Prince Zhu never expected that he would have a moment to be comforted by his king and father.
Until the old King of Qin sent someone to send Prince Zhu away and gave him many consolation rewards, Prince Zhu was still in a daze.
Prince Zhu: A bit scary!
The old King of Qin thought that Prince Zhu had not yet recovered from his anger, and he sighed deeply, wondering if Prince Zhu could ever be so angry.
"That brat Zhu Xiang is really..." After much deliberation, the old King of Qin summoned Fan Ju into the palace.
The only person he could speak his true feelings to was Fan Ju.
Fan Ju has been living a leisurely retirement life, occasionally going to the Xianyang Academy to teach his students, and his body has become rounder than before.
He didn't know what had happened to Zhu Xiang. After patiently listening to the old King of Qin's complaints, he tactfully asked what stupid thing Zhu Xiang had done.
When he learned that Zhu Xiang had gone to Qianzhong County, he was very puzzled and asked, "Didn't the Lord ask Zhu Xiang to go to Shu County? How could he leave Zheng'er... Prince Zheng in Chengdu and run so far away?"
King Qin was stunned for a moment, then slammed the table and said, "Yes!"
The king and his minister looked at each other.
After hearing the news, the old King of Qin and Crown Prince Zhu reflexively began to worry about Zhu Xiang's safety and actually ignored such an important matter.
Why was Li Mu able to go to Qianzhong County? Because Li Mu was the general in charge of the entire southern front, and the old King of Qin had already appointed him as a general when Li Mu went south. Li Mu had the power to act freely in the south.
Although Zhu Xiang did not have a fixed position, he told the old King of Qin that he was going to Shu County, so he should stay in Shu County forever.
Besides, Ying Xiaozheng was still so young, why did Zhu Xiang abandon the child in Chengdu and run away
What the hell is this! If it were anyone else, they would have lost their heads!
The old King of Qin held his forehead and Fan Ju sighed.
The two old people felt tired of cleaning up the mess made by their unreliable grandchildren.
"Zheng'er is safe." The old King of Qin said before Fan Ju scolded Zhu Xiang, "Zhu Xiang wrote in the letter that when Li Bing was busy building the dam, he asked him to temporarily take over as the county governor. He was busy with spring plowing, so he handed most of the things to Zheng'er. That's why Zheng'er couldn't leave Chengdu."
Fan Ju's face twitched slightly. "When Zhu Xiang was in Xianyang, he asked Zheng'er to review the taxes in Changping on his behalf. When he arrived in Chengdu, he asked Zheng'er to temporarily serve as the prefect. How dare he say he was bored? Isn't he just pushing everything onto Zheng'er when he was bored? How old is Zheng'er?!"
If Zhu Xiang was in front of him, he would have kicked Zhu Xiang a few times!
The old King of Qin nodded repeatedly. Zhu Xiang's thoughts and actions were really hard to understand. Wasn't Zhu Xiang afraid of being blamed for leaving Shu County without permission? !
The two old monarchs and ministers discussed for a long time and came to a conclusion that Zhu Xiang's political intelligence and talent were sometimes there and sometimes not. When he made this decision, probably all his intelligence and talent ran away from home and he had nothing in his mind.
"Your Majesty, this time you must severely punish Zhu Xiang!" Fan Ju suggested, "Your Majesty is reluctant to beat him, at least fine him his salary and lock him up!"
The old King of Qin asked seriously, "When has he ever used his salary? He ate my sheep in Xianyang, and he must have taken Li Bing's sheep when he arrived in Chengdu. What's the point of fining him his salary?"
Fan Ju: “…”
The old King Qin added: "It's no use putting him in solitary confinement. He might even sleep until noon, which is even more annoying!"
Fan Ju: “…”
Fan Ju sighed: "Deprive him of his title?"
The old King Qin said: "Let's see how he does in Qianzhong County. If he does a good job, his merits and demerits will be offset."
