In mid-July of the thirty-third year of Qin Shihuang's reign, the North Korean prince Ji Zhun stood on his way to Manfanhan, feeling uneasy.
"As long as what they ask for is not too excessive, you can grant it, and you must not offend the big country."
When setting off from Wangxian City, Ji Fu, the king of North Korea and Ji Zhun's father, told him this. This is also North Korea's consistent attitude towards the Qin Dynasty.
It is widely rumored in the Central Plains that the Ji family of Korea is one of the three benevolent people of the Yin and Shang Dynasties, and is the descendant of Jizi. This is indeed true, but it is not recorded in "Hongfan" at all. After the death of the Shang Dynasty, Jizi went to the court to pay homage to King Wu of Zhou, and then the feudal system was established. That was the Zhou Dynasty.
People's own packaging is beautified, but the reality is far less harmonious.
Ji Zhun learned from the oral epic passed down by his family that eight hundred years ago, in order to escape the barbaric Zhou state that brutally killed the Yin people, Ji Zi took the soldiers and civilians of the feudal state and moved north to seek refuge in the Guzhu Kingdom, which shared the same surname as Zi.
However, the Zhou people never forgot this "ugly legacy" and sent Duke Zhao to the north to establish the Yan Kingdom in the land of Youzhou. They further expelled the Ji family to Liaodong and had to keep their children as hostages in the Yan Kingdom all year round.
This humiliating situation lasted until 500 years ago, when Jishi Korea took advantage of the Shanrong invasion of Yan State, broke away from the control of the Yan people, moved further eastward, and came to the land east of the Yalu River.
They established themselves in various places, built cities, and continued the civilization of the Yin and Shang Dynasties.
After twenty generations of accumulation, a hundred years ago, Korea had a vast territory and a large population, and it became the center of civilization on the peninsula, with all the Yiyi tribes coming to worship.
At that time, the Zhou Dynasty was in decline, and the princes of the Central Plains were in power. The North Korean princes of that generation were quite ambitious. When they saw the neighboring country of Yan proclaiming themselves king, the North Korean princes also claimed to be kings. They fought with Yan in Liaodong, hoping to seize this land.
The result was embarrassing. Although North Korea was able to defeat the surrounding barbarian tribes, it was defeated by the Yan army equipped with crossbows and cavalry. Not only did it fail to capture Liaodong, it was also killed by the Yan army across the Yalu River, losing a full two hundred miles of land.
, finally had to kneel down and ask for peace, and the two sides were separated by sweat.
That happened seventy years ago, and Ji Zhun can still remember it vividly when he thinks about it now.
The war seventy years ago made Jishi Korea realize its weakness. Yan was already the last of the Seven Heroes, but it was so powerful that Korea could not defeat it. There were four or five more capable ones in the Central Plains...
Fortunately, King Yan Zhao was interested in the Central Plains and had no interest in the poor and remote North Korea, so North Korea could avoid the fate of destruction.
The times changed faster than North Korea expected. Suddenly, the powerful Yan in their eyes perished. Later, Qi across the sea also perished. The nobles of Yan and Qi came to join them in droves, and they also brought a terrible name:
Qin!
The power of Qin and the cruelty of Qin were well known to North Korea. When Manfanhan was occupied by the Qin army and the black Qin flag was set up, North Korea did not dare to cross the border even half a step to "recover its homeland."
Although they were very afraid of the greedy Qin Dynasty invading North Korea, North Korea did not want to have contact with Qin.
The ancestors of the Qin Dynasty were servants and ministers of the Yin Shang Dynasty, but now they are the emperor of the Central Plains. The Korean nobles are inevitably a little unbalanced.
Within North Korea, some people hope to trade with Qin, but others believe that as long as Qin does not interfere with them, North Korea will also pretend to be deaf and dumb and not take any action. In this way, Qin, who is based in the West, may
There is no time to control North Korea, which is in the far east. That way, North Korea can maintain its hard-won "independence."
Looking back now, even Ji Zhun, who originally supported this proposal, feels that he was stupid at the time.
In the first ten years, the two sides did not conflict with each other, but since the summer of this year, merchant ships from Jiaodong of the Qin Dynasty have begun to appear more and more frequently in the Korean sea. At first, one ship came, then three ships, five ships, and seven ships.
ships, and they all appear from the southern sea, and rarely come from the north...
A new sea route has been opened, and it has become easy to get from Jiaodong to North Korea. The sea, which was once regarded as a city wall by North Korea, has now become the most convenient way to invade it.
Officials in Liekou also noticed these abnormal "merchant ships", but North Korea's administration was inefficient. Before he could report it to Wang Xiancheng, dozens of warships with black hulls came through the waves, blocking Liekou.
, threatening to ask North Korea to send people to negotiate with them.
Ji Fu is already old, so this glorious mission falls on the shoulders of the future monarch Ji Zhun.
Wangxian City and Liekou are only a hundred miles apart. They are both located on the bank of Lieshui. It can be reached in half a day by going downstream.
As he got closer to Liekou, Ji Zhun saw more and more people fleeing barefoot on both sides of the river. When he stopped the boat and asked them, he said that the Qin people with black flags and black armor had landed on the shore and occupied the pier, controlled the city gates, and were not allowed to enter or exit.
, and even forced Koreans to help unload the food on the ship.
After the people around the city heard about it, they were afraid that they would also be captured, so they fled one after another.
Ji Zhun didn't know how to comfort them, so he could only grit his teeth and move on. The next contact would be related to the survival of Ji's North Korea!
…
But even if Ji Zhun was well prepared mentally, when he arrived at the estuary of Lieshui and saw the tall ships in the harbor that were taller than Korean palaces, he couldn't help but take a breath of cold air!
