Xianyang Palace.

It was already winter, and the snow was falling from the sky, and the earth was covered in snow, and the wheels of the carriage were pressed against the snow and two deep ruts appeared, only to be covered in a moment by the fluttering snow.

This is the first snow in Guanzhong since the beginning of winter.

In the midst of this heavy snowfall, a carriage hurriedly drove into the gate of Xianyang Palace.

The person sitting in the carriage was none other than Lü Buwei, who had recently been recognized as the three giants of the Qin State along with Yangquan Jun Mi Chen and Gang Cheng Jun Cai Ze.

The expression on Lu Buwei's face was very serious, but he was secretly thinking about something in his heart.

To be honest, Lü Buwei has actually been a bit uneasy recently.

Since secretly forming an alliance with Cai Ze, Lü Buwei began to think of ways to bring down Mi Chen.

But the problem is that the elders of the three dynasties like Mi Chen, who have strong support in the central palace, really can't be knocked down at will if they want to.

And Lu Buwei is also very clear in his heart, although the prince trusts him, but on the point of whether to get rid of Mi Chen, the prince is actually more or less hesitant and worried.

So Lu Buwei actually lied to Cai Ze that day, because the matter of overthrowing Mi Chen could not be regarded as the prince's instructions.

But what reassured Lü Buwei was that Cai Ze was the most estranged from the prince among the three giants after all, so it was impossible for Cai Ze to approach the prince and expose his lies.

It's just that there is no breathable wall in this world, and if you want to bring down Mi Chen, you still need to work harder.

As long as he can bring down Mi Chen, then Lü Buwei will be able to become the imperial historian among the three dukes, and if he finds a way to get rid of Cai Ze at that time, then the entire Qin State will be Lü Buwei's world.

By that time, hum ......

Lu Buwei thought about it, and a smile quietly appeared on the corner of his mouth.

Lu Buwei walked into the main hall of Xianyang Palace, and what surprised him was that there were only three people in the main hall of Xianyang Palace today besides himself.

Prince, Mi Chen and Cai Ze.

This made Lu Buwei's whole person immediately a little nervous.

Could it be that something big is happening?

Speaking of which, whether it is Lu Buwei, Mi Chen or Cai Ze, these three giants are actually quite busy in normal times, and the time they can gather together is the court discussion.

Now that the prince has specially summoned the three of them, then there should be something very important to announce.

Lu Buwei didn't dare to slack off, and saluted respectfully to the prince in front of him: "The minister has seen the prince." ”

The prince looked at Lu Buwei in front of him, and smiled very kindly: "Lu Qing doesn't have to be polite, please sit down." ”

The crown prince of Qin now seems to be more accustomed to the role of a superior than before, and he is more like a real Qin king.

Of course, in Lü Buwei's opinion, in fact, this prince is too far behind his grandfather Qin Wangji, and even his father Qin Wangzhu is far inferior.

But it is precisely because of this that the Qin State has the space for Lu Buwei to operate, and I have to say that this is also a good thing.

After Lü Buwei sat down, the crown prince cleared his throat and said slowly: "There is one thing I want to let Zhuqing know, that is, a few days ago, an envoy from Wei State just secretly came to Xianyang and was received by me. ”

"Wei envoy?" As soon as the crown prince's words fell, the three important ministers of the Qin State around him all showed surprised expressions on their faces, especially the expression on Lu Buwei's face.

You must know that the diplomatic system of the Qin State is actually in the hands of Lü Buwei, why did the Wei people have secret envoys to visit Lü Buwei but did not know?

But this was obviously not the time to pursue it, and Lü Buwei didn't have the heart to think about it, because he had already heard the next sentence of the crown prince.

"I have already decided to secretly form an alliance with the Wei State, and as long as I find an opportunity, I will send troops together to attack the Zhao State!"

As soon as the prince's words fell, the faces of the three important ministers of the Qin State were different.

To be honest, this result is actually not too unexpected.

Now, if the Qin State wants to compete for hegemony, going east is a necessary choice.

And if the Qin State wants to go east out of the Central Plains, then it must first take back the Hedong County and Hangu Pass in the hands of the Zhao State.

If these two places cannot be obtained, then the Guanzhong of the Qin State will always be threatened by the soldiers of the Zhao State, and it will be in a very passive position in the entire strategic situation.

Therefore, for the Qin State, defeating the Zhao State is an imminent problem.

And since the division of the three families, the war for hegemony on the continent has become more and more intense, Wei, Chu, Qi, and Qin have appeared successively, and then until the current Zhao State, there will be a new overlord rising every few decades.

But the problem is that the speed of the rise of the new overlord of Zhao Guo is too fast!

In just five years, the Zhao people seized the Hedong and Cuihan passages from the Qin state, the Gaotang from the Qi state, Yecheng and Chengqiu from the Wei state, the Lu state and half of the Huaibei land from the Chu state, Wuyang and Fenmen from the Yan state, and even defeated the Linhu people and captured the two counties of Hetao and Shuofang.

In just five years, Zhao's territory has almost doubled compared to before the Battle of Changping, like blowing up a balloon!

Today's Zhao State, in terms of land area alone, is no longer under the Qin State.

What's more, according to the laws of the previous hegemonic powers, each hegemon must be dominant for at least twenty years before it begins to slowly flourish and decline.

