Song Xiu

Chapter 75 Chen Ping Meets Liu Bang

After ordering his men to untie Lü Qiu Zhongqing, Zhao Dexiu kept Hu Yanzan behind and dismissed everyone else from the hall.

Then Zhao Dexiu gestured for Lü Qiu Zhongqing to sit down.

Zhao Dexiu's attitude changed from indifference to enthusiasm quite noticeably.

This pleased Lü Qiu Zhongqing greatly.

A wise ruler is one who bestows favors upon those who are useful and dismisses those who are not. Only such a ruler is suited to navigate the turbulent times.

After Lü Qiu Zhongqing sat down, Zhao Dexiu spoke first:

"Li Mu was a famous general of the Warring States period, and I have heard of his deeds."

Whenever I think of Li Mu's fate, I often sigh with regret.

When Zhao Dexiu spoke of "regret and sighing," his eyes shone brightly, showing no trace of regret.

With the groundwork laid, Zhao Dexiu turned his gaze to Lü Qiu Zhongqing.

Zhao Dexiu hoped that Lu Qiu Zhongqing's next words would not disappoint him.

Meeting Zhao Dexiu's gaze, Lü Qiu Zhongqing spoke:
"Li Mu was a famous general of his time, but King Zhao was not a wise ruler."

Now, does the Marquis believe that Liu Jun, who occupies the former territory of Zhao, will be a wise ruler?

Life is full of interesting coincidences.

Taiyuan, also known as Jinyang, was once the secondary capital of the State of Zhao.

Upon hearing Lu Qiu Zhongqing's question, Zhao Dexiu firmly denied it, saying, "No."

Zhao Dexiu's judgment was not due to his underestimation of Liu Jun.

A wise ruler focuses on personal strategy, while an excellent ruler has even higher requirements.

Those who can be called wise rulers are all rulers who can forcefully suppress various forces within their country, something Liu Jun could not do.

The Northern Han was formerly known as the Later Han.

The reason why Liu Jun's father, Liu Min, was able to establish the Northern Han Dynasty was not because Liu Min was particularly brilliant or resourceful, but because the local forces of the twelve prefectures of Hedong were unwilling to submit to Guo Wei, and thus turned to support Liu Min.

The Northern Han dynasty was inherently weak. If Liu Min had been a great ruler like Zhao Kuangyin, he might have been able to manage the domestic affairs well and lay a solid foundation for the Northern Han imperial family's rule.

However, Liu Min naturally lacked Zhao Kuangyin's talent and ambition. In addition, he died shortly after establishing the country, and Liu Jun hastily succeeded to the throne, unable to suppress the various forces within the country.

Liu Jun is currently in a similar situation to Zhao Wang Qian in previous years.

Zhao Dexiu's resolute rejection allowed Lü Qiu Zhongqing to witness his keen observation skills.

Based on Zhao Dexiu's change in attitude just now, Lü Qiu Zhongqing became even more certain of his deduction.

"May I ask, Your Excellency, do you already have a plan to defeat the Northern Han army?"

Lu Qiu Zhongqing mustered his courage and asked his guess.

As a former enemy who has not yet been formally accepted, Lu Qiu Zhongqing's question was rather abrupt.

But there is one thing Lu Qiu Zhongqing must ask.

Zhao Dexiu's previous performance convinced Lü Qiu Zhongqing to abandon darkness and embrace the light.

This question concerned the extent to which Zhao Dexiu would allow him to make sacrifices.

Faced with Lu Qiu Zhongqing's question, Zhao Dexiu tapped the table with his fingers as he pondered.

The heavy thud of the table, coupled with the dangerous gaze of Huyan Zan behind Zhao Dexiu, made Lu Qiu Zhongqing's heart leap into his throat.

Fortunately, the tense atmosphere ended with a soft laugh from Zhao Dexiu.

"You're very brave."

Zhao Dexiu shared his first impression of Lü Qiu Zhongqing.

Some things require a bold person to do.

After evaluating Lü Qiu Zhongqing, Zhao Dexiu took a writing brush from the table in front of him and threw it in front of Lü Qiu Zhongqing.

"We both have plans in our hearts, so let's write them down on our palms and see how they reflect on each other."

After saying this, Zhao Dexiu picked up another writing brush from the table, and upon seeing this, Lü Qiu Zhongqing did not hesitate.

Soon after, the two wrote their plans on their palms.

Then, Lü Qiu Zhongqing took the lead in opening his palm to Zhao Dexiu's eyes.

The words "Guo Kai" were clearly written in the palm of Lü Qiu Zhongqing's hand.

Upon seeing these two characters, Zhao Dexiu laughed and opened his palm. Under Lü Qiu Zhongqing's expectant gaze, two characters were also written on his palm:
"A counter-espionage operation!"

