Hou Hanwu died, the royal capital Jicheng fell, and the new king Han Ji, who was the orthodox member of the Han royal family, was deposed. Han Pu, the Marquis of Yuanyi, supported Han Yi, a branch of the Han royal family who appeared from nowhere, as the new king of Korea.
When Li Mu, the gatekeeper of Yanmen, learned about this, he was speechless for a while.
Once upon a time, Korea was so powerful. It suppressed the Xiongnu and Lin Hu in the west, suppressed Dong Hu and Lou Fan in the north, defeated Wei in the southwest, and competed with Qi in the southeast. It was undoubtedly the country with the strongest comprehensive strength in the world.
However, only fifty years have passed, and South Korea has fallen to what it is today, which makes Li Mu heartbroken.
He really didn't understand why the generals such as Le Yi, Sima Shang, Qin Kai, Xu Li, Bao Yuan, and Jin were defeated by the Wei army in the capital of Jicheng.
You must know the good news he received before. Le Yi had clearly blocked the Wei army in Shanggu County and told the latter not to advance. How could he suddenly be defeated?
Based on his understanding of Le Yi, Li Mu really couldn't imagine that Le Yi would be defeated by the Wei army when he still had tens or hundreds of thousands of troops under his command.
This is not to underestimate the generals of the Wei State, but it is undeniable that in Li Mu's eyes, among the generals of the Wei army who attacked South Korea this time, there are actually no invincible famous generals or commanders, such as Wei Gongzi Run and Nanliang.
Wang Zhao Yuanzuo, the two commanders who once posed a huge threat to South Korea, were not dispatched at all this time. Only Zhao Jiang, Shao Hu, and Pang Huan were the first.
Although Zhao Jiang, Shao Hu, and Pang Huan were considered to be famous generals who were good at fighting in the world, compared to Le Yi, Li Mu obviously still favored the latter.
“Tuk-tuk-tuk.”
There was a knock on the door outside the house.
"Come in." Li Mu said in a deep voice.
Immediately, a general who looked somewhat similar to Li Mu walked into the house, holding a letter in his hand and said: "Father, General Gongsun Qi of Qin sent someone to send a reply."
This person is Li Mu's eldest son Li (kun).
Li Mu raised his eyebrows when he heard this and said in a deep voice: "Bring it here and let me see."
Seeing this, Li handed the letter in his hand to his father.
Opening the letter, Li Mu carefully read the contents and nodded slightly after a while.
Next to him, Li Yu looked at his father without hesitation. After all, he couldn't resist the curiosity in his heart and asked: "Father, why are you communicating with the commander-in-chief of the Qin army? I think this may not be appropriate..."
After hearing this, Li Mu turned to look at his son and said melancholy: "Extraordinary times..."
Just as he was talking, a soldier hurriedly came from outside the house, ran into the house, clasped his fists and said, "Commander Li, General Li Ren sent someone to see you!"
Li Ren?
Li Mu was stunned for a moment, feeling a little puzzled.
Li Ren is his younger brother.
A while ago, when he learned that Taiyuan County was attacked by Wei generals Zhao Xuan and Jiang Bi, Li Mu sent his brother Li Ren to lead 5,000 cavalry and 8,000 infantry to support, although this force was not enough.
Defeating the more than 100,000 Wei troops in Taiyuan County, at least it can slightly improve the situation of Taiyuan Shou Lecheng, Yangyi Marquis Han Xu and others.
But today Li Ren suddenly sent someone here. Could it be that the war situation in Taiyuan County has changed?
When summoning the generals sent by Li Ren, Li Mu secretly guessed.
After a while, a general strode into the house, clasped his fists towards Li Mu and said, "Li Shuai, something bad happened. The Taiyuan Shou succeeded and he surrendered!"
"What?" Li Mu was stunned when he heard this, and couldn't believe his ears.
