Chapter 43 The king's sky has collapsed, and Bian State has returned to the king...

Iron weapons have now appeared on large battlefields. It won't be long before the princes will be able to figure out how to smelt iron and then figure out how to forge iron weapons.

This is the extraordinary imitation ability of human beings.

The reason why Shen Zhiwei made this judgment was because she knew very well that the world people live in is a big circle. In this circle, nothing can be an absolute secret unless all the people who know it are dead.

There were so many people involved in the iron forging project, and if one person couldn't control his mouth, the matter would be leaked.

What's more, in addition to the people who forged weapons, there were many more people who had access to iron weapons. It was impossible to recover all the iron armor and weapons of the soldiers who died on the battlefield. Once a weapon fell into the hands of the enemy, it was only a matter of time before it was copied.

The only thing she could do was to delay the technological breakthrough.

As long as the people of Bian State don't know how to make weapons out of iron before An Guo conquers Bian State, it will be fine.

If iron itself is made into weapons, it will become very brittle. In fact, any sharp iron tool is an alloy, which is not pure iron mixed with other substances.

This is a technical difficulty that is not easy to overcome.

After Shen Zhiwei figured it out, he looked at An Jin, who was still furious, and said, "It's better to open it than to block it. Jingchang doesn't have that much time to deal with the ubiquitous eyes. An Jin, you can announce some things to the outside world, and then do some cover-ups on top of that."

Rather than letting them find the right path by accident, it is better to lead people astray from the beginning.

When it comes to experiments, we are not afraid of having no results, but we are afraid of having results but all of them are wrong.

At this point, not only do you not know which step has the problem, but you also waste a lot of time and energy. Retracing the source and checking the steps one by one will waste even more time.

Shen Zhiwei needs this time difference.

An Jin seemed to be thinking about something, but Gui Yang was overjoyed when he heard it. He said that the king was not an ordinary person, look at how evil this idea was... No, it's so smart!

"Brilliant! Brilliant! What a brilliant plan! Your Majesty is wise, and we are far inferior to you!"

Gui Yang wanted to kneel down and praise him. When he praised the king, his face was sincere, as if everything he said came from the heart and was not false at all.

Shen Zhiwei was pleased by his super flattering tone. No wonder the king loves treacherous flatterers. Who can not love a treacherous flatterer who is good-looking, speaks well, and is reliable in doing things!

Honest advice may be unpleasant to the ears but is beneficial to one’s conduct. However, honest advice is so unpleasant to the ears that I really cannot listen to a single word of it!

Shen Zhiwei chuckled and said, "Yang is a wonderful person. It's Dazai's credit that he caught the spy this time. He deserves a reward! Jin, do you have any free time recently? How about forging a sword for Dazai?"

People at that time loved to carry swords, especially scholars, and sword dancing and drinking were the most elegant things to do.

The sword Gui Yang carries now is named Guanxin, which was asked for by his teacher when he was a child. Because he was still a teenager when he carried the sword, the blade was a little short.

An Jin is a true sword-making master. If she can forge a sword for Gui Yang personally, it will surely make Gui Yang famous. In addition, this sword was personally requested by the king for him. If the news gets out, Gui Yang's name will be heard by every scholar.

Whether the sword is good or not is another matter, but the cards are really strong.

Gui Yang immediately expressed his gratitude and waited happily for his new sword. He planned to take Guan Xin to An Jin to see if he could re-inlay the gem on Guan Xin on the new sword.

An Jin was very grateful for Gui Yang's reminder, so he was not opposed to forging a sword for Gui Yang. After agreeing to it, he decisively went down to prepare.

After An Jin left, Gui Yang mentioned someone to Shen Zhiwei.

Former Prime Minister, now the Prime Minister - Zhu.

Zhu's surname is Jiang and his clan name is Jing. Jing Zhu used to be the prime minister and is now the chief minister. His presence in the court has never been very high.

The main reason was that he was the prime minister of the previous king and had a close relationship with the previous king. He originally wanted to assist the previous king's prince, but the previous king had no son for a long time. Later, an unknown princess ascended the throne of the new king. He was not familiar with the princess, let alone any mutual interests. Therefore, for a long time, he acted like a wooden man in front of Shen Zhiwei.

