The capital of Zhao Kingdom, Handan.

A clear sound of footsteps sounded on the stairs behind the city wall, and then a figure slowly climbed up to the top of the city of Handan.

"Greetings to your Majesty..."

"Greetings to your Majesty..."

"Greetings to your Majesty..."

…

Amid the greetings of soldiers from Zhao one after another, Zhao Hou Zhao Zhong walked forward step by step, and finally stood behind a female wall.

Looking into the distance, Zhao Zhong saw scenes outside the city.

Handan, originally the capital of the Zhao Kingdom, was not as prosperous as Anyi and Xinzheng in the Central Plains, but it was also home to an endless stream of travelers and merchants, and the spirits and war horses from Zhao were very popular among the princes.

But at this moment, the original prosperity has disappeared, and outside the tightly closed city gate, there is only a sense of solemnity and desolation.

If you cast your sight further, you can see a huge camp with countless soldiers in armor moving through it in an orderly manner.

Suddenly a gust of wind blew, and the red flags on the camp wall fluttered high, completely revealing the word "Wei" on it.

When this seal character came into view, the expression on Zhao Zhong's face became increasingly ugly, and his hands on the city wall were tightly clenched into fists.

"Your Majesty..."

Just when the green veins were revealed ferociously on Zhao Zhong's skin, a familiar call came from behind him.

When the voice surfaced in his ears, Zhao Zhong's tightly held hands secretly relaxed, and the expression on his face gradually recovered.

Turning around and looking at Prime Minister Zhong Le, who was walking towards him, Zhao Hou asked in a somewhat kind tone: "What's the matter with Prime Minister Xun Wu?"

"I report to you that the envoy from the State of Wei, Wang Cuo, has arrived at the embassy and wants to see you."

After explaining his purpose of coming, he noticed the solemn look on Zhao Zhong's face in front of him, and a hint of gloom appeared in the eyes of Prime Minister Zhong Le.

"Your Majesty, if my troops had not been defeated by the Wei army, Handan would not have..."

"The responsibility for all this does not lie with the Prime Minister." Before Gong Zhongle could finish his words, he was immediately interrupted sharply by Zhao Zhong in front of him.

Looking back to the outside of Handan again, Zhao Zhong's heart became extremely calm at this moment when he heard the sound of armor clashing in his ears.

"Our army was defeated by the Wei army in the Battle of Zhangshui. The responsibility does not lie with the Prime Minister or the soldiers. If we really want to dig deeper, we can only say that the gap in combat power between our army and the Wei army is too huge."

"Even if we gather all our strength, our army can still barely block the advance of the main force of the Wei army. This gives that strange army an opportunity to take advantage of."

"if……"

"well……"

After pausing for a long time in the middle of the words, Zhao Zhong still could not express the hypothesis in his heart, and could only slowly let out a long sigh filled with helplessness.

After a few breaths, his eyes fell on Gong Zhongle again, and Zhao Zhong asked softly: "Where does the Prime Minister think our Zhao country should go after this battle?"

Facing Zhao Zhong's inquiry, Gong Zhongle pondered for a moment, and then slowly revealed his thoughts.

"Your Majesty, through this war with the Wei State, I believe that there is a huge gap in national power between our Zhao State and the Wei State."

After hearing Gong Zhongle's comparison of the strengths of the two countries, Zhao Zhong nodded in agreement.

A year ago, Zhao Zhong, who united with South Korea to invade Wei while taking advantage of the civil strife, once regarded Wei as a piece of fish that could be cut at will on his chopping board.

Just one year later, the newly-seated Wei Hou Wei? used extremely brilliant victories to prove to him the strength of Wei's national power.

Although he felt extremely unwilling in his heart, in the face of reality, Zhao Zhong still had to admit that the national power of Zhao State at this moment was far inferior to that of Wei State.

Just when Zhao Zhong thought of this, Gong Zhongle's voice appeared in his ears again, "In view of the huge gap in national power between the two sides, I believe that confronting Wei is not the right choice."

"Then how should Zhao State deal with Wei State?" Zhao Zhong asked again.

Facing another question from Zhao Zhong, Gong Zhongle said in a deep voice: "Since we can't compete with Wei, we, Zhao, might as well try to make a good alliance with Wei."

"Your Majesty, I believe that this war with the Wei State is on the surface to avenge the invasion of South Korea and Zhao, but in reality it is to re-consolidate the position of the Wei State among the Three Jin Dynasties."

After directly stating the purpose of Wei's war, Gong Zhongle said with some emotion: "I have to say that the Marquis of Wei chose a good time."

"At this moment, the Qin State in the west is in the midst of a great epidemic and has not yet recovered. Although the Qi State in the east is rich, its military power is not strong. It is also restricted by the Yue State in the south, which has strong military strength."

"Chu, the only country among the great powers that had the ability to intervene in this war, had to choose to sit on the sidelines because of the instability in the country due to the new king's accession to the throne."

Gong Zhongle's sigh made Zhao Zhong have an idea in his mind: Could it be that even God was helping Wei?

If this were not the case, why were all the princes from all directions unable to intervene, leaving South Korea and Zhao alone to face the powerful Wei?

However, the war has developed to the point where it is now. No matter how much we lament or sigh, it will be of no use. What we should focus on now is the future.

"What the Prime Minister just said about forming a good alliance with the Wei State, does it mean that our Zhao State will join the alliance of the three Jins led by the Wei State this time?"

"Exactly." After affirming, Gong Zhongle briefly explained, "Wei's national power is too strong, which means that Zhao's path to the south has been cut off, so why doesn't Zhao choose a new opponent?

"

"If our three Jins can form an alliance, no matter it is Qi in the east, Qin in the west or even Chu in the south, they will not be our opponents."

"We, the State of Zhao, can also seize our own interests through wars with other countries through the Three Jin Dynasties."

In fact, the idea of ​​Gong Zhongle is not unfamiliar to Zhao Guo, because this is what Zhao Guo did back then.

Decades ago when Wei Wenhou was in power, the State of Zhao followed in the footsteps of the State of Wei and obtained great benefits from the wealthy State of Qi in the east.

It was only after Wei Wuhou succeeded to the throne, and with the enmity between Wei and Zhao, that Zhao chose to change this foreign strategy.

Now facing the still powerful Wei State, and the Wei Hou Wei? who intends to re-form the alliance of the three Jins, the kings and ministers of Zhao State thought of this strategy again.

"color!"

After listening to Gong Zhongle's proposal and applauding, Zhao Zhong's face showed a hint of excitement.

"In this case, the national policy of Zhao State in the future is to form a good alliance with Wei State and combine the strength of the three Jin states to manage other countries."

The decision was made, Zhao Zhong walked quickly towards the city wall, and then his somewhat excited voice appeared in Gong Zhongle's ears.

"Prime Minister, go with me to see the Wei envoy."

…

"Your Majesty has an order, and the envoy of Xuan Wei will come to see you."

Accompanied by Zhao Zhong's order, Wang Cuo, dressed in red robes, slowly appeared in front of the main hall of Zhao's palace.

"I, Wang Cuo, the envoy from the State of Wei, pays homage to your Majesty."

"Your Majesty, you don't have to be polite." Looking at Wang Cuo in front of him, he heard Zhao Zhong say in a deep voice: "Now Zhao and Wei are at war. I wonder why your Majesty came to Handan?"

"Foreign Minister, this visit to the Marquis of Zhao is for the sake of the State of Wei, and even more so for the State of Zhao."
Chapter completed!