Qin Official

"After you leave Waihuang, do not go to Jiyang or Taoqiu. I heard reports from retainers that those two places are being besieged by Qin's Hanoi and Dongjun armies and are not safe." One day in late February, Outside the north gate of Waihuang City, Zhang Er was bidding farewell to his father-in-law, wife, and eight-year-old son Zhang Ao.

Zhang Er is in his prime, thirty-seven or eighty years old, with a dark face and long beard, wearing a light gauze dress, a small leather crown with a bun on his head, and a long sword hanging on his waist.

He was a native of Daliang in the Wei State. He had a humble fortune and a poor family. When he was young, he worked as a small ranger in Liang City and spent all day on the streets. Because he liked to do chivalry and justice, he also gained a reputation as a "good righteousness".

Zhang Er's fate was changed in the 30th year of King Anli of Wei (247 BC). At that time, the state of Wei was violently attacked by the Qin army and was in danger. At the repeated request of King Wei, Lord Xinling, who had left Handan for stealing amulets to save Zhao, finally ended his ten-year exile in Zhao.

With the expectation of the soldiers and people of Wei State, the young master returned to Daliang and shouldered the important task of joining forces to resist Qin Dynasty!

Those are the years that Zhang Er is still fascinated by when he recalls them twenty years later. Lord Xinling accepted the appointment from King Wei and became the general. He contacted various countries in Shandong and formed a five-nation coalition of Wei, Chu, Zhao, Han, and Yan to jointly attack Qin. They defeated the Qin army in Hedong and forced Qin general Meng Ao to retreat to Hanguguan. The Qin people did not dare to go eastwards for several years.

The success of this joint attack on Qin made Lord Xinling famous all over the world again, and he was flooded with guests!

The passionate Ren Xia Zhang Er relied on his reputation as a "good righteousness" to defeat many competitors, join Xinling Lord's sect, and became his disciple!

Although, he was just a guest, among the thousands of diners of Lord Xinling. Not only could he not be compared with Hou Ying and Zhu Hai, the two great heroes of Daliang City in the past, but he had even seen Lord Xinling's face only a few times from afar.

In Zhang Er's eyes, Lord Xinling, the sect leader who could only look up from a distance, was getting thinner and thinner.

Prince Xinling's ambition was high, but the fact that he was jealous of King Wei made him indulge in sensuality, became increasingly weak, and finally gave up and went west...

After Lord Xinling's death, except for some guests who insisted on staying in front of his tomb, the remaining thousands of guests almost all dispersed in one day.

Zhang Er, who lost his master and his job, scattered among the people and became a lilu ranger again. But at this moment, the Wei State has been declining day by day under the pressure of the Qin State. The livelihood of the rangers who are not engaged in production has become increasingly difficult. The conflicts between the rangers of different groups have also become more and more acute. In order to compete for territory, people are often killed. .

Ten years ago, Zhang Er accidentally killed someone while serving as a knight in Daliang, so he had no choice but to quit his country and flee. He left Daliang and lived in hiding in Waihuang County, two hundred miles east.

This is where his fate changed for the second time.

Waihuang is two hundred miles east of Daliang. The most famous rich man in the city is the Huang family. Huang Weng has a daughter. She is a beauty known far and wide in Waihuang. It is a pity that the entrustment was not given to someone. Huang Weng married Huang's old friend. Although he was of noble birth, he was a mediocre scholar.

Lady Huang was not only beautiful, but also arrogant. She couldn't stand her husband's mediocrity and stupidity, so she did something big that shocked Waihuang County: she ran away!

She ran to one of Huang Weng's guests. It happened that Zhang Er was also hiding from the Wei officials at that guest's house. This guest had a good relationship with Zhang Er and wanted to be a matchmaker, so he said to the Huang woman: "I must seek a virtuous husband, and no one is worthy of a lady except Zhang Er!"

So under the introduction of the guests, the Huang woman met Zhang Er. Although Zhang Er was born into a poor family and was a fugitive, he was handsome and tall, and because he had been under Lord Xinling's sect, he was well-informed and spoke very well, so he immediately captured the heart of the Huang family...

During the Warring States period, people's customs were open, men and women could interact more freely, and there was no constant emphasis on women's ethics in marriage. It is common for a husband to voluntarily abandon his wife, or for a wife to voluntarily abandon her husband. Everyone can get together and part ways without being condemned by public opinion.

So Lady Huang ended her marriage to her mediocre ex-husband and remarried Zhang Er.

Zhang Er was on the run and was poor and helpless. Now that a rich and beautiful woman was willing to marry him, it was like a piece of cake falling from the sky. He immediately agreed to the marriage.

The Wei State cannot compare with the Qin State. Although there are written laws, human relations are everywhere. As long as the money is enough and the joints of the Liang Dynasty are opened, even the crime of murder can be exempted.

So under Huang's internal and external management, Zhang Er was actually freed!

