In early August of the sixth year of Wei Xing'an, when King Zhao Jiang of Yan was standing on the gate tower of the South City Gate, inspecting the daily drills of the Shanyang Army and the Nanyan Army outside the city, he faintly saw a group of cavalry galloping from the southwest.
, probably in their twenties.
"..."
Zhao Jiang was stunned for a moment and looked at the cavalry team with a slight frown.
Just by looking at the black armor of the cavalry, it was obvious that the other party was the cavalry of the Wei Kingdom. However, since the other party did not show their flag, it was difficult for Zhao Jiang to judge.
After a while, the cavalry team came to the city. The leader of the cavalry team shouted towards the city gate tower: "Luoyang is urgent, please inform King Yan!"
"Luoyang is urgent?"
Upon hearing this, King Yan Zhao Jiang immediately realized that the other party must be the Imperial Guards, so he waved his hand to signal the Shanyang Army outside the city to let him go.
A moment later, there was a rush of footsteps, and several imperial guards soldiers who had come from afar hurriedly walked to the city wall, came to the front of King Zhao Jiang of Yan, kowtowed to the ground and clasped their fists, and said: "King Yan, your Majesty has a royal order to convey.
.”
After that, the man took out a letter from his arms and presented it to Zhao Jiang with both hands.
King Zhao Jiang of Yan was shocked when he heard this. He immediately took the letter, opened it and looked at it.
But as he looked at it, his originally solemn face revealed something strange.
After pondering for a while, Zhao Jiang nodded and said: "Please report back to Your Majesty, Zhao Jiang accepts the order!"
"yes!"
The few guards turned and left.
Seeing this, King Zhao Jiang of Yan said to Cao Yan, the commander of Shanyang Army not far away: "Cao Yan, you continue to train your soldiers, I will go back to the palace first."
"Yes!" Zongwei Chief Cao Yan responded with clasped fists.
After stepping off the city wall, King Yan Zhao Jiang stepped on his horse and headed towards the Yan King's Mansion in the city.
Not long after, King Yan Zhao Jiang returned to King Yan's Mansion.
At this time, Princess Sun of Yan and her two concubines were sewing war robes for Zhao Jiang in the palace. Seeing her husband walking into the hall, Princess Sun of Yan put down the nühong in her hand and went with the two
The concubines saluted Zhao Jiang together and asked in surprise: "Why did my husband come back to the house so early today? Could it be that something was left behind?"
King Zhao Jiang of Yan sat down at the table in the hall, picked up the pottery pot on the table, poured a cup of tea and drank it in one gulp. Then he wiped his mouth with his sleeve and explained: "I just got Luoyang
The king's order... Just now a group of imperial guards came to Shanyang to convey your majesty's order, ordering me to mobilize the Shanyang army and the Nanyan army to garrison Handan."
Upon hearing this, Princess Yan's face showed a little surprise.
You know, as the royal family member who shared the joys and sorrows with King Zhao Jiang of Yan, the Sun family knew some of the situation to some extent.
For example, Handan, a city that originally belonged to the royal capital of Korea, including the entire Handan County south of Handan, is now actually garrisoned by the Shanyang Army under the command of Zhao Jiang, the king of Yan in Hanoi.
However, although it is said to be stationed, in fact there are not too many soldiers. The entire Handan County is fully equipped, and there are only about more than 10,000 Shanyang troops, and about 5,000 of them are led by the original Zongwei "Moubi" and are stationed in
Within Handan City - Mainly to defend against "Wu'an" City to the northwest of Handan City, and "Julu" City to the northeast.
It seems that Zhao Jiang’s intention at this moment is to move all the Shanyang Army with a strength of 50,000 to Handan. This made Princess Sun of Yan somewhat nervous and worried. She couldn’t help but ask: "Your Majesty, is it possible?"
Are you planning to start a war with South Korea?"
King Yan Zhao Jiang laughed. In fact, he thought the same thing when he saw Wang Ling's first half, but he didn't expect the twists and turns in the second half, which made him show such a weird expression at that time.
"No, it's just..."
Zhao Jiang looked around, and after dismissing several maids waiting in the hall, he called Mrs. Sun to him and said a few words to her, which made the look of worry on Mrs. Sun's face gradually fade.
Retreat.
Leaning his right leg across his left knee, Zhao Jiang said sarcastically: "In short, I am going to live in Handan for a while. The time depends on the situation. You go and clean up, and I will go with my mother.
Tell me, let's go together as a family, so that you won't be left alone in Shanyang."
