Chapter 375: Red Emperor Liu Ji
On the fourth day of the first month of the first year of the First Emperor, it was winter.
Hou Mengao, the champion of the Qin State, died of illness. The old man who had fought for the Qin State all his life did not survive the harsh winter.
The old man's funeral was grand, even the almighty Emperor Qin Shi Huang showed up, which was the greatest honor.
Three days after the funeral.
Meng Wu, who had lost his father, and Meng Tian, who had lost his grandfather, rode their horses towards the northwest. They were going to guard the border for the Qin Dynasty.
A Confucian scholar said privately:
"It is not in accordance with etiquette. One should observe mourning for three years to show filial piety! Meng Wu and Meng Tian did not observe mourning for military merits. Such people became generals of the Qin State. How can the Qin State be a country of people? It is a country of tigers and wolves!"
Upon hearing the news, Ying Chengjiao was furious and told the First Emperor before leaving.
The first emperor, who was fishing, did not even turn his head and said lazily:
"Let them talk, there is no law in Qin that punishes people for excessive speech. Why are you angry about this? Shouldn't you be used to it? A bunch of corrupt scholars who can't accomplish anything, but they can teach people."
These words did not stop Ying Chengjiao.
He found the Confucian scholar and sent him to the northwest, to be with Meng Tian, to join the army!
"Since you said Meng Wu and Meng Tian should not be sent to guard the border, then you should go and replace them."
These are Ying Chengjiao’s farewell words to the Confucian scholars: If you can do it, go ahead!
…
Xinzheng.
The old general Wang Xi, who had known the old man for decades and was "executed" for treason, was leaning on a rocking chair, chatting with several old soldiers who were "executed" together with him, talking about the ugly deeds of his old friends.
"Among all of us, including Wu'an Jun, Fan Yuqi, Biao Gong, and Huan Xi, Meng Ao is the most timid! It is often said that killing too many people will harm the harmony of nature and will not be good for future generations."
Liuzi, who had been with Wang Qi all his life, rolled his eyes and muttered, "Why didn't we talk about it in Xianyang?"
Wang Wu, the big knife, picked up the wine bowl with his only arm and handed it to Wang Xi's mouth, drinking slowly and attentively.
"Drink some wine, Your Majesty, and speak slowly."
When people get old, they like to talk about the past and listen to the past. If the past is the secrets of the people around them or their idols, they like to listen to it even more!
"During the Battle of Changping, Lord Meng, Lord Wang, and Lord Wu'an buried 400,000 Zhao dogs. Would Lord Meng be timid? Lord Wang is just joking."
An old soldier who had lost both legs questioned that he was a soldier brought up by Meng Ao.
"You kid still don't believe me, let me have a drink."
Wang Xi reached out to take the wine bowl; he was not used to being served by others.
Snap~
The wine bowl fell to the ground and shattered, the wine splashed everywhere, and he didn't catch it.
"It's my fault! I didn't hold it firmly!"
Wang Wu smiled apologetically.
Wang Xi waved his hands to suppress the strange feeling in his heart.
“No more drinking.
"I don't know where he heard the term 'righteous army' from. After the Battle of Changping, he conquered the city but did not kill the prisoners..."
A few days later, a carrier pigeon flew from Xianyang, bringing the news that Meng Ao had passed away.
Wang Xi sat there for half an hour and rubbed his eyes.
"I said two ugly things about you, why would you die...
"You, a birdman, have won the title of champion marquis. I am so envious of you. Even Wu'an Jun is not as impressive as you.
"You are just an impatient person. You can't wait to show off to Wu'an Jun after getting Marquis Che. Can't you be as calm as Zhi?"
The old man talked to himself, as if the person sitting in front of him was the old friend who obviously did not like to kill prisoners but gave the order to do so before him in the Battle of Changping.
Worried that something might happen to the old man, the sixth personal guard stayed outside the door all night to guard him.
The next day when I entered the door, I saw the old man clamoring for meat, as if nothing had happened, and I felt relieved.
Separation between life and death is very rare for ordinary people.
For an old general, this is not uncommon at all.
It’s just that when I dream in the middle of the night, I will wake up, miss you, and feel regretful...
…
The news continued to fly eastward and reached Qi.
Marquis of Wucheng Wang Jian, who was teasing his grandson Wang Li, was stunned.
"Father, play with me, play with me!"
The child in his arms pulled Wang Jian's beard hard. Wang Jian felt pain and came to his senses. He handed his most beloved grandson to others to take care of.
The Qin God of War was wearing armor, holding a sword, and sitting facing west, with a jar of strong liquor and two wine bowls in front of him.
He filled two bowls with wine, poured one bowl on the ground in front of him, and held the other bowl with both hands and put it into his mouth.
"Wang Jian bids farewell to the Champion Marquis!"
The tall and majestic body leaned forward and did not stand up for a long time.
…
northeast.
The Donghu have been frequently harassed and robbed by Wang Ben recently, and as a result, the Donghu people no longer know which side is the right one, the Qin or them.
