Lu Jia's hands were tied and he knelt beside the cauldron. He could feel its scalding heat and sweat broke out on his forehead!
The shape of the large bronze tripod in front of you is a round mouth with square lips, a bulging belly and a round bottom, three hoofed feet, and two ears on the side of the neck. The outer wall of the belly of the tripod is decorated with sun patterns, and the base of the feet is decorated with relief animal face patterns. Firewood is burning downwind. , the water is boiling almost overflowing.
Don't ask why he observed so carefully, because this will probably be his burial place!
The story begins half a month ago. In early August, Lu Jia returned to Bazhong from Zigui and began to work with Dan Hu to recruit Bashi warriors and child servants and encourage the Bashi tribes along the Yangtze River to join the Northern Expedition.
At the same time, Zhao Tuo had also joined forces with Wu Chen, and together with the Ba warriors recruited by Lu Jia, they had 20,000 soldiers.
General Feng Jie also had 20,000 people, but he was cautious, and the Northern soldiers were not used to the climate of Bashu, so there were many sick people, so he withdrew his troops to Jiangzhou County. The Northern Expedition took the opportunity to reoccupy Zhi County. The two sides were two hundred miles apart. They faced off for half a month and fought several times, but could not win.
Zhao Tuo, Wu Chen, and Lu Jia jointly believed that the situation in Bashu was even worse for the Northern Expeditionary Army. They were flowing into Ba in the opposite direction, and their rear was surrounded by mountains and rivers. The food they could obtain was limited, and they were about to be about to die. Sit back and eat nothing.
Feng Jie had no such worries. The fertile Chengdu Plain was right behind him, and the governor of Shu County, Chang Yuan, could continuously provide Feng Jie with military supplies, enough to sustain him through the autumn and winter.
"If things continue like this, the Northern Expeditionary Army will definitely lose in the battle between Bazhong and China!"
The three of them had differences on how to resolve the matter.
Zhao Tuo, the "deputy commander" of the Northern Expeditionary Army, thought that more Ba people should be recruited and directly launched a strong attack on Jiangzhou.
Wu Chen believed that he should bypass Jiangzhou, return to Quren County (Wanzhou District, Chongqing) upstream, take the trail of Bashi mining cinnabar, directly attack Danqu County (Qu County, Sichuan), mobilize the local ong people, and then move along Mi Cangdao, cross Daba Mountain and attack Hanzhong County!
Zhao Tuo disagreed: "The road to Micang is narrow. If the Guanzhong soldiers go south, and Feng Jie and the Shujun soldiers go north, our army will be attacked from two sides, and the entire army may be annihilated in Bazhong!"
Zhao Tuo has command power, and Wu Chen's strategy is indeed too risky. At this time, Lu Jia received a secret letter from Wu Zhonghou...
The letter described the situation in Jianghan. The northern and southern armies were still facing off, with no winner or loser, but the northern army was larger, so Heifu urgently needed two divisions on the left and right to open up the situation.
He directly appointed Lu Jia as the "Shou of Ba County" and also ordered him to go to Shu to lobby Chang Yin!
Two thousand stones of clothes and ribbons were struck on Lu Jia's head, making his scalp numb. Two years ago, he was a commoner in Guizhou, but suddenly he became a minister. This leap made him deeply moved. Although he knew that it was dangerous to go there, he still couldn't. Lu Jia gritted his teeth and led ten people on a mountain road across the battlefield where the two armies were confronting each other, and entered Shu County.
Bashu and Shu are one, and the mountains and rivers depend on each other. Lu Jia was bold. After entering the jurisdiction of Shu County, he went directly to Jiangyang County (Luzhou City, Sichuan). The magistrate of Jiangyang County was Chang Yan's nephew and got the secret. After escorting him for more than ten days, he arrived in Chengdu and met Chang Yan.
Chang County Magistrate of Jiangyang did not execute Lu Jia immediately, but instead sent him to Chengdu. This gave Lu Jia some hope of successful lobbying. But unexpectedly, when Chang Yunfu met, he did not wait for Lu Jia to speak. A plump county guard talked about the art of food, then tied up Lu Jia, brought him to the big cauldron, and wanted to cook him...
Seeing the county soldiers and servants lifting Lu Jia up and about to throw him into the boiling cauldron, his mind went blank and he was speechless for a moment.
