"That blue sky has killed my beloved! If I can redeem him, a hundred people will give their lives!" It is from the Book of Songs, Qin Feng, Yellow Bird. It describes the Spring and Autumn Period overlord Qin Mu Gong who forced Zi Che's three sons, Yan Xi, Zhong Xing and Zhen Hu, to be buried alive with him, and the Qin people mourned for the three good men who were buried alive.
During the reign of Duke Mu of Qin, the Qin State, which was considered a barbarian state like the Western Rong in the eyes of the Central Plains countries, gained a good reputation for the first time. Its influence was able to extend eastward through the Hangu Pass and stand on the stage for hegemony.
When Duke Mu of Qin was alive, he had a very good reputation, and scholars from other countries praised his kindness. He should have laid the foundation for the strength of the Qin State, but before his death, he made three wise men be buried with him. From then on, talented people all over the world excluded Qin State from their first choice for official positions.
Regardless of the reasons why Duke Mu of Qin and his successors had the three ministers buried alive, the result was that after Duke Mu of Qin, the Qin State declined again, its territory shrank severely, and by the early Warring States Period it had become a small country with no sense of existence.
It was not until Qin Xian Gong abolished the system of burying people alive with the dead, and the civil strife ended, that Qin became strong again. But scholars still considered going west to Qin as their last resort. Confucianism even had an unspoken rule that "Confucians do not go to Qin." Xunzi was the first great Confucian scholar to go to Qin, and he did not intend to become an official, but just traveled.
The Qin State's unique "guest official system" that treated talents from other countries with favor, as well as the overly large number of "foreign relatives", were also sequelae of the "Three Good Men Buried with the Body".
At that time, Qin was not a prosperous country with few talents of its own, so it was very dependent on foreign talents. When foreign talents refused to come because of the "three good men buried alive with the dead", Qin could only hope to marry noble ladies from other countries and let foreign talents enter Qin as relatives, in addition to increasing the reward for foreign talents.
Even if the King of Qin loses his mind one day and wants to bury his subjects with him, he basically will not choose his relatives by marriage. Relatives by marriage are safer and can be assured of serving as officials in Qin.
Talents did not come to Qin, so Qin could only rely on relatives by marriage, and relatives by marriage were prone to chaos. This forced Qin Xian Gong to abolish the ancestral precepts in an era when ancestral precepts were highly respected. This shows how much impact this incident had on Qin.
It was precisely because Qin Xian publicly set a precedent of abolishing ancestral precepts that Shang Yang's subsequent reforms could be successfully implemented and continued.
Even though the ancestral precepts had been abolished, the "Book of Songs·Qin Feng·Yellow Bird" was a scar in the hearts of the later Qin kings. No one felt more deeply about this matter than the Qin king (except Qin II), to the extent that his face would fall when he heard the "Book of Songs·Qin Feng·Yellow Bird".
Zhu Xiang recited "Yellow Bird" from "The Book of Songs·Qin Feng" to explain his plan, and the King of Qin understood it so well that he couldn't understand it any more.
He could even imagine that Zhao would repeat the mistakes of Qin and scholars would shake their heads whenever they mentioned Zhao.
Although this negative status can be removed by replacing the King of Zhao, it is much better than Qin having to bear the blame for hundreds of years. But the current King of Zhao is very young and will not be replaced for a while. This negative status is enough for the King of Qin to plot against Zhao.
Even if someone in Zhao State took this opportunity to fight for the throne and let the King of Zhao leave the throne early, wouldn't that be better? The situation in Zhao State must be very turbulent!
The King of Qin was really seriously considering whether to let Zhu Xiang implement this plan.
After listening to Zhu Xiang's words, the King of Qin also realized that not only the court, but even he himself might not be ready to unify the world.
Unifying the world is not just about grabbing territory. After grabbing the territory, we must govern it and treat the people of other countries as Qin people.
If the King of Qin had not yet gone to Yewang to recruit soldiers, he might not have been so easy to accept Zhu Xiang's idea. But when he went to Yewang, he felt the fact that the people of other countries who had just occupied the territory could also become Qin people under the reward, so he had a new understanding.
If Qin was not prepared to annex Zhao, then the best way would be to recuperate while digging a hole for Zhao.
