In the twenty-eighth year of the First Emperor, shortly after the death of Widow Qing, the First Emperor worshiped General Tu Sui as Taiwei and ordered Tu Sui to lead an army of 500,000 people to go south to attack Baiyue.
The land of Baiyue was sparsely populated, and the First Emperor estimated that the available troops were less than 100,000. With Qin's well-equipped army of 500,000, the land of Baiyue would be destroyed in one fell swoop!
Tu Sui also believed that this battle would be won quickly. He divided his 500,000 troops into five groups, one group to attack Dongyue and Minyue, two groups to attack South Vietnam, and two groups to attack Xiou.
In order to prevent the Baiyue barbarians from supporting each other, the five armies attacked at the same time.
Among them, the Qin army that attacked East Vietnam and Minyue advanced smoothly and did not encounter strong resistance. Half a year later, all the areas were pacified. The First Emperor was very happy and ordered the establishment of Minzhong County in the areas of Dongyue and Minyue.
However, other Qin armies did not go so smoothly. The Qin army led by Tu Sui personally to attack Xiou encountered the strongest resistance.
Before the march, Tu Sui believed that the land of Xiou was extremely remote and the natives there were free and unorganized. They lived by plundering or hunting and were difficult to control. Even after surrendering, they would easily rebel again. Therefore, it was decided to use high pressure to force them to surrender. After ordering to enter the hinterland of Xiou, anyone who resisted the Qin army and disobeyed the order would be killed without mercy.
The soldiers of Xiou grew up in the deep forests since childhood. They are agile in movement and have strong individual combat capabilities. They saw that once captured by the Qin army, they would all be killed and no one would survive, so they did not want to surrender even if they died in battle.
Xu, the leader of the Xiou Army, called to summon the tribal leaders and said: "The Qin army came to my ancestral homeland, killed my wife and children, and destroyed my sacrifices. Now you will die in battle, and you will die in surrender. It is better to fight them to the death!"
The soldiers all hated the Qin army's brutality and shouted for revenge!
Xu appealed to see that everyone shared the same hatred, and became more confident, saying: "Qin's soldiers are more powerful, and their weapons are stronger than ours. If we fight head-on, we will definitely not be our opponents. We should break them into pieces and rely on the dense jungle to set up various mechanisms." , blocking the Qin army's attacks. The Qin people will not be able to use their formation advantage when entering the jungle, but we can defeat them one by one!"
General Jie Jun of the Xiou Army suggested: "To deal with the Qin army, we must use the most lethal weapons. We can coat the arrows with the poison of snakes and scorpions, so that those who are hit by the arrows will die immediately; and we train them in captivity. The wild beasts must be released to attack the Qin army during battle." Jie Jun was originally a nobleman of the Chu State. After the fall of the Chu State, he defected to Xiou, hoping to seek an opportunity to avenge Chu.
The soldiers shouted for revenge again!
After the Qin army entered the land of Xiou, they found that the main force of the Xiou army could not be found at all, but they were often harassed by the soldiers of the Xiou army. Tu Sui had no choice but to order the Qin army to enter the jungle in units of one hundred people to search for the Xiou army. The Xiou army set up various ambushes based on the geographical location. The Qin army suffered heavy losses and the battle was extremely tragic.
It happened that the weather was hot at this time, and the Qin army was mostly from the north and was not used to it. The plague began to spread among the army. The Xiou army began to counterattack and cut off the Qin army's food route. The situation was extremely critical, and Tu Sui wrote to the First Emperor, asking for reinforcements.
The First Emperor was unwilling to fail, so he ordered the 100,000 troops who had already won the victory to enter Xiou to rescue the Tu Sui army.
However, as soon as the new army arrived in Baiyue, they were immediately infected with the plague and their combat effectiveness was sharply reduced. Although the Qin army fought tenaciously, they could not take advantage of the Xiou army, which had a geographical advantage.
Seeing that it was difficult to win quickly, Tu Sui decided to outsmart him. He said to his deputy general Zhao Tuo: "The art of war says that to capture the thief first, capture the king. Now our army is trapped here. If we don't kill their leader, it will be difficult to escape."
