On both sides of Yingshui, people were so densely packed that they looked like countless ants.
The ants built a wooden bridge, and the wooden bridge continued to close from both sides to the middle...
The army continued to flock to the shore of Yingshui.
An official asked with sweating profusely: "Where is Prime Minister Han?"
Han Bi followed the Chinese army and saw that the forward was motionless and asked, "Why don't you cross the river?"
"Prime Minister Han, the wooden bridge has not been erected yet."
"Why?" Han Bi was furious.
There is a bridge on Yingshui River, but that bridge usually carries pedestrians and business travelers. Not only are there many people and horses for the army to cross the river, but there is also a steady stream of baggage following them. How can those wooden bridges be enough?
The order to build a bridge over Yingshui River had been issued a long time ago. Han Bi knew the officials' stubbornness, so in order to avoid trouble, he even gave the construction period an extra three days.
The official responsible for building the bridge was brought in. Before he could salute, Han Bi said coldly: "Where is the wooden bridge?"
The official said: "Prime Minister Han, there is an undercurrent under the Ying River, and the people are timid, so they have been delayed for a while..."
The veins on Han Bi's neck were jumping, and the staff behind him whispered: "My lord, the way out! The way out!"
If you offend too many people, be careful if you are out fighting for the country and someone will stab you in the back.
Han Bi took a deep breath and said, "I will give you another half day. If the army cannot cross the river after half a day, I will throw you into Yingshui."
"yes."
The civil servant raised his head, his eyes flickered, and he stopped talking.
Han Bi just looked at Ying Shui with an indifferent expression.
Immediately, the officials' scoldings came from the front.
Those peasants were driven away like dogs.
Han Bi dismounted his horse and walked slowly to the river.
The peasants were working hard, and everyone was naked from the waist up, and they were all tanned by the sun.
Han Bi said quietly: "One of the new policies is that people have three meals a day, but what about this?"
"Two meals."
The staff member said.
"Why two meals?"
"They said, why eat so much when you have nothing to do?"
"The reason is quite simple."
"Simply outrageous."
"But I also want to ask, why do they eat so much? They eat so much that they fill their brains with fat, but they do nothing to help others!"
Han Bi pointed to the half-finished wooden bridge and said: "I gave them three extra days for construction, but look, where is the wooden bridge now? Go and ask."
Someone has already gone.
He came back later and said, "Mr. sir, the start of work is five days late."
"Why?"
"The first batch of wood and other materials arrived late."
"Why are you late?"
"The first batch of wood purchased...was unusable."
"Who has his hand in it?"
"A group of people."
After speaking, several staff and followers waited for Han Bi's anger.
But for a long time, Han Bi just sighed.
The wooden bridge was erected, and then the army began to cross the river.
After Han Bi crossed the river, several civil servants smiled at each other.
"Escaped!"
"No, Han Bi is leading his army on an expedition right now. What he is most worried about is that someone will make a fuss about the follow-up supplies. How dare he offend us?"
"Exactly this!"
A civil servant suddenly sighed with regret on his face.
"Brother Wang, this is..."
Brother Wang said: "It's a pity that I got a little less!"
As the water flowed slowly, the villagers began to clean up, and the officials gathered together to chat and laugh. After a while, they dispersed.
There was no one on the shore except for a few broken shoes.
…
After crossing Yingshui, Han Ji immediately sent people to Sanzhou to report the news.
"Be careful and don't attack without permission!"
Han Bi said in a deep voice: "In addition, inform Bianjing that I have passed Yingshui. From now on, Bianjing should be cautious."
"Why not put martial law in Bianjing?" said the staff, "it is better than causing panic due to the approaching Northern Xinjiang Army."
"You think I don't want to?" Han Bi shook his head, "There are many powerful people in Bianjing. Once martial law is enforced, there will be countless people who criticize me."
"It's hard to be a human being." The staff said with emotion: "It's even harder to be the Prime Minister and Assistant of the Zhou Dynasty."
"It's not difficult." Another staff member said: "As long as you are shameless, you can pass without hindrance."
