Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 173 What a contradiction!
Xia Lin couldn't give it, and the people on the grassland knew it in their hearts, but they still spent a lot of money to bribe officials at all levels, from the Honglu Temple all the way to Gao Shilian.

There is a saying that goes "It is easy to learn good things but easy to learn bad things." Since the trade routes with the Han people were opened, the grasslands have not only become prosperous and well-fed, but also learned a lot of bad habits of the Han people. For example, the practice of spending money to make arrangements was learned from the Han people, and it is useful, easy to use and effective.

As for why they were so anxious to get Xia Lin to the grassland, and even took out the Khan's most beautiful daughter, it was actually because the Khan of the grassland also had ambitions. The reason why they could develop to the current stable stage was actually due to the Ten-Pin Secret Bag left by Xia Lin at that time.

The so-called Ten Secret Boxes were the ten development plans that Xia Lin left for them when he left. They really treated Xia Lin's things as national treasures and then implemented his development strategies unswervingly.

In other words, poverty alleviation strategies were a piece of cake for Xia Lin. With a few minor modifications, they could become a development tool for this era. In just two years, the grassland had already built mines, breeding grounds, plantations, etc. of a certain scale. Currently, roads were being built and spice trade was being carried out with the countries in the Western Regions.

This is really a visible increase in wealth, but once a person becomes wealthy, he will start to have ambitions, let alone a Khan.

He had a desire for the Central Plains, but he didn't know how to do it, so Xia Lin appeared in his mind.

He knew that Xia Lin only regarded him as a friend, and he also respected Xia Lin. The Khan did not want Xia Lin to be a traitor, so everyone discussed and decided that if he married to the grassland, he would not be considered a traitor. The Han people had to pay a lot of gifts to marry a wife, so if they wanted to marry Xia Lin, they would definitely have to pay a great price.

Finally, the Khan frowned and stamped his feet. He thought that at most he would be the son of Wei for ten years. After ten years, as long as there was such a guy here, the grassland would rise up and become the most powerful country in the world, and ruling the Central Plains would not be a dream.

Ten years is very short, so short that it passes in the blink of an eye. Even a barbarian knows this. Time is money, and Xia Lin is worth ten thousand taels of gold.

Just because of this matter, the entire court has been in an uproar for the past few days. In fact, it is divided into two clear-cut factions, those who agree with the marriage and those who disagree with it.

The main point of the affirmative debaters is that the current national dynasty needs to focus on stability. If the demands of the grasslands are not agreed, they can completely disrupt the pace of the entire Central Plains. If they are agreed, not only can the grasslands be stabilized, but also 100,000 troops can be borrowed from the grasslands, many of which are cavalry. Wouldn't this kill Wang Shichong? Wang Shichong was weak in the first place, but he could not withstand the rebellion in Lingnan, so he was left with a way out.

After the marriage, they could use the power of the grassland to completely suppress Wang Shichong in the Central Plains, and then they could also exchange what they have with the grassland, and the country would become strong in one fell swoop.

Of course, the opposing debaters believed that there must be some shameful conspiracy behind this marriage. It is unheard of in the world that barbarians want to marry their daughters to the Central Plains dynasty. What do they want to do? Borrowing sperm? Seizing the throne?
Anyway, the dispute between the two sides was very heated and could not be stopped at all. No one would give in to the other, and everyone insisted on his own ideas. This matter even exceeded the rebellion in the Central Plains.

Just as they were discussing whether this kind of marriage was appropriate, the siege of Luoyang officially began.

At this moment, Xia Lin didn't know that there was an endless debate in the court about whether he should marry into the countryside. He just stood on the city wall and felt nervous when he saw the 100,000 soldiers setting up camp below.

The siege of Luoyang City will become an important watershed in the history of Wei Dynasty and even in the history of China. It indicates that the Wei Dynasty, which lasted for 300 years, has officially entered the script of warring warlords fighting for hegemony. Although China will eventually be unified, how many people will die in the melee is no longer a problem that he can calculate.

Just as he was sighing, a young general in a white robe rode up to the city without any weapon. He rode up to the city, looked up at the towering Luoyang City, and shouted: "I am Qin Qiong and Qin Shubao under Wang Shichong. The commander-in-chief has ordered you to open the city gates, otherwise the army will attack the city in three days. If you open the gates now, you still have a chance to survive. When the army knocks on the city gates, you will die."

This was the first time Xia Lin had met Qin Shubao. Qin Shubao was still quite young, but still a bit handsome, so he lay on the top of the wall and teased him, "You are Qin Qiong, you are quite good-looking, have your family found a wife for you?"

Qin Qiong frowned and pointed at Xia Lin on the city wall: "Don't talk nonsense, open the city gate quickly!"

"Qin Qiong, do you know Cheng Yaojin? I've heard of him a long time ago. Ask him to come and have a look."

Qin Qiong was stunned for a moment and looked back. At this moment, another man rode into Wang Shichong's camp, holding a lance. He looked a little different from what Xia Lin had imagined. He had always thought that Cheng Yaojin would be a dark-faced fat man like Li Kui, but in fact, he looked quite righteous and handsome, not that kind of crooked look. He was about the same age as Lao Zhang, with a sly smile on his face. At first glance, he was a typical bad boy.

