The remaining time of the public meeting was mainly spent drinking and chatting: all important military and political affairs were under the jurisdiction of the ministers, and they could not take the trouble to preside over the important affairs. They just sat and talked about it. They sat until noon, when Wei Qi handed over the meal, eight guis and nine tripods, claiming to be the king. A banquet was given. The princes sat down and Wei Qi shared the meal. Mang Mao and Daliang Wei placed their portions in front of the princes' table. After everyone finished eating the royal meal, they each drank a cup of fine wine before they resigned one after another. Wei Qi then invited Mang Mao and Daliang Wei. They went to the Prime Minister's Mansion to discuss it further. Then they followed Wei Qi out of the Nangong Gate.

Under the south palace wall, separated by a ten-foot alley, is a row of high-rise courtyards. However, the main entrance is on the other side, and there is only a back entrance. The deep alley is close to the palace wall, and there are people patrolling it. Without getting close, it is impossible to pass through. In order to show friendship, Wei Qi sent his father-in-law and uncle away at Daliang Gate, and then took Mang Mao and Daliang Wei straight into the Prime Minister's Mansion from the forbidden alley.

Since they entered through the back door, Mang Mao and Daliang Wei were afraid of seeing something they shouldn't see, so they followed Wei Qi through the backyard and straight into the front hall. Maybe someone reported the letter in advance, or maybe Wei Qi was very strict in running the household, and other than meeting a few servants and houseboys along the way, no accidents occurred. Before that, Wei Qi called a houseboy and whispered a few instructions. , the boy ran out.

Entering the lobby, the two of them were about to greet Wei Qi, but Wei Qi quickly stopped him and said, "Don't look at me as the prime minister. I pretend to be pretentious in every ceremony. In fact, I hate red tape the most. You can just do it yourself. If If I want to perform the ceremony, I have to ask all the ministers to go out and welcome them in from the main gate. Then I will start talking!" Everyone laughed and bowed to each other.

Wei Qi said, "How about we move to a table near each other, sit down and talk, put the wine in front of us, and drink it ourselves?" The two said, "That's how we can relax our minds."

The three of them started working together and dragged the three mats to one place. A group of people put a tray on it, burned some charcoal, and put a cup of warm wine on it. On the other tray, there were three princes. An urn filled with wine was brought and placed in the hall. Wei Qi came to pour the wine, and the two people quickly stopped him and said, "The prime minister has made an appointment to drink by himself, how can he not keep his word!" After a while, Wei Qi finally decided. He picked up the bowl and filled up the three bowls, saying only, "Let's talk about our friendship with the host, and then you can do as you please." The three of them raised the bowls to drink together, and then placed the bowls in front of the table.

Wei Qidao said: "We invite all the ministers to meet and discuss three things. One is how to arrange the formation in the southwest; the other is how to place the troops in the four villages; the third is how to properly arrange for Mr. Xinling."

Mang Mao said: "The first two discussions are not difficult. As long as the Qin army must enter Qifeng, Lieutenant Daliang already has a plan in mind."

Daliang Wei said: "In my opinion, if the Qin army must enter Qifeng, they will go out of the west gate and the south gate tomorrow morning, and divide them into camps thirty miles outside the city. Beixiang Heyou army will go to the west gate to fight with Wu The soldiers combined; the Dongxiang army circled to the south of the city and defended along the river. The Beixiang left army entered from the water gate to guard each gate. As for the southwest garrison, each of the West and South townships can send their local troops back home, and there is no need to mobilize others. The remaining troops are still stationed in place, and the cameras can be used on all sides."

Mang Mao said: "What Daliang Wei said is feasible. However, military soldiers must be sent to Jingbian on the southwest front. Otherwise, chaos may occur if the villagers return home."

Lieutenant Daliang said: "The general has thought carefully. The soldiers sent to the various battalions of the Guili civilian army will immediately be stationed in Jingbian. All idlers are not allowed to pass. Everyone is calm and no noise is allowed!"

Mang Mao said: "Good!"

Wei Qidao: "If this is the case, both discussions have been settled, except for the matter of Young Master Xinling, what should be done?"

Mang Mao said: "This matter is the most difficult one. The young master has a body of thousands of gold and more than ten thousand soldiers. It is the time to use force. They all need to be withdrawn properly. But as soon as the backbone moves, the whole army will collapse. If the army scatters across the field, chaos will inevitably occur.

