When Ying Zheng heard that Wang Ben had returned with his army, he had already expected it. However, when he heard that Meng Tian had returned with him, he missed him and wondered how Meng Tian and Wang Ben met together.
After having some lunch early, Ying Zheng ordered Zhao Gao to prepare a car, took three complete sets of porcelain into the car, and arrived at the Lu Mansion.
Lu Buwei hurriedly came out to greet him, bowed and said: "The old minister was about to leave for the palace and invited the king to greet General Wang Ben outside the city gate in triumph. However, he did not expect that the king arrived at the old minister's house first."
Ying Zheng smiled and said, "It doesn't matter who invites who. I brought some treasures here for Father Zhong, so I went ahead of time."
Lu Buwei invited Ying Zheng into the house, but when he saw Zhao Gao and the two young eunuchs accompanying him each carrying a wooden box in their hands, his eyes lit up. He had seen this wooden box before, it was the box used to store porcelain.
After sitting down, Lu Buwei asked: "Is the treasure the king mentioned porcelain?"
Ying Zheng knew that Lu Buwei had noticed the box a long time ago, so he raised his hand to call Zhao Gao over. Zhao Gao placed the wooden box on the table and opened it carefully.
Lu Buwei stood up and walked over quickly, took out a porcelain bowl, looked at it carefully, but couldn't help being stunned.
The box of porcelain that Lu Buwei brought back to his house yesterday was already regarded as a treasure by him. Now that he saw that the porcelain in front of him was even more exquisite and detailed than yesterday, he couldn't help but smile from ear to ear with joy.
"What do you think, Father Zhong?" Ying Zheng asked with a smile.
Lu Buwei couldn't help but nodded: "Yes, yes, it seems that the Jingjia Ban's skills are really good. They have made such improvements in just one day's work. I guess I can carve this pattern any way I want."
"This is natural." Ying Zheng said.
Lu Buwei's eyes widened, as if he had discovered a gold mine.
Ying Zheng said calmly: "Of these three boxes of porcelain, I gave one to Father Zhong, and the other two boxes are for Lu Wen and Lu Wu. They worked hard to build the ancient Chenggong Palace for me. It's up to you." Reward them with your own hands."
Ying Zheng gave the favor in an understatement.
Lu Wen and Lu Wu supervised the construction of Gucheng Palace, and they indeed had merit and should be rewarded. However, Ying Zheng used Lu Buwei's hand to reward him. This not only gave Lu Buwei face, but also allowed Lu Buwei to highlight the value of the reward.
As for whether to reward Lu Wen and Lu Wu, that is Lu Buwei's decision.
Lu Buwei was overjoyed, thanked Lu Wen and Lu Wu, and ordered his attendants to take down the three boxes of porcelain, repeatedly urging them to handle them with care.
Ying Zheng was secretly happy that there would be an inexhaustible supply of this kind of porcelain in the future, so that many important things could be accomplished.
After placing three boxes of porcelain, Lu Buwei looked at the time, then prepared his equipment and horses, and accompanied Ying Zheng to the south gate.
The two men rode horses side by side, followed by the attendants of Zhao Gao and Lu Buwei.
"Father Zhong, I heard that Meng Tian came back with Wang Ben." Ying Zheng said.
"It is true. Wang Ben sent a letter saying that Meng Tian was in his army. As for the reason, he did not mention it." Lu Buwei said.
Ying Zheng had some doubts and said to himself: "The route Meng Tian traveled should not overlap with the route Wang Ben returned to the court. Could there be some change?"
Lu Buwei was in a good mood, so he comforted him: "Your Majesty, don't have any doubts. Just ask for it when you meet."
Ying Zheng nodded and rode faster.
When they arrived at the South City Gate, the messengers were already waiting at the city gate. Seeing the two approaching, they hurriedly stepped forward and knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, Prime Minister Lu, General Wang Ben has arrived outside the city and is waiting for your Majesty's order."
Lu Buwei waved his hand and said: "Pass the order."
The herald took the order and rode out of the city.
Ying Zheng, Lu Buwei and others also speeded up and headed towards the military field.
When Ying Zheng ascended the high platform of the military field, more than 20,000 soldiers in the audience knelt down and worshiped.
Ying Zheng raised his hand and said loudly: "All the soldiers are safe."
The sergeants stood up, and a general walked out from the front of the phalanx, it was Wang Ben.
Wang Ben walked to the stage of the generals, cupped his hands and said: "The last general was ordered by the marshal to quell the chaos in the rear of the palace, and then returned with the command of the king. I hereby return my order."
