Chapter 4 The third quarter

The palace complex in Luoyang Wangcheng is resplendent in the spring sunshine.King Wu of Qin's large bronze chariot rumbled across the long street, and the scattered and hurried Chinese rushed away in an uproar, but no one stopped to watch.King Qin Wu sneered contemptuously, stomped his feet, and the large chariot left behind Yan Sui and his party, and rushed into the deep gate of the king's city. The desolation and dilapidation of the royal city remained the same as in the past, the high palace walls and ridges covered the bright spring, and the layers of palace buildings were like mountains and valleys, covering the square courtyards in deep darkness.When King Qin Wu raised his head, there was only a blue sky and white clouds above his head hanging over the palace canyon.Weeds sway in the gaps between the big blue bricks in the main hall square, and the majestic Jiuding stands silently. From time to time, crows and sparrows fly out from the nest of the big tripod ears, circling, dancing and chirping, making this silent palace city look like a deep mountain. The valley is average!

King Qin Wu was looking at it with emotion, but he heard a burst of music, and a team of royal guards of honor slowly poured out from the east side hall.The old master Yan Shu who hurried over from behind chanted loudly: "The Son of Heaven is here—! The King of Qin has an audience—!" Following Yan Shu's old voice, a young man with a big red gold silk cloak and a six-inch red jade crown on his head came from The guard of honor came out. King Qin Wu knew that this was the newly enthroned King Zhou, so he cupped his hands on the chariot and said, "King Qin wins, and pays homage to King Zhou." , the old Yan Shu didn't know how to save the emperor's face for a while?

The young King Zhou did not realize it, but he still cupped his hands: "It is a great honor for King Qin to come to Luoyang as a distinguished guest from afar!" King Wu of Qin saw that the young emperor was quite knowledgeable, so he stopped making any big moves, jumped off the chariot and bowed deeply: "Yingdang disturbs the emperor, fortunately, don't blame him." The young king of Zhou tried his best to smile: "Zhou and Qin belong to the same clan, and love is like brotherhood. When King Qin is far away, the royal family should host a banquet to wash away the dust. Please enter the hall."

To avoid embarrassment, Yan Wei took the first step and said loudly: "The old man is guiding the King of Qin, please——!" He led King Qin Wu to the east side hall.The banquet in the hall had already been prepared, King Wu of Qin took a look at the seats, and walked towards the parallel main case with big strides.Although the young King Zhou behind him had a bitter smile on his face, he calmly walked to another main table: "King Qin, please take a seat." King Wu of Qin smiled and said, "The banquet in the royal city is what I wish in my life. Thank you, King Zhou."

The young king of Zhou smiled lightly and said, "The host and guest should be honored, so why thank you?" The two sides sat down for a while, King Zhou and King Wu of Qin were both the main case facing south, Qin Guo's prime minister Gan Mao and Zhou Shi Taishi Yan Shui accompanied him on the two sides, and the rest of the ministers sat on the two sides according to their titles.The only difference is that King Qin Wu brought sixteen concubines, all of whom were women from the west who had never seen the city of Luoyang.They lined up a large table behind King Wu of Qin in colorful colors, staring at the simple food and drinks on the table with half-smiles, although they couldn't chatter, Yingying's chuckle was full of disdain.From the perspective of the Zhou family monarchs and ministers based on "Zhou Li", groups of concubines and concubines simply cannot sit at the diplomatic banquet, let alone laugh.However, the times are also changing. Facing King Qin Wu, a powerful monarch who regards etiquette as dung, and these western women who lack royality, the Zhou family monarchs and ministers have no choice but to sit with them in embarrassment.For a moment, everyone blushed, and there was no trace of joy in the audience.

The minister in charge of ceremonies in red shouted loudly: "Wash the dust for King Qin! Play music—!" With the melodious sound of elegant music, the stagnation of the Zhou family's monarchs and officials relaxed a little bit.The young king of Zhou held up the bronze nobleman: "Everyone will work together for this nobleman, and we will clean up the dust for the King of Qin." The courtiers of Zhou followed the etiquette and sang: "King Qin is healthy and healthy, and make great achievements." Who would have thought that the ministers, generals and concubines of Qin It was a loud cry: "Long live the King of Qin—! Do it!" There was a roar in the king's city, and birds and crows flew into the air.Zhou Shichen looked at each other in blank dismay, holding up the big bronze cup, but they didn't know how to deal with it.

King Wu of Qin held up his wine cup and laughed loudly: "Old Qin people are simple and uneducated, come on, just do it!" Without thanking the emperor around him, he drank it all in one gulp.Qin's generals, ministers and concubines also shouted "Damn!" amidst the gurgling sound, everyone was empty.Zhou's courtiers watched the young emperor slowly drink it up, and just now he drank it silently, but the two sides had no harmony. King Qin Wu clicked his tongue and shook his head: "The royal family of Luoyang, how can the emperor's wine be so tasteless? This dish, two sides of cold pork, what's the point? The Luoyang emperor is really so dilapidated?"

