During the day, the halls of Pinglu City were full of swords and swords amid the exchange of words.

At night, the princes each returned to their own camps, and the lights in the main tent emitted a faint light.

Outside the big tent, a guard wearing a strong armor stood solemnly. Their eyes were full of vigilance as they looked at the darkness around them.

Suddenly, a sound of footsteps approaching from far away rang in his ears, and the eyes of one of the guards immediately lit up with police lights.

"Who is coming?"

"it's me……"

Before seeing the person, he first heard his voice. The familiar voice coming from the front made the vigilant guards relax a bit.

A moment later, when the figure walked out of the darkness, the vigilance on the faces of the surrounding guards turned into respect.

"The general will finally see the Prime Minister."

The figure who came to the big tent in this darkness was none other than the current Prime Minister of Qi, Guodian Li.

After lightly nodding to the saluting soldiers in front of him, Tian Li looked at the main tent behind the crowd.

"How is your Majesty?"

"this……"

Listening to Tian Li's question, the guard glanced back subconsciously, and there was a hint of hesitation in his tone.

After a few breaths, his eyes met with Tian Li's in front of him, and the guard's eyes clearly showed some firmness.

"To report to the Prime Minister, your Majesty has been staying alone in the main tent since he returned to the main camp, and has strictly ordered the generals not to step into the main tent."

"The general and others are worried about the safety of your Majesty, but they really dare not disobey your Majesty's orders."

After listening to the guard's report and looking at the slightly lonely main tent in front of him, Tian Li let out a long sigh from the bottom of his heart.

He also heard about everything that happened in the hall during the day, and he also understood why Tian Wu, the Duke of Qi, issued such an order.

Rather than saying that Tian Wu was depressed because a large area of ​​land west of the Great Wall was ceded to the princes, it is better to say that Tian Wu was angry because of the weakness of Qi.

Facing the joint pressure from a group of princes led by Wei State, Qi State did not have much bargaining chips at all.

On the battlefield, Qi State was already retreating again and again.

In Gaotang in the north of Qi State, Zhao's 40,000-strong army was still eyeing him, and in Jucheng in the south, Chu's 60,000-strong army showed no sign of retreating;

Not to mention that they are still staying west of the Great Wall of Qi State, always preparing to attack the core area east of the Great Wall.

On top of diplomatic relations, Qi is already the enemy of everyone in the world.

Zhao State, Wei State, Song State, Lu State, Wei State, Chu State, these countries bordering Qi State have all become Qi State's enemies, and Qi State's enemies are not limited to the above princes.

If nothing else, the Yan State, located in the north of Qi State, has always been at war with Qi State, so it may not be impossible for it to join Qi State's war.

If it really comes to that point, Qi State will not be able to cede territory like it is today, and the survival of the country will also become a problem.

Regardless of whether it was retreating in military terms or making enemies of the whole world in terms of diplomatic relations, in the final analysis, Qi's strength was still too weak.

If the Qi State could have enough strength to withstand the attacks of the princes from all directions, how could the coalition's troops reach the Great Wall?

If Qi State could have enough strength to control neighboring countries such as Lu State, Song State, and Wei State in the east, how could it be the enemy of the whole world at this moment?

In the final analysis, it is still the same sentence. In the face of strong enough strength, all conspiracies and tricks will be in vain.

It is obvious that today's Qi State does not have as strong a national power as the later Qin State, and it is really unable to withstand the attacks of the princes from all directions.

Having been each other's monarch and minister for many years, Tian Li knew his monarch very well, and he could naturally guess quite closely what he was thinking at the moment.

When his thoughts came back to his mind, Tian Li let out another long sigh as he looked at the guards in front of him.

"It's up to me to persuade you about this matter."

"Xiangguo..."

With Qi Gong Tian Wu's order on one side and Qi Xiang Tian Li's words on the other, the guard hesitated again.

In the end, the determination in the guard's heart won out, and he slowly came to the big tent and bowed.

"Your Majesty!"

"Didn't I tell you that today, I am feeling depressed and want to be alone, and no one is allowed to disturb me." As soon as the guard finished speaking, a deep voice came out from the main tent.

Before the low roar like a wounded beast in the big tent could completely subside, Qi Xiangtian Li immediately arrived in front of the big tent.

"Your Majesty, I would like to see you Tianli."

As soon as Tian Li said these words, the deep voice in the tent immediately disappeared, replaced by a long silence.

I don't know how much time passed, but a voice that was a little less sharp than before sounded in Tian Li's ears.

"Xiangguo, come in."

"Here."

After hearing Tian Wu's order, Tian Li bowed and then walked slowly towards the big tent in front of him.

He gently opened the curtain with his right hand and stepped into the big tent. The scene in front of him made Tian Li look astonished for a while.

The expected mess on the ground did not appear, and the imaginary angry expression did not appear. The Tian Wu who appeared in his eyes looked so calm.

At this moment, the candles in the tent were emitting a faint light, reflecting Tian Wu's figure with a different feeling of loneliness.

Hearing the slight sound of footsteps beside his ears, Tian Wu slowly raised his head. Instead of the solemnity he had for his ministers in the past, he only had the familiarity with his old friends.

"Xiangguo, you are here, please take a seat."

A moment later, when Tian Li sat down opposite him, Tian Wu handed a silk book to him.

Although Tian Wu's movements were so calm, Tian Li could still see a look full of depression from the deepest part of his eyes.

That is when Tian Li moved his eyes to the square silk book in front of him, he heard Tian Wu say in a deep voice: "Prime Minister, I am the sinner of Qi State."

"The ancestors of the Tian family handed over the land of Qi to the hands of the few, but the few ceded it with their own hands."

"Even a hundred years later, how can I face the ancestors of all generations under the Nine Springs?"

"Your Majesty, please do not blame yourself. I think the failure of this battle is not your fault."

When Tian Wu's voices of self-blame surfaced in his ears, Tian Li hurriedly tried to persuade him: "Whether he sent troops to defend Gaotang and Jucheng, or sent a large army to reinforce the middle road, I think that your Majesty did nothing wrong.

.”

"Even without the 100,000 soldiers that your Majesty has recruited with great courage, let alone the land to the west of the Great Wall, I am afraid that the land to the east of the Great Wall will also become the object of division among the countries."

"What I want to say is that the failure of this battle is not your fault. If you are really to blame, we can only say that our national strength in Qi is not strong enough."

Tian Li's persuasion made the gloomy look in Tian Wu's eyes fade a lot, and at the same time, a touch of determination appeared in his eyes.

"Prime Minister, I want to make Qi powerful and prosperous, but I don't know what Prime Minister thinks should be done?"

"If your Majesty really has the heart to strengthen the country, it will naturally be a blessing to Qi."

After saying these words, Tian Li suddenly stood up from his seat, paced slightly, and a firm look flashed in his eyes.

Looking at Tian Wu sitting upright after a few cases, Tian Li slowly revealed the words he had buried in his heart for a long time.

"Your Majesty, the key to why the Wei State can be strong lies in reform; if our Qi State wants to be strong, the only way is through reform."

"Only through reform can a country be strengthened."
Chapter completed!