On the occasion of the New Year, in the residence of Zuo Xiang Zhao in Linzi, Qi State, Wei Gongzi Zhao Zhao held a family banquet to celebrate the New Year, celebrating with the clan guards and their young sons. As for their female relatives and daughters, they had already been taken care of by the mistress.

Ji Ji summoned her to the inner room of the north room and celebrated separately from the men.

It has to be said that precisely because the ten clan guards who followed Zhao Zhao had their own families one after another, the "Linzi Zhao Family" finally did not appear too deserted.

After the banquet was over, Zhao Zhao returned to the dormitory and saw his wife, Zhuan Ji, whose cheeks were red due to drunkenness, and his concubine, Tian Wan.

The women of Qi State are actually not restrained at all when there are no men present. They just have a lot of fun by themselves. Fortunately, the wine these women drink is usually fruit wine, otherwise Zhao Zhao would be really worried.

At the beginning of the first year of the first lunar month, Linzi's famous families sent people one after another to deliver New Year's gifts to Left Prime Minister Zhao's Mansion. They were not very valuable items, but they were quite thoughtful. As for Zhao Zhao, he also rarely spent time in the study.

My own calligraphy and painting as a gift.

Just like when he was in Daliang, today in Linzi, Zhao Zhao's calligraphy treasures are also hard to find. Unfortunately, his calligraphy and paintings were only given to relatives and friends. Looking at the whole country of Qi, Qi people who have Zhao Zhao's calligraphy treasures

, today, a few years later, I am afraid there will not be more than twenty people.

Compared with the congratulatory gifts given by others, what excited and concerned Zhao Zhao the most was the congratulatory gift sent by the State of Wei - his younger brother, Zhao Run, the prince of the East Palace of the State of Wei, specially asked the State of Wei for the gift more than ten days ago.

The wealthy Shang Wen Shaobo sent a batch of valuable gifts to his mansion.

As the prince of the East Palace of the Wei State, Zhao Run's gifts are certainly not inferior. In the gift list, there are black jade, colored jade and other jade from the Qin State, sauvignon from the Chu State, brocade from Bashu, and good horses from Hetao.

In Zhao Zhao's opinion, the most precious thing is the portrait of his mother, Wu Guibi.

Looking at the portrait of his mother, Wu Guibi, with a smile on her face, sitting side by side with Concubine Shen Shu, holding Zhao Run's second son Zhao Chuan and third son Zhao Han in her arms, Zhao Zhao was moved but inevitably a little sad.

What was touching was that Zhao Run fulfilled his promise back then and took care of Wu Guifei on his behalf; as for the sadness, it seemed that the mother was holding his brother's son in her arms, not her own real grandson or granddaughter.

With emotion in his heart, Zhao Zhao walked to the study window, opened it, and looked at the group of people in the courtyard.

At this time, in the courtyard, his eight-year-old son Zhao Liang was trying to ride a pony given to him by his uncle Zhao Run. While he was trying to ride, the clan guards and servants of the house,

He was closely guarding him, for fear that the young master would accidentally fall off the horse.

Even Zhao Zhao could vaguely hear the old servants in the house trying to persuade his son Zhao Liang to wait for some time before the ice and snow melted before trying to ride those ponies, but it was a pity to see the little ponies

Young Master Zhao Liang looked so happy that he couldn't bear it anymore.

It’s no wonder, after all, being able to own a pony of your own is what many aristocratic children dreamed of when they were young. However, in Qi State, getting a good horse is not an easy task.

Easy thing.

"...I, the Wei Dynasty, have captured the Hetao. From now on, I will no longer have to worry about war horses. I believe that it won't be long before I, the Wei Dynasty, will create a real cavalry army..."

Thinking of his distant mother country in his heart, Zhao Zhao was also happy for the strong rise of Wei.

While he was happy, a hint of gloom flashed in his eyes, and he sighed secretly.

At this moment, a servant from the family came to report: "Master, Doctor Bao wants to see you."

"Uncle Bao?"

Zhao Zhao was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said, "Invite him to meet in the study."

"yes."

The servants retreated in response, and a moment later, Uncle Bao, a senior official from Qi State, walked to Zhao Zhao's study.

