The Great Qin Empire---Qin Li

In late June of the 23rd year of the reign of Qin Wangzheng, Anlu County, where two major cases had just occurred, received a very interesting personnel transfer.

Zheng Shou, the right lieutenant of Anlu County, was transferred to Yidao County as a county lieutenant. Although it seemed to be a horizontal transfer, it was actually a demotion.

Anlu was a large county with more than 10,000 households, while Yidao was an "ethnic autonomous county" with only more than 1,000 registered households. Moreover, in April, a terrible incident occurred in which the county lieutenant was killed by the local Ba people. Although the rebellion had been quelled, everyone could see that Yidao was difficult to govern, and being an official there was like being exiled...

This demotion was expected, because the Legalists in power were different from the Huang-Laoists who liked to be quiet and inactive. Their characteristic was "urgent politics". In addition, influenced by the fact that Qin Wangzheng was also impatient, there was a trend of quick success and instant benefits from top to bottom, and those who could achieve political achievements in a short period of time were easily promoted. For example, within 100 days of Ye County Magistrate taking office in Nan County, he issued several decrees in succession, killing thieves, eliminating nobles, and rectifying official styles, which won the praise of the King of Qin, who let him do it.

However, Zheng Shou had been an official in Anlu for more than a year, and he had done almost nothing. Until the Yun Man case broke out, the right lieutenant Zheng Shou knew little about his crimes, which was in sharp contrast to the capable people like Hei Fu. He was probably considered "mediocre" by the county lieutenant.

After Zheng Shou received the appointment letter, he asked his servants to pack their bags at home, but his heart was full of bitterness.

He was a Han from Yingchuan County, and it had not been many years since he surrendered to Qin. Influenced by the thinking of the past 30 years, he was too friendly to the local nobles after he came to Anlu to take office. In the first year, he was directly a puppet of Yun Man and let him do whatever he wanted.

This year, as those Qin soldiers who served as garrison soldiers returned home, they took back some power from Yun Man by appointing them as Weishi, Youjiao, Tingzhang, and Tunzhang.

But with the investigation of the case of Yun and Li's collusion with the princes, Zheng Shou found that the locals he recruited as officials actually did not appreciate him at all, especially Weishi Lixian, who had already started to investigate Yun's dirty tricks, but did not mention him a word...

Only then did he understand that these old subordinates of Heifu still regarded Heifu as a benefactor and him as a passerby.

The official duties had been completed long ago, and Zheng Shou dragged it out for a few days. After attending the farewell banquet of the county magistrate and the county magistrate, he reluctantly set off, leaving with only the carriage he brought with him, a cart of luggage, and a few maids and servants.

When he arrived at the city gate, he was surprised to find that it was crowded with people, mostly officials from the Wei Office headed by Li Xian, and officials from various departments such as Nu and Le were also waiting here.

Zheng Shou thought that these people were here to see him off, and he was surprised and happy for a while. However, those people were looking forward to the west. It was not until Zheng Shou's carriage approached that they suddenly realized and hurriedly turned around to salute.

"We are waiting here to see you off, Mr. Zheng."

It was still Li Xian who was smart. He lied and took out his money bag and said with a smile: "This is our money. I hope Mr. Zheng will have a smooth career in the future..."

Everyone reacted and took out their money bags and temporarily collected some money. Some had three or four hundred coins, and some had only a hundred coins. Zheng Shou felt a little uncomfortable, as if it was alms.

Among these people, almost all of Hei Fu's old subordinates were there, and they also held the Hui, which was used for greeting, to show that they were sweeping the bed to welcome him.

How could Zheng Shou not understand? These people were not there to see him off, but to welcome the new left lieutenant of Anlu.

As someone left, someone else came. In addition to Zheng Shou being transferred, Shi Heifu, the left military officer who served in the county, was transferred to Anlu County to serve as the left lieutenant...

Coincidentally, the day Zheng Shou left was exactly the day Heifu took office. Upon inquiry, Li Xian and others said that Heifu had already arrived in Beijiao Township and would soon arrive in the county.

"Will Zheng Jun not wait any longer?" Li Xian asked.

"No, I have told you all the things that need to be handed over. The appointment requires me to take office before July. Now it is late June and there is no time to delay."

