Ying Zheng looked at the six words written by Li Si on the bamboo slips and stared at them for a long time. Combining them with the exquisite map given to him by the old man in white, he deduced in his mind the marching route of the Qin army and the problems that might arise when attacking each country.
Seeing that Ying Zheng was so absorbed in his thoughts, Li Si did not disturb him, but only took a sip of tea from time to time.
When Ying Zheng recovered his thoughts, he had a smile on his lips, then rolled up the bamboo slip and placed it on the bookshelf.
"Sir, it will take some time to conquer all the countries, but we can discuss it slowly in the future." Ying Zheng turned around and said, "The top priority is to quickly order Lu Xiangbang to prepare generous gifts and send them to all countries."
Li Si bowed his head and said: "In this case, the king needs to first issue a decree to Lu Xiangbang, explain the reasons, and then write a letter to the kings of various countries to show his sincerity."
Ying Zheng nodded and said, "That's right. I'll write the decree to Lu Xiangbang first. You can send it to him and test his tone, and then ask him to select the envoys for the trip."
"Wei Chen accepts the order." Li Si said with cupped hands.
Ying Zheng took out the Wang Seal, wrote a decree, covered it with the Wang Seal, and warned: "I will help you to pay attention to who Lu Xiangbang has selected as envoys."
How could Li Si not understand what Ying Zheng was thinking? All the envoys in history were fat men. Although there were occasional risks, the envoys would not be killed when the two countries were at war. Moreover, if they performed well enough, the monarchs of both countries would be rewarded. , if you are unsuccessful in your own country, it will also build a bridge for you to switch to another country.
Therefore, when Lu Buwei chooses someone to be an envoy, he must be his confidant. Knowing who is Lu Buwei's party members will make it much easier to deal with Lu Buwei in the future.
Li Si accepted the order and went to the Prime Minister's Mansion.
Ying Zheng thought that Lu Buwei would not disagree, but it would take some time to prepare for the national ceremony and send letters to various countries, so he was not in a hurry, so he tidied up a little and returned to his dormitory.
Princess Nansu had already finished dressing up and was waiting for Ying Zheng to come back to have breakfast with her.
Ying Zhengdao had already eaten, but he still had breakfast with Princess Nansu, and he just drank some hot soup.
"Nan Su, I want to give some betrothal gifts to your father. What do you think I should give?" Ying Zheng asked tentatively.
Princess Nansu beamed with joy and said with a smile: "There is no shortage of property deep in the palace. Your Majesty will send some servants to give you whatever you want."
"How can that be done?" Ying Zheng said with a sincere face, "If it were another country, it would be okay for me to give you something casually, but for your home country, it is not allowed."
In Princess Nansu's mind, there were more than a dozen little deer running around, and her heart was filled with excitement. She couldn't hide the smile on her lips even if she tried to hide it.
Ying Zheng thought for a while and then said: "I will prepare some generous gifts for the King of Chu, and I will also write a letter to express my gratitude."
"Thank you father for what?" Princess Nansu asked knowingly, as if expecting what Ying Zheng would say.
Ying Zheng held Princess Nansu's hand and said warmly: "First of all, thank you to the King of Chu for marrying your daughter, so that I can finally get my wish; secondly, thank you to the King of Chu for garrisoning troops to help me put down the rebellion; these three thanks are to thank the outstanding people of Chu." , there are a lot of talented people who are being used by a few people. Without Chang Pingjun and others this time, the situation will be difficult to control."
Ying Zheng originally wanted to say that Li Si had appeared in Chu State and that someone like Jing Fan could be used by him, but he felt that it was inappropriate and changed his mind temporarily.
"Since you are one of your own family, why should your king be so polite?" Princess Nansu said softly, "I wonder if the troops my father sent to the border have withdrawn."
"I will send someone to investigate first, and then write a letter to your father. If there is nothing at the border, let the King of Chu withdraw his troops. After all, both Zhao and Wei have withdrawn their troops," Ying Zheng said.
Ying Zheng knew that Lu Buwei must be paying close attention to the movements of the Chu army, so he just asked Lu Buwei. As for the King of Chu's motives for not withdrawing his troops, there was no need to pay attention. Anyway, the King of Chu did not dare to fight, although the King of Chu had no intention of withdrawing from Ying. The city is still aggrieved.
