Tread, tread, tread.
Steady, neat footsteps came from the feet of a group of old veterans wearing tattered armor and stomachs.
Each of them has mottled white hair, just like a white-headed man.
Line up, line up.
Advancing unhurriedly through the streets of Xianyang, just like what they did on the battlefield in those years.
Every time you go to the battlefield, it is a life and death test. No matter how experienced they are, veterans who have survived hundreds of battles dare not say that they can survive the 101st battle.
Facing the soldiers of the Six Nations, all they can do is hold the Qin sword in their hands and march forward indomitably.
In those years, everyone did this, and then created a huge Qin State.
Qin is strong and powerful, but they are old.
The figures stretched very long under the setting sun, and the afterglow of the setting sun fell on them, which was a perfect match for these strong men in their old age.
Some of them had no forearms, and their elbows were so round and exposed.
Some of them had their thighs broken at the base, so they had to rely on their old comrades to pull a wooden cart for transportation, with some of their conjoined armor and stomach hanging out.
Few of these veterans have full beards and tails, even if they appear to be in good health.
But if you take a closer look at their armor and stomach, you can see that they are missing three fingers, or have a large wound on their chest and abdomen, or they only have soles of their feet without toes.
Cutting with sharp weapons, crushed by chariots, trampled by war horses...
But most of them did not complain. Instead, they often laughed and said that so-and-so was so brave in the beginning, and Nagong lived longer than him.
On the battlefield, injuries and disabilities are commonplace, and surviving is considered lucky. There are many people who are not affected by this luck.
"Stop."
A group of city defense troops stopped this group of old men wearing armor and held their war weapons tightly in front of them.
"stop."
The old man in front of them gave an order, and the forty or fifty white-haired old men stopped in their tracks.
This scene made the Yishi city defense army on the opposite side hold Chang Ge even more powerfully.
"Is something wrong?"
The old man in front of the head smiled.
"Traveling in formation has violated the laws of Qin..."
The commander of the city defense army said in a deep voice.
In Xianyang City, civilians are not allowed to walk in groups of more than five people, otherwise they will violate Qin law and be imprisoned.
Imprisonment is the most common punishment in Qin law and the most common punishment.
The root cause is that in this era of manpower shortage, everyone is a labor force, and it would be a waste to kill them. The Qin State has endless civil engineering projects that require a lot of labor.
Qin's laws are very strict, but there are definitely not many punishments for killing such as beheading, beheading, and quartering five oxen.
More often than not, they are prison sentences - doing coolies, tattoos - tattooing on the face, and cutting off the nose - punishments that do not endanger lives and waste labor.
"Doll, look clearly."
The veteran interrupted the chief of the city defense force's speech, took out his own body-worn sticker from his chest and handed it over.
The commander of the city defense army took it seriously without any dissatisfaction - he could tell that these old people were all veterans of the battlefield.
In Qin, most people will not look down on those who have been on the battlefield. This is the mainstream culture.
Looking closely, in addition to the names and portraits of everyone on the photo sticker, there is also a title - no change.
The dying old man is not only a veteran who has been on the battlefield, but also a veteran with an unchanging fourth-class title in the Qin Kingdom.
No more than five people can travel together, which is a restriction for civilians in the capital of Guizhou. However, veterans with fourth-class titles from the Qin Kingdom are obviously not among the restrictions.
Smiling, he took it and held it close to his body. The old man didn't wait for the city defense army to speak and shouted again.
"Take out the photo stickers!"
All the veterans shouted in unison.
"promise!"
The city defense army checked the photo stickers of every veteran, and every old man had a title.
Most of the titles of the old people are concentrated in the third-class nobility and hairpin bird, and the fourth-class nobility is not higher. In addition, three are second-class knights, one is a first-class knight, five are fifth-class knights, and one is a sixth-class knight.
The Qin State stipulated that as long as a soldier captured an enemy "military soldier", he could be promoted to a first-class knighthood.
Of course, "Jiashi" is not an ordinary soldier, but refers to a man wearing armor, usually an elite forward in the army.
Moreover, after killing the enemy, his head must be chopped off and brought back to the military camp as evidence of military merit.
With each level of promotion, the difficulty increases at least tenfold. Most of the city defense troops were public servants, and only the chief of the city defense troops was Shangzao.
When they saw the titles attached to them by the old men, these already silent city defense troops became even more silent.
