Qin Official

In mid-February, when Chenliu Qingxia Li Shang returned to Gaoyangli from Chenliu County (Chenliu Town, Kaifeng, Henan Province), his brother Li Shiqi was still wearing the big dark clothes, a Confucian crown on his head, and stood with his sleeves rolled up Smiling at him in front of the inner door.

That smile was playful but not malicious.

From a distance, Li Shiqi asked, "Ah Shang, what official title did Xiang Ji grant you?"

Li Shang curled his lips and reluctantly whispered: "Country doctor."

"What?" Li Shiqi deliberately picked his ears: "What official?"

Li Shang became angry and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Country doctor!"

Li Shiqi smiled and said, "Then who became Chen Liugong?"

Li Shang said angrily: "Of course it's Chen Liuling."

Li Shiqi asked again: "Where is Mr. Qi? Who can get it?"

Gaoyangli, where they are located, is located at the junction of Chenliu County and Yongqiu County (Qixian County, Henan Province). Yongqiu used to be the seat of Qi State, so according to the Chu State system, a "county official" should be appointed in each of the two places, which is equivalent to the county. make.

A township official is equivalent to a rural miser under the Qin system. Li Shang wanted to be a county magistrate but only became a township magistrate. Of course he was unhappy.

This time, Li Shang finally stopped yelling and took his brother back home. After closing the door, he gritted his teeth and said, "Mr. Qi, you must go to Xiang She (Liu She), a child of the Xiang family who smells like milk! I listen." People say that he is the son of Xiang Xiang, Xiang Ji’s uncle.”

"I'm right."

Li Shiqi sighed and poured wine for his younger brother: "Xiang Ji is a young man who acts recklessly. Although he has the courage to do evil, he does not understand the ways of the world. He has no memory of other people's achievements and his sins. Victory But you can’t get a reward, you can capture a city but you can’t get a title, no one but the Xiang family can use it... You still don’t believe it!”

Li Shang was annoyed and pushed away the wine handed over by his brother: "Didn't my brother ask me to raise an army and surrender to Xiang Ji? You also personally went to lobby Chen Liuling to surrender to the Xiang family. Why are you making fun of me now?"

Li Shiqi smiled and said, "Aren't I afraid that Chen Liuling will be too stubborn and refuse to surrender, angering Xiang Ji and making the same mistake as the Xiangyi Massacre?"

It turned out that since late January, Xiang Ji had defeated the Qin army Shejian and Su Jiao in Huaiyang, and then began to move north along the chasm, attacking cities and lands.

With the Qin army's new defeat and the news that Feng Quji was innocently killed, the Qin army had little desire to fight. According to Wang Ben's strategy, they gave up the difficult-to-defend plain areas and retreated to the dangers of Yingchuan and Chenggao.

Under this situation, the Chu army approached Chenliu and Yongqiu. Li Shiqi did not want the Chu army to swing his butcher knife and turn his hometown into scorched earth. He thought that he could no longer be ambiguous at this time, so he asked his younger brother to rush to meet the Chu army's vanguard. He chose Sneaking into Chenliu County alone, Xiao Zhi used emotion and reason to convince Chen Liu to open the city and surrender to Chu.

Although due to the situation, Li Shang and Chen Liu had no choice but to surrender to Chu, Li Shiqi still did not think highly of Xiang Ji, thinking that his success was only temporary and would not last long.

Li Shang knew his brother's ambition and whispered: "Brother, do you still think that this world will eventually be taken over by Marquis Wu Zhong?"

Li Shiqi said: "This is natural. Originally, the situation between the northern and southern Qin Dynasties was the same. However, I heard that the monarchs and ministers of Xianyang have been making stupid moves recently. They not only killed tens of thousands of palace maids and craftsmen, arousing public anger, but also executed the princes Gao and Feng Quji. Now even the princes, officials, and soldiers of the three armies are in panic, and if they no longer have the will to fight, the Chu army can easily sweep across Liang."

He talked eloquently, salivating: "In my opinion, Wuzhonghou will be able to defeat Wang Ben's army soon, raise the soldiers of Jingzhou to attack Wuguan, raise the soldiers of Shuhan to attack Qin, join forces to occupy Xianyang, depose Hu Hai, and take over the Qin Dynasty. The soldiers of Qin will be able to use the kingdom of four fortresses and the kingdom of heaven to go out and kill and restore the six kings. The scene where Qin destroyed the six kingdoms may be repeated."

"In this case, if brother wants to join the black husband, then go ahead."

Li Shang gritted his teeth. Originally, Xiang Ji Huaiyang defeated the Qin army and his achievements were rumored to be miraculous. Like many heroes and light knights, he was enamored of this young hero. However, after joining the army, he could not get a satisfactory status, so he Disappointed.

