Xiang Yan obviously came prepared, but Ying Zheng had not considered this situation. After all, since Ying City returned to Qin, the Chu State had asked for it many times and had seen it in military force.
"General Xiang." Ying Zheng smiled and said, "Ying City has been returned to Qin for decades. It was neither lost to the current King of Chu nor snatched away by us here. Now the people have long lived and worked in peace and contentment. If it were returned to Chu now, what would happen if it were returned to Chu now? Is it unfair to the Qin people in Yingcheng?"
"That's right." Lu Buwei also calmed down and said, "If the Qin Dynasty returns Ying City to the Chu State, should the Chu State also return all the Qin land it occupied?"
The State of Chu once occupied the cities of the State of Qin, but that was a long time ago. In Bai Qi's time, you had conquered other countries, so what city could you still occupy?
Lu Buwei, you can't use your power to bully others.
"Hahaha, the foreign minister said it casually, the king does not need to take it seriously." Xiang Yan also knew full well that it was impossible for Qin to return Ying City.
"I know that General Xiang is joking." Ying Zheng said with a smile.
Lord Changping smoothed things over and said, "Your Majesty wants to bring those bandits under his wing. In this way, we can not only prevent them from harming the people, but also save the lives of those bandits."
Xiang Yan cupped his hands and said, "That being said, the king also said that those bandits are from Qin. Since they are from Qin, what do they have to do with the Chu State, and what do they have to do with foreign ministers?"
Lu Buwei narrowed his eyes, stroked his beard, and said: "General Xiang, what you mean is that if our Qin Dynasty sends troops to wipe out these bandits, Chu State will never interfere and will not accommodate these mountain bandits?"
"This..." Xiang Yan said with a look of embarrassment on his face, "If this is the case, the foreign minister still needs to write a letter to inform the King of Chu."
"General Xiang." Ying Zheng said seriously, "I'm afraid I can't wait until that time, because my great Qin minister Meng Tian was nearly killed by bandits a few days ago, so this matter cannot be delayed."
"Is this really happening?" Xiang Yan asked.
Lord Changping nodded and said, "It's true. If Wang Ben hadn't rescued Meng Tian, it would have been a disaster."
Meng Tian is the eldest grandson of the late General Meng Ao. Everyone in the world knows that if something happened to Meng Tian, it might be easier for them to be buried with all the bandits' lives.
"General Xiang." Ying Zheng softened his tone and said, "I guess that you did not inform the King of Chu of this matter before coming to Qin. The purpose may be to resolve the matter. After all, from the standpoint of Chu, It is said that if we protect the bandits, it is illegal; if we do not protect them, those bandits are the descendants of the Chu State who have been fighting for many years on the battlefield, so it is unreasonable."
Lu Buwei added from the side: "If this difficult choice is left to the King of Chu, it will inevitably cause disputes in the court. If it is not handled properly, I am afraid that the bandits will not be able to save it, and there will be friction with our great Qin."
Xiang Yan was silent, seeming to be thinking about the problem quickly.
"So, this matter should not be discussed in the court of Chu State. It would be best if a complete strategy could be discussed in Da Qin." Ying Zheng said.
It has to be said that Ying Zheng himself did not expect to have such a tacit understanding with Lu Buwei.
"King Qin, please allow me to think about it before making any plans." Xiang Yan said.
"That's fine." Ying Zheng said, "General Xiang is tired from his journey, so I ordered Lord Changping to take care of General Xiang on my behalf. Once General Xiang has thought about it, we can discuss it further."
Xiang Yan stood up and saluted: "Then, Xiang Yan please resign."
"Please." Ying Zheng stood up to see the guests off.
After leaving the inner hall, Lord Changping took Xiang Yan to visit Mrs. Huayang and Princess Nansu.
Ying Zheng and Lu Buwei exchanged views and went back their separate ways.
Back in the study, Zhao Gao sent a letter containing tips.
The letter was signed by the Queen Mother. Ying Zheng was thinking about the Queen Mother these days, so he quickly opened it and read it.
But after seeing it, Ying Zheng's expression suddenly changed, from joy to extreme disappointment in an instant.
It turned out that the letter said that Queen Mother Zhao Ji wanted to return to the palace to attend the wedding of King Qin, but suddenly fell ill and was afraid that she would not be able to travel far, so special messengers sent gifts to several daughters-in-law.
