Qin Official

"Liu Ji, the village chief of Sishui, has met the superior!"

The bearded Liu Ji entered the camp and bowed down to the chief of the field. This person was a subordinate of the "Shuofang County Colonel of the Field" newly established by the imperial court, who was responsible for managing the civilians.

Chang Shi also knew this bearded man who liked to form gangs, brag and humiliate, so he raised his head and sneered:

"Most of the people who come to see me these days are lying about having wives and children in order to avoid being assigned to work in the fields. Could it be that you are the same?"

This statement blocked what Liu Ji wanted to say.

It was already the end of August, and the weather was getting colder day by day. With the Qin army occupying Beijia and Henan, and the Xiongnu fleeing far away, the war was coming to an end.

The border is far away and it is impossible to feed so many people. Half of the soldiers have to be withdrawn. The 150,000 civilians who were recruited to the border at the beginning of the year and responsible for transporting grain have completed their corvee and are ready to go home.

However, an order from Xianyang made them panic: The emperor ordered that land should be distributed locally in the vast northern Xinjiang to civilians. Those who have a family, a wife, or an only son in the family, and those who need to support their parents, Allow them to move back to their place of origin after completing their service. Those who do not have a wife will settle down and garrison in the same place, and the government will marry a local Hu girl for him!

As a result, in addition to professional soldiers, this newly conquered land also had the first batch of farmers.

This frightened many people. Although the Qin army established "Shuofang" county for management after seizing Beijia, everything was a scratch after all. In the eyes of the people who came from the prosperous land of the Central Plains, this was a bitter and cold place. Even if the court promised land, Hu Nu, or even three years of tax exemption, it was not as tempting as going home.

So those who had wives and children were happy, packed their bags and prepared to leave, while the single husband looked sad.

Many of them pretended to have wives and children, or were the only child in the family, trying to get away with it. However, Qin originally attached great importance to the household registration status management of the army, and thanks to the promotion of paper, when each person was serving in the army, the officials of the county where he belonged would copy his personal and family status on a piece of linen paper, and then escort them The chief of the pavilion and the chief of the village took it with him, and when he arrived at the place of service, he handed it over to the clerk in charge of the corvee.

If you have a wife or children at home, or if you are an only child, report the soldiers and villages to which you belong, and you will know at a glance.

Once they are caught lying, what awaits these people is a charge of "not being straight". There is no need to rush home, they can just work hard locally to atone for their sins.

So no one dared to muddle through, and they could only regret not proposing marriage in their hometown earlier.

Qin officials did not sympathize with these bachelors either. Li Si, the Tingwei who was supervising the army, even said coldly:

"The law of King Gou Jian of Yue states that if a girl does not marry at the age of seventeen, her parents will be guilty; if she does not marry her husband at twenty, her parents will be guilty. Now, in your majesty's territory, there are not enough people to speak of, but there are many young men who do not marry at the age of thirty, and hang out everywhere. I am originally I want to propose that this law be restored and the customs of Guandong be cured, so that they can stay at the border to avoid causing trouble when they return home!"

Liu Ji, thirty-six and seventy-seven, is still unmarried, so logically he should stay, but he has other ideas.

So Liu Ji immediately entered the scene, bowed down to the chief minister, and told his story with tears in his eyes.

He said that he actually had a wife, her name was Cao, but they divorced before she could register with the government. Cao left him a son named Liu Fei, who is only three years old this year. It was really hard to raise Liu Fei by myself. Because he had to serve in the military, he could only foster him with his parents. If he was left to farm in northern Xinjiang, Liu Fei would become an orphan...

"If you don't believe me, just look at the transcript and verify the birthplace. My son's name is on it. The chief official of Pei County, Xiao He, the dead Zhou Chang, the jailer Ren Ao, etc. can all testify for me!"

Liu Ji was a local snake at first, but after becoming an official, he became even more successful in both the underworld and the white world. Half of the officials in the county were friends with him.

Chang Shi looked for the file with suspicion. In Liu Ji's biography, in addition to his parents and brothers, there was really a "fat little man".

The reason why only bachelors are required is because it is not good to forcibly break up families. Even if people with families stay outside the Great Wall, they cannot safely garrison. Seeing that Liu Ji's words were so eloquent that when he talked about emotional points, his nose and tears came out, and his beard was covered with sticky mucus. Chang Shi's heart softened, and after confirming that it was correct, he removed Liu Ji from the stay-at-home list.

