These ministers were immediately shouted back by Shangzhu Kingdom, and no one dared to come forward to propose peace. Shangzhu's long sword was sheathed and he came forward and said:
"Your Majesty, now we have no choice but to send an envoy to the Ant Clan to ask the Ant King to send troops to relieve the siege of the capital." The Lord of the Sliding Ant Kingdom had no idea in mind, so he could only agree to Shangzhu Kingdom's request and send an envoy to the Ant Clan.
Xiangguo Xiaoyi exited the court, walked out of the palace, and got into the carriage. The groom asked:
"Prime Minister, I'm going back to my house." Xiao Yi opened the curtain, stuck his head out and said:
"No, let's go to Yan's Liquor." Then he lowered the curtain and the groom drove away to drive on the street. The houses and caves on both sides of the street are arranged in a scattered manner, with insects coming and going, stopping and looking around, which is a prosperous scene.
This shows that Xiangguo Xiaoyi manages the country well and the people live and work in peace and contentment. The carriage arrived at the door of Yan's Restaurant and stopped. Xiangguo Xiaoyi got out of the car, looked up at the courtyard door, turned around and said:
"You drive back to the house first." The groom turned the horse's head and drove away. He stepped forward and pushed open the door of Yan's wine shop, walked in and stood in the courtyard, looking around.
Mr. and Mrs. Yan walked out and knelt to greet them, looked up and said:
"Xiangguo Big Ant." Xiangguo Little Ant stood in front of them, helped them up, and said:
"Please get up, please get up. We are coming out incognito this time, so we won't make any noise." Only then did the Yan couple stand up and invite the Prime Minister into the house.
Xiao Yi walked into the hall, looked around, and asked:
"Why don't you see your friend?" Yan replied:
"My friend is out for something." He then deliberately invited Xiao Yi to the swordsmith's study. Xiao Yi walked into the swordsmith's study and sat in front of the desk. He looked at the letter placed on the desk and casually read a few lines. He had such insights into the strategy of governing the country and became interested.
When Xiao Yi was looking at it, Yan stepped forward, leaned over and said:
"Xiang Guo, Big Ant, wait here for a moment. I'm going to look for my friend right away." Little Yi just waved his hand, put his eyes on the letter, and responded:
"Go, go." The swordsmith went out early in the morning. Wearing a bamboo hat and a raincoat, he held a fishing rod in his hand and sat on a rock to fish.
The pool is clear, with a gurgling trickle, and you can see fish playing at the bottom of the water. The green hills on the bank are endless, and the water and grass are lush behind the rocks. There are also lush trees with green leaves, stretching out, just enough to provide shade and umbrellas.
At that time, Jiang Ziya was sitting on the edge of the Weishui River fishing with a straight hook. He said that if he fished with a straight hook, those who wished would take the bait. At this time, it wants to learn from Jiang Ziya, and in its leisure time, it can also enjoy the beautiful scenery around it, and feel relaxed and relaxed.
Yan searched all the way to Qingtan in the eastern suburbs, stood behind the swordsmith, and said:
"Sir." The swordsmith turned his head and stretched out his fingers, and whispered:
"Shh! Don't disturb my fish." Yan stood behind the swordsmith, waiting anxiously, and kept muttering:
"I'm so anxious about it that I'm not anxious anymore. I'm really anxious to death." After a long time, the swordsmith turned around again and said:
"What's the matter? Come and see me urgently." Mrs. Yan said:
"The great ant of the Prime Minister came to my wine shop and is waiting to see you." At this time, the swordsmith said calmly:
"Please wait a moment." The fish in the water was pulling the hook. The swordsmith was delighted when he saw it and said:
"The big fish has taken the bait." As expected, a big fish was caught. The swordsmith mentioned the big fish and said:
"You are really my gospel!" Mrs. Yan looked confused and asked again:
"Sir, where are you going?" The swordsmith turned around and said:
"Go home and pay homage to this great ant of the Prime Minister." Only then did Yan come back to her senses and follow closely behind it.
The swordsmith and Mrs. Yan returned to the wine shop together, entered and handed the big fish they had caught into Mrs. Yan's hands, saying:
"Steam it." Returning to his study, he kowtowed and said:
"The common people are here to pay homage to Prime Minister Big Ant." Little Ant put down the letter in his hand, looked up and said:
"Sir, there is no need to be polite. Please sit down." Yan, who was standing next to him, withdrew, and the swordsmith sat down. Little Ant said:
"The master uses the art of sword-making to discuss state affairs, and he has unique insights. It is like making a sword. Choose good steel and beat it. Master the heat and the strength of the beating. Don't be too hard or eager for success. If you hit it too hard, the sword will break easily. It's like governing a country, finding out its advantages and disadvantages, changing them, slowly working on them, and making them strong and soft." The swordsmith replied:
"A common man has devoted his whole life to writing this book, and his views are crude." The little ant said:
"This book can be compared to a book of human history. It should be circulated in the back room. It is a masterpiece of the world. Can you lend it to me to take back and read." The swordsmith agreed happily and said:
"Okay." Xiao Yi put the slip aside and asked again:
"What is the purpose of the termite clan's deployment of troops at our border with Pingfan? I would also like to hear your opinion on this, sir?" the swordsmith said:
"The termite tribe's soldiers and horses gathered in the Grand Canyon and mobilized frequently. I am afraid that the drunkard is not interested in drinking. The termite tribe's troops stationed in the Grand Canyon are, firstly, a deterrent to our border troops, so that they do not dare to act rashly. Secondly, The ant tribe is close to the slippery ant country. If the termite tribe takes this opportunity to conquer the slippery ant country, our ant tribe will be threatened. I believe that within three days there will be an envoy to the ant tribe and request troops to save slippery." Xiang Guoxiao The ant was also worried about this matter and said:
"What should I do if an envoy from the Sliding Ant Kingdom comes to ask for troops to help?" The swordsmith only said two words:
"Send troops." Xiao Yi heard this and asked again:
"If sending troops to fight against the termites means breaking the peace treaty with the termites, the termites will use this as an excuse to invade the Grand Canyon. What should I do? Please teach me, sir." The swordsmith said again:
"The Sliding Ant Country is located between the Ant Tribe and the Termite Tribe, bordering the two places and in a strategic location. If the termites capture the Sliding Ant Country this time, the Termite Tribe will have no worries, which will be quite disadvantageous for our Ant Tribe. . If the Ant tribe agrees to the request of the Sliding Ant Nation to send troops to assist and relieve the siege of the capital, the Sliding Ant Nation will be grateful to the Ant Clan and will form an alliance with the Ant Clan to check each other with the Termite Clan. The Prime Minister can use this to weigh the disadvantages. More is better." Xiangguo was silent for a long time, and he was convinced by the swordsmith's words and said:
"Sir, what you say makes sense. Sir, you can follow me to the court. Your Majesty will definitely use it." The swordsmith declined politely and said:
"I am a villager in the mountains. I can't get into the elegant hall. I am tired of the intrigues of the court. Prime Minister, Big Ant, please come back." Xiao Yi stood up and said:
"Sir, please stay in our ant clan for a few more days. I will try my best to persuade the king to invite you personally and ask you to come to the court to help." The swordsmith stood up and saluted, saying:
"Then I am here to wait for the king to come." Shangzhuguo led a small team of insect horses to break out of the heavy siege and ran towards the ant capital. When Shangzhuguo arrived at the Qingshui River, he was exhausted.
