Qin Official

A few days after the Battle of Jinnanshui, Weiyang's fleet returned to Nanning with wounded soldiers, prisoners and trophies, and Heifu was waiting eagerly here. novel .

Han Xin reported his victory to Hei Fu in a very unique way, using dozens of ivory tusks and chopped off elephant trunks.

Needless to say, ivory is a valuable thing and is often decorated in the palace, but fresh elephant trunks are rare. With the changes in the environment, elephants have become extinct north of the Huaihe River and Qinling Mountains.

"Han Sima said that this elephant's trunk, orangutan's lips, and badger's roast are one of the eight treasures. They are all beautiful meats. He specially asked us to chop off the trunks of Luo people and elephants and send them back quickly. Please tell me. It is eaten by the marquis and the supervisor..."

Ziying, who was originally ordered to go back to Xianyang to report Heifu's efforts to pacify Fujian and South Vietnam, also went to Luliang in Lingnan again after the scorching heat ended, to perform his duty of supervising the army, and was now standing next to Heifu.

Hei Fu raised his palm and praised: "We defeated Ou Luo in one battle and beheaded more than ten thousand people. This is a great humiliation for our former master, and we have made great achievements. Weiyang, you and Han Xin did a good job!"

A stone fell to his heart. Han Xin's first performance was not bad. Although he knew that he had Zhang Shenjun's orange card in his hand, he still had to go through actual combat to reach the full star level.

Heifu was very satisfied with Han Xin's victory, but he did not intend to eat the elephant trunk that was sent back.

Elephants have thick skin and their meat is not easy to cook, but their trunks are a rare ingredient. Because elephants move slowly, most of them use their trunks to carry out activities. The trunk is the most frequently moved part of the elephant's body, so the muscle tissue in this part is very flexible. People who have eaten it say that it tastes good when cooked. .

But Heifu still refused:

"Who knows what elephants have done with their long trunks?"

So he very generously asked Dongmen Bao and other captains and soldiers to divide the trunk of the elephant.

However, after returning to the shogunate camp, he grew up in the palace and had countless Eight Delicatessen banquets. Only then did Ziying tell Heifu: "Actually, one of the Eight Delicacies, elephant bark, is not the real elephant, but the elephant-nosed fish..."

"I see."

Heifu said oh, it seems that Han Xin still suffered from his lack of education.

In fact, he didn't know either.

However, even if it was really "elephant pulling", Ziying had no appetite at all. First of all, he had been infected with schistosomiasis more than a year ago. After treatment, the obvious symptoms disappeared, but the roots could not be removed. There were bugs gnawing at his flesh and blood, laying eggs waiting to be fed, and he felt sick.

Secondly, when he returned to Xianyang some time ago, Ziying reported all the details of the Southern Corps to Qin Shihuang. His Majesty the Emperor was very satisfied with Heifu's rapid increase in the morale of the Southern Army and its sweep across Fujian and South Vietnam. He was very satisfied with Heifu's work. Yangshanguan Kun sent out talented people and appointed old troops as captains without saying anything.

Qin Shihuang just asked Ziying to come back and emphasized to Heifu again:

"Before the end of the thirty-six years, march to Beixianghu, and don't forget your oath!"

Ziying had no choice but to grimace and continue running on the road, dragging his sick body.

Fortunately, as soon as he arrived in Nanning, he learned of the good news ahead. Han Xin had completely defeated the Luo people and the Ou people. The last alliance of Baiyue collapsed and they fled in all directions. Then they went all the way south to the legendary "Gateway Opening to the North." "It's only a matter of time before the north-facing households."

But what surprised Ziying was that Heifu gave Han Xin the order to "station on the spot".

"The Marquis of Changnan."

When they were alone, Ziying couldn't help complaining: "If you don't lead Han Sima to the south quickly, why stop?"

"Of course it's to collect the corpses of thousands of dead soldiers."

Heifu's answer was natural, as if this was more important than satisfying the emperor's territorial claims.

Ziying was so anxious that he stamped his feet: "It is now late August, and there is only one month left before the end of the year. If we don't arrive at Beixianghu by Luo people, how will you deliver your message to His Majesty then, Lord?"

