The King of Xiqiang was not a bad drinker. He could drink for an hour, but few people in the world could do that.
But he met Ying Zheng.
Everyone present looked at Ying Zheng, the leader of a country who had been drinking with the King of Xiqiang for an hour and still stood tall with a smile on his face.
It's incredible.
The most surprised among everyone was Hu Yanming, who escorted Ying Zheng all the way to Jiayuguan.
Ying Zheng and his sergeants ran to keep up with his cavalry, and now they drank bowl after bowl of King Xiqiang, who had an unfathomable alcohol capacity.
Who is this person?
But at this moment, Ying Zheng threw away the wine bowl, then put his hand on his forehead and murmured: "I am drunk, King Xiqiang, let's continue the competition another day."
Afterwards, Ying Zheng staggered back to the dormitory arranged for him.
And how could the people of the Qiang tribe not see that Ying Zheng was pretending to be drunk in order to save face for the King of Western Qiang.
In the early morning of the next day, as soon as the sun came up, Ying Zheng and the Meng brothers appeared at the highest point in Jiayuguan - the watchtower.
But what they saw was not the invincible situation in the distance, but the whole view of Jiayuguan.
After having a panoramic view of the entire Jiayuguan Pass, I felt more and more that this important pass was so shabby.
This pass is in the shape of a long strip. The south side is close to a steep mountain wall. The mountain wall is bare, as if the grass on it has been plucked out. The north side is also a cliff, but the color is slightly different from the south side.
There is a gate on the east and west sides, but the east gate that Ying Zheng came through seems to be smaller than the west gate. After all, the west gate is the main point of defense, and most of the fortifications are set up around the west gate.
"Meng Tian." Ying Zheng called.
"Your Majesty," Meng Tian responded.
"If you were asked to lead a large army and attack from the west, how many troops would you use?" Ying Zheng looked at Ximen and asked.
"It can't exceed four thousand," Meng Tian replied.
"What about time? How long will it take?" Ying Zheng continued to ask.
"Based on the current defense of the Xiqiang Army, it should be about an hour." Meng Tian looked around at the city defenses and said.
Ying Zheng nodded and said: "Yes, it can be said that we can easily win such a pass, but for Rongdi and the Western Regions, it has changed hands many times and cannot be stabilized."
"It's no wonder, even the King of Xiqiang doesn't think he can stand, so why would he spend so much effort building passes and improving city defenses?" Meng Tian sighed and said.
Meng Yi shook his head slightly and said: "It's wrong to think like this. Maybe we can spend effort and money to build the city defense so that the enemy can no longer attack it. If this continues to change owners, it will only make the borders between countries It’s constantly changing, and there won’t be any permanent residents here.”
"Yes, maybe this is a characteristic of these nomadic tribes. Wherever the grass grows tall, they will migrate." Ying Zheng looked at Meng Yi and asked, "If I ask you to rebuild this pass, will you What will you do?"
Meng Yi also followed Meng Tian's example, looked around, and then said: "I will probably tear it all down and build it again. After all, the foundation of this place is too poor."
"Haha, I think so too." Ying Zheng said with a smile.
"Your Majesty." Meng Tian looked at Ying Zheng with some doubts in his eyes and said, "You ask this, do you mean..."
"Haha, since we are building this place together, of course we have to take the lead in transforming this place." Ying Zheng said with a smile, "What's more, he lost the drinking contest last night. Logically speaking, this place has already Half of it is ours."
"Does the king really want King Xiqiang to fulfill his bet?" Meng Yi asked.
"Why not?" There was a sly smile on Ying Zheng's lips.
"This is half of the territory. If you have one drink, you will lose. If it were me, I wouldn't do it." Meng Yi curled his lips and said.
"Haha, so you have only seen the superficial things, but have not penetrated into this Xiqiang's mind." Ying Zheng
Looking into the distance, he said.
"What's Xiqiang thinking?" Meng Yi blinked and said
He asked, "Could it be that the Xiqiang are pretending to be friendly with us and that this is all a designed trap?"
Meng Tian shook his head beside him and said, "Probably not. If they want to go back on their word, the risks they will take are greater than us."