Seeing this, the general repeated: "This matter is absolutely true. General Li Ren and the last general saw Jinyang opening the door to surrender with their own eyes... Therefore, General Li Ren specially sent the last general to report this matter."
…
Li Mu opened his mouth and couldn't come to his senses for a while.
Taiyuan defended successfully... but actually surrendered to the Wei army?
A thought flashed through his mind, and Li Mu suddenly remembered the royal order from Jicheng, and he couldn't help but feel a bit bitter in his heart: Le Chenggong must have also received the royal order from Jicheng, ordering him to stop resisting. Seeing this,
Seeing that the situation was over, Le Cheng simply surrendered to the Wei army.
"Bang"
Li Mu slapped his hand heavily on the table in front of him.
Although he could understand how much despair he felt in his heart when Taiyuan Shou Lecheng was besieged by hundreds of thousands of Wei generals Zhao Xuan and Jiang Bi and waited for reinforcements to arrive, he still couldn't accept it.
surrender.
Especially now, when we urgently need successful cooperation to achieve a certain goal...
"Please step aside and let me be quiet."
Li Mu said a little tiredly.
"yes!"
The eldest son Li clasped fists with the general and retreated.
A few days later, Li Mu made an appointment with Gongsun Qi, the commander-in-chief of the Qin army, for a drinking party in front of the pass at Pianguan.
As the host, Li Mu had already ordered his people to set up a drinking table in front of the pass, and asked his eldest son Li and his deputy Yan Feng to accompany him. The three of them alone were waiting for the arrival of Qin army commander Gongsun Qi.
About a quarter of an hour later, five hundred Qin troops arrived belatedly. The general at the head was naturally the Qin army commander, Gongsun Qi.
Gongsun Qi glanced at Li Mu and others in front of the pass, looked around and said: "You are all waiting here, don't make any mistakes... The two generals Wang and Wang Ling will accompany a certain person to the meeting."
"yes!"
The two generals, Wang and Wang Ling, cupped their fists and responded.
A few days ago, when Gongsun Qi informed them that he had received a letter from Li Mu, the guardian of Yanmen, and that Li Mu invited him to have a gathering in front of Pianguan Pass, Generals Wang and Wang Ling were very surprised. After all, the two parties were
Enemies are not friends, and they really can't figure out why Li Mu sent a letter to invite them.
Could there be some trick in it?
Wang frowned.
But thinking about it carefully, he felt that Li Mu was not someone who used such dirty tricks.
With various emotions, Gongsun Qi took Wang and Wang Ling to Li Mu. There were only three people on each side, which was fair.
"General Lee."
"General Gongsun."
After meeting each other, Gongsun Qi sat down at the table in front of him at Li Mu's invitation.
I saw him looking up at the nearby Pianguan Pass, and couldn't help but praise: "Look closer, it's such a majestic pass..."
After hearing this, the king and the two generals Wang Ling could not help but raise their heads and look, feeling a bit of resentment in their hearts.
Without him, it's just because they were defeated here many times and sacrificed many athletes from the Qin State. All of this was thanks to the Korean general named Li Mu in front of them.
At this time, Gongsun Qi had turned his gaze from Pianguan to Li Mu, and said with a smile but not a smile: "I learned a few days ago that General Li Mu invited a certain person to a small gathering, and I was really curious... I didn't know that General Li Mu invited me.
What advice can you give me?" At this point, he said with a smile: "Is it possible that General Li Mu finally saw that Yanmen County cannot be defended for a long time and wants to take the initiative to join the Qin Dynasty?"
After hearing this, Li Mu's eldest son Li and his deputy Yan Feng showed displeasure on their faces. However, just when they were about to speak, they saw Li Mu raising his hand to stop them, and smiled at Gongsun Qi.
He said: "General Gongsun's words are wrong. We, Yanmen County, can defend Yanmen County for another ten or eight years, and it will be fine."
His words made the three generals Gongsun Qi, Wang, and Wang Ling look a little ugly. Are you mocking the fact that the Qin army has never posed any threat to your Yanmen County?
