The younger brother of the First Emperor

Chapter 128: The general and the prime minister parted ways, the money for buying their lives, Le Yi accepted the favor and went to Qin

Lian Po spoke in a low voice.

The old general had seen life and death many times before, and he could tell at a glance that his old friend was on his deathbed and could die at the slightest sign of trouble.

His white hair rested on the edge of the fire pit. As he looked at his old friend's face as white as gold paper, two lines of hot tears rolled down his face.

"It was my fault.

"I have fallen into my old habit again. When I achieve something, I become arrogant and forget everything.

"When I left Handan, you saw me off.

“When I came back, I didn’t see you, so I should have thought that something had happened to you.

"But this...it's only been a few months, how could he be so ill?"

Lin Xiangru, lying on the sickbed, was hunched over and emaciated. He slowly opened his eyes.

His eyes were dull, cloudy and lifeless.

The pupils moved to Lian Po's face, but there was still no color in them, like the eyes of a dead person, open but not awake.

Lian Po was already feeling resentful about the king's unfair treatment, and now he saw his old friend of decades suffering from illness.

For a moment, my emotions fluctuated violently, and I was extremely sad and unable to control myself.

Even though he was so emotional, he still managed to control his voice and sobbed softly.

The cruel reality made him start to recall the glorious past with his old friend, hoping to wake him up.

This is the case with many people.

When you are in high spirits, just enjoy the present moment to the fullest without thinking about the past.

When you hit rock bottom, you'll reminisce about the past.

All the people and things that I didn't care about when I was at my peak came to my mind one by one.

"At the beginning, the former king obtained a priceless jade from the State of Chu, which was called the Heshi Bi.

"King Zhaoxiang of Qin found out and said he would exchange it for 15 cities.

"Everyone in the court knew that Qin was untrustworthy, that the 600-li territory was reduced to 6 li, and that King Huai of Chu was detained and killed.

"The Heshi Bi has gone and never returned, and it is difficult to take even one of the fifteen cities.

"But Qin is a powerful country, and if we don't send the Heshi Bi, it will give us an excuse.

"The late king did not want to give the Heshi Bi, but he had to.

"None of us are good enough. We either want the late king to give up the Heshi Bi or go to war with the Qin State.

"Only the eunuch Ling Miaoxian said that he had a retainer named Lin Xiangru who must have a solution.

“The previous king summoned you.

"At that time, you were just a servant of the eunuch Ling Miaoxian, of low rank and humble status.

"But he dared to say that he was willing to go to Qin to deliver the Heshi Bi, and if he could not get fifteen cities, he would take the jade back.

"No one was optimistic about you, but in the end you fulfilled your mission and returned the jade intact to Zhao.

"You have made a name for yourself with just this one thing, and were named a senior official by the previous king."

The veteran said as he looked at his old friend.

Lin Xiangru opened his mouth slightly, and the corners of his mouth twitched, pulling his dry face, as if he was smiling.

The veteran cried even harder.

He gently held his old friend's hand and felt that his old friend's skin had no elasticity at all, almost the same as his own hand.

They are all old.

"You were so popular back then that Miao Xian gained dozens of new guests.

"Later, King Zhaoxiang of Qin invited the former king to attend a meeting in Mianchi, but the former king did not dare to go.

“It was the two of us who urged the late king to go there. That was our first collaboration.

“I led the troops to the junction of Qin and Zhao, and you accompanied the late king at the meeting at Mianchi.

"King Zhaoxiang of Qin planned to have the king play the harp first, so you took the drum and forced King Zhaoxiang of Qin to hit it. You saved Zhao's face and did not let King Zhaoxiang of Qin gain any advantage.

"You are the only one who can make King Zhaoxiang of Qin suffer twice in a row and still have to suffer in silence and be unable to be held accountable."

As the veteran was speaking, he felt some strength coming from his hand and knew that it was his old friend responding.

He shook her hand gently, looked into Lin Xiangru's eyes, and laughed and cried.

"The previous king conferred you the title of Shangqing in recognition of your merits.

“I don’t accept it.

“I have been invincible in battle and in attack, and I have deployed my troops on the border, so that you can return to Handan safely from Mianchi.

"I am a high-ranking official, why should a weak scholar like you be a high-ranking official?

"You are just a talker, how can you hold such a high position as Po?

"How can a few words at a meeting be as meritorious as a fatal fight?
"At that time, I was really dissatisfied in my heart, and I told everyone I met that I would humiliate you if I saw you in the future.

"I think you have been able to defeat King Zhaoxiang of Qin twice, so you must be very brave.

"For someone as inviolable as you, you will definitely not let me off the hook after hearing what I say.

"I have been waiting for you to cause trouble, and all I can think of is to overwhelm you and show my Lian Po ability.

