After repeated weighing, Zhang Lu gave up the idea of exploring the Zhidao personally and tried his best to cross the river with this army.
Despite being fully prepared in advance, many unexpected problems still arise every day, causing everyone a headache. But no matter how arduous the process was, the result was perfect: all 20,000 Qin troops and their baggage were able to cross the river from Mengjin Ferry within five days.
The military camp after crossing the river was located on the river beach next to the ferry. The main task of Bingcao and Gongzizhen became to write a merit book for the counties where the soldiers who participated in the war were located, and the meritorious officers of each battalion collectively participated in this matter. From far to near, a county was determined, and the county captain of that county was asked to take the soldiers of the county back to his hometown. By the time all the Qin troops had crossed the river, soldiers from several counties had already left.
Although the soldiers in Ye County were temporarily recruited by Hu Yang as a personal camp and selected personal guards, Hu Yang is not here now, and there are no official documents for these dispositions. In addition, everyone believed that Hu Yang was not going to die soon, so they did not send troops to Ye County. The soldiers and guards were treated as their own camp, but Cong Youxu recognized their merits. Zheng Anping's contribution is obvious. It is estimated that at least one noble official will be added, and he can have a personal camp of fifty people. Wang Lu and Sima Jin both suggested that Zheng Anping select fifty people from Hu Yang's personal guards. My own camp. When Zheng Anping went to recruit, most people in Ye County were unwilling to leave home for a long time and had psychological barriers to living in Xianyang permanently. In the end, only five people were recruited. In fact, Zheng Anping also had a big head when thinking about moving five families from Ye County to Xianyang.
After staying for another two days, all the civilian troops were demobilized. The officers of each family took their respective camps and the civilian troops from the counties in Guanzhong through the Yuhan Road and returned to Guanzhong. There are many soldiers who have been commended for their merits, but there are actually not many officers who can merit the merits. Except for Zheng Anping, there are only about ten of them, and most of them are officials. Although Sima Jin and Wang Hao both attacked the city and captured the There were more than a thousand heads, but there were also casualties among his subordinates. Even so, they were only rated as "average" and could not be promoted to nobility; - Of course, having thousands of soldiers under his subordinates able to obtain at least first-level merit is also a big gain. Chen Si can definitely be promoted to a knighthood, but this is because his current title is at the rank of non-commissioned officer, not considered an officer, and is not described according to the standards of an officer.
The reports of Gongzi Zhen and Zhang Lu had already been reported to Xianyang. When they arrived in Shaanxi County, they received the order from Xianyang. Zhang Lu left the crowd behind and returned to Xianyang quickly. Everyone's hearts tightened, wondering what happened in Xianyang. Zhang Lu did not dare to delay, so he took Huang Xie and Zheng Anping with him, borrowed a car from Shaanxi County, rushed into Hangu Pass, took a boat on the Weishui River, and returned to Xianyang. After arriving in Xianyang, the envoy from the Prime Minister's Mansion was already waiting at the post station. He asked everyone to go back to the post station, and Zhang Lu got in the car and drove away.
The car stopped in front of Hu Yang's house. Zhang Lu was relieved when he saw that it was Hu Yang's business. The messenger came forward and knocked on the door. Someone came out and took Zhang Lu in. In a side room, Wang Ji turned out to be the visitor.
When Wang Ji saw Zhang Lu coming in, he stood up, saluted, and took Zhang Lu to the back house to visit Hu Yang's injury. Wang Ji came to the steps and reported: "My guest, Zhang Lu, please see me!" When he was young, a woman's voice across the curtain said: "My guest, sir!"
The two went up the steps and entered the room. Hu Yang seated himself under the east wall, with a screen placed in front of the banquet. A row of women under the west wall bowed slightly when they saw the two people coming in. In front of the screen was Hu Yang's wife, who also knelt down and saluted, took Zhang and Wang into the screen, and stayed beside the screen.
It had only been a few days, and Hu Yang's calves were completely black. The fever has stopped and the breath has weakened; the mind is awake, but it is very sluggish. Seeing Zhang Lu come in, he seemed to want to pay tribute, but he could no longer raise his hand. Zhang Lu stepped forward and saluted: "Unexpectedly, I was even more seriously injured!"
