Montenegro went south with a team of 2,000 horses and 10,000 infantry. The states of Chu and Wei were at peace for decades, and the defense of the border cities of the two countries was very lax. After just one round of attacks, the Qin army climbed the city tower and attacked Xue City.

When Montenegro arrived in Xuecheng, the money and grain in the treasury were being packed, and the soldiers were propagating everywhere in the city: "Every family consciously frees slaves, and those who hide slaves privately raid their homes and destroy their homes!" Anyone who reports slave possession will receive half of the family's property! ”

Montenegro said to Xin Sheng: "General Xin will attack south as originally planned, and I will take care of the affairs here and then rush over!" Remember, there are only three things to do for each city you capture, grab money, distribute food, and save slaves! ”

"No! The last will be the first step! Xin Sheng bowed and left.

In just half a day, thousands of slaves, most of them young and strong, were freed. All of them are unkempt and tattered. Many of them also have the marks of their owners tattooed on their faces, and there are deep shackles on their feet and necks! Many others were blinded, some were deaf, and some had their tongues cut off. Some of them were captured from the land of Wuyue, some were bankrupt civilians, and some were poor people sold from various countries. Montenegro sent young and strong slaves and carts carrying money and grain north to Tao County, while some of the old, weak, sick and disabled remained in Xuecheng.

"What about these? Do you want to stay here and leave them to fend for themselves? Dong Jian pointed to the nearly a thousand old, impaired and disabled slaves next to him and asked.

Montenegro thought for a while, had an idea, and said, "Invite the patriarchs of several gentry families in the city here!" General Ben wants to speak! ”

"No!" Dong Jian responded and immediately sent someone to summon the local gentry and bureaucrats.

"Meatloaf, all the men lined up to welcome these gentry." Montenegro commanded.

The guards took out a long case from the county guard and placed it in the square at the entrance of the official office. Montenegro sat directly on the table, with a black face. The two thousand men stood in a straight line, each with their swords unsheathed. After a while, more than a dozen gentry and county guards, lieutenants, and servants were brought. When they saw Qin Jun's long swords with bright gestures, a few of them were already trembling in fright. This county was the fief of the Zhao clan and the Jing clan of the Chu state. Therefore, the officials and gentry were either surnamed Zhao or Jing.

When a group of people saw Montenegro hurriedly prostrating themselves on the ground and begging for mercy, they said: "We are willing to pay for food, but we only want to spare our lives!" ”

Black Mountain grimaced and scolded: "Lao Tzu was also a farmer a few years ago!" I can't see you people mutilating slaves the most! Look at them, they are all iniquities of your making. I want to blind your eyes and pluck out your tongues now, so that all of you can try the pain of being a slave!" ”

When everyone heard this, they all wept bitterly and begged for mercy! These nobles, who were usually majestic and regarded the lives of slaves as a mustard, wept and lowered their noble heads.

"Today, General Ben will give you another chance, and your families will contribute money and food, and eat and drink to support them. I will send from time to time to inquire about it, and if there is any more cruelty, I will take your life and make your whole family a slave. Montenegro said fiercely.

"Please rest assured, General! We must eat, drink, and dress them well! An old man with a white beard looked up and said, his forehead and beard covered with dust. We are willing to raise 500,000 yuan in gold and 100,000 yuan in grain to make food and pay for the general in a few days, begging the general to calm his anger and forgive us for the sins of waiting! ”

"Food and money, deposit it with you first, and General Ben will come back to get it!" After Montenegro finished speaking, he waved his big hand! Evacuate Xue City with everyone.

The 3,000 infantry army escorted thousands of slaves and the stolen money and grain to the north and withdrew to Taojun, and 7,000 stayed in Xuecheng. Montenegro led 20,000 horses all the way south.

There were very few garrisons in the hinterland of Chu, more than 2,000 and as few as seven or eight hundred. The Qin army went all the way south, and it was unimaginably smooth, and the officials in each city either fled or surrendered! The Qin army entered the city without killing people or disturbing the people, but only robbed the money from the treasury, divided the grain that could not be taken away, and freed the slaves!

