The work that Ying Xiaozheng assigned to Li Si and Meng Tian was mostly mechanical data statistics.
Zhu Xiang copied the numbers from the document, filled them into the form, and recalculated them with an abacus. He wondered if he should get a few more printed pre-made forms, which might improve his work efficiency.
Zhu Xiang worked very quickly. Meng Tian and Li Si spent several days sorting out the information, and Zhu Xiang had already done most of it when Ying Xiaozheng woke up.
Li Si and Meng Tian have almost sorted out the information, and Ying Xiaozheng has circled the errors and omissions. This is also one of the reasons why Zhu Xiang is so efficient at work.
After Ying Xiaozheng got up, he washed and combed his hair with the help of the old servant, with his two little tufts of hair still loose, and ran to find his uncle.
Seeing his uncle working, Ying Xiaozheng threw himself into his uncle's arms and climbed onto his uncle's lap.
"Uncle, you are much better than them!" Ying Xiaozheng flipped through the documents that Zhu Xiang had processed and muttered, "Uncle is really suitable to be the prime minister."
Zhu Xiang laughed: "I don't want to be that person. Zheng'er, don't be too disappointed in Meng Tian and Li Si because of one shortcoming. Train them well and give them the opportunity to grow."
Ying Xiaozheng said dissatisfiedly: "I am only nine years old and I am better than them. They have had more time to grow than me!"
Zhu Xiang said: "Compared to you, do you still give others a chance to live?"
Zhu Xiang rubbed Ying Xiaozheng's head half-jokingly: "Your uncle and aunt are both rare talents in the world. You are our child, isn't it natural that you are better than others?"
Ying Xiaozheng turned his face up, and the corners of his mouth could not help but curl up: "Even if my uncle and aunt are not talented, I am also very capable."
Zhu Xiang nodded: "Of course, but with uncles and aunts like me and Xue, you must be more powerful."
Ying Xiaozheng couldn't suppress the curve of his lips: "Well, barely."
Zhu Xiang said, "You play outside for a while, I will finish these documents quickly."
Ying Xiaozheng shook his head: "Let's do it together."
Zhu Xiang divided the documents into two piles, one large and one small, and carried Ying Xiaozheng to the chair next to him, and the two worked together.
Coincidentally, when Zhu Xiang finished his work, Ying Xiaozheng just closed the last document. The uncle and nephew had a tacit understanding.
After dealing with the paperwork, Zhu Xiang and Ying Xiaozheng stretched at the same time, turned their necks, shook their shoulders, and then yawned loudly.
"The lotus seed and white fungus soup should be ready. Let's go and have some." Zhu Xiang led Ying Xiaozheng out. "I also had someone prepare a plate of crispy lotus root and a plate of water chestnuts. They are refreshing and appetizing."
Ying Xiaozheng said dissatisfiedly: "No meat?"
Zhu Xiang said, "We'll have meat tonight. Xianghe caught a sea bass and will make steamed sea bass for you."
Ying Xiaozheng continued to be dissatisfied: "I don't eat steamed food."
Zhu Xiang said in a good-tempered manner: "What about those who eat sweet and sour food?"
Ying Xiaozheng was still dissatisfied: "Only one sweet and sour sea bass?"
Zhu Xiang asked, "We still have some river shrimps. Can we make boiled shrimps?"
Ying Xiaozheng shook his head vigorously: "Why does my uncle always like to make steamed and blanched dishes?"
Zhu Xiang sighed: "I was also going to ask you why your taste is so strong? Eating some blanched or steamed dishes occasionally is better for your health."
Ying Xiaozheng said, "Didn't my uncle say that it is best for people to eat blanched and steamed dishes when they get old? Then I should eat strong-flavored dishes now and eat as much as I can!"
Zhu Xiang laughed: "Okay, I'm convinced by Zheng'er. How about making dry pot shrimp?"
Ying Xiaozheng nodded with satisfaction: "Not bad."
Zhu Xiang tapped Ying Xiaozheng's forehead. Not bad.
The uncle and nephew walked out slowly. On the way, Zhu Xiang wanted to invite Meng Tian and Li Si to have dinner together, but Ying Xiaozheng disagreed.
These two people can't do their job well, and they want to eat for free? Don't even think about it!
Zhu Xiang was at a loss whether to laugh or cry, and just let Ying Xiaozheng do what he wanted.
He thought that Meng Tian and Li Si would probably feel embarrassed to come and eat for free at this time.