Fan Ju heaved a sigh of relief. His Majesty meant that he would not pursue the matter any further.
How could Zhu Xiang not do a good job in guiding farming
Fan Ju found that since Zhu Xiang left, the old King of Qin had become much more tolerant of him. Zhu Xiang was right to leave.
"We can't just let him go," Fan Ju said. "Li Bing respected him, Li Mu indulged him, and Zhu Xiang was just a child. Without the elders who could discipline him, he was like a fish in water. No one could control him, and he even lost his caution."
The old King of Qin said, "Sir, what you mean is that I should send someone who can control him to deliver the imperial edict to reprimand him? But how can someone who can control him withstand the turbulence?"
The old King of Qin thought about the only person who could control Zhu Xiang, apart from the old people, was Zhu Xiang's wife Xue Ji. Even if he didn't leave Xue Ji in Xianyang to contain Zhu Xiang, Xue Ji's body couldn't stand the long journey.
Fan Ju thought about it and realized that it was true.
Although the old guys in the family are still in good health, they cannot withstand the miasma in the south.
"You can ask them to write a letter to Zhu Xiang and send it to him together with the emperor's edict." Fan Ju said, "Although the emperor is reluctant to hurt Zhu Xiang, if it is a punishment from an elder, Zhu Xiang should still take a few more hits."
The old King of Qin agreed with Fan Ju's suggestion.
He originally wanted to pretend that he had not noticed Zhu Xiang's overstepping of authority in this matter, but Fan Ju was very fair and strongly demanded that Zhu Xiang be punished. He also felt that Zhu Xiang should be taught a small lesson.
For example, watching Zhu Xiang being chased and beaten by several elders in the family.
The old King of Qin handed the matter over to Fan Ju and asked Fan Ju to tell the elders in Zhu Xiang's family.
Xunzi broke the handle of the chair, Lian Po cracked the table, and Bai Qi crushed the wooden beads in his hand.
Several of Zhu Xiang's peers were originally very angry, but when they saw that their elder was even angrier than them, they couldn't help but tremble.
Zichu gathered his robes and said, "Zhu Xiang, Zhu Xiang also means well. He doesn't want to see Qianzhong desolate."
He winked at Lin Zhi.
Are you just standing there and watching? Hurry up and say something good for Zhu Xiang!
Lin Zhi came back to his senses and sighed, "Zhu Xiang, you deserve a beating!"
Zichu: “…” Zhu Xiang sent you the sausages for nothing!
Lin Zhi said, "If it weren't for your broad-mindedness, you would have punished him for leaving Shu County without permission! Moreover, he actually left Gongzi Zheng alone in Chengdu. Is this what someone who takes care of Gongzi Zheng should do? This is also a capital crime!"
Zichu: "Ahem!" Lin Zhi, shut up! Are you worthy of the sausage you ate
Zichu felt very bitter. Lin Zhi wanted to kill Zhu Xiang, but Zhu Xiang gave him sausages. Zichu was worried about Zhu Xiang's safety, but Zhu Xiang only gave him pickles.
"Your Majesty agreed to let Zhu Xiang go south to relax, but he did not let Zhu Xiang serve in Shu County, so Zhu Xiang is not considered to have deserted his post." Xunzi went over the Qin law in his mind and said, "Zhu Xiang was ordered by the king to go south to guide farming. Whether it is Shu County, Ba County or Qianzhong County, he can go according to the content of the king's order."
Fan Ju nodded: "Whether it is the imperial edict or the content announced to the public, Zhu Xiang went south to guide farming. There is indeed no requirement to stay in Shu County, but Zhu Xiang kept talking about going to Shu. Although Zhu Xiang sometimes has a little bit of a trick, he will not act recklessly on such a big matter. When he left Shu County, he must have thought about whether he could leave."
Lian Po snorted coldly: "Zheng'er is more cautious than Zhu Xiang. Zheng'er agreed to Zhu Xiang's leaving Shu County, which proves that everything is fine. However, no matter how smart Zheng'er is, Zhu Xiang should not let Zheng'er work too hard."