Shangzhuguo entered the capital of the ant tribe, went straight to the Prime Minister's Mansion, visited the Prime Minister's little ant, and said:
"Xiangguo, our Huayi country is surrounded by an army of 300,000 people from the termite tribe. We are in danger. Please send troops to save our Huayi country." Xiangguo stood up and helped Shangzhu Guo up and said:
"Okay, let's go into the palace immediately to meet the king." Then he ordered the servants to prepare the car. Xiangguo and Shangzhuguo walked out of the prime minister's mansion together. Go.
Xiangguo Xiaoyi and Shangzhuguo entered the palace hall together, met the ant king, and saluted:
"Your Majesty." Then Shangzhuguo stood up. Road:
"Your Majesty, my kingdom of slippery ants is surrounded by an army of termites. Please send troops to save our kingdom of slippery ants." The ant king hesitated a little and asked:
"What kind of ant is it?" Xiangguo stood up and said:
"It is the envoy of the slippery ant kingdom." The ant king asked again:
"Xiangguo, do you think we should send troops?" Xiangguo said firmly:
"Send troops to rescue Hua. The Hua ant country is a close neighbor of our ant tribe. If the termites capture the capital of the Hua ant country, it may be detrimental to our ant tribe." After hearing this, the ant king said:
"Okay, let's follow the advice of the Prime Minister and send troops to rescue Hua." Then, with Meng Yi as the general, he led 800,000 troops to rescue Hua, with Shangzhu State leading the way.
At this time, the termite army gathered under the capital and began to launch a general attack. The guard stood on the tower, facing the soldiers, and said:
"Soldiers, we must defend the capital. Reinforcements will arrive immediately after receiving a letter from Shangzhu Kingdom." These words encouraged the soldiers to defend the city.
The army under the city formed an array, with shield soldiers forward, archers and chariots behind, their flags fluttering and the darkness overwhelming.
The general standing on the chariot pulled out the long sword from his waist, pointed straight ahead, and shouted:
"Attack." The soldiers drew their swords and knocked on their shields, shouting in unison:
"Great wind, great wind." As soon as Chang Ge came out, he moved forward slowly and shouted in unison:
"Strong wind, strong wind." The archers on the city stepped forward, drew their bows and nocked arrows, and aimed at the 300,000 troops below the city. When the enemy army approached, the guard pulled out the long sword from his waist and shouted:
"Fire the arrows." The arrow feathers fell, and the soldiers hid behind their shields. The archers stepped forward, drew their bows and shot arrows upwards. The arrow feathers shot from the sky like dark clouds, killing and wounding a large number of soldiers guarding the city.
They came one after another, hiding behind the battlements, and arrow feathers shot past their ears like the wind. They fired arrows at the bottom of the city to stop the enemy from moving forward. The arrow feathers fell under the shield and made a clanging sound. The arrow feathers passed through the shield and hit the thigh or foot. Many soldiers behind the shield were killed by arrows.
They braved the rain of arrows and rushed forward, carrying ladders. Some soldiers were hit by arrows and fell down. The soldiers behind rushed up, went to the bottom of the tower, set up the ladder, and began to climb up the tower.
The soldiers on top of the city tower lifted stones and smashed them down hard, like hail falling. The soldiers hit were either dead or injured. The corpses filled the moat and piled up hills. The first wave receded.
The second wave rushed forward and continued to attack the city. They trampled on the mountain of corpses and attacked the tower. They fought and fell, and the army behind them surged up together.
Just when the capital was about to be captured, reinforcements arrived and fought with the enemy. The soldiers on the city guarded for a whole day and night. Finally, when reinforcements arrived, they shouted:
"The reinforcements have arrived, the reinforcements have arrived." Kaicheng sent out all its troops to meet the enemy. The Shangzhu Kingdom led its troops into the enemy's formation. The enemy troops fled in chaos, and the Shangzhu Kingdom led their troops to pursue them.
The flags are tilted this way and that, and the helmets and armor are discarded. General Fierce Ant stood on the top of the mountain and watched. He had never met the enemy general. The siege of the capital had been lifted.
