Chapter 10 Section 4 Qin’s monarchs and ministers thanked God in the old rain

In late spring and early summer, although the grass is already growing and warblers are flying, the morning and evening of Weishui River is still quite cool.Especially in river valleys and mountain passes, the cool breeze in the morning and evening is still a bit cold.The sun was still a pole high from the west mountain, and the Qin people in Liyang who had left the city to work began to return to the city in an endless stream.But on the high slope wind mouth on the bank of Lishui River in the south of the city, there was a man who stood for a long time, even though the river wind made his long gown rattle, he still did not leave.In a depression two feet away, a white-haired old man was silently watching.

Qin Xiaogong has stood motionless for an hour.The emerald green waves in the river have turned golden and gloomy, the warmth in the wind has faded, and the twilight field has a bleak air as cool as autumn water.All this, the twenty-two-year-old young monarch did not notice, he just looked at the distant eastern mountains that had been submerged in the twilight, and sighed heavily.Although he had gathered the ten thousand gold needed to divide the six kingdoms, he didn't feel relieved at all. Instead, he was tortured by a shame that he couldn't bear to sleep and eat.When he thought of his mother's kind and peaceful smile, he felt as sad as a knife.

After the court meeting in the Political Affairs Hall that day, he was busy listening to the Yongcheng Order who rushed over to report the people's situation, and discussed and determined measures to continue to stabilize the people's hearts.As soon as the order of Yongcheng left, Jing Jian rushed to report the urgent report from the spies sent to Daliang, saying that the troops of Wei, Chu and Zhao had not moved, and the details were unknown.The two discussed for a long time, but they still couldn't figure out what happened?Decided to continue to raise a lot of money, no matter what happens, the strategy of dividing the six countries remains unchanged.After Jing Jian left, it was already midnight, and he was about to stand up and look at the big sheepskin picture, but he fell headlong on the desk and fell down.When he woke up, his mother with white hair like snow was sitting beside the couch and watching him quietly.Mother didn't shed tears, didn't even sigh, seeing him wake up and opened his eyes, she smiled kindly at him, still didn't say anything, just turned around and took the copper cauldron to open the lid, and brought over the steaming hot mutton soup to feed him .In Ying Quliang's memory, his mother never fed him. Even if he fell ill when he was a child, his mother would watch him sit up and eat by himself.Now that he has become a monarch, his elderly mother brought up a food tripod to feed him?Ying Quliang suddenly sat up, and lifted the blanket: "Mother, it's okay, I'll do it myself." The mother smiled again, "It's as long as it's okay, and it should be okay." When Ying Quliang finished eating and drinking, he stood up sweating , the mother also stood up from the embroidered pier, and looked at her son quietly, "Quliang, mother has two thousand gold and a few pieces of jewelry. I have prepared them for you. Let Hei Bo come and move them away." Suddenly, tears welled up in Ying Quliang's eyes, "Mother! You, you know all about it?" The mother smiled and nodded, "These two thousand pieces of gold were left over from the harem of the Qin Kingdom for four hundred years, and they are also used for a legitimate purpose today. Ying Quliang knelt down in front of his mother solemnly, "Mother, Quliang is incompetent and has shamed Qin and the queen mother of a country. Please punish Quliang." Huo Ran took off his long gown, revealing his sweaty back.The mother helped him up, put on the long gown for him, wiped away the tears and sweat from his face, and gently reprimanded him, "Quliang made a big mistake. Don't you know that you can bend before you can stretch? They are all like your father-in-law." Hard work, hard work, Qin may not be a great weapon. Qu Liang, mother knows you, the old Qin people just lack the word forbearance. You have, mother believes in you." The 22-year-old young monarch felt white for the first time. Faqin's mother's kindness and warmth, he couldn't help but hugged her mother and choked up.His mother held his head, stroked his long hair, and let him cry bitterly.Finally, Mother said to him: "Qu Liang, Mother has only one rule for you: eat according to the time, and go to bed at the latest on the fourth watch. The burden of Qin is on your shoulders, so you must have stamina. Can you promise Mother?" Qu Liang remembered that he nodded seriously.

