It has been more than half a year since the Battle of Changping ended. The chilling autumn wind has been replaced by the warm summer. The busy spring plowing has passed, and farmers have turned to field management in the warm season.
Lord Xinling sent Hou Ying away. Although he was very respectful, he was not in a happy mood: Hou Ying did not bring him any surprising news, and Qin and Zhao seemed to digest it without any trace. With the trauma caused by this huge war, there is no sign of war in either Xianyang or Handan. It is as peaceful as Daliang, which has been peaceful for more than ten years.
Could it be that the decisive battle involving hundreds of thousands of people ended so quietly, without leaving any weaknesses? Lord Xinling didn't believe it in his heart, but he couldn't find the weakness of the two, let alone exploit it.
Back in the hall, Zhang Zou and Mr. Zhongyue were still waiting in the hall. Lord Xinling bowed his head and sat down and asked, "Two tigers are fighting each other, but neither of them is injured. What can I do?"
Mr. Zhongyue said: "I heard that not all the Qin army came out of Xianyang, but also came from Chu and as far away as Bashu. That's why..."
Lord Xinling interrupted a little impatiently: "There are no plains in the fields in Chu and Bashu, which shows that there are not enough dead people."
Zhang He said: "It is said that the Zhao soldiers were killed by 400,000 people, but this is not believed enough. Although Wei was weak, it was still in the Warring States period, and it was extremely difficult to raise an army of 100,000 men. Although Zhao was strong, the land was not much larger and the number of households was not increased, so how could he get 400,000 soldiers? Public? If there are only 40,000, how many common people are there?"
Mr. Zhongyue said: "Maybe there is. If you win, you will retaliate with ten, and use great martial arts, which is his leadership. Zhao's army is 40,000, but Qin defeated it with 100,000, so all doubts can be resolved."
Lord Xinling said: "If it is true, then it is even more worrying. Shangdang, Zhao Zhizhi, is fighting for it but not exhausted. Why is it?" The hall fell into silence.
Lord Xinling could only say: "If the battle between Qin and Zhao does not result in two casualties, what can we do?"
Zhang He said: "They will fight again, your Majesty, will you wait for them?"
Lord Xinling said: "How can we resume the fight?"
Zhang He said: "Qin won but did not benefit from it, Zhao lost but did not suffer from it. It is difficult for the winner to defeat him, but the loser can fight, so he should fight again."
Lord Xinling said: "Young master Qin went to Handan with a stranger, and Mr. Zhao won the battle and went to Xianyang. These two sons are both virtuous sons. They are not enough to give up. They will make peace without fighting."
Mr. Zhongyue said: "They show harmony on the outside to stop the covetousness of the princes, but they are not inferior on the inside. Over time, competition will inevitably arise."
Lord Xinling said: "What should we do?"
Mr. Zhongyue said: "The King of Zhao is young, while the King of Qin is old. When he is young, his energy and blood are uncertain, his heart is strong, and he is unwilling to give up. When he is old, he makes plans and moves, and when he gains little, he stops. Therefore, the quarrel must start with Zhao."
Lord Xinling said: "The loss of Changping was the result of the Zhao Dynasty's discussion as usual. It was too late to retreat, and there was always a sense of injustice. That's what the gentleman said. However, it all depends on Lord Pingyang. Lord Pingyang has always been willing to make peace with Qin, so be careful. The war has begun. Lord Pingyuan is now in Xianyang and is the most important person of the King of Qin..."
Zhang He interrupted: "However, the young master is a stranger in Handan. He is despised by the people of Zhao. His behavior is not satisfactory. He hangs out with merchants."
Mr. Zhongyue said: "The king of Zhao is angry and can't bear it, but the king of Qin is skilled."
Zhang He said: "There are only a few people who have heard of strangers. If they can't bear it, then the struggle between Qin and Zhao will only be seen."
Mr. Zhongyue said: "What you said is good. It is not difficult to make strangers fight against Zhao people."
Lord Xinling said: "It's all thanks to your hard work."
At this time, Mr. Guo came in and reported: "Sub'an's envoy is in Handan and will return to Daliang."
All the gentlemen said: "If you meet Mr. Xu, you will definitely gain something."
