Mrs. Qin Xiangguo

104

two months later.

Lu Buwei's strategy was logical, Wei Guo accepted the fifteen cities returned by Qin, and withdrew from Hangu Pass.The remaining four countries, each unwilling to be a vanguard, died in vain, and the five-nation alliance collapsed without attack.

But Qin will not let it go.

When the allied forces withdrew from Hangu Pass, old general Meng Ao's army was like a poisoned arrow chasing fleeing prey, directly inserted () into the back of the departing allied forces.

The Qin army not only beat out the remaining coalition forces, but even kept up with the logistics and supplies in an orderly manner.

The long-awaited war to attack South Korea finally started.

And in Xianyang City——

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, you are here!"

Zhao Weizhen came to Zhangtai Palace in a hurry, and saw the old eunuch who usually took care of the monarch was sweating profusely, and he walked out several hundred meters like a dying person grabbing a straw: "Your Majesty, go and have a look!"

"What's wrong?" Zhao Weizhen frowned: "Don't worry, tell me what happened."

The old servant in the palace has seen too many storms, if there was not a big problem, he would definitely not be so flustered.

The old eunuch wiped the sweat from his forehead: "Gods, beasts—oh, Your Majesty, I'd better go and have a look!"

Zhao Weizhen: "..."

Oh.

Fine.

Hearing the word "sacred beast", Zhao Weizhen's heart was hanging like a stone and fell into his stomach along the way.

She followed the old servant to the special palace, and as soon as she stepped through the threshold, she saw the young man Ying Zheng standing in front of a huge water tank, meditating.Zhao Weizhen walked forward with his clothes in his arms, and when he walked two or three steps away from the water tank, he saw the octopus that had traveled thousands of miles from the coast to the inland, floating dead in the icy water.

it is as expected.

Zhao Weizhen breathed a sigh of relief: There was an urgent call from the palace, and even the old man in the palace personally sent a carriage to pick him up. At that time, Zhao Weizhen felt a thump in his heart.Ask the coachman and guards, they hesitated, and dared not say, what bad things she thought of along the way.

But when the old eunuch said "divine beast", Zhao Weizhen had an idea in his mind.

In all fairness, octopuses are difficult to keep.

It also needs seawater and a suitable underwater environment. Water temperature is also a very important living condition.In the pre-Qin period, there was no heating and air conditioning. As soon as the weather turned cold, it snowed yesterday, and after the water froze, it was normal to die.

You know, this is an octopus transported from Qi State!

This octopus escaped a fishing accident, survived the bumpy and harsh environment, and lived in Xianyang for another two full months. It is already a biological miracle, isn't it?

"How long has it been since you died?" Zhao Weizhen asked.

"Less than half an hour." The old eunuch replied under pressure.

Less than an hour later, it was soaked in ice water again, but it was okay.

But Zhao Weizhen still shook his head regretfully: "It's a pity, alas."

The old eunuch had a mournful face, feeling that he might not be far from death.

However, Zhao Weizhen sighed, and the conversation suddenly changed: "Call me half an hour earlier, we can still kill and eat something fresh."

Old eunuch: "..."

Ying Zheng, who was next to him, couldn't hold back his laughter after hearing the words.

"You can eat sashimi alive, it's so beautiful!" Zhao Weizhen was heartbroken, she hadn't eaten fresh seafood for a long time!But it's okay if he just died: "Now, it's good to go to the kitchen and get some hot water to warm it up, and eat it with soy sauce."

"This this--"

The old eunuch was dumbfounded: "Your Majesty, is this a divine beast?!"

Zhao Weizhen rolled his eyes and wished he could roll on his heels.

Two months ago, the Qi State caravan came back and brought several large water tanks back and forth to the restaurant.Where can the storefront next to the post station hide its secrets?Almost in the afternoon of that day, the news that Lu Xiangguo captured a divine beast from Qidi and gave it to Qin Wangzheng spread all over the city.

