The Great Qin Empire---Qin Li

"Heifu, I never thought that it was you who saved us. Otherwise, we would all be captives of Chu and would never be able to go back in this life!"

When Zhou Hua came over, he excitedly punched Heifu, but forgot that his hand had just been injured. He squatted on the ground in pain again, but still smiled and said, "By the way, you are really brave. You actually came to the Chu people to pretend to surrender. Hey, it was really refreshing just now. Those Chu people who humiliated me were killed by me and others with stones and weapons!"

Heifu pulled him up: "General Zhou has suffered. If you hadn't been behind to hold back hundreds of people in the rear of the Chu army, this battle would not have been so smooth. I wonder how many people in the pit were killed or injured?"

It would have been better if he didn't mention it. When he said this, Zhou Hua's face darkened: "We are unarmed, our armor has been stripped, and we are hungry and tired. Although the three hundred people fought back hard, at least hundreds of people died or were seriously injured..."

"What a pity."

Hei Fu also sighed and looked around. The corpses covered the entire suburbs, some of them were from our side and some from the enemy. The number had not yet been counted. The Chu people who were fleeing in all directions had become small black dots. The Qin people had no desire to pursue them because Dou Ran had been captured. The Chu people were leaderless and there was no fear that they would rally and fight back.

What should be done now is to quickly pack up the captured chariots and horses, count the casualties, and quickly protect Li You to continue running...

At this time, Dongmen Bao came over with an impatient look on his face. His words offset Hei Fu's excitement of winning the first battle and capturing a county lord of Chu.

"General Bai, Huaimu is seriously injured. I'm afraid he's dying. Go over and take a look!"

...

The soldiers of the Xiantuan were the first to join the battlefield. They were responsible for attacking the enemy's formation and disrupting it. Heifu and Huaimu said that they could retreat after the main force rushed in, but once the fight started, how could they just retreat? The soldiers of the Xiantuan were indispensable in the whole battle, so they suffered the most casualties.

Many people were found in the pile of dead bodies. A fellow Qin soldier who had followed Heifu since leaving Anlu County fell in a pool of blood that was gradually solidifying. His eyes were wide open and his body was wounded. There were also several Chu people who died with him lying beside him. Ji Ying was leading people to separate them. The Qin soldier was moved to one side and the Chu people were left to the crows.

Heifu did not stop. He followed Dongmenbao and hurried to a small tree. He saw Huaimu leaning against the tree, just like when Heifu first saw him on the top of Waihuang City. The captain closed his eyes quietly, his face was pale, and only the rise and fall of his chest let him know that he was still alive.

"Huaimu...you..."

Heifu's eyes were about to burst. He saw that Huaimu's abdomen was deeply pierced by a broken spear, and there were two arrows in his thigh and chest with only feathers left.

His left hand, which Heifu had bandaged for him personally, had disappeared from the elbow below!

Huaimu opened his eyes and saw Heifu kneeling on one knee in front of him, and smiled.

"Heifu, you may not be able to stop the bleeding this time..."

"Don't talk, maybe you can..." Heifu regretted it. At this moment, he only hated that he had appointed Huaimu as the captain of the trapped team.

"We won?"

Huaimu turned his head and asked weakly.

"We won!"

Heifu said to him excitedly: "Great victory! The Chu general was captured, and the Chu people fled in a panic. This is all thanks to you and your fellow soldiers. You have to hold on. When you return to the country, you will naturally be rewarded with great merit!"

As Heifu spoke, he asked someone to pull the Chu flag over, just wanting to cover Huaimu's wound, but his wound was too deep and too serious, and the blood soaked the silk flag, but he couldn't stop it...

"Forget it."

Huaimu chuckled and said, "I was thinking that if I win this battle, after more than a month, I can sit at the village community's La Festival, hug my wife, brag to my two younger brothers about my bravery on the battlefield, and show off my scars to my fellow villagers..."

"But now it seems that I can't do it!"

He coughed violently and sprayed a piece of blood foam.

"Heifu, can you do me a favor..."

"You say!" Heifu tightly grasped his remaining hand, feeling it getting colder and colder.

"Go to Jingling County for me to see if my two younger brothers have been redeemed from slaves to commoners? And tell my wife, who has just been married for a few months..."

"What?" Huaimu's voice became smaller and smaller, and Heifu could only put his ear close to his mouth.

"Just say... Huaimu broke his promise."