"No, you still have to know how to camp."
Several aides were ridiculing the important officials in the court, and Han Bi's mind had already turned to the war situation.
That afternoon, news came from the scouts.
"The Northern Xinjiang Army is approaching Songcheng."
Songcheng is the gateway to Jinzhou, and Jinzhou is on the right side of Bianjing, forming the gateway to Bianjing with Yongzhou and Xinzhou.
Once the three states are lost, the enemy will be able to invade Yingshui.
"Shall we attack Jinzhou first?"
Han Bi squinted his eyes and thought.
The army is behind him.
"Set up camp."
Taking advantage of the free time when the army was camping, Han Bi climbed up a hill with his civil and military officials.
The hills are beautiful, and there are quite quiet trails in the mountains. The chirping of birds can be heard in your ears, and the fresh air can be felt in your nose, which makes you feel relaxed and happy.
There is an open space near the north side of the hill, which can be viewed from a distance.
"As soon as Jinzhou is reached, Xinzhou is in danger. This battle between the Northern Xinjiang Army will definitely be a thunderous one. However, with me leading the army on the side, the King of Qin also has to worry about his own retreat."
Han Bi turned around and said with a smile: "Both sides are walking on thin ice in this battle. King Qin is worried about my surprise attack, and I also have to worry about King Qin's trap. I hope my ancestors will protect me!"
The ancestors he mentioned were the emperors of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
In the Great Zhou Dynasty, the most talked about are the ancestral rules.
But Han Bi has always disdained the so-called ancestral rules.
Today, I took the initiative to pray for the protection of my ancestors.
This shows how great the pressure is.
That night, he was writing a memorial to the emperor in his tent.
The candles are specially made, have subtle flames, and look very impressive from the outside.
After he finished writing, he looked at it carefully, but finally tore it up casually.
"What can I say to make you more confident? That's all!"
…
More than a hundred miles away from him, King Qin was also writing in his tent.
However, what I wrote was a letter.
The letter was written to Liu Qing.
In the letter, King Qin mentioned the issue of the aristocratic families in Guanzhong.
stable!
This is the request of King Qin.
In the letter, he analyzed the thoughts of the powerful Guanzhong family.
Those people wanted to take action, but they lacked a leader.
If Yang Songcheng is still here, then this leader will do his job.
Without him, the remaining leaders of the big clans seemed to lack prestige.
In the last years of the Chen Kingdom, a large family decided to rebel. After struggling for a long time to choose a leader, they finally chose the Li family.
What's more, the Northern Xinjiang Army is suppressing Guanzhong at the moment. Once any clues are discovered, the family will be wiped out in an instant.
The threat posed by Shi Zhongtang is about to dissipate, and the people of the aristocratic family are panicking. At this moment, no one will dare to take action.
Then he wrote about the taxation issue in Guanzhong.
Everything is business as usual!
——Wait until this king comes back, and then slowly plan this matter.
What sustains a country is not the military, but taxation.
Without taxes, you cannot support the army or the officials; you cannot build roads, water conservancy projects, or build cities... In a word, without taxes, a country will not be a country.
Unless there are emergencies, state expenses are almost constant with little fluctuation.
The fluctuations in taxes will be greater.
Taxation is related to the national destiny of the Tang Dynasty. If the aristocratic families receive less, they must make up for it from the common people. If the common people are asked for too much, the convenience of the people will not be enough.
Then the people couldn't bear it anymore and raised the flag to rebel.
The country is overturned and the dynasty is changed!
This is a strange circle.
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the rich have gotten richer and the poor have gotten poorer.
The country is caught in the middle and is in a dilemma.
Moreover, by this time, the expenses of most countries are countless times higher than when the country was founded. Taxation is absolutely necessary.
Who to operate on?
Nian Xu ordered Sun Shi to implement the New Deal, but Sun Shi's attitude was to attack the rich and the common people at the same time.
As a result, things went wrong when the New Deal was implemented...
The rich were unscathed, but the common people suffered heavy losses.
In the end, the New Deal was denounced by the people as a law that harmed the people and ended hastily.
