The younger brother of the First Emperor

Chapter 171 Five Countries Aid in Food and Assist Qin in Flood Control

The front hall of Zhangtai Palace.

Prime Minister Lu Buwei, Court Justice Huayang Bufei, Minister of Rites Mi Chen and others were negotiating with the envoys of the five countries.

Their verbal battle was extremely intense, and seemed no different from before.

But if you look closely, you will find that they glance up at the King of Qin much more quickly.

Lu Buwei knew that the king was waiting for Bai Qi's reply, and he was waiting too, with his heart beating even faster than that night of the mutiny.

The envoys of the five countries did not know what news the King of Qin was waiting for, but they knew that the news the King of Qin was waiting for would definitely have a great impact on the current situation, and might even prompt the King of Qin to make a decision.

They held their breath and waited for the King of Qin to end this meaningless argument.

Success or failure all depends on this moment.

Prince Chu of Qin was greatly shocked, but his expression remained calm.

He hooked his finger, motioning Ying Bai, who had finished speaking, to come closer, exhaling softly:

"You drive my royal carriage and take Baiqi to Zhangtai Palace.

"Tell him he doesn't have to fight, just show up."

It had been less than a year since Prince Chu of Qin ascended the throne.

Before he ascended the throne, Qin's national strength was not suitable for large-scale warfare, and it is still not suitable now, with a shortage of food and people.

He agreed to let his second son go from Qin to Zhao and travel around the various states.

It was precisely in order to sow discord among the other nations and allow Qin to recuperate in peace, waiting to unify the Central Plains with lightning speed in the future.

King Zichu of Qin just wanted to use Bai Qi to scare off the other countries and let Bai Qi provide deterrence, rather than wanting to go to war with the other countries immediately.

If a war really breaks out, he will definitely let Bai Qi resurrect on the battlefield and give the six countries a severe blow.

Just like in the Battle of Changping, King Zhaoxiang of Qin secretly replaced the generals and let Bai Qi lead the troops.

The unsuspecting young general Zhao Kuo fell into the trap, and was defeated by Bai Qi because of his greed for merit and reckless behavior. This battle broke the backbone of the State of Zhao.

Ying Baixiang was sweating profusely.

Half of them were running, and half of them were scared.

Before the sweat had dried, she hurried out of the hall and went to Bai's mansion again.

Prince Chu of Qin looked at the attendant's back, but the gloom in his chest did not subside at all.

Because he knew that Bai Qi's statement of "I am ill and cannot fight" was an excuse.

When King Zhaoxiang wanted Bai Qi to attack Handan, Bai Qi said something similar and also used illness as an excuse to avoid going out.

Bai Qi had already made his choice. He stood against the King of Qin and stood behind that boy.

Bai Qi claimed to be ill because he didn't want to make things too awkward with him.

And his request that Ying Bai drive the royal chariot to invite Bai Qi was a further coercion, forcing Bai Qi to make a choice again.

But could he force Bai Qi to do something when King Zhaoxiang hadn't done it? Bai Qi's will was firm.

His gaze shifted to his second son and then to Lu Buwei, wondering how the two of them had convinced Bai Qi.

It was obvious that the last time Lu Buwei went to find Bai Qi, he was almost killed.

King Zichu of Qin was worried at this time, but he was relieved at that time.

Before, because he knew that Bai Qi was determined, he never thought that Bai Qi would change his position.

Tang Ju, Ju Wu, Li Mu, Lu Buwei, Mi Chen, Meng Ao... almost everyone in the front hall of Zhangtai Palace was at a loss for a moment when Ying Bai ran out.

Anyone who can enter this hall, no matter how straightforward a military commander is, will understand what is going on after more than an hour and find out that the key point is the attendant.

Everyone was waiting for Ying Bai's report, and the King of Qin made a prompt decision to declare war on the five countries.

When Ying Bai didn't come back, Qin Wang Zichu was too confident.

And now, the attendant has run away for the second time, and the king has not yet expressed his attitude.

This... The civil officials looked at each other in confusion, keenly aware that the situation had changed.

Although the king still looks extremely confident, if he is so confident, why doesn't he reject the five countries and go to war with them directly?

Military commanders... their thoughts are very simple.

Why doesn't the king kill the birdmen of these five countries? Kill these bird masters and start a war directly!

Only Meng Ao, Bie Gong, Wang Ling and Wang He had serious expressions and whispered a few words to each other.

They didn't know that Bai Qi was still alive, but they knew that now was not a suitable time to fight, let alone to fight one against five.

