After a warm meal of multigrain porridge, the doctor leading the team counted the number of people. There were more than 7,000 people in total. Although no one has clearly said who will be brought back, everyone knows that keeping the labor force means saving the hope of a family, so the ones who come back are without exception the strongest labor force in the family. After resting for a day outside Puban City and eating three meals of porridge, everyone felt energetic and came to Fengling with the few remaining grains.
A large group of seven or eight thousand people is different from a small group of five hundred people. They can cover sixty or seventy miles in one day. They carefully built a camp at the mouth of the Sushui River and rested for the night before arriving at Fengling Ferry. By this time, the road had almost reached Fengling.
When the two sides met, there was not much food left from Jie County. Wei County could still supply food for another ten days, but at its current scale, if the amount of food transported was increased, Wei County might not be able to support it.
Zhang Lu sent a letter to Xianyang, asking Xianyang to support him with 50,000 shi of grain. In order to strengthen his persuasion, Zhang Lu decided that Zheng Anping would deliver the letter personally.
Crossing the river from Fengling, the other side is the Weishui River. Due to the knot talisman, the ferry can go straight into the Weishui River and drive to the inn. The post station sent its own post ship to take Zheng Anping to Xianyang. Since it was not an urgent matter, it took five days to reach the nearly 300-mile waterway. It was sunset when the ship arrived at Xianyang. Zheng Anping reported to Xianyang Palace and explained his reasons. The minister in charge of registration said: "The county guard has sealed it, and I dare not stay without permission. I should report it to the Prime Minister and obey the order the next day." "Zheng Anping came out and rested in the post house next to Xianyang Palace.
After completing the check-in procedures, Zheng Anping asked to see Huang Xie. The post official went over to report, and Huang Xie sent Mang Shen out to invite him. Mang Shen and Zheng Anping met very cordially and were extremely respectful.
Huang Xie took Zheng Anping to visit the prince. Since Huang Xie came back from Luoyang, the prince left Faganquan Palace and returned to the palace, where he repeated attending court, studying and training every day. Although he was granted a marriage by the King of Qin, he did not dare to neglect it at all. Night is the time for the prince to practice martial arts. Although he is not a good martial artist, he is quite accomplished in martial arts under the supervision of Master Yan. Seeing that Huang Xie had brought Zheng Anping over, the prince greeted him respectfully. The prince Fu asked the prince to change his clothes and receive the guests. Today's martial arts classes were suspended.
In the prince's hall, Huang Xie, the prince, and prince Fu served as hosts and placed fruits, dried meat and other items. Huang Xie said: "He Dongcheng must have something important to do when he comes back!"
Zheng Anping introduced the situation of road construction in Hedong and pointed out the current difficulties in Hedong: "With the help of Shangjun, there are tens of thousands of soldiers in Hedong. However, the road in Hedong is flat, and it is easier to ram and build it. Now it has connected to Fenyin, Pishi, Anyi, The cities of Wu and Wei, as well as the two towns of Mao and Fengling. It has been five days since I returned, and I may have passed through Puban. However, there is little food in Puban, and the people in the county want to collect 50,000 shi of food from Xianyang to meet the emergency. "
Huang Xie said: "Fifth of the nine counties in the east of Hedong are now connected. Puban, Jie, Yishi, and Quwo are all former Wei Anyi areas. The Marquis of Wei relied on them to dominate the world in the past. Is it possible for the world to be dominated by ten thousand people? Don’t have enough food to support it?”
Zheng Anping said: "In the past, the Wei Dynasty had more than 100,000 households in Anyi. Now they have all retreated to Guandong. However, there are more than 10,000 Qin immigrants in the old area of Anyi. The fields are barren, the ditches are not repaired, and the city is dilapidated, making it difficult to support them."
Huang Xie said: "There is a famine in Shangjun. The county guard reports the disaster, and the dead are borrowed from each other. But isn't it also okay to move the people of Shangjun to the east of the river?"
Zheng Anping said: "Shangjun sent tens of thousands of soldiers to the east of the river to build roads. The shoujun wanted to go to the county to recruit people to build the east of the river, but there were more than 4,000 households in the county, and many of them were old and weak. In addition, each of those who had meritorious service in building the road was assisted by one person. Eight thousand people were obtained. All of them were helpers, but they did not gain employment as farmers."
