"It's time for us to leave." Li Si sighed.
The Western Zhou Kingdom surrendered faster than he expected. Before he could send out scouts to explore the roads around the royal city, the Western Zhou Kingdom surrendered.
Now we can only take one step at a time.
"Which city gate should we leave through?" Le Cheng asked.
"In the north of the city, cross the river from Mengjin, and then return to Zhao from Hanoi." Li Si said.
This road is very dangerous. Now Mengjin will definitely fall into the hands of the Qin army. As long as the Qin army holds the ferry, the Zhao army can only look at the river and sigh.
But this is the shortest way. As long as Zhao Jun can cross the river, it will be completely safe.
At this time, Zhao Jun could only take a gamble.
If you go east, not only will the journey be long, but the entire route will be occupied by the Qin State, and you will also have to pass through powerful passes like Hulao Pass.
Although no specific information was obtained, it was impossible for the Qin army to abandon this great pass.
According to Li Si's speculation, Hulao Pass is likely to have fallen into the hands of the Qin army.
The danger of attacking Hulao Pass is no less than that of Meng Jin.
"No!" Jia Yan said quickly.
"Why?" Li Si didn't expect that it was Jia Yan who stood up to object.
"Bai Qi is in the north." Jia Yan said in a deep voice.
"Trouble!" Li Si's face suddenly darkened.
If it weren't for Jia Yan's special ability, if the Zhao army followed his instructions and went north, the entire army would have been wiped out, and no one would have been able to leave alive.
To the west of the royal city is the State of Qin, to the south is where the Qin army's camp is stationed, to the north is personally defended by Bai Qi, Lord Wu'an, and to the east is the Qin army's heavy encirclement.
There are dead ends all around.
The State of Qin will not play any tricks with you now, and will directly suppress you with force.
I don't need to guess which direction you are going to escape. As long as you deploy troops and horses in all four types, it will be the same no matter which direction you escape.
"Go west." Feng Quji said.
"To the west is the State of Qin." Le Cheng said.
"It is precisely because the west is the state of Qin, so they go west. The Qin army will definitely not think that we will evacuate from the west. The Qin army here is the least, and we happen to be in the defensive west city and are most familiar with the terrain outside. , you are more sure of escaping."
"After leaving the royal city, we immediately turned around and headed south, crossing the Jianshui River. If the Qin army pursued us, our army would use the Jianshui River to defend and counterattack. Then we continued south, crossed the Luoshui River, walked through Yique, headed for South Korea, and from South Korea Return to Zhao Kingdom."
"The Eastern Zhou Dynasty has been destroyed. Hulao Pass is very likely to fall into the hands of the Qin army, and the road to the east has been blocked. However, it is unlikely that Yique will fall into the hands of the Qin army. Even if it has fallen into the hands of the Qin army, the number of defenders is It will be less than Hulao Pass, and our army is still very likely to win it." Feng Quji said slowly.
He and Li Si had the same idea. The long and dangerous road to Hulao Pass must not be taken. Originally, they planned to go to Mengjin to try it out, but Bai Qi was in the north, so they had to go south.
"Okay, I have decided, our army will evacuate the royal city from the west gate." After Le Cheng made the decision, no one raised any objections.
"General Le, when will you evacuate the royal city?" At this time, Mang Mao and Bao Luan came hand in hand.
After careful consideration, the two decided to evacuate the royal city with Zhao Jun.
On the one hand, Lecheng is quite kind and would not use the two of them as cannon fodder under normal circumstances.
On the other hand, the performance of Li Si and Feng Quji made Mang Mao realize that there were two top wise men in the Zhao army. In this case, following two wise men was obviously more secure than fighting alone.
When it’s time to hug your thighs, hug your thighs, there’s no shame in doing so.
"Right away, our army has been assembled." Le Cheng said.
"Okay, which city gate should we evacuate from?" Mang Mao asked.
"Ximen." Le Cheng said.
Mang Mao took a deep look at Le Cheng and nodded, "I trust your judgment. Let's go back and bring the army here."
"Wait a minute." Li Si stopped the two of them.
"What else does the military advisor have to say?" Mang Mao said with a smile.
Li Si has conquered them with his wisdom, so Mang Mao and Bao Luan sometimes jokingly call Li Si their military advisor.
"We can't take too much food and grass with us. When we leave, we ask the two generals to burn all the remaining food and grass to attract the attention of the Qin army and buy us time." Li Si said.
There is not much food and grass left in the city, but for the sake of marching speed, the army has to carry at most half a month's worth of food and grass, and there will still be some left.
