On that day, Han Pu, the Marquis of Yuanyi, planned to kill Li Chu, the defender of Yi'an, and then took the opportunity to capture Yi'an. Within two days, several defeated soldiers of the Yi'an army fled to Xiaquyang and reported to the local defender.
Xia Quyang was the county seat where Kang Gong and Han Hu stationed their troops decades ago. A few years later, a general named Ju Xin stood out among Han Hu's subordinates and led Xia Quyang's army to conquer half a generation. The land (Daijun), so he was highly regarded by Han Hu and recommended him as the governor of Daijun. From then on, Xiaquyang became the rear defense of Daijun. Later, Ju Xin sent troops to attack Beidi of Daijun several times, almost all of which were sent out. Go down to Quyang.
However, in the "Second Battle of Northern Xinjiang between Wei and Han" more than ten years ago, South Korea was defeated. Not only did Ju Xin, the governor of the county, be captured alive by Wei general Wu Ji, he was then executed in Shanyang County by the then Wei Gongzi Run. Kang Gong Han Hu, who was serving as the "Commander in Charge of Wei" at that time, was also kicked out by Li Hou Han Wu because of his defeat in this war.
Subsequently, Lihou Hanwu immediately promoted Sima Shang, who had "captured half of the Wei Kingdom", and ordered him to replace Ju Xin as acting county guard and take charge of Xia Quyang.
Later, the 50,000 heavy cavalry under Sima Shang were trained in the Xiaquyang area.
In fact, since then, Kang Gong Han Hu has gradually begun to lose control of Xia Quyang, but it is undeniable that there are still some of Kang Gong Han Hu's old subordinates who are struggling to resist the rising power of Sima Shang, one of the top ten tycoons in Beiyuan. Get involved.
Originally, if Kang Gong and Han Hu were still alive, Sima Shang would not have eaten them all for the sake of the former. Unfortunately, Kang Gong Han Hu was soon killed by Han Wangran, so Sima Shang After receiving the instructions from Han Wangran, he immediately purged Kang Gong Han Hu's old subordinates in Xiaquyang and took the power in his hands.
From then on, Xia Quyang no longer had Kang Gong Han Hu's old tribe, and his surname was changed to Sima.
But at this moment, Han general Sima Shang was not in Quyang, because after Han Wangran was forced to declare war on Wei, Sima Shang and his army were transferred to the border of Wei and Han, and then under the leadership of coach Le Yi Under the arrangement, when Zhang Qigong went to Yuanyi a while ago in Bairen, the groups of Korean patrol soldiers who were killed and buried by ghosts and other green crows on the way were soldiers under Sima Shang.
Because of this misunderstanding, Sima Shang, who has a very tough fighting style, and his cavalry are currently at the border area, frantically fighting each other with the Nanyan cavalry under the command of Zhao Jiang, King of Yan of the State of Wei.
This is probably the largest conflict currently occurring on the border between Wei and South Korea.
Currently stationed in Xia Quyang is Sima Shang's cousin "Sima Tao". Although this man's name means Tao (Tao Tong Tao), he is an out-and-out brave general and is highly respected by his cousin Sima Tao. Shang's love.
When Sima Shang was attacking the Wei Kingdom, Sima Tao served as a vanguard general and captured several cities for his cousin.
But unfortunately, such a brave general was seriously injured due to Wei Gongzi Run's trick during the "Battle of Julu" in the third northern Xinjiang battle between Wei and Han. He was killed when he led the heavy cavalry to charge against the Wei army. A devastating blow to the Wei army.
It is said that when Sima Shang dug out his cousin Sima Tao from the many burnt corpses, Sima Tao not only suffered burns all over his body, but also his left hand and left leg were trampled by someone in the chaos until the bones were broken. Later, he was sent back to Xiaquyang. I was injured for several days and then gradually recovered.
