In September of the 20th year of Qin Wangzheng (227 BC), in Anlu County, Nanjun, Qin State, it rained in the evening by the Yunmeng Lake, causing ripples on the lake water and hitting the banana leaves in pieces. Only those that fell on the roof of the guesthouse were unwillingly blocked by the tiles.
In a simple guesthouse by the lake, the "Sheren", the owner of the store, with gray hair on his temples, was busying around while humming a Chu folk song, but heard a dog barking outside, followed by a heavy knock on the door.
"Someone is coming so late." He slowly moved over and opened the door.
"Thank you, old man!"
The visitor came in in a panic. He was wearing a wet brown coat, a trousers, straw sandals, and a hairpin made of a wooden stick to fix his hair on the left side of his head. When he looked up, he saw that he had dark skin, regular features, thick eyebrows and big eyes, and no beard under his chin. He was a young commoner of seventeen or eighteen years old...
The young man wiped the rain off his face, showing a mouthful of white teeth, and bowed to the servant and said, "Old man, it's raining and I want to stay in the guesthouse for one night."
"Do you have a photo ID?"
When he heard that this person wanted to stay in the hotel, the servant instantly became shrewd from an ordinary country old man, and his eyes swept to the short sword on the young man's waist.
"Yes."
The young man buried his head in his saddle bag and took out the "photo ID" made of poplar wood, handed it to the servant with both hands, and introduced himself at the same time.
"I am Shiwu from Yunmeng Township, Anlu County. You can call me Heifu!"
"Heifu?"
Sheren has many acquaintances in Yunmeng Township, but he has never heard of this person. His eyes wandered back and forth between the "photo sticker" and Heifu's face. This seriousness made Heifu feel as if he was checked by the police for his ID card in his previous life. He broke out in a cold sweat for a while...
Heifu couldn't help but feel guilty, because his identity could be said to be real or fake!
It turned out that he was no longer the original Qin "Heifu", but a student of a police academy in a certain province in the 21st century. After graduation, he was admitted to the county police station. He went to the lake with his friends to celebrate, but unfortunately drowned to save a little boy who fell into the water.
When he woke up again, he found himself lying on a hard couch, surrounded by a group of "strangers" in simple clothes, asking about his well-being.
It was later learned that these were his mother, brother, younger brother, etc. He probably encountered a clichéd plot called "time travel" in novels, and he went back more than 2,000 years ago and became a young man named "Heifu" from Anlu County of the Qin State!
"Heifu, isn't this the Qin soldier in the 'earliest family letter in China' discovered by archaeology?"
He had watched some programs reporting on the Yunmeng Qin Bamboo Slips, and was particularly impressed by the "Heifu Wooden Slip", but he did not expect that he would become the owner of that letter...
Thinking of his future, he shuddered. The TV program said that Heifu wrote the letter in the military camp. The two brothers were just ordinary soldiers in the Qin army. Not only did they have to carry out combat missions, but they also lacked food and clothing. They had to write letters to their families asking for money to buy clothes. They said that if they didn't send money, someone would die! Urgent! It is unknown whether Heifu sent the clothes and money he asked for to his family. However, one thing is certain by archaeologists: during the excavation, only this letter was found in the tomb without Heifu's remains. In other words, Heifu was likely to have died in the war between Qin and Chu, leaving only this letter, which was taken into the tomb by his family as a thought... "Will I die on the battlefield and my body will be gone?" Heifu began to rack his brains to figure out how to avoid the fate of dying in battle in the future. Before he could figure out a plan, the local village chief (lizheng) suddenly came to his door and asked to see him! It turned out that Heifu was 17 years old this year. According to the laws of the Qin State, as an adult man, he should be "registered", that is, registered as a household name, and assume the obligation of military service. Hei Fu was dumbfounded, thinking that he was going to be drafted to the battlefield. Although he had received some training in the police academy in his previous life and had seen blood during his internship, fighting alone is one thing, and fighting on the battlefield with millions of people is another.
His elder brother "Zhong" laughed after hearing his concerns and answered Hei Fu's doubts.
Qin State was very thoughtful in this regard. As the first time in his life, Hei Fu only needed to serve as a "night guard" in Anlu County for a month, helping the government to repair the city and stand guard, or receive military training. He would not go to the battlefield. Hei Fu was relieved.
The deadline for the Anlu County night guards to gather was the first day of October. Now it was the end of September, and the service period was imminent. Hei Fu had to pack his bags and set off in a hurry.
When he said goodbye to his parents, his mother and elder brother gave him many instructions, which made Heifu, who lost his mother at a young age in his previous life and was lonely in his childhood, feel a little warmth of home and gradually began to identify with this identity...
