Qin Official

Wancheng (urban area of ​​Nanyang, Henan), the center of the Nanyang Basin, is also the busiest thoroughfare in the empire.

Wang Ben's 200,000 troops were fighting at the front. All food and supplies, whether it was wheat from Wuguan in Xianyang or millet and beans from Yingchuan in Sanchuan, had to pass through Wancheng and then be sent to the front. The daily carrying capacity is tens of thousands of stones, tens of thousands of people driving thousands of cattle and horses, trekking on the gray dirt road, and ordinary county guards cannot stop them.

But the Prime Minister of the Left, Feng Quji, was a figure who had kept the entire empire in order during Qin Shi Huang's tour. He was a supervisor of the army and supervised the military rations, so it was no problem.

While he was busy, Feng Quji knew very clearly that taking on this responsibility would mean he was driven out of the center of power in Xianyang.

Because Qin Shihuang had considered making the son-in-law of the Feng family, the son-in-law Gao, the prince during his lifetime. His visits and visits to the palace were also reported to the second emperor by someone, which aroused the jealousy of Hu Hai.

In addition to the four ministers personally selected by Qin Shihuang to take care of his fate, two of them were brothers Feng Quji and Feng Wuze. Feng Jie also took the place of Meng Tian and commanded the Great Wall Corps. It can be said that military and political power was concentrated in one family.

Therefore, from the beginning of Hu Hai's accession to the throne, the Feng family was suspected by the new emperor. In addition, Feng Wuze's defeat in Jiangling and the corrupt situation in the south made their family even more humiliated.

At the most dangerous moment for the Feng family, Wang Ben helped them in time, took away the military power from the Feng family, and transferred Feng Jie to Bashu. Feng Quji was not a power-hungry person, so he immediately retreated bravely, surrendered the right prime minister to Li Si, and asked himself to be the supervisor of the army.

After arriving in Wancheng, although he was on the front line, only a few hundred miles away from the battlefield, and even saw refugees fleeing from the south every day, Feng Quji felt extremely at ease.

"It's better to be blind to a stone than to have a cold knife in the Xianyang court..."

Feng Quji and Wang Bi were old friends. When Wang Bi destroyed the Wei Dynasty in the past, Feng Quji served as Wang Bi's military supervisor before he became the censor. He worked hard for the logistics of the army and tried not to delay the process Wu Hou's hind legs, and firmly believe that Wang Ben will be able to put an end to the rebellion!

But the new court in Xianyang did not have Feng Quji's confidence. On the last day of July, the envoy from the Second Emperor arrived in Wancheng again...

"Prime Minister Zuo looks very good."

The envoy appointed by the second emperor was Zhonglang General Zhao Cheng, who was the younger brother of Zhonglang General Zhao Gao. After Feng was squeezed out of Xianyang, Zhao Gao suddenly became an important minister second only to Li Si, and Hu Hai obeyed his advice.

Zhao Gao's younger brother Zhao Cheng also became a messenger, wearing purple clothes and riding a fat horse, traveling between Xianyang and Wancheng.

Needless to say, Zhao Cheng came to urge Wang Ben to send troops again.

"Prime Minister Zuo, there is nothing I can do about this."

After meeting at the prefecture in the city, Zhao Cheng, as usual, presented the second emperor's letter urging Wang Ben to send troops, complaining: "Your Majesty always thought that after Tongwu Hou brought 200,000 people out of the customs, good news would be spread frequently. , offered the head of the black thief under the palace, but unexpectedly Marquis Tongwu stayed in Nanyang for more than a month. When His Majesty heard about it, he was very dissatisfied..."

A year ago, Feng Quji, who was the right prime minister of the empire, would not pay attention to a small role like Zhao Cheng, who had made great contributions to his brother Yin. But now he had to bite the bullet and explain to Wang Ben:

"The recruitment of troops is not uniform from all over the country. The main force has to come from the south of Shangjun. The soldiers recruited in Guanzhong are also old and young. They have to distribute weapons and reorganize and train, so they cannot fight immediately. Marquis Tongwu can only use defense to attack, and wait for all the armies to gather in Nanyang. , this mature and prudent move also prevented soldiers from all walks of life from being defeated one by one like they did in Nanjun... In the past two months, the black thieves have not dared to advance even half a step north."

"That's the way it is."

Zhao Cheng smiled and said, "However, Zuo Cheng knows quite well that right now, it's not just the gangsters who dare to gather people to cause trouble."

