Afterwards, when Lin Zhi discussed strategies, he really threw Zhu Xiang aside.
Zhu Xiang was bored and was stopped from going out, so he went to the military camp and gave instructions to Li Mu and Wang Jian on their military training.
He also recruited a group of new soldiers to compete with Li Mu and Wang Jian.
Although Li Mu didn't know what was wrong with Zhu Xiang, he thought it was most likely infected by Lin Zhi, but he couldn't let Lin Zhi go now, so he and Wang Jian played this competition with Zhu Xiang.
Compared to Li Mu's mentality of just playing along, Wang Jian was quite interested.
Lin Zhi brought the King of Qin's edict, stating that after the matters with Crown Prince Zichu were settled, Wang Jian would go to Ba County to lead an army on his own, thus ending his life of accumulating qualifications and experience as Li Mu's deputy general.
Before leaving, Wang Jian really wanted to compete with Li Mu.
Moreover, during his conversation with Zhu Xiang, Wang Jian heard that Zhu Xiang had quite a lot of insights on military affairs. Wang Jian thought that Zhu Xiang might also be a hidden excellent general, but he just didn't lead the army because of his kindness. Now that Zhu Xiang took the initiative to compete with him, Wang Jian was very happy.
Zhu Xiang, Li Mu, and Wang Jian each led 20 people. Zhu Xiang picked first, and Wang Jian and Li Mu drew lots. Ten days later, the leaders competed.
However, the commander-in-chief could not go on the field, he could only command. Li Mu and Wang Jian were both very capable generals. If they went on the field, they could scatter the twenty new soldiers with a charge on horseback.
The content of the competition was determined by Zhu Xiang, which was nothing more than the simulation of jungle and lake scenes.
Zhu Xiang was fully confident in his military training results, yet his entire army was wiped out in less than an incense stick of time after the start of the battle. His defeat was inexplicable, and he could not figure out why he lost no matter how hard he tried.
For the next half day, Li Mu and Wang Jian calmly let the twenty people practice face to face, and then sighed that there were only twenty people, what was the point of comparing strategies and tactics, they could just fight directly.
Zhu Xiang squatted aside and doubted his life.
Without any strategy or tactics, how did you kill me in the first place? What on earth happened to me
Zhu Xiang had become very familiar with the twenty soldiers he led during the past ten days. The soldiers squatted around Zhu Xiang, also questioning their lives.
They thought that the training of Duke Zhu Xiang was very useful, and they were eager to fight for the honor of Duke Zhu Xiang. If they fought face to face like the soldiers led by General Li and General Wang were doing now, they were confident that it would not be bad.
So how did we get wiped out right off the bat? What happened to us
At the end of the competition, Wang Jian was slightly better. However, this had nothing to do with the military skills of Wang Jian and Li Mu, but because there was a big man in Wang Jian's team who was very powerful. He won in the end after fighting in a group and then in a one-on-one duel.
Zhu Xiang was still thinking over and over again how he had lost, which made Li Mu and Wang Jian laugh and cry.
Li Mu asked, "You have never led troops to fight a war. Isn't it normal to have such a result?"
Wang Jian originally wanted to say that he thought Zhu Xiang would be more powerful, but seeing that Zhu Xiang was already very depressed, he comforted Zhu Xiang and said that this was normal.
Zhu Xiang let out a long sigh, and was embarrassed to tell them that he still thought that he was standing on the shoulders of military strategists of five thousand years, carrying a huge keyboard and commanding the Internet for many years, and he would definitely be able to be like other predecessors who time traveled through time and space, and become a famous general if he did not lead troops.
Zhu Xiang stood up and asked in confusion: "But there must be a reason for my failure, right? Why did my soldiers run head-on into the encirclement, as if I was the one commanding them to jump into the trap, as if I was playing a fake game with you? How could you predict my command?"
Li Mu and Wang Jian looked at each other, not knowing what to say.
