Although the county guard ordered the Hefu to "set off overnight", no one dared to sail at night on the waterway of the Yangtze River in those years, and if they accidentally hit a reef or rush onto a sandbar, the ship would be wrecked and killed. Even the old boatmen who have been begging for a living on this waterway for decades do not dare to take this risk.

So it wasn't until the wee hours of the morning, when the sky finally showed a little light, that Heifu and a few soldiers boarded the big ship of Ba Chung, and he stood at the stern of the boat, listening to the oars paddling and the shouting of the Ba people, and watching the lights of the Yiling pier gradually shrink in the distance.

He finally got rid of Ye Junshou's uncomfortable control and began to act alone, Heifu didn't like the feeling of being haunted.

"With the tiger talisman in hand, it's another opportunity."

Heifu had the silver tiger talisman in his hand, which was given by the county guard. Although the Qin State was in charge of the army with the county captain, in fact, the county guard also had military power, or in other words, in the beginning, the county guard was the official of the main army.

Far example, is the Shu Shou Zhang Ruo of King Qin Huiwen and King Zhaoxiang, who not only governed the people in Shu, but also led his troops to the east to conquer Chu under the order of the king, and seized the fang land where Ba widow Qing and Ba Zhong were located. And a recent example is Ye Teng, who once guarded Nanyang County and led his troops to destroy Han.

Therefore, it is impossible for the Qin State to have a funny situation in which the number one county in the county guards the county to exterminate a certain bandits, big households, and barbarians, and also needs to ask the second-in-command county lieutenant for instructions.

Heifu could only mourn for Li You, and when he met such a strong county guard as Ye Teng, Li You, the county lieutenant, was not comfortable. Fortunately, his purpose was to train the soldiers of Nanjun to be used in the war against Chu, and in daily trivial matters, he tried to avoid conflicts with the county guards......

This is not bad, when it comes to the two Han Dynasty, Taishou is often called the county general, and the county lieutenant is the deputy general. The county guards have already saved up all the military power in their hands, and there is nothing to do with the county lieutenants at all, so you can see that in the Three Kingdoms, most of the princes of the war Dong are county guards.

In the Qin State, the use of the army without a tiger talisman was counted as a "crime of lack of army", and it was usually executed, and in serious cases, the wife was taken as a slave. But Hefu now has the charm in hand, which is reasonable and legal.

"The ordinary bamboo talisman can only mobilize fifty people, this gilt silver and bronze tiger talisman is of very high standard, and with the document written by the county guard, it can make all the soldiers of Yidao obey my orders!"

This goes to Yidao, more than 80 miles of waterway, sunrise, about noon!

"The county lord barbarian said Dao", the so-called Dao, in fact, is the "minority autonomous region" of the Qin State, at the same level as the county, governing the remote areas inhabited by tribes, and its chief officials are not called county orders but county magistrates.

Not only Yidao, but also the Bashu region where Qinrong is mixed, there are also many "roads". The characteristic of the Tao is that it does not organize the barbarian tribes into households, and gives certain exemptions and exemptions in taxes and forced labor.

For example, in the provinces of Ba County, the Qin State stipulated that the chief of the Ba tribe paid a rent of 2,16 yuan per year and a mouth tax of 1,800 yuan every three years. Its households pay eight feet and two feet of coarse cloth and thirty baskets of chicken feathers every year, which are used to make arrows......

Compared with the Qin State's householders, Qi Min had to pay nearly half of the harvest's rent, which was already much easier.

Heifu secretly thought: "In the eyes of the Qin people who organize the households, it is a little unfair, but this is a policy that Qin has to implement in order to rule these regions smoothly. Moreover, if no matter what the local conditions are, they still collect the same grain and copper coins as the mainland as rents, isn't this forcing the Palestinians who still fish, hunt and gather more than half of the population to rebel......

The etiquette and law are determined by the time, and the rules and regulations are according to their own needs, and this is the wisdom of the Legalists. However, when people in the world look at things, they are not suffering from few, but suffering from inequality.

At this time, Ba Zhong also came to the rickety stern, he had already put on a hat, to block the splashing waves, and shouted to Heifu in the wind: "Zuo soldier Cao Shi, the wind in the stern is not small, let's go to the cabin!" ”

……

Heifu followed Ba Chung into the cabin, which was a small space, and he found that in addition to Ba Chung, there was also a Ba Zhong warrior with tiger stripes on his arms, shaved hair, and only a handful of hair left by Ba Chung.

He had a wooden shield on his back, and his right hand touched the willow leaf sword at his waist, staring at Heifu vigilantly, probably the bodyguard arranged by the mine boss widow Qing for his son.

"This is Danhu."

Ba Zhong introduced: "He is a warrior of the (cong) people, this tribe is also known as the banman, and he is the most brave and good at fighting among the eight tribes of the Ba people. It is said that 800 years ago, Banman had been the elite of the Ba Division, participated in the battle of King Wu and Muye, and the Ba Division was brave and sharp, as a striker, singing and dancing to Ling Yin people, killing the Yin people to bleed and drift, so the world called it: King Wu cut the Xuan, and the song and dance before and after ......

