The Great Qin Empire---Qin Li

In front of Li You, when he heard that he had "reached the ears of the emperor" and was praised by Qin Wangzheng, Heifu was very excited and almost incoherent.

But after leaving the county lieutenant's mansion, he had a different opinion on the words relayed by Li You.

"Perhaps in the eyes of the king, all people in the world are objects and tools of different values. Those who are useless to him in building his empire are small thorns that can only be used for burning fires, or oak trees that are tall but useless."

Although oak trees are tall, they will sink in water if used for boats; they will rot quickly if used for coffins; they will be easily destroyed if used for utensils; the fat will not dry if used for doors and windows; and they will be easily eaten by insects if used for pillars.

Therefore, thorns and oaks are useless woods and have no use.

Only catalpa wood can be used to build a mansion, and they are useful people in the eyes of Qin Wang.

Although Zhuangzi seems to have said that wood is easy to cut, and only useless things can last long, this sentence is outdated and not suitable for this era.

Qin State is a harsh society similar to Sparta, where useless people are not kept. The most typical example is that although Qin law stipulates that drowning infants is a crime, if the baby is born with congenital limb defects and is destined to be disabled when he grows up, he can be killed after the government verifies that it is correct...

In the eyes of the Qin people, this may be the greatest kindness to children. Therefore, Hei Fu rarely saw disabled people like Quasimodo and the little devil in Qin State. Their survival rate in this era was much lower than that of others since birth.

The same is true on the battlefield. People who are considered useless will be sent to fill ditches. Therefore, in this country, everyone must work hard to make themselves "useful", take social responsibilities, and establish achievements and get promoted, so that they and their families can last long.

"Now I have at least caught the eyes of the King of Qin and become a useful person."

After laughing at himself in his heart, the clerk leading the way stopped and pointed to a small courtyard and introduced: "Left Military Officer, this is your residence."

The Left Military Officer, who Heifu served as, was at least a clerk with a salary of 400 stones, on the same level as the county magistrate and the county lieutenant. He had his own residence to live in, and did not have to squeeze into the dormitory with ordinary county officials.

While guiding Heifu to the small courtyard with lights on, the clerk smiled and said: "Others who come to take up their posts all bring a few maids and servants to serve them. That gentleman Feng Jing brought 20 or 30 people with him, and he had to have a three-entry courtyard to live in. The Left Military Officer, on the other hand, only brought a driver..."

Heifu smiled awkwardly. Although he was already an official doctor and his family had a fortune of 100,000, he had no foundation like many nouveau riche. Not to mention the servants and maids, in fact, even the coachman was hired. After sending Heifu to the place, he would go back to Anlu. Heifu planned to ride a horse in the future. Anyway, Ying County has a strong military significance, and many people travel alone on horses...

Fortunately, there are officials like Heifu who come to work empty-handed, so the county governor's office will arrange some official slaves and servants to take care of their daily lives. Heifu can't be busy with official duties all day and have to go home to cook after work...

The clerk knocked on the door, and the door opened. Inside was an old official slave with gray hair and a lame foot. He was holding a torch made of straw. Seeing that the owner of the place had come, he hurriedly welcomed Heifu in.

Heifu glanced at the torch and found that the courtyard was not small. The stable alone could accommodate four or five horses, enough for his carriage and two horses.

Facing the gate was a brick-and-stone house, with a one-room-two-room style. Although small, it had everything. In the front yard, in addition to the small house where the old official slave who was responsible for cleaning and opening the door lived, there was also a vegetable patch surrounded by a fence, a well covered with a cover, and a small toilet next to the empty chicken coop. At the southernmost end was a kitchen, which was fully equipped with pots, pans, and bowls.

The backyard was where Heifu lived. There were three or four brick-and-tile houses. Except for one that had been cleaned up and covered with new beds and bedding, the rest were still empty.

"Left Military Officer Shi, please make do with it for one night."

The clerk apologized, "Two official maids will be sent to Left Military Officer Shi tomorrow."

Heifu didn't care. He had long been accustomed to making do in the army. What's more, the main house where he lived had a bed, a desk, and a wooden screen, which was decorated better than the house in his hometown in Anlu.

After the clerk left, Hei Fu asked the old slave outside to close the door and looked around the small courtyard again. If nothing unexpected happened, this would be where he would live for the next six months.

