Heavy snow swept across most of the northern border, and by the time it reached the Song Dynasty, the sky was already filled with salt. But the further north you go, the heavier the snow becomes. By the time we arrived in Zhou Dynasty and Wei Kingdom, the snow was no longer floating, but was directly hitting the ground.
Hulao Pass.
Mu Suifeng arranged the follow-up affairs and set off for Dangyang Pass three days ago.
Handan's troops attacked Hulao, and their biggest back-up was Dangyang Pass, which was in confrontation with Qi. They sent out troops to attack together, leaving Zhao Dun and Mu Suifeng vulnerable to enemies from both sides.
Therefore, Mu Suifeng went to Dangyang Pass for only one thing, and that was to get the general guarding Dangyang Pass to recognize the Grand Duke's orthodox position.
When he passed by Heyang City, he did not enter the city. The prince and the princess went to the military camp with Zhao Dun to attack Weicheng with the Grand Duke.
Mu Suifeng here is still far away from Dangyang Pass, but someone has already arrived where he wants to go. His name is Ye Xuan, the inspection commander of Hulao Pass, and Mu Suifeng placed a hidden stake in Hulao Pass.
Sima Wanglang's army has already arrived in Taozhou. It took only ten days for the army to move quickly and brave heavy snow to reach Hulao Pass.
The premise is that the snow cannot be any heavier.
No matter how big it is, someone will freeze to death if the military is on the move. The war horses of Yan State are not as good as those of Zhou and Wei States. The horses are pure wild horses from the Northern Plains and are not afraid of wind and snow. The horses of Yan State are a whole head lower than the horses of Beiyuan. Even if the rain is heavy, their hooves will float when they run.
Therefore, in terms of cavalry, Zhou Dynasty and Weiguo will always be the first in the north. Yan State is surrounded by enemies on all sides, and what it does best is defending the city. Qi's infantry is unparalleled. Jin was the best at attacking cities. The navy of the Song Dynasty was invincible in the seven countries. In Zheng State, temple planning was particularly clever.
Sima Wanglang was sitting in the military tent. Handan sent another urgent order, ordering him to knock on the door of Hulao Pass within seven days and go south to Weicheng to quell the chaos.
"What do you think, military advisor?" Wang Lang was over fifty years old, but he was still a mighty general even though he was wearing armor. The frosty white hair and beard do not give people the impression of old age, but rather a profound experience that cannot be underestimated.
In the military tent, the military advisor sitting opposite Wang Lang was wearing a large cloak and had an elegant face. He said: "The general knows it well, why do you need to ask me? Now Handan has issued urgent orders and repeatedly urged the general to move quickly. The purpose is just to get the general out of Hulao." Guan, put pressure on the Duke on the frontal battlefield, forcing him to stop the attack on Weicheng."
"Does the military advisor think this general should act urgently?" Wang Lang asked.
"The general is marching in a hurry, and the troops are rushing to attack. There will be complaints when they arrive at Hulao Pass." The military advisor said, "Moreover, the snow is getting heavier and heavier. If we march in a hurry, the soldiers will inevitably suffer casualties, which will damage the general's reputation. The general does not march in a hurry. This time the Grand Duke takes action. It's only a matter of time before Weicheng is destroyed. And the source of He Zongtang's family's power is in Weicheng. Weicheng suffered heavy casualties, and his prestige in the dynasty will plummet."
"It seems that due to circumstances and reasons, I should not march in a hurry." Wang Lang said, "Since ancient times, civil and military affairs have been incompatible. Although He Zongtang and I are both in the third department, they are in charge of the government and military affairs of the Yan State. But He Zongtang has always been against The military attaché headed by this general does not take it seriously."
"He Zongtang took action against Mu Suifeng, half because of personal vendetta, to avenge his brother He Xian who was shot to death by Mu Suifeng during the rebellion in the seven cities in the southern region twenty years ago." The military advisor said, "The other half is because of his revenge on Mu Suifeng." Suppression by the military attaché system.”
"Although Mu Suifeng is not in the same camp as this general, he is still a member of the military attache system after all." Wang Lang said, "But if two tigers fight against each other, both will lose. The current situation is not just that this general is sitting back and reaping the benefits. When it’s profitable?”
