Back to the Warring States Period as Zhao Kuo

But this kind of thing just happened.

Wu Xinjun Zhao Kuo actually rejected the attractive conditions that can make most people in this world fall in love.

Is he crazy?

Just when Hou Sheng was thinking wildly, a somewhat familiar voice suddenly sounded: "Hou Xiang, you should go back to Linzi for business.

If you continue to stay here, my master cannot guarantee your personal safety. "

Hou Sheng turned his head and saw Xu Li.

At the time of Zhao Kuo and Tian Wan's wedding, Xu Li, as the housekeeper of Zhao Kuo's mansion, was in charge of all the specific affairs. Hou Sheng, who was in charge of the wedding at that time, had a natural impression of Xu Li.

Hou Sheng grabbed Xu Li's arm, and said in an almost pleading tone: "Master Xu, help me once, what do you want?

money?

land?

slave?

Or the official position of Qi State?

The old man can satisfy you! "

Xu Li sighed, and shook off Hou Sheng's hand: "Come here, send the latter away!"

Two Chi You soldiers came over, lifted Hou Sheng's fat body from the left and right sides like a chicken, and threw them heavily into the carriage.

Under the order of Bright Weapon, Hou Sheng didn't dare to make any mistakes at all, so he got into the car obediently, and left with a long sigh.

Seeing Hou Sheng's carriage leave, Xu Li couldn't help but let out a sneer: "I don't know good and bad things!"

As the uncle of Zhao Kuo's wife Tian Wan, Hou Sheng has many business contacts with Wu Xinjun's house. The two parties should have been a solid alliance of interests, but all of this ended because of Hou Sheng's short-sightedness.

Stupidity and betrayal also have a price!In the lobby, Zhao Kuo had already left behind the victory, and was discussing the military situation with Li Mu who had just arrived under orders.

Zhao Kuo tapped a point on the map on the table, and said: "You lead all the cavalry to advance lightly, and you must use the fastest speed to reach the outside of Linzi City and surround Linzi.

By the way, if you find King Qi running away, remember not to catch him, let him run away. "

Li Mu was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help but said, "My lord, this is not very good, is it?"

Zhao Kuo laughed and said: "King Qi's escape will deal a fatal blow to the morale of the army and the people in Linzi City, and it is good news for us to capture Linzi City.

On the other hand, if we capture the king of Qi, there are so many officials and princes of the state of Qi in Linzi city, we can definitely recommend another one, which will make it more difficult for us to conquer Linzi. "

Zhao Kuo is determined to win Linzi City this time.

As the largest city in the east and the state of Qi, as early as 200 years ago, Yan Ying, the minister of the state of Qi at that time, proudly declared that Linzi had a population of [-] lv when he was on a mission to the state of Chu, and the streets in the city were "Zhangxiong". It becomes cloudy, sweating becomes rain, shoulder to shoulder.

After 200 years of development, today's Linzi has already become the true political, economic, and wealth center of Qi State. Its importance to Qi State even exceeds that of Xianyang to Qin State.

As long as Linzi can be captured and all the wealth and population in Linzi can be seized, Qi will suffer a severe blow comparable to that of the Five Kingdoms attacking Qi 30 years ago, and it will not be possible to recover in ten or eight years. , let alone compete with Zhao Guo for hegemony in the Central Plains.

Li Mu hesitated for a moment, then stopped talking.

Zhao Kuo said with a smile: "If you have something to say, are you still afraid that this Marquis will not tolerate your words?"

Li Mudao: "My lord, this time is actually an excellent opportunity to take back Wuyang City from Yan State, or directly destroy Wei State. Why do we have to choose Linzi as the direction of attack?"

As the saying goes, persimmons should be picked from the soft ones, and among the three kingdoms, Qi is undoubtedly the hardest one.

Zhao Kuo smiled and said, "Because Qi is the leader who opposes Da Zhao, and is actually the second most powerful country in the world today, is that enough reason?"

Li Mu said seriously: "But Qi State is also the country that suffered the most losses in this Luoshui battle, and Qi State is no longer the second most powerful country in the world after this battle.

And no matter from which point of view, it is easier to conquer Daliang of Wei State or Wuyang of Yan State than Linzi. "

Zhao Kuo cleared his throat and said patiently: "Why don't you attack Yan, the reason is actually very simple.

The State of Yan is now completely disabled, and it is impossible to launch a war against Zhao without the support of the State of Qi.

So, as long as we cripple Qi, it means crippling Yan and Qi at once, understand? "

Li Mu thought for a while, and said, "What about Wei Guo?"

Zhao Kuo said with a smile: "Wei Guo was paralyzed by the beating last time, won't he be completely disabled this time?"

Li Mudao: "It is precisely because Wei State is the most disabled country, so I think annexing Wei State at one go is the best strategy."