If Zhu Xiang was killed by the King of Zhao, Qin could still use revenge as an excuse to send troops, as Zhu Xiang was Zichu's relative. Although the King of Qin attacked other countries almost all the time, which king who wanted to save face would not want to have a legitimate reason to attack
The King of Qin also wanted to try out the feeling of having a legitimate reason to fight and standing on the side of justice to point fingers at others.
Although Bai Qi did not understand the King of Qin as well as Fan Ju, the King of Qin had a very obvious expression of deep thought, so Bai Qi could also know what the King of Qin was thinking.
He couldn't plead for Zhu Xiang in front of him, so he had to interrupt the King of Qin's thoughts and said, "Zhu Xiang, you have made great contributions, why would the King of Zhao kill you?"
The King of Qin came to his senses and said, "That's right. How can you be sure that the King of Zhao will kill you? The King of Zhao might even use you."
A confident smile appeared on Zhu Xiang's face.
But his confidence was the confidence that he would be killed, which made the King of Qin, who was just thinking about whether to use Zhu Xiang's death to gain benefits, feel a little emotional.
"I helped the common people increase their farmland production and taught them how to sell their surplus food and handicrafts on their own so that they would not be cheated by wealthy merchants. I have already offended many nobles..."
Before Zhu Xiang finished speaking, Bai Qi interrupted him and asked, "Why can you offend the nobles by increasing the production of the common people's fields? Shouldn't the nobles be happier if they collect more taxes?"
Zhu Xiang explained: "The nobles' fields have already used the more advanced farming technology, and it is difficult to increase the yield. I want to increase the yield of the common people's fields, which were originally short of water and fertilizer, and even maintained slash-and-burn farming. I heard that Wu Anjun was not born into a noble family. Wu Anjun should know that for someone who was originally born higher than you, your achievements are more painful than his own failure."
When Sima Qian was writing Records of the Grand Historian, he would mention the family background and surname of anyone with a good family background, regardless of gender.
For example, Lian Po is from the Ying clan.
People like Bai Qi and Lin Xiangru, who had clan names but no surnames and whose family backgrounds were never mentioned, were all lower-class scholars at the time, and might even have been "nationals", that is, civilians who cultivated public land for the princes, performed military service, and lived in the city before the well-field system collapsed.
Their status was higher than that of the "rogues" (also called "savages") like Zhu Xiang, who lived in the suburbs and cultivated private fields on the edge of the well-field system. After the land reform, they owned land and became farmers. However, their origins were still humble among the gentry.
Bai Qi relied on the military merit system to climb up to the point where the Qin royal family and relatives looked up to him. It is easy to imagine how many jealous people attacked him along the way.
Bai Qi sighed softly and said, "I know."
Zhu Xiang continued, "In order to come to Changping, I made a name for myself in Handan. In the process of making a name for myself, I also offended many nobles and their retainers."
Zhu Xiang smiled again and said, "Although they took the initiative to come to me for a debate and were quite graceful when they lost. But they wanted to step on me to become famous, but I stepped on them to become famous. How can I not be hated
I am just a commoner. How can the King of Zhao reward me for my great contribution? Will he make me a high minister? Will the officials of Zhao be willing to kowtow to a commoner like me
So I am sure that as long as there is a point in me that they can criticize, they will kill me.”
The King of Qin and Bai Qi looked at each other. Could it be that Zhu Xiang had already deduced that the Zhao army surrendered in order to kill him
Zhu Xiang paused for a long time before he said embarrassedly: "The point they criticized me for is, uh, cough, that, the King of Qin may not know that my nephew is a hostage of the Qin State and your great-grandson."
King Qin and Bai Qi: “…” Should we show a shocked expression at this time
Fortunately, Zhu Xiang immediately added: "No, when I left, a wealthy businessman from Qin came to help me protect Zheng'er. He said he was sent by Prince Zichu. The King of Qin should know that my nephew Zheng'er is your great-grandson, right?"
Did I know or not? The King of Qin thought for a moment and said decisively, "I don't know. Didn't Zichu's child hide with his biological mother under the protection of Lu Buwei? So his biological mother is your sister?"
