After Zhao Ji drank the tea served by her daughters-in-law, she said she would go back and slowly appreciate the porcelain, and asked Lao Ai to entertain the King of Qin and the concubines.
Although Lao Ai was arrogant, she did not dare to neglect, so she held a banquet to welcome Ying Zheng and others.
When he was in Xianyang before, Ying Zheng didn't have much contact with Lao Ai, maybe because Ying Zheng didn't like Lao Ai very much, or maybe it was because of the Queen Mother.
But since Li Si reminded him that Lao Ai might be plotting trouble, Ying Zheng would have to reposition his relationship with Lao Ai. If they were still so different, how could he test them.
The banquet began.
"The king has come all the way from Xianyang, and I would like to offer you a drink for the king and his ladies." Lao Ai raised the wine cup and said.
"It is quite appropriate for me to visit my mother." Ying Zheng also raised the wine cup and said, "It is quite hard for Marquis Changxin to take care of the queen mother."
Ying Zheng, who didn't like to be polite at first, pretended to be polite.
"Your Majesty, you're welcome. Taking care of the Queen Mother is the duty of a humble minister," Lao Ai said.
"Although it is my duty, after all, my mother is weak, so I need to put more thought into it." Ying Zheng continued politely.
"If a humble minister is given a title by the king, it is appropriate for him to put in a little effort." Lao Ai said.
Ying Zheng smiled, raised his hand and said, "Okay! I would like to have a cup of wine."
"Your Majesty, please." Lao Ai raised the wine baron.
Several ladies also toasted to Lao Ai respectively.
After chatting for a while, Ying Zhengcai said: "Yongcheng is no longer the capital of the country. If the Queen Mother needs anything, just ask Changxinhou. There are more Rongdi people here. To protect the Queen Mother, I plan to send more soldiers to protect Qi. Nian Palace.”
Lao Ai cupped her hands and said, "The king is right. Since the decline of the old clan, there have indeed been more and more Rongdi people here."
"Then I will talk to Lu Xiangbang and send more sergeants." Ying Zheng said, "It's just...".
"What's the problem, Your Majesty?" Lao Ai asked rather eagerly.
"It's just that Cheng Xiang mutinied a while ago and the imperial court lost a lot of troops." Ying Zheng said with a troubled expression, "I'm afraid even Lu Xiangbang can't spare any extra troops."
"That's true." Lao Ai looked calm, but there was disappointment in her eyes.
"It's better than this." Ying Zheng seemed to have thought of something, "I can ask for some army establishment, and the hard-working Chang Xinhou will recruit some soldiers and horses locally, and all military salaries will be provided by the temple."
Hearing what Ying Zheng said, Lao Ai felt happy in her heart, but she had a troubled expression on her face: "Recruiting soldiers and horses is not difficult as long as it takes a little more effort, but I don't know if Lu Xiangbang can provide this staff, and We may not be able to allocate the military salary. Let’s forget it, Your Majesty.”
Lao Aui took a sip of wine and glanced at Ying Zheng with her peripheral vision.
"The safety of the Queen Mother is more important than anything else." Ying Zheng said very seriously, "This matter is shouldered by me."
"Then, I will thank the king on behalf of the Queen Mother." Lao Ai said with a smile and cupped his hands.
"Hou Changxin is too polite again." Ying Zheng waved his hand, "However, when we talked about Rong Di just now, I suddenly realized that the name of Hou Changxin seems not to be from the Huaxia tribe."
Lao Ai's smile froze on her face, but she regained her composure in an instant: "Your Majesty is indeed smart. The ancestors of Wei Chen are indeed not Huaxia people, but Yiqu people. Since Yiqu was merged into Da Qin, Yiqu people have continued to The land and Qin people intermarried, and now there is no distinction between Qin people and barbarians."
Indeed, after Yiqu merged into the Qin State, it did not adopt clan governance. Now the Yiqu people are scattered throughout the Qin State and are no different from the Qin people. Only a small number of Yiqu people still live together and maintain the Yiqu people. Tradition.