"Supervisor, don't be anxious."

Heifu asked him to sit down and said with a smile: "Actually, we have arrived at Beixianghu long ago..."

"ah?"

Ziying was a little confused. People in the court agreed that the north-facing household was in Luliang, which is further south of the Lingnan region. According to some Chu people who went deep into the area, the sun rose from the north there, so the place Residents open their windows to the north to enjoy the sun, which is the opposite of the Central Plains...

"Actually, Beixianghu is not the place name of a small place, but a large area..."

Heifu had no choice but to briefly tell Ziying the geographical knowledge he had discussed with Xu Fu, the best contemporary astronomer and geographer, a few months ago.

"Xu Fu told me that the day with the shortest day is the winter solstice, and the day with the longest day is the summer solstice. The reason is that people travel far on the winter solstice, while people travel the short distance on the summer solstice..."

This is a rule that the Chinese people have long summarized and written in the calendar. The line that takes a shortcut every day on the summer solstice is the Tropic of Cancer.

This line passes through Yulin and Cangwu, and Panyu and Nanning are both to the south. Here, the sun is slightly north of the sky for only ten days a year. The so-called "north-facing households" are actually Because the temperature is too high, not only do we not need to rely on sunlight to raise the room temperature, but we need to focus on avoiding the sun, so we live outside the house. People in the Central Plains do not know the local language, so they take it for granted...

Hei Fu explained it to Ziying, and on the way back to Yulin, he pointed to the Yue people's cottage along the Yushui River with the door facing north as evidence, and finally convinced Ziying that they were already at Beixianghu.

"But I'm afraid His Majesty won't accept this argument."

But Ziying was still worried. When he returned to Xianyang, he heard that last year, the countries in the north of the Western Regions did not allow the Qin army to use the passage to Daxia. His Majesty was furious. In the spring of the thirty-sixth year, he pardoned the prisoners and the criminals. The side cavalry gathered 60,000 soldiers and civilians, including 10,000 cattle, 30,000 horses, and tens of thousands of donkeys and mules to provide grain. They followed Li Xin out of Yumen Pass and attacked the countries in the Western Region...

For a time, all the horses in Longxi and Hexi were empty. At this time, food prices soared in Lianguanzhong, and there were complaints. On the other hand, the emperor also ordered to speed up the construction of Lishan Mausoleum.

Seeing that the emperor's uncle was so stubborn, Ziying was afraid that the Marquis of Changnan would not be able to complete the task and would harm himself. How could he dare to argue with Qin Shihuang about the true meaning of "Beixianghu"?

"Supervisor, please rest assured."

Heifu was confident and said: "Although the real Beixianghu area is vast, as long as we reach the southernmost point, leave a garrison, recruit barbarians, and make it the Qin County government, in this way, we can take over all Beixianghu. Naturally, I can report to His Majesty."

Only then did Heifu tell Ziying where Xu Fu was.

"I asked Xu Fu and others to take part of the navy to leave Panyu and explore the coast. They found that there is a large island in the south of the South China Sea. It is the end of the Lingnan land. It is named 'Zhuya'. The supervisor can do this Report back to Your Majesty, that is Beixianghu, the end of the world!"

For China, the past ten years have undoubtedly been an era of great geographical discovery. Countless regions in the southeast, northwest, and west that only exist in the "Book of Mountains and Seas" and "The Biography of Emperor Mu" have been discovered one by one by merchants, envoys, and the army, and their numbers have increased accordingly. Yes, there are a lot of new place names.

Since Columbus could call America "India", it is not wrong for Heif, as the discoverer, to call Hainan Island "Northern House".

if not? Does he really want Han Xin to take people on a trip to Southeast Asia? There is no way to go to many places. When you go there, you will have four or five thousand, but when you come back, you may only have one thousand left... In short, let's fool the emperor first.

Ziying was shocked: "Setting up a county from the sea? Wouldn't this...not live up to its name?"

Heifu spread his hands: "His Majesty said that we must take the land route to Beixianghu?"

Ziying recalled every word Qin Shihuang said when he met him. After carefully reviewing every word, he shook his head: "That's not what I said..."