Ying Zheng stayed there, speechless for a long time.
Seeing Ying Zheng's situation, Zhao Gao guessed something, but did not come to disturb him. Instead, he went to find Li Si to comfort Ying Zheng.
Li Si came to Ying Zheng's house
Beside him, he whispered softly: "Your Majesty, are you okay?"
Ying Zheng breathed a sigh of relief and sighed: "My queen mother will not come to Xianyang to attend the wedding ceremony."
Li Si patted Ying Zheng's back very gently and said, "The Queen Mother must be ill, so she can't travel far."
Ying Zheng nodded, still looking disappointed.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me for speaking frankly, but haven't you noticed that the Queen Mother is a little abnormal?" Li Si asked.
"Sir, in fact, I have long felt that there is something wrong with my queen." Ying Zheng said, "It's just that she is my queen after all, so it's inconvenient to go into details."
Li Si looked at Ying Zheng and asked, "What do you think is wrong with the Queen Mother?"
Ying Zheng thought for a while and said: "I feel that during this period, my mother has become a lot indifferent and alienated from me. At first, I thought it was because my mother thought that I had grown up and wanted to train him more, but when I think about it carefully, it seems that That’s not the case.”
"Have you ever thought about it, Your Majesty, that maybe it wasn't the Queen Mother who had the problem, or that the Queen Mother was also implicated," Li Si said.
Hearing what Li Si said, Ying Zheng felt a lot more relaxed and calmed down: "Sir, are you suspicious, is Lao Ai causing trouble?"
"Your Majesty, please think about it again, when did the Queen Mother start to alienate you." Li Si asked again.
Ying Zheng thought for a while and said, "It seems that after Lao Ai entered the palace..."
Li Si nodded and said solemnly: "If Wei Chen's judgment is correct, this Lao Ai has two hearts."
"Two hearts?" Ying Zheng was stunned by Li Si's words.
"Well, two hearts." Li Si said firmly, "It's lust and ambition."
"Ah?" Ying Zheng was surprised, "Sir, you mean, Lao Ai, he and the Queen Mother..."
The words came to my lips and I couldn't say them out. No one wants to admit that their mother has a problem with another man, let alone the head of a country.
If someone else had said this, he might have lost his head, but if Li Si had said it, it would be different.
"Your Majesty, no matter what happens, you must face it calmly." Li Si said, "Then find the most appropriate solution. Can you do it?"
After a brief period of confusion, Ying Zheng gritted his teeth and forced himself to be alert: "I can do it."
Even though he said this, Ying Zheng still felt sour and numb in his heart, and he couldn't help but feel sad.
Li Si took out a porcelain bottle from his arms, opened the lid, and poured out a spiritual pill: "Your Majesty, take one to calm down."
Ying Zheng took the Linggu Pill, put it in his mouth, chewed it, and swallowed it.
"Huh..." Ying Zheng breathed a long sigh of relief and felt much better.
"Your Majesty, the Queen Mother's matter is related to national affairs. Let's discuss it in the long term." Li Si said.
Ying Zheng nodded and said: "If the Queen Mother is at his mercy, then the whole point of the matter is on Lao Ai. Just now, the gentleman said that he was ambitious, so he must have asked the Queen Mother to make him a marquis and stay away from Xianyang, so Maybe he wants to develop his own power."
"Actually, Wei Chen has seen this a long time ago." Li Si said.
"Sir, you probably didn't want me to feel uncomfortable, so that's why you didn't say anything." Ying Zheng said with a bitter smile.
"Actually, the reason why I don't want to say it out loud is because it's not that time yet, and I'm afraid that the king will be impatient and alert the enemy," Li Si said.
"But if he is allowed to develop, if he cannot control it, the consequences will be unpredictable." Ying Zheng said worriedly.
Li Si shook his head, took a sip of tea, and whispered: "After the incident involving Fan Yuqi, the king should understand that you must have foresight in doing things. It is not difficult to kill a person, but it is only a short time. It is like If you are herding cattle and sheep, why not eat the calves and lambs as soon as they are born, but fatten them up?"
Ying Zheng thought about Li Si's words, nodded, and asked, "Sir, tell me, what are the benefits of letting Lao Ai go?"
"First of all, Lao Ai will gather most of the anti-Qin forces so that we can catch them all in one fell swoop." Li Si said, "Second, use it to restrain Lu Xiangbang and make both sides suffer. Furthermore, if the king wants to regain the royal power in the future, We also need an opportunity.”
