Zhang Er managed to escape by himself alone. Looking back at the missing Xiongnu camp, he comforted himself: "The Huns are not good at making things, but my junior brother is still useful to them and will not die."
"Alas! Looking at this situation, the Qin people have already won a great victory. Li Mu, General Li Mu, a great hero of Zhao who is as famous as Master, unexpectedly surrendered to Qin."
Thinking of this, Zhang Er felt an inexplicable anger rising in his heart, "My Zhao army of 200,000 people was massacred by Wang Jian, Li Mu, you actually surrendered to the Qin State! You are really unworthy of being the military god of the North, and you have betrayed the trust of the people of the Zhao State in you.
.”
"Hmph, I, Zhang Er, swear here that one day I will rebuild the Kingdom of Zhao."
Because of today's humiliation, he made an oath to the boundless wilderness, giving himself the lofty ideal of enduring shame and living.
In this way, he felt less guilty towards his junior brother Chen Yu.
Because, senior brother, I still have a reason to live.
After some mental preparation, Zhang Er patted the horse's butt and galloped southward.
…
"Who?! Come out!"
"Archer~"
Zhang Er heard the familiar Zhao accent and was so surprised that he almost shed tears.
He raised his hands and shouted: "I am from Zhao, don't shoot your arrows, I am from Zhao~"
Li Zuoche waved his hand to stop the sentry who was about to draw his bow, and stepped forward to ask in person: "Where are you from? Why do you come from the north?"
When Zhang Er saw their attire, his heart moved and he recognized that they were frontier army cavalry.
He saluted Li Zuoche very appropriately and said: "I am Zhang Er, the eldest disciple of Zhao Xia and Lu Goujian. May I ask if this general is under the command of General Li Mu?"
There seems to be such a person as Zhang Er, a disciple of the Mohist hero Lu Goujian.
Li Zuoche continued to stare at him calmly, "Yes, I am under the command of General Li Mu."
"My former teacher Lu Goujian and General Li Mu are friends. I hope the general will take me to pay homage to General Li Mu."
He was carrying a Huns scimitar and there were blood stains on his body. He came from the north. Could it be that he was escaping from the Huns.
Wait, Mohist disciple!
Li Zuoche thought of the sudden appearance of the Huns' bows and arrows with a far greater range than before, and he became deeply suspicious of Zhang Er.
He calmed down his heart, stepped forward and clasped his fists, saying: "It's easy to say, since you are a disciple of senior Lu Goujian, I will take you back to see your grandfather."
Zhang Er's eyes lit up, "Grandpa? The general is..."
"My name is Li Zuoche."
"It turns out he is the grandson of General Li Mu. The young general is indeed a young hero."
"No, no, Brother Zhang is so complimentary."
Li Zuoche exchanged a few pleasantries and took Zhang Er back to the military camp.
Zhang Er felt that he was now out of desperate situation, and he was heartened. At the same time, he did not forget to warn himself: Now that the Qin State is powerful, he must first protect himself for the future.
…
This war, which lasted for nearly three months, has come to an end.
Touman Shanyu raised an army of 120,000, led by Fan Yuqi who had fled to the grasslands, and invaded the Zhao territory that had just been conquered by Qin.
The Qin State took Li Mu as general and killed Fan Yuqi. In three months, he beheaded a total of more than 80,000 people and drove the Xiongnu back to the grassland.
Li Mu's performance in this battle was not impressive. The total battle loss ratio was almost one to one. Only the last battle could be called the level of a famous general. The previous two months had been very good.
But for those who witnessed this war, the people of Qin and Zhao were able to treat each other as equals on the same battlefield. The experience of these three months deeply touched them.
The good news reached Handan, and Fan Yuqi's head was also sent back.
Ying Zheng looked at the wooden box and knew that it contained Fan Yuqi, but he had no intention of opening it and asked someone to take it away with a wave of his hand.
"Li Mu was a native of Bai Ren, Zhao Di. He was a general during the reign of King Zhao Xiaocheng and was stationed in Dai Di for more than ten years. He defeated the Xiongnu, destroyed the Xiuzhai, defeated the Eastern Hu, and protected the Northern Territory. The people called him the God of War.
