webnovelfull Chapter 364 Bribing Zhao Biao
Chapter 364 Bribing Zhao Biao
On this day, two uninvited guests came to Zhao Biao's house in Xingqing Prefecture.
The two men didn't say much, just told the doorman that they came from the north.
Zhao Biao, who was practicing martial arts and weightlifting at home, frowned when he heard this and let the man in.
He wiped himself off, put on his clothes, and sat down in the lobby.
A moment later, the two men arrived at Zhao Biao's lobby. They were carrying a box in their hands and looked very strenuous. They also asked two servants from the Zhao Mansion to help carry it.
"I pay my respects to General Zhao."
The two of them clasped their hands and saluted.
Zhao Biao nodded and asked,
"Who are you and what do you want from me, General?"
One of them clasped his hands and said,
"General, we are from the north. An old friend of yours sent us."
"Old friend?"
Zhao Biao narrowed his eyes, glanced at the box on the ground, understood something, and asked,
"Is this the old friend that the General is thinking of?"
"It can only be the old friend the General is thinking of."
Zhao Biao nodded and waved his hand.
"Please take a seat and serve tea. Then everyone, please leave. No other ears are allowed around the room."
The servants hurried away, served tea, and then left.
Zhao Biao smiled slightly, picked up the teacup and took a sip, then said,
"May I know your names, sir?"
"Your Excellency, I don't deserve it. We are both spies of Skynet and brothers. My humble name is Jia Ren, and this is my younger brother Jia Yi."
"So you're brothers from Skynet. I've heard of you before."
Zhao Biao adjusted his sitting posture and asked lazily,
"I wonder what the prince's intention is in sending you to see me? Could it be that the prince wants to drink with me?"
"Your Highness is a man of quick wit and clear-headedness, so I will speak frankly."
Jia Ren reached out and opened the box, which was filled with golden gold.
Zhao Biao narrowed his eyes slightly when he saw this. This time, Lanling Wang's move was more lavish than the previous two times.
"This general and the prince are brothers and dear friends. If there is anything, just tell me. What is he doing? Does he look down on me?"
Zhao Biao pretended to be unhappy and said.
Jia Ren quickly laughed and said,
"General, the prince would like you to be a hardliner in the court and advise the Emperor of Liang not to give half of the three counties to Qi."
Hearing this, Zhao Biao narrowed his eyes and looked at the box of gold.
He was a powerful man, a military commander, greedy for money and lustful.
You can say he is bad, but you can never say he is stupid. A stupid person cannot command the most elite troops in the entire Liang Kingdom.
Zhao Biao immediately figured out some things.
He remembered that when he was in Yan State, the Yan court had a completely different attitude towards them and Qi State, and it went back on its word, only giving them three counties and giving all the three counties to Liang State.
At that time, he thought that they did this because Liang and Yan had a good relationship and valued each other enough.
It now seems that the State of Yan had already started playing this big game.
They are deliberately trying to provoke a war between Qi and Liang.
He won over Liang State, provoked Qi State, shifted the conflict into a conflict between Qi and Liang, and then sat on the mountain and watched the fight between the two tigers.
After Zhao Biao figured this out, he sneered and said,
"Your Highness, please speak frankly about what you are thinking. I am not a fool. You think you can bribe me to do things for you and sell out the interests of the country with just a thousand taels of gold? This is unrealistic, isn't it?"
Jia Ren quickly laughed and said,
"General, you are wrong. The prince and the general are close friends. How could he possibly make things difficult for the general? He is helping the general."
"Help me? You're giving me money for helping me? What kind of logic is that?"
"Of course I'm helping you. The prince heard that during the battle against Kun, the general's White Horse Army didn't achieve any merit and received no rewards, so he wanted to help the general and give him a credit."
Hearing this, Zhao Biao's face turned slightly displeased.
He also led his troops to the battle against Kun, but the Kun army was determined to be cowards and only defend the city without attacking. All his men were cavalry, and he couldn't let the horses gnaw at the city walls, right?
Until the end of the Battle of Kun, his White Horse Army did not kill a single enemy.
He watched helplessly as other legions enjoyed good food and drink and received countless rewards, while he himself didn't get a single cent. He was so angry.
The reward was secondary. The important thing was that he failed to demonstrate the might of the White Horse Army. Soldiers valued honor more. He had wanted to charge left and right on the battlefield of Kun State, trample on the enemy, and raise the flag of the White Horse Army high, but he did not expect to achieve any success.
He was even laughed at by other legions, and he was holding his breath.
"How does the prince intend to reward me with merit?"
Zhao Biao asked.
Jia Ren laughed and said,
"General, hasn't the prince already begun to receive the credit for his merits? I'm sure you've noticed that the prince's actions are intended to instigate a war between Qi and Liang.
The general also knew that in peacetime, the army was useless except for intimidating the enemy. If one wanted to eat and drink well, get promoted and rewarded, or be appointed as a noble or general, one had to fight. No soldier loved peace.
Therefore, the prince will give you a war. The eastern part of Qi State has thousands of miles of plains with few mountains and forests. It is a good place for the White Horse Army to gallop freely.
Qi State is located in the Central Plains, with fertile land, a large population and abundant money and grain. Although its territory is not as large as Kun State, they are also very rich.
Moreover, those pedantic people in Qi State believed in Confucianism and talked about all sorts of nonsense. How could they understand how to fight a war?
The White Horse Army charged forward, and no matter how many enemy soldiers came, they were all turned into mud under their horses.
"When the time comes, the general will lead the White Horse Army, conquer Qi, expand the territory, establish unparalleled meritorious service, and be granted the title of marquis and general. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"
Hearing this, Zhao Biao's heart started beating violently.
Yes, who doesn’t want to be granted a title of nobility or become a general?
It is the dream of every soldier to trample on the enemy's territory and expand the territory.
Originally, he thought that after Kun was destroyed, there would be no more wars, and Zhao Biao's dream of galloping on the battlefield would be taken to his grave.
Unexpectedly, things took a turn for the better and he was able to go to war again.
but……
Zhao Biao was still worried.
“Sir Jia, this general is a rough man, so I’ll just say it directly. After all, they are not outsiders.
Qi, Liang and Yan were allies and jointly destroyed Kun. Yan would then turn around and destroy Qi. But if Liang and Yan jointly destroyed Qi, then after Qi was destroyed, would Yan turn around and destroy our Liang?
I still understand the principle that the lips and teeth are cold."
Jia Ren laughed and said,
"The prince has long anticipated your concerns and has prepared two explanations for you, one true and one false. I wonder which one you would like to hear?"
"Oh? You can even tell the difference between real and fake? Interesting, tell me all about it."
"Yes, it's true. Our two countries, Yan and Liang, are allies. As brother countries, we naturally help each other and our alliance is unbreakable.
The truth is, Liangguo is such a poor, dilapidated and barren land, why would we attack it? Are we going to eat sand? It's not enough to waste our artillery shells."