The Great Qin Empire---Qin Li

The wind rises in Longxi.

Although it is midsummer in May, the wind in Longxi is still a little cool due to the altitude. The wind blows from the north, whistling through the mountain valleys, rushing all the way to the Great Wall and blowing in front of Li Xin.

Li Xin, the lieutenant of Longxi County, stood still. He stood on the top of the Didao Great Wall, looking west, letting his half-white hair flutter in the wind.

Four hundred years ago, Duke Mu of Qin used You Yu's strategy to expand westward and made the eight countries of the Western Rong submit to Qin. The Rong tribes of Mianzhu, Xianrong, and Zhai Zhu west of Longdi were successively conquered by Qin. When King Zhao of Qin fell, Yiqu had been destroyed, so Longxi and Beidi were set up, and "counties" and "roads" were set up locally for management. Didao was the westernmost end of these newly conquered lands.

The second governor of Longxi County was Li Chong, who was Li Xin's grandfather. Li Xin lived in Didao for many years when he was young. Although his family was from Huaili, Guanzhong, he was half a Longxi person.

And this Great Wall was built when Li Chong was the governor. It starts from Lintao in the south and ends in Shangjun in the north, winding along the hills and finally disappearing on the horizon. The Great Wall is not very high, just over two meters, built with rough stone and earth, and covered with coarse cloth and tiles, but it spans the pass, with mountains on both sides, occupying the natural barrier. A beacon tower was built every two miles, and a group of people were stationed there, five people guarding the beacon, and five people patrolling the top of the city to prevent the Qiang and Rong outside the Great Wall from crossing the border and invading the registered people in the territory.

Guarding the border is the main responsibility of the Longxi County Lieutenant.

When Li Xin returned to Longxi as the county lieutenant, his grandfather's former officials welcomed him and secretly discussed two words.

"Demote!"

As early as eight years ago, Li Xin had served as a captain and went out of Taiyuan and Yunzhong to attack Zhao together with Wang Jian. He led the army across Xiawu Mountain and seized Hengshan County of Zhao, making great military achievements.

In the war to destroy Yan seven years ago, he went to the battle as a deputy general and defeated the Yan army by the Yanshui River, which frightened the King of Yan so much that he cut off the head of Prince Dan and presented it to him.

At that time, Li Xin was very trusted by His Majesty and his status was much higher than that of the county captain. Sure enough, in the first attack on Chu, he replaced Wang Jian and led an army of 200,000.

It is really amazing that a young man of 30 can achieve such an achievement.

Unfortunately, the saying is proven, the higher you rise, the worse you fall. The first attack on Chu ended with Li Xin's disastrous defeat, seven captains were killed, and tens of thousands of troops were destroyed.

Since then, Li Xin has lost the trust of His Majesty, his title was stripped, his position was deprived, and he was driven to Liaoxi to guard the border.

Although Li Xin made some military achievements in the wars against Yan, Dai and Qi, it was still difficult to hide his failure that year. Meng Tian had returned to the center, but he was still wandering around the border counties. After a circle, he returned to Longxi County.

But people who knew Li Xin in Longxi County were shocked to find that Li Xin not only had a head of white hair, but also had a huge change in his personality.

In the past, Li Xin was a sunny and free-spirited boy who rode his horse in the mountains, his laughter filled the Great Wall, and he liked to do things in an unconventional way.

But now Li Xin, the lieutenant of Li County, is taciturn and serious. He arranges daily official duties step by step, urges the public security of counties and roads, and regularly patrols the Great Wall.

"The trees outside the Great Wall must be cut down on time."

During the inspection of the Great Wall today, Li Xin taught a beacon tower sergeant: "It must not be extended to within one mile of the Great Wall."

A wide open space must be cleared in the field of vision of the beacon tower, so that no enemy can come and attack without being discovered.

The officials behind him looked at each other in bewilderment. Many of them were Li Xin's companions when he was young. At that time, he would never care about such a small matter?

In addition to caring about the growth of trees outside the Great Wall, Li Xin also focused on checking the weapons of each outpost during this inspection. He also issued an unprecedented order that from now on, the garrison of each beacon tower will be increased to one garrison! And the rangers will be increased to patrol and explore the Qiang and Di lands outside the Great Wall to find out the details of the roads and tribes.

This order excited the officials of the county lieutenant's office.

"County lieutenant, are we going to go out of the Great Wall to collect firewood?"

Collecting firewood is the name given by the Longxi Qin Army to the Diqiang tribes that went out of the Great Wall to kill the restless Diqiang tribes.

The Diqiang Rong tribe is diverse and powerful, and the strong ones call themselves "chieftains". They regard death in battle as auspicious, and death from illness as unlucky. Therefore, they like to plunder and invade each other, dominate with violence, and even risk invading the interior. After all, in their eyes, the Qin people are all rich.

So in the eyes of the Longxi Qin Army, the Diqiang are like the trees that are constantly growing outside the Great Wall. If they are not cut down on time, they will be out of control and take root in the shadow of the city wall, and even cross the Great Wall to invade the cities and towns inside the Great Wall.