He said: "Although I only managed to get one village official, I still have thousands of people under my command. It's no problem to ask the Chu army for a customs clearance talisman. My brother can take a detour from the land controlled by the Chu state and go to Jianghan."

"My brother..."

Li Shiqi was speechless and reached out to touch his brother's head.

"I remember you didn't hit your head when you were young. Are you really stupid, or are you pretending to be stupid?"

Li Shang jumped up and said angrily: "You old drunkard, you really can't tell the difference between good and bad. I'm helping you out of kindness, what are you going to do to me?"

Li Shiqi smiled and said, "I laughed at you for being confused. It's too late for me to go now."

"The scribes in Marquis Wu Zhong's army are probably overcrowded, especially the Confucian scholars. I know that among this group of comrades, there will be many who chase power and wealth like flies chasing stinky smells, and there will be many who defect to the wind. Even if I go to serve, there will be no success. I am recommended by someone, but I am old and sixty years old, so I may not be able to catch the eyes of the people who greet me. But if I don’t talk to Marquis Wu Zhong in detail face to face, how can he know my abilities?"

"It would be better for me to stay and wander among the six kingdoms. When Marquis Wu Zhong decides to attack the six kingdoms in the east, I will try to take refuge. At that time, I can present to Marquis Wuzhong the truth and falsehood of the six kingdoms. Which one is better? Attack first, who can die later? Only in this way can we catch the last carriage and be entrusted with important tasks!"

"That's it!" Li Shiqi raised his hand and said:

"Tomorrow I will ask Chen Liuling to express his merits for me, and he will also work as an official and a small strategist in Xiang Ji's power. Although he is not reused, he can move around freely!"

…

In the first year of the Second World War, on February 15th, Su Jiao, the captain of the Qin army who had suffered a huge defeat in Huaiyang half a month ago, returned to Wancheng tremblingly. He wanted to meet Wang Bi and state the Chu army's actions in Liang and Chen. new trends in time.

But he was blocked by Chang Shi Gantang.

"Don't hide anything from General Su."

Su Jiao was Wang Ben's right-hand man and the general he relied on more. Gantang pulled him and whispered: "Marquis Tongwu, he was so angry that he fell ill again..."

"Lieutenant is ill?" Su Jiao was horrified. In the battle of Huaiyang, they were inexplicably defeated by the opposing general Mang, and their morale plummeted. The reason why they were able to regroup at Yingchuan and Chenggao was because of the soldiers. I believe that with Marquis Tongwu suppressing the formation from behind, even if we lose for a while, we will eventually wipe out the rebels!

Now that Wang Ben was actually ill and unable to take charge, Su Jiao was horrified and felt as if the sky was about to collapse.

"Is it because... of the defeat on the front line?" He asked guiltily.

Gantang shook his head.

"Is that because of the affairs in the court?" Su Jiao also heard the rumors that Xianyang killed Feng's family and killed Gongzi Gao. This was one of the reasons for the low morale on the front line.

Gantang still shook his head and sighed: "Marquis Tongwu was angered by these two things half a month ago, and he only woke up two days ago. This time he fell ill again, but it was because of Mr. Hei..."

He then briefly told what happened a few days ago when Hei Fu held funerals for Feng Wuze, Feng Jiejie, Gongzi Gao and others in Wanshan, Xiangyang, vindicated the Feng family, and sent people to publicize the evil deeds of Hu Hai, Jie and Zhou.

"Hei Fu, are you complaining about the Feng family?"

As Feng Jie's former friend, Su Jiao was simply shocked:

"Wait a minute, wasn't it the Hei Fu who tried to alienate each other by pretending that Feng Jie had surrendered, which led to Feng being convicted of treason? Now he is mourning for Feng Jie! There really is such a shameless person in this world! Does he want to imitate King Gou Jian of Yue and cry for Wu Zixu?"

Gantang said meaningfully: "The reason Gou Jian can cry for Wu Zixu is because King Wu Fu Chai did kill a loyal minister by mistake, and there is a villain in the country!"

Su Jiao coughed quickly: "A Tang, don't talk nonsense."

Gantang nodded: "Anyway, when this news came out, people who understood the truth knew that this was Hei Fu's plan to attack the heart. But ordinary soldiers and Guizhou leaders didn't understand."

"Everyone only knows that Feng is indeed a loyal minister of the Qin Dynasty. Prime Minister Zuo was also very good to the soldiers in Wancheng. When the news of his death came, everyone was filled with indignation and cursed the court, but secretly praised Hei Fu for his understanding of justice and the distinction between public and private. Those The stories deliberately arranged by the rebels, such as the absurd stories that His Majesty was greedy for the beauty of the wife of the prince Gao, and that Feng Jie's horse refused to eat grass and died, were also secretly circulated in the army, and it was difficult to stop them..."

