How to Cultivate a Ten-Thousand-Mile Empire for the Young Emperor Qin?

Chapter 29: Celebration potato flowers

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When Xue and Ying Xiaozheng arrived at Lian Po's fiefdom, Xun Kuang and Cai Ze were still staying at Zhu Xiang's house.

Xun Kuang glanced at Cai Ze and said, "Didn't you say that you learned a hundred arts just to seek wealth and honor? It's dangerous here, why don't you run away?"

Cai Ze didn't answer.

He himself was a little confused as to why he didn't run away, but he really had no intention of escaping.

"Zhu Xiang values his family, he will definitely come back." Cai Ze changed the subject and said, "Before he comes back, I will help him guard the house."

Xun Kuang snorted coldly: "He definitely wants to come back, but will the King of Qin let him come back?"

Cai Ze said: "With Zhu Xiang's intelligence, he will definitely convince the King of Qin."

Xun Kuang slammed the table hard and said with gritted teeth: "It would be fine if he was kidnapped by the King of Qin. If he can really convince the King of Qin to let him go back to Zhao, this will be a disaster! I'm afraid this guy didn't tell the truth before he left!"

Cai Ze continued to remain silent.

Zhu Xiang made such a big noise in Changping, which was completely different from the "persuasion" they thought. Cai Ze had already realized that Zhu Xiang might have other plans.

Cai Ze and Zhu Xiang were of the same generation, and Cai Ze knew Zhu Xiang better than his elders such as Xun Kuang.

"I wonder when the King of Zhao will send someone, and who he will send." After scolding Zhu Xiang for a few words, Xun Kuang smoothed the wrinkles on his clothes and said sarcastically, "I hope he won't be so stupid as to kill the soldiers and let the King of Qin benefit."

Zhu Xiang was not a scholar, but because he had accomplished such a feat, he was already a "scholar" in the hearts of the seven people.

"Shi" refers to one's origin, and is also an admiration for people with noble character.

Xun Kuang sat in the quiet courtyard, waiting for King Zhao to send someone.

After Cai Ze brought dried jujube tea to Xun Kuang, he sat quietly behind him.

When the sound of horse hooves was heard outside the door, Cai Ze got up and opened the door.

Walking onto the path in the courtyard, Cai Ze looked up at the most conspicuous jujube tree in the courtyard.

Now it is time for the jujube trees to bear dates again. But because Zhu Xiang did not take good care of the jujube trees this year, the trees did not bear as many dates as in previous years.

"Knock knock knock."

There was a heavy knock on the wooden door. Cai Ze took a deep breath and placed his hand on the latch.

The door opened, and Pingyang Jun Zhao Bao appeared in front of Cai Ze with an anxious look on his face.

"By order of King Zhao, please invite Zhu Xiang's wife and Qin's hostage Zheng to stay in the palace for a while!" Zhao Bao said seriously.

Cai Ze's ugly face showed a trace of mocking smile: "Does Lord Pingyang have the imperial edict from King Zhao?"

Changping.

After the old, weak and sick were released, the Zhao army finally no longer had to cremate their comrades every day.

Zhu Xiang replanned the Zhao army's accommodation. He cleared a piece of land in the center of the Zhao army's camp and built a high platform.

Bai Qi and the King of Qin, who was pretending to be his advisor, came here and asked in confusion, "What is the use of this high platform?"

Zhu Xiang said, "The people of Zhao often celebrate the harvest season as the New Year's Day. Now is the New Year's Day. When the potatoes are harvested, they will have to leave again, so I want to hold a harvest festival so that they can have a good New Year before leaving."

The kind expression on King Qin's face collapsed, his expression changed continuously, and his face looked very interesting.

Bai Qi asked the King of Qin a question: "They are still prisoners of war. You let them celebrate the New Year?!"

Zhu Xiang was puzzled: "Why not? A small half of these prisoners of war will become Qin citizens and comrades of Wu'an Jun. Wu'an Jun won't be so stingy, right?"

Bai Qi: “…” Even my comrades-in-arms, the Qin people celebrate the New Year in October, but I have never seen them celebrate the New Year in the barracks!

Zhu Xiang looked at Bai Qi's expression and suddenly realized: "Oh, right, we were busy cleaning up the battlefield before, and the Qin soldiers didn't celebrate the New Year. How about we go together? When the potatoes are harvested, everyone can have a full meal!"

