Zheng Guo left Xianyang and, accompanied by the Korean envoy Han Zhi, rushed eastward to Xinzheng.
Xinzheng was originally the capital of the Zheng State. Later, South Korea conquered the Zheng State and moved its capital here, naming it Xinzheng.
And Zheng Guo's ancestors were originally from Zheng Guo, so he was given this confusing name.
Therefore, deep down in Zheng Guo's heart, he has no particular fondness for South Korea. His name always reminds him that he is originally from Zheng Guo.
Although his family members have been secretly taken to Xianyang, Zheng Guo's old house and foundation are still in Xinzheng. Now that he has the opportunity to return to his hometown, of course he is in a hurry to make the journey.
From Xianyang to Xinzheng, you must pass through Luoyi.
The two men led the team and submitted the customs clearance documents at Hangu Pass. They passed through Sanchuan County and finally arrived outside Luoyi City. They also finally crossed the Qin border and reached the Han border.
Han Zhi looked at the outline of Luoyi and finally breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that this visit to Da Qin had brought great pressure to him. During these days in Qin, he was always on tenterhooks, fearing what he would say. Wrong, Qin was dissatisfied.
There is a saying that a weak country has no diplomacy.
The weakest among the seven heroes is South Korea, and its geographical location is extremely embarrassing. Except for the Yan State, which is not much stronger than itself, South Korea borders all its overlords, and the area under its jurisdiction is also the core of the Central Plains, and its location is extremely Special and sensitive.
If it weren't for the origin of the division of the three families into the Jin Dynasty, Korea might have been destroyed by the Wei soldiers of the Wei State, or it might have been buried under the hooves of the Zhao State's Hufu cavalry and archers.
If it had not been for the nationwide effort to destroy Zheng in the early years, perhaps South Korea would not even exist in its current territory.
But Luoyi, this hot potato, was regarded as a treasure by South Korea. Countless tax properties were looted here in the past ten years.
As Li Si expected, there were complaints from top to bottom in Luoyi City, but they could only swallow their anger because they were not sure whether they would be better off if they switched to another country.
Even under the eaves, I had no choice but to lower my noble head.
Zhuge Teng was originally a royal family member of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty and the internal history of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. Now he also manages all affairs in Luoyi, but his status is already the governor of South Korea.
For a man living in troubled times, this status gap is nothing more than an instinct to bend and stretch. But what he can't tolerate is that South Korea has not regarded Luoyi as its own city-state in these years. Although he asked for help, he didn't even get any help from Luoyi.
Perhaps South Korea did not expect to occupy Luoyi for a long time, so it treated it so differently.
Zhuge Teng understood this truth. He buried his pressure and anger deep in his heart and guarded Luoyi with great determination, guarding the remaining accumulation of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty.
Just last year, the old King of Han passed away and Prince Han An came to the throne. Zhuge Teng thought that the new king's accession would bring some changes to Luoyi, but unexpectedly, the new King of Han's attitude towards Luoyi was different from that of the old King of Han. same.
This also made Zhuge Teng's mood plummet. It seemed that he could no longer see any hope and light in South Korea.
On this day, Zhuge Teng suddenly received an official letter saying that the state envoy Han Zhi and Zheng Guo were rushing back to Xinzheng and passed by Luoyi to repair for a night.
So Zhuge Teng summoned the more distinguished officials in the city and lined up outside the west gate of Luoyi to welcome him.
Zhuge Teng was already talented in both civil and military affairs and was tall in stature. Now that he was sitting on a war horse, he looked even more calm and confident. His face, which was already somewhat loyal, became even more stern.
"Brother Zhuge." Han Zhi bowed his hands and said politely, "This envoy has just returned from Qin and now he will stay in Luoyi for a while."
"Haha." Zhuge Teng greeted him with a smile, "It is indeed the glory of Luoyi that the envoy passed by Luoyi. I am honored to see you."
"Brother Zhuge is being polite." Han Zhi said with a smile, "The person next to me is the Zheng State who went to Qin State before to propose the plan to build the canal."
"Oh?" Zhuge Teng was slightly surprised,
He said, "I've heard Mr. Zheng's name for a long time, and I just met him today. It's a pleasure to meet him. It's a pleasure to meet him."