Even if Zhao Weizhen intentionally released the news that it was just a strange-looking fish, it still couldn't stop the common people from discussing it.

In the past two months, legends about the mythical beasts of the East China Sea captured by the Qin people, proving that Qin's territory will extend to the East China Sea, and the legends about the king of Qin's political order being tough and powerful enough to make the beasts submit, have become more and more dignified.

Zhao Weizhen sort of understood that the history records about the sage Kong’s mother feeling pregnant, about beheading a white snake, and about abnormal horoscopes, that’s basically how it came about.

She's not superstitious, but she can't stop others from being superstitious, can she?

Even the old servants in the palace thought so.

"Where did the beast come from?" She couldn't help explaining: "Do you believe me or the rumors? When I was with my ex-husband in Qi State, I went to the seaside. This so-called He Luoyu is still a common meal on the dinner table of other fishermen. It's just why? Luo is difficult to raise, it needs both sea water and running water, it is difficult to survive on land, and it is difficult to see it when you leave the coast.”

The old eunuch was skeptical: "Really, is that so?"

Zhao Weizhen: "Think about it, if it is a divine beast, how could it die so easily? As soon as the water freezes, it will die, and it is more delicate than that river fish. Divine beasts and divine beasts must have divine power. He can't even melt ice. Not a beast."

Old eunuch: "Yes, yes."

Indeed it is.

Not to mention anything else, at least the king and Mr. Xia Yang didn't care too much, and they didn't mean to blame.It is enough to prove that the so-called Horo Divine Beast is not such a precious thing.

Furthermore, if it is precious, it is not my turn to take care of it.

The old man convinced himself, so he felt relieved: "I'll go to the kitchen and call for someone to move the water tank over."

Zhao Weizhen: "...just fish it!"

She watched the old servant leave dumbfounded, and when only she and Ying Zheng were left in the hall, the young monarch turned his head and said, "Madam, follow me to the side hall and wait."

Zhao Weizhen: "Please, Your Majesty."

The octopus was dead anyway, which was also a concern of Zhao Weizhen.

That guy Lu Buwei spent a lot of money and shipped several truckloads of seafood over.

But in this era, there is no cold chain system, no highways, and several horse-drawn carriages transport seafood from the Yellow Sea to Xianyang on muddy land. Naturally, the fish and shrimp in the carriages are dead and rotten.

The caravan bought several octopuses, that is, octopuses, and when they were transported to Xianyang, one survived. It was already a chosen fish!

In the end, it was still dead, so it had to be eaten as soon as possible.

"Your Majesty, don't feel bad about it." Zhao Weizhen said: "Things are rare and expensive, and this thing is worthless at the seaside."

"It's okay."

Ying Zheng shook his head: "I found it interesting at the first meeting because I had never seen it before. Now that I see it today, after watching it for two months, it's just a strange-looking fish. It's dead, and it tastes good."

Zhao Weizhen: "In fact, the king has already tasted it, the dried fish that was sent to the palace before."

Ying Zheng: "..."

Hearing the words, the young monarch couldn't help showing a bit of helpless humor on his calm face.

"However, we still have to try the fresh ones." Zhao Weizhen added.

On the way to the side hall, she grabbed a waiter casually and ordered the kitchen to cut the octopus into pieces and boil it, and stew a soup with dried fish and tofu at the same time.

It's cold, eat something warm.

The two masters and apprentices sat down before the long case.

The boiled octopus was cooked quickly, and within a short time, the waiter cautiously brought out the divine beast that had become a dish.

"Your Majesty, try it quickly." Zhao Weizhen smiled and said, "It's not very fresh after all. When I was in Qi State, I saw that local fishermen often fished up the fish and didn't even kill them. They just cut the foot with a knife and put it in their mouths. Then He Luoyu's ankles were brought into his mouth, and he was still holding onto the fisherman's tongue."

Ying Zheng: "..."

Zhao Weizhen: "Your Majesty, try it!"

