The Great Qin Empire---Qin Li

Master Gong guessed wrong. Unfortunately, Heifu heard the conversation between the uncle and nephew clearly...

However, Heifu did not intend to report it, because this was not the Qin Dynasty that had strengthened the control of speech after the "book burning" incident. The public discussion was still relatively relaxed. As long as they did not openly clamor for rebellion or sympathize with the assassin who assassinated the king, they would basically not lose their heads.

Gong Ao angrily scolded Wu Anjun 50 years ago, and was indignant that his family was affected by the war and almost died out. If this matter was really investigated, it would be considered a crime of "speaking inappropriately". A fine would be enough, and at most Gong Ao would lose his position as a thief.

So there was no need to offend the Gong family for this matter that did not benefit him much, and to make another enemy for himself.

Therefore, Heifu simply deliberately turned his head to look at the city wall and pretended not to hear it to save trouble.

Gongshi seemed to be very impressed with Heifu's promotion to the position of Pavilion Chief at such a young age. He was optimistic about him and said that Gongao had just turned 18, one year younger than Heifu, and was considered his junior. He hoped that Heifu would take care of him on the way north.

Gongao was dissatisfied and muttered: "How can a commoner without a surname like Lian take care of me?"

"You are really ungrateful!"

Gongshi scolded: "Heifu Pavilion Chief is a hairpin, isn't he higher than you?"

Gongao was just a little official. In front of the real title, he had to shut up and reluctantly greeted Heifu. Now it is Qin, not Chu. The status is not determined by the surname, but more by the title and official position.

Speaking of which, Bai Qi, whom they mentioned earlier, may be the biggest beneficiary of this system. It is said that Bai Qi is a descendant of Bai Gongsheng of Chu State, also known as Gongsun Qi, but when he was young, he had fallen to the status of a servant. In Chu, he would be an unwelcome descendant of a traitor, and he would never have a chance to make a name for himself. But in Qin, Bai Qi became a military officer by beheading people, and with the help of Wei Ran, Marquis of Rang, he rose to prominence and had the opportunity to shine...

Between Qin and Chu, Bai Qi chose Qin without hesitation.

After this episode, Hei Fu returned to the pavilion and told everyone that they would go on the road together with the soldiers of Yan County. Everyone was relieved when they heard this, which meant that they did not have to bear the risk of the prisoners escaping alone.

That night, Hei Fu looked at the dark walls of Yan County in the night, thinking: "In fact, Gong Ao was right. Bai Qi left not only the remaining prestige in Yan and Nanjun, but also the hatred of the locals towards Qin..."

From a military perspective, the Battle of Yan and Ying was a beautiful battle to destroy the country, and Bai Qi's boldness and military talent were perfectly reflected. But like all the battles commanded by Bai Qi, too many Chu people died in this battle.

In the battle of Yancheng, tens of thousands of people died in the belly of fish. Because there were too many corpses, the whole city was stinking. To this day, the pond in the east of the city is still called the "stinking pond". The memory of that war was also passed down from mouth to mouth, so that young people like Gong Ao still remember it vividly.

Similarly, many Chu people died in the battle of Yingdu.

So after the war, almost every household in Yan and Jiangling who survived had a grudge against Qin. Although after fifty years of rule, many people were moved from Qin, but the situation of local people's refusal to accept Qin's rule has not changed.

Hei Fu now understood why Du Xian repeatedly said that "Yan is difficult to govern" when they met. In the 19th year of Qin Wangzheng, Nanjun was on guard. In addition to the thieves in Yunmengze, it was also because Jiangling and Yancheng were somewhat unstable.

On the contrary, in the Qin-Chu war, it was easier for Qin to establish its rule in counties such as Anlu, which were not damaged too much. Anyway, for the common people, it didn't matter who they paid taxes to, whether they were feudal lords of Chu or officials of Qin. In this era of revenge, whether someone in the family was beheaded by the Qin army largely determined one's position on Qin.

"Yancheng, which has been established as a county for 50 years, is still like this. Isn't the hatred of Han, Zhao, Yan and other places that were just conquered more serious?"

Especially in Zhao, the scars left by the Battle of Changping have not healed yet. After the fall and massacre of Handan, I am afraid that another wound will be added. Those generous and tragic Yan and Zhao people are more difficult to rule than the Chu people in Nanjun. The royal families of the two countries fled to Baodai County and Liaodong, still resisting stubbornly. In September, a rebellion broke out in Xinzheng, Han. It was said that it had just been quelled, and Yingchuan County was still in some chaos...

