When Yingying came to Xianyang, in the main hall of Xianyang Palace, King Qin was discussing important matters with Zhao Ran, the chief concubine.
The content of the discussion between the two men was exactly the news that had been sent to Qin State by spies stationed in Luoyang in recent days: On the sixth day of August, King Run of Wei went on a personal expedition and vowed to defeat a million enemy troops.
"I heard that the coalition forces of millions of countries invaded the country, and they actually recruited soldiers and led the troops to fight in person... This son is truly a hero in this world."
Looking at the secret letter sent by the spy in his hand, King Qin replied with heartfelt praise.
Beside, the chief concubine Zhao Ran also nodded slowly in agreement.
They were all familiar with King Zhao Run of Wei. They knew that Zhao Run was no taller than a middle-aged man. Although he could not say that he was incapable of binding a chicken, only one soldier could knock him down. However, this man's courage, mind, and knowledge , all of them made King Qin come back and praise Zhao Ran highly.
Both of them admired the courage of King Zhao Run of Wei for his personal expedition when the country was in crisis.
The reason is very simple, because the "martial style" of Qin is no less than that of Wei.
Looking at all the countries, in fact, the monarchs of Qin led their armies on many expeditions. Whenever there was a large-scale war, the monarchs of Qin and the great nobles in the country would go out with the army. This was not so much a way to inspire military morale. Strategy is rather a custom passed down from early years.
Among the royal families of the Qin State, except for the "Lantian Lord Ying Ban" who was once ridiculed for being timid and cowardly, almost all the Ying royal family have experience in joining the army and participating in wars, and many capable generals have emerged among them - such as the current "Weiyang Jun Yinghua" and "Yangquan Jun Yingba".
When King Qin returned to his youth, he frequently led his troops on expeditions.
Because of this, when Zhao Run besieged Xianyang and threatened the Qin State, King Qin Hui did not show any weakness, let alone compromise. If Qin Shaojun Ying Ying had not arrived in time with the royal order from Zhao Si, the late king of Wei, maybe King Qin Hui would have All the native people of Qin State were engaged in an endless war with Zhao Run, the future son-in-law.
But appreciation is appreciation, and King Qin Hui and Zhao Ran could not judge whether King Zhao Run of Wei could win this personal expedition. After all, the coalition forces of various countries that Wei faced this time were said to number 1.5 million people - this number alone was Just thinking about it makes my scalp numb.
"I'm afraid it will be difficult to win."
Zhao Ran, the chief concubine, shook his head and frowned and said: "The military strength of Wei and other countries is very different... If I were the king of Wei, I should send envoys to make peace with South Korea at this time and try to bring all the troops in South Korea to The Wei army was transferred back to the mainland to resist the coalition forces of other countries..."
"This is not easy."
King Qin Hui said with emotion: "Han Ran, the monarch of South Korea, is not a good person. Since he has learned that the coalition forces of other countries are attacking the Wei army, how can he easily make peace with Wei and allow Wei to withdraw troops from South Korea smoothly?... Thinking about it, Han Ran would not only not agree to reconcile with Wei, but would try to hold back Wei's elites as much as possible. If Wei forced troops to withdraw, South Korea might also take a counterattack. By then, Wei's situation might be even worse. Too bad..."
Zhao Ran nodded, then suddenly interjected: "But last time I heard from Xiao Zuo that Han Ran, the monarch of South Korea, has passed away. Now it seems that Han Wu is in charge of state affairs in South Korea."
"Han Wu?" King Qin asked in surprise: "Isn't Han Wu in Wei as a hostage?"
"Probably he fled back to China." Zhao Ran spread his hands and said that he didn't know the specific situation.
Just as the two of them were talking, a chamberlain hurriedly walked in from outside the palace. After saluting, he happily announced: "Your Majesty, the eldest princess is back."
"The eldest princess?"
King Qin was stunned for a moment, and then he realized that the servant in front of him was referring to Ying Ying, who was married to King Zhao Run of Wei.
It's no wonder, after all, Ying Ying has lived as "Qin Shaojun Ying Ying" for more than 20 years. Even her father, King Qin Hui, has long been accustomed to people around him calling Ying Ying "Crown Prince" and "Shaojun". , on the contrary, she is not used to the title "eldest princess".
"Young Master is back... please come quickly."
King Qin suddenly showed a smile on his face.
After the chamberlain left, the chief concubine Zhao Ran said helplessly to King Qin: "Your Majesty, it's probably inappropriate to call the princess "Young Jun" now..."
When King Qin returned, he suddenly understood.
