Qin Official

The king of Wei took a leave of absence for three years, in the second month of February, the capital of Wei was Daliang City.

During the morning meal, a group of Wei soldiers with their heads wrapped in blue cloth sat cross-legged on the inside of the city wall. They gathered around the deserted earthen kang and looked at the light and thin porridge in the pottery bowls. They were silent and their morale was very low.

The Qin army besieged the city for half a month. Although the granaries in the city were still sufficient, it was unknown how long this war would last. Therefore, the King of Wei ordered that the city began to supply limited rations. Even the soldiers guarding the city could only get one-third of a bushel of corn every day. They were half hungry, so everyone had something to eat...

But what can they do? He could only drink the tasteless gruel in silence, hoping that the king could reach a peace agreement with Qin as soon as possible and end this hopeless war.

Since the death of Lord Xinling, Wei has not won a battle with Qin for twenty years...

The silence was broken by a slowly approaching carriage. The sound of the wheels stopped, and an old man with white hair and beard got off the car beside the tall Liang City Wall. He refused the help of the servants, leaned on his dove stick, and walked tremblingly towards the stairs to the city, wearing a jade ornament and a jingle ring around his waist...

Those who can afford to wear jade and silk are naturally nobles and officials, but the top of the city is an important defensive area, and not just anyone can go up there.

The captain in charge of the defense of this city wall immediately stepped forward to stop him, but after the old servant showed a bronze talisman, his color changed and he bowed to the old man in fear.

"I didn't know it was Mr. Tang who came here!"

Upon hearing the word "Tang Gong", the Wei soldiers under the city stood up one after another and bowed solemnly to the old man.

In Daliang, there is only one Tang Gong, and that is Tang Ju (Ju), who is in his nineties!

He has no official position and is not a king, but from the king of Wei to the common man and soldier, no one dares to disrespect Tang Ju.

Because this old man is the only legend left in Wei!

Tang Ju lived a long life. He was born in the era of King Wei Xiang ninety years ago. He did not achieve much when he was young. In his forties, he was still just a small envoy and was unknown.

It was not until the eleventh year of King Anli of Wei (266 BC) that Qi and Chu attacked Wei. The helpless King Anli of Wei sent Tang Ju to Qin for help. Tang Ju relied on his sharp tongue to persuade King Zhao of Qin to send troops to Wei day and night. Everyone in Wei said: "Qi and Chu heard about it and led their troops away. The Wei family was restored, Tang Ju said also."

After this meritorious service, Tang Ju, who should have been promoted, resigned because he was dissatisfied with King Wei Anli's lewdness and favored Long Yang, so he resigned and became a disciple of Lord Xinling.

In the 20th year of King Anli (257 BC), Lord Xinling stole a talisman to save Zhao. After the success, he was satisfied with his success and took credit for himself. It was Tang Ju who advised him: "People are virtuous to me, and I must not forget them; We must not forget the virtues we have in others." Only then did Prince Wuji wake up and pay a courtesy visit to King Zhao and Lord Pingyuan. Only then was he respected by the princes and became the leader of the alliance.

During the period when Tang Ju was assisting Lord Xinling, Wei was once the last hope of the Six Kingdoms of Shandong. Lord Xinling led the troops of the five kingdoms to defeat the Qin army outside the river, and drove Meng Ao to Hangu Pass, so that the Qin people did not dare to go eastward. At that time, Prince Xinling was very powerful in the world, and he had many talented guests...

It is a pity that Lord Xinling did not live long. After he was jealous of the King of Wei and died of depression, Tang Ju, who was nearly seventy years old, was still pursuing Xinling's legacy and traveling among the six countries.

In the second year of King Jingmin of Wei (241 BC), Tang Ju went to Chu State and persuaded Chun Shenjun, saying that he "should be the leader of Chu with ten thousand chariots, and he should be able to control China's difficulties and be the lord of the world", so he appointed King Kaolie of Chu as his commander-in-chief. This led to a new and final joint attack on Qin.

It's a pity that Tang Ju still overestimated the Six Kingdoms. The six scattered chess pieces, each with their own agenda, were ultimately unable to defeat Qin's tycoon, who accounted for one-third of the world's population. After Pang Nuan failed to attack Qin, the Six Kingdoms' defeat was irreversible. …

But this is not Tang Ju's fault. Except for the fictitious "Tang Ju fulfilled his mission" which was false and never happened, Tang Ju never failed to disgrace his mission every time he went on a mission. It's a pity that this is no longer the era of Su Qin and Zhang Yi. The Qin State has accumulated six generations of momentum and cannot be changed by the smooth words of lobbyists.

