After a while, Zhao Hongrun called the accompanying East Palace Guards and ordered them to take Han Lihou Han Wu to a side room in the city gate building and keep him under careful guard. They also took the opportunity to check on the injuries of the most powerful nobleman in Korea.
After all, according to Wu Ji, when he captured Lihou Hanwu alive, he hit the latter's ribs hard with the end of his gun. Judging from the sound at that time, he most likely broke several of Lihou Hanwu's ribs.
Zhao Hongrun was very tolerant towards prisoners, of course, especially high-quality and valuable prisoners like Lihou Hanwu.
Seeing Li Hou Han Wu walking towards the side room of the city gate tower with an indifferent expression at the urging of several East Palace guards, Zong Wei Chief Lu Mu asked curiously: "Your Highness, do you plan to deal with this Han Wu?"
Perhaps it was because of the fact that he had captured Lihou Hanwu, the supreme commander of the Korean army, alive. Even though the war in Julu City was still going on at the moment, and they were inseparable from each other, Zhao Hongrun was not anxious at all. Compared to half Hours ago, I felt much more relaxed.
"This Han Wu..."
After pondering for a while, Zhao Hongrun said in a deep voice: "Let's take custody of him first. We won't need him for the time being..."
After hearing this, the concubine Zhao Que asked puzzledly: "Isn't your highness going to use this Hanwu to blackmail the Korean army?"
"Huh?" Zhao Hongrun turned to look at Zhao Que, who was sitting next to him.
Seeing that Zhao Hongrun didn't look angry, Zhao Que said bluntly: "In my opinion, if Your Highness pushed Han Wu up the tower and let the attacking Han soldiers see it, the Han soldiers might surrender immediately and withdraw their troops. , negotiate with us.”
"Hahaha." Zhao Hongrun smiled when he heard this. After nodding slightly, he said frankly: "I have thought about this just now, but I am afraid that something will happen to Han Wu..."
"Mistake?" Zhao Que blinked in confusion.
Zhao Hongrun tapped his fingers on the table in front of him and said calmly: "If I were the Han general on the opposite side and saw Lihou Han Wu being captured by the Wei army, I would ask my confidants to kill him with an arrow."
"..." Zhao Que looked surprised and subconsciously covered his mouth with his little hand.
On the side, Zongwei Chief Lu Mu and Shang Shui Army General Wu Ji stretched out their hands to scratch their heads, while the other looked up at the pillars in the building, pretending they did not hear these words.
After all, if Zhao Hongrun's words are carefully studied, the problem is very big and it is likely to have a negative impact.
"Why?" Zhao Que asked in surprise.
Zhao Hongrun smiled slightly and did not explain.
In fact, the reason is very simple, because neither South Korea nor Wei can afford to lose this war. Especially when the war continues to the current stage, big nobles such as Lihou Hanwu who hold power in Korean temples are actually defeated by the Wei army. Captured alive, if Zhao Hongrun was a Korean general and loyal to South Korea, he would definitely find ways to shoot Lihou Han Wu - should he sit back and watch such a big man be controlled by the Wei army, and in turn threaten him with the Han army?
It would be better to take the opportunity to shoot and kill Quan Danglihou Han Wu on the battlefield, and the whole thing will be over.
To be honest, it is not that Zhao Hongrun has done similar things. For example, when he first went to war, Xiong Tuo, the Lord of Yangcheng, used Zhaoling County Magistrate Chen Bing and a dozen other local officials to blackmail him into trading with Lord Pingyu. When Xiong Hu attacked Xiong Hu, Zhao Hongrun ordered his soldiers to fire arrows and shoot Chen Bing and more than a dozen people to death. He continued to use Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu to threaten Xiong Tuo, so that Yangcheng Lord Xiong Tuo always used rat weapons when attacking, creating favorable conditions for the Wei army. .
Therefore, although Zhao Hongrun deliberately pushed Lihou Hanwu to the city wall and used him to blackmail the Korean army and make the Korean army retreat, he was really worried that there would be a general in the Korean army who would 'imitate' him. Although the possibility was very small, in the event that the Korean army was attacked What if a daring guy really appeared and shot Han Wu, the Marquis of Li, to death with one arrow?
The value of a dead Lihou Hanwu is definitely far less than when he was alive.
More importantly, if Li Hou Han Wu dies, Zhao Hongrun, or the Wei State he represents, is not the party that benefits the most from it. Who benefits the most?
It’s Han Wangran!