"Under the trend of the times, the undercurrent is still surging." Thinking of this, Heifu fell into a deep sleep.

...

When Heifu and his men left Yancheng, they joined the three or four hundred people led by the left lieutenant of Yan County. The people recruited by Yan County were more garrison soldiers than prisoners, and the chances of the city officials escaping were greatly reduced. With their help and care, and Heifu's superstition that Bu Cheng deceived the Anlu prisoners into behaving, the rest of the journey was much easier.

On the winter solstice, a group of hundreds of people arrived at Canglang River.

The river flows eastwards from the Dangzhong River to the Han River, and then eastwards to the Canglang River. This is the boundary between Nanjun and Nanyang County...

As a tributary of the Han River, the Canglang River is not wide and turbulent, but if it rains, the mud from the upper reaches will be washed down, and the Canglang River will become turbid reddish brown.

But it is winter now, and the Canglang River is light green and clear, and the morning mist spreads on the river surface, as light as a spider web. There were several ferries on the water, slowly passing through the light mist and heading towards them. The boatman was still singing the ballad that Confucius heard when he passed by here hundreds of years ago...

"The water of Canglang is clear, so I can wash my hat; the water of Canglang is turbid, so I can wash my feet..."

Gong Ao, the angry young man standing side by side with Heifu, heard this and said meaningfully: "This water is very turbid. If I can wash my feet, I don't need to wash my hat."

Dongmen Bao Jiying, who was standing next to him, was an uneducated outsider who didn't understand the metaphor and said in a confused manner: "This water is very clear, not turbid."

Heifu smiled and shook his head.

Whether the water is clear or turbid is very different in the eyes of people of different classes.

Wash your hat with clear water and wash your feet with turbid water. It's up to you. This is certainly the ideal of the scholar class in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. However, in the face of the real great era, no matter what class or status you are, individuals have no choice.

Keep yourself out of trouble? In the end of the Warring States Period when the King of Qin swept the world, it did not exist.

You can only choose to be a stubborn stone that tries to stop a chariot with a mantis arm, and be smashed to pieces by the stormy waves called "unification".

Or choose to be a wave under the command of Feng Bo, go with the flow, preserve yourself, and then take the opportunity to rise straight up!

Although Gong Ao is obsessed with the old family feud, the Gong family of Yancheng still chose the latter, otherwise Gong Shi would not be so cautious in interacting with others, and let Gong Ao be a thief and mix into the system. Hatred is hatred, survival is survival, and if the family wants to continue, it must bow to reality.

As for Hei Fu? The good news is that his background and experience mean that he does not have to make a choice at this moment.

"Unification is the general trend of the world, it is mighty and mighty, those who follow it will prosper, those who go against it will perish!"

With this thought in mind, Heifu boarded the boat crossing the Canglang River. The boat sailed north, carrying him away from Nanjun and into Nanyang, getting farther and farther away from his peaceful hometown, but getting closer and closer to the drumbeats of war...

...

Just as Heifu and his men were waiting for the boat to dock in the cold wind of the Canglang River, two Qin generals were also waiting outside the tall city walls of Chenying (Huaiyang), hundreds of miles away in the northeast, at the end of the Honggou.

The two generals stood side by side on the heavy four-horse chariot, their armor was exquisitely made and colorful: brown-black armor, vermilion ribbons, lace around the armor, and gorgeous animal patterns painted on a white background. There were also several colorful flower knots on the chest, back, and shoulders, like medals in later generations, showing their different ranks and titles.

A tall and sturdy general wearing a long swallowtail crown and a mustache, who is over thirty years old, has fifteen knots on his armor, which means that his title is the 15th level "Shao Shang Zao"!

A short and sturdy general wearing a chopstick crown and a gray beard, who is over forty years old, has fourteen flower knots on his armor, which is the symbol of the 13th level "Zhong Geng".

Behind them, tens of thousands of fully armed Qin troops, black and dense, surrounded the entire Chen Ying. But despite the large number of people, they all squatted on the ground, as if waiting for the general's order...

After waiting for a long time, not only the soldiers were tired, but even the four horses of the chariot were impatient, and the horses' hooves stepped on the ground restlessly, making a "clack" sound.