When Uncle Hei led his servants to move out two thousand gold and jewels from the Queen Mother's courtyard, Qin Xiaogong sent Jing Jian to check and register, and found that the gold hairpin on his mother's head and a pearl and jade pillow that was always inseparable were also inside!Jing Jian couldn't accept it anyway, and insisted on sending it back to the Queen Mother.Uncle Hei wiped his tears from the sidelines.Qin Xiaogong silently blocked Jingjian, biting his teeth and swallowing back his tears.He knew that sending it back would really break his mother's heart.However, these two precious things are too important to mother after all.The sword-shaped gold hairpin was given to the ancestor Mrs. Mu Gong by Emperor Zhou. It has the royal emblem and the ancient seal of "Luoyang Shangfang" on it. It is the symbol of the first lady of Qin in the past dynasties.That pearl and jade pillow was carefully crafted by father-in-law Qin Xiangong for mother.It was a piece of crystal-green blue-field jade, with a red pearl inlaid at each end. When I fell asleep at night, the faint light of the small pearl always set off my mother's face extraordinarily beautifully.More importantly, the father-in-law recast one of his short swords and inlaid them on the top of the pillows at both ends.The mother told her son that it was her father who was always watching over her.The reason why the little girl was named Yingyu was based on this Yingying jade pillow.Although the mother is the Queen Mother of Qin, she is still a woman after all, and she is a widowed woman who lost her husband.For any woman, it is impossible to give up any of these two things, one symbolizes her noble status, and the other entrusts her longing for her longing.But now, mother took out the two pieces at the same time, and took out them calmly.However, Ying Quliang saw the bright tears in her mother's eyes with smile lines, and saw the blood flowing in her mother's heart.

"In the past, I went, Yangliu Yiyi. Now I come to think, rain and snow. The road is slow, thirsty and hungry. My heart is sad, and I don't know how I am." This is my mother's favorite song when she was young and beautiful. "Xiao Ya", that is a song that the wife waits for the return of her husband who has been away for a long time.At that time, Ying Quliang didn't understand why his mother always sang this song that made people want to cry and couldn't breathe?When he got back on his horse and swung his long sword to charge into battle, he finally understood his mother's song.Strangely, after the father-in-law died in battle, the mother never sang this song again.At that time, Ying Quliang still didn't understand his mother's heart.This time, the young monarch felt that he finally understood—the mother plowed so many wounds in her heart, but she wanted to leave a broad and warm heart for her son.

As a son of man, Qin Xiaogong felt a strong guilt that he had never felt before. I don't want to think about it, but I can't think about it.The young monarch couldn't help himself in the cold evening wind. Suddenly, a sudden sound of horseshoes woke him up.As soon as he turned around, he saw that Jing Jian had already thrown off the reins and quickly climbed up the high slope.Qin Xiaogong was startled, could it be that the six countries sent troops? Jing Jian stood still on the slope, panting, and said, "Your Majesty, the Beidi Commander sent an urgent report that a business team from the State of Zhao crossed Fushi, passed through the northwest of me, and headed for the settlement of the Rongdi tribe in Longxi. The sergeant caught a laggard businessman, tortured him, and the businessman confessed that the merchant brigade was a secret special envoy sent by Zhao Guo.

