Qin Official

"Let Mr. Nai see how much travel expenses all the officials gave me?"

In the first month of the 29th year of Qin Shihuang's reign, on the outskirts of Peixian County, Sishui County, after saying goodbye to the county officials who came to see him off, Liu Ji got into the bullock cart driven by Shi Changzhou and happily began to unwrap a piece of paper in his arms. He piled up Ge cloth bags, which contained the money presented to him by the officials.

Offering money was an unwritten practice in the official circles of the Qin Dynasty. If someone went to another place to serve as a corvee or official, his colleagues would give him money wrapped in Gebu, which was called offering money. In fact, it was a red envelope as a farewell gift.

Liu Ji has been the chief of the pavilion for more than three years. Although he often takes advantage of his position to gather people to drink, and has an adulterous son with Widow Cao, and his private life is full of misdeeds, he is still somewhat capable. Using old relationships, he was able to restrain the local knights and maintain good security in Surabaya Pavilion.

His boldness and ability also helped him expand his social circle in Peixian County. Now it was Liu Ji's turn to take people to Xianyang to serve as corvees, and many small and medium-sized county officials came to see him off. In addition to his boss Cao Shen, his old friend Ren Ao, and the stable official Xia Houying who always stopped to talk to him every time he passed by, even the prominent figures in the county and the chief official Xiao He came personally!

Liu Ji felt that he had gained more face. Now he opened the money given by everyone and counted them one by one. He felt very comfortable in his heart. With this money, he could eat and drink without worrying about food and wine along the way.

But after counting Xiao He's gifts, he was stunned.

"Five hundred dollars!"

Liu Ji counted it carefully again, and it was indeed correct.

The county officials did not have much salary. Throughout the year, their salary was less than a hundred shi, which was only about 3,000 yuan. Even Ren Ao and Xia Houying, who were close to him, only gave him 300 yuan, a month's salary.

"The salary of a small official is more than just fighting for food, it is at least two hundred dan!"

Faced with Liu Ji's question, Chief Zhou muttered: "Besides, Xiao is a wealthy person in Peixian County. Why should the pavilion director be surprised if he gives an extra two hundred yuan?"

"Having said that, Xiao He and my eldest brother are not close friends, so why give so many gifts?"

Liu Ji's little brother Lu Wan came over, and he also went west to serve as corvee this time.

"Yes, it stands to reason that I owe Xiao He several favors."

Liu Ji recalled his interactions with Xiao He. He and Xiao He had known each other for a long time. Xiao He was also a local and an official of Chu. When Liu Ji followed the ranger boss Wang Ling in Pei County, he committed a crime, but Xiao He let him go.

A few years later, Xiao He became an official of the Qin Dynasty again. At first, he was an official with swords and pens. Liu Ji was still a commoner at that time. He went to the county to take the exam to become an official. Xiao He was ordered to take a test on his laws and regulations, and he asked some simple questions.

Later, Xiao He's official career was prosperous. In the wave of imperial script writing, he was the first to be proficient in Qin seal script, and could even write official script. His official documents written on hemp paper were flawless, and he was highly appreciated by the newly arrived county magistrate. The chief official is responsible for the advancement and retreat of the entire county's personnel.

It happened that during that time, Liu Ji helped Cao Shen, the jailer of Peixian County, solve a cattle theft case and captured the stupid thief who did not pay him enough protection money. After his merits, he was promoted to the highest rank. Xiao He asked him to go to the county to collect the certificate. , and had a conversation with Liu Ji.

It is unusual for a superior boss to condescend to befriend a lowly subordinate.

But Liu Ji's character dictated that he put one and a half taels of money into his mouth, bit it, and laughed and said: "Whatever! The money is real, or Xiao He thinks it's a public thing and wants to make friends with me." !”

Even so, Liu Ji secretly remembered Xiao He's affection...

"When Nai Gong becomes rich and powerful in the future, he will definitely repay you twice as much!"

He waved his hand and threw the bag of copper coins given by Xiao He to Zhou Bo, the chief official, who was walking silently behind the car with a bow on his back.

"Zhou Bo, divide this bag of money with your two and three sons! Tell them not to run away because of their long journey. Follow me, Liu Ji, and spend the money together, drink the wine together, and eat the meat together!"

This statement won a burst of cheers. Behind the carriage carrying grain was a group of ragged and disgraced farmers. They were a group of more than fifty people, all corvees recruited by the county based on their names. However, unlike the usual work in the county and county towns once a year, this time they were going to Xianyang, the capital of the empire!

Liu Ji turned his back and encouraged the corvettes who each received ten cents.

"This is called Yu Zhong Fa Zheng. We are going to work on the emperor's palace. We can see the scenery of Xianyang. If we are lucky, we can also see the emperor's car passing by!"

…

Qin officials from other families were very stingy when escorting garrison soldiers and corvees, but Liu Tingchang was very generous. It was not his own money anyway, so he spent it with the corvees along the way. No, in mid-March, everyone had just entered Hangu Pass, and he had spent all the two or three thousand coins.

After drinking the last sip of wine, Liu Ji threw the bag behind him and began to regret: "I shouldn't be greedy in Luoyang. I am about to enter Xianyang. I heard that the shops there are lively. Now my wallet is empty. What should I do?”

But just when everyone was reporting at Hanguguan, they received a bolt from the blue: the place where they would serve this time had been changed. Instead of Xianyang, they were going to Zheng County first!

Unable to see what the capital looked like, Liu Ji and the corvettes couldn't help but be disappointed. They could only follow the orders of Qin officials, organize themselves with people from other counties, speed up their pace, and arrive before the deadline, otherwise they would have to Punished. The law stipulates that if there is delay and no levy is issued, the person in charge shall be punished twice. If the deadline is between three and five days, you will be rebuked; if you are between six and ten days, you will be fined one shield; if it exceeds ten days, you will be fined one shield...