He didn't speak or do anything. He just stood there during court sessions, silenter than the pillars in the hall.

Maybe it was because he was old, so he didn't have the energy to fight with the young people, or maybe he really looked down on King Jingchang, so even if Shen Zhiwei kicked him down from the position of Prime Minister and gave him the position of Prime Minister who he had never heard of, he didn't make much of a fuss.

On the surface, it really didn't look like much trouble.

In fact, the old prime minister was probably almost angry to death, thinking that the young people in Jingchang, including the king, did not care about him as an old man.

Maybe he was getting old and missed the warmth of family. Anyway, no one knew what was going on, but Jing Zhu suddenly got in touch with people from Bian State.

According to Gui Yang, Jing Zhu did not do anything else but just made things convenient for the people of Bian State. After all, he was a scholar-official who had been loyal to the king, and it was impossible for him to do something too treacherous.

What's the difference between simply providing convenience for spies and treason?

Shen Zhiwei then remembered that Jing Zhu's surname was Jiang, and perhaps he and the king of Bian State had the same ancestor a hundred years ago.

Gui Yang had been keeping an eye on the old prime minister for a long time. Initially, he thought that if he couldn't find any evidence to bring him down, he would resort to some tricks in secret. Anyway, he was determined to get the position of Prime Minister that the king had personally established for him.

Unexpectedly, before his patience was exhausted, the old man found a crime for himself.

The evidence in Gui Yang's hand was conclusive. After Shen Zhiwei read it over, he stripped the other party of his official position without even calling the old prime minister into the palace.

If you like to do things convenient for people in the enemy country, you might as well just go to the enemy country and be an official. No matter which world it is, Shen Zhiwei especially hates these guys who collaborate with the enemy and commit treason.

As Shen Zhiwei discovered that the old prime minister was colluding with the Bian Kingdom and was removed from all his official positions, the other nobles became much more obedient. In any case, no one dared to have any contact with people from the Bian Kingdom anymore.

Gui Yang sent a group of people to reveal the methods of forging iron tools. Those methods were fragmentary and strange, and the spies who heard about them were a little skeptical.

But they can no longer get close to Baigongfang, and if they don't report this information, the people behind them will not be happy.

For the sake of their own lives and future, the spies closed their eyes, made up their minds, and reported all the confusing news they heard back to Bian State.

The people in Bian State had not yet learned about what had happened in Jingchang, and they thought the news was all true. They honestly followed the steps in the news to smelt iron and forge ironware.

The result was either the furnace exploded or a batch of scrap iron was produced. During this period, the craftsmen were troubled and a large amount of materials and money was consumed. They suspected everyone, but did not doubt that the news itself was wrong.

The result was that the Bian State suffered repeated defeats on the front lines. Not only were the original weapons insufficient, but people died when the new weapons were used, and some of the subsequent supplies could not keep up. In this war, the soldiers of the Bian State were suffering from all kinds of bad conditions.

After Shen Zhiwei knew about this, he secretly laughed from ear to ear. On the surface, he was very calm, as if he had expected it. He turned around and gave Gui Yang a lot of rewards.

Gui Yang wanted the position of Prime Minister, not a reward. Shen Zhiwei didn't expect that she couldn't give the money. The position of Prime Minister is currently an empty shell. Shen Zhiwei didn't want to cheat Gui Yang who worked wholeheartedly for her, and explained the matter to Gui Yang in detail.

Gui Yang was quite stubborn. He said bluntly, "The position of Prime Minister was created by the King himself for me. Now that it's vacant, why can't I take it? As for the shortage of people under the Prime Minister, it's only a temporary issue. We can slowly recruit talented people to fill the vacancy in the future."

The problem of lack of manpower has never been within Gui Yang's consideration. Gui Yang herself has several retainers. If it really doesn't work out, she can let those people work under the Prime Minister temporarily.

It just so happens that she can find an official position for those retainers. Most of the people who come to serve as retainers under Gui Yang are from humble backgrounds and have ordinary families who cannot be recommended for official positions.

If you can get them an official position, no matter how big or small it is, they will be happy to do it.