Huang Xie said: "Twenty thousand Ding from Shangjun have been sent to the east of Hedong. If you keep them as guardians, there will be more than 20,000 households! Counting the rest, there will be more than 30,000 households! In addition, with the four counties of Pishi, Fenyin, Wu and Wei, there will be no less than ten Tens of thousands of households! It is not difficult to conquer the refugees and restore the old affairs of the Wei Dynasty."
Zheng Anping said: "It's true what I wanted, but I didn't get the plan."
Huang Xie said: "Qin's mission to recruit talents is to establish a tree, rather than to pass through it?"
Zheng Anping said: "The soldiers in Shangjun are all scholars. The best part is there. Wouldn't you rather take it away?"
Huang Xie said: "In the past, the king of Chu had a treasure bow, but he lost it while hunting. He asked for it. The king said: The people of Chu lost it, and the people of Chu got it, so why ask for it! The people of Shangjun are also the people of Qin. Now they belong to Anyi, Qin Order. How can the county be spared?"
Although Zheng Anping felt that Huang Xie's idea was a bit evil, he couldn't say anything, so he asked another question: "Anyi has been deserted for a long time, and the warehouses are at the bottom. Even if there are people, how can we support them?"
Huang Xie said: "Qin Fa Ning is raising the people? It is early summer, and all things are flourishing. There is an abundance of food in the wild. At this time, sow seeds and raise seedlings, and you will definitely see harvests in March, and the barns will be full."
Zheng Anping said: "What can you do if you seize the people without the permission of the county governor?"
Huang Xie said: "Qin's order is to recruit talented people from Hedong, but Shangjun can't do anything about it? Isn't it true that King Qin's order cannot be implemented in Shangjun? When the people of Shangjun hear the orders of King Qin and return to Hedong, how can the governor of Shangjun comply with them?"
Zheng Anping said: "I, Qin, have ordered me to ask for 50,000 shi of food, but I have not heard of him."
Huang Xie said with a smile: "Since the official is the prime minister of Hedong, he should be diligent in recruiting people for Hedong. He should accumulate grain and fodder early, prepare more weapons, expand the territory and make achievements. The governor of Hedong is the prime minister who is expected by the King of Qin. The governor of Qin is here. Zhang Qing is an important minister, and it must be what the prime minister does. If he only asks for money and food, the king is willing to do it, but the ministers will not pay attention to Zhang Qing? He is guarding a county and cannot share the king's worries. On the contrary, it will be a burden to the country and let down the expectations of the public. !”
Zheng Anping originally wanted to ask Huang Xie for advice on how to persuade the Qin court to agree to transport food as soon as possible tomorrow. Unexpectedly, Huang Xie told him that even asking for food was shirking responsibility and not fulfilling his duties. His heart immediately became heavy. . He had to say that Huang Xie's words accurately grasped Qin Chen's feelings. Zhang Lu went to Xianyang to ask for food, which was a last resort. If food difficulties had not occurred in every county, he would never have taken this step. Zheng Anping is not without worries, but there is always some luck. What if it is approved smoothly? When Huang Xie said this, Zheng Anping's momentum dropped by half.
Seeing that he couldn't get the advice he wanted from Huang Xie, Zheng Anping had no choice but to turn to gossip and asked: "How can the Queen Mother grant a marriage to the Prince's Mansion?"
Huang Xie sat in the middle and saluted, saying: "It's my fault! The prince's palace has been completed, but the Chu utensils are not prepared... It's too late today, and it's not enough to ask the doctor for instructions tomorrow."
Zheng Anping said: "My lord and his ministers are strangers in Qin. They have few foundations. They have not received anything to offer, and they have little to express their feelings."
Huang Xie said: "I will benefit a lot from going to Luoyang with Zhang Qing and the doctor. The prince will benefit a lot if he can be looked after by the doctor!"
Zheng Anping suddenly asked: "What happened to Hu Yang in the middle of the night?"