After that, Wang Ben took out the military talisman of the vanguard of the former army from his arms and held it above his head with both hands.
Zhao Gao stepped forward to take the military talisman, walked up to the high platform, and handed it to Ying Zheng in the same posture.
Ying Zheng took the military talisman, looked at it, and handed it to Lu Buwei.
After the handover was completed, Lu Buwei sent his cronies to arrange 20,000 troops and horses back to the military camp and reward them.
At this time, Meng Tian also walked from the front to Wang Ben, raised his hands and said, "Your Majesty, Meng Tian, will accompany General Wang Ben back to the city."
Ying Zheng was just about to ask something, but then he thought about it. The real reason for sending Meng Tian should not be revealed in public, so he said, "Follow me back to the palace."
Everyone obeyed, mounted their horses one after another, and followed Ying Zheng to the palace.
Ying Zheng ordered people to go to Meng's Mansion and Wang Jian's Mansion, introduced Meng Wu and Wang Jian to the palace, and asked Zhao Gao to call Li Si.
In the back hall of the meeting hall, Ying Zheng, Lu Buwei, Wang Bi and Meng Tian had just sat down when Meng Wu and Wang Jian hurried over, followed by Li Si.
After everyone sat down, Ying Zheng smiled at Meng Wu and Wang Jian and said, "Your general Huzi is returning to the court together today, so I invite you to come with him."
Meng Wu and Wang Jian cupped their hands together and said, "I will thank you, Your Majesty."
Ying Zheng nodded, looked at Wang Ben, and said, "Let's talk about the more important things first. How is the situation at the border?"
Wang Ben cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, the Zhao State has withdrawn its troops for many days. Only after the general received the edict did he know that he had made peace with the Zhao State. But the reason was caused by the Wei State, so the Wei State had to Therefore, he moved to the border of Wei State to observe the situation. After a few days, he saw that Wei State did not seem to have any intention of fighting. Just when he was about to ask the king whether he would be his disciple, he heard that at the junction of Wei and Chu, Chu State actually gathered people. With an army of 100,000, Wei must be afraid of Chu's army, so he did not take any action. But it is difficult to tell whether the Chu army is an enemy or a friend, so the general stayed there for a few more days to observe the Chu army."
"Did the Chu army retreat when you came back?" Ying Zheng asked anxiously.
Everyone was also concerned about this issue and looked at Wang Ben.
"No." Wang Ben gently shook his head and said, "After the general rescued Meng Tian and several members of the Sima family, he received the king's order and thought that if the Chu Kingdom really attacked, the general would This small number of troops could not withstand it, so I followed the order and returned to the court."
"Rescue?" Ying Zheng was startled, looked at Meng Tian, and asked hurriedly: "Were you in danger on the way?"
Everyone was also shocked, and Meng Wu even frowned. Although Meng Tian was right in front of him, he was still eager to know the situation at that time.
Meng Tian knew that it was not appropriate to say too much on this occasion, so he said calmly: "It's not a big deal. The general followed his uncle's orders to go to Badi to deliver some items, and then went eastward along the river to Yingcheng. But he didn't want to This ancient capital of Chu is obviously the land of Qin, but secretly Chu bandits are rampant."
Meng Wu asked anxiously: "Chu bandits? What are Chu bandits?"
Meng Tian explained: "Although the Qin Dynasty captured Ying City, the capital of Chu, both sides suffered heavy casualties. While the Chu army resisted to the death, the rest of the defeated troops were scattered on various hills and became bandits."
Lu Buwei frowned and said: "If the defeated army turns into bandits, there will be a lot of them. Why don't we know about it?"
"These bandits are relatively scattered and rarely disturb the people. They only take action when they see wealthy households." Meng Tian said, "It is because we were not prepared. The Sima family and I were almost captured."
Ying Zheng's face darkened and he said: "Such a thing is actually happening. Although this place has not been granted a title, it is guarded by a prefect. Why is banditry so rampant?"
Meng Tian shook his head gently and said: "Most of the people here are Chu people. The previous kings were kind and did not order to drive them away, let alone the officials and people to bully them. However, they cared about the Chu country and still regarded themselves as Chu people. This place is still called Xi Chu, which means the Chu land located to the west of Chu State."
When Lu Buwei heard the words "Xian Wang", he seemed to have thought of something and said, "That's not right. The capture of Ying City was already forty years ago. The Chu State's army was defeated at that time. He must be over sixty years old now."
