The 81st round: The army of Jicheng infiltrates the capital of Ye.
Jicheng, Zhao State
Deng Huan joined the army Lu Bo early and led Anle's army into Jicheng. As soon as he arrived at the city gate, he saw Wang Wu, the governor of Youzhou, waiting here. When Deng Huan saw him, he felt as if he was surviving a disaster, so he dismounted and hurried away.
, held him tightly and said with emotion: "I didn't expect to see my old friend again today."
Wang Wu's face turned a little heavy and he said: "This is not the place for conversation. General, please come to my house for a while. Please."
During the banquet, Deng Huan raised his glass to congratulate Wang Wu and his younger brother Wang Tuo who were sitting there. Mu Jian, who had stayed behind before, said: "Today, our Zhao Kingdom relies on Jicheng for its northern border. Since I entered Jicheng,
Seeing that its walls are high and its soldiers are all ready, we should gather the strength of our two armies and work together to attack the Yan army under this Ji city and promote the power of our Zhao army."
"Come." Deng Heng just raised the wine in his glass and toasted to everyone sitting here, "The general is incompetent. I am willing to be the vanguard of our army and protect our Zhao territory."
Wang Wu looked at Deng Huan and the others, and smiled bitterly: "Come on, let's drink General Deng's glass of wine first."
After everyone finished drinking, Wang Wu sent someone to give the Yecheng letter to Deng Heng. Deng Heng only read it in a hurry, slapped the case and stood up, exclaiming: "Master Wang, go, this, this, how could Yecheng be like this?"
Call for orders."
"General Deng, I only received the order yesterday. Emperor Zhao wants to mobilize my troops from Jicheng to go south. This important northern town will be almost empty without your Anle army."
Deng Heng sighed and said: "Emperor Zhao, how could Emperor Zhao be so confused? Once the gate of Jicheng is lost and the door is opened, our Zhao country will be in ruins."
Wang Wu looked at Mu Jian who was sitting aside. Mu Jian understood and stepped forward and said: "The former Shi Chong led the army south, but the expedition failed. Shi Min killed all my Youzhou army. Now, alas." Mu Jian sighed.
He said in one breath, "The soldiers in Yecheng are all Shi Min's subordinates. Only the soldiers in Youzhou are old relatives and friends of the soldiers I killed earlier, so Emperor Zhao wants to send troops to the capital."
Wang Tuo also sighed: "Thinking about Shi Hu's great reputation in his lifetime, but now his unworthy descendants are so unbearable that they look up to others. The king and his ministers care about each other and don't know where to go. When they are appointed officials and make wishes to appease the powerful ministers, there is no one around them who can be entrusted to them."
How sad.”
Wang Wu said: "Now the people of the Shi family in Ye City, such as the army leader Shi Cheng, the servant Shi Qi, the former Hedong governor Shi Hui and others have sent me secret letters, agreeing to lend him soldiers from Youzhou, and your majesty has also summoned them to me.
He was not afraid of being promoted to an official position, and he also threatened that if he did not mobilize his troops to go south, his relatives in Yecheng would almost become hostages. Among the Zhao army, General Longxiang Sun Fudu, Liu Zhu and others were also ready to make a move. Deng Heng, such a leader in Jicheng
There is no turning around the matter."
Deng Heng sighed: "It is true that God has destroyed our country Zhao."
During the banquet, a sergeant suddenly came to report. Wang Wu hurriedly glanced at it. With a solemn expression, he looked at the soldiers.
"The Yan army has completely destroyed our Lulong fortress and the Wenzhou fortress, and the northern barrier has been lost. The three armies of the Yan army have converged and have taken over our peaceful and Peiping land. They are now resting in these two places. The forward Murong Ba army has regrouped.
Set off and soon we will arrive at my endless land, only a few days away from Jicheng."
Everyone circulated the military report and looked grim.
Deng Heng said doubtfully: "The Yan army's war horses are unparalleled in the world, but the speed of the advance this time is terrifying..."
Mu Jian smiled bitterly, "The people's hearts and destiny are not in our Zhao country. Now that the Zhao country is declining, there are many people who have left their fields and fled their country. The people of Youzhou have long been thinking about Yan."
Wang Wu's younger brother Wang Tuo said: "I heard someone from Yecheng said that Murong Ba's wife, Duan, is now in the middle of the capital of Zhao. Duan Qin and his son, Duan's old friend, are going to Jiangmu, and Duan Kwan is running away to Guanggu. I'm afraid something might happen."