Sun and her two concubines were a little hesitant at first, but when they thought that Handan was a prosperous city that was not inferior to Daliang, they were also a little moved. After all, in Shanyang, with the troops of Shanyang Army and Nanyan Army,
Tun, no longer looks like
As they were in embarrassment due to money in the past few years, Princess Sun of Yan and her two concubines also had some spare money in their hands. Unfortunately, Shanyang County is a military town. What kind of beautiful jewelry does it look like?
Not common.
But Handan is different. It was the former capital of South Korea.
So, Mrs. Sun and the two concubines happily went to pack their bags, while King Zhao Jiang of Yan went to the palace to report to his mother, Mrs. Sun Zhao, who was also the original Sun Guiji.
After preparing all the luggage and packages, King Zhao Jiang of Yan left Zongwei "Liu Xu" to guard Shanyang County, while he took about 80% of the Shanyang army and all the Southern Yan cavalry to Handan in a mighty manner.
Handan City was the former capital of South Korea. In the last "War between Wei and Han", South Korea suffered a defeat and had to cede this city to calm the anger of Wei.
After acquiring the city, the Daliang court at that time only stationed civil servants to manage the city. As for the garrison, it was entrusted to the Hanoi army of Zhao Jiang, the king of Yan. Although Zhao Jiang, the king of Yan, had a rough and straightforward personality, he was not
He is a greedy person, so he did not take any measures similar to scraping the land in Handan, which made the original Koreans in Handan City feel relieved.
But even so, when King Zhao Jiang of Yan led the Hanoi army of nearly 50,000 men to station in Handan, the people of Handan were inevitably a little frightened.
However, to the surprise of most people in Handan, King Zhao Jiang of Yan had nothing to do after he led his army to Handan. He only trained his soldiers in the area outside Handan City every day and did not make any changes.
Then the question arises: Hanoi of Wei State was guarding Zhao territory, and suddenly led a large army to garrison Handan. What was the reason for this?
If we want to say who is the most nervous, it must be the Korean general Jin Yao who is stationed in Wu'an City.
You must know that Wu'an was once the companion capital of Handan. The distance between the two cities is really too close. So close that if Zhao Jiang of the Wei Kingdom suddenly launched an offensive against Wu'an in Handan one day, Wu'an might not be able to react in time.
After all, the Hanoi Army of King Yan Zhaojiang, that is, the Shanyang Army and the Nanyan Army, were also strong forces tempered by the test of iron and blood in several "Battles between Wei and Han". Even if their strength is not as strong as the Shang Shui Army,
The Yanling Army, the Wei Wu Army, the Anti-Rebel Army and other powerful armies in Wei's first war sequence were all about the same, but the weak Handan Army under Jin Fu could not resist.
"Okay, why did Wei suddenly station a large number of troops on the border between the two countries?"
Han general Jin Mao was puzzled.
Because the relationship between Wei and South Korea had been relatively harmonious in recent years, Jin Mao really couldn't figure out why Wei suddenly stationed heavy troops on the border.
In addition to being frightened and uneasy, Jin Bo immediately became vigilant. While gathering the Handan Army in the northern part of Handan County and strengthening the defense of Wu'an City, he also sent a large number of agents to Handan to spy on the news.
Unfortunately, those detailed investigations yielded nothing. They only knew that the Hanoi army under the command of King Yan Zhao Jiang was practicing daily under Handan City, but they did not know Zhao Jiang's true intention.
A few days later, Han general Jin Yao received news that "Sun Jin" of Wei State had personally escorted a group of baggage to Handan City, which made Jin Yao even more vigilant.
Sun Jin was the brother-in-law of King Yan Zhao Jiang. Ever since his brother Sun Hao was injured by Korean cavalry and died of serious injuries while trying to escort grain and grass to aid their uncle Zhao Jiang, Sun Jin took over the control of Waihuang.
As the head of the Sun family, and on the recommendation of King Yan Zhaojiang, he successfully entered the military department of the Wei court. He was mainly responsible for escorting grain, grass and luggage to Hanoi. He was one of the most trusted right-hand men of King Yan Zhaojiang.
Now, Sun Jin personally escorted a batch of baggage to Handan and delivered it to his brother-in-law Zhao Jiang. Does this mean that King Yan Zhao Jiang is planning to do something in Handan? Does it mean that Wei Guo will take any action?
The more Jin Mao thought about it, the more uneasy he became, and he intensified his efforts to dispatch detailed work.
After researching for more than ten days, he finally learned the news. In addition to the fact that King Zhao Jiang of Yan suddenly led his army to station in Handan, the Wei State seemed to have built a bunch of workshops in a hilly valley outside Handan City. Every day nearby,
There are Nanyan cavalry patrolling back and forth, and the defense is extremely tight.