"She is my eldest sister, but we have a bad relationship. She abandoned me when I was seriously ill." Zhu Xiang looked at the expression on King Qin's face and guessed that King Qin should know.
He said that the King of Qin was too friendly to him and that the King of Qin might have regarded him as half a Qin citizen.
Although Zhu Xiang did not understand why the King of Qin pretended to be ignorant when he knew the truth, he did not expose the King of Qin and said, "My identity is enough for the King of Zhao to kill me. Maybe if the Battle of Changping fails, they will put the blame on me and say that I am a Qin spy or something."
He had already gathered too much jealousy and hatred from the Zhao nobles and their retainers, and there was also the fatal criticism of being "the uncle of a commoner and a hostage of Qin". When he returned to Handan, other nobles attacked him, and the King of Zhao was soft on his favorite ministers. Even Pingyuan Jun and Pingyang Jun could not save him.
Of course, Lord Lin and Lord Lian could not do that either.
When Zhu Xiang thought of Lin Xiangru and Lian Po, a wave of guilt and pain surged in his heart.
Fortunately, if I could rescue the Zhao soldiers who surrendered, according to the thinking of that era, although they would be sad about my death, they might also be happy that I sacrificed my life for justice.
Just Xue and Zheng Er...
Zhu Xiang said in a deep voice: "After I die, can you ask the King of Qin to take Zheng'er and Xue back as soon as possible, and don't let Xue leave Zheng'er's side?"
He kowtowed again.
The King of Qin looked at Zhu Xiang for a long while before he sighed: "Since you are related to the Qin royal family, why don't you ask me to take you away?"
Zhu Xiang fell to the ground and said, "I want to rescue the Zhao soldiers who surrendered. And after I leave, Zheng'er and Xue will definitely be under the surveillance of the Zhao people. If I don't go back to Handan, they will be in danger."
The King of Qin asked, "Even if I release the Zhao soldiers who surrendered, will you return to Handan to exchange them for me?"
Zhu Xiang said: "Yes."
The King of Qin said, "With Lin Xiangru and Lian Po here, it will be easy to exchange your wife for someone else and save her. Only Zheng'er has a special status and cannot leave. However, with the weak character of the King of Zhao, he does not have the courage to kill the Qin hostage. Zheng'er will just have to suffer a little, but he will definitely be safe."
Zhu Xiang said, "I am not in good health and will not have any offspring in the future. Zheng'er is the only offspring of Xue and me. And Zheng'er has been abandoned twice, I will never abandon him a third time."
The King of Qin felt emotional again.
The King of Qin was not a soft-hearted person, and he didn't care about his many sons and grandchildren. But when he looked at Zhu Xiang, why did he always feel distressed and helpless
"Do you really want to use your life to exchange for the lives of these hundreds of thousands of Zhao people and your nephew who you have only known for a year or two?" The King of Qin asked again, "You are so talented. If you come back to Xianyang with me, I will immediately make you a senior minister and give you the title of lord!"
Zhu Xiang could not help it. He straightened up and said very quickly: "King of Qin, Zheng'er is your great-grandson! King of Qin should value Zheng'er more! Zheng'er is such a good child. He could speak before he was one year old, and he could recognize more than a thousand characters before he was two years old. Now he can read hundreds of classics with me..."
"Cough, cough, cough!" Bai Qi kept coughing, reminding Zhu Xiang to pay attention to his identity. The person in front of you is the King of Qin! How can you fight with the King of Qin!
The King of Qin was filled with surprise.
Zhu Xiang had always been very calm and measured in his actions. Why did he start arguing with the King of Qin with a red face and stiff neck when talking about Zheng'er
Zhu Xiang realized his mistake after being reminded by Bai Qi.
But he was really angry!
Zheng'er is your great-grandson! Your poor little great-grandson was left alone in Zhao as a hostage! Which country would send such a small hostage?! Don't you feel sorry for him
You are a stranger to me, King Qin. Even if you are testing me, you shouldn't say such words that will chill the child's heart!
Dad doesn't want Zheng'er, mother doesn't want Zheng'er, even the great-grandfather doesn't care about Zheng'er's life or death. I'm afraid that grandfather doesn't even know who Zheng'er is!
My Zheng'er, my Qin Shi Huang, my Zulong, how did you end up with such a family!
