In mid-September, it was a sunny day with clear sky and clear clouds. A distance (30 miles) southeast of Yiqu City, an infantry and cavalry army of more than a thousand people was setting off from its garrison.
"Commander Lieutenant, after walking for more than ten miles and passing through Yehugou, we can reach Dayuan!"
Beidi County Lieutenant Heifu sat on the carriage and unfolded the map with both hands to check. Yiqu City, Dayuan, Pengyang City, etc. were all on it, but he could not find the place "Yehugou". He couldn't help but cast doubtful eyes on it.
The young man who led the way: hundreds of generals and soldiers from the county, surrounded by the king.
Wang Wei is a native of Yuzhi County. He is only in his early twenties. Heifu took office as a new official. When he inspected the county soldiers, he found that the one hundred people under Wang Wei's command were the most orderly. After questioning, Wang Wei's parents were both
The Qin people, who had never committed any crime for generations and had a good family, and who could speak fluent Guanzhong dialect, made him one of their own generals.
Although as a personal guard, Wang Wei is not as knowledgeable as Xiao Tao, but Wang Wei is also a typical northwest boy, straightforward and honest.
When asked by Hei Fu, he came to his senses, scratched his head and said, "I forgot, Yehugou is the name of our locals, and the officials call it Yuanbeidao..."
When Heifu saw that it was indeed the case on the map, he didn't feel dissatisfied. He just needed to know more about the local human geography, so on the way through Yehugou, he asked Wang Wei how the place got its name.
Wang Wei said: "The subordinates also listened to the soldiers who lived nearby. The county captain should know that the villages and communities in Lilu in Beidi County are all built on large and small plains, and there are ditches and gullies down the slope. These ditches
, they are named after the surnames of nearby residents. For example, my home is in Wangli, and the nearby ditch slopes are called Laowang Valley and Wangjia Slope. But there is a ditch named after the name of an animal, which is Yehu Valley.
"
"It is said that decades ago, when our ancestors moved from Guanzhong to Beidi County, a soldier there was weeding on the ground beside the original place. Suddenly he heard a voice in the distance shouting: 'Fox, fox!' The soldier raised his head and raised his head.
Looking, he saw a snow-white fox limping past. His leg was injured. Shiwu knew that fox skins are expensive, especially white fox skins, so he picked up his hoe and chased him until he reached the ditch.
…”
"But there was no right road in the ditch. Shiwu burrowed in and out of the wormwood, chasing the blood for a long time. He only saw a small cave dwelling. At the entrance of the cave, an old man with white hair and beard was sitting, covering his feet and basking in the sun. Shiwu
When asked, the old man just pointed south with his hand, and the soldiers continued to chase him as he said. As a result, they chased them all the way to Dayuan, but no trace of the fox was seen."
"Because the late king had a prohibition that the people were not allowed to go to Dayuan without permission, so Shi Wu returned the same way and returned to the cave dwelling, but the elder was missing. Only where he sat, he saw a stain of blood and a white fox.
hair!"
When Wang Wei said this, Heifu had not yet spoken. Sang Mu, who had been listening for a long time in front and understood Guanzhong dialect, spoke up:
"Could it be that the fox turned into a demon?"
Wang Wei said: "No, the soldier was so frightened that he stopped hoeing. He returned to the village and told everyone about it. Everyone was shocked. From then on, the ditch was called Yehu ditch...
…”
The superstitious characteristics of the Qin people are similar to those of the vast rural areas of later generations. They like to live their lives by reading the "Rishu" of the imperial calendar of this era. There are also legends of various monsters and ghosts, which can be found from north to south and from west to east.
For example, in Fangmatan Township, Gong County, Longxi County, where Heifu once passed, there is a story about the resurrection of the local people after death. It is said that during the reign of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, a man named Dan beheaded someone and abandoned the market three years later.
, came back to life again...
This matter was solemnly reported to the imperial censor by the county magistrate of Jun County. King Qin Zhaoxiang also asked people to investigate. At the turn of spring and summer this year, Qin Shihuang visited the west and investigated the matter again. The local order, the Prime Minister
I don’t dare to say that this must be the case, and I don’t dare to say that it doesn’t exist.
