Chapter XIII: The Uprising

The first year of II (209 BC). The rainy season in July is always cloudy and rainy.

In Daze Township, Qi County, Surabaya County, a 900-strong garrison team is being escorted to Yuyang to serve. When they were halfway there, a heavy rain fell from the sky, and this rain would change the fate of all of them. Because according to the laws of the Qin Dynasty, if they could not reach their destination on time, they would be greeted by the most severe punishment - beheading. (If you miss the deadline, the law will be cut)

The most nervous are the two small tun chiefs - Chen Tun Chang and Wu Tun Chang. Chen Tun's name is Chen Sheng, the word is involved, and he is a native of Yangcheng, Chen County. He was born into a humble and was hired to plow the fields as a young man, barely able to make ends meet, but he never succumbed to his fate. He was full of enthusiasm and a vision for the future. He always believed that one day he would have prosperity and wealth. Although his friends around him laughed at him, thinking that he daydreamed all day long, he didn't pee and looked in the mirror to see how many catties he had, he couldn't even plow the field, and he still learned what dreams others talked about.

But Chen Sheng never doubted himself, heroes are always lonely and not understood by the world. He thinks that the partners around him are mediocre people, and they are not enough to achieve great things. Great dreams are always ridiculed by mediocrities.

Whew! The bird's ambition to know the bird! Chen Sheng sighed secretly.

But he didn't expect that before he could fly to Tengda, he got into big trouble. God seemed to play a joke on him, forcing him to be cornered. Nowadays, fleeing is also death, and resisting is also death, so it is better to fight. It has been reduced to such a point that if you don't resist, you will never have a chance.

His thoughts coincided with those of his colleague Wu Tunchang. Wu Tunchang, named Wu Guang, Uncle Zi. is a fellow villager with him, a native of Yangxia, Chen County. They did not hesitate and soon reached an agreement, raising the banner of rebellion against the Qin Dynasty in the name of Fusu, the prince of the Qin Dynasty, and Xiang Yan, the general of the Chu State. It is rumored in the world that the prince Fusu did not commit suicide at that time, but led the troops to hide. The current emperor Hu Hai is a young son, immoral and incompetent, and unworthy of ruling the world.

They deliberately provoked the leader of the team and killed him. Subsequently, they instigated their fellow soldiers to resist vigorously rather than wait for death together. Anyway, it's all death, and Boyi may be able to achieve a career. The prince will have a kind of Xiangning.

The 900-strong army of soldiers was transformed into outlaws in an instant, and it was an almost impossible task for them to challenge the world's largest empire. Because they didn't even have a decent weapon, the hardest of which were these inconspicuous bamboo poles. At that time, Ying Zheng ordered all the weapons of the people to be transported to the capital Xianyang for centralized destruction, and all of them were melted into musical instruments and bronze statues, and the people could not even see a sharp knife.

In that case, let's use a bamboo pole as a weapon! They cut wood for soldiers and unveiled the pole to revolt! Chen Sheng established himself as the king of Chu, indicating that as the heir of Chu, he broke with the Qin Dynasty. Subsequently, they killed several local government officials and quickly occupied several cities.

The wave soon spread to other counties. In the two or three months that followed, killings of local government officials and seizures of cities were widespread across the country. Many county citizens killed local government officials in response to the call of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang.

A mutiny quickly sparked a nationwide riot.

【Chen Sheng】

Chen Sheng finally realized his dream for many years, his goal was to become a prince and a general, and enjoy glory and wealth. Chen Sheng, who was sitting in the county government, looked at the luxurious palace, wearing a mighty military uniform, waving his men, and he felt very satisfied.

When his former ploughing partners came to take refuge, Chen Sheng, the king of Chu, looked extremely proud. From their envious and surprised eyes, Chen Sheng knew that the ridicule and contempt he had received had dissipated, and all his face had returned, and his face was uniquely bright. That's what people are fighting for.

However, the relationship between them cannot stand the test in the slightest. The friends also wanted to hook up with Chen Sheng's shoulders as usual, make a few muddy jokes, or lift up their trouser legs and brag to Chen Sheng. These are already intolerable to Chen Sheng, they may think it is an old relationship, but Chen Sheng feels that they don't understand humility. Today's Chen Sheng is no longer the grizzled farmer, but the king of Chu who holds a lot of power, no one can say no to him anymore, and no one dares to do anything to him.

