All the heavens begin with the love in the courtyard.

After exchanging pleasantries, Yi Xiaochuan quickly introduced Gao Yao to Liu Bang.

Upon hearing that the person before him was the future emperor mentioned by Yi Xiaochuan, Gao Yao's desire to curry favor with him immediately surged into his mind, and he quickly shook hands with Liu Bang with a fawning expression.

Liu Bang was somewhat puzzled by the man's enthusiasm, but this was just right, saving him from having to say anything more.

Soon everyone recognized each other's faces, but Yi Xiaochuan also quickly spotted Lü Zhi in the crowd.

When the two met again, they were both a little awkward. Yi Xiaochuan was happy that Lü Zhi had recovered from her illness and subconsciously wanted to strike up a conversation to show his concern, but in the end he didn't say anything.

What surprised Yi Xiaochuan even more was that Lü Zhi now seemed not to recognize him and no longer spoke a word to him.

This made Yi Xiaochuan secretly breathe a sigh of relief. This was just right. Lü Zhi had big breasts and a round bottom, but unfortunately she wasn't his type. Besides, Lü Zhi was his elder brother Liu Bang's future wife. How could he possibly lay a finger on her?

Although I did have some fun that night, it was just a mistake I made while drunk, a mistake that all men make, and God will forgive me!

After mentally preparing himself, Yi Xiaochuan immediately relaxed. He then learned from the laborers that Lü Zhi was now having an affair with Liu Bang, and far from being saddened, he was quite pleased.

He even went to Liu Bang and Lü Zhi to congratulate them. Yi Xiaochuan's congratulations were like salt rubbed into Lü Zhi's wounds, deepening the hatred in her eyes.

Liu Bang was quite happy to receive Yi Xiaochuan's congratulations, and he couldn't help but feel a bit more favorably disposed towards Yi Xiaochuan.

However, how to get Yi Xiaochuan and Gao Yao to willingly become government slaves and build the Great Wall became a problem in Liu Bang's mind.

But Lü Zhi had already come up with a plan for him. She whispered a few words in his ear, and Liu Bang smiled inexplicably. This was a good idea!

The very next day, Liu Bang led his conscripted laborers into Xianyang and settled into the official residences provided by the government.

The next day, the destination of these conscripts was to be reported, and then the officials would come to take them away.

That evening, Liu Bang confiscated all the copper coins from the laborers, spent the money to buy several jars of turbid wine, and prepared a few dishes.

The laborers all sat together and took turns toasting Yi Xiaochuan and Gao Yao.

Yi Xiaochuan and Gao Yao, these two modern people, were not very cunning. After being toasted round after round, they quickly got drunk and collapsed to the ground, whimpering and falling asleep.

The other laborers had each drunk less than a bowl of wine. Looking at the two who had already fallen into a deep sleep, everyone felt a mix of emotions.

Liu Bang's eyes flickered, and after a moment of contemplation, his eyes quickly reddened, and tears involuntarily streamed down his face.

Seeing that all the laborers' eyes were on him, Liu Bang wiped away his tears and addressed them.

"Brothers, I, Liu Bang, am weeping today for my sworn brothers. As you all know, the government is selecting two people to be government slaves and to build the Great Wall. These are jobs with a nine-out-of-ten chance of death, especially building the Great Wall, which is a ten-out-of-ten chance of death!"

Originally, I planned to decide by drawing lots, but I couldn't bear to choose two of you to die. In the end, I had no choice but to abandon my sworn brothers and let them die in your place. Now, when I think back to the day Xiaochuan and I swore our brotherhood, my heart is filled with sorrow. I have failed my worthy brother!

Everyone was deeply moved by Liu Bang's words and praised him.

The conscripts all expressed that once they returned to Pei County, they would definitely spread the word about Liu Bang and make his reputation as a benevolent and righteous man known far and wide.

Liu Bang was extremely pleased to hear these words, but his face grew increasingly sorrowful, and he even wept uncontrollably, letting everyone feel his grief.

After everyone had left to rest, Liu Bang wiped away his tears. Looking at the two sleeping soundly, Liu Bang sighed, took out the roster, and wrote down the names of Yi Xiaochuan and Gao Yao.

As Liu Bang put down his pen, the fates of the two men changed.

Gao Yao went to become a government slave, and Yi Xiaochuan went to build the Great Wall.

