Looking at the resolute expression of the young monarch in front of him, Korean Prime Minister Shen Buhai hesitated, with a look of hesitation on his face.
Early this morning, Han Wangran invited Prime Minister Shen Buhai to the palace to discuss with him the strategy against Wei.
Although Han Wangran had just explained it very clearly, Shen Buhai was still hesitant. After all, the target was Wei State, which was currently the most powerful country in the Central Plains.
"Seriously..." Licking his dry lips, Shen Buhai lowered his tone and said slowly: "Are you really going to do this?"
Han Wangran nodded and said with a serious face: "Now the Wei State is so powerful that no one country can shake it...According to my guess, the Chu State may have obtained the craftsmanship and technology of the Lu State and part of the wealth of the Qi State, and it will definitely be conquered in the near future."
It has become the close enemy of Wei State, but now, Chu State is definitely not Wei State's opponent. If Korea can share part of the pressure at this stage, we may have the opportunity to let Chu State develop to the point where Wei State is afraid.
…”
Shen Buhai remained silent. From his perspective, of course he would not say something like "What good does this do to Korea?" With such words, as long as Wei can be brought down, this is the greatest benefit to South Korea.
Otherwise, whether it is Chu, South Korea, or other Central Plains countries, they will never be able to make a difference and will only exist in the shadow of Wei from generation to generation.
But is it necessary to do this?
Shen Buhai stroked his beard, frowned and thought.
In his opinion, Han Wangran's judgment was certainly correct, but "attracting Wei's attention and sharing the pressure for Chu" meant that South Korea had to take the initiative to tear apart the current friendly relationship with Wei and sever the interests of the country.
From a political perspective, this is certainly not a wise choice - the wise choice is of course to let other countries contain Wei.
"...Just because we, the Republic of Korea, are the only ones who have the ability to contain Wei."
After Shen Buhai raised his doubts, Han Wangran said seriously.
Indeed, in the current Central Plains, only South Korea has the ability to contain Wei. After all, although South Korea suffered a disastrous defeat in the last Wei-Korean battle, it still retained a considerable military force. In addition, due to the post-war
In relation to Qin, South Korea also attaches great importance to restoring the strength of the country's military. It is no exaggeration to say that it has regained the ability to fight with Wei - of course, the ability to fight with Wei mentioned here is purely literal.
It means that you are only qualified to fight with it, but there is almost no possibility of defeating it.
But compared to South Korea, the armies of Qi and Chu were no match for Wei.
In the past, Qi's army was famous for its excellent armaments. However, now, Wei's armaments are no less than those of Qi. In terms of the individual strength of the soldiers, it may take at least two or three Qi soldiers to compete with one.
The number of soldiers in Wei State is the same, but Wei State has more than 400,000 troops - what is this concept?
In comparison, Chu's army was even worse. Its armaments were not as good as those of Wei, and its soldiers were not as strong as Wei's soldiers. The only advantage was absolute superiority in numbers. But unfortunately, in the "Qi-Chu War" decades ago,
", the Qilu Allied Forces have already proved a truth: in the face of high-tech war weapons, pure human sea tactics have no advantage.
Therefore, even if Qi and Chu unite at present, it will be difficult to pose a great threat to the Wei State. Instead, they will most likely be defeated by the Wei State.
But if South Korea can help Chu State share the pressure of five years, no, three years, then in three years, Chu State is likely to develop into another Wei State - even if the level of development is not as good as that of Wei State, it will be able to greatly increase its victory over Wei State.
opportunity.
The only problem is that if you do this, South Korea may have to pay a heavy price.
Is it really appropriate to risk heavy losses for one's own country in order to give another country a chance to develop steadily? Is it in South Korea's interest? - This is exactly what Han Xiang Shin is considering.
But the King of Han was more decisive. He firmly believed that now is not the time to care about gains and losses. Only by working together to pull Wei down will other countries have a chance to come forward!
Only South Korea can have the opportunity to wash away its shame!
It has to be said that Han Wangran can be regarded as a rare hero based on his outstanding foresight and his mentality of not caring about temporary gains and losses.
After all, not everyone in this world can do this: in order to defeat a more powerful enemy, actively give up their own interests and create opportunities for potential allies.
Han Xiang Shen Buhai admired this outstanding foresight very much, but he still could not make as decisive a decision as Han Wangran. This may be because he was getting older and became more timid and cautious, and did not want to appear.
