On the occasion of the New Year, in the residence of Zuo Xiang Zhao in Linzi, Qi State, Wei Gongzi Zhao Zhao held a family banquet to celebrate the New Year, celebrating with the clan guards and their young sons. As for their female relatives and daughters, they had already been taken care of by the mistress.
Ji Ji summoned her to the inner room of the north room and celebrated separately from the men.
It has to be said that precisely because the ten clan guards who followed Zhao Zhao had their own families one after another, the "Linzi Zhao Family" finally did not appear too deserted.
After the banquet was over, Zhao Zhao returned to the dormitory and saw his wife, Zhuan Ji, whose cheeks were red due to drunkenness, and his concubine, Tian Wan.
The women of Qi State are actually not restrained at all when there are no men present. They just have a lot of fun by themselves. Fortunately, the wine these women drink is usually fruit wine, otherwise Zhao Zhao would be really worried.
At the beginning of the first year of the first lunar month, Linzi's famous families sent people one after another to deliver New Year's gifts to Left Prime Minister Zhao's Mansion. They were not very valuable items, but they were quite thoughtful. As for Zhao Zhao, he also rarely spent time in the study.
My own calligraphy and painting as a gift.
Just like when he was in Daliang, today in Linzi, Zhao Zhao's calligraphy treasures are also hard to find. Unfortunately, his calligraphy and paintings were only given to relatives and friends. Looking at the whole country of Qi, Qi people who have Zhao Zhao's calligraphy treasures
, today, a few years later, I am afraid there will not be more than twenty people.
Compared with the congratulatory gifts given by others, what excited and concerned Zhao Zhao the most was the congratulatory gift sent by the State of Wei - his younger brother, Zhao Run, the prince of the East Palace of the State of Wei, specially asked the State of Wei for the gift more than ten days ago.
The wealthy Shang Wen Shaobo sent a batch of valuable gifts to his mansion.
As the prince of the East Palace of the Wei State, Zhao Run's gifts are certainly not inferior. In the gift list, there are black jade, colored jade and other jade from the Qin State, sauvignon from the Chu State, brocade from Bashu, and good horses from Hetao.
In Zhao Zhao's opinion, the most precious thing is the portrait of his mother, Wu Guibi.
Looking at the portrait of his mother, Wu Guibi, with a smile on her face, sitting side by side with Concubine Shen Shu, holding Zhao Run's second son Zhao Chuan and third son Zhao Han in her arms, Zhao Zhao was moved but inevitably a little sad.
What was touching was that Zhao Run fulfilled his promise back then and took care of Wu Guifei on his behalf; as for the sadness, it seemed that the mother was holding his brother's son in her arms, not her own real grandson or granddaughter.
With emotion in his heart, Zhao Zhao walked to the study window, opened it, and looked at the group of people in the courtyard.
At this time, in the courtyard, his eight-year-old son Zhao Liang was trying to ride a pony given to him by his uncle Zhao Run. While he was trying to ride, the clan guards and servants of the house,
He was closely guarding him, for fear that the young master would accidentally fall off the horse.
Even Zhao Zhao could vaguely hear the old servants in the house trying to persuade his son Zhao Liang to wait for some time before the ice and snow melted before trying to ride those ponies, but it was a pity to see the little ponies
Young Master Zhao Liang looked so happy that he couldn't bear it anymore.
It’s no wonder, after all, being able to own a pony of your own is what many aristocratic children dreamed of when they were young. However, in Qi State, getting a good horse is not an easy task.
Easy thing.
"...I, the Wei Dynasty, have captured the Hetao. From now on, I will no longer have to worry about war horses. I believe that it won't be long before I, the Wei Dynasty, will create a real cavalry army..."
Thinking of his distant mother country in his heart, Zhao Zhao was also happy for the strong rise of Wei.
While he was happy, a hint of gloom flashed in his eyes, and he sighed secretly.
At this moment, a servant from the family came to report: "Master, Doctor Bao wants to see you."
"Uncle Bao?"
Zhao Zhao was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said, "Invite him to meet in the study."
"yes."
The servants retreated in response, and a moment later, Uncle Bao, a senior official from Qi State, walked to Zhao Zhao's study.
At this time, Zhao Zhao had also welcomed him out of the study, and the two of them exchanged polite greetings outside the study door.
When Zhao Zhao invited Uncle Bao to the study, Uncle Bao glanced at the group of people in the courtyard and found that Zhao Zhao's son Zhao Liang was happily learning to ride a group of ponies, so he asked curiously: "That horse
Could it be that the horse was also a gift from Mr. Zhao Run?"