Yan Su hurriedly clasped his hands together and laughed: "King of Qin Mingjian: The Zhou family has never had the right to govern the land and the people. For more than a hundred years, the tributes from the princes have been cut off day by day, and the royal family's taxes and daily expenses are still difficult to maintain..." His eyes turned to the ministers in shabby clothes With a sweep, the faces of all the ministers turned red.The young King Zhou let out a long sigh, tears filled his eyes. With a sound of "啪!", Qin Wuwang slapped the table and said loudly: "What is the king's pawn! Come, bring out the Daqin Fengjiu that this king brought! Then take out the army beef, sheep, deer and bear meat, let's drink it!"

When the words fell, Bai Qi suddenly got up and left the hall.In a short while, a group of soldiers filed in and brought fifty black altars. Each altar was pasted with a piece of red cloth, and a big "phoenix" character stood out!Another group of soldiers filed in and brought in a large plate of sauce-colored dried meat, one plate for each case, and the rich aroma of meat immediately permeated. King Wu of Qin laughed and said: "The flavor of Xiqi, please the emperor to taste it!" The young King Zhou trembled all over: "Thank you King Qin for your kindness..." Before he could say a word, he couldn't help crying.Xiqi was originally the birthplace of the Zhou people, and the story of Fengming Qishan is the eternal auspiciousness of the Zhou people; when the Zhou people were grateful for the great kindness of the Qin people, they sealed all their homeland to the Qin people, and moved eastward to Luoyang. Zhou and Qin are from the same source and can support each other. I don’t want to think that three hundred years later, things will be different, Qin Cheng rapes the guests, Zhou Cheng is dying, seeing things and thinking about love, how can this intelligent and strong young emperor not sigh with emotion?

King Wu of Qin was stunned for a while, showing a rare kindness, he cupped his hands and said with a smile: "Yingdang is reckless, the emperor forgives his sin." The young emperor tried his best to smile: "Delicious food comes first, King Qin invites you." King Wu of Qin laughed loudly: "It's good that the Son of Heaven doesn't spoil the fun! Come on, have fun!" The inside and outside of the hall suddenly became lively, the ministers, generals and concubines of the Qin State without exception pulled up their big sleeves and tore the meat with their hands, and the big pieces of meat, the prince drank wine, gobbled it up, and no one cared about it Eating etiquette.It turned out that all the warriors of the Qin army had a huge appetite, and King Wu of Qin and Meng Benwuhuo were the most important.King Wu of Qin would get six or seven catties of dried meat, five or six big noodle cakes, and one or two jars of spirits for every meal.It was also restless lying in bed last night, King Wu of Qin had no intention of swallowing the military food in the morning, and wanted to make up for it during the banquet in the king's city.In his mind, no matter how poor the emperor of Luoyang was, he would always have plenty of meat and wine, so he wouldn't even be able to afford meals.Who would have thought that the people of the Zhou Dynasty were always simple, and the Yin merchants who had become used to carnal pleasures were just the two ends. The emperor's banquet in "Zhou Li" was just a swank: there were two tripods in the case, and one tripod was pre-cooked. Meat, a cauldron of stewed mutton bones with Huo Cai does not add up to a catty of pork, and due to the preparation in advance, the pork is already served cold. How can you make such a gluttonous warrior like King Qin Wu happy?When the army is fighting, full food comes first, and nothing can be lost to the belly of the soldiers!The monarch of a country, such as the king of Qin and Wu, is a gluttonous warrior himself, so naturally he will never be hasty with the military food for marching and fighting.

