The bamboo strips hit my buttocks, causing a burning pain. There were bloodstains one after another, but they didn't hurt or break. After twenty minutes of playing, Zheng Anping felt pained and aggrieved, and wanted to cry, but he couldn't find anyone to cry to. He struggled to get up and moved his legs. Although it hurt, it didn't hinder his walking, and he staggered out of the Prime Minister's Mansion. After returning to the post, the post official saw that Zheng Anping had a bad look and a staggering gait. He hurriedly came over to help him and asked, "Why is the doctor like this?"
Zheng Anping gritted his teeth and replied: "Twenty floggings!"
The post official was startled and said, "Why?"
Zheng Anping said: "The mission is wrong!"
The post official said: "Twenty floggings can be redeemed with money. Wouldn't you rather not redeem it, sir?"
Zheng Anping seemed to wake up after being asked this question. Qin's law stipulated that punishment should be redeemed with money. The price of any punishment was clearly marked, but because of the heat of the moment, I forgot this stipulation. However, he excused himself and said: "I don't have money, so what can I do?"
The post official flattered him and said, "When the official comes, I will do my best to help you. How can a doctor be like this?"
Zheng Anping said: "I was injured for the first time, and I should return quickly. What can I do now?"
The post official said: "I heard that if you are injured for the first time, you can apply cold water on it and the swelling will disappear for a while."
Zheng Anping said: "I hope the officials will prepare it for me!"
The post official helped Zheng Anping into the room, went to the well to get a jar of well water, and brought a piece of Gebu. Zheng Anping climbed on the mat. The post official wetted the cloth with water and applied it to Zheng Anping's buttocks. Zheng Anping thanked him and went out. After a while, Mang Shen, Mr. Che and Mr. Hu also came in. Zheng Anping said: "If you don't handle things well, everyone will laugh at you."
Mang Shen took out a medicine bottle from his arms, sprinkled some medicine on the wound, and then soaked the hot cold compress in water again before applying it to him. Zheng Anping expressed his gratitude: "I have received so many favors, how can I repay them!"
Mr. Cheyou said: "Why should the doctor be blamed?"
Zheng Anping told the story of how he entered the prime minister's office: Marquis Rang proposed that if Zhang Lu formally submitted a letter requesting assistance, then according to Qin law, the road construction operation would only be rated as a failure, and all personnel from top to bottom would have no credit. For Zhang Lu's sake, please ask Zheng Anping to take back this document on the grounds that it was "delivered by mistake." Since it was a mistake, the person who made the mistake would be punished, so he received twenty strokes.
Mr. Cheyou smiled bitterly and said: "The redemption fee is only one tael of gold, which is about more than 500 yuan. The doctor will redeem it!"
Zheng Anping said: "At that time, my heart was in a state of confusion, but not as much as this."
Mang Shen said: "Didn't he report the person who did it?"
Zheng Anping said: "Not yet! I took the talisman and went out and reported it to the punishment cao. The punishment cao transferred it to the meritorious cao and ordered the execution to be carried out at the bottom of the steps without saying anything else."
Mang Shen said: "The doctor gave the festival talisman to the meritorious officer. Naturally, there is no redemption. It should be redeemed to Ranghou!"
Zheng Anping said: "Does Marquis Rang know that I have to redeem myself and not teach him?"
Mang Shen said: "Maybe so."
Zheng Anping said: "According to Qin law, those who redeem themselves from flogging without reporting it should also be flogged."
The two gentlemen also became more energetic and said: "As expected, he must be punished!"
Zheng Anping said: "Since I regret my letter and my mission has not been completed, I should urgently report to the guardian for the sake of future affairs. It is not time to investigate the fault of Marquis Rang."
Mr. Cheyou said: "What a pity, what a pity! When will the doctor start?"
Zheng Anping said: "Since the young master gave me the medicine, my pain has lessened, and I think I will be cured soon."
Mr. Cheyou said: "What strategy will the doctor use to defend the country?"
