"Mr. Zheng Guo is really a man of God."

In the west of Daliang City, at the camp of the Qin army, 15-year-old Wang Li stood outside the tent gate, looking at the Liang surrounded by rolling floods in the east, and issued a heartfelt admiration.

On the orders of his grandfather, he came to the front line to visit his father, and by the way, he brought him summer clothes sewn by his mother. Along the way, he sent a letter to Guguan, passed Luoyang, and walked into Gao. When he passed through Xingyang, he happened to see tens of thousands of prisoners cutting through the Xingkou port defenses, allowing the river to flow into the chasm......

"Now Wei is afraid that it will become a Ze country."

A guest from Dongjun who escorted Wang Li to the east said, and also babbled about what he had seen and heard when he was defending the country.

"More than 50 years ago, when I was still an eight-year-old child, King Zhao Huiwen led a large army to arrive in Dongyang, the mouth of the white horse, with the river as the front, cutting down the Wei family, the result of the river water, from Puyang to sour jujube, tens of thousands of people buried in the belly of the fish, a good countryside, all for the water."

On the one hand, the old doorman kept shaking his head, he was not very optimistic about Wang Ben's water attack strategy, thinking that although he could hurt the enemy, I am afraid that half of Wei land has also been eroded by the river and has become a waste land, what is the use of such waste land?

However, when the group arrived at the foot of Daliang City, they were surprised to find that the unruly river water obediently followed the chasm to this point, and was led into the newly dug ditch, which only irrigated Daliang City and did not cause damage to the surrounding areas.

All this is the credit of Zheng Guo, the "chief designer" of this project......

"It is worthy of Mr. Zheng who dug the Zheng Guo Canal."

Wang Li was full of admiration, and at the same time clenched his fists and said to his father in the tent: "Father, in this way, I am afraid that the city of Daliang is already a cauldron for cooking, and I can't get off my feet, this city will be down soon!" ”

"It's so easy to build a century-old city and destroy the country of ten thousand times."

Wang Ben changed his armor, wore a regular uniform, and sat behind the desk, but he was not looking at the map of Daliang City, but was flipping through a batch of slips delivered by the military officials.

This is the data about the grain stored in the army, and every time he reads a volume, Wang Ben's brows are tightened.

Although Wang Li was born in a general's family, he studied hard under the influence of his ancestors and father since he was a child, but he was still immature and did not know what his father was worried about in such a good situation, so Wang Ben asked him a question.

"In the eighteenth year of the king, your father was ordered by the king to raise 200,000 troops to go down to the well, and fought with Li Mu of Zhao State, which lasted for a long time, and in the nineteenth year, it finally broke Handan."

"The year before last, Prince Yan Dan made Jing Ke assassinate the king, after the defeat, the king ordered your father to cut down Yan, go north to Yandi, after the winter is even more difficult, after months of siege, to the end of spring last year, finally broke through the Yan capital, killed the prince Dan, and went to the king of Yan."

These wars are all the exploits of Wang Li's grandfather, the eldest Wang Jian who is famous all over the world, Wang Li doesn't know how many times he has heard of it, and how many times he has boasted to his peers in Xianyang.

However, his father changed his words and asked him: "Do you know that after your father returned, he said that he could win these two battles, who should be thanked the most?" ”

"King Xie?" Wang Li scratched his head and asked.

Wang Ben got up and bowed his hand to the west: "If there is no king to make a clear law, raise troops to punish violence, and trust the Wang family, naturally there will be no merit in breaking Zhao and Yan Yan." ”

Then he shook his head and said, "But Father Ru said that the person who should be thanked the most is Mr. Zheng Guo!" ”

"Mr. Xie Zheng?"

Wang Li was stunned for a while, although he admired Zheng Guo's ingenuity and guided the big river, this unruly yellow horse, into a sharp blade of the Qin army, but it did not affect the people of the surrounding cities. But for a while, he didn't understand how Zheng Guo was directly related to these two wars.

