The closer he got to Handan, the more silent Ge became.
There are many people standing or sitting in front of every village. The old people are sitting by the road, looking blankly into the distance, waiting for their children. The women are coaxing the children in their arms and wiping their tears.
, everyone stared at the carriage driving from afar, without saying a word, in deathly silence. An old man stood up tremblingly and stood respectfully beside the road. Zhao Kuo hurriedly got off.
carriage.
"I wonder if your distinguished guest has any news about Changping? My son has not sent me a letter home for two months..." As the old man spoke, he began to cry. He said: "His mother passed away.
, I wrote to tell him, but he didn’t reply..." Looking at the sobbing old man in front of him, Zhao Kuo was silent for a moment, and then asked, "What is your son called?"
"His name is Heron."
"Are you Lu's father?" Zhao Kuo said, "I just came from Changping. I know your son. Because the Qin people attacked the road, there is currently no way to reply to Changping here. Don't worry.
I will return to Changping soon, and when the time comes, I will ask him to come back." The old man looked at him with tearful eyes and asked, "You didn't lie to me, did you?"
"No, please forgive me and wait patiently for the heron to come back."
"Okay...okay.", the old man said in a daze.
Zhao Kuo took some fruits from the car, walked to the children with a smile, and gave the fruits to the children. The children happily picked up the fruits and shouted. A child who was only three or four years old stared blankly.
Zhao Kuo looked at Zhao Kuo and shouted: "Father!" Zhao Kuo was stunned, and her mother slapped him hard and shouted: "Don't talk nonsense!"
The child began to cry, and suddenly the other children began to cry too, calling for their father.
Zhao Kuo got on the carriage and left here as if running away.
There were many people kneeling beside the road. They stretched out their hands and begged to passersby. But when they saw Zhao Kuo, many people still covered their faces and shed tears in pain, not wanting Zhao Kuo to see their faces.
, without Zhao Kuo's instructions, Ge got off the carriage, gave them some food, chatted with them for a while, then came back and continued driving, he said: "These people are all merchants."
"No one buys their goods, there are wars everywhere, and they don't have the manpower to escort the goods abroad for sale... And now you can't buy food for thousands of dollars, and money is not considered wealth..."
When the carriage arrived near Mafu Township, Ge asked: "Are you going to visit your mistress and then go to Handan?"
Zhao Kuo was silent for a moment and then said: "Let's go to Handan first. After the things there are finished, I will come back to see my mother." Ge nodded, and the carriage quickly rushed towards Handan City. Every time he comes to Handan
, Zhao Kuo can always clearly see the changes here. There are fewer and fewer people on the road, and the people are getting thinner and thinner. The simple sentence "people have food" in history books is so cruel in reality.
Zhao Kuo saw the old man with a frighteningly shriveled stomach. The old man had shriveled up from his chest down, and you could clearly see the ribs that were about to be exposed, which was particularly terrifying. Zhao Kuo couldn't bear to look at it anymore. Handan City
At the door, it was still the old soldier he saw last time. He still failed to recognize Zhao Kuo. After questioning him once, he let Zhao Kuo enter the city. Ge led Zhao Kuo and hurried towards the palace.
Handan Royal Palace is the largest building in Handan City. Even if all the residential buildings in Handan East City were added together, it would probably not be of this size. In front of the vermilion gate of the palace, two tall warriors stood, looking around with vigilance.
When the carriage arrived in front of the palace, the two men walked up. Zhao Kuo got off the carriage and Ge said loudly: "Ma Fuzi has come to pay homage to the Lord!"
The two arrogant warriors were frightened and hurriedly put on a respectful look to pay homage to Zhao Kuo. Zhao Kuo returned the greeting and said, "Please report to me and tell Ma Fuzi that he has something important to do."
Pay homage to your Majesty." The two warriors agreed and hurried back to report. Zhao Kuo waited in front of the palace gate. After waiting for a long time, the warrior came out and said with some embarrassment: "Your Majesty, there are distinguished guests coming to your door today.
, it is inconvenient to meet you, the Lord said, please come back in a few days."
