Sima Shang looked at the soldier with disbelief on his face, obviously not believing that a dignified king could be so mediocre as to be in such a ridiculous situation. Has Zhao not had enough of the blood and tears of the Changping Battle caused by the temporary change of generals in the past? ?
Suddenly, he pulled out the sword from his waist and pointed it out of the tent and said solemnly: "The general has lived and died for the country. How often have he had different intentions? Why would you want to accuse him? How can you!"
"Vice General Sima." Li Mu reminded solemnly.
Sima Shangzheng was getting angry when he noticed that Li Mu called him, and said to himself: "The war is now tense, one hundred thousand soldiers are exhausted, and the general has been working hard to retreat from the enemy day by day. He has not slept for several days, but what they have done What, why..."
Li Mu looked at Sima Shang expressionlessly: "Vice General Sima! Since Wang Jian has issued a letter of war, you will go to war with me immediately. If you say one more word, I will be killed immediately."
"General!" How could Sima Shang be so willing? He didn't know why his general was so calm, but facing the person he respected the most in his life, he didn't dare not listen. Sima Shang was in a daze, and the hand holding the sword was too hard, and there was even a cracking sound at the joints.
Li Mu felt a little tired, rubbed his brows tiredly, and reminded again: "The war is important."
"But the edict is about to come out, and sooner or later the military power..." Sima Shang hesitated.
Li Mu opened his eyes and said firmly: "I will not accept military orders abroad. This time Li Mu will not hand over military power lightly."
On the other side, Zhao Gao and Zhao Zheng were sitting in the small courtyard. Even though it was ten miles away from Jingxing Mountain, it was still inevitably tainted with the solemn atmosphere before the war. Even the spring breeze blowing in front of them was tinged with it. A cold taste.
"Are you saying that Li Mu and Zhao Wangqian have spent three days and still haven't handed over their military power?" Zhao Gao put down the book in his hand and looked at Zhang Jing and asked.
Zhang Jing nodded and said, "Based on Mr. Xinping's past experience, Li Mu will not make the same mistake again."
Zhao Gao was not worried and said calmly: "Since Zhao Wangqian has issued an edict to stop the support, he has sent Yan Ju and Zhao Cong to lead an army of 150,000 to prepare for the replacement. Li Mu's side will not be able to survive due to lack of food and grass. .”
"But now that Zhao Wangqian knows that Li Mu's family members have been transferred, will he feel that there is one less bargaining chip to restrain Li Mu, and he is afraid that he will simply change his mind and compromise first?" Zhou Wu asked doubtfully.
Zhao Gao slowly shook his head and replied firmly: "No, the family members are in our hands. We can find a way to make Zhao Wangqian sure that Li Mu doesn't know about this, so he can lie and claim that the family members are controlled by him to threaten Li Mu. "
A few days later.
"Big event, big event! Yan Ju and Zhao Cong... led their troops to surround and resist the Qin army... The soldiers were exhausted and trapped in Jingxing Mountain. In order to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers, the general had no choice but to agree to hand over his military power. ..." Someone came in from outside and said breathlessly.
As soon as this news came out, many people in the wine shop started to protest. Some people clenched their fists and expressed their grievances against Li Mu: "How could the general have the intention to rebel? He must have been framed!"
"But the general is still fighting for our Zhao country. How can the king be so confused?" Some people couldn't figure out the reason and asked doubtfully.
Someone on the side couldn't help but say: "What do you know? The king is very suspicious. The general has always used his troops like a god, but now he holds great power. How can they rest assured? It's hard to instigate disbelief with those treacherous ministers!"
"Haha, it's really funny. There was an earthquake in the Zhao Kingdom. The king did not care about the life and death of the people, but only built a lot of construction for his own selfishness. In order to resist the strong enemy, hundreds of thousands of troops fought hard until they were exhausted and food was exhausted. The general wrote several times to ask for help, but the DPRK ignored it. Regardless, if there is any abnormal movement in various places, the king's division will immediately go to suppress it. But now, the general is known to the whole country for his loyalty and uprightness, but he has been framed by villains for no reason. They are indiscriminate and hurriedly ordered the replacement of generals, bent on killing him. To die."
"But these generals should know it well, why would they hand over their military power to let the traitors succeed?" The man from before asked again.
