Guancheng is located between Han and Wei. After some exchange of interests, it is currently the fiefdom of Lord Xinling. The order to govern the city is recommended by Lord Xinling and appointed by the King of Han; other officials are appointed by Lord Xinling. The King of Wei is responsible for paying wages for all officials. Some of Lord Xinling's retainers had contacts with Yu Qing. Before departure, the entourage had obtained the method of contacting these retainers from Yu Qing. It could be said that arriving in Guancheng was equivalent to meeting Lord Xinling.
Guancheng is located between Han, Wei and Luoyang, and has the conditions to become a commercial hub. After more than ten years of development, it has grown from a small town with a population of less than a hundred households to a large town with a household registration of 2,000 or 3,000. The dilapidated former site of Guancheng has been very strong after many renovations and reinforcements. The small town next to it was bought by merchants and renovated, and now it has become a commercial port. The indigenous people have moved out, forming residential areas around the two cities.
The two attendants did not go directly into the post house to find the governor, but checked into the carriage and horse shop. The carriage and horse shop in Guancheng was built by a joint venture of the Bai, Chen, Ba and Lu families outside Huayang City. Uncle Tang sent people to run it; but its current operator is actually Cao Baohe, who took refuge with Lord Xinling more than ten years ago. His carefree and strong wife Sister Ba. Naturally, the coachmen and handymen in the car shop are all new and local people.
When he saw the two shaky entourages who were tired and worn out from work walking over, the busboy in charge of soliciting customers even thought they were two homeless people and did not go up to solicit them. When he saw the two people walking into the car shop, he realized that they were customers and hurriedly He stepped forward and greeted: "My dear guest, do you want to drive or stay overnight?"
One of the attendants asked feebly: "Brother, do you dare to invite me? There is Uncle Tang, who has an old relationship with me, and I would like to join him. I heard that he is buying a car in Guancheng, and I dare to invite you to see him!"
The servant saw that the two men were in ragged clothes and their faces were covered with dust. They had obviously walked a long way, so he said: "This car is in the possession of Uncle Tang, but it was paid to Uncle Cao a few years ago. I want to see Uncle Tang... I'll wait a moment." , the father of Rong Xiaozi Bao!"
He walked in and asked Uncle Tang in the front hall. The man was impatient and said: "If the Tang people go to Xingyang, why should they manage the city?" After hearing this, the servant was about to come out to reply, but was stopped by someone from the room next to the hall. Cao Bao stopped and asked, "Who wants to see Uncle Tang?"
The handyman said: "The two strangers have obviously traveled thousands of miles."
Cao Bao said: "Let me take a look at it."
The servant led Cao Bao out, pointed at the two attendants and said, "These are the two guests who want to see Uncle Tang."
Cao Bao asked, "Where did the guest come from, and why did he meet Uncle Tang?"
The follower said: "We came from Handan with Uncle Yu, Youxin and Uncle Tang!"
Cao Bao asked: "Where is his faith?"
The follower said: "Dare you ask me for your honorable title?"
Cao Bao said: "We, Mr. Cao, are Uncle Tang's old friends. Uncle Tang wants to do something, so he ordered me to take charge of the carriage."
The attendant said: "Since you are Uncle Cao, please read this letter." He took out a bamboo slip from his arms and handed it over. Uncle Cao took it and saw that there was only one character "Yu" on the slip. Cao Bao handed the bamboo slips back and said, "In that case, I will respect you when you invite the guests into the shop!" He said to the servant, "Send the two guests to a private courtyard to rest, and arrange soup and food." He went under the stable and found that the guests were still there. Sister Ba, who was tending the animals, said, "Yu Qing is here to envoy and wants to see your Majesty."
Sister Ba wiped her hands on her body and asked, "What's the matter?"
Cao Bao said: "He is seriously ill, so we should consult him as soon as he needs food and drink."
Sister Ba said: "He came from Handan and must have something important to do. It's not too late. But it's okay to bring soup and food to ask questions."
After hearing this, Cao Bao went down to the kitchen, boiled the soup, and carried it into a small courtyard with the servants. Knocking on the door, Tang Mu invited the two of them to come out. But they saw that the two of them looked sluggish and almost collapsed on the ground. When Cao Bao saw it, he quickly ordered the servant: "Get a jar of honey quickly."
The servant also saw that the two men were in critical condition, so he ran out and brought a jar of honey water. Cao Bao poured out a jar himself and gave it to a follower. The follower drank it all in one gulp and sat down. Panting on the side. Cao Bao poured another cup, handed it to another attendant, and drank it too.
Cao Bao looked at the faces of the two of them and seemed to be a little relieved, so he gave another person a shot.
After drinking two cups of honey water, the two rested for a while and regained some energy. Then they sat up to greet Cao Bao and said, "How can I feel at ease after receiving this gift from Uncle Cao!"
Cao Bao said: "The second son is my uncle and friend of the Tang Dynasty. Please don't say any more! Let's take a bath in the soup." He and the servants each lifted one up, came to the courtyard, and took a bath in front of the soup pot.
After bathing, the two attendants only wore a piece of cloth around their waists. The handyman took out the clothes and washed them. Cao Bao helped them into the room. At this time, the kitchen also brought two portions of porridge. Cao Bao said: "My second son is hungry and tired. He can't drink meat or wine, but he should eat some porridge first to nourish his stomach qi."
The two people said gratefully: "Uncle Cao gave me such a generous gift, how dare you accept it!" They didn't care that the porridge was boiling hot, and they gulped it down.
After eating, Cao Baoqi put the utensils aside and asked, "What did the second son teach me?"
