In 240 BC, the first year of King Zheng of Qin, the State of Wei was destroyed.
When the spring plowing was over, Zhao's elite troops were gone.
The Qin State was coming with great force, and everyone could see that it was about to restart its journey to destroy the world.
King Zheng of Qin was more cunning and hypocritical than any previous king of Qin.
The excuse for him to send troops to Wei was that Wei broke the alliance, and the excuse for intercepting the Zhao army was to rescue the Yan army, both of which were based on the moral high ground.
All the knowledgeable people in the world could see that King Zheng of Qin was confident that he could unify the world and was paving the way for himself to be called a "sage king" in advance.
King Zheng of Qin showed such strength as soon as he ascended the throne that the only remaining states of Chu, Yan and Zhao finally settled down.
The King of Yan sent envoys to pay tribute to the King of Qin, thank him for his selfless help, and inflict a heavy blow on the hateful State of Zhao.
Although Cai Ze was unwilling to continue to be the prime minister, he was still a senior minister.
Lin Zhi, the cunning fellow, pulled Cai Ze's sleeve and cried, saying that after Zhu Xiang became the prime minister, he still only cared about agriculture and sericulture, and was completely ineffective. Xunzi was already old and was already exhausted by education, so he didn't want to disturb him.
So Cai Ze! Only you can help me!
Good people are often bullied. Cai Ze had no choice but to take on some of the prime minister's duties and continue to take over Qin's diplomacy and intelligence work.
Cai Ze received the envoy from Yan State. After several speeches, the envoy from Yan State returned to his country and sent Prince Dan of Yan as a hostage to show the friendship between the two countries.
King Zheng of Qin received Prince Dan with a sinister smile, which frightened Prince Dan so much that he trembled like a quail that had been splashed with water.
Cai Ze was very pleased. His subsequent plan was to scare Prince Dan, then let Prince Dan "escape" back to Yan State, and then use this as an excuse to send troops to Yan State.
He hadn't discussed it with Zheng'er yet, but Zheng'er had already guessed his plan and cooperated with him very well, worthy of being the child he had watched grow up.
Cheng Jiao, who was already fifteen years old, had transformed from a naughty child rolling on the ground into a frivolous young man.
He held Zhu Xiang's shoulders and said in a nonchalant manner, "Uncle, could it be that my brother and Prince Dan have a grudge against each other? I heard that Prince Dan was also a hostage in Handan."
Zhu Xiang said, "Zheng'er probably hasn't seen Prince Dan before."
At least this should be the first time I meet Prince Dan in this life, Zhu Xiang added in his heart.
Cheng Jiao asked, "So Brother Wang deliberately smiled like this to scare Prince Dan?"
Zhu Xiang snatched away the wooden duck that Xiao Fusu was chewing, and told him not to chew the wood anymore. He joked, "Perhaps Zheng'er didn't mean to scare you, but he was born with a scary smile."
Cheng Jiao laughed so hard that his stomach hurt.
Qin Wangzheng slammed the table and cursed: "Can you please stop arguing?"
King Zheng of Qin was diligently reviewing documents.
After being scolded by Lin Zhi, Zhu Xiang came to help him relieve his burden. But Zhu Xiang always brought little Fusu with him when he was working, and Cheng Jiao also came to join in the fun.
Now the study of King Qin Zheng was filled with laughter, except King Qin Zheng himself who could not laugh.
"Uncle! Get out!" King Zheng of Qin began to drive people away.
"Alright, alright, Cheng Jiao, be quiet." Zhu Xiang said seriously, "Come and help, otherwise your brother will be busy until three o'clock tonight."
Cheng Jiao rolled up his sleeves and said, "Okay, I'll grind the ink for you!"
Zhu Xiang picked up the wooden duck that was stained with little Fusu's saliva and gently tapped Cheng Jiao's head: "Go away, you are not needed for such a small matter as grinding ink, don't be lazy."
Qin Wang Zheng said with a dark face: "If you keep making noise, get out!"
Little Fusu opened his mouth and made a noise of "Ah ah" in a very disrespectful manner to his king and father.
Cheng Jiao smiled and picked up little Fusu and spun him around: "Nephew, your father wants to throw you out. From now on, you can only depend on me, your uncle."
King Zheng of Qin put down his pen and stood up.
