Chapter 243: Everyone disperse, Brother Zheng is about to make a big move!
King Zheng of Qin is in a very difficult situation now, with internal and external troubles.
In addition to Qin, the five countries of Yue, Wei, Chu, Yan and Qi have formed an alliance to attack Qin. Each country is mobilizing troops and sharpening their knives to kill Qin.
Within the Qin State, there was also turmoil.
In order to rule the country himself, King Zheng of Qin fought with Lady Huayang, his uncle Lu Buwei, Lao Ai, and even experienced the rebellion of his younger brother Chang'an Jun Chengjiao.
It can be described as a bloody storm.
Although the King of Qin won every time, each force still had remnants in the Qin State. In addition, some old Qin aristocratic families had doubts about the identity of the King of Qin, so there was always unrest within the Qin State.
It would be good if the Qin State won victory after victory, otherwise these scum would sink to the bottom instinctively.
But once the Qin State suffered a setback,
These people came out from the shadows again and stared at King Zheng of Qin with eager eyes.
…
Xianyang Palace, Main Hall.
The most important ministers relied upon by King Zheng of Qin, Wei Liao and Zhao Gao, were both there.
Zhao Gao's official identity is the Minister of the Imperial Chariots, but in reality he is the head of Qin's largest intelligence organization, Luowang, and has always been known as the King of the Night.
"How far has the Five Nations Alliance progressed?" The King of Qin looked at Zhao Gao.
Zhao Gao: "Your Majesty, the five countries have reached a consensus on the scale of each country's troops and formulated a general strategy to attack Qin. It is expected that the attack will be launched in the early spring of next year."
Among the five countries, Yue and Wei are fighting with all their might and will mobilize the entire country's troops.
The State of Yan agreed to send out an army of 200,000, mainly responsible for attacking the old territory of the State of Zhao from the north; the State of Qi sent out an army of 250,000, in response to the State of Yan, to attack the old territory of the State of Zhao from the south.
The State of Chu dispatched 300,000 troops to cooperate with the army of the State of Wei to attack the old territory of the State of Han.
As for the leader, Yue State,
He will lead an army of one million, pass through Jianmen Pass, and go straight to the heart of Hanzhong.
"Who will be chosen as the commander-in-chief of the allied forces?" King Qin looked solemn.
"Prime Minister of Yue, Jia Xu."
"Oh?" King Qin raised his eyebrows, "Didn't you say before that Chu wanted to gain command of the allied forces?"
"Chu originally had this intention." Zhao Gao investigated in detail, "However, Jia Xu traveled to the four countries and was praised by the kings of Wei, Yan, and Qi.
"Especially, we learned that since the rise of Yue, all the battles, big and small, were planned and dispatched by Jia Xu. In addition, Yue was the initiator of the alliance, and the three kings unanimously recommended Jia Xu to be the commander-in-chief of the alliance.
"The Chu State had no choice but to nod in agreement."
"Is that Jia Xu really that powerful?" The King of Qin asked uncertainly.
"this……"
Zhao Gao, who was very good at observing people's expressions, hesitated for a moment and said, "I am only responsible for gathering information, and it is not my job to make any comments. Everything will be left to the king to decide."
"Um."
The King of Qin nodded with satisfaction and said to himself: "He must have some means to be able to bring about the Five-Nation Alliance single-handedly." He certainly would not underestimate any enemy.
Letting Zhao Gao go, the King of Qin turned his head and looked at Wei Liao standing beside him. His eyes were deep and he said calmly, "Does the Prime Minister still insist on his previous suggestion?"
The hall fell silent in an instant.
Zhao Gao remained calm on the surface, but he was actually waiting to see the show.
Previously, after the loss of Bashu, Wei Liao had proposed a suggestion, hoping that Qin would voluntarily abandon the old lands of Han and Zhao and retreat to Hangu Pass to be on the safe side.
What they were worried about was the five countries attacking Qin.