What's more, every few days, a batch of grain and grass would be transported by the horse road leading to Handan from Wei's mainland, which was also a rail carriage, and would be piled up in the granary in Handan City.
All of this seemed to be Wei's preparation for sending troops to South Korea, which made Jin Mao deeply feel threatened.
Therefore, Jin Mao no longer hesitated and immediately wrote a letter in his own hand and ordered it to be sent to Jicheng, the new capital, and handed over to Han Wangran for review.
About twenty days later, the messenger cavalry sent by Jin Biao finally arrived at Jicheng after traveling day and night, and presented Jin Biao's autographed letter to Han Wangran.
When he first saw this letter, Han Wangran was a little disapproving. After all, in his opinion, there was really no need for the Wei State to attack him, South Korea.
Unexpectedly, within a few days, he received letters one after another from Taiyuan Shou Lecheng, Yangyi Marquis Han Xu and others. Only then did he learn that it was not only the Hanoi army under the command of King Zhao Jiang of Yan that had abnormalities.
In addition, two other Wei armies also showed similar abnormal actions: the Northern First Army under the command of Zhao Xuanqi, the King of Huan, who was originally stationed in Anyi, and the Shangdang Army of Wei Shangdang guarding Jiang Bi.
These two Wei armies, the "Northern First Army" of Wei under the command of King Huan Zhao Xuan, suddenly advanced from Anyi to "Yaocheng" on the border with Taiyuan County some time ago. Since then, the Northern First Army has been conducting daily drills and vigorously mining on the other hand.
The iron ore in the mountains around Yaocheng was secretly transported to "Linfen" and "Anyi".
According to the detailed investigation sent by the Taiyuan Shou Lecheng, the Wei State seemed to have added many forging workshops in Linfen and Anyi. They were hammering continuously every day, and it was unknown how many weapons and armors were forged.
In Shangdang County, Wei General Shangdang Guard Jiang Bi also abnormally trained his soldiers in Shangdang County to fight in mountainous and forested areas. Jiang Bi himself even personally led his soldiers in the northern part of Shangdang County.
Among the mountains, Han Jiang Yangyihou Han Xu was very nervous.
You must know that in the first and second "Battle of Wei and Han", Wei sent the anti-rebellion army under the command of Zhao Yuanzuo, king of Nanliang, and the Shangdang army under Jiang Bi - they were called the "Northern Second Army" and the "Northern Second Army" respectively at the time.
"The three armies" once passed through the mountains in the northern part of Shangdang County and fought into the hinterland of Taiyuan County.
The first time, Korea was lucky. Wei general Zhao Yuanzuo, king of Nanliang, happened to be hit by Han general Yangyi Marquis Han Xu, but the second time was not so lucky. Wei general Jiang Bi directly led his army to break through Shangdang County.
The mountains inside gave Taiyuan County a fatal blow, which directly caused Lin Hu to take advantage of the situation and caused South Korea to lose the national war.
From then on, Taiyuan Shou Lecheng and Yangyi Marquis Han Xu put more vigilance on the mountainous areas between Taiyuan County and Shangdang County, fearing that one day Wei would repeat its old tricks.
Now there are various signs that Wei's Shangdang Shou Jiang Bi is preparing to lead his army through the mountainous area again, and is trying to strengthen the combat capabilities of his soldiers in the mountainous forest areas as much as possible.
After carefully reading this information, the smile on Han Wangran's face could no longer be maintained. Even though he didn't understand military matters, he still had a strategic vision.
"It's so good, what exactly does Wei Guo want to do?!"
Han Wangran lost his composure in a rare moment, slapped the table with his hand, and cursed in shock and anger.
In fact, Han Wangran had already made a guess in his mind: Wei's Northern First Army, Shangdang Army, and Hanoi Army, these three armies suddenly appeared abnormal. They were stationed at the border and intensified their training of soldiers. In addition, there was a continuous flow of troops from Wei's mainland.
The transportation of grain and grass to the front line, the vigorous mining of iron ore, and the construction of additional forging workshops were all preparations for the "war against Korea"!
Take these armies that have made changes in the Wei State as an example. King Huan Zhao Xuan's Northern First Army was clearly here to contain Taiyuan's defenders, while Wei General Jiang Bi's Shangdang Army was definitely there to break through the mountainous area in the northern part of Shangdang.
