"Your Majesty, there is news from Qi that Qin is about to attack Wei. The number of people in Qi who advocate sending troops to aid Wei has doubled, and more than half of the officials in the court have proposed sending troops to attack Qin."
In the study room of the palace, Wei Zhuang stood next to the map, looked at Ying Zheng, and then pointed to a place not far away on the ground. The position of Qi State on the map, his expression full of solemnity.
Also worried about Wei Zhuang were Wang Wan, Li Si and others.
When they agreed not to attack the Chu State but to attack the Wei State, everyone was mentally prepared for the Qi State to be shocked. However, when they learned the news, things still exceeded everyone's expectations.
More than half of the officials!
Anyone who is familiar with Wei Zhuang’s character knows that behind this sentence, Wei Zhuang is already at best, but the actual situation is probably far more than this half.
"Yao Jia and Mao Jiao have been in Qi State, using all their power and money to lobby Qi officials everywhere. Now Yao Jia has spent more than twice as much money as before, and many Qi officials have declined seeing that the situation is wrong. Yao Jia and Mao Jiao are already in Linzi City, struggling to cope with the wealth donated by Yao Jia."
When Wei Zhuang said the last few words, he looked at Ying Zheng cautiously.
Wang Wan, Changping Jun and others, even the old Wang Jian and the young Li Xin, were silent at this moment. Everyone knew why Yao Jia and Mao Jiao were in Qi State. It was just because Ying Zheng was thinking about it day and night. He wanted to see the rumored old man riding a bull, so he even ignored the situation in Chu State and let Yao Jia and Mao Jiao go straight to Qi State.
The people present were all important officials of the Qin State, and they all had their own connections, rights, and influence. They all secretly learned more or less about the rumored bamboo slips.
Therefore, they can understand Ying Zheng and know how talented the old man is.
However, this does not mean that they really hope that the old man will appear in Qin State and really appear in Qin State temple one day.
For all of them, they are now important ministers of the Qin State. Under Ying Zheng alone, both the power in the Qin State's court and the military power in the camp outside the court are already in their hands. No one wants anything to happen to Qin again.
For this reason, they supported Ying Zheng, supported Ying Zheng in attacking other vassal states, and participated one after another.
Everyone hopes that just as Ying Zheng's bloodline will inherit Ying Zheng's position, when they grow old, their children, grandchildren and even family members will successively enter the Qin temple to take their place, and the cycle will continue until the future. For generations.
Such as Meng's Meng Ao, Meng Wu, Meng Tian, such as Li's Li Chong, Li Yao, Li Xin...
"Your Majesty, if Qi State sends troops, General Bai Yan may have some changes. What's more, I am even more worried that once Qi State sends troops, Chu State will definitely take the opportunity to launch an attack. When the time comes, Qi, Wei, and Chu will allied to fight against Qin. Qin may not be able to conquer any country for a while."
Wang Wan frowned and looked at the map for a while, then turned sideways to Ying Zheng and said with her hands raised.
After hearing Wang Wan's words, Lord Changwen pondered for a moment. After thinking about it, he also raised his hand and looked at Ying Zheng.
"Your Majesty, the most urgent task at the moment is to send envoys to Qi State as soon as possible to appease the King of Qi!"
Chang Wenjun suggested.
When Wei Zhuang heard Chang Wenjun's words, he frowned slightly inadvertently. After looking at Chang Wenjun, he fell silent.
"Who do you think is the right person to send envoys to Qi?"
After Ying Zheng thought for a while, he glanced at everyone.
"Your Majesty, Si Meng is willing to go to Qi as an envoy! Previously, Si Meng was taught by his mentor Xunzi. He traveled to Qi several times and got to know many famous people. If Si Meng goes to Qi as an envoy, he will definitely be able to lobby the famous people and persuade the King of Qi."
Li Si replied, bowing and saluting Ying Zheng.
When Chang Wenjun heard Li Si's words, he looked at Li Si inadvertently, and then raised his hand in salute to Ying Zheng.
