After Lian Po arrived in Zhao, Zhao's resistance was almost quelled.
Lian Po was still able to fight on the battlefield at such an old age, and he made himself a good omen. He was a legendary figure in Zhao State, even Zhu Xiang could not compare to him.
As for Li Mu, when he left Zhao State, he only fought against the Northern Hu, and his reputation in Zhao State was just a bonus.
Even though Lian Po had left Zhao for more than ten years, the people of Zhao who were born after Lian Po left Zhao had heard from their ancestors about General Lian who took them to Yan State to beg for food and was then driven away by the King of Zhao.
When they encountered famine, they thought of General Lian, and when they ate potatoes, they thought of Duke Xiang. Now General Lian and Duke Xiang have returned to Zhao. The people of Zhao have calmed down.
All the scholars in the world scoffed at the so-called "fulfillment of promise" by the King of Qin, but the foolish common people of Zhao also believed it.
They believed that Prince Zheng, who grew up in the lap of General Lian and Duke Xiang of Zhu, must be a good child.
King Zheng of Qin took his uncle for a stroll in the city, looking for childhood memories. When he heard the people of Zhao calling him "good boy" in private, the corners of his mouth twitched, and he turned away with a sullen face.
Zhu Xiang almost laughed so hard that his stomach hurt.
When Lian Po returned to Handan, the state of Zhao was barely stable, and King Zheng of Qin continued to personally appease the surrendered Zhao scholars.
The scholars in Wei and Han felt a little jealous.
What a discriminatory treatment! How could the people of Zhao deserve such treatment
The Korean scholars could not help but contact Han Fei. We Koreans are not without people in the Qin court!
The scholars of Wei continued to miss Lord Xinling. If Lord Xinling were still alive, how much more would we do
The officials in the Qin court were in a stable mood. Zhao's behavior was so absurd that the King of Qin would not allow those mediocre people to enter the Qin court. He was just pretending to appease the Zhao people.
King Zheng of Qin was very energetic. He personally selected the information he collected on the scholars of Zhao State and gave them different treatments.
The treatment of Zhao's ministers who had accepted bribes from Qin was the lowest; the treatment of those who spoke out for justice in Zhao, especially those who were the first to die in the Zhao court, was the best; if there was a treacherous minister who had harmed important officials and persecuted the people in Zhao, then there would be no treatment at all.
Even if they accepted Qin's bribe, the King of Qin would still lend them their heads.
King Zheng of Qin had already clearly defined the basic foundation for ruling the six kingdoms.
After he unified the six kingdoms, the status of the old nobles of the six kingdoms was definitely lower than before. So no matter how much he showed his kindness, as long as he could not give the old nobles of the six kingdoms better treatment, they would hate him.
Therefore, if he wants to consolidate his rule, he needs to win over the "class" that can give them more benefits.
They are poor scholars and common people who are good at farming and fighting.
The Qin kings of all dynasties always promised many things when they were trying to sow discord, but they never fulfilled their promises.
This is not only true for King Zheng of Qin today, but also for the Qin State in Zhu Xiang's previous life.
For example, Guo Kai of Zhao took money from Qin to persecute Li Mu, and in the end his entire family was killed; Hou Sheng of Qi took money from Qin to prevent the King of Qi from repairing his armaments, and in the end he also ended up miserably.
Those who play politics have dirty hearts, and whoever believes is a fool. The King of Qin and his ministers are notoriously shameless.
It is common to destroy the bridge after crossing it. Let me ask you, do you want the six-mile land
Looking at the history of China, the endings of those who led the way were never good.
For example, Mi Fang, who betrayed Guan Yu, was cursed by ordinary Wu scholars after he arrived in Wu, and he died in depression; the Ming minister who surrendered to the Qing Dynasty was written into the "Bi Chen Zhuan" by Emperor Qianlong, and his reputation will last forever. This is still a good ending.
Looking at the world again, the guides are either cannon fodder, consumables, or clowns who entertain people. Their fate is even more ridiculous than in China.
Throughout the ages, surrendering and leading the way are different.
Comparing with modern society, if a foreigner has his heart set on another country and works hard and diligently after going abroad, he is one of our own.
If a foreigner accepts benefits from another country and offers benefits to that country that are not against morality in his own country, he is an international friend;
If a foreigner accepts bribes from another country and commits crimes in his own country, causing the people to live in misery, the other country will applaud, but when he wants to benefit his own country, everyone will say in unison: "Get lost, and die a good death."
Who would leave garbage in their own home? Even if a family member is in politics, they still need to go through three generations of political review.
