The Great Qin Empire---Qin Li

"Mr. Zheng Guo is truly a god."

In the west of Daliang City, at the Qin Army Camp, 15-year-old Wang Li stood outside the tent door, looking at Daliang surrounded by rolling floods in the east, and gave a heartfelt admiration.

He was ordered by his grandfather to visit his father at the front line, and brought him the summer clothes sewn by his mother. Along the way, he passed through Hangu Pass, Luoyang, and Chenggao. When he passed through Xingyang, he happened to see tens of thousands of prisoners tearing open the Xingkou port defenses, allowing the river water to flow into the Honggou...

"The land of Wei may become a swamp now."

A Dongjun retainer who escorted Wang Li eastward said so, and also mentioned what he saw and heard in Wei State that year.

"More than fifty years ago, when I was still an eight-year-old child, King Huiwen of Zhao led his army to Dongyang, Wei State, opened the mouth of the White Horse, and attacked the Wei family with the river water as the vanguard. As a result, the river water flooded from Puyang to Suanzao, tens of thousands of people were buried in the belly of fish, and the good farmland was all swamped."

While speaking, the old guest kept shaking his head. He was not very optimistic about Wang Ben's water attack strategy. He thought that although it could hurt the enemy, half of Wei's land might have been eroded by the river water and turned into a wasteland. What's the use of such a wasteland?

But when the group arrived at the foot of Daliang City, they were surprised to find that the unruly river water obediently followed the Honggou here, and was then led into the newly dug ditch, only flooding Daliang City, and did not cause damage to the surrounding areas.

All this is the credit of Zheng Guo, the "chief designer" of this project...

"You are worthy of being Mr. Zheng who dug the Zhengguo Canal."

Wang Li was full of admiration, and at the same time, he clenched his fist and said to his father in the general's tent: "Father, if this happens, I am afraid that Daliang City will be in trouble and can't step down. This city will be taken in no time!"

"It is not so easy to destroy a century-old famous city and a country with ten thousand chariots."

Wang Ben changed his armor and wore a casual dress. He sat behind the desk, but he was not looking at the map of Daliang City, but was flipping through a batch of bamboo slips delivered by military officials.

This is the data on the grain reserves in the army. Every time Wang Ben read a volume, his brows tightened.

Although Wang Li was born in a general family and studied military books under the influence of his grandfather and father since childhood, he was still immature and did not know what his father was worried about in such a good situation. Wang Ben asked him a question.

"When the king was eighteen years old, your grandfather, under the order of the king, led an army of 200,000 to Jingxing and fought with Li Mu of Zhao State for a long time. It was not until the nineteenth year that Handan was finally conquered."

"The year before last, Prince Dan of Yan sent Jing Ke to assassinate the king. After the failure, the king ordered your grandfather to lead the army to attack Yan. It was a long journey to the north to Yan land, and it was even more difficult after the winter. After several months of siege, it was not until the end of last spring that the Yan capital was finally conquered, Prince Dan was killed, and the king of Yan fled."

These wars were the achievements of Wang Li's grandfather, the great minister Wang Jian, who was famous all over the world. Wang Li didn't know how many times he had heard about them and boasted to his peers in Xianyang.

However, his father changed the subject and asked him, "Do you know that after your grandfather came back, he said that he could win these two battles. Who should he thank the most?"

"Thank the king?" Wang Li asked, scratching his head.

Wang Ben stood up and bowed to the west: "If the king had not made clear laws, raised troops to punish tyrants, and trusted the Wang family, there would naturally be no achievements in defeating Zhao and the remnant Yan."

Then he shook his head and said: "But your grandfather said that the person who should be thanked the most is Mr. Zheng Guo!"

"Thank Mr. Zheng?"

Wang Li was stunned for a while. Although he admired Zheng Guo's ingenuity, he guided the Dahe, the unruly yellow horse, into a sharp blade for the Qin army, but did not affect the people in the surrounding cities. But for a while, he did not understand what direct connection Zheng Guo had with these two wars.

