Bonus chapter for 10,000 nutrient solutions: "Can this swing withstand..."
The Grand Commandant was a high-ranking official in charge of the nation's military affairs. Suddenly, this position was given to a commoner. Although Banban did not discriminate against commoners, it was still too hasty. She worried that the person might not do the job well, lack experience, and cause trouble.
If you really like him, give him an official position first to see his abilities. If he is truly capable, then it's not too late to promote him.
The key point is that he was unwilling to stay in Qin and even gave him a sarcastic and insulting scolding, but he disregarded past grievances and forcibly granted him an official position.
That made Banban even more unhappy. "What right do you have to insult my husband?"
Ying Zheng knew that his cousin was protecting him, so he coaxed her into hosting the banquet together.
On the day of the banquet, Banban met this remarkable Grand Commandant, whom the King of Qin wished he could eat and live with.
Wei Liao, feeling terrified and extremely uncomfortable, paid his respects to the King of Qin and the Queen. As soon as he sat down, he noticed that the Queen's gaze was very unfriendly, repeatedly scrutinizing him as if trying to see through him.
His usual tension had strangely eased up a bit.
It was truly unsettling that the King of Qin's enthusiasm made him uneasy. He always felt that the King of Qin was not a good person. After all, in the minds of the other states, the King of Qin was a cold-blooded monarch who was vengeful and vindictive. Suddenly, he was all smiles and showing concern for Qin's well-being every day. Anyone would be afraid of that.
However, the moment the Queen cast that harsh and critical gaze, Wei Liao felt relieved. He became somewhat cautious and unconsciously rose to greet her again, "Your Majesty, how are you?"
Ying Zheng: "?"
Gentleness and consideration won't earn respect; only a cold and unkind attitude will.
What's the reasoning behind that?
His smile immediately became stiff and rigid. "Grand Commandant, please don't be so polite."
How could I not be polite? You think I'm not polite just because you say so? Who knows if you're being sarcastic? If I believe you, I'll be fooled. Wei Liao immediately put on a polite and distant attitude again and bowed to the King of Qin again: "Yes."
The King of Qin could treat him with great hospitality, but he couldn't take it seriously. If he did, he would be a fool. The King's performance was fake; the more elaborate the act, the more it proved that the King of Qin could profit from him.
Both he and the King of Qin were well aware of this. The King of Qin knew that he understood, and he was also clear that the King of Qin knew that he understood.
but…
He glanced at the King of Qin, and noticed he was wearing the same outfit! Who would understand!
After taking their seats, delicious food was laid out in front of each person. Wei Liao was unwilling to serve a monarch like King Zheng of Qin, but he knew that he would not be able to leave without saying something and offering something.
During the banquet, he spoke frankly and openly to King Zheng of Qin.
When the topic turned to the situation among the states, he asked, "Does Your Majesty know what the greatest danger to Great Qin is right now?"
"Please speak, sir. I am eager to hear the details," Ying Zheng asked humbly with a smile.
He treated Wei Liao with the same courtesy and did not display the majesty of a monarch.
Such humility is both startling and unsettling.
Banban couldn't help but glance at him, marveling at how far his cousin had gone in recruiting talent; he actually cared a great deal about the prestige of his king.
“In the past, the three states divided Jin.” Wei Liao stroked his beard and said meaningfully, “The three weak states of Zhao, Han and Wei united to destroy Zhi Bo. Now the six states are also very weak. Even though Qin is so powerful, we should not underestimate them.”
"If the six states had united secretly like Zhao, Han, and Wei did at that time, they could have destroyed Qin."
Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng's expression turned slightly cold, and his gaze underwent a subtle change.
"Therefore, I do not advocate that the Qin state should only use military force. It should use both military and diplomatic means in parallel, neither of which can be neglected."
"How to conduct diplomacy?" Banban asked doubtfully. "Like Zhang Yi, the prime minister promoted by King Hui?"
