Qin Gong

Chapter 687: Qi Wangjian’s request and the mood of his grandfather’s family.

Chapter 687: Qi Wangjian’s request and the mood of his grandfather’s family.

Outside Linzi City.

The scorching sun at noon made people's skin feel hot, not to mention the Qin soldiers who were sweating profusely under the countless Qin army flags outside the city, even the Qi soldiers on the top of Linzi City were not much better.

If the other side was not fighting for their own country at this moment, and a moment of carelessness could mean a matter of life and death, perhaps no one would be willing to confront each other in such a climate.

And outside the city.

Under the watchful eyes of the Qin and Qi armies, dozens of Qi palace guards and a dozen Qin soldiers looked at each other warily.

In the middle, under the huge awning, King Jian of Qi and Bai Yan were kneeling in front of a wooden table and talking.

"Two hundred and fifty miles of fiefdom?"

When King Qi Jian heard Bai Yan's promise, he sighed, frowned slightly, and his eyes were full of displeasure.

"My Qi State has a territory of no less than ten thousand miles, and a population of no less than three million. I surrendered to Qin, but Qin only gave me 250 miles?"

King Qi Jian looked at Bai Yan with some anger. If he didn't want to make things awkward, he would have wanted to get up and leave immediately.

Two hundred and fifty miles!

Even if King Jian of Qi was afraid of Qin, he would never agree to this condition and exchange Qi's millions of people and a territory of no less than ten thousand miles for a mere 250 miles of fiefdom.

"It is indeed two hundred and fifty miles!"

Bai Yan naturally also saw the dissatisfaction in the King of Qi's expression.

However, Bai Yan was not panicked at all. It was the King of Qi who was in a passive position now, not him, Bai Yan. When they met today, Bai Yan did not expect to be able to convince the King of Qi overnight.

"Bai Yan is from Qi. The territory of the King of Qi is over ten thousand, but in Bai Yan's eyes, it is not that big. Qi is governed by five cities, and there are troops stationed in the five places. In name, the five cities are under the command of the King of Qi, but in reality, they are very different. Otherwise, how could Tian Dan and Tian Heng have the confidence to dare to rebel!"

Bai Yan said, and then glanced at Linzi City behind King Jian of Qi.

"As for the registered permanent residence of 3 million..."

Having said that, Bai Yan looked at King Qi.

"There are three million registered households in Qi, Bai Yanxin! But how many can the King of Qi mobilize?"

Bai Yan bluntly described the current situation of the King of Qi: "Let alone other cities in Qi, even in Linzi, it would be extremely difficult for the King of Qi to capture Tian Dan and Tian Heng!"

Bai Yan sighed. It seemed that even Bai Yan found it a little absurd. In the capital of Qi State, Tian Dan and Tian Heng, two relatives of the Tian clan, wanted to rebel, but when the King of Qi found out, he couldn't even catch them.

This made Bai Yan clearly feel that after Qi accommodated the gentry from Han, Zhao, Wei, Yan and Chu in a short period of time, a huge hidden danger began to emerge.

That is, even the King of Qi can no longer completely control Linzi as he once did.

In other words, although Linzi City seemed to have prosperous commerce and a thriving population, it was actually in great chaos. The local nobles were deeply rooted in the city, and the seven former powerful clans had completely corrupted the officials of Qi State, from small things like pilgrimages to big things like officials of Qi State.

Looking at the elderly King Jian of Qi, he looked very angry.

"The King of Qi left the city and talked with Bai Yan for only half an hour. However, during this half an hour, the King of Qi was still restless and his eyes were full of worry. Bai Yan dared to ask the King of Qi, are you worried about Linzi City? Are you worried that thieves will take advantage of the King of Qi's absence to cause chaos?"

Bai Yan asked back softly.

"I will capture Tian Dan and Tian Heng myself!"

The King of Qi looked at Bai Yan, feeling his inner hesitation revealed. However, for the sake of saving his face and protecting his own interests, King Jian of Qi naturally would not admit it.

