Mr. Xing Cao recorded the key points of the report on several pieces of wooden tablets, carried it in his bag, held the talisman, and returned to Anyi. Before leaving, he was specially instructed not to use the gifts given by the Prince of Chu lightly, for fear of being accused of having liaison with the princes. It is recommended to report it up. Therefore, Zheng Anping agreed to add one more item to the report: "Why should the people of Chu consider it as a betrothal gift?"
After sending off the criminals, Mang Wei and Chen Si bought some daily necessities, such as tripods, stoves, bowls, and the like. They dried and patted mats, quilts, pillows, etc. until soft, and washed the official uniforms again.
Only a few days later, the woman sent a dowry, which was a complete set of four-season clothing, as well as mats, quilts, pillows and other bedding. The two parties agreed on a wedding day. Since we live in the same hometown, we made an appointment on the same day. Zheng Anping then sent out invitations to his colleagues and asked two of them to borrow two cars to drive.
Two days before the wedding, both the village and local husbands held a banquet in the village for all the villagers. On the wedding day, Zheng Anping held a banquet in the inner square to entertain the entire village. At dusk, Chen Si and Mang Wei each drove a car, went out from the inner end, entered from the inner end, and went to the bride's house to pick up the bride; then went out from the inner end, entered from the inner end, and returned to their own house. The originally short journey had to be detoured like this. The villagers first go to the inner end to welcome the man as the woman's village, and then go to the inner side to welcome the woman as the man's village. The parents of Chen Si and Mang Wei are not in Xianyang. Although Mang Wei has a younger brother in Xianyang, he cannot show his face and even dare not invite him to the wedding banquet for fear of exposing his flaws. Zheng Anping asked the two male officials and his wife who borrowed the car to bless the newlyweds on behalf of the groom's parents.
Before going to court the next day, the two newlyweds came to Zheng Anping's house and presented them with soup prepared by the bride herself. Zheng Anping bowed respectfully and drank the soup; although it tasted homely, it had a special warmth. Zheng Anping thought about his marriage back then. Although it was extremely luxurious, it lacked warmth and he sighed secretly in his heart.
After going to court, a group of colleagues gathered in Zheng Anping's house. Two newlyweds, five personal guards and five prosperous people had already started preparing meals and banquets. The courtyard is full of wine and meat, singing and socializing, and it is lively and different from the countryside.
After the busy and heartwarming wedding, peace returned to the countryside. The people who went to Anyi to ask for instructions and reports came back. The person who came back was not the original criminal officer, but the staff Zhang Lu recruited in Jie County, whom everyone called Mr. Jie Yan. Although Mr. Xie Yan came back on Zhang Lu's order, he did not use a post ship, but came back on a hired ship on the Weishui River. The reason for this was that he brought back a boatload of salt, about ten stones, and asked someone to let Zheng Anping borrow a car to pull it.
Several people struggled to pull Yan back. Zheng Anping asked Mr. Xie Yan to take a seat in the hall. Chen Si and Mang Wei came to accompany him and listened to Zhang Lu's instructions.
Mr. Xie Yan said: "Xing Cao was summoned by Pi Wei, so he ordered Wei Shu to return to the prime minister's order."
Zheng Anping saluted in the seat and said: "I sincerely accept your teaching!"
Mr. Xie Yan took out the wooden slip and said: "As for the gift from the King of Qin, Zheng Chengyi should handle it and take care of it. There is no need to report it again."
Zheng Anping said: "Here!"
Mr. Xie Yan said: "Brother Chen and Brother Wuwei have found a good wife, and Wu Ren is happy, but they have nothing to give to each other. I have two brothers in the house who like her, and I am very lucky to have her!"
Chen Si and Mang Wei both bowed down from their seats and said, "How dare you!"
Mr. Xie Yan said: "When An Guojun was granted the title, he would like to follow the opinions of the public and follow the etiquette, neither increasing nor decreasing."
Zheng Anping said: "Here!"
Mr. Xie Yan said: "The Qin State's military strategy cannot be discussed. If we consult with Hedong, we can fight!"