Zheng Shou did not want to stay any longer, so he asked the driver to speed up and leave Anlu. Instead of taking the main road to the county town, he took another road to the southwest to avoid meeting Heifu on the way and embarrassing each other.

Looking back at those old subordinates who were waiting for him, comparing his own humbleness without anyone to see him off and the warm welcome that Heifu was about to receive, Zheng Shou felt so bitter that he could only think to himself: "It's different with a backer!"

Obviously, in addition to being demoted, he was transferred to make room for Heifu. Li You, the county lieutenant, was determined to let Heifu take sole control of the military power in Anlu.

The vacancy of the right lieutenant of Anlu would not be filled for several months. Before that, all matters concerning soldiers and bandits in Anlu were decided by Heifu...

Thinking of this, Zheng Shou felt a little better.

"After the fall of the Yun family, Heifu's former subordinates had military merits and titles, and they seemed to have grasped the real power of the county lieutenant's office, and they also had considerable influence in the townships and pavilions. Hey! Yun Banxian just died, and another Hei Banxian came! At this moment, I was transferred away to avoid his edge and avoid being his puppet, which is actually not a bad thing!"

...

Half an hour after Zheng Shou left, Heifu really arrived, because the Qin law stipulated that officials were strictly prohibited from taking their former subordinates to take office, and before becoming a county chief, they were not even allowed to have staff. So Heifu still only took his appointment and destiny, and left Jiangling with the driver Sangmu.

But when he arrived at the Beijiao Township of Anlu County, the number of followers increased. The patrol Dongmen Bao here was his diehard, and he waited at the county boundary with a group of township pavilions without saying anything, and took a few people to escort him all the way on the pretext of going to the county town to work.

Dongmen Bao asked his township guards to follow the carriage and said confidently: "As a new official, how can I weaken my power when I want to let everyone in the county see my power?"

"Of course." He added with a grin: "After these two years, who in the county doesn't know the power and reputation of the pavilion chief?"

While saying this, he personally held the reins for Heifu, like a front foot. Heifu scolded him: "A Bao, you are also a township official. Are you not afraid of being laughed at for holding my horse?"

"Who dares to laugh at you in Beijiao Township!"

Dongmen Bao's temperament was still the same. He raised his eyebrows and glanced at the villagers who were pointing at him on the roadside. Everyone immediately fell silent and pretended to be nothing. It can be seen that Dongmen Bao has been a patrol for half a year and has reached the level of fear in the township.

A month ago, Heifu was ordered to arrest Yunman. He came in a hurry and left in a hurry. He only met Dongmenbao once, so Dongmenbao held back a lot of words. On the way, he boasted about himself.

"When I first arrived in Beijiao Township, the local tyrants tried to bully me. I followed the instructions of the pavilion chief and first suppressed thieves and arrested idlers. I killed a few people according to the law to establish my authority. Then the tyrants knew that I was not easy to deal with and dared not neglect me."

During the conversation, Heifu also learned a good news, that is, Dongmenbao's wife was pregnant again. I wondered if she could give birth to a son for him in addition to the chubby twin daughters...

Willows, rice fields, and ponds full of lotus flowers were gradually left behind. When he arrived at the edge of the county, Heifu received an even warmer welcome than Beijiao!

A student in the school was pushed to the front by the crowd. He was shocked. The last time Heifu came back, he didn't even catch up with his brother. He was the happiest when he heard that Heifu was going to Anlu to be an official. He came up and said with a smile: "Brother Zhong, you are finally here!"

At this time, everyone in the back also bowed and saluted. One person squeezed out of the crowd, clasped his hands, and bowed, saying: "The officials respectfully welcome the county lieutenant to take office!"

Heifu was happy when he saw it. It was none other than his old acquaintances Chen Baijiang and Chen Bu.

Speaking of which, when Heifu was a night watchman, there were two Baijiangs. Bin Baijiang was involved in the Yunman case and was killed with Yunman. Chen Baijiang has been transferred from Baijiang to Weishi of the outer county. After a circle, he was transferred to Anlu again.

