The matter of the prince was decided like this: no concessions should be made based on threats to the prince, otherwise Wei would regard the prince as a cash cow and take everything he wanted. The result of everyone's discussion was: Resolutely point out to Wei that if the prince is even slightly injured, Qin will attack Wei with its entire country!
Next, Wei Ran reported on his private meeting with Duan Ziqian. Wei Ran said: "The Duan Zi said that if Qin did not fight and took Yuan and Zhi, then Zhang Zi's merits would be greater than those of his ministers. If Zhang Zi's merits were to be eliminated, Wei Yuan and Zhi would also be returned. If they did not return, Zhang Zi would not be the only minister. Cut off Taoyi and harm the prince!"
The Queen Mother laughed and scolded: "The old thief tried his best to persuade the prince to protect him, but he has his own selfish motives."
Wei Ran said: "The prince and his ministers are of the same flesh and blood, and they dare not be selfless."
The Queen Mother said: "The King of Qin has a son, but the prince is the most virtuous, and the old woman also loves him. However, important matters of the family and the country should not be discussed based on family affection."
Wei Ran said: "The Queen Mother denounces this!"
The Queen Mother said: "The Wei people know about Zhang Zixian, but I don't know about it. What a mistake!"
The King of Qin said: "It is my son's crime to report too little to the Queen Mother what happened in the east of the river."
The Queen Mother said: "The victory in Hedong is not to win two cities without fighting, but to completely occupy the Zhi Road. It must be silent and smellless, and Qin's method has been implemented. Why should Hedong implement Qin's method?"
The King of Qin said: "Hedong asked several judges from Tingwei's Mansion to change Qin's law; and implemented Qin's law in the new land, and everyone in the city can use it, so it can be implemented."
The Queen Mother asked vigilantly: "Why change the law?"
The King of Qin said: "For example, Anyi should plant millet instead of millet, so the millet method was changed to the millet method, and the yield was doubled. Salt was not available in Qin, so Anyi followed it, so the salt method was established. Copper and iron smelting , what Qin’s law is not prepared for, we can make up for it with the law of Han and Wei.”
The Queen Mother said: "Is it possible to organize households and people, and plan to teach the fields by word of mouth?"
The King of Qin said: "It's a good idea! There are many manors in Yuan, and the rich have thousands of hectares, but the poor have no standing. The governance of Hedong is to provide land by mouth, so that the people can live in peace. Zhi has little land but rich merchants, all of them are in Qin The law of gold cloth is clearly marked with the real price, so that the people can use it. If it is moved to Zuoyi, any person who is punished will be punished. The passage of Zhi Road is the power of the prisoner; under Zhi, the prisoner They all get one, two, or three titles.”
The Empress Dowager said: "The governor of Hedong has the talent to govern the country, and he will be promoted to nobility and return to the country as soon as possible. The tragedy of Zhong Geng cannot be allowed to reappear in Qin."
Everyone said: "Here!"
The Queen Mother said: "Ranghou is the leader of Qin Zheng. Everyone thinks that he is powerful and powerful. Who knows that Ranghou's family only has a few ministers and only two or three relatives? Although he has wives and concubines in the back room, he is young and happy to be quiet." Suddenly faced her. Wei Ran said: "Among your concubines, are there any who have not broken the melon?"
Wei Ran's face turned red with embarrassment and he replied awkwardly: "It's all done!"
The Queen Mother pointed and smiled and said: "You are over seventy years old and you are still a virgin. You are ashamed to hear about the affairs between men and women!" She asked again: "Can you exert your power and have a child?"
Wei Ran answered honestly: "It's not what it used to be, but I just encourage my ears!"
The Queen Mother no longer joked about Ranghou, and said: "Ranghou has served the country for more than thirty years. He does not rely on the people or power, but relies on Qin's law. If Zhang Zi can implement Qin's law among the princes, he will be able to expand the Qin country and rule it. !”
Everyone answered in unison: "Here!"
The Queen Mother said: "The king will definitely have a meeting in one day's discussion."
The King of Qin said: "Wei sent envoys to Qin by asking for help. The important ones were Suo Yuan and Zhi. The first thing they relied on was the alliance, the second was the prince, and the third was Ranghou. The matter of Ranghou is repeated. There are two reasons: first, Ranghou’s achievements will be lost because of this, and secondly, Ranghou’s fiefdom will be eliminated because of this.”