As veterans who have joined the army and been on the battlefield, they know very well what the titles of the old people mean - any one of these old people will most likely have more military merits than their entire city defense army combined.
"Boy, who is your father?"
A one-armed old man looked carefully at the baby-faced city defense soldier who was taking pictures of him and asked suddenly.
"My father's name is Sui."
The baby-faced man replied respectfully, the old man's title is that of an official, with an annual salary of three hundred dan. This is already a high-level title in the Qin Kingdom.
"Sure." The old man repeated, patted the sword hanging on his waist and said with a smile: "Did your father ever say that he had a centurion named Wang Wu who was unstoppable and did not use a sword but a knife?"
"Big Sword King Five!"
The baby-faced boy suddenly opened his eyes wide and exclaimed.
"Hahahahaha, considering that he has a conscience, it's not in vain that Fei Naigong blocked an arrow for him!"
The old man laughed heartily, feeling happy that he could learn about himself from his old friend.
"You, your arms..."
Babyface grew up listening to his father's stories about the sword king Wu, and knew that he was his father's savior and the noble man who supported his father in the army.
The Great Sword King Wu originally had no surname, but later he was given a surname by a general and changed his name because he was good at using swords.
My father, who has never had a surname in his life, looks envious every time he mentions it. Let me finish by saying, you have to give your father a name.
In my father's words, the centurion who slashed countless enemies with a big sword was extremely domineering and possessed of natural supernatural power. He could kill enemy troops with his hands like no one could, and he would always cut people in half with his weapon.
Others would count military merit by holding a whole head, but Dao Wang Wu would count military merit by holding two and a half heads.
The image of Da Dao Wang Wu in Baby Face's heart has always been that of a tall and powerful idol. How could such a brave sword king be missing an arm? My father knew how sad he must be...
"It's out of the way."
Big Sword King Wu patted his empty sleeves and grinned.
"Thanks to the loss of my arm, the general personally taught me how to use the one-handed sword. Now I am more brave."
Da Dao Wang Wu gently touched the baby's cheek with his remaining hand. His eyes were clearly looking at Baby Face's whole body, but Baby Face felt that the idol in front of him was looking at another person...
Da Dao Wang Wu came over to stand with Baby Face and compared their heights.
He smiled and said, "Sui's son has grown so big... If my son wants to live, he should be as old as you."
Da Dao Wang Wu's son also joined the army. He went to the battlefield alive and died and was buried on the battlefield. The one-armed old man did not even see his son's body.
"If Nai Gong lives this time, will you be Nai Gong's son?" the one-armed old man said with hope.
The idol of a noble and high-ranking official wanted to recognize him as his son. Baby Face didn't react for a while, before he could say anything.
"OK!"
Now the old man gave an order.
"only!"
A group of old people shouted in response.
The one-armed old man also responded, unable to conceal his disappointment, and quickly returned to his seat.
A city defense force moved out of the way and sent a person to Neishi Mansion to report the situation, then followed closely behind the group of veterans.
They didn't know what these veterans were going to do, but it was not a trivial matter. They are all people who have joined the army, wearing armor and holding swords, marching in formation, which is a prelude to entering the battlefield.
But the veterans all have titles, so walking on the streets of Xianyang does not violate the laws of Qin. These city defense troops cannot stop them, they can only follow, follow...
"Father!"
Babyface screamed in the ranks of the city defense troops.
After plucking up the courage, he received no response except for the strange looks from his colleagues. He lowered his head and blushed, thinking that he shouldn't have been stunned just now, but now the Big Sword King Wu will not accept him.
The one-armed old man's lonely expression disappeared and he grinned silently.
He wanted to say "Hey" with all his strength and accept this adopted son, but he couldn't.
"It's time to wake up and come back alive."
The old man muttered and touched the sword on his waist.
"If you have a son, get out of here. You are not missing."
The veteran beside him spoke harshly.
"Bullshit! Why aren't you missing me? Nai Gong was given his name by the general himself! Even if you don't go, Nai Gong will go too!"
The old man raised his head proudly.
"The general didn't just give you a name. How proud of you!"
"Then why don't you? Hahahaha..."
The one-armed old man had great military exploits in his life, and his sword in his hand frightened his enemies, and he became the idol of many people.
But what made him most proud was not his swordsmanship, nor his sixth-level title, but the word Wang Wu.