"Recently, urgent documents from various counties in Shandong have flown into Guanzhong like locusts. Not to mention Dongting and Jiangdong, the news has been cut off for a long time. The three counties of Jiujiang, Sishui and Donghai have also been occupied by Chu bandits. They are also looking for A cowherd boy was called the King of Chu! Dayeze water bandits attacked Xue County and joined forces with the Taishan bandits. There was also a big bandit named Lu Goujian in the Julu area of ​​Zhaodi. The guards of Qi were chasing after him, and something happened in Jiaodong. We I just received news that last month, profiteers in Linhai were instigated by the gangster Chen Ping, and they killed officials and went into riots... It seems that most of Shandong is in chaos."

"Your Majesty was not aware of these things, but at the beginning of July, a visitor sent someone from the East to come, and the rebels heard about it. His Majesty heard that the bandits in the East were rampant, and he was heartbroken. There were some villains in the court who took the opportunity to report, slandering the Marquis of Tongwu and Zuo Prime Minister, you said that you were raising the bandits to respect yourself and put down the rebellion in March, but you lost seven or eight counties. The doctor had a hard time suppressing these slanderous letters..."

Feng Quji knew that with the current situation, any failure in Shandong would be magnified and spread back to Xianyang. After all, the second emperor was young and had never seen such a battle, so there would be a lot of slander.

But now, there is no other way but to continue to implement the strategy set by Wang Ben.

He really wanted to write a statement in person, but Feng was no longer trusted, and it was still unknown whether Feng Quji's words would reach Hu Hai's ears.

Feng Quji could only hand over to Zhao Cheng: "I hope the envoy will reply to your majesty. The bandits in Shandong are nothing more than sores on the elbows and armpits, but the black men in the south are a serious problem. The bandits just want to restore the country, but the black men are They want to march into Guanzhong and harm the Qin State. First south and then east. This is the military strategy of Marquis Tongwu, and Prime Minister Li and Lang Zhongling also agreed..."

Wang Ben had long expected that as Heifu raised his troops, even if the world would not respond in awe, there would certainly be many careerists in the Six Kingdoms' homeland taking advantage of the opportunity to cause rebellion. However, after several major defeats in the south, the imperial court could recruit more people within the year. Troops are limited.

Therefore, Wang Ben and Feng Quji decided on a strategy of "cutting off the tail of the gecko", that is, the eastern counties would resist the bandits on their own. Wang Ben only guaranteed that Yingchuan, Sanchuan, Nanyang, Hedong, and Taiyuan would not be lost, and other places would not be lost for the time being. Let them go their own way, concentrate our forces, kill Heifu first, end the division between the north and the south, and then go back and deal with the remnants of the Six Nations!

"If I can destroy him the first time, I can destroy him the second time!" Wang Ben focused his attention on Hei Fu and did not take them seriously.

Once this plan is exposed, it will undoubtedly cause more trouble for them.

Feng Quji hid Wang Bi's plan in his heart and sighed: "At this critical moment, the courtiers must endure for the sake of the country. I hope the envoys will tell Prime Minister Li and Lang Zhongling."

Zhao Cheng looked troubled: "Having said that, Marquis Tongwu has been sending troops for three months. If there is no more results and slander, I am afraid that there will be a lot of cases piled up with the imperial censor. By then..."

Feng Quji sneered at Zhao Cheng's threat. What else could he do then, change the general? Feng Wuze died in battle, Meng Tian was not trusted, and Li Xin was far away in the Western Regions. Apart from Wang Ben, who had forced himself out of the mountain, who else could the court resist against the menacing Black Fu?

"Your Majesty, please rest assured. Marquis Tongwu has gone to the front line and will attack Nanjun soon."

Feng Quji asked someone to unfold the map that Wang Bi had sent back, and patiently explained it to Zhao Cheng, hoping that he could take the original words back and tell them to the second emperor.

"The two hundred thousand troops under the command of Marquis Tongwu are divided into five divisions."

"One division was left to guard Nanyang, with Nanyang Shouji as the general, 15,000 troops stationed in Wancheng, 5,000 troops stationed in Luyang County between Nanyang and Sanchuan, and 10,000 troops stationed in Ye County and Kunyang between Nanyang and Yingchuan. There are 10,000 troops stationed in Chen County in the direction of Shangcai and Wu Fang to guard against the Chu pirates' Western invasion, and another 10,000 troops are stationed in Pingshi County (Tongbai, Henan) to guard against the rebels at the three passes of Ming'e."