Originally, they had great confidence in the king, believing that the king had something that could intimidate the five countries, and that flood control and war were not options.

The attendant ran out for the first time, and the Four Dukes waited patiently.

When the attendant ran out for the second time, the Four Lords knew that something bad had happened.

This is accidental.

The Fourth Lord has fought wars all his life, and the thing he fears most is accidents.

Ying Chengjiao let out a long sigh, and his heartbeat slowly returned to normal.

If he had any champagne, he would have opened it by now.

Bai Qi is a man of strong will.

More than half an hour later, Ying Bai came back.

This time she traveled back and forth in the royal carriage, so it was much faster than last time.

Alone.

When King Zichu of Qin saw Ying Bai, he knew the outcome of the matter and his heart sank.

When Ying Bai whispered in his ear:

"Bai Qi said: 'I am seriously ill and cannot leave my bed. I cannot attend today. Please forgive me, Your Majesty.'"

Qin Wang Zichu no longer had any hope in his heart.

His grandfather, King Zhaoxiang of Qin, could not force Bai Qi, and so could he.

Without Bai Qi’s support… Prince Chu of Qin narrowed his eyes and looked at the officials in the court.

Bai Qi's attitude is the attitude of a military general.

As long as the news of Bai Qi's death comes out, all the Qin generals headed by the Four Dukes will join Bai Qi's army and follow his lead.

Of course, King Zichu of Qin could choose to kill Bai Qi, like his great-grandfather King Zhaoxiang of Qin, and let the Qin generals know who is the master of Qin.

But killing Bai Qi is pure weakness.

Qin Wang Zichu would not do it unless it was necessary.

In addition to the most powerful military faction, standing behind a certain young man are some civil officials headed by Lu Buwei and the largest Chu faction among the foreign relatives.

Prime Minister.

Yu Shi doctor.

Nine Ministers.

These eleven people stood at the top of the pyramid of Qin's civil servants and were powerful ministers with the highest annual salary of two thousand stones.

Lu Buwei himself was the prime minister, and under him there were two Nine Ministers, and the Chu faction had two Nine Ministers.

Five out of the eleven people accounted for it, and there was only one more senior civil servant who supported Qin Prince Chu.

It seems that Prince Chu of Qin still has the upper hand, but you have to know that.

The vast majority of the Nine Ministers must stand on the side of the king from the moment they take their positions, and their stance is basically impossible to waver.

The head of the Nine Ministers is Fengchang.

He was in charge of ancestral temple rituals, cultural education, and was the host during sacrifices to heaven and military campaigns. He was of the same mind as the King of Qin.

The Nine Ministers and the Langzhong Ling were in charge of the palace gates.

The Nine Ministers, the Weiwei, were in charge of guarding the palace gates and garrisoning troops.

The Nine Ministers and the Grand Coachman are in charge of the carriages and horses.

Any deviation in the position of these three would threaten the safety of the King of Qin.

The Nine Ministers and the Chief of the Imperial Clan were in charge of the royal relatives.

An absolute supporter of royal authority.

These five people are guaranteed to support Prince Chu of Qin.

According to common sense, there should actually be a Shaofu.

The Nine Ministers and the Shaofu were in charge of taxes from mountains, seas, ponds and lakes to provide for the royal family.

The Shaofu was in charge of the private wealth of the King of Qin, which was separate from the national wealth, and should have been on the side of King Qin's Prince Chu.

But because Lu Buwei was good at managing money, he took over all the financial supplies of King Qin's Prince Chu when King Qin was still in Handan.

Therefore, after Lu Buwei became the prime minister, he replaced the Shaofu with his own man with the tacit consent of King Wang Zichu of Qin.

In other words, Prince Chu of Qin, who should have had at least six backup positions, namely Fengchang, Langzhongling, Weiwei, Taipu, Zongzheng, and Shaofu, lost the position of Shaofu.

In essence, Prince Chu of Qin was already in a great disadvantage.

If the Imperial Censor Wei Zhuang had not been a newly promoted person by Prince Chu of Qin, he would have followed Prince Chu of Qin unwaveringly.

Regardless of the actual situation and only considering the surface, Prince Chu of Qin is also at a great disadvantage.

With all his military generals lost and his civil officials in a very poor condition, Prince Chu of Qin suddenly felt like laughing.

Before we knew it, the world of Xianyang had changed so suddenly.

He changed his sitting position and, amid the quarrel in the hall, began to seriously consider the possibility of compromising with his second son.

Even now, he can still act on his own and make decisions arbitrarily.

He is the king of Qin and holds all the tiger talismans of Qin in his hands. With just one order, anyone he wants to kill will have his head chopped off.

