That day, after Zhao Zhao returned to his mansion, he sat alone in the courtyard in front of his study.
After an unknown amount of time, a gust of fragrant wind wafted over, and a robe was put on his shoulders. Immediately, a familiar clear female voice sounded next to him: "My lord, why are you sitting here alone?"
As soon as he heard this voice, Zhao Zhao knew that the person coming was none other than his beloved wife Kui Ji, so he reached out and gently patted the back of Kui Ji's little hand on his shoulder, turned his head and smiled at her.
: "Why are you here?"
"It was only after Cao Liang sent someone to tell me that I realized that my husband was sitting here alone," Kui Ji said softly.
Zhao Zhao looked around and saw that in the corridor not far away, Zong Wei Cao Liang was grinning at him, and then waved towards him, probably wanting to express, "I won't disturb you two anymore."
” means.
"This guy..."
Zhao Zhao shook his head in amusement.
At this time, Kui Ji sat down on her husband's legs, hugged her husband's neck, and said in a feigned resentment: "Recently, my husband has been very neglectful of me. Even Cao Liang can't stand it.
…”
Zhao Zhao didn't know whether to laugh or cry. How could he have neglected Concubine? It was just that the domestic government affairs were too heavy.
Of course, he also understood that this beloved wife was obviously pretending to be confused. It was useless to explain anything at this time. It was better to admit it frankly and then make some sweet promises to make her happy.
No, after Zhao Zhao made a promise like "I will take you to the streets in two days," the expression on Kui Ji's face immediately turned dark, and she leaned half of her body in her husband's arms, her eyes as charming as silk.
As if to imply something, Zhao Zhao was under great pressure and whispered repeatedly: "Don't say goodbye, be careful if someone sees you..."
Feeling that her husband, who had been married for eight years, was still as embarrassed as when they first met, Luo Ji couldn't help but giggle.
She had never imagined before that the marriage arranged by her father, King Lu Xi of Qi, would actually give her such a loyal and upright husband. More importantly, this husband was so in love with her.
Compared with countless political marriages in the world, Zhuo Ji considers herself very lucky.
After some intimacy, Kui Ji finally remembered Cao Liang's instructions and asked tentatively: "Husband, I seem to have seen you frowning these past two days. Is there anything you are worried about?"
Zhao Zhao was stunned for a moment. After a period of silence, he suddenly asked abruptly: "Madam, if I resign as prime minister, are you willing to come back to Daliang with me?"
Kui Ji was stunned when she heard this, with a look of surprise on her pretty face, but she quickly replied: "Wherever your husband goes, I will go there."
Although she is the daughter of King Lu Xi of Qi, Ji Ji does not think too much about national affairs. After all, in her opinion, the safety of the country of Qi is something that the men of Qi should consider.
People are irrelevant.
In her eyes, she only has her husband, her children, and at most her husband's concubine Tian Wan and the latter's daughter. Even her younger brother Gongzi Bai, after the latter became the king of Qi, Kui Ji no longer did anything about it.
Go follow it.
Of course, even though she answered like this, it did not prevent Ji Ji from asking for the specific reason. If someone deliberately targeted her husband, then don't blame her for running to Linzi Palace as the eldest princess to make a big fuss.
However, Zhao Zhao patted her hand and comforted her: "Madam, please don't get angry. It's not that someone is targeting your husband, it's just... ugh."
With that said, he told Kuan Ji the whole thing.
After hearing this, Ji Ji was very surprised: "Is the state of Wei already so powerful?"
Of course she will not forget that it was when the Wei State was weak and unable to contend with the Chu State on its own that the husband of the son of the King of Wei in front of her traveled all the way to Qi State to seek help from her father. This made the two of them
Fortunately, we are married.
Zhao Zhao knew that his wife did not know much about the outside world, so he nodded and said succinctly: "My Wei Dynasty has become stronger and stronger every year in these years. Now we have 400,000 soldiers who can be used for battle. In the past two years, Han
, the three countries of Chu and Qin as well as Sanchuan and Song jointly attacked our Wei Dynasty, but they were defeated one by one by our Wei Dynasty..."
Speaking of this, even Zhao Zhao showed a hint of surprise, because even he did not expect that the country he came from could achieve such a glorious victory in that battle.
After a pause, he continued: "As for Da Qi, due to civil strife, our strength is no longer as good as that of Wei. Although we are still the leader of the "Qi, Lu, Wei" Three Kingdoms Alliance, our name is not worthy of our name..."