Wang Ben was a little disappointed in this son, who was a little duller than his father and himself, and reminded him: "Grandson Wu's combat chapter, quickly carry it." ”

Wang Li was a spirit, and immediately recited with his hands behind his back: "Sun Tzu said, where the method of war, galloping thousands of cars, leather cars thousands of times, with 100,000 armor, thousands of miles of food, then the internal and external expenses, the use of guests, the material of glue paint, the dedication of car armor, the daily cost of thousands of gold, and then the 100,000 teachers will be ......."

"It also wins in battle, but if it is blunt for a long time, it will be defeated, if it is sieged, it will be bent, and if it is a long-term violent division, it will be insufficient for the country......"

It wasn't until he memorized it that he suddenly realized and said excitedly, "Father, I understand!" The meaning of the eldest father is that if there is no Zheng Guo Canal dug by Mr. Zheng Guo a few years ago, so that Guanzhong is fertile, there is no fierce year, the Qin State can be rich and strong, and the grain warehouse can be full, there will not be enough food to be sent to the front line to support him to win these two battles that have lasted for many years! Right! ”

Wang Ben nodded, pointed to the layers of camp tents outside, and said to the more than 100,000 people who were busy living during the period: "Why is this not the case in this big battle with me as the boss?" ”

In Wang Ben's view, in this war, there is only one factor left to determine the outcome of the war, that is, food.

According to the people who surrendered, Wei Xiang, the king of Wei, seemed to have been prepared for a long time, and the corn in Daliang City was accumulated for a year, and there was no shortage of food. Therefore, although the city is flooded, the king of Wei is still struggling, and the only hope of Wei is that the Qin army outside the city is short of food and grass, and it can no longer be surrounded......

Although this hope is slim, it is not impossible, as the main general, Wang Ben knows very well that although after the construction of Zhengguo Canal, Guanzhong is almost prosperous every year. However, in the past three years, there have been too many soldiers, and the battles have been fought too far and too far, and even the grain in the fertile fields of Guanzhong is somewhat difficult to supply.

"It's all to blame on Prince Yan."

Wang Ben inherited his father's "stability", and was a general who liked to make moves step by step, and did not like his plans to be disrupted.

"If there was no assassination by Jing Ke, Wei should have been destroyed first, and then Tuyan should have been slowly taught. As a result, the order was completely changed, and my father fought against Yan, because the Yan realm was too far away, it was no longer enough to transport grain from Guanzhong, and after half a year, he almost exhausted the grain stocks of Hedong, Hanoi, and Dong County, and many of them died of cold and starvation. Not long after Zhao Di was annexed, he was in turmoil and could not collect too much grain, and at this juncture, Xinzheng in Yingchuan County also rebelled. ”

"Therefore, by the time of the battle of Wei that I presided over, I could only rely on the grain supply of Nanyang and Sanchuan, and more than 100,000 troops and soldiers ate horses and chewed horses, and after two months, there was not much left."

The grain in Guanzhong is still being shipped out in a steady stream, but Wu Sunzi's words are good, "The poverty of the country is far from the teacher, and the people are poor if they are far away." Guanzhong is really far away from the beam, three stones of rice are delivered, and there may only be one stone left to eat, and the final result is: "The people's expenses are seven out of ten; public expenses, broken cars and horses".

Qin Guo can't exhaust the old foundation in this battle, in Wang Ben's eyes, his so-called main general is actually just the vanguard of a heel army. The destruction of Wei is just a small dish before the meal, and the real huge feast is still to come.

Chu State, the fat bear's paws that must be cooked slowly before they can be eaten have to be finished by his father Wang Jian himself......

Therefore, in order to solve the grain problem and reduce the pressure of grain shut-off, Wang Ben thought of two ways.

The first is to let Yang Duanhe and Qiang Qi lead the partial division to attack Jiyang, Taoqiu, and Suiyang, firstly, they can uproot these big cities of Wei, and secondly, they can also let the main battle troops divide the land and eat, and reduce the burden.

The second is to let the miscellaneous armies from Nanyang and Nanjun raid the neighboring counties. After those county lieutenants and wanderers on the firing line took control of the counties and townships, Wang Ben issued an order to quickly search for grain in the local area and send them to Daliang City!

