Jinyang City, Zhao Qi worriedly sent away the Qin army envoy from Hangu Pass, returned to the study with a depressed face, reached out and picked up the list sent by the Qin army envoy, looked at it for a long time, slapped it on the table, and his face was uncontrollable, Lu Chao regarded them here as the backyard of the Qin people.

It's just that after more than a year, the once high-spirited Zhao Qi is too old to look good, he has just turned sixty years old, but he looks like he is seventy or eighty, and his back is also a lot rickety. Life is not good, Handan coup, Zhao led by Zhao Feng launched a mutiny against him, pulled him from the peak of his career, fell to the lowest point of his life, and has been in a slump ever since.

Zhao Feng's rebellious ministers and thieves did not get any benefits, and everything afterwards proved that they were just a pawn between the hands of the Han State, manipulated by others without knowing it, and the Zhao State was destroyed in the hands of these self-righteous and loyal people.

Yes, Zhao Guo had a big problem during his own reign, but are these problems caused by himself? Who would have thought that Jing Rufeng, who had moved to Zhao State for twenty years and was killed by the King of Qin, would be a dead pawn of Qin? He just recommended him to King Zhao, when Jing Rufeng killed Wang Xiao's 20,000 army in Hedong in one fell swoop, the entire Zhao State was not happy, and that did not blow Jing Rufeng to the sky, so why was it just himself?

Who would have thought that all this was just a conspiracy of the Qin people, using Jing Rufeng's lives full of old and young, and Wang Xiao's 20,000 troops to prove Jing Rufeng's ability and loyalty, so that the whole Zhao State was convinced? Thinking of such a murderous plan, which had been implemented since twenty years ago, Zhao Qi couldn't help but shudder, saying that he was good at using conspiracies and tricks, but compared to the Qin people and the Han people, he was really just a pure little doll.

Zhao Guo is finished. At this point, Zhao Qi had already understood all this since he fled to Jinyang, and Dongzhao was completely manipulated in the hands of the Han people, from the national policy they are now implementing. The military system shows that they only have the name of Zhao State, but in fact, they have long been vassals of the Han State. And on their own side. Zhao Qi knew that if he hadn't made himself a buffer between Qin and Han, the Qin people would have swallowed themselves honestly and unceremoniously.

Looking at the list in his hand, Zhao Qi sighed, this year is destined to be difficult.

"Master, the young master is back." The butler gently pushed open the door of the study and said.

"Got it, after Sheret washes up, I'll let you come to the study. I've got something to look for him. Zhao Qi commanded.

"Yes!"

After a pillar of incense, Zhao Xilie, dressed in civilian clothes, appeared in front of Zhao Qi, he was the supreme commander of the entire Jinyang garrison, and under normal circumstances, he was stationed in the Zhao army camp in Majiadian, about thirty miles outside Jinyang, and today Zhao Qi specially summoned him back.

"Father!" bowed to Zhao Qi, and looked at Zhao Qi's old and unshapedly face, Zhao Xilie felt a little sad.

"Coming back, how is the morale of the army?" Zhao Qi pointed to the chair in front of the big case and motioned for Zhao Xilie to sit down and speak.

Dragging over the chair and sitting down, Zhao Xilie nodded and said, "It's okay." It's about to be the New Year.,The reward of silver has to be sent down immediately.,The soldiers are looking forward to it.,You may have made a promise before.。 ”

Zhao Qi smiled bitterly. "You are also clear about the current situation, I am afraid that I will not be able to take out this silver."

Zhao Xilie became anxious when he heard this, "Father, there is no joke in the army. This is no joke. Losing your word to a sergeant is likely to lead to serious consequences. ”

"Is your control over the army so weak?" Zhao Qihu made a face, "No matter what your army says, the military salary is always guaranteed, right?" What else do you want, if Da Zhao is in the situation, they should also have heard about it, how many people have become hungry, and how many people are struggling on the line of life and death without food? ”

How ugly and ugly Zhao Xilie's face was, "Father, ordinary soldiers are just that, but the more than 10,000 city guards who followed us all the way from Handan can't let them down, their family is already in Handan, and the military spirit has not been very stable, if it weren't for the son who has been operating in it for a long time over the years, and tying up most of them with brotherly righteousness, there would have been chaos a long time ago, if they were treated badly in terms of money, the son really didn't know how to lead them." Besides, as you know, they are the backbone of our army, the most powerful force in battle. ”

"More than 10,000 people, I'll think of a way, but don't expect too many people, it's better than nothing!" Zhao Qi said helplessly, reached out and picked up the list on the table, and handed it to Zhao Xilie: "Take a look." ”

Seeing the contents of the list, Zhao Xilie was furious: "What does Lu Chao think of us, his warehouse?" Where did we get so many things? 500,000 quintals of military rations, 1 million taels of military expenses, 100,000 sets of cotton clothes, 50,000 sets of cotton wool, 1,000 heads of cattle, sheep and livestock, and we are not immortals, where did we come from? ”

Zhao Qi didn't speak, he looked at Zhao Xilie quietly, and finally, after the angry Zhao Xilie finished venting, he was like a pierced leather ball, and sat down on the chair in a dejected manner.

