Chapter 379 Cang asked Changan Jun! This item is not expensive!
"Just make do with it."
He snatched the clay pot and casually threw a piece of honeycomb coal full of holes into it. Ying Chengjiao glanced at his master who was looking at him eagerly with dissatisfaction, pointed at the clay pot and said:
"Do you believe that I am the reincarnation of Zhu Rong? My palms can spit fire?"
The master didn't say anything. How could a commoner like him dare to question the master? But the meaning in his eyes was very clear - Master, don't joke with me.
"You don't believe it, huh? That's normal. I don't believe it myself." Ying Chengjiao laughed twice with a fake smile and roared, "Then why don't you go get some firewood and a tinderbox for Naigong! You want Naigong to make fire by drilling wood?"
"only!"
The door opened and closed, and the wind and snow came again.
The temperature in the room dropped, and the quilt on the bed shrank inward. Ying Chengjiao walked forward and violently pulled it open.
There was a hint of anger in Zhang Cang's eyes, but he held back and did not move.
His teacher Xunzi stood by the bed, waiting silently and watching coldly.
"Get up, get up! You should learn something too. Naigong will only teach you once."
"General?"
Ying Chengjiao’s body stiffened.
The old man in bed, who was awakened by the cold, stood up excitedly.
The old man was still wearing his coat in bed, and his clothes were very strange. The colors were mixed, the fur was different, and everything from the shape to the color was different. Compared with Ying Chengjiao's snow-white fox fur, it was really ugly.
This strange kind of clothing is called Baipiyi and is very common among the people.
People who risked their lives to hunt foxes, wolves, and bears would sell the entire hide to the Chamber of Commerce in exchange for money. Most of them were reluctant to use the entire hide to make clothes, but instead used the scraps of the hides to make a hundred-leather coat.
Although the leather jacket may not look good, for ordinary people, this life-saving clothing is extremely beautiful.
"It's really the general!" The old man's face was more surprised than happy, and he quickly got down and said, "Captain Suo of the Xianzhen Camp, I am honored to meet you, general!"
Ying Chengjiao supported the old man who was bowing with great effort, and after a moment of silence, he gently patted the old man's muscles.
"You're having such a hard time, why don't you come to me?"
"I pretended to be dead and saved my life. I am not worthy of being a soldier in the Xianzhen Camp. It is a great blessing that the general did not kill me and let me go home. How could I dare to think of anything else? I never thought that I could see the general again in this life. What is the general doing here?"
The old man couldn't understand why a general of such a distinguished status would come to his house?
Bang!
The door opened again, and two people, one big and one small, rushed in, holding chopped firewood in their hands and with happy expressions on their faces.
He is the owner of this house and his son.
"My lord, it's ready." The owner's excitement stopped, he dropped the firewood, walked forward quickly, and said as he walked: "Father, why are you up? Go back and lie down."
He supported his father and looked at Ying Chengjiao with anger in his eyes.
His father had contracted a cold during the war, and the older he got, the more he could not stand the cold. Since the year before last, every winter had been a life-or-death crisis.
What was lifted up on the bed was not the quilt, but his father's life-saving talisman.
Bang~
Suo, whose body was cold and whose face was pale from the cold, slapped his son hard in the face.
"Don't be rude to the general!"
[General?]
Before the master could react, he had already bowed down.
"I am wrong!"
Among the people of Qin, apart from the First Emperor, even the Marquis Che could not match the power of the generals. In the martial Qin, the generals were the most respected group.
Ying Chengjiao waved his hand.
"This is called honeycomb coal. You see, use a tinder to start a fire, light the wood, and then use the honeycomb coal as coal, just put it on the fire.
"Please note that you should open the window when you first light it, and then close it after the honeycomb coal is burning. The smoke produced by incomplete combustion is poisonous. You should also extinguish the honeycomb coal when you go to bed, as it will also release poison .
"Also, be sure to place the brazier under the chimney, not by the bed."
Ying Chengjiao demonstrated as he spoke.
The moment the flames started burning, flames also started burning in the eyes of the nameless child.
He approached Ying Chengjiao cautiously, and the flames reflected in his pupils seemed even brighter than the flames burning in the brazier.
He stretched out his rough little hands with cold sores and cracked wounds, put them close to the flame, and smiled with satisfaction.
“It’s really warm.”
"Hey! Hold it away!" Ying Chengjiao grabbed the child's hand, which was about to reach into the flames, and warned, "Children, don't play with fire. Be careful not to wet the bed."
Mi shrank back a little in fear, looked back at his father, and moved to run to his side.
