Qin Official

In late September, the weather became colder and colder, and as the grains were put into the warehouse, there was basically no farming work.

The rice at home is being pounded by ministers and concubines, and they have nothing to do. I heard that today it is my turn to act in a drama. The government just came to check the household registration a few days ago. Bu Gengmanqiang, who couldn't help his son Tuo's pleading, took him. Following him and his eldest daughter Xi, he limped toward the village community.

After carefully carrying the three people's testimonials and biographies, they walked out of the inner gate and on the way to the village community. Manqiang's son was still immersed in the opera he had watched at the beginning of the month...

“I can watch hundreds of plays again!”

Ever since his mother died without a trace, Tuo Tuo, who was always depressed, was rarely happy for once. He also wore flowers and new clothes. This kind of gathering day was a good opportunity to meet the young people from the neighborhood.

Xianyang is so big that it straddles the Weishui River and is covered by urban areas within dozens of miles. In order to facilitate management, it is divided into many townships according to blocks. At the center is a rural community for local residents to trade. During the New Year and festivals, there are often folk gatherings. Party and entertainment, it’s like a whole town carnival.

After the Northern Expeditionary Army entered Xianyang, after the autumn harvest, each township built a simple earthen platform in the open space outside the township commune. Whenever Wu Zhonghou ordered to advocate outstanding people to "comfort the people," the earthen platform became A natural stage...

As early as when he was in Gangneung, Heifu had gathered local advocates and families who occasionally appeared in the world to perform a model play "The Northern Expedition Can Enjoy Peace". It was performed in Nanjun counties one after another, which caused a huge response. This propaganda offensive made Nanjun people He gritted his teeth and asked his children to go to the front line to support him in the Northern Expedition.

Propaganda cannot be stopped. Other places have no conditions to do it, but public opinion propaganda in the capital must keep up.

So Heifu transferred all three art troupes to Xianyang, preparing for them to make a big impact here.

Xianyang actually has a hundred operas for a long time, also called "Manyan's Opera". It is usually performed by versatile talents. During the performance, there are skills such as playing the harp, swallowing the knife, walking on the fire, searching for the wooden stick, etc. It is similar to the folk street art of later generations, plus A broken chest and a big stone are enough to survive.

It's a pity that ordinary people can only see it a few times in their lifetime. The champions are basically supported by the emperor or nobles, and perform at banquets to liven up the atmosphere. It is said that there are hundreds of "hundred opera figurines" buried with him in the tomb of the First Emperor. There are different forms and tricks.

There is also the "Jiaodeng Opera", which has a longer history. Unfortunately, it was banned by the Shang Dynasty in the Qin Dynasty because it "encouraged private fighting"...

Therefore, the daily entertainment of Old Qin people is basically zero, and group drinking is not allowed. It is illegal for three or more people to drink together, not to mention the price of wine is so expensive, except for holidays, where can you afford to drink, gambling and the like, especially in Da Qin Can't go on the table.

If you think about it carefully, there is only one thing left in Xianyang that can really make people applaud and experience exciting entertainment activities.

"Look at the beheading!"

The cracked soil was in urgent need of rain, so in September, the model opera came to Xianyang and was performed in various townships. It immediately caused a sensation!

All it takes is a group of people dancing and screaming on the stage to watch the excitement, which is enough to make the people happy. What's more, this play still has a plot and promotes positive energy...

According to local conditions, the first play that Heifu asked his family to consider based on the preferences of Guanzhong people was called "War on the West River".

As you can tell from the name, it tells the story of the new Qin people fighting against the invasion of the evil nobles Xiang Ji and others from the Six Kingdoms.

In this play, makeup was used for the first time for an actor to advocate excellence. Xiang Ji was played by a tall man. He was painted with a red face, a fake beard, four flags on his back, and a halberd.

The two protagonists, who respectively represent Nanjun soldiers and Guanzhong soldiers, are fictitious pseudonyms. Wu Zhonghou personally decided on them after watching the premiere. They are called "Guan Yu" and "Qin Qiong" respectively. They are painted in blackface and yellowface. It looks very interesting.

What is even more unprecedented is that the play not only has self-narration and dialogue in Xianyang dialect, which is easy to understand, but also has a unique fighting scene!

