Outside Handan City, the Qin State once again increased its troops and replaced its generals. Wang Lu replaced Wang Ling and brought 200,000 troops and horses. At this time, the Qin army besieging Handan already had 400,000 troops. King Qin Zhaoxiang would not give up until he captured Handan. Lu Buwei heard that there were also many conflicts on the Qin side, and the fight between Bai Qi and Fan Ju had affected the war situation in Handan. If Bai Qi cannot come, Handan cannot be conquered by Lian Po. Lu Buwei also heard that other countries were also watching the situation. He heard that Lord Pingyuan had already negotiated with Wei and Chu, and these two countries were preparing troops to come to Handan's aid.
Originally, Qin and Zhao were just two markets for Lu Buwei. He didn't care much about who won or lost, as long as he could make money and find good food and clothing in troubled times. But now he has devoted all his energy to Qin's proton Ying Yiren. If the stalemate between the two countries continues, all his hard work will be in vain.
Naturally, Lu Buwei would not let this happen. He knew that he could not let himself lose all his family wealth and get nothing after dedicating his wife and concubines. Therefore, Lu Buwei ruthlessly donated all his savings and gave them to the generals guarding the city in Handan. He also told them that his whole family came to Handan to do business, but they did not expect to encounter such a big war. Not only would they not be able to make money, but their lives would be at risk, so he did not hesitate to spend the cost of this business and let Shou. If the city generals and soldiers are accommodating, they can return home safely. The general guarding the city was killed. Someone knew Lu Buwei and saw that he really wanted to go home and was generous, so he agreed to him.
Lu Buwei can become a person inferior to one person and superior to ten thousand people in the future, which is really extraordinary. At this moment, without any hesitation, he secretly hid Zhao Ji's mother and son in Zhao Ji's natal family. Moreover, her natal family was a wealthy family in Zhao State and had a distinguished status, so Zhao Ji's mother and son were able to hide successfully. On the other side, Lu Buwei dressed up Ying Yiren as a follower, and that night, he sneaked out of Handan City without any danger.
As soon as they arrived outside the city, they walked directly towards the Qin Army's camp without any hesitation. The Qin Army's siege soldiers soon discovered them and began to think that they were spies from the Zhao State, so they arrested them. When Lu Buwei saw this, he shouted loudly and told them that this is the grandson of the King of Qin, and you must not act rashly. As expected, the Qin soldiers were frightened and took them to Wang Lu's military camp. When they met, Wang Lu hurriedly greeted Ying Yiren, changed his clothes and gave him a banquet. At the same time, he also told him that King Qin Zhaoxiang was also supervising the battle in the military camp these two days, and Ying Yiren could meet him.
Lu Buwei was worried that the Qin army would fight again, and all the countries would be uneasy. He didn't know how to bring Ying Yiren back to Qin safely. Unexpectedly, the king of Qin was here, and everything went smoothly beyond expectation. King Qin was overjoyed to see them. Sure enough, they had a deep love for each other and blood was thicker than water. Perhaps it was because he had often heard about Ying Yiren's extraordinary abilities recently, or perhaps because he felt guilty for attacking Handan regardless of his life. King Qin was extremely excited. He rewarded Ying Yiren with a lot of property. In order to avoid long nights and dreams, he also sent soldiers and horses to escort Ying Yiren back to Xianyang as soon as possible.
There was no words along the way. A few days later, Lu Buwei and his party entered Hangu Pass, and a few days later, they entered Xianyang. As soon as he arrived at the capital of Qin, Ying Yiren behaved unusually, as if he had the aura of a king. In addition, he was extremely wise. The first person he wanted to meet was not Lord An Guo, not those prosperous wine shops, nor his other relatives, but Mrs. Huayang, who was not related to him by blood.
This made Lu Buwei secretly suspect that the eagerness he showed when he met Zhao Ji might be a sign of Yingren's great wisdom and foolishness, and he did this in order to better win over himself. For a moment, Lu Buwei couldn't help but secretly rejoice that he had made the right bet.
Of course, before that, Lu Buwei still needed to dress up Ying Yiren. Because Mrs. Huayang was from Chu, Lu Buwei specially ordered his entourage to bring special Chu clothes. He believed that if Ying Yiren could go to see Mrs. Huayang in Chu clothes, he would definitely be able to get close to Mrs. Huayang quickly and receive unexpected results.
