Zhu Xiang and Ying Xiaozheng returned to the land of Southern Qin.
When he first came to Southern Qin, Ying Xiaozheng could still hang on Zhu Xiang's waist, with his legs retracted like a pendant.
Now? Zhu Xiang looked at Zheng'er, whose height was growing rapidly and whose trouser cuffs were getting shorter day by day, and thought that if he grew a few more years, he could hang on Zheng'er as a pendant.
laugh.
Of course, Zhu Xiang was talking nonsense. He was not short and could proudly say that Ying Xiaozheng inherited his genes from him.
As for that weakling Zichu, it would be better for Zheng'er not to inherit too many physical characteristics from his biological father.
Sailing with the current and with the help of sails when the wind is favorable, the speed of the boat is not as fast as lightning, but it is almost as fast as what Li Bai said in his poem, "The monkeys on both sides of the river are crying incessantly, and the light boat has already passed through ten thousand mountains."
When passing through the middle and lower reaches of the Han River, Wang Jian learned in advance that Zhu Xiang and Ying Xiaozheng would pass by, so he waited early in the town on the shore and invited Zhu Xiang and Ying Xiaozheng to go ashore and rest for a day.
Probably all those who were on good terms with Zhu Xiang would open up a small vegetable garden where they lived, and Wang Jian was no exception.
After Zhu Xiang and Ying Xiaozheng arrived home, Wang Jian picked some wolfberry leaves, perilla, radish greens, and pumpkin tips from his messy vegetable garden, blanched them in boiling water, and mixed them with sesame oil and soy sauce to make a delicious side dish.
Wang Jian showed off his cooking skills by using fresh seafood, while the other main dishes such as chicken, duck, fish, etc. were prepared by the chef.
Ying Xiaozheng never refuses any food offered to him, as long as it tastes good. He eats the hot pot with relish.
Wang Jian poured a glass of green plum wine in front of him, but he didn't drink a sip and just focused on eating.
When Wang Jian saw Ying Xiaozheng, who had grown up and was tall enough to serve in the military, he felt as if time had flown by.
He compared his height with Ying Xiaozheng and said, "It's only been a year or two since we last met, but the prince has grown so fast."
Ying Xiaozheng said to Zhu Xiang: "Uncle, did you hear that? Everyone says that I'm growing fast, but you still treat me like a child."
Zhu Xiang said to his rebellious nephew, "I have not considered you a child since you were four or five years old. What child is in charge of the family's finances?"
Ying Xiaozheng frowned and thought, it seems to be true
Zhu Xiang laughed, smoothed Ying Xiaozheng's frown, and said, "Don't frown at such a young age. What should I do if the wrinkles between your brows are as deep as mine?"
Wang Jian was relieved to see that Zhu Xiang and Ying Xiaozheng were still so close.
He was really worried that after Ying Xiaozheng became the crown prince, the King of Qin would make Ying Xiaozheng and Zhu Xiang estranged. Fortunately, fortunately.
The cook of Wang Jian's family prepared a big meal for Zhu Xiang and Ying Xiaozheng. Although Ying Xiaozheng thought in his heart that they were "not as good as his uncle", he still praised them a few words to save Wang Jian's face.
If he praises him more, he will not be like another Great Ying Zheng in the future, who has no generals to use and can only cry while holding the hands of old General Wang Jian.
Wang Jian and Zhu Xiang mentioned his family's heavy cavalry.
After the heavy cavalry was used once, the six countries realized how terrible it was, and some generals had already thought of ways to resist it.
Although they could not train heavy cavalry in a short time, they could equip their infantry and chariots with heavy armor and shields.
Zhu Xiang's eyebrows jumped. The heavy infantry came out
When heavy infantry and heavy cavalry collided, the heavy cavalry was the one that suffered. In history, except for the Tang Taizong Li Shimin who personally led the armored cavalry to break through the enemy's formation, and broke through repeatedly, the rest were "cutting along the edge" or "disrupting the formation".
The cost of heavy cavalry is much higher than that of heavy infantry. Not to mention one for one, even five for one is not cost-effective. If the enemy is prepared, the heavy cavalry will be trapped in the enemy's formation after breaking through the enemy and may not be able to rush out. Even if they rush out, they may not be able to complete the cutting in the direction they rush.
