As Zhao Zhao expected, two rumors spread in the city shortly after Song Yun said goodbye.

The first rumor was that the Song people could not bear the harsh rule of Wei and wanted to take Song County to Qi.

The second rumor said that the prime minister of Qi Zhao Zhao was the prince of Wei and did not want the interests of his mother country to be harmed, so he rejected the intention of the Song people to offer Song County.

These two rumors were circulating in Linzi, the capital of the Qi king, and they argued endlessly: those who had seen the left prime minister Zhao Zhao patted their chests and thought that he was a respectable gentleman; those who had never seen Zhao Zhao were suspicious of Zhao Zhao because they believed the rumors.

During this period, there were also some Qi people who were dissatisfied with Zhao Zhao, who were behind the scenes and pushed Zhao Zhao to the forefront.

In this case, even Zhao Zhao could only be idle in the mansion with illness.

On the second day after Zhao Zhao was ill, in Linzi Palace, a young master Bai, who is now the King of Qi, sent an eunuch to invite Zhao Zhao to secretly enter the palace.

Zhao Zhao did not refuse. Under the cover of those eunuchs, he called the king's chariot and entered the Linzi Palace.

When Zhao Zhao arrived at the main hall of the palace, King Lu Bai of Qi was sitting in the upper seat and chatting with several ministers in the hall.

Zhao Zhao is very familiar with these ministers, after all, they are all important officials in front of the throne of King Lu Bai of Qi.

"Haha, Brother Shang is here."

Seeing Zhao Zhao stepping into the hall, King Lu Bai of Qi smiled and said.

Although he was the king of Qi, Lu Bai is still only a young man who is nearly sixteen or seventeen years old. He has not yet developed the power as his father, King Lu Xi of Qi, and has a cheerful personality. If he took off his robe, no one would believe that this is the king of Qi now.

Facing the frivolous greetings of King Lu Bai of Qi, Zhao Zhao did not neglect at all. He walked steadily to the center of the hall and respectfully said, "My minister Zhao Zhao, pay homage to the king."

In fact, at this moment, King Lu Bai of Qi had already learned about the two rumors that were circulating in Linzi City. Today, it was because of this incident that Zhao Zhao's brother-in-law was summoned to the palace. Originally, he took the opportunity to tease the brother-in-law a few words, but when he saw the brother-in-law's expressionless face, he was a little scared.

It's no wonder. After all, since King Lu Xi of Qi betrothed his daughter Lai Ji to Zhao Zhao eight years ago, the former called the youngest son who had learned his son-in-law, who is now sitting in the main seat. After eight years of getting along, Lu Bai has already figured out the character of this brother-in-law.

As long as the matter of principle is not involved or major issues are not involved, this brother-in-law is easy to talk to. Even when the two first met, the young master Bai, who was still quite naughty at that time, deliberately teased Zhao Zhao, causing Zhao Zhao to be poured into a basin of water for no reason, but the latter was still not angry.

Lu Bai still remembers that Zhao Zhao, who was soaked in a rooster at that time, wiping the water from his face with his sleeves, tidying up his clothes as if nothing had happened, and still greeted him gentlely.

At that time, Lu Bai was stunned. He had never seen anyone who was still so elegant after being poured into a basin of water, which even made him secretly regret his behavior.

Of course, this is the "good" side of this brother-in-law. When talking about "evil", when thinking about countless days and nights, when recalling the brother-in-law urging him to study with a smile, he hated him for a while. For a while, he firmly believed that this seemingly kind and elegant brother-in-law definitely hated the experience of their first meeting, so he was extremely strict with him in his studies.

What made Lu Bai feel desperate was that he once wanted to be his brother-in-law to make a fool of himself, but unfortunately no matter what tricky questions he racked his brains to come up with, the brother-in-law who taught him his studies always gave the answer calmly. Even if the other teachers helped Lu Bai privately, they could not stump his brother-in-law.

Later, Lu Bai realized that there was really a talented person in this world who could never forget the same kind of talent, and his brother-in-law was the best among them. No, it should be said that he was a talent that was rare in a century!

Before meeting this brother-in-law, he had never heard of one person playing eight games at the same time with eight people, and he could defeat the eight opponents one by one, and even the speed of making moves was so fast that the eight opponents could not keep up with the speed.

