How to Cultivate a Ten-Thousand-Mile Empire for the Young Emperor Qin?

Chapter 125: Hanshui cauliflower fish

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After Zhu Xiang brought Ying Xiaozheng to get acquainted with Lu Buwei and Li Si, he left Ying Xiaozheng to them and rode in the same carriage with Xue Ji to take care of Xue Ji who was not used to long journeys.

Zhu Xiang patted Ying Xiaozheng's head and said, "You are their leader now. Zheng'er, work hard! Teach them well on the way."

Ying Xiaozheng glanced and said, "Uncle, when you entrusted me with an important task, could you not pat my head?"

Zhu Xiang sighed, "No, if we don't take pictures now, it will be difficult to take pictures in a year or two. Zheng'er, why are you growing so fast? It seems like it was just yesterday when you were still a little meat ball with a three-head body. Now your uncle can't even let you sit on his shoulders."

Zhu Xiang's face was full of nostalgia, but Ying Xiaozheng did not miss her. He pushed Zhu Xiang in anger and said, "Go and accompany your aunt."

Zhu Xiang was pushed away by the "strong man" Ying Xiaozheng, and continued to sigh: "Oh, okay. Zheng'er has grown up and disliked his uncle. Don't push me, I will walk by myself."

"Go away!" Ying Xiaozheng said very rudely.

Zhu Xiang looked at Ying Xiaozheng's angry expression and laughed, "Zheng'er, you're blushing."

Ying Xiaozheng gritted his teeth and said, "I, didn't, have any!"

"Okay, Zheng'er didn't." Seeing that his nephew was really annoyed, Zhu Xiang quickly shut up.

When teasing your nephew, you should know when to stop, otherwise there will be no more to tease him in the future.

Back in the carriage where Xue Ji was sitting, Zhu Xiang put away his smile and looked a little worried: "Are you feeling better? Are you still dizzy?"

Xue Ji wrapped herself in the quilt like a dumpling and shook her head: "It's okay. Why are you here? You should go take care of Zheng'er."

Zhu Xiang said: "Zheng'er is already very familiar with Lü Buwei and Li Si, and Han Fei is also here. The three of them are more than capable of taking care of Zheng'er."

Xue Ji was still worried: "The three of them have never taken care of a child. I'm afraid they will miss something."

Zhu Xiang smiled bitterly: "Zheng'er is not an ordinary child, don't worry. If you didn't disagree and worried about Zheng'er getting sick, Zheng'er would have come to take care of you a long time ago."

Xue Ji said, "Why are you taking care of me? Your Majesty asked Zheng'er to go out to see the customs and habits of Qin. He should see more outside."

"Okay, yes, yes, okay." Zhu Xiang raised his hands in surrender. "I'll take care of you, okay?"

Xue Ji said stubbornly: "No. I just feel a little dizzy, nothing serious. I'm upset if you talk here, it's better for me to sleep alone."

Zhu Xiang asked, "Shall I sing a lullaby for you?"

Xue Ji shook her head: "Your singing is not good."

Zhu Xiang was dissatisfied: "How is it possible? I am a disciple of Xunzi, the most famous scholar in the world. I must have learned 'music' very well."

Xue Ji covered her ears and said, "I don't want to listen. It's annoying. That's why I told you not to come. It's noisy."

Zhu Xiang: “…” Am I being treated as noise

Zhu Xiang said, "Then lie down and I'll tell you a story. Distract yourself and maybe you'll feel better."

Xue Ji hesitated for a moment, then remembered the interesting stories Zhu Xiang used to tell her when he was not busy, and nodded.

Zhu Xiang sat down next to Xue Ji, let Xue Ji lie on his legs, and rearranged the quilt that wrapped Xue Ji.

The carriage was large, and Xue Ji was small enough to lie sideways on it. With the quilt as a cushion and Zhu Xiang protecting her, Xue Ji would not be thrown off the seat even when she lay down.

"What story will you tell today?"

"Anything."

“There’s always a story you want to hear, right?”

"Um... no."

"Is it the story of a deity, or a story of a small country overseas? Or is it the story of a legendary great sage?"

"The story of the gods."

"Okay, today we will talk about The Investiture of the Gods. This story starts with Pangu creating the world..."

Zhu Xiang cleared his throat and said that he was talking about the setting of the orthodox "Fengshen Yanyi", not the online novel "Honghuang Yanyi".