The King of Qin could not help but take a step forward and passed Bai Qi: "What do you mean?"

Zhu Xiang frowned: "New Year... What does it mean? We can celebrate the New Year wherever we are."

The King of Qin looked Zhu Xiang up and down and saw that Zhu Xiang's doubt was genuine.

Could it be that this person really had no purpose at all and simply wanted the Zhao soldiers who surrendered to him to celebrate the New Year and have some fun? !

If Zichu's identity could not be revealed now, otherwise there would be no fun to watch later, the King of Qin really wanted to call Zichu and ask him if there was something wrong with what Zhu Xiang was thinking.

Bai Qi said: "The surrendered soldiers are far away from home, I'm afraid they are in no mood to celebrate the harvest."

Zhu Xiang shook his head. "It is precisely because they are suffering and far away from home that we should hold a celebration to make them happy and relax their spirits. They will also be more positive when facing the future. Wu Anjun once said that as long as the barracks do not mutiniate, the surrendered soldiers of Zhao will be under my control. What I am doing now should not violate our agreement."

Bai Qi glanced at the King of Qin and said, "I will not disobey."

The King of Qin took a step forward and walked around the platform a few times: "How are you going to celebrate?"

Zhu Xiang said: "Just... a performance?"

King Qin: “…” When Zhu Xiang returns to Qin, should he ask a famous doctor to see Zhu Xiang

Bai Qi said: "The surrendered soldiers gathering together may cause our army to be nervous. You write down the process of the celebration in a document and I will read it before proceeding."

Zhu Xiang's face immediately fell. He didn't bring much paper with him, so if he wanted to write a document, he had to chop wood to make wooden slips, dry them in the oven, and then write on them.

Is this writing documents? This is hard labor!

"Yes." Zhu Xiang was dejected. "I'll go chop the wooden slips right away."

The King of Qin grabbed Zhu Xiang's sleeve as he was about to leave and said, "Wait a minute before you go. What are these pillars for?"

Zhu Xiang said: "Dancing dragons and lions, jumping on the pillars, it's very lively."

The King of Qin asked again, "Where is the firewood?"

Zhu Xiang said: "Light a bonfire and dance around it."

The King of Qin pointed to the squares drawn on the ground and asked: "How can we play this?"

Zhu Xiang said: "This is the designated seat. Sit here and watch the performance to avoid the noise."

The King of Qin asked, "What about the position of Wu'an Jun?"

Zhu Xiang pointed to a shorter platform nearby and said, "Here, the view is the clearest and it's quietest."

Bai Qi began to have a headache.

My Lord, do you want to attend the harvest celebration of the Zhao soldiers who surrendered?! Do you know how dangerous this is

But the King of Qin said he wanted to go, so Bai Qi had to rack his brains to reorganize the guards and accompany the King of Qin to watch the fun.

The elder brother of the King of Qin, the King of Qin Wu, died while lifting a tripod. Before him, there were also people who were too fond of hunting and got injured. There are many cases of the King of Qin being too extravagant. The old King of Qin is no exception.

He found it interesting and agreed to Zhu Xiang's request, and he also wanted to go and see in person how lively these Zhao surrendered soldiers were.

The King of Qin smiled at Bai Qi and said, "Can prisoners of war really hold a celebration? Aren't you curious?"

Bai Qi asked: "Do the Qin soldiers also want to celebrate the New Year?"

The King of Qin waved his hand and said: "The whole army will be given an extra month's pay."

Bai Qi immediately knelt down and said, "Thank you, my Lord!"

The King of Qin said again: "The surrendered soldiers gather together and do nothing, and may cause chaos. Since Zhu Xiang invited the Qin people to join him, you should let the Qin soldiers also participate in his celebration."

Bai Qi smiled bitterly: "Yes, my lord."

So the harvest celebration of the Zhao surrendered soldiers was welcomed by a group of Qin soldiers wearing weapons.

Zhu Xiang comforted the Zhao soldiers who surrendered, telling them not to worry about the Qin soldiers and to continue preparing for the harvest and celebration.

