When Zhu Xiang returned to Xianyang, it was already early winter in 256 BC.
Soon, the time came to 255 BC. Ying Xiaozheng was eight years old and the old King of Qin was seventy years old, reaching the time when "at seventy, one can do what one wants without breaking the rules."
When people get old, every winter is a huge hurdle.
The old King of Qin seemed healthy on his way out and back. But when he returned to the Xianyang Palace, he did not get enough rest. He checked the official documents of Prince Zhu during his regent period day and night, and suddenly caught a cold and fell ill.
The disease came like a mountain falling. The old Qin King's body, which was still strong despite his old age, suddenly became hunched, and his face suddenly lost its vitality and became pale and sallow.
When Zhu Xiang returned to Xianyang this time, he deliberately brought Bian Que with him, wanting to give a detailed physical examination to the elders around him.
Although the Qin imperial physician was very skilled in medicine, having one more famous doctor meant more safety.
The old King of Qin was ill, and after being treated by the Qin imperial physician, Bian Que also took the old King's pulse and treated him.
"You've worked too hard and lost your vitality." The doctor was afraid of the old King Qin, so he spoke in a more tactful way. Bian Que said directly, "At the King Qin's age, if he doesn't rest well, I'm afraid this disease will be difficult to recover."
The old King Qin said calmly: "I know."
Zhu Xiang knelt beside the old King of Qin's bed, with his head down, in a very bad mood.
He was wondering when the old King Qin was supposed to die.
After all, it's not this time.
Why did this happen? Is it related to me
Maybe it was really related. Because after I showed up, the old King Qin was too busy.
Originally in history, although the old King of Qin suffered setbacks after the Battle of Changping, he also became idle and stayed in Xianyang, never leaving the Xianyang Palace.
The old King of Qin's job in the Xianyang Palace, apart from continuing previous policies, was to seize the right opportunity to send troops, which did not require him to spend much energy.
What's more, by staying in Xianyang, he didn't have to travel too much and waste his energy.
Since Zhu Xiang entered Qin, great changes have taken place in Qin.
When Zhu Xiang wanted to farm, the old King of Qin organized a huge bureaucracy to help Zhu Xiang promote new agricultural technology and labor, and to find money to build water conservancy projects.
Zhu Xiang said that Xianyang Palace could attract talents, so the old King of Qin stayed up for several nights to talk with the ministers all night long, and soon built a tall Xianyang Palace and formulated detailed supporting measures;
Zhu Xiang's trip south also caused a lot of trouble for the old King of Qin. Whether it was Li Bing building the Dujiangyan Irrigation System or Li Mu dividing the river with the State of Chu, the old King of Qin was there to protect them all night long.
Any "new thing" in the Qin State was indeed led by Zhu Xiang, but the tedious work behind the scenes was done silently by the old King of Qin and the officials in the Qin court.
The old King of Qin might be suspicious and might try to scare people secretly, but he also gave Zhu Xiang the greatest support and trust in his actions and fulfilled his promise to Zhu Xiang - as long as it was good for the Qin State, Zhu Xiang could propose it without worrying about any difficulties, because he would take care of everything.
When the old King of Qin met Zhu Xiang, he was already in his sixties. Even in modern society, he is a retired person, and his physical strength and energy have declined.
The State of Qin was in a period of rapid development at this time. This old man, who was already over sixty years old, was driving the high-speed chariot of the State of Qin with great difficulty, speeding along the rugged and dangerous road.
Even if the delicious food provided by Zhu Xiang made him eat more, and even if he was in a good mood watching the Qin chariot galloping, how could it make up for the energy spent by the old King of Qin
Zhu Xiang is just a human being. Even if he has a golden finger, he is still just an ordinary person. He can't even cure illness, let alone life.
The Qin State became better and better, and the old King Qin's achievements became more and more prominent, but the old King Qin's life span was probably shortened because of this.
Especially when the old King of Qin was in his seventies, he traveled thousands of miles to inspect Jiangdong, which gave another breath of hope to his precarious life candle.
When Zhu Xiang went to the countryside, the car was bumpy on the country dirt road for several hours and he felt like his whole body was falling apart and he had no energy at all.