Many ideas from later generations were incorporated into the prehistoric times, and the gods are also different from those of today. For example, the current God is Donghuang Taiyi, who is also one of the ancestors of mankind. In the prehistoric times, he was given to the demon clan, and he was demoted from the top leader to the second in command.

The attitude towards sacrifice in this era was very serious. If he said this, Ying Xiaozheng would jump up and hit him on the head.

Therefore, when he was telling the story of "The Investiture of the Gods", he tried his best to blur the names of the gods worshipped by the official government of that era. For example, when King Zhou wrote a poem for the Nuwa Temple, it cannot be said to be Nuwa.

Although it is "orthodox", it is actually mixed with many movies, TV shows, animations and novels, and is just "set as orthodox". Sometimes when he can't remember the specific plot, Zhu Xiang closes his eyes and finds stories from the five thousand years of Chinese history.

For example, he couldn't remember the numerous gods in the Western Zhou and Shang dynasties, so he just randomly threw in the names of people from history.

Zhu Yuanzhang and his son Zhu Di competed with Western Zhou general Li Shimin in front of the Yellow River with magic weapons; Liu Che brought Wei Qing and Huo Qubing to kill Lu Bu with warm wine... Zhu Xiang was so talkative that he himself couldn't even remember what he was talking about.

"Zheng'er beat up the Dragon King's Third Prince, and then what?" Zhu Xiang spoke eloquently, and the carriage stopped. Xue Ji became more alert as she listened, and she really wasn't dizzy anymore.

Ying Xiaozheng poked his head out of the carriage door and said, "What interesting story is uncle telling? Uncle! You're telling a story behind my back!"

Zhu Xiang said, "It was your aunt who didn't allow you to ride in this car and get sick, not me."

"I don't care, I want to hear a story!" Ying Xiaozheng jumped into the carriage, "What's wrong with me? What's the Third Prince of the Dragon King?"

Zhu Xiang coughed dryly and said, "It is said that Ying Zheng is the son of Ying Zichu, the general who guards Qiantang Pass."

Ying Xiaozheng smiled so hard that the holes in his teeth were clearly visible: "Uncle, can my father be a general?"

Zhu Xiang said: "It's just a story, don't interrupt me."

Ying Xiaozheng said: "Okay, uncle, please continue."

Lu Buwei, Li Si, Han Fei, and Meng Tian, the insignificant attendant of Ying Xiaozheng, stood outside the carriage, eavesdropping with their ears perked up.

Zhu Xiang changed the story of Nezha and put it on Ying Xiaozheng.

Finally, when it came to the Dragon King flooding Qiantang Pass and Ying Xiaozheng having to cut off his flesh and bones to repay his parents, Zhu Xiang felt it was a bit unlucky, so he changed the subject. Ying Xiaozheng's great-grandfather and great-father descended from the sky, suppressed the Dragon King, and then beat up Ying Xiaozheng's father, giving Ying Xiaozheng a good sigh of relief.

"It turns out that Ying Xiaozheng's wise and brave uncle Zhu Xiang saw that the situation was not good, so he quickly ran to the heaven outside the sky and invited the two great immortals Ying Ji and Ying Zhu who were practicing Taoism to save Ying Xiaozheng." Zhu Xiang said proudly.

Xue Ji covered her mouth and laughed at first, but then she couldn't help it and almost rolled off Zhu Xiang's legs from laughing.

Ying Xiaozheng also laughed so hard that his stomach hurt: "Uncle, the original story is definitely not like this. You must have pinned someone else's story on me."

Xue Ji said: "Why did the Heaven Beyond Heaven appear again? You never mentioned this before."

Zhu Xiang smiled and said, "It's just a story, you can make it up any way you want."

Xue Ji said, "You can't write the latter part and forget the former part. My dear, your Investiture of the Gods is not pleasant to listen to."

Zhu Xiang was helpless: "Okay, okay, I'll think about it carefully and make up a story for you that I remember from the beginning."

It is really impossible to remember the entire plot of a long novel, so Zhu Xiang thought about it and decided to tell them short stories from Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio.

This time, Xue Ji and Ying Xiaozheng were no longer picky and listened attentively.

When the carriage started again, Ying Xiaozheng refused to leave no matter what. He was sick and wanted to hear stories.

Xue Ji was so annoyed by him that she had no choice but to agree.

The few people outside the carriage had no choice but to return to their own carriages.

“I really want to keep listening.”

