"Your Majesty, something bad has happened. King Zhao... King Zhao is here." The minister pushed aside the guards and rushed into the palace in a panic.
"This day... has finally come." King Han sighed deeply, feeling as if he had aged ten or twenty years in an instant.
He stood up slowly, and with the help of the palace maid, he changed his ordinary clothes into a crown suit, "Summon the civil and military ministers, open the city gate, and welcome King Zhao into the city."
After the Wei and Han troops took refuge with Zhao Kuo on the battlefield last year, he knew that this day would come sooner or later. Zhao Kuo had already won over the hearts and minds of most Korean people, and he had long lost the capital to compete with Zhao.
The only consolation is that it was King Wei who was embarrassed on the battlefield, not him. I heard that after King Wei returned to Daliang, he was so ashamed and angry that he couldn't bear to fall ill.
"Your Majesty...that's the King of Zhao." The minister said anxiously. The Zhao army has surrounded Xinzheng and welcomes the King of Zhao into the city. What's the difference between surrendering the whole of Korea to the State of Zhao!
"If you guys have the courage to fight Zhao Jun, then summon the strong men in the city to defend the city." King Han said calmly and strode outside.
The old minister's face suddenly turned red. He just said casually to express his loyalty to the King of Han. How could he dare to fight the Zhao army.
"I will open the city gate and welcome Zhao Jun into the city." The minister lowered his head and left the palace.
…
Outside the city, hundreds of thousands of troops were waiting in formation, flying flags and hunting.
Many of the soldiers are Koreans. Now that the capital is under siege, their faces are not only not angry at all, but full of joy.
I can finally become a Zhao!
They have been waiting for this day for too long.
"Do you think King Han should open the city gates and give up resistance? Or should he defend the capital and fight to the end?" Zhao Kuo said with a smile.
"Don't you have the answer in your heart?" Le Yi said with a smile. Until now, there has been no sound of beating drums to summon soldiers in the city. The result can be imagined.
If the King of Han really decided to fight to the end, the drums in the city would be beating and strong men would be summoned to defend the city.
As expected, not long after, the gates of Xinzheng City slowly opened.
"Welcome King Zhao to the city." A minister walked out first, stood by the city gate, and shouted loudly.
"It seems that King Han is still very knowledgeable." Zhao Kuo said with a smile.
"Your Majesty, the general will enter the city first to check out the situation." Gai Nie said, cupping his fists.
Zhao Kuo nodded.
Gai Nie led a part of the imperial guards into the city, and after fully controlling the city gate and the surrounding area, Zhao Kuo led Tian Dan, Wei Wuji and the remaining imperial guards towards the city.
Le Yi stayed outside, just in case.
Soon, Zhao Kuo came outside the palace and saw King Han waiting here.
The two people's eyes intertwined in mid-air, and King Han slowly knelt down on the ground holding the big seal: "Greetings to King Zhao."
"King Han, please get up." Zhao Kuo said.
"I am willing to offer all the land and population of Korea, but I only ask King Zhao to leave Xinzheng to me as a city." The King of Han did not get up, but bowed down and bowed.
"The King of Han originally had this opportunity. The world is huge and there are many unclaimed lands. Not to mention a city, even a fiefdom as big as Korea is not impossible. Although the land is a little desolate, it is possible to bring some
The Chinese developed it in the past, and two generations later, the strength is definitely no less than that of South Korea today. But the King of Korea has disappointed everyone."
"I once said that our three Jins have the same origin. The Han family has been very kind to me, the Zhao family. Zhao, Wei, and Han should work together to deal with the outside world. For so many years since I have been on the throne, I have destroyed Yan, conquered Qin, and punished Chu, but only
We have never attacked Wei and South Korea. But South Korea and Wei have repeatedly disappointed us. We have a good temper, but betrayal always comes with a price. What does King Han think?" Zhao Kuo walked up to King Han and looked down at Han.
king.
Once upon a time, the biggest obstacle to Zhao's unification of the world came from within.
Wei Wuji, Wei Qi, Tian Dan, Han Fei, Tian Shu, etc. are all royal nobles from various countries and have deep feelings for their mother country. When Zhao State attacks their mother country, they are likely to use various methods to obstruct it.
Later, Xunzi told Zhao Kuo that he could help him solve the internal problems, but he would have to pay some price.
The price is fiefdom.
There is no need to retain the national status of each country, even if it is just to retain a city as a fiefdom, it will be acceptable.
Zhao Kuo said that the world is big and the few can accommodate them. When the time comes, they can change the title to other places. They don't even need to change the name of the country. They just need to recognize Zhao as the suzerain state.
But the premise is that they are interested.
The State of Zhao did not need to pay any price for giving them the land. There were indeed many unclaimed lands in the world, but the population of the Central Plains was limited.
