The younger brother of the First Emperor

Chapter 275: The Bai family's kindness, brothers quarreling with each other, Li Mu goes out to the frontier
The Qin King's Central Palace, Chengjiao Palace, and Li Yi Palace.

Young Master Cheng Jiao, who slept until noon, walked out of his bedroom, opened his arms and let the palace maids do whatever they wanted.

Ying Ping, the head of the palace maids and the chief imperial concubine, came over holding a brown object in both hands and stood in front of the young master:

"Sir, this is the eighth invitation handed over by Mr. Bai Ma. Please take a look at it."

Ying Chengjiao tilted his head back, his eyes still closed:

"Why did you lobby for him? Did you get paid?"

Ying Ping bowed slightly and said honestly with some fear:

"How dare Ping take money from others... Mr. Bai Ma rented 20 acres of land to my father at the price of 10 coins per acre."

The current grain price in Xianyang is about thirty coins per stone, and one acre of land in Xianyang can produce about two stones of grain.

Ordinary farmers had to pay about thirty coins per acre to rent land from nobles for farming.

The Bai family rented twenty acres of land to Ying Ping's father for cultivation at one-third of the price. This favor was not light in Ying Ping's family.

Ying Chengjiao opened his eyes a little, his eyelids moved slightly, and he did not respond in time.

Seeing this, Ying Ping lowered his head:

“Ping understood.

"Ping will go and ask my father to give up the 20 acres of land from the Bai family."

“You’ve leased the land and signed a contract. How can you just withdraw from it if you want to?” Ying Chengjiao chuckled and waved his hand.

The three palace maids surrounding her bowed slightly and took a few steps back.

Ying Chengjiao buttoned up his lapels one by one, turned his head to look at the palace maids around him who all looked a little strange, and said with a smile:

"Why? Did your family also rent land at ten cents an acre?"

Ying Niaowu, who was recently given a name, relied on her name and was a little more courageous than other palace maids. She lowered her head and whispered:

"The Parrot family didn't rent any land, but my brother's corvée was exempted..."

Men in the Qin State had the obligation to perform corvee labor.

"Not bad." Ying Chengjiao nodded with a smile: "With one more strong man in the family, your slender shoulders will have less burden."

When the palace maids saw that Ying Niaowu's words did not make the young master angry, they all plucked up their courage and started talking at once.

Everyone's family has received favors from the Bai family, but the favors are different.

Similarly, the Bai family did not make any demands on them.

These benefits, just like the Bai family's surname, are given for free.

Ying Chengjiao smiled and talked to the palace maids for a while, then took the brown object from Ying Ping's hand with a "tsk tsk" sound:
"It seems that I have to read this visiting card."

The girls blushed.

Even though the Master did not punish them or even reprimand them, even though it was their ignorant family members who received the benefits instead of themselves, even though... no amount of althoughs could change the fact that they accepted favors from the Bai family.

"Huo, new cowhide?" Ying Chengjiao fluttered the object in his hand, his eyes slanted, as if he was smiling: "It's been a while since the New Year, right? I don't even dare to kill the cow, but the Bai family is really brave."

The new cowhide is light brown in color and has a slightly fishy smell.

Ying Chengjiao tore it hard with his little hands, and the brown cowhide twisted and deformed, but there was no gap at all.

"The sealing is done well." Ying Chengjiao said to himself.

He walked to the table, gently cut open the wax seal with a small dagger, and grabbed the brown cowhide with one hand and poured it down hard.

A hint of light blue fell from the brown cowhide.

This extremely precious piece of kraft paper is not even a visiting card, but just a visiting card envelope!
The boy put the kraft paper on the side of the table and gently picked up the light blue.

It is soft to the touch, and is made of fine brocade.

Some time ago, the elder brother sent the young man three pieces of Shu brocade, saying that it was the best brocade from Shu, specially supplied to the royal families of various countries.

