When Ying Xiaozheng and Zhang Liang first met, Ying Xiaozheng had just reached his rebellious period, and Zhang Liang was still a naughty kid of seven or eight years old.
When a rebellious teenager meets a naughty kid, it's like thunder and lightning hitting the earth, crackling and exploding in an instant.
Now Ying Xiaozheng is seventeen years old and is about to pass his long rebellious period. Zhang Liang has also reached the age of primary school to junior high school in later generations. Ying Xiaozheng still remembers that smart kid.
That was the first time that Ying Xiaozheng took the initiative to give a gift to a peer, and declared, "If he is my enemy, I will kill him."
Zhu Xiang could only say that Liu Hou was worthy of being Liu Hou.
Even though he had not yet witnessed the devastation of the late Qin Dynasty and the difficult transition from being determined to restore Han to supporting the Han Dynasty to inherit the Qin system, Zhang Liang had already shown his extraordinary talent as a child.
A genius has been a genius since childhood.
Upon hearing that Zichu had raised the banner of unifying the world again and that his first stop would be to destroy Han, Ying Xiaozheng's mind immediately emerged with the rebellious face of little Zhang Liang.
Zhu Xiang couldn't help but sigh as he listened to Ying Xiaozheng's ridicule of young Zhang Liang.
Zhenger, are you childish
The merit you lost by smiling would be earned back by your uncle beating the electronic wooden fish for you in his heart for ten years.
I heard that spoiled children's rebellious period will be particularly long. Zhu Xiang was worried that seventeen years old was not the end of Ying Xiaozheng's rebellious period, but a new beginning.
When Ying Xiaozheng laughed at little Zhang Liang, he didn't expect that little Zhang Liang was already on his way to find him.
After seeing the checkpoint set up by the Qin army, young Zhang Liang took out his identity certificate proving that he was the son of the Zhang family, a hereditary noble family of the Kingdom of Han, and also took out the long sword given by Ying Xiaozheng.
If he just wanted to pass through, he could just show his identity certificate. He took out the long sword given by the Qin crown prince in the hope that the Qin army would send someone to take him to meet the Qin crown prince, so that he would not run around like a headless fly.
The Crown Prince of Qin must know where his teacher Han Fei, whom he had never met, is.
The weapons made by the Qin government were engraved with inscriptions, including the name of the supervisor and the year and month of forging. The precious swords in the palace collection worn by Ying Xiaozheng were also engraved with the name of the craftsman and the mark of the imperial court.
The same was true in later generations. Therefore, the items bestowed by the emperor could not be converted into cash, and some ministers remained poor despite receiving rewards year after year.
The Qin soldiers stationed there were illiterate, but since the matter concerned the crown prince, they immediately reported it to the garrison captain.
Most of the lower-level generals were scholars who could read a few words. He recognized the inscription and sent someone to escort little Zhang Liang to find higher-level generals and report to them layer by layer.
Seeing that the Qin army had arranged their itinerary in an orderly manner, young Zhang Liang felt a little depressed when he thought of the chaos of the Han army.
When young Zhang Liang entered Chu from Han and then went south along the official road of southern Chu, he saw the great differences in the environment and customs between the north and the south.
But little Zhang Liang didn't care much about these differences.
He kept his word when he left Xianyang. Even as a child, he, with the help of Zhang's servants, traveled all over the small land of Han with his tender feet, and saw with his own eyes the common people of Han, who had never entered his eyes before - the foundation of providing food, clothing, housing, transportation, taxes and military resources for the country.
He finally understood what Zhu Xiang said. Just one look at the common people of Han would tell him that Han was on the brink of destruction.
There were very few self-employed farmers in Korea, and many commoners were either tied to the nobles' estates or fled Korea.
Unable to collect taxes or recruit soldiers, how can South Korea become a strong country
With those nobles who are still living a life of drunkenness and dreams
If governing a country is like cooking, the ministers are the cooks and the common people are the grains.
How to cook without grains
In little Zhang Liang’s not-so-broad vision, the whole place was devastated.