The monarchs and ministers of the Zhou family were restrained for a while, and then they began to eat and drink freely.After all, whether you are a minister of the emperor or a commoner, having enough to eat is always the most important thing.Although the Zhou people were simple, there was indeed nothing to attend the emperor's grand banquet, and there was no way for the treasury to be short of it.Except for the dukes of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty and the Dukes of the Western Zhou Dynasty who can be said to be well-clothed and well-fed, probably none of the monarchs here dare to say that they can eat better than the soldiers of the Qin army.Although the king of Qin violated etiquette today, it was due to the general trend of the Warring States period. As long as the Zhou family is not destroyed, he cannot seriously care about it. As a result, the inside and outside of the main hall of the king city suddenly became a banquet hall.The square outside the hall is a noon meal for a thousand knights. Bai Qi made an exception and ordered: each person can drink a bowl of wine, and is allowed to watch and walk around the nearby palace to show the celebration of entering the royal city!The soldiers of the Qin army were very excited, and they had a quick meal at the speed unique to warriors in the army, and they immediately looked strange in groups in the king's city.After all, most of these civilian children were born in mountainous villages, and they were stationed in military camps all year round. They would not even dare to think about Luoyang Wangcheng, the largest city in the world, on weekdays.After a lot of clamor and wandering, in the end, they naturally gathered around Jiuding and commented, thinking that the only Jiuding in the world is not available in Xianyang, and they were unabashedly surprised by shouting and shouting. The hall also began to relax and become lively.King Wu of Qin let out a burst of drinking, his face was already red and his ears were hot. Hearing the surprise noise of soldiers outside the hall commenting on Jiuding, he cupped his hands to King Zhou: "Dare to ask King Zhou, how much is the artifact of Jiuding?" The young King Zhou smiled with a twinkle in his eyes: "I don't know how many people have won the Central Plains? It's just that no one knows the weight of the Nine Cauldrons." King Wu of Qin laughed loudly: "Really? Then try it! Let's go out and have a look." A group of concubines burst into laughter immediately, surrounded King Wu of Qin and left the hall.The young King Zhou and Yan led a group of ministers to follow behind King Wu of Qin and arrived in front of Jiuding. The nine tripods are arranged in two rows in front of the central hall: four tripods on the left and right, and one tripod in the middle of the front of the hall, which naturally forms a lane-dividing sign for courtiers when they go to the hall.Although the royal city is dilapidated, the aura of the nine tripods has not diminished in the slightest. Even though it is mottled with copper and rust, it shows an ancient majesty in the dilapidated desolation!King Qin Wu looked carefully, and saw that each big tripod stood on a stone tortoise base more than three feet high. It is the pale hair of the years.Qin Wuwang's heart moved, and a thought suddenly appeared: moving back to Jiuding will be the biggest victory of marching into Luoyang!The Jiuding is an artifact of royal power in the world, and Qin's possession of the Jiuding is the destiny of the heavens, which can inspire the people of Qin to shock the world! "Dare to ask the old grand master, did the Jiuding originally belong to the Zhou family?" King Qin Wu finally turned around with a mocking expression on his face. Yan Shui thought for a while, then shook his head and explained: "The nine tripods were made by King Yu of Xia who collected tribute from the nine states and cast a tripod for each state. The tripod of each state is engraved with the situation of the state's mountains and rivers and the number of land tributes. The feet and ears of the tripod are equal. There are ancient dragon-shaped characters, so it is called the Nine Dragons Divine Cauldron. Xia Chuan Shang, Shang Chuan Zhou, although it is an artifact of the country, it is also destined to return." Meng Ben interjected like thunder: "How much does the cauldron weigh?!" Yan Shui frowned, but tried to smile again: "The nine tripods are magnificent, immeasurable, and there is no record in history. No one knows how heavy it is. King Wu destroyed Shang, transported it from Chaoge to Haojing, King Ping moved east, and From Haojing to Luoyang, because there was no cart to carry this heavy load, soldiers were used to haul it on foot. According to national history records: every 90,000 tripods are pulled and pulled, and Jiuding needs more than 800,000 people. According to the calculations of veterans, A tripod weighs nearly a thousand jin, more than ten thousand catties." Everyone was amazed and solemn, and the soldiers surrounded a few steps away were also amazed. King Qin Wu remained calm, "Which one is the tripod of Yongzhou?" Yan Shu pointed out: "The central tripod is the tripod of Yuzhou, and the tripod of the Central Plains. The four tripods in the east are the four prefectures of Xu, Yang, Qing, and Yan; the four tripods in the west are the four prefectures of You, Liang, Yong, and Ji." The third tripod on the right: "That is the Yongzhou tripod." King Qin Wu didn't speak, but strode over. The Yongzhou tripod stands majestically on a three-foot-high stone turtle base!The body of the tripod is full of copper and rust, and the three