"Isn't that enough? I was previously ordered by His Majesty to help the young master to support Lord Su Canghai. He also relied on a sea ship. The place where the sea ship arrived was the territory of Great Qin. It will be the same this time."

Heifu raised his hands to the north: "Afterwards, I will tell you that the great Qin Dynasty should not use the sea as a wall, but should use the sea as a road and a border! Your Majesty's country not only has the East China Sea in the east, but now, Further south is the South China Sea!"

…

At the same time, hundreds of miles southwest of Panyu, the Qin army's fleet had crossed the short Qiongzhou Strait, arrived at "Zhuya Island", and anchored in a harbor in the northwest of the island.

"Even the merchants who have traveled farthest have never been here, and the South Vietnamese have never set foot here. How did the Marquis of Changnan know that there is an island here?"

Xu Fu was full of suspicion. He thought it was a brand new vast land at first, until several ships ordered to explore the way circled it and proved that it was indeed an island.

As a result, Xu Fu's respect for Heifu became even more awe-inspiring. Whether it was Fusang Island in the southeast of Sanhan, Yizhou Island in the east of Minyue, or Zhuya Island in front of him, they were all mentioned by Changnan Marquis one by one. middle.

Fusang Island was mentioned by three Han people when Xu Fu was searching for immortals on the sea, but the latter two islands were too far away from him, so he had no way of knowing.

It was okay once, but three times in a row, in Xu Fu's eyes, Hei Fu really had the power of ghosts and gods.

Compared with his magical ability to know things like a god, the half-truth and half-false tricks of their alchemists are really trivial!

However, in Xu Fu's eyes, this island is really wild and wild. It is full of coconut trees, dense forests, beaches, seabirds, and black reef cliffs. It is almost late autumn, and the sun is still so hot that the soldiers of the Qin army are peeling off. , the sea breeze is still strong, Xu Fu, who loves the sea, does not want to get out of the cabin easily.

"The southern service is wasted and not worth a penny."

Xu Fu made a conclusion, not knowing that more than two thousand years later, people from all over the country would flock here to buy houses.

When the fleet was anchored in the northwest of the island to avoid waves, they occasionally saw a few tattooed savages. Their language was very different from that of the South Vietnamese, and there was no way to communicate with them. However, they did not have the bad habit of headhunting and were docile. They were not afraid of the Qin people. The whole tribe came to the beach and stared with wide eyes. When they finally saw the huge ship, they probably regarded them as gods and knelt down to worship...

After the Qin soldiers went ashore to explore, they found that the terrain here was flat. In addition to the sandy soil on the seashore that could not grow grains, there were actually some freshwater streams in the interior where rice could be grown.

Xu Fu discussed it with several captains of buildings and ships, and finally decided, how about leaving a garrison here?

It is of course unprofitable to keep troops and establish governance in this useless place. It is entirely to satisfy Qin Shihuang's territorial desire of "extending all households in the south and north".

At this time, Xu Fu remembered something, so he returned to the cabin and carefully took out a... tip bag from the small box on the wall of the ship.

This was awarded secretly by the Marquis of Changnan when they left a few months ago...

"Open it before garrisoning troops and setting up a county." This was Hei Fu's instruction. He put it into Xu Fu's hand with a playful smile on his face.

He thought it was some confidential matter, or even a plan to seize power against Ren Xiao, but when he opened it, Xu Fu was shocked.

"After arriving on the island, no matter where you decide to set up a county, you must have 500 people stationed there. There can be no more than one person, and no one less than one person. Remember the name of the county is 'Lingao'!"

"Lingao?"

What does this mean? Xu Fu was a little dazed. Look at the terrain here. Except for the cliffs on the seaside, it is not high!

But the more mysterious the Marquis of Changnan became, the more frightened Xu Fu became. He read it over and over again, and finally realized it.

"Could this be a way of trying to reconcile people with each other?"

The so-called art of geography is a knowledge related to the location and orientation of cities, palaces, residences, villages, and cemeteries. The founder is Zhou Gongdan. He once divined the land for King Wu of Zhou, and divined the east and west of the stream. But Luo got a good omen and finally chose Luoyang as the eastern capital.