Although the horse is a fake horse and the spear and halberd in his hand are also made of wood, it is really unique to the people of Xianyang. When watching the performance for the first time, the audience was just as stunned as the people of Jiangling before.

Because it happened in Guanzhong, it was easy to get into the drama. Everyone frowned when they heard the protagonist on the stage talking about the fall of Xihe.

Seeing Xiang Yu and other great nobles from the six countries raising their butcher's knives against the people of Xihe, they were so proud that they immediately itched their teeth with hatred.

They clapped their hands and applauded when they saw the two protagonists finally working together side by side, shouting "defend the home and the country", beating Xiang Yu so hard that he cut off his beard and fled in embarrassment.

Before the end of the opera, Qin and Guan captured the white-faced traitor Zhao Gao, and the people of Xianyang became even more joyful, rejoicing and singing faster.

Although the protagonist in it is always staunch, he usually clenches his fists, purses his lips, and then starts singing in an awe-inspiring manner. Even shaking his head is extremely revolutionary. Regardless of the upright villain, his facial makeup is also shockingly dull.

But this is enough to shock the Xianyang people who lack literary and artistic life.

Man Qiang, who had been a soldier many years ago and fought in the Six Kingdoms, burst into tears when he saw this. He really regretted that his legs and feet were injured and he could no longer join the army.

His son Tuo Tuo, who didn't quite understand the opera, went back and cut wooden sticks with his playmates, rode bamboo horses, and acted out the stories in the opera.

According to the rules, the person who loses the lot has to smear red mud on his face to pretend to be a member, and then is beaten up by his playmates who are painted with kitchen ashes and yellow mud and shout "defend the home and the country".

This has become the daily routine of the young people in Xianyang.

It can be said that after watching the drama, the people of Xianyang have received patriotism education, experienced the baptism of the soul, and developed a common hatred for the enemy. Looking at the soldiers of the Northern Expedition patrolling outside, they do not dislike them because they are short, dark, thin, and speak with a Nan accent. , and even greet you kindly:

"Come and have a drink of water."

In the words of Marquis Wu Zhong: "The advocates of excellence perform a play, which is more effective than the officials holding the residence newspaper and reading it ten times!"

Therefore, whenever it is the turn of a township to perform, basically the whole township will be dispatched. Well-connected officials and even their families will come to see the date accurately, and they will drive and drive around. Eight villages are watching, and they are still not satisfied.

Manqiang had no official status, so he could only sit back and wait, but it was a pity that they were still late when they went out. When the family of three arrived at the township community, they saw that the place was already surrounded by people, and they were all full of heads.

"You should be admitted according to your title..."

Manqiang was stunned. With his unchanging title, he would never be pushed to the outermost edge. Unfortunately, there were too many people today, and the soldiers and village officials who maintained order were all squeezed to the corners.

"There are no seats in front." The little man had been looking forward to it for many days. He didn't sleep all night last night and was almost crying. His sister also pouted.

Fortunately, after the play started, the people in the front were ordered to kneel on the ground and look up, so that the people in the back could finally see clearly. There were figures on the stage in the distance, moving in red and green colors.

There was a short dwarf pretending to be a child, fighting a battle of wits and courage with a man dressed as a businessman, and finally led a group of black officials to tie him up and push him to the ground. The clown rolled over many times, provoking him. The people in the front row laughed...

But the sound was completely inaudible.

Although they didn't know the plot at all, Manqiang's family of three still watched it with gusto. The people in the front row laughed, and they laughed too.

It wasn't until the sun set in the west and everyone was gone that the song ended. On the way back, it was never too early. The librarian and his family in the front row learned that today's play was called:

""A good man knows a spy cleverly"!"

Lao Li spoke in Qin's voice, filled with righteous indignation:

"I just found out today that there are many spies from the six countries hiding in Xianyang City."

"They want to burn down our warehouses and let us starve and freeze. They want to steal the secrets of the labor examination. They also want to create wooden cows and horses for the Six Nations group. They also want to collude with the remnants of the traitor Zhao Gao and plot to assassinate Wu Zhong. Hou, let Xianyang get into chaos again!"

