As Zhao Zhao expected, shortly after Song Yun left, two rumors spread in the city.
The first rumor was that the people of Song Dynasty could not bear the harsh rule of Wei State and wanted to take Song County to defect to Qi State.
The second rumor said that because Zhao Zhao, the Prime Minister of Qi, was the son of the Wei State, he did not want the interests of his mother country to be harmed, so he rejected the Song people's intention to offer Song County as a vassal.
In just two days, these two rumors spread a lot in Linzi, the capital of the King of Qi, and there was endless debate about them: everyone who had seen the left prime minister, Zhao Zhao, patted their chests and thought that he was a respectable gentleman;
Those who had never met Zhao Zhao were suspicious of Zhao Zhao because they believed the rumors.
During this period, there were also some Qi people who were already dissatisfied with Zhao Zhao, who were adding fuel to the fire and pushing Zhao Zhao to the forefront.
Under this situation, even Zhao Zhao could only stay at home because of his illness.
On the second day after Zhao Zhao was ill, Prince Bai, now the King of Qi, Lu Bai, sent his servants to Linzi Palace to invite Zhao Zhao to enter the palace secretly.
Zhao Zhao did not refuse, and under the cover of the servants, he entered Linzi Palace as Wang Jia.
When Zhao Zhao arrived at the main hall of the palace, King Lu Bai of Qi was sitting on the throne, joking with several ministers in the palace.
Zhao Zhao was very familiar with these ministers. After all, they were all important ministers in front of King Lu Bai of Qi.
"Haha, Brother Shang is here."
Seeing Zhao Zhao walking into the main hall, King Qi Lu Bai put his palms in his hands and smiled.
Although he is the king of Qi, Lu Bai is still just a young man who is nearly 16 or 17 years old. He has not yet developed the power and cheerful personality like his father Lu Xi, the king of Qi. If he takes off his clothes
King robe, I believe no one can believe that this is the current king of Qi.
Faced with the frivolous greetings of Qi King Lu Bai, Zhao Zhao did not hesitate at all. He walked steadily to the center of the palace and respectfully bowed: "Your Majesty, Zhao Zhao, pays homage to your Majesty."
In fact, at this time, King Lu Bai of Qi had already learned about the two rumors that were spreading in Linzi City, and it was precisely because of this that he summoned Zhao Zhao's brother-in-law to the palace today. Originally, he had
He took the opportunity to tease the brother-in-law a few words, but when he saw the brother-in-law's expressionless face, he felt a little afraid.
It’s no wonder, after all, since Qi King Lu Xi betrothed his daughter Kui Ji to Zhao Zhao eight years ago, the former asked his talented son-in-law to teach his youngest son, who is now the king of Qi.
After eight years of getting along with Lu Bai, Lu Bai had already figured out the character of this brother-in-law.
As long as it does not involve issues of principle or major issues of right and wrong, this brother-in-law is easy to talk to. Even when they first met, the rather naughty young master Bai deliberately teased Zhao Zhao and made Zhao Zhao get wet for no reason.
A basin of water, but the latter still did not get angry.
Lu Bai still remembers that his brother-in-law Zhao Zhao, who was soaked in the rain at that time, wiped the water on his face with his sleeves, straightened his clothes as if nothing had happened, and still greeted him gracefully.
At that time, Lu Bai was simply stunned. He had never seen someone remain so elegant after being doused in a basin of water, which even made him secretly regret his behavior.
Of course, this is the "good" side of this brother-in-law. When it comes to the "evil" side, when he recalls the countless days and nights when this brother-in-law supervises him in his studies with a smile on his face, he almost feels itching with hatred.
——For a while, he was convinced that this seemingly kind and elegant brother-in-law definitely hated what happened when they first met, so he was extremely strict with him in his studies.
What made Lu Bai feel desperate was that he once wanted to make a fool of himself as this brother-in-law. Unfortunately, no matter what tricky questions he racked his brains to come up with, the brother-in-law who taught him his studies would always give the answers calmly.
, even if several other teachers helped Lu Bai privately, they could not stump this brother-in-law.
Later, Lu Bai found out that there were really talented people in this world who had a photographic memory and could understand things by analogy, and his brother-in-law was one of the best - no, it should be said that he was a talent that was rare to see in a hundred years!
Before meeting this brother-in-law, he had never heard that a person playing eight games of chess with eight people at the same time could defeat the eight opponents one by one. In fact, the speed of the moves was so fast that the eight opponents broke out in a cold sweat.