"I really have something very important to tell you..." Zhao Kuo said anxiously. The warriors shook their heads and said helplessly: "Ma Fuzi, please don't embarrass us, we are too
There is no way." Zhao Kuo sighed, and Ge beside him suddenly laughed, almost crying, and said: "Shaojun! Don't be anxious! Wait until the Qin people put the sword on his neck.
When he comes to see you, just let him wait a few more days!"
The two warriors were shocked, holding the hilts of their swords. However, they looked at Zhao Kuo in front of them, but they did not dare to draw their swords. Zhao Kuo did not say anything more and said to Ge: "Let's go to Lin Gong's mansion."
Let’s take a day off and come back tomorrow.”
After not seeing each other for a long time, Lin Xiangru looked much older, and his cough became more and more serious. But he was very happy to see Zhao Kuo. He held Zhao Kuo's hand tightly and said, "I heard that you sent
To send hundreds of thousands of stones of grain to Changping is something that many wealthy people in Handan have never done. My family is poor and I cannot help you. Please forgive me."
"Please don't say that. What I have done is just a trivial matter for the war." Zhao Kuo said, his face becoming more and more lonely. Lin Xiangru saw his uneasiness and frustration and asked: "You
Why are you so eager to return to Handan?"
"I wanted your Majesty to appoint Lord Pingyuan to go to various countries to ask for help, but your Majesty didn't see me. I don't know why."
Lin Xiangru coughed again and said: "Please don't worry. A few days ago, a guest came from Chu State to pay homage to the Lord. The Lord was busy entertaining him. He probably didn't have free time. He should wait for a few days.
, he will definitely meet you."
"In your opinion, can this matter be successful?" Zhao Kuo asked hurriedly. His look was very similar to those who asked him about the war. Lin Xiangru was just like Zhao Kuo. He was silent for a moment and then said with a smile.
"It will definitely succeed. In such a critical time, the Lord will not refuse your proposal. Lord Pingyuan has many friends, and Lord Xinling of Wei is his brother-in-law. He personally travels to various countries to
We will definitely be able to solve Zhao’s crisis.”
"Okay... okay..." Zhao Kuo said with a dazed expression.
In the following days, Zhao Kuo lived in Lin Xiangru's house. He would go to the palace every day, but the two warriors would always shake their heads helplessly. Zhao Kuo went to the palace more and more frequently, even in one day
After going there six or seven times, even the few warriors in the palace were too ashamed to raise their heads to see Zhao Kuo. Five days passed in this way. When Zhao Kuo arrived at the gate of the palace again, the warriors were already there.
After waiting and watching, when they saw Zhao Kuo, they shouted, Your Majesty wants to see him!
Zhao Kuo smiled and followed the warriors into the palace. As soon as he walked into the palace, he smelled a strong smell of meat and wine. The warriors told Zhao Kuo that King Zhao had been sleeping for several days.
A banquet was held to entertain distinguished guests from Chu State, so this place is filled with such a smell. The scale of the palace is also huge, with a crystal clear pool, roads paved with gravel, and various kinds of things on both sides.
There are various trees, and several exquisite pavilions can be vaguely seen in the distance, which can be called Langyuan.
Following the warriors, Zhao Kuo finally met King Zhao.
King Zhao was young, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and smelled of alcohol all over his body. Around him, there were many ministers sitting, with tripods placed in front of them.
Seven cauldrons were placed. There was meat tumbling in the cauldrons, exuding a strong fragrance. On the left side of the crowd, there was only an empty space reserved for Zhao Kuo. There were five cauldrons placed in front, and three cauldrons were placed in front of them.
There was a bowl filled with pieces of meat, and a cup filled with fine wine.
King Zhao hurriedly walked down and walked in front of Zhao Kuo. Zhao Kuo was about to salute, but he quickly helped Zhao Kuo up and said, "I haven't let you in these days. Please don't blame me. It's just that my distinguished guest here is too much."
There are too many, but there are not enough cauldrons. If I use three cauldrons, I am afraid I will be disrespectful to you. You see, these five cauldrons were sent to me specially and no one has ever used them."
Upon hearing this ridiculous but true excuse, Zhao Kuo suddenly laughed.