Qin Official

More than a hundred miles west of Xi County is the Wuguan East Road. This is a road opened along the Danshui River Valley. It borders the Xiong'er Mountains in the east. From the Nanyang Basin to here, the road becomes narrower as you go west. Within a few hundred miles, Generally, there are big mountains and long valleys, which are narrow and difficult to navigate.

On the tenth day of April, 50,000 Northern Expeditionary troops, together with 10,000 selected prisoners, were marching on this road.

Looking to the north, Heifu could vaguely see the green peaks of the Funiu Mountains, and to the southwest were the remnants of Daba Mountain.

The further west you go, the closer the two mountain systems come together. At the pass closest to the two mountains, there is a majestic pass...

Wuguan is built on a relatively flat highland between canyons, with the tall Shaoxi Mountain to the north and Danshui to the south. Guancheng was built with rammed earth, and also had masonry foundations. The wall was two miles long, winding along the mountainside, and almost completely blocked the road into the pass!

To the west of Wuguan, it connects to the mountains of Shangluo and Zhongnan to reach Qinglong; to the east of Wuguan, it connects to the mountains of Xiong'er and Madeng to reach Yique. With its mountains and valleys spanning thousands of miles, it can be said to be a battleground for military strategists.

However, during the Spring and Autumn Period, this place was not owned by Qin. Qin had not yet captured Wuguan and could not control Chu. It was not until the early years of the Warring States period that the pass was set up to defend the place.

"Strangle the relationship between Qin and Chu, and rely on the dangers of mountains and rivers. Pass Nanyang and move to the east, enter Lantian and pass the right danger. The Wuguan is hugely defended, one man guards the base, and thousands of men are stagnant. One move can distinguish the light and the heavy. This is a sincere statement!"

Looking at this majestic pass, Hei Fu suddenly felt emotional.

"Twelve years."

Twelve years have passed since he first entered Xianyang via Wuguan. At that time, Heifu was only in his early twenties. He was no more than a concubine of the Zuo family. Because of his outstanding achievements in the unification war, he was named by Qin Shihuang to be an official. Behind him, he was pulling a cart of brown sugar.

At that time, Hei Fu also had longing in his heart, hoping that he could change something after reaching the heart of the empire.

Heifu did change his own destiny, as well as the ups and downs of many people, but he could not change the First Emperor after all.

"Your Majesty, you are such a gentle man..." Looking back on the past, Hei Fu's eyes were full of resentment.

What has not changed is the general trend of the world heading towards chaos.

He whispered: "Now, I'm back, to redeem, to save this world that has slipped into the abyss, and to redeem myself for those things that I failed to stick to the end out of selfish motives and hesitation!"

"Since the way of ministering is not good, then we should adopt the way of military service and deception!"

Except for the part of the wall that was reinforced and rebuilt with Sanhe soil by craftsmen sent by the Shaofu, Wuguan was not much different from 12 years ago. However, at that time, the merchants and officials waiting to cross the border were sweating like clouds and rain, and the carriages and horses were raising dust. , so lively.

But now, there is no one in front of the pass. The overgrown forest and resting pavilions have also been burned and cut down. Several deep ravines have been dug and the roads have been cut off - this is to prevent siege equipment from approaching the pass. .

The top of the city was even more crowded with soldiers armed with swords and crossbows, wary of the Northern Expeditionary Army who stopped advancing seven or eight miles away and camped on the spot.

Sima Laowu, who was ordered to come here for reconnaissance in advance, came to report to Heifu: "There are at least 30,000 guards at the top of the city. There is even more dust behind the pass. The birds dare not fall down. There should be a large army stationed..."

Heifu smiled: "Wang Ben died of illness. The news of the fall of Nanyang should have reached Xianyang long ago. Without a hundred thousand people to guard Wuguan, can Hu Hai and Zhao Gao sleep?"

But he didn't come here this time to fight.

"In all ways of conquering a country, the top priority is to attack the heart, and the bottom step is to attack the city; the top step is to conquer the heart, and the bottom step is to win the army. Therefore, when a saint wants to attack his country and attack the enemy, he must first subdue his heart."

After saying this, Heifu asked the three armies to advance to three miles away from Wuguan. When they were close enough to see the flag on the city head clearly, he waved his hand and gave the order to everyone:

"The Wuguan Pass is just three miles away. It will be there in a moment. After passing the pass, you will reach the inner part of the pass!"

"A gentleman is in war, but he doesn't know how long it will take. Who doesn't have a home? Second and third sons, please get out of the way and tell those people from Guanzhong who don't want to join the Northern Expedition to go home!"