The veterans marched in formation.
The city defense troops followed closely behind.
Two groups of people walked for a cup of tea. On both sides of the street, two veterans joined the group in silence.
None of them had hair, and their shiny bald heads were brighter than the sun in the sky.
There was a deep scar on one face, from the corner of his left eyebrow to the lower right corner of his mouth.
Otherwise, they were no different from the marching veterans.
The city defense army did not ask for personal inspections this time. In terms of identifying people, they believed that the first few dozen veterans, ranging from the smallest sergeants to the largest officials, would be more professional than them.
As the two groups continued to march, the team of veterans gradually expanded and expanded rapidly.
One after another, the hard-wearing veterans who stood there at some unknown time joined the team, sometimes three or five together.
Soon, this team of hard-wearing veterans exceeded a hundred people. There were no pedestrians on the streets of Xianyang, only a team of veterans marching in formation.
If someone could fly to a high altitude and overlook the entire Xianyang City, they would find that there is more than one such team of veterans.
They were like wanderers returning to their hometown, or like ants returning to their nests for food. They were marching from all directions in Xianyang towards the same destination, marching...
There are only two armies in Xianyang.
One is the city defense force under the jurisdiction of the Neishi Prefecture, responsible for patrolling and protecting the safety of Xianyang.
The other is the Imperial Guard under the command of Lang Zhongling, also called Lang Guan, who is responsible for protecting the safety of Xianyang Palace.
Today, the majestic Xianyang City has its third army, veterans.
The first team of veterans arrived at their destination and stopped outside Tingwei's mansion. There were thirty-eight people in total.
Soon, the second team of veterans also arrived and mixed into the first team, with a total of one white and twelve people.
When veteran Wang Yan and his six veterans arrived outside Tingwei's mansion, the number of veterans had expanded to 1,581.
They are disciplined and their silence is golden.
They wore armor and held weapons at their waists. Most of them were swords, but there were also knives, maces, forks, and stabs that should not have appeared in this era.
The soldiers guarding the door of Tingwei's Mansion held Chang Ge's palms full of sweat. The sense of oppression brought by this group of veterans was too great.
This was due to the iron-blooded aura of the veterans. Since that killing aura left the battlefield, the two Tingwei Mansion soldiers had never been in contact.
And the killing spirit of the veterans was more than ten times stronger than that of the soldiers of the Six Nations who went to the battlefield to oppose them!
There are also knighthoods for veterans.
When the first group of veterans arrived, the soldiers came forward to ask why they came and checked the body-protection stickers.
The veterans who came here agreed with their words and came here to see.
Photos posted on the body are basically hairpins, never updated.
The state of Qin only talks about military merit. These veterans have made great achievements in battle. Everyone should be enjoying the support of the court at home. In private, the soldiers in the government have stars in their eyes when they see them, begging the veterans to tell their battlefield deeds.
Now, all of them were wearing tattered armor and stomachs, standing in front of the soldiers. Although they didn't speak, the pressure suddenly rose.
This is equivalent to a recruit standing guard standing in front of a group of lieutenants, all of whom are captains. Not only that, but there are also majors and lieutenant colonels mixed in. Who can withstand this?
"His mother's."
The veteran generals arrived before they arrived, and the unique muffled sound of thunder resounded throughout the audience. He walked up to the veterans in formation with a dark face, stood still, and scanned.
"How come there are so many people! Liu Zi, how many bird people did you find without telling me?!"
The six veterans were also very surprised. They told the veteran first that I was a villain and found five people.
Then he stood behind the veteran and found an acquaintance among the veterans in formation. He shouted with great force, "Black man, how many people have you brought with you like a bird? Nai Gong didn't tell you to keep it a secret! You can't bring too many!"
The old man, who was called a black man because his private parts were too dark, spread out his right hand, which was missing four fingers and his thumb, with an innocent look on his face.
"Brother Six, I'll call you Lao Jiu, Dong. There aren't many of you, right?"
Lao Jiu, who was standing next to the black man, imitated his example. He spread his hands and said innocently, "I called him Ya."
"I only found the goods, loose."
"Don't look at me. I didn't call for anyone. When I wanted to call for someone, I found that everyone was there."
"..."
The veterans tried to shirk their responsibilities, saying that they only called a few people.
The more the veteran in front of him heard, the more black lines appeared on his forehead. Especially when he saw the Thousand City Defense Forces gathering behind the veterans, he wanted to curse.
