In the seventh year of Qin Wangzheng's reign, General Meng Ao asked to attack Wei again. Both Lu Buwei and Qin Wangzheng felt that Meng Ao was too old to go on another expedition, but Meng Ao still insisted, saying: "I have been fighting for the Qin Dynasty all my life. As a military general, , I don’t want to die on the kang, the greatest honor of a soldier is to die on the battlefield.”
The King of Qin had no choice but to agree to his request, and at the same time sent Meng Ao's son Meng Wu as his deputy general to go on the expedition together. At this time, Wei's national power was empty and vulnerable. The Qin army successively captured Longyi, Guyi, and Qingdu.
King Wei Jingmin knew that the Wei army alone could not resist the Qin army, so he sent an envoy to Zhao for help. King Zhao was still grateful to Wei for rescuing Zhao, so he sent Li Mu to lead an army of 50,000 to reinforce Wei. Li Mu analyzed the current situation and knew that he could not confront the Qin army head-on, so he led his army to capture Jiyi, the grain and grass storage area behind the Qin army.
After Meng Ao got the news, he was shocked. The food and grass for the 100,000 people in front of the Qin army were stored there. If they were not recaptured, the Qin army's food and grass could only last for half a month and could not support the Qin army's continued attack. The situation was extremely critical! Meng Ao personally led the army back to attack Jiyi, but Li Mu had already arranged an ambush at the place where the Qin army must pass, catching the Qin army by surprise. In the chaos, Meng Ao was killed by a stray arrow.
When the news came, Meng Wu was extremely sad! However, Meng Wu was born as a general and often accompanied his father on expeditions, so he had rich experience in battles. At this time, he decided not to announce the funeral secretly, and took a small road to withdraw his troops overnight.
Back in Xianyang, the State of Qin held a grand funeral for Meng Ao, who was posthumously named Shangqing, and his son Meng Wujin was named a general. The imperial court unanimously requested to send troops to Zhao to avenge the old general! Coincidentally, there was a severe drought in Guanzhong this year, and the grain and grass stored in Jiyi was seized by Li Mu. The Qin army could no longer raise enough grain and grass for the expedition in a short period of time, so the revenge plan could only be postponed.
As soon as Meng Ao died, the three generals who had accepted his fate when King Zhuang Xiang died, Wang Lu, Meng Ao, and Duke He, all died. There was no one in the Qin court either in the military or in the court who could compete with Lu Buwei. Minister, after seven years of hard work, Lu Buwei finally became the actual helmsman of this country. His power also increased, and everyone came to cling to him.
Just when Lu Buwei was satisfied with his ambition, "Spring and Autumn" compiled by Lu Buwei's disciple Kong Shu took five years to finally be completed. Lu Buwei was very happy after reading it. He rewarded all the disciples who participated in the compilation. Then he held a banquet and announced to the world that Qin had completed the Spring and Autumn Annals, a collection of all the thoughts in the world.
At the banquet, Lu Buwei was very happy and refused all the guests who proposed a toast to him. After three rounds of drinking, Kong Shu used the strength of the wine to say to Lu Buwei: "Xiangbang, this book took five years to complete and has been revised more than ten times. No one in the world can change a word anymore!"
Lu Buwei was in a happy mood and joked: "Are you really unable to change a word?"
Kong Shu was a madman. Seeing that he was provoked, he said: "I will never change it. If someone can change one more word, you can chop off my head!"
Lu Buwei laughed loudly and said: "Okay! I will order people to post this book on the gate of Xianyang tomorrow. Anyone who can add or delete a word will be rewarded with a thousand gold coins! See if you can change it!"
The next day, Lu Buwei ordered people to post the whole book on the city gate and announce it to the world. Anyone who could add or delete a word would be rewarded with a thousand gold coins.
Of course, Lu Buwei's purpose was not to revise the article, but to announce to the world that Qin was not a barbarian land and had profound cultural accomplishment. Of course, there is another meaning, which is to test whether anyone in Qin and even the world dares to challenge Lu Buwei.
Sure enough, this matter soon spread throughout the world. Everyone knew that Lu Buwei was at the peak of his power at this time. Naturally, no one dared to challenge him. After a month, no one could actually increase or decrease a word. Lu Buwei achieved his expected goal and rewarded Kong Shu heavily!
At this moment, there was another pair of eyes, looking at all this coldly, that was King Qin Yingzheng!
