The Great Qin Empire---Qin Li

"The wheels are of the same gauge, the books are of the same writing, the people are of the same ethics..."

What Hei Fu said to Chen Ping that day left a deep impression on him.

Even though he was a great figure in history, Chen Ping at that time was still a young man from a small town who had never left his home for hundreds of miles. In addition to himself, he also had a family and a faint sense of nationality, but his world view had not yet been formed.

Therefore, Hei Fu's remarks about "the world is unified, and the culture is also unified" had a certain impact on Chen Ping. Fortunately, he was smart and quickly digested this view, and at the same time he had greater doubts about Hei Fu.

"Is this the knowledge that a small commander of the Qin army should have?"

Not only that, Chen Ping also observed some unusual things about Hei Fu.

The few soldiers from Henei County brought by Zhong Ming once proudly showed their clothes to Chen Ping, saying that they were newly made summer clothes.

The weather was cold when the Qin soldiers served, so when they set out on the road, they basically only brought two sets of winter clothes. Now, after a few months, the climate is getting hotter and hotter, and the heavy winter clothes can no longer be worn. The money in their hands has been spent, and there is not enough to buy cloth. Many Qin soldiers suddenly became ants on the hot pot, and the only thing they needed was to change their long clothes into short clothes.

At this time, it was Heifu who saved everyone. He took out the cloth captured in Waihuang and rewarded by Yang Xiong and distributed it to everyone, and asked the tailors in the township to make summer clothes for everyone.

Chen Ping thought: "Although he can't eat with the soldiers because of the strict distinction between the ranks of the Qin army, this way, he can also be regarded as sharing clothes with the soldiers."

This method that Zeng Wuqi used to win people's hearts was now used by a small garrison chief, so the soldiers in the camp were very grateful to Heifu and were willing to obey the orders and prohibitions set by Heifu in addition to the military law.

For example, drinking raw water...

On the day Chen Ping first arrived at the Qin camp, he was shocked by this living habit. That day, when he was thirsty after work, he took a ladle and planned to scoop water from the water tank to drink. As a result, he was scolded by Bu Cheng, who was in charge of life. He snatched the ladle from his hand and handed Chen Ping a bowl of warm water just poured from the cauldron.

"The patrol said that during the camp, anyone who drinks raw water in the camp will be flogged!"

Chen Ping thought about it for a long time but couldn't figure out why, because people like him who came from a poor background usually drink anything. Whether it is river water, spring water, well water, or even rainwater, just bend down and open your mouth to solve the problem of thirst. Only in the cold winter, when everything is frozen, will you boil water at home to drink.

At first, he understood this as a Qin custom.

However, after he asked around, he learned that it was not a Qin custom, but Heifu's "quirk".

"The patrol officers issued strict orders. Although we don't know the reason, we can only obey them."

Qin soldiers were simple and honest, not as smart and smooth as the people of Han and Wei. They rarely asked "why" and just listened to the orders. This was a character tamed by the laws and regulations over the years.

Chen Ping was different. He wanted to find out the reasons for everything. So after getting familiar with each other, he finally couldn't help asking Hei Fu this question.

By the fire, Hei Fu looked at the cauldron used to boil water in the house in front of him, and watched the clear water in it gradually boil. He replied calmly: "You are a local, and you are used to drinking local river water and well water, so there is nothing wrong. But the Qin soldiers all came from thousands of miles away. The water and soil in the two places are very different. Drinking too much raw water will inevitably cause stomach discomfort and contract diseases. Boil the water before drinking it, and it will be much better. The turn of spring and summer is the time when diseases breed, but no one in the camp is sick. This may be the benefit of drinking boiled water."

Hei Fu's "drink boiled water because of water and soil discomfort" is fresh. Chen Ping thought about it and it really makes sense.

Throughout the ages, there have indeed been many times when large armies were dispatched, but when they were stationed in foreign places, they suddenly contracted epidemics and suffered defeat. The small camp in front of us is easy to deal with. If tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of troops gather together, the water source will definitely be easily polluted. The enemy army will throw in the corpses of livestock, or the feces of the horses chewed by the soldiers will not flow in. If you drink that kind of water without treatment, it will be fatal...

"His courage can overwhelm others, his kindness can love soldiers, and his wisdom is cautious. This patrol officer seems to be the son of a general for generations, not a Wu clan from the southern county of Qin..."

While Chen Ping was trying to figure out Hei Fu's character, he couldn't relax his work at hand. One day in mid-April, Hei Fu suddenly put three bamboo slips from Daliang and Yangwu in front of him at the same time.

"Translate all three bamboo slips into Wei characters and copy them on the wooden board."

Chen Ping was slightly startled. Usually, so many bamboo slips that needed to be announced to the people of the whole village would not be delivered at the same time. He took a look at it quickly, and the first one surprised him a little.

"Is it a wanted order? Wanted...Zhou Shi?"

...

"Do you know Zhou Shi?"

Hei Fu heard something strange in Chen Ping's words and turned back to ask.

Chen Ping hurriedly said, "I've only heard of his name, but never met him."

Hei Fu became interested: "The five hundred leaders in Yangwu said that this person caused a lot of trouble to the Yangwu garrison. Tell me who this Zhou Shi is."

Chen Ping had to answer truthfully: "Zhou Shi is from Huangchi County in the west, and has been a Wuzu of Wei for generations..."

