Chapter 11 Section 5 National Shame Monument Blood and Tears

The sky and the earth are vast, and the drizzle is falling. In the early morning, Liyang City is as cold as autumn. There is a narrow and nameless street in Liyang City.There lived a famous old Qin man, who was a white camel who had worked as a stone worker for forty years.The old man got up early in the morning, looked up at the dark and thick clouds, looked down at the rammed earth in the small courtyard, and knelt under the shallow eaves of the stone house and prayed to the sky: "God has the virtue of good life. Let's go, it hasn't rained all spring. Even the yard will be bright, and the sky will be sunny." At this time, the old man heard the knock on the door, not light or heavy, very rhythmic.The old man walked towards the door cautiously, trying not to let himself slip.According to the folk proverb of the old Qin people, men fall into the sky and women fall into the yin.The man fell in the rain, and the sky is about to clear up, how can I get it?When the old man cautiously walked to the door step by step, he opened the stone door, but stood there in amazement, speechless.

An ox cart pulled a large rock wrapped in black cloth, and the driver was an old man with white hair like him.Standing behind the car was a young man in a rough black cloth.The old man who drove the car cupped his hands and bowed, "Dare to ask your step, but is it the white camel old man?" It is definitely not an ordinary family in Liyang City to have an ox cart.The old man hurriedly cupped his hands: "The stone worker white camel, I have met you." "I would like to ask you to engrave a big stone with one hundred old knives. I wonder if it is possible?" carved stone?The old mason was surprised.Years of battles, the dead don't count, and dead bodies are commonplace in the wilderness. Has anyone ever erected a monument for the dead?He has not carved a stone tablet for twenty years.Today this person wants to carve a stone, could it be that a great person in the palace died?What's more, the wages are three times higher than normal, who has such boldness as an ordinary commoner?I don't think it's right, the stone carvings in the public office have always been sent by the Liyang Order to order him to enter the palace to serve in corvee. Why did anyone come to invite him?The old stone worker couldn't think too much in his confusion, and bowed deeply, "Why do you dare to ask for a simple job? Please stand over, my lord, and I will call the neighbors to come and move the stone."

"No work, no work, since I moved in." The old man calmly cupped his hands, turned around and lifted the boulder sideways from the flat bullock cart, squatted slightly with his back against the boulder, and said "hi" softly, and the boulder had been lifted back up.The old white camel hurriedly gave way in a panic, surprised that the old man in front of him was so strong, accidentally slipped and fell in the courtyard.The old white camel panicked and knelt in the mud and kowtowed to the sky, praying loudly, "God, God, I don't want to slip, you can't stop the rain!" Walked over and helped the old man up, "Old man, it's sunny for men, cloudy for women, and it's cloudy for old men. Are you afraid that it won't rain?" The white camel old man couldn't help laughing, "Young man, I see You are a noble minister. You have solved this curse well, well! The old man fell into the cloud? Thank you for thinking it out! The old Qin country cannot live without rain." The young man in black smiled and said: "The heart of the people is the heart of heaven. God, can there be another way? Old man, come in, it’s raining in the yard.” At this time, the old man carrying the boulder had already walked steadily to the stone carving workshop with no door in the middle, leaving a half-foot-long hole in the small courtyard. A series of deep footprints!The old man seemed to be very familiar with this place, and he squatted down and put the large stone slab on the most suitable wooden seat for chiseling.The young man in black helped the white camel old man in, and the old man in black was already standing there calmly.The old mason looked up and down, was so surprised that he couldn't close his mouth from ear to ear, and bowed deeply, "Brother, you really have the power of heaven, man and god."

The old man in black smiled and said, "Brother Bai, don't dare to be that. Look at this slate." The old stone worker walked up to the stone frame and took a look. From the corners that were not tightly wrapped with black cloth, he saw that this stone slab was not a newly mined mountain rock, but an old blue stone slab that was difficult to carve. come to fetch?" "Brother Bai, please do it right now. I'll wait here and move out after carving." "I haven't used an axe, chisel or knife for many years..." The white camel old man was a little apprehensive, really afraid that he would be sorry for the two noblemen in front of him.

"Old man, Chinese people say that you are a supernatural craftsman, and you won't make a mistake." Seeing the young man's trusting gaze, the white camel old man immediately became energetic, "Okay, please sit down for a while, I'll read the text." Change.Although the old stone worker is far from being called a scholar, but the stone worker has been dealing with the inscriptions for a long time, and he still knows a little bit of characters.The big two words on the bluestone board are clearly the word "national humiliation"!For a while, the old mason was terrified—who would dare to carve such an inscription?Will "national humiliation" be engraved on stone tablets and circulated?In an instant, the old stone worker seemed to understand something, and looked back at the old and the young, only to see the young man in black bowing deeply to him, watching him silently.

