The younger brother of the First Emperor

Chapter 105: Lin Xiangru, who sacrificed his life for his father, and Ying Chengjiao, who was more sinister than his father

Ying Chengjiao quickly adjusted his mentality.

He wanted to point at Guo Kai's back and curse him to reinforce the impression that he was arrogant and domineering.

Suddenly thinking of the head in the big cauldron just now, he immediately suppressed his desire to perform.

He was pretending to be angry, but Zhao Wangdan really wanted to kill him.

The prince of Qin snorted coldly, looking like he was still angry.

When the Zhao officials saw King Zhao's attitude and Ying Chengjiao's performance, they all had an idea in their minds.

With a smile on his face, he kept complimenting the prince of Qin.

It is much easier to coax a child than to go to court.

Soon, Master Chengjiao's face turned from cloudy to sunny, and he excitedly introduced to everyone what cooking is.

After introducing the cooking, he kicked the seat.

“This item has been around for hundreds of years, it should have been eliminated long ago!
“You sit on it every day, don’t your legs feel numb or sore?
"We in the Qin Kingdom don't sit on this. We sit on chairs, which were also invented by me..."

The king and his ministers of Zhao listened attentively. Words like "ah", "oh", "great", and "colorful" appeared very frequently and had the highest emotional value.

When Ying Chengjiao finished speaking, he looked very proud and satisfied, and the king and his ministers of Zhao also looked like they had benefited a lot from it.

The banquet ended with both the guests and the hosts enjoying themselves.

When Ying Chengjiao left the house, he shook his head with a look of joy and asked Zhao Wangdan:

"King Zhao, when will you hold the next royal banquet?"

Zhao Wangdan joked:

"The Qin envoy complained that my food was not good, my beauties were not elegant, and my seat was not comfortable. Why did you ask such a question?"

The prince of Qin was slightly stunned, and immediately continued:
"Then didn't I teach you? Next time we hold a royal banquet, we will have brass dancing beauties, eat fried food, and sit on chairs."

King Zhao laughed.

"I have made all the preparations, but I am afraid the Qin envoy is no longer in Zhao.

"Envoy Qin, please take a look."

Ying Chengjiao looked in the direction that Zhao Wangdan pointed.

An old man bowed slightly to show his respect. It was Li Chong, the prime minister of Qin State.

Ying Chengjiao pretended not to know and asked doubtfully:

"Who is this man? What does the King of Zhao want him to do?"

Zhao Wangdan was slightly stunned.

"Don't the Qin envoys know you, the Prime Minister of Qin?
"This is Li Chong. Isn't this the reason why the Qin envoy came here?"

Ying Chengjiao was the first to show a look of realization, as if saying, "So he is Li Chong."

Then he quickly disappeared, with a trace of realization, and said naturally:

"Of course I remember, I was just testing King Zhao."

Zhao Wangdan smiled but didn't point it out.

"I see.

"Now that the person has been received, the Qin envoy will naturally return to Qin. How can he attend my royal banquet?"

Ying Chengjiao looked unwilling and rolled his eyes.

He moved closer to Zhao Wangdan and waved for him to lean over.

King Dan of Zhao waved his hand, signaling the ministers, eunuchs, and palace maids who wanted to stop him from "taking risks" to keep quiet.

He bent down with a smile and offered his ear.

All I could hear was the young boy's shrill voice.

"King Zhao, how about you lock Li Chong up for a while and then release him after the next banquet?"

Zhao Wangdan was smiling both on the surface and in his heart.

[No matter how much of a child prodigy he is, he is still a child after all... he loves to play.]
"Why bother with so much trouble? The Qin envoy will stay in Zhao and let Li Chong and the others go back first."

"Hey, King Zhao, you are also very smart. You think alike with me." Ying Chengjiao said happily, "This is called great minds think alike! It's settled!"

King Dan of Zhao watched the Qin envoy leave, taking his minister Li Chong with him.

After he was out of his sight, he returned to Changle Palace and sat in the top seat again.