Only a general with great strategic vision and bravery can lead the cavalry to charge into the enemy's formation and directly break through the enemy.
For example, Xiang Yu liked to lead his troops directly to the enemy's headquarters to carry out beheadings.
It is not enough to lead the cavalry to break through once, but they have to turn back and charge again and again. The talent and courage of the generals are somewhat extraordinary. They can find the weaknesses of the enemy's army at any time while fighting as if they have opened their third eye, and they are wealthy enough to do so.
For example, Li Shimin often went against the art of war and was often on the verge of failure (but he never failed).
The heavy cavalry of the Jin and Yuan soldiers only dared to charge the Song soldiers in this way because they had no famous generals to lead them.
Zhu Xiang was just about to say that he could let the armored cavalry get close to the enemy's archery formation and shoot arrows at close range to disrupt the enemy's formation; he could also charge from both sides to cut off the outer perimeter of the enemy's formation.
Wang Jian spoke first.
Zhu Xiang picked up the wine glass, with a look of helplessness between his brows.
It turns out that Wang Jian didn't come to ask for advice, but to find someone to share his experience in leading cavalry
Ying Xiaozheng listened with great interest and said, "One day I will lead the cavalry charge myself."
Wang Jian immediately said, "Don't!"
Zhu Xiang gave Ying Xiaozheng a slap on the face: "Don't even think about it!"
Ying Xiaozheng snorted coldly and was hit by Zhu Xiang again.
Wang Jian laughed uncontrollably when he saw Ying Xiaozheng's unruly appearance.
Although Crown Prince Zheng grew up and became the Crown Prince of Qin, he was still the same Zheng'er as before, without any change.
That's great.
After listening to Wang Jian share his experience in cavalry frontal combat, Zhu Xiang continued to go downstream along the Han River.
When in Wuhan, he met Meng Wu and Zhang Ruo again.
The two men were actually riding on a big boat on the river, looking very comfortable. Zhu Xiang made fun of them and said that it seemed the county magistrate's job was very easy.
"I met your other son Meng Yi. He served Xunzi together with another student from Xianyang Academy, Zhang Cang." Zhu Xiang said, "I heard that he was eloquent and considerate in dealing with people at Xianyang Academy. But he seemed too shy to me."
Zhu Xiang nodded: "Shy."
The chicken leg in Meng Wu's hand fell: "Shy?!"
Ying Xiaozheng said: "I am indeed very shy. I can't even speak clearly in front of my uncle."
Zhang Ruo smiled and said, "Perhaps he was too nervous when he saw Lord Changping and the Crown Prince."
Zhu Xiang waved his hand: "I am good friends with Meng Wu, and I am also his elder. Why is he nervous? Zheng'er arrested the son of the former Han Xiang and put him in jail. I scolded them in jail. When I invited the two brothers to dinner on the first day, the Zhang brothers were not nervous when they saw me. Why would Meng Yi be nervous?"
Meng Wu said: "I'll write a letter and ask."
Zhu Xiang said, "Okay. Be tactful and don't scare him."
Meng Wu picked up the chicken leg that had accidentally fallen: "You can't raise a son well if you spoil him too much. He's not that weak."
Zhu Xiang pointed at Ying Xiaozheng and said, "Look at Zheng'er. Tell me again, can't you just spoil him?"
Ying Xiaozheng: “?”
Meng Wu and Zhang Ruo looked at each other, and then burst into laughter.
Ying Xiaozheng's eyelids trembled, and he wanted to say that he had never been spoiled at all. But in order to give face to his uncle, he did not refute it.
After getting off the cruise ship, Zhu Xiang walked around the surrounding rice fields and saw many ragged refugees from the Chu State.
Zhang Ruo said: "Now there are more and more refugees coming from Chu State, fortunately I have a lot of vacant land here."
Zhang Ruo was the prefect of Qianzhong County, and the Yunmengze Plain, namely the Dongting Lake Plain, was located in his Qianzhong County.
The Dongting Lake Plain was used for farming in later generations, but is now filled with swamps, a jungle full of miasma, and a severely affected area of schistosomiasis. It was once a place where the natives of small countries were exiled and conquered by the Chu State, and is basically a semi-tribal area.
