Chapter 291: The Rare Peaceful Queen Mother Zhao
Yang Chong was still in the mood to chat and laugh with the girl from the wolf tribe, but Queen Mother Zhao was in a completely different mood.

An earthquake struck the northern border of Zhao State, causing disasters that spread over a thousand miles and affected countless people. The disaster relief alone would have cost a huge amount of money. If it were just that, it would have been fine. However, the huge casualties caused by the earthquake seriously weakened the military strength of Zhao State, which was truly fatal to Zhao State.

In the past ten years, the Qin army has never stopped attacking Zhao. Sometimes, they launched tens of thousands of troops to attack Zhao not even for the purpose of occupying land, but purely to disgust Zhao and prevent the people of Zhao from restoring their national strength. At this time, after experiencing an earthquake, Zhao was greatly weakened in all aspects. Qin would never let go of this opportunity.

With countless victims at home and the Qin State eyeing the country covetously outside, it would be strange if Queen Dowager Zhao could sleep well.

"Queen Mother, under the current circumstances, disaster relief must be provided as soon as possible." In the palace of Prince Zhao, Guo Kai, the prime minister, could no longer care about his own plan to make money. If the State of Zhao was destroyed, he, the prime minister, would be worthless. He had a clear understanding of this.

"It's easy for you to say that. Doesn't the Prime Minister know how much money is left in the national treasury?" Queen Dowager Zhao said helplessly.

After taking control of the State of Zhao, the Queen Mother Zhao felt that she had reached the pinnacle of her life. However, after becoming the mistress of this country, she found that things seemed a little different from what she had imagined.

While she had power, she was also burdened with responsibilities. Although she owned the entire State of Zhao, the burden of its survival also fell on her.

Civil and military skills are necessary talents for a monarch, but they are too difficult for a woman.

How to identify people, how to use people, how to plan a war, how to deal with other countries, all these things are too difficult for Queen Dowager Zhao.

Faced with the unfamiliar important officials of the State of Zhao, the Queen Mother of Zhao had no idea about their talents and character, nor did she know which one was suitable for which position. She didn't understand any of this.

Fortunately, she also understood one thing: when hiring people, you should hire people who are close to you. People who are close to you may not be capable enough, or may do bad things, but they will not threaten your position.

As a result, the status of Guo Kai and others also rose.

If this were the case, the story of Zhao State would probably have developed along the established trajectory, but the Queen Mother Zhao was also lucky. Listening to the words of people close to her might be a bad thing, but it could also be a good thing.

For example, Yang Chong. It was because Queen Dowager Zhao believed in Yang Chong's words that she valued Guo Kai among the civil officials, but in terms of military affairs, she left everything to Li Mu.

With Guo Kai as the civil advisor and Li Mu as the military advisor, Queen Dowager Zhao had lived a life of fear in recent years, but at least she was able to get by. The only problem that Zhao was facing now was not something that Guo Kai and Li Mu could solve.

"Our country has been fighting the Qin army for two years. Although we have won every battle, the national treasury has never been full. At this time, we really don't have more food and supplies for disaster relief." Guo Kai said with a wry smile.

Guo Kai's bitter smile was indeed sincere. In the past few years, although Zhao State had more victories than defeats on the battlefield, its finances were deteriorating. Even he, the prime minister, had fewer opportunities to embezzle. How could he not know the pain?

"A good cook cannot cook without rice!" Queen Mother Zhao sighed. No one was more concerned about the future of Zhao State than her now, because Zhao State belonged to her, so how could she not care?

If there were no Zhao State, it would be impossible for her, the queen mother, to even be an ordinary village woman.

"Could it be that the Queen Mother has forgotten someone?" Guo Kaixin thought.

Although Guo Kai still had a way out even if Zhao State was destroyed, that way out was not as comfortable as being the prime minister in Zhao State. Therefore, if possible, Guo Kai still hoped that Zhao State could continue to exist.

"Who?" Queen Mother Zhao asked hurriedly, but then she reacted and said to herself, "The King of Qi can help us, but he never does anything without a profit. If we want to get his help, it may not be easy."

"Queen Dowager, it is certainly not easy to get Prince Chong of Qi to take action. However, as long as we can meet some of his requirements, it should not be difficult to get his help. After all, Qi is the richest country in the world." Guo Kai said.