Zhao Kuo snapped his fingers and said, "From a purely military point of view, your reason is indeed valid.

But Li Mu, what Benhou wants to tell you is that wars are always for politics, do you understand? "

Li Mu was dumbfounded, and after a few seconds he said: "My lord and minister."

Li Mu was obviously a little unconvinced.

Although a lot of Li Mu's knowledge was taught by Zhao Kuo, and Li Mu has always regarded Zhao Kuo as an idol, a good teacher and a lord, but because of this, Li Mu, who has multiple identities as a disciple and courtier, is even more reluctant to see Zhao Kuo in the military. No mistakes made in the past, only today's outspoken advice.

Zhao Kuo understood Li Mu's thoughts quite well, and immediately laughed: "How to say about this matter? To put it simply, apart from Da Zhao, none of the seven major vassal states today would want Wei to perish, understand? "

The Seven Heroes of the Warring States Period have a tacit understanding, and the bottom line of this tacit understanding is what Zhao Kuo said just now.

why?

The answer can be found in the history books.

In history, Qin destroyed the six countries, from the first Korea in 230 BC to the last Qi in 221 BC, a total of ten years.

Is it a coincidence that the six vassal states perished densely within ten years?

of course not.

In the Warring States period, the means of survival for weak countries was actually very simple. That is, when Qin came to attack me, I asked Qi for help. When Chu attacked me, I asked Zhao for help. When Zhao attacked me, I asked Qin for help. Use Qin, Zhao, and Qi The game between the four major powers of Chu, Chu and Chu to gain living space.

Any powerful country that wants to destroy South Korea or Wei will be restrained to varying degrees by the other three powerful countries.

And when any powerful country can destroy Han and Wei, it means that this country has become so strong that the other three powerful countries cannot hold it back.

To put it bluntly, like Qin in history, it has been able to beat the other six countries violently with one enemy and six.

Zhao Kuo said: "So whether we want to destroy the State of Wei or not, the key point is not the strength of the State of Wei's defense, because it is impossible for the State of Wei to fight or defend against our Da Zhao's attack.

The key question is that the demise of Wei State will inevitably attract Qin and Chu's interference at the same time. Do you think our Da Zhao can repel Qin and Chu's interference while attacking Wei State? "

Chapter 528 Mr. Pingyuan’s Betrayal Helped Zhao Kuo

Faced with the question Zhao Kuo posed, Li Mu fell into deep thought.

In the past few years, although Zhao Kuo's army led the South and North Wars and conquered the city and achieved extremely brilliant results, annihilating a large number of troops from other major powers, it is not without hidden worries.

Yiyang, Gaotang, and Ji were all defeated three times under the command of Lian Po, the previous General of the State of Zhao, and the State of Zhao lost more than 30 troops.

Using numbers as an example, if the military strength of Zhao State after the Changping War is [-] points, then Qin State is [-] points, and Qi State and Chu State are [-] points.

After several years of wars, the military strength of Qin State dropped to five points, Qi State and Chu State also dropped to four points, but Zhao State itself also dropped to seven points due to the loss of 30 soldiers and horses.

With Zhao Guo's single seven points against Qin, Qi and Chu's combined strength of [-] points, Zhao Guo is obviously at a disadvantage.

Even if the four-point Qi State is removed, and the Wei State that has been completely disabled is considered to be [-] points, then the Zhao State will still have to face Qin Chuwei's [-] points with [-] points, and it is still at a disadvantage.

Looking at Li Mu with a dignified expression, Zhao Kuo smiled and said, "You understand now?

That's not even counting South Korea.

South Korea has always kept warm with Wei Guo, this time is just an exception.

Benhou can conclude that as long as Benhou reveals his intention to destroy Wei, South Korea will immediately betray the alliance with Da Zhao and stand on Wei's side. "

Li Mu's body shook.

Calculated according to South Korea's strength of two points, Qin, Chu, Wei, and Han add up to [-] points, which is almost twice the strength of Zhao Guo.

And once Qin, Chu, Wei and Han joined forces, plus Qi and Yan, who had just ended the war with Zhao, the other six vassal states among the seven heroes of the Warring States all stood on the opposite side of Zhao.

This is the real enemy of the world!Li Mu was completely speechless.

Is Zhao's current strength enough to fight against the alliance of the other six vassal states?

If Lian Po didn't fight those three defeats and prevent Zhao Guo from losing 30 elites, Zhao Guo could actually do it.

But the current state of Zhao obviously does not have that strength, even if the most powerful country in the world is still the state of Zhao.

Zhao Kuo patted Li Mu's shoulder, and said earnestly, "Li Mu, so you understand?

From a military point of view, attacking and destroying the weakest state of Wei is indeed the best option.

