What group are you guys?

Chapter 544 The Final Battle

"I beg you to transfer General Wang back to Xianyang!"

A group of people argued in the hall for a while, and finally the Prime Minister Lu Buwei, who was standing at the front, stood up and spoke to Ying Zheng.

Suddenly, the originally noisy hall became silent, and everyone stared at the person who was speaking in amazement.

In fact, court meetings similar to today's have been held several times, and everyone understands that since Zhao State refuses to withdraw its troops, the only thing Qin State can do now is to give up the entire Shangdang area and let Wang Jian lead his troops back to defend Hangu Pass!
But who will take this responsibility? Who dares to speak up?
Qin and Zhao fought for hundreds of years over Shangdang. It was only after Bai Qi massacred 400,000 Zhao soldiers more than 20 years ago that Shangdang was truly turned into Qin's territory. It can be said that every inch of the land is piled with bones.

That is the exit plain of Taihang Mountain. It is easy for Wang Jian to retreat, but it is very difficult to fight back!

So even though the Tang army had already reached Hangu Pass, no one dared to take the initiative to ask for Wang Jian to come back.

Xiao Liuzi was scolded all his life for giving up the three northeastern provinces. If he had not made up for his mistakes later, he would definitely have become the biggest negative example in the past century.

But he had no choice at that time!

In the Middle East Railway incident two years ago, Northeast China fought against Russia's mighty army with its own strength, and was beaten so badly that it almost lost all recognition. Those guys who promised to aid it before the war all remained inactive, and many even waited for it to be defeated so that they could seize its profits.

So when the war breaks out again, you will let Xiao Liuzi continue to be stubborn and fight on his own?

If you were sitting in that position, you would probably be confused about what to choose!

All the officials in the court were worried. Whoever spoke first would have to take the blame. Giving up the thousands of miles of land in Shangdang would definitely be the biggest traitor in the history of Qin.

As for those guys who want to gain fame or show their loyalty to the King of Qin?
Please, do you think anyone can take the blame for this?
Your level is not high enough and your fame is not enough, so even if you want to take the blame, it is not your turn!

And now, Lu Buwei actually took the initiative to take the blame, which was really beyond everyone's expectations.

Although the King of Qin had been trying to take back power from the Prime Minister in the past two years after he took power, Lu Buwei had been the Prime Minister for ten years. Unless he made any serious mistakes, even the King of Qin could not take away his power.

During the Qin and Han dynasties, the power of the prime minister was quite great. He could even directly refute the emperor's orders. For example, Wang Mang, Dong Zhuo, Cao Cao and other prime ministers who are familiar to everyone had more power than the emperor.

So even though Ying Zheng had wanted to get rid of Lu Buwei for a long time, he had to let him continue to control the government due to the situation.

Originally everyone thought that this power struggle would continue for a long time, but unexpectedly, Lu Buwei actually gave up his position voluntarily?

You must know that Qin law implemented the system of collective responsibility. Once Lu Buwei made this proposal, all the responsibility for the loss of Shangdang fell on him, and he could no longer continue to serve as the prime minister.

Ying Zheng looked at Lu Buwei in front of him, and suddenly felt his eyes moist.

No matter how he will become the mighty First Emperor in the future, in fact, now he is just a young man longing for family affection!

If we simply ignore class and look at Ying Zheng's life, he can indeed be described as miserable. His mother was just a singer given to his father by Lu Buwei, not even a concubine. During the Battle of Changping, his father Qin Yiren was still a hostage in Zhao State. At that time, everyone in Zhao State wanted to eat the Qin people alive, so his father ran away directly, and never thought that he had a pregnant toy left in Zhao State.

When Ying Zheng was left in Zhao State, he was in danger of being killed by the people of Zhao at any time, especially his mother Zhao Ji, who went straight back to her old ways. If it weren't for the fact that Qin Yiren became the King of Qin and finally remembered this toy he had left in Zhao State because of the difficulty in having an heir, Ying Zheng would probably not even have the qualifications to return to Qin State in his life.

Ying Zheng, who had finally returned to his country, thought he could enjoy the warmth of home, but his father died within minutes. Ying Zheng, who was only twelve years old, succeeded to the throne and became the new King of Qin.

Ying Zheng had a very good relationship with his only half-brother Cheng Qiao. Cheng Qiao was named Lord Chang'an when he was just fourteen years old. However, a group of ambitious people wanted to gain benefits through Cheng Qiao, so the so-called Lord Chang'an Rebellion broke out!

As a result, while Ying Zheng was still lamenting the death of his brother, his mother and his mistress actually wanted to rebel against him.

After Ying Zheng killed his mother's mistress and imprisoned his mother, he wanted to seize power from Lu Buwei, whom he had always regarded as his adoptive father.

After completing all this, Ying Zheng thought he could finally make a big splash. However, who would have thought that his father-in-law, Lord Changping, would betray him at the critical moment of Qin's attack on Chu!

It can be said that Zheng Ge's whole life was spent in betrayal, so even if he did not appoint an heir until his death, it must have been a bit heartbreaking!

Of course, Ying Zheng still has some feelings for Lu Buwei. Although the two are fighting for power, it has not yet reached the stage of life and death. Lu Buwei stood up and took all the blame on himself, which shocked Ying Zheng greatly.

However, as a qualified political monarch, even if he was extremely grateful for Lu Buwei's contributions, he still had to do what he should do.

Ying Zheng immediately ordered Wang Jian to lead his troops back to defend the city, and then issued an edict to remove Lu Buwei from his position as prime minister. Even Lu Buwei's original fiefdom of 100,000 households was reduced to 90,000 households.

As the decrees were issued one after another, Wang Jian immediately led his army to retreat from Shangdang. Even if Li Mu wanted to lead his troops to launch a sneak attack from behind, it would be impossible for Wang Jian, who was as still as a mountain, to gain the upper hand over him.

However, the residents of Shangdang area suffered. It was impossible for the Zhao people to come in and harm nothing. It would be more appropriate to change to the Three Alls Policy.

However, the civilians only need to consider how to survive, while the Qin officials who are the decision-makers have much more to consider!
After more than a month, Wang Jian finally led his army from Shangdang to Hangu Pass, but at this time Hangu Pass was already on the verge of collapse.

Just like what is described in all novels and movies, the protagonist always appears at the most critical moment.

"General Wang!"

When Li Xin saw Wang Jian coming, he almost cried.

Three months!
Three whole months!
Do you know how he got through it?
Those damn Tang troops were like crazy, attacking Hangu Pass day and night without stopping for a moment.

What made Li Xin particularly frustrated was that the number of enemies kept increasing.

At the beginning, Fan Yuqi had only 350,000 troops under his command, but after three months of fighting, the number had swelled to 700,000!
How to fight this?
(End of this chapter)