[Brothers, here's one chapter for now. Something came up and I'm running out of time. I'll make up for it during the day! I'll start on the "harming heaven and earth without harming Qin" part soon!]
King Xi of Wei's face was ashen, his deep gaze sweeping over the assembled generals. He sternly rebuked them, "You only know how to eat the king's food, but you do not relieve the king's worries. What use are you?"
Upon hearing this, the military officers, who had been trembling with fear, all looked ashamed and lowered their heads, leaving the hall in complete silence.
Just then, Grand Master Pang Tong slowly stepped out of the ranks. Although he was old, his voice was still loud and powerful: "Your Majesty, this old minister has two plans that may solve our current predicament."
Upon hearing this, a glimmer of hope flashed in King Xi of Wei's eyes, and he hurriedly asked, "What brilliant plan does the Grand Master have? Tell me quickly!"
Pang Tong stroked his white beard and said with certainty, "Your Majesty, it is said that the young ruler of Qin, Ying Zheng, has purged the court and is about to assume personal rule. He must be eager to establish his authority. This sudden, undeclared war must be for this very reason."
At this point, he held up two fingers and said loudly, "Firstly, since he wants to save face, we should give him that. We should send people to beg for peace and offer gifts, giving him enough face, and he will naturally withdraw his troops."
"Secondly, taking advantage of his youth and lack of prestige, our Wei state will take the opposite approach, forcefully refute his ideas, and disgrace him. We will then send people to spread rumors within his own state, which could lead to chaos in Qin..."
After hearing this, King Xi of Wei fell into deep thought. Previously, Chancellor Wei Qi had been a proponent of peace, and whenever Qin invaded, he would readily cede territory and pay reparations, causing Wei to lose face and leaving the late king with a lingering resentment until his death.
He was now determined to be a wise and virtuous ruler without any flaws, so he immediately rejected the suggestion.
The second plan is not bad. If we can take advantage of the turmoil in the Qin court to severely damage Ying Zheng's prestige, the entire Qin state will be thrown into chaos. Perhaps Wei can even launch a counterattack against Qin and greatly boost its prestige.
Thinking of this, King Xi of Wei pondered and said, "I do not want to repeat the mistakes of my predecessor. The second plan is not bad, but who should I send?"
Pang Tong smiled slightly, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes, "Lord Xinling, Wei Wuji, is capable of this great task!"
Upon hearing this, the hall fell silent instantly.
Nowadays, the name Wei Wuji is taboo in the Wei court. No one dares to mention it except for Pang Tong, a veteran official. If it were anyone else, their career would probably be over.
King Xi of Wei's expression kept changing; he really didn't want to re-employ Wei Wuji!
Wei Wuji's literary and military talents are superior to mine. His previous alliance against Qin had already greatly enhanced his reputation. If he were to lead this campaign, it would either fail or succeed, which would greatly increase his prestige and threaten my throne.
"Your Excellency is mistaken!"
One of the court officials stepped forward; his face was thin and frail, and his eyes gleamed with shrewdness. He slowly said, "Lord Xinling does indeed possess some talent, yet he disregards the proper etiquette between ruler and subject, pursued and killed Jin Bi, seized military power, and even ordered the theft of the tiger tally to mobilize troops—he has no regard for the law!"
"How dare I appoint him, and guarantee that he will not have any disloyal intentions?"
Upon hearing this, King Xi of Wei frowned, his inner conflict deepening.
Pang Tong despised Xu Jia, a sycophant who only knew how to flatter, but the most urgent task was to deal with the Qin army's invasion of the border. He could only suppress his anger and say, "Although Lord Xinling's behavior did violate the etiquette between ruler and subject, it was for the sake of Wei. Moreover, with the country in crisis, we should prioritize the overall situation. Why not put aside our past grievances for now?"
He scanned the court officials, his gaze finally settling on Xu Jia. "Or perhaps, does the Grand Master have a better candidate or a better plan?!"
