Zhu Xiang was not stupid. He had already guessed the general situation from the attitudes of the people around him. But he said nothing. The next day, he got up and washed himself with a smile as usual, quarreled with his friends, was hit on the head by Xunzi, and then went to Lin Xiangru's tomb to say goodbye.
Zhu Xiang wanted to stay a few more days, but Xunzi urged him to leave, and Lin Zhi wanted to leave with him. Even for Lin Zhi, he could not stay long.
They paid their respects in a hurry and left in a hurry. At the moment before leaving, Zhu Xiang received the farewell gift from Lin Xiangru as the system said in front of Lin Xiangru's tomb.
That was a seed with only a text description. Zhu Xiang could recite a seed that matched the text description according to Lin Xiangru's last wish and claim it.
The text description is neither poetry nor prose, but sounds like the casual mumbling of an old man.
"This winter is very cold. It would be great if the common people could grow clothes in the fields that are as warm as fur."
Zhu Xiang wanted to say that this sentence was a wrong sentence. Clothes cannot be grown in the land, only the raw materials for clothes can be grown.
Ancient tombstones only had words on them, not photos. However, Zhu Xiang's eyes naturally recalled the image of Mr. Lin wearing a fur coat, standing under the eaves, with his hands in his pockets, watching the snow falling outside.
Lord Lin looked at the snowflakes and sighed, "This winter is very cold. It would be great if the common people could grow clothes as warm as fur in the fields."
He hugged the stove, hunched his neck, and said jokingly: "Mr. Lin, clothes can't be grown on the land, only cotton."
Zhu Xiang flipped his hand and a handful of cotton seeds appeared in his hand.
Cotton seeds are very small, and the system did not deliberately play tricks. It provided Zhu Xiang with "one thousand copies" of cotton seeds, and the maximum number of cotton seeds sown in a seed pit was counted as one copy.
What he has in his hand now is a quantity of cotton seeds.
"Lin Li, I have some seeds here. Have someone plant them in front of Mr. Lin's cemetery."
"It's April now, which is a good time to plant seeds. They will be harvested in half a year."
"I'll read you the methods of planting, picking and processing, and you write them down."
"The harvest will be in winter. Order someone to place it in front of Mr. Lin's tomb and tell him..."
Zhu Xiang paused for a moment and clenched the seeds in his hand. "It's called cotton, specifically fine-staple cotton. It can be woven into softer and warmer cloth, and cotton can be stuffed into cloth to replace fur for warmth. It is... clothing that common people can grow in the fields that is as warm as fur."
Lin Zhi looked at Zhu Xiang in shock.
When he said goodbye to his father that day, his father, under the warm spring sun, recited the words he had recited this winter.
Zhu Xiang once said that maybe it would be possible to grow clothes in the fields that are as warm as fur. It would be great if that were true.
Even if my father closed his eyes forever in the spring sunshine, he was still worrying about the previous winter and the next winter before he closed his eyes.
How did Zhu Xiang know about his father's nagging before he left? Did he also know it from a dream
Where did Zhu Xiang get the seeds? At least Zhu Xiang definitely didn't have any cotton seeds before he left Zhao, otherwise he would have told me. On the way to Qin, Zhu Xiang had no chance to look for seeds.
In fact, it was strange that Zhu Xiang suddenly took out the potato seeds. Although Zhu Xiang found a reasonable excuse, Zhu Xiang often shared his communication with the caravan. Suddenly, a caravan that he didn't know gave Zhu Xiang seeds and left quickly. It was too magical.
But they didn't ask, and took the initiative to cover up for Zhu Xiang, thinking that "this is normal."
"This is the seed that you and your father have been looking for and secretly cultivating for a long time. I presented it to the King of Qin after entering Qin. How do you write the word cotton? What does it mean? What will it look like when it grows? Tell me in detail. I'll draw it first and keep it at home." Lin Zhi frowned.
