The Great Qin Empire---Qin Li

"After you leave Waihuang, do not go to Jiyang or Taoqiu. I heard from my retainers that those two places are under siege by the Qin army of Henei and Dongjun. They are not safe."

One day in late February, outside the north gate of Waihuang City, Zhang Er was seeing off his father-in-law, his wife, and his eight-year-old son Zhang Ao.

Zhang Er was in his prime, about thirty-seven or eight years old, with a black face and long beard, wearing a light gauze dress, a small leather crown on his head, and a long sword on his waist.

He was from Daliang, Wei State. He was born in a poor family. When he was young, he became a knight-errant in Liang City, wandering the streets all day. Because he liked to be chivalrous and righteous, he also got a reputation as a "righteous man".

Zhang Er's fate was changed in the 30th year of King Anli of Wei (247 BC). At that time, Wei State was under fierce attack by the Qin army and was in danger. At the repeated request of the King of Wei, Xinling Jun, who had gone to Handan to steal the seal to save Zhao, finally ended his ten-year exile in Zhao.

Under the expectation of the army and people of Wei, the prince returned to Daliang and took on the heavy responsibility of the coalition to resist Qin!

Those were the years that Zhang Er recalled 20 years later and still yearned for. Xinling Jun accepted the appointment of the King of Wei and served as the general. He contacted the various countries in Shandong and formed a coalition of five countries, Wei, Chu, Zhao, Han, and Yan, to attack Qin. He defeated the Qin army in Hedong and forced Qin General Meng Ao to retreat to Hangu Pass. Qin did not dare to go east for several years.

The success of the coalition to attack Qin made Xinling Jun famous again and his guests were full!

It was also at that time that the passionate and chivalrous Zhang Er relied on his reputation of "good righteousness" to defeat many competitors and join Xinling Jun as his retainer!

Although he was just a guest, he mixed among the thousands of guests of Xinling Jun. Not only could he not compare with Hou Ying and Zhu Hai, two great warriors of Daliang City, but he had only seen Xinling Jun from afar a few times.

In Zhang Er's eyes, the master Xinling Jun, who he could only look up to from afar, was getting thinner and thinner.

Prince Xinling had a high spirit, but the reality of being suspected by the King of Wei made him indulge in sensual pleasures, becoming increasingly weak, and finally passing away...

After Xinling Jun's death, except for some guests who insisted on staying in front of his tomb to guard it, the remaining thousands of guests almost all dispersed in one day.

Zhang Er, who lost his master, also lost his job, scattered among the people, and became a wanderer in the neighborhood again. But at this moment, the State of Wei was declining under the pressure of the State of Qin, and the livelihood of the wanderers who did not work became more and more difficult. The conflicts between the wanderers of different groups became more and more acute, and in order to compete for territory, bloodshed and death were common.

Ten years ago, Zhang Er accidentally killed someone while serving as a knight in Daliang, so he had to flee from Daliang and hide in Waihuang County, 200 miles to the east.

This was the second place where his fate changed.

Waihuang was 200 miles east of Daliang. The most famous rich man in the city was the Huang family. Mr. Huang had a daughter who was a famous beauty in Waihuang. Unfortunately, she was married to an old friend of Mr. Huang, a scholar who was of noble birth but mediocre.

Mrs. Huang was not only beautiful, but also arrogant. She could not stand her husband's mediocrity and stupidity, so she did something that shocked Waihuang County: she ran away!

She ran to a guest of Mr. Huang, and Zhang Er happened to be hiding in that guest's house to avoid being arrested by the Wei government. The guest was on good terms with Zhang Er and wanted to be a matchmaker, so he said to the Huang family girl, "If you want to find a good husband, no one can match you except Zhang Er!"

So, with the introduction of the guest, the Huang family girl met Zhang Er. Although Zhang Er was born in poverty and was a fugitive, he was handsome and strong. Moreover, because he had been a disciple of Lord Xinling, he was knowledgeable and well-spoken, and he immediately captured the heart of the Huang family girl...

During the Warring States Period, people were open-minded, men and women were free to interact, and there was no emphasis on the virtue of women being faithful to one person in marriage. It was common for husbands to divorce their wives or wives to leave their husbands. They would part ways amicably and would not be condemned by public opinion.

So the Huang family girl ended her marriage with her mediocre ex-husband and remarried Zhang Er.

Zhang Er was a fugitive in Waihuang, poor and helpless. Now there was a rich and beautiful woman willing to marry him. It was really a pie in the sky, and he agreed to the marriage immediately.

Wei State was not as good as Qin State. Although it also had written laws, personal connections were everywhere. As long as enough money was spent and the connections in the Daliang court were opened, even the crime of murder could be exempted.

So with the help of Huang's internal and external arrangements, Zhang Er was actually acquitted!

