Xianyang.

The King of Qin sat on the throne and was in a pretty happy mood.

Perhaps it was because Wei Ran was restrained after getting Tao County, or perhaps it was because the Empress Dowager was somewhat disgusted with the act of always exploiting her son. In short, a new consensus has been reached now, that is, Yiqu State will no longer exist, and the land of Yiqu County obtained from Zhao State was granted the territory of Yiqujun.

Needless to say, this so-called Yiqujun is naturally the eldest son of the Empress Dowager and the Dead King Yiqu.

The King of Qin doesn't care about this. After all, there are so many lords and lords from Jingyang, Gaoling, Ranghou, Xincheng, and so many lords from Yiqujun.

The King of Qin even made a promise to the Queen Mother. After the Queen Mother's youngest son, the half-brother of the King of Qin, had his hair tied, the King of Qin would also give him a vassal.

The fiefdom is not a few hundred years ago. The fiefdoms are no longer considered private kingdoms by the fiefdoms. The prime ministers and officials in the fiefdoms are all appointed by the central government of the Qin State, and the fiefdoms are just nominal leaders.

The only exception may be Wei Ran. The officials sent to Tao County are basically from Wei Ran's faction, but the entire Tao County has become Wei Ran's private kingdom in a sense.

But...so what?

Can a mere Tao County still be independent of the existence of the Qin Dynasty? Without the support of the Qin Dynasty, Tao County will be taken back by Wei, Chu, Zhao and even Qi in minutes.

The King of Qin coughed and said, "By the way, how is the war between Zhao State's attack on Qi going on now?"

It is now the autumn harvest time, and the Qin army led by Bai Qi has long returned to Guanzhong and disbanded. The old Qin people who wield swords and killed the Qi people so much that they screamed are now working hard on the golden fertile field in Guanzhong. A part of the food they harvest will be handed over to the government as a guarantee for the Qin Dynasty to continue to fight the world next year.

So the King of Qin is quite relaxed now, after all, all the benefits of Qin have been harvested.

Wei Ran replied: "Return to the king, Zhao State is still besieging Linzi. Master Zhao's father has increased his troops to 200,000, but there is still no progress in the siege for two months."

Mi Rong smiled and said, "The Linzi City is the largest city in the world. The population in the city is not one million and more than 500,000. In addition, the King of Qi has mobilized almost all the troops that can be drawn into Linzi. Now there should be about 150,000 soldiers available in Linzi City. How could the 200,000 troops of Master Zhao's father be able to break through?"

There were whispers in the hall.

Someone said: "The words of Xinchengjun are a bit too exaggerating Qi State? Although the Qi army is large, the real elite martial artists have long lost all the losses in the battle between Taoyi and Gaotang. Now Linzi City is just a group of defeated soldiers and young farmers. If they really go out of the city to fight, the Zhao army can defeat them in one fell swoop."

Mi Rong was slapped in the face on the spot and looked at the person who was talking in anger, and found that this person was no one else, but Qin general Meng Ao.

Meng Ao is a native of Qi, so logically it seems that he should stand on the side of "foreign factions of Chu" such as Wei Ran and Mi Rong. However, the fact is that Meng Ao directly stood on the side of the local faction and became the loyal support of the King of Qin.

Mi Rong has also heard some rumors recently. The Qin local faction, which had no leader due to Sima Cuo's death, seems to have strongly promoted Meng Ao's idea of ​​taking office recently, and this idea seems to have also been acquiesced by the King of Qin.

Thinking of this, Meng Ao suddenly stood up and said this today, which was a bit interesting.

In just a moment, many thoughts flashed through Mi Rong's mind, and he immediately made up his mind and a sneer appeared on his face: "What, General Meng Ao thinks that Zhao army can really conquer Linzi?"

Meng Ao smiled and said, "If you have been besieged for ten or eight years, let alone Linzi, which city in the world cannot be conquered?"

