Qin Official

From Lanzhou to Xianyang, it only takes three hours by high-speed rail in later generations, but Heifu walked for more than a month. It was not until late July that he finally reached Duyou Pavilion, ten miles west of Xianyang City...

It was already dark, and it was too late to rush back to Xianyang overnight, so he could only rest in the guest house. Fortunately, two old friends heard about his return and were already waiting here, namely Zhang Han and Chen Ping.

"We have been waiting for you, your concubine, for a long time!"

Zhang Han and Hei Fu were friends, and there was not much difference in status between them. They treated each other with courtesy, while Chen Ping was equivalent to Hei Fu's retainer and bowed deeply.

Heifu quickly got out of the car and helped him up, smiling and saying, "You have kept Shaorong and Chen Sheng waiting for a long time."

"Not long." Zhang Han was in a good mood, waving his hand and saying: "Have a chat with Chen Ping, and it's getting late before you know it."

"Oh?" Hei Fu glanced at the two of them, a little worried that Zhang Han was trying to force him into a corner, and asked, "What are you two talking about?"

Zhang Han said matter-of-factly: "When we are in Du You, we naturally talk about what happened to Lord Wu An back then."

Bai Qi is the most famous general in the history of Qin. The Battle of Yique, the Battle of Huayang, the Battle of Yanying, and the Battle of Changping are all classics that Qin generals must review. In his lifetime, Bai Qi expanded thousands of miles of land for Qin, conquered more than 70 cities, and killed more than a million enemies. His reputation as Lord Wu'an shocked the world.

But for such a great general, his end was extremely miserable. After the Battle of Changping, because he had two conflicts of opinion with Qin Prime Minister Fan Ju on the issue of attacking Handan and destroying Zhao, Bai Qi became angry and repeatedly claimed to be ill. , Even King Zhao of Qin personally asked him to attack Zhao, but he refused.

In the final battle of Handan, just as Bai Qi predicted, Qin was defeated, his troops were lost, and all the gains in Changping were lost.

Because he heard Bai Qi say, "The king doesn't listen to his ministers' plans, what will happen now?" King Qin Zhao was furious and turned his anger on Bai Qi. He removed his title from being a scholar and moved him to Yinmi. When he arrived at Du You, he sent envoys to pursue him. , give him a sword to kill himself.

"This is it."

Zhang Han pointed to a corner of the pavilion and said: "I heard from the local old man that it was here that Lord Wu An lamented and then killed himself with a sword. It was the eleventh month of the fiftieth year of King Zhao. The people of Du took pity on him and took his body back." Burial, and the villages and towns in Guanzhong also offer sacrifices to Yan during the month of Jianzi..."

As a native of Xiayang, Guanzhong, and as a military general, Zhang Han must have experienced similar sacrifices when he was a child.

"When Lord Wu'an moved, he was dissatisfied and dissatisfied, and he had more words to say. What kind of crime is this?"

Zhang Han felt very sorry for Bai Qi's death rather than the consequences of his crime. However, in Heifu's view, it would be a serious crime for a minister to "have resentment in his heart" if he were an emperor, let alone a master with such great achievements and achievements as Bai Qi. A strong man with extremely hard bones who never surrenders to weakness.

"Then what do Chen Sheng think?"

Heifu wanted to know what Chen Ping said to make Zhang Han praise him so much.

Chen Ping whispered: "The killing of Lord Wu'an is not an isolated case. Sima Rangju of Qi was suspicious, Wu Qi of Wei fled far away, Leyi of Yan was slandered, and Li Mu of Zhao was trapped. Why? Qi Jing, Yan Hui , Zhao Qian and others are just mediocre kings, but Marquis Wu of Wei is also the master of defense, and King Zhao is even more talented and strategic. Don’t you know the loyalty of Wu Qi and Wu An?”

"I think that as a general, fighting abroad, holding the military power and tiger talisman, he will be alienated from his master. Sometimes, even if he has meritorious service, he will be judged. If there are political enemies in the court to slander him, it will be even worse. A filial son will be suspected of repeated visits, and the city tiger will It was made up of three people, so the loyal ministers will also be killed by Du You."

Zhang Han thought Chen Ping's summary was very high-level, but Heifu heard the implication of Chen Ping's words...

Although Heifu seemed to be favored, the sensitive Chen Ping had noticed that Nei Shiteng was suddenly deported to Xianyang after the Qinian Palace discussion. He also vaguely guessed that Heifu was probably having an affair with a close official of the emperor. A gap?

