Qin Official

As a must-pass on the way south to Pengcheng, Peixian County in May is no longer as peaceful as before, and people are panicking. Everyone in Pei was disturbed by the fact that Lu Ze, the Duke of Pei, was imprisoned by the Chu State, but a new Duke of Pei was sent to urge the young and the grain.

Recently, there are rumors that Fengyi in the north actually raised troops to rebel against Chu in the absence of its lord Yong Chi...

As a result, the police of Peixian County closed all the liquor bars in and around the city. Today, Xia Houying, the prison Yin, had a drink with Ren Ao, the prison Yin, so he could only stay at home.

"I don't accept this so-called new Pei Gong."

In the hall, the two sat opposite each other. Xia Houying complained to Ren Ao in a low voice: "In my opinion, there are only three people who are qualified to be Pei Gong."

Ren Ao drank a cup of wine: "I know, one is Lu Ze, and the other is Wang Ling. They are both heroes of Peidi. Who is the third one?"

Xia Houying sighed: "It's Liu Ji."

Xiahou Ying was originally the charioteer of the Pei County government. He was responsible for raising horses and driving cars all year round. Whenever he was greeted, he would often pass by the Surabaya Pavilion. He had similar interests with Liu Ji, the former head of the Surabaya Pavilion. He would often stop to rest and chat with Liu Ji. , Liu Ji also listened with interest when he talked about his experiences outside the county, and the two of them chatted for most of the day.

It's a pity that by the time Xia Houying tried to become an official, Liu Ji had already gone to Jiaodong with Xiao He and Cao Shen to serve under Heifu. Since then, he never came back...

Ren Ao, who had been a jailer, was also a good friend of Liu Ji. As early as the Chu Kingdom period, he often protected Liu Ji, and later became Liu Ji's guarantor as the pavilion chief.

The world was in chaos, and although they both became officials of Qin, when all the heroes in Chu rebelled, in order to prevent their hometown from being massacred by foreign forces, and in line with the times, Liu Ji's elder brother Lu Ze was elected as the Duke of Pei. Protect the place with the sons of the township party.

Lu Ze was wise, Fan Kuai was brave, and Ren Ao and Xia Houying also had some skills. With everyone's hard work, the abundant land was able to enjoy a year of peace in this troubled world.

A few months ago, as the Duke of Pei of the Chu State, Lu Ze went west to the Liang region on the orders of the Chu State. Not long after, Yong Chi, the lord of Fengyi in the north, sent a judge back to summon him, saying that Lu Ze had been raped by Xiang Liang. He was arrested, and his friends, Duke Ling of Xiayi and Duke Fu Kuan of Hengyang, were also imprisoned, and the lords of the three places were changed.

The person who came to Pei County was a descendant of the Xiang family. Although he had a noble status, the people of Pei were dissatisfied.

From beginning to end, they only trusted their hometown people and had no love for the new Peigong who landed in the air.

In the past, although Lu Ze, Yong Chi, and Wang Ling refused to obey anyone else, when faced with the invasion of bandits elsewhere, they were willing to work together to defend themselves against the humiliation.

Ren Ao said: "Now Lu Ze and Wang Ling are both imprisoned. Lu Ze's brothers are unworthy and are either serving as hostages in Pengcheng, or they all ran away when they heard that something happened to him. It's a pity that Liu Ji is not here, otherwise he would be able to take part in today's situation." Let Pei people make their own decisions again."

As a stable Yin, Xia Houying often traveled to neighboring counties and even went to Xue County. He had better information: "It is said that Liu Ji has done a lot of great things in Yanbei. Some time ago, his younger brother Liu Jia went there." Have you defected?"

Ren Ao shook his head: "It's useless to talk to him. Water from afar can't quench the thirst nearby. Now even Fengyi is in trouble. What should Pei County do?"

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that as the Qin army advances eastward, the state of Chu is about to die. Where should Peixian County go? This question was once again placed in front of Pei Ren.

Their place historically belonged to the Song State, but was later annexed by the Qi State. Once it changed hands, it was taken advantage of by the Wei State. Then under a series of peace treaties, it was merged into the Chu State. In just two generations, Chu fell and Pei returned to Qin.

Although Liu Ji, Ren Ao, Xia Houying and others spoke the dialects of Chu and Wei, they did not hesitate to become Qin officials when the times changed dramatically - they were all ordinary people, but they did not have the deep love for their motherland that the nobles had. He fell in love with Qin and later rebelled against Qin, which was also an act of self-preservation following the trend.

