Chapter 376: The Sheep Pen

Though caution is never a bad thing when marching abroad, those hundreds of Qiang and Rong tribesmen creeping warily toward the Qin army hadn't come to attack — they'd come to… grovel and kiss boots.

Watching the Qiang-Rong chieftain in his tribal garb and braided hair bow before Li Xin's feet, Heifu flicked a glance at his driver Sangmu, signaling him to hide the high saddle and stirrups, then quietly asked Qiang Huang beside him:

"Could this man be a vassal chieftain who has submitted to Qin?"

Heifu knew that among the Nine Ministers of the Qin court was the "Minister of Guests," whose specific duty was "managing the various barbarians who have turned to righteousness"; the "Travelers' Office" under him was the equivalent of a later-era foreign ministry.

The Xiongnu, the Eastern Hu, the Yuezhi, Jizi Korea and the Hui state across the sea, the multitudinous barbarian tribes beyond the southwestern border, the Minyue, Ouyue, Nanyue, and Xiyue along the southeastern coast — all the peoples who had established contact but not yet submitted to Qin were handled by the Travelers' Office, which even had dedicated interpreters on staff.

In addition, under the Minister of Guests there was another agency called the "Office of Dependent States," responsible for "managing barbarians who have surrendered" — that is, the Di and Qiang barbarians who had already submitted to Qin and lived within Qin borders but still retained independent power, roughly equivalent to a later-era united-front department.

The Gan Yue of Yuzhang, the Yu Yue of Kuaiji, and the Ba people of Ba and Nan commanderies all fell under the Office of Dependent States. The court called them "vassal chieftains" and "vassal lords," somewhat like the native chieftains of the Ming and Qing; back when Lao Ai rebelled, he had incited the Rong and Di lords within Longxi.

After the praise heaped on Li Xin as the "Flying General," Qiang Huang seemed suddenly to find Heifu much more agreeable, and replied:

"Indeed. In the year and more since the General became Commandant, he has not been idle. West of the Tao River and east of the Li River, for over a hundred li, seven or eight tribes have all, under the General's 'persuasion,' submitted to Great Qin!"

"Persuaded how — with strong crossbows and sharp swords?" Heifu watched the vassal chieftain trembling in fear; he could hardly imagine Li Xin having a friendly chat with him.

Qiang Huang laughed. "The Right Chief of the Masses has it exactly. The General once rode beyond the passes to 'gather firewood' — after he wiped out one large tribe that had repeatedly rebelled and refused to submit, these Qiang and Rong became much more obedient, flocking to request incorporation as vassals."

From Qiang Huang, Heifu learned that Qin law granted privileges to these submissive "vassal chieftains," allowing them and their sons and younger brothers to enjoy treatment equivalent to the "Second-Order Merit" rank.

If they committed a crime out of ignorance of the law that warranted shaving or harsher punishment, they could pay a fine to redeem it. And because these Qiang and Rong people were by nature fond of raiding one another, if a "gang-banditry" offense of robbing another chieftain occurred, it was also handled leniently, commuted from death to "fuel-gatherer" labor. If castration was called for, considering it a grave humiliation, it could also be commuted to "redemption of castration" — paying a fine to atone, or if they had no money, handing over the tribe's cattle and horses as debt payment.

Of course, if they recklessly plundered Qin people, then the judges and the officials of the Office of Dependent States would put on stern faces and punish them severely…

Ordinary Qiang and Rong people of the dependent states were regarded as commoners, with no special legal privileges.

These privileges were like fresh grass luring goats into the pen — once inside, don't think about getting out.

The statutes further stipulated: if a person of a minority people subject to Qin was dissatisfied with their chieftain and wished to "leave Xia," it was not permitted. What did "leave Xia" mean? Wanting to depart the territory of Great Qin was called "leaving Xia."

This effectively restricted the migration rights of the Qiang and Rong dependent peoples. If you were unwilling to submit to a powerful chieftain, you could apply to become a registered commoner household of Qin, and the authorities would resettle you elsewhere, starting you as a hired laborer. But you simply could not leave the borders; if an entire clan migrated, it was treated as rebellion and they would be exterminated as bandit gangs.

Beyond paying tribute in cattle, sheep, and horses, when war came, the Qiang and Rong dependent states were also required to supply cavalry to fight in the Qin army.