Now, Tang Ju is ninety years old. He can no longer leave Daliang, but the years have not left many traces on him. Although the old man is old, he looks good. He smiled and waved his hand to let everyone get up.

"The second and third sons have worked hard to defend the city, so there is no need to be polite."

Then Tang Ju said to the captain: "Young man, can you take me to the top of the city to have a look?"

The captain showed hesitation, cupped his hands and said: "Mr. Tang, the wind is strong at the top of the city, and the Qin army shoots arrows at the top of the city from time to time. Just in case..."

If Tang Gong makes any mistake, he will be scolded to death by everyone in the city?

Tang Ju laughed loudly: "For more than a hundred years, the Qin army has besieged Daliang more than ten times. Because I have lived long, I have been lucky enough to experience most of it. Wind, sand, arrows and rocks have long been common. But these ten of Qin's The remaining attacks on Liang were unsuccessful, and every time, the soldiers and civilians of Wei worked together to defend the city!"

These words cheered up the low morale for a moment! Wei soldiers even raised their weapons and let out a long-awaited cheer!

Seeing that everyone's energy had returned, Tang Ju nodded and said: "Let me go up to the city. I just want to see with my own eyes how big the Qin army is in besieging the city this time. How does it compare with Bai Qisan's invasion of Liangquan?" ?”

Although he did not receive military orders, the captain did not dare to disobey Tang Ju's orders, so he asked a few soldiers to hold shields to guard Tang Ju and help him climb to the top of Daliang City step by step...

…

Liangcheng is ten feet high, and the wind is really strong, blowing Tang Ju's pale beard and hair flying.

He squinted his eyes and looked into the distance. After looking west, north and east for a long time, a bitter smile appeared on his lips: "Is this still the suburbs of Daliang? It's only been half a month and I can't recognize it at all."

To the northwest of Daliang, there was once the royal garden enclosed by King Anli of Wei Dynasty: Liang Gong. Its architectural style is quite elegant. There are dense flowers and trees in the garden, elk are raised, pine cranes live under the trees, and boating can be done in the pond.

Today, Liang Yan is beyond recognition, all the trees have been cut down by the Qin people, and only an ugly open space full of tree stumps remains in the garden full of rare trees. The deer hunted by the king of Wei in the past may have become a delicacy for the Qin army.

The entire field of vision was filled with the Qin army's camps and black-headed Qin soldiers. The siege equipment was concentrated on the west side. From time to time, stones were thrown towards the head of Daliang City and smoke arrows were fired, making the city unsafe.

There is also a canal that goes around the city from the northeast. Since King Hui of Wei ordered Bai Gui to dig this canal, it has become the main artery of the Central Plains, connecting Liang, Song, Chen, and Cai. Countless ships depart from Daliang every day, carrying mulberry, linen, cloth and silk from Wei to the south; they also carry fish, salt, leather, rhinoceros horns, cinnamon twigs and spices back to Chu, which are sold at high prices in the Daliang market.

But now, there are no merchant boats and cars on the chasm, only boats loaded with food and weapons for the Qin army are left. Thousands of shirtless trackers are pulling the wooden boats. Even the chants they shout are in unfamiliar Guanzhong accents.

What worries Tang Ju most is the north, where a large turbid yellow river crosses the surface and slowly flows eastward.

The river is unruly. During the Warring States Period, when the three kingdoms of Zhao, Wei, and Qi became enemies of each other and turned against their neighbors, natural disasters and man-made disasters made the river even more overflowing. Fortunately, the Wei State built dozens of miles of earth walls along the river, which prevented the flood from hitting the low-lying Liang land. Over the past few decades, countless families have gradually gathered between the city and the river, opened up endless fertile farmland, and built houses one after another...

But now, those fertile fields that should have been busy with spring plowing and planted with young millet and wheat seedlings are empty, not even a sparrow. The common people were dispersed, but there were countless Qin Guizhou garrison soldiers, holding iron shovels and hoes. Under the spurs of Qin officials, they lined up in long queues and walked continuously towards the north of Daliang along the streets.

Seeing this, Tang Ju's hand holding the battlement trembled slightly. He knew very well where those Qin people were going and what they planned to do!