It's straight up and can't keep up with the speed.
When he thought of such an amazing talent being tied to Qi's chariot by his father, Lu Bai fell to the ground in admiration of his father Lu Xi's ability to read people.
"Brother Shang, please take a seat." Qi Wang Lu Bai pointed to the chief on the east side.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Zhao Zhao bowed his hands in thanks, then walked to his own seat, knelt down and sat down.
At this time, he looked around and looked at the familiar colleagues sitting in the hall.
Beneath Zhao Zhao sat Tian Bao, the right prime minister of Qi.
Tian Tao is the only minister among the Tian family in Linzi who has stayed in the temple. Although he currently holds a civil position, this stalwart man with a height of nearly nine feet is actually capable of both civil and military affairs. He can write and handle national affairs.
He could also ride his horse south to conquer the north and south. Because of this, Tian Tao was called one of the "Tian's Five Tigers".
After the "civil strife among the princes" subsided, Tian Tabu replaced the former right minister of Qi "Tian Kuang" of the "Hainan Tian family" and became the right minister of Qi.
In the Qi court, Zhao Zhao had the best relationship with Tian Bao, so when Zhao Zhao approached, Tian Bao greeted him with a smile.
At this time, opposite Zhao Zhao, there was also a minister who was nearly nine feet tall. This minister had an incredible identity. He was a member of the royal branch of the Jiang family of Qi State and a descendant of the "Jiang Gao family".
, "高咒".
Going back a few generations, Gaoxi's ancestor was the son of the previous King of Qi. Later, because he lived in Gaoyi, he was named Gao.
In the Wei State, Gao Xi was equivalent to the treatment of Chengling King Zhao Shen and other hereditary princes and kings. The only difference was that Gao Xi was more talented and capable than Chengling King Zhao Shen, Yuanyang King Zhao Kai and others. Previously,
He was the right-hand man of the late king Lu Xi, who was in the rank of minister. Even Zhao Zhao and Tian Bao, who were the left and right prime ministers, had to respect him in front of him.
I remember that the late King Lu Xi died unfortunately during his expedition against the Chu State. After learning about this incident, the right minister "Tian Kuang" seized power and wanted to support the "gongzizhu" to usurp the throne. It was Gao Xi who used "not receiving the king's edict" as the reason
, refused to cooperate and led the scholar-bureaucrats in the palace to fight against Tian Kuang.
It has to be said that compared to the scholar-officials of the Song State, the scholar-officials of the Qi State were simply a model of bloody nature. When Tian Kuang tried to control Linzi, the scholar-officials in the palace faced each other with swords, leading the guards and the families of each house.
Servant, personally go into battle to fight with the rebels.
It is no exaggeration to say that it was precisely because of Gao Xi, a group of staunch national keystones, that Zhao Zhao and Tian Bao were able to lead the Qi army back to Linzi in time. Otherwise, they would have waited for Tian Kuang to support the princes in Linzi and pretend to be the king of Qi.
Lu Xi's posthumous edict notified the entire Qi state of the new king's accession to the throne. Then, Zhao Zhao, Tian Yi, and other important ministers who were entrusted by King Lu Xi of Qi might become traitors.
Under Gao Xi's command, there were two scholar-bureaucrats from Qi, "Uncle Bao" and "Guan Zhong".
"Uncle Bao" was the son of "Bao Jing", a scholar-bureaucrat of Qi State. He originally served as Gongzi Bai's tutor, and Zhao Zhao was no stranger to him either.
"Guan Zhong" was originally a close minister (not a minister, equivalent to a retainer or aide) who assisted "Gongzi Jiu". After "Gongzi Jiu" failed in his rebellion, Guan Zhong protected him and fled to the state of Lu.
Originally, King Qi Lu Bai and Zhao Zhao wanted to kill Guan Zhong when they mentioned Tian Tao. However, because Uncle Bao and Guan Zhong had known each other since childhood and their relationship was tacit, Uncle Bao tried to dissuade him in every possible way and tried his best to persuade King Qi.
Lü Bai - Mainly to persuade Zhao Zhao and Tian Bao, so that Zhao Zhao learned that Guan Zhong was a great sage, so he sent someone to take Guan Zhong back to Linzi, and came forward to persuade Lü Bai and grant Guan Zhong the honor.
The position of scholar-bureaucrat.