"No, when Zhang Zi entered Qin as prime minister, he offered the strategy of horizontal alliance, which is contrary to what I said. We must divide the states."
Wei Liao explained, “At that time, the Qin state had become increasingly powerful after Shang Yang’s reforms, which made the six eastern states feel threatened. Gongsun Yan proposed that the five states should become kings. In order to thwart his plan, Zhang Zi united one or several states, made distant alliances and attacked nearby ones, and destroyed the alliance of the six states, and then defeated them one by one.”
"This plan worked at the time because the other states underestimated Qin. Now that Qin is strong and powerful, the other states are wary of Qin, and a single line of defense is not enough."
"In fact, it is very simple to divide the states. The most effective and easiest way is to bribe the powerful ministers of the six states with money."
"...?" Banban quietly opened her eyes wide, not expecting that the schemes between countries could be so simple?
“Since they have been appointed as officials, they must also want to make a name for themselves. It’s understandable to bribe one or two people, but how can everyone be bribed?” she wondered.
Facing the queen's innocent demeanor, Wei Liao felt a little awkward. "Your Majesty doesn't know," he sighed, seemingly mocking someone, "In times of chaos, some people have exceptional skills, some have keen insight, and some possess unparalleled talent, but they must still focus on the present. If they are hungry and cold, even the grandest ambitions will have nowhere to be realized."
"Not everyone who becomes an official does so to change the world; they do it for the monthly salary, for the respectful gaze of others, and for their bowed heads."
The queen was pure of heart, yet she was neither arrogant nor condescending towards the people, which was truly admirable.
"Once you get a grip on someone, that person's greed can create a lot of variables and even affect the political situation in the courts of various states. Take Guo Kai, the prime minister of Zhao, for example. He was notoriously greedy. If you promised him a lot of money, there was nothing he wouldn't do. And yet, the King of Zhao favored him greatly."
"Li Mu serves the State of Zhao, and it is precisely because of him that even the mighty Qin has found it difficult to conquer. If we can bribe Guo Kai and secretly devise a plan to eliminate Li Mu, what does the State of Zhao have to fear?"
After much contemplation, Banban realized that Guo Kai's remarkable quality lay in the fact that as long as his actions did not jeopardize his position as prime minister, there was nothing he would not dare to do.
When Zhao Yan tried to intercept Ying Zheng and Ji Changyue on their way back to Qin, he was persuaded to defect with a large sum of money and let them go.
Indeed, how can one achieve ambitions if one is starving?
Her words just now had a "why not eat meat porridge?" feel to her, which made her feel ashamed.
"What the Grand Commandant says makes sense. I have not understood the true plight of my subjects."
Wei Liao was slightly startled and quickly stood up and bowed again. "This cannot be blamed on the Queen. You have already shown great care for your subjects." Different backgrounds mean different perspectives, and cannot be used as a standard to judge whether a person is kind or not. Besides, after he brought it up, the Queen did not get angry or embarrassed, but instead readily reflected on herself.
In this world, people who can reflect on themselves are a minority.
Ying Zheng was also deep in thought. He hadn't spoken until now, having been persuaded and considering the feasibility of the plan. "Grand Commandant, how much money do you think this plan will cost?"
Wei Liao responded solemnly, cupping his hands respectfully, "I hope Your Majesty will not be stingy with money. We need to use a lot of money to bribe powerful ministers and disrupt their political schemes. Roughly calculated, just 300,000 gold coins will be enough to wipe out all the feudal lords."
Upon hearing this number, Banban was stunned. "Three hundred thousand gold coins?!"
Ying Zheng offered a reward of only a thousand gold pieces for Fan Yuqi's head!
When Lü Buwei used the rare and exotic items he sold to befriend Lady Huayang and persuaded her to accept King Zhuangxiang as her son, he only spent five hundred gold pieces!
In comparison, 300,000 is an enormous number, enough to plan a national war.