Heifu got off the car, helped Chen Baijiang up, and greeted Le, Nu, Lixian and others. At the same time, he smiled and said, "You are wrong. I am not an outsider. Why do you have to welcome me?"

"Yonghui" is a kind of etiquette for welcoming officials to take office in this era. The original meaning is that if there are guests at home, the host will clean the house in advance to show respect and welcome to the guests. Although he held a broom in his hand, he did not sweep the floor. He just pretended. Yonghui walked in front and led the way, leading the officials into the county, just like sweeping the door and welcoming them personally.

But Heifu felt like a master. This time he came to Anlu, just like a wanderer returning home.

After a while of greetings, everyone escorted him into the city like stars supporting the moon, and went to the official temple. Along the way, many familiar faces saw Heifu and bowed from a distance, with envy and admiration in their eyes. Facing the villagers, Heifu was not arrogant and bowed to them one by one.

He first went to pay respects to the county magistrate and the county magistrate, and then arrived at the county lieutenant's office. Li Xian had arranged for everyone to clean up the place and the entrance hall was wide open, waiting for the new owner.

After entering the door, everything was the same as before, including the jujube tree in the courtyard, which was standing tall and graceful, and its flowering period was about to end.

In the past two years, Hei Fu had come in and out of here countless times. Recalling the first time he came here, he was still a small soldier, and it was Chen Baijiang who led him and knelt down tremblingly to pay respect. Now, he is staying here as the "master", and Chen Baijiang has become his subordinate, flattering him all the way. Comparing the two, Hei Fu couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion.

When they learned that Hei Fu was going to be transferred to the left lieutenant of Anlu County, many people in the county were puzzled, and some even laughed at him secretly.

Because the position of Zuo Bingcaoshi was less than two hundred stones, although he was an assistant official, he was also a county official, with a low position but great power, and he was often with the county lieutenant.

The rank of the county left lieutenant is equal to four hundred stones, which seems to be a promotion, but if the military officer comes to the county for inspection under the order of the county, the county lieutenant has to apologize to him!

For example, Heifu remembered that when he read "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" in his previous life, it was said that after suppressing the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Liu Bei was appointed as the lieutenant of Anxi County for his meritorious service. It happened that the Inspector General came to the county, so Liu Bei went out of the city to greet him. When he saw the Inspector General, he saluted, but the Inspector General sat on the horse and answered with a whip. This led to the story of Zhang Fei whipping the Inspector General...

The Qin and Han systems were similar. Although there was no Inspector General in Qin, his rank was equivalent to that of the military officer. They were all county officials with a hundred stones or two hundred stones. They were low in position but powerful, and it was normal for them to point at the county lieutenant. Therefore, in the eyes of many people in Jiangling City, they would rather be a county official with a hundred stones than a county left lieutenant with a rank of three or four hundred stones.

However, the county lieutenant also had things that the military officer did not have, such as the warm welcome from the villagers and his old subordinates, and his own independent office.

"There is also real military power! And the opportunity to train the soldiers from my hometown!"

The battle to defend the city in Yidao made Heifu realize that on the battlefield, the soldiers he brought up by himself are the ones he can rely on, and in this era with a strong sense of hometown, the most trustworthy and reliable ones who can share weal and woe with you at critical moments are still the soldiers from my hometown.

After arriving at the main hall, Li Xian and other Wei Shi presented the bronze and wooden tiger talisman symbolizing the military power of Anlu County in accordance with the regulations.

Unlike the tiger talisman that the county governor and county lieutenant temporarily gave him and had to return immediately afterwards, he could hold this thing as long as he was in office for one day!

Holding this tiger talisman, surrounded by his old subordinates, after coming to this era, Heifu finally felt for the first time that he had the "power" in his hand!

Although this power is small, the command does not extend beyond a hundred miles, and the soldiers that can be trained are only more than a thousand, and they must act in accordance with Qin law. But for Hei Fu, it was like a helpless man in the chaotic world, grabbing a sharp blade.

From then on, he could not only be a knife for others, but also have a knife in his own hand!

This long-lost sense of security was extremely wonderful. Hei Fu was like a shark that tasted blood and was unwilling to let go of it.

A smile appeared at the corner of his mouth: "No wonder they all say that a real man cannot be without power for a day!"