"Your Majesty, the ginger soup is ready. Dr. Song Zhong asked me to bring it to you."
An Ning didn't know when she put on a bright purple dress, which outlined her figure. She walked in with gentle steps, a gentle smile on her face, and her eyes were as clear and flawless as the stars in the sky.
"Ahem." Zhao Kuo was stunned when he saw An Ning. He recovered after a while, coughed twice, and said in a panic, "Just put it on the table."
An Ning looked at the broken table, thinking of Zhao Kuo's panic, and couldn't help but smile.
"I was negligent." Zhao Kuo quickly reached out to take the ginger soup, and his fingers inevitably touched An Ning's slender white catkins.
An Ning's face turned red and her whole body trembled, but she did not retract her jade hand.
Zhao Kuo smiled slyly, took An Ning's hands and brought the ginger soup to his mouth. While drinking the ginger soup, he stroked his delicate hands.
It didn't matter if An Ning struggled or didn't struggle. In the end, she could only stand aside at a loss and let Zhao Kuo do whatever he wanted.
"General Lecheng, please see me!" At this time, Ben, who had been silent outside, suddenly said loudly.
"Why are you so loud?"
Le Cheng looked at Ben strangely. Didn't he report it before? Why did he report it before he even reached the door this time?
"Come in." Zhao Kuo quickly drank the ginger soup.
"Since your Majesty... Your Majesty has important matters to deal with, I will leave first." After saying that, An Ning rushed out of the tent as if he were running away.
As a warrior in the extraordinary realm, Le Cheng still saw the blush on An Ning's face even for a brief moment, and immediately understood everything.
Le Cheng wanted to give himself a big mouth, but it came at the wrong time. He is not worried about Zhao Kuo wearing small shoes for him, but now everyone is waiting for Zhao Kuo to establish a princess. If Zhao Kuo was not still young, the ministers would have signed a letter.
If others know that he has interfered with national affairs, he will be finished and he will not be able to hold his head up for several years!
"I am guilty." As soon as he entered the door, Le Cheng said with clasped fists.
"Stop doing this." Zhao Kuo said angrily. "Have the ginger soup been sent to the soldiers and the people?"
Zhao Jun had been fighting in the rain before. In order to prevent the soldiers from catching wind and cold, Zhao Kuo ordered a large amount of ginger to be transferred from nearby counties to make ginger soup for the soldiers.
Ginger can drive away the cold, and before chili peppers were introduced to China, ginger was the main spicy ingredient in food. In addition, the growing environment of ginger is not harsh and can be grown in most places. Therefore, many families like to grow it at home. Plant some in the front house, behind the house or in the yard. Only then did Zhao Kuo buy enough ginger so that everyone could have a bowl of ginger soup.
In fact, with Zhao Kuo's strength and physique, it was impossible for him to catch wind and cold even if he was exposed to the rain for three days and three nights, and there was no need to drink ginger soup. But there are some things that I know the king does not need, but I still need to send them to the king...
"It's already been arranged," Le Cheng said.
"Thank you." Zhao Kuo nodded. "Anything else?"
"Your Majesty, what should we do with those prisoners?" Le Cheng said, cupping his fists.
"Just lock it up first." Zhao Kuo said. "Someone escaped?"
"There is no escape for the time being, but as time goes by, someone will definitely escape. And it is not a problem to be locked up like this all the time. Our army's food and grass can no longer support it." Le Cheng said.
He was so happy to see the Yan army surrendering before, but now he has a headache when he sees the Yan army prisoners.
Except for the less than 20,000 soldiers of the Yan army who died in the battle, all the remaining soldiers surrendered to Zhao, a total of 130,000, and the number of soldiers guarding them alone was 20,000.
Moreover, the current situation in Zhao State simply cannot support so many people.
In the previous attack on Qin, the Zhao army relied on South Korea and Wei to provide food and grass for the next few months, and there was no domestic pressure.
Rice Ball Exploration
Now the attack on Yan State depends entirely on Zhao State's own raising and transportation of grain and grass, and the pressure suddenly rises.
Fortunately for Shangdang and Yecheng, all the 500,000 stones of food and grass exchanged by the Qin State for prisoners were kept in Shangdang. As long as the three-year tug-of-war does not happen again, Shangdang will not be short of food for the time being.
Yecheng was the capital of Wei State, and Wei State stored a large amount of grain and grass in the city.
When the Three Kingdoms conquered Qin, Zhao Kuo handed over the captured Hanoi and Hedong to Wei without hesitation, and also helped Wei win one-third of Nanyang.
At that time, Zhao and Wei were in their honeymoon period. You farmed and I farmed, so Wei did not take away the food.
