"Your Majesty, it's not good, Zhao Jun...Zhao Jun is coming!" At this time, a guard rushed in from outside in a panic.
"How is that possible? Didn't King Zhao say that he would give me Qin three days?" Zhong was shocked.
"King Zhao, you are such a villain!" Qin Wangzhu clenched his fists with both hands and walked out with a livid face, "Immediately summon the people of the city to defend the city."
"It shouldn't be." Lu Buwei had some doubts in his heart. Although King Zhao was not a good person, under normal circumstances, he would not break his promise. And destroying Qin at this time was not the best choice for Zhao.
It is in Zhao's best interest to keep the half-dead Qin State alive.
Soon, Qin Wangzhu led a group of civil and military personnel to the top of the city.
"Where is the general of Zhao Kingdom?" Wang Jian walked to the front and asked loudly.
"I am the general of the Zhao army." Li Mu clapped his horse and stepped forward.
"King Zhao said he would give Qin three days, why did he suddenly go back on his word?" Wang Jian said.
"Hahaha, it's crowded outside Xianyang City. I just chose to station troops outside Jingyang City. Please don't be afraid, King Qin. I will never attack the city within three days." Li Mu laughed loudly, turned and left.
Qin Wangzhu's eyes were sinister, and he slapped the female wall with his palms, wishing to kill all the Zhao troops outside the city.
The mighty Qin State, when has it ever been so humiliated?
"King Zhao is trying to force Qin to agree to those conditions." Fan Ju said in a deep voice.
"I will never agree to the conditions of Zhao State, not even one of them! I don't believe it, Zhao Kuo dares to destroy our Qin State." Qin Wangzhu said firmly.
"Your Majesty, you must not act on your own initiative. This is what King Yan thought before. Where is Yan State now?" Lu Buwei said quickly.
When Qin Wangzhu heard this, his momentum suddenly dropped. After a long while, he said: "If I cede the land to South Korea and Wei, sir, do you think South Korea and Wei will side with our Qin country?"
He would rather cede land to Han and Wei than to cede land to Zhao.
"Your Majesty, King Zhao is now the overlord of the world with the momentum of great victory. It is impossible for South Korea and Wei to betray Zhao at this time. To say the least, even if South Korea and Wei have this intention, they cannot do it.
After more than a year of war, South Korea and Wei were left empty at home. At this time, they were at war with the Chu State, and they could not muster the strength to compete with the Zhao State." Lu Buwei said.
The two countries of Korea and Wei were empty, and Qin had more than half of the credit.
Of course, Qin had no choice. South Korea and Wei were blocked to the east of Qin. If Qin wanted to go east, it had to attack Han and Wei.
"Could it be that... we can only agree to those conditions of Zhao State?" Qin Wangzhu gritted his teeth, feeling extremely humiliated.
Back then, when the Qin State was defeated by Tian Wen and Kuang Zhang, they only returned a few cities to Hangu Pass. Never had they signed such a treaty that was so humiliating and humiliating to the country.
"I think that as long as we can get Zhao to retreat, it is worth paying some price. And... although King Zhao has offered those conditions, it is not impossible to negotiate." Lu Buwei said.
"Sir, are you willing to send Zhao Jun as an envoy?" Qin Wangzhu said.
"I wish to go." Lu Buwei leaned over and said.
When Lu Buwei rushed to Xianyang, Zhao Kuo was resettling the victims. Although these victims were Qin people before, they will be Zhao people in the future. If you want to integrate them into Zhao State and make the world truly unified, you must not treat them differently.
.
Historically, although Qin Shihuang completed political unification, the real unification of the world was completed in the Han Dynasty.
After receiving the report, Zhao Kuo handed the victims to Liu Ping and returned to the camp. When he saw Lu Buwei, Zhao Kuo greeted him with a smile: "Mr. Buwei, haha, I didn't expect that Mr. Buwei returned to Qin.
"
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is very kind to the foreign ministers, and the foreign ministers must not let down His Royal Highness the Crown Prince." Lu Buwei leaned over and saluted. When he saw the mud on Zhao Kuo's body, his eyes moved and he asked, "The king was just..."
"Oh, I am resettling the victims. Although I can use any means on the battlefield, they are suffering because of me after all, and I cannot ignore them. Besides, they will be my people from Zhao in the future. As the king of Zhao, I have the responsibility and obligation to help everyone.
Zhao people." Zhao Kuo said with a smile.
Lu Buwei's heart sank. The two sides had not yet negotiated, and Zhao Kuo mistook the people of Xianyang for Zhao people. It seemed... that this mission was a bit difficult.
"By the way, Mr. Lu's visit this time...is it because King Qin agreed to my conditions?" Zhao Kuo said.
"To King Zhao, our Qin State is willing to pay a certain price to let Zhao State retreat, but the conditions should be further discussed. Our Qin State was once a great power in the world anyway, and the Qin family and the Zhao family are from the same lineage of Ying.
We are still a family together. If the King of Qin issues an edict against himself, the Zhao family will not look good," Lu Buwei said.
