The nearly month-long journey to show off national power finally came to an end in early April.
During this period of time, the envoys from various countries were severely beaten. Only then did they realize that Wei already had financial resources that rivaled Qi's, craftsmanship that rivaled Lu's, and military power that rivaled South Korea's.
The envoys from various countries were a little unbelievable.
However, what frightened the envoys from various countries the most was the aggressiveness of the Wei State at this time - even though it had become a veritable overlord of the Central Plains, this country still held the enterprising spirit of fighting forward, as if the overlord of the Central Plains was far from being
The ultimate goal of this country.
I remember that on the night of the sixth day of April, in the post house in Daliang City, the Korean envoy Han Chao thought about it for a long time, and finally wrote in his letter, "The Wei Kingdom may not be satisfied with the position of overlord, or may covet the entire world."
sentence.
This handbook records all the things he experienced after arriving in the Wei Kingdom. He will present it to Han Wangran when he returns home. Therefore, Han Chao has considered every word in this handbook again and again, and is extremely cautious, lest he
His careless choice of words affected Han Wangran's judgment.
"How's the writing going?"
A cup of tea was brought to the desk in front of Han Chao. Zhao Zhuo, who was also the envoy of Han Chao, asked. Then he glanced at the note twice. When he saw the sentence "Wei may not be satisfied with the position of overlord," Zhao Zhuo Duan
Holding a teacup, he asked in surprise: "Do you think Wei may have the ambition to conquer the world?"
Swallowing the world and unifying the entire Central Plains is definitely an extravagant dream that the monarchs of this era dare not even think about, because the process is too difficult, and in addition to strength, it also requires luck.
South Korea lacked luck back then.
Thinking back on how powerful Korea was during the Han Dynasty, when it defeated the powerful Wei State in the west and the even more powerful Qi State in the east. The people of Korea at that time felt that the country would aspire to become the dominant country in the Central Plains and create a world-renowned revolution.
Hegemony.
As a result, before the Koreans could be happy for two years, a new king named Lu Xi turned the tide of the Qi State, which had been devastated by Korea at that time, and severely defeated the Koreans' arrogance.
Subsequently, the battle between the two monarchs, King Jian of Han and King Xi of Qi, began. However, unfortunately, King Jian of Han died young, making the battle between these two heroes decided early on.
After that, Han Wangqi, who succeeded his brother Han Wangjian to the throne, was far less talented and powerful than the former. This made Korea's strategy of conquering Qi State at a standstill. However, although Han Wangqi was not as talented as his brother Han Wangjian, he had no influence on the latter.
However, he kept his last words firmly in mind and devoted himself to competing with Qi for more than twenty years. As a result, South Korea and Qi constantly clashed on the battlefield in Julu County. However, in the end, South Korea not only failed to defeat Qi,
Instead, Qi State's Julu Navy frequently harassed the cities along the river.
After the death of King Han Qi, Duke Kang Han Hu, Marquis Han Wu and other powerful ministers took control of the government, South Korea's foreign strategy finally changed - South Korea stopped competing with Qi and turned its attention to Wei in the southwest of the country.
The country hit upon this former defeated general.
But unfortunately, at this time, Wei State has shown signs of a blowout rise. The emergence of Wei Gongzi Run, the return of Nanliang King Zhao Yuanzuo and Yu King Zhao Yuandai, and the migration of the Wei clan from Longxi to Wei State have made Wei State's development
Especially fast and fierce, at this time, South Korea, who originally wanted to pick the weak persimmon, suddenly found that they could not defeat the defeated enemy.
If we say that the "First Wei-Korean Battle of Northern Xinjiang" was "invincible", it was just because South Korea was too conceited, or because there were still foreign tribes such as Lin Hu, Dong Hu, Xiongnu and so on who were eyeing them, so they did not mobilize an army far stronger than the Handan army.
Therefore, border defense armies such as the Yanmen Army and the Northern Yan Army failed in the war with Wei.
