Pingyuan Jun's Mansion.
Zhao Sheng and Wei Wuji sat opposite each other, both of them silent, just tasting the wine in their glasses silently.
However, when the wine was finally finished, Wei Wuji finally said, "The State of Wei has just sent news that the State of Qi and the State of Chu have rejected Wei's request for help. I am going back..."
"When are you leaving?" Zhao Sheng looked at Wei Wuji.
"Tomorrow morning." Wei Wuji said.
"Are you sure you don't want to tell the king?" Zhao Sheng asked.
"I don't want the king to be in trouble because of me." Wei Wuji shook his head.
"Then let's go." Zhao Sheng said. He understood Wei Wuji. If he faced this situation, he would not hesitate to save Zhao Guo, even if it was an earthworm shaking the tree or a moth flying into the flame.
"Li Tong." Zhao Sheng shouted outside the door.
"My lord." A strong man walked in and said with his fists clasped.
"I have nothing to help you. This is my disciple Li Tong, a warrior in the extraordinary realm. I will let him protect you. In addition, there are a hundred chariots, five hundred disciples, and some retired soldiers. Armor and weapons are enough for your servants below." Zhao Sheng said.
Zhao Guobing's armor control was strict, and the weapons were not bad. Anyone who dared to hide iron armor or bronze armor would be a capital offense. However, Zhao Sheng still used his connections to get some for Wei Wuji.
Death penalty means nothing to him. As long as he does not rebel, no one in Zhao will dare to kill him.
Nobility has always had privileges.
The prince of Qin broke the law. Shang Yang dared to punish the prince's teacher, but he would never dare to punish the prince.
The prince commits the same crime as the people when he breaks the law, but he is never punished the same way.
"Thank you." Wei Wuji did not refuse. He now needs every strength to strengthen himself.
"If the Qin army cannot be repulsed, a temporary compromise is not impossible. The main thing is to save lives." Zhao Sheng warned, he would only say this kind of thing in front of Wei Wuji.
They are not only colleagues, but also friends and relatives.
"I understand." Wei Wuji nodded.
"I will take care of my family, don't worry." Zhao Sheng continued.
"Thank you." Wei Wuji picked up the wine glass and found that it was empty. He picked up the wine bottle and found that the wine in it had been finished, so he had to put the wine glass down.
In the early morning, before dawn, Zhao Kuo got up from the bed, washed himself, and practiced martial arts with Ben for a while. Although there was no hope of breaking through to the transcendent realm, it was still necessary to exercise his body.
Until it was completely bright, Zhao Kuo wiped the sweat from his face and walked towards the political hall.
"Is Lord Xinling not here yet?" Zhao Kuo asked strangely when he saw that Lin Xiangru was the only one in the political hall with Han Fei and Feng Quji. Wei Wuji hasn't gone to work for almost ten days.
"No, but there aren't too many things going on now. I can handle it with Han Fei and Feng Quji. Let him rest at home for a few more days." Lin Xiangru shook his head. He was not ostracizing Wei Wuji. In the Zhao Kingdom , unless Wei Wuji leaves on his own, no one can exclude him. qδ.net
But where there are people, there are rivers and lakes, and there is also competition in the Zhao Dynasty. In particular, Lin Xiangru and Wei Wuji have a left prime minister country and a right prime minister country, and each has a faction behind them. Even if they don't fight, those below will fight.
Moreover, it is impossible not to argue. There are more than a dozen people with more than a dozen heads, and each head has different ideas. Everyone is a top civil servant, and no one will feel that he is wrong and others are right.
In addition, Zhao Kuo likes to delegate power, who would think that he has too much power?
As long as it is not a fight for the sake of fighting, Zhao Kuo will not care about this.
"All the soldiers who have gone home are back." Zhao Kuo came to his seat and sat down, casually pulling out a volume of copywriting.
"Most of the soldiers have come back a long time ago, and those who were on duty during the Chinese New Year also came back a few days ago." Lin Xiangru said, and those on duty made up for their vacation.
"I heard that when we inspected the granary some time ago, a fire broke out in a granary in Taiyuan County? How was it resolved in the end?" Zhao Kuo asked.
This kind of thing is not uncommon at all times and at home and abroad. If you don't check the granary, it will be fine. Once you check the granary, it will be fine.
There was a fire, and everyone knows the cause.
"I sent people to investigate and found that there was indeed a fire. It was not because the person in charge resold the grain and grass and was worried that the court would send people to investigate and set it on fire. So only the person in charge was sentenced to death, and the other officials were demoted. As for the family members, Acquitted." Lin Xiangru replied while processing the official documents.
The granary is the lifeblood of the country and must not be compromised. For example, the law of Qin clearly stipulates that the latch of the warehouse is not tight and the gap can accommodate fingers. If the door leaf is not tight, grain can be exposed from inside. There is a straw mat in the empty warehouse, and there is more than one stone of grain under the straw mat. All will be fined.
If there are more than three mouse holes in the granary, a fine of one shield will be imposed.
