Chapter 264: Let’s Talk About State Affairs First
As Wang Jian withdrew from Southern Qi, the Qin army began to gather in Dongjun on a large scale to show King Zheng of Qin's determination.

Faced with King Zheng of Qin who was about to overthrow the emperor, Yang Chong very rationally chose to retreat and withdrew all his forces back to Yecheng, but did not give up Puyang.

If King Zheng of Qin really thought that if he showed his determination to fight the war to the end, he would make Yang Chong give up everything and withdraw his troops, then he was underestimating Yang Chong.

Although King Zheng of Qin had the courage to fight the war to the end, King Chong of Qi was not afraid of overturning the table.

It took Yang Chong only a few years to acquire Qi, but what about Qin? Qin was the foundation that Qin Wangzheng's ancestors had fought for 500 years to acquire. So, it seems that it is not difficult to answer whether Qin Wangzheng cared more about Qin or Qi Wangchong cared more about Qi.

Yang Chong gave respect to King Zheng of Qin, but King Zheng of Qin also had to pay a certain price. Puyang and several surrounding cities that originally belonged to the Wei State were the price he had to pay.

Therefore, on the battlefield that was still not quiet, both the Qin army and the Qi army were gathering their forces, and it seemed that another earth-shaking battle was about to begin. The Zhao army, which was originally the protagonist of the battlefield, was now chasing the Yan army and attacking it fiercely. As for the Chu army? It seemed that it was satisfied with occupying Chengyang. All it wanted to do was to play the role of a robber who took advantage of the situation to rob.

For a moment, on the huge battlefield, only the Wei army was left. Looking at the Qin and Qi armies not too far away from them, they didn't know what to do.

The Qin army was their friend, but the Qin army had never shown mercy when beating the Wei state before. The Qi army was their enemy, and the Qi army was still able to confront the Qin army head-on. For a time on this battlefield, the Wei army actually felt a terrified feeling.

The war came to an end as the Wei army was at a loss.

The Qi army had completed its retreat, the Qin army had completed its assembly, and the area where the Wei army was located became the middle area between the two armies.

At this time, Yang Chong also came to Puyang, which was once the capital of Wei State. It was also on the day he arrived that Puyang City became Diqiu City.

"The Qin army has completed its assembly. Together with the reinforcements coming from Guanzhong, the total strength of the Qin army has reached 150,000. In addition, there are 70,000 Wei troops as Qin's allies. The enemy's strength has reached 220,000." Yan Ju reported the military situation to Yang Chong.

After Yang Chong left Dongjun, Yan Ju became the supreme commander of the Qi army. However, under his leadership, all the cities in Dongjun occupied by the Qi army were lost. Now only the few cities of Puyang are still in their hands. It can be said that after Yang Chong left, Yan Ju had been beaten badly by the Qin army.

Now that he saw Yang Chong, Yan Ju felt a little ashamed. Who among those who practiced military skills didn't have the desire to rule the world?
But the reality is often cruel. Everyone wants to be a hero, but the reality is that the vast majority are ordinary people.

Yan Ju was able to preserve the Qi army's strength during the retreat when his troops were at a disadvantage. This was a remarkable thing and he was considered a good general.

"King Zheng of Qin is determined to conquer the world, and he will not fight us to the death. If Qin's elite troops are consumed here, what can he use to conquer the world? Since Fan Ju, Qin's strategy for foreign wars has been to make friends with distant countries and attack nearby ones, and to erode the neighboring countries. This is what is called "an inch gained is an inch for the king, and a foot gained is also a foot for the king." Yang Chong said.

King Zheng of Qin would never let the Qin army travel thousands of miles to attack Qi.

According to Yang Chong's estimation, King Zheng of Qin's next goal would still be to attack the State of Zhao with all his strength while he was being pinned down by the State of Southern Qi. He would not take action against the State of Han before destroying the State of Zhao.

If Han was destroyed, Wei would not even be able to survive. If Wei and Zhao joined forces, even Qin would find it difficult to deal with them. Therefore, Qin had to attack Zhao first, and Wei would just stand by and watch. As for Yan, it had long wished Zhao would die.

After so many years of operation, the Qin State finally completely disintegrated the Three Jin Alliance of Han, Zhao and Wei. In the past few decades, it has also accumulated enough experience, and it is naturally familiar with dealing with the three countries of Han, Zhao and Wei next time.

