Qin Official

Confucius, who pioneered private education in the past, believed that "people are similar in nature, but habits are far apart." Bloodline and origin do not determine a person's habits. Whether he or she can become a talent depends more on acquired education.

Adhering to the principle of teaching without distinction, he taught a large number of disciples from humble backgrounds. Zixia and Zeng Shen among these disciples taught their skills again, which promoted the prosperity of private schools and indirectly promoted the decline of public clans and the rise of scholars in the Warring States Period... …

But three hundred years later, Shusun Tong, as a disciple of Confucius, believed that ordinary people and scholars could reach high positions through education, and at the same time insisted on the imperial blood theory.

The emperor was born at the right time, and there must be divine blessing.

The mysterious bird of destiny descended and gave birth to the Shang Dynasty. The mysterious bird dropped its eggs, and Jian Di took them and swallowed them, so there was a deed of ancestors of the Yin and Shang Dynasties.

Jiang Yuan followed the traces of giants, and her body moved as if she was pregnant. She thought it was unlucky to give birth to a child during the period, so she abandoned it in a narrow alley. Horses and cattle would not step on it, and abandoned it on the ice lake. Birds descended from the sky and flew with their wings. Covering the baby, this is Houji, the ancestor of the Zhou people.

With the deification origin of Yin and Zhou as an example, the princes of later generations all beautified their ancestors. The old aristocrats of the Ji family of Yan State inherited the Zhou dynasty, and Chu State, not to mention the self-proclaimed emperor Gao Yang and the great god Zhu Rong.

The successors of Qin, Zhao, Wei, Han, and Tian Qi all paid tribute to their ancestors. Especially Tian Qi, who chose the Yellow Emperor as his ancestor above his ancestor Yu Shun. Countries followed suit and extended their lineage to Yan and Huang. , Shaohao era.

All the princes have a distinguished background, and few ancient emperors are their ancestors, so they are embarrassed to say hello to others...

Dragons give birth to dragons and phoenixes, and mice's sons can dig holes. The reason why I am great is because of the strength of my ancestors - this concept is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

So Shusun Tong couldn't understand why Wu Zhonghou didn't follow the trend?

He often worried about this matter, but today he was suddenly awakened by Yang Xi and had a bold idea.

So in response to Yang Xi's ignorant inquiry, Shusuntong just smiled and said ambiguously:

"Who knows about this kind of thing except Sugar Woman, the mother of the First Emperor and Marquis Wu Zhong?"

And these two people are no longer alive! As long as Marquis Wu Zhong nods and his uncle Suntong makes up random stories, as long as the story is legendary enough, it will be easy to coax an ignorant Guizhou leader like Yang Xi!

Keeping this in mind, Shusun Tong picked up his pen again: "I just talked about the Battle of Wuguan, please continue."

Yang Xi promised and talked about what happened in the past half month...

…

"Ten days ago, after we retreated to Yaoguan, the news about Wuguan was so mysterious that it was said that Marquis Wu Zhong attracted the spirit of the First Emperor, which caused the mountains to shake and the ground to shake. One mile of the Wuguan wall collapsed, crushing countless people to death. , no one dared to defend the enemy at the gate of Yaoguan City."

"Wucheng Hou Wangli then ordered the army to station in Lantian..."

"Since we returned to Lantian, morale has plummeted, and deserters have appeared."

Yang Xi remembered that seven or eight days ago, a group of soldiers who went to Lantian Mountain to cut firewood had not returned. Yang Xi and others were ordered to ride horses to check, but they saw that there was no one in the forest farm, and the human-powered chariot used to pull wood was abandoned on the spot. Those dozens of soldiers actually escaped together under the leadership of the village commander...

This was something that rarely happened in the Qin army after Shang Yang's reform, because those who served as soldiers on the front line often had a family behind them. If one person absconded, the whole family was implicated. Even if he was afraid of death, he had to weigh the price.

But now, among the Qin people, the rigid and obedient old Qin people, there has been a collective defection...

Wang Li was furious and ordered his cavalry to capture the deserters and demand military punishment.

However, Yang Xi understood very well that the second emperor's government was unpopular. It was said that he trusted traitors and killed ministers randomly. Coupled with the Wuguan incident, the Northern Army had no intention of fighting for a long time.

"If I hadn't been afraid that my mother and younger brother would be implicated, I would have run away!" he muttered.

Yang Xi, who was also a fallen man in Tianya, sympathized with the fleeing soldiers. When passing by a haystack, he clearly found a person hiding in it, but pretended not to see it, walked around a few times in a perfunctory manner, returned to the camp, and reported that there was no one there. Meet people.

However, the next morning, as soon as it dawned, the drum beat for an emergency assembly sounded in the barracks.

The Marquis of Wucheng, Wang Li, looked serious and indifferent. Standing next to him were several captains and Sima of the Shangjun Army, and four thousand short-range soldiers stood around with ferocious looks and murderous intent.

It’s not hard to guess what happened next. Nearly half of the soldiers who escaped yesterday were captured. Each one was tied up with a large rope. After Wang Li announced that he was guilty of defecting, he was executed in public!