But even after recovering, Sima Tao, who was originally handsome, still had a dazzling burn mark on the left side of his face. To make matters worse, his left hand may have been injured, even though it was a bit weak.
For a cavalryman who needs to hold the reins tightly with his left hand and wield the weapon with his right hand, the left hand is actually very important, because at certain critical moments, you need to use your left hand to hold tightly and pull the reins, and use the horse under your crotch to block some fatal Attack; conversely, if your left hand cannot hold the reins tightly, even if your right hand is still strong, you will not be able to survive on the chaotic battlefield.
Therefore, considering his cousin's safety, Sima Shang removed Sima Tao from his position as a vanguard general, and this time he placed him in the rear to replace him in Quyang.
When the defeated soldiers of Yi'an fled to Xiaquyang, Sima Tao was rotten into pieces due to alcoholism.
To be fair, there are almost no generals who are not good at drinking, and Sima Tao actually liked drinking before he was injured. However, in recent years, he drank mostly to vent his depression.
Especially the burn wounds on his body, which ached a little every time the weather changed. In fact, the sting was not unbearable. What was terrible was that the sting was stimulated by the memories that appeared in his mind involuntarily, that is, when he was with Mr. Wei back then. Under Run's trick, he trampled on each other on behalf of the county cavalry, a crazy and tragic scene.
In that battle, Daijun's heavy cavalry lost a total of 25,000 people. You can imagine how miserable the scene was at that time.
Even years later, this memory still turned into a nightmare, causing Sima Tao to wake up from his sleep. His mind was filled with the formidable "Wei, Su Wangrun" flag of the Wei army and the name of the owner of this flag. The terrifying and ferocious smile that made him tremble was actually the fact that Sima Tao had never seen Mr. Wei at close range, so he had no idea what he looked like.
"General."
When he was woken up by the guard, Sima Tao was still a little drunk, but after he listened to the guard's story, he was immediately shocked and lost most of his drunkenness, and asked dumbfounded: "What?! Han Pu, the Marquis of Yuanyi, killed Li Chu ?Occupied Yi'an?"
"Yes, General."
The guard glanced at the fire wound that extended from the left side of Sima Tao's face to his neck, then immediately lowered his head and said, "There are a number of soldiers from Yi'an who fled to my place in Quyang. Let me listen to what they said personally."
"Where are those soldiers now?" Sima Tao asked.
"Waiting in the outer palace."
"Tell them to come in."
"yes!"
After a while, Sima Tao's guards summoned several soldiers from Yi'an to the mansion. One of them seemed to be a 500-man general. After seeing Sima Tao, the soldiers began to talk about the murder of Li Chu by Han Pu, the Marquis of Yuanyi. , Sima Tao was horrified when he heard all the actions of the enemy in capturing Yi'an.
In the past few years, Han Pu, the Marquis of Yuanyi, has been suppressed by Li Chu, and Sima Tao saw it. Even his cousin Sima Shang was squeezing out and purging the generals of Kang Gong and Han Hu's line. Who let Kang Gong Even though Han Hu’s skills are so high that he actually wants to get his hands on the throne? How can Han Wangran’s throne be secure if this kind of guy doesn’t step on it to death? In this matter, whether it’s the late Prime Minister Shen Buhai or today’s The Prime Minister opened his eyes and everyone supported Han Wangran.
Precisely because of the unanimous attitude in Jicheng, the forces of Kang Gong and Han Hu were quickly eliminated. The generals who were willing to change their families remained in the military, while those who refused to cooperate were immediately dismissed from their posts. Looking back now, at that time, Dang Yin Hou Han Yang Being demoted or resigning may not be without these factors.
How could it be that Han Yang, the Marquis of Dangyin, was also the close nephew of Duke Kang, Han Hu.
A few years later, there are probably only a few people from Kang Gong and Han Hu's lineage left, such as Han Pu, Marquis of Yuanyi. But just like Han Yang back then, Jicheng must have a reasonable and justifiable reason. , can we justifiably remove the position and title of Han Pu, the Marquis of Yuanyi. After all, if we do it too obviously, we will inevitably be gossiped about.