Perhaps it was because the land on the battlefield was particularly fertile, perhaps it was because this year was another warm winter with high temperatures, or perhaps it was because the irrigation conditions of Danshui and Shaoshui were good, the potatoes bloomed more than ten days earlier than the first time Zhu Xiang planted potatoes.

Modern potato farming uses modern machinery, fertilizers and pesticides, and the yield is already too high, so there is no need for too much precision. But at this time, there was nothing and people were almost dependent on the weather, so they had to be more meticulous in the management they could do.

Zhu Xiang led the surrendered soldiers of Zhao State to pinch potato flowers in the potato fields to prevent the potatoes from blooming and bearing fruits and robbing the tubers of nutrients.

The picked potato flowers were decorated on the high platform where the celebration was to be held. The dexterous Zhao Bing even strung the small potato flowers together with hay to make a flower curtain.

They found beautiful stones in the river and picked pretty leaves from the mountains, and piled up patterns and symbols that represented the gods of the Zhao folk.

Zhu Xiang also asked them to decorate a pile of stones with potato flowers on them to represent their comrades who died on the Changping battlefield.

As the time for harvest drew closer, the expressions of hope and joy on the faces of the Zhao soldiers who surrendered became more and more intense.

Even though they were hungry every day, they no longer went back to their tents to sleep immediately after finishing their farm work, but wandered around on the road, looking for things to decorate the celebration.

The Qin soldiers reported to Bai Qi that the Zhao surrendered soldiers had actually carved wood sculptures and piled up various animals with soil during the slack season. The place where the Zhao surrendered soldiers were going to hold the harvest celebration was decorated more and more beautifully.

Looking at the expectant look in Qin Bing's eyes when he reported the incident, Bai Qi was speechless.

You regarded each other as enemies a few months ago. Do you still want to celebrate the harvest and New Year with Zhao Bing now

The King of Qin asked curiously, "Where did the Zhao soldiers get so many materials for making decorations?"

The Qin soldier did not know the King of Qin. He just thought that the King of Qin was really an aide to Wu'an Jun, and said respectfully, "We have help!"

King Qin: “…” He felt like chopping off this jubilant Qin soldier.

Bai Qi said seriously: "You violated military orders?!"

Qin Bing said hurriedly: "No, no. Military orders do not forbid us to help them collect beautiful leaves and stones!"

Bai Qi: “…”

Bai Qi: "Go down."

"Yes!" Qin Bing turned and ran.

The King of Qin laughed and said, "After staying in the barracks for a while, I realized that the generals and soldiers don't seem to be very afraid of Wu'an Jun."

Bai Qi said: "Maybe it's because I'm clear about rewards and punishments. If they don't violate military orders, fight bravely, and work hard on the land, they may not have to fear me."

The King of Qin stroked his beard and nodded, "Indeed, very good. Lord Wu'an, it seems that we two made a wrong judgment. Not only are the Zhao surrendered soldiers in the mood to hold a celebration, but even the Qin soldiers seem to be looking forward to this celebration as well?"

Bai Qi said: "Maybe Qin Bing is homesick too."

The King of Qin paused while stroking his beard and sighed: "If I want to conquer the six kingdoms in one fell swoop, is it feasible?"

Bai Qi said: "Not feasible."

The King of Qin said, "You are a general who has won every battle. Why can't you lead the army?"

Bai Qi said: "I dispatch troops according to the enemy's situation, study the mountains and rivers on the battlefield, and win by taking advantage of the situation. It is the law of nature that I cannot use troops like a god, nor can I win every battle."

The King of Qin frowned and said, "If you judge that the battle is unwinnable, and I order you to fight, will you refuse?"

Bai Qi knelt down and said, "If I judge that the Qin army cannot win and insist on leading the army to fight, it will be a waste of soldiers' lives, Qin's food and weapons, and Qin's national strength! Disobeying orders is a capital crime. If you know that it will harm Qin, but ignore it to save yourself, it is disloyalty. Your Majesty, I will never do anything disloyal to you or Qin!"

The King of Qin's brows relaxed: "In order to be loyal to me and the Qin State, you would rather disobey my orders?"

Bai Qi pressed his forehead against the ground: "Yes!"

The King of Qin sighed: "Even if I want to kill your entire clan?"

Bai Qi closed his eyes, tears slowly overflowed from the deep wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, and he said in a trembling voice: "Yes."

