With Lord Jingyang as Tao's guardian, this was beyond everyone's expectations: Wasn't Lord Jingyang driven back to his fiefdom and no longer involved in political affairs? Could it be that Lord Jingyang is going to come out again?
The battle situation in Xingcheng, Pingyang, was finally reported to the State of Zheng. Han Ping almost despaired of Pingyang: It’s not that I won’t fight, it’s that I really can’t defeat him! He began to reflect on whether he had made a mistake in placing his hopes on Zhao; if he had completely turned to Qin, the situation would have been better. Taking advantage of Tao Shouxin's appointment, he wanted to get closer to Lord Jingyang, but the envoys he sent were turned away by Lord Jingyang: Marquis Rang had already been buried, and the princes did not need to be buried in Tao! In desperation, he had to rely on businessmen to communicate with Tao.
Although Tao is an area known for its commerce, with criss-crossing water networks and convenient transportation, the land is fertile and is also a good place for growing grain. During the reign of Marquis Rang, the acres of land were also re-measured and distributed according to titles. Some manors in the hands of big merchants were cleared and replanted with grain. Nobility has become an important identity for people living in Tao. If you only have money, it is not enough. It only means that you can only do business in merchants; only with a title can you obtain land, real estate and slaves! Money can't buy this!
Because the land of Tao was intertwined with the lands of other princes, it was quite difficult to implement Qin law in Tao. Although he is Ranghou, he still faces many difficulties. But in the battle against Zhao at the beginning of last year, Tao Yi showed strong combat effectiveness. Although he finally retreated under the "mediation" of Qi, the surrounding cities were much more honest. In the past year, the city lords of those who voluntarily implemented Qin's laws remained unchanged; those who were unwilling to implement Qin's laws, Ranghou sent troops to attack and forcibly implemented Qin's laws. Within a year, Taoyi's territory expanded a lot, and more and more people were registered as households.
After Lord Jingyang took office, he made no new moves. He just asked Zhang Tang and Cai Xian to continue their previous strategy: after the autumn harvest, they mainly focused on expanding the scope of Qin's law, and during spring plowing, these new lands were cultivated according to the law.
Marquis Rang's suicide note before his death was sent to Xianyang by Jingyang Lord. The letter earnestly requested the King of Qin to increase investment in Tao. If Tao can build another Guanzhong, there will be no competition in the world!
The King of Qin did not send this document to the courtiers for discussion. Instead, he called the prince and Zhang Lu to the palace for a secret discussion.
After the death of the Queen Mother, King Qin obviously aged, as if the Queen Mother had also taken away part of his life, only his eyes were still bright and bright. He looked at Zhang Lu and said: "I have followed Mr.'s teachings. To make friends from far away and attack close by, I should take Han as my priority. And Marquis Rang is diligently focusing on Tao. I can't make a decision, so I hope that you, Sir, will do it for me."
Zhang Lu said: "Han and Qin are bordered by each other, and their territory cannot be thousands of miles long, and their movements are irreconcilable. In the past years, Han was the central army to attack Qin with the princes. Qin and Chu fought in Lantian, and Han sent out sharp troops to assist Qin. , Qin's war was unfavorable, because he turned to Chu and did not solidify the alliance, so he just followed. In the former, Han Yilan and Qin were lured. Qin traveled far across the mountains and rivers and fought for a place that was not urgent, so he really wanted to trap Qin. Qin was Zhao Under pressure, at the slightest sign of falling, Han will abandon his heart and focus on uniting. Han is with me, and I have a heart and heart disease, so I must submit. If you want to subdue Han, one army should go out of Xingyang, and the other army should go out of Taihang, and the three of them should be cut off from Han. As a result, Han's hands, feet, heart and soul are separated, and his power is unable to do anything. Now Wu'an Lord has obtained the land of Zhi, Gaodu, and Fenshang, but if he goes out of Taihang and attacks Yewang, the road to Taihang will be cut off. After crossing again to Xingyang, he will become Gao To the west, there is no such thing as Han. Such great success only occurs between one and two years old.