"Huaimu can't go back."

"This is the first time Huaimu broke his promise."

"It's also the last time..."

"Tell her not to wait any longer, find someone in the village, and marry again!"

Heifu felt that his throat was choked and stiff, and he couldn't say anything, so he could only nod his head continuously.

After he finished speaking, Huaimu seemed relieved. His eyes began to blur and darken. He could not see the people around him clearly. He could only subconsciously stretch his right hand toward the distant sky, as if he wanted to touch something and grab something before his death. Maybe it was his wife's warm hand or his brothers' fluffy hair.

Even the hilt of his sword, which he was most familiar with.

The winter sky in Huaibei was full of white clouds and gentle sunshine, but Huaimu felt cold.

"I really want to go home..." He smiled and sighed his last breath with regret.

...

Lieutenant Li You groaned and opened his eyes, and found that the afternoon sun came in from outside, which hurt his eyes.

"Captain?"

A shadow stood beside the couch. It was Bu Cheng who was ordered by Hei Fu to stay and look after Li You. This fortune teller was a folk herbalist. When Li You had a fever, he found some herbs in the city and mixed them for Li You to drink. Hei Fu was just trying to save his life. Unexpectedly, Li You's fever really subsided!

"How long have I been asleep?"

Li You looked at his chest wrapped in cloth. The wound was still painful, but it had eased a lot, especially the burning sensation had disappeared. He slept uneasily. Not only did he feel uncomfortable, but he always felt that someone was calling him. Something big seemed to have happened outside.

"Four hours." Bu Cheng had been looking at the sun outside the window to calculate the time, and immediately picked up the bamboo tube and put it to his lips.

"This is..." Li You thought it was still the bitter medicine soup that was hard to swallow.

"It's just water."

So Li You drank it. His lips were chapped, and the warm water tasted as sweet as honey. Then, Bu Cheng gave him some porridge. Li You felt that he had recovered a little strength, at least he could speak and think.

"What happened when I fell asleep? What happened to Hei Fu's false surrender?" He finally figured it out and asked hurriedly.

Bu Cheng bowed and said, "I dare to tell the captain that in the morning, the hundred-general Xu Yang rebelled and wanted to kidnap the captain to escape. He has been pacified. He and his thirty men have been executed by the military judge!"

"What!"

Li You was shocked. When he was unconscious, Hei Fu, the fake leader of the five hundred, was not in the city, and there was an internal conflict. This was too much. Did the Chu people take the opportunity to attack?

"That's not the case. After Xu Yang and other rebels were quelled, the generals also returned. Half an hour ago, they encouraged the soldiers in the city, and two quarters ago, they went out of the city to attack the enemy..."

Bu Cheng was actually restless, and bowed his head again, saying, "But I don't know what the result will be. The deafening shouts of killing just now have stopped..."

"So that's it."

Li You felt that his mind was in a mess, and his doubts were getting deeper and deeper. He was a man with his own ideas, and he didn't believe Bu Cheng's one-sided words. Xu Yang was his old subordinate. Although this person had limited ability, he wouldn't do such a crazy thing, right? Could there be any hidden secrets in this matter?

But all this is no longer important, because the scheduled battle has already started, and even ended. Li You didn't know whether the Qin people could still work together after experiencing an internal conflict, and whether the previously envisioned breakout could be realized?

There may be three possibilities. First, the Qin people completely defeated the Chu people, and the plan was perfectly successful. Second, the Qin people just barely opened a path, and Hei Fu would break through with the rest of the people, leaving Li You in the city. Third, the Qin people were defeated, and the Chu people entered the city...

If it was the second or third case, then Li You would be completely finished. Not only his life, but also his father's career would be greatly affected. The son of Li Si, the Qin court judge, was defeated and captured... What a shame.

Li You even began to think about suicide. His father was trusted by the King of Qin and would definitely become the prime minister in the future. As a son, he must not let him down!

"Father, if You really can't go back, he will never live..."

However, while they were talking, heavy footsteps were heard outside...

"Here they come."

Bu Cheng stood up with a start, and Li You also looked at the door, but they didn't know whether it was the Chu people or the Qin people who came?

Li You was shocked. He wanted to sit up and get his sword, but he felt as weak as a sick raccoon. He didn't even have the strength to commit suicide. He could only lie on the couch, waiting for the judgment of fate.

