Zheng Anping went home with the villagers. Since their homes were far away, the other three decided to rest one night in the post before going home. The four of them agreed on the order of duty: Zheng Anping would be on duty alone for a whole day tomorrow; starting from the day after tomorrow, everyone would gather during the day and take turns on duty at night.
Maybe it was because they had eaten meat. Along the way, the villagers were in a warm mood. They each described their hardships and worries in the camp, expressed their good wishes for the coming year, and wished each other well.
Because the people in Donghongli had a dinner together at Liangxiyi, it was already very late when they came back, and the neighboring militiamen had already returned. So when they came back, everyone in the city who could still walk gathered in the square in front of them to greet each other. As soon as the crowd arrived, they were immediately taken back by each family. Zheng Anping was the only one who walked through the busy alley and came to the lonely courtyard at the end. He opened the door with a "squeak" and Zhang Lu came out of the wing. Zheng Anping went over to greet him and said, "Well, sir!"
Zhang Lu said: "Young Master is well! Please change your clothes first before talking!"
Zheng Anping followed his instructions and went back to the hall first. He hung his armor and crossbow arrows on the racks, leaned his spear on the pillars and beams, changed into regular clothes, came out, and entered Zhang Lu's wing.
As soon as he entered the wing, Zheng Anping couldn't wait to ask: "Why did the Qin people enter the pass and leave in just a few days? I have been waiting for more than a month."
Zhang Lu said: "The people of Qin do not have enough food to last long."
Zheng Anping said: "There is a lot of food in the fields, how can there be no food?"
Zhang Lu said: "You don't know something. When the Qin people go on an expedition, they don't have cauldrons or woks to go with them. They just prepare bowls and lamps. All their grains are burned, and only three kilograms of millet can be used to get one kilogram of grain. The Qin people always carry ten kilograms of grain with them, which can last as little as ten days." , if it lasts more than a month, the food will be exhausted. The food in the fields is all rice. If it is not pounded and cooked, it will be difficult to swallow, and the people of Qin will not cooperate with it."
Zheng Anping said: "Since the Qin people have no food, they should retreat that day. How can they invade me?"
Zhang Lu said with a smile: "This Marquis Rang wants to benefit his own interests."
Zheng Anping said: "Why do you benefit yourself?"
Zhang Lu said: "The prime minister of Qin was granted the title of Marquis Rang, and his title was in Tao, which is the place where wealth and goods gather in the world. In the past, Duke Zhu of Tao relied on it, and he gathered and dispersed three times, which is good. However, the land of Tao changed. Ten thousand people cannot defend it, so that is not the reason for solidifying the foundation and establishing a foundation. Since Marquis Rang was granted the title of Tao, every time he wanted to expand, he must have a strong city as a solid foundation. Today, he attacked Liang with a surprise army, and his intention was to cook jujube in the city on the edge of Liang. , I want to achieve great pottery."
Zheng Anping was not familiar with the geography of these mountains and rivers, and asked: "How far away are the pottery and boiled dates from Liang?"
Zhang Lu said: "About three hundred miles."
Zheng Anping said: "It's not that far away."
Zhang Lu said: "Wei is a small territory. It is only a hundred miles away from Zheng, the capital of Han, and only two hundred miles away from Chen, the capital of Chu. It is five hundred miles away from Handan, the capital of Zhao, in the north. It is three hundred miles away from Tao, which is far away!"
Zheng Anping asked: "How many roads are there between Qin and Liang?"
Zhang Lu said: "It is no less than a thousand miles from Daliang to Hangu, the border pass of Qin, and another five hundred miles from Hangu to Xianyang."
Zheng Anping said: "How Qin is big, but Wei is small."
Zhang Lu said: "Although Qin is large, the soil is bitter and cold, the land is thin and the people are poor, and it is located in a wilderness. Although Wei is small, there are rivers and canals everywhere, and the wilderness is thousands of miles away. The things are abundant and the people are common. Each has its shortcomings and advantages."
Zheng Anping said: "Wei and Qin share a city, and Marquis Rang obtained it with the great pottery, so the Qin troops retreated."
Zhang Lu said: "There is no big difference in what I said. But the town I gave you is not boiled dates, it is actually warm."
Zheng Anping said: "If it is built with large pottery, there is nothing wrong with it."