The white camel old man also turned around silently, took off his muddy shirt and trousers, changed into the worn sheepskin trousers worn by the stoneworkers, took the hammer, chisel and ax and walked to the bluestone slab.When squatting on the stone slab, the old man's hands were trembling, and he brought the chisel close to the large characters, but he still dared not put down the hammer.The young man in black stood beside him and asked quietly: "Old man, all old Qin people think this way, don't they?" The old white camel nodded silently with tears in his eyes. "Then hit the hammer, old man."

"Dang——!" The sound of the opening of the hammer shook the room, and the lingering sound echoed for a long time.The old mason's tears splashed on the stone slab with the sound of the hammer, sweat dripped from his bare back, his arms were bulging, and his white hair was trembling.The old man felt that this was not an inscription, but that he had inlaid the souls of his son, wife, daughter, and those who died in battle on this eternal stone tablet with one hammer and one hammer.When the hammer and chisel hit a line of small characters next to the stele, the old man no longer recognized it, but instinctively felt that this was the blood, tears and hatred of the old Qin people for generations, and it was the heavenly spell to wipe out the blood and fire of the swordsmen.Hammer after hammer, although the old man's eyes were blurred with tears, he actually typed out the inscriptions on the stone tablet without any mistakes.

Throwing away the hammer and chisel, the white camel old man suddenly threw himself on the stone tablet, crying uncontrollably. The old man in black silently squatted down to help the old mason.The young man in black turned around and looked up at the boundless rain. "Brother Bai, this is one hundred Wei Guo old knife coins, please keep it." The old man in black took out a leather bag from his arms and handed it to the old stone worker.At that time, the world called the old knife coin of Wei State "Old Wei Qian", which was a knife-shaped iron coin minted during the period of Wei Wenhou.Because it is heavy and inconvenient to carry, Wei Guo no longer casts it.But in this way, this kind of knife coin has become a famous coin with antique significance, and it is regarded as a treasure all over the world.The white camel old stone worker is a "countryman" living in Liyang City, and he is also among the "hundred workers" under the jurisdiction of the government. Although he is better than the farmer in the backcountry, he is still poor.These one hundred old knife coins are undoubtedly a lot of money for a craftsman in Liyang.What's more, the old masonry white camel has never seen such a precious old knife coin in his life.

Who would have thought that the old mason stared his eyes, and said in a hoarse voice: "What is the old brother saying? These two big characters can be chiseled out by the old white camel hammer, and he will die in peace. If you give money, you will treat the old white camel as cheap. Brother, do you know an old saying?" "Jiujiu old Qin, let's go to the country together." The old man in black replied solemnly. "Here! What is money? What do you want it for?" While talking, the young man in black went out, took back a cloth bag from the ox cart, and bowed solemnly to the old man, "I have no respect for the old man, please accept these two pieces of dried meat as a token of respect for the old man." heart of."

The old mason was teary-eyed, "Young man, you are a noble man, you have passed the TOEFL. My old white camel will accept these two pieces of dried meat." The old man suddenly knelt down and kowtowed to the young man in black. "Old man..." The voice of the young man in black suddenly choked up, and he knelt on the ground to help the old man up, "It is also a national humiliation that Qin can hardly eat meat." The old man burst into tears and laughed loudly and said, "There are two words on the nobleman's tablet, and the days of old Qin people eating meat will not be far away!"