Therefore, Zhu Xiang remained silent after struggling with his conscience, thinking that Qin would honor its promise of wealth and glory to Guo Kai and would not tarnish Qin's reputation because of his own moral values. In fact, he was naive.
He didn't need to struggle at all. Qin Wang Zheng didn't care about his mood, Guo Kai would be used and discarded - if Guo Kai hadn't committed suicide to become an important official of Zhao Wang, Qin would have killed him to appease Zhao people.
This is the limitation of Zhu Xiang, a professor in an ivory tower.
He didn't know that King Zheng of Qin was actually very regretful that he was "cheated" by Guo Kai. He failed to squeeze out all the value of Guo Kai and wasted so much money that was sent to him. Tsk.
Now the ministers of Zhao State felt deeply the capriciousness of the King of Qin. Although they were angry, they could do nothing about it.
They can't just shout loudly, I have received money from the Qin people, I am a great contributor to the Qin State, you Qin State can't treat me like this
If they dare to speak out, the knights from Zhao State will come to their door tomorrow.
Zhu Xiang only realized this matter later and was speechless.
He couldn't help but nag at Li Mu: "Since both from history books and current examples, we can see that treacherous officials who accept bribes from other countries to harm their own country will end up badly, why do they still trust the words of other countries and do things that are doomed to end in disaster?"
Li Mu said he didn't understand. How could he possibly understand such a thing? Only Lin Zhi and Cai Ze could answer Zhu Xiang's doubts.
Zhu Xiang first despised Li Mu for being useless, and after Li Mu rolled his eyes and sent him away, he went to look for Lian Po.
Lian Po kicked Zhu Xiang out.
Although Zhao was sorry for Lian Po, Lian Po was still upset because Zhao was going to perish in such a ridiculous way. Zhu Xiang asked him about his sad story. Isn't this asking for a fight
When King Zheng of Qin learned about this, he came to Zhu Xiang with his hands behind his back and asked, "Uncle, why didn't you ask me?"
Zhu Xiang looked at his nephew, whose eyes contained a look of boasting, and seemed to be hesitant to speak.
He didn't bother Zheng'er, of course, because Zheng'er was too busy. Zheng'er actually had the mood to think about his affairs after handling government affairs. Didn't he feel tired at all
Zhu Xiang humbly asked for advice: "Zheng'er, do you know why?"
"Of course." Qin Wangzheng was in a very good mood when he saw that his all-knowing uncle could also be stupid at times, "because they didn't expect that their country would really perish."
Zhu Xiang was dumbfounded: "Ah?"
King Zheng of Qin said: "They are just blinded by money. They can take Qin's money and suppress dissidents with the help of external forces. Isn't that the best of both worlds? As for whether their own country will perish..."
Qin Wangzheng said sarcastically: "The wall is so strong, I can get a piece of gold with just one hoe, how come I dug it down?"
Zhu Xiang always felt that these words were familiar, as if he had seen them on the Internet.
King Zheng of Qin said: "Although they say that Qin is their escape route, they all know that if their own country is destroyed, they will be meaningless to Qin. But they just want to take a gamble, betting that they will not see their own end before they die."
Zhu Xiang sighed: "I still don't understand, the risk is so great, how dare they do it?"
Qin Wangzheng said: "Uncle, if you don't understand, then why should you understand what fools are thinking? We just need to know what they are thinking and then use it. But the kind of people I'm talking about are still a little smart and know what they want. There are also some people who are really stupid."
Zhu Xiang sighed, "How could they be so stupid to think that he would definitely rise to prominence in Qin even though they had seen so many examples? Why didn't they just come to Qin and get promoted through the academy or the army?"
Qin Wangzheng looked at his uncle as if he were a fool: "Uncle, if they had the ability to be looked up to by the Qin King, how could they do such disloyal and unrighteous things and be despised by others?"
Zhu Xiang laughed: "That's right."
Although rituals and music were in decline during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, and perhaps even loyalty was not taken seriously, people still attached great importance to righteousness. If a person does not have righteousness, he will still be despised even if he holds a high position.
To put it simply, if you have the ability to join the other side and be a human being, who would want to be a dog? It's not that you can't be a human being, you can only be a dog.
After Zhu Xiang figured it out, he couldn't help but shake his head. It seemed that he really knew nothing about politics, he couldn't be ruthless or cruel, he was indecisive and soft-hearted, and he forced himself to do things he was not good at, which would only hinder Zheng'er.