Xia Houying sighed: "It would be great if Xiao He and Cao Shen were here... These two people are very smart and can definitely make decisions."

Ren Ao shook his head: "Now one of them has become the Jiuqing, and the other is the Shou of Jiaodong. They hold great power. How can they still remember this little Xiaopei County?"

Xia Houying was noncommittal and lowered his voice: "You are wrong, they really remember it!"

As he said this, Xia Houying clapped his hands, but a stern-faced middle-aged man came out from the kitchen. He was dressed in mediocre clothes. He sat down in front of the two of them unceremoniously, looked at Ren Ao, and sneered. :

"Why, Ren Yushi, don't you recognize me?"

Ren Ao stared at it for a while, feeling that this person was really kind, so he said:

"Are you... are you the former Sishui County Shishi, Zhou Ke!?"

Zhou Ke was a little angry: "Ren Ao, when you were escorted to the county town for delivery, I was the one who received you, but you barely recognized me?"

Zhou Ke is the brother of Zhou Chang, the governor of Qinba County under Hei Fu. The two look like they were cut from the same mold. The only difference is that Zhou Ke does not stutter when he speaks.

In the past, as a soldier of Sishui County, he was Xiao He's colleague and Ren Ao's immediate superior.

At that time, Zhou Chang followed Xiao He to the Southern Expedition, but Zhou Ke remained there. When Heifu raised troops in Nanjun, Zhou Ke was implicated because of his younger brother, so he had to flee back to his hometown of Pei County, where he encouraged Lu Ze to rebel against Qin. Later, He disappeared again with the families of Xiao He and Cao Shen...

We hadn’t seen him for several months, and Zhou Yan’s beard was now much shorter, so when he entered the wine room, Ren Ao didn’t recognize him at first glance.

Zhou Yan took a sip of wine unceremoniously and said, "As you all know, the Xiang family wanted to harm me, Xiao He, and Cao Shen's family members, and wanted to harm them. Lu Ze, thinking of his fellow countrymen, did not want to harm our lives, so he asked I escorted Xiao He and Cao Shen's family, relying on bribes from merchants to clear the way, and took Yimeng and other mountain roads to Jiaodong."

Ren Ao understood: "Jiaodong? So, Zhou Jun met Cao Shen?"

Zhou Ke said: "Not only Cao Shen, but also Chen Ping. Under his orders, I sneaked into Xue County from Qidi. I recently returned to Pei County and hid in his home with the help of Xia Houying."

Ren Ao was immediately dissatisfied and looked at Xia Houying: "When did you contact Zhou Zushi? Why didn't you tell me?"

Xia Houying quickly confessed: "Brother, don't blame me. This matter is related to the life and death of the fathers and children of Peixian County. I didn't dare to leak the story before, but today's matter needs my brother's help to achieve it."

Zhou Ke expressed his intention: "Earlier, Xiang Liang used Lu Ze as bait to arrest Wang Ling and others who were friends with him. He thought he had nothing to worry about, but he didn't expect that Yong Chi and Li Shang, who had nothing to do with Lu Ze, had already been arrested. He surrendered to the Qin army, but when it was withdrawing, it suddenly launched an attack. The Yingchuan Han army also followed suit and attacked Xiang Liang's army."

"Xiang Liang was attacked and pursued by Qin's cavalry. The army was divided into two and retreated to Suiyang. Xiang Ji came to support from Chen to stop Qin Juiping. Now Qin and Chu are fighting between Chen and Song. , scattered troops and partial divisions each have their own victory or defeat, and Qin's main force is also advancing eastward day by day."

Although the Qin army was massive, it was not easy to control the vast land of Liang and Han. Heifu asked the forwards to cooperate with the Gonghe Han army in Liangdi County to suppress the Chu army. The main force did not rush to pursue it, but slowly pushed eastward. , not giving the opponent a chance to counterattack.

Ren Ao was most concerned about his lord's safety: "What happened to Pei Gong and Fan Kuai? And the royal tomb..."

Zhou Ke said: "They were all rescued by Li Shang and surrendered to the Qin Dynasty. However, they were blocked by mountains and rivers and could not cross for the time being. They were only ordered to go to Shanfu and Xiayi to collect the young men of Qingxia to help Qin attack Chu's grain."

Everyone is a loser, not to mention that the county officials of the Pei clan have two fellow countrymen, Xiao He and Cao Shen, in the court. The psychological burden of surrendering to Qin has been burned a lot, and the rebellion against Chu has gradually spread from Liang.

"Now that Fengyi has received the news and raised its troops to respond, it will be Peixian's turn next!"

