I didn't think it was only after Chen Ping followed the Han Army General Zheng Bu to Wuguan and temporarily left him, Xiang Kang discovered how much help Chen Ping had helped him.

In the past, Chen Ping was by his side, and there were anything that Xiang Kang needed to know within the Han army and the major official temples in Xianyang. Chen Ping, who was responsible for supervising generals and officials, could always let Xiang Kang know in a very short time, either directly report, remind him or mention him casually, so that even if Xiang Kang was sitting in a high position or was in the deep palace, he could still know the internal situation of the Han army and make necessary decisions in a timely manner.

The same is true for handling government affairs and military affairs. Although Chen Ping rarely takes the initiative to make suggestions on Xiang Kang's decisions, he can always guess Xiang Kang's intentions and handle many not-so-important military affairs and government affairs beautifully. He not only made the decisions that Xiang Kang needed, but also shared a lot of work pressure for Xiang Kang, so that Xiang Kang could free up his hands to think about and handle more important matters, and perfectly served as Secretary-General Xiang Kang.

As for the military officers and suggestions, let alone Chen Ping's role in these aspects is that even Zhou Zeng, who was named the prime minister of Xiang Kang, was far from reach. Xiang Kang had long been used to handing over the issue of money and food governance to Zhou Zeng. When encountering major military plans, he first consulted Chen Ping.

After Chen Ping left temporarily, Xiang Kang quickly tasted the pain of being too dependent. He could be busy until late at night just by reading and annotating official documents. He also had to take time to read secret reports submitted by Han military spies, grasp the corruption of the words and deeds of civil and military officials of the Han army, as well as the likes and dislikes of the people in various parts of Guanzhong for themselves and the Han army. Whether the old ministers of the Qin court were still missing the old country and whether there were any signs of rebellion and rebellion, they had to worry about everything together, and it was extremely hard.

The same is true for major military events. Without Chen Ping's help to sort out the military information summary, he memorized the various important information mastered by the Han army. No matter how decisive and cunning Xiang Kang was, he was still restricted when making decisions, for fear of improper handling and inadequate consideration, which would lead to uncontrollable consequences.

After a few days of hard work, Xiang Kang not only regretted leaving Chen Ping, but also had to invite Zhang Liang, who was still a Korean minister, to temporarily replace Chen Ping's secretary-general and help him handle military and political affairs. Fortunately, after a little push, Zhang Liang, who was also a famous prime minister, quickly replaced Chen Ping's role, helped Xiang Kang share the huge work pressure, so that Xiang Kang could finally free up some time to slip back to the harem to comfort Qi Min's little girl who was sent to him by Qi Ji in advance.

It is precisely because of this that Xiang Kang, who had originally hoped that Zhang Liang would stay forever, strengthened his determination to retain Zhang Liang. Once, when he was taking a temporary break, Xiang Kang spoke directly to Zhang Liang and said, "Mr. Zifang, can you stop going back to Korea? Stay here to help me. I won't say much about other nonsense. As long as you can stay, no matter how you want me to compensate King Han, I can try my best to agree."

Seeing Xiang Kang's sincere attitude, Zhang Liang couldn't help but sigh and said, "King, your trust and wrong love for foreign ministers are hard to repay even if they are broken into pieces. He is really willing to work hard for the king. But there is no way. Foreign ministers have eaten Han Lu in the family, and their grandfather and father have served as the prime minister of Korea five times and have received much favor from the country. Now South Korea has fallen into such a land. No matter how ungrateful the foreign ministers are, they cannot bear to betray the Han royal court and become ministers of the Han Kingdom."

I had long understood Zhang Liang's intention to restore the country, but Xiang Kang had no choice but to sigh: "I am very blessed. I was in Huai Si before, because of all kinds of accidents, and it was already a pity that I could not reuse Mr. Zifang. I didn't expect that today I became the King of Han and still had to pass by a talent like you, Mr., as God is really teasing me."

"You must not be so over-reputable. The foreign ministers are really ashamed." Zhang Liang quickly said modestly, "Besides, the king has already helped Mr. Chen Ping, so why worry about the great cause? Before, the foreign minister was outside the country, and he still didn't know that it was because the king was wrongly loved and asked the foreign minister to temporarily take over Mr. Chen Ping's position. Only then did the foreign minister truly understand how great Mr. Chen Ping is. He has to admire the king's wise eyes, and he was able to discover the talent of the world like Mr. Chen Ping."

