In the slightly empty hall, the silent Qi Gongtian Yin Qi and the doctor Zou Ji sat opposite each other.

At this time, Tian Yinqi no longer smiled as before, and only a solemn expression remained on his face.

Just now, Zou Ji reported the situation on the front line to the Qi Jun in front of him.

When he heard that more than 100,000 troops from the coalition of princes were approaching Qingshi Pass, Tian Yinqi immediately realized the seriousness of the situation.

This situation is very similar to the scene when the princes allied forces attacked Qi State, and Qi State was defeated in that battle with almost no suspense.

Constantly recalling the loneliness on his father-in-law's face after the battle and his dissatisfaction with the loss of a large territory, Tian Yinqi couldn't help but stand up from his seat.

Step by step, Tian Yinqi walked to the door of the main hall, letting the breeze blow over his cheek, and stood there silently for a long time.

As time passed by, Tian Yinqi's face became more determined as his left hand subconsciously clenched the long sword at his waist.

Although he had only succeeded to the throne not long ago, Tian Yinqi knew very well that he must persevere. Once he retreated, Qi might repeat the same mistakes he made eight years ago.

"Doctor, do you have any countermeasures?"

Tian Yinqi's cold voice came from the palace door, which immediately made Zou Ji look stern after a few cases.

He stood up from his seat and walked slowly behind Tian Yinqi. Zou Ji suggested in a deep voice: "At this time, if our country of Qi wants to defeat the coalition of princes, we can only find strong backup."

"And looking at the current world, the only one with strong national power and the ability to join this war is the Chu State, which is located in the south and spans thousands of miles."

"Chu State?"

As he kept repeating this name in his mouth, the expression on Tian Yinqi's face not only did not become happy, but instead showed a look of confusion.

"If I remember correctly, in the battle eight years ago, Chu State sided with Wei State and jointly attacked our Qi State."

"Now that the Wei State has once again summoned the princes of the world as its overlord, it wants to recreate the allied forces' attack on Qi. Do you think that the Chu State has no reason to refuse?"

"What your Majesty said is absolutely true. The State of Chu was indeed on the side of the State of Wei back then..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zou Ji suddenly straightened his body, his eyes full of confidence.

As soon as the conversation changed, Zou Ji continued to say: "However, this time, the other time. Back then, the Chu State did get rich harvests from our Qi State, but the Wei State also became more and more powerful."

"Wei's powerful national power and military power that almost no one can match have already made Chu feel a huge threat. This is the reason why Chu and Wei were in tit-for-tat at the Pinglu Summit."

"I would like to ask, if your Majesty were the current King of Chu, would you sit back and watch Wei take advantage of Qi's internal instability to continue to grow stronger?"

"of course not."

This answer almost came out of his mouth. Tian Yinqi's eyes met with Zou Ji's. At this moment, he seemed to have understood Zou Ji's plan.

"For hundreds of years, the Chu State in the south has always wanted to go north to the Central Plains. How could it sit back and watch the Wei State continue to grow stronger and eventually become the northern hegemon like the Jin State?"

"Since the State of Chu does not want to see the State of Wei continue to grow stronger, it will definitely side with our State of Qi. Does the doctor want me to send an envoy to Yingdu to request assistance from the State of Chu?"

"exactly."

Facing Tian Yinqi's inquiry, Zou Ji immediately revealed the plans in his mind and that of Tian Ji, the leader of the Qi army on the front line: "Please also ask your Majesty to send your ministers to Yingdu to persuade the King of Chu to send troops to help our Qi State."

"If we unite with Qi State, the two powerful states of Chu State may not be able to compete with the coalition of princes led by Wei State."

"Okay." Faced with Zou Ji's request, Tian Yinqi agreed without any hesitation, "Then I will ask the doctor to go to Yingdu for me. The doctor is very important to the outcome of this battle for Qi State."

"My minister Zou Ji will definitely live up to your Majesty's trust."

…

Chu State, Yingdu.

"Snapped!"

A crisp sound appeared in a small pavilion in the Chu Palace, and Chu King Xiong Liangfu, who was sitting behind a few tables, immediately raised his head.

Looking at the faint smile on the corner of the man's mouth opposite him, and then looking at the black and white vertical and horizontal patterns on the desks in front of him, Xiong Liangfu couldn't help but frown.

His eyes wandered over the chessboard, and his eyes paused between black and white from time to time. Xiong Liangfu wanted to find the break in the chess game in front of him.

After a moment, Xiong Liangfu slowly picked up a chess piece from the chess basket with his right hand, and was about to land it on the position he chose.

And at the moment when the chess piece was about to fall, Xiong Liangfu's right hand suddenly stopped as if he saw something.

A wry smile appeared on the face of the King of Chu, and with the sound of a collision, the chess piece in his hand returned to the chess basket.

"The teacher played a superior game and everyone was convinced."

Seeing that Xiong Liangfu had already admitted defeat, the Chu State Commander Yin Zhaoxixi on the opposite side did not pretend to be pretentious, he stood up and bowed to Xiong Liangfu.

"Your Majesty, I accept the concession."

"Teacher, you don't have to be like this. The relationship between you and me is not ordinary. Why do you need so many courtesy?"

With a kind smile on his face, Xiong Liangfu raised his hand and greeted Zhao Xixie: "Teacher, sit down quickly, sit down quickly."

"I feel that there were no mistakes or omissions in the chess game just now, and the teacher didn't use many skillful moves. How come we were defeated by the teacher like this?"

He stabilized his body on the seat again, and after listening to Xiong Liangfu's inquiry, Zhao Xixie's voice sounded faintly.

"According to legend, this game of Go was created by the ancient wise emperor Yao. Although it is only in black and white, it encompasses all things in the world."

"The veteran has been trusted by the late king and his superiors. He has led troops on the battlefield for many years, and he has quite a lot of experience in the art of battle formations."

"The confrontation between black and white seems silent, but in fact it is full of swords and swords. This chessboard is also a battlefield."

Zhao Xixie's words seemed calm, but the meaning behind them made Xiong Liangfu across from him think deeply.

Suddenly, a look of solemnity appeared on the face of the King of Chu. He stood up from behind the desk and bowed to Zhao Xixie opposite.

"Please sir, please teach me."

Faced with Xiong Liangfu's request for advice, a look of relief appeared on Zhao Xixie's face, and he immediately recounted his experience.

"The essence of the art of war is nothing more than four words: the strong bullies the weak."

"Those who are good at fighting have no great achievements. Sometimes it seems that the two sides are evenly matched, but in fact the victory or defeat has already been determined."

Zhao Xixie's words caused Xiong Liangfu to fall into silence again. His mind kept recalling everything on the chessboard just now. I don't know when, he had already fallen behind in the contest with Zhao Xixie. The outcome was determined.

But it has already been determined.

Somehow, Xiong Liangfu suddenly felt that the chess game in front of him was quite familiar, as if he had experienced it before.

"Yes."

With a secret thought in his heart, Xiong Liangfu slowly raised his head and looked at Zhao Xixie opposite him, a meaningful smile appeared in his eyes.

"What the teacher just said was not only talking about the chess game, but he was also talking about the great battle in the north, right?"
Chapter completed!