Wang Ben was a little disappointed with his son, who was slower than his father and himself, and reminded him: "Recite the chapter on warfare by Sun Tzu of Wu quickly."

Wang Li was startled and immediately recited with his hands behind his back: "Sun Tzu said, in the art of war, if you have a thousand chariots, a thousand leather chariots, a hundred thousand soldiers, and a thousand miles of food supply, then the internal and external expenses, the expenses of guests, the materials of glue and paint, and the maintenance of chariots and armor will cost a thousand gold coins a day, and then a hundred thousand soldiers can be raised..."

"If you use war to win, the soldiers will become dull and weak after a long time, and the city will be exhausted if the army is attacked for a long time, and the national funds will be insufficient if the army is used for a long time..."

He recited until this point, and then he acted as if he suddenly realized it, and said excitedly: "Father, I understand! What my grandfather meant was that if it were not for the Zhengguo Canal dug by Mr. Zheng Guo a few years ago, Guanzhong would become fertile land, there would be no bad years, Qin would be rich and strong, and the grain warehouses would be full, there would not be enough grain to send to the front line to support him to win these two wars that lasted for many years to destroy the country! Right!"

Wang Ben nodded, pointed to the layers of tents outside, and the more than 100,000 people busy living in the middle, and said: "Isn't this the same for the big battle I am the commander in chief?"

In Wang Ben's view, the only factor that determines the outcome of this war is food.

According to the surrendered people, the King of Wei and the Prime Minister seemed to have made preparations long ago. The grain in Daliang City has been stored for a year, and there is no shortage of food. If they save a little, the people in the city can eat until autumn. So even though the water flooded the city, the King of Wei was still struggling. The only hope of Wei was that the Qin army outside the city was short of food and grass and could no longer besiege...

Although this hope was slim, it was not impossible. As the commander, Wang Ben knew very well that although Guanzhong had a bumper harvest almost every year after the construction of Zhengguo Canal. But in the past three years, there have been too many military operations and the battles were too far and too big. Even the food in the fertile fields of Guanzhong was difficult to supply.

"It's all the fault of Prince Dan of Yan."

Wang Ben inherited his father's "stability" and was a general who liked to make moves step by step and didn't like his plans to be disrupted.

"If there hadn't been Jing Ke's assassination, we should have destroyed Wei first and then slowly attacked Yan. As a result, the order was completely changed. When my father attacked Yan, because Yan was too far away, it was not enough to transport grain from Guanzhong. After half a year, the grain reserves of Hedong, Henei, and Dongjun were almost exhausted, and many laborers died of starvation and cold. Zhao had just returned to the country not long ago, and it was turbulent and not much grain could be collected. At this critical juncture, Xinzheng in Yingchuan County also rebelled."

"Therefore, when I presided over the war against Wei, I could only rely on the grain supply from Nanyang and Sanchuan. The army and garrison soldiers had more than 100,000 people to feed the horses. After two months, there was not much left."

The grain from Guanzhong was still being transported out continuously, but Wu Sunzi said it well, "A country that is poorer than the army has to transport grain far away, and transporting grain far away makes the people poor." Guanzhong is really far from Daliang. When three stones of rice were delivered, only one stone might be eaten. The final result was: "The people's expenses were seven out of ten; the public expenses were broken carts and horses."

Qin couldn't use up all its resources in this battle. In Wang Ben's eyes, he, the so-called commander, was actually just a vanguard. Destroying Wei was just an appetizer, and the real grand feast was still to come.

Chu, the fat bear paw that had to be cooked slowly before it could be eaten had to be finished by his father Wang Jian himself...

So, in order to solve the food problem and reduce the pressure of Guanliang, Wang Ben thought of two ways.

The first one is to let Yang Duanhe and Qiang Wei lead a small army to attack Jiyang, Taoqiu and Suiyang. On the one hand, these big cities of Wei can be taken down, and on the other hand, the main combat troops can be divided into different places for food and reduce the burden.