"Actually, I think the previous story is more interesting."

"Only Lord Changping would dare to make up stories about the Crown Prince in this way."

"Yes, I'm afraid that if the prince were here, he would laugh along with you."

Meng Tian was riding outside. Lü Buwei, Li Si, and Han Fei were sitting in the same carriage, chatting about stories and expressing their envy of Zhu Xiang.

Especially Lu Buwei and Li Si, their tone was really sour.

Fortunately, they were just envious and sour, not jealous. Han Fei rolled his eyes in his heart and said, "Duke Zhu Xiang is a great talent and should be respected. If you don't agree, you can also make up a story to make the prince laugh."

Li Si was unconvinced and said, "You can only make up stories?"

Han Fei straightened his chest and said, "I can't do that now! So I don't envy you!"

Li Si: "… I'm just envious, that's all."

Han Fei straightened his chest and said, "Instead of being envious, it's better to learn from them!"

Seeing that Li Si and Han Fei were about to quarrel, Lü Buwei quickly tried to smooth things over: "Han Fei is right. Instead of being envious, it is better to take advantage of the opportunity to travel with Changping Jun and learn more from him."

Han Fei said: "That's right!"

Li Si: “…I didn’t say I wouldn’t study.”

Han Fei patted Li Si on the shoulder and said, "Let's learn together."

Li Si was powerless: "Okay..."

He wanted to scold Han Fei, but he didn't dare to. If he made a scene now and was heard by Zhu Xianggong, would he think that he was jealous of him and had bad behavior

Han Fei is really... Why can't he chat with us instead of pretending to be aloof from the world

Li Si was secretly angry and did not talk to Han Fei before going to bed at night.

When they were about to fall asleep, Han Fei opened the tent where Li Si lived and handed a book to Li Si like offering a treasure: "Come and study!"

Li Si: "What?"

Han Fei brought the lantern closer, opened the book he had brought with simple pictures of little people on it, and stammered to explain to Li Si.

Hearing Zhu Xiang telling stories today, Han Fei remembered that Xunzi once said that when Zhu Xiang was enlightening Ying Xiaozheng, he wrote many interesting stories to guide Ying Xiaozheng's learning. After Zhu Xiang arrived in Southern Qin, he also wrote many stories about gods and immortals to educate the common people.

Han Fei asked Zhu Xiang without hope whether he had any ready-made story books with him. Unexpectedly, Zhu Xiang actually stuffed all the stories he had written into a box and took them away.

Zhu Xiang brought these things with him, firstly because he didn't need to carry the luggage, secondly because it was too hard for him to write by hand, and thirdly because he thought these stories might be useful for educating the common people. Now that Han Fei asked about it, he picked one at random and gave it to Han Fei to read.

Han Fei said seriously: "Duke Zhu Xiang said that this is called teaching and teaching through entertainment. Let's read the book written by Duke Zhu Xiang himself!"

"Okay." Li Si was in a very complicated mood. Didn't Han Fei realize that he was angry? Or did he not care

Li Si decided to dislike Han Fei after reading this book.

Thanks to the storytelling session on the road to Zhuxiang, Xue Ji’s motion sickness improved a lot.

After getting on the boat, Xue Ji was finally able to get up and walk.

She couldn't help but sigh: "I have enjoyed wealth and luxury in Xianyang for many years, and my body has become delicate. I didn't feel as uncomfortable as this when I went from Handan to Xianyang before."

Zhu Xiang said, "We are not as old as before. Look at how old Zheng'er is now."

Xue Ji nodded: "That's right. Zheng'er has grown up, and you and I are old."

Zhu Xiang laughed: "We are only thirty years old, how can we be considered old? We are still very young and can live for many years, more than enough to raise Zheng'er's children."

Xue Ji was helpless. Her husband said that we were not older than before, and then he said that we were still young. He said everything.

Xue Ji ignored Zhu Xiang's nonsense and took the fishing rod to accompany Ying Xiaozheng to fish.

After finally regaining her spirits and seeing the beautiful scenery that she couldn't see in Xianyang City, Xue Ji didn't want to stay in the cabin.

Zhu Xiang breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Xue Ji regain her energy.

Before setting off, Xue Ji was worried that she would not be used to riding in a boat, but she did not expect that she would feel uncomfortable riding in a carriage.

