The Qin army did not resist and allowed the Zhao army to bind them until the last man.
"Hahaha, Marquis Rang is indeed a trustworthy person." Tian Dan smiled and walked towards Wei Ran. He did not kill Bai Qi, but it was good to capture Wei Ran. Wei Ran's ability was among the best in the world.
"I have completed my last mission and it's time to hit the road." Wei Ran ignored Tian Dan and stroked the sword with his left hand, with infinite nostalgia in his eyes.
Tian Dan's expression suddenly changed. He seemed to realize something and ran towards Wei Ran quickly, but it was already too late.
Wei Ran looked resolutely in the direction of Xianyang, then grabbed the long sword and wiped it on his neck with all his strength. A stream of bright red blood spurted out from his throat.
"Be born as a Qin citizen, die as the soul of Qin!" Wei Ran murmured, and his body suddenly fell to the ground.
"General!" All the Qin troops knelt on the ground. They had previously thought that Wei Ran was greedy for life and fearful of death, so they surrendered to Zhao. Now they finally understood that Wei Ran was not greedy for life and fearful of death, but to save their lives!
From beginning to end, Wei Ran had no intention of living.
Tian Dan was stunned for a moment and sighed deeply. He didn't even expect that Wei Ran was going to commit suicide at first, and by the time he realized it, it was already too late.
"Please general, please allow us to collect the corpse for Marquis Rang." Qin Jun kowtowed three times to Tian Dan and said sadly.
"You guys collect the bodies." Tian Dan waved his hand.
"Thank you, general." Qin Jun thanked him one after another.
"If you were named Ranghou and died in Rangdi, then you should be buried outside Rangcheng." Tian Dan looked at Wei Ran's body and said silently.
"What's going on with you? I've been waiting for you in front for so long and I haven't seen a single soul." At this time, Yan Ju led Zhao Feiqi and rushed from a distance with angry eyes. He saw Tian Dan also there.
, quickly clasped his fists and saluted, and then looked at Wei Ran's body strangely, "Who is dead?"
"Wei Ran." Touman walked up to Yan Ju and whispered what happened just now.
"This old man is so strong, he actually dares to commit suicide." Yan Ju looked at Wei Ran with admiration.
"Jun Duping, are we still chasing him?" Le Cheng looked at Tian Dan.
"Withdraw the troops and stop pursuing them." Tian Dan turned around and walked back. After such a long time, the Qin army had already run far away. There were passes along the way. Even if he caught up with the Qin army, there was nothing he could do to defeat it.
…
On the other side, Wang Ling received an urgent report from King Qin, and his expression suddenly changed.
Lian Po is not so easy to deceive. Even if he deceived Lian Po, Handan, as the capital of the Zhao Kingdom, would not be so easy to capture.
Fan Ju's plan was to gamble with his life and the lives of 50,000 soldiers. No matter he won or lost, they might not come back alive.
"What a cruel heart." Wang Ling's face was ferocious, and he gradually used his right hand to squeeze the letter into a ball, but in the end his face was full of frustration.
He could not disobey the King of Qin's order. Even if he was reluctant in his heart, he could only carry it out.
"Go and call General Qu Xin and General Yang Duanhe." Wang Ling said to his guards.
After a while, Yang Duanhe and Qu Xin stepped into the camp, clasped their fists and said, "General."
"Let's take a look." Wang Ling handed the crumpled letter to the two of them, "I planned to let General Qu Xin lead 5,000 troops to garrison the camp to confuse Lian Po. Yang Duanhe and I will attack Handan."
In the nearly one year of confrontation with Lian Po, the Qin army did not suffer much losses, and the Zhao army's losses were also negligible.
Because for such a long time, the two armies have fought very few times. Except for the initial battle, there have been no disturbances since. At most, they only exchanged insults and quarrels.
Wang Ling understood that with Lian Po's defensive ability and the natural danger of Taihang, let alone an army of 50,000, even if he was given another 50,000, he would not be able to capture it, so he did not sacrifice the lives of the soldiers to die in vain.
The number of the Zhao army was only one-third of the Qin army. It was difficult to defeat the Qin army by taking the initiative to attack, so Lian Po stayed in the city and did not leave.
The two armies just stared at each other for nearly a year...
"When are you leaving?" Yang Duanhe's face also looked unhappy. At first, he didn't understand how a good letter could become like this. He only understood it after reading the content.
"Without further delay, we will set off tonight. No one is allowed to tell anyone before departure." Wang Ling said solemnly. Once Lian Po learned that the Qin army was attacking Handan, the Qin army's plan would completely fail.