?”
"Guanggu?" Deng Heng was thinking, and suddenly said in surprise: "But Guanggu, Qingzhou?"
"This is where it should be?!"
"The generals are still relatively young in the army, so they don't know that the vast and solid land has never been "solid"."
Everyone was puzzled and asked: "But why?"
"When Shi Hu, the late emperor of the State of Zhao, was still Duke Zhongshan, he led 40,000 infantry and cavalry to attack Cao Yi, the general of Anton. Many counties and counties in Qingzhou surrendered, but only one fortified city remained, Guanggu. Shi Hu managed to conquer it after many days.
When Cao Yi surrendered, he was sent to Xiang State to be killed, and 20,000 of its people were killed. Only 700 men and women were left. At that time, Duan Bu’s move was thought to be using the people of Guanggu to rebel against our Zhao State."
Deng Heng's general Lu Bozao said: "If Duan betrays me, he will definitely collude with the Yan army. Murong Ba's wife is an old friend of the Duan family and should be regarded as a foreign aid."
"With the current situation, our Zhao army is no longer able to defend it. The kingdom of Zhao has been taken advantage of by these alien tribes with double-minded intentions. I hate that our emperor cannot kill all the Duan clan members."
Wang Wu said: "It's not just the Duan tribe. Now all the heroes from the four seas of the Zhao Kingdom have joined together, and the four barbarians are the lords. Yao Yizhong, Pu Hong and Shi Zhi have occupied the Xiang Kingdom. Our Zhao Kingdom is already in chaos. Who cares about Youzhou?"
thing."
"In this case, send these thousands of soldiers south, and let the others fulfill An Tian's fate."
It was dark at night, and the guards were patrolling above the Zhongyang Gate tower at the main gate of Ye City. I saw a group of pedestrians approaching under the city wall. The guards above the city wall were extremely alert and shouted: "Who is down there? What are you doing here late at night?"
The leading man in front, wearing torn clothes and a dusty face, said loudly: "We are refugees from Youzhou. Because the Yan army went south, we all lost our homes and had no choice but to come to Yecheng to seek refuge with relatives and friends.
I hope it’s convenient for you, sir.”
A guard muttered: "Sir, there have been a lot of people coming from the north recently."
The city gate officer called to the guard, "Go down and check to see if there are any weapons or armor."
"yes."
About the time it took for a stick of incense to stick, the guard went upstairs to report back: "I didn't see him carrying any weapons."
The city gate shouted to the guarding sergeant: "Let it go."
"As commanded."
A person next to him asked in confusion: "Sir, there are many refugees from all over the world entering Yecheng. Are there any omissions if they only check if they are not carrying weapons or armor?"
The city gate order said: "You still don't know, isn't our General Shi trying to win people's hearts?" He said: All the people of all ethnic groups are our subjects of the Zhao Kingdom. Nowadays, there are constant wars in the four borders. If there is a glimmer of hope, we should still let others.
A way out."
"How to survive?" an elderly sergeant said with a smile, "Since ancient times, Hu and Han have been at odds with each other. The Han people in Zhao State have become as powerful as we are today thanks to the swords and arrows of our old brothers. I think back then we, the Han people, were weak.
At that time, we could only build a fort and defend ourselves. Fortunately, General Shi Min's army made our Han soldiers and civilians work hard and become self-reliant."
While they were talking, someone saw the patrolling general approaching and hurriedly said: "It's gone, it's gone."
After entering the city, the group of refugees went straight to the depths of Yecheng, crossed several intersections, and headed for a remote residence.
The "refugees" stopped in front of a mansion with broken windows and crumbling walls and crooked floors. The leader of the group gently knocked on the door a few times. Not long after, a man came out of the room and asked, "Who are you looking for?"
?”
"Please tell me inside that there is an old friend from Youzhou coming."
"Everyone, wait a moment."
After a while, the doorman opened the door and invited those people to enter.
At this time, Xiao Zuo, who was hiding in a dilapidated store opposite, had an insight into everything here.
"Quick, report to Mr. Wei quickly."
"yes."
A dark shadow flashed from behind the house and disappeared into the night street.
The abandoned courtyard here looked ordinary from the outside. The "refugee" from Youzhou followed the man through three halls, walked through two or three side doors, and passed through a secret door. But inside he saw that there was a strange place.
The open space can accommodate thousands of people. The people nearby are forging iron and making stoves. Iron stars are everywhere, and they are building weapons overnight.