"No matter what, let's settle down in Ying County first! If you want to continue to climb up, you have to keep showing your talent in front of Li You!"

However, just the prediction today that Wang Jian would attack Chu with 600,000 troops is enough for Li You to look at him with new eyes again, right? Hei Fu also had to grasp the timing and not show too much, otherwise it would be bad if he scared Li You.

It was still early to go to bed, so Hei Fu chatted with the lame old slave and found out that he was from a local hidden official and was only temporarily sent to guard and clean the courtyard.

"The Left Military Officer is going to take up his post alone, so there is no need for too many servants. Your daily life will be taken care of by two official servants. I will go to another place tomorrow..."

Hei Fu nodded, and thought to himself: "Wait, if this happens, won't I live a decadent life with one man and two women?"

...

On the second day, when Hei Fu got up, the coachman and the old official servant who guarded the door left one after another. Hei Fu didn't want to wait for the clerk to send the official servants, so he put on the official robe with seal and ribbon that he received yesterday, and went to the Military Officer's Office to meet him first...

Heifu was wearing a new official uniform of crimson and black leather, which meant that he was an official under the county lieutenant. He wore a long double-plate crown, which meant that his title was an official. A belt bag was hung on the leather belt with a copper hook. The belt bag contained Heifu's small copper seal. The black ribbon was exposed outside the bag and hung naturally. The officials of the Qin State distinguished their ranks by the number of ribbons, ribbon color, and ribbon pattern.

The county lieutenant was in charge of the military officers, so the Bingcao and the Thiefcao were under the jurisdiction of the county lieutenant. So it was the palace compound that Heifu had visited yesterday. The gatekeeper at the door knew that he was a senior official as soon as he saw his dress, and immediately bowed, and then led him to find the Bingcao.

When Heifu stepped into the Bingcao's yard, everyone looked at him curiously. As Man said, his name had long been spread among the Bingcao and the entire county lieutenant's office.

The military officer was named Jiang Hua. He certainly did not dare to neglect Hei Fu, the confidant personally recommended by the county lieutenant. He warmly welcomed Hei Fu's arrival and introduced him to the various soldiers, subordinates, and assistants.

"Since the left military officer has just arrived, the county lieutenant has specially allowed you to take two days off. It is okay to come back to take up the post the day after tomorrow."

Military officer Jiang Hua had a beautiful mane, and then said that the right military officer was ordered to inspect the armory today, and Hei Fu would see him when he came tomorrow.

The purpose of Hei Fu's coming here today was to visit his immediate superior and get to know his colleagues, so as not to let him think that he was taking advantage of being Li You's confidant and neglecting his superiors. So after getting familiar with the environment here, chatting with the assistants and clerks for a few words, and knowing where he would work after officially taking office and the general business, it was already afternoon, so he went off work with everyone else.

When he rode his horse through the city wall and returned to his home a mile away, he found that the clerk from yesterday had been waiting outside the door for a long time.

"When did you come?" Heifu asked casually.

"Left Military Officer, I just arrived too."

The clerk smiled timidly and asked the two maids in dark black clothes behind him to salute Heifu.

"I have seen the Left Military Officer..."

One voice was sharp, and the other was thin and weak. Heifu got off the horse and looked over. The two women just looked up.

The maid with the sharp voice was a woman in her thirties. She might have been pretty when she was young, but now her skin was yellowish and there were deep smile lines on her cheeks. She was trying hard to smile at Heifu.

The maid on the left was much younger, a girl of sixteen or seventeen. She was beautiful and well-proportioned, which made Heifu's eyes light up. But after all, she was a maid who served people. Her skin was not delicate, but much whiter than the woman next to her. There was also a small mole on her left eyebrow. Unlike the flattering smile of the woman next to her, this girl just raised her head slightly, with no smile on her face, as if she was arranged to serve others and was very reluctant...

Just as the clerk was about to introduce the two women's names, the girl suddenly bowed her head again and said to Hei Fu:

"I dare to tell you, Zuo Bingcaoshi, that my hands and feet are clumsy and I am only suitable for pounding rice and washing clothes. I can't do the work of serving the superiors. I hope Zuo Bingcaoshi will dismiss me! Let me go back to be a slave concubine!"