Setting off the next day, the boatman from Yinyang invited the boatman from Huyi to be the guide. Originally, the Yinyang boatmen only sailed the boat to Huyi, but since Huyi did not have so many boats, they could not transport all the goods of the caravan. Therefore, when they were in Yinyang, the merchants negotiated with the boatmen at a large price. Okay, go to Huyi and ask the local boatman to help. They will still have to drive the boat to continue westward.
They exchanged many local specialties in Huyi, and the things they sold were all given good prices, such as oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, etc., a small amount can be exchanged for three to five buckets of millet; fruits, lotus, job's tears, etc., the price is also Very high. So after some exchanges, there were two more ships of goods.
The road heading west from Huyi is obviously much more desolate, and the Lishui River has become unstable. In some places, it must be pushed and pulled manually to pass. These must be guided by Huyi boatmen who have been operating in this section of the river for a long time. The boatmen in Yinyang hardly travel this section and have little understanding of its hydrological conditions.
There are no large settlements along the way. After a day of hurried travel, the caravan finally arrived at the end of the Lishui route, at the foot of Funiu Mountain. The rivers rushing down the surrounding mountains converged into rapids, making it impossible to navigate upwards. Here everyone moved the goods off the boat, paid the wages, and let the boatmen leave.
There are not many farmers in this place, but the business is very developed. Not far away is the Hebei Iron Mine, where South Korea smelted iron and cast soldiers. The large number of craftsmen, family members, and guards required strong logistical supplies, thus forming a huge commercial city. The people at the front station have already contacted Nili, and everyone is sharing the goods and transporting them into the hospital. Merchants who have received the news in advance are already waiting here, preparing for transactions; new merchants who have received the news are arriving one after another.
Unlike the more goods are traded along the way, when they arrive here, the goods are quickly traded in high-value commodities, mainly ironware. The retainers and top merchants all wore swords, and most of them had iron weapons of various colors attached to their wooden sticks. Only the iron farm tools were put into baskets to be transported elsewhere. The fifty ride was empty for a while.
The caravan stayed near Hechai for three days. Most of the goods in hand were gone, and all the goods that needed to be collected were collected. Then they packed their cars and prepared to go into the mountains.
After entering the mountain, there is the famous Fangcheng, which is the numerous military camps and passes built by the Chu State on Funiu Mountain, as well as the numerous large and small settlements that supported these armies. The caravan meandered along a relatively gentle mountain road.
In front is Guancheng of Chu State. Due to frequent wars, there were not many people on this trade road; more importantly, Nanyang was originally an important strategic base of Chu State, but it fell into Qin's hands twenty years ago. Fangcheng was originally the Chu State's barrier against the Central Plains, but now it has become an outpost against the Qin army from Nanyang direction entering the Central Plains. The direction of defense has just changed! Huang Xie and his caravan left Nanyang from the west of Fangcheng, and they were leaving the country from their own side. This was supposed to be strictly checked to prevent important strategic materials from leaving the country. But Huang Xie was different. He had the highest-level pass from the Court of the King of Chu. The officials guarding the pass did not dare to neglect it. They reported it level by level and arranged the caravan into the camp in the pass.
The defensive area of Fangcheng is huge, and there is not only one guard, but four Mo Ao divisions. Now that I heard that Mr. Chu has arrived, they all came to pay their respects. Night banquets with singing and dancing are indispensable.
After a night's rest, Huang Xie and his retainers, accompanied by Si Mo Ao, patrolled everywhere in Fangcheng. Fangcheng covers a huge area, so it is naturally impossible to inspect all of it. Each Mo Ao will only pick up an important location in his own defense area to show him around. In this way, Huang Xie still spent a whole day. Other merchants purchased various specialties within the Fangcheng boundary. From Mo Ao's words, Huang Xie learned that the road to the south of Fangcheng near Heshou was not under the control of the Chu State. It was basically controlled by South Korea, making it difficult for the Chu army to approach. It is estimated that Hu Yang's army entered the Central Plains from that direction.
Mo Ao asked Huang Xie where he was going, and Huang Xie said, "He went down to Deng and Rang, entered Xianyang, and met the King of Qin." Mo Ao asked, "Do you dare to make peace with Qin?"
