In August, the north is already slightly cold, the frost and dew have fallen, the leaves have been removed, and only the pines and cypresses have not withered. The autumn wind rises and knows that the heavens are cool, and the west gate of Hangu Pass, the soldier is chatting in a boring whisper in this late autumn afternoon, thinking about the early shift, going back to drink some hot wine, and resting beautifully on the kang.

After all, there has been no war in Hangu Pass for more than a year, Qin and Wei have closed their own borders, and they have not interacted with each other, and Hangu Pass is a terrain where no one can open it, so what is there to worry about! No matter how elite the soldiers are, they have already become very slack in the face of the mountains and forests day after day and year after year.

Fortunately, Wei also knew that the long-standing Hangu Pass would make the soldiers lazy, so they were all transferred once every three months. This group of soldiers will be able to return to their hometowns by September. Everyone began to faintly look forward to going home to see their long-separated wives and children, and where did they still have much thought about guarding.

But today was obviously an exception, and the soldier of the West Gate barely bothered to muster up, pointing his sword, sword, halberd, and crossbow at the gate of the city, and at the three men beside the carriage—an old man, a coachman, and a scholar. If they had changed places, the soldiers would never have been so close to the enemy. But this is Hanya Pass! It's been a full year, and no one has come to Hangu Pass from Guanzhong. There are many animals and birds here, and people are extinct.

Who are they? Why can I go through Tongguan and come to Hangu Pass? Is there any malice? Could it be Qin Jun's meticulous work? All the soldiers were speculating in their hearts. Many people are eager to try, how long have they not seen visitors from Guanzhong, if the other party is really meticulous, then a credit is in front of them!

The marquis of the Wei army who was in charge of the West Gate of Hangu Pass was named Wei Xin, and because of his strict management of the army, he was sent to the most important West Gate. Coincidentally. When Wei Xin was inspecting the city defenses to prevent anyone from being lazy, he happened to see this carriage slowly approaching from a distance. There was not a hint of panic, there was not a hint of hesitation. It's like entering an ordinary city.

"The coachman's concentration is good! Its body shape is calm, and its strength should be good! Interesting! Interesting! This was Wei Xin's first impression of the visitor.

When the carriage stopped, two people got out of the carriage. An old man, a scholar. The standard ordinary scholar dresses, but because it is ordinary, it brings out the extraordinary. Being able to pass through Tongguan and calmly come to Hangu Pass, I'm afraid that few people in the Qin State can do it! At the very least, the person who came should be deeply trusted by King Qin! But this does not mean that Wei Xin wants to give respect to the other party, and a dismount is still necessary.

So a loud-voiced Wei soldier grinned and shouted, "Wu Na old man! This is a military location! Idlers are not allowed to approach! Swords and guns have no eyes. Arrows are merciless! Get out of here! Otherwise, don't blame Master Jun, I'll make you hate here! ”

As soon as they heard this, the scholar and the coachman were obviously immediately angry. There is no one in the world who dares to ridicule their family like this! A few years ago, with this alone, Wei Ran could have invited a large army to wipe out the other party, even if the other party was a powerful person of a country! Although the Qin State is now down, Wei Ran can stir up the world. Such children cannot be allowed to run rampant.

Looking at the other party's arrogant appearance, Wei Ran was not angry. Just a little embarrassed, and said loudly: "Go and tell your lord, Wei Ran, the prime minister of the Qin State, is here!" I have something important to talk to King Wei! Please open the gates and welcome me in! ”

The soldier was obviously stunned, and he couldn't have imagined that the ordinary scholar under the city would be dressed as the famous prime minister of Qin. There are no guards. With only a scholar and a coachman as companions, when did the prime minister of Qin become so down? ! Rather than believing that the other party was the prime minister of Qin, the soldier was obviously more willing to believe that tomorrow Qin would ask Wei to surrender! It's impossible. Such a big thing is completely beyond the imagination of the soldiers. The soldier could only look at Wei Xin as if asking for help. Waiting for Wei Xin to teach him how to reply.

Wei Xin's brows were subconsciously twisted into a ball, and it would be known as soon as the other party was the prime minister of the Qin State. If the other party is impersonating, be prepared to take your life to atone for the crime! But if the other party is real, should you let the other party and the three of you enter the city?! Although the other party said it freely, if the news that he was not allowed to enter the customs stabbed the king of Wei, he would have to be punished. Forget it, anyway, I still have a lieutenant above me, so I'd better leave this kind of headache to the lieutenant to deal with! Now it's still about delaying time and testing the other party's reality.

