Qin Official

Deep in the mountains in the southern part of the Three Gorges, as if on the skirt of the Wushan Mountains, flows a clear river. People from ten feet away can clearly see the five-color horse teeth at the bottom of the river.

"It is said that the Kaiming clan of Shu State passed through this place during the Eastern Expedition and named it Qingjiang. However, we Ba people prefer to call it Yishui."

In late April, after several days of offensive and defensive battles on the Yidao, Ba Zhong and his followers went upstream, accompanied by Dan Hu, his loyal guard who stayed with him, and a black-faced man dressed as a Ba warrior. , wearing leather, Zhe cloth, and walking on straw sandals, as long as he doesn't speak, there is no difference between him and ordinary Ba people.

However, when Bazhong whispered to him, he used Xia Yan!

In the past few days, Ba Zhong visited almost every Ba tribe in Yidao. As expected, internal strife broke out among the Ba tribes. It turned out that when they attacked Yi Dao, the Ba people discovered that the Qin people's resistance was so resolute. It was not like what Chu's envoys and Fan Qin said, and they would be vulnerable after killing the county magistrate and county lieutenant.

So many tribal leaders regretted it. They took their tribes away from the battlefield and returned to the mountains and forests. While watching carefully, they also began to worry about the possible revenge of the Qin army at any time.

Sure enough, after the reinforcements arrived, the Qin people from Yi Dao did indeed start to mobilize. Under the leadership of Hei Fu and Cheng Wuyou, they swept away some small tribes of Ba people living in the countryside and killed the Ba people who had participated in the killing of Qin officials and Qin soldiers. Everyone must follow the Dharma!

When the tribes were not sure whether they should continue to follow Fan Qin and rebel against Qin until the end, or migrate away, Bazhong's appearance gave them another choice.

"The county guard also knows that the princes have no choice, so he only kills the first culprit, regardless of the accomplices. It's still too late to stop the rebellion now!"

Bazhong is the son of Ba family, and he has a noble status among the Ba people. Moreover, his family's horse teams and boats often travel on both sides of the Yishui River, exchanging cloth, copper and iron from the outside world for locally produced rock salt and well salt, so there are also people in Yidao. He has high prestige. Even though he is an envoy of the Qin State, he can come and go freely and his safety is guaranteed. After all, no one wants to offend the wealthy Widow Qing.

Ba Zhongxiaozhi persuaded several tribes with emotion and reason, but everyone still had doubts, so they decided to follow tradition and reunite at Wuluo Zhongli Mountain to discuss the matter together.

At that time, Fan Qin will be the recommended leader of the local tribes. If he does not come, he will automatically give up his leadership of the tribes. Ba Zhong can persuade all tribes to attack together! If he comes, Wuluo Zhongli Mountain is the ancestral land, so he cannot bring too many people in, otherwise Fan Qin will fall into a trap...

When things have reached this point, half of the plan to unite the majority and attack a small group has been achieved. Wu Luo Zhongli Mountain will be the key to convincing the tribes to stop the rebellion.

Therefore, Heifu could not wait in Yidao, so he handed over the defense of Yidao to Cheng Wuyou. He took two or three soldiers, dressed as Ba people, and mingled with Ba Zhong's personal entourage.

The long and narrow Yishui River Valley is clear in summer, and there are many lush trees on both sides of the river. When someone passes by, hundreds of birds gather together and sing in harmony.

Bazhong continued to tell Heifu that this beautiful river valley not only gave birth to the ancestors of the Ba people, but it itself is simply the history of the migration of the Ba people. Going back from here, we must first pass through Wuluo Zhongli Mountain, the earliest stronghold of the Ba people, and then Yanyang and Yicheng where they founded their country. Until the source of the Yishui River, there is a vast world where the Ba people have multiplied and dispersed. It is not far from Ba Zhong's home, Zhi County, Ba County.

When Bazhong was a child, he traveled east from Zhi County, crossed hundreds of miles of mountains and forests, and arrived at Wuluozhongli Mountain to worship his ancestors. At that time, he was still young. He wore the traditional attire of the Ba people and returned to his ancestral land as a descendant of the Ba people. . But now, it's the opposite direction. As an envoy of the Qin State, wearing summer clothes, he is here to persuade the Ba people not to engage in meaningless resistance.

At noon, when everyone arrived at their destination, they saw that Wuluo Zhongli Mountain is located on the bank of Yi River. The mountain is surrounded by water and rippling blue waves. The island is dotted with five peaks and stands of strange rocks. It can only be reached by boat.

However, what surprised Bazhong was that when he and the captains of the tribes boarded a boat to reach Zhongli Mountain in Wuluo, they saw Fan Qin waiting here with a few warriors!

And the person standing next to him was a Chu man wearing a tall Chu crown and wide-sleeved Chu clothes!

The various ministries had agreed that no vendettas were allowed, and no outsiders were allowed to enter Wuluo Zhongli Mountain, but suddenly the situation became tense.