However, the appearance of Yang Chong suddenly disrupted the Qin army's layout. This is why King Zheng of Qin was determined to create trouble for Yang Chong at all costs. Now King Zheng of Qin's goal has been achieved.

However, King Zheng of Qin had no idea that Yang Chong would not stop Qin from annexing other countries in the short term.

As for the reason?

When was the Qin State at its most powerful?

Most people would think that the most powerful time of Qin was when it unified the world and Ying Zheng became the First Emperor from King of Qin. But in Yang Chong's opinion, the most powerful time of Qin is now, when it is still planning how to conquer Zhao.

After Qin conquered the six kingdoms, its territory certainly became unprecedentedly vast and the population it controlled reached its peak. However, correspondingly, such a large amount of territory and population also exceeded the limits of Qin's ruling ability. At that time, Qin's internal contradictions also reached their peak. At that time, Qin was like a fat man with deep internal injuries, and it was not as strong as it is now.

Therefore, no matter whether Qin attacked and destroyed Zhao, Han, or Wei, Yang Chong would not take action. What he wanted was for Qin to appear strong. If Qin had not had so many internal conflicts, how could Yang Chong get the opportunity?
Yang Chong was never afraid of Qin Shi Huang's ambition. What he was afraid of was that Qin Shi Huang was too stable. If that happened, the Qin State would be truly difficult to defeat.

Yan Ju obviously didn't know what Yang Chong was thinking at the moment, but he didn't need to know. It was a very dangerous thing for a minister to guess the king's thoughts, and Yan Ju knew this.

"After the Qin army retreats, you will stay in Diqiu." Yang Chong added.

After the war, he would have to return to Linzi to deal with the affairs of Qi. In the next few years, when Zhao was struggling to survive the attack of Qin, Yang Chong also needed to quickly resolve the internal problems of Qi, and then coordinate the resources of Qi so that he could compete with Qin.

Just when the states of Han and Wei were trembling with fear because of the confrontation between the Qin army and the Qi army in Dongjun, the Qin army and the Qi army chose to withdraw their troops at the same time. King Chong of Qi actually went to Zhao, and King Zheng of Qin actually moved his troops to the border between Qin and Han. No one knew what he was going to do.

Handan.

Yang Chong had been here several times, but every time he came to Handan he had different feelings. Handan was of course still the same Handan, but Yang Chong was constantly changing. Looking at the same thing with different mentalities and perspectives, the feelings he got were naturally different.

This time he is also the ruler of a country and is considered a distinguished guest here.

As for whether it was appropriate for the King of Qi to appear in Handan, Yang Chong had not considered it. He pursued power in order to be free from the constraints of the world's rules, not to actively put himself in the shackles of power. Moreover, he did need to give an explanation to the Queen Mother Zhao for this battle. Of course, this explanation was only limited to the Queen Mother Zhao. Yang Chong needed to explain to the Queen Mother Zhao, not to the State of Zhao.

Qi had no obligation to rescue Zhao, but it was different for the Queen Mother Zhao. After all, Yang Chong took advantage of this woman to a large extent.

But then again, wasn't it because Queen Dowager Zhao used Yang Chong to get everything she has now?
"Handan is a good place, too. It has vast plains, developed agriculture, and is an important iron smelting center. With this place, the State of Zhao will never lack soldiers and weapons. No wonder the ancestors of the State of Zhao more than a hundred years ago slowly abandoned their base camp Jinyang and moved the capital to Handan." Yang Chong said to Madam Li and her maid beside him in the brothel where he had a secret meeting with the Queen Mother of Zhao.

"I don't understand these things. They are things that only big shots like you, the King of Qi, can consider." Mrs. Li said with a smile.

It was surprising enough for the Queen Mother Zhao that she had gone from being a prostitute to being the current master of Zhao State, but it was more like a fairy tale to her that Yang Chong had become the King of Qi in just a few years.

Women can take a shortcut by relying on their looks, but men don't have such a shortcut. How did Yang Chong do it? How did he become the current Qi Wang Chong? Madam Li was quite curious.

Because she herself was also a witness to some extent, after knowing one of the points, she could not help but be more curious about the answers to the other nine points.

"In this Handan city, who dares to say that Madam Li is a small figure?" Yang Chong, who was in a good mood, smiled.

"Shouldn't I be very honored to hear the King of Qi say this?" Seeing that Yang Chong was almost the same as before, Madam Li immediately used her ability to strike while the snake was still under attack. Taking advantage of the situation was an important skill for them to survive.

