Qin Official

There is a saying in later generations that the predecessors planted trees and the descendants enjoy the shade. On the way from Chen County to Yangshanguan (Yangshan County, Guangdong), Heifu felt deeply.

"General Jia is still dedicated to serving the country. This road is well built and saves me a lot of trouble."

Sitting on the back of a mule, after crossing the "Qitian Ridge", Heifu looked back at the winding road behind him in the green dense forest, Heifu said with emotion.

Although Qitian Ridge is the smaller and shorter of the five ridges, it still has many peaks and mountains, and thousands of trees are green. In the past, there were no roads, only the Flying Ape and Bird Road, which was limited to high mountains. not easy.

The reason why the first expedition to Vietnam failed was that the northern soldiers were not adapted to the Lingnan climate and many died of illness. Transportation difficulties were also one of the reasons. To send grain from Nanjun and Changsha to Panyu, it had to be carried on people's backs over Qitian Ridge and then by water at Yangshanguan. This was extremely inefficient and unsustainable.

Jia He learned this lesson. While he was stationed in Chenxian, he did nothing else. He spent more than half a year driving the soldiers to do corvee work, digging into the mountains and widening the narrow path to a place where carriages and horses could be used. It was not easy.

It's a pity that Lao Jia was too honest and dedicated to serving the country. In the end, everyone blamed him and lost his head. Not to mention, this road opened with blood and sweat was all used as a wedding dress for the black husband.

Every time he thinks of this, Heifu wants to shed a few crocodile tears and mourn for General Jia.

Heifu promised to send people to cause chaos after winter, and asked everyone to return to Nanjun and Hengshan to celebrate the New Year. After selling the garrison a big favor, it was natural for him to select elite soldiers to recover Yangshanguan.

After crossing Qitian Ridge, the army rested for a day and marched along the Huangshui River (Lianjiang River). However, they saw that the river current was very strong and the waves were full of rocks, making it impossible to sail. However, after the current turned a corner, The front suddenly becomes clear...

This is a valley about 30,000 acres wide, backed by Yangshan Mountains, with the Huangshui River flowing from northwest to southeast. A small stone pass is built by the mountains and rivers, spanning the narrow spot at the southern end.

This is Yangshan Pass, which is still controlled by a thousand rebels. The gate is tightly closed and the city is crowded with people.

Heifu looked around and saw a small dock on the bank of Yangshanguan River, but the boats and boats had been burned down.

On the other side of the river is a wide land, at least half of which is planted with grain. The millet seedlings are green and green, and there are some houses and villages dotting the period.

On the opposite side of the flat land, there is a mountain peak about six or seven hundred meters high, with a beacon tower built on it, and beacon smoke is emitting...

With the joint efforts of the trackers and the pole punters, a small boat was rowed up from the downstream and docked on the other side. It was Li Cang sent by Hei Fu to contact the defenders of Huangxi Pass, and a short Qin army official.

Before he could reach the front, the military officer couldn't control his emotions. He stumbled a few steps and fell to the ground, his voice choked with sobs: "Sima!"

No need to ask, this must be an old subordinate.

Heifu's old men followed him for different periods of time, so they were called differently.

The first group of people called him "Tingzhang", the later ones who participated in the first attack on Chu called him "Baichang", and those who fought in Yuzhang during the second attack on Chu called him habitually. "Sima".

Heifu stepped forward to help the man up and patted him heavily on the shoulder several times.

"Anpu, I haven't seen you in almost ten years!"

This person was An Pu, the guard general of Huangxi Pass. He and Heifu had a very early friendship. When Heifu was the chief of the pavilion in Anlu, An Pu was the Weishi and helped a lot. He later followed Heifu to conquer Chu, went to Yuzhang, and became Cao Yu, a thief in Fanyang County. Later, he went to Changsha County to serve as a county captain. During the first expedition to Baiyue, he was also recruited. When the army was defeated last year, all the Qin troops wanted to return to Lingbei, but Anpu took the initiative to stay at Huangxiguan.

"Is there any reason to abandon Pao Ze? I want to wait here for Xiao Tao!"

This wait is one year.

Anpu told Heifu excitedly: "I sent people to search outside several times, but they were blocked by the South Vietnamese tribes. In winter, with great difficulty, a group of people went to Longchuan, only to find that the camp was empty, and the fire stove was empty. The ashes inside have probably been abandoned for more than a month, and Xiao Tao and the three thousand people have disappeared..."

Heifu nodded. He had heard about these situations from Li Cang. Although he was confused about Xiao Tao's whereabouts, the matter at hand was more important. After comforting An Pu, he asked about the situation of the war.

Anpu was very confident: "There are a thousand soldiers and two thousand corvees at Huangxi Pass. I have always followed Sima's teachings, and I must love the soldiers as my own sons and treat them generously, so no one rebels. I heard that Sima... the princes are here, So I left one thousand people to guard the pass, and the remaining two thousand people came to block the south gate of Yangshan Pass and seize the beacons from high places. From a high position, I can know the reality inside the pass."

According to Anpu, the thousand rebels rebelled twenty days ago. However, due to the awkward terrain of Yangshan Pass, there are only two roads, one going to Qitianling in the north and the other to Huangxiguan in the south. No matter where they go, they will be attacked by Qin. The army was blocked. After realizing that they had no way out, a thousand rebel soldiers had to stay at Yangshan Pass.