None of the Zhao ministers left, and they all returned to their posts.

King Dan of Zhao looked around at his ministers, smiled first, then picked up the wine jug and raised it.

Pour the wine.

The wine flowed into the copper cup in a stream, and the sound of "splashing" echoed in Changle Palace.

He picked up the wine bottle and drank it all.

Close your mouth tightly, open it suddenly, and make a strong "ha" sound.

He slammed the wine bottle on the table with a dull "bang".

"The seven-year-old envoy from Qin wants my head!"

Zhao Wangdan pointed at his own temple and laughed.

"I cannot kill him, I cannot even get angry, I have to drink the penalty wine with a smile!
“Funny, really funny!

"Do you think this is funny? Huh?!"

All the ministers fell silent. In Changle Palace, only the roar of King Zhao Dan's last word "Ah" could be heard echoing.

The king gasped for air, looked dejected, and waved his hands weakly.

“I lost my composure.

"This is not your fault, it's my fault.

"It's all my fault that I was greedy and wanted Shangdang County, which led to the Battle of Changping.

"I can only blame myself for not knowing the right person. I let that bastard Zhao Kuo replace Lord Lian, and I have wasted 500,000 good men of my country.

"You have seen today that the little kid is smart. Although he is only seven years old, he can talk to you and me fluently. However, he is still a child at heart and has no scheming. He blurts out everything as soon as you ask him to.

"In the morning, Mao Sui frightened the child so much that he lost his mind and became unbalanced.

"It can be seen that he dared to disrespect me because he relied entirely on the strength of Qin.

"Oh, to be honest, I really like this kid, even though he is from Qin."

Then pick up the wine jug.

"Remember, while Zhao is still here, I am the one drinking this bottle of wine today."

Pour another bottle of wine.

Pour it violently on the ground in front of the table!

"With Zhao Guo not here, you all don't even have the chance to drink this bottle of wine. End the feast!"

The ministers looked at the broken water droplets and the water stains on the ground, bowed to King Zhao, and dispersed one by one.

At the banquet, apart from Zhao Wangdan, only two people remained.

The chief of the left is Zhao Bao, Lord Pingyang.

On the right seat is the Prime Minister Lin Xiangru.

The eunuch took the charcoal and wanted to add it to the brazier behind Lin Xiangru.

When he was two steps away from the brazier, Lin Xiangru opened his eyes and sighed:

"No need to add more charcoal, save some."

Zhao Wangdan looked at the eunuch with a cold face.

The eunuch lowered his head slightly, took the remaining two steps, and added the charcoal to the brazier.

Zhao Wangdan smiled and said to Lin Xiangru:
"The resources of Zhao are not abundant.

“But even if I don’t have charcoal, Prime Minister Lin will have it too.

“Other countries have abundant land.

"But they definitely don't treat Prime Minister Lin as sincerely as I do, and will not give Prime Minister Lin the best."

Lin Xiangru heard the temptation and warning in this.

Despite his illness, he nodded gratefully and said:
"The late king was very kind to Xiangru, and the king has great trust in Xiangru. Xiangru is willing to use his last bit of energy for the State of Zhao.

"It's just that the war is intense at the front, and I am warm in body but cold in heart."

Zhao Wangdan clapped his hands and laughed:

"Well, Prime Minister Lin is indeed a loyal minister of the State of Zhao.

"A civil official who thinks about military affairs is completely different from a good-for-nothing who is anxious to return home to play with beauties.

"I have something to ask Prime Minister Lin right now.

"Prime Minister Lin said that the boy from Qin State entered your palace and kept asking Prime Minister Lin about Lord Pingyuan, intending to murder Lord Pingyuan.

"I want to ask, how did he commit the murder?
"Poison, assassination, or something else."

Zhao Wangdan had a subtle expression and spoke each word with emphasis.

"Angry, dead."

Judging from the performance of the seven-year-old kid at the banquet just now, Zhao Wangdan didn't have the brains to murder his uncle.