When the friends told the surrounding generals about the old days of Chen Sheng, the king of Chu, Chen Sheng felt that they had touched his bottom line and seriously damaged his supreme authority, how could these people be worthy of being friends of the king of Chu. So, Chen Sheng, the king of Chu, waved the power in his hand and raised his knife towards his former partner. These friends never expected that they could come to seek refuge with Chen Sheng, the king of Chu who kept saying "Gou Fugui, don't forget each other", but in the end he turned his face and didn't recognize people, and became the soul of his knife. (*** When reading this history, I used a heavy red pencil to annotate two words "one mistake" on the "Historical Records".) ）

Chen Sheng, the king of Chu, felt that his goal had been achieved, and the meaning of life at this time was to enjoy. Overthrowing the brutal Qin Dynasty was not his goal.

Let me be the king of Chu.

【Xiang Family】

Although Chen Sheng did not want to overthrow the Qin Dynasty, many others wanted to. In particular, the royal nobles who have lost their country want to regain their former glory and restore the distant Warring States period. Among them is a group of nobles of the Chu State-the Xiang family.

The Xiang family is a famous family of the Chu State for generations, and has been the general of the Chu army for generations, and has been enshrined in Xiangdi. They did not follow the decree of the central government of the Qin Dynasty and moved to the capital Xianyang, but traveled from place to place, but remained in Chu.

The two leaders are Xiang Liang and Xiang Ji's two uncles and nephews. They shouldered the important task of revitalizing the family and revitalizing the Chu State. With this anti-Qin wave, they felt that the time had come.

Xiang nationality, the word Yu, is a native of Xiaxiang County, Surabaya County, Chu State (now Suqian City, Jiangsu). He was the tragic hero who later became the overlord of Western Chu but fell in an instant, causing the lamentation of later generations for thousands of years. He has the breath of the nobility of Chu in his blood, and he has regarded himself as a nobleman all his life.

He was born during the critical period of the Qin-Chu war, and military warfare was the theme of that era. And he was born in a military family, and his grandfather was the famous Chu general Xiang Yan. Since he was a child, he has studied military books, practiced swordsmanship, and thought about strategy, and was immersed in the strongest military atmosphere in the Chu State. It can be said that his whole life has been accompanied by the military. If it weren't for the later battle to destroy Chu, Xiang Yu would probably inherit the position of his ancestors and become an outstanding general of Chu, taking charge of the military of Chu and confronting Qin. Although later he also became an excellent general of the Chu State and confronted the Qin State, history seemed to turn a corner.

If you look at it by the standards of the aristocracy, Xiao Xiangyu's learning is undoubtedly not up to standard. The harsh elders thought that his learning attitude was extremely improper, three days of fishing and two days of drying nets, one would learn books, one would learn swords, today he would learn this course, and tomorrow he would learn that course, but he was not proficient in anything, he could not learn everything thoroughly, and he was unwilling to work hard. This does not mean that Xiang Yu is a person who does not learn and does not know how to do it, after all, compared with Liu Ji from an ordinary family, his starting point itself is very high. If you get a medium grade in the Noble Academy of Chu State, it will also be better than the excellent grades of other ordinary schools.

At the age of 9, it was a turning point in Xiang Yu's life. Because in the most critical battle of the Qin and Chu centuries, Xiang Yan, the proudest family leader and general of the Chu State, was defeated by the general of the Qin State, Wang Qian, and had to kill himself. Subsequently, his country, the State of Chu, was also completely swallowed up by the State of Qin, and he himself became an ordinary citizen of the Qin Dynasty.

The young Xiang Yu, under the protection of his uncle Xiang Liang, began a wandering life of running around and having no fixed place. His uncle Xiang Liang was a general, and he was strong by nature, and once killed the other party because of a dispute with him, and then had to flee to Wuzhong, Jiangdong. (Lao Tzu led his troops to fight and killed 10,000 people, so what if he killed you)

Xiang Yu spent his childhood in Jiangdong, and he has always regarded himself as a child of Jiangdong. Obviously, he has a deep affection for this place and regards it as his hometown. In Koto, he spent the most appropriate youth in his life. He is more than eight feet tall, handsome and mighty, capable of carrying the crown, and talented. Wu Zhong's children all revolved around him, treating him as the eldest brother, and he was also immersed in this atmosphere of crowding.