After Zhao Zhao's explanation, Kui Ji finally understood that their Qi State was about to lose its status as the overlord of the Central Plains and the leader of the "Qi, Lu, Wei" Three Kingdoms Alliance. If the Qi people were smart at this time, they should take the initiative to submit their credentials to Wei State.
, transferred the position of "Hegemon of the Central Plains" to the State of Wei. In this way, although the State of Qi lost its position, it could still maintain its friendship with the State of Wei.
Unfortunately, the arrogant Qi people would not accept this matter. For example, Gao Xi was obviously a wise and wise minister, but he firmly opposed this matter - in Gao Xi's suggestion,
Qi State should win over Yue State and Lu State, even if it is the original enemy Chu State, it can also appropriately release goodwill. In the final analysis, it is to maintain Qi State's hegemony in the Central Plains.
In Zhao Zhao's view, this was a very irrational behavior.
It's a pity that his status as Wei Gongzi prevents him from saying "transfer the hegemony to Wei".
"Will Daqi and Wei go to war?" Kui Ji asked nervously.
It's not that she is afraid of war, but she understands that once Qi and Wei are at odds, it will be very difficult for her husband to be caught between the two countries' positions.
"Starting a war...isn't enough yet."
Zhao Zhao shook his head and analyzed calmly: "In my opinion, the Wei Dynasty will first solve the problem of Song Dynasty, and then Han and Chu. If there is no accident, Qi Wei will not fight in thirty years..."
"Then what's there to worry about?" Zhuan Ji asked puzzledly.
Hearing this, Zhao Zhao smiled bitterly and shook his head: "Just because there will be no war within thirty years, does not mean that the relationship between Qi and Wei will not change within these thirty years..."
In fact, Zhao Zhao can understand Gao Xi and others' fear of the Wei State. After all, the Wei State has risen too fast in recent years. If we can't find a way to contain the Wei State at this time, we will wait until the Wei State gradually collapses.
After swallowing Korea and Chu, Qi will have no choice but to surrender.
In fact, there may not even be a chance to surrender in the end - if the Wei State really swallows up South Korea and Chu State, and is only one step away from unifying the world, will the Wei State let Qi State go? Just think about it.
If dominating the Central Plains is the long-cherished wish of the kings of various countries, then unifying the world is the lifelong dream that the kings of the Central Plains think about but dare not mention.
It's just that this road is too difficult, so difficult that the kings of the Central Plains countries dare not even dream about it.
The next day, Zhao Zhao was in his study, thinking about the words to use in his resignation as left prime minister.
As he was writing, suddenly a servant from the house came to report: "Master of the house, the scholar-bureaucrat Guanzhong wants to see you."
"Guan Zhong?" Zhao Zhao was stunned for a moment and subconsciously glanced at the sky outside the window. He was really surprised when he saw that it was too early for noon.
You must know that in Zhao Zhao's eyes, Guan Zhong is a very pragmatic and reliable minister. He is currently responsible for several crucial tasks such as "reviewing domestic land reclamation" and "compiling domestic households". Logically speaking,
It's impossible for him to desert and come to his house while on duty.
"Probably you came here because of me..."
After thinking for a while, Zhao Zhao ordered: "Please!... Also, prepare some tea."
"Yes!" the servant responded and retreated.
After a while, the servant led the scholar-bureaucrat Guan Zhong to Zhao Zhao's study.
At this time, Zhao Zhao was already waiting inside the study door. Seeing Guan Zhong approaching from a distance, he stepped out of the threshold to greet him.
"I have taken the liberty to come here to visit you. Please don't mind me, Mr. Zuo Xiang."
When greeting each other, Guan Zhong said with a smile.
"Those who care about the important things have serious consequences."
After waving his hand, Zhao Zhao welcomed Guan Zhong into the back room of the study. At this time, the other two servants had also brought the prepared tea.
After a few words of greeting, Guan Zhong bluntly stated his intention.
After all, he didn't think that his purpose of coming could be hidden from the left prime minister in front of him.
"To be honest with you, Mr. Zuo Xiang, in fact, Guan came here this time because he was entrusted by Mr. Gao Xi and Mr. Bao Shu. He wanted to personally ask Mr. Zuo... Are you planning to resign from your post?"
