People in the Qin Dynasty, entertained during the Warring States period

Cao Ze listened to the alarm clock flute playing outside, dressed, and said, "I'm going to Wuqi Caotang."

Jingni wiped her face. "Do you need to come along?"

"No need, lest we arouse their suspicion."

Cao Ze is prepared to take matters into his own hands this time. He can't just sit idly by and wait for Yingge to find the He Shi Bi; he has to put some pressure on her!

The main hall of the Longtai Palace in the Zhao King's Palace.

Today is a rare, unscheduled grand court assembly in the State of Zhao.

Those with inside information already know that this court assembly will inevitably lead to a major change in the political landscape of Zhao. The forces that have been hiding under the shadow of power, represented by Guo Kai and Han Cang, will now openly rise to the center of power.

In accordance with regulations, the officials stepped forward one by one to report.

By noon, not a single official in the court had spoken.

Zhao Yan sat on the throne, his face slightly pale, his waist and knees aching.

In his early years, he was unrestrained and often indulged in sensual pleasures. After having Guo Kai and Han Cang, he became even more unrestrained in his behavior among the common people.

As a result, the weather this winter changed drastically and deteriorated far more severely than in previous years. Even without leaving the palace, I still caught a cold, which I barely recovered from, and my health deteriorated.

Even more unexpectedly, in early spring, he took Guo Kai out of the palace in private to stroll through the city and dispel the stuffiness of the palace.

As a result, the late spring cold snap dealt him another blow, directly triggering a hidden illness that kept him sick for more than a month.

His health, which was originally quite good, deteriorated significantly, making him look old. As a result, after the alliance failed, he didn't have time to immediately hold Pang Nuan accountable until recently, when the weather warmed up and he recovered considerably.

Guo Kai and his close confidants stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, not long ago, the State of Qin attacked the State of Wei under the pretext of borrowing land from Wei and forming an alliance. They have already captured Chaoge, and Lord Yuan of Wei has moved the capital to Puyang. The King of Wei immediately dismissed Lord Xinling, Wei Wuji, and ordered him to retire to his residence. The Qin army has withdrawn."

"In the same month, the Qin state turned south and launched a fierce attack on the Chu state. The King of Chu accepted the advice of his courtiers to move the capital to avoid Qin. The current capital of Chu is Shouchun, which retains the name of the old capital and is renamed Yingdu. The Qin army retreated."

"Now that the Qin state is frequently attacking, it is likely that they will soon attack our Great Zhao. Your Majesty must be on guard!"

After the minister finished speaking, the hall fell silent.

Pang Nuan, the veteran general who ranked first among the military commanders, slowly opened his wrinkled eyelids. He knew that the failure of the alliance was his responsibility, even if it was not his fault.

This grand court assembly was convened for him.

Zhao Yan looked at Pang Nuan, who was over eighty years old. From his great-grandfather King Wuling of Zhao, to his grandfather King Huiwen, to his father King Xiaocheng, and finally to himself, Pang Nuan was still alive, in good spirits, and in good health.

He felt a sudden pang of envy; how wonderful it would be if he could live to be eighty.

However, he wasn't that angry about the failure of this alliance.

I didn't have high hopes anyway.

Knowing full well that the five states were not of one mind and had no chance of destroying Qin, they were merely giving it a try.

In addition, thanks to Pang Nuan's timely response, the Zhao army suffered few casualties. He did not intend to severely punish Pang Nuan, but the proper procedures still had to be followed.

"Pang Nuan, as the commander-in-chief of the allied forces, what do you have to say?"

Pang Nuan stepped forward and said, "I have suffered a defeat in battle and am willing to accept punishment."

Zhao Yan hesitated, feeling a wave of fatigue wash over him. He couldn't think of a reason to lightly punish Pang Nuan.

Guo Kai saw that Zhao Yan had fallen back into his old ways and that he would have to rely on him, the loyal minister of the Great Zhao, to handle things.

He stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, the failure of the alliance was not due to the incompetence of the old general, nor the weakness of our Zhao army, but rather to the fact that the other states had their own agendas. Fortunately, our army suffered few casualties, so I propose that, in consideration of the old general’s victory over Yan two years ago, his merits and demerits be offset, and he be retained as Grand General without being promoted or demoted.”

