Ji Dan immediately found his father Yan Wangxi to report the situation.
There is a sense of showing off and competing for credit, because he was the only one who sent spies to lurk in Handan to observe the Qin army.
After seeing King Yan happy, Ji Dan said with some pride:
"Father, my son and I have set up spies in various places in the Zhao Kingdom in advance."
"Recently, these spies have reported that the Qin army set up three counties in Zhao to colonize fields."
"I think this is not a good thing."
Of course Yan Wangxi knew that this was not a good thing.
In fact, there was no need to investigate. I knew that the Qin people would be stationed in Zhao State, so I asked back:
"So what?"
"They may be preparing to invade Wei, so don't worry too much."
Yan Wangxi could only deceive himself in this way.
Ji Dan retorted:
"Father, if the Qin army is preparing to invade Wei, why does it need to gather all the cultivated land?"
When King Yan heard this, he thought it made sense.
The State of Wei is directly below the State of Zhao, above South Korea, and to the right of the State of Qin.
If you just attack Wei, you only need to farm the fields normally, that is, farm half of the land and rest half.
Now that all the cultivated land has been settled...then there is no other explanation other than going north to attack Yan.
There is a saying that "the sparrow knows the ambition of the swan".
This Yan State is this "sparrow". How could they have thought that Ying Zheng's goal was to unify the Central Plains and not just the Yan State.
At the same time, this "farrow" in the Yan Kingdom was still a frightened bird. It lost its mind and was at a loss when it was frightened.
After thinking about it, Yan Wangxi asked again:
"That's it, so what?"
It’s no wonder that King Xihui of Yan was so unsure of himself. Yan State was defeated by Zhao State many times, even to the point of subjugation:
The first time was after the Battle of Changping, King Yan thought he had an opportunity and sent troops to Zhao.
King Yan thought very simply. He thought that all the young and strong soldiers of Zhao State were trapped and killed in Changping and the orphans were still underage. How could it be worse if he didn't attack now?
So he attacked Zhao with five times the force.
A camel that didn't want to die was bigger than a horse, so Zhao sent Lian Po Lecheng to defeat the Yan army with an easy blow.
They even surrounded the capital of Yan State in turn, and finally forced King Yan to send people to sue for peace.
The second time was when the State of Zhao appointed Pang Nuan as its general.
King Yan laughed happily, no one in Zhao State has reached the point where he wants to use Pang Nuan. If he doesn't attack now, how long will it take?
So he raised troops to attack Zhao again.
The result was still the same. Pang Nuan defeated the Yan army and captured 20,000 people.
This King of Yan just doesn't know how to fight and employ people, but he doesn't have a good strategic vision...
The State of Zhao is separated from the State of Qin and the State of Yan. This barrier is of great benefit and no harm.
Anyone with any brain would know that Zhao should not be attacked.
Not only should Qin not attack, but when Qin attacks Zhao, he should also provide food and equipment to allow Zhao to last longer.
This is to spend a small amount of money to let Zhao Guo fight against Qin for himself.
And Yan State can take advantage of this time to recruit talented people to enrich the country and strengthen its army...
Do you understand the principle of dying lips and cold teeth?
With such a foolish king, it is no wonder that although Yan State and Zhao State were both bordering the Huns to the north, they failed to produce a decent general.
The result was two large-scale military campaigns against Zhao that not only resulted in numerous casualties, but also wasted more than twenty years.
Twenty years... is enough to change a country.
Even if the country of Yan had not been helped, it would not have ended up where it is now.
King Yan knew clearly what Yan's situation was at this time:
Zhao Guoneng defeated the Yan army twice with newly defeated troops.
The State of Zhao was destroyed by the State of Qin.
So how could Yan be Qin's opponent?
So what else can we do? Just wait for Qin to come and deal with it.
Ji Dan replied:
"Father, for the present plan... I think we can only prepare in two aspects to guard against the Qin army."
King Yan looked at Ji Dan unexpectedly.
Sure, he had no choice but Ji Dan was still "prepared"!
So he asked out of curiosity:
"But which two aspects?"
Ji Dan replied:
"First, the remaining soldiers of Zhao State fled to the north and gathered under Zhao Jia's tent to establish the country."
"My son thought that we should put aside our grudges and secretly join forces with Daiguo."
King Yan hesitated a little and asked:
"Will this...will anger the Qin people and cause them to burn themselves?"
Ji Dan replied:
"Father, how can you still worry about angering the people of Qin at this time?"
"Even if we don't unite with Dai, how can the Qin army let Yan go?"
Yan Wangxi thought for a while and nodded in agreement with the suggestion.
But at this time, I thought it was too late to join forces with Zhao.
At this time, the Zhao State was distraught due to the death of Li Mu, and the few remaining soldiers were just hanging on.
And this country is still built in the North, which is within Li Mu’s former sphere of influence...
In fact, what has a greater impact is the series of measures implemented by Ying Zheng in the three counties:
Spare the nobles of the Zhao Kingdom until they die, just imprison them without killing them.
To appease the people and encourage production.
The drought was successfully cured by transporting grain for disaster relief.
Especially the last one, "successful control of drought," gave the people hope to survive or live better.
The requirements of the people are actually very simple, they just want to live well.
If Qin can bring them a better life, it won't take long for the hatred of the past to be let go.
Therefore, Dai Guo did not gain the support of the people of Zhao State, even though Zhao Jia was the elder brother of Zhao Wangqian.
Then Yan Wangxi asked again: "So, on the other hand..."
Ji Dan looked around, then came up and whispered:
"Father, back then Cao Mo used his sword to rob Duke Heng of Qi. Why don't we imitate him today?"
King Yan was so surprised that he almost jumped up:
"You, you mean to rob Ying Zheng..."
Before he finished speaking, Ji Dan was startled again. He made a gesture of raising a knife and lowering it. It was obviously not just a robbery.
Sure enough, Ji Dan said:
"If this plan succeeds, then the Qin army will be leaderless and will be in chaos."
"We will take the opportunity to unite other countries to attack Qin..."
King Yan was afraid of returning, but after thinking about it, he felt that what Ji Dan said was reasonable, so he nodded and said:
"I'll leave this matter to you!"
"You must keep your mouth shut and don't let anyone know."
Ji Dan agreed and stepped out.
In fact, it can be seen from this incident that both Prince Yan and his son lacked strategic awareness and foresight.
They naively thought that killing Ying Zheng would turn the tide and save the Yan Kingdom from danger.
They didn't know that what Yan was fighting against was Qin's system and army, not Ying Zheng.
Let’s not talk about whether the assassination of Ying Zheng can be successful. Even if it is successful, what will happen?
Did the Qin State perish because of Ying Zheng’s death?
Will the system collapse and the army be disintegrated?
Will national strength be damaged?
almost impossible.
The most likely possibility is that the crown prince will succeed Ying Zheng after his death.
And no matter who succeeds in succeeding to the throne, the first thing he will do after coming to power will be a massive attack on Yan in order to consolidate his position and avenge the late king.
At that time, Yan State will be uprooted and not even a scrap will be left.
However, Prince Yan and his son did not understand this truth, and at the same time, the people who secretly planned the matter did not know about it.
Hence the famous event in history: Jing Ke’s assassination of Qin.