He was clearly a quick-witted young man from Qin State who was spoiled by the King of Qin! He was definitely not the cunning person that Lin Xiangru described.

Lin Xiangru opened his mouth, gave a wry smile, and clasped his hands.

“Since Your Majesty has seen through it, then I will speak frankly.

“As the king sees.

"Master Chengjiao is intelligent, but not that intelligent.

"He really didn't plan to murder Lord Pingyuan, otherwise why would he dare to come to the banquet today, and why would he dare to be so domineering at the banquet?"

Zhao Wangdan was pleased at the moment and said "Oh" in pretended surprise, leaning forward with a puzzled look on his face.

"Then why did Prime Minister Lin ask me to kill him? Can you give me an explanation?"

Lin Xiangru opened his mouth to argue, but finally shook his head with a bitter face and closed his eyes.

King Dan of Zhao stood up in anger, pointed at Lin Xiangru and cursed:

"Old man!
"The previous king treated you very well, and I regarded you as a fake father, but you want to put my State of Zhao to death!
"Don't think I don't know what you are thinking!

"The King of Qin has only two sons, one is Prince Chengjiao, and the other is your great-grandson Zhao Zheng!
"Kill Prince Chengjiao, and in the future the Qin State will belong to your great-grandson, and your granddaughter will be the Queen of Qin! Your Lin family will become the Qin's external relatives!
"Everyone has a desire to improve themselves, and I don't blame you.

"But you are using Zhao as a ladder for your Lin family to advance into the ranks of Qin's relatives. Do you still have a heart for it?

"Today I really want to kill Prince Chengjiao. The Qin State is coming from the west, and my Zhao State is being attacked from both the east and the west by Qin and Yan. The country is about to be destroyed!
"Don't you know? Ah! damned old wretch!"

King Dan of Zhao was very clear about his attitude towards Zhao Zheng. He knew what kind of life Zhao Zheng had lived in Zhao State and how much suffering he had endured.

Once Zhao Zheng replaced Qin Zheng and finally became King Zheng of Qin, the first thing he did after taking power was to attack Zhao for revenge.

Such a thing must never happen!
Lin Xiangru turned around, looked at the fire, and put his hands over the brazier to warm them.

The wrinkles on the baked yellow face became drier, deeper and drier.

"Since Your Majesty thinks so, I have nothing more to say. Just kill me."

Zhao Wangdan's eyes were wide open and his hair was standing up in anger. He was about to sentence the old man to death.

"Wait a minute! Wait a minute!" Pingyang Lord Zhao Bao, with his belly sticking out, ran up to smooth things over, saying, "There must be a misunderstanding here."

He turned to Lin Xiangru, bowed slightly, and looked nostalgic.

"Prime Minister Lin, do you remember when Bao was a child, he would cry non-stop, and the only way he could stop crying was by his wet nurse and your embrace.

"When the leopard was in the arms of Prime Minister Lin, he stopped crying and made a fuss, but smiled happily."

Zhao Bao took the initiative to play the emotional card, hoping to awaken Lin Xiangru's conscience and remind him of the kindness of the Zhao royal family.

Lin Xiangru shook his head.

“I’m old, I can’t remember.

"Even if it really existed, it was probably 40 or 50 years ago."

He refused Zhao Bao and didn't want to mention it.

There is no need to talk about the story from forty or fifty years ago, as King Huiwen of Zhao, who trusted him, had passed away long ago.

Zhao Bao refused to give up, holding back tears, his sadness becoming more obvious. "If Prime Minister Lin really didn't remember, how could he have said it happened 40 or 50 years ago?
"The late king passed the throne to you, and before his death, he asked you to trust Prime Minister Lin with all your power. Prime Minister Lin, don't you remember this?"

When King Huiwen of Zhao was about to die, he appointed three important ministers who he could trust to King Dan of Zhao in front of the civil and military officials and relatives of Zhao.

The king’s relative is Pingyuan Jun Zhao Sheng.