Just when Wang and Wang Ling were about to have a fit, they saw Li Mu saying kindly: "Three generals, Li invited three generals to come to a gathering today. There is no harm in it. He just wants to tell you some news."
…A, big news.”
"oh?"
Gongsun Qi was stunned when he heard this and said, "I am all ears."
I saw Li Mu take out the royal order from Jicheng and said seriously: "Li just received the news from our king's capital, and we know that the elite army of Wei has conquered our king's capital..."
…
After hearing this, Gongsun Qi, Wang, and Wang Ling looked at each other in shock.
"This is impossible!"
Wang cried out.
After hearing this, Li Mu took a long breath and said expressionlessly: "General Wang, do you think Li Mu would joke about this kind of thing?"
"..."
Wang was speechless and exchanged looks with Gongsun Qi and Wang Ling.
This situation...is inconsistent with the news sent from Xianyang.
Didn't Xianyang say that South Korea had resisted Wei's army, making it difficult for the latter to advance?
What the hell is going on?
Gongsun Qi, Wang, and Wang Ling were a little puzzled.
You know, they also received news from the royal capital of Xianyang a while ago. According to the reliable information obtained from Xianyang, the Wei State itself is under fierce attack by the coalition forces of various countries, and the situation is in a critical situation; and the army previously sent by the Wei State to attack South Korea
, but still no progress.
Why was South Korea suddenly captured by the Wei army?
Raising his hand to signal the king, Wang Ling and the two generals should be calm. Gongsun Qi frowned and looked directly at Li Mu, and asked in a deep voice: "Is this serious?"
"It's absolutely true." Li Mu pushed the received royal order in front of Gongsun Qi.
Seeing this, Gongsun Qi picked up the king's order and looked at it carefully.
To be honest, he couldn't tell whether this royal order was genuine. After all, it was a royal order sent by someone from Jicheng, the capital of South Korea, to Li Mu. But when he saw Li Mu's expression, it didn't look like he was faking it. What's more, he didn't
I don’t think Li Mu would joke about such a thing.
"It's really unexpected..."
Gongsun Qi put the Wang Ling in his hand back on the desk, immediately looked at Li Mu, and asked seriously: "General Li Mu, why do you want to inform me of such an important matter?"
Li Mu laughed when he heard this and said: "I just think that your country should know about this matter, and don't want to be kept in the dark by Wei."
"oh?"
Gongsun Qi said with a smile but not a smile: "General Li Mu thinks that our country may have been deceived by Wei?"
After hearing this, Li Mu said sternly: "Since the war between Korea and Wei was declared, General Gongsun and Wang Jian stopped their attack on our Yanmen County and watched the fire from the other side. Li's intention was very clear... It's just that
, the coalition forces of various countries have declared war on Wei State, and a few months ago, the coalition forces of various countries led by Chu State have successively captured Song County and Yingshui County of Wei State. At this time, Wei State is extremely weak. Li
I really don’t understand why the troops under General Gongsun and General Wang Jian are still stationed here instead of taking advantage of Wei’s weakness to lead an army to attack..."
Hearing this, Gongsun Qi said calmly: "Qin and Wei are allies. Wei is in trouble. How can we, Great Qin, add insult to injury?"
"Having said that, as long as Wei becomes stronger, your country will not be able to set foot in the Central Plains." Li Mu said with a chuckle.
"..."
The smile on Gongsun Qi's face slowly faded, he looked at Li Mu and said lightly: "If General Li Mu's intention is just to drive a wedge between Qin and Wei, I will have no choice but to say goodbye..."
After saying that, he made a gesture to get up.
Seeing this, Li Mu did not stop him, but just said to himself: "Jicheng has surrendered to the Wei State, and the new monarch of our country is actually a puppet supported by the Wei people. If Li Mu expected it to be true, the Wei army at this moment,
They must have withdrawn their troops from Jicheng and took advantage of the situation to go south to attack Qi... Qi is responsible for the food and logistics of the coalition forces of various countries. If Qi is severely damaged, the coalition forces of various countries that attack Wei will number millions.
