Back to the Warring States Period as Zhao Kuo

Pang Nuan laughed loudly and said, "For things like grandsons, the more the better.

Hey, where is Sima Li Mu? "

Zhao Kuo smiled and said, "It should be coming soon, just wait."

The two waited for a while under the steps of the palace. Before Li Mu arrived, Zhou Shaofen and Zhou Shaoliang brothers arrived first.

The Zhou brothers got off the carriage one after another, and found Zhao Kuo and Pang Nuan standing there, feeling a little embarrassed.

But after all, everyone is an adult in the political arena of Zhao State, so on the surface, they are naturally polite.

Zhao Kuo smiled and said, "Zhou Qing, let's go up first, we'll wait here for Da Sima."

Only then did Zhou Shaofen realize that Zhao Kuo wasn't just waiting to find fault with Zhou Shaofen, so he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Well, the old man will go up first."

After Zhou Shaofen finished speaking, he just walked away.

Zhou Shaoliang followed Zhou Shaofen's footsteps behind, and said softly: "Brother, you were too arrogant just now to destroy your own prestige."

Zhou Shaofen snorted, and said softly: "How much is prestige worth?

Every move in this palace city is under His Majesty's surveillance. If His Majesty knows that you and I are going to walk on thin ice in front of Wu Xinjun, you may have to change some unchanging ideas. "

Zhou Shaoliang suddenly realized, and said: "Brother is tall, it really is tall!"

While the two brothers were talking, a palace guard quietly left from a certain corner in the distance, and headed towards the apse of the hall from another road.

Zhao Wang sat in the back hall, closed his eyes and meditated.

The eunuch walked into the apse respectfully, and said softly, "Your Majesty, Li Mu has just arrived and is going to the hall with Lord Wu Xin and Pang Qing."

King Zhao snorted, and said calmly, "Did they have any disputes?"

The eunuch Ling's eyes moved slightly, but he immediately covered it up, saying: "There is no dispute. The Zhou brothers were a little surprised when they saw Wu Xinjun at first, but Wu Xinjun said that they were waiting for Da Sima, so the Zhou family Brother will go directly to the palace."

Zhao Wang nodded slightly when he heard the words, with a satisfied expression in his eyes: "The Zhou brothers, after all, are still a generalist.

Wu Xinjun is also good. After so many years of struggle, he knew that he had restrained himself after becoming a prime minister. "

For King Zhao, of course he knows that if he wants to control power, the ministers under him cannot be monolithic, but King Zhao doesn't like the feeling that two factions of ministers are fighting to the death, like before. Jun and Lin Xiangru are like that.

What King Zhao wants to see is a milder struggle, the kind of "gentlemen's struggle". Everyone can have differences on state affairs, but they should cooperate well when it is time to cooperate.

Judging from what he just heard, King Zhao felt that Zhao Guo's political arena should be very close to the kind of gentleman's struggle he imagined.

King Zhao stood up and said calmly: "Okay, since everyone has arrived, let's go to the hall."

Zhao Wang walked in front, and the eunuch Ling followed closely, not forgetting to wipe his cold sweat quietly.

In the situation just now, if someone else had reported it, it could have been said, "Wu Xinjun is arrogant and domineering. After seeing Wu Xinjun, the Zhou brothers didn't dare to fart and went to the palace in desperation."

In fact, that's probably what the guard said.

But the problem is that Eunuch Ling is Zhao Kuo's secret ally!Therefore, it is only natural for eunuch Ling to speak to Zhao Kuo.

The Zhou Brothers didn't know that the "dark chess" move they had placed their high hopes on was silently dispelled without causing any disturbance.

Just as King Zhao walked towards the main hall, Zhao Kuo also confessed to the two allies around him.

"Our goal today is very simple. First of all, we must take down the seat of the general. This is the bottom line.

Secondly, after winning the position of the Great General, the position of the Great Sima must be fought for with all his strength, and try to win both positions! "

In the final analysis, this matter still depends on whether Concubine Li can have an effect on King Zhao, and this is something that Zhao Kuo cannot be [-]% sure of.

After all, history has been changed too much, and it can be said that it is completely unrecognizable now. Zhao Kuo doesn't know whether those people and things that have worked in history can still work in this era.

However, Zhao Kuo also has an advantage, that is, he is very close to truly controlling the power of Zhao Guo and becoming the throne. As long as he can pass these two uncertain thresholds, basically there will be no major problems in the future. up!Pang Nuan and Li Mu listened to Zhao Kuo's words and nodded at the same time.

Pang Nuan said: "Your Majesty, don't worry, this time we will definitely give Zhou Qing and the others a good look."

Li Mu grinned and said: "This time, we will let them have nothing, haha!"

While speaking, the three of them walked into the hall.

Then, King Zhao came.

After the ceremony was over, the king of Zhao didn't talk nonsense, and said directly: "You should already know why you are summoned today, so I don't want to talk about other things, so you can speak freely!"

