Ying Zheng smiled bitterly and said: "I know that this time the authorities are still obsessed with it. Let's talk about it quickly and don't tell anyone."
Zhao Qingqing cleared his throat and said: "Your Majesty distributed firecrackers to the people today to prevent the sneak attack of the Xi beast. This is a good thing, but it is also a matter of duty. But if this kind of kindness is extended to the people of other countries, all the people will be gathered. The hearts and minds of the people in the world.”
Ying Zheng's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Neither the people of Qin nor the people of other countries know the origin and relationship between the king and the Xi beast. They only know that a ferocious beast suddenly appeared and hurt people randomly."
"It would be better for the Xi beast to go to South Korea. If the king goes there in person to distribute firecrackers, it will undoubtedly be a life-saving charm, and then subdue it with his own hands. The local people will only regard the king as their savior and unify them in the future. , there will definitely be a lot less obstacles.”
"Moreover, the matter of getting rid of the Xi beast will definitely spread rapidly throughout the world, and people all over the world will praise the king for not being afraid of danger and helping other countries eradicate the strange beast."
"Isn't this kind of righteous act the best opportunity to win people's hearts?"
"What's more, there is Nei Shiteng in South Korea who is committed to surrender. As long as the king cooperates well with him, he should be able to do it without any leaks."
Ying Zheng narrowed his eyes and followed Zhao Gao's thoughts to sort out every process and detail.
"It's a good idea." After thinking about it for a while, Ying Zheng said, "But why do I always feel like a thief is crying to catch a thief?"
Isn't that right? It's obvious that he made Xi angry, but it was someone else who suffered the consequences, and yet he still has to act as a messenger of justice and take care of the people in the world to have a good reputation.
Could this Xi beast be here as a caretaker?
"What do the people of the world think? Just let it go. It would be great if they don't blame me." Ying Zheng said, "But you are right about one thing. This matter can best be resolved on Nei Shi Teng's territory." , I will write to him now."
Just after I finished writing the letter, another spy came back.
The border defenders finally discovered Xi's traces. It had already detoured through the Qin border and had undoubtedly entered South Korea's territory.
Da Qin's defenders did not dare to pursue, so they quickly reported back to Xianyang.
Ying Zheng made arrangements for a while, then handed the newly written letter to Tan Ma, ordering it to be delivered to Zhuge Teng as quickly as possible.
After another three days, Jing Kiln finally produced a certain number of firecrackers, and the food and fodder for the trip had been prepared, enough for a year.
This time, Ying Zheng brought Li Si, Wei Liao and the entire "our army", Jing Fan and half of the Jing family class also traveled with the army with the materials for making firecrackers, making firecrackers while traveling.
In addition, Meng Wu also traveled with Meng Yi and the newly recruited 50,000 sergeants.
With this lineup alone, who could believe it if they said they were just chasing a ferocious beast?
From the perspective of any country, they are all here to fight.
Originally, Ying Zheng did not want to take Meng Wu with him, but Meng Wu was afraid that Ying Zheng would encounter any danger after leaving the Qin territory, so he insisted on taking a large army to escort him and at the same time give the newly recruited soldiers a test.
Ying Zheng had no choice but to let them follow him to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings.
When they arrived at Hangu Pass, the army took a short rest, and Ying Zheng also received a letter from Zhuge Teng.
The letter stated that he had put the soldiers and civilians of Luoyi on alert, and had left Luoyi with his army and a large number of cattle and sheep, heading west, and agreed to meet Ying Zheng in Mianchi.
After leaving Hangu Pass, Ying Zheng began to order people to carefully search for traces of Xi, and at the same time inquired whether there was any harm to anyone.
After entering the border of South Korea, it seems that Xi has become unscrupulous, and there are reports of cattle and sheep being lost in many places.
Occasionally, people are found missing.
Ying Zheng was unhappy, so he broke up the team into several groups and moved forward to search for Xi's traces.
Originally, the local people were a little scared when they saw the Qin soldiers, but after learning their intention, they were very happy, and some even volunteered to be guides.
In an instant, the news of Xi Beast harming people spread quickly.
Although South Korea is not a big country, there are many people doing business. They can deliver any news faster than anyone else.
As the large team of people investigated, there were more and more doubts.
Judging from the trajectory, Xi does not seem to move in a straight line, because the places where the injuries occur are irregular, and many times, its traces are suddenly interrupted, and it will reappear in a far away place soon. .
But the general direction is always eastward, which is the direction where Luoyi is located.
Or perhaps, Xi's ultimate goal is Xinzheng, the capital of South Korea.
And Ying Zheng must deal with Xi in Luoyi, because once it reaches Xinzheng, Ying Zheng will be tied up and act according to the wishes of King Han.
The weather is getting colder and there are snowflakes in the air.
Watching the snow falling more and more, Ying Zheng felt happy.
It's hard to find you on weekdays, but on the snow, let's see where you go!
He ordered the sergeants to take off their armor, put on cotton-padded clothes, and conduct a more detailed search.
Sure enough, in the middle of a mountain, a pair of people discovered the latest footprints.
Ying Zheng got the news and quickly led people to that place.
Hearing the sound of firecrackers, Ying Zheng hurriedly led the people to run in that direction, but suddenly found several sergeants lying scattered in the snow, all groaning in varying degrees.