This young king, who was rumored to be a mediocrity and a puppet by the outside world, was not impatient and impatient when the royal power fell. He spent several years raising birds in the palace to make his ambition clear, and deliberately let Li Hou Han Wu, Kang Gong Han Hu, and Zhuang Gong Han Geng and others looked down upon him. If such a figure were caught by him, his threat to Wei would be far greater than that of Han Wu, Han Hu and others.
Zhao Hongrun believed that once Lihou Hanwu died in the battle of Julu, when the news reached Handan, Han Wangran, who had been hiding his power for several years, would definitely take action. For example, he would take the opportunity to avenge his sworn brother Lihou Hanwu and win over Hanwu and his family. General, take the opportunity to seize power or something.
Why should he, Zhao Hongrun, give Han Wangran his efforts in vain?
Therefore, not only would Zhao Hongrun not kill Li Hou Han Wu easily, but he would also ensure that the latter lived well, unless Han Wangran secretly sent someone to deal with him after learning the news.
It is very likely that Han Wangran would want Lihou Han Wu to die. If this is true, then Zhao Hongrun can take the opportunity to get information from Han Wangran so that he can manipulate the latter in the future.
This is the greatest value of Lihou Hanwu.
Of course, this is just Zhao Hongrun's idea at the moment. He has no way of judging what the reality is. What if Han Wangran really cares about brotherhood and trades Li Hou Han Wu at all costs?
Haha, Zhao Hongrun himself doesn’t believe this speculation.
At the same time, in the main camp of the Korean army, Han Yang, the Marquis of Dangyin, was paying attention to the progress of the war on behalf of Han Wu, the Marquis of Li.
Fortunately for him, although the Wei army captured Lihou Han Wu through a sneak attack, they did not seem to push the latter onto the tower to threaten them to retreat; but to his chagrin, even though his entire Han army was at that moment, Pressure was on, but he still couldn't see any glimmer of victory.
Apart from the tens of thousands of new troops who were purely cannon fodder, it is undeniable that the soldiers of the Yuyang Army and the Shanggu Army were very desperate. The problem is that the Wei Army on the opposite side is equally brave, so that the siege battle has progressed to this point. It seemed as if it had simply turned into a war of attrition that consumed each other's forces.
According to common sense, at this time, the Korean army should retreat first, regroup their morale, and then attack the city. After all, the Korean army is fighting on the mainland. From the rear of Handan, Wu'an, Guantao and other places, there will be a steady stream of baggage and troops transported here, and The Wei army, which was alone and deeply entrenched, found it difficult to obtain supplementary equipment and troops, so there was no need to rush.
But Han Yang, the Marquis of Dangyin, did not dare to withdraw his troops.
Because he could not guarantee that after he ordered the withdrawal, whether the Korean troops under his command would still have the morale to make a comeback?
After all, after retreating to the barracks, the soldiers will definitely talk to each other about "Lihou Hanwu is suddenly ill". What if a soldier who saw Wei General Wu Ji capture and kidnap Lihou Hanwu alive revealed this matter? If you come out, it will be all over.
Retreating, not daring to retreat, but unable to open up the situation. In this case, Han Yang, the Dangyin Hou, looked worried.
At this time, Ma She, the guardian of Shanggu, was directing the siege not far from Julu City. He was watching the sunset and the sky was getting darker, and he was also anxious in his heart.
While he was waiting for orders from Han Wu, the Marquis of Li.
Because no matter what, nearly ten thousand Korean troops have already invaded the city and are currently fighting in the streets with the Wei troops, fighting for control of the city area inch by inch. Under such circumstances, even if the sky is getting dark, Lihou Hanwu may not Ordered the withdrawal of troops.
After all, the words of Han Wu, Marquis of Li, revealed his intention to kill Wei Gongzi Run at all costs.
Of course, this is just Ma She's personal guess. As for what exactly will happen, he still has to wait for the exact order from Lihou Hanwu.
But after waiting and waiting, he still couldn't wait for Lihou Hanwu to send someone to convey the order, which made Ma She feel that something was wrong.
He called his son Ma Kuo to him and said: "The Marquis of Li has not sent anyone to deliver the order so far. This is a bit unusual. Kuo'er, please go to our formation and see what's going on."
"Yes!" Ma Kuo nodded, led a group of personal guards, turned his horse and headed towards the direction of the formation.
After an estimated quarter of an hour, Ma Kuo left and returned, telling his father Ma She: "Father, Marquis Li is not here..."
