Chapter nine hundred and thirteenth ready to fight
In Chang'an, in front of the altar, because of Lin Ze's departure, the civil and military officials who were originally submissive suddenly lost their restraints and gathered in small groups, talking about it.
Due to different factions, this group of officials in Guanzhong clearly formed four small circles.
The faction with the largest number of people is undoubtedly the old nobles of the Qin State who were recruited by Lin Ze.
They are bound by marriage. For hundreds of years, they have become one among you and one among me. They are all relatives and naturally belong to the same camp.
The slightly smaller second faction, also known as the new faction, is a group of officials selected through examinations since the founding of the Western Qin Dynasty.
These people came from all over the country and had different origins. However, because they were all new to the officialdom of the Western Qin Dynasty, they chose to stay together in a tacit understanding.
In terms of the degree of intimacy between them, the second group is probably not even one-tenth as close as the first group.
The third faction is the old men who follow Lin Ze. This faction is not large in number, but because it has been tested for a long time, its loyalty and ability far exceed others, almost all of them hold high positions, and it is actually the strongest faction.
Strictly speaking, the fourth faction cannot be considered a faction, because they did not gather together on their own initiative, but are some people who were excluded by the other three factions.
The composition is also very complex. Some are disciples of the Mohist family and farmers. They are pure "scientific researchers and technicians" and are somewhat incompatible with the officialdom.
Some are due to their unique personalities, such as considering themselves noble and unwilling to associate with vulgar people, or acting vulgarly and not being welcomed by others.
The topics discussed by the four factions are very different. The old nobles of Qin State have extremely high acumen in war and politics.
Lin Ze's words about preparing for war gave them hope of re-entering the core.
These people may not be good at anything else, but their family backgrounds show that they are very familiar with war.
After a simple discussion, each family quickly reached a consensus and arranged for the best disciples of the family to join the army, accumulate military exploits, and enter the core circle.
Most of the new faction are civil servants. These people are not very interested in marching and fighting, but they are very interested in expanding the territory.
The captured land must be managed by someone. Be brave and ask for orders. If you don't know where to move, you can move it up.
Who knows that His Majesty, the Human Emperor of Western Qin, misses old friendship the most. The first group of people who were with him were either prime minister or Taiwei, and they almost got the position of minister.
With the expansion of Western Qin, others are also rising. Isn't this their chance now?
Different from the Qin State's old nobles and the new faction who were gearing up, the other two factions behaved very calmly, a bit like being strong without desire.
As time passed, the discussion gradually increased. Seeing that it was getting more and more noisy, someone couldn't help but shout: "Comrades, please be quiet. Before leaving, His Majesty the Emperor issued an edict, ordering you to consider countermeasures to deal with the Han, Chu and Nanyue."
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"I secretly think that you should go back to your home and think carefully instead of talking openly here. I wonder what your colleagues think?"
As soon as these words came out, someone immediately replied with a strange tone: "Master Zhou has been appreciated by His Majesty. It can be said that he is very proud. Now he has actually taught all his colleagues a lesson. It is really a great prestige."
Zhou Xing, who had been promoted to a higher level by Lin Ze due to his good performance, narrowed his eyes slightly and said in a cold tone: "Master Zhang, before you say such a thing, don't you take a look around?"
The official named Zhang was startled and looked around quickly, but found nothing unusual.
But his performance was noticed by other officials, and they burst into laughter.
The official surnamed Zhang became angry and said: "Master Zhou made false threats to his colleagues, where is his moral character?"
Zhou Xing sneered and said: "Do you think I am trying to intimidate you? Is it because you are too stupid to see anything unusual?"
The official surnamed Zhang snorted coldly: "All my colleagues are here, what's the abnormality? Could it be that Mr. Zhou has seen a ghost?"
Zhou Xing shook his head, said nothing, and pointed in one direction.
The official surnamed Zhang looked along and saw several Jinyi guards standing there.
