The King of Qin dismissed all his ministers and took Lian Po and Li Mu to Zhu Xiang's home to welcome him.
Zhu Xiang had already had the banquet prepared, so Lian Po and Li Mu could eat immediately after arriving at Zhu Xiang's house.
The banquet was full of joy. The King of Qin, Lian Po and Li Mu toasted each other, chatted about family matters and spoke privately. It looked like an ordinary family gathering.
Zhu Xiang silently drank a sip of hot rice wine. To be honest, this scene made him feel a little stressed and his stomach ached.
During the year since he came to Qin, Zhu Xiang often had this feeling.
If he hadn't paid attention to healthy eating and exercise, he would probably have developed stomach problems.
Zhu Xiang thought that after entering Qin, as long as he closed the door and lived his own life, his life would definitely be better than when he was in the suburbs of Handan.
But in reality, the opposite happened.
After arriving in Xianyang, Zhu Xiang's material conditions did improve a lot. With the support and protection of the King of Qin, he was able to produce things that he dared not produce in Handan, and his social status also improved a lot.
Zhu Xiang also has elders, friends, Xue and Zheng'er at home in Xianyang. Zhu Xiang's daily life seems to be similar to that in Handan. But the subtle differences between these "similar" are like the trees leaning in different directions in the spot-difference comparison picture, which have a particularly strong presence.
It's not that the elders nowadays are bad, nor that the friendship with friends has changed. It's just that after the house is full of cameras, everyone's behavior has spontaneously changed.
Zhu Xiang took another sip of the hot rice wine, using his slight drunkenness to suppress his discomfort with the scene before him.
"Zhu Xiang, are you feeling unwell?" Li Mu, who had been observing Zhu Xiang, asked worriedly.
Zhu Xiang shook his head: "I am not feeling unwell, but I am still wondering why Zheng'er is getting fat like a ball, but Lord Lian said that Zheng'er has lost weight."
Fat Ball Zhenger:?!
Uncle, can you talk nonsense just because you are my uncle
Lian Po wanted to slam the table, but considering the presence of the King of Qin, he put down his raised hand and told Zhu Xiang with his eyes that he would deal with him after the King of Qin left.
Ying Xiaozheng pinched the flesh on his arm and asked seriously, "Uncle, is Zheng'er really fat?"
Zhu Xiang nodded: "Yes, Zheng'er will start eating vegetarian food tomorrow."
Ying Xiaozheng: “… No.” Okay, his uncle didn’t really mean to say that he was fat, he was just bullying him.
"Don't listen to your uncle's nonsense. Zheng'er should be stronger. Your brothers are stronger than you." King Qin said kindly.
Ying Xiaozheng's mind flashed with the images of several spherical brothers whom he had only met a few times. He quickly shook his head to get rid of the images of his brothers. "I will practice sword more seriously!"
I didn't have a deep impression of my cousins in the dream, but in the few scenes I saw, they were good-looking. Why were they all fat when they were young? They would pant after running a few steps? I didn't want to become like that.
Prince Zhu glanced at Zhu Xiang, then at Ying Xiaozheng, and whispered to the King of Qin, "My Lord, you stood in the cold wind for so long today, and went to bed late yesterday. Do you want to rest early? Lord Lian and General Li are tired from the journey, and they may be a little sleepy."
Zhu Xiang didn't look too good, Zheng'er had been secretly yawning while drinking water since just now, and Prince Zhu made an excuse to end the banquet early.
The King of Qin nodded and said, "Yes, Lord Lian, General Li, go to bed early. I will come to bother you again in a few days."
Lian Po and Li Mu said “No, no” in unison.
As soon as the King of Qin left, Lian Po and Li Mu's shoulders slumped and they were too tired to get up from their chairs.
"Xue, take Zheng'er to take a bath and go to bed. Lian Gong, Li Mu, the bathtub has been filled with water. Taking a bath will help relieve fatigue." Zhu Xiang said.
