The high-profile behavior of the Qin envoy caused shock in the Zhao court. All Zhao ministers went to see Lord Pingyuan one after another and asked him why he wanted to donate six cities to Qin. Lord Pingyuan was very helpless and said: "Sheng Gu has not presented the city! The envoy of Qin said that it cannot be stopped without victory."
A noble relative said: "I, the Zhao family, have had their heads decapitated, but they have never bowed their knees and come forward! I hope you will not make a mistake!"
After finally appeasing all the Zhao ministers and sending them away, Lord Pingyuan immediately asked his retainers to invite Zichu to come over.
The high-profile remarks of the Qin envoy had already reached Zichu, but he had not received any instructions from the King of Qin or the Prime Minister of Qin, and he did not know the meaning of the Qin envoy's actions. When Lord Pingyuan summoned him, he had no choice but to dress up and head to the royal city.
The layout of Handan is different from that of ordinary capitals. Its royal city is not within Handan City, but in the south of Handan City. It is smaller in scale than Handan City. In addition to the Zhao Palace, there are also martial arts arenas and the residences of the Zhao clan, which can almost be regarded as the Zhao family's mansion. Handan City is where the market is located. The people who live in Handan City are mainly foreign surnames, mainly merchants and citizens, with some distant relatives of the Zhao family. The prince of Qin, Zi Chu, was held hostage in Handan and was arranged to live in Handan City instead of the royal city. It turns out that Zichu was very low-key and was often bullied by Zhao people. However, after some operations by Lu Buwei, Zi Chu's status in Handan City has been significantly improved. He was also adopted as an adopted son by his father, the crown prince's wife, Mrs. Huayang, and actually became the heir to the King of Qin. Therefore, Lu Buwei was appointed by the King of Qin. Fu.
Fu is an official position with ancient traditions. Whenever the King of Zhou gave birth to a son, he would appoint a Bao and a Fu for him. Bao was responsible for his life, and Fu was responsible for his education. The so-called "Bao, protects his body; Fu, Fu his virtues." After a prince becomes the emperor or a prince, his protector and fu are his right-hand man in governing the country, possessing supreme power! Later, Taishi, Taibao, Taifu, Shaoshi, Shaobao and Shaofu were all lofty official titles, and they were nominally the emperor's teachers. Lu Buwei's role as Fu also means the same thing: he is Zi Chu's teacher. Zi Chu should not treat each other with the courtesy of a minister, but should respect him with the courtesy of a teacher!
Naturally, it was impossible for Lu Buwei to teach Zi Chu any cultural lessons. Like a competent tomb master, he took care of Zi Chu's family business, managed Zi Chu's daily life, and naturally designed and managed Zi Chu's social life.
When Zichu held Zhao as hostage, he brought ten followers with him. The plan at that time was to keep a low profile as much as possible. If something happened in Handan, he would immediately try to hide or escape on the spot. These ten followers are all elites, versatile in both civil and military affairs, and loyal. Lu Buwei defined his relationship with them very clearly: he was only responsible for Zichu's life and would never interfere in state affairs. When Zi Chu appears as Qin's hostage, he will be led by the groomsmen. At most, he will lead the prince's horse and whip.
In addition to managing and operating Zichu's industry, Lu Buwei was also a giant businessman himself, owning a huge industry. His business network was deeply embedded in Zhao's economy. This gave Lu Buwei a good opportunity and perspective to gain insight into the political situation of Zhao State. When Zi Chu discussed important issues with the best man and his entourage, Lu Buwei was able to provide excellent opinions. Gradually, he also became the object of consultation by Zi Chu and his entourage, and participated in many discussions.
After Lu Buwei renovated Zichu's house to a level consistent with his status, he did not buy slaves on a large scale. Zhao Ji, the only woman in the house, is a distant relative of the Lou family, a powerful official in the Zhao Kingdom. The clan leader of the Lou family, Lou Sui, was a minister of the State of Zhao during the reign of King Wuling of Zhao. Later he went to Qin as an envoy and became the prime minister of Qin. Another member of the Lou family, Lou Chang, is now a doctor in the State of Zhao. The Lou family is a well-known "pro-Qin faction" in Zhao State.