"Old man, well said. After all, the old Qin people have meat to eat." When the clattering bullock carts drove out of the narrow stone streets, the patter of rain continued.After turning a few turns, the ox cart drove into the National Palace compound through a side door, and directly entered the small courtyard in front of the Political Affairs Hall. Qin Xiaogong took off the drenched interlayer cloth shirt, put on a dry cloth robe, drank a pot of hot mutton soup, and came to the east hall of Zhengshitang.In the slightly dark and empty hall, Heibo has already placed the tall stone tablet on the pre-made tortoise seat.Qin Xiaogong pondered for a while, then ordered in a low voice, "Uncle Hei, no one is allowed to enter the political affairs hall for an hour." Uncle Hei promised, and went out to guard the only stone gate in the courtyard, but he was always restless.After thinking for a while, he beckoned to a warrior with guards and whispered a few words, then hurried to the last one. There was still an hour before sunset, and the sixth entrance hall of the Guofu compound was already dark.However, the flashing red figure and sword energy in the hall added a bright color to Shen Chen's hall.The slender and tall figure of the swordsman, the fluttering long hair, and the flame-like red outfit all showed that this was a young girl full of youth. This is a hall filled with all kinds of weapons. Two steps to the back is the harem of the Qin State, and five steps to the front are the government affairs rooms of the monarch.This hall full of weapons is separated between the monarch and the harem, and it is called the Hall of Short Soldiers.There are various short weapons on the weapon rack in the hall.There are not only the thick-backed daggers and wide-body daggers popular in the countries of the Central Plains, but also the curved sword of the extinct Wu State-Wu Hook, and others such as the battle ax of South Korea, the war sword of Rong Di, the fighting knife of Dongying, and the Yue State. The rapier of the state of Wei, the iron shield of the state of Wei, the cowhide shield of the state of Zhao, etc., almost contained all kinds of commonly used short weapons in the world at that time.The sword-practicing girl kept choosing various short weapons to practice in the hall, no matter how fast or slow, they were all basic killing moves that were not fancy at all.When she took a Wugou curved sword from the sword stand to practice, she swung the sword obliquely, but there was no sharp sound of the sword wind.She couldn't help frowning and chopping several times, but it still didn't work.Stopping to think for a while, she took out a sweat towel to wipe the sassafras, and hurried to the front yard with a Wu hook, her steps were light and soft, and she swept across the thresholds like the wind. The courtyard of Zhengshitang was quiet, only the sound of rain.The girl walked lightly into the courtyard, walked to the door of the study, and softly called "Uncle Hei." Seeing that no one answered, she smiled mischievously, stretched her neck and looked into the study, but there was no one.She patted herself on the head, smiled suddenly, and walked lightly from the corridor to the hall of the Political Affairs Hall.When she reached the door, she craned her neck and looked inside with a mischievous smile.Suddenly, she held her breath, her beautiful face was full of astonishment and fear, she hurriedly covered her opened mouth, stepped back gently, turned around and ran towards the backyard. In a moment, the girl in red supported the white-haired queen mother to the gate of the Political Affairs Hall.Uncle Hei hurriedly opened the hall door of the Political Affairs Hall.The gray-haired old queen didn't speak, she just waved to Uncle Hei, and walked into the political hall. In the dark political hall, Ying Quliang was lying on the ground, his body was covered with patches of blood.Five steps away in front of him stood a tall stone tablet, and the blood on the tablet glowed faintly red in the heavy hall. "Brother—!" With a cry, the girl threw herself on Ying Quliang and the queen mother stood motionless in front of the stele.In the center of the stele are two shocking characters - national humiliation!The blood in the large-character groove has not yet solidified, and the thin blood line is still winding down.On the upper right of the stele is a line of words the size of a fist - the people of the country, Yongzhi, divide the six kingdoms into the Qin Dynasty, which is a shame for the country.On the lower left are the five characters "Yingquliang first year".The bloodstains on the stele are blood-stained, which is unbearable to see. Turning around, the queen mother saw that her son was still unconscious in her sister's arms, and her two severed fingers were still bleeding!In an instant, the queen mother staggered and almost fainted.She gritted her teeth, supported the big pillar and finally stood firm, and ordered in a hissed voice: "Uncle Hei, carry Quliang to the harem, hurry up!" Uncle Hei rushed forward with a stride, stretched his hands under the monarch's body, lifted the monarch and flew towards the Queen Mother's bedroom in the backyard. When Ying Qu Liang Youyou woke up, it was already dark.The boundless rain curtain fell, and the wind chimes and iron