Bi Dan was disappointed by Lian Po's statement. He had thought that Lian Po would stand on his side, after all, Lian Po was a famous general of Zhao and an old minister who regarded Qin as his sworn enemy.
However, reality was beyond his expectations.
Lian Po's apologetic gaze fell on Bi Dan. His time away from Wei had made him deeply aware of the coldness and warmth of human relationships. Even if he didn't consider himself, he had to think about his clan and family.
"Your Majesty, I have no objection!"
Seeing this, Bi Dan was filled with mixed feelings. He knew that arguing any further would be pointless, so he could only lower his head helplessly, turn around, and slowly return to his place.
Zhao Yan's gloomy face brightened as if the clouds had parted, and he laughed loudly, "Your Excellency, there's no need for such formalities. I have already calculated everything."
Bi Dan took a deep breath, cupped his hands in greeting, then closed his eyes and pretended to sleep, remaining silent.
Zhao Yan didn't bother to argue with his attitude and turned his satisfied gaze to Lian Po. "General, I have decided to appoint you as commander-in-chief and lead 150,000 elite troops to join forces with the three clans to attack Qin."
"Remember, you can raise your voice and wave the flag, but you should never go into battle unless absolutely necessary."
Lian Po took a deep breath, and after a moment's thought, he immediately understood Zhao Yan's plan. "Your Majesty, do you intend for the snipe and the clam to fight, while the fisherman reaps the benefits?"
"I knew that the General could understand my thoughts!" At this moment, Zhao Yan's opinion of Lian Po actually changed, and he regretted suppressing him in the past.
“This plan is feasible!” Lian Po pondered for a moment and said, “Given the hatred of the three clans towards Qin, attacking Qin will surely turn them into tigers and wolves. Moreover, Qin has always been strong and will never avoid its sharp edge.”
"A clash of titans is our chance!"
A smile played on Zhao Yan's lips as he looked at Bi Dan meaningfully and said, "Drive away wolves and tigers...and then devour them instead..."
He never intended to cooperate with the three tribes in the first place; he merely wanted to use their strength to weaken Qin. Once they were both exhausted, Zhao would transform into a tiger and wolf to devour the crippled and weakened Qin, thus seeking immense benefits.
Zhao Yan knew that Qin had risen to power. If Zhao confronted Qin directly, it might not be able to gain the upper hand. If Zhao stood by and watched Qin get through this disaster, Qin's iron hooves would surely trample Zhao's land in the future.
Therefore, he decided to cleverly exploit the deep hatred of the three clans against Qin, making them pawns to weaken Qin.
When Qin and the three clans are both weakened, Lian Po's 150,000 elite troops can immediately rise up in rebellion, and with his talent, he can swallow Qin and the three clans.
At that time, not only would Qin's territory be annexed by Zhao, but it would also gain the lands of Han and Wei for free. Its strength would surely increase dramatically, and after a few years of peaceful planning, the other states would find it absolutely difficult to stop it.
This world will surely be unified by the State of Zhao.
And he will become the monarch who achieves unification.
"Your Majesty is wise, and great things are in sight!" Bi Dan suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes filled with disbelief.
He never expected that Zhao Yan could devise such a plan.
"Since there are no objections, then you may all prepare to depart. We will await the rise of the armies of the three races. When we achieve our goals and fame, our names as meritorious officials will be remembered for eternity!" Zhao Yan rose and laughed heartily before leaving the hall with his hands behind his back.
......
The rain was torrential, making the roads difficult to travel.
It took nearly six days for the evil man and his entourage to reach Hedong County in the State of Wei.
In the past, the journey from Xianyang to Hedong by fast horse would take no more than two days, and if a large army were to march, it would take no more than four days at most.
"This muddy mountain road needs to be repaired sooner or later!"
"If you want to get rich, build roads first. This broken road is worse than a remote mountain village in later generations!" The wicked man stood outside Anyi City, looking at the large characters on the city wall, full of complaints about the bumpy journey.
"The commander-in-chief, the commander-in-chief has arrived!"
The soldiers guarding the city gate didn't see clearly at first, and thought they were either from a wealthy family or some minister sent by the king.
But in the instant the lightning flashed, they saw the man's face clearly—it was their commander, Evil Husband!
"Haha, brothers, we can't call him commander-in-chief anymore!"
The wicked man grinned and joked, "Now that the war is over, my comrades... you can call me Grand Commandant!!"
Wow!!
The guards at the city gate immediately erupted in cheers, all happy for the wicked husband, "We congratulate our commander on his promotion to Grand Commandant!"
"No need, no need, just take me into the city. Who is the garrison commander of Anyi?!" The wicked man smiled smugly.
He didn't put on any airs; he genuinely regarded these Qin soldiers as brothers from the bottom of his heart. He was a meritorious official who swept through the states of Han and Wei and held the position of Grand Commandant. Without the strong support of these brothers, how could he have accomplished anything?
The gatekeepers shouted in unison, "The garrison commander of Anyi is General Tie Niu!"
"tractor?"
The wicked man laughed heartily upon hearing this, extremely pleased with his promotion to city garrison commander. "Come on, take me to the general's mansion..."
"Brother Tie Niu, I'm here!" The wicked man strode into the general's mansion, his voice loud and cheerful.
Now that their social statuses are so different, it wouldn't be appropriate to address each other by any other name. Since it's a private meeting anyway, we might as well address each other as elder brother.
General Tie Niu came out to greet him upon hearing the sound. When he saw the wicked man, a smile immediately appeared on his face. "This humble general greets the Grand Commandant!" Then he laughed and scolded, "You little rascal, you just came without warning!"
The proper etiquette between superiors and subordinates was observed first, followed by personal relationships. This made the wicked man even happier, at least he and Tie Niu valued this friendship, regardless of their social status.
The two looked at each other and smiled. Tie Niu pulled the wicked husband directly into the front hall and sat him down. He then personally poured the wicked husband a cup of hot tea, saying, "Hurry up and drink some to warm yourself up. It has been raining for too long, and the cold and dampness are too heavy."
The wicked husband took a big gulp from the cup, and a warm flow entered his stomach, causing him to exhale a breath of stale air, relieving the fatigue brought on by days of traveling in the rain.
"How is the situation in Hedong County?" the wicked man asked casually in a low voice.
Tie Niu's face darkened. "Lord Chang'an has ordered his men to do everything in their power to appease them, but the court has yet to take any action. They're about to lose control."
"Furthermore, we don't know which force was behind this a few days ago... Of course, it's also possible that the people, in their despair, spread rumors that our Qin state doesn't want to care about the former people of Han and Wei..."
"Yesterday, Lord Chang'an issued a secret order: if anything happens... then war will be waged."
He paused for a moment, then smiled with relief. “Now that you’re here, these worries are gone. Even if you just stand there silently, they won’t dare to make a move.”
"Oh..."
The wicked man smirked coldly, “I don’t believe it’s just rumors spread by the people. There are plenty of people who want to take advantage of this opportunity to cut into the flesh of my Qin state.”
Tie Niu's expression changed drastically, and he exclaimed in surprise, "You mean someone deliberately stirred up trouble?"
The wicked man nodded and laughed, "It's not hard to guess. The people of both countries have just experienced war and are terrified of Qin. They won't easily mutini unless it's the last moment."
Tie Niu thought about it and realized it made sense, then asked in return, "So who do you think it could be?"
"It's either the State of Zhao or the State of Chu..."
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