The sea bass was a big one. Zhu Xiang, whose knife skills had become more and more skilled after traveling through time, sliced the sea bass meat, cut it into fish scales, thickened it with starch, rolled the fish meat with his fingers, and put it in the oil pan, and it became a fish flower.
Zhu Xiang made a full plate of fish flowers, boiled sweet and sour sauce, poured the sweet and sour sauce on the fish flowers, and garnished them with some green leaves. A beautiful plate of sweet and sour sea bass flowers was ready.
Dry pot shrimp is easy to make and Zhu Xiang doesn’t need to do it himself.
The chef will open the shrimp's back and peel the shrimp thread, stir-fry it with spices and soybean oil, then add a little water and simmer it until cooked before serving.
Sweet and sour fish and dry pot shrimp are both excellent dishes to go with rice. Zhu Xiang steamed a large pot of old pumpkin rice and invited Xu Ming and Xiang He to dine together.
At the table, Xu Ming and Xiang He asked Zhu Xiang about the earth and the starry sky.
Zhu Xiang mentioned the rotation and revolution of the earth, saying it was just a "guess" and asked them to find the answer themselves and verify the guess.
While eating, Ying Xiaozheng despised his uncle. His uncle was clearly sure that his knowledge of astronomy was true, but he still said it was just a guess, and he couldn't even lie well. Forget it, my uncle is really not suitable for the court with its intrigues, so he should not be the prime minister.
Ying Xiaozheng hoped that his elders would be healthy so that he could continue to be the prime minister. It would be better not to say anything about Li Si and others.
When Meng Tian and Li Si came to work the next day, they learned that Zhu Xiang had already handled all the work they left behind yesterday. They were even more depressed.
Zhu Xiang encouraged them with a smile: "Everything starts from unfamiliarity to familiarity. I believe that as long as you study hard, you will be able to get the hang of it soon."
Zhu Xiang took out a number table and taught them numbers and operation symbols.
Meng Tian and Li Si both had excellent memories. Zhu Xiang taught them systematically, and they were able to memorize the symbols easily.
Zhu Xiang took out the addition, subtraction, multiplication and division table. They knew how to do mental arithmetic, so it didn't take much time.
After they became proficient in the multiplication table, Zhu Xiang continued to teach them vertical arithmetic. For the first time, they felt the convenience of numerical symbols in calculations.
The two were ashamed. They had made a big mistake by not paying attention to these symbols before.
Ying Xiaozheng was handling official business on the side. From time to time, he looked up at his uncle who was teaching Meng Tian and Li Si, feeling a little embarrassed and annoyed.
He understood that his uncle had deliberately let him observe this teaching session to tell him that Meng Tian and Li Si were indeed not mediocre, but his teaching method was wrong.
Even if he had the authority of the Prince of Qin and could order Meng Tian and Li Si to do things, for smart people, it would be much more efficient to understand the importance of something before doing it rather than forcing them to do it.
Ying Xiaozheng grumbled in his heart, "Uncle, if you have any dissatisfaction, just say it directly, why beat around the bush?"
As if he had "heard" Ying Xiaozheng's mumblings, Zhu Xiang looked at Ying Xiaozheng and winked at his nephew who looked unhappy.
Ying Xiaozheng snorted coldly and continued to work.
Got it, got it. I will be more patient next time! My uncle is so nagging!
Zhu Xiang smiled and continued to teach Meng Tian and Li Si.
After the vertical calculations were taught, it was time to learn abacus. It took a long time to master abacus, and you had to start by memorizing the formulas. Meng Tian and Li Si were full of energy and finally regained some confidence.
Zhu Xiang stayed in Wucheng for half a month. When Li Mu and Wang Jian returned with a full load, Li Mu was surprised to see Zhu Xiang in Wucheng. He thought Zhu Xiang was ill and became very anxious.
Wang Jian was also surprised. Although he knew that General Li Mu took good care of Duke Zhu Xiang, was he not worrying too much
Wang Jian began to reflect.
Although he had just made friends with Duke Zhu Xiang, he cared too little about him and needed to learn from Li Mu.
We must keep up the good work! Wang Jian clenched his fist.
Zhu Xiang didn't know Wang Jian's secret reflection in his heart. If he knew, he would be speechless.
Even among his friends, Li Mu was the only one who was overly concerned. This might be because Li Mu had rescued him from prison and witnessed the tragic situation with his own eyes.
