As the saying goes, one effort can bring down ten. When the absolute power is enough to overwhelm the opponent, there is no need to beat around the bush and use sneaky tricks. Therefore, the creed of the strong will always be these six words: "Simple, direct, and effective"!
Zhiyao is a strong man and a serious believer in this creed, so when he coveted the land of the three families of Han, Zhao, and Wei, he directly stretched out his hand and said with a smile: "Bring it!"
The first person to be blackmailed by Zhiyao was the Han family. At that time, the head of the Han family was Han Kangzi. There are very few records about Han Kangzi in historical books, so it is impossible to clearly describe what kind of person he was. But what is certain is that compared to Zhao Wuxie, who is hard-hitting, Han Kangzi is a "noble and soft" person who is easy to yield.
The ultimatum from Zhiyao was placed on the table. Han Kangzi was helpless and sighed. Hand over the land, you can't bear it. Who can guarantee that this is Zhiyao’s last request? But if you refuse categorically, the tiger might eat you up right away. It’s really a dilemma, and it’s very frustrating!
A counselor named Duan Gui under Han Kangzi stepped forward to share his worries. Duan Gui said to Han Kangzi: "In terms of strength, we are absolutely no match for the Zhi family, but with Zhi Yao's greedy and violent character, if If we don't agree to his unreasonable request, I'm afraid he will immediately add troops to our Han family. Seeing that there is an opportunity, the remaining two families may take advantage of the chaos to send troops to divide our Han family's land. In this way, we will be attacked from both sides, and the consequences will be worrying, so We might as well agree to Zhiyao's request first. I don't think Zhiyao will stop there. He will definitely ask for land from the Wei and Zhao families. We might as well make the best of the situation and wait and see what happens."
Han Kangzi heard what Duan Gui said was reasonable, so he "happily" ceded the land to Zhiyao.
As Duan Gui said, Zhiyao was not satisfied with getting the land. As the saying goes, eating the marrow to know the taste, one success is enough to induce a second attempt, not to mention that this "attempt" was originally part of Zhiyao's plan! So Zhiyao's fat hand reached out to Wei Huanzi, the head of the Wei family. Wei Huanzi and his retainer Ren Zhang repeated the "calculation" of Han Kangzi and Duan Gui, so they also donated the land "with honor and dignity".
And when Zhiyao spread his hands in front of Wujie, Wujie taught Han Kangzi and Wei Huanzi a lesson: in this world, there is not only compromise and surrender, but also hard work and struggle!
"You want my 'Gao Lang' land, you are so shameless! Why? I won't let you get your wish!" Wujie was furious in his heart, but he still had that calm expression on his face.
After being rejected by Wuxie, Zhiyao had no choice but to send troops immediately to defeat the Zhao family, otherwise the land he had asked for from Han and Wei would suddenly become suspicious. If it was just verbal threats, why would people give up their land? Han Kangzi and Wei Huanzi were not fools. They would also ask: "Why!"
Wujie had already anticipated all this, and had also prepared to fight to the end. But what surprised him was that in his fight with Zhiyao, the two "victims" bullied by Zhiyao, Han Kangzi and Wei Huanzi, actually sided with Zhiyao again! In fact, although Han Kangzi and Wei Huanzi were stupid, they also had their own logic. In the big showdown between Zhi and Zhao, they were obviously more optimistic about Zhi, who was absolutely dominant. That's why he reached an agreement with Zhiyao to form a coalition of three families, hoping to divide the territory into three parts and strengthen himself after destroying the Zhao family.
Will the Han and Wei families succeed in their wishful thinking?
Facing the fierce flames of the three coalition forces, the brave and decisive Zhao Wuxie could only retreat temporarily. Where could he retreat to? Wuxie remembered his father Zhao Yang's instructions before his death: If anything happens, you can retreat to Jinyang!
It makes sense why Zhao Yang values Jinyang so much.
Dong An was a retainer of the Zhao family and was most relied upon by Zhao Yang. Jinyang has always been the foundation of the Zhao family, and Zhao Yang certainly did not dare to neglect it, so when he selected the person in charge of the project to build Jinyang City, he chose Dong Anyu. Dong Anyu's ancestor is the famous "good history of ancient times" Dong Hu.
The Jinyang City built by Dong An is very special. When he built the Jinyang Palace, he always used refined metal copper as the pillars of the palace, and the main part of the palace was built by felling wattle trees from the mountains. . This was indeed a pioneering work at the time, because building a city in this way was too expensive and prone to ridicule and criticism of "luxury." People will say that palaces are for people to live in. Is it necessary for you to spend so much material and financial resources on it?
However, Dong Anyu's actions were not unnecessary. First of all, if the descendants of the Zhao family retreated to Jinyang City and were besieged by the enemy, then when all the arrows were exhausted, the Zhao army could dismantle the copper pillars, refine them and cast arrowheads. The wattle wood in the main body of the palace is very solid and "even strong bamboo cannot pass through it", so it is a good material for making arrow shafts.
