The rain was not heavy but never stopped. This autumn rain was like a gentle breeze, carrying the fragrance of flowers. Although it was already late autumn, the earth seemed to be rejuvenated with the nourishment of this rain.
While Ji Yao and Zhao Yong were walking in the rain, she said quietly: "I want to pester the king all the time. Will the king get tired of me after a long time?"
Zhao Yong turned his head and said seriously to her: "Of course not, I wish I could be with the queen all the time."
Ji Yao's face suddenly turned red. At this time, I heard Zhao Yong continue: "We have only been married for a few days. I should accompany you out of the palace to have some fun, but now that there is a war, I have neglected the queen."
Ji Yao immediately shook her head and said: "I'm not going anywhere. Traveling out of the palace is just a waste of money and food. I haven't been out of the Han Palace for more than ten years, so I'm used to it. I just can't help but think about the king." ... As the king of a country, the king must also put state affairs first, and my concubines should set an example after they become the king of Zhao."
Zhao Yong nodded happily. As a clan girl, Ji Yao has a natural political pattern in her heart in addition to love.
Back in the bedroom, Ji Yao's skirt was slightly wet from the rain. Zhao Yong smiled and said to her: "The queen will go change her clothes first, and I will also take off the armor and stomach from my body."
After saying that, he walked towards the side hall and said, "Change my clothes for me." Zhao Yong opened his arms and called on the maids on the side to help him remove his armor.
A moment later, Zhao Yong heard the sound of someone entering the door again behind him. When he turned around, he realized that Ji Yao had also followed him in.
Ji Yao waved her hands towards the palace people and headed outside the room, then stepped forward in small steps to personally help him remove his armor.
Looking at her skillful movements, Zhao Yong couldn't help but curiously asked: "Does Yao'er understand martial arts?"
Ji Yao lowered her head and continued busy with her hands. She nodded slightly and said, "When I am in the Han Palace, I often wear armor and practice swords with Brother Wang, so I am familiar with the armor."
Before Zhao Yong could speak, Ji Yao had already skillfully untied the armor rope for him. She raised her head and looked at Zhao Yong with a serious face and said: "The king can't stay with me these days, otherwise the palace people will say that I am a concubine." Jealous."
Seeing the sudden change in the beauty's face, Zhao Yong smiled and said: "It doesn't matter, I know how to do it... By the way, I told you that they are easy to get along with. Has Yao'er talked to them?"
Although she didn't know why Ji Yao suddenly mentioned this, she could recognize this, which made Zhao Yong very happy anyway.
"Yeah," Ji Yao said softly, "They are all very good."
Zhao Yong nodded with satisfaction, thinking that when he was away, these women in the palace would accompany Ji Yao most of the time. If the relationship was not good, they would not be happy. At the same time, as a man, he naturally does not want his harem to "catch fire".
"I accidentally heard from the palace people that the king has a marriage contract with the Wu family's daughter?" Ji Yao looked at him and asked softly.
Zhao Yong nodded awkwardly: "I originally wanted to talk to the queen after some time."
Ji Yao shook her head: "My concubine means that now that the throne has been decided, a daughter must be admitted into the palace as soon as possible."
Zhao Yong looked at her with a hint of doubt. But he saw a serious look on her face.
If Zhao Yong is a concubine, although the rules cannot skip the queen, she actually has no right to refuse. However, a woman actively allows another woman to share her husband. It still feels strange for Zhao Yong, a person who retains a hint of the concept of future generations.
Ji Yao may have understood the meaning in Zhao Yong's eyes, so she whispered: "Although the king's gentle minister wants to monopolize me, I..."
Zhao Yong took her in his arms without waiting for her to finish her words: "Yao'er will always occupy the biggest position in everyone's heart."
Ji Yao huddled in his arms, raised her head, and stared at him affectionately: "It would be great if the king could always stay with me... Is the army about to go on an expedition..."
Looking at Ji Yao with an emotional look on his face, Zhao Yong said helplessly: "Hangu Pass is in an emergency. I need to lead the Zhao army south before October. It's time to go to war..."
The affection on Ji Yao's face suddenly froze.
Zhao Yong felt sad when he saw this, and comforted him: "October is still more than half a month away. I will spend more time with Yao'er during these days."
Ji Yao held his hand and asked, "How long will this battle last?" Although she often talks about serving the country and the people, and full of overall interests, she is a new wife after all, no matter she is No matter what her status is, a woman's natural dependence on her husband cannot be erased.
Zhao Yong sighed: "I don't know yet. The Yan and Chu countries have not yet mobilized their troops. However, we have to be separated for a long time."
Ji Yao suddenly became even more depressed, as if she was extremely uncomfortable. After a long while, she said quietly: "Without the king by my side, life would be so boring."
"Good days are always short-lived, aren't they?" Zhao Yong said kindly.
