"Everything for the Great King."
"Your servant is willing to go through fire and water," Guo Kai immediately replied with a flattering tone.
"Having dealt with Lian Po, I have truly removed a great worry from my heart," Zhao Yan said, laughing heartily.
"Although Lian Po has been taken care of, there is still Li Mu. He is just like Lian Po, always speaking ill of Your Majesty behind your back and wholeheartedly loyal to Zhao Yi. Li Mu holds the military authority over the Dai Territory. He commands 200,000 elite soldiers of the Frontier Army, all skilled in horseback archery and wearing nomadic attire. There are also more than 100,000 Prefecture Soldiers under his command. We must guard against him," Guo Kai said in a grave tone.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yan’s excited expression immediately turned cold.
"Li Mu. Indeed, we must guard against him. Once General Pang Xuan returns triumphant, I will strip Li Mu of his military authority," Zhao Yan said coldly.
"Your Majesty is wise. Once Li Mu’s military power is stripped away, Your Majesty can reign for a thousand generations without a single worry. Then, even if we kill Zhao Yi, no one will dare to say a thing," Guo Kai immediately echoed.
"Although Lian Po is dead, Wei Wuji proved to be utterly incompetent and useless. The heavily guarded Lincheng was actually taken by Qin," Zhao Yan said coldly.
"Your Majesty is absolutely right. It is laughable that Wei Wuji, despite mobilizing troops for defense beforehand, couldn’t stop a mere force of several tens of thousands from Qin. The state of Wei has truly grown weak. In my opinion, once Shangjiangjun Pang Xuan returns from conquering Yan, our great Zhao should mobilize our army, annihilate Wei, and absorb its territory into our own. It would be best for it all to be under Your Majesty’s control," Guo Kai said sycophantically.
Hearing this, Zhao Yan smiled smugly. "Prime Minister, you are absolutely right. Looking across the world, only I can unite it all. Wei is indeed too weak. They are not worthy of an alliance with my great Zhao. It’s one thing for Wei Wuji to fail in aiding Zhao against Qin, but for him to repeatedly send messages asking me to withdraw troops from Yan is another. He clearly doesn’t want to see me conquer new lands and become a king who expands his domain," Zhao Yan said mockingly.
"Exactly. Wei is already on a downward spiral. They couldn’t even defend their cities despite having the strategic initiative," Guo Kai eagerly agreed.
After Guo Kai left the Royal Palace and returned to his mansion, he had just entered his private chambers when a voice sounded close to his ear.
"Prime Minister Guo has done well."
Startled, Guo Kai quickly composed himself and bowed respectfully. "Lord Dunruo."
Following Guo Kai’s gaze, he saw a figure in black robes standing under the candlelight, looking at him and exuding an eerie aura. He was Dunruo, the head of Qin’s Heibing Plarform.
"Prime Minister Guo, there is no need for such formality. You have rendered a great service to our Qin. Without you, how could Qin have eliminated the critical threat of Lian Po? Without you, why would the King of Zhao still not have recalled his army from Yan? The King’s decision to spare your life was indeed correct," Dunruo said slowly.
"Your servant swears to serve the King of Qin faithfully until death!" Guo Kai immediately knelt to declare his loyalty.
At this point, he had no other choice. Given the incriminating information he had provided to Qin, he knew that if he dared to betray them and Qin revealed it to Zhao Yan, his death would be certain. Thus, Guo Kai had no option but to serve the King of Qin.
"Prime Minister Guo, there’s no need for such grand gestures. The King understands your heart, and his promises to you remain unchanged. After Zhao is conquered, you will still be fabulously wealthy," Dunruo said, extending a hand to help Guo Kai up.
"Thank you for the King’s magnanimous grace!" Guo Kai said, his face alight with excitement.
After placating him, Dunruo went straight to the point. "Have the reports on the military strength and food supplies in Jinyang been compiled?"
"They were prepared long ago." Guo Kai immediately went to the inner hall, retrieved a scroll of bamboo slips, and respectfully handed it to Dunruo.
"Is it accurate?" Dunruo asked with a slight smile.
"Absolutely certain. All troop movements in Jinyang passed through me, as did the provisions and equipment," Guo Kai replied immediately.
"I will record this merit for you, Prime Minister," Dunruo said as he took the bamboo slips, nodding in satisfaction.
"Does My Lord have any further orders?" Guo Kai asked respectfully. The source of thɪs content is NoveIꜰire.net
"In short, do whatever you can to prevent the King of Zhao from withdrawing his army from Yan, or at least delay it for as long as possible. It would also be best to strip Li Mu of his military power sooner rather than later," Dunruo said slowly.
"Rest assured, My Lord. These matters are already in motion. The King of Zhao is also extremely wary of Li Mu. I have already advised him to strip Li Mu of his military authority, and I believe it can be implemented soon," Guo Kai replied at once.
"You have worked hard, Prime Minister Guo," Dunruo said, more satisfied than ever.
The King was right to spare Guo Kai’s life, he sighed to himself. This man is greedy and lecherous, a truly petty person, but an incredibly useful one. A single petty man brought down Lian Po and can also bring down Li Mu, resolving two major threats to our Qin at once. This is a truly great gain.
Inside the King of Wei’s bedchambers, the king spoke with a grim expression. "Uncle, you must have received the news by now, haven’t you?"
"I have," Wei Wuji nodded, the weariness on his old face making him seem even more ancient.
"Didn’t you station a significant force to defend Lincheng? How could it have been breached by the Qin Army? They only had tens of thousands of troops! How could Gongsun Xin be so incompetent?" the King of Wei demanded angrily.
This time, Wei had truly suffered a great loss. Qin had not yet officially declared war, yet Wei had already lost nearly a thousand miles of territory and dozens of cities.