Qin Official

In mid-September, it was a sunny day with clear sky and clear clouds. A distance (30 miles) southeast of Yiqu City, an infantry and cavalry army of more than a thousand people was setting off from the garrison.

"Lieutenant, after walking for more than ten miles and passing Yehugou, we can reach Dayuan!"

Beidi County Lieutenant Heifu sat on the carriage and unfolded the map with both hands to check. Yiqu City, Dayuan, Pengyang City, etc. were all on it, but he could not find the place "Yehugou". He couldn't help but cast doubtful eyes on it. The young man who led the way: hundreds of generals and soldiers from the county, surrounded by the king.

Wang Wei was a native of Yuzhi County and was only in his early twenties. Heifu took office as a new official. When he inspected the county soldiers, he found that the one hundred people led by Wang Wei were the most orderly. Upon questioning, Wang Wei found out that his parents were from Qin, a good son of Qin who had never committed a crime for generations, and he could speak fluent Guanzhong dialect, so he made him his personal soldier.

Although as a personal guard, he is not as knowledgeable as Xiao Tao, but Wang Wei is also a typical northwest boy, straightforward and honest.

After being asked by Hei Fu, he came to his senses, scratched his head and said, "I forgot, Yehugou is the name of our locals, and the officials call it Yuanbeidao..."

When Heifu saw that it was indeed the case on the map, he didn't feel dissatisfied. He just needed to know more about the local human geography, so on the way through Yehugou, he asked Wang Wei how the place got its name.

Wang Wei said: "The subordinates also listened to the soldiers who lived nearby. The county captain should know that the villages and communities in Lilu in Beidi County are all built on large and small plains, and there are ditches and gullies down the slope. These ditches , named after the surnames of nearby residents. For example, my home is in Wangli, and the nearby ditch slopes are called Laowang Valley and Wangjia Valley. But there is one ditch named after the name of an animal, which is Yehu Valley. "

"It is said that decades ago, when our ancestors moved from Guanzhong to Beidi County, a soldier there was weeding the ground beside the original place. Suddenly he heard a voice in the distance shouting: 'Fox, fox!' The soldier looked up and looked up. Looking, he saw a snow-white fox limping past. His leg was injured. Shiwu knew that fox skins are expensive, especially white fox skins, so he picked up his hoe and chased him until he reached the ditch. …”

"But there was no right path in the ditch. Shiwu burrowed through the wormwood and followed the blood for a long time. He only saw a small cave dwelling. At the entrance of the cave, an old man with white hair and a white beard sat, covering his feet and basking in the sun. Shiwu When asked, the old man just pointed south with his hand, and the soldiers continued to chase him as he said. As a result, the fox was not seen until they reached Dayuan."

"Due to the prohibition of the late king: the people were not allowed to go to Dayuan without permission, so Shi Wu returned the same way. When he returned to the cave dwelling, he could not see the elder. Only where he sat, he saw a stain of blood and a white fox. hair!"

When Wang Wei said this, Heifu had not yet spoken. Sang Mu, who had been listening for a long time in front and could also understand Guanzhong dialect, continued:

"Could it be that the fox turned into a demon?"

Wang Wei said: "No, the soldier was so frightened that he stopped hoeing. He returned to the village and told everyone about it. Everyone was shocked. From then on, the ditch was called Yehu ditch... …”

The superstitious characteristics of the Qin people are similar to those of the vast rural areas of later generations. They like to live their lives by reading the "Rishu" of the imperial calendar of this era. There are also legends of various monsters and ghosts, which can be found from north to south and from west to east.

For example, in Fangmatan Township, Gong County, Longxi County, where Heifu once passed, there is a story about the resurrection of the local people after death. It is said that during the reign of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, a man named Dan beheaded and abandoned the market for hurting people. Three years later, , came back to life again...

This matter was solemnly reported to the imperial censor by the county magistrate of Jun County. King Qin Zhaoxiang also asked people to investigate. At the turn of spring and summer this year, Qin Shihuang visited the west and investigated the matter again. The local magistrate and the prime minister both I don’t dare to say that this must be the case, and I don’t dare to say that it doesn’t.

