Chapter 86: Attacking the Baiyue [Jinjiang Authentic Edition - Fan Kuai Joins the Army]...
Due to his poor family background and the death of his parents, Han Xin had to suppress his self-esteem at a young age and endure the disgusted looks of the villagers. He grew up begging for food from hundreds of families and received too much malice from childhood to adulthood. These painful past events not only made him more intelligent than his peers, but also made him extremely sensitive to the eyes of others.
As soon as Meng Neishi finished speaking, the five nobles in gorgeous clothes standing in front of him instantly turned their eyes to him. Although there was surprise and curiosity in their eyes, there was no contempt or disgust at all.
This look without any malice protected the self-esteem of a poor young boy who had just arrived.
Whether the family traditions of a noble family are upright and whether the people's hearts are upright can often be seen from the attitude of the family members towards a humble commoner.
Han Xin, who had a good initial impression of the Meng family, let go of his nervousness, suppressed his embarrassment, and leaned over to the five people in front of him and said:
"I, Han Xin, have come from Huaiyin, Chu, to meet Madam Meng, Master Meng, and Miss Meng."
Seeing the child's embarrassed look, Meng Yi smiled and introduced them to his wife and four children:
"Madam, Yuan, Qi, An, and Xin, Han Xin is the child that the Emperor's eldest grandson specifically asked me to find in Huaiyin. This morning, when we met His Majesty in the palace, the Emperor's eldest grandson, upon seeing Han Xin, immediately wanted him to be his personal bodyguard. We could study, eat, and sleep together."
"However, Han Xin is only eleven years old this year, too young and not yet fully grown. Your Majesty loves your eldest grandson and has high hopes for Han Xin, so you have decided to let Han Xin live in our home and take good care of him for a few years."
"After a while, when Han Xin has adapted to life in Xianyang, he will go to the Meng family's school. When that time comes, Yuan, Qi, An, and Xin, you must take good care of him."
After hearing this, Meng Wu, Meng Qi and Meng An looked at Han Xin with even more surprise. Meng Xin, who was only five years old and standing next to her mother, also stared at Han Xin.
Yang Huan had already understood what his husband meant. Although Han Xin did not come from a good family, he was valued by the emperor's eldest grandson at a young age. As long as he could grow up smoothly in Xianyang City, his future would be limitless.
Compared with the Meng family, the Wang family, as the maternal family of the emperor's eldest grandson, can also support Han Xin. Now that the child is living in the Meng family, he is not a burden to them, but a blessing to them.
Yang Huan, with clear thoughts, was thinking while carefully observing Han Xin's appearance.
Although this child is a little darker and thinner, his facial features are still very regular, and the temperament revealed between his eyebrows is also very positive. As long as he is carefully taken care of for a few years, he will definitely grow up to be quite good.
As she watched him, she began to like him a little, so she reached out a hand to touch Han Xin's head and said with a gentle smile:
"My child, your beloved calls you Han Xin, and mine is Yang Huan. From now on, I will call you 'Xin', okay?"
"Standing on my left are my eldest sister-in-law's two nephews. The tall one is called Meng Yuan, and the fat one is called Meng Qi."
"The two children standing on my right are my son and daughter, born to my beloved. Their names are Meng An and Meng Xin."
"Since you've come to the Meng family, just feel at ease. If you need anything, just come to me. If you don't mind, just call me Aunt Huan."
Listening to the gentle whispers beside his ears and looking at the strange noble lady in front of him with her beautiful appearance and warm smile, Han Xin felt that the sun in the sky was too hot, and his face began to burn again. He then shyly bowed to Yang Huan and said, "Thank you very much, Aunt Huan."
"You are welcome."
Seeing this, the smile in Yang Huan's eyes became even more intense.
Meng Yuan, who was standing aside and observing silently, saw his second uncle's gaze on him, and immediately pulled Han Xin and said with a warm smile:
"Xin, my name is Yuan, I'm eighteen years old, and this is my younger brother Qi."
After hearing what his eldest brother said, Meng Qi also grinned and said, "Yes, Xin, my name is Qi, I am thirteen years old, and this is my cousin An."
Meng An said with a smile:
"Brother Xin, you are three years older than me. I am eight years old and my name is An. This is my sister Xin, who is five years old."