Huang Xie said: "The Yue people humiliated Wu and eventually swallowed Wu. Now that Chu is in trouble, I would like to think that it is Yue."
Mo Ao said: "I sincerely wish. Deng Rang, the hometown of Chu, is now trapped in Qin. All the old relatives of the ministers are expelled, and the remaining ones are tortured in the city. They drive them to attack us, but they are not spared in killing them, and they die. The backlash is unbearable."
Huang Xie said: "The king of Chu also understood this meaning very well, so he sent his ministers to Qin."
Leaving Fangcheng and out of the mountains, you will find the famous Wancheng. Wancheng used to be the capital of Shen State, but was later destroyed by Chu and became Shen County, with Fangcheng under its command. The struggle between various countries in Nanyang began thirty years ago. After ten years of melee, Qin gained the upper hand in Nanyang twenty years ago, and all the Chu lands were lost. They have not been recovered to this day. The major cities in Nanyang were granted to Qin heroes. , among which Wancheng became the fiefdom of Prince Fu, the second brother of King Qin of Jingyang. Nanyang later became the forward position for the Qin army to attack Yingdu; while Fangcheng, because of the loss of its rear area, its combat capabilities were severely weakened, and it gradually turned from an elite division into a tired army. Huang Xie experienced this reversal of offensive and defensive momentum personally. It was painful in every way, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Entering Wancheng, Huang Xie showed his envoy's festival talisman, and Wancheng's order naturally treated him with courtesy and arranged to live in Guanyi. Huang Xie requested that tribute be purchased around Wancheng on the grounds that the journey was far away and it was difficult to transport the tribute. Wancheng's order was not embarrassed. So the merchants were spread one by one, and the Guchu merchants hidden in the countryside were contacted one by one. ——At this time, a young man claiming to be a descendant of Shen Gong appeared at the entrance of the post.
Mr. Shen showed a bronze pendant, and the retainers hurriedly brought it into the hall. Huang Xie came out. The young man looked haggard and dusty, and behind him stood two old retainers. When the young man saw Huang Xie come out, he fell down and worshiped in the tunnel and said: "I am a minister of Mao, and I traveled to Qi as a child. The family encountered misfortune, but Mao survived. Now that I can see Huang Gong, I am willing to serve as a dog and horse!"
Huang Xie said: "Who is your father?"
Mr. Shen said: "My father is Shen Shumang. I have received the favor from Mr. Huang and bestowed it with this pendant. I dare you to recognize me!"
Huang Xie said, "I am an old friend, and I dare you to come in with me." Mr. Shen did not dare to go up to the hall from the west steps, so he only followed Huang Xie into the hall. He asked Huang Xie to sit in the middle, and he sat at the bottom. Two retainers stood at the bottom. Behind Mr. Shen. Huang Xie asked, "Uncle Shen is my old friend, that son is my son, and that guest is my guest. Please take a seat!" The two retainers just sat down.
Huang Xie said: "I would like to hear about your ambition."
Master Shen said: "Although I am a native of Qi, I have lived in Wei for a long time. My father suffered a great defeat, and my son has suffered the humiliation. I dare not say anything about repaying him, but I only hope that water will be placed in front of the chariot and dust will be held behind. However, if we make a small amount of progress, we will not be able to win." .”
Huang Xie said: "Young master, how can you be so humble? Uncle Shen praises his ability and recommends him to the towns and cities. How can he be a person who only serves water and holds dust."
A thinner retainer behind him avoided the table and paid homage: "My young master is of a pure and gentle nature, loyal to work and quick in action. I hope that the public examination will be held in a different day, and there will be no loss."
Huang Xie said: "Qin, relying on the power of victory, wants to sweep over Chu and attack Chu. Young master, he plans it for me."
Mr. Shen said: "Qin will not dare to turn its back on Han and Wei and attack Chu. I hope you will not worry about it!"
Huang Xie said: "Han, Wei, and the Qin Alliance have vowed to attack Chu."
