Back to the Warring States Period as Zhao Kuo

Many Zhao Guo ministers outside the ancestral temple, including Li Mu who had led the army back in advance, all bowed down to pay respects to Zhao Kuo after seeing Zhao Kuo coming out.

Zhao Kuo nodded slightly towards the eunuch Ling, indicating that the eunuch order can start.

Eunuch Ling didn't dare to be negligent, and immediately took out a decree that had been drawn up long ago.

"Wu Xinjun Zhao Kuo has worked hard for the country, and this time he defeated the Chu State and expanded the territory for the Great Zhao. The hearts of the widows are very gratified.

From now on, the four cities of Yecheng, Taiyuan, Daliang, and Linzi will be entrusted to Wu Xinjun as fiefdoms, and the size of Chiyou's army can be expanded to 10 people. And decide! "

To put it simply, it is to continue to expand Zhao Kuo's power justifiably.

This might seem like it doesn't make sense, but it really isn't.

After all, although Zhao Kuo has seized power now, he is still working within the original framework of Zhao Guo in name, so Zhao Kuo now needs to grant himself more power in accordance with the provisions of this framework.

Again, procedural justice is very important.

Except for Zhao Kuo, other meritorious officers and soldiers were naturally given great rewards. Sima Shang was directly named a senior doctor, Li Si was also named a lower minister, including Li Mu, Xu Li, Pang Nuan and everyone else. Among them, the rewards of property are particularly generous.

After all, Zhao Kuo directly evacuated the entire Shouchun City this time. It can be said that he is rich and powerful in the true sense. He doesn't have a lot of anything, but he has a lot of money!Can money buy everything?

Of course not.

However, money can make everyone easily satisfied, which can be seen from the satisfied expressions on the faces of all the ministers present today.

Don’t think that high officials in ancient times didn’t need money. After all, this is a mature commodity circulation era. If an official needs to rely on power to obtain all commodities, then this official must be an extremely corrupt official, colleagues and subordinates. There are also political opponents who will find a way to start from this point to kill him.

Official positions are in short supply, right? As long as you make a mistake, many people will try to get you in and replace you.

Officials who really don't need money are basically those with very powerful families and many family businesses, which are equivalent to chaebols. Such people are actually very few.

Most officials, although they have absolutely nothing to do with poverty, are definitely not to the point where they think they have too much money. Even many middle- and lower-level officials are not much better off than ordinary people because they have to pay attention to ostentation.

The high-level officials and aristocrats may only be a little happy when Zhao Kuo sends out this wave of money, but the middle and lower-level officials and soldiers are really extremely happy.

Zhao Kuo's purpose is very simple, that is, to spend money to buy people's hearts, and everyone knows this, and then they all readily accept it.

No way, Wu Xinjun gave too much!That night, everyone was beaming with joy, and a lively celebration banquet was held in the palace.

Since it was very lively, the momentum was of course very large, so even King Zhao, who was in the cold palace, was also startled by this lively formation.

Zhao Wang walked out of the palace.

Although he was under house arrest, King Zhao just couldn't leave a certain range in Longtai Palace, and he could go to the nearby gardens whenever he wanted.

King Zhao stared at the brightly lit main hall, and suddenly asked, "What are they doing?"

Beside King Zhao, there was a military officer who was ordered by Zhao Kuo to monitor King Zhao. Hearing this, he said, "Celebrate the victory."

"victory?"

The expression on Zhao Wang's face was a bit complicated.

The military officer said: "Yes, Mr. Wu Xinjun has just returned from his expedition to Chu State. Chu State ceded a large area of ​​land, so we are celebrating the victory."

Zhao Wang's face fluctuated again.

For King Zhao, of course he didn't want Zhao Kuo to win.

Zhao Kuo's victory means that Zhao Kuo's rule over Zhao Guo has become more and more stable. Only when Zhao Kuo fails will Zhao Kuo's internal opposition to Zhao Kuo increase, and more people will stand up to oppose Zhao Kuo. include.

It's a pity that all this is now a mirror image for King Zhao.

There was a great crowd of people in the distance, it was the joy of victory, but it had nothing to do with King Zhao.

A gust of spring breeze blew by, and although summer was coming, King Zhao felt cold to the bone.

After a long time, King Zhao said, "What does the eunuch order say?"

The military officer said: "The eunuch's order is still the same sentence, if the queen doesn't want to see you before the emperor's consent, then she can't see you."

Zhao Wang's face became more and more cold, he snorted heavily, then turned and walked into the hall.