Zhang Lu said: "No. If you want to cook dates, use big pottery, and if you want to warm them, use big Nanyang."
Zheng Anping asked: "What is Nanyang?"
Zhang Lu said: "Nanyang Zhouji was led to chaos by a prince. King Qin of Jin had merit and was awarded to Jin. The three families were divided into Jin. Each had its own territory, intertwined among them, and there was no division. In the past, Qin and Wei fought against Zhi many times. The former. , Qin made peace with Wei in Qifeng, and captured the eight cities of Nanyang from Wei, all of which were small border towns. After reentering the territory of Wei, he again captured Wen, which was also the large city of Nanyang. Therefore, Qin occupied the eight border cities of Nanyang and captured half of a huge city. There’s a lot going on in Nanyang!”
Zheng Anping said: "I heard that Nanyang is a thin land and the people are poor. Why fight here so many times?"
Zhang Lu said: "There is a reason for this. The Three Jin Dynasties were originally based in Shanxi, but due to the rebellion of Rong and Di, they moved to Shandong. The land of Shandong and the homeland of the Three Jin Dynasties are connected to Nanyang. Therefore, the destruction of Nanyang is the destruction of the Three Jins. The key point is that if the Three Jin Dynasties occupy Nanyang, it will be difficult for Qin to leave Shandong."
Zheng Anping said: "If this is true, Qin did not conquer Tao but conquered Nanyang, and gained little?"
Zhang Lu said: "It's just like what the young master said! It's easy to boil jujube with warm temperature. It seems that it's easy to make big things with small things, but it actually has a lot of benefits!"
Zheng Anping said: "How can we come up with this?"
Zhang Lu said: "Cooking jujube is close to pottery, and the benefits are many. Although the temperature is great, the benefits are few. Therefore, many people in Wei are willing to cook jujube with warmth and ease."
Zheng Anping was a little uneasy and asked: "Qin conquered Nanyang, what's the situation like?"
Zhang Lu said: "Qin's defeat of Nanyang is the key to attacking the three Jins. If the three Jins are cut in half, they will die!"
Zheng Anping said: "Since the country is concerned, why don't you remonstrate with me?"
Zhang Lu said: "Those who eat meat are despicable, and it will be difficult for others to remonstrate with them. A gentleman is a metaphor for righteousness, and a villain is a metaphor for profit. Losing the boiled dates is good for the country, but not good for the clan; losing the temperature is bad for the country, but the clan is not harmed. You are the princes, who will take and give up? ?”
Zheng Anping said: "How can you, Sir, show your full knowledge of the matters in the court?"
Zhang Lu said: "The court hall and the grass are all the same. If you observe its purpose, you will know it!"
Zheng Anping said: "Sir, can you tell me the details?"
Zhang Lu said: "It's easy to know! When Qin seeks the land of Wei, it must also be a border town. There are few connections between Qin and Wei. They are only Nanyang and Tao'er, and their cities are nothing more than cooking dates and Wen. How difficult is it!"
Zheng Anping said: "Sir, you can really show the world in the palm of your hand!"
Zhang Lu said: "Master, what's going on in the camp?"
Zheng Anping said: "The situation in the camp is like him. He just gets up early to line up and sleeps well at night. Now that it's cold, it's hard to sleep at night, so he just sits around the fire and waits for dawn."
Zhang Lu did not let him go easily. He asked many details, and Zheng Anping answered them one by one. Sometimes he was emotional, sometimes he was so sad that he wanted to cry. He vented all kinds of emotions to his heart's content. Finally, he fell asleep in the wing without realizing it.
Zhang Lu tightened the belt on his chest, lay down next to Zheng Anping and fell asleep.
When he woke up the next day, Zheng Anping rushed to Liangxiyi without waiting for breakfast. The other three people got ready and saw Zheng Anping coming. They said they were tired and went home. Zheng Anping went around the houses, refueled the lamps, and went to the warehouse to count the grain. Counting the days, there are still three days before the customs order is released. He thought that the original post official, Masan, had died in the battle. Among the remaining four, he was the oldest and most senior, so he was very likely to take over the post: this meant stepping up to a higher level! From now on, not only will he have a salary, but he will also be able to live and eat in a post house, and his expenses will be reduced a lot. It may not take long before he can make up for the lost halberd.