Ancient roads and carriages, no matter how many shock-absorbing measures were in place, could still make people feel dizzy. If the carriage went a little faster, the passengers' heads and the roof would be shaken to the point of playing percussion instruments.
Although riding a boat is slightly better than riding a horse carriage, it takes a long time to drift on the river, which consumes your physical strength. Moreover, the excessive humidity is also harmful to the health of the elderly.
The old King of Qin first took a carriage, then changed to a boat when he reached the Han River. He crossed a long line diagonally across the map of China from Xianyang from west to east and from north to south.
How could a seventy-year-old man endure such a long journey
During the Song Dynasty, the emperors promised not to kill the scholars. When they wanted the scholars to die, they would constantly transfer them from south to north, from east to west, so that the scholars would travel a lot and die of exhaustion or illness on the way to the new post.
This shows the toll that long-distance travel takes on people.
"Why are you crying? I'm not dead yet." The old King Qin said unhappily.
Zhu Xiang wiped away tears and said, "I was just thinking that what kind of grandfather you have, what kind of grandson you will have. Xia Tong is just like you, Lord. You know you should rest, but you just can't sit still."
The old King of Qin said even more angrily, "I have lived past seventy. How can the Xia Tong you mentioned live to seventy? Don't put me on the same level as him. You are insulting your king."
Zhu Xiang kept wiping his eyes with his sleeve, but he couldn't stop crying.
The old King of Qin stretched out his hand and asked Zhu Xiang to help him up. He felt helpless when he saw Zhu Xiang's eyes were so swollen that he couldn't open them.
He knew that Zhu Xiang was afraid of him and resented him, and Zhu Xiang's friends were also wary of him. But now Zhu Xiang's sadness and fear were so sincere that even his own silly prince would not cry so sincerely.
Because Prince Zhu has been the crown prince for so many years, he must be resentful.
Maybe Mr. Fan would cry for his sincerity. But how many years had Mr. Fan been with him as a minister? How many years had Zhu Xiang been with him
This silly child is so sentimental that it’s a bit of a headache.
"I am over seventy years old, stop crying." The old King of Qin patted Zhu Xiang's back gently.
I was sick, but I was comforting others. This feeling was very novel, but not bad.
The old King of Qin deeply felt the approach of death, and at this moment his anxiety was suddenly relieved.
There is no way he can feel relieved, he is already over seventy years old.
When he accepted the fact that he was about to die, the old King of Qin was finally able to let go of his royal scrutiny and get along with Zhu Xiang, his magical junior, from the perspective of an "elder".
"The King of Zhou and Duke Xizhou are not honest, and the war with the Zhou royal family has not yet ended; although Chu will not make much movement for the time being, I heard that the other five countries have formed an alliance to attack Qin, and Chu may be ready to move again after hearing the news; although Qin's territory is larger, there are too many places to defend, and the battle line is too long, I am afraid it will be more difficult to resist the six countries..." The old King of Qin muttered, "I am really sick at the wrong time."
Zhu Xiang complained: "Your Majesty should not have gone south."
The old Qin King laughed and said, "But I want to see the sea."
Zhu Xiang was speechless. Your Majesty said that I was afraid of death and always sought death. Aren't you the same? If you were so afraid of death, why did you go south knowing that overwork would shorten your life
"Okay." The old King Qin put away his somewhat stiff and awkward smile and returned to his previous easy-going appearance, "Don't spread my illness to others."
"Of course." Zhu Xiang choked up, "I'm just sick from exhaustion. As long as you have a good rest, you will recover soon."
The old King of Qin smiled without saying anything and waved his hand to let Zhu Xiang leave.
Zhu Xiang left Xianyang Palace with a heavy heart, and returned to it the next day with a cart of luggage, saying that he wanted to be the old King of Qin's cook.
The old King Qin put down the document in his hand and sighed deeply.
"Dazhu, if I go, Zhu Xiang will be very sad." The old King Qin said, "I didn't expect that he would be so sad."
Prince Zhu immediately said: "My father can live for a very long time."
The old King of Qin shook his head and said, "You should prepare to become the King of Qin."
Prince Zhu was stunned.
He should have been happy at this moment.