Although Zhao Ji is also a Lou family, her relationship with Lou Huan is very distant: her uncle is Lou Huan's retainer, and her father used the power of the Lou family to open the most luxurious restaurant in Handan, Handan Yuefang. . This young lady loved singing and dancing since she was a child, and learned many skills from teachers in the studio. She inherited the genes of Lou and Qin's harmony, and was good at Qin's singing and dancing, so she got acquainted with Zi Chu. Zi Chu entrusted Lu Buwei to marry Zhao Ji. In the harsh situation after the Changping War, the Lou family was unwilling to disclose Zi Chu's relationship to avoid being suspected of being "pro-Qin". Therefore, Lu Buwei came forward to marry Zhao Ji, and invited Zi Chu to live with Zhao Ji at home; he waited a few months before "dedicating" her to Zi Chu to hide her from others.
Because Zhao Ji was pregnant, two middle-aged servants with childbirth experience were invited from Zhao Ji's natal family to serve her. The Lou family avoided any personal relationship with Zi Chu, so the two maids claimed that they were sold to Zi Chu. The Lou family also looked for a wet nurse for Zhao Ji's unborn baby, and only waited for Zhao Ji to give birth before selling it to Zi Chu.
The elderly Lou Huan repeatedly explained to Zi Chu the importance of Qin and Zhao's marriage in various ways, suggesting that Qin should focus on the overall situation, not focus on the small gains in sight, and try to strive for peace with Zhao. Since Lou Sui's views were the same as those of Pingyuan Jun, Zi Chu suspected that he was conspiring with Pingyuan Jun, so he usually argued with reason, saying that if the city was not dedicated, there would be no peace negotiation. Lou Huan could only sigh!
At the same time, there were generally more businessmen in Handan City who came to discuss with Lu Buwei or his shopkeepers. After having many contacts with people from Lu's Trading Company, Handan merchants also felt that the big boss of Lu's Trading Company was probably from Qin. Once the dispute between Qin and Zhao is involved, businessmen will naturally do their best to collect information, make requests, and make suggestions. These people cover a wide range of topics, and the content of their discussions can range from deep to shallow. Sometimes they only have one or two sentences, and sometimes they invite people to their homes for a small gathering and talk all night long. These people may feel that the war will endanger their business and hope to find a way to avoid the war; or they may think that the war is an opportunity and want to seek cooperation with the Qin people; or they may simply seek out true information so that they can make preparations themselves.
This information was also summarized to Zichu, who also invited the best man and his entourage to discuss the matter as usual. Since Handan merchants were involved, Lu Buwei was also invited to the meeting.
The best man first summarized the current situation and said: "Since Lord Pingyuan returned to Handan, he told the King of Zhao that the King of Zhao would not allow me to conquer the six cities! However, he still wanted to have sex with Qin, but he was uncertain about it. If it is possible, the princes all want Qin and Zhao to fight each other and gain benefits from it; the coupling between Qin and Zhao will greatly benefit both countries and defeat the plans of the princes. But if it is not possible, build Zhao with six cities for coupling and do not offer six cities. If you betray the alliance first, if you don't attack, it will not be enough to warn the world of those who have no faith, and it will show that Qin is weak and will not do what is right."
Lu Buwei said: "Qin's attack on Zhao, how powerful is it? Isn't it true?"
The best man said: "This is beyond the control of ministers and others. It lies with the king."
Lu Buwei changed his words and said: "If the king plans to have enough power to defeat Zhao, even if he gets six cities, he can defeat him; if his plan is not strong enough, even if he doesn't have six cities, he still has to fight! But if the plan is too powerful and not enough, he can't do anything about it. What a city!"
Zichu said: "If you are self-reflecting and don't shrink, even if you are brown and broad, I will not be worried; if you are self-reflecting and shrinking, even if there are tens of thousands of people, I will go. The meaning is to shrink or not to shrink the ears, how can you control the strength!"
