In recent years, civil strife has broken out one after another in various countries in the Central Plains. Except for the internal fighting between the two Mi branches of Chu State, "Xiong" and "Qu", over the throne, the rest of the countries are basically conflicts between brothers of the royal family.
Only the Kingdom of Wei is the most bizarre. The cause of the civil strife was actually the conflict between the father and son of the contemporary King of Wei, Wei Fei, and his crown prince, Wei Yu.
This is really eye-opening.
In mid-June, Wei Gong Ziyu's army had gathered at "Maling" in Weiguo. The local county town of Maling was in sight. Wei Yu easily occupied this town, which was only eighty or ninety miles away from Puyang.
county seat.
At this time, there were approximately 80,000 to 90,000 troops under the command of Wei Gong Ziyu. They were all rebels that gradually grew during Wei Yu's attack on the East County of Qi State. They did not yet have an orthodox army designation - let's call them the "Eastern Army" of Wei State.
The Eastern Army, a very young and energetic army, was the main force in the defense of the country to resist the 80,000 elite troops of Han general Sima Shang. It was also the main force in the defense of the country to attack the East County of Qi in the past year. The soldiers of this army were
They have not received much rigorous and systematic training, and in fact they lack relatively complete weapons and equipment. Even if they absorb some of the defeated soldiers of the Wei Kingdom who were defeated by Han general Sima Shang, their strength has not increased significantly.
The only thing worthy of praise is that this young army has strict discipline, enforces orders and prohibitions, and is more energetic than the old army that has been in the army for many years.
Corresponding to the "Eastern Army", its enemy is of course the "Western Army" - this also refers to the "Puyang Army", "Tanyuan Army", "Juancheng Army", etc. in the western part of the Wei Kingdom. Basically
Above is the army under the command of the King of Guards.
Generally speaking, the Western Army is more elite than the Eastern Army. Regardless of the small number of people, each army actually only has about five or six thousand to more than 10,000 people. However, these armies have been established for a long time, and they are all equipped with weapons forged by Wei State.
Weapons, equipment, and strength cannot be underestimated.
Especially the Puyang Army, this army stationed in Puyang, the capital of the king, was the only army that King Fei of Wei was willing to spend money on. The weapons and equipment used by the army's sergeants were all equipment purchased from the frontline army with heavy sums of money from the Wei court.
It was more than ten years ahead of the armies of other parts of the Wei Kingdom.
More importantly, the training method of the Puyang Army also followed the example of the Wei Army - the Wei Guohuang specially hired veterans of the Wei State's thousand general level and asked these veterans to train the Puyang Army.
It's not that Wei Wangfei suddenly wanted to capture the army, he just wanted to ensure his rule.
In the face of these armies, even Wei Gong Ziyu actually didn't have much confidence in his heart. Therefore, he stationed his troops in the Maling area to confront the Western Army on the battlefield - except that the Puyang Army was still stationed in the Puyang area, similar to the Tanyuan Army and the Juan Army.
The city army and other Western armies have all been dispatched by Wei Wang Fei and come to fight.
How to fight this battle?
In fact, Wei Yu didn't have any clue.
In the military council, Meng Ben, the fierce general under Wei Yu, said proudly: "Master, why should you care? Just wait until I, Old Meng, kill the general and capture the commander opposite!"
These words made the generals in the handsome tent very excited, but at the same time made the young master Wei Yu smile bitterly.
There was no way, many of the generals in the commander's camp, including Meng Ben, were originally rangers. Not to mention that they had never read any military books. Some of them even couldn't even recognize a few characters. They were promoted to generals only because of their bravery and enthusiasm.
—Can we expect them to come up with any clever plan to defeat the enemy?
Of course, even among generals with a ranger background, not all of them are illiterate. For example, "Xia Yu" is a qualified general who knows how to use troops - but it can only be said to be qualified, but it cannot be said to be excellent.
After the meeting, Xia Yu said to Wei Yu privately: "The Western Army is strong, so we should find another way and it is not suitable for a head-on confrontation."
I have to say that it is not easy for Xia Yu, who was born as a ranger, to say such sensible things.
You must know that many of the rangers of the Wei Kingdom are the kind of heroes who do not care about their lives in order to achieve their goals. Because of this, the rangers of the Wei Kingdom once suffered a big loss at the hands of the Korean general Sima Shang.
In the confrontation between Wei Yu and the Korean general Sima Shang, the Weiguo rangers did not know the strength of the Korean army and launched an attack blindly, resulting in heavy casualties - think about it, a ranger wearing civilian clothes and carrying only a single sword.
How do you parry the Korean army's crossbow bolts?