There is no prince who doesn't want to be the King of Qin, especially since he has been the prince for too long.
But the joy in his heart was overwhelmed by confusion and uneasiness, making his expression look silly.
The old King of Qin said calmly, "Now that Qin has taken over a large territory in the south of Chu, and Li Mu and the new fleet are extremely threatening, no matter how stupid the people of the six countries are, they will unite again to resist the Qin army. The replacement of the old King of Qin with the new King of Qin is their chance to defeat the King of Qin. I will not give them this opportunity."
Prince Zhu knelt down tremblingly and kowtowed without saying a word.
"When Zichu comes back, you will take the throne in the first month of next year." The old King of Qin made the final decision, then sighed and said softly, "Your father will support you for a year... If I still have one year. You will have to walk the rest of the way on your own."
Prince Zhu kowtowed hard and couldn't utter a word.
He was finally able to succeed the King of Qin, but his joy was not as great as he had imagined.
Zhu Xiang brought over today's meal.
He saw the documents all over the old King Qin's bed and Prince Zhu who looked dazed, but he said nothing and just silently served the old King Qin his meal.
If the old King of Qin could just have a good rest, perhaps he could regain some energy and live a few more years.
But the old King of Qin still kept a lamp lit and worked diligently until at least three o'clock in the morning every day.
He kept coughing, but he was still conscious, even sharper than before.
Battle reports from the front kept coming in. Not only did Wei, Yan, and Zhao send troops to help the Zhou royal family, but even the tiny Han came to join in.
Qi and Chu are still watching, but judging by the movements of their armies, they may not be able to hold back any longer.
Originally, Qi State had been bribed by Qin State because it was far away from Qin State and the ministers in the court were addicted to enjoyment, so it had never been involved in the confrontation between the other five countries and Qin State.
But after the news of Li Muzhou's army reached Qi, the people of Qi seemed a little nervous.
Even though they had never seen a fleet that could travel a long distance north along the coastline, they were somewhat wary of Qin's fleet taking a detour from the sea and landing on the coast of Qi. So Qi also took action this time.
The Qin State became more powerful, and indeed forced the six states to cooperate.
How could the old King of Qin rest at this time
He would personally review every move of the six countries, and then use his more than fifty years of experience as a king to confront the monarchs of the six countries.
News was transmitted into Xianyang City at full speed, and imperial edicts were sent out from Xianyang City at full speed, like a circulating stream.
The entire Qin State was in motion.
Then, the whole world started to move.
There are talented people in every country. In addition to those who have been recorded in history books, there are many talented people who have not been recorded in history books. They all surround their respective monarchs and try their best to exert their wisdom and wisdom to fight against the overly large behemoth Qin State that has the potential to swallow up the world.
Fan Ju and Bai Qi, two old men who had retired due to illness, were recalled to the Xianyang Palace by the old King of Qin.
Lian Po also went to the Xianyang Palace. After returning home, Lian Po wiped his armor and sword whenever he had time, and it seemed that he had finally made up his mind.
Bai Qi looked very sorry because he was ill.
Although he finally had the chance to return to the battlefield, his body couldn't hold on any longer. He could only look at Lian Po with envy as his appetite grew bigger and bigger. Lian Po was very annoyed by his sour look.
When Ying Xiaozheng celebrated his eighth birthday, he, Xue Ji, and Zhu Xiang lived in the Xianyang Palace together, accompanying the old King of Qin who was constantly taking medicine but refused to rest.
The old King of Qin would occasionally hold Ying Xiaozheng in his arms and ask Ying Xiaozheng to help him read the imperial edict.
After Crown Prince Zhu succeeds to the throne, Zichu will be conferred the title of Crown Prince.
Ying Xiaozheng is still young, and he has no title yet. So the old King of Qin used this method to tell his ministers about Ying Xiaozheng's future position.
Time passed quickly and it was early summer of 255 BC.
In the original history, the Qin army should have conquered Luoyi, captured King Nan of Zhou, and transported the Nine Cauldrons back to Qin.
Afterwards, the King of Qin demoted the King of Zhou to a feudal lord and captured the Duke of Western Zhou. The Zhou Dynasty was completely destroyed. Later historians called 255 BC the first year of Qin.