Immediately, he saw Zhao Zhao smiling and nodding, and couldn't help but feel a little emotional.
I still remember that a while ago, after the second half of the Lianglu Canal, that is, the section of the canal from Lu to Qi Linzi, was officially opened, Wen Shaobo, a wealthy businessman from the Wei State, arrived along the Lianglu Canal with more than a dozen ships of goods.
Qi State Linzi.
At that time, the whole Linzi was in uproar because this Wei merchant brought a kind of jade that had never been seen in the Central Plains to Qi State.
It was also on that day that the people of Qi realized that in addition to ordinary jade, there were also various precious Qin jade stones such as black jade, colored jade, and blood jade. From then on, the men of Qi State
He was obsessed with black jade, while the girls of Qi were obsessed with colored jade and blood jade. In front of these two rare jade stones, all gold and silver jewelry, emerald and agate seemed to lose their color all of a sudden.
According to the news, when the wealthy businessman Wen Shaobo from Wei State paid a visit to Zhao Zhao, he presented two large boxes of jade. In addition, there were also many specialties from various countries, and even Donghu and Linhu's.
Hu Ji, even though she was a wealthy Qi native, could not help but be impressed by the generosity of Wei's young master Zhao Run. After all, some of the things given by this young master could not be purchased with money.
Just like the jade from the Qin State, it is impossible to get such precious jade without passing through the Wei State.
Even if Lu Bai, the current king of Qi, hangs on his waist to show off the palm-sized ink jade pendant, as well as the ink jade toad placed on the desk that he can't put it down, they were all carefully selected by Zhao Zhao from the two boxes of jade.
Choose the gift.
Later, Uncle Bao walked into the study at Zhao Zhao's invitation.
After the servants of the house brought tea, Uncle Bao did not hide his intention and directly stated the purpose of his visit: "Master Zuo Xiang, in recent days, "Lian Chen (chen)" and "Tian Hu (hu)" have been frequenting each other.
I beg you to see your Majesty...is it true that Mr. Zuo Xiang turned a blind eye?"
"..." Zhao Zhao remained silent.
The "Lian Chen (chen)" in Uncle Bao's mouth was from the Lian family, which was also a well-known noble family in Qi State, while "Tian Hu" was simply the cousin of the former right minister Tian Huan, who was also from the Binhai Tian family.
Two years ago, Tian Kuang tried to support the young master Jiu to ascend the throne and usurp the throne, but he was defeated by Zhao Zhao, Linzi Tian family and Gao Xi of the royal family. After the failure, Tian Kuang took the blame and committed suicide as an apology, so as not to implicate the Binhai Tian family, and
Tian Hu is the representative figure introduced by Binhai Tian family to replace Tian Huan.
Some days ago, Song Yun, the leader of the Beibo Army in Song County, came to Zi several times because of the problems in Song County, begging Qi State to intervene. In order to avoid suspicion, Zhao Zhao, who was born as a prince of Wei, stayed in seclusion during this period and did not pay attention to the problems in Song Dynasty.
Express any attitude.
After getting rid of Zhao Zhao's obstruction, Song Yun turned to Lian Chen and Tian Hu for help. He didn't know what benefits Song Yun had given them, so during this period, Lian Chen and Tian Hu often talked about each other.
Seeking to see Qi King Lu Bai, he wanted to persuade Qi King Lu Bai to agree to recognize the status of the Song State - that is, the Song State that Song Yun restored with only a few cities - and restore the Song State in the "Song, Lu, and Song Three Kingdoms Alliance"
location.
Seeing that Zhao Zhao was silent, Uncle Bao said in a low voice: "Master Zuo Xiang, if this continues, I'm afraid Master Gao Xi will also be hesitant..."
"Gaoxi..."
Zhao Zhao's eyes flashed with a bit of solemnity.
Gao Xi, who was born in the Gao family with the surname Jiang, is almost the most prestigious minister in Linzi today. Even Zhao Zhao, who married Lu Xi's daughter Kui Ji, would have a hard time surpassing the latter in fame, regardless of Gao Xi's position.
Not as good as Zhao Zhao, but I have to admit that if this person said one sentence, he would be recognized by the people of Qi more than if Zhao Zhao said ten sentences.
"Lord Gao Xi, you won't be able to see through..."
Shaking his head, Zhao Zhao finally spoke.