The veteran thought so, so he did so.
"Shut up, Mr. Nai! There are so many birdmen here who want to mutiny! Go back, Mr. Nai!"
The veterans were silent for a moment, and no one made any move to leave.
Mutiny...it depends on the general's intention.
They stared at the closed door of Tingwei's Mansion and silently clenched the weapons at their waists.
"Raja."
Nei Shimengyi rushed over on horseback and walked quickly to Wang Yan's side, looking at his eldest father's best friend complicatedly.
He whispered: "This move is extremely unwise."
The veteran narrowed his eyes, put his foot on Meng Yi's abdomen, and kicked him three meters away.
Meng Yi never expected that this great father would suddenly take action, and his action would be so ruthless.
He climbed up with difficulty, clutching his abdomen, which was in severe pain as if the Qin sword had been stirred in it, with cold sweat on his forehead, and looked at Wang Ye in disbelief.
"roll."
Wang Ye shouted angrily.
呲～
The sound of the city defense army's Qin sword being unsheathed was uniform.
Neishi Mengyi was beaten, and they did not dare to be careless.
The situation in front of them will deteriorate if they are not careful. They must pull out the Qin sword first.
Otherwise, they were afraid that they would die at the hands of this group of veterans with an average rank of third or fourth rank on the way to draw their swords.
The veterans heard the sound of swords being drawn from behind, but no one paid attention.
They stared at the veteran Wang Ye in front of them and watched Wang Ye pointing at their faces.
"You bird people still have to recognize Naigong's face!"
The veteran pointed to the streets of Xianyang.
"Just get out!"
No one answered.
Silence is Xianyang this afternoon.
The veteran's anger was building up and was about to explode. The veteran in front of him lowered his head.
He said: "Prince, please let us stay. We have come here. Now if we go back, we will die or die."
"Fart! You..."
Wang Ye was furious and had just started talking.
In the crowd of veterans, someone suddenly shouted, interrupting the veteran.
"Raja!"
The veteran became even more angry when his words were interrupted. His eyes were fierce and he followed the voice to find the speaker.
Seeing the words, the old man was sitting on a wooden cart. He had no legs or right arm, and his left hand was holding Qin Jian tightly. Most of the anger in his eyes could not help but dissipate.
"Let me, this loser, stay."
The old man was sincere and worried that his voice would be too low for Wang Ye to hear, so he asked his old friends to push him to the front.
The wooden wheel cart rotated slowly, carrying an old man who could no longer stand up to Wang Ye.
The old man looked up at the veteran, put down Qin Jian, and lifted up his clothes to show the veteran his empty legs.
"These legs were fought with the Marquis of Wucheng and the Zhao army, and were cut off by those Zhao dogs called flying soldiers. In the past, if the army had to continue marching, a loser like me would just kill it with a sword and make up for it. Home."
Wang Ye was silent. This was an unwritten rule on the battlefield that had not been written into the history books.
Medical care in the Qin Dynasty was underdeveloped. Injuries such as a broken leg may not necessarily lead to death, but there is a high probability of death. Even if someone is revived, they will not be able to work.
If the battle is victorious, or if the two armies are in a stalemate, they may still be rescued because there is this time.
But if it is a rapid march, fierce fighting, and a rapidly changing battlefield.
No one has the energy and time to take care of disabled people. They usually give them a good time and then report them killed in action and send pensions to their families.
In this era, those who lose their combat effectiveness and the ability to work are useless people, and useless people are a burden.
"Without the general, I, a loser, would have died a long time ago and would not be able to survive now. Except for the general, no one would care about us. No one would give us a home in Xianyang, give us money and rice, and bring us together as a group of bird people. together.
"No one will tell us that the Qin State is today not only due to the generals, but also to us. No one will tell us that we are not useless people, but heroes. Heroes, except the generals, who would say that a group of useless people are heroes... …”
The veteran, who had a sinister face and didn't look like a good guy, had a hoarse voice.
Said: "I told the general not to waste money on us. The general said that we are Qin's most precious wealth."
The old man, who was polite and elegant even in his old age, was incompatible with the armor and stomach he wore, walked to the front.
"The general said: 'Those who work for everyone should not be allowed to freeze to death in the snow.' The general said that we are the people who work for everyone, and we deserve everything. The general has paid so many years for us, and we deserve it. It was us who protected the general from the snow."
