The prince and Huang Xie formed a team of fifteen people to enter Qin. For safety reasons, thirty-five elite Chu soldiers were selected to pretend to be porters and follow them forward. I thought that fifty people were enough to reduce the number, but when I arrived at the city where the Qin people were staying, I was repeatedly criticized by Hu Yang: first he said there were not enough houses, and then he said that only six people could accompany the hostages. Huang Xie explained that there were six people accompanying the prince. Another prince Fu, a prince's official, and a Zuo disciple were all envoys escorting the prince. Thirty-five porters were ordered by Lord Jingyang to deliver gifts. For the Queen Mother.
If Hu Yang wanted to say anything else, Lord Jingyang said: "The Queen Mother is very interested in the things in Chu, so she cannot ignore it. She is willing to accept it."
Hu Yang said: "I am going to the camp to rest for a while, and I would like to live in a room with the prince."
Hu Yang had a wing in the mansion. Hu Yang didn't have many things, so he simply packed up and left. Huang Xie watched Hu Yang leave with an unspeakable feeling in his heart. He wanted to say a few words to him, but he didn't know where to start, so he could only stand blankly.
After Hu Yang left, a public servant, at the signal of Lord Jingyang, led the prince into the back room of the house where Hu Yang lived. A total of five people, including the prince's prime minister, attendants and guards, stayed with the prince. Huang Xie, Prince Fu and other "members of the delegation" shared the two rooms in the back house with nine people in total, and thirty-five porters shared the same room. The box containing the king's jewels and the ten stone water chestnuts given to the Queen Mother were all piled in the prince's ear room. It seems messy, but it is actually to protect the prince: if something happens, the five attendants can use the water chestnuts to resist for a while, buying time for the Chu soldiers to reinforce. Thirty-five porters lived in a side room, but they couldn't live in it, so they had to sleep on the corridor. Fortunately, the weather was still warm, and Chu people were already used to sleeping in the open. Of course, if anything happened, they could be found out quickly.
That night, Lord Jingyang summoned everyone and conveyed the edict that had just been sent from Xianyang: the mission would immediately set off to return home after the Prince of Chu arrived. After the people of Qin learned from Huang Xie that the prince would enter Qin with the envoys, they sent an urgent report to Xianyang. Tonight, the corresponding instructions arrived.
Hu Yang made arrangements to return to China overnight. After breakfast the next day, the Qin army set out on the road. When the Han envoy sent each other off, both Jingyang Lord and Hu Yang sat in the car and said goodbye to Han Chen; the Chu Prince's car followed behind. The Qin army was well organized and marched north one after another. Jingyang Jun and others, as well as the gifts given back by South Korea, were all marching in the middle of the team. After arriving in Huayang, the new Huayang captain came out of the city to work with his troops. The Qin army made final supplies here and reorganized the troops. Huang Xie also took advantage of the short break to arrange his future itinerary as much as possible.
After leaving Huayang, the Qin army's progress became cautious: Hu Yang led 500 men in the vanguard and set off half a day in advance; the rearguard escorted the carriages and officers and followed up later. The second stop turned out to be near Guanyi. Because the city was small, the army did not enter the city. Zheng Anping and others prepared a few stones of water as a labor force.
The current weather in Guanyi is very different from that of half a year ago: peaches and plums are planted on both sides of the road leading to the Great Wall, and the number of acres of cultivated land has doubled compared to last year - although there is still more wasteland and less land. There are already business travelers lingering here one after another. Not only the inns are full, but also the inverse travelers in the city are almost full. Hu Yang passed by here at the end of last year. Although it was night, he was still familiar with the environment in this area due to the vigilance of the soldiers. When he saw it today, the old appearance changed to a new one. Huang Xie was also very concerned about this place, because it was a fiefdom that Lord Xinling conquered and was eager to develop. For this reason, he asked Huang Xie and then asked the King of Han.
The Chu envoy's camp is not far from Jingyang Lord. Chu people did not have the habit of wearing curtains, and no one had such a thing. Fifty people gathered together, with the prince and others in the middle. Those so-called porters actually revealed their identities that day, but everyone tacitly understood it and didn't say anything about it. Huang Xie, Prince Fu, and Prince Fu Cheng are the core of this team. The three of them are sitting next to the prince. The attendants and guards are sitting relatively close to each other, which does not hinder their conversation. The others are sitting far away and are on guard. effect. Now, Huang Xie explained to the prince the longitude and latitude of Guanyi: Guanyi is located at the junction of Wei and Han. Lord Xinling conquered this place, and the King of Wei granted this place to Lord Xinling. This actually meant that this land It was included in the scope of the Wei State, which would inevitably cause dissatisfaction in South Korea; when the King of Wei granted this land to Lord Xinling, he was actually giving this hot potato to Lord Xinling to deal with: if Lord Xinling could not handle it well, he would not be able to deal with it well. When South Korea started to argue, King Wei took a step back without losing face; if Lord Xinling handled it well and steadily controlled this land, it would naturally be a strategic success for Wei! This meant that Wei's customary border expanded outwards by dozens of miles, seriously compressing South Korea's strategic space, and virtually hindered or even cut off the connection between Zheng and Xingyang, making South Korea's control over Xingyang even weaker. Huang Xie dictated and pointed, talking non-stop for an hour, until the cook informed him that the meal was ready.
When Huang Xie left Zheng Guo, he bought twenty-five shi of corn in Zheng State at the standard of half a shi per person and bought a cart to drag it with him. Since there are densely populated areas along the way, you can eat as much as you want, so there is no risk of running out of food. When the Chu envoys came to Korea to offer sacrifices, they brought a large amount of rice with them on the ship. After three or four days of consumption, there was not much left. The remaining one or two stones of rice were left to Huang Xie and the others. Huang Xie was afraid that the prince would not be used to eating corn, so he left all the remaining rice to the prince, and everyone else had to eat millet porridge. At first, the Chu chefs wanted to steam rice like corn. Huang Xie told them that steamed corn rice did not taste good, and it was better to cook it as porridge.