Hu Yang shook his head and said: "I am so tired that I have an old illness. Fortunately, Zhang Qing has to die on the death table." Zhang Lu immediately understood that Hu Yang did not want to link his death with this expedition, and he was looking for a reason to cause an old illness. . He understood and said: "All the Qin troops in Handan have returned home, and their merits have been completed. Thousands of people have gained merit. My friends Zheng and Chen both have merit. I would like to thank you for your kindness!"
Hu Yang said: "Qing's Zheng and Chen have done a great job, it's a pity that they can't be punished!" He waved his wife to leave. She came out, called all the concubines under the west wall out of the back door, closed the door, and sat in front of the steps. The concubines stayed far away.
Hu Yang said: "Shangdang can pass through Handan. But the road is dangerous and difficult. This is the time for Zhang Qing to make a contribution!"
Zhang Lu said: "You must not let down the expectations of Zhong Geng!"
Hu Yang said: "Your passage is not only relied upon by military strategists, but also by the people. Fortunately, don't neglect it."
Zhang Lu said: "Sincerely welcome!"
Hu Yang said: "I am ill and will no longer see the prosperity of Qin. I hate it, hate it! Please encourage me!"
Zhang Lu said: "Don't worry about it, you will be blessed later!"
Hu Yang said: "I will give all my opinions to Marquis Rang..." These words seemed to have exhausted the last of Hu Yang's strength, making his voice soft and unpleasant.
Zhang Lu said: "Let's take care of ourselves in the middle of the watch, while I wait and retreat!"
The two of them exited, and Wang Ji went to the back door to ask his wife to come back. The two resigned and returned to the side room. Zhang Lu asked Wang Ji: "Why do you stay here?"
Wang Jidao said: "The king ordered that at the beginning of the watch, there may be some last words. He is ordered to pay attention to them day and night. But if you have something to say, you must repay it."
Zhang Lu said: "This can be reported to the king."
Wang Jidao: "The branch should be divided!" The two of them were in the wing, writing down the conversation between Hu Yang and Zhang Lu, and putting it aside. Wang Ji asked Zhang Lu to rest aside. Zhang Lu said, "I haven't heard from you for a long time. Now that I have found a way to help you, I would like to ask for advice!" Wang Ji repeatedly said, "How dare you". The two began to chat. Zhang Lu briefly introduced the situation of rescuing the Qin army, while Wang Ji introduced the Qin government in the past few days since Hu Yang came back. Suddenly, Wang Ji said: "The whole country knows about Qin He's happy event, but I may not have heard about it in Luoyang alone."
Zhang Lu said: "How happy are you?"
Wang Ji said: "The Queen Mother has granted marriage to the Prince of Chu!"
Zhang Lu said: "Who is the girl's family?"
Wang Ji said: "She is the youngest daughter of King Qin!"
Zhang Lu knew nothing about King Qin's family affairs and asked: "The King of Qin is over fifty years old, and both the prince and the young master have long hair. How old is his daughter?"
Wang Jidao said: "The King of Qin had difficulty in having heirs. Although he gave birth to several children, they all died young. There were only two boys and one girl. The two boys are known to you. The one girl was born to the king in his forties and was intelligent. The king loves her very much. Now she has hairpins. The queen mother traveled with the prince and fell in love with her very much. She ordered the king to marry him with a girl!"
Zhang Lu said: "Wang Qi allows it?"
Wang Ji said: "The king is very filial, and the queen mother personally orders her. How can she not allow it? But the king loves his daughter very much and does not want her to leave. I hope the prince will live in Qin forever."
Zhang Lu said: "Prince, do you agree to this?"
Wang Jidao: "How can the prince dare to say anything again? The prince Fu Yan is a disciple of the left, and his father is responsible for it. He should retaliate and report it to the king!"
Zhang Lu said: "That's a lot of words. How could the King of Qin marry a daughter to the prince and the King of Chu doesn't know about it?"
The two talked for a long time about the marriage of King Qin's daughter. Zhang Lu found that it seemed that the prince and the princess had already met each other, and they knew each other very well. This made Zhang Lu wonder. He wanted to know with some anticipation what Huang Xie's attitude was towards this matter.