Bai Qi said worriedly: "I am just worried that if Zheng'er interferes in Shu County's political affairs, will he..."
Fan Ju glanced at Bai Qi and sighed in his heart.
In the past, Bai Qi always had a stern face and was not very familiar with any of the nobles. He thought Bai Qi was aloof. After getting to know him, he realized that Bai Qi was not aloof, but too cautious.
Wu'an Jun, who was famous throughout the world and feared by the six nations, was still living so cautiously after retiring. Fan Ju felt very uncomfortable and felt a little sympathetic.
"Zheng'er helped Zhu Xiang deal with the affairs of Changping County when he was in Xianyang. If he doesn't continue to help Zhu Xiang after he goes to Chengdu, it means that he is deliberately keeping a low profile and holding a grudge against the king. It would be better for him to show his talents openly." Zichu said calmly, "The king has tested Zhu Xiang and Zheng'er, and Zhu Xiang and Zheng'er still acted with the same attitude. This shows that Zhu Xiang and Zheng'er trust the king."
Lian Po sighed and muttered, "Every king is troublesome."
Bai Qi said, "Since you said so, then everything is fine. It seems that Li Mu has made preparations to attack Chu. He must have seen an opportunity to attack its weak point. You don't have to worry about the war situation in Qianzhong County."
Lian Po stroked his beard and said, "Mr. Bai is good at attacking, while I am good at defending. Li Mu is more cautious in using troops than both of us. If he takes the initiative to attack, he will be like a hunter, good at lurking and waiting, and seize the opportunity to strike and win. In the battle with the Nanman, the Nanman provoked first, so it was not considered an active attack by Li Mu. The first active attack he chose in Qin State must have had more than 60% chance of winning."
You have a 60% chance of winning when the opponent doesn't even know that you are going to start a war. As long as you don't encounter a situation where the opponent is cheating, the outcome of the battle is basically doomed.
Bai Qi threw the crushed hollow wooden ball onto the table, spread it out to form a city, and explained it to them.
"After I conquered the ancestral land of Chu, Chu moved its capital several times, and it was very far away from the Qin-Chu border. They kept moving their capital eastward, which lengthened the battle line of Qin to destroy Chu, but also left the defense in the west empty."
Bai Qi picked up a piece of wood and put it down.
"There is a large swamp at the border between Qianzhong County and the State of Chu. When I first chased them here, it was difficult to encircle and suppress them because of the sparse land, lush reeds, and swamps everywhere. The State of Chu knew this, so they did not deploy too many troops in Yunmengze and regarded Yunmengze as a natural line of defense."
Lian Po squinted his eyes and looked for a while, then pushed the wooden block representing Qianzhong County.
"When I was in Zhao State, I heard Zhu Xiang mention that we could build large ships, form a navy, and fight on the rivers and lakes. Li Mu was very interested in this, but he lamented that he was in Yanmen County and couldn't see the rivers and lakes, so he couldn't put it into practice. When Zhu Xiang went to Qianzhong County, he wrote in a letter that Li Mu had built large ships, and the fleet would be very safe as long as they avoided sailing at night and on rainy days. Haha, is this Li Mu's hidden trump card?"
Bai Qi's eyes flickered slightly, and he smiled: "The alienation plan and the warship in the water, these are the two trump cards. Li Mu is indeed cautious. I wonder if he has other trump cards. I think with his personality, he must have more than these two trump cards."
Although Xunzi didn't want to hear about the war, he still listened patiently, then sighed and said, "After Zhu Xiang goes there, he can also become a trump card in Li Mu's hand. Zhu Xiang is not only good at farming, but also good at managing logistics. With Zhu Xiang in charge of the rear, Li Mu can move forward with confidence. However, Li Mu probably didn't know that Zhu Xiang would go to Qianzhong County, so this is an extra trump card."