Li Si did not intend to leave them to Qin, but to drain them of their remaining value.
"Okay." Mang Mao and Bao Luan nodded.
"It's time to take action." After Mang Mao and Luo Lu left, Li Si and Feng Quji looked at each other, and then said respectively, "General Lecheng, follow me." "General Jia Yan, follow me."
"Where to go?" Le Cheng followed Li Si curiously.
"What does General Le Cheng think is the most precious treasure in the royal city?" Li Si looked at Le Cheng and said with a smile.
"The most precious treasure?" Le Cheng thought for a while, then shook his head in confusion.
It is true that there were many treasures in the royal city in the past, but since the decline of the Zhou Dynasty, everything that could be taken away was taken away, and those that were not taken away were sold off by the King of Zhou. There are no treasures anywhere.
If there was really a treasure, King Zhou would not be forced to vomit blood by his creditors.
"Think about it again. Although there are no ordinary treasures in the royal city, there is still one top-notch treasure." Li Si used his mental power to push away the leaves that were about to fall on him.
Rainy days are not suitable for marching, but fortunately the rain is not very heavy.
"Hey, if mental power can push away the leaves, then theoretically speaking, it is possible to push away the clouds in the sky. As long as the clouds are pushed away, it won't rain. If the opposite is done, artificial rainfall can even be done. "Li Si looked at the leaves being pushed aside and suddenly thought.
"You mean...Jiuding?" Le Cheng's expression changed.
He thought he was brave enough, but he didn't expect that Li Si was braver than him and even dared to steal Jiuding.
"That's right. In the past, Yu collected Jiu Mu's gold and cast the Jiuding. He engraved the famous mountains, rivers, and strange objects in Jiuzhou on the body of the Jiuding. After the Xia Dynasty declined, the Ding moved to the Shang Dynasty. The Shang Dynasty declined, and the Ding moved to the Zhou Dynasty. If there is a decline this week, the one who has Jiuding will get it."
"No monarch in the world can stand shoulder to shoulder with your Majesty. This tripod should be transported back to the Kingdom of Zhao and dedicated to your Majesty. Moreover, the Zhou Dynasty has died, but the Qin army is outside the city and has no time to enter the city. The Nine Cauldrons have already fallen into the hands of our Zhao army. God. Those who do not take action will suffer the consequences.”
As Li Si talked, he tried to push the clouds with his mental power. Unfortunately, his power was too small and he could only push a small piece of cloud. It was completely impossible to push the entire cloud away.
"That's right. If it were that simple, our ancestors would have done it long ago, so why would it be my turn." Li Si shook his head mockingly. He was still a little whimsical.
"But... at least it proves that it is feasible in theory, but my power is not strong enough. If the power is strong enough, it will definitely be able to push the clouds. Maybe... we can try to use spiritual power to mobilize the aura of heaven and earth, and then use the aura of heaven and earth to push Try the clouds." Li Si suddenly thought.
Start trying like crazy.
"The Jiuding is too heavy and will affect the marching speed of our army." Le Cheng said.
They were not retreating normally. To put it bluntly, they were running away.
Jiuding is just a drag for them.
"This is Jiuding. Even if it affects the marching speed, it's worth it!" Li Si tried while dealing with Le Cheng.
He could see that it was not that Lecheng didn't want Jiuding, but he had a mentality that the artifact should be viewed from a distance but not played with, and he felt that Jiuding should not be tainted by him.
Li Si didn't have these burdens.
Although Jiuding unites people's hearts and symbolizes destiny, it is essentially just a copper tripod.
The State of Zhao fused the nine tripods and rebuilt it into a big tripod, which would become a symbol of destiny hundreds of years later.
The place where Jiuding was stored was not far from the military camp. Because the Duke of Western Zhou surrendered, the personnel responsible for guarding Jiuding had long since fled. No one was left, leaving only a desolate high platform.
"Is this the Nine Cauldrons?" Le Cheng murmured as he looked at the tall and majestic nine cauldrons on the high platform.
On the land of China, there is a unique cultural heritage, which is tripod casting.
The State of Zhao also had many mighty cauldrons. However, in Le Cheng's eyes, no matter how exquisite these cauldrons were, they could not compare to the nine bronze-green cauldrons in front of them.
The rust stains on the wall of the tripod not only did not obscure the glory of the tripod, but instead highlighted the long history and vicissitudes of Jiuding.
Le Cheng stared at these big cauldrons, as if he saw the stories and legends behind each cauldron. Thousands of years of war, glory, power, and culture in China seem to be contained in these nine great cauldrons.