Also executed were a few people who failed to arrest, indulged in deserters, and "those who praised the enemy to frighten the public." The leader was Shi Chang, who secretly rumored that Wu Zhonghou was the son of Qin Shihuang and received his divine power.

Those fleeing soldiers were like dung and grass; their fresh and young lives just now turned into dozens of unjust dead souls, remaining on the banks of the Ba River forever.

Yang Xi remained silent throughout the whole process, fearing that his hidden secret of conniving someone would be exposed. Sweat flowed from his forehead to his chin. When the village chief asked him what was wrong, he could only look up at the sun and say...

"It's too hot."

Fortunately, the person he deliberately ignored seemed to have escaped successfully, and Yang Xi escaped smoothly.

"The king raised his troops and repaired my spear! I swear to be loyal to the Qin Dynasty to the end!"

Afterwards, following the Marquis of Wucheng and shouting this empty and feeble slogan, Yang Xi felt completely disappointed in the court.

In the eyes of the Qin people, it is indeed a shame to escape, but facing the Southern army with divine help, facing them head-on and dying is something only a fool can do...

In short, after this incident, the 100,000-strong army that had been gathered from everywhere in Weinan, not only failed to revive as Wang Li expected, but instead withered like a leaf beaten by frost.

Just when all the troops in the Lantian camp were thinking about their own thoughts, news of the surrender of Yaoguan suddenly came from the front. The Northern Expeditionary Army quickly arrived at Lantian Mountain and stood on the east side of Ba River to confront Wang Li's army across the bank.

Looking at the Confederate camp on the other side, the chants were shouting loudly and the morale of the soldiers was high, which was completely different from that on the west bank.

Fighting requires courage. Before the battle even started, half of the Northern Army was lost.

On June 28, Ji Ying, the guard commander under Marquis Wu Zhong, began to launch a fierce propaganda offensive against Wang Lijun...

Tens of thousands of people gathered at the edge of Ba River and shouted loudly.

"Soldiers fight hard outside, while traitors betray the country at home!"

Yang Xi just listened to the words such as Zhao Gao betrayed the country, chased the prime minister, made an agreement with Chu, wanted to destroy the Qin clan and became king in Guanzhong, etc., and thought it was a bit ridiculous. How could a lucky minister with a bad reputation like Zhao Gao become the king?

But what happens next, Yang Xi can't deal with it calmly...

"Zhao Cheng opened the defense to the east of the river and provided support by land and water. The bandits from the Six Nations have entered the border!"

"Xiang Ji has led the Chu people to Hongmen, intending to destroy Qin Sheji, massacre Xianyang, burn the palaces, raid the tomb of the first emperor, plunder treasures and wealth, capture your children, and share them with the bandits of Zhao and Wei!"

"I just froze."

Yang Xi said: "My home is in Ningqin! It's very close to Hedong and Hangu Pass. Going west past Zheng County, below is Hongmen. If the Chu people really get there, my family will definitely suffer!"

Qin and Chu are not at odds with each other. Even ordinary Guizhou leaders know that. What's more, the Qin people in Guanzhong have also heard more or less about the massacre of the city by the Chu army...

Speaking of this, Yang Xi was very anxious: "Mr. Shusun, do you have any news about Ning Qin?"

Shusun Tong had to lie to Heifu: "The Chu army is just a forward sentry riding to Hongmen. The main army is still in Hedong and Shaoliang. Your family should be fine."

In short, during those days, the Northern Expeditionary Army adopted two methods, one hard and one soft. They launched a fierce military offensive and promoted Zhao Gao as a traitor and lured the Chu people into the pass. Now the soldiers of the Northern Expedition were very motivated, especially those at home. Yang Xi and others in the eastern part of Neishi were even more anxious.

But when they asked the officials about their home situation, they all remained silent. Only a relatively easy-going Lord of the Five Hundreds secretly told them: "Something happened in Xianyang. Rumors spread, either that Zhao Gao was killed by the prime minister, or that the prime minister was killed." , I don’t know which one is true or false.”

On the 29th, when Ji Ying organized another group of Qin soldiers from Guanzhong who had surrendered in Wuguan, and promoted the Northern Expedition's policy of preferential treatment of prisoners and welcoming surrender, Yang Xi couldn't sit still. He called a few fellow villagers and said to them: :

"The Marquis of Wucheng said that we must be loyal to the Qin Dynasty to the end, but we have done our duty by serving as garrison soldiers."

"But now, it's time to think about our own family."

"The people of Chu hate the people of Qin deeply. It is said that every time they break a city in Guandong, they will slaughter all the officials and people of Qin. If they are allowed to enter the pass and occupy the land, how can they repay it?"

"Since Wang Li is unwilling to resist the Chu people, then we will find a way on our own!"

"What can be done?" Everyone asked him.

Yang Xi pointed to the Northern Expeditionary Army camp on the other side of the Ba River:

"The Marquis of Wu Zhong on the opposite side is still flying the Qin flag, and his subordinates are also Qin people. No matter how bad they are, they will not bring harm to the Qin land! Have you all heard this? The Qin people will not fight the Qin people, stop the civil war, and unite against the outside world. .”