If an official doesn't pay attention, he will be punished and bankrupted. No one dares to take it lightly.
If the granary is burned down, the three families who suffer the most will be the least affected.
If Li Si was born in Qin, he most likely would not have seen the rats in the granary eating grain unscrupulously.
Zhao's laws are not as harsh as Qin's, and fines are often imposed, but the management of food is also very strict.
Whenever a fire breaks out, the person responsible is punished by death.
If it can be proven in the end that the fire had nothing to do with the person responsible, the family will be exempted. If it cannot be proved, the family members will be demoted to ministers and concubines.
It is related to the life protection of everyone in the country, and no matter how strict it is, it cannot be too strict.
"Spring plowing is over everywhere, right?" Zhao Kuo asked again.
"It's over. Counties and counties have counted the number of acres of farmland. It has increased by 3% from last year, but it is all farmland that has just been reclaimed. There will be no agricultural tax for three years, and then two and a half years. Now we can Almost all the reclaimed wasteland has been reclaimed, and there are fewer and fewer new additions every year. It is estimated that there will be no increase in a few years. The large areas of wasteland reclaimed five years ago can be fully taxed this year, so agricultural taxes will be higher. There is a lot of output, and there is no need to continue transporting grain to the Hetao this year, so there is almost no pressure on the court." Lin Xiangru said in high spirits.
After watching the war, the withered Zhao State recovered from his own hands little by little, and then exploded with powerful vitality. Lin Xiangru's sense of accomplishment was unparalleled.
At his age, ordinary fame and fortune have no appeal to him.
Lin Xiangru pursues only one thing, and that is to spread it to future generations.
"With you here, I can rest assured." Zhao Kuo said.
After staying in the political hall for a while, Zhao Kuo saw that Lin Xiangru, Han Fei, and Feng Quji had been busy working on official documents, but he had nothing to do. He couldn't stay any longer. After drinking two cups of tea, he got up and walked outside.
Zhao Kuo can also handle government affairs, and he can do it faster, but he can't calm down now. He always feels agitated, but he can't tell where he is agitated.
It's been like this since I woke up this morning. I thought I would be fine after practicing martial arts, but I didn't expect that I feel even more irritable now.
Lin Xiangru and the other three didn't get up to see each other off. Everyone was used to Zhao Kuo wandering around every day.
"Your Majesty, where are we going?" Ben asked.
Zhao Kuo looked at Ben and kept staring.
Ben was a little frightened by what he saw, and said in a panic, "Your Majesty...is there something on my face?"
"No." Zhao Kuo shook his head and walked forward, "Just take a look around."
"Oh, okay." Ben scratched his head and quickly followed.
After planning and arrangement, the roads in the city have become much wider. There are some pedestrians and vehicles on the road, but they are not crowded. Except for certain special periods, there will be no crowding in Handan City.
After all, the entire Zhao State combined did not have as large a population as the city of Handan in later generations. If it was scattered to various places across the country, how many people could there be in each place?
A group of children were laughing and playing on the roadside. They were not afraid when they saw Zhao Kuo, and even smiled at Zhao Kuo.
All the people living on this street are the nobles of the Zhao Kingdom. If you throw a brick, the person it hits may be the child of a certain official.
These children have lived in this kind of place since they were young and have long been accustomed to strangers.
Zhao Kuo walked forward aimlessly and unknowingly came to the gate of Lord Xinling's Mansion.
Stopping and looking at the closed door, Zhao Kuo frowned.
"Knock on the door." Zhao Kuo said, since he is here, it might as well go in and take a look.
Ben went up and knocked a few times.
Soon, a young man about the same age as Zhao Kuo walked out. When he saw Zhao Kuo, he quickly saluted and said, "Greetings to the king."
"It's Wei Shi. I'm here to see Lord Xinling. Why are you closing your door to thank guests in broad daylight? I thought there was no one there." Zhao Kuo said with a smile.
"My father...has returned to the Kingdom of Wei." Wei Shi hesitated for a moment, but then told the truth.
Zhao Kuo came to his door, and he couldn't hide it even if he wanted to.
"He returned to Wei? Why didn't you stop him?" Zhao Kuo said angrily.
"How can a son stop what his father has decided?" Wei Shi said helplessly.
"Jun Xinling is going to die! Even if you can't stop it, why don't you tell me?" Zhao Kuo said angrily.
From the first time he met Lord Xinling in Wei seven years ago, the two of them hit it off. After that, they drank together, discussed life together, led troops to fight together, and defeated Qin together. After that, he became the King of Zhao. , Wei Wuji also came to Zhao State and became his prime minister.
They are not only kings and ministers, but also friends.
These days, the court has been debating whether to support Wei or attack Yan with all its strength.
In fact, most people know very well that at this time, they should take advantage of the melee of the Three Kingdoms to attack Yan with all their strength. The opportunity must not be missed and never come again. When the melee of the Three Kingdoms is over, it will not be so easy for Zhao to attack Yan again.
