Chapter Seventy: Negotiating Peace

  At this time, Li Yinghong smiled and said: "I have long heard in Zhao Guo that Mr. Chunyu is well-versed in the sayings of various schools, and can gather the strengths of each school. But I don't know what Mr. Chunyu's views are on the Confucianism and Legalism?"

  Although Li Yinghong is not a scholar, he also heard that Chun Yu Zhongxiu's words had some sarcastic meaning, and Gao Yuan did not want to offend the Confucian and Buddhist families, so he answered very tactfully. Therefore, Li Yinghong was also somewhat angry in his heart, and he spoke out to refute him, which also refuted Chun Yu Bojun.

  However, since the debate between Shen Chen and Gong Sunlong began, Chunyu Bo has not spoken a word. It is indeed detrimental to his reputation as a learned scholar. Li Yinghong's question has shifted everyone's attention to Chunyu Bo.

  Sun Wu smiled slightly and said: "I have indeed painstakingly studied the sayings of a hundred schools, and I also hope to be able to integrate them and bring together the strengths of a hundred schools to form my own school. However, I was born dull-witted, and although I am already over thirty years old, I still haven't achieved anything, so it's hard for me to enter the grand hall of elegance. But just now, after listening to everyone's debate speeches, I also felt enlightened, which shows that the academic style of Zhao is flourishing, and I deeply admire it, and this trip to Zhao was not in vain."

  Everyone also knows that the era of a hundred schools of thought has been going on for over two hundred years. Each school of thought is very profound and requires a lot of time to study thoroughly. Although there are also talented and intelligent people who can master two or three schools of thought, it's not easy to say that they can integrate all the thoughts of a hundred schools, even if they only master the most important ten or twenty schools.

  Sun Bu's words showed that he had not yet mastered the strengths of all schools, and had not formed his own academic theory. He did not hide his shortcomings, which also revealed a master's demeanor. Moreover, he praised the prosperity of Zhao's academic style, making the scholars present feel comfortable.

  Chunyu Bu turned to Zhao Jia and said: "I am fortunate today to meet with the scholars of Zhao, and I have heard about the strengths of each family. Thanks to you, sir, I have long heard of your reputation for virtue. Today, seeing is believing, and your name is not in vain. It seems that after Pingyuan Jun, another virtuous person has appeared in Zhao, and the country will surely be at peace."

  These words made Zhao Jia's heart bloom with joy, for he had always taken Ping Yuan Jun as his model. When Chun Yu Bo said that he was a worthy successor to Ping Yuan Jun, he naturally felt extremely pleased, but also had to pretend to be humble and hastily said: "Oh no, oh no! Ping Yuan Jun once saved Zhao from a crisis, while I, Zhao Jia, have not achieved anything yet, how dare I compare myself with Ping Yuan Jun? Mr. Chun Yu is really overpraising me."

  At this time, the soldier Zhong Li, who had not spoken until now, opened his mouth and said: "Young master, you don't have to be overly modest. In my humble opinion, your virtues are not necessarily inferior to those of Pingyuan Jun. Although Pingyuan Jun once saved Zhao from a critical situation, he also has the fault of being greedy for the Upper Party, which led to the disaster of Longping in Zhao, while you have not yet established a reputation, only because you haven't had the opportunity yet. But now that Zhao and Qin are at odds, and Zhao's power is weak, it will be you who can save Zhao in the future."

  Although Zhong Lifu's words were somewhat flattering to Zhao Jia, he was the host of this gathering and had a good reputation in Zhao State, so it was only proper for him to say a few kind words. Tian Zikuai and Song Rong were both famous scholars in Zhao State, and they could have ignored him, but Shen Shen, Gongsun Long, Di Jin and others all followed Zhong Lifu's tone and praised Zhao Jia a few times. Although Zhao Jia still pretended to be modest on the surface, his eyes had already filled with self-satisfaction. He really thought of himself as the savior of Zhao State.