"I see." Ying Zheng smiled and said, "In today's Great Qin, everyone is treated equally regardless of race or origin. Isn't this the reason why Yiqu can settle down in Great Qin?
Because? "
"Hahaha..., yes, yes." Lao Ai laughed and said, "That's true."
"The legal system of the Great Qin Dynasty means that one will be promoted to a nobility upon meritorious service." Ying Zheng continued, "Now that Marquis Changxin is honored as a marquis, it is an example for Yiqu. I believe people from Yiqu will come here to make contributions under the command of Marquis Changxin! "
No matter how strong Ren Lao Ai's mind is, she can't conceal her joy: "Lao Ai is willing to go through fire and water for the king, no matter what."
Ying Zheng raised the wine prince again and was polite again.
The ladies never asked about the political affairs of the court, they just talked and laughed with each other. Li Si just drank and ate, almost silently. Only Meng Tian interjected a few words from time to time.
After the banquet was over, Queen Mother Zhao Ji did not appear again.
Ying Zheng proposed to live in the military camp, but Lao Ai didn't want to leave Ying Zheng in Qinian Palace, so he left the palace and sent Ying Zheng and others to the city gate.
Back at the camp, Ying Zheng, Li Si, Meng Tian and Zhao Gao gathered together.
After sitting down, Ying Zheng looked at Li Si and asked, "Sir, did I reveal any flaws in what I said today?"
Li Si smiled and said, "The king's performance today was just right."
Meng Tian took a sip of tea, suppressed the alcohol, and asked: "Your Majesty allowed him to expand his army today. Doesn't it increase his strength?"
"No." Ying Zheng smiled and shook his head and said, "If Lao Ai had different intentions, even if he issued a decree to restrict it, he would secretly recruit private soldiers. Now that he is allowed to openly expand his army, it will reduce his vigilance. "
"That's true." Li Si also took a sip of tea and said, "If the results are the same, why not make him less wary?"
"Moreover, my husband also said that this is the best time to eradicate all anti-Qin forces." Ying Zheng added.
Meng Tian looked like he suddenly understood, and Zhao Gao nodded repeatedly.
"However, one thing is a bit surprising." Li Si said, "That Lao Ai is actually from Yiqu."
"Yes, I originally thought that with his name, he would be from Rongdi, and I wanted to persuade him to become a role model for Rongdi." Ying Zheng said.
Meng Tian looked at Li Si and asked, "Rongdi and Yiqu are both nomadic groups, so what's the difference?"
Li Si cleared his throat and explained: "The so-called Rong Di is not as simple as the Rong Di ethnic group in our Qin territory. The so-called Xirong Beidi is a collective name for the grassland Hu people, and Yiqu is just a member of Xirong. It’s just a branch.”
Meng Tian opened his mouth wide: "So Rong Di is so powerful."
"Do you think Rong Di refers only to the Rong Di ethnic group of the New Kingdom people?" Ying Zheng said angrily.
Meng Tian grinned and said nothing.
Li Si continued: "The Rongdi ethnic group within the Qin territory was integrated into the Qin territory earlier than Bashu, and their ancestors had already changed from safari to hunting, and had long formed a farming civilization. So, Today's Rongdi ethnic group is no different from the Chinese ethnic group."
Ying Zheng and the other three were of course very familiar with Qin history, but they all listened attentively.
"However, it has only been more than thirty years since Yiqu was incorporated into the Qin Dynasty, and during that time there were many people who wanted to restore the country." Li Si continued, "If the Qin Dynasty were not now rich and powerful, Yiqu would have been in turmoil long ago. Sent."
Ying Zheng nodded and said: "Sir's analysis is that the hidden danger of Yiqu has never been completely solved."
"Then the king's promise to Lao Ai today will allow him to take advantage of the situation to gather Yiqu people and find a chance to restore the country?" Meng Tian asked nervously.
Li Si thought for a while and then said: "If it is controlled within a certain range, it will not be a big problem, but if time goes by and the Queen Mother becomes an unknown variable, it will be really hard to say."