Thinking of this, he came up with an idea: take the initiative to report the news of Masan's death to Ximen Wei's Mansion and apply for a special case next month. The thoughts came together and I couldn't suppress them. He couldn't even wait to install the hand halberd, so he just tightened the handle on the halberd, dressed up, closed the door, held the talisman in his arms, and headed to the west gate with the "hand handle" in hand.
Zheng Anping thought that he had not been able to run as much as he wanted for some days. The weather was not cold yet and he was in good spirits, so he might as well go for a run. Just trotted all the way to the beam.
Although Lieutenant Ximen does not have many troops, he is an official at the school level. He does not usually go to work, and sometimes the Western Guards usually report on his behalf. When Zheng Anping arrived at the west gate, the soldiers guarding the city naturally recognized him and stopped him to ask questions. Zheng Anping said: "Brother Ma was killed in battle, so I came here to report the damage and tell him that the food was exhausted!"
The soldiers guarding the city took Zheng Anping to the city gate and reported the incident. Naturally, the commander had nothing else to say and asked him to report to the Ximen Guard Station.
The west gate is the main entrance of Daliang. Once you enter, you will be facing Daliang Gate without any other buildings in the middle. The West Gate Guard Station can only be pitifully next to the Northwest Gate Gao Gate Guard Station.
Walking along the city wall towards Gaomen, the first person to see him was the Gaomen garrison soldier. They met each other, asked about the situation, and pointed Zheng Anping to the Ximen Guardhouse. In a large courtyard, the west gate guard received Zheng Anping seriously and asked about the situation. The west gate guard said: "Liangxi Post has been requisitioned by Mr. Xinling, the prince of Wei, and the tiger talisman has not been returned. I should report my death to the prince and have him imprisoned." Separation of grain and fodder!"
Hearing this news, Zheng Anping felt as if a basin of cold water had been poured down his head, and his whole body became cold: Are you going to find Lord Xinling? Just yourself? Lord Xinling has come to Guanyi to offer sacrifices, but at that time can you ask Lord Xinling to return the tiger talisman and allocate food and fodder? Now? How to find it?
The west gate guard said: "I heard that Lord Xinling is still opening a mansion in Daliang Gate. Brother, I might be able to meet him if he comes to visit!"
How dare Zheng Anping! He just said thank you and came out. If Lord Xinling doesn't return this tiger talisman, not only will his brothers be unable to keep their status as soldiers, but he also wants to take advantage of the opportunity to go one step further and become a post official!
Dejected, he returned to the west gate and told the guards about this unfair treatment. At that moment, some soldiers encouraged Zheng Anping to go to Daliangmen to find Lord Xinling, but Zheng Anping did not dare to kill him. Finally, Shi Chang came up with an idea and said: "Doctor Jin Bi will have to pass through Daliang Gate when he returns home today. Brother, he stopped the car to complain, maybe he has a point!"
Upon hearing this, Zheng Anping realized that although this method was a bit risky, it was more reliable than trying to break into Daliangmen. He felt grateful and said: "I would like to watch the doctor's return from the gate tower. I will be rewarded if my head is saved one day!"
Shi Chang smiled and went upstairs with Zheng Anping.
Around noon, I saw a cloud of dust coming towards the west gate from a distance. Shi Chang said: "The doctor is here, brother, let's do it!"
Zheng Anping quickly got off the tower and waited outside the city gate. Soon, as expected, a motorcade came and stopped at a hundred paces. He first took the car and drove fifty steps before stopping. He got off the car on the right side and headed towards the city gate. Zheng Anping recognized that this person was Mr. Xiao Jian, and rushed out and said: "Sir, save me, sir, save me!"
Xiao Jian was shocked. Why did he meet someone asking for help just after he arrived? After taking a closer look, he saw it was Zheng Anping and asked hurriedly: "What's the matter, Master?"
Zheng Anping said: "The humble ones are the soldiers of the Liangxi post. They were recruited by the emperor again and followed him around. Now that he has returned to the post, he is reporting to Ximen about the death of the third brother Ma, and is responsible for the distribution of grain and fodder. Do you mean that the tiger talisman is still with you? Above. Who is this humble person who dares to enter the palace? I am at a loss now, so I can only ask you, sir, to save me!"
