In Zhangtai Palace, after discussing the alliance army, King Zhuang Xiang ordered Yang Duanhe, Wang Jian, Meng Ao, and the others to leave, leaving only Lu Buwei and Zhao Mu behind.
King Zhuang Xiang looked at Zhao Mu and said," Zhao Qing, there are only the three of us now. Tell me the truth. How confident are we in defeating the allied forces?"”
"Eighty percent." Zhao Mu said confidently. He had some understanding of this war because in the original history, King Zhuang Xiang had also sent troops in the end. In one battle, the alliance army collapsed.
The destruction of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty made the generals and ministers of the Qin Kingdom realize that this alliance army was incomparable to the alliance army formed by Lord Xinling, who had stolen the talisman to save Zhao.
They had overestimated the alliance of the dukes formed by the Wen Gong of Eastern Zhou.
Hearing Zhao Mu say that he was 80% sure, King Zhuang Xiang heaved a sigh of relief. 80% was very high, almost equivalent to a certain victory. Thinking of this, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly. When Zhao Mu returned victorious, his throne would be even more consolidated. Those old ministers would probably no longer dare to provoke him easily.
However, Lu Buwei's performance today made him somewhat dissatisfied. You are my right-hand man, and I treat you better than I treat Zhao Mu, yet you don't stand up to support me.
When Lu Buwei saw how satisfied King Zhuang Xiang was with Zhao Mu, he knew that his actions would make King Zhuang Xiang unhappy. However, under such circumstances, he did not dare to support King Zhuang Xiang easily.
Until now, even though Zhao Mu said that he was 80% sure, he was still a little angry in his heart, thinking that Zhao Mu was just bluffing.
However, he wouldn't reveal these things. He and Zhao Mu were competitors. He was willing to see Zhao Mu suffer losses.
Even if he had made King Zhuang Xiang unhappy today, he did not think that Zhao Mu would be able to shake his position in King Zhuang Xiang's heart.
As expected, although King Zhuang Xiang was somewhat dissatisfied with Lu Buwei, he did not criticize him verbally. Instead, he dismissed all the guards, eunuchs, and serving girls around him and said,""The previous king's matter has given me a warning. The palace where Eunuch Xu died has already been sealed by me, but I don't know how many of the palace maids, eunuchs, and guards in the palace belong to outsiders.
Thinking of this, I'm quite worried. Moreover, I think that Mister Zhao often says that the premise of victory in all battles is the victory of intelligence. However, at present, the sources of intelligence we have are still relatively few. Do Mister and Zhao Qing have any solutions?”
"Ever since Lord Shang, the empire has been secretly bribing the ministers and nobles of the vassal states and cultivating secret forces. I think we can continue to implement this strategy and integrate them.”Lu Buwei spoke first.
Zhao Mu said," What Lord Lu said makes sense. However, I feel that these methods are useful for some of the officials in the vassal states, but not for the internal affairs of the empire. I think that we should establish an organization that combines assassination, intelligence gathering, and counter-intelligence. It should be personally controlled by His Majesty and become a sharp sword in His Majesty's hands.”
Zhao Mu's words made King Zhuang Xiang's eyes light up again. Currently, the Empire's intelligence organization was still under the military and was mostly used on the battlefield. For example, during the Battle of Changping, when they couldn't defeat Lianpo, they sent spies to the State of Zhao to carry out a counter-plot and force the State of Zhao to change its commander.
These spy organizations were quite simple. If he could establish an organization like what Zhao Mu said, it would be of great use to him. At least he did not have to worry about being killed like his father.
"Hahaha, Zhao Qing's words are deeply in my heart. I will leave this matter to Zhao Qing. However, what is the name of this organization?”
"This organization is called the Net, the Inescapable Net.”Zhao Mu said in a deep voice.
"A net? Hmm, it's a pretty good name. If you get Zhao Qing, I'll get Bai Lixi.”Prince Zhuang Xiang said happily.
When Lu Buwei saw Zhao Mu's expression, his wariness towards Zhao Mu instantly rose to the highest point. He seemed to have underestimated Zhao Mu. If this continued, he might really be inferior to Zhao Mu.
After leaving Zhangtai Palace, Lu Buwei and Zhao Mu left the palace together. Lu Buwei cupped his fists at Zhao Mu and said,""Mr. Zhao is quick-witted and good at figuring out the emperor's intentions. I didn't notice it in the past.”
"It's Lord Lu's business to figure out the Emperor's intentions; I've never needed to do that. We're all working for Great Qin, so why should we divide it between us? Moreover, Young Master Cheng Qiao is still young and is favored by the Emperor. Did Lord Lu notice this?”
Lu Buwei's heart froze, but his face turned solemn immediately, and he threw all his dissatisfaction towards Zhao Mu out of his mind. Young Master Chengqiao was the son of His Majesty, who had escaped back to the State of Qin. He was Ying Zheng's younger brother.
Right now, His Majesty had yet to appoint a crown prince. If His Majesty wanted to abolish the elder and appoint the younger?
No matter how many disputes Lu Buwei and Zhao Mu had, one thing was certain, and that was that they shared a common interest-Ying Zheng. Ying Zheng was the son of Lady Zhao, and Lady Zhao came from Lu Buwei's residence.
Ying Zheng was also Zhao Mu's student. Only when Ying Zheng ascended the throne could the benefits of both of them be maximized.
If they succeeded, they would lose a lot of benefits.
"Chengqiao is still young. I'm afraid the ministers in the court won't support him.”Lu Buwei frowned.
"That might not be the case. As far as I know, General Fan Yuqi admires Young Master Chengqiao very much.”Zhao Mu said indifferently. Fan Yuqi, Zuo Shuzhang, was from the same generation as Wang Jian and Meng Ao.
This news was enough to make Lu Buwei nervous. At the same time, he realized his biggest weakness. His sources of information were much less than Zhao Mu's.
This would cause him to be at a disadvantage in the battle with Zhao Mu.
"Thank you for your reminder, but with me and you around, it's not possible for young master Cheng Qiao to challenge young master Zheng's position.”Lu Buwei said proudly.
Zhao Mu also laughed.
(PS: There is no record of how old Fan Yuqi is. There is also a point of view regarding Fan Yuqi that his real name is Heng. However, when he appeared, he was the position of Zuo Shu Chang. Moreover, he was attacking Zhao with Wang Jian and Yang Duan He. Therefore, it is speculated that he should be from the same generation as Wang Jian.)）
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