Zhao Si looked at Wang Jian suspiciously, feeling that something was not quite right.
Having been in Da Qin for so long, Zhao Si knew the specific story of Li Xin's rise.
After Di Daohou Li Yao, he was born rich and noble. His uncle was Li Mu, the God of War, and his family was well-educated.
Li Xin is an out-and-out second generation, whether it is from power or family inheritance.
Therefore, Li Xin's fighting method is very similar to Li Mu's fighting method. In fact, to put it bluntly, the two people have the same roots. They have the same family education and inheritance. They were taught by the same master, and the tactics they finally learned naturally lead to the same goal.
Li Xin joined the army as a young man. He had a good background and family education. He quickly rose to prominence in the army and became invincible in every battle.
As we all know, the First Emperor liked young people.
The young and victorious Li Xin was favored by the First Emperor. With the support of the First Emperor, the power struggle between the young faction and the mature faction officially began.
The younger generation of generals is headed by Li Xin, while the older generation of generals is headed by Wang Jian.
Before the attack on Chu, Li Xin had never been defeated, and the results were impressive. In the battle against Chu, the First Emperor fell into hesitation.
Both Li Xin and Wang Jian claimed to be sure of victory.
It's just that Wang Jian wants 600,000 troops and horses, while Li Xin only needs 200,000 troops.
The First Emperor finally chose Li Xin.
The gap between 600,000 troops and 200,000 troops can be imagined.
At that time, the Qin Dynasty was committed to destroying the six kingdoms and unifying the world, and fighting wars was all about logistics.
Even though Li Xin seemed a little overconfident with the 400,000 headcount and logistics gap, facing Li Xin's invincible record, the First Emperor still chose to believe it.
The Young Faction achieved a landmark victory,
So Li Xin raised an army to attack Chu, led an army of 200,000, and divided into two groups with Meng Tian's troops, conquered Pingyu, Qiuqiu, and Yanying, and defeated the Chu army in several cities. The Chu army could only run for its life.
But as luck would have it, Lord Changping launched a rebellion at Yingchen in the rear of the Qin army at this time. The Guchu and Han nobles near Yingchen responded one after another. Li Xin was in trouble in the rear and his logistics was disrupted. Li Xin had to turn around and put down the rebellion. Xiang Yan seized the opportunity and followed Li Xin for three days and three nights, so Li Xin was defeated.
Li Xin's defeat was not just due to underestimating the enemy.
Because Yingchen was the territory of the Qin State, Lord Changping was specially sent by the First Emperor to Yingchen to appease the local people.
After this failure, Li Xin followed Wang Jian and conquered the world several times before disappearing completely.
"Even if Li Xin lost, he only lost to Xiang Yan. How could he fail to deal with a group of filthy people?" Wang Jian noticed Zhao Si's suspicious eyes and snorted.
"Something doesn't feel right. As far as I know, your Majesty did not punish the Marquis of Longxi when he defeated Chu. Why did the Marquis of Longxi disappear later?" Zhao Si looked at Wang Jian.
Wang Jian heard the sound and knew that he couldn't scare this boy Zhao Si, so he sighed slightly and spoke quietly.
"You should know that when the Marquis of Longxi attacked Chu, I took off my armor and returned home claiming illness, right?" Wang Jian asked.
Zhao Si nodded.
Wang Jian leaned comfortably on his wheelchair and looked a little sad.
"Li Xin had never been defeated at that time, how could I have ever lost?
In terms of qualifications, he is just a rising star compared to me.
In terms of ability, he and I are at best evenly matched.
In terms of merit, His Majesty personally took charge of the government and I made a lot of efforts to clear away the obstacles. I am equally responsible for the destruction of the country.
Among the six countries, only Chu is the most powerful. As a general, who wouldn’t want to conquer Chu and prove his martial arts? "Wang Jian shook his head.
"So the old general was just out of anger?" Zhao Si asked.
Wang Jian just wanted to say that the situation was complicated at that time and not that simple, but then he thought about it and nodded again.
"You can say that."
"Later, the Marquis of Longxi was defeated in his attack on Chu... His Majesty killed Lord Changping and Lord Changwen because of this. You must have heard of it," Wang Jian asked.
"I know, after the defeat of the Marquis of Longxi, His Majesty personally invited you to come out." Zhao Si looked at Wang Jian.
Wang Jian was silent for a moment but shook his head.
"In fact, after Li Xin's defeat, His Majesty not only did not blame him, but even planned to let him attack Chu again.
If two hundred thousand troops and horses are not enough, then four hundred thousand. If four hundred thousand troops and horses are not enough, then six hundred thousand. What your Majesty values is Li Xin. "Wang Jian had a strange look in his eyes.
"Then why Marquis of Longxi..." Zhao Si spoke at the right time.