The second one is to let the miscellaneous troops from Nanyang and Nanjun attack the neighboring counties. After the county lieutenants and patrol officers on the front line control the counties and towns, Wang Ben will issue an order to them to search for food in the local area and send it to Daliang City!

Six thousand stones for the county town, two thousand stones for the big town, and one thousand stones for the small town!

"It is exactly what the art of war says, take it from the country and rely on the enemy for food, so the army can have enough food." Wang Li now fully understood that his father's arrangement was to let those counties and towns that originally belonged to Wei State continuously supply food to Daliang City so that the army can hold on until the day when the city is broken.

Wang Ben nodded: "If we can get 100,000 shi, it will be enough for the army for a month."

But Wang Li was a little worried: "But Wei has just been through war, and the summer harvest has not yet arrived. When I came, beans and wheat were not mature. I am afraid that the counties and towns will not be able to find too much food."

There is another sentence he didn't say. If the local Wei people have no food to eat, what should they do?

"There will always be some."

Wang Ben's eyes were as cold as iron. He looked outside the tent and said lightly: "Military orders are like mountains and laws are like iron. For this matter, the garrisons in the counties and towns must complete it even if they have to scrape a layer of local land! Either escort the food to pay, or come to see me with your heads!"

...

"What is a military order?"

More than a hundred miles away in Huyou Township, Yangwu County, Hei Fu was also thinking about this question.

Military orders are tasks that must be completed once they are issued, no matter whether you are happy or not.

In the Qin State, laws and orders were as hard as iron. If law-abiding and duty-bound officials did not follow the king's laws, they would be punished with death and their entire families would be punished.

In the army, the orders of the generals were also like the king's laws... Subordinates were not allowed to question the orders of their superiors, and they had to obey them unconditionally.

The general ordered you to defeat the enemy, and you must defeat them if you attacked. If you failed, you would die, or die in battle, or die at the hands of the military judge, and by the way, you and your fellow soldiers would be buried with them.

The general ordered you to defend the city, and you must defend it. If you failed, you would die, or die on the city wall, or die in the post-war trial, leaving behind a reputation as a "military thief" and bringing disaster to your family.

The same was true for searching for food, which was Hei Fu's main task as a patroller here.

The military order required the surrender of 2,000 shi of grain, but you only handed over 1,000 shi, and then stubbornly said that the local people should not be treated too harshly to prevent them from rebelling. The military judge nodded to show that you really thought it through, but in the final analysis, you did not complete the task, violated the order, and deserved a heavy punishment. Take off your hat and belt and join the army of prisoners digging ditches.

The military order required the surrender of 2,000 shi of grain, specifically grains, but you only handed in 1,000 shi of aged millet, and the rest were dried fish and kudzu powder. Maybe you will laugh and say that these things are more nutritious, but in the eyes of the military judge, this is like requiring 100 people to behead 33 levels, but you smuggled three heads of women and children. It is considered sneaky and slippery. Not only did you violate the order, but you also committed the crime of "not being upright", and the punishment is heavier.

There are merits in the past and failures in the future, which does not reduce the punishment. There are good things in the past and mistakes in the future, which does not violate the law.

Even if you violate the order with hidden reasons, it will not affect your sentence. This is the rule of the Qin army.

After Hei Fu summarized, he found that the easiest to complete the task was the Qin official who followed the orders in everything. The most vulnerable ones are modern time travelers who like to think about ideas.

The more ideas you have, the more trouble you will have.

In fact, there are only two choices. Either you can be a good guy that no one can remember, and if you fail to complete the task, you will be killed.

Or you can be the "Qin Bandit" that you should play, be a bad guy, put on a stern face, and do whatever you want.

After thinking about it, Heifu decided to be a bad guy.

He selected Dongmen Bao, Gong Ao and other subordinates with the strongest combat effectiveness.