"Shi Qi once said that if things work out, you will be a minister, and if they don't work out, you will be cooked. Is this the same for me?"
But at this thin line between life and death, Chang Yan stopped and said cheerfully:
"Second Son, is this Confucian scholar incontinent?"
The subordinate touched Lu Jia's lower body and said with a smile: "Junjun, although his two legs are fighting, he has never lost control."
Lu Jia immediately realized that Chang Yan was trying to scare him. His mind was spinning rapidly and he burst into laughter:
"Chief Chang, you underestimate scholars too much!"
"Lu Jia, a commoner in Huainan, was not able to eat in a pot when he was alive, but he was cooked in a pot when he died, which is enough comfort. Why should he be afraid? It's a pity..."
"If you live without a meal, you will die with a meal... You are brave enough to beg for money, and you are a strong man. Just let him down. By the way, you just said, what's the regret?"
Chang Yan asked someone to put Lu Jia down. Just now, he turned out to be acting, but he actually had no determination to kill Lu Jia.
Lu Jia took a few deep breaths and felt that he was covered in sweat, but it did not delay his words at all: "I'm just sorry that Commander Chang will be cooked by this cauldron in the future!"
"Be bold!"
They were about to teach Lu Jia a lesson, but Chang Yan stopped them and asked slowly, "Why?"
Lu Jia was still tied up and could not bow, so he could only lower his head slightly: "May I ask Governor Chang if you know where the world belongs? Now that the country is divided into north and south, who is strong and who is weak?"
Chang Yan said matter-of-factly: "Naturally, the north is strong and the south is weak."
"The north is the imperial court of the Qin Dynasty. The First Emperor ordered the second emperor to succeed to the throne, which is just and right. The south is the rebels. Heifu betrayed the trust of the First Emperor and supported his troops to rebel. The south was at a disadvantage just in terms of honor and morality. This is the way to win.
"
"The land in Guanzhong is a country with four fortresses. It has hundreds of thousands of halberds and enough food for three years. It has many soldiers and a wide area. It can be attacked when advancing and defended when retreating. Even if the north is exhausted, it can also exhaust the south. This is a victory.
."
"Now Tongwuhou has led an army of 200,000 troops and marched south to Jianghan. As far as I know, Hei Fu has only 100,000 troops under his command. He divided his troops and defended them. This army will be victorious."
Chang Yan said: "In my opinion, by next year at most, the rebellion in the south will soon subside. By then, the rebels will probably follow in your footsteps and be cooked one after another. Mr. Lu, you will not be alone under the spring!"
Lu Jia shook his head and said: "Chief Chang, you are absolutely wrong."
"The south has the name of Jingnan, and has the title of imperial edict. Wuzhonghou could not bear the treacherous ministers and rebellious sons, so he revived Yunmeng and issued the mourning name for the first emperor. He was the first in the world. Wuchang's first uprising, Jingzhou gathered to respond. Within a few months, it had been taken.
Eleven counties, and half of Chen and Ba, combined into twelve counties!"
"The world has four points, and Marquis Wu Zhong gets one point!"
"It's really remarkable that we were able to visit more than ten counties in a few months." Chang Yan nodded slightly and signaled to his subordinates: "Let Mr. Lu loosen his bonds."
Lu Jia was tied up for a long time and his hands were numb. He was finally able to untie him. He rubbed his arms and said:
"Secondly, although the terrain in Guanzhong is superior, the geographical advantages are not as good as the people. Hu Hai did not care about the people's strength and fished all the way. The battle of Lishan has not stopped. Hundreds of thousands of people have toiled all day long. He also recruited 200,000 people into the army.
I am a man of the people in the middle, but I am exhausted in the pass."
"At the beginning of his ascension to the throne, Hu Hai claimed that he would follow the example of Marquis Wu Zhong and reduce rents and tax exemptions, but now his true nature has been exposed. Before and after the autumn, he imposed several oral tributes in a row and went back on his words. The people deeply hated him because of the frequent oral tributes.
The people hang themselves in celebration of death, has Governor Chang ever heard of such a Guanzhong ballad?"
Chang Yan touched his chin and did not answer. Lu Jia raised his head and read the ballad loudly:
"If you don't wash it with the Wei water, your mouth will be rich!"
"I dare to say that if the Northern Expeditionary Army enters Guanzhong at this time, the leaders of Guanzhong will definitely turn against them and carry pots and pulp to welcome them!"