Lin Zhi pinched his chin, squinted his eyes and smiled, "Could gunpowder also be a trump card? Li Bing used gunpowder when he opened up the mountains. Although the power is not very strong, the noise and fire may scare a lot of people. If they attack at night and summon thunder and fire, it will definitely cause chaos in the Chu army."
Zichu said, "This must be a trump card. With so many trump cards, Li Mu can really give it a try. As long as the alienation plan succeeds, he can make a move. Lord Fan, in your opinion, can Li Mu's alienation plan against Chu succeed?"
Fan Ju smiled: "The success rate is very high. However, the nobles of Chu are cautious, and I am afraid that it will not cause too much chaos after success. If you want to help Li Mu, you can start from Xianyang."
Zichu smiled and said, "The relatives of the Chu State in Qin? Indeed, we can give them some news, such as the Zhou royal family is ready to make a move again."
"This news is not fake news." Meng Ao, who had been confused for a long time, interrupted now, "Your Majesty does want to attack the Zhou royal family. Li Mu's actions do not conflict with the attack on the Zhou royal family."
Zichu said: "But they will think it is a conflict. As long as Qin attacks the Zhou royal family, it will not attack Chu."
He stretched his stiff shoulders and said, "I've taken care of my body for so long, it's time to move around."
Lin Zhi smiled and said, "You haven't been keeping it for long. But you only stay in Xianyang, so you won't be too tired."
He stood up and bowed, "May I report today's remarks to His Majesty?"
Everyone nodded and let Lin Zhi do as he pleased.
If the king is not informed of the gathering of a group of important ministers from both the old and young generations, he will probably not be able to eat or sleep.
The party ended, and undercurrents began to surge in Xianyang.
Soon, the King of Qin ordered preparations for war in order to teach the restless Zhou royal family a lesson.
The troops were led by a general who was a relative of the Chu family.
This news soon reached the State of Chu, which became even more convinced that the rumors now spreading in Chu had nothing to do with Qin and were really just the Chu people fighting for power among themselves.
As a prince of the State of Han who did not defect to the State of Qin, Han Fei should not have known these internal secrets of Qin.
However, as a disciple serving Xunzi, he "accidentally" watched this gathering of big men, and was frightened to get the news that he should not have known - Li Mu was going to attack the State of Chu, and Li Mu's trump card.
Han Fei broke out in a cold sweat, and felt that his current condition was very dangerous.
Seeing that Han Fei was becoming thinner and thinner due to fear, Xunzi sighed and went to talk to Han Fei.
"Don't worry, the King of Qin won't imprison you." Xunzi said, "If it were dangerous for you, I wouldn't have kept you with me."
Han Fei stammered, "Teacher, why, why do you want me to know?"
Xunzi said: "You can learn more about these things than reading books or listening to lectures."
Han Fei said worriedly: "But, but this is a major event for the Qin State..."
Xunzi said: "It is indeed a big deal, but your knowledge of this will not have much impact on the war situation. Li Mu's trump card will only be used once. When the war with Chu starts, the other five countries will soon know Li Mu's trump card, and the trump card will become an open card. Will you tell Chu about Li Mu's trump card in advance?"
Han Fei shook his head vigorously. Not to mention that Chu had nothing to do with him, he would not take the risk. Even if he wanted to, by the time he passed the message, the battle would probably be over.
Xunzi said: "So you are safe."
Xunzi waited for Han Fei to calm down before asking, "What do you think of what Zhu Xiang did after he entered Shu?"
Han Fei was puzzled: "What, what ideas do you have? What ideas?"
Xunzi said, "Zhu Xiang has changed his previous style and has done something a little cruel. This may not be in line with people's imagination of a benevolent and righteous gentleman. What do you think?"
Han Fei thought for a moment and said, "Duke Zhu Xiang rejected the lesser benevolence, that is the greater benevolence!"
