"Let Mr. Nai see how much travel expenses all the officials gave me?"
In the first month of the 29th year of Qin Shihuang's reign, on the outskirts of Peixian County, Sishui County, after saying goodbye to the county officials who came to see him off, Liu Ji got into the bullock cart driven by Shi Changzhou and happily began to unwrap the baby in his arms.
He piled up Ge cloth bags, which contained the money presented to him by the officials.
Offering money was an unwritten practice in the official circles of the Qin Dynasty. If someone went to another place to serve as an official, his colleagues would give him money wrapped in Gebu, which was called offering money. In fact, it was a red envelope as a farewell gift.
Liu Ji has been the chief of the pavilion for more than three years. Although he often takes advantage of his position to gather people to drink, and has an adulterous son with Widow Cao, and his private life is full of misdeeds, he is also somewhat capable. He can use his past relationships to restrain people.
The local young man has maintained good security in Surabaya Pavilion.
His boldness and ability also helped him expand his social circle in Peixian County. Now it was Liu Ji's turn to take people to Xianyang to serve as corvees. Many county officials came to see him off. In addition to his boss Cao Shen, his old friend Ren Ao
, in addition to Xia Houying, the governor of the stables, who stopped to talk to him every time he passed by, and even the prominent figures in the county, the chief official, Xiao He, personally drove there!
Liu Ji felt that he had gained more face. Now he opened the money given by everyone and counted them one by one. He felt very comfortable in his heart. With this money, he could eat and drink without worrying about food and wine along the way.
But after counting Xiao He's gifts, he was stunned.
"Five hundred dollars!"
Liu Ji counted it carefully again, and it was indeed correct.
The county officials did not have much salary. Throughout the year, their salary was less than a hundred shi, which was only about 3,000 yen. Even Ren Ao and Xia Houying, who were close to him, only gave him 300 yen, a month's salary.
"The salary of a small official is more than just fighting for food, it is at least two hundred dan!"
Faced with Liu Ji's question, Chief Zhou muttered: "Besides, the Xiao family is a wealthy person in Peixian County. Why should the pavilion director be surprised if he gives an extra two hundred yuan?"
"Having said that, Xiao He and my eldest brother are not familiar with each other, so why give so many gifts?"
Liu Ji's little brother Lu Wan came over, and he also went west to serve as corvee this time.
"Yes, it stands to reason that I have always owed Xiao He several favors."
Liu Ji recalled his interactions with Xiao He. He and Xiao He had known each other for a long time. Xiao He was also a local and an official of Chu. When Liu Ji followed the ranger boss Wang Ling in running rampant in Pei County, he committed a crime, but Xiao He let him go.
A few years later, Xiao He became an official of the Qin Dynasty again. At first, he was a meritorious official. Liu Ji was a commoner at that time and went to the county to take the exam to become an official. Xiao He was ordered to take a test on his laws and regulations, and all he asked were simple questions.
Later, Xiao He's official career was prosperous. In the wave of imperial script writing, he was the first to be proficient in Qin's seal script, and could even write official script. His official documents written on hemp paper were flawless, and he was highly appreciated by the new county magistrate, and he became an official.
The chief official is responsible for the advancement and retreat of the entire county's personnel.
It happened that during that time, Liu Ji helped Cao Shen, the jailer of Pei County, solve a cattle theft case and captured the stupid thief who did not pay him enough protection money. After his merits, he was promoted to the highest rank. Xiao He asked him to go to the county to collect the certificate.
, and had another conversation with Liu Ji.
It is unusual for a superior boss to condescend to befriend a lowly subordinate.
But Liu Ji's character dictated that he put one and a half taels of money into his mouth, bit it, and laughed and said: "Whatever! The money is real, or Xiao He thinks it's a public thing and wants to make friends with me."
!”
Even so, Liu Ji secretly remembered Xiao He's affection...
"When I become rich and powerful in the future, I will repay you twice as much!"
He waved his hand and threw the bag of copper coins given by Xiao He to Zhou Bo, the chief official, who was walking silently behind the car with a bow on his back.
"Zhou Bo, divide this bag of money with your two and three sons! Tell them not to run away because of their long journey. Follow me, Liu Ji, and spend the money together, drink the wine together, and eat the meat together!"
This statement received a burst of cheers. Behind the carriage carrying grain was a group of farmers in ragged clothes and gray faces. They were a group of more than fifty people, all of whom were recruited by the county according to their names. However, as usual, they went to the county once a year.
The work in the county town is different. This time I am going to the capital of the empire, Xianyang!
Liu Ji turned his back and encouraged the corvettes, each of whom received ten cents.
"This is called Yu Zhong Fa Zheng. We are going to work on the emperor's palace. We can see the scenery of Xianyang. If we are lucky, we can also see the emperor's car passing by!"
…
The other Qin officials escorting the garrison soldiers and corvees were all very stingy, but Chief Liu Ting was very generous. It was not his own money anyway, and he spent it with the corvees along the way. No, in mid-March, everyone had just
After entering Hangu Pass, he spent the two to three thousand coins without leaving any money.
After taking the last sip of wine, Liu Ji threw the bag behind him and began to regret: "I shouldn't have been greedy in Luoyang. I am about to enter Xianyang. I heard that the shops there are lively. Now my wallet is empty.
What should we do?”
But just when everyone reported at Hanguguan, they received a bolt from the blue: the place where they would serve this time had been changed, not Xianyang, but going to Zheng County first!
