The Great Qin Empire---Qin Li

"Wait a minute!"

Heifu had just asked the driver to drive out of the city gate when a figure stopped in front of him. He looked up and said in surprise, "It's really the Five Hundred Lords!"

The voice sounded familiar. Heifu looked carefully and saw that the person in front of him was Man, the general of Nanjun who had fought together in Yingyang, Chu State.

At that time, there were four generals in Yingyang City. Xu Yang lost his mind in fear and suddenly rebelled, imprisoning Zhai Chong and Tu Si. It was Man who was smart. He pretended to be submissive and waited for Gong Ao to stab Xu Yang with a sword. Man jumped out and fought back, saving Gong Ao's life.

At this time, Man had also confirmed that the person who came was Heifu. He couldn't help but shout happily, and the six or seven people who had been waiting for a long time at the north gate of Ying County surrounded him. It turned out that they were all Nanjun soldiers and officials who had experienced the battle of Yingyang. If Heifu remembered correctly, including Man, they were all locals from Ying County and Jiangling.

In the battle of Yingyang, Heifu not only led the villagers of Anlu County to serve as officials, but also the hundreds of Nanjun soldiers who survived the battle were all awarded titles. Although Heifu gave the main credit to Li You, these Nanjun soldiers all remembered Heifu's "favor".

They remembered that it was Heifu who risked his life to enter the enemy camp and pretend to surrender, which made the Chu army relax their vigilance; they also remembered that it was Heifu who stood on the stall in the market, burned the food, cut off the retreat, and shouted to everyone, "I will take you home!"

He did what he said. Everyone gathered around Heifu and fearlessly attacked the Chu army's position. It was a loud explosion after being suppressed for a long time. Everyone could not forget the feeling at that moment. It seemed that just following Heifu's recklessness, the Chu army was really broken, just like a dream.

When they really got home, the person they were most grateful to was Heifu.

Seeing Heifu again at this moment, everyone was quite excited, so they followed Man and bowed to Heifu!

This was something Heifu had not expected in advance. He quickly got off the car and helped everyone up, saying with emotion:

"Hurry up, you two! We have been separated for more than a month, and it feels like a long time. I never thought that we could meet again here!"

Man smiled and said, "I am working in the county lieutenant's office. I heard that Wubaizhu will come to Ying County to work. I calculated the time and he will arrive today. Since getting up this morning, I have been waiting here with us for a long time!"

Everyone was acting as a comrade-in-arms meeting here, but the driver of a carriage behind them cracked his whip impatiently. It turned out that Heifu and his men were blocking the road.

The soldiers were disgraced and were about to get angry, but Heifu stopped them and asked the driver and everyone to move to the left of the road to make way for the carriages and pedestrians behind to enter the city.

At first, one of the superiors said with dissatisfaction: "I heard from General Manbai that Wubaizhu came this time to be the left military officer. This is an official with a rank of 400 stones. Why should we be afraid of them?"

But when he saw the posture of the convoy behind him, he couldn't help but take a breath.

Hei Fu had noticed it as early as when he entered the city. There was a convoy behind him, with a military chariot in front and behind, both with a single shaft and two horses, and a four-horse carriage in the middle.

The military chariot was open-topped. The one Hei Fu bought for 20,000 coins was a military chariot. Although it can be used for transportation, it cannot block wind and rain.

The carriage has a closed compartment that can block wind and rain. The body is also large, with facilities laid out inside, and it can be used for lying, living, and riding, which is more comfortable. In short, it is the same as the No. 1 and No. 2 carriages unearthed from the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang.

The carriage is obviously more expensive than the military chariot. Together with the horses, the price of one carriage exceeds 100,000 coins, and only the rich and powerful can own it.

Not to mention that the carriage was painted black and pulled by four spotted horses, which meant that only those with a title of "Five Great Officials" or above and their children could ride it.

In addition to the military carriage, there were two carriages carrying goods behind it. Around the convoy were more than a dozen warriors who were either on horseback holding spears or walking with swords. There were also four or five people dressed as maids, who followed the carriage closely, all with arrogant attitudes and disdain for the people on the roadside.

Hei Fu and his men took the initiative to give way to the left rear of the road. The convoy passed by with neighing horses. During this time, the curtain of the carriage was lifted, and a handsome young man inside bowed slightly to Hei Fu.