But it's a little inappropriate for him to do this now.

He can't do everything by himself, and he can't incur public anger.

Qin was his Qin, and it was also the Qin of the nobles.

Water control and canal construction are actually good things.

The bad thing is that flood control will consume the country's strength, other countries will take advantage of the situation, and he probably doesn't have ten years left...

He chuckled.

There are many problems, let's see if we can solve them one by one.

If all problems can be solved, then solve them.

The first thing that Prince Qin Chu had to deal with was his life.

He can die for the Qin State.

This is the fate of the King of Qin.

At this time, the energetic Lu Buwei was speaking in the hall:
"You keep saying it's for justice and for the people!

"Why don't you bear the cost of food and manpower?"

After being silent for more than an hour and a half, Master Cheng Jiao spoke:

"sure.

"If Qin allows the five countries to provide assistance, they can immediately send people and deliver food."

The young man spoke very seriously, so seriously that Li Mu, Tang Ju, Li Yuan, Ju Wu and Zhang Liang who were following behind him were all dumbfounded.

The five people looked at the young man's face and actually saw joy in his eyes, as if he was waiting for Lu Buwei to ask this question.

This kid...can't he really be a gentleman?
Do you really treat this as a simple matter of water control and canal construction?
Among the five, even Zhang Liang, who is currently the weakest, can understand that this is impossible.

The five countries sent people to transport grain to Guanzhong.

Would it be to control water and build canals? That would definitely be a war!

It's okay for them to say this, it's just to shut up Lu Buwei.

But coming from the mouth of a Qin prince, and from the mouth of Cheng Jiao, the prince that Qin almost attacked and rescued, this...

The five people whose words were snatched away were confused for a moment, and then they all agreed with Master Chengjiao.

With Prince Chengjiao charging in the front and confronting the Qin State, they were so happy that they waved flags and cheered from behind.

They didn't notice it because they were thinking that Master Cheng Jiao was truly a gentleman, or they noticed it but didn't care.

Prince Chengjiao took over the right to speak.

The envoys of the five countries hiding behind Ying Chengjiao would not welcome Qin Jianfengrui, but they also lost the power to command attack, defense, and retreat. "Absurd!" A loud shout suddenly sounded, and an old general stood up.

Although he was not one of the Four Dukes of Qin, he was more revered by the Qin generals than the Four Dukes, and even the Four Dukes had to bow their heads in front of him.

The Prime Minister of Qin State was Yue Yi.

Military generals have always been judged by their battle records.

Only Bai Qi in Qin State could match Yue Yi's military achievements.

The old man's hair and beard stood out, and he pointed at Ying Chengjiao:
“The child is ignorant!
"If our country abandons its natural defenses and invites the armies of five countries to enter, isn't that digging our own grave?
"Guanzhong is all plains, with no strategic locations to defend.

"You are the prince of Qin, and my king will travel thousands of miles to attack Yan to save you!
"How dare you repay kindness with enmity! You want to destroy the Qin State!"

Ying Chengjiao was also very angry, as if he had been greatly slandered:
"The five countries did it for moral reasons! They sent people to deliver food to help Guanzhong control the flood! How can you say that the five countries wanted to attack Qin?

"You are judging others by your own standards!"

Le Yi sneered:

"Oh? Is that so?
"Look back and ask Li Mu beside you why Zhao did not allow the Qin army to pass through to attack Yan."

Li Mu was about to answer when the young man shouted:

"Because Qin wants to attack Yan!

"Because of me! The war started! Millions of lives were lost!

“This is not morality!

"Of course Zhao will not lend us the passage!"

The young man turned around and looked up at Li Mu firmly:

"Is that so?"

Li Mu also looked at the boy, and the boy's expression seemed to say that this must be the case.

General Zhao, who was not good at political intrigue, was silent for a moment, then turned his head away, feeling a little guilty.

He deliberately shouted loudly to show that he had no guilt:

"Of course!"

The young man felt affirmed and became more confident. He raised his head and looked at Le Yi.

It's like saying, you see, that's what I said.

Le Yi laughed angrily and cursed:

"There's no way to make a fool of yourself!"

Shi Cang, the internal historian of Zhisu, shook his head and said with a smile:

"You are wrong. Young Master Chengjiao is just sincere. Lord Le is old and cannot understand young people. But I know a thing or two."

The Nine Ministers in charge of Qin's finances shook their heads and began to count:
"To control the flood in Guanzhong, we need 50,000 men and it will take ten years.

