Qin Official

In mid-April, in the wilderness of Xiquyang in Huainan, hundreds of Chu soldiers were squatting on the ground in embarrassment. Their weapons and armor had been taken away long ago, and they were now defenseless prisoners.

Chen Ying also squatted in the crowd, complaining in his heart.

About half a month ago, Lord Yin Changping of the State of Chu sent people to Dongyang County and asked the county governor to organize the only remaining men in the county and go to the capital Shouchun "King Qin".

Chen Ying, a small official in Dongyang County who is just thirty-five years old this year, is also on the list of conscripts. Although his mother is illiterate, she is a wise person. Before leaving, she leaned against the door and told him:

"My son, you once told me that the Shangzhu Kingdom led its troops to fight against the Qin army. But now you don't go to Huaibei for reinforcements but go to Shouchun King Qin. It seems that the Shangzhu Kingdom must have been defeated. With the talents of the Shangzhu Kingdom, , with so many soldiers, it is difficult to defeat Qin, let alone you? Along the way, if something goes wrong, remember to save your life. I heard that the King of Chu even killed his own brother, and also slandered the late king as not his father. "Sheng, such a king is not worth dying for..."

Chen Ying listened to his mother very much and agreed.

The county Yin led thousands of soldiers from Dongyang and walked all the way to the west. They kept gathering with Qinwang's people from all over Huainan, and got four to five thousand people. Chen Ying found that there were many old, weak and children among them, because Ding and Zhuang had gone to Huaibei for many years, and now they don't know whether they are alive or dead.

Along the way, Chen Ying often heard people talking about the war in Huaibei. Some said that Xiang Yan was defeated and committed suicide, while others said that he escaped and that the current King Qin's army was organized by him.

But everyone is a little panicked. The elite led by Xiang Yan have all been defeated. What use will they, common people who have neglected training, do if they go?

When they arrived at Xiquyang, which was more than a hundred miles away from Shouchun, they were suddenly attacked!

Chen Ying watched dumbfounded as the Qin army came out of the woods on the side of the road and cut the advancing team into two sections. According to the county Yin, wasn't the main force of the Qin army drinking Mahuai water and preparing to attack Shouchun? Why did we meet in the hinterland of Huainan...

There was no suspense in this battle. King Qin's army, which had been assembled from here and there, was quickly defeated. Dongyang County Yin and several military officials were killed immediately. A thousand people in Dongyang also fled in all directions and were killed by the Qin people. The cavalry chased and killed.

Chen Ying thought of his mother's instructions, shouted "We surrender", and led hundreds of fellow villagers to throw their weapons. Only then did the Qin people stop the attack under the order of a black-faced officer.

The crowd was surrounded by a fence built with sharp wooden stakes, and hundreds of crossbowmen surrounded them.

At present, those Qin soldiers who went to hunt down the Chu people were returning one after another. Basically, each of them had a bloody head hanging on their waist, and they were very happy. When they came closer, their eyes kept glancing at the necks of the Chu prisoners. Their expressions, It’s like seeing money bags!

Chen Ying was stared at by them so much that chills ran down his spine. He had always heard that the Qin people were responsible for the first contribution. He might have died on the spot with the order from the officer. For a while, the people of Chu were all whispering. stand up.

At this time, a Qin soldier with a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks came over and shouted in the Nanjun dialect they could barely understand: "Who do you want to lead? Stand up, the leader has something to ask!"

The disciples of Dongyang looked at each other in shock. The county governor was dead, and several military officials had fled or died. Among them, there were only about a dozen chiefs and corps commanders left.

"Among us, Chen Ying is the eldest and has always been trustworthy. Why don't we let Chen Ying go!" Someone shouted, and a group of sergeants and corps commanders agreed, and pushed Chen Ying away. come out……

Qin Bing looked at him: "Is your name Chen Ying?"

"No..." Chen Ying agreed bravely.

Qin Bing was delighted: "You have the same name as me, my name is Ji Ying."

Ji Ying was polite, but his men were merciless. With a wave of his hand, he asked two men to tie up Chen Ying, search him again, and then lead him towards the temporary camp set up by the Qin people.

There were about ten thousand Qin soldiers attacking them, and most of them were heading towards Xiquyang City. Only a thousand were left to guard the camp. Chen Ying carefully passed by the Qin soldiers who were making fire and cooking, and walked to the tent in the center of the camp. The leader The black-faced officer was talking to another white-faced officer.

Chen Ying's hands were tied and he was kicked in the leg by Ji Ying. He knelt down in front of the two of them with a plop. His knee happened to land on a hard stone, which made him gasp in pain...

…

Heifu stopped talking with Zhang Han, raised his head and glanced at the Chu man who was being escorted, and saw that he had a long beard. He was probably in his thirties. When he asked again, he was just a young man...

"I was working as a small official in Dongyang County, just for food and clothing. This time I came out with the county magistrate. Because all the military officials died in the battle, among the remaining people, I was the older one, so they pushed me out to answer the general's questions. That's right." Chen Ying answered honestly.

"Where is Dongyang?"

Heifu asked Ji Ying to spread out the map and found the location. It turned out to be west of Hangou, at the junction of Anhui and Jiangsu in later generations.

"The small county of Dongyang is five hundred and twenty miles away from Shouchun, and it takes half a month to walk." Chen Ying immediately added, fearing that the Qin officials would be suspicious.

Heifu raised his eyes: "Have you been to Shouchun?"

"I traveled twice when I was young."

Being able to travel means that the person's family conditions are pretty good.

Hei Fu nodded and asked: "Besides you and others, do you know where the other Chu divisions heading to Shouchun started from?"