Since ancient times, the Great Wall has been built from countless bones; the laborers who went to build the Great Wall almost always died.

Liu Bang sent Yi Xiaochuan to repair the Great Wall to please Lü Zhi. Only in this way could he completely eliminate future troubles and finally win the heart of the beauty.

The next day, Yi Xiaochuan woke up from his hangover to find himself with his hands and feet bound and with a group of ragged laborers.

Yi Xiaochuan was taken aback and hurriedly tried to struggle to his feet, shouting loudly.

"Where am I? Where am I? What do you want?"

He was greeted by the sound of a wooden stick striking his body. Yi Xiaochuan was struck by the stick and immediately fell silent.

The officials then led the group of people out of the city. Yi Xiaochuan was in a daze and could only follow them into the distance.

After Yi Xiaochuan left, Liu Bang and Lü Zhi appeared at the city gate. Watching the departing procession, Liu Bang sighed and said...

"Madam, Xiao Chuan is leaving and will never return. Are you satisfied now?"

Empress Lü did not answer him. She simply watched the departing procession and fell into a deep silence. Her eyes were slightly red, but she suppressed her emotions. After a long while, Empress Lü turned to Liu Bang and spoke.

"Now that the business is done, let's head back to Pei County. You can call me Madam now!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Bang was overjoyed and immediately forgot about his sworn brother. He rushed forward, grabbed Lü Zhi's hand, and called out in a somewhat impatient tone.

"Yes, madam! We'll go home immediately!"

Chapter 11: To Make a Move or Not?

With his hands and feet bound, Yi Xiaochuan and a group of laborers were escorted by soldiers towards the Great Wall.

Along the way, they endured wind and rain, but fortunately, Yi Xiaochuan was in excellent physical condition and gradually adapted.

After all, they were just laborers, not criminals. Once the laborers behaved themselves, the soldiers stopped beating and scolding them. As long as they didn't run away, they let them travel in twos and threes.

They were all unfortunate people, regardless of social status. These soldiers guarding the Great Wall had to stay with these laborers in the desolate, uninhabited ravines inside and outside the Great Wall for several years.

Along the way, Yi Xiaochuan's martial arts skills and unique enthusiasm quickly won him the support of many laborers, making him their leader.

With Yi Xiaochuan's support and encouragement, the entire group of laborers who went to repair the Great Wall miraculously survived.

Yi Xiaochuan's actions also attracted the attention of the guarding general. After a match between the general and Yi Xiaochuan, the general actually lost to Yi Xiaochuan.

The general was not angry at all; on the contrary, he respected the hero and treated him with special favor.

He truly is the chosen one; everything goes smoothly for him wherever he goes.

While Yi Xiaochuan was thriving, Gao Yao was struggling on the brink of life and death.

The government slaves were of lowly status. Every day, under the organization of government officials, they did all kinds of manual labor and ate porridge and pancakes. Despite this kind of manual labor, they still had two meals a day.

The most crucial point is that modern people like Gao Yao have no physical strength to do heavy work. On the first day, he injured his back, and the guards who were watching over him whipped his legs with wooden sticks until they were red and swollen.

When night fell, the blanket that Gao Yao had been assigned was taken away by the official slave in his dormitory, leaving Gao Yao to spend his first night lying under the cold eaves.

He was awakened in the middle of the night by the cold rain. The rain slapped against his face, and his tears mingled with the rain, the salty tears flowing down his cheeks and into his tightly clenched lips.

At this moment, his mind was crystal clear, filled with hatred and regret.

He suddenly remembered what that uncle had told him.

"Beware of Liu Bang; if you encounter him, stay far, far away!"

But by then it was too late for him to realize what had happened; he had already been thoroughly tricked by Liu Bang.

Although Gao Yao was not well-educated, he was not stupid. After listening to the conversations of the other government slaves today, he realized that he had been betrayed by Liu Bang.

Slaves were mostly killed or survived, and even if they were lucky enough to survive, they would never be free for the rest of their lives.

I'm finished. My life is over!

As for how to change his future fate, Gao Yao doesn't know yet. All he has left is hatred and regret!

Han Chunming had considered changing Gao Yao's fate, but he had already warned him that if Gao Yao continued down the same old path, then it was up to him to decide.