But from a political point of view, defeating Zhao's most powerful challenger, Qi Guo, is the most suitable choice. Even if it will cost Zhao more time and casualties, it is worth it. "

Li Mu was sincerely convinced, and bowed to the ground: "The lord is far-sighted, and in front of the lord, the minister is like the light of rice grains compared to the brightness of the bright moon, which is not worth mentioning at all!"

Looking at Li Mu who was completely convinced, Zhao Kuo also had a smile on his face.

This is Li Mu. To be admired and praised by Li Mu from the bottom of his heart, Zhao Kuo felt very comfortable.

Zhao Kuo helped Li Mu up himself, and said solemnly, "Li Mu, my goal has not changed, and that is to unify the whole world! But food needs to be eaten bite by bite, and the road needs to be walked step by step. We can't be in a hurry. Understand?"

Li Mu said solemnly: "I understand, let's dispatch troops to Linzi!"

Looking at Li Mu who was convinced to leave, Zhao Kuo breathed a sigh of relief.

Xu Li walked in and said with a smile: "Your Majesty is really high-spirited, and the old minister listened to it with conviction."

Zhao Kuo laughed and said, "Is there any movement in Handan City?"

Xu Li said: "The great Sima Lecheng has been complaining of illness since he returned to Handan, the Empress Dowager sent some rewards to the three wives and several young masters in the mansion.

By the way, Mr. Pingyuan just sent a letter. "

Xu Li took out a letter and placed it in front of Zhao Kuo respectfully.

Zhao Kuo unwrapped the sealant and took out the letter paper inside, and read it.

This letter was written by Mr. Pingyuan himself, and it was densely written on a page.

In the beginning, Mr. Pingyuan first used an extremely exaggerated, nearly half-page page to praise Zhao Kuo's amazing military exploits, and then introduced the main topic.

Mr. Pingyuan said that the reason why he did not oppose Le Cheng's decision to replace Zhao Guo at the court meeting was mainly because of pressure from some unspeakable aspects.

Now that this pressure has receded, Mr. Pingyuan is still a good ally of Zhao Kuo, and he hopes that everyone can continue to cooperate in the future to suppress Lin Xiangru together.

After reading this letter, Zhao Kuo couldn't help being dumbfounded.

The speed of turning faces is really faster than turning the pages of books.

After thinking about it, Zhao Kuo threw the letter to Xu Li: "Take it and burn it."

Xu Li said: "Is the lord going to reply to the letter?"

Zhao Kuo snorted and said, "This Mr. Pingyuan is obviously dissatisfied with Benhou, does he really think that Benhou is a fool?

There is no need to reply to this letter, let him worry about it. "

Mr. Pingyuan's betrayal this time is actually very insidious. If Zhao Kuo hadn't already made a plan, it would be impossible for another person to command this battle to defeat the general of the Qi State Kuang who has the advantage of military strength and quality within ten days. Liang's.

Just a little bit, Zhao Kuo's political career will suffer a major setback and even be completely ruined because of this betrayal of Mr. Pingyuan.

Zhao Kuo thought for a while, and said: "By the way, let our people in Handan let out some rumors, saying that this Marquis is very dissatisfied with Lord Pingyuan's betrayal this time."

Xu Li was stunned for a moment, and said: "The meaning of the lord is..." Zhao Kuo glanced at Xu Li, and said meaningfully: "Since Mr. Pingyuan has betrayed the alliance with this Marquis, then this Marquis may not necessarily be with you." He continues to be an ally, doesn't he?"

Everything has advantages and disadvantages. This is the truth told by materialist dialectics.

Mr. Pingyuan's betrayal did almost ruin Zhao Kuo's reputation, but with Zhao Kuo's victory, Mr. Pingyuan has now begun to bear the backlash of this betrayal.

For example, Lord Pingyuan's reputation will definitely drop because of this betrayal, and many people will leave Lord Pingyuan and join Zhao Kuo.

Before that, if Zhao Kuo cooperated with Lin Xiangru, people would think that Zhao Kuo was ungrateful and ignored Mr. Pingyuan's support and support.

But after this betrayal, even if Zhao Kuo cooperated with Lin Xiangru aboveboard, he would not attract any criticism, and Zhao Kuo's reputation would not suffer any loss.

Because of this matter, Zhao Kuo has completely drawn a clear line with Mr. Yuan, and will be active in Zhao Guo's political arena as an independent identity.

This also means that Zhao Kuo has more room to move around in the political arena in the future, and he can cooperate with Lin Xiangru or Lord Pingyuan depending on the situation, so as to slowly expand his power.

Thinking of this, Zhao Kuo couldn't help laughing.

"Speaking of which, Mr. Pingyuan has helped the Marquis quite a bit."

Chapter 529 Surrounding Linzi, the world shakes

Linzi, the palace of King Qi.