Three hundred and sixtieth eight chapters talented but not virtuous
In the palace in Handan, King Zhao gently stroked his beard and looked at the ministers around him without speaking for a long time. Of course King Zhao also knew the situation that all countries are facing now. In the past, when all countries united, they could still fight against Qin.
There has been back and forth, but now, with the fall of Korea, the coup of Chu, and the complete defection of Qi, the only ones who really want to resist Qin are Zhao and Wei, which gives King Zhao a very headache.
He really didn't understand what Chu and Qi were thinking. Qin's slogan of "One King of the World" was obviously to destroy all countries, but the time was different. Under such a situation, these idiots
Can things still stand on Qin's side? Can't they see that Qin will take action against Zhao, Wei and other countries after it is destroyed? King Zhao really doesn't understand what they are thinking.
Zhao Yan let out a long sigh, and then looked at his backbone. Li Mu sat up straight, standing out among the panicked ministers. This is why King Zhao liked him. Where Li Mu sat, King Zhao looked at him.
Don't panic, this is a general who can bring Zhao State back to life. Li Mu looked at the ministers around him, and then said: "Qin State's goal is not Zhao State."
"If Qin wants to divide its troops to attack Zhao and Wei...Wang Jian should be stationed in Shangdang, not Hanoi..." Li Mu said seriously: "In Shangdang, Qin can divide its troops into two groups.
Attack Zhao State all the way, attack Wei State all the way, but if he is in Hanoi, Wang Jian will face a flanking attack from Zhao and Wei. Therefore, his purpose is to prevent Zhao State from rescuing Wei State, thereby destroying Wei State."
Li Mu told Qin's purpose, King Zhao nodded, and then asked: "Then what do you think we should do?" Li Mu thought for a moment, and then said: "If I lead my soldiers to attack Qin in a detour,
In other areas, Wang Jian will definitely attack Handan directly. Hanoi is not far from Handan... Therefore, I can only lead the army to Hanoi and defeat Wang Jian..."
"I just hope that the Wei State can hold on for a while longer... If the Wei State cannot withstand the Qin people's attack, the Qin State will join forces to attack the Zhao State again..." Li Mu's face was particularly solemn, but he did not have any worries.
Said: "Wei cannot be destroyed. If Qin Qi destroys Wei...then the next person Qin will have to deal with is Zhao."
King Zhao then looked at Lord Jianxin and asked, "How much food and grass do we have?"
"It's not autumn yet, domestic food and grass..." Lord Jianxin looked at Li Mu helplessly and asked, "How many people do you need?" Wang Jian stationed in Hanoi with an army of 150,000, wanting to defeat him.
Li Mu needs at least 200,000 troops. Li Mu pursed his lips and said: "At least 100,000 people." Jianxin Jun said: "Our food and grass are barely enough for Li Mu to lead the soldiers for three months...and.
.As a result, we can’t even afford the salaries of officials.”
King Zhao felt a little dizzy. These years of war have completely emptied Zhao's food reserves. The situation has reached such a point. King Zhao gritted his teeth. He looked at Lord Jianxin and said firmly: "I will leave you here."
Cattle, sheep, and livestock from all over the country were brought to Handan, and the royal family’s houses and land in various places were sold... I also have a lot of treasures in the palace, so I sold them all, and exchanged them for as much food as I could..."
The State of Zhao decided to rescue the State of Wei, not for the State of Wei, but for itself. If the State of Qin completely captured the State of Wei, then the State of Zhao would be forced into a desperate situation. After Lord Jianxin left the palace, he once again summoned the people of the country
Ministers came to discuss important matters. As the prime minister, Lord Jianxin certainly had such power. All the ministers in the country, big and small, came to Lord Jianxin's mansion one after another. When everyone arrived, Lord Jianxin spoke out his words.
idea.
"Now is the time when the country is most in danger. I have heard that if anything is beneficial to the country, we should do it enthusiastically, and if anything is harmful to the country, we should hate it...Rescuing Wei is a thing that is beneficial to Zhao. However, Zhao
The country really has no food supplies. Your Majesty is willing to donate your family property to support the army, and I will not be stingy. I have decided to sell all my property and use all my food to aid General Li Mu's army."