Now he has surrendered to our country, the Qin Dynasty, and in order to defeat the Xiongnu who destroyed his family and brought relief, he killed Fan Yuqi in formation and beheaded 80,000 people. I want to make Li Mu the Marquis of Guan Nei, what do you think?"
Lu Yan was at ease, silently lowering his sense of presence.
He knew that this was a tacit deal between Qin and Li Mu.
Li Mu had been stationed in Daidi for more than ten years before. This station was completely different from the Qin general station.
During Li Mu's garrison, all local tax revenue went to Li Mu's general's house to use as military supplies for the border. Which general from Qin would you like to replace?
This time, under the instruction of Li Mu, the Li family of Ying spent all the assets they had accumulated over the years on this war. They were not trying to be a selfless saint, but they had to show an attitude - giving up military power and territory.
Li Mu, who had surrendered to the Zhao State and had made considerable military exploits, Ying Zheng took him as an example and granted him the title of Marquis, which was justified in all aspects.
Of course, in the Qin State, famous generals like Wang Jian have not yet been granted the title of marquis, so there will definitely be people who are dissatisfied.
Wang Jian himself was very calm. He did not speak, but Liao took the initiative to stand up and defend the injustice of the Qin generals.
"Your Majesty, the matter of Li Mu becoming a marquis should not be taken lightly. This battle in the North took three months. Although more than 80,000 people were killed, our army lost 70,000, which is far from glorious.
Among our Qin generals, Wang Jian, Yang Duanhe, Meng Wu, and Wang Ben, none of them have made great contributions to the country. General Wang Jian even killed 200,000 Zhao in one battle and captured the State of Zhao. Such merits cannot be granted as a marquis. , but let Li Mu go, which may hurt the hearts of the people of Qin. I hope the king will think again."
Ying Zheng's face was expressionless after hearing this, and he didn't say anything.
As Liao stepped back, he quietly gave Li Si a look.
Li Si understood the idea and stood up to persuade: "Your Majesty, the famous general in the world is almost in our country of Qin. Li Mu is a surrendered general. It is inappropriate to just make him a lord. His position is higher than that of the generals of our Qin State." .”
Ying Zheng felt that this was reasonable, so he asked: "What do you think we should do?"
Li Si immediately offered countermeasures: "Your Majesty, Li Mu is a famous general of the Zhao Kingdom. His surrender is an excellent opportunity to show the world the majesty of our Great Qin. Si believes that this Guannei Marquis can be granted the title, but it must be granted at the same time as General Wang Jian.
Hou."
Liao nodded repeatedly after hearing this, and echoed next to him: "This is a very good move by Lord Tingwei. With General Wang Jian's prestige and military exploits, he has been granted the title of Marquis, and no one in the country can gossip."
Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng looked at Wang Jian with a sincere attitude, "It's my fault that I actually took advantage of the merits of foreign ministers and forgot about the country's generals. The generals succeeded me to the throne, fought countless battles, and made outstanding achievements. They led countless battles involving more than 100,000 people.
Secondly, in terms of his contribution to our great Qin Dynasty, the general far surpassed Li Mu today, so I want to confer the title of Marquis of Che."
Before Ying Zheng could finish his sentence, Wang Jian knelt down.
"Your Majesty, I have received too much favor from you, and I have no face to bear the weight of the title.
The Kingdom of Zhao is newly dead, and the hearts of the people are not attached to it. Li Mu can be granted the title of Marquis, which can stabilize the hearts of the people of Zhao. It can also tell the world that my king has the courage to accept the great talents in the world.
If I become a marquis, I will be above Li Mu. The people of Zhao will hate me even more, and the people of the world will laugh at me because Qin is so small. Your Majesty understands this clearly."
Ying Zheng helped Wang Jian up with his own hands, held his hand and said, "Then I will also make the general the Marquis of Guannei. When the general has more meritorious deeds in the future, he will be given another title."
Several people watching nearby immediately complimented him, "Your Majesty is wise."
Wang Jian burst into tears of gratitude and wanted to kneel down to thank him, but Ying Zheng grabbed his hand and could only stand and express his gratitude.