Hearing this, Uncle Bao shook his head and said, "No, Guan Zhong revealed to me yesterday when he came to see me that Lord Gao Xi was also hesitant on this matter. According to Guan Zhong's guess, Lord Gao Xi seemed to intend to promote "Qilu"
The Four Kingdoms Alliance of Yue and Song Dynasties... You also know, Mr. Zuo Xiang, that since the death of the late king
After that, the momentum of Daqi was not as strong as it was back then, but in the west, Wei, the home country of Mr. Zuo Xiang, was prospering." Speaking of this, Uncle Bao said with emotion: "Sir Gao Xi, after all, refused to kill the late king.
The title of "Overlord" that I had finally won was given away so easily."
Zhao Zhao responded with a wry smile when he heard this.
Zhao Zhao still had great respect for Gao Xi's character. After all, Gao Xi was diligent, self-denial, mature and prudent. Sometimes when Zhao Zhao tried to implement any new policies, he had to rely on the escort of Dr. Qing - as long as Zhao Zhao could convince Gao Xi
If Gao Xi understands that the new policy is indeed beneficial to the country, then no matter how strong the resistance is, Gao Xi will step forward without hesitation to help Zhao Zhao bear the pressure.
But having said that, even Gao Xi, who is known as a virtuous minister, has shortcomings. For example, he is always unwilling to face the fact that "Qi State is declining" - Gao Xi also refuses to recognize Wei's new hegemony.
is an unwavering supporter.
It is precisely because of this that the relationship between Zhao Zhao and Gao Xi is estranged. The two people, who are very close in handling state affairs, have almost no contact in private, because they have obviously different attitudes towards the issue of Wei.
"How does Uncle Bao view this matter?" Zhao Zhao asked coldly.
"This..." Uncle Bao looked a little embarrassed and hesitated.
Seeing this, Zhao Zhao suddenly felt enlightened.
It cannot be denied that Uncle Bao is also a talented person, especially in dealing with internal affairs. However, this person's character makes him good at planning and not making good decisions. Even though he is worried that his decision-making will have bad consequences, even if it is a small matter.
, I am afraid that this scholar-bureaucrat will have to weigh it for a long time and consider all aspects carefully before he finally makes a decision.
Therefore, although Uncle Bao's visit to Zhao Zhao today seems to be on the side of "favoring Wei", in fact, the scholar-official has probably not yet decided which side he is on.
Thinking of this, Zhao Zhao changed his tone and asked Guan Zhong for his opinion on this matter. Compared to Uncle Bao, Guan Zhong was much more decisive.
Seeing Zhao Zhao ask about Guan Zhong, the embarrassment on Uncle Bao's face faded a bit, and he said truthfully: "Guan Zhong's opinion is similar to that of Mr. Zuo Xiang, and he believes that Wei should be respected for the time being..."
"Temporarily...?"
Zhao Zhao smiled knowingly.
In his opinion, Guan Zhong's so-called "temporary" is to avoid the sharp edge of the Wei State - after all, the Wei State is too strong now, and Zhao Run is also a hero. It is not difficult to guess that in the next at least twenty
In the year, the entire Central Plains will be the era of the Wei State. Since we have clearly seen this general trend, why do we need to compete with such a powerful Wei State for supremacy?
Therefore, in Guan Zhong's view, Qi State should be able to endure loneliness, develop its national strength with peace of mind, and accumulate strength. When Zhao Run, the hero of Wei State, grows old twenty years later, or makes some wrong decisions that lead to the weakening of national power, Qi State will
The country is waiting for an opportunity to move again.
After all, for the entire historical process of the Central Plains, twenty years is by no means a long time.
Thinking of this, Zhao Zhao secretly nodded: Guan Zhong is indeed a talented state minister, with a broad vision and knowledge of current affairs.
But it's a pity that even if Zhao Zhao has a strong control, his prestige in Qi is not as good as Gao Xi's. What's worse is that when it comes to Wei, Zhao Zhao can't easily express his attitude. After all, Song Yun called Bei Bo last time
The rumors spread by the army once caused Zhao Zhao to suffer criticism. In the end, Gao Xi, Uncle Bao, Guan Zhong, Tian Tao and other important officials came forward to vouch for it - well, among them was Zhao Zhao's wife Kui Ji.
Credit.
That day, Uncle Bao and Zhao Zhao had a long discussion in the study room, and the former then took his leave.
As Uncle Bao said, in the next few days, when King Lu Bai of Qi summoned his close ministers, Gao Xi never expressed any attitude towards the issue of Song Dynasty. Even when asked, his words were ambiguous. Obviously, this
The most prestigious official in Qi State also hesitated on this matter.