Any mistake will push the country into a pit of fire, so that the future will be unable to explain to the Korean ancestors.
Therefore, after thinking carefully for a moment, Shen Buhai proposed another strategy: "This plan is too dangerous. If we are not careful, our country, Korea, may be in danger of subjugation... The veteran thought, why doesn't the king temporarily stand aside and watch the fire? Why did he decide?
Do you want to share the pressure for Chu State?
" At this point, he paused, stroking his beard and added: "The Chu State has obtained the craftsmanship of the Lu State and the wealth of the Qi State, and may become the next Wei State in the future. In this case, the Wei State will definitely be the first to think about it.
The way to suppress Chu is not to use troops against us, Korea."
Han Wangran shook his head when he heard this and said: "Doesn't Prime Minister Shen not know that the three armies of Wei State's Northern Army, Shangdang County, and Hanoi Army have already deployed their troops on the national border and are training to conquer our country?"
"Of course the veteran knows about this." Shen Buhai nodded, then frowned and said: "But according to the veteran, Wei's move is probably just a deterrent... to deter me, Han, from acting rashly, so that he can suppress it next
The Kingdom of Chu... Your Majesty, please follow the advice of my senior ministers.
See, Wei is very likely to use force against Chu. In this case, why don't your king watch the fire from the other side? But when the Wei army invades the territory of Chu in a large scale and cannot take care of the affairs in the north, we, Han, will consider whether to take the opportunity to attack Wei. The old minister thinks
, this is safer.”
Hearing this, Han Wangran let out a long breath, and then said firmly: "No, the first one that the Wei State wants to fight must be my country, Da Han, not the Chu State."
"..." Shen Buhai was stunned when he heard the words, a little unable to understand.
In his opinion, since the Chu State has obtained the craftsmanship of the Lu State and the wealth of the Qi State, posing a potential threat to the Wei State, then if the Wei State wants to take action, it must first attack the Chu State. Why would it choose to attack him?
Take action? - The Wei State sent troops to attack South Korea, but it gave the Chu State, which was already a potential threat, an opportunity to develop its national power. This does not make sense at all.
"Shen Xiang."
Seeing the suspicious look on Shen Buhai's face, Han Wangran said sternly: "Please be sure to trust your intuition... Our opponent this time is Wei Wang Zhao Run. This person cannot be judged by common sense. Mr. Shen, what do you say?
He deployed troops on the border to intimidate our country, so that he could turn his guns to suppress Chu, but I didn't think so... When there were faint signs that the three parties of "Han, Chu and Qi" were twisting into one, Zhao Run was the first to use force.
The target is definitely me, Korea!"
Seeing Han Wangran's convinced look, Shen Buhai felt that he was gradually being convinced by the young monarch, so he stroked his beard and nodded slowly.
It can be seen that although he was persuaded by Han Wangran, he still had various worries in his heart.
Seeing this, Han Wangran smiled and comforted: "Don't worry too much, Prime Minister Shen. Although I intend to share the pressure for the Chu State, this does not mean that our country will fight with the Wei State immediately. We only need to show our country's strength."
It’s enough to make Wei Guo have some scruples.”
"What does your Majesty mean?" Shen Buhai asked in surprise.
Han Wangran suppressed the smile on his face and said seriously: "Transfer the Northern Yan Army, Shanggu Army and Daijun Heavy Cavalry to Wu'an and Julu area to compete with the Wei Army there!... The Wei Army is not Japanese.
Are they practicing every day? Then our army is also practicing in Wu'an and Julu every day. We must let Wei Guo understand that although we, Korea, have no choice but to bow to him, we will never allow him to trample on the dignity of our nation. He will
Fight, I will fight, as long as the Wei State is not worried about being attacked by Chu's army in the south when it is at war with me, Han Dynasty, then go ahead!"
"This...this is playing with fire!"
Shen Bu was so shocked that his eyes popped out of his head, and the wrinkles on his face trembled, as if he had been frightened.
Actually threatened Zhao Run, the monarch of Wei State?
Who in the entire Central Plains doesn't know that Wei Wang Zhao Run's violent temper is the most unsafe threat? According to Han Wangran's head-on approach, even if Wei originally only wanted to intimidate South Korea, a real war might break out as a result.
But if you think about it carefully, Han Wangran's move is quite feasible.