This spring night was destined to be very long for King Zhao.

Zhao Kuo didn't spend too much time in the palace, just sat for a while and drank a few glasses of wine, then left the palace and returned home.

For Zhao Kuo now, he no longer needs to worry about other people's opinions when he wants to do anything.

When I got home, my wife and children were still waiting.

"Husband!"

"Father!"

Looking at the happy faces of his wife and children and listening to their happy voices, Zhao Kuo smiled from the bottom of his heart.

"My lord, you're back!"

Feeling the tenderness of the beautiful woman in his arms, Zhao Kuo suddenly thought of a phrase: Xiaobie is better than newly married!It's bound to be a fun and long night!Although he has just triumphantly returned, there are still a lot of things in Handan City that Zhao Kuo needs to make decisions, so after Zhao Kuo woke up the next morning, he started working non-stop.

The first thing to deal with was about King Zhao. As soon as the eunuch Ling came up, he reported to Zhao Kuo something that made Zhao Kuo a little tangled.

"Queen Li wants to see this Marquis alone?"

Zhao Kuo tapped the table with his fingers slightly, falling into deep thought.

Chapter 1066 Seeing off the Zhou Brothers

For Zhao Kuo, the woman Queen Li is quite unusual.

In history, the queen known as "Zhao Changhou" has a very bad reputation.

After the death of King Zhao, Queen Li is said to have hooked up with King Zhao's concubine brother, who was said to be a cousin, and seemed to have given birth to a child for the other party. All in all, the relationship was quite chaotic.

Zhao Kuo said: "What does she want to do when she sees this Marquis?"

The eunuch Ling hurriedly said: "The old minister dare not guess casually, but there is one thing, that is, since the restoration failed that day, Queen Li has been refusing to meet King Zhao."

After hearing the eunuch order's explanation, Zhao Kuo immediately understood what was going on.

It seems that the thinking is indeed correct. Queen Li just wants to use the beauty of a woman's best weapon to lure Zhao Kuo.

Zhao Kuo shook his head and said calmly: "I don't see her.

As for her and the king, if she wants to see the king, then she will.

If she doesn't want to see the king, let her go. "

When the eunuch Ling heard the words, he hurriedly responded, and he was relieved in his heart.

Of course, the eunuch Ling knew very well what Queen Li wanted to do to Zhao Kuo. As a person who knew Queen Li quite well, the eunuch Ling actually didn't want Queen Li to really become Zhao Kuo's woman. The queen is indeed a bit too utilitarian, and on the other hand, Zhao Kuo is still a courtier of King Zhao in name after all. If this really puts a green hat on King Zhao, it seems somewhat unreasonable. loss of prestige.

After solving the matter of Queen Li, the eunuch Ling left.

Then came Pang Nuan.

Pang Nuan came to tell Zhao Kuo another thing: "According to Junhou's wishes, the Zhou brothers have been sentenced to death, and the day of execution is tomorrow."

Zhao Kuo nodded slightly to express his approval.

The Zhou brothers have actually been imprisoned for several months. Why didn't Zhao Kuo kill them? They have scruples.

Now, the entire country of Zhao is firmly in Zhao Kuo's hands, so the Zhou brothers, as Zhao Kuo's biggest political opponent, naturally have to get rid of them.

Pang Nuan asked: "Your Majesty, do you need to kill the entire Zhou family?"

Zhao Kuo frowned, and after thinking for a while, he said: "There is no need for that, the two Zhou brothers and their eldest son can be executed, and the others can be exiled to Mobei.

If there are old people, they can stay in Handan City. "

A smile appeared on Pang Nuan's face: "Your Majesty is kind, it is really a great fortune for the country."

Zhao Kuo said with a smile: "It seems that Pang Qing also doesn't agree with killing the Zhou brothers."

Pang Nuan said seriously: "From the perspective of venting anger, of course it is best to kill the entire Zhou family.

But from the point of view of controlling the country of Zhao and winning the hearts and minds of the people, it is the best choice for Junhou to be open-minded like this.

In our country of Zhao, there are still a large number of officials who were originally close to the king and the Zhou family, and they are actually very frightened.

Junhou is now showing a benevolent side, letting them know that even most of the Zhou family can be forgiven by Junhou, so it is even more impossible for them to be held accountable by Junhou.

In this way, even if Junhou has completely won the allegiance of these officials, there will no longer be any officials who are disloyal to Junhou in Zhao Guo's officialdom! "

When Pang Nuan spoke, there was an expression of admiration on his face.