If Ji Zhun's boat is like a dolphin, then Qin Jun's black-painted building boat looks like a whale!
The largest ship was dozens of feet long, with a rectangular hull and a three-story tower structure. It was very majestic, with hundreds of people moving on it, and a variety of weapons, both near and far.
The other party also discovered Ji Zhun's ship, and the three large ships immediately turned around and headed towards him like several large mountains! The sails were furled, and they were sailing with only two hundred wooden oars, and they were flying very fast.
, the sharp collision angle seemed to kill them upon contact, and dozens of crossbows on the building boats were also aimed at them from a distance, making Ji Zhun terrified!
"Ji Zhun, the North Korean prince, comes to see General Qin!"
He quickly asked people to raise "Zhengjie" high at the bow of the ship and shouted to signal.
Even though the Ji family came from the Central Plains eight hundred years ago, the language is very different from what it was back then. Both sides can't understand what they are saying, so they have to be translated by the translator.
Fortunately, the meaning of the festival had not changed, and both sides had prepared translators. After some exchanges, they learned that North Korea had sent people to negotiate, so the crossbowmen on the ship put away their crossbows and let Ji Zhun's ship approach.
Ji Zhun tidied up his clothes. Seeing the situation, he was going to board the boat to talk. He was afraid that he would be kidnapped as soon as he got on board. After all, those who fled from Yan and Qi never had a good word for Qin. What they said was that Qin had betrayed his trust and repeatedly
He detains the opponent's monarch and becomes a prime minister, and fights like a wolf and a tiger, abandoning etiquette and achieving the first victory...
But now, Qin Chuan has arrived at the city, so he can only bite the bullet and climb the rope ladder, which is easier than climbing the cliff.
The two ships missed each other and each dropped anchor. A figure appeared next to the ship, looking down at Ji Zhun.
Ji Zhun looked up and saw clearly that he was a young general in his teens, wearing black armor, with a bun on the right side, and a turban on top, which he would probably wear during battle.
The young man was Wei Yang, Heifu's nephew. He was also looking at Ji Zhun's outfit curiously:
This North Korean prince is not as well-dressed as the Qin Dynasty prince, but like a Rong Di, with braids on the left and right sides, curled at the ends, hanging down to his shoulders, but with a crown on top of his head. The clothes are also a little different, Shang.
There is a cover on the outside, a jade pendant ring is hung on the chest instead of the waist, and it is carved into the shape of a fish.
"Why are you dressed like this?"
In the eyes of Weiyang and others, this was a bit nondescript. They whispered and found it funny.
Looking at the followers of Ji Zhun, they basically all have their hair braided. Some have their hair braided to the top, and then hang down to the back of their heads;
Some wear a scarf, and some roll the scarf into a long strip, wrap it around the forehead, and then tie it on the head.
Wei Yang didn't know that Ji's Korea was a living fossil of civilization. Compared with the Song Dynasty, which claimed to be a descendant of the Yin and Shang Dynasties, but in fact the etiquette, hairstyle, and clothing had been Zhou-styled, Ji's Korea had almost remained intact.
Everything about the Yin and Shang Dynasties:
They use oracle bones for writing and the Yin calendar for their calendar. For example, this braided hair is the unique head shape of the Yin people and has been preserved by the Korean royal family for generations.
The aristocrats of North Korea would even sneer at the buns worn by people from Yan and Qi, thinking they were Qiang and Rong folk customs! The ancient ways of the Yin and Shang Dynasties were the orthodox ones!
But now, Ji Zhun couldn't care about the self-deception hidden deep in his heart. He could only say in a low voice: "Young master of the small country, North Korea, was invited to meet the general of the big country. I wonder what the big country wants?"
Ji Zhun put aside his son's pride and spoke respectfully. This was the helplessness of the small country.
Wei Yang's voice was loud and clear, with the unique pride of a soldier from a great country.
"Canghaejun in the south of Korea rebelled against the great power, and the emperor ordered a conquest. However, there was a wind overseas and he could not stay for long, so the fleet was anchored at Liekou!"
Ji Zhun stood up for a long time, his neck was a little sore. He wanted to get on the boat to talk, but after the translator relayed his meaning, the young general said loudly:
"My general has said that ministers have no diplomatic rights. If North Korea wants to talk, go to Manfanhan and discuss it with the general, who is also the Young Master of Qin Dynasty."
"What!?"
Ji Zhun only felt that he had been fooled. He came all the way here and condescended to ask to board the ship for negotiation, but the other party said that we were not qualified to negotiate. You should go to the north to find someone else more than a hundred miles away...
This was actually discussed by Heifu and Ren Xiao when they were in Jiaodong. As a partial division, Jiaodong had to pave the way for Young Master Fusu's army, but he had to be careful not to steal the limelight from the main force. What should he do?
The only option is to put on a show to scare North Korea. As for formal negotiations, it is better to kick the ball and let Fusu make the decision.
Weiyang saw the dissatisfaction on the faces of the people in North Korea below. He smiled contemptuously and tried to recall the way his father Zhong looked when he gave orders. However, he could not learn that kind of non-anger and self-power. He could only learn from Ren Xiao, so he put his hands on his hips.
, puffed out his chest and said arrogantly:
"I also ask you to report back to the Marquis of Korea. If you can't finish the conversation in one day, the captain will stop at the mouth of the line to eat. If you can't finish the conversation in ten days, the captain will have no choice but to swim upstream and ask the Marquis of Joseon to give you a meal."
! At that time, towering ships and sterns will line up to prevent the water from flowing, and strong bows and powerful crossbows will cross the shore of Wangxian. When the two armies meet, I wonder if Wangxian can be blocked by the water?"
