On the first day of April, at the turn of spring and summer, there are often showers in Nanyang. Unlike usual, farmers in Qiandu have to hold on to their farm tools and open their toothless mouths, rejoicing that the rain nourishes all things.
But in Xixian County (Xixia County, Henan Province) on the bank of Junshui River, Sima Yang, who was ordered by Wang Ben to serve as a general on his behalf, raised his head worriedly and frowned at the dense dark clouds in the sky.
Behind him, the Northern Army stretched into a long snake, slowly marched westward along the Chi Road, rested in Xi County, then crossed the pontoon bridge to the Danyang area on the other side, and then returned to Wuguan.
To the west of Denglin is the land to the right of Chu, which is full of vast valleys and rivers. There are mountains, forests and valleys where there is no food. The transportation roads are not good. If this rain comes, the roads will be muddy and the progress of the three armies' evacuation to Wuguan will be delayed again.
A bit slower.
Most of the 150,000 people in Nanyang have now withdrawn to Danyang and Xi County. The remaining ones are in Rang County, Xinye, and in Wancheng to clean up the aftermath and burn food.
The troops passing by Sima Yang one after another, the spirit of the officers and soldiers was obviously different. When the generals learned that they were going to withdraw their troops to Wuguan, they were all full of suspicion. At this moment, their eyes were constantly searching for the banner. Sima Yang knew about him and they were looking for Tong.
They still kept silent about the death of Wuhou and the middle and lower-level officers.
The soldiers were happy, chatting and laughing during the break, looking forward to the days after entering the customs. No one wanted to fight this battle. After more than half a year, everyone was tired and wanted to go home.
Wuguan is two hundred miles away to the west. It can be reached in five days if you hurry, but bad news continues:
The day before yesterday, Sima Yang arranged for chariots and cavalry in the south of Xi County to report that the rebel scouts were frequent and might have noticed the Northern Army's withdrawal. Although the Northern Army's chariots and cavalry were excellent and had repulsed them, the two or three thousand rebels
Still unwilling to give up, the cavalrymen crossed the river at the junction of Dan and Jun and went to Danyang.
And yesterday, Danshui County hurriedly reported that the rebel Dongmen Leopard Division, which had originally retreated to Danyin, bravely crossed the water again. By the time Sima Yang received the news, Danshui had fallen. Sima Yang knew that the Dongmen Leopards would definitely meet.
They stormed Chidao and tried their best to prevent them from entering the pass.
To make matters worse, earlier today, a report came from Rangxian County, saying that the rebels had gathered 40,000 to 50,000 people and were approaching Denglin. They were unable to resist and asked for support!
Sima Yang had no intention of going to the rescue. He knew how much he was worth. Heifu's hard bone was not even broken by Wang Ben, let alone him. If he returned now, not only would he not be able to save Rang County, he would not even be able to save the troops who had already evacuated the dangerous area.
You have to ride in too.
Sima Yang asked someone to reply to the three captains of Rang County: "Abandon Rang County and retreat, how much can we withdraw..."
He stayed here just to wait for the last batch of troops to evacuate from Wancheng, and Chief Shi Gantang was among them.
The sky became cloudier, and a group of swallows flew from low altitude, with black wings, bringing black news.
What Sima Yang was waiting for was a group of embarrassed defeated soldiers and a depressed Gantang. His body was covered with soot and dirt, and his face was rubbed with a large piece of skin. Before the horse could stop, Gantang fell off.
"Chang Shi, what happened?" Sima Yang stepped forward to help Gantang up.
"Wancheng has rebelled!"
Gantang's eyes turned red and he said, "Lü Ye, it's getting dark!"
…
After all, Wang Ben was not Zhuge, so he could not claim to have a comprehensive plan, let alone leave a bag of tips for Sima Yang. Gantang said: "After I die, xx will definitely rebel. When they rebel, you and I will open this bag...
"
Naturally, it is even less likely that someone would suddenly jump out and behead Lu Yan.
Sima Heifu, on the other hand, now had an army of 50,000 men, with banners fluttering, marching out of Jianghan and approaching Rang County (Dengzhou City, Henan Province). Since the Battle of Jiangling, Heifu had been cowardly for more than half a year, and he had not been so high-spirited for a long time.
The advantage of being a ruler is that you don't have to know everything yourself. Whenever you come to a strange place, there will naturally be scribes and advisers who will stand up and educate you.
At this moment, he casually pointed to Rangxian County in the distance, which was surrounded by heavy troops of the Northern Expeditionary Army, and talked:
"Rang County was originally the capital of the ancient Deng State. Deng Guoman also had the surname. His daughter Deng Man married King Wu of Chu and gave birth to King Wen of Chu. In the sixth year of Duke Zhuang of Lu (688 B.C.), King Wen of Chu passed through Deng State on his way to Fashen.
At Marquis Deng's reception, the official of the Deng State said that this person must be the one who will destroy the Deng State. Why not take action early? Marquis Deng refused to listen, thinking that King Chu Wen was a sister and would not be disadvantageous to the Deng State. But the next year, King Chu Wen had already
After destroying Shen, he attacked Deng and destroyed him."