In Nan County, there are also rumors about tigers becoming spirits and mandrills in the wild. It seems that although Beidi County is a border area, there are also similar legends.
Of course, once they encounter something similar, Guizhou leaders will also use some extreme methods to drive away evil spirits. The simplest one is... taking a dog shit bath!
Wang Wei swore that the farmer who encountered the white fox demon took a "dog bath" after returning home for fear of retaliation. They believed that dog excrement was extremely dirty and ghosts were extremely evil. When the two things came together, they would be evil.
They cancel each other out.
Sang Mu believed it. When he passed by Yehugou, he had been carefully observing both sides of the road. He was afraid of encountering the white fox demon and had to take a dog bath after returning.
Heifu didn't believe it, but he would not find anything to help them get rid of feudal superstition. Who could tell whether his time traveling was a scientific event or the work of ghosts...
However, he was more interested in the "previous king's prohibition" mentioned by Wang Wei than the story of the white fox demon.
Wang Wei then said that decades ago, after the establishment of Beidi County, people who moved to Guanzhong came to settle, but a local law was also issued: immigrants from the mainland could settle on both sides of Jingshui and Nishui, but they were not allowed to go to the Great Plains to open up wasteland.
Because Dayuan is the largest "residency" left to the military in the north. While the law prohibits Qin people from going to the plains, it also prohibits the troops of Dayuan from going to the plains without any reason! Violators will be severely punished!
At this time, a red horse rider turned back. He was Gongsun Bailu, Yuzhi County Lieutenant, who had been late to greet Heifu a few days ago.
When setting off from Yiqu City, in addition to the county soldiers, Heifu also asked Gongsun Bailu to select 200 horses from the Muyuan of Yuzhi County to accompany him and clear the way ahead.
"County Lieutenant!"
Gongsun Bailu dismounted and bowed: "Dayuan has arrived!"
As early as ten miles away, Heifu saw a tall brown-yellow earth wall appearing in the south of his field of vision. It was hundreds of meters higher than Yehugou. When he got closer, he realized that it was not an earth wall at all, but a high plateau.
This is the largest loess plateau in China, with a length of 150 miles and a width of 280 miles, which is equivalent to the area of a large county. Heifu and his party walked up the loess slope to the plateau and looked around.
Endless flat grassland with occasional forests.
Looking in all directions, those ravines with carved and ghostly sculptures, Liangmao and Yuxian (yǎoxiàn) are really like the undulating waves of the Yellow Sea, supporting this great plain.
"It is large, high and flat, and covers hundreds of miles, so it is called Dayuan."
Heifu was convinced. According to the information Chen Ping prepared for him, Heifu knew that this source had existed since ancient times. King Zhou Mu once led an army to conquer Xirong, captured the king of the five Rong armies, and the rest of the five Rong armies fled to Dayuan. By the time of King Xuan of Zhou Dynasty,
, the Great Plains were occupied by the northern lynx (xiǎnyun), and the Zhou Dynasty fought with them, so the poem says: "Thinly cutting down the lynxes, as for the Great Plains."
Afterwards, the Zhou Dynasty established a stronghold here and made the local Rong people surrender. They worked half-farmers and half-grazers, but they did not register their household registration or pay taxes. After a few years, due to the losses of the Liudu Division and the Southern Division, King Zhou Xuan had no choice but to
Raw material people, hoping to make these soldiers a new source of soldiers for Zhou division...
Later, when Quan Rong broke through the Zhou Dynasty, Dayuan lost control again. This place was occupied by Peng Lurong. Later, Peng Lurong was annexed by Yiqu. Many Yiqu people moved in and intermarried with each other, forming the "Dayuan Rong". Today's Dayuan Rong people
, there are a total of five tribes with a population of more than 10,000, each occupying a corner of the Great Plains, and living a half-agricultural and half-herding life...
Nowadays, Qin's attitude towards Dayuan Rong people is similar to that of King Xuan of Zhou Dynasty. It regards it as a source of troops. After all, it is very difficult for a group of farmers from Guanzhong and Nanjun to fight directly on horseback.
