plenty of firewood and grain. This is why I asked people to abandon Hu City and concentrate on defense here." s reason."

"Disciple understands."

Zaki nodded, and his slightly shaken heart settled down. He began to walk among the soldiers and civilians again and issued orders to them.

A large number of people gathered at the top of the city to add bricks to the battlements. The progress was good. But on the other hand, the pile of crumbling buildings growing under the city wall is very annoying. They cling to the city wall like barnacles attached to the hull of a ship. Among them are shops, wine shops, people's homes, and the harems of cheap prostitutes.

According to the rules of the Mohists guarding the city, all buildings within ten steps of the city must be cleared and no trace left behind, otherwise they will easily be ignited by the smoke arrows thrown by the enemy and cause chaos.

After arranging for people to demolish these buildings, Qi Chi added to a Chu army official: "In the city, wherever arrows can reach outside the city, all firewood piles and houses must be covered with a layer of mud."

He was responsible for commanding the people in the city to prepare to defend the city, while Ku Li was a stupid man who didn't speak much. He only hung his sword to help the people carry heavy earth bags.

And Mr. Deng, who is their backbone, is at the top of the city asking the craftsmen to place the Mohist's sharp weapon: the crossbow cart!

This kind of machine placed on the city wall uses wood that is five inches in size to make a crossbow bed. The bed weighs one hundred and twenty kilograms. It can shoot sixty large crossbow arrows ten feet long in succession, which is extremely lethal! But it requires ten people to operate it, so Mr. Deng can only temporarily teach some crossbowmen in the city, hoping that this thing will come in handy when defending against enemies.

The nervous preparations of the three Mohists, the three thousand soldiers in the city, and the five thousand people to defend themselves against the enemy were interrupted by the rapid sound of gold ringing in the evening!

"The Qin army is coming!"

Sharp shouts resounded through the city, and everyone's expressions froze, and then they all went to the city to defend themselves against the enemy.

Mohist's method of defending the city is to involve the whole people in battle. For every fifty steps of the city wall, in addition to the sixty soldiers, there should be ten men, twenty adult women, and ten young and old, a total of one hundred people. The soldiers guarding the towers under the city must be one person at a time. Only by taking this as a standard can they be enough to guard.

At present, the manpower in the city can barely fill the city head according to this standard.

It should have been a noisy and chaotic scene. However, the Chu soldiers and civilians at the top of the city were all looking at the enemy in the distance in fear. Except for the golden sound of alarm drums, there was no sound on the city wall.

Qi Chi also climbed up to the top of the city and stood next to Master Deng and Ku Li. Now he understood why everyone was silent.

He saw, two miles away, black battle flags fluttering in the wind, bright spears, swords and halberds, groups of black-armored Qin soldiers lined up in neat lines, and columns of chariots and cavalry guarding the wings. On the left and right, under the command of the strong and low drum beat, they walked in unison, pushing the siege equipment they had made in a hurry, and walked resolutely towards Ruyin.

This is the Qin Army...

On the city wall, the people of Chu tried their best to suppress the fear in their chests. Many people could not hold their spears and involuntarily stuck out their tongues and licked their lips to soothe their emotions. As they watched the enemy gradually approach the city wall, everyone's heart beat fast. They were beating nervously as the Qin army advanced.

The same goes for Qi Chi, a lonely craftsman who had only joined Mo Zhe for two years. He remembered the terrible Qin army during Wang Ben's war against Chu, as well as the deaths of his wife and children.

"Qi Qia, your legs are shaking."

Mr. Deng warned lightly from the side, and then looked at Qi Qia, those old eyes seemed to be saying to him: "Go to the city now, quit Mo Zhe now, there is still time..."

Mr. Deng has lived long enough and has participated in countless wars. He has long looked down upon death. Facing the powerful Qin army in front of him, he has no fear in his heart. Instead, he has a trace of indescribable relief. If he can hold on to nature, It's a good thing. If you can't keep it and die here, wouldn't it be a relief?

He was determined to die, but the three disciples did not have to be so, especially Qi Qi. He could completely take off his brown clothes and continue to be his craftsman.

However, Qi Qia straightened his back and said softly: "It's the wind!"

He showed his rotten teeth and said with a smile: "It's the wind that makes my legs shake!"

Ku Li, who was stupid, opened his generous palms in confusion, but found that there was no wind at the top of the city.

But in Qi Qia's eyes, there is something. The invisible wind is gathering into a storm a mile away, rolling in dark stratus clouds, and pressing towards Ruyin City like a mountain!

However, as a Mohist, I will not bow to any power!

He mustered up his courage, took a step forward, and stood side by side with Ku Li on Master Deng's side.

…

A mile away from Ruyin City, Commander Heifu, who was ordered to serve as a follow-up force to cover the first troops to seize the city, was gradually advancing forward with his thousands of men in this layer of clouds.

When you raise your head, you can see the short city of Ruyin. Among the Chu soldiers and civilians standing in two groups, there are three inkmen in brown clothes, standing side by side, smiling at death...

They are like three stubborn salmon in the huge waves of this great era. When everyone knows that time has changed and is learning to go with the flow, they are still swimming upstream!