Chapter 671: Everyone works for me, no one is lazy
On the last day of October, Pang Nuan's army returned to Handan from Qi. Arriving at Handan with Zhao's army was also the 50,000 Qi army led by Wang Sunjia.
Not only because of Zhao's request, Qi itself was also angry with Qin.
If the Qin State had not framed the situation, the Qi State would not have suffered such an unreasonable disaster. Not only was the enemy attacking the capital and being forced to sue for peace, but it also lost a large area of land south of the Great Wall and near the Lu State.
After the Zhao army retreated from Qi, the Chu army also had to withdraw and return home.
At this time, Qi State has reconciled with Zhao State. If Chu State insists on continuing to attack Qi State, it is likely to anger Zhao State.
Although he was unhappy with Zhao State, Chu State did not want to provoke this behemoth entrenched in the north.
However, the State of Zhao withdrew its troops without consulting the State of Chu, which made everyone in the Chu Dynasty very unhappy and refused to jointly attack the State of Qin with the State of Zhao.
On November 5, Zhao Kuo led the three armies to hold a grand sacrificial ceremony outside Handan City, offering sacrifices to heaven and earth, to ancestors, and to the soldiers who had died fighting for Zhao.
"Send the order, the whole army marches out." After the sacrifice, Zhao Kuo stepped off the altar, got on his horse, waved his long whip, and said loudly.
Woohoo!
The thick sound of the horn sounded, and under the leadership of each general, the front army turned into the rear army, and the rear army turned into the front army. The Zhao army turned into long snakes and marched towards their respective docks in an orderly manner.
Zhao State built dozens of docks outside Handan City, at Niushui, Fushui, Zhangshui and other places. Now all the docks have been requisitioned by the government.
In order to transport all the soldiers at once, Zhao Kuo mobilized all ships in the navy, including some fishing boats, and borrowed fifty large ships from Qi.
At this moment, the south bank of the river has been filled with various ships, which are lined up in long queues, quietly waiting for the soldiers to come over, while the north bank is empty for ships to sail.
There are huge crowds of people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
When the people of the country heard that the monarch was personally on the expedition, they came to see him off one after another. Some men who signed up but were not selected sighed and looked at the soldiers on the expedition with envy, wishing they could take their place and follow King Zhao to the front line to kill the enemy. .
Some children stood on the shore and looked at the warships in the river curiously. It was the first time for them to see such a big ship. The children who were confused raised their heads and asked their parents, but their parents could not answer. It was also their first time to see them.
As the soldiers appeared in front of everyone, cheers and words of encouragement gradually sounded from the shore, and then they converged into local folk songs of Zhao State. Everyone sang songs to send the soldiers off to the battle, and wished the soldiers a triumphant return.
"After I go out to fight, all affairs of the Zhao Kingdom will be handed over to you." Zhao Kuo stood on the shore, his eyes slowly swept over the faces of all the ministers, and then he bowed and bowed.
"I will definitely protect the Kingdom of Zhao for your Majesty," the ministers said solemnly.
"Let's go." Zhao Kuo turned around and got on the boat.
Soon, the warship started to move, slowly heading east along the current.
Sea-going ships could not enter small rivers such as Fushui and Niushoushui, so they stopped at Jindukou on the bank of the Yellow River. They had to go to Jindukou of the Yellow River first, and then change to larger ships at Jindukou and head to Xingyang.
"Let's go back." Looking at the ship Zhao Kuo was riding on slowly disappearing from sight, Zhao Sheng felt a little disappointed, waved his sleeves, turned around and walked towards the city.
"I have to work overtime again." Chulong sighed. He was older than Lin Xiangru, and he felt more and more unable to do what he wanted in the past few years.
He had planned to leave the Zhao court a few years ago, but Zhao Kuo had just succeeded to the throne at that time, and he was worried that if he left, he would be misunderstood by Zhao Kuo.
Chulong itself didn't matter, but since his son and grandson were living in Zhao's court, he had to think about his descendants.
Later, doctors helped him recuperate his body and developed a medicine that could extend his life for several years. After Chulong's spirit improved, he gave up his previous thoughts and planned to continue to shine in the court.
But there are so many things this year, and Chulong works overtime with those young people every day, even Lin Xiangru can't support it, let alone him.
"The swallow land needs to be dealt with, grain and grass need to be dealt with, roads need to be built, pastures and breeding farms need to be expanded, armaments need to be built... ugh!" Lin Xiangru also sighed deeply when thinking of the endless government affairs that would never be completed.
In the past, when Zhao Kuo was here, he could help them share some of their burdens. Although Zhao Kuo often acted as a hands-off shopkeeper, when it came to actually handling government affairs, one person could still help them a lot.
"This is simple." Cai Ze said with a smile.
"Oh? If Si Nong has a good way to help us handle government affairs, I still have two bottles of fine wine in my collection. I will give them all to you." Lin Xiangru said.