After moving south, both the Chu State and the Southern Chu State were similar to the Han State.
The Chu State and Southern Chu State had more heat, rain, and vegetation, so the common people had more food to fill their stomachs, and it seemed that the common people lived a slightly better life than the Han State.
But the essence is the same.
Who would want to eat tree bark and grass roots when they can eat bran? Who would want to eat bran when they can eat grain
Young Zhang Liang saw ragged Chu people walking through the mountains and fields along the way, and they often clashed with the Chu soldiers who were trying to capture them.
Those must be the refugees from the Chu State who could not survive.
After entering the land of Southern Qin, young Zhang Liang still looked out of the car window as usual, to see with his own eyes the common people whom he could not see on weekdays.
It was autumn harvest time.
The rice fields have turned into a golden ocean. When the wind blows, it seems as if waves made of gold are about to hit you in the face.
Amid the ups and downs of the waves, many people are busy harvesting.
Many of them don't look like ordinary farmers because of their dress.
Young Zhang Liang thought of the reason why Chunshen Jun was sentenced to death—he, as a scholar, was willing to humble himself and work to harvest crops for farmers.
Young Zhang Liang asked the Qin soldiers on horseback escorting the carriage, "Are those people busy in the fields Qin scholars?"
Qin Bing was puzzled at first: "Fields?"
He looked at the rice fields and finally understood what the noble in the car was asking. He answered, "We are soldiers. During the busy farming season, the general will send us to help harvest the rice fields and reward us based on the area harvested."
He thought for a moment and added, “It’s like this every year.”
After hearing this, another Qin soldier said, "It's not dangerous to help work in the fields, and you can get more food and wages, it's a good job."
The servant who was driving little Zhang Liang turned around and looked at Qin Bing in confusion.
Farming is hard and tiring, so why is the soil still so poor
Little Zhang Liang thought of the life of the Korean soldiers in the barracks and nodded in understanding: "It is indeed a good job."
Personally leading scholars to help farmers harvest was only a temporary solution. Southern Qin combined military service and corvée labor with agricultural assistance to form a sustainable system, which could completely solve the problem of labor shortage.
Is this also another form of soldiers farming
Young Zhang Liang was thinking about the Qin people's uniforms when a farmer carrying a sickle passed by his carriage.
The peasant stopped and bowed his head when he saw the nobleman's carriage. After the carriage passed by, he raised his head and left.
The farmer did not kneel down in fear or bury his face in the earth.
In any country, the nobles could use this as an excuse to whip him.
But seeing the farmer's calm look, little Zhang Liang guessed that seeing a nobleman's carriage only requires one to stop and greet. This might be the rule of Southern Qin, not that the farmer did not know the rules.
Little Zhang Liang asked, "Commoners do not need to kneel down and salute when seeing the carriage of a noble official. Is this what Zhu Xianggong wanted?"
The Qin soldier said, "It was the prince's order. The prince has issued many orders. If farmers kneel down to the scholars and officials during the busy farming season and delay planting and harvesting, the farmers will be fined labor and the scholars and officials will be fined money."
Little Zhang Liang's face froze.
He thought that this was Duke Zhu Xiang's kindness towards the common people, but it turned out to be the future tyrant Prince Zheng
Well, this is indeed in line with Prince Zheng's character.
During the busy farming season, officials often come and go in the fields to inspect. If farmers kneel down and cannot move when they see officials, wouldn't that delay their farm work
In the eyes of the tyrant Prince Zheng, scholars and common people are all people he, Prince Qin, looks down upon, and anyone who delays farm work should be punished.
Little Zhang Liang's face twitched for a moment, and then he couldn't help but laugh.
He said: "I traveled south from Han, passing through the three kingdoms of Han, Chu and Nan Chu. Only the farmers in Nan Qin had the least miserable faces."
The Qin soldiers were puzzled when they heard this: "We have good weather this year, and the same should be true for Chu and Southern Chu. There has been no war in Chu and Southern Chu this year, and the harvest is coming soon. How can the farmers still look so miserable?"