Then during the "Second Wei-Korean Northern Frontier Battle" and the "Third Wei-Korean Northern Frontier Battle", South Korea gradually discovered that even after mobilizing border garrison troops, they could not defeat Wei, their former defeated general.
After the fourth war between Wei and South Korea in recent years broke out two years ago, South Korea was shocked to find that even if they tried their best, they could not defeat Wei, their former defeated general; on the other hand, Qi State, under the influence of King Qi
After Xi's death, the country's national power declined significantly. Unfortunately, due to the situation in the Central Plains at that time, South Korea not only could not leave its powerful enemy Wei to attack the weak Qi, but instead had to bring Qi, a weak ally, to attack Wei together.
As one can imagine, the "Five-Nation Alliance" was defeated by the "Four-Nation Alliance".
This is not only a major strategic mistake, but also caused by bad luck - South Korea always fails to choose the most suitable opponent at the most suitable time.
Finally, Han Wangran was able to wait for Han Wangran, a wise king with no less potential than Han Wangjian, but because of the relationship between Kang Gong Han Hu, Lihou Han Wu and others who controlled the government, Han Wangran missed nearly ten years. In these nearly ten years, he could succeed.
Wei Gongzi Run, who was no less powerful than Han Wangran, led the Wei army to sweep across the Central Plains, laying the foundation for Wei's hegemony.
Whenever they think about this incident, Han Chao and Zhao Zhuo can't help but shake their heads and sigh, lamenting the bad luck of the country.
"Today, General Baoyuan met with the envoy from Qin..."
Holding the tea cup, Zhao Zhuo suddenly spoke.
Han Chao was stunned and asked: "Is that..."Weiyang Lord Ying Hua"? Can this person take charge of Qin's affairs?"
"You don't know this."
Zhao Zhuo pulled up a chair and sat down, and said seriously: "I have inquired about it. Ying Hua, the Weiyang Lord of Qin State, is the biological brother of King Qin Hui. Although his reputation is not well known in the Central Plains, in Qin State, he is
A very prestigious member of the royal family... This person first stationed troops in the Weiyang area to fight against Yiqu..."
"Yiqu?" Han Chao frowned and asked, "A branch of Xiqiang?"
"Well." Zhao Zhuo nodded and said: "The relationship between Qin and the Western Qiang is very complicated. Some Qiang people are quite close to the Qin, just like the Lou annoying people who were surrendered by the former Shanggu Shou Mashe, but there are also some Qiang people.
People are at odds with the Qin State, and Yiqu is one of them... I asked officials from the Ministry of Rites of the Wei State about this matter, and learned that Yiqu was incompatible with the Qin State, and it has always been a serious problem for the Qin State..."
"Is it like the "Zhongshan Baidi" in our country?" Han Chao asked in surprise.
"It's roughly the same." Zhao Zhuo nodded.
The "Zhongshan Baidi" he refers to is a country established by a Baidi tribe that once occupied Zhongshan. Although this country was once Centralized, it was later destroyed by South Korea. However, the descendants of those Zhongshan people have already integrated into the country.
among Koreans.
According to Zhao Zhuo, Weiyang Jun Ying Hua was the noble Qin king who advocated the eradication of Yiqu. Although he was not well-known in the Central Plains, he was a Qin general with a heavy army and gained the trust of his brother Qin Wanghui.
In recent years, the Qin State has obtained a lot of military-oriented technologies due to its alliance with the Wei State, and does not have to worry about food and grass. This has allowed the Qin State to achieve more significant results in the war with Yiqu, and Weiyang Jun Ying Hua has also become Qin's most dazzling star in recent years because of his military exploits - after all, Qin's Wuxinhou Gongsunqi, Changxinhou Wangjian, etc. are all because of their relationship with Li Mu, the guard of Yanmen in South Korea. After a long stalemate, almost no progress was made.
