Chapter 91: Whose Turn Is It?

By early May, the good news of Qin's victory over Yan had already been circulating for several days. In Huyang Station, the station soldiers, who had no pressing cases to handle, chattered endlessly about the matter during mealtime.

"I heard Ji City fell back in late March. The news took over a month to reach Nan Commandery."

"I went and asked that messenger. The King of Yan and Crown Prince Dan fled the capital. The Grand General sent a young general named Li Xin, about the same age as us, to chase them down. He forced the King of Yan to kill his own son and present his head."

Station soldier Yu Liang was not only illiterate, but had never left the northern part of Anlu County in his entire life, so he had absolutely no geographical concept of Yan or Ji City. He listened to Dongmen Bao and Ji Ying chat excitedly for a long time before finally asking, tongue-tied.

"Station Chief, how far is Ji City in Yan from Anlu?"

"Probably over two thousand li."

Heifu set down his bowl and thought for a moment. It was roughly the distance from Hubei's Xiaogan to the imperial capital in later ages — over a thousand kilometers, at any rate.

"Two thousand li!" Yu Liang clicked his tongue. He already considered twenty li very far; two thousand li was utterly unimaginable.

Heifu then told them that the realm under heaven stretched ten thousand li and was divided into Nine Provinces. Their Nan Commandery lay in Jing Province, Yan lay in You Province, and the Guanzhong region was Yong Province.

He also took the opportunity to correct Dongmen Bao and the others, who had always mistakenly believed that Yan was directly north of Qin. After all, Heifu was the only person present who had ever seen a map of the entire country. His understanding of geographical regions and directions far surpassed the vague "east, south, west, north" of the average person in this era.

At this, the Huyang Station crowd could not help but click their tongues in wonder. Li Xian said with even greater astonishment, "The Station Chief is younger than me and has never left Anlu, yet when he speaks of mountains, rivers, and geography, he sounds like a well-traveled elder."

Li Xian could not help but marvel. Before Heifu could explain, Ji Ying burst out laughing. "I know! Heifu's father and brother told him all this. Do you all still remember Heifu's elder brother Zhong? I heard that when he was serving in the military, he went north. After he came back, he even taught Heifu a northern ballad. How did it go? 'The wind whistles, bleak and cold...'"

Heifu hurriedly stretched out his chopsticks and stuffed a water caltrop into Ji Ying's mouth, plugging his words with food!

That "Song of the Yi River" was something he had composed on a whim half a year ago at a guesthouse upon hearing that Jing Ke's assassination attempt on the King of Qin had failed. He had brushed it off casually at the time, never expecting Ji Ying would still remember it.

Although almost no one in Nan Commandery knew that song, it was still better to be cautious. Heifu decided he must find an opportunity to warn Ji Ying never to bring that matter up again! If he were to be saddled with the crime of "sympathizing with an assassin," Heifu would be in serious trouble.

By this time, the others had also finished their meals. Station Elder Pu Zhang rose to clear away the pottery bowls and wooden daggers. Everyone sat together and continued their idle chat, the topic unconsciously drifting toward the military campaigns of recent years.

Ever since the seventeenth year of King Zheng of Qin, when he ordered the then Governor of Nanyang, Teng, to attack Han, capture King An of Han, annex all Han territory, and establish Yingchuan Commandery, Qin had committed massive troops year after year to wars of conquest.

In the eighteenth year, the King ordered Grand General Wang Jian to attack Zhao. Wang Jian used a stratagem to sow discord, causing Zhao's last famous general, Li Mu, to die an unjust death. He then led a surprise attack through Jingxing Pass and swept across Zhao territory. By the nineteenth year, Handan's walls were breached, and the King of Zhao was captured. Only a single prince escaped with several hundred clan members to the remote Dai Commandery, where he declared himself King of Dai.

Last year, Jing Ke's assassination attempt on the King of Qin triggered Qin's retaliation against Yan. After half a year of bitter fighting, the Yan capital had now finally been broken, Crown Prince Dan was dead, and only the King of Yan remained, fleeing to Liaodong Commandery to cling to a feeble existence.