Gantang looked anxious: "Because of this, Marquis Tongwu fainted again, and it has been half a day."

At this moment, the guards hurried out and whispered beside Gantang: "Marquis Tongwu is awake! I want to see Chang Shi!"

"Please wait a moment, General Su." Gantang hurriedly entered, but when he saw that the bone-shattering Wang Ben had to be supported by others before he could sit on the couch, his eyes suddenly became sore, and he stepped forward and paused: "Lieutenant!"

Wang Ben waved his hand and asked about business matters first.

"Ahem...do you have any urgent military affairs during this half day?"

Gantang said: "No, it's just that Su Jiao has returned from Yingchuan and wants to report the Chu army's movements. Can I let him come to see me?"

Wang Ben shook his head, raised his head and took a deep breath.

"Shang Jun said it."

"Any way to fight."

"It must be based on political victory!"

"If the country's political affairs are completely defeated, no matter how hard we fight on the front line and win every battle, we will be like Wei Wuji, Li Mu, and Xiang Yan..."

“It’s all in vain in the end, it’s useless!”

He clenched his fist and pounded the bed: "Heifu has always been good at taking advantage of fire, and the case of Feng and Gongzi Gao has been taken advantage of by the rebels. Now the three soldiers are panic-stricken and have no fighting spirit. The matter has reached a critical moment. Wang Ben, There is one thing that must be done!”

"Gantang, prepare some pen and ink, I want to report to Xianyang Palace!"

After Gantang spread out the paper, Wang Ben took a sip of water, paused for a while, and then slowly dictated:

"Your Majesty, I dare to pay my respects again."

Then there was nothing more. Wang Ben stared for a long time and then pointed at Gantang: "I don't remember Han Fei's words about traitorous ministers. You write it down."

Gan Tang was no less intelligent than his father Gan Luo, and he immediately reacted: "Is it from the chapter "Treachery and Regicide"?"

Wang Ben nodded: "Yes!"

Gantang then read while writing: "Han Zi said that all treacherous ministers are those who want to obey the master's will to gain the favor of relatives and friends. If the master is good, the minister will praise him; if the master hates him, the minister will destroy him. ...Therefore, the master must be shielded from above, and the ministers must be focused on those below. This is called a minister who is good at mastering!"

After writing this, he already understood Wang Ben's thoughts and said excitedly: "Marquis Tongwu, how about writing like this next?"

Gantang read in his mouth and wrote as fast as he could: "With the virtuous Duke Huan of Qi, there are also people who can change teeth, prescribe prescriptions, and make tricks to serve as fawns. They obey the superior righteousness, steam rice and serve food, in order to gain the trust of Duke Huan, and are good at political affairs." , blocking the upper and lower parts, harming the loyal and good externally, and causing chaos to the principles and disciplines.”

"The doctor ordered Zhao Gao, a descendant of Zhao, who was blessed with the benevolence of the late emperor and promoted him to be a loyal minister. However, he did not think about serving the country, but was ignorant of reason. He was greedy and pursued profit endlessly. He ranked his power as the second priority and pursued his desires. Infinitely, flattering superiors can be used in important ways, and the world knows this."

"Gao, today's teeth are easy to change! Today, Gao has even more evil ambitions, dangerous rebellion, isolating China and the outside world, and jeopardizing His Majesty's prestige. His ambition is like Tian Chang's prime minister. If he slanders the Feng family and Mr. Gao, his relatives will suffer." , if the enemy is quick, it will be like Wu Dazai's victory over the country!"

"When I hear this, if I doubt my king, I will endanger the country; if I doubt my husband, I will endanger the family. Your Majesty is young, and the things he mistakenly punished are all the fault of Zhao Gao. The world is in turmoil, the three armies are restless, and rumors are everywhere, and they all blame Gao. . Only by beheading the emperor in a hurry to thank the people, the people's hearts will be at peace, and the state of Qin can be protected."

"Good, great good, what you wrote is exactly what I wanted to say."

Wang Ben looked at the young Gan Tang with emotion, as if he saw the heroic appearance of his father Gan Luo. If that talented young man had not died young, he would have become the mainstay of the Qin Dynasty. Maybe he would not have to stand alone like this.

He stretched out his hand: "I should write this last sentence myself!"

Gan Tang lowered his head, held up the pen with both hands, and shed tears on the ground.

Wang Ben supported his right hand with his left hand, tremblingly, but with great strength, he wrote four words on it:

Crooked and crooked, like the remains of his body.

Each word was written into the paper, just like his determination!

"Please kill Zhao Gao!"