Zhao Kuo and his party stayed at the chicken farm for a few more days, mainly because Li Yun took them to visit the newly hatched chicks, ducks and geese. An Ning, the others, and the three little guys had no resistance to this furry thing, and they couldn't take a step after seeing it.
If it weren't for the fact that they couldn't keep them on the road, the three little guys would have caught a few and brought them back.
After leaving the chicken farm, we continued south and arrived in Changping.
Changping didn't seem to have changed much from before, except that the barriers outside the city were demolished and the trenches were filled. It still looks the same as before, with the bloodstains left on the city bricks still remaining, and the marks carved by swords and guns on the city walls have not been erased by the years, and still faithfully record the tragedy of the war.
Zhao Kuo took a distant look and did not choose to enter the city. Instead, he came to a huge cemetery outside the city, where tens of thousands of Zhao soldiers were sleeping.
There are no decorations around the cemetery except for pines and cypresses. There is only a solitary stone tablet in front of it. The stone tablet only has a short line of text: The bones of 41,213 soldiers of Zhao Kingdom were buried in the Battle of Changping. Here it is.
Perhaps it was because of the Cold Food Festival in two days. The stone stele was surrounded by various sacrifices. Before Zhao Kuo arrived, many people were offering sacrifices. Zhao Kuo lined up silently behind him, waiting until the other party finished offering sacrifices. Just stepped forward.
"It seems that the officials in Changping did not turn a deaf ear to my order." Zhao Kuo nodded happily when he saw the sacrifices around the stone monument and the cemetery, which was clear of weeds and had obviously been taken care of.
Based on this incident alone, as long as the future magistrate of Changping County does not make any principled mistakes, Zhao Kuo will decide to protect him even if something happens.
Except for a few people such as the Mohists, most people attach great importance to death. In the eyes of many people, only the body dies, while the spirit and soul will live forever.
Therefore, countless royal families and nobles spent huge sums of money to build their own world after death, and tried their best to bring their prosperity and wealth into the world after death.
Sacrifice is not only a memory of the deceased, but also an encouragement to the living, a kind of inheritance of faith.
The high welfare benefits meet the physical needs of the soldiers, and the king personally offers sacrifices. If the country is not destroyed, the incense will continue to meet the spiritual needs of the soldiers. Victory in wars integrates the two, giving everyone hope.
These are the three most important steps to cultivate the martial spirit of Zhao people. Now that the first two steps have been completed, only the last step remains.
As long as the soldiers truly feel the huge benefits gained from the battlefield, Zhao's war machine will gallop across the Central Plains at an even crazier speed than Qin's, and no one can stop it.
People around were a little surprised to see Zhao Kuo and others.
In the past few years, people from all over the Zhao Kingdom came here to offer sacrifices almost every day. After arriving here, they put down the sacrifices without saying a word, stood silently for a while and then left.
In addition, every year during festivals, the government in Changping would also lead the people to worship these dead warriors.
But this was the first time they had seen so many soldiers come to offer sacrifices. There were probably not many people in the entire Zhao Kingdom who dared to do this, and none in Shangdang.
After all, not everyone can afford armor, and not everyone dares to buy it. It is not illegal to make a sword or something privately in Zhao State. If you dare to hide armor privately, just wait to be beheaded.
Dare to blatantly take so many elite soldiers out, either because they are cheating, or because of their status and illustrious status.
Judging from the fact that Zhao Kuo followed silently in line after arriving here and restrained his children not to look around and to be respectful, the possibility of the former is obviously unlikely.
But after a while, everyone felt relieved. No matter what his identity was, as long as he came to offer sacrifices, he was one of our own.
"I have come to see you so many years late, and I hope you will atone for your sins." Zhao Kuo walked up to the stone tablet and bowed deeply. After the Battle of Changping, he rushed back to Handan from Hedong without having time to return to Shangdang. "We won the Battle of Changping. Not only did we drive the Qin people out of Shangdang, we also drove them back to the west of the Yellow River, forcing them to beg for help everywhere. and."
"Then the Qin State united the four countries to jointly attack our Zhao State, but we still won. In just a few months, we defeated the five countries and forced the Yan State and the Qi State to cede their territories for peace. Although I don't know your names, your hometown, Where are the relatives, but the relatives and widows of all the soldiers who died in the battle have been settled, and they will never be wronged..."
Zhao Kuo spoke sentence by sentence, just like chatting.
Finally, Zhao Kuo straightened his body, glanced slowly across the entire cemetery, and said firmly: "We won, we won again, and we will always win..."
Everyone was solemn, even the three little guys.
Although Zhao Kuo didn't teach them much and sometimes took them to play and play like a loving father, what they saw and heard along the way made them learn a lot at a young age.
"Bring the sacrifice up." Zhao Kuo said.
The soldiers behind him silently carried the cattle, sheep, and pigs to the front.
Everyone around looked at the scene in disbelief. This was too tight. It was only used when offering sacrifices to the heaven and earth, but now it was used to offer sacrifices to these soldiers who died in battle.
Combined with what Zhao Kuo said before, most people have already guessed Zhao Kuo's identity.
"It turns out that what the king said about personally offering sacrifices during festivals is true. I am afraid that this is the only monarch in history who can do this. Other monarchs will not even look at it even if their soldiers die in front of them." Some. People silently thought that at this moment, they actually envied these warriors.
Zhao Kuo did not stay in Changping for a long time. After offering sacrifices outside the city, he did not choose to go north, but continued south and arrived at Tianmen, also called Tianjing Pass.
South of Tianmen is Hanoi in Wei State.
It would be a lie to say that Hanoi is not coveted. Hanoi and Hedong were the elite areas of Jin and Wei in those days, and were far more prosperous than Shangdang, but Zhao still does not have the strength to seize them.
The State of Zhao was the place where the Four Wars were fought, and it did not have the Hangu pass like the State of Qin.
Once all the attention of the princes in the world is focused on Zhao and triggers a six-nation attack on Zhao, the probability of Zhao being defeated like Qin is very small, and there is a high probability that Zhao will be beaten to the point of paralysis like Qi.
Even if the Qin State offends all the princes, the worst it can do is to close the door and not play with you, and develop its own. I don't believe that you six guys can always be united.
The State of Qin has studied these guys thoroughly for a long time. They can only unite for a while, but cannot always unite. As long as they retreat for a period of time, the six countries will be able to show their stupidity.
But Zhao State is different. The area bordering Zhao State and Yan, Wei and Qi are all flat plains. Even if you want to, you can't shrink back.
"Turn around." Zhao Kuo took one last look in the direction of Hanoi, turned around and said.