In fact, Qiang Huang's own family were Qiang vassal chieftains in Beidi Commandery, but they had been in Qin for four generations; their language, food, and drink had all been assimilated. His grandfather, Qiang Hui, had even led the Beidi Qiang-Rong cavalry to war, serving as Wang Jian's deputy general, campaigning east and west, earning illustrious battle honors and becoming a Grand Second-Order Merit. Now the entire family regarded themselves as Qin people, not Qiang.

Thinking it over, Heifu realized that the Great Wall the Qin dynasty was building, besides preventing outside Rong and Di from invading and harassing the people, also served as the fence of a sheep pen — it would pen in the Rong and Di within the borders, raise and nurture them, keep them in long-term company with the Qin people, turning raw Rong into cooked Rong, until they were thoroughly assimilated.

"After all, there's the 'Xia child' system — if either parent is a Qin person, the child is a Qin 'Xia child.' With migration and intermarriage, Qin people will only grow more numerous, while the Qiang, Rong, and Di within the borders will dwindle…" He watched the tribesmen driving their cattle and sheep, eyeing the Qin army with distant fear, and thought to himself.

Heifu had heard about this system years ago from Ba Zhong. As things stood, Qin's assimilation policy was succeeding; the garrisons of the three commanderies west of the passes contained large numbers of Qin-ized Rong people. He remembered visiting the terracotta army in his past life — many Qin soldiers with foreign features had been on display.

But beyond the Great Wall, where the sheep-pen fence had not yet reached, if a vassal chieftain wanted to flee Qin rule, it shouldn't be too hard, should it?

"Leave? They don't want to leave."

When Heifu asked, Qiang Huang pointed to the lush, grassy Tao River valley. "The Di and Qiang live by hunting, but they also raise cattle, sheep, and horses and grow a little grain. Beyond the passes are many mountains, unsuitable for the five grains; only along the Tao River are there flat valley lands where not only can the five grains be planted, but livestock can easily be grazed. These people have no wish to leave this fertile land and go to Hehuang or Qiangzhong to fight for food with the even more savage Di and Qiang tribes there."

Heifu understood. From here onward, the further west you went, the higher the terrain and the harsher the natural conditions, the fewer people the land could support. And the rich Hexi Corridor was already held by the powerful Yuezhi; the fragmented little Qiang and Rong tribes were no match for them at all.

Better to stay here and be Great Qin's dog than go to barren mountains and foul waters…

What's more, Longxi Commandery used trade as bait, making the vassal chieftains even more reluctant to leave.

Heifu heard from Qiang Huang that as early as the start of spring, Li Xin had already sent men to set up a watchpost at a place called Fuhan, where the great river and the Li River met, and had agreed that the surrounding Di, Qiang, and Rong tribes who had not yet submitted could drive their cattle and sheep there in spring and summer to trade.

"So that's why they're carrying so much cloth, salt, sugar, and grain on their pack animals…"

Heifu understood. No wonder Li Xin was so strongly in favor of the "westward expansion" strategy Heifu had proposed — this was exactly what he'd been doing for over a year, and it was something the Qin people were already very adept at.

Before long, after a bout of prostrate worship, once the vassal chieftain understood that Li Xin had not brought his great army beyond the passes to "gather firewood," he finally breathed a sigh of relief. Pointing to the Tao River headwaters they called Luqu, he swore never to betray Qin, and even presented the Qin army with five yaks as a gift to the troops…

…

That night, while camping on the west bank of the Tao River, the Qin soldiers built campfires, butchered the yaks, skewered large chunks of yak meat on wooden sticks, roasted them medium-well, and sprinkled them with the green salt they'd brought along — a fine delicacy.

While feasting heartily, Heifu also had an in-depth discussion with Li Xin, mainly about the high saddle and stirrups.

"Though I'm a southerner and have only fought on foot, I've heard that the Qin army's standard for selecting cavalrymen is: men under forty, at least seven chi five cun tall. They must be strong and robust, swifter and more agile than ordinary men; able to ride at a gallop while drawing a bow and shooting from horseback; able to respond freely in all directions — front, back, left, right — advancing and retreating with skill; able to spur their horses across moats, scale hills, charge through obstacles, and ford great rivers. Only then can they pursue powerful foes on the battlefield and fight outnumbered — such men are called 'martial cavalrymen'!"