"It's not enough to just rely on Mr. Chen Ping." Xiang Kang smiled bitterly and said, "You have seen it with your own eyes. Although I have many civil servants, the only ones who can really help me a lot are Mr. Chen Ping and Uncle Ya, Mr. Li Shiqi, who was forcibly detained by my brother, and Mr. Zifang, who is unwilling to be a Han minister."

The speaker is unintentional, and the listener is intentional. Xiang Kang's heartfelt words suddenly reminded Zhang Liang. After a little calculation, Zhang Liang immediately said: "If the king feels that his highness is short of talents, then the foreign minister wants to recommend a few noble men to you, but I don't know if the king is willing to use it."

"Of course I'm willing to use it." Xiang Kang replied without thinking: "The talent who can be praised by Mr. Zifang as a nobleman, and the younger generation is willing to use it, but I don't know where Mr. Zifang wants to recommend the nobleman, and where he is currently."

"They live in seclusion on the territory of your king." Zhang Liang immediately replied, and said, "I wonder if the king has ever heard of the great name of the Four Old Ones of Shangshan?"

Although history is terrible, and I have never seen the names of the Four Elders of Shangshan in history books, Xiang Kang had really heard of the Four Elders of Shangshan in this era, and immediately nodded and said, "I heard that Mr. Chen Ping once mentioned them in front of his younger generations, saying that they were doctors recruited by the First Emperor himself and served for the tyrant Qin court. However, because he did not like to be an official, he resolutely resigned from his position as a doctorate and lived in seclusion in Shangshan."

"They are the ones that the foreign ministers want to recommend." Zhang Liang replied: "They live in seclusion in Shangshan, right in the Shangting area between Zhiguan and Wuguan. If the king intends to seek talent, he can send someone to invite them out of the mountain at any time."

Xiang Kang did not agree immediately, frowned and said in a little embarrassed manner: "Of course there is no problem to hire them out of the mountain with a large amount of money, but there are two points. First, although the four elders of Shangshan are indeed quite famous, as far as they know, they did not show any outstanding talents when they served the First Emperor, nor did they hear of any major things they did. Is it a big problem to meet like those so-called famous people?

"As for the second one?" Xiang Kang said frankly: "I heard that these four famous scholars have a bit of old-fashioned tempers. The old-father of my brother Fan Zuoshi, even if they are invited, they will not be able to get along with the younger generation. They will be quarrel about resigning and retirement, so it will be difficult for the younger generation to be a human being."

"Fan Zuoshi is not worthy of example." Zhang Liang immediately said: "Why did Fan Zuoshi abandon you and leave? What is the real reason? You both know in your heart and in your heart that there is no need to use him as an example. Now, you are not in the same situation as when you were in Huai Si, and the Four Elders of Shangshan do not have the same opportunity as Fan Zuoshi at that time. You will never be as ruthless as Fan Zuoshi."

"As for whether the Four Elders of Shangshan have real talents and knowledge," Zhang Liang dragged his voice out and said, "Master, please forgive me for saying that if you raise such concerns, you will expose your shortcomings. Although you are indeed extremely smart and heroic, you still have to strengthen your efforts in recruiting talents and employing people."

After pointing out Xiang Kang's shortcomings directly, Zhang Liang then said: "For you, it is not important whether the Four Elders of Shangshan really have real talents and knowledge. The most important thing is their reputation. The Four Elders of Shangshan abandoned the tyrant Qin Emperor Ying Zheng before, and they were already famous. They lived in seclusion in the remote places of Shangshan, and they were still famous. It can be seen that their influence on the scholars of the world is extraordinary. If you can hire them out of the mountain and let them serve you, what will the scholars of the world view you? Wouldn't the people of the world think that you, King, are better than the First Emperor Ying Zheng, who unified the world in terms of knowing talents and being important scholars?"

After hearing Zhang Liang's words, Xiang Kang realized that he was still lacking in discovering talents. The Four Elders of Shangshan may not be true and lack real talents and knowledge. However, if they can be taken as hands, even if they are used as political vases, they will immediately receive the effect of being a rich man, so that countless capable people with real talents and knowledge can take the initiative to vote, so that they can choose at will and discover the truly available talents!