After thinking of a countermeasure, Wei Xin whispered to the guards on the side, and then sent someone to quickly inform the captain. If the other party is really the prime minister of the Qin State, he really has to be prepared. lest the Qin State be underestimated and think that the Wei State is vulnerable!

"Prime Minister of Qin?" The soldier deliberately emphasized the word 'prime minister' loudly, shook his head like a rattle, and said to himself: "I don't read much, don't lie to me!" This prime minister is one person under ten thousand people, which trip is not followed by hundreds or thousands of people! Look at you, just a scholar and a coachman, the scholars in our village can come out to study in a carriage that is better than you! Old man! Even if you can fool me, you can't fool our general! Before the general comes, you might as well run for your life! This kind of deception won't work! Three-year-olds can see through it! ”

Listening to the soldier's seemingly concerned but sarcastic words, Wei Ran's face remained unchanged, stopped the coachman and scholar who were about to move, and responded with a smile: "I have here the national letter issued by my king, and there is a photoseal, you can send a literate person down to take a look!" Don't sue me, none of you are literate! ”

The soldier scratched his head and said innocently: "That's not true! The main thing is that you are dressed up! Looks like a liar! When did the Qin State become poor like this?! It's pathetic. We like to make friends, if you have a skill, you might as well take a detour to Daliang. If you want to open the city gate, I'm afraid it's impossible, this kind of thing is not up to me! ”

Rao is Wei Ranhan is about to get angry, the other party is looking at him left and right, obviously delaying time, and teasing himself from time to time. I knew that Wei Ran should listen to King Qin's construction and bring a large group of people. Although there is a possibility of being discovered by Korea, it is better than being despised by a Wei army soldier now. The way of this world! It's really judging people by their appearance! His low-key style did not expect to bring unnecessary trouble to himself.

Just when Wei Ran wanted to exit again and ask the Hangu Pass guard to send someone to inspect the national letter, the west gate of Hangu Pass was suddenly opened. Dozens of hardcover soldiers rushed out in a neat and orderly manner, lined up in two columns. First, a general's face was like a peach blossom, and he walked out and said, "I don't know if the marquis came from afar. Disrespectful, disrespectful! ”

Wei Ran was in a great mood, and finally someone knew his own existence, but he couldn't help but be curious, and asked, "How does the general know his true appearance?" ”

The guard sneered slightly, and said politely with a politeness that rejected people thousands of miles away: "Seven years ago, the Marquis led the troops into the North Mansion. Around the beam, I have seen the marquis from afar. At that time, Hangu Pass was still in the hands of your country, and I could not imagine that seven years later, I would be able to meet the Marquis again in Hangu Pass. ”

Wei Ran's expression was a little embarrassed, but it was only a flash. At that time, the Qin State repeatedly attacked Wei, killed its people, and destroyed its fertile land, and the crimes committed were innumerable! Unexpectedly, the guard general was also a witness to that period of history. If it is really retribution, it is not happy. Retribution is not happy! Regarding the other party's ridicule of Da Qin's thin Xishan, Wei Ran selectively ignored it. Instead, he said, "General Lao has greeted you!" ”

"I am the master of this room, and the marquis is a guest, so I should welcome you!" The guard replied without humility or arrogance. The words were quite complacent, and the demonstration seemed to indicate that Hanguguan was the land of Wei, and Qin wanted to see his own face.

The two sides entered the city in turn, sat down as guests and hosts, and checked Wei Ran's tokens. The general of Hangu asked in a deep voice: "Is the marquis going to Daliang to meet my king?" ”

"Yes! Please be accommodating! There is nothing forbidden in the chariot and horse of the true phase, and there is no one who does it carefully. Dignified Wei State. We won't be afraid that the three of us will stir up the storm of the Wei Kingdom! Hehe. Wei Ran said.

The general of Hangu nodded and replied, "That's not it!" Although my king has an order, he is not allowed to open the checkpoint without permission. But the marquis only brought one servant and one child, and he visited my Great Wei, so he could still open the door of convenience. It's just a matter of doing something. ”

"Thank you, General!" Wei Ran hurriedly made a move.

