Qin Official

At nightfall the next day, Lu Jia, who was sleeping in his clothes at the Bashi Fortress on the other side of Zhi County, was awakened by a violent knock on the door.

"Who?"

Lu Jia asked his cronies to open the door, but he was dazzled by the countless pine torches outside. It was a group of Ba warriors with willow leaf swords in their belts, and they were menacing. The leader of the tiger-shooting warriors was still covered in blood. Surrounded by them, there were In the red light, Ba Zhong looked pale.

Lu Jia knew this and asked, "Bajun, what's going on?"

Ba Zhong asked the warriors to retreat, took a deep breath, and bowed to Lu Jia: "Mr. Lu, something big has happened!"

Next, Ba Zhong told Lu Jia everything that happened tonight.

"Magistrate Zhi invited me to a banquet, but at the banquet he asked the county soldiers to set up an ambush with swords in order to capture me. Fortunately, Magistrate Zhi made good friends with me and gave me a hint at the banquet that the cronies I brought with me were very brave. Of course, not only will the county soldiers be killed, but also the county magistrate and lieutenant Zhi..."

"killed?"

Ba Zhong stared into Lu Jia's eyes and shook his head: "Tied."

Lu Jia's face did not change and he said in surprise: "Why do you want to capture and kill Ba Jun for no reason?"

His expression suddenly changed: "Could it be that someone knew that Ba Jun was hiding Madam Wu Zhonghou?"

Ba Zhong sighed: "The county magistrate said that someone spread rumors that I wanted to rebel against the court and surrender to Marquis Wu Zhong, which is why today's disaster happened, but..."

A cold light flashed in his eyes: "There is no way that my close relatives will leak this news. I am just curious, how did Magistrate Zhi know about it? Sir, can you know?"

It was not his own people who did it, naturally it was only "outsiders". Ba Zhong was the first to suspect Lu Jia - Ye Zijin had been staying with him for several months, and because he acted secretly, nothing happened. Why did Lu Jia do it? Something happened soon.

"Does this need to be said?"

Lu Jia spread his hands and said: "Ba family has always been on good terms with Marquis Wuzhong, and everyone in the world knows this. I heard that most of the friends from Marquis Wuzhong's old department, no matter where they serve, are dismissed from their posts and arrested. They would rather kill thousands of people by mistake." Don't let anyone go, and now it's finally Bashi's turn."

He said alarmingly: "No matter what, the government's suspicion of Ba Shi is real. The matter is settled and it will be difficult to turn around. Ba Jun, why don't you kill the county magistrate and the lieutenant and surrender to Marquis Wu Zhong!"

Bazhong looked hesitant: "The First Emperor was kind to our family. He commended my mother for her chastity and made her a chaste woman. He also welcomed her to Xianyang and built a Qingqing platform for her. Before my mother died, she told me to be a good person. It is my duty as a minister to restrain the barbarians in Bazhong for Qin, and I must never betray Qin."

Lu Jia smiled and said: "The First Emperor was also kind to Marquis Wu Zhong. Therefore, after the First Emperor was killed by a traitor, the princes resolutely raised their troops to pay tribute to the First Emperor and led the Northern Expedition to Jingnan. Now the person in charge of the government is a treacherous minister, Ba Jun. They won’t remember the late emperor’s old love, and tonight’s dangerous banquet is proof of that!”

"If Bajun doesn't want to be harmed by daggers and poisons in the future, he should raise his troops to respond to Marquis Wu Zhong. This is exactly how to bring order to the chaos. It is loyalty to Qin, not rebellion against Qin!"

Bazhong sighed, pointing to the huge stone fortress behind him and the surrounding villages that relied on Bashi for life: "Having said that, once the army is raised, my family's wealth of ten thousand gold will be ruined, and thousands of people will be affected by the war." .”

Lu Jia secretly laughed. Okay, now that the scene is over, it's finally time to bargain.

Ba Zhong said so much, but he just asked Lu Jia in a roundabout way: "If I agree to raise troops, what can Marquis Wu Zhong give me?"

A businessman never does unprofitable business, not to mention that the risk is extremely high, and the reward he pursues is also greater.

Lu Jia said: "Ba's family first started by boiling well salt, and then he found an elixir cave in the mountains. He was good at it for several generations, and his family was not happy. In Ba Jun's life, he was able to keep his business, use money to defend himself, and He developed sugarcane, brown sugar, Bo slave and other industries, and his family business grew bigger and bigger, becoming one of the richest people in the world with Wushi in the North."

"But since the death of Lord Huaiqing, Ba's treatment has been far worse than that of Wushi. Cinnabar, well salt, and brown sugar have all been included in the government's exclusive franchise. Ba's can only rely on driving southwestern barbarians and selling Bo children to barely make ends meet. .”

Although Lu Jia is a Confucian scholar and doesn't like businessmen very much, he is now a lobbyist and can tell any nonsense.

"Among the Qin officials, the one who values ​​merchants the most is none other than Marquis Wu Zhong. If Ba Shi turns his back anyway, all the cinnabar, brown sugar, and well salt businesses can be returned to him afterwards!"

This is a financial commitment, followed by status.

"Wushi Luobi was granted the title of monarch, and she and her ministers were invited to court at the right time. The status of the monarch and mother was no different from that of Wushi Luo. Therefore, after her death, people often addressed her as 'Huaiqingjun'. Unfortunately, this is not a formal title. , failed to pass on to children."

"Ba's family is originally the queen of the emperor. She can be said to be rich and noble. It is not appropriate to have a real name but no name. Marquis Wu Zhong promised that when the matter is completed, Ba Jun can be officially named Huaiqing Jun, and his descendants will continue this title!"