However, in Sima Tao's view, Han Pu, the Marquis of Yuanyi, should be a very stable and well-educated man. Why is he so uncontrollable this time?
"General Sima, you must avenge my general!"
The five hundred generals of the Yi'an Army cried and begged with grief and indignation.
"Revenge? What can I do to avenge Li Chu?"
Sima Tao glanced at the five hundred general with a dull look, and secretly cursed in his heart.
You must know that all his troops in Quyang were transferred to Bairen County with his cousin Sima Shang. At this moment, he only has a few thousand soldiers in his hands, and most of these soldiers are still deployed in Juzhu Mountain in Dai County in the north. , there are only more than 2,000 people in Xiaquyang, which is not as many as the soldiers under Han Pu, the Marquis of Yuanyi. How can he avenge Li Chu?
Not to mention the lack of troops at hand, even if he had enough troops, Sima Tao would not attack Yuanyi Marquis Han Pu just to avenge Li Chu. At best, he would just do it on the basis of completing the instructions from Jicheng.
He and Li Chu didn't have a very deep friendship.
After thinking for a while, he asked the 500-man general: "Are you sure Han Pu, the Marquis of Yuanyi, has really rebelled?"
The 500-man general nodded and said: "Han Pu insulted the king in full view of the public, saying that the king could not tolerate him and wanted to force him to death. My general was not angry and attacked the city with anger. Unexpectedly, he was defeated by Han Pu. Common harm..."
"I see."
Sima Tao nodded and said secretly in his heart: It seems that Han Pu, the Marquis of Yuanyi, was indeed forced with no way out.
After lighting a stick of incense, and after the Yi'an soldiers retreated, Sima Tao paced back and forth in the room, thinking about countermeasures.
Originally, Jicheng arranged for Li Chu to go to Yi'an just to monitor Han Pu, the Marquis of Yuanyi. Unexpectedly, Li Chu was actually killed by Han Pu. Now it was better. After Han Pu collected Li Chu's army, The strength of the army was greatly increased, and Xia Quyang was deprived of 70 to 80% of his troops. How could he be Han Pu's opponent?
"Now we can only delay the opportunity..."
After thinking about it, for the sake of completeness, Sima Tao immediately wrote two letters with the same content. One was sent to Bairen County and handed over to his cousin Sima Shang; the other was sent to Jicheng to deliver the letter. This matter was reported to the Jicheng court. Although he had also heard rumors that "Han Wangran was suspected to have died," firstly, the Jicheng court did not admit it. Secondly, even if Han Wangran really died, Jicheng would still have the prime minister. The ministers headed by Zhang Kaidi should be able to take charge of the overall situation.
In addition, Sima Tao also wrote a letter and sent someone to send it to Yuanyi and deliver it to Han Pu, the Marquis of Yuanyi.
Two days later, this letter from Sima Tao was delivered to the hands of Han Pu, the Marquis of Yuanyi. After reading the letter, the latter smiled at Zhang Qigong and Bei Gongyu and said, "This is a letter from Sima Tao from Xiaquyang. This person is Sima Shang’s cousin…”
"Oh?" Zhang Qigong took a sip of tea from the tea cup and asked lightly: "What was written in the letter?"
I saw Sima Tao handing the letter to Bei Gongyu, who was also curious, and said with a smile: "The general idea is to advise me not to make any mistakes, and calmly wait for the sentence from Jicheng."
"Ha." Zhang Qigong chuckled and said calmly: "It seems that he is afraid that you will lead an army to attack Quyang." After a pause, he asked again: "If you send troops to attack Quyang at this moment, how confident is the prince? "
Han Pu, the Marquis of Yuanyi, thought for a while and said truthfully: "Given that it is almost severe winter, and Xiaquyang is a fortified city, I am afraid it will not be easy to capture..."
