Xiang Shaolong, Teng Yi, Jing Jun and the Eighteen Iron Guards returned to Xianyang and immediately rushed to Xiangguo. On the way, they met dozens of Qin soldiers, guarding a carriage moving slowly in front.
Xiang Shaolong didn't know which minister was in the car, so he didn't dare to rush out of the way rudely, so he could only follow behind and move forward at the same speed.
The Qin soldiers leading the way suddenly gave an order, and the carriage convoy stepped aside, waving to them to go ahead.
Xiang and Teng were greatly surprised, who could be so polite and courteous, but the curtains were down so they couldn't see what was going on inside the car.
Jing Jun did the best thing. He asked Qin Bing at the end of the team to inquire. He rushed up and said in a low voice: "She is the most beautiful woman in Xianyang, Widow Qing."
Xiang Shaolong looked back and felt a strange feeling in his heart.
Xiang Shaolong really wanted to meet Tu Xian first and find out what Lu Buwei wanted from him, but it backfired.
When meeting Lu Buwei, this powerful figure in the Qin Dynasty said: "Shaolong, why are you so reckless? Without asking me for instructions, you actually proposed to the king to appoint Xu Xian, a guy who doesn't understand current affairs, as the prime minister of the left. This ruined my plan.
, can’t I just walk away for a while?”
Xiang Shaolong had known that he could not hide this from him, and had already made an excuse in his mind. He smiled and said: "At that time, the king will decide the candidate immediately, and the prime minister does not know when he will return. However, Shaolong's proposal is absolutely for the sake of Prime Minister Lu. The only way is to let Qin
Only when people share power can they show that Prime Minister Lu has a broad mind, rather than appointing private individuals. In this case, who in the Qin court would dare to gossip about Prime Minister Lu?"
Lu Buwei was slightly startled, his eyes shot out with a sharp light, and after looking at him intently for a while, he said: "Is it for this reason that Shaolong declined the position second only to me?"
Xiang Shaolong knew that he believed what he told him, so he nodded with certainty and said: "Mr. Lu's kindness to our Wu family is as great as a mountain, so what does personal honor and disgrace mean?"
Lu Buwei looked at the beams on the roof, seemed a little moved, and suddenly said: "I have three daughters, the youngest is named Lu Niangrong, so I will match her to you to take the place of Princess Qian."
Suddenly, Xiang Shaolong was faced with the most difficult decision in his life.
As long as he is willing to nod, Lu Buwei will regard him as one of his own, allowing him to easily wait until Xiaopan is twenty-one years old for his coronation ceremony, and officially becomes the king of Qin. Then he will turn his gun against this traitor, and the Wu family will be safe.
nothing.
But with just this nod, he had to obediently become the lackey of this big enemy. He also added a heavy psychological burden to Lu Niangrong, which was very unfair to Ji Yanran and others who knew the inside story.
Lu Buwei is the most ambitious profiteer of this era and will never engage in loss-making business.
Now that the opposition party headed by Lord Yangquan has been eliminated, Xiang Shaolong has gained the favor of King Qin and Queen Qin. He cannot get rid of him, so he takes him for his own use. This method of recruiting him as a son-in-law is indeed a clever move.
Xiang Shaolong gritted his teeth fiercely, knelt down and said resolutely: "Mr. Lu, please take back your life. Shaolong is heartbroken now. He no longer wants to be involved in the marriage matter and ruin the young lady's life."
Lu Buwei's expression suddenly changed. Just when he was about to force him, there was an urgent knock on the door. A general rolled in and knelt on the ground to report: "The prime minister is in trouble. Lord Xinling from Wei led the five-nation coalition forces of Yan, Zhao, Han and Wei.
Our army was defeated to the west of the river, the Mongolian general was defeated and returned to Hangu Pass, and the coalition troops were approaching the pass."
These words were like a bolt from the blue, causing the two of them to forget about the stalemate and look at each other in confusion.
Lu Buwei jumped up and said: "This is very bad. I want to go to the palace immediately to see the king."