Yingzheng's unchanging expression showed signs of splitting.

He picked up the chopsticks that he wanted to eat, but he hesitated when he heard Zhao Weizhen's description.The boy hesitated for a moment, took a deep breath, and still mustered up the courage to pick up a piece of octopus foot, dipped it in some soy sauce, and put it in his mouth.

"How?" Zhao Weizhen asked expectantly.

"...the soy sauce tastes delicious." Ying Zheng said tactfully.

Then he put down his chopsticks and waited for the dried fish to be stewed with tofu.

Seeing this, Zhao Weizhen smiled helplessly.

Haven't eaten it after all.Think about the inland children who were born and raised. They have never eaten seafood in the true sense. It is normal that they will not get used to it for the first time.

"However, I have learned a lot." Ying Zheng said with emotion, "It turns out that the fish in the sea can still grow into this shape."

Strictly speaking, an octopus is not a fish.

But there is no biology in this era, so it is too troublesome to talk about it, so Zhao Weizhen chose to skip it.

"The sea is wider than the river and deeper than the river, and it is different salt water." Zhao Weizhen elaborated: "Animals that can live in salt water must be different from fresh water and land. Who knows what is in it? I According to the fishermen, it is said that there are still people living in the deep sea, and they have fins and gills just like fish.”

Ying Zheng asked in surprise, "Really?"

Zhao Weizhen: "I don't know, but after asking around, the fishermen said that they have never seen it with their own eyes, and it is probably fake. But if it is true, people in the sea will be afraid to see pigs and sheep that can walk on land." Surprised, I can still look like this with one sentence."

Ying Zheng thought about it, and it was true.

"I haven't seen the sea yet." He said, "It's wider than the river and deeper than the river. What will it look like? One day Qin will be able to unify the Central Plains. I must see it for myself."

Zhao Weizhen froze, his mood became complicated.

Because the first emperor in history died on the road to the east.

When he was only studying, Zhao Weizhen once thought that the dignified and eternal emperor was also confused in his later years, obsessed with his own achievements and the illusory myth of immortality, and went the wrong way.

But after living in this era, she can understand the mood of Emperor Shihuang.

Yingzheng, who was born in Handan and produced in Xianyang, has no chance to see the vast ocean.

As a monarch, even an emperor, he owns this entire territory, but he has never seen it with his own eyes.

I have never seen the steep mountains in the south, I have never seen the boundless sea in the east, and I have no way of knowing the vast land of these six countries, and what is the concept of "vast" other than numbers.

In terms of personal travel, Ying Zheng is not as experienced as a strategist who toured the six countries.

And the young monarch in front of him is another person who will truly believe in himself after he has personally proved it.

It is precisely because I love Jiangshan that I choose to get to know him personally.

——Of course, understanding is what I understand, Zhao Weizhen still thinks that so many trips to the east are very expensive.

Fortunately, Ying Zheng didn't know what Zhao Weizhen was thinking.

He stared at the octopus that had become a dish, and began to mutter like a real boy: "But, if these are not divine beasts, I really don't know what the divine beasts will look like."

Zhao Weizhen laughed out loud: "Where is there such a beast!"

Ying Zheng raised his head: "Madam, don't you believe me?"

Hmm... In this era, talking about materialism with today's people is really too advanced.

Even if it is said, it is difficult to be convincing.So Zhao Weizhen turned his head and thought for a while, and chose a more appropriate way.

"When I married to Qi State, my ex-husband did take me to the seaside." Zhao Weizhen said: "I walked with my husband on the seashore, and saw something pure and transparent like ice on the ground, which was still alive! Your majesty thought, What would that be?"

"A living creature like ice?" Ying Zheng frowned, "Madam, you must be joking."

"it is true."

Zhao Weizhen smiled: "My husband and I were terrified. We thought it was the ghost of a drowned person in the sea, who was coming to claim his life. The two of us left in shock. We met a fisherman and mentioned it. Unexpectedly, the fisherman was Laugh out loud."