Liu Ji thanked him very much and left the tent. He straightened up his back instantly and thought proudly:

"Fortunately, my father and mother were stubborn and insisted on taking the treacherous son back from the Cao family and into the Liu family's native place. Otherwise, Mr. Nai would have been drinking the cool breeze in this bitter cold place!"

Liu Ji felt that this was the second right thing his father, Taigong Liu, had done in so many years.

The first thing is that after giving birth to Liu Ji, she was not thrown into a ditch and drowned because she did not look very similar to him.

I went to the river to wash my beard, and when I returned to the camp with an empty stomach, the people brought from Peixian County were comforting Zhou Bo...

Lu Wan and others were older, already married and had children, but Zhou Bo was young, unmarried, and not an only son. He and the other ten people had to stay in the local area and garrison the fields, fearing that they would never be able to return to their hometown.

This cut made the people feel uncomfortable, but there was nothing they could do about it. Qin was so cold and unreasonable.

Zhou Bo was simple, strong, honest and loyal. He did not feel sorry for himself, but smiled at his fellow villagers:

"When I returned to Pei County, I still had to earn a living by weaving silkworm foil and playing flute and dirges for others. In this northern Xinjiang, there is land to cultivate and tax exemption for three years. It is said that after three years, you can even be awarded a title. ! From this point of view, there is nothing wrong with staying here.”

As he spoke, he patted the bow in his hand.

Liu Ji saw through his purpose and said with a smile: "Zhou Bo is not a man who can farm his land with peace of mind. I'm afraid you are still thinking that when there is another war with the Hu people, you will be drafted into the army and you will have meritorious service by shooting one or two Hu people to death!" "

In addition to weaving silkworm foil and playing elegies, Zhou Bo also has another skill, that is, he is tall and strong, and can shoot a hard bow. He originally wanted to join the county soldier, but now he stayed on the border by accident, and he was unable to shoot a bow when he was a civilian husband. Opportunity, maybe I can show off my talents in the future!

Zhou Bo was a little embarrassed when he saw through it, and said: "I heard from people that the Beidi County Lieutenant was also a Guizhou leader back then. With his military merit, he has become a minister now, and may even have the opportunity to become a marquis in the future! I, Zhou Bo, think that my ability is not bad, maybe I can make some small contributions..."

The people of Peixian County have been changing their nationality for the past two generations. They were originally from Song Dynasty, then from Wei Dynasty, and finally from Chu Dynasty. When Qin conquered Pei County, they did not fight a big battle and did not kill many people. The antipathy was not as strong as that of Waihuang and Daliang people. Xiao He, Liu Ji and others did not have any psychological burden when they became Qin officials.

But Lu Wan and others did not have such ambitions, and they all laughed and said that Zhou Bo was too naive. On the contrary, Liu Ji stopped laughing and cupped his hands towards Zhou Bo and said, "Zhou Bo has great ambitions, and Liu Ji admires him."

But Zhou Bo suddenly said: "Brother Ji also often said that he wants to do great things, why don't you stay and make contributions together? Me?" Liu Ji pointed at the tip of his nose and laughed. After laughing, he became rarely serious.

"I have been out there for so many years, and I have figured out one thing."

He turned back and looked at the brand-new Jiuyuan City behind him. It was rebuilt from the ruins of the past. This was the result of the civilians in the past two months. This was also the first foundation stone laid by the Qin army on the grassland outside the Great Wall... …

“People never leave their hometown, and tigers never leave their mountains.”

Liu Ji did not speak his mind in public, and it was not until he was alone with his good brother Lu Wan that he revealed the truth he understood.

"My home is in Peixian County, and my partner, the Township Party, is also in Peixian County. When he stays in Peixian County, Liu Ji is like a tiger in the mountains that no one dares to humiliate. He invites friends, drinks and sings. Who is not afraid of me? But? If he leaves Pei County and does not have the support of the township party, Liu Ji will be nothing!"

…

A thousand miles west of Jiuyuan City, at the western foothills of Helan Mountain, at the end of the grassland and on the edge of the desert, a group of Qin Army knights trekked here and stood on the hills. In front of them was a lake reflecting the sky...