Not only that, he also began to play the advantage of being a guest of Xinling. With the generous support of his wife's family, he was generous and righteous, and made friends with heroes, so that young knights from far and near came to him. So Zhang Er went from being a guest of Xinling in the past to the master of the sect today, known as the first hero of Waihuang.

At this time, Zhang Er's ambitions were growing. He was not satisfied with being just a gangster boss. With the support of his wife's family and guests, he entered the political arena. Relying on bribery and lobbying, he was appointed as the Waihuang Order by the Wei government.

The former fugitive suddenly became the official of Waihuang. This would never happen in Qin, but it was not strange in the six kingdoms.

Because the six kingdoms were different from Qin, the general public under the nobles was a comfortable society with a strong chivalrous spirit. The knights traveled between countries and placed their trust in the nobles, which promoted the trend of raising scholars in various countries.

In addition to the four deceased princes, the prince Dan of Yan and others were either princes of the royal family or high-ranking officials. They lived in the capital and had their own territories and fiefs to raise scholars. Their guests came from all over the country and even foreign countries, numbering in the thousands. They were knights who had enough power to rival the country and could be called national knights.

The next level of rangers is Zhang Er. They are either born and raised in the rich, or are scholars who have close ties with the rich. They live in counties and have a lot of assets. The rangers in a county come to follow their reputation and become their disciples. There are tens or hundreds of them. They can be called county knights.

In the six countries, the distance from county knights to county officials is not far. Zhang Er, a county knight who is destined to be wanted in Qin, is doing well in both the black knights and the white officials! His reputation not only surpasses Waihuang County and Wei's capital Daliang, but also transcends national boundaries and becomes a famous scholar in Liang, Chu, and Zhao.

Unfortunately, Zhang Er's good days did not last for a few years. Now, the third turning point of his fate seems to be coming.

In January, Qin general Wang Ben attacked Wei and Daliang was besieged.

In February, the general of Qin, Qiang Wei, marched eastward and occupied Chenliu in mid-February, and divided his troops to attack neighboring counties.

Waihuang County, which was only fifty or sixty miles away from Chenliu, was not spared.

Zhang Er had also heard that Qin hated knights the most, especially county knights like him who had great influence. They were directly regarded as the "five pests" that harmed the country and were denounced as "Confucians disrupting the law with literature, and knights violating the ban with force." After all, the knight-errant spirit is rooted in the laissez-faire nature of human nature, and the nature of not wanting to be constrained by social groups is simply the natural enemy of Qin's laws and officialdom!

Once the Qin army occupied Waihuang, Zhang Er would definitely be arrested and even lose his head.

So, before the Qin army arrived, Zhang Er hesitated between leaving and staying.

But in the end, he chose to stay.

"Since I have been appointed as the magistrate of Waihuang by the King of Wei, I eat the rice of Wei and wear the official uniform of Wei, so I cannot abandon the city and leave."

Zhang Er said this to his wife, children and guests.

"I should be as faithful as Wei Sheng, who would rather die by hugging a pillar in the raging waves than abandon and live in disgrace!"

But behind this righteousness, Zhang Er actually had his own selfishness.

He learned one thing from Xinling Jun: give what you take, repay what you do, which is about righteousness; do what you promise, save people from difficulties, and do not avoid life and death, which is about faith. Faith and loyalty are the foundation for the survival of chivalrous men in the world. Without these two things, they are nothing.

For Zhang Er, what is more terrible than death is the fall of his reputation that he has worked hard to build for many years.

So he must stay, at least to resist for a while, to let the world know that the famous hero Zhang Er has not let down the State of Wei!

But his wife and children must be sent away first.

After a long reminiscence, Zhang Er patted his wife's hand and continued to instruct: "You all go to Yangwu County first, it is still safe there, hide in the county, if the Qin army occupies that place, don't panic, the Qin people suddenly come here, it must be difficult to find out the population and hometown of each place, just pretend to be a local. When the war subsides, Chen Yu will send someone to pick you up to Zhao..."

Chen Yu, also from Daliang, is fond of Confucianism and is a sworn brother of Zhang Er. Because he is more than ten years younger than Zhang Er, he treats him as his father.

Now Chen Yu is in Zhao, and he is well-known in the local area. He has land and houses. He is the most trusted person in Zhang Er's life and can entrust his wife to him.

After sending his wife away, Zhang Er did not stay outside Waihuang City for a long time, but asked his confidants to guard the secret tunnel for escape, and he went to the mansion himself.

Since they decided to stay and resist, they had to at least repel the first round of Qin's attack. However, Zhang Er knew that the military force of Waihuang County itself might not be able to fight against the Qin army.