"Did the negotiation process go smoothly?" Han Chao asked.
Hearing this, Zhao Zhuo shook his head with a sense of melancholy and said with a wry smile: "According to the guards around General Baoyuan, Weiyang Lord Ying Hua wanted me to cede Yanmen County to Han at that time, which made General Baoyuan very angry. They almost fell out on the spot..."
"Cede Yanmen County..."
Han Chao also shook his head.
Just hearing this request, he knew that Weiyang Lord Ying Hua had no intention of negotiating with his country - his country now relied entirely on Yanmen, and the complex terrain of the two counties of Taiyuan reached Qin's attack. How could he give up? ?Once Yanmen County is ceded, if Qin betrays its promise, South Korea may not be able to effectively resist the Qin army's attack.
It is worth mentioning that not only did the negotiations between South Korea and Qin fail, in fact, Chu State also did not negotiate peace with Qi, Lu, and Yue. In other words, what is the excuse for Wei to host the alliance this time? Those who don't appeal are completely bankrupt.
Of course, in fact, no one would care about that. After all, the real purpose of Wei's call for an alliance of nations is not really to call for restraint from each other - Wei's purpose is to completely establish itself as the hegemon of the Central Plains. It's just a position, he hopes that all countries will continue to fight each other to the death.
No, when it was known that the negotiations between the envoys of various countries had broken down, did Wei, as the leader of this alliance, ever have officials from the Ministry of Rites come forward to mediate? No!
The so-called alliance actually ended after Wei showed off its national power to envoys from various countries.
"...In addition, I learned from my inquiries that Qin's Yangquan Lord Ying Bo is said to have made a special trip to purchase Wei's armaments..."
Zhao Zhuo's addition immediately made Han Chao stop the pen in his hand, and a look of worry appeared on his brows.
Even if he was not familiar with military affairs, he could still guess that the purpose of Qin's purchase of armaments from Wei was to attack Yanmen County in South Korea, and the armaments forged by Wei...
After visiting Yecheng that day, Han Chao, Bao Yuan, Zhao Zhuo and others all believed that even the weapons and equipment Wei was willing to show them were no weaker than those of South Korea. If these things fell into the hands of the Qin people, I believe that the pressure on the Yanmen Army will increase several times.
"We must find a way to stop this!"
Han Chao frowned and said.
That’s what it says, but how to stop it?
Qin and Wei are firm allies, not to mention that Qin is marrying a princess. How can such a strong alliance be shaken by South Korea?
But as the saying goes, everything depends on human effort. Han Chao went to the palace the next day to ask for an audience with Wei Wang Zhao Run, while Zhao Zhuo tried to find a way to establish friendship with Wei officials in the Daliang court - despite the fierce fighting between Wei and South Korea over the years, but In fact, Han Chao and Zhao Zhuo, the two Korean envoys, also made friends with many Wei officials and celebrities.
When the Han envoy Han Chao asked to see Zhao Run, Zhao Run, the monarch of Wei, rarely handled state affairs in Chuigong Hall.
After all, in the past month, he led envoys from various countries around Liang County. Although he successfully showed off his national power and gave the envoys from various countries a sense of awe, from another perspective, he also successfully achieved his lazy goal.
Purpose - apparently, seemingly
After all, Du You, the Minister of Rites, and other officials of the inner court were not easy to fool. After Zhao Hongrun couldn't think of any tricks to show off, he could only return to Chui Gong Hall honestly.
Continue to handle government affairs.
This can be regarded as a tacit understanding between Zhao Run and the ministers in the inner dynasty: in exchange for Zhao Run not crossing the bottom line, the ministers would sometimes turn a blind eye.
"What are Han Chao, Zhao Zhuo and Bao Yuan doing in the past two days?"
After learning that the Han envoy Han Chao came to ask for an audience, Zhao Run asked the eunuch Gao Hedao who was nearby.
