The Qin Dynasty entered the game with love.

The harvest season is almost here, and the stalemate has lasted for three months since the troops were dispatched.

Li Mu divided his troops to support Pingyang and Wucheng, holding off the Qin army until now. Although he did not launch an attack, he also did not lose any cities.

It was already a difficult feat to withstand the attacks of General Meng Ao, General Wang Jian, and General Meng Wu for so long.

The emptiness of his rear caused Li Mu great anxiety. Fortunately, he received aid from the Chu army, with 30,000 troops stationed in the rear, allowing Li Mu to focus his attention on fighting the Qin army.

Li Mu was not in a hurry. He knew that in a siege, whoever became impatient first would eventually be caught off guard.

But Zhao Yan didn't think so. He felt that Li Mu had no ability at all. He led an army of 200,000 but could only guard the city gate. He received news that the Qin army only had 100,000 men, and 30,000 of them had been killed or wounded, leaving only 70,000 troops.

Handan, Zhao State

Zhao Yan was furious and threw down the military intelligence he had received from the front lines: "Is Li Mu any good or not? If not, we should replace him immediately."

Lin Xiangru quickly comforted him: "Your Majesty, General Li Mu has been stationed at Daimen and Yanmen for a long time, annihilating more than 100,000 Xiongnu cavalry, taking advantage of the victory to destroy Chanlan, defeat Donghu, and subdue Linhu."

"We must not underestimate their strength. The Qin army is fierce, and General Li Mu must also be wary of the 100,000 troops stationed on the Wei border. If these 100,000 troops were to return to reinforce, Pingyang would be in grave danger."

Zhao Yan was furious, but he had no capable generals to rely on, so he could only suppress his anger.

After the court session, he became increasingly agitated. He was the King of Zhao, not Prince Yan. Why couldn't he punish a disobedient Li Mu at will?

He kicked a eunuch aside, then casually pulled out a leather whip and began to lash him. The eunuch could only roll around on the spot, crying and howling.

When Guo Kai finally sought an audience, the eunuch had already been beaten bloody and was on the verge of death.

When Guo Kai saw the eunuch lying in a pool of blood, he merely threatened the surrounding palace maids and eunuchs, telling them not to talk nonsense, and then threw the man into a mass grave outside the city, without even considering giving him any treatment.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, good news!"

Zhao Yan, having vented his anger, was also somewhat unhappy upon hearing Guo Kai's good news: "What good news? If it's anything that doesn't make me happy, you'd better watch out."

Guo Kai's expression was extremely obsequious: "Your Majesty, my life belongs to you, and this body is naturally a gift from Your Majesty. Even if Your Majesty hadn't given it to me, I would still be completely convinced."

Zhao Yan felt much better. After all, some court officials had contradicted him, which had already made him unhappy. If it weren't for the Qin army pressing in, he would have killed those good-for-nothings before.

"Alright, I know your loyalty. Tell me what good news you have."

Guo Kai immediately smiled and said, "I received news from Qin envoy Yao Jia that Ying Zheng, that bastard, seeing that Meng Ao has been unable to break through for a long time, is preparing to remove his general and replace him with a new commander."

When I first heard this news, I thought someone was lying to me. Who could change their commander at the last minute? But I secretly got the news from Xianyang that Ying Zheng had indeed issued an edict.

Replacing the commander-in-chief with his elder sister's confidante—wouldn't you say that's good news?

Zhao Yan laughed heartily: "This is indeed good news, worth having a couple of drinks with. Come, join me for a few drinks."

Guo Kai was moved to tears: "Yes, Guo Kai is of humble status, yet Your Majesty is willing to drink with me. It is truly my good fortune."

Zhao Yan kicked him: "Stop babbling and get out of here."

Guo Kai, the lackey, immediately followed suit.

It was already night when Guo Kai returned to the mansion. He looked at the house that the Zhao family had sent over. On the outside, it looked really ordinary.

Guo Kai, now smug and no longer interested in simple gold and silver jewelry, wrinkled his nose and said, "What is this? Do I owe you a room? Look at how stingy you are. This place is so small, it's not even as nice as my outhouse."

Just as Zhao Cong was about to defend himself, a member of the Zhao clan gestured for Guo Kai to enter the house.

A casual push.

Guo Kai was stunned. The entire room was made of gold, and the walls were inlaid with many luminous pearls. Although the room was small, everything was exquisite: a complete set of glass teacups, gold-flecked paper worth a hundred gold coins per page, a large coral that was extremely rare...

There were so many, so many things. Guo Kai was shocked countless times from the moment he entered the room.

The Zhao clansmen immediately flattered him, saying, "Prime Minister Guo, I know this room is a bit small, but the things inside are passable. I just don't know if they will satisfy you."

Guo Kai's expression no longer showed any disdain, and his face was full of smiles: "Well, how should I put it? I knew you were a good prospect the first time I saw you. This thing is not bad, it's just that the place is a bit far away."

Zhao Cong stepped forward: "Prime Minister Guo, this area of ​​a hundred acres is the Zhao family's property. The Zhao family is willing to offer it all up, only asking that Zhao Cong lead the army to resist Qin."

Guo Kai had a big smile on his face, but he was still smart enough to know that Zhao Kuo, who only knew how to talk about war on paper, had caused the Zhao army to lose tens of thousands of soldiers. Only if the Zhao state existed could he, as the prime minister, be in a stable position: "How does Zhao Cong compare to Zhao Kuo?"

The Zhao clansmen's faces immediately turned ashen: "This Zhao Kuo is nothing but a theorist; he has none of Zhao Cong's military talent."

"Minister Guo may not know this, but Zhao Cong dislikes theoretical discussions and often refers to Zhao Kuo as a traitor. He was already stationed on the border when he was young. You can find out this with a simple check."

“The Zhao clan members are also members of the Zhao clan. How could they disregard the survival of the Zhao state for the sake of military merit?”

"Yes, Prime Minister Guo, you don't know this, but ever since Zhao Kuo lost face, we have been working day and night in private, fearing that another Zhao Kuo will emerge. Now that the State of Zhao is in trouble, the Zhao family has realized the King's wisdom, which is why they dare to ask Prime Minister Guo for help."

Knowing that he would have to pay a hefty price, the Zhao clan chief pulled Guo Kai to a tavern and pointed at it, saying, "This tavern is the Zhao family's foundation. If Prime Minister Guo is willing to help, the Zhao family is willing to hand over this tavern to the Prime Minister."

Guo Kai beamed with joy and happily entered his own restaurant to admire the sights, feeling the benefits that power brought: "Well said, well said, General Zhao is handsome and has a distinguished appearance."

I've long heard that Zhao Cong, even as a young man, is invincible. Compared to Li Mu, he's probably more than capable. The Zhao family is destined to produce a Lord of Martial Peace.

The Zhao clan members knew that Guo Kai was only offering a few words of praise, but they themselves had the same intention.

Zhao Cong's military talent was already astonishing, and he could defeat even the elders of his family. Not to mention that he often went to the streets to compete and was always the victor. That's why the Zhao family decided to spend a lot of money to bribe Guo Kai.

Just thinking about how, if they succeeded in resisting Qin, Zhao Cong, with his talent, could easily take down the mere Lord Wu'an, and the Zhao family would once again be at the pinnacle of power.

Amidst toasts and clinking glasses, a group of people tied the fate of the Zhao state to Zhao Cong.

The young man was full of vigor and excitement. Thinking of his future glory, he excitedly clinked glasses repeatedly, determined to serve Guo Kai well.