"This is it."

Yiqu Bailang's lips were dry and cracked. He opened the map, pointed at the lakes between the mountains and the desert, and said: "What the captured Huns said was the big lake at the end of the grassland and the pearl on the edge of the desert."

Fu Zhi on the side couldn't help cheering when he saw the sparkling blue waves of the lake. He wanted to have a drink, but was stopped by Yiqu Bailang.

"This is the Great Salt Lake (Jilantai Salt Lake). Like the Huama Lake, the water in it can be used to marinate meat, but it cannot be drunk. You have to go around the lake to find a river."

More than two months have passed since the battle in Henan. The Qin army gathered in Hetao. Under the leadership of Li Xin, Touman Chanyu was severely injured again, causing him to rush west in a hurry.

Yiqu Bailang and his party followed the traces of the Huns. Sure enough, they found the messy horse hoof prints of the Huns on the bank of the Great Salt Lake. Those prisoners were right. This was the only way for the Huns to migrate every year. .

Everyone wanted to continue following, but ahead was a vast desert with no end in sight. The supplies they brought with them when they left Hetao were no longer enough, so they could only set up an outpost here, leaving a hundred cavalry to hunt and garrison, as the westernmost point of the Qin army. stronghold……

…

At the beginning of September, Yiqu Bailang and others returned to the eastern foot of Helan Mountain and reported what they saw along the way to the young master Zaoheifu.

"Under the orders of General Li Xin, my subordinates, together with Fu Zhi and Gan Chong, led three thousand horses from the north out of the fertile fields and crossed 400 miles west to Wenchi in Tang Dynasty. There was not a single Xiongnu in sight. So far, there were no more Xiongnu herdsmen in the south of Yinshan Mountain. A felt tent!"

"It seems that the Huns have really escaped."

Hei Fu breathed a sigh of relief. After two years of planning and half a year of fierce fighting, he finally achieved what the Qin Dynasty had accomplished in history, but the Huns were more than 700 miles away!

The Xiongnu were even more miserable than in history. Their young men died or were captured, and they lost at least one-third. Their pitiful population could not recover within two generations.

The Xiongnu suffered heavy losses, and Touman Chanyu lost all his prestige and was unable to make a comeback in a short time, but Heifu had another worry.

Gongsun Bailu said: "What the general is worried about is the Yuezhi wandering to the western foot of Helan Mountain!"

After the Xiongnu were defeated, the Yueshi took advantage of the opportunity to occupy many of the Xiongnu's pastures. Their scouts even came to the western foot of Helan Mountain and sent envoys to communicate with Qin. After all, the Qin army swept across the Xiongnu, and their combat power was shocking. The Xiongnu were defeated, not to mention the population and territory of the Yuezhi were not as good as theirs?

"No, not Yuezhi."

Heifu looked at the letter sent by Chen Ping. This guy was not idle in Beidi County. He went to Wushi Sai and got a lot of information about Yuezhi through Wushi merchants.

Among them, there is the "news" that Mao Dun presented his beloved wife and horse to the Yuezhi King!

Maodun, yes, Heifu has never forgotten this famous son of a wolf in history!

If you are so cruel to yourself, let alone others? If this person is not removed, he will eventually be a thorn in his heart.

"The barbarians dare not go south to herd horses. This is not enough. We have to let them live for generations. Scholars dare not bend their bows and complain!"

Heifu asked people to come to Helan Mountain to garrison, and summoned Wu Shiyan, the "county chief minister" who surrendered and accepted Baiyang and other tribes.

The commander-in-chief of the county is not a subordinate of Heifu. He is under the jurisdiction of the county guard and is also responsible to the "dianke" who is responsible for diplomacy, vassal states and minority management among the nine ministers. Wu Shiyan is recruiting the Huamachi Rong people to surrender and inquiring about the Huns. He has contributed a lot in intelligence, so the imperial court asked him to be this official, firstly to reward him, and secondly to make the best of his talents.

"Go and tell the Yuezhi people who came to contact you. There are three conditions for the Yuezhi to go to Qin."

"First, King Yuezhi personally went to Xianyang to pay tribute; second, allowed Qin merchants to pass through Hexi and go to the Western Regions without any obstruction; third..."

Heifu smiled: "I offer the head of the Huns bandit Maodun!"