Qin Official

In the thirty-seventh year of Qin Shihuang's reign, at the end of September, the New Year was very close. The weather was getting colder day by day, and the autumn wind was bleak, giving people a headache.

More than ten miles south of Wan County, Nanyang County, there is a township called "Nanzhenju". It was originally a gathering place. Later, as the number of residents gradually increased, a township was established. In fact, it didn't even have walls.

Most of the men in the village were conscripted by Marquis Tongwu to transport Wancheng's grain to Fancheng. There were only some old and weak women and children left in the village, as well as some left-behind rural officials.

So when a group of "rebels" armed with weapons came to attack, Nanzhenju fell without even a decent resistance.

This army was led by Wu Guang. He led his men to attack the rural temple and forced the warehouse officials to open the rural warehouse. They found that it was filled with the rent collected from the fields this month - which had not yet been processed. Millet.

Wu Guang asked someone to randomly grab a thin old farmer on the street who had no time to hide, but he saw that in such a cold late autumn, he was still wearing a summer coat with holes in it. It was made of rough brown cloth and had not been washed for an unknown period of time. He looked dirty. Stainless and hard, he was standing in front of Wu Guang, trembling.

"Old man, you don't have any winter clothes?" Wu Guang asked casually.

Wu Guang spoke with a Chenjun Yangxia accent. It took the old Nanyang farmer two or three times to understand. He quickly bent down and almost bowed to the ground:

"Sir, there are some, but they are all worn by my second son to serve in the army."

Wu Guang nodded: "Second son? Aren't you allowed to conscript two people from one household?"

The old farmer said: "The officials from Wancheng said that the front is tight and they need people to transport food. As long as they are old enough, they have almost all been recruited. If there are no strong men in the family, they will draw the boys one by one. As long as they are over six feet tall, they will all have to serve. , our hometown alone has recruited hundreds of people.”

As for when they would return, there was no definite date. The officials who recruited soldiers only said, "Marquis Tongwu loves his soldiers like father and brother, and the rebels will be wiped out soon. Why do you need to shed tears?" and told them not to worry.

But how could we not be worried that [the rebels have all reached the hinterland of Nanyang, and Marquis Tongwu, wouldn’t they be defeated?

After listening to the old farmer's account, Wu Guang understood clearly. No wonder General Han Xin said that tens of thousands of people were constantly transporting food from Wan to Fan for Wang Ben's army. It turned out that most of them were Nanyang natives.

How could he not understand the feeling of this? A few months ago, wasn't Wu Guang, who was living an ordinary life in Yangxia, also forced to serve in the army by a conscription order? If he and Chen Sheng hadn't stood up halfway, they would have filled in the ravine long ago, and no one knows what happened to their hometown.

Wu Guang could imagine the situation when the people of Nanzhen were conscripted. The middle-aged people's families had their relatives come to see them off, and money, grain, and winter clothes were stuffed into their hands with large and small bags. Those from poor families could only give away their family's only wealth. Put on your clothes and hit the road wearing straw sandals.

Thinking of this, he sighed, looked around, and asked someone to take off the fur from the local stingy man's body and put it on the old man.

I was always afraid of retaliation, so I waved my hands to refuse again and again but failed. After putting on the fur, I felt warmer, but I just felt uncomfortable all over, scratching here and there.

Perhaps because Wu Guang was not as aloof as ordinary military officials, the old farmer also began to confide:

"General, the government says you are rebels and thieves who are here to massacre the city, but I think the general is kind and not evil."

Wu Guang smiled: "Can you still believe what the government says?"

"I can't believe it."

The old farmer suddenly became angry: "At the end of summer, the government sent people to the countryside to tell them that the First Emperor was gone and the new emperor had succeeded to the throne. He wanted to grant amnesty to the world and reduce rents and taxes. Unexpectedly, since the fall, there have been continuous The soldiers were recruited and the corvee was heavier than in previous years.”