Seeing Xiang Kang awakened, Zhang Liang said, "In addition, foreign ministers also believed that the Four Elders of Shangshan may not be as good as being famous when they meet, but they do have real talent and knowledge. The reason is that Ying Zheng, the tyrant Qin emperor who unified the six kingdoms, is such a great talent and strategy? After summoning them to the court as officials, how could they not see what kind of person they were? Let them understand the past and present and distinguish whether they are in harmony with the teaching positions, wouldn't they have clearly told the world that Ying Zheng has recognized their talents? How could those who can be recognized by Ying Zheng be deceived and robbed the world? "

"That may not be the case, at least Xu Fu is the exception."

Xiang Kang muttered in his heart, but after thinking about it, Xiang Kang found that even if the Four Elders of Shangshan and Xu Fu were all the same things, it would be okay. At least they could fool them and dared to fool them, and they would be more interested in their appetite. So Xiang Kang did not hesitate and immediately bowed to Zhang Liang and said, "Thank you, Mr. Zifang for your advice and recommendation. I understand. I will send someone to Shangshan immediately and ask the Four Elders of Shangshan to come out to serve me."

"King, I wonder who you are going to send to invite the Four Elders of Shangshan?" Zhang Liang asked, and then said: "The Four Elders of Shangshan are determined to retire and have become Zizhige to show their ambitions. It is probably difficult for ordinary envoys to invite them. Foreign ministers believe that if you want to invite the Four Elders of Shangshan, you'd better send Mr. Sun Tong to come forward to invite the Four Elders of Shangshan."

"Uncle Sun Tong? That flatterer is even more famous than me. I asked him to invite the Four Elders of Shangshan. Don't make the Four Elders of Shangshan even more angry, don't want to come out, right?"

Xiang Kang was stunned and was about to question it, but seeing that although Zhang Liang smiled and stared at his expression, Xiang Kang's heart immediately moved and said to himself: "No, Zhang Liang is testing me. He proposed to send his uncle and Sun Tong, which is definitely not aimless."

After thinking more carefully, Xiang Kang also realized that among his accomplices and lackeys, it was indeed only Shusun Tong who was the most likely to invite the Four Elders of Shangshan. The reason was that although Shusun Tong's character was not very good, his reputation among scholars was quite large. He was once a colleague of Shangshan's Four Elders, and now he has gained his own weight and has a considerable real power. He asked him to invite the Four Elders of Shangshan to come out. This can not only satisfy the vanity of Shangshan's Four Elders, but also prove his sincerity to seek talents, but also let the Four Elders of Shangshan see directly - even a flatterer like Shusun Tong can be valued by himself, let alone them?

After quickly understanding Zhang Liang's real intention, Xiang Kang of course nodded immediately and sent someone to call Mr. Sun to arrange his errands for him. Zhang Liang didn't say anything, but just praised him in his heart, "It turns out that it can be understood at all. Today, this little guy will definitely be even more powerful in how to use people."

It's okay. Although Mr. Shusun didn't like to go to the enemy camp for life and death, he went to visit the famous secluded scholars on the ground where there was no danger. Mr. Shusun was very happy to work hard. As soon as he heard Xiang Kang's order, he immediately agreed to hold his fists and patted his chest to invite his former colleagues out of the mountain for Xiang Kang. Xiang Kang was also very happy and personally arranged five gorgeous floats and a team of guards to accompany Shusun Tong to invite the Four Elders of Shangshan to satisfy the vanity of Mr. Shusun and Shangshan. Shusun Tong was very happy to thank him, and on the same day he went south to Shangshan to execute the orders.

The next day's official business was still busy. For the whole morning, Xiang Kang was buried alive in the mountain of documents, and his comments were so busy that he was dizzy. As a result, it caused trouble for Xiang Kang. Just as Xiang Kang was rubbing his temples in pain for a while, the envoy of Zhao State came to pay a visit with the letter of the country, asking the Han army to send troops from Hedong to the north, and help the Zhao army attack Zhang Han, Sima Xin and Dong Yi's army who were attacking Taiyuan County.

Xiang Kang did not reply to the envoy of Zhao on the spot, but just used the excuse to discuss with the ministers and sent the envoy of Zhao back to the inn to rest first, and then said to Zhou Zeng and Zhang Liang with dissatisfaction: "It's easy to say, and don't look at what I'm in now. It's only been more than two months since I took Guanzhong. I haven't finished my work in Guanzhong yet. Where can I make a move to advance to Taiyuan County? Help them keep Taiyuan?"