"After the battle against Chu, I lost all my energy..." Wang Jian was silent for a while and shook his head.
"That's why Your Majesty had to ask me to come out." Wang Jian let out a long sigh.
"After the defeat of the Chu army, the Marquis of Longxi apologized. However, the defeat was not a crime of war, and His Majesty did not punish him. It was the Marquis of Longxi who consciously failed His Majesty and resigned." Wang Jian fell into silence.
"In this case, then I probably understand." Zhao Si nodded.
The First Emperor chose Li Xin, so Wang Jian was angry and chose to resign and return home to give the First Emperor some eye drops, without giving the First Emperor any face.
Therefore, Li Xin's victory was extremely important to the First Emperor.
Li Xin himself also understood this truth. He was a young and talented man who marched thousands of miles and conquered every enemy. Unfortunately, he fell short of success and returned home defeated.
However, even so, the First Emperor still did not blame Li Xin.
Faced with the subordinates who had made him lose face, the First Emperor's first choice was not to accuse him but to appease him.
If two hundred thousand is not enough, then four hundred thousand; if four hundred thousand is not enough, then six hundred thousand!
As we all know, the First Emperor was stubborn.
Wang Jian resigned and returned home, leaving no face for the First Emperor. With the character of the First Emperor, there was a high probability that he would not bow his head unless he had no choice.
The First Emperor wanted to fight for this, but Li Xin lost his temper and he couldn't fight anymore.
The First Emperor was forced to put down his body and go to personally invite Wang Jian to come out. Wang Jian was so proud that the pretense and slap in the face section was finally completed. Only then did Wang Jian, whose IQ regained the high ground, realize what kind of mistake he had made.
Picking the emperor to show off and slap him in the face, right?
Therefore, after Wang Jian agreed to lead the army on the expedition, he immediately took various countermeasures to taint himself, hoping that he would not end up like a cunning rabbit who died and was cooked by a lackey.
Facts have proved that the First Emperor was not so stingy.
So Wang Jian succeeded, Chu State was destroyed, and Wang Jian became the only one in the Qin Dynasty.
The so-called wisdom and protection also require the king to be able to hear the piano and understand its elegant meaning.
After the fall of Chu, the First Emperor still did not give up on Li Xin.
In the subsequent process of unifying the world, Li Xin was still of great importance. Unfortunately, Li Xin no longer had the confidence to lead an army alone.
Judging from the performance, Li Xin was still so unstoppable in the war to destroy Yan and Qi after the attack on Chu.
It's a pity that his heart was empty and he resigned. The First Emperor gave him a chance after his failure. After being slapped in the face by his ministers, he was still willing to give Li Xin a long recovery period.
But after all, Li Xin was not the invincible and high-spirited young man. The First Emperor may have regrets or anger, but in short, he just allowed Li Xin to disappear.
For the First Emperor, this was nothing. It was just that the person he trusted let him down again. He was already used to it.
But...that's not right.
Zhao Si looked at Wang Jian: "In that case, the Marquis of Longxi and I are not related, so how can we invite the Marquis of Longxi?"
"You just said that to share His Majesty's worries, the Marquis of Longxi must be willing to die." Wang Jian smiled.
Zhao Si nodded.
Although Li Xin failed in the battle against Chu, he was able to become a prince in such a high-intensity war in which the Qin Dynasty unified the world, and conquered and destroyed several countries. It was indeed easy to bully the loose and unorganized people.
Well... In this way, Dongyi has nothing to worry about.
However, Zhao Si still had some doubts about Wang Jian's deliberate mention of Li Xin.
He always felt that if things were so simple back then, Wang Jian, an old fox, would not be like this. He would be nothing more than a winner and a loser.
During the conversation with Wang Jian, Zhao Si could always feel a trace of guilt.
Leaving Wang Jian's mansion with doubts in his heart, Zhao Si decided to visit the home of Longxi Marquis Li Xin.
Objectively speaking, this is also a tragic general.
There is absolutely no doubt about his ability. It is indeed a waste to disappear like this. Although Zhao Si knows a lot of talents, there is never too much talent.
After Zhao Si left, Wang Jian was left alone in a wheelchair, asking his ministers to push him into the courtyard.
He closed his eyes and fell into deep thought.
When people get older, they always miss the past. The older they get, the clearer their memories seem to be.
Of course he felt guilty towards Li Xin and even towards the First Emperor.
Because he foresaw Lord Changping's rebellion in advance.
At that time, the First Emperor was clearing out the influence of Qin's foreign relatives, among which Chu's foreign relatives were headed by Lord Changping and Lord Changwen.
Who are these two?
After Lu Buwei's death, Lord Changping and Lord Changwen became the second and third figures in the Qin Dynasty.
At the same time, he was also the royal family of Chu State.
