That night, Wei Qi followed the agreed strategy and first met with Prince Qin, who was held hostage in Daliang.

Less than a year ago, the Prince of Qin was sent to Daliang as a hostage. The ostensible reason was to ensure that the personnel exchanges between Xianyang and Tao would not endanger the security of Wei. But those people brought by the Prince were all civil and military officials.

Talented, it was easy to engage in intelligence and affairs. In practice, it turned into an outpost to monitor Wei. It was Wei himself who proposed to send hostages. When Qin announced that it would send the prince himself as a hostage, Wei knew that he

I dug a hole for myself, but there was nothing I could do about it.

The State of Qin is to the west of the State of Wei. Naturally, the post where the Prince of Wei stayed was the Liangxi Posthouse where Zheng Anping once worked as a messenger. Liangxi Post is thirty miles away from Daliang and thirty miles away from Enzhong. On the outskirts of Daliang,

It was just a distance where they could communicate with each other without disturbing each other. Knowing that the prince was coming to hostage, the Wei State organized Liangxi Post in advance and built a fence outside the wall to expand the scope of the post. In the Wei State

I tried my best to imagine as big as possible, but I still didn't expect that the prince's entourage would reach the scale of a hundred people. Generally, the entourage would only be about ten people, and twenty or thirty people would be considered a lot. If there are hundreds of people at once, this is the reason.

Why come here to be a hostage? But Wei Guo dared not say anything. The prince of Qin came to take hostages in person. This is a great honor! Having a good relationship with the prince means having a good relationship with the future King of Qin and being the best in the world.

The importance of maintaining good relations with the princes cannot be overestimated!

All the post stations were vacated for the prince's entourage. The post officials and post soldiers temporarily set up a shed outside the post station to stay. It was originally expected to send a hundred people to protect and monitor, but now the number has been increased to 500 people. The military camp is located at

In the neighboring towns three to five miles away from the inn, the number of soldiers on duty in each shift also increased from twenty to one hundred.

When the Allied Forces of the Three Kingdoms attacked Zhao, the prince's place was the focus of negotiations. The Qin envoys almost used the Liangxi post where the prince was located as a transit point. They continued to discuss and negotiate negotiation strategies, which led to Wei sending troops. After the Allied Forces of the Three Kingdoms entered the Taihang Mountains, the prince's place was cut off from them.

I occasionally heard some rumors, but I couldn't verify them. The prince focused on investigating the situation in various places in the Wei State. There were many merchants in Taodi scattered throughout the Wei State, so the prince also sent people around from time to time in the name of supervising the merchants.

Check. If someone from Taoyi comes to Daliang, they usually go to Guanyi to visit the prince. The prince usually receives him in person and sometimes talks all night long.

When the Qin army entered Wu'an, Tao Yi also heard about the movements in Wu'an. There was a lot of news, but it was not very accurate. Businessmen from Handan generally lived in Daliang and usually did not go to Ximen, and the prince's entourage

If you want to enter Daliang, you must report in advance, and there will be people cheering and cheering to accompany you. Therefore, the prince is very alienated from the real situation in Handan. At first, he thought that the appearance of the Qin army was from Wu'an, which was just a rumor, but as more and more people can confirm each other,

After the intelligence came in, the prince understood that Hu Yang had really entered Wu'an. He wondered why Hu Yang entered Wu'an and from where? The prince asked his entourage questions. Occasionally, people coming from Xianyang also asked him these questions.

Questions were raised, but none could be answered. The prince took advantage of his identity and visited Wei Qi, Duan Ziqian, and even Lord Xinling in many places, but he could not get any confirmation.

Then, almost suddenly, businessmen from all over the country unanimously spread the news that the Qin army was defeated and fled to Jiyi. The prince did not know where Jiyi was or what his status was, and his subordinates could not explain the reason. The prince

He decided to go to see Lord Xinling in person tomorrow and ask for the truth from him. Just when he was about to send someone to contact him, he suddenly heard the news that the Qin envoy had entered Wei.

The Qin envoy came by boat and was arranged at Liangnan Station. After the Qin envoy got off the ship, he came into contact with the prince's personal guards who came to meet him. In the chaos of carrying tributes and checking into the inn, the Qin envoy and his personal guards secretly stayed on the ship.

After a brief conversation, the guards disembarked and returned. Only then did the prince know that the Wei army suddenly appeared in Anyi and seemed to have been defeated by Zhao. The Korean army had not returned yet and should have been defeated. The Qin army was in the best condition.

, but he was also besieging Jiyi. Jiyi was a Wei city captured by Zhao. The mission of the Qin envoy was to prompt the Wei state to open the road to the Qin army so that the Qin army could return to the country via Nanyang. The Qin envoy did not know how many cities there were.

The specific location is only vaguely known to be on the bank of the Yellow River, adjacent to Ningxinzhong, Dayi, Wei State.

The prince could not blame the envoys of Qin. The envoys sent by Qin were travelers from the Qin State. They were well versed in etiquette and only conveyed their opinions to the sending country. They did not have military, geographical or other professional knowledge. But the prince was puzzled.

Yes, why did King Qin send another envoy instead of going through his own channels?

At night, Wei Qi, the Prime Minister of Wei, came to Liangxi Station and asked to see the prince. The prince welcomed him in and ordered a lamp to be held, and the two of them chatted under the light.

Wei Qi first asked: "The envoy from Qin is here, does the prince know about it?"

The prince said: "There are rumors in the market, so I know it!"

Wei Qidao: "Does the prince know about the Qin envoy's mission?"

The prince said: "It's unknown!"

Wei Qi said: "The King of Qin sent an envoy to ask what the Wei army wanted to do when they entered Anyi."

The prince also pretended to be surprised and said: "Why did the Wei army enter Anyi? I have heard nothing about it!"

