"The Marquis of Qi was deceived by the villain, and mistakenly confused my ancestor with the Shanrong, and destroyed our clan Sheji. Since then, our clan's homeland has been swallowed up by the Yan Kingdom. The last two remaining ethnic groups, one One branch moved to the west and established a settlement, and they are the ancestors of my Gu family. Another branch is said to have moved to Liaodong and is called the Zhu family."
Guze led Zhao Tuo and Qin Jun into the township while introducing him to the origin of this Gubo Township.
"It turns out that the elder is a descendant of the ancient Guzhu Kingdom. I have heard that there were two sages named Boyi and Shuqi in the late Shang Dynasty. Are they the ancestors of the elder?" Zhao Tuo cupped his hands to show respect.
"They are the sages of our clan. They first refused to succeed to the throne and gave up the country to their brothers, and their virtuous names spread throughout the world. Later, they detained their horses to remonstrate with King Wu of Zhou, and finally stopped eating Zhou millet and ate weeds in Shouyang Mountain. From generation to generation, It is said to be a good story, I really didn’t expect Zhao Jun to have heard it, but it makes me happy.”
Guze said with a smile, and when he mentioned the glorious history of his family, he puffed up his chest again.
On the surface, Zhao Tuo agreed with the compliment, but in his heart he was speechless.
Lone Bamboo Country.
What a long history.
Four hundred years ago, this small country was coerced by Shanrong and followed the invasion of Yan State. It was destroyed by Qi Huangong, who was in great power at that time, as a lackey of Rong Di.
There is only one sentence left in the history books: Duke Huan of Qi "expeded to the north to attack the mountain soldiers, shun (fú) ordered the branch, cut off Guzhu and returned south. No prince on the seaside dared not to submit." This so-called Guzhu country became the foundation for the hegemony of the Spring and Autumn Period. The toe-stone of hegemony.
As for Boyi Shuqi, it happened as long as eight hundred years ago.
My great Zhou Dynasty has been dead for eight hundred years, and you are still here talking about Boyi Shuqi and being proud of it.
Not to mention the legend of Boyi and Shuqi, which praises the spirit of loyalty to the motherland and integrity.
You, a Yan people who just surrendered to Qin, still use this legend as a way to show off, which really makes Zhao Tuo speechless.
However, Gu Ze's behavior also reflects the characteristics of this era.
The annexation of princes continued, and countless countries and nobles perished. But their descendants still take the past glory of their ancestors as a source of pride and look down on those mud-legged people digging in the soil.
Precisely because Zhao Tuo was born into a noble family, Guze was willing to cooperate with him. Otherwise, if it had been another Qin army commander who was from a civilian background, the old man might have had to cooperate due to the power of the Qin army, but secretly he must have looked down upon him. of.
While Zhao Tuo listened to the compliments of Gu Ze and those powerful officials, he walked on the road in the middle of the city and observed the surrounding environment.
This Gubo Township is generally composed of the survivors of the Guzhu Kingdom, plus a small number of individual civilians.
The Gu family was the dominant family in the township, and the powerful elders who followed him were basically the Gu family, and were the descendants of Gu Ze. Therefore, after Gu Ze was taken care of, Zhao Tuo's garrison mission could be easily completed.
He only needs to station here with his soldiers to ensure traffic safety, and when the follow-up troops come to take over, he will be done. Although it will not upgrade his title, it will increase his achievements. If his achievements increase to a certain amount, Zhao Tuo will also receive corresponding rewards.
Perhaps because they had received orders from Guze in advance, the old and weak in the countryside hid in their houses and did not dare to come out. They looked through the doorways to see if the Qin army entering the countryside was as fierce as the legend said.
The elderly and women are obedient, but those children may not necessarily understand.
A pair of young children were still chasing each other happily as before, emerging from the path between the houses.
Running in front was a little girl with braided hair, only about five or six years old, and she stumbled as she ran. There was also a slightly older boy with a naked butt following behind him. He was dirty and yelling, "Chasing you, chasing you."
The two children were chasing each other, but they didn't see Zhao Tuo and others walking on the road. They rushed over. The girl hit Zhao Tuo's leg first, while the boy didn't stop the car and rushed past Zhao Tuo. , directly hit the black butt behind.
Several Qin soldiers following at the rear instinctively leveled their spears when they heard the noise, and some even drew their swords.
