The moon was dim and it was already midnight.
In the entire Linchen City, only lights flashed on the city walls, and the city was completely silent.
In the north wind howling, a gray figure suddenly climbed up a big tree from the dark city wall, then threw out a rope with a hook, and landed inside the city wall like a bird.
After a moment of silence, the gray figure flew up again and disappeared into the deserted street.
At the same time, in the pavilion behind the shogunate in Linchen City, a man wearing a green palace attendant's uniform looked up at the dim sky, wondering what he was thinking.
If you haven't known him for a long time, it would be difficult to recognize who he is from his current description.
Ever since the First Emperor suddenly fell ill because of Zhao Tuo and Ren Xiao, Zhao Gao had been so nervous that he couldn't breathe.
In just a few days, Zhao Gao couldn't sleep at night and couldn't stop day by day. In addition to taking care of Ying Zheng with all his heart, he also had to show his strong worry and heartache appropriately in front of the Nanhai generals, and he had to think quickly and repeatedly ponder the depths of his heart. That almost unquenchable desire.
In the past few days, Zhao Gao, who was originally strong and strong, suddenly turned into a lean man with tangled beard and hair and a withered face.
He wore a loose robe every day and was busy around Ying Zheng as empty as a bucket, which attracted the emotion and pity of many generals and ministers.
I don't know how many times Zhao Gao wanted to give up the unattainable desire in his heart.
However, whenever he thinks that one day he will be able to break away from Ying Zheng, climb to the top of power, and be the real Zhao Gao, there is always a mysterious power that passes through his heart and gives him vitality.
Ying Zheng wrote the unfinished edict, which gave Zhao Gao a glimmer of light. He knew that if he missed this opportunity, it would be difficult to meet him again in the future.
Because of Zhao Hao, Ying Zheng will no longer trust him as before. Maybe when he comes to Xianyang, Ying Zheng will completely alienate him, and everything he owns will be in vain.
He doesn't want to lose everything he has now and wants to gain more.
Therefore, he must seize this opportunity.
After an unknown amount of time, Zhao Gao, who was staring at the night sky, suddenly sighed. It was precisely because of this sigh that the gray figure sighed.
"Who's visiting?"
Zhao Gao's voice was hoarse and dull.
But he saw a gray shadow holding his hand in the dark: "Master, it's me!"
Zhao Gao trembled: "Gao Yao? Is that you?"
"It's me!" The gray shadow said with a smile: "Master, why don't you turn around and take a look?"
Hearing this, Zhao Gao hesitated slightly, then turned around slowly, and saw in the shadow of the pavilion's pillars, Gao Yao stepped forward with a smile and saluted: "Gao Yao, pay homage to the master!"
"Why are you back? But what message does General Zhao Tuo have to convey?"
"My master has a clever plan. It is indeed General Zhao Tuo who has something to discuss with you!"
"This is not the place to talk, come with me."
Zhao Gao looked around and found no one spying on him, so he immediately waved to Gao Yao.
Soon, they arrived at Zhao Gao's room.
But Gao Yao said excitedly: "Master, our chance to stand up has come!"
"Um?"
Zhao Gao was stunned and couldn't help but frown: "What chance?"
"This is a letter written by General Zhao Tuo. The master will understand it after reading it."
Gao Yao gave up and handed a silk letter to Zhao Gao with a smile.
Zhao Gao looked at Gao Yao doubtfully, then took the silk book in his hand and started to look at it.
However, it was better not to look at it. One look almost scared him out of his wits, secretly thinking that this bastard Zhao Tuo actually dared to massacre the city!
Isn't he afraid of His Majesty's wrath?
Or does he even want to kill His Majesty?
If His Majesty died, wouldn't that be the case?
Zhao Gao couldn't help but feel excited when he thought of the edict in his hand.
However, he did not reveal his thoughts to Gao Yao. He just put away the silk book and said calmly: "What do you think?"
"I think this is an opportunity for the master. Maybe he can take this opportunity to climb to the highest position and become the real Zhao Gao!"
"Um?"
Zhao Gao narrowed his eyes slightly and said coldly: "Who told you this?"
"No, no one"
When Gao Yao saw Zhao Gao's unkind look, he immediately lowered his head and did not dare to look at him. This was because he had been influenced by Zhao Gao since he was a child. Once Zhao Gao showed this look, he felt very flustered and even spoke awkwardly: "The villain figured it out on his own!"
"snort!"
Zhao Gao snorted coldly, obviously not believing what Gao Yao said, and then threw the silk book to him and said in a deep voice: "Gao Yao, there is something I want to tell you, the wind starts from the bottom of Qingping, and the trouble comes from the subtle. If you want to succeed, there’s more than meets the eye!”