In an age without high saddles and stirrups, only intensified training could compensate, hence such exacting standards.

"May I ask the General, among these several hundred cavalry on this expedition, how many can truly be called 'martial cavalrymen'?"

Li Xin naturally knew the caliber of his own men and answered without hesitation: "No more than fifty — all of them cavalry officers or above."

In the Qin military system, five cavalry made a squad under a squad leader, ten under a petty officer, a hundred under a commander, two hundred under a general. And among the Longxi cavalry, famed as the finest under heaven, only about one in ten were elite "martial cavalrymen"; the rest were not poor riders — at least better than Heifu…

Chariot soldiers had similar selection standards and were called "martial charioteers." Heifu knew that Zhao Gao had come up as a martial charioteer — he was a man of formidable martial skill as well.

By those two standards, Heifu could train another five years and still not qualify. A southerner who only learned to ride as an adult could never compare to a northerner who had been scrambling on horseback since boyhood. And compared to the Hu lads who rode sheep at three, horses at eight, and could all draw strong bows, there was simply no contest.

Heifu asked again: "But if equipped with high saddles and stirrups, how many men under your command does the General think could become martial cavalrymen?"

Li Xin had already experienced the convenience of the high saddle and stirrups that day. The high saddle made riding more comfortable and stable. The stirrups let his feet feel as if planted on the ground; no longer did his legs dangle emptily on either side of the horse's belly with no support, having to grip the violently jolting horse with his thighs just to stay steady.

His hands were completely freed. Actions that had been difficult before — galloping while drawing a bow, wheeling front and back, left and right, advancing and retreating — all became considerably easier.

One could imagine that if his cavalry followers used these items, the effect would be similar.

After a moment's deliberation, Li Xin said: "In that case, of five hundred cavalry, at least half could be called martial cavalrymen!"

"Exactly!" Heifu clapped his hands. As expected, letting Li Xin try a ride once was far more persuasive than empty words.

Beyond making the strong stronger, during training, the high saddle and stirrups could also greatly shorten the Qin cavalry's training cycle. In three years, tens of thousands of cavalry entering Hexi and taking the Ordos Loop would not be a dream.

Westward expansion was not like the southern campaigns; it would certainly require coordinated operations of chariots, infantry, and cavalry. Especially campaigns against Hexi and the Ordos Loop, which demanded long-distance marches of over a thousand li — without high saddles and stirrups, they were nearly impossible.

This was precisely Heifu's purpose in showing these two items to Li Xin.

"I wish to ask the General to submit a joint memorial with me, proposing the establishment of a cavalry force each in Longxi, Beidi, Shang, and Neishi, recruiting the sons of respectable families west of the passes who are skilled in archery and horsemanship, equipping them with high saddles and stirrups, and training them in secret in the inner counties, so that every man becomes a martial cavalryman! In three to five years, they will be of great use!"

If Heifu, a southerner, went holding up a high saddle and stirrups to make this proposal, he'd probably be mocked as "a southerner talking horses, a northerner waving an oar"! Even if the Emperor approved, those proud cavalrymen of the three commanderies might, like Qiang Huang, reject using them out of pride in their own riding skill, stirring up trouble for nothing.

But a joint memorial with Li Xin was a different matter.

If the general most skilled with cavalry under heaven said it was good, who could object?

Li Xin was naturally happy to see such a thing, which added wings to a tiger. However, he noticed the words "training in secret" that Heifu had used.

"Does the Right Chief of the Masses feel this item must not be carelessly revealed?"

"Indeed! This is a sharp weapon of the state and must not be lightly shown to outsiders! It must be concealed and then deployed, catching the Hu and Rong off guard in three to five years! Once the high saddle and stirrups shine brilliantly, Qin's sheep-pen fence can extend a thousand li outward, penning in Hexi, Henan, and the Ordos Loop entirely. The rich pastures will all be seized by Qin — opening wasteland, establishing farms, moving in settlers, stationing troops, building walled cities!"

Heifu said: "By then, only two choices will lie before the Hu and Rong."

Li Xin understood. The general's eyes brimmed with light as he handed a piece of yak meat to Hei Fu, smiling. "Be a sheep waiting for slaughter inside the pen, or go to the Gobi desert flats and be a hungry wolf?"

(End of chapter)