"Fu Tao, in a land connected in all directions, where the princes come to visit, it is not as if there are mountains and rivers blocking the river east of the river. Their people are profit-loving and cunning. Although they are submissive now, their hearts are not yet settled. The soldiers and armor are not strong, and the city is not thick. Use it to attack it. If it cannot be overcome, because its rules are not solid, the princes will attack it and break it. If the people are well taken care of, the success may be achieved after dozens of years.
"I hope that the king Dan will take Han as the urgent one and Tao as the slow one. Lord Jingyang will be the king who defends the success with determination, and he will do it for him. Zhang Tang and Cai Zhen, the former generals of Marquis Rang, will let them do whatever they want. But the order will be to open up the territory and expand the territory. , but do not attack; do good diplomacy with the princes, and organize the army internally; wait for ten years, and then you should do something."
The King of Qin said: "Sir, since he planned to attack at the age of two, he can recover the strategy of fertility and support for ten years, and he can do it in parallel without contradicting each other. He is a good man. I will take it with you!"
When the Korean envoys came to Xianyang to seek peace, the King of Qin refused to meet him. Zhang Lu, however, displayed his vindictive character and denounced South Korea's treachery and attack on Hedong, claiming that he would go to Zheng to retaliate for this attack! The Korean envoy knew it was blackmail, but he was speechless, because after all, it was South Korea who besieged Qin's Quwo first. If the Qin army's actions were considered a counterattack, it would be completely reasonable!
It was Zeng Ji who sent the letter back to Xianyang. After Zeng Ji arrived in Xianyang, he secretly sent out a code to find his companions, but unexpectedly they led to Zheng Anping and Chen Si! Through the introduction of Zheng and Chen, Zeng Jicai found out that Zhang Lu was also on this path.
Those wanderers who seek enlightenment from all over the world have formed many formal or informal mutual aid networks with their masters or relatives as the core, and different networks also intersect with each other; most of them can only stay dormant in the market and engage in lowly jobs. industry. Zeng Ji was a student of Qi State, and Hou Ying was a student of Wei State. Chen Zhen traveled around the country, and they also got in touch. Zeng Ji was like a fish in water between Korea and Wei, and benefited from Hou Ying's help a lot.
After learning Zeng Ji's identity, Zhang Lu met with Zeng Ji and claimed that Zeng Ji was his old friend in Wei. He gave Zeng Ji a large amount of property in return and let Zeng Ji leave.
From that day on, imprudent people from different places would come to visit Zhang Lu every once in a while. Zhang Lu also received them one by one. They all said that they were old friends from the past, and they all gave him a lot of money, almost all his savings over the past few years. I spent all of it and asked Zheng Anping, Chen Si and others for loans. As a result, Zhang Lu's reputation for "any grudges must be avenged, and every kindness must be repaid" spread widely.
Zheng Anping was arranged to interact with these reckless heroes all over the country. Zheng Anping is already very reckless, so he is naturally very handy in getting this task. He can grasp the trends in various places in time and report them in time. Zhang Lu is even more powerful!
This year, Bai Qi in Hedong did not relax his martial arts performances for a while, which made the counties in Pingyang tremble with fear. But Yang Chengjun decided to lie down completely. Apart from farming, he even stopped training as a soldier! Anyway, he can't beat him after practicing, and he will die in vain. It would be better if Bai Qi comes to fight, just put up a little resistance and give up the territory to him.
However, after the Ghost Festival, Bai Qi did not take action in Pingyang. Instead, he led a selected army out of Zhidao and entered Nanyang.
After Gaodu was occupied by the Qin army, Taihang Road was almost cut off, and Yewang by Shaoshui became almost an isolated city. Soldiers from many surrounding cities including Zhi, Wen, Gaodu, Xingqiu, Huai... were mobilized. Reinforced by elites from other counties in Hedong, they surrounded the Ye King!
