68 Chapter 68
◎ Passed away. ◎
Winter gave way to spring, and the earthquake Fusu had feared finally struck. Fortunately, its magnitude was modest. While casualties and other losses were inevitable, thanks to the timely distribution of Fusu's earthquake disaster prevention and relief manual, the damage was significantly less than in previous years. Thanks to these advance preparations, there was only a brief half-day of confusion after the disaster, and all work proceeded smoothly.
And because the king issued the manual in advance and asked the minor officials to preach it, the people in the disaster area believed even more that their King of Qin had divine help.
Therefore, in the end, the country that suffered the most from the earthquake in Qin was not Qin, but other vassal states.
Everyone was wondering, was the King of Qin really given the throne by heaven?
Because of this doubt, when Qin began to attack Zhao in the summer, the morale of Zhao soldiers was particularly low.
In Zhangtai Palace, Ying Zheng was reading the battle report sent back from the front line. His finger pointed at the word "Li Mu". The fact that the Qin army had not yet captured Handan had a lot to do with this person.
In the afternoon, when Fusu came over, he happened to pass by someone. He stopped, saluted and said, "Hello, Captain."
Wei Liao returned the greeting: "Young Master."
Wei Liao seldom entered the palace to see the emperor often, and Fusu had only met him a few times, but they had never spoken. This time was no exception. After they exchanged greetings, they passed each other by.
However, Fusu could guess why his father invited Wei Liao into the palace.
When attacking Zhao, the Qin army's opponent was not the King of Zhao, but Li Mu. However, Li Mu's biggest opponent was not the Qin army, but the King of Zhao.
Sure enough, after meeting his father, Fusu heard from him the plan to sow discord between King Zhao and Li Mu.
The country is in danger, but the King of Zhao still favors treacherous ministers. It would be strange if the State of Zhao did not perish.
Fusu had no sympathy for King Zhao, but he felt sorry for Li Mu's ending.
Fusu said, "Father, the Xiongnu have been causing trouble in the north for years. I heard that General Li Mu has made great contributions in resisting the Xiongnu. It would be a pity if King Zhao killed him like this."
Ying Zheng was a man who valued talent. Upon hearing this, he sighed slightly, "Li Mu is indeed a good man, but he cannot be used by me. Keeping him would only bring disaster."
Fusu smiled and said, "Father, General Li Mu certainly doesn't like us Qin people, but he certainly hates the Xiongnu even more. Coincidentally, we hate the Xiongnu too. As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. As long as we can find common ground, why worry that he won't be able to be used by you, father?"
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend." Ying Zheng pondered these straightforward words for a moment. "For now, I will spare Li Mu's life and have him carefully guarded. If he proves to be of great use in the future, I will commend you for your service."
Fusu smiled and said, "Thank you, father!"
While the father and son had a good plan, Guo Kai of Zhao was going crazy. Killing Li Mu was such a simple matter, why did he have to spare his life? The King of Qin was living too smoothly, was he looking for some excitement?
The gold of Qin was really hot. Guo Kai stroked the bribes he had received, the gold, jade and porcelain, all of which were so tempting. Then he thought about the high official position and generous salary he would receive after helping Qin to defeat Zhao. He gritted his teeth and stomped his feet and went to ask for an audience with King Zhao.
Ying Zheng didn't care what Guo Kai did. Since he took his money, he had to get things done for him, otherwise he would lose his life. Party A was so confident.
The Qin army temporarily formed a standoff with the Zhao army led by Li Mu, and a small incident also occurred in Xianyang City.
Queen Mother Huayang fell ill again.
It is common for the elderly to get sick as they get older, but Fusu remembered that Queen Mother Huayang died in this year in his previous life. So when he heard that she was sick, Fusu was not as surprised as last time.
The war to destroy Zhao was underway, and Ying Zheng was busy with state affairs and military affairs, but he still had to take time to visit the Queen Dowager Huayang. Fusu wanted to share his father's worries, so he asked his father to focus all his attention on state affairs, and the Queen Dowager Huayang would be fully entrusted to him.
The bedroom where the Queen Mother Huayang was recuperating was not too close to Fusu. Fortunately, he was not busy, and he was not tired of traveling back and forth every day in the sedan chair. After asking for her well-being and seeing the medical officer, Fusu would take his leave. He wasted more time on the road every day than visiting the patient.
Fusu, who had been following the usual routine, was suddenly stopped by the Queen Mother Huayang: "Fusu, has your mother ever told you about the State of Chu?"
Fusu was stunned and replied, "When my mother died, I didn't even remember a thing."
Queen Dowager Huayang sighed softly: "After all these years in Qin, until today, there is no one in this palace who can talk to me about Chu."
Fusu felt quite sad after hearing this. He thought for a moment and said, "There may be someone from Chu in my father's harem. If you want to see her, I will invite my father..."
Before she finished speaking, Queen Mother Huayang shook her head slightly.
Fusu pursed her lips. What she really wanted was perhaps not to talk about her hometown with others, but...
Empress Dowager Huayang whispered fondly, "I can never go back..."
…
The next day, Queen Dowager Huayang passed away.
Although the Zhou dynasty was already dead, its influence endured. Therefore, upon the death of the Queen Mother Huayang, according to the Zhou rituals, the Qin army was required to suspend its attack on Zhao. However, it was absolutely impossible for Ying Zheng to withdraw his troops from Handan.
