People in the Qin Dynasty, entertained during the Warring States period

Drinking and bragging?

If Cao Ze were his senior, he could accept it.

Han Fei arrived at Honglian's palace.

As usual, Honglian was engrossed in reading, oblivious to everything around her. On the small bookshelf beside her lay the complete set of "Journey to the West" and "Dream of the Red Chamber," which Han Fei had acquired at great expense after selling some of his collections. The set consisted of thousands of volumes.

At this moment, Consort Hu was reading with Honglian. When Han Fei entered, she stood up and said, "Greetings, Your Majesty."

"No need for formalities." Han Fei paused and said, "My father has passed away. If Consort Hu is not comfortable staying in the deep palace for long, I will issue an edict to send Consort Hu out of the palace and grant her her freedom."

He had said the same thing to Madam Mingzhu, but she refused.

As for the other palace maids and the concubines he barely knew, he simply gave them some money and sent them out of the palace.

He needs to be extremely frugal in saving every penny so that South Korea can have a greater chance of becoming strong.

Hu Meiren smiled gently: "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. I have Princess Honglian in the palace, so I am not uncomfortable. If Your Majesty wishes, would you be so kind as to allow my sister, Nongyu's mother, to come to the palace to keep me company?"

"Nongyu?" Han Fei suddenly remembered that Consort Hu was Nongyu's aunt. "Very well."

Lady Hu thanked him and left the palace. She could tell that Han Fei had private business with Honglian.

It must be about that little thief Cao Ze telling Han Fei to take care of Honglian.

Han Fei looked at Honglian, who was still immersed in her books, hesitated slightly, and said breathlessly, "Little sister."

Seeing that Honglian did not react, he raised his voice a little.

"Little sister."

At this moment, Han Fei was practically cursing Ji Wuye to death in his heart.

This guy is constantly smearing him in South Korea, accusing him of patricide, fratricide, and illegitimate accession to the throne. It's made Honglian, who used to trust him a lot, less trusting of him now.

Although Honglian concealed it well, with his abilities, how could he not notice Honglian's subtle changes?

The younger sister, who used to love going out of the palace to play, now stays in the palace every day, reading those lousy books that Cao Ze talks about.

The original plan was to marry my younger sister to Cao Ze so she wouldn't have to think so much. But who knew that Cao Ze would run away and even ask me to take care of Honglian.

Upon realizing this, Han Fei was filled with grief and indignation. This scoundrel truly deserved to be killed to vent his anger!

Honglian let out a soft "Ah," only then noticing Han Fei standing beside her.

"It's my brother, the king."

She suddenly laughed: "You want me to go find Cao Ze again? Fine, fine, where is he? I'll go find him."

Han Fei's heart skipped a beat, but he smiled as naturally as possible and said, "No, I'm here to tell you that he has been invited to lecture in the Qin state, and it may... probably take quite a while."

Damn it, Cao Ze! I'll drag you back one day and make you kneel before my little sister and repent! Han Fei thought angrily.

Honglian pouted, slightly disappointed, and said, "You didn't even come to tell me yourself."

Han Fei said sternly, "I've been teaching you to read those 'Dream of the Red Chamber' and 'Journey to the West' all day long. You're not allowed to read them anymore."

Honglian snorted, "No, I haven't seen enough yet."

"It's so boring out there, everyone in the city is gossiping about my brother..."

In the end, Honglian's voice was so faint that it was almost inaudible.

She had a big argument with people in the city, but no one believed her. They said she was too naive and didn't know the cruelty of the palace.

They only shut up after she revealed her identity as a princess.

She could see fear in their eyes, but she couldn't see any remorse or understanding in their expressions.

She had sought out Cao Ze, and although she received comfort, she still felt somewhat distressed.

For the past month, she hasn't wanted to see anyone; she just wants to be alone, read books, and not think about anything.

Han Fei sighed and said, "Never mind. I've come here today to ask you for a favor."

Honglian blinked. "Brother is so smart, why would he need to ask his sister for anything?"

Han Fei smiled wryly and said, "No matter how smart I am, I can't compare to you."

"Now, the state of Han is plagued by internal problems such as Ji Wuye, and is also threatened by the Qin state from the outside. I want you to help me plead with my grandmother and ask her to persuade the King of Wei to negotiate an alliance."

Honglian hesitated and said, "Grandma has always claimed that she doesn't care about national affairs. Will my words have any effect?"

Han Fei patiently explained, “In any case, my grandmother is also a Korean. The reason why my grandmother claims that she will not interfere in state affairs is because, as an outsider, she has no relatives or support in Wei. If she were to easily meddle in politics, it would easily provoke resistance from the people in the Wei court.”

Honglian asked, "Then why did you..."

Han Fei, full of vigor, said, "Little sister, do you know that not long after the New Year, I will be going to the State of Zhao to attend the ceremony?"

Honglian nodded.

Han Fei said, "At that time, I had already discussed with Lord Longyang of Wei. I was just waiting for my younger sister to act as an envoy to persuade my grandmother, so that she could join Lord Longyang and Lord Xinling in persuading the King of Wei to carry out this great undertaking together."

Honglian pursed her lips and smiled sweetly, "Okay, I agree. It's no fun in Korea. It'll be good to stay with Grandma for a while."

"Little sister is the best. That scoundrel Cao Ze... well, I have something to attend to, I'll be going now."

Honglian glanced at Han Fei, who was leaving in a hurry, with a strange look on her face. She shook her head slightly and muttered, "Even after becoming the king, my brother is still so clumsy."