Little Zhang Liang was stunned.
After a long moment, he shook his head: "I don't know."
This year should also be a bumper year for the Chu State and the Southern Chu State, and the farmers should have joy on their faces.
Why not? He really didn't know.
Did Duke Zhu Xiang know
Little Zhang Liang looked at the golden fields again.
Part of the golden waves in the fields had been harvested, and Qin soldiers and farmers were resting.
The farmer took out a bamboo tube from his waist and handed it to Qin Bing. While Qin Bing was drinking water, he took out a cake from his bosom, broke it in half and shared it with the farmer.
The farmer took out a small clay pot and used a small wooden spoon tied to the side of the pot to scoop out black food of unknown origin.
Qin Bing broke half of the cake, and the farmer stuffed the black food in the spoon into Qin Bing's half of the cake, and then stuffed the black food into his own half of the cake.
When little Zhang Liang saw them stuffing the cakes into their mouths, the car had already passed the field and he could no longer see their expressions as they ate the cakes.
He withdrew his gaze and looked up at the roof of the carriage, his eyes blank.
What he was thinking at this moment, he himself didn't know.
The mood is too complicated to be described in words.
The Qin soldiers reported this to higher-level generals. A general from Xianyang confirmed that the sword was indeed the prince's, and personally escorted young Zhang Liang to find the Qin prince.
At this time, Prince Zheng of Qin was supervising the autumn harvest near Guangling City.
Young Zhang Liang only brought one strong servant with him, and asked the other servants and the carriage loaded with gifts to go to Guangling City to find a temporary place to stay. He followed the young general on horseback to find Prince Zheng of Qin.
"So you are Zhang Liang?" the young general introduced himself. "I've heard of you for a long time."
Young Zhang Liang didn't expect that someone actually knew his name. He hurriedly said he didn't dare and asked the young general's name.
The young general who could recognize the prince's things, knew where the prince was, and had heard of Zhang Liang's name was of course Meng Tian.
Meng Tian had just heard Prince Zheng talk about Zhang Liang a few days ago.
"The Kingdom of Han is about to perish. I wonder if Zhang Liang is rolling on the ground and crying loudly."
Meng Tian finally managed to control the twitching corners of his mouth.
Prince, are you so happy about other people's misfortunes? That Zhang Liang must have been young when you met him, right? And I heard that he suffered a loss at your hands. Why do you sound like you are holding a grudge against him
Meng Tian didn't understand, and he didn't dare to ask.
Now that he had actually met the person involved, Meng Tian was very curious, so he dropped what he was doing and personally took little Zhang Liang to look for the prince.
He wanted to see with his own eyes what expression the prince would have when he saw the person he had ridiculed a few days ago.
Zhang Liang had heard of Meng Tian's reputation.
In the battle of Guangling City, Meng Tian captured the flags of Xiang Yan and the King of Southern Chu, and became famous in one battle. His fame spread from the Chu people to the Han people.
Zhang Liang also knew that Meng Tian's father was a good friend of Duke Xiang of Zhu, and the prefect of Nanjun, Meng Wu, was also a descendant of a nobleman.
What impressed Zhang Liang most about Meng Tian was that Meng Tian's grandfather Meng Ao was leading troops to attack the State of Zhao and prevent Zhao from rescuing the State of Han.
Meng Tian thought Zhang Liang would start a chat with him, but he didn't expect Zhang Liang to become dazed after hearing his name, and he couldn't help but feel puzzled.
Zhang Liang didn't want to talk to him, and he was too lazy to start a conversation.
Anyway, he just came to watch the fun, not to make friends with this little kid.
Meng Tian was not only a young general, but also a close attendant to the Crown Prince Zheng. Naturally, he immediately found the Crown Prince Zheng's location.
When they were almost there, Meng Tian dismounted and walked.
Young Zhang Liang also dismounted and walked, and asked his followers and the people brought by Meng Tian to stay where they were.
He knew that he could only go to meet the Crown Prince of Qin by himself.