"That should be the case." Yang Chong nodded.

If it was just Madam Li, of course she wouldn't have brought Yang Chong much luck, but doesn't she still have a little snow girl by her side now?
Madam Li probably noticed that Yang Chong treated Xue Nu differently, so she kept Xue Nu by her side. Such a woman is very good at observing people's words and expressions.

While Yang Chong was talking to Madam Li, Xue Nu's eyes frequently fell on Yang Chong. She was very curious about Yang Chong.

Although she was still young and did not have much experience, she knew something about the Qi State in the east.
Such a big country actually changed its king, and the process was so quick. Even the Snow Girl, who was not interested in the struggles among countries, couldn't help but feel curious.

Especially since Xue Nu herself knew Yang Chong, if a stranger did something unimaginable, it would probably only cause one person to be amazed. But if a familiar person suddenly did something unimaginable, the shock it caused would be extraordinary. This was the case with Yang Chong to Xue Nu at this moment.

While Yang Chong was talking to Madam Li, Queen Mother Zhao, dressed in casual clothes, had already walked into the room through the side door.

When Queen Dowager Zhao saw Yang Chong again after several months, she couldn't help but feel hatred.

Especially, the look in Yang Chong's eyes when he looked at her was full of smiles, and he looked very sincere. He did not show any guilt at all for not saving her or the State of Zhao.

I was deceived by his current appearance before. Queen Mother Zhao reminded herself in her heart that she must not be deceived by Yang Chong again this time.

However, she herself did not realize that when she sent a large army to attack the Yan army in order to get Yang Chong to come to Handan, she was actually longing for one thing, longing for Yang Chong to give the explanation she expected.

Her hatred for Yang Chong was indeed deep, but wasn't it because she cared too much about him that she had such deep hatred?
After Queen Dowager Zhao appeared, Madam Li took the initiative to take Yan Xuenu away. No matter what happened between Yang Chong and Queen Dowager Zhao next, she would not be able to hear or see it.

"I need an explanation from you." After leaving Yang Chong alone in the room, Queen Mother Zhao asked Yang Chong with a bit of indifference.

"Is it an explanation rather than a quibble?" Yang Chong smiled without any trace of guilt. How could he feel guilty? Isn't Zhao State doing well now?

"It's an explanation." Queen Mother Zhao took a deep breath and tried her best to calm herself. Sometimes she even hated herself for not living up to her expectations. The facts were already in front of her, so why should she cling to Yang Chong's explanation?
Maybe it was because she still had a little extravagant hope in her heart? She had once been moved, and it was difficult for her to return to the cold state she once was, where she only regarded men as tools.

"If I hadn't been leading another part of the Qin army in the south, could Zhao have stopped the Qin army's attack from the north and the south?" Yang Chong's question was his own explanation.

"I asked you to send reinforcements, but you went to reinforce Yecheng. Are those places really that important? Moreover, if you were really forced to do so, how could you have the energy to plot against those people in Linzi? Don't think I don't know what you have done in Qi." Queen Mother Zhao's voice became colder.

"That was not a calculation, I just improvised. Queen Mother, you know that the situation on the battlefield is ever-changing and no one can predict it for sure. It's not that I won't rescue Zhao, but I am helping Zhao in my own way. In order to help Zhao, I lost one-third of Qi. The King of Qi has become the King of Northern Qi. Doesn't this prove my sincerity?"

The reasons Yang Chong gave made sense, at least that's what Queen Dowager Zhao heard.

Because what Yang Chong said was the fact, but his interpretation of the facts was slightly different.

"But now you have obtained Yecheng, Dong'e and Puyang. These territories are enough to make up for your losses." Queen Mother Zhao replied. Her plan to call for justice had unknowingly gone astray.

"So the Queen Mother still thinks that I was standing by and watching someone die without helping?" Yang Chong asked back.

“Only you know the answer clearly. Anyway, I will not let you suffer any loss this time. I will take Raoan back from the State of Yan for you.” said the Queen Mother Zhao.

"But there are still Zhao troops there now. It is hard to say whether Rao An belongs to Qi or Zhao now." Yang Chong said helplessly. This was his real purpose of coming to Handan this time.

"Do you want me to return Rao An to you?" Seeing Yang Chong's helplessness, Queen Dowager Zhao smiled.

(End of this chapter)