Meng Xin looked at Han Xin and said with a crisp and generous smile, "Brother Xin."
Han Xin was so embarrassed that his entire face and neck turned red.
Everyone burst into laughter upon seeing this, and the tense atmosphere around them mostly dissipated.
Seeing that the five children had introduced themselves, the Meng family chatted and laughed as they escorted Han Xin to the backyard to meet Meng Wu.
Meng Wu, who was over sixty years old and had gray hair and beard, had retired from the army like Wang Jian and was living in retirement at home.
Seeing his youngest son, who had gone on a long mission, return home and bring back from Huaiyin a child whose temperament was very much in line with the Meng family's style, he was also very happy. He repeatedly stroked Han Xin's head with his rough hands and laughed heartily:
"Xin, it's a blessing for our Meng family that you can come to our Meng family. Grandpa Wu is not afraid of you laughing at him."
"Although our Meng family seems to be very prosperous from the outside, the main lineage has very few descendants."
"If you don't mind coming here, just treat this as your own home. You can learn whatever you want, eat whatever you want, and if you need anything, just talk to your Aunt Huan. If you're embarrassed to go to your Aunt Huan, you can also come to Grandpa Wu for help."
Seeing General Meng's passionate look, Han Xin almost couldn't stand it, but his eyes were bright.
He can tell at a glance whether others are sincere or not.
The Meng family is really nice.
After traveling for many days in fear and dust, when the sky was getting dark and the stars were twinkling, Han Xin, who had just taken a bath, was wearing a smooth and thin nightgown, lying on the spacious and comfortable bamboo bed, covered with a silk quilt, and soon fell into a deep sleep.
After just a few days, he started playing with the four children of the Meng family.
Meng Yi felt relieved.
Ying·Little Fatty watched Han Xin's favorability rise from "80%" to "85%" and realized that Han Xin's decision to live in the Meng family was the right one, so he felt relieved.
After hearing the news, officials in the court also envied the good luck of the Meng family. Meng Yi went to Chu on a long mission, which seemed to be very hard, but he was able to pick up the destined person of the emperor's eldest grandson's dream and bring him home. As long as he raised this child from Chu well, after ten or twenty years, wouldn't the Meng family have an extra layer of support?
There's no way, the royal grandfather and grandson really love the Meng family.
Han Xin, who was living in the Meng Mansion and trying hard to adapt to his new life, was completely unaware of the various speculations and discussions about him from the outside world.
The dog days of summer.
The sun is shining brightly.
In late July, Han Xin, who had adapted to life in the Meng family, began to study at the Meng family school with the four other children.
Unexpectedly, after he came into contact with serious military knowledge, the powerful military talent hidden in his body instantly emerged like mushrooms after rain.
Even Meng Wu, the head of the family, was shocked. He had never expected that this skinny, dark-skinned kid from a remote place would be such a natural talent! He was even more talented than the kids born into a military family, a powerful alliance!
Although Meng Yi knew that Han Xin must have something extraordinary, he was shocked after seeing the homework his father handed to him, listening to Han Xin's description of a real battle by his clan teacher in class, and expressing his own immature but very creative ideas when asked questions in class. He finally understood why the emperor's eldest grandson looked at Han Xin with eyes of "picking up a treasure, picking up a treasure" in Zhangtai Palace at the beginning of the month!
Whether a person is a good military strategist or not, only a veteran who has experienced many battles can tell.
After witnessing Han Xin's powerful talent in military strategy, Meng Wu was very excited and wished he could bring Han Xin to his father's grave so that his father, who was sleeping in the loess, could also take a good look at the uncut jade that the Meng family had picked up for nothing.
Today, the two most powerful military families in the empire must be the Meng and Wang clans.
Unfortunately, the situations of the two tribes are very similar, that is, the people in the main lineage are pitifully scarce.
The Wang family, from Wang Jian to Wang Ben and then to Wang Li, has three generations of grandfather and grandson, and each generation has only one son.
The Meng family, from Meng Ao to Meng Wu, then to Meng Tian and Meng Yi, had descendants that were only slightly stronger than those of the Wang family.
As the elder of the family, Meng Wu knew the difficulties faced by the Meng family.