You must know that the difficulty of fighting between the attacker and the defender is different. If they just adopt the strategy of defending in the local area, with the military strength of the Northern Yan Army and Daijun Heavy Cavalry, they may not necessarily suffer losses. As long as South Korea is ahead of schedule
If you are well prepared for local defense, the Wei army may not be able to successfully attack.
Thinking of this, Shen Buhai finally nodded and said: "In this case, we need to send someone to inform Chu State."
Hearing this, Han Wangran chuckled and said: "Xiong Tuo is not a mediocre master. Although his sister Mi Jiang married to Wei State and Zhao Run, I think Xiong Tuo always has the ambition to dominate the Central Plains... As long as
If he has this ambition, then he will never let go of the opportunity to bring Wei down. Once he learns that Wei is attacking our country, he will definitely send troops to respond to our country."
"It's better to be on the safe side..."
Although Shen Buhai agreed with Han Wangran's statement, he still insisted that he needed to inform Chu King Xiong Tuo: Even if Chu King Xiong Tuo would indeed not miss the opportunity to weaken Wei, what if he failed to pay attention to the situation between Wei and South Korea in time?
What about the stalemate?
So on the same day, Han Wangran sent an envoy "Zhang Cang" to travel across more than half of the Central Plains to Shouying, the capital of Chu State, to meet with Chu King Xiong Tuo.
It was already early winter, and by the time Han envoy Zhang Cang arrived at Shoying, the capital of the Chu Kingdom, it was already a snowy winter.
King Xiong Tuo of Chu was very surprised by the arrival of Han envoy Zhang Cang, and immediately received the former and asked him about the purpose of his long journey.
After paying homage to King Xiong Tuo of Chu, Han envoy Zhang Cang raised his hands and begged, "Please King Chu, please retreat."
As soon as he heard this, King Xiong Tuo of Chu realized that the matter might be serious, so he retreated.
At this time, Han envoy Zhang Cang asked Xiong Tuodao: "May I ask the King of Chu if your country has obtained Lu's technology and part of Qi's wealth?"
Hearing this, Xiong Tuo's eyes flashed with surprise.
You know, the world only knows that the Chu State uncharacteristically helped the Lu State to put down the Sanhuan Rebellion a while ago, but they don’t know that the Lu State gave a rubbing of "The Secret Record of Lu Gong" as a reward, and no one knows that not only did the Qi State
He acquiesced to this matter, and also secretly assisted Chu State to help Chu State accelerate the development of its national strength.
"How did the Korean in front of me know that?"
Xiong Tuo was surprised and smiled calmly: "Did you see that Chu sent troops to help Lu suppress the rebellion in the country? Does your envoy think that Chu has obtained the technology of Lu?...Haha, help.
King Lu is just my whim. King Lu is the royal family of the King of Lu, and I am also from the royal family of Chu. Of course I can't stand some rebellious ministers and traitors trying to steal the status of the royal family."
His words are quite convincing in this era.
I remember that when the war between the Xiong family and the Qu family broke out within the Chu State to fight for the kingship, neither the Wei State nor the Qi State intervened, let alone took the opportunity to attack the Chu State, lest the Chu State's royal power be discredited.
It's unjust
Theft by the Qu family - On this point, the royal families of all countries in the world have a tacit understanding: war between countries is just a game between the royal families, and other classes will never be allowed to get involved, because this will seriously shake the royal family.
status.
After glancing at Zhang Cang, Chu King Xiong Tuo continued to laugh and said: "You actually said that Chu has obtained the wealth of Qi. Doesn't your envoy know that in the past two years, Chu and Qi were at loggerheads?
Let’s open diplomatic relations... The people of Qi hate our country so much, how can they support our country for free? It’s nonsense!”
"This is not nonsense. As long as your country and Qi have a common opponent, Qi will temporarily put aside its prejudices and secretly join forces with your country."
According to Han Wangran's instructions, Zhang Cang stated the former's previous speculations very straightforwardly: "Our monarch believes that your country was still eyeing the Lu State a few years ago, but in the past few months, it was uncharacteristic of normal and sent troops to assist the Lu State in calming down the judgment. So,
What your country wants is undoubtedly Lu
The country's craftsmanship and technology... And Qi State has no response to this, which shows that Qi State has already had a tacit understanding with your country in private. What is the reason why your country and Qi State have to turn their hostility into friendship? I'm afraid it's just
There is only the Wei State that is becoming more and more powerful..."
Having said this, Zhang Cang stopped talking and just looked at Chu King Xiong Tuo calmly. His eyes seemed to be silently expressing: My king has already guessed what you are doing, so you don't have to be secretive anymore.
