Chapter 54: The Debate Between Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi

  "Whoa!" Qin Yiren secretly let out a sigh of relief. Lian Po's slap was extremely powerful, if he had been hit, Qin Yiren would have been ruined, his ambitions for power and wealth, as well as his future prospects, would all become illusions.

  Although Lian Po still looked unwell and his eyes stared at him like copper bells, he gave Qin Yiren a chance, which was more important than anything else.

  "Speak quickly." Lian Po urged in a voice like thunder.

  "Let me go, let me catch my breath. Your grip is too tight, like a mountain." Qin Yiren did not respond to Lian Po's intention, but instead haggled over the price.

  "General Lian Po, the Qin people are treacherous, this is a delaying tactic." Su Dai reminded loudly, intending to provoke, regretting that General Lian did not kill the Qin envoy at the time.

  "Shut up! I, Lian Po, don't need a sinner like you to tell me what to do." No one expected that Su Dai's hot face would stick to Lian Po's cold buttocks, provoking a scolding from Lian Po.

  Splash!

  Su's face turned bright red with shame and embarrassment.

  He was a world-renowned celebrity, and whoever saw him had to put on a smiling face and show him three points of courtesy. Lian Po didn't give him any face at all, which made him very embarrassed, but not the reason for his shame.

  What really made Su Dai ashamed was Lian Po's "guilty" label.

  Su Dai was once a notorious fugitive, wanted by the whole world, because he was the brother-in-law of Zi Zhi, the treacherous minister of Yan. Zi Zhi caused chaos in Yan and forced the King of Yan to "abdicate" the throne to him, with Su Dai being his biggest accomplice.

  "The Disorder of the Heir" was very famous at that time, causing great chaos in Yan and nearly leading to its downfall after being attacked by Qi. This incident left a deep impression on King Zhao of Yan, who later built the Golden Tower, recruiting scholars from all over the world, which led to Yue Yi's entry into Yan.

  After King Yan Zhao ascended to the throne, he issued a national warrant for Su Dai's arrest. Su Dai fled and hid in various places until he was finally caught in Handan, Zhao State. Fortunately, he was a talented man who could speak eloquently, and he managed to persuade the King of Zhao to release him. As a result, the whole affair was dropped.

  Lian Po, in front of so many people, scolded him as a "criminal", exposing his shortcomings. His face was burning with anger, as if he had been slapped by Lian Po many times, and still couldn't explode.

  Who said this was Lian Po scolding him?

  Lian Po criticized Qin Yiren for being good at slapping people in the face and exposing their shortcomings, saying he was a poisonous tongue. In fact, Lian Po himself was also a poisonous tongue.

  Lü Buwei originally wanted to mix in a few words, inciting Lian Po to kill Qin Yiren. Seeing Su Dai eat dumb, his neck shrunk, and the words that reached his mouth were swallowed back, he couldn't afford to provoke Lian Po.

  "I'm so out of breath, how can I speak? If what I say is unreasonable, then beat me to death. If what I say makes sense, why are you in such a hurry? Taking a deep breath won't waste much time." Qin Yiren stuttered and panted heavily, barely managing to finish his sentence.

  Lian Po looked at Qin Yiren's red face and thick neck, thinking that he also had a point, nodded and said: "Okay. Even if you want to escape, you can't escape." He let go of Qin Yiren.

  "Aren't you talking nonsense?" Qin Yiren took a deep breath, rolled his eyes and retorted, "Not many people can escape from Lian Po's hands, I have the heart but not the power."

  Lian Po was not only a famous general, but also a renowned fierce warrior. Looking around the world, there were only a few people who could escape from his hands, and that's the truth.

  "Consider yourself lucky!" Qin Yiren said in a huff, somewhat annoyed, but Lian Po took it well.

  "Hoo-hoo!" Qin Yiren took a deep breath and finally recovered.

  "Speak quickly." Jian Bo urged.

  "General Lian Po knew his mistake and corrected it, he came to apologize with a humble heart. Indeed, he was eager to know his own mistakes." But Qin Yiren didn't have the same awareness as General Lian Po, instead, he retorted back at him.

  Lian Po's eyes flashed, and he was about to rebuke him, but Qin Yi said: "My guards are still lying on the ground, I'm not in the mood to talk." Ignoring Lian Po's murderous gaze, he quickly walked over, helped Meng Zhao and the others up, and let them sit down.

  "Brother." Qin Yiren's troubles had yet to be resolved, but they were already worried about them. Meng Zhao and the others were deeply moved, choking back tears.

