Chapter 263 I Give King Qin a Dignity

Faced with the disastrous defeat on the front line, King Zheng of Qin did not choose to retreat. He knew very well that the more this was the time, the more Qin could not retreat.

Losing on the battlefield didn't matter. The annihilation of 100,000 Qin troops would not cause any serious damage to the Qin State. However, once the Qin State retreated and let other countries see that the Qin State was not invincible, the series of chain reactions that would be caused would be something that the Qin State could not easily bear.

The Qin State had gone through countless wars to achieve its current national strength. If it retreated, all its previous efforts would be wasted.

So after learning that Huan Xi's Qin army had been completely wiped out in Zhao State, Yang Chong did not feel relieved at all. He knew Qin Shi Huang very well. He was a proud man. When such a person faced failure, whether he would admit defeat directly or cause a greater backlash were two different matters.

So Yang Chong never dared to let his guard down.

Sure enough, the front line soon received intelligence that Qin Wangzheng had left Xianyang. What did his leaving Xianyang at this time mean? Yang Chong had already thought of it.

Soon after, further information appeared in front of Yang Chong.

King Zheng of Qin personally visited Luoyi, opened the Luoyi armory, and mobilized troops from Guanzhong to join the war.

"Is King Zheng of Qin getting anxious?" In Xinzheng City, Wei Zhuang, who learned about the changes in Luoyi, couldn't help but express such doubts.

"We have no choice. King Qin Zheng absolutely cannot retreat now." Han Fei said. He could guess what King Qin Zheng was thinking. After all, he was also a man who almost became the king's teacher. Since King Qin Zheng appeared in Xinzheng, he had developed a great interest in the young king of Qin. In the past few years, he had collected a lot of intelligence about King Qin Zheng, and naturally deduced a lot of information about King Qin Zheng from the intelligence.

Although Han Fei could not say that he fully understood King Zheng of Qin, he was one of the people who knew him best. Therefore, while Han Fei felt surprised as to why King Zheng of Qin appeared in Luoyi, he quickly figured out the logic behind it.

"So is he going to go up against Yang Chong this time? No, it's Qi Wang Chong?" Wei Zhuang said coldly, but his expression showed that he was looking forward to watching the fun. Of course, he wanted to watch Yang Chong's fun.

"The one we know is Yang Chong. As for Qi Wang Chong, who has ever seen him?" Han Fei rolled his eyes. When he talked about Yang Chong, there were complicated feelings in his heart.

The person who used to hang out with him in Zilanxuan became a general of Korea without noticing. The person who used to brag with him became the King of Qi without noticing, and his boasts became reality. But what about him? He is still struggling in Korea, just for his own goal.

"That's your brother-in-law." Wei Zhuang's words were as sharp as his shark-tooth sword.

Sure enough, as Wei Zhuang said this, Han Fei's face changed. He knew what Wei Zhuang was talking about. The fact that Han Yu took Hong Lian to Dong'a might be hidden from others, but not from Han Fei. After all, he was not only the Sikou of Han, but also Hong Lian's brother. How could he not know that his sister was about to be engaged?

Besides, Honglian herself is a girl who can't hide her thoughts, especially in front of Han Fei.

As an elder brother, Han Fei should certainly bless his sister's upcoming marriage, especially since Yang Chong is a perfect match for any woman in the world. However, reason is reason, and reality is reality. What reason does Han Fei not understand? But understanding does not necessarily mean that one can really see through it.

It's normal for brothers to hate their brothers-in-law!

Facing Wei Zhuang's playful look, Han Fei was upset but did not forget to fight back: "In fact, in my opinion, Wei Zhuang, you are more suitable to be my brother-in-law."

"Woman? Ha!" Wei Zhuang sneered. A woman is nothing. She can only affect the speed at which he draws his sword.

"Let's get back to the topic. Based on our understanding of Yang Chong, would he directly confront the aggressive King Zheng of Qin? Given his character, he is capable of doing such a thing." Han Fei brought the topic back to the original point.

"No." Facing Han Fei's hesitation, Wei Zhuang gave an affirmative answer.

"Why not? He is a very arrogant person. There are not necessarily only people he is afraid of in this world, but there are also things he is afraid of." Han Fei asked back.