Of course, the main reason was that Zhao Kuo immediately took over Yecheng after withdrawing his troops. Wei did not have time to transport the grain and grass away, so in the end, Zhao Kuo took advantage of everything.
However, the two armies of Zhao Kuo and Lian Po could only rely on Zhao itself. In order to transport grain and grass to the front line, Zhao State could only re-levy labor force. Men aged 15 must participate, so as to meet the needs of the front line.
It seems that Zhao State only dispatched 300,000 troops this time, but in fact it was already a battle that overwhelmed the country.
Moreover, because of the war, merchants from various countries have stopped transporting grain and grass to Zhao State, and now they can only rely on the grain and grass they accumulated previously for support.
If these prisoners are added, Zhao's food and grass will not last long.
"Then what do you think?" Zhao Kuo asked.
It would definitely not work to let him go directly. Considering the relationship between Zhao and Yan, not only would Yan not be grateful, but he might also send a large army to attack Zhao again. Zhao's war would be in vain.
"Let me tell you, just kill them all." At this time, Yan Xiong and Pang Nuan walked in, and Yan Xiong clenched his fists and said fiercely.
"Absolutely not. These are 130,000 people, not hundreds or thousands. Killing them will harm the peace of the world." Le Cheng immediately stopped him, fearing that Zhao Kuo would listen to Yan Xiong's words and massacre 130,000 prisoners if his head got hot. .
"Wu Anjun has killed hundreds of thousands, but he is still alive and well." Yan Xiong curled his lips and said nonchalantly.
He didn't believe in the idea of harmony between heaven and earth. It was all nonsense. If there really was harmony between heaven and earth, Bai Qi would have died countless times.
"How about letting the Yan State pay to redeem the prisoners and kill them severely?" Pang Nuan thought of Zhao Kuo's previous methods of dealing with the Qin State.
Zhao Kuo frowned. With the current conditions of Yan State, the price was too high and he couldn't afford it, but the price was too low. Zhao Kuo didn't like it.
Moreover, he really wanted to keep these Yan troops in Zhao State. As long as there was not much difference in technology, population was the primary productive force.
These Yan troops are all young and strong. If they can stay in Zhao State, they will be able to continuously create value as long as they are raised until the autumn harvest.
"Didn't we seize a lot of food and baggage? Isn't it enough to feed the Yan army?" Zhao Kuo asked.
"Your Majesty, the captured grain and grass are only enough to support the captives for a month. If the captives are kept, we will have to feed them until at least the autumn harvest." Le Cheng said.
"You'll be locked up first, and you'll be half-fed every day. I'll take care of the food and grass matters," Zhao Kuo said.
"promise."
"Your Majesty, the dam can no longer hold on any longer." Pang Nuan said.
"Wait another half hour, and the Anzong County Magistrate is evacuating the last two villages." Zhao Kuo said.
…
"boom!"
The flood poured down, causing a huge roar, and for a while, thousands of horses sounded in unison. The flood rushed over the river embankment, crossed the mountains and fields, and rushed into the village. In just a few breaths, the entire village was submerged, and as far as the eye could see, there was a vast ocean.
In the distance, some old people ignored the mud on the ground and knelt on the ground facing the flood. Two lines of hot tears flowed from their eyes and they muttered something.
The children didn't understand what was happening and just stood next to their mother obediently. The woman held the child's hand tightly, fearing that the child would be naughty and bump into the generals and nobles.
"I heard that Li Fu had predicted the coming of this heavy rain a few days ago?" Zhao Kuo and the generals stood on the embankment, looking at the rushing flood, and something suddenly occurred to their minds.
"Jun Zhao, it's true." Le Jian told what happened at the beginning, including the conflict between himself and Li Fu.
"Can any of you tell when the heavy rain will stop?" Zhao Kuo turned back and looked at the generals behind him.
The generals shook their heads. It's okay if you let us lead the troops to fight. Let us see when the rain stops. Isn't this a joke?
"Li Fu is a great talent." Zhao Kuo sighed.
Marching and fighting depended on the right time, right place and right people. Li Fu could be said to have mastered the right time, but he lost the right people and finally lost at the hands of Zhao Jun.
In this era without weather forecasts, Chestnut Belly is equivalent to artificial weather forecast!
"It's a coincidence." Yan Xiong looked unbelieving.
"I don't believe it either." Ben Ye, who never expressed his opinion, said. He didn't believe that anyone could tell whether it would rain in a few days.
If he had this ability, would he be locked up in a dark room now?
"Nothing is impossible, my father can do it too." Le Jian said unconvinced.
"Then can you?" Yan Xiong asked hummingly.
"..." Le Jian suddenly stopped talking.
I don't know if it's an illusion, but in the past two days, Le Jian always felt that this man named Yanxiong was targeting him, but thinking about it carefully, it seemed that he didn't even know him before, let alone offend him.
