Although for the purpose of containing Qin, Zhao must continue to form an alliance with Wei for the time being. With more than 20,000 soldiers and horses, Lian Po is not prepared to let him leave as the seed of the Wei army, but this does not mean that Zhao will Let Wei Guo live better.
Want food? Okay, you have to pay interest!
Zhao State has received a large number of refugees from Zhou Wangji, and now it is a time of food shortage. There is an enemy right in front of him, how can Lian Po let him go so easily?
Immediately, Lian Po frowned and cried out: "Mr. Xinling, you should know that our army evacuated in a hurry and lost most of its military supplies and food. Shangdang County has only helped the people of Zhou Wangji, so there is not much food left." .Now that the Qin army is pressing the border, the city of Zhi is in danger. The little food stored is only enough for the army for a few days. Self-sufficiency is not enough. How can we..."
"Hey..." Lian Po sighed heavily and continued with great embarrassment: "If I want to share the food with you, unless I don't want to, there is really nothing I can do."
They are all foxes of thousands of years, how could Lord Xinling not understand what Lian Po said.
Although Lian Po has always emphasized that food is scarce, in other words, it can also be understood this way: food is scarce, but it is not nothing.
Just in a hurry, there was enough food and grass for the army for several days in Zicheng, not to mention the food and grass that was being transferred continuously from various places in Shangdang County.
Although it may still not be too much, it is enough to last more than ten days.
This short period of more than ten days is enough for Zicheng, and no amount of food is meaningful.
The reason is very simple. If it is not defended for more than ten days, more food will only be given to the Qin army. If it is defended, this period of time will be enough for the Zhao court to send reinforcements to Zhi City. The reinforcements have arrived, and the grain and grass will be given to the Qin army. Will it still be a problem?
Therefore, from the perspective of Lord Xinling, the food in Zhi City may not be sufficient, but there is no problem in lending some to his army.
But unfortunately, General Lian Po was evasive for a while both inside and outside his words!
Why? Why else?
Lord Xinling knew very well: As a veteran on the battlefield, Lian Po would not know that he could not bring back 20,000 troops without food and grass. It could even be said that without food and grass, he would be unable to move even an inch.
And his 20,000 defeated troops are not in Lian Po's eyes at all - even if they are given to him, he does not necessarily want them.
Of course, he must bring this last seed back to Wei at all costs. Lian Po must have known this, and was willing to let him return to Wei with his troops, otherwise he would not have cleared out the camp for himself at the risk of standing on the opposite side of the Zhao army.
In this way, Lian Po's intention of holding on to the necessities of food is obvious - if he doesn't want his own soldiers, what else can he want? ..
food! More food!
Lian Po's words specifically mentioned the refugees in Zhou Wangji, wasn't he hinting that Zhao's food was not enough?
After understanding this, Lord Xinling knew how to reply to Lian Po. He had no choice but to bow his head under the eaves. He was obviously being blackmailed, but he still had to find a way for the other party.
Lord Xinling then said with a sincere expression: "Old General Lian, I also know the importance of Zhi City, and food and grass are the most critical link. However, Shangdang County can still scrape together some food and grass, maybe it can be done temporarily To relieve an urgent need. Please be sure to support us with some food, even if it’s just for a few days!”
"In this way, when I return to the country, I will immediately provide ten times, no, a hundred times the food and grass, to thank the general and Zhao Guo for their generosity." Lord Xinling immediately raised his heart and raised the price to the sky.
Take a look at what Lord Xinling said. He first vaguely mentioned that the problem of food shortage was unrealistic, and also told General Lian Po that I have received your thoughts.
Now that both parties have understood each other's intentions, the next step is to negotiate the price.
As for Lord Xinling, his posture suddenly dropped to the bottom. First, he begged General Lianpo to provide him with food and fodder, and even lowered the limit of food provision to the lowest level. He only needed to give him a road.
Such a low profile is not just a simple loss of face, but also a soft knife handed to Lian Po.
The posture of our country, Wei, has reached such a low level. If you still do not agree, then you will not give me and my Wei army a way to survive. In order to survive, I can humbly beg you. Naturally, in order to survive, I can also do more incredible things - such as surrendering to the Qin army.
The words that seemed to be soft to the end were actually a subtle threat to Lian Po.
Of course, after all, Lord Xinling was in a weak position. After handing over the soft knife and slightly threatening General Lian Po, Lord Xinling quickly threw out another handful of candies - ten times or a hundred times the amount of food.
Note that Mr. Xinling’s words are not repayment, but gratitude!
This is very humane!
To repay it, to repay it ten times or a hundred times, that is a proper loan shark! At the worst, Lian Po and Zhao Guo should be given the reputation of repaying their kindness.
Even if Zhao Guo and Lian Po don't care about this so-called name, it still doesn't sound good.
Of course, more importantly, the word "return" means alienation. Once the food is returned, the friendship between the two parties will end here.
Trustworthy Lingjun used the word "thank you", which is great!
Not only did it wipe away the possible reputation of Zhao Guo and General Lian Po for repaying kindness, but it also gave General Lian Po no worries.
More importantly, "thank you" is an interaction that only occurs between friends! In other words, we will not only return a large amount of grain and grass to Zhao, but we will also continue to be friends and allies with Zhao and continue to deal with Qin together.
Otherwise, people want to leave their names in history!