"Well." Zhang Qigong nodded and said: "Then there is no need to pay attention to it. If Sima Tao wants to delay the opportunity, it is not wrong for us. This year, the monarch will step up his efforts to increase his troops, train his soldiers, and in addition to consolidate the defense, later In the spring of next year, Jicheng will definitely send troops..."
"Do you want me to write a perfunctory reply to deceive Sima Tao?" Han Pu, the Marquis of Yuanyi, asked.
Zhang Qigong smiled faintly and said: "I'm afraid we can only deceive generals like Sima Tao to kill Li Chu. A knowledgeable person can see through your and my plans at a glance... Do you want to write a reply? , actually they are all the same.”
Beside, after reading Sima Tao's letter, Bei Gongyu said with a smile: "Let's write a reply. At least it can make the prince's "forced helplessness" more real."
Han Pu, the Marquis of Yuanyi, nodded. Compared to being incited to rebel and flee to the Wei State, he would of course prefer to be "forced to flee the Wei State", which would at least give him a better reputation.
So, he listened to Bei Gongyu's suggestion and wrote a letter to Sima Tao. In the letter, he angrily recounted all the past events that he had been suppressed by Jicheng over the years. Later, Sima Tao couldn't help but feel a little sympathy when he saw the letter. Han Pu, the Marquis of Yuanyi.
At the same time, the letter written by Sima Tao had been delivered to Jicheng and sent to the Prime Minister's official office in Kaichang.
At that time, the Prime Minister was approving a pile of official documents in the office room with his eyes open. He took a moment to pick up the already cold tea cup next to him and took a few sips to quench his thirst. He was shocked by the bad news in this letter and spit out the tea in his mouth. .
Han Pu, the Marquis of Yuanyi, rebelled. He killed Li Chu and captured Yi'an and Jingjing Pass.
His eyes widened with a look of disbelief on his face.
You must know that Jicheng has been forcing Han Pu, the Marquis of Yuanyi, for several years, but has not 'forced' the latter to rebel. But now, when Jicheng is focusing all its attention on the border between Wei and Han, Han Pu, the Marquis of Yuanyi, has actually rebelled?
This is really a leaky house and it rains all night.
"This Han Pu..."
He frowned deeply.
To be fair, the rebellion caused by Han Pu, the Marquis of Yuanyi, was at best a scabies disease. In previous years, Jicheng could easily crush him to death.
But the problem is that most of his Korean troops are currently restrained at the border by Qin and Wei, and there are very few mobilizable troops in the country. Unexpectedly, Han Pu, the Marquis of Yuanyi, was 'forced to rebel' by Li Chu here...
"It seems that he has been holding back all these years."
Zhang Kaidi secretly guessed.
Just as Zhang Qigong judged, although Sima Tao was deceived by Han Pu, the Marquis of Yuanyi, and mistakenly thought that the latter was angry because of Li Chu's aggressiveness, it could be seen at a glance: Li Chu of Yi'an was clearly the one who was Han Pu, the Marquis of Yuanyi, planned to make a profit.
Don’t forget, this incident was actually initiated by Han Pu, the Marquis of Yuanyi, because he was the first to kill Li Chu’s younger brother Li Ke.
If Han Pu, the Marquis of Yuanyi, had not planned to kill Li Chu, why would he deliberately send someone to deliver Li Ke's head to his brother Li Chu after killing Li Ke? This was obviously a deliberate attempt to anger Li Chu!
"You really picked a good time... Han Pu, the Marquis of Yuanyi."
He frowned widely and let out a long breath.
To be honest, Prime Minister Zhang actually supported the "eradication" of Han Pu, the Marquis of Yuanyi. The reason was not because Han Pu, the Marquis of Yuanyi, was the nephew of Kang Gong Han Hu. The key was that when he learned that Kang Gong Han Hu had been killed by Han Wangran, After the planned murder, Han Pu, the Marquis of Yuanyi, once made a move that seemed like he was going to rebel to avenge his uncle. However, he was later scared off by Qin Kai, Ma She, Sima Shang, Le Yi and others, so he changed his name to "Welcome the King".