Zhao Tuo said: "General Tu is wise, kill their leader, and the Xiou army will be defeated!"
So the soldiers who were destined to deliver grain and grass to Tu Sui no longer marched secretly, and the regulation of transporting grain at night was changed to transporting grain and grass with great fanfare during the day.
After Xu Qingping got the news, he went to check it out in person. He was very excited when he saw that the Qin army's grain transport team stretched for hundreds of meters. Deputy leader Jie Jun reminded: "The Qin army may have a conspiracy to transport grain in such a high-profile manner."
Xu appealed: "Sir, you are too worried. The Qin army has been cut off by us several times. Now it must be short of food and grass. It is out of desperation that we choose to transport food and grass day and night! Brothers, follow me down the mountain to kill the Qin thieves!"
Jie Jun said: "General, think twice, the Qin army is cunning! There may be an ambush."
Xu appealed: "You people in the Central Plains have a lot of things to do. If you are afraid, you can stay here for the time being and wait for my return after victory!"
So Xu called on thousands of Xiou troops to rush over. The food guards of the Qin army retreated and fled after only a little resistance. Xu expressed great joy and ordered his soldiers to inspect the grain and grass they had grabbed.
The soldiers opened the sacks carrying grain and found that it was full of sand and gravel, and immediately reported Xu's appeal. Xu Qingping was shocked and said: "No! Escape quickly!"
At this moment, the Qin army's rockets came like a rainstorm, and the Xiou army could not avoid them, so they were hit by arrows one after another. The sacks transported by the Qin army contained a large amount of saltpeter and kerosene. When they saw the open flame, they immediately burned.
Xu Qingping also died in the rebellion.
The news soon spread to the Xiou Army, and the soldiers of Xiou were extremely sad and angry! He shouted: "The Qin army is so cunning and cruel, we must avenge our leader!"
"Yes, we must take revenge!"
Jie Jun said: "The most urgent task now is to choose a new leader and coordinate the tribes to fight against the Qin army!"
After the death of Xu Qingfeng, each tribe had no one who could serve as the leader. At this time, Jie Jun had won the trust of the soldiers of Xiou, and they unanimously elected Jie Jun as their new leader.
Jie Jun saw that he could not shirk, so he said: "Brothers trust me so much, it would be unjust for me to shirk anymore! I swear that I will avenge Chief Xu and kill Tu Sui!"
The soldiers shouted to kill Tu Sui!
Jie Jun knew that the Qin army had come from afar and the rugged and winding grain transport road was their Achilles' heel, so he gathered all his soldiers and retreated into the jungle, went around behind the Qin army, and specifically attacked the grain transport road. The Qin army's grain road was once again is cut off.
Tu Sui thought that by killing the leader of the Xiou Army, he could quickly disintegrate the Xiou Army. Unexpectedly, in such a short period of time, the Xiou Army elected a new leader again and changed their tactics, making the situation even more difficult.
Tu Sui was forced to write to the First Emperor again, reporting that the Qin army's food routes had been cut off several times and there was a serious shortage of food and grass, and requested that additional troops be sent to defend the food routes.
The First Emperor was shocked that the attack did not go smoothly, which greatly exceeded his expectations. In order to completely solve the problem of grain transportation, Qin Shihuang ordered Wang Lu, the censor, to take charge of military supplies, and led soldiers and civilians to build an artificial canal between the Xiangjiang River and Lijiang River in Xing'an to carry grain and wages. The water canal is called Lingqu.
Faced with the constant harassment by the Xiou Army, Tu Sui ordered more severe retaliatory measures. All Xiou soldiers who were caught had their hands and feet cut off before being executed. Their bodies were hung in areas frequently visited by the Xiou Army.
When the Xiou army saw that their colleagues were killed by the Qin army, they not only were not afraid, but even more resolutely resisted the Qin army. After they were dispersed, they did not hesitate to hang out with wild animals in the mountains and refused to surrender to the Qin army until they died.
The next year, the plague epidemic became more serious among the Qin army. The Xiou army seized the opportunity and launched a counterattack against the Qin army under the leadership of Jie Jun.