The great eunuch Gao He replied: "According to the news sent by Captain Gao Kuo and Captain Gao of Tiance Mansion, Han general Bao Yuan has paid a visit to Weiyang Jun Ying Hua of Qin in the past two days, probably to negotiate with Qin.
The war between South Korea and South Korea; as for Han Chao and Zhao Zhuo, these two people had secretly
I met with several groups of so-called 'friends', probably with the agents who were placed in Wei Dynasty. In addition, Han Chao has always expressed his desire to visit Yecheng again, while Zhao Zhuo visited many people.
Officials from the DPRK and China...this is the list of these officials."
As he spoke, he took out a piece of paper from his sleeve and handed it to Zhao Hongrun with a bow.
Zhao Hongrun took the list and looked at it twice. When he saw the name "Du You, Minister of Rites" in the list, he smiled and asked Du You in the palace: "Du Qing, then Han Chao went to visit your house?"
Du You nodded and said with a smile: "Indeed, I also sent him a generous gift... But I didn't dare to accept it. After several polite attempts to refuse, he asked the servants in the house to send him back to the post house.
.”
As the chief minister of the Inner Dynasty, Du You certainly knew that the Qingya people under the command of Gao Kuo, the Zuodu Lieutenant of Tiance Mansion, had been watching every move of these envoys these days, so naturally he did not dare to do anything to accept bribes.
So as not to arouse Zhao Run's suspicion of him - although the new king would not doubt his ministers because of such a trivial matter.
"What a pity. If it were me, I would accept everything but not do anything for him, hahaha..." Zhao Hongrun said jokingly, making all the ministers in the palace laugh.
Immediately, Zhao Hongrun asked: "Is it because of Qin's arms order?"
Hearing this, Du You suppressed his smile, nodded and said seriously: "According to what Han Chao revealed, South Korea is willing to surrender to the Wei Dynasty and respect the Wei Dynasty as its master in exchange for the Wei Dynasty's respect for it.
"Tolerance'... I thought at first that this 'tolerance' meant that I wanted to reduce the compensation South Korea owed me, the Wei Dynasty, but later I discovered that Han Chao meant 'I hope that the Wei Dynasty will treat Qin and South Korea equally'..."
"Humph, are we treated equally?" Zhao Hongrun curled his lips and felt a little funny in his heart: As a defeated country that was forced to surrender to the Wei State, South Korea actually had the nerve to say that it hoped to receive similar treatment as the Qin State. It was simply
It’s wishful thinking!
But having said that, South Korea still has some use value.
For example, in turn weakening Qin.
Although the two countries of Wei and Qin are now in the honeymoon period, not only Zhao Hongrun also married Qin Shaojun Yingying, but also many others including Qin Wanghui, Weiyangjun Yinghua, Yangquanjun Yingbo, Wuxinhou Gongsunqi, Changxinhou Wangjian, etc.
All the powerful figures in Qin had close personal relationships with Zhao Hongrun, but this was not enough to guarantee that the relationship between Wei and Qin could be maintained for a long time.
In fact, Qin is also a potential rival of Wei, but the threat from Qin ranks behind South Korea and Chu, and is at most the third threat.
This is very similar to the situation of Chu State: once Qin State develops and grows in the future, it will inevitably have some friction with Wei State.
Just like the friendly alliance between Wei and Qi from the beginning, they eventually became strangers and even turned against each other. During the development of a country, its enemies and friends may change. Once enemies become allies, and former allies become
Enemies, etc. After all, countries have different interests.
Therefore, for the Wei State, the "Qin-Korean War" was not just about using the power of Qin to weaken South Korea, but it also meant using South Korea's power to weaken Qin - again, as long as Qin
The level of development and growth has not reached the level that the Qin people have the ambition to "aspire to conquer the Central Plains", then the most fundamental contradiction between Qin and Wei does not exist.
On the contrary, conflict between the two countries will eventually be inevitable.