Chen Ying reported all the teams he met on the road. If he asked more carefully, he would not know.

Heifu knew that this person's status was low and he couldn't ask any questions. He waved his hand and asked Ji Ying to take him down. Unexpectedly, Chen Ying had a strong desire to survive. He suddenly paused and said: "We are just ordinary Chu Di." The common people, obey the orders of the county governor, and are not bent on opposing Qin. I hope the general will spare our lives!"

Zhang Han on the side said: "If we let it go, who knows whether you will do it again!"

"Absolutely not. We will return to Dongyang and tell the Dongyang elders what we have seen and heard."

Chen Ying said: "Now Chu is defeated by Qin and Sheji is destroyed. The land of Chu will also become the prefectures and counties of Qin. If we are released, the King of Qin will create hundreds more households. If we kill them, every family in Dongyang will lose their father and brother." Our children and grandchildren will fight Qin to the death and not surrender, so we are not afraid that it will be beneficial and killing him will be harmful!"

"In the Qin army, the head is considered worthy of merit." Hei Fu looked at Chen Ying's head with a smile.

Chen Ying suppressed his fear, lowered his head and said: "I heard that hundreds of thousands of people in Xiang Yan were wiped out. Didn't the general kill enough in Huaibei? Or maybe he thought that our heads were more powerful than those of the princes in Shouchun City. Is yours more valuable?"

Hei Fu laughed dumbly: "Although you are just a small county official and a small leader, you can see the current situation clearly. In order to save your own life and the lives of the township party, you dare to say anything."

After thinking for a moment, he said: "We are not murderous people. In this case, since you have been to Shouchun, you can stay in our army as a guide for now, and I will let your fellow countrymen leave. But if they still come back in the future, Opposing Qin, or stubbornly refusing to surrender..."

Heifu smiled kindly and said, "I will kill you!"

…

After Chen Ying left, Zhang Han praised: "I never thought that a small county official could have such knowledge and courage."

"In a city of ten houses, there must be faithful people; in a village of a hundred households, there must be wise men."

Heifu said: "However, after the decisive battle in Qinan, General Wang also ordered all armies to issue a ban not to kill prisoners, or perhaps it was to prepare for the capture of Chu territory and to send officials to govern it..."

Nearly a month had passed since the battle. Wang Jian spent several days first to capture Qicheng, which was guarded by Zuo Sima Zhaohua of Chu State. He also asked all ministries to hunt down the remnants of the enemy and cut off enough heads for the officers to meet the "profit theory" standard. Therefore, the organized killing and prisoner killing activities organized by the officers disappeared. At most, the soldiers who did not receive the credit were eager for the heads. , secretly killing prisoners and killing people.

After that, Wang Jian separated the reunited three armies of Qin again.

The Northern Army led by Feng Wuze was divided into two parts. The main force attacked Xiapi, Xiaxiang and the eastern coastal areas where the remnants of the Xiang family were entrenched. The partial force turned around and headed towards the homeland of Lu. The Confucian scholars in Zou Lu finally wanted to Ushered in the rule of "violent Qin".

Wang Jian personally led the Chinese army to attack Xia Cai, and collected wood from boats everywhere, preparing to build a pontoon bridge across the Huai River to attack Shouchun, the capital of Chu, on the other side.

As for Meng Wu's southern army, they were ordered to march southeast. When Wang Jian attracted all the remaining troops of the Chu army in Huainan at Shangcai, he had already crossed the Huaihe River from Zhongli and sent troops to attack the city and seize territory.

Heifu and his Nanjun soldiers are the vanguard of Mengwu. They have now occupied Xiquyang, cutting off the only way for the King of Chu to escape Shouchun. In addition, the troops of King Qin of Huainan and Jiangdong of Chu were blocked, turning Shouchun into an isolated city.

Shouchun is bordered by the Huaihe River to the north and Shaopi Rao to the south. Since the capital was moved here in the 22nd year of King Kaolie of Chu (241 BC), the peaceful life of the King of Chu and the nobles only lasted for more than ten years, but they were about to face Disaster...

In the next few days, Heifu and the others successively defeated several Chu armies organized by Lord Changping and coming from Jiangdong and Huainan to rescue Shouchun.

By the end of April, the Mengwu troops had reached Shaopi, and the Chu army could no longer defend Huaihei and had to retreat to the city.

Meng Wu led tens of thousands of people to approach the city, and cooperated with the Qiang tribe from Yingkou to surround a corner of the city.

The Nanjun Corps was ordered to support Wang Jian's crossing of the Huaihe River in the east of the city. The location where Heifu and the others camped was right between a mountain and a river.

"The water is called Feishui."

Even though Chen Ying didn't want to, he could only act as a guide for Heifu honestly. He pointed to the tributaries of the Huaihe River rushing in front of him, and pointed to several hills with towering pines and cypresses behind him and said, "The mountain is called Bagong Mountain!"

Upon hearing this name, Heifu immediately became happy and took his people up to Bagong Mountain for a distant view. Looking to the north, he could see Wang Jian's main force coming across the pontoon bridge from Xiashikou, which is known as "Huaishangjin Fortress". , this is the result of several days of hard work by Zhang Han and other army officers and civilians.

Looking to the southwest, you can have a clear view of the splendid palaces and towers of Shouchun City.

At this moment, in Shouchun City, the King of Chu may be looking over here, seeing the Qin army in full formation, with elite soldiers...

Hei Fu couldn't help but sighed with emotion: "In the eyes of the King of Chu, on Bagong Mountain, at this moment, the grass and trees are all soldiers!"