The Great Qin Empire---Qin Li

When Li Xin walked out of the side hall of Xianyang Palace, his face was still calm. He took the sword handed by the guards at the palace gate, put it back on his waist steadily, nodded to them, and slowly walked down the platform under the envious and admiring eyes of the guards holding halberds.

But in fact, Li Xin's heart was already very excited, and he wanted to flip down the steps directly and laugh heartily!

Li Xin was only 29 years old, with a height of eight feet. His handsome face was angular, and his eyebrows pierced his hairline like sharp swords, showing his brave and courageous character.

This is the personality of a young Qin general. Li Xin was a native of Guanzhong. He was born on the loess-covered Huaili Beimangyuan, grew up drinking the water of the Wei River, and grew up with bows and horses since he was a child. At the age of seventeen, he became a knight who could chase a galloping horse and a chariot. He was strong enough to tie up flags, draw two stone bows, and shoot from a horse. He was skilled in shooting from front to back and left to right. He was a famous martial youth in Huaili.

Relying on the advantage that his grandfather and father were both high-ranking officials of the county, and this ability, the young Li Xin was selected to enter Xianyang as a palace official of the King of Qin.

The guards were all descendants of Qin generals and officials, or children from good families in Guanzhong. They were in charge of gates, chariots and other matters. They served as guards of the King of Qin and fought in the army.

At the same time as Li Xin, Meng Tian, the eldest son of Meng Wu, and Li You, the son of Li Si, served as guards. Their daily tasks were to wear helmets and armor, hold long halberds, and stand in various corners of the Xianyang Palace for half a day. This made Li Xin, who was used to riding a horse in the strong wind of Weiyuan, very uncomfortable, and felt that he was just a decoration in this palace.

But the best always stand out. That year, Longxi and Shangjun sent fine horses. The King of Qin ordered the guards to select and tame the horses on the spot. Li Xin picked the most fierce and wild horse. After a game of man and horse, he successfully tamed it.

His performance that day left a deep impression on the King of Qin. From that day on, Li Xin began to have a prosperous career. First, he was transferred from a palace guard to the King of Qin and became a trusted attendant. With the King of Qin's appreciation, in the next two years, he was promoted from an ordinary guard to a Langguan, which was rare for people of his age.

The King of Qin was also young at that time. He had just exterminated Lao Ai, who had controlled the government for many years, dismissed Lu Buwei, and began to truly control the country. His eyes were on the six states in Shandong...

The King of Qin wanted to sweep the world, encompass the universe, encompass the four seas, and swallow up the eight wildernesses. He needed those experienced veterans, and also a large number of young people who were as enterprising and vigorous as him.

In this context, Li Xin was transferred from the guards to the army.

The army of Qin was a place that valued seniority and age. After Li Xin joined the army, those veterans with gray hair always liked to take advantage of their seniority and regarded him as a "yellow-chinned child". When Li Xin was appointed and led the army to fight, they stood up and questioned his ability because of his age.

Li Xin tried hard to adapt to the military environment. In addition to growing a beard to make himself look more stable and mature, he also used beautiful battles to successfully shut up those half-buried, conservative and dull old generals.

Soon, he was promoted from a captain to a captain, and was even appointed as a general in the battle to destroy Zhao!

At that time, Wang Jian led hundreds of thousands of troops to Zhang and Ye, while Li Xin led tens of thousands of elite troops out of Taiyuan and Yunzhong.

This was the first time that Li Xin led an army of more than 10,000. His performance was still outstanding. He went out of Taiyuan to conquer Zhongshan, and cooperated with Wang Jian to sweep Julu and Hejian, but he also made a big mistake - he failed to stop Prince Jia of Zhao, who fled to Dai County and Shanggu with hundreds of Zhao clan members, calling himself the King of Dai and lingering on.

But in the battle to destroy Yan two years later, Li Xin, who was also a deputy general, did not repeat the same mistake. He personally led thousands of chariots and cavalry to pursue Yan Wangxi and Prince Dan who had escaped from Yandu, and defeated the remnant army of Yan at Yanshui, forcing Yan Wangxi to kill Prince Dan and ask for peace with Qin...

That was Li Xin's famous battle. For a time, he became the object of worship for the young people of Qin. When Li Xin returned to Xianyang with the head of Yan Prince Dan, tens of thousands of people lined up to cheer. The boys walked beside the team happily, holding their heads high and looking at their young hero with admiration.

It is said that after that, the teenagers in Guanzhong no longer called themselves "General Wang's subordinates" when riding bamboo horses, and began to call themselves "General Li's subordinates"...

People always like the legendary experience of young generals who are aggressive and finally successful, but after getting used to it, they tend to forget the merits of the old generals who are as steady as a mountain. Under the intentional promotion of the King of Qin, the young general Li Xin's popularity was about to overshadow that of Wang Jian and his son.

The King of Qin was also not stingy in showing his trust in Li Xin. Li Xin still remembered that after the army returned from Yan last year, the King of Qin celebrated the victory of the generals, but in the end, he left Li Xin alone and asked him a question.

