To the south of Hanzhong and to the north of Bajun, there used to be the State of Chi, which resided in Qujiang River. It was adjacent to Bashan Mountain in the north and connected to Fulian and Guizhou in the south. The people of Chi were naturally brave and good at singing, dancing and fighting.
Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty, was demoted to Hanzhong and recruited Ba people from Badi to help in the war. Seven clans responded, thinking that the Han Dynasty was in the vanguard and charged into the battle with no disadvantages.
After Guanzhong was pacified, the Ba people of the seven surnames returned to their hometown in rich clothes. Emperor Gaozu granted him the title of nobility and pardoned his people from paying rent and taxes for generations. The Yi kings of the seven surnames took turns to serve as King of Ba, changing every five years.
Another part of the Ba people who had not participated in the war appointed the Marquis of Yiyi to govern the territory. Most of their taxes were collected by the royal family of the seven surnames, and only a few were turned over to the court.
During the chaos at the end of the Han Dynasty, Zhang Xiu, the Ba witch and imperial Sima, was killed. Zhang Lu succeeded Zhang Xiu's Five Dou Rice Cult and occupied Hanzhong. He was at odds with Liu Zhang and united with the Ba people to resist and establish themselves.
Liu Zhang divided the north of Ba County into two parts: east and west. The west was dominated by Han people, with Pang Yi as the prefect of Brazil, and the east was the territory of the Ba people.
Zhang Wei and Yang Ren fled to Bazhong, claiming that Liu Qi had betrayed his promise, attacked Hanzhong, imprisoned Zhang Lu, and summoned the Ba people to revolt, preparing to rescue Zhang Lu and take revenge.
Zhang Wei established himself as King Hanning in Hanchang, and appointed Yang Ren as the general of the country. Puhu, the seventh-surnamed Yi king, was the eternal king of Ba.
At this time, Zhang Lu ordered the edict to be conveyed to the territory. Yuan Yue wondered: "This is the handwriting of the master, asking us to submit to Liu Qi. Could it be that the master has surrendered to Liu Qi?"
"Absolutely impossible!" Zhang Wei waved his hand and said: "Master was imprisoned by Liu Qi. They must have tortured me and forced my brother to write it. It seems that he is asking us to surrender, but in fact he hopes that we will send troops to rescue him as soon as possible. We, our fellow countrymen, The lonely king still doesn’t know his brother’s temperament?”
Everyone was suspicious of the letter, and then Zhang Lu sent a separate letter to Zhang Wei, urging him to return from his lost ways and leave a lasting legacy for the Zhang family among the people.
Zhang Wei became the King of Hanning at this time, and everyone worshiped him. He consciously respected him extremely, but he was not willing to give up easily and showed the second half of the secret letter to everyone.
On the contrary, Zhang Lu sent someone to send a secret message, saying that the master has the help of his gods and is immortal, so there is no need to worry about his safety. He asked them to raise troops as soon as possible to recapture Hanzhong, prosper the Five Pecks of Rice Sect, and perpetuate the incense of the Zhang family.
Du Yi, the Marquis of Yiyi, said: "Since Liu Qi sent someone to deliver the edict to absolve us of our sins, even though he forced the master to write it, it can be seen that he does not want to send troops. Why not send someone to negotiate first?"
Zhang Wei said angrily: "Liu Qi is a villain. He had made good friends with his master before and agreed to destroy Liu Zhang together. However, he took the opportunity to take Hanzhong and went back on his words. How can we believe his words?"
Imperial Master Yuan Yue sighed: "There is a saying in the Central Plains: break the bones and connect the tendons. In any case, Liu Qi and Liu Zhang are from the same clan. As long as they are around, we will not have a good life."
Yang Ren sneered and said: "I fought against the Jingzhou army in Nanzheng before. In front of my master, Wei Yan threatened to settle old scores for attacking Su Gu, the prefect of Hanzhong, and beheading the Han envoys. This is a serious crime of treason, and he wants to punish the nine tribes. of!"
Everyone looked stern when they heard this, and Bawang Puhu said loudly: "Without us Ba people, where would the Han Dynasty come from? Now Liu Bang's grandson is ungrateful and has crossed the river and demolished the bridge. Since they have forgotten their oath, we don't have to listen to their orders anymore."
The King of Ba who has been King of Ba for four years, according to regulations, will be rotated soon. Now that he has launched an army to fight against the Han, he no longer has to follow the old system and let the Pu family become King of Ba for generations.