Zhu Xiang's words "I'm not as old as before" are true. Xue Ji suffered a lot when she was young. Although her complexion became rosy after being well-nourished in Xianyang, people's health starts to decline at the age of 30. Zhu Xiang is worried that Xue Ji can't bear it.

If he had known this earlier, he would have let Xue Ji stay in Xianyang.

But seeing how happy Xue Ji is now, she would rather go out with him and Zheng'er even if she has to suffer a little on the way.

Zhu Xiang shook his head, thinking about how to eat fish today.

Zichu said that when he followed the old King of Qin to the south, he almost vomited after eating fish. He couldn't eat fish and then vomit.

Zhu Xiang looked at the scenery on both sides of the Han River receding rapidly, and suddenly thought, when the old King of Qin stood on the bow of the ship and looked at the magnificent mountains and rivers of the Qin Dynasty, was he feeling as happy as he was

He stood there for a while, then went back to the cabin to get the piano.

Xue Ji and Ying Xiaozheng were fishing at the stern of the boat, while Zhu Xiang was sitting cross-legged at the bow, gently plucking the strings of a zither.

"It is not the wind that blows, nor the chariot that moves. Looking around the road, my heart is filled with sorrow.

It is not the wind blowing, nor the wheels that are moving. Looking around, my heart is in suspense.

Who can fish? Water the cauldron. Who will return to the west? With the good news in his heart.

Some people interpret "The Song of Hui and the Song of Fei" as the Hui country literati who were forced to move east and missed the Zhou Dynasty, but more people use its superficial meaning to simply express the meaning of homesickness.

What Zhu Xiang sang also had the literal meaning.

He first used this poem to look back to the West, missing the old Qin King who was buried there; then "I am willing to cook fish for you" was referring to Zichu's past experience of the old Qin King insisting on eating fish, saying that he wanted to cook fish for the old Qin King; finally, he hoped that someone could send news that all was well to the late old Qin King.

"What is Duke Zhu Xiang singing?" Li Si asked in a low voice.

Han Fei asked, "Missing Xianyang?"

Lü Buwei said: "Maybe he just felt that this poem is very suitable for the present? Maybe Lord Changping just took the meaning of 'cooking fish'."

Li Si and Han Fei both looked at Lu Buwei with speechless eyes, as if they did not want to talk to Lu Buwei.

Meng Tian said: "Maybe it's possible. Didn't Lord Changping say that there aren't that many profound meanings behind his actions?"

Li Si and Han Fei were a little uncertain.

Could it be that Duke Zhu Xiang really wanted to sing this poem because he was eating fish today

Zhu Xiang's singing voice reached the stern of the boat. Xue Ji held the fishing rod in one hand and held her cheek with the other, listening to Zhu Xiang's low singing voice.

Ying Xiaozheng turned around and glanced at the bow of the ship.

It's rare for my uncle to sing seriously. There's nostalgia and melancholy in his singing. Who is he thinking of

Zhu Xiang was still singing, the surging river beat the rhythm for him, making his deep voice more uplifting.

When the old King Qin stood at the bow of the ship, he must have been quite high-spirited.

Zhu Xiang put away his zither, all the depression in his heart disappeared, and he happily prepared to cook the fish.

From the Han River to the Yangtze River, Xue Ji did not suffer from seasickness all the way, and Zhu Xiang completely put his mind at ease.

Because of the "assassination" of Ying Xiaozheng, Zhu Xiang's march south this time was quite large.

The middle reaches of the Han River belonged to Hanzhong County, and the county governor had the power to lead troops. Qin Wangzhu issued an edict that the county governor must send troops to escort Zhu Xiang to any county.

It was so grand and majestic, as if the King of Qin was on a tour.

Before the Han River was completely crossed, Meng Wu's large ship was already waiting at the riverside.

When he saw Zhu Xiang, Meng Wu burst into tears first.

He was guarding the intersection of the Han River and the Yangtze River, and could not return to Xianyang to see the First Lord off. After so much time had passed, Meng Wu's sadness had eased a lot, but when he saw Zhu Xiang coming from the north, he couldn't help but think of the First Lord and burst into tears.

Meng Wu recalled how high-spirited King Zhaoxiang of Qin was when he went south, and he never imagined that this farewell would be forever.

Zhu Xiang retraced the path that King Zhaoxiang of Qin had taken in the last stage of his life, and he was originally feeling a little melancholy. Hearing Meng Wu crying, he couldn't help but cry along with him.