Plundering cattle and sheep, plundering girls, is this something that a country of etiquette in the Central Plains can do?
The reason is that a Qin soldier got lost in your Donghu territory, and you Donghu refused to help me find him, so I, Wang Ben, had to look for him myself.
The Donghu leader was filled with grief and indignation.
Aren't you Qin soldiers the most disciplined and well-behaved ? Why do you always get lost?! People get lost every day. Can't you keep an eye on them?
In order to guard against Wang Ben, who was so powerful that he could dominate the world, the Donghu people stationed heavy troops to defend the border with the Qin army, and there were small-scale frictions with the Qin army every day.
Suddenly, for a few days, the Qin army became quiet.
Dong Hu didn't know the reason, but his heart was beating wildly, fearing that Wang Ben was holding back a big one.
I sent people to Liaodong County to gather intelligence, only to see that all the soldiers in the city had black belts tied on their right arms!
The Great Qin champion Hou Mengao passed away. The Great Qin general Wang Ben wore mourning clothes for three days and ordered all Qin soldiers to tie black belts on their right arms and not to fight in order to send off the old general!
…
Pei County.
Guiguzi smiled happily, and the more he saw the person in front of him showing off, the happier he was.
"Words are not enough, what evidence do you have?"
The man reached into his arms, took out a piece of jade, and carefully showed it to Guiguzi.
"This is the token of trust!"
Guiguzi took a closer look and saw that the jade was two fingers wide and three inches long, green with white in color, with small black dots inside, and it was not transparent.
"The royal family's token is just a piece of inferior jade? Isn't it too cheap?"
"You don't know, old man. There is a beautiful jade. As the saying goes, a man is innocent, but guilty if he has a jade. If I had really got a Heshi jade, I would have died long ago."
"In other words, the Ying family deliberately exiled you to the common people? Why is that?"
"The king is high above, and those ministers can easily deceive the king's eyes. I am different. I am among the people, and no one can deceive my eyes. Every year I go to Xianyang to meet with Your Majesty and tell him what I have seen and heard in the past year. The decrees of the court are all discussed by Your Majesty and I. My old man, you invited me to drink and eat meat today, which is a good thing. Next year, I want His Majesty to make you a marquis and give you countless gold and silver treasures!"
"Oh, up and down, the difference is so clear, it turns out that the prince is really the leader. I thank the prince very much!"
The waiter came up with three pounds of freshly cut dog meat. Just as he heard the last person say that he wanted to confer the title of Marquis on Guiguzi, he smiled and said:
"Don't believe this scoundrel's words. A few days ago, he was a retainer of Wucheng Marquis Wang Jian. He said that Wucheng Marquis was able to defeat Xiang Yan because of his advice."
The man laughed loudly, piled the newly served three pounds of dog meat in front of him, and said to the waiter:
"I want you to keep talking!"
Then he picked up a large bone, put it in his mouth and began to chew it, saying as he ate the meat:
"There is so much meat, enough for me and the two elders to share. If you don't want me to eat, I will spit into this plate. Think carefully, elders, whether to invite me to share."
Guiguzi knocked on the plate and said with a smile:
"If you spit, only you can eat it, and the other two of us can't. If you don't spit, the other two of us can eat it. It should be up to you whether you want the other two of us to eat it or not. It's not for me to decide."
The visitor's eyes widened.
"Father, you are even more shameless than a shameless person like me!"
"How can this be called rogue? This is the truth. Think about it carefully, isn't it? Judging from your behavior, if I spit into this plate, I think you will still be able to eat it, right?"
The visitor said, "Hi!" and said nonchalantly:
"Even if the old man spits ten times, I can still eat it. My life is cheap, but not as noble as the two old men."
Guiguzi laughed out loud.
"That's it. Your lower body is shorter than both of ours, so you take the initiative and you are the winner. Being a scoundrel is not necessarily a bad thing. What does it matter if others laugh at you? Can it fill your stomach? Only by eating the meat in your stomach can you fill your stomach!"
The visitor's eyes immediately became serious, and after thinking for a moment, he said sincerely:
"Thank you for your teachings, young man."
While chatting, the visitor had already finished chewing two bones. Even when he was thinking and speaking, his teeth did not stop chewing.
The old apprentice was very angry. If the master had not been there, he would have chased the visitor away long ago. Why would such a scoundrel share a meal with him!
In fact, the old disciple had already eaten his fill, but when he saw that all the dog meat on the table had been eaten by the newcomer, he took the largest bone and started gnawing on it with a look of resentment on his face.
Don't leave it to this scoundrel!
"Father, some more wine?"
The man swallowed hard, with some difficulty, and discussed with Guiguzi with a smile.
"If you ask me that, I definitely won't accept it. I'm already full and satisfied. How can I spend my money to buy you a drink? You just injured my companion."
The visitor rolled his eyes, which lit up again, and said in a low voice:
"If you two old men don't want to suffer physical pain, then give me another jar of wine!"