"I'm not sick. Zheng'er's two little helpers were a little unfamiliar with the work, so I taught them for a while." Zhu Xiang said.
Li Mu breathed a sigh of relief and said, "You taught so many students last time you came, why don't you transfer a few experienced people to help Zheng'er?"
Zhu Xiang and Ying Xiaozheng now jointly govern Wu County, and the transfer of officials in Wu County is just a matter of their words.
Zhu Xiang said: "Meng Tian is the man left by the first lord to Zheng'er, and he is also the son of Meng Wu; Li Si is talented and will take charge of the court sooner or later. Let them work with Zheng'er more, and Zheng'er will be able to use him more smoothly in the future."
Zhu Xiang talked about the policy paper Li Si wrote to the King of Qin. After listening to it, Li Mu reluctantly agreed with Zhu Xiang's opinion.
"But this doesn't prevent you from finding an experienced person to lead them." Li Mu said.
Zhu Xiang smiled bitterly and said, "I originally wanted Zheng'er to teach them. I didn't expect Zheng'er's patience. Sigh."
Li Mu laughed: "Zheng'er was born to be a king. How much patience can a king have?"
Zhu Xiang spread his hands: "Zheng'er is not the king yet, he can't always use the king's thinking to do things."
Li Mu said: "You have to teach me this."
Zhu Xiang was dissatisfied: "At least Zheng'er calls you a teacher, can you be more responsible?"
Li Mu said, "Okay, I'll take a break for a while and teach Zheng'er riding, archery, martial arts and military books."
Zhu Xiang sighed heavily.
What's the point of teaching Zheng'er riding, archery, martial arts and military books? Can Zheng'er lead the army himself
After work, learning horse riding, archery, martial arts, and military books can also be used to exercise the body and rest the brain.
This time when Li Mu went south, he did not seize territory, but instead robbed a lot of supplies.
He used the fighting style he had in Yanmen County in Wu County. When he was in Yanmen County, he often led his troops to rob the grassland tribes of their supplies, so there were endless livestock in the city. Now he was going to rob Dongyue.
The areas of Dongyue near Wujun accepted the spread of agricultural civilization, and the people mostly engaged in farming; moving further south, after reaching Minyue, the flat areas became increasingly narrow, and the mountain people became increasingly ferocious.
The Minyue people lived by the sea and had their backs on the mountains, and were mostly fishermen and hunters. Li Mu specifically sought out the Minyue people to train their troops and rob them of their possessions.
When he returned from the robbery, he would sell the supplies in Dongyue near Wujun for food to replenish military supplies. If casualties were not counted, he would make a lot of money every time he went on an expedition.
Li Mu sat under the pumpkin vine rack, drinking rice wine brewed by Zhu Xiang while introducing his strategic intentions.
"Dongyue is not a whole. Stealing things from the southern tribes of Dongyue and giving them to the leaders of the northern tribes of Dongyue can divide Dongyue from within. The people of Dongyue are short-sighted and greedy for small profits, and they will soon fall into internal turmoil."
"Minyue will surely retreat inland if it cannot withstand the Qin army's attack. Then the Qin army will be able to go ashore and build fortresses and cities, gradually gaining a foothold in Minyue."
"The Minyue, whose living space has been squeezed, fear the Qin army and will intensify their attacks on the northern tribes of Dongyue, exacerbating the civil unrest."
Li Mu smiled and said, "Even if I conquer the southern territories now, I don't have extra troops to guard them. The purpose is just to train the troops. Let them have internal strife for a dozen years, and then slowly clean up after the king unifies the world."
Zhu Xiang praised: "You military strategists all have evil hearts!"
Wang Jian spit out a mouthful of wine: "No, I didn't! I have always fought in an upright manner!"
Li Mu glanced at Wang Jian.
He admitted that Wang Jian was better at frontal combat with a large army. This was probably related to the fact that the Qin State was strong and the military tactics that Wang Jian had learned since childhood were mainly based on frontal combat and crushing.
Li Mu was different.
Even when Zhao was strong, in order to compete for hegemony in the Central Plains, the number of troops stationed in frontier areas such as Yanmen County was not large. Every year when the Hu people came south, Li Mu and other frontier generals would think about the effect of using one soldier as many soldiers, so he was better at making strange plans.
Although there is no difference between the two, Li Mu is confident that he will not lose to Wang Jian in a head-on confrontation with a large army. Wang Jian should be able to use strange strategies when necessary. But Li Mu still envied Wang Jian a little for growing up in a powerful country.