"That thing, the local name is 'Sea Moon', also called jellyfish. The fishermen said that when the tide goes out every day, they can pick up a big basket on the beach, and it tastes good." Zhao Weizhen said, raising his hand towards Bai Burning octopus signaled: "Same as He Luo, it can be eaten as soon as the water is boiled, and it is extremely delicious."

Citing an example, Zhao Weizhen immediately dropped his point of view: "What I have never heard of in Handan is not surprising to the local fishermen in Qi State; I’m afraid I’ll be surprised. Because I haven’t seen it before, I don’t understand it, so I will give it a great imagination. After a long time, He Luo will become the beast of the Eastern Sea, and the sea moon will become the ghost of the dead.”

In fact, Yuanshen and her ex-husband have been to the seaside before, but they have never seen fishermen, let alone octopuses and jellyfish.

But the ex-wife is gone, as long as Zhao Weizhen met before time travel.

"That's the truth." Ying Zheng thought for a while and understood Zhao Weizhen's statement: "When I first saw He Luoyu, I was a little surprised. But the leader of the caravan who sent the fish to the palace also said that this thing is by the sea. Not uncommon."

Thinking about the rumors in Xianyang City again, Ying Zheng found it interesting again: "In the end, it really became a mythical beast that everyone feared, as Madam said."

"It's a good thing."

Zhao Weizhen smiled and said: "Now the capital city of Guizhou speaks of the majesty of the king, so that all the gods and beasts of the East China Sea have come to worship."

"Then madam, if you bring the 'divine beast' to the table, what if it dies?" Ying Zheng teased.

"The divine beast entered the palace and was at odds with the king. It turned out to be a threat." Zhao Weizhen said solemnly, "The king personally defeated and killed it, and even devoured its flesh and blood. It is indeed a real husband!"

Ying Zheng: "..."

Obviously she wanted to make fun of Zhao Weizhen, but she teased her back again.

The young monarch endured it, but he couldn't, he laughed loudly before the long case.

Seeing his carefree smile, Zhao Weizhen's expression softened completely.

exactly!

Usually Yingzheng's majesty is majestic, he is serious and always frowns, which makes Zhao Weizhen a little worried.

People are always insatiable.She hopes that Qin Wangzheng will become a tough monarch with his own ideas, but she also hopes that the young Yingzheng can be as vigorous and full of vitality as a real 16-year-old boy.

Therefore, whenever he laughs loudly, Zhao Weizhen will also be happy from the bottom of his heart.

"so."

After laughing, Ying Zheng said again: "Madam doesn't believe in beasts, so she doesn't believe in gods either."

The smile on Zhao Weizhen's face was faintly withdrawn.

The first emperor asked immortals, and there are historical records in the pursuit of the law of immortality.

Perhaps the more accomplished people are, the more they hope to prolong their lifespan and do more things.

It's just that such behavior is doomed to be futile.

Zhao Weizhen did not answer directly, but asked instead: "Dare to ask the king, what kind of god should be?"

"Immortal, either have magic power or magic weapon." Ying Zheng recalled the story told by his mother when he was young: "If the monarch is virtuous, he will appear, give advice and help him."

"so."

Zhao Weizhen nodded thoughtfully: "Then I dare..."

Ying Zheng: "Go ahead, madam."

Zhao Weizhen: "Your Majesty, don't you think that I meet this standard?"

Ying Zheng took a break.

"But Meng Kai is just an ordinary person." She raised her eyes: "It's no different from people in the world."

Zhao Weizhen didn't know what to say about this matter.

She didn't want to see Ying Zheng's trajectory towards history, but it was not easy to speak directly at the moment.After careful consideration, Zhao Weizhen took the initiative to continue: "Your Majesty, do you still remember King Wuling of Zhao Guo?"

"remember."

Ying Zheng replied: "I was a great enemy of my grandfather, but unfortunately I am old and confused."