While walking, young Zhang Liang thought about many scenes of meeting the Crown Prince of Qin again.
He was so embarrassed when he met the Crown Prince of Qin for the first time that he burst into tears. He still feels embarrassed when he thinks about it.
In his impression, Prince Qin had already looked like a tyrant when he was thirteen or fourteen years old. He even walked with the majesty of a dragon or a tiger, and even every strand of his hair was meticulous and serious.
Now that we haven't seen each other for a few years, Prince Qin's majesty must be even more terrifying.
Little Zhang Liang encouraged himself in his heart, telling himself not to be frightened by the Prince of Qin's aura.
Meng Tian stopped.
Little Zhang Liang came back to his senses from his self-pumping and asked in confusion, "Are we there yet? Where is the Crown Prince Qin?"
He looked around but did not see the prince's carriage or flag.
Meng Tian said: "It's just in front."
He raised his chin and pointed the way, looking very disrespectful.
Little Zhang Liang looked along Meng Tian's chin line, but did not see the majestic Crown Prince of Qin as he had guessed.
"Where?" Little Zhang Liang asked puzzledly.
Meng Tian said: "The prince is eating, we will go over later."
He was a little depressed. How come he happened to catch up with the prince's meal time
Only then did young Zhang Liang see that the person might be the Crown Prince of Qin.
On the ridge of the field, a young man in a short brown shirt and a child in a jacket were squatting on the ground, eating heartily from large bowls.
The faces of the two, one big and one small, were almost buried in the bowl.
Little Zhang Liang's expression fell apart.
He suddenly turned his head and looked at Meng Tian.
Meng Tian did not go to see little Zhang Liang.
Although this scene is very common. The prince was raised by Zhu Xianggong to be both pampered and rough. Pampered means spoiled, and rough means...
Well, the prince has been traveling around the countryside with Duke Zhu Xiang since he was young, and he doesn’t pay much attention to etiquette.
If it were normal, Meng Tian would have walked over to ask the prince if he had any more food. He was watching the prince and Master Chengjiao eating so happily that he himself became greedy.
But now there was a Korean named Zhang Liang, whom the prince had just ridiculed, around him, and Meng Tian felt that this was not a good thing.
Ying Xiaozheng took little Chengjiao to the fields to inspect the autumn harvest. When they felt hungry, they heated up the soup and rice prepared by their uncle. The two of them squatted in the fields to fill their stomachs, and then continued to work after eating.
While he was drinking the soup, the guard beside him discovered Meng Tian, squatted down, and whispered in Ying Xiaozheng's ear, "General Meng is here."
Ying Xiaozheng wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, looked up in confusion, and said loudly: "Meng Tian, why are you standing so far away? What do you want to talk to me about? Come over here when you are."
Meng Tian took a deep breath, clasped his hands and saluted: "Your Highness, Zhang Liang from Han has come to see you with your token."
Ying Xiaozheng almost choked.
Little Chengjiao raised his face from the bowl and said, "Brother, are you okay?"
Ying Xiaozheng said: "Nothing."
"Oh." Xiao Chengjiao continued to eat rice with his head down.
He walked too much today and was very hungry.
Ying Xiaozheng stood up and took a look at the soup at the bottom of the bowl. Between face and soup and rice, he chose to drink up the soup in the bowl first before handing the bowl to the waiter.
The guards immediately brought the hot water that had been prepared for heating the meal. Ying Xiaozheng washed his face and hands with a handkerchief, then took the bamboo tube to rinse his mouth, and then asked Meng Tian and Zhang Liang to come over.
Little Chengjiao had finished eating and patted his stomach and burped.
Ying Xiaozheng frowned when he heard Xiao Chengjiao's hiccups. He stopped walking towards Meng Tian and Zhang Liang and stepped back.
"Come here." Ying Xiaozheng wrung out the handkerchief again and wiped the face and hands of the little cat Xiao Chengjiao, "Go rinse your mouth quickly."