Heifu also bowed in return. After the convoy went far away along the road, Man scolded the impulsive soldier:

"You must be blind. Look at the posture of this convoy. Not only is the driver dressed luxuriously, but the knights and servants behind him are carrying swords, and the maids are dressed in silk and silk. The young man sitting in the carriage must not be from an ordinary family..."

Man was right. These people did not drive straight past them, but opened the window to thank them. They were already very well-educated. Heifu had just arrived and had not yet paid a visit to Li You. Why did he conflict with a nobleman on the road for such a small matter?

It is unlikely that a scene of bumping into a playboy on the street and having a conflict over a disagreement will happen in Qin. Because the Qin law was strict, Shang Yang directly punished the prince of Qin who rode a horse in the street. More than a hundred years have passed, and no noble son dared to be so reckless, riding a horse in the street, let alone quarreling with others, which could be considered a private fight...

The rich are more familiar with laws and more cautious than the poor.

However, this episode once again reminded Hei Fu that although he could dominate Anlu, this title and official position was nothing after he came to the county city.

After this episode, everyone talked about the past on the side of the road. Man said that he was now a Wei Shi in the county Weifu Mansion, and the other six or seven people also reported their current positions, either as a garrison commander in the army, or as a pavilion commander, and even one of them was a village chief.

"What happened to Li Dian?"

The man had the lowest position among the crowd, and felt a little embarrassed. He shouted: "I am in charge of dozens of households after all, which is much better than being just a small official before the war!"

He was touched when Hei Fu heard this. Everyone had their own positions, but they gathered together today to welcome him, which was enough to show their gratitude and admiration for Hei Fu. Hei Fu was also very pleased that his efforts at that time finally reaped rich rewards.

"Although most of these people are just small officials now, they are the cornerstone of my foothold in Ying County!"

This is just Ying County. I heard that there are more than ten people in Jiangling. By extension, the hundreds of soldiers who followed Hei Fu to break through and fight on that day have now been promoted and appointed to positions in the eighteen counties of Nanjun.

"Perhaps, this will be my first political qualification!"

With this thought, after bidding farewell to Li Xian, Ji Ying, Dongmen Bao and other fellow villagers, the feeling of being alone in a foreign place to take up a post disappeared, and Hei Fu only felt a sense of pride in his heart.

"With these Nanjun soldiers as support, where can I not go in the 18 counties of Nanjun?"

...

After this incident, Hei Fu's confidence in serving in Bingcao and helping Li You train soldiers became a little more.

Everyone took a temporary leave to welcome Hei Fu, and Hei Fu also had to report to the County Wei Mansion before the sun set. So they agreed to meet the brothers in Jiangling City another day to gather together to welcome Hei Fu, and then said goodbye to each other and hurried back to their respective posts.

Only Man was left riding in front, guiding Hei Fu to the County Wei Mansion.

"I didn't expect that Lieutenant Li would come to Nanjun to serve."

Man laughed happily and said, "After I came, the captain transferred me to be the captain's historian. Today, the captain also instructed me to welcome the five hundred chief...official doctors."

Man could vaguely guess the "deal" between Heifu and Li You, but he was a smart man and didn't say it. With Li You coming to Nanjun, all the people who followed him to break through the siege and return home became direct descendants. People like Man, whose names Li You could still remember, were immediately promoted.

This was the "long-term benefit" that Heifu had calculated when he made the contribution. Not only he would benefit, but everyone would benefit.

Soon, the two had arrived at the county governor's mansion, but they saw that the courtyard here was deep and the house was magnificent, with steep buildings and carved walls. It was very luxurious and decorated very gorgeously.

"The small courtyard of the county lieutenant's office in Anlu County can't be compared with it at all." Heifu sighed, the provincial and ministerial level agencies are different.

It was full of locals, so he was used to it. He laughed and said, "Ying County was originally the palace of the King of Chu, and was later changed to the county. Every government office here was once the palace of the King of Chu. How could it not be tall and magnificent? In the center of the city, there are several larger palaces and high platforms, which are still empty. Because it is too large, no county governor or county lieutenant dares to live in it, so it can only be kept as the king's palace, although the king has never lived here..."

"It will come..." Hei Fu thought to himself. Qin Shihuang was a person who could not sit still. After becoming an emperor, he spent half of his time touring the world.

