Chapter 354: Your Majesty, Concubine Chu wants to kill Lord Chariot Commander!
Chang'an Jun Mansion, beside the pond.
In broad daylight, tobacco is rising.
There was a straight spear on the burning bonfire, with a lamb skewered on the spear. The fat that kept dripping onto the flames made the flames flicker.
The aroma of lamb slowly spread and penetrated into the noses of the two people present.
Even though he was wearing casual clothes, he couldn't hide his luxurious aura and the power of the First Emperor.
Lian Po, a general of the Qin State, has strong muscles, white hair, and a face covered with deep wrinkles. He looks old but has a rosy complexion and is in excellent spirits.
The First Emperor personally opened a jar of wine, removed the cork, and filled the cup for the only remaining famous general in the world.
"How is the national commander these days? Is it better to serve Zhao or Qin?"
The First Emperor did not like drinking, but the old man in front of him and the matter he wanted to entrust to him were worthy of him making an exception and drinking a glass of fine wine.
"The King of Qin is stronger than the King of Zhao."
Lian Po's voice was sonorous and whenever he spoke it sounded as if he was about to start a fight, and the sound was like the firmament of metal and stone.
He raised the wine jar and lowered his hand slightly towards the First Emperor as a sign of respect, then when it touched his lips, he drank it all in one gulp.
"I see that the state commander is not sincere in what he says and does not mean, otherwise why would he be so bitter?"
The First Emperor held the wine jar and asked with a smile, saying that he did not drink with Lian Po.
"This wine is very bitter!"
Lian Po put down the wine jar and did not look into the eyes of the First Emperor.
The First Emperor raised the cup to drink. The clear wine was full of sweetness in his mouth, swirling in his mouth like a piece of maltose, without any bitterness at all.
The First Emperor smacked his lips, a look of pain appeared on his face, and he said:
“I’ve never drunk anything so bitter.”
The old man was startled and wanted to look up, but he immediately suppressed the urge to look at the Emperor's expression, closed his eyes and said in a deep voice:
"…Thank you, Your Majesty."
"As the lieutenant of the Qin State, you are always gossiped about because you have a high position but no title. What title do you want? Can you be a king like that boy? Believe in Lord Ping?"
"His Majesty."
The old man looked up, his eyes filled with hatred and grief.
There was a creaking sound, and the bronze wine jar in his hand was squeezed shut and twisted together, leaving no trace of a jar.
"I only know how to attack cities and fight in the field, but I am not good at talking. What is the purpose of calling me here today? Please speak quickly!"
The old man’s title in Zhao State was Lord Xinping.
The First Emperor put away his smile and sat upright with a solemn expression.
"I heard that when you were in Chu, the king of Chu treated you well. He not only appointed you as a general, but also gave you money and beautiful women. However, you did not help the king of Chu to establish meritorious service and expand the territory of Chu. You even said in private, 'I want to employ people from Zhao'.
"How can I trust you completely if you do this?"
The old general remained silent, his chest heaving violently. There was a fire in his chest that needed wine to extinguish.
Without the wine bottle, he lifted the wine jar and poured it into his mouth in big gulps.
The clear wine wet the old general's beard, and the gulping sound concealed the old general's emotions.
The First Emperor took out his dagger, cut off the lamb thigh that had just been grilled on his spear, placed it on a porcelain plate on the table, and continued:
"You attacked Lecheng, rebelled against Zhao and fled to Wei..."
"I have not betrayed Zhao!"
The old general smashed the wine jar and roared, the sound was so loud that the clear wine left in the bottom of the Emperor's wine jar started to ripple.
"The King of Zhao listened to Guo Kai's slander and sent Le Cheng to replace me and seize my military power!"
"so."
The First Emperor picked up a piece of mutton with a dagger, put it into his mouth, and said slowly:
"You should lead your troops to attack Le Cheng who is rebelling, and flee Zhao with your troops to Wei."