Qin Xiaogong pondered for a while, "Where can the business traveler go now?" "It's probably already entered the Longxi Mountains, it's too late to catch up." "Jingjian, why did Zhao Guo send a special envoy to the Rongdi tribe?" "Your Majesty, Jing Jian has no way of knowing, but feels that Zhao Guo's actions are extremely unusual." Qin Xiaogong looked at the crescent moon on the east mountain, and said leisurely: "Jingjian, I think there is a big conspiracy here. Although we don't know the specific strategy of dividing Qin from the six kingdoms. But I have been thinking these days, what if I am King Wei, Pang Juan, and Marquis Zhao. How can I defeat Qin in one fell swoop? They and we all know that it is difficult to swallow up a Qin State that has not lost its combat power just by using troops on the battlefield. Hundreds of years of history have proved , without civil strife, it is very difficult for a big country to collapse. If they think the same way, then the most ruthless means to swallow up Qin is to attack from both inside and outside. It was reported the day before yesterday that the three kingdoms of Wei, Chu, and Zhao did not move. We don't understand the reason, but I always feel that No. After thinking about it carefully, they seem to be waiting. What are they waiting for? I can’t tell. Today’s urgent report from the Beidi Order made me suddenly open.”

Jing Jian asked urgently: "Your Majesty, you are saying that the State of Zhao is going to instigate civil strife in the State of Qin?" "Don't you think so?" Qin Xiaogong turned around. Jing Jian woke up and broke out in a cold sweat, "If there is chaos in Rongdi, it will be a scourge, how can it happen?" Qin Xiaogong sneered: "There are more than 30 Rong and Di tribes, how can they all be in chaos? The urgent task at present is to determine which tribes are in danger, so that we can be prepared." "Your Majesty, Zuo Shuzhang is the most familiar with Rongdi affairs."

"Yes, go back to the city immediately to discuss." Qin Xiaogong said and hurried down the slope. Back at the Liyang Zhengshitang, it was already the first shift of the willows on the moon.When Ying Qian, the eldest concubine of Zuo, came to the government in a hurry, Qin Xiaogong had just used a cauldron of soup cakes.Heibo added lamp oil, covered the large net cover on the lamp holder, then walked out lightly, and quietly guarded in the shadow outside the door. Jing Jian first reported the urgent report of the Beidi Order to Zuo Shuchang Yingqian, and Qin Xiaogong talked about his speculation and judgment.After hearing this, Yingqian had a gloomy face and did not speak.After a while, he got up and walked to the big picture in the study room, tapped the western part of Qin State with his short sword, and drew a big circle again: "The 34 branches of the Rong and Di tribes live in the valleys and mountains 600 miles upstream of Jingwei. .Since the ancestor Mu Ping ruled Xirong, most of the Rong and Di tribes had fled to the Yin Mountains, and most of them had become subjects of the Qin State. Since then, the old Qin people gradually moved to Weiping and Shuichuan, and all the upper reaches of Jing and Wei were given to Rong and Di. Tribal settlements. For more than two hundred years, there have been no major troubles in the western Rongdi. The four generations of Li Gong, Cao Gong, Jian Gong, and Chuzi have neglected the control and restraint of the western Rongdi. For ten years, he was busy with the war against the Jin Dynasty, and had no time to take care of the affairs of the Rong and Di in the west. He transferred the 30,000 elite troops stationed in Longxi to Liyang. The year is still the same, and there is no shortage. Among the 100,000 troops of the Qin State, there are still more than 30,000 Rong and Di children. Fundamentally speaking, the Rong and Di tribes will not be in chaos. However, as far as I know when I led troops to garrison Xi Rong, There are five or six branches of the Rongdi tribe who used to be nomadic in Jiuyuan and Yunzhong, and have a close relationship with Yan State and Zhao State. If there is chaos, these few branches may be the most dangerous."

"Which branches are these? Where do you live?" Qin Xiaogong asked, staring at the map intently. Yingqian pointed to the map: "The Yinrong, Beirong, Datuo, Xibin, Yiqu, and Hongfa clans live in Lintao, Baohan, and Didao where the Taoshui Xiashui flows." "Approximately how many people do they have? How many troops?" "The first emperor Xian Gong once ordered the implementation of the household registration system. At that time, the population of the six tribes was about 300,000. It is difficult to say the strength of the troops. The Rong and Di tribes have always been on horses. It’s not bad when there are nearly one hundred thousand.”

