Qin Official

When the first snow fell in the 29th year of Qin Shihuang's reign, Heifu returned to Yiqu City with 6,000 soldiers...

Last month, Li Xin of Longxi County launched a sudden attack on Helan with a thousand light cavalry. Hearing that there was a fire in the backyard, the four thousand Huns wandering near Huamachi could no longer stay and immediately abandoned the Shenquan Barrier and Xiaoyanchi. Retreat.

Seeing that the Huns were fleeing, Heifu did not rush in. The weather was getting colder day by day. Although he asked the Wuzhi caravan to bring a large amount of grain and hoarded it in the city, he also blackmailed Jun Yanyan and asked him to kill two thousand sheep. Qin Jun ate half of it and salted the other half directly with the salt from Huamachi, which was enough to eat this winter.

But the supplies needed by tens of thousands of people were too much, and the soldiers were homesick. Heifu could not let them stay outside the wall for a long time. So in early November, Yiqu Bailang was left with a thousand cavalry and a thousand disciples to guard, and the rest followed him back to the north.

Also going south was Jun Yanyan.

As soon as he arrived at the city gate, Heifu received a warm welcome. The county magistrate Yin Tong came specially to welcome him on his triumphant return.

After Heifu drank the hot wine handed to him by the elders in the city, the short and fat Yin Tong sighed:

"I have been in the north as a county magistrate for several years, but I heard that barbarian bandits outside the Great Wall were harassing the border and plundering merchants. The soldiers could only drive them away, but never pursued them. However, since the county captain took office last year, the internal troops and cavalry have been guarded. Recruit good families and send merchants and spies to penetrate the Xiongnu to observe their reality."

"Today, the commander of the county came out of the fortress with eight thousand tigers and horses, and the road was full of horses and soldiers. The banners were like clouds, and the armored soldiers were shouting. They were powerful and powerful, like the wind and lightning. In less than ten days, they heard the good news and defeated the Xiongnu. , beheaded more than a thousand people, captured nothing, were powerful beyond the Great Wall, and opened a frontier of five hundred miles! This is truly an achievement that the North has never had before since the destruction of Yiqu!"

Heifu cupped his hands and said, "Heifu was able to go far beyond the Great Wall, thanks to the county guards and county magistrates who were dispatched inside, and there was an endless supply of food and fodder for the carriages and horses."

"Otherwise, the county governor is like the prime minister, and the county lieutenant is like the general. The generals work together with one heart. As a subordinate, I am just following orders."

Yin Tong's words were full of flattering words, almost flattering. Hei Fu was a little strange. He didn't have a close relationship with this county magistrate. Why was he more enthusiastic about him than usual today?

The two entered the city humbly to each other. The county guard Zhao Hai was old and couldn't stand the cold, but he was also waiting outside the gate of the county guard's house. Hei Fu came over and bowed to him, and was supported by Zhao Hai. His white beard trembled. , smiled and said:

"The commander's flag points to the fact that the barbarians are escaping, which really strengthens the power of the Qin Dynasty. If this old man can be twenty years younger, he should go out with the commander to kill the captives!"

Hei Fu said hurriedly: "The old governor is ridiculous. You must be strong. If you go out of the fortress, we will not be able to kill the enemy."

Zhao Hai was very pleased with Hei Fu. Before Hei Fu came, he thought that the emperor's new favorite, who had suddenly ascended to a high position at the age of only twenty-six, would not get along well with him, an old minister of the previous king who was over fifty years old. .

But what I didn't expect was that Heifu had a composure far beyond his years. He never lacked etiquette due to his loyalty to the emperor. He only engaged in military affairs on weekdays, but he was absolutely incompetent in civil affairs under the jurisdiction of the county governor. Don't interfere.

In addition, Heifu's wife is well-behaved and smart. She often goes in and out of the county magistrate's house to keep company with the county magistrate's wife. She brings some specialties from the south and gives her some unique snacks from her chef. Last month, she even asked craftsmen to repair the county magistrate's house. A house with a heated kang. When Zhao Hai returned home, his old wife complained that it was the first time in the many years since she had been with him in the North that it was so warm in winter...

Over the past year, Ye Zijin has almost become like mother and son to the county governor's wife. Such a well-informed and decent couple will naturally make people feel disgusted. What's more, the results achieved by Hei Fu's expedition will also bring continuous benefits to Beidi County.

After welcoming Hei Fu into the county government, Zhao Hai made his plans clear to him.

"For the newly surrendered Yu Yanrong, in the land of Huamachi, I plan to establish Cheng Dao, make Lord Yu Yan the county magistrate of Yu Yan, and then appoint a county captain and a county magistrate."

It's hard to say that although Beidi County has a vast territory, it has a sparse population, and most of them are Rongdi who have difficulty collecting rent and taxes. It is a famously poor county in Kansai. The most important financial revenue is Wushiluo's foreign trade, but most of it goes to the Shaofu. The county can only collect a pitiful commercial tax, and the cattle, sheep and horses sold to the mainland every year are only enough to exchange for military rations for the garrison soldiers.

Now, thanks to Heifu, Beidi County has two more financial resources...

One is the burgeoning wool textile industry. Since Heifuxing County lobbied Wushi Luo last year, Wushi also began to purchase long-haired Qiang sheep from the Qiang and raised more than 2,000 of them in Wushi County. Yiqu There are also a thousand head raised here in the city.