"I have a robe made of pure white mink fur, without a single stray hair. It was given to me by Lin Hujun, and it is also given to you." Chulong said with some reluctance.
"The government affairs can't be handled completely because there are few people. Can't we just increase the number of people?" Cai Ze said nonchalantly.
"Zhao State needs manpower from top to bottom now. Where can we transfer people?" Lin Xiangru asked.
"Xiang Guo has been staying in the house every day during this period. He must be bored. How many people are there in Handan College, which is as big as Zhao State? Just transfer some here, and there won't be enough manpower." Cai Ze said.
"No." Lin Xiangru immediately refused, "The top group in the academy has been sent to Yandi. Although the rest are also outstanding, they still need to learn, and they have no experience, so it is difficult for them to be qualified for these jobs.
.”
"There is no experience to accumulate. No one is born with experience. They can learn while doing things and accumulate experience at the same time. Moreover, the Prime Minister has forgotten that they have teachers. Although they have no experience, their teachers
I have experience. When my most proud student encounters difficulties, do you think their teacher can help him?" Cai Ze had a sly smile on his face.
He had long been unhappy with the old guys in the academy.
The salary is generous, and I have a job in the college, but I don't do anything. I just hang around after eating every day. In the middle of winter, I still carry a fishing rod and go fishing in the river, freezing like a grandson.
Seeing those people enjoying happiness every day, Cai Zebi felt even worse than working overtime every day.
They were given the task of tutoring students before, but now the students are in charge, so it’s time to play some role.
Cai Ze didn't believe it. Those old guys smiled on the surface every day, but secretly competed behind the scenes. They could watch other people's disciples become famous, while their own disciples accomplished nothing or even messed up things.
Even if he really had the heart to watch, Cai Ze would throw the pot on their heads.
When your disciple messes up, it’s okay for you as a teacher to help him get to the bottom of it.
If the teacher also messes up, it can only be said that this person is just trying to gain fame, and Cai Ze just revoked his treatment, which can also save Zhao State's expenses and leave it to those in need.
Yu Xin stood aside and silently mourned for some teachers in the college. You do nothing every day, and now you are being targeted. I can't save you.
"My two bottles of wine belong to you. I will bring them to you tomorrow." Lin Xiangru said excitedly. Cai Ze was right. It's not that there is no one in Zhao who can use them. There are still many old guys in the college.
In the past, everyone could be too busy, so you could just eat, drink and have fun every day. Now, everyone is too busy, so you should shine!
"It's better to choose a different day than to hit the sun. We won't go back. We will go to the academy instead." Zhao Sheng said loudly, and then got everyone's approval.
Originally, it was not unbearable for everyone to work overtime every day. After all, Zhao Guo has become stronger and stronger due to their efforts, and they also feel very honored.
Their fate has long been tied to Zhao Guo.
The premise is that there is no comparison.
Once there is comparison, there will be harm.
I am so tired every day that I have to drink, but you are here doing nothing and just enjoying happiness. Why?
As everyone walked towards the college, they discussed the offerings and teachers of each branch.
Chulong remained silent on the side, quietly took out a fly-tip pen and a handkerchief from his arms, put the tip of the pen on his lips to moisten it, and put it on his hand to write something.
"What did you write? Show me." Yu Xin asked curiously.
"I have written down all the names you just mentioned. When we get to the academy, we will look for them one by one. No one can escape." Chulong suddenly smiled, revealing a mouth with one third of the teeth missing, which shocked Yu Xin again and again.
He backed up and hit the car wall.
"You are so cruel!"
…
"Your Majesty, all the soldiers have boarded the ship." Qin Kai fell from the sky to the warship and reported with clasped fists.
"Is there any problem?" Zhao Kuo asked as usual.
"The mood of the soldiers is stable. There are no major problems. It's just that a small number of war horses are not suitable for staying on the ship. Some troubles have occurred. They have been dealt with." Qin Kai shook his head.
"Where is the Qi army? Zhao and Qi have just fought, and now they are united. Don't cause any trouble." Zhao Kuo said.
"Your Majesty, the 50,000 troops sent by the State of Qi all fought with the Chu Army before, and they don't have much hatred for our Zhao Army. As for our Zhao Army... we are the victors, and there are almost no casualties. How can we attack the Qi Army?
I have an opinion." Pang Nuan said with a smile.
This time he went out with an army of 70,000 and came back with an army of 69,000.
This is a real achievement. No matter who leads the army in battle, he would not dare to say that the casualties would only be this few.
Pang Nuan was also in a very good mood during this period, smiling at everyone he saw.
"Your Majesty, frontline information." At this time, Liu Ping rushed over from the rear.
This was the news sent by the front line to Handan. After Handan got the news, it sent people to deliver it quickly.