"What?" Ma She was stunned and asked in disbelief: "Not in this formation?"
Ma Kuo nodded, and then explained with a strange expression: "The child met Master Han Yang. Master Han Yang said that Marquis Li was suddenly ill and asked him to take charge of the army and go back to the camp to rest."
"..."
Ma She opened her mouth, but was unable to recover from her son's words.
Is Lihou feeling ill? Have you gone back to camp to rest?
Are you kidding?!
This battle is so crucial, even if Li Hou Han Wu is suffering from an incurable disease, he still has to stay in this formation!
What's more, through the conversation between Ma She and Lihou Hanwu before the war, he knew clearly how persistent Lihou Hanwu was in killing Wei Gongzi Run.
"...It's broken, something happened."
Turning his head and glancing in the direction of the formation, Shanggu Shou Mashe had a vague feeling of ominous premonition.
After thinking for a moment, Ma She said to his son Ma Kuo: "Kuo'er, you and Xu Li are directing the war here, and you have to go to the formation for your father."
"Yes, father." Ma Kuo nodded.
After finishing the instructions, Ma She went to see the formation without stopping.
When approaching the formation, Ma She discovered that there was a cavalry stationed near the formation at some point. Judging from the flag, it seemed to be the Daijun cavalry under Sima Shang.
Taking a closer look, Ma She noticed that there were many corpses nearby, including the corpses of his Han soldiers, the corpses of Wei soldiers, and the corpses of many war horses. Seeing this scene, he felt something in his heart: Wei Jun, could it be that A sneak attack on our formation?
"General Ma She."
A greeting came from the distance, interrupting Ma She's thoughts.
He raised his head and discovered that Sima Shang, the acting governor of the county, was riding a war horse slowly towards him.
"The general is not commanding the war at the front, so why did he come to the front line?" When asking Ma She, Sima Shang's eyes flickered.
After hearing this, Ma She then explained: "The sky was getting dark, but Marquis Li had not yet sent an order to the armies to fight or retreat, so I asked my son to come and inquire. Unexpectedly, Master Han Yang actually informed my son that Marquis Li suddenly I feel ill and have gone back to camp to rest..." At this point, he took a deep look at Sima Shang and asked in a low voice: "General Sima, what happened? Why did the general lead his cavalry back to support our formation?"
Sima Shang looked at Ma She tangledly, sighed after a while, and said: "That's it, I really don't know how to make it up..."
With that said, he rode his horse to Ma She's side, leaned down and said in a low voice: "General, please don't make any noise. Just now, the Wei army sneak attacked our formation, and Wei General Wu Ji kidnapped Lihou..."
Hearing this, Ma She gasped in surprise and asked in disbelief: "This is actually happening?!"
Sima Shang nodded and told Ma She everything that had happened, including the fact that Han Wu, the Marquis of Li, entrusted Han Yang, the Marquis of Yin, to take charge of the army on his behalf when he was kidnapped. Ma She frowned and said nothing.
"Dangyin Marquis is also in a dilemma at this time. He cannot attack the city and dare not withdraw his troops easily... Sigh." Sima Shang shook his head and then asked Ma She, "General Ma She, it's up to you, what should I do now?" Is that good? General Ma She?"
"Huh?"
Ma Sheru woke up from his dream and said a few words absentmindedly. Even he himself did not remember what he said at that time. Anyway, when he came to his senses, he had already said goodbye to Sima Shang and was standing still. On the snow slope.
Why would a famous general like Ma She be distracted at this moment?
What is he thinking?
It turned out that when he learned that Li Hou Han Wu had been kidnapped by the Wei army, his heart started pounding.
Although he felt sorry for Li Hou Han Wu, Ma She suddenly felt that this might be an excellent opportunity for Han Wangran to regain his power.
To be honest, even though Lihou Hanwu was in power, he actually did not treat Ma She badly. But the problem is that Mashe was deeply owed by the previous Han king "Han Qi", so between Lihou Hanwu and Han Wangran, he was of course the Preferring to the latter, even if Han Wangran showed various unsatisfactory results because he wanted to hide his strength and bide his time, Ma She still stood firm in his position.
"Lihou fell into the hands of the Wei army. Even if Wei Gongzi Run does not kill Lihou, I believe that the Wei army will never return Lihou to us unless the war between the two countries ends. In this case..."
Returning to the front line thoughtfully, Ma She called his son Ma Kuo and told the latter the truth of the matter.