"Come with me to the homes of Sanlao and Sefu."

Heifu could not collect grain by himself. He had to negotiate with the local tycoons and use their hands to complete this matter.

However, after leaving the camp, Heifu found that Chen Ping, who was supposed to go home, was standing at the door and saluting him.

"Ping dares to ask the patrolmen, how do you plan to collect grain?"

Chen Ping also thought over and over again before waiting here. Although he had been slandered by the villagers and his words were not taken seriously, he learned about this matter today. As a native of Huoyu, he would also suffer if his hometown was damaged, so he could not stand idly by.

Moreover, isn't this an opportunity for him to shine in front of the villagers and the Qin officials?

But a scholar can't explain himself to a soldier. Dongmen Bao, who hadn't exercised for a long time since his injury, was furious when he heard this: "Boy, you are just a clerk, how dare you ask about this matter?" He strode over and grabbed Chen Ping like a chicken, and was about to throw him aside.

"Wait a minute."

Hei Fu stopped Dongmen Bao and looked at Chen Ping, who was almost beaten but not panicked. He thought that this brilliant figure in history might be able to help him...

So he said to Chen Ping: "Then I will tell you, military orders are as strong as mountains and laws are as strong as iron. Grain must be collected, and two thousand shi, not a liter less, but the collection method..."

Hei Fu thought of three ways. The first one was to divide the two thousand shi equally among more than a thousand households in the township, two shi per household. This would make most families starve for a month before winter wheat and beans mature, and they could only eat a bowl of porridge every day.

This move could please the local tyrants, but it would offend ordinary people. When the Wei resistance group headed by Zhou Shi appeared in Yangwu County, it was better not to force the local people too hard.

Plan 2 was to do the opposite, and only let the tyrants headed by Dong Zhang and Xi Zhang pay grain. Heifu knew that the surplus grain of these two families added up to more than 2,000 dan, plus the local sages and scholars who attended the banquet that day, they could always make up the surplus grain.

Although this move benefited ordinary households, it was equivalent to attacking the local tyrants and eating the rich, which would make the local tyrants completely fall out with Heifu. There might be dissatisfied people who contacted Zhou Shi and sent servants and retainers to cooperate with Zhou Shi to kill Heifu and his fifty people...

By then, even if Heifu shouted his throat, no local households would come to help him. You think you are doing a favor, but others may not think so.

So Plan 1 and Plan 2 were initially rejected by Heifu.

The only plan that seemed feasible was Plan 3.

The local tyrants and ordinary households each contributed 1,000 dan. In this way, the local tyrants would not suffer a great loss, and the people could keep some grain to survive until the summer harvest.

But is there really a difference between 50 steps and 100 steps?

Heifu was very worried that doing so would still be a loss of favor and offend both sides.

So after thinking about it, Heifu picked up the plan again.

"I have a plan that may convince Zhang to pay for the grain, so that the people don't have to suffer and starve, but I want to hear your idea whether it can work." Heifu pointed at Chen Ping and said.

Chen Ping seemed to be greatly encouraged, and also bowed his head and said: "Ping also has a plan, which may convince Zhang to fully bear the two thousand stones of grain..."

"That's really a coincidence."

Heifu was slightly stunned, and laughed: "Could it be that the strategies you and I have are coincidental? Chen Ping, did you bring a pen and ink?"

"How dare a scholar not bring these things?"

Chen Ping put down the basket behind him, took out his blunt pen, and a piece of inferior ink.

Hei Fu smiled and said, "How about we write our respective strategies on our palms and then unfold them at the same time?"

Chen Ping's eyes lit up and he agreed immediately, so Dongmen Bao and Gong Ao found a stone and ground Chen Ping's inferior ink.

"You Jiao, please go first."

Hei Fu was not polite either. He first picked up the blunt pen, dipped it in some ink, and quickly wrote a word on his palm, and then handed the pen to Chen Ping...

Chen Ping took the pen, hesitated for a moment, and also wrote on his palm