The remnant forces of Yan and Dai numbered only a few thousand and no longer posed a threat to Qin. Moreover, they were located in a remote border region, so the Qin army did not pursue its victory to annihilate them, instead ordering Wang Jian to withdraw his troops and return to court.

Thus, of the seven great powers of the realm, Qin had swept away three within five years. Even a blind man could see that Qin's unification of all under heaven was the overwhelming trend. So everyone was guessing: who would be next?

For the Qin people, whose entire lives revolved around the two professions of "farming" and "warfare," war was not a distant thing; it was intimately tied to their lives.

Those with courage and skill rejoiced at the news of war, hoping to earn merit and noble rank. Those unwilling to fight also had to pay attention to where war would break out, because it determined whether they themselves would be conscripted, allowing them to mentally prepare.

"Next will definitely be the destruction of Chu! When that happens, they'll surely conscript the able-bodied men of Anlu!"

Dongmen Bao declared with certainty, and it was also what he hoped for.

It was rather amusing. Although these people had been Chu subjects just three generations ago and still spoke with thick Chu accents while retaining many Chu customs and deities, the common folk, after fifty years under Qin law, had long since come to see themselves as Qin people and regarded Chu territory as a foreign land.

Anlu County's geographical position was very special. It was surrounded by Chu on three sides: to the north, it faced Chu across the Tongbai Mountains; to the east lay the thousand-li stretch of the Dabie Mountains, beyond which was the heartland of Chu's Huainan region; and south of the Great River and Cloud Dream Marsh lay Chu's Jiangnan territory, which would later become Changsha in Hunan and other places.

In the people's daily lives, everything they saw and heard was about strict defense against Chu, so they habitually treated Chu as their primary hypothetical enemy.

"I actually think Chu won't be destroyed first." Heifu, however, smiled and shook his head. "Wei still blocks the Central Plains, obstructing the army's path eastward. Would the King avoid the near and seek the far?"

Dongmen Bao was unconvinced. "Heifu, you yourself said Yan is two or three thousand li to the northeast, yet wasn't Yan destroyed first?"

"That was because Yan sent an assassin and enraged the King. For Qin, how could the humiliation of an attempt on the sovereign's life go unavenged?"

Heifu dipped his finger in water and drew a rough map on the table. He explained, "Chu is different. Although it is a formidable enemy of Qin, the main direction for attacking Chu is blocked by Wei. To destroy Chu, Wei must first be broken. Whether Wei fights or surrenders, it probably won't survive past next year..."

"Only after Wei is destroyed will they attack Jing-Chu fiercely through Wei territory. When that time comes, the main army will certainly still advance from Wei territory. Although Nan Commandery borders Chu, mountains and rivers separate them, making it very difficult to cross. The Ming'e Fortress in the Tongbai Mountains is a strategic pass where one man can hold off ten thousand, and the Dabie Mountains are even more a place you can enter but never leave. Unless tower ships set out from Ba and Shu, sailing along the Great River and Cloud Dream Marsh to attack Chu's Jiangnan territory, no troops will be dispatched from Anlu..."

It was only then that Heifu sensed the atmosphere was off. He looked up and saw everyone staring at him, dumbfounded.

Li Xian was the most shocked. He thought to himself, "Is the Station Chief truly from a poor common soldier background, having never left Anlu? Back then, when I saw he didn't even know the Ruo'ao clan, I looked down on him somewhat. I never imagined he would know the positions of Yan and Zhao a thousand li away like the back of his hand, and even speak so clearly and logically about the future sequence of Qin's campaigns to destroy the other states! Where on earth did he learn this?"

The other few also looked at each other. What Heifu said had far exceeded the understanding of these men of humble origins, so they could not tell whether it was right or wrong. They only felt it was profound and impressive, which made them admire Heifu even more.