"Zheng Guo has met Governor Zhuge." Zheng Guo solemnly bowed his hands and saluted, his eyes full of respect.
When Zheng Guo went to Qin State, he went from Xinzheng to Yangdi first, so he did not pass by Luoyi, so naturally he never met Zhuge Teng.
The moment he met Zheng Guo's eyes, Zhuge Teng's heart was shaken, and something seemed to have touched him deep in his heart.
"Haha, it's getting cold. Let's go into the city and talk." Zhuge Teng returned the greeting with his hands raised, "Please!"
"Then thank you, Brother Zhuge." After saying this, Han Zhi followed Zhuge Teng into Luoyi City side by side with Zheng Guo.
After entering the county mansion and sitting down, the three people exchanged polite greetings before getting down to business.
"Brother Han's visit to Da Qin went smoothly?" Zhuge Teng asked.
"Haha, it went smoothly." Han Zhi said, "The king originally heard that Princess Wenxuan gave birth to a daughter, and sent me to congratulate her. I also heard that famous merchants from various countries are selling brocade and tea to Daqin. We in Korea We are the closest to Qin, so how could we miss this opportunity?"
"I was ordered to arrive in Xianyang. Sure enough, I heard that Da Qin will continue to purchase large quantities of tea, brocade and other items, so I did a little research and got the permission of Da Qin Temple."
"In the future, whether it is products produced in South Korea or goods transported to Daqin through South Korea, we in South Korea will be able to make a profit, hahaha..."
Han Zhi became more and more proud as he talked, and finally burst into laughter.
"Oh?" Zhuge Teng also laughed and said, "Congratulations to Brother Han for his great contribution, and Luoyi's superior location will surely gain some glory."
Han Zhi's laughter stopped, and then he sighed and shook his head, saying: "Luoyi's location is perfect. Most of the merchants from the Central Plains will pass by here, but whether they can get the glory depends on the king. Got an idea."
Zhuge Teng's smile froze on his face, and there was a sudden wave of excitement in his heart.
No matter how advantageous your geographical location is, whether you can make some money or not still depends on other people's opinions.
Zheng Guo felt Zhuge Teng's strange behavior and hurriedly said: "If more merchants come in the future, they will probably stay in Luoyi temporarily and wait for documents before entering the Qin territory. Since they eat and drink in Luoyi, the county Are you still afraid that you won’t have any money to earn?”
One sentence eased the awkward situation.
"Haha, what Brother Zheng said is absolutely true." Zhuge Teng stepped forward, looked at Zheng Guo and said with a smile, "I heard that Brother Zheng was once an envoy to the Han Dynasty and went to Qin to propose a plan to build the canal. I wonder if it went well?"
Zheng Guo sighed softly, as if he was recalling the past: "At the beginning, the king sent me to the Qin State. He originally wanted to cooperate with Zhao and Wei to weaken Qin, but unexpectedly, the King of Qin easily saw through the intention of the King of Han. , and threatened to send troops to destroy South Korea."
"Oh?" Zhuge Teng was slightly startled. Apparently, everyone in Korea was not sure what happened.
What made him even more curious was that what Zheng Guo said was that the King of Qin "easily" saw through the conspiracy of the three Jins.
Zheng Guo continued: "At that time, if it weren't for Chengyu's rebellion, perhaps I would have been killed long ago."
"Later, in order to prevent Qin from sending troops to attack Han, I had to make concessions, eat Qin's salary and build canals for Qin. Now, I am considered a Qin minister."
"Me?" Zhuge Teng asked doubtfully.
"Oh, I am a very domineering new weapon. The King of Qin has ordered that everyone in the Qin Dynasty call themselves "I". " Zheng Guo explained.
"So that's it." Zhuge Teng said thoughtfully.
"Now, when the canal is halfway through construction and we encounter some problems, King Qin ordered me to return to South Korea and invite Han Fei to discuss the matter of repairing the canal." Zheng Guo said.
"Han Fei...will he help?" Zhuge Teng asked.