"I said, I never betrayed Zhao!"
The old general's face was red and his neck was thick, and the blue veins on his neck looked like big green earthworms.
"Po betrayed Zhao and entered Wei, bringing only his personal soldiers with him.
"If Po really wants to rebel against Zhao, Po can lead 100,000 Zhao troops into Wei!"
The First Emperor smiled.
"In my opinion, the national commander cannot command 100,000 Zhao troops, right?
"The 100,000 Zhao soldiers all have wives, children and parents, and they don't want to follow you in treason and be torn apart, so you have no choice but to lead your own army into Wei."
The old general was panting heavily, his eyes full of murderous intent, as if he could strike at the First Emperor at any time.
Screaming
The clear sound of a sword outside the courtyard caused the old general, who was surrounded by murderous aura, to look towards the gate.
The swordsman Gai Nie was just outside the door, but he couldn't hurt the First Emperor at all.
"Damn it!"
The old general suddenly raised his huge fist and smashed it at the First Emperor. His bulging muscles seemed to be about to burst through his clothes.
Bang!
The gate of the courtyard was broken open violently.
A man in white was like a ghost, passing by in the blink of an eye. As long as the First Emperor retreated a little, he would be able to block his way.
The First Emperor bounced up like a spring, but instead of retreating to avoid the attack, he moved his legs forward and backward in a lunge, twisted his waist, used his waist strength to drive his right arm, and punched out.
The two men collided with fists and head-on attacks.
There was only a dull sound, and the two of them separated immediately.
The veteran turned his wrist and moved his broken fist, trying to attack again.
In front of him, Gai Nie, who was wearing white clothes as white as snow and with fluttering black hair, held a long sword at an angle, and the sharp sword energy made him stop.
The First Emperor put his hands behind his back, held his head high and puffed out his chest, looking full of vigor, as if he was the winner of the previous boxing match.
If someone could see behind him at this time that his left hand was gently rubbing his right fist, they would know that the First Emperor did not gain much advantage just now.
The severe pain in his right hand eased a little, and the First Emperor sat down again, picked up the empty wine jar, and handed it to Gai Nie who rushed in to rescue him as if nothing had happened.
"Get a jug of wine."
"only."
Gai Nie put away his sword, took the jar of wine and left, with a blank expression on his face the whole time.
The First Emperor stretched out his hand and asked Lian Po to sit down, as if the person Lian Po wanted to hit was not him.
"sit."
Lian Po stared at the First Emperor with hatred , without saying a word or taking any action.
"Is the captain angry and embarrassed?"
The First Emperor cut off a small piece of lamb, put it into his mouth and chewed it carefully.
"Isn't what I said the truth?
"The difference between you and Lord Wu'an of Zhao is that Li Mu was betrayed by Zhao, but you, Lian Po, betrayed Zhao too."
Lian Po's fists and fingers were clenching with a crackling sound, and he was about to launch a second attack.
The First Emperor, with his head lowered, seemed to have eyes behind his head and knew that Lian Po had an unstable temperament.
"That idiot once said: 'The truth does not lie in the loudness of the voice.' If you disagree with what I say, you can just tell me the truth."
The old general still had a grim expression on his face and stood straight, but the internal force accumulated in his body slowly dissipated. He spoke word by word in a sonorous and powerful voice:
"In the Battle of Changping, I defended the city with great strength and resisted the Qin army for three years. The king accused me of being cowardly and replaced my general with Zhao Kuo before the battle. Four hundred thousand men were buried by that butcher! In such a big country like Zhao, only a few thousand men could survive. Zhao was devastated!
"I often think about it. If I had not handed over the military power to Zhao Kuo, would everything have been different? I don't believe that the butcher Bai Qi could have captured 400,000 Zhao soldiers in front of Po's eyes!"
Lian Po's eyes were bloodshot.