As soon as he said this, Heifu remembered that when he went to the hometown tyrant Zhang's house for the first time in Humu Township, Weidi, Zhang Cheng said that the dance of King Wu of Zhou's "Dawu" seemed to be the prototype of the dance of the Ba people. On the battlefield of life and death, while charging into battle, singing and dancing is really a unique nation.

Danhu also seemed to hear his master complimenting him to Heifu, so he proudly patted his strong arm, pointed to the tiger-shaped tattoo on it, and muttered a Ba dialect.

"What did he say?" Hefu was curious.

"Danhu said that he is a tiger shooter among the Ba people."

Heifu was surprised: "Isn't the tiger admired by the Ba people?" I see that the ship of the king is still painted with a white tiger pattern. “

Ba Zhong said with a smile: "It is true that the Ba people worship the tiger, and it is not false that they are proud to shoot the tiger, because the tiger can eat people, and people can only kill it." We believe that this is equivalent to getting the ferocity and strength of the tiger, and the tiger warrior will also be respected by the tribe, tattooing the tiger on the body as a standard, no matter which tribe he goes to, he can be treated as a distinguished guest. ”

"Moreover, shooting the tiger, the government also has a reward, it is said that when the first king Zhaoxiang was king, there was a white tiger to make a rebellion, in the realm of Shu, Ba, and Han, hurting more than a thousand people. King Zhao recruited those who could kill tigers and rewarded thousands of families. From time to time, Liao Zhong, a Ba man from Langzhong, Ba County, and others shot and killed the white tiger. King Zhao thought that Liao Zhong was a Ba person, and did not want to be sealed, but ordered Ba County to guard his carved stone as an alliance, exempt him from the rent and tax of one hectare of land, although he had ten wives, he would not lose the money he paid...... Since then, it has become customary for anyone who can shoot a tiger that kills or injure a person's life to be exempted from the family's tax payment. ”

Heifu praised: "I see, what a strong man! ”

Ba Zhong translated this sentence to Danhu, the Ba people samurai had a simple idea, he seemed to be very happy, and saw that Heifu's eyes were much kinder, and even picked up the small black round-bottomed clay pot on his back, and handed it to Heifu without saying a word......

"What is this?" Heifu didn't understand what he meant, and looked at Ba Zhong suspiciously.

"Danhu wants to share the salt in this jar with Zuo Bing Cao Shi."

Ba Zhong explained that the ancestor of the Ba people, Lijun, once settled in salt water, and the Xiajiang where the Ba people are located are rich in well salt and rock salt, and they are inseparable from salt for generations. The Ba people were not accustomed to using half a tael of Qin, but used salt and cloth as currency.

The Ba warriors also believed that it was this table salt that gave them enough stamina to throw spears and wield the iconic bronze willow-leaf sword, so they carried it with them. When eating, eat with fresh fish with salt, and knock a small piece before the battle, hoping to get the blessing of the salt water goddess. It is also a kind of etiquette for the Ba people to meet someone who can talk to them and share salt with them.

"It's like a cigarette in the afterlife?" Heifu couldn't laugh or cry.

Danhu had already handed the salt shaker to Heifu, and it was difficult to resist, so Heifu had to take the salt shaker, picked a piece of salt, and in Danhu's eager gaze, a bitter and salty taste suddenly filled his mouth......

It's a taste that I will never forget.

Seeing that Heifu had eaten salt, Danhu seemed even happier, and spoke a large Tongba language, Ba Zhong translated: "Danhu believes that Cao Shi, the left soldier, is also a warrior, and hopes to have the opportunity to test his martial arts with You." ”

"I'm afraid I'm no match for him." Heifu shook his head, and secretly said in his heart, if Dongmen Leopard fights with this person, I don't know who is better?

Finally, when Danhu was guarding the hatch of the ship, Heifu poured some fresh water into his mouth, and seeing that Ba Zhong seemed to be smiling, he said: "I see that Jun is different from the rest of the people, not only can he speak Xia Yan and wear summer clothes, but he also knows allusions, not like Ba people, but like Qin people......

Ba Zhong said: "My family is a local monarch, and since I was a child, my mother invited a master to teach me language, writing, and etiquette, and I am also used to wearing Qin people's clothes and combing Qin people's hairstyles. And strictly speaking, I called myself a barbarian yesterday, but I was wrong. ”

He pointed to himself and said, "In terms of household registration, I am actually a 'Xia Zi'!" ”

"Natsuko?"

Heifu also flipped through the "Laws of the State", which specializes in managing the barbarians on the road in Gangneung, and when he saw this word, he immediately understood.

He remembered that there was a passage in the text of the law that answered: "The true prince of the state is guilty, and he who endures the sentence shall be punished, and he may be atoned for with money."

