Not long after, Mr. Pingyuan arrived on orders.
It is still a familiar palace and a familiar location.
After Lord Pingyuan hurriedly greeted him, he couldn't wait to ask, "But is there any news about General Li Mu?"
I can't help but Mr. Pingyuan is not so urgent. This is the first battle against Qin in five years, and even the first battle against Qin since Zhao Kuo ascended the throne. More importantly, there are now more than 200,000 troops on the front line.
Although it is not as large as the Battle of Changping for the time being, it is already an unparalleled battle!
This battle will at least determine the direction of the next ten years. As the chief minister of Zhao State, can I not pay attention to it?
Coupled with Zhao Kuo's late-night summons, everyone knew that there must be important matters to discuss. And for Zhao Kuo today, is there anything more important than the war on the front line?
Apparently not.
Zhao Kuo also immediately introduced the situation on the front line to Lord Pingyuan, saying: "Sun Gu's 20,000 cavalry have advanced to Hangu Pass, Li Mu has led his army to occupy Luo City, and the Qin Army has learned the news and has withdrawn from Zhou Wangji. Return to Hangu to aid. Except for occupying Yiyang City in the southwest corner of Zhou Wangji with a small number of troops, everything else is almost exactly as expected."
As Zhao Kuo's calm words progressed step by step, Mr. Pingyuan's expression obviously changed from nervous to relieved to surprised.
Obviously, Mr. Pingyuan was also quite excited that his plan of leaping forward thousands of miles and bluffing back the Qin army could succeed.
As for the last Yiyang City, although Mr. Pingyuan was not familiar with the terrain of Zhou Wangji, he was familiar with several large cities in it. Obviously, Yiyang City was not among them at all.
Naturally, Lord Pingyuan was indifferent to the Qin army's move to occupy Yiyang.
However, after the surprise, Mr. Pingyuan was a little confused. Wasn't this a victory? Tomorrow the court will inform the whole country. At most, before the court, it is enough to give yourself a breath. Is it necessary to call yourself into the palace late at night?
Is it the so-called Yiyang City?
With a probing tone, Lord Pingyuan asked cautiously: "This Yiyang City? Is it very important? Should we attack it immediately?"
Listening to Lord Pingyuan's question, Zhao Kuo was a little confused this time, but he still reacted and immediately smiled and said: "Yiyang City is only a few miles away, and the Qin army stationed there is only forty or fifty thousand. , there is nothing to be afraid of, and it is only a matter of time to deal with it."
Perhaps he was afraid that Lord Pingyuan would misunderstand Li Mu's action of standing still, so Zhao Kuo gave a brief explanation and said: "However, the Qin people have suffered a big loss. Now they just want a bridgehead. If they stop thinking about it, I'm afraid On the contrary, it would provoke a fierce counterattack by the Qin army, so Li Mucai stood still. This is what I mean."
"What?" Listening to Zhao Kuo's explanation, Pingyuan Jun became more and more confused.
A pair of frowning brows seemed to ask again: Why are you calling me into the palace in such a hurry, Your Majesty? Just sharing the good news?
But it seems that it is not impossible to call myself, the first assistant, to share this good news!
Suddenly, Mr. Pingyuan stopped his question again.
As if seeing Lord Pingyuan's hesitation, Zhao Kuo immediately said with a smile: "This battle has basically ended here. Our army can basically be said to have won a complete victory. However, in the end, our Zhao country can get How much benefit you will get depends on you, Mr. Pingyuan."
"Ah?" Mr. Pingyuan's mind was already spinning. Isn't getting the land of King Zhou already the biggest gain? What other benefits are there? And you have to rely on yourself?
Zhao Kuo did not give Pingyuan Lord any riddles, and immediately continued: "Now the land of Zhou Wangji has been taken over by Lian Po's troops, but this land is not what I want. In fact, this place is not the blessing of our Zhao country. !」
"What?" Mr. Pingyuan asked in surprise again, "What does the king mean by this?"