"In my first battle I attacked Qi and won a great victory. I captured Jinyang and returned. When other states heard of my name Lian Po, they all praised my courage. The King of Zhao said that I had no courage and dared not attack but only take a defensive stance.
"I was so angry that I almost went crazy. Zhao Kuo said nothing when he came to me. I handed over 400,000 soldiers and horses to him and returned.
"I often regret that if I could be like Prime Minister Lin, who ignored fame and put the overall situation first, how could the State of Zhao end up in such a situation?
"The Battle of Changping was the fault of Zhao Kuo and Lian Po!"
During the Battle of Changping, Bai Qi heard that the commander of the Zhao army was Lian Po, and felt it would be difficult to conquer, so he did not invade.
It was not until the King of Zhao replaced Lian Po with Zhao Kuo before the battle that Bai Qi secretly sneaked into Changping to take command, launching the famous Battle of Changping and burying alive 400,000 Zhao soldiers.
"Since then, I have known that military affairs should not be handled on impulse, and should not be carried out entirely according to the king's orders.
"Since then, I have been ready to fight day and night, preparing for the military development of Zhao State, waiting for the day when I can redeem the sin of Changping.
"However, Guo Kai is a treacherous villain who has deceived the King of Zhao into taking away my military power and replacing me. My retainers have betrayed me, and the King of Zhao has already prepared to behead me in Handan.
"My death is not a pity, what has Zhao done wrong? With treacherous ministers in power, I cannot be so loyal as to repeat the mistakes of Changping. So I beat the music to show that although I am old, I am still sharp! I fled to Wei and left my troops with Zhao.
"Guo Kai is a villain, using one trick to do two things at once. He sent someone to exchange for Wu Anjun and asked him to hand over his troops. Wu Anjun followed his orders, but what was his fate? If it weren't for the king's rescue, he would have been a pile of dirt!"
The veteran is upright.
"It is not that I, Lian Po, betrayed Zhao. I left Zhao and waited for the right time to act! Regardless of whether Lian Po lives in Wei or Chu, I only want to employ Zhao people!"
The First Emperor picked up the roasted leg of lamb and tore into the golden and greasy lamb meat.
"When I attacked Zhao, Zhao had no great generals. Zhao Qian even stopped defending the Great Wall and summoned General Li Mu, who was guarding the border, back to Handan. Since you were waiting for the right time to act, why didn't you return to Zhao and serve the country then?"
Hearing this, Lian Po's eyes became even angrier, and the strong, unresolvable hatred seemed to be about to overflow.
"Guo Kai!"
He said this with gnashing teeth, as if Guo Kai was right between his teeth, being eaten alive by him.
"When I was in Wei, the king sent an envoy to visit me and see if I could fight.
"I was very happy. I ate one bushel of rice and ten catties of meat, and put on heavy armor and mounted my horse to charge. The envoys watched and praised me for not being old.
"I gave the messenger fifty gold coins, hoping that he would tell the truth. The messenger readily agreed. But who would have thought that the messenger was a double-faced traitor and was actually the confidant of Guo Kai.
"After returning to Handan, I told the king that I had a good appetite and falsely accused him of going to the toilet three times during one meal , so that the king would think that Lian Po was old and would not be used again. I was simply not a good son!"
When the First Emperor heard this, he couldn't help laughing when he thought that if Guo Kai had not killed two great generals of Zhao State - Lian Po and Li Mu, even if Qin State could conquer Zhao State, it would no longer have the strength to march east to unify the world.
【May God bless the Qin Dynasty. 】
"Hahaha."
"What are you laughing at?"
Lian Po had a bad look on his face as he stared at the First Emperor's expression, and his clenched fist seemed like it would hit the First Emperor's face in the next breath.
Just then, Gai Nie came back with a pot of wine, put down the pot and stood in front of the First Emperor.
But Lian Po still couldn't explain clearly what Nai Gong meant by "I'm going to kill you".