From the perspective of Wei State's current interests, what Zhao Hongrun needs to do is to balance the strengths of various countries as much as possible while trying his best to develop himself, and not to cause too big changes in the world structure. This is the most suitable for Wei State's current situation.
Beneficial.
To be honest, this is not a simple matter.
"My dear friends, please go to the side hall to rest first."
After thinking about it, Zhao Hongrun decided to summon the Han envoy Han Chao in Chui Gong Hall.
All the ministers in the palace knew the reason, so they did not ask in detail, but stood up one after another and stepped back.
After waiting for the ministers of the inner court to retreat, Zhao Hongrun ordered the eunuch Gao He to send people to remove the tables, seat cushions, pens, inks, paper and inkstones of the ministers of the inner court, and move all the piled memorials to the dragon case.
After everything was prepared, Zhao Hongrun asked people to invite Han Chao into the palace.
A moment later, under the leadership of a young eunuch, Han Chao followed suit to the Chui Gong Hall. At a glance, he saw Zhao Hongrun diligently leaning on the throne and immersed in government affairs. He sincerely accused: "Disturbing Wei."
His Majesty handles state affairs, and Han Chao deserves death."
Zhao Hongrun raised his head, smiled and waved his hand and said: "Lord Han Chao said something serious... In recent times, after the alliance, I was a little neglectful of government affairs, which led to the accumulation of political affairs..." He pointed at
There are many memorials piled up in front of Long's case.
Han Chao nodded convinced, looking at the pile of memorials, feeling secretly in his heart.
I remember that when Wei envoys Tang Ju and Fan Ying went to Jicheng, South Korea, they inadvertently revealed that Wei King Zhao Run was diligent in serving the country after he succeeded to the throne, which surprised Han Chao and Zhao Zhuo: Like Wei Gongzi Runna
How can a person who is a domineering king be able to handle state affairs with diligence and self-restraint?
In Han Chao's mind, Wei Gongzi Run is more like the kind of person who only gives orders and leaves everything to his subordinates to do the work.
However, when they met today, Han Chao was really impressed by this young monarch: he really can’t be judged by his appearance!
Glancing at Han Chao, Zhao Hongrun said with a smile but not a smile: "At the end of last year, Tang Ju and Fan Ying were sent to your country as envoys to our court. After returning home, these two men reported back to me, saying that they met when they were in Jicheng.
The monarch of your country is very diligent and can be regarded as an example for the monarchs in the world... Oh, Han Ran, hasn't given up yet?"
Han Chao certainly understood what Zhao Hongrun meant by "giving up". Hearing this, he replied with a smile: "His Majesty the King of Wei has misunderstood. How dare our king dare to compete with His Majesty for supremacy? It's just that our country has been defeated in a new war, and Qin is aggressive."
, Whether it is for the ancestors of the country or for the subjects at home, the king feels that we should be more diligent..."
His words were of a very high standard. He not only denied that Han Wangran had the ambition to "keep a low profile and cherish the glory for the future", but also inadvertently mentioned the state of Qin, paving the way for the next topic: "Speaking of Qin
Chao, I heard that the State of Qin intends to purchase armaments from your country?"
"oh?"
Zhao Hongrun joked: "Is there such a thing?"
Seeing that Zhao Hongrun refused to admit it, Han Chao smiled bitterly and said: "Your Majesty the King of Wei, you and Chao have known each other for seven or eight years, why should you deceive me? As far as Chao knows, the armaments being built by your country's Military Casting Bureau are probably for Qin
Was it prepared by the country?”
Zhao Hongrun glanced at Han Chao and smiled without saying a word.
It is undeniable that the Weapon Casting Bureau has indeed been building a batch of armaments recently, but they are not actually prepared for the Qin State. First, they are the latest weapons and equipment, which the Wei State will never sell to outsiders; secondly, the Qin State does not
They couldn't afford it, or in other words, the powerful royal family of the Qin State were unwilling to pay the price.