But the current Zhao State is already strong in only five years, if it is another twenty or thirty years...... I'm afraid that the other vassal states will be defeated by the Zhao State, right?

The strength of the Zhao State, in the entire land of China, only the Qin people know best, after all, in the battles of Changping, Hedong, and Guanzhong, the strength of the Zhao army was vividly displayed in front of the old Qin people.

Therefore, for the rise of Zhao, Qin is the country that has been beaten the most, and it is also the country that is most afraid of Zhao.

Lao Qin people can fail, but they will never admit defeat!

Whether it is up to the current crown prince of Qin, or down to the fathers and villagers of the entire Guanzhong, there is only one thing that all the old Qin people hope for, that is, to return the shame given by the people of Zhao State one day untouched!

After a long while, Mi Chen, the leader of the three important ministers, took the lead in speaking: "The prince plans to start a war next spring?" ”

The crown prince of Qin, who was sitting at the top, shook his head and said in a deep voice: "No, I am only temporarily allied with the Wei State, as for when to start a war, this is exactly what I want to discuss with Zhuqing." ”

Cai Ze thought for a while and said, "Prince, with the meaning of the old minister, it is still not appropriate to start a war immediately. ”

The prince's gaze moved to Cai Ze's body, and he said in a deep voice: "Why? ”

It can be heard that the prince is actually not very satisfied with Cai Ze's answer.

This is actually understandable, after all, this crown prince is only twenty-six years old this year, and if he inherits the throne at a young age, then he must be ambitious and ready to make a career.

What's more, everyone knows that this prince was actually just a concubine before, and he was completely unfavored, and he was able to become a concubine by succeeding to the name of Mrs. Huayang, and finally succeeded to the throne.

For such a monarch, there are actually many voices of doubt within the Qin State.

Many people are not optimistic that this young monarch, who has barely received much orthodox royal education, can turn the tide and lead the re-emergence of the Qin state.

The young prince knew these noises very well.

Therefore, he urgently needed to prove himself, prove that he was worthy of the position of the crown prince and the monarch, and prove that he was capable of leading the Qin state to rejuvenation.

To prove all this, first of all, he needs a war.

A war that can be won!

For such a victorious-hungry monarch, any opposition to war was rather harsh to his ears.

Although Cai Ze saw the dissatisfaction in the prince's heart, since the words had been spoken, Cai Ze naturally had to continue.

"Prince, according to last year's inventory, the treasury has begun to bottom out because of the continuous war, and there is no extra food and money to support the war that is about to be launched!"

As the internal history of Zhili, Cai Ze's function is to be in charge of grain, food, money and goods, and the treasury of the Qin State itself is a subordinate institution of the internal history, so Cai Ze naturally knows this.

"What?" The prince was slightly stunned, and then said, "Can't even support a war?" ”

"Yes." Cai Ze nodded and said, "Don't forget the losses caused to Great Qin by the last time the Zhao people entered Guanzhong, not only did a large area of Guanzhong fail and there was a famine, but even our treasury was emptied!" Those damn Zhao people didn't leave us even a single grain left! ”

As soon as Cai Ze mentioned this, the faces of all the Qin monarchs and ministers present couldn't help but become embarrassed, and then this embarrassment turned into anger.

The prince slammed his fist on the table in front of him: "One day, I will make the people of Zhao pay the price!" Gang Chengjun, I want to know one thing, that is, how long it will take at the earliest time for me to have enough food and supplies to support a year's war! ”

Cai Ze thought for a while and said: "This depends on next year's harvest, if next year's harvest is enough, then at the earliest in the spring of the next year, the soldiers of the old Qin people can embark on the journey." ”

"The year after tomorrow?" The prince snorted heavily and said, "Does this mean that I have to wait for more than a year?" ”

Lü Buwei judged the situation and felt that it was time for him to speak: "Prince, in fact, it's not just a matter of food and materials. Among today's old Qin people, there are not many qualified soldiers. ”

Generally speaking, if an army continues to win, it will inevitably pay fewer casualties than the enemy, and it will have more soldiers to use than the enemy.

However, the Qin State suffered several major defeats in the past few years, and a large number of soldiers were either killed in battle or became prisoners of the enemy (mainly the Zhao people), which made the problem of Qin's military resources begin to become prominent.

The crown prince glared at Lu Buwei and said, "Didn't I remember that a round of conscription was just carried out a while ago?" ”

Lu Buwei nodded and said, "Prince, it is this question that the minister wants to talk about. Although a round of conscription has just been carried out, the training of the soldiers also takes time, and now it is a cold winter, and the training cannot be carried out at all, at least until the spring ploughing can start training, if the troops are to attack Zhao at that time, I am afraid that the recruits will not have time to train at all. ”

After a pause, Lü Buwei continued: "And the minister thinks that even if Qin Wei joins forces, it may not be the opponent of the Zhao State, after all, the Zhao State has many allies. It is better to ask the prince to be patient a little and wait until the soldier training is completed and the supply of food and grass is sufficient before choosing the opportunity to attack. ”

After hearing Lu Buwei's words, the prince's face finally looked a little better, but he still couldn't help but sneer: "There are many allies of Zhao State? Hmph, if it's time for a war, I want to see that those so-called loyal allies will still stand on the side of Zhao from time to time! Okay, if that's the case, then you will go down and make preparations as soon as possible, and strive to let the old Qin people usher in the day of revenge as soon as possible! ”