The county seat is 6,000 stones, the township is 2,000 stones, and the small township is 1,000 stones!

"It is in line with what the art of war says, it is taken for the country, and because the food is for the enemy, the army can have enough food." Wang Li completely understood now that his father's arrangement was to let those counties and townships that originally belonged to the Wei State continue to send grain to Daliang City, so that the army could hold out until the day the city was broken.

Wang Ben nodded: "If you can get 100,000 stones, it will be enough for the army for a month." ”

But Wang Li was a little worried: "But Wei has just gone through the war, and the summer harvest has not yet arrived, and when I came, the wheat and wheat were not ripe, so I am afraid that the counties and townships will not be able to find too much grain." ”

There is another sentence he didn't say, if the grain is forcibly searched, what should the local Wei people do not eat?

"There will always be."

Wang Ben's eyes were as cold as iron, he looked outside the tent, and said lightly: "Military orders are like mountains and laws, and this matter, even if the county and township garrisons scrape a layer of local land, they must be completed!" Either escort the grain to pay it, or bring the head to me! ”

……

"What is the military order?"

More than 100 miles away in Humu Township, Yangwu County, Heifu is also thinking about this problem.

A military order is a task that must be completed no matter whether you are happy or not, whether you are happy or not, once it is issued.

In the Qin State, the law is like iron, and those who abide by the law and perform their duties do not follow the king's law, and their crimes are not forgiven, and they are punished by the three clans.

In the army, the general order is also like the king's law...... The subordinates are not allowed to question the orders of the superiors, only unconditional obedience.

The general commanded you to defeat the enemy, and if you attacked, you would be defeated, and if you did not, you would die, or you would die in battle, or at the hands of the military judge, and by the way, you would be pitted with all the people of the army.

The general ordered you to defend the city, and if you keep it, you will keep it, and if you don't do it, you will die, or you will die in battle, or you will die in the post-war trial, leaving a reputation as a "military thief" and causing harm to your family.

The same is true for the search for food, which is the main task of the Hefu to come here to do the wandering.

The military order demanded that 2,000 stone of grain be handed over, but you only paid 1,000 stone, and then stiffened your neck and said that you should not be too harsh on the local people to prevent them from rebelling. The military judge nodded and said that you were really thoughtful, but at the end of the day, you didn't complete the task, you disobeyed the order, and you should be punished severely, take off your crown and belt, and go and join the army of prisoners who dig ditches.

The military order demanded that 2,000 stone of grain be handed over, specifying that you wanted five grains, but you only handed over 1,000 stone of aged grain, and the rest were dried fish and kudzu root powder. Maybe you will laugh and say that these things are more nutritious, but in the eyes of the military judge, this is the same as asking 100 people to behead 33 levels, but you have entrained the heads of three women and children.

There is merit in the front, and there is defeat in the back, not for the damage to the punishment. Some are good at the front, some are too late, and they are not for the loss.

Even if you violate the order and have hidden secrets, it will not affect your sentence, this is the rule of the Qin army.

After Heifu summed up, he found that the easiest person to complete the task was the Qin officials who strictly obeyed the orders of the emperor in everything. The easiest to be stabbed is the modern time-traveler who likes to think of ideas.

The more ideas, the more trouble.

In fact, there are only two choices, either to be a good old man that no one remembers, and if you can't complete the task, you will be killed.

Either be the "Qin Kou" you should have played, be a bad guy, and do whatever you want.

After thinking about it, Heifu decided to be the bad guy.

He ordered Dongmen Leopard, Gongao and several other subordinates with the strongest combat effectiveness.

"Come with me to the house of the third elder and the husband."

Heifu alone could not levy grain, and he had to negotiate with the local townsmen and borrow their hands to complete the matter.

However, after leaving the camp gate, Heifu found that Chen Ping, who was supposed to go home, was standing by the door and saluting him.

"Dare to ask Youdou, what kind of levy is you going to do about the grain collection?"

Chen Ping also waited here after thinking twice, although he had been slandered by the villagers, although others were soft-spoken, but today he learned about it, as a villager of Humu, his hometown was damaged, and he was also damaged, so he could not stand idly by.