…

"Wu Zhonghou keeps his promise and lets you enter the customs and return home!"

The cavalrymen shouted from all directions, and the 10,000 prisoners who followed immediately became uproar.

"I didn't expect it to be true. Marquis Wu Zhong really kept his promise..."

Luo Jia murmured to himself. He was the leader of the 500 Cavalrymen and a native of Longxi County. It is said that his ancestor was the great-great-grandson Da Luo who was evil. He had the same ancestor as the Duke of Qin. He was a serious old Qin man.

When the Qin Dynasty destroyed the six kingdoms, Luo Jia promoted his title in Wang Ben's army and earned hundreds of acres of fertile land. During the rebellion in the south, he also enlisted in the army and served as the Lord of Five Hundred, but was captured in Rang County...

But what was different from what was expected was that during the few days they were prisoners, their food was no different from usual days. For ordinary soldiers, it was even better than before they were captured. In the most difficult time of spring, the soldiers at the bottom had already eaten. I can only eat a quarter of a bushel of brown rice.

Luo Jia began to feel that these rebels were different from the cannibals promoted by Guanzhong who were tainted with vulgarity.

And Marquis Wu Zhong was not an extremely evil person.

The officials of the "rebels" did not mistreat them, but before eating every day, they had to use Guanzhong dialect mixed with Nanyin and not very standard to promote the First Emperor's clothing edict, the justice of Wu Zhonghou's army, and the justice of Tongwu Hou. Repentance before death, three calls of "Enter the Pass"...

Listening to it every day, the prisoners' ears are getting calloused, but at least half of them really believe these things - after all, the new emperor in Guanzhong has done too many bad things this year.

But even so, the anxiety in the hearts of the captives is still there. Qin's laws are strict. After the Second Emperor succeeded to the throne, the collection of taxes, the collection of corvees, and the punishment of crimes have become more and more severe, and they are also called euphemistically. "The Art of Supervision and Responsibility".

In the Qin Dynasty, surrendering to the enemy was a serious crime. It was enough to implicate the whole family. It was enough to implicate the whole family. If one hundred or more people surrendered to the enemy, it was even enough to be designated as a "military thief". They would die and the family would be disabled. Men and women would be separated from the officials, that is, they would be slaves and concubines...

Luo Jia's family is not big, but it is not small either. He is afraid that he will be able to survive, but what about his family? His old mother is over sixty years old and has gray hair, and his youngest son is only three years old. …

Under such circumstances, when the Northern Expedition announced that those who did not want to join could be gradually returned to the pass, for Luo Jia and tens of thousands of Qin soldiers, there was no doubt that Tian Yin!

They were grateful to the broad-minded, benevolent and selfless Marquis Wu Zhong, and completely recognized that his cause was just.

But this recognition did not prevent everyone from silently standing in the "willing to return to Guanzhong" team. The military judge of the Northern Expedition selected a group of people from each army and put them together as the first group of people to be released.

Luo Jia was lucky to be selected, but after the establishment was broken up, he no longer knew the people around him very well.

"Could there be any details of Marquis Wu Zhong involved in this?" He thought so, but after arriving at Wuguan on the road, this thought had dissipated, and all he could think of was going home...

"The five thousand people from Rang County will return first!"

The military judge shouted loudly, and Luo Jia jumped up and stood up with the other five thousand people. At the same time, he looked at the Xixian Jiang soldiers standing next to him, and nodded towards a burly warrior knight with a long beard.

"Li Bi, I'm leaving first."

Li Bi was also a leader of the Five Hundreds, a native of Lantian, Neishi, and met Luo Jia during the Unification War. Unfortunately, they were not in the same unit this time to fight the rebellion.

"Luo Jia, be careful."

Li Bi looked at Luo Jia with some envy and held his hands towards him:

"See you in Guanzhong!"

"See you in Guanzhong! I'll treat you to a drink!" Luo Jia had no time to return the greeting, and he didn't know if Li Bi heard his voice, so he was pushed forward by the people behind him - the door of his house was in front, and everyone wanted to return home. .

The soldiers of the Northern Expedition moved out of the way. Luo Jia and the others walked forward fearfully, glancing at their sharp weapons from time to time. The prisoners had already removed their armor and put away their weapons. Now they are unarmed. As long as the other party wants to, they can fight at any time. A massacre.

But no, the soldiers of the Northern Expedition just watched indifferently as the prisoners left the military formation and walked towards the open space in front of Wuguan Pass.

