"Where do you gather the power? Whose hearts do you gather?" Zhao Kuo continued to ask.
"Gather the military and political power of Zhao State and win the hearts of the people of the world." Lu Buwei replied simply. 33
Zhao Kuo's eyes lit up. Sure enough, he agreed with him again. He then continued to ask: "How to centralize power? How to control people's hearts?"
Lu Buwei was calm and continued to speak slowly: "Let's talk about centralization first. Now that my king has ascended the throne, although there is Lin Shangqing who paved the way for the king and killed Lou Chang and others in one fell swoop, the king will inevitably have power after taking over a small sect. This is the division of power. Since my king wants to rule the world, he will inevitably struggle with the full strength of Zhao State. This is why centralization of power is necessary."
Zhao Kuo nodded and said: "Centralizing power and controlling people's hearts is indeed what everyone wants. I love you and you only have to do what you say."
"Yes." Lu Buwei nodded in agreement: "As mentioned in the introduction, the so-called centralizers are nothing more than military and political parties."
"It goes without saying, soldier." Lu Buwei took a tea cup, placed it on the table, and continued: "The king already has supreme prestige in the army, so there is no need to worry about the loss of military power. Therefore, I only It’s the politics of words.”
Zhao Kuo nodded slightly. He had already planned the reform of the army in his mind. It was obviously a really smart move for Lu Buwei not to get involved in it.
"Now the political power of the State of Zhao is divided into three parts." Seeing Zhao Kuo nodding, Lu Buwei continued to talk: "The first one is from Pingyuan Jun; the second one is from my king; the third one is from a big family. And the three of them each have their own emphasis.”
"Let me talk about your power first. Most of them are military-to-political forces. The scope of power is limited to Shangdang and Hanoi counties. The other counties have almost no power. In the center of Handan, although there are many supporters, they are really There are only a few people who follow orders." Lu Buwei said calmly.
Zhao Kuo still nodded slightly, obviously he had few talents around him, otherwise there would not be only one Lu Buwei to discuss such an important decision.
Lu Buwei then continued: "As for Lord Pingyuan, most of his power is the legacy of the disciples of the imperial court, as well as the legacy of Lin Shangqing. His political power can be said to be the most powerful, both at the center of Handan and at the local level. It is involved. However, Although the power is great, there are not many entangled interests and no connections by marriage, so its power is the loosest."
When Zhao Kuo heard this, he smiled slightly. This was during the Warring States Period. In later generations, this group of scholar-bureaucrats would be called a close group!
Fortunately, the current scholar-bureaucrat class still exists more in the form of clans, and has not yet connected to the level of teachers and students.
"This third force actually has a lot of overlap with Pingyuan Lord's force." Lu Buwei continued: "Now, almost half of our ministers in the Zhao Kingdom come from aristocratic families. This force is also the most stubborn and has been accumulated for hundreds of years. , has long been entangled, and even the army has been invaded a lot. It’s just because our Zhao country has used troops for many years and fought many battles, and the aristocratic families do not want their children to take risks, this is why there are fewer aristocratic families in our army. "
After listening to Lu Buwei's description, Zhao Kuo slowly shook his head and said, "I'm afraid you have forgotten that there is still a force in the Zhao Kingdom's court."
"Oh?" Lu Buwei looked at Zhao Kuo in surprise, but for a moment he didn't understand what Zhao Kuo meant.
"Relatives." Zhao Kuo explained calmly: "Since King Wuling of Zhao, our country of Zhao has been intersecting with other countries. Yan, Han, Chu, Qi, Wei and even Qin all have princesses sent to the palace to serve as queens. The concubine, along with those who came with her, there were also many ministers from other countries who entered the Zhao court with the ceremony.
As time goes by, although he has taken root in our country of Zhao and always thinks of our country of Zhao, once he comes to a critical moment of life and death, he will unconsciously speak a word for his mother country. This time around the discussion of annihilating Yan, if you return to Handan early, you may not have heard the relevant remarks. "
"This." Lu Buwei thought carefully, as if such a thing really happened, and immediately replied: "There are many words that cannot be destroyed, but..."
Zhao Kuo waved his hand and said: "I don't want to punish him. Of course I know that many of the objections are loyal to our country, Zhao. However, the power of other foreign relatives cannot be ignored."
"Yes." Lu Buwei nodded and agreed.
"According to what Aiqing said, except for Shangdang and Hanoi counties, we have almost no confidants. How can we break the situation?" Zhao Kuo then brought the topic back to "centralization of power."
Lu Buwei immediately replied: "I think, firstly, my king needs to recruit the talents from all over the world. Only when the king has enough talents can there be room for them to be used. We should imitate what Duke Mu of Qin did and invite the talents from all over the world. Let’s rule Zhao together.”
Zhao Kuo immediately smiled and said: "There is a letter seeking talents, which is worthy of correction."
With that said, Zhao Kuo took out a silk book from the bookcase on the side of the case and handed it to Lu Buwei.
Lu Buwei was surprised and happy at the same time. What was surprising was that the king had already had a desire to seek talents. What was happy was that his plan coincided with the king again.
Then he took the silk book from Zhao Kuo's hand with both hands, unfolded it and read it carefully, saying:
"Since ancient times, have the kings who have been appointed to the Zhongxing Dynasty been able to rule the world with virtuous men and gentlemen? Even if they have found virtuous people, they have never left the alleys. How can they be lucky enough to meet each other? The people above are looking for ears. Today, the world has not yet decided. This is the time when we are in urgent need of talents.
"Meng Gongchuo is a good man if he is an elder of Zhao or Wei, but he cannot be a doctor of Teng or Xue." If only honest men can be used later, how can Qi Huanqi dominate the world? Is there anyone who catches the brown jade in Weibin today?
The second and third sons, their assistants, are plain and humble, but only their talents can be used, so I can use them. "
Looking at the order for seeking talents given by Zhao Kuo, Lu Buwei could only say that he "feels the same".
As a businessman, but determined to enter the political arena, he was often ridiculed by others. His sourness and hardship were not enough to be treated with outsiders!
The king's order for seeking talents was almost specially designed for "people with lofty ideals" like himself. It was full of words, all with four words: Only talents should be promoted!
Talent, the most indispensable thing for people like me is talent! Just give yourself a platform...
After reading it again and again, Lu Buwei slowly suppressed the excitement in his heart, slowly held the silk book in his hand, bowed it to Zhao Kuo to the end, and said, "Thank you, my king."
"As soon as this order for seeking talents comes out, people with lofty ideals from all over the world will flock to us." Lu Buwei said with certainty.
"Oh?" Zhao Kuo said quite proudly.
Of course he knew the power of this order seeking talents. Even in the Three Kingdoms hundreds of years later, Cao Mengde relied on such an order to deceive countless talents, let alone the Warring States Period.
"But, there is a problem..." Zhao Kuo looked at Lu Buwei with a smile, just like a weasel looking at a chicken...
Some people died, but not completely...
