Qin Official

Wu Guang's actual official title is actually not as exaggerated as those few Chenjun fellows say.

He just had to be promoted to the right guard and captain, and his position was similar to that of Chen Sheng. There was no "huiyi" at all.

The only difference is that he holds real power, with a total of ten thousand Northern Expedition soldiers and executioners under his command, guarding the Jindu ferry from Guanzhong to Hedong: Fenlingjin (Fenglingdu).

One day in early September, Wu Guang waited anxiously in front of the camp for a long time, and finally welcomed the long-awaited team.

They were teams of ox carts, pulling heavy carts, or wheelbarrows "Wooden Oxen and Horses" pushed by civilians, coming from the direction of Ningqin. In addition to Ningqin Lieutenant Yang Xi, there were also those escorting this batch of grain. The Anlu native who was recently appointed as the "Hedong County Governor" by Wu Zhonghou died.

"It can be said that Mr. Xin is here!"

Wu Guang went up to the court to salute Quji. Quji was originally a young official of no family. He followed Heifu in the southern expedition. As the military chief, he recommended Han Xin. As the military judge of the entire army, he was responsible for the order of the army. He became a great leader. He became an important official in the Heifu Group.

After entering Xianyang, the heroes of the Northern Expedition who came from humble backgrounds joined the court one after another. It would be inconvenient to call them names if they did not have a surname, so Heifu asked his subordinates to choose their own surnames. He also specially suggested that Qu Ji use "Xin" as his surname...

As for why, Quji didn't know and didn't dare to ask.

This is how Xin Quji emerged in the Qin Dynasty...

"What Uncle Wu is looking forward to is not me, but this batch of grain."

Go Ji smiled and patted the bulging sacks on the cart: "The newly harvested millet from Weinan counties in the autumn has arrived before it can be pounded. This is just the first batch, there are still 60,000 shi behind, and the ox carts are rushing back and forth. , send 20,000 shi every month!”

Sixty thousand shi was enough for ten thousand people to survive the winter. Wu Guang breathed a sigh of relief. After counting the grain, he welcomed Qu Ji into the camp and whispered:

"Since arriving here and stationed here, the military has been a little uneasy. The soldiers all said that Marquis Wu Zhong asked the Guanzhong people to pay only 20% of the grain as land rent like Nanjun. I am afraid that the military grain will not be enough..."

Qujikaijie Wu Guangdao said: "Hu Hai and Zhao Gao went against the grain and recruited the people to fight against the Northern Expeditionary Army. The harvest in Guanzhong this year is not good, and Xihe has almost no harvest. If they continue to collect 50% of the land rent like in the past, the people in Guanzhong will be afraid To starve."

"If Marquis Wu Zhong wants to go east and rule the world again, he will have to get help from the people of Qin. Furthermore, Marquis Wu Zhong dismissed redundant officials from the province and merged all the orders of the Shaofu to save the source. The Shu County affected by the war transports grain out of the river to supply Nanjun and Nanyang, and there is no need to transfer grain from Guanzhong. Our army is stationed nearby and eats on the spot, which is much cheaper than Hu Hai sending thousands of prisoners to carry grain to Wuguan and Nanyang. .”

Naturally, Hei Fu, Zhang Cang, and Xiao He calculated this account together, and finally decided that reducing land rent would certainly make the government tighten their belts, but it would win over people's hearts and bring endless benefits.

"We must re-establish the official reputation that Lord Shang had when he moved to Mulixin!"

Wu Guang scratched his head: "I don't know what happened. When I was the head of Guizhou Province in Chen County, I only hoped that the government would reduce the land rent. But now I no longer farm, I feel that I can't reduce it because my subordinates are counting on the land rent." There are too many officials and soldiers eating..."

Qu Ji laughed loudly, pointed to the head under the crown and said: "Wu Zhonghou has a saying that is right, what we think in our heads depends on where we sit, whether it is a high couch in the court or a high couch in the court. Straw mat on the edge of the field.”

"Back then, I wrote an anonymous letter to report being arrested and was fined. I was full of complaints and felt that the sentence was too harsh. But now when I encounter the same case, I will be merciless. Because at that time, I was thinking about my own gains and losses, but now, There’s more to think about.”