Ying Zheng held his wife's hand, pretending to be hesitant, and said, "I have no objection to the amount you drafted, which is 300,000 gold coins. However, while I trust you, I cannot gamble with the assets of an entire nation."
"Why don't you, Grand Commandant, tell me first what your first step should be?"
Wei Liao readily agreed, saying, "Naturally, we should start with the greedy Guo Kai. Although the State of Zhao suffered a heavy blow in the Battle of Changping and its vitality was greatly diminished, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse. It has only lost the ability to contend for the world, but it still has the strength to defend the country."
Otherwise, King Zhaoxiang would not have been unable to conquer the Zhao state in his later years.
"The two generals of Zhao are Lian Po and Li Mu. They need to be defeated one by one. It would be best if they could be won over to Qin. Otherwise, it would be safer to expel or kill them."
"If we dismantle the main force of Zhao's resistance against Qin, then attacking Zhao will not be so difficult."
Ying Zheng smiled and said, "I can give you 50,000 gold coins first. If you succeed, you will receive the remaining 250,000 gold coins without missing a single one."
Wei Liao agreed, saying that he was certain he could accomplish it.
After Wei Liao left, Banban sighed, "I thought the schemes between countries would be so sophisticated." Counter-espionage, spreading rumors, and heavy bribes—these tactics are indeed effective in any era.
Ying Zheng said thoughtfully, "If the ministers and the ruler are not of one mind, then it is easy to break them up."
As if a sudden enlightenment had been granted, Banban raised his hand and blurted out, "This is related to the private land ownership system that my cousin once told me about, right? I know! I know!"
"Oh? Please speak, cousin." Ying Zheng smiled sincerely and gently lifted her face.
“My cousin once said that in order to expand his sphere of influence, the king encouraged his people to cultivate wasteland. The cultivated wasteland would belong to them, and they would only need to pay taxes every month as long as they planted crops. In this way, people with more and more land would naturally become a powerful force. How could they possibly be of one mind with the king? They have to pay taxes every month, and I'm afraid they would be thinking about how to avoid paying taxes every day!”
"They only care about the immediate gains and losses. As long as they are bribed with a large sum of money, the king's decrees will be secretly obeyed but openly disobeyed!"
Banban shouted loudly, his eyes sparkling, "They don't listen to the king, and the king can't do anything about it!"
Ying Zheng chuckled and shook his head, then gently pinched his wife's small face. "Your Majesty is so intelligent; you understand everything I say."
Banban nestled in his arms, draping her soft arms over his shoulders, "If Wei Liao were to embezzle some of the money..."
"If I want him to do something for me, it's no problem to give him some money. As he said, who wouldn't bow down for five pecks of rice?"
Her eyes darted around, and she feigned displeasure. "Then hurry up and change your clothes. I'm not happy that you're wearing the same thing as him. You two were sitting together just now, acting like you were husband and wife. I really disturbed you."
"..." Ying Zheng pinched her cheek, "Don't talk nonsense."
He was disgusted by homosexual acts and felt goosebumps just thinking about them.
"How could I be talking nonsense? I heard that the King even sleeps with him side by side. How intimate! You're not allowed to come looking for me after you've slept with him." Banban deliberately used a coquettish tone and poked his cheek with her finger in an affected manner.
Ying Zheng wanted to catch her mischievous fingertips.
She brushed him away, her wide sleeves swaying slightly, leaving behind a fragrant breeze.
She turned her back to him and huffed coquettishly.
"You're even jealous of men?" He leaned closer, wrapping his arms around her waist. "It seems the Queen is full of energy and probably won't be able to sleep tonight. Why don't we do something fun?"
"What is it—" Banban turned around, but before she could finish speaking, she was suddenly lifted into the air and held in his arms. Startled, she trembled and hurriedly grabbed his shoulders. "You!"
“It’s quite cool outside in the summer. I saw you had a swing made the other day. I’m sure it can support the weight of two people.”
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Author's note: Here I am! I caught up!
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