"Fan Qin!"

A tribal leader was angry and scolded: "How dare you bring outsiders into your ancestral land!"

Fan Qin wore an exaggerated feather crown, a leopard skin, and a knife hanging on his waist. Facing the criticism from everyone, he pointed at Bazhong and others and sneered: "Didn't you bring a Qin man with you?"

…

Everyone looked over, but the dark-faced man next to Bazhong remained calm, because Fan Qin was not pointing at him, but at Bazhong in summer clothes...

Bazhong was startled at first, and then laughed loudly and said: "Mr. Fan really forgets things easily. I am not from Qin. I am Bazhong of Zhi County. I am the son of Ba family after Linjun. We just met a few days ago."

"That's natural. It's you, Xiazi, who told us the truth to the Qin people, so that it was difficult to attack the Yi Road! You, the unworthy descendant who abandoned your ancestors and regarded yourself as the Qin people, should have been captured in the beginning, and locked in a red cave to reflect and reflect. !" Fan Qin began to criticize Ba Zhong first.

"As long as you care about Linjun and the interests of the Ba people, you are still a Ba people! I ask myself that I have never done anything different from the Ba people!" Ba Zhong defended himself.

"On the contrary, Commander Fan accepted gifts from the Chu people and coerced the Yidao tribes to rebel against the Qin. He was seeking his own death. Hundreds of people have been killed and injured under the Yidao city. Is it possible that he will continue to take more lives before he gives up?"

At this time, the Chu man next to Fan Qin appealed in the language of the Ba people: "Otherwise, although the Yi Dao failed to be conquered, the Chu army has surrounded Challing and will conquer it soon. Once Challing is defeated, the Yi will be defeated." What's the point of Tao? Don't be deceived by this Xia Zi!"

Ba Zhong was not to be outdone: "How did I hear that the governor and lieutenant of Nanjun of Qin State have personally mobilized an army to support Chaling? The Chu army has not been able to break through Chaling so far, and I am afraid that it will eventually be defeated. When the Qin army arrives, If we take revenge, this ancestral land along the Yi River may not be owned by the Ba people!"

He began to shout loudly: "You gentlemen, please ask yourselves. Each tribe pays a rent of 2,160 qian every year and an oral tax of 1,800 qian every three years. And each household in the clan pays a corvee tax of 56 qian every year, and cloth Eight feet and two feet, and thirty clusters of chicken feathers. Compared with the tax collected by Chu State when it ruled Yi Dao more than a hundred years ago, it is not heavy. Compared with the Qin people who organized households around Yi Dao City, it is already It is considered lighter. The officials of the Qin State have never forced us to abandon the ways of our ancestors. Could it be that if we return to the Chu State, what will happen? Since there is no profit, why rebel against Qin!"

"The officials of Qin betrayed their trust and killed my own brother! How can I not avenge this?" Fan Qin's hand had already touched the blade at his waist. Seeing that a firefight was about to happen, he brought many people with him to Zhongli Mountain. And since they occupy a high place, if they fight like this, Ba Zhong and the others will not have the upper hand.

At this moment, a burst of ear trumpet sound suddenly sounded, and the Ba Nuo priest who stayed behind to worship Lin Jun came out while blowing the buffalo horn.

"Who dares to kill each other in Wuluo Zhongli Mountain, in the Red and Black Points, and in front of Lord Lin?"

A witch wearing a feather robe came from the mountain. Her face was covered with thick colorful lines, and her age could not be clearly seen, but from her old tone and the wrinkled back of her hands, it was clear that she was quite old.

In ancient times, the Ba people "didn't have a king, so they all worked with ghosts and gods." This is still the case today, and the status of ghosts, gods, and wizards is very high. Women are often used as witches, responsible for various sacrifices, divination and other matters. All women who have participated in sacrifices are considered special people who can communicate with ancestors and ghosts and gods, and receive special respect.

Seeing that the people inside the witch who were still bickering stopped and prostrated themselves on the ground, Hei Fu hesitated for a moment and prostrated himself as well, but he did not follow the others in shouting slogans that he did not understand.

The witch looked at the princes in front of her and said loudly in a hoarse voice: "It is a matter of life and death for the tribes. How can we listen to the instigation of outsiders? According to the ancestral law, if something cannot be decided, the princes of the tribes will throw their swords into the stone cave. , if you can win the promise, you can give orders to everyone! Lords, please follow me into the cave, while the others are waiting outside!"

"Ba Zhong, you are also the leader of the Ba people, so come in with us!"

After saying that, the witch walked away. The princes of the Ba people looked at each other in confusion. Fan Qin was not afraid and walked at the front, while Ba Zhong followed at the back. Before leaving, he looked back at his confidant Dan Hu and said: There was a black husband dressed as a Ba warrior, who nodded slightly...

Heifu understood, and stared at the Chu people's envoy who was protected by Fan Qin's cronies, intentionally or unintentionally!