Zheng Anping said: "There is no way to plan, so we can only sue."
Mr. Cheyou said: "We will definitely capture the people of the county..." Then he explained the plan they agreed on in detail, and finally concluded: "If we conquer the soldiers and people according to Qin's order, who of the Qin officials dare to stop it!"
Zheng Anping listened carefully to Mr. Che You's statement and the other two's additions, and said: "Sir's intention, I should report it to you. If things are successful, they must be repaid."
During this process, several people also helped Zheng Anping change cold compresses several times, and Zheng Anping felt almost better. Mang Shen looked at the condition and said, "As long as it doesn't break out, it will be fine." He gave his medicine bottle to Zheng Anping. Zheng Anping felt that most of his pain was gone, so he struggled to get up and said: "Without further delay, I will go to Hedong immediately!" Everyone knew the seriousness and did not stop him. They helped him pack his luggage and sent him out of the inn. The post official had already contacted the ship. Zheng Anping arrived at the Weishui Ferry and boarded the ship directly. He only put his luggage in the cabin. He did not dare to sit down in the cabin, so he stood on the bow of the ship to blow the wind. It was a light windy and drizzling day, and the mountains and rivers far away were shrouded in mist. The boatman asked Zheng Anping to take shelter in the cabin. Zheng Anping was embarrassed to say that he had been beaten and couldn't sit down. He just smiled and refused: "Xia It's lucky to have such a drizzle. Why avoid it!" Seeing that he had difficulty moving, the boatman, who was a member of the official family, naturally guessed the reason and stopped trying to persuade him. He only rowed the boat downstream. Zheng Anping stayed at the inn as scheduled. He didn't dare to lie down on his back the first night, but when he got up the next day, his activities were no longer hindered.
It only took two days for the boat to reach the mouth of the Weishui River. The boatman asked Zheng Anping, "Will the doctor stay at Weikou Post or Fengling Post?"
Zheng Anping said: "How about going to Puban Station?"
The boatman said: "The boat can still be crossed when it reaches Fengling. If it reaches Puban, the wind may pick up halfway and it may tip over. If the doctor wants to reach Puban, he can rest overnight at Weikou and cross over again tomorrow."
Zheng Anping didn't want to delay another night, so he said: "Well, we can go to Fengling." So the boatman speeded up the paddling slightly, letting the boat paddle across the Wei River like flying. Sure enough, he crossed the Yellow River before sunset and arrived at Fengling.
Zheng Anping only had dinner at Fenglingyi and asked the post official about the situation of the road construction brigade. The post official told him that the brigade had left Fengling five or six days ago. Zheng Anping calculated that in five or six days, the road should be almost built to Puban. He asked the post official to show him the newly built road, picked up his luggage, and followed the repaired road to catch up with the road-building army. I hurried on until midnight when I finally saw a fire ahead. Although the weather is getting warmer, you still have to light a fire in the wild to drive away wild animals and mosquitoes. When they reached five miles away, they were stopped by the patrol sentry. Zheng Anping revealed his identity, and the patrol sent Zheng Anping up one level at a time, and finally arrived at the central camp. The sentry at the middle camp knew Zheng Anping and let him in without any further questions.
The grass that had just rained was still very wet, but the fire had dried the ground, and the soldiers were sleeping in groups here and there. Zhang Lu slept on the grass, very peacefully. Chen Si and Mang Wei were sleeping not far away. Pi Wan and the Duke of Shangjun were also among this group of people. This place is about ten miles away from Puban City, and there are also a few sparse homes around. But Zhang Lu and others followed the army and camped in the wild without finding a home.
Zheng Anping came over. There were soldiers around who were not asleep, so he sat up and said hello: "Hello, Zheng Cheng!" Zheng Anping motioned for them to lie down so as not to disturb others, but Zhang Lu jumped up, stepped over the fire, and held his hand. He grabbed Zheng Anping's hand and pulled him to the fire. Everyone around the fire was awake.