Ying Xiaozheng originally thought he would not cry.

Although he was sad for a while before the death of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, his relationship with his great-grandfather was not very deep and was even tested by his great-grandfather.

But when he saw his uncle and Meng Wu hugging each other and crying, he felt a lump in his throat for some reason, and the kind look of his great-grandfather before he passed away appeared in his mind.

The two cried for a long time, and only stopped crying after they bowed to the north again and again.

Their genuine feelings made everyone on the boat feel a little embarrassed.

At this time, they should have shown the same look of sadness and nostalgia. But they did not expect this scene, so they were not mentally prepared, nor did they prepare handkerchiefs soaked with ginger and garlic, so they could only frown and pretend to miss. That look was so awkward.

Zhu Xiang wiped away her tears, looked around, realized this, and quickly pulled Meng Wu into the cabin.

There is nothing wrong with missing the former lord, but if someone is petty and feels embarrassed for not crying, and falsely accuses Meng Wu of missing the former lord and being dissatisfied with the current King of Qin, that would be bad.

Although Meng Wu stopped crying, the floodgates of sadness in his heart were still open.

Fortunately, he still remembered his escort duty, temporarily handed over the power to the deputy general, and then returned to the cabin with Zhu Xiang to continue crying.

Meng Tian, who was completely forgotten by his father, had a complicated expression.

Was my biological father ignoring me because he was sad, or did he really forget that I was here

When Meng Wu arrived at the cabin, he cried to Zhu Xiang for a long time, missing the kindness of King Zhaoxiang of Qin.

When King Zhaoxiang of Qin was alive, he made his ministers feel suffocated, but after his death, the ministers he promoted only remembered that he was a wise and heroic ruler.

Zhu Xiang did not cry with him this time. While comforting Meng Wu, he talked about some interesting things after the new King of Qin ascended the throne.

For example, Lin Zhi missed the position of prime minister, Cai Ze became the prime minister, and Lin Zhi replaced Cai Ze's position as prime minister; for example, Ying Xiaozheng could not hunt rabbits, even if he hunted foxes.

Meng Wu successfully was amused by Zhu Xiang and burst into laughter.

"Lin Li's personality... did he do that on purpose?" Meng Wu wiped his red and swollen eyes. "If he wanted to be the prime minister, he would never let the prince... let the king think that he is unreliable."

Zhu Xiang sighed, "Lin Li is obviously relying on the emperor's generous nature to be arrogant. He doesn't care about power and status. These are not as good as his own comfortable life."

Meng Wu thought about Lin Zhi's character and felt that what Zhu Xiang said might make sense.

Meng Wu said: "The prime minister is also a high position. Alas, when I welcomed you to Qin, who would have thought that you would all be so powerful."

Zhu Xiang said mischievously: "You are so hypocritical. When you welcomed us into Qin, the first lord personally welcomed us. Don't you know how powerful we are?"

Meng Wu: "... Really. Well, you were already very powerful back then. There weren't many talented people that the First Lord personally went out of the city to welcome." Even Ying Hou didn't have this treatment.

Zhu Xiang patted Meng Wu on the shoulder and said, "Wipe your face. Your son is here too. Go and have a good chat with him."

Meng Wu was stunned for a moment and asked doubtfully: "Son?"

Zhu Xiang was also confused: "Don't you know that Meng Tian has become Zheng'er's attendant and went south with Zheng'er?"

Meng Wu shook his head: "I don't know."

Zhu Xiang was helpless: "You don't care about Xianyang? Even if you don't care, where is the letter from home? Didn't you receive it?" Meng Wu scratched his head: "Xianyang is so far away from Nanjun, I don't know if this little thing is normal?"

Zhu Xiang thought for a moment and said, "That's right. Meng Tian had just become Zheng'er's attendant when we headed south. Your letter from home should not be as fast as our speed."

He hesitated for a moment, not knowing whether he should tell Meng Wu what Ying Xiaozheng encountered during the hunting.

Meng Wu said, "Did something happen in Xianyang? Is it related to Tian'er?"

Tian'er... Although there's nothing wrong with calling her that, Zhu Xiang didn't know why he felt it was a bit weird.

"Meng Tian is involved, and I should tell you." Zhu Xiang said, "It has been less than a year since your Majesty ascended the throne, and Prince Qin has shown the momentum to fight for the throne and has tested Zheng'er."