"Military advisor, do you really want to move?" Le Cheng swallowed and looked at Li Si.
He found with shame that his hands were shaking a little.
I am a warrior in the extraordinary realm, does Jiuding really have mysterious power?
"Of course we're going to move." Li Si rolled his eyes. The bullshit mysterious power only scares himself.
"I heard that King Qin Wu suffered the backlash of Jiuding's luck and died." Le Cheng said with some worry.
"If you don't want to move, just get out of the way and I'll move it." Li Si said angrily.
"It's his grandma's, I will accompany you to go crazy." Le Cheng said through gritted teeth, strode to the high platform, grabbed the Liangzhou Cauldron on the side, and used both arms to lift the Liangzhou Cauldron from the ground. .
Le Cheng turned around, walked down the high platform, and placed Liangzhou Ding on the carriage drawn by ten horses behind him.
After moving a cauldron, Le Cheng didn't feel anything strange in his body. Instead, he was filled with strength, and his inner pressure suddenly disappeared.
After a while, all the remaining eight cauldrons were moved to the carriage.
"This cauldron is so heavy. If I don't use my inner energy, I won't be able to lift it." Le Cheng patted the wall of the cauldron and gasped.
After moving nine big cauldrons in a row, I actually felt a little tired.
Several soldiers came forward and covered the cauldron with cloth.
Although it's a bit of a cover-up, it can still be covered up to some extent.
Some people can tell that it is a tripod, but they may not be able to guess that it is a nine tripod.
"I heard that King Wu of Qin did not use his inner energy when he lifted the cauldron." Li Si said with a smile.
"The State of Qin was just bragging to cover up the shameful feat of its king lifting the cauldron and dying. Anyway, I don't believe it." Le Cheng rubbed his wrist and drove the carriage back. Anyway, he didn't believe that King Qin Wu was really that powerful. .
If he is so fierce, he will be smashed to death by a tripod? Why did I lift nine cauldrons and nothing happened?
What he didn't know was that in a few decades, such a fierce man would appear again on the land of China.
"By the way, what did Jia Yan and Feng Quji do?" Le Cheng asked curiously.
"It's time to collect books," Li Si said.
"What collection of books?" Le Cheng was a little confused.
"There is a collection room in the royal city, which records all events from the period of Huang Emperor and Yan Emperor to Xia, Shang and Zhou, as well as the advice and suggestions of the civil and military officials of the Zhou Dynasty, all the books collected by the Zhou Dynasty, and the thoughts and insights of Zhou Gong and sages of all dynasties. .The art of war, calendars, laws, astrology, divination, witch doctors, etc. It is all-encompassing and everything."
"However, due to the destruction of the past dynasties, each country came to snatch some of it after it became strong. In addition, due to poor maintenance after the decline of the Zhou Dynasty, the remaining classics are now gone. However, they are still of great value to our country, Zhao." Li Si said.
If the Zhou Dynasty's collection room is completely preserved, it must be the largest library in the world today, even the library in Zhao State cannot compare with it.
Unfortunately, there is no if.
"Let me, the State of Zhao, inherit the remaining information for you. In return, I, the State of Zhao, will destroy the State of Qin and avenge the Zhou Dynasty." Li Si thought in his mind.
"You really don't let anything go. The Zhou Kingdom has been destroyed, and you still have to squeeze out the remaining value." Le Cheng said a little helplessly, but also a little happy.
It would definitely be a great achievement if the Nine Cauldrons and these collections of books could be sent to the State of Zhao in their entirety.
"This is not about draining Zhou of its surplus value, but about robbing Qin of its spoils. I just don't know what Qin's reaction will be after learning about it." A faint smile appeared at the corner of Li Si's mouth.
Your Qin State has cheated on me, and I don’t have the ability to take revenge now, but it’s not my character to go back if I don’t cheat on you, so I can only compensate myself with some things from your Qin State.
I just don’t know if the Qin State will feel sorry for you.
By the time Li Si transported the Jiuding to the military camp, Feng Quji had already returned with the classics of the Zhou Dynasty.
"It's all here, not a single one has been missed." Feng Quji said, pointing to the three carriages behind him.
"That's it?" Li Si frowned. He knew there couldn't be too many books in the collection room, but he didn't expect there to be so few.
The three carts of books seemed like a lot, but they were all bamboo slips or wooden slips, as well as some turtle shells and animal bones. If they were replaced with paper books, they would only be a few large volumes.
Of course, there are a lot of these books, but compared to a country, they are extremely insignificant.