Zhao Kuo glanced at Le Cheng, who nodded: "I hope you guys do understand a little bit."
"Take me to see Li Fu." Zhao Kuo said. This kind of walking weather forecast was very useful in ancient times, not to mention that Li Fu also knew how to govern the country.
Zhao Kuo came to the small dark room where Li Fu was imprisoned. Li Fu had been imprisoned for several days, and his face was a little haggard. After seeing Le Jian, his body suddenly jumped up, his eyes widened, and finally he collapsed on the ground again. His face was ashen.
"Did our army lose?"
"I'm sorry." Le Jian said apologetically.
"It's my fault, I don't blame you." Li Fu murmured, "I should have listened to you from the beginning and shouldn't have fought this battle."
Le Jian shook his head and said nothing.
"General Li is willing to surrender?" Zhao Kuo asked.
Li Fu looked at Zhao Kuo in surprise and pointed at himself with a muddy finger, "Are you willing to use me?"
"Yes." Zhao Kuo nodded.
"It's better to kill me." Li Fu shook his head.
Zhao Kuo did not expect that Li Fu was a rare minister loyal to the country in this era, so he had to turn around and leave.
"Lock it up, don't let him escape."
…
"Your Majesty, it has been verified clearly. It was not a work error. The reward was indeed embezzled." Liu Ping finally rushed back.
"How many cases are there in total?" Zhao Kuo said in a deep voice. He did not believe that there was only one such thing.
"There are only 23 cases in Manjiang County," Liu Ping said.
Zhao Kuo did not ask the other soldiers why they reacted to such nonsense. They were just ordinary people and were not qualified to fight against the nobles in this era.
"Catch them all, don't let anyone go." Zhao Kuo said.
"promise."
…
Handan.
"What do you think about the embezzlement of rewards?" Yu Xin asked in a deep voice. He and Zhao Sheng had given strict orders many times, but unexpectedly someone still went against the trend.
"Only more than 20 cases were found in one county, which is already very good. It is impossible to have absolutely no corruption," Wei Qi said.
He knew about this kind of thing when he was the prime minister of Wei State. There is no country in the world without corruption, including Qin State, which has extremely strict laws.
Therefore, they usually turn a blind eye. Unless the trouble is really serious, the monarch will kill a group of people to appease the people.
There are only more than 20 cases of corruption in one county, which has exceeded all other countries. A large part of this is because Zhao Kuo has just come to power, and he still relied on iron-blooded methods to get to power. Most officials can't figure out Zhao Kuo's temper and why they dare not take action. , otherwise the number is definitely more than this.
"These are only those that were found out within three days. There are still some that have not been found out." Xunzi said in a deep voice. He hated corrupt officials the most in his life.
"The king has an order to kill anyone who dares to commit corruption." Yu Xin said.
"If they are all executed, it will cause turmoil in the State of Zhao. Now the State of Zhao cannot withstand the turmoil." Chulong said.
"Tell all officials to return three times the reward for corruption to the soldiers, and let bygones be bygones. If they are found out afterwards, the whole family will sit together." Xunzi suggested.
"Isn't that just to notify them first to destroy the evidence?" Yu Qing said unhappily. Unexpectedly, Xunzi, who had always been upright, would actually side with the corrupt officials.
"First send people to investigate secretly, and then notify us after we have the evidence." Xunzi sneered, "Zhao cannot withstand the turmoil now, but we can't do nothing. Moreover, when the king returns with his army, he will be able to withstand the turmoil. , guess what the soldiers will do when they learn that the rewards have been embezzled? Which side will the king take?"
Everyone suddenly shivered and felt a chill coming over them.
Needless to say, if it were another monarch, he might have helped the officials cover up, but everyone knew that Zhao Kuo would definitely side with the soldiers.
Zhao Kuo relied on an army of 300,000 people to make his fortune. It is no exaggeration to say that even if the Zhao Kingdom is gone, as long as he has an army of 300,000 people, Zhao Kuo can conquer a piece of the country.
But the 300,000-strong army was gone, and only Zhao was left. It was not certain whether Zhao Kuo could secure his throne.
Zhao Bao immediately understood that Xunzi had no intention of letting these people go. If he just asked them to return the corrupt rewards, some corrupt officials might do so.
But if you want to return it three times, it is almost impossible for any corrupt officials to do it.
It would be very difficult for them to spit it out once it was in their stomach, let alone spitting it out three times?
Xunzi's method seemed to give officials a chance to correct their mistakes, but in fact it was just to delay time and wait for Zhao Guohao to be free to deal with it.
And because he was given a chance to change his ways, everyone's mouths were blocked, and other officials could not say anything.
