In the palace of King Qin, the four people stood in front of a huge map, all silent.

This dreary atmosphere lasted for a while, and finally the silence was broken by the King of Qin, the highest-ranking of the four: "So, according to the opinion of the Qing family, if my Qin State wants to keep the land of Bashu permanently, I must start a war against the State of Chu and seize the land of Hanzhong?" ”

Because of the merit of destroying Bashu, Sima Coo, who was reused by the King of Qin, came out and said: "King, now the matter is already obvious. In the land of Bashu, now there is only one golden bull road connected to my Qin country, once an accident occurs, Bashu will no longer be owned by our country! And the only one who can threaten the safety of our country the most is the state of Chu. ”

Seeing that the King of Qin was still undecided, Ying Ji, who had the title of "think tank" in the Qin State and was deeply trusted by the King of Qin, immediately supported Sima Cuo and said: "Brother Wang, didn't I discuss it a long time ago, after my Qin State received Bashu, I will have to find a way to deal with the Chu State." Why can't Brother Wang make up his mind now? ”

When King Qin heard this, he couldn't help but sigh: "Now my Qin country, although it is in the middle of the pass, is a country with four keys to the pass. However, there are three Jin in the east of our country, Xirong in the west, and Bashu in the south, and the battle line is already so long, if there is another war with the Chu State, the widow really doesn't dare to make up his mind casually! ”

After the King of Qin finished speaking, he asked Zhang Yi again: "Xiangguo, Chu is the country of my Qin in-laws, with a place of 5,000 li, with a million armor, and now it is allied with Qi State." If our country rashly starts a war with the Chu State, what should we do if the Qi State intervenes? ”

For the specific deployment of the military, Zhang Yi is not as good as Sima Cuo and Yingji, but once it comes to the matter of interstate relations, Zhang Yi is the head and said: "King, Chu is a big country in the south, and it is indeed not easy to deal with." However, as a big country, Chu also has the difficulties of a big country, as long as we find the weakness of Chu and want to deal with it, it is not difficult! ”

Seeing that the King of Qin and even the remaining two important ministers of the Qin State were puzzled, Zhang Yi also said eloquently: "Although the State of Chu is a big country, its national system is rigid and slow, and it is not like my country, which can concentrate its strength. And now the king of Chu, influenced by Qu Yuan's American politics, advocates etiquette and music, and is simple-minded. As long as the king gives Zai Xia enough authority, Zai Xia will definitely be able to move the king of Chu to break off diplomatic relations with the state of Qi and completely isolate the state of Chu! ”

King Qin asked curiously, "What kind of authority does Xiangguo need?" ”

Zhang Yi smiled and said, "How about the king ceding the land of Shang Yu for 600 li to the state of Chu?" ”

Hearing Zhang Yi's words, not only did King Qin's eyes widen, but even Ying Ji's face was full of disbelief: "Xiangguo shouldn't be joking, right?" If Xiangguo really does this, you will definitely be branded as a traitor at home. ”

Looking at the three people in front of him, Zhang Yi laughed and said, "Of course it's a joke." ”

Not long after, Zhang Yi, the prime minister of Qin, once again sent an envoy to the state of Chu with a huge guard of honor.

After the rise of the Qin State, Zhang Yi, the prime minister of the Qin State, was no longer the doorman who allowed Yin Zhaoyang to be killed at will. And it is different from the last time Zhang Yi, who was still lowly in fame in order to achieve the marriage of Qin and Chu. Today's Zhang Yi, the whole world knows that he "is angry and the princes are afraid, and the world is extinguished when he lives in peace"! Although Chu is not a second-rate country like Han and Wei, but a real first-class power, the king of Chu does not want to offend him at will.

As soon as Zhang Yi came to the Chu State, he was immediately warmly welcomed by the whole Chu State, and the King of Chu also held a grand welcome banquet for him despite the opposition of Qu Yuan and others, giving Zhang Yi enough face.

To the surprise of the King of Chu, Zhang Yi, the Qin Prime Minister who was extremely feared by the princes of a small country, put on a full flattering look when he saw him, which made the vain King of Chu extremely useful!