"When the Qin State massacred my Zhao family's people, did they ever think that they were the same family as the Zhao family hundreds of years ago?" Zhao Kuo said coldly.
"King Zhao Mingjian, the massacre of the people in the Zhao country was the plan of Prime Minister Fan Ju. The king was still the prince at the time and did not know about it. Otherwise, with the kindness of the king, he would have stopped this." Lu Buwei said.
"In this case, the sinner's edict will be waived, and the King of Qin does not need to go to Zhao to pay homage to the deceased. Your Qin country only needs to hand over Fan Ju's head." Zhao Kuo tapped his fingers lightly on the chair and said lightly.
said.
When Lu Buwei heard the first half of the words, he felt a little relieved. But when he heard the second half, his expression suddenly changed.
If Qin State kills Fan Ju and gives it to Zhao State, who will dare to plan for Qin State in the future?
"What? Qin can't even satisfy this small request?" Zhao Kuo asked in a deep voice.
Lu Buwei wiped the sweat from his forehead. After so many missions, this was the first time that he was so panicked. If he had known better, he would not have mentioned this matter and let the King of Qin issue an imperial edict!
"Your Majesty, please don't embarrass the foreign minister. This kind of condition is not something that the foreign minister can agree to." Lu Buwei said bitterly.
"It's better for the Qin envoy to go back and let the King of Qin come to talk to me in person." Zhao Kuo said.
"..." Lu Buwei didn't say anything. When Qin Wangzhu came to Zhao Jun's camp, wouldn't it be like a sheep entering a tiger's mouth?
"What? Does the envoy of Qin think that I will be as shameless as King Ji of Qin?" Zhao Kuo asked.
"It's not... it's..." Lu Buwei quickly shut his mouth. Zhao Kuo's question would have problems no matter how he answered it.
"The foreign minister thinks that we should put this aside for the time being. Let's discuss other conditions first. What does King Zhao think?" After a while, Lu Buwei calmed down and then spoke again.
"Okay." Zhao Kuo nodded.
"The first condition is that Qin State can cede all the east of Jingshui River to Zhao State, but Zhao State must return Longxi County and Xianyang to Qin State." Lu Buwei said.
"East of Jingshui, I want Longxi County, Zhangye County, and Xianyang. If Qin doesn't agree, I will send troops to defeat them." Zhao Kuo said firmly.
Crossing Hangu Pass, Wuguan Pass, and Guanzhong were all smooth sailing for the Zhao cavalry, and it was only a matter of time before the Zhao cavalry defeated them.
"Xianyang is the capital of our Qin State." Lu Buwei said solemnly.
"From now on, it belongs to my country, Zhao." Zhao Kuo said, "I can make a concession. The Qin Kingdom can cede the 23 cities around Xianyang and the 11 cities east of Xianyang."
"Thank you, King Zhao." Lu Buwei took a deep breath, "Qin State can agree to the second condition, but for the last condition, Qin State cannot raise 5 million stones of grain and 50,000 pieces of Shu brocade no matter what."
"Qin can pay it off in five years, with one million stones of grain and ten thousand pieces of Shu brocade every year. As for the interest, I will waive it for Qin." Zhao Kuo waved his hand.
What he wants is that Qin will not be able to be an enemy of Zhao for a period of time in the future, but he does not want Qin people to starve to death.
"The foreign minister will go back and report to the king." Lu Buwei leaned over and said, turned and left the camp.
By the time Lu Buwei returned to Jingyang, it was already evening, but none of the Qin monarchs and ministers had any rest. They were all sitting in the palace waiting for him.
"I would like to have a private conversation with the king." Lu Buwei looked around and finally leaned forward and said. Zhao Kuo's conditions cannot be announced, otherwise it will cause panic.
"Your Majesty, please retire." Before Qin Wangzhu could say anything, the civil and military officials withdrew wisely.
"Your Majesty, the King of Zhao has canceled the conditions for the King to issue an imperial edict to sin against himself and go to the Kingdom of Zhao to worship the Zhao people." Lu Buwei leaned over and said.
Qin Wangzhu was overjoyed when he heard Lu Buwei continue: "But... King Zhao asked me, the State of Qin, to hand over the head of the Prime Minister to the State of Zhao."
"The King of Zhao deceived people too much and did not take me seriously at all. If I agree, how will our Qin country recruit talented people from all over the world in the future?" Qin Wangzhu said through gritted teeth.
Lu Buwei told Qin Wangzhu the remaining conditions, then bowed and resigned.
The rest of the matter was beyond his control, and he didn't want to get involved.
"Go and invite the prince and the prime minister." After a while, Qin Wangzhu said.
After Zichu and Fan Ju arrived, Qin Wangzhu explained Zhao Kuo's conditions and then asked: "What do you think?"
Fan Ju's heart suddenly became cold, and he felt the chill in Qin Wangzhu's words.
"I am willing to sacrifice my life for Qin." Fan Ju quickly knelt on the ground.
"Quickly invite the Prime Minister. Even if I fight with Zhao Guo, I will never sacrifice the Prime Minister." Qin Wangzhu quickly helped Fan Ju and said kindly.
