Lack of ability as a monarch is not a problem, nor is being unable to govern the country. Back then, Duke Huan of Qi was still "unfortunate but good at land." This did not prevent him from becoming the overlord of the world.
The most important thing is to be able to know people and make good use of them, and not to "know talents but not use them, use them but not appoint them, and let them use ginseng again".
In order to cultivate King Qi into a wise king, the Queen Mother of Qi specially invited Zhou Zi to assist King Zuo Qi, and also sent people to invite the famous scholar Lu Lianzhong to Jixia Academy to serve as a wine sacrifice, hoping that King Qi could consult him at any time.
Who would have thought that the King of Qi actually drove Zhou Zi away and ignored Lu Lianzhong, not even paying a visit to him!
What made her even more angry was that her unlearned brother continued to suppress civil and military officials, exclude dissidents, and even joined forces with the King of Qi to deceive her sister in order to cater to the monarch.
If Zhao Jun soldiers had not surrounded Linzi this time, and the civil and military officials could not bear it anymore and invited her out, she would not have known that Qi State had become so corrupt!
Now that the Queen Mother of Qi saw King Qi, she was not angry at all.
"Here comes someone." Empress Dowager Qi said in a deep voice.
"Queen Mother." Immediately a eunuch came in, leaned over and said respectfully.
"Invite all civil and military officials to enter the palace for discussion," the Queen Mother of Qi ordered.
"promise."
"I have sent people to invite Zhou Zi back. From now on, you must serve him as a teacher and cannot drive him away again. Do you understand?" The Queen Mother of Qi stared at Qi Wangjian and said in a cold voice.
"I understand, kid." Qi Wangjian nodded repeatedly.
Then, the Empress Dowager Qi gave a few more instructions, and by the time they arrived at the main hall, all the civil and military officials had already arrived.
Standing at the front of everyone, alongside Hou Sheng, was none other than Zhou Zi, who had been driven away by King Qi and Hou Sheng before.
Zhou Zi was not angry when he saw Hou Sheng again. Instead, he greeted Hou Sheng with a smile. After not seeing him for half a year, his temper became much more restrained and he no longer had the edge that he had before to dare to compete with the world.
"I pay my respects to your Majesty, the Queen Mother." Everyone bowed and saluted.
Hou Sheng was a little surprised when he saw the Queen Mother, but after a few breaths he returned to normal and saluted with everyone.
A curtain hung down to separate the civil and military officials, and the Queen Mother Qi sat behind the curtain.
During the Warring States Period, if the succeeding monarch was young, his mother could assist him in government. However, according to etiquette, officials were not allowed to look directly at or contact the Queen Mother, so the Queen Mother would sit in a room next to her, separated by a curtain, which is the so-called
"Listen to politics behind the curtain."
When the monarch is underage, the queen mother who listens behind the curtain often has greater power than the monarch.
Empress Dowager Xuan of Qin State, Empress Dowager Zhao of Zhao State, and now Empress Dowager Qi of Qi State have all listened to politics behind the curtain.
However, unlike the Empress Dowager Xuan who had always controlled the government, the Empress Dowager Qi returned to the throne after the King of Qi came of age. She did not expect that one day she would still be able to listen to the government behind the curtain.
"Your Majesty, the Queen Mother. Now that the Zhao State troops are approaching the city, they may attack Linzi at any time. I suggest that the capital be moved to Ju County, and at the same time send people to ask for peace from the Zhao State." Hou Sheng stepped forward, leaned over and said.
King Qi said nothing and turned to look at the curtain.
"What do you think, Zhou Zi?" Queen Mother Qi's voice came from behind the curtain.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, the Queen Mother. The Zhao army seems to be menacing, but in fact, it has fought continuously. The treasury is empty, the people are in dire straits, the people are tired, the soldiers are tired of fighting, and their stamina has long been exhausted. Even if our Qi country does not seek peace, within twenty days, the Zhao army will
They will definitely retreat. Our Linzi city wall is strong and the moat is wide and deep. It will definitely not be a problem to withstand the Zhao army for twenty days."
