The Qin Dynasty entered the game with love.

Zhao Cong's questioning was not only directed at King Zhao, but also at the entire Zhao army.

After all, why not take the opportunity to attack when it's such a good chance?

But it was no use. Even if Li Mu voiced all his doubts, Zhao Cong did not trust him and instead produced the decree of the King of Zhao.

They demanded that Li Mu launch an attack the next day; otherwise, he would be escorted back to Handan.

In just one night, Li Mu's hair turned quite a bit gray.

The following day, the military order was still issued to open the city gates and meet the enemy.

Zhao Jun was like a rabid child, eager to tear a piece of flesh from the Qin army.

Seeing that the time was right, Huan Yi arranged for Meng Wu's performance to end, and the Qin army's suppressed anger turned into a spirit of courage and fearlessness as they fought against the Zhao army.

But this time, the Qin army seemed like a towering wall, and the Zhao army's attack was like a child fighting an adult.

In just one day, Zhao's army suffered more than 8 casualties.

Zhao Cong gathered the remaining defeated troops and brought them back to the city, his face ashen and speechless.

Unable to withstand the barrage of criticism, he sent a secret military document to Handan before Li Mu could even send a letter.

[Li Mu of Zhao disobeyed the King of Zhao's orders and, without proper tactical preparation, sought military merit, causing the loss of 100,000 Zhao soldiers. Now, Wucheng is in imminent danger. We request the King of Zhao to remove Li Mu from his post and send another 100,000 elite troops to resist the Qin army's attack.]

But Wucheng now has less than 30,000 troops left, and many of them are injured and unable to move.

Huan Yi immediately launched a siege.

Wucheng was captured in just half a day.

Zhao Cong led a group of generals to retreat to Pingyang early on, where at least the Grand Marshal's troops were still there to hold out for a while.

Handan, Zhao State

The moment Zhao Yan received the military order, he kicked over the table in front of him, spilling the fine wine and delicacies all over the floor. The surrounding court officials immediately knelt down, trembling with fear.

"Useless, useless, a bunch of useless people. Is Li Mu dissatisfied with me? He sent a military supervisor, and the supervisor suffered a defeat."

"Someone, issue an imperial decree to me to escort Li Mu back to the capital. I want to see if this man's backbone is tougher than my whip."

As everyone looked at each other in bewilderment, Guo Kai immediately knelt down and accepted the order: "Yes, I will obey the King of Zhao's decree."

Upon returning to the mansion, he found Yao Jia already waiting for him: "Oh, Prime Minister Guo is busy. It's been a long time since Yao Jia had a proper drink with Prime Minister Guo."

Guo Kai chuckled and pulled the man into the living room: "Lord Yao is too kind. Guo Kai is just too busy with official duties to get away."

Yao Jia handed a box to Guo Kai: "Prime Minister Guo, I heard a while ago that you have been collecting children's items. I don't have anything good, just some small things. I hope you won't find them too bad."

Guo Kai didn't stand on ceremony and immediately opened the package, revealing a gold-inlaid jade embroidered ball, a nine-linked gold ring, a child's silkworm-woven garment, tiger-head shoes with gold thread, and a small, exquisite rattle drum...

The item was both valuable and exquisitely crafted. Guo Kai immediately put on a smile and said, "Lord Yao, you're too kind. Given our friendship, I'll gladly accept this."

Yao Jia had the same smile, and the two chatted and laughed happily until the moon was bright and the stars were few before Yao Jia was escorted back to the official residence.

After Guo Kai inspected these items, he handed them to the Empress. The Empress nodded repeatedly as she looked at them, saying, "Guo Kai, I thought you had forgotten about us, mother and son, after you became Prime Minister Guo. Now it seems you still have my heart."

Guo Kai's expression immediately turned to one of deep regret: "It is indeed Guo Kai's fault for making Madam angry. It is my fault for being too busy with official duties to get away. But since Madam has said so, how can Guo Kai's little matter compare to Madam's happiness?"

The Queen covered her mouth and smiled: "You should just focus on assisting King Zhao. I have Qian'er to keep me company."

Guo Kai chatted with the Empress for a while, then went to stay with Zhao Yan.

Zhao Yan tossed the secret document confirming the capture of Wucheng to Guo Kai: "Look at this, it's all Li Mu's fault, that good-for-nothing. Wucheng is lost, he fled back to Pingyang, and the Qin army has already begun its attack. Quickly think of what to do."

Guo Kai may be clever, but he is far from knowledgeable about matters of state: "Your Majesty, I don't understand military affairs either. Why don't you call Mao Sui and Lin Xiangru over to ask them?"

Zhao Yan waved his hand: "Alright, these two can't speak properly. Every time they finish speaking, it makes people's blood boil. Go ask them. If they have a good plan, just issue an imperial decree. Don't bother me recently."

Guo Kai naturally accepted the order.

He summoned the two men to the Prime Minister's residence, where they talked all night. Mao Sui then went to the State of Qi to continue seeking aid.

Because Qi was located in a remote area, the Qin army could not conquer it, making it the only state that could spare troops and was willing to help.

Pingyang, Zhao State

Zhao Cong and Li Mu retreated to Pingyang. Li Mu was escorted back to the city by men sent from Handan in full view of everyone to receive punishment. The joint pleas of the generals were to no avail.

Li Mu realized that Zhao Cong was greedy for merit and reckless, and could not be given important responsibilities. So he could only reveal his entire plan to the Grand Marshal, hoping to protect the safety of the Zhao state.

Deputy General Si Zishang volunteered to accompany Li Mu back to Handan.

Li Mu was moved, but he didn't want Si Zishang to stay with him. However, Si Zishang was very determined to stay with him.

Back in Handan, Si Zishang's true colors were slowly revealed. In the imperial court, he publicly accused Li Mu of disobeying the king's orders and being greedy for merit, which led to the Zhao army's defeat.

Zhao Yan, who was hot-tempered, immediately pulled out a whip used to punish servants, completely ignoring Li Mu's explanations and the court officials' pleas for leniency.

On the contrary, the pleas of the crowd caused Zhao Yan to lose control of his emotions. He immediately beheaded Li Mu, declaring, "This is the fate of anyone who dares to disobey my orders."

The court officials fell silent, each one like a turtle hiding its head, not daring to utter a sound.

It's pitiful that Li Mu, who was devoted to the country and loyal to his master, ended up in such a state.

News of Li Mu's death quickly reached Xianyang, and Ying Zheng immediately issued military orders for a full-scale attack.

Huan Yi reassigned Zhang Tang, who was stationed on the border of the Wei army, to the right flank of Handan to prevent the Wei and Qi armies from reaping the benefits.

Led by Huan Yi on the left, they attacked Handan from both sides and headed straight for the capital of Zhao.

Meng Wu was furious about the previous performance and blamed it all on the Zhao state. As the vanguard, he advanced with unstoppable momentum.

The Zhao army suffered repeated defeats, and the so-called 20 elite troops that they had barely managed to muster were suppressed and almost completely overwhelmed. The morale of the Zhao army was unstable, and with the Qin army advancing unstoppably, every time a city was captured, only one in ten of the defending soldiers survived.

This caused Zhao Cong to panic and run back to Handan. Following his example, those with connections all rushed to Handan, and some deserters also tried every means to abandon their armor and flee back to Handan to see their relatives and friends one last time.