While waiting for the whole army to land on the plateau, Gongsun Bailu also reported to Heifu: "If there is a large-scale recruitment, the five tribes of Rongmen in the entire Great Plains can send out a thousand cavalry, which is equivalent to one-third of the cavalry in the North."
The other two-thirds came from Qin and Rong herders on both sides of Jingshui and Nishui.
Nowadays, there are only more than 10,000 cavalry in the four regions of Guanxi and Qin.
"One-tenth of the cavalry is from this."
Hei Fu nodded, knowing the importance of this place to Beidi County, especially in the next two years, Qin Shihuang will use a large number of troops against the Xiongnu and Yueshi!
But now, Ohara is in chaos...
Gongsun Bailu said: "The prohibition issued by King Zhao not only prohibited the Qin people from going to the plains to occupy land, but also prohibited the Rong people from leaving the plains. Even the amount of land occupied by each tribe was clearly divided, and no one was allowed to cross the boundary..."
"It was okay at first, and there were not many Rong people. But after decades of peace, the household registration of Rong people in Dayuan increased sharply, tripling, and they raised more cattle and sheep. Every winter, the pasture and prey in their respective territories were not enough.
Therefore, in recent years, the five tribes of Rong people often quarreled with each other. No, on the days when Yiqu Bailang went to visit the county captain, the five tribes started to cause trouble again. They fought and fought with each other to compete for water sources and winter pasture.
Dozens of people have died..."
This is treating the Rong of Ohara as cattle and sheep. Hei Fu nodded and asked the military officer next to him: "Where is the white wolf of Yiqu now?"
To domesticate cattle and sheep, shepherd dogs are naturally indispensable. Empress Dowager Xuan's great-grandson Yiqu Bailang played this role. Although he was from Yiqu City, he was sent to Oyuan to command the army and cavalry and was stationed in Pengyang. The letter asking for help was
He sent someone to send it.
Wei Shi replied: "When Yiqu White Wolf reported to the county, he could no longer control the situation. He could only restrain two or three hundred of his men and guard Pengyang County to prevent those who jumped from Liang Liang."
Ohara is a confidant of the Northland, and the matter is of great importance, related to the stability of the entire county. This is why Heifu personally led the troops. Fortunately, it was just a melee between each other, and there was no rebellion between the soldiers. The soldiers fought and melee, and just pressed "
He appealed against the crime of "group robbery" and was given a lighter sentence, ranging from death to ghost wages, and he could also use cattle and sheep to atone for his crime.
Even so, Heifu also knew that if the fight between the armies was allowed to continue, sooner or later it would affect his "big plans" in the next few years.
With this in mind, Heifu took out the talisman and issued an order to his subordinates.
"Gongsun Bailu, you and Wei Shi each lead 500 people, divided into two groups and divided into five tribes. Order the tribes to stop fighting. Anyone who refuses will be regarded as a rebel and his superiors will be taken away! Anyone who resists will be killed without mercy.
!”
Gongsun Bailu's heart trembled, but he still agreed to accept the order.
"After quelling the fight among the tribes, I ordered the five princes to meet at Pengyang City within three days and let them get to know the county captain. I will convene an alliance meeting to uphold justice for them! Redraw the boundaries of the territory!"
To put it bluntly, Heifu is here to work on ethnic mediation.
"It's not been a year or two since the five tribes have been hating each other and fighting each other. What are the commander-in-chief's plans to do?" Wang Wei was very curious.
"Have you ever had a dog at home?"
Heifu glanced at him.
Wang Wei nodded. There is a saying in the Qin people: In the past, those who had no dogs and no pigs were mediocre (meaning they were so poor that they could only work as servants). Therefore, even if you cannot raise cattle and horses, you still have a pig and a dog, which is a middle-class home.
The standard equipment. This is especially true for the Qin people in the north. Living a half-farming and half-herding life, how could there be no dogs at home?
Heifu then asked: "What do you do when dogs fight over food?"
Wang Wei's eyebrows were dancing: "Kick him hard, whip him a few times, and then separate those who fight and keep them together. If they still don't obey, they will be killed and skinned for meat!"
"wrong."
Heifu smiled: "The best way is to lure them. Instead of fighting in the nest, it is better to compete with the foxes and wolves outside for food!"