It turns out that the villain has not been changed, and it is about Xiang Ji, the great nobleman of the six countries, and the old thief Fan Zeng and others are determined to be evil. They send spies to sneak into the Qin Dynasty and join forces with Zhao Gaoyu's party to destroy the economy and people's livelihood in an attempt to subvert the new government...

In the end, the white-faced buffoon spy was discovered by a clever young man, reported to the government, and was arrested and sentenced to death.

The end. Lao Lizheng also muttered: "When I get back, I have to keep my eyes open and guard the inner prison. We must not let these traitorous spies succeed!"

"No wonder it was played by a dwarf." Tuo was full of regret and asked Lao Lizheng again:

"Chief, what is the name of that young man from a good family?"

"What do you call him?" Lao Lizheng forgot, and turned around to ask his grandson.

The grandson of Li Zheng was also filled with admiration, as if he regarded the young man in the play as his idol, and answered crisply:

"Gazi!"

…

After late September, in addition to continuing to ride bamboo horses and shouting "defend the home and the country", the young people in Xianyang City, who did not know how to feel sad, had another game, which was to lie down in the haystacks outside the inner wall, or ride on Standing in the tree, watching everyone passing by with vigilance...

No stranger could escape their eyes, and Li Zheng and the village officials also received countless reports. They were all teenagers who felt that there was something wrong with their neighbors. They left early and came back late, and behaved suspiciously. They might be spies.

It also led to the Censor's Office and Tingwei emphasizing a law to the whole people. As long as the people are upright and enthusiastic in reporting, they should not engage in anonymous letters. Even if it is found to be wrong, it will not be considered a false accusation.

This atmosphere of everyone catching spies was soon pushed to a climax by a good news.

On September 20th, the regent sent people to report a message to all villages:

"More than ten people, including Wang Ren, a young official from the Yushi Mansion, were dissatisfied with the new policy and were deceived by the Six Kingdoms. They colluded with them and wanted to overthrow the Qin Dynasty. They were blamed for their crimes. They have been captured by the Lieutenant Mansion and taken to Yunyang Prison to await trial!"

Among those arrested, there were indeed one or two unlucky real spies who were spotted by the sharp eyes of the people.

But most of them are former Qin officials who were dissatisfied with Heifu and secretly collaborated with him to force him to "welcome Fusu back and return the great government." The crimes they were convicted of were:

"Treason."

Those who knew could not help but murmur: "Isn't Wang Ren the grandson of Prime Minister Wang Wan? Hu Hai was imprisoned during the time. How could he be a spy of the Six Kingdoms? How could he overthrow the Qin Dynasty..."

But this voice was quickly drowned out by the fanatical public opinion. No one cared at all who Wang Ren's grandson was or whether there was a possibility of colluding with the Six Nations.

They only care about whether the person who reported Wang Ren is a little hero and whether he is really called "Gazi"!

…

"People from New Qin, people from Old Qin, people from Nanjun, people from Guanzhong..."

On the way home from Xianyang Palace, Heifu listened to the cheers outside and thought silently.

"What can unite you all?"

"monarch?"

"Emperor of Heaven?"

"Money and silk?"

"Or forced by force?"

"Foreign enemy invasion?"

"Or is it what they preach and what the people want?"

“At the end of the day, it’s the story…”

People believe the same story. A good story is the most powerful force in the world. It allowed Homo sapiens to transform from a small tribe in ancient times into an empire spanning thousands of miles.

The mysterious bird of destiny, the Duke of Qin is proud of it.

Yao, Shun, and Yu Tang, Confucianism repeats it over and over again.

The ancestors told about Yanhuang, and we will continue to praise it from generation to generation in the future.

And who in this world can tell stories better than him?

Not just the story of the first three thousand years.

There are also stories from the next two thousand years that will benefit him a lot.

Now, Heifu has told the story to the people of Nanjun and Xianyang. In the future, he will have to tell it to the people of the six countries and all the unified nations.

Is this cheating?

"The story called Great Unification."

"Being eunuched by a descendant of the First Emperor, I have to take over."

But now, Heifuda doesn’t need to be so complicated and grand.

"Your Majesty, Chang Yin has become the overlord!" Ji Ying came to report, and Hei Fu nodded.

"Now, I just need to tell you one more story!"

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