Ba Zhong was moved.

In the country of Cuba, after Lin Jun, they were divided into five clans, namely the Ba clan, the Fan clan, the Xi clan, the Xiang clan, and the Zheng clan, which constituted the ruling class of the Ba clan and were called the "Inner Five clans". They were located in the core area. Among them, the Ba family is the most expensive, second only to the royal family with the surname Ji. In addition, Cong, Pu, Ju, Gong, Lu, Ráng, Yi, and Dàn are the "eight outer tribes" located in the surrounding areas of Ba.

Although the Ba Kingdom has been destroyed for a hundred years and all the royal families named Ji have died, the five clans and eight tribes have continued. Therefore, the husband's family of the widow Qing is considered rich and noble among the Ba people. They are called merchants, but they are actually the female chieftains. They only lack a formal title.

At present, Heifu has promised Bazhong the position of "lord".

Although he is still far from the position of "Ba Wang", it is a huge breakthrough.

Seeing that Ba Zhong was getting more and more shaken, Lu Jia kept up his efforts and said, "Ba Zhong can think about it the other way around. If he kidnaps Mrs. Jun and his son, and then cooks Lu Jia, can the government's suspicion be dispelled?"

He shook his head: "I'm afraid not. In the eyes of the government, Ba Jun is just a lowly merchant. Once you leave Zhi County, any petty official can tie you up and kill you!"

"But if you surrender to Marquis Wu Zhong, you can become a prince, and all the goods and products of Ba County will belong to the Ba family. Why not do it?"

"good!"

Bazhong thought about it and realized that he had fallen out with the local government. Whether he rebelled or not, he couldn't tell clearly. So he ordered his cronies: "Send someone to kill the county magistrate and captain, and none of their family members will be killed." Keep!"

Why did this person suddenly become cruel? Lu Jia said: "Over there in Zhi County..."

Ba Zhong laughed loudly and pulled Lu Jia to the edge of the stone castle: "Mr. Lu, please take a look!"

The two of them stood hundreds of feet high and looked towards Zhi County on the other side. The lights there were brightly lit, and they were all Ba warriors holding torches, making the river red.

After deciding to raise a lawsuit, Ba Zhong's tone seemed to be a little different. He said proudly:

"Zhi County is my family's territory. Magistrate Zhi County is just here to show his name. Since the government attacked me first, I can only fight back. Zhi County is now under the jurisdiction of Marquis Wuzhong!"

Lu Jia held up his palm and said: "That's very good. I will report this good news to Mrs. Jun immediately without further delay. I also hope that Ba Jun will send people to Yufu quickly, defeat the soldiers of Ba Junwei, and assist Wu Chen to enter Ba." !”

But Bazhong did not obey the instructions honestly. Instead, he looked at Lu Jia strangely: "As a scribe, Mr. Lu still knows how to march and fight?"

Lu Jia heard something was wrong and coughed and said: "This is the military strategy set by Marquis Wu Zhong. Since Ba Jun has joined the Northern Expedition, it is best to follow it. Jun Hou is a famous general in the world. For more than ten years, He has never failed, so listen to him and you won’t go wrong.”

Bazhong shook his head: "After all, Marquis Wu Zhong has never been to Badi. There are some things that he doesn't know very well..."

Then he smiled and said: "Of course, I am a merchant and don't know how to fight, so why not ask the leader of my family's warriors."

With that said, Ba Zhong waved the giant man who was nine feet tall to come over and introduced:

"This is Danhu, a cong warrior and tiger-shooting hero. He was squeezed into a cabin and had an old acquaintance with Marquis Wu Zhong who chewed a piece of salt. He once led my servants to fight against the southwestern barbarians. He knows military affairs. Danhu, tell me, what should we do next?"

Danhu patted his chest, which was embroidered with tiger patterns, and spoke angrily in Ba people's language.

Ba Zhong nodded while repeating: "Dan Hu said that Zhi County is more than 600 miles away from Jiangguan, and the mountain road goes south. It will take at least half a month to gather people to get there."

"And Jiangzhou County (today's Chongqing) in the west, which is the seat of Bajun County, is only two hundred miles away from Zhixian County, and the road is easy to travel. If you go quickly, it only takes a few days!"

"Instead of abandoning the close for the far, it is better to lead an attack on Jiangzhou County. All the county soldiers will be gone, the county will be empty, and the guards will be less than a thousand. After seizing the county, I will hold high the banner of the Northern Expedition and order all the people in the county to fight. Five clans and eight clans, respond together!"

The Ba people are so brave that even women can fight with swords. If the five clans and eight clans can be gathered together, they will have nearly 20,000 soldiers!

Lu Jia looked at Danhu and then at Bazhong, feeling surprised and uncertain, but this was someone else's territory, so he finally swallowed his words and said with a smile:

"In the Battle of Muye, Ba Shi was brave. As a vanguard, he sang and danced to conquer the Yin people. He killed the Yin people with blood and drifted away. In the old world, it was called: King Wu defeated Zhou. He sang before and danced after. In this case, I only hope that Ba Jun can be effective. The ancestors of the past were the vanguard of the teachers of the benevolent..."

"As it should be."

"Lu Jia still needs to report to Mrs. Jun. Can you send me to another village overnight?"

This time, Lu Jia refused to sit on the slide and chose to walk down the mountain. Before leaving, he glanced back and looked at Ba Zhong, who was standing by the stone castle with a proud face, and said to himself:

"It's so careless, but he underestimated this man. He wanted to take Jiangzhou County first to show his own dignity!"