One of the followers said: "Therefore, Wei Qi, the Prime Minister of Wei, was forced by Qin and rushed to Handan to send Pingyuan Lord. The King of Qin thought of it and tricked the Pingyuan Lord into entering Xianyang and staying there. He would definitely win the head of Wei Qi and leave the Pingyuan Lord. The King of Zhao did not He planned to arrest Wei Qi. Yu Qing couldn't bear it and protected Wei Qi and ran to Chu. Now he is trapped on the road. I hope Lord Xinling will save him!"
After hearing this, Cao Bao thought for a moment and said, "I will repay you. If you don't have any worries, your Majesty will help you!" He told the two of them to have a good rest and then come out and ask for an order.
Guan Ling was a senior official from the Jin Dynasty and was considered a junior in front of Lord Xinling's senior retainers. Naturally, Cao Bao said whatever he wanted and immediately sent postmen into the city to deliver a message to Daliang.
Since the Battle of Huayang, the Wei Kingdom has been very peaceful in the past few years. Except for the loss of all of Nanyang, peace has remained around Daliang. In the Battle of Huayang, most of Wei's world-famous soldiers were lost, and the Wei State no longer had enough farmland to recruit new soldiers, so it simply stopped recruiting soldiers, and instead used the existing soldiers as the basis and decentralized them to In each township, he trained the people of the town in peacetime, and served as the commander of the army or even the uncle in wartime. Because in the past, military soldiers were generally only at the level of uncle, and the commander of the army was usually held by the people of the city. Now, soldiers are serving as commanders of the army. The management and training level of the army have been improved. This made King Wei and Lord Xinling feel a little more confident. They felt that if they continued to do this for a few years, they would be able to recover the lost frontier quickly if they encountered an opportunity.
Duan Ziqian once established a set of weapons manufacturing institutions in the Wei State. However, since there were no copper or iron mines in the Wei State, the established institutions could only stand in disdain. Weapons still had to be purchased from other princes. At most, these institutions could only repair damaged weapons. . As a result, Duan Ziqian lost the trust of the King of Wei, left the State of Wei, and disappeared. ——Some said he went to Anyi, others said he went to Chencheng. After Duan Ziqian left, Jin Bi was appointed as a general to take charge of the training of the national army.
After Wei Qi left, King Wei also appointed several Wei prime ministers, but they were basically just decorations and could not control anything. Without Wei Qi to mediate, King Wei and Lord Xinling rarely met. But the two maintained a tacit understanding: Lord Xinling fully agreed with King Wei's opinions; King Wei adopted all Lord Xinling's opinions. If the two have any different opinions, Long Yangjun becomes the only channel of communication.
As Xu Jia grew older, Wang Shang's tasks gradually shifted to Xu Bo'an. In fact, he became a new generation of Xujia, but he had not yet won the title of doctor.
Among the guests, Hou Ying gradually moved to the center of power, and Lord Xinling attached great importance to his opinions; while Mr. Zhang Zhuo and Zhong Yue, although they were still honored guests, gradually took a back seat. Hou Ying still lives next to Yimen. Although he no longer serves as a guard at Yimen, he still has close contacts with the old and new guards, as well as the butchers in the market.
More than ten years of peace have made Daliang more prosperous. The rice from Putian is Daliang’s main export commodity and is sold as far as the north, bringing huge benefits. The geographical location of Daliang itself determines that it must be one of the trade centers of various princes. Tens of millions of kilograms of goods come in and out every day, and ships of all sizes fill the gap, and even discharge it ten miles away. There are no traces of the war in Qifeng, and it is still a prosperous commercial port.
But neither King Wei nor Lord Xinling dared to take it lightly. The rising Qin State was like a big mountain pressing on their heads, making them unable to rest for a day. They knew that these ten years of peace were obtained in exchange for endless humiliation, including letting Wei Qi flee to Zhao! What Xu Jia endured in Xianyang still makes them unable to let go. When the Qin State encroached on Nanyang in Hanoi, the three Jin Dynasties did not dare to say a word and watched their cities fall one after another, with nothing to do; and every country watched with fear. After the Qin State occupied Nanyang, what would be its next target? who is it.
When the news came that Feng Ting had dedicated Shangdang to the State of Zhao, both King Wei and Lord Xinling cheered from the bottom of their hearts: The threat of the Qin army had finally left the State of Wei for the time being, and it was most suitable for General Qin and Zhao to join Shangdang. A desperate struggle began.
The reason why Shangdang is the most suitable place is that the terrain here is complex and easy to defend but difficult to attack. The Zhao army is on the defensive side and the Qin army is on the offensive side. Shangdang is backed by Handan, the capital of Zhao, and is on the other side of Zhao. The strategic base of Taiyuan is not far away, only four or five hundred miles away. But it is too far away from Xianyang, twice as far as Handan and Taiyuan. Although four or five hundred miles is already very far, it is still much closer than a thousand miles! Therefore, the struggle between Qin and Zhao in Shangdang was a time-consuming and laborious war, which was a huge drain on the national strength of both sides, and both sides had to go all out.
But what everyone didn't expect was that the Qin army wiped out more than 400,000 Zhao soldiers in Changping! What's even more frightening is that they all seemed to have enough strength: the Qin army had almost no rest and immediately attacked Wu'an and Taiyuan in two directions. After the Zhao army was defeated, it also effectively contained the Qin army's attack. Although the military and military forces had some successes, it was harmless and they were finally ready to resolve the issue through peace talks!
This development plunged Wei into confusion. Because it was unclear how much Qin and Zhao had lost in Changping and what their current strength was, the Wei army never dared to dispatch. Lord Xinling mobilized almost all his power, but could not grasp the real situation. On the surface, both Qin and Zhao still maintain the strength to defeat any vassal state, at least more than enough to protect themselves.