When he thought of such a stunning talent tied to the chariot of Qi by his father, Lu Bai was impressed by his father's ability to read people.

"Brother Shang, please sit down." King Lu Bai of Qi pointed to the chief on the east side.

"Thank you, the king." Zhao Zhao bowed and thanked him, then walked to his seat, knelt down.

At this time, he looked around and looked at the familiar colleagues sitting in the hall.

At the lower head of Zhao Zhao, the right prime minister Tian Huo of Qi was sitting.

Tian Hui is the only minister in the Tian family in Linzi who stayed in the temple. Although he is currently in civil service, this tall man nearly nine feet tall is actually both civil and military. He can even handle state affairs and fight against the south and south. It is precisely because of this that Tian Hui is called one of the "Five Tigers of the Tian family".

Since the "Princes of the Princes" quelled, Tian Hui replaced the former right prime minister of Qi, "Tian Haru", the "Haihama Tian clan", and became the right prime minister of Qi.

In the Qi court, Zhao Zhao and Tian Hui had the best relationship with each other, so when Zhao Zhao approached, Tian Hui still greeted him with a smile.

At this time, opposite Zhao Zhao, there was a minister nearly nine feet tall. The minister had an incredible identity. He was a descendant of the "Gao clan of Jiang's surname" in Qi State, "Gao Ji".

After a few generations, Gao Ji's ancestor was the son of the previous King of Qi. Later, because of his fief, he was granted the title of Gao Yi, so he was renamed Gao.

In the Wei State, Gao Li was equivalent to the treatment of several hereditary princes, including King Zhao Shen of Chengling. The only difference is that Gao Li was more talented and capable than King Zhao Shen of Chengling, King Zhao Kai of Yuanyang, and others. He was the right-hand man of the former king Lu Xi, and was ranked as the Supreme Lord. Even Zhao Zhao and Tian Hui, who were the left and right prime ministers, had to respect him in front of this person.

I remember that the former king Lu Xi unfortunately passed away while conquering Chu State. After learning about this, the right prime minister, Tian Ke, snatched power and wanted to support the "Prince Zhu" to usurp the throne. It was Gao Jie who refused to cooperate on the grounds that "the king's will have not received the will of the king" and led the literati and officials in the palace to fight against Tian Ke.

It has to be said that compared with the scholars and servants of the State of Song, the scholars and servants of the State of Qi were simply a model of blood. When Tian Ke tried to control Linzi, the scholars and officials in the palace greeted each other with swords and led the guards and servants from various houses to fight with the rebels in person.

It is no exaggeration to say that at that time, because of Gao Jie's firm national stalemate, Zhao Zhao and Tian Hui could lead the Qi army to return to Linzi in time. Otherwise, when Tian Hui supported the princes in Linzi, he would inform the Qi State of the Kingdom of pretending to ascend the new king to the throne by King Lu Xi of Qi. Then, Zhao Zhao and Tian Hui, the important officials who were entrusted by King Lu Xi of Qi, might become traitors.

At Gao Jie's attack, there were two scholars and officials from Qi State, "Bao Shu" and "Guan Chong".

"Bao Shu" is the son of "Bao Jing", a literati of Qi State. He was originally the teacher of Prince Bai, and Zhao Zhao is not unfamiliar with it.

"Guan Chong" was originally a close minister who assisted "Gongzijiu" (not ministers, equivalent to retainers and staff). After the failure of "Gongzijiu's rebellion, Guan Chong protected Gongzijiu and fled to Lu.

Originally, King Lu Bai of Qi and Zhao Zhao mentioned Tian Hui that they wanted to kill Guan Chong, but because Bao Shu and Guan Chong met since childhood and had a tacit understanding of each other, Bao Shu tried every means to persuade King Lu Bai of Qi - mainly to persuade Zhao Zhao and Tian Hui, so Zhao Zhao learned that Guan Chong was a great sage, so he sent someone to take Guan Chong back to Linzi and persuade Lu Bai, and granted Guan Chong the position of literati and official.

Zhao Zhao, Tian Hui, Gao Ji, Bao Shu, Guan Chong, these five people are the most trusted officials of King Lu Bai of Qi in the temple.