In the imperial court, all the ministers looked at Guo Kai with surprise, and none of them took the opportunity to kick him while he was down.

Pang Nuan was also taken aback and couldn't help but take another look at Guo Kai, who looked like a big-mouthed monkey.

Zhao Yan slowly nodded, then shook his head.

"Merits and demerits can be balanced, but the losses suffered by Zhao this time need to be made up. General, starting today, lead troops to attack Qi and capture Rao'an."

After the five states attacked Qi, each state became accustomed to suffering losses and then going to Qi to make a profit.

Zhao Yan was no exception, and habitually issued the order.

Guo Kai smiled faintly. It wasn't that he was kind-hearted, but rather that Pang Nuan was old and didn't have many years left. This time, he kept Pang Nuan in the position of Grand General only to prevent Li Mu from taking over.

Now, if Pang Nuan becomes the prime minister after this, he can easily use a little strategy to make Pang Nuan a figurehead, serving as a nominal general of Zhao without the real power of a general.

Guo Kai began to plan who to get into the military.

When Zhao Yan had driven Lian Po away, he wanted to recall him. After fabricating the scandal of Lian Po defecating three times during a meal, he recommended General Hu Zhe, who had secretly defected to him and was guarding the Wu'an Fortress.

He still remembered that fellow; he was burly, dark-skinned, and strong, with a gait like a tiger and a voice like a booming bell. This immediately pleased Zhao Yan, who appointed him General of Handan, and completely forgot about the matter of recalling Lian Po.

Unfortunately, this fellow was all show and no substance. In a battle against the Qin army that had entered Pingyang, he was beheaded and his head displayed to the public by the Left General Wang Yi.

This caused him to be severely criticized by both the court and the public. He wanted to continue interfering in military power, but was squeezed out and killed by Li Mu and Pang Nuan.

He then tried to bring Lian Po back to salvage his reputation, but Lian Po left Wei for Chu the year before last and died in Chu last year. The story of him defecating three times during a meal that he had fabricated was exposed, further damaging his reputation.

He was branded with the infamous reputation of being a cunning old fox both in and out of government.

However, none of that matters. Being scolded a few times won't kill him. As long as Zhao Yan still trusts him, that's enough.

He wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to sideline Pang Nuan, and since Li Mu was stationed at the border and unable to exert his influence, he could once again seize control of Zhao's military power and make him a true powerful minister like Lü Buwei!

Pang Nuan had no other choice but to obey the king's order.

Seeing that things had been settled, Zhao Yan looked at the honest, kind, and unassuming Guo Kai and smiled.

"I am fair in rewarding and punishing. Guo Kai's suggestion was meritorious. He handled the alliance appropriately and did not become the last state in the alliance, thus preserving the strength of my Great Zhao."

"And the year before last, he devised a plan that led our Great Zhao to send troops to attack Yan, killing the Yan general Ju Xin in one fell swoop and capturing more than ten cities of Yan."

"In addition, in the past few years, Guo Kai has worked diligently and conscientiously, sharing my worries and solving my problems. He has been loyal to the Great Zhao and is a rare and capable minister of the Great Zhao."

"Taking advantage of this grand court assembly, I hereby promote Guo Kai to the rank of Grand Minister, entrusting him with the duties of the Prime Minister and overall command of the court. Do any of you ministers have any objections?"

Pang Nuan tried to speak several times, but finally sighed helplessly.

Guo Kai's actions and words were impeccable, and the timing was perfect. He had the ability to stop Zhao Yan, but he couldn't speak up at this moment.

Meanwhile, many non-veteran ministers in the imperial court had been bribed by Guo Kai and were already prepared to offer their support. Zhao Yan then made the decision.

Guo Kai, a capable and loyal minister of the Zhao state, was appointed as the prime minister of Zhao.

After the court assembly ended, Guo Kai summoned his trusted confidants from the former Crown Prince's residence.

"Now that I have just assumed the position of Prime Minister, I must do more practical things for my Great Zhao and make it great again. You all must not act recklessly these days, otherwise the laws of Zhao are merciless, and don't blame me for being ruthless!"