"Your Majesty, I believe that Lord Li Si is a court lieutenant. Now there are turmoils in Yingchuan, Handan and Julu counties, and many matters need to be decided by the court lieutenant Li Si."
Chang Wenjun stated with reason and evidence.
Li Si saluted with both hands. Hearing Chang Wenjun's words, Li Si suddenly
His pupils shrank, his eyes widened, and his breathing became somewhat disordered. This all showed that Li Si was already a little panicked.
"Kings......"
Li Si still wanted to refute, but the words were on his lips, but he could not continue. Changwenjun's reason was too good. After the previous attack on Han and Zhao, apart from Yanmen County, which Bai Yan had governed, other counties Regional governance has always been a big problem, and there are too many cases involving Qinlu to be counted. In many cases, even officials at the county level cannot make the decision and can only write to the Xianyang Tingwei Mansion for a decision.
In the study room.
Chang Wenjun saw that Li Si did not continue speaking. After waiting for a few breaths, he looked at Ying Zheng.
"Your Majesty, attacking the Wei State is a major national event. It concerns Qi, Wei, and Chu. Now that the Qi State is in turmoil, we must be careful!"
After Chang Wenjun said this, he took a deep breath, lowered his head and said in ceremony.
"Your Majesty, the State of Qin has left and right prime ministers. I think this is a sign of benevolence and trust, so I should send one of them to the State of Qi as an envoy to represent my king and appease the King of Qi!"
After Chang Wenjun finished speaking, he bent down deeply again.
Changwenjun's words made Wang Jian, Wei Liao, Wang Wan and others fall silent. Changwenjun had made his words so clear that everyone present knew that Changwenjun wanted to take this opportunity to let Changpingjun return to Xianyang again, and Changwenjun It is difficult for anyone to refute your reasons.
"Your Majesty, what Lord Changwen said makes sense. Since I am the Prime Minister of Qin, I should go to Qi as an envoy no matter what!"
Wei Zhuang stood up and saluted Ying Zheng.
Wei Zhuang understands Chang Wenjun's thoughts, but Wei Zhuang understands Ying Zheng's thoughts better. When he, the left prime minister, goes to Qi State, whether it is Ying Zheng or Li Si, at least he still has time or can find an excuse to let Changping Jun continue to stay in Ying. Sichuan, however, once Lord Changping goes to Qi as an envoy, Lord Changping will definitely return to Xianyang as an envoy in the future.
Not to mention, Lord Changping is an official of the Chu clan. In this current situation, how could it be possible for Lord Changping to serve as an envoy of the State of Qin on a mission to the State of Qi.
If Wei Zhuang didn't understand this, he, the prime minister, would have been removed by Ying Zheng long ago.
"good!"
Ying Zheng nodded and was about to speak. Suddenly, outside the study, a eunuch hurried to the door of the study. He said a few words to Han Yezhe, and then handed a scroll of bamboo slips to Han Yezhe. Han Yezhe turned around. Come to the study and walk up to Ying Zheng.
"Your Majesty, this is a secret message sent by General Bai who sent people to attack day and night!"
Han Yezhe held the bamboo slips in both hands and said.
Hearing that it was the bamboo slips sent by Bai Yan's order, everyone in the study looked over. Everyone knew that if it was correct, Bai Yan should have been attacking Wei State. But now that the bamboo slips were sent, he still ordered people to work day and night. Rushing, I'm afraid something unexpected happened.
Ying Zheng took the bamboo slip from Han Yezhe and frowned slightly. Today, Ying Zheng has not received any good news since he went to court until now. This sudden secret message makes Ying Zheng worried. It is another bad news.
After all, it was he who won the government this time. Regardless of the opposition of the civil and military officials in the court, he directly ordered Bai Yan to attack Wei.
Sigh deeply.
