"That Yan person was extremely cunning. He used the excuse of offering a map to hide a sharp blade and tried to assassinate the king..."
"Ah!"
Everyone around him took a breath and listened carefully to Ji Ying's thrilling story. They were relieved when they heard that the king was fine. They cursed the assassin and the State of Yan, and at the same time said thankfully:
"The king is protected by God, and nothing will happen to him."
It can be seen that, at least now, in the minds of ordinary Qin people, King Qin Ying Zheng is still as high as the sky and is highly respected.
Only Hei Fu felt sorry for Jing Ke, and could not help but sing softly: "The wind is whistling and the Yishui River is cold, the warrior will never return once he leaves..."
When he came to his senses, he found that several people in the room were looking at him with strange eyes. Hei Fu quickly shut up and smiled and evaded: "It is a northern ballad I heard from my brother. He went there when he served. When the locals heard that the soldiers were going to the war, they often sang this song to show that they were ready to die and would not return until they defeated the enemy. I think the king will be assassinated and will send troops to attack Yan. The army is about to march, so I can't help but think of this ballad. Don't blame me."
"It is very majestic and moving." Ji Ying and others did not doubt him, nor did they take it seriously, and continued to talk about everything.
Hei Fu fell into deep thought.
He heard from his eldest brother Zhong that three years ago (230 BC), Han was conquered by Teng, the current governor of Nanjun; a year ago (228 BC), Zhao's capital Handan was also occupied by the Qin army, and Zhong also participated in that battle.
Now, Jing Ke has also assassinated the King of Qin, which means that the State of Yan will soon be finished!
As a history lover, Hei Fu knows the next script: in revenge, King Qin Ying Zheng sent a large army to attack Yan. Next year, the capital of Yan was destroyed, Prince Dan was killed, and the King of Yan retreated to Liaodong.
At the same time, the Qin army was still attacking Daliang City, and the State of Wei would soon perish.
In this way, the State of Qin has swept across the north, and King Qin Ying Zheng's sword will soon point to the State of Chu in the south!
"That is to say, in two years, the Qin-Chu war will break out in full."
Hei Fu counted on his fingers and thought to himself that it was not good. Those seemingly distant world events were closely related to him. With the victory of the Qin army, the footsteps of death were slowly approaching him.
The war between Qin and Chu lasted for several years. At the most intense time, the Qin general Wang Jian mobilized 600,000 people... Nanjun was close to the State of Chu and was an important place for conscription. As a local soldier, Hei Fu would definitely not be spared.
What should he do when the conscription order is handed to him?
Escape! ?
This thought only flashed through his mind and was immediately rejected by Heifu.
No! Qin was very harsh on "evaders" who evaded military service. Once caught, not only would the person be tortured into slavery, but his family and neighbors would also be implicated and punished. If one person escaped, the whole family would suffer.
Even if he really escaped, where could he escape to? Although Anlu County was not far from Chu, as long as he was careful and avoided Guanliang, it would not be difficult to get there, but the unification of Qin was an inevitable trend, and the demise of the six kingdoms was only a matter of time.
Even if he left the Central Plains, it would be useless. Later, Qin Shihuang would conquer all the known regions of the world. What did that saying say? "Within the six directions, the emperor's land. In the west, there is the Quicksand, in the south, there is the North House. In the east, there is the East China Sea, in the north, there is Daxia. Wherever people go, there are no disobedient people." Even if Heifu escaped to the ends of the earth, he would eventually fall under the rule of Qin.
Besides, although the people of Qin had to pay heavy taxes and deal with intensive labor and military service, which was a bit more difficult than the rich Central Plains, and their spiritual world was not as rich as that of the people of Qi, the most important point was that at least it provided a fair and just channel for the lower class to rise, that is, the military merit system!
Not only reincarnation is a science, but also time travel. Those novels that became the sons of noble families and the sons of princes and grandsons of the king as soon as they opened their eyes were really enviable. If he also had a good background, of course, he would be more suitable to live a life of drunkenness and dreams and do whatever he wanted in other countries, but as a commoner with no background but full of ideals, it is better to stay in Qin.
"What are you criticizing? If anyone talks nonsense and slanders the king and the government, don't blame me for reporting it!"
At this time, the servant slowly brought the hot soup and did not forget to warn.
Everyone said they didn't dare, they winked at each other, stopped talking, and stood up to take the hot soup.
The talkative Ji Ying just took a sip and complained: "Old man, this hot soup is not hot, is it not boiled!"
The old man glared at him: "If you don't like it, go out and drink rain water!"
Ji Ying stopped complaining and only muttered behind the old man.
Hei Fu was amused. Although the guest house was not big, it was well repaired and could at least play a role in shielding the rain. People had to bow their heads under the eaves. No one dared to offend the old man. They were driven out to the rain. They were either soldiers without titles or low-level officials. They really couldn't be looked up to.
After dealing with Hei Fu and others casually, the old man went into the kitchen again. When he came out a while later, there was a young girl behind him. She was wearing a brown dark coat and holding a tray and food box in both hands. She followed the old man step by step. It should be his daughter.
Although this woman was not beautiful, she immediately attracted the attention of the soldiers by the stove. Ji Ying, who was a lively person, wanted to whistle, but he didn't dare to. He just stood up and looked at the exquisite food on the tray, swallowed his saliva and asked: "Old man, who is this food for?"
The servant still ignored them and sneered: "It's for the doctor in the left house. If you want to eat it, you have to upgrade your rank first!"
Doctor is the fifth level of the twenty ranks of nobility in Qin State, which is already a middle-level rank.
Ji Ying had no choice but to squat down again, staring at the girl's twisting waist for a long time, until she disappeared from his sight, and then he said indignantly: "I saw that the plate not only had white rice, clear water, but also meat! The servant brought his daughter to deliver it personally. Could it be that he wanted the doctor to take her as a concubine? This old man is shameless, he really can do it!" "After all, he is a doctor, and his treatment is naturally different from that of us soldiers." Hei Fu also sighed. He was not as cynical as Ji Ying, but sat down silently and took out the food prepared by his mother from his saddle bag: "餱" (hóu), which is to dry food made by steaming rice and drying it. Although it can fill the stomach, the taste is really not good. He could only smell the fish and meat from next door and swallow the dry rice. What reached his ears was the old servant's respectful and flattering words, which was really different from his attitude just now. This incident made Heifu understand more clearly that Qin was a class society with clear hierarchy, and treatment was completely determined by the title.
Not only the food was different, but also the place of residence was different. Ordinary people like Heifu who were passing by could only sleep on the ground. Those with a title of no less than rank were equivalent to small clerks and could sleep on a large bunk bed. Like the doctor next door, who was equivalent to the county bureau-level cadres in later generations, he had a special room to rest, and maybe the daughter of the servant would help wash and massage his feet...
Alas, the difference between people.
When Heifu finished his meal with hot soup, it was already late at night. The old servant forgot to add firewood to the floor stove in the big house, and the fire quickly went out. It was getting colder and colder around, and the soldiers could only huddle together to keep warm.
Others had long been accustomed to this treatment and quickly fell asleep. Snoring was heard everywhere in the room, but Heifu couldn't sleep. He was still thinking about his future plans.
"People are divided into different classes, and this has been the case since ancient times."
In the darkness, thinking back to what he had experienced in the past few days, Hei Fu clenched his fists and made up his mind: "I understand now. If I want to live a good life in Qin State and escape the fate of filling the ditch, the only way now is to obtain a title!"
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