"It seems you have nothing to say today."

King Lu Xi of Qi smiled strangely, stood up slowly, and went to the inner palace.

Although Zhao Hongzhao desperately hoped that his Wei State would form an alliance with Qi State as soon as possible, there was nothing he could do about the departure of Qi King Lu Xi at this moment.

Just as King Lu Xi of Qi said, Zhao Hongzhao had nothing to say today, because the words he wanted to say in advance had no effect at all, and even he himself did not understand what went wrong.

It can be seen that King Lu Xi of Qi still had a very good impression of Zhao Hongzhao. He specially sent someone to use Wang Jia to send Zhao Hongzhao back to the post house. This kind treatment from King Qi made the Qi people in the post house treat Zhao Hongzhao very well.

Hong Zhao's attitude immediately changed a lot.

However, Zhao Hongzhao had no time to pay attention to this matter. After returning to the post house, he summoned ten clan guards around him to discuss the matter.

Unfortunately, even when he was sitting and talking to King Qi Lu Xi in person, he couldn't figure out the former's thoughts. How could Zongwei Fei Wei and others who were waiting outside the palace guess the identity of King Qi?

What's on your mind?

Late that night, Zhao Hongzhao had no intention of sleeping and was still thinking hard about this problem.

Before leaving, Qi King Lu Xi invited him to return to the palace the next day. This could be said to be an opportunity given to him by the former. However, Zhao Hongzhao felt that if he could not figure out the real reason why Qi King Lu Xi refused to form an alliance today, the lobbying the next day would be

, I’m afraid it will end in failure in all likelihood.

At about six o'clock the next day, King Lu Xi of Qi sent Wang Jia to take Zhao Hongzhao to the palace and received him in the front hall of the main palace.

It can be seen that Zhao Hongzhao was a little sleep deprived at this time. It was as if he had been thinking about the problem until late at night last night, so he did not get enough rest. On the contrary, Qi King Lu Xi seemed to be in high spirits. After Zhao Hongzhao sat down in the palace, he gave orders.

The maids serving in the palace served wine and food to the latter, and they drank with him.

Speaking of Qi national cuisine, probably because of the geographical location, Qi people rarely eat meat and prefer fresh fish. Whether it is fish from Jiangze lakes or fish from the sea, you can often see it in this country.

In addition to fish, Qi people also like to eat shrimps, so much so that Zhao Hongzhao was shocked when he first arrived in Qi: shrimps feed on carrion in the swamps. The Wei people did not eat shrimps, which they called water bugs.

However, after tasting the shrimp, Zhao Hongzhao had to admit that the taste of these water bugs was even better than that of fresh fish.

After drinking for three rounds, King Lu of Qi smacked his lips. He peeled off the shells and ate all the shrimps on the table. He wiped his mouth with his sleeves without any royal dignity and looked at Zhao Hongzhao with a smile.

Said: "It seems that you have been thinking hard all night. Have you figured it out?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Hongzhao put down the wine bottle in his hand, nodded and said with emotion: "I figured it out."

"Oh?" King Lu Xi of Qi waved his hand and motioned to the palace maid nearby to bring up another plate of shrimps. At the same time, he said to Zhao Hongzhao with a smile: "You mean, you have figured out why I refused to form an alliance?"

"Yes."

"Tell me and listen."

Zhao Hongzhao was seen sitting upright. After taking a deep look at Qi King Lu Xi, he said in a deep voice: "Because in the eyes of King Qi, whether to form an alliance with our Wei State, judging from the current situation of Qi State, there is no change."

"Hehehehehe..." King Qi Lu Xi laughed twice, but did not speak, only waiting for Zhao Hongzhao's next words.

Seeing this, Zhao Hongzhao further explained: "What the King of Qi hopes is that our Wei State will not be destroyed by the Chu State... As long as our Wei State has not been destroyed by the Chu State, then our Wei State can still replace the King of Qi.