As he said this, Guo Kai stared intently at Han Cang, who had an effeminate appearance.

Guo Kai and his close confidants all knew who this was a warning to.

A few days ago, rumors suddenly spread among the common people that Guo Kai would surely become the prime minister.

Han Cang, who controlled the Bear Gang, an underground gang in Handan, couldn't possibly have been unaware of this, yet he didn't stop it, and may even have secretly encouraged it, clearly because he couldn't stand to see his brothers doing well.

Han Cang remained unfazed. Guo Kai was favored, and so was he. His private relationship with the King of Zhao was even closer, so he was not afraid of Guo Kai's revenge.

Guo Kai then spoke at length, explaining how to distribute benefits to his loyal followers according to their merits, without neglecting Han Cang, emphasizing fairness.

But in her heart, she had already labeled Han Cang.

If he hadn't been cautious as always, and hadn't been perceived by Zhao Yan as honest and kind, his chances of becoming prime minister would have been ruined.

We must find an opportunity to get rid of Han Cang, and we must not allow anyone else around King Zhao to threaten his position.

Only Guo Kai is worthy of being the man behind the King of Zhao!

After listening to the information about the Grand Court Assembly obtained by Gongliang Wuqi in Wuqi's thatched cottage, Cao Ze took out two gold coins and placed them on the table.

"It is interesting."

Gongliang Wuqi smiled and put the information away. It wasn't a secret; some things weren't hard to find out. Getting two gold coins for free was pretty good.

Cao Ze chuckled, having learned from Jing Ni that Gongliang Wuqi was a money-grubber and a miser.

He immediately slapped a large gold note he had taken from Li Wu's pocket onto the table. It was worth one hundred gold coins and could be exchanged directly at the Iron Blood Alliance.

"Mr. Gongliang, this is the deposit. Now let's move on to the next matter."

"Wh...what is it?" Gongliang Wuqi's eyes were practically glued to the gold notes. He didn't even have many of these, and this was just a deposit. What big thing was this for?

"The He Shi Bi".

Chapter 41 Brother Cao, I understand!

Gongliang Wuqi suddenly looked up, his cloudy old eyes staring straight at Cao Ze.

What do you mean?

Cao Ze remained unusually calm. "These past few days, I've inadvertently discovered that someone is secretly investigating the whereabouts of the He Shi Bi in Handan. I want to obtain the He Shi Bi, present it to the King of Zhao, and gain official rank and title. Does Mr. Gongliang understand?"

He came here not only to inquire about the court assembly, but also to put some pressure on Yingge through his integrity and honesty, and to see if he had the luck to find clues and the whereabouts of the He Shi Bi jade.

Gongliang Wuqi stared at the gold notes worth a hundred taels of silver, swallowed hard, and asked, "How much are you willing to pay, young master?"

Name your price.

"One thousand gold coins?"

"No problem."

"Really?"

Gongsun Wuqi's voice changed a few times; even with all the money he had collected, it still didn't amount to a thousand gold coins.

It should be noted that when the emperor normally rewards meritorious ministers, he usually gives no more than a hundred gold coins, which is equivalent to a hundred catties of gold ingots or a thousand taels of gold.

This shows the gold content of the gold coin.

Gongliang Wuqi was now fully aware of his own worth. He was willing to betray Ji Wuye to his face and even slap him twice for the thousand gold coins worth ten thousand taels of gold.

Looking back now, the hundred gold coins that Yingge threw to him, and how he acted like he was making a huge profit, were really stingy and cheap, just like how he treated the orphans and beggars he adopted.

They've already paid a deposit of 100 gold coins, and they didn't even hesitate.

This is a big spender, this is a god of wealth!

Cao Ze smiled faintly, "Whether it's real or fake, Mr. Gongliang can take this gold note and exchange it at the Iron Blood Alliance. However, I have limited time and need to determine the whereabouts of the He Shi Bi within a month. Can you do that?"

As the saying goes, money can make the devil turn the millstone. As a local strongman in Handan, with Ji Wuye's support behind the scenes, he might be able to find clues about the He Shi Bi jade.