Heifu had planned to ask Chen Ping to help him deal with Zhao Gao, but he did not intend to mention it here. He smiled and said: "Of course, in addition to being generous and trustworthy in employing people, allowing General Wang to retire safely, the ancient and modern positions are high and powerful. It is true that few generals die well... Let’s not mention it, it’s already getting late, why don’t we rest in Duyi tonight?”

"We have found the best guest house in the city and prepared a banquet."

Zhang Han said mysteriously again: "I'm going to wash my hands of Mr. Hei, but I also want to celebrate your promotion!"

Heifu shook his head: "Gaosheng? Why didn't I know?"

Zhang Han pretended to be angry: "Don't pretend to be confused. Don't you still know your own suggestions?"

Heifu spread his hands and said, "I've been on the road for the rest of the month. Who knows what happened in Xianyang."

Zhang Han just remembered this and patted him on the shoulder and said: "Forget it, I will tell you tonight how much trouble your two memorials caused in the court!"

…

Duyou used to be just an ordinary pavilion. With the arrival of immigrants from Shandong, it has now become a prosperous town. According to Chen Ping, most of the people living here are wealthy households and merchants from Wei.

Entering the guest house, the three of them occupied the first floor to themselves, letting the other guests prepare food and drinks, but there was no ordinary rice and rice. Instead, they were served a bowl of steaming soup cakes...

The policy that Shandong immigrants in the Neishi area are only allowed to grow and eat wheat has been implemented for more than a year. With the construction of water mills in various rivers, pasta has become their signature food. This soup cake is also made in the kitchen of Heifu's family. First, mix finely ground noodles with cold broth, knead them, cut them into chopstick-sized pieces, break them into pieces, boil them in water, and add chicken Soup, leek leaves, sauce, vinegar, etc. are a bowl of delicious food that can satisfy people.

Unfortunately, there is no oil and spicy food, and the noodles are not strong enough. There is still a big gap between the Shaanxi noodles in Heifu's impression, but it doesn't matter, as long as he has rice.

Zhang Han and Chen Ping were also used to this kind of food. After the three of them filled their stomachs, Zhang Han picked his teeth and asked Heifu to tell them the details of the memorial.

Zhang Han said: "I, the noble lord of Zuo Shuchang, got involved because I helped you make paper. I was not able to participate in the court's decision-making. I only know roughly what happened."

"Then let's talk about the "Garrisoning the Fields and Guarding the Borders" jointly proposed by General Li Xin and I."

Heifu said: "This is an idea I came up with after a trip to Pouhansai, Longxi County."

He looked at Chen Ping and said, "Has Chen Sheng ever served in the army?"

Chen Pingdao: "Since four years ago, I have been serving as corvee in the county and county in January every year, and I have never been behind."

Hei nodded: "Your title is now a hairpin, and you are not exempt from this year's service. However, you are my family's chief now, and you can serve in Xianyang nearby."

In addition to guard service, people under the rule of the Qin Dynasty had another obligation that could not be exempted until the fifth official, and that was "garrison service."

Among them, the garrison can be divided into the main garrison and the border garrison. The main garrison means that every adult man must come to the capital once in his life to work. The border garrison, as the name suggests, means to guard the border counties.

Heifu believed in Shuzhong that when Lord Shang enacted this law, the Qin State was no more than a thousand miles away from Guanxi, so the head of Guizhou Province was ordered to guard the border, which was not that far away.

But things are different now. Qin unified the whole country and was as big as the world. The thirty-six counties could not understand each other's languages, and the climate and customs were very different.

He wet his fingers with water and drew a map on the desk: "For example, a group of garrison soldiers from Chen County were recruited to garrison in Yuyang. It would take two months to travel, and they would have to pay for food and clothing along the way. You have to pay for it yourself, and the expenses are not small, enough to bankrupt Luzuo's family, so the garrison is recruited to travel far away, and Luzuo is generally not recruited. After arriving at the place, the southern garrison is not accustomed to the acclimatization and soil, and cannot withstand the severe cold in the north. When winter comes, , often one or two out of ten will die. This means that the losers are on the road, and the defenders die on the sidelines."

"After a year, these Chen County garrison soldiers have become familiar with the border life, but because the garrison period is over, they have begun to return to their hometowns. The next batch of garrison soldiers came here again and continued to start as new recruits..."