thick legs of the tripod are already covered with a thick layer of green rust. A huge ancient "Yong" character on the body of the tripod and the large east fold shape in the lines of mountains and rivers are also vaguely discernible.Qin Wuwang stared intently at the word "Yong", stretched out his hand and gently stroked the protruding character and muttered: "Yong Ding is also Qin Ding. Yong Ding, Yong Ding, you have guarded here for seven or eight hundred years, It’s time to take them back to the homeland, and make them the kingly artifact of the Great Qin Dynasty. When you return to Xianyang, you will stand in the center...” Suddenly a wild laugh broke out, and King Wu of Qin slapped the body of the cauldron vigorously: “This king wants to move the nine cauldrons. Go back to Xianyang!" The officers and men of the Qin State suddenly shouted: "Long live the King of Qin!" "Nine cauldrons return to Qin!" The officials in the Zhou family were panicked, and no one dared to speak for a while.The young King Zhou smiled lightly and said: "The King of Qin moved if he wanted to. Zhou and Qin belonged to the same clan, and Xianyang and Luoyang were originally the same." King Wu of Qin smiled arrogantly, and he didn't care what the Zhou family's monarchs and ministers said: "Meng Benwuhuo , Five years ago, this king wanted to compete with you two, and it is a pity that there is nothing comparable. Now that the Jiuding is here, who can lift it, the king will be promoted to protect the tripod!" As soon as this remark came out, the ministers and generals of the Qin State and a group of concubines were all excited, and some Hu female concubines even screamed!Only Bai Qi frowned slightly, and cast a look at Meng Ben and Wu Huo: "No!" Meng Ben and Wu Huo are warriors who are so excited that their pores are dilated when they encounter strength, how can they still see Bai Qi eyes?Hearing the sound, thunder and thunder responded: "Hi!" "Who will go first?" Qin Wuwang smiled leisurely. "Hey, I'll come first." Wu Huo replied honestly, scratching his ears and cheeks around the Yongzhou cauldron: "It's a big deal, but how should we start?" Meng Ben also turned around twice excitedly: "Wuhuo, tripod feet! I'll beat the drums to cheer!" Wuhuo patted the big tripod with his hand and smiled: "Hey, Yongzhou hometown tripod, show some face. " Meng Ben had already walked quickly to the Wang Drum Tower in the northwest corner of Jiuding Square, and shouted: "Beating the drum and lifting the tripod—!" He slammed the big wooden sticks with both hands like raindrops, and the heavy and dense sound of the cowhide drum suddenly sounded in the Wangcheng. The combination of echoes is deafening! Wu Huo squatted down, grasped the two tripod feet with both hands, leaned on the big tripod with his whole body, and shouted: "Get up!" But the tripod didn't move at all.Wu Huo's face turned red and he was sweating profusely. He yelled again and tried his best to lift his tripod feet, but when he exerted all his strength, his arms trembled, his thighs trembled, and his face suddenly turned blood red!Suddenly, with a muffled groan, Wuhuo rolled off the base of the stone turtle, a bloody arrow spewed out of his mouth, and fell limply to the ground! "Wuhuo—!" The sound of the drum stopped abruptly, and Meng Ben let out a roar and cry, and flew down into the air and threw himself on Wuhuo.The pale-faced Wu Huo grinned at Meng Ben, but before he could laugh or say a word, he stared straight into his big copper bell eyes! The crowd was in a panic, and the concubines almost screamed in unison. Qin Wuwang's face was ashen, and he shouted: "Meng Ben! Are you scared?!" Meng Ben jumped up from Wuhuo, and rushed towards the cauldron with a thunderous roar, and the deep palace canyon resonated like thunder!Gan Mao had already stood up in front of the cauldron, and swung the flag down in his hand. The Qin army's ceremonial drum and ox horn bugle sounded suddenly, with the momentum as if they were charging and fighting on the battlefield.The concubines immediately silenced their voices, and widened their bright eyes with anxiety.The armored knights of the Qin State were so motivated that they raised their swords and spears and shouted in unison: "Warrior Meng Ben! The power is boundless—!" Qin Wuwang stared at the cauldron coldly, and the muscles on his cheeks twitched.The officials of the Zhou family didn't know whether it was a blessing or a misfortune, they crowded around the young King Zhou and Yan Shui, even the musicians and maids were so nervous that they forgot to take care of each other, they were nailed in place like wooden stakes. But Meng Ben rushed up to the stone tortoise base of the Yongzhou Ding, took off the black embroidered gold cloak and threw it away, and took off the fine iron armor in two or three times, leaving only a small cloth wrapped around his body, standing naked, all black Mao, almost as tall as Ding Er!The mighty and majestic spirit caused Qin Bing to cheer wildly. King Wu of Qin held up a jar of phoenix wine and strode forward to the tripod: "Meng Ben, when will you show off our country's prestige?!" Meng Ben took the wine jar with both hands, with tears in his eyes: "I am a warrior, I must have today, and I will not regret my death!" Lifting up a jar of wind wine, he swallowed it like a long whale drinking a river, and threw it out with his right hand, The big wine jar shattered to pieces in the center of the square!Then the big drum and horn sounded again.Meng Ben stepped forward, stretched out his two thick, long, dark arms, and firmly grasped the two legs of the Yongzhou tripod with his big