Lu Buwei said: "I see a good thing, but the price is not enough, so I won't do it. What? It's because I don't have enough power. Although the meaning is shrinking, but the power is not enough, the thing will definitely not work out. If it doesn't work out, then don't do it."
The best man said: "At the time of Yique, the Jin army was 300,000, and the Qin army was only 100,000, but the soldiers beheaded 240,000 prisoners. At the time of Changping, I used 100,000 people to defeat the Zhao army of 400,000, and Hu Yi will be successful. ? However, the meaning of righteousness is that even if death is inevitable, the soldiers will serve their lives, and the ugly ones will be rewarded. This is what it means."
Lu Buwei said: "I have heard about the art of war: victorious soldiers win first and then seek battle, and defeated soldiers fight first and then seek victory. Therefore, those who are good at fighting will be in an invincible position without losing the enemy."
Zichu said: "Whether to fight or not to fight is not something we can decide, and it is useless to discuss it. If the king and Zhao have sex, we will all be safe, and there is nothing to discuss. If we divorce with Zhao, what should I do?"
The best man said: "I hope you will talk more about King Zhao, have sex with Qin early, and offer six cities early. One will be beneficial to Qin, and the other will be beneficial to Zhao. If the city does not enter, the Qin army will come out, and I wish you will be innocent!"
Zi Chu said: "Good!"
One of the followers said: "I would like to ask you to plan a way out of the city as soon as possible. If a war breaks out, be prepared."
Zichu said: "Good things should only be kept secret and not known to others."
The youngest Wang Jian said: "Zhao Ji is pregnant and it is inconvenient for her to travel. I would like to leave the city as soon as possible to avoid getting trapped!"
Zichu frowned and said, "If you leave the city early, you will be known."
Lu Buwei said: "Don't worry, young master. But when the war breaks out, the young master will leave the city alone. I have many close friends in Handan. I would like to keep the mother and son safe!"
Zichu asked, "What's the plan?"
Lu Buwei said: "I live among merchants, people in the market, reckless people, desperate people, and so on. But if you hide in it, even if a hundred thousand people search for it, you can't find it, so you will be fine."
Zichu said politely during the banquet: "Mr. Shilao!"
Lu Buwei said: "There are many merchants in Handan who are interested in Qin. If they are collected and used, it may benefit Qin's expedition."
Zi Chu said: "Good!"
Seeing that no one had any other opinions, Zi Chu said, "I dare you to ask the prime minister and all your ministers to meet with the ministers of Zhao one day and tell them to offer the gains of the six cities early and the losses in the war with Qin, so that they can offer the city!"
The best man said: "Here!"
Zichu said: "I hope Mr. Lu will plan the strategy of leaving the city early and discuss it with Wang Qing. He will secretly look for the merchants who can help Qin, and he will be kind to them. I, the merchant of Qin, will be dispatched as soon as possible."
Lu Buwei said: "Here!"
Zichu said: "I hope Wang Qing and other ministers will discuss the strategy of leaving the city and hiding in order to prepare for unexpected dangers!"
Wang Jian said: "Here!"
Zichu said: "But if there are others who can do something, I would like to teach them. I listen to their good deeds, so I am lucky not to hide them!"
The followers said: "Here!"
After the meeting, under the auspices of the groomsmen, the entourage continued to plan the list of officials to meet, the time and the details of the negotiations, striving to be thorough and detailed; Wang Jian was asked to draft a plan to leave the city or hide in hiding. Lu Buwei proposed the officials, mansions and locations that they should visit, patrol and observe. He proposed that their visit should make outsiders look like they had the same purpose as visiting other officials, which was mainly to urge Zhao to hand over the city and only observe and hint openly and covertly. Some relevant information made them aware, but they didn't know what was going on. All the ministers were depressed about Lu Buwei's strategy. This style of keeping things secret and carrying guns and sticks was extremely unfit for the Qin people's character! Lu Buwei talked hard, coaxed and persuaded, and even demonstrated in person. It was not easy for them to reluctantly agree and roughly understand the relevant techniques.