Besides, Gao Yao wasn't someone he absolutely needed to save; to him, Gao Yao was just a character from a movie or TV show in his memory.

As he headed towards the Qin Dynasty's border, his mood grew increasingly heavy, and he had long forgotten about Gaoyao in Xianyang.

Because of what he saw along the way, he finally understood why the Qin Dynasty only lasted for fifteen years.

Although famines were rare in the Qin Dynasty, there were many things far more serious than famines.

The tax rate in the Qin Dynasty was not very high, but there were many types of taxes. Even sacrifices were subject to taxes. All sorts of miscellaneous taxes combined accounted for almost half of a family's total income.

If the tax rate is a bit high, I can manage as long as I can support my family.

The most crucial point is that every family in the Qin Dynasty had to send one adult male to serve in corvée labor for a lifetime, from the age of seventeen to fifty-seven.

If a family has more than five members, one person must be selected to perform one month of corvée labor each year.

The father and eldest son both had to work for the government, leaving only the women and two children to tend the land. Under such circumstances, what kind of good harvest could the family expect?

But in that era, the average lifespan was only thirty or forty years old, and there were fewer adult men who lived to fifty-seven than the eighty-year-olds of later generations.

In those days, most of the crops grown in the northern regions were low-yield crops, such as millet, which could only yield a few dozen kilograms per mu per year.

Men would rush to sow seeds in the fields all year round, then go to perform corvée labor for a few months. After the crops ripened, they would return home to harvest them, and the amount of harvest depended entirely on the whims of nature.

The only advantage was that in that era, the land was vast and the population sparse, and each household basically had dozens of acres of land.

But in reality, most ordinary people work all year round, and if they miss a day of work, they will go hungry.

Over time, the emotions and discontent in people's hearts have been building up until the day they finally explode.

The thousands of miles of official roads and military fortresses that Qin Dynasty built were all laid out by these laborers.

Three hundred thousand laborers went to build the Great Wall, and seven hundred thousand laborers went to Mount Li to build the imperial mausoleum and the Epang Palace. Most of these people died far from home.

In addition to corvée labor, the Qin Dynasty also had an army of over a million men. Although the Qin Dynasty had unified the six kingdoms, Qin Shi Huang still had no shortage of enemies.

Half a million troops fought against the Baiyue, 300,000 troops were stationed on the border year-round to prevent the Xiongnu from invading, and hundreds of thousands of troops were left in the country to guard against corvée labor and participate in various military defenses.

In the Qin Dynasty, with a population of just over 20 million, almost all adult men in the country dedicated their entire lives to serving the nation.

A country where the majority of its population serves the country itself is inherently somewhat unhealthy.

A few years later, Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, with only three hundred men, ignited the chaos of the beginning of the era like a wildfire, ultimately leading to the complete destruction of the country.

Of course, after Qin Er Shi came to power, he formulated even more brutal Qin laws, which was the final straw that broke the Qin Dynasty.

Along the way, Han Chunming encountered at least a dozen groups of bandits and robbers, most of whom were laborers and refugees, and even some criminal soldiers.

Han Chunming initially killed several groups, but later, seeing that there were simply too many, he lost all interest in killing them. He only killed a few to intimidate them before leaving alone.

Moreover, as the border gets closer and closer, the population becomes increasingly sparse, and the lives of the local people become even more difficult.

Most of the people had dark complexions, and their families spent their entire lives working in the fields with their heads down. They often encountered robbery by government officials and bandits, and their lives were filled with misery.

Han Chunming rode alone for three days in the desolate wilderness before finally seeing a small border town. The surrounding area was a desolate, rocky mountain with endless yellow sand and Gobi Desert in the distance. Apart from some hunters in the mountains, there was hardly a soul in sight.

After eating roasted wild game for three days, Han Chunming finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the city where people gathered.

Before even entering the city, Han Chunming saw a line of soldiers escorting hundreds of prisoners dressed in strange clothes towards the city gate from a distance on the official road.

These prisoners included men, women, and children, all with iron chains on their feet and their hands bound, and were driven forward by hundreds of soldiers.

Han Chunming wouldn't have been curious about this situation under normal circumstances, but he soon realized that these people didn't seem to be from the Qin state, but rather from a different race.

Since these people, regardless of their appearance or clothing, are different from the Qin people, could they be Xiongnu people?