Meng Wu raised his eyebrows and said, "The position of the crown prince was decided by the King of Qin. Since the position of the crown prince has been decided, anyone who fights for it will offend the majesty of the King of Qin."

Zhu Xiang said: "That's true. They probably think that the current emperor is kind and will not blame them."

Zhu Xiang recounted the events of that day in detail, but concealed his conversation with Qin Wangzhu.

He could tell these things to Zichu, but it was better to hide them from others. It was not that he did not trust Meng Wu, but the walls had ears. The more he knew, the more likely it was that the King of Qin would hear it. If the King of Qin knew that he had spread his private words, he would definitely distance himself from him.

Even if King Qin Zhu was too good to him, there was still a difference between a monarch and his subjects.

"Zheng'er is courageous." Meng Wu breathed a sigh of relief. "Fortunately, he was alert enough and didn't let the assassin get close to him."

It was a joke, but what if that person really tried to stab Zheng'er after he jumped on him? Even if he had no weapon, with an adult's physique, he could still hurt Zheng'er.

Meng Wu thought maliciously that perhaps those people intended to assassinate Zheng'er as a joke.

Zhu Xiang didn't think so. If they really assassinated Zheng'er, the Prince of Qin involved would at least be expelled. Zichu was not only still the crown prince, but also had a son raised by Queen Huayang, and his status was not shaken.

Zichu was not valued because of Zheng'er, a "good prince", he himself had the talent to be the King of Qin.

"That's not necessarily true. Maybe the one who attacked you wasn't this group of fools. He was just waiting for both of you to suffer losses." Meng Wu maliciously speculated, "If Zheng'er gets into trouble, your relationship with the crown prince will become much more fragile."

Zhu Xiang wanted to say that Zichu and Chunhua could give birth to another nephew, but he couldn't make such a joke, as it was disrespectful to both Zichu and Chunhua.

And he also knew that nephews were different from each other.

Not to mention Zheng'er's position in his original history and Zheng'er's own intelligence. The experiences he had with Zheng'er were not replicable, and only Zheng'er would become his and Xue's child, regardless of blood relationship.

"They won't have the chance to harm Zheng'er." Zhu Xiang said firmly.

Meng Wu said: "You and Zheng'er are absolutely safe in the south. The Lord probably thought of this when he asked you to go south."

Zhu Xiang smiled and said, "Speaking of which, although the king appointed me as the governor of Wu County, there is actually another decree. Zheng'er is the governor of Wu County, and I am responsible for supervising the south. Quick, governor of Nan County."

Zhu Xiang stretched out his hand.

Meng Wu didn't understand the meaning of Zhu Xiang's action, and hesitantly put his hand in Zhu Xiang's hand.

Zhu Xiang: “…”

Meng Wu: “?”

Zhu Xiang shook Meng Wu's hand away and cursed, "I am asking for a bribe from you! If you, the governor of Nanjun, don't give me a gift, I will go back and say bad things about you!"

At the last moment of his life, King Zhaoxiang of Qin divided the newly occupied southern Qin land into two new counties, Nanjun and Wujun. Meng Wu was the prefect of Nanjun, and Li Mu temporarily served as the prefect of Wujun.

The governor of a county was responsible for the military and political affairs of a county. Li Mu was appointed as a general by the King of Qin, in charge of the entire Qin fleet, and was free to attack any place in the south that did not belong to Qin. He should not have been the head of a county concurrently.

Li Mu originally recommended Wang Jian to be the prefect of Wujun, but King Zhu of Qin thought about it and felt that Wang Jian and Zhu Xiang were not very familiar with each other, and was afraid that Zhu Xiang would be restricted, so he let Ying Xiaozheng be the prefect.

Wang Jian had no objection to this. The new King of Qin did not know him and would certainly not immediately entrust him with important tasks. Besides, it was more interesting to train the fleet with General Li Mu than to be a county governor.

His value will be demonstrated on the battlefield.

During the Warring States Period, there was already an official position of "supervision", and the monarch and the prime minister often inspected the country.

The appointment given to Zhu Xiang by King Qin Zhu was to inspect Southern Qin on behalf of the King of Qin, supervise the officials and soldiers of Southern Qin, and provide guidance on farming.

Of course, in Zhuxiang, they went south to farm and inspected and supervised at the same time.

So Zhu Xiang really had the power to speak ill of the King of Qin and criticize Meng Wu for not doing his job well.

Meng Wu was stunned: "Ah? Bribery?"

