The Great Qin Empire---Qin Li

In mid-April, in the wild outside Quyang, Huainan, hundreds of Chu soldiers squatted on the ground in a panic. Their weapons and armor had been taken away long ago, and they were now unarmed captives.

Chen Ying also squatted in the crowd, complaining bitterly in his heart.

About half a month ago, the Chu State Ling Yin Changping Jun sent people to Dongyang County, asking the county magistrate to organize the remaining men in the county and go to the capital Shouchun to "serve the king."

Chen Ying, a minor official in Dongyang County who just turned 35 this year, was also among the conscriptions. Although his mother was illiterate, she was a wise person. Before leaving, she leaned against the door and told him:

"My son, you once told me that Shang Zhuguo led his troops to fight against the Qin army. Now you are not going to Huaibei to reinforce but to Shouchun to defend the king. It seems that Shang Zhuguo must have been defeated. Even with the talent of Shang Zhuguo, it is difficult to defeat Qin with so many soldiers, let alone you? If you encounter something bad on the way, remember to save your life. I heard that the King of Chu killed even his own brother and slandered the former king as not being his father's son. Such a king is not worth dying for..."

Chen Ying listened to his mother very much and agreed.

The county magistrate led a thousand Dongyang soldiers and walked all the way west, constantly joining forces with people from all over Huainan to defend the king, and got four or five thousand people. Chen Ying found that there were many old, weak and children among them, because most of Ding Zhuang went to Huaibei, and now his life or death is unknown.

Along the way, Chen Ying also heard a lot of people talking about the war in Huaibei. Some people said that Xiang Yan committed suicide after being defeated, and some people said that he escaped, and the current army to support the king was organized by him.

But everyone was a little panicked. The elite troops led by Xiang Yan were defeated. What use would they, the common people who neglected training, have?

When they arrived at Xiquyang, more than a hundred miles away from Shouchun, they were suddenly attacked!

Chen Ying stared in amazement at the Qin army rushing out of the woods on the side of the road and cutting the team in two. According to the county magistrate, wasn't the main force of the Qin army drinking from the Huai River and preparing to attack Shouchun? Why did they meet in the heart of Huainan...

There was no suspense in this battle. The army to support the king, which was put together from east to west, was quickly defeated. The county magistrate of Dongyang and several military officers died in the first place. A thousand people in Dongyang also fled in all directions and were chased by the Qin people's chariots and cavalry.

It was Chen Ying who remembered his mother's instructions. He shouted "We surrender" and threw away his weapons with hundreds of his fellow villagers. Only then did the Qin people stop attacking at the order of a black-faced officer.

The crowd was surrounded by a fence made of sharp wooden stakes, and hundreds of archers surrounded them.

At present, the Qin soldiers who went to hunt down the Chu people returned one after another. Basically, each of them had a bloody head hanging on their waists. They were in high spirits. When they got close, their eyes kept glancing at the necks of the Chu captives. That look was as if they saw a money bag!

Chen Ying's back was chilled by their stares. He had heard that if the Qin people made the first contribution, he and these Dongyang folks might die on the spot at the order of the officer. For a while, the Chu people whispered to each other.

At this time, a Qin soldier with a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks came over and shouted in the Nanjun dialect that they could barely understand: "Who are you leading? Stand up, the commander has something to ask!"

The Dongyang men looked at each other in bewilderment. The county magistrate was dead, and several military officials had either fled or died. Among them, only a dozen squad leaders and corporals were left.

"Among us, Chen Ying is the oldest and has always been trustworthy. Why not let Chen Ying go!" Someone shouted, and a group of squad leaders and corporals agreed, and pushed Chen Ying out...

The Qin soldier looked at him: "Your name is Chen Ying?"

"Yes..." Chen Ying agreed with a stiff face.

The Qin soldier was happy: "You have the same name as me, my name is Ji Ying."

Ji Ying was polite, but his men were ruthless. With a wave of his hand, he asked two people to tie Chen Ying up, search his body, and then take him to the temporary camp set up by the Qin people.

There were about 10,000 Qin soldiers attacking them. Most of them were heading towards Xiquyang City. Only a thousand or so were left to guard the camp. Chen Ying carefully passed by the Qin soldiers who were making a fire and cooking, and walked to the tent in the center of the camp. The black-faced officer who led the group was talking to another white-faced military officer.

Chen Ying's hands were tied, and he was kicked in the leg by Ji Ying. He fell to his knees in front of the two men with a plop. His knees landed on a hard stone, and he gasped in pain...

...

Hei Fu stopped talking with Zhang Han, looked up at the Chu man who was brought here, and saw that he had a long beard and was probably over 30 years old. When asked again, he was just a small sergeant...

"I am a small official in Dongyang County, just trying to make ends meet. This time I followed the county magistrate out. Because all the military officers died in the battle, I was pushed out by them to answer the general's questions because I was the oldest among the remaining people." Chen Ying answered honestly.

"Where is Dongyang?"

Heifu asked Jiying to spread out the map and found the location. It turned out to be west of the Hangou Canal, at the junction of Anhui and Jiangsu in later generations.

"Dongyang is a small county, 520 miles away from Shouchun, and it takes half a month to walk." Chen Ying added immediately for fear that the Qin official would be suspicious.

Heifu raised his eyes: "Have you been to Shouchun?"

"I went there twice when I was young."

Being able to travel outside shows that this person's family conditions are not bad.