hands.While the audience held their breath, only a loud roar resounded through the royal city, and the muscles of Meng Ben's whole body collapsed and protruded like a huge stone. The majestic Yongzhou cauldron was suddenly pulled up from the base, several inches above the ground!Seeing the body of the tripod swaying slightly, the soldiers of the Qin State shouted: "Get up!" King Qin Wu was smiling, but the faces of the Zhou family's monarchs and ministers were dripping with sweat. All of a sudden, Meng Ben's huge body straightened desperately, and sweat gushed out like a fountain from the overlapping muscles!The audience was as quiet as a deep mountain and valley, except for the muffled "click" of Meng Ben's joints.Seeing Meng Ben's protruding eyes, blood-red eyeballs, black hair stretching straight all over his body, resembling a ferocious monster... At this moment, there was a sudden thunderous howl, and Meng Ben's two big hands broke from his elbows with a "crack!" , the huge body flew into the air, and the eyeballs shot into the sky like two red projectiles!The huge body bounced several feet away, and flew straight to Wang Zhong, making a palpitating roar... Looking at the Yongzhou Ding, the two bloody arms are still scratched at the feet of the tripod, and the blood is flowing from the broken elbow to the stone turtle. The Yongzhou Ding stands coldly in the pool of blood, but a few crows "croak——! " flew out, and a grotesque mystery immediately permeated the square.The whole audience was stunned. The court ladies and concubines of Zhou and Qin all covered their mouths with their big sleeves, but neither dared to speak out nor vomit. King Qin Wu yelled: "Meng Ben—!" and threw himself on the bloody corpse.After a long silence, King Wu of Qin picked up Meng Ben, walked towards the Yongzhou cauldron with a grim expression, laid Meng Ben's body in front of the tripod, and stood up angrily: "Meng Ben, don't die! Let me avenge you! Let me stand up for the Great Qin." !" Shouted hissingly, he took off the embroidered gold cloak and flung it with one hand, and the cloak was like a big black eagle spreading its wings, flying evenly above the flag gun of the "Qin" flag. The ministers, generals and concubines suddenly woke up and lost their positions.Prime Minister Gan Mao shouted: "Don't make mistakes!" He threw himself on King Qin Wu's legs and said, "My king! You can't take such a big risk!" The other ministers and concubines rushed over and knelt down: "I The body of Wang Wancheng must not be in danger!" Bai Qi, who had been frowning all the time, squeezed his way to the big tripod, and bowed: "My lord, the power of a country lies in the joint efforts of the whole country, not in the courage of the individual! Lifting the Nine Tripods will benefit the country? Please, my king, put the country first and think twice before acting!" The cold and hard state was actually deafening. King Qin Wu turned around and sneered: "Bai Qi, how dare you teach me a lesson? It won't be too late to kill you after lifting the tripod! Come here and drag the prime minister away!" Two soldiers carried Gan Mao away, but Gan Mao still turned around and cried, "My king, what Bai Qi said is right..." King Qin Wu's face suddenly became fierce: "There is someone who blocks me from lifting the tripod, that's it!" He grabbed Wu Huo's body and threw it at the thousand-year-old king bell. With a long cry of "Boom!", Wu Huo The corpse was shattered into pieces, and the flesh and blood were scattered in all directions!The Qin people in the audience were pale and silent.But Bai Qi strode out, pulled out his long sword and raised it above his head: "Strong man of Qin! Help our king!" A thousand armored knights raised their swords and spears in a "swish!" and roared with a livid face: "King Qin! Hercules! Long live—!" King Qin Wu lifted off his soft armored helmet, revealing a short black silk jacket and loose golden long hair, a six-inch wide cowhide belt tied around his waist, both bare arms covered with long golden hair, his body was tall and tall, as if he was angry Lion!Gan Mao rushed in staggeringly, holding a jar of phoenix wine with both hands: "I invite my king to drink wine to be strong!" King Qin Wu raised the wine jar with one hand and laughed: "The great Qin wants to level the world and the seas of Kyushu. A small tripod is nothing! "Holding the altar with one hand like a dragon sucking up water, he drank up the altar of strong wine in one go, and with a flick of his hand, the wine jar roared and flew towards Wang Zhong, and there was another roar, which lasted for a long time. With a sneer, he looked at the mottled and shining Yongzhou cauldron standing upright under the spring light. King Qin Wu was about to stretch out his hand, but he heard a long, shrill cry of a bird of prey in the air!A big black eagle swooped down towards the cauldron like an arrow, and suddenly spread its wings into the sky.Everyone turned pale with horror, only to find that the big eagle flew to the high blue sky with a big red snake! King Qin Wu was very excited, and bowed to the black eagle in the sky: "The eagle god will go to demon for me! Daqin will live up to the eagle god!" All the kings and ministers of the Zhou family knew that the ancient Qin tribe had black eagles as their gods. When Zhou Ping Wang, who was still the prince, traveled to Longxi to seek help from the Qin people, the mountain castles of the old Qin tribe were still in the shape of goshawks spreading their wings.The black eagle is the god of war of the old Qin people, and it makes the Qin people more excited than the beautiful phoenix!The black eagle