Xu Jia's expression froze, a dark look flashed in his eyes, but he couldn't find a rebuttal.
Pang Tong smiled slightly and replied confidently, "Your Majesty, even if Lord Xinling is not the best, he is still the son of the late King of Wei, and he is your blood brother. He will surely exert all his strength to defeat Qin."
"As for other matters, why not discuss them after we have repelled the Qin army?"
Now, no one stood up to refute him anymore, and all the court officials' eyes fell on King Xi of Wei, awaiting his decision.
King Xi of Wei wore a nonchalant, fake smile. Despite his deep reluctance, he had no better option. Besides, continuing to obstruct him would only make him appear narrow-minded.
Helpless, he could only grit his teeth and accept Pang Tong's suggestion: "Issue an imperial edict that the Qin state has raised an army to invade. I am unwilling to bow down and compromise with the tyrannical Qin. After consulting with the Grand Master, it has been decided to grant Lord Xinling the opportunity to atone for his crimes and perform meritorious service, to lead the army and go to repel Qin."
These words were extremely well said, saving face for himself while shifting the blame onto Wei Wuji.
"Your Majesty is wise!" Pang Tong stroked his beard and smiled faintly, then turned to Xu Jia with a mocking smile.
Xu Jia was so angry that he trembled all over, but he could only join the court officials in shouting respectfully, "Your Majesty is wise and will surely drive Qin away and spread the glory of our mighty Wei."
......
The afternoon of the second day after the court session ended.
Upon receiving the imperial edict, Wei Wuji returned to Daliang from Zhao. The gloom brought by the Qin army's attack on Wei was somewhat dispelled as the people lined the streets to welcome him. In their eyes, as long as Wei Wuji personally led the army, the Qin army would surely be utterly defeated.
Among the onlookers, an inconspicuous middle-aged man watched Wei Wuji's carriage leave, then quietly and quickly walked away, winding his way to an extremely secluded little house in Daliang City.
"Wei Wuji returns to Liang!"
"We can take action now."
The dozens of people inside the house suddenly became solemn and quickly left the house.
That night.
Several important officials in the city received mysterious guests at their residences. These guests were officials who were at odds with Wei Wuji or looked down on him.
A piece of news that people both disbelieved and looked forward to spread throughout Daliang City.
'Lord Xinling, Wei Wuji... is about to ascend the throne...!'
......
"General!"
Before they arrived, their voices preceded their arrival. Zhang Han and his companions came laughing together, looking as if they had just eaten a star's fart.
"Tell me, how much did you make?" the wicked man sneered, then asked.
The group exchanged smiles and said in unison, "Scrape the ground three feet deep!"
The wicked man's heart skipped a beat, thinking to himself, "Good heavens, this is going to be difficult for King Wei!"
If they abandon their responsibilities, hundreds of thousands of people in the city will not be able to survive the winter.
If they were to manage it, the money and grain consumed to support hundreds of thousands of people through the winter would break the back of the Wei state.
The wicked man's eyes fell on Li Balang, and he laughed, "This is extremely vicious!"
"Hey, General, you flatter me!" Li Baliang looked somewhat disappointed. Even though he had used such ruthless tactics, he was still not satisfied.
Just as the group was chatting, the scout sent to deliver the message to Meng Ao returned. Upon meeting him, he apologized profusely, saying that he had been delayed by a blizzard and had to return to report.
"It's alright, it's good that you've returned safely! Has the commander issued any orders?" The wicked man smiled indifferently, not caring about the matter. It wasn't urgent to begin with; did he expect his men to risk their lives?
He was not like those generals of his time, whose military discipline was so strict as to be inhumane.
The scout was moved and quickly replied, "The commander has ordered that all the money and grain in Anyi City be looted and that we immediately return to Juancheng to rejoin Qin."
Upon hearing this, the group was taken aback at first, and then burst into laughter.
"Eight ounces, so you've actually surpassed the commander-in-chief?!"
The group couldn't help but chuckle and started teasing Li Balang.
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