It was here that Zhu Xiang led his troops into battle for the first time.
When Zhu Xiang settled the refugees from the State of Chu in the Dongting Lake Plain, most of the area was still barren, with only large tracts of farmland near towns.
According to Zhang Ruo, the newly reclaimed land in the Dongting Lake Plain is now 30% of the previous amount.
"I didn't expect there would be so many refugees from the State of Chu." Zhu Xiang's heart felt as if an invisible hand had pulled it.
He knew very well that although most of the refugees now came here to escape the war in Chu State, he was the one who had ignited the fuse of this war.
If he were given another chance, he would do the same thing again. But seeing the miserable faces of the refugees, the pressure on his heart would not be alleviated by his decisiveness.
Meng Wu said: "From the refugees' point of view, the war in Chu State caused anger on both sides. It is said that this is because of Xiang Yan."
Zhu Xiang was puzzled: "Xiang Yan? I heard from Wang Jian that Xiang Yan is not bad and is a qualified general."
Meng Wu laughed and said, "He was qualified, too qualified. He defeated the generals of the Jingzhao clan and made them throw away their armor and weapons, and beheaded several thousand soldiers."
Zhu Xiang thought for a while and understood what Meng Wu meant.
Originally, the civil strife of the Jingzhao clan to divide the land and establish independence was an internal dispute of the Mi clan. Moreover, there was the Qin State watching covetously from the sidelines, so both sides were relatively restrained in fighting and just waited for peace talks.
But after Xiang Yan took action, he was much stronger than Jing Zhao's clan and defeated the enemy army in one fell swoop.
Most armies in ancient times had no military discipline at all, and soldiers were basically as random as a comb. Moreover, the Chu State also had a military merit system that rewarded those who beheaded their leaders.
When the enemy was defeated, the Chu soldiers had no idea what their superiors were planning, and Xiang Yan could not have told his soldiers in advance not to fight too hard, so the casualties of the Jingzhao clan became beyond expectations.
Seeing how ferocious Xiang Yan was, Jing Zhao's group was worried that the King of Chu would not negotiate as they had expected, but wanted to annihilate them directly, so they did not hold back and became extremely ferocious.
This will increase casualties on both sides and intensify the intensity of the civil war.
If Wang Jian and Li Mu had not appeared on the battlefield of Chu State, alerting the five countries and sending troops to help Chu State mediate, I am afraid they would really fight to the death.
Not to mention Qin, even the other five countries would never want the civil strife in Chu to determine the true winner.
Meng Wu said: "I originally thought that after the civil strife in Chu, something might happen to Chunshen Jun. I didn't expect that the newly appointed crown prince of Chu would do his utmost to protect Chunshen Jun. Although Chunshen Jun has experienced several assassination attempts, he is currently safe. However, something might happen to Chu General Xiang Yan."
When Ying Xiaozheng heard the name "Xiang Yan", he became interested: "Oh? Could it be that the Jingzhao clan hopes that the King of Chu will hand over Xiang Yan to take the blame? The King of Chu should not treat a meritorious official like this."
Meng Wu nodded: "It is true that the King of Chu is unwilling to hand over Xiang Yan, and the Jingzhao clan is using this as an excuse to not give in, saying that they must kill Xiang Yan for revenge. Now they are only temporarily truce, and the peace talks are not over yet."
Zhu Xiang's mouth twitched slightly.
Xia Tong and Zheng'er have both completed their mourning period, and Zheng'er and I have returned to Southern Qin. The peace talks with Chu have not yet concluded.
It is also because Qin's expansion is too fast that it will be indigestible. In order to avoid more waves after Qin unifies the world, Xia Tong is now trying his best to restrain himself. Otherwise, Chu might have been swallowed up by Qin by now.
However, the more refugees from Chu State the Southern Qin swallowed, the less difficulty Qin had in governing the former Chu territory.
Let them continue to mess around.
Zhu Xiang took a sip of wine and found that his heart had become much harder.
Perhaps he gradually got used to this era.
"I should go back to Wujun." Zhu Xiang said, "Spread the news to Chu that I have returned to Southern Qin, and send troops to bring more refugees from Chu to Southern Qin."
Zhang Ruo and Meng Wu smiled and said, "Okay."
(End of this chapter)