Li Mu drank the wine in the glass.
Fortunately, he is also a Qin general now.
Zhu Xiang's eye for selecting talents was indeed ruthless. After Li Mu and Wang Jian worked together, they immediately confirmed that this middle-aged general, who had little reputation at present, would definitely grow to a remarkable level.
If he were still a general of Zhao, Wang Jian would definitely become his greatest enemy, or even his arch-enemy - he might spend the rest of his life fighting against Wang Jian on the battlefield.
Behind Wang Jian was the powerful Qin State, and he led the strong Qin army; behind him was the weak Zhao State, which used its military force inferior to the Qin army and racked its brains to deal with Wang Jian.
Wang Jian could lose many times and then win with one strike; if he lost just once, he would lose everything.
Li Mu felt disappointed when he thought about such a future.
Fortunately, he is also a Qin general now.
Li Mu didn't know that if he was still a general of Zhao, he would have no chance to compete with Wang Jian. Because Wang Jian saw that Li Mu was too powerful, he asked King Zheng of Qin to kill him before he went to war.
Wang Jian: I am best at leading a large army in an upright battle, not at making extraordinary plans. Scheming to sow discord is not an extraordinary plan.
Li Mu and Wang Jian started chatting about their respective tactics. During the conversation, they joked that if Li Mu was still a general of Zhao, they wouldn't know who would win or lose in a fight between the two.
Zhu Xiang, the only person who knew about the situation, and Ying Xiaozheng, who was half-informed, gnawed on water chestnuts in silence.
After the two started arguing, Ying Xiaozheng wiped his mouth and said, "Teacher, I'm not stupid. You are so powerful, and the King of Zhao is so incompetent, why should I send Wang Jian to confront you head-on? Wouldn't it be better to use a strategy of alienation to make the King of Zhao kill you?"
Li Mu was speechless.
Wang Jian held his forehead with his hand.
Zhu Xiang almost choked from laughing.
Li Mu finally cursed in the Yanmen County accent and no longer mentioned what it would be like for him to be General Zhao.
Wang Jian wanted to hold back his laughter, but he couldn't help but his shoulders trembling.
The military debate ended hastily, and the winner was Ying Xiaozheng.
Ying Xiaozheng climbed on Li Mu's back and laughed.
Li Mu carried Ying Xiaozheng on his back and swung him around twice to scare this bad disciple who dared to try to sow discord against his teacher.
Zhu Xiang smiled and shook his head, looking up at the crescent moon.
Zhao State... Pingyang Jun and Xinling Jun are still in Zhao State, are they okay
It's definitely not a good thing.
Zhao State.
Pingyang Jun knelt in front of the haggard Xinling Jun with a pleading look on his face.
Xinling Jun only drank and did not look at Pingyang Jun.
Pingyang Lord Zhao Bao lowered his head and said, "Xinling Lord, please save Zhao."
Xinling Lord Wei Wuji burped and said dejectedly, "I can't even save myself, how can I save Zhao? You are a relative of Zhao, the King of Zhao trusts you, aren't you doing a good job as the Prime Minister?"
Zhao Bao smiled bitterly: "I am not very knowledgeable and I can't do well."
After Pingyuan Jun Zhao Sheng passed away, Zhao Bao took on the important task of assisting the country that Zhao Sheng once had.
After several setbacks, King Zhao came to his senses and barely behaved like a wise monarch, but his health had deteriorated and he was unable to handle government affairs for a long time.
The King of Zhao changed his previous suspicion and placed deep trust in Lord Pingyuan and Lord Pingyang, handing over most of the government affairs to his two cousins.
In order to make up for the loss, Pingyuan Jun died of exhaustion in office and gained a reputation as a wise man.
It’s not that Pingyang Jun Zhao Bao didn’t want to emulate his brother, but he really couldn’t compare to his brother in terms of governing and judging people, so he was powerless.
He visited Xinling Jun many times, hoping that Xinling Jun could serve as prime minister of Zhao State. However, Xinling Jun was disheartened by the suspicion of King Wei and spent his days drunk and refused to sober up.
The two men sat opposite each other, and Zhao Bao thought that he would return empty-handed again this time.
This visiting card is made of paper.
Qin State gradually replaced bamboo and wooden slips with paper a few years ago. Although other countries followed suit, papermaking technology was a problem. Although they could steal technology from Qin State, the cost was too high. Except for Zhao State, which gritted its teeth and kept up, other countries had given up.