Although the Wang family has been a single-line family for three generations, the third-generation granddaughter Wang Ling married the eldest prince Fusu and gave birth to the extremely favored eldest grandson Ying. The third-generation grandson Wang Li was able to follow his father Wang Ben to the battlefield as soon as he came of age. He was also a young general that the veteran generals in the army were very optimistic about.
On the other hand, in the Meng family, the eldest son Meng Tian was defending the border town against the Huns, and the youngest son Meng Yi was serving as the Internal History beside His Majesty. Although the sons' generation seemed to be quite prosperous, by the time of the grandchildren, the decline of the main line was undoubtedly exposed.
Whether it is Meng Yuan and Meng Qi from the first wife or Meng An from the second wife, these three cousins cannot compare with their father/uncle in terms of military talent, and are inferior to their uncle/father in terms of civil service ability. For a prominent family, if the grandchildren are not as good as their fathers, it is destined to decline.
Everything in the family was won through hard-fought battles. Meng Wu saw it and was anxious. He originally thought that in another twenty or thirty years, there would be no one to succeed him in the army, and the accumulation of three generations of the Meng family's hard work in the army would be forced to hand over. However, the appearance of Han Xin made the old man see new hope while picking up a treasure.
Han Xin, who was among them, could clearly feel that Grandpa Meng loved him more and more. He went from simply treating him as a pleasing child to gradually treating him as his own grandson. He must have something that the four children of the Meng family had.
Faced with the kindness and appreciation of the Meng family, Han Xin, who felt he had no way to repay them, could only cherish his time and precious resources even more. Every day, he studied diligently in the Meng family school like a sponge, practiced martial arts with the Meng family's veterans, and improved his physique.
The young soldier's new life, which was completely different from his predetermined destiny, was completely on track.
The autumn harvest crops were harvested one after another by the common people who were sweating profusely as they toiled in the fields under the scorching sun.
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After taking a shower, Ying, the little fat boy, was lying on the rosewood bed, looking at the system screen and reading the electronic version of "Records of the Grand Historian" page by page. Suddenly, he heard a mechanical electronic sound in his mind, and immediately called up the taskbar with a smile.
On the progress bars of the tasks to conquer historical celebrities, Han Xin's task bar has reached "100%".
The favorability of Lu Zhi and Zhang Cang has also reached "90 percent". Among the blue numbers, there is a red number "negative 24" that is very eye-catching.
Zhang Liang... Zhang Liang was indeed very difficult to deal with, but the little fat boy didn't care too much.
After all, it was already difficult for Old Liu to achieve anything in his life. With Han Xin in his hands, even if Zhang Liang resigned and secretly ran away to Chu to mingle with Xiang Yu, and arrogantly raised the banner of anti-Qin, the military genius would be able to summon more troops to firmly suppress these two people!
The purpose of keeping Zhang Liang was to pull out the remnants behind him, and the same reason was given for keeping Xiang Yu.
At some point, the sound of wind whistled outside the window. The chubby kid, feeling a bit sleepy from the white noise, closed the system panel, reached out to scratch his furry hair, yawned, and then curled up in his silk quilt and contentedly fell asleep. ...
The autumn wind blows, the autumn rain falls, and the scorching summer heat begins to subside in Xianyang little by little.
In early August, after the autumn harvest is completely completed.
The two major events that the court had been preparing for throughout the long summer were finally put on the agenda.
"Merit Stone Tablets" were built one after another in counties across the country.
Cartloads of money and jewelry were also sent to Xianyang along the official road and added to the national treasury.
Millions of laborers conscripted from all counties across the country braved the autumn wind, carrying small bags on their backs, and prepared to head to the construction site of the Great Wall under the leadership of the pavilion chief.
Chu land, Sishui County, inside Sishui Pavilion.
Liu Ji tucked his hands into his sleeves and watched his fellow townsman Fan Kuai, who, after struggling for several days, finally persuaded his family to sign up for the army and prepare to attack the Baiyue in the south.
The 38-year-old man stood at the fork in the road at Sishui Pavilion, watching the back of this little brother, who was a dozen years younger than him, walking away with his luggage. He couldn't explain the complicated feelings in his heart.