"Now I am no longer a young official, but the head of a county."

Qu Ji helplessly spread his hands and said: "Although I am a landless county governor, the east of the river is still in the hands of the Wei State. I have no land to defend and no people to govern."

"Who said there is no rule for the people?"

Wu Guang showed a clever smile. Now that he was recovering, those "burdens" who were eating his military rations could finally be thrown away.

"Xinjun, please come with me!"

Wu Guang took Qu Ji to another camp surrounded by fences in the south of the camp. The houses and tents here were more simple, and they were full of people, including unkempt people and well-dressed scholars.

Without exception, these people all spoke with a Hedong accent.

"This is……"

"He escaped from Hedong County in the past half month." Wu Guang introduced, and also asked the man who claimed to be the third old man and the stingy husband to come out and tell him what happened and how he was cured.

These local officials, with runny noses and tears, cried out everything that had happened since Hedong fell to the Six Kingdoms in June...

Hedong returned to Qin in the 21st year of King Zhaoxiang of Qin Dynasty. Sima Cuo attacked Hanoi of Wei State from the left, and Wei State offered Anyi. Qin State's approach was to expel the Wei people in the city, recruit Qin people to move to Hedong, and give them title, and at the same time pardoned sinners and moved here.

So the common situation in Hedong is that immigrants from Qin live in the city, while the natives of Hedong live outside the city.

Even those indigenous people, after seventy or eighty years and three or four generations of rule, were bound by laws, joined the army and won military honors, they gradually regarded themselves as "new Qin people" rather than Wei people.

Therefore, the people of Hedong have no sense of identification with the Six Kingdoms.

"Zhao Cheng sent bandits from the Six Kingdoms into Hedong, Wei bandits from Zhao bandits from Zhiguan, and Chu bandits from Maojin. Everywhere they went, they tied up the county chiefs and massacred the Qin people."

This is an old routine of the Six Kingdoms. They revolted in the name of killing violence and revenge. The driving force that kept the soldiers moving forward was revenge on Qin officials and Qin people, and the constant looting of loot.

During this process, officials from various counties in Hedong were fine with surrendering directly, but once they resisted, they would be brutally killed and all their property would be robbed.

While the Allied Forces of the Six Nations were in Xihe, they all provided food and fodder from Hedong. Hedong, which was originally prosperous, was severely squeezed. Wei Prime Minister Zhang Er sent his retainers to serve as officials in various places to fully restore the old system of Wei.

Economically, in order to provide enough food for the armies of the Six Nations that retreated to Hedong, the Wei State continued to levy heavy rents on the people of Hedong, which was still 50% of what it was in the Qin Dynasty...

Politically, the scope of the attack gradually expanded. The Qin people who had lived in Hedong for several generations changed from rulers to ruled.

The natives in Hedong also had a hard time. Because they were afraid that Heifu would cross the river and attack Hedong, the locals were recruited by Zhang Er's retainers and guarded the opposite banks of Fenlingjin and Puban, guarding them day and night.

As the Hedong laws and regulations became useless, many soldiers of the Six-Nation Allied Forces stayed in Hedong and committed evil acts. Rebels ran rampant and Hedong was in chaos.

There is no harm without comparison. Taken together, the people of Hedong feel that life was more stable and easier during the rule of the Qin Dynasty.

As a result, many Hedong Qin people whose homes were destroyed began to flee their homeland.

Fenglingjin naturally became their only choice for smuggling.

Wu Guang said to Qu Ji: "At first it was just a few scattered people, but recently, the entire district and the entire township have fled..."

The two people who complained to Xiangji told about the hardships along the way.

In the cold weather of late autumn, it is not easy to successfully swim across a wide river. In addition to finding a good launching point and avoiding the Wei patrols, more skills are required.

For example, they tied inflatable Zuni bubbles to their bodies to provide some buoyancy. They also had to drink a large bowl of boiled ginger soup before entering the water. Although it was extremely spicy, it could drive away the cold and prevent them from freezing to death on the way. Men were swimming in the water, while women and children were sitting on makeshift bamboo rafts, closing their eyes and praying to the river god for blessings.

Even so, twenty-three out of ten people who risk their lives to cross the border fail to succeed.