Someone on the side calmly analyzed: "I heard that Yan Ju and Zhao Cong came with 150,000 troops for reinforcements. Although they had the intention of resisting the enemy, the bigger idea was to push the general to a dead end. Take advantage of the opportunity. The life and death of hundreds of thousands of brothers are at stake, how can the general dare to confront him head-on? Moreover, if there is an internal fight and the Qin soldiers take advantage of it, the general will be responsible for hundreds of deaths."
"Heaven is unfair!"
Some people disagree: "Humph, the way of heaven is unfair? This is the way of the king being unkind!"
In short, after receiving such an answer, there was a sigh of relief. Some people even sneered and looked up to the sky and sighed: "The survival of the country is like child's play. It is really ridiculous and dangerous. The Zhao country is in danger!"
In the dense forest not far away.
"The general will stay here while my master sets up a banquet in front to await your arrival."
After the change of generals, Li Mu took his three brothers who were determined to follow him and rushed to Handan. Unexpectedly, he was suddenly blocked by the two men in front of him halfway.
"I don't want to be a general. Li Mu has nothing to do with me now. No need to take my leave." Although he couldn't figure out where the other party came from, Li Mu couldn't help but laugh at himself when he heard the word "general".
The other party sincerely invited Li Mu, but he didn't look good on his face. Instead, he smiled and said, "Mr. Wu'an really thought that Prince Jia, the governor of Daijun, died in the earthquake?" Although Li Mu was dismissed, his title was still there, so he immediately changed his mind after observing his words. .
After hearing the news about his old friend Gongzi Jia, Li Mu's expression changed drastically and he blurted out, "What do you mean by this?"
The man calmly clasped his fists and said: "My subordinates are passing on the message, so I can only say this. However, my master has the news that Mr. Wu An wants, but I would like to meet him."
Li Mu secretly thought that although this person spoke with a Handan accent, judging from the content of his words, he did not look like someone from the court. Now that they have mastered their whereabouts, they must have been prepared, and they might not be able to leave if they don't see them. Thinking of this, he raised his hand generously and said: "Lead the way."
"As expected of the God of War who made the Xiongnu frightened by the news, feel free! Please." The other party respectfully led Li Mu deep into the dense forest, and the man following him suddenly stopped a brother behind Li Mu and said: "This brother stays. "
The man looked back with raised eyebrows when he was stopped, and asked sternly: "Why, do you still want my eldest brother to go alone?"
"This brother has misunderstood. I stopped you because I wanted to take you to see the excitement. Just one person is enough. The two brothers next to you can follow Mr. Wu An to the appointment. We will never stop you." The man said politely. explained.
Seeing that the other party acted so openly, Li Mu couldn't help but become curious about this unknown person. He suddenly laughed and waved his hand, and the brother naturally no longer hesitated after receiving permission.
Soon after walking out of the dense forest that blocked the sky and the sun, Li Mu suddenly felt enlightened. He could see several Cangshan mountains surrounding him, and a stream of still water could be seen up close. Ten steps away there was a wooden house built by the water, with two people sitting in front of it.
Seeing this quiet scenery, Li Mu's tense consciousness for the past few days should have relaxed. After seeing clearly who was in the wooden house, his expression suddenly changed, and his face became frighteningly ugly. But for some reason, the scenes he saw along the way yesterday were reflected in front of his eyes one by one, but he suddenly looked away, so he was only angry for a moment. When he looked inside again, he was relieved.
The majestic king of a country stoops to such a place and chooses to see him at such a time. The purpose is obvious. Since Zhao Zheng dared to appear here and sit leisurely in front of him, he must have made complete preparations. Although he didn't want to see him at this time, it was obviously impossible to go back. It was better to sit down openly and wait for the soldiers to stop him. .
Just when Li Mu was adjusting his mood, Zhao Zheng stood up and came out first: "We haven't seen you for many years. Mr. Wu An, please come and be safe. Please come in."
The last time Li Mu saw Zhao Zheng was when he served as the acting prime minister to serve as Zhao's proton envoy to Qin. At that time, he was still a young man who obeyed Lu Buwei's arrangements in everything. Now, standing majestically in front of him, he has completely transformed into an awe-inspiring king.
The brothers who came with Li Mu before were still calm even though they didn't know Zhao Zheng. Now that he heard that he called himself a widower and was dressed in black, he knew it was the King of Qin without even thinking about it, so he immediately pulled out the sword on his waist and pointed it at him. But before they could take action, a dozen sharp men brought by Zhao Zheng immediately drew their swords and surrounded them. Some even moved to Zhao Zheng's side to block him behind them.