The power of the Prime Minister is extremely great. Once Gui Yang controls the power of the Prime Minister, he will have a better future than serving as an official in the position of Prime Minister.

Shen Zhiwei suddenly had the illusion that she was shooting herself in the foot. The main reason why she was unwilling to let Gui Yang become the Prime Minister was that she did not want to bring out the cabinet system.

The original old prime minister sat in this position and did nothing, and the chief minister was just a title. But once Gui Yang became the chief minister, he would definitely make some moves. The cabinet system was more advanced than the current official system, and if the cabinet system was implemented, the imperial examination could be implemented as a matter of course.

After all, the few people recommended alone could not fill the official base required by the cabinet system. Once the imperial examination was implemented, it involved the training of students.

As we all know, the speed at which schools train students far exceeds the elite education currently practiced by major families. It doesn't take too long, just three to five years, for one generation of students to train the next.

This won’t work. Didn’t the Zhou Dynasty rise?

Shen Zhiwei only needed to speculate a little to see that her country would never perish in the future, so she could not let Gui Yang be the prime minister. She had to nip that terrible future in the bud!

"Your Majesty, Doctor Hu is now leading the Emperor's troops in attacking Yongming City. If you win this battle, Your Majesty will be able to control most of Bian State, and from now on, Bian State will disappear from the Nine Provinces. Bian State is vast, and relying solely on the officials of Jingchang is simply not enough to implement the county system that Your Majesty has implemented in Taisheng. Your Majesty must prepare enough officials before this, and I am willing to help Your Majesty share your worries!"

?

When I type a question mark, it’s not me who has a problem, it’s you who has a problem!

Shen Zhiwei thought he had heard wrongly. Who was attacking Yongming City? Hu Youan?

"You just said, where is You'an attacking?"

If you listen carefully, you can tell that Shen Zhiwei's voice is trembling slightly at this moment, and even the face that usually has no expression can show a hint of collapse.

Unfortunately, at this moment, Gui Yang's mind was full of the idea of ​​becoming the Prime Minister, and he didn't notice that there was anything wrong with the king's expression at the moment.

He smiled somewhat sheepishly and said, "In fact, Doctor Hu has been besieging Yongming City for several days, but the people of Bian State have been resisting stubbornly, so they have been unable to break through the city gates. If this continues, it is very likely that the An State army will arrive. Doctor Hu has already sent a military report to Jingchang. Your Majesty has been busy dealing with Jiang Zhu's matter these days, so he may not have read the report yet."

It's not that she didn't read the military newspaper. It's just that Shen Zhiwei is used to procrastinating and handling government affairs at a slow pace. Anyway, there is nothing big happening near Jingchang, so she doesn't need to work so long every day. So it is normal for her to not know the news from two or three days ago.

Shen Zhiwei used to think that as a king of a fallen country, she shouldn't care too much about state affairs. If she did too well, how could she still be considered a king of a fallen country?

Now Shen Zhiwei is doubting his life. Will the king of another country who has lost his country also have a city fall from the sky because he is lazy and does not take care of the government affairs?

No, it’s not just one city, it’s many cities. Hu Youan has already reached the capital of Bian State. It is conceivable how many fortresses in front of Yongming City she has captured.

Shen Zhiwei was devastated by the news, feeling completely dizzy. Why were her men working so hard? Why were they so ruthless? Was this the kind of ministers a king of a fallen nation should have? I didn't allow you to attack the city, so you secretly developed your forces to surprise me?

While Shen Zhiwei digested the news in silence, Gui Yang continued to speak as if she knew nothing.

"I heard that the new king of Bian State is ready to surrender, but he's worried that An Guo might massacre the city, so he's been fighting back with his life. If Your Majesty can subdue the king of Bian State with mercy, I think Yongming City will open its gates before An Guo's army arrives."

Gui Yang's meaning was just one sentence: she wanted the king to write a letter of persuasion for surrender, stating that the royal army would never massacre the city, nor would they kill the Bian nobles in the city.

Shen Zhiwei's eyes lit up when she heard this. This meant that if she didn't write a letter of surrender, Yongming City would not open the gates and would hold out until An Guo's troops arrived. Hu Youan would definitely not be able to defeat An Guo's army, and Yongming City would not fall into her hands. An Guo would still be the most powerful vassal force and would one day be able to help her achieve the achievement of a king who lost his country!