Share part of the pressure from the Chu State. The problem is that we, the Wei people, will not just watch our country be destroyed by the Chu State. Therefore, whether to form an alliance with our Wei State is not important in the eyes of the King of Qi."

"..." King Lu Xi of Qi was pouring his wine. Hearing this, he turned his head and glanced at Zhao Hongzhao. He said with some appreciation: "It seems that I saw you right..."

After that, he put down the wine bottle, looked at Zhao Hongzhao attentively, and said in an unprecedented serious tone: "Yes, I, Da Qi, have no need to form an alliance with your Wei State."

Zhao Hongzhao suddenly felt the power of the emperor coming towards him.

Even though King Lu Xi of Qi seemed very unruly at first glance and had no dignity as a monarch, in fact, the other party was a far-sighted king. Therefore, Zhao Hongzhao felt that it would be difficult to use ordinary lobbying methods.

Convince the King of Qi to form an alliance with his Kingdom of Wei.

Thinking of this, Zhao Hongzhao said truthfully: "Please forgive me, King Qi. Today, Ji wants to look at this matter with Qi people's eyes and state his interests to King Qi with Qi people's words."

King Lu Xi of Qi was stunned when he heard this, then waved his hand and said with a smile: "It doesn't matter, I like games the most."

Zhao Hongzhao glanced at Qi King Lu Xi and had no intention of treating this matter as a game. After all, it was related to his home country.

"If Ji is from Qi, she should suggest that the King of Qi form an alliance with Wei..."

King Lu Xi of Qi couldn't help but feel a little disappointed when he heard this first sentence. He smacked his lips in dissatisfaction and said, "Is this the first sentence?"

Zhao Hongzhao did not care about the disappointment on the face of King Lu Xi of Qi, and continued to express his own opinions: "Wei, the north is controlled by Han, and the south is controlled by Chu. Although this time Wei's young hero, King Su Ji Run, led the army

He defeated Chu Yangcheng Lord Xiong Tuo and occupied eighteen of its cities. However, he only dared to attack Chu in the name of conquering Yangcheng Lord Xiong Tuo, rather than directly attacking Chu State. It is not difficult to see that even

This hero of the Wei State could also see the gap in national and military power between Chu and Wei, and did not dare to offend the entire Chu State rashly... Don't look at the fact that he captured the eighteen cities of Yangcheng Lord Xiong Tuo this time.

, but he did not dare to really take it for himself. It is more likely that he just regarded those cities as bargaining chips for future negotiations with the Chu State... In other words, Wei Su King Ji Run judged that the current Wei State

, are not qualified to compete with the Chu State, so rather than angering the Chu State, it is better to accept it as soon as possible."

"..." King Lu Xi of Qi suppressed the joking look on his face when he heard this, and said calmly: "Are you trying to say that Wei's defeat to Chu this time was just a fluke?"

"I can't say it's all a fluke. I believe that the Chu State also thought that the Wei State would produce a young talent like Su Wang Ji Run... It's just an underestimation of the enemy. But next time, the name of Wei State Su Wang Ji Run will spread throughout Chu.

country, when the time comes, Chu's army will never dare to underestimate the enemy again if they encounter him again. In this way, if Wei State fights Chu again in the future, the chance of victory... is unpredictable."

After a pause, Zhao Hongzhao continued: "Although the war in Yingshui County ended with King Su Ji Run's victory over King Xiong Tuo of Yangcheng, on the battlefield in Song Dynasty... the Wei army was retreating steadily. So far, the army of Wei has been defeated.

Most of the Song Dynasty was lost... The reason why there is such a huge difference in the war situation between Yingshui County and Song County is simply that the Wei State has only one Su King Ji Run. He can't take care of both sides alone, while the Chu State

What? According to legend, the Chu State has the background to fight on two fronts with Qi and Wei at the same time. If the Chu State devoted all its troops, how could only Ji Run stop the Chu army on multiple battlefields? King Qi also

To help or not?”

"..." The dirty look on Qi Wang Lu Xi's face all faded away, and it was obvious that he was thinking about this issue.