At this time, Zhao Zhao had also welcomed him out of the study, and the two of them exchanged polite greetings outside the study door.

When Zhao Zhao invited Uncle Bao to the study, Uncle Bao glanced at the group of people in the courtyard and found that Zhao Zhao's son Zhao Liang was happily learning to ride a group of ponies, so he asked curiously: "That horse

Could it be that the horse was also a gift from Mr. Zhao Run?"

Immediately, he saw Zhao Zhao smiling and nodding, and couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

I still remember that a while ago, after the second half of the Lianglu Canal, that is, the section of the canal from Lu to Qi Linzi, was officially opened, Wen Shaobo, a wealthy businessman from the Wei State, arrived along the Lianglu Canal with more than a dozen ships of goods.

Qi State Linzi.

At that time, the whole Linzi was in uproar because this Wei merchant brought a kind of jade that had never been seen in the Central Plains to Qi State.

It was also on that day that the people of Qi realized that in addition to ordinary jade, there were also various precious Qin jade stones such as black jade, colored jade, and blood jade. From then on, the men of Qi State

He was obsessed with black jade, while the girls of Qi were obsessed with colored jade and blood jade. In front of these two rare jade stones, all gold and silver jewelry, emerald and agate seemed to lose their color all of a sudden.

According to the news, when the wealthy businessman Wen Shaobo from Wei State paid a visit to Zhao Zhao, he presented two large boxes of jade. In addition, there were also many specialties from various countries, and even Donghu and Linhu's.

Hu Ji, even though she was a wealthy Qi native, could not help but be impressed by the generosity of Wei's young master Zhao Run. After all, some of the things given by this young master could not be purchased with money.

Just like the jade from the Qin State, it is impossible to get such precious jade without passing through the Wei State.

Even if Lu Bai, the current king of Qi, hangs on his waist to show off the palm-sized ink jade pendant, as well as the ink jade toad placed on the desk that he can't put it down, they were all carefully selected by Zhao Zhao from the two boxes of jade.

Choose the gift.

Later, Uncle Bao walked into the study at Zhao Zhao's invitation.

After the servants of the house brought tea, Uncle Bao did not hide his intention and directly stated the purpose of his visit: "Master Zuo Xiang, in recent days, "Lian Chen (chen)" and "Tian Hu (hu)" have been frequenting each other.

I beg you to see your Majesty...is it true that Mr. Zuo Xiang turned a blind eye?"

"..." Zhao Zhao remained silent.

The "Lian Chen (chen)" in Uncle Bao's mouth was from the Lian family, which was also a well-known noble family in Qi State, while "Tian Hu" was simply the cousin of the former right minister Tian Huan, who was also from the Binhai Tian family.

Two years ago, Tian Kuang tried to support the young master Jiu to ascend the throne and usurp the throne, but he was defeated by Zhao Zhao, Linzi Tian family and Gao Xi of the royal family. After the failure, Tian Kuang took the blame and committed suicide as an apology, so as not to implicate the Binhai Tian family, and

Tian Hu is the representative figure introduced by Binhai Tian family to replace Tian Huan.

Some days ago, Song Yun, the leader of the Beibo Army in Song County, came to Zi several times because of the problems in Song County, begging Qi State to intervene. In order to avoid suspicion, Zhao Zhao, who was born as a prince of Wei, stayed in seclusion during this period and did not pay attention to the problems in Song Dynasty.

Express any attitude.

After getting rid of Zhao Zhao's obstruction, Song Yun turned to Lian Chen and Tian Hu for help. He didn't know what benefits Song Yun had given them, so during this period, Lian Chen and Tian Hu often talked about each other.

Seeking to see Qi King Lu Bai, he wanted to persuade Qi King Lu Bai to agree to recognize the status of the Song State - that is, the Song State that Song Yun restored with only a few cities - and restore the Song State in the "Song, Lu, and Song Three Kingdoms Alliance"

location.

Seeing that Zhao Zhao was silent, Uncle Bao said in a low voice: "Master Zuo Xiang, if this continues, I'm afraid Master Gao Xi will also be hesitant..."

"Gaoxi..."

Zhao Zhao's eyes flashed with a bit of solemnity.