The Chu people were accustomed to eating rice, but they suddenly switched to millet porridge. They were fine on the first day, but on the second day they found that millet porridge was not as hungry as rice. They were supposed to last for one day, but after walking for a long time, they were hungry. After arriving at the camp, Even dizzy with hunger. Huang Xie has been traveling in the north for several years and has some experience. He tells everyone that drinking porridge is not like eating. It should only be eaten when you are slightly full, but until you are full. He gestured to the big Chinese bowl, indicating that he wanted to eat such a big bowl.
The Chu people watched the Qin people from a distance. They didn't seem to raise fire. They carried ration belts with them. When they camped, they poured some corn into the ration belts and soaked them in water to drink. Huang Xie didn't understand either, so he ran to ask a Qin soldier, and then he learned that the Qin army's dry food was specially fried and could be eaten by soaking it in water without cooking. The Qin soldier kindly gave Huang Xie a hand. Huang Xie returned to the camp to soak in some food and found that there was salt in it! Huang Xie shared it with everyone, and everyone agreed that eating it in the short term is not bad, but eating it in the long term may not be tolerated by the stomach!
On the third day he entered Xingyang, on the fourth day he entered Chenggao, and on the fifth day he entered Gong. Cheng Gao and Gong are both the most powerful places in the world. One man is in charge and ten thousand men are not allowed to open the gate. After walking for two days in Luoyang, we then went to Xin'an and Mianchi. These places that originally belonged to the Zhou Dynasty are now under the jurisdiction of South Korea. After passing Mianchi, we entered Shaanxian County, which was considered to be the land of Qin!
After entering Qin, the situation was obviously different. As soon as the army entered Shaanxi, a pavilion chief came to inquire. After checking the festival talisman, the head of the pavilion guided them all the way to the county seat. The county magistrate warmly welcomed the return of Jingyang Jun and his party, and then the Qin army was disbanded on the spot, leaving Hu Yang to write a performance report for all the soldiers; the gifts given by South Korea were delivered here, and the county magistrate counted the types and quantities and reported them to Xianyang , transport to various locations as directed or keep for your own use. Lord Jingyang was alone and took fifty people including Prince Chu to live in Guanyi. Lord Jingyang, with his title of Marquis (he is still Marquis of Wan), has the right to enjoy the highest-end food; while the Prince of Chu and others, as followers of Lord Jingyang, although they do not have a title, they are entitled to an official meal with the same title: A dou of coarse grains, half a liter of sauce, and a portion of vegetable soup; each animal has half a stone of fodder. Although Huang Xie and others had experienced it once, they were also surprised by the Qin people's strict implementation of the law. The prince and his entourage, as well as the Chu soldiers, who had never been to Qin, were almost shocked.
The prince's share of rice is no different from other people's. The cook wanted to make a portion of rice for the prince alone. After seeing his own portion, the prince refused and said, "When a servant enters Qin, he should eat Qin food and wear Qin clothes. He does not dare to travel thousands of miles away."
Huang Xie exclaimed: "The prince sees clearly, it is a blessing to the country!"
The next day, Shaanxi County sent people to escort along the way until the handover at Hangu Pass. Lieutenant Hangu sent a small team of people to escort Lord Jingyang to the Weishui River and loaded everything onto the boat. Fifty people took two boats and set off to Xianyang first. They handed over to Hangu's guards and took the empty carriage overland. Cheng was sent to Xianyang.
On the day that Lord Jingyang arrived in Shaanxian County, the postal report had already been flown to Xianyang, and the schedule of Lord Jingyang and the Prince of Chu had been clearly arranged. When the boat arrived at the ferry, the envoys of Qin were waiting at the ferry. One person welcomed Lord Jingyang into the palace, and the other led everyone in the Chu state to settle down at the post. When they arrived at Guanyi, they were allotted rooms. The envoy of Qin said: "The system of Qin is that for those who are taken as hostages, there are six official and casual people. Now there are fifty envoys from Chu. The Prime Minister of Qin has taught me that Chu has traveled thousands of miles and cannot arrive until dawn and dusk." And the courtesy of the Queen Mother is indispensable. The envoy of Chu is fifty, and the official meal is three days. After three days, it is in accordance with the law."
After Huang Xie heard this, he was very embarrassed and asked: "The Prince of Chu is just a young man, and his knowledge is not yet full, so he should give a little training in addition to accompanying him. I don't know if it is possible!"
The envoy of Qin said: "If you don't have other teachings, it's okay!"
Huang Xie saw that the Qin envoy had no room for maneuver at all. He only had to wait until he saw the king and ask for an order from the king. If it didn't work, he would stop talking. He said to the envoy of Qin: "The water chestnuts I serve to the Queen Mother are all freshly picked. They are crispy and delicious. If they are left for a long time, they will be dry and difficult to eat.
The envoy of Qin said: "I should report it!" When I was young, I saw that the place was well settled, so the envoy of Qin left.
In the afternoon, the Qin envoy came to report that the king ordered to go to court on the same day. After the court, we went to Ganlu Palace to pay homage to the Queen Mother. That night, Huang Xie, Prince Fu and the Prince performed a ceremony all night long.
The next day, Huang Xie served the prince and dressed in Chu clothes. He also put on official clothes, left the post house and went straight to Zhangtai Palace. After checking the festival talisman, they were announced to go in. Lord Jingyang came out and took the two of them in.