"I am guilty." Fan Ju lowered his head and said.
"Now that things have come to a point, I can only issue an imperial edict to sin against myself, and then go to the Kingdom of Zhao to worship those untouchables. Since I have done something, I have to bear the consequences, and I can't escape it." Qin Wangzhu sighed, got up and walked outside.
go.
Although it was the scorching heat, Fan Ju felt like he was in the cold winter when he heard Qin Wangzhu's words. Who should bear the consequences, and who can't escape...
Fan Ju returned home in a panic, immediately called his two sons, and said quickly: "Go back and pack your things immediately, and we will leave Jingyang immediately."
He has no intention of dedicating himself to the Qin State. The only one the Qin State can make him devote his whole heart to is Qin Wangji. As for the others, he is not worthy.
When the two sons heard this, they immediately realized that something serious had happened and turned around and left without asking.
They had just escaped to Jingyang a few days ago and had very few belongings, so they packed them quickly.
But it's too late.
A Qin army surrounded the house...
The next day, news came from Jingyang that Prime Minister Fan Ju had committed suicide!
"This is Fan Ju's head. Please ask King Zhao to see it." Lu Buwei handed the wooden box to Gai Nie. After inspecting it, Gai Nie nodded to Zhao Kuo.
"Qin has done a good job. I have seen Qin's sincerity." Zhao Kuo laughed heartily.
"We, the State of Qin, have agreed to all the conditions of the State of Zhao. King Zhao can withdraw his troops." Although the State of Qin's goal of letting the State of Zhao withdraw its troops was achieved, there was no smile on Lu Buwei's face.
"Wait a minute. We have finished negotiating the conditions for Zhao's withdrawal. What about the conditions for Qi's withdrawal?" Zhao Kuo glanced at Wang Sunjia next to him.
Wang Sunjia also looked at Zhao Kuo in surprise. He had no idea that there was anything going on with the Qi State, and Zhao Kuo hadn't told him about it before!
"You..." Lu Buwei suddenly stood up. Seeing Zhao Kuo's playful smile, he had to sit back, faced Wang Sunjia, clasped his fists and said, "Dare you ask Qi what are the conditions for withdrawing its troops?"
Wang Sunjia did not speak, but looked at Zhao Kuo.
"The same trade conditions as our Zhao State, exemption from all tariffs. In addition, Qin State will compensate Qi State for five million shi of grain and 50,000 pieces of Shu brocade. It will be paid back in five years." Zhao Kuo said.
"...Okay." Lu Buwei looked ferocious, broke his teeth and swallowed, "If there is nothing else, the foreign minister will withdraw."
"Wait a minute." Zhao Kuo said again.
"What else does King Zhao have to do?" Lu Buwei stared at Zhao Kuo with his red eyes.
Zhao Kuo clapped his hands, and soon, more than 30 men and women were brought into the camp. They were the princes, princesses and princesses of Qin captured by Zhao, as well as Qin Wangzhu's young wife and Zichu's crown prince.
"Young Master, save me." Seeing Lu Buwei, the princes, princes and grandsons shouted one after another.
Zhao Jun has not treated them well in the past few days. He not only gives them rough meals, but also makes them work.
"Each person has 100,000 shi of grain, a total of thirty-three people. I will give Qin a discount of 3 million shi of grain." Zhao Kuo said with a smile.
At this moment, the smile on Zhao Kuo's face was more terrifying than the devil in Lu Buwei's eyes.
"Three young masters, seven princes and grandsons, and these, there are fifteen people in total, and one and a half million stones of grain. As for the others, let King Zhao handle it." Lu Buwei quickly nodded at a few people.
Including all the princes, princes and grandchildren, the princes and concubines of Zi Chu, and the concubines who gave birth to sons for the King of Qin or the prince. As for the maidens and princesses, the concubines who did not give birth to sons for the King of Qin or the prince were all abandoned by Lu Buwei.
These days, a mother is only as valuable as her son, and concubines without sons have no value.
The same goes for the father-in-law and the daughter-in-law. To the Qin State, they are just tools for marriage.
Now Qin is worried about internal and external troubles and does not have so much food, so it can only throw away the worthless ones.
"Please Mr. Lu, please take us away." The ladies and concubines knelt down and begged Lu Buwei.
No matter how those young ladies begged, Lu Buwei's expression did not change at all.
"Foreign ministers, please retire." Lu Buwei said with his fists clasped, and quickly walked outside.
"Please, Your Majesty, let us go..." Seeing that Lu Buwei had left, the ladies and concubines knelt down and begged Zhao Guo again.
"Your Majesty, why don't you put them all back? Lu Buwei just abandoned them. After they go back, they will definitely say bad things about Lu Buwei..." Li Si walked to Zhao Kuo and whispered.
Zhao Kuo's eyes lit up, Fan Ju was dead, and the Prime Minister of Qin would soon become Lu Buwei. Qin Wangzhu and Prince Chu both trusted Lu Buwei very much. If these women were used to make Qin become discordant, it would be harmful to Zhao.