Xunzi agreed, "Indeed. As Confucius said, this is the true benevolence."
He paused and said, "But when Zhu Xiang made this decision, he certainly didn't think about whether he was a great benevolent person or a small benevolent person. Why did he make this decision? What was in his heart after making this decision? These are things you should understand. You always think from the perspective of the greatest benefit. This is a typical legalist thought that is driven by interests."
He paused for a moment and sighed, "But the interests in your heart are just some words and pictures. I hope that when you practice the thoughts in your heart, you can also learn the Confucian 'benevolence'. If you do the same thing as Zhu Xiang now, you are unbenevolent, and Zhu Xiang is benevolent. If you understand the reason, you will be my disciple."
He patted Han Fei's shoulder gently, then stood up and left.
Han Fei sat in front of the lamp, the shadow of the lamp swaying on his face, vague and hazy.
"Ren..." After a long while, his voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz, "Ren, is it really useful?"
Duke Zhu Xiang, will you let me change my mind
In the Xianyang Academy, another young man was also thinking about this matter.
This young man was just an ordinary student in the Xianyang Academy. He did not have a good background, nor did he have the luck like Han Fei, who served directly beside Xunzi.
He lived in the most ordinary dormitory in the Xianyang Academy, with people living around him. He didn't even dare to light an oil lamp for fear of disturbing the people around him from sleeping soundly.
The young man's name was Li Si.
Li Si lived in mediocrity for many years, but suddenly one day he realized that he could no longer live in a muddle-headed way, like a mouse.
He wanted power and status, so he worked hard to become an apprentice and study, hoping to make a name for himself.
He was just a poor scholar who wanted to rise to the top, completely different from Han Fei and others whose goal was to help the country and even the world.
But what Li Si was thinking about now was exactly the same thing that Han Fei was thinking about.
While Li Si was attending class, he heard about Zhu Xianggong's new friend, Li Bing, the governor of Shu County. After seeing the successive floods in Shu County, he issued a military order and requested the King of Qin to build a large-scale water conservancy project in Shu County.
They were arguing about whether it was said that Duke Xiang of Zhu ordered the killing of many people during his visit to Shu County, which damaged Duke Xiang's image of benevolence and righteousness.
But soon they started arguing again, debating why Zhu Xianggong's action was of greater benevolence and righteousness.
Some people say that Duke Zhuxiang sacrificed a few people to save the majority; some people say that Duke Zhuxiang strictly followed the law, so killing people is not unkind; some people say that those people deserved it, and punishing those who deserved it is benevolent...
Li Si listened for a while and did not participate in the debate.
His current knowledge and eloquence are not as good as those of his classmates who have studied for many years. He can only listen quietly to his classmates talking.
But when the night was quiet, Li Si kept imagining in his mind what would happen if he joined the debate.
"Who exactly is Duke Zhu Xiang?"
"Is he the great sage rumored by the people, the immortal god who saves people, or a hypocritical opportunist?"
Li Si had not yet met Zhu Xiang.
When Zhu Xiang fought against the alchemist in Xianyang Academy, not all students could watch. The surrounding seats were first occupied by officials of the Qin royal family, then by students of Qin noble origin, and then by teachers of Xianyang Academy and their favorite students. Li Si had no chance to get close.
Although they were in Xianyang together, his opinion of Zhu Xiang was still based on hearsay and his own imagination.
Li Si was too curious about Zhu Xiang, so curious that for the first time he wanted to make friends with him, not for the purpose of climbing up the social ladder.
"I wonder if there will be any opportunity to get guidance from Duke Zhu Xiang." Li Si thought about it and thought of a person - Han Fei.
Han Fei was a prince of the State of Han, and was the first person to visit Duke Xiang of Qin State. Therefore, he was fortunate to serve Xunzi and live in Duke Xiang of Zhu's house.
Although Han Fei was very talented, he was a stutterer, and debating with him was a torture within torture. So although other students wanted to make friends with him, in the end they could not bear being dragged into a debate by Han Fei and had to avoid him.
