This was the second time Zhao Kuo came to Yecheng. The city walls were still tall and majestic, and there were no changes except for some more blood stains.
However, Zhao Kuo's two moods were completely different.
When he passed through Yecheng for the first time, he had just defeated Qin and was about to return to Handan to Qingjun. In addition to being indignant towards Zhao Wangdan, he was also a little excited.
But this time, he defeated the Four Kingdoms, swept across the world, overwhelmed Han and Wei, and became the well-deserved overlord of the world, and his heart became much calmer.
"This is just the beginning."
The current Zhao State seems to be very powerful, but in fact it only takes a long war to bring it down.
Moreover, apart from military affairs, Zhao State still lags far behind Qin State in other aspects, not to mention population and territory.
Even if it loses three and a half counties, Qin still has the largest territory and population among the seven countries. Only Chu among the six Kanto countries can compete with Qin.
However, compared with Qin, the system of Chu State was not even the slightest bit behind.
If Qin's overall strength is ten, its actual strength is nine.
So Chu's overall strength is at least eight, but its actual strength may be only five, or even four.
The feudal lords everywhere created a situation in which Chu had more than enough defense but not enough offense.
Although the overall strength of the Zhao State is not as strong as the Chu State, the strength it can exert far exceeds that of the Chu State.
Before Shang Yang's reform, the system of the Three Jin Dynasties was the most advanced and complete among the seven countries.
However, Shang Yang's system may be perfect in this era, but in Zhao Kuo's view, there are still many areas that need improvement.
As a time traveler, your wisdom may not be as good as that of the ancients, and your strategy may not be as good as that of the ancients, but your vision will definitely exceed that of the ancients.
Zhao Kuo was confident that it would take three to five years for Zhao to fully catch up with Qin.
"In the next three years, there must be no war in the country." Zhao Kuo thought in his mind.
Tian Dan, Meng Ao and others had been waiting in front of the city gate for a long time. When they saw Zhao Kuo, they bowed and saluted: "I pay my respects to the king."
"Thank you for your hard work, gentlemen." Zhao Kuo came to his senses, stepped off the carriage, and returned the salute.
After entering Yecheng, Zhao Kuo first took a bath to wash away his fatigue, and then returned to the hall, where Tian Dan and others were already waiting.
"Is there any news about Wei and South Korea?" Zhao Kuo sat at the top and glanced around.
"Your Majesty, King Wei and King Han have already set off from Daliang and are expected to arrive at Yecheng at noon tomorrow," Tian Dan said.
"The King of Han and the King of Wei came together?" Zhao Kuo frowned.
"According to detailed reports from Yecheng, Han Wangran first went to Daliang to meet with the King of Wei, and then the two set off from Daliang together," Tian Dan said.
Zhao Kuo tapped his fingers on the table, making a slight sound.
In the current situation, South Korea and Wei are obviously united. Although the strength of Zhao State is greater than that of South Korea and Wei State, if they face the two countries at the same time, they are still somewhat powerless, let alone Qin Qichu next to them.
The Three Kingdoms are watching with eager eyes.
"How many troops did King Wei and King of Han bring?" Zhao Kuo asked.
"The King of Wei only brought five thousand elite soldiers, while the King of Han brought ten thousand troops, five thousand of which were Korean crossbowmen." Tian Dan said.
Zhao Kuo breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that the two countries came for alliance, not for war.
"Is there anything else?" Zhao Kuo asked.
"News came from Wei that Prime Minister Duan Qianzi was assassinated outside Hangu Pass," Tian Dan said.
"Did we do it?" Zhao Kuo's first reaction was that Tian Dan sent people to do it.
"No." Tian Dan shook his head.
"It seems that Wei Guo did it himself." Zhao Kuo said. "Is there any news about Shangdang?"
"No, there was news half a month ago that Bai Qi only attacked once and never attacked again. The news should have reached Qin State by now. If nothing else happens, Qin State will withdraw its troops in the next few days." Tian
Shan said.
"Please be careful, Mr. Wang. If necessary, you can assist the Wei army to defend the east of the river." Zhao Kuo said.
As long as Hedong is in the hands of Wei, there will be a buffer between Zhao and Qin, and there is no need to face the Qin army directly.
"No." Liu Ping wrote it down.
"By the way, the prisoners of the two countries were not mistreated, right?" Zhao Kuo asked.
"No, they are all locked up outside the city, and they are provided with good food and drink every day," Meng Ao said.
"Let him go when King Wei and King Han come over," Zhao Kuo said.
"Your Majesty, don't we exchange something from Wei and South Korea?" Li Mu couldn't help but say.
Just letting him go like this is not in line with Zhao Kuo's character.