Then, in Qi Wangjian's eyes, he saw Bai Yan smiled and shook his head.

"Bai Yan, do you dare to make a bet with the King of Qi? The King of Qi will definitely not be able to capture Tian Dan and Tian Heng!"

Bai Yan said, and seeing the angry look in Qi Wang Jian's eyes after he finished speaking, Bai Yan raised his hand and touched the wine cup on the table.

"Yesterday, Bai Yan received news that Tian Dan and Tian Heng had secretly contacted the nobles in Linzi City and were planning a rebellion..."

Bai Yan reminded King Qi.

"what?"

King Jian of Qi instinctively raised his head and looked at Bai Yan in shock, as if he wanted to know whether what Bai Yan said was true or false.

"How could Lord Wu Lie have any news about Tian Dan?"

Qi Wangjian asked with rapid breathing.

Bai Yan shook his head and said nothing, indicating that the source of the news could not be told to the King of Qi at the moment.

In fact, Bai Yan lied to King Qi about Tian Dan's conspiracy, but Bai Yan bet that King Qi would not dare to disbelieve it.

The previous assassination in front of the palace gate and the bamboo slips given to the King of Qi, which allowed the King of Qi to successfully see through the plans of Tian Dan, Tian Heng and others, as well as the delay in capturing Tian Dan and Tian Heng in the past two days, all these things have made the King of Qi Jian tense. Any disturbance at this time will make the King of Qi particularly sensitive.

In this situation, no matter what Bai Yan said, King Jian of Qi dared not ignore it.

Prince Jian of Qi has been pampered since childhood and has been on the throne of Qi for so many years. Now that he is old, Prince Jian of Qi cherishes his life more than anyone else.

Next to wooden table.

Feeling the coolness under the umbrella shed, a breeze blew by.

Bai Yan looked at King Jian of Qi, whose pupils were full of panic and his expression was uneasy, picked up the wine cup and drank the wine in it.

"King Qi! Two hundred and fifty miles is already a lot! Although Qi no longer exists and the throne is gone, such a vast fiefdom is enough for the King of Qi to have no worries about food and clothing for the rest of his life, and his descendants will also enjoy wealth and glory. In this case, why does the King of Qi need to be like this today, with the powerful Qin outside the city eyeing him covetously and rebels inside the city plotting rebellion!"

Bai Yan put down his wine cup, looked at the King of Qi, raised his hand, and reminded him with a worried look: "The powerful Qin still has the city wall to block it, but the thieves in the city are hard to guard against! The King of Qi may not trust the elite soldiers under Bai Yan's command, but the King of Qi should be clear that if the old clans of Chu, Wei and Yan all intend to jointly overthrow the King of Qi and establish a new king, the consequences will be..."

Bai Yan sighed, that was all he had to say, the rest depended on what the King of Qi would do.

"Lord Wu Lie's words are too much! The generals of the garrison in the city are all my subjects. Even if there are traitors, there is no need to worry! On the contrary, the King of Qin and I had an alliance before, not to invade each other, but now he has led his troops here. The King of Qin has broken his promise. I understand the Qin State's intentions very well!"

After Qi Wangjian calmed down, he looked at Bai Yan and said.

The heart of the Qin State. The words "tiger and wolf" were omitted in this sentence, and Bai Yan could tell it.

"If the King of Qin doesn't care about the old friendship, does the King of Qi really think that he can have a fief of 250 li? Look at the Duke of Wei and the Zinan clan. They still have a ancestral temple for worship, but they only live in Yewang, which is not a fief! Think about it, King Qi, compared to Wei Yang's contributions to Qin, he still has no fief, while the King of Qi has given him a fief of 250 li. In this case, can the King of Qi still say that the King of Qin is unrighteous?"

Bai Yan said to the King of Qi, frowning slightly, using the State of Wei as an example of comparison. In this way, in comparison, the conditions offered by the State of Qin to the King of Qi were worlds apart.