"I want to use the land of King Ji of Zhou to replace Dongjun in the hands of Wei and Huaisi, the homeland of Wu and Yue in the hands of Chu." Zhao Kuo continued to express his thoughts calmly.
But as soon as these words were spoken, Mr. Pingyuan's reaction was quite strong.
"Dongjun of the State of Wei? The land of Huaisi of the State of Chu?" Lord Pingyuan couldn't believe his ears. He straightened up immediately and asked Zhao Kuo: "Does my king know that the land of the King of Zhou is the center of the world, and there is a constant flow of traders coming and going? Jue, even though it suffered from war, could recover in less than a year. In terms of tax revenue, only Taoyi in the world could compare with it. The revenue from one city was enough to equal the revenue from Dongjun and Huaisi. ?」
"No one knows it." Zhao Kuo heard this and nodded unmoved.
Lord Pingyuan did not let Zhao Kuo go, but continued: "My king knows that the land of Zhou Wangji is thousands of miles of fertile land. Although it was burned, after being reclaimed, the fertility is even better than before. The harvest of one county is better than that of Dongjun and Huaisi." How much is the total land?"
"No one knows this." Zhao Kuo continued to say calmly.
"Does my king know that the eastern county of Wei, which is called a county, was actually eaten away by Qin, with less than a dozen cities left? And the land of Huaisi, although there is a vast land, is crisscrossed by ditches, and the mountains and forests are densely populated by wild people, making it difficult to collect and control them? " Mr. Pingyuan continued to talk about the differences between the two places.
"Everyone knows it." After Zhao Kuo said these four words, he began to summarize what Lord Pingyuan said, saying: "The land of Zhou is fertile, while the land of Dongjun and Huaisi is poor. Everyone knows this. In Zhou Dynasty, the land of Dongjun and Huaisi is poor. If the land of the country is replaced by the land of Dongjun and Huaisi, our Zhao country will suffer a loss, and I know this well."
"Yes." As soon as the topic changed, Zhao Kuo immediately began to persuade Pingyuan Lord to come: "The gain and loss of the city and territory are secondary, and I want the land of Dongjun and Huaisi for three reasons."
"First." Zhao Kuo continued: "The geographical location of Dongjun is extremely important. The Dongjun of Wei is connected to Zhao and Yan to the north, Qi to the west, and Han and Chu to the south. Our army can occupy this area. It also has a second attack route against the above-mentioned countries. For example, in the case of the Yan State, once the Yan State is destroyed, our army can send troops from Hejian and Dongjun at the same time, making the Yan army suffer from a flanking attack, making it difficult to take care of the head and tail."
"Second. Although the land of Huaisi is still in the wilderness, it is the border between Qi and Chu. If you get it, you can trap Qi in a corner and attack the heart of Chu. It cannot be considered unimportant." Zhao Kuo continued.
"Of course, even if we need both places, the land of the King of Zhou will not be too much." Zhao Kuo immediately returned to the land of the King of Zhou and continued: "And the two most important points are nothing more than the central government of the world and the Qin army's eastward march. However, Precisely because of these two points, Qin will not easily let go of Zhou Wangji's territory. Even if it retreats today, it will fight tomorrow."
"This is the third place." Zhao Kuo continued: "Although it seems that the land of the Zhou Dynasty is extremely rich, in fact, in order to protect this place, there must be more troops. In this way, its advantage will be reduced by at least 20%. If the Qin army invades, no matter how weak it is, Thirty percent. Moreover, because of the garrison of the army, our army cannot realize the basic decision of moving north first and then south, and first easy and then difficult."
"With the above three points, winning Dongjun and Huaisi will be more beneficial to Zhao State. Why don't you give it up?" Zhao Kuo concluded his speech.
Listening to Zhao Kuo's words, Lord Pingyuan gradually began to feel justified. Lord Pingyuan was in favor of temporarily avoiding the battle with the Qin army.
But, vaguely, Mr. Pingyuan seemed to feel that something was wrong.