The team soon came to Pei County, which at this time was only a small city with a thousand households, and the city walls were not high, with only seven or eight hundred garrisons.

Such a small city could not withstand the attack of the Qin army at all. Montenegro was about to have someone come forward to shout, and as soon as the city gate opened, a middle-aged man in an official uniform and several old men came out of the city. The group soon came to Montenegro.

The middle-aged man in the lead saluted to Montenegro and said: "The foreign minister is the county prince of Pei County (the official name of the State of Chu, equivalent to the county order), these are the three elders of Pei County, and they are here to visit the general!" ”

Black Mountain had a straight face, full of authority, and said, "Did a few people come here to discuss surrender?" ”

The county official said: "We have heard that the Qin army did not occupy land and kill people when it entered Chu this time, but only moved the money and grain from the treasury and freed the slaves!" We are willing to do everything, and the small town of Peixian County only scraped together 100,000 gold to offer. I hope the general will be kind to the people of Peixian! ”

Montenegro said coldly: "General Ben is not here to hunt this time, not for a mere 100,000 gold in Pei County. Just because I have an enemy in Pei County, as long as you hand over his family! We don't want to go into the city, not even a hundred thousand gold. ”

"I don't know who offended the general!" The county magistrate asked.

"Xiao He!" Montenegro said.

"Xiao He of Xiao Zhuang?" The county prince and the three elders were taken aback at the same time, and the county prince asked.

"It's him! I want to have him torn to pieces. Montenegro said through gritted teeth.

Xiao He is quite famous in this county, and he has refused to come out to be an official many times. All we know is that he is chivalrous and makes friends. I don't know what grievances I have with the general? One of the old men asked.

"Ask him about this! Go back and tell Xiao He that Montenegro is outside the city with a large army, and if he and his wife and children do not come out to lead the death within two hours, we will attack and raze Pei County to the ground. Drop-off! Siege! Montenegro said hatefully.

With an order, 20,000 Qin immediately surrounded Pei County.

Talk on both sides. Fan Hao returned to Pei County, bought a small yard on the street with his father, and started a livelihood of slaughtering dogs. The Xiao family is also a large household with 3,000 acres of fertile land in Pei County, and they have to buy a lot of meat every day. Fan Xu first invited the Xiao family's cook to drink, and then met the old man through the cook. After inviting the elder to drink and eat several times, he met Xiao He through the elder. Xiao He saw that Fan Hao was powerful and extraordinary, and he also hit it off at first sight. The two are nearly twenty years apart, one is a famous talent, and the other is a butcher who slaughters dogs. turned out to be a good friend and became a big news in Pei County. Half a year later, Fan Hao saw that the opportunity was ripe, so he told Xiao He that Montenegro was going to invite him to Qin. Xiao He, who is in his thirties, drinks with his friends every day in addition to reading, and many officials invite him to come out to be an official, but he refuses! Xiao's father was puzzled and once asked him why he didn't come out to be an official? He replied: "The State of Chu is terminally ill, and at this time, being an official in the State of Chu has done nothing except to bury the State of Chu!" I'm waiting for my time! Father Xiao listened and knew that his son had a long-term vision and extraordinary ambitions, so he followed him.

When the Qin army approached the city and the people in the county town were panicking, the county prince and the three elders came to Xiao's house with dozens of soldiers.

When Father Xiao saw a few people coming, he hurriedly invited people to sit down and serve tea! asked: "The county prince is here in person, it must be that the Qin people have too much appetite and think that the gold is too little!" The Xiao family is willing to pay another 10,000 yuan to solve the military disaster. ”

"Enough gold! We came here this time to ask Ling Lang Xiaohe for advice. Please ask him to come out and see him! The county magistrate said.

Xiao Lao didn't doubt it at all, and immediately asked people to call Xiao He!