In this kind of large-scale legion war, the power of an individual is really insignificant. Han general Sima Shang used a hearty victory and used bloody examples to let the rangers of the Wei Kingdom understand a truth: a single man's courage will only lead to
Let you die faster and worthless on the battlefield.
Since then, the rangers in Wei Yu's army have become more honest, wearing armor and holding shields to fight like ordinary soldiers. Although they are not used to it, it is better than being easily killed by a mere arrow.
Although the Weiguo army is far inferior to the South Korean army, it is also a great threat to the Eastern Army, which has just formed an army.
"You are right."
After listening to Xia Yu's words, Wei Yu nodded in agreement.
He was not so arrogant as to think that his army could defeat the Western Army - that was his regular army defending the country!
At this moment, some soldiers came into the tent and reported: "Someone from the army in the west has sent this letter, saying that it is for you, the young master."
Wei Gong Ziyu took the letter and glanced at the signature, only to see the words "Marquis Tan Yuan" written on it.
Taking a breath, he murmured: "Marquis Tanyuan Weizhen..."
Tan Yuan Hou Wei Zhen was a Marquis of the city who was granted the title of Tan Yuan. He was also the king of the Wei clan who was in charge of Tan Yuan's army. This man was the cousin of King Fei of Wei and the uncle of Duke Ziyu of Wei. He was quite prestigious in Wei State.
And the reputation is not bad.
But having said that, the royal family of Wei in Wei State are actually generally gentle in character, with almost no violent or cruel descendants of royal nobles - just like King Fei of Wei. You can say that he is ignorant and mediocre, and a coward, but you can't say that he
He was a tyrant because he did not do anything harmful to nature during his reign.
At least, compared with the nobles of the Chu State who treated the common people as nothing, the nobles of the Wei State were simply models of modest gentlemen.
This is probably caused by the local culture of Wei State - Wei State, Song State, including Liang State, these countries were the birthplaces of the idea of "benevolent and righteous knights". The so-called "benevolent and righteous knights" refer to loyalty.
Embrace inequality, etc., the so-called "draw your sword to help when the road is rough", "a scholar dies for a confidant", etc., all fall into this category.
It is for this reason that there are many knights in the Wei Kingdom who uphold the spirit of benevolent chivalry. They hoe the strong and help the weak, rob the rich and give to the poor. Although their hands are stained with blood, they have no shame in their conscience. They even have no hesitation to devote themselves when the country needs them.
Under the command of Wei Gong Ziyu, even if he died in battle, he would have no regrets.
Why did the Beibo Army in Song County receive the secret support of most Song people and nobles in Song County? In fact, there are also reasons for this.
After opening the letter and looking at it twice, Young Master Wei Yu frowned slightly at first, but then his eyebrows gradually relaxed.
It turns out that this letter from Wei Zhen, the Marquis of Tan Yuan, was intended to persuade him that Wei Yu should "return when he has lost his way" and ordered his soldiers to give up resistance, follow him to Puyang, and confess his crime to King Fei of Wei in person.
Although Wei Yu didn't like the accusatory and scolding tone of Tan Yuan Hou Weizhen's letter, he could also feel that Tan Yuan Hou Weizhen didn't have much ill will towards him - this monarch also hoped to resolve it.
This civil strife.
Wei Yu was lucky to have Tan Yuan Hou Wei Zhen's calmness and rationality. What he was most worried about was that the general in command on the opposite side would order an attack indiscriminately, forcing him to fight back.
And he didn't want that to happen, after all, both sides were defenders.
Therefore, Wei Yu also wrote a letter in his own hand, clearly stating his expectations for this country and all the inappropriate actions of his father, King Wei Fei, and sent someone to deliver it to Tan Yuan Hou Wei Zhen.
As Wei Yu guessed, Tan Yuan Hou Wei Zhen did not want this civil war to break out, so after he led his army to the Maling area, he immediately wrote a letter to his nephew Wei Gong Ziyu to persuade Wei Yu to rein in the situation.
But obviously, Wei Yu would not listen to the advice of Tan Yuan Hou Wei Zhen. After all, he did not think that he had done anything wrong, he was just forced to do nothing.
That night, Tan Yuan Hou Weizhen received a reply from Prince Wei Yu. After reading the contents of the letter, he couldn't help feeling a little headache.
You must know that this time, he was ordered by King Fei of Wei to intercept the young master Wei Yu, with the purpose of defeating Wei Yu and arresting the latter to the royal capital for questioning.
As for the crime, it is nothing more than "disobedience and rebellion against the country."
