"Of course." Zhao Kuo said calmly: "Chu has only provided Zhao with food for the winter, which can be said to be a great contribution to Zhao. How can I abandon Chu and be close to Qin?"
Zhao Kuo's words, to put it bluntly, are: Chu is the country of my brothers - I need to pay more!
Of course, the Qin envoy was unwilling to increase the money, so he immediately retorted: "The words of King Zhao are wrong. Zhao also paid the price for Chu's food and fodder. It is just mutual benefit. How can we talk about merit? In today's world, cooperation To move when it is beneficial, and to disperse if it is not beneficial, this is the right principle, doesn’t King Zhao know this?”
"It's for his own benefit." Zhao Kuo continued to ask unwillingly: "Since Qin wants to be friendly with Zhao, and our country of Zhao is experiencing a snowstorm, I wonder how sincere Qin is?"
This makes it even clearer: If you want to divide the countries with me and the Zhao Kingdom, give me some money first.
How could the Qin State be willing to do so? Although the King of Qin wanted to move the war between Qin and Zhao to the end, the Zhao State was always the biggest enemy of the Qin State, so there was no reason to add fuel to the enemy's jealousy.
Immediately, the envoy of Qin shook his head again and said: "Qin and Zhao are on equal terms, so how can we say sincerity? If we talk about sincerity, my king sent this envoy thousands of miles away, which is already sincerity. On the contrary, King Zhao has always been obsessed with small profits. , but it doesn’t seem very sincere.”
"Then I will talk about some great benefits." Zhao Kuo said again: "If I want to borrow food from Han and Yan, what do you think of it?"
Hearing this, the Qin envoy was slightly startled, but then he quickly understood.
The country of Han has a small land and few people, and it is simply not enough to provide much food and fodder to Zhao. Let alone the country of Yan, it is still suffering from disasters!
Obviously, what King Zhao wants is not food, but these two countries.
Although there is a certain gap between this and King Qin's expectation, it is not too surprising. After all, if Qin wants to take over the entire Chu State, it is reasonable for Zhao State to ask Han and Yan.
Immediately, the envoy of Qin who understood the situation bowed slightly and said: "The King of Zhao is generous, and I know Zhao's desire to overcome the difficulties. However, the matter cannot be rushed. If I, the great Qin Dynasty, have the ambition to go out to the east, what do you want?" It's just a foothold in the Central Plains. With the current situation of the Zhao Kingdom, I secretly believe that it is okay for the King of Zhao to take the food of a country."
The envoy of Qin's reply was straightforward. What Qin wants is not the land of Chu. You, Zhao, don't think about becoming a big fat man in one bite. Choose one of the two!
The Qin envoy's reply was somewhat beyond Zhao Kuo's expectations.
Unexpectedly, King Qin still retained a trace of reason and did not want to swallow up Chu State in one go. That's normal. The Chu Kingdom is thousands of miles away and is blocked by mountains and rivers. It's really not easy to swallow it up.
But in this way, Qin only takes part of Chu's land, can Zhao still take the country's land in time?
If not, Qin will inevitably interfere with its own offensive after taking over the established area.
Similarly, Qin must be afraid of himself doing this, so he is bound to hinder his actions.
Therefore, my true goal must continue to be hidden. It would be best to cause Qin to misjudge.
Not only that, Zhao also had to make a good contribution to Qin's attack on Chu.
However, these are all things for later.
Facing the Qin envoy's suggestion, Zhao Kuo seemed to have no reason to object. Of course, it is impossible to sign an alliance. This agreement can only exist in each other's hearts.
However, in today's Warring States Period, it makes no difference whether the so-called alliance is more useless. On the contrary, it is the agreements that are kept in mind. As long as the situation between the enemy and ourselves does not fundamentally change, it will have a more binding effect.
"Good." Zhao Kuo finally relented and said, "I know what the King of Qin wants. As long as Qin is willing to live in peace, I, Zhao, will never start a war. I wonder if your envoy is satisfied with my answer?"