Ying Zheng, who was already in a gloomy mood, opened the bamboo slips and looked at them. However, as he looked at them, Ying Zheng's expression gradually became serious. He looked at the bamboo slips, and then quickly looked at the location of the Wei State beams on the map. He repeated this several times. His breathing gradually became short and full of excitement, and his expression showed a rare smile today.
Li Si, Wei Liao and others looked at each other when they saw Ying Zheng's expression.
Upon seeing this, Li Xin and Changping Jun also vaguely guessed that Bai Yan must have brought some good news, which made Ying Zheng so excited, and even a rare smile appeared on his cheeks.
"Um?"
Ying Zheng suddenly murmured in confusion. When he saw the back, he suddenly laughed heartily twice and put away the bamboo slips. The gloomy look on his face had long since disappeared.
"Your Majesty, is General Bai Yan reporting good news from Wei?"
When Wang Wan saw Ying Zheng staring at the map, he curiously asked.
Li Si, Wei Liao, Wei Zhuang and others also looked at Ying Zheng one after another. However, just as
Just when everyone thought Ying Zheng would nod, under everyone's gaze, Ying Zheng shook his head.
"Bai Yan did not attack Wei, but kept troops stationed in Licheng! This letter is a request for grain reinforcements."
Ying Zheng said with a smile.
Ying Zheng's words made Wang Jian and others frown, and now their minds were filled with confusion as to why Ying Zheng was laughing since it was not a good news.
Moreover, Bai Yan garrisoned Licheng and instead of attacking Wei State, he continued to ask for grain and millet. This made everyone even more puzzled as to why Ying Zheng's expression was not only not angry, but also looked very pleased.
finally.
In the eyes of Wang Jian, Chang Wenjun, Li Xin, Li Si and others, Ying Zheng took the bamboo slip and pointed to the location of the map beam.
"Bai Yan plans to encircle Daliang this time, but instead of attacking, he will dig up the water of Zhuhe River and Chasm, and flood Daliang City!"
Ying Zheng said to everyone.
Looking at the position of the beam in the distance, Ying Zheng was filled with excitement. Bai Yan had indeed lived up to his trust as always.
"Water flooded the beam?"
"Bai Yan plans to flood the beam?"
Hearing Ying Zheng's words, not to mention Li Xin and Meng Yi who were in the distance looked shocked, even Wang Jian, Chang Wenjun, Li Si and others were no better at the moment. No one expected that Bai Yan actually planned to attack with water. Directly tap the water of Zhuhe River and Honggou to destroy Daliang City.
So Ying Zheng mentioned Bai Yan's request just now. The grain and millet must have been not intended for the Qin army from the beginning, but for the people in Daliang City of Wei.
Each of the Qin ministers looked at each other with surprised expressions.
"Bai Qi! Yancheng!"
Wang Jian suddenly took a deep breath and sighed.
Li Si, Chang Wenjun and others were stunned for a moment when they heard this, and then immediately remembered that when Bai Qi attacked Chu State, he had also used water attack to directly flood Yan City. Unexpectedly, after so many years, after that, People actually wanted to use the same method to capture the capital of Wei State, Daliang!
Chang Wenjun looked at Wang Jian and immediately stepped forward to salute Ying Zheng.
"Kings!"
Chang Wenjun said: "Looking at the past when Baiqi flooded the city of Yan, causing more than 100,000 casualties and casualties among the people and soldiers of the Chu state, and countless homeless people, it is still unforgettable for the people of Chu. I think that this is not the case for the Wei state. , or you can let General Bai Yan send troops to attack Daliang first. If you can't take it for a long time, then do this again! If you can capture Daliang, you can stop the world from talking."
After Chang Wenjun gave his advice, he looked at Ying Zheng nervously.
Wei Zhuang stood aside and glanced at Chang Wenjun with a flat face, sneering in his heart. He didn't expect that karma would come so quickly.
"Your Majesty, there are now more than 100,000 soldiers in Daliang City, and the grain and grass stocks are all prepared by the country. General Bai Yan was able to capture Daliang without a single blow. It is a blessing for Qin, a blessing for the soldiers, and a blessing for the people of Qin... ...."