Tu Sui knew that the Xiou army was attacking with all its strength, so he planned to personally lead the main force to annihilate it in one fell swoop. One day, a spy came to report that the main force of the Xiou Army was found on the bank of the Xijiang River. Tu Sui immediately led his people there. When traveling to the Sanluo area on the bank of the Xijiang River, they passed by a large forest. Jie Jun had already sent people to ambush in the forest. When he saw Tu Sui coming in person, he was very angry. He whistled and fired arrows.
Tu Sui knew that he was ambushed, so he ordered to retreat and blocked with his sword. Unfortunately, the arrows shot were numerous and dense, and Tu Sui was hit by two poisonous arrows on his cheek and body. These poisonous arrows were soaked in the poison of snakes and scorpions. Tu Sui fell off his horse and died on the spot.
After killing Tu Sui, the morale of the Xiou army was greatly boosted, and they pursued the Qin army all the way, causing numerous casualties to the Qin army.
At this time, the Qin army's food routes were blocked and more than half of them suffered casualties. They were no longer able to attack again. The First Emperor ordered the Qin army to retreat to Chu and temporarily stop fighting. The two sides turned into a confrontational situation.
Not long after the First Emperor sent troops to attack Baiyue, Qin Shihuang received a memorial from the governor of Julu County. The memorial stated that Gao Jianli, a friend of the traitor Jing Ke, had been captured and was now imprisoned in Julu Prison, requesting the First Emperor's order.
It turned out that after Jing Ke failed to assassinate Qin and Li Si found out the case, he ordered the arrest of Prince Dan and Jing Ke's retainers and friends. After receiving the news, these people all absconded. Gao Jianli also disguised himself and fled to Song Zicheng. After changing his name and surname, he worked as a bartender in a tavern and claimed to be Wang San from Qi.
In order to hide his identity, Gao Jianli hid all his clothes and the clothes he had worn. He worked diligently like a normal bartender every day, working at sunrise and resting at sunset. Half a year passed in a flash.
One day, Gao Jianli was wiping the table when he suddenly heard a pleasant sound of knocking. It turned out to be a guest in the tavern doing the knocking. Hearing the long-lost sound, his legs seemed to be out of control, and he couldn't help but bring himself to the side of the builder. It wasn't until the guest finished building that he opened his mouth and said: "Sir, the builder is more than high-pitched, but not tragic enough." , the tragic sound is the original sound of Zhu, but it is also the most difficult part to grasp!”
The guest was very surprised when he heard that a little bartender explained the secret of the construction, and said: "I am an expert. May I ask where I learned from you?"
Gao Jianli was stunned for a moment, came to his senses, and said, "Sir, you are ridiculous. I also heard what others said."
After this incident, Gao Jianli secretly warned himself that he should never reveal his knowledge of building construction easily again!
Soon after, the tavern owner followed the guests' suggestions and set up a special seat for drumming in the tavern, and hired people who were good at drumming to come and play every day to please the guests.
One day, the shopkeeper invited a woman to play genzhu.
Although this woman covered her face with a white gauze, Gao Jianli could still see that she had fair skin and a delicate face. She looked very familiar, as if she had seen her somewhere before, but he couldn't remember it for a moment.
While the woman was playing, Gao Jianli stopped and listened. As the song ended, all the guests present cheered in unison and applauded continuously. However, Gao Jianli heard a sad meaning in the music. Although the sound was beautiful and beautiful, it expressed long-lasting sadness. Gao Jianli couldn't help covering his face and crying.
When the shopkeeper saw Gao Jianli crying, he was very angry and reprimanded: "I invited the local Xueqin girl who is the best at playing. Everyone praised her for playing well. Why are you the only one crying here?"
Gao Jianli knew he had lost his composure, so he quickly apologized and said, "Well... today is my father's tenth anniversary, so I'm crying not because of the performance. Please forgive me, shopkeeper."
The shopkeeper left angrily.
This scene naturally did not escape Xue Qin's eyes on the bandstand.
Xueqin ordered her maid to secretly give Gao Jianli a piece of cloth, which said: "I would like to speak to you sir at midnight tonight at the city gate."
