At nightfall the next day, Lu Jia, who was sleeping in his clothes at the Bashi Fortress on the other side of Zhi County, was awakened by a violent knock on the door.
"Who?"
Lu Jia asked his cronies to open the door, but he was dazzled by the countless pine torches outside. It was a group of Ba warriors with willow leaf swords in their belts, and they were menacing. The leader of the tiger-shooting warriors was still covered in blood. Surrounded by them, there were
In the red light, Ba Zhong looked pale.
Lu Jia knew this and asked, "Bajun, what's going on?"
Ba Zhong asked the warriors to retreat, took a deep breath, and bowed to Lu Jia: "Mr. Lu, something big has happened!"
Next, Ba Zhong told Lu Jia everything that happened tonight.
"Magistrate Zhi invited me to a banquet, but at the banquet he asked the county soldiers to set up an ambush with swords in order to capture me. Fortunately, Magistrate Zhi made good friends with me and gave me a hint at the banquet that the cronies I brought along were very brave.
Of course, not only will the county soldiers be killed, but also the county magistrate and lieutenant Zhi..."
"killed?"
Ba Zhong stared into Lu Jia's eyes and shook his head: "Tied."
Lu Jia's expression did not change and he said in surprise: "Why do you want to capture and kill Ba Jun for no reason?"
His expression suddenly changed: "Could it be that someone knew that Ba Jun was hiding Madam Wu Zhonghou?"
Bazhong sighed: "The county magistrate said that someone spread rumors that I wanted to rebel against the court and surrender to Marquis Wu Zhong, which is why today's disaster happened, but..."
A cold light flashed in his eyes: "I have close trust in the tribe and there is no way that this news will be leaked. I am curious, how did Magistrate Zhi know about it? Sir, do you know?"
It was not his own people who did it, naturally it was only "outsiders". Ba Zhong was the first to suspect Lu Jia - Ye Zijin had been staying with him for several months, and because he acted secretly, nothing happened. Why did Lu Jia do it?
Something happened soon.
"Does this need to be said?"
Lu Jia spread his hands and said: "Ba family has always been on good terms with Marquis Wuzhong, and everyone in the world knows about this. I heard that most of the friends from Marquis Wuzhong's old department, no matter where they serve, are dismissed from their posts and arrested. They would rather kill thousands of people by mistake."
You can't let anyone go, and now it's finally Bashi's turn."
He said alarmingly: "No matter what, the government's suspicion of Ba Shi is real. The matter has been settled and it will be difficult to turn around. Ba Jun, you might as well kill the county magistrate and surrender to Marquis Wu Zhong!"
Bazhong looked hesitant: "The First Emperor was kind to our family. He commended my mother for her chastity and made her a chaste woman. He also welcomed her to Xianyang and built her a Qingqing platform for her daughter. Before my mother died, she told me to be a good person.
My duty as a minister is to restrain the barbarians in Bazhong for the Qin Dynasty, and I must never forget my gratitude and betray the Qin Dynasty."
Lu Jia smiled and said: "The First Emperor was also kind to Marquis Wu Zhong. Therefore, after the First Emperor was killed by a traitor, the princes resolutely raised their troops to pay tribute to the First Emperor and led the Northern Expedition to Jingnan. The person in charge of the government now is a treacherous minister, Ba Jun.
They will not remember the late emperor's old love, and tonight's sinister banquet is proof of that!"
"If Ba Jun doesn't want to be harmed by daggers and poisons in the future, he should raise his troops to respond to Marquis Wu Zhong. This is exactly how to bring order to the chaos and is loyal to Qin, not rebel against Qin!"
Bazhong sighed, pointing to the huge stone fort behind him and the surrounding villages that relied on Bashi's life: "Having said that, once the army is raised, my family's wealth of ten thousand gold will be ruined, and thousands of people will be affected by the war.
."
Lu Jia secretly laughed. Okay, now that the conversation is over, it’s finally the turn to bargain.
Ba Zhong said so much, but he just asked Lu Jia in a roundabout way: "If I agree to raise troops, what can Marquis Wu Zhong give me?"
A businessman never does unprofitable business, not to mention that the risk is extremely high, and the reward he pursues is also greater.
Lu Jia said: "Ba's family first started by boiling well salt, and then he found an elixir cave in the mountains. He was good at it for several generations, and his family was not happy. In Bajun's life, he was able to keep his business, use money to defend himself, and He developed sugarcane planting, brown sugar, Bo slave and other industries, and his family business grew bigger and bigger, and he became one of the richest people in the world with Wushi in the North."
"But since the death of Lord Huaiqing, Ba's treatment has been far worse than that of Wushi. Cinnabar, well salt, and brown sugar have all been included in the government's exclusive monopoly. Ba's can only rely on driving southwestern barbarians and selling Bo children to barely make ends meet. ."
Although Lu Jia is a Confucian scholar and doesn't like businessmen very much, he is now a lobbyist and can tell any nonsense.
"Among the officials of Qin, the one who values merchants the most is none other than Marquis Wu Zhong. If Ba Shi is found guilty, all the cinnabar, brown sugar, and well salt properties can be returned to him after the incident!"
This is a financial commitment, followed by status.
"Wushi Luobi was granted the title of monarch, and the status of the monarch and mother was no different from that of Wushi Luo. Therefore, after her death, the world often addressed her as 'Huaiqing Jun'. Unfortunately, this is not a formal title. , failed to pass on to his son."
"Ba's family is originally the queen of the emperor, and can be said to be rich and noble. It is not appropriate to have a real name but no name. Marquis Wu Zhong promised that when the matter is completed, Ba Jun can be officially named Huaiqing Jun, and his descendants will continue this title!"
