With doubts, Zheng Anping returned to Guancheng. He discussed it with his brothers, but to no avail. Xiao Si said disdainfully: "I have never eaten meat, so I only care about meat eaters! Why?" Zheng Anping also felt that he was worrying blindly.
In Zhengguo, the capital of South Korea, a problem that only a few people know about is developing.
South Korea supported the unsealing of the Qin army's grain supply last year, thinking that because Bao Yuan failed to pursue the Qin army and was counterattacked, the Qin people would waste the money. Unexpectedly, after the vernal equinox, Chen Zhen came to inform that the Qin people were going to use cinnabar to pay the Korean bill, and attached a basket of samples. The King of Han's inner palace conducted a careful inspection and expressed recognition of its quality. He was willing to buy three thousand catties at a discount of half of last year's grain and grass. After some haggling, we finally decided to discount the price by 50%. From spring to summer, merchants successively shipped cinnabar sporadically, weighing more than ten kilograms or dozens of kilograms. They shipped it more than a dozen times, but it was less than one thousand kilograms, and it was still far from three thousand kilograms. Since the people of Qin purchased cinnabar in large quantities, the supply of cinnabar in the market was insufficient and the price rose.
Han Ping, the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty, approached Chen Zhen and asked him to rush the shipment. At this speed, the three thousand kilograms would not be finished by the end of the year. After the summer solstice, Chen Zhen braved the scorching sun and made a special trip to Xianyang. In retrospect, due to the heavy weight and high price of cinnabar, transportation along the way is very inconvenient. Currently, the cinnabar transported from Bashan is stored in Wancheng. If South Korea transports its own goods, you can go to Wancheng to receive the goods at any time.
It is nearly a thousand miles from Zheng State to Wancheng, and the places along the way are border areas between countries. Various forces are mixed together, and transportation costs are extremely high. So Han Ping resolutely rejected the proposal to transport the cinnabar by himself and demanded that the cinnabar must be transported out by Qin. After some bargaining, the two sides agreed that after the autumn harvest, Qin would organize transportation forces to transport the remaining cinnabar from Wancheng to Yinyang at one time, a distance of about 800 miles; Han would organize transportation forces to Yinyang to receive the goods and complete the last 200 miles. transportation within. Every time he bargained, Chen Zhen had to send someone back to Xianyang to report, driving back and forth for at least half a month.
It happened that at this time, the Wei State sent Dr. Xu Jia to come and join forces: "Former, Qin invaded Wei without any reason and went straight to the outskirts of the country. It also invaded your country. All my colleagues share the same anger! Now I would like the three Jin Dynasties to raise a total of 200,000 troops. Attack the Qin Dynasty!" What is very interesting is that Dr. Jia took a boat to open the seal, met Baoyuan first, and then returned to Zheng State via the waterway.
Dr. Jia had to make an appointment in person, so Han Wangting naturally did not dare to neglect, and said in a tortuous way. After the defeat of Baoyuan, Han's 40,000 pursuing troops were exhausted, and it was now difficult to send troops. Unlike the Wei State, although it fought with Qin, the casualties were not huge.
Dr. Xu Jia said: "I know the loss of Han very well. Although the three Jins are attacking together, Wei is willing to be at the vanguard. Please invite the troops of Zhao and Han as an alliance!"
Prince Han said: "Three Jins are one, Wei is the commander, and Han dare not resign. I would like to invite Zhao first!" He sent Doctor Xu Jia away.
After several rounds of bargaining, King Wei finally decided to send 150,000 troops, but he had to wait until Han and Zhao each proposed their own troops. Prince Han said: "Han's strength is weak and it is difficult for him to withstand a war. He is willing to attach himself to a big country and help it with food and grass." After several rounds of bargaining, Han agreed to temporarily use Xingyang as a gathering place for all armies.
During this period, Prince Han and Han Ping reported the matter to King Han. King Han said: "I am ill and have ignored the government for a long time. I hope you will take care of it!"
At this time, Chen Zhen, who had returned to Xianyang to prepare for the transportation of cinnabar, rushed back to the state of Zheng. He met with Prince Han and Han Ping and said, "Formerly, the Qin army retreated and the Han army marched out, causing trouble. The King of Qin will not treat Han as a renegade and give Han a gift thousands of miles away." Three thousand kilograms of cinnabar is a sign of trust in Han. I heard that Han wanted to unite, so it must not be the case!"