, cutting off the connection between Taiyuan County and even Yanmen County and the eastern region of South Korea. As for the Hanoi Army of King Yan Zhaojiang, they were mostly responsible for launching a frontal attack on South Korea - this was just like a full-scale offensive campaign by Wei State against his South Korea.
.
The question is, why did Wei suddenly do this?
Obviously, Wei and South Korea have been getting along pretty well in recent years. Why would Wei want to destroy this peace?
You must know that Wei King Zhao Run was never a warlike person. He would only use force when his Wei State was threatened.
"...threatened?"
Thinking of this, Han Wangran suddenly calmed down. He walked with his hands behind his back and walked to a birdcage hanging indoors. While listening to the crisp chirping of the birds in the cage, he thought about the reason.
"Then Zhao Run, do you feel threatened?... It can't be me, Korea. I, Korea, have been consuming each other's national power with Qin in recent years. It is absolutely impossible to pose any threat to Wei... It can't be either.
The State of Qi, the State of Qi has been in a state of decline since the death of Lu Xi. Although it had gained some momentum in the past few years, a "Battle between Qi and Chu" caused heavy losses to the State of Qi... In other words, could it be the State of Chu?
?』
Thinking of this, Han Wangran subconsciously asked the chamberlain beside him: "What happened in Chu State recently?"
The servants in the palace looked at each other in confusion. How could they know what was happening in the Chu Kingdom thousands of miles away.
Han Wangran also realized that he had asked the wrong person, shook his head and said: "Come here, call Zhao Zhuo."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
About half an hour later, the scholar-official Zhao Zhuo came after hearing the news, bowed his hands and said, "Your Majesty, are you summoning your ministers?"
Han Wangran nodded and said to Zhao Zhuo: "In recent days, the Wei State has been unusual. The three Wei armies, namely the Northern Army, the Shangdang Army, and the Hanoi Army, have all made strange movements, and there is also a steady stream of food and supplies in their homeland.
The border is suspected of using troops against our country, which makes me very puzzled... You go to Daliang immediately, oh no, it's Luoyang, and ask Zhao Run, what is going on? In addition, try to find out more about Chu State
According to the news over there, let’s see if there is any recent action on the part of Chu State that makes Wei State so abnormal.”
"As you command!"
When Zhao Zhuo heard this, he realized that this matter was unusual. Without any delay, he immediately went to Luoyang, the new capital of Wei State, that day.
After nearly two months of trekking, Han envoy Zhao Zhuo finally arrived in Wei's new capital, Luoyang, in October of that year.
After arriving in Luoyang, Zhao Zhuo could not stop marveling at the majesty of Luoyang, the new capital of the Wei State, and immediately found Han Chao, his Korean envoy to Wei.
In the post house, Zhao Zhuo told Han Chao about the changes in the Wei State in recent months. Han Chao was very surprised and said in surprise: "I have not heard of these things in the Wei State. Is there any news?
error?"
After confirming that the news was correct, Han Chao also realized the seriousness of the matter and said sternly: "Tomorrow, Mr. Zhao, please come with me to meet with His Majesty the King of Wei."
"Okay!" Zhao Zhuo agreed immediately.
The next day, when King Zhao Run of Wei was lying lazily on the deck chair outside the Manlu Palace, feeling the light of the last few days before winter, suddenly the imperial guards came to report: "Your Majesty, Han Chao and Zhao Zhuo, the envoys of Han,
, came hand in hand to sincerely request to see His Majesty."
"Hmm." Zhao Hongrun chuckled with unknown meaning, stood up, walked slowly towards Chui Gong Hall, and ordered: "Invite him to Chui Gong Hall."
It was still the same as before. When the two envoys Han Chao and Zhao Zhuo arrived at Chui Gong Hall, Zhao Hongrun had already put on a posture of being devoted to handling state affairs.
After the two sides met, Zhao Zhuo first expressed his congratulations to the Wei State on the move of the capital to Luoyang on behalf of Han Wangran, and said a lot of good things about Luoyang's majesty and magnificence, and then revealed his intention: "Your Majesty, the King of Wei, your country is near.
For several months, heavy troops were deployed on the border between Wei and South Korea for no reason, but what’s the deep meaning?”
After hearing this, Wei Wang Zhao Run blinked his eyes and said as if he knew nothing about it: "Is there such a thing?"
At first, Zhao Zhuo didn't quite believe Han Wangran's judgment, but after hearing Zhao Run's words, he instinctively felt something was wrong: This king of Wei has always been famous for his domineering power. Without his king's order, King Huan Zhao Xuan, Yan
Wang Zhaojiang and Shangdang Shou Jiang Bi dare to do something to attack the border between Wei and South Korea?
