The Great Qin Empire---Qin Li

"I never thought that I could still see the Three Gorges before it was flooded!"

In mid-April, Heifu stood on a hilltop 20 miles west of Yiling County, feeling a little dazed and a little fortunate as he was blown by the whistling river wind. At the same time, he began to feel that this trip with the county magistrate was still a little rewarding.

He was ignorant and didn't know that this section of the Three Gorges was actually not flooded in the future...

"From the 700-li Three Gorges, the two banks are connected by mountains, with almost no gaps, and the mountains are stacked, hiding the sky and the sun. From the night before the pavilion, the sun and the moon are not visible"... If I remember correctly, this is how it is described in the textbook, and Heifu couldn't find a more suitable word to describe the scenery in front of him.

The hilltop where Heifu was was called "Xiling Gorge Mouth", which was the end of Xiling Gorge, one of the Three Gorges. The mountains and ridges of the 700-li Three Gorges and the dangerous rapids of the mighty river ended here. From here to the east, the mountains on both sides turned into small hills, and the swirling and turbulent river water gradually became flat.

So the locals said: the water is flat here, and the mountains are hilly here, so it was named "Yiling".

Yiling County is located 150 miles west of Zhijiang County, and it is the second stop of the county magistrate's tour.

In Yiling, County Magistrate Ye first checked the winter wheat planted locally as usual. After using the composting method, the harvest was about 30% higher. The county magistrate was very satisfied, and then continued to check the implementation of the water mill in the county.

Yiling is high in the west and low in the east, with many turbulent streams, which is a good place for the implementation of water mills. In addition, the population of the county is only more than 20,000, and setting up more water mills can just make up for the lack of manpower.

This time, the county magistrate did not let Heifu go with him, so Heifu was happy and relaxed. After spending a day checking the local military registration and determining the conscription regulations, the official business was completed. Seeing that the county magistrate was still wandering around the countryside, he couldn't wait to go to the Xiling Gorge to inspect the waterways and pavilions, so he asked a few local officials to guide him to take a one-day tour of Xiling Gorge.

Time was limited, so this trip could only be a quick tour. After taking a look at the scenery of Xiling Gorge, Heifu had to return in a hurry. It was not until 12:00 in the afternoon that he returned to Yiling County.

Yiling County was very small, less than half the size of Anlu County. Most of the buildings were spread along the river. At the slow-flowing part of the river bend, there was a pier, where several ships from Bashu were moored.

It left Baidi in the morning and arrived in Jiangling in the evening. It was 1,200 miles in between. Even if you rode the wind, it was not fast.

Having said that, it was a dangerous thing to go out of the Three Gorges from Bashu and enter Nanjun in those days. After all, the Three Gorges were full of dangerous shoals. If you were not an experienced old boatman, it would be easy to get into trouble. Having just experienced a thrilling voyage of seven or eight hundred miles, the crews on these Bashu ships urgently needed to rest and drink a sip of local rice wine to calm their nerves.

On the way back to the county temple, Heifu passed by the dock and happened to see the chief secretary of the county governor Teng sitting here with a few attendants, seemingly waiting for someone.

The chief secretary's name was Lu Dang. After seeing Heifu, Lu Dang took the initiative to stand up and bow to him. The chief secretary was a 500-stone official, so Heifu had to bow in return and chat with him for a few words.

"Has the left military officer seen the scenery of Xiling Gorge?"

Since leaving Zhijiang, Lu Dang's attitude towards Heifu has suddenly become enthusiastic.

Heifu did not dare to neglect: "I saw it, it is indeed well-deserved."

Lu Dang smiled and said: "In fact, Xiling Gorge is not the most beautiful and dangerous. The last time the county magistrate visited the county, he took us all the way west, went to Zigui, passed Wu Gorge, and went to Wu County to see Qutang Gorge. That is the unique mountain and water, the world!"

Heifu smiled and said: "I don't know if I will be lucky enough to see this wonder this time."

"I'm afraid not."

Lu Dang revealed: "The county magistrate only went as far west as Yiling this time. The day after tomorrow, he will take a boat down the river to the east, either to Yidao or back to Jiangling to rest, and then take the waterway directly to Jingling and Zhouling, and then it will be the turn of Anlu County, the hometown of Zuo Bingcaoshi..."

"Compared to the wonders, I still want to go home more."

Heifu said: "When we get to Anlu, I will lead the way for the county magistrate and the chief historian."

The two of them were silent for a moment, and then Lu Dang pointed out the Yiling city and talked about the military affairs that Hei Fu was interested in.

"The left military historian must have seen that from Ba through the Three Gorges to the east, there are mountains and ridges. It is not until this place that the water flow gradually becomes flat and the mountains gradually become gentle. Therefore, Yiling is the western gateway to the Yangtze and Han Rivers. In the past, the Chu State built a city here and even set this place as the Western King's Tomb. It is said that many Chu kings and ministers were buried in these mountains..."

Hei Fu nodded: "Two years ago, when I was a pavilion chief in Anlu County, I arrested a group of tomb robbers. The leader of the robbers had robbed Chu tombs in Yiling."

"I remember that case too."

Lu Dang said: "But those tombs of the former kings of the Chu State built on the outskirts of the city were burned by Wu'an Jun and General Sima Cuo more than 50 years ago."

It turned out that more than 50 years ago, the Qin State attacked Chu and first took over Shangyong and Hanbei. Then the troops were divided into two routes. One route was the one Hei Fu was more familiar with. Wu'an Jun Bai Qi led tens of thousands of soldiers and attacked Yancheng directly, and went deep into the city alone. The reason why the King of Chu at that time could not mobilize enough troops to resist Bai Qi was because another army of Qin, led by Sima Cuo, set out from Bashu and marched eastward with the navy, attracting the main force of the Chu army...