The law cannot be enforced if it is not accepted by the people!
This is King Qin’s summary of the lessons of the Southern Zhou Dynasty’s New Deal.
Without a bureaucratic class with strong execution capabilities, all laws and policies are just for show. Local bureaucrats will even regard these laws and policies as tools to make money and exploit the people even more.
So, want to innovate!
Officials first!
After packing the letter, King Qin walked over with the candlestick.
Ah Liang was sleeping next to him, his mouth slightly open, looking extraordinarily honest.
King Qin pulled the thin quilt for him, walked to the edge of his bed, lay down, and closed his eyes.
In my mind, we are fighting with each other!
…
Jinzhou, Zhizhou Changxing is still awake.
He is looking at the map.
"The Northern Xinjiang Army has arrived at Songcheng. Once inside Songcheng, it is critical to go south. Reinforcements! The most important thing is reinforcements!"
His finger stopped at Songcheng on the map and he frowned.
The sound of Dongdongdong’s footsteps came.
A clerk appeared outside the door, "Zhizhou, a scout from the Northern Xinjiang Army suddenly appeared below the city."
"oh!"
Chang Xing raised his head and asked, "Can we go?"
"Not leaving!"
“Go check it out!”
…
The city head was now brightly illuminated by torches.
"Zhizhou!"
Guard Huang Zhang had arrived a long time ago, his armor and clothes were neat and he looked majestic.
"how?"
Chang Xing walked to the edge of the battlements, held the city head with both hands and looked into the distance.
The moonlight was good, and I could see more than a hundred horsemen cruising not far away.
"The army is right behind!"
"You can still serve as an official if you surrender now. If you wait until the city is destroyed, it will be too late!"
After some provocation, the Northern Xinjiang army scouts disappeared into the distance.
"This is harassment, trying to make our soldiers panic."
"This is a tired strategy!"
Several officials who came after hearing the news were in Didigu.
"Look at the city."
Chang Xing ordered: "Take turns to rest. In addition, if there is a small group of enemy troops, you don't need to pay attention."
"yes!"
After returning to Zhouli, Chang Xing was no longer in the mood to plan the battle, so he went back to rest.
When he got home, his wife was still waiting for him.
"Why don't you sleep?"
Chang Xing took off his outer robe.
His wife helped him undress and said, "I was confused in the lake before and woke up when I heard the commotion outside."
"It's the scouts of the Northern Xinjiang Army who are harassing us, it's okay!"
After untying his belt, Chang Xing pulled his hands from his sleeves and took off his outer robe.
"Is it dangerous?" The wife was a little worried, "It was said that King Qin defeated Yezhou in three days!"
"Yezhou underestimated the enemy."
Chang Xing sat on the edge of the bed and took off his pants.
"Wash your feet?" the wife asked.
"No more washing." Chang Xing shook his head, "I'm tired."
"good!"
After going to bed, Chang Xing became quiet as soon as he lay down.
I don’t know how much time passed, but when my wife was lost in the lake, she suddenly heard him say:
"There are a bunch of pigs all over the temple!"
…
Years of habit made King Qin get up very early.
He carefully glanced at A-Liang, and seeing that he was sleeping soundly, he tiptoed out of the tent, shook his head at the guards outside, "Keep your voice down."
He left the tent for more than ten steps before he drew his sword and started practicing.
After practicing the sword technique, he was already sweating on his forehead.
"Your Highness's perseverance is truly rare." The old thief praised.
It is absolutely impossible for him to wake up so early every day for many years to practice.
"When you know what you are shouldering, you will naturally be diligent."
King Qin sheathed his sword.
The so-called perseverance is actually driving force.
Without motivation, no one will stick to something for a long time.
When Ah Liang woke up, the first thing he did was to go out and look for him.
"Aye!"
"Are you up? Take a shower and get ready for breakfast."
The King of Qin transformed into an old mother and took good care of his son.
After breakfast, the scout came to report.
"Your Highness, Han Bi led an army of 70,000 to cross Yingshui."