After hearing the truth, Ma Kuo was surprised and said: "My child had actually guessed that the Wei army had sneak attacked our formation, but my child just thought that Marquis Li was seriously injured, so he returned to camp to recuperate. He never thought that he would be kidnapped by the Wei army..."
Ma She nodded silently, and then whispered to his son: "Kuo'er, go to Handan immediately and report this matter to His Majesty... Now that the matter has come to this, how can we call Han Hu, Han Geng and others to take the lead?"
Ma Kuo was also a smart person, and he immediately understood the meaning of his father's words, nodded and said, "I understand, kid."
After that, Ma Kuo called his soldiers, and the two exchanged clothes and armor. Then, taking advantage of the sky getting dark, they quietly left with a few soldiers.
On that day, because Han Yang, the Marquis of Dangyin, did not dare to order a retreat, even though the sky was getting darker, the battle continued - mainly manifested in the street fighting in the city. The Wei army and the Han army faced each other in the streets of the city. The intensity is becoming less intense than before.
In this chaotic situation, no one noticed that Ma Kuo, the son of Shanggu Shou Ma She, had disguised himself and quietly left the battlefield.
Until the next day, the Wei army and the Han army were in a stalemate all night. The Wei army was okay and could still bury pots and make rice in their own area, but it was a disaster for the Han army. Except for a few Korean soldiers who found the food hidden by the Wei army, most of them The Korean soldiers could only endure hunger.
What's worse is that when the fighting stopped temporarily at night, the Wei soldiers shouted to the Han soldiers, revealing the truth that "Lihou Han Wu has become a prisoner of the Wei army." This made the Han soldiers panic and immediately asked their commander for confirmation.
At this time, in addition to Shanggu guarding Ma She, Yuyang guard Qin Kai also learned the truth about Lihou Han Wu being captured. However, considering the issue of military morale, whether it was Ma She or Qin Kai, or Dangyin Hou Han Yang and Dai Jun Sima Shang, the defender, all agreed that Han Wu, Marquis of Li, was injured when the Wei army made a surprise attack on the formation, so he returned to the camp early to recuperate.
Faced with this rhetoric, the Korean soldiers and generals were doubtful and their morale was inevitably affected.
As a result, in the next few days, the Korean army's offensive became weaker and weaker, and the Wei army was finally driven out of Julu City.
On the other hand, Ma Kuo, the son of Ma She, the guardian of Shanggu, traveled day and night to Handan.
As one of the ten tycoons in Beiyuan and the son of Ma She, the guardian of Shanggu, Ma Kuo was also a well-known figure in Handan. Of course, the soldiers guarding the city did not dare to stop him. What's more, Ma Kuo also used the excuse "Marquis Li has important military information to send to His Majesty." Those who The soldiers did not dare to stop him anymore.
As a result, Ma Kuo arrived at Han Wangran's palace smoothly.
When Ma Kuo asked to see Han Wangran, Han Wangran was playing with the birds he had raised in the side hall of the palace as usual, feeding him some food and adding some water, as if Korea was currently at a disadvantage in the "War between Han and Wei". The situation did not affect his mood at all.
In this regard, not to mention the maids in the palace, the chamberlains were discussing privately, thinking that His Majesty the King of Han was really mediocre and incompetent. Even the princess of Han Wangran could not stand it - in fact, even if she married Han Wangran, , and gave birth to a son and a daughter to Han Wangran, but this does not mean that Han Wangran was willing.
Han Wangran also knew this very well.
But he didn't care, or in other words, he never showed his inner dissatisfaction, even though he knew very well that even the maids and chamberlains who were respectful in front of him were actually pointing fingers at him behind his back.
"Your Majesty, General Ma Kuo would like to see you."
Just as Han Wangran was playing in the side hall with a birdcage, a chamberlain came to him and bowed to report.
"Ma Kuo? Ma She's son? He's not on the Julu front line. What's he doing back in Handan?"
He was slightly startled, but Han Wangran showed no clue on his face, pretending to be unhappy and said: "Which Ma Kuo? Didn't you see that I am really busy? No, no, no."
Hearing this, a trace of contempt and contempt flashed in the eyes of the chamberlain, but he still lowered his head and said: "Your Majesty, let's meet him. General Ma Kuo is here on the order of Marquis Li."
"Oh!"
Han Wangran secretly sneered in his heart, but his face showed the depression and displeasure of having his interest interrupted. He pretended to be reluctant and said: "Since he is sent here by my brother...that's all, let him come in."