Looking at his back, Xiang Shaolong remembered Ji Yanran's prophecy, and unexpectedly it came true, which also saved him from the opportunity to immediately break up with Lu Buwei.
Xiang Shaolong, Teng Yi and others left the Prime Minister's Mansion, not daring to leave at the critical moment of the Qin Dynasty, so they rushed to Wu Mansion so that they could stay in Xianyang and wait for news.
As soon as he stepped through the door, Tao Fang came up to him and said with a strange expression: "There is a man who claims to be Shaolong's old friend waiting for you. How did he know that you would come back today?"
Xiang Shaolong was greatly surprised and went to the side hall alone to meet this unexpected guest.
The man wore a bamboo hat to protect him from the sun and sat with his back to the door. He was tall and gave off a mysterious atmosphere.
The figure from behind does look familiar, but I can't remember who it is.
The man heard the footsteps and still didn't look back.
Xiang Shaolong sat down opposite him, his eyes were full of beard, but he couldn't see his eyes covered by the bamboo hat.
When he was about to ask, the strange man slowly moved away the bamboo hat.
Xiang Shaolong was shocked and said in horror: "Your Majesty"
Although Long Yangjun had concealed his "flower-like face" with a beard and his eyebrows had thickened, Xiang Shaolong could still recognize him at a glance with his signature pair of phoenix eyes.
After the two looked at each other for a while, Long Yangjun smiled slightly and said, "Brother Dong is really someone who misses his old friendship and never abandons his old friend."
Xiang Shaolongruo smiled and said, "I can't hide it from you in the end."
Long Yangjun said calmly: "How could Dong Ma Chi die so easily and for no apparent reason? Xiang Shaolong would not have sneaked back to Xianyang without any action. I even sent someone to the Chu State to confirm this matter. It happened to be true.
Dong Ma Chi's entire family was killed by the Yi Di. Others might think it was a conspiracy, but I know that the real Dong Ma Chi is indeed dead. The fake Dong Ma Chi is still living happily in Xianyang. Otherwise, Zhao Zhi would not have died.
Sneaked back to Xianyang to meet her husband."
Long Yangjun said: "How could you not know? I came here in a hurry just because the Qin army was defeated."
Xiang Shaolong sighed and said, "How is Mrs. Ya?"
Long Yangjun showed a bitter smile, took out a crystal clear jade bracelet from his arms, and said softly: "This is what Zhao Ya asked me to give you to show that her love for you will never change."
, Eternal as jade, it’s just limited by the environment, and I don’t want to embarrass you, so I can’t bear to come to Xianyang to find you. I hope you can understand her painstaking efforts.”
Xiang Shaolong held the jade bracelet tightly in his hand, feeling as if his heart was being cut by a knife. After a while, he said in a deep voice: "You come here, what are you doing?"
Long Yangjun sighed and said: "It's not because of the prince Zeng of our country who is under house arrest in Xianyang as a hostage. This time the Qin army is defeated, the Qin people will definitely be angry with him and want to kill him to vent their anger. Our king loves this the most.
Son, I have no choice but to risk my life to save him."
Only then did Xiang Shaolong remember that when the defeated countries sued for peace, they all used members of the royal family as pledges. The Qin State was invincible and there might be hostages in Xianyang from all the countries. He couldn't help but feel a headache and said: "What do you want me to do, Xiang Shaolong?"
help."
Long Yangjun said: "Now both Qin Jun and Lu Buwei have great trust in Brother Xiang. As long as Brother Xiang can say a few kind words, he may be able to save the prince's life."
Xiang Shaolong said flatly: "Your Majesty, don't worry, I will do my best for our friendship."
Although he said so, when he thought about Lu Buwei's increasingly obvious tyranny and cruelty, he really didn't have the slightest confidence.
Lord Long Yang was immediately happy and was about to thank you when Tao Fang came in and said, "The king has summoned Shaolong to the palace to discuss matters."
Xiang Shaolong stood up and changed his words: "Brother Long, please stay here and wait for news."