But in this time and space, although the Qin State became more powerful, it failed in its attack on the Eastern Zhou Dynasty.
Lord Xinling of Wei sent people to persuade Yan and Zhao to put aside their hatred, temporarily form an alliance with Wei, and jointly rescue King Nan of Zhou.
Afterwards, Han and Qi sent troops one after another, and the five countries entered Luoyi. Under the witness of King Nan of Zhou, they signed the Treaty of Hezong again to jointly fight against Qin.
The State of Chu also wanted to join, but Li Mu suddenly crossed the river to the north, conquered several cities of Chu in succession, and headed straight for the capital of Chen.
When the King of Chu was horrified and assembled a large army to stop Li Mu, Li Mu sent someone to tell the King of Chu that he could withdraw his troops unconditionally, but Chu must keep its troops in place. Otherwise, if Chu dared to send troops to the north, he would lead his troops across the river to the north again.
Under the threat of Li Mu, the King of Chu humiliatingly gave up the alliance and had to keep his troops in place.
Li Mu returned to the south of the river and deployed his troops on the river bank, staring at the State of Chu covetously, preventing the State of Chu from tearing up the contract.
When the old King Qin heard the news, he laughed so hard that he put aside the documents at hand and slept a full night.
It was Zichu who reported what Li Mu had done back to the Xianyang Palace.
Zichu traveled day and night to return to Xianyang. Zhu Xiang looked at Zichu's pale and haggard face, hesitated to speak, and finally remained silent.
At a time when the Qin State was facing a major crisis, he said that rest and health were useless, and it would be better to do more to reduce the burden on the old King of Qin and Zichu.
After Zichu returned to Xianyang, the old King of Qin ordered preparations for a succession ceremony. Regardless of whether he died or not, the throne would be passed to Crown Prince Zhu on the first day of the first lunar month next year.
Before the succession ceremony, he still had a score to settle with the Chu royal relatives.
Prince Zhu was kind-hearted, and even though he promised that he would not be suppressed by the relatives of the Chu State, the old King of Qin was still worried. So he wanted to help Prince Zhu remove obstacles in the last moments of his life, in his last days as King of Qin.
Although this incident did not affect Lady Huayang and her brother, because the two of them were only concerned with enjoying wealth and glory and never interfered in government affairs, Lady Huayang was still frightened and fell seriously ill.
She forced herself to send gifts to Xueji to express her gratitude despite her illness. If Xueji had not reminded her early, she and her brother might have been in danger.
Seeing Lady Huayang like this, Xia Ji felt sorry for her and couldn't help but feel frightened.
She finally began to reflect on whether she should distance herself a little from her mother's family and stop working for Han Guo.
Even the relatives of the Chu Kingdom who occupied half of the Qin State were on the verge of collapse under the aging King of Qin. What were she and the relatives of the Han Kingdom who had never had a status in the Qin court
The Chu royal relatives were also very surprised. They had never imagined that the old King of Qin would be so crazy.
The old King of Qin had long been dissatisfied with the relatives of the Chu State, but why did he still use the relatives of the Chu State? This was of course because there were few native talents in Qin.
The Qin State was a barbarian land in the eyes of the people of the Central Plains. The establishment of the guest official system was to attract talents from the six states to serve Qin.
When it comes to fighting, the Qin people are barbaric and may not be afraid of the six countries; but when it comes to governing the country, if the Qin court does not have the foreign relatives of the Chu State, it will almost be cutting off an arm.
Although some of the Chu relatives did go too far when the old King of Qin went south, which was basically treason, they also thought that they would not be liquidated so quickly.
But the old King of Qin did so.
Because of the Xianyang Academy.
After the old King of Qin established the Xianyang Academy, many talented people in the world came to Xianyang to study because they admired the reputation of Zhu Xiang and Xunzi, and many of them were already famous.
When Zhu Xiang went south, he brought with him a group of outstanding students, who combined their studies with people's livelihood through practice and accepted the pragmatic spirit of the Qin people. This group of people made up for the talent gap in the Qin court.