"General, I understand." Yang Duanhe nodded solemnly.
"After we leave, the battles and camp patrols will all remain the same. We must not let Zhao Jun notice that the main force of our army is no longer here. It is up to you to complete these tasks." Wang Ling looked at Qu Xin.
"The general will definitely live up to his trust," Qu Xin said, clasping his fists.
At this time, Handan was still immersed in prosperity. No one expected that a large army would attack Handan City in a few days.
"Xiangguo, this is the price of food in various food stores in Handan today." The guard handed a piece of paper to Lin Xiangru. Lin Xiangru took it and looked at it, and sighed deeply. The price of food has gone up again.
If this continues, the price of grain in Handan will exceed the upper limit set by the court in a few days, and the summer harvest is still nearly a month away.
Although the court could impose a ban on rising food prices, it would not last long and would be a huge blow to the court's credibility.
Since Zhao Kuo ascended the throne, Zhao Guo has maintained a very good reputation in the hearts of the people, and Lin Xiangru could not let the court's credibility be destroyed in his own hands.
The best way is to open warehouses to store grain and use real grain to keep grain prices down.
But the State of Zhao no longer had any extra food.
Zhao State seems to have accumulated a lot of food in recent years, but Zhao State spends more, not only to support domestic construction, but also to support frontline operations, as well as the salaries of officials, workers, etc.
The front line was still fighting, and the remaining food could only last until the summer harvest. Lin Xiangru did not dare to give out any food.
"For the present plan, we can only buy grain from Qi." Lin Xiangru thought that South Korea and Wei were also supporting the frontline operations, so there could be no extra grain.
The State of Chu is far away from the State of Zhao, and the previous affairs in the State of Qi had some problems with the State of Zhao, which made the relationship between the two countries not so friendly.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! The only country that lent food to Zhao was Qi.
Although Qi is also attacking Qin, its troops are small and its logistics pressure is not great. Moreover, the country has been at peace for a long time, the people are prosperous, the granaries are full, and there is no shortage of food.
At present, the relationship between the two countries is relatively harmonious. Previously, Zhao State leased a harbor and fishing boats to Qi State, and Qi State agreed.
If Qi State refuses to borrow food, then Zhao State has only one way to go.
Just like the Qin State, low-level titles were exchanged for grain.
But this method is not clever. In essence, it is selling off one's official position. Lin Xiangru will not do this until the end.
"Go and invite Mr. Pingyuan." Lin Xiangru said to the guard.
Soon, Zhao Sheng was invited over.
"Prime Minister." Zhao Sheng leaned over and said.
"This is the price of grain in Handan. It is rising almost every day. If it continues like this, it will exceed the upper limit set by the king in five days at most." Lin Xiangru handed the note to Zhao Sheng, "I plan to exchange grain with Qi State. Pingyuan
What do you think?"
"I wonder what Xiangguo wants to exchange with Qi?" Zhao Sheng asked.
"The latest agricultural tools made by the Mo family, as well as some spices, pearls, jade, and ivory. As for the specific price, Lord Pingyuan will decide." Lin Xiangru said.
While the State of Zhao was developing, the Mohists were not idle. In a few years, they improved a complete set of agricultural tools from plowing, planting, threshing, and shelling, which greatly reduced the time people spent on it.
Nowadays, in the State of Zhao, there are no longer any punishments such as rice pounding and white rice grinding, because with the development of technology, the fatigue level of rice pounding has been greatly reduced, and it is not enough to be used as a punishment to punish prisoners.
Whenever a tool was invented or improved, Zhao would immediately send someone to verify it, then reward the inventor, and spread the tool throughout the country as quickly as possible.
I have to say that high rewards can indeed stimulate people's potential.
There are things that no one has been able to come up with before, but now someone comes up with something new in just a few years.
As for spices, jade, etc., they were basically transported from the Western Regions. Lin Xiangru liked these very much and sold them very well in Zhao State. However, in order to convince Qi State, he had no choice but to reluctantly give up.
"How much food do we exchange?" Zhao Sheng asked.
"At least three million stones, five million stones will do, in short, the more, the better." Lin Xiangru said.
"..." Zhao Sheng choked for a moment. He had no idea that Lin Xiangru had such a big appetite. He opened his mouth and asked for three million grains. He really thought that the whole country of Qi could not finish all the grains.
"I... will try my best. I will leave for Qi State tomorrow." Zhao Sheng sighed. To be honest, he had no hope that Qi State would not sell so much food.
"This is a matter for Lord Pingyuan. When the prime minister goes to Qi, he can bring a set of farm tools and a Mohist disciple with him." Lin Xiangru said.