After saying a few words to Tao Fang asking him to take care of the guests, he hurried into the palace.
An Gu, the commander of the palace guards of the Qin Palace, was waiting for him at the palace gate for the first time and took him to the inner court where King Zhuang Xiang handled official business in the harem. His attitude was quite polite, which made him a little flattered.
An Gu is a tall and powerful man, aged twenty-five or six. Although he is not named Ying, he is from the royal family. Anyone who can be the leader of the imperial army has some blood relationship with the royal family, and his loyalty is unquestionable.
Even with Lu Buwei's ability to control the wind and rain, his subordinates cannot break into this system, otherwise they can control Qin Jun's life and death.
This Angu felt very sympathetic to Xiang Shaolong. When he arrived outside the magnificent palace of the inner court, he suddenly whispered: "Taifu Xiang strongly recommended General Xu to be the prime minister of the left. We, the Imperial Guard, are very grateful." Xiang Shaolong was stunned.
It took me a moment to understand the changes.
Xu Xian was a highly respected person in the Qin Dynasty, but he was ostracized by Lu Buwei. Xiang Shaolong recommended him, which naturally won the favor of the military.
The two of them walked up the long steps, and the guards stood at attention and saluted, which made Xiang Shaolong feel proud. This sense of vanity was indeed intoxicating.
An Gu sent him here and pushed the guard open the door to let him in.
As soon as he stepped into the palace, Xiang Shaolong was startled.
I saw King Zhuang Xiang sitting on the dragon throne above the two steps at the end of the main hall. There were five or six civil servants and generals standing on the left and right below the steps.
Of course, the person on the right is Prime Minister Lu Buwei, and on the left is the tough guy Xu Xian. Among the others, he only recognizes General Wang Ling, Lord Guanzhong Cai Ze, and General Du Bi. They all met during the martial arts competition with Wang Jian.
They are all important ministers of the Qin Dynasty. Needless to say, the other five people have important official positions.
Xiang Shaolong walked forward and knelt down in obedience to the etiquette.
When King Zhuang Xiang saw him, he was very happy and said: "Taifu Xiang is safe."
After Xiang Shaolong got up, Lu Buwei rushed to introduce everyone to him. Of course, he wanted to show everyone that Xiang Shaolong was his confidant.
Among the three people he recognized, Wang Ling and Du Bi were both important figures in the military, with the same level of military qualifications as Wang and Xu Xian. Cai Ze was Lu Buwei's right-hand prime minister before he took office. He was a well-rounded person, so although
Although he was squeezed out by Lu Buwei, he was still used in important positions.
As for the other five people, the one who ranks just below Xu Xian is Lu Gong, one of the three tiger generals of the Western Qin Dynasty together with Wang and Xu Xian. He is of medium build, about fifty years old, with a long beard and thick eyebrows.
His eyes were like copper bells and his body was still very strong. When he saw Xiang Shaolong, he looked at him with burning eyes and a rather unfriendly expression.
The other four people are Wang Wan, the left prisoner, Jia Gongcheng, the right prisoner, Yunyang Jun Yingao and Yiqu Jun Yinglou. The latter two are both direct members of the royal family and have food and fiefdoms.
All of these people had dull expressions, and most of them showed a rather cold attitude toward Xiang Shaolong. Even Xu Xian, who should be grateful to him, was no exception. Only Cai Ze and Wang Wan were still polite.
This emergency meeting gathered the highest-ranking ministers and generals in Xianyang, which shows how critical the situation is.
The Qin people are most afraid of the alliance of the eastern countries, but this time Lord Xinling defeated the Qin army with only the power of the five countries. This shows that the Qin people's fear is absolutely well-founded.
Xiang Shaolong knew his identity, so he retreated to the last table in Lu Buwei's row, and followed the example of all the ministers and generals, standing respectfully with their hands upright.
King Zhuang Xiang still looked as calm and calm as usual, and said softly: "Young dragon, do you know why I urgently summoned you?"
Xiang Shaolong felt bad.