"If Lord Wu Lie serves the State of Qi, I will grant Lord Wu Lie three hundred miles!"

The King of Qi looked at Bai Yan with a gloomy face and said that he had not given up on persuading Bai Yan to work for him and rebel against the Qin State.

But no matter what, Bai Yan's words still made the King of Qi feel much better, and the anger in his eyes visibly subsided.

"Thank you for your kindness, King Qi. However, Bai Yan has already served King Qin. It is difficult for a minister to serve two masters. I hope King Qi will forgive me!"

Bai Yan raised his hand and bowed to the King of Qi with gratitude, thanking him for his kindness and appreciation.

"I heard that Lord Wu Lie's parents are both outside Linzi City, in a place called Shui Village..."

The King of Qi asked.

Without arguing about the fiefdom anymore, the attitudes between King Qi and Bai Yan became much more relaxed. However, when it came to Bai Yan's family, even now, King Qi Jian couldn't believe that Wu Liejun Bai Yan was born in an unknown little village outside Linzi City, and his parents were just ordinary farmers.

If Tian Heng had not brought the portrait and his servants to tell the whole story, King Jian of Qi would never have believed it.

What he didn't expect was that the young man from Shui Village mentioned by the historian in the past was Bai Yan.

"That's true. My father and mother have lived in the mountain village for many years!"

Bai Yan nodded without denying it.

"Appoint the Lord as General! Appoint the Lord as General!"

King Jian of Qi sighed deeply with emotion, and then with his old face, he looked at Bai Yan, who was now wearing Qin armor and a Daliang-made hat on his head.

Thinking back to Tian Dan, Tian Heng, Gongzi Sheng, Tian Xie and others, who had found the villagers of Shui Village in the city and inquired about the things related to Bai Yan, the King of Qi felt a little unwilling. Now, Bai Yan's experience had already spread rapidly in Linzi city.

According to the eunuchs in the palace, Bai Yan had been bullied and insulted by villagers since he was a child, which made countless people in Qi, from Qi officials, the children of powerful and noble families to the common people and waiters, all indignant and complain about the injustice of Bai Yan's experience. Later, the words that Bai Yan's grandmother said, which was ridiculed by everyone, made everyone think of the title and fiefdom that Bai Yan now possesses.

Achieved!!!

When they came to their senses, everyone realized that they felt humiliated and unfair for Bai Yan at the beginning, but now seeing that Bai Yan had become the Great Minister of Qin, Bai Yan's deeds made countless Qi people in the city excited, and they cheered, as if they had let out a breath of anger.

Even many officials and gentry of Qi State who disliked Bai Yan remained silent on this matter.

This is the scene in the city reported by the eunuchs in the palace to King Jian of Qi.

When leaving the city, King Jian of Qi could clearly hear the passionate discussions of countless scholars coming from the wine shops and teahouses along the way.

However, there is a part of Bai Yan's deeds that is worthy of being recorded in history, which is rarely mentioned by everyone. It seems that everyone instinctively ignores that the king who conferred the title of nobility and appointed a general on Bai Yan was King Ying Zheng of Qin.

When he thought of this, King Jian of Qi felt indescribable regret in his heart.

Why is it that in this beautiful story that has been passed down through the ages, one person is Bai Yan from Qi, and the other is not him, the King of Qi?

I feel so upset!!!

"Lord Wu Lie, if I agree to surrender to Qin, can I add one more request?"

King Qi Jian closed his eyes and thought for a long time. Tian Dan and Tian Heng had not been captured yet, so it was not appropriate for him to stay outside the city for too long. Especially after hearing what Bai Yan had just said, King Qi Jian felt really uneasy. However, before leaving, King Qi Jian wanted to tell Bai Yan a request of his own.

"The King of Qi speaks frankly!"

Bai Yan looked at Qi Wangjian with some surprise. He didn't expect Qi Wangjian to relax so quickly.