Also, because the crown prince of the Qin State "Qin Shaojun Ying Ying" had already been informed of the "unfortunate death" by the King of Qin when Yingying was pregnant with Zhao Xing and Zhao An several years ago, so now the only option is to "marry." "Princess Yingying of Qin State, the daughter of King Zhao Run of Wei", there is no more "Yingying Ying, Shaojun of Qin".
Today, the young king of Qin is Ying Ying's younger brother, Ying Zhu, who has been weak and sick since childhood.
After hearing Zhao Ran's reminder, King Qin smiled back and said: "I've been calling you for so many years, but I can't change my mind for a while..."
"Even so, it should be corrected."
Zhao Ran said with a bitter smile.
In fact, if someone mentions "Shaojun" at this moment, I am sure that the concubine will think of "Shaojun Yingying" instead of "Shaojun Yingzhu".
After a while, Ying Ying was seen leading the guard chief Peng Zhong into the palace.
Ying Ying, who was dressed in men's clothes, walked into the palace and saluted her father in a male manner, saying, "Father, I have come to visit you."
"Okay, okay." King Qin smiled back and nodded repeatedly. Immediately, his eyes searched around Ying Ying for a while, and he frowned slightly and asked, "Didn't Xing'er and An'er bring them?"
He was referring to Ying Ying's son Zhao Xing and daughter Zhao An.
"I didn't bring it this time." Ying Ying said with a smile.
Seeing this, King Qin turned around with a look of disappointment on his face, causing Zhao Ran, the concubine who was watching this scene, to secretly shake his head.
It has to be said that King Qin Hui has loved Ying Ying, a daughter who appeared in front of the country as a man, since childhood, so much so that sometimes even Zhao Ran and other ministers who knew about it were surprised, wondering if his king had forgotten this young monarch. His true gender should be treated as the crown prince of the country.
But now, even though this daughter is married to a married woman and has given birth to a pair of children, Zhao Xing and Zhao An, for King Zhao Run of Wei, King Qin's love for his daughter has not diminished at all, and he even loves his grandson Zhao Xing. He also loves his granddaughter Zhao An very much.
In fact, King Qin Hui had several daughters besides Ying Ying, and they all gave birth to children respectively. However, the former's attitude towards those daughters and grandchildren was completely different from his treatment of Ying Ying's mother and son.
"What a pity..."
Knowing that his grandson and granddaughter did not come this time, King Qin said regretfully: "Last time, the little boy Xing'er said that he wanted to be a general and wanted to win the sword of Pylon. I specially asked someone to make a light little sword. Sword..." Having said that, under the gaze of the chief concubine Zhao Ran, who rolled his eyes fiercely, he blurted out again: "Young Master, next time you have to bring those two little babies with you."
Yingying smiled and nodded.
After a few pleasantries, when Ying Ying sat down in the seat opposite the chief concubine Zhao Ran, the atmosphere in the palace changed slightly. It was no longer the happy father-daughter relationship between King Qin and Young Lord Ying Ying. It seems like there's something else mixed in with it.
After looking at Zhao Ran, King Qin looked back at his daughter and asked with a smile: "I don't even bring my two grandsons with me. I'm afraid the young master is not here to visit me this time, right?"
He was also smiling, but at this time, King Qin Hui had returned to his true nature as the "Monarch of Qin" and was no longer the doting father just now.
After hearing this, Ying Ying was silent for a moment, then suddenly she cupped her hands, lowered her head and begged: "Father, I kindly ask my father to help your son-in-law to drive away the invading enemy army..."
"..."
King Qin quickly looked at Zhao Ran, the chief concubine, and exchanged a look. Then he pretended not to know and comforted him: "Young Master, don't be anxious. Please tell me slowly. What happened, you need to answer in person." Da Qin asks for help."
After hearing this, Ying Ying gritted her teeth and couldn't help but blame her father for pretending not to know - she didn't believe that the Qin State had not sent spies to Luoyang.
You know, a few years before she first married Zhao Run, she helped place some of the spies sent by the State of Qin.
But at this moment, Ying Ying could only pretend not to understand the situation. After all, on the surface, the Wei State had indeed blocked the information related to South Korea and the coalition forces of other countries from the Qin State. The purpose was to prevent the Qin State from Make trouble and take the opportunity to threaten benefits.
Therefore, Ying Ying told the King of Qin and Zhao Ran exactly what happened, seven parts true and three parts false.