Dongmen Bao, however, grew deeply worried. "If it's as Heifu says, and Anlu County is not a main direction for deploying troops no matter what, then won't we miss out on this great war?"

These past few days, listening to the story of General Li Xin pursuing the King of Yan with light cavalry and seizing Crown Prince Dan's head, Dongmen Bao's blood had been boiling. It was a pity the northern battlefield was too far away for him to reach in time, but a campaign against Chu was absolutely not to be missed. This might be the last chance to earn merit.

Heifu, however, set his mind at ease. "Chu is not like Han, Wei, Yan, or Zhao. It has a vast territory, ample troops, and many generals. It has always been Qin's greatest enemy and the leader of every alliance against Qin. If the King wants to destroy Chu, I fear he will have to conscript soldiers nationwide. When that time comes, minor officials like us station chiefs will probably not escape donning armor and following the army on campaign."

"That's good, then!"

Dongmen Bao clapped his hands and looked at Heifu. "During our military service, Heifu was already well-versed in troop training methods and led us to win the drill competition. Just now, when Heifu spoke of military matters, those strategic insights seemed to reside in your breast as well. In my opinion, with Heifu's ability, you could even be a general. When the time comes, if we follow you, we'll surely achieve great merit!"

"How could I be any general?" Heifu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "A minor Second Rank officer, at most a platoon leader."

But in his heart, Heifu began to mull it over. A platoon leader was a low rank and required charging into the front lines during battle, but he would still command fifty men, giving him a slightly better chance of survival than an ordinary soldier.

If Wang Jian attacked Chu and conscripted nationwide, the soldiers of Anlu County would be led by the County Commandant. Under the County Commandant, units would be organized by township and village registration. Station chiefs would be ready-made military officers, and at that time, Heifu's subordinates would most likely be the very people before his eyes.

Although Dongmen Bao, Xiao Tao, Ji Ying, and Li Xian were of low status, each had their own strengths. They were fully qualified to serve as squad leaders and fireteam leaders.

If he could build squads and fireteams with these men as the backbone, then when the time came, not only could he survive, Heifu was even confident he could earn more merits — to secure a good future after unification!

"Should I use the pretext of preparing against bandits to have everyone practice martial skills with me and make early preparations?"

Just as he was thinking this, Station Elder Pu Zhang suddenly ran in and said, "Station Chief, someone outside is looking for you!"

"Looking for me?"

Heifu exchanged glances with the others. They walked out of the station lodge together and came outside, where they saw an old man with graying hair, leading a jujube-red horse, standing outside the station lodge. It was none other than "Foal," who had gone with Heifu into Blind Mountain to rescue people.

Seeing Heifu come out, Foal hurriedly bowed to him with clasped hands and said, "This old man greets the Station Chief. The Station Chief saved my daughter and even obtained justice for her. This old man has no words to express his gratitude. I have a fine horse here and wish to present it to the Station Chief for riding!"

PS: Then by deceit they slaughtered and buried them all, leaving only two hundred and forty of the younger ones to return to Zhao. In total, the heads taken and captives killed numbered four hundred and fifty thousand.

He said: "I indeed deserve to die. At the Battle of Changping, several hundred thousand Zhao soldiers surrendered, and I deceived them and buried them all. This is enough to warrant death."

— Records of the Grand Historian, Biographies of Bai Qi and Wang Jian

Regarding the previous chapter, the distinction between "burial pit" and "pit" is very subtle, and it's easy to misunderstand with a single slip. But the phrase "In total, the heads taken and captives killed numbered four hundred and fifty thousand" alone makes the facts entirely clear. The Qin army not only had a culture of killing captives, but Qin soldiers would even attack their own comrades for the sake of head-count merit. There are several such cases in the Yunmeng Qin bamboo slips. The most tragic one is about a straggling, unlucky Qin soldier who had his head cut off by a fellow soldier to claim merit... I won't elaborate further; we'll discuss it when we encounter it later. Happy New Year's Eve, everyone.

(End of Chapter)