Cheng Jiao's laughter disappeared instantly. He turned around, hugged little Fusu and hid behind Zhu Xiang, not forgetting to cover little Fusu's mouth.
Little Fusu shut his mouth obediently and blinked his big eyes.
"Humph." Qin Wang Zheng sat down, "Why don't you come and help me? Don't you want your title of nobility?"
Cheng Jiao sighed, stuffed little Fusu into Zhu Xiang's arms, and complained, "Brother Wang, I am your only brother. Do I have to work for a title of nobility?"
After King Zheng of Qin ascended the throne, he gradually reformed and standardized the official and feudal system.
Previously, the titles of lord and marquis were used interchangeably. For example, when recording Fan Ju, both "Ying Hou" and "Ying Jun" were used in the written title.
Now King Zheng of Qin unified them into "Hou" in preparation for the subsequent reform of the twenty ranks of nobility.
Once the world is pacified, there will be no need for so many titles.
Although outsiders still habitually call Zhu Xiang "Lord Changping", in official documents, Zhu Xiang is already "Marquis of Changping".
After King Zheng of Qin changed the reign title, he first promoted his aunt Lin Xue's title and conferred her the title of "Lady of Wu".
Later, he wanted to confer the title of Marquis on Lin Zhi, but Lin Zhi said that he did not want the title of Marquis until Zhao was destroyed. However, he had already thought of a title for himself, which was Marquis of Anping.
Although Zhu Xiang's "Changping" was the name of a fief, it can also be said to be a beautiful title.
Zhu Xiang was the "Marquis of Changping" and he was the "Marquis of Anping", so it was obvious at first glance that they were brothers.
It just so happened that Cai Ze was the "Marquis of Gangcheng" and Li Mu was the "Marquis of Wucheng", which was a good match.
After hearing what Lin Zhi said, King Zheng of Qin realized that the titles of his uncle Cai and his teacher were really similar by coincidence.
If Lin Zhi wanted a title, he could have used his father Lin Xiangru's reputation to be made a lord during the reign of King Zhaoxiang of Qin.
King Zhaoxiang of Qin really wanted to confer the title of lord upon Lin Xiangru himself.
Since he didn't ask for the title then, he won't ask for it now that he hasn't achieved his goal.
Although Lin Zhi wanted to keep a low profile before, his dislike for Zhao State was not to the extent that he counted the days until its demise. But when the Lin family members transported the coffins of their ancestors, including Lin Xiangru, to Qin State, Lin Zhi wanted to eat the flesh of King Yan of Zhao alive.
King Yan of Zhao wanted to dig up Lin Xiangru's tomb. As a son of a man, Lin Zhi wanted to peel off his skin.
This matter was so infuriating that Lin Zhi had kept it a secret from Zhu Xiang until now.
Only after the State of Zhao was destroyed would he tell Zhu Xiang, "You didn't expect it, did you? I had already moved my father's tomb to the State of Qin, but I didn't tell you, nor did I let you go to worship it."
Lin Zhi did not tell Lian Po about this either, as he was worried that Lian Po, who was already very old, would get angry and become ill.
Lin Zhi kept some of Zhao Wang Yan's disgusting things a secret from Lian Po and Zhu Xiang.
Lin Zhi had already anticipated the brutal beating he would suffer when he told Lian Po and Zhu Xiang, "My father's tomb has long been moved to my fiefdom, but I didn't tell you."
Just thinking about it, Lin Zhi couldn't help laughing out loud.
There is a kind of fun-loving person who can even enjoy himself in the future.
Now Lin Zhi's excuse of "not being granted a title of nobility until Zhao State is destroyed" has become the truth.
Lin Zhi refused to accept the title, so King Zheng of Qin counted the people around him to see if anyone else was qualified to receive the title.
General Wang Jian, who was not yet old, would wait until he became the first emperor of Qin before he was granted the title of nobility. This time, he must have granted the title of nobility before General Wang Jian died, and would not have granted the title posthumously.
So who else
Cheng Jiao stared at his elder brother with his eyes wide open, pointing his finger at his nose, almost poking the tip of his nose into a pig's nose.
Only then did King Zheng of Qin remember that he had a younger brother.