To the nobility, there was no big difference between bamboo slips, wooden slips and paper. They didn't care about the cost.
However, the State of Zhao had too many shortcomings to be filled, so there were not many papermaking workshops, and paper was not yet popular. Especially for visiting cards, the nobles preferred to use wooden and bamboo cards. Only the Qin people used paper as visiting cards.
Lord Xinling said angrily: "Throw away the Qin people's visiting card!"
The servant said in a low voice: "It is the messenger sent by Duke Zhu Xiang."
Lord Xinling and Lord Pingyang were both stunned.
After a long silence, Xinling Jun put down the wine bowl, asked someone to fetch some water, tidied his appearance, washed his hands that were full of the smell of alcohol, changed his clothes, and then took the thin visiting card.
Pingyang Jun looked at Xinling Jun's rare neat appearance. Although Xinling Jun still had a hint of drunkenness in his eyes, he seemed to see the high-spirited appearance of Xinling Jun in the past.
What Zhu Xiang sent was more like a letter than a visiting card.
After Zhu Xiang learned from the favorability system that Pingyuan Jun Zhao Sheng had passed away, he had always wanted to send a condolence gift.
But the State of Zhao kept the death a secret, and he couldn't explain how he knew that Lord Pingyuan had passed away.
Duke Lin really did appear in his dream, but it is impossible to say that Lord Pingyuan also appeared in his dream? Therefore, Duke Lin sent a condolence gift only when the King of Qin learned that Lord Pingyuan had passed away.
After all this, by the time his gifts arrived, King Qin Zhu was about to finish his mourning period.
Zhu Xiang originally wanted to send the gift directly to Lord Pingyuan or Lord Pingyang, but then he changed his mind and thought that as an important official of Qin, if he sent gifts to the royal family of Zhao, he would be fine, but he was afraid that the nobles of Zhao would make irresponsible remarks and implicate Lord Pingyuan and Lord Pingyang.
It happened that Xinling Jun was in Zhao State and was also the brother-in-law of Pingyuan Jun, so he sent the gift to Xinling Jun's house and asked Xinling Jun to pass it on.
At the same time, he also had a lot to say to Xinling Jun.
After Xinling Jun handed this short letter to Pingyang Jun, he went out in person to greet the envoy sent by Zhu Xiang.
Zhu Xiang had few servants around him, and he had always used the King of Qin's men. This time, he asked the few servants in his family to go there in person. This servant had met Lord Xinling and Lord Pingyang, although Lord Xinling and Lord Pingyang did not remember him.
The servant was dressed like a businessman, very low-key.
After presenting the gift and another thick letter, he stopped talking and only answered questions when Xinling Jun asked.
His words and actions showed Zhu Xiang's sincerity - Zhu Xiang sent people to express condolences as a friend and it had nothing to do with the Qin State.
In addition to valuable items that were in line with the etiquette of the time, the gifts Zhu Xiang sent also included pumpkin seeds and planting methods.
This was an action that the King of Qin agreed to after he reported the matter to him.
Pumpkins can help save people from famine, but they cannot be stored for a long time and are difficult to transport. They can save the people of Zhao, but it is difficult to become Zhao's military rations. So Qin Wangzhu was willing to sell this to build up his reputation as a benevolent and righteous man.
Qin was officially preparing to conquer the world. Unlike King Zhaoxiang of Qin, King Zhu of Qin was more in favor of Xunzi's words about "a teacher of benevolence and righteousness". If it could gain a good reputation and allow the Qin army to encounter fewer difficulties when conquering the six kingdoms, why not
Building up your reputation doesn't take up much manpower or resources, and can be done on par with preparing for war.
Zhu Xiang mentioned this point tactfully in his letter, pointing out the advantages and disadvantages of pumpkin.
After his brother's death, Pingyang Jun rarely showed a helpless expression.
"He is still the same Zhu Xiang. He has not changed." Pingyang Lord Zhao Bao thought of the bad past with Zhu Xiang and looked at the pumpkin seeds with tears in his eyes. "Even though he is now a minister of Qin, he still remembers the common people of Zhao."
Lord Xinling said, "Although our positions are different, it does not change my friendship with him. Let's see what he has advised me."
Lord Xinling arranged for the envoy sent by Zhu Xiang to stay, and handed all other gifts to Lord Pingyang, only taking out the thick letter from Zhu Xiang.
Pingyang Jun was very worried that Zhu Xiang would persuade Xinling Jun to go to Qin, so he shamelessly stayed behind, using the excuse of wanting to know more about Zhu Xiang.
