Chapter 49 Wei Liao's countermeasure

In 299 BC, Wang Jian, the invincible general of the Qin State, and Li Mu, the ever-victorious general of the Zhao State, met on the battlefield.Both sides adopted a cautious strategy and began to build fortifications. On the one hand, they carefully guarded their own one-acre three-point land, and on the other hand, they stared at each other surreptitiously, trying to find a weak point that could be broken through. After a long time, Ying Zheng became a little anxious. He called Li Si and Wei Liao and said: "Our army is working hard to attack far away, and the supply line is long; the Zhao army is waiting for work, and the supply line is short. If the war drags on for a long time, I am afraid it will be bad for our army. Can you think of a way to get Li Mu to leave the army and remove this stumbling block for Wang Jian?"

Li Si and Wei Liao looked at each other with a smile, and replied, "Don't we have Guo Kai?" Since Yingzheng came to power, Wei Liao has become the commander in chief responsible for implementing countermeasures against countries.Wei Liao's disciples are all over the world, and there are all nationalities. It is a veritable multinational army.They were ordered to travel in the courts of the princes and in the market and countryside, spreading rumors of the Qin State to the ruling and opposition parties in various countries, and at the same time, recruiting and buying "people with lofty ideals" from various countries to induce them to serve the State of Qin.In 233 BC, he bought Guo Kai to prevent Lian Po from returning to China, and in 231 BC, Nei Shiteng, who instigated Korea's rebellion, were all masterpieces of Wei Liao's master and apprentice.It can be said that Wei Liao opened up a secret second battlefield besides the frontal battlefield. The weapons used in this battlefield are not spears, swords and halberds, but letters and gold.

The spy in charge of connecting with Guo Kai is Wang Ao, Wei Liao's favorite student. Wang Ao was familiar with the road, came to Handan as a businessman, and successfully delivered 10,000 taels of gold to Guo Kai's mansion. This is not the first time Guo Kai has done such a business.He unceremoniously accepted the gold and gave the receipt, but gave Wang Ao half of the rebate, saying: "I have done these things for Qin, and Zhao is about to perish. Please speak well of me in front of King Qin." A few words, let me be a courtier of Qin, I am grateful." Soon after, rumors spread that Li Mu and Sima Shang had an affair with the Qin army and were about to turn against them and lead the Qin army to attack Handan.When Zhao Qian heard this, he summoned Guo Kai and other important officials to ask what happened.

Guo Kai gave Zhao Qian an affirmative answer. Zhao Qian listened to the slander, sent generals Zhao Cong and Yan Ju to replace Li Mu and Sima Shang, and asked Li Mu to return to Handan. After receiving the order, Li Mu sighed, "The Kingdom of Zhao is about to perish!" He was not defiant, thinking that he was the only one who could resist the Qin army, but he knew that the state of Zhao had already been controlled by a treacherous villain, and King Zhao was incompetent. Since that is the case, going back must be a dead end, it is better to run away.Li Mu thought so, left the general's seal and ribbon in the camp, and left quietly.

However, before he had gone far, Li Mu was caught by the pursuers sent by Zhao Cong and sent back to Handan to beheaded.Sima Shang was also dismissed at the same time. Three months later, Wang Jian defeated Zhao Jun, killed Zhao Cong, and captured Yan Ju alive.Before the Qin army reached the city of Handan, Zhao Qian was held hostage by Guo Kai, and Kaicheng surrendered to Qin. According to "Historical Records", Zhao Qian's mother was originally just an actress in the palace, and she was favored by King Zhao Mourning.King Zhao Mourning had originally appointed Zhao Jia, the son of the queen, as the prince, but later he couldn't stand the entanglement of the actress, so he changed Zhao Qian to be the prince.And this Zhao Qian, who has always been misbehaving and credulous in slander, was tricked by Guo Kai twice, and finally destroyed the Great Wall by himself and became a subjugated slave.

After the surrender of Handan, Zhao Jia fled to Daidi, and with the support of all the clan ministers, he called himself Zhao Wang, which was Dai Wang Jia in history.This regime in exile existed for six years and was destroyed by the Qin army in 222 BC. There are many theories about Li Mu's death in history. "Historical Records" believes that Guo Kai was the victim, and "Warring States Policy" believes that a man named Han Cang framed Li Mu and forced him to commit suicide. It was Zhao Qian's mother (that actress) who instigated Zhao Qian to kill Li Mu after accepting the bribe from Qin's spy.

As for Guo Kai's fate, there is no record in the official history.According to Feng Menglong's fiction, Guo Kai surrendered to Qin State, was rewarded by Ying Zheng, and completed his magnificent turn from an important minister of Zhao State to a doctor of Qin State.However, the good times didn't last long, and on his way back to Handan to carry the gold, he was intercepted and killed by Li Mu's former troops.This may be a good wish of the novelist for history!