The envoys walked slowly around the city, their boots creaking on the thick snow.

Suddenly, everyone smelled a burst of aroma.

"Is this roast chicken?" Huo Quzhi followed the aroma and came to a house. It is a small three-story building, and you can vaguely see the family sitting at the dining table from the window.

Parents and two children, the youngest of whom is chasing and playing with his brother around the dining table with a ball in his arms. And on their table, in addition to stewed papaya and roast turkey, there is also a plate of rye bread.

One of the envoys whispered, "Quite a warm family." ”

"yes, it's homely. Provided that there are no slaves and paupers on the roadside. ”

On the opposite side of the house are two arched humanoid snowdrifts. The snow fell on the corpse, and the human form was gradually discerned. And under the corner, there is also a dead man who is bruised from freezing.

"'Zhumen's wine and meat stink, and there are frozen bones on the road. This sentence of the poet of the homeland is apt. ”

Yes, under the double blow of famine and bitter cold, death has enveloped the earth. Slaves in all countries, as the most vulnerable group of people, suffered the largest number of casualties.

And the driving force behind all this is indispensable to Xia Guo.

The girls in the envoys looked a little ugly, obviously uncomfortable with the situation.

Zhao Gao noticed this scene and said coldly: "What, you sympathize with them? But don't forget, if we don't use this method to crack down on the new currency." In the end, the people who end up in this fate are our country, your compatriots!"

Economic warfare seems to be more peaceful than a war based on knives and guns, but the death is more tragic.

In the summer, the National Day celebrates the abundant harvest of grains, and even slaves can receive cotton clothes and cotton clothes to survive the cold winter. Who would have thought that it would be so miserable abroad?

"So we came, and we did have our own purposes. But we can indeed save the slaves of these countries. ”

After Zhao Gao finished speaking, he and Huo Qubing took the envoy back to the embassy to rest.

"Let's get ready for dinner after a long morning. ”

With the current famine situation in the eastern countries, it is natural that it will not be prepared for the Xia envoys. Three meals a day were prepared by the Xia envoys themselves.

The girls ran to the kitchen and saw that there was no firewood next to the kitchen stove at all.

Qingtong: "Sure enough, their side has already reached this point?"

"Leave them alone, we've prepared ours. Wen Xi took out the Qiankun bracelet made by the Linggong and placed the rice cooker and electric stove one by one. The third companion took out japonica rice and vegetables and went outside to wash them.

Soon, the embassy wafted with the smell of rice. But it was the smell of the meal that attracted several fugitive slaves nearby.

"Ahh

Suddenly there was a scream from the kitchen.

Huo Quai, who was drinking tea on the second floor to recuperate, suddenly opened his eyes and rushed to the kitchen in an instant. Zhao Gao also hurriedly put down his beloved green jade cup and followed over to check the situation.

When they came to the kitchen, they saw two slaves lying on the ground. They seem to be a mother and son, the mother's forehead was smashed by the iron pot and bled blood, and the girl in charge of the spoon looked panicked, closed her eyes and kept attacking with the iron pot in her hand, and the food in the pot was scattered all over the ground.

"Wen Xi, that's enough, Wen Xi. The two girls next to her hurriedly reassured their timid sisters.

"If you continue to fight, this mother and son will die!"

"Stop!" Huo Quzhi snorted softly, pausing Wen Xi's time, and waiting for her to calm down before untying the time stop.

The girl Wen Xi calmed down, and when she saw that she had injured someone, she was so frightened that she retreated again and again.

It's your hand.

The rest of the envoys who rushed over were speechless, looked at the wound on the back of the slave girl's head, and said secretly: This girl is really ruthless.

But think about it. In the past ten years, Xia Guo has attached great importance to spiritual education. Although Wen Xi and several girls are all civilian jobs, their combat effectiveness is not high. But with ten years of hard practice, the five poultry operas have cultivated true qi in the body to run Zhou Tian, and they all have the power of two tripods. And this slave has been working hard all year round, and is hungry and weak, where is the opponent of these girls?

"Okay, what the hell is going on?" Huo Quzhi waved his hand and asked the girls to come forward and explain.

Qingtong: "These two slaves came to the kitchen to steal something to eat. Especially this child, he ran to Wen Xi and reached out to grab the chicken leg in the hot pot, which scared Wen Xi enough. ”

So, Wen Xi put these two slaves down?

