Liu Bang's monarch and his ministers were in panic and had no idea.

The competition for survival in the animal world is cruel and bloody, without any emotion. The battle for supremacy between princes is also thrilling and dazzling.

It took Liu Bang three years to go from the pavilion chief to the king of Han, but it only took a little more than a month from the king of Han to the grass bandits. Such a huge change is really cruel for an old man in his fifties. In this

In a competition between the weak and the strong, Liu Bang and the others have fallen from the top to the bottom of the food chain.

Territory lost.

Desertion intensified.

The army was hastily assembled, focusing on quantity over quality. The centripetal force and gathering power of the Han army generals have always been a problem. Han Wangxin and Liu Jia's more than 10,000 troops retreated from Wancheng, and the number of troops gradually decreased to more than 7,000, including deserters.

Accounting for more than half, the thousands-mile-long Funiu Mountains not only provided shelter, but also made the Han soldiers feel the gap between them and the prosperous cities.

After enjoying the prosperity of big cities like Xianyang, Xicheng, and Yingdu, many Han soldiers instinctively felt unaccustomed to living a hard life deep in the mountains.

"Your Majesty, when I came back from Pengcheng this time and passed through Chen County, I met the Chu army general Ding Gong. After a conversation, Ding Gong complained a lot. Maybe we can make friends with him so as to leave a way out."

Seeing everyone looking disappointed and helpless, Zhang Liang said.

Gaps are always found from within.

Xiang Bo is like this, and Ding Gong is the same.

Unable to become the new five tiger generals in the Chu army, and his nephew Ji Bu was not doing well at the moment, Ding Gong's mentality gradually became unbalanced. For this subtle change in the mentality of the generals, the rough Xiang Yu had no idea.

Zhang Liang was sensitive to the strangeness of Ding Gong.

Make good friends with Ding Gong.

This is undoubtedly good news. Ding Gong's defense area is on the edge of Yingchuan. Once Shangcai is captured by the Qin army, the Han army can retreat to Chen County to temporarily escape.

Liu Bang's eyes lit up. But then he continued talking quietly: "Ding Gong is just a partial general in the Chu army. He can't be used for much. As for the benefits given to him, sir, I will handle it with kindness. After all, now we are also

It’s very difficult. Even if you have a little bit of money, you have to focus on more pressing things first.”

Liu Bang's answer was very tactful, but Zhang Liang had already heard it, and Ding Gong could just deal with it a little. There is no need to spend too much energy, and with the current income of Han State, if you don't use it urgently, your life will be over.

Can't go down.

"Leave the affairs of the army to Liu Jia and Brother Han. No matter what, we must not let the soldiers run away again. Even if we spend all our money, we must build a strong army this time." Liu Bang's eyes showed something.

Fen Jueran. After losing in a row, he still has this perseverance to persevere. I have to admit that Lao Liu is indeed admirable.

"The king's words, we have written them down." Zhang Liang lowered his head with red eyes. Behind him, Liu Jia and Liu Fei also looked guilty.

As for Han Wangxin, who was at the end, his head was lowered, but his eyes were looking left and right. This Korean descendant obviously did not agree with Liu Bang's words.

In the eyes of Han Wangxin, a down-and-out Liu Bang who had suffered repeated defeats had long lost his original status and mystery. Among the Han troops in Shangcai, Han Wangxin had more than 3,000 soldiers, accounting for almost half of the Han army.

A little more, and Yingchuan is the territory of the old Han Dynasty, Han Wangxin's appeal is obviously stronger than Liu Bang.

——.

Guanzhong at the end of September.

The autumn air is crisp and the wind is bright and sunny. The northwest wind from the grassland begins to blow southward. After a bloody battle with the Huns at the same time last year, the land in Guanzhong this year is as calm as a still lake.

Chang'an New Town.

It has begun to take shape. It is like a rapidly growing child. While constantly absorbing the mother's milk, it is also developing at a dazzling speed.

What attracts the most attention of Qin people in the new city is not the clean and tidy streets or the bustling business district, but the forest of steles standing on the high hills of Leyouyuan.

This is a forest of stone steles that makes all the soldiers of the Qin army feel solemn. Different from those simple and thick-line carvings, all the bluestones are collected from the depths of Taibai Mountain, the highest peak in the Qinling Mountains, and then transported to Chang'an City by ship. A stone tablet records

A war also commemorates those soldiers who died in the war for the revival of Qin.

"Let the glory be with you, let future generations never forget you, let the people of Qin live in peace and prosper forever!" At the end of the forest of steles, Li Yuan's words were engraved word by word.

Come down.

The glory belongs to you.

Because you sacrificed your lives.

Everyone who comes here will never forget you, because you are the long history of the Qin Dynasty. As soon as you open it, you can hear your shouts of fierce war.

The bones of Gan Houbo, Zhou Xing, Han Si——, and the Qin army soldiers who did not leave their names were all moved and buried here. Every spring when the flowers bloom, there will be many Qin soldiers.

