When Lou Huan entered Qin, the King of Qin gave him five cities in exchange for Lian Po.
Before he entered Zhao, he walked around the five cities, looked for some abandoned small towns and villages with unclear sovereignty, and changed his words to give Zhao ten cities, three big and two small in exchange for Lian Po, and two big and three small in exchange for Li Mu.
Not only does the strategist have the ability to blow up tens of thousands of elite soldiers into hundreds of thousands, he can also pick up pieces from five cities and double your reward.
Lou Huan stroked his gray beard, feeling very proud.
Li Mu had only made one great contribution and was not very old. If he offered five cities in exchange for Li Mu, the Zhao nobles would definitely be tempted.
It didn't matter whether Lian Po joined Qin or not. Lou Huan knew Lian Po well. After what happened in Yan State, Lian Po might have difficulty leading troops from now on. His joining Qin State brought the benefit of prestige to Qin State. A general like Li Mu who had shown his talent at a young age joined Qin State, and brought substantial benefits to Qin State.
Of course, it would be best if an old and a young general entered Qin at the same time. This way, the people of Zhao would lose their morale and the King of Zhao would be replaced by a member of the royal family.
Lou Huan was already old and frail, and this mission might be his last. He was eager to succeed.
Lou Huan was born into a noble family in Zhao State, and he made his moves based on the psychology of the nobles in Zhao State. Influenced by Zhu Xiang, Cai Ze tried to use the tactics of the diplomats among the people for the first time.
When Lou Huan entered Zhao in a high-profile manner, Cai Ze had been bringing people to spread news among the people and fan the flames.
He doesn't even need to fan the flames, just tell the truth.
Although Lian Po had a bad reputation among scholars all over the world, and the people of Yan hated him to the core, in the eyes of the people of Zhao, Lian Po was a great hero who protected them, and his reputation was catching up with Zhu Xiang.
Li Mu prevented the Huns from entering Qin, and the people in the northern part of Zhao also regarded Li Mu as their patron saint.
Last winter, Zhu Xiang was forced into Qin, and this year Lian Po and Li Mu were also forced into Qin. When the people of Zhao learned of this, how could they not be confused
When Cai Ze was inciting the people of Zhao, he joined forces with Lou Huan and asked Lou Huan to leak information to the nobles of Zhao, saying that Lian Po and Li Mu might use the people to rebel.
Zhao's soldiers went out to each village to prevent people from gathering or leaving the village without permission. They also stationed soldiers on the official roads to prevent civil unrest.
The people of Yan and Zhao were not well governed, and there were idle wanderers everywhere.
There were no knights-errant on the fields and roads of Zhao State, which shows the extent of the martial law in Zhao State.
Dark clouds were looming, and the wind and rain were blowing. Even the common people in the mountains could feel the atmosphere. They huddled in their dim little mud houses like mice hiding in the shadows.
The people brought by Cai Ze were very confused as to why Lord Cai would spend so much time on a group of common people who couldn't even think. Wouldn't it be more useful to use this energy on the nobles
In fact, Cai Ze himself had doubts in his heart, so he insisted on doing so.
Only by doing these things and seeing the results of this matter could he resolve the doubts in his heart.
It was in such an atmosphere that Lou Huan entered Handan and presented the map in exchange for Lian Po and Li Mu.
King Zhao sat at the top, looking extremely tired and listless.
He glanced at the map and Qin's documents and said nothing. A member of the Zhao royal family beside him spoke on his behalf and bargained with Lou Huan.
Lou Huan had already reached a consensus with these nobles, and the bargaining in the court was just for show. They quickly exchanged documents and ended the discussion.
The Qin State paid ten cities and several carts of gold and silver in exchange for Lian Po and Li Mu to serve as Qin generals, just like the Zhao State exchanged Tian Dan, the hero who restored the country to Qi.
Since there is a precedent, it does not count as selling out our meritorious generals. It is just that Qin is weak and kneels down to beg our Zhao generals to help Qin fight.
This is what the Zhao nobles preached.
They were very satisfied with the deal, so they added a bonus - the Zhao royal family adopted Chunhua as their adopted daughter, gave her the surname Zhao, and sent Prince Zichu's wife Zhao Ji back to Qin to reunite the family.
Originally in history, Zhao Ji's name was given by the novel, meaning a woman born in the State of Zhao. Now her status and position have greatly increased, and she has really become Zhao Ji.
When Zhao Ji was found, she was terrified and thought she would be killed. When she learned that Zichu and Ying Xiaozheng were both highly valued by the King of Qin, she immediately became proud and acted like a mistress.