Prince Han and Han Ping resolutely refused to admit it, saying: "Wei envoys arrived and said that our cities will unite. Although our king is ignorant, he will not dare to abandon a powerful country and commit injustice."
Chen Xiaoxiao talked about it with reason and emotion for most of the day. Finally, Chen Zhen said: "It's almost autumn, Qin will send troops, and the cinnabar will arrive soon!" Then he stayed in the state of Zheng and never left.
In September, news came that Zhao Guo had raised troops.
About the same time Zheng Anping and others entered the Great Wall, another Wei envoy entered Zheng Guo. After the morning court session the next day, Prince Han summoned the Wei envoy. The Wei envoy conveyed the King of Wei's tribute and reported: "In the past, we and the three Jins formed an alliance and swore to be brothers. Now we are uniting to attack Qin. Thirty thousand Zhao troops have crossed the river and have entered Xingyang. The King of Wei sent out fifteen troops. Ten thousand, we should continue to arrive. I hope South Korea will raise 20,000 to help. To fulfill the friendship of the alliance. "
Prince Han said: "I send my condolences to the big country. We are defeated for the first time, and the victors are all gone. Now the big country has ordered us to raise 20,000 troops, and Han is really in trouble. If we respond to the old and the weak, it is not an alliance. I have told you before. I am willing to use food and grass as help, and I am willing to observe it!"
The envoy from Wei said: "Han, a country of thousands of chariots, carries one hundred thousand soldiers. Even if it suffers a small loss, it is hard to criticize twenty thousand soldiers."
Han Ping said: "It's not as your envoy said. In the four battles of Han Dynasty, armored soldiers were everywhere to prepare for the strong neighbors. Zheng's soldiers could not catch the thieves, so how could they prepare for the big battle and prepare for the big battle? I would like to have the envoy inspect it! General Kuang The stormy kite has been ill for a long time and cannot come out. If Han loses Qiancheng, he may be overturned. If you don't care about yourself, you won't be able to reach the rest. "
The Wei envoy reported back to Daliang. The king of Wei then sent an envoy to send Bao Yuan back to Zheng, forcing South Korea to raise troops.
As Zhao Bing entered Xingyang, Wei's army followed one after another. The 180,000-strong army was massive and put great pressure on South Korea. Wei envoys came to Zheng almost every day to mobilize troops. The sick Bao Yuan was pushed to the forefront by South Korea, and he excused himself time and time again by saying that he was sick and could not do anything... All the victorious soldiers around Zheng Guo were lost, and they were trying their best to mobilize civilians from all over the country... He also took the Wei envoy to review the newly assembled troops in Zheng. Thousands of people in the suburbs of the country. Every time the Wei envoy entered Zheng, Chen Zhen would make an appointment with the Korean Prime Minister to warn him that he must not raise troops to attack Qin! At this time, Han Ping would firmly reply that Han Ping had not sent out a single soldier... As for Wei and Zhao's violent troops, "it is not known to our country!"
One day, the Wei envoy came again to report that the Zhao and Wei armies had all gathered and were just waiting for the Korean army to arrive before heading west. Baoyuan still replied that the Korean army was currently unable to do anything; he was willing to attach himself to Jiwei in order to gain momentum; he could provide food and grass supplies nearby. Order Xingyang to guard and take care of all the coalition forces' needs. His attitude was so good that he had nothing to say, and Wei Shi was so angry that he lost his temper.
Chen Zhen also found Han Ping and said that his guest Hu Yang had left Fangcheng and more than 2,000 kilograms of cinnabar was about to be shipped to Yinyang. He asked Han Ping to come and receive the goods. The journey from Fangcheng to Yinyang was similar to that from Zheng Guo to Yinyang, so Han Ping quickly prepared thirty chariots and a thousand soldiers, led by Shaofu officials, and rushed to Yinyang. Two hundred miles away, we agreed to arrive in five days.
