In late July, at the great court meeting in Zhangtai Palace, Qin Shihuang ordered the visitors to read aloud the letter of success sent by Hei Fu, asking the ministers to listen carefully and learn from it!
"The Xiongnu Shanyu Touman attacked me with his elite troops to the east of the river, and fought with the Longxi and Northern armies. They were defeated by General Li's sudden cavalry, and were pressed by his followers, so they were defeated. At dusk of the meeting, a strong wind blew up.
The minister and General Li surrounded Touman with their left and right flanks. Touman could not fight against the Qin soldiers, so he crossed the Youhe River alone with thousands of strong cavalry to escape. The rest of the tribes also dispersed. It happened that the wind and sand were blowing hard, and our army could not pursue it at night.
, then returned, General Li rode thousands of steps down the river, trying to chase Shanyu away, beheading him and hanging it in the Hebei Palace of Linguang Palace..."
"In this battle, the Xiongnu captured hundreds of miles of land at the eastern foot of Helan Mountain, and relieved the siege of Baiyang, the commander of the Shangjun Army, and captured 12,000 Xiongnu leader captives. Baiyang and other tribes heard that the Xiongnu were defeated, and they surrendered to the south of Beihe.
, it’s all Qin!”
After reading, Qin Shihuang stroked his beard and said: "Driving a long chariot, crossing the gap in Helan Mountain! Great kindness! Only my two generals, dogs and horses, can accomplish this heroic feat!"
He glanced at the ministers and sneered: "My lords, who wants to say that this is a lie? Who wants to urge that it will be detrimental to attack the Xiongnu?"
The ministers, especially the Confucian scholars and alchemists looked at each other in confusion.
A few days ago, when the Qiang and Meng Tian were in vain, the whereabouts of the main Xiongnu force were lost, and Feng Jie was cut off from contact with the mainland for several days, they often discussed the war indiscriminately. They believed that attacking the Xiongnu was a rash provocation. Even if they rushed
If the Huns escape, their income will be much less than what they gain. It is said that "the land of the Huns is rich and fertile, but it is not inhabitable."
At this time when the outcome of the war is unknown, if one of them is damaged and tens of thousands of people are killed or injured, I am afraid that the voice of opposition in the court will be noisy...
But at the moment, all the noise has been suppressed by the great victory in Helan Mountain and Hei Fu's words, "Crossing the gap in Helan Mountain"!
What's more coincidental is that the Xiongnu Chanyu, named Heifu, and Li Xin, who were originally expected to be the main force of Qiang Yu and Meng Tian, met unexpectedly. After a great victory, who dares to say "White Horse" now?
"Black Dog West Tuo" is a nonsense told by wizards? The emperor, who was originally doubtful, was convinced in his heart.
At this point, reports from all fronts have been sent back one after another, and the imperial court can finally sort out the complete story of this war.
Except for Heifu and Li Xin who defeated Shanyu's main force, the other armies did not achieve much.
The veteran general Qiang Yu, who led the largest army, marched north with banners fluttering in such a mighty manner that he frightened all the tribes in Loufan to surrender along the way. They successfully crossed the river and recovered the ruins of Jiuyuan, but they did not find the Huns, only one.
The tribe hiding in the forest killed all its men and pretended to behead them, but they only managed to collect 500 levels. There were 150,000 soldiers and civilians. How could these 500 levels be enough? It was really ugly...
Meng Tian's tribe was slightly better, and there were many cavalry in the clouds. Although they were not equipped with experimental high-saddle stirrups, they still had a certain degree of combat effectiveness. After discovering that Shanyu Wangting and Touman City were empty, Meng Tian ordered his cavalry to scatter in all directions, unable to find them.
It doesn't matter if you get to the Huns' army, look for their herds first!
In the end, a huge herd was found near Yinshan Mountain. It was the Xiongnu Youda Danghu tribe who had not retreated in time. Needless to say, the Huns were defeated. Meng Tian's army beheaded a thousand people and captured 50,000.
Cattle, sheep and horses!
Wang Li, who was Meng Tian's deputy, was not so lucky. He and a captain from Shangjun were ordered to lead 20,000 people across the river south, through Loufan, and across Kujiesha to Henan, in search of traces of the Huns, but they were killed.
Lost their way, that is, lost their way, 20,000 people wandered around the edge of the desert, and finally had to return to the building. Hundreds of people in the army died of thirst or disappeared.
This little General Wang cannot get rid of the title of "Lost Colonel".
Of course, his losses were nothing compared to Feng Jie. Feng Jie was the real defeat. Three thousand chariots and cavalry were wiped out by the Xiongnu, and there were many casualties among the infantry. Even in the north, the two armies of Longxi and the Xiongnu
During the decisive battle, Feng Jie still "sidled on the sidelines". Although he argued that he suspected that it was the Huns' plan and did not dare to attack rashly, Qin Shihuang did not intend to forgive him.
