After Zhu Xiang opened his mouth, the visitor realized that Zhu Xiang was not the other old man.
When he thought of the description of "white hair and youthful face", he immediately realized that the person serving Xunzi meals was Changping Jun Zhu Xiang, and he hurried to pay a visit to Zhu Xiang.
He introduced himself again. It turned out that he was the eldest son of Prime Minister Zhang Ping, named Zhang Sheng. The child he brought was his second brother.
Zhang Sheng was not the envoy of Han to Qin. He had just turned thirty and was not very enthusiastic about being an official, so he did not hold a high position. He came to Xianyang just to fulfill his father's last wish.
He brought his second brother with him because after their father passed away, he was responsible for teaching his second brother Zhang Liang, while his wife raised his younger brother Zhang Yuan. Zhang Liang was curious about the Xianyang Academy and followed him to see the world.
In addition to persuading Han Fei to return to Han, Zhang Ping's last wish was to have his son become Han Fei's disciple.
Although he has passed away, the Zhang family has great influence in Han. As long as Han Fei becomes the teacher of his two sons, he can use the power of the Zhang family to show his strength in the court of Han without worrying about being ignored by the King of Han.
Zhang Sheng did not say these things directly, but Xunzi and Zhu Xiang immediately guessed what Zhang Ping was thinking.
After Zhu Xiang helped Xunzi tear the chicken, he mixed the torn chicken with cumin powder and other non-spicy powders, and brought it to Xunzi.
Xunzi picked up his chopsticks and started to eat. Zhu Xiang washed his hands and said, "Han Fei is in Wujun, not in Xianyang."
Zhang Sheng looked a little embarrassed.
Everyone in Han thought that Prince Fei was studying under Xunzi in the Xianyang Academy, so how could he be in Wujun
Moreover, he had never thought about meeting Changping Jun, a popular figure in front of the King of Qin.
Zhang Sheng has always known that he is not good at politics, but his second brother is smart since childhood. If his father can live another 10 or 20 years and let his second brother grow up, the Zhang family will definitely do their best to train his second brother to become the new prime minister of Han.
But since his father has passed away, the Zhang family can only lie dormant for the time being.
The world is changing rapidly now. South Korea is small and weak, and no one knows what will happen in the future. According to his father's last wish, he will always stay on the edge of power. If South Korea is destroyed, he will choose a place to live in seclusion and leave incense for the Zhang family.
His other two brothers used the power of the Zhang family to try to continue supporting the King of Han or to join another lord in order to find opportunities for the Zhang family to continue to be rich and prosperous.
Although Xunzi was the prime minister of Qin, everyone knew that Xunzi was just a banner for Qin to recruit talents because the king of Qin saw Xunzi's high moral character. In addition to formulating etiquette for Qin, Xunzi only managed the affairs of the Xianyang Academy and was considered to be outside the Qin court. So it didn't matter that he came to see Xunzi.
The status of Changping Jun Zhu Xiang was completely different.
Zhang Sheng had a terrible headache and immediately wanted to back out.
He said, "Since the young master is not in Xianyang City, I will not disturb Prime Minister Xun and Lord Changping and will take my leave first."
He somewhat blamed the person who gave him the news. If he had known that Young Master Fei was not here, he would not have brought his second brother here.
Zhang Liang pulled his brother's sleeve and said, "Why don't we ask Lord Changping to send a letter to Master Fei for us? Lord Changping was once the governor of Wu County, so he should be able to communicate with Master Fei."
Xunzi glanced at Zhang Liang.
Zhang Sheng quickly said, "My second brother is young and not very sensible. Please forgive me, Prime Minister Xun."
Sweat beads appeared on his forehead. What nonsense is this kid talking about? Let the Changping Lord of Qin help us deliver the letter? Do you think you are in Han and facing the feudal lords of Han
Zhang Liang did not realize that the feudal lords of Qin were different from the feudal lords he met in Han.
