Seeing that the New Year is approaching, passers-by come here every day to urge them, and the groomsmen always reply with "I'm not prepared yet." Finally, Li Ji couldn't stand it any longer and came to visit him personally. The foreigner warmly welcomed him into the hall, invited him to sit on a straw mat, and gave him a bowl of white porridge in a stoneware bowl. The stranger didn't say much, and only the best man complained to Li Ji. When the young master arrived at Handan, everything was not in order, there was not enough food and fodder, and salt and plums were not prepared. "The cattle and horses are all thin, but what about people!" Li Ji naturally understood what was going on. He apologized repeatedly and said: "Young Master is fortunate to have visited our town. We have been rude to noble people. I will repay it to the king!"
The next day, the pedestrians came with two cars. One car had grain, and the other car had salted plums and preserved fruits. The passerby announced that Wang Tezhun's son, Yiren, had ten followers to make up for the lack. The followers were overjoyed, and after thanking him, they moved into the warehouse behind. They also asked passers-by for straw, but the passers-by did not answer and only said that they would repay the favor to the king.
In the afternoon, Li Ji also drove over and brought a cart of rice cakes and a cart of straw. He said to the foreigner: "The bad country has been in chaos and has not been able to compete with the superior country. Now I would like to offer my family's food to the young master. I hope that the young master will leave early. If you miss the farming season, I am afraid that you will not have food ready! The young master and his entourage will need it." The minister should bear the responsibility, not the young master!"
Seeing such oppression, the foreigner could only squeeze out so many things, so he no longer supported him. The best man thanked him and said: "I have inherited the virtue of the doctor and can wrap my belly. What can I say? Dare to follow the doctor!"
Li Ji said: "The king's orders never pass through the night. I hope he will do it tomorrow." The two sides agreed on a time and set off tomorrow.
After sending Li Ji away, everyone decided to send five people to follow the stranger after some discussion. Two people rode in a leather cart, and three people rode in oxen. The oxcart was mainly loaded with straw sent by Li Ji, while the three people in the oxen carried the porridge. Each person holds a sword at his waist, and the three people on foot hold a halberd; the two people riding in a car hold a bow and arrow on the left side of the car, and a spear on the right side of the car; the best man himself drives the car. That night, the entourage packed up the carriage and prepared it, then mixed the grass with salt and fed it to the animals. Not long after I lay down, I heard the sound of drums and troops beating in the city. Everyone got up, prepared breakfast, prepared their carriages and horses, and each carried their luggage, waiting for Li Ji to come.
Li Ji seems to come from a wealthy family. Just after the meal time, he gathered in front of the gate of Handan City with five hundred retainers and retainers, and hundreds of people riding in cars. The spectacular lineup attracted the attention of a large number of Handan residents.
Li Ji personally drove over to the house to invite him. The stranger got on his carriage, followed by a baggage carriage. The two old carriages were completely different from Li Ji's gorgeous carriage. Li Ji led the stranger across the entire Handan and out of the city; along the way, the people of the city pointed and wondered how the two completely mismatched cars could come together. A person who knew the inside story said: "The person who took advantage of the cheating car is Mr. Qin. If he is not favored by his father and is held hostage by Zhao, he will be killed in Handan sooner or later!"
A bystander said: "What do you mean?"
The man said: "Qin killed 400,000 Zhao people, and Zhao people all wanted to eat Qin's meat. Qin Gongzi entered Zhao, but he will not end well!"
A bystander said: "If that's the case, how can we get into trouble?"
The man said: "Zhao and Qin have many cities and want to retreat from Qin. Therefore, the young master enters Zhao as a hostage!"
Li Ji's public humiliation of Master Qin spread quickly in Handan City. Everyone in Handan knew that there was a down-and-out Master Qin who was reduced to Handan as a hostage, and he would be used as a fish on the anvil sooner or later. Some people sighed, some people chuckled, and some people used their brains.