As he grows older, Ying Zheng has realized his responsibilities and learned many tactics. He understood that before he was in power, he had to make a lot of compromises and concessions. The more this happened, the more a strong desire grew in his heart to control everything by himself and no longer be at the mercy of anyone.
The King of Qin is now twenty years old and has already been married. According to tradition, when he is twenty-two years old, he must wear his crown and undergo a coming-of-age ceremony, and then he will take charge. Now Lu Buwei not only has no intention of returning to power, but is extremely powerful and popular. The two queen mothers are old and don't want to take care of anything. They entrust everything in Xianyang to Lu Buwei.
Qin Wangzheng became anxious and asked Li Si what to do.
Li Sidao: "Today, the Empress Dowager Huayang, Empress Dowager Xia, Empress Dowager Zhao, and Xiangbang are all still alive, and they all came to assist the king at the order of the late king. A four-legged stool is the most stable. Only when one of the legs has problems Changes will occur when the time comes. What we need to do most now is to wait and see. If you rush to ask for pro-government now, it will be inconsistent with etiquette and unfilial. We have to wait until the stool loses a leg before we have a chance!"
"I heard that "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals" compiled by Xiangbang was hung on the city gate and no one could change a word. I think it was not because the writing was so exquisite, but because everyone was afraid of Xiangbang's power and did not dare to change it. !" King Qin has always been worried about Lu Buwei's vigorous promotion of "Spring and Autumn".
"The great king, Shengming, can actually see through the mystery at a glance."
"Now that the Queen Mother Xia is seriously ill and can no longer manage affairs, the Queen Mother Huayang is too old to handle politics, and my mother has moved to Yongcheng and is not directly involved in government affairs. I expect the balance of the four legs will be broken soon."
"From my perspective, breaking the old balance is an immediate matter. What is important is how to create a new balance. Your Majesty needs to prepare early! You must place your own people in key positions!" Li Si suggested.
"Sir, what you said is true!" King Qin took a deep breath. Now the court seemed calm, but there was an undercurrent surging underneath. What he was waiting for was an opportunity.
This winter, the comet appeared in the west for sixteen days, and Queen Mother Xia's illness worsened again.
On her deathbed, Queen Mother Xia was still thinking about Cheng Jiao, holding his hand and saying: "Grandson, grandma has lived for so long, and there is nothing she can't let go of, except you! Now King Qin has got married, and he is a man of the city. It’s very deep, and with the help of powerful ministers like Lu Buwei, you must not do stupid things, stay safe, and don’t reveal the slightest hint of disloyalty or unfilial piety, otherwise...otherwise..."
The Queen Mother Xia passed away.
Cheng Jiao, Han Ji burst into tears! King Qin came after hearing the news, prostrated himself at the window of Queen Mother Xia, and said with tears: "My grandson is unfilial, he came late..."
Empress Dowager Xia transformed from a poor concubine to a highly regarded empress dowager by chance. After four dynasties, she had already seen through all kinds of power struggles, but she could not let go of her family affection. Perhaps, the days when she watched Cheng Jiao grow up were the happiest time in her life. The rich clothes, fine food, and three thousand favors were just passing smoke!
After the death of Queen Mother Xia, the King of Qin buried her alone. Her tomb was between King Qin Xiaowen and King Qin Zhuangxiang. On one side was her husband and on the other was his son. They were buried here like this.
It is also said that since the Empress Dowager Zhao had Lao Ai, she had been greedy for the pleasure of fish and water all day long, and she soon became pregnant. In order to avoid people's attention, the Empress Dowager Zhao lied and said that she should not live in Xianyang for a long time and should leave the palace to avoid disaster. So he took Lao Ai to live in the palace in Yong County. Soon the Queen Mother Zhao gave birth to a baby boy.
From then on, Queen Mother Zhao took care of the baby all day long and did not care about the affairs of the court. But her love for Lao Ai grew day by day, and she always tried her best to meet Lao Ai's requirements.
As time passed, Lao Ai was unwilling to live alone in the palace, so she asked the Queen Mother Zhao to arrange an official position for him. At first, the Queen Mother Zhao only asked Lao Ai to manage the affairs of the Yong County Palace to test the reaction of the ministers, but the ministers all maintained their position without exception. Silence, including the Queen Mother Huayang and Lu Buwei, they all acquiesced. After that, Empress Dowager Zhao became more and more courageous, and Lao Ai's demands became more and more excessive.