Wei Qidao: "As the prince said, the Wei army entered Anyi not because they wanted to capture Anyi. The Three Kingdoms attacked Zhao, and the prince personally experienced it. The Wei army that entered Anyi was part of the actual coalition. Therefore, those who left Anyi were Gai

I want to take the road to Anyi and return to the country."

The prince thought for a while and said: "I heard that when the Qin army entered, they built Wei Yi or Zhao Yi?"

Wei Qidao: "The prince is wise! This is Wei Yi, but he was not well prepared and fell into the hands of the Zhao people by mistake."

The prince said: "Qin takes a few towns for Wei, and Wei will repay them!"

Wei Qi said: "The prince is wrong! He is not in Wei, but actually in the Qin Dynasty!"

The prince said: "Qin and Ji are thousands of miles apart, how can we have it? It must belong to Wei, but we want to take it back."

Wei Qi said: "Qin can't hold on to a few cities for a long time. Wei has food and fodder, and Qin goes out to leave the city. Is it okay to leave the cities to Wei?"

The prince said: "That's not possible. Where does Qin live? All the food and fodder are prepared. How can he return home with the food and fodder?"

Wei Qi said: "Is it okay for Wei to have grain, fodder, chariots and battles to welcome Qin on the road?"

The prince said: "That's not possible. Qin lives here and has not heard that he is about to leave. He has food, fodder, chariots and battles, but it is not enough to repay him."

Wei Qi said: "Is it okay for Wei to have grain, fodder, chariots and war, and make the people work on the road?"

The prince said: "I would like to hear that the kings have not dared to do so!"

Wei Qi said: "This is how Wei met Qin, and I hope Qin can meet Wei like this!"

The prince said: "I would like to hear the details!"

Wei Qi said: "Because Wei has met so many people from Qin, he also wants to meet people from Wei in Anyi!"

The prince did not expect that Wei Qi had set up an ambush here, and was speechless for a moment. He was silent for a moment and said: "When Wei encounters Qin, how can it be so? When Qin encounters Wei, how will Wei repay him!"

Wei Qidao: "I heard that the Wei army attacked Hanyi and Tangcheng, and the people there are similar to them. If Qin loves them, they will take them."

The prince said: "I haven't heard about it, but I would like to ask the king for help."

Wei Qi cupped his hands and said, "I hope the prince can speak well to the king. Qin and Wei are in alliance. Please be defeated by Zhao together. Friendship means we have the same enemy, and righteousness should help each other."

The prince said: "I must report to the king."

Wei Qi said: "I will meet with the envoy of Qin in the future. I would like the prince to accompany me."

The prince said: "Here you go!" Wei Qi left with satisfaction. When the prince saw Wei Qi's proud smile, a doubt arose in his heart: Did I do something wrong?

The next day at the court meeting, Wei Qi came to invite the prince. The prince wore court clothes and rode to court.

Unlike the prince of Chu who went to court almost every day in Qin, the prince of Qin did not need to go to court every day in Wei. This depends to a certain extent on the status of the hostage: if the hostage is a minister, he will follow the court and discuss government affairs together;

If the hostage is a guest, he does not need to go to court, and he can only send someone to consult when something happens; but if there is a major matter that needs to be discussed with the monarch and his ministers, the hostage who is a guest can also go to court. So Prince Qin accepted Wei Xiang

According to the arrangement, I will go to court the next day.

Since the prince lived outside the city, and the time for the court meeting was usually before the city gates opened, Wei Qi also made special arrangements for the prince to go to court, and the city gates had to be opened temporarily when he came in and out - if the prince went to court every day

If so, it will annoy Ximen Guards to death!

After the prince arrived, Wei Qi came out to welcome him and took him to the Nuan Pavilion inside Daliang Gate. Duan Ziqian and Lord Xinling were also there. The officials Jin Bi and Xu Jia were not qualified to sit with them, but they were also called in.

The prince and others met one by one, and Wei Qi said: "Now we will discuss the affairs of Qin's envoys together. The two senior officials will be in charge of Rong and Jia, and they will be the ones to discuss it!"

Lord Xinling asked everyone to sit down, and then asked: "The Qin envoy has arrived, and he wants to ask about our army's stay in Anyi!"

Wei Qi added: "Our army came out of Anyi. Qin was uneasy, or suspected that I would take advantage of its defeat to attack Anyi again, so it sent envoys to ask. However, it was told that the Wei army had no intention of Anyi, but it was false.

, nothing will happen.”

Duan Ziqian said: "This Wei army is not that of others. It is an army that joins Qin in attacking Zhao. The friendship with Qin is an alliance. Qin Yu welcomes and sends it off with the righteousness of alliance and the courtesy of the east."

The prince remained silent.

Lord Xinling did not let him go, and said politely in his seat: "I would like to hear what the prince wants!"

The prince said: "My king sent an envoy, but he did not reach me. I have not followed the king's teachings, so I dare not speak nonsense!"

Lord Xinling said: "But I can tell you what you want." The prince repeatedly declined, but Lord Xinling refused, and insisted on asking the prince to express his opinion. The prince considered and said: "Wei was defeated and entered Anyi, how could Zheng and Qin enter?"

They are the same, so we can discuss them as one!"

Lord Xinling praised: "The prince's words are right to the point. The matter should be solved. There is no two reasons."

Jin Bi and Xu Jia both said: "If it weren't for the words of the prince, things would be troubled. The prince's instructions are like a candle in the dark!" The prince secretly felt that something was wrong, but he didn't know what went wrong, and he was uneasy.

.

After chatting for a few more words, the sound of drums came from the palace, and all the ministers went to court. A few people came out and stood first inside the Daliang Gate. The prince stood next to Lord Xinling and showed great respect.——Previously
Chapter completed!