Besides being surprised, Bai Yan was also very curious. Besides the fief, what else did King Jian of Qi want? Ancestral temple? Bai Yan would naturally ask Ying Zheng for this. After all, Bai Yan's father-in-law Tian Ding was also a descendant of the Tian family, and he was also the son-in-law of the Tian family. For both public and private reasons, Bai Yan did not want to see the Tian family ancestral temple no longer have sacrifices.

"After learning about the origin and deeds of the former Lord Wu Lie, my beloved daughter Hanzi cried and made a fuss, wanting to become Lord Wu Lie's wife!"

Qi Wangjian looked at Bai Yan and said, shaking his head with a smile, feeling a little emotional.

There is no exaggeration in this statement.

In the past, after learning about Bai Yan's deeds, even Tian Xie, Gongzi Sheng, Tian Heng and others were shocked and their hearts were filled with throbbing, not to mention Bai Yan's beloved daughter Gui Hanzi, who was saved by Bai Yan.

On that day, after Tian Xie, Gongzi Sheng and others left, they saw Gui Hanzi crying with her eyes red and swollen. She came up to him and begged him, her father, saying that she would not marry anyone else but Wu Liejun in this life.

Looking at his beloved daughter kneeling on the ground, crying and expressing her regret, King Jian of Qi felt helpless.

King Jian of Qi actually had the idea of ​​​​Gui Hanzi a long time ago, and had even planned to discuss the matter with King Ying Zheng of Qin. Unfortunately, Gui Hanzi was too young and was deceived by her cousin's beloved daughter Tian Feiyan. As a result, Tian Feiyan took advantage of the situation and became Bai Yan's legal wife.

Although Bai Yan has now clearly refused to serve the State of Qi, in the eyes of King Jian of Qi, he does not mind marrying his beloved daughter to Bai Yan.

Bai Yan was not only a king in the Qin State and had his own fiefdom, but more importantly, he also held the military power of the Qin State. The Northern Frontier Division under his command was the elite among the elite. If Gui Hanzi could become Bai Yan's wife, he, the King of Qi, would be Bai Yan's father-in-law, and he would no longer have to worry about surrendering to the Qin State.

This King of Qi has been on the throne for decades and is now old. He has watched other countries being annexed and destroyed by the Qin State, and has experienced the actions of Tian Dan, Tian Heng and others. King Jian of Qi is no longer as obsessed with the throne as he once was.

Surrendering to Qin is not a bad idea!

But the prerequisite is to have guarantees, just like now, making Bai Yan his son-in-law. As for his cousin Tian Ding, King Jian of Qi can't care so much at the moment. Gui Hanzi is his beloved daughter. Compared with Tian Ding, King Jian of Qi is more afraid that after surrendering to Qin, Ying Zheng will break his promise, so he needs Bai Yan's marriage even more.

"This……"

Bai Yan was bewildered. After making sure that he had not heard the King of Qi wrongly, he raised his hand with a helpless look.

"Bai Yan has married. His wife is Tian Feiyan, the daughter of Tian Ding. This marriage was personally granted by the King of Qin. I hope the King of Qi will understand!"

Bai Yan refused without hesitation.

In terms of age, Gui Hanzi is indeed the same age as Tian Feiyan. In terms of personality, she is even kinder than Tian Feiyan and speaks very gently. But in Bai Yan's heart, he has already decided that Tian Feiyan is the one and only Bai Yan will be his wife in this life.

If it weren't for Tian Feiyan, Bai Yan would never have a second wife in this life. More than five years ago, Bai Yan didn't understand Tian Ding. Now, Bai Yan can understand better than anyone why Tian Ding never remarried after his wife's death. Even though he had a beautiful concubine, he never thought of marrying her.

"I will personally write to the King of Qin, asking him to change his mind and grant the marriage again!"

Qi Wangjian saw Bai Yan’s refusal, frowned, with some dissatisfaction in his eyes, but he still spoke without giving up.

"When you are poor, don't forget your ambition; when you are rich, don't abandon your wife!"

Bai Yan looked at King Qi Jian, still shook his head, and bowed with an apologetic look.

See this.