In the center of the courtyard, a man came out to greet him and hurriedly invited the "refugee" leader to gather in the main hall.
In the main hall, only three people were seen sitting in rows.
The man entered the hall, cupped his hands and said, "Subordinate, I have been ordered by the prefect to report here."
A person next to me hurriedly said: "Come, sit down quickly and serve tea."
Then he turned to the two people and said, "Finally the last group of people have arrived. Now we just have to wait until the time is right to accomplish the task in one fell swoop."
The man in the middle said: "Shi Cheng, Shi Hui, our Shi clan has reached this point. If we don't work hard, we may fall into the hands of foreigners."
The leader of the army, Shi Cheng, said to Shi Qi in the hall: "Servant Shi, your Majesty Shi Jian is now weak and incompetent. In the last palace change, in order to save Gou's life, he actually killed his younger brother Shi Bao, King of Leping, to appease Shi Min's wrath. These descendants are not worthy of the throne."
Respecting the ninety-five, I asked Shi Shizhong to choose a worthy master to live in it."
"Shi Cheng, it's too early to discuss the throne now. Now that the barbarians and barbarians are all watching, our country of Zhao can no longer withstand the torment. I think it won't be too late to choose a virtuous person after the success is achieved."
Shi Hui, the former governor of Hedong, also said: "Now Shi Jian's summons cannot leave the palace, and all the people in Yecheng are Shi Min's gang members. With him or without him, there is no difference."
"Haha." Everyone laughed.
"My dear ministers, I finally have something to say, but I don't know whether to say it or not."
Shi Qi said: "There are no outsiders here, but it doesn't matter."
"My lords, I know that the situation inside Yecheng is tense now. However, the border in Youzhou is also tight. The Yan army is now in Anle. If Jicheng is just a stone's throw away, if Jicheng is lost, the gate to the north will be opened.
Such a situation is difficult to predict."
The leader of the army, Shi Cheng, had fought against the Yan army before when he was General Zhenyuan. He knew that what the man said was true, so he also told the two people present: "What this man said is also true. The Yan army has always had the intention to go south. This year,
We are even more strenuous with our troops and horses, and we are gathering food and grass. I am afraid that this trip south may not be caused by ringworm or scabies, so we are very careful."
But Shi Qi didn't take it seriously, "The Jin army and the Liangzhou army were all looking at each other with eager eyes, but they were all repelled by our Zhao army. I think this time, the central leader is too worried."
Shi Cheng was worried, "The kings and ministers of the Yan State are not ignorant people after all. I think this Jicheng is their first step." Then he looked at the visitor and said, "After all, the invasion of the Yan State is a distant worry.
However, the calamity of the elbow and armpit is imminent, and now the city of Ye is full of Shi Min's soldiers and horses. We can no longer trust the soldiers of Ye city, so we have no choice but to lead you into Ye. You can rest for a few days, you will be of great use.
We should eliminate Shi Min's troubles in these days."
"Since your Excellency has said this, I will naturally accept your order."
While he was talking, the doorman from the front suddenly rushed in and said to everyone: "My lords, please retreat quickly. The patrolling sergeant in front knocked on the door and I helped him pass. But I don't think those people did it unintentionally.
This place is secluded and dilapidated. It has been desolate and inhabited for a long time. I am afraid that this place has been discovered by the Han people, so I ask everyone to move quickly."
Shi Hui said to the others: "What this person said is very reasonable. Now that something is about to happen, we should not leak anything. I want to move quickly tonight."
The disciple said: "Longxiang General Sun Fudu and Liu Zhu are still in office. It will not be difficult to use their positions to find another place to stay."
Everyone also felt that it was very reasonable. That night, all the craftsmen and soldiers in the mansion moved away.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he left, the dilapidated courtyard was surrounded by people from Shi Min's mansion. "Bang" the door of the courtyard was opened by a sergeant.
The leading general said: "Let me search carefully."
"yes."
After a while, the searching sergeant reported back, "General, there is no one in the middle courtyard. Did you arrest the wrong person?"
"What?" The leading general couldn't believe his ears, so he rushed into the mansion and inspected it, but found no one there.
The general walked around the courtyard, only to reach a dark corner of the backyard. He immediately ordered someone to bring a basin of water, and there was a "sizzling" sound, and bursts of water vapor came out.
The man said to himself: "The nose is alive after all. Let's see how long you can hide." He said to the people around him: "Retract the troops and return to camp."