For every additional fiefdom, the Zhao State would allocate part of its population and wealth.
Essentially, it is weakening one's own strength.
Therefore, Zhao Kuo would only choose to retain their country and transfer it to other places if they were aware of their interests.
If you don't understand the interests, then the country will be destroyed!
"Please ask King Zhao to give South Korea another chance." King Han kept kowtowing.
"I don't believe that Han Fei didn't tell King Han about this, but King Han has already made his choice, hasn't he?" Zhao Kuo stepped over King Han and entered the palace.
Whether it was Wei Wuji, Han Fei, or Tian Dan, even if they did not say it directly, they would implicitly tell King Wei, King Han, King Qi, and Zhao's plan, but in the end only King Qi listened.
To be fair, the King of Wei and the King of Han cannot be blamed for this.
Since ancient times, the Central Plains has been the richest and most prosperous place in the world, and Wei and Korea have lived here for generations. The kings of Wei and Han are the most noble people in the world, holding countless wealth.
As a result, the State of Zhao told the King of Wei and the King of Han, stop resisting and surrender obediently. When the time comes, I will move you thousands of miles away to keep you company with poisonous insects and ferocious beasts.
Let you enjoy the journey of your ancestors.
Do you think I am kind?
The kings of Wei and Han would not agree if they were a bit temperamental.
I lived a good life in the Central Plains. You moved us thousands of miles away and you still expect us to be grateful to you?
Go to hell!
I dream about killing you.
The ancestor's hard work is indeed worthy of admiration, but who has a good life and thinks about suffering every day?
The ministers of the State of Zhao accepted it because they did not have a fiefdom in the first place. At this time, the State of Zhao gave them a fiefdom. Even if the fiefdom was not that good and would require several generations of development to become prosperous, they would be very happy.
After all, it was a fiefdom!
But who are the kings of Wei and Han?
They are the kings of the Central Plains Kingdom. Are you asking them to give up the prosperity in front of them and go to the backwoods?
Yes, two or three generations of hard work can indeed rebuild the foundation of the kingdom.
But I am a kingdom now, so why should I continue to work hard to develop it for two or three generations?
In the eyes of Zhao Kuo's monarchs and ministers, they were already very kind. Even Wei Wuji and Han Fei didn't say anything. Instead, they were very grateful to Zhao Kuo for his broadmindedness and benevolence. After all, for hundreds of years, few kings who had subjugated their country had a good end.
.
Wei and South Korea can not only continue the state of Zuo, but also obtain a fiefdom. What should they be dissatisfied with?
But in the eyes of King Wei and King Han, it was completely different.
This is also a point of conflict between the two sides.
Without experiencing a real defeat, the kings of Wei and Han did not feel that they would definitely lose, and it was impossible to give up resistance.
But as long as the kings of Wei and Han turn against Zhao and fight to the death, Zhao Kuo will no longer retain their kingdom.
The King of Wei and the King of Han are not indispensable to the State of Zhao. The State of Zhao retains their Zuo just to give their ministers face and kindness.
That's all.
As for King Qi, he is a weirdo, and he has been lying down for a long time...
King Han collapsed to the ground, his face ashen.
If I had known... If I had known this, I should not have listened to King Wei and insisted on uniting to attack Zhao.
Now it's better, the fief is gone, the country is gone, and the throne is gone!
Even if it is a wild land, even if it takes several generations of cultivation, even if it requires a long and difficult journey, it is still better than it is now!
Under the Nine Springs, how can a few people face their ancestors?
Unfortunately, there is no regret medicine in the world.
Zhao Kuo entered the main hall, walked to the throne of King Han and sat down. The Korean ministers wisely handed Zhao Kuo the household registration, taxation, revenue and expenditure, treasury of various places, maps, official lists, etc.
Zhao Kuo took a general look and put it aside.
There are so many things that he cannot read by himself. Even if there is a problem, it will not be found out in a short time.
"Move them all back and hand them over to the Prime Minister." Zhao Kuo waved his hand and said, the elderly should use their spare energy more, otherwise they will run out of time.
Enjoyment should be left to these young people.
"Your Majesty, King Han..." Tian Dan glanced outside the palace and whispered.
"Send them to Handan together, and we can provide them with delicious food and drink," Zhao Kuo said.
"Then those concubines in the harem..." Tian Dan said.
"Those who have heirs will be with the King of Han, and those who have no heirs will be given to the generals in the army." Zhao Kuo waved his hand and said, "The others will be pushed back first. The military merits of the generals have been checked long ago, and the rewards will be distributed as soon as possible.
Yes, if the Korean treasury is not enough, it will be transferred from Handan."