The King of Qi sighed deeply. No matter how unwilling he was, he couldn't say any more. Now he was still the King of Qi, the ruler of the State of Qi, and Gui Hanzi was also the princess of Qi. No matter what, he couldn't continue to ask for Wanru to marry Gui Hanzi to Bai Yan.

Seeing that Bai Yan was unwilling to agree, King Qi Jian no longer wanted to mention the issue of surrendering to Qin. Now, in King Qi Jian's mind, there is still a chance to defeat the powerful Qin, and that is to invite the old man to the palace.

The presence of the old man who wrote books gave King Jian of Qi the greatest confidence in dealing with the State of Qin.

Under the scorching sun.

King Jian of Qi slowly stood up, nodded to Bai Yan, looked at Bai Yan's return greeting, then turned and left, preparing to return to Linzi City.

At this moment, King Jian of Qi felt a headache when he thought about returning to the palace. He didn't know how to face Gui Hanzi, whose eyes were red and swollen from crying, and he didn't know how to persuade her.

"General, is the King of Qi willing to surrender to Qin?"

After seeing King Qi leave, Niu came to Bai Yan, stood behind Bai Yan and watched King Qi Jian's departing back.

Li Xin on the side also looked at Bai Yan curiously. They didn't get close just now, so they didn't know what Bai Yan was talking about with the King of Qi.

However, when he thought about the fact that Qi State now had hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, and that according to reports, the food and grass in Linzi City were enough for the Qi army to eat for ten years, Li Xin guessed that the King of Qi would probably not surrender to Qin so easily, and even a war between Qin and Qi was inevitable.

"It will be soon. In ten days or half a month at most, the King of Qi will surrender to Qin!"

Bai Yan replied softly.

Looking at Li Xin and Niu who were full of surprise, and seeing the two of them looking at each other, Bai Yan turned around and walked towards the direction of the Qin army.

........................

Two days later.

After Bai Yan handed over the military camp to Wei Lao and Yang Yan, he took some time to return to Shui Village.

It's not that Bai Yan wanted to go back to the village to take some time off, but he had to go back. Now many nobles in Qi area sent money and gifts from all over the place and brought them to Bai Yan's home in Shui Village, so Bai Yan naturally had to go back.

Those Qi nobles were not being clever on their own, but did so with Bai Yan's tacit approval. Between Bai Yan and the Qi nobles were Chen Ze and Fu Yao.

"In the house of the Xi family, the small courtyard is so big that it is said that boxes of money are piled up and there is no room for people to stand!"

"No, I just took a peek and saw a lot of people busy pushing boxes!"

"At my age, I have never seen so much money in my life. It will take me several lifetimes to spend it all!"

Inside the water village, the villagers looked at the endless stream of people coming and going, carrying boxes on their shoulders, followed by groups of wealthy people in silk clothes. All the villagers swallowed their saliva.

In the village, only when they went to Linzi City could they occasionally see one or two dignitaries wearing exquisite silk clothes and jade ornaments.

And now, the dignitaries wearing silk clothes and jade ornaments, whom they used to dare not look up when they met for fear of causing trouble, are coming to Shuicun, this small village, in groups.

Many elderly people in the village have never seen or heard of such a scene in their lives.

But everyone knows that all this is related to the Ji family in the village, and these groups of bigwigs have come to curry favor with the Ji family and Yanfu's family.

now.

In Shuicun, everyone, regardless of gender, age or status, had regret in their eyes.

Obviously, Yanfu's family are all from Shui Village. Logically, all of them can go to help Yanfu and the Xi family. In terms of closeness, they are the villagers who have been in contact with the Xi family for many years and are closer to them.

But rather...

"Mother, why don't you go ask if the concubine needs help? If so, go and lend a hand!"

"I don't dare to go. I heard that the people who fought Shui Shou that day have all lost contact. Many people said... it's lucky that the Xi family didn't cause trouble for us. Anyway, I don't dare to go!"

……

In the small garden.