"They won't use any tricks, they just want to find a shield." Ying Zheng said, "Think about it, if we build an indestructible pass here, will the Xiongnu and Yueshi still have a chance to take advantage of this? Won’t the thousands of miles of land behind become the permanent territory of the Xiqiang? Even if they give us half, they will earn it. And once they do that, the one who offends the Xiongnu and Yuezhi will be our Qin Dynasty, not the They are Xiqiang."
"Indeed, Xiqiang's move of retreating in order to advance is very clever. It does not require any money, it also saves military power, and it has no impact on diplomatic relations. It can be said that it kills multiple birds with one stone." Meng Tian sighed lightly.
Ying Zheng smiled and said, "So, don't be easily fooled by their rough appearance. These Rongdi people are very smart."
"Wei Chen has remembered it." The Meng brothers replied in unison.
At this time, I heard a shout from below.
"Brother Wang!"
Ying Zheng looked down and saw that it was Solin.
"Wait for me, I'll be down soon." Ying Zheng said and led the Meng brothers down to the watchtower.
"I couldn't find you this morning, so you came here." Thorin said.
"Haha, let's go up and take a look at the scenery here." Ying Zheng said with a smile, "Why are you in such a hurry? Is there anything wrong?"
"Oh, the King of Xiqiang has sent a message, asking Brother Wang's team to all enter the pass. After a day of repairs, he will personally lead his army to escort us to Yumen Pass tomorrow." Thorin said.
"Okay, I will leave the seclusion immediately to bring the team in." Ying Zheng said, "But King Xiqiang drank so much wine, is everything okay?"
"Haha, although I'm fine, I haven't recovered yet. How else can I say we'll leave tomorrow." Thorin said with a smile.
Ying Zheng smiled and said, "Go and tell King Xiqiang that yesterday's wine fight was evenly matched, no matter the winner or loser. Oh, by the way, call your second brother here. With him here, it will be easier to get out of seclusion."
"Okay." Thorin responded and turned around to find Qiang Yu.
Ying Zheng led the Meng brothers to join Qiang Fu, left the east gate of Jiayuguan, and returned to his station.
Instead of rushing to enter the pass, Ying Zheng led his team to train again before entering Jiayuguan.
Early on the third day, King Xiqiang sent someone to invite Ying Zheng.
"Is King Xiqiang okay?" Ying Zheng asked with concern.
"Haha, I am no match for you young people." After saying that, King Xiqiang took out a few scrolls made of sheepskin, "These are the land deeds and household registrations for half of the Hexi Corridor. King Qin should keep them."
"Haha." Ying Zheng smiled and said, "That day, I had a drinking competition with the King of Xiqiang. I was also drunk and unconscious. In the end, I tied with you. The King of Xiqiang didn't lose. So I took out these bets. What?"
"Hey!" King Xiqiang stood up and said, "If you lose, you lose. If I don't admit it, the world will laugh at me. If King Qin insists on not accepting it, he will look down on me!"
"Yes, we are the ones who break our promises."
"That's right, if King Qin doesn't want it, it will be a disgrace to us, and we will not be able to gain a foothold in the Qiang land in the future."
Several elders nearby also echoed.
As expected, this land offering strategy had been agreed upon by the Xiqiang people long ago. Even if it wasn't a bet for a drinking contest, King Xiqiang would surely find another opportunity to bring it up.
Ying Zheng pondered for a long time in confusion about what he had done, and then said: "Okay, I can accept this bet, but I have to send the King of Xiqiang tribute tea, porcelain, and a silk car in return."
King Xiqiang was suddenly stunned.
The bet that day was 20 carts for each item, which already shocked King Xiqiang. Now Ying Zheng said to increase the amount of carts for each item!
How many sheep is that worth?
I'm afraid it wouldn't be enough to drive all the Xiqiang's fat sheep together.
The corners of King Xiqiang's mouth twitched, as if he were in a dream.
Elder Mo Li coughed lightly and mentioned
Xingxing said: "Clan Chief, we have an equal exchange with Da Qin. This is a basis for showing our sincerity. In my opinion, this covenant can be signed."