Military general, Lian Po.

Civil official, Lin Xiangru.

If this matter cannot impress Lin Xiangru, then Zhao Bao will have no other choice.

Lin Xiangru was touched.

The old man's body trembled slightly, and he turned to look at Zhao Wangdan, who had a furious look on his face and was ready to bite someone.

"Your Majesty, do you remember?"

At this moment, King Zhao Dan really wanted to curse, "I miss your mother."

He caught a glimpse of his uncle Zhao Bao's pleading eyes, and Zhao Wangdan once again swallowed his anger and snorted coldly:

"Of course I remember!"

"Since Your Majesty remembered, why didn't you ask me when you wanted to go to Dang?" Lin Xiangru asked, almost interrogating me: "Why did you avoid me when I asked for an audience? Why did you exchange Ma Fuzi for Lian Gong when the Battle of Changping started?"

Zhao Wangdan sneered and said nothing.

He is the king, why should he explain to a rebellious thief? Is this old man worthy of it?
Lin Xiangru said again:
"If Your Majesty does not answer, then let me answer for you.

“Shangdang, the king did not see me because he did not want me to interfere and steal the credit for Zhao Sheng’s expansion.

"At Changping, the king changed his generals before the battle because he believed the rumors spread by the Qin people and did not trust Lian Po."

He turned to face Zhao Bao.

"Mr. Pingyang, do you think what I said is correct?

“Of the three ministers, the king only chose Zhao Sheng.

"In the eyes of the king, there are only relatives, not us.

"In the Zhao court, are there any newcomers in this generation?"

It’s not that Lin Xiangru is unwilling to serve, but that the King of Zhao does not trust him.

Zhao Bao smiled awkwardly, unable to answer, and could only respond with "yes".

He and Pingyuan Jun Zhao Sheng were brothers and relatives.

Although he did not enjoy the king's unconditional trust like Zhao Sheng, he was often questioned by King Zhao Dan.

If Lin Xiangru hadn't said it, he wouldn't have noticed.

It seemed that the king really had something to ask, so he kept asking about his clan relatives instead of the civil and military officials.

With a long sigh, Pingyang Jun Zhao Bao helped Lin Xiangru up.

"Minister Lin, it's getting cold, please take care of yourself. Bao sent someone to call a carriage for Minister Lin."

Zhao Wangdan turned his head sharply and glared at him.

[Why don’t you kill this traitor? Why do you let him go?]
Pingyang Jun Zhao Bao shook his head slightly.

King Dan of Zhao pointed twice at Lin Xiangru behind his back, swung his arms violently, and stood angrily with his hands behind his back.

Zhao Bao saw Lin Xiangru off from Changle Palace and watched him get on the carriage before returning.

Sitting in front of the brazier, roasting it gently.

Warmth flowed through his body, and Zhao Bao breathed a sigh of relief. He was past the age of knowing one's destiny, and he was old...

"Uncle, why don't you let me kill that old bastard! He clearly wants to kill someone with a borrowed knife!" Zhao Wangdan was furious.

The Qin envoy could not be provoked, so he endured it.

He is the King of Zhao, and he can't even offend a Zhao minister?

He felt that he had been good enough to Lin Xiangru, and the Imperial Medical Bureau was about to become Lin's private medical bureau.

"Ever since that old man was laid up on his sickbed, how often have I not visited him?
"When he went to court, I allowed him to sit and talk, and didn't even ask him to stand up!

"I worship him with the same respect as if he were my ancestors' tablet.

"He's dissatisfied? He has nothing to be dissatisfied about!

"I was just too good to him. He deserves to die! His whole family deserves to die! I will exterminate this old bastard's entire clan!"

Pingyang Lord Zhao Bao listened quietly until King Dan of Zhao finished roaring and vented his anger before he spoke.

"Just say these words in Changle, in front of me, don't spread them out.

"Lin Xiangru cannot be killed.

"Lian Po and he had the best relationship, the two families had several marriages, and they advanced and retreated together.