His uncle Xiang Liang was also particularly revered here, because the remnants of the Chu State here regarded them as the nobles of the Chu State and looked down on them. Even the Huiji County Warden, who came here later, did not dare to snub them, and always regarded them as guests. (The political education of the Qin dynasty apparently failed here.) ）

But his uncle Xiang Liang saw very clearly that the relationship between him and the county guard was based on his status. The county guard regarded him as a distinguished guest, but he was afraid of his prestige here, after all, the Chu people here still had a lot of affection for them. And his friendship with the county guard is just to stabilize his livelihood. If the county guard is tougher, Xiang Liang can definitely be arrested and imprisoned on trumped-up charges, but in peacetime, who would want to stir up trouble and cause this trouble. Multiple friends are better than multiple enemies.

Xiang Liang didn't give the county guard a chance to choose. When he knew that Chen Sheng and Wu Guang's team had issued a call for uprising, Xiang Liang knew that the time he was waiting for had come. The county guard represents the local power of the central government of the Qin Dynasty, and if the county guard is not controlled, then there is no capital to resist.

On this day, Xiang Liang came to the county guard's mansion as usual, preparing for a showdown with him. But what Xiang Liang didn't expect was that the county guard, who was a high-ranking official of the Qin Dynasty government, knew that after the news of the riot came from afar, the first thing he thought of was not how to stabilize the local political situation and social stability, but also wanted to lead troops to resist the central government of the Qin Dynasty. is already a feudal official, does he also want to be stationed in Xianyang to be the emperor? (In fact, the story itself recorded in the historical records is very questionable, and there is no need for the Huiji County Guard to do this.) There was no reason for him to take such a risk against his superiors, and to put all his hopes on a down-and-out nobleman. This is most likely an excuse carefully fabricated by Xiang Liang in the early days of the anti-Qin Dynasty, in order to make outsiders think that the county guard intended to rebel against Qin, and he was just getting rid of a traitor for the Qin Dynasty. ）

Faced with the pull of the county guard, Xiang Liang had some hesitation in his mind. But soon, he made his own decision. On the surface, he agreed to the request of the county guard, and revolted with him to seize the world. But after turning around, he summoned his nephew Xiang Yu and killed the county guard. Xiang Liang thought to himself, as the general of the Chu State, why should you be wronged by you as an outsider, not to mention that you yourself don't have much power, so you have no use value.

At this time, Xiang Yu was 24 years old. After hearing his uncle's summons, he did not hesitate to break into the mansion of the county guard, simply pulled out the sharp sword he carried with him, and cut off the head of the county guard, without giving him a chance to confess his last words.

Later, his uncle Xiang Liang stepped out of the mansion with the bloody head of the county guard in his hand and announced to the government officials of Huiji County that their leader had been killed and that they had taken over the place.

A team of 8,000 people composed of Jiangdong's children was quickly formed and set off towards the capital Xianyang. They made it clear that they wanted to overthrow the tyrannical Qin government and restore the glory of the Chu state.

I'm going to get back what I've lost.

【Liu Ji】

During the days when Liu Ji was fleeing, his life was not lonely or bleak. The prisoners who were liberated by him before not only did not leave him, but continued to flee with him. Later, outlaws continued to come to him, and a team of nearly 100 people was gathered.

They are not completely cut off from the outside world. They are even able to communicate with their families at any time. They were not forced to go to Liangshan, they did not have to rob houses, nor did they have to dig grass roots to eat weeds. The family secretly provided relief to them, and food was available at any time. In their eyes, they are just a vacation in a different place. After this limelight, change your name and surname, you may be able to return to your hometown and continue to farm.

The news of the mutiny of the 900 soldiers in Daze Township had already been known to them. But they weren't as excited as Xiang Liang and Xiang Yu, because they didn't realize that this was an opportunity and didn't think they could do anything. They think that they are just the melon-eating masses of history, just look at the excitement. But the heavy responsibility of history is destined to fall on their shoulders, and they can't escape if they want to.

Hearing that many of his colleagues in the surrounding area were killed by local residents, the situation was getting out of control day by day, and the county order of Pei County was extremely tense. He was afraid that he would be killed like the magistrates of other counties, because he had no roots here. The central government of the Qin Dynasty was unreliable, and when its report was submitted, it did not know when it would hear back, and I did not know if the superiors would blame themselves. Moreover, now Pei County is still calm, and there is no reason to report to the superiors, let alone ask the superiors to send troops to protect Pei County.

He could only confide in his two closest subordinates, because he had no roots here. But these two subordinates didn't really see him as a boss, let alone a friend. These two subordinates are named Xiao He and Cao Shen.