Wei Xiang said while cupping his hands. After saying that, he turned his head to look at Chang Wenjun, making eye contact with Chang Wenjun. Then he looked back at Ying Zheng and continued to cup his hands.
"The attack on the city will cause tens of thousands of casualties. Don't sacrifice the people of Wei. The cold will hurt the people of Qin. What's more, General Bai Yan's letter is presented to the king, asking him to favor the people of Wei and provide food and grass without any heirs. Bai Yan General Yan has such intentions, so he must have used water attacks in a measured manner."
After Wei Zhuang finished speaking, he put down his hand and no longer looked at Chang Wenjun beside him.
Chang Wenjun has great prestige in the court, and his achievements are no less than anyone else. Therefore, even Li Si, Wang Wan and others are generally not able to directly refute Chang Wenjun, but Wei Zhuang is the left prime minister of Qin State, regardless of Both identity and position can be refuted.
Wei Zhuang couldn't help but laugh in his heart when he thought of Chang Wenjun's actions just now.
Lord Changwen tried every possible means to get Lord Changping to return to Xianyang. Although he was forced to go to Qi State, with the arrival of Bai Yan's secret letter, Lord Changping would not even think about returning to Xianyang within a few years.
Thinking of this, Wei Zhuang couldn't help but feel happy that Bai Yan's secret letter came in time. No wonder the king was so happy. Not only did he propose a way to destroy Wei without bloodshed, he even inadvertently helped Ying Zheng stop it easily. Changpingjun returns
Xianyang.
"Kings!"
Chang Wenjun looked a little embarrassed, but he was still not too panicked. After Wei finished speaking, he saluted Ying Zheng.
However, before Chang Wenjun could speak, Ying Zheng raised his hand.
"This time Bai Yan plans to flood Daliang, but he also has another plan to take advantage of the situation and attack the east of Chu State, where Chu and Qi meet."
Ying Zheng said.
Even Ying Zheng was a little frightened after learning about Bai Yan's plan. Who would have thought that before Bai Yan led the army, all the civil and military officials in the court and everyone in Xianyang City were speculating and guessing. Whether Bai Yan can successfully capture Wei Daliang, and if so, will it take half a year, a year, or even longer.
Who knows the outcome. Bai Yan, who has been speculated and questioned all the time, is already planning secretly. After destroying Wei, he immediately leads his cavalry and goes straight to the border between Qi and Chu to fight with the army commanded by Mengwu in central Guizhou and the army commanded by King Ben of Jiaocheng. , forming an encirclement trend.
It seems that from the beginning, Bai Yan was not worried about whether he could destroy Wei. In other words, Bai Yan's purpose was not just to destroy Wei from the beginning.
Ying Zheng couldn't help but sigh when he thought about this. Bai Yan always seemed to bring him unexpected joy, whether it was from knowing Bai Yan's name at the beginning, to commanding the cavalry later, to going to the county Gao Nu...
"What?"
"Chu State!!!"
If Li Si, Wei Zhuang, Wang Wan, Wang Jian and others were secretly surprised when they first learned that Bai Yan was planning to flood the beams, then when they heard Ying Zheng's words, they showed completely confused expressions.
Looking at the map again, according to Bai Yan's plan, everyone now understood how big Bai Yan's appetite was! ! !
How great is this, Bai Yan actually planned to attack Chu directly together with the destruction of Wei. I am afraid that Bai Yan is the only one in the entire Qin State who dares to have such an idea.
"this......"
Li Xin was also a little confused at this moment. Li Xin, who used to pride himself on being brave, was completely dumbfounded after learning Bai Yan's purpose.
Li Xin just imagines that if he were to lead the army this time, he would definitely besiege Daliang. With a heavy reward, he let the soldiers capture Daliang City. It turned out that Bai Yan's water attack had caught Li Xin off guard. However, Li Xin could not help it no matter what. Unexpectedly, Bai Yan actually planned to attack Chu directly after destroying Wei.