However, Dong Anyu failed to see the completion of the Jinyang City he planned. His resourcefulness was so great that he repeatedly gave advice to Zhao Yang and helped the Zhao family get out of danger. Therefore, he was regarded as a thorn in the side and a thorn in the flesh by Zhiyao, who was determined to annex the three families and dominate the Jin Dynasty, and he wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible. Zhiyao repeatedly pressured Zhao Yang to execute Dong Anyu, but Zhao Yang pushed back. It wasn't until Zhao Wu disobeyed Zhao Yang's order and Zhao Yang executed him on Dong Anyu's suggestion, triggering the rebellion between the Fan family and the Zhonghang family that Zhiyao could seize the opportunity. Zhiyao identified Dong Anyu as the culprit of the rebellion. At this time, after years of war, the Zhao family had been severely weakened. Zhao Yang could no longer withstand the pressure from Zhiyao. However, Dong Anyu had a deep relationship with him, and He had made great contributions to the Zhao family and asked him to kill Dong Anyu, but he could not do it no matter what, so he was in a dilemma and worried day and night.
At this time, Dong Anyu saved the Zhao family again by sacrificing his life. Legend has it that he said with emotion before his death: "Only by my death can the Zhao family find peace and the Jin Kingdom can find peace. I died too late!" His loyalty, bravery and steadfastness are truly amazing.
Although Dong Anyu died, Jinyang City will continue to be built. Before passing away, he recommended his subordinate Yin Duo to Zhao Yang. Zhao Yang trusted Dong Anyu very much, so he appointed Yin Duo as the supervisor of Jinyang City. Yin Duo is not a conformist person, but has a strong overall view. He asked Zhao Yang: "What will Jinyang be built in the end? Should it be a city that focuses on production and provide food taxes, or should it be built into a city that can be used to save lives and defend in times of crisis?" Zhao Yang Yang thought that Dong Anyu had indeed seen the right person, so he happily replied: "I will build Jinyang City to be impregnable and make it a coordinate and a monument on this vast land, standing for eternity and never fall!" Duo had some concerns and began to build the city regardless of the cost.
However, time passed day by day, money and food were spent like water, but the day when Yin Duo's Jinyang City was built was far away. At this time, Zhao Yang sent someone to tell Yin Duo that he should tear down the walls that would never be completed. Dong Anyu had started building these walls 50 years ago. Yin Duo ignored Zhao Yang's orders, still focused on the "impregnable" ultimate goal, and walked steadily step by step. This kind of disobedience to orders naturally angered Zhao Yang, and Zhao Yang, so angry, even wanted to kill Yin Duo. At this time, the officials began to persuade Zhao Yang: "Be born in sorrow and die in happiness. Yin Duo always remained vigilant. He once said: 'Thinking of joy and doing good, thinking of worry and fear, this is the way of man.' He raised the city wall. In order to nip it in the bud, and to be loyal to the Zhao family, I hope the general will think twice before acting." Zhao Yang suddenly realized that he not only stopped blaming Yin Duo, but praised him for his loyalty and bravery. After being affirmed, Yin Duo further reduced taxes and attracted people from all over to Jinyang City. Because Yin Duo cherishes the people's power, the residents of Jinyang City are grateful to the Zhao family. They are afraid that Jinyang City suddenly changes hands, and their previous happy life will be wiped out and never return.
Jinyang City, which has occupied all the favorable locations and people, has now set up its posture, waiting for Zhiyao to come and fight to the death.
Sure enough, in the face of Zhiyao's repeated strong attacks, Jinyang City still stood there with iron walls and iron walls. The bright and fluttering Zhao family flags fluttering in the wind on the city wall looked like contemptuous ridicule to Zhiyao.
However, Zhiyao, who was "good at attacking", quickly found a way to deal with Jinyang City: divert Fenshui to flood the city.
This was very detrimental to the Zhao army who was guarding the city. Wuxie and others relied on nothing more than Jinyang City. With the solidity of its city walls and the united people's support, they used this to annihilate the enemy's effective forces on a large scale. Until the enemy's vigor and combat effectiveness are exhausted, allowing them to retreat automatically.
But now these plans have come to nothing, Wuji and the others have become passive parties, but Zhiyao is no longer anxious, because except for the monthly supply of military rations, he no longer needs to spend any money or sacrifice the lives of his soldiers. All he had to do was to put up the canopy, sit under it, play the piano and drink, while admiring the frightened and apocalyptic look of Wuxie who appeared at the top of the city from time to time.
Wujie is indeed in a desperate situation now. After Fenshui poured into the city, everything in the city was changed. The residents of Jinyang who were hit by floods could only lift the iron pot in the air to make a fire because the original stove had already been immersed in water. The faces of the residents in the city are no longer filled with the joy of a happy life. Their eyes are full of doubts and worries about the future. Everyone in Jinyang City is in danger!
What's even more terrible is that, except for one member of the Communist Party of China who still behaved politely, Wuxie found that all the retainers of the Zhao family looked at him sideways, as if he was no longer the master of the Zhao family!
"The castle is attacked from the inside." Wujie began to consider surrendering and negotiating peace, but Zhang Mengtan, his most important adviser, advised him not to lose heart: "Maybe there is still a chance of improvement?"
Wujie asked: "Do you have any plans?"
Meng Tan said: "Let me go out of the city and see if I can instigate rebellion against the Han and Wei families."
At this point, I have no choice but to treat a dead horse as a live doctor. After Zhang Mengtan left the city, Wuxie patrolled the city every day, looking forward to his return.