"General Li, which one should we attack first, Qi or Chu?"

At that time, Wei still existed, but in the eyes of the King of Qin, Daliang was destined to become a ruin, and Wei had become a county under the rule of Qin, and he did not take it seriously at all.

Faced with this unexpected question, Li Xin thought for a while and replied: "Chu is vast, Qi is narrow. Chu people are brave, Qi people are timid. Please start with Yi..."

He advocated starting with Qi, so that Li Xin could take his more familiar chariots and cavalry, follow the example of Yue Yi, and drive straight from Jixi and Jibei to destroy Qi in one fell swoop!

At that time, he did not dare to treat Chu as his own meal, because the Qin army believed that to destroy Chu, General Wang would have to take action.

Although Li Xin was confident, he was not arrogant enough to think that he could replace him.

The King of Qin did not comment on Li Xin's advice.

After that, Li Xin entered a state of rest for a year, and did not even participate in the battle to destroy Wei. Instead, the King of Qin sent Wang Jian's son Wang Ben and said with a smile: "Wei is just a vassal of Qin. Why does it need the two generals I value most as commanders? If the Tai'a sword is not issued, it will destroy the great country of ten thousand chariots!"

When the King of Qin said this, Li Xin and Wang Jian looked at each other, but soon, their eyes moved away.

Li Xin didn't know what Wang Jian was thinking when he heard the King of Qin's words. He only knew that a sense of pride rose in his heart. This was the first time that the King of Qin put him on a par with Wang Jian. It was also the first time that he had a hope that it was not the father and son of the Wang family who attacked the city and destroyed the country for the king, but himself...

In May, Daliang City was broken and Wei State was destroyed. According to previous practice, Qin State would rest its troops and rest its people. But Li Xin's idle state in Xianyang City did not last too long. Last month, there was a sudden news: King Jing broke the agreement and was unwilling to hand over the three counties west of Qingyang in Jiangnan, and ordered Qu Shi to kill the Qin envoy!

After learning the news, the King of Qin did not fly into a rage, but just smiled and said why the King of Chu suddenly became bolder, and then calmly asked Wang Wan, the imperial censor who was serving beside him, what was the reaction when King Zhuang of Chu asked about the envoy being killed by the State of Song?

Wang Wan was familiar with the rules and regulations and answered immediately: "King Zhuang of Chu said to the envoy Shen Zhou, Song killed you, I will attack it. Song did kill its envoy. When King Zhuang of Chu heard about it, he got up without wearing shoes or swords, and his followers chased him. They didn't deliver shoes until the front hall, and didn't deliver swords until they chased him outside the palace gate. They chased him to the Pushu Street Market in the capital of Chu and let the king of Chu ride on the military chariot. So King Zhuang of Chu besieged Song for three years, forcing Song to exchange children for food and break bones for cooking, and finally surrendered to Chu."

"The King of Jing broke the agreement and attacked our Nanjun. The three towns west of Qingyang are small, and the prestige of Qin is great. The wishes of a great country cannot be violated. If we don't punish him, the world will despise Qin! How can I be worse than King Zhuang of Chu?"

Qin Wang Zheng is such a person. If he wants something, he must get it, whether it is talents from various countries, such as Han Fei and Wei Liao, or the unique position of the emperor in the world.

If he has grievances, he will choose to repay without hesitation. The nobles of Zhao State had bullied Qin Wang Zheng's mother and son when he was young. After the Qin army broke Handan, the Qin King went to Handan in person and killed all the nobles of Zhao State who had grievances with his mother's family without exception! Yan Taizi Dan sent Jing Ke to assassinate, which made the Qin King sweat coldly. He immediately ordered to attack Yan, using the ruins of Yandu and the head of Yan Taizi Dan to tell the world that all those who dared to resist the Qin King would end up like this!

Now Chu dared to break the agreement and go against the will of Qin Wang, which was self-destruction!

So the Qin King summoned Wang Jian and Li Xin and asked them a question in person:

"I want to attack Jing, how many people do you think it will take?"

After Wang Jian pondered for a long time, he reported the number he needed to destroy Chu: "It must be 600,000 people..."

Li Xin still remembered that when he heard this number, although the king's face did not change, his eyes had left Wang Jian and cast on himself.

"General Li, how many soldiers do you think it will take to destroy Chu?"

The King of Qin's eyes were full of encouragement, so Li Xin couldn't say anything disappointing. Li Xin looked at Wang Jian, who was standing on his right, with gray hair and a slightly hunched back, and felt that he didn't seem as tall as before. For a moment, Li Xin forgot that he had carefully mentioned that "Chu is vast and Chu people are brave", and blurted out: "No more than 200,000 people!"

The King of Qin seemed very satisfied with his answer, waved Wang Jian to leave, and let Li Xin stay.

After Wang Jian walked out of the side hall with a slightly slow step, the King of Qin sighed softly, as if he was sad about the old general's twilight years, and seemed to be relieved for the peaceful curtain call of a generation of famous generals.