The old King of Qin, despite his illness, held a "palace examination" in the Xianyang Palace in accordance with the measures proposed by Zhu Xiang and improved by the ministers. The examination was to test the students of the Xianyang Academy who were famous or had made achievements while following Zhu Xiang, and to rank them and assign official positions on the spot.
Those who are close to the water get the moon first. Of course, when the Xianyang Academy was established, the Qin nobles sent their own children to study there as soon as possible.
Therefore, the old king of Qin selected officials from the students of Xianyang Academy, which did not threaten their interests. They supported the old king of Qin very much.
Therefore, in a palace examination, even if the old King of Qin only appointed middle and low-level officials in the court, he had already destroyed the management of the Chu royal relatives in the court for many years and cut off the Qin court's dependence on the talents of the Chu royal relatives.
Afterwards, the old King of Qin recalled Cai Ze and appointed Xunzi and Cai Ze as the left and right prime ministers.
When Cai Ze first returned to Xianyang with Zhu Xiang, he attracted the attention of many nobles. However, after Li Mu and Lian Po entered Qin, Cai Ze stayed in Changping and quietly accumulated strength in the Shangdang Highlands, causing the Qin court to gradually ignore his existence.
Now the old King of Qin suddenly recalled Cai Ze and appointed him as prime minister, catching them off guard.
They hurried to collect information about Cai Ze and guess his governing philosophy.
Except for Cai Ze, they were also terrified about Xunzi becoming the prime minister of Qin.
Xunzi was a Confucianist. The Qin State had always been governed by the Legalist ideology. Confucianism and Legalism were almost diametrically opposed, and there was even an unspoken rule that "Confucians were not allowed to enter the Qin State."
How could a great scholar become the prime minister of Qin? Was the King of Qin old and confused? !
Xunzi was almost sixty years old. At his age, he could not do much as prime minister, and would not change the current social and political system of Qin. But the key is not what Xunzi could do, but what the fact that Xunzi was prime minister itself symbolized.
Faced with everyone's temptation, Xunzi remained unmoved and continued to perfect the ritual of enshrining gods in the Qin State that he was working on.
Xunzi was not anxious; the ones who were anxious were those who were testing him.
Not only were the Qin people unable to adapt to these changes, but the six states were also very anxious.
They really hoped that the old King of Qin was really confused, but Cai Ze was a friend of Zhu Xiang. He had once joined forces with Li Mu to fight against the Huns. He was also the main force that forced Li Mu and Lian Po to join Qin. His ability should not be underestimated; Xunzi's reputation and talent were world-famous.
These two people were appointed as the left and right prime ministers, and they could not say that the King of Qin was senile and confused.
Just when they were getting anxious, the old King of Qin appointed Lian Po as the general.
The faces of the people of Zhao and Yan changed drastically.
Why hasn't Lian Po died of old age?! How can he still lead the army?!
Even Lian Po has appeared. It is said that Bai Qi, who is about to die of illness, will not suddenly show his commander's flag one day like he did in the Battle of Changping and say "Hey, didn't expect that, did you? I'm the commander-in-chief"
A person's reputation is like a tree's shadow. Lian Po's reputation became well-known after he attacked the State of Yan. His reputation in the State of Yan was probably even worse than that of Bai Qi. When he led his troops eastward through Hangu Pass, the morale of the army of the State of Yan immediately dropped.
It was clear that Lian Po had a grudge against the State of Yan, but after hearing the news that Lian Po was leading the troops, the people of Yan were unable to boost their morale because of their hatred, and instead became cowardly and retreated.
The morale of Zhao also declined.
Everyone knows that Lian Po and Li Mu were "sold" to the State of Qin by King Zhao.
Lian Po was particularly important. After the attack on Yan, his position in the hearts of Zhao soldiers was like Bai Qi's position in the hearts of Qin soldiers. Now their beloved general who had led them through many crises had become the enemy's commander. The Zhao soldiers did not even have the courage to confront Lian Po.
They were not cowardly, they just didn't want to and were unwilling to be hostile to Lian Po.
That was their Xin Ping Jun, the Xin Ping Jun of the Zhao people, the Xin Ping Jun Lian Po who risked his own reputation to save many Zhao people from starvation. How could they be hostile to Lian Po? !