"One person eats 18 shi of grain a year, 50,000 people eat 900,000 shi of grain a year, and 50,000 people eat 9 million shi of grain in 10 years.

"As for people, my Qin State has no shortage of them.

"Since you said it's for moral reasons, then we'll provide some food aid.

"The Qin State does not want more, just the amount of grain it needs.

"The five countries provide 900,000 shi of grain to our country every year, an average of 180,000 shi per country. How do you think that is?"

Li Mu, Ju Wu, Tang Ju, Li Yuan and Zhang Liang all sneered secretly.

This is definitely impossible.

They joined forces to force Qin to build the canal in order to weaken Qin and consume Qin's manpower and food, not to support Qin!

They were waiting for Master Cheng Jiao, who held the final say, to refuse.

"Okay!" The boy agreed immediately, and said in an incredibly fast manner: "Let's do it!"

Tang Ju, who was the most perceptive, suddenly changed his expression.

Because Prince Chengjiao has always been the representative of the five countries, everything he said today was from the standpoint of the five countries to safeguard their interests.

So Tang Ju was paralyzed, and Xiantian believed that Prince Chengjiao would still safeguard the interests of the five countries.

It was not until Master Chengjiao spoke that Tang Ju suddenly remembered.

The position of this young gentleman under me is not the five countries, but morality!

Before Tang Ju could say no, Lu Buwei, who had been waiting for a long time, agreed:
"A word is settled!"

"No!" Tang Ju finally said it, with sweat on his forehead.

Things were going a little off track.

Before the Qin civil and military officials responded, Prince Chengjiao became unhappy.

He turned around and frowned:

"Why not?"

"This..." Tang Ju's brain was fully activated as never before.

He was urgently searching for an excuse and was even busier than when he was arguing with the King of Qin just now.

This famous official from the State of Wei, who prided himself on his eloquence, was somewhat panicked.

He had to find a moral reason.

Morality is a double-edged sword. It is extremely sharp when used against the enemy, and the same is true when used against oneself!

The so-called teacher has a legitimate reason, and that reason is morality.

The five countries united together on the basis of morality and forced Qin to this point.

It would be a disaster if we abandon our moral principles and fail to justify ourselves at this time.

Without morality, there can be no alliance.

In a one-on-one fight, the Qin State was invincible.

Tang Ju didn't know if it was an illusion, but he noticed that the King of Qin's gaze on the platform was becoming more and more aggressive.

It seems that they want to attack the State of Wei through him as a medium!

"Because my country is short of food!" Tang Ju, sweating profusely, finally thought: "If my country gives Qin 180,000 dan of grain every year, tens of thousands of people in Wei will be killed or injured! It is immoral to build a canal at the cost of human lives!"

Ying Chengjiao admired secretly.

Tang Ju is indeed a brave and resourceful lobbyist who will go down in history.

As long as a thought is opened up, subsequent words will pour down like a waterfall, with quick wit.

If faced with this question suddenly, the boy might be speechless.

But now, he is not temporary, he has made too many drafts.

The boy uttered an "ah" and nodded unwillingly:

“That’s… indeed.

“Water control and canal construction are for the benefit of the people.

"Using the lives of the people to control the flood is putting the cart before the horse. This is indeed an immoral act. We really cannot give them food."

Tang Ju wiped his sweat and nodded repeatedly.

Yan envoy Ju Wu felt that something was wrong and raised his alert level to the highest level.

The State of Yan lost its fake prime minister Jiang Qu because of the 100,000 shi of grain, and now it wants 180,000 shi?
No!

Absolutely not!

"My dear Prime Minister." Ju Wu complained with a bitter face, "You have been to Ji. Even the people in my capital cannot get enough to eat. How can we supply Qin with grain? Moreover, I have seen that the distance from Qin is far and the mountains are high. The grain transported here from thousands of miles away is less than one tenth. The 180,000 shi of grain transported to Qin, my Yan State needs 1.8 million shi of grain."

"This..." The boy hesitated, then nodded: "That makes sense."

Tang Ju took the lead, and Ju Wu followed closely.

Li Yuan, Zhang Liang and Li Mu directly copied the homework and said that their country had no food.

Before he could finish crying poor, Lu Buwei snorted coldly:
"It seems that the promise you made is no longer valid?
"It is not the behavior of a gentleman to go back on one's word."

The young man bowed and said sincerely:

"It was the boy who was inconsiderate and spoke inappropriately."

This apology lowered his morale.

As the morale of Ying Chengjiao, who was sent as an envoy on behalf of the five countries, declined, the morale of the five countries also declined.