  Gao Yuan's heart was amused, but he didn't say anything and turned to Chunyu Bao instead, saying: "Mr. Chunyu, you are from Qin State, coincidentally Qin State has also sent an envoy to Zhao State for peace talks. In your opinion, does Qin State truly intend to make peace with Zhao State?"

  "Of course it's fake. In the past two hundred years, there have been thousands of peace agreements between states, but which one is real? They're all just temporary truces when both sides are exhausted and need a few years' rest. Besides, Qin has always wanted to swallow up the six eastern states and unify the world under its rule, so it's impossible that they would truly make peace with Zhao."

  The problem of the plateau has also attracted everyone's attention, after all, the threat of Qin to Zhao is too great now, especially after the destruction of Korea, Zhao naturally becomes the next target of Qin. However, Qin sent an envoy to Zhao to negotiate a peace talk, and there were different opinions within Zhao about this, on the one hand, they did not believe that Qin would make peace with Zhao, on the other hand, they hoped that both sides could successfully negotiate a peace treaty, so that Zhao could rest for a few years.

  So Zhao Jia also said: "Then why did the State of Qin send an envoy to the State of Zhao to negotiate a peace treaty?"

  Chunyu Boda said: "This time Qin and Zhao are negotiating a peace treaty, it's actually a delaying tactic. According to what I know, Qin is also facing many difficulties right now. Firstly, the newly conquered Han state needs to be stabilized, and they need to prevent Chu from taking advantage of the situation to seize Han territory; secondly, Zhao suffered a severe drought this year, and Qin isn't doing much better either.

  At the beginning of this year, Longxi and Beidi counties suddenly had an earthquake. Later, the two counties also encountered a severe drought for several months, and the summer and autumn harvests were not collected. The fields and pastures withered, and countless cattle, sheep, and horses died or were injured. A large number of refugees flowed into Guanzhong continuously. In addition, the Qin army had suffered a great defeat at the hands of Fan Wu a few months ago, and for the time being, they had no power to wage war against other states. They wanted to rest for several years. Moreover, just as I was leaving Qin, Queen Hua Yang passed away, and during the mourning period, it was not suitable to launch a campaign against another state. Therefore, an envoy was sent to Zhao to negotiate peace. Considering the interests of Zhao, we should seize this opportunity to repair our national policies, form alliances with other states, and ensure that Zhao does not lose its power, so as to avoid repeating the mistakes of Han.

  Zhao Jia also let out a sigh of relief after hearing this. Although he too wanted to establish a great merit like Ping Yuan Jun's, he still had some self-awareness and knew that if there was another Handan battle, it was uncertain whether Zhao could withstand it again, but one thing was for sure - he couldn't be another Ping Yuan Jun. Of course, this wasn't because he thought his own abilities were inferior to Ping Yuan Jun's, but rather because the only person who could lead Zhao in resisting the Qin army was Li Mu, not himself. Moreover, looking at it this way, Zhao would also gain a few years of rest time and be able to win some preparation time for itself.

  Dividing line Dividing line

  Just then in Zhao Jia's mansion, scholars from various families were engaged in a heated debate, while King Zhao Xiang of Qin was receiving the envoy Yao Jia from the state of Qin in his palace.

  After the courtesy, Zhao Wang Qian said: "Yao Jia, is it true or false that Qin Wang and I, Zhao Guo, are negotiating a peace treaty?"

  Yao Jia Dao said: "It is true, I have come to Zhao as an envoy of Qin, and on behalf of the King of Qin, I wish to establish friendly relations with Zhao."

  King Zhao said: "If the State of Qin really wants to make peace with our state, then why did it send troops to attack us just a few months ago?"

  Yao Jia smiled slightly and said, "If we win this battle, Qin will naturally not make peace with Zhao. It is precisely because Zhao has won that Qin wants to negotiate a truce."