appeared at this time, and took away a big red snake that was entrenched in the big tripod of Yongzhou. It was a good omen for the people of Qin. Following King Qin Wu's oath, all Qin people in the audience shouted: "God Eagle! Protect my king—!" The young king of Zhou and the surrounding ministers were all depressed, and their faces were extremely ugly.Zhou people originally regarded dragons as fetishes, and the gossip deduced by King Wen of Zhou often used the changes of dragons to predict changes in personnel.However, since the auspicious auspiciousness of Fengming Qishan, Zhou people have regarded the Phoenix as a god.However, the Phoenix God did not replace the Dragon God, but only stood side by side as the god of protection for the Zhou people.To put it more seriously, in the minds of Zhou people, the dragon is the god of war who deters all things. Whether the dragon fights in the wild or the flying dragon is in the sky, the power of thunder from the sky is beyond the reach of human beings.The phoenix is ​​the gentle and auspicious god of pregnancy.Comparing the two, Dragon God is naturally number one.The belief in the dragon naturally led Zhou people to respect the dragon-like snake, and even regarded the dragon and snake as one.Zhou people treat all kinds of snakes that haunt ancient palaces and mansions as gods, pray for protection, and will not harm them at all.In the Luoyang royal city for more than 300 years, the palaces overlapped like a secluded canyon, and the haunting of big snakes became a common horror rumor in the palace.In particular, the appearance of rare strange snakes usually leads to many speculations about omens, and even prompts the emperor to go to the Taimiao to pray and pray for divination.But what concerned the Zhou family and ministers the most was the fiery red snake entrenched in the Yongzhou cauldron! It was late at night, and a maid was delivering tea from Jiuding Square to the Dongpian Hall, where there was music and dancing day and night. In a hurry, she suddenly saw a bright red ribbon coiled on the dark Yongzhou cauldron facing her!The maid approached curiously, and suddenly heard hissing panting, a pair of green balls were slowly approaching, and a gust of fishy wind rushed towards her!The maid screamed and immediately passed out... When King Zhou Xian and the musicians rushed over after hearing the sound, they saw a pool of blood on the big blue brick, and a big red snake coiled on the big tripod with its head raised and voicing a message to the crowd!King Zhou Xian was inexplicably surprised, and immediately laid down the sacrificial offering and burned incense to worship, and the big red snake climbed up the cauldron leisurely.The royal Taishi Ling was ordered to do divination, and the hexagram turned out to be auspicious, and the dismantling of the hexagram said: Zhou is Huode, Shanghong, and originated from Yongzhou. Now the fire dragon occupies the Yongzhou tripod, and the Zhou family is prosperous again!All of a sudden, the story of the fire dragon protecting the tripod became familiar to everyone in Luoyang Wangji, and the Zhou family and ministers also enshrined this fire dragon and regarded it as sacred. Now, the fire dragon is taken away by the black eagle, isn't it a great omen? King Wu of Qin didn't know these stories, so he laughed and walked up to the base of the stone tortoise: "Yongzhou Dading, Yingdang is here!" The echo roared in the palace canyon, and King Wu of Qin was half squatting on horseback, with a figure like Yuanting and Yuezhi The mighty and unshakable, the two giant hands stretched out, and clamped the two tripod legs tightly like iron tongs, and the tripod body shook slightly.King Qin Wu let out a thunderous roar: "Get up!" The tripod's legs were suddenly pulled up by more than half a foot, and they rose steadily.At this moment, the cowhide boots under Qin Wuwang's feet cracked open!Qin Wuwang's body did not move at all, and the tripod legs continued to rise.Suddenly, the cowhide straps around King Qin Wu's waist snapped and flew into the air, a pair of blood-congested big feet slipped out of the boots, and his legs suddenly stretched out from under the feet of the tripod! There was no time, when King Qin Wu's body slipped and fell, the foot of the cauldron cut right at his thigh.With a dull and miserable howl, a thigh was gently cut off with a thousand feet. The incision was white and bright, with copper rust mottled and flesh-colored!With this slight, palpitating "click!" sound, the heavy sound of the tripod's feet hitting people's hearts hard! The whole audience was shocked!People laboriously and softly "ha--" like a nightmare.In an instant, blood erupted from Qin Wuwang's thigh, and a column of blood rushed straight to the ear of the tripod!The Yongzhou tripod was covered with blood, and it gurgled back to Shi Gui and Qin Wuwang's body and face. "King Qin—!" Gan Mao and Bai Qi yelled at the same time, rushed towards the cauldron, and lifted King Qin Wu out of the cauldron.The imperial doctors staggered forward with their bags and formed a circle.The ministers and concubines also came to their senses, stamped their feet and beat their chests, crying together.The armored knights were flustered and overwhelmed, and they surrounded the circle and asked nervously. King Qin Wu woke up and smiled miserably: "Bai Qi, you... are right..." Bai Qi cried loudly with tears in his eyes: "The new army of the Qin State is still here! Don't worry, my king!" Turning to Gan Mao, "Prime Minister, the King of Qin is handed over to you!" Huo Ran got up and rushed out of the crowd and shouted, "The Great Qin Knight Get