Disobedience refers to Wei Yu's disobedience to his father, Wang Wei Fei, which was definitely a crime of "disloyalty" in an era where filial piety was emphasized; and chaos refers to Wei Yu's various behaviors and behaviors in recent years.
These measures seriously affected Weiguo.
Logically speaking, the fault should lie with the young master Wei Yu, but after seeing the letter written by the young master Wei Yu with his own eyes, Tan Yuan Hou Wei Zhen inevitably hesitated because he felt that what Wei Yu wrote in the letter was very sincere.
, which makes sense - at least in his opinion, Wei Yu is indeed much more virtuous than his father, Wei Fei.
Then the question arises: Which side should he stand on? Should he stand on the side of the monarch Wei Fei who defends the country, or should he stand on the side of the young master Wei Yu?
Tan Yuanhou Wei Zhen couldn't make a decision for a long time.
Precisely because the commanders of both sides remained rational, both the Eastern and Western armies were quite restrained in the initial stages of this civil war to defend the country, and both sides hoped to resolve the war through peace talks.
But the good times did not last long. Within two days, the Juancheng Army also arrived in the Maling area. Unlike Wei Zhen, the Marquis of Tanyuan, the Wei general in charge of the Juancheng Army was a person who had always opposed the young master Wei Yu. Who let Wei
Yu has repeatedly harmed the interests of the nobility to subsidize the middle and lower classes?
As a result, with the arrival of the Juancheng Army, the battle situation between the east and west armies inevitably became tense, and in late June, the fighting between the two armies finally began.
In general, the Western Army has a small but relatively elite force, and its soldiers are relatively well-equipped with weapons and equipment. In contrast, the Eastern Army led by Prince Wei Yu has an advantage in numbers and fighting spirit.
, the Eastern Army really has nothing to offer.
From late June to early July, the Western Army under King Fei of Wei and the Eastern Army led by Prince Wei Yu fought in the Maling area of Wei State.
At the same time, South Korea's envoys Bao Yuan, Han Chao, Zhao Zhuo and others returned to Jicheng, the capital of South Korea, with complicated emotions.
After learning that these three people had returned to Jicheng, Han Wangran immediately summoned the three of them to the palace for questioning.
Bao Yuan said regretfully: "The Qin people refused to cease war with our country. They purchased a large amount of weapons and equipment from Wei, including Wei Liannu..."
After listening to Bao Yuan's story, Han Wangran frowned deeply.
In fact, while Wei was convening the League of Nations, Qin's Marquis of Wuxin, Gongsun Qi, did not weaken his attack on Yanmen County - after all, everyone could see that Wei's so-called appeal was just a pretense.
, no one took it seriously.
During this period, Yanmen Guardian Li Mu sent people to send battle reports from time to time. Although Li Mu's advantage is indeed not small at present, in the final analysis, this advantage is only based on the terrain and the Korean crossbow——
The complex terrain of Yanmen County, full of high mountains and ridges, maximized the power of crossbows, causing the wolf-like tiger soldiers of the Qin State to repeatedly return without success.
But the problem now is that the Qin army is about to have a military crossbow made by Wei - a crossbow with a longer range and greater power than the Korean crossbow. Once the Qin soldiers get this, Yan
The army may lose its previous advantage.
"Then what did Zhao Run say?"
Frowning, Han Wangran said calmly: "With his vision, he should see clearly that once our country loses Yanmen County, it will be unable to resist Qin's army. At that time, Qin's army will be able to rush into the hinterland of our country.
...If our country is annexed by Qin, what will it do to Wei? Logically speaking, he should not sit back and watch this matter."
As Han Wangran judged, the most beneficial thing for Wei is for Qin and South Korea to continue to consume each other. However, in the process of this consumption, Wei actually does not want South Korea to be too disadvantaged.
The reason is very simple, because Qin State, like Chu State, is also a potential enemy of Wei State - and once Qin State takes advantage of this battle to annex South Korea, then this potential enemy may become a real enemy.
Han Wangran did not think that Wei Wang Zhao Run could not see this.
After hearing Han Wangran's words, Han Chao smiled bitterly and said: "As the king said, I also met with the king of Wei to persuade him about this matter, but..." After saying that, he shook his head and told with a wry smile that he had talked with the king of Wei Zhao Run.
dialogue.
"Privately selling Korean military equipment to me?"
Han Wangran was stunned for a moment, his expression a little bit amusing.
You must know that South Korea is not the State of Chu or Qin. South Korea itself has the possibility to build weapons and equipment. Although it may not be comparable to those forged by Wei State, it is not too far away. Why spend money to buy those weapons and equipment that were forged by Wei State?