The military advisor nodded, "After this battle, the general is the king of the dynasty. The Weicheng family, with the Grand Duke's methods, may not be able to save three out of ten. He Zongtang fell into despair, Mu Suifeng withdrew from the battle, and only the general has the final say in the dynasty."
"Half the credit goes to the military advisor," Wang Lang said.
"But the general lacks a reason." said the military advisor. "A reason that can legitimately slow down the march."
When Wang Lang heard this, he smiled and said, "I would like to hear the advice of the military advisor."
"I can't speak highly of you," the military advisor said. "The weather and the right location are all on the general's side. Now it's snowing heavily in the middle of winter, so it's difficult to advance the marching route. But the general is still missing a link."
"The military advisor's words seem to have countermeasures." Wang Lang said, "Lang is willing to hear the details."
…
The wind and snow are getting tighter.
Wang Lang, the great commander of Yan State, led his army southward with 30,000 troops, 5,000 cavalry, 20,000 infantry, and 5,000 crossbowmen. When Wang Lang passed through Taozhou, the military camp was stationed in a field five miles outside the city, and the military tents stretched for three miles.
The soldiers went to war at the wrong time. Sending troops in the middle of winter has been a taboo for military strategists since ancient times. Because of bad weather, he often loses 30% of his troops before the war begins.
Moreover, in recent years, soldiers should be spending the festive season with their families and traveling far away to fight. Their life and death are unknown, so naturally their morale will not be very high.
But the temple planners turned a blind eye to these. Wang Lang became famous long before Zhao Dun and Mu Suifeng, just because he lived in a temple in his early years and was so sharp that he made enemies on all sides. Although he had military exploits, during the rebellion in the Seven Cities of the Southern Region twenty years ago, because his wife was humiliated by the concubine of the Minister of Rites during a banquet in the palace of King You and Queen You, Wang Lang went to the door and stabbed the concubine of the Minister of Rites to death in a rage, which later led to his death. Dang was imprisoned. During the period of peace, no one remembered him at all.
Or he was deliberately forgotten in prison.
But Wang Lang never regretted that incident.
Although he was a martial artist and a concubine, he dared to humiliate his wife in front of the former queen at a banquet in the palace, claiming that Fu'er was "a village woman who doesn't know etiquette." How could Wang Lang endure such bad temper?
Fu'er came from a humble background, but she was still Wang Lang's first wife. She shared the joys and sorrows with him and would not tolerate the humiliation of an unworthy concubine.
So after Wang Lang went to the Court of the Minister of Rites and killed the beautiful concubine, he went directly to the Ministry of Punishments, asked for the shackles, and said bluntly, "I, Wang Lang, killed this person, you can figure it out"!
The officials of the Ministry of Justice, except for the Warden Division, are all from the military attache camp. When they saw Wang Lang carrying the head of the concubine of the Minister of Etiquette into the lobby of the Ministry of Punishment, they were all dumbfounded.
At that time, Wang Lang was already a third-grade military general of Yan State. Who dared to arrest him? The ministers of the Ministry of Punishment were equal to him, and they all had to respect him three points. At that time, the Minister of the Ministry of Justice only felt that he had been handed a hot potato, and he could not care about it, nor could he care about it. Fortunately, the Minister of Rites made a big fuss in the palace that day, crying out about Wang Lang's cruelty. King You was still a mediocre and unrestrained ruler at that time, so he softened his ears and ordered the Ministry of Punishment to take Wang Lang into custody and await punishment.
At that time, the military advisor was still a useless scholar who had just sneaked into the Handan temple. But it was that incident that made the military adviser see that Wang Lang was a man of great affection and righteousness, and that he was a boss who could assist him.
So the military advisor waited for him for three years, waiting for Wang Lang to come out of the prison of the Ministry of Punishment, and then visited the palace alone, which was already neglected, and recommended himself to be the steward of the palace.
Wang Lang had just come out of prison at that time and was disheveled. He heard from Fu'er that a gentleman came to visit him and wanted to be a steward of the palace. He found it interesting and went straight to the lobby to meet the military advisor and asked him: "Sir, follow me, are you not afraid of ruining your career?"