A group of people from Ningqin County secretly contacted each other and made an appointment with hundreds of people. A literate man bit the blood on his finger and wrote the words "We want to surrender to Marquis Wu Zhong tonight" and took advantage of Yang Xi. When he went out on patrol with his cavalry, he met several Northern Expeditionary Army scouts who were crossing the water to investigate for information. He wrapped the stones in cloth, threw them over, and left far away.

"Fortunately, those scouts were literate. They rode over, picked it up, opened it, looked at it, gave us a thumbs up and patted their chests."

In the early morning of the 30th, a camp bombing broke out among the Lantian Wangli Army...

Taking advantage of the opportunity of fellow villagers taking turns, people from Ningqin County quietly went outside the camp, but they still alerted the commander.

"run!"

It was too late to hesitate. Yang Xi shouted at that time, and hundreds of Ning and Qin soldiers strode away towards Bashui not far away, but they were followed by roars and thousands of pursuers, running faster than them. !

Seeing that the people behind him were about to catch up with him, Yang Xi felt a little desperate. Unexpectedly, the soldiers also threw away their weapons, passed Yang Xi and others, plunged into the Ba River, and swam desperately to the other side!

After landing wet on the east bank, Yang Xi and others felt like they had received an amnesty. A Northern Expeditionary officer with a short beard came to pick them up with thousands of people. Although he spoke loudly and forcefully, his attitude was very kind. They lost sight of Yang Xi and others. After the weapons were laid, he led them to the back camp to rest...

This defection led by the Ningqin people eventually brought thousands of people from the adjacent Zhengxian Camp, Xixia Camp, Xiayang Camp, and Linjin Camp together. A huge hole appeared in the right wing camp of Wang Lijun!

The chaos and fleeing were still spreading to other battalions, and the military judge could no longer control the situation.

When Yang Xi looked back again, he happened to see the Northern Expeditionary Army combat troops beginning to forcefully cross the Ba River, with crumbling torches covering the sky and the earth, while Wang Li's army on the other side had collapsed without a fight...

The one-sided battle lasted all night. Yang Xi and others were arranged to a prisoner-of-war camp. The military officials arranged for them to eat. After the meal, Yang Xi and other people who took the lead in surrendering were brought to a high official. Very thin, his name is Ji Ying, and he is said to be a close confidant of Marquis Wu Zhong. The person next to Ji Ying is none other than Shusun Tong, holding a pen and ink, smiling and saying that he wants to talk to him...

"That's all."

After Yang Xi finished speaking, his mouth was a little dry, and he didn't know why Shusun Tong asked in such detail.

Shusuntong looked at the descriptions on several piles of paper and nodded with satisfaction: "Yes, you can go down and have a rest. You will be rewarded soon!"

Yang Xi agreed, but then raised his head and said weakly:

"I just want to go home now..."

…

Yang Xi left the camp in a daze. Several soldiers from the Northern Expedition took him back to the prisoner-of-war camp - the original Wangli Army camp. Today is the first day of July, and the battle has long ended. The Battle of Bashui, the Northern Expedition Army camp A total victory.

In addition to Yang Xi and other tens of thousands of people who surrendered voluntarily before the war, the nearly 20,000 guard troops of General Li Liang on the right also disarmed and surrendered after the camp was bombed. General Sima Yang on the left hurriedly fled the battlefield with less than 20,000 remaining troops and retreated to Du County.

As for Wang Li himself, after finding it difficult to restrain the entire army, he retreated to Lantian County with only a few thousand personal guards. Now he is surrounded by Wu Zhonghou and his 100,000-strong army...

There are countless others who collapsed at the first touch and either escaped or were captured.

At this time, a group of newly captured prisoners were passing by Shusuntong. Yue Xiaowuyu, who came from Fujian and Guangdong, complained in Qin Yan:

"This battle is really boring. Their army is no better than ours, but they collapsed without a fight and most of them surrendered. It's really boring..."

The Yue people are brave and eager to fight. The Yue soldiers were dispatched by Hei Fu and came all the way from Kuaiji County. They thought they would be able to catch an epic battle that they could brag to their ancestors after their death, but it turned out to be like this. A lackluster ending, because Marquis Wu Zhong strictly prohibited killing prisoners, and he didn't even catch a single head.

"Captain Yao, you are wrong, absolutely wrong!"

But Shusun Tong stroked his beard and said with a smile: "The Art of War says that a hundred battles will lead to victory, which is not a good thing."

"Subduing the enemy's troops without fighting is a good thing!"

"What's more, benevolent people are invincible in the world, and even if they are benevolent, they will be unkind, so how can they shed blood? Thousands of people will turn against you and rush to vote for you!"

Shusun Tong raised his hand to the commander-in-chief of Marquis Wuzhong in the distance and boasted from the bottom of his heart:

"The Northern Expeditionary Army is worthy of being an army of benevolence and righteousness. Marquis Wu Zhong, who surrendered without fighting, is truly the best general in the world!"

. m.