Because the other rooms had not yet been renovated, ten attendants slept in the hall with the young master in the same room that night. There were no mats or straw, but luckily they all brought quilts to keep out the cold. The stranger looked at the sky through the roof, thinking about the uncertain future, wondering what would happen and whether these people could return to their hometown alive. After all, King Qin had told him to be prepared to be killed if he could not escape.
The next morning, pedestrians came over early to urge Pingyuan Jun to set off, so Yiren went over early to wait. Seeing that the passerby was in a hurry, the stranger thought of a plan and said, "Mr. Pingyuan is coming to Xianyang. How many cars and how many people are there with you?"
The passerby didn't know what he meant, so he replied: "Jun Pingyuan, Mr. Zhao. When we arrive in Xianyang, we have a hundred guests, five hundred followers, and a hundred chariots."
The foreigner said: "When Lord Pingyuan arrived at Xianyang, Qin gave him all six hundred people. Why is Zhao only stingy with foreigners?"
The passerby said: "Young Master follows you and provides for yourself. How can you rely on Qin Ye?"
The foreigner said: "If it is true, I will ask Mr. Pingyuan to ride into Xianyang on a bicycle."
The passerby was stunned when he heard this. He felt that the young master seemed a bit difficult to offend, so he changed his appearance and thanked him: "Young master is far away, and I am not careful about it. I would like to change it!"
The stranger said: "Weiye. I have ten followers, and I am willing to eat them all!"
The passerby said: "Young Master has an order, and you should obey it. I hope that Young Master will be on his way, and I will go and ask for him immediately."
The stranger said, "If you have salt plums and other things, I would also like to give them to you."
Pedestrians should come. The entourage prepared the carriage, and the stranger took two people into the carriage. The other two people got into the pedestrian's carriage, and one after another, they left Handan City and headed for the Royal City. The best man did not follow him, but stayed in the house, preparing to take care of daily necessities.
The passerby brought the stranger to Pingyuan Jun's house. A guest had already informed him to enter. Different from yesterday's cold reception, today Mr. Pingyuan stepped down to greet him, took the stranger's hand, led him to the hall, and even pulled him to sit on his table. This kind of enthusiasm surprised the foreigner, but he didn't dare to show it on his face, so he could only match it with an increasingly respectful expression.
There was no one else in Mr. Pingyuan's hall, only a group of diners, all sitting below. Pingyuan Jun said: "Zhao and Qin both have the surname Ying, and they are brothers. The king of Qin is in Yan Ye, and the first king of Wu helped him to ascend the throne. The discord made the world laugh. Now there is no difference, and we are brothers again. Different. When people come to my country, don’t think of him, but they are a country with the same parents! When I enter Xianyang, I will also treat the King of Qin as my father!"
The stranger said: "King Wu helped the king to ascend the throne, and the king still misses him. I would like to regard you as my father!"
Mr. Pingyuan said: "What a blessing!" The two of them saluted each other.
The stranger said: "If it weren't for the former Young Master Yong who was fooled by the exchange of three cities, how could we have gotten here! I haven't seen Young Master Yong yet..."
Lord Pingyuan smiled awkwardly and said: "There is no such thing as a son in our city. It's all done by villains. It's not the way of a king!... I am going to Xianyang now. The road is in a bad way. I can't wait for the longevity of the King of Qin. And Spring plowing is approaching, and the soldiers want to return home. I hope that strangers will come to Wu'an early to announce the intention of peace between Zhao and Qin, and to encourage the soldiers to return early to help the southern land. This will be the blessing of the country and the hope of the people."
The stranger said: "I'm sorry! Now that the Qin people have returned, the Zhao people will not persecute us again!"
Pingyuan Jun said: "It is inevitable! When the Qin people return, the Zhao people should also disarm and return to their farmland. Why force them!"
The stranger said: "The envoy of Qin should do it. The envoy of Zhao..."