But in the end he just hugged his knees and lowered his head, as if he would not be afraid if he didn't look at Ying Chengjiao. He was reluctant to leave this fire, it was really warm.
Suo squatted beside his grandson, feeling the long-lost warmth. The rising body temperature made him feel very comfortable. The meridians that seemed to be frozen and could break at any time thawed and turned into warm currents that washed through his body.
"General, how much will this cost?"
The old man looked worried, and his son's originally excited expression dimmed.
Only the rich and powerful can afford charcoal, or wealthy merchants. The honeycomb coal in front of them, which has the same effect as charcoal, should be worth the same as charcoal, right? How could they, an ordinary family, afford it?
"What bullshit are you talking about? You've grown bolder after not seeing you for so many years. You even dare to tease me. Do you think I'm a woman? Can I ask you for money?" Ying Chengjiao moved his eyes to the master who was standing there motionless, and said, "Are you Suo's son?"
"yes."
The master responded hurriedly. Ever since he knew that the young man in white fox fur was a general, he became a little shorter.
"Your father is a hero. He fought for the Qin State and risked his life for it. The Qin State will not treat heroes unfairly. From now on, you will have enough honeycomb coal for your family. No charge."
" General , the lock is not"
The old man looked ashamed. People like him who pretended to be dead on the battlefield to save their lives were not heroes in the Qin State, but shame.
"I remember you were charging in the front, but you fell off your horse, and without a sword in your hand, you were left in the enemy camp with bare hands." Ying Chengjiao interrupted the old man, fiddling with the honeycomb coal, and said, "Without a weapon, you would only be another corpse if you stood up. It was right to play dead to save your life. But military discipline does not allow for personal feelings, so I can only send you back. All the military exploits you made before are gone, and I didn't find you afterwards. I didn't know you had such a hard time, so don't bear a grudge against me."
Suo was stunned.
The old man stared blankly at the general next to him, who looked more mature, less childish, and more heroic than before. His eyes became moist and his voice trembled.
"General, do you remember the lock?"
"I remember, I remember you are from Qiujia Village. I looked for you several times but couldn't find you. It turns out that you ran to Xianyang, married a wife, and had a son. You are only a few steps away from my home. You have no money but you came to find me. Didn't I tell you that I have money? It would be fine if you didn't look for me, but you didn't see any of your old brothers. We were all in Xianyang. You are really cruel to hide for so many years."
The old man rubbed his eyes.
"The lock has no face!"
After chatting with the old man for a while, Ying Chengjiao patted the old man on the shoulder, stood up and said:
"Let's go, I have to go to the next one. I'll catch up with you next time when I have time."
"General."
The old man called out to Ying Chengjiao.
Ying Chengjiao lowered his head and smiled:
"What's the matter?"
"My condolences."
Ying Chengjiao still smiled and nodded heavily and said "hmm".
"Got it." He waved his hand and said, "Let's go."
Xunzi and his disciples followed Ying Chengjiao's footsteps out. The old man's eyes followed Ying Chengjiao's figure, watching Ying Chengjiao leave the room and disappear through the door wearing his white fox fur coat.
The old man knew that the death of Lord Meng was a great blow to the general, so great that the general had to deliver honeycomb coal to the homes of the people in Xianyang one by one during the windy and snowy days.
His general is actually very lazy and doesn't like to do everything himself...
"Father, you don't have to die! You don't have to die..."
the master repeated excitedly.
The old man smiled, stopped his grandson's hand that was getting closer and closer, and stared at the bright flames in front of him in a daze.
The Marquis Guanjun, who had fought for his entire life and conquered a vast territory for the Qin State, and whom even an old man like him had to call Duke Meng according to his age, did not survive this winter.
The harsh winter is a killer of the elderly.
But with this pot of honeycomb coal in front of us, no old man will freeze to death in Xianyang this winter.
What is burning is not just fire, but also hope.
On the second day, the imperial physician came to treat Suo, and craftsmen came to renovate the house for Suo. They made the bed hollow and connected it to the flue.
"This is called a kang. You can add honeycomb coal inside. It will be very warm and will not be affected by the cold. Don't refuse it. Chang'an Jun said: 'This is what you deserve.'"
On this day, Xunzi and his disciple Zhang Cang followed Ying Chengjiao silently, delivering honeycomb coal to every household.
This winter, the court sent a bag of honeycomb coal to every household in Xianyang.
There were not only Ying Chengjiao but many people delivering honeycomb coal on the road.
Xianyang, which was already lifeless, became even colder in winter, but it began to come alive as bags of honeycomb coal burned.
This honeycomb coal, which is comparable to charcoal, is not expensive. Every household can afford it as long as they are not ignorant of right and wrong .
