The Great Qin Dynasty: The egg of the Black Bird was revered as a national guardian beast.

Linji.

King Wei Jiu sat slumped on his throne, his face expressionless, surrounded by a group of ministers.

"King Chen." King Wei Jiu's eyes flickered slightly as he glanced around at the ministers seated below, his lips trembling.

"Defeat?"

The ministers exchanged glances.

They didn't know what to say, but in the end, Zhou Shi, who had become the Prime Minister of Wei, stepped forward, bowed, and said...

"Your Majesty, the King of Chen has already been defeated."

"Heh heh." King Wei Jiu let out a wry laugh.

He laughed suddenly, and it was unclear what he was laughing at; it was as if he was laughing at himself.

Chen Sheng sent Zhou Shi to pacify the Wei territory and installed him as king.

Although he was only a nominal king, the military and political power of Wei was still held by Zhou Shi, the prime minister of Wei.

Even so, the State of Wei was eventually restored.

But now, Chen Sheng has been defeated and killed.

Without Chen Sheng leading the charge against the Qin army, the Qin's fierce and powerful forces would surely conquer the Wei state next!

His smile was a smile because the Wei Kingdom, which had been so painstakingly re-established, was about to be destroyed again under his rule...

He laughed for a long time, then nodded, his eyes looking dejected.

"The army has been defeated! The army has been defeated!"

After a long while, he raised his head again and looked around at everyone.

"Does the State of Wei have any way out?"

The minister lowered his head, unsure how to answer.

After a long silence, Zhou Shi raised his hand and said, "Your Majesty, Wei has no way out but to fight!"

King Wei Jiu raised his head to look at Zhou Shi, but then lowered his eyes again: "Prime Minister."

His face was ashen, and he asked, "How should we fight?"

"Your Majesty." Looking at King Wei Jiu's appearance, Zhou Shi's eyes showed a hint of disappointment, but then he spoke resolutely.

"Wei is ready to fight; let's repel those tigers and wolves of Qin!"

"Retreat from Qin?" King Jiu of Wei raised his eyes, looking at Zhou Shi standing beneath him. "How?"

"King Chen's army outnumbers our Wei army several times over, yet now they are defeated and on the verge of collapse. How can we possibly repel Qin?"

"Your Majesty."

Zhou Shi stood below the throne, looked at the King of Wei on the throne, raised his hand in front of him, and calmly spoke.

"Now that Zhao, Qi, and Chu have all been restored, the Qin army is about to besiege the city. I can send someone to request reinforcements."

The hall was quiet, and King Wei Jiu held his forehead.

The courtiers watched King Wei in silence.

After a long while, King Wei Jiu removed his hand, the crown on his head rustling, and looked at Zhou Shi.

Will they send reinforcements?

Zhou Shi laughed, a laugh that seemed perfectly natural: "Of course, Qin is currently very strong, and only by uniting with our allies can we defeat Qin."

"Once reinforcements arrive, they may be able to halt the Qin army's advance. After that, we can make other plans to weaken Qin and strengthen Qin."

"Join forces to provide assistance." King Wei Jiu murmured these words, seemingly deep in thought. After a long while, he nodded emphatically.

There was a hint of determination in his eyes.

"Alright, let's seek help to repel those Qin wolves!"

Zhou Shi looked at King Jiu of Wei and laughed. This is the kind of King Jiu of Wei that my Wei Kingdom should be.

..............

Handan.

After the court session, King Zhao Wuchen stormed into his residence and kicked over a table.

The palace servants around were so frightened that they immediately prostrated themselves on the ground.

Standing in the hall, Wu Chen closed his eyes. He had betrayed Chen Sheng and declared himself king, but he had never expected this.

Now, he is experiencing what Chen Sheng felt back then.

He ordered Han Guang to conquer the Yan territory as a means of retreat.

But who would have thought that after conquering Yan, Han Guang would do the same thing he had done before and declare himself king?

"Hmph, this is going too far!"

Despite feeling indignant and unable to express my hatred.

However, after Han Guang conquered Yan, he immediately recruited soldiers on the spot, and now he is not so easy to deal with.

In front of the Zhao King's Palace.

The soldiers standing in front of the palace gate stretched.

It won't be long before the shift changes. Being a gecko isn't a pleasant job, but at least it's a relatively easy one.

Just then, a figure appeared in the distance.

His appearance and figure were obscured, but he rode over on horseback, a rather unassuming longsword hanging at his waist.

"Halt." Two soldiers stepped forward, their long spears brought together, blocking the man's path.

"Imperial palace grounds, halting all entry!"

The man dismounted, and after a long while, he lowered his eyes to look at the two soldiers and raised his hand.