"He was able to work under Ji Wuye, he was able to take the initiative to seduce that woman Zinu, and he was able to please King Zhao. Don't these things prove it? As long as he could guess why King Zheng of Qin came to Luoyi from Xianyang, he would not have directly confronted him." Wei Zhuang said. Although his ability to analyze problems might not be better than Han Fei's, his understanding of Yang Chong was better than Han Fei's.

As for the reason?

When Han Fei met Yang Chong, he was already quite powerful, but when Wei Zhuang first met Yang Chong, Yang Chong was still very weak. Wei Zhuang had a more comprehensive understanding of Yang Chong, and he would not be emotional about Yang Chong, which was something Han Fei could not do. After all, Yang Chong was now Han Fei's 'future brother-in-law'.

"A real man is one who can bend and stretch!" Han Fei said helplessly. He understood this truth, but he just couldn't do it. Does this mean that he will never be able to achieve the same success as Yang Chong in his lifetime?
“A dragon can be big or small. It can soar in the sky or hide in the abyss.” Wei Zhuang said.

"Can you do it?" Han Fei asked.

"I can't and I won't do it." Wei Zhuang's answer was still simple.

"What's the reason?" Han Fei asked.

"What I hold in my hand is a sword, and I would rather break than bend it." Wei Zhuang replied.

"You have a sword bone, but I also have a proud bone." Han Fei sighed. This is his good friend! Han Fei's discussion with Wei Zhuang can only be regarded as a casual chat, because they are just outsiders and have nothing to do with the matter. Besides, they can't change anything. The people who can really influence the direction of things are Yang Chong and other talents.

What choice should he make when King Zheng of Qin walked out of Hangu Pass?
"King Zheng of Qin has lost men but not momentum. If we attack directly at this time, we will have to face the elite Qin army supervised by our own king. Facing such an army, even if we win, we will have to pay a heavy price. Compared with this price, what can we get?" On the Great Wall of Qi, Yang Chong put away the intelligence sent from the western front and already had a response plan in his mind.

Facing Yang Chong's question, Yan Lingji looked thoughtful, and she seemed to be trying to get to know Yang Chong as the King of Qi.

"We can gain nothing. Even if we defeat the Qin army, can we capture more Qin territory? No! Since we can't, why should we do such a thankless task?" Yang Chong continued.

"But the initiative is not in your hands now, right? If the Qin army wants to fight, can you still avoid it?" Yan Lingji raised her doubts.

It’s true that Yan Lingji is quite smart. When she puts enough energy into something, she can do it very well, just like now, she can really keep up with Yang Chong’s thinking.

"We just need to meet the needs of Qin. If possible, Qin doesn't want to fight to the death with me now. King Qin Zheng doesn't want to kill one thousand enemies and lose eight hundred of his own unless he has to." Yang Chong said.

"Then what do the State of Qin and King Zheng of Qin need?" Yan Lingji asked.

"Just a decent one." Yang Chong gave the answer.

"Dignity?" Yan Lingji was stunned. Now more than half of the seven countries in the world were involved in this war. Tens of millions of people in the world were paying attention to this war. From south to north, from east to west, areas over a thousand miles in radius have become the focus of war. All this was just for the so-called "dignity"?
Are all so-called kings so willful?
For a moment, Yan Lingji felt that compared to people like Yang Chong and Qin Wang Zheng, she was so well-behaved that she couldn't be any more well-behaved, even though she would do some things that she herself thought were not appropriate.

"Since King Qin wants respect, I will give him respect. Dingtao can be returned to Qin. I only want Puyang. Then I will completely connect Yecheng, Dong'e and Qi. After several years of accumulating strength, I will truly compete with Qin for supremacy in this world." Yang Chong said.

"Dignified? Is this childishness only found in men?" Yan Lingji asked curiously.

"If such a thing only happens to one person, it is of course childish. But if the word decent concerns a country, then it cannot be explained by the word childish." Yang Chong explained patiently. Of course, his patience is not very good, but he has always been very patient with Yan Lingji. If he had no patience, how could he taste the deepest deliciousness of Yan Lingji.

"Is this what you call the national dignity cannot be insulted lightly?" Yan Lingji's azure eyes flickered, rippling with a radiance like water waves.

“Although it’s not completely correct, it’s not far off.” Yang Chong said.

