The Great Qin Empire---Qin Li

"Chen Ping, a villager from Kushang Village, has come here to answer the order of the patrol."

The next morning, before the morning mist had completely dissipated, Chen Ping arrived outside the gate of the Qin Army garrison camp. After he loudly explained his purpose, he tried to look up so that the Qin soldier guarding the gate could see his face clearly.

Chen Ping wore a clean coarse linen shirt and carried a backpack with a blunt pen and a piece of inferior ink, which he used on weekdays. Although the camp would definitely prepare everything for him, he still took it with him to be prepared. It also contained his breakfast and dinner meals, millet rice kneaded into a ball. Although Chen Ping thought he would definitely eat with the soldiers in the camp, his uncle and sister-in-law still made it for him to take with him.

The Qin soldier guarding the gate was very cautious. Because he couldn't understand what Chen Ping said and didn't know who he was, he asked someone to report it. Taking advantage of this gap, Chen Ping also carefully observed the Qin Army camp. This is the most mysterious place in the eyes of the villagers in Huoyou for more than half a month. Not only is it heavily guarded and no one is allowed to enter, even the Qin soldiers inside rarely come out.

However, the gate is tall. Although the entire camp does not occupy a large area, it is well surrounded by seven-foot-high wooden stakes. Looking up, the Qin soldiers standing guard are solemn and have not secretly deserted. When Chen Ping arrived, they happened to change shifts. The Qin soldiers with dew on their armor yawned and left, and replaced them with their energetic comrades who had slept all night.

Chen Ping and others were not allowed to stay inside for long. Soon, the camp gate opened, and Zhong Ming from Henei County came out and said to Chen Ping: "Chen Ping, I never thought you would come so early."

It was just after sunrise and it was not time for breakfast. Chen Ping did come quite early. He was just embarrassed to say that he deliberately came at the right time to try whether he could get breakfast with the Qin army.

His family was poor, so he had no choice but to be thrifty with every meal. Chen Ping was not the kind of person who would rather starve than save face. He was very flexible.

Zhongming did not disappoint Chen Ping. He said that the patrol had just woken up and was leading the soldiers to do morning exercises. After the training, they could have a feast.

"Morning exercises?"

Chen Ping had never heard of this term, but after following Zhongming into the camp, he could faintly hear the shouting from the camp.

When the two walked to the open space of the military camp converted from the village, the patrol Heifu who had been seen yesterday was standing here. He was not wearing armor, with his hands behind his back, watching dozens of Qin soldiers standing in several rows, holding swords and shields to practice.

Heifu also saw Chen Ping, but just nodded at him and did not come over.

Chen Ping took the opportunity to observe the scene in front of him. He had never experienced military life in the past, so it was still fresh to him. What's more, these soldiers who looked simple and strong in front of them were the biggest enemy that made Wei people fear for generations: the Qin army.

He was born in the year when King Anli of Wei died. During those years, Qin and Wei fought almost every year.

In the first year of King Jingmin, 242 BC, Qin took 20 cities from Wei and made them Qindong County. Wei was surrounded by Qin on three sides and was in danger of extinction.

In the second year, 241 BC, under the lobbying of Tang Ju, the last coalition was reached. King Kaolie of Chu was the leader of the coalition, with Pang Nuan as the general. He led Han, Wei, Zhao, Yan, and Chu to attack Qin and take Shouling. Qin sent troops, and the troops of the five countries withdrew. Qin took the opportunity to seize Chaoge, which had just been taken back by Wei, and also moved Wei's small vassal Wei to Yewang.

In the third year, 240 BC, Qin took Ji. In the fifth year, 238 BC, Qin took Yuan, Puyang, Yan and other cities, and Wei humiliated and asked for peace.

That year, Chen Ping was only 6 years old. Because the King of Wei asked for peace in time, the war did not burn to his hometown.