"If the king wishes to exterminate Lin Xiangru and his entire clan, Lian Po must be involved.

"Lian Po is now leading an army of 130,000. We will use all of our Zhao forces except those on the border to fight against the 600,000 troops of Yan. There cannot be any problems at all.

"Your Majesty wants to kill Lin Xiangru because his actions will lead to the destruction of Zhao. But if Your Majesty kills Lin Xiangru's entire clan today, Zhao will also be destroyed tomorrow.

"Let Lin Xiangru live.

“He won’t live much longer, and it’ll be hard for him to even survive this winter.

“In the future, just don’t listen to him.

"Continue to offer him as a sacrifice, show the king's benevolence, and use him to enhance the king's reputation. Isn't this more useful than killing him?"

Although Zhao Bao had heard Lin Xiangru say that King Dan of Zhao only trusted his relatives and not his civil and military officials, he also realized that this was indeed the case.

But he had no intention of bringing up the matter again or advising King Zhao Dan.

At the meeting at Mianchi, Lin Xiangru threatened King Zhaoxiang of Qin for the sake of King Zhao's prestige and won back his face.

King Zhaoxiang of Qin wanted the Heshi Bi, and Lin Xiangru delivered it alone and returned the Bi intact to Zhao.

Even a man like Lin Xiangru rebelled, thinking of selling the State of Zhao as a dowry and becoming a relative of the Qin Empire. Doesn't this further prove that these outsiders are unreliable?

Only relatives like him, Zhao Bao, truly consider the interests of the State of Zhao!

After hearing what his uncle said, King Dan of Zhao felt that it was indeed true.

Although he was thinking clearly, he still felt uncomfortable in his heart, and said in a muffled voice:
“That’s true, but I still feel suffocated.

"This old man took advantage of my anger over the death of my uncle, Lord Pingyuan, and tricked me into killing the kid.

"If you, uncle, hadn't discovered it in time, I would have made another big mistake. Would this matter be forgotten?"

"What can we do if we forget about it? If you're really angry, didn't that kid teach the king how to dance with brass tubes? Let it go." Zhao Bao said in an unpleasant voice.

"The body of Lord Pingyang is still warm! What nonsense are you talking about, uncle?" King Dan of Zhao was filled with resentment and anger.

Pingyang Jun Zhao Bao had a bad look on his face.

"Your Majesty is talking nonsense! Don't always think about your own feelings! Pay more attention and observe!
"For example, that little kid.

"Although he was talking freely at first in the morning, after Mao Sui's assassination attempt failed, the kid no longer called himself "this lord", which shows that he was really panicked.

"Your Majesty, please don't act on impulse.

"Lin Xiangru not only said that this kid was plotting to murder people, but also said that Qin was strong on the outside but weak on the inside, and that this kid would be a great threat to our Zhao State in the future.

“The king bullied him tonight and tested the little kid.

"We agreed that the weaker the kid behaves, the more correct Lin Xiangru is, and we can kill him.

"The more arrogant and domineering he is, the more confident he is. We should not kill him. We should treat him like a real envoy from Qin. After all, a banquet is not a court meeting, so we should not lose face for Zhao.

“That little brat wanted the king’s head, and couldn’t be more arrogant.

"The king did not follow the plan and wanted to kill him instead. I hope this won't happen again!"

Zhao Wangdan frowned and said "hmm", feeling that his life as the King of Zhao was extremely frustrating.

Pingyang Jun Zhao Bao thought about it and pondered for a long time, with flames flashing on his face again and again.

"Now, our Zhao State is worried about the 600,000 troops of the Yan State in the east. Lian Po has 130,000 troops, many of whom are children. How can he stop them?
"As for the Qin State in the west, there is no need to elaborate on how our Zhao State treated Zhao Zheng in the past. Now Zhao Zheng is the eldest son of the King of Qin.

"The solutions to the immediate problems are nothing more than internal conquest, external aid, and alienation.