"Yes, Your Majesty, how about we exchange for some food." Yan Ju said eagerly.
In the past, after everyone captured prisoners, they basically released or killed them. But after they were released, they would encounter them again in the next war, and all previous efforts were in vain.
But killing is too bloody and cruel.
There are also some countries that will demote slaves to vassals, that is, slaves, but this will cause riots, so there has always been no good way to deal with captives.
After following Zhao Kuo, I learned that prisoners could be exchanged for cities and food.
It really opened their eyes.
Nowadays, I feel unaccustomed to having prisoners unless I change something.
If the enemy country is unwilling to redeem them and stay in the country, setting a time and giving the prisoners hope can also greatly reduce the occurrence of riots, just like how we treated the captives of Yan State.
"We, the Three Jins, have been one since ancient times. How can we treat other countries the same way?" Zhao Kuo said in a deep voice with a straight face.
Han Wei is different from the other two countries of Yan and Qi. These two countries are the barriers to the south and west of Zhao. As long as these two countries are there, Zhao can develop with peace of mind without worrying about the threats of Qin and Chu. Therefore, the two countries
The country cannot be too weak. If it is easily defeated by Qin and Chu, it will lose its role as a barrier.
But the two countries cannot be too strong. If Zhao is too strong, it will be difficult to control them.
Now the two countries have also experienced two wars. The domestic situation is not very good, and there is no need for Zhao to exploit it once.
"Your Majesty is wise." Although everyone did not believe Zhao Kuo's words, they still leaned over and said.
"By the way, I heard that Jin Bi of Wei State was captured by General Meng Ao? Zhao Kuo asked.
"Your Majesty, Jin Bi was indeed captured by the general, but the main credit lies with Lord Du Ping. Without Lord Du Ping, the general would never have been able to defeat the Han and Wei coalition forces, let alone capture Jin Bi." Meng Ao said with cupped fists.
"Let the others disperse. General Meng Ao will take this king to see Jin Bi." Zhao Kuo waved his hand and said.
"No." Meng Ao said.
Jin Bi was not imprisoned. After all, he and Tian Dan Mengtian carried guns together and fought against the Qin State. They were still somewhat humane.
Tian Dan and Meng Ao left a small courtyard alone for Jin Bi and left a few people to guard it. As long as the request was not too excessive, they would satisfy it and did not strictly monitor it.
Jin Bi also knew that there was no point in escaping now, as Zhao would put him back soon, so he did not think about escaping. He just stayed in the yard every day to practice martial arts and study military books.
However, the more he studied, the more desperate Jin Bi became. The more he studied, the more Jin Bi felt that he was a waste.
"Am I really a waste?" Jin Bi put down the military book in his hand and looked at the sky in despair.
He heard that others' strength would greatly increase after they solved the death disaster, but he also solved the death disaster last time, and now his strength has not changed at all.
At the moment when he was about to be killed by Meng Ao, he had even felt the existence of talent, and even had a tendency to break through to the extraordinary realm. It could even be said that he had already broken through halfway.
After waking up, everything disappeared.
The strength is still in the Gangyuan realm, and the talent I originally felt has disappeared...
Jin Bi even suspected that he was hallucinating!
Thinking of Zhao Kuo, Li Mu, and even his own country's Wei Wuji, Jin Bi had to believe that talent is far more important than hard work...
"Your Majesty, General." At this time, the guard's salute came from outside the door.
Immediately afterwards, the door creaked open, and Zhao Kuo walked in with Meng Ao and Meng Wu.
"General Jin Bi." Zhao Kuo greeted with a smile, walked over and sat down opposite Jin Bi.
"The defeated general has met King Zhao." Jin Bi smiled bitterly and saluted.
It’s true that humans have no normal state, and water has no permanent shape!
Who would have thought that the last time they met, they were on an equal footing, but this time, one person has become the overlord of the world, and the other has become a prisoner.
"I see that General Jin Bi doesn't look very good. Could it be that our army has treated the general badly?" Zhao Kuo looked at Meng Ao, slammed the table, and said in a deep voice.
"No, Brother Meng treats me very well, but I will eventually betray the king's trust... Alas!" Jin Bi sighed deeply.
Zhao Kuo turned his head and immediately understood Jin Bi's troubles. Thinking of Xunzi's talent, he said: "If General Jin Bi is willing to stay in Zhao, I promise that within three years, the general will awaken his talent or break through to the extraordinary."
Don't worry, general. As long as the general agrees, I will decide what the king of Wei will do and I will never make it difficult for the general to do it."
Hearing this, Jin Bi had a look of struggle on his face. He had been trapped in this step for twenty years. No one wanted to awaken his talent and break through to the transcendent realm more than him.