However, the King of Qin did not listen to Wei Liao's advice, and the development of the situation actually confirmed Wei Liao's inference.
This is very intriguing.
As a king, the King of Qin would never admit his mistakes.
Wei Liaozhi felt like he was being roasted on a fire, his palms were sweating slightly, he gritted his teeth and said, "In addition to your previous suggestion, I'm afraid there is one more thing I need to do."
"What is it?"
Wei Liao: "Voluntarily give up Hanzhong."
“Prime Minister, do you know what you are talking about?” A domineering aura rose from the King of Qin and instantly filled the entire hall.
If Qin abandons the old lands of Han and Zhao, retreats to Hangu Pass, and then abandons Hanzhong, it will once again be trapped in the Guanzhong area and return to hundreds of years ago overnight.
It's simply ridiculous.
"Your Majesty!!!"
Wei Liao was also moved, and spoke earnestly: "This time the five countries are attacking Qin, it is absolutely different from the past. The King of Yue has a heart of a tiger and a wolf, and he is obviously here to destroy Qin, so we have to be cautious."
In Wei Liao's opinion, if Qin State gave up the old lands of Han and Zhao and used Hanzhong to block the greed of Yue State, it could at least still control the Guanzhong area and preserve a powerful army.
As long as the Shandong countries started internal strife due to uneven distribution of spoils, it would be the day when Qin would march eastward through Hangu Pass again.
What Qin has to do now is to endure! Endure! Endure!
A lack of patience will ruin great plans.
"You can't joke about our ancestors' country and people." Qin Wang Zheng was furious. "Prime Minister, have you ever thought about how the old nobles who lost their fiefs and the soldiers who were just granted fiefs in the old lands of Han and Zhao would react if I issued such an order? Hmm?"
The Qin State rose to power through the granting of titles based on military merit, but was also trapped by this.
Every time a war was fought, a large amount of land was plundered, but a new group of nobles would also appear, waiting to get a piece of the pie and dig up a handful of soil.
In order to have enough land to reward, the State of Qin had to expand outward again and again.
If we really have to give up a lot of land at once,
For the current Qin State, that would be tantamount to digging its own grave.
As prime minister, Wei Liao could certainly consider the issue with the utmost rationality, but as the king of Qin, Qin Shi Huangdi would never dare to take such a risk.
If it were five years later, the King of Qin might have had such courage.
Just for now,
King Zheng of Qin had just taken power and his foundation was not yet very solid, so he would never dare to gamble with the throne.
To fulfill the expectations of the ambitious.
Wei Liao's judgment of the current situation may be very accurate, but he still lacks the strategic vision to control the domestic and international situations at the same time. He only knows how to focus on one point without taking the overall situation into consideration.
war,
It is never about war itself, it is also an extension .
Wei Liao sighed inwardly, bowed deeply, and said, "If that's the case, then I suggest that we give up Hanzhong, concentrate all our superior forces, and fight the allied forces of Qi, Chu, Yan, and Wei with all our might."
"Why is that?"
The King of Qin was puzzled. "Didn't the Prime Minister say that Yue was the biggest threat? Why didn't he concentrate his forces to fight Yue? Instead, he ignored Yue."
"The Kingdom of Yue has strong soldiers and horses, and it occupies strategic locations such as Jianmen Pass. The Hanzhong Plain has a wide terrain, which is suitable for the deployment of a large army. If we choose to fight the Kingdom of Yue in Hanzhong, how many troops , 400,000, 500,000, or 600,000?" Wei Liao remained calm.
King Zheng of Qin remained silent.
Before the Battle of Bashu, if Wei Liao had said this, the King of Qin might not have believed it.
Although the Battle of Bashu was launched by the State of Yue, they actually encircled and wiped out 150,000 , and also defeated Bai Qi's 100,000-strong army.
If anyone still despises the State of Yue, it would be extremely foolish.