The King of Qin sighed again.

After a while, when Bai Qi's tears had wet the ground, he stood up and helped Bai Qi up: "Don't worry, Wu'an Jun. I know you are loyal to me and to Qin, and I will not make things difficult for you. If you think you can't win, whoever I ask to lead the army will fail. No matter how foolish I am, I will not fight a war that is doomed to fail."

Bai Qi choked up, deeply moved, and said, "Thank you, my lord! Your majesty has trusted me, and I will never be able to repay you even if I die!"

The King of Qin chuckled and said, "You would rather be exterminated by me than do anything that would harm me or the Qin State. This is more loyal than sacrificing your life for the rest of your life."

He wiped the tears and dust off Bai Qi's face with his sleeve and said, "Don't worry about the Prime Minister. I will convince him. When you return to Qin, take good care of yourself at Zhu Xiang's house. Although Zhu Xiang is a relative by marriage, he is the relative of my grandson and great-grandson. He has no children, so he will enjoy wealth and honor in Qin for the rest of his life and great honor after his death."

Bai Qi bent his waist almost to a right angle: "Thank you, sir! I will definitely protect Duke Zhu Xiang for you!"

The King of Qin smiled and helped Bai Qi up again, saying, "You'd better not call him Duke Zhu Xiang. The child is timid, and if you call him Duke Zhu Xiang, he might be scared to death. But he is actually very brave..."

The King of Qin smiled even more deeply when he thought of Zhu Xiang jumping around in front of him like a monkey sent as tribute from Bashu.

Bai Qi said: "Zhu Xiang is sincere and kind to his family. Perhaps he thinks he is related to the emperor, so he treats the emperor as an elder. I heard that Lin Xiangru and Lian Po treated Zhu Xiang as their son or nephew. Zhu Xiang may have become accustomed to getting along with his elders in this way."

The King of Qin laughed: "He is so aggressive in front of Lin Xiangru? Lin Xiangru has that kind of personality, how can he tolerate it?"

Bai Qi said: "I heard from Xu Ming and Xiang He that Lin Xiangru kept a ruler in his sleeve and often hit Zhu Xiang on the head with it while talking."

The King of Qin laughed loudly. Even though the King of Qin had laughed many times before, the depressing and tense atmosphere in the main account finally disappeared.

Bai Qi heaved a sigh of relief. He had managed to survive this fatal disaster for the time being.

Another half month passed.

Zhu Xiang squatted on the ground and dug the soil with a wooden stick.

"Okay, you can start digging. Be careful, there is a big bunch of them underneath." A genuine smile finally appeared on Zhu Xiang's face.

The Zhao soldiers cheered, rushed into the fields with hoes in hand and began digging potatoes.

Zhu Xiang walked to the edge of the field and stood beside Bai Qi with his hands in his pockets.

Bai Qi turned and looked at Zhu Xiang.

Zhu Xiang smiled with his eyes curved, revealing his white teeth that were impossible to be seen among common people, and there were even two dimples on his thin cheeks.

The King of Qin also looked at Zhu Xiang.

He recalled the description in Zhu Xiang's "Diary of Raising a Nephew" that when his great-grandson Zheng'er smiled, his eyebrows and eyes were curved, his teeth were visible but not his eyes, and two small dimples appeared on his cheeks.

When Zhu Xiang always boasted in front of him that "the nephew resembles his uncle", he might not be bragging.

If Zheng'er grows up, will he look like Zhu Xiang

When his great-grandson arrived in Qin and was provided with good food and drink, he would definitely be much stronger than Zhu Xiang is now.

Maybe it would be what Zhu Xiang looked like if he was a little fatter

The old King of Qin was rarely soft-hearted and seldom thought about his too large number of children and grandchildren.

For some reason, the old King of Qin missed his dead prince a little today.

His crown prince was trained by him personally. Although he was wary of the crown prince taking power, he was also very satisfied with him.

Much more satisfied than An Guojun.

The old King of Qin lived too long, and he was very satisfied. But human life span is limited. No matter how long he lives, he will never see his great-grandson grow up. He also has no way of knowing whether the Qin State will still be as powerful... or even more powerful after the King of Qin of his great-grandson succeeds to the throne.