horses dinged.Under the candlelight, his face was so pale that there was no blood, but his eyes were so bright that there was no sign of depression.He smelled a strong smell of medicine, and saw the girl's teary face reflected in the charcoal fire in front of the crock. "Yingyu?" He called softly in surprise. "Brother! Are you awake?" The girl ran over in surprise, sat in front of the couch and wiped her tears while laughing, "Does it hurt? Are you hungry? Eat or not? Don't move your hands." Ying Quliang laughed and said, "It doesn't hurt. I'm not hungry. I don't want to eat." "Yes! You go to bed. Mother said, you are not allowed to step out of here tonight. If you disobey, take me as a questioner." "Oh? Where's your mother?" "Mother, mother has gone out. I won't tell you." "Go out? Where did you go? It's rainy, it's so dark." The young monarch sat up all of a sudden, pushed his sister away, and was about to go out. "Where are you going? I'm back." The Empress Dowager walked to the door with a straight face. It was obvious that she had just taken off the rain cloth, and there were still water drops on her temples, and water stains on her clothes. "Mother, have you gone outside?" Qin Xiaogong asked anxiously. "You sit back for me first." As soon as Yingyu saw her mother, she immediately became imposing and pushed her eldest brother onto the couch. The queen mother smiled, "It's okay. I went out for a walk. Quliang, sit down and talk to mother. It's hard to see you as a king." The old man sighed quietly, but there was a kind smile on his face , as if nothing had happened. "Mother, Quliang is unworthy." Qin Xiaogong had tears in his eyes. "Where did you come from?" The queen mother sat down on the embroidered pier, "Quliang, mother knows that you are high-minded and has concerns. But mother still wants to say that you are too aggressive and blame yourself too much. Worrying about the country and the people is a good monarch. , but too much harm to the body, the gains and losses are unpredictable." Qin Xiaogong sighed heavily, nodded silently, and shook his head silently. At this time, Uncle Hei came in with a steaming copper tripod on a copper plate, put it down silently and walked out lightly. "Yingyu, give elder brother some deer and turtle meat, and let him drink all the broth in the tripod." "Yes!" Yingyu happily picked up the small pottery bowl and long wooden spoon to scoop the soup from the tripod. Qin Xiaogong was surprised and said: "Mother, where do you get deer and turtle meat? Is turtle meat edible?" The queen mother smiled and said: "Mother and Uncle Hei went hunting. This tortoise, dragon, lin and phoenix are the four great spiritual creatures. Naturally, they cannot be eaten in ordinary times. However, the sages and sages are desperate, and everything can be eaten. My son Quliang is destined by heaven. As the monarch of a country, if you worry about the country and hurt your body, God will sympathize." The old man sighed softly again, "Within half a month, you will eat this wild deer and ten mountain turtles for your mother. You are not allowed to keep anything. Yingyu, you look after your mother." "Yes, follow mother's order." Yingyu happily walked to the bed with the pottery bowl in her hand, "Brother, start now." Uncle Hei walked in and cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager set up an altar to offer sacrifices to the heavens before entering the mountain. After entering the mountain, she ran into this deer at the first pass. After shooting the wild deer, the ten small mountain turtles climbed out of the rocks. This is God's will, please eat with peace of mind, Your Majesty." Qin Xiaogong stopped talking, ate meat and drank soup silently, beads of sweat gradually oozing from his face.The queen mother and Yingyu waited in the room all the time, and forced Ying Quliang to drink the herbal juice prepared by the imperial doctor. "Mother," Qin Xiaogong cheered up and smiled slightly, "I want to send my little sister something to do, what do you think?" "Okay! I can also come in handy." Yingyu was happy first. "Mother doesn't agree." Qin Xiao justly said. The Queen Mother smiled and said, "Let's hear it, what's the matter?" Qin Xiaogong smiled secretly, "Mother, please listen to me." He waved his hand to make Yingyu avoid it.Yingyu shouted anxiously: "Could it be that you want to sell me?" Duke Xiao and the Queen Mother laughed.When the Queen Mother walked to the bed, Duke Xiao whispered, and the Queen Mother pondered for a long time, "Jiu Jiu Lao Qin, we will go to the national disaster together. How can the children of the public family go outside, go, she has grown up too." Yingyu happily shook the Empress Dowager's arm: "Mother agrees? That's good!" "I don't know what's going on, what's the reason for being happy?" The Empress Dowager said with a straight face. Yingyu smiled and said: "Anything is a good thing, anyway, Yingyu is useful." "Sell you to Wei Guo. Are you happy?" Xiao Zheng said grimly. "Ah—?" Yingyu screamed, "Really?" Empress Dowager Xiaogong burst out laughing, Yingyu also laughed crisply, and made a grimace at Qin Xiaogong. At five o'clock, Qin Xiaogong was in good spirits, so he practiced swordsmanship in the short soldier hall.He was very thoughtful, and when he wrote the blood stele