Xiao He, a native of Pei County. At this time, he was serving as the chief official of the Pei County Government, responsible for handling all specific government affairs in Pei County, and was the right-hand man of the county order. Cao Shen, a native of Pei County. At this time, he was serving as a prison clerk in the Pei County Government, responsible for the judicial affairs of Pei County, and was Xiao He's subordinate, and cases like Liu Ji's private release of prisoners were handled by him. They are friends with Liu Ji, and often eat, drink, and talk with Liu Ji. (Liu Ji shouldn't have taken them to his sister-in-law's house for dinner...... ）

The prefectural magistrate called the two of them to discuss with them how to deal with the current situation. The county commander even thought about whether to lead the people of Pei County to surrender to Chen Sheng and hand over Pei County for self-preservation.

Xiao He and Cao Shen were a little shocked by the county order's proposal, and they felt a little puzzled. They didn't know whether the county order really wanted to betray the Qin Dynasty or use it to test themselves. Did the prefectural order think that we had some collusion with the rioters?

The two of them looked at each other for a while, and said bluntly to the county order, you are a government official of the Qin Dynasty, I am afraid it is not appropriate to betray the Qin Dynasty like this, and the children of Pei County will not be convinced. Or call back those outlaws in Pei County and let them take the lead. In this way, you can attack and retreat. (Jun is a Qin official, and now he wants to carry it, and he will lead his children, but I am afraid that he will not listen.) May the king summon all those who are dead outside, and they may have hundreds, and the people will not dare not listen to them because of the robbery. ）

At this time, the county order was already like an ant on a hot pot, panicked, and had no idea at all. He could only reluctantly agree with Xiao He and Cao Shen's suggestions.

Xiao He and Cao Shen looked at each other and smiled, secretly happy in their hearts. Because they knew that the county order was really at the end of their rope, they sought advice from them.

Soon, they sent someone to contact Liu Ji, who was in exile, to inform him of the news. The 48-year-old Liu Ji ushered in the most important turning point in his life.

【Liu Ji】

Later historians generally believed that the laws of the Qin Dynasty were harsh and cold, and that the people living in the Qin Dynasty must have been in dire straits. But in fact, how many of the central government's decrees can be resolutely implemented, and how many can take root at the grassroots level. Especially after the second emperor Hu Hai came to power, it is unknown how much authority the central government still has and whether the judicial system can still be implemented to the letter.

For example, the system of joint sitting is not so thoroughly implemented here in Surabaya County. Liu Ji's private release of prisoners is also a felony, and it is also a serious case, but he has not been arrested and imprisoned, nor is he wanted by the whole country, and his family and neighbors have not been severely punished. Although Liu Ji's wife was once implicated and imprisoned, she was soon released. The reason is that Xiao He and Cao Shen are manipulating behind their backs.

Xiao He, who was the chief official of Pei County, and Cao Shen, who was originally responsible for hunting down, not only did not strictly implement the central government's decree, but also secretly funded Liu Ji after knowing that Liu Ji had committed the crime. It is difficult to say that the county order was completely unaware of these circumstances, and if he did, he did not dare to act because he was afraid of reprisals from the local people. He may not even have the courage to report it. I had to wait for the superiors to ask, why hadn't the batch of hard laborers a few months ago been escorted to Xianyang? At this time, he prevaricated for various reasons, and his subordinates really didn't know, maybe they encountered some trouble on the way, so the delay did not arrive.

And the top brass of Surabaya County seem to have been completely oblivious to these egregious political events. The government of the Qin Dynasty in the second era was clearly lazy, and there was a power vacuum throughout the country.

Later, the top brass of Surabaya County was killed by thugs in the precinct, and the mob was led by a fugitive. He is Liu Ji, the head of the Surabaya Pavilion.

【Liu Ji】

When he first heard that he could go back to Pei County, Liu Ji was excited, although he probably didn't know why he could go back. Before returning to Peixian, he had never thought of doing such a great thing as rebellion, and it was a rebellion against the Qin Empire. He was just bent on going back.

When Liu Ji led this group of outlaws back to the edge of Peixian County, the county magistrate ordered the city gate to be closed and not allowed to enter the city. The county order suddenly repented, and planned to arrest Xiao He and Cao Shen and hand them over to the higher-level government for processing.

During this critical period, they instigated the children of Pei County, surrounded the county government, and killed the county commander. Another grassroots government official of the Qin Dynasty was killed by the local rioters, and he did not even leave his name, he was just an ordinary public servant among the crowd.

A 3,000-strong young revolutionary team in Pei County was quickly formed, led by Liu Ji. From today onwards, Liu Ji must begin to learn how to be a qualified anti-Qin revolutionary.

Riot, let the storm come harder.