Not only the King of Qin, but also other monarchs’ beloved “youngest sons” were mostly given the title of Lord Chang’an or Lord Anguo. Lord Anguo was a title before King Renwen of Qin, and it was definitely banned afterwards, so Cheng Jiao’s title was confirmed to be “Marquis Chang’an” after the title of the title was standardized.
In King Zheng of Qin's dream, the defector Cheng Jiao was the "Lord of Chang'an", which made King Zheng of Qin feel uncomfortable with this title for a while.
But he was too lazy to think of a new title, and since Cheng Jiao would not betray him in the future, he still gave Cheng Jiao the title of "Marquis of Chang'an".
My uncle is the "Marquis of Changping" and Cheng Jiao is the "Marquis of Chang'an", they look like a family.
However, the imperial edict to confer title of nobility upon King Zheng of Qin had already been written, but it was withheld.
He even showed the imperial edict to Cheng Jiao, but he just didn't give it to Cheng Jiao.
Want a title? Work hard for me!
This time, Queen Dowager Huayang and Queen Dowager Xia did not stop her.
Cheng Jiao, you are already fifteen years old and have a nephew. Your elder brother is already leading troops to fight at this age, so how can you still hide behind us and be lazy? Your elder brother has already written the imperial edict to confer you the title of nobility, why don't you hurry up and get to work
Cheng Jiao finally understood that when there was a younger child in the family - no matter whether that child was his younger brother or his nephew, he would immediately turn from a treasure into a weed.
I'm Cheng Jiao in Xianyang Palace, why do we need Fusu
Zhu Xiang grabbed little Fusu's chubby fist and beat Cheng Jiao's arm: "Fusu, beat him!"
Little Fusu: “Ahhh!” Beat, beat!
Cheng Jiao is wilted.
My nephew is so cute! Come, uncle, give him a hug and a kiss.
Little Fusu: “Well!” Uncle father.
Cheng Jiao gave up competing for favor with little Fusu in front of the two queen dowagers, and instead vowed to pamper Fusu into a playboy who would give his eldest brother a headache, in order to avenge his eldest brother for forcing him to work.
That would come later. For now, he had to work hard for the title.
Without a title, if he wanted to spend more money to buy a horse, he had to ask his uncle for it.
Cheng Jiao doesn't have many extravagant hobbies, but he likes BMW. But BMW is too expensive! He can't afford it unless his elder brother gives him a title and fiefdom!
Under the bait of the title, Cheng Jiao finally behaved himself.
Although Cheng Jiao was noisy, he was after all a child raised by Zhu Xiang. It was easy for him to classify, lubricate and do math for Qin Wang Zheng, helping Qin Wang Zheng reduce a lot of tedious work.
Zhu Xiang reviewed the documents approved by King Zheng of Qin to check whether there were any omissions.
If King Zheng of Qin was revising the document himself, he would read it three or four times to make sure that he had no omissions before sending it out.
If any part of the review process is handed over to other people, it may lead to favoritism and corruption. Qin Wang Zheng did not trust others.
But King Zheng of Qin could still trust his younger brother and uncle.
Lin Zhi knew Qin Shi Huang's character very well, so he asked Zhu Xiang to help immediately to prevent Qin Shi Huang from imitating his incompetent father and exhausting himself.
Qin Wangzheng sighed in his heart. Not only his uncle treated him like a child, but also Uncle Lin. He couldn't refuse the kindness of his elders, which was really a headache.
Tonight, King Zheng of Qin finally completed his government affairs as the candlelight began to burn.
He felt uncomfortable all over.
How can you have nothing to do just after the sun sets? Are you going to the harem now
King Zheng of Qin is preoccupied with work and has no interest in going to the harem.
Before Qin Wangzheng could say anything, little Fusu began to clap his hands: "Yes, Fusu will go!"
Zhu Xiang rubbed Fusu's chubby face and said kindly, "Fusu can speak complete sentences now, it's amazing. Fusu, aren't you sleepy now? Do you want to go out at night too?"
Little Fusu continued to clap, and no one knew why he had to clap: "I'm not sleepy, Fusu, I want to look at the moon."
Zhu Xiang boasted, "Look, Zheng'er, Fusu is speaking more and more fluently."
Although Qin Wang Zheng was very satisfied, he said: "At his age, I can already recite the Book of Songs."
Cheng Jiao sighed deeply: "Brother, please stop comparing yourself to others. I am such a smart person, but when I compared myself to you, I thought I was a fool. According to your standards, there is no smart person in the world."
