The Great Qin Empire---Qin Li

If the will of heaven is not pure, why are the people so shocked?

The people are separated and lost, and they migrate east in the middle of spring.

Leaving their hometown and going far away, they follow Jiangxia to exile...

This is Qu Yuan's "Ai Ying". A decade ago, the Chu State was forced to move east, and the local people of Yingdu Chu embarked on the road of exile with this mentality.

In the autumn and August of the 25th year of Qin Wangzheng, hundreds of people in the same place, Jiangling, Nanjun, also had the same idea.

Two or three thousand men and women stood on the dock, their faces full of sorrow. They kept looking back at Jiangling and Nanjun, but in the end they were forced by the soldiers to board the narrow and long ship and squeezed in the hold in silence.

"Where are we going to be relocated to?"

A middle-aged son-in-law hugged his wife and son and asked the young man next to him.

The young man looked thin and about 17 or 18 years old. He raised his eyes and said, "It is said that he is going to Jiangnan, to a new county called Nanchang."

During the chat, the middle-aged son-in-law learned that the young man's name was "Xing". He was originally from Chu. He was deceived by his fellow villagers a few years ago and followed them to join a tomb-robbing gang organized by the Qin people. He dug a grave in Anlu County, but was caught by a pavilion chief named Heifu. He was caught red-handed...

His accomplices were severely punished, but Xing was only 14 years old at the time and was not tall enough to be sentenced. So according to the Qin law, he was judged by Judge Xi as "incited by others, and his height was less than six feet, so he should be punished lightly and sentenced to labor in the hidden official."

So Xing began his life in the hidden officials of Nanjun. Compared with prisoners, the hidden official was lightly punished, but the work inside was not easy. In addition, Xing was from Chu and suffered from bullying.

And there was no hope for his future. After adulthood, it was difficult to get land granted. At most, he could be a hired farmer or even become a son-in-law.

So when Nanjun Shou Teng was ordered by the King of Qin to recruit hidden officials, prisoners, slaves, concubines, sons-in-law, merchants, etc. to move to Nanchang, Xing took the initiative to express his willingness to join this immigration team.

Immigration is an old tradition of the Qin State. As early as the reign of King Hui of Qin, Prince Chu Liji was appointed as the right general to attack Quwo of Wei State. After occupying the local area, all the people were taken out, the city was taken, and the land was ceded to Qin.

At that time, Qin had just moved east and did not trust the people of the Three Jins who "did not like to be Qin people". In order to completely occupy the new area, it often expelled the original residents and moved in the population of its own country. As for immigrants, they were mainly composed of civilians and criminals. Wei offered Anyi, Qin sent its people, recruited and moved to Hedong, granted titles, pardoned criminals and moved them.

This immigration also has similar benefits.

"The government said that hired farmers can get land in Nanchang, and slaves can get freedom. I am originally from Chu living in Jiangnan. This time I am recruiting, which is also considered returning home."

Xing comforted the son-in-law uncle with a sad face and said: "Son-in-law can also become an ordinary citizen and re-register!"

But the son-in-law's family and others were not happy at all. They would rather make do in Nanjun than go to an unknown land to open up wasteland.

The people on the same boat began to ask Xing various questions, such as how far is the journey to Nanchang, what is the climate there, how many wild animals there are, and whether there are ready-made houses.

Xing opened his mouth, but couldn't answer. He was from Shaxian, Edi, and had never been to Jiangxi.

The immigrants were even more disappointed. At this time, the wind and waves on the Yangtze River gradually grew stronger. The boat was shaking from side to side. The sound of waves hitting the hull, the crying of children, and hoarse coughing were all mixed together. At night, some people were seasick and vomited. The smell in the cabin was extremely unpleasant...

Their bumpy ride did not get better until the boat entered Pengli Lake. Looking at the vast lake in front of them, the people from Nanjun seemed to have returned to the Yunmeng Lake, and their mood began to gradually improve.

But when they were anchored in Jiujiang, a fellow boatman was washing clothes stained by dirt on the water when she was dragged into the water by a giant alligator (tuó) more than a meter long. As she screamed away, the lake was dyed red...

The mood of the immigrants was depressed again. The fatigue of the journey diluted the little freshness and expectation they had left. They landed at Fuqianyuan in silence. They no longer cared about the magnificence of Pengli Lake and the beauty of Mount Lu. They only cared about whether they could get the land promised by the government after arriving at the place, whether they had to open up wasteland in a piece of grass, and shivered in the shack at night listening to the roar of wild beasts outside.

The further south they went, the more disappointed they were. Compared with Nanjun, the lower reaches of Ganshui were too remote and wild. They could not even see a single person for ten miles. Occasionally, they met people, but they were Yangyue people who did not speak Xia language. They stood by the water with tattoos and broken hair, looking at the immigrants with obscure eyes.

"I'm afraid we will have to live with snakes and scorpions and coexist with barbarians in the future." The son-in-law walking next to Xing was a little desperate. He would rather his children be son-in-laws for generations than come to such a place.

However, when they passed through a camphor forest and came to the bank of Gan River, they all opened their eyes wide!

I thought that on the east bank of Gan River, which was still a wild jungle, a brand new city appeared out of thin air!

It was not large in scale, only four miles square, with thick walls on all sides. The situation in the city was unknown to everyone, but outside the city, in addition to the strict roads, there were rows of camps and houses. These were the soldiers and officials who had built the city before, and they were now vacated, waiting for the new owner to enter.