Li Si thought that if he could bear to debate with Han Fei, he might be able to spread his reputation to Duke Zhu Xiang through Han Fei. When Duke Zhu Xiang returned to Xianyang, he could submit his policy proposal and perhaps get some advice from him.
Duke Xiang of Zhu never recommended anyone and never accepted any disciples.
Although most of the friends around Duke Zhu Xiang were in high positions, they were not valued by the King of Qin because of Duke Zhu Xiang, but they were great sages in their own right. So Li Si's visit to Duke Zhu Xiang was just to satisfy his curiosity.
After making up his mind, Li Si fell asleep peacefully.
Starting tomorrow, he would have to endure what ordinary people could not endure and work hard to become friends with Han Fei.
Han Fei, who was still thinking with the oil lamp lit, couldn't help but shudder, and sneezed several times, blowing out the oil lamp.
He touched the goose bumps on his arms, wondering why he suddenly felt cold.
"Ah, they are indeed here." Zhu Xiang was delighted as he looked at the list of disciples of Xianyang Academy.
Li Mu, who had just finished practicing archery, walked in with his upper body naked and a cloth towel around his neck, and drank the cold tea prepared by Zhu Xiang in one gulp.
He wiped his mouth and said, "What do you mean, he is here? What is this?"
Zhu Xiang said: "It is the academic ranking of the Xianyang Academy."
Li Mu was puzzled: "You are still looking at this? Where did it come from?"
Zhu Xiang said, "I asked the Lord to bring it to me."
Li Mu: “… You are really brave.” The emperor gave you an imperial decree, and you asked him to bring you something.
Li Mu glanced at the list in Zhu Xiang's hand and said, "Who did you take a fancy to? Just by looking at the homework, can you tell who is talented?"
Zhu Xiang said mysteriously: "I won't tell you!"
Li Mu: “…” You brought up this topic first, but you didn’t tell me what’s wrong with you
Zhu Xiang continued to be delighted.
Hahahaha, Li Si and Zhang Cang, who were supposed to go to Chu to become Xunzi's disciples in history, actually came to Xianyang Academy in this time and space. They still followed Xunzi's footsteps.
Zhu Xiang was very curious about what Li Si and Zhang Cang looked like when they were young.
I won't talk about Li Si. Although he was a talented person, he was often described as a traitor in later generations. He also hung stinky salted fish around the corpse of Qin Shi Huang. Hahahaha, just thinking about it makes me laugh.
If Zheng'er knew about this, would he raise his dagger and poke Li Si's thigh
As for Zhang Cang, he is also a talent.
Zhang Cang was a man of great learning, especially in arithmetic. However, he loved to eat married women's food, and was almost executed for having promiscuous relationships with them.
It is said that Zhang Cang had such a good appearance that even when he was old, he was released from execution grounds just because of his appearance. It is unknown what Zhang Cang looked like when he was young.
"When I return to Xianyang, I will find a chance to meet them." Zhu Xiang said to himself.
Li Mu couldn't stand it any longer: "If you don't want to tell me, don't talk about it in front of me."
Zhu Xiang laughed loudly, and Li Mu was so angry that he clenched his fists until they made a crackling sound.
Zhu Xiang pretended to be threatened, rubbed his face with his hands, and said with a sneer on his lips: "The people I like are Li Si and Zhang Cang. I have heard of their reputations and guessed that they might come to the Xianyang Academy. Both of them are talented, but their personal morals are a bit problematic, so I am very curious."
Li Mu was speechless: "What's so curious about this?"
Zhu Xiang was puzzled: "Aren't you curious?"
Li Mu: “…”
Zhu Xiang: “…”
Once again, the two of them were speechless because of their different ideas.
Li Mu sighed and said, "You can do whatever you want. But you'd better not have too much contact with people with bad personal ethics."