There are also 50,000 locally recruited civilians in Nanyang County who are responsible for transporting grain and fodder, and are not included in the total military strength.

"The first division is led by Quanzi Feng Jie, and 20,000 people march to Bajun, Hanzhong, to attack Zigui and Yiling."

"The first division was led by Pihu, the commander of Zuo's concubine, and 30,000 people marched through Baishui to attack Sui County."

"The first division, headed by Lieutenant Ba Jun, is in Zhuyang and is at arm's length with the main force."

"Tongwuhou then led 70,000 people to confront the rebels of 40,000 to 50,000 in Fancheng and Dongjin Pavilion."

Zhao Cheng counted and found something was wrong:

"Prime Minister Zuo, are you still short of ten thousand?"

Feng Quji smiled and pointed to a small place between Hanzhong and Nanjun.

"In Fengling, Hanzhong and Nanjun are blocked by Jingshan Mountain, but there are also some bird and animal trails at the northern foot, which can lead to the hinterland of Nanjun and appear on the side of Yanxian County!"

Zhao Cheng blinked: "Is this a surprise soldier?"

Feng Quji nodded: "That's right, the black bandits are only half our army, and they have to defend various places. They are already stretched thin! The Marquis of Tongwu restrained all the rebel forces on the northern and western fronts. Feng Jie and Pihu Fengtong According to the order of Marquis Wu, we will attack Zigui and Suixian tomorrow, which is the first day of August."

"At the beginning of August, Marquis Tongwu will also send his troops south to cross the Han Dynasty to fight the black bandits."

"The 10,000 people in Jingshan will be a little slower. When the battle between the two armies is in full swing, they will suddenly appear behind the rebels. This will be a real killing move!"

Zhao Cheng rubbed his hands in excitement: "After waiting for several months, I finally know how Tongwuhou will fight. I will report these things back to Your Majesty... By the way, Your Majesty also said that Guanzhong can send another hundred thousand soldiers! "

Feng Quji was not happy but worried: "His Majesty is recruiting troops again? Didn't Marquis Tongwu say that two hundred thousand is enough, but if he recruits more troops, the autumn harvest will be delayed..."

Zhao Cheng smiled and said: "Prime Minister Zuo, at this critical moment, how can the people of Guanzhong take care of their families and forget their country? In the old days of the Changping War, the late king Zhao Wang heard that Zhao Shidao was dead, so the king came to Hanoi and granted each rank of civil nobility a new year. Those who were fifteen or above all reached Changping and cut off Zhao Jiu and his food supplies, and then Wu Anjun won."

"Your Majesty is afraid that Marquis Tongwu will not have enough troops. Your Majesty also wants to follow the example of his ancestors and recruit and train them first to prepare for emergency needs."

Feng Quji did not accept Zhao Cheng's argument and asked repeatedly: "Only the corvee army was levied in the court, but the oral tax was not levied again?"

Zhao Cheng looked troubled: "This... Prime Minister Zuo, there are difficulties in Xianyang. Lishan Mausoleum is about to be completed, and hundreds of thousands of troops are fighting in front, and it will cost a lot of money every day. Managing Su Neishi and Shaofu is already a problem. It’s empty, now I really can’t get any money, so I have to collect another payment.”

Feng Quji felt a chill...

"Your Majesty has issued an edict and promised to reduce land rents and cut taxes. Wouldn't he be breaking his promise to the people by doing so?"

Zhao Cheng disagreed: "Then it won't start next year. The conscription this year is not considered a breach of trust! It is still the thirty-seventh year of the First Emperor. We must collect more oral gifts. After the rebellion is put down within this year, in the first year of the Second Emperor's reign, we can It’s easier to be with the world, and the people can rest and recuperate!”

He laughed and said, "Let me put it in a vulgar way, little man. How can a human being be choked to death by urinating?"

…

Zhao Cheng was finally sent away, but Feng Quji was worried.

He still believed that Wang Ben could win the battle.

But Feng Quji had little confidence in the emperor and ministers behind him...

Can they not hinder the front and be defeated by the imperial court?

"Knowing that this is an act of drinking poison to quench thirst, Li Si, Li Si, how could you not see that? Why didn't you dissuade His Majesty?"

…

ps: To organize the outline, there is only one chapter today. The plot will accelerate starting tomorrow. I will try to finish this volume in April and finish it in July or August.