The Qi army in the east began to shrink its defense line, and the Qin-Wei coalition forces had failed to capture Dingtao, which was directly abandoned by the Qi army. The Qi army withdrew to the north, and the Qin army quickly entered Dingtao, but the Wei army also entered the city with the Qin army. For a time, although Dingtao was considered a big city, it was occupied by the Qin and Wei armies in different areas. How could one city accommodate the armies of two countries?

"The King of Wei is really greedy. In order to plot against me, the King of Qi Chong has allowed him to gain several cities for free, and now he even dares to covet the Qin's Dingtao City." The intelligence from the front line fell on the desk of King Zheng of Qin, and the content of the intelligence aroused his great disgust.

Qi Wang Chong was able to make him suffer because he was really capable. He had the courage to fight against the Qin army on the battlefield and the ability to compete with him in the court. But what was the King of Wei? He was just a waste. How could a waste want to plot against him?
"The greatest ignorance of a person is not knowing himself. The King of Wei obviously does not realize this." Knowing that King Zheng of Qin was no longer intending to suppress the anger he had accumulated over the past few days because of the King of Wei's behavior, Li Si quickly agreed.

"So let him sober up first. Order Wang Jian to leave Wang Ben in Southern Qi to guard against the Northern Qi army. Wang Jian will return to Dingtao, and then Yang Duanhe will lead the 100,000 troops I brought this time to Xingyang to make the King of Wei sober up." As King Zheng of Qin said this, Zhao Gao on the other side had already quickly drafted an edict.

In order to govern the State of Qin, King Zheng of Qin had to issue a large number of imperial edicts every day. Of course, these edicts could not be written by King Zheng of Qin himself. If he did so, even if he had an iron wrist, he would be exhausted. Therefore, there were people who drafted the edicts for King Zheng of Qin on a daily basis, and he only needed to take a look at them.

Zhao Gao was playing such a role at this time, and it was precisely because he had been playing such a role that Zhao Gao became the person who knew Qin Shi Huang best in the Qin State, and was able to plot against Qin Shi Huang, the king who used to be high and mighty and looked down on the people of the world, in the future.

"If King Chong of Qi is really a wise man, the war in Qi is almost over." Wang Jian, who received the imperial edict, said to his son Wang Ben in the territory of Southern Qi.

"At this point in the war, both we and the Qi army are almost exhausted. Fighting in this season which is not suitable for combat, the price to pay is really too high." Wang Ben nodded.

As a son of a general, Wang Ben's ability is unquestionable. After all, in the original history, he was able to destroy two countries. You should know that even his father Wang Jian's real record of destroying countries was only during the Three Kingdoms period.

"I have no choice." Wang Jian sighed. Zhao State had Li Mu and Qi State had Wang Chong. Both of them could be regarded as Qin's great enemies. It would be extremely difficult for Qin State to conquer the six kingdoms in the world.

At this time, Wang Jian could not help but think of the time of King Zhao. During the time of King Zhao, although he had never conquered any country, he successively defeated the three eastern hegemons of Chu, Qi and Zhao. This truly established Qin's national strength as the number one in the world, and made the idea of ​​Qin unifying the world possible.

King Zhao defeated so many enemies in his life, if the king can do it, so can I. Wang Jian said to himself in his heart, constantly building up his own psychology.

"You stay in Southern Qi this time. Apart from letting King Jian of Qi meet the needs of the army, don't interfere in government affairs. To the people of Qi, we are outsiders after all. If the people of Southern Qi and Northern Qi become united against a common enemy because of outsiders like us, we will really lose." Wang Jian, who was about to leave, taught his son.

As a qualified general, one must not only be able to fight on the battlefield. One must not only plan for victory, but also plan for his own life. A general who only knows how to plan for victory cannot last long. Even Bai Qi, the Marquis of Wu'an who was once feared by the world, was like this. How could Wang Jian not take it seriously?
"Don't worry, father. You know your son well. I am not a reckless person." Wang Ben grinned. He seemed rough, but he inherited a lot of Wang Jian's wisdom.

"Only caution can lead to lasting success. Temporary bravery cannot be relied upon." Wang Jian had already played the role of a kind father at this time.

After Yang Chong took the initiative to choose to retreat on the battlefield in Dongjun, the Qin army began to withdraw from Southern Qi after leaving behind 10,000 troops.

(End of this chapter)