Ba Zhong was moved.
In the country of Cuba, after Lin Jun, they were divided into five clans, namely the Ba clan, the Fan clan, the Xi clan, the Xiang clan, and the Zheng clan, which constituted the ruling class of the Ba clan and were called the "Inner Five clans", located in the core area. Among them, the Ba family is the most noble, second only to the royal family with the Ji surname. In addition, Cong (cong), Pu, Ju, Gong, Lu, Ráng, Yi, and Dàn are the "eight outer tribes" located in Ba surrounding areas of the country.
Although the Ba Kingdom has been destroyed for a hundred years, and the royal family surnamed Ji has all died, the five clans and eight tribes have continued. Therefore, the husband's family of the widow Qing can be said to be rich and noble among the Ba people. They are called merchants, but they are actually chieftains. The female chief has always lacked a formal title.
At present, Heifu has promised Ba Zhong the position of "lord".
Although he is still far from the position of "Ba Wang", it is already a huge breakthrough.
Seeing that Ba Zhong was becoming more and more shaken, Lu Jia kept up his efforts and said, "Ba Zhong can think about it the other way round. If he kidnaps Mrs. Jun and his son, and then cooks Lu Jia, can the government's suspicion be dispelled?"
He shook his head: "I'm afraid not. In the eyes of the government, Ba Jun is just a lowly merchant. Once you leave Zhi County, any petty official can tie you up and kill you!"
"But if you surrender to Marquis Wu Zhong, you can become a prince, and all the goods and products of Ba County will belong to the Ba family. Why not do it?"
"good!"
Bazhong thought about it and realized that he had fallen out with the local government. Whether he rebelled or not, he couldn't tell. So he ordered his cronies: "Send someone to kill the county magistrate and the captain, and none of his family members will be killed." Keep!"
Why did this person suddenly become cruel? Lu Jia said: "Over there in Zhi County..."
Ba Zhong laughed loudly and pulled Lu Jia to the edge of the stone castle: "Mr. Lu, please take a look!"
The two of them stood hundreds of feet high and looked towards Zhi County on the other side. The lights there were brightly lit, and they were all Ba warriors holding torches, making the river red.
After deciding to raise a lawsuit, Ba Zhong's tone seemed to be a little different. He said proudly:
"Zhi County is my family's territory. Magistrate Zhi County is just here to show his name. Since the government attacked me first, I can only fight back. Zhi County is now under the jurisdiction of Marquis Wuzhong!"
Lu Jia raised his hand and said: "That's very good. I will report this good news to Mrs. Jun immediately without further delay. I also hope that Ba Jun will quickly send people to Yu Fu, defeat Ba Jun Wei's army, and assist Wu Chen to enter Ba." !”
But Ba Zhong did not follow the instructions honestly. Instead, he looked at Lu Jia strangely: "As a scribe, Mr. Lu, does he still know how to march and fight?"
Lu Jia sensed something was wrong and coughed and said: "This is the military strategy set by Marquis Wu Zhong. Since Ba Jun has joined the Northern Expedition, it's best to follow it. Jun Hou is a famous general in the world. He has served for more than ten years." He has never failed, so listen to him and you won’t go wrong.”
Bazhong shook his head: "After all, Marquis Wu Zhong has never been to Badi. There are some things that he doesn't know very well..."
Then he smiled and said: "Of course, I am a merchant and don't know how to fight, so why not ask the leader of my family's warriors."
With that said, Ba Zhong waved the giant man who was nine feet tall to come over and introduced:
"This is Danhu, a cong warrior and a tiger-shooting hero. He was squeezed into a cabin and had an old acquaintance with Marquis Wu Zhong who chewed a piece of salt. He once led my servants to fight against the southwestern barbarians. He has a little knowledge of it. Military affairs. Danhu, tell me, what should we do next?"
Danhu patted his chest, which was embroidered with tiger patterns, and spoke angrily in Ba people's language.
Ba Zhong nodded while repeating: "Dan Hu said that Zhi County is more than 600 miles away from Jiangguan, and the mountain road goes south. It will take at least half a month to gather people to get there."
"And Jiangzhou County (today's Chongqing) in the west, which is the seat of Bajun County, is only two hundred miles away from Zhixian County, and the road is easy to travel. If you go quickly, it only takes a few days!"
"Instead of abandoning the close and seeking the far, it is better to lead an attack on Jiangzhou County. All the county soldiers will be gone, the county will be empty, and the guards will be less than a thousand. After the county is captured, I will hold high the banner of the Northern Expedition and order all the people in the county to fight. The five clans and eight clans respond together!"
The Ba people are so brave that even women can fight with swords. If they can really gather the five clans and eight clans together, they will have nearly 20,000 soldiers!
Lu Jia looked at Danhu and then at Bazhong, feeling surprised and uncertain, but this was someone else's territory, so he finally swallowed his words and said with a smile:
"In the Battle of Muye, Ba Shi was brave and brave. As a vanguard, he sang and danced to conquer the Yin people. He killed the Yin people with blood and drifted away. In the old world, it was called: King Wu defeated Zhou. He sang before and danced after. In this case, I only hope that Ba Jun can be effective. The ancestors of the past were the vanguard of the teachers of the benevolent..."
"As it should be."
"Lu Jia still needs to report to Mrs. Jun. Can you send me to another village overnight?"
This time, Lu Jia refused to take the slide and chose to walk down the mountain. Before leaving, he glanced back and looked at Ba Zhong, who was standing by the stone fort with an elated look on his face, and said to himself:
"It's really careless, but he underestimated this man. He wanted to take Jiangzhou County first to show his own respect!"