Qin Shihuang said slowly: "The Art of War says that rewards and punishments should not be slowed down. Failure to reward will lead to suspicion, failure to punish will lead to laziness, and the army will not be in order. Collect the rewards and punishments of the army, and discuss them widely to achieve great results. Today, all the ministers will discuss the generals.
The merit!"
Tingwei Li Si came to the county to supervise the army, but the prime minister did not care about this matter. The post of Taiwei was no longer established after the death of Wei Liao, so Qin Shihuang raised his hand and directly ordered Feng Quji, the imperial censor, to preside over the court meeting.
Feng Quji hurriedly came out and said: "I was defeated by Hu because of my unworthy son. I lost my master and humiliated the country. As my father, I should avoid suspicion and not discuss it..."
The emperor said: "Qi Huangyang is a lieutenant of the Jin State, in charge of prison and prison affairs. He does not avoid enemies when doing external actions, and does not avoid children when doing internal actions. He does this, and he punishes him in the same way. He can do it, but you can't?"
Zhao Gao, who was standing in front of His Highness, shrank his head. Anyone who understood could hear that the emperor was angry. He was angry about nothing else but Feng Jie's defeat, which made this war that should have been a complete victory more difficult.
flaw.
Your Majesty, the Emperor, does not like flaws.
Feng Quji had no choice but to obey the order and said: "May I ask Your Majesty, when it comes to the merits of a general, should he use the strategy of beheading or the strategy of expanding the territory?"
These are the two ways the Qin Dynasty calculated merit, beheading or seizing the city.
Qin Shihuang said calmly: "Beheading is the main thing."
Feng Quji understood immediately. After talking with everyone in the Royal Envoy's Mansion, he quickly made an assessment of the generals in accordance with the promotion regulations for meritorious titles in the decree.
In the north and Longxi, beheading 12,000 people was certainly a great achievement, and it was twice as good as Yinglun, enough for Li Xin and Heifu to be promoted to two levels in a row; Meng Tian captured Mancheng, and as for Beihe, he beheaded a thousand people and captured a lot of livestock.
It should be regarded as medium merit; Qiang Yu's surrender of Lou Fan, the capture of Jiuyuan's ancient city, and the beheading of five hundred people can only be regarded as minor merit.
Wang Li missed the mark, but no one stipulated when and where he must arrive for the battle. It is not considered a miss, it is a minor offense!
When it came to the most difficult part to judge, the censors secretly glanced at Feng Quji. He looked serious. In front of the emperor's ministers, not only did he not dare to let his son go, he even deliberately increased the punishment!
After the agreement was reached, Feng Quji was about to report the results to Qin Shihuang, but another military report arrived!
…
"It's Li Xin's good news."
Qin Shihuang took it and took a look at it. Long Yan was overjoyed. Since it was good news, he asked the visitor to read it out in front of everyone and let the historian write it down quickly.
"Li Xin, the captain of Longxi Province, pays his respects again. I chase Touman with his light cavalry and block him from crossing the fertile fields five hundred miles north of Helan. There are sudden cavalry on the land and boatmen on the water. They kill five thousand captives and kill the left-bone Duhou of the Xiongnu.
.It happened that Yunzhong soldiers were about to encircle them, and the remaining 30,000 horsemen did not dare to fight, so they collapsed and fled westward!"
This memorial also comes with a letter from the supervisor Meng Yi, which has verified the number of Li Xin’s beheadings!
At this point, more than half of the 60,000 people Touman Shanyu brought to Henan were killed or injured, and Meng Tian had led his army to occupy most of the Hetao, rekindling the beacon fire at Gaoque fortress...
At this stage of the battle, all the originally planned strategic goals had been achieved. Unfortunately, Touman ran too fast and failed to completely annihilate the Huns.
Feng Quji had no choice but to ask the censors to calculate it again, and then said in the order of punishment first and reward later:
"Your Majesty, Feng Jie suffered more than 4,000 casualties, lost all his supplies, and was defeated. His army has humiliated the country. This is a huge mistake! He should be demoted to the fourth level and become the fifth official! He will be removed from the post of Shangjun County Lieutenant and returned to the capital to face his punishment!"
The ministers were silent, and many people felt sorry for Feng Quji. In recent years, the Wang family was highly praised by the emperor, but Wang Jian was allowed to retire and Wang Ben was not recruited back to the court. Instead, the Meng and Feng families were gradually re-employed.
, Feng Quji is even a strong competitor for the prime minister, but after this incident, Feng Quji may be implicated by his son, and his status in the emperor's heart will be greatly reduced...
"Wang Li was demoted one level to the rank of Zuo Shu Zhang!"
In this regard, everyone remained expressionless. So what if Wang Li was relegated to a commoner? Old General Wang Jian only had a few years to live. According to the rules, after his death, Wang Ben himself was a marquis, so he could directly pass on the title to the marquis.