Anyway, they are all here to die, and those who are barefoot are not afraid of those who wear shoes. Zhu Xiang is too lazy to save the situation.
He took out a thin booklet from his arms: "King Qin, this is the growth diary I recorded for Zheng'er. He is really a very good and lovely child, you will definitely like him!"
The King of Qin silently took the booklet handed to him by Zhu Xiang, feeling a little embarrassed.
What's wrong with Zhu Xiang? If he told others, "My great-grandson is not important, you are more important", they would be very moved.
Why is this young man still angry
The King of Qin opened the first page of the booklet. On the title page, Zhu Xiang made a draft with charcoal pencil and filled in the picture with ink, drawing a portrait of their family of three holding hands.
Zhu Xiang smiled brightly, Xue smiled gently, and the chubby Zheng'er smiled so hard that his eyes narrowed and his short legs kicked high.
The King of Qin had never seen such a painting.
The person in the painting is so vivid that he seems to be walking out of the painting. Just by looking at the painting, the King of Qin can feel the joy of the painter and the overflowing happiness of the person in the painting.
The King of Qin's heart suddenly softened.
In just this moment, the old King of Qin, who didn't care much about his offspring because he had so many of them and had no impression or feelings for this great-grandson whom he had never met, suddenly developed a little affection for the fat baby with eyes curved with a smile in the painting.
Bai Qi quietly stretched his neck and saw the picture on the booklet.
He also felt the happiness of the people in the painting.
"Your family is so happy, you won't regret leaving him?" Bai Qi couldn't help it, "Aren't you worried that they will be sad?"
Zhu Xiang clutched his sleeves tightly with both hands.
He was silent for a long while, then choked up and said, "I'm worried. I feel sorry for them, but I can't help it... If I didn't live outside Handan, but in Yanmen, Daijun, or Yunzhong, I wouldn't come here. But they are the people around me, there are too many of them, the people in the village where I live, the neighbors and folks I know, almost all of them have come to Changping..."
Bai Qi raised his hand and put it down again.
He looked at the King of Qin.
The old King of Qin looked at Zhu Xiang, then at the painting, and then he sighed deeply: "Forget it, Bai Qi, you take him to the Zhao army camp. I will listen to you. You lead the Zhao army to grow potatoes for three months, and then I will let them go."
Zhu Xiang wiped away his tears with his sleeve, leaned forward and said gratefully: "Thank you, King Qin!"
Bai Qi stood up and took Zhu Xiang away, worried that Zhu Xiang's crying would disturb the emperor's mood.
After he settled Zhu Xiang, he would advise the king that there was no need to use Zhu Xiang to attack Zhao. He was still alive, and as long as Qin could recuperate for a few years, he would be able to seize the opportunity again and take Handan.
After Zhu Xiang left, the King of Qin relaxed, leaned back in his seat, and stretched out one leg.
He is old and it is tiring for him to maintain his dignified demeanor.
The old King of Qin turned to the second page to see what the young Zhu Xiang had recorded for his great-grandson.
"On X day of X month of X year, Zheng'er wet the bed, hahahahahahaha!"
The old King Qin's expression cracked.
Then, the old King Qin put the booklet on his legs and held his forehead with one hand.
This Zhu Xiang...
The old King Qin couldn't help laughing out loud.
When Bai Qi took Zhu Xiang out, Zhu Xiang was still crying and wiping his tears.
As he cried, his nose started to run. Fortunately, he had some toilet paper with him, so he quickly blew his nose with it.
Bai Qi remained silent.
Zhu Xiang, who had acted like a scholar just now, now looked like a weak little dandy.
Who else could be weak except the little dandy
"I can't believe you're willing to die for the people of Zhao." After leaving the King of Qin, without taking his deputy general with him, Bai Qi said a little more, "Do you regret it now?"
Zhu Xiang threw the tissues he had used to wipe his tears and blow his nose into the garbage dump of the Qin army camp and said, "I've always regretted it. But I would still do this even if I regretted it. There's nothing I can do."
Bai Qi was speechless. This person...
He had seen many people who were not afraid of death, and many people who were afraid of death. But he had never seen someone like Zhu Xiang, who was afraid of death and yet not afraid of death.