"This young man is teachable!"
Guiguzi nodded with satisfaction and shouted loudly.
"Bring another jar of wine!"
The visitors happily concentrated on drinking and eating meat, and bones were thrown all over the table.
He didn't say anything, and Guiguzi didn't say anything either. They looked at the man carefully.
His forehead was high, his sideburns were long and reached his ears, and he had a beautiful beard on both sides. His face looked a bit majestic, but it was all covered up by his more ruffian look.
He was wearing a grey coarse linen shirt, which was the most common clothing worn by the people of Pei County, and the shoes on his feet were also very common cloth shoes.
You can find a lot of people dressed like this in Pei County.
The visitor finished eating three pounds of dog meat and breathed a sigh of relief.
The old disciple only ate two pieces of the bones, while Guiguzi did not touch a single bite. Together with the one pound of dog meat he had eaten before, the man had eaten at least three and a half pounds of dog meat.
"Have you finished your inspection, old man? Are you trying to determine whether this boy is your Majesty's brother?"
The visitor asked with a smile.
"Are you full and satisfied?"
Guiguzi asked back.
The visitor patted his round belly.
“Half full!”
"Oh, how much more wine and meat do you want?"
"Three catties is not too little, five catties is not too much, ten catties is just about right, and twenty catties is enough to fill you up."
Squeak
The old apprentice stood up suddenly, and the stool he was sitting on rubbed against the ground, making an unpleasant noise.
He had never seen such a shameless person before! You think you can be full with 20 kilograms? Do you think you are a glutton? You will die of fullness!
"You scoundrel..."
"Hey! Sit down!"
Guiguzi glared at him sternly.
"only."
The old disciple responded with lowered brows and sat down.
The whole scene was seen by the visitor, who looked at Guiguzi and his disciples in surprise.
"Give me twenty catties of meat and five catties of wine."
After Guiguzi finished shouting, he looked at the person who came with a smile.
"My father-in-law is generous! He knows that the boy can't eat meat without wine, and he still ordered wine for the boy."
The visitor once again praised it highly.
"I have lived for so long, and I have rarely seen anyone eat so much. You have opened my eyes, and it is you who are generous."
"...You are so polite to me, I am a little overwhelmed. If you don't mind, I would like to take you as my teacher. How do you think?"
Guiguzi shook his head vigorously.
"No, no, you are the brother of the current emperor. In the Qin Kingdom, the younger brother inherits the throne after the elder brother. You will be the king in the future, and I don't have such a great blessing."
"Hahaha, my father-in-law is so funny!"
In this small restaurant, ordering 20 kilograms of meat and 5 kilograms of wine at one time is already an uncommon example of a big eater.
The other diners in the restaurant all looked over here, and when they saw the newcomer's face, they all showed strange expressions.
"This kid has cheated me out of food and wine again. I wonder what his identity is this time."
"Haha, this guy can make up stories without hesitation, and he looks so serious and confident. People from other places are indeed easy to be deceived."
"Old Master Liu is going to get angry again. Twenty kilograms of dog meat and five kilograms of wine . It's not easy to have this kid."
"What do these things mean to Old Master Liu? They are just the money for the second son of the Liu family to eat. If this guy had just lowered his head to Old Master Liu, he wouldn't have ended up in this situation."
“…”
Guiguzi requested a lot of food this time, and one waiter couldn't deliver it, so the shopkeeper personally brought five kilograms of wine to deliver it.
When he arrived at the table, the waiter put down the twenty pounds of dog meat in his hand and was about to speak when he was bumped hard by the shopkeeper.
"Take your time, take your time."
The shopkeeper smiled apologetically and dragged his waiter away.
Who cares if he was cheated or not? As long as it can be sold, it’s fine. In the end, someone will pay for it. Why bother?
When the old disciple heard the noises around him, he knew that the boy in front of him was a repeat offender, and his expression became even more unfriendly.
Guiguzi turned a deaf ear to the discussions around him, as if he couldn't hear them at all, and walked forward alone.
"please."
The visitor smiled and said:
"Father, are these all for the boy?"
Guiguzi smiled and nodded.
"That's good."
Before the word "OK" was uttered, the man quickly stretched out his hands, picked up 20 kilograms of dog meat in one hand and five kilograms of wine in the other, and ran away, running more than ten meters in a flash!
There was no meat falling or wine spilling in the past ten meters. The person who came here was either born with extraordinary physical strength or had great martial arts skills.
"My father-in-law went to Liu Ang and said that he was cheated by Liu Ji, and asked Liu Ang to settle the bill for the wine and meat he had just eaten! This meal is not for my father-in-law to treat me, but for me to treat my father-in-law!"
Guiguzi looked at Liu Ji's back and laughed.
"Liu Ang, should be Chidi's father. It's interesting that a son calls his father by his name."
He stood up and called his old apprentice.
"Let's go and take a look at Chidi's house."