Lin Xiangru said it rightly: How can allies be as important as Zhao's own strength?
As long as you are strong, you still lack allies?
What's more, Wei's ally is not that reliable.
Moreover, with the strength of Han and Wei, it is impossible for Qin to win in a short time. If Zhao's attack on Yan goes smoothly, he will have enough time to support Han and Wei.
Not only did Han Wei dare not have any objections, but they were also very grateful to Zhao Guo.
Zhao Kuo has been hesitating and has not made a decision, just because of one person: Wei Wuji.
Everyone has selfish motives, but Wei Wuji has never shown his selfishness since he came to Zhao State. He wholeheartedly recommends talents for Zhao State and seeks development for Zhao State. When there is a conflict or interest entanglement between Zhao State and Wei State, He would not hesitate to side with Zhao Guo.
But this time, even though Wei Wuji knew what was best for Zhao, he still advocated supporting Wei.
This was the first time Wei Wuji showed his selfishness.
After all, he is only a human being, not a saint.
"Father didn't let me tell you because he was afraid of embarrassing you." Wei Shi said with his head lowered.
It's not that he doesn't know that his father is going to die, but what can he do? Are you going to die together?
"Are you afraid that I will be in trouble? Don't you think I will be in trouble if he leaves?" Zhao Kuo roared, the aura he had cultivated over the years suddenly burst out.
"I..." Wei Shi lowered his head and was speechless.
"When did you leave? How long has it been?"
"I left before dawn this morning, probably more than two hours ago." Wei Shi whispered.
"Immediately send someone to chase him. Forget it, I will chase it myself and bring the snow lion here." Zhao Kuo said, the snow lion is much faster than other war horses, and even if others catch up, they may not be able to convince Wei Wuji. It's better to go there yourself.
"By the way, how many people did Lord Xinling bring?" Zhao Kuo asked. If he was alone and flew directly to Daliang, then he could give up.
"One thousand people, five hundred people are the disciples of our house, and five hundred people are the disciples of Lord Pingyuan." Wei Shi sold Zhao Sheng without hesitation.
"Okay, that's great. Lord Pingyuan knows about it, right? I'm the only one who was kept in the dark." Zhao Kuo nodded repeatedly, not knowing what to say, "I'll settle the score with you when I get back."
Soon, Ben brought the snow lion.
Zhao Kuo didn't care about the city's rule that horses were not allowed. He made the rules anyway. He immediately got on his horse and galloped towards the south of the city.
When the city gate commander saw someone galloping toward him on horseback, he became furious and was about to order someone to stop him. After seeing the person clearly, he hurriedly scolded: "Quick, get out of the way and get out of the way."
When the soldiers and people heard this, they didn't know what was going on, so they subconsciously separated on both sides, leaving the road in the middle empty.
Zhao Kuo galloped past.
"Who was that just now? You dared to charge over on horseback." Several pedestrians passing by commented.
"Shut up, no one is allowed to talk about today's matter." The city gate order scolded. Although he didn't know what happened to make the dignified King Zhao rush into action, he knew that this kind of thing was not something he could intervene in. It was best to talk about it. Don't even talk about it.
There was only one official road from Handan to Daliang, and Wei Wuji still had a thousand people with him. It was impossible for him to abandon the official road without taking a small road, so Zhao Kuo ran directly south along the official road.
"They probably haven't arrived at Yecheng yet." Zhao Kuo thought in his mind.
Although the army led by Wei Wuji had chariots, they were not cavalry after all and were not that fast.
Half an hour later, Zhao Kuo asked about an inn on the roadside. Sure enough, a large army had just passed by, and he quickly sped up to catch up.
After another half an hour, Zhao Kuo's eyes suddenly lit up and he shouted loudly to the front: "Lord Xinling, stop now, Lord Xinling, stop now."
"Master, I seem to hear someone calling you from behind." Zhu Hai said to Wei Wuji.
"Please order people to stop. I didn't expect that the king would come in person." Wei Wuji heard the voice and immediately recognized Zhao Kuo. Feeling helpless and moved, he turned and walked towards the back of the team.
"Your Majesty." Wei Wuji looked at Zhao Kuo with a wry smile.
Now he really doesn't have to leave, nor does he not leave.
Leaving would be disloyal to Zhao Kuo, and not leaving would be disloyal to Wei.
"Go back with me." Zhao Kuo said in a deep voice.
"Your Majesty, I forgive my disloyalty. I'm afraid I won't be able to obey your Majesty's orders this time. I can't just watch the demise of Wei." Wei Wuji looked at Zhao Kuo and shook his head firmly.
"Go back with me and discuss supporting Wei." Zhao Kuo said again.
"Your Majesty promised to support Wei?" Wei Wuji's eyes suddenly lit up and he said in disbelief.
"It's not to save the Wei State, but to save the Prime Minister's State." Zhao Kuo glanced at Wei Wuji, said calmly, turned around and walked towards Handan.