"Meet some of the King of Qi's demands?" Queen Mother Zhao blushed upon hearing this, and an indescribable picture involuntarily emerged in her mind.

In that kind of relationship, although she always told herself that she was the one who wanted to find a man and that she was the one who took the initiative in that kind of relationship, in the relationship between men and women, because of the innate differences and the concepts of the times, the one who took the initiative was ultimately the man.

Just like in another trajectory, Qin Shi Huang's mother Zhao Ji felt that she was raising a male favorite, but in the end he was used, which led to a rift between mother and son and caused a tragedy of human relations. Women are women after all, and there are very few women like the Queen Dowager Xuan of Qin. Obviously, Queen Dowager Zhao did not have the courage of Queen Dowager Xuan. Men are just tools to achieve certain goals, and these tools can be sacrificed at any time when needed.

Therefore, when Queen Dowager Zhao heard Guo Kai say that all the requirements of the King of Qi would be met, she subconsciously thought it was that requirement and her train of thought went astray.

"What request?" Fortunately, Queen Mother Zhao still had enough rationality. She knew that even if Guo Kai had great connections in Zhao State, he would not know the secret, so her mind was only confused for a moment, but she did not reveal any flaws.

"Qi has ambitions to conquer the world, and he is the same person as King Zheng of Qin," said Guo Kai.

"So?" Queen Mother Zhao asked back. Which man is not greedy? Who doesn't want to be the master of the world? The seven countries have been fighting for so many years. In the end, isn't it all for this title? Queen Mother Zhao didn't feel any surprise at all.

"Precisely because the King of Qi aims to rule the world, he will have to keep launching wars like King Zheng of Qin did. However, Qi is surrounded by the sea to the east and Chu to the south. Although Tian Jian and the Pseudo-Qi are still there, they are no match for the King of Qi. As for the Jixi direction, judging from the King of Qi's actions in recent years, he does not want to have a larger-scale conflict with Qin too early. So in this way, Qi has only one direction for expansion." Guo Kai analyzed.

"Are you talking about the State of Yan?" Queen Mother Zhao was also a smart person. Her years of controlling the government had given her a lot of experience. Guo Kai had already said this, so she naturally thought of the State of Yan. "Yes, it is the State of Yan. As far as I know, over the years, the King of Qi has expanded the influence of the State of Qi to the Liaodong direction through the trade route of the East China Sea. Under the influence of the trade route, those unruly Hu people have become quite close to the State of Qi. It can be seen that the King of Qi has long had ulterior motives for the State of Yan." Guo Kai said.

"So what if the King of Qi has his sights on Yan? Can we still help him attack Yan?" Queen Mother Zhao asked puzzledly.

"The Queen Mother can certainly help the King of Qi attack the State of Yan." Guo Kai said something meaningful.

"We are already stretched to the limit in dealing with the Qin army's attack, so how can we have extra troops to help Qi attack Yan?" Queen Mother Zhao did not understand what Guo Kai meant for a moment.

"Queen Dowager, I'm not talking about sending troops, but giving the two cities to the King of Qi," Guo Kai explained.

"Two cities?" Queen Mother Zhao was stunned. If she could get the help of King Qi, she would be willing to take not only two cities, but even four or five cities.

"Yes, we only need to give up two cities, two cities close to Qi and adjacent to Yan. Qi is not connected to Yan now. If the King of Qi wants to attack Yan, he can only go by sea. But as long as we can give up those two cities, Qi can directly border Yan. Queen Mother, do you think the King of Qi will agree to our deal?" Guo Kai said.

"This..." Queen Dowager Zhao pondered. Based on her understanding of Yang Chong, if it was really as Guo Kai said, Yang Chong would have no reason to refuse this deal.

Guo Kai took Queen Mother Zhao's hesitation as hesitation, so he continued: "Queen Mother, don't feel bad for the two cities. Qi originally bordered Yan. Back then, the Qi army took that passage and conquered Yan in less than two months. But later, King Min of Qi lost his power, which led to the whole world attacking. We Zhao occupied it at that time, which blocked the border between Qi and Yan. Now it is just returning the property to its original owner."

"What the Prime Minister said makes sense. Let's do this." Queen Dowager Zhao nodded. It's not that she found the deal unacceptable. She was hesitant only because she was not sure whether Yang Chong could help her with the two cities. After all, she knew how greedy Yang Chong was, at least better than Guo Kai.