After leaving the Northern Expeditionary Army line, Luo Jia and others walked slowly at first, for fear that a burst of arrows would suddenly be shot from behind and kill everyone!

But it was extremely quiet behind him, and there was nothing except the military judge's sudden shout of "Go!"

After walking for a mile and completely leaving the range of the Northern Expeditionary Army, everyone started running as if they had made an appointment!

Five thousand people spread their legs, jumped over deep ravines, stepped on the muddy ground after the rain, and ran towards Wuguan at the end of the road!

…

"Are these the soles of your feet greased? Why didn't you run so fast when you were fighting and charging with us?"

Lieutenant Gong cursed and looked at Hei Fu again.

"Does the commander think the pass will be opened?"

Heifu shook his head, noncommittal.

"First, even twelve years ago, when the world was peaceful, officials held talismans to verify transmissions and had to check them repeatedly before entering the customs. What about a group of prisoners who had surrendered to the enemy and behaved suspiciously?"

"Secondly, whether it is the temporary commander-in-chief Sima Yang or the guardian of Wuguan City, they dare to switch the switch rashly without Xianyang's order?"

"Thirdly, even if the news is spread back, will the false emperor and princes in Xianyang have the courage and courage to switch it on and off?"

Well, Li Si did have a reason to switch, but someone as shrewd as Old Hamster should not be exposed so early. After all, Li has almost no influence in the military.

Heifu pointed at the prisoners who were running towards Wuguan: "Believe me, even if these soldiers knelt in front of the pass for three days and three nights, shouting at the heavens and the earth, and crying, no one would be compassionate and take the risk to let them into the pass. !”

And if it doesn't open...

The people who had hit a wall returned to Rangxian and Xixian and once they spread the word, they completely eliminated the 50,000 captives from returning. Heifu's heart-attacking battle was considered a complete victory!

"But what if it really opens?" Gongwei admitted his death and felt that this possibility could not be ruled out.

Heifu smiled and said, "You don't know that among the five thousand people, the organization has been disrupted a long time ago. The captains don't know the soldiers, and the soldiers don't know the captains. At least one or two thousand of them are actually my people. If it is opened, they will take the opportunity to seize the door." , taking advantage of the chaotic moment at the city gate, the three armies from behind swarmed in, and it is not impossible to defeat Wuguan in one battle..."

If the other party turns the switch on in a flash of enthusiasm, the black man will laugh out of his dreams!

Switching will risk fighting the Northern Expedition in front of the pass. Isn't this bragging? Wang Ben has passed away, Li Xin has not returned, and Meng Tian is imprisoned. Are there any generals in the court? Who dares to fight him?

There are no tigers in the mountains, but monkeys are kings.

In a word, this strategy has no solution.

"Other people do the bad things, but I will take care of the good people!"

…

While Heifu was talking to the captain, the fastest group of prisoners were already a hundred steps away from Wuguan City!

Smiles appeared on their sweaty faces. A gentleman is at work, but he never knows what the end will be. Have the parents at home, leaning on crutches, looked at the inner door for a long time? After putting down the weaving cart, did the wife and concubine look at the mulberry tree outside the window and sigh slightly?

There are also children who were still young when they left home. Do they still remember their father’s face?

The chickens are roosting in the farm, the cattle and sheep are coming down, this long recruitment is finally over.

The doorstep is here!

But what greeted this group of wanderers was the sharp sound of the machine being activated and the crossbow arrows piercing the air!

The arrows were like locusts, so dense that they knocked down the soldiers running towards home!

Some people could no longer get up, while more people struggled to raise their heads and shouted heartbreakingly:

"We are soldiers of Qin!"

"We are from Guanzhong and are the emperor's subjects!"

Why?

But Wuguan's answer was an even more ruthless rapid fire with the wave of the officer's hand!

The person who shouted earlier had a few more white feathers on his body.

After there were no more people talking under the pass and it fell into silence, a cold voice sounded from the top of Wuguan City.

"The Second Emperor has a system. Anyone who dares to come a hundred steps in front of the pass will die!"

The arrow that shot the farthest was inserted at the hundred paces position, right in front of Luo Jia.

Luo Jia's legs were trembling slightly. If he ran any faster, he might become a dead soul under the arrow.

Like Luo Jia, more than 4,000 people stopped more than a hundred miles away. They looked at the corpses of their comrades lying scattered outside the pass, looked at the closed city gate, looked at the unreachable city wall, their eyes were full of despair.

Then, there is anger!

They were abandoned.

Guanzhong just shut out her son.

Wuguan is not open!

…

ps: It gets dark very early today, good night.