As soon as Xiao He entered the living room, the county magistrate immediately ordered someone to take it down! Father Xiao was at a loss for what to do. Although Xiao He was surprised, he didn't panic and asked, "May I ask the county magistrate, what crime did Xiao He commit?" ”

"Xiao He, you are not guilty, just because the Qin general outside the city said that he has a great enmity with you, don't want a penny of food, and hand over you and your wife within two hours, otherwise you will attack the city, and the chickens and dogs will not be left. My father is helpless, for the tens of thousands of living beings in Pei County, I can only wronged you, we will take care of your father for you! The county magistrate said.

"I, Xiao He, study at home every day, and even Peixian rarely leaves, how can I have an enmity with General Qin? So who will Qin be? There must be a mistake! Xiao He said.

"We've explained it to you, too! Then General Qin let us tell you that General Montenegro is outside the city with his troops, so let you go out and die quickly! The county magistrate said.

"Montenegro! Great Qin Horse! It turned out to be him! Xiao He said to himself, and he immediately understood.

"It seems that you really have a grudge, please bring your wives out!" The county magistrate listened to Xiao He's words and was sure that Xiao He and General Qin had a grudge.

Xiao He looked at his father, who was already frightened, and said: "My family can't run anymore, one person does things and one person does it, please allow me to say goodbye to my father and go out of the city with you immediately!" Otherwise, I will immediately commit suicide by hitting the pillar and let you be buried with you. ”

The county prince saw that Xiao He had a tough attitude, for fear that he would really commit suicide, and he couldn't explain it to Qin Jun, so he had to agree! Leave everyone out of the door.

Xiao He fed his father a sip of water, Xiao Ye relieved himself, saw Xiao He smiling, and hurriedly asked, "What's going on?" You still laugh when disaster comes! ”

Xiao He leaned into his father's ear and whispered, "Father is worry-free, the opportunity for me to talk to you has come!" The Qin general outside is my friend, and he said this in order to protect our family! The son will be reused when he goes! ”

Although Xiao's father was skeptical, he was not afraid at all when he saw his son, but was very excited, and his heart had settled down!

Xiao He, his wife and son were tied up and ready to be sent out of the city, causing a sensation in Pei County, but no one came out to stop them. Only Fan Xu knew it, poured wine and said, "Brother Xiao, don't worry!" With me, no one dares to bully your parents and family! ”

"Please, Brother Fan! Xiao He goes! Xiao He said.

Seeing Xiao He for the first time, Montenegro couldn't help but secretly admire. He was neither tall nor short, neither fat nor thin. His big eyes shone with wisdom, his skin was white, and he was dressed in ordinary cloth. It's not vulgar, but it's extraordinary!

Montenegro hurriedly untied him in person, and ordered him to retreat ten miles back and camp.

"Xiao He is a grass citizen, how dare he bother the general so much!" Xiao He shook his sour arm and saluted to Black Mountain.

Montenegro replied with a salute and said, "In extraordinary times, you are invited to be an extraordinary talent in extraordinary times!" ”

"Xiao and the general have never met, how can the general know Xiao?" Xiao He asked curiously!

"To tell you the truth, General Ben heard that more than thirty years ago, Wenqu Xing fell from the sky over Pei County. Peixian people are outstanding, this is a sign of fame, lest Brother Xiao secretly cast the pearl and make the world in turmoil. This southern expedition is only for Brother Xiao. I hope that Brother Xiao will serve Daqin, and the marquis will be just around the corner. "Montenegro can only make nonsense.

Xiao He knew that Black Mountain was talking nonsense, so he asked: "Xiao is a scholar, and he is definitely not a Wenqu star. I'm afraid of losing the general, too! ”

"Although Brother Xiao stays at home, he has insight into the current affairs of the world, and can hide in his home to wait for the time to move, and wait for the price to be estimated. Don't you allow General Ben to have a pair of eyes that know the heroes and heroes of the world? Montenegro asked rhetorically, his eyes like electricity, staring at Xiao He.

Xiao He seems to have been seen through! trembling in his heart, knowing that his whole family had entered the Qin camp, and there was no way out. sighed, saluted and said, "Xiao He is willing to serve the general!" No regrets for life! ”

"From today onwards, we will both work for Great Qin!" Montenegro happily corrected.