The termite army was defeated and led the army back to the capital. The general entered the hall, faced the Termite King with shame, and said:
"Your Majesty, our army has failed in attacking the Slippery Ant Kingdom this time." Faced with this defeat, the Termite King became angry and said:
"The country of Huayi is a small city and a small country. You can't conquer it. What's the use of raising you alone? I, I wish I could kill you." The general immediately knelt down and said:
"The general is guilty and deserves death." The termite king accused the general and said:
"Yes, yes, you are guilty. Not only ten thousand deaths, but one death is enough." The general immediately knocked his head to the ground, his body trembling, and said:
"The crime will be punished by death." The Prime Minister stood up and said, holding a wat board in his hand:
"Your Majesty, it is understandable that the general lost the battle. The Sliding Ant Kingdom and the Ant Clan are close neighbors. If the Ant Clan had not sent troops to help, our army would have captured the capital of the Sliding Ant Clan." The Termite King was very angry and stepped off the platform and said:
"The Ant Tribe, let's increase our troops and take down the capital of the Ant Kingdom within a month. Let's see what the Ant Tribe can do?" the house ant advised:
"No, Your Majesty. Now that the Ant Tribe and the Slippery Ant Nation have formed an alliance, if the army goes to attack again, the waste of troops will be detrimental to our Termite Tribe." The Termite King stood in front of the Prime Minister's Country Ant and said:
"This is not possible, that is not allowed, Prime Minister, tell me, what should I do?" Prime Minister and the king looked at each other and said:
"Negotiate peace and develop national strength." The Termite King is a face-saving insect. After failing to attack the Slippery Ant Kingdom this time, he must save something.
When the Prime Minister proposed peace at this time, didn't he make it difficult for him in terms of face? The King of Termites:
"Meeting for peace, the Prime Minister actually proposed peace at this time. I will not agree to the peace negotiation, and the Prime Minister has not thought about it." The Prime Minister looked up at the Termite King and said:
"Your Majesty." The Termite King walked up to the pedestal and said:
"There is no peace in isolation. There is only one war. Now the army has gathered in the Grand Canyon. Send troops to the Grand Canyon. Let's go to Qingshui River and then talk about peace." Prime Minister Guo Yi stepped forward to dissuade him and said:
"Your Majesty, today's ant tribe is not the ant tribe of the past. The ant tribe is assisted by the Prime Minister's little ant, and its national power is booming. I have met the little ant several times. It is not an ordinary ant, and its intelligence is not reduced by that of the clan elder. Little ant He is good at governing the country with benevolence, and the army and the people are united. If we go to attack this time, and the Slippery Ant Kingdom sends troops to help, and we are attacked from both sides, our army will suffer heavy losses." The Termite King said firmly:
"I have made up my mind. There is no need to persuade the Prime Minister." At this time, the termite king has been carried away by anger. It is difficult for any ant to persuade the termite king. The house ants also know that the termite king is very happy with his success and sends out soldiers. It is imperative for the clan to act, and there is no point in trying to persuade them again.
The army is gathering in the canyon, the eagle is circling in the blue sky, and the city is covered with darkness. The war is about to begin.
The guard, General Yishiyi, was watching from the top of the tower, and the soldiers climbed up the tower to prepare for battle. The troops are approaching the city, the flags are fluttering, and the canyon is in danger.
At night, General Yishi entered the general's mansion and sat at the desk. I used a thin needle to light the candle. After meditating for a moment, I took out the bamboo slips and carving knife and wrote:
"Submit an urgent report. The termite army is gathering in the Grand Canyon and is preparing to attack the city tomorrow. The canyon is in an emergency. Please ask my king to send reinforcements and supplies as soon as possible." Then he called in the messenger and said:
"Immediately send the urgent report to the Prime Minister's Mansion in the capital." The messenger took the urgent report from the hands of General Yi Shiyi and rushed to the Qingshui River at full speed.
The moon was dark and the wind was high, and the fast horses were galloping on the official road. Every time they arrived at a post station, they would switch to another horse and gallop without daring to delay for a moment.
It wasn't until dawn that we arrived at Qingshui River. Across the Qingshui River was the capital of the ant tribe. The messenger stood under the tower and shouted:
"Urgent news from the border, please open the city gate." The city gate opened, the messenger entered the city, and dismounted at the Prime Minister's Mansion. He stepped forward to knock on the door, and the doorman of the Prime Minister's Mansion opened the door.
The messenger stood in front of the palace gate and said urgently:
"Urgent news from the border, I want to see your Prime Minister, Big Ant." The doorman welcomed the messenger in. The messenger waited anxiously in the hall, and became even more restless. He looked into the hall from time to time, and said silently in his heart:
"It's extremely urgent, why hasn't Prime Minister come out yet?" Prime Minister also didn't bother to wash up, so he walked out with disheveled hair and asked:
"What happened in the Grand Canyon?" The messenger knelt down, delivered the urgent report, and said:
"The termites have gathered an army of millions in the Grand Canyon, preparing to attack the city." Xiang Guo received the emergency report and said:
"I had already expected this, but I didn't expect it to happen so quickly." Then he added:
"I will go to meet the monarch immediately. You will wait in the palace." The messenger withdrew with the help of Xia Yi.
The Prime Minister entered the inner hall, faced the bronze mirror, washed himself briefly, tied his hair into a bun, took a beam crown and put it on, and wore a crimson gauze robe.
The beam crown is square in shape, low in front and high in back, tilted back, with a round piece, open at the front and closed at the back. It has a red robe, a white gauze singlet, a green collar edge, and a red robe with a green edge, and the red robe covers the knees. Go out and go to the palace hall, ready to go to the king.
The chariot stopped in front of the cave, entered the cave, walked on foot and stood in front of the palace hall, and entered the palace. I saw civil and military officials standing together, not knowing what they were discussing.
Seeing the little ant from Xiangguo entering, he turned around and saluted, saying:
"Xiangguo's big ant." Xiangguo stood between them, facing them with his hands raised, and said:
"Colleagues, please excuse me." The ant king entered the main hall, dressed in royal robes and a heavenly crown, climbed onto the pedestal, turned around and stood facing the civil and military ministers.
The civil and military ministers knelt down one after another and said:
"My king will live for ten thousand years, and the ants will live forever." The ant king spread his sleeves and said:
"Everyone, I love you." Then he sat down and the ministers stood in ranks, facing the Ant King. The eunuch stood up and said:
"If you have a foundation, you can start playing, but if you don't have a foundation, you can retreat from the court." Xiangguo Xiaoyi stood up, holding a scepter, bowed and said:
"I have this to say." The Ant King faced the Prime Minister and said:
"What's the matter with Xiangguo?" Xiangguo looked up and said:
"The termites are approaching the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon is in danger. Here is an urgent report from the Grand Canyon guard." Xiang Guo took out the urgent report from his sleeve and presented it.
The eunuch stepped down, took it, and presented it to the ant king. The ant king received the urgent report, unsealed it and took out the bamboo slip to read it. With a nervous expression and frowning, he placed the bamboo slip on the desk, patted it down heavily with one hand, raised his head and said:
"The termite tribe invaded our Grand Canyon. The termite tribe is openly breaking the peace treaty and starting a war with our ant tribe. Do you have any objections to this?" The ant tribe stood up with a wat in hand and said:
"The termites were unwilling to fail in their attack on the Sliding Ant Kingdom, so they transferred their resentment to our ants to vent their resentment. Attacking our ants was just to gain some face." Another civil servant stood up and said:
"The termite king is capricious and openly broke the peace treaty more than once. The termite king broke his promise, let's start a war." The ant king turned his attention to Xiangguo Xiaoyi and asked:
"What's Xiangguo's opinion on this?" Xiangguo Xiaoyi stood up and said:
"The termites have broken their promise first, and I agree to go to war. Before that, the king needs to send an envoy to the slippery ant country and ask the monarch of the slippery ant country to send troops to assist our Grand Canyon." The ant king looked at the ministers and said:
"Who is willing to go as an envoy to the Sliding Ant Kingdom?" Xu Yi stood up and said:
"I would like to be an envoy to the Sliding Ant Kingdom." The Ant King walked down and said:
"Okay, the Widow Ant Faction must send you as an envoy to the Hua Yi Kingdom. The Hua Yi Kingdom is grateful for the kindness of our ant clan. All you need to do is tell us about the battle in the Grand Canyon." Xu Yi said:
"I already know, I will leave." Xu Yan returned to his mansion and told his subordinates to prepare the carriage and horses, and he waited in the hall.