"I should resign from the position of prime minister and continue to farm for Zheng'er." Zhu Xiang said, "Although Cai Ze does not want to be the prime minister, he is still doing the prime minister's work. If Zheng'er lets him be the prime minister again, he should not refuse. Xunzi..."
Zhu Xiang paused and sighed: "Xunzi will definitely protect you, you must be filial to Xunzi."
Zhu Xiang no longer advises people around him to rest as he did before.
After going through many things, Zhu Xiang understood that everyone has their own pursuits in their hearts. They know what price they have to pay and what kind of life they want to live.
Like the three generations of Qin kings who devoted their lives to the country, like the old Qin generals who died on the battlefield, and like the friends who died heroically.
Zhu Xiang insisted that they live in seclusion, which was an insult to them.
The same is true of Xunzi.
Among all the schools of thought, only Legalism and Confucianism are the most influential, and the contradiction between them is actually very profound. However, Xunzi combines the strengths of both schools and is the only "sage master" who can suppress the contradiction between the two schools and force them to merge.
The unification of the Qin State could not have been achieved without Xunzi, the academic leader.
Xunzi was very good at taking care of his health. Although he always looked weak, he managed to get through year after year.
Sometimes Zhu Xiang even suspected that there was some kind of supernatural power about Xunzi that allowed him to prolong his life through willpower and wait for the day when Qin would truly unify the country.
Zhu Xiang would no longer persuade Xunzi to retire. He only hoped that Xunzi could persist until the moment when Zheng'er unified the world.
Only when he sees the child who once rolled around on his lap fulfill his dream will Xunzi have no regrets.
"Uncle won't accompany Zheng'er anymore?" King Zheng of Qin couldn't help but speak as he did before, and then covered his mouth with his sleeve uncomfortably.
Zhu Xiang smiled and said, "Why am I not with Zheng'er? Wherever Zheng'er's army goes, your uncle will plant the grain there. We are under the same Qin sky."
Qin Wangzheng's eyes showed a trace of annoyance. His uncle was coaxing him like a child again.
"After the autumn harvest, my uncle and aunt won't have much to do, so come to the Hanzhong Palace to celebrate the New Year." King Zheng of Qin ordered.
Zhu Xiang laughed: "Okay."
Zhu Xiang's next itinerary will be to guide farming in Qi, Zhao, Wei and Han; Xue Ji will still help her household chores to guard Southern Qin and supervise farming and weaving in Southern Qin.
After the autumn harvest, Xue Ji would escort the cloth and grain of Southern Qin upstream along the Han River; Zhu Xiang would drive back from the east to the west. The family, separated for a whole year, would reunite for a few months in the Hanzhong Palace. When the spring breeze thawed the frost and the grass grew, they would go about their own business.
"Fusu will still be taken care of by his uncle," Qin Wangzheng said, "He is still young this year, so it is not suitable for him to travel far. Next year he can travel around with his uncle."
Zhu Xiang hesitated a little: "The long journey may not be good for the children. Zheng'er, not all children are as tough as you."
Qin Wangzheng: "..." What do you mean I am tough? !
Qin Wang Zheng said unhappily, "Isn't this just right? Only by taking care of Fusu can uncle rest. If uncle can't take care of Fusu, I will let aunt take care of him."
Zhu Xiang immediately said, "Your aunt is not in good health to begin with, and she has to deal with so many things. How can she have the energy to take care of a child? Okay, okay, I'll take care of you. When you were chubby as a child, your aunt couldn't even hold you."
Qin Wangzheng: "…" What do you mean I was chubby when I was a child? My aunt was not unable to hold me! I'm not fat!
King Zheng of Qin suddenly felt that it was a good thing for his uncle to leave, so that he would not say non-existent things in front of him every day.
"I'll let Cheng Jiao assist my aunt." Qin Wang Zheng frowned, "If my uncle and aunt are not in Xianyang, the two queen dowagers will dote on Cheng Jiao too much, and I'm afraid he will be spoiled."
Zhu Xiang said: "That's true. When you were a child, you were too naughty and you were afraid of your aunt."
King Zheng of Qin: “…”
He walked away in a huff.
Go away, uncle! Don't come back again! I don't want to hear you!
Zhu Xiang smiled so that the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes relaxed and bloomed like a chrysanthemum.
Whenever Zhu Xiang saw Zheng'er throwing a tantrum, he felt particularly happy.
When King Zheng of Qin was preparing to return to Qin, Xue Ji hurriedly drove to Zhao.
She was also from Zhao. After hearing that Zhao was destroyed, she hurried to help King Zheng of Qin appease the people of Zhao and teach them how to plant and weave cotton.