In South County, there are also rumors about tigers becoming spirits and mandrills in the wild. It seems that although North County is a border area, there are also similar legends.

Of course, once they encounter something similar, Guizhou leaders will also use some extreme methods to drive away evil spirits. The simplest one is... taking a dog shit bath!

Wang Wei swore that the farmer who encountered the white fox demon took a "dog arrow bath" after returning home for fear of retaliation. They believe that dog poop is extremely dirty and ghosts are extremely evil. When these two things come together, they cancel each other out.

Sang Mu believed it. When he passed by Yehugou, he had been carefully observing both sides of the road. He was afraid that he would encounter the white fox demon and he would have to take a dog bath after returning.

Heifu didn't believe it, but he would not find anything to help them get rid of feudal superstition. Who could tell whether his time traveling was a scientific event or the work of ghosts...

However, he was more interested in the "previous king's prohibition" mentioned by Wang Wei than the story of the white fox demon.

Wang Wei then said that decades ago, after the establishment of Beidi County, people who moved to Guanzhong came to settle, but a local decree was also issued: immigrants from the mainland could settle on both sides of Jingshui and Nishui, but they were not allowed to open up wasteland in Dayuan.

Because, Oyuan, that is the largest "residency" left to the Northern Army. While the decree prohibited the people of Qin from going to the plains, it also prohibited the troops of the great plains from going to the plains without any reason! Violators will be severely punished!

At this time, a red horse rider turned back. He was Gongsun Bailu, Yuzhi County Lieutenant, who had been late to greet Heifu a few days ago.

When setting off from Yiqu City, in addition to the county soldiers, Heifu also asked Gongsun Bailu to select 200 horses from the Muyuan of Yuzhi County to accompany him and clear the way ahead.

"County Lieutenant!"

Gongsun Bailu dismounted and bowed: "Dayuan has arrived!"

As early as ten miles away, Heifu saw a tall brown-yellow earth wall appearing in the south of the field of vision. It was hundreds of meters higher than Yehugou. When he got closer, he realized that it was not an earth wall at all, but a high plateau.

This is the largest loess plateau in China, with a length of 150 miles and a width of 280 miles, equivalent to the area of ​​a large county. Heifu and his party walked up the loess slope to the plateau. Looking around, they saw an endless stretch of flat grassland with occasional forests.

Looking in all directions, the ravines, Liangmao and Yuxian (yǎoxiàn) with carved and ghostly sculptures are really like the undulating waves of the Yellow Sea, supporting this great plain.

"It is large, high and flat, and covers hundreds of miles, so it is called Dayuan."

Heifu was convinced. According to the information Chen Ping prepared for him, Heifu knew that this principle existed since ancient times. King Mu of Zhou once led a large army to conquer the Xirong and captured the king of the Five Rongs. The remaining troops of the Five Rongs fled to Dayuan. By the time of King Xuan of Zhou Dynasty, Dayuan was occupied by the northern lynx (xiǎnyun), and the Zhou Dynasty fought with them. Therefore, the poem says: "Thinly cutting down the lynx, as for Dayuan."

Afterwards, the Zhou Dynasty established a stronghold here and made the local Rong people surrender. They worked half-farmers and half-grazers, but they did not register their household registration or pay taxes. After a few years, due to the losses of the Liudu Division and the Nanguo Division one after another, King Xuan of Zhou had no choice but to settle in Da. The raw material people hope to make these soldiers a new source of troops for Zhou division...

Later, when Quan Rong defeated Zhou Dynasty, Dayuan lost control again. This place was occupied by Peng Lurong. Later Peng Lurong was annexed by Yiqu, and many Yiqu people moved in. They intermarried and mixed with each other, forming the "Dayuan Rong". Today, there are five tribes of Rong people in Dayuan, with a population of more than 10,000. Each of them occupies a corner of Dayuan, and they live a half-agricultural and half-herding life...

Nowadays, Qin's attitude towards Dayuan Rong people is similar to that of King Xuan of Zhou Dynasty. It regards this as a source of troops. After all, it is very difficult for a group of farmers from Guanzhong and Nanjun to fight directly on horseback.