"I hope the second and third sons can follow suit... When Qin and Zhao fought in Changping, Lord Pingyuan spent all his savings to help Zhao's army... Now Lord Pingyuan has passed away, but we are still here,
We can't let Zhao's warriors go to the battlefield alone when they are hungry." Lord Jianxin said, and then he looked at Guo Kai. Speaking of which, Guo Kai's assets are still quite a lot. Over the years, King Zhao has given him many rewards.
Quite a few, and he himself is good at making money, and his family fortune is huge.
In the Yunzhong area, he owns thousands of livestock, and in Dai, Zhongshan and other areas, he also has tens of thousands of acres of fertile farmland.
Guo Kai noticed that Lord Jianxin was looking at him, so he stood up solemnly, looked at the ministers, and said: "What Lord Jianxin said is right... In these years, we have been favored by the Lord and have endured many hardships.
Now is the time for us to repay him for his kindness, and I am willing to use my family property to assist the army!" Guo Kai's words surprised many ministers.
King Zhao didn't know what kind of person Guo Kai was, but they knew that such a selfish villain actually had such a big heart?
Mr. Jianxin was very happy. He stepped forward and took Guo Kai's hand and said seriously: "Although you and I have some grudges on weekdays, in the face of national events, I hope we can put aside these personal grudges... You
I am very happy to be able to say such things..." Guo Kai said seriously: "Please don't say that. Although I have offended many people, I do these things all for the sake of Your Majesty. I have never
Blame no one!”
The ministers were greatly encouraged and stood up one after another to take out their own food reserves.
Subsequently, various materials were continuously transported to Handan from various places. Guo Kai actually kept his promise and donated more materials than the Prime Minister. Guo Kai even sold his family property in Handan in exchange for food. Guo Kai was like this
His actions improved his reputation and made many people change their views on him. King Zhao personally summoned him and looked at the ragged Guo Kai in front of him, who couldn't help crying.
Guo Kai gained great respect from King Zhao. King Zhao rewarded him with several sets of his clothes. Returning to a simple mansion in the city, Guo Kai couldn't help but show it to his family and close friends.
Although the gifts given by King Zhao were not expensive, they represented King Zhao's love for him. Sitting in the mansion, Guo Kai's confidants complained helplessly: "You gave up all your property."
, I only got these things, and your Majesty didn’t even improve your official position. Is it worth it?”
Guo Kai laughed and then asked: "I want to ask the second and third sons, when Zhao and Qin were fighting in Changping, why did Lord Pingyuan just take out his own grain and call on everyone to donate grain, instead of changing the situation?
Where is the seller’s property?”
"Is this... because Mr. Pingyuan is reluctant to part with his family property?"
"Perhaps the situation of Zhao State was not as dangerous as it is now?"
The guests all began to speculate, but Guo Kai shook his head. He grinned and said with a smile: "Ma Fujun was still in Zhao State at that time. He sent people with property to Wei State and other areas to buy grain. Why is this?"
Woolen cloth?"
The diners could not answer. Only a few people said that it might be because Zhao State had no food.
Guo Kai blinked his eyes and said with a smile: "No problem, the second and third sons will understand after a while. Jianxin-Jun, this idiot, has grown up in the palace since he was a child. How could he know the harm of doing this?
?Your Majesty actually uses such a stupid person to serve as the Prime Minister. Don't worry, second and third sons. Soon, his position as the Prime Minister will be mine. I can get the position of the Prime Minister by donating some things. How can this not be worth it?
?”
The diners looked at Guo Kai blankly, not knowing what Guo Kai meant.
Soon, Li Mu summoned the army and made preparations for the expedition. At this time, the price of food in Zhao State reached an unprecedented level. Because the nobles in Zhao State purchased large quantities of grain, Zhao State's
The price of food continued to rise. Merchants who smelled the smell of money began to hoard food with the help of caring people... Not just food, cloth, ironware, the prices of these materials used in the army were rising crazily.
Some people are thinking about how to protect the State of Zhao, and some are thinking about how to make profits...and no one cares about the people at the bottom. The people can't buy food, cloth, or iron...The merchants are offering low prices.
They obtained these things from the people, and then hoarded them to wait for the right time... Zhao State's economy completely collapsed, and for a time, a huge crisis enveloped the entire Zhao State.
No one understood what was going on. When he heard the news that a large number of people were starving to death in various places, Mr. Jianxin was also a little panicked. He did not understand that the increase in the prices of these supplies was not a big deal for the people.