"I don't know." Zheng Guo replied directly, "However, I was willing to sacrifice everything for the safety of South Korea, so Han Fei had no reason not to put South Korea in danger.
Gu. "
"Really?" Zhuge Teng slightly asked with some doubts.
You know, if Da Qin sends troops to attack Han, his Luoyi will be the first stop.
Han Zhi saw Zhuge Teng's worries and said calmly: "The governor does not need to worry. Although the Qin State has taken advantage of us regarding the construction of the canal, at this time, the civil strife in the State of Qin is coming one after another, and the construction of the canal is difficult. They have spent a lot of money, and thinking about it, they will definitely not raise troops to march eastward at this time."
"Hahaha..." Zhuge Teng laughed and said, "Brother Han is absolutely right, I am worrying too much."
At this moment, a chamberlain walked up to him and said harmoniously: "Sir, the banquet is ready."
"I know." Zhuge Teng responded and stood up, "The two distinguished guests are here. I have prepared some wine and vegetables. Let's have a good drink today."
"Brother Zhuge, thank you for your trouble." The two men said at the same time, cupping their hands.
At the banquet, the three people exchanged glasses and drank happily.
Han Zhi completed his mission and now traveled all the way back to South Korea. Naturally, he was in a good mood, so he opened his belly and drank to his heart's content.
As for Zheng Guo's trip, the fortunes and misfortunes were unknown, and success or failure was unpredictable. Naturally, he was very preoccupied. Whenever he raised the wine cup, he would only take a small sip.
Zhuge Teng didn't say anything, but he saw it all.
Whether he drank too fast or was too drunk, Han Zhi shook his head after drinking another drink, climbed on the table, and became drunk.
Zheng Guo looked at Han Zhi, shook his head with a wry smile, and said, "Brother Han is already drunk. Let's stay here today. I'll help him go back to rest first."
"Hey!" Zhuge Teng raised his hand to stop Zheng Guo and said, "Help Brother Han go down to rest. That is what the servants do. We brothers hit it off immediately, so we have to drink a little longer and have a good chat."
Zheng Guo felt that Zhuge Teng's words made sense, and he really wanted to make this friend, so he nodded and said, "Okay, it's all up to Brother Zhuge."
Zhuge Teng waved his hand to the side, and two servants walked up to Han Zhi and helped him out.
"Hahaha..." Zhuge Teng burst out laughing, then patted the back of Zheng Guo's hand and said softly, "There are no outsiders here anymore. We brothers can finally talk about what's on our minds."
Of course Zheng Guo, who was just slightly drunk, could tell that there was something in Zhuge Teng's words, so he looked at Zhuge Teng with a frown and asked: "Brother, what do you mean by this...?"
"Haha." Zhuge Teng said with a smile, "During the dinner just now, the identities, statuses, and circumstances of the three of us were completely different. But Han Zhi left here, and the two of us are left. Aren't we similar?"
Zheng Guo was speechless and still looked at Zhuge Teng.
"As far as I know, Brother Zheng, you are a descendant of the royal family of the Zheng Kingdom, and you also have the hatred of the country's subjugation." Zhuge Teng let out a breath and said, "And I, you are relying on others and acting based on their faces. "
"Haha, this is somewhat similar." Zheng Guo said.
"Brother Zheng, you also said that now you are eating Qin Lu and doing Qin affairs. From a moral point of view, the King of Han will no longer trust you." Zhuge Teng continued, "And as we all know, for South Korea has never regarded Luoyi as its own territory. Apart from collecting taxes, what have they done for the people in the city?"
Zheng Guo was shocked, no wonder he said some things that he couldn't say in front of Han Zhi.
"Haha, if there is an enemy attack, I'm afraid the King of Han will not send any soldiers." Zhuge Teng said angrily, "What this county guard has done is really embarrassing, but if you let go, you won't be able to leave the city." people, and the final dignity of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty."
Zheng Guo asked quite solemnly: "Brother Zhuge said this to me, are you not afraid that I will see the King of Han? Do you want to read your book?"
"Haha, I'm afraid, but you won't." Zhuge Teng said quite confidently.
"How can you see it?" Zheng Guo asked.
"Intuition." Zhuge Teng picked up the wine jue and took a sip.