This was the complaint Heifu heard after he went deep into the Longxi frontier fortress and ate and lived with the soldiers. The Qin Dynasty had only been unified for two years, and the garrison soldiers from far away were already suffering terribly, so they fled.

It is conceivable that if there are another ten years of grievances, how can it be repaid?

Chen Ping believed that the Qin people in Guanzhong were okay and were used to this system, but the survivors of the Six Kingdoms in Guandong couldn't stand it.

"Don't hide it from your concubine."

Chen Ping said: "Once there is a border garrison battle, the people of Shandong will see their behavior and their wives will cry. If they go to the abandoned market, they will call it 'banished garrison'."

These border garrison soldiers often gave priority to recruiting sons-in-law and merchants. Heifu thought that when such garrison soldiers arrived at the border, they would not have the ability to fight outside the border except standing all over the Yan and Zhao Great Walls and bluffing. It would be good if they did not rebel and flee.

Zhang Han echoed: "Hei Fu's strategy is very good! Not only the people of Shandong, but also the people of Qin in Guanzhong. In the past, when the six kingdoms were wiped out, if they beheaded for meritorious service, they would be rewarded with official titles and titles. These benefits were enough to subsidize the food and clothing for the long journey. Spend money, so the people of Qin are happy when they hear about the war, fight bravely on the battlefield, and regard death as home."

"It's different now. Last year, the imperial court sent troops to guard Changsha and Cangwu in the south of the Yangtze River. After the people from Guanzhong passed there, they were not used to the hot and humid weather in the south. In addition, there were water bugs and other serious diseases. Ten of the soldiers died, and those who survived were lucky enough to serve. There is no compensation for returning home, so people in Guanzhong regard going south as a dangerous journey..."

This is also the reason why the military nobles of Guanzhong unanimously supported Heifu's strategy of "expanding to the west", so that their children would not have to go to the south.

So Heifu suggested to Qin Shihuang that it was time to change the old law according to the changing situation. It is better to divide the thirty-six counties of the empire into several large areas: north of the Yellow River, west of Hangu Pass, and south of the Huai River. Strictly stipulate that people from the south guard the south, people from the north guard the north, and people from the west guard the west! In this way, while saving the cost of defense, it can also ensure that the garrison soldiers are familiar with the local environment, and their rejection of serving will be greatly reduced.

On this basis, the strategy of emigration to the border and garrisoning was carried out.

"The suggestions made by the right concubine are actually strategies that benefit the country and the people!"

It is not only beneficial to the Qin people in Guanxi, but also to the survivors of the six kingdoms in Shandong. While Chen Ping admires it, he can't help but be horrified.

"He once saw that I had the ambition to dominate the world, but most of his suggestions were aimed at criticizing the current ills. Although he has not officially entered the court, he is already dictating the world!"

He even decided that coming to Xianyang to seek refuge with Heifu was the best thing he had ever done.

Chen Ping didn't know that what Heifu was thinking about at this moment was that three years ago, after the decisive battle between the Qin and Chu armies in Qinan, he was ordered by Wang Jian to pursue the remaining enemies. When he traveled to the northeast of Qi County, he stayed overnight in Daze Township.

A poor Xiaoyi, an old man from Chu who dares to be angry but dare not speak out, a child from Chu who can't hide the fear and resentment in his eyes...

Heifu could never forget that scene, so a question often appeared in his mind.

Later generations said that when the garrison soldiers shouted, they sent letters to the valley to lift. The people of Chu burned the fire and pitifully scorched the earth.

The Kingdom of Tianfu in Guanzhong, the Baili Palace in Xianyang, the prosperous city in front of you, where millions of Qin people live.

Although Heifu is from Nanjun, he likes Guanzhong very much: he likes the bustling traffic of Weiqiao, he likes the dazzling array of goods in Changyang Street South Market, he likes the new mansion where he and his wife are deeply affectionate, and he likes reading with Zhang Cang in the storage room. In my free afternoons to increase my knowledge, I like the steaming soup cakes made by Duyi Shandong immigrants, and I also like the papermaking workshop that works day and night by the pickaxe pond. It is the hard work of Heifu... It would be really great if they were all destroyed in one day. It is a pity that it is also the sorrow and regret of a civilization.

but.

"If this harsh government can be eliminated and the garrison of Yuyang is eliminated, Chen Sheng and Wu Guang will not have to travel far. Will the fire in Daze Township still be lit?"