Unable to see what the capital looked like, Liu Ji and the corvettes could not help but be disappointed. They could only follow the instructions of the Qin officials, organize themselves with people from other counties, speed up their pace, and arrive before the deadline, otherwise they would have to
Those who are punished. The law stipulates that if there is no levy for delay, the person responsible shall be punished with two armors. If the time limit is three to five days, he will be reprimanded; if he misses six to ten days, he will be fined one shield; if it exceeds ten days, he will be fined one armor...
…
The more Liu Ji walked, the more he noticed something was wrong: their group of Sishui County corvees numbered a thousand people, and along the way, there were about a dozen teams of the same size. In addition to the commoners, there were also soldiers wearing armor!
The number of people who looked like soldiers continued to increase. The expressions on their faces were both excited and solemn. Liu Ji secretly thought something was wrong. This didn't look like they were going to work. It was clearly a prelude to going to the battlefield!
But the question is, who are we going to fight? Is there a rebellion somewhere?
Everyone in Pei County timidly listened to the Qin soldiers from Guanzhong talking excitedly in dialects they could not understand. During the break, they occasionally looked at the Guandong civilians, with contempt on their faces. Someone suddenly said something, which made others laugh.
One word came back.
Liu Ji understood. They were saying that they were "Chu people", and that word meant "people who subjugated their country"!
Although the imperial court has repeatedly implemented laws and regulations, the nine states are connected, and the people have the same style, but in each other's eyes, the other party is still "not of my kind."
Ten years ago, Liu Ji, a knight-errant, would have drawn his sword and splashed blood three feet away. But now, Liu Ji, the chief of the Qin Li Pavilion, just yawned, pretended not to understand, and stared at the people in the team.
There are people who turn pale because of worry and fear, and some people run away.
"Don't even think about running away. If you are caught, it won't be as simple as being punished and whipped!"
Zhou Bo and Lu Wan both nodded. The group arrived at Zheng County and found that it had turned into a large military camp. The leading officials handed them over to a captain and arranged for them to live in a simple adobe house.
There was a group of Suiyang people next to the corvettes in Sishui County. Liu Ji was an acquaintance and began to go over to inquire about the news.
After walking around, he saw a young man in his twenties sitting in the camp, using the needle he carried to help his companions mend their clothes, so he walked over and got close to him.
Liu Ji also spent time in Wei, and the two became friendly after just a few words.
"My name is Guan Ying. I am a silk merchant in Suiyang City. What do you call me?"
The young man was a merchant, merchant, and son-in-law, and he was often the first to be expropriated from the corvee service.
"Liu Ji, Peixian County."
Guan Ying told Liu Jidao in a low voice: "I heard that the Guandong corvettes are gathered here to escort the grain and grass to other places. It is rumored that they are going to fight the barbarians..."
Liu Ji suddenly realized that Zheng County was not the end of the trip!
Although the imperial court changed the laws on military service last year, allowing northerners to garrison the north, southerners to garrison the south, and westerners to garrison the west, they do not have to move far. However, the people in the Central Plains still go to these three places because of their large population.
The main force this year is to temporarily arrange the 100,000 people who were "conscripted" from various counties as laborers to transport grain to northern Xinjiang.
"As expected, we are going to fight."
I thought I would be done with working in Xianyang for a year, but I didn't expect to be driven to the distant and unfamiliar northern Xinjiang. Everyone was a little worried, fearing that they would die there, especially Lu Wan, who started to tremble for no reason.
On the other hand, Zhou Bo tightened his grip on the bow and arrow in his hand. He was also from Peixian County. His ancestors migrated from Juandi. For generations, he made a living by weaving silkworm foil. He often played the flute and played dirges at other people's funerals.
Different from his father and grandfather, Zhou Bo was tall and strong, could draw a hard bow, and had excellent shooting skills. When he heard that he was going to the frontier to join the war, he couldn't help but want to take advantage of the opportunity to make meritorious service and gain a title...
"Forget it."
But Liu Ji poured cold water on him and pointed at the group of Qin soldiers wearing armor and said: "It is their business to fight and make meritorious service. We only transport food, build roads and bridges, build cities and dig trenches in the wilderness, and do other things."
Hard work, that's all..."
Early the next morning, the captain in charge summoned everyone and gave them a lecture. The theme was simply that the Huns were invading the north and disturbing the border. His Majesty the Emperor had ordered all the commanders and generals to march out to attack the Huns.
"The military control of Jingbian is not a matter for the border area alone, nor is it a matter for Guanzhong alone, but a matter for the people who are the best in the world!"
The school captain's name was Zhang (yi). He was mobilizing before the war. This man spoke in a refined manner and told the garrison soldiers and corvees about the affairs of Guan Zhong, Youyu, Sima Cuo, Li Mu, Qin Kai and others. His words were impassioned and moved the people.
It’s strange that people’s blood boils after hearing this.
The illiterate corvettes from Sishui County have never even heard the names of these five people, and they don't understand them very well. They are obviously fighting with the barbarians on the border, and they have half a penny relationship with the people from Sishui County?
No matter how much he talked about the truth, it was just like a chicken talking to a duck. But the captain didn't care whether they understood the great significance of Jingbian. After finishing speaking, he announced where everyone would go to serve in the next few months.
"The corvee of Sishui County is the supreme county!"
Then he said: "The corvee from Dang County has arrived at Beidi County!"
The corvees immediately started talking, not to mention how miserable the Pei County corvees were. Among the Dang County corvees next to them, Guan Ying, a silk vendor from Suiyang who had talked with Liu Ji, scratched his head and asked his companions:
"Where is Northland County?"
…
In early April, Beidi County Lieutenant Heifu also came to Yiju Township, Niyang County, the southernmost part of Beidi County. He would wait here for the 15,000 Guandong civilian husbands assigned to him by the emperor, as well as the people responsible for escorting them.