Lin Zhi said, "I won't accompany you. I have to go to the court tomorrow."
Xia Tong bowed and said, "I'll take my leave first."
Xun Kuang, Fan Ju and Bai Qi also said goodbye to Lian Po and Li Mu, saying that they would come back again after Lian Po and Li Mu had a good rest.
Zhu Xiang, Lian Po and Li Mu first rinsed their bodies and hair to get rid of the smell of alcohol before entering the bathhouse to take a bath.
The alcohol content of rice wine is not high, and they dare not drink too much when sitting at the same table with the King of Qin. By the time they reached the bathhouse, the smell of alcohol had almost dissipated, and they could take a bath.
In modern times, the alcohol content of alcohol is generally high, so you cannot take a bath after drinking.
Taking a bath was a habit brought by Zhu Xiang. After Zhu Xiang left, Lian Po and Li Mu also dug bathing pools at home and would take a bath occasionally.
The three of them breathed a sigh of relief and felt a lot more relaxed.
"How many people did the King of Qin place under surveillance in your house?" Lian Po asked straight to the point.
Zhu Xiang smiled bitterly: "Lord Lian, I brought very few servants with me. All the servants in my house are given by the Lord."
Lian Po asked, "Your every move is under his watch? Does he still have people report every detail?"
Zhu Xiang said, "I've gotten much better recently. I don't search my study room every day anymore."
Lian Po was silent for a long time, then he sighed and said, "You are just an idiot, why would he monitor you like this?"
Zhu Xiang said, "Your Majesty may just be curious about me. I heard from the Crown Prince that whenever the King of Qin is tired of handling government affairs, he will summon people to ask about me, and he will feel much better after listening."
Prince Zhu knew the King of Qin very well. The King of Qin was not worried that Zhu Xiang would rebel, but just listened to Zhu Xiang's family affairs as a story.
Somehow, Zhu Xiang's mind came up with the modern 24-hour reality show variety show. The only difference is that the guests are volunteers and he is a passive actor.
After all, he was young, and Yanmen County was a place where the king was far away, so he did not expect Zhu Xiang's situation.
Zhu Xiang smiled and said, "It's OK. What I showed to His Majesty is the most real state. You won't feel uncomfortable after you get used to it. Just don't mention His Majesty too much. When you live in my house, you don't have to worry about His Majesty monitoring you. You can bring your own servants with you, and His Majesty won't interfere. Xunzi, Fan Gong, and Bai Gong live very freely."
Lian Po cursed in a low voice: "He just bullies you because you are a fool!"
Zhu Xiang's mouth twitched. Was the "idiot" mentioned by Lian Gong the same as the "gentleman"
"Don't keep asking me, Lord Lian, Li Mu, just tell me about your own business." Zhu Xiang changed the subject.
Lian Po rolled his eyes: "What is there to say? It's just that I was sold out by the King of Zhao."
Zhu Xiang wanted to say that it might not be the King of Zhao who sold out Lian Po and Li Mu, but he didn't say it.
He was worried that after Lian Po and Li Mu learned of this, they would regain confidence in King Zhao and risk returning to Zhao to help him.
Zhu Xiang was not a saint, he valued the people around him more. Lian Po and Li Mu had finally escaped from the quagmire of Zhao State and changed their future destiny, so he would not give Lian Po and Li Mu the opportunity to return to the quagmire.
"Where do you want to go next?" Zhu Xiang continued to ask, "I proposed to the king that Lord Lian go to Xianyang to teach students, and Li Mu continue to go to the north to guard the Xiongnu. But this is just my own opinion... Ah, Lord Lian, please be gentle, my head is not made of stone!"
Lian Po cursed loudly, "I really want to ask you, was it you who proposed the strategy of teaching military training skills in the Xianyang Academy?!"
Zhu Xiang covered his head and said, "Ah, yes, what's wrong... Stop knocking, stop knocking, Lord Lian, please talk nicely."
Li Mu was puzzled: "Is there any problem with this?"