The main force of Wei State was defeated by Wang Ben's army returning from Chen Ying in January. The remaining tens of thousands of people were besieged in Daliang and could not protect themselves. Ningling Lord Wei Ju gathered thousands of people and fled to Suiyang, but it was difficult to rescue Waihuang.

Most of the thousands of men in the city were untrained. Although they could make noise and create momentum, they were difficult to rely on when the real fight started.

Therefore, Zhang Er could only use the two hundred county soldiers in the county. If he added the two or three hundred retainers under his command, he might be able to fight...

Zhang Er must convince them! Convince those light knights from Liang, Chu, and Qi to die for him!

…

An hour later, in Zhang's house in Waihuang, Zhang Er asked the servants to open half of the wine in the mansion, slaughtered pigs and sheep, and gathered all the guests in the yard. They drank and sang, but did not talk about defending the enemy. Instead, he told the deeds of Prince Xinling in the past with deep affection.

"The prince was kind and humble. He treated all the scholars, regardless of whether they were virtuous or not, with humility and courtesy. He did not dare to be arrogant with his wealth and honor. Scholars from thousands of miles away rushed to him, and he had 3,000 guests... "

Zhang Er picked up the wine cup and sighed: "At the peak of my school, there were only 300 people, far inferior to the prince... Although the prince is gone, every time I think of him, I feel that he is even higher than I admire him!"

Zhang Er heard this sentence from Chen Yu, who was good at Confucianism.

The retainers and knights all beat their chests and stamped their feet, sighing: "Young Master is a real hero! What a pity that we can't see him in person."

Zhang Er smiled and then talked about another thing.

"Qin defeated Zhao in Changping, and Pingyuan Jun asked Wei for help, but the King of Wei didn't want to help. Xinling Jun tried hard to persuade him, but he thought he couldn't convince the King of Wei, and he didn't want to live and let Zhao perish, so he invited guests and asked for more than a hundred carriages and horses, wanting to take the guests to the Qin army and die with Zhao!"

"At that time, Hou Ying committed suicide to send the young master off, and Zhu Hai wielded a golden hammer to kill Jin Bi, so that Xinling Jun stole the seal to save Zhao, which shocked the world!"

The retainers praised again and stood up. Most of them were of humble origins and spoke crudely, but to sum it up, there are two sentences for later generations.

Even if the chivalrous spirit is fragrant after death, it is not ashamed of the heroes in the world!

Seeing the atmosphere gradually heated up, Zhang Er knew that the time was ripe, so he put down the wine and encouraged loudly: "My dear friends, although we can't see Xinling Jun again, today, Qin surrounded Daliang and attacked various counties with a small army. I have heard from the scouts that a Qin army of more than a thousand people has approached Waihuang twenty miles away and will arrive tomorrow!"

He drew his sword and said fiercely: "As the governor of Waihuang, I have the responsibility to defend the land for the king, which is trustworthy, and I need to protect the people from the Qin invaders, which is righteousness. Therefore, we cannot abandon the city and live in disgrace. Now I am willing to follow the example of Xinling Jun, and invite all the guests to defend Waihuang, resist the Qin army, and die with the city! My dear friends, are you willing to follow me?"

The guests who were so heroic just now were stunned when they heard this. The local foreigners were fine, and they had a desire to defend their hometown, but the guests from Chu, Qi, and Zhao were a little hesitant. Not everyone of them was loyal and righteous, and most of them were just here to make a living. It was okay to be a thug for Zhang Er, but you had to think twice before risking your life for him.

Seeing this, Zhang Er sighed lightly, put down his wine glass and said: "In the past, when Lian Po, the general of Zhao, lost his power, all his guests left. When he was re-employed as a general, the guests returned. Lian Po was indignant, and the guests replied, "The world is connected by the market. If you have power, I will follow you. If you have no power, I will leave. This is the truth..."

"I didn't expect that I, Zhang Er, would have such a day?"

As soon as these words came out, the guests were immediately indignant.

A big man with a high nose and a beautiful beard stood up angrily. He was in his early thirties and was half drunk because he loved wine.

The big man wiped the remaining wine from his beard and said loudly in his unique Chu Peisi accent:

"I have always respected the name of Xinling Jun. I heard that Zhang Jun was an old guest of Xinling and inherited the ambition of the prince, so I came here from Pei and ate under Zhang Jun. Although I have been a guest for only a few months, a real man should value his promise and keep his faith. Now that the master is in trouble, how can I abandon him as a guest?"

He bowed and said loudly: "If Zhang Jun wants to lead the people to resist the Qin invaders, Liu Ji of Pei County is willing to follow him! I will not regret it even if I die!"

Although he said so, Liu Ji was not thinking of revenge by dying, but...

"The Qin people are powerful, Nai Gong should kill a few Qin people to repay Zhang Er's wine and meat, and then run away!"