Zhao Zhao, Tian Tao, Gao Xi, Bao Shu, and Guan Zhong, these five people are now the most trusted ministers in the temple of King Lu Bai of Qi.
After Zhao Zhao sat down, Gao Xi took the lead and asked: "Master Zuo Xiang, it was Gao who asked the king to invite you today... As for what happened, I believe you can guess it, Master Zuo.
I won’t ask any more questions... What are the rumors in the city about?"
Just as Gao Xi said, Zhao Zhao had already guessed the purpose of today's meeting between kings and ministers, so when the former asked, he was not surprised at all, and truthfully told the truth about Song Yun's visit to his mansion, as well as Song Yun's own words
The suggestion that "Song County wants to attach itself to Da Qi" was also stated in full.
After hearing Zhao Zhao's explanation, Qi King Lu Bai immediately said: "What did I say? How could a gentleman like my brother-in-law meet with someone else's thoughts? What's more, my brother-in-law is very doting on my sister and even married her.
I always ask my sister for her opinion..."
After hearing this, the atmosphere in the palace suddenly became a little awkward, and Zhao Zhao, who was the person involved, could not hold back his gentle air after hearing this, and couldn't help but glance at Lu Bai.
It’s no wonder, after all, most of the men in the Qi State are somewhat chauvinistic. Zhao Zhao is the only one who even asks the royal family for his opinion when concubinaging for a political marriage. This is exactly what he did.
The reason why Zhao Zhao is regarded as the "dream husband" by countless Qi women.
Noticing the embarrassment on Zhao Zhao's face, Tian Tao secretly chuckled a few times, then coughed and said seriously: "What the king said is absolutely true!" After that, he raised his head and looked at Gao Xi, his expression seemed to be...
Question: Lord Gaoxi, do you have any questions?
Glancing at Tian Tao, Gao Xi shook his head and said to Zhao Zhao as if to explain: "Master Zuo Xiang, Gao is definitely not doubting Master Zuo Xiang. What is the character of Master Zuo Xiang? Over the years, everyone in the government and the public has known that I just
I wonder why such rumors spread in the city, and why those Song people want to target Mr. Zuo Xiang, so they ask the king to invite Mr. Zuo Xiang to the palace."
Zhao Zhao nodded and accepted Gao Xi's explanation.
After all, he had been an official in the same dynasty for seven or eight years, so Zhao Zhao certainly understood Gao Xi's character.
How can I put it, Gao Xi's character and personality are quite similar to those of Zhao Yuanyan, the Zongzheng of the Wei State. He is really loyal to the Qi State and the Lu family of the Jiang family - because of his loyalty, even "Zhao"
No matter how small the possibility is that "Zhao is using his power for personal gain", Gao Xi still wants Zhao Zhao to explain it to him face to face.
Because of this, Gao Xi enjoyed high prestige in the Qi court, but in private, few people were willing to associate with him - because this person was too serious.
Perhaps seeing that the atmosphere in the hall was still a bit heavy, Uncle Bao calmly changed the subject: "I didn't expect that Song Yun from the Beibo Army would actually use such a despicable trick... It seems that they
I’m afraid the situation in Song Dynasty is not optimistic.”
Having said this, there was some silence in the hall.
Seeing this, Zhao Zhao knew that he had to say something at this time, otherwise, everyone's conversation would not go on.
So he nodded and agreed: "Indeed, as far as I know, the Wei State once sent troops to attack the Song Dynasty. Later, due to civil strife within the Wei State, the Wei army withdrew from Song County... But a while ago, "Wei Gongzi Run" came to power,
Having become the crown prince of the Wei State, it is not difficult to guess that the crown prince of the Wei State will definitely try to suppress the Beibo Army after taking office..."
"...As expected of a magnanimous gentleman!"
The four ministers in the palace all praised secretly in their hearts, because Zhao Zhao really could only bring up the topic with these words. If anyone else had raised the topic, they would probably be suspected of questioning them.
"Wei Gongzi Run..." Gao Xi stroked his beard and pondered: "Could it be the Wei Gongzi who once served as the former king's deputy general?"
When King Lu Xi of Qi organized the four kingdoms of Qi, Lu, Wei, and Yue to attack Chu, he only appointed two deputy generals. One of them was Tian Dan, the general of Qi who now guards the border between Qi and Chu, and another,
He was the prince of Wei State, Run, who is now the Prince of the East Palace of Wei State.
"Exactly!" Zhao Zhao nodded and said.