Seven points of truth refers to the current situation of Wei State, such as "Song County and Yingshui County fell", "Shangshui County was besieged front and back", "Wei King Zhao Run personally led 300,000 levied troops to resist 150 One hundred thousand allied troops from various countries", and "Most of Wei's elite troops are in South Korea", etc. These are all real facts.
The three-point falsehood lies in the fact that Yingying concealed some truth.
For example, Shangshui County faced the siege of Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu and Shouling Lord Jingyun, but in fact the battle situation was not dangerous; on the contrary, Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu's army was beaten steadily by Shangshui County Defeat.
For another example, South Korea is not in the state of "still delaying the Wei army" at all. In fact, Wei has launched a full-scale general attack on South Korea, so that South Korea has been retreating steadily. The Wei army has already attacked the capital Jicheng, and it may not be long. , at least half of Wei's 300,000 elite troops can go south to assist the mainland, whether it is returning to aid Daliang or taking advantage of the situation to attack Qi.
Ying Ying kept all these real situations deep in her heart and never revealed any of them to her father.
Because between her mother country and her husband, she has chosen the latter.
"Is the situation so dangerous?"
After listening to the 'real situation' told by Ying Ying, King Qin showed a solemn expression on his face.
It’s no wonder, after all, the information obtained through careful investigation was not as thorough as what Ying Ying told. What’s more, Ying Ying also deliberately concealed the beneficial side of Wei, which made King Qin Hui and Zhao Ran mistakenly believe that Wei’s situation It was worse than they expected - neither King Qin nor the chief concubine Zhao Ran expected that Ying Ying, who had always loved his country and had been a young king for more than twenty years, would actually hide his secrets at this moment.
"I didn't expect that Wei's situation would be so dangerous."
King Qin frowned and looked at Zhao Ran, the chief concubine. Immediately, he turned to ask Ying Ying: "Young Master, does my good son-in-law know about your return to the country this time?"
Ying Yingxin said that of course she knew about it, but she didn't reveal anything about it on her face. She shook her head and said pretentiously: "Father, you know that your son-in-law is a very conceited and strong-willed person... In fact, I have said this before. I suggested it to him, but it made him very unhappy... He said that the war between the Wei people should be resolved by the Wei people themselves, and he refused to ask for help from Da Qin at any cost... I came after he led his army to the expedition. , just came here secretly."
As the monarch of the Qin State, King Qin Hui certainly understood why his son-in-law, King Zhao Run of Wei, said this. Hearing this, he smiled and said: "My good son-in-law, he said this just to avoid appearing unreasonable..."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ying Ying took the opportunity to say: "Father will help Wei, right?"
"Uh, this..."
When King Qin returned, he was immediately stupefied by his daughter's words and could not speak any more.
From the side, the chief concubine Zhao Ran looked at Ying Ying with some surprise, and suddenly said: "Young Jun... er, princess, do you want me, Great Qin, to send troops to help Wei?"
Yingying knew that the chief concubine might have seen something, so she used this sentence to test herself, but she did not panic and said frankly: "I married to the Kingdom of Wei and became the wife of the King of Wei. The Kingdom of Wei treats me It is no different from the Great Qin. Now, my husband-in-law is going on an expedition in person, and the dangers are unpredictable. Xing'er and An'er may lose their father..."
Zhao Ran stroked his beard and remained silent.
"Is it my imagination? I always feel that Shaojun... the princess is too biased towards Wei."
However, thinking about Qin Shaojun's words carefully, Zhao Ran also felt that these words were reasonable and not worthy of praise or criticism.
When he raised his head, he saw the King of Qin signaling to him with his eyes. He immediately understood and stroked his beard and said slowly: "Wei and Da Qin are allies in an alliance. Now that Wei is in trouble, we, Da Qin, should send troops to help, but... ...The allied forces of various countries attacking Wei this time are said to number 1.5 million. If they want to assist Wei, I am afraid that our country, Qin, will have to use all its troops. And our country, Qin, is still at war with the Western Qiang and Yiqu. , I’m afraid…”
Of course Ying Ying understood what Zhao Ran meant, and she frowned. Sure enough, Zhao Ran immediately changed her tone: "No matter what, rescue is still necessary, but this matter still needs to be discussed with His Majesty the King of Wei." Okay." At this point, he glanced at Ying Ying, probably feeling that this princess was no stranger, so he lowered his voice and said: "We must make Wei Guo agree to some conditions for me, Da Qin."
Ying Ying had expected this, but she still frowned and asked: "What conditions?"
"The Land of Three Rivers!" Zhao Ran said seriously: "As long as the Wei State is willing to cede the three lands of Hexi, Hedong, and Hanoi to our Great Qin, our Great Qin will use all the strength of the country to help the Wei State overcome the difficulties!"
