Zhao Xuan entrusted the government to Wen Zai, a veteran of three dynasties, and the military power to Bo Yao, the most loyal Wu Zai, before he was relieved to take Wu Mian and other ministers with the tributes to the Qin Emperor and departed for Haojing together with the Wu delegation. The number of Zhao's elite soldiers who accompanied Zhao Xuan to protect him was not much different from that of Wu's, which was also 1,500 in number.
The man who had been favored by him for four consecutive nights died after Zhao Xuan left the royal capital due to the inflammation of the whipping wound and a high fever. The palace chief reported to your daughter, who was temporarily acting as the palace's agent, and ordered a thin coffin to be packed and carried to a mass grave for burial, so that the body was not left in the field and was buried in peace.
To get to Haojing from the capital of Zhao, one has to leave the northwest border of Zhao and pass through a dozen or so vassal states before reaching the capital of the Son of Heaven. If the journey was not blocked by wind and rain, it would take half a month to reach Haojing.
The day of the vassal's pilgrimage to the Qin Emperor was set for the 15th of May, Zhao Xuan and Zheng Yuming departed from the Zhao King's capital in mid-April, leaving more than twenty days to catch up on the road, and the loose time would allow them to have a less stressful trip and arrive before the day of the vassal's pilgrimage.
After departing from Zhao Wangdu, Zheng Yuming only rode the carriage on the first day, and abandoned the carriage and rode a horse from the second day onwards. The reason why Zheng Yuming abandoned the carriage and rode a horse was partly because the road from Zhao Wangdu to the northwest was rugged and not as flat as the official road on the way here, so riding a carriage was a bit bumpy and not as comfortable as riding a horse.
The second reason is that Zhao Xuan found an excuse to squeeze into Zheng Yuming's carriage. In Mount Li hot springs, Zheng Yuming found Zhao Xuan to him to move too ambiguous, Zheng Yuming will not want to get along with Zhao Xuan alone, in order not to stay in a sealed space with Zhao Xuan, Zheng Yuming just excuse the carriage bumps changed horseback riding.
Zhao Xuan although Zheng Yuming is very much in love with the heart, but also have to be concerned about the identity of this love in front of people will always be covered up. Zheng Yuming riding, before and after the guards are clustered, Zhao Xuan horseback riding side by side to walk in a proper manner in line with the etiquette, which is exactly what Zheng Yuming asked.
Zhao Xuan in addition to not being able to and Zheng Yuming demeanor speech too close, with Zheng Yuming walking all the way to communicate or very happy.
The more time with Zheng Yuming, the more I realized that Zheng Yuming broad vision, rich in insights, the heart under the more hate to see each other too late.
It took three days for the Zhao-Wu pilgrimage delegation to reach the northwest border of Zhao. The northwestern counties of Zhao had lost one-fifth of their population in the Rong disaster, and the closer they got to the border, the more they suffered from the scourge.
With Wu's assistance and Zhao Xuan's best efforts to provide disaster relief, the people of Zhao who escaped the Rong disaster survived the winter. When the temperature warmed up, the people began to work hard in the fields. The fields on both sides of the official road were basically not deserted, and were full of crops, Zhao Xuan saw this and was very comforted in his heart.
The people here only knew that it was their king who had allocated grain to save their lives, and no one knew about Wu's unconditional assistance. Wherever Zhao Xuan went, both sides of the road were lined with people who came to kneel and thank him, and the only thing that the people thanked him for was Zhao Xuan, without a single word about Wu.
Zhao Xuan accepted the kneeling of the people and expressed his gratitude to Zheng Yuming, but when he received the local officials, he did not mention the assistance of Wu. Zheng Yuming saw this scene, where do not understand Zhao Xuan intention, Zhao Xuan is not want to let his subjects in the heart of Wu favor.
Most of the Wu envoys are indignant, but only Zheng Yuming understands Zhao Xuan's intention, that Zhao Xuan does not want Wu to have influence in his land. When Gongsun Pan saw this, he felt that he had made the right decision to follow Zhao Xuan. What Zhao Xuan did was only for the sake of his own country.
Out of the vassal state territory of Zhao, in the direction of Haojing were places that had suffered from the Rong disaster, most of which were the fiefs of the near branches of the Qin royal family, all of which were vassal states with a small land area. This way, it turned out to be the most fertile and densely populated part of Great Qin.
Also bear the northern nomads robbery, these places because there is no relief, the recovery is not as fast as the northwest county of Zhao, except for the high walled city area is still prosperous, those Rong people through the countryside is very miserable, the population of the villages basically have been reduced, and even came across a lot of villages with no population at all.