Common people originally wore linen clothes, but coarse linen was not only difficult to weave and had a very low yield, it was also very rough and could rub the skin.
The skin of common people becomes rough and red from being rubbed and worn.
Even if cotton is woven into coarse cotton cloth, it is much softer and warmer than coarse linen. If cotton is stuffed inside, it is warmer than stuffing it with dead grass or reed catkins.
Common people even only needed a quilt, which they would break up and dry in the summer, then mix in some new cotton to make a new quilt, which would still keep them warm in the winter.
Xue Ji met King Zheng of Qin and made an appointment with him to celebrate the New Year together every year.
King Zheng of Qin was originally very happy when he saw his aunt, but as soon as his aunt saw him, her eyes turned red with nostalgia. She pinched everything from her hair to her fingertips, and kept muttering that she had become thinner and darker, and she really couldn't stand it.
Zhu Xiang folded his arms and watched Xue Ji hugging and nagging Qin Shi Huang, ignoring his own Zheng'er's expression of pleading for help.
How can you not be nagged by your loving mother after not seeing her for a long time? Anyway, she only nags you once a year, so Zheng'er, just bear with it.
If King Zheng of Qin felt unhappy in front of Zhu Xiang, he would immediately turn away and give Zhu Xiang a pair of rolled eyes.
When facing his aunt, King Zheng of Qin was submissive and did not dare to act rashly.
What does it mean that one thing can conquer another? Zhu Xiang was very happy.
Fortunately, King Zheng of Qin had to return to Xianyang and finally got rid of Xue Ji's nagging.
Xue Ji and Zhu Xiang reunited briefly and stayed in Zhao State to comfort the people.
Lian Po also stayed. Li Mu and Wang Jian returned to Southern Qin to continue supervising the State of Chu.
After King Zheng of Qin returned to Xianyang, he would ask Cheng Jiao to bring little Fusu over and let his uncle and aunt continue to take care of the child.
Perhaps Zhu Xiang was really good at raising children. When little Fusu was taken care of by others, even though the palace people were very dedicated and Qin Wang Zheng personally supervised him, little Fusu still often fell ill.
Zhu Xiang's way of raising children seemed to be a little rougher than that of others, but little Fusu rarely got sick and his appetite also increased a lot.
Queen Dowager Huayang and Queen Dowager Xia were both very curious about Zhu Xiang's ability to raise children.
After watching for a while, the two still didn't understand why Zhu Xiang could raise his child to be healthier than others.
Perhaps, Zhu Xiang is really half immortal
Zhu Xiang certainly did not agree with their superstition.
He was a good parent for Fusu simply because he often took him out for walks and sunbathing. But the people in the palace were worried that Fusu would stumble and fall, so they would never let him go out, let alone walk.
How can children grow up well if they don’t exercise or get sun exposure
In addition, he paid more attention to his own diet and was able to understand the facial expressions of baby Fusu to figure out his taste preferences, so of course Fusu grew up better.
This is how he used to lead Zheng'er.
Compared to Zheng'er, Fusu is actually a little harder to lead. Zheng'er is much more mature, but sometimes he has too strong opinions and is not very obedient.
But with Xue Ji around, Zheng'er would be spanked if he didn't listen, and most of the time Zheng'er was easy to take care of.
Fusu's little brain was not fully developed yet, and he did things without logic, just like an animal that relied solely on instinct. Zhu Xiang had to spend a lot of time to understand his needs.
But maybe Zheng'er's children are better than other children. After Fusu learned to speak, his intelligence increased day by day, and now he can fully express his needs.
Zhu Xiang kept praising Fusu for being easy to lead, but King Zheng of Qin scoffed at him.
No matter how he looked at it, his fat son was still a fool, even worse than Cheng Jiao.
Cheng Jiao smiled so much when he heard his elder brother's praise.
Although my eldest brother has a son, he still loves me, his younger brother.
"Brother, can you let your smart brother stay in Xianyang? I'm still young and can't travel long distances." Cheng Jiao acted coquettishly, "There are so many bad people out there. What if they cheat me? I don't want to cause trouble for my aunt."
"Get out!" King Zheng of Qin ordered his men to tie up Cheng Jiao, stuff him into a carriage with Fusu, and send him away quickly. He only untied him after they left Xianyang City.
Cheng Jiao sighed and said to Meng Yi beside him: "Is my elder brother too irritable?"
Holding the child, Meng Yi was at a loss as to how to answer.