, was shattered in an instant, and the Wei State could take advantage of the situation and take the victory in this war... From now on, no one in the Central Plains can be as powerful as the Wei State, including your country."
"..."
Gongsun Qi took a deep look at Li Mu, and finally took Wang and Wang Ling back to the military camp.
He was eager to get in touch with Xianyang.
He also didn't understand that Xianyang had clearly ordered him to be ready to support Wei at any time, but according to Li Mu, Wei did not need Qin's support at all, which made Gongsun Qi feel something was wrong.
Could it be that Xianyang... was really deceived by Wei?
After returning to the military camp, Gongsun Qi immediately wrote a letter and ordered people to travel day and night to Xianyang, the royal capital.
At the same time, in Xianyang, the royal capital of Qin, Wei's Qin concubine Ying Ying, together with Wei's envoy Tang Ju, were still trying their best to delay Qin.
A few days ago, Ying Ying, who had lived in Daliang, the old capital of Wei, returned to Xianyang again with Peng Zhong and other guards, and brought a "reply" from Wei King Zhao Run.
According to Ying Ying's oral account, Wei Wang Zhao Run believed that Qin's request to seize the Three Rivers was unreasonable and only allowed the use of roads. In other words, Wei allowed Qin to attack the Central Plains countries and take the opportunity to set foot in the Central Plains. However, Hexi and Hedong,
The three lands of Hanoi will not be ceded to Qin.
The King of Qin and Zhao Ran, the chief concubine of the State of Qin, were very dissatisfied with this.
Borrowing a way?
What if Wei gets stuck in the land of Three Rivers in the future? Then won’t all the territory conquered by Qin fall into the hands of Wei?
When the relationship between them was about to break down, Ying Ying relented and told her husband, King Zhao Run of Wei, the bottom line: that he would allow Shangdang to be ceded to Qin.
You must know that Qin State has currently occupied Xihe, and the east of Xihe is Taiyuan, South Korea. If Wei State is willing to cede Shangdang County to Qin State, Qin State can actually invade the Central Plains from Shangdang County.
After all, this road is not as convenient as the Hexi, Hedong, and Hanoi passages.
Wei Guo's release made King Qin and Zhao Ran look slightly brighter.
Zhao Ran said to the King of Qin in private: "Since the King of Wei is willing to cede Shangdang, it must be that the Wei State is in a very bad situation at the moment. In this case, we should continue to put pressure on the Wei State and force the King of Wei to cede Hexi, Hedong, and Hanoi.
Cede the Great Qin to me..."
King Qin thought so deeply.
Although the King of Qin admired the son-in-law of Wei King Zhao Run very much, appreciation did not mean that he would give up his vested interests in Qin.
To put it harshly, he wished that Wei would fall. After all, once the king of Wei fell, his son-in-law, King Zhao Run of Wei, might have to rely on the power of his Qin State to restore the country, which might be used by his Qin State.
That was Wei Gongzi Run who swept across the Central Plains...
A hero rarely seen in a century!
Even in the King of Qin's view, if his son-in-law Zhao Run was willing to renounce the Kingdom of Wei, he would even be willing to give up his position as the monarch of the Kingdom of Qin to this son-in-law, because he was very sure that with his son-in-law Zhao Run's talents, if he was willing to govern
His Qin State, his Qin State will definitely become the overlord of the Central Plains, and even unify the Central Plains.
In this regard, he even considered carefully in private. In order to force his son-in-law Zhao Run to his Qin State, should he sit back and watch the fall of the Wei State? Or even secretly add fuel to the flames?
Of course, this is just the imagination of King Qin. Firstly, the Wei State will not fall because of this. Secondly, his son-in-law Zhao Run is not necessarily the kind of person who can tolerate it for a while. If the Wei State is really going to fall, his son-in-law Zhao Run
Most likely they will accompany the Wei State to death rather than live in an ignoble way.