Xinling Jun did not expose the truth, but he did not show his letter to Pingyang Jun.
He just told Pingyang Jun that he would never enter Qin.
"Because Qin's next target will definitely be Han and Wei." Xinling Jun said coldly, "Even if Wei doesn't want me, I am still the prince of Wei."
Pingyang Jun prostrated himself on the ground and kowtowed, feeling extremely upset.
Xinling Jun came to the study room which he had not been to for a long time, lit a honey candle, and was in a trance for a while before he opened the letter written by Zhu Xiang.
Zhu Xiang spoke directly without much greeting and talked about some interesting things that happened after he came to Qin.
For example, his dissatisfaction with the Taoist priests, Li Bing's flood control, and his own going south to farm.
He did not write about confidential matters in the letter, and Xinling Jun already knew everything he said. He just gave a detailed and subjective description of these things from the perspective of the person involved.
For example, when fighting against the alchemist, he did not use any magical means, but simply exposed the opponent's tricks.
Also, when Zhu Xiang and Li Bing were excavating mountains and casting dams, he hid the gunpowder, but wrote about using thermal expansion and contraction to make rocks crack, and then complained that there were no monsters blocking the way.
The same goes for cutting down mountains and destroying temples. They are just about eliminating some bad guys who took advantage of religion. There are no gods or demons appearing.
"My martial arts skills are mediocre. Xunzi often calls me a rotten wood. How can I have the ability to kill monsters and evil gods?"
Xinling Jun laughed.
He really believed that Zhu Xiang had this ability, it turned out that the real situation was so "simple".
The outside world spread false information, which made even Zhu Xiang, an honest man, feel embarrassed.
Wei Wuji and Zhu Xiang only met once. But some friendships are like love at first sight, and can be remembered for a lifetime after just one encounter.
Wei Wuji knew that he was like this to Zhu Xiang. Now that Zhu Xiang responded to him, he was very happy.
Unfortunately, the King of Qin would not let Zhu Xiang leave Qin, and he would not enter Qin. He and Zhu Xiang would probably never drink together again.
The interesting stories in Zhu Xiang's letter made Wei Wuji feel much more relaxed and less wary.
After all, he hated the Qin State, and Zhu Xiang was the favorite of the King of Qin. Although he admired Zhu Xiang, he was also somewhat worried about what the King of Qin would do with Zhu Xiang's letter.
It now seems that Zhu Xiang is indeed favored by the King of Qin, and the King of Qin agreed to let Zhu Xiang write letters according to his own feelings.
The Zhu Xiang that Wei Wuji saw was the "great sage Zhu Xiang" whose black hair had some gray hair and whose face was haggard. He had never seen the lively Zhu Xiang.
Zhu Xiang's letter allowed Wei Wuji to glimpse the true inner self of Zhu Xiang beneath his halo of great sage.
Wei Wuji once visited Lin Xiangru and Lian Po after Zhu Xiang left Zhao State. He heard the two elders talk about Zhu Xiang in a nostalgic tone, saying that Zhu Xiang was privately an overly lively and troublesome "child".
Judging from the tone of the letter, Zhu Xiang is indeed a very free and cheerful person, and should be someone who gets along very well with me.
Wei Wuji stroked the letter paper, imagining what Zhu Xiang would look like when he came out of his heartbreak.
Zhu Xiang talked a lot for several pages. Sometimes he wrote the afterword and forgot the preface. He just repeated what he had said over and over again, which made Wei Wuji chuckle.
After turning another page, Zhu Xiang finally began to persuade him to cheer up, as he had expected.
As a friend, how could I not encourage myself to cheer up after receiving such a long letter
All those who had an old relationship with Wei Wuji wrote to persuade him, and even some old friends in Qin State tactfully advised him to go to Qin to serve as an official.
After reading the interesting stories Zhu Xiang told him, Wei Wuji felt very relaxed. He did not throw away these pages of the letter as he did with other people's letters encouraging him to cheer up.
"You want to return to Wei but cannot. It is difficult to relieve the depression in your heart even if you serve in other countries. You are very similar to a junior around me."
Wei Wuji raised his eyebrows. Who else is like him? He thought for a long time, but couldn't think of anyone in the Six Kingdoms who dared to be on par with him.
Of course, Zhu Xiang was talking about Han Fei.