The logic is sound, that's right!

The sky that had just collapsed on Shen Zhiwei was partially restored, and there seemed to be a glimmer of hope again.

Great! So she definitely couldn't write any letter of persuasion.

"The ministers and monarch of Bian have long disrespected the royal family. If we allow them to remain alive and in their original positions, how can we truly believe that Bian has been conquered? Can we truly believe that Bian has been recaptured simply by their lip service to loyalty?"

Gui Yang fell silent after hearing this. The king was right.

Why do we often choose to massacre a city after attacking it? It is because most of the people in this city belong to the forces of the previous monarch.

If we don't kill them, we have to persuade them one by one, which is time-consuming and laborious. How can we believe the words of loyalty they say?

There are too many examples of a moment of mercy leading to the loss of cities once they have been conquered.

Of course, massacring a city is not a good thing, as many innocent people will die tragically, it will breed many crimes, and it will also create a stigma, but it is the fastest way to take control of a city or a force.

When retaking Taisheng, Shen Zhiwei tacitly agreed to Hu Youan's killing of the Marquis of Taisheng and his son, and even brought about a divine punishment that completely nailed the father and son as criminals. Without their former master to be loyal to, and because Hu Youan deliberately let go of many nobles of Taisheng, he was able to successfully retake Taisheng City.

Where could the nobles of Yongming City flee to? They had long been tied to the Bian Kingdom.

"Your Majesty is absolutely right. Yang has never been on the battlefield. He is overthinking it."

If you think about it carefully, the military report sent by Hu Youan did not mention asking the king to write a letter of surrender, but only reported the current situation truthfully.

Gui Yang was clearly aware of her own shortcomings, and at the same time had a new understanding of the king's foresight.

The king was obviously younger than him and had less experience, but he could always see farther and understand things more clearly than him. Gui Yang's eyes were full of admiration and conviction when she looked at the king.

Shen Zhiwei was puzzled when she suddenly received a strange look. Since Gui Yang would abstract from time to time, Shen Zhiwei did not pay much attention to this look.

She breathed a sigh of relief in her heart. It seemed that she had been fooled. Very good. The King of Bian State should resist bravely. When An Guo’s army arrives, you can capture the city!

Her country's path to destruction can still be saved!

At this moment, Yongming City, the capital of Bian State, was in a desolate state. Battles were fought outside the city gate one after another. News of defeat and death were sent back to the city, and no one could see hope.

Yongming City has been surrounded by Hu Youan's soldiers and it is impossible to transmit any information to the outside world. Therefore, the nobles in Yongming City have no idea what is happening at the border.

Perhaps soon, there will be more soldiers outside the city, and perhaps, he will see the arrogant face of An Guojun Zhuo.

Sitting on the throne, King Sen of Bian State, who had been in a daze for a long time, thought desperately.

How did things get to this point? He had finally become one of the powerful princes, and he had clearly succeeded! He had proven to the world that he was no worse than anyone else, no worse than Zhuo!

But why, he was the one trapped in the city and the one whose country was about to be destroyed?

This is not fair!

Why are some people born with everything, beautiful looks, smart minds, and extraordinary talents, while he has nothing? If he is not the eldest son of his father, he may not even be able to succeed to the throne.

He had nothing, and now the man who had everything wanted to deprive him of the only thing he had.

Sen placed his hands on the throne and carefully stroked the totem of the Bian Kingdom on it, which was a blue bird.

In ancient times, the bluebird was a divine bird that symbolized bravery and diligence. The founding king of the Bian Kingdom was a brave man. He once delivered news of the invasion of the border to the king for thousands of miles, and fought for the king on the battlefield all his life, winning the king's trust and being granted the title of Duke on the banks of the Bian River.

He should not be so cowardly. He should follow the example of his ancestors and become a loyal and brave man.

When Sen thought that Bianguo would fall into the hands of An Gongzhuo, his fingers trembled with anger. He took the brocade, spread it out, and picked up the pen to write a letter of surrender.