And those Qin soldiers wearing armor and spears, patrolling by the water in a row of ten, gave the immigrants a long-lost sense of security.

Heifu's men were originally from Nanjun. They had been bored here for several months. Seeing many fellow villagers, regardless of their previous status, greeted them warmly across the Gan River. After everyone crossed over, the generals and the head of the garrison arranged soldiers to prepare the first meal for them.

After eating the long-lost hot soup and rice, and seeing that every household had a small shack that could shelter from the wind and rain, many immigrants were already in tears.

This situation was much better than they had imagined.

"Nanchang, this name is really good, just like Nanjun, there is also a Nan." Someone said so, as if this simple reason could make them feel more intimate with this new home.

Xing was halfway through eating when he was suddenly stunned. He looked at a Qin official who was surrounded by soldiers and officers to inspect the immigration situation, and was stunned.

The son-in-law, who had regained hope, pushed him, and Xing came back to his senses. He pointed at the Qin official's back and said excitedly: "The pavilion chief who arrested me at that time was him!"

The son-in-law quickly covered his mouth: "Young man, don't dare to talk nonsense! I heard from others that this is the highest official in the local area, the county magistrate, the Sima, and the one who built this Nanchang city! How could it be the pavilion chief who arrested you a few years ago? You must have remembered it wrong."

"It's really him!"

Xing was a little excited. He still remembered that on that cold night after the snow in December, when he was young, he was forced by his accomplices to go down to the tomb to search for artifacts, but the people above were suddenly attacked. The wind outside was howling, which scared him half to death. When he was crying and holding his head, it was this person who pulled him up...

"Although his clothes have changed and he has a beard, I will never forget that dark face and eyes in my life!"

...

Hei Fu did not greet the immigrants one by one. After a quick look, he and Zhang Han climbed up to the top of Nanchang City and looked at the results of their cooperation in the past few months.

Nanchang City was planned according to the construction rules of "Kaogong Ji". It was square and the streets were straight. Although its interior was small, it had everything, whether it was a place for government offices, a barracks for soldiers, or even a place reserved for shops.

Of course, public toilets were also indispensable.

There was a city gate in each of the four walls of Nanchang. The south was called Luling Gate, the west was called Tonggan Gate, the east was called Fanyang Gate, and the north was called Jiujiang Gate, named after the places they led to.

The two of them were standing on the Tonggan Gate, looking west.

Hei Fu looked at the new city that suddenly became lively after the arrival of the immigrants, and smiled with satisfaction: "The first batch of immigrants has arrived, and the food for the winter and the seeds for next year have also been transported from Nanjun. First, take advantage of the slack season in autumn and winter to build houses outside the city, open up fields, and build fences in each area to prevent wild beasts. When the population exceeds 2,000 households in the future, we will build a 10-li city wall."

Today is the day when Nanchang is built, and these immigrants are the first batch of Nanchang citizens.

Zhang Han said: "Hei Fu, aren't you afraid that the immigrants will find the weather unbearable and flee after arriving here? I heard from Zhao Tuo that many similar things happened on the road."

If it were Zhang Han, even if he was given a hundred hectares of land, he would not want to come to this hot and humid place to spend the rest of his life. What's more, there is the kind of water poisoning disease that northerners have never seen before. Just thinking about it is terrifying. After Heifu took him to see the miserable conditions of several soldiers infected with the disease, he no longer dared to drink raw water, and stayed away from all wild waters. Even bathing had to boil water.

"For the common people, how can there be no pain from illness? Besides, who dares to resist the government's relocation of people?"

Heifu sighed. He was born in the lower class and could understand the lives of the common people in this era. If there was no other way, who would be willing to leave their hometown?

He knew that similar small-scale immigration had begun more than ten years ago when Qin Wangzheng came to power. In the case of Lao Ai and Lu Buwei, thousands of their followers moved to Shu. Nowadays, the survivors of the six countries in various parts of the Central Plains are also pouring into Bashu and Jiangnan under the forced order of the King of Qin.

For example, the Zhuo family of Handan was moved to Bashu, and the Kong family of Wancheng, Nanyang, also moved to Shu. The hundreds of Nanjun hired farmers, sons-in-law, and slaves will become the first agricultural population of Nanchang City.

In this era, Bashu and Jiangnan are to Qin as the Thirteen Colonies and Australia are to Britain in later generations.

"Even if some people are unwilling, they can come here for ten or twenty years. After several generations of reproduction, they will become native Nanchang people. Where is their hometown?"

Heifu patted Zhang Han and said with a smile: "Homeland is where the heart is at peace. What is important is not the present, but how to live here in the future! What we have to do is to build cities and houses to protect it from wild beasts, and find a way to treat water poisoning."

He is not omnipotent, so he can only rely on the doctors sent by Xianyang and Nanjun. Maybe after knowing the principle, he can find a cure?

Just a few days later, the doctor from Xianyang arrived. It was Heifu's old acquaintance, Chen Wujiu, who was addicted to smoking marijuana.

Heifu's report attracted the attention of Qin Wangzheng and the imperial physician Xia Wuqi, but because such a disease had never been seen in the north, they were still skeptical and sent Chen Wujiu, who had been promoted to an official doctor, to verify it.

In addition to several doctors, Chen Wujiu was accompanied by a special envoy from the King of Qin.

He brought Heifu a good news and a bad news...