Wei Jun and Han Jun have been fighting against him for a year, and Zhao Jun's rewards have long been distributed to his family by the court. However, Wei and Han are not in Zhao's hands yet, and Wei Jun and Han Jun's rewards have not been distributed.
Although everyone did not express dissatisfaction, Zhao Kuo still wanted to distribute the reward as soon as possible to stabilize the morale of the army.
"General Mo, let's go right now." Le Yi said with his fists clasped.
"By the way, where is Han Prime Minister Zhang Ping?" Zhao Kuo looked at the ministers around him.
"Your Majesty, Prime Minister Zhang has been dead for five years." The minister leaned over and said.
"It's been five years, I don't know! Do you have any heirs left?" Zhao Kuo asked.
"I have two sons," the minister said.
"Take me over and have a look." Zhao Kuo said.
"Prime Minister Zhang's eldest son is only eleven years old. If the king wants to see him, he can just send someone to tell him. Why should he condescend to go?" the minister advised.
"Prime Minister Zhang has been friends with me for a long time, so I thought I would go and pay homage," Zhao Kuo said.
Soon, Zhao Kuo arrived outside Zhang's mansion.
Everyone in the Zhang family had already received the news. Since there was no male host, the hostess Han could only lead everyone in the family to stand in front of the door to greet him.
On each side of the Han family was a child, one about ten years old, handsome and handsome, with lively eyes, and very smart at first sight. The other was five or six years old, and also inherited the Zhang family's handsomeness.
"Mr. Zhang Han pays homage to the king." When Mrs. Han saw Zhao Kuo, she hurriedly paid her respects.
Although Zhang Ping has passed away, his connections are still there and he will know everything that needs to be known.
"Everyone, get up." Zhao Kuo leaned over and touched the little head of the child standing on Han's left hand side, and asked with a smile, "What's your name?"
Han looked at Zhao Kuo nervously. Their family had high power in Korea, and even the King of Han would give them face, but these powers were worthless in front of Zhao Kuo.
As long as Zhao Kuo gives an order, Zhang Mansion will be razed to the ground in an instant.
What she didn't know was that in Zhao Kuo's case, her child was much more important than the King of Han.
"Your Majesty, my name is Zhang Liang." The child looked at Zhao Kuo, not afraid, and said calmly.
"That's right. With this calmness alone, your future achievements will be no less than that of your father." Zhao Kuo said with a smile, then looked at the other child, "Little guy, what about you?"
"My name is Zhang Sheng." the little guy said.
Historically, Zhang Liang's younger brother died early, and he didn't even leave his name, nor was he buried well. All his family property was used by Zhang Liang to bribe assassins to assassinate Qin Shihuang.
"I didn't bring you a gift this time, so I will give this jade pendant to you two brothers. If you encounter difficulties in the future, you can use this jade pendant to find me in the palace." Zhao Kuo took off the jade pendant from his waist and put it on
In the hands of Zhang Liang.
Zhang Liang looked at his mother, and Zhao Kuo patted Zhang Liang's head: "Take it."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Zhang Liang stopped refusing and took it and put it in his arms.
Mrs. Han quickly led everyone in the mansion to kneel down to express gratitude. She didn't know why Zhao Kuo helped the Zhang Mansion. Maybe it was because of her dead husband, but for Mr. Zhang, it was a good thing after all.
The Korean ministers and aristocrats were filled with envy, and secretly cursed Zhang in their hearts for being lucky enough to be favored by King Zhao.
If Korea dies, the Zhang family, as a Korean aristocrat, will inevitably be affected, and it is not impossible for them to become commoners from then on. There are many such examples.
But now that Zhang has received the protection of King Zhao, not only will he not be suppressed, but he may even be able to advance to a higher level.
When Korea was there, the Zhang family and his son served as prime ministers for the fifth generation of kings. When Korea disappeared, they relied on King Zhao again.
Who can I talk to to explain this!
Some people even doubted whether Zhao Kuo fell in love with Zhang Ping's widow Han. After all, although Han was already in her thirties or forties, she was well-maintained, with snow-white skin, able to outshine frost and snow, with a slender waist and weak Liu Fufeng.
Although not as good as a seventeen or eighteen year old girl, there are people who are just like this...
Moreover, Zhao Kuo has a criminal record...
Prince Chu of Qin snatched his wife away before he was dead, not to mention Zhang Ping was still dead.
Thinking of this, the eyes around him became pitiful and envious.
I'm afraid Han doesn't know yet that he is about to fall into the tiger's mouth.
If Zhao Kuo knew what these people were thinking, he would definitely order them all arrested in anger.
He is not a thief, he just keeps an eye on other people's wives.
Zhao Ji has a reason, okay?
"Take me to the Zhang Xiangling tablet." Zhao Kuo said. Although his purpose was to meet the young Zhang Liang, since he was here, he must still pay homage.