Xianyang Palace.

A carriage came slowly from a distance, this carriage did not look very luxurious or very conspicuous, but the guards of the Qin court guarding the city did not dare to slack off, and opened the side door from a distance, allowing the carriage to enter the palace.

In this carriage sat a middle-aged man in his forties, wearing a high crown and a serious face, and the whole person sat there with a taste of not being angry and arrogant, it was Lu Buwei, who had just become the prime minister of the Qin State not long ago.

said that the reason why Lu Buwei was so serious at this moment was not because he was deliberately pretending, but because he did encounter an annoyance.

Speaking of which, since he became Xiangbang, Lü Buwei has been troubled a lot.

After Lü Buwei took the throne, Gangchengjun Cai Ze obviously couldn't accept this result and kept struggling with Lü Buwei.

As a Xiangbang, Lu Buwei naturally would not tolerate Cai Ze.

Speaking of which, although Cai Ze, the imperial historian, is the same as Xiangbang, but after all, the imperial historian is just Xiangbang's deputy, where in the world is there a reason to be a full-time deputy?

So in the past few months, Lü Buwei and Cai Ze have been fighting openly and secretly in the court of the Qin State, and they have really done several battles, big and small.

Lü Buwei relied on his advantage of being the commander of the Xiangbang and the trust of the prince at the same time, so he naturally had the upper hand in all aspects.

But Cai Ze also did not show weakness, as the imperial historian, Cai Ze has the right to supervise hundreds of officials, so he also ruthlessly engaged Lu Buwei several times, so that several of Lu Buwei's cronies were dismissed.

In general, Lü Buwei does have an advantage, but it does not seem that the advantage is too big at the moment.

After all, compared with Lü Buwei, a foreigner who used to "run the business of a businessman", although Cai Ze is also an outsider, after all, he has stayed in the Qin State for a few years, and his connections are undoubtedly wider.

The most important thing is that Lü Buwei knows very well in his heart that although the crown prince is about to succeed to the throne, he still has not succeeded to the throne after all.

As a result, there are still some people who have some kind of ulterior fantasies, and these people are naturally on the opposite side of Lü Buwei, a die-hard princeling, and have become Cai Ze's secret supporters.

These are actually nothing to Lü Buwei, and in Lü Buwei's opinion, it would be best if he could use this kind of political enemy attack to make the Qin State a mess.

Anyway, as long as the crown prince succeeds to the throne a few months later, all the ghosts and charms will naturally disappear.

At that time, Lü Buwei was basically in control of the situation, and he could free up his hands to clean up Cai Ze's party.

Just wait a few more months.

But even in the past few months, Lü Buwei has not been able to live in peace.

Just half an hour ago, an urgent secret letter from Handan reached Lü Buwei's hands through Hu Yiwei's secret channels.

There are only two short words on it - "alliance".

Lü Buwei was so clever that he immediately understood the meaning of the alliance.

"Do you want Qin Zhao to form an alliance so that it is convenient to tide over this crisis?" Lü Buwei thought to himself in his heart: "It seems that this king has thought of going with me." ”

Yes, this is indeed Lü Buwei's own idea.

In fact, this idea has been buried in Lü Buwei's heart for a long time.

In Lü Buwei's view, if he let Qin destroy the country as the prime minister of Qin, it would be difficult for him to explain it, at least in the history books, it would be a big stain.

Lü Buwei is actually a person who values reputation very much.

So Lü Buwei actually had another idea, that is, to see if he could one day let the king of Qin send him to Zhao as an official.

There are many precedents for this kind of thing, for example, after the famous minister Zhang Yi fell out of favor in the Qin State, he was sent to the Wei State by the King of Qin as a minister.

In this way, Lü Buwei, who successfully returned to Zhao, could be loyal to King Zhao openly.

Of course, with the current comparison of national strength between Qin and Zhao, it is impossible for Lü Buwei to become a prime minister from Qin to Zhao. However, being an official with a lower point than Xiangbang is still very promising to become one of the Big Seven.

In short, although things are troublesome, it is not that there is no room for operation, anyway, if it really doesn't work, just follow Zhao Dan's original plan.

But Lü Buwei's plan actually has a premise, that is, the relationship between Qin and Zhao cannot be too bad.

An alliance is undoubtedly the best option.

But Lü Buwei also knew very well that it was not easy to get Qin and Zhao to form an alliance, after all, the reason why Qin State declined from the world's first hegemonic position, the most direct responsible person was Zhao State.

This is as if the people of Chu have always hated Qin very much, and now the hatred of Zhao in Qin is also the highest.

Will you be able to convince the prince? Lu Buwei didn't have any bottom in his heart.

The carriage slowly stopped outside the gate of the main hall of Xianyang Palace, and Lu Buwei took a deep breath, collected his mood and strode up the steps in front of him.

In the main hall, Lü Buwei saw Cai Ze, a former ally and now a sworn enemy, as well as several other Jiuqing.

After everyone saw Lu Buwei, they all stood up and saluted Lu Buwei, only Cai Ze was sitting there expressionlessly, not moving.

Although it was not the first time, Lu Buwei was also annoyed when he saw Cai Ze's appearance, and couldn't help but snort softly with his nostrils, and said in his heart: "Sooner or later, one day I will let this guy know that you are powerful!" ”

Just when Lü Buwei and many colleagues were polite, another voice came: "The prince has arrived!" ”

The young prince of Qin appeared in front of everyone, and naturally he was courteous again.

After the salute was completed, the monarch and the ministers took their seats.

The prince coughed and said, "The summons of Zhuqing today are for the purpose of fighting Zhao. ”

In this era, the struggle for hegemony is the most important, and the direct means of fighting for hegemony is war, and all domestic and foreign affairs are in the final analysis for the purpose of war, so whenever it is related to a big war, it is necessary to gather all the important ministers for discussion.

Cai Ze obviously seemed to have been prepared for the prince's words, and immediately said when he heard this: "Prince, the minister heard that the army has already been assembled, and the grain and grass have been in place, but I don't know why I didn't cross the Yellow River and launch an attack on Hedong County of Zhao State?" ”

When Cai Ze opened his mouth, Lu Buwei was immediately angry.

Why? Because according to unwritten conventions, when the prince finished speaking, it should be Lü Buwei, the second person in the Qin State, who spoke, and then Cai Ze, the third person.

As a result, now Cai Ze is actually acting on his behalf without authorization, making it clear that he doesn't take Lu Buwei in his eyes, how can he not make Lu Buwei angry?

So Lu Buwei immediately sank his face and said to Cai Ze: "Gang Chengjun, pay attention to proportions when speaking!" The postponement of the dispatch of troops is my opinion, and I have also obtained the permission of the prince, what does you mean by such a rushing tone, do you want to accuse the prince of failure? ”

Cai Ze snorted, squinted Lu Buwei with his eyes, deliberately lengthened his tone, and said: "I don't mean to blame the prince, I'm just afraid that some people who have misled the country will deliberately delay the time of the expedition for their own selfishness, resulting in the final loss of the fighter!" ”