The so-called weapons and equipment purchased by Qin from Wei are actually some old equipment that has been eliminated by the Wei army. Of course, even old equipment can greatly improve the strength of the Qin army.
This can prove that although South Korea has sent many agents to the Wei State, these agents have still not been able to sneak into Yecheng. This is no wonder. After all, Yecheng has always been the focus of the Qingya people and the imperial department under surveillance. How could it be possible?
Is it easy for spies from various countries to snoop for information?
After thinking about it, Zhao Hongrun nodded and said, "That's all. Considering that we have known each other for many years, I will tell the truth...it is indeed true."
"Your Majesty, King Wei, please think again."
Seeing that Zhao Hongrun finally admitted the matter, Han Chao said seriously: "For your country's sake, Chao believes that it is most beneficial to your country if Qin and South Korea maintain the current war situation. If your country secretly aids Qin, it will break the Qin and Han armies.
The current balanced situation has weakened Han but made Qin stronger. It is tantamount to driving away a wolf and attracting a tiger. What is the benefit to your country? It is better to watch the fire from the other side and sit back and watch the tigers and wolves fight. This is a foolproof strategy.
.”
"You... learned it from Han Ran, right?"
Zhao Hongrun heard it a little funny, thinking that Han Ran had just said something as if he was thinking about Wei, which made Zhao Run speechless, and finally gave up destroying South Korea to prevent Chu from taking the opportunity to rise; but now, Han Chao seems to have followed suit.
Han Ran also meant to weigh interests from the perspective of his country, Wei, which made Zhao Hongrun feel quite awkward.
But it is undeniable that what Han Chao said is indeed very reasonable.
This is not just because Qin and Wei are allies, and Wei has promised to secretly assist Qin in attacking South Korea. The key is that Wei needs to deal with the obsolete armaments - hundreds of thousands of weapons and equipment that have been phased out by the Wei army.
, you can’t just leave it rotting in the warehouse, right?
Since Qin is willing to purchase it at a price higher than the cost price, why not sell it?
Not to mention Qin, even South Korea, Zhao Hongrun is willing to sell.
Some people may say that selling obsolete weapons and equipment to other countries is likely to become a move to capitalize on the enemy. But the problem is that as far as the current situation in the Central Plains is concerned, no country will dare to start a war with Wei in the next few years.
War - Even if Wei is sold to South Korea, will South Korea have the confidence to launch a war against Wei again? Impossible!
Thinking of this, Zhao Hongrun immediately said with a smile: "Lord Han Chao, please be patient. I have absolutely no intention of favoring one over the other. Although Qin was indeed an ally of Wei before, your country has responded to our request for this alliance."
Wei's call, I also regard your country as a close country, and hope that Wei and South Korea will resolve the war from now on... But it is difficult for me to intervene in the war between your country and Qin..."
"It's not easy to intervene? You were the one who started the war between our two countries in the first place!"
Han Chao hesitated to speak and looked at Zhao Hongrun.
At this time, Zhao Hongrun was seen vowing to say: "But I can guarantee that since your country is willing to surrender to our Wei Dynasty, I will treat everyone equally. If Qin can get some help from our Wei Dynasty, your country can too."
Han Chao listened for a long time before he understood what Zhao Hongrun meant: Are you planning to sell arms on both sides of the relationship? You are not as shameless as you, right? Besides, the craftsmanship of South Korea's forging arms is not inferior to that of your Wei State, so why bother with your Wei State?
Do countries purchase armaments? And nine times out of ten, it is some old equipment that has been phased out.
But looking at Zhao Hongrun's smiling face, Han Chao didn't dare to say no.
Because he couldn't guess the order of one thing: is it because Wei Guo now regards South Korea as a country that is close to him and is willing to sell some obsolete old-style armaments to the latter, or is it because South Korea has only solved some of the obsolete armaments for Wei Guo?
Only with the old-style armaments, Wei would regard South Korea as a close country.