  Zhao Wangqian's mind turned for half a day, but he couldn't figure it out. What did the victory or defeat on the battlefield have to do with the peace talks between the two countries? In his opinion, if Zhao won against Qin, then Qin should send troops again to avenge their loss, so why would they want to make peace with Zhao instead?

  Looking at Zhao Wangqian's expression, Yao Jia was also scolding him in her heart for being too stupid. Such a simple truth couldn't be understood, but she still wore a humble smile on her face and said: "Please ask the king, if there are two fierce tigers and a flock of sheep together, will these two fierce tigers first fight to determine the winner and then eat the sheep, or will they first eat the sheep and then fight to determine the winner?"

  Zhao Wang Qian thought for another half day before saying, "Of course we'll eat the sheep first and then decide who wins. Otherwise, when these two fierce tigers start fighting, won't the sheep just run away?"

  Yao Jia hastily said: "The great king is indeed wise, now among the various countries under heaven, Qin is one tiger and Zhao is another, while the other countries are mere sheep. My Qin and Zhao, being two tigers, will naturally eat the sheep first before competing with each other to determine victory or defeat. That's why my Qin state is willing to make peace with Zhao state for now, to divide and devour the sheep of the other countries first, and after all the other countries are destroyed, the two states of Qin and Zhao can then compete to see who emerges victorious."

  King Zhao Xie finally understood and was also very pleased. Although he was mediocre in talent, he was also proud that the State of Zhao could not be compared to the State of Qin. If the State of Qin was a fierce tiger, then the State of Zhao was at most a wild wolf. While it could show off its prowess in front of sheep, it still had to be humble in front of a fierce tiger. Yet the State of Qin actually compared the State of Zhao to a fierce tiger as well, and King Zhao Xie naturally felt quite honored.

  However, among the many ministers of Zhao, there were not a few who understood. The senior minister Shi Chong stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, I think the tiger-sheep theory of the Qin envoy is inappropriate. Our state of Zhao only wishes to defend its borders and will not occupy other states, let alone destroy them. In the past, when Qin established itself as the Western Emperor and honored Qi as the Eastern Emperor, it led to the six states joining forces to attack Qi, and Qi was almost destroyed. Therefore, I ask Your Majesty to think thrice and not be deceived by Qin."

  Other ministers also followed Shi Chong's proposal, because if Yao Jia's words were spread out, other countries would definitely have ideas and might treat Zhao and Qin as enemies. They would unite to deal with Qin and Zhao. Of course, Qin was not afraid of the alliance of various countries, but Zhao could not bear it. The example of the six states attacking Qi might be re-enacted in Zhao.

  At this time, Guo Kuo said: "Shi, you are thinking too much. Now everyone knows that Qin is strong and Zhao is weak. If Qin wants to make peace with Zhao, it's a good thing for our Zhao country. Can't all of you think about making peace with Qin instead of going to war with Qin?"

  As soon as he spoke, many officials did not dare to speak again, but Shi Chong didn't care and said: "The prime minister misunderstood, I also hope to be on good terms with Qin State, but we must also guard against Qin State." He looked at Yao Jia and said: "I am not afraid to say in front of the Qin envoy that Qin State has never been trustworthy. The past examples of carving cows and attacking Shu, King Hui entering Qin, are all examples, so it is impossible to trust lightly."

  Guo Kai was about to speak again, when Yao Jia suddenly laughed and said: "Everyone has misunderstood, my previous words about the tiger and sheep were just examples, not meant to be taken literally. I was only saying that Zhao Guo and Qin Guo have similar strengths, which is why we don't want to be enemies with Zhao Guo. As for the matters of Ke Niu Fa Shu and Huai Wang entering Qin, those were all done by our previous kings and have nothing to do with us now. Our desire for peace with Zhao Guo is absolutely sincere." After a pause, Yao Jia continued: "We are willing to return the twelve cities south of the Zhang River to Zhao Guo as a demonstration of our sincerity in seeking peace with them."