Zheng Anping was shocked and said: "Can we fight? Where can we find the food and supplies?"
Mr. Xie Yan said: "This is why I reported it to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister asked about the transportation of salt. The salt cannot be transported outside. However, the price of rock salt is two stones of millet, so it can be transported to Anyi."
Zheng Anping asked: "What do you mean?"
Mr. Xie Yan said: "The east of the river has little grain but is rich in salt, and the princes have much grain but are short of salt. So I will have more than enough, and I will not have enough. I can exchange one stone of salt for two stones of millet, and order each merchant to transport the grain himself." Salt comes from far away; the price is cheap and it wins the hearts of the people. In this way, Anyi can get 200,000 stones of millet without any effort for 100,000 rocks of salt, which is the cost of one hundred thousand people in one month."
Zheng Anping put his palms together and praised: "This great talent must be what Mr. Ye did!"
Mr. Xie Yan said: "How dare you covet the merits of heaven? This is what the lord proposed, and a humble man can get it by chance!" He said with a complacent tone.
The three of them all praised the wonderful method and complimented Mr. Jie Yan one after another. Mr. Xie Yan said: "A humble man would not dare to accept the praise of a great official. It is normal for merchants to do business all over the world. They have excess natural resources and make up for the deficiencies. Anyi is rich in salt, and salt is what the people depend on. How can there be any surplus if there is salt? The thing has not arrived? It is not worth mentioning. But this matter should be spread by the Prime Minister to everyone in the world, so that it can be used. A humble commoner privately gives fifteen stones of salt to the doctor, and is willing to get thirty stones of millet from the doctor for food. It’s the capital of accommodation. The doctor will allow it!”
Zheng Anping said: "Sir, you have to abide by your orders and carry them out in Xianyang. You have to pay for your food and accommodation. How dare you get your salt from me!"
Mr. Xie Yan said: "When I came to Xianyang as a humble commoner, I not only had a mission, but also had little business to do. Therefore, I did not dare to work in the post house. I hired my own boat and stayed under the eaves of the doctor. The doctor is only a few years old."
These words made Zheng Anping feel sudden, but after pondering for a moment, he still said: "Sir, please do it yourself!"
Later, Mr. Xie Yan told Zhang Lu's analysis and instructions on other events one by one, until he finished all the questions Zheng Anping asked for instructions. Zheng Anping responded one by one: "Here!"
After dinner, Zheng Anping asked Mr. Jie Yan to rest in the penthouse. Xing Cao also lived there when he was engaged. Live in the back house by yourself. In the wing were Wu Wang and five personal guards.
After being busy with the wedding for many days, and then watching Chen Si and Mang Wei get together, Zheng Anping couldn't help but feel a little lonely: He was the only one in Ruoda's back house, if there was another woman... He quickly gave up the idea . He knows that when a man has multiple women, there is a chilling atmosphere within the family, especially when they all have sons of their own, and this man has very little family property!
Xianyang Palace finally informed him that the Prime Minister's Office summoned Zheng Anping.
Zheng Anping took Chen Si and Mang Wei into the Prime Minister's Mansion. The person who received him was the Prime Minister's Mansion soldier who had been fighting in Wu'an. An audience was listening and recording. This showed that Zheng Anping not only reported to Prime Minister Qin , also reported to the King of Qin.
Bing Cao was very polite and welcomed the three of them into the private room. They sat down on both sides with a few desks. Behind the desks was a screen. Behind the screen, if nothing else happened, there should be documents recording the contents of the meeting.