"Okay." Zhu Xiang said, "I'll leave it to you in the future."
Lin Zhi said: "Leave it to me. If Cai Ze's personality remains unchanged, I will tell him. As for Xia Tong..."
Lin Zhi thought for a moment and said, "You don't have to tell him, nor do you have to hide it from him. Continue to use your flawed cover-up to deal with him. He knows what to do."
Even if friendship is unreliable, interests are reliable. As long as Xia Tong will not be blinded by the beautiful concubine in the future and want to abolish Zheng'er's position as heir, he will take the initiative to help Zhu Xiang cover up so that Zhu Xiang can use his supernatural powers with peace of mind.
Zhu Xiang: "It's not all flaws... Well, that's true."
In fact, if he didn't take out new seeds so frequently, he could have concealed it well. But since he could trust the people around him, he didn't care too much. To Lin Gong and Lin Zhi, Zhu Xiang always had a fearless attitude of "I have a problem, you guys can handle it."
After arriving in Qin, he really needed to discuss with Lin Zhi before taking out the seeds.
After Lin Zhi finished his business, he did not ask about the origin of Zhu Xiang's seeds. He winked at Zhu Xiang's shoulder and said, "I used your cotton seeds to exchange for meritorious titles. You won't be angry, right?"
Zhu Xiang's full of sadness was overwhelmed by Lin Zhi's tone, which had a strong sense of déjà vu.
He moved Lin Zhi's arm away in disdain, bowed to Lin Gong, and complained to Lin Gong in his heart. If Lin Gong could still send dreams, he would definitely send more dreams to Lin Zhi and give Lin Zhi a good beating in the dream.
Without Lin Gong watching over him, he really didn't know what Lin Zhi would become when he arrived in Qin.
If Lin Zhi really followed the example of the famous and romantic scholars of the Wei and Jin dynasties, taking drugs, getting drunk and running around naked, he would join forces with Xia Tong to put Lin Zhi in prison to sober him up.
Ah, why did Lin Zhi study Laozi and Zhuangzi? You can also study Huang-Lao!
Zhu Xiang suddenly remembered the story of Zhuangzi talking about swords with King Huiwen of Zhao. Perhaps it was at that time that Lin Zhi "went astray".
When Zhu Xiang and Lin Zhi said goodbye to Lin Xiangru, Zichu went to find Meng Wu to arrange his return to Qin.
When Zichu returned, Zhu Xiang and Lin Zhi were forging cotton cultivation records.
Lin Zhi gave Zichu a pen and a roll of paper and asked him to help him make them look old. Zichu was confused, but he helped first before asking.
"My father and Zhu Xiang have cultivated clothes that are warmer than hemp. Remember, it was cultivated by my father and Zhu Xiang together." Lin Zhi said, "You know the King of Qin better than we do. Think about how to make the King of Qin believe it."
Zichu: “?”
Zichu: “!”
Zichu looked at Zhu Xiang who was scratching his head, then looked at Lin Zhi who was full of joking, then rolled up his sleeves and said, "Okay, leave it to me."
Forget it, I won’t ask.
From the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors to the legends of the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, the founding emperors were all assisted by wise ministers who were taught by the gods. Zhu Xiang was indeed one of them.
They were busy all day and then left at night.
When they left, a team of Zhao soldiers' spies secretly left and brought the news to two places.
A month later, Li Mu received the news in Yanmen County.
He guessed that Zhu Xiang would come, so he sent people to lurk around Lin Xiangru's ancestral land so that he could lend a hand if anyone made things difficult for Zhu Xiang.
"Lin Li has also entered Qin." Li Mu sighed, "Zhu Xiang's hair has turned completely white."
He pinched the bridge of his nose, waved his hand to let the spy leave, and leaned back in his chair in silence for a long time.
Zhu Xiang's chairs and stools were especially useful for soldiers in armor. After returning to Yanmen County, he had them made. Now the chairs and stools have spread throughout the military camp.