His grandfather and father had served as prime ministers for five generations of kings in Han, and had almost controlled the entire Han government. If Zhang Sheng was not indeed less intelligent, the current situation in Han would not be very good. Zhang Ping was worried that his son would die with Han after becoming prime minister, causing the Zhang family to fail. The next prime minister would probably have to come from the Zhang family.
The status of the Zhang family was second only to the King of Han in Han. All the royal family members and other feudal lords in Han treated the Zhang family with great respect, so Zhang Liang was influenced by them since he was a child and did not have much respect for the Lord Changping in front of him.
But he was smart after all. When he saw his brother's anxious look, he knew that he might have said something wrong, so he quickly shut up.
Zhu Xiang said: "It's not that I can't help you deliver the letter, but Han Fei will probably be disgusted by your actions. Not only will he not return to Han, but he will also be even angrier."
After Zhu Xiang learned that the bald, stupid boy with a hanging ribbon was Zhang Liang, he temporarily lost interest in the Zhang brothers.
Zhang Liang is still so young. By the time he is able to be used, the Qin State will have already unified the world. And given the status of the Zhang family in Han, Zhang Liang might still rebel against the Qin State in the future. So it is not a good thing to have more contact now.
But Zhang Liang suggested sending a letter to Han Fei. Zhu Xiang thought about it and thought that perhaps Han Fei would want to know the current situation of Han.
Zhang Liang lost his temper and developed a domineering character at home. He said dissatisfiedly: "He is the son of Han, and he should serve the Kingdom of Han. My father gave him a chance to come back. Why would he hate the Zhang family! If he is this kind of person, it is better for him not to come back!"
Zhang Sheng quickly covered Zhang Liang's mouth, but Zhang Liang was slippery and slipped under Zhang Sheng's arm.
Zhang Sheng was so anxious that he was sweating profusely and kept apologizing to Zhu Xiang and Xunzi.
Xunzi ate meat while watching this scene with great interest.
"How can you be so ignorant, kid!" Zhang Sheng was almost going crazy.
His second brother was usually very well-behaved, so he brought him to Qin this time. Why did he suddenly become naughty now
Zhang Liang was not suddenly naughty, but was holding a lot of anger in his heart after coming to Xianyang.
He was the son of a minister who was the fifth king of Korea, and his status was very noble. He was influenced by his family since he was a child, and he was full of pride for Korea and the Zhang family.
But after arriving in Xianyang, he saw that the envoys from South Korea were cautious and submissive, which brought shame to South Korea, and he was already dissatisfied.
Now that his brother was like this, Zhang Liang was naturally unhappy.
He was just a child who acted on his own will and had never experienced any setbacks except for his father's death, so when he was unhappy, it showed immediately.
Zhu Xiang looked at the naughty child curiously.
In history, Zhang Liang, the Marquis of Liu, had a bad temper when he was young, but he became calm and composed after he followed Liu Bang. This child now really fits the character of the young Marquis of Liu in history.
Zhang Liang was finally caught by Zhang Sheng.
Zhang Sheng pressed Zhang Liang's head and asked Zhang Liang to apologize to Zhu Xiang.
Zhang Liang stiffened his neck and refused to apologize: "I didn't do anything wrong. Why should I apologize? He was the one who insulted the Zhang family first!"
Zhu Xiang said, "I didn't insult the Zhang family. When your father asked you to come to Xianyang to look for Han Fei, didn't he tell you about Han Fei?"
Zhu Xiang looked at Zhang Sheng.
Zhang Sheng looked a little embarrassed: "Of course, of course I said it."
When Han Fei left Han, he was old enough to remember things, but he didn't know much because he was not interested in the court. He only knew that Han Fei was not popular in Han and was driven out of the palace by the King of Han, who forbade Han Fei to write to the emperor again.
At that time, his father spoke of Han Fei with contempt and did not regard Han Fei as a great talent.
Now his father asked him to come to find Han Fei and asked his second brother to worship Han Fei as his teacher. He felt very strange. But since his father had left a will, he must follow it, so he came anyway.
"It can be seen that you are not too concerned about coming to find Han Fei. Otherwise, if you had asked around, you would have known that Han Fei had already left Xianyang and became famous in Wujun." Zhu Xiang said, "Your Excellency must have heard of Han Fei's reputation in Southern Qin, so you changed your mind and wanted to support Han Fei to enter the court of Han."