Only after Fan Kuai was completely out of sight did Liu Ji return to the street inside the pavilion in the slightly cool autumn wind.
There were also many laborers in Sishui Pavilion who needed to build the Great Wall.
Compared with the labor service in Chu before unification, the first time the Qin Empire conscripted Chu people to perform labor service was obviously more humane.
The Great Wall is located farthest from the Chu area, and the distance the Chu people had to travel is also the longest.
However, the civilians from all the counties in the country who were summoned to build the Great Wall set out from their hometowns with the headman and walked along the official road. The post stations on the official road not only provided them with meals, but also provided them with two meals of porridge and one meal of dry rice every day after they arrived at the construction site to work, as well as a reward of thirty Qin half liang at the end of the month.
This kind of humane treatment is beyond the imagination of ordinary people!
In order to earn three meals a day, two thin dishes and one dry meal, and thirty Qin half ounces a month, even though they knew how hard it was to build the Great Wall, almost every commoner family still contributed one able-bodied laborer. Families with more able-bodied laborers even volunteered to contribute two or three.
Although this magnificent and great project is time-consuming and laborious, there are many laborers working on the project. If everything goes well, the Great Wall can be built in five years at most.
When serving labor outside for five years, not only will you be provided with food on the way, but you will also have three meals a day when you arrive at the destination, and you will also receive a monthly salary. This is much better than working hard in the fields.
Everyone in and outside the court was united, and with the large amount of donations raised in the summer and the abundant money in the national treasury, the massive project of the Great Wall was easily completed in the autumn.
By the end of September, millions of laborers had arrived at the Great Wall construction site closest to their hometown.
When the round snowflakes fell, the First Emperor was forty-one years old and Qin Ying was two years old.
Amidst the falling snow, the First Emperor ordered his court painters to draw a detailed map of Baiyue on a parchment scroll, one-to-one, according to the line patterns displayed on the tall globe.
All civil and military officials knew that war with the Baiyue would inevitably break out this winter.
Sure enough, just after the beginning of the 28th year of Qin Shihuang's reign, when the fluttering winter snow covered the winter wheat in the fields tightly, and time had just entered November, Shihuang sent Tu Sui as the main general to attack Baiyue, and Zhao Tuo as the deputy general.
On the eighth day of the eleventh month, the two men led an army of 100,000 out of Hangu Pass. After arriving in Chu, they recruited another 10,000 new soldiers.
In mid-November, 110,000 Qin troops successfully arrived at the border between Chu and Baiyue.
The land of Baiyue is densely covered with mountains and forests and has abundant water. Even in the cold winter, not a single snowflake can be seen. Even the temperature in the wild is much warmer than that in the land of the Seven Heroes.
The terrible miasma here is much weaker than it was in spring and summer, but it still exists.
When Fan Kuai, a new recruit, followed the main force to the border, he originally thought that the commander would immediately divide the army into several groups and attack different areas of Baiyue.
Unexpectedly, the first order he received was for the entire army to set up camp on the spot, cut down dead trees in the mountains and forests, and boil water to prepare medicine.
In November, the mountains and forests of Baiyue are still as warm as spring.
Following the centurion into the mountains to look for dead wood, Fan Kuai, who had been chopping wood all day, returned to the camp at dusk and saw the Qin people with side buns on their heads all squatting on the ground, digging holes, building stoves and making fires.
He couldn't help but sit aside and watch, sweating profusely.
Although the 23-year-old Fan Kuai personally experienced the terrible days when Qin destroyed Chu, he did not go to the battlefield due to his age. But when he was in his hometown, he had heard many old Chu soldiers who were lucky enough to retreat from the battlefield say that the strength of Qin lay in its method of raising troops. Unlike the six countries outside the Great Wall, which hurriedly recruited large numbers of soldiers at home on the eve of every war, Qin's twenty-level military merit system was complete and transparent.
As early as the reign of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, the Qin army had 400,000 well-trained troops, which could be called a "professional army."
It is easy to imagine who is stronger, "professional" or "amateur".
Beads of sweat as big as beans slid down his forehead and flowed down Fan Kuai's cheeks, making his beard wet.
