Chapter 301: Mutual Respect
Everything has its pros and cons. It is impossible for one person to take all the benefits. This is not the case for Wang Jian.

If he continued to wait, with the changing situation in Zhao, Li Mu's entire army would collapse without him having to do much. However, because of the sudden appearance of the Qi army, he could not wait any longer. Once Li Mu's tens of thousands of elite Zhao troops joined forces with the Qi army, the situation faced by the Qin army would change, so he could only launch an attack quickly.

But it was precisely because of the external pressure brought about by Wang Jian's attack that the Zhao army stopped thinking about unnecessary things and developed a sense of solidarity against a common enemy. For a time, although Handan was captured, King Zhao Qian's life or death was unknown, and a large number of deserters appeared, the Zhao army instead burst out with their last courage.

They actually managed to hold out despite the fierce attack of the Qin army.

As the Qin army continued to attack, the vanguard of the Qi army had already deployed on the border between Yan and Zhao, which made Wang Jian even more depressed.

"What's the point of continuing this battle?" Although the Zhao army withstood the attack of the Qin army, it also suffered huge casualties, especially since this war was a war with no victory in sight. Li Mu could no longer find the meaning of this war. He could certainly use the lives of tens of thousands of Zhao soldiers to complete the last battle of the God of Army and add another entry to his name in history books, but was there any meaning in doing so?

Could he exchange his own reputation for the lives of tens of thousands of Zhao army generals?
Li Mu was unwilling to do so. He regarded the soldiers as his own sons and nephews. He had been fighting the wolf tribe in the north for years. They had been fighting for years on the plains north of the river. It was because they were persistent and had people they needed to protect that they were willing to sacrifice their lives. They were not afraid of death, but they were afraid of death without any hope.

Li Mu was so shaken that he even thought about surrendering. Although he was not afraid of death, he did not want to see countless people sacrifice their lives because of his persistence.

Just as Li Mu was wavering, a person suddenly appeared in front of him, a person he had never expected, a person whom he did not have much contact with but whose name he had long admired.

"King Qi, why are you here?" Li Mu subconsciously looked outside the military camp, only to see that the personal soldiers outside were still patrolling and had not noticed that there was one more person in the tent they needed to surround.

This method of moving without warning in the midst of thousands of troops made Li Mu subconsciously alert. As a general, he did not like the appearance of people or things beyond his control in the military camp.

However, Li Mu's vigilance lasted only for a moment, and was soon replaced by a greater shock. A person suddenly broke into the big tent. Although this kind of thing was outrageous, it was not impossible to happen. After all, there were always some masters beyond common sense among the hundreds of families. But the appearance of King Qi here was not just outrageous.

Who is the King of Qi? As the ruler of a country with hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers under his command, Li Mu considered himself a great man, but he was still a minister after all. To a certain extent, he was indeed inferior to the King of Qi.

But now the King of Qi suddenly appeared in front of Li Mu. Even though Li Mu could remain calm even on a battlefield with hundreds of thousands of people fighting, he couldn't help but show a look of shock at this moment.

"Of course I'm here for General Li." Yang Chong looked at Li Mu and said.

Li Mu is no longer young. After all, he was already the pillar of the northern border of Zhao State twenty years ago. The Li Mu in front of him is over fifty years old, and there are many gray spots between his hair and beard, but his waist is still straight, without a trace of aging, and his eyes are still sharp. This is a wolf hunter who grew up in years of competition with wolves. He has a tenacity that is more terrifying than that of wolves.

But Yang Chong saw a hint of fatigue on Li Mu at this moment.

"For me?" Li Mu was confused in shock. Although this explanation made sense, what could he do to make him do such a thing?
"Of course it's for General Li. General Li, given the current situation in Zhao State, can you still save the situation?" Yang Chong asked.

He appeared here naturally for Li Mu. Although the Qi army is now powerful, it is still inferior to the Qin army in terms of generals. After all, a good soldier can be trained in three years, but a good general needs thirty years. Although Yang Chong relied on the manpower and material resources of Qi to train a powerful palace soldier, it lacked famous generals. Although he himself is such a famous general, in the future contest with Qin, he can't go into battle himself every time, right?
After all, individual power is limited, but in the competition between countries, if the victory or defeat is attributed to one person, it would be too sad. Yang Chong does not want to be a tyrant.

