Inside the court of the ruler of Zhongshan, the ministers who supported the alliance with Jin believed that there was no better option at the moment!

Jiang Ming is incredibly cunning! He not only subdued the Xiongnu and annihilated the Rouran, but also allied with the Xianbei... There is almost nothing in the world that can restrain him.

As for Maiqiu to the south, it became almost a quagmire of war...

Hundreds of thousands of troops were blocked by Le Yi and could not advance an inch!

On Jiang Ming's side, including the Xiongnu, Xianbei, and Yan's own reserves, they could muster at least 200,000 troops! It was only a matter of time before they conquered Zhongshan.

But that's not the key point!

The crucial issue is that... Zhongshan can't afford to offend the State of Jin either!

The State of Jin extended an olive branch, seeking an alliance with the State of Zhongshan. However, if the State of Zhongshan refused to cooperate, given the fiery temper of the ruler of Jin, who was known for his extreme ruthlessness, he might once again mobilize an army of hundreds of thousands to attack Zhongshan.

The two countries have fought more than once before!

If they attack from both the north and south, the Zhongshan Kingdom will perish even faster!

The State of Zhongshan distrusted the State of Yan, and even less so the State of Jin...

This is a question with no other options!

The ministers who opposed the alliance argued that if Jin truly wanted to help Zhongshan, it should send reinforcements to the front lines at Maiqiu to help Qi attack Yan. This would restrain Yan's power, rather than forcing Jin to use the route to attack Yan's prime minister, Jiang Ming.

Their motive for wanting to pass through Zhongshan is clearly impure!

If the State of Jin suddenly changes its mind and attacks Shouchun City during the passage, then the State of Zhongshan will be doomed!

However, Zhao Yong's retainers had already anticipated that the people of Zhongshan would say such a thing, and they reiterated Jin's position: Jin hates Jiang Ming, not Yan!

The ruler of Jin only wanted to kill Jiang Ming, not destroy his kinsman state of Yan.

Therefore, they could only go to Gu County to fight by passing through Zhongshan!

If the State of Zhongshan agrees to allow passage, then the King of Jin guarantees that there will never be any conflict with the State of Zhongshan again, and that the friendship between the two countries will last forever, and they will always be good neighbors!

At the same time, the Jin envoy also made a harsh statement: if the ruler of Zhongshan does not agree to let the Jin army pass through to fight in Gu County, then the Jin army will use all its strength to first destroy Zhongshan, and then go to Gu County to fight Jiang Ming!

All the pressure fell on the ruler of Zhongshan...

The ruler of Zhongshan, who had been swindled out of almost all his wealth by Jiang Ming, was caught in a huge dilemma.

Say yes? I can't afford to gamble!

You won't agree, will you?

Given the foolish nature of the ruler of Jin, he will definitely lead his army on another northern expedition!

If we're attacked from both sides, we're finished!

This may seem like they're discussing something with you, but it's actually a calculated move that leaves you with no choice!

Just as the King of Zhongshan was suffering from anxiety and inner conflict for two days and two nights without being able to sleep, the Prime Minister of Zhongshan gave him a terrible idea!

The prime minister of Zhongshan believed that although on the surface, Zhongshan had no choice but to agree to Jin's demands and was being put on the verge of death, in fact, this game could still be turned around!

Originally, our Zhongshan State had a powerful ally, the State of Qi, with hundreds of thousands of troops still on the front lines at Maiqiu.

The reason we can't move forward is simply because of Leyi...

Once the problem with Leyi is solved, the entire game will shift from a passive to an active position!

The Prime Minister of Zhongshan suggested... that Le Yi's mother be taken directly to the front line of Maiqiu and handed over to the commander of Qi, so that Le Yi could surrender.

If Le Yi doesn't surrender, they'll slice Le Yi's mother to pieces, forcing Le Yi to fight.

The bond between mothers and children is the deepest human emotion! And Yueyi is a filial son...

Even if he refused to surrender to the State of Qi... he would certainly not remain indifferent and stubbornly defend the pass like a coward.

If he remains inactive while his mother's flesh is being cut off piece by piece, is he even human?

This was also a calculated move: forcing Le Yi to send troops!

Once he sends out his troops and the two sides engage in battle, the numerical advantage of Qi's troops will become apparent!

With the tide of battle turning in Maiqiu, Jiang Ming could no longer threaten Zhongshan Kingdom from Gu County.

And the State of Zhongshan no longer needs to be beholden to the State of Jin!

Handing Le Yi's mother over to the Qi army is a great gift from our Zhongshan Kingdom to Qi, far more effective than an army of 100,000!

Qi Jun will surely appreciate our kindness!

With the support of the Qi people, the Yan state will also be destroyed... and the Jin state will naturally dare not threaten Zhongshan again.

By then, the Qin state in the west, the Qi state in the east, and the Zhongshan state in the north would besiege the Jin state together. Even if the Jin state was powerful, what could it do?

You still have to behave yourself, right?

The prime minister's words enlightened the king of Zhongshan, who was almost in a mental dead end, and he finally stopped fighting amongst himself!

In his anxiety and anger, he actually forgot about Le Yi's mother, his trump card. How awful!

So he immediately ordered his men to arrest Le Yi's mother and send the old lady to the front lines as quickly as possible!

At the court meeting the next day, the ruler of Zhongshan did not immediately reject the envoy from Jin. Instead, he said, "The matter of the alliance is of great importance and needs to be discussed and considered further with my ministers. The envoy can return to Jin first. Once there is news, I will naturally send an envoy from Zhongshan to Jin to inform him of the details."

Upon hearing this, the Jin envoy, who was also Zhao Yong's retainer, was immediately displeased!

The attitude of the ruler of Zhongshan was hardly that of a small state towards a large one; he was clearly treating the people of Jin like fools!

As a superpower in the Central Plains, the State of Jin always coerced and forced other countries to obey, whether they wanted to or not. There was no such thing as 'going back and waiting for news'!

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