The young man rubbed the thing in his hand, and the smile on his face became even more intense.

The texture is exactly the same as the one his brother gave him.

"The Bai family was able to obtain the royal gifts from various countries and even made them into visiting cards." The young man muttered to himself, "Is this a sign of a successful revolution? If the nobles can use the royal gifts today, will the common people be able to use the nobles' gifts tomorrow?"

Looking down, I saw a white word embroidered with gold and silver threads in the upper right corner of the two palm-sized pieces of light blue Shu brocade.

Ying Chengjiao stretched out his hands to touch the two sides of the "white" and could not feel any stitches. This kind of craftsmanship can only be done by a master embroidery craftsman.

The boy didn't care about the price of luxury goods and didn't know how much this visiting card covered with cowhide could be sold for.

I think it can’t be lower.

Spread out the light blue Shu brocade and spread it flat on the table.

Lines of neat and fluent handwriting caught the boy's eyes:

【Sincerely from Bai Ma】

[Your Highness, Lord Chang'an]

【The white horse deeply felt that the prince was highly respected and had extraordinary majesty. 】

[Although I am a humble person with little talent and knowledge, I have long admired your noble character. ]

[I hope to listen to your teachings in person to wash away my ignorance. ]

【Now that I have some free time, I have prepared some wine and boldly invite you to visit my humble home to chat with me. 】

【Bai Ma heard that the Lord is respectful to the wise and humble, and his benevolence is spreading far and wide. 】

[Although Ma is dull, he is willing to treat us with sincerity and do his best to be a good host.]

[If you don't mind, please take the time to come and make my humble home more glorious. Bai Ma will feel honored. ]

【According to etiquette, Bai Ma should have set an auspicious date and invited the prince to come. 】

[However, others are determined by the weather, but this is not the case with you, my Lord.]

[The prince is a sage and a gentleman, and the weather is determined by the prince. 】

【Whenever you come, it will be an auspicious day. 】

[The White Horse has set up a banquet at my humble abode, waiting for your arrival at any time. ]

【White Horse Bows Again】

【yours truly】

The boy read it twice, squinting slightly:
"It's better to do it today than to wait for a day, Ying Ping."

Ying Ping lowered his head slightly with a guilty look on his face:
"exist."

"Please reply to the eldest son of the Bai family for me and tell him that I will arrive at 10:00 p.m. tonight."

"only."

Ying Chengjiao dressed neatly and drove a cart to the dining palace for dinner.

While in the car and while eating, the boy's brows never relaxed.

He kept thinking.

If he told the palace maids around him in advance not to accept favors from the Bai family, would these palace maids be able to do it?

Can't do it.

The Bai family wanted to show favor, and these palace maids couldn't refuse.

The influence of the old Qin nobles is everywhere, like spring breeze and rain.

It was the first time that the young man faced the old Qin noble, and he felt a heavy pressure in his heart.

This is just a Bai family...

"Thunder, lightning, rain and dew are all grace from the Lord." The young man drank the last mouthful of mutton soup: "The Bai family is more like the Lord than my brother."

This sentence was first heard in the Food Palace and then in the Palace of Observation and Diligence in Learning.

Qin Wangzheng sneered and looked at his gloomy brother with a half-smile:
"Finally, there is something that our child prodigy can't think of? Have you just realized the influence of these old Qin nobles?
"If not, how could I agree to Zhongfu and your conditions for running a school?

"These termites were cleared out by Shang Jun once, but they came back to life not long after. It's time to clear them out a second time."

He searched for the bamboo slips under his body, found a scroll and threw it to his brother. Qin Wangzheng stretched his neck:

"If you were not Young Master Cheng Jiao, but another young master in the royal family, then what the Bai family sent over would not be an invitation, but Qin Jian.

"Haven't you heard that a prince of a royal family is not as good as a legitimate son of a noble family?
"Take a look at this intelligence from Zhao State. I think you will be interested."