The old King of Qin looked at An Guojun and always felt that as soon as he closed his eyes, An Guojun would destroy the foundation of his ancestors. So he was inevitably anxious and hoped that he could do more things while he was alive, destroy more countries, and grab more land.

Of course, he was not stupid and knew that it would be impossible for him to destroy the six kingdoms and unify the world in his lifetime.

He just wanted to do a little more, a little more. He didn't trust An Guojun, nor did he trust his own descendants!

Zhu Xiang, who was watching the Zhao soldiers digging potatoes enthusiastically, smiled so hard that his teeth were showing. He said "Hmm?" and then came back to his senses and replied, "Of course! When the King of Qin sees Zheng'er, he can personally test Zheng'er. Zheng'er's knowledge and insights are probably better than those of a teenager!"

When it comes to Zheng'er, Zhu Xiang has a lot to say. He is serious about praising the nephew of the First Emperor!

"King Qin, think about it, Zheng'er's first teacher was Xunzi, who was the chief priest of the Jixia Academy three times. Is there anyone in the world who is more knowledgeable than Xunzi?"

"Mr. Lin taught Zheng'er the Book of Songs, and Mr. Lian taught Zheng'er the Art of War. It is rare to find someone who can compare with Mr. Lin in the Book of Songs or Mr. Lian in the Art of War... Ah, Mr. Wu'an, don't stare at me. I know you are great. Don't compare yourself to others. It's not good to compare yourself to others."

"Also, Xianghe made toys for Zhenger, Xu Ming took Zhenger to pick wheat ears, and the leaders of the Mohist School and the Agricultural School all liked Zhenger. In this world, apart from the King of Qin, I'm afraid Zhenger is the only one who can be loved by the leaders of the Confucian School, the Mohist School, and the Agricultural School!"

Zhu Xiang was very proud.

I haven’t even mentioned that Cai Ze, the future Prime Minister of Qin, has to play with Zheng’er with wooden swords every day!

My Jia Zhenger is indeed the son of the First Emperor, the master of destiny of this era. Look at the quality of his enlightenment and playtime when he was a child!

Oh, by the way, Zheng'er also calls Li Mu teacher, and Li Mu gave Zheng'er the sword he used himself, hehe.

The King of Qin could not help stroking his beard as he watched Zhu Xiang dancing and praising Zheng'er.

If someone else boasted about a prince of Qin, the King of Qin would just think that the other person wanted to interfere in the succession to the throne in front of him.

But Zhu Xiang...

Zhu Xiang, this fool, is just like those ministers in the court who finally get their eldest son after many years. They get so happy that they even forget the difference between the monarch and his subjects.

Zhu Xiang didn't seem to care much about the difference between the monarch and his subjects. The old King of Qin pondered. He once again understood what Zichu meant when he said that Zhu Xiang did not have the "wisdom of a king's assistant."

"Duke Zhu Xiang! Duke Zhu Xiang! So many potatoes, so many potatoes!" The people of Zhao were so surprised that even Bai Qi was not afraid anymore.

They danced and jumped while holding a large bunch of potatoes, as if they were performing some strange sacrificial dance to announce the good news to Zhu Xiang.

Zhu Xiang stopped bragging about his nephew and said with a smile, "Hurry up and dig! Dig out all the potatoes, then we can hold a harvest celebration!"

Zhao Ren continued to jump up and down holding the potato: "Okay!"

The King of Qin then turned his attention to potatoes.

When he saw the string of potatoes that the Zhao people had dug out, his breath stopped: "These... these are all potatoes? Can they all be eaten?!"

Zhu Xiang nodded repeatedly: "Yes!"

Bai Qi clenched his fists. He glanced at the King of Qin, and after the King nodded to him, he put his robe on his belt, took the hoe from his guards, and dug up the soil where a potato was rooted.

Bai Qi dug very carefully. He dug the soil gently, and the potatoes under the soil appeared little by little.

His personal guards also helped, digging the soil with branches.

After digging for a long time without reaching the bottom, Bai Qi threw away the hoe, squatted on the ground and dug the soil with his hands.

His personal guards also dug the soil with their hands and took out the potatoes one by one.

They didn't have to worry about damaging the potatoes by digging with their hands. They soon had a small pile of potatoes.

The guard picked up a potato and said in disbelief: "General, these... these are really all potatoes? Can they all be eaten?!"