The General's Mansion.

When Ji Wuye received the news that the Qin envoy at the Qin post station was not there, only Qin soldiers, his gaze narrowed slightly as he thought of the mysterious Qin prince from that night.

Who is it?

This person is definitely extraordinary; he could make the Qin envoy disregard the interests of Qin.

"Ink Raven!"

Ji Wuye called out to the empty hall as usual, but no one answered; only his echo remained.

Ji Wuye's face was extremely gloomy when he remembered that Mo Ya, Bai Feng, and Ying Ge had all betrayed him and defected to Han Fei.

"A bunch of ungrateful wretches! Traitors!"

Ji Wuye smashed some things to vent his anger.

The jade tiger stood outside the hall, wanting to go in but not daring to.

Ji Wuye glared at the Emerald Tiger and shouted, "Get inside right now!"

The jade tiger paused slightly, hesitated for a moment, then slowly lay down on the ground and rolled into the main hall.

Ji Wuye's eyes twitched slightly. If he had more subordinates, he would have chopped the jade tiger into minced meat.

"General, Young Master Ji Yihu will be returning from Nanyang soon," Emerald Tiger reported, lying on the ground.

Ji Wuye waved his hand and said, "Get up and speak."

Emerald Tiger quickly stood up and asked cautiously, "General, if we send the young master back to Xinzheng, what about Nanyang?"

Ji Wuye snorted coldly, "Once I've made the arrangements, you and Yi Hu will go to Nanyang and firmly control it. Do you understand?"

Emerald Tiger replied, "Understood, understood, your subordinate will certainly complete the mission."

Ji Wuye said in a deep voice, "The matter of Nanyang is of great importance, and we must not be careless. You stay by Yihu's side, give him more guidance, do more important things, and make more friends with others."

Jade Tiger's chubby face hardened, and he said, "Please rest assured, General!"

He secretly made up his mind that he had to please Ji Yihu.

"Well, let's go."

Ji Wuye stared at the gradually darkening sky, clenching his fists tightly.

When he finds an opportunity, he must first eliminate Cao Ze.

After much reflection, he realized that the root of all the trouble was caused by this person!

Chapter 361 Opening the Mirage, Riding a Foreign Horse, and Going on a Honeymoon

For two consecutive days, the convoy crossed rivers and forded streams, leaving the territory of the State of Han and entering the territory of the State of Qin.

Unlike his journey to Han, Gai Nie did not go to Yique and then to Wusui. Instead, he went directly north and arrived at Yewang County, which was only a few dozen miles east of Wusui.

During the Qin-Wei War, the Qin state captured Puyang of the Wei state. Considering the noble status of the Wei royal family, the Qin state relocated the royal family to Yewang County.

This was a deliberate act by the Qin state to send a subtle message to the royal families of the six states: even if the Qin state were to destroy a state, it would not make things difficult for the royal families of those states, but would grant them the appropriate treatment based on their status.

Such a blatant conspiracy is something that even those who are keen to see through it can do nothing about.

While in the carriage, Cao Ze finished speaking with Ying Zheng about centralized power and local decentralization, as well as some examples that had occurred and those that had not yet occurred but existed only in conjecture.

In just two days of lectures, Ying Zheng became increasingly impressed, looking at Cao Ze as if he were looking at a rare treasure.

"With your help, sir, what is there to worry about in achieving great things?"

Ying Zheng invited Cao Ze to get off the carriage and take a walk in the forest at night.

Gai Nie and the Six Sword Slaves secretly protected the area, with Jing Ni following behind. Xiao Yan'er was already fast asleep in Yan Ling Ji's arms, while Li Wu was staring blankly at the campfire, looking utterly bored.

Cao Ze gazed at the countless stars in the night sky, which converged into a galaxy that seemed to divide the moonlit night.

He couldn't help but say, "Looking up at the vastness of the universe, we are but a grain of millet in the boundless ocean, like mayflies dwelling in the heavens and earth. Compared to the heavens and earth, compared to the eternal universe, we are truly too insignificant."

Ying Zheng seemed to be touched by Cao Ze's sentiments: "Zhuangzi said: 'Life between heaven and earth is like a white horse flashing past a crack, gone in an instant.' Life is too short, and I do not know that I will be able to see the magnificent future that you have described."

Cao Ze softly recited: "The road is hard, the road is hard, there are many forks in the road, where am I now? There will be a time when the wind will break the waves, and I will set sail straight to the vast sea."

Hidden in the shadows, Gai Nie followed Cao Ze's gaze to the boundless starry sky, muttering to himself, "Riding the winds and waves, hoisting the sails..."

Ying Zheng was thrilled. He said repeatedly, "There will be a time, there will definitely be a time. If Heaven does not allow it, I will send people to the North Pole. As long as there are immortals in the world, anything is possible."

Cao Ze paused slightly. Good heavens, the things he made up in Handan back then actually made Ying Zheng believe so much. Could it be that he will be sent to replace that kid Xu Fu when he goes to sea?

hiss~

Imagine sailing through a mirage, riding a foreign horse, and taking your wife and kids on a honeymoon around the world... it doesn't seem impossible.

The Wusui Camp was densely packed with tents scattered across the hilltops and plains.

If someone well-versed in military strategy were to see this, they would surely recognize that the commander here is a master strategist who has experienced real warfare.

Inside the main tent, the candlelight was dim.

An elderly man with white hair and beard, broad shoulders and a burly back, knelt before a long table covered with military documents, constantly handling military affairs.