, the harm will be very great. If the army is dispersed as usual, the army will work hard and achieve nothing. How can we deal with the world, and how can we deal with the soldiers!"

Wei Qi saluted and said: "Your Majesty, for a moment, had a benevolent heart and wanted the people in the deserted country to live in peace, but he ended up in such a miserable state. It's very sad to think about it. Mang Qing was burdened with a heavy responsibility, but he returned without any success, and instead suffered a lot of hardships, so why not

Don't make people sigh. Lord Xinling, a noble son of a noble family, is lying on a bed of tea, soaking in the wind and rain, and the king's heart is uneasy. He has great hope for all your ministers!"

They both returned the greeting and said, "How dare I not do my best to repay the king's kindness!"

Mang Mao said: "Roughly speaking, the civilian army outside Putian City must be disbanded immediately after the Qin people take over and open the seal. They cannot do it before then, for fear that the Qin people will take the opportunity to attack Putian. There are two difficulties in this matter. The first difficulty is that we do not know where the Qin people will be.

If the move is delayed and the army runs out of food, chaos will arise and become uncontrollable. The second difficulty is that after the army is dispersed, the young master and more than ten thousand soldiers must be safe. If there is no proper method, a civil uprising will be triggered.

Then there is something unspeakable. The most complete strategy is to increase military merit by one level when the army disperses, so as to avoid the family's food tax that year."

Wei Qi said with a mournful face: "Oh, my General Mang, I have already told you that this strategy is not feasible... Don't argue, I will give you an explanation: when the new year is approaching, celebrations, banquets, and rewards should all be spent on the palace;

Soldiers, courtiers, ministers, village elders, craftsmen, all have to pay for their food and drink;... Ahem, let's put it this way, even if they are collected, it will not be enough to cover expenses. Fifty or sixty thousand households receive a year's food allowance, how can they get so little!"

Mang Mao said: "The Prime Minister's country is in a little peace, but these five hundred miles are bound to famine. Your Majesty is kind-hearted, so why not save it? If you save it, you will open a warehouse. If you use military merit to save it, it will be exactly the same. Wouldn't it be perfect for both worlds?"

Wei Qidao: "That's not how the accounts are calculated. Opening a granary to provide relief is just benevolent policy, and the amount of relief is entirely up to the king. The exemption of grain tax is a real thing!"

Mang Mao said: "What do you think of the Prime Minister?"

Wei Qidao: "I don't have any plan. I will only withdraw Mr. Xinling and the military soldiers into the city, and the civilian army may be dispersed or gathered together. But it must not be done!"

Mang Mao said: "Of course it is impossible. Once the soldiers withdraw, the civilian army will have no leader and no support. It will be like looting along the way. The violence will be even worse than that of the Qin army. It will be like locusts passing through the wild. It cannot be copied."

Wei Qidao: "I know it's not possible. What if the civilian army disperses in a hurry!"

Mang Mao said: "This is a defeated army. We must kill them according to the law."

Wei Qi clapped his hands and said: "What if the king issued a decree that the defeated army should return home to avoid death? The army was dispersed, the grain and tax were collected, and the soldiers were spared death. Except for a few brave men, the rest will definitely return home. The rest of them will return home."

There are not a few people left. If anyone dies of hunger, we can open warehouses and provide relief. Is this okay?"

Mang Mao said: "What a child's play in military matters! Defeat without fighting is the most taboo in the army. Not only the soldiers must be killed, but also the entire army and generals. All of them are punishable by death."

Wei Qidao: "It's okay to do extraordinary things in extraordinary times. This is just one example and will never happen again... Otherwise, not only will I not be able to get through, but the king will also reject it. It's okay if Mang Qing has other ideas, otherwise the king will ask, Mang Qing.

right?"

Lieutenant Daliang, who had been silent all this time, suddenly said: "I would rather go to the army and return Mr. Xinling's behalf. I won't worry about the affairs of the people and the army anymore."

Mang Mao said: "What does Captain Daliang want?"

Lieutenant Daliang said: "Just as the general said, drive the enemy from behind and follow with death!"

Mang Mao said: "The people of Qin are planning to judge their merits, so an army of 100,000 people may be inevitable!"
Chapter completed!