The one who greeted Zhao Ji was Bu, Zichu's confidant. Bu had known that Zhao Ji was stupid and vicious, but he did not expect that Zhao Ji was even more stupid and vicious than he imagined.
Why did you abandon Duke Zhu Xiang and Prince Zheng, and still think that Duke Zhu Xiang and Prince Zheng would be your backers, allowing you to act tyrannically after returning to Qin
When Bu received Zichu's order, he was still complaining that the master was too cautious. Now he understood that the master was worthy of being the master, and he really guessed the thoughts of the person beside him.
Bu Lengbing said to Zhao Ji, who had asked for gold and silver jewelry, silk and satin, and more servants before leaving, otherwise she would punish them, "You abandoned Prince Zheng and married someone else. You didn't think about the punishment you would receive after entering Qin, and you still dare to be so arrogant?"
Zhao Ji said confidently: "My brother is kind-hearted, he will definitely forgive me. I heard that Zhu Xiang is already a feudal lord in Qin State, how dare you do anything to a female brother who is a feudal lord!"
Common people call her "Ajie", while nobles call her "Nüxiong". Zhao Ji acted like a noble.
Bu's eyes turned to the attendant given by the royal family of Zhao State behind the arrogant Zhao Ji. The attendant immediately lowered his head.
Bu sneered and waved his hand. The black-clad soldiers behind him immediately rushed out and pressed everyone, including Zhao Ji, to the ground.
Zhao Ji's hair was disheveled, and she said anxiously, "How dare you offend me!"
Bu did not say anything. He asked someone to lift up Zhao Ji's head, then brought Zhao Ji's lover to Zhao Ji, and personally beheaded him with a sword, with blood splattering all over Zhao Ji's face.
Zhao Ji immediately fell silent.
Bu threw away his sword, which was not very convenient for him, and replaced it with a thick-backed broadsword which was becoming increasingly popular in Qin State. He ordered people to drag Zhao Ji's servants over one by one.
"I am Zhao..." Before the servant could finish his words, he was chopped to the ground by Bu's sword.
One knife, two knives, three knives... Bu beheaded all the people around Zhao Ji, familiar or unfamiliar. The heads rolled all over the ground, and the blood was all over her. Zhao Ji wanted to close her eyes, but the person behind her forced her to open her eyelids and continue to watch the beheading scene.
In order to prevent Zhao Ji from screaming, Bu had someone stuff her mouth and let her watch the scene quietly.
Looking at Zhao Ji's horrified expression, Bu recalled the young master's words.
"Father, this is so annoying. Can you kill her and replace her with a puppet? No one knows who she is anyway."
"Okay, okay, it will be more troublesome to change someone else. Father, you can't let her disturb my uncle and aunt. Otherwise, if I am labeled as an unfilial person who murdered my mother, it will be my father's fault."
The master father was furious and wanted to beat the young master, but the young master circled around the master father. Not only did the master fail to catch the young master, but he was also confused by the young master and fell to the ground.
The naughty young master threw himself on the master's back and laughed so hard that he almost gave the master a choke. The master scolded Zhu Xianggong for doting on the young master and making him learn bad habits.
Thinking back to this scene, a smile appeared on Bu Zhe's hideous face.
No one else dared to take on this task, fearing that although Zhao Ji had abandoned the young prince early, the young prince was too young after all and might not remember much of his childhood. Mother and child are connected by heart, and Zhao Ji coaxed the young prince a few words after returning to Qin, and when the young prince grew up, he might avenge Zhao Ji.
But he is not afraid.
"The young master and the young master hate you very much, and Changping Jun and his wife hate you too. You have done evil but never thought about bearing the consequences. You are really disgusting." After killing the man, Bu took the cloth and wiped his hands and face. "This is a small warning to you. After entering Qin, the young master will send you to the courtyard. If you behave yourself, you will live a rich and noble life. If you dare to appear in front of the young master and Zhu Xianggong, it will be your death."
He turned and left.
The soldiers pulled Zhao Ji, who was covered in blood, up from the ground and threw her into the carriage without even giving her a change of clothes.
When Lian Po and Li Mu arrived, they smelled blood and heard low sobbing in the carriage.
Bu respectfully told the two the truth.
Lian Po frowned, "If Zhu Xiang hadn't been so lucky and happened to meet Lin Xiangru at home, I'm afraid both Zhu Xiang and Xue Ji's lives would have been indirectly killed by her; if Zhu Xiang hadn't been such a fool, an ordinary person would have directly abandoned the son of an enemy if they met him, and she indirectly killed Zheng'er. Just because the person she was going to kill didn't die, she won't accept punishment? This person is really lucky."