Lü Buwei struck while the iron was hot and pursued the victory, shouting:
"You five countries combined cannot provide 900,000 shi of grain, but you want Qin alone to provide it?
"You will suffer casualties among your people, but will my people in Qin not suffer casualties?

"They talk a lot about morality, but they are full of thieves and whores. What a bunch of low-lifes!"

Tang Ju, the Wei envoy, glared angrily and was about to retort.

The boy's speaker was in front of him.

Gongzi Chengjiao's waist, which had just straightened up, bent down again and said:
"It's the kid who didn't think it through."

Tang Ju: “…”

He quickly pulled up Master Cheng Jiao and said angrily:
"When the grain from our five countries is transported to Qin, countless grain will be lost along the way! But your Qin does not need to do that!"

Do it all at once, second time tired, third time exhausted.

Although the words were the same, the momentum with which they were spoken the second time was different from the first time.

Especially since the young man apologized first, the effect of Tang Ju's words was greatly reduced.

The Qin State Shaofu, who was in charge of mountains and rivers, raised his eyebrows:
"The Wei envoy meant that our country can raise 900,000 shi of grain in Guanzhong?
"If there were 900,000 shi of grain in Guanzhong alone, why would we need to treat the floods or build canals? There would be enough for food!"

Li Mu knew the importance of morale when he was marching and fighting. The best example of this was Lian Po's defeat of 600,000 troops with only 130,000.

And morale is momentum.

Realizing that he was at a disadvantage, he immediately joined the battle and said in a deep voice:

"Of course the food in Guanzhong is not enough, but does your Qin State only have one Guanzhong?"

"The Zhao dog doesn't understand, so don't bark." The veteran general Wang Ling, who led the Battle of Handan, sneered, "Of course, my Qin State has more than one Guanzhong. But the journey from Xiaoguan to Guanzhong is longer than from Handan to Guanzhong. Your Zhao State's grain will be lost when it travels a hundred miles, but my Qin State will not have any loss? Could it be that you, the Zhao dog, can revive the 450,000 Zhao dogs under Changping and lead the ghost soldiers to escort my Qin State's grain?"

"How dare you, old dog! Have you forgotten the defeat in Handan?" Li Mu's eyes were bloodshot, but he forcibly restrained the urge to attack. He was a rare military commander who was not impulsive: "If we meet on the battlefield, I will use you as a sacrifice!"

Wang Ling and Li Mu stared at each other, each with a gloomy face and silent.

Lu Buwei, the prime minister of Qin, looked indifferent and looked at the five countries with contempt:
"Sir, do you understand?"

He looked at Master Cheng Jiao meaningfully:

"If Guanzhong uses Zheng to control the flood, civilians will die and be injured, and Qin will be destroyed.

“You are the only gentleman, and everyone around you is a villain, and they are taking advantage of you.

"They only want the Qin State to perish, and don't care about the lives of the people."

Young Master Cheng Jiao was struck by lightning. He turned around and looked at the five people with disbelief on his face.

He pointed at the five people and said, trembling:

“I see…I see!
"Why didn't you tell me that flood control would cost so much? You are harboring evil intentions!
"You are not here to save the people, but to destroy Qin!"

Li Yuan, the envoy from Chu, immediately tried to make excuses - it was you who sent the envoy to find us, not us to find you.

Li Yuan definitely won't take the blame for this.

Tang Ju was quick to act and gently hit Li Yuan's chest with his elbow.

If we engage in internal strife and break up the coalition at this time, wouldn't that just be handing over things to Qin?

Li Yuan felt pain and was silent for a while.

Zhang Liang, who had been paddling for nearly two hours without feeling much of a presence, swallowed his saliva.

He... seemed to have found the feeling, this was the smell of a strategy.

As long as we can help Qin control its waters, prevent it from engaging in any foreign wars for ten years, and prevent it from developing for ten years, wouldn't the plan to weaken Qin be accomplished? This is the general direction.

So why can't we accept a little bit of food? It's totally acceptable!

"Sir, we are here for justice." Zhang Liang, who looks like a man with a feminine appearance, is particularly beautiful at this moment: "Since Qin is short of food, then my country Han can provide some assistance, but..."

In Ying Chengjiao's eyes, Zhang Liang's face was shining.

Zhang Liang raised his head and took the lead in speaking for the first time. Facing the civil and military officials of Qin, his heart trembled a little.

He gritted his teeth and continued:
"It's just that 180,000 shi is too much, and Korea can't gather that much.

"We, the Kingdom of Han, can only do our best to help the Kingdom of Qin while ensuring that our people do not starve."

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(End of this chapter)