Not only that, he also began to take advantage of his previous experience as a disciple of Xinling. With the financial support of his wife's family, he spread his wealth and made friends with heroes, so that young knights from far and near came to seek refuge with him. So Zhang Er went from being a guest at Xinling in the past to becoming the master of the sect today, known as the most heroic knight in the outside world.

At this time, Zhang Er's ambitions became more and more inflated. He was not satisfied with just being a gangster boss. With the support of his wife's family and guests, he entered politics. With bribes and lobbying, he was appointed as the Waihuang Ling by the Wei government. .

The former fugitive turned into the father-in-law of Waihuang. This was something that would never happen in the Qin State, but it was not surprising in the Six Kingdoms.

Because the Six Kingdoms were different from Qin, the vast number of people under the aristocratic government had a relaxed society with a strong chivalrous atmosphere. Rangers traveled among various countries and entrusted themselves to the nobles one after another, which contributed to the trend of cultivating scholars in various countries.

In addition to the four great princes who have passed away, Prince Dan and others of the Yan Kingdom are either royal princes or high-ranking officials and wealthy families. They live in the capital, have their own territories, fiefdoms, knights and knights, and their guests come from all over the country and even foreign countries. , numbering in the thousands, they are the knight-errant masters who are powerful enough to fight against the country, and can be called national knights.

The next-level rangers are those like Zhang Er. They are either rich people born and raised in China, or they are travelers who are closely related to rich people. They live in counties and have rich assets. Rangers within a county are attracted by their fame and influence. There can be dozens of people under his sect, and they can be called county knights.

In the Six Kingdoms, the distance from the county knight to the county magistrate is not that far. Zhang Er, the county knight who is destined to be wanted in Qin State, is getting along like a fish in water, whether he is a knight in the underworld or an official in the white realm! His reputation not only transcended Waihuang County and Liang, the capital of Wei, but also transcended national boundaries and became a well-known celebrity in Liang, Chu, and Zhao.

It's a pity that Zhang Er's good days did not last for a few years. Now, the third turning point in his fate seems to be coming.

In January, Qin general Wang Ben attacked Wei and Daliang was besieged.

In February, the commander of Qin State Geng Qiang Yu moved his troops eastward, occupied Chenliu in mid-February, and divided his troops to attack neighboring counties.

Waihuang County, which is only fifty or sixty miles away from Chenliu, is not immune.

Zhang Er also heard that the Qin State hated knights the most, especially county knights who had great influence like him. He was directly regarded as the "five beetles" (du) who harmed the country, and was denounced as "Confucianism and literature disrupt the law, and knights" Use force to break the ban." After all, the chivalrous ethos is laissez-faire rooted in human nature, and the natural unwillingness to be restrained by social groups is simply the natural enemy of Qin's rule by law!

Once the Qin army occupied Waihuang, Zhang Er would definitely be arrested and even lose his head.

Therefore, before the Qin army arrived, Zhang Er hesitated between leaving and staying.

But in the end, he chose to stay. "Since I have been appointed as the Waihuang Order by the King of Wei, eat Wei Lumi, and wear Wei Yin's official uniform, I cannot abandon the city and leave."

Zhang Er said this to his wife, children and guests. "I should believe as long as I am still alive. I would rather die hugging a pillar in the stormy waves than abandon myself and live!"

But behind this awe-inspiring righteousness, there is actually Zhang Er's own selfishness.

He learned one thing from Lord Xinling: if you take something, you must give it back, and if you give a favor, you must repay it, which is about righteousness; you must do what you promise, and when it is difficult to save people, you don't avoid life and death, which is about trust. Faith, this is the basis for Ren Xia's survival in the world. Without these two things, they are nothing.

For Zhang Er, what is more terrifying than death is the ruin of his reputation after years of hard work.

Therefore, he must stay, at least resist for a while, and let the world know that the famous hero Zhang Er has not let down Wei!

But the wife and children have to be sent away first.

After finishing the long memory, Zhang Er patted his married wife's hand and continued to instruct: "You go to Yangwu County first. It is safe there. You can hide in the county. If the Qin army takes over that place, don't do it." If the Qin people suddenly come here, it will be difficult to find out where the people are from. Just pretend to be locals. After the war subsides, Chen Yu will send someone to pick you up and go to Zhao..."

Chen Yu was also from Daliang. He liked Confucianism and was a close friend of Zhang Er. Because he was more than ten years younger than Zhang Er, he regarded him as his father.

Now Chen Yu is in Zhaodi. He is well-known in the area and owns land and a house. He is the person Zhang Er trusts most in his life and can be entrusted with his wife.

After sending his wife away, Zhang Er did not stay outside Waihuang City for a long time. Instead, he asked his confidants to guard the secret tunnel to escape while he walked to the mansion himself.

Since he decided to stay and resist, he would at least repel the first round of Qin's attack, but Zhang Er knew that the military force of Huang County itself might not be able to resist those Qin troops.