Ying Zheng lifted up a less injured person and asked about the situation.
It turned out that this group of sergeants were following the footprints, but found that the footprints were suddenly interrupted. When they were wondering, Xi suddenly jumped out from the side, knocking over several people.
Seeing that the situation was bad, the leading officer ignited the firecrackers he carried and threw them towards Xi.
Sure enough, Xi was scared away by the loud noise, and the rest of the people chased after her.
Ying Zheng looked at the direction of the footprints, got on his horse, and continued to pursue forward.
After walking about five or six miles, a big river appeared in front of us.
A group of sergeants stood by the river, all looking at the river, some stamping their feet anxiously, and some even yelling.
"What's going on?" Ying Zheng asked the captain.
"Your Majesty, this Xi beast is really powerful." The captain said, "We chased all the way here, and most of the arrows we fired were dodged by it. We thought that the river was blocking the way, so we could fight it. "Unexpectedly, it jumped into the river and ran away. The strange thing is that it never showed its head again."
Although Xi was afraid of fire, he was familiar with the properties of water. Ying Zheng had known this for a long time, and in the next moment, he finally figured out something.
Why are the traces discovered before always intermittent and irregular?
Mostly because it encountered a river and took a water route instead.
Even if there is no river there, it does not rule out the possibility of it going underground.
After all this, it will be even more difficult to find it without alerting the snake.
Ying Zheng, who was quite unwilling, came to the river, put his hands to his mouth, and shouted through the voice: "Xi, I know you are here, can you come back and meet me to resolve the misunderstanding..."
The sound echoed in the valley, but there was no movement on the river.
The sergeants behind him all looked at each other, their expressions seeming to say: What, does Xi Beast understand what you said? Are there any misunderstandings between you?
At this time, Li Si also rushed over and saw the situation.
I got the general idea.
"Your Majesty, in a few days, when the river freezes, it won't be able to escape so easily," Li Si said.
These words encouraged Ying Zheng, and he turned around and said, "Even if it doesn't go by water, with our current method, it won't be easy to encircle it."
"Well, we need to think of a foolproof strategy." Li Si said, "We are not very familiar with the terrain here, so let's meet up with Nei Shi Teng before we talk."
Ying Zheng nodded and led the team back to the official road.
During the next two days of searching and traveling, I heard no more cases of missing people or animals.
It seemed that Xi was already alert and was hiding in a corner, spying on Ying Zheng's team.
At noon that day, Ying Zheng arrived at Mianchi. Zhuge Zang took the city to meet him and welcomed Ying Zheng into the city.
"Your Majesty, is this Xi beast really that difficult to deal with?" Zhuge Teng asked curiously.
Ying Zhengxin said, I'm afraid Xi's IQ is not lower than yours.
But he couldn't say these words, and immediately responded: "This Xi beast is strong, fast, and good at hiding. Of course it will be difficult to deal with."
"Can the feathers of swords, guns and arrows hurt it?" Zhuge Teng asked.
Ying Zheng replied: "We can hurt its fur, but it may not give us a chance."
Zhuge Teng: "..."
"Facing the Xi beast, it is almost impossible to take the initiative to capture it." Ying Zheng said, "We can only use bait to lure it to the bait."
Zhuge Teng suddenly thought of something and said, "Could it be..."
Ying Zheng smiled and said, "Have you picked up the person I asked you to pick up in the letter?"
Zhuge Teng nodded and said: "I received it, but it was not received here, but in Luoyi. It should have entered the city now. Could it be that they were the bait that the king mentioned?"
"The Romance of Fairy Wood"
Ying Zheng nodded lightly and said: "Although it is a bait, it is also a kind of protection for them. If they are left in Xinzheng, I may not be able to save them in the end, let alone the people there."
The "them" Ying Zheng mentioned were Han Fei's wife and daughter.
Since Han Fei was killed, Xi did not return to Lishan, but went straight to South Korea. Ying Zheng vaguely guessed that its next target would be Han Fei's family.
As for those people injured along the way, it was just to fill their stomachs.
But this is just a guess. If Xi's target is really their mother and daughter, then bringing them to her side is indeed the best protection, and there is also a chance to capture Xi through their attraction.
If Xi's target was not them, but just wanted revenge on South Korea, then she would have to find another way.
"Your Majesty, do you need to pick them up?" Zhuge Teng asked.
Ying Zheng shook his head and said: "This is not the best place to capture the Xi beast, and it will not stay here long. Let's go back to Luoyi and let your people let it out. We have already captured Han Fei's The family received Luoyi."
"Okay, I'll pass on the order right now," Zhuge Teng said.
"There's no rush," Ying Zheng said, "Let's go, I'll show you something."
Zhuge Teng thought that Ying Zheng was going to reward him with some treasure, but just as he was about to refuse, Ying Zheng had already pulled him out of the courtyard.
Ying Zheng asked Wei Liao to take out a firecracker, lit it and threw it into the iron barrel.
Hearing a loud noise, Zhuge Teng quickly took two steps back in shock.
The guards outside were even frightened, drew their swords and rushed in the door.
Ying Zheng laughed loudly and said: "Don't panic, these are firecrackers used to scare Xi beasts. I brought some and distributed them to the people around and along the way, one to each household."