Sure enough, when Mrs. Huayang saw Ying Yiren dressed in Chu costumes, she became suspicious and asked Ying Yiren: "You are from Qin. Even if you are a proton, you are still in Handan, Zhao State. How can you wear Chu clothes?" Where are the country’s clothes?”
When Ying Yiren saw Mrs. Huayang asking about him, he burst into tears and said: "The unworthy descendants were trapped in Zhao State. Although their lives were miserable, they never forgot the mountains, rivers, plants and trees of Qin State. To the King of Qin, to the King of Qin, My loving mother, I am grateful to Mrs. Huayang and miss her endlessly."
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Huayang immediately understood that he was wearing Chu costumes because he probably knew that he was from Chu country. He missed her and could not see her, so he could only wear Chu costumes all day long. No matter what, the fact that he came here today and was so attentive shows his filial piety. Mrs. Huayang, who had never had a son, felt the loneliness and majestic motherly love in her heart.
Whether it's true or false, Lu Buwei doesn't care. What he cares about is that this middleman seems to have completely integrated into Ying Yiren's side. Lu Buwei is very satisfied with this result.
Ying Yi became the heir to King An of course. At the same time, Lu Buwei finally received his reward, and King Qin Zhaoxiang named him a guest minister of Qin. But Lu Buwei would not give in. He knew that only when Ying Yiren came to the throne could he get a reward commensurate with his efforts.
However, what worried Lu Buwei was still before him. Although King Qin Zhaoxiang is old, he is still strong and strong. From time to time, he can go on military expeditions personally, and King An Guo is also in good health. I don’t know what year or month it will take until Ying Yiren becomes the king. Even if that time really comes, Lu Buwei may have turned into a handful of loess and been buried underground forever, and his grand plans and aspirations can only be buried in Jiuquan, and he will sleep with hatred.
God seems to have heard Lu Buwei's thoughts. In 251 BC, in a bleak season with yellow leaves flying all over the sky, King Qin Zhaoxiang, who had been in the political arena of Qin for more than half a century, finally came to the throne with the pride of dominating the world and his failure to unify the world. Reluctantly, he left this world. King An Guo successfully ascended the throne and became King Xiaowen of Qin.
At this moment, although Lu Buwei's status has not improved much, his status has been significantly improved. It is no longer difficult to get close to the King of Qin. But all this is still not what Lu Buwei wants, because what he wants is more and greater power. King Qin Xiaowen would naturally not satisfy him, not to mention how talented he was, but for a man with such great ambitions, King Qin Xiaowen would not be confident and bold in appointing him.
This time, Lu Buwei hardly worried about how long King Qin Xiaowen fell asleep. There was no evidence to show how King Qin Xiaowen died. It was only said that he handled some chores in the court that day, met with some Qin guests, returned to the palace, and lost his life the next day.
But many people are speculating that his death must not be normal. Because it had only been three days since An Guojun's coronation, his status was not yet stable, and everything was most likely to happen during this period. His death was probably caused by Lu Buwei's poisoning.
But no one paid attention to the cause of his death, and he was buried soon. The State of Qin once again entered a new period. In this period, it was Lu Buwei's turn to control everything.
This year was the first year of King Zhuangxiang of Qin (249 BC), and Ying Yiren was officially renamed Ying Zichu. He appointed Lu Buwei as prime minister, granted him the title of Marquis Wenxin, and made one hundred thousand households in Luoyang, Henan, his settlement. Lu Buwei truly realized his political ideals. What has been a rare item for many years has finally realized its value.
There is another thing that makes Lu Buwei feel that the future is full of hope, that is, the State of Zhao sent back Zhao Ji's mother and son not long ago, and the King of Qin took advantage of the situation and established Ying Zheng as the crown prince. It is worth mentioning that before this, Qin Shihuang was named Zhao Zheng, which had the same surname as his mother. Only at this time did he officially change his name to Ying Zheng.
In the past, Ying Yiren was just a hostage of the Qin State in the Zhao State, and his life could be in danger at any time, but now he has become the most powerful man in the world; in the past, Lu Buwei was just a person who was looked down upon by Confucian scholars. A trafficker and a pawn, now he has become the prime minister who is inferior to one person and superior to ten thousand people, and has become a figure that shocked the world; Zhao Ji in the past was just a little concubine, but she did not want to become a queen today, and her son He will also become the King of Qin in the future.