Li Ji was driving side by side with the stranger. Behind him was a powerful guard composed of twenty or thirty leather chariots. Behind him were fifty chariots, and another twenty or thirty chariots behind them. The lineup was neat and tidy, and the dust covered the sky and the sun. Li Ji excitedly said to the stranger: "In the past, General Zhao She drove his army to Wu'an to defend Qin, and he was following this path. It has been ten years! Today, General Zhao She and Qin Zhonggengyang have both returned to dust, and Zhao It is deplorable to think of rejecting Qin Fu in Wu'an!"
The stranger secretly thought, "Young master, I was in Handan back then. I traveled to Wu'an, crossed the Fu River to the Great Wall, then went to Ningxinzhong and finally Hanoi. I fought thousands of miles away. When it comes to war, who knows more about it than I do!" But he pretended to be confused and said: "General Zhao She, Qin Zhong Gengyang, who are these?"
Li Ji was secretly happy, feeling that he could show off, and said: "Before he was ten years old, Qin Zhong ordered Hu Shiyang to lead an army of 100,000 to attack Zhao Yanyu. General Zhao led the army extravagantly and refused to fight with Qin at Wu'an on the 28th. . Because he was unprepared, for two days and one night he rushed towards the Qin army and defeated the Qin army, thus eliminating the danger for the Qin army."
The stranger pretended to be ignorant and asked, "What is that Hu Yang doing?"
Li Ji was a little embarrassed. Hu Yang turned Handan upside down, and then drifted away. Finally, with the mediation of Wei Guo, he returned to Xianyang safely (Zhao people did not know that Hu Yang was shot by an arrow and died of sores). This was Zhao Guo's heartache, and the monarchs and ministers did not mention it much, only talking about the great achievement of recapturing Yan Yu. Now when asked by strangers, Li Ji could only answer vaguely: "Hu Yang fled in a hurry and heard that he died in Xianyang."
The stranger said: "From Xianyang to Handan, the mountains and rivers were blocked and it was a lot of inconvenience. How could I escape to Xianyang?"
Li Ji said: "Gai abandoned his armor and dragged his soldiers into the desert!"
The stranger said: "How can Qin not repay this humiliation?"
Li Ji said: "That's why there is a matter of Changping."
The two walked side by side in the car and talked from time to time. The stranger pretended to be stupid and asked strange questions frequently. Li Ji believed in his intelligence and explained in detail. He often quoted scriptures and was eloquent. The stranger thought to himself that if he made friends with this person, he would be a great help to Handan! They show off more and more, do what they want, and take advantage of the opportunity to obtain information.
When I was walking to Yuzhong from Shishi, there was a big mountain pass in front of me. Li Ji pointed to a city and said, "Let's go to the city for a while and get up soon." Hundreds of chariots then turned collectively and headed towards the city. The lord of the city, a distant member of the Zhao family, personally welcomed Li Ji and Yiren out of the city and invited them to rest in the city for a while. The rest of the people were outside the city, and there were people supplying them with food, water, and grass. Yiren and his entourage also benefited.
At noon, the group set off again. After crossing the mountain pass and arriving at the shore of Mingshui River, it was getting dark. Li Ji commanded everyone to enter the only city in the mountain pass. The city lord commanded his retainers and arranged for Li Ji and his party to be assigned to various large households in the city. Tonight's dinner will naturally be hosted by this city for free.
After dinner, at Li Ji's request, the city lord took Li Ji and Yiren to inspect the remains of Zhao She's camp ten years ago. By the Mingshui River, the camp remains and the stove pits can be vaguely discerned. The city lord led a group of people and carefully introduced the situation of Zhao She's camp at that time, as well as the Qin army's deployment on the other side.
Revisiting a strange place brings unspeakable emotions. The city more than ten miles away is where the Xianyang camp is located, and I have lived there for nearly a month. Then Hu Yang led his army across the Ming River, broke through the Qin army's Taniguchi defense line, and entered the outskirts of Handan; he followed Sima Jin down the water and seized the Great Wall. The tense atmosphere at that time is still fresh in my memory. Now I heard the city lord explain it from Zhao Jun's perspective. I benefited a lot from comparing the two.
