Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

After a round of laughter and banter, the atmosphere in the room gradually calmed down. Zhou Wenqing slowly stood up, gently straightened his sleeves, and spoke softly:

"Alright, now that everything is settled, I won't disturb your rest and recovery any longer. I'll head back now so you can all get ready in advance. If you need anything, just come find me anytime."

After saying that, he turned around with Han Fei and slowly walked outside.

Everyone stood up to see them off.

Just as Zhou Wenqing stepped out the door, he suddenly stopped, as if remembering something, and turned back:

"Oh, right, there's something else I forgot to ask."

Xiao He was slightly taken aback, and quickly said, "Please speak, sir."

Zhou Wenqing smiled, his tone casually inquisitive:

"It's nothing serious, it's just..."

He paused, coughed lightly, and then invoked the title of "all-powerful senior brother" again, continuing:

"I have a senior brother who has traveled all over the world. When he passed through your area, he mentioned a person and said that judging from his appearance, he was exceptionally talented and would surely achieve great things in the future. My senior brother is the most skilled in physiognomy and rarely makes a mistake."

He shook his head, seemingly helpless, and then said:

"But he was always in a hurry, and I didn't have time to ask him any questions before he went off to travel around again. I only remember that his surname was Han and his given name was Xin."

Zhou Wenqing paused briefly, his gaze sweeping over Xiao He, Liu Bang, and the others, before asking expectantly:

"Have you ever heard of this person while traveling around the Sishui and Huaiyin areas?"

Although he had no plans to go to the Huaiyin area on his journey, his initial target was Xiao He, who could help with governance, so as to relieve the pressure of the mountain of documents on his and Li Si's shoulders. Even Liu Bang was just a side trip.

Unexpectedly, not only did Xiao He and Liu Bang come to them on their own, but Lu Wan and Fan Kuai also followed naturally, and there was another big surprise: Cao Shen!

He's also quite adept at handling government affairs!

Now that so many members of the Han Dynasty's early generation have gathered here, wouldn't it be a waste if he didn't ask them a few questions?

That's Han Xin!

Han Xin, the military genius, was known for his saying, "The more soldiers Han Xin commands, the better!"

Xiao He and Liu Bang exchanged a glance, both looking bewildered.

"Surname Han... given name Xin?" Xiao He frowned slightly, carefully searched his memory, and shook his head. "Among the gentry, wealthy families, and officials around Pei County and along the Si River, I dare not say that I know them all, but I know most of them. There are not many people with the surname Han, and I have never heard of anyone with the given name 'Xin' before."

Liu Bang shook his head, scratched his head, and looked troubled: "Sir, I, Liu Ji, have been in Pei County for many years, and I have also been to the Sishui River area and Huaiyin area. I have made quite a few friends from all walks of life, but this Han Xin... I have never heard of him before."

Lu Wan and Fan Kuai exchanged a glance and shook their heads in unison, indicating that they did not know.

Seeing this, Liu Bang thought for a moment, then added, his tone tinged with curiosity:

"Sir, did your senior brother mention who the child's parents are? How old are they? Which village and township do they live in? If I have any more concrete information, I'll have my people turn the house upside down and find out for you!"

Zhou Wenqing opened his mouth, but the words caught in his throat.

He quickly calculated it in his mind.

When Qin conquered the six states, Han Xin was poor in his youth. He was once fed by a washerwoman and endured the humiliation of crawling between someone's legs. By the time he began to show his talent, it was during the chaos at the end of the Qin Dynasty. At that time, he was probably in his early twenties.

The Qin state has just quelled the rebellion of Lao Ai and dismissed Lü Buwei. King Zheng of Qin is in his prime, and the world is not yet unified... In other words, there are still at least twenty years until the end of the Qin Dynasty.

So, Han Xin is now...

Zhou Wenqing silently did the math in his mind, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

—Four or five years old, no more than that.

Maybe he's still wearing open-crotch pants and chasing hens all over the streets of Huaiyin!

He took a deep breath, maintaining his calm and collected smile, but inwardly he was already regretting bringing it up.

In the heat of the moment, I only remembered the unparalleled reputation of the God of War, but forgot to calculate his age beforehand.

Fortunately, he said that his senior brother "had" traveled around the world, not "in earlier years," otherwise he would have had to give this "wandering senior brother" who loved to travel and made the world his home a title of prophet.

That's a bit too outrageous!

Zhou Wenqing remembered clearly that there was a period when the King used his senior brother's name most frequently.

The king specially arranged for a small group of secret guards to run all over the world in order to find the whereabouts of his so-called "wandering senior brother".

Unfortunately, the world was vast and there was no news for three months. The king was still not giving up and secretly came to him to try to find out some clues.

Upon realizing this, Zhou Wenqing was both amused and exasperated, and could only explain repeatedly: "The people in our sect are always carefree and undisciplined, their whereabouts are uncertain, and they rarely meet. Moreover, they are indifferent to fame and fortune, so even if I were to find them, they probably wouldn't want to get involved in worldly disputes. I have no way of knowing!"

He pointed to the mountain of files on his desk and said, "Your Majesty, look how busy I am! I'm so busy I feel like my soul and spirit are leaving my body, and I'm practically splitting myself into a hundred parts to use. If I could really get help from my senior brothers, I'd be laughing in my sleep. Why would I hide it?"

The king believed him somewhat more, a look of shame and deep helplessness crossing his face, and he sighed deeply:

"My dear minister, you have worked hard, but there are really no capable people in the court. It was my greed that led me. Fortunately, you have devised plans for me, which is enough. Since our time has not come, it seems that we cannot force it."

After saying this, he looked out the window and sighed deeply, lingering in sorrow for a long time before finally returning to the palace and abandoning the plan.

Of course, that's what they said, at least to him.

Whether this was followed by having secret agents and spies all over the country keep an eye on things remains to be seen.

If he were to further bestow upon this senior brother the ability of "precognition"—

The king will probably search every corner of the seven kingdoms and dig three feet into the ground to find him!

Just thinking about that scene made Zhou Wenqing's scalp tingle.

In the future, when asking someone for help, I should first find out their current age and background before speaking. Otherwise, if they keep thinking about their glorious moments and trying to abduct them, who will raise their little baby?!

However, that's not the focus right now.

The key is to quickly fool all the people staring at him with curious expressions.

So... can you tell a four or five-year-old's face from their features?

Well, I've already said it. The art of physiognomy is inherently a bit mysterious; who knows?

Zhou Wenqing gritted his teeth secretly, forced a "trying hard to remember" expression on his face, then clapped his hands, feigning sudden realization, and said somewhat awkwardly:

"Ah! Well, I just thought about it carefully again, but I really can't remember who my parents are or where I live. But... that person... seemed to be quite young, probably... four or five years old."

As he spoke, he looked at Liu Bang and said earnestly, "If possible, I hope that you, Liu, could ask your friend to keep an eye out for this."

What if there is some natural attraction between you, the emperor and your ministers of the Han Dynasty?

Historical records only state that Han Xin was from Huaiyin, but the exact location is unclear, making it quite difficult to find him.

Zhou Wenqing wasn't so heartless as to use it on a baby who had just been weaned, but this butterfly flapping its wings almost caused Liu Bang, Xiao He, and others to lose Chen County. It would be a pity if such a great military genius were to suffer any accident!