Lu Dang said: "I heard that at that time, General Sima Cuo led 30,000 soldiers from Bashu, with dozens of large ships and hundreds of small boats, starting from Wenshan and floating down the river. From Bajun City Jiangzhou to Chu Yingdu, which is now Jiangling, there are more than 1,300 miles. Although the miles are many, the water flows fast, and it can travel more than 300 miles a day without the effort of cattle and horses."

"The army set out from Bajun City and arrived at the Jianguan Pass in the west of Chu within two days. Once the Jianguan Pass was broken, Wu County and Zigui to the east surrendered without a fight, and Qianzhong and Wujun of Chu were all returned to Qin, and Yiling could not be defended."

"It just so happened that when Wu'an Jun broke through Yancheng, he passed through Jingmen and came to Yiling to meet General Sima Cuo. He used the grain of Bashu to feed the soldiers who had defeated the Chu State, and burned Yiling to intimidate the King of Chu. After that, the navy also invaded eastward to Jingling, and the sound of gongs and drums was heard in the Lantai Palace. The King of Chu Xiang was like a frightened bird, and fled eastward with his clan members and nobles."

At this point, Lu Dang couldn't help but laugh at the cowardice and incompetence of the King of Chu Xiang. The goddess of Wushan, who made the King of Chu Xiang dream, fell under the big ships and powerful crossbows of the Qin army, and he could only look west in panic.

Hei Fu suddenly felt that the history of the Chu State in the Warring States Period was really a bit like the Song Dynasty in later generations. Perhaps in the eyes of Xiang Yan, Dou Ran, Zhongli Mei and others, the humiliation of Yan and Ying was probably similar to the Jingkang Shame in the eyes of the Song people.

At the same time, Heifu couldn't help but admire Sima Cuo and said, "I heard that General Sima Cuo had advocated the attack on Bashu as early as the time of King Huiwen. If Qin occupied Bashu, it could threaten Chu from the upstream. He was really far-sighted!"

Although this general was born unlucky, he was overshadowed by the brilliant achievements of Bai Qi, a younger generation, and his reputation was not that great. But if Bai Qi is better at tactics and military power, then Sima Cuo is better at strategy. Whether it is advocating the annexation of Bashu or sending troops from Bashu to attack Chu, it shows that he has a unique vision.

If Bashu was not Qin's territory, Heifu felt that he could not sleep well in Jiangling City all night.

"Therefore, Yiling is a key point and a national barrier. If it is lost, it will not only damage one city, but the whole county will be worried."

Lu Dang still looked worried. Heifu knew that as a chief historian, he was responsible for checking and filling in the gaps for the county governor. Now he emphasized the importance of Yiling several times, and there must be reasons for his worry.

So Heifu pretended to be relaxed and said, "Now Bashu is a county of Qin. Although I have heard that there have been several rebellions by Shu Hou, since Li Bing became the governor, the area has been peaceful, and there is water irrigation. Every year, there is surplus grain shipped out, and Yiling is well-equipped. Is Changshi worrying too much?"

"Although the external threats are calm, there are many internal worries..."

Lu Dang stopped talking here. He was indeed worried.

Before Heifu could ask a question, the clerk next to him who had been looking at the river suddenly shouted, "Changshi, the boat is coming!"

Heifu and Lu Dang looked up the river together, and saw a large wooden boat with a deep draft slowly sailing out of the Xiling Gorge in the distance. The oarsmen rowed desperately in the opposite direction to slow down the boat. Finally, at the bend of the river, it docked at the Yiling dock, and the sailors on the boat cheered.

Heifu saw that Changshi Lu Dang was waiting for someone! That person should be on this boat.

"What kind of person can make the chief secretary of Nanjun County come and wait for him?" Heifu couldn't help but get curious.

At this time, he also saw clearly that the big wooden boat was painted with a white tiger pattern, and the crew members who got off the boat had different hairstyles and clothes. Most of them were barbarians with animal skins wrapped around their waists and naked upper bodies. Their hair was either tied in a bun or shaved clean, leaving only a tuft on the top of their heads...

When they got closer, Heifu also saw the willow-leaf-shaped swords hanging around their waists.

The identity of this group of people was immediately obvious: Ba people!

This is an ancient tribe. In addition to Ba County, there are also many Ba people distributed in Yidao, Yiling, Jigui, and Wu County in the west of Nanjun. Heifu occasionally saw a few in Jiangling City. The Ba people were brave and often served as loyal warriors to guard the homes of local tyrants.

However, the young man dressed in Qin clothes was walking towards this side, surrounded by a group of Ba people. He is about the same age as Heifu, but he is already wearing a single-board crown, just like a doctor!

Could it be that this is the person Lu Dang is waiting for?

Heifu's doubts were soon revealed. Lu Dang explained to him in a low voice: "This man is called Ba Zhong, the son of Ba widow Qing. At noon today, he sent a small boat to tell me that he had an important matter to see the county governor, so the county governor asked me to wait for him here..."

As he spoke, the young man seemed to understand the etiquette of Qin very well, and bowed to Lu Dang and Heifu from a distance.

"I am a barbarian, how dare I trouble the officials to wait?"

Lu Dang immediately bowed to the young man in return: "This is the order of the county governor, and you are also a doctor appointed by the king, so it should be so."

"The son of widow Qing?"

Heifu also reacted at this time, looking at the young man, and suddenly realized why this boy was so valued.

"So he's the son of the biggest mine owner in Qin!"