Zhao Weiwang in the Warring States Period

Page 439

By this time, Cai Ze naturally understood.

The matter of Qin Wangji's serious illness has already been known by the Zhao people!

This is terrible.

Very terrible.

After all, Qin Wangji is the man who single-handedly brought Qin to the peak, and his influence on Qin is incomparable.

It is precisely because of this that once Qin Wangji is critically ill, the political situation within Qin will definitely start to be turbulent.

So all along, the high-level officials of the Qin State firmly blocked the news, and did not let any irrelevant people and countries know that Qin Wangji was critically ill.

Because the Qin people knew very well that once the Zhao people learned the news, they would definitely take advantage of the fire and rob them.

In fact, Lian Po did just that.

With his keen observation ability, Cai Ze is very sure of one thing, that is, at the beginning, Zhao Guoren's appetite was actually not that big.

It happened at this time that Lian Po learned that Qin Wangji was critically ill.

So after hearing the news, Lian Po immediately raised the price without hesitation, intending to swallow the entire Weixin channel.

There were countless storms in Cai Ze's heart, and there was only one thought in his mind: "How did the people of Zhao know about this? Now that the people of Zhao know, what should I do?"

While Cai Ze outside the big tent was dumbfounded and uncertain, Lian Po and Le Cheng inside the big tent were also having a conversation.

Le Cheng said worriedly: "General, will Cai Ze really agree? Hangu Pass is the main way out of Qin Guodong. If Hangu Pass is gone, wouldn't Qin Guoguan become a completely defenseless place? I feel that this condition may be difficult for the people of Qin to accept."

In fact, Le Cheng had other worries in his heart that he did not express.

First of all, can Handan hold on?

Secondly, is it alright for Li Mu to attack Wei?

Lecheng has been thinking about these two issues these days, but the results are not too optimistic.

So, don't look at the state of Qin in a precarious state now, but the state of Zhao is not at ease.

If Zhao Guo hadn't been under the enemy's back and forth, he would have directly killed Wang Lu and marched into Xianyang.

Lian Po obviously saw Le Cheng's concerns, a smile appeared on his old face, and his tone was quite gentle: "It's okay, the people of Qin will agree."

Le Cheng hesitated for a moment, and then said: "Is it because Qin Wangji is critically ill now? But in my opinion, Zhao Zhu, the Prince of Qin, who is nearly fifty this year, is a mature and stable person. Even if Qin Wangji died, Zhao Zhu You can also succeed to the throne immediately, I am afraid that this matter will not have much impact on Qin."

Lian Po laughed, and said: "Le Cheng, what you said is wrong. Although I don't know much about politics, I know that I will be the courage of the soldiers and the courage of the people. King Ji of Qin has been in power for more than forty years and has won the Qin State. People's hearts, if he dies, I just need to release this news, then the Qin army in Yuanli City will be in chaos, and it is very likely that they will surrender without a fight. At that time, I want to see how much capital the Qin people have to bargain! "

Le Cheng asked a little puzzled: "But even if there is no such news, Wang Yan's troops in Yuanli City are still hard to fly."

Lian Po shook his head and said, "Even before the start of the war, the King has already told me in secret that the purpose of this battle is not to break through Xianyang and destroy Qin, but to weaken Qin. Now that the goal of weakening Qin has been achieved, why should I let the soldiers of Zhao The blood continues to be shed in vain? And hum, there are Wei and Qi waiting for us to teach us a lesson. If we are here and hurt both Qin and Qin, wouldn’t we be fulfilling Wei and Qi’s intentions?"

Only then did Le Cheng understand, and nodded in admiration, feeling that ginger is still old and hot.

Le Cheng was about to continue to say something, when suddenly a loud voice came from outside the tent: "General, urgent military situation!"

"Come in!"

A courier walked in quickly and respectfully presented an urgent message.

Lian Po looked at the urgent report, his brows relaxed instantly, and the smile on his face couldn't be stopped no matter what.

After a while, Lian Po threw the urgent report to Le Cheng: "You should read it too."

Le Cheng took a look and was also beaming with joy.

This urgent report did not come from Zhao Jun's intelligence agencies or scouts, but from Chen Ying, the capital of Chu State.

The state of Chu officially joined the war and started the war against Qin!

Le Cheng put down the urgent report, in a good mood, and smiled at Lian Po: "In this way, if the Qin people continue to be stubborn, then when the news of the Chu people sending troops comes, the Qin people will no longer be stubborn! "

Lian Po laughed loudly, then snorted, and said: "People in this world have always been biased. After hearing some stories about pleading guilty, they regard me as a person who has no brains. I don't even think about it if I am real. How can you be so ignorant to lead an army to conquer and win so many victories!"

Lian Po scolded a few words angrily, waved his hands to Le Jian and said, "Okay, go to the front line and have a look, now that victory is in sight, be careful not to let that dog jump over the wall and run away in a hurry."

Le Cheng said yes, and was about to leave, when suddenly there was a faint sound of arguing outside the big tent.

Le Cheng strode out, just in time to see Cai Ze and Lu Buwei arguing with the guards outside the big tent, among which Cai Ze's voice was the loudest.

"I am the envoy of the Qin Kingdom. You are only a mere soldier, but you dare to block my way so arrogantly! Hurry up and report to General Lian Po, and say that I have something to see!"

Le Cheng thought for a while, stepped forward and signaled the guards to retreat, and then said to Cai Ze, "Do you want to meet the general?"

Cai Ze's eyes lit up when he saw Le Cheng, and he hurriedly said, "That's right, please let the general know."

After a while, Lian Po, Le Cheng, Cai Ze, and Lu Buwei took their seats in the big tent.

Lian Po looked at Cai Ze expressionlessly: "So, you have already made a decision?"

Cai Ze nodded, and said: "That's right, if the general is willing to remove the siege of Yuanli City immediately, and withdraw all Zhao troops from the territory of Qin State within five days, then my Great Qin is willing to give up all the land east of Hangu Pass. Ceded to Zhao Guo!"

When Cai Ze said these words, his heart was bleeding.

Cede land for peace, lose power and humiliate the country!

But Cai Ze also knew that negotiating was actually a way for the two sides to test each other's cards. Now that Qin's bottom line had been clearly understood by Zhao Guo, and he was at a disadvantage, it was better to just admit defeat and start all over again.

So this time Cai Ze didn't smudge at all, and he threw his hole card when he came up.

Of course, this was not Cai Ze's own initiative, but a collective decision made by the senior officials of Qin State after deliberation.

It sounds like a lot to cede all the land east of Hangu Pass.

But in fact, after losing Yiyang City, Qin now has only half of the Weihan Passage left to the east of Hangu Pass.

The Weihan Passage is located between the Zhongtiao Mountain Range and the Northeast Mountain Range of the Qinling Mountains. The terrain is long and narrow, but it is not suitable for farming. Therefore, giving up this piece of land will cause the least loss to the Qin State.

Of course, after losing the Weihan channel, Qin lost the channel to go east to attack the Central Plains, which is a big disadvantage.

But because Zhao State occupied Hedong County, the Weihan Passage was not so important to Qin State.

Because under the current circumstances, once Qin State leaves the Central Plains eastward through the Weihan Passage, then Zhao State only needs to cross the Yellow River from Hedong County and go down south, and it can easily cut off Qin State's retreat.

Without Hedong County to defend the flanks and rear, Qin would not be able to use the Weihan Passage to go east to fight for hegemony.

This is why Qin State first occupied Hedong County in history, and then opened the Weihan channel.

Therefore, after the loss of Hedong County, many knowledgeable people in Qin State were already prepared to lose the Weihan Passage as well.