Gao Jianli was very surprised when he got the cloth. But he was also full of curiosity about Miss Xueqin. The best people in the world who were good at building construction were all in Yandi, and the most famous ones were none other than Prince Fu Juwu and Gao Jianli. After the fall of the Yan State, all the nobles of the original Yan State fled. Ju Wu was also exterminated by the King of Qin because he planned to assassinate Qin for Prince Dan. There were not many people left in the world who were good at construction.
When it was time to wait, Gao Jianli got up and went to the city gate. I was anxious all the way.
Miss Xueqin had been waiting there for a long time, her white clothes fluttering in the wind, her black hair randomly scattered behind her back, showing a transcendent connotation. Seeing that Gao Jianli had arrived, Xueqin asked, "Sir, do you recognize Gao Jianli?"
Gao Jianli was shocked, his body trembled, and he said: "Why do you ask this, girl? I am just a bartender, and I am here just to survive!"
Xueqin was a careful girl, and Gao Jianli's slightest movement could not escape her eyes. She asked, "Does that gentleman know how to build?"
Gao Jianli replied without hesitation: "Don't understand?"
"I don't understand? Then may I ask, sir, why he covered his face and cried after listening to my performance?"
"Ah... I suddenly remembered that today is my father's tenth anniversary and that's when I became sad."
"Sir, there is no need to hide it. The people who build the buildings will have calluses on the index fingers of both hands because they hold bamboo sticks all the time. How can a little bartender have calluses on his hands? Sir, do you dare to show me your hands?"
Gao Jianli has been building for many years, and of course he knows that his hands have calluses. He subconsciously clasped his hands and said hesitantly: "I... this... body and skin are affected by my parents, how can I show it to others so easily."
Seeing him like this, Xue Qin knew that she must have guessed him, but now Gao Jianli was still being hunted by the King of Qin and did not dare to reveal his identity easily. If he didn't reveal his identity first, he would definitely refuse to reveal the truth.
Xueqin then said: "Sir, do you know who I am?"
"I don't know."
"Ten years ago, there was a righteous man in the Yan State who, regardless of life and death, single-handedly assassinated Qin. Unfortunately, due to some combination of circumstances, he failed to succeed in the end. The King of Qin was brutal and wanted to avenge the assassin. After he invaded the Yan State, he ordered the people involved to be involved. More than 20 people were all sentenced to death and three of their clans were exterminated!
More than eighty members of Ju Wu's family in Prince Yan's Mansion were killed. Fortunately, the Taifu's youngest daughter happened to be away from home and escaped the disaster. But from then on, she wandered around alone and made a living by performing arts. Her percussion performance was taught by Gao Jianli. It sounds pleasant at first, but in fact it has a sad meaning. People who don't know how to build will only shout praise, and only those who are well versed in this art can hear the sadness in it. "Speaking of this, Xueqin's tears couldn't stop rolling down.
Gao Jianli finally understood that the person in front of him was Ju Wu's little daughter. When they were in the Yan Kingdom, Ju Wu and Gao Jianli both had deep knowledge of construction and admired each other. Ju Wu once asked Professor Gao Jianli's youngest daughter to build the building. At that time, Xue Qin was only six or seven years old. She was innocent and innocent, and she never expected that she would go through such a catastrophe!
Gao Jianli couldn't help but shed tears. He couldn't care less. He hugged Xueqin and cried: "My child, you have suffered. I am Gao Jianli..."
When Xueqin heard that this person was really Gao Jianli, she became even more excited and burst into tears. The two held each other and cried bitterly for a long time before they gradually stopped.
Xueqin asked: "Why does Uncle Gao live in seclusion here?"
Gao Jianli sighed and said: "After Jing Ke's death, the King of Qin ordered the arrest of all people who were familiar with Jing Ke. At that time, all the disciples of the Prince's Mansion fled in all directions. I had no choice but to come here. I planned to end my life. I didn't expect that I would still be here today." I can see you! It’s true that the sky has eyes, and I am the Queen of Fujue!"
"The King of Qin was so tyrannical that his uncle no longer built buildings! Only those who love building buildings can understand the pain of no longer building buildings!"