Wei Wuzu was a professional soldier created by Wu Qi. It was the most elite and fierce representative of heavy infantry in the Warring States Period. More than a hundred years ago, it set a record of defeating the Qin army with one against ten in Hexi. Later, Qin Xiaogong was ashamed of Qin's weakness and supported Shang Yang's reform.

As professional soldiers recruited by the state with land and houses, the number of Wuzu could not be too large. During the heyday of King Hui of Wei, there were only 50,000. After that, Wei was attacked by Qi and Qin, and its national strength gradually declined. Wuzu also gradually withered and the number became smaller and smaller. In the Battle of Yique and the Battle of Huayang, the army was almost annihilated. Although it recovered part of it later, it could only maintain a number of several thousand.

As time passed, the nature of Wuzu also changed. From recruiting soldiers who constantly recruited fresh blood, to hereditary soldiers who served as soldiers for generations, because the land and houses given to Wuzu by Wei were generally not taken back, and they also gave tax exemption benefits, so many families could not support them in vain. So when all the Wuzu of the previous generation died in battle, Wei simply asked the young and strong sons of each family to inherit their father's business and continue to be Wuzu, so that the country would not have to provide a share of land and houses...

Zhou Shi was born in a family where three generations were Wuzu.

"Zhou Shi, a native of Huangchi, has been a Wuzu for generations. His grandfather followed Lord Xinling to save Zhao and died in Handan; his father participated in the last Five Kingdoms' attack on Qin and died in battle. Zhou Shi inherited his grandfather's and father's business. Twelve years ago, the Qin army attacked Wei and fought with Qin. After the war, he was promoted to a Wuli and once came to Huoyou Township to garrison for a period of time, so I know his name..."

When the Qin army surrounded Daliang, Zhou Shi was a Wuli in Yangwu County. Yangwu Ling surrendered to Qin under Zhang Bo's persuasion. Zhou Shi took dozens of people and tried to surround the county temple to stop this. However, he was repelled by Yangwu Ling's retainers. He fled the county with more than ten remaining people and disappeared.

Chen Ping said that in Wei, the most loyal to Wei, apart from those princes and grandsons, were the Wuzu families who "received the grace of Wei for generations". Zhou Shi hated the Qin people very much because of his two generations of blood feud with Qin.

"No wonder."

After listening to Zhou Shi's deeds, Hei Fu looked at the words on the bamboo slips and shook his head.

Zhang Wubaizhu of Yangwu informed Hei Fu angrily that Zhou Shi, a Wei man, had gathered a group of Wei people who were dissatisfied with the Qin rule in the water and woods area of Yangwu County, as many as more than a hundred. The day before yesterday, they attacked the grain carts sent by Yangwu to Daliang. Although they were eventually repelled, they still burned hundreds of stones of grain and fodder...

"It seems that not all Wei people are willing to surrender, and resistance still exists."

Hei Fu knew that although the Qin army nominally occupied Yangwu, its ruling power was only concentrated in the townships, but it was out of reach of the vast wilderness and rural areas. As a local, Zhou Shi could completely wander around with those hundreds of people, but the Qin army would find it difficult to catch them.

Therefore, Zhang Wubaizhu's wanted order was probably of little use. Hei Fu himself was careful to prevent the windows from being attacked.

"Translate this bamboo slip into Wei characters and submit it to the treasurer and the three elders for review."

Chen Ping agreed. After copying and translating, he blew the ink dry and handed it to Hei Fu for review, then picked up the second wooden slip.

It was also a wanted order, issued by Waihuang County, for the former Waihuang magistrate Zhang Er and his wife and son...

"After the Waihuang magistrate fled Waihuang, some of his followers in Wei were still unwilling to give up. They gathered around Waihuang and continued to resist under the banner of Zhang Er."

Heifu laughed and said, "Zhang Er is a great hero in the east of Wei, and his reputation is very high. Therefore, anyone who can capture Zhang Er will be rewarded with 100 gold coins, and anyone who captures his wife and son will be rewarded with 10 gold coins. However, if I were Zhang Er, I would run to the east of Qi and Chu, and would not come to Yangwu to die."

Chen Ping nodded in agreement, but secretly thought in his heart: "Youjiao is an outsider, so he doesn't know that Zhang Bo, a miser in this town, has had some friendship with Waihuang magistrate Zhang Er in recent years, and the two even became relatives..."

But Chen Ping still kept a hand and did not say what was in his heart. After all, this was already a thing of the past.

After he finished copying and translating this one, he looked at the third wooden slip, which was sent from the camp outside Daliang City, and it had General Wang Ben's seal on it.

This is not a wanted order, but...

"Grain collection?"

Chen Ping widened his eyes, looked at the eye-catching number, and said in a lost voice: "Two thousand shi!?"

"Yes, two thousand shi."

Hei Fu sighed: "I didn't expect that Daliang would ask Huyou Township to take out so much grain."

Chen Ping's face had changed slightly. He stopped writing and looked at Hei Fu and said: "Youjiao, if you really take out so much grain, the people in this township will have to starve before the summer harvest..."

Hei Fu did not answer, but he knew it very well in his heart.

This grain collection order will destroy the illusion of friendship between Qin and Wei and harmony between the military and the people in Huyou Township. This place will become a big cauldron of boiling public resentment!

Hei Fu couldn't help but complain in his heart: "General Xiao Wang, this is not a grain demand, it's an order! This is clearly an order to throw our local garrison into the golden cauldron and cook it in boiling water!"

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