After Zhao Zhao sat down, Gao Jie took the lead in asking: "Sir Zuo Xiang, today it was Gao who asked the king to invite you... As for what happened, I believe you can guess Zuo Xiang, so I won't ask more... What's going on in the city? "

As Gao Jie said, Zhao Zhao had long guessed the purpose of today's discussion of the monarch and ministers. Therefore, when the former asked, he was not surprised at all. He truthfully told Song Yun about visiting him to his mansion, and the fact that Song Yun personally proposed that "Song County wants to rely on the Great Qi" was also said.

After hearing Zhao Zhao's explanation, King Lu Bai of Qi immediately said, "What am I talking about? How can a gentleman like his brother-in-law meet strangers? What's more, his brother-in-law is very doting about my sister, and even if he wants to ask for my sister's opinion..."

Hearing this, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became a little awkward. As the person involved, Zhao Zhao could not hold back his gentle airs when he heard this, and couldn't help but glance at Lu Bai.

It is no wonder that most men in Qi are somewhat macho, like Zhao Zhao. Even if they take concubines in political marriages and ask their husbands for opinions, it is really unique - this is why Zhao Zhao is regarded as the "husband he always wants" by countless Qi women.

Noting the embarrassing look on Zhao Zhao's face, Tian Hui smirked a few times, then coughed, and said seriously: "What the king said is extremely true!" After that, he looked up at Gao Li, and his expression seemed to be asking: Lord Gao Li, do you have any questions?

After looking at Tian Hui, Gao Jie shook his head and said to Zhao Zhao as if he was explaining: "Sir Zuo Prime Minister, Gao is definitely not suspicious of the Left Prime Minister. What is the morality of the Left Prime Minister? Over the years, the government and the people know that I just wonder why such rumors spread in the city, and why those Song people targeted Zuo Prime Minister, so they asked the king to invite Zuo Prime Minister to the palace."

Zhao Zhao nodded and accepted Gao Ji's explanation.

After all, he has been an official in the same dynasty for seven or eight years, so Zhao Zhao of course also understands Gao Qi's personality.

How to say, Gao Qi's character and personality are quite similar to Zhao Yuanyan, the chief minister of the Wei State's clan. It is really loyal to Qi State and the royal family of the Jiang surname. It is precisely because of his loyalty that even the small possibility of "Zhao Zhao using power for personal gain" is that Gao Qi requires Zhao Zhao to explain it clearly in person.

Because of this, Gao Jie enjoyed a high prestige in the Qi court, but in private, no one was willing to interact with him - because this person was too serious.

Perhaps seeing that the atmosphere in the hall was still a little heavy, Uncle Bao calmly changed the topic: "I didn't expect that Song Yun from the Northern Bo Army would use such a low-key trick... It seems that their situation in Songland is probably not optimistic."

Speaking of this, there was a little silence in the hall.

Seeing this, Zhao Zhao knew what he had to say at this time, otherwise the conversation between the people would not be able to continue.

So he nodded and agreed, "Indeed, as far as I know, the State of Wei sent troops to attack Song. Later, because of civil strife in Wei, the Wei army withdrew troops from Song County... But a while ago, "Prince Run of Wei" took office and became the crown prince of Wei. It is not difficult to guess that the crown prince of Wei will definitely try to suppress the Northern Bo army after he took office..."

"...I am worthy of being an open-minded gentleman!"

The four ministers in the hall all secretly praised them in their hearts, because these words were really only mentioned by Zhao Zhao. If another person were suspected of questioning.

"Mr. Wei's son Run..." Gao Jie stroked his beard and pondered: "Is it the Mr. Wei who once served as the deputy general of the former king?"

When the Qi King Lu Xi organized the four countries of Qi, Lu, Wei and Yue to attack Chu, he only appointed two deputy generals. One of them was Tian Dan, the Qi general who is now guarding the border between Qi and Chu, and the other was the Prince Run of Wei, who is now the Prince of the Eastern Palace of Wei.

"That's right!" Zhao Zhao nodded and said.

"Um..." Gao Jie whispered, let out a long sigh from his nose, his face looking quite solemn.

Except for King Lu Bai of Qi, everyone present could understand Gao Qi's concerns: the speed of Wei's rise in recent years had already made Qi, the overlord of the Central Plains, feel pressure. Now, the crown prince of Wei has been brought to power by a hero like "Prince Wei" and it is not difficult to guess that Wei will become stronger and stronger at a faster speed.

After a while, Gao Jie frowned and asked, "If Wei State went to war with Chu State at this time, what would the outcome be?"