Bai Qi said nothing. He himself couldn't believe it.

Originally, Bai Qi didn't think potatoes would have a high yield, given the size of the plants. Maybe if there were three or four potatoes under one potato plant, that would be great.

Now seeing this nest of potatoes, Bai Qi was almost speechless.

He wondered if Zhu Xiang had grown potatoes in Zhao State

Did King Zhao know the yield of potatoes

Lin Xiangru and Lian Po must have known it.

The King of Zhao despised Zhu Xiang so much that he forced him to use his life to exchange for the surrendered soldiers abandoned by Zhao. Was this a sign that God was preparing to destroy Zhao

"General, can you please not let Duke Zhu Xiang return to Zhao?" the guard asked cautiously, "Don't let Duke Zhu Xiang return to Zhao, he can't return to Zhao!"

Bai Qi raised his head and saw tears on the faces of the guards around him.

They wiped their tears with their muddy hands, and even after their faces were covered in mud, they still couldn't stop crying.

Some guards still couldn't believe it. They kept crying and asking their general if these were really potatoes and if they could really be eaten.

It seemed that only the words of Wu'an Jun, who led them to victory in every battle, could make them believe this reality.

Bai Qi saw a shadow on the ground.

He raised his head and saw Zhu Xiang and the King of Qin with a serious expression.

Bai Qi's expression would fluctuate between determination and indifference most of the time, but at this moment he looked very confused.

"Zhu Xiang, are these really all potatoes? Can they really be eaten?" Bai Qi's voice was very hoarse.

Zhu Xiang also squatted down.

He rubbed the dirt off the potatoes with his hands, and held them in front of his eyes to examine them carefully. "Well, they are all potatoes, and they can all be eaten. The yield of potatoes is at least three times that of wheat. This land has not been used to grow crops for a long time, and there are... heh, there are also corpses as fertilizer, so I'm afraid this harvest will be five or six times as good."

When Bai Qi started digging potatoes, the King of Qin had already frowned, and he didn't relax: "If all the land in Qin was planted with potatoes..."

Zhu Xiang chuckled: "Then the Qin State will soon perish."

The King of Qin asked hurriedly: "Why do you say that?"

Zhu Xiang said, "Do you remember what I said at the beginning? Potatoes require a lot of land and the seeds have the risk of deterioration. There was once a small country overseas that planted potatoes on all its land in order to feed a larger population. One year, the potato seedlings in one field became sick, and soon the disease spread throughout the country. So that year, all the potatoes in that small country were harvested."

Zhu Xiang raised his head, his expression was a little cold and a little sad: "Everything has its pros and cons. Nature is so harsh that it will not give people who rely on the land a perfect food crop. Therefore, we need people to constantly cultivate good varieties and study farming knowledge."

The King of Qin looked down at Zhu Xiang.

There is no perfect crop. The millet and yellow rice they eat now are not good. The wheat that has been grown on a large scale in the Central Plains is not good. The rice grown in Chu and Yue is not good. Are the potatoes in Zhu Xiang's hands not good either

The King of Qin asked: "If we want to cultivate good seeds, what kind of farming knowledge should we study?"

Zhu Xiang said: "Just like inbreeding is more likely to cause dementia and disability, breeding plants with the same characteristics... the same appearance is likely to produce seeds with defects. So someone needs to keep looking for new plants and interplant them with the original plants, so that even if farmers use their own seeds, they can still find good seeds."

Zhu Xiang told the King of Qin the basic knowledge of agronomy in the most concise and clear words, including how to find seeds in the wild, how to pollinate and hybridize grain crops that have the same ancestors but look different now, how to use intercropping and rotation to maintain soil fertility, reduce pests and diseases, and resist disasters such as the complete loss of a certain grain crop.

Perhaps the King of Qin still didn't quite understand, but he at least knew that there was a lot of knowledge in farming, and it was not something that could be solved once and for all by simply finding a high-yield crop.

The King of Qin may not know how to farm, but he knows how to govern the country.

It is like trusting only one minister, and when this minister rebels, he will have no one else to rely on. The court needs ministers to check and balance each other, and the crops in the land need to be frequently replaced, so that when a certain crop gets sick, there will not be a total loss.