"Which tribe is the biggest? The most dangerous?" "Xibi is the largest, with a tribe of 100,000 people, and 30,000 to 40,000 young and strong. The leader of the tribe once proclaimed himself king, and his contacts with Yanzhao have never stopped." Duke Qin Xiao frowned and remained silent in thought.The sound of fighting in the archery tower of Liyang City could be heard clearly, and it was already the third watch when listening to the count. "What do you two think should be done?" Qin Xiaogong finally raised his head and asked. "The six countries are instigating rebellion in the west, and they are really vicious. If the Western Rong is in chaos, we will have to fight, and we will be powerless. At present, Qin's troops are scattered on the borders of the four countries in the east. If they are concentrated and transferred to the west, the six countries may take advantage of the situation." Ying Ying Qian hesitated heavily. Jing Jian was also worried, "I have no idea for a while." With a sound of "Boom!", Qin Xiaogong slammed his fist on the desk, stood up suddenly and said, "Don't be afraid! Let's take advantage of their gap and take a risky move." He strode to the map, "Look, six The country is waiting outside the Hangu Pass. Even if the Rong and Di in the west rebel, they must have the heart to wait for the six countries to move first. After all, Rong and Di are weak, and they are afraid of being eaten by the Qin army first. Moreover, it is difficult for them to launch together in a hurry. This is why It’s a gap where both sides are waiting and seeking simultaneous actions. We are going to take advantage of this gap right now, and we must do it as quickly as lightning!” "Why take advantage of this gap?" Yingqian Jing Jing asked in unison. "I mean, big brother immediately secretly mobilized the eastern troops, and moved westward to hide in the mountains in the Rongdi area. If Rongdi does not move, I will not move. If Rongdi moves, I will move first, and I must calm down with a drum. At the same time, Jing Jian immediately carried a large amount of money to the Wei State for secret activities, at least delaying its marching schedule. As long as any party is broken, Qin State will have room for maneuver." He took a breath, "If the Six Kingdoms invaded during the westward advance of the eldest brother, Then the only option is to fight to the death, and everything will be destroyed.” Yingqian suddenly got up and cupped his hands and said, "Give me 30,000 cavalry, and Yingqian will crush Rongdi!" "No, 50,000! If you don't fight, you're done, and if you fight, you will win." Jing Jian pondered and said: "Your Majesty, the east is too empty. We only have 50,000 cavalry." Qin Xiaogong said with emotion: "Old Qin people are all in the east, and Yingquliang is also a body of hundreds of battles. The bloody battle of life and death, the whole country is an army, why be afraid of it?" After finishing speaking, he turned back to a copper box next to the bookshelf and took out a small Opening the copper box, he solemnly handed it to Yingqian with both hands, "Master Zuo Shu, this is the admiral's amulet." Yingqian took the bronze soldier talisman with trembling hands, with tears in his eyes, he choked up.As a commanding general, he naturally knew what this general's soldier talisman meant.It is the highest military talisman that can be used only by the monarch of the state of Qin to mobilize the country's troops without restriction.In three hundred years, only Duke Mu of Qin once handed it over to Yu Yu, the commander of Xi Rong.Now, the young monarch personally handed over the General Bing Talisman to him, undoubtedly entrusting the life and death of Qin to him.But what this young brother left for him was a lonely city and the tragic preparation for the final battle.Old Qin has such a monarch, and Yingqian has such a brother, how could he not be very moved? The three monarchs and ministers knew in their hearts that although Qin had a hundred thousand troops, half of them were infantry and old chariots.Only these 50,000 cavalry are elite iron cavalry composed of all old Qin people.In the early days of the Warring States period, the cumbersome chariot battles had gradually faded away, and the fast, nimble and powerful cavalry gradually became the most powerful new unit.This kind of cavalry was the famous "iron cavalry" at that time.The so-called iron cavalry refers to a group of cavalry equipped with horses and knights equipped with fine iron harnesses and armor weapons at that time.The horseshoe is equipped with iron palms, so that the horse can run on any rough ground without fear of thorns and thorns; the horse's head is equipped with a mask connected by iron sheets and