Zhao Weizhen continued: "King Wuling of Zhao Guo was originally a majestic king. But he just wanted to believe in that dream and fell in love with the beautiful woman who appeared in the dream. What happened? It gave others a chance, and the woman in the dream The surname was Ying, so Wu Guang changed his surname from Yao's daughter to Ying, insisting that she was the girl in the monarch's dream, and gave it to King Wuling."

As early as in Handan, Zhao Weizhen told Ying Zheng the history of Zhao State.

The old matter was brought up again, but Ying Zheng didn't forget it at all.

"Madam once said that King Wuling committed a big taboo because of this." Ying Zheng said.

"That's right." Zhao Weizhen affirmed, "Your Majesty, please think about it again, why did he abolish the elders and establish the younger ones?"

"..."

Ying Zheng tilted his head.

The young man pondered for a moment, and then replied: "If it is the King of Wuling... one is to dote on the queen and the youngest son, and the other is to believe that the offspring of the woman in the dream, maybe there is a spirit in heaven."

"And this spirit has provoked the change of the Dune Palace." Zhao Weizhen said lightly: "I didn't see the goddess falling into a dream, but I let the people around me take advantage of it. The king asked me if I believed in the world. I can't tell, but I You know, there are countless people pretending to be gods and ghosts in this world.

"It is said that people should not forget their roots, so they have to worship the heavens and ancestors, and accept the guidance of the gods and ancestors. But isn't the ancestral precepts spoken and done by the ancestors itself a guide? Meng Wei felt that instead of pinning his hopes on For unreal gods, it is better to do what you should do honestly and strive to leave no regrets."

These words were shocking in the pre-Qin period.

Even if the New Year rituals and music collapsed in the Eastern Weekend, it does not mean that people nowadays do not believe in ghosts and gods.At least in Qin State, the annual sacrificial activities are never absent.

It is not a problem if the monarch is angry and punished.

But Zhao Weizhen was telling the truth.

Even if Yingzheng grows up and becomes a monarch, Zhao Weizhen doesn't mind sharing the truth with him.

Ying Zheng didn't refute, but he didn't show any signs of conviction either.

The teasing between his brows and eyes was also taken back, leaving only Zhao Weizhen's most familiar thought.

"Madam's words are always bold." Ying Zheng said calmly, "I guess I'm not afraid of ghosts and gods listening to them and causing trouble."

"If there are ghosts and gods in this world, then there should also be ancestors' heroes." Zhao Weizhen said calmly: "I believe that the ancestors of the Zhao family will protect me."

This is the so-called attacking the shield with the spear of the son.

Ying Zheng thought about it again: "But——"

Apparently, he still wanted to have an in-depth discussion with Zhao Weizhen on this topic.

But after the words came out, before the monarch could explain why, the departing old eunuch walked over with his head down.

This time, the old man's face was filled with joy.

Looking at this picture, you know that you are here for a good deed.

"Kings."

He stopped five or six steps ahead of the long case and saluted respectfully.

"Let's talk about something." Ying Zheng turned his head.

Discussions at the dinner table are, after all, limited to the dinner table.Although Ying Zheng was willing to discuss, he had no particular obsession.

The old eunuch stepped forward and whispered a few words in Ying Zheng's ear.

Then the figure of the young monarch stopped, although the solemnity on his face remained unchanged, bright colors burst out from the eyes of the phoenix.

As soon as the young man's eyes lit up, he was in high spirits.

He straightened his spine, even Xuan Hei Shen Yi couldn't suppress that satisfied aura.

"Okay."

Ying Zheng said to Zhao Weizhen with satisfaction: "The person whom I miss so much can finally come to Qin."

Zhao Weizhen: "But Princess Chu?"

Ying Zheng: "..."

Knowing that Zhao Weizhen did it on purpose, Yingzheng was not angry, but responded solemnly: "South Korea will send Mr. Fei to Xianyang for peace talks, to cede land and make amends."