The Great Qin Empire---Qin Li

In the middle of November in the 25th year of Qin Wangzheng, in Yugan, more than 300 miles away from Pengze, at a mountain pass two miles away from the city, dry bamboo and wood were stuffed into the stove, and the furnace was immediately filled with smoke and dust.

Hundreds of Ganyue people, some with topknots and some with cut hair, were surrounding this smelting workshop. They passed a basket of collected nails and hair one by one to the swordsmith in a leather skirt, and then poured them into the furnace. Suddenly, the fire became stronger and a burnt smell spread in the air.

"Cut off hair and nails, throw them into the furnace, and the gold and iron will be moistened, and then they will become swords!"

Led by a young man with a topknot and bare upper body, the Ganyue people raised their hands high and shouted loudly in their language.

The young man is called Wu Rui (ruì), the son of Wu Shen, the Lord of Yugan. His father is old and weak, and he has been ill since winter, so he will attend the sword sacrifice ceremony on behalf of his father.

There are many copper, tin and iron mines in the Yugan area, and sword-making is the specialty of the Ganyue people. Three hundred years ago, when the Xu people crossed the river to Pengze in the south, King Helu of Wu dominated the Jianghuai area and ruled the area. He ordered Ganyue to present swords and sword-making craftsmen, so Ganjiang and his wife Moye were sent to Gusu to make swords for the King of Wu.

It is said that at that time, the King of Wu ordered thousands of people to mine the iron essence of the Five Mountains and the gold essence of the Six Directions, and asked 300 girls and boys to fill the charcoal with charcoal, while Ganjiang and Moye forged the sword, cut their hair and nails, and threw them into the furnace, so that the gold and iron were moistened and the sword was made. The Yang is called Gan Jiang, and the Yin is called Moye, which has become a famous sword in the world...

So the people in the Central Plains called the sword "the sword of Wu Yue", and the Wu and Yue countries called it "the sword of Gan Yue".

At present, the Spring and Autumn Period of Wu Yue has long disappeared, but the Gan Yue people of Yuganshui have continued the tradition of sword casting from generation to generation.

The sword is the first wife of a Gan Yue man. Every year, they will use chicken divination to calculate a good day to cast a good sword and present it to the king.

At present, the hair and nails have been put into the furnace, and more than a hundred people have started to blow the wind and load charcoal. After a morning of smelting, the copper and tin have finally melted completely.

At this time, in the eyes of everyone's reverence, Wu Rui strode forward, took over the work in the hands of the engineer, and poured the gold liquid into the sword mold with his own hands!

Under the high temperature, sweat flowed on Wu Rui's bronze skin, and the dragon and snake tattoo on his arm seemed to come alive.

After that, after several days of cooling and solidification, the bronze sword was formed, but the quality of the sword is still unknown.

"I only hope that when this sword is produced, it can cut cattle and horses on land, hit swans and geese on water, and kill the enemy immediately!"

Wu Rui waved his arms and shouted, looking forward to it sincerely!

So far, his mission has been completed. Next, everything has to be handed over to the blessing of time and ghosts and gods.

Wu Rui put on a rough linen cloth and returned to the city with the Ganyue people who came to watch the sword casting. The smoke from the cooking rose up. It was time for dinner. Everyone seemed to have smelled the fragrance of fish soup and rice at home.

The city of the Ganyue people is very distinctive. It is built directly on the edge of the Yugan River. Along the river, there are bamboo and wood buildings with thatched stilts, which are very similar to the Dai small buildings in later generations. Several pillars support the main body of the house off the ground, with people living on the upper part and livestock below. The land in the south of the Yangtze River is low and hot, but this kind of building is cool all year round.

The real city is next to these bamboo houses. It is a small rammed earth town that is more than ten feet high. This small town was built by Wu Rui's father Wu Shen and the local Gan Yue people twenty years ago. It is also the first city on the Yugan River.

The Gan Yue people they met along the way respected Wu Rui very much and bowed to him. There was also an old man holding his hand and sighing: "Twenty years ago, we were still migrating along this river and often attacked other Yue tribes. Thanks to Mr. Wu coming here, he taught us to build a city and gather more than ten villages into one town. From then on, we no longer fear being robbed by other tribes!"

Yugan has become the largest tribe among the Gan Yue people and is becoming more and more prosperous. Now Wu Shen is getting older day by day. Once he dies, Wu Rui will become the new leader...

The buildings in the city are mostly stilt houses, and even Wu Shen's mansion is no exception. The Yue warriors are guarding outside with bamboo spears. When they see Wu Rui returning, they greet him one after another.

When he entered the largest hall, Wu Rui found that his father had welcomed several guests during his absence from the city, and they were discussing things at the moment...

Ganyue did not have the complicated etiquette of the Central Plains. Wu Rui strode forward and bowed to his father, who was very old and rarely left the city: "Father, I am back!"

Wu Shen had gray hair. Although he was a Chu from Wu, he was dressed like an ordinary Yue person: his hair was cut and tattooed, and his arms were crossed and his lapel was on the left.

He claimed to be a descendant of the royal family of Wu and was originally from Jiangdong. He was exiled to Yuganshui because he offended the powerful. However, he did not die under the arrows of the Manyue. Instead, he relied on his intelligence and bravery to help the Yugan Yue people defeat other tribes and build cities through marriage, and sat on the position of the leader of Ganyue.

