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墨書 Inktalez
The surname in ancient times actually referred to the emblematic totem of a large tribal alliance. The term "surname" indicated a branch of the large tribal alliance or a smaller clan that had separated from it. With the emergence of pictographs, important individuals within each tribe began to have their own surnames.
Surnames were divided into two parts, and this naming convention continued until the late Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period. The merging of surnames into one began gradually during the Qin and Han dynasties. This means that the surnames during the Warring States period were not as they are understood today; they still followed the matrilineal clan naming system. Over time, with the changes of dynasties, surnames slowly transitioned to a patrilineal system.
Taking Lu Ziquan as an example, he belongs to the Lu Clan and is of the Jiang lineage. Since he is referred to as part of the Lu Clan, it indicates that his branch comes from the Lu Clan, while his mother belongs to the Jiang Clan.
His brothers jokingly call him Prime Minister Jiang, which derives from his surname rather than his clan name. Thus, there is no pretense in this nickname, nor is it an unfounded joke. In this context, his original name Jiang Xiaoyuer and Luzi also have some connections because her father is from the Jiang Clan.
The Zhao Clan originated in the mid-Western Zhou period and came from the Ying Surname tribal alliance, founded by Zhao Fu. It can also be understood that the rulers of Zhao originally belonged to a branch of the Ying surname clan. In other words, both the Zhao family ruling Zhao State and the Ying family ruling Qin State came from the same tribal alliance, whose totem was Ying.
According to records in the Book of Han, the Shaohao Clan is indeed associated with the Ying Surname. Ying was originally an alternate character for Yan and shares a similar pronunciation. Therefore, this character can also be read as Yan. The Shaohao Clan initially used a bird resembling a swallow as their totem, leading later generations to regard Shaohao Clan as the ancestor of Ying Surname.
Li Mu's Li Family also has some connections with Shaohao Clan because he belongs to the Li family of Ying surname. Thus, it is known that the earliest Li Family tribe was actually a small branch that separated from the larger Ying surname tribal alliance.
In China, when two people with the same surname meet, they can jokingly say that they are family from once in a century ago. This saying is entirely plausible because thousands or even tens of thousands of years ago, descendants of Yan and Huang were indeed one family.
If we use ancient surname conventions to explain modern names, it may become clearer. The large tribal alliance living in China used a dragon totem as their emblem. The different surnames people use represent various small clans within this dragon family.
Whether it is Luzi, Wang Jian, Meng Wu, Li Xin, Sun Thirteen, or Lian Po, Zhao Kuo, Li Mu, Sima Shang; regardless if they are King Qin, King Zhao, King Han, King Wei or King of Chu, King Qi and King Yan; their ancestors undoubtedly lived within the same large tribal alliance.
In a hurry to enter Handan City and head towards the palace, Zhao Kuo was unexpectedly stopped by a child. He halted his advance just as he was about to pass by a Captain of the Guard and dismounted his horse to squat down in front of this child with a friendly expression and asked: “Little Kid! Where are your family? Why are you stopping uncle?”
Strangely enough, the child seemed unafraid of this group of armored soldiers. With confidence, he pointed towards a small alley nearby and said in a childish voice: “The general's old subordinate has fainted inside; I hope you won't give up on him.”
Because he heard that a subordinate had recently suffered from severe frostbite and was sent back to Handan, Zhao Kuo did not find this answer strange at all. He stood up, patted the child's head, and expressed his gratitude. Then he stepped toward the desolate alley, wanting to know who that so-called old subordinate was. At this moment, with the freezing weather, it was easy to succumb to the cold if one fainted by the roadside.
What the child had just said was also clearly heard by Captain Wei and Zhao Guangyi. Worried about the general's safety, they hurriedly left two soldiers to guard the horses and then called their men to take out crossbows and rush into the alley where Zhao Kuo was preparing to enter.
Due to the extremely low temperature, no one liked to wander outside aimlessly. The alley was cold and empty, with not a single person... wait! There was someone ahead!
Zhao Guangyi waved his hand to signal the defensive line to disperse, carefully protecting the general as he moved toward the target. After confirming that there were no dangers nearby, he began to pay attention to the person leaning against the wall.
Zhao Kuo discovered that the unconscious old subordinate was actually Li Mu and quickly crouched down to check for injuries. Fortunately! Li Mu's breathing was steady, and there were no signs of injury on him.
Zhao Guangyi naturally recognized Li Mu as well, but he should have been in prison at this time. How did he end up outside? Could it be that case has been resolved? Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel regretful. Due to a moment of carelessness earlier, he had failed to keep that messenger child behind! Just as he wanted to call for soldiers to quickly leave the alley in search of him, he was stopped by Zhao Kuo.
"I think it's better to forget it! This isn't a frontline filled with dangers; using bait is for ambush tactics. Besides, even if you find that child now, I doubt you'll get any useful information from him."
Zhao Kuo had his reasons for saying this; after all, this was Handan, the military and economic center of Zhao State. The city not only had a large number of guard troops but also stationed numerous regular forces around its walls. Even if something were to happen, it would likely be minor skirmishes. If they acted flustered and were seen by outsiders, it would be quite embarrassing!
Zhao Guangyi soon understood this as well and had two soldiers help each other carry the unconscious Li Mu. "General! How about we stop by and find a doctor for Li Mu?"
Zhao Kuo actually understood some medical principles; when he checked Li Mu's body earlier, he found no injuries. Moreover, he didn't seem poisoned; his complexion looked normal. As for any questions in his mind, they could only be answered once this unconscious person woke up. However, this way was better; it saved them another trip to Prison City Camp to rescue someone!
Zhao Kuo knew that the safest place right now was for Li Mu to stay close by his side. After making up his mind, he looked around again but found nothing unusual. "Li Mu is fine; he'll wake up shortly. Let him follow us; you all need to ensure his safety. Let's go! The king is still waiting!"
Once Zhao Kuo's horse team left, Luzi, who had changed back into civilian clothes, finally walked out from inside the house. Based on his understanding of Zhao Kuo, he did not believe that this general would abandon Li Mu. As expected, Zhao Kuo showed no concern whether this was a conspiracy or a trap.
Li Xin and Chang Yu followed Luzi, watching True Zhao Kuo and his True Guard disappear around the corner ahead. The three exchanged smiles before stepping into the bustling crowd of Outside. Soon after, they vanished without a trace.
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