You know, this will seriously undermine the peace between the two countries.
Thinking of this, Zhao Zhuo hesitated for a moment and simply pointed out the numbers of the three Wei armies: "I refer to your country's Northern First Army, Shangdang Army and Hanoi Army..."
"Oh, it turned out to be those three armies, um..."
Zhao Run blinked his eyes, and after pondering for a while, he suddenly smiled and said: "It's just a routine training exercise, please don't take it personally."
"Routine garrison drill? Who are you bluffing?"
Although Zhao Zhuo was smiling, his eyes revealed a look of disbelief.
Think about it, the Hanoi Army is stationed in Handan and is constantly accumulating food and baggage. The Northern First Army is stationed in Yaocheng and vigorously mining iron ore. The Shangdang Army is training in the mountainous area in the northern part of Shangdang County to strengthen the soldiers' mountain and forest combat capabilities. All of this is simply
In preparation for the attack on South Korea, how can one just say "routine garrison drills" and get through?
But unfortunately, no matter how Han Chao and Zhao Zhuo tried, Wei King Zhao Run always insisted that death was a "routine garrison drill", so the two had no choice but to temporarily retire.
They did not notice that when they turned to leave, King Zhao Run of Wei had an inexplicable smile on his lips.
Returning to the posthouse that night, Han Chao and Zhao Zhuo discussed in private.
During this period, Zhao Zhuo said: "Today, the King of Wei looked at Zuo Yan several times and treated you and me. I'm afraid there is something fishy in it."
Han Chao nodded in agreement, feeling very worried in his heart.
To be fair, it is not impossible for the Wei State to destroy South Korea, but the cost of doing so is too high. However, if the Wei State has made preparations in advance, then it may be possible to achieve the goal of destroying South Korea at a small cost.
The question is, why did the Wei State uncharacteristically want to go to war with South Korea?
When mentioning this issue, Zhao Zhuo repeated Han Wangran's judgment to Han Chao and asked Han Chao: "Master Han, I wonder if you heard about any changes in Chu when you were in Wei? Your Majesty suspected that there were changes in Wei.
, it is most likely caused by the Chu State."
"Chu State?"
Han Chao was stunned.
During the time he was in the Wei State, he was busy inquiring about the intelligence of the Wei State and recruiting senior officials of the Wei State's court. He really did not pay attention to the news of the Chu State.
Thinking of this, Han Chao said: "Master Zhao, please rest in the post house and let me do some research."
In the next few days, Han Chao spared no effort to inquire about the situation in Chu.
After inquiring, he learned that some time ago, under unknown circumstances, General Xiang Mo of Chu State sent 200,000 troops to assist the Lu royal family in putting down the Sanhuan Rebellion. - Due to various reasons, he only found out this.
thing.
"Does this have anything to do with Wei Guo's sudden abnormality?"
Han Chao and Zhao Zhuo looked at each other.
In the end, they quickly sent someone to deliver the news to the royal capital Jicheng.
Around the beginning of winter that year, Han Wangran received news from Han Chao and Zhao Zhuo. Although many people were unaware of the news, Han Wangran was shocked.
The reason is very simple. In Han Wangran's view, since the Chu State sent troops to help the Lu State put down the Sanhuan Rebellion, what they are looking for must be the craftsmanship of the Lu State. Apart from that, the Lu State has nothing else worthy of the Chu State.
A lot of trouble.
Regarding this matter, Qi State actually had no reaction at all, which shows that Qi and Chu have communicated in private. In other words, Qi and Chu are very likely to have formed an alliance in private.
In view of the "secret alliance between Qi and Chu", the two countries are undoubtedly targeting the Wei State - even, based on the alliance between Qi and Chu, Qi State is very likely to secretly support the Chu State and help the Chu State to achieve the goal of being able to compete with the Wei State as soon as possible.
The country reached the stage of World War I.
Based on the above, it means that Chu State has already obtained Lu State's technology and part of Qi State's wealth. Therefore, Wei State will feel threatened after learning this news.
Not only the threat from Chu State, but also South Korea - Wei Wang Zhao Run did not want to see Chu and Han unite, so he was prepared to get rid of him before Chu State had time to get rid of South Korea. At least
This caused Korea to suffer a serious decline.
"That's it...that's it..."
After realizing this, Han Wangran stood at the window with his hands behind his back, thoughtfully.
He was considering whether he should help Qi and Chu resist the pressure from Wei, and then unite the two countries to weaken Wei, currently the most powerful country in the Central Plains.
Perhaps, this is the only chance to drag Wei down from the throne of overlord.