Gao Xi, who was born in the Gao family with the surname Jiang, is almost the most prestigious minister in Linzi today. Even Zhao Zhao, who married Lu Xi's daughter Kui Ji, would have a hard time surpassing the latter in fame, regardless of Gao Xi's position.

Not as good as Zhao Zhao, but I have to admit that if this person said one sentence, he would be recognized by the people of Qi more than if Zhao Zhao said ten sentences.

"Lord Gao Xi, you won't be able to see through..."

Shaking his head, Zhao Zhao finally spoke.

Hearing this, Uncle Bao shook his head and said, "No, Guan Zhong revealed to me yesterday when he came to see me that Lord Gao Xi was also hesitant on this matter. According to Guan Zhong's guess, Lord Gao Xi seemed to intend to promote "Qilu"

The Four Kingdoms Alliance of Yue and Song Dynasties... You also know, Mr. Zuo Xiang, that since the death of the late king

After that, the momentum of Daqi was not as strong as it was back then, but in the west, Wei, the home country of Mr. Zuo Xiang, was prospering." Speaking of this, Uncle Bao said with emotion: "Sir Gao Xi, after all, refused to kill the late king.

The title of "Overlord" that I had finally won was given away so easily."

Zhao Zhao responded with a wry smile when he heard this.

Zhao Zhao still had great respect for Gao Xi's character. After all, Gao Xi was diligent, self-denial, mature and prudent. Sometimes when Zhao Zhao tried to implement any new policies, he had to rely on the escort of Dr. Qing - as long as Zhao Zhao could convince Gao Xi

If Gao Xi understands that the new policy is indeed beneficial to the country, then no matter how strong the resistance is, Gao Xi will step forward without hesitation to help Zhao Zhao bear the pressure.

But having said that, even Gao Xi, who is known as a virtuous minister, has shortcomings. For example, he is always unwilling to face the fact that "Qi State is declining" - Gao Xi also refuses to recognize Wei's new hegemony.

is an unwavering supporter.

It is precisely because of this that the relationship between Zhao Zhao and Gao Xi is estranged. The two people, who are very close in handling state affairs, have almost no contact in private, because they have obviously different attitudes towards the issue of Wei.

"How does Uncle Bao view this matter?" Zhao Zhao asked coldly.

"This..." Uncle Bao looked a little embarrassed and hesitated.

Seeing this, Zhao Zhao suddenly felt enlightened.

It cannot be denied that Uncle Bao is also a talented person, especially in dealing with internal affairs. However, this person's character makes him good at planning and not making good decisions. Even though he is worried that his decision-making will have bad consequences, even if it is a small matter.

, I am afraid that this scholar-bureaucrat will have to weigh it for a long time and consider all aspects carefully before he finally makes a decision.

Therefore, although Uncle Bao's visit to Zhao Zhao today seems to be on the side of "favoring Wei", in fact, the scholar-official has probably not yet decided which side he is on.

Thinking of this, Zhao Zhao changed his tone and asked Guan Zhong for his opinion on this matter. Compared to Uncle Bao, Guan Zhong was much more decisive.

Seeing Zhao Zhao ask about Guan Zhong, the embarrassment on Uncle Bao's face faded a bit, and he said truthfully: "Guan Zhong's opinion is similar to that of Mr. Zuo Xiang, and he believes that Wei should be respected for the time being..."

"Temporarily...?"

Zhao Zhao smiled knowingly.

In his opinion, Guan Zhong's so-called "temporary" is to avoid the sharp edge of the Wei State - after all, the Wei State is too strong now, and Zhao Run is also a hero. It is not difficult to guess that in the next at least twenty

In the year, the entire Central Plains will be the era of the Wei State. Since we have clearly seen this general trend, why do we need to compete with such a powerful Wei State for supremacy?

Therefore, in Guan Zhong's view, Qi State should be able to endure loneliness, develop its national strength with peace of mind, and accumulate strength. When Zhao Run, the hero of Wei State, grows old twenty years later, or makes some wrong decisions that lead to the weakening of national power, Qi State will

The country is waiting for an opportunity to move again.

After all, for the entire historical process of the Central Plains, twenty years is by no means a long time.
To be continued...