To grandson Wangli...
But the weight of a marquis earned through military exploits and that of an inherited marquis are worlds apart.
Then there were the rewards and punishments for Qiang Yu. He was able to be promoted to the rank of concubine commander! This was Qin Shihuang's preferential treatment of veteran generals. After this battle, Qiang Yu would also retire.
Feng Quji continued: "Meng Tian, followed by Hei Fu, Meng Tian was promoted two levels to the commander of the carriage. Wei Hei Fu was promoted two levels, at least to the highest level!"
Meng Tian became the concubine of the carriage, which was expected by everyone, but Heifu, on the other hand, had made continuous meritorious deeds in recent years, leapfrogged through the ranks and was promoted at an astonishing speed!
"Twenty-seven-year-old young master, Ye Neishi has really found a good son-in-law..." This is what everyone thought in their hearts.
Finally, the much-anticipated drama is here...
"Li Xin should be the first to achieve great results! He will be promoted to the Great Shangzhao!"
"Dashangzao!"
The ministers had different expressions, some were surprised, some were sighing, Da Shangzao, this was Li Xin's title when he was at his peak!
After Li Xin was defeated in the attack on Chu, he was beaten to the end by Qin Shihuang, became a fifth official, and went to Daibei as a school captain. He was ashamed and ashamed, and his hair turned gray overnight.
But Li Xin did not remain silent. He seized every opportunity to make meritorious deeds again, and never failed again. Now he has won two great battles against the Huns, avenging his past humiliation!
"In ancient times, Duke Mu used three defeated generals, but now your Majesty has raised up General Li again. Meng Mingshi vowed to cross the river to defeat the Jin army, while General Li's thousands of light cavalry swept away the Huns!"
"Of course, General Li is really the Meng Mingshi of today!"
"White Horse Flying General!"
There was an endless stream of praises, and all the ministers felt that after this battle, Li Xin would once again become one of the most important generals used by the emperor.
Qin Shihuang was also quite pleased that Li Xin, Li Xin, finally did not let him down.
The rewards and punishments were over, and after a great battle, drastic changes took place in the military of the Qin Dynasty. Some people fell into the deep valley, some were mediocre and incompetent, and some stood out...
"Meng, Li, and Wei, these will be the three most important generals of Great Qin in Northern Xinjiang in the next ten years!"
…
In mid-August, news of rewards and punishments reached Helan Mountain, causing a sensation.
There was a hint of discord in the congratulations of all the subordinates saying "Young Master Lieutenant Commander".
"If the general had listened to me and led his troops northward to chase Shan Yu, I'm afraid he would have been killed by the Great Lord now!"
Because of his bravery in two battles last year and this year, Ao Dun was satisfied that he had become a "public official". He felt sorry for the black husband.
However, Hei Fu just took it indifferently, showing no intention of being jealous of Li Xin. He even said secretly, "Thanks to Li Xin for blocking the gun for me."
My wife had long advised Mr. Hei that it is not a good thing to be too sharp when you are young. The faster you climb, the worse you will fall.
Therefore, during this war, Heifu hid behind Li Xin's light many times.
Therefore, instead of rushing to compete for the top spot, Hei Fu set up camp at the eastern foot of Helan Mountain, built a city, and ordered his soldiers and civilians to open up some fertile fields, dig ditches, and plant wheat.
At the moment, there is great joy outside: the Qin soldiers are cheering, and thanks to the beheading of those prisoners, the 30,000 soldiers of the Beidi and Shangjun armies have been rewarded, and each of them has been promoted to one level, and they will go north together with Li Xin to pursue Shan.
Yu's cavalry has two levels each!
The civilians were a little dazed. Facing the reward from the imperial court, they felt mixed joy and sorrow and remained silent.
It turned out that Qin Shihuang's reply to the proposal of Heifu and Fusu came together with the officers and soldiers. The emperor may have been happy because of the victory this time, but he followed the good example and agreed to share the work with the civilian husbands.
"The victory of the Qin Dynasty is as good as that of cattle and horses. No one is unworthy of virtue, let alone the head of Guizhou?"
Therefore, the deceased civilian husbands were given pensions, just like those who died as soldiers, and they were allowed to be buried in the local cemetery of loyal soldiers. After the establishment of counties and counties, the government would pay homage on time.
As for the living, the emperor strictly abides by military regulations and does not think it is appropriate to grant titles. However, he can grant fifty acres of land to those who have no land in accordance with the law.
But the problem is that the fields granted are all at the eastern foot of Helan Mountain!
"Those who have a family and a wife will be allowed to move back to their place of origin after completing their military service...those without wives or children will be settled in the Helan Mountains and settled in the garrison. The government will marry the local Aries and Loufan Hu girls as their wives!"
When he saw this, Heifu was stunned for a moment, then secretly muttered: