Shang Fu looked at them and just smiled, saying: "There are no bugs here, only gentlemen." These merchants looked at Shang Fu, showing an awkward smile, and said: "If it weren't for the support of Da Chong back then, we wouldn't be where we are today. Da Chong We are needed now, and we have no obligation to refuse." Shang Fu said: "No, it is the country." These merchants immediately responded: "Yes, yes, it is the country, it is the country." Shang Fu kept looking at these merchants and said: "Deal ." These merchants immediately agreed and said: "Deal." Shang Fu turned sideways to the servant standing next to him and said: "Pour some wine for them." The servant standing behind him walked up and poured a spoonful of wine into the wine baron. Shang Fu raised a bottle of wine and said, "Drink." He drank the wine in one gulp. The merchants on both sides raised a bottle of wine and said, "Drink together, drink together." Everyone drank the wine.
In the morning of the next day, these merchants donated several carts of money and food. Cheng Yang and Yang Chu, the second senior scholar, stood in front of several large carts of money and grain. They said goodbye to King Hui and said, "Your Majesty, I have to say goodbye." King Hui said, "Okay, I will wait here in Handan for the two gentlemen to come back." ." They led the grain transport team away and left Handan City. Cheng Yang and Yang Chu broke up outside Handan City. Cheng Yang faced Yang Chu who was standing in front of him and said, "Brother Tianyi, please take care of yourself along the way." Yang Chu said, "Brother Pengju, you too." Er Chong said goodbye, and Cheng Yang went to Qi Yang Chu went to Chu State. The two envoys rushed back first to report the news to their respective kings.
The envoy of Qi returned to Linzi, the capital of Qi State, entered the palace of King Qi, stood on the main hall, and said: "Your Majesty, I have fulfilled my mission and returned to the court." King Qi stood up and said: "King Zhao has agreed to assist our country of Qi. "The envoy of Qi replied: "Yes, King Zhao has agreed to assist our country of Qi, and sent an envoy to escort money and grain to our country of Qi." King Qi was overjoyed, walked down and clapped his hands and said: "Haha, I The State of Qi has been saved." Then he turned around and said, "When will the money and grain be transported to Linzi, State of Qi?" The envoy of Qi replied: "The envoy of Zhao has entered the territory of our State of Qi, and I believe he will arrive in Qi soon. The capital of the country is Linzi." King Qi ran among the ministers and said ecstatically: "Our country of Qi has been saved, we have been saved. Have you heard it? Have you heard it?" These ministers all echoed: "We I heard it, I heard it." King Qi stopped between them again, walked out slowly, stood in front of these ministers, and said: "It was a breach of etiquette in front of the court just now." Then he straightened his clothes and kept calm. These ministers all knelt in front of King Qi and said, "Congratulations, Your Majesty." King Qi said, "We are happy together, we are happy together." Then he said, "Go out of the city and follow the widows to welcome the Zhao envoy." All the civil and military ministers followed. Behind King Qi, he ordered the guards to drive away the refugees wandering on the street and clean up the street. The King of Qi and his ministers stood on the tower.
On the road to Qi State, there were many thieves. Cheng Yang led the grain transport army into a valley. At this time, the sound of horse hooves and the sound of roaring horses were heard outside the valley. These thieves are robbing homes and houses, but they kill insects without blinking an eye. They stood on the top of the mountain, watching the army of grain transporters down the mountain. Cheng Yang looked at the thieves standing on the top of the mountain. Afterwards, Cheng Yang faced the officers and soldiers behind him and said, "They are thieves, prepare to fight." These officers and soldiers lined up to protect the money and grain carts, with their spears drawn out to defend themselves. The rogue horse showed off the knife in his hand, swooped down on horseback, put the knife on his shoulder, held the dog's tail grass in his mouth, and asked, "Which of you is the envoy of Zhao?" Cheng Yang was about to dismount, but was dissuaded by the general next to him. : "Big bugs, they are robbing homes and killing bugs without batting an eyelid. It's better for me to come forward and talk to you." Cheng Yang said: "General, please don't worry, I will be fine." Then he dismounted and walked up, raising his head and saying: "I am the envoy Zhao. , I am an envoy sent by your king to go to your country of Qi to help the victims of the disaster in Qi." The leader of the ring horse rode on the war horse and said: "I heard that your king is very virtuous. Under his rule, we quickly passed through the years of famine." Cheng Yang looked at them and said, "Don't you know whether my king is virtuous or not?" This Cheng Yang has some scholarly character, and he is unyielding and unyielding in the face of these thieves. , which made the thieves hesitate a little, and the minions next to him said: "It is better for the big bug to give this money and food to those officials than to us. If it is given to these dog officials, it will be swallowed up by them, and the people will not get a cent." Not here." The leader of the thieves sternly said: "What are you talking about?" Then they all got off their horses and knelt down to worship, looking up and saying: "We all admire the benevolence of King Zhao. This road is not peaceful, so we should escort the big bug into the capital. Let's go to Linzi." Cheng Yang walked up to help them up and said, "You all get up."
Cheng Yang retreated, mounted his horse, and walked towards Linzi, the capital of Qi, under the escort of these thieves. Outside Linzi City, the leader of the thieves said: "The Sa family will escort you to the outside of Linzi City and say goodbye." He kowtowed with his fists. Cheng Yang said: "Strong man, please stay." The leader of the thieves turned around and said, "Sir, do you have any other instructions?" Cheng Yang said, "After entering Linzi, I will definitely intercede for you and others in front of the King of Qi and ask for forgiveness for your crimes." The leader once again cupped his fists and said, "Then I'll take my leave, Mr. Lao." Then he mounted his horse and ran away, then turned the horse's head and said, "Sir, he must be a Qi Guochong." Cheng Yang just nodded lightly, and the leader said: "I am willing to follow you to the Kingdom of Zhao and join the King of Zhao." Then he walked away.
Seeing Zhao's grain transport army in the distance, they walked down the tower with their civil and military ministers and stood outside Linzi City to look. Cheng Yang rode up, tightened the reins, turned the horse's head, and the horse came down and kowtowed: "King Qi." King Qi stood in front of Cheng Yang and said happily: "Envoy Zhao does not need to pay such a big courtesy. Follow me. Let's enter the palace together." The chariot was driving on the street. The street was very deserted, and there was not a single disaster victim. Cheng Yang was very curious until he entered the Qi Palace.
King Qi entered the palace of King Qi together with these ministers. King Qi walked up and sat in front of several cases. Only then did Cheng Yang, the envoy of Zhao, enter the palace of King Qi. He stood in front of the ministers, kowtowed and said, "King Qi." King Qi said, "Envoy Zhao, please sit down." Cheng Yang walked up and sat aside and said, "King Qi, I just said It was very deserted when I saw the street. There is not a single disaster victim on the street. Where have all these victims gone?" King Qi looked at Cheng Yang who was sitting aside. Cheng Yang's question stopped him. He didn't know how to answer it, so he looked at the ministers sitting on both sides. Prime Minister Qi looked sideways at Cheng Yang and said, "If envoy Zhao comes to our country of Qi, we can't let him see the hungry people in the streets." Qi also wants to save face. King Qi asked: "I wonder if King Zhao is in good health?" Cheng Yang looked up and said: "My king is in good health. Thank you King Qi for your concern. What worries my king the most is the condition of the victims, so he sent me to Qi to provide relief. The victims of Qi." King Qi stood up, clasped his hands upward, and sighed: "King Zhao is so benevolent!" Cheng Yang stood up and said: "King Qi, relief is urgent, so we should build porridge sheds in the city to help the victims. Build temporary houses outside the city, resettle the victims as soon as possible, and distribute food to them. Today, when the foreign minister observes the sky at night, manna will fall, and the people's production can be restored." King Qi said: "Envoy Zhao has come all the way, so there is no rush. , don’t be in a hurry.” Then he called a noble official and said, “Envoy Zhao has had a hard time traveling and traveling all the way. Thank you for your hard work. Come down and treat me well.”
This aristocratic official held a grand banquet in the mansion and entertained Cheng Yang in the mansion. It was extremely extravagant, and a dancing girl came forward to perform a dance. Cheng Yang sat in front of several cases, his face suddenly darkened, and he kept a long face. Seeing that Cheng Yang was not so happy, the aristocratic official winked at the dancing girl. The dancing girl went to offer wine and said close to him: "Big Chong, I would like my little lady to drink a bottle with you." Her charming posture was very attractive to Chong. Cheng Yang drank the wine in one gulp, stood up and said: "Dachong, the people of Qi are still suffering. Please ask Dachong to remove these banquets. I have something to say." The noble official had no choice but to remove the banquets and order all the dancers to come. He stepped back and said, "If you have anything to say, just say it." Cheng Yang said, "My king sent me as an envoy to Qi to relieve the victims of Qi. Relief is urgent. I want to know where these hungry people are." The noble official stood up. He walked out and said, "Envoy Zhao, please come with me."
They drove these hungry people under the city wall on the west side of the city. Cheng Yang looked at these hungry people and said with some heartache: "These are the people of Qi State!" Then he walked up and stood in the middle of these hungry people, called a patrolman, and mobilized officers and soldiers to set up temporary tents for them. The people outside the city With a temporary place to live, porridge and food were provided the next day, which solved the people's livelihood problem. Later, he and the officials of Qi State rushed to the disaster area to distribute relief money and grain, and spent the famine year together with the people of Qi State.
At this time, Yang Chu just arrived in the territory of Chu State, entered the Chu palace to meet the King of Chu, stood in front of the ministers, kowtowed and said: "King Chu." The King of Chu faced Yang Chu and said: "Thank you for your hard work, envoy Zhao. Please take a seat." Yang Chu still stood and said: "My king is often worried about the disaster in Chu State. The foreign minister came along and found that the disaster in the Han River area is the most serious. The foreign minister is willing to rush to the disaster area in person to inspect the Han River. The situation of the disaster." After that, Yang Chu said worriedly: "After the disaster, the epidemic will definitely spread. Please also ask the king to send an imperial doctor to accompany the foreign ministers." The King of Chu immediately agreed and said, "Where is your Majesty Yin Quzhi?" ?" Ling Yin Qu straightened up and kowtowed: "Your Majesty." King Chu said: "I will appoint you as an imperial envoy and rush to the disaster area with envoy Zhao."
Yang Chu and Ling Yin of Chu State left Shouchun, the capital of Chu State, and rushed to the disaster area. When they arrived at the Han River area, they found several villagers lying on both sides of the road at the entrance of the village. The county magistrate and local officials came forward to greet them. Ling Yin asked: "Why are there only these few insects at the head of the village? Where have the other insects gone? It is said that they come out to collect food." The county magistrate replied: "Several places are infected with the plague, and nine out of ten houses are infected with the plague. It's empty!" Yang Chu stepped out of the carriage and stepped forward to ask an old man, "Old Chong family, why are there only a few insects? What happened in the village?" The old man said weakly: "They are all dead. , hundreds of insects in the whole village are dead." Yang Chu stood up and looked at Qu Zhi who was standing behind him. Qu Zhi ran towards the village regardless of the obstruction. The county magistrate came forward to dissuade him: "Big insect, you can't go! There is a plague ahead, and you will be infected." Ling Yin Qu Zhi looked around, and the sky was filled with black crows. They were hovering above their heads, and some were stopping on dead branches, shouting "Wow——, wow——, dumb——, dumb——." The scorching sky suddenly became gloomy, and a steady drizzle began to fall.
Yin Qu, the commander of Chu State, ran forward and entered the village. This village is even more desolate and insect-free, and it is completely silent. Qu Zhi looked around in confusion. He entered a house, opened the door and entered the room. There were no insects in the room. He then walked up to pick up the curtain and entered the inner room. He found that everyone in the family was dead in the inner room, on the bed. There were also corpses lying on the ground, and the stench hit his nostrils, which immediately made him nauseous. He ran out in panic, accidentally tripped over the threshold, and rolled out. Yang Chu, who was rushed in, helped him up and said: "Your Majesty, you are a big insect." Qu Zhi looked around and saw black smoke billowing in front of him. The frightened Ling Yin said: "They are all dead, they are all dead, what kind of thing?" The plague will be so severe that all the insects in the village will die." Only the corpse-burning insects are left running in front of them, carrying out the corpses and stacking them together, setting up firewood and burning them. The corpses here are already piled up like a mountain. There is nowhere to put it.
Yang Chu helped Qu Zhi out. At this time, Ben Zhi was already limp and his eyes were dull. Returning to the imperial envoy's office, he sat in front of several cases, his eyes still dull and at a loss. Then he wrote the memorial with tears in his eyes, and his heart was even more devastated.
Yang Chu walked in and said, "Imperial envoy, big bug." Ling Yin raised his head and said, "Envoy Zhao, please sit down." Yang Chu sat aside and expressed condolences, saying, "Are you feeling better now?" Ling Yin took a breath and said, " It's better now." Then he asked: "Sir, what do you think I should do now?" Yang Chu said: "The top priority is that Da Chong should gather the imperial doctors to discuss how to control the epidemic, strictly guard against it, visit various states and counties, and divide the epidemic Districts and non-epidemic areas, and isolate and treat them separately, especially infected people."