But at this time, Zhao Hongzhao shook his head and said with a smile: "In fact, by then, even if the King of Qi sends troops to assist with good intentions, it will probably be of no avail... King Qi thought that Ji Xinhe spoke? In fact, it was not the case. The Yingshui Battlefield It took a whole month for the battle situation to reach Qi State, and this month was very critical. This time, Ji Run, the Su King of Wei State, was able to counterattack from Yan River in Wei State to Xiong Tuo, the king of Yangcheng in Chu State, within one month. Territory. Capture his eighteen cities in one go. Then next time, it is not ruled out that the Chu State will attack from the border of Shangcai and Cai to Daliang, the capital of Wei, within a month, or even break through the capital of Wei... Change In other words, if the King of Qi only thinks about aiding Wei when it is weak, then one day the King of Qi will be unable to catch up."

"..." King Lu Xi of Qi heard this and reached out to pick up the wine bottle on the table and drank the wine in one gulp.

It is undeniable that what Zhao Hongzhao said was exactly what Qi King Lu Xi was worried about at this time.

He didn't care that King Su of Wei defeated Xiong Tuo, Lord of Yangcheng, or that King Su of Wei captured Lord Xiong Tuo of Yangcheng. No matter how powerful that fourteen-year-old kid was, he could still destroy the entire city. Chu State?

In the final analysis, the King of Chu just wanted to teach Wei a lesson this time. He wanted to take this opportunity to seize part of Wei's territory and cities. After all, the King of Chu also considered that although Wei was weaker than Chu, it was still weak. It is not a small country that can be conquered overnight.

Only Xiong Tuo, Xiong Wu and the princes and nobles of the Xiong clan are considering whether they can take this opportunity to destroy the Wei State. After all, if they really attack and destroy the Wei State, then they will be only a few steps away from the position of the King of Wei. Not far away.

To put it bluntly, this time Chu State just stretched out one hand and punched Wei State twice, and the two punches were not in the same position. Although this time Wei State's Su Wang Ji Run showed off his sharp sword and slashed. One finger of Chu State was lost, but so what? Chu State still had nine fingers. Could it be that Ji Run could cut off all nine fingers?

Although Ji Run, King Su of the Wei State, raised an army of 80,000 to counterattack the Chu State this time, which seemed to be huge, in fact, it was just because the Chu State had not yet exerted its strength. It can only be said that the defeat of Xiong Tuo, the king of Yangcheng, was It was given to Ji Run, not Chu State.

Fortunately, Su Wang Ji Run was smart and not arrogant enough to raise slogans against the Chu State. Otherwise, if he really angered the Chu State, the Chu State might stretch out the other hidden hand and crush him to death with one hand. .

Generally speaking, the victory of a national war will at most make the powerful countries wary and not be as unscrupulous as before. However, it has been very rare since ancient times for a weak country to surpass a strong country with the help of a victory. .

Therefore, even if the Chu State loses this time, it is still stronger than the Wei State. This is a situation that cannot be reversed in a short time.

At this time, Zhao Hongzhao's words to persuade King Lu Xi of Qi were still going on.

"...A victory is not enough to reverse the strength of Chu and Wei. On the contrary, it will increase the Chu people's determination to destroy Wei. If the King of Qi must wait until Wei is in ruins before sending troops to aid, I believe that one day, The King of Qi will regret it... There are thousands of people in the world, and there are tens of thousands of Chu people. The huge population of Chu State allows him to recover in a short time even if he suffers heavy losses after defeating Wei State... No more How long can Wei, Qi, and Lu continue to exist?... The Wei people can flee westward back to Longxi, but where will the Qi people flee? To the sea?"

"..."

"Therefore, Ji suggested to the King of Qi in the name of the Qi people that the Qi-Wei alliance was not to join forces to resist the Chu State's offensive, but to take the initiative to weaken the Chu State as much as possible for the sake of long-term peace and stability.

our common enemy and gradually eliminate them!"

…
Chapter completed!