They are going to Xingyang! (xing)

Decades ago, it was Tang Ju's youth, and it was also the time when Zhang Yi, Gongsun Yan, and Su Qin were in a liaison and intrigues. In order to force Wei to join the liaison, the Qin State sent Zhang Yi to Daliang to express such a threat. :

"To defeat the mouth of Yingxu, Wei has no Daliang; to defeat the mouth of Baima, Wei has no Waihuang and Jiyang; to defeat the mouth of Suxu, Wei has Wuxu and Dunqiu. If we attack by land, we will attack the river, and if we attack by water, we will destroy Daliang!"

However, the Qin army attacked Wei more than ten times and besieged Daliang. However, because the lone army penetrated deeply, it was unable to completely occupy the Wei territory and had no chance to fulfill its threat.

Until today, is Wei's nightmare finally coming?

In Tang Ju's view, this was all the result of the Wei state bribing Qin with land in the past twenty years, and the dangerous fortresses were being eroded. The Qin army could be so unscrupulous, and even began to plan to flood the main beams.

It seems that this time, unlike the dozen or so petty fights before, King Qin is determined to capture Daliang and destroy Wei!

"Oh God..."

Even if he is as calm and sophisticated as Tang Ju, he cannot remain calm after foreseeing the tragic future of this country.

He raised his head and looked up at the cloudless sky, and sighed in a low voice: "If Mr. Xinling were still here, if Mr. Xinling were still here, how could the Wei Kingdom be in such a situation!?"

Tang Ju's gaze was too high and too far, so he didn't notice that under the city wall where he was, more than 200 steps away, a Qin soldier with dark skin and bun to the right was standing on the moat. Urinating rudely...

…

After urinating into the Daliang moat, Heifu tied the hemp rope around his waist. He looked up and saw an old man with white hair sighing on the Daliang city wall. He was surprised...

"Is it true that the beams have run out of ammunition and food, so it's so difficult for the old man to defend the city? It's only been half a month, and there hasn't been a fierce attack on the city, so it's not like that."

After sighing, Hei Fu turned around and walked along the trail to the camp without stopping.

In order to prevent the enemies in the city from risking their lives to attack, the huge camp was surrounded by wooden stakes and towering watchtowers were set up, with Qin soldiers holding bows and arrows standing on them.

After entering the camp, all Hei Fu saw were low shacks. Fortunately, they did not look messy. He always felt that Qin officials educated in "Qin Law" had slight obsessive-compulsive disorder and liked neatness and design. When setting up a fort, it is natural to make each shack look orderly.

Occasionally, soldiers carrying guns passed through the camp and passed outside the camp gate, but more often, they were prisoners with tattoos on their faces, who were gathered together and rushed to work in various places under the whips of officials.

There were also garrison soldiers dressed in coarse linen and unkempt hair. They had different accents and came from different counties. Heifu occasionally met familiar faces and nodded to them to say hello.

While walking in the camp mixed with various smells, Heifu also cursed: "I never thought that the battle of Daliang would be like this."

It turned out that after setting off from Fangcheng County in early January, under the urging of the generals, Heifu and the others, as well as 30,000 garrison prisoners from Hanzhong, Nanjun, and Nanyang, arrived at Daliang City in only ten days.

After arriving here, Heifu discovered that Daliang City had been surrounded by the Qin army from Chen Ying. In addition to the 50,000 combat troops wearing armor and holding spears, conscripted garrison soldiers were still arriving in a steady stream.

In addition to the 30,000 people from Hanzhong, Nanjun, and Nanyang, the garrison prisoners from Guanzhong, Sanchuan, Hedong, Shangdang, and Hanoi are also coming to Daliang. Together, the number may exceed 100,000.

This is a war with far more auxiliary soldiers than regular soldiers.

To Heifu's relief, the 100,000 prisoners and garrison soldiers were not asked by General Wang Ben to do dangerous activities with extremely high mortality rates, such as attacking cities and filling gullies. Instead, let them serve as trackers and grain transporters. Apart from being a bit difficult and tiring, they are actually very safe.

After entering February, half of the garrison prisoners were asked to set off for Xingyang, dozens of miles away in the northwest. The remaining people were required to dig a deep ditch between Honggou and Daliang, leading directly to the city!

Therefore, the outskirts of Daliang City do not look like a battlefield to attack the city and destroy the country, but rather like a large construction site for water conservancy projects.

This kind of physical work that kills time tests people's patience, and some people soon become unable to sit still.

Approaching the small shack where the Anlu County garrison lived, Heifu was only ten steps away when he heard the thundering sound of the East Gate Leopard...

"Nai Gong can't stand it anymore. What kind of siege is this? Does that 'General Xiao Wang' know how to fight!?"