Are there spies from the Jie tribe in the city? Or are there actually one or a few traitors among the twenty-three tribes that have allied with me, the Wei Dynasty?
Zhao Hongrun thought silently.
This kind of thing happened just after the Luoshui Alliance was established. This was the last thing Zhao Hongrun wanted to see, because it would affect the trust between the tribes in the Weichuan Alliance.
"Come here, please bring Halegoh, the chief of the Aries tribe, Meng Liang, the chief of the Meng tribe, and Lu Balong, the chief of the Lun tribe, to this tent."
After pondering for a long time, Zhao Hongrun ordered the clan guards to invite the three tribal chiefs.
About a quarter of an hour later, the three clan chiefs Halegoh, Meng Liang, and Lu Balong came to the felt tent where Zhao Hongrun was.
"King Su." The three clan leaders saluted Zhao Hongrun.
"You three, please take a seat." Zhao Hongrun raised his hand to signal the three patriarchs to take their seats.
During this period, his eyes swept over the three clan leaders, Halegoch, Meng Liang, and Lu Balong one by one.
The first is Halegoh, who is the leader of the Baiyang Tribe of the Sheang tribe. This uncle, who is almost fifty years old, clearly supported the Wei State during the joint hunting period because of the kindness of the Tiger Guards.
Gong Luo's betrayal incident the day before
In the film, he sternly rejected the temptation of Rabitu, the leader of the Black Sheep tribe, and repeatedly persuaded the chiefs of Gong and Luo not to be enemies of Wei. He was even sent by Rabitu to put him under house arrest. He is now Zhao Hongrun's most trusted person.
He is the chief of the Sanchuan tribe.
Secondly, Meng Liang, he is the chief of the Meng clan of the Yi people. Although he abstained from voting during the joint hunting, he advanced and retreated together with Halegoh during the Gong Luo rebellion incident a few days ago. However,
Since this person had a lot of criticism against the Dangshan Army, Zhao Hongrun was not sure of the clan leader's sincerity.
Next is Lu Balong. This man is the chief of the Lun tribe of the Sheang tribe. He once abstained from voting during the joint hunting. Moreover, during the Gong Luo rebellion incident a few days ago, he followed the advice of Rabitu, the chief of the Black Sheep tribe.
Bewitched and fought against the Wei army.
Logically speaking, Zhao Hongrun should not trust this person, but this clan leader had humbly made a promise to surrender to the Wei State for the sake of the fate of his clan members.
For such a patriarch, from the bottom of his heart, Zhao Hongrun really didn't want him to be a traitor.
Perhaps because Zhao Hongrun didn't speak for a long time, Halegoh glanced at the other two clan leaders after sitting in the banquet, lowered his voice and asked in a low voice: "King Su summoned the three of us this time because the Lun clan sent out to inquire about the news.
The warrior was attacked by Jie Jiao, right?"
As soon as he finished speaking, before Zhao Hongrun could express his opinion, the leader of the Lun clan, Lu Balong, cursed bitterly: "What's there to discuss about this matter? There are traitors in the alliance! Otherwise, Jie Jiao wouldn't have known about this so quickly.
What’s happening on the other side!”
"Lu Balong." Chief Meng Liang interrupted Lu Balong's words, frowned and said: "Let's just talk about it here, but don't doubt other tribes like Tian Jian did. This will destroy the tribes in the alliance.
of mutual trust.”
…
Zhao Hongrun saw the reactions of these three people in his eyes. After thinking for a while, he said in a deep voice: "I did not tell General Sima An about this matter, but I asked the man who was in charge of the city defense a few days ago.
The Dangshan soldiers said that in the past few days, there had not been any Xiang people.
, Di people, left Luocheng privately... Therefore, I feel that if there are betrayers in the city, then there are only two ways for them to take the opportunity to inform the Jiejiao tribe... One is to pretend to herd sheep.
In the name of the group, I took the opportunity to escape; there is another one, that is..."
"An outpost to inquire about the movements of the Jijiao tribe." Halegoh took Zhao Hongrun's words and glanced at Meng Liang and Lu Balong.
You must know that the men responsible for inquiring about the movements of the Jiejiao tribe's army are the warriors of the Meng and Lun tribes.
"Prince Su doubts me?" Lu Balong's expression suddenly changed, he was shocked and asked angrily.
But at this moment, Zhao Hongrun raised his hand to stop Lu Balong's words, and said sternly: "I will not doubt the character of a clan leader who has endured humiliation and bowed to his former enemies for the sake of his clan. Chief Lu Balong must not
Excited."
Lu Balong was stunned when he heard this, and immediately showed a look of deep gratitude on his face, but after that, he looked at Meng Liang beside him with strange eyes, and his right hand that was originally holding the horn cup quietly lowered it.
, clenched into a fist, as if it were a beast ready to attack.
Seeing this, Chief Meng Liang's expression also changed, and he said with a shocked smile: "Lu Balong, don't be impulsive... Prince Su, you don't doubt me, do you?"
Seeing this scene, Zhao Hongrun quickly stopped him and said, "Clan Chief Lu Balong, please be patient. I don't think Chief Meng Liang will betray us."
Hearing this, Lu Balong and Meng Liang were both stunned. The former asked in surprise: "If it's not the two of us, why did King Su..."
At this time, Zhao Hongrun considered his tone and lowered his voice and said: "I trust the two clan chiefs, but... can the two clan chiefs be sure that the soldiers you sent out will be loyal to you and will not be subjected to certain
Human... instigation?"