It turned out that Gao Xi, the Shangqing, specifically asked about Zhao Zhao's whereabouts today. When he heard that Zhao Zhao, the left prime minister, was still at the house "pledging to be ill" today, he suddenly felt bad in his heart.
Thinking about it, after all, some things have been discussed in front of Qi Wang Lu Bai yesterday, and Gao Xi, Tian Bao, including Qi Wang Lu Bai, have made it clear that they will handle the rumor issue on behalf of Zhao Zhao.
Under such circumstances, Zhao Zhao still stayed at home because of his illness, which is obviously not in line with Zhao Zhao's character.
Therefore, Gao Xi asked Guan Zhong to investigate Zhao Zhao's tone.
Upon hearing Guan Zhong's inquiry, Zhao Zhao suddenly fell silent.
Because just before Guan Zhong came to visit, he was indeed in his study considering the terms for resigning as left prime minister.
As if he noticed something, Guan Zhong stood up and walked to Zhao Zhao's desk to take a look. When he saw an unfinished dictionary with the ink still wet on the desk, he ignored the etiquette.
Question, he picked it up in his hand and looked at it, then smiled bitterly and shook his head.
He sincerely felt that the left prime minister was too honest.
Under Zhao Zhao's astonished gaze, Guan Zhong tore the dictionary into pieces, then balled the shredded paper into a ball and threw it out of the window.
"..." Zhao Zhao's eyelids twitched slightly.
In fact, he had long heard from Uncle Bao, who he had a good relationship with, that Guan Zhong was a steady person but would sometimes do amazing things, and now, he had seen it.
At this time, after throwing the ball of paper out of the window, Guan Zhong returned to his seat and sat down, cupped his hands towards Zhao Zhao, and continued the conversation as if nothing had happened: "Forgive me for speaking frankly, I am Da Qi,
Now we cannot do without Mr. Zuoxiang!"
To be fair, whether it was Gao Xi or Uncle Bao, what they were most worried about was not that Zhao Zhao was "using power for personal gain" and secretly benefiting the Wei State as the rumors in the city said, because they knew Zhao Zhao's character and knew that this person
A gentleman would never do such a thing.
What they were most panicked about was that Zhao Zhao resigned from his post and returned to Wei State with his wife and children.
They will never sit back and let this happen!
You know, the Wei State has already given birth to a "Wei Gongzi Run". In recent years, he has led his army across the Central Plains and has become the overlord of the Central Plains. What if the "Wei Gongzizhao" in front of him returns to the Wei State?
If others are not clear about it, how can they still not be clear about the important matters? The left prime minister in front of me is really a genius who "governs a big country like cooking small dishes", especially when the civil strife has just been calmed down, this left prime minister
His position is equivalent to that of ten virtuous ministers, and with such heavy government affairs, the left prime minister still handles it with ease and without any mistakes.
This talent, even if it is a serious job, is still convinced.
To sit back and watch such a great sage resign from the Qi State and return to the Wei State would be a huge loss to the Qi State, but a huge help to the Wei State.
Nowadays, the Wei State, which only has one "Wei Gongzi Run", has gradually become so powerful that it is slightly superior to the other countries in the Central Plains. If there are both "Wei Gongzi Run" and "Wei Gongzizhao" at the same time, I believe this will be a big problem for all the Central Plains countries.
It's something I don't want to see.
Perhaps he was shocked by Guan Zhongcai's astonishing move. Zhao Zhao opened his mouth and was stunned for a long time. Then he came to his senses, shook his head and said, "Guan Zhongcai overestimated Zhao."
"It's because Mr. Zuo Xiang is too humble." Guan Zhong interrupted Zhao Zhao and said solemnly: "Right now, when our great Qi is broken and reestablished, if we lose such wise ministers as Mr. Zuo Xiang,
, this will be a huge loss to me, Daqi."
Zhao Zhao shook his head. He never thought that he was indispensable, whether in Wei or Qi.
For example, the scholar-bureaucrat in front of him named Guan Zhong, in his opinion, is qualified to serve as the prime minister of Qi State. However, Guan Zhong does not have much prestige in the court at present, but given time, he will definitely become the pillar of Qi State.
Seeing Zhao Zhao shaking his head, Guan Zhong frowned and said, "Lord Zuo Xiang, do you still care about those rumors? Forgive me for being honest, you can just ignore such crude instigation."
Zhao Zhao shook his head when he heard this, and said melancholy: "The rumors released by the Bei Bo Army are only one of them, and the other two..."