"Yes." The chamberlain bowed and retreated, and after a moment, he brought Ma Kuo into the palace.
After arriving in the palace, Ma Kuo first bowed his hands towards Han Wangran, clasped his fists and said: "General Ma Kuo, I pay homage to your Majesty."
"Hmm."
Since there were other servants waiting or watching in the palace, Han Wangran did not get close to Ma Kuo and still had the unhappy look on his face.
Fortunately, Ma Kuo had already understood Han Wangran's usual behavior and didn't take it too seriously. After glancing at several chamberlains in the palace, he said, "You guys go down first. I have urgent military information to report to Your Majesty!"
"Huh?"
Han Wangran glanced at Ma Kuo without leaving any trace.
From the side, a chamberlain said flatteringly: "General Ma Kuo, we have to serve His Majesty..."
After hearing this, Ma Kuo straightened his face and shouted: "You, a eunuch, dare to interfere in military affairs?! Or do you think that I, Ma Kuo, will harm His Majesty?"
After being scolded by Ma Kuo, the several chamberlains looked at each other in shock and did not dare to disobey Ma Kuo. They lowered their heads and left the side hall.
Seeing all these people leaving with his own eyes, Ma Kuo took a step forward and whispered to Han Wangran: "Your Majesty, the last general came here on my father's order..."
Han Wangran nodded.
Ma She, the Shanggu Shou, is his staunch supporter, and he knows this very well.
It's just that in the past, in order to keep a low profile and bide his time, he could only behave extremely badly. Therefore, he disappointed Ma She many times, and Han Wangran felt very sorry.
At this time, Ma Kuo whispered in Han Wangran's ear: "Two days ago, Marquis Li was accidentally captured by the Wei army. My father thought that this might be an opportunity for Your Majesty to regain power."
"..."
Han Wangran remained calm after hearing this, and glanced at Ma Kuo thoughtfully, as if he was judging the credibility of the news.
He didn't believe that Ma Kuo would deliberately lie to him.
Unless Ma Kuo secretly defected to Lihou Hanwu, and Lihou Hanwu became suspicious of him, this possibility is too low. What's more, based on Han Wangran's understanding of Ma She, the guardian of Shanggu, if Ma Kuo dared to do such a thing, Ma She will definitely sever ties with this son.
In other words, this news must be true!
"This is really..."
An inexplicable smile appeared at the corner of Han Wangran's mouth, and he asked calmly: "What are your father and son's plans?"
Ma Kuo did not realize a problem, that is, the Han Wangran he knew should not be so calm. He still said to himself: "My father believes that given this good opportunity, Your Majesty should seize the opportunity to seize military power, replace the generals of the Lihou line, and promote New general..."
As he spoke, Ma Kuo felt something was wrong, so he raised his head and looked at Han Wangran, only to find that the latter was looking at him with a smile.
"Why is this Your Majesty..."
Although Ma Kuo is a smart person, he is still a bit unable to turn around at this time.
Because according to the behavior shown by Han Wangran before, after learning that Li Hou Han Wu was captured by the Wei army, he would probably show a panicked look. In fact, Ma Kuo had even thought of corresponding words to persuade his Majesty, and persuaded him not to do anything. You should miss this excellent opportunity, so that this God-given opportunity will be picked up by Kang Gong Han Hu or Zhuang Gong Han Geng.
However, the posture displayed by His Majesty at this moment was too calm, especially those eyes, which made Ma Kuo feel guilty and fearful for some reason, not daring to look at him.
"Ma Kuo, I remember the loyalty of your father and son, but as you said, it is not advisable to replace the generals of the Lihou line and seize their military power... I have no soldiers or generals in Handan, and I have nothing. You have power, so if you issue an edict rashly, outsiders will definitely become suspicious." After a pause, Han Wangran said with a smile: "I have an idea, and I need your cooperation."
"..."
Looking at Han Wangran, who looked completely different from his usual appearance, Ma Kuo opened his mouth. After a while, he came back to his senses. He immediately knelt on the ground and said seriously: "General, I am willing to serve your majesty as a dog and horse! "
"good!"
Han Wangran smiled and supported Ma Kuo with one hand, and then glanced at the birdcage still held in his right hand.
With a chuckle, he walked to the window, pushed it open, and then opened the birdcage, letting the birds in the cage flutter their wings to escape from the cage and fly into the sky.
"...From now on, you can soar to heaven and earth."