"In addition, Governor Chang must have heard that in the hometown of the Six Kingdoms, bandits are rampant. The Xiang family has restored Chu State. Liang, Chen, and Qi have also been in chaos. The bandits are gradually moving westward. Soon, all the people in Guandong will rebel against the imperial court.
When the bandits from the Six Kingdoms approach Han Valley, will the north still be victorious by then?"
"What Mr. Lu said is true." Chang Yan sighed: "Give Mr. Lu a seat!"
His subordinates threw a straw mat on the ground, but Lu Jia didn't mind it either. He knelt down and bowed to Chang Yan:
"Officer Chang thought Wang Ben would be victorious? In fact, this is not the case. Although Wang Ben's soldiers are numerous, they have been blocked for three months in northern Han Dynasty. He cannot win if he wants to fight, and he cannot attack the city. He has to move his supplies thousands of miles away, and Ying
Sichuan and Sanchuan not only have to face the bandits of the Six Nations, but also the Northern Expeditionary Army Han Xin's attack. The people are tired and their morale has declined. They can only stand in a stalemate and wait for other partial divisions."
"But Governor Chang should have known that Feng Jie was timid and had no boats, so he did not dare to advance eastward. Instead, he was blocked by Zhao Tuo and Wu Chen's troops in Jiangzhou. He had to rely on the support of Shu County to stabilize the situation.
There is no way we can attack Nanjun together with Wang Ben."
"As for the soldiers in Suixian County, they were also trapped in an ambush. They were Dongmen Leopards. Ji Ying's tribe was defeated and retreated to the Tang Dynasty. They hesitated and could not advance. Wang Ben's outflanking had failed."
"This is not the case for the Northern Expeditionary Army. Jianghan's food and grass are close at hand. The governor of Xiao He County goes northward day and night with troops and food to supply Wu Zhonghou. He builds deep ditches and barriers, and separates his troops to guard the fortresses. In this way, the Northern Army becomes more and more exhausted as it fights, and the food supply also decreases.
It is difficult to sustain, but the southern army is full of food all day long, waiting for work. When winter comes, Wang Ben will not be able to attack if he advances, and he will not be able to retreat if he retreats, and he may be defeated! Therefore, the northern army is not enough to rely on."
Chang Yan sneered: "Wang Ben is not trustworthy? If that were true, you would not go to Sichuan to lobby me."
Lu Jia admitted: "Indeed, even if the situation is delayed, the South will definitely win over the North, but Marquis Wu Zhong cannot bear to see the world continue to be in chaos and allow the Six Kingdoms to take advantage of it. Instead, he attacked Hangu first, so he sent me to Shu to pay an audience with Changjun.
Shou."
"The situation in the world is already very clear. If the north and the south cannot decide the winner for a long time, the blood of the soldiers from the north and south of Qin will eventually be shed, and Qin Sheji will eventually be destroyed by the remnants of the six kingdoms."
"If we can end this war as soon as possible, unite the south with the north, have Wu Zhonghou take control of Xianyang, and establish a new king, we can work together to deal with the bandits in the east, continue the work of the First Emperor, and let Qin rule the world again!"
Lu Jia prostrated himself on the ground: "Whether I want to be the sinner of the Qin Dynasty through the ages, or be a noble minister who can rebuild the world, the princes, generals, and ministers all have their backs in Shu County, and it's just a matter of a thought for the governor of Chang County!"
Chang Yan stood up with hesitation on his face: "You Confucian scholar, after all your talk, you still want to seduce me to rebel against the imperial court. I have been guarding the border for the country for more than ten years, punishing traitors, pacifying the Di and Qiang, building five-foot roads, and opening up the southwestern barbarians.
Even though it is not a big event, it can still go down in history. How can I ruin my posthumous reputation just because of your few words..."
As he spoke, he pointed at Lu Jia: "Put him on a soft couch."
Lu Jia touched the soft couch under his knees and felt a big stone fall in his heart.
He knew that Chang Yan was about to be persuaded, so he laughed and said:
"Chief Chang, Commander Chang, you don't know something. You are a loyal minister of the Qin Dynasty, but in the eyes of Hu Hai and Zhao Gao, you are actually no different from the likes of Meng Tian and Zhang Han!"
"If we don't take action first, the envoys carrying Hu Hai's secret edict and holding poisonous wine will probably enter Shu!"