Although he didn't ask clearly, everyone knew that he was asking Zhao Zhao, so Tian Hui, Bao Shu, and Guan Chong all turned to look at Zhao Zhao.

After thinking for a while, Zhao Zhao frowned slightly and said, "Last time, the five sides attacked Wei, the second of the "Three Heavenly Pillars" of Chu, the king of Shouling Jingshe was defeated and committed suicide, and the king of Diyang Xiong Shang died in Yongqiu... On the other hand, the Wei State is now fierce generals, including the crown prince Zhao Run, the king of Nanliang Zhao Zuo, the king of Yu Zhao Qi, as well as Shaohu, Long Ji, Pang Huan, Sima An, Wei Ji, Zhai Huang, Qu Jun, etc. If Wei State starts a war with Chu, I think the odds of winning between the two sides are probably the number of June 4, Wei State six, and Chu State four."

Hearing this, the solemn expression on Gao Qi's face became even stronger, and Tian Hui couldn't help but frown.

You should know that nine years ago, the power under the command of Xiong Tuo, the Wei State almost forced the capital to move, not to mention that the Chu State had all the troops across the country. At that time, Zhao Zhao used his own hostage to ask Qi to help restrain Chu State.

After only nine years, Wei State was strong enough to compete with Chu State alone. How could this not shock everyone present?

Although Qi State once suppressed Chu State during the reign of King Lu Xi of Qi, it was just because the nobles in Chu State were uncoordinated and did not want to lose their wealth because of further war with Qi State.

After all, wars require money, and not everyone is as luxurious as King Lu Xi of Qi. He spends money to let Lu build countless war weapons. Even if these war weapons are ultimately used to recruit soldiers from Chu, they will not feel sorry for them.

Therefore, the war between Chu and Qi was not that Chu could not really defeat Qi, but the Chu people, to be precise, the nobles of Chu. They were frightened by the giant trenches of King Lu Xi of Qi who used money to make victory. They refused to use their wealth to fight against the giant trenches of King Lu Xi of Qi, and were beaten by Qi for more than 20 years.

Otherwise, for a country like Chu, which can recruit four million soldiers in an emergency, it will be able to attack Qi and Lu at all costs at the same time. To be honest, Qi's army may not be able to stop it.

What? And the army of Lu?

Does Lu State have regular troops? Isn’t that a group of engineering soldiers?

In short, if we fight to the death, Qi can only defend its territory at best, but cannot assist Lu; as for Wei? Wei, which already has an army of 300,000 to 400,000, has gradually gained the ability to fight the Chu State to the death.

The Wei infantry was originally the most powerful infantry in the world. Based on the casualties between the two sides of the "Water of Chu Yongqiu", it was only possible to exchange for one Wei infantry to death by almost ten Chu soldiers.

Under this casualty ratio, the Wei State, which had an army of 300,000 to 400,000 troops, was already qualified to fight against Chu State to destroy the country.

Of course, this is just an example. Being qualified does not mean that Wei will really do that. After all, even if Wei defeats Chu, it will be almost the same. At that time, South Korea only needs a whole army, and perhaps it will be able to take Wei and Chu into pieces.

"I didn't expect that the State of Wei was so powerful, and I, Daqi..."

Gao Jie sighed and then said seriously: "The most urgent thing is to find a way to repair diplomatic relations with Lu."

It has to be said that since the "civil strife of the princes", there have been rifts in the relationship between Qi and Lu.

The reason is that Gongzi Jiu's mother was the sister of King Lu - let's call it "Lu Ji".

In fact, as early as when King Lu Xi of Qi died outside the capital of King Shouying, King Lu Shu Pan knew that King Lu Xi of Qi was preparing to pass the throne to "Prince Bai". After all, King Lu Xi of Qi had personally instructed him before his death, begging King Lu to help Qi in the future.

The King of Lu and King Lu Xi of Qi met since childhood, and the former's throne was also obtained with the unswerving support of King Lu Xi of Qi. Therefore, the King of Lu would certainly not refuse the entrustedness of this brother on his deathbed.

Because of this, when Qi State was in a state of "civil strife", he allowed "civil strife" to ask someone to beg for help from his brother, but the King of Lu was never moved.

But in the end, when "Prince Jiu" fled to Lu State with his mother "Lu Ji", the King of Lu gave him asylum.
To be continued...