Under such circumstances, Jicheng must certainly try to eradicate Han Pu, the Marquis of Yuanyi.
However, at that time, Han Pu, the Marquis of Yuanyi, changed his tune quickly and behaved himself in the following years. Jicheng really could not find a reason to attack. After all, Han Wangran wanted to take over the power of Kang Gong Han Hu and Li Hou Han Wu and promote benevolent government. Let the rest of Kang Gong and Han Hu's line be forgotten. Although this greatly facilitated Sima Shang, Le Cheng and others quickly took over Kang Gong and Han Hu's old department, but it also deprived Jicheng of the opportunity to eradicate the hidden danger of Han Pu, the Marquis of Yuanyi. opportunity.
Therefore, Jicheng sent Baoyuan's general Li Chu to Yi'an to restrain Han Pu, the Marquis of Yuanyi, in the hope of forcing Han Pu, the Marquis of Yuanyi, to rebel as soon as possible, so that Jicheng would have reason to eradicate him.
Unexpectedly, Han Pu, the Marquis of Yuanyi, was so forbearing that he did not take action until now.
After thinking for a while, Kaichi immediately stood up, put on his robe, left the official office, and took a carriage straight to the palace.
He believed that this matter must be reported to Han Wangran.
At this time, the palace was still surrounded by guards under Ma Kuo, the Qing Dynasty. The purpose was naturally to create public opinion and make the matter of "Han Wangran's suspected collapse" become more complicated and confusing.
In fact, when formulating this strategy, Ma Kuo had doubts about it: If the Wei State was to be mistakenly thought that the King of Han was dead, why not directly inform the whole country?
At that time, Han Wangran explained that the king of Wei, Zhao Run, was good at scheming, and he must be a person who understands people's hearts and is suspicious by nature. If they were too straightforward, Zhao Run would not believe it; on the other hand, the more secretive he was, the more secretive he was, as if to cover up this Only one thing will make Zhao Run fall into the trap.
Because of this, the entire Jicheng city is now talking privately about the "death of the monarch", but the court has denied it and tried its best to cover it up, swearing that Han Wangran only suffered from some minor colds and was recuperating.
Under this false move, not to mention the green crows in the city and other Wei spies were unsure whether Han Wangran was dead or not. Even a wise man like Wei Wang Zhao Run could not judge and could only stand still and wait and see what would happen.
After entering the palace, Zhang Kai first found Wei Qing Ma Kuo, and then led by Ma Kuo to a palace deep inside the palace.
When he walked into the palace with open arms, Han Wangran was wearing his clothes and lying on the couch. He dictated and asked the chamberlain beside him to write for him, recording the decrees he planned to implement in the future.
It is undeniable that Han Wangran is indeed recuperating his body, but just like the previous monarch Han Wangjian, he really cannot let go of state affairs. Even though most of the state affairs have now been handed over to the prime minister and the internal official Han Kui, he still cannot take time off to recuperate. My mind is full of thinking about how to make the country rich and powerful.
Because of this, even though he rested for several months, his physical condition still failed to improve.
In this regard, the old palace doctor in the palace tried hard to persuade him several times, but unfortunately, Han Wangran could not let go of his obsession after all. This was a monarch who was destined to work hard all his life, just like Han Wangjian back then.
"Your Majesty."
The prime minister's soft call to the ground interrupted Han Wangran's thoughts on the couch. He opened his eyes and glanced at the former in confusion, as if he was wondering why Prime Minister Zhang suddenly came to see him.
Seeing this, he opened his mouth and took out Sima Tao's letter, bowed and handed it to Han Wangran.
"Xia Quyang, Sima Tao?"