He didn't say anything further, but Guan Zhong could guess what he meant.
It's just that Zhao Zhao was caught between Wei and Qi, which was quite embarrassing.
For example, this time when Song Yun of the Northern Bo Army proposed that "the land of Song Dynasty is willing to belong to the State of Qi", although Zhao Zhao rejected Song Yun with legitimate reasons, to be honest, he actually favored the State of Wei in his heart.
If it were someone who had nothing to do with Wei, such as Gao Xi, he might have said to Song Yun: I, Da Qi, cannot publicly support you in this matter, but privately, I can give you some help.
Why? Could it be that Gao Xi couldn't see through this?
Of course not, it's just because Wei has risen too fast in recent years. As a subject of Qi, the former hegemonic country, Gao Xi also wants to create some trouble for Wei in private. He can't just watch Wei become stronger and stronger.
Then gradually replace Qi’s dominance in the Central Plains, right?
Alliance with the weak to resist the strong is China's main diplomatic strategy that has always maintained a balance between countries - no one will sit back and watch a country suddenly rise and dominate other countries.
Therefore, although Zhao Zhao's reason for rejecting Song Yun is justifiable, in fact, no one in Qi would reject Song Yun so simply. In such a matter, it is ambiguous and uses Song Dynasty to give Wei State more and more power.
It is in the interest of Qi that the more powerful allies create some trouble.
It is precisely because of this that Zhao Zhao thought that he could not let go of his relationship with his mother country, lest he would fall deeper and deeper into the cracks between the two countries in the future, and in the end be criticized by the people of Wei or Qi, it would be better to simply resign his position.
Seeing that Zhao Zhao seemed to have made up his mind, Guan Zhong had no choice but to use his trump card. He looked at Zhao Zhao and said quietly: "Master Zuo Xiang, now is the time when our country is in danger. How can you abandon our country?"
Facing the great king? How should we face the late king a hundred years later?"
Zhao Zhao originally thought it was funny to hear what Guan Zhong said about "crisis". After all, in his opinion, Qi State has passed the most difficult period. The next step is to cultivate health, strengthen soldiers and horses, and restore the era of Qi King Lu Xi.
It's just glory, where is the so-called danger?
But when he heard the words "great king" and "former king", he couldn't laugh anymore.
The "big king" in Guan Zhong's mouth refers to the current King of Qi, Lu Bai. He respects Zhao Zhao as an eldest brother and even calls him "Brother Shang". In the entire Qi Kingdom, Lu Bai trusts Zhao Zhao the most.
, not even comparable to Gao Xi, a descendant of the royal family.
When Uncle Bao wanted to keep Guan Zhong, he first persuaded Zhao Zhao, and Zhao Zhao came forward to persuade him. Only then did King Lu Bai of Qi take back his orders and pardon Guan Zhong, the "rebellious minister" around "Gongzi Jiu".
The "former king" in Guan Zhong's mouth refers to the late King Lu Xi of Qi. He had nothing to say to Zhao Zhao. Not only did he betroth his most beloved daughter Kui Ji to Zhao Zhao, he also gave the "Flying Bear" to Zhao Zhao.
This army, whose status in Qi State was comparable to that of Wei State's "Wei Wu Army", was also handed over to Zhao Zhao.
To be honest, King Lu Xi of Qi did not treat his own sons like "Gongzi Zhu" and "Gongzi Jiu" as well as he treated Zhao Zhao.
Even King Lu Xi of Qi said this before his death: If the young master Bai Yi fails, you will carefully teach your and Kui Ji's son.
It is no exaggeration to say that if Zhao Zhao had different intentions, he could have appointed Zhao Liang, his and Kui Ji's son, to inherit the name of the "Jiang Lu" royal family and become the King of Qi.
Even people like Gao Xi and others had nothing to do about this, because this was indeed the last will and testament of Qi King Lu Xi before his death.
When he thought of his father-in-law, King Lu Xi of Qi, Zhao Zhao's already firm decision to resign as prime minister couldn't help but waver.
In his life, he was very lucky to have two fathers, namely King Zhao Si of Wei, his biological father, and King Lu Xi of Qi, his father-in-law. Both fathers loved and valued them.