After watching the Qin army's skillful stove-building techniques, Fan Kuai, sitting on the loess land, ran thirstily to a nearby river. He squatted by the river, washed his hands and face, scooped up a handful of water with both hands, and brought it to his mouth. Just as he was about to drink, a roar like thunder rang out in his ears:
"Boy! You can't drink that water!"
Fan Kuai was caught off guard and was frightened by this. He reflexively loosened his hands and a handful of river water fell back into the water. He quickly stood up from the river bank and turned around to look back. He saw a centurion in black armor walking towards him quickly.
Seeing the other party's gloomy face, he swallowed his saliva slightly, bowed and shouted: "Boy greets the centurion."
The Qin centurion looked Fan Kuai up and down, then frowned and asked, "Are you one of the new soldiers recruited by Chu this year?"
"Yes, my name is Fan Kuai, and I come from Pei County in Chu."
The centurion nodded, put his hands behind his back and scolded Fan Kuai:
"Didn't your centurion tell the new recruits during their training that upon reaching the Baiyue, they must not drink the local river or stream water, but must drink only hot water?"
Hearing this lecture with a clear Guanzhong accent, Fan Kuai swallowed again to moisten his dry throat, and leaned over to explain to the middle-aged man in front of him embarrassedly:
"In reply to the centurion, I have listened to his instructions. However, I have been chopping wood all day and have sweated a lot. I have finished the hot water in my water bag and am extremely thirsty. Seeing the clear water in the river, I couldn't help but want to drink a few sips to moisten my throat."
Under the setting sun, seeing the new recruit's mouth opening and closing as he spoke, his lips dry and pale, the serious centurion immediately untied the water bag from his waist and threw it to the tall and strong, somewhat fierce Chu recruit opposite him, then continued to curse loudly:
"Now that you've left home to join the army, the first thing you must do upon arriving at the barracks is to learn to unconditionally obey the orders of your superiors!"
"Your centurion's speech was unclear. This land of Baiyue is extremely dangerous. Not only are the snakes and insects poisonous, the miasma is poisonous, but even the clear river water within the dense forests and mountains is poisonous and carries insects invisible to the naked eye! Anyone who drinks from it will suffer from diarrhea and die!"
"No matter how thirsty you are, you must wait for the water to boil before drinking! This is a military order! Today, I will spare you this time because you are a new recruit. If I catch you again, I will definitely drag you to your centurion for punishment!"
Fan Kuai, who had just been trained as a new soldier for a short time, was completely stunned. After coming to his senses, he stood up straight and leaned forward to admit his mistake, saying: "Thank you for the lesson, centurion. I won't dare to do it again."
After saying this, Fan Kuai hurriedly pulled out the stopper from the water bag that the other party had thrown into his arms, poured a small amount of water into the water bag around his waist, then put the stopper back in place and respectfully returned the water bag to the dark-faced Qin centurion in front of him.
Seeing that this fierce recruit was quite sensible, the Qin centurion took his water bag, went to the river, washed his hands and face with river water, and turned away.
After the other party left, Fan Kuai hurriedly opened his water bag and drank the small amount of warm water inside in a few gulps. Although it could not completely quench his thirst, his hoarse throat that was almost smoking finally felt much better.
After drinking the warm water, Fan Kuai squatted by the river again, frowning his thick eyebrows and looking at the shimmering water surface under the setting sun. No matter how he looked at it, he felt that the water looked very clean and had no strange smell.
I don't understand why the centurion just now said that there are invisible worms in the river water and drinking it will cause diarrhea.
Although Fan Kuai couldn't understand the reason behind this, he had already felt the strict military discipline in the Qin army. He sighed and quickly turned around to return to the camp.
After dark.
Except for the generals with high positions who had tents to rest, the ordinary soldiers slept in groups, lighting campfires and sleeping on the ground.
Fan Kuai, a new recruit who had been chopping firewood in the dense forest all day while being bitten by mosquitoes, now felt that all the bones in his body were about to fall apart.
Chopping wood is even more tiring than slaughtering livestock and selling meat!
After Fan Kuai had struggled to keep his eyelids open and finally finished listening to the commander's speech, he had just returned to his camp, lay on the ground on his side and was about to close his eyes and fall asleep when he was woken up by the soldier next to him.
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