Qingshe didn't expect that Zhao Kuo would travel nearly a hundred miles to greet him. He was so excited that he knelt down on one knee, clasped his hands in a salute, and said solemnly, "I have fulfilled my mission and brought back the art of shipbuilding."
"Thank you for your hard work, general." Zhao Kuo was stunned for a moment when he saw Qingshe's current appearance, then he helped Qingshe up and patted his shoulder affectionately.
"The foreign minister pays homage to Mr. Zhao." Chang Yang stepped forward, bowed and said in the elegant language of the Central Plains.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the languages of various countries were incomprehensible, but there was a common language, the elegant language of the Zhou Dynasty, which was a must for nobles.
Because only those who learned Yayan had the opportunity to study and serve as officials in the Zhou Dynasty. Later, the Zhou Dynasty gradually declined, but Yayan still survived.
However, the main role has also changed from serving as an official in the Zhou Dynasty to studying in other countries and serving as an official.
"Please get up, the envoy." Zhao Kuoxu helped Chang Yang up, stretched his head and looked behind him, but did not find Qing Qin's figure. His face suddenly darkened, and he asked in a deep voice, "Where is Qing Qin?"
"Your Majesty, General Qin still remains in the country of Yue as a hostage." Qingshe explained quickly.
Only then did Zhao Kuo's expression soften. He walked to the shore and looked at the large ships in the water: "Are these ships from the Yue Kingdom?"
"Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I originally bought ten large ships. However, I encountered a storm on the road and encountered a group of big fish. Now there are only seven ships left. The two hundred shipwrights and five hundred sailors also lost nearly a hundred people." Qing Qing.
She leaned over and said.
"It's not easy for you to bring shipbuilding technology and have seven large ships and hundreds of shipwrights and sailors. What's the crime?" Zhao Kuo said.
Although the State of Yue fell, it must have taken a lot of effort for Qingshe to convince the State of Yue to sell these things to the State of Zhao.
Moreover, in Zhao Kuo's view, it was not easy for seven out of ten ships to reach Zhao State intact.
Although there were sea-going ships during the Spring and Autumn Period, but thinking about it, we know that the technology cannot be too advanced. After all, China has been focusing on land since ancient times. Being able to point out sea-going ships is already a gift.
Moreover, Chinese technology was already very advanced in the world at that time. Historically, the Qin Dynasty inherited the navigation technology of Qi and Wuyue. The First Emperor sent people eastward several times. There was also a guy named Xu Fu who never came back.
It is said that he went to sow seeds in Xiaozhi.
"Where are their families?" Zhao Kuo asked, pointing to the shipwright and sailors.
"Your Majesty, my family...I didn't buy it..." Qingshe said with some embarrassment.
In his opinion, it is enough to have these shipwrights and sailors, why waste money on buying their families. In any country, the most valuable thing is always the strong men, followed by the beautiful women, then the women and children, and finally
It's an old man.
However, the State of Yue insisted that everyone sell to the State of Zhao at the same price. How could Qingshe agree? He would rather everyone pay half the price than have those old people, women and children.
"Contact the Yue Kingdom and buy all the family members." Zhao Kuo said to Kong Chuan.
He did not blame Qingshe. After all, he was also thinking about Zhao Guo, and judging from this era, Qingshe's approach was the right one.
"Your Majesty, you really admire my Confucian benevolence and righteousness." Kong Chuan said with admiration.
"What does benevolence and righteousness have to do with Confucianism? It's like saying that other schools of thought have no benevolence and righteousness." Zhao Kuo felt a burst of slander in his heart.
Recently, more and more Confucians have gathered in Handan, and Kong Chuan has become more and more confident. He even walks with a sense of wind, and does not go around when he sees Xunzi.
And during this period of time, people kept challenging Xunzi. Although they all lost, Xunzi was also a little overwhelmed. When there were more people, there were always one or two tricky angles. No one could withstand such a bombardment.
However, those who take action now are basically middle-aged and younger people. The real bosses are still waiting for the opportunity. Some even want to step on Xunzi and rise to the top.