As usual, Bing Cao asked about the time when Hedong Shou took office, the shogunate established, the decrees issued and other regular matters, and then allowed Zheng Anping to freely describe Hedong's political achievements. Before Zheng Anping came up with the plan, he had already discussed it with the ministers and officials in Hedong. How should it be described at that time, in either complicated or simplified form? Now that he saw his question, he took out the wooden slip and described it one by one according to the items prepared in advance: Let's talk first. Zhang Lu visited every county in Hedong to investigate the situation in various places. He then described the recruitment order promulgated and the rectification of Quwo and Anyi. Speaking of the disaster in Shangjun, the Prime Minister asked Hedong to enlist 10,000 people to rescue him. Zheng Anping even tried his best to exaggerate how Hedong could overcome many difficulties and fulfill the Prime Minister's order. He described the process of building the road in turn, as well as the various difficulties, accidents, and disasters in the process, and he spoke very emotionally. Talking about rectifying the salt industry in Jie County is very thrilling; talking about discovering the entrance to Zhi Road is full of suspense and luck! Finally, when talking about the immigrants from Shangjun, he briefly said: "Thanks to the gift from Shangjun, those who served in the east of the river, nine out of ten, all moved to the east of the river. Each was given a title, and they lived in each county, and each settled in his own business. Some of them have not yet moved to the east of the river. He was also properly resettled and recruited as a county guard. He did not dare to be short of grain and rice."
During the entire process of Zheng Anping's narration, the soldiers put their hands on their knees and listened intently, barely interrupting Zheng Anping's narration. After Zheng Anping finished speaking, Bing Cao asked: "Who will be able to pay tribute to the plan at the end of the year?"
Zheng Anping said: "What is provided by Hedong is very important, so I dare not write it down and keep it in the record. It is the situation of the mountains and rivers in Hedong." Chen Si took out the map of the mountains and rivers in Hedong that he had drawn from his arms and presented it to the soldier. The Bing Cao took it and said: "The situation in Taihang and Handan painted by the former doctor was praised by the king and the prime minister as a treasure; now that the situation in Hedong has been restored, it is also a treasure!" Then he said loudly to the inside: "Hedong presents a pair of treasures. Worth a thousand pieces of gold!" Then he asked Zheng Anping, "What do you want from Hedong next year?"
Zheng Anping pointed to the picture of Anyi and said: "Behind Jiangshan Mountain, there is the Sushui Valley, with rich water and grass, suitable for farming and animal husbandry. Wherever the road of Zhe comes out, there are new fields next to it. At the end of the year and the beginning of the year in the east of Hedong, I am willing to be punished. There are thousands of disciples, and the city is here, to the left of Anyi, to be in the valley of Sushui, to control the mouth of the Zhi Road, and to lead to the new fields. Then train troops and accumulate food, and then go out of the Zhi Road."
Bing Cao asked: "Xintian and Pingyang, the old capital of Jin and the homeland of Han, are in the Fen River. There are fertile fields there. They lead to Taiyuan in the north and come out of Taihang in the east. If you sincerely want to take them, what should be done?"
Zheng Anping said: "We must also lure the people, take advantage of their weakness, clear their way, and wait for their change. Then they sent out a large army to attack Pishi and went up the Fen River; the strange troops came out of Quwo and advanced from Juejiang Mountain. From the beginning to the end. Attack it and break it."
The soldier asked: "If you want to take the road, what can you do?"
Zheng Anping thought to himself: Here we come! Then he replied with the agreed words: "I heard in the past that the Wei people in Anyi were either in Xintian, Jiang, Tang, or Yi. These people were all from Han Dynasty, and there were only a few of them. They were big The tribe came out of Zhi Road, and lived in Nanyang and Daliang. However, in Nanyang and Daliang, the people and the land were small, and I heard that many people lived in Zhi but had not left. Fu Zhi Road is also a narrow road in the mountains. Unless there are luxuriant water and grass, and rich mountains and rivers, The people there are very trapped, and there may be some who have returned. If we take advantage of its power and attack them, we will be deceiving them. If we are strong and they are weak, we will destroy them."
The soldier Cao asked: "What is the effect of guarding the enemy and recruiting traitors to Zhi Dao?"
Zheng Anping said: "I will be able to guard the mouth of Zhidao for more than a month before I return home. Maybe I heard that there are hundreds of people in the sun, so I will camp on the left side of Anyi. I will choose the good ones and enter Anyi. Now three days have passed. A few months, maybe tens of thousands!”