Mi Rong snorted coldly and said, "General Meng Ao, is it interesting to say such words? What I said is whether the Zhao army can conquer Linzi in the near future!"

Meng Ao curled his smile and said seriously: "I will not hide it from Xinchengjun. Meng Ao believes that the Zhao army is indeed likely to conquer Linzi in the near future."

There was a low uproar in the hall.

Mi Rong became more and more angry and said, "What, can Zhao army be a god, can we fly over the city walls of Linzi?"

Meng Ao said: "In my opinion, there are three reasons why the Zhao army was able to break the city. After the defeat of Taoyi and Gaotang, the morale of Qi was greatly lost, but the Zhao army came to take advantage of the victory. The morale gap between the two sides was huge, which is one of them. Although Qi still holds half of the territory, it has no reinforcements to help. Once the Zhao army finds a breakthrough, it has no power to resist. This is the second; Zhao's father uses troops to be smart, while Qi is quite stupid. Zhao's father can make the Zhao army stronger, while Qi can only make the Qi army weaker, which is the third. With these three, it is not impossible for Zhao to break through Linzi."

Mi Rong shook his sleeves and sneered: "No matter how stupid the King of Qi is, Qi is also Qi after all. Although he was defeated, his overlord still has his roots. If Zhao wants to go further to break through Linzi? Without the assistance of Daqin, Han and Wei, it would be impossible!"

Mi Rong's words were loud and echoed for a while.

Meng Ao sneered slightly, closed his mouth and stopped arguing.

From Meng Ao's personal perspective, he only needs to act in a stance to confront the Chu faction. As for the outcome of the remarks after the confrontation, it doesn't matter.

No one would think that Meng Ao, who had just risen, would be the opponent of the second-ranked figure of the Chu State, Xincheng Jun Mirong.

Mi Rong knew this very well, but he was still quite proud.

After all, he did win.

So he decided to say a few more words.

Mi Rong said seriously: "From the information on the front line, Zhao's continued use of troops to Linzi but failed to win the country's Mid-Autumn Festival. It is really a foolish move, and it is a good opportunity for the Qin Dynasty. By next spring, the Qin Dynasty can send troops to attack Shangjun, Hedong and other places. At that time, the main force of Zhao State is far away in Linzi and cannot return to support. Even if the hasty return, it will only cause insufficient food and the soldiers to fight thousands of miles away, and give the Qin Dynasty a chance out of thin air! By that time, the Qin Dynasty not only has the hope of reclaiming Shangjun and taking Hedong, but also forcing Zhao State to spit out the Hejian land of Qi State. In this way, the Zhao State will fight everywhere and lose troops but gain nothing. As long as the Qin State grows and falls, who else can compete with the Qin State in the world?"

Speaking of the latter, Mi Rong became more and more proud, and his fat face raised proudly, and he was full of energy, as if he was the real master of Qin.

At this moment, Wei Ran, the Marquis of Rang, suddenly coughed heavily, and Mi Rong felt relieved. He hurriedly saluted the King of Qin and sat back to his original position, staggering and almost fell.

The King of Qin frowned slightly, but he didn't say anything.

Although Mi Rong was a little proud just now, what he said was indeed the judgment of the Qin leadership.

It was precisely because of this judgment that the Qin State chose to consolidate Taoyi and then withdraw its troops after Gao Tang defeated the Qi army.

Just waiting for Zhao State to run into blood under Linzi City.

At this moment, someone suddenly spoke again.

"King, I actually think... the Zhao army is indeed possible to break through Linzi City."

There was a tranquility in the hall.

Who is so brave? Meng Ao’s past just now is still here, and he dares to stand up?

After seeing the person who was talking clearly, he even took a deep breath.

Bai Qi.

It's Bai Qi?

Even Mi Rong himself was stunned.

Bai Qi and Mi Rong are on the same side.

this……

In the hall, the whispers became louder and louder.

The King of Qin also showed an unexpected expression on his face, saying, "Daliangzao, tell me."