Li Si could not help but sympathize with the Zhou Dynasty. From the collection of books in the collection room, we could see how unsatisfactory the Zhou Dynasty had been over the years. It was true that anyone could step on them and steal some things.
"It's better than nothing." Feng Quji said with a smile. He was very satisfied if he could gain something.
"Yes, as long as the Qin army doesn't get it." Li Si nodded.
While the two were talking, Mang Mao and Bao Luan also led the Wei army and Han army over.
"This is...Jiuding!" Mang Mao shouted in surprise when he saw Zhao Jun pulling nine big guys and curiously opened the corner of the cloth.
"Jiuding! You stole Jiuding... and brought it here?" Bao Luan said with a shocked look on his face.
"That's right. The Kingdom of Zhou has been destroyed, the Kingdom of Qin has no principles, and the Nine Cauldrons will be inherited by our Kingdom of Zhao. You two should have no objections." Li Si stared closely at Mang Mao and Bao Luan.
This is the Nine Cauldrons of Dayu. Except for the three great cauldrons of Heaven, Earth and Man cast by the legendary Yellow Emperor, there is no treasure in the world that can compare with it.
The three great cauldrons of heaven, earth and man have long since disappeared in the long river of history. No one has ever seen them, and it is impossible to even determine whether they are true or false.
But Dayu Jiuding is right in front of him.
To say that Mang Mao and Bao Luan didn't covet each other even if they beat Li Si to death, they wouldn't believe it.
"No. No." Mang Mao shook his head quickly.
He is not a fool, and even if he has an opinion, he will not say it at this time.
If Zhao Jun wants to return home, he must pass through Wei's territory. Wouldn't it be better to find a way to detain it when the time comes?
Even if it is not taken down, Wei Guo can take this opportunity to ask for some benefits from Zhao Guo, and Zhao Guo will definitely not refuse.
"Even if you give me South Korea, I don't dare to take it." Bao Luan shook his head bitterly.
He was sure that if Jiuding appeared in Xinzheng, it would not be long before the Qin army appeared under the city of Xinzheng.
"Okay, let's go, it's getting late." Le Cheng got on the horse and the team moved slowly.
"You Zhao Jun...why are there so many people?" Mang Mao looked at Zhao Jun behind him with some confusion.
When they first supported the Western Zhou Dynasty, the three Jin Dynasties each sent 10,000 troops. Among them, the Wei army and the Han army suffered more casualties. The Wei army suffered more losses mainly in the first battle of Luoshui, while the Han army suffered more losses while defending the city. .
Although Mang Mao didn't know the exact number of Zhao Jun's casualties, the Zhao Jun in front of him... was definitely more than 10,000!
The other legions are getting smaller and smaller as they fight, so how can your damn Zhao army fight more and more?
Did your Zhao army reproduce by division?
"Oh, these are the Zhou people who admire our Zhao State and are willing to follow us back to Zhao State. We felt sorry for their hometown being occupied by the Qin army and couldn't bear to refuse, so we agreed." Le Cheng said.
At the beginning, Li Si asked Le Cheng to mix Zhou Jun and Zhao Jun together to cultivate their relationship, just to abduct these Zhou people.
The hatred of the Zhou people towards the Qin people was no less than that of the Three Jin Dynasties. In addition, during this period, all their food and grass were provided by the Zhao army. The Zhou people were very grateful to Zhao.
If the Zhou Kingdom were destroyed, there would still be many Zhou people willing to follow the Zhao army back to the Zhao Kingdom.
Li Si originally planned to kidnap these soldiers, along with all their relatives and friends, back to Zhao.
But now that the royal city is under siege, Zhao Jun himself may not be able to go back. How can he protect the old, weak and women? He can only lead soldiers who can fight.
Therefore, many soldiers with families did not choose to follow Zhao Jun, otherwise the number would be even greater.
"Why didn't we think of that!" Mang Mao and Bao Luan looked at each other, each seeing regret in the other's eyes.
"You, Zhao Jun, are still treacherous...oh...no...smart. I admire you." Mang Mao said, cupping his fists.
"They are just some tricks that cannot be put on the table. They are not worth mentioning." Le Cheng said nonchalantly, but the smile at the corner of his mouth betrayed him.
If Qin hadn't disrupted Zhao Jun's plan and supported Zhou this time, Zhao Jun could have returned with a full load.
All tasks were exceeded.
But Qin's strategy is like a sharp sword hanging over Zhao Jun's head. It may make all Zhao Jun's efforts and Zhao Jun disappear at any time...
