When he got up early in the morning, Han Chao, the envoy stationed in Wei and Han, walked around the street and then walked into a wine shop.
Compared with Da Liang, Luoyang, the new capital of Wei State, was just a new city. But what is incredible is that this new city was just built not long ago, and even though some of the buildings in the city are still not perfect, the city has become extremely prosperous.
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When Han Chao first arrived in Daliang, his evaluation of Daliang was: This is a big city no less important than Handan.
But now that he saw this Luoyang City, Han Chao didn't know how to evaluate it - although there are still many aspects of this capital that are unsatisfactory, its scale is destined to become one of the most prosperous cities in the entire Central Plains.
Just like the Bolangsha Port City back then.
Choosing a restaurant at random, Han Chao sat down in the corner. When a waiter from the store came up to him, he said with a smile on his face: "Master guest, what would you like?"
"This person...should be a Yinrong person, right? But I don't know which tribe he is from."
After judging the appearance of this shop assistant, Han Chao secretly thought to himself that after all, the appearance of people from Sanchuan and Wei was slightly different.
But apart from that, this shopkeeper speaks Wei language and wears Wei clothes. Unless he is someone like Han Chao who has been in Wei for many years, he is really rare for people from other countries.
You have to be able to see it.
"Have a glass of wine."
Han Chao also spoke in Wei Yan: "What kind of wine do you have here?"
"It depends on what you want." The waiter wiped the table with a rag and said with a smile: "There are ordinary fruit wines and Shangdang spirits..." As he said, he slowly listed more than a dozen kinds of wines.
The name of the class.
Han Chao pondered for a moment and suddenly asked: "Is there any Korean chestnut wine?"
The shop clerk was stunned for a moment, and then replied: "Korean chestnut wine, there are only ordinary and good Korean chestnut wines. Our store is small and we can't get it..."
Han Chao nodded and said with a smile: "Then let's have a pot of ordinary chestnut bar."
"This... is good." The shop clerk glanced at Han Chao with a strange expression, but quickly covered it up. In fact, Han Chao also understood the reason. After all, although chestnut wine is said to have the effect of strengthening the body and spleen,
Compared with traditional wine, it still has a slightly strange taste. Wei people, mainly the nobles of Wei, usually only drink two glasses at lunch and dinner, and do not drink chestnut wine early in the morning.
"As for the food..." Han Chao thought for a while and said, "Let's have a plate of mutton, man, is the meat in your store fresh?"
"It depends on what you said." The shop clerk said with a smile: "This is Luoyang, which is only more than twenty miles away from Luocheng. The mutton transported to the city is all freshly killed."
"That's true."
Nodding secretly, Han Chao ordered: "Then serve a plate of mutton, and you can order two or three of the other side dishes."
"Okay." The waiter responded and left, and a moment later he came over with a pot of chestnut wine.
Han Chao reached for the wine bottle, poured a glass into the cup, and tasted it carefully.
Of course, ordinary chestnut wine is not as pure and rich in flavor as the chestnut wine that Korea donated to the Wei royal family, but Han Chao really missed the wine of his homeland after being away from his homeland for many years.
And more of them miss their family members who are still in their homeland.
Not to mention, as an envoy to Wei, staying in the capital of Wei State is not a problem, food and accommodation are not a problem, but it is a bit lonely. A few days ago, his colleague Zhao Zhuo went to Wei State as an envoy. Han Chao was very excited to have a few nights of drinking with this colleague.
, but unfortunately, after the beginning of spring, Zhao Zhuo returned to South Korea, so that Han Chao was the only one left here.
While eating wine and food, Han Chao missed his family members in his homeland.
At this moment, two people dressed as businessmen walked in from the wine shop and sat down next to Han Chao.
"Wei people? Han people? Qi people? Chu people? Or maybe people from Qin and Wei?"
Out of instinct as a messenger, Han Chao glanced at the two people and immediately had several guesses in his mind, but he didn't pay attention to it. After all, Luoyang was similar to Bolangsha Port City, full of all kinds of things.
crowd.
I remember that a while ago, Han Chao met several Jie people from Nanyang in Luoyang. Through conversation, he learned that these Jie people were specially escorting a group of slaves to Luoyang for delivery with the Lun tribe. They stopped by to see them on the way.
See Luoyang, the current capital of the Wei Dynasty.
At this time, the two merchants had ordered food and drinks and sat down to talk to each other.