Since then, Wei State has completely surrendered to Qin State. The King of Wei has paid two visits to Qin State, and has become a vassal of Qin State. He has made continuous contributions every year. He stood aside and watched Qin State attack Han and Zhao, attack Yan State in the north, and break Chu State in the south.

There is no way. Wei State has lost Xinling Jun, and has lost its backbone. It was scared by Qin State and dared not say a word.

So except for the first few years, Chen Ping's youth and youth were relatively rare. Therefore, the common people of Wei State at his age had no chance to see the Qin people. The impression of the Qin army mainly came from the stories of the old soldiers in the past...

Chen Ping remembered that when he was a child, there was a disabled old soldier in Kushangli who liked to bask in the sun with his broken arm on the bluestone slab by the well. He sometimes told Chen Ping and others about the war of the five countries against Qin more than ten years ago.

The old soldier talked a lot, but because he was still young at the time, Chen Ping only remembered the sentence that impressed him the most.

"We Shandong soldiers wore armor to fight, but the Qin people on the opposite side actually threw away their armor and rushed to the enemy, carrying heads on the left and prisoners on the right, like hungry tigers and wolves..."

He still remembered that when he said this, the fearless old soldier's eyes were full of fear!

The fear of the Wei State of Qin was like the natural fear of beasts, deeply engraved in their bones, passed down from generation to generation. From the King of Wei to the soldiers, it was everywhere.

So the kings and nobles of the Wei State thought that if kneeling could avoid being beaten, then kneel. It was a pity that even if they knelt to the end, they could not avoid the Qin army turning around and attacking the Wei State. Judging from the posture of this war, Qin was determined to destroy the Wei State.

With the country on the verge of extinction, the dignitaries in the court had to kneel before the altar and cry, regretting their stupidity and short-sightedness, but the common people like Chen Ping had to think about what to do in the new order of the Qin army.

Recalling the past, Chen Ping couldn't help but be absent-minded, but found that the training of the Qin soldiers had ended with the order that was loud in the night.

Hei Fu took the cloth handed over by Ji Ying, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and did not show too much enthusiasm for Chen Ping, but just let him have breakfast with everyone.

…

The meal was in the yard of a large house, which was originally a wealthy family, but now it was converted into a special kitchen.

Hei Fu arranged five people to be responsible for washing vegetables and cooking, which was equivalent to the cooking class. The rice used was the 150 stones given by Zhang, and fresh vegetables and meat were purchased from the market in the township.

At this time, Hei Fu arranged the first job for Chen Ping.

"Chen Ping, from now on, you will go to the market with the sergeant here to buy vegetables every other day. What you want to buy and how much of each item will be written on a wooden slip. The soldiers don't understand the local dialect, the vegetable sellers are illiterate, and the Qin currency cannot be used locally. They can only exchange with cloth, which is very inconvenient. It will be much easier if you come to help."

Hei Fu did this not out of the bad taste of "letting the future prime minister of the Han Dynasty help me buy vegetables". It's because Chen Ping is now a humble person, and he is a poor scholar who has been hanging around for 18 years and still can't carry anything on his shoulders or hands. He is very similar to those college students who have just graduated and entered the society in later generations. He has high aspirations but can't do anything. There is nothing big to give to Chen Ping in his small camp, so he should start with small things.

He also wanted to see if Chen Ping can do practical things besides being eloquent and good at seizing opportunities.

If you can't clean your own house, how can you clean the world? Chen Ping's future road is still long. As a person who also started from humble beginnings and is still humble now, Heifu wanted to teach a young celebrity some life experience after meeting him...

Heifu finished speaking in his local dialect with a Nanjun accent, and Chen Ping finally understood that he had to do not only paperwork, but also a lot of miscellaneous tasks.

He did not feel humiliated, but agreed readily.

When other people held funerals, he would go out early and come back late to help make up the dead, shovel soil and bury the coffin, and he was very busy. Just for a bite of food, isn't it just buying vegetables for the Qin army? What's the big deal? Anyway, he only needs to move his mouth, and leave the physical work to the strong Qin soldiers.