Du Yi frowned and said: "Pang Yi is in Brazil. If we attack Hanzhong again, we will be attacked from both sides. Please think twice."
Zhang Wei smiled and said: "Don't worry, Sir. I am guarding Hanchang personally. With General Yang leading the army, Pang Yi has nothing to worry about."
Yang Ren said proudly: "If I have this general here, I won't dare to attack even if I give Pang Yi ten courages."
In the past few years, Zhang Lu and Pang Yi had fought many times, with each winning and losing. Yang Ren had won several battles, and the Ba people also participated in the battle, so it was naturally clear.
Pu Hu was excited and laughed: "In that case, leave it to us to fight against Liu Qi and attack Hanzhong! The glory of the people will be protected by us."
Du Yi frowned and said: "Autumn is about to begin now, and we are preparing supplies for the winter. Young people are all going to war..."
Since the title of King Ba with seven surnames, the best land resources have been taken up by those seven tribes. The remaining Ba people are in remote places in the mountains and have to pay taxes every year, which is miserable.
Pu Hu was very generous and waved his hand: "Now that we share the same hatred, this year's taxes will be exempted!"
"The king is really a benevolent lord!" Zhang Wei praised for a while and ordered Pu Hu to lead the Ba people to fight at Micang Mountain. He and Yang Ren stayed behind to guard against Pang Yi's surprise attack.
Du Yi secretly sighed in his heart, is it true that a well-fed man does not know a hungry man is hungry, thinking that everything will be fine if he is exempted from taxes?
For tribes other than the Seven Surnames, each household basically has little food left over, and even fewer weapons and equipment. Life will be even more difficult when going out to fight.
After returning to the clan, he discussed with several elders about sending troops. Although there were opportunities to make meritorious deeds in the war, once he died in the battle, there would be no one to take care of the family, and everyone had their own opinions.
Du Yi had no choice but to appease everyone. No one dared to disobey King Ba's order, and everyone went to prepare for the dispatch of troops.
While sitting in the lobby, a young man came in with an account book in his hand: "Your Majesty, these are the assets reported by each tribe this year..."
"No need!" Du Yi rubbed his eyebrows, waved his hand and sighed: "This year's tax has been exempted."
"Oh? That's a good thing!" The young man looked happy. Seeing Du Yi's sad face, he asked doubtfully: "Since you don't have to pay taxes, why is the king so unhappy?"
Du Yi sighed bitterly: "Liu Qi has occupied Hanzhong, Shijun has been imprisoned, and everyone is preparing to retaliate and rescue Shijun - there is going to be a war!"
"This is absolutely impossible!" The young man said in shock: "Zhang Wei and Yang Ren are the master's trusted generals. They fled to Bazhong, which shows that they are no match for Liu Qi. This man is good at using troops and is no match for even Prime Minister Cao. We and him Isn't it like hitting an egg with an egg against a stone?"
"Why don't I know this?" Du Yi smiled helplessly, looked at the bright-eyed young man in front of him, and asked: "Zijun, you grew up in Chengdu. You are a person who has read books and seen the world. With the situation in front of you, ,what should we do?"
It turns out that this young man's name is Wang Ping, whose given name is Zijun. Although he is from Dangquji, his mother He is Han. Her father died while hunting, and she grew up in her maternal grandfather's house. She only returned to the clan last year.
When Du Yi saw that he could read and write, he ordered him to take charge of the household register of the clan. He occasionally made suggestions and suggestions, but they all worked wonders. Although he asked him casually, he had some expectations.
Wang Ping replied: "Zhang Wei was unwilling to surrender and tried to resist. However, King Ba did not want to be rotated again and wanted to be the eternal King of Ba. They each have their own agenda, but they do not care about the safety of their clansmen, which will definitely lead to disaster."
"What Zijun said makes sense!" Du Yi was secretly shocked and asked, "But King Ba has an order and we cannot disobey it. What can we do?"
Wang Ping thought for a moment and said seriously: "Mencius said: If the emperor is unkind, he will not protect the world; if the princes are unkind, he will not protect the country. Since the founding of the Han Dynasty, the seven surnames have been superior. They are like the traitors in the court, arrogance and domineering, and the resentment of the people. King Ba is unkind. , self-destruction may be a good opportunity to reorganize the order of all races."
"As the saying goes, there is no establishment without destruction -" Du Yi took a deep breath, stood up and patted Wang Ping's shoulder heavily: "You come with me on the expedition, and we will act accordingly."