"I laugh at the lieutenant. He is over 90 years old now. He was at least 80 years old ten years ago. It is not easy for him to run and move at such an age. Eating 10 kilograms of meat is really a joke."
Lian Po opened his eyes angrily.
He sat on the ground, tearing the mutton with his big, calloused hands, eating it in big mouthfuls, not afraid of the heat.
He choked a little because he ate too quickly, so he used the wine that Gai Nie brought to smooth his throat and blew it into the spout of the pot.
An hour later, the whole lamb was almost eaten, except for a lamb leg and a few pieces of mutton that were eaten by the First Emperor, the rest went into Lian Po's stomach.
Although this lamb is not big, it has more than ten kilograms of meat.
The old general glared at the First Emperor and slammed the table.
"Is it credible?"
"color!"
The First Emperor's eyes sparkled with excitement and he clapped his hands in approval.
"The national commander's sword is still sharp. After I leave, except for the city defense troops under the command of Meng Yi, all the troops will be mobilized by the national commander. I will hand Xianyang over to the national commander."
Lian Po's eyes widened even wider than before. He was unable to react to the sudden change of the First Emperor.
"People are eager to go east, passing Zhao and Wei, and going to the complicated Chu and Qi on the coast of the East China Sea to take a look."
The First Emperor stood up and looked towards the east.
"This world belongs to the Qin Dynasty. There are too many remnants of the six kingdoms, rats in the gutter, and people with ulterior motives. The last war did not eliminate the troubles, this time I will suppress them all!
"I live in Xianyang, they dare not come, they know they are sending themselves to death. Then I will go among them and give them a chance. I want to see who dares to disrupt my Great Qin!"
When he could enjoy himself peacefully in the Six Kings' Palace, eating delicacies offered from all over the country every day, and fully enjoying the fruits of being the victor of unifying the world.
The First Emperor did not rest on his laurels, but instead followed the ancient sage kings' routine of inspecting the borders, embarking on a patrol tour where he could be assassinated at any time.
Lian Po was greatly shocked, thinking that if there was a king of Zhao like this, how could the State of Zhao be in this state.
"Your Majesty, can you trust me?"
He asked, showing his big belly, there were ten pounds of mutton in it.
"If Cheng Jiao can trust you, then I can trust you too. I offended you today, firstly to see the general's character, and secondly, I want to know if the old general can still fight."
The old general lowered his head and slammed the table angrily.
"I'm not full yet, give me another sheep!"
Lian Po is old, but he can still eat!
"Hahahaha, the general is brave!"
The First Emperor laughed heartily.
When another lamb was roasted on the spear and was about to be eaten.
Zhang Han, with a skull decoration on his chest armor, suddenly entered.
"Your Majesty! Concubine Chu and the Queen are fighting!"
The First Emperor, who was chatting and laughing, suddenly became cloudy and cursed.
"Return to the palace!"
[The Lord's sister...]
The old general Lian Po narrowed his eyes, dropped the leg of lamb in his hand and returned to the National Guard's Office after the First Emperor left.
The royal carriage drawn by four horses was speeding along the central road in Xianyang. Just when it had gone halfway, a secret guard suddenly entered and reported the latest intelligence from the Xianyang Palace with his head lowered.
"Your Majesty, Concubine Chu wants to kill Lord Chariot Commander!"
We walked for a while longer.
"Your Majesty, Concubine Chu has broken into the Jingshifang. A group of eunuchs, under the order of the Lord of the Chariot House, have already subdued Concubine Chu!"
Xianyang Palace, Jingshifang.
Concubine Chu and Ping'er had their arms tied behind their backs by a burly eunuch with great martial arts skills, and their acupoints were sealed.
Two women facing each other.
Zhao Gao bent his waist, lowered his head, and looked humble.
“I’m offended.
"I don't know why Concubine Chu wants to take Gao's life, but she is following the order of His Majesty. If that's the case, Concubine Chu doesn't need to do anything, Gao can come on his own."