Zhonggeng Qiang Wei (lěi) held his hand on the railing, anxiously looking at the gate of Chenying, which was scarred but closed tightly, and couldn't help but say to the commander beside him: "General Xiao Wang, Changping Jun has entered the city for an hour!"

Shaoshangzao Wang Ben, who was used to being called "General Xiao Wang", heard this and said to Qiang Wei, a veteran who followed his father in the wars, "So what?"

Qiang Wei whispered: "No matter what, Changping Jun is still a prince of Chu. If he..."

"Are you afraid that he will rebel against Qin and join Chu?"

Wang Ben smiled and said, "In the 36th year of King Zhao (271 BC), Changping Jun was born in Xianyang. His father was King Kaolie of Chu who was held hostage in Qin at that time, and his mother was the daughter of King Zhao of Qin. It has been 45 years since then. Later, King Kaolie was sent back to Chu by Huang Xie, but Changping Jun was kept by Queen Mother Huayang. He accompanied the king day and night in the palace. He was called cousin, but actually a brother."

"In the 9th year of this king, the king was in power. Lao Ai rebelled in Xianyang, and the king ordered Changping Jun to suppress him. In the 10th year of this king, Wenxin Hou was dismissed, and Changping Jun succeeded him as prime minister. He served as prime minister of Qin for 11 years. During this period, he worked diligently and helped the king to destroy Han and Zhao, and his contribution was indispensable..."

"Wasn't Changping Jun's position of prime minister dismissed by the king?" In the eyes of Qiang Wei and others, this was a sign that Changping Jun had lost the king's trust.

"Although Changping Jun was dismissed from his position as prime minister last year, the king still trusts him and ordered him to ride in the king's carriage to inspect the eastern counties. During this period, he also quelled the Xinzheng Rebellion and killed Han Wang An."

Wang Ben raised his whip and pointed at the gate of Chen Ying and said: "Now, Changping Jun has come to the front line. In order to avoid the lives of the people in the city and to avoid heavy casualties in the siege, he entered the city to persuade the Chu generals of Chen Ying to surrender. You are right. He is a prince of Chu and has the blood of the royal family of the surname Mi. But for forty-five years, Changping Jun has been living in Qin as a Qin person and has never set foot in Chu. Could it be that he has only been in Chu for an hour, and he can't keep his position as the prime minister of Qin for the previous eleven years?"

Besides, the king ordered in the edict that Changping Jun should enter Chen Ying to persuade him to surrender. Isn't it a test for him?

The king seemed to want to see what choice Changping Jun would make between Qin and Chu...

Wang Ben certainly hoped that Changping Jun would choose Qin like Wei Ran, Bai Qi and other Chu people. He secretly said: "Even if Changping Jun doesn't care about himself, he has to consider the eldest son..."

The eldest son Fusu, who was far away in Xianyang, was born to Changping Jun's sister. Although Fusu was only ten years old, he was very smart and wise, and had the appearance of a benevolent monarch. Changping Jun's choice not only concerns himself, but also the status of Fusu.

I hope he can think it through.

After that, Wang Ben ordered: "I believe that Changping Jun will not be so confused. Since we have made an agreement with him, we must keep our word and order the three armies to continue waiting. No attack on the city is allowed before the sun rises!"

Qiang Wei had no choice but to agree, but he secretly thought that compared with the old General Wang's use of both strange and orthodox tactics, this young General Wang's actions were still too orthodox...

Fortunately, his worries were unnecessary. After another hour, just as the agreed time was approaching, the gate of Chen Ying finally opened slowly!

A handsome minister with a long crown and brocade clothes and a long beard to his chest came out in a carriage. It was Changping Jun! The carriage drove all the way to the front of the Qin army. Changping Jun threw the bright red Chu phoenix flag in his hand into the mud in front of the formation, and at the same time waved his arms and shouted:

"Chen Ying, surrender!"

"Qin will win!" Tens of thousands of Qin soldiers raised their weapons and cheered! The tiles on the top of Chenying City were shaking!

"How?"

Amid the noisy cheers, Wang Ben looked at Qiang Wei and laughed: "It seems that Changping Jun has made a choice between Qin and Chu!"

After saying that, Wang Ben no longer looked at the city in front of him, but turned his head and looked to the northwest, to the other side of the chasm!

There, there is a more magnificent and grand city, waiting for Wang Ben.

Waiting for him to conquer! Waiting for him to establish the feat of destroying countries and cities! Waiting for him to gain a reputation like his father!

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