I am not a seventh-generation descendant of Lord Wu'an from the Qin Dynasty.

"Food! Food! Food!"

One by one, tattered grain sacks were thrown out, bonfires were lit, and the aroma of porridge wafted from earthenware pots.

Soon, the food ran out!

Bai Qi told the truth.

"We are not professional grain merchants. The grain we store is only for food on the road. Once the grain is gone, we will be gone."

The bandits made a ruckus for a while.

The bandits didn't believe it, and neither did the bandit leader with the sword.

Such a large caravan, with ten mule carts alone, dozens of guards, and hundreds of brothers who died, how could they possibly have only this little bit of food?

This was a consensus among the entire bandit group.

"Food! Food! Food!"

The calls for grain supplies continued.

Bai Qi's voice was dry.

"No food! We're really out of food!"

The thieves did not believe it.

Until one person, driven mad by hunger, shouted, "If we run out of grain, we'll slaughter mules and horses; horse meat is grain too!"

Once one person starts, two others will chime in.

"Yes, anything edible is grain!"

"And there are copper coins; with money, you can exchange them for food at the nearby market!"

"We also have linen; linen can be exchanged!"

"Weapons! Throw out the weapons too!"

The swordsman's eyelids twitched violently; he knew something was wrong and tried to stop him.

But the thieves, having tasted the aroma of the food, were overcome with greed and could no longer restrain themselves.

Whoosh whoosh~

Five rapid-fire arrows were fired in quick succession.

Five vicious thugs, armed with weapons and jumping the most enthusiastically, fell straight to the ground upon hearing the sound, their blood splattering.

The sword-wielding bandit leader, clutching his head and crouching on the ground, glanced sideways at his companion, who had been shot through the throat and was coughing up blood, and gave a bitter smile.

"Brother, why did you have to provoke him? Now look what's happened! Your wife is mine now!"

Over here, Bai Qi jumped off the carriage with a cold look in his eyes, his right arm, which he used to shoot arrows, trembling.

Seeing his reaction, Tian Bai swallowed the words "A traitor is ungrateful; feeding him only breeds enmity" that he was about to say.

He reached out and patted him on the shoulder, comforting him, "I know you're soft-hearted, but this is war!"

Bai Qi shook his head and smiled, "Brother Tian, ​​Qin Qi has arrived. It's your turn to charge into battle!"

Tian Baijiang: "I knew you'd figure that out! Leave these bastards outside to me, you can rest!"

Tian Bai raised his hand and lifted the sharp, double-edged Qin sword, then pounded his chest with the black, shiny Qin armor.

"Heavy armored troops, assemble!"

"Open up the passage."

"Light crossbowmen, clear the way!"

"Heavy infantry, follow me!"

"Motorized spearmen, follow!"

"Archer, take your own life!"

Tian Bai glanced at Bai Qi one last time, then waved his hand and pulled down the black-faced ghost mask, revealing two blood-red eyes.

He donned his gleaming black heavy infantry armor and charged headlong into the gap in the carriage opened by the horse-controlling soldiers.

Before him lay a chaotic mob of bandits, bewildered and unsure whether to advance or retreat.

Behind them followed in unison, Qin heavy armored soldiers who had been hiding for dozens of days, eager to make a name for themselves.

Whoosh whoosh~

The light crossbowmen were the first to fire their bronze Qin crossbows to clear a path; those hit within sixty paces were instantly killed.

The light crossbowmen flanked to the sides, while ten heavily armored infantrymen stood in neat rows, unyielding as mountains. They blindfolded themselves and charged headlong into the enemy ranks.

He charged into the bandit group without hesitation.

In this era, that black heavy armor paired with that demonic mask was synonymous with the fear and shunning of the soldiers of the six kingdoms.

Moreover, what they were facing was nothing more than a bunch of cowardly bandits, wearing no armor and dressed in plain clothes.

Qin Jian's movements were like a tiger entering a pack of wolves, instantly unleashing a storm of blood and gore, as if the ground were being plowed by a knife.

The swordsmen and shieldmen charged in, reaping the lives of the lucky ones who were running around in a panic.

The spearmen stood like a forest, arranged in neat rows, skewering the bandits like candied hawthorns.

Four chariot soldiers, armed with short swords, guarded the breach, their eyes like wolves, ready for battle.

Bai Qi glanced at the two archers under his command who still had some strength left, and raised his head.

"Go! The personal guards are here. It's good to earn more military merits for yourself."

The four archers clasped their hands in unison to receive the order.

"Thank you, General!"

The two who still had energy, with short swords at their waists and bows and arrows in their hands, rushed out.

In an instant, the sound of a bowstring being drawn taut and arrows tearing through the air could be heard.