The commander-in-chief of this coalition force was of course Lord Xinling Wei Wuji.
After Wei Wuji learned that Lian Po was the commander-in-chief of Qin State, he could not help but get drunk.
He regretted very much why he did not come to Zhao State earlier to rescue King Zhao. Otherwise, King Zhao would not agree to let Lian Po and Li Mu enter Qin.
But no matter how regretful he felt, he could only cheer up and tell the people of Zhao that Xinping Jun was now their enemy and the one they had to defeat.
He also slandered the old general, saying that Lian Po was too old to lead troops to fight again. The King of Qin sent Lian Po just to undermine the morale of the Zhao army.
Lian Po is old and can't fight anymore. Don't be afraid of him!
Wei Wuji inspired the morale of the Yan people in this way, but the morale of the Zhao people was still very low.
Because the people of Zhao did not fear Lian Po, but admired him. Whether Lian Po was old or still able to fight in the battlefield, it would not change their admiration for Lian Po.
Wei Wuji could only smile bitterly.
He could only be thankful that the King of Qin had not yet gone so far as to allow Zhu Xiang to lead the army. Otherwise, if the Zhao people heard the news that Zhu Xiang was coming to the battlefield, they would probably have no intention of fighting.
Regardless of whether Lian Po could still fight, the fact that the old King of Qin played the Lian Po card reduced the morale of Zhao, the most valiant and warlike State among the five-nation coalition, by at least half.
Before Qin even engaged in direct combat with the coalition of five nations, it had already won the first round.
Cai Ze said to the old King of Qin: "Your Majesty, please let me win one more game as a gift to celebrate the new king's accession to the throne."
Old King Qin nodded.
When Cai Ze was the prefect of the Three Jins, he did more than just help Zhu Xiang manage Changping.
He was a strategist and took over Fan Ju's duties as intelligence chief and was responsible for Fan Ju's original affairs.
When he was in Shangdang, Cai Ze had already sent numerous spies to the six states and planted numerous seeds of discord. In particular, he had been preparing for a long time to attack Xinling Jun, the confidant and great threat to Qin.
At this time, the backup plan left by Cai Ze was finally launched at the most appropriate time.
The King of Wei was originally jealous of Wei Wuji's talent and reputation. After Cai Ze took over Fan Ju's work, he spent a lot of money to promote Wei Wuji's name in the Six Kingdoms.
He even used Zhu Xiang as a stepping stone for Wei Wuji, and commented that although Zhu Xiang was good, he was far inferior to Wei Wuji.
Zhu Xiang was born in a humble family, and only rose to prominence by hooking up with the relatives of the Qin family. Wei Wuji was the younger brother of the King of Wei, and the most noble person in the Seven Kingdoms after the King.
Zhu Xiang only knows how to farm. Wei Wuji knows everything, especially state affairs and war. This is a true talent.
Zhu Xiang was known throughout the world, but he had no followers, which showed that his reputation was false, and the real talents would not bother to join Zhu Xiang. Wei Wuji had many followers, all of whom were talented, which was what it should look like to be truly famous throughout the world...
Cai Ze praised Wei Wuji highly, saying that the Qin State had attacked the Three Jins many times, but why did it not have much conflict with Wei? This was of course because the King of Qin was afraid of Wei Wuji.
Although the King of Wei was mediocre, there were almost no wise ministers and generals in Wei who could resist Qin. But who could blame Wei for having Wei Wuji? Wei Wuji alone offset the negative impact of Wei's mediocre monarch and ministers, making the King of Qin dare not easily start a war with Wei.
If it weren't for Xinling Jun Wei Wuji, the State of Wei would have been destroyed long ago.
"It's a pity that the King of Wei is not Wei Wuji, otherwise the State of Wei would have become a major threat to the State of Qin."
Cai Ze spread the word like this.
The King of Wei heard these rumors himself and said to the outside world many times that it was a good thing that he had a younger brother like Wu Ji, otherwise the Qin people would have come.
Wei Wuji felt very relieved to hear his brother say this.
The King of Wei showed great trust in Xinling Jun Wei Wuji, and Wei Wuji thought that the King of Wei really no longer feared him. In fact, he had always felt that the King of Wei was afraid of him. But after the Qin State became stronger and stronger, his brother seemed to have finally abandoned that little bit of jealousy and trusted and valued him more and more.