on your horses and form a formation!" A thousand armored knights immediately mounted their horses and formed a neat square formation, all raising their swords and spears with a murderous look. Bai Qi ordered loudly: "My king is seriously injured, the Daqin iron cavalry is the pillar of the sky! Wang Yan, take three hundred iron cavalry to guard the gate of the king's city, and no one is allowed to enter or leave!" "Hi!" The young Sima Zhandao of the Chinese army rushed towards the gate of the royal city with a group of cavalry. "Meng Ao, take two hundred iron cavalry to guard the Zhou family! Before my king leaves, no one is allowed to escape!" "Hi!" The former deputy general swung his sword, and the two hundred knights scattered and immediately surrounded the Zhou family. "The rest of the armored soldiers, follow me to guard the lane!" Bai Qi ordered the flag to be waved repeatedly, and the remaining 500 armored cavalry immediately formed a guard formation between the big tripod and King Qin Wu's large chariot.At this time, Gan Mao shouted: "Teacher Xianyang!" Several imperial doctors carried King Qin Wu on a military couch, and hurried towards the large chariot. In a short while, Qin's royal chariot guard rushed out from the deep gate of Luoyang King City, gathered 50,000 cavalry outside the north gate, and galloped towards Mengjin Ferry without stopping.More than an hour later, the Mengjin Ferry was in sight, but the cavalry army stopped advancing and camped in the twilight. In the Luoyang King City, the Zhou family, monarchs and ministers were all jubilant.The maids and maids were busily clearing away the messy banquet and the nine tripods with laughter and noise, but the young king of Zhou immediately ordered to set up a sacrificial incense table to pay respects to the great tripod of Yongzhou.The young emperor led all the ministers to kneel down in front of the cauldron and recited repeatedly: "Nine cauldrons, heaven and man are united, bless my Zhou family, and last forever!" After the worship, the old grand master Yan Shui excitedly said with a smile: "From today Afterwards, the Nine Tripods will be as stable as Mount Tai, and no one in the world will dare to peek at the Zhou family!" A group of young and old ministers followed immediately, and chanted loudly: "My king's heart is connected with the sky, and the country will last forever!" Suddenly, the young emperor pointed at the servant who was wiping the blood on the cauldron, and shouted sharply: "Don't wipe it! The blood on the cauldron is a sign of heaven!" "Tianzheng Zhou Dynasty! The country is eternal—!" A eulogy roared for a long time in the deep royal city. As night falls, the sound of the great river's waves is like thunder in the sky in the mighty spring breeze. The lights of the Qin army's camp were lit up, there was the sound of fighting, and the battle flags were flying.Bai Qi rode alone, the fast horse inspected the camp repeatedly for two weeks, and made all the preparations for the battle before he breathed a sigh of relief.General Gan Mao couldn't leave the King of Qin for a moment at this time, and the former general Bai Shan left the army again, and the heavy burden of protecting Qin's monarchs and ministers suddenly fell on him alone. Another great pressure.At this moment, it was too late for him to condemn King Qin. After all, a king who is more suitable to be a warrior, King Qin wanted to win back the dignity of Qin. Who said he couldn't lift the daunting Yongzhou cauldron?But everything happened so unbelievably, at that moment, Bai Qi was almost dumbfounded.If it weren't for the fact that he was a young man who had repeatedly experienced life and death in the battle, he really dare not say that he can calmly think about the safety of the whole situation? "Report to the former general: The King of Qin is calling urgently!" Yiqi flew towards him, but it was King Qin's personal guard. Without saying a word, Bai Qi galloped towards the central king's tent. King Qin Wu was lying on the couch with a pale complexion, and Gan Mao and the imperial physicians stood around the couch, suffocating with tension. King Qin Wu finally spoke, and he was surprisingly calm: "Prime Minister, Yingdang is a brave husband, who is responsible for his ancestors, the great cause of Qin, and his honesty and honesty. Also!" Rao was calm as usual, but there were beads of sweat oozing from his pale face. Gan Mao was heartbroken and broke down in tears: "My king has to blame himself. The minister is in a high position as the prime minister, but he can't correct the king's heart. The minister can't absolve himself of the blame if he dies... When the king returns to Xianyang, Gan Mao commits suicide to thank the Qin people!" "Prime Minister, it's too late!" Qin Wuwang gritted his teeth with all his strength: "People are not sages, who can do nothing? If the prime minister can do his best to deal with the aftermath and stabilize the Qin country, he will be worthy of being my teacher..." Gan Mao felt great grief, and couldn't help but knelt down on the side of the couch and grabbed King Qin Wu's hands: "My king only left a will, and my ministers will die soon!" Qin Wuwang gasped with difficulty: "Bai Qi... Bai Qi..." The footsteps outside the tent were heavy and hurried, and Bai Qi hurried into the tent: "The last general Bai Qi, I am summoned to see you!" King Qin Wu gritted his teeth and calmed down again: "Bai Qi, you have courage and insight, and you will be a pillar of the Great Qin in the future. This king entrusts you to do a big event for Qin, and to conspire with the prime minister." Bai Qi bowed solemnly: "I wish