At this moment, someone came from outside the door and reported: "A letter has arrived from Guancheng Post." He handed over a piece of white cloth.
Lord Xinling opened it and read, "Yu Qing's envoy has arrived, and he is willing to serve Wei Qi and welcome him!" A simple sentence without any clue, no context, and everyone was confused. Wei Qi offended Qin Prime Minister Zhang Lu (also known as Fan Ju) and was ordered to be hunted down by the King of Qin. Lord Xinling saw that he was unable to fight and did not dare to break with Qin, so he let Wei Qi secretly escape to Zhao and surrender to Lord Pingyuan. Now, Lord Pingyuan is in Xianyang, but the State of Zhao has sent Wei Qi back. Everyone's first reaction is that the State of Zhao will make peace with the State of Qin and lead the disaster to the State of Wei.
Lord Xinling asked: "Who is Yu Qing, who is coming back to Wei Qi?"
Mr. Guo said: "Yu Qing is Zhao's guest Qing. He travels around the princes as a lobbyist. He is Zhao Shangqing."
Lord Xinling said: "Zhao Shangqing arrived in the service of Wei Qi. Don't let all the princes know! I don't dare to invite him! What should I say?"
Mr. Zhongyue said: "I would like to summon Yu's envoy to meet him and gain his affection!"
Lord Xinling said: "Since Yu Qing is Zhao Shangqing, you cannot conspire with him. I would like to see you, sir, to check out his situation and thank you."
Mr. Zhongyue said: "Here!"
Mr. Zhong Yue drove overnight to Guancheng. It had been three days since Yu Qing's entourage arrived. When Mr. Zhongyue saw that the two envoys did not live in the post house, but in Cao Bao's car shop, he felt that something was wrong. When he met his entourage in a hurry, he realized that Yu Qing had abandoned his official position and fled, and was not sending Wei Qi back to Wei under the order of King Zhao. Wei Qi had fled to Yu Qing after getting the news that King Zhao was going to round him up and send him to King Qin. Mr. Zhongyue also heard that King Qin detained Lord Pingyuan and asked King Zhao to exchange Wei Qi's head!
Daliang had heard a little bit about the news that Lord Pingyuan was treated rudely by King Qin, but most of them were skeptical. Even those who believed it were all because Zhao did not treat strangers well. Unexpectedly, the insider turned out to be Wei Qi! Mr. Zhongyue did not dare to handle it without authorization, nor did he dare to let his followers live in the post house, or even let them stay in Guancheng for a long time. After all, this was a major matter of war and peace between the three countries of ten thousand chariots. He asked Cao Bao to send a car to send two of his followers back first, and give all the five gold cakes weighing one kilogram in the car shop to the followers, and leave his contact information; he would report to Lord Xinling for instructions when he went back. Next steps.
The two attendants had not fully recovered from the long journey when they were urged on the road by Mr. Zhongyue. Although Cao hired a car shop, the journey was much smoother, and many joints were taken care of by the car shop. However, after all, the journey was dusty and the bumps in the car were as physically draining as walking. After walking on the road for five days, when they arrived at Yecheng, the two followers were already very weak.
Since King Zhao was still chasing Wei Qi, Yu Qing naturally did not dare to live in one place for a long time. He moved his residence every now and then. The two followers followed the secret notes and relationships left by Yu Qing. After several twists and turns, they finally met. Yu Qing.
Yu Qing saw that four people were sent out and only two came back. He knew that the situation was not good. On their side, due to the difficulty of spending, all the entourage had been dispersed. Yu Qing and Wei Qi eagerly hoped that Lord Xinling would send someone over, but they did not expect that only two people came back. Although they brought five kilograms of gold cakes, they temporarily relieved their urgent need. , but Lord Xinling’s attitude is very suspicious.
Wei Qi was born into a noble family, so he had never experienced such hardships. When I went from Daliang to Handan, I even took my concubine with me. Although the journey was tiring, it was actually comfortable. But this time, not to mention being nervous and frightened, I had to walk step by step along the way; I couldn't walk anymore, so I could only sit on the ridge and rest for a while. Even drinking sweet water was a luxury, and I could only walk in the water. Drinking water from the pit. Wei Qi was over fifty years old. He had experienced this there, and when he arrived at Yecheng, he could no longer leave. I originally expected Lord Xinling to lend a helping hand. With Lord Xinling's power of three thousand followers, there should be no problem in escorting him back to Daliang safely. But I didn't expect that the news from Daliang still contained the word "wait".