Master Shen said: "Qin has no great virtues compared to Han and Wei, but it has grievances for many generations, how can it be trusted? Qin fought in the suburbs of Chen, and Han and Wei attacked behind them, so the Qin army had no return! King Qin would rather not Conspiracy? That’s why we will not attack Chu.”
Huang Xie pondered for a moment and said: "Good! Dare I ask you to follow me to Qin?"
Mr. Shen said: "Here you go!"
Huang Xie called his retainers and said, "Young Master Shen is the youngest son of an old friend. He has traveled far and wide and has never settled down in peace. Now that he has come to serve, he has no choice but to say goodbye. I am an old friend of his father, but it is okay to live on the side."
The retainers responded and vacated the left and right rooms in the hall for Mr. Shen and three other people to live in. The retainers who originally lived here moved to the wing or side room. Mr. Shen and two retainers bowed down to express their gratitude.
After dinner, Huang Xie asked two retainers to guard the door. He asked Mr. Shen in the hall, "What did Mr. Mang say?"
Mr. Shen said: "My father was impressed by Huang Gong's virtue and ordered his ministers to submit to him. Everyone in the Mang family only obeys Huang Gong's orders and dare not disobey them."
Huang Xie's expression could not be seen clearly in the darkness, but he could only be heard saying: "How profound is Mr. Mang's favor! Who is the second gentleman?"
Mang Shen said: "Gai Keqing Cheyou and Mr. Hu Zhong are also here."
Huang Xie bowed from a distance and said, "How lucky I am to know the appearance of the second gentleman!"
The two of them ducked aside, not daring to respond.
Huang Xie said: "Since Mr. Mang has ordered me to come, he must be able to teach me!"
Mang Shen said: "May I ask, Mr. Huang, during this trip, do you want to march in Qin and meet the King of Qin?"
Huang Xie said: "Young master, please ask! Since I entered Qin, I should tell the King of Qin and make peace with him."
Mang Shen said: "If you want to take effect after ten years of gathering, teach you a lesson in ten years, and raise Qin in twenty years, I think it is wrong."
Huang Xie remained calm and said: "Shaokang's response to Yu was that once the fields were completed and the army was established, they destroyed Guo and Ge and restored Yu's achievements. Now Chu has taken half of the world, and it took ten years to gather people and teach them lessons. Would you rather not do it?"
Mang Shen said: "It's not as you said. The Qin people are strong not only because they have well-trained soldiers but also have enough food. They are also willing to fight without avoiding death. Chu Dan and Qin are at peace. Wei attacks its head and Han attacks its body. , attack the rear together, how can there be peace in Chu? Three battles in one day, still have to learn a lesson from Shengju?"
Huang Xie said: "As Mang Gong said, what can General Chu do?"
Mang Shen said: "In the battle of Huayang, Han and Wei were defeated, with few soldiers and generals. It was difficult for the country to survive. If Qin attacked it, it would be destroyed. Qi suffered a great change and the country was almost destroyed. Although it has recovered now, its power is exhausted and the people are poor. There is nothing we can do. But Chu’s plan is to lead Qin’s troops to the north, either to attack Yan or to attack Zhao, and Chu will be safe.”
Huang Xie said: "Qin and Zhao are both surnamed Ying, and they are brothers. Qin and Yan have blocked roads and disconnected borders. How can we attack them?"
Mang Shen said: "In the Huayang change, Zhao sent 30,000 troops to help Wei, but they all sank into the river. If Zhao is angry and Qin attacks us, there will be a big move. A battle between Qin and Zhao will happen unexpectedly!"
Huang Xie said: "Zhao used troops to help Wei Hu?"
Mang Shen said: "Of course. Zhao sent Jia Yan to send 30,000 troops as the vanguard, Wei sent 150,000 troops as the backbone, and asked Han to send 30,000 troops to the rear, with a total of 200,000 people, to capture Han Valley. How could it be that Han broke the agreement and refused to do so? When the army was launched, there was an allied attack on Han, which was defeated by Qin. The soldiers of Han and Wei were all killed. However, the Zhao army retreated to the river and was forced by Qin, but all of them sank. The corpses floated in the river. The water will not flow!"