"If my king knew what King Zhao meant, he would be happy to touch his palm." Upon hearing this, the envoy of Qin naturally flattered him.
The general division plan has been discussed, and then it is a matter of time. Zhao Kuo immediately continued: "After the next autumn, I will raise a toast with the King of Qin to celebrate. What do you think?"
This is very vague.
"Toast a toast", is it to celebrate the victory of the war, or is it to
How about seeing off the army?
Obviously, both are possible.
Therefore, Zhao Kuo's words are not without suspicion of misleading.
The Qin envoy naturally understood the meaning, but he didn't take it seriously. It's a very simple truth. To put it bluntly, a battle may break out at any time, and both countries will actively prepare to start the battle as soon as possible. Under the conditions of non-interference, whoever starts the battle first will have the advantage.
No one is a fool, and no one will let go of this advantage.
Looking at Zhao Kuo, the Qin envoy smiled lightly and said, "My king will always be waiting for you."
Everything was said without saying anything, and immediately, the two looked at each other and smiled.
In this way, amidst laughter, the two countries Qin and Zhao quietly finalized the battle to carve up the countries in the coming year.
Of course, although the State of Zhao knew that the State of Qin was preparing to attack the State of Chu, it knew nothing about the scale and direction of the attack; and the State of Qin naturally knew that the tip of the Zhao State's sword was aimed at the two countries Han and Yan. One, but which country it is specifically? Although Qin is leaning towards Han, it is still not sure.
In short, although the direction has been agreed upon, there are still too many uncertainties in the specific implementation.
This is normal. After all, the two countries are still the ultimate enemies, so it is naturally impossible for them to expose all their thoughts to each other. That's all the two kings can do. The rest depends on the intelligence departments and armies of the two countries.
War has always been a complex and sophisticated large-scale project.
After receiving a satisfactory answer, the Qin envoy quickly withdrew. In the slightly dim side hall, Zhao Kuo watched the dancing flames alone and fell into deep contemplation for a long time.
After more than a quarter of an hour, Zhao Kuo slowly stood up.
"Here comes someone." Zhao Kuo's faint voice soon spread in the side hall.
With a "squeak", the door was gently pushed open by the eunuch who had been waiting outside.
"My king." The eunuch bowed his hands slightly and said.
"According to the order, Lu Buwei of Jiuyuan, Tian Dan of Huaisi, and Li Mu of Shangdang have arranged all local affairs and returned to Handan before the year." Zhao Kuo said immediately.
"Yes." The eunuch immediately accepted the order.
"I order Lord Pingyuan to postpone the mission to Qin." Zhao Kuo continued to give instructions.
"Yes." Eunuch Ling also continued to take orders.
"Go." Zhao Kuo waved his hand and said.
...
Because of the arrival of the Qin envoy, Zhao Guo had to make some adjustments to the subsequent battles. Although Zhao Kuo had already made certain calculations in his mind, facing Qin also involved the national policy for the next few years. Even if Zhao Kuo Don't dare to jump to conclusions.
As the New Year is approaching, it is obviously a good plan to recall all the important officials to Handan, so that everyone can have a good New Year, and also focus on discussing next year's battle.
And just as Zhao Kuo and Qin's envoys were "carving up" the Warring States Period, Zhao's envoys also arrived at Yan and Han.
Facing the arrival of Zhao's envoys, King Yan obviously did not want to see them.
Five years ago, the scene of being chased by Zhao Jun and almost dying on the spot still lingered in King Yan's mind. Not to mention, more than half of the huge Hejian County in Zhao State was once the territory of Yan State.
After the battle that year, the Yan State was completely weakened. The remaining territory was not enough for the Yan State to have any thoughts of fighting for hegemony. Even if the Yan King went to war, there was nothing he could do.
There is no way. Although the territory of Yan State is much larger than that of Han State, it is really too poor.