"Brother Li, you have been doing jade business in Qin for the past two years, but have you made a fortune?"
"Brother Wang is joking. All the fine jade stones are in the hands of Qin State's Lantian Jun Ying. How can we get them? We just need to get some scraps and transport them to Qi State to fool the Qi people.
That's all...not to mention, the people of Qi like jade even more than the people of Wei. In Qi these days, if you don't wear a jade of better quality, you will be embarrassed to go out and say hello to others."
"Hahaha……"
"Speaking of which, where has Brother Wang made his fortune in recent years?"
"What's the point of making a fortune? It's just making a living under "Wen Bancheng"."
"Wen Bancheng? Could it be that the wealthy man from Anling, Wen Shaobo, who was rumored to be able to buy half a beam?" the businessman called Brother Li asked in surprise.
"It's Mr. Wen." The merchant, who was called Brother Wang, said with some pride.
"Is Mr. Wen a wealthy man in Anling?"
Han Chao glanced at the two merchants, thinking deeply.
The world only knows that "Young Uncle Anling Wen" is the most expelled big businessman in the Wei State, but they don't know that this man is the royal merchant of Wei King Zhao Run. When the Wei State secretly sold him a batch of armaments that had been eliminated by the domestic army in South Korea,
In order to deceive others, it was Wen Shaobo's private ship that was used instead of being handled by the Ministry of Household Affairs of the State of Wei.
But having said that, although Wen Shaobo is known as the richest man in Wei, only a few people know that the wealth in Wen Shaobo's hands does not entirely belong to him, but to Wei Wang Zhao Run. Wei Wang Zhao Run holds it in his hands
With such a huge fortune, and Wen Shaobo, who was good at making money through trade, he was taking care of it for him. Therefore, whenever he encountered financial problems when implementing new policies, the Wei king had full confidence.
In contrast, although Han Ran, the monarch of South Korea, has regained the royal power, his treasury is not rich. Whenever the country needs to invest funds, he still needs to discuss it with the country's nobles in a good manner. When he thinks of this,
Han Chao was worried about his Korean monarch Han Ran.
Compared with Zhao Run, the king of Wei who had military power and deep wealth, Han Wangran was in a really difficult situation.
While Han Chao was feeling emotional, the merchant named Brother Wang said while eating wine and food: "By the way, Brother Li, have you heard that the Yanling Army has been transferred to the north?"
"Are they the garrison of Yanling city who opposes you Anling in everything?" Brother Li said with a smile.
"The dispute between Anyan, right?" Brother Wang said with a smile: "Has this matter been spread here? In fact, the grievances between the two cities have been resolved long ago, and what is left is a battle of loyalty. Compared with
After all, the "boundary stone" built by His Majesty at the boundary between the two counties was more dangerous. As a result, the elders of the two counties refused to give in. When I returned to Anling last year, I represented Anling County in a tug of war with the Yanling people...
…”
"Who wins and who loses?" Brother Li asked with a smile.
"Brother Li, aren't you asking questions knowingly?" Brother Wang waved his hand awkwardly, then changed the subject and said, "Let's go back to the Yanling Army. Do you know where Yanling was transferred?"
"where?"
"Northern Xinjiang!" Brother Wang lowered his voice and said, "The Yanling Army has been transferred to the Handan area. Looking at this, we, the Wei Dynasty, may have to go to war with the Wei State."
『!!』
When Han Chao heard this sentence suddenly, his expression suddenly changed.
At this time, Brother Li said doubtfully: "That's not true, is it? Didn't it mean that the Wei Dynasty has stopped going to war abroad in recent years? Your Majesty is not a militant person."
"Who knows, your Majesty and the imperial court may have their own plans." Brother Wang shrugged and said, "Anyway, it is absolutely impossible for me, the Wei Dynasty, to lose..."
As he was speaking, he suddenly noticed that Han Chao was looking at them intently, and turned his head in confusion.
Seeing this, Han Chao quickly raised his hands and said, "Two virtuous brothers, but I don't know if the "Yanling Army Northward Transfer" thing you just talked about is true?"
Maybe it was because Han Chao was dressed as a Wei man at the moment, so the two merchants didn't care much. Brother Wang smiled and said, "Of course it's true. Wang just returned to Luoyang from Anling. Before I set off, the Yanling Army
We have already begun to mobilize troops to northern Xinjiang, and I am afraid they have passed through Daliang by now."
Hearing this, Han Chao couldn't help but panic.