Wang Jian hesitated and said, "You saw through it at a glance."
Li Mu said: "It's as natural as eating and drinking. If you ask me, I don't know how to explain it."
Zhu Xiang looked at the expressions of the two people and roughly understood the reason for his failure.
In short, the two men saw through his intentions at a glance, and without any communication, they played a beautiful combination, eliminating their own soldiers first, and then slowly fighting each other.
As for how to see through it, just one glance! Do you understand at one glance
Li Mu and Wang Jian gave Zhu Xiang, a keyboard military expert, a small shock from the four famous generals of the Warring States Period.
Zhu Xiang swore: "I will never lead troops again!" I will lead a bunch of soldiers! I will definitely be beaten to a pulp by the generals of this era!
Li Mu said: "There is no chance for you to lead the troops."
Wang Jian looked at Zhu Xiang's angry expression and suppressed his laughter, saying, "Qin has many generals and their merits are not enough to be shared. You'd better not come and grab them."
At this time, Wang Jian realized that Zhu Xiang was younger than him, just over thirty years old, and a young man who could be excited or frustrated.
"You're right. I won't compete with you." Zhu Xiang's frustration was finally soothed.
Although this was not called appeasement by Li Mu and Wang Jian, it just made Zhu Xiang see a huge gap.
"You are quite good at training soldiers. You should be able to guard a city or be a deputy general." Li Mu praised Zhu Xiang after attacking him.
In fact, what Li Mu wanted to say was that if Zhu Xiang led the troops, he might not be able to win, but no matter how much advantage the other side had, as long as Zhu Xiang refused to surrender, it would only be a miserable victory.
It was the first time he saw a man who was leading an army for the first time take only ten days to win the loyalty of his soldiers and make them willing to die for him.
When Zhu Xiang's troops were surrounded, if he and Wang Jian had not happened to have the same idea and ambushed at the same time, and Zhu Xiang had not directly shouted surrender after seeing the defeat, they would probably have "lost" a lot of people.
It was just a drill, but Zhu Xiang's soldiers were actually really angry and were determined to fight to the death in order to prevent Zhu Xiang from losing too badly.
Li Mu thought that he would rather fight with Wang Jian and be defeated and killed due to the gap in national strength than fight with an enemy like Zhu Xiang.
The general also has a heart. He is not a beast. Fighting with an enemy like Zhu Xiang and watching the enemy fight with the general until the last man refusing to surrender, he will suffer a huge psychological trauma even if he wins.
This is the case with many generals who, after defeating a respectable enemy, would do their utmost to protect his family, continue the sacrifices to him, and even erect monuments and build temples to honor him as a god.
Afterwards, Li Mu expressed his feelings to Wang Jian.
Wang Jian first agreed with Li Mu, and then reminded Li Mu that Li Mu's opponent was not him, but Prince Zheng.
Li Mu thought of Ying Xiaozheng's "estrangement plan" declaration, and his face turned dark. He discovered that Wang Jian was not a serious person in private and really deserved a beating.
Doesn't he have a more serious friend
Oh, and Prime Minister Cai also lamented with him about making bad friends.
Zhu Xiang stayed in the military camp for more than a month before he was finally notified by Bian Que that the ban on going to the fields had been lifted. He happily carried his hoe and rode his pony to leave Wucheng.
When Lin Zhi saw him off, he scolded Xue Ji and Ying Xiaozheng, "A man who abandons his wife and children just to farm a field should be despised by the world!"
Ying Xiaozheng agreed: "Uncle is right!"
Xue Ji didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
How can a husband abandon his wife and children when he goes to inspect the fields? Then when I live and eat in the textile workshop, isn't that abandoning my husband and children
"Brother, don't talk nonsense." Xue Ji said.
In the feudal era, women's identities followed their fathers and husbands. When Xue Ji led the noble women to weave in Xianyang, although her status followed Zhu Xiang's, many noble women still looked down on Xue Ji's bloodline and were unwilling to make friends with a peasant girl.