The more Liu Ji walked, the more he realized something was wrong: their group of Sishui County corvees numbered a thousand people, and along the way, there were still about a dozen teams of the same size. In addition to civilians wearing commoners, there were also soldiers wearing armor! The number of people who looked like soldiers continued to increase, and the expressions on their faces were both excitement and fear. Liu Ji secretly thought something was wrong. This didn't look like going to work, it was clearly a prelude to going to the battlefield!

But the question is, who should we fight? Where was the rebellion?

Everyone in Pei County timidly listened to the Qin soldiers from Guanzhong talking excitedly in dialects they could not understand. During the break, they occasionally looked at the Guandong civilians, with contempt on their faces. Someone suddenly said something, which made others laugh. One word came back.

Liu Ji understood. They were saying that they were "Chu people", and that word was "people who subjugated their country"!

Although the imperial court has repeatedly implemented laws and regulations, the nine states are connected, and the people have the same style, but in each other's eyes, the other party is still "not one of our kind."

Ten years ago, Liu Jiding, a knight-errant, would have drawn his sword and splattered blood three feet away. But now, Liu Ji, who is the chief of the Qin Li Pavilion, just yawned, pretended not to understand, and stared at those people in the team who were pale because of worry and fear, and who had the intention of running away.

"Don't even think about running away. If you are caught, it won't be as simple as being punished and whipped!"

Zhou Bo and Lu Wan both nodded. The group arrived at Zheng County and found that it had turned into a large military camp. The leading officials handed them over to a captain and arranged for them to live in a simple adobe house.

Next to the corvee in Sishui County was a group of Suiyang people. Liu Ji was an acquaintance and began to go over to inquire about the news.

After walking around, he saw a young man in his twenties sitting in the camp, using the needle he carried to help mend the clothes of his companions, so he walked over and got close to him.

Liu Ji also spent time in Wei, and the two became friendly after just a few words.

"My name is Guan Ying. I am a silk merchant in Suiyang City. What do you call me?"

The young man was a merchant, and merchants and sons-in-law were often the first to be expropriated as corvees.

"Liu Ji of Peixian County."

Guan Ying told Liu Jidao in a low voice: "I heard that the Guandong corvettes are gathered here to escort the grain and grass to other places. It is rumored that they are going to fight the barbarians..."

Liu Ji suddenly realized that Zheng County was not the end of the trip!

Although the imperial court changed the laws on military service last year, allowing northerners to garrison the north, southerners to garrison the south, and westerners to garrison the west, they did not have to move far. However, the people in the Central Plains area, due to their large population, are still the main force going to these three places. This year, 100,000 people from each county who were "recruited by the imperial army" were temporarily arranged as laborers to transport grain to northern Xinjiang.

"As expected, we are going to fight."

I thought I would be done with working in Xianyang for a year, but I didn't expect to be driven to the distant and unfamiliar northern Xinjiang. Everyone was a little worried, fearing that they would die there, especially Lu Wan, who started shaking for no reason.

On the other hand, Zhou Bo tightened his grip on the bow and arrow in his hand. He was also from Peixian County. His ancestors migrated from Juandi. For generations, he made a living by weaving silkworm foil. He often played the flute and played dirges during funerals, and had a good time. Eat food. Zhou Bo is different from his father and grandfather. He is tall and powerful, can draw a hard bow, and has excellent shooting skills. When he heard that he was going to the frontier to participate in the war, he couldn't help but want to take advantage of the opportunity to make meritorious service and win a title...

"Forget it."

But Liu Ji poured cold water on him and pointed to the group of Qin soldiers wearing armor and said: "It is their business to fight and make meritorious service. We only transport food, build roads and bridges, build cities and dig ditches in the wilderness, and do other things." Hard work, that's all..."

Early the next morning, the school captain in charge summoned everyone and gave them a lecture. The theme was nothing more than that the Huns were invading the north and disturbing the border. His Majesty the Emperor had ordered all the commanders and generals to march out to attack the Huns.

"The military control of Jingbian is not a matter for the border area alone, nor is it a matter for Guanzhong alone. It is a matter for the people who are the best in the world!"

The school captain's name was Zhang (yi). He was mobilizing before the war. This man spoke in a refined manner and told the garrison soldiers and corvees about Guan Zhong, You Yu, Sima Cuo, Li Mu, Qin Kai and others. His impassioned speech made them It’s strange that people’s blood boils after hearing this.

The illiterate corvettes from Sishui County have never even heard the names of these five people, and they don't understand them very well. They are obviously fighting with the barbarians on the border, and they have half a penny relationship with the people from Sishui County?

No matter how much he talked about the truth, it was just like a chicken talking to a duck. But the captain didn't care whether they understood the great significance of Jingbian. After finishing his words, he announced where everyone would serve in the next few months.

"The corvee in Sishui County is the supreme county!"

Then he said: "The corvee from Dang County has arrived at Beidi County!"

The corvees immediately started talking, not to mention how miserable the Pei County corvees were. Among the Dang County corvees next to them, Guan Ying, a silk merchant from Suiyang who had talked with Liu Ji, scratched his head and asked his companions:

"Where is Northland County?"

…

In early April, Beidi County Lieutenant Heifu also came to Yiju Township, Niyang County, the southernmost part of Beidi County. He would wait here for the 15,000 Guandong civilian husbands assigned to him by the emperor, as well as the people responsible for escorting them. Supervising the army, Young Master Fusu...