Ying Chengjiao had a gloomy face. He reached out and grabbed the bamboo slips, then pulled them apart with such force that they almost broke apart.

This scroll of bamboo slips records the events of Zhao's general Li Mu's winter march into the desert. Qin Wang Zheng observed his brother's expression and became more and more cautious...

After his brother put down the bamboo slips, Qin Wangzheng walked forward and said:

"Do you think Li Mu won or lost?"

Based on the records in history books and his real-life experience with this Zhao general, Ying Chengjiao gave a definite answer:

"Must win."

"Why do you think so?" Qin Wangzheng said solemnly, "Marching in winter and marching alone deep into the enemy's territory are both taboos. I have privately asked Wu'an Jun about this information, and Wu'an Jun said that this man has great ambitions but little talent, and will be the next Zhao Kuo, who will destroy Zhao. Since you said he will win, then tell me how he will win."

"I don't know." Ying Chengjiao unfolded the bamboo slips again and read every word on them: "I only know that he will win."

"Is Li Mu's military talent stronger than Wu Anjun's?"

"As far as cavalry is concerned, yes."

"You think this is not the time for Zhao to fall, but an opportunity for Zhao to rise again."

"Yes."

His brother's affirmative answers again and again made King Zheng of Qin even more annoyed.

The knot that had been untied by Bai Qi was tied again by his younger brother.

do not know why.

Compared to Wu'an Jun, who was undefeated in his life, forced the Chu State to move its capital, the Zhao State to be nearly destroyed, and the Wei State dared not to covet Qin.

King Zheng of Qin trusted the judgment of his younger brother, who had never led an army in battle.

"Attack Zhao." Qin Wang Zheng said word by word, turned his head and looked directly at his brother, holding his brother's shoulders: "While the Zhao border troops are not there, the interior of Zhao is empty, how about attacking Zhao? You go and tell Zhongfu, Zhongfu will listen to you."

National affairs come first, and King Zheng of Qin is willing to put aside internal strife for the time being.

"The commander won't." Ying Chengjiao's expression was firm, as firm as when he answered Li Mu's question about victory or defeat.

If the teacher had listened to him in everything, he would have returned power to his brother by now.

Teachers always need reasons for doing things.

The boy patted his brother's arm and analyzed calmly:
"Marching in winter is a taboo. Just because Li Mu has a way to solve it doesn't mean we have one too.

“What’s more, the most important thing for our country now is water management, not war.

"Li Mu's victory in this battle helped the State of Zhao rise, but it was only to boost the morale of the army, and at best it was just a waste of money to rob some food, fodder and horses.

"But if our country's Zhengguo Canal is completed, Guanzhong, which has suffered from river floods for years, will become a fertile land, and grain production will increase year by year.

“It’s true that Zhao is getting stronger, but our country is also getting stronger, and the extent of the improvement is far greater than that of Zhao.

"It is more important to strengthen yourself than to weaken your enemy."

"I want to strengthen myself and weaken the enemy." King Zheng of Qin pulled his brother to the big table in the center of the hall.

On the large table was a map, a map of the two countries of Qin and Zhao.

King Qin Zheng pointed his finger at the Guanzhong area:
“Water control in winter is twice as effective as half the effort.”

Then click on the border between Zhao and Qin:
"It is indeed difficult to march in winter, but our army is much better than the Zhao army. Can our fierce warriors not defeat the Zhao women's army?

"Moreover, Lian Po of Zhao fled, Li Mu entered the border, and there were no great generals in the country.

"I heard that the newly appointed King of Zhao made a prostitute his queen, and the officials of Zhao privately called her the Queen of Prostitution.

"The fact that a minister dares to criticize the queen proves that the prestige of the King of Zhao is extremely weak.

“I also heard that the minister the King of Zhao trusted the most was called Guo Kai, and he appointed Guo Kai as the Prime Minister and named him Lord Wuxin.