After listening to Zhang Cang's words, Chu King Xiong Tuo was inevitably a little embarrassed. The facts must be exactly as Han Wangran guessed.
"Han Ran... guessed the key point just through the trivial information of "Chu soldiers assisting Lu". He is really a person who cannot be underestimated. Wait a minute! Since Han Ran can guess it, that means that the dwarf can also guess it?
』
Thinking of this, Xiong Tuo couldn't help but frown.
The reason why he deliberately blocked the news before letting outsiders know that Chu State had obtained the rubbings of "Lu Gong's Secret Record" was because he was worried that Wei State would immediately change its view of Chu State after learning about it.
Attitude and find ways to suppress him.
Unexpectedly, Han Ran, the monarch of South Korea, could guess such a thing just based on the incident of "Chu soldiers aiding Lu" - since Han Ran could guess it, in other words, Xiong Tuo's cousin-in-law, Wei Wang Zhao Run, could also guess it.
.
"...I hate smart people!"
Glancing at Zhang Cang, the Han envoy in front of him, Xiong Tuo exhaled rather angrily, and said with a bit of perseverance: "What on earth do Han Ran mean by sending you here?"
After hearing this, Zhang Cang took out a letter from his arms, handed it to Xiong Tuo, and said, "The monarch of our country wrote this letter in his own hand, and the King of Chu will know it as soon as he sees it."
Xiong Tuo didn't have any doubts, so he took the letter, opened it, and glanced at it casually.
After just a few glances, the look on his face gradually became serious, because Han Wangran tactfully tested Xiong Tuo in the letter, asking if Xiong Tuo had any ambition to compete with the Wei State - if Xiong Tuo was willing to let Chu State always be defeated.
If Xiong Tuo has the ambition to replace Wei with Chu, then Han Ran will be willing to contain Wei for Chu at any cost.
years, allowing Chu State to gain valuable development time.
"This Han Ran..."
Xiong Tuo read the letter again with a solemn expression, and his evaluation of Han Ran immediately rose to the same level as his cousin-in-law Zhao Run.
"The purpose of devoting all the power of South Korea to contain the Wei State on behalf of Chu, no matter the cost, is just to enable the Chu State to pull down this desperate opponent of Wei after it becomes stronger... This Han Ran's mind is different from the
His courage is no less than that of that dwarf!』
Looking at the letter in his hand, Xiong Tuo said secretly in his heart.
Seeing that Xiong Tuo didn't respond for a long time, Han envoy Zhang Cang couldn't help but asked: "What does King Chu want?"
Xiong Tuo glanced at Zhang Cang, suddenly raised the letter in his hand and asked, "Do you know the content of the letter?"
Zhang Cang was stunned for a moment, then quickly shook his head and said: "How dare I open and read the private message sent by our monarch to the King of Chu in private?"
Hearing this, Xiong Tuo nodded slightly, threw the letter in his hand into the brazier, and then said viciously: "It's ridiculous! ...Who is Han Ran? How dare he point fingers at me? Come on, you will."
I will expel this person from the palace!"
When the guards outside the palace heard this, they immediately rushed into the palace.
Seeing this, Zhang Cang was shocked. At this moment, Xiong Tuo sneered and said: "Go back and tell Han Ran that I don't need him to tell me what to do. If he wants to destroy himself, then... go ahead! As long as he doesn't regret it in the future.
!”
After saying that, he waved his hand and urged the palace guards to expel Zhang Cang, the Han envoy, from the palace.
Seeing Zhang Cang yelling and being carried out, the sneer on Xiong Tuo's face was gradually replaced by solemnity.
"...Contain the Wei State for three years for our great Chu? Is it possible? I hope you can match that dwarf..."
With his hands behind his back, Xiong Tuo thought to himself.
At this time, Zhang Cang, the Korean envoy, had been expelled from the palace. He was so angry that he had no face to stay in Shouying, so he immediately returned to Korea by boat.
After a long journey, at the beginning of the spring of the following year, which was the seventh year of Wei Xing'an's reign, Han envoy Zhang Cang returned to Jicheng, the capital of South Korea, and angrily conveyed the original words of Chu King Xiong Tuo to Han Ran,
In it, he added various complaints and dissatisfaction with Xiong Tuo.