At the welcome banquet, the wine was in full swing, and Zhang Yi saw that the King of Chu was already intoxicated, so he immediately said to the King of Chu: "King, my Qin State and Chu State are the countries of in-laws, but now the relationship between the two countries is so tense, it is really not what my king wants to see." The king may not know that the person my king admires the most is you, the king, under your rule, the country of Chu is safe and happy, and it is a thriving state, even the king of Chu and the king of Zhao can't compare with you! ”

After pouring such a pair of ecstasy soup, King Chu felt more comfortable and more useful. However, on the face, he still said modestly: "Qin Xiang is too famous!" ”

Then, Zhang Yi said to the King of Chu with a change of words: "If you want to say that the person my king hates the most, there is no one more than the King of Qi." The State of Qi is obviously aiming to destroy the Yan State, but it is said that it is for the people of the Yan Kingdom, and it is said that it is for the people of the Yan Kingdom, and it is a boundless disaster to bring to the people of the Yan Kingdom! Moreover, today's Qi State is itself a country obtained by the usurpation of the throne by the rebels, and where it is like my Qin State and Chu State, they are all inherited from ancient times. However, the king is friendly with the king of Qi, and the state of Chu is also allied with the state of Qi. ”

Hearing Zhang Yi say this, the King of Chu was a little moved: "The widow never knew that the King of Qin admired the widow so much!" ”

Zhang Yi knew that the time was ripe, and said to the king of Chu: "Great king, my Qin country and Chu country are the countries of in-laws. In order to promote the friendship between Qin and Chu, as long as the king is willing to break off diplomatic relations with the Qi State, my king is willing to cede 600 li of Shang Yu's land and the Chu State to the heart of the Chu State! ”

As soon as they heard that the Qin State was willing to cede the "Land of Shangyu" for 600 li to the Chu State, not only the King of Chu, but all the ministers of the Chu State sitting at the welcome banquet were stunned!

Speaking of the land of business, this is really an eternal pain in the hearts of the people of the Chu people.

This place is located in the southern part of the Guanzhong Plain, all the way to the vast area of the Nanyang Basin of the Chu State. As an ancient country originating in the Yangtze River basin, the state of Chu began to operate the land of commerce as early as the early Spring and Autumn Period. Until the late Spring and Autumn Period, the land of Shang Yu was the territory of the Chu State!

The Chu State has the land of business, that is, with the lofty mountains and mountains as a defense, it can make the vast plain area of the Han River Basin of the Chu State plus the land of Nanyang from the threat from the west! However, in the late Spring and Autumn Period, the state of Wu, which was located in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River valley and the state of Chu, suddenly rose and defeated the Chu army in one fell swoop in the battle of Baiju, invaded the capital of Yingdu of Chu, and destroyed the state of Chu!

At that time when the state of Chu was threatened with national destruction, for the safety of the state of Chu, Shen Baoxu, a loyal minister of the state of Chu, came to the state of Qin and asked the state of Qin to help the state of Chu resist the Wu army! Shen Baoxu cried in front of the court of Qin for seven days and seven nights, and finally said that Qin Jun was moved, and Qin entered Chu with 300 military chariots, helped Chu to repel the Wu army, and restored Chu to the country.

In order to thank Qin for his righteous deeds, Chu ceded the land of Shang Yu to Qin. At that time, the biggest enemy of Chu came from the east, from the lower reaches of the Great River, and no one would think that Qin, which was located in the west and had saved the life of Chu, would become a threat to Chu.

However, after the Qin State Shang Dynasty changed the law, the Chu State, its eastern neighbor, began to rise rapidly. In particular, the Qin State fought against the Five Kingdoms alone, and in the Battle of Hangu Pass, with the strength of one self, fought the Three Jin Dynasty alone, and beheaded 80,000 two, which finally gave the people of Chu a great shock!

The people of insight in the Chu State began to be extremely wary of the Qin State! Everyone thinks that the future Qin State will become the biggest enemy of the Chu State! At this time, it is extremely important to choose the terrain that occupies an advantageous position in the east!

Up and down the Chu State, some people began to make public opinion: The land of Shang Yu has belonged to the Chu State since ancient times, and our Chu State must take back the land of our ancestors!

Affected by this kind of public opinion, not only the people of Chu State, but also the king of Chu, who thinks highly of himself, naturally includes him. However, now the Qin Prime Minister personally promised him that the Qin State could cede the land of Shang Yu to the Chu State, which made the King of Chu extremely excited all of a sudden!