Yu Qing did not dare to let Wei Qi talk directly to his followers, fearing that the followers would accidentally say something inappropriate and irritate Wei Qi. After listening to the entourage's statement, he went to Wei Qi's room and told what happened in Daliang, saying: "When we arrived in Daliang, Lord Xinling sent Mr. Zhongyue to meet us and gave him a cart of hardware. Please wait a moment. , Lord Xinling will definitely plan a rescue."
Wei Qi said sadly: "Qi has been serving King Wei for two generations. The previous king was too harsh, and the ministers were at war. But his two sons were at odds with each other, and the ministers were between them, so they were in a dilemma. When the Qin Dynasty was strong, Wei Unable to resist, he rushed to Handan. King Zhao wouldn't tolerate it, so he returned to Daliang, but he didn't see his face. Who is this in the sky?"
Seeing that Wei Qi was feeling sad, Yu Qing deliberately changed the subject and said, "If there was no incident about Zhang Lu, why would this happen? How can you be blamed by the Prime Minister of Qin?"
This was the saddest thing in Wei Qi's life. When Yu Qing mentioned it, he couldn't help but burst into tears. Yu Qing didn't know why and quickly comforted him. Wei Qidao: "This matter has been my lifelong hatred, and I have never told anyone about it. Now I will not be abandoned by others, and I will not abandon you. I will abandon my official position and follow each other, and we will share the hardships together. Listen to what I say from the bottom of my heart. Fan Ju, a native of Wei, traveled to The princes refused to sell, so they returned to Daliang and entered the sect of Xu Jia, a senior official in the middle. At this time, Qi used the people from the two cities to drive hundreds of thousands of Yan troops and restored all their lands. The princes were shocked. The king sent Xu Jia to congratulate Qi. , Fan Ju followed Yan. It was necessary for Jia to come to Qi, and he could not report anything for several months, nor could he see the king. But the king of Qi sent someone to give Ju Ju ten catties of gold and cattle wine. It was necessary for Jia Yiju to report Wei's secret affairs to Qi and report them to his ministers. Yu Qing thought that if Qi did not repay Jia Yu to the king, it would be resentful to Wei; but if Fan Ju was given to Qi, Fan Ju would have made great contributions to Qi, and it was not because of Wei ministers. Jia was required to return and report him, and the officials punished him severely. He was interrogated, his body was broken and his teeth were broken, and he died without saying a word. I thought he was dead, so I threw him in the toilet. Unexpectedly, he was saved by others, leaving this trouble... I still regret it so much!"
Yu Qing asked: "Will Fan Ju sell to Wei?"
Wei Qi said: "In the past, when Jia entered the Qin Dynasty, he learned that Zhang Lu, the prime minister of Qin, was an old official, Fan Ju. He was frightened and couldn't bear it. Hearing Ju's call to Jia, he said, "Ju's ancestor's tomb is in the Wei Dynasty. The Duke thinks that Ju has an external interest in Qi. His crime is the same." . It is necessary for Jia to return. He is very ill after hearing that and cannot walk. If Ju Bing does not betray Wei, the crime is due to necessity, not to the minister."
Yu Qing said: "Fan Ju is a true wise man. He has suffered endless injustices and has no power to restrain a chicken. However, he caused the death and illness of two ministers of Wei with his words. This is beyond my reach, and this is beyond my reach! Don't worry about me, sir. Even if I believe that Lord Ling will not accept it, I will return to Chu. Duke Yin Chunshen, the commander of Chu, has been in Qin as a hostage for a long time. He always cherishes the desire to restore the country, and he will definitely be willing to get your help and meet him as a guest. Kuang Chen is near Daliang, and the boat is It's within reach. If the king of Wei calls you, you can come."
Wei Qi said: "My heart has become cold, my will has faded, and I can no longer serve you. I am a gentleman! I am wandering in all directions, and I am at the bottom of the lake?"