Zhu Xiang rubbed his fingers together, forcing a wretched expression on his face that others called a god: "If you don't give me something, do you think I should speak well of you in vain?"

Meng Wu was stunned for a while, and when he saw Zhu Xiang's speechless expression, he came to his senses and realized that Zhu Xiang was joking with him.

He immediately said seriously: "How can you ask for a bribe? I will write a letter to the Lord to sue you now... Hey, why did you kick me?"

Zhu Xiang said, "Aren't you generous enough to let me go to your warehouse and move whatever I like?"

Meng Wu laughed: "Go find Li Mu. Li Mu will definitely say the same thing. I can't agree with him, otherwise it will be boring."

Zhu Xiang shook his head: "No, Li Mu will definitely ignore me, and then tell Zheng'er not to learn from your uncle and go back to Xunzi to complain. Li Mu is a big-tailed wolf who likes to complain!"

Meng Wu laughed again.

Hearing the laughter in the cabin, the people outside the cabin breathed a sigh of relief.

Magistrate Meng finally stopped crying, and they no longer had to frown.

Meng Wu came out after tidying up his appearance. This time he greeted everyone again with a smile and apologized to Xue Ji and Ying Xiaozheng.

Xue Ji quickly told Meng Wu not to mind it.

Ying Xiaozheng complained: "You and your uncle left me here, I am not happy, I decided to bully your son."

Meng Wu patted Meng Tian on the back and said, "Go ahead and bully me! Tian'er doesn't have any special abilities, he's just tough!"

Meng Tian: “?” Dear father, you didn’t say that before. You said I was the most powerful person in the Meng family, even more powerful than my grandfather.

Ying Xiaozheng crossed his arms and said, "Uncle Meng, this is what you said. Don't regret it in the future."

Meng Wu smiled and said, "I definitely don't regret it. It's his blessing that he was bullied by you, Zheng'er."

Zhu Xiang replied: "Good fortune? This blessing is given to you, do you want it?"

Meng Wu said straightforwardly: "Yes!"

Zhu Xiang: “…”

Shameless people are invincible in the world. I am ashamed to be friends with you!

Meng Tian's expression was blank.

Father, what are you talking about? Father, do you have no shame? Father, why are you like this in front of Lord Changping and Prince Zheng? Where is my steady and serious father

This was the first time Meng Tian discovered his father's improper side and he felt so embarrassed that he wanted to jump into the water.

Zhu Xiang looked at Meng Tian with pity.

Poor child, my friend, is there any decent person? Even if it is Cai Ze, he has to join us in the fun!

"Meng Wu, let me introduce you. This is Lü Buwei and this is Li Si." Zhu Xiang said, "I went south this time to do something very important besides farming. For specific matters, you can ask Lü Buwei and Li Si, don't bother me."

Meng Wu was speechless: "You have something important to do, and then you let others do it?"

Zhu Xiang said confidently: "Yes!"

Meng Wu pouted at Zhu Xiang and went to have a private chat with Lu Buwei and Li Si.

He understood that Zhu Xiang had asked him to chat with Lü Buwei and Li Si alone, deliberately creating opportunities and topics for them to chat. The things these two people were going to do were probably really big, and they needed his full cooperation. So if he had a certain personal relationship with them, things would go more smoothly later.

Moreover, perhaps after experiencing this incident, these two people will be promoted in the court.

Meng Wu just left Zhu Xiang and his family of three to discuss work, and Meng Tian was shocked again.

My dear father! Prince Zheng and Lord Changping have higher status, shouldn't you settle them first

Meng Tian wanted to apologize to Zhu Xiang and Ying Xiaozheng on behalf of his father, but given his status, he shouldn't apologize on their behalf. So he was so embarrassed that his scalp was numb.

"I am friends with your father, and we are not bound by these trivial matters." Zhu Xiang said gently, "Are you curious why I am friends with your father but cold to you?"

Meng Tian hurriedly said "I dare not".

Zhu Xiang said, "You are Zheng'er's close attendant, and you will be Zheng'er's subject in the future. If I hastily bring you closer to Zheng'er when you are not used to the relationship between you and Zheng'er as a monarch and subject, it will do you more harm than good."

Zhu Xiang watched Meng Tian working beside Ying Xiaozheng with cold eyes, and found that Meng Tian was still very immature, even though he was much better than his peers.

For example, he still does not regard Ying Xiaozheng as his master, but rather as a guard given by the King of Qin to the child.