However, although the Yangshan Pass guard treated his soldiers harshly, at the last moment, he even knew how to burn the docks, ships, and the granary in the city. Therefore, the rebels were in a dilemma as they lacked food and could not escape by water. Anpu said that when he arrived with his army, the rebel soldiers were already pulling out green seedlings and cooking food on the other side, so they must have run out of food.

"Also, when our army first arrived yesterday, someone entered the pass from the north. I heard that he was a lobbyist sent by the Lord?"

"His name is Lu Jia."

Heifu said: "They are from Huainan Chu, and they are also the rebel villagers."

He pointed to the Yangshan Pass: "This pass is dangerous and narrow, and it can be said that one man can't open it. It is difficult for the army to launch an attack. They can only use wooden ladder ants to attack by force. If they are trapped animals, they will fight." , there will inevitably be casualties.”

Heifu turned around and looked at the five thousand people who had followed him, but their morale was still sluggish, and sighed:

"In the past three years, there have been enough people in Lingnan who died in vain. One less person should be one. Therefore, I sent Lu Jia, Chi Jia and Shou to enter the pass. I blamed the mutiny on Jia He's improper handling. It is excusable. . If everyone in the pass surrenders, they can avoid the death penalty. Even if it fails, it can make many people feel lucky, and it can also have the effect of surrounding the three towers and venting their anger."

An Pu bowed and praised: "I haven't seen you for many years, but the king and his troops are still in perfect harmony."

Heifu shook his head: "Anpu, Anpu, how can you learn to flatter others?"

Anpu smiled sheepishly: "I have been in the officialdom for more than ten years, and I am not a direct descendant of General Najia. If I don't know how to do this, I am afraid that the subordinates will not live to see the king again. Xiaotao is too upright. He repeatedly argued with Jia He and was abandoned outside the ridge..."

People under the eaves have to bow their heads. There is endless bitterness in An Pu's words.

Heifu felt a little ashamed and patted him: "It's different. From now on, I have the final say over the Southern Army!"

Having said that, Heifu did not delay the preparations for the siege. He asked Anpu to go back to the south of the pass to cut wood and make wooden ladders. In the evening, when the time agreed by Heifu and Lu Jia came, they would attack together.

When the market was over, the five thousand men brought by Heifu had already formed a formation in the northern part of the pass. However, most of these soldiers were unwilling to be the vanguard. Those who were unfortunately selected had bitter looks on their faces. They could all see that Yangshanguan was so difficult. Risk, if you are the first to get there, you will really die.

What's more, most of the soldiers are from the Chu region, so it's okay to kill the Yue people. But this time, the weapons are aimed at fellow countrymen with similar voices...

Seeing that the time was getting closer, the soldiers kept looking up at the sun, and Li Cang also stared at the wooden watch and the clepsydra.

As the shadow of the sun went by, Li Cang became more and more impatient and kept wiping the sweat from his eyebrows. The soldiers became more and more nervous, with dry throats and no saliva in their mouths.

Only Hei Fu sat proudly on the pony under the military flag, gently shaking a fan in his hand. Unfortunately, it was not a feather fan, but a cattail fan used by old farmers in the fields to enjoy the coolness.

Finally, evening time arrived.

Li Cang stepped forward and informed: "Junhou, the time has come..."

Heifu's cattail leaf fan has finally stopped.

Then, it was slightly raised and pointed at Yangshanguan.

Hundreds of crossbows were cocked, following closely behind, aiming at the city head.

Up and down the city, thousands of pairs of eyes were staring at this little cattail leaf fan.

As long as it is waved, the ten drums lined up behind Heifu will beat in unison. After hearing this sound, thousands of soldiers from the north and south will be forced by the military judge to move forward. , take this pass!

At this critical moment, the door of Yangshan Pass suddenly opened!

A scribe rode out on horseback. Regardless of etiquette, he shouted with all his strength: "Your Majesty, Yangshan Pass, surrender!"

…

Yangshanguan had really surrendered. At the last moment before the attack, Lu Jia was followed by a thousand people who were dejected. They streamed out of the city. According to Heifu's request, they threw down their weapons at the city gate and walked on the road. Squat with your head on both sides.

"Li Cang, give him water."

Heifu saw that Lu Jia's lips were dry and cracked, as if they were about to bleed.

Lu Jia said that this was the result of drying up his mouth. He took a big sip, but it was so spicy that he grinned: "Ahem, why is it wine?"

Li Cang changed his words to Lu Jia and no longer called him by his first name, but smiled and said: "Mr. Lu, you relied on your clever tongue to win this level. Such a feat must be supported by good wine."

Hei Fu nodded: "No wonder the sergeants in the army call you Lu Lizui. If you can convince them, in a few days, I will write down your words. Maybe it will be a model lobbying article praised by strategists."

Lu Jia smiled bitterly and said: "It's not that Lu Jia is a sharp talker, but that his generation has no way to go and the food is exhausted. If they don't surrender, they will die." After they saw Jia He's head, they also heard that the emperor allowed the rotation of garrison soldiers. , I went to Jianghan to rest and recuperate. I believe that the king loves soldiers and will keep his promise, ask the court for orders and forgive them..."

Speaking of this, the Confucian scholar Lu Jia raised his head and stared at Hei Fu with some uncertainty: "Will the Lord... keep his word?"

"It's natural."

Heifu smiled and looked at the surrendered rebels. Li Cang had already led his men to control everyone. An Pu personally crossed the pass and came to report to Heifu that the pass had been searched and there were no more rebels.

Hearing that the situation was under control, Heifu nodded with satisfaction, walked forward, suddenly changed his expression, pointed at a thousand rebel soldiers and shouted:

"Take them all!"