During the silence, Li Mu didn't think about anything. He emptied his mind and just stared blankly at the sky outside the window.
After a while, Li Mu stood up and called his subordinates to discuss future matters.
The northern borders of Yan and Zhao are the front lines against the Xiongnu. Duke Lian will surely achieve his goal, and Yan will fall into famine and lack of military rations, with the northern border bearing the brunt. The Xiongnu will probably seize the opportunity and march north in large numbers.
If the Xiongnu defeated Yan's northern defenses, they could get behind Zhao's defenses. He might face a brutal battle this winter.
Duke Lian has protected the State of Zhao, and now it is his turn.
On the way, Li Mu recalled the drunken chats with Zhu Xiang, Lin Zhi and Cai Ze by the fire, and the great unification they talked about.
If the world is unified, and there is famine in Zhao, the king can move immigrants to transfer grain; the northern defense lines can cooperate with each other, and if one place is defeated, there will be reinforcements from other places.
"Unifying the world is the only way to save the people in troubled times. When Zheng'er enters Qin, I will definitely join him."
Li Mu stopped and looked towards the west.
Before he met Zhu Xiang, he was just a loyal general of Zhao State. He only thought about how to serve the king, not bring disgrace to his family, and make achievements.
Now he has more troubles.
Not only does he have to fight, he also has to think about how to protect the people and the country... Will he go as far as Zhu Xiang, who took the world as his own responsibility
Li Mu retracted his gaze, continued to look straight ahead, and took a step forward.
We can think about the future later. The most urgent task now is to protect the people of Zhao behind him from the Huns.
Lian Po also received the report from the spies.
His idea was the same as Li Mu's. Perhaps many people in Zhao wanted to take Zhu Xiang back, but he didn't want Zhu Xiang to return to Zhao.
Go to Qin. Although the King of Qin is cruel, he is the only one who can protect Zhu Xiang.
Speaking of cruelty, I am the truly cruel one now.
The images of the old, weak, women and children who had died tragically under his horse's hooves emerged in his mind. He could hear the blood-cursing curses of the Yan people and the last letter from the Queen of Yan rebuking him.
Lian Po took a sip of wine, using the alcohol to wash away the images and words that emerged in his mind.
"My Lord, the King of Zhao has given you the title of Lord Xinping," the servant reported. But his voice was not excited when he reported such a big thing.
"Ha, I'm going to laugh at Lin Xiangru in front of his tomb. I was made a lord, but he wasn't!" Lian Po laughed loudly, then choked on the wine and coughed violently, "Did that bastard Le Cheng run far away?"
The servant said, "General Le has already entered Wei."
Lian Po coughed and laughed, "Now tell King Zhao about Le Cheng's departure. I wonder if he will revoke my title. Hahahaha, cough cough."
He wiped away the tears he coughed up and continued drinking.
The servant clenched his fists and wanted to say something, but swallowed his words and could only retreat silently.
Le Cheng was a member of Le Yi's clan and Lian Po's deputy general. He had always been loyal to the State of Zhao and never showed mercy when fighting against the State of Yan.
But this time, he rebelled against Zhao and fled to Wei.
Le Yi's descendants and family members who stayed in Yan State, who had anticipated the defeat of Yan State and were preparing to flee to Zhao State, also went to Wei State, Han State and even Chu State, and did not go to Zhao State as originally planned.
They did not inherit the fiefdom given to Le Yi by King Zhao, and would rather start from scratch in another country.
That's natural.
The generals would defect to other monarchs for their own safety and future, but the State of Zhao had bloodbathed their hometowns, massacred their fellow villagers, and turned their ancestral land into almost a dead place, which was completely different from a normal war.
"Go, go, leave now."
"I, an old man, will stay in Zhao and die in Zhao."
Lian Po drank and muttered to himself.
Maybe he would have left Zhao State in the past after being disappointed, but not now. He could not go anywhere.
(End of this chapter)