The reason why he could become the commander-in-chief of the Five-Nation Alliance this time was because of his brother's support.
Therefore, Xinling Jun did not take Cai Ze's compliments to heart.
He is proud, and although his compliments are a bit exaggerated, most of them are true.
Cai Ze really spoke the truth.
There is nothing better than telling the truth with a little exaggeration. It is precisely because it is the truth that those who are jealous of Xinling Jun will feel even more uncomfortable.
Now it is time for Cai Ze to reap the rewards.
The Qin State sent envoys to negotiate peace with the coalition of five countries, expressing its willingness to help Wei Wuji become the King of Wei, but only hoped that Wei Wuji would not interfere in the war between Qin and the Zhou royal family.
At the same time that Qin sent out envoys, Cai Ze passed the news to the King of Wei.
In order to get the coalition forces of the five countries to withdraw, the King of Qin promised to make Wei Wuji, the Lord of Xinling, the King of Wei, and signed a contract to maintain friendship with Wei forever and not attack Wei. Even if Qin unified the world in the future, it would make Wei a vassal state of Qin and would not abolish the position of the King of Wei.
The whole Wei State was horrified.
Cai Ze mobilized his spies in Wei again and spent a large sum of money to spread rumors, saying that the Wei scholars all thought this matter was good for Wei and they supported it very much.
The power of Qin was inevitable, and the five countries might not win the joint attack on Qin. If Wei accepted Qin's conditions, it would be safe forever. Even if the dynasty changed, Wei would still be Wei, and the nobles of Wei would still be the nobles of Wei.
There is actually no difference between being the Wei State of the Zhou royal family and being the Wei State of the Qin royal family, right
Moreover, Wei Wuji is indeed much more powerful than the current King of Wei. Even if the Qin people break the agreement, there are great benefits to letting Xinling Jun become the King of Wei.
Who wouldn't want Xinling Jun to be the King of Wei? The people of Wei wanted to be like that.
The King of Wei also knew about Xinling Jun's reputation in Wei and knew that many people wanted Xinling Jun to become the King of Wei.
He even thought in his heart that if Xinling Jun became the King of Wei, it would probably be better for the State of Wei than if he were the King of Wei.
But it is precisely because of this that the King of Wei would never allow Xinling Jun to be the King of Wei. Otherwise, what would he become
The seed of this plot to sow discord finally sprouted. The rumors that Cai Ze had prepared for several years showed their fangs at this moment and bit towards the relationship between King Wei and Lord Xinling.
The King of Wei ordered his troops to withdraw and asked Lord Xinling to return to the country to explain the matter.
Of course, the King of Wei just said that there were rumors everywhere that Xinling Jun wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to lead the five-nation coalition to attack Qin to force the emperor to abdicate. He trusted Xinling Jun and hoped that Xinling Jun could return to Wei and explain the matter clearly.
He did not doubt Xinling Jun, but if Xinling Jun did not go back, it meant that Xinling Jun had something to hide.
Wei Wuji certainly had a clear conscience. He originally planned to return to Wei State immediately to explain and continue to persuade the King of Wei to send troops.
Now that the five-nation coalition has finally been established, how can we abandon it halfway
Hearing that the King of Qin was dying and the new king was about to take the throne, if the five countries did not take advantage of the opportunity of the new and old Kings of Qin to send troops, then they might not have such a good opportunity.
But Xinling Jun's followers were unwilling.
Their entire honor and disgrace depended on Lord Xinling alone. Once Lord Xinling died, they would surely die with him or flee in all directions.
Even if they don't talk about their own future. They don't trust the King of Wei. Once Xinling Jun returns to Wei, he will probably lose his head. How can they watch the person they admire die
Xinling Jun had many retainers, some of high moral character and some of low moral character, but they all cared about Xinling Jun.
Cai Ze took advantage of the fact that there were too many divided people among Xinling Jun's followers, and bribed those who were timid or had no good feelings towards Wei State, and asked them to spread panic among Xinling Jun's followers that "Xinling Jun would definitely be killed by the King of Wei if he returned to Wei State."