The reason why he chose to stay in Qi State was because his biological father still had his younger brother Zhao Run, who would be a future hero, enough to ensure that Wei State could gain a foothold in the Central Plains; and on the Qi State side, several sons of Qi King Lu Xi
But they are all ineffective. Even Gongzi Bai, who he has placed high hopes on, is still immature and unable to bear the burden of the entire country.
To resign from the position at this time is exactly as Guan Zhong said, as if he had abandoned Qi and failed to live up to Qi King Lu Xi's last instructions.
Seeing that the Zuo Xiang in front of him was shaken after hearing the word "former king", Guan Zhong quickly struck while the iron was hot, citing various examples of how King Lu Xi of Qi treated Zhao Zhao favorably, while emphasizing the threats from Chu and South Korea.
, finally gave up Zhao Zhao’s idea of resigning his position for the time being.
It's no wonder that if you want to persuade a gentleman like Zhao Zhao, you only need to find the right way, let alone being strict. Even if it's another person, it's easy to convince the other party with "big rights and wrongs".
After that, Zhao Zhao and Guan Zhong talked about the Beibo Army again.
Guan Zhong said unceremoniously: "I think Song Yun is the evil of great loyalty!"
The so-called "Evil of Great Loyalty" means that although Song Yun was a hero with great righteousness and was loyal to the Song Dynasty and his compatriots in the Song Dynasty, his actions would instead cause the people of the Song Dynasty to suffer unprecedented disasters.
, which is more harmful than ordinary evildoers.
Zhao Zhao deeply agreed with this.
He nodded and asked Guan Zhong happily: "Guan Zhong also thinks that I, Da Qi, should not intervene in this matter?"
After hearing this, Guan Zhong hesitated for a moment and said with some embarrassment: "Master Zuo Xiang, Guan thinks that we, Da Qi, cannot openly support the Beibo Army, but privately..."
Seeing Zhao Zhao's somewhat disappointed look, Guan Zhong also felt a little guilty.
In fact, both of them understand that there is not so much benevolence and righteousness in the struggle between countries. As far as the Beibo Army is concerned, they should use the Beibo Army as much as possible and let him cause trouble to the Wei State as much as possible.
Delaying Wei's progress in becoming rich and powerful is the most beneficial thing for Qi.
Even as the Wei State has become more and more powerful, the "Three Kingdoms Alliance of Qi, Lu, and Wei" originally established to jointly fight against Chu State has gradually become meaningless - Wei State can even challenge Chu State alone, and it is still necessary to
What do Qi and Lu do as allies?
It is precisely for this reason that Gao Xi said in yesterday's meeting that he could appropriately release goodwill to the Chu State and alleviate the evil between Qi and Chu in the past twenty years.
Fortunately, the State of Wei is not bordering the State of Qi, and it has not yet posed any actual threat to the State of Qi. Otherwise, Qi State ministers such as Gao Xi might propose an alliance with the State of Chu to suppress the State of Wei.
.
After all, "maintaining the balance of countries" is what the countries in the Central Plains have been doing for hundreds of years: not letting a country be too weak and leading to annexation by a strong country; nor letting a country be too strong and have the opportunity to annex a weak country.
, in the situation where the powerful forces are competing against each other, they are waiting for the opportunity to move and look for opportunities to achieve hegemony.
"When I came here, Lord Gao Xi asked me to convey to Lord Zuo Xiang that if Lord Zuo Xiang doesn't mind, I might as well leave this matter to him."
At the end, Guan Zhong said this to Zhao Zhao.
Zhao Zhao let out a long sigh after hearing this.
A few days later, Shangqing Gao Xi came forward to refute the rumors and pointed out righteously that the Beibo Army was not qualified to discuss the ownership of the Song Dynasty with Qi State, and Qi State would not covet the territory of its allies - as for the "allies" among them
"Whether it refers to Wei or Song, Gao Xi did not mention it.
Not long after, the Beibo Army announced the restoration of the Song Dynasty in the name of a certain descendant of the Song royal family, and called on the Song people to fight against the Wei army.
It is worth mentioning that the Chu State seemed to have the same intention as the Qi State, publicly recognizing the so-called Song State and calling on the Wei State to return the territory it invaded and occupied the Song State.
After waiting for a month, Prince Zhao Run, who was watching the battle between the Wei army and Lin Hu in the "forest", received urgent news from the Song Dynasty.
However, he didn't take it to heart at all. He glanced at it casually, then balled up the secret letter and threw it away.
"Send an order to the troops and tell all generals to hurry up and wipe out Lin Hu!"