After hearing these words, Ji Yao forced herself to smile, raised her head and looked at him with big watery eyes: "I just made a mistake. Your Majesty puts national affairs first and benefits all people. I should be pleased." ..." As he spoke, he cried again, and said with a sob in his voice: "The swords in the battle formation have no eyes. The king must not go to the battle formation personally. Regardless of victory or defeat in this battle, the king must not be injured..."
Zhao Yong comforted her and said with a forced smile: "As the king of a country, I have so many powerful generals around me. I don't have to go up to fight in person. Yao'er can rest assured."
Ji Yao nodded and said: "I will pray to God every day so that the king can return victoriously."
Zhao Yong stroked her soft green hair and said: "Yao'er is so beautiful, God will definitely love Yao'er extra."
…
Spending all the love between children and making heroes short of breath. Zhao Yong claims that he is not such a person. Desire is human nature. As long as he vents his desires within the rules, he will still be an accomplished king.
In late September, Zhao Yong reviewed the soldiers who were about to go off to war outside Handan City. The signal for war was imminent.
The Five Kingdoms conquered Qin. This matter was of great significance from all aspects, and Zhao Yong was happy to work hard for it. Looking at the situation in the world today, if Qin is allowed to continue to grow bigger and stronger, Zhao's expansion will inevitably be hampered by it.
Compared with Zhongshan State, Qin State made him more full of crisis, especially after the First World War in Hedong.
Although he could not remember the specific year in history when the Five Kingdoms conquered Qin, the occurrence of the "Battle of Jinyang" was enough for him to deduce that history was quietly changing.
Because it seems that the Battle of Jinyang did not happen at all in history, or it happened later. It's completely different anyway. The victory in the Battle of Jinyang also fundamentally redefined Zhao's status among the princes.
The five kingdoms joined forces to attack Qin. This battle will directly affect the distribution pattern of the countries in the future, and even affect the historical trend of China a thousand years later. If the five countries win this battle, they will completely crush the Qin State's oppression of the Kwantung countries. For Zhao State, it can also extend its sphere of influence to the south of the Yellow River and Fenshui River, and complete Zhao State's defense lines in the east and south.
Zhao Yong can be said to be both worried and looking forward to this battle.
As soon as he entered the side hall, Su Qin, who had been waiting for a long time, hurriedly greeted him. After seeing the ceremony with Zhao Yong, he immediately bowed his head and said: "Your Majesty, the censor of Yan's capital has just sent a message: King Yan has woken up from his coma. At the same time, King Yan ordered Prince Ji Hui to personally lead 50,000 Yan troops. Rushing to Hangu, now the Yan army has gathered from Jidu."
Zhao Guo has been paying close attention to Yan Guo's movements these days. After all, if the Yan State did not send troops, the Zhao State would not dare to rush south.
But now, King Yan has woken up? This made Zhao Yong a little surprised for a while. He originally thought Ji Shuo was dead.
But since it is the news from the Metropolitan Procuratorate, it should not be false. As for whether it is a return to glory, it is unknown.
"Prince Yan Ji Hui...has Mr. Wu An ever dealt with him?" Zhao Yong asked.
Su Qinsi was cautious for a moment and replied: "Prince Yan's temperament is not like that of King Yan. He has no fixed opinions on matters and is often harassed by the words of his ministers."
Zhao Yong nodded. The Prince Yan mentioned by Su Qin was exactly the same as the Ji Hui in his memory. This is also the biggest reason why he has never dared to send troops hastily. After all, no one is afraid of a wavering ally behind him.
"Is there still no movement in Chu State?" Zhao Yong stood up and walked to Kanyu Map and asked again.
Su Qin shook his head and said: "The Chu State has not made any move to go north since it gathered troops in Yiling...perhaps it is waiting for the Yan State and our Zhao State."
Chu State... Compared to Yan State, Chu State is even less capable of making mistakes at this time. Let’s not talk about whether the Chu army’s combat effectiveness is strong or not. Its military strength alone accounts for the majority of the five countries.
In this battle, Wei and Han both sent 80,000 troops; Yan and Zhao sent 50,000 troops; Chu alone gathered 100,000 troops. The total number of the five-nation coalition forces is 360,000, which is said to be 500,000. This is also the source of confidence for the five countries to dare to say that they will destroy Qin in one battle. After all, Qin State exhausted all its wealth and could only collect less than 200,000.
Zhao Yong crossed his arms, stared at Kanyu Tu, and said in a deep voice: "It's time to send troops to Hangu!"
"Do we need to wait until the Yan army passes the Zhao border?" Su Qin asked.
"I'm afraid it won't work." Zhao Yong turned around and faced Su Qin and said: "It is almost winter now, and the Wei and Han armies have been confronting the Qin army outside Hangu Pass for more than a month. If it continues, the coalition forces will become stronger. Their morale has also been wiped out. The Qin army may have made this plan."