Zhao Ji is one of the most legendary women during the Warring States Period. There are few records of her real name in history, so she is commonly known as Zhao Ji in historians.
Regarding Zhao Ji, most people in history have a negative view. Some bitter literati have repeatedly made sarcastic remarks, tried their best to make things sarcastic, and even insulted Zhao Ji. In fact, she also had her own helplessness.
Everything seemed to be forced to accept, and it seemed as if she was doing it on purpose. She and Lu Buwei cooperated internally and externally, achieving both herself and others.
It was also Zhao Ji who made the late history of Qin even more legendary and made Qin Shihuang's character even more controversial.
The word "Ji" in Zhao Ji's name is even more evocative. Many people believe that this has something to do with Zhao Ji's career. It is very likely that Zhao Ji was a singer in a singing and dancing restaurant in Handan City at that time. Lu Buwei saw that she was as beautiful as a flower and talented, so he waved a lot of money to redeem her.
In fact, this argument is untenable. Since Lu Buwei was able to offer Zhao Ji without hesitation and was as comfortable as a fish in water in all political mediations, it is inseparable from his rationality and wisdom. How could such a man who was willing to give up everything for his future impulsively use his family wealth to redeem his life for a woman? What's more, Zhao Ji later became Ying Yiren, and Ying Yiren was also a figure who had been active in the streets of Handan. If there really was such a beauty, he would not have known about it. Later, after Lu Buwei and Ying Yiren escaped from Handan, Zhao Ji was able to successfully hide mainly because of her natal family's identity. If she was a person from Fireworks and Willow Lane, she would not be an orphan and widow under the wings of King Zhao. The mother has been hiding for such a long time.
Therefore, some people say that the word "Ji" at that time was actually a term for beautiful women, and was often used to address one's wives and concubines. History is still moving forward, and Zhao Ji's legend continues. Shortly after Zhao Ji arrived in Xianyang, her nominal husband, King Qin Zhuangxiang, died. Regarding the death of King Zhuangxiang of Qin, it is generally believed in history that he had been in poor health in Handan for many years and lived a miserable life. After serving as the King of Qin for three years, he became seriously ill and did not survive long before he left Hexi.
From then on, the era of Qin Wangzheng came.
After Qin Wangzheng came to the throne, Lu Buwei was named "Zhongfu" because of his meritorious service. The word Zhongfu has been an honorific title for Guan Zhong since ancient times. During the Qin Dynasty, Bo Zhong and Yaji were respectively the eldest uncle (uncle), the second uncle (uncle), the third uncle (uncle), and the fourth (younger) uncle (uncle). mean. This shows that Lu Buwei's power has reached the pinnacle of his career.
During this period, something happened that shamed the entire Qin royal family, that is, the father-in-law Lu Buwei and the queen mother Zhao Ji often had trysts in the palace.
From this point of view, perhaps there is a deep relationship between Lu Buwei and Queen Mother Zhao Ji. Although the original Zhao Ji was good at singing and dancing, she was a completely incomprehensible young woman with no sense of style. Later, she turned into a Zhao Ji with all kinds of styles. It should be said that it was caused by the current situation. She was probably forcing a smile on Ying Yiren. In order to satisfy Lu Buwei and her own political ambitions, Zhao Ji had no choice but to sell her body and trample on her soul.
Lu Buwei became increasingly powerful after the death of King Zhuangxiang of Qin. The king of Qin needed to look at his face to act. In his eyes, he already regarded himself as the supreme emperor of Qin. It's a pity that King Qin would not agree, and as he grew older, his domineering power continued to leak out. Because in Ying Zheng's eyes, he was already a descendant of the Ying Dynasty and could not tolerate the slightest stain. Naturally, he also had a grudge against Lu Buwei and his mother's inappropriate behavior, and would punish them once he came into power. What's more, although the strength of the old Qin people has declined and is slightly inferior to the emerging landlord class, compared with Lu Buwei, their strength is still very objective.
The purpose of the political leaders of the King of Qin is not to comply with Lu Buwei, nor to comply with the old nobles of the Qin family, but to use them to make the whole world crawl at their feet.
In the end, Lu Buwei discovered something extraordinary about this child. If he didn't rein in the situation now, he believed that he would definitely die a happy death after Ying Zheng took over. Therefore, Lu Buwei made a decisive decision and severed relations with the Queen Mother Zhao Ji.
