The Great Qin Empire---Qin Li

Qin was a country based on nobility. In order to let people know the status at a glance, each nobility had a unique symbol.

Shiwu was also called Qianshou, which means black coarse cloth wrapped on the bun.

Gongshi was the lowest nobility, and the brown scarf on the bun was its symbol.

Of course, there was no ceremony for the mere Gongshi. It was just a change of cloth on the head. It was not treated differently, because there were many Gongshi with brown cloth on the street. At most, it could get the envious eyes of Shiwu such as Ji Ying.

Heifu wanted to thank Xi again. Without Xi's reminder, he, who was illiterate in Qin law, might have left with the reward money in a daze.

But Xi had already gone home. Instead, his subordinate Le smiled and congratulated Heifu and chatted with them for a few words.

Le told Heifu that the county would immediately issue a document asking the township and village where he was born to change his identity record. The county also changed Heifu's identity card and traditional system, and now on the newly issued ID card, he is already a "gongshi Heifu".

At the same time, the government will grant him the treatment of a gongshi with one hectare of land and one house, that is, one hundred acres of land and a 30-step square homestead, on which Heifu can build his own house, but the procedures for these things are more complicated and cannot be completed in ten days or half a month.

"When you finish your night watch and return to your hometown, you will be able to see your own fields and house. Perhaps the government will assign a servant to help you plow the fields."

After Le finished explaining these things, he smiled bitterly and said, "Only Xijun would insist on trying cases on the first day of the new year and not let us take a rest. I have to go home quickly, otherwise my father will scold me."

With that, he left in a hurry, but before leaving, he hesitated again and again, patted Heifu's shoulder, restrained his smile and said, "Be careful when you get to the night watch..."

Heifu didn't understand what he said for a while.

After leaving the county prison, Heifu stood at the gate, closed his eyes, and felt the warm sunshine. This is the taste of freedom.

Looking back at the strict order in the county prison, and then looking at the lively people coming and going on the street, it seems like a lifetime ago.

When he entered here, he was still a young soldier who didn't know his future. Now, he has taken the first step in this era and got the title he dreamed of.

But he was not satisfied with this. Being a mere public official was still not enough!

The reason why Heifu thought so was because during the interrogation today, just because the head of Huyang Pavilion was a title of Shangzao or above, he was exempted from guarding the border and changed to ghost firewood, which gave him inspiration.

Through this lawsuit, Heifu realized that Qin law was so strict. Living in Qin, you might accidentally touch the red line and break the law one day.

If it was an ordinary citizen or a public official, he would be punished as he should. But if he had a title of Shangzao or above, he could use the title to offset the crime and reduce the guilt.

"For the sake of my own life, at least I have to be promoted to Shangzao first, which would be safer."

Thinking of this, Heifu called Ji Ying and wanted to report to the South Gate Parade Ground of the county town with him - today was the day they served their shifts.

"Go now?"

Ji Ying looked unhappy and said, "Brother Heifu, although the service period cannot be delayed, didn't the jailer just say that we can postpone our service for one day? You and I just got so much reward money, how can we not have a good meal to celebrate? Besides..."

He pointed to the bustling and lively crowd on the street and said, "Today is the New Year!"

"New Year?"

Heifu looked confused and muttered, "Today is the first day of October, and winter has just begun. What New Year is it?"

...

"Brother Heifu, you are eloquent and smart in the county prison, but when you come out, you seem to be bewitched by a ghost and don't even know when the New Year is?"

After a while, Ji Ying looked Hei Fu up and down, as if he was looking at a person who had returned from a distant barbarian country. He had lived for seventeen or eighteen years, but he didn't even know which day the New Year was. He was too confused. Or was he possessed by a demon and his soul was seduced away by a deceiving ghost?

"I stayed in there for a long time, and I made a slip of the tongue, a slip of the tongue..."

Hei Fu knew that he had made a fool of himself, so he had to evade the question, and at the same time he complained in his heart: "I am not a researcher of ancient calendars. At most, I know some historical events. How can I know that in Qin State, today is the first day of the New Year!"

It turned out that the Qin State calendar was not only very different from the Gregorian calendar of later generations, but also different from the Xia calendar (lunar calendar), but a unique "Zhuanxu calendar". The biggest feature of this calendar is that it takes the first month of winter in Jianhai, that is, the first day of the tenth lunar month, as the beginning of the year, so this day is indeed the first day of the new year...

Looking at the officials and nobles at all levels who come in and out of the county prison and the county temple, when they meet each other, they will smile and bow, saying, "Hello, Zhengdan." Just treat it as a New Year's greeting.

When leaving the county prison, the prison guard Le told them that considering that the two of them had been delayed in the county prison for a long time to cooperate with the trial, they were allowed to go to the place of service one day later, which means that they will have to go there tomorrow. They were also given a bamboo slip with the cause and effect written on it, just as proof...

So Hei Fu put his mind at ease and walked around Anlu County on this "first day of the new year" with a hint of curiosity.

Anlu County is an ancient city. It is said that it was built when the Wu army entered Ying and King Zhao of Chu took refuge during the Spring and Autumn Period three hundred years ago. It is not known whether it is true or not. Anyway, during the hundreds of years of Chu's rule, this place was an important transportation hub in the Jianghan area. After being occupied by the Qin State, this place continued to develop. Now the city has a circumference of five or six miles, with three thousand households and a population of nearly 20,000. It is a well-deserved large county.

The county town can be roughly divided into two urban areas, the east and west. The west city is adjacent to the Lushui River and has a small ferry. It is the location of the li (residential area) and the market. The east city is adjacent to Quyang Lake. It is said that it was the palace of the King of Chu in the past. Now it has been converted into an official temple. The county prison where Heifu and his men stayed for many days is here.

This afternoon, all officials can take a rest. The official temple area is relatively deserted. After leaving the east city and entering the li li area, the atmosphere of the New Year is even stronger.

I saw the nobles living in the city walking on the road, some wearing newly sewn winter clothes, some holding chickens and ducks, carrying dog legs and fresh fish, which is equivalent to buying New Year goods.

In the scattered villages in the distance, people can be seen replacing the peach charms for the doors. These are rectangular peach wood boards with the names of the two gods "Shentu" and "Yulei" written on them. They are used to drive away ghosts. The Qin people believe in this.

"In China, no matter which dynasty or generation, the New Year is the New Year..."

Looking at these New Year scenes, Hei Fu felt a little lonely for some reason.

Yes, during the New Year, everyone should be reunited at home, but he can't go back now, whether it is his home in his previous life or his home in Qin.

Ji Ying, who was standing by, stamped his feet in anger: "It's so unlucky that I have to serve on duty during the New Year! How did I offend the head of the village?"

Then he asked Heifu: "Brother Heifu, does your family have a grudge against the head of the village? That's why you were ordered to serve."

It turned out that in the Qin State, all adult men who met the height and age requirements had to register their names and serve one month of duty in the county every year. As for who would serve in which month, it was decided by the head of the village. The head of the village would number all the eligible people in the village, and everyone would take turns to serve in order, which was called "serving first and last". As for the order of numbers, it was generally based on the organization of each family, but the possibility of human manipulation of queue jumping was not ruled out.

After Ji Ying asked this, Heifu remembered this: "My eldest brother seemed to have some conflicts with the head of the village. My mother complained a few words when I left home..."

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