"It is not possible to launch an internal campaign. All the men of Zhao State over the age of 15 have been mobilized to form an army of 130,000 for Lian Po. The conscription age cannot be lowered any further.

"Foreign aid should be sought from Qi, Wei, Chu, Qin and other countries to see which country can send troops and which country can send food. We will discuss the details at the court meeting tomorrow.

"Lijian, I heard that the two leading the Yan army are Li Fu and Zong Qing.

“I haven’t heard of how powerful Li Fu is, but Zong Qing has defeated the Qin general Wang He, so he should not be underestimated.

"Le Yi was once a colleague of Zong Qing. Your Majesty should summon Le Yi and ask him about his weaknesses so that he can be attacked. Or you can incite him to rebel and let Yan State take him down on its own.

“As for the long-term concerns, they can be easily resolved.

"Your Majesty, just do one thing well."

Zhao Wangdan smiled and thought of that interesting little kid.

At the age of seven, he is still unable to have sex, but he knows everything about matters between men and women as well as reading the lines on the palm of his hand.

The Zhao State, where the Hu Feng culture was prevalent, produced the famous Handan prostitute, but in the eyes of the Zhao State, she was useless.

The cooking dishes and chairs at the back also seem interesting, so you might as well give them a try.

“I understand.

"I will make this kid fall in love with Zhao and forget about Qin.

"There is only one King of Qin, and he must fall into the hands of Cheng Jiao, the prince of Qin who is loyal to our Zhao State."

The carriage carrying Lin Xiangru returned to the mansion.

Lin Yi helped his old father into the house with a fire wall and a fire pit.

"Father, Chang'an Jun has been waiting for a long time."

"He comes in and you go out." Lin Xiangru said concisely.

When Ying Chengjiao stepped into the house and saw Lin Xiangru for the first time, he felt that this man deserved to die.

He couldn't explain where this feeling came from, it just arose out of nowhere in his heart.

Obviously the person has not changed, he is still Lin Xiangru, and the two met three times in one day.

When he came to see him after the morning court session, Ying Chengjiao did not have this feeling.

Ying Chengjiao didn't have this feeling when they met at the banquet.

Only now.

Ying Chengjiao had a strong feeling that Lin Xiangru was about to die.

"What's wrong? You said too much at the banquet and now you can't speak?" Lin Xiangru said with a smile.

It seemed like I was back home, sitting by the warm fire pit, leaning against the warm fire wall, and my spirits improved a lot.

"That's not the case." Ying Chengjiao also smiled: "I just didn't expect that Prime Minister Lin would act so dangerously. Has Prime Minister Lin ever thought about what would happen if I just left?"

"Then you don't deserve my help." Lin Xiangru said forcefully: "I can't give my life to a loser."

Ying Chengjiao shrugged.

"I don't want to kill Lin Xiang. I just want to resolve the feud between Qin and Zhao. I like peace and enjoy life. War is really terrible."

Lin Xiangru laughed so hard that all the wrinkles on his face melted away.

"I want to know what peace looks like to you? Sitting on a chair eating stir-fried dishes while looking at the brass beauty?"

Ying Chengjiao nodded repeatedly, looking like he had found a soulmate.

"Yes, yes, Prime Minister Lin really understands me.

"Qin has already done this, and it would be best if Zhao did the same.

"Everyone should love each other and stop fighting and killing each other."

The corners of Lin Xiangru's mouth curled up, and a glimmer of brilliance appeared in the old man's cloudy eyes.

“Chair, I have heard about it.

“Carpentry work is indeed a convenient object. I heard that the Qin people sat on chairs when they went to court.

“The dishes were brought by the people from the Lu’s Chamber of Commerce, and I tasted them.

“But I heard that stir-fried dishes can only be eaten in your Chengjiao Palace? It hasn’t spread.

“As for the copper pipe beauty, this old man heard of it for the first time tonight, and you definitely don’t have any in the Qin State!
"Boy, you are more sinister than your father."

(End of this chapter)