Arriving at the place where Mingshui comes out of the mountain, the city lord introduced that it was from here that Zhao She led his elite troops on the trail to Yanyu. The mountain road was hidden in the night, but the path down the mountain was still very clear. The stranger secretly thought, it turns out that this leads to Yanyu, this leads to Handan, and over there is Fushui, which can lead to the Great Wall. There should be a road leading to Shangdang. It can be seen that Wu'an is really a choke point, perfectly guarding the various exits from Taihang.
The stranger didn't say anything, and his followers only followed him. Li Ji felt that the foreigner was silent and his excitement was still not over, so he asked the foreigner: "Young master, you have nothing to think about when you travel here?"
The stranger yawned and said, "But Simian'er!" Li Ji was greatly disappointed.
The next day, Wu'an sent people to build a pontoon bridge, and a group of people and vehicles crossed the Ming River and came to Wu'an City. Wu An ordered to wait outside the city. When Li Ji met Wu An Ling, he called him "Eldest Brother" and introduced to the stranger: "Wu An Ling Chong is my eldest brother and a compatriot from the same mother!"
The foreigner came over to greet him and said: "I am a foreigner from Qin. I would like to see you in Chongling, doctor Ji!"
Li Chong also came to see him and said: "Although Qin and I are at odds with each other, we are actually in harmony and there is no intrusion."
The foreigner said: "This is what the foreigner wishes!" Li Chong sent someone to report to Wang Lu that the Qin envoy, the young master, the foreigner, had arrived in Wu'an and would soon cross the river and enter his camp. On the one hand, he invited a group of people into the city and arranged a banquet.
Even though they were in the small town of Wu'an, even though they were in the army, the banquet was still very sumptuous, the music and dance were graceful, and it was not inferior to that in the capital. During the banquet, Wang Lu sent an envoy to report: "The prince of our city has arrived, and I would like to use a hundred old soldiers as weapons."
Li Chong asked: "Where is his death?"
The envoy of the Qin army said: "It is by the Ming River. We dare not enter without being summoned."
Li Chongdao said: "You are loyal and righteous, how can you refuse!" He sent people to guide a hundred Qin soldiers into the city. Li Chong ordered to give him wine and meat, and after the young master came out of the house to appease him, he went to a banquet outside the house, surrounded by Zhao people.
After the banquet, Li Chong thoughtfully arranged for everyone to take a lunch break and visit Wushi City in the afternoon. Then he met General Qin on the water. Since the foreigners suddenly obtained a hundred Qin soldiers, the city lord arranged an independent house for them. The one hundred people sent, Wang Lu called them "old soldiers", which sounded like they should be dim-sighted, but in fact they were all veterans who had experienced hundreds of battles and their combat effectiveness was beyond the limit. The leading official met the stranger, and after settling in the hospital, he went to the hall to meet the stranger. The foreigner inquired in detail about the battles of more than a month, and the officials reported them one by one. However, because this official had a low status and did not understand the overall situation of the war, he could only explain it from his own perspective. After hearing this, the stranger asked: "Wu Anling and Qin He, yes or no?"
The official said: "That's right. We don't bother to collect water at noon, and we don't stop business trips during the week. We send envoys to ask questions on the fifth and seventh days, and there is no war!"
The stranger asked: "Where do you live in your camp? How many people are there in the city and how much food is there?"
The official said: "I and others live in the west of Hexi. There are 347 households in the town and more than a thousand people. They are all good to the people of Qin. They eat half of the barns and barns every time they eat."
The stranger said: "Is his camp the same?"
The official said: "His camps may vary from town to town. Some of his people may resist, and those who kill them all will be killed. Some of his daughters may have beautiful women, and some of his wives may have them. There may be treasures in their homes, and they may be plundered." It depends on who you are."