However, Changshe, Chengying, Daling and other towns south of Zheng State all belonged to Wei, and they were all on the southward road. A huge convoy heading south via Wei will naturally attract attention. Local officials flew to report the incident. So when the Wei envoy came to Zheng again, he not only urged troops, but also issued a stern warning: "I have recently heard that the Qin people have arrived in Yinyang, and the Han people have returned to the south and will join forces with Qin. This is what puzzles my king. Han will be with Jin Ye, will he be with Qin Ye? Our king ordered his ministers to tell the big country that Qin is coming out of the south, and all the Wei towns should be on guard against Qin, and no merchants can pass through. "
Han Ping was very anxious after hearing this. He explained over and over again that it was just a transport convoy going to Yinyang to transport goods and had nothing to do with the war. He then sent an envoy to Daliang to express his feelings to the King of Wei in person.
However, the news from the Shaofu made Prince Han and Han Ping happy and surprised: to their surprise, the Shaofu's convoy arrived at Yinyang on time before the Wei people closed the pass; to their surprise, the Qin people sent tens of thousands of people The army "transported" cinnabar - what the Qin people drove out of Fangcheng was not a convoy, but a fully armed army. The Shaofu asked tactfully: "A big country protects small things with heavy troops, what's wrong with a small country!" The Qin general Hu Yang replied: "From Fangcheng to Yinyang, tigers and wolves are on the side. If there are no heavy troops, the three thousand cinnabar will belong to others." ." The Shaofu repeatedly inquired about the Qin people's intentions in a tactful manner, but Hu Yang insisted that it was only to escort Dansha.
The Shaofu had no choice but to accept the cinnabar. What surprised the young master was that the cinnabar was not transported on a baggage cart, but three hundred men were specially found, each carrying ten kilograms on their backs. In order to protect themselves from rain, these three hundred people were all wearing bucket hats and looked very attentive.
Three hundred people each took out their own ten kilograms of cinnabar and handed it to the Shaofu for acceptance. The Shaofu inspected each bag, and if he was satisfied, he poured it into the basket he brought, and if he was not satisfied, he returned it. However, the quality of the cinnabar brought out by the Qin people was indeed of high quality. Only a small amount of cinnabar was returned, and most of it was collected. ——Then, the young master realized that he might have charged too much. Hu Yang said magnanimously that he was ordered to escort the cinnabar, but he really didn't know how much it was. But if there are any others, we can negotiate with Chen Gong and get a slight discount. The young man didn't expect Qin people to be so easy to talk to, so he thought, it won't be up to you how much he folds!
Two days later, the Shaofu set off. When he arrived near Chengying and Daling, he found that something was wrong. Not only did these two cities deny him entry, they also refused to open their roads. The Shaofu flew a report to Zheng Guo and ordered the convoy to return to Yinyang. Otherwise, with only a thousand people, some force would be able to eat him.
When he returned to Yinyang, it was already early morning two days later. The Qin army is closing the camp. The Shaofu informed Hu Yang that his convoy was blocked at Chengying and Daling lines. He had already informed Zheng Guo that Japanese and Korean envoys were coming. "Please take a rest for two days, general. All supplies of food and grass will be borne by our country."
Hu Yang didn't take it seriously and said, "What's the problem?" But he asked the Korean team to rest.
At dusk, Hu Yang informed the young man that it was time to move on. The Shaofu thought that the problem was solved by Han's envoy, so he asked: "How can my envoy hurry up?"
Hu Yang replied: "I am not a noble envoy. I will take two towns for the Shaofu." One sentence did not frighten the Shaofu's soul.
Hu Yang said: "Our army has already captured Chengying and Daling. I hope the young master will not worry about it, but proceed with peace of mind!"
The young master knew that things were getting serious now. How could Wei be willing to take down two cities of Wei State! And when Hu Yang claimed that he was the one responsible for the beating, didn't he put the blame on himself?
The Shaofu said: "To capture Wei Yi, no one dares to know about it. If the general liberates himself, how can he put the blame on the ministers?"
Hu Yang smiled and said: "It's not what you say. Wei Yi is disrespectful, so I pulled it out. What does it have to do with the Shaofu! Our army moved to Chengying and Daling. If the Shaofu wants to go, they can do it, but if they don't want to, but It’s okay to stay in Yin Yang!”