"But", the other party's tone changed. said abruptly: "A car, a servant and a scholar, it's really a bit hard." If no one secretly takes care of me, the king should blame me for being inconsiderate. I'm in charge of the matter here in private, how about transferring a hundred elite soldiers to escort Hou Dong to Daliang! ”

Wei Ran didn't know that the other party was concerned on the surface. In fact, it's to spy on yourself! There are really 100 Wei Wushu on his side, and he is bound to be tied up, and he will not be able to achieve the purpose of spying on the intelligence of various countries. South Korea will definitely know about its arrival, so it will be very vigilant, and even simply send people to capture it. But if you don't agree to the other party, the other party is afraid that they will be more vigilant and doubt their own intentions. The little trust that had been built up between the two sides evaporated.

Seeing that Wei Ran was silent, the Hangu guard suddenly showed a displeased expression and said, "What? Are you afraid it will be inconvenient? ”

"Not really!" Wei Ran opened his mouth and explained with some embarrassment: "Right now, everyone in the world knows that my Qin State is friendly with Zhao State, but your country has just occupied the three cities of Zhao State......

"Is the Marquis worried that the news of his envoy to Daliang will be known by Zhao Guo and offend Zhao Guo?" The guard said calmly, but he was gloating in his heart, and this was the effect he wanted.

"Definitely! Definitely! Wei Ran shook his head and said with a smile: "Whether Zhao Guo knows or doesn't know, there is no difference between me and Qin State!" I am worried about your country, your country is dependent on South Korea, and if South Korea knows that I am going to Daliang, it will definitely wonder if your country has fallen to my Qin country. At that time, the king of Zhao sent a debater to lobby the king of Han, and the two countries of Han and Zhao sent their troops to the beam, wouldn't your country be in danger? ”

The guard was silent, this situation may not be nothing, but it is more likely that Wei Ran is deceiving himself. Wei Ran is alone, secretly infiltrating the beam, there must be an ulterior motive. I'm not in a hurry to debunk it, but I must guard against him secretly doing it. Therefore, no matter what, someone must follow Wei Ran on the bright side. A hundred escorts are indeed too many, too eye-catching!

Wei Ran took advantage of the situation and said: "The prime minister also knows the general's kindness. It's not as good as this, the general sent five people to escort the original appearance. Of course, in order to cover people's eyes and ears, leather armor cannot be worn. What does the general think? ”

The guard weighed it, five people were enough to watch Wei Ran and his party of three, not to mention, there were five people on the surface, and he could secretly send dozens of people to follow Wei Ran. I'm not afraid that Wei Ran will slip away from under his nose!

"Good! Just according to the words of the marquis. The defender made a final decision.

"There is General Law!"

That night, Wei Ran and his entourage stayed overnight in Hangu Pass. The Hangu Pass guard picked out the five most clever and brave people in the scout camp to monitor Wei Ran, and picked out an additional thirty elites who were either good at fighting or good at tracking, and were responsible for Wei Ran and his party from tomorrow onwards. Of course, it is more important to personally write a battle report and report it to the King of Wei. Inform the arrival of the Prime Minister of Qin. No one would take it for granted that Wei Ran would go to Daliang for no reason and return in vain. Sending the prime minister of a country to lobby the enemy country is either unpredictable or profound! Otherwise, why take such a huge risk?!

The next day, the morning sun rose and the earth warmed. Wei Ran and his entourage left Hangu Pass and plunged headlong into the vast land of Kanto. The first stop is Quwo (there are more place names of the same name in various countries in this period, there are also Quwo more than 100 miles north of Anyi), along the river all the way to the east can reach Shaanxi, Jiao Liangyi, these three cities all belong to the Wei State, there are river moats in the north, the mountains and mountains in the south, non-birds can not cross, and its west is Hangu Dangerous Pass. Wei Ran sighed silently in his heart. Such a dangerous place is a world of its own, as long as the soldiers use their lives, it is difficult to conquer ten times the number of soldiers!

As Wei Ran imagined, the common people who cultivated here did not matter whether the Qin State ruled them or the Wei State ruled them. The important thing is stability, it is calm. Talking to them, Wei Ran found that the locals were worried about being conscripted to Hedong to guard the border from time to time. Life is passable. However, the attitude of getting by still made Wei Ran feel a sense of twilight. If it weren't for the urging and obstruction of the Wei army behind him, Wei Ran could have understood it in more detail. In this world, I don't know how many people are discouraged! The Qin State still has military exploits, and the Wei State has nothing but compulsory orders. How could a soldier take the initiative to sell his life?!