At this time, Hei Fu also noticed that the carriage they met at the gate was in the stables crowded with carriages and horses at the gate of the county governor's mansion. After all, Hei Fu and his team had never seen a carriage pulled by four horses at the same time, so they must be right.

"Could it be that the gentleman with a jade face is also here at the County Governor's Mansion?"

Before he could think about it, Man had already stepped forward familiarly and explained his purpose to the armored soldier holding a halberd at the gate. Hei Fu also handed over his ID, biography, and letter of recruitment again.

The generals on duty at the gate were surprised, and the seriousness on their faces disappeared in an instant. They smiled and said, "So you are the new left military officer! I have heard of you for a long time! Please wait, I will go and report."

Seeing him bow and leave, Hei Fu was a little puzzled. He had just arrived, how could he have "heard of you for a long time"?

He looked at Man: "What did you say to them?"

Man smiled and said: "Why should I tell you? The heroic deeds of the five hundred masters have long been spread throughout Nanjun. Moreover, the people in the county governor's mansion saw the person recommended by Li Duwei himself, how could they not respect him?"

Through Man's oral account, Heifu learned that three days after taking office, Li You found an excuse to transfer the left military officer, who had no background, to the thief officer, and personally recommended Heifu to the county governor and Gongcao...

Personal recommendation was also a way for Qin to appoint officials, but it was a huge risk. Because Qin law stipulated that if the recommended person committed a crime before being promoted, the recommender would also be held accountable. When Du Xian took a fancy to Heifu and asked him to be an official, he did not dare to recommend him personally, but asked the county magistrate to recruit him through roundabout ways.

Li You did this as if he regarded Heifu as his first confidant, so the officials of the County Wei Mansion had long been curious about what kind of person Heifu was...

"So although the five hundred masters have not arrived yet, they have already become famous in half of the city." Man said.

"Now I am really on the Li family's pirate ship."

Heifu was helpless. Now, Li You became his sponsor. The two were tied tightly together. They would rise and fall together, but wasn't this what he expected? It's nice to take a rest under a big tree.

Sure enough, not long after, the hundred generals who were guarding the gate returned and invited Heifu in.

This County Wei Mansion is worthy of being a corner of the former Chu King's Palace. It is very large, with white walls and red doors, blue bricks and black tiles on the roof, and lush banyan trees and green bamboos. When walking in, I saw that the house was divided into several entrances, each of which was separated by a moon gate. Each courtyard should be a small office courtyard. Walking along the corridor, there are terraces, pavilions, winding water and shady trees along the way.

If there is no one to guide him, Heifu would be confused. At the same time, he secretly sighed that the kings of the Chu Kingdom had worked hard to extort the people's money and build luxurious palaces, but in the end, they made wedding clothes for the Qin officials. What's the point?

After a long circle, he finally arrived in front of a tall building. Looking up at the eaves and corners, he saw dozens of halberd guards standing opposite each other in front of the open door, looking at Heifu curiously.

Heifu adjusted his clothes and took off his shoes at the door. He found that there was already a pair of pointed shoes here, which were inlaid with beautiful jade, which showed that they were extraordinary.

He didn't think much about it. He walked up the steps with his head held high. After entering the hall, he saw Li You sitting in the middle at a glance. Li You was wearing a black robe and a high crown, and was talking to a young man in a white robe and a swallowtail crown. When he saw Heifu coming in, he stopped talking, stood up with a laugh, and pointed at Heifu.

"Heifu, Heifu, you are finally here!"

Heifu immediately bowed and said, "How can I be so worthy of being recommended by the county lieutenant in person? I am really humbled. I am just a little late. I hope the county lieutenant will forgive me!"

"You set off as soon as the letter arrived. What's your crime?"

As he spoke, Li You helped Heifu up and introduced him, "Zi Yang, this is Heifu who helped me break through Yingyang and cross the Chu land for 300 miles. He is also my left military officer!"

The young man with a jade crown smiled and said, "I happened to meet the left military officer at the city gate. I never thought that we were going the same way. I would have traveled together if I had known."

Heifu hurriedly said, "How dare I?"

"Oh? You have met before, what a coincidence."

Li You also pointed at the young man and introduced him: "Heifu, this is Feng Jing, the son of Wu Zejun, the fifth-rank official. Although he has just come of age, he is smart and studious. He came to Nanjun to be my clerk. You will be my colleagues from now on!"