Looking at the edict written by King Qin Zhaoxiang on sheepskin in front of him, Bai Qi felt as if his five-flavor bottle had been knocked over. King Qin Zhaoxiang has always been very wise. Faced with such a golden opportunity, how could he let it pass? If we do not take advantage of the situation to destroy Zhao State at this time, within a few years, the new generation of Zhao State, full of hatred for Qin State, will grow up and become as powerful as the original Zhao army. Who wants to destroy Zhao State at that time? There is no guarantee that I will still find such a God-given opportunity as I did now. If the Zhao State is not destroyed in front of us, then the Qin State's ambition to dominate the world is likely to become a flower in the mirror and a moon in the water.
Until one day, on the way back to Xianyang, Bai Qi heard that Su Dai had accepted a large amount of money from King Zhao Xiaocheng, and came to Qin to meet with Prime Minister Fan Ju to sow discord between the two. Fan Ju was afraid that his achievements would be greater than his own and that he would lose his current status, so he made slanderous remarks to the King of Qin and persuaded the King of Qin to retreat. Bai Qi knew that the reason why he was recalled was definitely not as simple as it seemed, and there must be a deeper reason hidden behind it. So Bai went to Xianyang Palace and asked King Qin what happened.
The King of Qin first told him that it was out of consideration for the entire country that the Qin army could rest and recuperate before it could have the strength to deal with other countries. Bai Qi was full of doubts. This might be an important factor for King Qin to consider, but it was definitely not the decisive factor. In Bai Qi's mind, it was actually very clear that perhaps King Qin was afraid that his great achievements would shock his master. However, he was not sure. Until King Qin mentioned that Fan Ju had come to see him, Bai Qi understood in his heart and was speechless.
Bai Qi didn't even take his leave and walked out of Xianyang Palace quietly. He realized that he had devoted his whole life to Qin, but in the end, he had incurred Fan Ju's slander and the King of Qin's suspicion. Bai Qi is a pure soldier, so he will never understand the political considerations of King Qin Zhaoxiang and Fan Ju. He knows that he may never get ahead in his life. Now that the overall situation has been decided, the Qin army only needs generals like Wang Jian, Wang Lu, Sima Geng, etc. to make the Qin army gradually stronger.
If before this, Bai Qi just disdained to care about Fan Ju, then now, there was a trace of resentment in his heart. Because the King of Qin was the master of the Qin State, and the king had to let his ministers die, they had to die. Bai Qi could not take out his grievances on his master. Therefore, the person who prevented Bai Qi from establishing unparalleled achievements and unifying the world was easily transferred from King Qin to Fan Ju. Even the entire Qin army believed that Fan Ju was a villain who, out of jealousy and dissatisfaction, ignored the interests of the country for his own selfish interests.
For the sake of Qin's long-term plan, King Qin Zhaoxiang and Fan Ju had no choice but to infringe on the fundamental interests of Bai Qi's military group. This group requires Qin to use force to annihilate enemies as the main or only means in foreign wars, thereby creating opportunities for meritorious service and promotion for soldiers. Fan Ju and King Qin Zhaoxiang are different. They view foreign wars from a higher position. On the international stage, war alone is far from enough. Political and diplomatic means are indispensable for realizing national ideals. And Bai Qi's war is just one part of the ideal of realizing the great cause of unification. Qin will definitely not give up the interests of the country just to consider Bai Qi's interests.
When Bai Qi's army complained, Fan Ju became the scapegoat of King Qin. Fan Ju knew that if this continued, he would eventually be unable to escape the siege of Bai Qi's group. The King of Qin would not be lenient. He was happy to see him and Bai Qi continue to fight, as long as he did not threaten the status of the Qin State and the King of Qin. In order to protect himself, Fan Ju finally decided that since he and Bai Qi had reached a state of confrontation where it was either you or me, why not bring him down completely? Otherwise, once the country needs Bai Qi again in the future, it will be the day of disaster for itself.
As a result, Fan Ju began to plot for Bai Qi's downfall and his own future. But now that Bai Qi's reputation is still at its peak, making trouble for Bai Qi for no reason is tantamount to asking for trouble.
But if this situation of discord between generals and generals is allowed to continue, Qin will face the danger of decline in the Xiaoqiang battles. This is something that Fan Ju, Bai Qi and King Qin Zhaoxiang are not willing to see.
On the other side of Zhao State, King Zhao Xiaocheng finally breathed a sigh of relief. This Su Dai was really powerful. He carried some gold and silver treasures from Zhao State to Qin State, and in a few words, the Qin army retreated. Even if Lian Po had millions of soldiers, it would not be so easy.
In the first month of 259 BC, while every household was happily celebrating the New Year and the new atmosphere, Zhao and Qin also reached a final agreement. Zhao agreed to cede 6 cities to Qin, and Qin and Zhao temporarily repaired. Although the agreement stated that it would be permanently repaired, everyone knew that once Qin's national strength recovered slightly, it would definitely make a comeback.