"Moreover, as a national granary reserve, grains with shells and low water content are more advantageous. If millet, wheat, rice and other grains are dried and stored, they can be stored for several years or even ten years without spoiling." Zhu Xiang stood up and handed the potatoes in his hand to the King of Qin.

The King of Qin picked up the potato and examined it carefully.

"Potatoes can be eaten directly without being shelled. They have a delicate taste and are very delicious. But because of this, they are not easy to store." Zhu Xiang added in his mind, at least in this era, "Potatoes have a large water content and are easy to rot. If the temperature is high, the potatoes will turn green and sprout. After they turn green and sprout, they will be poisonous. You should have heard that potatoes are poisonous."

The King of Qin nodded and said, "I have heard it from others. Zhu Xiang, if you had not told me, when Qin had planted potatoes, wouldn't Zhao have won without fighting?"

Zhu Xiang lowered his voice and said, "Then what? Let this world of war continue for hundreds or thousands of years, let the people of each country continue to fight for their kings, and countless people will die and be injured? Sir, only when the world is unified can the people breathe a sigh of relief."

The King of Qin put down the potatoes and looked at Zhu Xiang deeply: "Compared to the king, you value the people more."

Zhu Xiang said: "I am a commoner."

The King of Qin said, "You are a relative of the King of Qin, not a commoner."

Zhu Xiang smiled and said, "No matter what the future holds, it will not change my origin or my roots. I am just a commoner."

The King of Qin looked at Zhu Xiang for a while. No matter how he stared at Zhu Xiang, Zhu Xiang did not show any fear.

Zhu Xiang didn't even lower his head.

If it were Xianyang now, and if he appeared as the King of Qin, Zhu Xiang would have been beheaded for his behavior.

Whether they are common people or ministers, they should bow their heads for their king. Otherwise, their heads should not exist on their necks.

"Okay." The King of Qin said calmly, "Your potatoes are grown. I will allow you to take the soldiers who want to return to Zhao State back to Zhao State. For those who are willing to stay and become Qin citizens, I will also grant them the same land as Qin citizens."

Zhu Xiang whispered, "Are you so stingy? Can't you share a bit of the military power gained from killing Zhao Kuo?"

King Qin: “…”

He raised the potato and smashed it on Zhu Xiang's hard head: "Share it! I'll give them a month's salary!"

Zhu Xiang smiled and bowed: "Thank you, sir. You are a good man. I will ask them to build a shrine for you!"

The King of Qin put away his pressure and said helplessly: "You."

Zhu Xiang laughed foolishly and looked like a big fool.

Bai Qi wiped his hands on his robe and asked, "Are you really going back to Zhao?"

Zhu Xiang said, "I have to go back. I have to go back. Although Lord Lin and Lord Lian will definitely protect my daughter Xue and Zheng'er, the King of Zhao will not let me go if I don't go back. I have to go back."

Bai Qi sighed.

The King of Qin said, "The Zhao soldiers are so happy that they are going crazy. One of them is even taking off his clothes and dancing! Go and stop them!"

Zhu Xiang placed his hand flat in front of his brow and looked carefully: "Sir, that man is not from Zhao, he is your General Sima."

King Qin: "...Bai Qi!"

Bai Qi let his robe fall off his belt and ran towards Sima Jin aggressively.

His head was buzzing with anger!

Others don't know that the King of Qin is here, but Sima Jin knows! You know that the King is watching, what are you doing!

Sima Jin, who was so happy that he swung his robe and jumped around, was then kicked hard by Bai Qi's leg, and fell face down on the ground.

Wang He: “…”

Fortunately, he didn't get too excited.

"What are you doing!" Bai Qi cursed.

Sima Jin crawled up from the ground, his face covered with dirt, and put on his clothes obediently.

Wang He said: "General, he is just too happy..."

Bai Qi signaled to the King of Qin with his eyes.

King Qin Zheng was standing with his hands behind his back, sneering at this side.

Wang He: “…”

He raised his foot and kicked Sima Jin into the field again.

Sima Jin: “…” Okay, I’ll just lie on the ground.

He was so happy that he even forgot that the Lord was watching him.

Zhu Xiang smiled and said, "Sir, the Qin generals have interesting personalities."

King Qin: “…”

He also wanted to walk over and kick Sima Jin, who had gotten up again, to the ground.