Unlike the battles of Shaoqu and Xingcheng where news was blocked, Yewang was located in an important place in the capital and was an eyesore. Once he was surrounded, the whole world would know about it. Han Ping immediately sent many envoys to ask for help from various vassal states, especially Zhao and Wei, but they were ignored. Han Ping also sent people to Xianyang to make peace with Qin. Qin wanted Wei to cede Pingyang, so South Korea naturally refused. , the two sides were in a stalemate.
Qin Ren's series of actions were all in Huang Xie's eyes. When Bai Qi finally came out of Zhidao and besieged the Wild King, Huang Xie took his decisive steps.
The envoys of the State of Chu brought the newly harvested grain and local products that year. The envoy reported that King Chu was in poor health. News about King Chu's poor health has been spreading recently, but Huang Xie has not dared to take action because there is still a gap with Qin's movements. Now the Qin army has finally attacked South Korea's core city in Nanyang - the time has come for action.
On this day, the Chu delegation completed their transfer mission, had breakfast, and set off to leave. Huang Xie and the prince sent them out of Xianyang. But when they came back, their car seemed to be sightseeing and they walked outside the city for a long time. After returning, Huang Xie sent someone to tell Princess Qin, who was pregnant with her second child, that the prince went to visit the Prime Minister of Qin and would not return tonight. . Although the princess was a little strange, she didn't say anything.
When the court went to court the next day, only Huang Xie entered the court, and the prince did not show up. Normally, Huang Xie and the prince would stand in the most conspicuous place in the court, but their absence today was very conspicuous. Zhang Lu asked: "Is the prince ill?"
Huang Xie replied: "Of course! He felt cold at night and was heavy and had a headache. I would like to beg." Zhang Lu said nothing more.
That afternoon, after Zhang Lu finished handling the day's daily affairs, he returned to his mansion. Huang Xie took a car and came to see him. Zhang Lu didn't know why, so he hurriedly invited him in.
After sitting down after reciting the ceremony, Huang Xie suddenly asked: "Is the prime minister a sincere and kind prince?"
Zhang Lu didn't know what he meant, so he replied: "Yes."
Huang Xie said: "Now the King of Chu is afraid that he will not be ill. It is better for Qin to return to the crown prince. If the crown prince is established, he will do Qin a great service and be a good minister of the country. This is to be close to the country and gain thousands of treasures. If he does not return, he will be a commoner in Xianyang." "If Chu is to establish a new crown prince, he will not interfere with Qin."
After Zhang Lu heard this, he thought for a while and said, "I should repay it to the king."
Huang Xie said: "The matter is not urgent. The prince is not in peace. We can proceed slowly. Does the Prime Minister have any intention?" Zhang Lu agreed.
A few days later, Zhang Lu responded to Huang Xie at court: "I reported the prince's affairs to the king. The king said that the prince Fu can be asked to inquire about the king of Chu's illness first, and then he can take care of it after he returns."
Huang Xie said: "I accept your order!" On the same day, Prince Fu's car set off.
A few days later, the prince still did not come to court. Zhang Lu asked, "Is the prince still pregnant?"
Huang Xie said: "I will tell you immediately."
After Zhang Lu finished handling official matters in the afternoon, he invited Huang Xie to see him. Huang Xie bowed and said, "The prince has returned and has traveled far away. Xie should die, but he was given to die."
Hearing this, Zhang Lu was silent for a moment and asked, "How many days have you been out?"
Huang Xie said: "I'm going back with Fu."
Zhang Ludao: "How can Zuo disciple be so deceived? The prince is fine, but he is dead. But the princess and son are left behind, how can I bear it!"
Huang Xie said: "It is just as the Prime Minister said. Qin will keep the prince, and the two gentlemen of Yangwen are among them. If the king dies and the prince is not there, the prince of Yangwen will be the queen, and the prince will not be allowed to worship the ancestral temple. I owe Qin , please accept death as punishment."
Zhang Lu said sadly: "Qin lost Chu, and I lost my friends, both today. I should invite you to the king."