This year's Spring Festival is undoubtedly the happiest time for King Qin Zhaoxiang. Qin's national fortune is prosperous. In time, Qin will surely be able to dominate the world. It's a pity that King Qin Zhaoxiang understands that he is already old, and perhaps this wish will have to wait until his descendants can be realized. It was at this time, in an ordinary Qin State proton house in Handan City, that a seemingly ordinary but extremely special little life came to this dangerous, cruel and challenging Warring States period with the mission of ending the troubled times. There is no legend about his arrival. The sky was full of auspicious clouds, and no dragon fell to the ground. King Qin Zhaoxiang, who was far away in Xianyang, didn't even know that another vigorous life was born in the Ying family. This new life was named Zhao Zheng. Things in life are ever-changing. Who could have expected that in just 38 years, the whole world would tremble and crawl at the feet of this baby. Because this baby was none other than Qin Shi Huang Ying Zheng, the future co-lord of the world and the first emperor in Chinese history to unify the world.
Other countries never expected that Qin would dominate the world after 38 years, because judging from the current situation, Qin and Zhao fought for several years. Although they finally won, it was only a tragic victory. Therefore, many people in the State of Zhao believed that Qin was forced to withdraw its troops not so much because Su Dai went to Qin to persuade Fan Ju, but because Qin was overwhelmed and was forced to withdraw its troops.
Among them, Yu Qing is the representative.
When Yu Qing saw that Qin and Zhao were about to fulfill the agreement to cede six cities, he immediately rushed to the palace of King Zhao and spoke to King Zhao: "Why did Qin retreat? It was not because Qin's army was unable to reach it and was tired. It is unbearable, but what the king is doing now is undoubtedly dedicating 6 cities that are beyond the reach of the Qin State to the Qin State in vain. This approach is undoubtedly picking up a stone to shoot himself in the foot and helping the Qin State to attack him; Looking at it from another perspective, if Qin takes over the city next year but breaks its promise and comes to attack Zhao, what else can Zhao use to stop Qin's invasion? Doesn't this put Zhao in a hopeless situation? "
When King Zhao Xiaocheng heard this, he felt that it made sense, so he decided to tear up the agreement with Qin. As long as Qin did not die in its determination to destroy Zhao, no matter how many cities it ceded, it would be of no use. Instead, it would increase Qin's strength and harm its own. national power.
However, after that, Qin Guolou slowly came and heard about Yu Qing's advice to King Zhao. Therefore, he immediately gave advice to King Zhao Xiaocheng: "Yu Qing only knows one but not the other. Although this can temporarily gain some benefits, once the relationship between Qin and Zhao deteriorates, other countries will surely come to attack." And plundering Zhao State, what will Zhao State do to deal with it then?" ("Warring States Policy·Zhao Policy")
Lou Huan's words were not unreasonable, which put King Zhao Xiaocheng in a dilemma. It was neither peace nor discord. In fact, King Zhao Xiaocheng did not have such a long-term vision. What he valued was the short-term safety of Zhao and the size of the city. As long as Yu Qing can find a way to stop the other countries, he will not hesitate to give up the treaty for the sake of 6 cities.
Of course, there are also things that go wrong. In this narrow vision, King Zhao actually did the right thing.
However, it is really difficult for Yu Qing to guarantee that the neighboring countries of Zhao State will not have Zhao State's ideas. So, he thought hard about good strategies. Finally, he came to the palace with confidence and said to King Zhao: "What Lou Huan said is simply short-sighted and nonsense. These six cities cannot be saved anyway. Instead of giving them to Qin, let us give them to Qin." They came to attack Zhao State, why not give it to Qi State and let them help Zhao State to resist Qin State? When South Korea and Wei State hear that Qi State and Zhao State have joined forces, they will inevitably join the anti-Qin alliance. How can Qin State not be afraid? I will definitely take the initiative to ask for peace."
When King Zhao heard this, he realized that this plan was very clever. Although these six cities could not be saved, at least one or even several powerful foreign aids could be guaranteed to help Zhao. In this way, Qin would not dare to act rashly, even if he did , these countries are not ordinary people. It is really not easy for Qin to win.
Therefore, King Zhao directly tore up the agreement with Qin and told Qin Guolou that Zhao was determined not to hand over the city and all treaties were humiliating and unequal treaties that Zhao would not recognize.
Now the Qin State was really angry. For a moment, how could they quickly organize an army to attack Zhao State? Helpless, the King of Qin had no choice but to detain Zhao Sheng, Lord of Pingyuan, who had gone to negotiate peace. And the reason is even more surprising, it is because he took in Wei Qi, the Prime Minister of Wei State, and let him live under his sect.
Poor Wei Qi turned out to be a punching bag. At the end of the road, he found Yu Qing, the Prime Minister of the State of Zhao. For some unknown reason, perhaps out of loyalty, Yu Qing ignored the Prime Minister of the State of Zhao and ran to the State of Wei with Wei Qi. Wei Wuji, Lord of the Ling Dynasty, asked for help. Unfortunately, at the critical moment, Lord Xinling did not agree, and Wei Qi, who was desperate, could only draw his sword and kill himself. The State of Qin had no reason to detain Lord Pingyuan, so he released him to the State of Zhao.
For the Qin State, they would not be reconciled to the fact that the peace negotiation plan that they had been working hard on for many days had just come to nothing. Therefore, Qin decided to show Zhao Guo some color and get some benefits back.