The vegetables in Wei are still somewhat different from those in Nanjun, but the main ones are all there, such as leeks, mustard greens, bitter melons, sunflowers, and onions, which are common in various countries at that time. The Qin soldiers stationed here could not always eat only rice. Hei Fu would occasionally add some food for them and buy some meat to make a big pot of soup.

Soon, a burst of food aroma wafted over, and several Qin soldiers came up with large wooden barrels, which contained cooked millet rice, orange in color.

At this time, Chen Ping saw for the first time the strictness of the Qin army's rank. Hei Fu did not deliberately "share food and clothing with the soldiers" like ordinary officers did. Instead, under the envious eyes of everyone, he received half a bucket of fine rice, a plate of black bean paste, and a vegetable soup with sunflower leaves and diced meat floating on it, and even a few green onions to go with the rice.

"Because the rank of the patrol officers is not changed, it is naturally different from us."

Zhong Ming explained to Chen Ping what the rank was, and then walked to the fine rice for the nobles with some pride, pointed to the other end, and asked Chen Ping to take a pottery bowl and a bamboo tube and go over to line up with the soldiers who had no decorations on their buns.

Chen Ping finally received a third of a bucket of brown rice and a bamboo tube of bean soup with a hint of oil, which was almost the same as their family's meals.

At least, he was full. For Chen Ping, who came from a poor family, it was good enough to have a meal.

"If it were in the Daliang military camp, the military law would be stricter. You are not a soldier, so you can't even be supplied with these grains."

Zhong Ming said this to Chen Ping mysteriously, and then laughed: "But the patrol said that we eat the grain sent by Zhang anyway, so it doesn't matter if you have one more."

Chen Ping laughed along, but he felt a little strange in his heart. His identity as a "Wei man" had not been completely erased.

For the first time, Chen Ping experienced the strict hierarchy of titles in the Qin State up close. If he wanted to change his status and treatment, he had to make meritorious deeds. Making meritorious deeds meant killing more enemies to obtain military merit titles. The combat effectiveness of such an army can be imagined.

"Don't give up your armor and rush to the enemy, carry a head on your left, and a captive on your right..."

Chen Ping swallowed the last mouthful of millet rice, and for some reason, he recalled the words of the old soldier, and said to himself: "The State of Wei attaches great importance to the soldiers, recruits warriors, and makes them wear three-layer armor, wield crossbows weighing several stones, carry fifty arrows, and carry spears and swords. The soldiers of Wei are elite and can travel a hundred miles a day. The state gives them land and houses, and allows the people to support them for life."

"Therefore, in the State of Wei, wars are often only wars between kings, nobles and soldiers, and have little to do with us common people. There is no reward for merit, and punishment for fault. Who is willing to die? But the soldiers often age gradually after their prime, and it is impossible for all their descendants to be as strong as their fathers and grandfathers. Moreover, the war is getting bigger and bigger, and the few soldiers often cannot change the situation."

"But the State of Qin is different."

He looked at the Qin people who were alone in a foreign land, but still in order and training every day, and the black man who commanded them, and thought:

"The people have limited means of making a living and live in poverty. The king uses the people cruelly and harshly, tempting them with titles and benefits and intimidating them with laws and punishments, making the war of Qin State concerned everyone, so it can be strong for a long time. No wonder the Qin army can be invincible in the world."

"When I was studying abroad, a good friend of Master Zhao State once mentioned to me the discussion between Xunzi and Linwu Jun in Handan. Xunzi was right. The Wuzu of Wei could not meet the sharp soldiers of Qin. In this way, it seems that Wei State was not wronged to lose!"

For a moment, Chen Ping's eyes became eager.

For the nobles of Wei State, the fall of Wei was the fall of an era.

But for a poor scholar like him, isn't it a new beginning?

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