A hundred miles further on is the pond. From here, all the way to the east, it is all Korean territory. As for the two small countries of the Western Zhou Dynasty and the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, there were no more than 10,000 soldiers, and they had already secretly surrendered to South Korea in the first two years. It's Korea's territory. It is conceivable that for Wei Ran, who intends to sow discord between Han and Wei, this journey is the most dangerous, but it is also what Wei Ran is looking forward to the most. God knows, if South Korea knew that the prime minister of Qin was under his jurisdiction, he would definitely not treat him with courtesy. "Bitterly" persuading Wei Ran to stay in South Korea and "be loyal" to South Korea, so as to suppress the Qin State, this must be what South Korea is most willing to do. Wei Ran must be careful enough to avoid South Korea's "good intentions".

The strength of Korea is not under the Qin State, what is missing is only the foundation. For a country that has been suppressed in the Central Plains for more than a hundred years, the expansion of land in five years is too fast. Even if Samcheon and Namyang originally belonged to South Korea, the expansion of the twofold territory was a bit jaw-dropping. Wei Ran has always wanted to understand what is the confidence behind South Korea's crazy enclosure at the risk of offending the world. It is the madness that has been suppressed for a long time, the reckless army, and the enemy of the world; It's still forbearance for many years, and there is a huge barrier. These were all things that Wei Ran was curious about.

The place name of Michi was too familiar to Wei Ran. Ten years ago, in order to concentrate on the crusade against Chu, Wei Ran lobbied the king of Qin to facilitate a meeting of the monarchs of Qin and Zhao. At the rally, the state of Qin had the upper hand. If it weren't for Lin Xiangru's arguments, Zhao Guo would have lost face. At that time, the Qin State, the whole world had to carefully look at the face of the Qin State. But now, the stars have changed, Michi has returned to South Korea, and the banquet platform that was built at the beginning is also different!

"My lord! Are we going to stay overnight in Michi tonight or camp in the wilderness? A Wei soldier asked in a deep voice.

It was a Wei army commander who spoke, and since he was ordered to escort or monitor Wei Ran and his party to Daliang, he and the four Wei soldiers under his command were very polite. It's not that they are afraid of Wei Ran's title of prime minister of Qin, after all, no matter how big the other party's official is, it is not Wei's, and he can't control himself. They just abide by their duties as soldiers and fulfill their duties.

Politeness is politeness, but it doesn't mean that they have to completely obey Wei Ran's orders. Just like before, Wei Ran asked about the reality of Wei Hedong, and they naturally kept silent. Even if Wei Ran turned to attack the people of Wei, they would obstruct it more. Therefore, from Quwo to Mianchi, he spent very little time on the way, in order not to let Wei Ran know too much about the reality of Wei in Hedong. Anything that is not good for the Wei State, they all do not say or do. But now that I'm in Michi, I'm in South Korea, and I don't have any scruples about that. If Wei Ran was in a hurry, they would naturally follow without complaint, and if they wanted to stay, they would have the right to let it go.

"I haven't been back to Mianchi for a long time, plus I'm running all the way, I'm old, I'm too tired, I won't be in a hurry today, I'll stay in Mianchi tonight!" Wei Ran said lightly.

Michi is a city on the border of Korea, looking at Hangu Pass in the west, Luoyang in the east, Sanchuan in the south, and Hedong in the north. Location matters. Thinking that South Korea must have stationed a lot of soldiers and horses here, you can see the whole leopard at a glance, and other border cities are probably like this. Wei Ran was very excited, he could finally see the true face of South Korea. How strong South Korea is and how far it has developed can be seen from this.

Ten miles ahead, the crowd is getting denser and denser. Pedestrians are endless, talking and laughing, which makes Wei Ran have the illusion that this is a peaceful and prosperous world. Wei Ran couldn't help but nod secretly. If the common people are precarious and hungry, they will never be so happy. The prosperity of commerce is a direct confirmation of the affluence of the common people's lives. However, what impressed Wei Ran the most was the smooth galloping road. The carriage drove on it, and there was only a slight bump. Compared to walking on other road conditions, the bumps of this kind of road are almost negligible. If the army marches by this, it will be three points faster. Transporting grain and grass is extremely cheap. After learning that South Korea had not yet started to build this kind of cement road except for Bashu and Runan, which had just been obtained, Sanchuan, Yingchuan, Shangdang, and Nanyang had all been built, Wei Ran couldn't help but look sideways. But the surprise is still to come, Michi City has been vividly remembered! (To be continued......)