After returning from Taoyi, Bai Qi, who won another key victory for Qin, has been promoted to Daliangzao. Daliangzao is the sixteenth level of military merit title at the twenty-sixth level, and is already close to the top rank of the lord and marquis.

Bai Qi stood up slowly and said, "I have read a lot of information about Linzi's offensive and defense these days. With my understanding of Zhao Zhufu and Zhao's army, Linzi City... should not be so stubborn."

The Qin King said: "What does Daliang's creation mean?"

Bai Qi said: "I believe that Master Zhao's father had reservations when he attacked Linzi. Otherwise, even if the Zhao army could not capture Linzi, the State of Qi should not have allowed the entire Linzi defense line so easily."

The King of Qin understood: "You mean that the Zhao army did not do its best when attacking Linzi? Why is this?"

Bai Qi said: "I don't know. But I can feel that Master Zhao must have other plans, otherwise I wouldn't have pretended to be so powerful."

Mi Rong, who was beside him, wanted to speak several times, but was stopped by Wei Ran beside him with a wink. But when Bai Qi said this, Mi Rong couldn't help but speak.

"Daliangzao, just relying on this other plot, I think it would be too arbitrary to have the Zhao army able to conquer Linzi."

Bai Qi glanced at Mi Rong, showed a rather reluctant smile on his face, and retreated back to his seat.

That attitude is obvious - do you believe it or not?

When Mi Rong saw Bai Qi's behavior, his anger suddenly arose.

Bai Qi was afraid that he was so confused that he actually stood up to tear down my marquis at this time? So what if you are promoted to Daliang, what if I am afraid of you?

Regardless of Wei Ran's eyes being turned on the side, Mi Rong opened his mouth and was about to say a few harsh words.

It was at this moment that a loud report came from the entrance of the hall.

"King, Linzi emergency military information!"

In the hall, the Qin king and ministers were immediately shocked.

Generally speaking, only those particularly important information will directly report to the palace on such occasions.

In other words, Linzi must have decided the winner.

Is Zhao withdrawing troops or...

Just as many Qin ministers were guessing, the King of Qin had already read the emergency military situation and slapped the thin wooden slip on the table with a bang, looking ugly.

"Linzi, was captured by the Zhao people. King Qi... was also captured by the Zhao people."

The whole hall was in an uproar.

Mi Rong's body shook violently, his face turned pale, and he kept saying, "How is this possible?"

Beside Mi Rong, Wei Ran also showed an unexpected expression, but was not much shocked. He glanced at Mi Rong, with a meaningful look in his eyes.

Many eyes were turned to Bai Qi, and Bai Qi was expressionless and sat there like a sculpture.

The good mood of the King of Qin completely disappeared.

The State of Zhao conquered Linzi, which was not just the ownership of a city.

As the capital, Linzi was already the last line of defense for the Qi people after two consecutive defeats in Qi.

But now, this last line of defense has also been broken.

Even the King of Qi fell into the hands of the people of Zhao!

Qi State...

The King of Qin suddenly spoke in a deep voice: "Bai Qi!"

The whole palace was silent, but Bai Qi stood up alone: ​​"I am here."

The King of Qin stared at Bai Qi and said in a deep voice: "Tell me, how will the situation in the next battle develop?"

Bai Qi hesitated for a moment and said, "Master, can I take a look at the military information?"

The King of Qin nodded and signaled the temple man beside him to hand over the military intelligence to Bai Qi.

This military situation is actually very simple, just a sentence written: "Several families in Linzi City rebelled, Zhao's father defeated the city from inside and outside, and the King of Qi and the ministers were captured."

Twenty-five words, squeezed and filled with a long wooden slip.

Bai Qi pondered for a moment and put down the wooden slip.

"King, if what I expected is right, Zhao's goal is not to conquer Linzi, but to annex Qi!"

Bai Qi finished speaking, and the palace was filled with an uproar, and everyone's eardrums filled with exclamations.