He asked, "True"? Answer: The vassal states of Qin who belong to the barbarian parents have children, which are called true.

What is "Natsuko"? Answer: The father is a Qin person, the mother is a vassal barbarian, and his son is called Xia Zi. His father was a vassal barbarian, his mother was a Qin man, and his son was also called Xia Zi......

It can be understood in this way that "Zhen" is the household registration of ethnic minorities, and "Xiazi" is the household registration of the Qin people. Interestingly, the Qin State stipulated that only children born to children born to parents who are also ethnic minorities are ethnic minorities. Regardless of the father or mother, as long as one of the parties is a Qin person, the child born cannot be a minority person, but can only be a Qin person......

This system is very interesting, the king of Qin and Bazhong, the five clans of the Yiba people, and the eight outer divisions are the barbarian monarchs, and they are not given the title, and the Ba clan of Tongxian County is even named a doctor, and the rent paid by them is reduced.

At the same time, the Qin State immigrated to Ba Di, encouraging the local Ba people to live for a long time and still have Qin women, and the Qin people's soldiers and exiles were also encouraged to marry Ba women.

This measure, combined with the provisions on how to settle down in marriage and children of different ethnic groups in the "Laws of the State", is bound to produce an inevitable result: there are fewer and fewer real Ba people, and there are more and more locals who are of mixed Qin and Ba blood, but are considered to be Qin people.

The most typical example is: decades have passed, the original Ba people, very few Qin people, after several generations of intermarriage, now more than half of the population is the Qin people, who are all households, and they have been successfully rerouted to counties. The elders of the Ba people were also gradually assimilated into the Qin people under the influence of the Qin female mother and wife......

The Ba Zhong in front of him is the most typical example, although he still thinks that he is a Ba person in his heart, and when he sees the Qin officials, he says "I am a barbarian", but this insistence on identity does not know how many generations it can maintain.

"This idea is said to have been conceived by Zhang Yi after conquering Bajun with Sima Cuo......"

From this detailed provision, it can be seen that Zhang Yi's wisdom and vision have left behind some leaders who formulated ethnic policies in later generations. There is not only the policy of Huairou reduction and exemption to make the Ba people submit to Qin, but also the assimilation of the upper class of the Ba people, and the population ratio of the local Qin and Ba people can be changed silently.

Compared with the policy that as long as the grandparents have a minority household registration, the grandchildren can change from Han to less, in order to obtain that little profit, which is better or worse?

This may be the reason why the Qin people conquered Bashu and permanently incorporated these two places into the Chinese territory.

"And in this way, Ba Widow Qing may also be a Qin girl, not a Ba person? That's a big discovery. ”

With this in mind, Heifu also ate a morning meal with Ba Zhong on the rickety boat: fish salted in Ba Dijing.

Just then, there was a shouting from outside.

"Yidao is almost here!"

……

When Heifu and Ba Chung went outside, they saw that the great ship's linen sails had been unfurled, which were hard balanced sails to slow down the ship.

The wooden boat floated like a dragonfly on the water, its blades rising and falling in unison, and Haifu holding on to the railing and looking out over the land.

They had reached the south bank of the Great River, and were slowly skirting a wooded headland, carefully avoiding the pine-covered cliffs. Not far ahead, there is a simple pier.

The men on the boat were running around pulling ropes, while Heifu carefully observed the situation on the docks.

This wharf, Hugh said, compared with Gangneung, is even worse than Yiling, so simple that only a few fishing boats are moored, fishermen are peddling aquatic products, and a few children are playing on the shore to cool off, which looks peaceful.

The county town of Yidao, which was also extremely rudimentary, just two miles south of the wharf, could already see the low walls of the earthy yellow.

Heifu was very worried, because the people of Yidao were only concentrated in a few hundred households in the county, and even if each household was conscripted, they could only make up five or six hundred people, but the local Ba people were one or two thousand......

Outnumbered, will it be okay?

Ba Zhong was more interested in the river on the edge of the city wall: "That is Yishui, Wuluo Zhongli Mountain, where the Emperor was born, is thirty miles upstream......

When Heifu disembarked, two small officials guarding the dock happened to come to check what the big ship was carrying, and if it was to be put into the county market, it would have to be taxed according to the law.

Then Heifu showed his bronze seal and yellow ribbon, as well as the letter and tiger talisman of the county guard, and the officials immediately bowed down.

"Take me to the county magistrate quickly, the county lieutenant!"

After listening to Heifu's request, the two officials looked at each other and reported: "The county magistrate and the county lieutenant are not in the county seat......

Hefu was taken aback: "Where did they go?"

The little official said with an ignorant face: "The county magistrate received the news yesterday and went to Wuluo Zhongli Mountain this morning to deal with the dispute between the two tribes over land!" The county lieutenant also brought the county guard with him! Now only the county is left in the city. ”

"Not good!"

Heifu and Ba Zhong glanced at each other, and secretly said that it was not good.

"We're still a step too late!"