The bodies of the dead villagers in the village were left unburied and were gnawed by wild dogs and crows to the point where only white bones remained. Zheng Yuming was afraid of infection by bacteria or plague, and when he saw such villages, he ordered his team to make a detour, and when they could not meet the city at night, they could only sleep in the wilderness.
What they saw along the way was so dismal that the men of the mission became reticent to speak, and on this day, seeing that the sun was sinking in the west, and that there was no city nearby for lodging, the mission had to camp out in the wilderness again.
The soldiers of Zhao and Wu had just begun to set up camp when a group of people came from far away in the direction of the road from which they came. The sentries went over to ask questions, and the group turned out to be a merchant caravan from Wu.
The sentry hurriedly brought the merchant proprietor to Zheng Yuming.
"You're Dongji Wei?" Zheng Yuming recognized the merchant.
The merchant surnamed Wei was once a cargo man by the pier in Nambu, and the chief of the Eagle Tribe, Tuo Xiong, once bought a gold hairpin for his daughter on his load. Wei therefore knew Tuo Xiong and started his business with the Eagle Tribe and bought a store at the Nanbu Pier. It was in his store that Chu Chaohui found the sulfur.
Zheng Yuming had been in Nambu for more than three years and was familiar with all the merchants in Nambu.
"Yes! Your Excellency! It's none other than me!" Wei Cargo Man was thrilled to see Zheng Yuming and pounced over to make a big salute, Wei Cargo Man's business grew bigger and bigger and developed to the point where he had his own merchant fleet.
"Dongjia Wei! Please rise!" Zheng Yuming was happy to see his old friend in a foreign land.
At this time the tents for camping in the wilderness had not yet been set up, and Zheng Yuming and Gongsun Pan and Wu Mu were sitting on simple wooden benches.
Wei Cargo Lang likewise knew Wu Mu, only not Gongsun Pan, since Gongsun Pan could sit side by side with Wu Mu, his status would not be low.
People in business have flexible minds, Wei Cargo Lang respectfully bowed to the two men before taking a seat on a small stool at the side.
"Ming Di! Who is this group of people coming?" Zhao Xuan also saw the caravan and brought Wu Mou over from his camp to inquire.
"This man is a merchant from Nambu, that group is his caravan!" Zheng Yuming stood up to introduce them. "Dongji Wei, quickly pay your respects to the Lord of Zhao."
Wei Yulang had long left the wooden stool when Zheng Yuming rose, and Gongsun Pan and Wu Mu had also risen and stood to the side.
Only after Wei Cargo Lang had made a big bow to Zhao Xuan and paid his respects to Wu Mou did the party rejoin their seats.
"Where is Dongjia Wei going to sell this?" Zheng Yuming asked with concern.
"Your Excellency, I am going to Haojing to sell goods." Seeing Zheng Yuming's question, Wei Cargo Lang hurriedly stood up and replied respectfully.
"To Haojing?" Zheng Yuming was a bit strange. "Why doesn't Dongji Wei take a boat to Haojing?"
From Nanbu, you can take a sea boat to Xiaobay, and from there you can change to a smaller sailing boat to enter the Great River, which is the largest river in the northern part of Qin and passes through a dozen vassal states such as Tangdi, Lu, Qi, Xu, and so on, and the sailing boat can go all the way back to the capital of Qin, Haojing. It would take no more than fifteen days to go to Haojing by boat from Nanbu, but it would take at least twenty days by land. Waterway transportation can be said to save time and effort.
Zheng Yuming was surprised that Wei Lang abandoned the time-saving and labor-saving mode of transportation and chose to walk slowly from the land. It was only the beginning of May, not winter, the river was not frozen.
"My lord, it's not that I don't want to take the waterway, it's really that the waterway isn't very safe anymore." Wei Cargo Lang looked helpless, he originally all took the waterway to Haojing.
"How?" Wu Mu, who was next to him, was surprised.
Wu ships not only dominate the sea, but also navigate the inland river without any obstacles, and it is unlikely that there will be robbers who dare to make a move on Wu's merchant ships. The vassal states on both sides of the river welcome Wu merchants to do business and do not set up barriers on the domestic waterways, so where did Wei Cargo's waterway insecurity come from?
Zhao Xuan listened with interest, thinking that it must be one of the vassal states by the Yangtze River that was in conflict with Wu.