Even the King of Qin inevitably changed his face: "How is this... possible?"

Bai Qi looked as usual and said, "King, if the minister is in the position of Master Zhao, he will definitely do this. The main force of the Qi army was completely destroyed, Linzi was captured, and the King of Qi and the ministers were captured. Although the Qi State has half of the land left, it has no defensive power at all. If the ministers are asked to lead the troops, it will be faster, it will be slower for several months and slower for two or three years. It will definitely be able to pacify the entire territory of Qi State in one fell swoop and collect all the land and subjects of Qi State."

A silence.

All the Qin monarchs and ministers in the hall looked extremely ugly.

Of course everyone understands Bai Qi's words.

Now Zhao Zhufu, who is leading the army, has defeated Kuang Zhang, the former world's number one general, head-on.

Since Bai Qi can do it, then the Lord and Father can do it naturally.

In other words, Zhao State... may really march all the way and annex Qi State!

This... is too incredible!

Qi State is not a small country like Song State, but a big country with the largest population in the world and the strongest national strength before the war began.

Who would have thought of annexing the world's strongest overlord in one battle?

The King of Qin slapped the table with a fierce punch.

"What a master Zhao's father, what a Zhao State!"

At this time, the King of Qin had certainly come to his senses.

The people of Zhao must have planned a long time ago!

Originally, I thought that Zhao State had increased its troops to conquer Linzi, but now it seems that the people of Zhao State were simply aiming to annex Qi State from the beginning.

"The people of Zhao must never be allowed to succeed!" The King of Qin roared: "I and Daqin... I must not be allowed to do this!"

Zhao was originally the second and third-level power in the world. If Zhao swallowed up most of the overlord Qi, who else in the world could resist Zhao in the future?

The King of Qin looked at Bai Qi and said coldly: "General Bai Qi, I am ready to ask you to send troops to the Central Plains immediately to delay Zhao's march. What do you think?"

This matter has already involved the fundamental interests of Qin. Under such circumstances, the King of Qin did not care about factional disputes.

Bai Qi thought for a while and said, "Master, you can't send troops now."

The King of Qin said annoyedly: "Why can't it?"

Bai Qi said: "Have you forgotten the distance between Guanzhong and Qi? When I gathered my troops and arrived in Taoyi, winter would come. At that time, how can I stop the Zhao army? Besides, if I send troops directly, how can I solve the problem of food and grass logistics?"

The King of Qin was stunned.

Bai Qi was actually right. First of all, it took at least ten days and half a month to gather troops, and it took at least one month to get to Taoyi. After a while, one and a half months passed.

From Taoyi to the east is the Zhao State occupied area. The Qin army had to break through dozens of cities occupied by Zhao State to reach Linzi. This was an impossible task before winter came.

This does not include the internal affairs of sending troops immediately, which will greatly affect the autumn harvest, the diplomatic issues of whether Han and Wei will let the Qin army pass through, and the logistics supply issues after the Qin army traveled thousands of miles away - this time, no Zhao people were used as nurses for the Qin army.

In short, it's just three words, which is unrealistic.

The King of Qin knocked on the table with great reluctance and said, "Is there no other way?"

Bai Qi shook his head and said, "I think that even if I have to send troops, it will be at least not until next spring."

The King of Qin asked again: "So in your opinion, what will happen to the war in Qi State next spring?"

Bai Qi said: "If the people of Zhao had really planned for a long time, they would definitely not care about casualties and would continue to attack Qi even in winter. In this way, after the autumn and winter war, I dare not make a conclusion on how much territory the Qi can have left."

King Qin: “…”

At this moment, the King of Qin felt a deep sense of helplessness.

He suddenly felt that from beginning to end, it was very likely that someone deliberately guided the situation to this point step by step.

This damn Master Zhao’s father...is not right, it’s not Master Zhao’s father.

The young figure flashed through the mind of King Qin.
Chapter completed!