"Guo Kai has no strategy and relies on sex to entertain people.

"The fact that such a person can be elected to the government of Zhao is enough to show that Zhao is not ruled by wise men at present.

"With all these factors, why can't we fight when Zhao's border troops are fully deployed?"

Ying Chengjiao looked beyond the map:
"Brother, there is more than one Zhao State in the world. Have you forgotten the defeat in Handan?"

"Marquis Wu'an, Duke Le, Duke Meng, Wang Ling, Wang He... my Qin generals are like stars, and if they all come out, we can conquer Zhao before other countries react!" King Zheng of Qin spoke like pearls, and it was obvious that he had thought about it more than once.

The two brothers argued with each other, but neither could convince the other.

"Anyway!" Ying Chengjiao waved his hands impatiently: "If you want to fight, then fight. If you ask me, I definitely won't fight. You are too radical."

"Brother!" Qin Wangzheng blushed, "You are too conservative!"

"I'm conservative?" Ying Chengjiao pointed at his nose and screamed.

The boy never thought that he would be described as "conservative" in this life.

"That's right!" Qin Wang Zheng slammed the table, and said in an imposing manner: "If you don't take what God gives you, you will suffer the consequences! You only said that Li Mu will win, have you ever considered that Li Mu will lose? If Li Mu loses, the border troops of Zhao will be wiped out. Then all the countries will fight to divide Zhao, who will stand up for Zhao? This battle must be fought!"

“Impossible!” Ying Chengjiao pointed at the important case and made a “twitching” sound: “Li Mu cannot fail!”

"Tell me how Li Mu can win?"

"I have no idea!"

Qin Wang Zheng's eyebrows twitched in anger.

Don't you know why you are so confident? Huh? Why?

Desert.

It's fine during the day, but the temperature at night is freezing.

In this open field, the ground was frozen as hard as stone, and you were afraid of freezing your dick off if you peed for a long time.

The cold and hard wind freezes people but not their hearts.

The Zhao cavalrymen, whose faces were frozen red, had fire in their eyes, and that fire was burning from their hearts!

More than five years.

The brave people of Zhao have been blocked at the border by the uncivilized and barbaric Hu people and have been scolding them for five years!

The general wouldn't allow them to fight, wouldn't allow them to resist, wouldn't even allow them to talk back!
They train every day.

Training in archery, training in horse riding, training in hacking and killing, training in foot combat.

They ate and lived with the horses.

Horses are not livestock, but their comrades-in-arms, their brothers.

Their two good legs had become bowed, and none of them could close their knees when standing on the ground, which was very ridiculous.

But once they got on the horse, they were the ones laughing.

They can eat meat once every seven days and are as strong as calves.

The general treated them really well, better than their parents did.

Life in the border county seems to be all good except that it's a bit frustrating.

However, what the people of Zhao can't stand the most is being humiliated!

Scholars can be killed, but not humiliated!

The Zhao border troops would rather eat grass roots and die outside the pass than listen to insults and eat meat inside the pass.

The general asked them to wait, and this wait lasted for more than five years.

Many brothers couldn't bear it and secretly escaped and died outside.

The families of the brothers who died in this way did not receive any pension, so they had to use their own salaries to support their brothers' families.

The number of brothers and family members they raised increased.

So much that they couldn't bear it, so much that they wanted to die with their brothers.

Now, they're here.

Come and die, accompany your brothers.

They waited for the general's promise, and even though the promise came in winter when it was the worst time to march, they could not wait and rushed forward recklessly.

When they reached the desert and got close to those damned Hu people, they stopped shouting.

They followed the general's instructions, wrapped half a piece of cloth around their horse comrade's hooves and bit the other half in their mouths.

They leaned over and gently touched the horse.

The horse understood their intentions and its breathing became less loud.

The general is with them, their comrades are with them, and their dead brothers are with them.

Come on, you damn Huns!
(End of this chapter)