"Well..." Gao Xi groaned and took a long breath from his nose, his face looking quite solemn.
Except for King Lu Bai of Qi, everyone present could understand Gao Xi's concerns: The rapid rise of Wei in recent years has already put Qi, the overlord of the Central Plains, under pressure, and now, Wei's crown prince has changed from "
With heroes like "Wei Gongzi Run" coming to power, it is not difficult to guess that the Wei State will become more powerful at a faster rate.
After a while, Gao Xi frowned and asked: "If Wei State goes to war with Chu State at this time, what will be the outcome?"
Although he didn't ask explicitly, everyone knew that he was asking Zhao Zhao, so Tian Bao, Uncle Bao, and Guan Zhong all turned to look at Zhao Zhao.
After Zhao Zhao pondered for a moment, he frowned slightly and said: "The last time five parties attacked Wei, the second of the "Three Pillars" of Chu State, Lord Shouling Jingshe was defeated and committed suicide, and Lord Diyang Xiong Shang died in battle.
Qiu... Looking back at the Wei State, there are now as many fierce generals as there are, too
Zi Zhao Run, King Zhao Zuo of Nanliang, King Zhao Ke of Yu, as well as Shao Hu, Long Ji, Pang Huan, Sima An, Wei Ji, Zhai Huang, Qu Cheng, etc. If Wei and Chu go to war at this time, we will
I think the odds of victory for both sides are probably six or four, six for Wei and four for Chu."
Hearing this, the solemn look on Gao Xi's face became thicker, and Tian Tao couldn't help but frown.
You must know that nine years ago, the power of Xiong Tuo, the king of Yangcheng, almost forced the Wei State to move its capital, not to mention the Chu State using all its troops. At that time, Zhao Zhao was also defeated by the Chu State because of the Wei State.
country, so at the cost of being a hostage, he begged Qi to help contain Chu.
And just nine years later, the Wei State was already powerful enough to compete with the Chu State on its own. How could this not shock everyone present?
Regardless of the fact that during the reign of King Lu Xi of Qi, the State of Qi once suppressed the State of Chu, but that was only because the nobles in the State of Chu were not united and did not want to lose their wealth by starting a further war with the State of Qi.
After all, war requires money. Not everyone is as extravagant as King Lu Xi of Qi. He spent money to let the State of Lu build countless war weapons. Even if these war weapons were only used to recruit soldiers from the State of Chu, he would not feel bad at all.
.
Therefore, the war between Chu State and Qi State was not actually that Chu State could not defeat Qi State, but that the Chu people, or to be precise, the nobles of Chu State, were beaten out by Qi King Lu Xi with money.
He was frightened by the victorious trench warfare method and refused to use his wealth to fight against the giant trench of King Lu Xi of Qi. As a result, he was beaten by Qi for more than twenty years.
Otherwise, for a country like Chu that can recruit four million troops in an emergency, it would attack Qi and Lu at the same time at all costs. To be honest, Qi's army may not be able to stop it.
What? And the army of Lu?
The State of Lu has a regular army? Aren’t they a group of engineering soldiers?
All in all, if they really fight to the death, Qi State can only defend its territory and cannot assist Lu State. As for Wei State? Wei State, which already has an army of 300,000 to 400,000 people, has gradually developed enough troops to fight Chu to the death.
ability.
Wei's infantry were originally the most powerful infantry in the world. Based on the casualties of both sides in the "Wei-Chu Yongqiu Battle", almost ten Chu soldiers could be worth the death of one Wei infantry.
Under this casualty ratio, Wei, with an army of 300,000 to 400,000, is already qualified to engage in a country-destroying war with Chu.
Of course, this is just an analogy. Being qualified does not mean that the Wei State will really do that. After all, even if the Wei State defeats the Chu State, it will be almost the same. By then, South Korea only needs one army to defeat the Wei State and Chu State.
The country is served in one pot.
"I didn't expect that Wei State has become so powerful, and I, Da Qi..."
Gao Xi sighed, and then said seriously: "The most urgent task is to find a way to repair the diplomatic relations with Lu."
It has to be said that since the "civil strife among the princes", there have been cracks in the relationship between Qi and Lu.
The reason is that Gongzi Jiu's mother is King Lu's sister - let's call her "Lu Ji".
In fact, as early as when King Lu Xi of Qi died outside the city of Shouying, the capital of King Chu, Duke Shupan of Lu already knew that King Lu Xi of Qi was planning to pass the throne to "Gongzi Bai". After all, King Lu Xi of Qi had personally told him before his death.