The marriage between Qin and Chu has been going on for a long time. After all, one is a country of tigers and wolves, and the other is a country of barbarians. They are not welcomed by the Central Plains countries and can only play by themselves. Therefore, in the Qin State, the influence of Chu's foreign relatives is extremely serious.
It was an extremely unwise choice for the First Emperor to attack Chu before he had completely eliminated the influence of his relatives. This was too hasty for Wang Jian.
And the First Emperor also made an extremely wrong choice.
He sent Lord Changping to appease Yingchen, because Yingchen was the old capital of Chu.
Letting Jun Changping, a member of the Chu royal family and the son of King Chu Kaolie, go to the old capital of Chu to appease the Chu people is no different from letting a mouse get into the rice vat.
After the First Emperor made the decision, Wang Jian had a premonition of the problem.
It's just that at this time, he was not chosen by the First Emperor. Out of anger, he chose to claim his illness and return home.
For Wang Jian, all this should have been avoidable.
Because of this, after Li Xin's defeat, he was shocked to realize that he was not as happy as he imagined.
After successfully taking over the task of conquering Chu, Wang Jian realized what a stupid thing he had done.
Wang Jian not only planned troops, but also planned the country. Li Xin could only see the battlefield, but Wang Jian could see more. This was the difference between Wang Jian and Li Xin.
So after success, along with Li Xin's self-destruction, the fall of a new star, and the magnanimity of the First Emperor, that trace of guilt often lingered in Wang Jian's mind.
Even Wang Jian later took the initiative to persuade Li Xin on behalf of the First Emperor, but unfortunately nothing happened in the end.
Some people can get over failure quickly, and some people can't.
When people get old and are about to die, they always think about something that can make up for those small regrets.
Regardless of the conflicting positions, Wang Jian had to admit Li Xin's talent.
At the very least, he is much better than the stupid elder son of his own family. This is a person who can truly replace him as a minister of the Zhuguo.
No matter from personal ethics or from any angle.
And on the other side...
Zhao Si took a car and traveled for a long time before arriving at the residence of Li Xin, the Marquis of Longxi, and handed over his greetings.
"Shangqing? Zhao Si?" Li Xin frowned slightly, feeling a little unfamiliar with this name.
Obviously, not everyone will always pay attention to the news in the court, especially Li Xin.
Since he retired and returned to his hometown, he has not taken the initiative to ask about things in the court for a long time. Everything in the past is like a dream to him.
"This is the boy who returned from the sea earlier and brought back three kinds of fairy grains. Our family still grows some." Li Xin's son Li Chao stood nearby and answered Li Xin's questions.
"Now this minister is very popular. It is said that he is your majesty's closest minister, even his loyal minister Meng Yi is not as good as him.
Li Xin glanced at his son and was silent for a moment before saying, "Welcome!"
Li Chao responded and sent his family officials to inform them.
Within a moment, Zhao Si, who looked like a human and a dog, looked different from ordinary people, and had a burly body that did not look like an ordinary person, had already stepped into the hall.
Li Xin was sizing up Zhao Si, and Zhao Si was sizing up Li Xin.
Today, Li Xin is already in his mid-40s. He looks more calm in his forties, with a resolute face, more three-dimensional facial features, and full of energy. However, the carefully trimmed beard makes this energy slightly lessened, and his body is more burly. Even though Even from sitting down, Zhao Si could tell that he was a big man at least seven feet tall.
It's just that the appearance and body are only external. No matter how carefully decorated they are, the trace of twilight is still very obvious.
"I have met the Marquis of Longxi."
"I've met Shangqing..."
After bowing to each other, Zhao Si was invited to sit in the guest seat, and a maid came to get drinks and snacks.
After a round of drinks, banquets, and getting to know each other, Zhao Si got straight to the point and expressed his intention of coming.
"To be honest, I took the liberty to visit the Marquis of Longxi today because I have something to ask for." Zhao Si looked at Li Xin.
Li Xin frowned, seeming a little unhappy.
"I have resigned. Your Majesty has found the wrong person." Li Xin shook his head.
"This fact is not for me, but for Your Majesty. At this time of crisis, Your Majesty has no one available, so I have to take the liberty to disturb the Marquis of Longxi." Zhao Si made a moral kidnapping backhand.
Wang Jian said that dealing with Li Xin was easy, just tell him that it was for His Majesty's sake.
Sure enough, as soon as Zhao Si said this, Li Xin's original impatient look disappeared, but after a slight hesitation, he sneered again.
"Your Majesty has unified the world and destroyed six kingdoms, and the Qin Dynasty has Chehou sitting in charge, with millions of powerful soldiers, why is it so unstable?"
When Zhao Si heard the sound, a smile appeared on his face.
It seems that Longxi Marquis Li Xin has not been involved in court affairs for a long time.
Well, that's even easier to fool.
(End of chapter)