The two children were frightened by this and burst into tears.
The atmosphere became tense instantly.
Guze's face changed greatly and he shouted hurriedly: "Misunderstanding, you heroes are just two children."
Zhao Tuo waved his hand and asked the soldiers to put down their weapons.
He knelt down, touched the little girl's head, and said softly: "Stop crying. Run slower next time so you won't run into her. Go and play."
The little girl nodded in understanding, turned around and ran away.
The little boy in the back was still crying. He was turned over by the black buttocks and pressed on his knees. He was spanked before being released.
"Boy, you have to grow your eyes next time. If you bump into Nai Gong again, hehe."
Black Bottom grinned.
The little boy felt that the man in front of him was laughing so horribly, he covered his butt and ran away crying.
The two children quickly disappeared and the atmosphere relaxed.
Zhao Tuo could even hear the sound of relief coming from the house on the roadside.
The Qin army was not as brutal as they imagined, which reassured the residents of Gubo Township.
After a while, they arrived at the Guze family's mansion.
As the largest home of three elders in Gubo Township, Guze's mansion is indeed very nice.
The eaves are high and the door is wide and majestic, and there are people waiting respectfully.
When you walk in the door, you can see tall wooden pillars supporting the wide space, and the roof is covered with exquisite tiles.
According to Zhao Tuo's knowledge, wealthy houses in Yandi usually lay reeds on their roofs, then grass and soil, and then apply a thick layer of "sanhe soil" on the grass and soil, and finally they are covered with various kinds of roofs. The tiles with exquisite patterns can be called luxurious.
"Hold the lamp!"
Gu Ze clapped his hands and saw the standing maids walking back and forth, lighting the bronze lamp stands in the wide hall.
The candle flame burned faintly, and the animal oil inside released a strange smell, but it was immediately covered up by the special aromatherapy.
Seeing this scene, the Qin soldiers behind Zhao Tuo widened their eyes.
Black Butt swallowed his saliva and said, "My village chief, these people really know how to enjoy themselves."
Not only him, but even Xiqigu, who has been a minor official all year round, couldn't help but said: "The rich and powerful people in this mere township of Yan State are almost as good as the county magistrate of our Qin State."
"Heroes, please hurry up and invite me. The food and wine are ready. Please take your seats."
Gu Ze warmly entertained and invited Zhao Tuo and others to sit down.
It was just the end of the market (Shenshi), and it was not yet time to eat, but everyone still swallowed.
"Captain, let's... let's eat something."
Black Hips whispered, not only him, but others also looked over eagerly.
Zhao Tuo smiled. He knew that Gu Ze had good intentions for this banquet. If he refused, it would anger the other party, not to mention that his soldiers would be dissatisfied.
"Shejian, please take a few people to wait outside. You will have your own food and drink later."
Zhao Tuo told everyone in Guanzhong dialect that although Guze's attitude of surrender was very sincere, he had to guard against it.
"only."
Without saying a word, Shejian walked to the door with his nine reluctant soldiers.
After arranging the back-up plan, Zhao Tuo smiled and said: "Thank you, elder, for your kindness. Then we will be disrespectful."
Guze also saw Zhao Tuo's arrangement. He praised in his heart that it was really prudent. The smile on his face did not change, and he stretched out his hand and said: "All you heroes, please take a seat."
Guze was very careful and knew that Qin Guo respected the right, so he arranged Zhao Tuo and others in the east banquet on the right.
After everyone took their seats, the maids in the mansion began to shuttle around serving wine and food.
They wore snow-white socks and green silk clothes. Although they were not pretty, to the rough men under Zhao Tuo, they were all like gods descending to earth. They stared at them with eyes wide open and kept swallowing them. I don't know if he is salivating because he is greedy for these maids or because he is greedy for the food and wine on the table.
This was not over yet, Gu Ze clapped his hands.
A woman walked out of the inner house. She was about thirty years old. She was wearing lavender clothes and had a little makeup on her face.
She walked up to Zhao Tuo and looked at Zhao Tuo. Her eyes were full of spring, and her watery eyes seemed to be dripping with water. She was truly a beautiful woman.
Guze stroked his gray beard and said with a smile: "This is my young gentleman. I am here today to serve you, eat, sleep and sleep."
