I won't let the king succeed

Over there, after Li Mu returned to the court and finished handling the military affairs, he went to visit the Prince's Mansion.Entering the lobby, Pingyuan Lord Zhao Sheng, General Sima Shang, and General Meng Le were already waiting there.After everyone was seated and served tea, the conversation immediately turned to the main topic.

The prince smiled faintly, took one of the scrolls, and spread it out. The map of the Seven Kingdoms was displayed on it, and everyone looked at it in surprise.The prince smiled and said: "This is the map of the Seven Kingdoms that Li Mu worked hard to make. Uncle Wang, all your lords, please take a look."

Everyone looked at Li Mu with approval and gathered around.On the map, carefully look at the countries with different colors. Each country's military markings and movement arrows are clearly marked.The prince smiled proudly and pointed with his hand: "Please see, among the countries east of Mount Wei, our Zhao country is the strongest, but among the seven countries, Qin is the strongest, and our innermost enemy is Qin."

Li Mu said: "Everyone, governing a big country is like cooking small dishes. The Qin State is located in a poor and rough land. In recent years, since Shang Yang's reform, in addition to moving the capital to Xianyang, it has also advocated the system of prefectures and counties, opened roads, abandoned wells, and balanced weights and measures. "

Mr. Pingyuan nodded, held a cup of tea, floated the tea lid on the tea lid and took a sip: "The news from the detailed work we arranged in Qin State shows that the reform of Qin State's economic system has been very prominent in recent years, and has been carried out The introduction of 'Chu Wei Fu' and 'Chu Xing Qian' led to further economic development. Although Shang Yang is dead, the effect of Shang Yang's reforms is very great."

The atmosphere became solemn and everyone was silent for a moment. They had to admire the rapid rise of Qin in the past two years.General Meng Le wanted to dilute the solemn atmosphere and deliberately coughed twice and said: "Since the death of Shang Yang, the Qin State has established prime ministers, generals, etc., and its military power has also developed very rapidly. This shows that the improvement of the Qin people's political system has reached A higher level.”

Li Mu said: "This is what other countries, especially Zhao, lack. Qin can now be said to be the most powerful country, and it is impossible for us to catch up with it quickly. At this time, we can only unite other countries to contend together."

"Yes," the prince nodded: "Qin has expanded its territory in recent years because it wants to dominate the world when the time comes."

Everyone looked shocked and pondered for a long time. Li Mu whispered: "Prince, don't worry, we will never let Qin's conspiracy succeed."

The prince heard this and got to the point. He nodded and said slowly: "Nowadays, the Qin Dynasty is fighting for hegemony, and the competition between countries is fierce. If you don't advance, you will retreat. The Zhao State has been in the hands of my father, and its strength has been greatly reduced in recent years."

Li Mu raised his eyebrows and smiled boldly: "The battle for hegemony is inevitable. In recent years, although the Qin State has occasionally attacked, it has not dared to make a large-scale attack because it is afraid of being caught in the calculations of South Korea and Wei. Besides, the border between Han, Wei and Qin , As long as Qin annexes some land, it will attack the capitals of Han and Wei. If Han and Wei cannot resist Qin, they will surrender. Only when Qin has no control from Han and Wei will it immediately attack Zhao. Please take a look."

Li Mu casually pulled out the sword on his body and pointed at the map: "According to the analysis of the world, the combined land area of ​​all countries is five times that of Qin. It is estimated that the military strength of each country should be ten times that of Qin. If the six countries unite, they will definitely be able to Defeat Qin. Therefore, we can now be friendly with Han and Wei, and then invite all the princes to join forces to fight against Qin. Then we will march to the Xihe area, block the entrance and exit of Guanzhong, and guard the Weihan area, and then invite Wei soldiers to cut off the peace. The transportation around the city will enable Qin to close the city gates. When the time comes, other countries will attack Qin, and Qin's borders will be unstable. We will take advantage of this opportunity."

The atmosphere suddenly became lively.Everyone nodded in agreement, and the prince smiled: "It's a good plan. I will report it to my father tomorrow and send envoys to South Korea and Wei."

After the four people discussed, the three of them took their leave, and the prince motioned to Li Mu to stay.After the other two people left, the prince said solemnly: "Xiao Mu, have you found out who was behind the murder of Meng'er last time?"

Li Mu whispered: "The clues are like Concubine Chun." The prince sighed: "I guessed it was her. My father has been confused by her in the past few years. Even if we find real evidence, my father may favor her. This matter We still need to think long term.”

Li Mu seemed to have remembered something, hesitated for a moment and then said: "Your Highness, we still need to be careful of one person, the general manager of the palace, Qiu Yuan. I feel that this person is unfathomable. If he is our opponent, he will be a powerful character."

The prince hummed: "This man is quite good-looking. It is said that all the women in Handan are crazy about him, but he does things very steadily and can't find any flaws. If there is really another side, we need to slowly Find a way to show him off."

Li Mu looked solemn: "Your Highness, do you still remember Mr. Lin?"

"Of course I remember," the prince was stunned: "Why, isn't it said that he is suspected of treason and will not be protected in his old age?"

"Your Highness, do you also believe such rhetoric?"

"Of course I don't believe it!"

"Yes, there is really an inside story here. Your Highness, have you heard another saying? Do you still remember that 'Lin Xiangru will attack Qi and stop at Pingyi'? Mr. Lin is a famous prime minister of his generation who is capable of both literary and military skills. It can be said that he is quite proficient and familiar with the combat characteristics of the Qi army. However, in the battle to attack Qi, the generals suddenly changed. At that time, many people said that the old prime minister had lost the battle. Even Zhao, the daughter of King Min of Qi, who had a deep love for Qi, Empress Wei wrote a letter to persuade King Zhao but failed to stop it. Who took the leading role in the change of generals and who was the trigger? Does Your Highness know that it is Guo Kai, the favorite of our king, who has always been at odds with the Prime Minister? I kept looking for opportunities to retaliate, which branded a generation of famous generals with treason. In fact, Mr. Lin didn't leave at all. I helped him escape when he was framed. Later, he became disheartened and hid on the border of Zhao. in a small village. I knew he was there, so I sent people to secretly protect them, but I almost failed and was killed."

The prince was surprised: "Didn't they say that the Prime Minister fled to Qi State?".

"That's because we wanted to protect the public opinion spread by him secretly. In addition, it's because Qi State did not hesitate to make mistakes in order to recruit talents for itself." Li Mu paused and then said: "Guo Kai took advantage of the king's favor and trust in him. Build a lot of construction projects and plunder people's wealth. In the minds of villains, doing one evil thing is still evil, doing two is still evil, so just do all the bad things. Your Highness has not yet ascended the throne, so you must beware of such treacherous villains. To prevent harm.”

The prince originally had no good impression of Guo Kaisu, but now he was filled with indignation and resentment when he heard what Li Mu said: "I hate these treacherous villains the most. When I ascend the throne, I will make sure that he dies without a burial place."

"Your Highness, this Qiuyuan is very close to Guo Kai. I'm afraid that they will collude inside and outside, which will be detrimental to the Zhao State. However, Your Highness must calm down and never show any displeasure with Guo Kai in front of the king, because the king The one I trust the most is Guo Kai."

The prince took a breath and nodded. When he looked at Li Mu's always smiling and calm eyes, his mood gradually stabilized.The two talked again, and Li Mu' took his leave.