After absorbing Qiang technology and trying for two years, Shaofu's East and West Weaving Rooms have developed a relatively mature wool spinning process. Although the knitted clothes are still fat and big, the smell is much lighter.

Now that the emperor wants to defeat the Xiongnu, he may mobilize 300,000 people next year! A large number of sweaters are needed. Even if the war ends, the soldiers who are ordered to guard the north will need at least one sweater for two people. Therefore, this item has become military supplies and is in short supply...

The county magistrate Yin Tong also said: "There are mulberry and hemp in the central plains of Qilu, and silk and silk are used for profit."

“It’s bitterly cold in the north and silkworms are scarce, but we can still clothe and quilt the northern frontier by relying on wool spinning!”

Zhao Hai nodded. He also hoped that the woolen textile industry could become a major economic pillar in Northland in the future.

The second is the newly captured Huamachi. In the past few decades, Huamachi has been the main source of salt in the North. Now that Yan Yan has surrendered, Huamachi has naturally become the jurisdiction of Beidi County. Zhao Hai decided to immediately set up a salt officer in Huamachi and let the local soldiers and garrison collect salt...

Heifu gave Zhao Hai another idea: "I have left two thousand people in Huamachi City. After next spring, there will be a large army heading north, and there will be a constant flow of cattle, horses, and vehicles."

"In the past, when there was trouble at the frontier fortress, the inland carriages and horses would carry grain and return with the wounded, but most of the carriages were empty, which was really wasteful. In the future, the vehicles going to Huamachi will carry grain when they go and salt when they return. This will save money. freight!"

"This is a wonderful strategy." Zhao Hai nodded. In his eyes, what the truck brought back was not salt, but a heavy half a tael!

In fact, Heifu also has a plan in mind for Huamachi salt. After the war stops, the official management of the salt industry in Beidi County can relax a little. Huamachi salt is mined by the government and subordinates, but it can be sold and retailed by merchants. All power is given to merchants, and the government only controls the wholesale link. If salt merchants want to get salt, they need to transport grain to the border, exchange it for "salt coupons" from the county guards, and then transport the salt back to the mainland...

In this way, it may be able to solve the problems of food shortage at the border and high freight costs, and also make the market more dynamic.

Of course, I am just thinking about it now. This involves changing laws and regulations and tampering with national policies. Legalists will definitely oppose it.

Regarding the establishment of counties and roads in Huamachi, the three frontier officials discussed for a while. Seeing that it was getting dark outside, Zhao Hai said:

"The old man is also confused. When he talks about state affairs, he forgets the time. The county captain has returned from the expedition and has not yet returned home to take a look. Go quickly! Tomorrow, I will be outside the Jingbian Temple to serve as the county captain and Jingwo Bei. Outside the field, Hu Chen’s generals are hosting a banquet to catch the wind and wash away the dust!”

The Jingbian Temple in Beidi County was built in the north of Yiqu City, next to the "Retirement Home" that Heifu had led his family to build. It has now been renamed the "Invalids Home". Further north is the "Loyal Soldiers Cemetery" in the suburbs, where unknown soldiers whose bones are difficult to identify on the battlefield are buried.

These three places were built by Heifu after he came to the Northland, and they have become local "patriotic education bases." On every first and fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year, the legal officials from the local school would take their disciples to offer sacrifices, and the county soldiers and garrison soldiers were also required to carry water for the orphans, widows and disabled veterans of the Invalids...

Hei Fu also missed his wife who was eight months pregnant at home, so he said goodbye. At this time, white snowflakes were falling outside, and the military chariot he used for battle did not have a canopy to show that he shared the joys and sorrows with the soldiers.

At this time, the county magistrate Yin Tong insisted on giving Hei Fu a ride and invited him to his spacious and warm carriage.

Heifu couldn't refuse, so he got into the car. The two of them talked without a word. Heifu felt that Yin Tong's behavior was unusual today, so he kept waiting for him to speak.

After the car slowly drove out of the county mansion, Yin Tongcai suddenly sighed: "It's so cold in the north, and your breath turns to frost. The county captain once went on an expedition to Yuzhang in the south of the Yangtze River. I wonder what it was like in the winter there?"

Heifu then said: "Even in the cold winter, Yuzhang is still full of green mountains and warm water. Ducks swim in the upper reaches of the Gan River. The local Yue people don't even have the words 'ice' or 'snow' in their speech."

"That's good, that's good."

Yin Tong said with a smile: "My wife is most afraid of the bitter cold and has long wanted to leave Beidi. I think she will be willing to go to Yuzhang now."

Heifu heard his wife talk about it a year ago. Yin Tong's wife had been boasting that her husband would soon be transferred to the mainland as an official, but then there was no news. It seemed that the result was finally there.

However, in the eyes of the world, Yuzhang is probably even more wild than Beidi. Yin Tong's wife is very picky, and she is afraid that she will be too hot when she goes there.

In this way, Yin Tong also found the reason why he tried his best to show his kindness.

But Heifu still deliberately showed surprise: "Oh? Could it be that the county magistrate is going to be promoted..."

Yin Tong smiled and said: "Yes, I am also lucky. Last month, when the county commander was still fighting outside the Great Wall, His Majesty issued an order. Jiujiang County is far away from the north to the south, making travel inconvenient. From the first month (October), the river will be used as the boundary. , Yuzhang County is newly established in the south of the Yangtze River! The Prime Minister and the imperial censors recommended various officials and ordered me to transfer to Yuzhang from the south and serve as the county's fake captain!"

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