"Brother Shou! This is Yu Dou, from Fuyucheng. These are Sang Gongmian, Zhan Maoshen, and Lu Hui, from Langya..."

Under the introduction of Chen Ze and Fu Yao, the limping Shui Shou bowed to each man in silk clothes after another.

And those noble men who were impossible for Shui Shou to approach in the past, now saw Shui Shou, not only did they not discriminate against him because of his disability, but they greeted him warmly, and their tone was full of intimacy during the conversation.

"Everyone, have some water. You can sit here!"

Shi and Yanfu were also busy as well. They had always been a farming couple and had never seen such a scene before, especially later on, when they saw people from big families coming with them, as well as some celebrities and officials from the city.

This made Bai Shi and Yan's father even more afraid to neglect and they kept greeting everyone. Even Yan's father couldn't take care of his parents in the corner of the small courtyard and Bai Yan's uncle at this time.

"Sir, drink some water!"

At this moment, looking at Yan's father and the Qi family who were busy with work, not to mention Zitai who was fidgeting, even the grandmother of Bai Yan and Shui Shou was too embarrassed to call Yan's father. Even the grandfather who always scolded Yan's father in the past did not dare to speak at this moment. He just sat in the corner of the small courtyard, watching people coming and going, not daring to look directly at those people in silk clothes, and just sat there without saying a word.

After all, even if Zitai had been educated, any one of these people in front of him was not a scholar or a grandfather's family that he could actively talk to.

The same applies to officials who come in person.

"Zitai! Go help Brother Zhong and Sister Zhong, or serve them some tea!"

The grandmother looked at her third son and said softly, looking at those big shots who she could not reach before, now being so friendly to the Xi family, it would be a lie for her to say she was not jealous.

Zhongzi has not received much education, Shi is just a woman, and Shuishou has difficulty walking. It is not very useful for him to know these people. It is better to let Zitai meet them.

Knowing so many important people, no matter where Zitai goes or what he does in the future, he will never have to worry about not having noble people to help him.

and also.

Grandmother looked at the large wooden boxes nearby. She had just seen with her own eyes how heavy they were, and she had also heard with her own ears what the two handsome men said to Shui Shou: they were all money and cloth.

The money is so heavy, how much money is in it?

Grandmother's heart was full of burning emotions. Could she spend all the money in just one box in her lifetime? If she let Zhongzi take one box, no, two boxes, no, just move most of it to her own home, then let alone treat the eldest daughter-in-law, even if she redeemed the other daughters-in-law, she might not be able to spend all the money in her lifetime, and the clothes she would wear in the future! They were not coarse cloth.

"Brother, I didn't dare to say anything until I opened my mouth! In the past, my nephew..."

Zitai said with a helpless look on his face. At the moment, he was also very anxious. He knew exactly what his mother meant. Not to mention his mother, Zitai also wanted to go forward and follow his second brother or his nephew Shuishou to meet those big shots, even just one of them would be great!

During all these years of studying hard to learn to read, I had occasionally seen important figures like the scholars and officials before me a few times in Linzi City, but every time I had only watched from afar and could not approach them.

Now that there is such a good opportunity, how can Zitai not be anxious.

But when he thought of his nephew Shui Yan, Zitai felt a little scared for no reason. Before this, he didn't like his nephew very much, so they didn't get along well since childhood. And before coming here today, he had heard that his nephew personally scolded Shui Shou's mother's family and forbade them to abuse their power.

Thinking of this, Zitai didn't dare to help rashly. Who knew if this would make his nephew unhappy.

You know, outside the mountain now, there are Qin cavalry everywhere, and tens of thousands of Qin cavalry have surrounded Linzi, the capital of Qi, which has more troops and countless people. The Qi army in the city dare not go out of the city to fight.

And my little nephew is the commander-in-chief of this notorious Qin cavalry.

How could he dare to displease his nephew? Zitai even felt a little scared when he thought of his nephew.

"Oh~!"

The grandfather sighed and looked at his third son with disappointment.

(End of this chapter)