leather, which greatly weakens the deterrence of infantry bows and arrows to the horse; the harness is also light in weight. Wrought iron with high hardness and good toughness has replaced the heavy, thick, soft and brittle copper harness; the weapons of knights on horseback have also evolved from grown spears to light swords, which are generally made of refined iron. The length is generally about three feet, sharp and light, which is convenient for group charging and killing.In the face of the classical phalanx combining heavy and slow chariots and infantry, the hurricane-like group charge launched by this kind of iron cavalry has a devastating power.In the early days of the Warring States Period, Wei State was the most excellent cavalry, followed by South Korea and Zhao State, and Chu, Qi, Qin, and Yan were on equal footing.The state of Qin rose in the west, and has a long tradition of fighting on horseback. There were no chariots in the first place.However, after Qin State became a great vassal state, during the Spring and Autumn Period, it tried to imitate the military system of the great powers in the Central Plains, and turned most of the crudely equipped cavalry into chariot soldiers.In the early days of the Warring States Period, iron cavalry emerged and major changes took place in the tactics of warfare. However, it was impossible for Qin to have more elite cavalry due to the lack of fine iron and the decrease in population.Most of the fine iron needed for these 50,000 cavalry was bought from South Korea and smuggled into Qin.At the beginning, Qin Xiangong carefully selected 50,000 old Qin soldiers to form the Qin State Iron Cavalry, which actually became the only defense force in Qin State that could fight against the princes of Shandong at any time.If they all go to Longxi, there will only be more than a thousand old chariots and 20,000 to 30,000 infantry left in the eastern part of Qin State. Once a strong enemy invades, what will the consequences be?But in the face of the desperate situation of being attacked by two sides, what would be the consequences if we didn't put all our eggs in one basket and rebel in the west and fight in the east? The three monarchs and ministers looked at each other silently, there was a faint flash of lightning in the sky, a rumbling thunder passed over the roof, and fine raindrops hit the window lattice of the study with a rustling sound, like ten thousand silkworms eating mulberry, or like a breeze blowing over bamboo. Jing Jian was startled, "Old Lin? Not good!" His flash of thought was that the road is muddy, why are tens of thousands of cavalry marching? Yingqian's eyes lit up, and he strode down the corridor.Looking up at the night sky, the clouds are thick and the sky is low, and the city of Liyang is pitch black, and everything is silent, only the sound of boundless rain is heard between the sky and the earth.This sound of rain is not urgent, not slow, not sparse, not dense, not continuous, and its slow stretch is like a fine veil spread from the sky to cover the earth.This is the rain in early summer, which is like spring rain but thicker than spring rain. It is the April old rain in Guanzhong that is inevitable every year.At that time, the spring plowing had just finished, the seeds had been sown, and the drizzle from the sky was just perfect.It is neither a heavy rain that can wash away the land and expose the seeds, but also can slowly moisten the land and completely eliminate the spring drought. It can be called the seasonal good rain in the land of Guanzhong.The Wei River is on the river, and the sows will be reaped. It is precisely because of this kind of favorable weather that is hard to find in the world.Every year at the beginning of April, the people of Qin State pray for the rain to fall in time.Unexpectedly, this year's Lao Linyu came more than half a month earlier than in previous years, which is indeed a bit unusual.Yingqian looked up at the sky for a long time, and suddenly he looked up to the sky and laughed. With tears in his eyes, Qin Xiaogong strode into the courtyard and bowed deeply to the dark night sky, "God knows, if Qin should not be destroyed, Yingqu Liang will never fail the sky." In an instant, Jing Jian suddenly realized, excited He had to rush to the courtyard and wave his hands to the sky, "God, it's raining! Qin Guoyou has been saved!" The three monarchs and ministers laughed at the same time, and a drizzle drenched them soaked. This early arrival of Lao Linyu is really worth thousands of troops.It not only delayed the time for the Six Kingdoms to advance, but also gave Qin's 50,000 cavalry an excellent opportunity to secretly move.On days of continuous heavy rain, the cavalry