“But instead of fighting with me, you started to claim illness and not come to court.

“On the road, you saw my carriage and gave way, not fighting with me.

"I thought you were afraid of me, and you were so proud of yourself that you told everyone you met that you were nothing special.

"Even your retainers can't stand your cowardly look. Before they leave, they warn you: 'We left our families to serve you because we admire your noble character. Now you and Lian Po are both high ministers. Lian Po keeps saying bad things to you, but you are afraid of Lian Po and avoid him. You are too afraid. We are ordinary people and we feel ashamed of this situation. Are you not ashamed, you who are respected as Prime Minister Lin? We have no face to stay with you if you are like this. Please allow us to leave.'

“The Lord stopped the guests, asked them to stay, and explained the reason to them.

"You said you are not afraid of the King of Qin, so are you afraid of Lian Po? The reason why Qin does not dare to attack Zhao is because the civil officials and military officers are of one mind. You and Lian Po are like two tigers. If two tigers fight, one will inevitably be injured or even die. This will give Qin a good opportunity to attack Zhao. You are not fighting with me because you value national affairs.

“You have convinced your followers, and you have also convinced me.

“After I heard that, I felt so ashamed. I think my mind is so narrow compared to yours.

"I came to your door with a thorn on my back to apologize, and you forgave me just like this.

"Decades later, when I was replaced in the Battle of Changping, I was depressed and filled with sorrow. It was you who dragged your sick body to comfort me.

"Your Majesty said that if Zhao Kuo could win, Zhao would prosper, and my power would expand along with the expansion of the country. If Zhao Kuo loses, it would prove that I am right, and the king would value me more.

"If it weren't for you, how could I have cultivated myself for so many years and still be able to go to the battlefield at the age of seventy-seven?
“I knelt down before you and begged for my crime, and you have helped me for decades.

"I changed from an impulsive, irritable general who only knew how to fight to a man who knew when to advance and when to retreat, and it has kept me alive until now.

"I came in a hurry today and didn't bring any thorns with me.

"I will kneel down before you again and plead guilty. Can you forgive me once more and help me for a few more decades?"

At the bottom of the pond, the old general's knees fell to the ground without him noticing when.

Lian Po, who did not kneel before the King of Zhao, knelt twice before Lin Xiangru.

Lin Xiangru's lips moved slightly, but only the movement was seen and no sound was heard.

Lian Po tried to wipe away his tears, but they could not be wiped away completely.

Old tears are wiped away and new tears are shed.

He felt that his old friend's life flame was like a candle in the wind, which could be extinguished at any time.

He stood up, bent over, and put his ear close to his old friend's ear.

"Prime Minister Lin, you speak, Lian Po is listening."

"I'm sorry..." Lin Xiangru said with a weak breath.

It was so winding and piercing that it made Lian Po feel so painful.

The veteran burst into tears.

"Nothing..."

Lin Xiangru's eyes suddenly lit up, and he looked at Lian Po intently with full of apology.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths.

The pupils are dilated and cannot focus.

The old man, who had never been a prime minister in his entire life and was respected as Prime Minister Lin all his life, breathed his last.

That day, he carried a thorn stick on his back to apologize, and the general and the minister reconciled.

If I don't bear the bruises today and apologize again, we will part ways.

Lin Yi, who had been waiting outside the door, was suddenly struck by lightning, and it seemed as if something in his heart was suddenly pulled away.

He suddenly collapsed to the ground and took a while to get up.

He, also an old man, used his hands and feet to crawl into his father's house which was as hot as the hottest days of summer.

He crawled to the fire pit and clung to the edge, wanting to look but not daring to. He gritted his teeth, made up his mind, and looked up.

He saw tears on his fake father's face and that his father was sleeping peacefully as he had been doing for the past few months.

He placed his trembling fingers under his father's nose.

No wind, no air.

Lin Yi burst into tears. With his white hair, he looked like a child and cried very hard.

Lian Po took a long breath and said sadly:

"It's my fault. I should have come yesterday... to call people to prepare for the funeral."

Lin Yi did not move immediately.

While crying, she said to her fake father:

“Don’t blame yourself, fake father.

“All the doctors who saw my father said that he should have died long ago, and that he lived for a few extra months only because he couldn’t take his last breath.

"This tone is like seeing you, my fake father!"

Lian Po covered his face in pain, tears streaming from between his fingers.

An old friend of decades endured illness and torture in his last few months just to say something to him.

I'm sorry...

He didn't understand what his old friend meant. It was obvious that he was the one who had let his old friend down over the past few decades.

It was not until several days later, when his old friend was buried in the coffin, that the veteran saw Zhao Wangdan.

The king shed tears and reminisced at his old friend's grave, looking extremely grief-stricken.

But the veteran could see something was wrong, it was too sad.