"It's because there's a scourge within Qi and Lu! It is no longer safe for merchant ships to walk from there."
As soon as Wei Cargo Lang's words fell, Zhao Xuan stood up in shock, Gongsun Pan and Wu Mu were also greatly surprised, only Zheng Yuming's eyes were lowered, his heart was in the right place.
"What is the scourge that has risen?"
Zhao Xuan frowned, there was a big mess within the two Qi and Lu countries, why didn't the news reach him?
Wei Cargo Lang arched his hand towards Zhao Xuan: "Since the end of last year, there have been refugee riots in Qi and Lu's countries, at first it was a small crowd, at the beginning of April, it spread like a starburst fire, and the kings of Qi and Lu sent their Huben everywhere to quell the riots. Merchant ships pass through the territory of both countries, and it is not safe to stop for supplies."
The merchants were well-informed, and when Wei Cargo heard about it, he decisively chose to go to Haojing by land.
"So it's a pariah riot, the pariahs don't have sharp weapons in their hands, it will be quelled soon, I believe that it won't be a month before the two Qilu countries' domestic will be calm." Zhao Xuan was unimpressed, there were civilians rising up in revolt within the two Qi Lu countries on a regular basis, this was not current news.
Because of the lightning extermination of Tang caused the vigilance of the vassal states, Qi Lu Yan embraced the group to defend against Wu, Wu's annexation of Qi Lu became more difficult. Seeing that the difficulty coefficient of Ming's action became bigger, Chu Chao Hui sent many intelligence officers to Qi Lu and Yan to carry out activities, the purpose of which was to provoke the refugees to revolt, arm the refugees with Tang's broken weapons, and consume the strength of Qi Lu and Yan's king's court.
When the court regimes of the two kings of Qi and Lu faced disintegration, it was the time when the Wu army swung northward, and the pretext for the northward advancement was very grand, that is, to help the kings of Qi and Lu to pacify the chaos.
Of course, the main goal of this help to pacify the chaos is to level the court of the two kings of Qi and Lu. As for the uprising of the refugees, originally is to survive, as long as the army of the State of Wu shouted put down the equipment is not to be blamed, each household to share the field tax reduction slogan, do not worry about the uprising of the refugees do not put down their weapons to return to obedience.
For the refugees who refused to submit, Chu Chao Hui could only use the army to crush them. Refugees can use ragged weapons against the Qilu Huben due to their numerical advantage, but against the advanced equipment and well-trained Wu team, the uprising refugees are unbeatable.
Chu Chao Hui deal with the two Qi Lu King's Court means more underhanded, he did not let Zheng Yuming asked, Qi Lu two places of civil unrest action steps are by Chu Chao Hui single-handedly organized. Qilu two big chaos, Zheng Yuming and Gongsun disk, Wu Mu just went to Zhao, which is the news lag.
Zheng Yuming was aware of this plan, and when Wei Cargo Lang said that the waterways were unsafe, Zheng Yuming guessed that domestic unrest was beginning in Qi and Lu. Thinking of the countless people who would die in the turmoil, Zheng Yuming sighed slightly. He could only console himself that even if the Wu Kingdom did not send people to stir up trouble or secretly assist with weapons, people who wanted to survive would rise up in revolt all the same. Wu's move to add fuel to the fire was just going with the flow.
Understanding the reason for Wei Cargo's abandonment of the waterway in favor of the land route, Zheng Yuming invites Wei Cargo to follow the envoy. Weilang was grateful and bowed to Zheng Yuming again and again. By following the mission, the caravan could rest easy.
The delegation of Zhao and Wu had a total of three thousand seven hundred and eight hundred people, all of their mounts were war horses, and their guards were fully armored and armed, and they came in black, and their strength was able to destroy the small and medium-sized vassal states on the road. When the bandits and small fry heard about this group of people, they had long ago fled to avoid it.
Wei cargo Lang more than thirty people pressed the goods of the caravan, but the bandits and small eyes of the fat sheep, Wei cargo Lang this time to take the land route is very lucky, basically trailing in the back of the embassy, there are embassies in the front to clear the way, Wei cargo Lang all the way to go calm and quiet, calm and so Wei cargo Lang are puzzled, and so on to catch up with the embassies, he realized the original reason for the calmness.
The night camp was set up, and the soldiers began to build fires, which could be used to barbecue the dinner and to disperse the wild beasts with the light of the fire. Wu delegation that night grilled the guards hunted deer meat, Zheng Yuming ate half full, was about to use the hands of venison to feed the wood, but found that the wood has disappeared.