You must know that although the Yanling Army is not as famous as the Shangshui Army, in fact, the strength of this army is not much inferior to that of the Shangshui Army. It is also a direct soldier of the "Suwang Army" at that time, and the army has talented people.
Ji Ji, like General Qu Cheng and Deputy General Yan Mo, were both excellent generals who were good at commanding troops in battle.
"Are Wei and South Korea serious about going to war?"
"I can't say for sure." Brother Wang took a sip of wine and broke another shocking news: "I am very sure about the Yanling Army. In addition, I also heard that the Anti-Rebel Army seems to have been transferred.
I went to northern Xinjiang, and I don’t know if it’s true.”
"Suppress, suppress the rebels?"
Han Chao's heart beat violently.
It’s no wonder that the commander-in-chief of the anti-rebellion army is Nanliang King Zhao Yuanzuo. Although this person has announced that he has resigned from the military and General Pang Huan is in charge of the army, it cannot be denied that as long as Nanliang King Zhao Yuanzuo is still alive, then,
The anti-rebellion army was deeply engraved with the imprint of this prince.
And Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, was the hero who defeated South Korea in three northern Xinjiang battles and directly or indirectly contributed to Wei's three victories. In these three wars, apart from Wei Wang Zhao Run, this person had the greatest contribution.
Han Chao felt his heart beat faster at the thought of such a person being transferred to Northern Xinjiang again.
After returning to the posthouse in confusion, Han Chao felt more and more wrong. He hurriedly inquired around. After inquiring, he learned that what the merchant surnamed Wang said was exactly the same. The Yanling Army and the Suppression Army of Wei State did indeed come from Anling.
, the Dingtao area was transferred to the north at the same time.
At the same time, he also found out that compared to the unusual military actions on the Wei side, Korea also transferred the Shanggu Army, Daijun Army, and Beiyan Army to the Wu'an, Bairen, and Julu areas.
In other words, before long, the number of troops facing each other at the border between Wei and Han will be close to 300,000.
"What on earth is going on? What on earth happened?"
After learning about this, Han Chao was frightened.
He couldn't understand why Wei suddenly stationed a large number of troops in northern Xinjiang, and he couldn't understand why Han Ran, the monarch of South Korea, who had a deep city and was good at forbearance, actually didn't consider this move.
By negotiating with the Wei State to resolve the conflict, the Shanggu Army, Daijun Army, and the Northern Yan Army were transferred south to compete with the Wei State.
What's going on?
Han Chao really couldn't figure it out.
At the same time, in the Nanyan area of Liang County, the Yanling Army and the Anti-Rebel Army happened to meet when they were preparing to cross the river.
If it were Wu Ji of the Shang Shui Army, even if he saw the anti-rebellion army, he would pretend not to see it and just cross the river by himself. After all, he still has a lot of prejudice against Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang.
But Qu Cheng of the Yanling Army was a very smooth man. After seeing the suppressing rebels, he entrusted the army to the deputy general Yan Mo, and he himself led a group of guards to the suppressing rebels, preparing to follow the South
Liang Wang Zhao Yuanzuo said hello - it was precisely because of his tact that he was gradually accepted by the upper-class aristocratic circle of Wei.
However, to Qu Cheng's surprise, when he came to where the commander-in-chief of the suppressing rebel army was, he did not see Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, but only saw Pang Huan, the general of the suppressed rebel army.
"General Pang." Qu Cheng greeted the other party with a smile.
"General Qu Cheng." Pang Huan nodded in response.
It's not that he is deliberately cold, it's just that Pang Huan is not good at building relationships with others, and he doesn't bother to do that.
Because of this, when he noticed the Yanling Army just now, he did not take the initiative to send anyone to say hello to Qu Cheng. Again, although the Suppression of Rebellion Army was also included in the Tiance Mansion, it was because of the relationship between the Nanliang King Zhao Yuanzuo.
The relationship with other Wei armies is not very harmonious, and they have always been at odds with each other.
However, since Qu Cheng came to greet him on his own initiative, Pang Huan certainly did not want to be cold-mouthed, so he walked side by side with Qu Cheng and chatted word by word.
"General Qu Cheng, are you also preparing to go to Handan?"
"Yes...Didn't King Nanliang come?"
"The prince is still in Luoyang." Pang Huan shook his head and said, "There is no need for the prince to take action in this matter."
I remember that in the past few years, Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, was also ordered by Wei Wang Zhao Run to "stay in the royal capital except during wars." But this time the situation was a bit special, because Zhai Huang, the general of Tiance Mansion, was initially against Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang.