Although Han Fei was from a branch of the Han royal family, the title of "Prince" now refers not only to the son of the monarch. Anyone who is related to the monarch is called a Prince. Therefore, when Ying Xiaozheng was the great-grandson of the king, he was also a Prince of Qin.
Even feudal lords who were not members of the royal family could be called "gongzi", such as Chunshen Jun, one of the four gongzi of the Warring States Period.
If Zhu Xiang was thick-skinned, he could call himself a young master, but he couldn't call himself "Young Master Zhu Xiang".
Han Fei was related to the King of Han, so he could be called "Prince Fei".
In the letter, Zhu Xiang praised the talent of Prince Fei of Han and wrote about the disdain of the King of Han and the prime ministers and ministers in the Han court towards Prince Fei.
Wei Wuji smiled bitterly when he saw Zhu Xiang wrote in the letter that Prince Fei had been writing to the King of Han for several years in a row, and the King of Han just felt annoyed and directly rejected Prince Fei.
He didn't know whether this Gong Zifei was really talented, but his treatment could indeed be described as miserable.
Zhu Xiang added that although the King of Han and the Han nobles all looked down on Han Fei, Han Fei still traveled thousands of miles to Xianyang to become Xunzi's disciple and seek strategies to strengthen the country.
Wei Wuji smiled and shook his head: "I'm afraid Zhu Xiang is being modest. Han Fei is definitely on his side."
Zhu Xiang seemed to know that Wei Wuji would say this, and he specifically emphasized that Han Fei really was Xunzi's disciple, and it had nothing to do with him, so he shouldn't flatter him.
Wei Wuji laughed.
This was in line with Zhu Xiang's thoughts, which made him very happy.
But soon, the smile on his face faded.
After Han Fei went to Qin, he saw that Han was in a desperate situation.
Wei Wuji put his hand on his forehead.
The end of the road for Han is also the end of the road for Wei.
Was Zhu Xiang telling him tactfully that the State of Wei was beyond salvation and that he should stop worrying about it
He silently turned a page of the letter and saw that Han Fei was unwilling to serve in Qin. Zhu Xiang also agreed that he should not serve in Qin before the demise of Han.
Wei Wuji was stunned and rubbed his eyes.
"But Han Fei would have served as an official after the Qin Dynasty unified the world and succeeded the Zhou Dynasty. If he had not served as an official, the Han royal family was so stupid that they would have probably become commoners."
Wei Wuji almost knocked over the beeswax and made a strange sound that sounded like crying and laughing: "Is this Zhu Xiang advising me to take care of my body and wait until Qin destroys Wei before serving in Qin to support the Wei royal family?"
He wanted to scold Zhu Xiang, but he couldn't. He just felt at a loss whether to laugh or cry, and very sad.
Zhu Xiang pointed out very harshly what is likely to happen in the future.
If the Qin State unified the world, it would certainly not want to continue the division of fiefdoms, and the royal family of Wei State would become ordinary nobles. If the descendants are too stupid, they will probably become commoners.
Are the Wei royal family stupid
Really stupid!
"Next, is he going to advise me to take care of myself and live till the demise of Wei so I can clean up the mess for the Wei royal family?" Wei Wuji gritted his teeth and turned another page, and was stunned again.
"But with your character and the speed at which Qin unified the world, you will definitely not live to see the day when Wei is destroyed."
Wei Wuji: “…”
Wei Wuji took a deep breath, went out for a walk, and came back after calming down.
He believed what Lord Lin and Lord Lian said. Zhu Xiang, this brat, sometimes really deserves a beating.
"But it would be a waste for you to die in depression. Li Mu has come to Qin, and there are no famous generals in the three northern counties of Zhao. I am afraid that even if the Hu people are in decline, they will still go south to plunder sporadically. Anyway, you will not be able to return to the court of Wei in the future, so why not try to guard the border?"
"The seven kingdoms are all China, and the borders of the seven kingdoms are China's borders. No matter how fiercely we fight for the world, we cannot allow foreign enemies to invade. When Lord Xinling guards the northern border of Zhao, he is also guarding Wei."
"But guarding the border is hard work. Xinling Jun is the younger brother of the King of Wei and a prince of Wei. He has been raised in luxury since childhood and may not be able to endure this hardship."
"Just pretend I didn't say anything."
At the end of the letter, Zhu Xiang drew a simple expression of a little man sticking out his tongue.
Even though there were no emoticons at that time, such a straightforward picture of the villain made Xinling Jun put his hands on his waist immediately.
