Although the retainers did not say anything, anyone who saw this scene knew that this was not just a guest coming back, it must be the head of the family. The gossip spread quickly in the mansion.
At dusk, the news came from the back door. Wei Xiangzhong Prime Minister welcomed Mr. Zhang and asked him to wait for him to pass through the house. Zhang Zuo smiled bitterly and said: "I can't sleep this night!"
Lord Xinling said: "If you enter the city in the afternoon, you will know at dusk. Prime Minister Wei has sharp ears and eyes! When you return to the city alone, you should report to Prime Minister Wei. Let's go together!"
Lord Xinling and Zhang Noi changed into coarse scholar clothes and came out with their elders, without anyone else around them. After going out, he found Wei Zheng waiting respectfully outside the back door. When he saw the old man coming, he rushed forward to greet him. When he looked at the two people behind him, he was stunned. The elder of the family said quickly: "The young master has returned secretly, I hope the elder of the family will not let him know!"
One look at these two people and their attire, Wei Zheng didn't know what to do. He bowed his hands and invited the three of them to the prime minister's house. After entering the mansion, they placed the three people in the guest room first, ordered the retainers to stay away, and then went to invite Wei Qi. When he saw Wei Qi, he just whispered: "Young Master has returned, see you in the guest room!" Wei Qi was immediately stunned and blurted out: "Young Master?!"
Wei Zheng reminded: "The old relatives from the Young Master's Mansion will be sent to the Mansion." Wei Qi came back to his senses and said, "Change clothes!"
Wei Zhengdao: "Young Master Commoner is here."
Wei Qi said: "Young Master Bu Yi is also a young master, don't you know? You know it but don't tell me? All the retainers will avoid it!"
Wei Zhengdao: "I have ordered everyone to avoid it."
Wei Qi said: "Change!" He solemnly put on his court clothes, followed Wei Zheng out and entered the guest room. As soon as he entered the door, Wei Qi bowed deeply and sang: "How are you, Master? I have to see you again. How lucky is it for me?"
Lord Xinling hurriedly stepped forward and returned the greeting: "Limited by military affairs, we have to sneak back and forth. Please don't let us know."
Wei Qi said: "I have sent out all my servants. No one in the palace will know about the return of the young master. I hope that the young master will accompany me to the court." Wei Zheng withdrew and said: "Please prepare some wine!"
Wei Qi reminded him in particular: "But please, Mr. Zhang!"
Wei Zhengdao: "Here! I dare not say a word."
When they came to the hall, Lord Xinling wanted to take the west steps. Wei Qi hurriedly bowed to the east steps and said: "Young Master is so lucky to humiliate me, how dare you go to the west steps! I hope that you will be promoted, and I will follow you."
Lord Xinling said: "I am alone and I am behind my husband, how dare I go before the Prime Minister of Wei!"
Wei Qi said: "Young Master, please do not insult me! All my subordinates have withdrawn. There are only three of us here. I hope that Young Master will not humiliate me!" Without these three words, Lord Xinling and the other three had to ascend the hall from the east steps one by one, with Lord Xinling in the middle. Wei Qi and Zhang Noi sat down one on the left and the other on the right.
As soon as he sat down, Wei Qi said: "Young Master is coming back like this, you are sincere, wise and brave! Who but the Young Master can do this! If the Young Master is safe, then the minister's heart will be at peace!"
Lord Xinling said: "Gu'an has to do this! This is what all the gentlemen did!"
Wei Qi said: "Mr. Zhang serves the Lord alone and supports each other with sincerity and courage. Although he is a righteous man in ancient times, how can he do this?"
Zhang Ye said: "Is it true that Prime Minister Wei also heard that there might be something detrimental to the young master?"
Wei Qi said: "How can we not hear about it? How can we not hear about it! When the peace was negotiated, I heard that the general of Qin was not good for the young master. The peace was about to be completed, and then I heard that Jun abandoned the young master as part of the peace proposal. Now that the peace negotiation has been completed, the young master is about to return, and he heard again The young master will be in trouble."
Zhang Noi said: "Perhaps Prime Minister Wei knows who will be detrimental to the young master?"
Wei Qi said: "I am trapped in the palace and I am ignorant and ill-informed. I have heard nothing but the truth. I am in Huayang, so I must know the truth."
Zhang He said: "Three days ago, a guest came into the young master's house alone, and the guards were indifferent. Fortunately, the young master was out and no accident happened."