In the sixth year of the Qin Dynasty, the Queen Mother Zhao became pregnant again. Lao Ai then said to Queen Mother Zhao: "Now we also have to plan for our children. How can my children establish themselves in the future if I don't have any official position? You still have to arrange a serious position for me as soon as possible!"
Empress Dowager Zhao said: "This is not difficult. The Empress Dowager Xia is in poor health and the Empress Dowager Huayang is also old. As long as I tell the Prime Minister, he will definitely agree. It's just that the requirements for the reward of the title are strict. You must have meritorious service before you can be granted the title of Marquis. . You need to seize the opportunity."
Lu Buwei's attitude towards Lao Ai is very contradictory. On the one hand, he was grateful that he had solved his urgent need, but on the other hand, Lao Ai was a very short-sighted person and often made many demands on himself, which annoyed him.
At first, Lu Buwei always felt that Lao Ai was just a chess piece in his hand and could be manipulated at his mercy, so he did not refuse the Queen Mother Zhao's request. So in just one year, Lao Ai was promoted from an eunuch to a guard of Yongcheng. Lieutenant, controlled the garrison of Yongcheng. For a time, he was in great demand for power. He also began to imitate Lu Buwei and recruit many followers. Anyone who defected to him was placed in key positions, so more and more people defected to him. , even some of Lu Buwei's disciples began to change their families and moved to Daolao Ai Mansion.
There was a retainer in the Lu Mansion named Zhang Song, who was quite scheming and often made suggestions for Lu Buwei, which played a great role in consolidating Lu Buwei's position. However, for many years after entering Lu Mansion, Lu Buwei only regarded him as a retainer and never recommended him to become an official in the imperial court, so he felt resentful. Hearing that anyone who defected to Lao Ai could become an official, he bid farewell to Lu Buwei and came to Lao Ai's house. As expected, Lao Ai entrusted him with important tasks and at the same time revealed many of Lu Buwei's secrets to Lao Ai.
Lu Buwei was very angry about this and sent someone to question Lao Ai, but Lao Ai said: "The Prime Minister can accept followers, and I, Lao Ai, can also accept followers. As for who the followers go to, it is a personal choice. If my followers want to join the Prime Minister, I can’t force anyone under the sect.”
Only then did Lu Buwei realize that he could no longer control Lao Ai. He was no longer his help. On the contrary, Lao Ai had become a threat to him. Lu Buwei began to restrict various requests made by Lao Ai.
This undoubtedly made Lao Ai hostile to Lu Buwei, and the friction between the two escalated their struggle. Although Lu Buwei had the upper hand, due to the special relationship between Lao Ai and the Queen Mother Zhao, and the fact that Lao Ai's entry into the palace was planned by Lu Buwei, Lu Buwei did not dare to take drastic actions rashly and could only temporarily suppress the anger in his heart.
In the autumn of the seventh year of the Qin Dynasty, Empress Dowager Xia passed away. She was originally the person that Empress Dowager Zhao feared most in the harem. When Empress Dowager Xia was there, Empress Dowager Zhao still had scruples about everything she did. Now that there is no restriction, Empress Dowager Zhao has begun to do whatever she wants, and she has become even more aggressive. Reward Lao Ai. From Yongcheng Weiwei to Xianyang Order, he was promoted to Shangdafu.
The King of Qin also wanted to use Lao Ai to contain Lu Buwei, so whenever the Queen Mother Zhao proposed to grant Lao Ai a title, he had no objection. Soon the garrison in Xianyang was also controlled by Lao Ai. At this time, Lu Buwei became even more aggressive and had no choice but to do anything to Lao Ai.
In the eighth year of the Qin Dynasty, in order to retaliate against the Zhao army for attacking Meng Ao, the Qin army wanted to take revenge on Zhao. However, the entire court was still undecided about the selection of generals. The old generals had all passed away, and the new generals lacked experience and were unable to bear the heavy responsibility. . At this time, Zhao State used the famous general Li Mu to defend the border. If he were not a wise and brave general, he would not be Li Mu's opponent at all.