Is it a good thing? They can sell their products to others at high prices, so why do they starve to death instead? In the country of Zhao, there are many people suffering from hunger, and this situation even affects the army.
When Li Mu went on an expedition, there were deserters in the army, and the morale of the army was disorganized... I am afraid that Wang Jian himself did not expect that a state minister who did not understand economics was helping him win this war. The domestic chaos,
Soon thieves and the like were aroused, and rebellions broke out. King Zhao was so frightened that he hurriedly summoned his ministers. Lord Jianxin looked pale and had no idea how to deal with the situation. The angry King Zhao only gave him two months.
time to deal with these matters.
After investigation, Mr. Jianxin finally discovered that because the price of grain was too high and the people of Zhao State did not have enough grain, some people bought a large amount of grain from them at a "high price" through "legitimate means", and then hoarded it and resold it for use.
Buying and selling the property of noble ministers... This caused a food shortage. Later, when the people wanted to obtain the necessities of life, they discovered that they could not even afford a grain of millet...
Mr. Jianxin thought of many ways, but none of them could stop this chaos, and it even got worse.
At this time, Guo Kai found King Zhao again.
"Your Majesty, please punish us for our crimes. In order to obtain enough supplies, we sold off a large amount of property, but this caused domestic prices to skyrocket, which caused the current problem." Guo Kai lowered his head guiltily,
But King Zhao was a little surprised. He frowned and asked, "The Prime Minister said that this is because the people have no food and there is no reserve in the warehouse."
Guo Kai said with some surprise: "Is the Prime Minister still dealing with the food problem?"
"This is because of the increase in commodity prices, which makes it impossible for Zhao people to obtain the items they need, so the chaos that occurs. What does this have to do with food?"
King Zhao gritted his teeth and angrily asked the warriors to find the Prime Minister. Lord Jianxin came to the palace. At this moment, he could no longer see his previous majesty and his clothes were disheveled. When King Zhao saw him like this,
Feeling even more angry, he asked coldly: "I wonder if you have found a solution to these things?" Lord Jianxin just bowed to King Zhao and said, "I am guilty."
Obviously, he also saw some problems.
King Zhao became even more angry. He said, "I'm not asking you if you realize your mistake. I'm asking you if you have found a solution."
Lord Jianxin shook his head, but did not dare to raise his head to look at King Zhao.
King Zhao sighed. Mr. Jianxin was his lover in the past... The two of them also experienced many beautiful years. However, after marrying his wife, the relationship between King Zhao and him became more distant and no longer what it used to be.
Such closeness, and now, because of his stupidity, he made such a mistake again, which made King Zhao completely disappointed in Lord Jianxin. Only then did King Zhao look at Guo Kai, and he asked: "What do you have?
What’s the solution?”
Guo Kai nodded and said: "Now, we can only forcefully lower prices...set prices...and arrest those profiteers and the officials who protect them..."
"Okay, then please take charge of this matter!" King Zhao ordered.
Lord Jianxin lowered his head and walked out of the palace in a daze. Guo Kai stood beside him. Guo Kai frowned and said seriously: "In the beginning, you asked us to give up our property in exchange for food, but it caused
With such serious consequences, Mr. Wu An has just gone on an expedition. I heard that many soldiers in the army fled and even robbed food... I don't know how Mr. Wu An could defeat the enemy at such a disadvantage... This
It's all your fault."
"Because of your ignorance, countless people in Zhao country starved to death, and Lord Wu An's situation became even more dangerous..."
Guo Kai snorted coldly, turned around and left. Jian Xinjun looked at him blankly and lowered his head guiltily.
Guo Kai's handling method was very decisive. He directly led his elite soldiers to kill the wealthy businessmen in Zhao, seized their property, and forcibly set a lower market price. All merchants and nobles who were unwilling to cooperate were directly
Execution... And many of the people who maliciously hoarded food in the past were supported and instructed by Guo Kai. When he came to take charge of this matter, these people naturally followed his orders and worked together to end this chaos.
.
Guo Kai lost some of his family property, but gained more, and the chaos within Zhao gradually subsided.
Lord Jianxin, who was extremely guilty, committed suicide in his mansion after dismissing all his guests.
This year, Guo Kai became the Prime Minister of Zhao.