and infantry of any country will not be able to travel long distances, let alone heavy chariots.An obvious reason is that the follow-up of food and supplies cannot be solved at all.Therefore, not using soldiers in the rainy season is almost the iron rule of the entire classical war era.However, Qin is facing the two sides of life and death, and this continuous rain has become the best cover.The old Qin people were tribes who came out of the Rongdi ocean in the Western Zhou Dynasty and the Spring and Autumn Period. Their bravery and tenacious hard work are inferior to all the tribes in the world.At that time, the vast ocean of barbarian tribes surrounded and eroded the civilization of the Central Plains from all directions. If Duke Huan of Qi hadn't united with the nine princes, respected the king and fought against the barbarians, the civilization of the Central Plains would have been completely swallowed up by barbaric violence.That's why Confucius said with emotion, if there is no Duke Huan of Qi, all the people in the Central Plains will become barbarians with bare arms!At that time, the Rongdi tribe and the eastern barbarians were in full swing, and their fierce cavalry made the Central Plains chariots daunting.Although the final victory relied on the alliance of more than a hundred vassal states, it also greatly hurt the vitality of the princes of the Central Plains.However, in those hundreds of years of bloody storms, the Qin tribe fought bloody battles alone in the western region. Not only did they establish a large foundation in the upper reaches of the Jingwei River, but they also fought bravely for the king when the Rongdi cavalry captured Haojing. The cavalry fought against the cavalry, so that Rong Di fled to the west in embarrassment, thus becoming a great vassal state established in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty with his outstanding martial arts.The old Qin people sacrificed thousands of lives, suffered unheard of hardships in the Central Plains, and accumulated a tribal character of indomitable arrogance and suffering.Qin Xiaogong and his courtiers all know that marching in rainy weather is incredible for the six kingdoms of Shandong, but it is unusual for the old Qin people.Moreover, the target is within the local area, so there is no need to carry food and supplies at all, and you can get food nearby from the cities along the way.With the stamina of the Qin army, they could reach the mountains in Longxi within ten days.If the battle goes well, the Qin army will be able to defend the east with all its strength, changing from being attacked on two sides to defending on one side. This is the pattern of war that Lao Linyu will create. Zuo Shu Zhang Yingqian hurried away in the rain.He wanted to dispatch troops immediately, and that night he would send the cavalry from Liyang City to the road one after another in units of thousands.There are too many scouts to be dispatched, food and grass messengers to be dispatched, weapons and harnesses to be inspected, secret marching routes to be determined, assembly points to be alerted in advance, etc., etc. There are too many things.More importantly, it was the first time for Yingqian to serve as the commander-in-chief of the entire army as the head of the Zuo Shu. He did not have a group of well-trained military generals around him, and he almost had to make independent decisions on every detail. "Your Majesty, can you send a lieutenant general to Chief Zuo Shu?" Jing Jian said softly. Qin Xiaogong sighed heavily: "Of course it is good, but where is the person? You are worthy of the job, but who will you send as a secret special envoy? Zi'an can also, but the guard of Liyang City sent Who is it? You don't see a group of ministers in the Zhengshitang, who are young and old, and not good at civil and military affairs. How many people are there? There is no way, so I have to try my best to support it. Fortunately, fifty thousand knights have been in battle for a long time, and the general of the army may be able to Take it easy." Jing Jian was silent for a while, then cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, I will also go to prepare. If there is no accident, I will leave the day after tomorrow. Jing Jian will leave." Qin Xiaogong smiled slightly: "Jing Jian, you secret envoy who can't show up is a hard job, I would like to send you a helper, how about it?" "Jing Jian thanked Your Majesty, but who is the Deputy Envoy?" Jing Jian was very excited. "Don't worry, it's not a deputy envoy, but a helper. People, I have to think about it." The young monarch showed a rare mysterious smile. Jing Jian couldn't help but smile, but he couldn't ask any more questions, so he left.