"In order to stop us, the Wei people sent extra men to watch the river defenses and shoot arrows on the spot. Many neighbors died on the tidal flats and shores."

Several wiped away tears as they concluded their narrative, hoping to be moved to dry rear areas.

"How many people are there in total?" Qu Ji asked Wu Guang.

"Four thousand, maybe more in the future."

Wu Guang said to Quji:

"I don't know if there are spies from Wei among them, so I don't dare to let them go easily. But keeping them and wasting military supplies is not a good idea."

"Leave these people to me."

Qu Ji sighed and said, "I know why Marquis Wu Zhong asked me to guard Hedong. He must have wanted me to prepare for the march to Hedong in the future. Although there is no land to defend, at least there are people to govern."

These Hedong people can place the old, weak, women and children in Guanzhong, and the men will serve as guides and pioneers and enlist in the army for training. Presumably, in order to return home, they should be able to actively fight and lead the Northern Expedition.

That night, Wu Guang held a banquet in honor of Qu Ji, but the food was not rich. Wu Guang asked people to serve wine, but Qu Ji refused.

"Marquis Wu Zhong asked the Shaofu to increase taxes on wine, sugar, silk, iron, and lacquer. He also strictly prohibited the private brewing of wine. We should not take the lead in disobeying the order."

Wu Guang had no choice but to give up, and after taking a bite, he asked:

"Jun Xin, since the Wei thieves are so unpopular in Hedong and the autumn harvest is over now, why don't Marquis Wu Zhong attack them? They will definitely hit an egg with a stone!"

Wu Guang was not very senior in the Northern Expeditionary Army, but it was impossible not to be jealous when he saw Dongmen Bao, Han Xin and others becoming marquises.

"A prince has his own considerations."

The disease only came from the court, and the reason is clear.

"Although the Xiongnu withdrew from Henan, they still occupied Beijie. They could invade the south at any time in autumn and winter. The king had to arrange for Zhang and Han to defend the enemy in Beidi and Shangjun."

"The people in Guanzhong have suffered from hard labor and need a rest."

"After rewarding the soldiers, the treasury is empty and needs savings, otherwise the king will not increase taxes on extravagant things."

Qu Ji lowered his voice: "The most important thing is that the New Deal has not yet been completed, and there are many voices of doubt in the Xianyang court. The monarch needs to settle his affairs first before he can resist the outside world!"

"who is it?"

Wu Guang was very surprised: "To this day, who dares to oppose Wu Zhonghou? Oppose the New Deal?"

Qu Ji shook his head: "They clapped their hands when Zhao Gao died, but last month, when the princes released prisoners, opened gardens, married palace maids, and abolished the extravagant government, there were many people who stood up to criticize, saying that this was poaching the Qin Dynasty. The emperor's corner, gathering the royal wool..."

"Emperor, there are only regents now, where can the emperor come from?"

Wu Guang only thought it was ridiculous. His butt was now firmly sitting on the side of the heroes of the Northern Expedition, and this military group was undoubtedly the biggest beneficiary of Heifu's entry into Guanzhong. Wu Guang not only received a lot of gold and silk, but Wu Zhonghou promised him a large land and mansion in Chen County in the future, and also asked him to take one of Hu Hai's former "seven sons" as his concubine...

Quji nodded: "Yes, as far as the Northern Expeditionary Army is concerned, we only follow the orders of Marquis Wu Zhong, eat his salary, and be loyal to his duties. In our eyes, Marquis Wu Zhong is the sky, even greater than the 'Son of Emperor'!" "

Then he asked Wu Guang to come closer and whispered to him:

"But the ministers in the court don't think so. There have been rumors recently that Fusu Fu was born in Liaodong and is now the king. Everyone in the court has heard about it, and they inevitably start to make up their minds. They shout every day that the country cannot be left without a master for a day. Either he said that someone should be sent to welcome Fusu back to usher in the unification, or he said that Fusu's son should be made emperor as soon as possible..."

Speaking of this, Qu Ji laughed and said: "Uncle Wu, when you were in Chen County, didn't you also use the banner of 'The one who should be established is Young Master Fusu'?"

…

ps: Try to finish Chapter 2 before 0 o'clock.