Li Mu also nodded frequently. If the murder attempt failed, there would be no punishment. Chunhua was lucky to have a good brother and a good son.
Bu didn't expect Lian Po and Li Mu to talk to him in a friendly manner. He thought Lian Po and Li Mu were forced to enter Qin and would regard the Qin people as enemies. Why did Lian Po and Li Mu look so free and easy
Lian Po looked at Bu for a few times and said, "I remember you. You and Xia Tong once worked for Zhu Xiang's family."
Bu immediately clasped his fists and said, "Yes, my name is Bu, and I am a servant of Master Zichu. Lord Lian and Lord Li can tell me what you want."
Lian Po nodded and did not ask any more questions.
He went to Li Mu's family team, met with Li's mother, chatted about family matters, promised to take good care of Li Mu, and then returned to his own team, pretending Chunhua didn't exist.
Li Mu was not only sent to Qin by Zhao, but Zhao also asked him to serve as the guard for Chunhua to enter Qin, because Zhao was too lazy to send more people. But Li Mu also ignored Chunhua and only took care of his mother and learned the laws of Qin.
Since entering Qin was a foregone conclusion, he should plan for the future. At least, he couldn't cause trouble for Zhu Xiang.
Lian Po and Li Mu were so obedient that not only Bu was shocked and scratched his head, but even Lou Huan found it unbelievable.
Lou Huan risked being beaten to death by Lian Po's punch and asked Lian Po curiously.
Lian Po rolled his eyes at Lou Huan and said, "It was the late king who did me a favor. For his good-for-nothing son, I not only lost my reputation for life, but was even sold out by the State of Zhao. Haven't I repaid him enough? It's fine to join Qin. Once I close my eyes and plug my ears, I won't have to worry about this idiot anymore. But I'm still angry when I look at you. Can you let me beat you up?"
Lou Huan quickly ran away with his crutches.
Lian Po snorted coldly. Xun Kuang said Confucius said that an old man who does not die is a thief, and Lou Huan is an old thief. I wish Lou Huan to die soon.
The Qin army set off and slowly left Zhao.
Compared to the "lively" scene when Zhu Xiang left Zhao, the roads were very deserted when Lian Po and Li Mu left Zhao.
The common people who were warned did not dare to leave their small mud houses. The scholars knew that the reason why Lian Po and Li Mu were sent away by Zhao State was probably related to the political changes that Zhao State had been secretly rumored to have. They did not dare to send Lian Po and Li Mu away, fearing that they would be liquidated after the political changes.
Lord Pingyuan and Lord Pingyang wanted to see Lian Po and Li Mu off, but no matter how much they knocked on the door, cried and fasted, the guards at the gate did not dare to let them leave.
Lord Pingyuan and Lord Pingyang had their hair disheveled, sat on the ground with their legs apart and cried to the sky, asking their ancestors to open their eyes and strike to death the royal family and nobles of Zhao who wanted to destroy the state of Zhao.
Lian Po and Li Mu, two generations of generals, one old and one young, could keep Zhao State stable for decades. They were Zhao State's own generals! Among the seven states, except Qin, which other state had such talented generals? !
God gave Zhao a treasure, but Zhao gave it to its biggest enemy for just ten small cities. If the ancestors were still alive in heaven, why didn't they send down a heavy snowfall to denounce the incompetence and stupidity of their descendants
"It's snowing again?" Lian Po touched his nose, raised his head and looked at the tiny snow particles in the sky that looked like salt grains.
Lian Po said, "If we don't mess around, Zhu Xiang said that the snow is a sign of a good harvest, maybe the famine in Zhao will be over next year, which is great."
Lou Huan listened to the two people talking with an incredible expression on his face.
Li Mu didn't understand, but Lian Po was also born into a noble family, and he had a bad temper since he was young. He looked down on even the nobles around him, not to mention looking down on the common people who were like ants. Lian Po actually cared whether the common people would starve to death
Lou Huan asked, "Lian Po, did you really massacre the Yan people's city because the Zhao people were starving to death?"
Lian Po said indifferently: "I didn't think of massacring the city, but if I took their food, they would starve to death and of course fight me to the death. The final result would be massacring the city. For the people of Zhao, I have no regrets."
Li Mu clenched his fists.
No one asked Lian Gong if he regretted it, but Lian Gong said he did not regret it. Does this prove that this matter has been weighing on Lian Gong's mind and tormenting him repeatedly
“You really…” Lou Huan didn’t know how to comment.
Is that strange? But to say that a Zhao general who loves the people of Zhao is strange is as if he himself is strange.