"Don't let Xinling Jun return to Wei. Once Xinling Jun returns to Wei, he will never be able to leave Wei again!"
This is also true, which is why Xinling Jun's followers were able to reach a consensus so quickly.
Finally, Xinling Jun's most trusted retainer persuaded him: "If you return to Wei, the king of Wei, who is jealous of you, will kill you and Wei will be in danger; but if you hide in another country, the king of Wei will calm down and invite you back. You and the king will reconcile and Wei will be safe."
Xinling Jun was very smart and he was convinced.
He also guessed that if he returned to Wei, the best outcome would be imprisonment, and the worst outcome would be killing.
He was not afraid of being killed for the sake of Wei, but if the King of Wei killed his brothers at this time, with his reputation, it might cause turmoil in Wei, just like the King of Zhao killed Zhu Xiang.
For the sake of Wei State, he could not let the King of Wei kill him, so he could only escape.
When the King of Wei realized his mistake, he would indeed make peace with him and welcome him back to Wei, although by then, they had already missed the best opportunity to attack Qin.
Xinling Jun smiled bitterly: "Is it inevitable that Qin will eventually become powerful?"
Xinling Jun looked at his commander's seal, his commander's flag, and the flag with the word "Wei" printed on it, and tears streamed down his face.
He had never thought of competing with his brother for the throne. After so many years, hadn't he done enough for his brother? Why didn't his brother still believe him
"If Qin becomes powerful, Wei will definitely be destroyed. If Wei is destroyed, is there any point in fighting for the throne?" Wei Wuji covered his face with his hands, tears flowing from between his fingers.
He knew that once he left here, his ambitions would be of no use.
Even if the King of Wei came to his senses, he would not have the opportunity to help Wei again, because Qin would not give the six countries this opportunity again.
"Xinling Jun, don't be so pessimistic. The Crown Prince of Qin is already old, and the King of Qin may be replaced again soon. We still have a chance." Some retainers could not understand Xinling Jun's pessimism.
Xinling Jun smiled bitterly: "The current King of Qin is different from the King of Qin who will succeed him, and the current Crown Prince of Qin is also different from the next Crown Prince of Qin. There will never be another chance."
After the Crown Prince of Qin ascends the throne, he will definitely not hold all the power alone like the current old King of Qin. Instead, he will divide the power among the current Prince Zichu and the future Crown Prince Zichu as soon as he takes the throne.
When he died and Crown Prince Zichu succeeded to the throne, there would be no turmoil in the Qin State.
Even if Zhu Xianggong's nephew, Gongzi Zheng, had not died young and had grown up successfully, and Zichu had passed the throne of Qin to Gongzi Zheng in the future, Qin would not have had any opportunity to take advantage of it.
Xinling Jun saw it very clearly. Why did the Qin State undergo such a big change before the old Qin King was about to die of illness? Because the old Qin King himself knew that his death would herald the end of the old ruling group of the Qin State.
When Prince Zhu succeeds to the throne, the Qin State will usher in a brand new ruling group.
With the transition from the old to the new, there will certainly be many mistakes in the Qin State, the government will certainly become chaotic, and morale may even be low.
Moreover, Lian Po was a general of Zhao after all. Even though Li Mu had shown that he could lead the Qin people well, Lian Po might not be able to do so.
Such a good opportunity, such a good opportunity... This may even be the only chance for the six countries to weaken Qin and force Qin to return to Hangu Pass!
"Why, why..." Xinling Jun's sobs turned into loud crying. He couldn't understand this, he couldn't understand it.
Even if the King of Wei suspected him, why couldn't he wait until this matter was over before suspecting him? Why did he have to suspect him at this most important time? Couldn't the King of Wei see that this must be a divisive plot by the Qin State? At this time, the coalition forces of the five countries fell apart, and only the Qin people could benefit!
Wei Wuji felt deeply desperate.
The figure of Zhu Xiang suddenly appeared in his blurred vision. He didn't have the chance to meet him too often or talk to him too many times, but he already regarded him as a friend.
When Zhu Xiang left Zhao State, was he as desperate as he is now when he resigned
(End of this chapter)