Huang Xie said: "It hurts so much that I don't want to live. Life is worse than death!"
Zheng Anping asked: "What do you mean?"
Huang Xie said: "The wound was poisoned by swamp, and the poison would attack the heart and lead to death. Fortunately, Qin doctors used medicine to relieve it. The poison did not develop and has persisted to this day. Now the surface of the sore is dark, putrid and inaudible, or the cloud has penetrated deep into the bones, causing pain. It hurts the heart and spleen. I feel pain day and night in the middle of the night, but the pain is only relieved by medicine. The heroes of the middle of the generation are so miserable!"
Zheng Anping was shocked and said anxiously: "I want to go to Zhonggeng before clearing the street. Dare you say anything!"
Huang Xie said: "I'm going to go here, sir. If I have something to teach you when I return, I will always be there if I call upon you!"
Zheng Anping hurriedly said goodbye and headed to Zhonggeng Mansion.
The prince asked Huang Xie: "My father wants Zhang Qing to send people to the county, but why?"
Huang Xie said: "If you want to go up to the county, there will be no harmony in the east of the river."
Zheng Anping arrived at Zhonggeng Mansion before dark. As Hu Yang's condition worsened and what he wanted to express had been exhausted, the visitors sent by the King of Qin had withdrawn. When Zheng Anping arrived, he only saw his family.
Zheng Anping explained his identity. He went to Yanyu and Wu'an with Zhong Geng at that time. He was promoted to a noble official due to his merit and is now Hedong Cheng. The family still vaguely remembers that there was indeed such a person at the time, because most of the officials who accompanied the expedition did not receive meritorious service enough to be promoted to a noble title. Zheng Anping was promoted to a noble officer as a doctor, which was still very outstanding at the time.
The room was very dark, and the wife and concubines were no longer waiting at the table. Only the family members who were keeping watch at night, holding fire, sent Zheng Anping to the table. The firelight was erratic, and Zheng Anping couldn't see Hu Yang's face clearly, but the strong smell of corruption was clearly audible, and flies were flying around here. Zheng Anping knelt in front of the banquet and called out softly: "Is it safe during the middle of the night?"
There was no answer, just heavy snoring. The family member said: "I have been suffering from pain for a day, so I took some medicine to relieve the pain and then fell asleep."
Zheng Anping asked: "How is it going during the update?"
The family member said: "The wound was mixed with pus and blood, and the stench was indescribable. There was no other reason, but it hurt my ears when I heard it! Doctor Qin said that the wound was deep to the bone and it was incurable. If there was a fever, he would die!"
Zheng Anping couldn't bear to see Hu Yang's painful look after he woke up, so he stood up and said goodbye, saying: "During the middle of the Sui Dynasty, I just wanted to visit Mr. Zheng. I am on a mission now, so I don't dare to delay."
The family said: "I don't dare to work for the doctor!"
Zheng Anping took out a piece of salt and said, "Anyi is desolate and there is nothing else to grow, but I just got a piece of salt to eat with Zhong Geng!" The family said goodbye again.
When Zheng Anping returned to Guanyi, he had no intention of meeting Huang Xie again, so he fell down on the mat and fell asleep.
The next day, Zheng Anping tidied up his appearance a little, and went to Zhangtai Palace with the prince and Huang Xie. When we arrived at the Weishui Bridge, everyone who went to court got off the bus here and called their friends to go with them. The prince and Huang Xie were both guests, and they were placed before the ministers when they went to court. Zheng Anping was just an official, not even qualified to go to the palace, so he could only stand in the court. So after crossing the bridge, the prince and Huang Xie separated from Zheng Anping. Zheng Anping stood alone in front of the palace gate behind a group of low-level officials, waiting for the start of the court. Although Zheng Anping has not been in Qin for a long time, his rapid promotion has long been known to everyone. Although he didn't know many of his colleagues, it didn't stop others from getting to know him. They came over to greet him one by one, and he responded respectfully, without daring to neglect them.
The movement here attracted the attention of others. So the five senior officials Wang Lu, Sima Jin, and Gongcheng Wang Ling also came to greet him and asked him when he would return home and what he was doing. Zheng Anping answered one by one.