How could a hero who resolutely recruit 200,000 soldiers and lead a personal expedition in the face of an attack by a million-strong army be someone who could live in an ignoble way?
Thinking of this, King Qin gave up the idea.
On the third day of November, King Qin once again invited his daughter Ying Ying and Wei's envoy Tang Ju to the palace to discuss the rewards for sending troops.
King Qin was also a little annoyed by his daughter Ying Ying's coy refusal to reveal her husband's final bottom line, so that sometimes he couldn't help cursing in his heart: This married daughter really spilled the beans.
After having a man, you actually hide it in front of your biological father. Have you forgotten how your father loved you back then?
But Ying Ying was his most beloved daughter after all. Even though King Qin was angry, he couldn't bear to scold her, so he could only persuade her with kind words.
"Young Master, it's going to be winter soon... If you keep delaying it, our Great Qin army may not be able to reach Wei this year..."
After listening to her father's words, Ying Ying said sternly: "Father, it's not because my daughter is delaying on purpose, it's actually because the requirements of the father and the chief concubine are too harsh... Isn't a Shangdang County not enough to satisfy the father? According to
As far as I know, none of the counties in Da Qin is as rich as Shangdang County."
"But the way to the Shangdang is not smooth after all..." After exchanging a look with the chief concubine Zhao Ran, King Qin said seriously: "Doesn't the Wei State need an ally to jointly send troops to conquer the Central Plains countries?"
Ying Ying smiled and said: "If Da Qin really wants to help Wei State conquer the Central Plains countries, it can borrow roads from Hexi, Hedong, and Hanoi. I believe that my husband-in-law will definitely allow it..."
King Qin was speechless and looked at his most beloved daughter with some depression.
At this moment, a servant suddenly reported outside the door: "Your Majesty, Marquis Wu Xin has sent an urgent message."
Marquis Wu Xin? Gongsun Qi?
King Qin was slightly startled and said, "Fetch it."
Immediately, the chamberlain walked into the palace and handed the letter in his hand to King Qin.
King Qin took the letter and opened it. After a few glances, the smile that was still on his face gradually disappeared.
Seeing this, the chief concubine Zhao Ran was surprised and asked: "Your Majesty, has something happened?"
However, King Qin ignored Zhao Ran and just looked at Ying Ying expressionlessly, with a hint of anger in his eyes.
He raised the letter in his hand, looked at Ying Ying, and said in a deep voice: "Shaojun, Marquis Wu Xin told everyone in his heart that he had a small gathering with Li Mu, the Yanmen guard in South Korea, a few days ago. Li Mu informed
Because of him, Wei's army has conquered Jicheng, the capital of South Korea, and the Koreans have declared themselves vassals of Wei..."
What?!
The chief concubine, Zhao Ran, also changed his expression when he heard this, and immediately turned his head to look at Ying Ying, with a hint of disbelief in his eyes.
"... I still remember that you once told me that the Wei army was still blocked in Julu County and could not advance... Shaojun, what is going on?" King Qin asked seriously.
Facing her father's questioning, Ying Ying felt calm in her heart.
In fact, before she came to Xianyang by ship, she had already learned the news that her Wei army had won a great victory in Korea. Therefore, she certainly knew that what Wuxin Marquis Gongsun Qi wrote in the letter was the truth.
Under King Qin's direct gaze, a smile suddenly appeared on Ying Ying's face, and she said calmly: "This Li Mu... is really troublesome."
Her calm expression at this time was completely different from the time when she was 'worrying about Wei' just a moment ago.
Looking at his daughter's expression, King Qin felt all kinds of anger in his heart.
"Bang!"
He slapped his hand heavily on the table in front of him and pointed at Ying Ying. His whole body was trembling slightly, and he was obviously too angry to speak.