Su Qin nodded, bowed and said, "I obey the king's words."
Zhao Yong glanced at Su Qin. This was the first time he saw the other party say flattering words.
...On the second day of the court, Zhao Yong talked with his courtiers about sending troops.
Zhao Guo then decided to march in two ways. One way was led by Fei Yi, who led three standing battalions, which were mainly infantry and chariots. The other way was led by Zhao Yong himself, who led 5,000 cavalry. They went south from Handan, crossed the Zhang River, and crossed the Yellow River. , then westward through Wei and South Korea, passing Luoyang, and finally in front of Hangu Pass (Sanmenxia).
The reason why I chose this route is that it is easy to walk, the whole journey is flat, and the transportation is convenient.
It can also be said that Zhao Guo could only take this route when sending troops to Hangu. If the Zhao army detours to Jinyang and then goes south along the Fen River like the last northern expedition, it will have to pass through the Taihang Mountains first, and then cross the Zhongtiao Mountains to the south. When we arrived at Hangu Pass, the day lilies were already cold.
Inconvenient transportation is always a flaw in this era. The mountains are dangerous and dangerous, and human power is always insignificant in the face of nature.
If viewed from a high altitude, Zhao's abundant land can be roughly divided into two parts: the Hebei Plain and the Hedong Basin. The most important territory of Zhao State is still in the Hedong Basin, which is the northern part of Shanxi in later generations: Taiyuan Basin, Lingding Basin, the Datong Basin that was just captured, and the Yuxian Basin where the original Kingdom was located.
Compared with the fertile and vast Hedong basins, Handan, Xingxiang and other places located in the Hebei Plain can only be regarded as a very small part. The reason why the ancestors of Zhao State spent so much effort to move the capital to Zhongmu and Handan was because they wanted to establish a foothold in the plains east of the Taihang Mountains and develop slowly.
However, as soon as they moved, they were invaded by Bai Di from the north.
In addition to passing through Wei and Han, the road from the Hebei Plain to the Hedong Basin can only cross the Taihang Mountains to the west, and the largest and most convenient passage across the two places: Jingxing among the eight passes of Taihang, is Zhongshan. controlled by the country.
The biggest reason why Zhao State covets Zhongshan State is not actually its land, but the lifeline that it controls to connect Zhao State to the east, west and north.
Last year in the battle in northern Xinjiang and the battle against Qin, the reason why Zhao's victory surprised other countries was not only the combat effectiveness of Zhao's army, but more importantly, the speed of its advance.
If Zhao could not enter the Taiyuan Basin from Jingxing, he could only enter the Taiyuan Basin along the river valley carved out by the Zhang River in the Taihang Mountains. If Zhao Jun takes this route, he will need to pass through Shangdang Highlands. South Korea has always had absolute control over Shangdang Highlands.
Since then, a temporary alliance with South Korea has become very necessary. It was precisely because of the alliance with South Korea that Zhao was able to quickly pass through the Taihang Mountains.
...The scene when Zhao Yong left Handan this time was much more lively than last time. Perhaps it was because the busy farming season had passed, and there were densely packed people standing in front of the city tower.
Zhao Yong was riding on a horse, and Pang Nuan was riding beside him. Behind him, the cavalry army was divided into several rows, and the end could not be seen at a glance.
Fei Yi has already led 30,000 infantry to advance.
The sound of horse hooves sounded, and the cavalry were heading westward with their backs to Handan Guocheng. People could see the shadows of the large group of people, and the morning sun had quietly risen.
…
…
Yingdu, Palace of the King of Chu.
Qu Yuan's steps were so hasty that he left behind all the eunuchs who were leading the way. As soon as he entered the main hall, he saw King Xiong Huai of Chu with his back turned to him, sighing repeatedly at the Kanyu map in front of him.
"Your Majesty, I have hurriedly summoned my ministers and ordered to send troops." Qu Yuan bowed respectfully.
Xiong Huai turned around and said solemnly: "I have thought about it carefully these past two days. Since I succeeded to the throne, Chu and Qin have always been on good terms and have never attacked. Now if there is a war, I am worried, what will happen? It disturbs the people's hearts and weakens the country's strength. If this attack on Qin fails, our Chu country will be burned to death."
In this war against Qin, Qu Yuan took the initiative to ask Ying to be the official of grain transportation. However, the military rations needed for the expedition had been gathered, but the King of Chu never gave the order to send troops. Now hearing what King Chu said again made him even more worried.
"Your Majesty, if you repeatedly give in to Qin, can you ensure the peace and prosperity of Chu?" Qu Yuan said.
"But if we fail..."
"How can it be defeated? Now Wei and Han have gathered their troops in Hangu, and King Zhao has personally led the Zhao army there. Now we only need to wait for the king's order to destroy Qin, which is just around the corner!" Qu Yuan said sternly.
…