"If we move the capital, it will be even more dangerous. Zhao Feiqi of the Zhao State is the elite in the world. No army in our country can compete with him. We could have relied on the city to defend it. Once we move the capital and are attacked by Zhao Feiqi on the road, our army will definitely be in great danger.
Defeat. Besides, as a monarch, how can you flee before fighting?"
Zhou Zi's sonorous and powerful voice echoed in the hall.
Qi Wangjian looked a little embarrassed.
"Zhou Zi can guarantee that Zhao Jun will retreat in twenty days? What if he doesn't retreat?" Hou Sheng looked at Zhou Zi and asked.
"If you don't retreat, let the Zhao army be defeated at our Linzi City. We still have 250,000 troops on the front line of Qi State. If we recall them, we will definitely defeat the Zhao army under a flanking attack." Zhou Zi said loudly.
.
"Your Majesty, something bad has happened." At this time, an official rushed into the hall in a panic. He was about to say something, but when he saw so many people in the hall, he didn't know whether to say something or not.
"Why are you so flustered?" Qi Wangjian said a little unhappy.
Now that we have arrived, is there anything worse than being surrounded by the capital?
"There is news from the front line that our army... our army has been defeated! Three generals, Tian Sheng, Tian Yang, and Tian Fen, were killed, and all the 250,000 troops surrendered." The official said hurriedly.
"boom!"
One stone stirred up a thousand waves, and everyone couldn't sit still and looked at the official standing at the door in disbelief.
"Is this...serious?" Empress Dowager Qi's slightly trembling voice came from behind the curtain.
Two hundred and fifty thousand troops!
The current state of Qi is not the hegemon of the world before. After the five kingdoms conquered Qi, the vitality of the state of Qi was greatly damaged.
Now they have just regained some strength, and 250,000 is already the maximum strength that Qi can exert.
"The Queen Mother, the soldiers who fled on the front line are outside the palace. The Queen Mother can send someone to inquire." The official was stunned for a moment when he heard the Queen Mother's voice, and then said immediately.
The Queen Mother has not assisted the government for two or three years, and she did not expect to come out again today.
Seeing what the officials said, everyone actually believed it, but the Empress Dowager Qi still sent someone to call the soldiers over and verify it.
The Qi soldiers climbed up to the hall in fear, looking at Qi Wang Jian and the ministers on both sides who were sitting at the top with fear on their faces. Everyone present could crush him to death like an ant.
The soldier was so frightened that his face was livid and his legs were trembling. He already regretted it a little. If he had known earlier, he would have just escaped and kept his name anonymous. What kind of news could he spread? It is hard to say whether he can come back alive now.
"Don't be afraid, just tell what you know." At this time, Queen Mother Qi's gentle voice came from behind the curtain, which gradually calmed down the soldiers' hearts.
"Nuo. Report... to the King, the Queen Mother, and so many Shangguan officials. At that time... we were blocked by the Zhao army on the east side of the river and could not cross. Later... Later... I don't know what happened, but the general led his army across the river.
Zhao Jun did not attack our army."
"Little... Xiao was guarding the baggage at the back and did not cross the river. The next afternoon, a group of Zhao soldiers suddenly appeared and attacked the camp. We were no match, so we escaped. Later... Later, Xiao ran away when he encountered the front line.
Only when the soldiers came out did they know that the three generals had been killed and the army had surrendered..."
The soldiers didn't know much, and what they said was very confusing, but everyone understood clearly: Qi's army is indeed gone!
"Ten gold reward, you go down first." The Queen Mother said.
"Thank you so much, Queen Mother." The soldier said gratefully.
"Let's talk about what to do now." Queen Mother Qi sighed and said helplessly.
Zhou Zi even looked bitter. Two hundred thousand troops were captured, and Qi lost its only means of counterattacking Zhao's army.
"Your Majesty, we can only ask for peace at this time." Hou Sheng said quickly, his son was still among the Qi army.
"Yes, Your Majesty, please seek peace."
"Your Majesty, at this point, the only way left is to seek peace."
…
Ministers stood up one after another. They all had sons and nephews serving in the army. When they heard the news of the defeat on the front line, they were extremely anxious.