After Zhao Wang's voice fell, Zhao Kuo glanced at Zhou Shaofen.

Zhou Shaofen obviously calmed down a lot compared to before, this time he didn't rush to talk again.

So Zhao Kuo stood up and said, "Your Majesty, the veteran thinks that Li Mu should obviously take over the post of General.

Li Mu made great achievements in battle after becoming the chief minister. Not only did he defeat the coalition forces of Chu and South Korea in the south, but he also deterred Qin after he moved to the west, preventing the people of Qin from moving forward, and made great contributions to the peace talks between Qin and Zhao.

All these things, plus Li Mu has always been loyal to Da Zhao and the king, if Li Mu can't take over as the general, it will be our great Zhao's loss! "

Zhao Kuo also came up to blow a wave of Li Mu first, and then talk about how Zhou Shaofen made moves, Zhao Kuo's side will follow!

Chapter 942 Zhou Shaofen Comes Prepared

After Zhao Kuo finished speaking, he looked at Zhou Shaofen, waiting for the opponent's move.

In Zhao Kuo's view, Zhou Shaofen should still compete with Zhao Kuo in the official position of general.

But immediately, something unexpected happened to Zhao Kuo.

After Zhao Kuo finished speaking, Zhou Shaofen fell into silence and didn't speak.

Not only Zhou Shaofen, but his younger brother Zhou Shaoliang also fell silent.

If the two brothers didn't speak, then Zhao Kuo's two allies would speak up one after another.

Whether it was Pang Nuan or Li Mu, they naturally maintained their agreement with Zhao Kuo at this time.

This situation undoubtedly surprised Zhao Kuo, and at the same time surprised King Zhao.

King Zhao couldn't help but speak, and said to Zhou Shaofen: "Don't you want to express your opinion, Zhou Qing?"

King Zhao spoke, so naturally Zhou Shaofen could no longer keep silent.

Zhou Shaofen said: "My lord, the old minister feels that Li Mu Da Sima is indeed the only candidate who is qualified to be the general. Therefore, although the veteran does not get along well with Li Mu Da Sima, he still respects this opinion."

After hearing this sentence, everyone present was shocked.

Zhou Shaofen's words are tantamount to publicly giving up the fight for the position of general.

Zhao Kuo also opened his eyes wide in surprise, but the next moment he came back to his senses and understood Zhou Shaofen's thoughts.

In fact, Zhou Shaofen's idea was very simple. He knew that it was very difficult to compete with Zhao Kuo for the position of the general, so he simply gave up a strategy.

In this way, when he is competing for the position of Great Sima, Zhao Wang will inevitably have a feeling in his heart, that is, he thinks that the position of Great General has been given to Zhao Kuo and Great Sima, and it should obviously be given to Zhou Shaofen. .

Speaking of which, Zhao Kuo had used this kind of strategy not long ago, but he didn't expect to be learned by Zhou Shaofen so soon.

It has to be said that even Zhao Kuo himself has to admit that the timing of Zhou Shaofen's use of this strategy can be said to be just right.

King Zhao watched Zhou Shaofen for several seconds, then nodded slowly.

"Very well, I understand your opinion. Since everyone has no other opinions, let Li Mu be promoted to the position of General Zhao."

Zhao Wang agreed so straightforwardly, on the one hand, because everyone really had no objections, and on the other hand, it was inseparable from the persuasion of Concubine Li in the court.

For the past few days, Concubine Li has been speaking nice things about Zhao Kuo and Li Mu to King Zhao both openly and secretly.

Although Concubine Li did not directly express the hope that Li Mu could be made a general, but as long as she is not a fool, she can feel Li Concubine's support for Zhao Kuo and Li Mu.

Regarding this point, Zhao Wang himself has no opinion. After all, Zhao Kuo is a foreign aid that Zhao Wang found for Concubine Li outside the court. It is normal for Concubine Li to help her foreign aid speak.

After King Zhao gave the order, Li Mu naturally stood up immediately and saluted King Zhao respectfully.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will do my best to help Your Majesty eliminate the other 4 countries, so that our country of Zhao can unify the world."

Li Mu can be said to be a very honest person, and he doesn't beat around the bush when he speaks, he just says what he thinks.

It's just that what everyone present didn't know was that the king Li Mu was talking about was not the king everyone thought of now.

After hearing Li Mu's statement, Zhao Wang also smiled happily and said: "Very good, the widow and the state of Zhao need a talent like you, General Li Mu, and I hope you will not let the widow and the state of Zhao Thousands of people are disappointed."

The monarch and his ministers said some irrelevant, basically nonsense, and then Li Mu withdrew.

Everyone knows that although the position of the general is the most important position in this meeting, it actually lacks suspense from the very beginning.

The really crucial competition is not actually the general, but the position of the great Sima that was left behind after Li Mu was promoted.

Because of the accident just now, King Zhao didn't say to start the next topic right away, but he sorted out his mood before opening his mouth.