This is fatal.

Meng Tian was a confidant of Ying Xiaozheng who had been cultivated since King Zhaoxiang of Qin, and he should have known this. But after he came to Ying Xiaozheng's side, he did not put himself in the right position.

This may be because Ying Xiaozheng is still young, or it may be because Ying Xiaozheng is not even the crown prince.

Zhu Xiang hoped that Meng Tian would wake up soon, because his little nephew had little patience.

There are too many capable people around Ying Xiaozheng now. Those elders may accompany Qin until its unification, and even accompany Ying Xiaozheng for many years after the unification of Qin. Therefore, Ying Xiaozheng does not have much desire for talents of the "same age".

He would probably wait until he had children before considering giving these people a chance.

So when Meng Tian did not put himself in the right position, Ying Xiaozheng did not train or remind him.

But Meng Tian was Meng Wu's child, the younger generation that the Meng family placed their hopes on, so Zhu Xiang couldn't help but give Meng Tian some advice.

He also hoped that besides elders, Ying Xiaozheng should have his own confidants around him, even if he did not plan to have friends of the same generation.

"Zheng'er has grown up. He can kill assassins with his own hands." Zhu Xiang did not rub Ying Xiaozheng's head this time, but gently patted his nephew's shoulder. "Next, he will become the head of a county. He should not only have elders around him, but also have his own confidants to help him do things that the elders don't know."

Ying Xiaozheng frowned: "Zheng'er, don't let your uncle know if there's anything wrong."

Zhu Xiang said, "Not now, but there should be in the future. It's not that your uncle will harm you, nor that you should not trust your uncle. It's just that everyone should have their own secrets. Just like when we play cards, we can call it a trump card if we know something that others don't. It's best if we don't know everything, so that we can surprise others."

Ying Xiaozheng muttered: "So, does uncle have a secret that he doesn't want Zheng'er to know?"

Zhu Xiang nodded: "That's a lot."

Although Ying Xiaozheng knew it, he still pursed his lips in dissatisfaction.

Zhu Xiang said: "For example, Zheng'er, do you know which box Zheng'er's favorite cakes are hidden in when your uncle takes them out every day?"

Ying Xiaozheng: “…”

Ying Xiaozheng's face fell: "I don't know. I still don't know where you locked up the weapon that Bai Weng Lian Weng gave me!"

Zhu Xiang smiled and said, "And you don't even know where your favorite storybook is."

Ying Xiaozheng was a little angry: "Aunt!"

Xue Ji suppressed her laughter and said, "Okay, stop teasing Zheng Er."

Zhu Xiang said seriously: "I didn't tease him, I was telling the truth."

He coughed dryly and turned the topic back to the topic that had gone off track: "So, I hope you can transform as soon as possible, correct your mentality, and become Zheng'er's first right-hand man. I believe you can do it."

He said earnestly, "Don't listen to what your father says about you being tough. In fact, he often praises you in private, saying that you are the unicorn of the Meng family."

Meng Tian's expression kept changing, he felt ashamed and embarrassed.

"Tian will follow the instructions of Lord Changping!" Meng Tian bowed.

Zhu Xiang said, "Don't bow to me, bow to your master instead. Now you are Zheng'er's first retainer."

This time, Zhu Xiang patted Ying Xiaozheng's head and said, "Although Zheng'er is young, he is also your master father."

Ying Xiaozheng pushed Zhu Xiang's mischievous hand away and muttered, "I haven't recognized him as my retainer yet."

Zhu Xiang said: "Then Meng Tian, you should work harder."

Meng Tian: "Yes!"

Ying Xiaozheng snorted coldly and kept looking at Meng Tian.

The Great Emperor Ying Zheng in the dream liked Meng Tian very much. But if the Great Emperor Ying Zheng liked Meng Tian, should I like Meng Tian too

uncertain.

Now he dislikes Meng Tian because Meng Tian despises him.

However, since his uncle said so, for the sake of his uncle and Uncle Meng, Ying Xiaozheng was ready to give Meng Tian a chance to become his retainer.

If Meng Tian fails to seize this opportunity, he will no longer be the favorite of Emperor Ying Zheng.

Uncle Lin’s children, Uncle Cai’s children, and Teacher Li Mu’s children… With so many substitutes for his favorite ministers in the future, Uncle Meng’s children will have to stand back.

(End of this chapter)