The whole set of farming tools produced by the Mo family is indeed very useful. If Zhao State was not really short of food, he would not be able to use it to exchange grain with Qi State.
"I understand." Zhao Sheng nodded.
"Now that your Majesty has won victory on the front line, we cannot hold Him back." Lin Xiangru said.
Although the front line is fighting, the development of Zhao State has not been greatly affected. Roads are being paved, colleges are being built, and breeding farms are being expanded. The only thing that has a greater impact is food.
If food runs out, Zhao's development will stagnate or even reverse in an instant.
However, as long as the food supply continues, Lin Xiangru will have the confidence to return a prosperous and powerful Zhao State to Zhao Kuo's hands.
"I will definitely try my best." Zhao Sheng said solemnly, turned around and walked outside.
Lin Xiangru continued to handle government affairs with his head down. He was required to review and approve the approval of construction in various places, the review of cultivated land area, the funding applications of farmers, Mohists, and engineers, as well as research results.
"What the hell? Why do Shi Shen and Gan De need so much money?" Lin Xiangru suddenly saw an application form with the names of Gan De and Shi Shen on it. The two old men actually applied for a research fund of 300 million yuan.
Zhao Guo did not spend so much money on shipbuilding!
"Let me take a look." Yu Xin snatched the application form from Lin Xiangru's hand, looked down and was stunned for a moment, "These two old men... are amazing! They actually... want to go to heaven!"
"God?" Zhou Zi came over curiously.
"They say that the earth is not the center of the universe, but a ball, and they call it the earth. The moon is also a ball, and its area is extremely vast. According to their theory, as long as people fly high enough, they can fly from the earth to
The moon goes up." Yu Xin said with great admiration.
He has never admired anyone in his life. From now on, these two old men count as one.
"Isn't this nonsense?" Lin Xiangru snatched the application form, made a big cross, and threw it into the corner. It would not be returned to Gan De and Shi Shen until at least a month or two later.
"Actually... I think what they said is reasonable. Maybe we can really fly to the moon." Yu Xin said.
"If you think it makes sense, you can give them money. Anyway, I don't have any." Lin Xiangru said angrily.
"Then forget it. This thing is a bottomless pit. It costs 300 million to get up. Who knows how much it will cost later." Yu Xin said quickly.
Even if he sells the entire Yu family, he still won't be able to raise 300 million yuan, let alone the subsequent expenses. He just gets bored dealing with government affairs, relaxes, and chats.
It would be impossible for him to support Gan De and Shi Shen's plan.
"You guys say...if the earth is really a ball, why didn't we fall?" Zhou Zi said curiously.
"We might stand on top of the ball, otherwise it won't fall." Kong Bin said casually.
"What about down there?" Zhou Zi asked.
"Isn't there no one down there?" Kong Bin said.
"..." Zhou Zi suddenly felt that what Kong Bin said made sense, but he felt something was wrong.
"Gande said the earth rotates." Yu Xin said.
Zhou Zi looked at Kong Bin, waiting for the other party to explain.
"Why are you looking at me? I'm not studying this. You go ask Gan De." Kong Bin said righteously without blushing.
"Wu'an Jun wrote a letter, requesting the imperial court to allocate a batch of money and food to help the construction of Yan. In addition, the library in Jicheng has been built, but a large number of books are still needed." Zhou Zi threw a memorial in front of Kong Bin.
"Why give it to me?" Kong Bin's face darkened.
"You are in charge of the country's finances. If not handed over to you, who will be handed over to you?" Zhou Zi said matter-of-factly.
Kong Bin was upset, not because he had no money, but because he suddenly discovered that he was nominally in charge of the national finance. In fact, when Zhao Kuo was there, the financial power was controlled by Zhao Kuo. When Zhao Kuo was away, the financial power was
Lin Xiangru or Wei Wuji was in charge.
As a dignified internal historian, he had never really been in charge of the country's finances. If not for Zhou Zi's reminder, he would have forgotten that he was the internal historian.
"The money has been approved first, the books will be sent over in a few days, and the food...just wait," Lin Xiangru said.
Every time Zhao State occupied a place, it not only did not impose excessive taxes, but reduced taxes. Each reduction or exemption started in three years or even five years. This made Zhao State's territory continue to expand, its population continue to increase, and its national power continued to increase, but the newly added
The territory cannot feed back Zhao State in a short period of time, and Zhao State has to continue to spend money, increasing Zhao State's burden.
Lin Xiangru once reminded Zhao Kuo that even if we don't impose excessive taxes, we should collect normal taxes at least. However, Zhao Kuo insisted on this and there was nothing he could do.