"Master is very resourceful, please give me some advice!"
"The best way to attack is to seize the heart. The first step is to only talk about cooperation and not to take action. The second step is to only talk about action and not to talk about cooperation. In this way, the momentum will follow me, otherwise everything will be done, so be careful."
"The master's teaching is correct, and the villain understands."
After saying this, Gao Yao turned around decisively.
In an instant, he came out of the pavilion and rushed straight into the street.
By the time the two black shadows landed, Gao Yao was nowhere to be seen.
The two black figures looked at each other for a moment, then suddenly each flew higher and disappeared into the night.
The lights in Ying Zheng's study stayed on until five o'clock. After listening to the report of the tracking guard, he became more sure of the premonition in his heart.
However, Zhao Gao was just a eunuch who served as an official of the Zhongche Mansion, so what could he do?
Even if there were obvious loopholes in that edict, could he take advantage of this loophole?
On the other hand, handing the edict to Li Si would have a huge hidden danger.
Because Li Si actually has great power and can influence the edict, but I wonder if Li Si will live up to his trust in him?
Ying Zheng couldn't think clearly at the moment, but one thing he knew very well was that Zhao Hao could not target one person or several people for no reason.
Maybe Zhao Hao really has the ability to 'predict the future', otherwise Zhao Tuo and Ren Xiao would probably hide it from him until they die.
When he was in Xianyang, Zhao Hao also said that Li Si was a person who was very conciliatory and thought too much of himself, and warned him not to capsize in the gutter.
Now through what happened with Zhao Tuo and Ren Xiao, he couldn't help but have the idea of testing the people around him.
However, he still didn't quite believe that Li Si would collude with Zhao Gao.
After all, the identity gap between the two people is too big, and Li Si is not mediocre.
With confusion that he couldn't understand, Ying Zheng fell into a deep sleep at dawn. It was not until Wang Jian arrived that he was awakened by the chamberlain.
"Your Majesty, it is a joy to congratulate Young Master Hao for defeating the Minyue Navy!"
Before Ying Zheng could start washing up, Wang Jian rushed in with excitement on his face.
At the same time, the capital of Fujian and Vietnam.
Wu Zhu sat on the throne, still as stable as a mountain, but there was a hint of worry in the corners of his eyes.
He looked around at the ministers and said with a slight thought: "Now, the Qin people have destroyed our Songxi navy and set up camp in Shipu. Our army's pincer attack has been broken. It seems that the civil strife is false, and the destruction of our Minyue is real." , do you have any ideas?"
"Your Majesty."
Upon hearing this, Prime Minister Ji Su stood up and said, "Can we recruit troops at home, send the Nanpu navy to recapture Shipu, and at the same time have some people retreat to the cave to prevent any unexpected events?"
"The Prime Minister really doesn't understand military affairs. The total population of Fujian and Yue is less than 300,000, plus many alliance tribes, and the number is less than 1 million. Even if the conscription can exceed 100,000, there are only 60,000 to fight, and the rest are all They are just a group of old, weak and disabled soldiers, what use can they be?"
General Fang Hu stood up and refuted:
"Besides, withdrawing some people back to the cave will only make people in the city panic. When the Qin army comes, whoever has the heart to defend the enemy will have already dispersed!"
"What's more, the Qin army occupied Shipu and defended it. It is impossible for our fleet to safely pass Songxi. How can we recapture Shipu?"
"snort!"
Ji Su snorted coldly and said with some displeasure: "General Fang Hu's words are very clear. Then I ask you, do you have any strategy to defeat the enemy?"
"this"
Fang Hu was at a loss for words. He lowered his head in shame and muttered: "The Qin people's method of destroying the Songxi navy was really weird. It's unbelievable that they could attack from the sky.
There are also weapons that are like lightning strikes, which we have never seen or heard of;
Now, although we occupy a favorable geographical location, the Qin people cannot always stay in Shipu;
Presumably, the number of those 'artifacts' is still too small to destroy our Minyue in one go, so they just stood still;
When they have enough 'artifacts', we will be completely defeated, so what strategy can we use to defeat the enemy? "
Wow!
The whole place was in an uproar.
Some people whispered to each other with worried faces on their faces.
Some people were filled with righteous indignation and prepared to fight Qin Mermaid to the death.
Others have a lot of thoughts, thinking about how to survive in this world.
Wu Zhu couldn't help but feel horrified, remembering the scene of the country being destroyed and the family destroyed, it was extremely miserable.
At this moment, the doctor Mu Kui, who had been standing silently in the corner, suddenly said: "Your Majesty, in my opinion, why don't you surrender to Qin?"
"What!?"
"Don't even think about surrendering to Qin! I, Minyue, will never surrender!"