Ren Ao was cautious and said with some worry: "Although Qin is strong and Chu is declining, it is rich and isolated in the rear. Pengcheng is only two hundred miles away. What should I do if I want to avenge the Chu people?"

"It's too late for the Chu people to resist the Qin army between Chen and Song Dynasty. How can they have time to manage Fengpei? What's more, Qin Qing Chen Ping is so smart. He has found a strong reinforcement and will soon pass through Fengyi and arrive at Pei In the county, Pei Gong of the Xiang family will panic and close the city to defend the city. You can just look for an opportunity and lead the remaining disciples to open the city gate!"

Ren Ao was a little confused and asked: "Pei County is the hinterland of Chu, and Jiaodong is thousands of miles away. Where can Chen Ping get strong support?"

Zhou Ke smiled and said: "This is the strength of Chen Ping."

"The strong support he is looking for is Peng Yue!"

Ren Ao made a sound in surprise. After looking at each other, he fully understood the situation. The two of them left the case together and bowed to Zhou Yan:

"Jingnuo!"

…

The battle of Peixian County was lackluster. The new Peigong who came by air was unpopular. With 30,000 Qi troops outside and Ren Ao, Xia Houying and Pei people's children inside to respond, they fell in half a day.

But Ren Ao and the others did not relax their vigilance, but looked at the "Qi Army" outside the city with trepidation.

Although they are called Qi Jun, they are actually just various water pirates gathered by Peng Yue. They have various clothes and armors, tattered flags, and farm tools mixed with weapons. The order is very chaotic. They don't look like an army, but like a group of beggars. They collected water for drinking at the Surabaya River in an orderly manner, and there were even some women plundered along the way among their troops...

Ren Ao and Xia Houying were both very worried about how they could stop this group of green-eyed thugs if they broke into Pei County and looted.

Zhou Ke reassured everyone: "Thanks to Chen Jun, what they are looking forward to now is the prosperous Pengcheng, and they are not interested in our small and remote county."

I don't know what kind of rhetoric Chen Ping used to persuade Peng Yue's mob not to enter Peixian County, but to station outside the city. He rode into the city and integrated the Peixian armed forces in the city in one go. He also sent Ren Ao, Xia Houying, and Lu Shizhi to the city. Wait for someone to ask.

After some tests, Chen Ping, who also had the demeanor of a superior, smiled and said:

"Pei County is truly an outstanding place with so many outstanding talents. No wonder when the regent went to Jiaodong to take office, he would pass through here specially. It is a pity that it was controlled by laws and regulations at that time and could not recruit a large number of staff. Otherwise, I am afraid that none of these outstanding people in Peixian County would be able to escape. Lose!"

After joking, as the new "Sishui County Governor", he began to give temporary official positions to Ren Ao and others one by one.

"Zhou Yan is a fake Sishui captain."

"You are Peiling." He picked Ren Ao.

"You are Captain Pei." Xia Houying was also named.

In addition, Lu Shizhi, the younger brother of Peigong Lu Ze, also came from the nearby mountains and forests to join the army and was appointed as a soldier.

Xiao Tong, the son of Xiao He, and Cao Cheng, the son of Cao Shen, who came with Chen Ping, also held their respective positions and were both county officials. The two young men returned home in fine clothes and were very proud.

Even Liu Ji's younger brother Liu Jiao, Chen Ping heard that he was a disciple of Fuqiu Bo in Jiaodong, and asked him to come to meet him.

"You and your brother Liu Ji are really completely different." Seeing Liu Jiao's polite words and scholarly demeanor, Chen Ping was a little surprised and asked Liu Jiao to be a follower, but what exactly was in those little eyes? Only he knows what the idea is.

In short, the grass-roots team of Sishui County was set up in this way, and two thousand people from Feng and Pei were recruited, and they began to take shape.

Seeing how shrewd and capable the Nine Ministers of the Great Qin Dynasty were, Ren Ao and Xia Houying could not help but feel solemn. They felt that they had made the right choice. Peixian County was temporarily safe:

"Chen Jun, will we follow Peng Yue to attack Pengcheng next?"

The two of them were ambitious and wanted to go to Pengcheng to rescue Lu Ze's sons, Lu Tai and Lu Chan, who were being held hostage there.

Chen Ping said lazily: "For the rear army, just protect the flanks."

After Ren Ao and Xia Houying left, Chen Pingcai looked at the map and murmured his true purpose:

"We just need to watch the show..."

Chen Ping whispered:

"Watch a good show of driving away a tiger and devouring a wolf!"