"Once a large number of troops are deployed in Hanzhong, the main battlefield of Wei State will inevitably be short of troops, and it will be unable to cope with the coalition forces of Qi, Chu, Yan and Wei. The result of fighting on two fronts will be failure on both fronts, which will lead to a total loss. Not only will Hanzhong be lost, but the allied forces will also drive us to Hangu Pass." Wei Liao said the worst outcome.
He guessed,
This should be the purpose of Yue State taking the lead among the five countries.
Occupying Hanzhong was only a secondary purpose of the State of Yue. The real purpose was probably to use the hands of Qi, Chu, Yan and Wei to consume the Qin army and weaken Qin's strength.
When the Qin State becomes weak, the vicious wolf of Yue State will truly reveal its greedy fangs.
The King of Qin had a gloomy expression.
Wei Liao pretended not to see it and said to himself: "On the contrary, as long as Hanzhong is abandoned. Hanzhong and Guanzhong are separated by the rolling Qinling Mountains. We only need to deploy 100,000 troops and occupy several narrow strategic roads to stop the million-strong army of Yue.
"By then, we can deploy the main force of the army on the main battlefield and engage in a head-on confrontation with the coalition forces of Qi, Chu, Yan and Wei, or even defeat them one by one to gain the initiative on the battlefield."
A glimmer of light finally flashed in the King of Qin's eyes, and he signaled Wei Liao to continue.
Zhao Gao was also fascinated by what he heard.
"Compared to the vicious wolf of Yue, Qi, Chu, Yan and Wei are just paper tigers. Once the front line is frustrated, the King of Qi, the King of Yan, the King of Chu and their ilk will think of becoming turtles again.
“When that time comes, Luowang will spread the news that Qin has reached a private agreement to exchange the land of Hanzhong for Yue’s non-aggression.
"Your Majesty, think about it. What will the four countries of Qi, Chu, Yan and Wei feel when they get the news?" At this time, Wei Liao was like a devil who manipulated people's hearts.
The King of Qin looked at him with a burning gaze.
Zhao Gao saw this and said humorously: "Of course they will abandon the alliance and withdraw their troops back to their own countries."
"That's right."
Wei Liao nodded and said sincerely: "Your Majesty, this should be the last time the five countries form an alliance. Once it is disintegrated, it will consume the last bit of energy of the three countries of Qi, Chu and Yan. In the future, I am afraid that they will no longer have the courage to form an alliance.
"Moreover, after this incident, other countries will probably be more wary and cautious of Yue. Even if Jia Xu speaks eloquently, I'm afraid he won't be able to stage the good show of the coalition again.
"When this crisis is over and Qin recovers, then whether to continue to destroy Wei or to attack Yue with all your strength will all depend on your Majesty's determination, and no one will be able to stop you."
"The Prime Minister is right." King Zheng of Qin finally nodded.
Get up,
Walking back and forth in the hall, it was obvious that he still had some concerns and it was really difficult to make a decision.
After the loss of Bashu, there was chaos within the Qin State. The old noble families who had fiefdoms in Shu made a big fuss several times, and the aftermath is still continuing to this day.
Now they are giving up Hanzhong, which is really challenging the patience of the old aristocratic families.
If one thing goes wrong, something big will happen.
But just as Wei Liao said, this time the five countries attacked Qin with a fierce force, which was absolutely different from the past. If they did not handle it well, Qin might fall into an irretrievable situation.
Choose the lesser of two evils.
Rather than losing both places in the end, it is better to give up Hanzhong voluntarily to preserve the old territory of Han and Zhao.
Sacrifice the rook to save the king, give up the small to gain the big.
Finally, Qin Wang Zheng made up his mind, stood on the stage, with his back straight and his eyes burning, and said in a deep voice: "Okay, let's do it according to the Prime Minister's order."
"Your Majesty is wise!"
Wei Liao and Zhao Gao saluted together.