However, in the past ten years, because of the focus on sweeping the six countries to the east, the garrison in Longxi has been greatly reduced, and everyone has not gone outside the Great Wall to "collect firewood" for many years.

Facing the question from his subordinates, Li Xin did not answer, but took out a written imperial edict and asked the lieutenants and chief clerks to read it.

"Is it the secret order sent by His Majesty?" Seeing the bright red seal, the lieutenants were a little excited.

"It's more than an imperial edict."

Li Xin could not hide his excitement, but still said lightly: "It's a manifesto!"

Everyone bowed to him, and then he began to read.

"King Li of Zhou was ruthless, and some of the princes rebelled against him. The Western Rong rebelled against the royal family and destroyed the clan of Da Luo in Quanqiu. Da Luo was a branch of Qin."

"When King Xuan of Zhou ascended the throne, he appointed Qin Zhong as a senior official and punished the Western Rong. Qin Zhong went to the Western Rong, but was outnumbered and died without turning back. Qin and the Rong became enemies for generations."

"Qin Zhong had five sons, the eldest of whom was Duke Zhuang. He summoned five brothers and borrowed 7,000 Zhou soldiers to attack the Western Rong. He defeated them and became a senior official of Xichui."

"Duke Zhuang lived in Quanqiu in the west and had three sons, his eldest son was Shifu. Shifu said: 'The Rong killed my great grandfather Zhong, and I dare not enter the city unless I kill the King of Rong.' So he let his younger brother Duke Xiang lead his clansmen to attack the Rong."

"In the seventh year of Duke Xiang, the Western Rong, the Quanrong, and the Marquis of Shen attacked Zhou and killed King You at the foot of Mount Li. Duke Xiang led his troops to rescue Zhou and fought hard and made great contributions."

"Zhou fled to Luoyi in order to avoid the danger of the Quanrong. Duke Xiang led his troops to escort King Ping of Zhou. King Ping appointed Duke Xiang as a vassal and gave him the land west of Qi. He said: 'Rong is unruly and has invaded our land of Qi and Feng. If Qin can attack and drive out the Rong, then we will have the land.' He swore an oath and granted him a title. Duke Xiang then established his country and exchanged envoys with the vassal states. In the twelfth year of Duke Xiang, he attacked the Rong and reached Qi. He died in the army. Before his death, he still called out to his sons: 'We must attack the Rong!'"

"In the sixteenth year of Duke Wen, he led his troops to attack the Rong, and the Rong was defeated and fled. Duke Wen then took over the remaining people of Zhou and the land reached Qi."

"A hundred years later, the dukes also destroyed the Rong of Dangshe, Xiaoguo, Pengxi, Hao, Ying, and Ji, and thus took over the land of Guanzhong."

"When Duke Mu came to power, he cultivated virtue and practiced martial arts between Qi and Yong, pacified the rebellion in the east, and used the Yellow River as the boundary. In the 37th year, he used You Yu's plan to attack the King of Rong, added 12 states, opened up a thousand miles of land, and finally dominated the Western Rong. The emperor gave him the title of Earl, and all the princes congratulated him. He opened up a business for future generations, which was very glorious."

"However, at that time, Yiqu and Dali were still strong, and they built dozens of cities, all claiming to be kings. Duke Li of Qin divided and destroyed Dali and took its land. King Hui of Qin sent Shuchang Cao to lead troops to conquer Yiqu, and Yiqu became a vassal of Qin. Later, it rebelled again, and King Zhao raised troops to destroy it, and then established the counties of Longxi and Beidi..."

In this secret order sent to Li Xin and the officials of Longxi, Qin Shihuang did not mention the search for the state of the Queen Mother of the West and the immortality of immortality. The whole article talked about the hatred between Qin and the Western Rong.

After reading it, I realized that since the emergence of the "Qin" nation, it has had a 700-year-long dispute with the Western Rong...

Until today!

Everyone continued to read, but saw the edict read: "Now I, with my humble body, have raised troops to punish the rebellion. Thanks to the spirits of the ancestral temple, the six kings have all confessed their guilt, and the world has been stabilized!"

"However, the Rong threat in Longxi, Beidi, and Shangjun has not been resolved. Outside the Great Wall, there are all Di and Qiang. I want to continue the legacy of my 35th generation ancestors and follow the last words of Duke Xiang: 'We must defeat the Rong!' Prosper the western land, so that the Di and Qiang will dare not not come to enjoy, and dare not not come to the king!"

"Your Majesty will defeat the Rong!?"

The officials were very happy now. They didn't know that this was only a small part of Hei Fu's "Western Development" plan...

Li Xin knew that he was the most supportive border general of the western expansion strategy.

Although he was demoted to Longxi, he was obsessed with avenging his previous humiliation.

But the six kingdoms have been destroyed, and he has lost the opportunity to gallop in the Central Plains...