In the eyes of the King of Chu, the Qin State itself is a barren land, and it is naturally inferior to the Chu State with Yun Mengze. If the state of Chu gets the land of commerce, then the state of Chu will be able to occupy the strategic commanding heights of the Qin-Chu border, and the state of Qin will no longer be able to threaten the state of Chu!

And at that time, the State of Chu naturally did not need to form an alliance with the State of Qi again! After all, the alliance between the Chu State and the Qi State was not caused by the fact that the Qin State was too powerful and the Chu State was worried.

Thinking of this, the King of Chu walked up to Zhang Yi on the spot, took his hand, and said to him: "Qin Xiang, rest assured, the widow will send an envoy to the Qi State tomorrow to announce the severance of diplomatic relations between the Chu State and the Qi State!" I hope that by that time, my Chu State and Qin State will be able to have an everlasting friendship! ”

The next day, the king of Chu immediately told the court of Chu the promise he had made with Zhang Yi yesterday. And announced to the important ministers of the Chu State: "The widow will send an envoy to the Qi State today to break off diplomatic relations with the Qi State!" ”

As soon as he heard the decision of the king of Chu, a person in the hall immediately came out to persuade and said: "The king, when he was in the Qin State, he used to get along with Zhang Yi, none of this person's words are true, if you believe his words, the Chu State will be in danger in the future!" "This person is Chen Zhen, a famous man of Qi State.

As early as when he ordered Yin Zhaoyang's army to attack Wei, he successfully used the story of painting snakes to make Zhaoyang withdraw from the army and become famous all over the world. Subsequently, considering that Qin was the most powerful country in the world and was eclectic to talents, Chen Zhen also hoped that his talents would be useful, so he went to Qin and defected to the King of Qin.

As the saying goes, peers are enemies. Especially Chen Zhenji's background as a celebrity is much better than Zhang Yi, and his reputation is also better than Zhang Yi. Zhang Yi was worried that he would be reused by the King of Qin in the Qin State, so he tried all kinds of ways to frame and exclude Chen Zhen. Later, he even said directly to King Qin: "Chen Zhen, this guy, is kind to Yin Zhaoyang of Chu State, and often reports news to Chu State, I have no choice but to work with such a person!" ”

The king of Qin then summoned Chen Zhen and asked him if he had any plans to defect to the state of Chu. Chen Zhen faced the question of King Qin, and then considering Zhang Yi's deep-rooted position in the Qin State, he directly admitted: "That's right, I am ready to defect to the Chu State. ”

The King of Qin then asked Chen Zhen: "Then what Zhang Yi said that Mr. secretly communicated with the State of Chu and reported the information of the State of Qin to the State of Chu, presumably it is also true?" ”

Chen Zhen did not answer directly, but told a story to the King of Qin as a defense: "There is a person in the state of Chu who has two concubines. Someone seduced the older concubine and was scolded by the other party. He went to seduce the younger concubine again, and sure enough, the seduction was successful.

Later, when this Chu man died, someone asked the seducer: 'If you want to marry them as a wife, would you like to marry the older one or the younger one?' He replied: 'Marry the older one.' Then they asked him: 'Why do you marry the older one when the older one scolds you, but the younger one likes you?' He said: 'In her position at that time, of course I wanted her to agree with me.' She scolded me, which showed that she was very loyal to her husband. If I want to marry her, I certainly want her to be loyal to me and to scold those who seduce her. ’

King, think about it, as a courtier of the Qin State, if I often leak the secrets of the Qin State to the Chu State, will the Chu State trust me and reuse me? Will the Chu Congress take me in? Am I a fellow party of the Chu State, you should understand, right? ”

For such a well-reasoned story, King Qin immediately understood, and he no longer doubted Chen Zhen's loyalty. However, considering his relationship with Zhang Yi, in the end, this famous man of the Qi State was allowed to arrive in the Chu State and serve the King of Chu!

However, with such insightful and loyal words, the King of Chu asked with a skeptical attitude: "Chen Zi will not destroy the relationship between my Chu State and Qin State like this because he is a native of Qi State and has a discord with Zhang Yi, right?" Such a private abolition of the public, but a loyal minister? ”