The chimneys of the houses emit black smoke, but in return the city of Xianyang is filled with vitality.
Every household in Xianyang has fireworks.
Fireworks in winter represent hope and life.
These lives, gathered together by the fire of hope, are expressed in gratitude to the First Emperor and identification with the Qin State. This is the will of the people.
The next day.
Xunzi's residence.
It was still the same brazier, with expensive charcoal at the bottom and cheap firewood on top of the charcoal.
Xunzi continued to fiddle with it.
"Have you changed your mind about Your Majesty now?"
Zhang Cang nodded silently, speaking from the heart.
Having witnessed what Ying Chengjiao had done with his own eyes, he could not go against his conscience.
"Chang'an Jun, you don't have to go by yourself, right?" Zhang Cang nitpicked, "Are you just putting on a show?"
"Put on a show? You have heard a lot of new words from the Lord. Does the Lord still need to put on a show? Who are you putting on a show for? The King of Qin, or some other noble family, stretch out your hand."
Zhang Cang shrank his neck, shook his head vigorously, and quickly put his hands behind his back.
"I just said something casually, I don't deserve to be beaten, right?"
Xunzi held the ruler in his hand, his face was dignified without anger, and he would not tolerate any doubt. He said in a serious tone:
"Stretch out your hand."
Zhang Cang stretched out his hand with a bitter face.
The long and thick ruler passed through the air, making a loud sound, which showed that the blow was definitely not light. It landed heavily on the fat hands with a "snap".
"ah!"
Zhang Cang felt as if he had been electrocuted. His whole body jumped up and he shook his hands vigorously, but the severe pain and numbness still lingered.
Xunzi and other disciples calmed down and sat back in their original seats with shamefaced expressions.
"Come again."
Zhang Cang started playing again, the muscles at the corners of his eyes twitching, and he stretched out the sound in a pleading tone.
"teacher!"
Xunzi remained unmoved, holding up the ruler and said solemnly:
"Come again."
Zhang Cang's forehead was covered with sweat. He wanted to rush out of the door, regretting what he had said.
If he had known that one word would have such a high price, he would definitely keep his mouth shut.
It was hard to disobey the master's orders, so he finally extended his hand.
Bang~
Bang~
There were two consecutive light sounds. The second and third sounds were far less loud than the first ones, and more like a perfunctory act.
But Zhang Cang was very frightened. He closed his eyes tightly and dared not look when he was beaten. Only after he was beaten did he open his eyes in disbelief and looked at the teacher in confusion.
【Teacher, why are these two hits so light? 】
Xunzi put down his ruler and understood the doubts in his disciple's heart without him even asking. He explained:
“The first one was purely punitive.
"The second and third blows are also punishments, but my purpose as a teacher is not to punish you, but to test your courage. Although you are afraid, you are still able to reach out. Courage can help you get some relief."
Zhang Cang said with a sad face:
"Yesterday, I said those words to you, but you didn't get angry with me. You even praised me for being a good thinker. Why did you get so angry today just because I said a few words to Lord Chang'an? I don't understand. Is it because you are Lord Chang'an's retainer?"
Xunzi has an unfriendly face.
"Tell me yourself, did you think before you said that to your lord? The purpose of debate is to seek the truth. Although what you said yesterday contradicted me, I know you were seeking the truth.
"And what about today? You are not speaking for the truth, but for your face, for the sake of winning or losing. You are arguing just for the sake of arguing, not for the truth, so you deserve to be beaten!"
Zhang Cang lowered his head and said nothing. He was unable to refute his teacher.
"The people don't know about honeycomb briquettes, they don't think about them, they can live without them, and they don't have any demands. Tell me, should honeycomb briquettes be given to the people?"
"should."
Zhang Cang whispered.
Although he knew that by saying this he was overturning his opinion from yesterday, as a disciple of Xunzi, conscience is the most basic thing no matter which school or faction he belongs to.
"But, Cang thinks that Chang'an Jun can do better and provide it to the people for free."
Xunzi raised the ruler again. Zhang Cang had sharp ears and his face trembled with fear when he heard the noise. He waved his slightly swollen hands and said:
"Cang is not lying this time! Cang has asked Lord Chang'an! This item is not expensive!"
"Humph!" Xunzi said coldly, "You have learned so many wonderful words from the Lord, but why didn't you learn anything good? Things that are obtained for free will not be cherished. Didn't the Lord tell you this?"
"In the balcony, he always told me that he saw Yin Zuo Lian and the old man pushing the cart. How could he explain anything to me..."
Zhang Cang muttered softly.