However, after Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, learned about the situation, he told Tiance Mansion that "Your Majesty does not need the old minister this time", so he shied away from the matter and just asked Pang Huan to take charge of the army.
After learning about the incident, Pang Huan also sent someone to verify with Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, and found that it was indeed true.
Therefore, Pang Huan was also a little puzzled about this.
"No need for the King of Nanliang to take action?" Qu Cheng was a little surprised.
Because now the only one in northern Xinjiang is King Zhao Jiang of Yan. However, although this prince is a brave general, he cannot be said to be a commander with a strategic vision. Since the king of Yu and Zhao Yuan
After Yi passed away, there were only two and a half left in the Wei Kingdom, one was Wei King Zhao Run, the other was Nan Liang King Zhao Yuanzuo, and the other half was Zhai Huang who was transferred to Tiance Mansion.
Others are a little worse, even the famous generals Sima An, Shao Hu, Wu Ji, Qu Cheng and others who were praised in "Yi Tan".
The large group of people slowly crossed the river and headed towards Handan.
Qu Cheng and Pang Huan took the first step and went to Handan to meet with King Zhao Jiang of Yan to discuss the specific task allocation.
After traveling for a day and a half, Qu Cheng and Pang Huan arrived in Handan first and met Zhao Jiang, King of Yan.
"Didn't the King of Nanliang come?"
When seeing Pang Huan, King Yan Zhao Jiang asked in a complicated tone.
Once upon a time, Zhao Jiang, the king of Yan, was full of resentment towards Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, just because the latter tried to use Zhao Jiang and his Shanyang Army and the Nanyan Army as abandoned sons during the Second Battle of Northern Xinjiang to attract the Korean army.
His attention was used to achieve an ulterior strategic purpose, which resulted in the Shanyang Army and the Nanyan Army almost losing all their casualties in that battle. Even Zongwei, who was as close as a brother to Zhao Jiang, also had several people in the battle.
He died heroically in battle.
However, during the Third Battle of Northern Xinjiang, in view of the false news that "King Su Zhao Run was trapped in Julu" by Han generals Bao Yuan and Jin Pao, King Zhao Jiang of Yan, for the sake of the overall situation, endured his resentment and fought against Zhao Yuan, the king of Southern Liang.
Zuo Jing cooperates sincerely, not to mention, as long as Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, changes his way of using troops to benefit himself at the expense of others, he will really be an outstanding commander.
In that battle, the King of Yan, Zhao Jiang, and the King of Nanliang, Zhao Yuanzuo, also cooperated quite well.
Because of this, when he learned that Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, chose to stay in Luoyang to continue his retirement, King Zhao Jiang of Yan was relieved, but also a little regretful - prejudice aside, he really hoped to ask this uncle for advice.
two.
Perhaps because the attitude of Zhao Jiang, King of Yan, was quite polite and he was not as resentful towards them as in previous years, Pang Huan briefly explained the situation of Zhao Yuanzuo, King of Nanliang: "Since the death of Prince Yu, the prince's body has
It’s not as good as before. According to people around him, besides accompanying his wife and young lady, the prince has only been reading or writing or drawing at home recently..."
"oh."
King Yan Zhao Jiang nodded thoughtfully.
In fact, he also heard similar rumors, and learned that the temperament of Nanliang King Zhao Yuanzuo had indeed changed drastically after the death of King Yu Zhao Yuandai. In the words of Wei Wang Zhao Run, Nanliang King Zhao Yuanzuo seemed to have lost the meaning of life, and was confused every day.
Even sometimes I feel a little bit demented.
At least mentally, it is indeed far worse than before.
"...It's time for me to reach my age."
Shaking his head secretly, King Yan Zhao Jiang ended the greetings, invited Qu Cheng and Pang Huan to the side hall of the residence, and ordered someone to fetch a map of the Handan area.
"In accordance with your Majesty's order, our three armies will be stationed at the border in the near future to put pressure on South Korea..." After saying that, King Zhao Jiang of Yan pointed to two locations on the map and said: "Ye City and Feicheng
, this is where we attack and choke. The former can quickly support Handan and help Handan control Wu'an. The latter can contain Julu and have to guard against it. The two generals can discuss it themselves."
Hearing this, Qu Cheng and Pang Huan looked at each other, and then made a decision: Qu Cheng's Yanling army would garrison Yecheng and cooperate with Handan to contain Wu'an, while Pang Huan's anti-rebellion army would garrison Feicheng and contain Julu.