Wei Qi was shocked and said: "If a guest can avoid the eyes and ears of Mr. Waiting, he must be an extraordinary person!"
Zhang Ye said: "This is a man who walked straight into the house amid all the obstacles. No one knew about him. Before he got the son, he drifted away. He came and went like the wind, and suddenly he was like a shadow. It's unknowable."
Wei Qi said: "Who is this person who is so outstanding?"
Zhang He said: "This is a man who must rooster and dog robber!"
Lord Xinling said: "He is a true hero who regards all things as nothing but nothing!"
Wei Qi said with a smile: "Young Master treats his enemies as friends, he really obeys the good and the virtuous!"
Wei Zheng carried a large jar up the steps and placed it outside the door. Take a cup, pour some, and serve them one by one. He didn't dare to enter the hall, so he only waited outside the hall.
Wei Qidao: "I invited Mr. Zhang because I want to know about the young master. Now that the young master is here with Mr. Zhang, we know that the young master is fine without asking. I am inexplicably impressed and would like to congratulate the young master with this wine!"
The three of them drank together. Lord Xinling asked, "Why does the king urgently summon his ministers to Liang?"
Wei Qi said: "The king asked him to tell you that he wants the prince to open the alliance."
Lord Xinling said: "I only saw the king's edict 'Be diligent in the king's affairs' and did not mention anything else, so I asked this question. Since what Prime Minister Wei said is no different from the king's envoy, I think it is inevitable. I am in the camp, and my heart is with the king. By the side, Yin Xing sneaked in to wait for the king's orders. He said a little bit, but don't make anything public."
Wei Qi said: "How can I dare to say goodbye to the young master? I will go to the palace to report to the king when I am young. The king will be happy. Maybe he will come in overnight, I don't know."
Lord Xinling said: "I have been away from home for a long time and rarely heard from you in the court. I would like to give you a brief introduction to the affairs in the court so that I will not be short of etiquette and can speak smoothly."
Wei Qidao: "The things in the court...are strange and unusual. Rong Chen will elaborate on them in detail. When the Qin Dynasty entered the Qin Dynasty, the king worshiped the Mang family as a general and paid for the country. I thought that there would be a big war and bloodshed. General. Then he gathered all the strong men in the city and went up to the city to serve as a garrison. He sent his eldest son out of the city to take charge of the people's army, and his second and third sons out of the city to help Mr. Liang Wei. A total of ten thousand soldiers were recruited to serve as the horns of Daliang. So Daliang Wei went out to fight and used his own body. He replaced the young master and sent envoys to Korea for reinforcements. The four-pronged army was twice as large as that of Qin. The ministers were in great difficulty with food and fodder! Unexpectedly, only two days later, Duanmu, a wealthy businessman in Daliang, informed the king that the city of Daliang was closed, and the wealth and goods No, the grain and fodder cannot be continued. Would you like to stop the fighting and negotiate a peace between the two families? The king then promised peace and ordered the guest Duan Ziqian to leave the city with him. The minister wanted Qin to enter the heart of Wei and show off his troops and military power. The plotter is great; but Duanmu, a merchant, Duanzi, and a guest, how can he do anything. Unexpectedly, after the two sons came out, Qin actually promised to stop the army and negotiate peace. Marquis Rang said, "At that time, Zhang Yi was the prime minister of Wei, and Qin and Wei were Friendship is the same as brother. Unexpectedly, the former king was confused by the rhinoceros head and first advocated the alliance. It is regrettable that the exchange of relatives turned into enemies. It was the marriage of King Wu and Queen Wei. Since the king came to the throne, he thought of the princess's youth, so it was appropriate to return her. . Qin has never turned its back on Wei, and Wei has abandoned Qin. Although he has been defeated repeatedly, he has not thought about changing his plans, so why? Now the king has entered Wei with an army of 100,000, not to seek revenge, but to continue his marriage. May Wei abandon and unite. The king is looking forward to the plan, the plan to restore Lianheng.'" Wei Qi actually repeated Qin Fang's words in large sections, and his expression was very vivid.
Lord Xinling remained calm in his seat and said, "What do you mean by a king?"