Think about it, Gao Xi is not stupid, how can a wise and wise minister like him not know that if Qi State intervenes in Song State's affairs and agrees to Song State's restoration of its status in the "Three Kingdoms Alliance of Qi, Lu, Song, Song Dynasty", then,
Qi and Wei will inevitably become enemies as a result.
The "Qi-Wei Alliance" was promoted by this wise king during the reign of Qi King Lu Xi, and Gao Xi did not want to violate the late king's last wish.
What's more important is that the Wei State is too strong now, especially the Wei State under the leadership of Wei Gongzi Zhao Run. It is so strong that even the Qi State is a little afraid of it.
Two months later, from late February to early March, the question of "Wei or Song" suddenly became acute.
At the end of February in the 26th year of Wei Hongde, the three Wei armies stationed in Song Dynasty, namely the Dredging Army, the Chenggao Army, and the Fenxing Army, took the lead in expressing their stance, identifying Song Yun and the restored Song Dynasty under his command as the Beibo Army as the "pseudo Song Dynasty", and formally opposed the Song Dynasty.
The latter used troops.
To be honest, if there were only these three Wei armies, in fact, the Beibo Army led by Song Yun would still be capable of fighting. But the question is, does the state of Wei only have these three Wei armies?
You know, the 400,000 troops of the Wei State attacking the Hetao area did not include the Chunshui Army, Chenggao Army and Fenxing Army!
So, after learning the news, Song Yunxing came to Linzi of Qi State at night, visited Lian Chen and Tian Hu, stated his interests to these two scholar-bureaucrats of Qi State, and asked for their help.
During this period, Song Yun certainly made various promises, whether it was to Qi Guo or to Lian Chen and Tian Hu.
The next day, Lian Chen and Tian Hu asked to see King Lu Bai of Qi again to explain the matter. King Lu Bai of Qi was still young and had difficulty making a decision, so they sent Zhao Zhao, Gao Xi, Tian Tao, Guan Zhong, Bao Shu, etc.
Important ministers were invited to the palace to ask for their opinions.
This was the first time that King Lu Bai of Qi had put forward consultation opinions on the issue of Song Dynasty. Of course, the ministers paid attention to it. Therefore, these Qi officials started arguing in the palace.
Among them, Zhao Zhao, Guan Zhong, and Tian Tao all objected to intervening in the affairs of the Song Dynasty. In Tian Tao's view, the affairs of the Song Dynasty were internal affairs of the Wei State and were in the nature of civil strife.
Even Tian Tao pointedly pointed out that Song Yun of the Northern Bo Army supported a descendant of the Song royal family to restore the Song Dynasty. This cannot be regarded as a country at all. God knows whether the descendant of the Song royal family was a puppet, or even whether there was any It’s hard for anyone to guarantee this.
Lian Chen and Tian Hu firmly stated that Qi State, as the leader of the "Three Kingdoms Alliance of Qi, Lu, Song and Song", did not send troops to assist Song State in resisting the invasion of Wei State and Chu Yangcheng Lord Xiong Tuo. Now, the Song people have restored the country, and Qi State has As the leader of the alliance, the country should provide support.
As for Gao Xi and Uncle Bao, they remained neutral for the time being, watching the two parties arguing and weighing the pros and cons.
As the debate became more intense, the opinions of both sides gradually deepened.
First of all, Lian Chen pointed out unceremoniously: "...the Left Prime Minister is opposed to this matter, is it because of selfish motives?"
After hearing this, before Zhao Zhao could speak, Tian Bao retorted harshly: "Master Lian Chen, please don't talk nonsense. Master Zuo Xiang is a humble gentleman, as everyone knows, but Master Lian Chen, for the sake of a dishonest name, spoke out. The dissatisfied Pseudo-Song opened his mouth, but he didn’t know what the benefits of accepting Song Yun were in private? Is this how your family’s fortune came about?”
This remark, which was almost a personal attack, made Lian Chen furious when he heard the words, and he clenched his fists subconsciously - he swore that if he hadn't thought that he couldn't beat Tian Bao, he would definitely give this guy a try.
Not to mention, the officials of Qi State have always been able to hold pens and swords, and Tian Tao is the best among them.
Unlike Zhao Zhao, a frail scholar, Tian Tao is one of the "Five Tigers of the Tian family". He is an all-rounder who can mount a horse to fight on the battlefield and dismount to govern the country. He also has a big frame, a tall man and a big horse. As for Linzi Palace, there are really not many scholar-bureaucrats who dare to take action against this man.
"I don't know the same as you!"
In the end, under Tian Tao's disdainful gaze, Lian Chen could only say this bitterly.