The main force of the Wei State was defeated by Wang Ben's army who returned from Chen Ying in January. The remaining tens of thousands of people were besieged in Daliang and could not protect themselves. Wei Jiu, Lord of Ningling, gathered thousands of People, even if they go to protect Suiyang, it is difficult to rescue Waihuang.

Most of the thousands of men in the city have not been trained. Although they can make noise and build momentum, they cannot rely on them when the fight actually breaks out.

Therefore, the only ones Zhang Er can use are the two hundred county soldiers in the county. If he adds the two to three hundred retainers under his command, he might be able to barely fight...

Zhang Er must convince them! Convince those light knights from Liang, Chu, and Qi to die for you!

…

An hour later, Zhang Er asked his servants to open half of the wine in the mansion, kill pigs and sheep, gather all the guests in the courtyard, drink wine and sing, but did not talk about fending off the enemy. He spoke affectionately about the deeds of Mr. Xinling back then. "The prince is a man of benevolence and a lowly scholar. There is no virtuous or dishonest scholar. He is treated with humility and courtesy. He dare not be arrogant because of his wealth. Scholars fought thousands of miles to get back here, and there were three thousand diners..."

Zhang Er picked up the wine cup and sighed: "Under the Ermen, at its peak, there were only three hundred people, not as far away as the young master... Although the young master has passed away, every time I think about him, I feel that I look up to him so much!"

Zhang Er heard this sentence from Chen Yu, who was good at Confucianism.

The knights and knights all beat their chests and sighed: "Young Master is really a hero! What a pity, we can't see him."

Zhang Er smiled and then talked about another thing.

"Qin defeated Zhao in Changping, and Lord Pingyuan asked Wei for help, but the King of Wei did not want to save him. Lord Xinling tried hard to persuade him, but he could not convince the King of Wei, and he did not want to cause Zhao's death, so he invited guests. We have hired more than a hundred chariots and riders to go to the Qin army as guests, and we will die together with Zhao!"

"At that time, there was Hou Ying who committed suicide to send the young master away, and Zhu Hai used a golden hammer to kill Jin Bi. Only then did Lord Xinling steal the talisman to save Zhao, which shocked the world!"

The diners praised him one after another and stood up. Most of them were from humble backgrounds and their words were vulgar, but in summary, they only had two words for future generations.

Even if the hero's bones are fragrant even if he dies, he will not be ashamed to be the best in the world!

Seeing that the atmosphere was getting warmer, Zhang Er knew that the time was ripe, so he put down the wine and encouraged loudly: "Second and Third Son, although the matter of Lord Xinling cannot be seen again, today, Qin is encircling Daliang and attacking various counties with partial troops. I have already I heard from the post that a Qin army of more than a thousand men has approached Waihuang twenty miles away and will arrive tomorrow!"

He pulled out his sword and said in a fierce voice: "As an official from outside Wei, I have the responsibility to protect the land for the king. It is a matter of faith. I need to protect the people from being poisoned by the Qin invaders. It is a matter of righteousness. Therefore, you cannot abandon the city and leave." I want to survive, but now I am willing to follow the example of Lord Xinling and invite all the guests to stay in Waihuang, resist the Qin army, and die with the city! Are the two or three sons willing to follow? "

All the guests who were so arrogant just now were in a daze when they heard this. The local foreigners were just defeated and had some desire to defend their hometown. However, those guests from Chu, Qi and Zhao were a little hesitant. They were not always Everyone is trustworthy, and most of them are just here to make a living. It's okay to be a thug for Zhang Er, but you still have to think carefully about risking your life for him.

Seeing this, Zhang Er sighed softly, put down his wine glass and said: "In the past, when Zhao general Lian Po lost power, all his old guests left. When he was reinstated as a general, the guests returned again. Lian Po was not angry, and the guests said to him, husband The world is connected by the market. If you have power, I will follow you. If you have no power, I will leave. This is a solid principle... "I never thought that I, Zhang Er, would have such a day?"

As soon as these words came out, those guests suddenly became angry.

A tall man with a high nose and a beautiful beard stood up angrily. This man was in his early thirties and was already half drunk because he always liked wine.

The big man wiped the remaining wine from his beard and said loudly in his unique Chu Guo Peisi accent:

"I have always respected the name of Mr. Xinling. I heard that Mr. Zhang was an old guest of Xinling and inherited the ambition of the young master. Therefore, I came here from Peishang and ate under Mr. Zhang's family. Although I have only been a guest for a few months, I am a true man, and I must keep my promise. Keep your word, now the sect master is in trouble, as a guest, how can you abandon him?"

He cupped his hands and said loudly: "If Zhang Jun leads his troops to fight against the Qin invaders, Liu Ji of Peixian County is willing to follow him! Even if he dies, he will not regret it!"

Having said that, what Liu Ji was thinking about was not revenge with death, but...

"The people of Qin are so powerful that if you kill a few Qin people, it's time to run away if they are worthy of Zhang Er's meat and wine!"