Zhao Kuo was going to call Gongsun Long back to suppress Kong Chuan, but then again, Xunzi also sprayed Gongsun Long.
After Gongsun Long came back, he still didn’t know who to help!
"The common people thank you, Your Majesty." Ou Yeshou said gratefully.
"The common people pay their respects to your Majesty." All the shipwrights and sailors saluted.
They were forced to come to Zhao State alone under the orders of the King of Yue. They missed their relatives in Yue all the time, but they had no choice but to escape back.
Because if they were caught escaping back, the whole family would be executed.
They had already accepted their fate. This was the way it was in this era. No one would take the life or death of a civilian seriously.
Who would have thought that King Zhao, whom they only met once, would be willing to spend unreasonable money to help them take over their relatives.
For the first time, these Vietnamese people had a sense of belonging to this strange country...
"You will be my Zhao people from now on, and your family members will naturally be my Zhao people too. As the king of the Zhao Kingdom, there is no reason for my Zhao compatriots to live outside." Zhao Kuo helped Ou Yeshou and said with a smile.
"We will definitely become Zhao people in the future." Ou Yeshou said solemnly.
"Everyone can live in the Kingdom of Zhao with peace of mind from now on. If you have any requests, please feel free to ask for them. I cannot guarantee that all of them will be met, but as long as they are not excessive, I will definitely try my best to meet them." Zhao Kuo said with a smile.
"We have no other requirements. It's just that the king recruited us because he wanted us to build ships, so we also ask the king to give us some money and materials to build a shipyard." Ou Yeshou said.
Only then did Zhao Kuo remember that Zhao State didn't even have a shipyard now. He glanced at Kong Bin, who immediately stepped forward, clasped his fists and said, "I'll leave this matter to you."
"Okay. We will discuss other things tomorrow. Everyone, get on the bus first. The king has already hosted a banquet in the palace." Zhao Kuo made an invitation gesture and said to Chang Yang, "The more you invite me, the more we invite you, we will go to the palace to discuss it in detail."
The group of people boarded the carriage and drove towards Handan.
"Gentleman, please." A guard walked up to Ou Yeshou, stretched out his hand and said.
"Me? Where are we going?" Ou Yeshou pointed at himself and said strangely.
"The king just said that a banquet has been held in the palace." The guard said with a smile.
"The king wants to entertain me?" Ou Yeshou said in disbelief. This is the King of Zhao, one of the most noble people in the world. He is not even as good as the King of Yue. Now he wants to entertain him?
What a joke!
"Not only are you invited to a banquet, but all the kings are also invited to a banquet," the guard said.
"General, don't be ridiculous. We people are not worthy of entering the palace, let alone being entertained by the king." Ou Yeshou smiled sarcastically. They were at the bottom of society and would never dare to be entertained by King Zhao.
"The guard is right. The king has indeed hosted a banquet in the palace. Gentleman, you'd better get in the car first." Kong Bin came over.
Seeing what Kong Bin said, everyone had no choice but to believe it, and with excitement, they boarded the carriage tremblingly.
"Chief, do you think this is true?" an old man asked tremblingly.
Having been a shipwright for decades, he recognized at a glance that this carriage was made of the finest elm wood, and the curtains were also made of fine silk. There was an oil lamp and some decorations inside the carriage, and it was obviously for a nobleman.
The old man was very careful and only dared to sit on half of his buttocks, for fear that the carriage would be soiled and he would not be able to afford the compensation if he sold it.
"I don't know either." Ou Yeshou's voice was also trembling, and it was obvious that he was not at peace inside.
"Why did those group of shipwrights and sailors get on the carriage?" Chang Yang asked strangely, pointing to the back.
"Didn't the king just say that he wanted to entertain them?" Lu Zhonglian, who was riding in the same car as Chang Yang, said calmly.
His talent is called Like a Spring Breeze, and he can naturally make the other person like him during the conversation, so he was arranged by Zhao Kuo to ride with Chang Yang.
"A banquet for these untouchables?" Chang Yang said in shock.
These are untouchables. No one cares about their death on the roadside. King Zhao spends so much money to treat these untouchables to dinner?