Zhu Xiang said, "No problem. One person's desire for wealth and glory, another's preference for being a noble lady's boudoir friend, will not affect me."
Li Si wanted wealth and glory, so he would please himself. Zhang Cang only "felt like one" with noble ladies. Neither of them could influence him.
Li Mu: “…Isn’t this a big problem?” No matter how you think about it, it’s a problem!
Zhu Xiang scratched his head and said, "Of course it's not a big problem."
Li Mu was silent for a while, then he sighed deeply and said, "You should spend less time with them. You can do whatever you want with the rest."
Zhu Xiang nodded: "I should have few opportunities to come into contact with them, don't worry. By the way, does the Lord agree that you can send troops?"
Li Mu said: "I haven't received the imperial edict yet, but the king will definitely agree."
Zhu Xiang was puzzled: "Why are you so sure?"
Li Mu said: "Because even if I lose, Qin will not suffer much loss; and if I win, Qin will benefit greatly."
"Oh." Zhu Xiang said, "Leave the logistics to me, just don't bring the war to Qianzhong County. I don't want to help you defend the city. But you are taking the initiative to attack, and the battlefield is not likely to be in Qianzhong County. I emphasize again, don't take down Chendu. You can't defend it and waste your troops in vain."
Li Mu laughed: "I know. I just want to take over the plains around Yunmengze. The terrain there is flat. Don't you always say that it's a good place to grow rice?"
Zhu Xiang sighed: "It is indeed suitable for growing rice, but the area around Yunmeng Lake is also a high-incidence area for water poisoning."
Li Mu said, "Then you should take it down. After taking it down, you can send people to kill the snails. Aren't you still worried about the water poisoning?"
Zhu Xiang said, "That's right. Sooner or later, it will be Qin's territory anyway, so we have to go there sooner or later."
After wiping off the sweat from his face, Li Mu put on his clothes and went with Zhu Xiang to count the food and grass, leaving the logistics matters to Zhu Xiang.
The logistics officer looked a little unhappy.
There was a lot of money to be made in managing military food logistics, and he originally thought he could make a fortune.
He was about to test Zhu Xiang to see if he could deceive him and take back the power of logistics, but Zhu Xiang found him first, gave him a bunch of icons, and taught him how to identify the icons and the symbols in them.
He didn't understand what was going on, so he just followed Zhu Xiang and learned from him. The more he learned, the more sweat came out of his forehead.
These icons actually reorganized the account books that he had deliberately falsified before. He followed Zhu Xiang's instructions and personally found out the false accounts.
He looked up at Zhu Xiang.
Zhu Xiang looked at him calmly.
“Duke Zhu Xiang, please spare my life, please spare my life…” The official’s legs went limp and he knelt on the ground.
Zhu Xiang sighed and was about to ask someone to deal with the man according to the law when Li Mu put his hand on his shoulder.
"Report all military punishments to me. Even if I am fighting on the front lines, you only need to detain the person first and punish him when I come back." Li Mu said, "Don't make decisions on your own."
Li Mu's words sounded very impolite, as if he was warning Zhu Xiang not to overstep his authority.
Zhu Xiang laughed: "I'm not that fragile, do you think I'm a jade artifact?"
Li Mu said, "I don't think you are much stronger than jade. Cover his mouth and drag him away."
The guards immediately took orders.
"Did you hear that? In the future, when you meet someone who needs to be punished, just detain them, don't punish them." Li Mu emphasized again.
Zhu Xiang waved his hand and said, "I know, I know. I'll lock him up and wait for your decision. He doesn't covet much food and grass, so you don't have to worry about the pressure on logistics."
Li Mu said: "I'm not worried, I still have a lot of pumpkins."
Looking at Li Mu's slightly smug look, Zhu Xiang hesitated to speak.
Pumpkins are very easy to rot in the South. Don’t treat pumpkins as military rations. This is not the first time I’ve said this!
Zhu Xiang felt a little tired.
He was thinking about how to make military rations that were easier to carry and less likely to rot.