Shameful!

After a short episode, the people of Zhao and the Qin soldiers who couldn't help but join in later dug out all the potatoes and piled them into several small hills.

The bonfire had not yet been lit and the celebration had not yet begun, but the Zhao soldiers who surrendered had already started dancing around the pile of potatoes.

They sang and danced, as if they were no longer in a prisoner-of-war camp, but had returned to their hometown, rejoicing over the good harvest in their fields.

Zhu Xiang put his hands in his folds and watched them dance, smiling again with his eyes narrowed.

The King of Qin lowered his hands from behind his back. He watched the dance and heard the laughter of the Zhao soldiers, and suddenly felt strange.

Perhaps happy emotions are contagious. As the King of Qin looked at the laughter of the common people, whom he usually would not look down at, he actually felt a little happy in his heart.

"That's great." Xu Ming came over without knowing when. He bowed deeply to Zhu Xiang and said, "Thank you, Lord Zhu Xiang, for getting food to help the common people. I hope there will be no more famine in the future."

Zhu Xiang shook his head: "It's just a kind of food to save famine, it's useless. Whether there will be famine in the future depends on the sky, the earth, and the king."

Zhu Xiang bowed deeply to the old King of Qin and said, "Common people in the world, please pay attention."

The King of Qin straightened up and looked down at Zhu Xiang. He asked the same question that Bai Qi had asked before: "Do you really want to return to Zhao? My promise remains unchanged. If you follow me back to Qin, I will definitely make you a noble. I can also guarantee the safety of your wife and Zheng'er."

Zhu Xiang smiled and said, "Maybe you can really protect my wife and Zheng'er, but I don't want any possibility of danger. Moreover, if I don't go back, even if Xue and Zheng'er can be saved, what will happen to Lian Gong and Lin Gong who saved Xue and Zheng'er? My parents died early, and Lin Gong is like my father. I want to go back."

The King of Qin sighed deeply and said, "It's up to you."

He no longer looked at Zhu Xiang, but instead looked up at the mountain of potatoes and the Zhao surrendered soldiers dancing around the mountain of potatoes.

Some Qin soldiers couldn't help themselves and swayed from side to side, smiling with their yellow teeth showing.

The King of Qin frowned for a long time, and finally his brows gradually relaxed.

There was a smile on his face that didn't seem very kind compared to his usual kind expression.

But Zhu Xiang thought that the King of Qin should be in a good mood now, and his smile now might be the most sincere one after coming to Changping for so long.

Even the high and mighty King Qin would be touched when he saw the common people's enthusiastic joy, right

Zhu Xiang hopes so.

Xianghe was standing not far away. When Xu Ming came over, he did not come over.

He just looked at Zhu Xiang quietly, looking at this young man who had just come of age.

During these days in Changping, he learned from Bai Qi about Zhu Xiang's performance in front of the King of Qin. He had discovered that Zhu Xiang's plan was not only to grow potatoes in front of the Qin people.

perhaps…

Xianghe didn't dare to think about it, but he still thought about it.

If the King of Zhao wants to kill Zhu Xiang, and the King of Qin wants the King of Zhao to kill Zhu Xiang, can the Mohist disciples rescue Zhu Xiang

Probably not. Even if the Mohists put all their efforts into it, they would not be able to compete with the State of Zhao.

So Xianghe asked someone to send Ju Ziling back to Qin, and he would follow Zhu Xiang back to Zhao.

"Zhu Xiang, are we holding the celebration today?" Xianghe walked forward.

Zhu Xiang smiled and nodded, "Yes. They must be eager to go home. Let's hold a celebration today, have a good time tonight, have a good meal, and set off tomorrow! I can finally go home too. I wonder if Zheng'er has gained weight again."

Xu Ming said: "Duke Zhu Xiang, please don't sing the song 'Little Fatty, Ton Ton Ton' in front of Zheng'er. Last time, Zheng'er was so angry that he cried and refused to eat supper at night."

Xianghe said: "Let Xueji hit Duke Zhuxiang with a broom again, and Duke Zhuxiang will not laugh at Zheng'er anymore."

"Oh? Is this true? Tell me about it?" The King of Qin pricked up his ears.

Zhu Xiang laughed dryly: "Hahaha."

(End of this chapter)