But Han Wangran was not annoyed at all after hearing this, and asked with a smile: "If he wants to destroy himself, then go ahead... Is that what Xiong Tuo said?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, Xiong Tuo also said, I hope Your Majesty will not regret it in the future." Zhang Cang said angrily.
After hearing this, Han Wangran chuckled.
"This Xiong Tuo has always been said to be reckless and impulsive, but now it seems that he is also a thoughtful person... Is it because he was afraid that the Wei State would find out that the Chu State had secret contacts with us, Dahan, so he expelled Zhang Cang?"
As for the phrase "regret"... does he want to say that the Chu State will definitely replace the Wei State, but I, the Han Dynasty, are just marrying others? Haha, he is really confident!"
Smiling slightly, Han Wangran nodded and said, "Thank you Zhang Qing for your hard work this time. Zhang Qing should step aside and rest first."
Zhang Cang saw that Han Wangran was humiliated by Xiong Tuo, but he did not show any anger at all. He felt a little strange in his heart and respectfully resigned.
At this time, Han Wangran had slowly walked to the window, watching the ice and snow outside the window gradually melting, thinking secretly: Counting the days, the three armies of Shanggu, Beiyan, and Daijun should have received the king's order from me, and they will mobilize their troops in the near future.
Going south. Can these three armies make Wei feel a little wary?
He was thoughtful.
In early February of the seventh year of Wei Xing'an, South Korea mobilized the Northern Yan Army, the Shanggu Army and Daijun's heavy cavalry to go south, with the Northern Yan Army's general Le Yi as the commander, the Shanggu Army's general Xu Li, and the Daijun Army's general Sima Shang.
Le Yi's lieutenant and a large group of troops headed for the border between Wei and Han.
After the army arrived at the border between Wei and Han, Le Yi ordered Han general Xu Li to take his Shanggu army to garrison Wu'an and assist Wu'an's garrison generals. He and Sima Shang garrisoned "Baren", leaving Wu'an, Bairen and Julu three
The cities were connected to form a line of defense to suppress Wei general Zhao Jiang in Handan City.
A few days later, the Yanwang Zhaojiang stationed in Handan learned the news that South Korea also stationed heavy troops on the border, and was very surprised: actually... actually dared to station heavy troops on the border? "
After thinking about it, he immediately ordered the Hanoi Army under his command to be more vigilant. After all, the Shanggu Army, Beiyan Army, and Daijun Cavalry were all the elite troops stationed in the border areas of South Korea. They had shined in the battle between Wei and Han in the past few years—
- Especially the heavy cavalry of Daijun under the command of Han general Sima Shang. Although they suffered heavy losses in the previous battle, that was just because they fell into Zhao Run's plan, which does not mean that this heavy cavalry was without any threat.
It is no exaggeration to say that after learning that Daijun's heavy cavalry had arrived at Bairen, even the King of Yan Zhaojiang had to be more vigilant. After all, the opponent's 15,000 heavy cavalry were enough to swallow up his 50,000 Hanoi army in one go.
In addition to warning his soldiers to be more vigilant, Zhao Jiang also did not forget the instructions in the letter by King Zhao Run of Wei, and immediately wrote a letter, sending South Korea's response to Luoyang in full.
About ten days later, Wei King Zhao Run received a letter from Zhao Jiang in Luoyang. He learned that South Korea was "not threatened" by his Wei State, and had mobilized the Northern Yan Army, Shanggu Army, and Daijun heavy cavalry and Chen troops to the Wei-Korean border.
"...How decisive! Well, Han Ran probably thought that instead of suppressing the Chu State, I would be more likely to use troops against South Korea, so he decisively decided to make some sacrifices to contain the Wei Dynasty on behalf of the Chu State... Sure enough,
He is much more difficult to deal with than Xiong Tuo. But... he still guessed wrong. Ha, what a pity, Han Ran... Let's see who can restrain whom!"
After clicking his tongue a few times, Zhao Hongrun put away the smile on his face and said in a deep voice to the courtiers in front of him in the Manlu Hall: "South Korea has already taken the bait, so let's follow the original plan..." At this point, he raised his head and raised his eyebrows.
He suddenly clenched his fist with his right hand and shouted in a deep voice: "Call South Korea, it will be doomed!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
In front of King Zhao Run of Wei, several ministers including Zhai Huang, the counselor of the Tiance Mansion, Wang Fu, the director of the General Administration of Metallurgy, Meng Wei, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, and Tao Ji, the minister of the Ministry of War, bowed and bowed, and responded in unison.