This military meeting has been going on for at least two hours, and it should have come up with a way to deal with the current dilemma. Calling yourself here like this, needless to say, is very likely to send you to lead the army to deal with the five-nation coalition.
From this it can be seen that although Lu Buwei appeared to have power over the Qin Dynasty, his influence in the army was still very weak. Meng Ao was defeated, and other than Xiang Shaolong, he had no other generals to use.
Although he has shown military talent, he has never led an army of hundreds of thousands to fight an enemy on the battlefield. No wonder everyone present at the meeting had dissatisfied expressions.
Xiang Shaolong said respectfully: "Please forgive me for being so ignorant."
Xu Xiandao: "Your Majesty, please think twice about this matter."
Other Lu Gong, Jia Gongcheng and others all agreed, urging King Zhuang Xiang not to make a hasty decision.
General Du Bigeng said: "The five-nation coalition forces are vigorous and vigorous. If they abandon the danger of Hangu Pass and go to war rashly, once they are defeated, Hangu Pass will not be protected. At that time, the coalition forces will march forward, and the foundation of Qin Dynasty will be destroyed.
Once it happens, it is better to defend than to attack at this moment."
Lu Buwei's face was extremely gloomy, and he said coldly: "Our defeat this time was due to the sudden arrival of the enemy, which caught us unprepared. If we are prepared to fight this time, it will be a completely different situation."
Lu Gong snorted coldly: "Jun Xinling is a resourceful man. He defeated our army outside Handan City back then. He could guard the enemy from the front. How could the Prime Minister of the Right say it so easily?"
Xu Xian said: "Our army has suffered a new defeat and its morale has been weakened. Even if Sun Wu comes back to life, I am afraid that we will have to retreat for the time being. Your Majesty, please think twice."
This was the second time he asked King Zhuang Xiang to think twice, which shows how fiercely he opposed it.
Lu Buwei said displeasedly: "Taiyuan County, Sanchuan County, and Shangdang County are related to the rise and fall of our Great Qin Dynasty's hegemony. If Wuji's son Chen Bing is allowed to go outside the pass, once the three counties are lost, they will lose their strength, which will be even more disadvantageous. Your Majesty, please take a closer look.
"
King Zhuang Xiang said decisively: "I have made up my mind, so I will appoint..."
At this decisive moment, the gatekeeper outside the palace sang: "The prince of Wei Kingdom, Wei Zeng, has arrived."
Lu Buwei said coldly: "If I don't kill this person, it will be difficult to eliminate the hatred in my heart."
When King Zhuang Xiang was about to order the prince to be escorted in, Xiang Shaolong was horrified and jumped out. He knelt down and kowtowed: "Your Majesty, please listen to what I have to say."
Everyone, including King Zhuang Xiang and Lu Buwei, looked at Xiang Shaolong who was kneeling on the ground without fear.
In fact, even Xiang Shaolong didn't know what he should say. He only knew that if the prince was allowed to enter the palace and was ordered to be executed by King Zhuang Xiang, then he would have betrayed Lord Long Yang's trust.
His relationship with Long Yangjun was very complicated, but as soon as he asked for it, he felt that he had to do it for him. It was only for him to protect Zhao Ya, and it was his duty to do so.
King Zhuang Xiang was surprised: "What does Shaolong want to say?"
When Xiang Shaolong was complaining in his heart, a flash of light flashed in his mind: "What I heard just now is that no matter whether you are attacking or defending, there are risks of gain and loss, so I came up with a way to get the best of both worlds, so that the king can win without spending a single soldier.
Eliminate the danger of Hangu Pass."
Everyone was astonished and didn't know what his magic method was.
King Zhuang Xiang had the most confidence in him, so he agreed to Lu Buwei's proposal to recommend him to lead the army and said happily: "Quickly tell me for my reference."
Xiang Shaolong said: "The reason why the five kingdoms can successfully unite this time, when the troops are approaching the pass, the key lies in one person, Master Wuji. If this man goes, the siege of the coalition forces will be relieved without a fight, and the three counties of Taiyuan can also be safe."