For some reason, he thought of Bai Qi, the Marquis of Wu'an. Obviously, Lian Po and Bai Qi had completely different personalities and styles.
"Wait, what is that?" Bu looked up, wondering, "Are the Zhao people going to break the agreement and send troops to kill us?"
Li Mu narrowed his eyes and looked over: "No, that is... the common people of Zhao? I'll go and take a look!"
He immediately stopped the Qin soldiers' attack and rode away.
"Why are you here? Are you fleeing from famine?" Li Mu asked immediately.
The Zhao people, who were still wearing ragged clothes in winter and tied a lot of hay to keep warm, raised their heads and asked: "Are you a general of Zhao? Do you know General Li?"
Li Mu was stunned and said, "I am Li Mu."
The man and the people behind him immediately knelt down and said, "General Li, can you take us away with you?"
Li Mu was shocked: "Why?"
The man cried, "We sent Duke Zhu Xiang away last year, and this year we have to send Duke Lian and General Li away. The people who taught us how to farm are gone, and the people who helped us fight against the State of Yan and the Xiongnu are gone. How are we going to live in the future? I heard that Duke Zhu Xiang's fiefdom is very close to the State of Zhao, and everyone in our village has decided to go to Duke Zhu Xiang's fiefdom."
The man kowtowed: "Please General Li, take us with you. If you all leave, how will we survive? How will we survive..."
He became more and more excited as he spoke, and his body kept shaking.
Li Mu dismounted and helped him up: "Did the King of Zhao issue another decree to harm you?"
A kneeling man pulled away the grass on his body, revealing the clothes of a Zhao soldier.
He straightened up and said, "The King of Zhao ordered the garrisons of each county to threaten the farmers in the village and not allow them to see off Lord Xinping and General Li. Without Lord Xinping, we would have starved to death; without General Li, we would have been slaughtered by the Xiongnu. We cannot tolerate this."
He kowtowed and said, "General, please lead us."
A dozen people behind him pulled off the hay, revealing their weapons, and kowtowed together: "General, please lead us."
Li Mu was so shocked that he couldn't speak for a long time.
"I...you guys..." Li Mu took a deep breath, trying to make his mind as clear as possible.
He looked at the person kneeling in front of him, and also saw the person hiding in the dry grass and dead trees.
Those people were pushing carts with large and small bags on them, and the elderly, the weak, women and children sitting on them. They were actually leaving the entire village.
"Wait a moment!" Li Mu mounted his horse and turned around, anxious.
If he were leading the troops himself, he would definitely be willing to escort these people away.
They had already left the village, disobeying military orders, and if they did not follow him, they would probably be executed.
But now he has no soldiers. Will the Qin people take on this big trouble
Li Mu nervously told Lian Po and Lou Huan about this.
Lian Po raised his hands and slowly pressed his eyes, tears flowing from his fingers: "The King of Zhao sent soldiers to forbid them to see us off, but they want to leave Zhao with their entire family? Ha... Haha, is this what Zhu Xiang meant by the will of the people?"
Lou Huan couldn't even hold on to his walking stick: "This, this..." This is unbelievable! A commoner actually knew about the kindness of Lian Po and Li Mu and was so loyal and righteous
"But... but we..." Lou Huan was in a dilemma. If he could take the Zhao people away, the King of Zhao might be so angry that he would die. But they only had so many soldiers, and it would be difficult to escort the Zhao people out of Zhao. Besides, does Qin have enough space to feed so many people? If he made the decision on his own, would he be blamed by the King of Qin
"Let's take them together." Bu Dao, who led the troops this time, said, "The king has issued a secret decree. If there are people from Zhao who are willing to leave with Lord Lian and Lord Li, they can be settled together in Changping, Shangdang and other places. We have food and land, but we are in need of people. They also bring their own food, so we can feed them."
Lou Huan was so frightened that he almost fell off the carriage: "Secret decree?"
Bu nodded and said, "Your Majesty has also issued an edict that if these things really happen, the people of Zhao will be led by Lord Lian and Lord Li. Lord Lian and Lord Li can train them to be your soldiers."
Lian Po put his hand down, his eyes red as he asked, "Isn't the King of Qin afraid?"
Bu took out a paper envelope from his arms and handed it to Lian Po with both hands.
Lian Po tore open the envelope, and two general tokens fell out, one with his name engraved on it, and the other with Li Mu's name engraved on it.
The King of Qin had already prepared for this?!
Lian Po and Li Mu looked at the two tokens, their faces showing both crying and laughing, admiration and hatred.
This is their Zhao State’s greatest enemy, the old King of Qin.