When he put his hands on his waist, he realized that he had taken off his sword a long time ago because of decadence.
"You are such a jerk, Zhu Xiang!" Wei Wuji laughed in anger, "I consider you a friend, but you actually let me, a young master of Wei, guard the border for Zhao?! What on earth are you thinking?!"
After Zhu Xiang taught Li Si and Meng Tian, he could no longer sit still and prepared to leave Wucheng.
Xue Ji happened to come too, so Ying Xiaozheng left with peace of mind knowing that someone was taking care of him.
Li Mu handed the troops over to Wang Jian, asking Wang Jian to continue to go south to train the troops, while he accompanied Zhu Xiang for a stroll.
Wang Jian always felt that Li Mu had some ideas in his mind, but since Li Mu didn't say anything, he didn't ask any further questions and just pondered it in secret.
Li Mu really wanted to tell Wang Jian that he was overthinking, and occasionally he also wanted to relax a little.
Of course, going south with Zhu Xiang to describe the mountains and rivers south of Wujun, and plotting to expand the territory of Wujun after the civil strife in Dongyue that he had provoked, was just a side job.
Zhu Xiang left with Ying Xiaozheng's farewell voice, "Aunt is here, uncle, please leave quickly, I don't need you anymore."
He was riding on his pony when he suddenly thought of something. He turned to Li Mu, who was dressed as a knight-errant, and said, "Lord Xinling should have received my letter. I wonder if he will be furious."
Li Mu was curious: "What did you write in the letter? Invite him to Qin?"
Zhu Xiang was speechless: "How is that possible? I'm not that annoying."
Li Mu cooperated and continued to ask: "Then why is he so furious?"
Zhu Xiang smiled slyly and said, "After you left Yanmen County, there were no powerful generals guarding Yunzhong, Yanmen, and Dai counties. After a few years of recuperation, the Hu people began to stir up trouble again. I think Lord Xinling can make up for your vacancy."
Li Mu: “…”
He took a few deep breaths and said in a strange tone, "Let Prince Wei guard the border for Zhao. Zhu Xiang, if Lord Xinling were here now, I would definitely not stop him from beating you."
Zhu Xiang touched his nose and smiled, "The border of Zhao is also the border of the entire China, and it is the border of Zhou. As the prince of Wei in Zhou, why can't he guard the border? No matter who unifies the world, this border must be guarded. We can't fight here and the Hu people over there take advantage. We have to fight the Hu people again after unifying the world to take back the lost land. That would be too troublesome."
Li Mu said: "It's troublesome, but Lord Xinling is proud and I'm afraid he won't do such a thing."
Zhu Xiang said: "I'm just trying."
Li Mu sighed, "You are really... I really don't know how you came up with this idea. I'm afraid Xinling Jun will be shocked when he sees your letter."
Zhu Xiang said, "'Zhu Xiang is a man who has always been surprising.' This is the evaluation of the First Lord."
Li Mu laughed. Whatever, his best friend was just like that, what else could he say
After Zhu Xiang mentioned this, Li Mu couldn't help but lean towards Zhu Xiang.
If Xinling Jun did not care about his face and really went to Zhao State to guard the border, he would look up to this one of the four famous princes of the Warring States Period.
Now Li Mu thought that the Four Princes of the Warring States Period were far inferior to his friends, and were not even worthy of being friends with Zhu Xiang.
Mengchang Jun had already made his final judgment, and he had met Pingyuan Jun and Chunshen Jun. Li Mu felt that his evaluation was very objective.
As for Xinling Jun, he has been in decline since he was captured by Cai Ze's scheme of sowing discord, and he is not considered a very powerful person.
Although Li Mu was humble in front of his friends, he was arrogant towards outsiders and did not look up to the Four Princes of the Warring States Period just because of their fame.
But if Xinling Jun was really able to humble himself and endure hardships, and was willing to go to the three northern counties of Zhao to guard the border against the Hu people, then Xinling Jun could be truly worthy of the title of one of the four nobles of the Warring States Period.
Qin was also resisting the invasion of the Hu people, and its generals took turns to guard the border. The descendants of the Chu royal family, as the backbone of the Chu relatives in the Qin court, often led troops to fight, and naturally guarded the northern border many times.
The prince of Chu, who was a relative of the Qin State, could guard the border for the Qin State. So why couldn't the prince of Wei, who was also a relative of the Zhao State, guard the border for the Zhao State
There is nothing wrong with the letter my dear friend wrote.
(End of this chapter)