However."
Everyone nodded.
Even Lu Buwei wished that he had the best of both worlds. Although he fought hard, he was actually making a desperate move. If he was defeated again, even if he could still hold the position of Hangu Pass, he would not be able to protect it.
Xiang Shaolong said: "Wei Chen went to Daliang that day..." He told the truth that Lord Xinling wanted to use him to assassinate King Anli, and then said: "As long as Wei Chen tells Prince Zeng about this,
Let him return home and tell the King of Wei that the King of Wei must be afraid that when Wei Wuji returns in triumph, he will take advantage of the situation to seize the throne. In this case, he will recall Wei Wuji back to the country and seize his military power. If the coalition forces are surrounded by such a siege, they will not attack.
break."
Everyone could not help but nod in approval.
The feud between Lord Xinling, Wei Wuji, and the King of Wei is known all over the world. After Lord Xinling stole the Tiger Talisman to rescue Zhao, he had to stay in Handan and did not dare to return to Wei. It was only because the Qin people attacked Wei that Anli had no choice but to move to Xinling.
When you return home, no one will believe you if An Li does not believe in Lord Ling.
The people of Qin also liked to use countermeasures.
When Bai Qi attacked Changping, he used counter-insurgency tactics to slander Lian Po, causing King Xiaocheng to replace Lian Po with Zhao Kuo, which resulted in a disastrous defeat in Changping.
A small countermeasure can sometimes be more powerful than an army of thousands.
Xu Xian frowned and said: "Taifu Xiang's proposal is extremely exciting, but there is still one thing that remains unclear. If Wei Zeng is allowed to go back and say these words, wouldn't everyone know that we are using counterintuitive tactics?
?”
Du Bi also said: "Although this plan is good, it is difficult to work."
Xiang Shaolong was not surprised at all why Du Bi specifically targeted him, because he had always been in the camp that supported Cheng Qiao, the second son of King Qin. He just didn't know if he had a noble status and was not implicated in Yangquan Jun's incident.
With Lu Buwei's method of killing everyone, he would certainly not let him go because of his soft heart. This shows that this person must be reliable.
Xiang Shaolong said: "Three days ago, Lord Longyang of the Wei Kingdom sent people to persuade Weichen, hoping that Weichen could put in a few good words for the prince and protect his life. If Weichen betrayed his personal relationship, he would have to talk to Lord Longyang.
He cooperated with others to help Prince Zeng sneak away from Xianyang, and at the same time, he pretended to accidentally leak the information about Lord Xinling to him. This countermeasure is expected to succeed."
King Zhuang Xiang praised: "Shao Longguo lives up to expectations. This plan is wonderful. Just as you said, you have full authority to do it."
The most important thing for Xu Xian and others is that they don't have to go out and fight the enemy head-on. Lu Buwei is also happy that he doesn't have to take risks, so everyone is happy and turns to discuss how to make the prince less interested.
After everything was discussed, King Zhuang Xiang summoned the crown prince in. After scolding him, Lu Buwei proposed to execute him.
When Prince Zeng was so frightened that his face turned green and his lips turned pale, and he fell limply to the ground, Xiang Shaolong came out to plead for mercy. He tried his best to find out Lord Xinling's fault, and took advantage of the opportunity to tell Lord Xinling's conspiracy that day under the questioning of King Zhuang Xiang.
In the end, of course, Prince Zeng's life was spared, and he was only allowed not to step out of the Proton Mansion and was left to be dealt with.
While King Zhuang Xiang and Lu Buwei were still in the inner court for discussion, Xiang Shaolong left the inner court with other ministers on the pretext that he wanted to contact Long Yangjun's people.
Everyone's attitude towards him improved greatly. Only Du Bi left without saying anything when everyone praised Xiang Shaolong.
Lu Gong and Xu Xian took Xiang Shaolong and left together.
Lu Gong suddenly said: "Why do you recommend General Xu to the king?"