"This is impossible!"
Ying Ying frowned and said: "My husband-in-law will never agree to cede land, let alone the three counties of Hexi, Hedong and Hanoi. Mr. Zhao Ran, your request is too much!"
Hearing this, Zhao Ran glanced at Ying Ying and said with a smile: "Princess, is it possible that in your heart, the status of the Wei Kingdom is better than that of Da Qin? Princess, I, Da Qin, are your backing..." As he said this, he saw Ying Ying. Ying was about to speak but stopped, then she softened her tone and said seriously: "In fact, the old minister has a wonderful strategy that can benefit both Qin and Wei, and even..." He glanced at Ying Ying , and said with a smile: "It can also allow His Highness Zhao Xing to take the position of the Crown Prince of Wei."
"oh?"
King Qin asked curiously, and Ying Ying also showed a curious look at the right time.
Seeing this, Zhao Ran then said slowly: "The two countries Qin and Wei can "exchange land for land." Wei will cede Shangdang, Hexi, Hedong, and Hanoi to our Great Qin, and our Great Qin will vigorously help Wei. Not only can it help it get out of crisis, but it can also help it conquer Chu's territory. In this way, Wei will not lose anything by "exchanging land for land"..."
"No loss?"
Ying Ying sneered secretly in her heart.
The Wei State has been operating in Hexi, Hedong, and Hanoi for so many years. How can the heritage of those three counties be comparable to the barren lands of the Chu State? Not to mention that after the Wei State lost the "Land of Three Rivers", the rich Shangdang County It has also become an enclave - is it possible that Shangdang should also be ceded to Qin?
If Qin hadn't been her mother country, and the concubine in front of her was also an old minister who had watched her grow up, Ying Ying might have had an attack at this moment.
But Zhao Ran didn't know what Ying Ying was thinking, so he still talked eloquently: "Wei and Chu are at odds with each other, and the Wei State will definitely not call a Chu woman as the Queen of Wei. When the time comes, we, the Qin Dynasty, will not even need to advise the Wei State. The king and his ministers will depose Queen Mijiang and honor the princess as queen. At that time, His Highness Zhao Xing was the crown prince of Wei. Qin and Wei have been friends for generations and divided the Central Plains equally. Wouldn't it be beautiful?"
"..."
Ying Ying looked at Zhao Ran deeply.
If we look at it from the perspective of "Qin Shaojun Ying Ying", the words of the chief concubine Zhao Ran are indeed a good idea - if everything goes well, the Qin State will not only be able to obtain the three counties of Hexi, Hedong and Hanoi, but also There is also a chance to acquire Shangdang and Hetao. In this way, the strength of the Qin State will definitely increase greatly, and the foundation for the "eastward advance" can be laid from then on.
But from the perspective of "the wife of the King of Wei wins Ying", although Zhao Ran's suggestion can solve the temporary disaster of Wei, it will be greatly detrimental to the future.
First of all, Zhao Ran's seemingly fair "land-for-land" strategy caused the Wei State to lose the land it had managed for many years in Hexi, Hedong, and Hanoi, but what it gained was the barren land of the Chu State - in fact, Chu State The eastern part of the country is not as barren as the world knows. This is just the prejudice of the world. Neither the Wei people nor Ying Ying are immune to this.
This would require Wei to spend a lot of energy, manpower and material resources to build the newly acquired land of Chu, which would seriously hinder Wei's strategy of dominating the Central Plains.
On the contrary, the Qin State could completely take over Hexi, Hedong, Hanoi and even the rich Shangdang County. While the Wei State was immersed in domestic construction, it launched its Qin State's strategy of "moving eastward into the Central Plains" - one was declining, the other was increasing, and the Wei State was immersed in domestic construction. It will lose its dominance and be replaced by Qin.
Secondly, Wei's 'compromise' will create a new potential enemy of Qin.
Even though Zhao Ran sounded nice and said "divide the Central Plains equally", this was just a lie to women and children. As a woman who had been the crown prince of Qin for more than 20 years, Ying Ying would not believe such a thing at all. of.
She even believed in the saying "How can I allow others to sleep soundly beside my bed?" When Qin really occupied the land north of the river, Qin would definitely devour the Wei State south of the river. This was the national interest—— National interests come first!
In the end, the Qin State annexed all the countries in the Central Plains, and her husband, King Zhao Run of Wei, would become a prisoner of the Qin State. Perhaps her father and brother would look at her face and make her husband Zhao Run a high-ranking and low-ranking man. Xujue, but what’s the point?
