Qin Official

In mid-July of the thirty-third year of Qin Shihuang's reign, the North Korean prince Ji Zhun stood on his way to Manfanhan, feeling uneasy.

"As long as the other people's requests are not too excessive, they can be granted. Don't offend the big country."

When setting off from Wangxian City, Ji Fu, the king of North Korea and Ji Zhun's father, told him this. This is also North Korea's consistent attitude towards the Qin Dynasty.

It is widely rumored in the Central Plains that the Ji family of Korea is one of the three benevolent people of the Yin and Shang Dynasties, and is the descendant of Jizi. This is indeed true, but it is not recorded in "Hongfan" at all. After the death of the Shang Dynasty, Jizi went to the court to pay homage to King Wu of Zhou, and then he was able to feudalize. That was Zhou Dynasty People's own packaging and beautification, the reality is far less harmonious.

Ji Zhun learned from the oral epic passed down by his family that eight hundred years ago, in order to escape the barbaric Zhou state that brutally killed the Yin people, Ji Zi moved north with the soldiers and civilians of the feudal state and took refuge in the Guzhu Kingdom, which shared the same surname as Zi. However, the Zhou people never forgot this "ugly legacy" and sent Duke Zhao to the north to establish the Yan Kingdom in Youzhou. They further expelled the Ji family to Liaodong and had to keep their children as hostages in the Yan Kingdom all year round.

This humiliating situation lasted until 500 years ago, when Jishi Korea took advantage of the Shanrong invasion of Yan State, broke away from the control of the Yan people, moved further eastward, and came to the land east of the Yalu River. He established a foothold in the miscellaneous place, built a city, and continued the civilization of the Yin and Shang Dynasties.

After twenty generations of accumulation, one hundred years ago, North Korea had a vast territory and a prosperous population. It became the center of civilization on the peninsula, and all the Yiyi tribes came to worship.

At that time, the Zhou Dynasty was in decline and the princes of the Central Plains were in power. The North Korean princes of that generation were quite ambitious. When they saw the Yan Kingdom next door proclaiming themselves king, the North Korean princes also claimed to be kings. They fought with the Yan Kingdom in Liaodong, hoping to seize this land.

The result was embarrassing. Although North Korea could defeat the surrounding Yi tribes, it was defeated by the Yan army equipped with crossbows and cavalry. Not only did they fail to seize Liaodong, they were also killed across the Yalu River by the Yan army, losing a full two hundred miles of land. In the end, they had to kneel down and ask for peace, and the two sides were bounded by Manfanhan.

That happened seventy years ago, and Ji Zhun can still remember it vividly when he thinks about it now.

The war seventy years ago made Jishi Korea realize its weakness. Yan was already the last of the Seven Heroes, but it was so powerful that Korea could not defeat it. There were four or five more capable ones in the Central Plains...

Fortunately, King Yan Zhao was interested in the Central Plains and had no interest in the barren North Korea. Only in this way could North Korea avoid the fate of destruction.

Times have changed faster than North Korea expected. Suddenly, the powerful Yan in their eyes perished. Later, Qi across the sea also died. Nobles from Yan and Qi came to surrender, and they also brought a terrible name: Qin!

North Korea has heard of Qin's power and cruelty. When Manfanhan was occupied by the Qin army and the black Qin flag was set up, North Korea did not dare to cross the border even half a step to "recover its homeland."

Although it was afraid that the greedy Qin Dynasty would invade North Korea, North Korea did not want to have contact with Qin.

The ancestors of the Qin Dynasty were servants and ministers of the Yin Shang Dynasty, but now they are the emperor of the Central Plains. The Korean nobles are inevitably a little unbalanced.

Within North Korea, some people hope to trade with Qin, but others believe that as long as Qin does not interfere with them, North Korea will pretend to be deaf and mute and not take any action. In this way, Qin, which is based in the west, may not have time to control North Korea in the far east. In this way, North Korea can maintain its hard-won "independence."

Looking back now, even Ji Zhun, who originally supported this proposal, feels that he was stupid at the time.

In the first ten years, the two sides did not interfere with each other, but since the summer of this year, merchant ships from Jiaodong of the Qin Dynasty have begun to appear more and more frequently in the Korean sea. At first, one ship came, then three, five, and seven ships, and they all appear from the southern sea, and rarely come from the north...

A new sea route has been opened, and it has become easy to get from Jiaodong to North Korea. The sea, which was once regarded as a city wall by North Korea, has now become the most convenient way to invade it.

Officials in Liekou also noticed these abnormal "merchant ships", but North Korea's administration was inefficient. Before he could report it to Wang Xiancheng, dozens of warships with black hulls broke through the waves and blocked Liekou. , threatening to ask North Korea to send people to negotiate with them.

Ji Fu is already old, so this glorious mission falls on the shoulders of the future monarch Ji Zhun.

Wangxian City and Liekou are only a hundred miles apart. They are both located on the bank of Lieshui. It can be reached in half a day by going downstream.

As he got closer to Liekou, Ji Zhun saw more and more people fleeing barefoot on both sides of the river. When he stopped the boat and asked them, he said that the Qin people with black flags and black armor had landed on the dock and controlled the city gates, not allowing entry or exit. , and also forced Koreans to help unload the food on the ship.

After the people around the city heard about it, they were afraid that they would also be captured, so they fled one after another.

Ji Zhun didn't know how to comfort them, so he could only grit his teeth and move on. The next contact would be related to the survival of Ji's North Korea!

…

But even if Ji Zhun was well prepared mentally, when he arrived at the estuary of Lieshui and saw the tall ships in the harbor that were taller than the Korean palaces, he couldn't help but take a breath!