Huo Quzhi looked down at the mother and son. The two of them were lying on the ground, but the mother firmly protected her child under her body, and Wen Xi's attack just now hit her on the head, and blood flowed all over the ground.

Seeing this scene, Huo Quzhi's eyes flowed a little gentlely, and he snapped his fingers, turning the time of the female slave and all the scars disappearing.

"Alright, get up. If you lie down again, your son will not be killed, but he will be crushed to death by you. ”

When the slave girl heard this, she looked up at Huo Quai, and opened her mouth to say a few words that were difficult to understand.

Huo Quzhi frowned and looked at the adjutant of the envoy corps. The lieutenant immediately said, "She is using the slang of the mountains on the other side of the country, to the effect that she is thanking you for sparing your life." ”

The civilization of the Xia Kingdom has been radiating for ten years, and the high-level officials of the Eastern countries have begun to learn the official language of the Xia Kingdom, and even slaves can understand it. It's just that they themselves won't say. In the words of their masters, "Slaves are also worthy of learning higher languages?"

Looking at the mother and son, Huo Quzhi turned his head and asked Wen Xi, "Do we still have more food?"

Wen Xi felt a little guilty because he beat someone's mother, and immediately nodded: "I made porridge and rice just now, and I can bring them over immediately." Oh, and two side dishes. ”

"Then let them eat and ...... Then ......" Looking at the thin clothes on the mother and son, Huo Quzhi wrinkled his brows.

The mother had only a linen dress cut from linen, and her bare skin was blue and purple from the cold.

As for the little boy, he wore two clothes that had been converted from one-piece skirts, and he was thicker than his mother.

What if two foreign slaves, even if they have pity for a moment, let them have a full meal?

Even if you give them a few more steamed buns and dress them in cotton clothes. But when the envoys left, they too would be put to death by other slaves or poor people, robbing them of food and clothing.

But take it away......

Taking slaves from other countries at will will cause disputes. Especially at this sensitive time.

Do you have to wait a few days to be included in the list of trading slaves?

"Leave it to me, General. Zhao Gao walked over with a smile. He looked down at the mother and son, and an idea naturally flashed through his mind. If it works well, it might be able to eat the city.

The slave girl noticed Zhao Gao's ill-intentioned gaze and subconsciously held her son in her arms.

"Don't worry, I have no ill will towards you. Wen Xi, let them eat first. General, you go back first. I'm worried that someone will come and steal our paperwork seals. ”

After speaking, Zhao Gao asked Huo to go upstairs to rest.

Huo Quzhi glanced at Zhao Gao, turned around and went upstairs, and asked Zhao Gao to deal with this matter.

"A few of you are hurrying to eat. Zhao Gao ordered the rest of the envoys to come over for dinner, while he sat on the ground beside the mother and son.

The girl Wen Xi came over with the food and put it next to the mother and son. Just as she got up, she whispered sorry to the slave girl.

The slave girl hurriedly shook her head, and wanted to hold the child and kowtow to Wen Xi.

How dare the girl accept this, she hurriedly dodged away, hiding in the kitchen and not daring to come out.

When the slave girl saw this, she looked at the food in front of her, and although she smelled the aroma, she didn't dare to take a bite of it.

Gollum......

There was a sound in the belly of the child in her arms, silently tugging at the corners of her mother's skirt.

"Alright, let's eat. Zhao Gao looked at the mother and son with a smile, and there was some special power between his words.

The mother and son had no worries, grabbed the food and stuffed it into their mouths.

I have to say that Wen Xi has indeed considered it intimately and specially prepared food that is easy to digest.

After a stick of incense, just when the mother and son were gradually full, Zhao Gao felt that the heat was almost over.

He stepped forward slowly and said to his mother, "Unfortunately, even if you are full today, there will still be nothing to eat tomorrow or the day after tomorrow." ”

The slave girl grabbed the steamed buns, was stunned when she heard Zhao Gao speak, and looked at Zhao Gao blankly, not understanding what he was talking about.

This meal can already make my son full for a day, and he can even endure it for another three days. Isn't that good?

After all, we're still alive.

"Don't you want your children to have something to eat every day?"

"What is this? That is, outside, a few of us are in a hurry to eat. If in our Great Xia country, these things are eaten by slaves. ”

Nonsense!

Wen Xi wanted to go up and argue, but her companion hurriedly stopped her.