After breakfast, Ying Zheng took Princess Nansu to Huayang Palace to pay his respects to Mrs. Huayang.
Ying Zheng explained to Mrs. Huayang that he wanted to present state appointments to various countries, and asked Mrs. Huayang to set the wedding date as soon as possible so that he could make it clear to the countries.
Mrs. Huayang smiled and said, "The Ai family has already chosen the date of Your Majesty's wedding. Lu Xiangbang has also agreed that it will be April 19th. Whatever your Majesty wishes."
Ying Zheng calculated in his mind that there were still more than forty days, which was enough time to deal with the affairs of various countries. Presumably, the repair period of the ancient Chenggong Palace would be more generous, and he immediately responded: "Everything is subject to the will of Grandma Wang."
Mrs. Huayang nodded, looked at Princess Nansu's belly unconsciously, smiled uncontrollably, and then started chatting about home affairs.
Seeing Mrs. Huayang's condition, Ying Zheng felt much more at ease, less guilty and less worried.
After coming out of Huayang Palace, both of them were thinking about Princess Hu Yu, so Ying Zheng took Princess Nansu directly to Mrs. Xia's residence.
Mrs. Xia and Princess Hu Yu were chatting, talking about some of the customs and customs of the Zhao Kingdom. Princess Hu Yu described it with a smile, but there was also some homesickness in her eyebrows. Seeing Ying Zheng entering, Princess Hu Yu stood up and gave up her seat.
After greeting Mrs. Xia, Ying Zheng smiled and said, "I wonder if Hu Yu is still well-behaved at my grandmother's place?"
"Be good, of course." Mrs. Xia looked at Princess Hu Yu and then at Princess Nansu with a smile, and said, "These two grandsons-in-law are really good."
Princess Nansu smiled lightly and lowered her head, while Princess Hu Yu looked sideways at Ying Zheng rather mischievously.
"As long as grandma likes it." Ying Zheng paused and said, "My grandson has already sent people to take care of what grandma said yesterday, and he also used it to make betrothal gifts to various countries. Just now, the King and Queen Mother also The wedding date has been set for April 19th."
"April 19." Mrs. Xia muttered, "It's a good day, and I'm in a hurry to do all the things."
When Ying Zheng saw that Mrs.
After saying that, Ying Zheng happily looked at Princess Nansu and then at Princess Hu Yu.
The two of them were even more beautiful, with rosy faces and delicate faces.
After all, Princess Nansu was not as embarrassed as Princess Hu Yu. She said softly: "Today it is Nansu's time to accompany my grandmother. Your Majesty, you should prepare for sister Hu Yu as soon as possible. All the maids of the Queen Mother and the Queen Mother have also stayed in Huayang Palace. , now is the time.”
When Princess Hu Yu heard this, her ears turned even redder and she remained silent.
Ying Zheng thought of Hu Yu's graceful appearance on horseback and archery, and looked at her shy appearance now, and couldn't help but smile to herself.
Mrs. Xia knew that although what Princess Nansu said was true, she was teasing her secretly, not to mention that it was not appropriate for such a thing to be caused by an ordinary person. She hurriedly came to the rescue and said: "Your Majesty, this is not a trivial matter. Go back and prepare well. Later in the evening, let Ying Fu send Hu Yu there, and now, let the two princesses stay with me for a while."
Ying Zheng has stepped up, so he naturally wants to go down: "My grandson obeys the order, and I will go back and prepare now."
After leaving the house, Ying Zheng was not thinking about Princess Hu Yu, but how to send letters to other countries. Diplomacy with other countries is not a trivial matter, and Lu Buwei's opinion should still be listened to.
Back in the bedroom, Lu Buwei was waiting at the door of the study.
Previously, Li Si went to the Lu Mansion with Ying Zheng's decree. Lu Buwei knew that it seemed sincere if Ying Zheng wrote the letter himself, but he was afraid that Ying Zheng would make mistakes while he was busy, so he entered the palace with Li Si.
"Father Zhong came quickly." Ying Zheng said while looking at Lu Buwei.
Lu Buwei also made a gesture of invitation and said: "I know quite well about the affairs of other countries, and I am here to help the king."