The door was pushed open, and a dark shadow walked into the room. His armor rustled. He knelt on one knee and bowed to Li You, saying, "I am Hei Fu, the subordinate, and I greet Captain Li!"

Hei Fu's body was still stained with blood, and his eyes were red. Perhaps he was blinded by the winter wind and sand...

"No need to be polite. How is the battle going?" Seeing that it was Hei Fu, Li You showed joy on his face and asked sideways with the help of Bu Cheng.

"Thanks to the captain, the Chu people were defeated, our army won a great victory, the siege has been lifted, and we can leave here at any time!"

"Good, very good!"

Li You breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that choosing Hei Fu to be the fake five hundred masters was an extremely correct choice!

In this way, Xu Yang's death became insignificant. Li You didn't even mention that matter, and asked directly about the results of the battle.

Time was tight, so Hei Fu simply reported the situation counted by the military judge.

Although the battle was won by a charge and the time was short, the number of casualties was not small due to the fierce battle. The 700 Qin people who followed Hei Fu into the Chu formation suffered nearly 200 casualties, especially the 100 trapped soldiers, including the garrison leader Huai Mu, who almost lost half of them and could never return to their hometown. And 100 of the 300 Qin captives died and were seriously injured.

About 400 Chu people died, and another 100 were taken prisoner. The rest fled in three directions, east, south and north. It is worth mentioning that more than a dozen chariots were trapped in the formation, abandoned by the Chu people, and became the spoils of the Qin army!

"With these horses and carriages, those lightly injured soldiers can also be taken away together!" Hei Fu said.

Li You was most concerned about this, he asked: "You just said that you captured the Duke of Chu, Dou Ran, alive. Did you capture the flags of the Chu army?"

"Except for the flag of Qin Gongsun Feng, the other flags include one flag of Duke of Hu, one flag of the leader of a thousand men, and seven flags of the hundred men..."

"Good! The flags are also a merit. With them as evidence, the number of beheadings this time can also be believed by the domestic law officers!"

Li You was very happy. The military law said: From the lieutenant to the lower level, everyone has a flag. Those who win the flag will be awarded a title according to their own, to show their intention of rewarding and persuading.

The number of beheadings in this battle can even be reported as 700 to 800! Of course, he understood that it was impossible and there was no time to take the beheadings back for counting, so he could only let the military judge count and report the number, and then hand in the captured military flags as proof.

In addition to capturing enemy generals, seizing military flags, and beheading four or five hundred people, there was also a merit in rescuing other troops. As the saying goes, "If the officer in front abandons his troops and flees north, the officer behind can kill him and take his troops away, and there will be a reward." This means that if the officer in front abandons his troops and flees, the officer behind can kill him and take his troops together, and there will be a reward.

Li You secretly counted these merits, and looked at Hei Fu again. He admired them, but also felt a little regretful and even envious, because if these merits could be attributed to him as the commander, at least they could offset the crime of the previous defeat in Xiangcheng. Not only would he not have to be stripped of his title, but he could even be promoted to a higher level!

But this battle was not fought by him after all. From pretending to surrender to encouraging soldiers, to commanding the enemy, it was all Hei Fu's performance. During this period, Li You just slept in the room. At most, as a superior, he could get some credit and reduce some of his guilt.

Having said that, he was not shameless enough to take credit for Hei Fu's achievements, so he forced a smile and said, "This battle was all due to Hei Fu's proper command. With the four merits combined, I'm afraid he can be promoted two levels and become a public official directly!"

However, Hei Fu did not show any joy, but bowed in fear and trepidation: "Why do you say that, Captain? In this battle, the reason why we were able to defeat the Chu people was not only because of the soldiers' dedication and concerted efforts, but also because of the strategy that the Captain had set in advance?"

"I...set the strategy?" Li You blinked, but did not speak, but looked at Hei Fu and asked him to continue.

Hei Fu laughed and said, "The captain may have been too seriously injured and fainted for a while, and he even forgot some things."

"From sending me to pretend to surrender, to secretly instructing me on the tactics of going out of the city to attack the enemy, all of the above came from the captain's mouth, and I just followed his orders! Hei Fu has heard of a saying, 'Those who work with their minds rule others, and those who work with their hands are ruled by others'. In terms of merit, it is Captain Li, who works with his mind, who has the first merit! As a laborer, I am satisfied with a little merit and a rank. How dare I be greedy and take the great merit for myself?"