But what Guo Kai said made sense. Queen Mother Zhao thought it was worth a try. If it really didn't work, then she could increase the stakes. Anyway, she had done this more than once. Isn't the bottom line meant to be broken through?

"Yes." Guo Kai felt relieved when he heard that, but then he felt a little strange. What happened in Zhao State in recent years?
The State of Zhao lost cities and territories in the Qin army's attack, and was constantly losing cities in the face of Qi's resources. How many years can the State of Zhao last like this?

While the State of Zhao was busy with disaster relief, Han Fei and his group also arrived in Handan. As for Yang Chong, he returned to Linzi earlier and naturally received the letter for help from the State of Zhao.

"The State of Zhao can be destroyed, but it must not be destroyed within three years." Guiguzi said this to Yang Chong in Yang Chong's huge study.

When Yang Chong invited Guiguzi to stay in Qi State, he did so under the pretext of letting Guiguzi be a teacher for his two children, and only then did Guiguzi stay.

But Guiguzi has a fatal flaw, which also appears in Gai Nie and Wei Zhuang. That is, he likes to do things that amaze others. In the words of Yan Lingji, he likes to show off, and in the words of Yang Chong, he likes to create an image for himself.

When such a person encounters things that can influence the rise and fall of a country and the direction of the world situation, even if he tries to restrain himself, he cannot control his impulse to point fingers at others. Yang Chong is well aware of this. Therefore, whenever there is an important matter that needs to be discussed with important ministers, Yang Chong will definitely let Guiguzi be present. Over time, Guiguzi really cannot control his nature. Now, Yang Chong does not even need to deliberately go fishing, Guiguzi will jump out by himself, just like now.

"We have two years at most. The Zhao Kingdom is about to end. No one can change this unless we are willing to confront the Qin Kingdom now." Yang Chong said.

Yang Chong would certainly take action to save Zhao from this crisis, but after an earthquake, there would be a major disaster or epidemic. Yang Chong did not know whether Zhao would experience a major epidemic after this earthquake, but he knew that Zhao would experience a drought that would spread across the country. In this disaster, even Qi could not stay out of it.

In the original historical trajectory, Qin took advantage of Zhao's two consecutive disasters and used a counter-espionage plan to get rid of Li Mu, which led to the demise of Zhao. Although Yang Chong was able to help Zhao with disaster relief this year, he could not save Zhao from the subsequent drought because Qi's resources were not endless, and Yang Chong needed to use those resources to do another thing.

"Two years? It doesn't seem easy to conquer Yan State and completely digest it in two years." Xun Kuang said.

The most difficult thing to capture in a city is not the city wall, but the people's hearts. Although Yan State was not strong, it was not too difficult for Qi State to conquer Yan State. However, there were many things to do after occupying Yan State. If there was no Zhao State to attract the attack of Qin army, Qi State would have to face the attack of Qin State directly. At that time, Qi State would encounter big problems.

"It's not easy but we have to do it. Now that Zhao has handed over the city, it's time for us to send troops. The next step is whether we can take down Yan first, or Qin can take down Zhao first." Yang Chong said firmly.

Yang Chong never gave up his plan from beginning to end. As early as in Xinzheng, Yang Chong had already had a relatively detailed plan for his steps in the chess game of the world.

By combining the strength of Qi, Zhao and Yan, they stretched from Taihang Mountains in the west to Yanshan Mountains in the north, to Liaodong in the east, and took advantage of the dangerous rivers in the south. In this way, they achieved hegemony and became equal to Qin in the east and west.

At present, Yang Chong has been managing Qi for several years and has completely taken control of Qi. It is time to put the second and third steps into action.

First take Yan State, then take Zhao State.

"The essence of Yan State is all in the south of Yanshan Mountain. As long as we give King Xi of Yan a chance to escape to Liaodong, we will have the opportunity to control Yan State as quickly as possible. Moreover, don't underestimate Zhao State. The bravery and fighting ability of the Zhao army have been proven by the blood of the Qin army over the years." Yang Chong said.

According to the original trajectory, Zhao State had experienced two major disasters and was able to hold on against the attack of the Qin Army, forcing the Qin State to resort to unconventional tactics. Although Yang Chong cannot fully support Zhao State now, he can still provide some support. By then, although the Zhao Army cannot save Zhao State from its fate of destruction, it can hold on for more time, and Zhao State's time is also Yang Chong's time.

(End of this chapter)