Killing, anyone can kill, there is no technical content.

But if you want to make a country long-term stable and peaceful, and make the people return to obedience, it is absolutely impossible to rely solely on killing people.

Not killing people is the test of real political wisdom.

If some people do not kill, others will say that you are soft-hearted, weak and can be bullied.

But like Zhao Kuo, he only killed the four core members of the Zhou family and spared the other hundreds of members of the Zhou family. This scale can be said to be just right, reflecting the maturity of a politician.

Pang Nuan recalled the sharp-edged young man when he first met Zhao Kuo, and then looked at Zhao Kuo who was lifting weights lightly and winning people's hearts while talking and laughing.

In just ten years, Wu Xinjun has grown from a reckless man who can only fight with little political wisdom to an excellent ruler of a country!Facing Pang Nuan's praise, Zhao Kuo smiled and stood up.

"After all, the Zhou brothers also helped me a lot back then. Since they are leaving tomorrow, I should go and see them off today."

Accompanied by Pang Nuan, Zhao Kuo came to the prison in Handan City.

The Zhou brothers were locked in the most heavily guarded cell in the prison. After seeing Zhao Kuo walking in, the two were a little puzzled at first, and then they were shocked when they saw Zhao Kuo's face clearly.

"You Wu Xinjun?"

Zhao Kuo sat down and said calmly, "It's me."

The faces of the Zhou brothers changed drastically. After a few seconds, Zhou Shaofen said, "You are here, are you going to see us off?"

Zhao Kuo nodded slowly: "Zhou Qing, you are indeed very smart."

Zhou Shaofen remained calm after hearing the news, but Zhou Shaoliang was immediately dumbfounded, sitting on the ground with a plop, unable to get up for a long time.

Zhou Shaofen sighed, and said: "Since the old man has chosen to fight against Wu Xinjun, he has actually been mentally prepared for this day, but the old man has the audacity to ask Wu Xinjun for one thing, that is, to spare our Zhou family. other people's lives."

Pang Nuan said: "Your Majesty is merciful, except for the two of you and your eldest son, all members of the Zhou family are exiled to the frontier, and the old man can continue to live in Handan."

Zhou Shaofen was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said: "Then thank you very much, Mr. Hou."

There was a moment of silence in the cell.

Zhao Kuo said lightly: "Zhou Qing, although you are against me, you have also helped me, so I will give you a ride.

Do you have any unfulfilled wishes? "

For Zhao Kuo, Zhou Shaofen is a rather contradictory figure.

When Zhao Kuo was just starting out, Zhou Shaofen was undoubtedly a very important helper, but later, after Lin Xiangru and Lord Yuan were overthrown, Zhou Shaofen became Zhao Kuo's enemy again.

To a certain extent, Zhou Shaofen did betray Zhao Kuo, but the merits and demerits can still be offset.

Both an enemy and a friend, this sentence is most suitable for Zhou Shaofen.

Zhou Shaofen heard the words, thought carefully, and said: "I only have one last request, if possible, can I let my newly born grandson enter the academy in the future?

The old man hopes that he can study hard in the academy and become a useful person loyal to Zhao Guo in the future. "

Zhao Kuo was a little surprised by this request.

Everyone knows that the academy is actually Zhao Kuo's base for cultivating intellectuals, and nine and a half out of ten scholars who come out of here are loyal to Zhao Kuo.

Zhao Kuo said, "No problem."

Zhou Shaofen let out a long breath and said, "Then thank you very much.

I hope Junhou can pass on the old man's last words to him in the future: Forget the hatred and start over. "

Zhao Kuo nodded slowly.

After Zhou Shaofen received Zhao Kuo's guarantee, he laughed: "Your Honor, actually, this old man really regrets it. Perhaps between you and the king, this old man really should have chosen you."

The corner of Zhao Kuo's mouth twitched slightly, and said, "Actually, if Zhou Qing and I were to change places, I'm afraid I would most likely choose the king."

Zhou Shaofen said with emotion: "Yes, if the struggle between the king and his subjects had not been witnessed with their own eyes, who would have believed that the king would be defeated?

Perhaps, this is Wu Xinjun's ability. "

Zhao Kuo thought for a while, and said, "Frankly speaking, for today's situation, I have already started planning a long time ago.

After all, Zhou Qing, you are an ally of this Marquis, don't you really notice it at all? "

Zhou Shaofen smiled and said, "How could you not notice it?