Moreover, isn't this an opportunity to shine in front of the villagers and in front of the Qin officials?

But Xiucai couldn't explain the reason when he met Bing, since he was injured, Dongmen Leopard, who had not moved his muscles and bones for a long time, was furious when he heard this: "Ruzi, you are just a mere clerk, how dare you ask about this?" As he spoke, he strode over, grabbed Chen Ping like a chicken, and was about to throw it aside.

"Wait."

Heifu stopped Dongmen Leopard, looked at Chen Ping, who was almost beaten, but his face was not panicked, and thought to himself, this person in front of him who shines in history may be able to help him......

So he said to Chen Ping: "Then I'll tell you, the military order is like a mountain and the law is like iron, and the grain must be levied, and two thousand stones, one liter cannot be less, but this levy is ......."

Heifu conceived three methods, one of which was to divide the 2,000 stones equally among more than 1,000 households in the township, with two stones per family. This will leave most families hungry for a month before the winter wheat and beans are ripe, with only one bowl of gruel a day.

This move can please the local townspeople, but it will offend the ordinary people, and in the case of the Wei resistance group led by Zhou City in Yangwu County, it is better not to force the local people too hard.

The second plan is the opposite, only let the township tyrants led by Dongzhang and Xizhang provide grain. Heifu knew that the surplus grain of the two families together was more than two thousand stones, and plus the sages and sages of the towns and villages who went to the banquet that day, they could always get it together.

But although this move benefits ordinary households, it is equivalent to beating up local tyrants and eating big households, which will make the townspeople completely turn their faces with the black man, and maybe there will be disgruntled people to contact Zhou City, send servants and doormen to cooperate with Zhou City, and kill the black man and their fifty or so people......

At that time, even if Heifu shouts loudly, there will be no local people to help him, you think you are giving, but others may not think so.

So plan one, plan two, were initially rejected by Heifu.

The only thing that seems to work is Plan Three.

Township tyrants and ordinary households each contribute 1,000 stones, so that the loss of the townspeople is not large, and the people can also keep some grain to support the summer harvest until the wheat is ripe.

But is there really a difference between fifty steps and one hundred steps?

Heifu was worried that by doing so, he would still be displeasing to both sides and offend both sides.

So after thinking about it, Heifu picked up plan two again.

"I have a plan, maybe I can persuade the Zhang family to provide food, and I don't have to let the people suffer and starve, but whether it can be done, I want to hear your idea." Heifu pointed at Chen Pingdao.

Chen Ping seemed to be greatly encouraged, and also lowered his head and said: "Ping also has a strategy, which may be able to persuade the Zhang family to bear the full amount of these two thousand stone grain ......"

"That's a coincidence."

Heifu was slightly stunned, and laughed: "Could it be that you and I have the same strategy?" Chen Ping, do you have pen and ink? ”

"Scholar, how dare you not bring this thing?"

Chen Ping put down the back basket behind him and took out his bald pen and a piece of bad ink.

Heifu smiled: "You and I will write our respective strategies in the palm of our hands, and then unfold them at the same time, how about it?" ”

Chen Ping's eyes lit up, and he immediately agreed, so Dongmen Leopard and Gongao found a stone and polished Chen Ping's inferior ink.

"Please."

Heifu was not polite, first picked up the bald pen, dipped it in some ink, and quickly wrote a word in the palm of his hand, and then handed the pen to Chen Ping......

Chen Ping took the pen, hesitated for a moment, and also wrote a word in the palm of his hand.

The two approached, and in the setting sun, they spread their palms at the same time, one was the hand of a samurai full of calluses, and the other was the hand of a scholar who was not engaged in production, one black and one white, the contrast was clear.

But when he saw the palm of Heifu's hand, there was a word "Jue" written on it, and when he saw this word, Chen Pinglu was surprised, which he didn't expect in advance.

Heifu also looked at Chen Ping's palm, and there was also a character written there, Qin Guo's seal character, but it was different from his......

"Loan?"