yesterday, he cut off two fingers of his left hand.His right hand is too important to him, at least he must use it to hold a pen and a sword.So even though he was wearing a cloth belt on his left hand, it still didn't affect his morning exercise.After practicing the sword, the sky was already bright, and Lao Linyu stopped for a while, but the dark clouds in the sky were rushing westward.As the saying goes in the Qin Dynasty, the cloud goes to the west, and the water drops.It seems that the old rain from the sky still has to fall.When Qin Xiaogong came to the study, it happened that Zuo Shuchang Yingqian sent an urgent report: the first 20,000 cavalry had approached Longxi, and the next 20,000 cavalry could arrive within three days, and there was no movement in the direction of Rong and Di.Yingqian declared that 40,000 cavalry were enough to suppress the rebellion, and decided not to send troops westward.Qin Xiaogong thought for a while, and wrote a letter to the military envoy, agreeing with Yingqian's deployment, and finally rewrote eight big characters: Don't slack off, you must win all.After sealing the secret letter, the military envoy left in a hurry.Qin Xiaogong looked at the sky and saw that it was already bright, so he called Uncle Hei to lead the horse, and took two guards out of the east gate of Liyang City. Ten miles out of the city, there is a patch of willows and willows on the side of the road. The drizzle has stopped, and the breeze is swaying, and it is always green.Hidden in the fresh green is a stone pavilion made of stone pillars and slabs. Although it is rough and simple, it is spacious and clean.On the stone table in the pavilion are two large pottery bowls filled with clear rice wine.There is a shiny bronze cart parked on the approach road outside the pavilion. Although it is only pulled by two horses, the horse posture of Xiongjun is extraordinary at first glance.Beside the chariot stood ten strong men in red clothes, each with a solid-colored horse beside them.There are also four caravans covered with cowhide that are tightly covered by cowhide parked on the side of the road.Under the new green willows, stands a luxurious and splendid figure, with a red embroidered gold cloak and a six-inch white jade crown on his head, making his back look graceful and graceful.From the eyes of ordinary people, this group of people can only be giant merchants from Shandong. How can the poor and weak state of Qin have such a convoy of rich merchants? The luxurious master is under the willows, but his eyes are constantly looking towards the east gate of Yueyang.Finally, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.Gradually, the three fast horses from the east gate of Liyang came galloping from the relatively dry grass.When they arrived at Shili Pavilion, the three knights walked into the willow grove and got off their horses. The leader laughed loudly, "Okay! You have transformed yourself, and you are really rich and powerful. It is a good omen for you to succeed." The handsome and luxurious young man bowed deeply, "Your Majesty, it's inconvenient to stay on the side of the road for a long time. If there is no order, Jing Jian will leave and leave." "It should be so. Come on, you and I will make a bowl of old Qin wine together, and do it for you." He said, holding Jing Jian's hand and entering the stone pavilion, "Do you remember what I said about sending you a helper?" "Remember, your majesty has not sent it all the time, so the minister has been negligent." "Today I will hand this person over to you. Hei Lin, come here and meet the special envoy." "Of order!" After hearing a crisp answer, a warrior behind Qin Xiaogong came up and bowed to Jing Jian, "Chief Commander Hei Lin, I have seen the special envoy." Jing Jian glanced at him, he was young and handsome, with a crisp voice, and a thought flashed in his mind: such a woman, how could he be a commander in chief?However, he immediately thought that since the monarch recommended him, he must not be a mediocre person, so he smiled and said, "Okay, you can be the manager for me." The young Hei Lin puffed up his chest and said loudly, "Observe!" Behind Jing Jian is like a personal manager. Qin Xiaogong warned, "Hei Lin is the eldest grandson of Uncle Hei, and lacks experience. Hei Bo asked you to supervise him strictly." "Jing Jian understands." Qin Xiaogong picked up the pottery bowl, stood up solemnly and said: "Do it for the king, do it!" Jing Jian held up the bowl with both hands, "Despite ten thousand deaths, the mission will not be disgraceful. Do it!" The pottery bowls collided, and the two of them raised the bowls together and gulped down. "Farewell, sir." Supervisor Jing bowed deeply. "Let's go, I'm here to watch you go on your way." Qin Xiaogong bowed his hands in awe, "Seeking skins from tigers, you cherish yourself." "Your Majesty, take care, there will be a period later." Jing Jian stepped on the cart, made the last push, and rumbled away.The young and handsome Hei Lin turned his head and glanced at Qin Xiaogong, then got on his horse and galloped away. In the verdant willow forest, Qin Xiaogong watched the red chariots and horses disappearing into the rain and fog.He whipped the horse, turned around and galloped out of the willow forest, heading towards Liyang City.