It’s fried noodles after all, right
Fried noodles are made by grinding grains into powder and frying them with sugar and salt. You can eat them directly with just a handful, or add water to make them into a paste. When there were no modern compressed convenience foods, it was the easiest simple high-calorie dry food to carry on the battlefield.
Zhu Xiang collected lard, sugar and salt blocks, and taught people how to make some high-calorie fried noodles, which he gave to Li Mu as a reward for "warriors" who needed to perform special tasks.
Oil and sugar were luxuries that could not be provided to every soldier. These high-calorie dry rations were only available to soldiers who had to perform special tasks.
For example, night attack, bait, or climbing first.
Li Mu was different from other generals, and Zhu Xiang trusted him very much.
After Li Mu received this batch of dry food, he stored it carefully and did not distribute it to the generals. Instead, he issued a military order, stipulating when this batch of special dry food could be consumed in order to boost the morale of the army.
The high-calorie, sweet and lard-containing dry food made by Zhu Xianggong himself immediately raised the morale of the army to a higher level. Before Li Mu mobilized the troops before the battle, the soldiers were already eager to be the first to enjoy the special dry food.
Zhu Xiang said that he had never expected such a situation.
Afterwards, in order to check the logistics, Zhu Xiang took a tour of the warships that would transport supplies and provided many suggestions such as the arrangement of catapults, as well as ideas on how to dock from the warships.
The soldiers' eyes lit up, and Li Mu held his forehead and sighed.
He found Zhu Xiang privately and said, "If you don't want to go to the battlefield, shut up! If you have any ideas, you can tell me in private!"
Zhu Xiang felt wronged: "What did I say? I was just talking nonsense."
Li Mu sighed: "Just talking nonsense? Do you know that there is no such fighting method as water battle now?"
Zhu Xiang thought about it and said, "It seems that there really isn't one."
There was no organized navy at the moment, and they were only there to transport food and grass. No one had thought of building large ships to fight directly on the water, and no one had thought of installing long-range weapons on the ships to attack cities along the way.
"Okay, I was a bit of a jerk." Zhu Xiang immediately admitted his mistake. "I saw you built a warship, so I ignored this matter."
Li Mu held his forehead and sighed again: "You."
He once again confirmed that if Zhu Xiang led troops to fight, he would probably be an extremely formidable general.
There is no saying that "a merciful army cannot be commanded", Zhu Xiang's strange fighting methods are hard to defend against, and it is likely that good results can be achieved without sacrificing many soldiers.
If the King of Qin knew about Zhu Xiang's talent, even if Zhu Xiang was unwilling, he might force Zhu Xiang to lead the troops by using various "surprises" that Zhu Xiang could not refuse.
Even if Zhu Xiang was not forced to lead the troops, he would make the fighting methods he knew public - not teach others privately and then have others make them public, but make them public in the name of Zhu Xiang.
In this way, the King of Qin could say that the benevolent Zhu Xiang took the initiative to offer advice to Qin to attack other countries, which showed that Zhu Xiang recognized that Qin was the destiny of the country.
After Li Mu was betrayed by his own monarch, he would never be loyal to any monarch again. He used the greatest malice to judge those monarchs who exploited him to the core.
"If you don't want to do something, don't show your talent in that area in public." Li Mu reminded him again before leading the fleet out of Qianzhong County.
This was the first battle in Chinese history in which the navy was the main force.
Zhu Xiang watched Li Mu's fleet go away, but did not leave immediately. He sat on a rock by the river, silent for a long while, like a stone statue.
Did he really not understand what Li Mu said
How could he not understand
Zhu Xiang was conflicted. On the one hand, he did not want to face the war, but on the other hand, he hoped that what he knew could help Qin end the war more quickly.
A war that crushes everything is the least harmful to civilians. If the war becomes a stalemate, both civilians and soldiers will become meat chewed between the teeth of the saw.
(End of this chapter)