Daqin Baizhisheng

Then, an imperial edict was sent to Cangxue Mountain to send Princess Qingxue to Bai Xiaosheng. Lord Pingyuan, who had been listening quietly, remained silent. After leaving the hall after the court session, he stood on the steps outside the hall, watching the court officials leaving. For some reason, a sense of sadness rose in his heart. The great Zhao State, which once dominated the princes, has now fallen to the point of asking for help from a mere merchant. How sad!……

""Why does the Prime Minister look so worried?" Guo Kai deliberately fell behind, as if he had something to say to him.

Pingyuan Jun bowed to Guo Kai who came forward. They competed with each other in the court, but it did not affect their private communication. In fact, both sides knew that they were just chess pieces used by King Zhao to balance the court. Without one of them, the other would not survive.

This pair of powerful rivals in the court walked side by side like old friends.

Pingyuan Jun opened the conversation first:"What does Lu Buwei want?"He directly mentioned the relationship between Guo Kai and Lu Buwei.

Guo Kai did not care. It was no secret that he and Lu Buwei were secretly connected. Even King Zhao knew about it. If he said that there was no connection, it would be a bit of a cover-up.

"It's not what Lu Xiang wants, but what Qin wants."Guo Kai smiled and shook his head,"and what my king wants." He is a corrupt official, but he is not stupid. He knows that only by letting the King of Zhao get what he wants can he be at ease.

"Proton politics?"

"That's right."Guo Kai nodded,"Qin has lost two kings in a row. The current Qin Prince Chu has appointed Lü Buwei to the throne hastily. The government is still controlled by Yangquan Lord Xiong Gao and Huayang Queen Mother. These two people want to support the second prince Cheng Jiao as the crown prince. Lü Buwei is anxious. If he doesn't take over Qin, the position under his butt will be replaced."

Pingyuan Jun couldn't help but look at Guo Kai more. He analyzed the Qin government so thoroughly in just a few words. Could he be as"stupid as hell" as Ning Wuzi? (The original meaning of"stupid as hell" is that I hope everyone can go to Baidu to download）

"Why did you tell me? Aren't you afraid that I will ruin your plan?

Guo Kai smiled and said,"If I don't tell you, can't Lord Pingyuan guess it? Besides, can you ruin it? The hostage's return is inevitable, unless... unless Zhao wants to break with Qin and fight to the death!"

Pingyuan Jun let out a long sigh, which turned into white mist in the cold autumn.

His already hunched back became even more crooked, and he was filled with infinite emotion.

He was the younger brother of King Zhao, with extraordinary talent, and had always wanted to make Zhao strong and swallow the world, but he was too dazzling, and the dazzling King Zhao no longer trusted him.

As early as several years ago, he, the prime minister, was already a decoration.

In front of the palace gate carriage, he looked back at the majestic Zhao Palace and sighed again.

Zhao was no match for Qin, and this was the most fundamental reason.

If Zhao was ten or a hundred times stronger than Qin, would Qin dare to attack Zhao? Would the Qin people dare to be so arrogant...

If it was always if, somehow, he thought of five words - weak countries have no diplomacy

…………

At nightfall, Lord Pingyuan returned to his house in a sad mood. Along the way, he thought a lot, imagining whether it was possible to fight to the death with Qin instead of releasing the hostage Zheng. In the end, he found that there was only a slight possibility unless Li Mu and Lian Po, two veteran generals, were mobilized to fight together. But... King Zhao would never hand over the military power to them, and the reason was very simple. They were old.……

"Master, a guest has been waiting for you in the study for an hour."

"who?"

"I came back from northern Xinjiang.……"

Upon hearing the servant's report, the Prime Minister of Zhao, who was concerned about the country and the people, did not eat and immediately rushed to the study. Waiting for him was the military god of Zhao - Li Mu.

After Pingyuan Jun repeatedly told the servants not to talk too much, he was still a little flustered and said angrily:"Why are you back? And you ran to my house? If the king knew, you and I would both lose our heads!"

Li Mu frowned with a firm face. He was ordered to guard Yanmen Pass and could not return to the capital without an imperial decree. He could only go home for one month every New Year's Day, and now it was only mid-September. His behavior was dereliction of duty at the least, and deceiving the king at the worst.

Li Mu lowered his head, knowing that this Prime Minister who was concerned about the country and the people had lived up to his past spirit. If it were in the past, he would definitely sit down with a smile and talk about the strategy of strengthening Zhao.

Li Mu was silent for a while, and then he sighed and said,"If it wasn't related to the survival of Zhao, why would I risk sneaking back to Handan?……"

Lord Pingyuan was startled for a moment, and asked in astonishment:"Is it for the purpose of sending a hostage?"

"That's right!" Li Mu's eyes suddenly became sharp,"The hostage Zheng must not be sent back to Qin. If he goes back, my Zhao will perish!"

He said this with gritted teeth, as if he had foreseen the day when Ying Zheng would destroy Zhao.

Although Pingyuan Jun didn't know Ying Zheng as well as Li Mu, he didn't want Ying Zheng to return to his country, but what could he do? He couldn't help but say with melancholy:"Li Mu, forget it, forget it, let him go back. My Zhao was captured by Qin for 30,000 people. If these 30,000 men can't go home, how different is my Zhao from being destroyed?"

Li Mu was furious, looked directly into Pingyuan Jun's eyes, and shouted loudly:"It will be destroyed in the future, and it is also destroyed now. Why don't we fight to the death while Zhao still has the strength to fight! Even if the country is destroyed, Qin will pay the price!"

Being so fierce, Pingyuan Jun's resentment suddenly turned into anger, and he shouted back loudly:"Don't I want it! ? I, Zhao Sheng, am full of blood and would rather die on the battlefield than live in humiliation. But what can I do!? What can I do!?"As he spoke, tears of unwillingness filled the eyes of this old hero.

He sat on the ground helplessly, and expressed his final unwillingness in an extremely weak voice:"The king dare not fight, and Zhao dare not fight... What can we do?……"

These words fully expressed the helplessness and suffering of a minister, and also made Li Mu speechless.