"Hey, kid, what do you want to do with your Grandpa Cheng?"

The two sides were shouting at each other across the city wall, and it seemed that there was no tension at all. Instead, it was like old friends chatting.

"Qin Shubao, Cheng Yaojin. Hahahaha..." Xia Lin laughed: "Finally I see a living person. Have you two eaten?"

Qin Shubao was confused at the moment. They were about to attack the city and fight for their lives, so why did the topic suddenly turn to eating?

However, Cheng Yaojin's personality is similar to what is described in the book. Although he is a fierce general, he has a humorous temperament. He looked up and shouted, "I haven't eaten yet. What's the matter? Do you want to treat my brother to a meal?"

Xia Lin nodded: "Okay, I have admired you two for a long time, just wait a moment."

The two people under the city wall looked confused, but since they had promised others, they could not run away, otherwise it would shake the morale of the army. But fortunately, when Xia Lin came back, he did not bring falling rocks and gold juice, but a hanging basket tied with a rope: "There are wine and roast chicken in it, let's drink some across the city wall."

The two generals looked at each other, and Qin Shubao decisively urged his horse to come to the city wall and take the basket. There was actually a jar of wine and two roast chickens wrapped in leaves in it.

"Generals, are you scared?"

"I'm not afraid of you!"

Qin Qiong hesitated a little, but Cheng Yaojin had already torn open the roast chicken and started eating it with relish. At this moment, they were sitting on their horses, and Xia Lin was sitting on the top of the city wall. The three of them were facing each other from a distance of dozens of feet. Although they had to shout to talk, it was really quite interesting.

"good to eat!"

Cheng Yaojin was eating so much that his mouth was full of oil: "Damn it, I haven't had a good meal in ten days, and you guys are just enjoying eating roast chicken and drinking liquor here."

Xia Lin laughed loudly: "If it tastes good, eat more. By the way, with your two brothers' archery skills, it shouldn't be difficult to shoot me from this distance, right?"

"It's like taking something out of a bag." Cheng Yaojin shouted, "But that's not what a hero would do. It won't be too late to kill you after the city is captured."

Xia Lin sat on the top of the city wall and swung his feet: "What do you want from following Wang Shichong? Don't you know what he is capable of?"

"Don't say too much. You, a boy, can't judge the Marshal's right and wrong." Qin Qiong shouted, "Today you treated us two to a roast chicken. If there is a chance that the world will be peaceful in the future and you and I are not dead, I will definitely return you a roast chicken."

"No need. When the world is at peace and we are still alive, I will treat you to the best meal in the world."

"Okay! Hahahaha, you're quite a hero. Tell me your name!"

Cheng Yaojin's shouting made Xia Lin's ears buzz even from a distance of dozens of meters. He scratched his ears, then rushed down and shouted, "Xia Lin, the Inspector of Jiangnan Province, Xia Daosheng! Come to Fuliang to eat and drink when you have time, I'll treat you!"

"So you are Xia Daosheng." Qin Qiong bowed to Xia Lin on the city wall and said, "I would like to thank you for releasing grain on behalf of the people of Central Plains."

After saying that, he exchanged glances with Cheng Yaojin and said, "Let's go."

Cheng Yaojin also raised his hand and bowed to Xia Lin: "So you are also a hero. If you can live, I will definitely drink and chat with you!"

The two famous generals left the city, and Xia Lin also climbed back. At this moment, a deputy general who was helping him defend the city whispered, "Sir, if they had shot arrows just now, they would have been killed for sure."

"No, these two people are too famous to be killed." Xia Lin waved his hand: "We have to rely on gentlemanly behavior to hold them back in the next few days."

Xia Lin stood on the city wall with his sleeves gathered up. There were 3,700 soldiers in Luoyang City and at least 50,000 outside besieging the city. In the next few days, the number might increase to 100,000. 3,000 against 100,000 was a bit unreliable to me.

Therefore, delaying as long as possible is the key to victory. It is freezing cold, and delaying for one more day is a silent waste of time for them. Moreover, no one knows when Li Yuan’s men will arrive, or how they will come, and no one knows whether they will come to pick fruits.

Li Yuan can't be trusted either.

Xia Lin stayed on the city wall until night. By then, Lao Zhang had collected all the gunpowder powder, saltpeter, sulfur and other materials in the city, ground them into powder and mixed them into black powder according to the ratio Xia Lin gave him. He then added egg white into the powder and began to sift it until the powder became small particles and then dried it.

It would take three to five days to complete all of it, so Xia Lin had to use all means of deception to guard the city gate during these few days.

"My lord, the slingshots are ready."

"Move everything onto the city wall. Remember to keep pouring water down the city wall these few days to make the ice as thick as possible on the city wall." Xia Lin put his hands on his hips and looked at the smoke coming out of the military stove in the distance: "They can fail dozens of times, but if we fail once, our heads will be hung on the city gate tower."

(End of this chapter)