Therefore, finding more suitable generals for Qi State became Yang Chong's inevitable choice.

It is easy to get thousands of soldiers, but it is difficult to get a general, and even more difficult to get a famous general. However, Yang Chong's vision is extremely high because of his memories as a time traveler, which makes his standard for famous generals far beyond this era.

In Yang Chong's opinion, in today's world, there are only a few people who can be called famous generals. At present, there are only Wang Jian and his son, Li Mu, and even Meng Tian who has already shown his potential. Even Li Xin, who is regarded by King Zheng of Qin as the candidate for the general of the Qin army after Wang Jian, is just an average one in Yang Chong's eyes. And Xiang Yan of Chu can only be regarded as an 80% famous general in Yang Chong's eyes.

As a result, there are really not many generals who can catch Yang Chong's eyes, and even fewer for him to choose from. And there are even fewer who can be chosen and have the opportunity to be used by him.

Li Mu naturally became one of Yang Chong's few choices.

"No." Li Mu said in a deep voice.

The problem Li Mu is facing now is not that he cannot defeat Wang Jian, but that King Qian of Zhao is dead. He has lost the reason to fight. If King Qian of Zhao is by his side, he can fight to the death to escort King Qian of Zhao to Dai in the northern border of Zhao State in order to maintain the country of Zhao State, but now he can do nothing.

"So, is General Li going to surrender to the Qin army, or use the lives of tens of thousands of Zhao soldiers to add one last achievement to his reputation as the God of Army?" Yang Chong said.

His words were like sharp swords piercing Li Mu's heart and lungs. What Yang Chong said was not false but true, but it was precisely because of the truth that it was more hurtful.

"So the King of Qi didn't come here in person just to mock me, right?" Li Mu said.

He was not completely ignorant of politics, and naturally he could think of the relationship between Qi and Zhao. This time when the Qin army attacked Zhao, Qi should have rescued Zhao according to common sense, but Qi chose to attack Zhao. Li Mu could naturally guess what the inside story was. No wonder Yang Chong never regarded Zhao as his ally. It could even be said that Yang Chong himself was like King Zheng of Qin, and had other plans for Zhao.

"Such ridicule is too troublesome, and I happen to be the person who fears trouble the most." Yang Chong said.

"Since the King of Qi did not come here to mock me, then why did he come?" Li Mu asked.

"I've already said that." Yang Chong said.

"The King of Qi doesn't want me to surrender to Qi, does he?" Li Mu had vaguely realized something. "Why not? General Li has no way to go now. Where else can you go except Qi?" Yang Chong asked.

"Why can't I surrender to Qin?" Li Mu sneered.

At this time, he was already certain that Yang Chong had planned from the very beginning to sit back and watch the Qin army conquer the State of Yan. During this process, he could not only take the opportunity to conquer the State of Yan, but also take advantage of the situation to plot against the State of Zhao. His current surrender was proof of this.

"If General Li is willing to surrender to the Qin State, why does he have to wait until now? Besides, even if General Li is willing to surrender to the Qin army, the Qin army may not be willing to accept it. Everyone knows that the Qin army counts merits based on the number of heads taken. What's more, General Li beheaded 100,000 Qin soldiers back then. Do you think the Qin State can tolerate you? Of course, if General Li Mu is willing to give the heads of tens of thousands of generals under his command to Wang Jian, he might say a few good words for you to the King of Qin." Yang Chong replied half seriously and half jokingly.

"I really cannot surrender to the Qin army, but the land of Zhao has now been occupied by the Qin army. Among the many soldiers under my command, the hometowns of 20,000 have been occupied by the Qin army. They can surrender." Li Mu said.

"I know what General Li means, but doesn't General Li want to give the Zhao people more choices?" Since Yang Chong came here, he naturally had the confidence to persuade Li Mu.

"Give the Zhao people another choice?" Li Mu was stunned when he heard this. What choice? For a moment, he was a little confused.

