Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

Why is it so difficult to go to the State of Qi?

But the journey was already more than halfway over, and all the aftermath of the Chen Commandery had been settled. Xiao He, Liu Bang, Cao Can... he had managed to win over both the easy and difficult ones, and he had promised to go out. He was about to be able to leave for Qi in the east, but he was suddenly held back by the arrangements for going to Han, and was forced to turn back halfway. Zhou Wenqing refused to acknowledge the accusations.

He took a deep breath, calmed himself, and began desperately searching for reasons.

"Brother, your arrangement... seems a bit inappropriate."

He leaned forward, his tone serious.

"Just think about it, if you lead a large and impressive army to the State of Han, wouldn't the King of Han be so frightened by the sight of this force that he would shrink back? He is already a coward, and if you go, he will definitely think that the Great Qin is going to attack him. At that time, not only will Han Zixin die, but Han Fei might not even be able to enter the city gate."

As Wei Liao listened, she casually poured out the cold tea from her cup, picked up the ceramic pot on the small stove, poured boiling water into it, and steamed as she brewed herself another cup of tea.

Seeing that he remained unmoved, Zhou Wenqing racked his brains again and continued:

"Moreover, the matter of Han Zi is minor, but the affairs of the state are far greater. If King An of Han is frightened and goes back on his word out of fear of disaster, thus abandoning the important matter of the five states sharing the spoils, wouldn't all the effort we put into setting up this plan be in vain? Such a reversal of priorities is truly not worth it, don't you think?"

Fortunately, the King of Han was not up to par, he thought to himself, this reason was barely acceptable.

Wei Liao remained calm and composed, slowly pouring a cup of fresh tea and gently pushing it towards Zhou Wenqing. His movements were deliberate and unhurried. Only after Zhou Wenqing finished speaking did he begin to speak slowly and deliberately:

"That's not necessarily true."

He picked up his teacup, gently blew away the foam, took a sip, and continued:

"South Korea has already announced its intention to share the spoils. If it backs out at the last minute and breaks its promise to the other states in Shandong, we won't even need to bother with any maneuvering. The resentment of the five states will surely gather in South Korea, and the King of Qin will take the opportunity to lead his army to destroy South Korea. The other five states will have no way to stop us."

He paused slightly at this point, raised an eyebrow, and his tone became a bit lighter:

"Oh, right, if that's the case, even the papermaking technique can be kept secret and obtained by our Great Qin alone. It even saves the time and effort of the five states sending envoys to Han to mediate and argue with each other."

"Hmm, not bad." He gently placed the teacup back on the table with a soft "click," as if making a final decision.

"Liao thinks this is even better than the original plan, so let's do it this way."

After speaking, Wei Liao leaned back in his chair, looking at Zhou Wenqing with a smug expression and a hint of amusement in his eyes:

Let's see what other reasons you can come up with.

Zhou Wenqing: "..."

No, how come it's already been decided?

It's all King Han's fault for being so useless!

He cursed Han Wang'an in his heart, but he was helpless and could only rack his brains to find excuses to try to salvage the situation.

Zhou Wenqing forced a dry smile:

"Brother, isn't this...this...aren't you being a bit too radical?"

"Moreover, the five kingdoms... are all indignant. Ah, yes! The five kingdoms are all indignant. If the other kingdoms unite and launch a joint attack, the territory that our Great Qin can conquer will be greatly reduced. Such a loss is not worth the gain, and it is really not advisable!"

Wei Liao looked at his earnest attempt to lie and sighed softly in exasperation.

If he still can't see through Zhou Wenqing's little schemes now, then he's really wasted his life.

He first shook his head, his tone carrying a hint of amusement and exasperation:

"Zicheng, aren't you giving far too much credit to South Korea, such a small country?"

"Although South Korea is a country, once the name of a country is lost, it only has that small territory. If it weren't for General Wang Jian's eastern expedition against Chu Yexie, with his troops stationed on the border, he could have easily wiped it out. My Great Qin wouldn't even bother to send troops to fight for it alone."

"As for the other countries, they are all shrewd and calculating, with many concerns. For the few remaining ruined cities of Han and the nearly empty treasury emptied by the King of Han, they have launched a massive war and a long expedition, risking offending our Great Qin and fighting for profit in the jaws of a tiger. Tell me—why bother?"

Zhou Wenqing was speechless for a moment.

Wei Liao looked at him, then suddenly sighed softly. She straightened her posture, her gaze sharpening, no longer as calm and composed as before, but with a hint of solemnity and seriousness. She spoke slowly and deliberately:

"Zicheng, tell me honestly, are you worried about Han Zi and afraid that something might happen in Han, or... do you want to send me away and go to Qi alone?"

Zhou Wenqing's temple throbbed.

He wasn't given any room to maneuver; his entire background was laid bare...

This is a very bad sign!

Alarm bells rang in Zhou Wenqing's mind. He instinctively gripped the armrests of the chair tightly with both hands, his knuckles slightly tense. His waist tightened and he leaned forward slightly, his whole body poised to take off at any moment, looking as if he could run away at any time. He was inwardly groaning.

No one had ever told him before that Mr. Wei Liao was so skilled in the art of debate!

In a panic, Zhou Wenqing forced a smile and managed to force a gentle smile—though it was more of a bitter smile, as it betrayed his guilty conscience.

At the same time, his eyes quickly glanced back, sweeping over Li Yi beside him.

Upon seeing this, Li Yi immediately nodded and took another half step closer to him.

Zhou Wenqing felt slightly more at ease. He carefully stood up, his bottom already half an inch off the chair, and whispered his resignation, his tone tinged with a hint of probing and nervousness:

"Brother, I suddenly remembered that I have some things to take care of..."

"Sit back down!"

Wei Liao raised his hand and waved it, his movements calm yet carrying an undeniable air of authority.

Zhou Wenqing was so frightened that he slumped back down in his chair, his back taut and his whole body stiff. He sat frozen in place, not daring to move, just like a quail that had been swatted back to its nest.

Wei Liao narrowed his deep eyes slightly, locking his gaze firmly onto the person trying to sneak away.

"Don't call me brother." His voice carried a dangerous, all-knowing edge. "Confess now, or else..."

Zhou Wenqing subconsciously shrank his neck, his Adam's apple bobbed, and he swallowed hard, his heart leaping into his throat as he nervously awaited what he would say next.

Wei Liao paused almost imperceptibly.

Otherwise... what?

Could it be that we could really stew that whole truckload of Coptis chinensis and Sophora flavescens and force-feed it to him?

Wei Liao's gaze swept over Zhou Wenqing from head to toe, and looking at his thin figure, she sighed softly in her heart.

If you go through that kind of ordeal, you really won't be able to eat or take care of your health.

He then snorted coldly, his anger growing even stronger as he stared intently at Zhou Wenqing.

Zhou Wenqing was unaware of his inner thoughts; she was only tense up by the powerful aura sweeping over her, her hair standing on end, and her heart filled with panic.

He dared not hide anything any longer, and immediately admitted defeat and spoke at lightning speed:

"I was wrong. I shouldn't have tried to hide it from you and sent you away under some pretext. Please forgive me, brother!"

—That's really what they're thinking!

Wei Liao was so angry that he laughed.