Just looking at Zhu Xiang's current appearance, who could have thought that Zhu Xiang was so determined just now, using his own life as a bargaining chip in exchange for the lives of hundreds of thousands of Zhao people
Oh, what Zhu Xiang wanted to exchange was not only the lives of hundreds of thousands of Zhao people, but also the lives of his family members far away in Handan.
Even though the King of Qin told him that Lin Xiangru and Lian Po could save his wife, the King of Zhao did not have the courage to kill his nephew. This man actually used an excuse that was so weird that it made people want to slap him on the head, "I can't let Zheng'er be abandoned for the third time", and insisted on going back to die.
Bai Qi didn't understand. Prince Zichu didn't care about his son, and Prince Zichu's wife and concubine didn't care about their sons either. Why did you treat him as a treasure that was more important than your life
Bai Qi fell silent again. Zhu Xiang could not bear the silence and took the initiative to talk about the topic, "Why did the Zhao army surrender? Is Zhao Kuo imprisoned? When he sees me coming, he will definitely be angry and want to kill me, hey."
Bai Qi was speechless again.
You were crying just now, why are you laughing now? How can your expression suddenly become so relaxed? Should you have a gloomy face and a heavy heart at this time? Even if you adjust your mood quickly, you can't laugh, right
And do we know each other well? Am I not the Lord of Wu'an who made children in the six kingdoms stop crying? How come you can talk to me so naturally
Bai Qi felt powerless facing his deputy general and the old guards.
Zhu Xiang didn't know that Bai Qi had such rich psychological activities when he looked at his expressionless face.
Knowing this, he could also defend himself. Life was already so hard, and if he was not good at adjusting his mentality, he would have been suffocated to death long ago.
Do you think you are living in fear for the past few months because you know you will die in a few months? Isn't that worse than death
Cherish the few months left and live with a smile on your face to be the best way to treat yourself.
Besides, he was going to die in a few months, so Zhu Xiang certainly wasn't afraid of Bai Qi: "Where is Zhao Kuo imprisoned? I want to go and laugh at him first!"
Zhu Xiang stopped and said, "What?!"
Bai Qi followed Zhu Xiang and stopped, saying, "Zhao Kuo insulted you in the army as a Qin spy, saying that he would kill you if he returned to Handan. The Zhao soldiers mutinied for you, killed their generals and surrendered."
The smile on Zhu Xiang's face faded.
He clenched his fists, slowly knelt on the ground, and then slammed hard on the dirt.
Bai Qi stood in front of Zhu Xiang, looking at Zhu Xiang who had just choked in front of the King of Qin but was now crying at the top of his lungs. He put his hands behind his back and sighed softly.
It became even more difficult for Zhu Xiang to rescue these Zhao soldiers.
Even if Qin released these surrendered soldiers back to Zhao, they would still be executed if they killed Zhao nobles, and their entire families might even be implicated.
Bofu and others were looking forward to Zhu Xiang's arrival.
When they saw Zhu Xiang, they couldn't help but rush forward without caring about the Qin soldiers brought by Bai Qi.
The Qin soldiers were very nervous, but Bai Qi raised his hand and waved, and the Qin soldiers retracted their weapons and returned to Bai Qi's back.
"Duke Zhu Xiang!" Bofu ran the fastest.
Except for the redness in her eyes, it was completely impossible to tell that Zhu Xiang had been crying for a long time. She forced herself to maintain a relaxed smile: "Bofu, are you still alive?"
"I'm still alive, Duke Zhu Xiang, I'm still alive!" The Ranger who had once served as Zhu Xiang's unpaid bodyguard and had made straw toys for Zheng'er said excitedly, "Duke Zhu Xiang, I..."
As he spoke, he raised the back of his hand to cover his eyes: "I, I didn't expect it would be you who came to save us."
"I'm here. Don't worry. I will try my best to keep you alive." Zhu Xiang hugged the dirty and smelly Bofu and gently patted the back of the ranger who was a few years older than him. "Let's go back to Zhao together."
Bofu cried, "I, I may not be able to return to Zhao."
The people around him also lowered their heads.
They did not regret killing Zhao Kuo.