"I am the Prime Minister of Wei, and I have a long-standing relationship with the King of Zhao. I have important business to discuss with the King of Zhao, so please inform him."

The soldier looked at the man, unsure whether he was real or not.

But in the end, after exchanging a few glances, they decided that one of them would stay and guard the place while the other went to make the announcement.

"Wait a moment."

Not long after, a person wearing armor came out, stood in front of the man, and clasped his hands in a fist salute.

"General, it's been a long time."

Looking at this person, Zhou Shi was also somewhat moved.

He recognized the man; they had once worked together under Chen Sheng. Who would have thought they would end up like this?

He served as the Chancellor of Wei, and together with Wu Chen, he restored the State of Zhao.

He smiled and looked at the man, saying, "Yes, Li Liang, long time no see."

Li Liang made way for him.

He gestured, "In that case, General, please follow me."

Nodding, Zhou Shi handed the horse to the soldier beside him and followed the man into the palace.

..............

"Tap tap."

A series of footsteps approached.

The person sitting in the main hall frowned slightly, clearly displeased with the disturbance.

He appeared to be middle-aged, with a bloated figure, dressed in elaborate clothes, wearing a jeweled crown, and holding a scroll of bamboo slips in his hand.

He put down the bamboo scroll at the sound of footsteps, touched his brow, and asked, "What is it?"

Now that Han Guang has declared himself king, he is already in a state of unease, and yet someone still comes to disturb him, which is quite infuriating.

A guard entered respectfully.

He bowed his head and greeted him, saying, "Your Majesty, someone is requesting an audience outside the palace gates. He claims to be the Prime Minister of Wei and has a prior relationship with you."

"Now, General Li Liang is waiting for him outside the palace."

"The Chancellor of Wei?"

He frowned, but then suddenly realized what he was talking about, and stroked his beard: "It's Zhou Shi."

King Zhao Wuchen's eyes flickered, as if he were thinking about something. After a while, he beckoned.

"In that case, let him enter the palace."

"Yes." The guard clasped his hands in front of him, bowed his head, and turned to leave.

Stepping outside the hall, the guard looked around and finally focused on Zhou Shi and Li Liang beside him.

He clasped his hands in a fist salute: "Your Majesty requests that Prime Minister Wei be brought into the palace!"

Li Liang brought Zhou Shi here, and he could not go any further. He gestured for him to proceed.

"The Zhao King's Palace is just ahead. I have my duties to perform, so I will leave you here. Please proceed, General."

Thank you.

Zhou Shi nodded and stepped forward alone.

The guards standing in front of the hall saluted Zhou Shi, then lowered their eyes to look at the sword at his waist.

"Please, Prime Minister Wei, hand over your weapons to us first."

Ah, now that he's become the King of Zhao, Wu Chen has to deal with so many new rules in the palace.

Thinking it over, he untied the sword from his waist and placed it in the guard's hand.

The guard bowed and said, "Prime Minister Wei, please enter!"

The vast hall was quiet; even the sound of a footstep seemed to echo and reverberate throughout the hall.

There was no one around; they must have all left.

After a long while, they saw a military official dressed in a magnificent robe and wearing a crown sitting deep inside the hall.

At that moment, he looked up and saw Zhou Shi.

He stood up from behind the desk with a smile.

He came to greet me and said, "You didn't even inform me before you came. Please forgive me if I have been negligent."

Zhou Shi smiled and bowed.

"What are you saying, King Zhao? State affairs are of utmost importance. Your Majesty's diligence in governing is truly a blessing for the State of Zhao."

"Haha, good." King Wu Chen of Zhao laughed as he sat down behind the table, gesturing to those in front of him, "Please sit."

"Thank you, King Zhao."

Zhou Shi bowed to Wu Chen and then took his seat.

At this moment, Wu Chen raised his eyes and looked at the Prime Minister Wei in front of him, his former colleague.

He placed his hands on the table.

He smiled and said, "Since we parted ways in Chen County, we don't know how long it has been since we last saw each other."

"Yes, I can't remember either."

Looking around, Wu Chen raised his hand and asked, "What do you think of this palace, my lord?"

Zhou Shi lowered his eyes: "Magnificent."

Although he said so, he lowered his eyes and refused to look, but Wu Chen was not angry about it.

He simply countered with the question: "After Wei Xiang pacified the Wei territory, why didn't he declare himself king, but instead welcomed a member of the Wei royal family to the throne?"

Zhou Shi lowered his eyes, unwilling to say more.

Seeing Zhou Shi's reaction, Wu Chen stopped pressing him and instead narrowed his eyes, asking him a question.

"What brings Prime Minister Wei here this time?"

Zhou Shi took out a bamboo slip from his bosom and placed it on the table, his voice calm and even.

"I have come here on the king's orders to seek aid from Zhao."