One after another, veterans who should have entered the netherworld long ago, used the life span stolen from the Lord of Hell to tell some nonsense that was not recognized in this world and this era.
The ghosts were chattering, and there were still one or two old ghosts joining the formation from time to time.
Bang~
The door of Tingwei's mansion was opened from the inside.
Meng Xibai's three children cursed and walked out arrogantly.
They either wanted Li Si to pay a price, or they wanted Ying Chengxuan to look good.
They walked quickly after coming out of Tingwei's house, wanting to escape as soon as possible from this place stained with the blood of the three families, and wanted to return home and immediately take revenge on that Shuzi.
These children from the three families who started out as military heroes don't know how to fight, but they understand politics very well.
What Ying Chengyu did today will definitely arouse the fear of all the noble officials of Xianyang's aristocratic families, and they will inevitably pay an extremely heavy price.
No one wants to have a Qin sword around their neck all the time.
Today Ying Chengyu can capture the three major Meng Xibai families, but will he be able to capture other families tomorrow?
Don't talk about whether you will be arrested if you violate the Qin Law. The Qin Law is to restrict the untouchables and is a weapon in political struggle.
The Qin Law itself is not binding on the nobles. It is only binding on the nobles when the nobles fight with each other or when the king wants to kill someone.
Anyone who criticizes someone for violating the Qin Law itself, rather than for the sake of power, title, fiefdom, etc., is suffering from a mad disease, that is, he is sick.
This was not only true for the Qin Dynasty, but also for the entire feudal dynasty. Even the Qin Dynasty was better in this regard - at least in Guanzhong, the nobles did not dare to kill people in public.
Under the orders of the First Emperor, Li Si was forced to release the three children of Meng Xibai's family.
These noisy, gloomy-faced young men, thinking about how to take revenge on Ying Chengyu, who killed Ying Chengyu, walked out of the gate of Tingwei Mansion and found that they still could not return home - the veterans surrounded the gate of Tingwei Mansion.
"Where did a bunch of old dogs come from? They are going to rebel."
Someone sneered.
"Get out! Don't block the road!"
Someone is impatient.
Most of these children from aristocratic families have no fear of the veterans. As they come from aristocratic families, they can't even look down on the regular army of the Qin State, let alone the miserable-looking veterans.
They think that their fortunes and stomachs are different from those untouchables who can only rely on their lives to fight.
But when the forest gets bigger, there won't be only stupid birds. There are a few clever birds that saw something was wrong, secretly exclaimed that it was bad, and stopped going out, but returned to Tingwei's mansion.
The veterans who were talking to each other stopped talking and looked at the three children with unconcealed eyes.
The release of the children of the three families means that Ying Chengyun's order was wrong, and it means that Ying Chengyun failed.
The veterans didn't have much hatred towards the three major families before Ying Chengyu captured them. Maybe some people would say that the children of the three families are arrogant, but most people don't think that the three major families deserve to be killed or deserved to die.
But when the three major aristocratic families came to oppose Ying Chengyu, the veterans wanted the three major aristocratic families to die.
This is not an ideological change, but an absolute personal worship of Ying Chengyu.
The veteran turned around and squinted at the people waiting.
Although the veteran had not shown up for a long time, the elders from the three major aristocratic families who had experienced Wang Ye's fight still recognized the veteran at a glance, and their expressions couldn't help but change.
呲～
The veteran drew his sword.
"How can I say that I have no clothes? I share the same robe with you. When the king raised an army, he repaired my sword and spear, and I share the same enemy with you!"
The veteran sang "No Clothes", a song that the entire army would sing when he was charging into battle.
The veteran's thunderous voice really couldn't express how beautifully "No Clothes" was sung, and it couldn't compare with the beautiful voice of the actress in the palace.
】
But that desolate, iron-blooded, fighting and iron horse flavor. Those actors in the palace who are good at acting will never be able to perform well in this life.
呲～
The veterans all drew their swords and, along with the veterans, sang a war song that boosted their own morale on the battlefield and weakened the enemy's fighting spirit.
"How can I say that I have no clothes? I am in the same boat with you. The king raised his troops, repaired my spear and halberd, and worked with me together!"
"How can I say that I have no clothes? I share the same clothes with you. When the king raised an army, he repaired my armor and soldiers and went with me!"