King Zheng of Qin said: "My son should be like me."
Cheng Jiao said: "It's impossible, don't expect it."
Zhu Xiang agreed: "Zheng'er, don't put too much pressure on Fusu. You are the best. If he can learn even 50% from you, he will be far better than anyone else in the world."
King Zheng of Qin: “…” Should he be angry that his uncle and brother look down on his son, or should he be happy about their praise
Zhu Xiang carried little Fusu on his shoulders, and little Fusu hugged Zhu Xiang's head.
Zhu Xiang smiled and said, "Let's go for a night tour."
Cheng Jiao stretched himself and said, "Okay!"
King Zheng of Qin looked at this familiar scene and recalled the scene when he was a child holding his uncle's head and laughing with the Zhao people outside the city of Handan.
I'm afraid not many people in Zhao State remember the promise made twenty years ago.
But he remembered.
It is time to fulfill the promise he made when he left Handan.
In June of the first year of King Zheng of Qin, the summer grain was harvested in Southern Qin.
Wang Jian, who was stationed in Qi and was in the process of wiping out the remaining forces of Qi, suddenly turned his troops around and marched out from Lecheng in Qi, and successively conquered Wuqiang, Guanjin and other cities in the lower reaches of the Yellow River in Zhao along the Yellow River.
Within a month, Wang Jian conquered all the cities of Zhao State on the south bank of the Yellow River, set up camp on the bank of the Yellow River, facing the sand dunes across the river, and tried to build a floating bridge to cross the river.
Shaqiu was the temporary palace of the State of Zhao. To the south of Shaqiu was Julu, and to the south of Julu were Xindu and Lieren. Xindu and Lieren were the northern and eastern gates of Handan.
As long as we cross the Yellow River and occupy the Shazhou, there will be a plain from the Shazhou to Handan with no strategic location to defend.
Handan is in danger.
After Bai Qi's army arrived at the city of Handan, Zhao State immediately repaired the Great Wall near Handan.
At this time, the Great Wall was not built to defend against the northern barbarians. Each country also built a Great Wall on its border to defend against attacks from other countries (mainly the Qin State).
For example, the State of Wei built the Wei Great Wall along the Luo River, thus separating itself from the State of Qin in the west.
But Lian Po first destroyed the Kingdom of Han, and then attacked the Kingdom of Wei from Han to the north, bypassing the Great Wall of Wei.
For example, the State of Chu also built the Chu Great Wall near Danyang, thus (Qin/Chu) separating itself from the State of Qin in the northwest.
But Li Mu first turned Southern Chu into Southern Qin, and the Great Wall of Chu was useless. Fortunately, there was the Huai River as a natural defense line.
Zhao State built a "U" shaped Great Wall to surround Handan. Handan was on the southern border of Zhao State, with a large area of Zhao State territory in the north, and then bordering Yan State. The King of Zhao felt that he should be able to rest assured.
Who knew that the Qin State in the west would first run to the east to destroy the Qi State, and then march from the northeast of the Zhao State. The "U"-shaped Great Wall was not only useless, but if the Qin army marched too fast, the Great Wall would also prevent the King of Zhao and the Zhao nobles in Handan from escaping, forming a situation of catching a turtle in a jar.
Fortunately, there was the Yellow River, so Wang Jian could not secretly march to the city of Handan and scare King Zhao like Bai Qi did.
Wang Jian also felt sorry that he could not scare King Zhao.
However, Wang Jian was always cautious in leading the army, and he was particular about winning with one strike. Although Zhao's elite troops were destroyed, the territory was still large, and the middle-level generals in the court were all veterans. If the Qin army attacked forcefully, it might suffer heavy losses. So it didn't matter if they couldn't immediately attack Handan.
Wang Jian first put enough pressure on Handan, and then sent people to sow discord in Handan city.
This time, his plan of sowing discord was particularly large-scale, as it was intended to alienate the King of Zhao and all the middle-level generals of the Zhao State.
Generals of Zhao, think about what happened to the garrison at Yanmen, think about how the King of Zhao sent the former defender of Changping to his death, and think about how General Pang Nuan, who saved Zhao from danger, was forced to die in battle.