Thinking of the terrifying rumors about Jin Yiwei, Zhang broke into a cold sweat and almost collapsed to the ground.
Only then did the other officials become alert and looked around, finding that there were over a hundred people in uniform guarding the area.
Some people began to think hard about whether they had said anything disrespectful just now, and some people suddenly became afraid and planned to leave.
At this time, a familiar voice sounded: "Hey, haven't the gentlemen dispersed yet?"
As soon as the voice appeared, Zhou Xing was the one who reacted fastest. He knelt down and bowed decisively: "I am here to see His Majesty the Human Emperor."
The other officials followed suit and knelt down.
Lin Ze's figure slowly appeared above the altar, and he said calmly: "Everyone, please bow down without ceremony."
All the ministers responded in unison: "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Lin Ze's eyes swept over the ministers and finally landed on Zhou Xing: "Could you, Qing Zhou, explain to me why the ministers did not prepare for the war while I was away?"
Zhou Xing bowed deeply and said in a respectful tone: "Reporting to Your Majesty, we were just discussing how to share your worries, and we haven't had time to leave yet."
Lin Ze had a playful smile on his face when he heard this: "Oh, how was the discussion? Do you have any good ideas?"
Zhou Xing pointed at the official named Zhang unceremoniously and replied: "Your Majesty, Mr. Zhang has just been talking eloquently. He must have a good plan in mind. Why don't you ask him for advice?"
The official surnamed Zhang's face suddenly changed, and he knelt down in the tunnel and said: "Your Majesty clearly knows that the humble ministers are stupid and have no clever plan. Mr. Zhou is both wise and brave, so he may have a clever plan."
The smile on Lin Ze's face gradually faded away.
Zhou Xing secretly exclaimed that something was not right, and decisively took a step forward, bowed and saluted: "Your Majesty, I have some immature suggestions. Please listen to your Majesty."
Lin Ze said indifferently: "Let's talk about it. If it's good, I will pardon you. If it's not good..."
Lin Ze didn't say the second half of the sentence, but all the officials present understood it. It wouldn't end well anyway.
Zhou Xing wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said respectfully: "I have three strategies, each of which can attack your heart."
"I heard that not long ago, Han and South Vietnam joined forces to attack Chu, and both sides suffered losses. Therefore, I boldly speculate that this time the three countries of Han, Chu and South Vietnam joined forces, they are absolutely in harmony with each other."
"The first strategy is to spread rumors and drive a wedge between the three countries, so that instead of being able to work together, they will fall into internal strife, so that the Western Qin fisherman can benefit."
"The second strategy is to make friends from far away and attack close by. Now the world is divided into four parts. The countries bordering Western Qin are South Vietnam and Han. Although Chu State has enmity with Western Qin, they are separated by countless territories."
"I thought that I should send an envoy to the Chu State to seek an alliance with the Chu State."
"The third strategy is to instigate rebellion. Western Qin is now suppressing the whole world, and there are countless people in the world who yearn for it. There must be many people in the three countries who are interested in Western Qin. Your Majesty can send people to contact them secretly. At the critical moment, you may be able to achieve a surprise victory."
"I sincerely ask your Majesty to evaluate these three strategies."
The indifference on Lin Ze's face suddenly dissipated a lot, and he said calmly: "Although the three strategies are not very clever, they are at least diligent. I will consider you to pass this time."
"Be careful what you say in the future. If you think of using me as a knife to kill someone again next time, I will kill you first. Remember this."
Zhou Xing knelt down on the ground without hesitation, kowtowed repeatedly and said: "I have offended Your Majesty and deserved death. Please forgive me."
Lin Ze waved his hand and said: "I have a golden word, since I said I will not pursue it this time, I will not punish you. Get up."
"Now that we are facing a formidable enemy, I am keeping your life still useful. I also hope that you will always be useful to me."
"Let's disperse. I will issue an imperial edict later to let you know how to prepare."