Heifu nodded and asked again: "Besides you, do you know where other Chu divisions heading to Shouchun set out from?"

Chen Ying reported all the teams he met on the road, and he didn't know if he asked more details.

Hei Fu knew that this person was of low status and could not get anything out of him. He waved his hand and wanted Ji Ying to take him away. Unexpectedly, Chen Ying had a strong desire to survive. He suddenly bowed his head and said, "We are just ordinary people in Chu. We follow the orders of the county magistrate. We are not determined to oppose Qin. I hope the general will spare our lives!"

Zhang Han on the side said, "If you let it go, who knows if you will change again!"

"Absolutely not. We will return to Dongyang and tell the elders of Dongyang what we have seen and heard."

Chen Ying said, "Now Chu is defeated and Qin is victorious. The Chu country will perish and the land will become a county of Qin. If we are released, the King of Qin will have hundreds more registered households. If we are killed, every family in Dongyang will lose their fathers, brothers, children and grandchildren. They will fight to the death with Qin. So I am not afraid of benefiting, but killing is harmful!"

"In the Qin army, heads are considered merits." Hei Fu looked at Chen Ying's head with a smile.

Chen Ying suppressed his fear and bowed his head, saying, "I heard that hundreds of thousands of Xiang Yan's men were killed. Didn't the general kill enough in Huaibei? Or do you think that our heads are more valuable than those of the princes and nobles in Shouchun City?"

Hei Fu laughed dumbly: "Although you are just a small county official, a small sergeant, you can see the situation clearly. You dare to say anything to save your own life and the lives of your fellow villagers."

After thinking for a moment, he said, "We are not bloodthirsty people. So, since you have been to Shouchun, you should stay in our army as a guide. I will let your fellow villagers leave. But if they still oppose Qin in the future, or resist stubbornly..."

Hei Fu smiled kindly and said, "I will kill you!"

...

After Chen Ying left, Zhang Han praised him, "I never thought that a small county official would have such insight and courage."

"In a town of ten households, there must be a loyal person; in a town of a hundred households, there must be a wise man."

Hei Fu said: "However, after the decisive battle in Qinan, General Wang also ordered the armies to issue a ban, prohibiting the killing of prisoners. Perhaps it was also a preparation for sending officials to govern after the capture of Chu..."

Almost a month had passed since the battle. Wang Jian first spent several days to conquer Qicheng, which was guarded by Zhaohua, the left Sima of Chu. He also ordered the various troops to hunt down the remaining enemies. The heads cut off were enough for the officers to meet the standard of "Yinglun", so the organized killing of prisoners organized by the officers disappeared. At most, the soldiers who did not get the credit secretly killed prisoners and civilians because they were eager for heads.

After that, Wang Jian separated the three armies of Qin that had reunited.

The northern army led by Feng Wuze was divided into two parts. The main force attacked Xiapi, Xiaxiang and the eastern coastal areas where the remnants of the Xiang family were entrenched. The detachment turned around and headed towards the old land of Lu. The Confucian scholars in Zou and Lu were finally about to usher in the rule of "tyrannical Qin".

Wang Jian personally led the central army to attack Xiacai, and collected boats and wood everywhere, preparing to build a floating bridge on the Huai River to cross the water and attack Shouchun, the capital of Chu on the opposite bank.

As for Meng Wu's southern army, he was ordered to march southeast. When Wang Jian attracted all the troops of the remnants of the Huainan Chu army in Shangcai, he had already forced the Huai River from Zhongli and sent people to attack cities and seize land.

Heifu and his Nanjun soldiers were the vanguard of Meng Wu. They have now occupied Xiquyang, cutting off the only way for the King of Chu to escape from Shouchun. In addition, they also blocked the Chu Huainan and Jiangdong troops who were loyal to the king, turning Shouchun into an isolated city.

Shouchun is bordered by the Huai River to the north and Shaobei to the south. Since the capital was moved here in the 22nd year of King Kaolie of Chu (241 BC), the comfortable life of the King of Chu and the nobles lasted only more than ten years, but they were about to face a catastrophe...

In the next few days, Heifu and his men defeated several Chu troops organized by Changping Jun to rescue Shouchun from Jiangdong and Huainan.

By the end of April, Mengwu had already reached Shaobei. The Chu army could no longer defend the Huai River and had to retreat back to the city.

Mengwu led tens of thousands of people to approach the city and cooperated with the Qiang tribe from Yingkou to surround a corner of the city.

The Nanjun Corps was ordered to meet Wang Jian in the east of the city near the Huai River to cross the Huai River. The location where Heifu and his men camped was just between a mountain and a river.

"The water is called Feishui."

Even though Chen Ying was unwilling, he could only serve as Heifu's guide. He pointed to the Huaihe River tributary running in front of him, and pointed to the hills with towering pines and cypresses behind him and said, "The mountain is called Bagong Mountain!"

Upon hearing the name, Heifu was immediately happy. He took his men to Bagong Mountain to look far away. Looking north, he could see Wang Jian's main force crossing the floating bridge from Xishikou, known as the "key point on the Huai River". This was the result of Zhang Han and other military commanders and civilians working hard for several days.

Looking southwest again, the magnificent palaces and towers of Shouchun City could be seen at a glance.

At this moment, in Shouchun City, the King of Chu might also be looking far away in this direction, seeing that the Qin army was in good order and the soldiers were elite...

Heifu couldn't help but sighed: "In the eyes of King Fuchu of Chu, Bagong Mountain, at this moment, is also full of enemies!"