The armaments eliminated by the Wei army?
But just like Han Chao's consideration that day, Han Wangran did not refuse on the spot and paced back and forth in the palace with his hands behind his back.
Although South Korea does not actually need the armaments eliminated by the Wei army, it does need Wei's 'friendship' - not friendship in the literal sense, but refers to the fact that Wei may be interested in the "private arms transactions between Wei and South Korea".
In order to gain a large amount of profits, he blocked Qin Guo at the critical moment, giving South Korea a chance to breathe.
In a sense, this can be regarded as spending money to eliminate disasters.
"Come down!"
After thinking for a moment, Han Wangran said decisively.
This decisiveness surprised Bao Yuan, Han Chao, Zhao Zhuo and others.
"Your Majesty..." Bao Yuan reminded hesitantly: "That's what Wei Jun used left..."
"So what?" Han Wangran said with some melancholy: "Do you still have a choice? Do you really want to put your hope in Zhao Run, betting that he will not sit back and watch Qin fall and destroy Korea?" At this point, he shook his head.
Shaking his head: "He can gamble, but I can't afford it, so I can only let him succeed..."
Bao Yuan, Han Chao, and Zhao Zhuo looked at each other, not knowing what to say.
At this time, Han Wangran said sternly: "Although it is an old thing left by the Wei army, it is not powerful... I am going to use these old things to train the new army... I feel that the battle between Han and Qin
, I’m afraid it will last for a while.”
"The king wants to recruit troops?"
Han Chao was slightly startled and said hesitantly: "Given my position, I should not be involved in this matter, but as far as I know, the war between our country and the State of Wei in recent years has caused a large loss of young men in the country. If we recruit brave men again,
, I’m afraid that the country’s vitality will be greatly damaged..."
"Not many people know this, but..."
Taking a slight breath, Han Wangran shook his head slightly, saying that the country was in difficulty and had no choice but to do so.
After finishing the conversation, Han Wangran asked about the alliance of the various countries. Seeing this, Han Chao and Zhao Zhuo told Han Wangran everything about their trip to Daliang, and presented them with their own letters.
Notes recorded.
During the whole time of burning the incense, Han Wangran held the manuscript and stood in the hall and read it carefully.
In this note, Han Chao and Zhao Zhuo recorded many things, such as hydraulic machinery, rail carriages, as well as the chariots and war weapons that Wei showed to envoys from various countries, etc. Han Wangran frowned.
A Wei State that defeated South Korea is not terrible. What is terrible is that even after this Wei State became a veritable overlord of the Central Plains, it never stopped the pace of development, so that people could not see that it could catch up with this country.
possibility - this is the most despairing thing.
"Then Zhao Run...really doesn't slack off at all?"
Han Wangran asked with a frown.
Han Chao shook his head and said seriously: "I once paid a visit to the King of Wei, Zhao Run, and witnessed him sitting in the palace, handling government affairs. The memorials and documents accumulated in the hall were piled up like a mountain, probably no less than ten stones... It is true that he
The King of Diligence!”
"..."
Han Wangran was silent for a while and looked at the letter in his hand again.
He was not discouraged.
In his opinion, a temporary defeat is nothing. Even if South Korea is currently left behind by Wei State, leaving it behind also has the advantage of leaving it behind. For example, he can learn from some of Wei State's decrees and reforms and choose those
Those that are effective, abandon those that are ineffective - with Wei Guo's experience, can he still make mistakes in South Korea?
Compared with South Korea, Wei State is just trying to cross the river by feeling the stones. Han Wangran does not believe that Wei State will not make even a single mistake in the next few years or even in the next ten years - during this period, as long as Wei State makes one mistake, the two countries can be greatly reduced.
As the strength gap accumulates over time, South Korea will eventually have the opportunity to catch up with Wei.
The next day, after only staying in Jicheng for one day, Han Chao and Zhao Zhuo once again went to Wei as envoys, intending to make an agreement with Wei to privately purchase Wei's armaments that had been eliminated or were about to be eliminated by the Wei army.
This expenditure has made the South Korean treasury even more stretched, but there is no way, South Korea must deliver this money.
From June to August of the second year of Wei Xing'an, the pattern of the Central Plains did not change much. It was still the situation where all the countries except Wei were at war. As for Wei, while calling on all countries in the Central Plains to restrain each other and live in peace, at the same time,
Privately, he sold off the obsolete armaments of the Wei army and accumulated funds for national construction and forging new equipment.
At this time, Wei King Zhao Run was generous and peaceful, and everything was going well, so he was waiting for Wei Gong Ziyu to present Xiao Luan's head.