If it weren't for Zhao Kuo, they wouldn't have fallen to this point. Moreover, Zhao Kuo insulted Zhu Xiang, the only one who would come to save them. Even if they went back to the past, they would still kill Zhao Kuo!
Just kill the nobles and they can't go back.
Zhu Xiang said in a steady voice, "If you can't go back, stay here. Now most of the people in Shangdang have fled, and there are so many open spaces, enough for you to live. It doesn't matter if you are from Zhao or Qin, I just want you to survive. I will talk to the King of Qin and help them grow potatoes for a season to supplement their military rations. Then those who can go back to Zhao will go back with me, and those who can't go back to Zhao will divide the land here and live here."
Zhu Xiang patted Bofu's back vigorously and released his hand: "Don't cry, look at the scholars in the world, there are so many who fled to other countries to escape. You have the ability and land, you can continue to farm and serve in the army in the future, what is there to be afraid of? Shangdang is not far from Zhao State, your relatives will definitely be able to come secretly if they know the news."
Boeuf sniffed. "Can they really come?"
Zhu Xiang said, "Zhao State doesn't have that many soldiers to manage refugees now. If you don't go back, I will say that you died in the war. No one will blame your family, and you may even get compensation. Those of you who can go back will definitely not tell on us."
Zhu Xiang glanced at the Zhao soldiers who were watching and said, "If Bo Fu hadn't killed Zhao Kuo, you wouldn't have been able to surrender. You would have either starved to death or died in battle. You are alive only because they killed Zhao Kuo. I hope you won't repay kindness with enmity."
A Zhao soldier immediately shouted, "Duke Zhu Xiang, don't worry! If anyone dares to repay kindness with enmity, I will kill him and then flee to Shangdang!"
"That's right, we Zhao people don't have such ungrateful people!"
"Are you Duke Zhu Xiang? You look so young. I thought Duke Zhu Xiang must be the same age as my father."
"It's good to be young. Young people are so capable. Duke Zhu Xiang will definitely become a high official in the future!"
"Duke Zhu Xiang, you tell us what we should do, and we'll do it!"
"Those potatoes are so delicious, but Zhao Kuo, that fool, won't let us eat them!"
"Duke Zhu Xiang, is General Lian okay?"
"Wow, Duke Zhu Xiang, can we really be saved?"
"Trust Duke Zhu Xiang!"
"Yes, if we don't trust Duke Zhu Xiang, who else can we trust? Only Duke Zhu Xiang can save us."
"Duke Zhu Xiang..."
"Duke Zhu Xiang!..."
Calls of "Duke Zhu Xiang" rang out one after another. People from Zhao who knew Zhu Xiang, those who didn't, and those who had never even heard of Zhu Xiang's name before gathered around Zhu Xiang, gazing at him with eyes full of hope and admiration.
The noise was so loud that Zhu Xiang could no longer hear what they were saying. But he still responded with a smile, and even though his voice was hoarse, he kept responding to their calls of "Duke Zhu Xiang".
Bai Qi stood surrounded by Zhao people without any fear in his heart.
He wanted to see how Zhu Xiang would command these hundreds of thousands of Zhao people.
"Okay, stop shouting, Duke Zhu Xiang's voice has become hoarse!"
Before Zhu Xiang did anything, several low-level generals who had risen from soldiers, led by Bofu, began to take the initiative to maintain order.
Zhu Xiang rubbed his throat, and a Zhao soldier brought a dirty wooden water bottle.
Zhu Xiang did not mind the dirt, nor did he think about whether he would get sick. He took the water bottle and drank a sip of water, then returned the water bottle to the Zhao soldier and thanked him.
The soldier Zhao was so happy that he lost his mind. He was kicked in the butt by his comrades and dragged into the line.
"Give me the statistics of the Zhao army, and I will reorganize the troops and change the camp." Zhu Xiang said to Bofu, "From now on, treat me as your commander. If you disobey military orders, I have the power to punish you."
Bofu immediately said, "Yes. Duke Zhu Xiang, don't worry!"
Zhu Xiang smiled and said, "Of course I feel relieved to have you helping me."
Bofu's steps were floating as he returned to the team. Everyone around him stared at him with jealous eyes.
Bai Qi signaled with his eyes to the guard beside him, who immediately presented the bamboo slips.