"At most, we can only help Zhao State in other aspects, and we must not really contribute." Zhou Zeng also said immediately: "We have to fight with Zhao State for the ownership of Shangdang County, and we must never help them protect Taiyuan County. We have the strength to bargain with us on the ownership of Shangdang."

Xiang Kang nodded, rubbed his temples and said, "Let's talk about it for a few days, and then we will discuss how to reply to Zhao State."

Seeing Xiang Kang's tired expression, Zhang Liangxin said, "Master, why don't you take a break? The matter here will be temporarily left to the foreign ministers and Zhou Xiang. Don't get tired of your health."

"It's not tired, it's just that I use my brain too much, and my head is swelling very hard." Xiang Kang answered casually, but because he was indeed a little dizzy, Zhou Zeng also persuaded him. Xiang Kang, who was unwilling to die young, accepted their kindness and put down his business and returned to the back hall to rest.

It was also on the way back to the back hall that Xiang Kang suddenly remembered that he had not walked out of Xianyang Palace for several days, and knew that walking could relieve excessive brain use, so he made up his mind and decided to lead a team of guards to leave the palace in a casual manner and go to the streets of Xianyang to visit. Although Xianyang has actually fallen into Xiang Kang's clutches, because of the busy affairs, Xiang Kang has not been on the street for a few times.

Ignoring the dissuasion of the guards, Xiang Kang insisted that Xu Ji and twenty guards put on casual clothes, and changed himself into Confucian scholar clothes, dressed up in a colorful manner. He also hung the Qin Shihuang's sword that had cut Jing Ke to his waist, and then left the palace through the side door and walked to Xianyang Street with aura.

With the blessing of Xiang Kang, the Xianyang palace was still outrageously numerous, and the twelve shining golden men were still standing outside the Xianyang Palace. Unfortunately, Xiang Kang had no interest in the palace and buildings. Under the secret protection of the guards, he went to crowded places, visited the streets of Xianyang, and saw the folk customs of Guanzhong.

Of course, the most lively place in a city is Shisi Commercial Street. Xianyang, which is not protected by the city walls, is no exception. Xianyang City on the north bank of the Wei River is even more crowded. Xiang Kang, who had long been depressed, insisted on entering the market with the most crowded flow, regardless of the kindness of Xu Ji and other guards.

Xiang Kang was not really idle and had nothing to do before entering the market. Before, the Han army officials had reported several times that the price of grain in Guanzhong rose several times due to the war, and the people of Guanzhong complained. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Xiang Kang wanted to go to the scene to learn about the situation in person. The result was indeed the case. During the Qin Shihuang period, the price of rice of 140 coins per stone has now risen to nearly 2,000 coins, which has caused many poor people in Guanzhong to buy cheaper wheat beans to satisfy their hunger, and they have complained that the Han army could not suppress the rise in rice prices.

Xiang Kang had no choice but to do so, because the rice-producing places were basically controlled by the coalition forces of the princes, and Nanyang, the only rice-producing area controlled by the Han army, was soon lost. He could not afford enough rice to stabilize the price of rice, so Xiang Kang could only make up his mind and decided to speed up the promotion of stone-milled flour and change the staple food habits of the people in Guanzhong.

While he was thinking about taking a casual walk, Xiang Kang walked unknowingly to the Liesi, which specializes in valuables. Xiang Kang, who had piled up rare treasures in his hand, was of course not interested in folk luxury goods. He was about to speed up his eyes, but he was quite surprised to see that there were several Western Hu merchants with high noses and curly hair in Liesi. When he looked at the products sold by the Hu merchants curiously, Xiang Kang's eyes immediately stopped, and he couldn't help but rub his eyes, thinking: "I'm not right? In this era, Xianyang already has this thing?"

After rubbing his eyes and looking at it, Xiang Kang was extremely excited and rushed forward. He ignored the other customers in front of Hu Shang’s stall. He just picked up a product sold by Hu Shang and looked carefully. He shouted in surprise, "That's right, this is the thing!"

"Ouch! What are you doing? You are so rude, why do you hit me from behind?"

The delicate girl's voice came into Xiang Kang's ears, but unfortunately Xiang Kang didn't even look at her. He just asked Hu Shang quickly after the stall: "What's the name of this thing you sell?"

"I haven't even seen garlic before the pass." The girl's low complaint sounded like a little girl again...
Chapter completed!