Ying Zheng understood what Li Si meant.
The biggest variable in this is Queen Mother Zhao Ji, because even if the Yiqu people rebel collectively, they will only seek death. But if the Queen Mother is on Yiqu's side, it's hard to say.
"Although we can't delay it for too long, we can't act too hastily. We must have a thorough plan." Ying Zheng was silent for a moment and said.
"No matter what, we must find out the details before making arrangements." Li Si said calmly.
"That's right, the queen mother cannot be put in any danger." Ying Zheng said firmly.
Zhao Gao, who had been silent all this time, blinked his eyes and said, "Your Majesty, didn't you ask Sima Jie to choose two reliable people in Wen Lei Ju to go to Yong City? Why don't you ask them about it."
Ying Zheng slapped his thigh and said, "Yes, how could I have forgotten this matter."
"Presumably those two people have already joined Lao Ai's Hou Mansion." Zhao Gao added.
Ying Zheng said with some regret: "It's a pity that I was in a hurry when I left Xianyang and forgot to ask Sima Jie about this."
The last time he came to Yongcheng to confer a title on Lao Ai, Ying Zheng wanted to send some people to be placed in Lao Ai's palace, but no one was available at that time. When he returned to Xianyang, Ying Zheng asked Sima Jie to stay in Wen Lei. Pick a few reliable people and sneak into Yongcheng.
At this time, Meng Tian suddenly asked: "Does your Majesty know the names of the two men sent by Sima Jie?"
"I remember that Sima Jie did mention it once, but it was the time of Cheng Xi's mutiny, and I didn't care about it." Ying Zheng thought for a while and said, "It seems that one is called Cao Liao and the other is called Chen Li."
"Yes, it's them." Meng Tian slapped the table and said loudly.
Several people were startled by Meng Tian.
"Do you know them?" Ying Zheng asked.
Meng Tian nodded and said: "That was after the death of my grandfather. The entire Meng family went to Taimiao Cemetery to bury my grandfather on the order of the king. My cousin Sima Jie left the Wenlei residence in Bukai and stayed in Xianyang. But before setting off, Before, he brought two talented people to me and said that they were going to Yongcheng and would be safer with the funeral procession."
"Could it be that those two people are Cao Liao and Chen Li?" Li Si asked.
"Yes." Meng Tian continued, "Both of them respect their grandfather quite a lot, otherwise they would not travel with the team. Along the way, I chatted with them, but I found that those two were not ordinary people, especially Cao Cao. Liao, it is said that he is a descendant of Guiguzi’s sect and is quite proficient in the art of war.”
"Descendants of Guiguzi's family?" Ying Zheng asked in surprise.
"Yes, the more we chatted with them, the more we became more and more speculative." Meng Tian said, "They said they were tired of staying in Xianyang. They heard that Lao Ai was ennobled in Yongcheng, so they wanted to pay a visit. Later, they arrived at the Imperial Ancestral Temple. Cemetery, the two men left the team and went to Yongcheng."
"So, they are really the two people Sima Jie mentioned." Ying Zheng murmured.
"I just heard the king talk about it, and I realized that my cousin sent them to the Marquis Changxin's Mansion to serve as internal agents." Meng Tian said, "Presumably, they have successfully entered the Marquis' Mansion."
"Can we find them?" Ying Zheng asked.
"As long as they are in the Hou Mansion, the ministers will come directly to them. After all, they are old friends and will not arouse suspicion." Meng Tian said.
"Okay." Ying Zheng nodded and said, "I'll leave this matter to you. Bring them here tomorrow, and then arrange for a few more people to enter Lao Ai's military camp. Let's advance civilly and militaryally."
"Your Majesty is wise." Meng Tian cupped his hands and said.
"It's getting late. Let's go back and rest early." Ying Zheng waved his hand.
"Your Majesty, please leave." The three people said goodbye in unison.
After the three people left, Ying Zheng washed himself, sobered up, took out the "Book of Mountains and Seas" that he had with him, and began to study it again.