The Queen Mother said: "Wei relies on four people. The second one is with Ranghou. The husband and the prince are also with Ranghou. Ranghou has his own plans."
Wei Ran said: "I have nothing to say when I demote the merits of an minister because of the walls and walls. The connection of Tao and Yi will be of great benefit to Qin; if it is eliminated, there will be little benefit in clothing, fish and salt. As for the alliance, Righteousness, I, the Qin Dynasty, seized it without fighting, because it was the support of the people, and not because of betrayal of the alliance. But the matter of the prince is difficult to decide after hesitation."
The Queen Mother said: "It is difficult for you to deal with the matter of the prince, but I can decide it with my words. The prince is in Wei, and his life and death will still be in Wei; as long as the prince survives, the alliance will survive, and if the prince dies, the alliance will die."
At this time, An Guojun, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly stood up and knelt down and said: "I want to enter Wei, so I will take my place as the crown prince."
The Queen Mother scolded: "There is no gain in showing weakness to Wei!" Lord An Guo retreated to his seat with a face filled with shame.
The Queen Mother said: "Everyone agrees that the prince must be in Wei, and he will be safe in Wei! But if he feels uneasy at all, he will be asked about his crime!"
Everyone said in unison: "Here!"
The Queen Mother asked again: "Where will I see you, General?"
Marquis Rang said: "When Duanzi comes in, he wants to see all the old and new noble relatives of Qin. Jingyang, Gaoling and Anguo all want to see them. If it is not Wu'an and Zhangzi who can't see them, they also want to see them."
The Queen Mother suddenly asked: "Duan Ziyan and Marquis Rang used Zhang Zi as the speech. How come we don't know that Zhang Zi is the guardian of Hedong?"
The Queen Mother suddenly asked, catching everyone off guard. They had never thought of this problem before, and hearing the Queen Mother talk about it, they thought it was something. Marquis Rang reluctantly guessed: "Wei envoys will definitely see Zhang Zi when they come here. Qin Xingren replied that Zhang Zi is in the east of Hedong. That's why we know him."
The Empress Dowager said: "However, Zhang Zi's talk about Ranghou is not a sudden move, but a long-term plan. Ranghou is not his plan."
An Guojun said: "Perhaps when we entered the Qin Dynasty, we knew that Zhang Zi was guarding Hedong, but we couldn't be sure. So we explored it in the name of Wu'an and Zhang Zi. We must have known that Zhang Zi was guarding Hedong, so we used Zhang Zi as the name; if No, or you can use other words."
The Empress Dowager said: "Although I haven't seen the way, it's still like it. If you want to know it, Wei will let him see it and trap him step by step. Although he uses the words "wall" and "zhi", he doesn't have other plans. When talking, he must carefully observe it. , don’t let it fall on your head.”
Everyone responded again: "Here!"
Marquis Rang said: "When I visit, I will see the king and the queen mother one day. I will see Jingyang, Gaoling and Anguo every day."
The Queen Mother said: "The old woman's muscles and bones are in trouble. Every day becomes more difficult. When the day is over, you can come and pay homage to me. It's okay for the king to see you in the afternoon."
Hearing that the Queen Mother was going to receive the Wei envoy Duan Ziqian after the court tomorrow morning, all the ministers and even the King of Qin started to get busy. The Queen Mother was very strict with details, and the status, character, and manner of speaking of the members of the mission had to be reported to her one by one. In the evening, she also called Huang Xie and discussed with him for an hour.
The next day, the Queen Mother got up early. The servants and women gathered around to wait on the Queen Mother to wash herself. Later, a female official applied a thin layer of rouge to the Queen Mother, lightly traced her eyebrows, tied up her hair into a bun, and put on hairpins; she put on her court clothes and wore jade pendants all over her body, making a sound of jingling.
When the Queen Mother was finishing her makeup, the princess who had already married Prince Chu entered the door. The princess is pregnant and her figure is no longer convenient, but she still takes on the task of receiving today according to the arrangement. There is also Prince Wan who has a mission at the same time! He was already waiting in the room.
The princess saw the Queen Mother's makeup and exclaimed: "The Queen Mother is so beautiful!"
When the Queen Mother saw the princess arriving, she ordered her to sit down and said, "How can I pass you?"
The princess said: "It's too much!"