Zhao Kuo received the information, opened it, raised his head and said to everyone: "Qin Wangji has arrived on the battlefield, but he has not launched a counterattack."
Qin Wangji decided to go on a personal expedition much earlier than Zhao Kuo, but Qin needed to recruit troops from all over the country, while Zhao only recruited troops in Handan County. By the time Qin Wangji arrived at the battlefield, Zhao Kuo was already on the way.
"The King of Qin should be waiting for your Majesty, and the State of Qin should know the news about your Majesty's personal expedition." Feng Quji said.
"The King of Qin is very confident. I'm afraid he still doesn't know about the destruction of Yan and the alliance between Qi and Zhao, so he can be so calm." Zhao Kuo said with a smile.
It was normal for the State of Qin to receive news of his personal expedition, and he did not take it to heart.
The purpose of the imperial commander's personal expedition is to boost morale, inspire the determination of the people across the country to fight to the death, and enhance the belief in victory. Whether it is Qin or Zhao, the whole army and all parts of the country will be informed.
This kind of thing cannot be hidden.
In mid-November, Zhao Kuo led his army to the frontline camp.
Le Yi, Tian Dan, Wei Wuji, and Bao Yuan all came out of the city to meet him.
"Everyone, please get up." Zhao Kuo helped the soldiers to their feet, "Let's enter the camp."
"Your Majesty, please." The generals filed in behind Zhao Kuo.
As soon as everyone sat down, a guard suddenly walked in, clasped his fists and said, "Your Majesty, the envoy of the State of Qin wants to see you."
When the generals heard this, their cheerful faces suddenly darkened, and the camp was filled with a solemn atmosphere.
"The Qin army is giving our army a disincentive." Tian Dan said in a deep voice.
As soon as Zhao Kuo arrived in the army, even the benches were not warm, so the Qin army sent envoys.
Qin Wangji obviously wanted to tell Zhao Kuo: I know every move you make, and you are too young to fight with me.
"Let him come in." Zhao Kuo said to the guard.
Soon, the envoy was brought in, it was Lu Buwei.
"Foreign Minister Lu Buwei pays homage to King Zhao." Lu Buwei stepped into the camp, looked around, and his face suddenly sank. In the camp alone, he felt that there were several top counselors, and there were only Fan Ju and him in the Qin army. .
Not to mention famous generals.
In other words, from the famous generals, to the counselors, to the top legions, to the cavalry, to the number of large armies, the Qin army was at a disadvantage in all aspects.
"I didn't expect to see the envoy of Qin here again." Zhao Kuo said with a smile.
"The foreign minister didn't think of it either," Lu Buwei said.
"The King of Qin asked you to come to see me, why?" Zhao Kuo asked.
"This is the letter that the king asked the foreign minister to deliver to King Zhao." Lu Buwei took out a letter from his sleeve and handed it to the guard next to him.
The guard took the letter and checked that there was nothing wrong with it before placing it on the table in front of Zhao Kuo.
Zhao Kuo did not read the letter, but said to Lu Buwei: "Before reading the letter from King Qin, I have one thing to ask the envoy of Qin, and I would like to ask the envoy of Qin to answer truthfully. If the envoy of Qin can tell the truth, if the envoy of Qin is imprisoned in the future,
If you are a prisoner, I can let the envoy of Qin go for once."
"Excuse me, King Zhao." Lu Buwei leaned over and said.
"A few months ago, an extremely bad massacre occurred in Jixi County of our Zhao State. According to the investigation of our Zhao State and Qi State, the gangsters who massacred our Zhao State were paid by people sent by the Qin State. The purpose was to provoke us
The war between Zhao and Qi. I wonder if this is possible?" Zhao Kuo stared deeply into Lu Buwei's eyes and said in a deep voice.
Lu Buwei silently shifted his attention. Although he was not in Xianyang at that time, how could he not know about Fan Ju's plan.
At that time, he also lamented the ingenuity of Fan Ju's plan. Zhao and Qi are both big countries, and they would not explain it at all when encountering such a thing. The two countries would inevitably go to war.
But now, facing Zhao Kuo's questioning, Lu Buwei was at a loss.
As a Qin official, he cannot betray Qin.
However, Lu Buwei's character is to assess the situation. At this time, the strength of the coalition forces far exceeds that of the Qin State. Even if Qin Wangji Yujia personally conquers, the Qin Army is unlikely to win.
In other words, Zhao Kuo's promise to save his life is likely to be put to use.
As for the humiliation Zhao Kuo had given him before, it was nothing in front of Xiao Ming.
"Your Majesty, the foreign minister was still in the army at that time and did not know about the affairs of the court." After struggling for a few seconds, Lu Buwei leaned over and said.
"I understand." Zhao Kuo nodded. "If the Qin envoy is arrested in the future, you can ask to see me, and I will let the Qin envoy go."