He was originally a minister of the king, so why not surrender to the king? Anyway, An Zhuo had no intention of getting his hands on the land of Bian State. Even if he gave it all to the emperor, he would not give An Zhuo a single bit!

So on the letter of surrender, Sen directly wrote "I now offer all the land of Bian State to the emperor, and ask for his forgiveness." After finishing the letter of surrender in one breath, Sen threw the pen aside, and his tears wet his clothes.

Hu Youan was observing Yongming City from outside the city. In her hand was the map of Yongming City that Bian Xiaolian had drawn after staying up all night for several days.

This map is larger than the one drawn by Bianxiao before, and all the rivers near Yongming City are included in the picture.

The more Hu Youan looked at the picture, the more undecided he became.

Yongming City has been under siege for a long time. She not only has to worry about the arrival of her "allies", but also about the lack of supplies for the army. Jingchang's foundation is too weak, and it has not had the experience of participating in a major war for many years. Even if Wen Tao leads her classmates to work hard to maintain stability in the rear, there are still great hidden dangers.

The longer the time drags on, the more disadvantageous it will be for Hu Youan.

So Hu Youan started to think of some unorthodox methods.

Yongming City is a city built beside the Bian River. Its terrain is actually relatively low compared to its surrounding areas.

If a dam is built downstream of the Bian River, the Bian River will flow back into Yongming City.

The threat of the Bian River has not been taken seriously in the past, mainly because the Bian River is already the center of the Bian State. If the Bian River is really in the hands of the enemy, the Bian State will be destroyed at any time. Why bother to consider the backflow of the Bian River? Just consider whether the country can be saved.

Hu Youan didn't want to use this method unless it was absolutely necessary. After the river water flowed back into the city, Yongming City would basically be ruined.

Even if the flood recedes and the weather gradually becomes hotter, the remaining corpses will rot and a major epidemic will probably be inevitable. At that time, it will be no different from a direct massacre of the city.

Yongming City is a holy place in the hearts of countless students. If it were treated like this, the emperor's reputation would be damaged.

Hu Youan was a little conflicted. Should he consider the overall situation, capture Yongming City, and seize more land of Bian State, or continue to besiege the city, do nothing, and preserve the emperor's reputation?

She was so confused that she sighed repeatedly. Her lieutenants were unable to help and could only look at each other and sigh with Hu Youan.

This strange scene continued until soldiers came in and brought a letter of surrender written by the king of Bian State from Yongming City.

When Hu Youan saw the letter of surrender, he laughed uncontrollably, and all the depression that had accumulated in his heart for days was finally released.

The King of Bian has surrendered, Yongming City belongs to the King, and the King of Bian has given the entire Bian Kingdom to the King!

Be it Anguo or other vassal states, this time it was all in vain!

When the kings of the vassal states such as An Guo received the news, those who were in poor health almost fainted from anger, while those who were in good health, such as An Zhuo, were so angry that they drew their swords and beheaded the soldiers who delivered the letter.

Poor innocent soldier, he became the dead soul under An Zhuo's sword.

"This is too much, too much! How can the king bully Anguo like this! Prime Minister, Prime Minister! We cannot let the entire Bian Kingdom fall into the hands of the emperor!"

An Zhuo was so angry that he turned around twice. After waiting for others to carry away the dismembered soldier's body and clean the bloodstains, he roared at An Qu in the tent that still smelled of blood.

In order to conquer the State of Bian, he even led the troops himself. How could he accept leaving the State of Bian empty-handed and in disgrace?

At this moment, he recalled the dejected look of An Gongshou when he was so angry that he vomited blood because of Shen Zhiwei's accusations. New and old hatreds surged into his heart. He hated the emperor very much, but he did not dare to curse him openly. He could only repeat one sentence over and over again - Bian State must not be allowed to fall into the hands of the emperor.

"Your Majesty, calm down. If the emperor is so ruthless, don't blame the princes for making themselves kings."

An Qu frowned and uttered these words gloomily.

The world is vast, and there are many lands besides Bian State. There is no need for An Guo to get entangled with the emperor in Bian State.

Exchanging Bian State for an opportunity to become king with legitimacy is a bit of a loss, but it will be beneficial in the future.