Xiang Shaolong was a little embarrassed when he thought of the veteran general being so honest and said, "It's just because General Xu is a good man who is not afraid of power, that's all."
Xu Xian said solemnly: "Xiang Shaolong is the real hero. At least I, Mr. Xu, cannot imitate the Taifu's mentality of regarding fame and power as floating clouds. As long as you nodded your head that day, you will be the right prime minister of my Great Qin. Today, if you are willing
Nod, now he is the commander-in-chief of the three armies."
Suddenly, Xiang Shaolong knew that he had won the respect of the military personnel. This incident came out of the blue and he couldn't believe it.
When they were about to arrive at the outer square where the carriages and horses were parked, a palace lady knelt down by the roadside and said, "Master Xiang, please stay a moment and speak."
Xu Xian and both of them knew that he had a close relationship with the queen and the prince, and thought that the queen was calling him. After they expressed their intention to have a banquet with him one night, they left first.
Xiang Shaolong also thought that Zhu Ji had sent him to intercept him. When he smiled bitterly in his heart, Gong E handed over an exquisite lacquer box and immediately left.
Xiang Shaolong opened the lacquer box, and the aroma filled his nostrils. Inside the box was a thoughtfully folded piece of silk paper. When he opened it, he saw that there were several lines of beautiful and unrestrained Qin Di fonts on it, with the signature Qin Qing on the bottom.
He was surprised and happy, thinking that the beauty was having an affair with him, but when he finished reading, he found out that Qin Qing wanted to ask Ji Yanran to stay at her home for a few days.
I was relieved, but also a little disappointed, and my mood was extremely contradictory.
After meeting up with Teng Yi and others, her elegant demeanor and gentle conversation were still floating in my mind.
Return to Wu Mansion and immediately go to the upper room to find Lord Long Yang.
After Long Yangjun heard him tell the whole story, he was surprised and said: "Since it is a countermeasure, why did you tell me about it?"
Xiang Shaolong shrugged and said, "Your Majesty trusts me so much, how could I bear to lie to you?"
Lord Longyang said: "Jun Xinling wants to assassinate the king, is it true?"
Xiang Shaolong nodded and said: "This is true."
Lord Longyang said: "That's it. Although you are talking about counterintuitive schemes, it is very likely that it will happen. Since the people of Qin cannot come out, Lord Xinling will retreat sooner or later without success. There is no difference whether it is sooner or later. After this,
After the battle, the world should have a period of peace. The most urgent task now is to get the prince back to Daliang. Shaolong, you must do a good job, then you and I will make a great contribution."
Of course Xiang Shaolong understood what he meant.
Lord Longyang and Lord Xinling have always been at odds with each other. Either you die or I die. How can he definitely let go of this wonderful method that can overthrow Lord Xinling?
Lord Xinling was the mastermind behind the murder of Xiao Zhao's daughters. He wanted to stab him twice. His only worry was that Zhao Ya would be implicated.
Lord Longyang was so shrewd that he saw through his mind and said: "Don't worry, Mr. Wuji is famous among the six countries. Your Majesty will not dare to execute him, and it will not be that easy. He will only seize his military power and leave him idle. No matter what
No matter what, I will keep Zhao Ya."
Xiang Shaolong let go of his worries and discussed the details of the operation with Long Yangjun. That night, Long Yangjun and his people single-handedly rescued the prince Zeng from Xianyang without any danger, and he also had the official documents to pass the customs.
, fled back to Wei State.
Xiang Shaolong sneaked back to the ranch overnight in order to avoid Lu Buwei's repeated mention of marriage.
His mood became cheerful, and he began to return to the happy days of talking and laughing with his three wives and the Tian sisters.
The orchid and melon ripened and fell off the stem, and gave birth to a son. As promised, he gave it to Xiang Shaolong, which made him even more happy.
In a moment filled with joy, an unexpected guest suddenly came to the ranch, and it was Tu Xian.
The chief steward of the Prime Minister's Mansion looked surprisingly solemn. After sitting down, he sighed: "This time is bad."