"That's right." Meng Tian nodded and said with a gloomy face, "Today's bandits are actually the descendants of those old bandits. Those who defeated the army and became old bandits also married wives and had children, and enclosed the land and sealed the mountains. , living a tribe-like life.”
When everyone heard this, they all took a breath of cold air. What is the difference between such a thing and a country within a country.
"No wonder the remnant armies from those days occupied the mountains and forests, and were confident. There must be many squires and common people secretly protecting them and ensuring their supply and safety." Lu Buwei analyzed from the side.
"That's right." Meng Tian said.
Meng Wu looked at Meng Tian, knowing that he was fine, but he couldn't help asking worriedly: "Is the situation dangerous at that time? Are everyone in the Sima family okay?"
Although Meng Tian's face was calm, he still seemed to be frightened: "There is some danger. I led the Sima family to escape all the way, and narrowly encountered the enemy. In desperation, I headed north all the way, and then I met the team of Brother Wang Ben and resolved it. Danger."
Wang Ben said from the side: "Yes, the last general saw that Meng Tian was being chased, so he led his army to destroy the chasing bandits."
Ying Zheng said angrily: "What a shame, if it weren't for Wang Ben, wouldn't Meng Tian have been poisoned? What does Li Xin do? Are all his men eating for free?"
Li Xin and Meng Tian had accompanied Ying Zheng to study and practice martial arts since they were young, and the three of them had a very close relationship. Just last year, Li Xin had just received the crown ceremony and was sent to Yingcheng as the prefect.
Seeing that Ying Zheng was angry, Meng Tian hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, please don't be angry. The minister is traveling privately this time, and Prefect Li Xin doesn't know about it. What's more, the danger comes suddenly. Even if Li Xin knows the news, I'm afraid it will be too late." Can’t catch up.”
Ying Zheng calmed down a little. Thinking of the reason for Meng Tian's trip, he said in a deep voice: "Even so, it is a mistake to condone the bandits."
"Li Xin did, but I don't know how much he knows about banditry." Lu Buwei said from the side, "Just punishing people will not solve the problem of banditry."
Ying Zheng looked at Lu Buwei and asked, "In Father Zhong's opinion, what should we do now?"
Lu Buwei thought for a moment and said in a rather serious tone: "Now that the king's wedding is coming, Li Xin will definitely return to Xianyang. The king can give him an order to check the mountains and mountains in various places before returning to the court. The details of the bandits, how many branches there are, how many men are in each branch, and whether there is a possibility of surrender, all must be found out, otherwise, he will really be punished for dereliction of duty."
After all, Lu Buwei is a veteran, and he already knows how to deal with this kind of thing.
"What Father Zhong said is absolutely true." Ying Zheng nodded, looked at Meng Wu and Wang Jian again, and said, "I don't know what the two generals want."
Meng Wu looked at Wang Jian, raised his hands and said, "The general also feels that it is best to find out the situation first and then make plans."
Wang Jian followed up and said: "Wang Jian is a rough man. He only knows formations but not political affairs. If the king wants to eliminate the banditry, he can just send his veterans to lead the troops."
"Your Majesty, let's get it clear before we talk." Lu Buwei still acted very carefully.
Ying Zheng glanced around for a week, and when he saw Li Si who had been silent all this time, he asked: "Sir, now that you are serving as a court captain, how come you are silent now?"
Li Si cupped his hands and said: "Although I have little knowledge, the king has already asked about it, so I have to express some foolish opinions."
"Sir, please speak." Ying Zheng raised his hand to indicate.
Li Si cleared his throat and said: "In Weichen's opinion, using military force to solve this matter will not only not eliminate hidden dangers, but will also lead to Bengali. If these people from the Chu State are focused on fighting against the Qin Dynasty, even if they kill all A group of people will come in, and another group will come in to cooperate with the Chu army internally and externally to regain the lost territory. The humble ministers are also Chu people, but they are willing to go through fire and water for the king. Why?"
Lu Buwei nodded slowly and said, "What Mr. Li said does make some sense."
Everyone also thought about the reason for what Li Si said.
Li Si continued: "The current plan is to select a Chu-born hero in the court, or bestow this place on him, or appoint him as the governor, and go to spread the favor, subdue the bandits, and win over the people. Heart, this is the long-term solution.”
How could the land that had been snatched away be so easy to manage, not to mention that Yingcheng was once the capital of Chu State.
Ying Zheng nodded, then looked at the ministers, who also looked at each other, laughed together, and then said in unison: "Mr. Changping!"