Therefore, in the past few years, King Yan has been almost lying on his back, and all state affairs have been handed over to his confidants and ministers, Li Fu.
As for Li Fu, he was originally narrow-minded, and because of the defeat of Zhao, his majesty was damaged, so he naturally needed to rely on violence to ensure that his rights were not restricted.
As Li Fu's desire for power continued to expand, generals such as Le Jian either ran away or thanked guests behind closed doors, which made the already weak Yan country even worse.
Therefore, in the past few years, even if the Yan State was not a mess, it was at least very lively.
But these
, it must have nothing to do with King Yan. Being able to provide enough beauties and delicious food for his enjoyment is King Yan’s only request for Li Fu.
Naturally, the arrival of the Zhao envoy failed to wake up King Yan who was pretending to sleep.
King Yan, who was already immersed in his own world, did not even think about meeting Zhao's envoys. He threw the certificate of credence into Li Fu's arms, and King Yan immediately returned to his harem.
Li Fu, who was greedy by nature, simply ignored the Zhao envoy's request to borrow grain.
You must know that if you borrow food, you are borrowing the food in Lifu's pocket; but if you offend the State of Zhao, you will offend the State of Yan.
What? Afraid of Zhao's revenge?
It was the State of Yan that took revenge, and the State of Yan was not his favorite. Even if the State of Yan died, it would be more satisfying to be a minister of the State of Zhao.
This is not just the thought of Li Fu, but also the thought of many officials of the Yan Kingdom. After all, Yan and Zhao are so close, and Zhao's Hejian County is becoming increasingly prosperous, and the ministers of Yan are also aware of it.
However, of course, Li Fu would not speak directly about anything that offended envoy Zhao.
Fortunately, King Yan no longer interfered with government affairs, and just pushed everything to King Yan.
Obviously, Yan State's rejection was within the Zhao envoy's expectation, but when he came to Yan State this time, he saw the many contradictions within Yan State, which was another gain.
Now that he had gotten the excuse he wanted, Zhao's envoy didn't wait any longer, and then hurried back to Handan with a harsh word.
On the other hand, the envoys of Zhao State in the Kingdom of Han were warmly received by the King of Han.
There was no way. Ever since Qin withdrew from Zhou, King Han had been in panic all day long. After learning that Wei and Chu actually exchanged two "waste lands" for Zhou in the hands of Zhao, King Han’s intestines were about to turn green.
However, it is useless to regret anymore.
King Han was obviously aware of his betrayal, and Zhao would definitely not let it go. He sent envoys to Handan several times, but could not even see King Zhao. This made King Han even more frightened.
This time Zhao Guo actually took the initiative to send someone here. Naturally, King Han was so excited that he went to the city tower to greet him in person.
Such a high-level reception made Zhao's envoy very unhappy. I'm here to find trouble. Hey, if you do this, how can I find trouble? Haven't they all fallen to Qin? You at least have some principles and backbone!
Fortunately, after Zhao's envoy explained the purpose of borrowing food, the atmosphere of the originally joyful banquet obviously became stagnant.
In embarrassment, the Prime Minister of South Korea tentatively asked the envoy how much food he needed.
The envoy from the State of Zhao was obviously waiting for your question, and immediately reported a number that the State of Han could not come up with anyway.
Involuntarily, the expressions on the faces of everyone present became extremely exciting, including confusion, anger, and even fear, but no one dared to speak out.
This is no longer here to borrow food, but clearly here to cause trouble.
Unfortunately, with the current strength of Han Zhiguo, it is no match for the prosperous Zhao State, especially since his "father" has returned to Hedong. Han Zhiguo, who is almost under the minions of Zhao State, is naturally trembling.
Even if they knew clearly that the envoy from Zhao was looking for trouble, no one from the top to the bottom of Han State dared to refute.
King Han and Xiang Guo looked at each other, their eyes full of helpless anxiety.
After much talk, the Prime Minister bought Han Zhiguo two days of discussion time.
However, how can the country of Korea negotiate now...