Guo Kai's counter-espionage plan was in full swing, and the Qin army only surrounded the city without attacking, which was exactly in line with their strategy. As for the Zhao army, they did not dare to take the initiative to attack the Qin army.
Although Fusu was the great-grandson, he still had to mourn for the Queen Mother Huayang, and all the princesses and princes had to follow him to pay their respects and perform mourning rituals.
After the funeral, the coffin of Queen Dowager Huayang was sent to Shouling to be buried with King Xiaowen.
Fusu watched the funeral procession go away. He thought of Queen Dowager Huayang's dying wish and sighed silently. This old woman who had been away from home for many years would never be able to return to her hometown.
He suddenly remembered that he was unable to return to Xianyang after his death in his previous life.
Shangjun is both close and far from Xianyang.
On the way back, Fusu followed his father and sat in his carriage.
It was drizzling today. After standing outside for a long time, his clothes and hair were damp. Ying Zheng personally dried his eldest son's wet hair.
Fusu finally came to his senses. He touched his father's sleeve and said, "Father, shall we stop the car and change our clothes?"
Ying Zheng lowered his eyes and asked, "Are you feeling cold?"
Fusu said, "Father's clothes are wet."
"It's okay to get wet." Ying Zheng stroked Fusu's hair and asked, "Are you cold?"
Fusu shook his head: "Don't worry, father, I'm fine."
Ying Zheng nodded, but there was some worry in his eyes.
Fusu was a child who valued friendship and loyalty. He had been with the Queen Mother Huayang for some time, and he must have developed some feelings for her. Now he was sad about her passing.
If I had known earlier, I shouldn’t have let Fusu go to take care of him. Ying Zheng secretly regretted it.
Ying Zheng said, "Be careful. Go back and ask Xia Wuqie to make you some medicine."
Fusu perked up instantly. He hurriedly shook his head, "I don't want to take medicine! Father, I'm fine. I don't need to take medicine!"
"Really?" Ying Zheng touched his forehead. "You'd better take some medicine, then father will be relieved."
Fusu's mouth still had the bitter taste of medicine from the last time he was sick. He stuck out his tongue and said, "It's just a little rain. Why don't you drink a bowl of ginger soup, father? Forget about the medicine."
Seeing that his eldest son had finally regained some energy, Ying Zheng nodded and said with a smile, "Well, then ginger soup."
"Father, you need to drink too." Fusu tugged at his father's sleeve, "You've been wet in the rain too."
Ying Zheng raised an eyebrow: "A bowl of ginger soup, what's wrong with that? I'm not you, who won't even drink a bowl of medicine."
Fusu rubbed his stomach and said, "Because it's really too bitter, Father, can we change to a dessert? I can't stand it."
Ying Zheng held his forehead and smiled, "Okay, if you say sweet, I'll bake you some bread when I get home. This is sweet."
Fusu smiled and said, "Thank you, father. I need to add more sugar to make it sweet."
"You don't want your teeth anymore?" Ying Zheng nodded at him. "You know how to control others, but you can't control yourself."
The cheerful voices of the father and son, accompanied by the rumble of the carriage, drove all the way into Zhangtai Palace.
The person driving for Ying Zheng today was Zhao Gao. He once again heard with his own ears how close the most noble father and son in Qin were, and he couldn't help but be amazed. At the same time, Zhao Gao felt a little regretful because he had never had the opportunity to deal with the eldest son.
But this regret can be ignored. After all, he can please the king, which is better than anything else. The eldest son is close to the Meng brothers. He may have heard how they distorted him and looked down on him.
The king has more than one son. Zhao Gao looked at Fusu's back and thought to himself, there is still a long way to go.
…
After the funeral of Queen Dowager Huayang, Ying Zheng had to eat vegetarian food for a few months. Fortunately, the menu in the palace was very rich and the vegetarian dishes tasted not bad. During the vegetarian days, Ying Zheng could still enjoy a feast.
However, what Ying Zheng is most concerned about now is not his appetite, his mind is still on the battle to destroy Zhao.
The Qin army surrounded but did not attack, nor could it give Zhao a chance to ask for help. Even if the princes and countries were a motley crowd, if they really formed an alliance again, Ying Zheng would also have a headache.
So in addition to besieging Handan, the Qin army also had to intercept the Zhao people who tried to leave the city for help. By the way, Ying Zheng also sent envoys to several other countries to communicate with them - to ensure that they had no other thoughts at this time.
In addition, the Qin army had another important thing to do outside the city of Handan, which was to induce the Zhao army to surrender.
Therefore, the Qin army tried their best to publicize the supernatural powers of the King of Qin and the treatment of the people of Yingchuan County in the old Han State, and of course they also had to drag down the King of Zhao.
This strategy came from Fusu. The purpose was to demoralize the Zhao army even if he could not surrender them. More importantly, the King of Zhao would be more unable to withstand this offensive than the Zhao army, because it was no less than pointing at his nose and scolding him for being a beast.
Li Ying in Xianyang commented: "My Lord, this is a really mean trick of yours."
Fusu was playing the qin, and when he heard this, he did not stop playing. He said lightly: "To be kind to the enemy is to be cruel to yourself."
Li Ying clasped his hands together and said, "Then I hope Zhao will surrender soon."
Li Ying's prayers were in vain, because as the new year was approaching, the Qin and Zhao armies were still confronting each other outside the city of Handan.
It was also at this time that Fusu received the first letter from Zhang Liang.
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