"That's right! If Mu Yang dies in your Mu family, do you think the sky is going to fall? We will not surrender until we are desperate!"
The ministers of Fujian and Yue, who were originally uneasy, suddenly became united in their hatred after hearing Mu Kui's words.
Wu Zhu also said with some displeasure: "I understand Doctor Mu's feelings about losing his beloved son, but what we are discussing now is state affairs, not private matters, so please be careful what you say!"
"Yes, Doctor Mu, we are only experiencing a slight setback in the war and are not at the end of our rope yet. How can we surrender?" Ji Su frowned.
"Everyone!"
Facing the pressure brought by Wu Zhu and the ministers, Mu Kui glanced at them expressionlessly, and then said calmly: "Can you be quiet and listen to me?"
"Yes! Let Dr. Mu finish what he has to say!"
Fang Hu stood up at this time and supported Mu Kui. The ministers looked at each other, and then gradually became quiet, ready to listen to Mu Kui's speech.
Mu Kui still said calmly: "Your Majesty, everyone, I am talking about surrendering, not surrendering. There is a difference between the two. Surrendering means completely removing our Minyue Kingdom and becoming a part of the Qin Kingdom.
To be a vassal of Qin is to surrender to the king of Qin, pay annual tributes, and regard the king of Qin as the supreme, but in fact, we still retain the political power of a country;
For example, independent governance ability, independent ruling power, and independent army;
Just like the vassal states during the Zhou Dynasty;
In this way, although our country of Minyue has lost some face, it has retained its own country and its subjects. Why not? "
Having said this, he looked around at the ministers and said meaningfully: "Perhaps we will have a chance to make a comeback in the future. Have you forgotten the story of our ancestor Gou Jian, who lay down his salary and tasted gall?"
When all the ministers heard this, they were all enlightened and their eyes were bright.
Even Wu Zhu, who was sitting on the throne, thought this was a good idea.
At this time, Fang Hu stood up again, cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, the general also agrees with Doctor Mu's advice!
Although our army was defeated in the first battle, the Qin people did not attack rashly, probably because they were afraid of us;
This is the capital of our negotiation;
If we wait until the Qin people attack us in a big way to negotiate, I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to become a vassal! "
"this"
When Wu Zhu heard Ji Su's words, he couldn't help but feel a little moved. He looked at the ministers and asked tentatively: "What do you think of what Doctor Mu and General Fang said?"
"I second the proposal!"
All the ministers looked at each other and stood up to agree. No one objected.
In fact, as a barbarian country outside the Central Plains, they had indescribable respect for the Central Plains dynasty, so if the war was slightly unfavorable, they lost the confidence to fight.
This was the same as the Qing army at that time.
Although the Qing army defeated the Ming army many times, it never thought of taking over the Central Plains. It was satisfied if the Central Plains dynasty could officially recognize itself.
As for the Qing army's subsequent entry into the Pass, it was entirely the luck of the Manchus.
Wu Zhu glanced at Ji Su, who was leading the battle, and saw that Ji Su was also silent, and he couldn't help but feel depressed in his heart.
Obviously, he didn't have much confidence in victory. He felt that he could retreat from the Qin army by becoming a minister, which was acceptable. Anyway, he only lost some face and some property, so he pondered for a moment and said:
"Since none of you object, it's settled. However, the Qin people now have the upper hand. What should they do if they don't accept our submission?"
"Did your Majesty forget to translate Yu Song?"
Mu Kui was overjoyed when he heard this and said hurriedly: "If you want to say who knows the people of Qin best, it must be Xiou!"
"You mean, Yi Xu Song has colluded with the Qin people?"
Wu Zhu narrowed his eyes and said, "Does our Songxi defeat have something to do with Yi Xu Song?"
Mu Kui said anxiously: "Your Majesty has misunderstood. If it weren't for Yi Xusong, General Feiyang's men would have been wiped out. Even General Pengbi was saved by Yi Xusong at the sacrifice of his life!"
"Oh? Is there anything else like this?"
Wu Zhu was a little surprised, and then asked doubtfully: "Then what you mean is that Yi Yu Song has a way to make the Qin people accept us as ministers?"
"Yes, my lord!"
"Okay! Then the interpreter will ask Song to enter the palace!"
Following Wu Zhu's order, Yi Yusong, who had been waiting outside the hall for a long time, slowly walked into the hall.
"The king of Western Ou who has lost his country, and the dog who has lost his family, pays homage to the King of Minyue!"
As soon as the translator Song entered the hall, he was greeted with a prostrate salute, which shocked all the ministers of Fujian and Yue to look at each other.
Even Wu Zhu couldn't help but feel shocked, and his sense of immersion suddenly soared!
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(End of chapter)