"It would be best if the people of Zhao could live better under the governance of Qin. But if King Zheng of Qin does not treat the people of Zhao as human beings, what should the people of Zhao do then?" Yang Chong was patient and persuasive. He was also very familiar with the methods of the diplomats. After all, two-thirds of the diplomats were his disciples.

A person like Li Mu is a very idealistic person, who cannot be compared with Guo Kai and others. He has his own persistence and is willing to die for his persistence. Such a person is difficult to be persuaded, but as long as the right method is found, Li Mu can be easily persuaded because he really cares too much about his persistence.

"This opportunity belongs to you, King Qi?" Li Mu savored Yang Chong's words and gradually understood.

"Of course, if Qin governs Zhao well in the future, I will naturally not covet Zhao. After all, it is very difficult to defeat Qin without internal conflicts. But if the people of Zhao are full of complaints about Qin's governance, I naturally don't mind taking Zhao into my hands." Yang Chong said.

"What if the King of Qi cannot convince the people of Zhao at that time?" Li Mu asked. When he asked this question, it proved that he was moved by Yang Chong's words.

"Naturally, the people of Zhao will rise up and overthrow my rule." Yang Chong said frankly.

If the monarch is not a human being, naturally someone will teach him how to be a human being. Although there is a saying that the butt determines the head, Yang Chong does not really think that the monarch is supreme. The world can function without anyone. If someone really thinks that he is the sun in the sky, he is either deceiving others or deceiving himself.

"What the King of Qi said is indeed exciting. However, Wang Jian is right here. How can the King of Qi make our army withdraw to Qi or Yan? No, Yan is also Qi now." Li Mu asked.

Although Yang Chong's words were exciting, they could not change the reality. Wang Jian was still eyeing the situation covetously, and Wang Ben had already occupied Handan. Most of Zhao State fell into the hands of the Qin army. Wang Jian could join forces with Wang Ben at any time. At that time, even if he had great abilities, he could not stop the Qin army.

"As long as General Li wants to leave, Wang Jian will never pursue him." Yang Chong said.

"Why is that? As the supreme general of Qin, Wang Jian has proven his ability on the battlefield over the years. If we have equal forces, I am not sure I can defeat him. If his forces outnumber mine, it will be impossible for me to escape unscathed." Li Mu said.

Li Mu has experienced how difficult Wang Jian is in the past few years. Wang Jian may not have any brilliant strategies, but he is foolproof in war. He certainly cannot create any miracles, but no one can create miracles in him either.

Wang Jian's fighting style is a typical example of the saying that a good warrior is not necessarily famous for his achievements. Before the war, Wang Jian had considered every aspect clearly and would never leave any loopholes for the enemy.

If Wang Jian's fighting style had been used during the reign of King Zhao of Qin, it might not have worked. However, it appeared in the era of King Zheng of Qin. The Qin State was now the largest country in the world. Relying on the powerful national strength of the Qin State, Wang Jian was invincible in this era.

In today's world, Wang Jian's undefeated state is a great victory for the Qin army, because in terms of consumption, no country can compare with Qin.

"Now that I'm here, Wang Jian will withdraw his troops." Li Mu had his own concerns, but Yang Chong spoke with certainty.

"How can the King of Qi be sure?" Li Mu asked in confusion. Yang Chong did appear, but would Wang Jian withdraw his troops if Yang Chong appeared? If Wang Jian was a man who could be scared away by a name, he would not be able to be the general of Qin.

"Because I gave Wang Jian and King Zheng of Qin what they needed." Yang Chong said.

Although Li Mu was powerful, he was only a general after all. He could command great forces in the military formation, but when it came to struggles between countries, he was only a novice.

He also failed to see that Qin and Qi were now completely bordering each other and a war was inevitable between the two countries, but neither Yang Chong nor King Zheng of Qin were prepared for a decisive battle, so as long as they gave each other face, the two countries would withdraw their troops at the same time.

The only way Yang Chong gave Qin face was that he appeared in front of the enemy. Although retreating in the face of difficulty and retreating in the face of defeat may refer to the same thing, they are two completely different interpretations.

"What is it?" Li Mu couldn't understand, so he became curious.

"Decent." This was Yang Chong's answer.

(End of this chapter)