, begging King Lu to help Qi more in the future.
King Lu and King Lu Xi of Qi had known each other since childhood, and the former's throne was obtained with the unswerving support of King Lu Xi of Qi. Therefore, King Lu would certainly not refuse his brother's deathbed entrustment.
Because of this, when Qi fell into "civil strife among the princes" later, even though "Gongzi Jiu"'s mother "Lu Ji" asked someone to plead with her brother for help, King Lu remained unmoved.
But in the end, when "Gongzi Jiu" fled to the State of Lu with his mother "Lu Ji", King Lu gave him asylum.
The problem is that Qi State not only drove Lu Ji and her son like dogs to Lu State, but also later, after Prince Bai ascended the throne, he wrote a letter of credence asking the King of Lu to return his elder brother Prince Jiu.
At that time, Lu Ji knew that her son would definitely die if he went to Qi State, so he begged in front of his brother. After all, she was her sister. King Lu softened his heart and rejected Qi State's request.
After that, Qi and Lu became somewhat unhappy.
The State of Qi thought: What does it mean that the State of Lu protects our rebellious ministers and traitors?
King Lu thought: I am tolerant to you because of your (Gongzi Bai) father's face. Do you really think of me as your subordinate?
In addition, King Lu had his sister Lu Ji beside him to fan the flames, so King Lu broke off diplomatic relations with Qi in a rage.
Some people may say that the economy of Lu State is entirely supported by the people of Qi. Does King Lu really dare to sever diplomatic relations with Qi State? In fact, Lu State is really not afraid. After all, Lu State has no other allies with Qi State except Qi State.
The Wei State is also an ally, and now, the Wei State in the west is rapidly rising, especially the "Liang Lu Canal" and "Bolang Sha", which are facilities for commercial and trade purposes. The Lu State is really not afraid that the Qi people will cut off their economic development.
support.
Of course, in fact, King Lu was just talking angrily. After all, Qi and Lu had been allies for generations, and he was entrusted by Qi King Lu Xi when he was dying. How could he really abandon Qi when it was at its weakest?
After all, what King Lu wants is the respect of the people of Qi - as the overlord of the Central Plains, the people of Qi have always been very arrogant. At first, King Lu Xi of Qi was still suppressing him, but now that this wise king of Qi is no longer around, it is inevitable that
Some people will regard Lu as a vassal state of Qi, just like the Wei people treat the Wei people.
Therefore, at this time, all that is needed at this time is that Qi King Lu Bai submits a letter of credence to King Lu in his own name and says a few nice words, and King Lu will immediately restore diplomatic relations with Qi.
But the problem is that it is not that easy to get the proud Qi people to lower their heads.
Even if Qi King Lu Bai and the five humerus ministers in the palace are willing at this moment, the Qi people in Linzi and even the entire Qi State may not agree to this matter.
As a result, the relationship between Qi and Lu is currently in a state of stalemate. In contrast, Shaokang, the leader of the Yue State who returned to the country a few years ago, now has a closer relationship with the Qi State - Tian Dan recently visited Qi and Chu
During the friction between the two countries' border and the Chu army, the "Dongou Army" from the land of Wu and Yue selflessly helped.
The rise of Wei and the alienation of Lu made Qi gradually lose its status as the hegemon of the Central Plains.
At this critical moment, Song Yun of the Beibo Army and Song County defected to Qi...
To be honest, it is obviously nonsense to say that he is not moved. After all, it is a huge Song Dynasty, not much smaller than the entire Qi State.
But several ministers present knew that if Qi State intervened in this matter, then the "Qi-Wei Alliance" would come to an end. The "Qi-Wei Friendship" appeared because of Wei Gongzizhao's arrival in Linzi, Qi State.
”, most of them will also come to naught.
But on the other hand, are we really just watching Wei State grow stronger and gradually replace Qi State as the overlord of the Central Plains?
When the Wei State truly annexes the Song Dynasty, its national power will be even more powerful than it is now, and by then, I believe that "Wei Gongzi Run" should also be enthroned as king. He will be a more enterprising person than Wei Wang Zhao Si
The hero...
"...Perhaps, we should have made preparations earlier."
In addition to Zhao Zhao, Tian Bao, Gao Xi, Uncle Bao, and Guan Zhong looked at each other in a tacit understanding.