He said in a stuttering official language: "Duke Zhu Xiang, we have counted the number of Zhao people."
Zhu Xiang took the bamboo slips and said in Qin language: "Speak Qin language, I can understand it. I have a good talent in languages."
After he came into this world, his memory became exceptionally good and he learned languages very smoothly.
The Qin soldier made a relieved expression, switched back to his own dialect, and spoke much more fluently: "Our general has counted the number of Zhao troops and the remaining generals."
Zhu Xiang thanked him again.
He opened the bamboo slips, which only contained the names of the Zhao generals who surrendered and the number of Zhao troops.
It should not have been long since the Zhao army surrendered, but Bai Qi had already collected so much data, which was already very impressive.
Zhu Xiang sighed in his heart, Bai Qi's awareness and ability might be a dimensionality reduction attack in this era.
"Thank you, Lord Wu'an." Zhu Xiang said.
Bai Qi asked: "Do you need me to protect you?"
Zhu Xiang looked at Zhao Jun and shook his head: "I believe them."
Bai Qi reminded: "There are people who support you, and there are people who hate you. It's better to be careful."
Zhu Xiang said: "I know. But I believe they will think of this and protect my safety. I also want to see who will jump out and assassinate me."
Seeing that Zhu Xiang insisted, Bai Qi did not continue to send guards to him, but only told the Qin army to keep an eye on the place.
He said, "I'll call your people over. As long as you don't leave here, you can do whatever you want. If you need more land, come and tell me."
Zhu Xiang said, "Okay, thank you, Lord Wuan."
Bai Qi turned and left. The guards around him hesitated.
"What's the matter?" Bai Qi asked.
The guard asked, "Lord Wu'an, are you really not going to send anyone to protect Duke Zhu Xiang?"
Bai Qi asked: "Why do you also call him Duke Zhu Xiang?"
The guard said embarrassedly: "I heard from the people of Zhao that Duke Zhu Xiang taught the common people how to farm. It sounds amazing. Lord Wu'an, it would be great if Duke Zhu Xiang also taught us how to farm."
Another guard said, "The people of Zhao are willing to kill their generals for him, so he must be a very powerful man."
The people around him echoed: "I heard that the King of Zhao had given up on these Zhao people. Duke Zhu Xiang had no official position, but he came to Changping to rescue them. Of course he is amazing."
The Qin soldiers were usually taciturn, and the Zhao soldiers who dealt with them thought they were all wooden or stone men who only knew how to fight.
In front of Bai Qi, they suddenly became lively, talking to each other, not caring that Wu Anjun was still there.
Bai Qi was not surprised when he heard the Qin soldiers praising Zhu Xiang.
Who would not feel respect after hearing about Zhu Xiang’s deeds
Bai Qi quickened his pace and walked towards the main tent.
The personal guards behind him followed in an orderly manner, but they were still chattering about the particularly powerful Duke Zhu Xiang.
Bai Qi returned to the Qin army camp and first asked someone to take the people who came with Zhu Xiang to the Zhao army camp, and then returned to the main tent.
The King of Qin was still reading Zhu Xiang's diary about how he raised his great-grandson, and he clapped his thigh and laughed as he read.
Bai Qi looked at the King of Qin and suddenly couldn't say anything.
"Why did you come back alone?" The King of Qin saw Bai Qi coming back, put down the booklet, and looked around, "Where is Zhu Xiang?"
Bai Qi said: "Zhu Xiang stayed in the Zhao army camp."
The King of Qin frowned and said, "You just kept him here? There might be people in the Zhao army who want to cause a riot among the surrendered soldiers and resist the Qin army. They will assassinate Zhu Xiang."
Bai Qi said: "I mentioned it, and Zhu Xiang said he knew the danger."
The King of Qin sighed: "This child... Never mind, you send someone to protect him secretly."
This child? Your Majesty called Zhu Xiang "child"
Bai Qi dragged a cushion and sat next to the King of Qin, silently organizing his words.
The King of Qin continued to read the diary: "Is there anything you want to tell me?"
Bai Qi asked, "Your Majesty, do you really want to follow Zhu Xiang's plan and use his death to strike at Zhao?"