While waiting for the entire army to land on the plateau, Gongsun Bailu also reported to Heifu: "If there is a large-scale recruitment, the five tribes of Rongmen in the entire Great Plains can send out a thousand cavalry, which is equivalent to one-third of the cavalry in the North."

The other two-thirds came from Qin and Rong herders on both sides of Jingshui and Nishui.

Nowadays, there are only more than 10,000 cavalry in the entire Guanxi region of Qin State.

"One-tenth of the cavalry is from this."

Hei Fu nodded, knowing the importance of this place to Beidi County, especially in the next two years, Qin Shihuang will use a large number of troops against the Xiongnu and Yueshi!

But now, Ohara is in chaos...

Gongsun Bailu said: "The ban imposed by King Zhao not only prohibited the Qin people from going to the plains to occupy land, but also prohibited the Rong people from leaving the plains. Even the amount of land occupied by each tribe was clearly divided, and no one was allowed to cross the boundary..."

"It was okay at first, there were not many Rong people, but after decades of peace, the household registration of Rong people in Dayuan increased sharply, tripling, and they raised more cattle and sheep. Every winter, the pasture and prey in their respective territories were not enough. Therefore, in recent years, the five tribes of Rong people have often fought with each other. No, on the days when Yiqu Bailang went to visit the county captain, the five tribes started to cause trouble again. They fought and fought with each other for water sources and winter pasture. Dozens of people have died..."

This means that the soldiers of Ohara are treated as cattle and sheep in captivity. Hei Fu nodded and asked the Wei Shi next to him: "Where is the white wolf of Yiqu now?"

To domesticate cattle and sheep, shepherd dogs are naturally indispensable. Empress Dowager Xuan's great-grandson Yiqu Bailang plays this role. Although he is from Yiqu City, he was sent to Oyuan to command the army and cavalry and was stationed in Pengyang. The letter asking for help is He sent someone to send it.

Wei Shi replied: "When Yiqu Bailang reported to the county, he could no longer control the situation. He could only restrain two to three hundred of his men and guard Pengyang County to prevent those who jumped from Liang Liang from causing chaos."

Ohara is a confidant of the Northland, and the matter is of great importance, related to the stability of the entire county. This is why Heifu personally led the troops here. Fortunately, they were just fighting with each other, and there was no rebellion by killing officials. The soldiers fought and fought with each other. They only appealed for the crime of "group robbery" and were given a lighter sentence, ranging from death to ghost wages, and they could also use cattle and sheep to atone for their sins.

Even so, Heifu also knew that if the fight between the armies was allowed to continue, sooner or later it would affect his "big plan" in the next few years.

With this in mind, Heifu took out the talisman and issued an order to his subordinates.

"Gongsun Bailu, you and Wei Shi each lead 500 people, divided into two groups and divided into five tribes. Order all tribes to stop fighting. Anyone who does not obey will be regarded as a rebel and his commander will be taken away! Anyone who resists will be killed without mercy. !”

Gongsun Bailu's heart trembled, but he still agreed to accept the order.

"After calming down the fighting among the various tribes, I ordered the five princes to meet at Pengyang City within three days and let them get to know the county captain. I will convene an alliance meeting to uphold justice for them! Redraw the boundaries of the territory!"

To put it bluntly, Heifu is here to work on ethnic mediation.

"It's not been a year or two since the five tribes have been hating each other and fighting each other. What is the county captain going to do?" Wang Wei was very curious.

"Have you ever had a dog at home?"

Heifu glanced at him.

Wang Wei nodded. Qin people have a saying: In the past, those who had no dogs and no pigs were mediocre (meaning they were so poor that they could only work as servants). Therefore, even if one cannot afford to raise cows and horses, a pigeon and a dog are still standard equipment for a Chinese family. This is especially true for the Qin people in the north. Living a half-farmer and half-herder life, how could there be no dogs at home?

Hei Fu asked, "What do you do when dogs fight over food?"

Wang Wei's eyebrows were dancing: "Kick him hard, whip him a few times, and then separate those who fight. If they don't live together, if they don't obey, they will be killed, skinned and eaten!"

"wrong."

Heifu smiled: "The best way is to lure them. Instead of fighting in the nest, it is better to compete with the foxes and wolves outside for food!"