At this time, Heifu felt much more at ease. He thought: "Since I am here, I will make the best of it. Anyway, it is still early for the battle that determines my life and death. There is no point in worrying. It is better to watch and listen more, understand this era well, and slowly think of a way to save my life."
So Heifu put his anxiety behind him and began to look curiously at this country called "tyrannical Qin" in history books.
You don't know until you see it, and you will be shocked when you see it. Along the way, the complete system of Qin and the strict laws surprised Heifu! I thought I had walked into the wrong set. Is this still ancient times?
For example, when he came to stay in this guesthouse, the servant asked for a "photo sticker".
The "Zhao Shen Tie" is the Qin people's identity card, made of a palm-wide poplar wood plate, on which Heifu's native place and identity are engraved: "Nanjun, Anlu County, Yunmeng Township, Xiyangli, named Heifu, the second son in the family, a soldier, seven feet and five inches tall." Shiwu is the name Qin used for ordinary people without titles. In addition, Qin people lived side by side, with five households forming a Wu and ten households forming a Shi. They had to farm well and were not allowed to leave their hometowns at will. If you wanted to go far away, you not only had to have a reasonable reason, but also had to have the village head (lizheng) and the police station chief (tingzhang) of your native place write you a certificate, which was called "chuan", equivalent to a letter of introduction for Qin people.
Just like in modern times, in Qin, you cannot stay in a hotel without an ID card and a letter of introduction. If the owner dared to take in such a person, he would be fined or even lose his job!
So Sheren questioned Heifu carefully, and asked him how many people there were in his family and what they did. He also asked him the names of several elderly people in the sunset of Yunmeng Township and whether they were in good health to confirm the authenticity of his identity.
Heifu was well prepared and answered one by one. It was no problem to "take a photo", so Sheren let him go and said: "It turns out that you are a Shiwu who went to serve in the county. Come in with me."
"Okay. "
Hei Fu agreed, feeling relieved, and secretly rejoiced: "Fortunately, I did not repeat Shang Yang's mistakes. "
Heifu had heard this story before he traveled through time. After the death of Qin Xiaogong, the nobles whose interests were affected by the new law united and labeled Shang Yang a traitor, and issued a nationwide wanted notice. Shang Yang fled to an inn and wanted to stay, but was turned away by the owner because he could not provide a "photo sticker".
It is a great irony that Shang Yang was forced into a desperate situation by the system he created. But it is also good this way. It is unlikely that there will be fugitives and villains living in the guesthouse. Everyone is a good citizen of Qin and can sleep peacefully.
The guesthouse is not big, it is just a courtyard with two entrances. When passing the courtyard, Heifu saw a carriage parked here, probably belonging to an official staying in the hotel.
Then, he followed the servant to a large house built against the east wall, but before entering the door, the servant suddenly turned back and said: "Do you know that fighting privately in the guesthouse is a serious crime?"
Heifu hurriedly said: "I know, I will never cause trouble. "
Qin encouraged public wars and strictly prohibited private fights. Those who fought with others would have their hair and beards shaved off and become criminals.
"I understand." The servant still asked Heifu to hand over the weapons he brought, and then he opened the door of the big house with a sullen face. A warm feeling immediately hit him...
There were already four or five people in the house, sitting around the stove. When they saw the old servant bringing another guest, they squeezed in. One of the skinny young men greeted him warmly: "Little brother, come and sit here."
"Wait a moment, I'll prepare some hot soup. "
The old man is old, and he does everything slowly. The guesthouse only provides meals for officials on business trips. As for ordinary people, they just need to eat the dry food in their arms. It is a great kindness to give them a bowl of hot soup for free.
Hei Fu found a comfortable position to sit cross-legged, while drying his clothes, he looked at the people under the same eaves. They were dressed similarly to Hei Fu, all in brown clothes, wet. It is not easy for people to go out to work in this kind of weather. After a while, several people started chatting, from today's weather to the harvest in autumn...
Hei Fu listened carefully and responded from time to time. He didn't talk much, but he liked to listen to others talking, which could make him feel the people and things of this era more truly, and absorb useful information at the same time.
As they chatted, the topic slowly shifted from daily life to the "major events in the world" that had happened recently.
"Have you heard the rumors? "
The thin, dark young man who invited Heifu to sit beside him was named "Ji Ying". He suddenly lowered his voice and said to Heifu and others:
"I heard from people in Guanzhong that last month, an assassin from Yan State dared to assassinate the king in the Xianyang Palace!"
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