"Since Li Mu has become the great general of our country of Zhao, the vacated position now becomes the Great Sima. Who do you think is qualified to be the Great Sima?"

After Zhao Wang finished speaking, he actually had some expectations in his heart. He wanted to know what kind of people Zhao Kuo and Zhou Shaofen would send out to compete for this position.

It was still Zhao Kuo who was the first to speak and said: "Report to Your Majesty, the old minister feels that General Xu Li has always made outstanding achievements in military affairs, and has made a lot of contributions to our Zhao Kingdom and His Majesty, and he is even more loyal to His Majesty. The best candidate for Da Sima."

As Xiangbang, Zhao Kuo was naturally the first to speak up to propose his side.

In fact, Zhao Kuo has a great advantage, that is, he himself has amazing military achievements, so Zhao Kuo's subordinates followed Zhao Kuo to fight everywhere, and their military achievements were all at the crushing level.

The other factions in Zhao Guozhong have no way to compare with Zhao Kuo's people in terms of military exploits. This leads to the fact that Zhao Kuo's people often have the upper hand when nominating military positions, just like this time. same.

After hearing Zhao Kuo's proposal, everyone present did not show much surprise.

Zhao Kuo's two allies had known this for a long time, so there was no need to talk about it. The Zhou brothers and Zhao Wang had obviously thought that Zhao Kuo would nominate Xu Li, so they seemed quite calm.

Next, the nomination of the Zhou Brothers is the real highlight.

The Zhou Brothers did live up to expectations, and actually proposed a candidate that surprised even Zhao Kuo.

Zhou Shaofen coughed and said slowly, "Your Majesty, the old minister nominated Qin Feilai, the captain of Youbeiping County, as the candidate for the chief Sima."

Zhao Kuo immediately looked through the information in his mind and found out that Qin Fei, the county captain of Youbeiping County.

This name may sound ordinary, but Qin Fei's father has a great background, that is, the famous general Qin Kai who led the army of Yan State to break through Donghu decades ago and helped Yan State completely occupy the Liaodong Peninsula.

When Yan State fell, Qin Kai was already dead, and Qin Fei surrendered to Zhao State very wisely.

Later, when Zhao State conquered the remnants of Yan State in Liaodong, Qin Fei made a lot of contributions and was promoted to the county captain of Youbeiping County.

Although such a person is indeed inferior to Xu Li on Zhao Kuo's side in terms of military exploits, he does have the qualifications to compete for the Grand Sima.

From this candidate alone, it can be seen that Zhou Shaofen definitely came prepared this time!

Chapter 943 Fierce Competition

After hearing Zhou Shaofen's words, although Zhao Kuo said that he was quite surprised, at the same time another emotion was slowly born in his heart.

The name of this emotion is excitement.

Yes, because Zhou Shaofen suddenly performed better than Zhao Kuo expected, so this made Zhao Kuo excited involuntarily.

Zhao Kuo said very calmly: "Zhou Qing, there is a problem with your choice. Qin Fei is the son of a former minister of the Yan State. How can you be sure that he must be loyal to our Zhao State?"

As soon as Zhao Kuo asked this question, Zhao Wang's cheeks twitched undetectably, obviously he was more concerned about this question.

In fact, this problem is also a very important problem that Zhao Guo has faced in the past two years.

The State of Zhao has perished until now, and the State of Yan and the State of Wei are two countries, so the people who used to live in these countries now naturally become the subjects of the State of Zhao.

If it's just the people, then things are of course easier to talk about, but the problem is that apart from the large number of people, there are also many officials from the two original countries.

How to deal with these officials is a more troublesome thing.

If these officials are to be appointed, it is very likely that these officials still miss the old country and violate the orders of the Zhao court.

In fact, in the past two years, there have been many cases of this kind of situation. Basically every time this kind of situation occurs, it means that the political arena in a certain place will be cleaned up in a large or small way.

Some people are going to ask, since the appointment of these officials will cause such troubles, why not use them at all?

But the fact is that even if these officials are not used, the trouble is also not small.

First of all, those who can be officials in this era will find ways to cultivate some influence, and even the officials in many places are born in local big families.

In other words, if these powerful people and people from local big families are not allowed to continue to be officials, then they must be very dissatisfied with Zhao Guo and will definitely try their best to fight against Zhao Guo.

In fact, in the past two years, most of the rebellions in the lands controlled by Yan and Wei were of this type, and only a small part was judged to be launched by those patriots who really missed the old country.

To put it bluntly, people do everything because of interests. These people have not obtained considerable benefits from Zhao Guo, so they naturally stand against Zhao Guo.

Even if it doesn't mean that everyone who can't be an official will rebel, but even if it is obedient and obedient, it is enough to make Zhao Guo's local ruling order difficult to implement.

There is actually another solution to this matter, and that is to kill.

It’s not that no one made a suggestion to Zhao Kuo and King Zhao, saying that as long as Zhao’s army captures a city, they will kill all the big families in the area, or send all of these families directly to become slaves. slave.