In order to make the Ganyue people submit and not regard him as an outsider, Wu Shen changed his clothes and followed their customs. He dressed himself and his son as Yue people and explained: "Our ancestors Taibo and Zhongyong fled to the Manyue and entered their hometown and followed their customs. They tattooed patterns on their bodies and cut their hair like the local barbarians. Only in this way could they establish the Wu Kingdom. Since we have left Xia, why can't we follow the customs of Yue?"

However, Wu Shen had long lost his former youth and strength. He was weakly wrapped in a lamb fur blanket. He was afraid of the cold in winter and the heat in summer. He was in sharp contrast to Wu Rui, who was still wearing short clothes and walking barefoot in November. He was really old.

"A Rui, meet the distinguished guest."

Although Wu Shen was getting weaker and weaker, his wisdom had not diminished at all. He knew who he could not afford to offend.

Wu Rui looked at the visitors and found that one of them was a scholar wearing a Chu-style robe. Wu Rui knew that his name was Xu Shu, a native of Pengze County, who had come to Yugan once a few years ago and could speak the language of Yue people.

"I haven't seen you for a few years. You have grown up."

Xu Shu smiled and tried to get close to him, but Wu Rui was more interested in another person.

The man was a military officer wearing armor and a trapezoidal plate crown on his head. He sat upright. His hairstyle and armor were something Wu Rui had never seen on the Chu officers passing through Yugan. He couldn't help but take a few more glances. This man was Li Xian, Hei Fu's subordinate, and he was also looking at Wu Rui.

When Wu Rui sat down, the three of them were almost done discussing something.

Xu Shu bowed and said, "I have told Lord Wu what the Sima wanted us to say. What do you think?"

Wu Shen smiled and said, "How dare a small town disobey a big country? But let me think about sending troops. Although I am the elder of Gan Yue, I still have to consult the various departments first when it comes to major events."

Li Xian spoke at this time: "The Sima has little patience. The army is about to attack Fanyang. If Lord Wu does not become a citizen of Qin, he will be an enemy of the Qin army!"

This man dared to talk to his father like this. Wu Rui was immediately furious and wanted to draw his sword, but was glared back by Wu Shen.

After the two left, he said with dissatisfaction: "Although Fanyang Jun sends people to collect ten good swords and fifty weapons as taxes every year, the Chu officials are also respectful to my father, but this man directly threatens him. Why not kill him!"

Wu Shen coughed for a while and shook his head and said: "The worry is finally here. Do you know who the military officer is?"

"Is it the Qin man that my father once told me?"

Wu Rui was born in Yugan and had never been far away, so everything in the outside world was told to him by his father.

Wu Shen said: "Yes, the Qin people promised that if I choose to surrender and send troops to assist the Qin Sima to attack Fanyang, Qin will recognize me as the lord of Yugan, and I can pass it down from generation to generation. According to the old practice of Qin ruling the barbarians, I will be exempted from taxes..."

Wu Rui was unhappy: "This city was built by my father, and my father is the leader. He is also supported by the local Ganyue people. When did I need others to recognize it? Fanyang Jun would not dare to threaten my father like this."

Wu Shen sighed: "My son, you don't know that Fanyang Jun didn't dare to touch me in the past because Yugan and his forces were evenly matched, but Qin was different."

Wu Shen was a native of Jiangdong Wu. He had been a guest of Chunshen Jun. When Chunshen Jun fell, he was implicated and was exiled to Yugan by Chu Xiang Li Yuan. So he had some experience and knew the power of Qin. He also understood that it was only a matter of time before the small city of Yugan came under the rule of Qin after the sudden collapse of Chu.

"In the past twenty years, I, Fanyang Jun, Pengze Jun, Shanggan Jun, Xun Jun, Yangyue, Luling Mei, etc., were just small fish and shrimps in the pond, of similar size. But now, a big alligator has entered the pond, gutted the big whale of Chu, and swallowed Xun Jun and Pengze Jun one by one. Next, it will be Fanyang Jun's turn. And to be a vassal of Qin or an enemy of Qin, Yu Gan must make a choice..."

Xu Shu persuaded him with kind words and brought gifts, while Li Xian threatened him directly. The two of them were soft and hard, and he had to give in.

After thinking it over again and again, Wu Shen decided to agree to the requests of Li Xian and Xu Shu and sent 1,000 Yue people to cooperate with the Qin army to attack Fanyang.

According to the Qin people's request, the two sides will meet at the confluence of Ganshui, Fanshui and Yuganshui on the first day of December half a month later to discuss the plan of attacking Fan...

Li Xian returned with satisfaction and reported to Heifu who had set out from Pengze, while Xu Shu left a message for contact.

"I have been ill for a long time and it is difficult for me to leave the city, so you will meet the Qin army Sima on my behalf."

On the day of departure, Wu Shen told his son: "My son is young and full of blood, but your father is old. Sooner or later, you will take on the responsibility of Yugan, so you must be cautious in everything and don't be rash!"

Although Wu Rui agreed verbally, he was still a little dissatisfied in his heart. He felt that his father was really old. He was scared by the words of the two people and felt timid.

He touched the sharp sword he had just taken out from the sword-making furnace. This was a rare good sword, with cold light and hair-breaking.

Wu Rui's pride and complacency, like this sharp sword, were forged by the little things in his life over the past twenty years. He didn't know how strong the Qin State was, but he knew that on the Yugan River and among the Ganyue, they were the father and son and had the final say!

He thought to himself, "If the Qin people were really so powerful, why would they rely on our strength to fight Fanyang? I want to see what's so great about those Qin people!"

Wu Rui didn't expect that this trip would completely let him know what it meant to be someone better than you, and there is always someone better than you...