How many generals of Zhao had not served under Xinping Lord Lian Po? How many generals had nothing to do with the Battle of Changping? How many generals had not had a drink with Xinling Lord Wei Wuji who once lived in Handan
You are loyal to King Zhao, but does King Zhao trust you
Wang Jian also sent people to bribe the favorite ministers around King Zhao, especially Guo Kai, to slander Guo Kai to King Zhao.
Now the State of Zhao is in a critical moment, and there must be many generals who have old ties with Lian Po and Zhu Xiang who want to defect to the State of Qin. The King of Zhao must be on guard!
King Yan of Zhao was in a state of panic, not understanding why he, a wise ruler who was repeatedly attacking the State of Yan, was suddenly going to lose his country.
By plundering the whole country, he could still gather 200,000 to 300,000 young and strong men. If he added the old, the weak, women and children, he could have an army of 500,000.
But once Pang Nuan dies, who will lead the troops for me
After hearing Guo Kai's concerns, King Yan of Zhao became even more frightened.
Only then did he realize how much trouble the old general Lian Po, whom he looked down upon, would cause to the State of Zhao.
Lian Po was indeed too old. He was already a general during the reign of King Huiwen of Zhao.
Not everyone has the talent to be a famous general and can lead an army at a young age. Generals under the age of 40 were too inexperienced, and King Yan of Zhao did not dare to let them lead the army of a country and put the survival of Zhao on them; almost all the veteran generals of Zhao over the age of 40 had served under Lian Po.
In fact, Lian Po had a very strange temper. Although he was very capable in leading troops, when he took off his armor, none of his subordinates had a good personal relationship with him.
Apart from Lin Xiangru who could tolerate his bad temper, even among the royal family, only Pingyuan Jun Zhao Sheng could gain his respect; Pingyang Jun Zhao Bao was not even qualified.
Any Zhao person who had come into contact with Lian Po would never believe that a Zhao general would defect to Lian Po just because he had once served under Lian Po.
But King Yan of Zhao believed it.
After all, he was still young at that time, living in the deep palace, and had not received any education as a prince, so he really didn't know what kind of person Lian Po was.
Moreover, facing the crisis of national destruction, King Zhao Yan could not be too cautious.
But he was too careful.
King Yan of Zhao first appointed Hu Zhe.
Hu Zhe not only worked under Lian Po and Pang Nuan, but he was also educated in Confucianism and was proficient in both civil and military affairs, so he did have some abilities.
In the history of Zhu Xiang's previous life, Li Mu was promoted in the old age of King Xiaocheng of Zhao. After King Yan of Zhao drove away Lian Po, Li Mu replaced Lian Po as the most important general of Zhao State and even became the prime minister of Zhao State for a time.
But after Zhao Wangqian ascended the throne, he immediately ignored Li Mu, and Li Mu returned to Yanmen County. Zhao Wangqian promoted Hu Zhe, a Zhao general who was on good terms with Guo Kai.
Unfortunately, although Hu Zhe had some skills, they were not many, and he was killed by the Qin general Huan Ji. Zhao Wangqian hurriedly recalled Li Mu.
Li Mu defeated the Qin army, beheaded the Qin general Huan Xi, and avenged Hu Ze.
Then, Li Mu was eliminated by the Qin King Zheng and Wang Jian's plot to sow discord.
Now that Li Mu is no longer by King Yan of Zhao's side, and Pang Nuan has died in battle, judging from seniority, Hu Zhe becomes the only one who can carry the banner.
At this time, Huo Zhe had not yet bribed Guo Kai with a large sum of money, and Guo Kai did not need to make friends with the generals in the army in order to trick Lian Po and Li Mu, so the two of them were still strangers.
So Guo Kai's slander was directed at Hu Zhe.
Hu Zhe was not only Lian Po's deputy general, but also a Confucian disciple. What more evidence do you need? Look at this identity configuration, if he is not a spy, then who is a spy! Maybe Hu Zhe once taught Xunzi and was Zhu Xiang's fellow apprentice!
King Yan of Zhao was shocked and rushed to investigate.
What Guo Kai said was true.
As a disciple of Confucianism, Huo Ze certainly visited Xunzi when Xunzi lived in Zhu Xiang's house. He also gave Xunzi many books and writing materials and listened to Xunzi's lectures.
If Huo Zhe had a thicker skin than the city wall of Handan, he could indeed call himself a disciple of Xunzi and a fellow student of Zhu Xiang.