"What can I do if I don't give it?" Zhao Qi sighed.

"Where did it come from?" Zhao Xilie said with some despair.

"There was originally a batch of storage in the imperial treasury, which was intended for you and Ming Jun's army, and it was a long morale for the New Year, but now it seems that it can only be given to the Qin people, but this is not enough, after you go back, lead the army down to suppress the bandits!" Zhao Qi said.

The so-called suppression of bandits is nothing more than the use of the army to rob and seize in the name of suppressing bandits, and whoever robs is naturally born by the common people of Jinyang. "Father, the people under our rule are already bitter enough, this is a dry river and a fish."

"What? We must first ensure that the regime can continue, before we can say anything else, this time, the target may as well be aimed at some wealthy gentry, these people and the Qin people eyebrows, and the Han people secretly communicate with each other, really I don't know? In the past, if you didn't move them, you just wanted to stabilize the situation, and as long as you did it, you could find a lot of evidence and leave everyone speechless. ”

"But this method is to kill chickens and take eggs, survive this year, what will I do next year?" Zhao Xilie said.

"And after surviving this year, Xilie, our only hope now is that the Qin people can launch an attack on the Han State as soon as possible, the Qin-Chu alliance has been completed, as long as Qin and Chu launch an attack on the Han State at the same time, our opportunity will really come, at that time, we will be able to raise a large army to kill back, recapture Handan, and restore our Great Zhao territory, knowing why the Qin people are so oppressive of us, but do we still have to admit that we are the only orthodox Zhao State, because when they attack the Han State, they still need our banner, so now, We can only endure and wait, waiting for the opportunity to arise. ”

"I really doubt that we can survive for a few more years if this continues. I don't think the economy of Qin is much better than ours? Since we want to use our banner, why should we be forced to death, this can only show that the life of the Qin people is not easy, father, the last time we went to Xianyang to meet the king of Qin, didn't you see it, the streets of Xianyang are full of Han goods, the streets of Xianyang, begging people abound, although they did not say it explicitly, but the economy must not be much better than ours. Can they really be counted on? ”

"The emaciated camel is bigger than the horse, as long as the army of the Qin people is still there, there is hope for everything, didn't they get that Mao Wei from the Han people a while ago? Qin and Chu have now made explosives, and the envoy of Qin told me when he came this time that they have made a lot of explosives, and Lu Chao's army has begun to equip them. ”

"Didn't Father ask them for some?"

"Of course I want it, the envoy from the Qin State also promised, after we send these things, the general will send us some."

"I'm afraid it's an empty promise." Zhao Xilie snorted, "Father, haven't you ever considered negotiating peace with the Han people?" ”

"Make peace with the Han Chinese?" Zhao Qi glanced at his son in surprise, "Where did you get this idea from, the Han people will negotiate peace with us?" Will they promise me Da Zhao to return to the country? No, they won't, now that the Han State is strong, Gao Yuan is fighting to dominate the world by force, they have the same idea as the Qin State ten years ago, Dongzhao They have already swallowed it, do you still expect the creativity to spit out, now, we can only unite with Qin and Chu, and only then can we have a glimmer of hope for the restoration of the country. There should be no other ideas at all. And you can't reveal this idea, but as long as you let the Qin people know a little rumor, the Qin people will definitely not let you and my father and son go, don't forget, there is an elite army of 5,000 Qin people stationed in Jinyang City, they are nominally to assist in defense, but what they actually do, you should also understand. ”

Zhao Xilie was silent for a long time and nodded: "My son wrote it down." ”

"You finally come back, just take a good rest, your wife and children rarely see you, and you should comfort them. Zhuo'er is getting smarter and smarter, which is really likable! Now whenever I am troubled, I go to see my little grandson, but I can reduce most of my troubles by half, if nothing else, even if it is for Zhuo'er, I can't lose. ”

"Father should take care of himself. You are the pillar of Da Zhao, and you must not fall. Zhao Xilie stood up and said.

"Don't worry, I won't fall down for a while." Zhao Qi waved his hand. (To be continued.) )