to hear the king's order." Two lines of tears welled up in the eyes of King Wu of Qin: "This king has no son, and he will pass the throne to his younger brother Ying Ji. He is a hostage in the country of Yan. You, lead the troops to bring him back, and help him succeed to the throne with the prime minister... how difficult this matter is." , Yan Guo must stop him, and must ensure that he is safe. Otherwise, Qin will be in chaos." All of a sudden, Bai Qi's eyes were blurred with tears: "My king, don't worry, Bai Qi will not disgrace his mission even if he goes through fire and water!" King Qin Wu gave a rare smile: "Prime Minister, Bai Qi has made great achievements. He will be immediately promoted to the former army commander and lead the Lantian Camp." Gan Mao suddenly stood up and replied: "My king is wise! I will immediately send an edict to the middle school to rectify my name!" King Qin Wu glanced at the personal guard standing beside the couch, and the guard immediately held a copper box. King Qin Wu gasped heavily: "Bai Qi, this is the tiger talisman for mobilizing troops, and I leave it to you to take charge. The country is in danger, and the general is about to fight hard." .” Tears streamed down Bai Qi's stern face, he took the bronze box of military talismans, bowed deeply, but couldn't say a word. At this time, King Qin Wu's eyes were blurred and he muttered to himself: "Jiuding Jiuding, in the next life, goodbye..." He opened his eyes wide, and spread his hands limply on the edge of the couch! Gan Mao was startled, took a closer look, and suddenly burst into tears: "My king is in such a hurry—" The guards and imperial physicians in the tent also burst into tears.Bai Qi's face was ashen, and he strode forward to help Gan Mao: "Prime Minister, don't cry!" Gan Mao suddenly came to his senses, and waved his hand decisively while sobbing, but the crying in the tent stopped abruptly.Bai Qi whispered in Gan Mao's ear.Gan Mao thought for a while, then turned around and ordered in a low voice: "Secrets will not be mourned, and the camp will be pulled out overnight, and the teacher will be in Xianyang! The army will stop, and listen to General Bai Qi's dispatch!" A melodious ox horn sounded across the south bank of the river in the howling spring breeze.The camp of the Qin army suddenly turned into an army of iron cavalry marching calmly in the vast night. The king's chariot, ministers and concubines remained the same. No one could see that this was an army that had suffered sudden changes.After crossing Mengjin, the Qin army flew into Yiyang on a fast horse, but the army marched westward calmly.The 20,000 Qin troops stationed in Yiyang immediately went out of the city to set up camp, which happened to be stuck in the main throat.It wasn't until the Qin army's iron cavalry entered Hangu Pass the next day that the 20,000 Yiyang defenders pulled out their camp and set up the city, abandoning Yiyang and entering Hangu Pass.This abnormal act of abandoning Yiyang made South Korea stunned and unpredictable, and quickly sent a special envoy to Luoyang to inquire. Knowing that King Wu of Qin had suffered a tragedy, he quickly flew to inform the six kingdoms of Shandong that outside Hangu Pass, they were celebrating each other, and immediately started secret business. Once again, they joined forces to lock Qin. But it is said that as soon as Qin's cavalry entered Hangu Pass, Gan Mao and Bai Qi secretly negotiated to split up: Gan Mao led an army of 50,000 to escort the body of King Wu of Qin back to Xianyang, and suppressed the government and the public, keeping the funeral secret; Starry night and journey northward, went to the country of Yan to welcome the new king Yingji, the new king will not return, Xianyang will not be mourned.Gan Mao was worried, worried that Bai Qi's 1,000 troops were too few, but Bai Qi was straightforward and simple: "These missions to the state are not about winning by war, but the army is easy to cause trouble. The prime minister can rest assured. It's Xianyang's clues. There are too many, and stability is not easy. If the prime minister has difficulties, please speak up." Gan Maoyuan was very worried. The most disturbing thing was that he had no foundation in the army. At this critical time, just having the military power of a general is far from enough, but what can he say?He is the prime minister and leading general, what power can Bai Qi give him?It is best to go back to Xianyang with Bai Qi, but there is no one who can replace Bai Qi to take back the new king. After all, the new king is the longer-term foundation. No error.Seeing Bai Qi being honest with each other now, Gan Mao suddenly realized: Bai Qi's rank is low, how can he not ask if he is the prime minister and general?Thinking clearly, he suddenly sighed: "The general's knowledge is really extraordinary. What I worry about is that he has no arms in the army!" Bai Qi cupped his hands and said: "Prime Minister, don't worry, I have two extraordinary methods: First, the current Xianyang Ling Baishan is my uncle, and the prime minister can hold my letter, and ask my uncle to secretly organize military affairs, at least the army is in the army.县孟西白三族子弟决当生死！其二，我用秦王兵符留一道军令在蓝田大营，咸阳但有动静，听丞相号令行事！” 甘茂不禁大是宽慰，起身便是深深一躬：“甘茂虽是将相一身，却赖将军底定根基，秦国安定之日，甘茂当力荐将军掌兵，我固当辞。”白起连忙扶住甘茂：“赳赳老秦，共赴国难！丞相此言，教白起如何心安？”甘茂不禁慨然叹息：“将军襟怀荡荡，不媚权力，唯国是举，甘茂何其惭愧也！”白起第一次被这位骤然飙升三军侧目的权臣打动了，不禁老老实实道：“丞相无须过分自责，我王秉性，也未必听得铮铮良谋。安定秦国，开辟新天，丞相便当无愧于秦国朝野了。”甘茂极是聪颖明智之人，听白起说得扎实妥帖，不禁大是感动；更重要的是：白起乃老秦猛士，虽然年轻，却以卓越的军功、超凡的才华与及耿直不阿的品性在军中获得了极高声望，获得了白起谅解，便几乎等于获得了秦军将士的谅解，这对甘茂这个入秦无大功而骤居高位的山东士子来说，是比什么都重要的！心念及此，甘茂不禁便是泪光闪烁，拉住白起唏嘘不止。 说得一时，白起便告辞出帐聚集旧部千人队，趁着朦胧月色星夜北上了。