However, in the end, loyalty to King Wei prevailed.
"The king treats his ministers very kindly, and I cannot bear to betray the king. Besides, there are many famous generals in Zhao country, why do I need Jin Bi?" Jin Bi shook his head bitterly.
In the Wei State, he could still rely on the trust of the King of Wei to secure his position as the number one general in the Wei State. But when he arrived in the Zhao State, he could not even be ranked among the top generals.
Whether it is Le Yi, Tian Dan of the older generation, or Le Jian of the middle generation, Yan Ju is not comparable to him. Even Li Mu of the Youth and Strong Sect has surpassed him, and Meng Wu is also growing up. I don’t know what.
He will be surpassed in time.
"After we go back, we must let the king select talents." Jin Bi thought in his mind.
"Since the general is unwilling, I will no longer force anyone to make things difficult. I have received the news that King Wei and King Han are already on their way. After King Wei arrives at Yecheng, the general can go back." Zhao Kuo said.
As Jin Bi said, there are many famous generals in the Zhao Kingdom. It is true that one more than him is not too much, and one without him is not enough. Therefore, Zhao Kuo's willingness to keep Jin Bi is not very strong.
"Does the king intend to form an alliance with Wei and South Korea again?" Jin Bi asked.
"That's right." Zhao Kuo nodded, "Although we, the Three Jins, have some minor conflicts, they are one after all. How can we be instigated by outsiders?"
"Your Majesty is wise." Jin Bi said, clasping his fists.
…
By the time Zhao Kuo returned to his place of residence, it was already evening.
"Your Majesty, dinner is ready." Tian Dan said.
"Have all the soldiers eaten?" Zhao Kuo asked.
"Your Majesty, we are already making arrangements." Tian Dan said.
The Zhao army brought only ten days of food and grass with them when they attacked Qi. They relied almost entirely on food from the enemy along the way. When they returned to Yecheng, the entire army only had less than five days of food and grass left.
After arriving at Yecheng, we were already out of food and relied entirely on Yecheng to provide food and grass.
Of course, there is still food and grass in Yecheng, but dinner for hundreds of thousands of Zhao troops cannot be arranged in a short while.
"I'll go over and take a look." Zhao Kuo said.
"Your Majesty, it's cold at night, so you'd better put on some clothes before going." An Ning walked out holding a robe.
"Okay." Although Zhao Kuo's physique is not afraid of the cold, he still put his clothes on, "Do you want to go with me?"
"Ah? Okay." An Ning said happily.
Zhao Kuo turned around and saw that the soldiers were arranging meals in an orderly manner, and he felt relieved.
When he reached the main camp tent, Lian Po, Li Mu, Yan Xiong and others were eating barbecue around the campfire. These prey were all brought by Yan Xiong.
This guy is not only brave in fighting, but also an excellent hunter. If he digs into the mountains, he can find the beast's lair in less than a moment.
"Your Majesty." When Yanxiong saw Zhao Kuo coming, he quickly gave up his seat and handed the freshly roasted bear paw to Zhao Kuo.
Zhao Kuo handed it to An Ning, who took it generously.
"I also left two hind bear paws for the king. I originally planned to send them to the king later, but now that the king is here, I will roast them all." Yanxiong chuckled, walked to the side and took out two more bear paws.
, one is as big as half a washbasin.
"At this moment... an extraordinary black bear!" An Ning had just torn off a piece of meat and put it in his mouth. He suddenly felt a surge of pure energy pouring into his limbs and bones, and couldn't help but exclaimed.
"Hey, the princess has good eyesight. It took me half an hour to kill this blind bear," Yanxiong said, patting his chest.
When An Ning heard Yan Xiong calling her princess, she secretly glanced at Zhao Kuo and lowered her head shyly.
"Can the people of Yecheng adapt to Zhao's rule?" Zhao Kuo asked.
"The customs, languages, and characters of the three Jin Dynasties are similar. The people of Yecheng do not reject Zhao's rule, but some people still miss Wei." Meng Ao said.
In his opinion, the people of Yecheng were much more docile than the people of Ye Wang. When Qin had just conquered Ye Wang, riots broke out in the city almost every day. The Qin army killed several waves before calming down.
"It's normal for some people to miss Wei. It will be fine in a few years." Zhao Kuo said. "This king plans to establish Ye County south of Zhang River, with Ye City as its seat. What do you think?"
"The establishment of Ye County will be more conducive to the defense of the south." Lian Po nodded.
The county was originally located on the border to defend against foreign enemies.
"Who does the king intend to appoint as the governor?" Tian Dan asked.