Now, your majesty wants to inherit the tradition of more than 30 generations of Qin monarchs and take action against the Western Rong Di Qiang. As the lieutenant of Longxi County and a general known for his chariots and cavalry, Li Xin is naturally the best choice to lead the troops to the west!

Standing on the top of the Great Wall again, looking at the vast west, the wind still rips Li Xin's clothes like an eager lover, making them rustle.

"The wind in Longxi has never stopped."

He held his sword and said secretly: "But this time, it will blow from inside the Great Wall to the outside. Like the sound of thunder, floating and surging, stirring up anger, kicking rocks and cutting trees, cutting down forests, and traveling three thousand miles without stopping!"

...

In early May, after the imperial carriage left Ji County, Qin Shihuang first went to Lintao to see the legendary "Giant Footprints", which really happened. Although Hei Fu guessed that this was also a "auspicious sign" made up by the local officials of Lintao, no one was stupid enough to expose this lie, as long as the emperor was happy.

They did not stay in Lintao for too long, and went directly north along the Great Wall to Didao...

The emperor's itinerary was kept secret, so when Li Xin received the news, the imperial carriage had already arrived outside Didao City.

After hearing the news, Li Xin could only dress up in a hurry, mount his mount, and gallop with his entourage.

The horse was an old horse. It was the wildest and most untamable horse among the tribute horses from Longxi. It was sent to Xianyang ten years ago.

His Majesty waved his hand and asked his guards to tame the horse themselves. If they could tame it, he would give it to them. Li Xin was in charge of the palace of Zhangtai at that time. He did not like other horses with gentle personalities, but chose this one with pure white and shiny hair and a temper as violent and untamable as himself.

One man and one horse experienced a difficult game in the training ground. After half an hour, the horse had no strength to toss and reluctantly obeyed Li Xin. (See Chapter 162)

It was also because of Li Xin's superb riding skills that Qin Shihuang noticed him for the first time, so he made him a guard by his side and gave him the opportunity to show himself on the battlefield...

Now, ten years have passed, the horse is old, and the young man is gray-haired.

But his thigh meat has not regenerated! The burning fire in his heart is still not extinguished!

He also wanted to ride his beloved horse, holding the black Qin flag, galloping across the vast world, his horse's hooves crushing the glaciers, his swords and knives cutting through the Diqiang tribes, making them submit to Qin like cattle and sheep...

Only on the battlefield can Li Xin feel that he is still alive.

While thinking, Qin Shihuang's imperial carriage has arrived, still with the familiar huge caravan, but the new nobleman who is most valued by the emperor is no longer Li Xin, but Heifu...

"Li Junwei!"

Heifu bowed in front of the horse: "Your Majesty asked the subordinate to welcome the general!"

Li Xin turned over and dismounted, and also returned the greeting to Heifu, but he didn't know how to address him.

Eight years ago, when Li Xin first showed his talent as a captain, Heifu was just a commoner in Anlu, and his future was in danger.

Seven years ago, when Li Xin defeated the Yan army in Yanshui and became famous all over the world, Heifu was just a small pavilion chief who listened to his legend and marveled at his companions.

Five years ago, when Li Xin held the tiger talisman and led an army of 200,000 to attack Chu, Heifu was still just an unknown general. When Li Xin passed by, he could only crawl on the side of the road and call him general.

But in the following years, when Li Xin fell like a meteor, Heifu was rising...

Now, their status is equal.

No, Li Xin knew that he was not even as good as Heifu. Although his title was one level higher than his, in the heart of His Majesty, the young warrior riding a white horse was already a defeated general, and he didn't even want to see him. However, Xuanhei Tiangou from Anlu was able to participate in national policies and was highly trusted...

In the past, Li Xin might have been unwilling and difficult to accept, but after experiencing ups and downs, he has matured.

So, Li Xin took a deep breath and greeted Heifu with equal courtesy!

"How dare I, a minister waiting for punishment, let the Right Minister come to greet you?"

Hei Fu said he dared not, so he led the way with Li Xin, bypassing the heavy cavalry and military carriages, guards and armored soldiers, and came to the front of the imperial carriage.

"Your Majesty, the guilty minister Li Xin is late to greet you, guilty!"

The curtain of the carriage was lifted, and Qin Shihuang, who had been touring for more than a month, came out with a tired face. He looked at Li Xin who bowed heavily on the ground and was speechless for a long time.

Five years have passed. This is the first time that Qin Shihuang has met Li Xin after he lost his army and humiliated the country.

Looking at the brave young man in the past, he is now full of white hair, as if he is older than himself.

Qin Shihuang did not speak, but just looked at this former beloved general who disappointed him with his hands behind his back.

He couldn't help but think of the name he gave to Li Xin when he first noticed him when he was training horses in the training ground ten years ago. He suddenly felt that everything seemed to be destined by God.

The emperor moved his steps and walked forward. Li Xin, who had been sobbing and bowing his head and dared not look up, patted his shoulder and said:

"Will this boy be my 'White Horse General' in the future?"