"Take back...the royal power..." Ying Zheng was lightly touched deep in his heart.
"So, we should wait and see what happens and pretend not to notice." Li Si said.
Ying Zheng scratched his head and said, "But, have you wronged your mother?"
"Don't worry, Your Majesty, everything the Queen Mother is doing now is not forced, and there is no grievance at all." Li Si said.
"Well, it will only take a while." Ying Zheng turned to say, "I will go and sit with my grandmother."
After Li Si's persuasion, Ying Zheng's sense of loss disappeared, but he still needed to find someone to talk to.
Li Si also knew that it seemed that what Ying Zheng was looking for was not Mrs. Xia, but Princess Hu Yu.
————
Changpingjun's residence.
The table was filled with fine wines and dishes. Lord Changping and Xiang Yan were picking up their wine glasses and drank them all in one gulp.
"Brother Xiang has a good capacity for drinking." Mr. Changping wiped his mouth and said, "We will not return home until we get drunk today."
"We brothers haven't seen each other for several years, so we should have a drink." Xiang Yan said with a smile.
Xiang Yan usually doesn't drink much because he has to train his troops. This time he came to Qin, which was a holiday.
"I wonder how the King of Chu and his clan members are doing now." Lord Changping asked.
"Everything is fine. Before I came, the king specially mentioned you and asked you to go back and see more when you have time. If you are not satisfied in Qin, just go back." Xiang Yan said.
Changping Jun smiled and shook his head: "I am used to staying in Qin State. Besides, I have just been promoted to right minister by the King of Qin. Apart from military power, he is no different from Lu Buwei. Brother Xiang, tell me, how can I have the nerve to return to Chu State?" ah."
"That's right." Xiang Yan said, "We Chu people value loyalty the most. Come on, let's give this glass of wine to loyalty."
The two drank it all in one gulp.
Xiang Yan also wiped his mouth and said, "By the way, you mentioned military power just now, why didn't Lu Xiangbang allocate some military power to you?"
"That old guy knows how to divide military power? To tell you the truth, not even the King of Qin has military power." Changping Jun said angrily.
"I also heard that when the King of Qin came of age, he did not perform the crowning ceremony, so he did not have royal power. Presumably, he also had no military power." Xiang Yan said.
"Well, when General Meng was still there, he handed over the military power of the Meng family to the King of Qin, but he didn't expect the King of Qin to return it to Meng Wu. Now in the entire Qin Dynasty, the Meng family army is the only private military organization." Changping Jun said He took a bite of food and said while eating.
"If you want to compete with Lu Buwei, why not ask King Qin to allow you to recruit some private soldiers." Xiang Yan said.
Lord Changping smiled and said, "Isn't it just for this matter that I invited Brother Xiang here this time."
"Oh?" Xiang Yan said in surprise, "Could it be that you are plotting against those bandits?"
Lord Changping ate his food again and said: "Actually, the King of Qin is also thinking a lot about the bandits this time. After much calculation, recruiting soldiers is the most feasible option, but he can't find a suitable candidate, and I I can’t be too showy, so I recommended you, Brother Xiang.”
"So that's how it is." Xiang Yan asked, "How will they deal with those bandits?"
"The result of the discussion between King Qin and Lu Buwei was not to disperse them, but to establish a Western Chu army and give it to me to command. It was still stationed in the Yingcheng area to ensure the safety of the local Chu people, and at the same time, it formed two The country's barriers, any attack from any party will be blocked by them." Chang Pingjun said.
"Isn't that just like a private soldier or a prince?" Xiang Yan said with a smile.
"So this is good for the Chu State and for me." Lord Changping said.
"Okay!" Xiang Yan tapped the table, "Brother, I will help you do this. But there is a condition."
"What conditions?" Changping Jun asked.
"Ask King Qin to grant you the title of Ying City. Otherwise, these bandits may not be easy to control." Xiang Yan said.
"This..." Lord Changping paused and said, "I'm afraid King Qin may not agree."
"How can you know if you don't give it a try?" Xiang Yan said. "Besides, it's not like we don't pay taxes to Qin."
The most important thing about the ownership of a city is to see who pays the taxes of the people.
"Okay! Let's do it like this." Changping Jun said.
"Come on, let's do it." Xiang Yan picked up the wine glass and drank it all in one gulp.