Why was he also thrown out of Xianyang City by the King of Qin and sent to help Duke Zhu Xiang
Although he could now chat and laugh with Duke Zhu Xiang freely, he was still not mentally prepared to serve Duke Zhu Xiang.
Cheng Jiao saw Meng Yi's forehead was covered with cold sweat and he was speechless. He muttered, "Why is he a fool? Alas, it seems that we can't count on him."
Meng Yi came back to his senses: "What are you expecting?"
Cheng Jiao said: "Of course I am counting on you to help me deal with my elder brother."
Meng Yi was puzzled: "I serve Duke Zhu Xiang, and you are going to be with the Lady of Wu. How can I and you deal with the emperor?"
He planned to write a letter to the King of Qin to inform him immediately after he had obtained the information.
Cheng Jiao said seriously, "I want to stay with my uncle. My uncle is soft-hearted and won't force me to do anything. You and I will write a letter to my elder brother, saying that my uncle is busy and can't leave me!"
Meng Yi rolled his eyes at Cheng Jiao, not bothering to pay attention to Cheng Jiao's wild thoughts: "Madam Wu is tired, are you really not going to help?"
Cheng Jiao frowned, then sighed: "Brother, you really found my weakness."
Although I, Cheng Jiao, am a playboy, I am also a very filial one. Damn it, my elder brother actually used my aunt to blackmail me!
After King Zheng of Qin left the State of Zhao, Zhu Xiang's fellow villagers who were scattered in the fiefs of Pingyuan Jun and Pingyang Jun returned to their hometown one after another.
In fact, King Zheng of Qin could have waited until they came back, but he left early.
Zhu Xiang knew that Zheng'er was homesick.
In the past, the villagers would affectionately call him "Little Prince" and the children would play with him regardless of their status. Now that he is the King of Qin, these people will prostrate themselves at his feet, and everything in the past has become a faded memory.
Qin Wangzheng didn't want to replace his good memories with the current appearance of these people. Zhu Xiang and Xue Ji knew how awkward their own Zheng'er's personality was.
Moreover, more than ten years have passed, and for common people, there are probably not many people who still remember the fat little prince.
Even in the fiefs of Pingyuan Jun and Pingyang Jun, they had to respond to the call of the King of Zhao, perform corvée and military service, and they would still starve to death if they encountered a locust plague.
Because King Wuling of Zhao's reforms firmly established military power, Zhao was the country that had the best county system besides Qin. The power of the feudal lords was smaller than that of other countries. The King of Zhao had much greater power over the common people in the feudal lords' fiefs.
Zhu Xiang and Xue Ji received the people who returned.
There are a lot of people, but I don’t know many of them.
Occasionally, there were a few people who looked familiar, but the flickering and fearful looks they gave Zhu Xiang and Xue Ji made it impossible for Zhu Xiang and Xue Ji to say anything about their daily lives.
Zhu Xiang tried to find the child who had exchanged gifts with Zheng'er, but learned that the family was still there, but the hat that Zheng'er gave him had long been exchanged for a piece of steamed bun and was no longer where he knew it.
The child is lucky to be alive.
He originally wanted to keep the hat.
He had never had such a beautiful hat.
But he had kept the hat for ten years, and then encountered a locust plague, so he had to sell the hat in exchange for food.
The young but hunchbacked farmer sighed that no one had food at that time and he thought he could not exchange it. Unexpectedly, a kind man in gorgeous clothes heard his story and exchanged a piece of white flour bun he was chewing for his treasured hat.
He had never eaten such delicious steamed bun.
When he was hungry, he would lick it and eat some grass roots or tree bark to survive the day. He ate that piece of bread for a whole month.
Thanks to that piece of bread, he was able to survive.
Zhu Xiang knew that a piece of steamed bread could not keep a person alive for a month. The steamed bread probably became the farmer's psychological sustenance, allowing him to survive by eating grass roots, tree bark, insects and ants.
People have very strong willpower, and sometimes they just need a piece of "bread".
The farmer didn't know what he lost by selling the hat that King Zheng of Qin gave him, but if he didn't sell the hat, he would starve to death. He had no choice.
However, Zhu Xiang had already confirmed his identity. Even if he did not have the hat, Zhu Xiang would give Zheng'er generous gifts and teach him to use the money to buy land and houses, support his children's education, and try to get his children into colleges, universities, and academies, so that he could become an official in the future.
The farmer nodded repeatedly, as if he had heard it.
Zhu Xiang hoped that he had listened and could seize this opportunity.
Zhu Xiang thought the matter was over, but unexpectedly, one month later, someone came to him with a hat to apologize.
(End of this chapter)