At this time, a doorman stood outside the hall asking to see him. Seeing the bearded ant in the hall, he kowtowed and said:
"Sikou Dayi." Xuyi turned around and said:
"Tail ant, why did you come to see me?" the retainer asked again:
"I heard that Big Ant is going to the Slippery Ant Kingdom." Isn't this asking questions knowingly? The bearded ant said:
"Exactly, sir, do you think there is any problem?" The doorman continued to ask:
"Do you think the Slippery Ant Kingdom will send troops?" Xuanyi heard what it said and thought, could it be that the Slippery Ant Kingdom is unwilling to send troops, but it still had doubts and said:
"We, the Ant Tribe, sent troops to relieve the siege of the capital city of the Slippery Ant Nation and repel the termite army. The ruler of the Slippery Ant Nation is grateful to our Ant Tribe. There is no reason not to send troops." The retainer said:
"It seems that the big ants don't understand the king of the slippery ant country. The slippery ant country is small in area and is located in a conflict area between the ant tribe and the termite tribe. It strives to survive in the cracks. The king of the slippery ant country is even more willing to offend anyone. If it Send troops to relieve the siege of our Grand Canyon, fearing that the flames of war will once again burn to the mainland of the Sliding Ant Country, which is something it does not want to see. This time the Big Ant is on an envoy to the Sliding Ant Kingdom, the Sliding Ant King must find a reason to shirk it, and no one will Don’t help, stay neutral.” Xu Yan thought that what this disciple said made sense, and asked again:
"If the Sliding Ant Country is really unwilling to send troops as Mr. expected, what should I do?" The Sliding Ant then recommended himself and said:
"Please Big Yi, please take me along with you. I can persuade the Sliding Ant Kingdom to send troops with my sharp tongue." Afterwards, the tail ant told the reason for his mission to the Sliding Ant Kingdom without any reservation.
The tail ant was born in the market and does not have a good background, but this ant is eloquent and eloquent. No one in its circle of friends can speak better than it.
Most of its friends were traffickers, but it was extremely ugly and lame. All of its friends despised it and left it, thinking that it was an idle prodigal with no abilities.
After returning home, he sat on the bedside, pondered for a while and then fell asleep. His wife walked in and laughed at him because he was too lazy to eat and did not work in the fields like other ants. He only knew how to fool around, drink and gamble with his friends.
He said to his wife:
"The bird knows the ambition of the swan. Don't see me in such a state of desolation now. One day I will come out of nowhere and let you have a look. Let's see who still looks down on me." After that, his wife walked out without talking to it. , and after a few days he didn't look good, he ate, drank, went whoring, and gambled, leading a miserable life. He eventually ran away from home, married a butcher, and had children.
The tail ant was greatly hit, so he studied hard and visited famous people to study. He studied in the middle of the night every day without relief.
Once, in Yunmengze, Guiguzi, the human sage, was sitting on a rock and giving lectures. From time to time, he would climb on the shoulders of a disciple and listen to Guiguzi's teachings. After a few days of learning, he left Chu and drifted away. He crossed the ocean and came to Nanzhanbuzhou, traveled around the countries of the South China Sea, and joined the termite tribe. The first termite king saw its ugly appearance and drove it out of the court and lived in seclusion in Gaoping.
Later, the ant tribe experienced war and was exterminated. The little ant rebuilt the ant clan, and the tail ant went down the mountain again and took refuge under the door of the bearded ant. The bearded ant took it in as a low-class guest, with no carriage or horse, and ate the same food as the lower-class ants. So it was unwilling to give in and said to the bearded ant:
"Big Yi, I have been in your sect for a long time, but I have not made any achievements. I am taking this opportunity to go to the country of Huayi to persuade the king of the country to send troops to repay the kindness of sir for taking me in."