Xiao Chengjiao took the chrysanthemum water and gulped it for a while, then swallowed it directly.
Ying Xiaozheng: “…” Although he is usually like this.
Forget it, he is just a Zhang Liang. How dare he make fun of Master Qin
Ying Xiaozheng glanced at Zhang Liang, his head twitched, and asked, "Have you had lunch?"
Meng Tian thought Ying Xiaozheng was asking him, so he said, "No."
Zhang Liang was paying respect to Ying Xiaozheng when he heard this and asked in confusion, "Ask, ask me?"
Ying Xiaozheng said, "Meng Tian didn't eat it, so you definitely didn't eat it either. There's still some soup and rice, you guys can have some first."
He said this because he was not full yet.
Between saving face and filling his stomach, Ying Xiaozheng chose to fill his stomach first.
Why would he torture himself for an outsider
Little Chengjiao was still burping: "I'm full."
Ying Xiaozheng lowered his head and cursed: "You have been chewing on dried meat all the way, of course you are full. Be careful not to knock out another tooth."
Xiao Chengjiao said nonchalantly: "You can only grow new teeth if you knock out your teeth."
Ying Xiaozheng waved his hand and the cook continued cooking.
Ying Xiaozheng didn't squat this time. He stood up and ate a chicken leg.
Meng Tian sighed: "Prince, did you not bring a wooden stool?"
Ying Xiaozheng said: "I brought it, but Cheng Jiao used a wooden stool to chase the rabbit and smashed it, and he didn't catch the rabbit."
Meng Tian: “…”
Xiao Chengjiao looked up at Meng Tian. What are you looking at me for
Meng Tian was speechless.
He remembered that it was not like this when Master Chengjiao first came to Southern Qin.
Seeing Zhang Liang still in a daze, Ying Xiaozheng said, "Aren't you going to eat? What? Are you ashamed because there are no tables and chairs here?"
Zhang Liang listened to Ying Xiaozheng's sarcastic tone and immediately found a sense of familiarity in getting along with Ying Xiaozheng.
He said, "Eat."
He asked the servant brought by Ying Xiaozheng for a bowl of soup and rice at just the right temperature and ate it while standing.
After Ying Xiaozheng finished eating the chicken leg, he took a handful of edamame and ate it. While eating, he said, "You are better than before."
Zhang Liang raised his head: "What's better?"
Ying Xiaozheng said: "Seeing you look downcast, you are better now than before."
Zhang Liang: “…” What are you talking about? !
Ying Xiaozheng finished eating the edamame and took out a peach to chew: "Why did you come to Wujun?"
Zhang Liang didn't want to talk while eating, but Ying Xiaozheng asked, so he had to answer: "I just asked the King of Chu for reinforcements, and then went south to look for my teacher."
Ying Xiaozheng understood immediately: "I heard that Zhang Sheng wanted to return to the court, but was severely suppressed by the new governor of Han. You have made such great contributions at the young age of eleven or twelve. You will probably become a thorn in their side after returning to the country. Your Zhang family is in danger."
Zhang Liang said, "Li Yuan is also chasing me."
After eating the peach, Ying Xiaozheng wiped his hands and smiled, "He wanted to take advantage of the fall of Korea to send troops to seize some of Korea's land and expand his fiefdom. You blocked his way to expand his fiefdom, so he naturally resented you."
He wiped his mouth again and said, "You must have sneaked into the palace and persuaded the King of Chu. You bypassed his prime minister and went directly to the King of Chu to put pressure on him. It would be strange if he didn't get angry with you."
Zhang Liang said, "That's right."
Xiao Chengjiao finally stopped hiccuping. He asked in confusion, "Brother, how did you hear so much from his brief words?"
Ying Xiaozheng knocked Xiao Chengjiao on the head and said, "I told you to read more, but you can't even analyze such a simple sentence."
Xiao Chengjiao covered his head and said, "Even if I read books, I can't hear it. Even if my uncle is here, he certainly can't hear it. It's obviously you, big brother, who are too smart."