Only then did King Xiqiang come back to his senses and looked at the other elders.
All the elders burst into agreement.
"Hahaha, okay!" King Xiqiang smiled heartily, "Since it is a fair deal, I can't refuse it. Next, let's ask King Qin to take a look at the covenant."
After saying that, King Xiqiang took out another sheepskin scroll and handed it to Qiang Yu's hand.
Qiang Yu walked to Ying Zheng's side and handed it to Ying Zheng.
Ying Zheng opened it and looked at it. The content was almost the same as what he said at the banquet that day.
Xiqiang is willing to work with Daqin to build the area from Yongding Pass to Jiayuguan in the Hexi Corridor.
Da Qin was responsible for sending troops to protect the security here, and also to build passes and towns.
Da Qin also wanted to teach the local Qiang people farming skills.
The cattle and sheep raised by the Qiang people and the grain cultivated by the Qiang people only paid taxes to the Western Qiang, while the Qin people paid the taxes to Da Qin.
In order to show fairness, the central axis was used as the boundary. The area north of the central axis up to Longshou Mountain was owned by the Qin Dynasty and governed by Qin law. The area south of the central axis was still owned by the Western Qiang and governed by the Western Qiang clan system.
In the future, the main route for merchants to visit was Qin, supplemented by Xiqiang.
The two countries will no longer engage in military warfare. If a conflict occurs, the overall situation should be considered.
If any party breaks the covenant, they should attack in groups.
After Ying Zheng read it once, he read it again more carefully.
"King Qin, do you have any doubts?" Seeing Ying Zheng read it again, King Xiqiang asked.
"Haha, there's no doubt about it." Ying Zheng said with a smile, "It's just that it should be written in the covenant that I bought the country with tribute tea, porcelain and silk, not by drinking. Otherwise, if it spreads, then The people of the Six Nations are laughing their heads off."
"Hahaha……"
There was a burst of laughter in the temple.
"Of course it's okay." King Xiqiang waved his arm, and an elder next to him took the sheepskin scroll back, picked up his pen, and added some more content.
"The matter of the Hexi Corridor has been settled." Qiang He took advantage of this opportunity and said, "But since it is an alliance, it should not just target one area. According to Yi He, our two countries should fully repair each other and have more exchanges with each other. , whenever either side is in trouble, the other side should provide full support."
King Xiqiang nodded and said, "Well, my son's words are reasonable, but I don't know what King Qin wants?"
"Haha, this is what I wish for." Ying Zheng was still smiling.
"Okay!" King Xiqiang stood up, straightened his back and said, "From today on, Da Qin and Xiqiang are allies, and Qin people and Qiang people are brothers. Whenever the allies are at war and the brothers are in trouble, then The other side must help with all its strength!"
"Come on, bring me the blood wine. I will make a blood alliance with the King of Qin!"
Several elders responded at the same time and went down to prepare.
Not long after, the items used in the oath were placed, and a black goat was also led over.
The King of Xiqiang drew his sword, knelt on one knee, and bowed to the north: "The gods are above, and the people worship. Today, in order to ensure that Xiqiang and the Qin Dynasty share peace, the people are willing to make a blood oath with the King of Qin. The gods are the witness, If anyone is treacherous, he should be treated like a sheep."
After saying that, the Xiqiang King swung the steel knife in his hand and slashed the black goat's neck.
The black goat screamed in surprise and was about to struggle, but was already pinned to the ground by the elder next to him.
Another elder next to him brought two bowls of wine, leaned over and collected the blood from the black sheep's neck into the wine bowls.
The wine in the bowl immediately turned red.
Ying Zheng also knelt down on one knee and imitated King Xiqiang and said the same oath.
King Xiqiang handed one of the wine bowls filled with sheep's blood to Ying Zheng and said, "Qin
King, let’s have another bowl. "
Ying Zheng took another wine bowl and presented it to King Xiqiang: "Please!"
The two exchanged wine bowls and drank at the same time.
"Ha ha ha ha……"
The two of them wiped the blood on their lips at the same time and laughed together.