Qingtong can see that this eunuch from Yongle Palace, I'm afraid he doesn't plan to trick the mother and son into doing something?

Zhao Gao also snapped his fingers as Huo Quzhi learned, and the illusion of the wine pond and meat forest and endless delicacies appeared around him.

Looking at the countless delicacies, the slave girl's eyes widened and she stared at Zhao Gao blankly. She muttered to herself, as if muttering something.

"Great Xia is a paradise on earth, the only country that is not affected by famine. Would you like to come here?"

Zhao Gao leaned over and whispered in the slave girl's ear: "Then, go and kill your master and bring your contract book." ”

"Come to think of it, you don't want your children to be slaves for the rest of their lives, do you?"

"Moreover, even if it is a slave, there is a distinction between high and low. Here, you can't even make ends meet. But if you come to Xia Kingdom, you will not only have food and clothing, you can even wear beautiful clothes and live with your chest held high. ”

That's right, since the enactment of slavery by the women's good and Ji Le's joint enactment, the treatment of slaves has been improved. Especially after Hua Tuo cured the fertility problems of the people, there will no longer be women who deliberately target female slaves and mutilate slave babies.

On the contrary, because there have been more mothers in China in recent years, and motherhood is bursting, they will be appropriate and considerate when they see female slaves pregnant, give them two months of maternity leave, and even allow them to take care of their own children.

After all, this is also to accumulate yin virtue for their own children. When the nobles of Great Xia thought of this, their faces were much better for the slaves, and they no longer beat and scolded them at every turn. Some slaves could even accept the master's reward and own their own homes.

The slave girl's eyes widened, and her heart burned under the temptation of Zhao Gao. From time to time, she looked at the child in her arms.

The boy was still eating his food, unaware of his mother's struggles.

Kill the master?As long as we kill the master and get the contract back, we will be free?

But then......

The slave girl looked at Zhao Gao, but in Zhao Gao's dark eyes, she gradually made a decision.

......

Zhao Gao hummed a song, slowly walked to the second floor, and came to the lounge where he and Huo Quai.

The floor was covered with woolen blankets embroidered by Da Mu's female workers, and a burning copper stove was placed next to the table. And Huo Quzhi leaned against the window, looking at the scenery of this small city.

"The general is still worried about the inhabitants of the city?"

Zhao Gao walked back to his position and poured himself tea again.

"No, I'm just thinking that if we can finish the contract a day sooner, we can bring the slaves back as soon as possible, so that this little town will have fewer deaths. ”

The feminine-looking man raised his eyebrows: "The general plans to give them a little relaxation?"

"I don't have any plans, but I have to hurry. You go back this afternoon and try to get it down. ”

Zhao Gao sighed, shook his head and said, "If you go in the afternoon, the other party may not be soft." The villain's original plan was to force the other party to die another group of people, and it was best to provoke the resistance of the slaves and force the other party to give in. ”

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. General, as long as we grasp it well, we can eat the eastern countries in one go. ”

Zhao Gao's face was full of seriousness, he walked to Huo Qubing with another teacup, handed the teacup to Huo Quzhi, and said word by word: "The villain once said that he would build an incomparable navy for the Xia Kingdom. I want to bring the territory of Xia into contact with the sea, and now is the best opportunity. ”

Holding a slightly warm teacup, Huo Quzhi silently looked out the window.

Stealing the country?

In all fairness, he didn't like Zhao Gao.

This man often gives Ji Le and Xia Guo some sinister schemes. For example, Tianzhou City, now under Zhao Gao's poisonous scheme, is almost reduced to a vassal of the Xia Kingdom.

But I have to admit that Zhao Gao's existence is indeed very helpful to Xia Guo.

When the Xia Kingdom settled in Tianzhou City, it not only used the port to train the Xia Kingdom's navy. Even the shipbuilding industry was brought under the control of Xia Guo to supplement his shipbuilding technology. At present, although the craftsmen of Tianzhou City will still take over the maintenance business of some ships of the Eastern countries, they are more engaged in the construction and research and development of the fleet of the Xia Kingdom.

It is said that Zhao Gao also wants to build a Seven Treasure Dragon ship for Ji Le that is enough to fly to the sky. The material and financial resources it consumes are simply immeasurable.

