The Six Arts of the Gentleman in the Bright Moon of Qin Dynasty

Chapter 179 The Last Zhao Ren [Please subscribe and vote monthly]

"In the [-]th year of King Wuling of Zhao, we left our hometown in the Kingdom of Zhao and went out to Yanmen. We built all the way from Yanmen in the east to Gaoque Fortress in the west. It lasted six years and ended in the [-]th year of King Wuling of Zhao."

The old county guard pointed to the Great Wall and told Yan Yan about their past glory.

"However, everything has changed since the twenty-seventh year of King Zhao Wuling!" The old county guard sighed.

"Since the first year of King Huiwen, we have been abandoned. The craftsmen, laborers, etc. here have all retreated. Only we stayed, waiting for the arrival of the edict that we knew would never appear again."

"We continued to build on the unfinished Great Wall, and now we have the Great Wall you see today! Then we have Jiuyuan, Anyang, Wuyuan and Gaoquesai!"

Yan Yan finally understood why Yan and Zhao were said to have many righteous people!

The old people of Jiuyuan County clung to the grassland and continued to repair the Great Wall for the edict and the message to destroy the Qin Dynasty that would never appear again.

But no one came back, so they had no choice but to rob the Hu people to continue building the Great Wall and four cities. In order to continue building the Great Wall, they even married the Hu people and stayed on the grassland.

"Go and see Gao Que, they are the ones suffering the most!" The old county guard waved his hand.

Yan Yan saluted solemnly and led the people away from Jiuyuan, heading towards Gaoque Fortress along the Great Wall.

Once, he thought that there were no roads on the grassland to guide the direction and it would be easy to get lost. However, the old people in Jiuyuan built this Yellow Dragon City and became a guiding light on the grassland.

Following the Great Wall, they easily found Anyang City, Wuyuan City, and finally arrived at Gaoque Fortress at the end.

A city built on a cliff.

Just like its name, a palace on a high mountain!

Gaoque Fortress is not big, not even as big as the palace of any country. There are only a few scattered houses, and it is more like an outpost or a cottage.

So when Yan Yan and his entourage arrived, they were all shocked by what Yan Yan saw.

The veterans were wearing armor and glaring angrily. Even though their bodies were stooped and they needed to lean on long soldiers to stand, they were still vigilant.

Until they saw the red and blue armors that Yan Yan and others were wearing, representing the Zhao Kingdom.

"Has the person who changed the defense finally arrived?" After Yan Yan and his entourage approached, the old man on the Gaoque Fortress asked expectantly.

Li Ren and Luo Bing's eyes were red. They didn't expect that there were still people guarding Gaoque Fortress. If the old governor of Jiuyuan hadn't told them, they would have forgotten that there were soldiers from Zhao State guarding here.

Li Xin was silent. He had heard in Longxi and Beidi counties that there was such a powerful army guarding the grasslands, threatening the northern border of Qin State, but he did not expect that this group of troops would be feared by even the North. The incomparable army has now aged like this.

"Shudong, I've met the general!" Yan Yan saluted solemnly.

Li Ren and others also followed suit and saluted.

"I'm not a general!" The old man waved his hands hurriedly, and then pointed to the lonely graves under the city wall, "The general is already over there!"

Yan Yan and Li Ren looked in the direction of the veteran's fingers and discovered that there were tombs erected under the city wall.

"It's been too long. The general is dead, the centurion is dead, and I'm about to die too!" the old man said suddenly.

"But we always remember that we must wait until you come to change defense!"

"After all, I was allowed to wait. After I get down, I can give an explanation to the general and the robes!"

The old man walked slowly towards the tomb, and his old and withered hands slowly swept away the frost and snow on the tombstones.

"Those people in Handan should all die!" Luo Bing cursed in a low voice. No one expected that there would be such a group of veterans holding on to Gaoquesai.

"Change defense!" Yan Yan whispered.

Although they were not originally here to change defenses, now, can they still let these old men with less than a hundred people continue to guard?

They were already too old, so old that even the barbarians were unwilling to attack again, and they avoided Gaoque Fortress from a distance.

Li Ren and other soldiers did not hesitate, silently stepped forward and helped the old people off the city wall.

It was only when Yan Yan tried to help the old man up that he found that the old man had lost his breath and was sitting in front of the grave with a smile on his lips.

"They are true martyrs. Unlike us, they don't want their blood to be polluted, and they don't want to leave any heirs with Hu people's blood, so they have been sticking here!" Followed Yan Yan and others from Wuyuan. The high-ranking young man whispered.

"My father and grandfathers all made a promise that when they grow old, they will come to Gaoque Fortress to guard and make this the last place!"

Yan Yan didn't know what to say. These people truly interpreted what righteousness and trust were!

"What's his name?" Yan Yan asked.

The young man shook his head, "No one knows his name, or everyone who knows his name has passed away. We all call him Old Man Gaoque!"

Yan Yan nodded, swept away the frost and snow next to the grave where the old man finally sat, dug out a grave, then carefully arranged the old man's clothes and put him in.

Wushuang Ghost also silently carried a huge stone and stood in front of the new grave.

"The Tomb of Old Man Gaoque!"

Yan Yan slowly carved six large characters on the boulder.

The next day, there were more than a dozen new graves next to the new graves!

"Is it hard?" On the way back, Yan Yan looked at Li Ren and Luo Bing and asked.

"I originally thought it would be pitiful for us to be abandoned, but I didn't expect them to stick here for so long." Li Ren sighed.

"One hundred years!" Yan Yan also sighed.

From the twenty-sixth year of King Wuling of Zhao to their arrival now, it has been exactly a period of time.

But these people stayed here in silence for a long time.

If the kings of Handan thought about it and cared about it, they would not let these people sleep here without waiting for the change of defense.

"Such a thing will never happen again!" Yan Yan said seriously.

Li Ren and Luo Bing nodded, this kind of thing will never be allowed to happen again in the future.

However, problems faced Yan Yan and others. Many old people in Jiuyuan and Yunzhong cities had passed away, and the people who were now in charge of the two counties were descendants of mixed blood of Hu and Chinese.

They who had been abandoned by Zhao Guo may not obey the edict and appointment certificate of Yanmen Pass in Handan again.

They were assimilated by the grassland and formed a tribe-like existence, except that they had Chinese blood and were good at farming, instead of being nomadic like the Hu people.

The governors and old people of the two counties may still listen to them, but the young people who are actually in charge of the affairs of the two counties may not listen to them.

"Transfer Yongzi Camp!" Yan Yan took a deep breath.

As a descendant of heroes and martyrs, he did not want to use swords against them, but if it was really necessary, he would give the order.

(End of this chapter)