Although Zheng Anping's whiplash injury was mostly healed, it still hurt when he sat down, but he couldn't show it in front of everyone, so he said, "It's urgent, so I'd like to tell you in person."
Zhang Lu felt strange, so he took Zheng Anping and moved him outside the fire, away from everyone, and asked, "What's the matter?"
Zheng Anping's voice was choked with sobs as he said: "My lord has a mission, but I can't do it!..."
Zhang Lu quickly consoled him: "Don't make any sad noises, please speak slowly!"
Zheng Anping finally stopped choking and said: "Marquis Rang does not send out grain and fodder, and the law of Qin says that if a general goes out to ask for help, it will be the same as defeat..."
Zhang Lu said: "Do you accept my letter?"
Zheng Anping said: "I have already submitted it, and Marquis Rang knows it. Therefore, I call on my ministers to discuss it. If I don't return the book, there will be no need to ask for help. Lord, the matter of building the road is over, everyone has contributed. If we fail, we will all be defeated." It's no use. I obeyed his words, asked for a letter and returned."
Zhang Lu said: "I see you are carrying a punishment, why?"
Zheng Anping said: "I asked for the letter to return it because I made a mistake. If I made a mistake, I should be flogged twenty times."
Zhang Lubo said angrily: "Old thief, you have deceived me so much!" His voice was so loud that everyone around him looked over. Zhang Lu ignored everyone's attention and asked: "When will you be punished?"
Zheng Anping said: "It has been three days. On the day of the execution, Mr. Meng Shen gave me medicine and cold compresses. Most of his injuries have healed, and he can return home."
Zhang Lu said: "I didn't think things through well, and I brought trouble to you!"
Zheng Anping said: "I was careless and forgot to redeem him with money!"
Zhang Lu said: "If you redeem it, how much will you get?"
Zheng Anping said: "I heard that it can be redeemed with one tael of gold or five hundred."
Zhang Lu said: "I also forgot about it! I said it was urgent, why should it be urgent!"
Zheng Anping said: "We can't get enough food and fodder, so we are in a hurry!"
Zhang Lu sighed and said: "No way, no way!"
Zheng Anping said: "Before we leave, please let me know how to speak to you, but I can only speak to you from the above county."
Zhang Lu said: "Don't say anything else." He pulled Zheng Anping back to the fire and asked Zheng Anping to lie down to rest. He also lay down and said: "Nothing else, just sleep!"
The next day the camp awoke to the sound of drums. All the soldiers started to march. Zhang Lu made arrangements for today's project. After breakfast, the troops went to the construction site. Zhang Lu said to the official: "The Prime Minister went to Xianyang and wanted to help with food and grass, but he couldn't get it. Now that he has recovered eight thousand people, the food may not be enough. I would like to support those who are transported to the county and support them in the camp."
The official said: "How can we get this right?"
Zhang Lu said: "In the former army, all the troops had half food, but now the soldiers have twice as much food, and if the food is not increased, how can they conquer the masses? After completing a feat, one person is restored, which is the order of the minister. If one person is restored and the food is increased, it is not the intention to restore the people. Also? I hope the doctor can be kind to the guards and slow down the transportation of the grain. Once the road is opened, the remaining grain will be respected."
Dr. Gong said: "Everyone in the county is eager for food, and they are eager for a spark. Five hundred dan per day is just a drop in the bucket."
Zhang Lu said: "Shangjun is hundreds of miles away from the east of the river. Its territory is vast, and food can be transported every day. It is said that there are so many people alive that I dare not know."
Dr. Gong was stunned when he heard this. He didn't expect Zhang Lu to say this suddenly. Zhang Lu said: "I don't want to get help, but the fact that I got help is deeply felt by me. However, the food in Hedong is also in urgent need, as the doctor has seen personally. I hope that the county will temporarily release public funds to help the people, and use the money in Hedong. As a matter of fact, once the incident in Hedong is over, we will return it to its proper place!"