Seeing that Huo Qubing was silent, Zhao Gao said cautiously: "Before the villain came, all plans were discussed with Yi Gong. If the general is not satisfied, he may wish to ask Yi Gong if he wants to change the terms of our contract?"

"No, just follow your plan. Huo Quzhi looked at the snow scene outside: "I just looked at the mother and son just now, and I felt a little nostalgic." ”

"My mother once told me that my uncle faced this kind of experience when he was a child. ”

On a bitterly cold and snowy night, the boy was hungry and shivered in the windy stables.

In the end, if I hadn't met a nobleman, my uncle would have been gone a long time ago, right?

Maybe it's the snow scene, or maybe it's the boy, after ten years in this other world, Huo Quzhi still misses the home he once owned so much for the first time.

Mother, uncle, aunt, grandmother...... Everyone gathers together to celebrate the new year.

It's a pity that all this is long gone. Their era has long been one of the few strokes in the history books. Especially his aunt, he couldn't believe that in the end, his aunt and His Majesty would end up like that.

After all, when he was alive, their relationship as husband and wife was really good.

Perhaps, this is the ruthlessness of the emperor, right?

Zhao Gao looked at the side face of the man by the window in a daze, and inexplicably thought of the conversation he had with His Royal Highness.

"How are you here? Are you homesick or something?"

"Homesick? Your Highness thinks, do I dare to think back to the life of the Great Qin? The villain has made countless enemies, and when I think about it every day, I am afraid that I will not think of the faces of a few enemies. ”

"To express my current life in one sentence, that is, 'I don't think about Qin here'. ”

"You're open-minded, and I don't have to worry about when Bi Yao has half of your open-mindedness. ”

"According to the villain, General Huo lives a free life on weekdays, and he is also a high-spirited person. Why should Your Highness be worried?"

But because of his special background, he has never been able to let go. In fact, what he wants most is a home, otherwise why should he be so good to Huo Guang?"

"And in another world, that's exactly what I can't give him. As the spirit of the nation, as your summoner, I hope that you can enjoy new life in this world. But because of my position, I won't descend too many characters from the Martial Emperor era. Especially General Wei, how could I be two generals of the same era at the same time, or close relatives?

He's here alone, and the only person of his generation is probably Mr. Yifei, right?"

"When the palace descended to the spiritual concubine, in addition to the factor of treating the woman, it was also to find a companion for General Huo?"

"......" Ji Le did not answer Zhao Gao's question.

Why do you want to descend to this medicine woman? Why don't you choose Bian Que and other miracle doctors earlier?

Perhaps only Ji Le himself knows this answer.

Zhao Gao looked at Huo Quai, and said in his heart: Perhaps, as His Royal Highness said, what General Huo wants most in his heart is actually to ask His Highness to descend to Wei Qing and his younger brother to reunite their family, right?

Zhao Gao silently looked at Huo Quai, and his heart was very complicated. Unconsciously, he also thought of his deceased parents.

War is always painful. Isn't his family also torn apart by the endless war?

"Did you come out this time, did you bring wine? Huo Quzhi cheered up, held the teacup and pretended to smile: "Your tea is a little too light." ”

"Ahh But the general waits, maybe someone else has a belt. ”

Zhao Gao immediately went down to look for wine, but unfortunately, except for a few girls with rice wine for cooking, the other members of the envoy did not bring wine.

"Drinking and making mistakes", this is Ji Le's most common admonition. When these members of the envoys came out, how could they dare to bring wine casually? Even if they did, they would not dare to give it to Zhao Gao.

In case Zhao Gao turned around and made a small report, wouldn't they have to be blamed by Ji Le?

So in the end, Zhao Gao and Huo Quzhi took the rice wine used for cooking, and sat opposite each other with peanuts and rice.

"Is the mother and son arranged?"

"Yes, it's already arranged. As long as they help me do one thing, they can bring it back to Xia Guo when they turn around. ”

Huo Quzhi didn't ask much, as if the feeling just now was just an illusion.

"Speaking of which, we are trying to negotiate here, and we don't know what is going on in the country. ”

"Your Highness may be playing in the snow again, right?" Thinking of this, Zhao Gao had a smile on his face: "After all, His Highness has always liked snow scenes, and he may have taken His Highness Yuan Xi and Qingling to have a snowball fight?"

"Yes. He's always been like that, heartless guy. As he spoke, Huo Quzhi drank all the wine in the wine cup in one gulp.