But this emotion soon disappeared. The King of Qin asked Li Xin to come three steps closer to the King and encouraged him: "General Wang is old, why are you so timid! General Li is indeed strong and brave, and what he said is true!"

This sentence is the affirmation that Li Xin has been waiting for for many years. For ten years, as a junior and deputy, he has been watching the majestic figure of General Wang from behind, watching him waving the flag, watching him make achievements and leave behind the reputation of destroying countries and cities. He has admiration, envy, and some reluctance in his heart.

The King of Qin promoted him and made him, a young general under 30, second only to Wang Jian. Now, he even said that he has surpassed Wang Jian!

Li Xin was so excited that he bowed his head three times on the spot, saying that he would definitely live up to the King's high expectations! He must tie up the King of Jing and bring him to the King!

"General Li will be the commander-in-chief of the matter of destroying Chu! Recruit soldiers from Guanzhong and Shandong counties and send them out when food is sufficient in autumn."

After a deep discussion, Li Xin left the side hall. At this moment, thinking of the sentence "General Li is indeed strong and brave", his feet were still a little unsteady...

When he walked to the gate of Xianyang Palace, Li Xin met Xia Wuqie who had just sent Wang Jian back to his mansion...

...

"Imperial Physician." Li Xin was young and brave, but he was not arrogant. He knew that Xia Wuqie was the most trusted person by the King of Qin, even more than himself, so he immediately bowed to greet him...

"Hello, General Li." After hanging around in the palace for many years, as a member of the Queen Mother Xia clan who did not have a good relationship with the King of Qin, Xia Wuqie was able to be valued by the King of Qin for many years after the Queen Mother Xia passed away, which was enough to show his intelligence and smoothness. He also got off the car and bowed, and smiled and said, "I haven't congratulated the general yet."

Li Xin was humble for a moment, and then asked in a low voice: "Imperial Physician, is General Wang okay?"

Just now, Xia Wuqi was also waiting in the palace, until the King of Qin asked Wang Jian to go back first, and then he let Xia Wuqi see Wang Jian off and accompany Wang Jian back to the mansion.

Wei Liao once said that the King of Qin was ungrateful, but the King of Qin was not unkind. He was still full of warmth towards the meritorious veterans. Although he intended to promote Li Xin, he was also afraid that Wang Jian's advice today would not be used, and this old general with great military achievements would get sick...

Xia Wuqi shook his head and sighed: "General Wang is fine, but he has been in the army for decades and has experienced hundreds of battles. He has been injured by blades, spears, arrows, sprains, and falls. I can't count how many times. It was fine when he was young, but now that he is getting older, his health is not as good as before. Just now in the car, he smiled and said to me that since the king has brave new generals available, it is time for him to retire and return to Pinyang to enjoy family happiness..."

"General Wang intends to retire?"

Li Xin was surprised, but he was slightly proud in his heart. General Wang was indeed old. Not only was his health not as good as before, but his thinking was also slow. The reason why the king asked them how many people were needed to attack Chu was because Qin had been using troops for three consecutive years. If they wanted to gather 600,000 people, they had to wait until the autumn harvest next year to mobilize the whole country.

Although the king's temperament had a period of forbearance, he became more and more resolute after he took power. What he decided must be done no matter how much it cost! It is best to do it quickly and well! He doesn't like to procrastinate.

How could he endure the humiliation of Jing's betrayal for another two years before taking revenge?

General Wang was really old and blurry. He didn't even think this through?

The king's appointment of generals was like a palace dispute, with new people laughing and old people crying. His glorious military exploits were not only paved with the corpses of the enemies, but also stepped on those predecessors.

Li Xin shook his head secretly, but sighed verbally that time is not forgiving, and then said goodbye to Xia Wuqi and went back to his mansion. The King of Qin will announce this appointment to all officials and generals in August, and then there will definitely be countless doubts about Li Xin's age and his lack of experience...

Li Xin needs to use a perfect strategy to destroy Chu and hit them hard in the face!

He is not bragging about destroying Chu with 200,000 people, but he has his own confidence. In the past, Wu'an Jun was able to take Yan and Ying and break Jiangling with tens of thousands of troops. Now Chu is guarding half of the country in the east, and the King of Chu is a man who killed the king and established himself. The internal war in Chu is uncertain, so it is just right to launch an unexpected war...

Use young and brave generals, rely on a sharp and brave army, and take advantage of the momentum of destroying Wei to conquer Chu in one go! This is the king's intention. Li Xin felt that he understood it perfectly. Those years of life as a guard beside the king were not in vain.

"Before the Battle of Yique, Wu'an Jun was suddenly appointed as the chief general by Ranghou. At that time, he was only thirty years old, of humble origin, and had no outstanding achievements, but he became known to the world in one battle..."

When Li Xin stepped out of the gate of Xianyang Palace, he looked up and looked back at the towering Jique, his eyes full of pride.

"I will destroy the 800-year-old state of Chu, return victorious, and present the captives of Jing to the king here!"