The visitor who came to take over arrived on time. Wang Ji signaled to the visitor. Zhong Geng and Zhang Qing had a brief conversation, which was recorded. The visitor nodded in agreement and asked Wang Ji to return to the palace to report. Zhang Lu also left with Wang Ji and went to Guanyi to rest.
When Zhang Lu arrived at Guanyi, the envoy sent by Marquis Rang was already waiting for him. Zhang Lu changed his clothes and left with the envoy.
The envoy brought Zhang Lu to the residence of Prime Minister Wei. His family opened the door and took Zhang Lu in. When he was young, Wei Ran pretended to be casual. The two had seen the ceremony and sat opposite each other.
Wei Ran first told Zhang Lu about his hard work, and then asked about the situation of the army and soldiers. When he heard that there were thousands of people reporting on the merits, he was very happy and said: "What I am worried about is the shortcomings of farming. This spring we will be able to count again." Thousands of hectares of fields, you will definitely gain something." Then he asked: "The two sons of the Qing family went to the Zhonggang camp together, did they report their achievements?"
Zhang Lu answered honestly: "Chengzhong is more commendable and each has his own contribution."
Wei Ran said: "The map of mountains and rivers and terrain drawn by Chen of the Qing family is very useful for the map. I will make the contribution again."
Zhang Lu bowed down and said, "If you show your love to me, I should express your gratitude!"
Wei Ran said: "Your Majesty, how long have you been here? What is your condition like?"
Zhang Lu said: "Zhong Geng is seriously injured and his breath is dying. It is difficult to get up unless he is recuperated."
Wei Ran said: "Wu Anjun thought that the poisonous fire had attacked the heart and he could not return. Unexpectedly, after a few days of recuperation, the fever subsided and the mind was clear. It is really blessed by God!"
Zhang Lu said: "However, I think the injury is critical, the good is declining and the evil is winning, and the bad and good are not yet determined."
Wei Ran said: "What you said is true. However, when Zhong Geng was critically ill, he offered his advice to the king, saying that the party has a way to lead to Handan." As he spoke, he took out a picture scroll and looked at it carefully, and said: " It is based on the drawing scroll made by Chen Zi." Pointing to the picture, he said: "Chen Zi went down from Yanyu and arrived at Handan in three days."
Zhang Lu said: "I was in Luoyang and heard that the Wei army came out of Nanyang. The envoy's report was only three or two days old."
Wei Ran said: "The Han army entered Shangdang from Nanyang; the Wei army entered Shangdang from the right side of the mountain. There are two roads leading to Shangdang. Zhong Geng added that it may be said that Taiyuan leads to Handan. Live a good life. There are three things."
Zhang Lu said: "I would like to build a road directly to Handan."
Wei Ran glanced at Zhang Lu and said: "Taoyi has water roads extending in all directions, and also leads to Handan. However, the soldiers are small and weak, so it is difficult to do anything. If we get Guangtaoyi..."
Zhang Lu said: "Taoyi is a land of merchants. The people are stubborn. They are not used to fighting and are fond of fighting among themselves. Even if there are a hundred thousand people, they can't fight."
Wei Ran said: "The people don't practice warfare, so let the government teach them! Tao, I am a feudal lord, and I have never practiced warfare. It is my crime. Now I should be more responsible for practicing it."
Zhang Lu said: "Setting up as a merchant and doing business, keeping more children and servants, neglecting the countryside and focusing on profits, his business is very different from that of farmers, and it is difficult to practice warfare. The reforms of the former Shang kings emphasized agriculture and suppressed business, and this is how it was done. Tao, the world Among them, merchants are prevalent and cannot be suppressed; although the surrounding fields are vast, there are often floods, making farming difficult, and there are few farmers. Even if Qin's method is to suppress each other and emphasize this, it may be difficult to do so."
Wei Ran said: "Zhang Qing knows one thing, but not the other. There are many merchants, children and servants, and their boats and carriages travel thousands of miles. They are agile and convenient, and they can become elites without training. They have eyes and ears all over the world, from temples to grasslands." , Hear everything. If you can collect it and use it, there won’t be enough people in the world to conquer it!"