Mr. Pingyuan said to the people below: "Please, Doctor Li!"
After a while, a doorman came in with a man. Pingyuan Jun introduced: "Li Dafu Ji is the younger brother of Wu'an Ling Chong. His father Tan is from Fengbai. Tan's ancestor Dui was the prime minister of Zhao. He served in Zhao for four generations and made great achievements. His son Mu was in the Wu'an army. , quite meritorious."
Strangers avoid the banquet to see the ceremony. Lord Pingyuan said: "Young Master Qin is a stranger, and he is a hostage to Zhao. I am willing to help the officials to retreat from the Qin army."
Li Ji returned the greeting and said, "My minister Li Ji, by order of Lord Pingyuan, pays homage to Young Master Qin."
The stranger said: "The stranger has no virtue and dare not bother the doctor to see him. I am willing to return and worship him!"
Prince Pingyuan said: "Second son, please don't be too polite. I have to do it, but I only think of this. I hope that my second son will know my heart and serve as soldiers of the two countries. I hope that the emperor will be benevolent and comfort my family. It will be a blessing to the country and a blessing to the country." ." He was ordered to show Li Ji his seat. A guest took a seat and spread it on the left side of Lord Pingyuan. Li Ji thanked him and sat down. The stranger is still sitting at the table with Pingyuan Jun.
Lord Pingyuan said: "The Li family also has people who are benevolent to Qin."
Li Ji said: "My father, Wang, is a general in Qin."
A foreigner said: "Qin and Zhao are truly brotherly states, and this can be proven by the Li family."
The group of people had breakfast in Lord Pingyuan's house. All the officials arrived, and Lord Pingyuan went out with a stranger. Lord Pingyang saw the stranger and Lord Pingyuan coming out together, and stepped forward to greet him. Lord Pingyuan said: "I am going to Xianyang, and all matters in Handan will be entrusted to Lord Pingyang." The stranger went over to meet Lord Pingyang. Lian Po did not come personally and only sent his retainers to see him off. Yu Qing and Zhao Hao were still in Luoyang, making arrangements for Lord Pingyuan to enter Qin. Other Zhao clan members came forward to see him off, but they didn't pay much attention to the foreigner and showed obvious hostility. Lord Pingyuan forcibly took Young Master Yiren to bid farewell to his relatives one by one, as if he intended to make Yiren feel full of hostility.
The farewell ceremony lasted for about half an hour. Lord Pingyuan finally boarded the carriage. The guests and retainers also drove the carriage out of the palace gate and waited outside the royal city. Lord Pingyuan conducted a road ceremony under the auspices of Lord Pingyang, then boarded the carriage and the group rumbled away. The long procession raised huge clouds of dust that lasted for a long time.
After seeing off Mr. Pingyuan, the Zhao people did not even look at the foreigner. After saying goodbye to each other, they drove away. As soon as the stranger arrived at the royal city, he was welcomed to the Pingyuan Lord's Mansion and lost contact with his entourage. Now he doesn't know where the car is, so he can only stand and wait, silently bearing the contemptuous looks of everyone. Pingyang Jun and Li Ji had already disappeared without knowing where they were.
After waiting for the clan to disperse, the stranger saw his carriage at the gate of the royal city. Pedestrians sat in the car with their necks curled up and seemed to have fallen asleep.
The stranger walked over and stood in his car to get in. The attendant next to him woke up the passerby and said, "It's time to go home!"
The pedestrian stretched his body and said, "The warm sun in winter is the right time to sleep. Don't blame me, sir!"
At this time, Li Ji, who had not shown his face until now, appeared, cupped his hands and said: "I have been ordered by the king to retreat from the Qin army. I dare you to ask for it at the right time!"
The stranger also cupped his hands and said, "It's been a long journey, and I haven't prepared enough food and drink. I hope to prepare for the disaster as soon as possible."
Li Ji said: "The New Year is coming, and my family is looking forward to it. I hope you will have mercy on me."