Lu Buwei discussed with the Queen Mother Huayang the candidates to attack Zhao. Lu Buwei wanted to take the opportunity to weaken or even eradicate Chengjiao's power, which was exactly what the Queen Mother Huayang wanted. As she grew older, Queen Mother Huayang felt that her time was running out. In order for the power of the Chu State to gain a firm foothold in the harem, it was necessary to ensure that Ying Zheng's throne was stable, and Cheng Jiao was always a potential threat. . If they go to attack the State of Zhao, the Qin Army will definitely not be able to win given the strength of the Zhao Army. If they retreat, they can return to Xianyang to be punished and deprived of their title; if they fight head-on, they will inevitably lose their troops and their lives will not be saved. So this trip must be a disaster.
Although Lu Buwei was very angry with the Empress Dowager Zhao for possessing Empress Lao Ai, the Empress Dowager Zhao was, after all, the auxiliary empress dowager appointed by the late king, so her approval was still needed to conquer Zhao. The next day, Lu Buwei met with the Queen Mother Zhao and told her his decision to send Cheng Jiao to the expedition.
When the Queen Mother Zhao heard about this, of course she knew what Lu Buwei meant. At this time, she felt in her heart that the opportunity had come for Lao Ai to make meritorious deeds, so she approached Lao Aui to discuss how to use this opportunity to make meritorious deeds.
Lao Ai usually recruited many gangsters and assassins to spy on the movements of officials in Xianyang City. He knew that since Ying Zheng ascended the throne, many dignitaries in the court believed that Ying Zheng was from the Zhao Kingdom and was not a real old Qin person. Convinced. After the three generals who Tuogu passed away, Fan Yuqi was the most dissatisfied in the military, and he often showed dissatisfaction at home.
A conspiracy emerged in Lao Ai's mind, that is, to let Fan Yuqi accompany him on the expedition as a deputy general, and find a way to force him to rebel. Cheng Jiao is just a seventeen-year-old boy who has no independent opinions and will inevitably be coerced. This is a great opportunity for Jiao's forces, and he, Lao Ai, will also take advantage of this opportunity to make great achievements and obtain a title.
Empress Dowager Zhao also felt that this was a great opportunity for Lao Ai to make meritorious deeds, so she not only agreed to let Cheng Jiao lead the army as the chief general, but also strongly suggested that Fan Yuqi should be made deputy general to accompany him on the expedition.
The next day at court, when the generals to attack Chu were discussed, Xiong Zhuang said: "The Lord of Chang'an has been a hostage in Zhao for a long time, so he must be very familiar with the situation in Zhao. He is also the king's younger brother. trustworthy."
The bear shape was naturally arranged by the Empress Dowager Huayang. The Empress Dowager Xia was dead, and Han Qi's power was gradually reduced, and he did not dare to speak for Cheng Jiao anymore. Wei Wei Yang Jie said: "There is nothing wrong with Chang'an Jun being the commander, but he is still young and needs the assistance of an experienced general to be foolproof. General Fan Yuqi fought dozens of battles, winning more than he lost, so he assisted Mr. Cheng Jiao as his deputy. It’s more appropriate.”
Most people in the court had received the hint, so there was no objection. The resolution was passed, with Cheng Jiao as the chief general and Fan Yuqi as the deputy general. He would lead Fan Yuqi's old army of 100,000 people to attack Zhao after the autumn harvest. Zhongdafu ordered Qi was responsible for the logistics supply and chose a day to launch troops. Both Yang Jie and Ling Qi were admitted to the court through Lao Ai's recommendation.
Fan Yuqi had an ominous premonition when he learned that he was going to follow Cheng Jiao to conquer the Kingdom of Zhao. He has always been a supporter of Cheng Jiao. In his view, Ying Zheng is the puppet of the Queen Mother Huayang and Lu Buwei and cannot represent the authentic Qin Dynasty royal family. This expedition must have been arranged by them.
Li Mu of Zhao State has always been the nightmare of the Qin army. If Lord Wu An is still there, he may still be able to fight. Fan Yuqi naturally knows his weight in his heart. So, he went to see Cheng Jiao to discuss countermeasures, hoping to prevent this expedition.
Cheng Jiao said: "General Huan didn't know something. When the Queen Mother Xia passed away, she hinted that I could not go against the King of Qin. As long as we try our best, even if we fail, it will be glorious even if we fail. What can they do to me?" Fan Yuqi saw me? Chengjiao is young and cannot understand the power of it. It is useless to talk about it. He can only take it one step at a time!