"My king, Rongzhen." Lord Pingyuan frowned slightly and asked, "If it is more advantageous to take the land of Dongjun and Huaisi, how can Wei and Chu exchange it with me? Especially after getting the land of Zhou Wangji, Both countries must face the threat of the Qin army."
"Mr. Pingyuan is wrong." Zhao Kuo shook his head and said: "The premise that we just came up with is that the land of Zhou Wangji is not as good as the land of Dongjun and Huaisi. First, our army has the intention of annexing the six countries. Therefore, the Dongjun and Huaisi The land of Si became important, but for Wei and Chu, they obviously did not think so, so the land of Dongjun and Huaisi was not very important to the two countries."
"Secondly, if the Qin State occupies the city of Yiyang, it can launch an attack on Han and Wei from Yiyang at any time; and in the south, the Qin State can also launch an attack on the Chu State from the land of Yanying at any time. In other words, Even if the two countries do not take the land of Zhou Wangji, they will still be deterred by the Qin army." Zhao Kuo continued to explain: "In this case, it is better to go to the land of Zhou Wangji. After all, it is easier to get the land of Zhou Wangji. The assistance of my country Zhao."
"My king's words make sense." Mr. Pingyuan finally nodded in agreement.
"It's just." Mr. Jiang Pingyuan finally agreed with his idea,
Zhao Kuo also immediately raised the current problem: "The most important thing now is to let Wei take the initiative to claim the land of Zhou Wangji."
"If this matter is brought up by us, the King of Wei will definitely be timid, for fear of being deceived." Zhao Kuo continued: "Only by letting the King of Wei take the initiative to bring it up, and we carry out some bargaining, can we force the King of Wei to Complete the delivery as soon as possible. Of course, as long as King Wei makes a request, King Chu will definitely follow suit."
"But how could King Wei take the initiative to ask for it?" Mr. Pingyuan frowned again and said, "There must be a reason, right?"
"Isn't the reason ready?" Zhao Kuo said with a smile: "During the alliance before the war, didn't I promise that I, the State of Zhao, would not take any of the territory of the King of Zhou? Of course, the State of Wei can use this as an excuse to ask the State of Wei Ask for it!"
"As for the opportunity, it's even simpler." Zhao Kuo continued: "Didn't Lord Xinling borrow Lian Po's food and grass? When returning the food and grass, it is the best time to make this request."
Hearing this, Lord Pingyuan obviously knew that Zhao Kuo had already mastered the wisdom, and he immediately raised his hand and said, "My king, what do you need me to do?"
Zhao Kuo nodded and said: "I will ask the secret guards to mobilize Wei's guests to remind King Wei and Lord Xinling of the promises they have made. With King Wei's greed and Lord Xinling's shrewdness, I believe they will be dispatched soon. People have come to negotiate. When the Wei envoy arrives, Pingyuan Jun will need you to come forward."
"It's up to you to choose the candidates for negotiation. My requirements are: first, to show my reluctance; second, to give the Wei envoy a signal: Zhao Guo cannot leave Wei Guo for the time being." Zhao Kuo continued to explain: "Third, I am determined to win the East County of Wei State."
"Wei Chen understands." Lord Pingyuan immediately nodded in agreement.
"There is one more thing." Zhao Kuo continued: "Once this proposal comes out, the public will inevitably be excited, and I can't say it clearly. The public opinion must be controlled and cannot affect the land exchange. Of course, the appropriate public opinion is fierce , and it can also dispel King Wei’s doubts a little bit.”
"Yes, Weichen must control the scale." Mr. Pingyuan agreed again.
Hearing this, Zhao Kuo finally nodded with satisfaction.
After seeing off Lord Pingyuan, Zhao Kuo then summoned Zhao Ping, the leader of the secret guards, who was waiting in the side hall, into the hall.
Facing Zhao Ping, Zhao Kuo did not need any more explanations. After explaining the task in detail, Zhao Ping nodded and agreed, and then left the hall to make arrangements.
At night, tranquility was restored again.
Everything is ready, now we have to wait for Wei Guo to take over...
ap.