Zhang Sheng: “…” He moved his lips, not knowing how to answer.
Zhang Liang looked up at his brother, his face full of confusion. Is that so? But that's not what his brother told him.
Zhu Xiang said: "If you had made more preparations, you wouldn't be so surprised when you saw me. You really were totally unprepared."
There is no record of Zhang Liang's brothers in history books, only that Zhang Liang had a younger brother who died young.
Now it seems that it is no wonder that there is no record of it. Is Zhang Liang, the elder brother, reckless or mediocre
However, considering the power of the Zhang family in Korea, it is normal for the eldest son of the Zhang family to be mediocre, because he does not need to work hard to be a superior person.
After Zhu Xiang reminded him, Zhang Sheng finally realized something.
He stammered, "This, this house belongs to Lord Changping?"
Zhu Xiang said, "If we don't talk about ownership, it should belong to Zheng'er... Crown Prince Zheng. After I brought Zheng'er back to Qin, I have been living here."
Zhang Sheng stuttered even more: "But, but the person I asked said that Prime Minister Xun lives here!"
Zhu Xiang was helpless: "Xunzi is my elder, so of course I should take care of him. After Han Fei became Xunzi's disciple, he did live here."
Zhang Sheng: “…” What! The young master must live in Changping Jun’s house?! He doesn’t know about this!
Although Zhang Liang was young and reckless, he also realized that something was wrong.
Young Master Fei lives in Lord Changping's residence, why doesn't your brother know about it
Xunzi had already finished a bowl of chicken slowly. He wiped his mouth first, asked someone to clear the food off the table, and then said unhappily, "I don't have any disciples to learn the law from."
Zhu Xiang said: "Even so, Han Fei is also a disciple of... Hey? Xunzi, why did you take out the ruler?"
After Zhu Xiang took the beating honestly, he stopped arguing with Xunzi.
He coughed dryly and continued to the main topic: "Han Fei wrote to the King of Han for many years in a row, hoping that the King of Han could carry out reforms in Han to enrich the country and strengthen the army. The most fiercely opposed at that time was the respect for relatives. When Han Fei left Han, he cursed the Han court for being mediocre, and the one he cursed the most was the respect for relatives."
He sighed and said, "If your father had come in person to ask Han Fei to return to Han, Han Fei might have gone back. But he only brought his last words and asked his two children to ask Han Fei to go back. Don't you think your Zhang family is too arrogant?"
Zhu Xiang's blunt satire of the Zhang family made Zhang Sheng and Zhang Liang's faces change drastically.
Just as Zhang Liang was about to argue, Zhu Xiang said again, "You are well-read people. Have you ever seen anyone with this attitude when seeking talents? Moreover, Han Fei is not an ordinary person, but a member of the royal family who was tacitly expelled by the King of Han, Han Gongzi Fei. Even if his father was still alive, he should have more respect for Gongzi Fei."
"Your Highness is unwilling to come, and you ask the younger generation to invite him. This is already impolite. The younger generation is unwilling to come and invite Han Fei. This is a second level of impoliteness. I really don't know whether you want Han Fei to return to Korea, or you want to completely stop Han Fei from returning to Korea."
"Or is it that the Zhang family has been the prime minister for five generations of the King of Han, and has been second to none for so long that they are too arrogant and don't think this is disrespectful?"
The gentleness on Zhu Xiang's face faded away and he scolded coldly.
He had many regrets about Han Fei's character, but Han Fei was a junior whom he valued and someone he protected.
Even though they might be on opposite sides in the future, for now, he would not allow anyone to humiliate Han Fei in front of him.
If Zhang Ping really wanted to invite Han Fei back, he should have gone to invite him in person while he was still alive. Even if he was too old and frail to go, he should have sent an envoy of appropriate status to invite him with the King of Han's imperial edict.
Now he just sent his eldest son to look for Han Fei with the so-called last words and the benefit of "my Zhang family will support you" as bait. This condescending attitude is really disgusting.