A simple paragraph not only expresses one's attitude, but also protects the other party's face, and also lays the foundation for future cooperation between the two parties.
It would be really weird if you don't get what you want.
Obviously, Lord Xinling's words immediately moved General Lian Po.
Faced with Lord Xinling's sincerity, General Lianpo immediately offered his own price and said: "A hundred times the price, Lord Xinling is a bit joking. Doesn't this mean that I am repaying my kindness!"
Not a hundred times, the meaning is very clear - at least ten times!
Lord Xinling, of course, understood immediately, and immediately bowed to him: "The righteousness of the old general cannot be compared with a hundred times the salary. But if the general is trapped in an unjust place, it is not what I want. In this way, everything will be as the old general said. willing."
The meaning is very clear, I will pay you back tenfold - I accept it.
Lian Po immediately clapped his hands and laughed, then took Lord Xinling's hand that was slightly stained with dirt and said, "In that case, please enter the city quickly. I will immediately order the gangtou army to boil water and cook for the army."
"Well, thank you very much, General Lian." Lord Xinling immediately bowed slightly.
What? Do you need to sign a pledge or sign a document?
Then how about we make an alliance again?
Obviously, under such circumstances, it is inappropriate to write a document, and it is even more inappropriate to write a tenfold "thank you" on a scroll.
More importantly, Zhao State, as the only powerful country today, does not need this so-called painting at all.
It's a very simple reason. You know that Qin relies on Chu and other countries for a lot of land, but when have you ever seen other countries dare to deceive Qin and rely on Qin's land?
Oh, except Zhao Guo.
Back then, Wei Ran, the uncle of the King of Qin, exchanged fifteen cities in Hedong for more than ten cities of Zhao in Taoyi in order to provide for his own retirement, but he was stabbed in the back by Zhao.
Zhao Guo took over Qin's city, but Taoyi's city refused to be handed over to Qin.
This led to the subsequent battle between Zhao She and Qin. Although the Qin army was defeated by Zhao She, Qin's backhand came a few years later with the Battle of Changping. If not for the arrival of Zhao Kuo, Zhao's vitality would have been destroyed by Qin. The army was cut off.
This is the confidence of a strong country in a weak country.
Only strong countries have always bullied weak countries, and no weak countries can bully strong countries.
Unless, you can also stand by the side of a powerful country. Otherwise, you have no bargaining power at all.
The State of Zhao stood up, so the change of cities was settled, but what about the State of Wei? Neither Qin nor Zhao will let another country rise again.
And if Lord Xinling or King Wei dares to break the contract, this will be the best reason for Zhao to attack Wei.
Even in order to establish prestige, it is not impossible to unite with Qin to take over Wei. The worst case scenario is that the Qin army will go eastward and Zhao will go north to see who is faster.
Lord Xinling and Lianpo, of course, are well aware of this.
"The order: The whole army will follow Zhao Jun's guidance and enter the city. They will disarm and abandon their troops outside the city gate. No trouble will be caused or disorderly conduct. Anyone who disobeys the order will be killed!" Turning his head, Lord Xinling put on a serious face again and looked behind him. The messenger said.
After hearing the order, the Wei army did not have the same angry expression as the Qin army at Jiepailing that day. (After the defeat of Changping, the Qin army disarmed and returned at Jiepailing)
In fact, the faces of many Wei Jun showed a sense of relief.
Obviously, in the face of life, any dignity of a soldier must be leaned back. Of course, this point was actually demonstrated vividly by Wei Jun during the escape process on the south bank of Jishui.
But this scene happened to be seen by Lian Po: How can an army with such a will and no military honor and dignity be the opponent of himself and the Qin army? No wonder only a mere land is left in the great rivers and mountains. .
As he spoke, dozens of cavalrymen in the city were already running towards Lian Po.
The leader was General Zhou Qi. In order to avoid contact between the Zhao and Wei armies as much as possible, Zhou Qi, as the deputy general of the army, could only reluctantly handle the affairs of the Wei army personally.
"General." A dozen steps away, Zhou Qi made a beautiful turn and dismounted, and immediately came to Lian Po.
"Yes." Lian Po nodded and said, "This is my army's deputy general Zhou Qi. Your Majesty can contact him for future matters. Please forgive me for any inconveniences caused by the Qin army's pressure on the border."
"You're welcome, General Lian," Lord Xinling said politely immediately.
"I've met Mr. Xinling." Zhou Qi, who was on the side, obviously recognized the person opposite him in his words, and then greeted him again with his hands clasped in fists.
"General Zhou, thank you for your hard work." Lord Xinling returned the greeting.
"Are you all ready?" Lian Po asked immediately.
"The tents and hot water are all ready. It will take some time to eat. You can serve them after your Majesty and all the troops under your command have washed up." Zhou Qi also replied immediately.
"Okay." Lian Po nodded, and then looked at Lord Xinling: "Your Majesty, without further ado, please enter the city quickly."
"Okay." Lord Xinling nodded immediately.
After letting out a long sigh of relief, Lord Xinling immediately gave an order to the army behind him: "Enter the city."
Finally, after nearly a quarter of an hour of negotiation, Wei Jun's 20,000-strong army finally slowly entered the city of Zhi under Zhao Jun's surveillance...
The news was quickly detected by the scouts sent by the Qin army.