This is to prepare to destroy one vassal state and then immediately attack the next vassal state! ! !
"Your Majesty, General Bai Yan is planning to annex the Chu State's heavily garrisoned area! Qi and Chu are handing over. Both Chu and Qi have dozens of cities, and the big cities are all heavily guarded. One move can affect the whole body. If General Bai Yan attacks Chu, I'm afraid Qi will also react."
Wang Jian still looked at the map with shocked eyes. As a general of the Qin State, Wang Jian was shocked by Bai Yan's actions. Qi and Chu bordered, and both countries had heavy troops. Bai Yan rashly attacked one country, but if the other country had few If there is any abnormal movement, an encirclement will be formed.
Logically speaking, Bai Yan, who could think of flooding the beams, would never think of this dangerous situation.
"Indeed, Qi is already in turmoil now. If General Bai Yan is eager to attack Chu, he may be cut off from his retreat if he is not careful!"
Li Si also spoke up at this time.
Now that Li Si had learned that Bai Yan planned to flood the beams, he no longer had to worry about Lord Changping. Therefore, Li Si did not agree with Bai Yan's attack on Chu. It was too risky.
Wang Jian, Li Si, and even Chang Wenjun all turned their attention to Ying Zheng, hoping that Ying Zheng would make Bai Yan withdraw his intention. He could just focus on destroying Wei this time, and there would be no need for many misfortunes to take risks and attack Chu.
However, what Wei Zhuang, Chang Wenjun and others did not expect was that when Ying Zheng heard what Wang Jian and Li Si said, he didn't seem too worried.
"It doesn't matter, I believe in Bai Yan!"
Ying Zheng looked at the map and after thinking for a long time, he said softly.
.....................
"quick!"
"Move quickly!!!"
In the wild not far from Zhaiyang, there are dense crowds of men, holding wooden tools or some bamboo weavings, digging and lifting soil. Every man is in ragged clothes, sweaty, and with holes all over his body.
The clothes and the mud made her weak and crumbling from time to time.
However, whenever a man took a break, Qin officials and soldiers armed with long swords and thick whips would come over and beat the stopped men hard.
Among them was a middle-aged man with a fat complexion who was whipped several times in a row. There were marks of whipping all over his clothes, and the faint scars were clearly visible.
This man is Bai Yan's uncle.
But what is surprising is that there is no tattoo on the uncle's pale face. Apparently for some unknown reason, the uncle has not been tattooed.
"quick!"
The uncle was digging the soil with his weak hands full of pain. Whenever his head was dizzy, the panic in his heart made him dare not take a break.
not far away.
An exquisite carriage slowly passed by. The uncle glanced at it, full of longing, imagining that he could follow the carriage and leave, thinking about the free days he once had.
However, the angry scolding came from behind, and the severe pain of being whipped made the uncle quickly come to his senses, lowered his head, and continued digging in the soil, not daring to be distracted at all. Looking at his hands full of scars, the uncle wanted to cry. I couldn't cry. Tears of regret had already flowed countless times in my red and swollen eyes.
"That carriage seems to belong to Wei!"
Two watchmen holding thick whips stood next to a Qin soldier, looking at the carriage in the distance and discussing.
"Indeed, it seems we are going to Licheng!"
Qin Zu nodded, and then stopped paying attention to the carriage. He turned his eyes to the densely packed prisoners in front of him. Whenever he saw the criminal moving slowly, a look of anger would appear in his eyes.
not far away.
The small window on the carriage was gently opened. Looking from the window, it was shocking to find that the person riding in the carriage was the corpse of Daliang.
At this moment, feeling the constant shaking of the carriage, looking at the corpse weir in the carriage, he saw a large area in the distance, densely packed with people digging in the soil, and he immediately guessed something, and his face turned pale!
"It's over, Wei is over!"
Xi Yan stared blankly at the scene outside the carriage. Thinking of Daliang City, his eyes were filled with fear and his heart was filled with despair.