But in the original history, Hu Zhe was able to befriend Guo Kai for his future, which showed that he was really thick-skinned. When Changping Jun became famous, he claimed to be a fellow student of Zhu Xiang many times in order to befriend the powerful and wealthy, and he drank with Zhu Xiang.
In fact, when he was in Handan, Zhu Xiang was still a commoner, and he looked down on Zhu Xiang; when Zhu Xiang became famous, he had already left Handan, and Zhu Xiang also left Zhao State soon, so he had no chance to get to know Zhu Xiang.
Thanks to his thick skin, Huo Zhe won the favor of Lord Pingyuan, Lord Pingyang and Lord Xinling, and his career in this life was much smoother than in the original history.
Now he paid the price—King Yan of Zhao firmly believed that Hu Zhe had surrendered to Qin, and sent someone to execute Hu Zhe.
At this time, Hu Zhe had already arrived at the sand dunes, organized his troops, built fortresses, and prepared to hold his ground.
Just as the Zhao army was getting into shape, their commander was beheaded.
Not only that, King Yan of Zhao was also clever. In order to intimidate the Zhao generals, he sent the head of Hu Ze to the border of Zhao and showed it to the generals of the Zhao border defense army to intimidate them.
Even Guo Kai did not expect this move. He repeatedly praised King Zhao for his wisdom, and then turned around and asked his wife to leave Handan with the children in the name of visiting relatives.
Guo Kai wiped the cold sweat off his forehead.
The King of Zhao worked too hard, and he was worried that even if he made great contributions to the Qin State, he would surely die in order to appease the anger of the Zhao State.
At this point, Guo Kai has no way out. His life is probably in danger, so he hopes that Prime Minister Lin will keep his word and treat his family well.
I, Guo Kai, am a great contributor to the Qin State! I have contributed greatly to the unification of the Qin State! If the Qin State does not treat his family well, it will chill the hearts of all the contributors!
When Wang Jian learned the news that Hu Zhe was beheaded at the border, he was stunned for a long time.
He was accustomed to the incredible actions of the kings of the six countries and always faced his enemies with extreme calmness.
At this moment, for the first time, he felt deeply disgusted by the foolish behavior of the enemy country's monarch. He felt so nauseous that his stomach churned and he almost vomited.
Even though Hu Zhe died as a result of his plot to sow discord, what King Yan of Zhao did also broke his psychological bottom line.
Wang Jian finally understood the tone of disgust that Li Mu could hardly suppress when he talked about King Zhao’s persecution of Zhu Xiang even after so many years.
Wang Jian calmed down for a long time before he recovered from the nausea. He found someone in the army who was good at poetry and asked them to write a poem to mourn the death of Zhao general Hu Zhe.
"Listen to the yellow bird crying, look at the Artemisia growing tall. Pity our wise man Hu Zhe, who was falsely accused and died tragically, and the heaven mourns.
Listen to the yellow bird weeping, and see the Artemisia zedoaria growing luxuriantly. Pity our wise man Hu Zhe, whose unjust death makes the heaven mourn.
Kudzu vines grow over thorns, and sedges spread over graves. Curse the heavens for being blind, who will breathe with you
Kudzu vines grow over thorn trees, and sedges spread across the wild soil. Curse the heavens for being blind, who will live with you
The poem was sung on the other side of the Yellow River, and the Zhao army was in panic.
While Wang Jian continued to slowly build a floating bridge to cross the river, he also continued to have people spread this poem in the heartland of Zhao State.
At this time, another poem was sung in Zhao State together with this poem after more than ten years.
"The magpie is singing at home, hurry to Qin. Hurry to Qin, Zhu Xiang is in Qin;
The magpie is singing on the road, hurry to Qin, hurry to Qin, Lian Po is in Qin;
The magpie is singing in the mountains, hurry to Qin, hurry to Qin, Li Mu is in Qin;
Take your property and family and go to Qin quickly. Go to Qin quickly. The wise are in Qin."
When a senior official of the State of Zhao heard this ballad among the people, he closed his eyes, tears streamed down his face, and sang along with the poems written by the common people by quoting from the Book of Songs.
"The north wind is chilly, the rain and snow are heavy. You are kind to me and we walk hand in hand. Is it empty or evil? It's urgent."
(End of this chapter)