If Ji Zhun's boat resembles a dolphin, then Qin Jun's black-painted building boat looks like a whale!

The largest ship was dozens of feet long, with a rectangular hull and a three-story tower structure. It was very majestic, with hundreds of people moving on it, and various weapons deployed near and far.

The other party also discovered Ji Zhun's ship, and the three large ships immediately turned their bows and pressed towards him like several large mountains! The sails had been furled, and they were sailing with only two hundred wooden oars. They were flying very fast, and the sharp angles seemed to be fatal to them. Dozens of crossbows on the building boats were also aimed at them from a distance, making Ji It’s absolutely terrifying!

"Ji Zhun, the North Korean prince, comes to see General Da Qin!"

He quickly asked someone to raise the "Zhengjie" high at the bow of the ship and shouted to signal.

Even though the Ji family came from the Central Plains 800 years ago, the language is very different from what it was back then. Both sides cannot understand what they are saying, so they have to be translated by the translator.

Fortunately, the meaning of the banner had not changed, and both sides had prepared translators. After some exchanges, they learned that North Korea had sent people to negotiate, so the crossbowmen on the ship put away their crossbows and let Ji Zhun's ship approach.

Ji Zhun adjusted his clothes. Seeing the situation, he wanted to go on the boat to talk. He was afraid that he would be kidnapped as soon as he got on board. After all, those who fled from Yan and Qi never had a good word for Qin. What they said was that Qin had betrayed his trust and repeatedly They detain the opponent's monarch and prime minister, and fight like wolves and tigers, abandoning etiquette and achieving the first victory...

But now, Qin Chuan has arrived at the city, so he can only bite the bullet and climb the rope ladder, which is easier than climbing the cliff.

The two ships missed each other and each dropped anchor. A figure appeared beside the ship, looking down at Ji Zhun.

Ji Zhun looked up and saw clearly that he was a teenage general, wearing black armor, with a bun on the right side and a turban on top, which he would probably wear during battle.

The young man was Wei Yang, Heifu's nephew. He was also looking at Ji Zhun's outfit curiously:

This North Korean prince is not as well-dressed as the Qin Dynasty prince, but like a Rong Di, with braids on the left and right sides, curled at the top, hanging down to his shoulders, but with a crown on top of his head. The clothes are also a little different. There is a cover on the outside of the clothes. The jade pendant ring is hung on the chest instead of the waist, and it is carved into the shape of a fish.

"Why are you dressed like this?"

In the eyes of Wei Yang and others, this was a bit nondescript. They whispered and found it funny.

Looking at Ji Zhun's followers, most of them have braided hair. Some have their hair braided to the top and then hang down to the back of their head; others have their hair braided and combed on the top. The noble wear a crown, the humble wear a scarf, and some roll the scarf into a long strip, wrap it around the forehead, and then tie it on the head.

Wei Yang didn't know that Ji's Korea was a living fossil of civilization. Compared with the Song Dynasty, which claimed to be a descendant of the Yin and Shang Dynasties, but in fact the etiquette, hairstyle, and clothing had all been modernized by the Zhou Dynasty, Ji's Korea remained almost intact. Everything about the Yin and Shang Dynasties:

They use oracle bones for writing and the Yin calendar for their calendar. For example, this braided hair is the unique head shape of the Yin people and has been preserved by the Korean royal family for generations.

The nobles of North Korea would even sneer at the buns worn by people from Yan and Qi, thinking they were Qiang and Rong customs! The ancient ways of the Yin and Shang Dynasties are orthodox!

But now, Ji Zhun couldn't care about the self-deception hidden deep in his heart. He could only say in a low voice: "Young Master of the small country of North Korea was invited to meet the general of the big country. I wonder what the big country wants?"

Ji Zhun put aside his pride as a young master and spoke respectfully. This was the helplessness of the small country.

Wei Yang had a loud voice, with the unique pride of a soldier from a great country.

"Canghaejun in the south of Korea rebelled against the great power, and the emperor ordered a conquest. However, there was a wind overseas and he could not stay for long, so the fleet was anchored at Liekou!"

Ji Zhun stood up for a long time, his neck was a little sore. He wanted to get on the boat to talk, but after the translator relayed his meaning, the young general said loudly:

"My general has said that ministers have no diplomatic rights. If North Korea wants to talk, then go to Manfanhan and discuss it with the general, who is also the Young Master of Qin Dynasty."

"What!?"

Ji Zhun only felt that he had been tricked. He came all the way here and condescended to ask to board the ship for negotiation, but the other party said that we were not qualified to negotiate. You should go find someone else more than a hundred miles north...

This was actually discussed by Heifu and Ren Xiao when they were in Jiaodong. As a partial division, Jiaodong had to pave the way for Young Master Fusu's army, but he had to be careful not to steal the limelight from the main force. What should he do?

The only option is to put on a posture to scare North Korea. As for formal negotiations, it is better to kick the ball and let Fusu make the decision.

Wei Yang saw the dissatisfaction on the faces of the people in North Korea below. He smiled contemptuously and tried to recall the way his father Zhong looked when he gave orders. However, he could not learn that kind of calmness and self-power. He could only learn from Ren Xiao, so he put his hands on his hips. , puffed out his chest and said arrogantly:

"I also ask the young master to report back to the Marquis of Korea. If we can't finish the conversation in one day, the captain will stop at the mouth of the line to eat. If we can't finish the conversation in ten days, if the captain runs out of food, he can only swim upstream and ask the Marquis of Joseon to give him a meal. ! At that time, the towering ships and sterns will line up to prevent the water from flowing, and they will have strong bows and powerful crossbows, crossing the shore of Wangxian. When the two armies meet, I wonder if they can block Wangxian's water?"