In Bai Qi's eyes, the two rapid-fire archers were exhausted and would need at least two or three days to recover.

He nimbly climbed back onto the carriage, his sharp eyes fixed on the panicked bandits a hundred paces away. He then took a deep breath and began to fire blindly from his bow.

Each of the five men had a mark on their arrows, and hitting one of them would earn them a military merit.

The muscle strain that Bai Qi was worried about was nothing compared to the preciousness of the victory he was about to achieve.

After all, victory is a rare and hard-won achievement; a muscle strain just means resting for another seven or eight days!

The four chariot soldiers, each wielding a short sword, all turned to look at him, their eyes revealing an unmistakable longing.

Bai Qi rubbed his forehead, opened his mouth, and said wearily, "At least, keep two!"

"At least keep an eye on me a little, okay?"

He didn't dare say "Go ahead" first, for fear that all four of them would run away and he would pretend not to hear them.

As for who stays and who leaves, that's up to them.

The footsteps of the two soldiers in the vehicle disappeared.

The bugle call sounded as the Qin army launched a full-scale advance.

Banners bearing the character "Qin" began to flutter in the wind, and lightly armored cavalry charged into battle.

Leading the way was none other than Sun Cheng, a centurion eager to make a name for himself.

Behind them were spearmen, crossbowmen, archers, and lightly armored infantry lined up in neat rows!

The entire battalion of 1,000 new recruits was mobilized, plus the 50 veterans that Li Tian had brought from the Qin army camp to lead the charge, despite his own shame.

In a short time.

The Qin soldiers were like wolves descending from the mountains and tigers emerging from the forests.

The bandits were like red-eyed rabbits or frightened golden monkeys.

A frenzied charge, a chaotic crash...

The battle briefing was roughly as follows:

The Qin army set a trap; the Qin army arrived; the Qin army began its charge; and the battle ended for the Qin army!

……

"Bai Qi, well done!"

Li You, dressed in black armor and helmet, dismounted and lightly punched him in the chest as soon as he got close.

Bai Qi raised his hand in greeting: "Greetings, Commander!"

"Bai Qi, in this battle, fifty Qin soldiers were used as bait to lure four thousand eight hundred bandits down the mountain. Among them, one thousand two thousand were engaged in battle, and three thousand six thousand surrendered."

"Even if the Taihang bandits' military achievements are halved and then halved again, it will still be a great and inspiring feat!"

"Bai Qi, you can officially relinquish your position as a Hundred Generals, and you will be promoted to a 2500-level Lord based on your accumulated merits."

"You should know that this is the first 2500-man commander under my command. Bai Qi, you can now call yourself a 'commander'."

Bai Qi's lips curled up. "Thank you for the great favor of your master in promoting me. Bai Ding..."

"Don't thank me yet, there's more."

Li You smiled and said, "According to the Qin military merit system, based on the number of people, I can only promote you to the fourth level without changing your rank and salary."

"A salary of two hundred shi (a unit of dry measure), four qing (a unit of land area), and four houses!"

Bai Qi's breathing paused, becoming slightly rapid.

"Once the land and houses are reported to the county or prefecture, they are allocated, with the township coordinating the process."

"The two hundred bushels of grain may be delayed, after all, the army's food supplies are tight right now."

"But don't worry, I'll report this to General Wang Yi of the Expeditionary Camp. He'll at least get promoted one rank; only a Grand Master is worthy of commanding five hundred generals!"

"You should know that a fifth-rank Grand Master's title comes with a salary of 250 shi (a unit of dry measure), 5 qing (another unit of land measurement), and 5 residences..."

Bai Qi stared blankly at the five hands that Li You was constantly moving.

"A fifth-rank Grand Master? Five qing of land? I've become a feudal landlord in the Great Qin Empire!"

"He endured three days of hunger as a refugee, and more than three months of Qin soldiers' control over clearing land and building houses. Has his fortunes finally turned around?"

"Wait, it's Wang Yi, the commander of the expeditionary force against Han!"

"That's 244-243 BC, the second or third year of Qin Shi Huang's reign."

Bai Qi had always been very clear about this.

In this feudal autocratic era where different dialects and writing systems existed in different places, his greatest asset was always his foresight regarding history.

He wouldn't have been confident if he wasn't absolutely certain that Qin would win in the end, even if it were a second chance.

Can he still endure the hardship of clearing land and farming in the muddy fields day and night for more than three months?

The only thing that brought him some comfort was that in the dead of night, the mute girl would open her big, expressive eyes and breathe softly in his ear.

It was the mute girl who soothed all the restlessness, anxiety, and resentment in his heart, allowing him to persevere.

It also made him understand that old saying again.

A man has a home, a place where his heart belongs!

Otherwise, it will surely become the source of chaos and disorder throughout the world!