Chapter 34 4. Merchant Lu Buwei

The one who did the biggest business was Lu Buwei. Lu Buwei is very talented in business. He actually uses business acumen to play politics. The idiom "exotic goods can live" is his invention. So, who is the strange product in Lu Buwei's eyes? The Gongsun Yiren of Qin State. Yiren is the grandson of King Qin Zhaoxiang and the son of Lord An.Among his more than 20 brothers, he was neither the top nor the bottom, and he was born as a concubine, and his biological mother didn't welcome his father to see him, so he was sent to Zhao Guo as a hostage.Such a person is obviously a slow-moving item that no one cares about, so how could it be a potential stock?

Lu Buwei has unique insight. In Lu Buwei's view, the key to the four words of rare goods is habitable.Unlivable, no matter how valuable it is, it doesn't make sense.If a foreigner is a prince, or a legitimate son, or the eldest son, or a biological mother who is favored, although the value is invaluable and the future is boundless, it is extremely hot and unattainable.On the contrary, it is precisely because his grandma doesn't love his uncle or his uncle, and the distribution is also idle in Zhao Guo, so Lu Buwei has the possibility to buy goods. So Lu Buwei asked his father: How much profit is farming?

Dad said: Ten times. Lu Buwei asked again: What about the jewelry business? Dad said: Hundred times. Lu Buwei asked again: How about supporting a king? Dad said: It is impossible to estimate. Such a huge profit is certainly worth it.The question is, is it possible to turn bad debts into exotic goods? possible. As mentioned earlier, Yiren is the son of An Guojun.At this time, An Guojun has been established as the prince, and sooner or later he will become the king of Qin.But among An Guojun's more than 20 sons, none is the eldest son.From another point of view, any son of An Guojun may be crown prince.

This is what Lu Buwei was planning.In other words, if he can make Yiren become An Guojun's successor, it will be tantamount to supporting the future King Qin.This is a lucrative futures business. The point is, who has the final say on the establishment of a heir and a crown prince? From a legal point of view, of course it is An Guojun himself.But Mrs. Huayang is the one who can control An Guojun.Hua Yang was originally An Guojun's favorite concubine, and now she was made his wife. An Guojun loved her very much and obeyed her words.Therefore, as long as she says a word, the other person will be able to turn around immediately, and his worth will be a hundred times higher.

So, how can Mrs. Huayang think of and accept the stranger? settle accounts. This account is actually easy to calculate, because Mrs. Huayang has no son herself.In other words, after An Guojun a hundred years later, the successor to be King Qin can only be someone else's son anyway.However, if this son is claimed by him, wouldn't Mrs. Huayang have a son?Between "one's own son" and "other people's son", is there any need for Madam to hesitate? But, since it was adoption, why did Hua Yang choose someone different?Because Lu Buwei made her understand that only a foreigner, a lonely and helpless foreigner, can be filial to her like a mother.Filial piety is not virtuous, but beneficial.Without Huayang, Yiren can't take the position; with Yiren, Huayang has no worries.One side needs backing, the other side needs insurance, mutual benefit and win-win, and business transactions.An Guojun also swore an oath with Mrs. Huayang, deciding to create a different person as his heir.

However, Zhao Guo refused to let him go. Lu Buwei had no choice but to help Zhao Guo settle the score again.Lu Buwei said that if the state of Qin wanted to slaughter Zhao, it would not care about one or two sons.At this time, if you hold the alien in your hands, it is equivalent to taking a bad check, or even a hot potato.On the contrary, if you raise your hands high now, the foreigner will of course repay you with kindness in the future, and you are equivalent to taking securities.Securities and bad checks, which one do you want? King Zhao immediately sent the foreigner back home. The troubled son Yiren who finally returned to Qin was packaged and listed by Lu Buwei, a competent intermediary.He even arranged for another person to wear Chu's costume to meet Mrs. Huayang, but Huayang was overjoyed, and happily said to the other person: "Mother, I am from Chu."Son, from now on you will be called "Chu"!

From then on, Yiren changed his name to Chu. Young Master Chu is lucky.In 251 BC, King Zhaoxiang died, and King An Guo succeeded to the throne as King Xiaowen.King Xiaowen passed away after only one year in power, and Zichu successfully succeeded him as King Zhuangxiang. Lu Buwei had better luck.Three years later, King Zhuang Xiang, who he had single-handedly supported, also passed away, and was succeeded by the son of Queen Zhao Ji.Zhao Ji was originally Lu Buwei's woman, but was picked up by a stranger, and later became Queen Zhuangxiang.But when Zhao Ji transferred from Lu Buwei's house to another person's bed, it was said that she was pregnant.Therefore, some people say that her son is actually Lu Buwei's.

I'm afraid this matter can only be doubted.But it is certain that Zhao Ji's son was still a teenager when he succeeded to the throne, and the power of Qin State fell into the hands of Lu Buwei.Lu Buwei had already been granted the title of Marquis and worshiped as Prime Minister, but now he is revered as Prime Minister, known as Zhongfu, with power pouring into the government and the public, and his name was very important for a while.He even followed the example of the four sons of Mengchang, Pingyuan, Xinling, and Chunshen to support his scholars, and asked these scholars to compile an encyclopedia-style work for him, called "Lushi Chunqiu".

Did Lu Buwei succeed? certainly.His early investment has already achieved huge returns, and he has gained both fame and fortune.It is said that after the completion of "Lushi Chunqiu", Lu Buwei ordered the manuscript and the bonus to be hung above the city gate of Xianyang, the capital of Qin Dynasty, and threatened that as long as someone could add, delete or change a word, he would be rewarded with a thousand gold. Lu Buwei, who contributed two idioms of "exotic goods can live in" and "one word is worth a thousand gold" to Chinese culture, reached the pinnacle of his career at this time.This pinnacle is unattainable.Since then, although there will still be businessmen participating in politics, or using politics to engage in business, no one has surpassed Lu Buwei.

At the same time, Lu Buwei himself quickly fell from the infinite scenery to the abyss.Ten years after the new Qin King ascended the throne, Lu Buwei was dismissed from his position as Prime Minister.Two years later, he was forced to commit suicide by taking poison in his fief. He really made so much money for nothing. It was Zhao Ji's son who drove Lu Buwei to a desperate situation. That biological father might be a different person from King Zhuang Xiang, or he might be the boy of Wenxin Hou Lu Buwei.His name is Ying Zheng, he was the last king of the Qin Kingdom and the first emperor of the Qin Empire.It was he who ended the Warring States Period and the Pre-Qin Dynasty, and started a new era—the era of empires and dynasties.

Yes, he is Qin Shihuang. But, that will be another story.

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