Seeing this scene, King Lu Bai of Qi secretly thought it was a pity.
Being young and vigorous, he really wanted to see the martial arts of these scholar-bureaucrats. He saw these well-dressed scholar-bureaucrats fighting in the palace due to different political opinions, scuffling on the ground like rogues in the market.
Not to mention, in the past dynasties of Qi State, open fights between scholar-officials in the palace were nothing at all, so much so that the world once jokingly said that the scholar-officials of Qi State had the highest military force among the countries in the Central Plains.
When Zhao Zhao was an official in Qi State, he witnessed two scholar-bureaucrats fighting in front of King Lu Xi of Qi due to different political opinions. Zhao Zhao could not believe it at the time, but King Lu Xi of Qi did not care, as if it was commonplace. .
But unfortunately, as Tian Tao worshiped as the right prime minister, this situation became much rarer. It was not because of anything else, but because of Lian Chen, scholar-bureaucrats like Tian Hu thought that they could not defeat Tian Tao.
In the end, both parties turned their attention to Qi Wang Lu Bai and Shangqing Gao Xi. In fact, Qi Wang Lu Bai did not need to think too much about it for the time being. The key was Gao Xi, and his attitude was the key.
Under the gaze of everyone, Gao Xi also frowned.
In fact, in his opinion, both parties are right: leaning towards the Song State will help Qi State consolidate its dominant position in the Central Plains, but the disadvantage is that it will be at odds with the Wei State; and leaning towards the Wei State will help Qi State maintain its dominance.
The disadvantage of the friendship between Qi and Wei was that it could not stop Wei's growing momentum, so in the end, Qi had to give up its hegemony to Wei.
As for the Song State itself, to be honest, Gao Xi didn't care at all - just as Tian Tao pointed out just now, the Song State had been destroyed twenty years ago. In fact, the so-called Song State that the Song State was restored to today was actually
It is not worthy of being an ally of Qi at all.
Therefore, today's matter should actually be a game between Qi and Wei. Song is at best a trigger for conflicts. No matter what its intentions are, it is not enough to become a chess player.
This can be clearly proven from Gao Xi's last suggestion.
"My lords, please listen to me. It's not like this... The Song Dynasty is divided into two parts. The west of "Rencheng" belongs to the Wei State, while the east of Rencheng belongs to the "New Song Dynasty"...
"
Without any Song people present, Gao Xi arbitrarily divided the Song land into two parts.
After hearing Gao Xi's words, all the Qi officials in the palace began to think deeply.
In their view, Gao Xi's suggestion was simply a conflagration. They were not willing to give up "Song State", a chess piece that could strengthen Qi State's influence in the Central Plains, nor did they want to offend Wei State.
But are things that simple?
It cannot be denied that the Song land east of Rencheng is currently occupied by Song Yun and Huan Hu. The Wei State cannot affect this area for the time being, but the problem is that the 'sovereignty' of this land belongs to the Wei State.
——Wei Guo’s temporary non-fighting does not mean that they will not fight in the future. How could they accept it so easily?
However, considering his current status, Zhao Zhao still said objectively: "I have to ask Daliang's opinion on this matter."
"That makes sense."
Gao Xi nodded, then raised his hands to Qi King Lu Bai and said: "Your Majesty, I kindly ask you to send an envoy to the State of Wei to discuss this matter with the State of Wei. As for the candidates..."
As soon as he said this, Tian Tao interrupted with bad intentions: "Why don't we send Lord Lian Chen or Lord Tian Hu as envoys."
After hearing this, Lian Chen and Tian Hu happily asked for orders.
Looking at these two guys who don't know whether to live or die, Tian Tao secretly sneered in his heart: Lian Chen and Tian Hu, these two guys, don't know the character of Wei Gongzi Zhao Run, maybe they will not survive this mission to Wei.
return.
Maybe he guessed that Tian Tao had the intention of "killing someone with a borrowed knife", so Zhao Zhao softened his heart and finally interjected: "Why don't we invite Mr. Tian Hu and Mr. Bao Shu to go to Daliang as envoys."
Perhaps Zhao Zhao also felt that if Lian Chen or Tian Hu were allowed to go as envoys to Wei alone, these two arrogant Qi people might really be killed by his brother Zhao Run.
And if the mature and prudent Uncle Bao was watching, he might not offend the brother who is now in charge of the power of Wei State.
Of course, this was just to save Tian Hu's life. As for whether this mission to Wei could achieve its goal, to be honest, Zhao Zhao was not optimistic at all.
It was just his status that prevented him from directly vetoing the matter.