"Yes, in the past few years, I have buried the buildings and clothes and tried not to touch them."
Xueqin had admired Gao Jianli since she was a child. Now that she saw him, she felt love and pity in her heart. She couldn't help but say: "If uncle doesn't dislike him, I hope to spend the rest of my life with him. I will build buildings to support him outside!"
Gao Jianli was shocked. He didn't expect Xue Qin to think like this. When he first saw Xue Qin today, he felt that this woman was extraordinary. After listening to her performance, he was deeply impressed by her skills. Now that he knew that she was Ju Wu's youngest daughter, he suddenly felt a love feeling, but he couldn't tell what it was. He just felt that he could not delay Xue Qin as a guilty person, so he said anxiously: "This matter must never happen." No, you are still young, how can you spend time with me?"
Xueqin started to shed tears again and said: "I have a blood feud, but I can't get revenge. I am left alone in the world with no one to take me in. It is better to die."
Gao Jianli was shocked and quickly grabbed Xueqin and said, "Maybe I can avenge you!"
Xueqin was shocked when she heard that Gao Jianli wanted to avenge her, and asked: "Of course I want to take revenge, but now that the world is unified, the Qin army guards are all like tigers and wolves, and it is difficult to see the King of Qin. How can I take revenge?"
"I heard that the King of Qin also loves music. I can get close to him with the help of Zhuzhu."
"Ah?" Xueqin realized that Gao Jianli was going to do what Jing Ke did again, and said hurriedly: "It's hard to succeed with Jing Ke's strength. If my uncle is so weak, isn't he just throwing an egg against a stone?"
Gao Jianli said: "If I don't kill the King of Qin and avenge you, how can I be worthy of your life?" At this moment, Gao Jianli felt a surge of pride in his chest. He wanted to avenge the weak woman in front of him.
Xueqin suddenly fell into a deep conflict. This was certainly a good opportunity to avenge her family, but Gao Jian left here and would never come back. She didn't know what to do, so she just cried: "I don't want you to die..." …”
Gao Jianli consoled him: "This may not necessarily lead to death!"
Xueqin buried her face deeply in Gao Jianli's arms and cried bitterly.
Afterwards, in the tavern, Gao Jianli began to deliberately reveal that he knew music. Every time a guest built a building, he would stop and listen, and always make comments. The people who built the building were sincerely convinced and thanked him for his advice.
Gao Jianli's unusual behavior was noticed by the other bartenders. They resented the fact that the guests praised Gao Jianli, and privately complained to the tavern owner: "Every time there is a guest, Wang San stops working and stops to listen." , and often made irresponsible remarks. We all felt that he was taking the opportunity to be lazy and asked the shopkeeper to punish him."
The shopkeeper was also curious, so he observed secretly and found that Wang San was indeed very interested in building construction, and every time he commented, he would be admired by those who were well versed in building construction. So the shopkeeper called Gao Jianli to him and asked, "Wang San, do you know how to build a building?"
Gao Jianli pretended to be surprised and said, "I don't understand."
"Then why do you stop and listen every time someone builds something? And why do you still comment?"
"I also heard what others said..."
The shopkeeper knew that he was lying, so he scolded: "If you can build the building, I will let you stay in the store and go to the hall every day to build the building to attract customers. I will give you double the salary; if you can't Build, then you are lazy, get out of here immediately!"
Gao Jianli deliberately hesitated for a moment and said: "It's okay to let me play, but if I do well, I will let everyone in the county know about it! The shopkeeper can't stop me from going out to play!"
The shopkeeper snorted coldly: "Only you? Okay! I promise you, if someone else comes to invite you to play, not only will I not stop you, but I will also pay you as usual!"
After that, Gao Jianli went to the hall every day to build the temple. The sound of construction is like the spring breeze that "turns green to the south bank of the river", making no sound; it is also like the spring rain that "sneaks into the night with the wind", moistening things silently. The guests were all immersed in it, as if all the hustle and bustle had gone away, leaving only the sound of nature.
Every time he played, the tavern would be filled with guests. The guests said that he played well and rushed to buy him drinks. The business in the tavern was extremely booming.