"In the first half of the month, I went to pay the rent with the old woman at home, and it was indeed reduced by half, but before we could be happy, in the second half of the month, the village asked everyone to make up for the reduced grain. It was exactly the same as in previous years. This is not Is it a lie?"

The old farmers were filled with indignation, but Wu Guang knew it. Soon they followed Han Duwei to fight in the rear, and successively cut off the grain routes from Yingchuan and Sanchuan to Nanyang. Food was tight on the front line, and the court officials in Wancheng had no choice but to collect grain locally in Nanyang.

Although there is a reason for the incident, in the eyes of Nanyang people, this is a naked fraud, and the government's credibility may have been completely ruined.

He smiled and said: "He is really reducing rent for us in the south. Marquis Wu Zhong loves the people like his own sons and does not let the soldiers take advantage of the people. I heard that even if there is no conscription, the people of Nanjun will spontaneously let their children carry poles." , go to the front line to deliver food to the army."

"Is there such a thing?" The old farmer couldn't hide his doubts in his eyes.

Time was tight, so Wu Guang didn't say anything more. He asked someone to take out the bag of grain from the country warehouse, handed it to the old farmer and said, "Old man, go home!"

The old farmer waved his hands quickly and wanted to take off his fur: "I don't dare, I don't dare. I might be caught by the officials if I collect your grain."

Wu Guang sneered, pointed at the stingy man who was hanged in the temple, and said: "Now that Nanyang is in chaos, the officials themselves cannot protect themselves, so they have no time to worry about these things."

"It won't be long before Marquis Wu Zhong can capture Nanyang. By then, your second son will also be able to return, so you don't have to worry about nitrogen anymore."

The old farmer thanked him profusely, but when he left, he muttered in a low voice:

"It doesn't matter who comes, and it doesn't matter how much the rent is."

"As long as we don't fight any more, it'll be good if my eldest and second child can come back safely!"

Seeing the old farmer leaving, Wu Guang sighed, turned around, and waved his hand.

"Second and Third Sons, move all the grain that can be moved from the country warehouse. If you can't move it all, pile it on the street and tell the people in the village that this is the grain that was taken away by the government. Anyone who wants it can come by themselves. Get it!"

The Art of War says: Therefore, if you are wise, you will feed the enemy. If you feed the enemy for one minute, you will be worth twenty for me. If you avoid using one stone for your pole, you will be worth twenty for me.

This is Han Xin's strategy in Nanyang County. As long as the counties and townships he conquers, although in principle they do not disturb the people and do not steal grain from the common people, they cannot leave a grain of grain in the government's warehouse, even if it is given away to the people. If no one dares to accept it, it will be burned!

When Wu Guang was transporting grain and fodder back to the camp, the two generals of the expeditionary force, the first and second generals, were looking at the tall Wancheng and sighed.

"Father told me."

Li Cang looked up at Wancheng, the capital of Nanyang County, with its gates closed, and said: "Fifteen years ago, he served as a corvee with Marquis Wu Zhong and took dozens of prisoners to Huaiyang, because Wang Ben was besieging that place. Uncle Men, Uncle Ji, Uncle Gong, etc. are all around."

"When everyone walked to Wancheng, they happened to hear the news that Wang Bi had conquered Huaiyang. Then there was an order to send the Nanjun garrison to Wei. Follow Wang Bi's orders to flood the beams and attack Wei. Marquis Wu Zhong It was the one who helped Yin Shang in that battle."

"Who would have thought at that time? Today, Wu Zhonghou, who is just a commander of a village, would be divided into two armies with the former general Wang Ben to fight against Jianghan. And we, who were still ignorant children fifteen years ago, would also leap thousands of miles. Move to the four counties and shock the Central Plains!"

When Han Xin heard this, he laughed and said, "This means that Wang Ben is old!"

And they are in their prime!

Han Xin is qualified to say this. The strategy he formulated to "take Luyang from the west first and avoid the edge of the Nanyang Army" was proved to be correct. The Nanyang Lieutenant was eager to wipe out the "rebels" in the rear, and he stared blankly at him. Yingchuan went to kill him and chased the other Han Xin, who fled in a hurry and ran to Zhaoling.