Lin Zhi adopted Xue Ji as his adopted daughter on behalf of his father. He also wrote a letter to his hometown to record Xue Ji in the family tree, making Xue Ji's status as "father's daughter" noble.
So Xue Ji could also be called "Lin Xue", and from then on Lin Zhi was called "brother".
Zhu Xiang, on the other hand, had no surname and had no plans to have one, and he insisted on publicizing his commoner origins.
Xue Ji sighed slightly after hearing this and said, "He is not really ill, he is just a little tired. He listens to advice very well and should be taken care of when necessary. He will be fine in the future. There are also long-lived people among the common people who work in the fields. He has no worries about food and clothing, and he has a miracle doctor to take care of him. Brother, don't worry."
When Lin Zhi heard Xue Ji say this, he felt even more unhappy.
Ying Xiaozheng said: "If my uncle is pampered at home every day, he might get even sicker."
Lin Zhi scolded Zhu Xiang harshly and said unhappily, "That's right. No matter how worried I am, I can't stop him from working in the fields, just like I can't stop Lord Lian from going to the battlefield at such an old age. They are all troublesome!"
Zhu Xiang was forced to rest for more than a month this time because Xue Ji had to go to the textile workshop herself and could not supervise Zhu Xiang. So she took Zhu Xiang's medical records from Bian Que and asked Lin Zhi to help supervise him.
Farming was tiring in ancient times, and even if Zhu Xiang did not work hard to make a living, he could not avoid "farming diseases" such as joint strain and minor parasitic infections.
Especially when it was necessary to rush to harvest or provide disaster relief, Zhu Xiang would personally lead his men to work hard instead of standing on the ridge of the field to give orders.
But just as Xue Ji said, Zhu Xiang had no worries about food and clothing, he had a miracle doctor watching him, and he also paid attention to his health, so he was not seriously ill.
Just like a general would still go to the battlefield even if he got injured, the people around Zhu Xiang would not stop him from getting off the battlefield.
The fields were Zhu Xiang’s battlefield.
"He can still hold on when he's young, but when he's old, all the problems from farming will come back to haunt him. I'll see how he regrets it then!" Lin Zhi cursed, but in the end he couldn't do anything to Zhu Xiang.
It's like he knows drinking is bad, but as long as he doesn't have official business to do, he will get drunk every day.
However, if his friends knew that he compared drinking with Zhu Xiang's farming, they would definitely scold Lin Zhi for being unworthy and insulting Zhu Xiang.
Zhu Xiang: Farming is a job and an ideal! Drinking is a bad habit for you!
"Zhu Xiang has gone to farm, so it's time for me to leave too." Lin Zhi said to Ying Xiaozheng, "Zheng'er, do you really want to be the one holding the knife?"
Ying Xiaozheng said: "Yes."
Lin Zhi said, "Then follow me."
Xue Ji asked worriedly, "Are you going to do something dangerous?"
Lin Zhi smiled and said, "It's not dangerous. It's just giving more land to the common people."
Xue Ji was puzzled: "Then what is meant by holding a knife?"
Lin Zhi continued to laugh and said, "Because there are people who oppose it."
Xue Ji said: "It is a good thing to give more land to the common people. Those who oppose it must be bad people. Zheng'er, there is no need to hesitate."
Ying Xiaozheng raised his chin and said, "I never hesitate."
Xue Ji looked at her child who was almost as tall as her, and couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic and a little relieved.
The child who was as thin as a little monkey and could be easily picked up with one hand has now grown into a handsome young man.
Time flies.
"Zheng'er, you should grow your hair." Xue Ji stroked Ying Xiaozheng's still-haired head, "In another year or two, your aunt will look up at you."
Ying Xiaozheng said: "Aunt, you don't have to look up at me. Zheng'er will bow when he sees you."