Lian Po scolded Li Mu, "You are also from a military family, don't you see what's wrong?! Training soldiers is a secret of military families, he is digging up the roots of military families!"
Li Mu tried hard to think whether his family had such a secret.
Then he hesitated and said, "Training soldiers is not a secret, right? My family does have a military book on marching and training soldiers, but when I read it for the first time, I felt that it was full of mistakes and omissions, so I threw it aside and didn't read it."
Zhu Xiang held his head and shrank it, trying not to laugh.
Lian Po snorted coldly: "You are you, and others are others. Zhu Xiang, you should know what I am talking about."
Although he always called Zhu Xiang a fool, he knew that Zhu Xiang was very smart and sometimes had a keen insight into things like Lin Xiangru. What was even more infuriating was that he would jump into a trap even after seeing through it.
Zhu Xiang said: "No, I really don't know this time."
Zhu Xiang was indeed negligent this time, because in the Tang and Song dynasties, there was a military examination in the imperial examination, which taught the skills of training and marching. The most detailed and complete textbook on training was Qi Jiguang's "Records of Training Soldiers".
Now that Lian Po mentioned this matter, Zhu Xiang dug out from the corner of his memory the evaluation of Qi Jiguang's "Records of Military Training" which he had seen from somewhere.
Qi Jiguang was the first person to compile a separate book on military training in detail. Before that, military books focused more on "strategies".
Although many people believe that this is because since the Song Dynasty, literati have looked down on military generals, so they only focus on "temple planning" and sneer at the skills required for middle and low-level generals such as training troops.
But after hearing what Lian Po said, Zhu Xiang realized that, in addition to the above reasons, it is also possible that the military training methods in ancient times were a secret that the generals' families "treasuredly kept", so it could not be easily passed on to people outside the family.
"I saw that Qin had written a simple way of training soldiers into the law, ignoring this point." Zhu Xiang said, "But Lord Lian, don't worry. As long as the King of Qin thinks I am still valuable, even if the Qin generals have complaints about me, they will not harm me."
Seeing Zhu Xiang's indifferent expression, Lian Po was furious. He grabbed Zhu Xiang's face and said, "You should just farm your fields. What does training the troops have to do with you? Why did you offer such a plan?"
Zhu Xiang said incoherently: "I just said it casually, without thinking too much."
Lian Po became even angrier.
Li Mu quietly moved to the side to prevent Lian Gong from hurting him by mistake.
Lian Po finally couldn't bear to do it.
Looking at Zhu Xiang's hair which was even whiter than his own, he couldn't bring himself to do it.
In the end, Lian Po just patted Zhu Xiang's shoulder and said, "I'm going to Xianyang Academy to teach those brats. I want to see who dares to bear a grudge against me!"
Li Mu quickly said: "I can do that too!"
Lian Po scolded him, "You are not old yet, why go to Xianyang Academy? Go and make achievements. I think you should not go to the north. Didn't you say that it would be difficult for the Xiongnu to march south again in the next ten years? You might as well go south and look for opportunities in Chu."
Zhu Xiang suddenly had an idea: "Yes, we can go to the south!"
Li Mu certainly doesn't want to go to the eastern battlefield now. Even if he doesn't attack Zhao, Zhao will send troops to rescue other countries that are hostile to Li Mu. But attacking Chu is no problem. With Zhao's current national strength, it can't bypass Chu.
Li Mu hesitated: "I have never been to the south and I am not used to the climate there. I may need to train for a few years before I can go to war. I don't think the King of Qin is a patient man. He won't wait for me to train for a few years."
An idea emerged in Zhu Xiang's mind.
Now that Duke Lian and Li Mu have both entered Qin, he no longer has anyone to rely on in Zhao. He can find an opportunity to leave Xianyang and take a breath, and maybe even take Li Mu with him.
He originally wanted to go south to grow rice, but he was worried that Zheng'er was too young to travel far.
(End of this chapter)