Upon seeing those two words, Lu Qiu Zhongqing, though not daring to laugh as heartily as Zhao Dexiu, felt no less joy than Zhao Dexiu. He had finally met a lord to whom he could dedicate his life.

Having thought of this, Lü Qiu Zhongqing no longer hesitated:

"I once served in Li Jun's staff and know many of the secrets of the Northern Han Dynasty."

Several months ago, the Northern Han court had several arguments over whether to send troops south.

The court was roughly divided into two factions: the pro-war faction, led by Liu Jiye, and the pro-restoration faction, led by Zhao Hua, the Left Minister.

Zhao Hua was one of the meritorious officials who supported Liu Min's ascension to the throne, and the Zhao family was a local aristocratic family in Taiyuan for centuries, with extraordinary influence.

During the most important court assembly, Liu Jiye angrily rebuked Zhao Hua in court, which displeased Zhao Hua.

Lu Qiu Zhongqing's words once again proved the serious factional infighting in the Northern Han Dynasty and Liu Jun's inability to control the court.

This is the most important objective condition for the implementation of the counter-espionage plan.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Dexiu's face lit up with joy.

He had previously sent people to the Northern Han to gather information of this kind.

The Central Plains might not be aware of this kind of news, but Li Jun was in charge of fighting against the Northern Han in previous years, and there were many spies sent by Li Jun within the Northern Han territory. This kind of news could not be kept from Lü Qiu Zhongqing.

Overjoyed, Zhao Dexiu gestured for Lü Qiu Zhongqing to sit closer.

"According to what you said, Guo Kai of the Northern Han must be Zhao Hua."

The Han dynasty inherited the Tang system, and the Left Minister of Works was equivalent to the Prime Minister.

To successfully carry out the counter-espionage plan, how could we not rely on "Guo Kai's great power"?

As Lu Qiu Zhongqing got closer to Zhao Dexiu, he could feel Zhao Dexiu's ardent gaze more and more.

"good.

The magistrate may not know this, but the twelve prefectures of Hedong have long suffered from war and have always been impoverished.

After Liu Min became emperor, in order to demonstrate his legitimacy, he appointed many officials and carried out large-scale construction of palaces.

As far as I know, the prime minister's salary is 200 strings of cash, but the Northern Han Dynasty is unable to pay it, and Zhao Hua often receives less than 100 strings of cash.

Most importantly, Liu Min's aggressive military campaigns resulted in a major defeat at the Battle of Gaoping, in which Zhao Hua's fields were severely damaged.

The world is hilarious, all come for profit.

As the leader of a nation's elite, Zhao Hua would understand this principle better than anyone else.

Their large following and clan require wealth and power to support them.

From Lü Qiu Zhongqing's explanation, Zhao Dexiu realized that Zhao Hua was currently in dire need of money!

"How much gold and silver do you think would be needed to sway Zhao Hua?"

Under Zhao Dexiu's questioning, Lüqiu Zhongqing carefully replied:

"Approximately two hundred thousand strings of cash."

Upon hearing this number, Zhao Dexiu gave a soft snort.

This soft hum led Lü Qiu Zhongqing to believe that Zhao Dexiu thought it was too much.

Just as Lü Qiu Zhongqing was about to lower his voice a little, he saw Zhao Dexiu get up and walk outside, gesturing for him to follow.

Feeling uneasy, Lü Qiu Zhongqing followed Zhao Dexiu all the way, and unknowingly arrived at a gate.

Lu Qiu Zhongqing looked up and discovered that the gate led directly to the treasury of Huguan.

Before Lü Qiu Zhongqing could react, Zhao Dexiu ordered his men to open the treasury, and then the mountain of gold and silver inside came into Lü Qiu Zhongqing's view.

In order to lure the enemy, Zhao Dexiu did not act quickly in forcibly relocating the people, but he was quite swift in looting the treasuries of various counties.

As Lü Qiu Zhongqing stared in astonishment, a few words reached his ears:

"Half the wealth of the state is contained within. If half the state is insufficient, there is still Shangdang!"

I don't care how much gold and silver is spent, I just want one result:
The morale of the Northern Han army was thrown into chaos!

Zhao Dexiu spoke with magnanimity and made his purpose clear.

Lu Qiu Zhongqing, who was being gazed at by Zhao Dexiu, could no longer resist the charm emanating from Zhao Dexiu.

"Your subject is willing to risk his life for the Marquis and embark on this journey!"

Lu Qiu Zhongqing, who had not encountered a wise ruler for a long time, felt the same joy that Chen Ping had when he met Liu Bang.

(End of this chapter)