Xue Ji laughed: "That's so tiring. Zheng'er, hold your head high, it's best like now. I just tilted my head slightly, Zheng'er will appear taller in my eyes, that's a good thing."
Ying Xiaozheng said nothing.
Lin Zhi patted Ying Xiaozheng on the shoulder and said, "Listen to your aunt. You don't need to worry too much in front of your uncle and aunt. They don't care about these empty names. They just hope that the family can get along normally."
Ying Xiaozheng was helpless: "Okay."
That's right. If he acted like a filial son to his uncle, his uncle would be scared and touch his forehead, asking himself if he had picked up some unfamiliar mushrooms and eaten them.
During this trip, Zhu Xiang not only inspected the fields in Wu County, but also went to Nan County and Qianzhong County. He also visited Zhang Ruo, the governor of Qianzhong County who was preparing to die in Qianzhong County, and gave him some cabbage.
Zhang Ruo smiled and, under Zhu Xiang's guidance, pulled out the flowers and plants in the courtyard and opened up a cabbage field.
Afterwards, Zhang Ruo accompanied Zhu Xiang to inspect Yunmengze.
This place used to be a swamp wetland, and Zhu Xiang also left behind a legend of fighting against evil gods here.
Now there are rice fields here, and the fragrance of rice is wafting in the air. A farmer groped in the field for a while and caught a fish of unknown species, which he wanted to serve as a snack for Duke Zhu Xiang.
Zhu Xiang prepared the fish on the spot, lit a bonfire, and grilled the fish with Zhang Ruo.
"Nowadays, people from Chu often sneak across the river." Zhang Ruo said to Zhu Xiang.
Because of the outbreak of the trade war, Lu Buwei organized several caravans to travel back and forth between Qin and Chu from Southern Qin County.
When the Qin State attacked the southern Chu area, many Chu people followed the Chu nobles to flee to the north of the Yangtze River, while some people stayed behind for various reasons.
Now that the people who stayed behind have a better life, they think of their relatives and fellow villagers who left, and ask merchants to send letters to let them know they are safe when they go north.
Because the Chu State was a feudal aristocracy, the king of Chu did not have much land directly under his control, and it was difficult for the Chu people who crossed the river to the north to get enough land. Many people became tenants or even serfs for the feudal lords.
After listening to the news from their hometown people, some of them felt that since they couldn't make ends meet, they might as well take a gamble. Some people really missed their homeland so much that they couldn't bear to leave, so some of them secretly went south to look for their relatives.
The reclamation of Yunmeng Lake required a lot of labor, and the more young and strong laborers, the better. Zhang Ruo specially arranged for the Qin army to pick them up, and they would go back to their hometown to divide the land and teach Qin law.
At this time, the county magistrate had great power and could make some laws on his own.
Zhang Ruo stipulated that all laborers who reclaimed land in Qianzhong County would be able to obtain the reclaimed land after paying taxes for a few years, in order to encourage the common people to reclaim wasteland.
During the Warring States Period, this method was often used to persuade people to reclaim wasteland.
However, after spending some time with Zhu Xiang, Zhang Ruo also learned Zhu Xiang's habit of "going to the countryside". Most of his officials were students from the Xianyang Academy that Zhu Xiang had brought with him, or disciples of the Southern Chu Confucian School who had listened to Zhu Xiang's lessons. They also picked up Zhu Xiang's habit, which was not in line with his status in the contemporary world.
After their visits, they found that common people did not reclaim much wasteland, and most of the land fell into the hands of the powerful, so they were considering how to change it.
After hearing Zhang Ruo's sigh, Zhu Xiang said, "How much land can a commoner cultivate? It's good enough if they can finish the farm work on their own land. The nobles have servants and can hire commoners to cultivate for them, so they can naturally cultivate a lot of land."
Zhang Ruo said: "As long as the wasteland can be reclaimed, I should not interfere. But seeing the Chu scholars who still care about the King of Chu gaining power, I always feel that it is a hidden danger."
(End of this chapter)