Hua Kai's concubine marriage was quiet. He only invited the core members of the Hua family for a meal, but it still spread quickly in Gaoliu County.
At the same time, the news of Hua Kai's servant girl choosing a husband spread. The Hua family was going to hold a blind date in Xia City. All adults could participate, regardless of whether they were commoners, nobles, or scholars. As long as they were 18 years old and had not married or had less than three concubines, they had a chance of winning a beauty. All women could also sign up to choose a husband.
For this, Hua Kai also opened a special service from Xia City to other cities. Everyone who signed up could take a special carriage to Xia City for free. Men and women were separated, and they left when there were enough people.
On the 15th day of the seventh month, Hua Kai held a simple ceremony with the eight women. Twenty days later, the preparations for the blind date began. The eight discussed that Xue Yiyu would be in charge of Xia City, Qiqi Ge would be in charge of family activities, and the other six would be in charge of Gaoliu County's Hua Manor, Xia City's Hua Manor, Textile Workshop, female officials' assessment and training, servant girl's assessment and management, and girl's academy.
As soon as they became Hua Kai's concubines, they helped Hua Kai manage the family. In fact, they were doing the same thing as before, but this time, it was more legitimate.
Everyone didn't have to stay in the place they were in charge of. They were completely free to deal with their own matters and return to Xia City to be with Hua Kai. If they got pregnant, they would have done a great service to the Hua family!
Back to Qin's Da Shan Pass. After half a month of stalemate, the Qin soldiers only had one last wall left. All the streets and alleys in Da Shan Pass were occupied by the Zhao soldiers. As long as they could take down this last wall, the Zhao soldiers could gallop under Xianyang City.
At the critical moment, the 50,000 soldiers came in time to help the Qin soldiers stabilize the situation. With the advantage of numbers and the addition of tens of thousands of Qin soldiers, the streets controlled by the Zhao soldiers were slowly taken back by the Qin. At this time, the Zhao received news that 20,000 Qin soldiers were stationed in Longxi City.
Now that their escape route was blocked and they could not take down the Great Shan Pass, the Zhao army became a lone army. They persisted until the end of the seventh month and finally chose to give up on the battle. They came to Longxi City and attacked it for three days, leaving behind more than five thousand corpses. In the end, they could only choose to escape west into the territory of the Qiang tribe.
When the Zhao army and the Yiqu army entered the Xiao Pass of the Qin State, there were 110,000 of them. When they fled to the Qiang Tribe, there were only about 20,000 of them left. If they wanted to return to the Zhao State, they had to go around the west and enter the north of the Yuezhi State. Then, they had to go back to the Linhu State and return to the Zhao State from there.
This was a journey of over 20,000 kilometers, and they had to pass through countless mountains and rivers. Even if everything went smoothly, it would take at least two years. The State of Zhao had already lost all of its elites.
The Qin State left behind 10,000 soldiers at the Great Shan Pass and the rest hurriedly went to the Hangu Pass. This was because when the State of Wei knew that the Qin State had stabilized the situation in the State of Zhao, they immediately increased their attack on the Hangu Pass. After paying the price of over 10,000 people, 3,000 Wei soldiers invaded the Hexi County of the Qin State. Many cities in the Hexi County were quickly taken over by the State of Wei. The State of Wei also knew that this was the most crucial moment.
The State of Chu attacked the Hanzhong County and the State of Wei attacked the Hexi County. The Qin State used all of the soldiers that they had withdrawn from the States of Korea, Zhao, and other countries in the Central Plains. When the Qin State's attack did not come, they all started to celebrate their victory.
Zhao State, Handan City, Zhao Palace.
When Zhao Dan heard the news that the Zhao army had been defeated, he was stunned for a long time. The Qin State had actually defended the Great Shan Pass with all of its elites. At this time, the civil and military officials of the State of Zhao finally realized the power of the Qin State.
"Your Majesty, the Qin State's power is not only above the Qin Zheng and the elite soldiers of the Qin State. There are also millions of Qin citizens. This time, our 110,000 soldiers killed more than 300,000 citizens of the Qin State who cooperated with the elite soldiers of the Qin State. However, we did not get a single captive. The Qin State … cannot be defeated by force!" A minister of the State of Zhao said to Zhao Dan.
"What about the State of Qi and the State of Yan?
What did they say? "Zhao Dan looked at his Prime Minister and asked loudly.
When the State of Zhao attacked the Qin State, Zhao Dan sent messengers to the State of Song, the State of Chen, the State of Xu, the State of Cai, and other Central Plains countries, hoping that these countries could send troops to deal with the Qin State. However, the results were not ideal. These countries all wanted to fight against the Qin State. When it came to the details of sending troops, they could not come up with a solution.
"Your Majesty, the Sage of the State of Qi rarely gets involved in the affairs of the State of Qi. The aristocratic families of the State of Qi have different opinions and it is difficult for them to get things done.
The King of Yan does not seem to be worried about the expansion of the Qin State at all. When it comes to sending troops, the Qin State always says that it is too far away. The King of Yan may have a way to deal with the Qin State. He is just waiting for an opportunity now. "The Prime Minister of the State of Zhao replied.
"The State of Zhao has lost 80,000 elite soldiers. We have lost an arm. Now we can only send troops to help the State of Wei attack the Qin State. I hope that the State of Chu and the State of Wei can defeat the Qin State. Otherwise, when the Qin Zheng recovers, no one in the world can stop the Qin State!" The King of the State of Zhao said worriedly.