  "Hey!" Qin Yiren turned his head and asked Lian Po: "Will they be okay?"

  "Who's there? Who's there?" Lian Po was quite displeased, but as a military man, he greatly appreciated Qin Yiren's concern for the safety of his subordinates. He suppressed his annoyance and replied indifferently: "It's just a flesh wound, I won't die."

  Lian Po's words were highly credible, so Qin Yiren felt relieved and said, "That's good." He raised his wine cup, took a refreshing sip, and spat out the turbid air.

  "Are you done yet?" Jian Bo somewhat understood that this kid was intentionally making trouble for him.

  "It's almost done." Qin Yiren tilted his neck and said, "According to your plan in the Battle of Changping, you wanted to use the power of the six states to defeat Qin. Do you know why the five states of Han, Wei, Yan, Qi, and Chu remained silent and did not send a single soldier to help during the stalemate at Changping? Even when Zhao's envoy traveled the world to seek rescue troops, not a single soldier arrived."

  After the outbreak of the Changping War, the other five nations watched with bated breath, and the world was in a state of solemnity, without any movement. Later, when Zhao Kuo was besieged, the king and ministers of Zhao were greatly alarmed, and they sent out numerous envoys to persuade the world to send troops to rescue them, but not one country sent even a single soldier.

  "Why?" Lian Po's interest was piqued by Qin Yiren.

  "That's just the way it is." Qin Yiren's response was unexpected.

  "What's the trend of the world?" Huang Shi held up his wine cup, nodded slightly, and the smile on his face deepened a few points.

  "What's the solution?" Lian Po thought of many answers, but none were like this, his interest grew stronger.

  "With a broad view of the world, the seven major warring states are vying for power, and the strongest ones are none other than Qin and Zhao. Although the five countries of Han, Wei, Yan, Qi, and Chu rely on Zhao to maintain their safety and resist Qin, do they not also see Zhao as a threat?"

  Qin Yi Ren analyzed: "For the five countries, the best scenario would be for both Qin and Zhao to suffer losses and never recover, thus no longer posing a threat to them. The Battle of Changping is a rare opportunity, and they are eager for Qin and Zhao to continue fighting each other to the death, with neither side coming to the rescue."

  "Slap!" Lian Po's large palm heavily slapped his forehead, suddenly enlightened, saying: "That makes sense! That makes a lot of sense!"

  "Don't you realize now how absurd your plan is?" Qin Yiren asked with a slanted gaze.

  "Thank you, sir, for clearing up the misunderstanding for Lian Po." Lian Po was able to bear the blame and ask for punishment because he knew his mistake and corrected it. Although Qin Yiren was a detestable person from Qin, he showed respect and courtesy, asking: "Why did you say I would definitely lose at Changping?"

  "Haha!" Qin Yiren burst out laughing and said: "If the five nations do not send troops to reinforce, the Battle of Changping will only be a fight between Qin and Zhao. It's just a comparison of money, grain, taxes, population, land, and elite soldiers. I'd like to ask you, can the laws and governance of Zhao compare to the clarity of Qin?"

  "Unbelievable!" Lian Po was very unwilling to admit, but had to admit that the national laws and orders of Qin were much clearer than those of any country in Shandong.

  "The treasury of Qin has been accumulating from the time of Duke Xiao's reform until now, spanning four generations and over a hundred years. Can Zhao compare to that?"

  "Impossible!" Lian Po's face changed color.

  "The people of Qin hear the call to battle and rejoice, all are willing to fight to the death. Military law is strict, rewards and punishments are clear, the elite soldiers of Qin are hard to match in the world. Although the Zhao troops are skilled at fighting, can they compare?"

  "No!" A bright light appeared on Lian Po's forehead. If he could resist, Lian Po would not have adopted a defensive strategy in Changping.

  "Is it possible for Zhao to compare with others in terms of vast territory, fertile fields and large population?"

  "No!" Cold sweat broke out on Lian Po's forehead.

  "For three years, the armies of Zhao and Qin have been locked in a stalemate at Changping. All of Zhao's elite troops are concentrated here, while the tens of thousands of crack soldiers that Qin has stationed at Jiuyuan to defend against the Xiongnu nomads have not yet been mobilized. If these tens of thousands of crack soldiers were to launch a surprise attack at a critical moment, could you withstand them?"

  "Gggg!" Lian Po's throat emitted a strange sound, his huge mouth wide open as if it were a bloody sea, but he couldn't say a word.

  Cold sweat on his forehead dripped down his cheeks and wetted his collar.