In early September, when the Nanyang army attacked the wrong person, Han Xin had already led a surprise attack on Luyang Pass with 15,000 men. He also intercepted a large amount of grain and fodder, took some of it, and burned most of it together with the city.

Immediately, they quickly went south and entered Nanyang County, which was empty after the county soldiers went north to "quell the rebellion". They traveled sixty miles a day and appeared in the suburbs of Wancheng. Hundreds of forward riders almost rushed into the city gate, which immediately caused a shock in Wancheng!

Feng Quji, the prime minister of the left who was in charge of supervising the army, was already worried about the chaos caused by the two food routes in the rear being cut off. He ordered the Nanyang guards and lieutenants to deal with the enemies of Yingchuan. There were only five thousand Wancheng guards left.

Unexpectedly, the enemy army just sent back the victory report, but the enemy troops seemed to fall from the sky. Suddenly they came to the city. He was shocked and immediately sent someone to report the emergency to Wang Ben.

If the army has no baggage, it will perish, and once Wancheng is lost, the army will completely lose its rear. This also made Wang Ben almost break through the Han River defense line, but he had to withdraw his troops, and his success was defeated.

On the other hand, Han Xin and Li Cang also knew the importance of Wancheng. It was the distribution center for Wang Ben's army's grain, a famous iron smelting center, and a large city with a household registration of 20,000.

But because of this, trying to capture the city with 5,000 people is tantamount to wishful thinking. After showing off their power under the city and destroying some roads and bridges outside the city, Han Xin and Li Cang thought that it was almost time to run away.

Li Cang nodded: "It's time to leave. Our scouts in the south have reported that there have been several times more scouts from Wang Ben's army coming north in recent days. Wang Ben is afraid that he will return to the army."

Not only Wang Ben, but also the guards and lieutenants of Nanyang who went to Yingchuan to suppress the Korean uprising were hurriedly withdrawing. It is expected that the forwards of the northern and southern armies will arrive in Wancheng in three days. By then, they will Being surrounded, I couldn’t leave even if I wanted to.

But after the various troops who were scattered near Wancheng to seize food returned, everyone was ready to go. But what shocked Li Cang was that Han Xin issued a military order that made him unbelievable.

"March westward!"

"Wait!"

Li Cang was horrified: "General Han, shouldn't we go east and return to Runan?"

"That's right." Han Xin nodded: "It is indeed the most convenient way to attack Wuyin, pass through Fangcheng Xia Road, and then return to Runan."

"Captain Danli, have you ever thought about it? If you can think of it, how can Wang Ben not think of it?"

"What does General Han mean?"

Han Xin said: "If my prediction is correct, Wang Ben will have sent people to the east to intercept him when he returns to Nanyang. We went east, but we fell into his trap!"

"So why not do the opposite and go to the west!"

Li Cang couldn't help but sweat: "Captain Han, to the west of Nanyang is Wuguandao. The enemy is heavily guarding it."

"That's just right."

Han Xin smiled and said: "We have disrupted Yingchuan, burned Luyang, and cut off two grain roads in Nanyang, but it is still not complete. Feng Quji will definitely ask Guanzhong to send more grain, so he will go to the west and fight from The soldiers and supplies coming from Guanzhong were caught off guard and burned hundreds of thousands of stones!"

After penetrating behind enemy lines, bridging the enemy's nose, and after a series of victories and miracles, Han Xin's self-confidence has reached its peak. He is becoming more and more daring to use those seemingly dangerous strategies. Deep in his heart, he regards the generals in the world as nothing!

Li Cang was worried because he knew how dangerous this move was.

"Even if we are lucky enough to cut off the Wuguan Road, is it possible that with our small force, we can break through the Wuguan Pass and break into the middle of the pass?"

"We can go to Danyang, Henan and Xichuan), and then"

Han Xin, however, had already thought of his retreat and pointed to the west, as if he had already seen his next prey:

"Enter Hanzhong!"

ps: Chapter 2 is at night.

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