Xianyang Palace.

Lü Buwei appeared outside the door of King Qin's study with two people.

The person on the left is Changping Jun Xiong Qi.

The person on the right, with a strong body, a straight nose and a wide mouth, is righteous and awe-inspiring, and the dress of a military general looks even more energetic, it is Yingcheng Taishou, Li Xin.

After Zhao Gao's communication, the three of them entered the study.

Lü Buwei stepped forward and arched his hand and said, "Your Majesty, Li Xin has arrived." ”

Li Xin also stepped forward and bowed his hand: "Weichen Li Xin, meet the king." ”

Ying Zheng held Li Xin's hand and said, "Why, I haven't seen you for a while, and I've become angry." ”

Li Xin and Ying Zheng are of the same age, and when they were young, they accompanied Ying Zheng with Meng Tian to study and practice martial arts. A year ago, he became a crown ceremony, and then he was transferred to Yingcheng as a taishou.

"Where is the king?" Li Xin said with a smile.

"Sit down." Seeing Li Xin, Ying Zheng was also very happy.

After a few people sat down, Li Xin arched his hand and said: "I heard that the king's wedding is approaching, Weichen is here to come back to see if there is anything that can help." ”

"Don't say it, I really need your favor." Ying Zheng paused and said, "Help the widow drink more joyful wine." ”

Several people laughed.

After a few more pleasantries, Lu Buwei said: "Li Xin, I summoned you back this time, and the king has another matter to ask you about." ”

Li Si asked, "But about the bandits in Yingcheng?" ”

Ying Zheng nodded and said, "Yes, that's it, you can talk about the situation over there first." ”

Li Xin cleared his throat and arched his hand: "Since the king, Lu Xiangbang, and Weichen took office for more than a year, the people have lived and worked in peace and contentment, and most of the original Chu people have accepted the fact that they have become Qin people. ”

Lü Buwei said: "I heard before that after Bai Qi captured Yingcheng, after many Chu troops were defeated and retreated, they failed to withdraw to Chu in time, so they hid in various mountains and forests, and later occupied many mountains and forests and became mountain bandits. ”

"Not bad." Li Xin said, "This was indeed the case back then, but with the prestige of Bai Qi at that time, the remnants of the Chu army who became mountain bandits did not dare to make a mistake, but only occupied one side and made a living by farming and hunting, and did not make a living by robbing houses and houses like real mountain bandits." ”

"I see." Ying Zheng said thoughtfully.

"Nowadays, most of those remnants of the Chu State are over the age of six, and at that time they all took their wives into the mountains and forests, and those who did not get married, some also married in the cottage. In the mountains and forests now, there are many of their descendants. Therefore, it is more appropriate to say that it is not so much a green forest bandit as a country within a country. Lees said.

"A country within a country?" Lu Buwei's face froze, "How can this work?" ”

Changping Jun frowned and said, "Then after Li Taishou arrived, why didn't he control these mountain bandits." ”

Li Xin arched his hand and said: "One, Li has just arrived, and those mountain bandits are deep-rooted, so I want to find out the details; Second, those mountain bandits almost never cause trouble, and they do not harass the people; Third, this matter is also quite related to the Chu State, and if you act rashly, it will definitely affect the relationship with the Chu State. ”

What Li Xin said is reasonable, and he is not shirking responsibility.

"According to you, how could Meng Tian be attacked by mountain bandits near Yingcheng, if it weren't for Wang Ben who happened to pass by, the consequences would be unimaginable." Ying Zheng is still a little afraid, but Meng Tian is his good brother.

Li Xin's face was a little embarrassed, and he arched his hand and said: "For Meng Tian's matter, Weichen is also quite guilty, after all, he grew up with Meng Tian since he was a child, if something really happens, how can Weichen be at ease." ”

"Why was Meng Tian attacked, can you find out the reason?" Lü Buwei asked.

"Wechen has investigated." Li Xin calmed down for a moment and continued, "Before, Chang'an Jun Chengcheng led an army to attack the Wei State, and the Chu State also sent 100,000 troops to be stationed at the junction of the three kingdoms of Qin, Chu, and Wei. As a result, those mountain bandits were ready to move, and they didn't know which side the Chu State was sending troops to. If the state of Chu attacks Qin, maybe they will cooperate with the Chu army, and if the state of Chu assists Great Qin, those mountain bandits can also take the opportunity to flee to the state of Chu. Unexpectedly, the Chu army did not participate in the war, but Cheng Chan raised troops to rebel, and this battle became a civil war in Great Qin. Seeing that there was no hope of returning to Chu, the mountain bandits heard that Wang Ben would patrol along the border, so they wanted to grab a few scouts to find out the news. ”

Lu Buwei's brows stretched a little: "It seems that those mountain bandits regard Meng Tian as a horse. ”

Changpingjun added: "It's not that I want to cause chaos or robbery. ”

"It should be like this, and there has been no movement from the mountain bandits during this time." Li Xin said.

Ying Zheng nodded and said, "In this way, Meng Tian's attack was just an accident. ”

Lu Buwei shook his head and said, "Although this matter is accidental, the Yingcheng Mountain Bandits are a disaster after all, and they must find a way to eradicate them." ”

"Father Zhong, what is the attitude of the Chu State towards these remnants of the Chu army?" Ying Zheng asked.

"Although Yingcheng has been returned to Qin for many years, the state of Chu has always been obsessed, and during this period, it has also sent envoys several times to redeem Yingcheng, but several generations of the previous kings of Great Qin have never agreed. According to investigations, the court of Chu has always been in contact with those mountain bandits, but it seems that the Chu side does not really plan to let these mountain bandits return to the territory of Chu State. Li Xin said.