Slowly, Wang San's reputation for being good at building construction spread like wildfire. People in Songzi City took turns inviting him to be a guest and asking him for advice on building construction skills. When the shopkeeper saw that he was so popular, he no longer allowed him to be a bartender and treated him as a guest. I just wish he could stay in the tavern one more day.
In this way, Gao Jianli went out to build buildings during the day and lived with Xue Qin at night. Xueqin cooks the best meals for Gao Jianli every day. She knows that he likes wine and always tries to buy the best wine. Gao Jianli comes back every day to have a drink with the snow harp and talk about the methods of construction. The two of them have similar minds and admire each other. They just feel that not seeing each other for a while is like a sleepless night and lack of energy.
The news that Wang San was good at building construction soon spread throughout Julu County. When the county guard heard about it, he was very surprised. He said to the county captain: "The best at building is Gao Jianli. There is no one like him in the world! Now suddenly there is a person who is so good at building in Songzi City. Could it be that he is really good at building? Gao Jianli?"
The county lieutenant said: "Even if he is not Gao Jianli, he must be closely related to Gao Jianli. Please send someone who is familiar with Gao Jianli to know him at first sight!"
So the county governor sent people from Yandi who had met Gao Jianli to Song Zicheng to check. A few days later, there was a report, saying: "Wang San is indeed the Gao Jianli of the past. Although his clothes are different now, his appearance has not changed!"
After the county guard got the news, he quickly sent people to capture Gao Jianli and reported the matter to the First Emperor.
The First Emperor was extremely surprised when he got the news! The thrilling scene of Jing Ke's assassination of Qin reappeared before his eyes again. But then I thought about it, now six years have passed since Jing Ke assassinated Qin, and the world has been unified, and the four seas are united, Gao Jianli should no longer have any rebellious intentions, and Jing Ke’s friends are all very good people, and Gao Jianli’s swordsmanship is so high, Gao Jianli must have If you build a building, you will definitely be invincible.
The First Emperor took pity on Gao Jianli's talents and planned to pardon his death penalty. Zhao Gao reminded: "Has Your Majesty forgotten what happened to Jing Ke? Gao Jianli is a good friend of Jing Ke. The two have a close relationship, so we must be careful!"
The First Emperor still couldn't bear to kill Gao Jianli and said, "In case Gao Jianli has no intention of rebelling, wouldn't it be a pity to kill him?"
Zhao Gao said: "If your Majesty really doesn't want to kill him, please order someone to blind him before seeing him again."
The First Emperor agreed to Zhao Gao's suggestion and ordered Gao Jianli to blind his eyes with smoke. A few days later, Gao Jianli was asked to perform a construction performance in the court hall.
So Gao Jianli went to see the First Emperor. Before that, Gao Jianli put lead into the building. When the First Emperor was obsessed with the sound of building, he raised the building to hit the First Emperor, but after all, Gao Jianli could not see people and did not hit.
The First Emperor was furious! He ordered the guards to execute Gao Jianli. From then on, the First Emperor never dared to get close to the people of the six eastern kingdoms for the rest of his life.
Ever since Gao Jianli was arrested by the Julu County Sheriff, Xue Qin has been worried about her every day. She had experienced ups and downs since she was a child, but now she finally met a man who truly loved her. She was very content. She once planned to persuade Gao Jianli to give up the idea of revenge. The two of them just walked away like this, and no one would find him. But seeing how desperate Gao Jianli was for revenge, he swallowed back every word that came to his lips. She knew that this was his promise to her.
However, not long after, Gao Jianli was blinded and played for the King of Qin, and the news of the failed assassination reached Song Zicheng. Everyone who heard Gao Jianli's performance lamented that the world would never hear such beautiful music again.
The owner of the tavern knew that Gao Jianli was dead, but he still wanted to continue his business. He thought of Miss Xueqin. If Gao Jianli was not included, Xueqin's construction was also very beautiful. So I went to visit in person. However, after knocking on the door for a long time, no one responded. When the shopkeeper pushed the door open, he found that Xue Qin had hanged himself, still dressed in white, fluttering in the wind...