Han Wangran glanced at the signature on the letter, frowned and opened the letter. He only glanced at it twice, and his brows became more and more wrinkled.
"Killing Li Chu and seizing Yian, then Han Pu really turned against him..."
Frowning, Han Wangran felt very depressed. He never expected that Li Chu, who was recommended by Bao Yuan, would die in the hands of Han Pu, the Marquis of Yuanyi. The latter would also collect the remaining troops and capture Yi'an.
It has to be said that Li Chu actually just didn't expect that Han Pu, the Marquis of Yuanyi, would be assisted by a group of Wei assassins, so he was killed by the ghosts and other green crows. Otherwise, as a general of Baoyuan, Li Chu would not be able to defeat Han Pu, the Marquis of Yuanyi. , and it is not possible to kill him, we can only say that Li Chu was unjustly sentenced to death.
At this time, Wei Qing Ma Kuo had already learned the general information from Zhang Kai's mouth, and said in shock: "Han Pu, the Marquis of Yuanyi? Kill Li Chu and occupy Yian? What does he want to do?"
Han Wangran snorted softly upon hearing this, with a bit of displeasure on his face.
Seeing this, Zhang Kaidi whispered to Ma Kuo: "It seems that Han Pu mistakenly thought that the king was dead. He guessed that Jicheng was in chaos, so he wanted to take the opportunity to vindicate his uncle Han Hu, and even... accused the king of being the king. A foolish king is not qualified to be a king."
"Ha?" Ma Kuo was stunned when he heard this, and said with a smile: "Is it possible that Han Pu wants to make himself king?"
"I don't know about this yet."
He shook his head openly, then turned to look at Han Wangran, and reminded in a low voice: "However, Han Pu killed Li Chu and not only incorporated the latter's army, but also occupied Yi'an and Jingjing Pass... He If he is determined to rebel, and the well is locked in his hands, the main roads of Julu County, Taiyuan County, and Yanmen County will also be controlled by him, and the stakes in this matter are huge!"
Han Wangran remained silent, but Ma Kuo frowned and said, "Did all the soldiers and generals of Yuanyi obey Han Pu and rebel?"
Before he could open his mouth to explain, Han Wangran let out a long breath and said in a deep voice: "Because Han Pu set up a trap, not only to kill Li Chu, but also to tie the life and death of Yuanyi's soldiers to him. When we get together... Tsk! This Han Pu is really secretive, no wonder Han Hu loved him so much."
He nodded openly, and he also believed that Yuanyi Hou Han Pu's methods were indeed brilliant.
"The house leaks and it rains all night long..."
After muttering something to himself, Han Wangran felt faintly that he had a headache again.
Seeing this, Ma Kuo, who was standing by, had an idea and said: "Your Majesty, since it was Han Pu who set up the trick and the soldiers of Yuanyi had to follow him to rebel, why not issue an edict to pardon the sins of the rest of the people and only punish Han Pu, the Marquis of Yuanyi. What?...In this way, there will be no more soldiers to support Han Pu's rebellion."
After hearing this, Han Wangran glanced at Ma Kuo calmly and asked: "In whose name?"
"Of course..." Ma Kuo stopped mid-sentence.
Because he suddenly realized that the monarch in front of him was now in a state of "death". How could he issue an edict?
Unless Han Wangran appears in front of the people of Jicheng immediately, even if the royal order is issued in his name, the effect will probably be greatly reduced. Most people will only think that the Jicheng court issued the edict in the name of Han Wangran.
But in this way, Han Wangran's plan to fake his death to seduce Wei was completely ruined.
"Huh?"
Suddenly, Han Wangran seemed to have thought of something and stared at the letter in his hand.
Although Ma Kuo's suggestion did not help the matter at hand, it was precisely because of his words that Han Wangran thought of something.
Was the clever method devised by Han Pu, Marquis of Yuanyi, to kill Li Chu really the work of the former?