"This power is like a nail, nailed to the territory of my Great Qin." Lu Buwei said coldly.

Changpingjun was a little unnatural, and his voice was a little low: "What Lu Xiang said is true, but it is not true, what the Chu State has to do with the mountain bandits has not yet been determined." ”

After all, Changping Jun is a Chu person, and the remarks that are not conducive to the Chu State still have to be refuted.

Ying Zheng looked at Changpingjun and said, "As Changpingjun, it should be the most suitable to solve this matter." ”

Changping Jun arched his hand and said, "Please make it clear to the king." ”

Ying Zheng looked at Lu Buwei, and then said: "The widow thinks that for the mountain bandits, if they send troops to suppress them, it is indeed easy to have friction with the Chu State, but if they are left unchecked, it will always be a hidden danger." Therefore, the widow thinks that it is the best plan to not be strong, but also to solve the banditry. ”

"The old minister thinks so too." Lü Buwei said, "If these mountain bandits can be formally co-opted, the identity of the mountain bandits can be removed, and they can be transformed into the Qin army, then the problem will naturally be solved." ”

Li Xin shook his head and said: "I'm afraid it's not easy to do this, if they are willing to do this, I'm afraid they will have been obedient decades ago." ”

"So, the difficulty is how to subdue them." Ying Zheng looked at Changping Jun and said, "We need someone from the Chu State to carry out this matter." ”

Changping Jun couldn't hear what Yingzheng meant, and arched his hand and said: "Your Majesty, leave this matter to Weichen." ”

Lu Buwei sighed slightly, and said: "I'm afraid that this is still inappropriate, although Changping Jun is the son of Chu State, but after all, he has been in Qin State for many years, and now he is still a prime minister, but I am afraid that the persuasion is not enough, Lao Chen feels that he still needs a real Chu person to act, and this person cannot be a general." ”

Ying Zheng asked, "Changping-jun, do you have a suitable candidate?" ”

Changping Jun stood up, stroked his beard, paced a few steps, thought for a moment, and then said: "Weichen does know many Chu ministers, but if you say that the most competent, it is none other than Huainan Xiangyan. ”

"Xiang Yan?" Ying Zheng said.

In the previous conversation with Meng Tian, Ying Zheng had heard of Xiang Yan, but he deliberately showed that he didn't know.

Lu Buwei narrowed his eyes and said in a low voice: "Xiang Yan, this person, loyal and honest, and deeply trusted by the King of Chu, is a suitable candidate, but ...... Can Changping Jun be sure that Xiang Yan will definitely act according to our wishes. ”

Changping Jun said with a wry smile: "Then it depends on whether our requirements are reasonable or not, in terms of the friendship between the two of us, as long as it is reasonable and will not be unfavorable to the Chu State, then it should not be a problem." ”

Ying Zheng had actually thought of a plan a long time ago, but he still pretended to be worried, and said slowly: "The idea of the widow is to recruit these mountain bandits and form an army, which will be paid by Daqin and controlled by Changping Jun, and its nature is also Changping Jun's private soldiers, and the name can be called the Western Chu Army, and this Western Chu Army is the barrier between Qin and Chu, to ensure that the two countries do not violate each other." ”

Changping Jun listened very carefully, Ying Zheng's plan, he was the biggest beneficiary.

"Although the king's plan is good, it is difficult to guarantee that the mountain bandits will not secretly retreat to the Chu realm." Lü Buwei said, "The old minister feels that it seems that this weight is still not enough. ”

"What does Lu Xiangbang propose?" Changpingjun asked.

Lu Buwei took a breath before he said, "The old minister thinks that why don't the king take advantage of this big wedding to create some weights." ”

"That's right." Ying Zheng patted his thigh and said, "This time Nansu is pregnant, and the widow has not rewarded her yet, so it is better to send this news to Shouchun, send more silver taels and porcelain, and canonize Nansu as a concubine first, at least one level higher than the princess of other countries." ”

"In this case, there must be almost enough chips." Lu Buwei said.

Li Xin touched his head and asked with some doubts: "Weichen doesn't understand, why does the king have to spend so much effort to let those mountain bandits return to the Chu realm, wouldn't it be better?" ”

Ying Zheng shook his head and explained, "That's different. If the current mountain bandits are those routs who had just captured Yingcheng, it is understandable that they will naturally flee to the Chu realm. However, these current mountain bandits are Qin people who were born in the Qin realm, if they are allowed to go to the Chu realm, won't it make people laugh, it will not only increase the morale of the Chu country, but also give the Chu army more strength, you say, how can you let these mountain bandits retreat to the Chu realm? ”

Li Xin suddenly realized, and muttered: "That's really the case, it seems that you really can't simply deal with this matter." ”

"Therefore, the king's plan is the most appropriate way to deal with it." Lu Buwei nodded slightly.

Changpingjun also nodded again and again.

Ying Zheng looked at Changping Jun and said, "If you agree, then it's decided, but I don't know if Xiang Yan will agree to come forward." ”

"This matter, leave it to Weichen, after all, this is a matter that is beneficial to the two countries, and it can also restore the identity of those mountain bandits, and change from bandits to soldiers, presumably those mountain bandits will also be willing." After going back, Weichen gave Xiang Yanxiu a letter. Chang Pingjun said.

"Then it's settled." Ying Zheng slapped the table and said solemnly.

The big thing has been decided, and several people are much more relaxed.

Li Xin took out a brocade box from his arms and said with a grin: "Your Majesty, a congratulatory gift for the wedding." ”