The Queen Mother said: "The only thing that a woman admires is her pregnant ears. I am old and cannot conceive, but I only admire you." The princess was so ashamed that she lowered her head and said nothing.
The Queen Mother ordered the female officials on her left and right: "You must be careful when you are young. Old women are not worthy of care. The bride is pregnant. Don't gain or lose!" All the female officials responded.
While everyone was busy, they suddenly heard voices outside the door. The Queen Mother suppressed her smile and said solemnly: "That's it!" The female officials immediately took their places, and the princess also sat aside with her hands folded.
After the morning meeting, pedestrians led Duan Ziqian from Guanyi to Ganquan Palace, not far from Guanyi. In order to be solemn, even though it was only a few steps away, he prepared his car solemnly and started driving. After only a few steps, a large number of officials gathered outside Ganquan Palace. The pedestrian explained: "The Queen Mother, the mother of the country, is old and frail and cannot bear the trouble, so she gathered officials in front of the palace to welcome her!"
Duanzi said: "How dare you do this!" Li Baibu got out of the car and walked straight towards the crowd, and then he saw someone coming to greet him from a distance. Duan Ziqian thought it must be his guest, so he asked his guest to come forward to greet him. But when I got closer, I realized that the guest was clearly the Prince of Chu! Now even the guest was confused: Prince Chu, even as a host, has a high standard. Now that he is here in person, is he treating him as a guest? In surprise, the prince had already walked up to the guest, saluted and said: "The queen mother would like to have a drink to welcome the envoy of Wei!"
When the prime minister heard this, his jaw dropped: The prince is really a prime minister! He didn't know how to answer, so he stammered: "I wish you longevity for the Queen Mother and longevity for the Prince!"
The Prince of Chu smiled faintly and said, "My lord, the Queen Mother's grandson and son-in-law are here. I would like to follow the Queen Mother's order to greet the envoy from Wei."
Duan Ziqian saw all this clearly from behind. He also had a short-term brain short-circuit, but he had come to his senses. After hearing the prince introduce himself, he immediately stepped forward to salute and said: "I am so humble, how dare you Queen Mother Lao has given me permission to see you, and the Crown Prince will welcome you from afar!"
The prince still chuckled and said, "The envoy from Wei is very restrained. The Queen Mother is in the hall, please come in." He bowed deeply. Duanzi bowed his head and followed the prince up the steps and entered the door.
There was no singing, dancing or music inside the gate of Ganquan Palace, and the large courtyard seemed empty. There were only two rows of ministers standing on both sides of the corridor, with their hands crossed as a guard of honor.
Duan Ziqian followed the etiquette and bowed three times to the front of the hall. The prince loudly announced: "The envoy of Wei is here to see you!" At that time, a "please" was heard from inside. The prince immediately led Duan Ziqian and his entourage up the stairs, and then saluted in front of the hall. There was a curtain hanging high in the hall. Two women knelt down and one of them said, "Envoy Wei, please take a seat!" The prince guided the two of them and invited Duan Zigan and the others into the west table, and he sat on the east table.
The Queen Mother said from inside the curtain: "The woman is old and unable to support herself. Only her grandchildren can support her."
Duan Ziqian said: "The Queen Mother is in good spirits, is a hundred years old, and has a long life!"
The Queen Mother said: "How can it be like this? My teeth have fallen out, my hair has fallen apart, and I have lost all my food and drink. I only rely on porridge and ears!"
Duan Ziqian said: "I have a porridge recipe to help you rest your body and mind. I would like to offer it to you!"
The Empress Dowager said: "It is a great reward for your hard work!"
Duan Ziqian said: "Wei Qin is an alliance. The Queen Mother of Qin is also the mother of Wei and the mistress of the ministers!"
The Queen Mother said: "Come here, are the people of Wei okay?"
Duan Ziqian said: "We are all content with making a living and don't dare to mess up."
The Queen Mother asked: "Is King Wei okay?"
Duan Ziqian said: "Wang Yi'an, please give me and the Queen Mother longevity!" Then he presented the gift list. Since the gifts are all left at Hangu Pass, presenting the gift slip counts as a gift, and many ritual processes are omitted.
The prince took the gift list and presented it to the princess in front of the curtain, who then presented it to the queen mother. The Queen Mother looked at it briefly, then put it down and said, "Are you going to get something good this year?"