The stranger said: "But if you get the food, you will definitely make a fortune." He looked at the pedestrians, but the pedestrians dodged their eyes and did not dare to look directly.
After Li Ji left, the stranger said to the passerby: "I would like to prepare my food in advance to repay the king's order!"
The passerby didn't answer, took the stranger back to the house, bowed and left.
After the five people arrived, their entourage had already come out to welcome them into the courtyard. The best man had already brought an entourage to pull a cart to the city to buy daily necessities. The stranger told everyone about today's meeting with Mr. Pingyuan. In particular, Mr. Pingyuan seemed particularly cordial, which was very different from yesterday. He also said that he would go to Wu'an with Li Ji to coordinate the withdrawal of the two sides. Some people think that persuading the Qin army to retreat requires the help of someone else, so Lord Pingyuan tries his best to win over him; others think that suppressing first and then boosting is a common tactic to win over people's hearts, which can make people feel that today's enthusiasm is even more valuable, unknowingly. Fall into the trap. Yiren believes that the latter possibility is very high, including giving him a show of strength as soon as he arrives in Handan. It is very likely that changing his face later will make him appear more friendly.
The stranger said: "Although it is difficult today, we must stay calm and don't fall into the trap!"
Everyone also said: "Don't care about favor or disgrace!"
The foreigner also told everyone that he planned to take advantage of the opportunity to go to Wu'an to force the travelers to replenish their food supply, and at least provide them with salt and plums. "If they don't comply, I won't leave the city!"
While he was talking, the best man came back from shopping and spent about a thousand yuan on a complete set of cooking utensils, water utensils, and bedding. They were all made of coarse pottery and coarse straw woven mats. They were absolutely useless. A noble house.
After shopping, everyone started working. Five men carried ten jars and went out of the city to fetch water, which was what eleven people needed for a day. The remaining five people began to repair the leaky door with straw mats, or simply hung a straw mat as a door curtain.
After the five water carriers came back, they immediately started to repair the broken roofs with straw mats. The best man said with some regret: "The straw mat only needs to be sheltered from the wind but not from the rain. We will look for thatch to fill it up next spring."
After working hard all afternoon, I finally made the house ready for habitation. The best man allocated each room to everyone, so today everyone no longer has to sleep in the same lobby. Each person received a straw mat, took his own quilt, and settled in his own place. He came out again and cooked water and porridge. Everyone gathered together to exchange what they had seen and heard today and decide on tomorrow's work. Regarding what the foreigner said about using Wu'an's opportunity to force passersby to give food and salt, the best man agreed: "This does not lose the status, it can gain ground, and it shows the embarrassment!"
The weather was clear at night, and a waning moon hung in the sky; stars were scattered among them. In the blink of an eye, one person told everyone about the location of the stars. Some people were enlightened, while others were confused. After this person finished speaking, another person lectured on the art of martial arts. Everyone stood up and practiced one by one. Since they lived alone in a corner with few houses around, they could breathe out and make noises as much as they wanted, but this attracted the attention of the guards on the city wall. They sent someone to check, and the best man hurriedly went out to check, telling him that Mr. Qin lived here, and it was normal to perform martial arts at night and in the morning. While showing the festival talisman, he stuffed some copper coins.
The next day, with the drumbeat of Zhao Jun's roll call, all the people of Qin got up. After each roll call, they performed martial arts again, and then began to cook breakfast. During breakfast, a traveler came over and asked, "Doctor Li has paid homage to the young master, when can he set off for Wu'an."
The best man said: "Young Master is setting off on your journey. There will be no trouble, but you have to get everything ready. Let's get up!" The passerby was a little annoyed, but said nothing more and turned around to leave. Everyone started their day's life step by step: carrying water, collecting firewood, cutting grass, and grazing. As a result, the cattle and horses needed twice as much as people needed. Strangers discovered that they had to find pedestrians to get enough straw.