For hundreds of years, those who mastered this knowledge served the government, specifically choosing mausoleums and palaces for kings, and looking for good soil to benefit their descendants.

Yin and Yang alchemists are also proficient in this way, and Xu Fu is no exception.

He remembered that in addition to building public toilets and cultivating farmland, the Marquis of Changnan also had a major hobby, which was to name the new territory he occupied.

From Nanchang at the beginning, to Fuping County at the eastern foot of Helan Mountain, to Seoul in Haidong, to Nanning, Zhuya, and finally Lingao!

The reason why the Marquis of Changnan was able to become a prince from the head of Guizhou, and he knew astronomy from above and geography from below, and could predict events like a god, may be related to these place names! Eighty percent of them got advice from experts, calculated the Yin Yang and Five Elements, named new cities in the southeast, northwest, and finally connected them into the eight trigrams, creating a steady flow of fortune...

"That must be the case! This is the secret of Marquis Changnan!"

Xu Fu was extremely excited. He immediately took out a pen and paper, wrote down the names of these places one by one according to their directions, and calculated them using Yin Yang alchemy, while thinking:

"If I can calculate it, I can know the lifeline of the Marquis of Changnan, pinch him seven inches, break his luck, and then escape far away. I no longer have to be like a caged bird, obeying his orders and panicking. All day long!”

But after calculating, Xu Fu frowned.

What a mess! The orientation hexagram he calculated based on these place names was extremely confusing and confusing.

After a day of tossing, Xu Fu was discouraged and thought in despair:

"It seems that with my little wisdom, I still can't crack this supreme magic..."

He then worried that his repeated thoughts might have been noticed by the Marquis of Changnan!

Xu Fu immediately put the kit away carefully, even put incense sticks on it, and looked at it again and again.

"Marquis Changnan, please don't misunderstand me. This villain is just curious for a moment and has absolutely no intention of betrayal!"

It's a pity that Xu Fu doesn't understand this joke. He didn't know that Heifu's secret was really hidden in the sentence on the brocade bag:

"I am a time traveler!"

…

On the next day, Xu Fu arranged for all the people in the building to draw lots, and the 500 people who caught the black lot were kept here for a year as a garrison. The unlucky 500-year-old was also awarded the title of Marquis of Changnan.

He said in an official tone: "From today on, you will be the official of Lingao County. This county is affiliated to the newly established Nanhai County. When the seal talisman is made, it will be sent to you."

Later, under the sad eyes of five hundred people, Xu Fu and his fleet left here and sailed to the peninsula in the north. He wanted to return to Panyu as soon as possible to report the victory to the Marquis of Changnan: "The territory of Great Qin has been reached to the south and north!"

As for Heifu, it would be easy for him to send business to Xianyang.

That night, the fleet arrived at the peninsula and anchored for the night.

Xu Fu couldn't help it. He had been calculating the names of places named by Hei Fu for a long time on the ship, but he still had no clue. In his irritation, he put on his clothes and walked to the deck to look up at the stars...

There is no moon and no clouds tonight, and the field of vision is extremely empty. In the night sky, which is as deep as the sea, without the lights of the city and the human world competing for brightness, Xu Fu can have a panoramic view of the entire galaxy of stars.

But even though Xu Fu could easily name the major stars and constellations: Ziwei, Yinghuo, and Antares, he could not name the countless stars like grains of sand.

"My life also has a limit, but I know it has no limit. It's too late to follow the limitless life!"

Xu Fu had some epiphany and remembered this sentence in Zhuangzi. It was like although he was proficient in looking at the land, he could not understand the mysterious magic number linked to the place name and could not decipher the secret of Changnan Hou.

No matter what, it's not easy for a cricket to shake a tree, so don't struggle anymore.

But just when Xu Fu was about to go back to sleep, a strange star phenomenon attracted his attention.

There is a red star that has deviated from its original position and moved to a star that it should never go to!

Xu Fu was a little surprised. He quickly ran to the cabin and washed his face with cold water. When he came out and took a closer look, he was even more shocked.

Those four words, those four words that have been tabooed by heavenly officials throughout the ages, blurted out:

"Yinghuo Shouxin!"