General's Mansion in Yecheng
"General, tonight I ordered the sergeant to raid an abandoned courtyard. All the people inside fled. The fire was still hot when the sergeant entered. I feel that there must be a big conspiracy in Ye City. I implore the general to increase the number of guards in the near future to prevent
It's unexpected." Guanglu doctor Wei Jian added.
"Dr. Wei, are you exaggerating? Now I have despised all the Hu generals. Most of the city defense and palace guards in Yecheng are our people. The Shijian Emperor's throne is only in vain, so why should I worry?"
"General, I just feel that Yecheng is still not at peace. The general still has some benevolence towards Jiehu, so I might make a big mistake."
Shi Min just sighed and said: "There is nothing we can do. The Shi family has been in the country for a long time, and it is normal for there to be some barbarians in the capital. We just need to grasp the key points."
In this case, Wei Huan only said: "Since this is the case, I only hope that the general can take care of his life and his body. The Han people rely on the general."
Finally, those people found a new place to stay under the guidance of General Longxiang Sun Fudu, Liu Zhu and others.
Shi Qi let out a long sigh, "Fortunately, be careful. If you are a step too late, we will all be captured by the Han army."
Sun Fudu said: "Attendant Shi, Shi Min is bullying our Jie clan more and more. Today, Shi Min united with Zhongshu Superintendent Lu Zhan, Shangshu Zuopushe Liu Xian and others to report that the military situation in Youzhou is tight, and they intend to attack us.
The people in the camp lined up at Jicheng to fight against the Yan army."
Liu Zhu also said: "Now they have another excuse. Shi Zhi of Xiang State wants to rebel. Most of the people in my camp are old defenders of Xiang State and want to lead troops out. Shi Min's desire to belittle my people is getting worse."
Shi Cheng saw that everyone was deeply resentful of Shi Min, so he said from the side, "Shi Min is monitoring us more and more closely every day. If we delay it any longer, the plan may be leaked and Shi Min will catch us all."
Shi Qi asked: "Shi Hui, what's the attitude of His Majesty Shi Jian? Without His Majesty's approval, we will have a lot of inconvenience in our actions, and if we don't do what we say, our words will not go smoothly..."
Before Shi Qi finished speaking, Sun Fudu interrupted him and said, "The words of the servant are very pedantic. This stone mirror is just a decoration now. Why do we need his orders for important things?"
Liu Zhu also said: "Shi Bao Yin's lesson is not far away, so you should be on guard against our Majesty."
Shi Qi just sighed, "That's fine, as long as Shi Jian doesn't cause any trouble, but now Shi Jian is concerned about his own safety. Except for his appearance in the Taiwu Hall, the rest of them are playing around in the inner garden of the harem. He cherishes himself."
If he is not close to him, he may not know his whereabouts. The imperial palace in Yecheng is so big that if we don't know where Shi Jian is on the day of the incident and send troops to control him, something bad may happen."
At this time, Shi Hui on the side smiled slyly and said, "When it comes to the people around Shi Jian, I know one person."
"who?"
"Yang Huan, the Palace Controller."
Shi Qi hurriedly said: "No, no, this person is greedy for money and cowardly, and you should not conspire with him. Shi Bao was made a scapegoat by his advice. This person framed the blame, added insult to injury, and was unforgiving. He is a complete villain."
Shi Hui argued: "A gentleman values righteousness, and a villain values profit. If there is a profit ten times or a hundred times, it can be used by me. It just depends on the price."
Shi Cheng said: "Since ancient times, the crowing of cocks and dogs and thieves have been a big deal. Now we are so urgent that we can no longer take care of that much."
While everyone was discussing, a servant from outside hurriedly came in and said: "My lords, there are soldiers running on the roads in Yecheng, and the whole city is under curfew. It seems that the arrest of our Jie clan will be within these few days."
Shi Cheng said to everyone, "Now the arrow is on the string and it has to be fired. We have already conquered the Youzhou army and the Zhongjie soldiers who are guarding the capital. There are still more than 3,000 soldiers, although the number is still small compared with Shi Min's army."
, but soldiers are more valuable than more. If we concentrate our forces and strike bravely, we will be able to accomplish something in one fell swoop."
"My brother's words are also mine, but this Yang Huan..."
Seeing that everyone had this intention, Sun Fudu hurriedly stepped forward and said: "The Longteng guards in the palace are still members of our Jie tribe. I will make friends with them at the end. As an expedient, I can capture Yang Huan and hand him over to everyone.