"Please Lord Lian and Lord Li make a quick decision." Bu could hardly hide the proud look on his face, "We haven't left Zhao yet."
This is our sovereign, the King of Qin!
Lian Po and Li Mu put away the tokens with trembling hands, each called on their servants, and went to appease the Zhao people ahead.
On the hill next to him, Cai Ze looked out into the distance, his brilliant smile making his already crooked face even more distorted.
The people’s will, the people’s will, the people’s will!
"Xunzi, Zhu Xiang, you won the bet." Cai Ze said with a smile, "No, we won the bet."
He himself was involved in it!
Before leaving Qin, Xunzi had a debate with the King of Qin about "righteous soldiers".
Originally, the two old men were just eating and drinking at Zhu Xiang's house, chatting and arguing while playing with Zheng'er. Zhu Xiang dragged a stool to join in, and somehow it turned into a bet.
The common people in the seven countries moved frequently. Farmers far from the city didn't even know which country they were from, and they paid taxes to whoever collected taxes.
In some more ambiguous areas, farmers even have to pay taxes to two or three countries.
This is the case with the farmers in the area where the Three Jins meet.
Unlike the upper class scholars who hated the tyranny of the Qin Dynasty, in non-war periods, the common people would not only not avoid the Qin people, but would also take the initiative to join them.
When Qin attacked Shangdang, civilians fled to Zhao simply because they were fleeing from the war and were refugees, not because they were unwilling to join Qin.
When the Qin State developed Guandong and Bashu, it absorbed a large number of people from the Three Jins. The King of Qin issued many decrees to encourage immigration, sent them to open up wasteland, granted them household registration, and exempted them from corvée.
The rulers of the seven states had already discovered that population was the most important factor in a country's strength. When the Three Jins were constantly at war, the Qin State made a big effort to "steal" people from the Three Jins to reclaim wasteland.
The Qin State could not feed hundreds of thousands of prisoners of war, but now Shangdang and Changping, which Qin had just conquered, as well as Bashu and Chu in the south, were vast and sparsely populated due to the war, so the more common people brought their own dry food, the better.
What's the use of an empty city? What Qin wants is population!
Xunzi's political proposition for unifying the world was to "raise righteous troops." He believed that the Qin State was strong and had the foundation for raising righteous troops. Now was the time to change its appearance from a tyrannical Qin State to a benevolent Qin State and unify the people's hearts when unifying the world.
Naturally, the King of Qin scoffed at Xunzi's remarks.
Can "benevolence and righteousness" make the cities and common people run to Qin on their own? In the end, they will still fall into the hands of the army. The efficiency of plundering is much higher than waiting for prey under a tree.
Zhu Xiang said, "Lord Lian sacrificed his reputation and power for the people of Zhao, and the people of Zhao are all grateful to him. Why don't we give it a try in Zhao? It will be absolutely appropriate to leave this matter to Cai Ze."
Cai Ze received the letter. What his teacher and friend wanted to do just happened to coincide with what he wanted to do.
"Now, will you still say that common people are not human beings, heartless and emotionless?" Cai Ze put his hands behind his back and turned to look at the people in front of him. "Xunzi said that everyone can learn benevolence, righteousness, integrity and shame, but benevolence, righteousness, integrity and shame are not the ethics of scholars. I hope that you can see more people in your eyes, just like your teacher Xunzi."
The assistants he brought with him were not Qin officials, but Confucian scholars.
"Yes, Mr. Cai."
The Confucian scholars bowed their hands. They remembered this lesson.
"Go on. I wonder how many people from Zhao will follow Lord Lian and Li Mu into Qin this time." Cai Ze walked down the mountain with his hands behind his back. "I'm afraid I'll have to ask the king for the position of governor of Changping County."
Changping is the place where the Three Jins fought. Not only is it dangerous, but Zhu Xiang will also easily fall soft on the people of Zhao, so the king will definitely not let Zhu Xiang come.
Only he can be the county magistrate.
At the turn of 259 BC and 258 BC, a ballad was sung in the countryside and villages outside the city of Zhao State.
"The magpie is singing at home, hurry to Qin. Hurry to Qin, Zhu Xiang is in Qin;
The magpie is singing on the road, hurry to Qin, hurry to Qin, Lian Po is in Qin;
The magpie is singing in the mountains, hurry to Qin, hurry to Qin, Li Mu is in Qin;
Take your property and family and go to Qin quickly. Go to Qin quickly. The wise are in Qin."
The Zhao army guarding the border closed their eyes and covered their ears. They saw nothing and heard nothing.
Therefore, no one in the majestic city of Handan knew this song.
(End of this chapter)