The king had never been so sad even when the previous king died.

The grief was like a play, a play performed in front of all the civil and military officials in the court.

At this moment, the veteran seemed to have figured it out.

Why, despite his great contribution in saving Zhao, was his fiefdom a shabby Weiwen and his title a crappy Lord Xinping?

The position of Prime Minister should either not be given to him, as he does not really want it, or if it is given to him, it should be a fake one.

He always thought the problem was with Le Cheng.

But he couldn't understand that although Le Cheng was also a general of Zhao, his battle record was far inferior to his, and he was not a member of the royal family.

To the king, he and Le Cheng should have the same identity. How could the king trust Le Cheng but not him?

Was it just because of the four words "too much merit to shock the master"? He always felt that something was wrong.

Ten miles away from Handan, he clearly saw that the king who came to greet him was radiating joy from head to toe.

He had never associated him with a child prodigy because the child prodigy was protected by Lin Xiangru, with whom he had been friends for decades.

When everyone left, the old general stood alone in front of Lin Xiangru's tomb and said with a wry smile:

"So, sorry to be here...it's him..."

He squatted down slowly and touched the new soil on the ground.

“It’s really tit-for-tat.

"My friend, you don't need to apologize. I have thought about killing him.

"It turns out that he was also afraid of Po. Ha, Po was actually more afraid of him.

"He's seventy-seven, but he's only seven.

"It was the State of Zhao that betrayed you, Prime Minister Lin, first. It is understandable that you have betrayed the State of Zhao.

"There is no place where there is no loess to bury people..."

The old general muttered to the new ghost.

Several days passed.

The old general, who had been keeping himself in the palace and claiming to be ill, learned from his retainers about the day he went to see Lin Xiangru.

The carriage he was riding in knocked down seventeen people, killing seven and leaving three disabled.

The old general called the housekeeper and asked him to get some money for the seventeen people who were knocked down that day.

For those who have died, give more to their families.

The living are given to themselves, and the disabled are more numerous than the healthy.

All the retainers praised their lord for his benevolence and righteousness, and Lian Po accepted it calmly.

Most of the people of Zhao who knew about this also said that Lian Gong was benevolent and righteous.

In less than half a month, I will visit your residences.

Le Yi, who had poor legs and feet, stood at the gate of the mansion early in the morning, looking and looking.

Finally, a man appeared in his sight.

Le Yi smiled.

His son, Lejian, finally came back.

He maintained his father's dignity and stood in front of the door without moving an inch.

Lejian, the Prince of Yanchang, walked up to his father, smiled awkwardly, and didn't know what to say.

After holding it in for a long time, he said:

"How long have you been standing there, father? Is he waiting for me?"

The aging Le Yi had a stern face, like most fathers, who clearly cared about their children but were unwilling to admit it.

"Who are you, a birdman? How dare you wait for me? I was bored in the house, so I came out to look at the wind."

"Hehe." Lejian smiled innocently.

Le Yi snorted coldly, turned around and walked into the mansion, saying as he walked:

"So, now you know what your father is talking about, right?"

Lejian is such a big man, and he walks like a dragon or a tiger.

At this time, he was just like when he was a child, taking small steps and following his father closely.

"My son understands. The King of Yan is not a good ruler."

Le Yi kept nagging.

"Humph, except for King Zhao of Yan, the rest of the Kings of Yan are all the same.

“I told you a long time ago that they couldn’t do it, but you didn’t listen. Are you saying the same thing as I said?
"You can't move even if I give you the title of Lord of Changguo, do you really think you can make Changyan?

"I can't do it, but you can? Really..."

The old man kept scolding and scolding.

It's obvious that they are concerned and happy in their hearts, but they just don't say it out loud. They have to say these words.

Father, more like this.

After finally getting into the house, Lejian took off his father's shoes.

I helped my old father onto the bed as he said in dissatisfaction, "I'm not that old yet."

Then he tapped his father's leg gently and said:

“This time when I come back, I won’t leave.

"I don't want anything from Yan State anymore."

Le Yi snorted twice.

"No? You were in a hurry when you came last time. I asked you to stay for two more days. This time you are in a hurry.

"I'll get your horse ready for you. Go back quickly and don't get in my way."

Lejian smiled bitterly.

"Father, please stop mocking me. Please save some face."

The old man muttered a few words and then gave up.

After staring at his son for a while, the old man touched his son's head and his eyes softened.

This famous general, who conquered 72 cities of Qi State in a row when he was young and almost completely destroyed the overlord of that era, now has lost all his sharpness and is only kind.

He sighed and said helplessly:

“I am old, but I still have to bother with you.

"I had planned to spend the rest of my life in Zhao State, but because of you, I have to move and follow you to Qin State.

"That boy was able to rescue you, and I have to accept this favor."

(End of this chapter)