Zhu Xiang thought of Han Fei's pain, because Liu Hou's only remaining filter for the Zhang family was shattered.
That's right, when the Zhang family served as the prime minister of Han, Han was on a downward spiral. Especially the Han court headed by the current King of Han was a bit similar to a certain country in later times, with many tricks and no magnanimity, and they usually jumped high but were actually useless.
When the King of Han came in person to wear mourning for King Zhaoxiang of Qin, he knew what the ministers around him were thinking.
As the saying goes, if a king is humiliated, a minister shall die. They euphemistically say that doing so will allow Qin to spare Han. Why don't they suffer the humiliation themselves, but instead make the King of Han a laughing stock
Han Fei said that the court of Han was full of mediocrity, and the higher the position, the more despised one was. He may have been right.
What will happen to Liu Hou in the future is a matter of the future. The current Zhang family is the biggest mediocrity in Han. The Zhang family may share the blame with the King of Han for the state of life and death in Han, or even more than the King of Han.
Because the prime minister of the Warring States Period was very powerful and was an executor of state affairs, equivalent to the prime minister.
"You are my juniors, and I don't want to argue with you. But Han Fei is my junior, and I can't pretend I didn't see you insulting Han Fei without knowing it." Zhu Xiang didn't make things difficult for the Zhang brothers, and sent them away coldly, "Go back and think about it. If you really want to send a letter to Han Fei, you can come find me again."
Zhu Xiang waved his hand and asked the servant to see the guest off.
Zhang Sheng turned pale. He covered the mouth of his second brother who wanted to argue with Zhu Xiang and hurriedly pulled him away.
After the Zhang brothers left, Xunzi sneered, "As expected of the Zhang family, Han Fei's evaluation is absolutely correct."
Zhu Xiang sighed: "Yes."
Xunzi asked, "How do you know Zhang Liang's name? He may seem intelligent, but not intelligent enough to reach your ears."
Zhu Xiang laughed dryly a few times.
Xunzi did not ask any more questions. He took the hot goat milk handed to him by Zhu Xiang, took a sip and said, "Will he achieve great success in the future?"
Zhu Xiang said, "I guess so."
Xunzi asked, "Then he will become Zheng'er's enemy?"
Zhu Xiang said: "I think so."
Xunzi shook his head: "With you here, who can be Zheng'er's enemy?"
Zhu Xiang said: "Even if I am here, anyone who would become Zheng'er's enemy will become Zheng'er's enemy. But he is indeed a talented person, I hope he will not be hostile to Zheng'er in the future."
Xunzi said: "It depends on whether he can wake up. It was the Zhang family and the King of Han who destroyed Han State, not the Qin State."
Xunzi sneered again.
Obviously, Xunzi had a very bad impression of the prime minister of Han.
Xunzi was also a person who protected his shortcomings. Although he said that Han Fei was not his disciple, he still regarded Han Fei as his junior in his heart. If Zhu Xiang had not scolded Han Fei first, he would have scolded him if Han Fei had been insulted like this.
If he spoke, this matter would definitely be recorded by his disciples. The reputation of these two brothers in the future would probably be bad.
Xunzi glanced at Zhu Xiang. He didn't know whether Zhu Xiang knew about this matter, so he took the initiative to scold the two people.
Maybe I'm overthinking it.
Xunzi was indeed overthinking, and Zhu Xiang couldn't help himself for a moment.
He thought of Han Fei and couldn't help but sigh again.
He was going to deliver this letter. Although he thought Han Fei was insulted, Han Fei himself might not think so. In other words, even if Han Fei knew that he was despised, he might still go back to Korea if he had the opportunity.
Although he had persuaded Han Fei to work hard in Qin so that he could support the large clan of Han in the future, Han Fei himself might still want to throw himself into the fire once.
After all, he is Mr. Han.
"If Han Fei returns to Han, even if he borrows the power of the Zhang family, it will be difficult for him to gain a foothold." Xunzi said lightly, "I hope he can see this clearly."
(End of this chapter)