The King of Qin looked up at Bai Qi, then continued reading his diary: "Why? He doesn't care, so you can't bear to see him die?"
Bai Qi said: "It would be more beneficial to Qin if he went to Qin than if he died in Zhao."
The King of Qin asked: "What if we don't attack Handan now?"
Bai Qi said, "Yes. What Zhu Xiang said makes sense. Qin should indeed rest for a few years. We have conquered a lot of land in recent years, but the people on the land have not yet become Qin citizens. I am only good at fighting, not other things. If Zhu Xiang goes to Qin, perhaps he can quickly convert his people into Qin citizens."
Bai Qi told the King of Qin about the Qin soldiers' admiration for Zhu Xiang: "Our soldiers have no good feelings towards the Zhao people, nor have they received any favors from Zhu Xiang. They only heard of Zhu Xiang's reputation, but they are willing to call him 'Duke Zhu Xiang' and took the initiative to ask me to send people to protect Zhu Xiang. I think other civilians are the same."
The King of Qin smiled and said, "It's rare to hear you talk so much."
Bai Qi thought to himself, I have already made enough contributions in the war, how dare I say more in front of His Majesty? Even so, Prime Minister Fan still has a bad impression of me...
Thinking of Prime Minister Fan, Bai Qi began to have a headache. He pleaded, "Your Majesty, Prime Minister Fan is really... "
The King of Qin said sternly: "You should visit the master more often! It must be because you are too disrespectful to the master that the master does not trust you!"
It was rare for Bai Qi to feel any resentment towards his king.
Fan Ju was the prime minister who assisted the government at home, while Bai Qi was a general who fought in the war. He had a good relationship with the uncle of the expelled King of Qin. After the King of Qin expelled his uncle, Bai Qi was always trembling with fear. How could he dare to take the initiative to get close to Fan Ju
Although he and Fan Ju were not close, he would always find excuses to give Fan Ju large sums of treasures during festivals, or even non-festivals.
When Bai Qi thought of this, he felt even more resentful.
Prime Minister Fan is really too much. I gave him so many gifts, but he still hates me.
However, Bai Qi knew how much the emperor doted on Fan Ju, so even though he felt wronged, he could only say, "I will visit him in person after I return to Xianyang. Your Majesty, can I resign on the pretext of illness after I return? I will come back when Your Majesty wants to go to war?"
The King of Qin agreed without hesitation: "Okay. Remember to show your kindness to the gentleman more often!"
Bai Qi: "Yes..."
He was depressed. The emperor was so partial. Wasn't he afraid that others would be alienated? Although he would not betray Qin, if Qin didn't want him, he would not go to other countries and would probably just die. But he still felt uncomfortable.
Although the King of Qin did not understand what was written on Bai Qi's expressionless face, he knew that he should comfort Bai Qi and not let Bai Qi feel resentful towards Fan Ju.
"Sir, you came to Qin alone, you have no relatives, you are lonely and you think too much. Wu'an Jun should not bother with him." The King of Qin said earnestly, "I will not dismiss Wu'an Jun from his post. Why don't you stay at Zhu Xiang's house to recuperate? I heard from Zichu that Zhu Xiang is very caring. Whenever Lian Po and Lin Xiangru were sick, they would come to Zhu Xiang's house to recuperate."
Bai Qi hesitated: "Zhu Xiang and I have no friendship."
The King of Qin said, "His nephew is my great-grandson. I said we are friends. Wu'an Jun has been fighting for many years and has suffered from many illnesses. Zhu Xiang is my junior and also your junior. It is natural for him to take care of you."
Bai Qi bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty. Your Majesty, are you not going to let Zhu Xiang return to Handan?"
The King of Qin laughed and said, "Yes, of course. He wants the King of Zhao to kill him, and I also want to see if the King of Zhao will kill him. If the King of Zhao wants to kill him, Wu Anjun can rest in peace for a while. If the King of Zhao does not kill him... Humph, even if there is a rebellion in Xianyang, I will personally lead the army and immediately accompany Wu Anjun to capture Handan."
Looking at the overly brilliant smile of the Lord, Bai Qi felt sad.
So, Lord, do you really want to save Zhu Xiang? Don't be so mysterious.
(End of this chapter)