Wei Qi said: "The king said that since Qin asked for marriage, he was merciful. The two families stopped fighting to form an alliance. Duan Ziqianfu and Qin repeatedly discussed it, and Qin will definitely gain ten cities to live long. The king was very angry and scolded Wei Qi to attack us. , If they want to make peace with me again, Qin Ning will not live long, but he will take ten of my cities! He doesn't want to allow it. However, Mang's advice is that Qin is in deep trouble and is in serious trouble. If you can fight, fight with it, if you can't, make peace with it, but you can't slow down. Then there was a change. The king promised two cities. Qin used troops to attack Huayang and killed three hundred people. The king was afraid of losing his son, so he promised five cities. Although Qin released Huayang, he still had to have ten cities. He urged the king to decide the opportunity for peace early, and he could not stop his troops and attack suddenly. Qin could reach Daliang in one day. The king planned that Qin would definitely leave in the winter! Three days ago, Duan Ziqian replied to the king's words. , Qin was willing to make peace with nine cities, and the king surrendered one more city, promising eight cities for his longevity. The peace agreement was completed. Therefore, he urgently summoned the young master to return to the country, and went to Qifeng on behalf of the king to meet with the alliance. The Qin people left early, and the Wei territory was settled early. Good morning people, the king is in peace!"
Lord Xinling took a deep breath and said: "Qin took eight cities as peace, but Huayang got two cities!"
Wei Qi immediately understood what he meant, nodded repeatedly and said: "Young Master has worked hard to support Huayang's crisis, and now you can see his contribution! It's all due to Young Master's efforts."
Lord Xinling said: "What do you think the king wants, please teach me."
Wei Qi said: "The king has lost eight cities. Although he has border towns, he is still uneasy. He often sighs secretly, how can he establish the legacy of the previous kings when he cannot keep it and lose it. I hope you can open it up with good words. I will be very lucky!"
Lord Xinling asked, "What should I say to open this up?"
Wei Qi said: "If you lose a border town, you will gain a lot as soon as you gain your confidants. As long as you get it conveniently, the border town can be restored. There is no need to worry about it."
Lord Xinling asked, "How will the alliance look like on behalf of the king?"
Wei Qi said: "The two countries will make an alliance, and the king of the alliance will be the king. The king of Qin is blocked by mountains and rivers, so he cannot unify, and the king of Wei cannot make an alliance alone. So Ranghou, the mother and brother of the king of Qin, and Xinlingjun, the brother of the king of Wei, made an alliance in unfeng, and Zhao In heaven and earth, we are brothers and we will never attack each other. Anyone who disobeys will be punished by heaven!"
Lord Xinling said: "What is the alliance letter and policy?"
Wei Qidao: "This is not the intention of the young master. It is all done by Duanzi. It is an alliance. In Qin, Ranghou is the main one, and the guest Qing Hu Yang is the prime minister; in Wei, the young master is the main one, and Duanzi is the prime minister, each holding jade silk and three animals. , and we have pledged our blood to form an alliance. Duanzi has made an agreement with Hu Yang about the policy, and the king has agreed to it. Young master, please just sit with your hands high and watch the ceremony!"
Lord Xinling said: "How could anything be so easy?"
Wei Qi said: "It can't be seen easily. Don't you hear, 'You can't get out of the room of the bottle, but rush thousands of miles away'! Every move, every word, every smile, it's a great thing. I can't describe it in a superficial way." When the young master enters the court, there are certain rules for traveling in the palace, and the jokes should also be detailed. Young master, follow the rules!"
Lord Xinling felt that he had gained a lot from this trip, so he said: "I accept the love of the prime minister and tell me your kind words. I dare not say thank you. I will repay you later!"
Wei Qi hurriedly avoided the table and bowed down and said: "I am afraid that I will not be able to do as good as a dog or horse, so how can I dare to hope for him? May the young master build a great cause soon, and bring blessings to his family and country, and to the country!"
Lord Xinling and Zhang Yue resigned, and Wei Qi and Wei Zhengzheng were sent out of the house, saying goodbye with deep courtesy. Wei Qi said: "I will enter the palace immediately and tell you about your son's return to the country." Lord Xinling warned him again and again not to reveal it to others. Wei Qi snorted again and again.
Both the Prince of Wei's Mansion and the Prime Minister of Wei's Mansion are located outside the palace wall and within the royal city. They are usually responsible for guarding the royal city. The front door opens on the wall of the royal city, and you can see Daliang Nancheng when you go out. There are soldiers patrolling from time to time. Therefore, unless there are very formal occasions, all communications between the Prime Minister Wei's Mansion and Mr. Wei's Mansion are through the back door.
Lord Xinling and Zhang Ye were walking in the narrow alley beside the tall palace wall, discussing the meeting just now in a low voice, both of them sighing.