The State of Zhao had lost 80,000 of its 100,000 elite soldiers. The remaining soldiers could not even protect themselves. Now they could only bet on the State of Wei. If the State of Wei could defeat the Qin State and restrain the Qin Zheng, giving the State of Zhao a few years to recover, the State of Zhao would have a chance to regain its power.
"Alas!
Now it depends on whether General Lian can come back. If the 20,000 soldiers of the State of Zhao can come back, everything will be fine. "The Prime Minister of the State of Zhao said.
At this moment, on the Qiang Grassland in the western region of the State of Qin, tens of thousands of soldiers of the Qiang Tribe were being chased by the State of Zhao's elite cavalry.
They had passed through thousands of miles of forest and encountered hundreds of beast herds. They had also been attacked by several waves of demonic beasts. Fortunately, they had not encountered any mid-level demonic beasts. After paying the price of 3,000 elite cavalry, two Foundation Establishment cultivators, and more than 6,000 war horses, they had successfully entered the Qiang Grassland.
When they entered the Qiang Grassland, they had used up all the provisions they had brought. When they encountered a small tribe, the Zhao army used some horses to exchange for some cattle and sheep. Only then did they solve the problem of provisions. When they retreated from the Great Shan Pass, they had brought more than 50,000 horses with them. Each person had two horses left.
The Zhao army did not want to cause trouble. They had quickly traveled around the Heavenly Mountain Range this winter and would be able to enter the Yuezhi State by the end of next year. Then, it would take about two years to return to the State of Zhao from the State of Linhu.
However, half a month after they entered the Qiang Grassland, they saw the Qiang Tribe's cavalry following them from afar. The Zhao cavalry did not want to pay attention to them, but as time passed, more and more cavalry followed them.
"We can't go on like this. We have clearly been targeted. If we wait for them to finish gathering their forces, we might not be able to leave!" said a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the State of Yi Qu.
"Marshal Lian's injuries are getting worse. We must hurry to the Yuezhi State. I heard that the Yuezhi State's Ujimuqin Tribe has pills to treat Marshal Lian's injuries. If we are delayed by the Qiang Tribe's cavalry, I'm afraid Marshal Lian will not be able to hold on," said a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the State of Zhao.
"How about we send a few Foundation Establishment cultivators to send Marshal Lian to the Ujimuqin Tribe? After all, we still belong to the Yuezhi State in name. It will be easier to negotiate with them," said another Foundation Establishment cultivator from the State of Yi Qu.
All the Zhao cavalry felt that this was a good idea. A Foundation Establishment cultivator riding a BMW could reach the Yuezhi State in at most a month. At that time, they could negotiate with the Yuezhi State early and let the Zhao cavalry and Yi Qu soldiers pass.
Soon, they decided to let a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the State of Zhao and three from the State of Yi Qu go first. They brought the ten best BMW horses and tied the unconscious Lian Po to the back of the horses. Lian Po had been in a coma for more than a month, but his aura was still there. No one knew how long he could last.
After Lian Po left, the Zhao cavalry continued north. It was hot at noon in the eighth month of the grassland, but it was cold in the mornings and evenings. The Zhao cavalry were wearing armor, so they did not feel good in this environment. Many of them began to fall sick.
At the end of the eighth month, the Zhao cavalry could only travel about 300 kilometers a day. The horses were not fed well and their stamina had decreased. They had to give the horses more time to eat and rest to ensure that the army could continue on their way.
The meat jerky they exchanged for last time was almost finished. When they passed by a middle-sized tribe, the other party was not willing to trade with them. The Zhao cavalry saw that they could only occupy this middle-sized tribe. Then, they found that more and more Qiang soldiers were behind them.
However, the Zhao cavalry was the best in the world. At least, that was what the people of the Central Plains thought. Even if the other party had 100,000 soldiers, they did not care. After occupying this middle-sized tribe, the Zhao soldiers did not kill the innocent. After killing some cows and sheep to make meat jerky, they continued on their way. As long as the Qiang soldiers did not get close to them, they ignored them completely.
On the 30th of the eighth month, the Zhao cavalry saw more than ten tribes behind them. The largest tribe had more than 20,000 soldiers. Thus, they had to take the initiative to attack the Qiang soldiers.
At the same time, in Ji City of the Yan Kingdom, the King of Yan and the Eighteen Steeds of Yan Yun were secretly receiving a man in black with a bamboo hat. The man in black was not tall and did not seem to have any vital energy. However, it was strange that the King of Yan would treat him so well.
"King Jing, we are counting on you this time. The Qin Kingdom's brutality has angered the world. If we succeed, I will give you a county. If you go back on your word, the heavens will not tolerate it!" It was not easy for the King of Yan to speak to someone in such a manner.
"The Qin Kingdom's brutality is Qin Zheng's. If the Qin Kingdom unifies the world, the aristocratic families will lose everything. The people will become Qin Zheng's slaves.
I will die a hundred times to fulfill the King's request! "The man bowed to the King of Yan.
Jing Ke was also an extraordinary person in the Yan Kingdom.
He was born in an aristocratic family. When he was young, he traveled to various countries. After joining the School of Mo, he became the Master of Mo in ten years.
After becoming the Master of Mo, he changed to the Gongsun family. In the end, he became the Master of Gongsun family. This was a strange story among the Wanderers of the Yan Kingdom.
The Gongsun family valued righteousness and were good at fighting. Most of them were Wanderers. Jing Ke had been known as a righteous person for hundreds of years. He was the leader of all the Wanderers of the Yan Kingdom. No one expected the King of Yan to invite him.