People come here to pay homage to these heroes who fought for their country.

The Forest of Steles is speechless, but it always reminds every Qin person that today's peace is hard-won. When the Qin army troops returning from the east pass through Chang'an, they will proudly line up in front of the Forest of Steles and stop, leaving the last of their comrades in arms.

The memory stays here, and every time in the future, no matter where they are, they will regard the Forest of Steles as a home in their hearts.

Here, there are brothers who have shared life and death, comrades who will give you their backs, and the everlasting friendship that belongs to men.

East Market.

Hu merchants have occupied most of the shops. These merchants from the Parthian Kingdom brought to Qin the popular wine and its seeds in the Mediterranean area, as well as other rare objects brought from the far west.

The price has increased more than ten times compared to the place of origin, but demand still exceeds supply.

Of course, transactions are relative. When the Hu Jia go back, the mysterious silks from the East they take away will also cause looting in places west of Parthia.

The interests are at risk. Judging from the information Bai Guangji came back from the Mobei grassland, the Huns' great Chanyu Maodun has changed the direction of attack after encountering a big problem in the south. Now the Huns' cavalry will plunder the target.

Put it on the Dayue clan, a tribe that is constantly moving westward.

At the northern end of the desert, the Xiongnu army and the Yuezhi army continued the game of chasing each other. The situation on the western border became increasingly tense, but the number of Hu merchants in the Guanzhong area increased instead of decreasing.

West Market.

It is planned as a residential area. The layout here is designed according to the drawings of Xin Zhui and Li Yuan. It is divided into four major blocks: Changle Fang, Anle Fang, Thanksgiving Fang, and Xuexue Fang. The civilians living in each block are different.

Classified according to their respective occupations, this semi-mandatory and semi-voluntary arrangement can save the city's energy consumption to the greatest extent and provide the fastest response time for emergencies.

Eight main water diversion canals run through the entire city. The first place they pass through is the residential area of ​​​​Xi Shi. When the clean and clear Weihe River water flows through the streets and alleys, you can imagine how important their role will be.

Let Chang'an City have its own blood. This innovative idea proposed by Li Yuan in urban design will undoubtedly leave a mark in the development history of Chinese cities.

Chinese cities have always paid little attention to drinking water hygiene. Especially when it comes to the choice of drinking water sources, well water is generally used. Well water is used for eating, washing, and even excrement cleaning.

, this ancient method of using one well for multiple purposes has been used until modern times.

Old habits can be changed, especially after gaining the supreme status. Li Yuan's orders are almost equivalent to imperial edicts. For the people of Qin, the words of Marquis Shenwu have surpassed most of the previous emperors of Qin and reached the same level as the ancients.

The emperor was on par with the first emperor.

Li Yuan could tolerate the lack of rubber tires on vehicles in this era, and could tolerate the lack of rapid transportation such as airplanes and high-speed trains, but he could not tolerate the sanitary conditions where he could only wash his hands in a bathtub.

Bathrooms and toilets were completed one by one, allowing the people living in Chang'an to enjoy unusual preferential treatment. This kind of preferential treatment was more profound for the common people of Qin State, because they would get free bathing twice every year.

This opportunity, for the lower class people who often go without washing for a year, is like going to heaven.

No matter whether your status is high or low, whether your occupation is noble or low, when you are completely naked, everyone has the same identity - a bather.

You can ramble on about romantic anecdotes, you can let go of your obsessions and talk to strangers, and you can rub your rigid muscles and bones vigorously.

As soon as the new thing of bathhouse appeared, it was immediately accepted by Hu Shang. For them, who often have body odor and are not liked by women in Guanzhong, after the busy bargaining, they can wash their whole bodies clean and then go to the admired woman.

Listening to a little song and singing a few poems from my hometown is the most beautiful moment of the day.

Compared with ordinary Qin people who have to queue up and pay baht to wash themselves once, Li Yuan's Shenwuhou Mansion, Chen Ping's Chang Shi Mansion and the houses of important officials in Chang'an all have special rooms for washing.

It was specifically requested by Li Yuan. During the initial construction, everyone including Xin Sheng, the supervisor, expressed disbelief at Li Yuan's insistence on building bathhouses in twenty mansions. But now, they are completely ignored.

I was impressed by this advanced planning.

Owning a mansion with a dedicated bathroom has become a new goal and pursuit of officials at all levels in the Qin State. In terms of urgency, it is even more important than promotion. After all, no man can endure the abuse of his female relatives at home.

Complaining every day is not complaining, it is talking about your incompetence.

Privilege and equality.

This is what life's struggle is all about.

Without privileges, people will have no goal to strive for. Without equality, people will lose their most basic principles. Li Yuan hopes to use this silent change of moistening things to inspire and guide the Qin people in Guanzhong to care more about the land under their feet.

Land also gives people who have just defected to Qin a greater sense of identity and belonging. (To be continued...)
Chapter completed!