"Does your Majesty have any other instructions?"
Pang Huan asked Zhao Jiangdao.
Zhao Jiang thought for a while and said: "A sword that has not been unsheathed is actually the greatest threat, because outsiders don't know whether it is a wooden sword or a magic weapon in the sheath... The same is true for South Korea this time. Your Majesty asked me
We will conduct daily drills at the garrison and gradually put pressure on South Korea. Although small-scale conflicts are not prohibited, for now, His Majesty does not allow large-scale military exchanges. Therefore, for the time being, please refrain from overly provoking South Korea."
Qu Cheng and Pang Huan looked at each other and nodded in understanding. After all, they also understood that fighting a war with South Korea was meaningless unless they were fully prepared and planned to devour the country in one fell swoop.
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On that day, King Zhao Jiang of Yan held a banquet at his residence and drank several drinks with Qu Cheng and Pang Huan.
Waiting for the next day, Qu Cheng and Pang Huan said goodbye to King Zhao Jiang of Yan one after another, and returned to the army respectively to prepare for the garrison in Yecheng and Feicheng.
At this time, the border between South Korea and Wei was full of elaborate efforts by the two countries. Therefore, the news that the Yanling Army and the Anti-Rebel Army had arrived in northern Xinjiang quickly reached the ears of the South Korean army commander Le Yi.
After learning about this, Han General Le Yi was very solemn. After all, the Wei State once again mobilized troops to the border, and the troops mobilized were elite divisions such as the Yanling Army and the Suppression Army.
Including the Hanoi army of King Yan and Zhao Jiang, the number of Wei troops stationed on the border has reached 150,000.
This is already a quite astonishing amount.
Under such circumstances, to say that Wei Guo had no ill intentions towards South Korea, Le Yi would not believe it to be honest.
"Continue to inquire and closely monitor Wei Jun's every move!"
"yes!"
Under the orders of Han General Le Yi, South Korean spies moved in full force and monitored the movements of the Wei army day and night.
However, as far as we know, the Wei army has not made any changes for the time being. They only train the three armies in Handan, Yecheng, and Feicheng every day.
In contrast, the continuous flow of baggage and grain from Wei State from Liang County and Yingshui County made Le Yi feel a sharp increase in pressure.
Because since before winter last year, the Wei State has been transporting baggage and grain and grass to the front line, and now it is April of the following year, but the Wei State is still making preparations in this regard.
It is conceivable that if this war is not fought, once it is fought, it will be a war to "annihilate a country".
In early May, while Le Yi was planning various defense facilities, he suddenly received the news.
"Report! The Wei army stationed in Handan discovered a large number of armored chariots during their drills."
"What?"
Le Yi's expression changed after hearing this.
Although chariots have long been eliminated, Wei's armored chariots have shown faint signs of re-entering the battlefield in recent years.
For example, tortoise-shell chariots, such as Wugang chariots, these chariots are simply the nemesis of cavalry. As long as they cooperate with these chariots, Wei's infantry can beat the Korean cavalry to the ground and find teeth for them. Le Yi must not be vigilant.
Thinking of this, Le Yi immediately disguised himself and went to the Handan area to take a close look at the Wei army's drills.
Sure enough, hundreds more tortoise-shell chariots were seen in the daily drills of the Hanoi Army under the command of King Zhao Jiang of Yan. These Wei troops seemed to be training how to cooperate with the chariots to overwhelm the defenders.
"Routine training...hehe."
Le Yi secretly sneered in his heart, because the Wei army on the opposite side was clearly training him as an imaginary enemy, and the purpose was self-evident.
In addition, Le Yi also noticed that there were many giant trebuchets in the Wei army in Hanoi, which were terrifying war weapons that could destroy city walls with one hit.
Even the famous general Le Yi felt a little creepy.
After returning to the camp, he recalled and wrote a letter in his own hand, ordering people to send it to Jicheng day and night and deliver it to Han Wangran.
After seeing this letter, Han Wangran also felt a surge in pressure.
After all, the State of Wei was continuously increasing the armaments of its troops stationed in Xinjiang, and was obviously actively preparing for war to swallow up South Korea in one go. This made Han Wangran restless.
In view of this situation, Han Wangran resolutely decided to allocate large sums of money from the insufficient treasury to build war weapons and enhance the strength of the troops stationed in Xinjiang.