Ying Xiaozheng was flattered by Xiao Chengjiao and he didn't know whether to be angry or speechless.
He said: "Even if you are not as smart as your elder brother, you should study hard."
Xiao Chengjiao said: "I studied hard."
Ying Xiaozheng was left speechless by Xiao Chengjiao and didn't know how to continue scolding and teaching Xiao Chengjiao.
After listening to the conversation between Xiao Chengjiao and Ying Xiaozheng, Zhang Liang was a little surprised: "Could this be Master Chengjiao?"
Little Chengjiao said: "Yes, I am Master Chengjiao, the only younger brother of my eldest brother!"
Ying Xiaozheng: “…” Why do you emphasize this
Zhang Liang was also puzzled: "Why do you emphasize this?"
Xiao Chengjiao said, "My uncle said that if I tell everyone I meet this, I can morally blackmail my elder brother into supporting me for the rest of my life."
Zhang Liang: “…”
Ying Xiaozheng’s fist hardened.
Meng Tian held his forehead. "Duke Zhu Xiang, oh Duke Zhu Xiang, please don't teach me nonsense."
Ying Xiaozheng gritted his teeth and said, "Don't listen to his nonsense!"
Xiao Chengjiao said in a condescending manner: "See, my brother always wants me to be self-reliant."
He stood with his hands behind his back and shook his head, with an expression that said "I'm having a hard time" and "Brother is so cruel, cold-blooded, and heartless", which made Ying Xiaozheng raise his fist.
Little Chengjiao had already seen through his brother's movements and immediately jumped behind Meng Tian.
Meng Tian: “!” He broke out in a cold sweat.
Young Master Chengjiao! When you play with the prince and his brother, don't bring me along!
"Hmph, I'll go back and deal with you." Unexpectedly, when Ying Xiaozheng saw Xiao Chengjiao hiding behind Meng Tian, he actually put down his hand and really did not beat his brother.
He glared at Cheng Jiao, who had popped his head out from behind Meng Tian, and said to Zhang Liang, "Han Fei is in Wucheng. Do you want to stay in Guangling City and wait for my uncle, or go to Wucheng to find Han Fei?"
Zhang Liang hesitated for a while and said, "I came here to see you, Master, of course..."
Ying Xiaozheng interrupted, "Of course you should meet my uncle first. My uncle taught you, but Han Fei didn't."
Zhang Liang heard this and said, "Yes, Prince."
Ying Xiaozheng said, "Just keep eating and talk after you finish. Cheng Jiao, come here!"
Little Cheng Jiao, who had just been jumping around on his brother's anger, walked out from behind Meng Tian with a fearless look.
Ying Xiaozheng actually did not continue to beat this disobedient brother, but just scolded him a few words.
At this time, little Chengjiao acted like a good little brother, as if the naughty child just now was not him.
Zhang Liang felt a little emotional when he saw how Crown Prince Zheng and Prince Chengjiao were getting along.
The King of Qin has only two sons. Even if the position of the Crown Prince is secure, he should be wary of the only person who would covet his position.
I don’t know if it’s because Crown Prince Zheng is too arrogant or Prince Chengjiao is too young, but they get along like ordinary brothers and don’t look like competitors for the throne at all.
Or is it that this is due to Duke Zhu Xiang’s good teaching
etc!
Only then did Zhang Liang realize a problem.
He put down the bowl and said in surprise: "Why is Master Chengjiao in Wujun?! Is the King of Qin in Wujun?!"
Ying Xiaozheng was puzzled: "Cheng Jiao is in Wujun, what does it have to do with where the King of Qin is?"
Zhang Liang: "Prince Chengjiao is young..."
Before Ying Xiaozheng could say anything, Xiao Chengjiao answered, "I was young, so my uncle raised me!"
Zhang Liang: “…” What’s the logic behind this
Meng Tian almost couldn't hold back his laughter, but in order not to lose his head, he tried hard to hold it back.
Their current King Qin is famous for caring about giving birth but not raising his children. Is there anyone who doesn't know this
(End of this chapter)