"..." After hearing this, Lu Balong and Meng Liang looked at each other, vaguely understanding the meaning of King Su in front of them.
Indeed, although they, as the clan leaders, chose to stand on the same side as Wei despite all opinions, this does not mean that there are no opposing voices within their clan.
You must know that the Lun and Meng tribes are both Yi tribes, and the Hu tribe that the Dangshan army attacked and destroyed a while ago is also a Yi tribe. Therefore, some of the first two tribes have a grudge against the Wei people.
This is not surprising.
"Listen to what King Su said..." Lu Balong narrowed his eyes, raised his hand to touch the stubble on his chin, and murmured: "When I decided to surrender to King Su, there were actually several leaders in the tribe who
Objections…”
On the other side, Meng Liang, the patriarch of the Meng clan, didn't look very good-looking either. It seemed that he also had suspicions in his mind.
"What a rudeness!" Lu Balong breathed out bitterly, and said with a livid face: "The words that there are spies in the city come from my own mouth. If it is finally confirmed that the traitor is really a member of our Lun tribe, I, Lu Balong, will
It’s really…”
After saying that, he made a gloomy look and tried to get up.
Seeing this, Zhao Hongrun, who had already guessed what he wanted to do, quickly stopped him and said: "Clan Chief Lu Balong, please be patient. What I just said are all my wild guesses and cannot be relied upon as evidence. If the clan leader is indiscriminate,
Go back and question, it’s not good to kill a good person by mistake. Furthermore, it’s not certain that the news was revealed because of the people in Luocheng. No one can say for sure whether the Jie people also secretly sent people to investigate what’s going on in Luocheng.
What? If it were me, I would do this."
"What does King Su mean?" Halegoh asked tentatively.
"Let's put it aside in our hearts." Zhao Hongrun shook his head and said seriously: "As long as the clan leaders remember this matter in their minds and be vigilant, don't make people panic and doubt each other... The enemy is currently facing us. If he destroys the Great Wall, he will
This battle is difficult to win.”
After a pause, he added: "The reason why I invited these three people here is because among the clan leaders, I have the most trust in these three people. Therefore, I hope that the three of them will secretly monitor this matter for me. If there is really a spy in the city,
Or a traitor, don’t alert the snake, just tell this king... As for the other twenty clan leaders, please be honest with each other. I believe that we have made a sacred covenant by joining in blood.
Allies are trustworthy!"
Halegoch and others looked at each other and accepted the task.
But before leaving, Meng Liang, the chief of the Meng tribe, couldn't help but ask: "Does King Su really think that my twenty-three chiefs are trustworthy?"
"certainly!"
"But what if there is indeed a betrayer among them, and this person has innocently betrayed King Su's trust?...Has King Su not trusted anyone else?"
Zhao Hongrun smiled and said: "Then I will consider myself unlucky! ... As for the other clan leaders, I will still trust them."
Meng Liang was slightly moved when he heard this. After looking at each other with Chief Lu Balong, the two of them promised with a sullen face: "Don't worry, Prince Su. I and I will definitely investigate this matter for Prince Su!"
"Don't alert the enemy!... If someone really betrays and surrenders to the enemy, maybe I can still use him."
"clear!"
The three clan leaders bowed and resigned.
At this time, two generals Wu Ji and Zhai Huang of the Shang Navy happened to walk into the felt tent, and they almost bumped into each other.
"His Royal Highness King Su, will you summon the three clan leaders alone?"
Wu Ji looked back at the three clan leaders who were gradually walking away, and asked thoughtfully: "Is it because the outpost of the Lun clan was attacked by the Jie clan?"
"Hmm." Zhao Hongrun nodded and changed the subject: "How is the city defense arrangement going?"
It's not that he doesn't trust Wu Ji, it's just that when Sima An and Zhu Hai both led their elite troops to leave Luocheng, Wu Ji has become the general supervising the war in Luocheng. Zhao Hongrun does not want to give this young and inexperienced general
The general is under too much pressure.
"The arrangements are almost complete." After receiving Zhao Hongrun's signal, Wu Ji sat down in a seat in the felt tent and reported respectfully: "According to the instructions of His Highness King Su, the elders and children of various tribes in Luocheng City,
As well as the flocks grazed by the shepherds, they all gradually evacuated to Gongdi under the control of the tribal chiefs."
Zhao Hongrun frowned when he heard this and said: "Gongdi is not a safe place. Even if you want to rest for a while, you cannot stay for a long time. Since the Jiejiao people have learned that the tribes in these two places have reached an alliance with me, the Wei Dynasty, then,
It is not impossible to send troops to attack Gongdi. It is best to withdraw to Chenggao Pass. The Chenggao army left behind at Chenggao Pass will be responsible for protecting them. This king has already mentioned this to General Zhu Hai, and I believe him
Someone has already been sent to convey this general order to Chenggao Pass."
"The general will send a message to the clan leaders shortly."
Subsequently, Wu Ji successively reported to Zhao Hongrun the specific matters of Luocheng's city defense, such as the guarding situation and troop distribution of the gates in the four directions, the arrangement of patrols in the city, and the guarding of important equipment such as crossbows and catapults.
, as well as those places reserved on the city wall for tribal leaders who wish to contribute, etc.
Based on what Wu Ji said, Zhao Hongrun drew a simple map of Luocheng's defense layout to facilitate future military meetings.
On one side, the Wei army was intensively preparing for the upcoming battle, while on the other side, the Jiejiao tribe's army was gradually approaching.
Finally, on August 15th, we arrived in Luocheng. (To be continued.)