Ying Zheng nodded, turned around, took out the letter written to King Zhao, and handed it to Lu Buwei: "This is a letter written by me to King Zhao. Please read it first, Father Zhong."
Lu Buwei took the letter respectfully and read it.
While Lu Buwei was reading the letter, Ying Zheng went out and explained something to Zhao Gao before returning to the study.
After Lu Buwei read the letter, he asked Xiang Yingzheng: "Is this letter written by the king himself?"
"What's so difficult about writing a letter?" Ying Zheng asked with some confusion.
Lu Buwei laughed and said: "That's right, that's right. He's very well-controlled. I'm sure there won't be any more trouble in King Zhao's lifetime."
"It's not possible. I think King Zhao has a soft ear and is not very principled in his work." Ying Zheng said.
"It doesn't matter. The old minister will arrange for the envoy to meet with Guo Kai first, and Guo Kai will arrange other matters." Lu Buwei said confidently.
Ying Zheng nodded and said: "The method proposed by Father Zhong is feasible. Give some of the national gifts to ministers of various countries for future use."
Lu Buwei Ying claimed yes, with a determined look on his face.
Ying Zheng was secretly happy. In this way, he not only gained insight into Lu Buwei's direct lineage, but also bribed the powerful officials of various countries. He killed two birds with one stone and it was really cost-effective to spend some money.
"It's not as good as this." Ying Zheng said calmly: "I know the Zhao State quite well, so I can write the letter smoothly, but other countries dare not say it. Now I wrote the first draft in bamboo sketches, and Zhong My father reviewed and revised it, and then I copied it onto brocade and silk."
"That's very good." Lu Buwei nodded and said, "I will burn inkstone for the king."
After sorting out the bamboo slips, Ying Zheng started writing one letter after another, occasionally pausing, but also quite quickly.
Lu Buwei was revising one letter after another, but the overall changes were not very big.
Lu Buwei put the modified bamboo slips aside and personally wrote letters to important ministers from various countries.
Ying Zheng took the bamboo slips modified by Lu Buwei, glanced at them briefly, and copied them on the brocade silk.
The two of them worked hard on their own and were very busy.
At noon, Ying Zheng and Lu Buwei shared some lunch, summed it up, and ordered Zhao Gao to call Li Si over to sort out the letters together.
Li Si didn't have much objection to the content of the letter. He just took a general look at it. After all, Lu Buwei had carefully revised the things. It would be inappropriate if he put forward some other opinions. What's more, the content written by Ying Zheng was the same as before. Li Si discussed it.
"Your Majesty, Lu Xiangbang, and Wei Chen feel that since the number of national gifts is expected to increase, some thought should be spent on the type of national gifts selected this time. Otherwise, this letter will just make the countries happy for a while." Li Si said.
Ying Zheng thought for a while and asked: "The so-called national gifts are nothing more than gold, silver, jewelry, jades, horses, etc. I wonder what you think, sir?"
Lu Buwei also looked at Li Si doubtfully, waiting for his answer.
Li Si smiled and said: "If these properties are given away, it will consume the national power of Qin and enrich the barns of other countries. Between the decline and the increase, Qin will always suffer. The minister suggested that we should give them away Some of them don’t cost much, but they are things that countries have never seen before.”
Hearing what Li Si said, Ying Zheng subconsciously glanced at the inner room of the study. He knew clearly that Li Si would not tell Lu Buwei the things in the inner room that had never been seen before, but he was also wondering what Li Si was referring to. What.
Li Si looked at Lu Buwei and said: "The craftsmen in Lu Xiangbang's mansion in the past are now gathered in the Jing Kiln. In order to repay the kindness of the Qin Dynasty and the talents of all the craftsmen, they have made some utensils. They are quite exquisite and must have been used by all countries." It’s something I’ve never seen before.”
Lu Buwei frowned and thought to himself: What kind of utensils are more noble than gold bottles and silver cups.
Ying Zheng seemed to have remembered something and hurriedly said: "I have seen it before. I wonder if you have samples there, sir."
"Your Majesty, Lu Xiangbang, please wait a moment." After Li Si said that, he turned and walked out of the study door.
Not long after, Li Si entered the house carrying a wooden box, placed it on the ground, and opened it immediately.
Ying Zheng and Lu Buwei came up to watch at the same time. This sight made them stunned.
