After only two months of not seeing each other, Bai Qi's appearance was already almost unrecognizable to Fan Sui.
When he first came out of Xianyang, he only had a few silver hairs. Now most of his head is gray. His still strong face has been ruthlessly carved with bottomless wrinkles by the years and wars, and his chapped lips are struggling to squeeze out a trace of hair. With a smile, his originally strong body could not hold up his armor.
Only one pair of eyes is still filled with the light of wisdom, sharp and cold.
Although he was a political enemy, he was also a minister for one time. Seeing the dignified Lord Wu An being tortured like this by the war, even Fan Sui couldn't help but tremble in his heart.
"Wu Anjun! Thank you for your hard work." He almost blurted out.
"The humble general is incompetent, and the Prime Minister has worked hard." Bai Qi naturally knows how miserable his current image is. He is not deliberately trying to be miserable. This is indeed Bai Qi's truest face today.
There was only one meal a day, and he had to patrol the camp so that every Qin soldier could see him. His consumption far exceeded his intake. But in the dead of night, Bai Qi, who could have taken a short rest, meditated hard on the map, trying to find any way out of the woods.
The physical load and the mental pressure were pounding Bai Qi all the time. Even his iron-clad body couldn't bear the cycle of day and night. Therefore, even though it had only been ten short days, Bai Qi's body had aged by more than ten years.
Seeing Bai Qi, who was obviously very tired but didn't say anything about his hard work and still apologized to him, Fan Sui felt even worse. The past grievances and political disputes were all forgotten at this moment, and there was only one thought in his mind. These hundreds of thousands of troops must be brought back to Qin safely.
Thousands of words were blocked in Fan Sui's chest, but in the end he could only say one sentence: "Jiujiao Lao Qin, we will fight against the national calamity together."
Bai Qi was stunned and immediately understood what Fan Sui meant: In the face of national interests, we should put aside all personal entanglements and work together to tide over the difficulties!
"Jiujiu, old Qin, we will fight against the national calamity together." Bai Qi then held out his hands and held Fan Sui's hands firmly together.
There is no need to say anything more, both of them understand each other's feelings.
In this time and space, the two most powerful empires, the civil and military giants, finally held their hands together tightly at the most critical moment, vowing to bring the team back to Qin safely. Unfortunately...
In the military tent, Fan Sui spoke in detail about King Qin's orders, the plans in Handan City, and what he saw in Zhao's camp today.
Bai Qi listened quietly on the side, until he heard that Zhao Kuo invited him to a banquet in front of the camp despite his serious injury. Bai Qi's brows frowned slightly, and then quickly returned to their original state.
Finally, Fan Sui had finished speaking, so he picked up the tea beside him and drank it in one gulp.
Sima Cuo and Wang Lu, who were beside Bai Qi, were both overjoyed. They were finally relieved from the worries and fears of the past few days. Although abandoning weapons and leaving is a bit difficult to accept, it is better than the result of the entire army being annihilated.
Only Bai Qi listened to Fan Sui's words, but his face remained as calm as before, as if he was meditating, calculating, and hesitant...
Silence immediately fell into the Chinese army tent. None of the three dared to interrupt Bai Qi's thinking. None of them were sure whether there was fraud in Zhao Kuo's agreement and whether there would be any possibilities in tomorrow's exchange. An unexpected incident, everything has to wait for Bai Qi to make the final decision.
"What's the Prime Minister's intention?" Bai Qi suddenly asked.
Fan Sui was stunned for a moment, and then replied: "According to what I see, although the entire Zhao army supports Zhao Kuo extremely, they still dare not do anything to disobey the king's order, otherwise the Zhao army may have already killed them at this moment. It's just... ...."
Halfway through the words, Fan Sui paused slightly and continued with a hint of confusion: "It's just that Zhao Kuo's third request is a bit strange. Logically speaking, the third request should be the most important and the most difficult for us to accept. But it’s just a banquet. It’s completely different from the previous two requests.”
"Is it just a matter of sympathy? Do you want to meet Mr. Wu An before he leaves?" Fan Sui said with some uncertainty.
After hearing this, Wang Lu and Sima Cuo also nodded in agreement. Indeed, Zhao Kuo's first condition was to ensure that Zhao Jun's
For security and victory in the Battle of Shangdang, the second requirement is to expand Zhao’s interests in the Battle of Shangdang. According to Zhao Kuo’s step-by-step approach, the third condition should be more difficult and more beneficial to Zhao. .
But the third condition is almost meaningless. It can neither help Zhao nor harm Qin. Is it just a simple sympathy for each other? It seems that this is the only explanation.
When Bai Qi heard this, he naturally knew that Fan Sui did not understand Zhao Kuo's intention, nor did he understand what he wanted to ask. Or maybe Fan Sui already knew it, and his answer was in his answer.
But, that's no longer important.
Because Bai Qi already made a decision in his heart.
Bai Qi looked at the brothers in front of him, with infinite emotion in his heart and infinite nostalgia in his eyes - it's a pity that Ying Shou is gone!
The deceased was gone. Bai Qi knew that he had to plan for the living. Suppressing the negative emotions in his heart, Bai Qi finally stood up and said slowly: "Send the order."
Several people on the side, including Fan Sui, also stood up and listened to the order.
"Sima is wrong!" said General Bai.
"The general is here!" Sima Cuo immediately said, cupping his fists.
"You will be the vanguard of the army, leading an army of 20,000 people. The remaining 10,000 well-fed soldiers in the army will all be given to you. Tomorrow, you will accompany the Prime Minister as the first batch of troops to enter the pass, and you will be responsible for the safety of the army along the way." Bai Qi said calmly. Di ordered.
"Yes!" Sima Cuo immediately accepted the order.
"Yes!" Fan Sui, the Prime Minister on the side, also clasped his fists.
"Wang Hao." Bai nodded and looked at Wang Hao beside him.
"The general will be here." Wang Lu immediately agreed.
"You will be in charge of the central army, coordinating matters such as leaving the city and changing defenses." Bai Qi continued to issue orders.
"Your Majesty, you?" Wang Lu asked immediately, apparently hearing the inappropriateness of Bai Qi's order.
Bai Qi waved his hand, looked at the three of them with a smile, but did not answer Wang Lu's question, but continued: "I will entrust these one hundred thousand troops to these three of you!"
What does it mean to entrust yourself to yourself?
At this moment, not only Wang Lu, but also Sima Cuo and Fan Sui also heard the inappropriateness in Bai Qi's words.
Bai Qi still looked at the three of them indifferently, and said slowly: "Tonight, General Zhao invited me to enjoy the moon and have a banquet. It's time to say goodbye!"
"What!" Fan Sui and others immediately became angry!
Bai Qi pressed down his hands and said, "Zhao Kuo's intention couldn't be more obvious. The Qin army can leave, but Bai Qi needs to stay."
"What? He dares?!" Wang Lu and Sima Cuo were about to draw their swords immediately, but Fan Sui stood there with a blank look on his face, and he understood after thinking about it.