Zhao Zheng waved his hand nonchalantly and said in a deep voice: "Everyone, step back."
Likewise, when Li Mu saw this, he raised his hand to tell his brother not to do anything.
"This is an order." The two people's words overlapped without warning. After looking at each other in silence for a long time, they suddenly burst out laughing.
"Please, King Qin."
"Wu An, please."
Leaving behind the tense crowd, the two of them invited each other to sit down.
"Teacher, sit down too."
In fact, Zhao Gao had been following Zhao Zheng before, but he did not interrupt due to etiquette. In addition, his pale face and beardless appearance made Li Mu think that he was an eunuch brought out by Zhao Zheng to serve him personally. For a moment, he thought to himself. There are hidden dragons and crouching tigers beside King Qin, and even his personal servants have such magnanimity.
It wasn't until he heard Zhao Zheng call him "teacher" that Li Mu knew that his guess was wrong. When he looked again, he realized that the King of Qin in front of him didn't even have a beard.
Zhao Gao saluted Zhao Zheng, then turned to Li Mu and knelt down slowly. Although he wouldn't feel anything if he stood aside, he knew that Zhao Zheng was worried about his body and didn't want to hurt him, so he didn't be more polite and sat down quietly.
"I guess Mr. Wu An is used to drinking Zhao Guo liquor, but he has never tasted Qin liquor. You might as well give it a try today." With that said, Zhao Zheng poured a drink for Li Mu with his own hands, then Zhao Gao, and finally it was his turn: "I The two of them respect Marquis Wu An."
Li Mu secretly saw his actions in his eyes. Although he didn't say anything, his heart was a little confused. After he raised his head and drank it with all due respect, he heard him laugh and asked: "Can this wine still go into your throat?"
"Li Mu once heard that the wine from Yong County in the Qin State could make people stop and dismount after smelling the fragrance. After tasting it today, I realized that the wine is well-deserved." Good wine is good wine. Even if he faced the enemy's king, Li Mu would not hesitate to treat him. His words of praise.
Zhao Zheng put down the wine cup, spread his sleeves and sat down again and said: "It seems that Mr. Wu An is also a lover of wine, but I wonder if Mr. Wu An has heard of the origin of this wine."
"Li Mu is a reckless man. Please give me some advice from the King of Qin." Li Mu put the wine master back on the case and asked calmly.
Taking advantage of the gap between the two talking, Zhao Gao sat up slightly, and then calmly refilled the wine in their Tongjue. When he was about to pour wine into his own Tongjue, he was held down by Zhao Zheng calmly. , so he didn't insist, silently put the things back and sat down again.
Although Zhao Zheng did not turn his head to look at Zhao Gao from beginning to end, and his actions to stop him were natural, the two of them could not hide this little move from Li Mu. At first he felt strange, but when he cast his gaze on Zhao Gao's somewhat pale face, he realized that the King of Qin in front of him turned out to be such a considerate person.
There was such a tacit understanding between the monarch and his ministers, which made Li Mu unconsciously think of Zhao Wangqian: What if he and the king also had such a tacit understanding... That's it, how is it possible? The matter is now here, and it is useless to think about it.
Zhao Zheng withdrew his hand, as if nothing had happened, and looked at Li Mu and said: "In the past, our ancestor Mu Gong was trapped by the Jin army. Fortunately, three hundred warriors from Qishan rescued us, and we were able to turn the corner." At first glance, what he said sounded different from what he said. The wine has nothing to do with it, but he is facing Li Mu. Others may not know it, but Li Mu knows all about the battles of the past dynasties.
Sure enough, when Li Mu heard this, he added without hesitation: "This is all because Duke Mu of Qin once gave wine to detoxify three hundred horse thieves." Back then, people in Qishan stole Duke Mu's horses and ate them. Instead of punishing him, Duke Mu said that he had heard about eating horse meat. If you don't drink alcohol to hurt people, you will immediately give people wine to detoxify them. The three hundred people who came to save him were actually the people who had been favored by Duke Mu back then.
"Yes, this is the wine given by our ancestors." Zhao Zheng said with a smile.
Li Mu thought about it, and looked at Zhao Zheng with complicated eyes. Then he picked up the wine in front of him and drank it all in one gulp. Then he put it down and asked in a deep voice: "What did the King of Qin mean by mentioning this to Li Mu, a defeated general?" ?”