"A woman will look good for her, and a man will die for his confidant." The high-spirited scholar at that time looked at Wang Lang's burning eyes. Even though his hair was disheveled, and even though three years in prison had made the man as skinny as a stick, he took a gamble.
I bet on my career.
It is also a bet that Wang Lang will make a comeback.
Nearly twenty years have passed, and now the scholar can tell himself that he made the right bet.
The snow was falling heavier and heavier, and the military advisor was wearing a big cloak, letting the wind and snow pile up on his beard and hair. He stood outside the gate of the military camp. When the patrolling ten-man team passed by the gate, the squad leader would always go over to inquire and treat the military advisor with great respect, because all 30,000 soldiers knew that the military advisor was the person that Grand Sima respected the most.
"Commander, it's snowing heavily and it's too bitterly cold outside. If you don't rest in the military tent, you may freeze your body." The team leader said to the military counselor.
The military advisor just shook his head and said, "I'm waiting for someone."
"Who is it that the military advisor has to wait in person?" The captain felt strange, but the military advisor smiled and said nothing, and just told the captain: "Don't slack off on patrol, go ahead."
The man the military advisor was waiting for finally arrived when the sky was completely dark. The person who came was wearing a dark black armor of the commander level, wearing a standard long sword, chasing a cloud horse under his crotch, and came straight to the camp gate.
"The commander is tired from traveling. I have been waiting for you for a long time." When the military advisor saw that the waiting person finally arrived, he bowed and saluted.
Ye Xuan sat high on the horse and frowned slightly when he saw his brows frozen by the wind and snow. He turned over and dismounted, clasped his fists and returned the military salute, saying: "Ye Xuan, the commander of the Hulao Pass inspection, has come to see Da Sima with a letter from General Wu. .”
"I'm just waiting for this letter." The military advisor said, looking at Ye Xuan's young face, "But I still have something to ask for, and I hope the commander will agree."
"What can I ask?" Ye Xuan asked.
"Please, Commander, spare the death of my general," the military advisor said.
Ye Xuan's bottomless eyes flashed with murderous intent, but he couldn't help but laugh and asked the military advisor: "Sir, you are joking. The final general is no more than an unknown patrol commander in Hulao Pass. How dare you commit such a crime? Assassinate Lord Sima?"
"So, the commander has agreed to my request?" the military advisor asked.
Ye Xuan looked seriously, looked directly into the eyes of the military advisor, looked at the scribe in his forties, and said in a deep voice: "Sir, who is it?"
"Confucianism, Yuan Zhe." said the military advisor.
Hearing this, Ye Xuan asked again: "Yuan Tiangang of Jixia Academy, who are you?"
"Uncle Clan," said Military Advisor Yuan Zhe, "I am also my teacher."
Ye Xuan was silent for a moment and asked him: "Sir, do you know who I am?"
"Seven days ago, I used yarrow for divination, and a hexagram was made." Yuan Zhe said, "The hexagrams say that the qi of the predecessors cannot be calculated. The yarrow used for divination was all broken at that hexagram, as if cut by the sword energy. I also heard that there is a Sword Emperor in the Southern Territory, so I tentatively speculated on the identity of the senior."
Ye Xuan was silent after hearing this.
"I'm brave enough to ask Commander Ye to enter the camp." Yuan Zhe said, "Tonight, I will give Commander Ye a satisfactory answer. To take a step back, even if my general dies in the camp, 30,000 soldiers will still go south. . Instead of changing generals before the formation and adding a more troublesome general, and bothering senior to kill him again, it would be better for senior to make an alliance with my general directly and delay the movement of this battalion of 30,000 soldiers south."
The scholar's words had revealed the fact that Ye Xuan was Xie Xuan. But even though he was only possessed by his spiritual consciousness, the scholar still understood that the person the Sword Emperor wanted to kill would not survive.
"Okay." Ye Xuan nodded and looked at Yuan Zhe, "Since you have been waiting here for a long time, sir, I am also willing to wait for you all night to see the answer you give me."
"Commander Ye, please." Yuan Zhe breathed a sigh of relief, and then realized that his back was soaked with cold sweat. He shivered when the cold wind blew.