What's more, based on Ying Ying's understanding of her husband, his husband is definitely a monarch who will live and die with the country, and will never live an ignoble existence.
As for what Zhao Ran said, taking the opportunity to support her son Zhao Xing as the crown prince of Wei, this actually made Ying Ying a little moved.
But it was only a little bit exciting.
Just like Queen Mi Jiang of Wei never bothered to compete with other women for favor, she Ying Ying also didn't bother to win over Mi Jiang in this way.
What's more, Mi Jiang had made a certain realization long before her, which convinced Ying Ying to lose.
Although she was still unhappy with Mi Jiang in her heart, and even a little jealous, she recognized Mi Jiang's status as Queen of Wei, including her son Zhao Wei's status as the Crown Prince of Wei.
"Young Master, what do you think?"
Zhao Ran, the chief concubine, asked with a smile.
Although Ying Ying had already made a decision in her heart, for the smooth implementation of the plan, she pretended to hesitate and said: "I'm afraid... I'm afraid my husband-in-law won't agree to the suggestion put forward by Mr. Zhao Ran."
"He will agree." Zhao Ran said with a smile: "He led two to three hundred thousand temporarily recruited militiamen and personally marched against the one and five million allied forces of various countries. Although the veteran admired the courage and courage of His Majesty the King of Wei, he still
It should be said that the chance of winning this battle is very slim... The Wei State is not letting go for the time being, just because the threat from the coalition forces of various countries is not big enough. When His Majesty the King of Wei loses to the coalition forces of various countries... Haha, when the time comes, the Wei State will attack
I, the Qin Dynasty, have compromised." As he spoke, he touched his beard, looked at Qin Shaojun and said, "The old minister suggested that the young master might as well discuss it with His Majesty the King of Wei first. It just so happens that I, the Da Qin Dynasty, also need time to gather troops and horses to assist the Wei State.
Prepare... As long as His Majesty the King of Wei agrees to this matter, I can guarantee that we, the Qin Dynasty, will mobilize all the troops in the country and rush to Wei immediately to support His Majesty the King of Wei."
After hearing this, Ying Ying hesitated for a moment, and then said hesitantly: "Then... I will go and talk to him about this in person."
Seeing this, King Qin looked at each other and Zhao Ran, with smiles on their faces.
After the matter was finalized, King Qin originally hoped to spend a while with his daughter, but Ying Ying wanted to return to Wei immediately to discuss the matter with her husband, so the family banquet was cancelled.
After leaving Xianyang Palace, Qin Shaojun Yingying let out a long breath.
Just as Wei King Zhao Run guessed, after hearing the truth about Qin Shaojun Ying Ying's cover-up of Wei's favorable side, both King Qin Hui and Chief Zhao Ran chose to "wait", that is, waiting for Wei to lose to the coalition of other countries.
, was forced to ask for help from his country Qin.
In other words, the Qin State will not stab the Wei State in the back in a short period of time and accelerate the defeat of the Wei State - because in the eyes of King Qin Hui and the chief concubine Zhao Ran, the State of Wei can fight against the Central Plains kingdoms on its own.
The country will undoubtedly lose this battle, and there is no need for Qin to play any tricks.
Ying Ying's goal was achieved.
Although this matter seems simple, only Ying Ying can accomplish it. She is the most beloved daughter of King Qin, and King Qin has deep faith in her. If the Wei people handle this matter,
Then, Qin State will definitely investigate the situation carefully. Once Qin State sends people to inquire about the specific situation, it is very likely that Wei State's various advantages will be exposed, but Qin State will adopt other strategies in order not to miss this opportunity.
, and even stabbed Wei in the back.
On the same day, Ying Ying met with Wei envoy Tang Ju again, and soon embarked on a journey back to Wei.
When leaving Qin State by boat, Qin Shaojun Yingying stood on the boat, looking in the direction of Xianyang Palace, and sighed quietly after a long time.
She didn't know how long she could hide it from Qin, but as long as Wei could defeat the Central Plains countries before Qin realized something was wrong, whatever Qin did by then would be in vain.
However, after this incident, she will definitely become a sinner of the Qin State and will be hated by her father and the officials of the Qin State.
"Father, don't blame your daughter. Your son-in-law will definitely become the common master of the world. He deserves to be led by me, the Ying clan of Gaoyang!"
Thinking of this, her eyes became more intense.
"Let's go back to Dawei!"
After giving orders to the trusted soldiers on the ship, she turned around and walked into the cabin.