This is the southern version of the fake Yu's attack on Guo, but Deng's death is not unjust. This is the midpoint between Wancheng and Xiangyang, and it is also a shortcut to Wuguan. Of course, Chu will capture it.
Heifu stood on the military chariot and looked to the west of Rang County. He could see the faint hills, which is the so-called "Denglin Danger".
So gradually, a hundred years ago, Ruying thought it was dangerous, Jianghan was considered a pond, it was limited to Denglin, and it was connected to Fangcheng. Together with Wancheng's excellent ironware, it became the northern defense line of Chu State.
"Now, with the surrender of Wancheng and Ao Laohou, helping me to encircle Rang County, Deng Lin is also at his fingertips. The five northern places in the past when Chu was all over, except for Ru Ying, are all in my hands..."
Hei Fu was not proud, but Sui He, the old scholar next to him who had advised Hei Fu to "call him the King of Chu" more than half a year ago, became inexplicably emotional.
"This place is indeed a battleground between the north and the south, but it is not rich, and the tax revenue is far less than that of Jingyang and Xincheng. When Marquis Rang was granted a seat here, did he want to protect a key place for the country?"
Ranghou was Wei Ran, who was the Prime Minister of Qin during the reign of King Zhaoxiang of Qin.
Heifu replied nonchalantly: "Perhaps Marquis Rang was still loyal at that time."
"But in my later years, I just wanted to get the title of Guangtao Qiu for myself."
Suihe refused to give up, and sighed: "But the old minister thought that Wei Ran helped King Zhao of Qin to eliminate the disaster, so he recommended Bai Qi as a general. He took Yan and Ying to the south, and the land in the east belonged to Qi, but Qin so benefited the land in the east and weakened the princes.
, to make the world look upon the leader and serve Qin, this is Wei Ran’s contribution. His contribution is much higher than that of Fan Ju, and no less than that of Shang Yang!”
"Therefore, it is not fair to say that the honor of Wei Ran is just a Tao Qiu. However, King Zhaoxiang of Qin actually expelled him, and his two brothers, Lord Jingyang and Lord Huayang, were innocent and took over the country again. This end is really unfair."
Sui He smiled and said: "I once heard that a man who is good at the country is called a king, a man who is able to do harm is called a king, and a man who controls the power of killing is called a king."
"When King Qin Zhaoxiang was not in charge, it could be said that the Ranghou family were the real kings of Qin! No wonder people in the world heard that Qin had a queen mother and Ranghou, but not that it had a king."
"Even if Marquis Rang has made great achievements and is extremely wealthy, a husband can say that he will die in sorrow because of his body and power. This is true for a king's uncle, let alone an ordinary minister who is in charge of the journey."
Heifu glanced at him: "What do you want to say?"
"I just think that if you are in a position of great power and ministers, you are good at the country, you can harm the country, and you can control the power of killing, but as long as you are not the king, your name is not justified, and your power will decline one day. At that time, you will be unable to retreat, just like Rang.
It is lucky that Hou Ban died in grief and anger, but more importantly, he suffered the same fate as Cui Zhu and Chun Shen."
Sui He said: "I'm thinking, what would have happened if Marquis Rang could have established himself as king, followed the example of the Three Jin Dynasties, Tian Heng, and replaced Qin?"
Okay, this old bastard started making crazy hints again, but Hei Fu only smiled:
"I don't know whether Ranghou will end up as Zi Zhi, who was killed by the anger of the Chinese people, or as Tian Heng, who successfully completed his career on behalf of Qi."
"I only know that even if Ranghou and the other four nobles succeed in replacing Qin, they will not be able to go far."
"Wei Ran still has the support of relatives and retainer politics in his mind. He can discover Bai Qi, but ignores Fan Ju. He can win for a while, but it is difficult to maintain for two generations. Let alone establish a business like Shang Jun.
A system that lasts.”
"As for King Zhao of Qin, he was ruthless to the people, but indulged his cronies. There were times when he was wise, and there were times when he was stupid. But even if he killed Bai Qi and made a big mistake that made Qin people hate him, Qin would still be able to defeat him.
Six Kingdoms."
"Why?"
"Because the cornerstone of the system has been completed, although the military geniuses have died, there are still hundreds of Qin officials and Qin lieutenants. They are like nails and wedges, silently maintaining the operation of the Qin Dynasty. It is they who are responsible for
King Zhao of Qin guarded the mountains and rivers, waiting for the next hero: Emperor Qin Shihuang to appear!"
Sui He was determined to persuade him to come in again, but he didn't expect Heifu to answer like this. There was a lot of information in it, and he couldn't laugh for a while.
However, Heifu stopped talking and pointed forward: "But then again, what will happen if the system is trampled upon and the talented people who can support the overall situation die?"
"Should the 30,000 Northern soldiers in the city continue to fight for the Second World War and resist until death, or would they just make up a story and persuade them and then fall apart?"
Sui He looked forward and saw the mysterious figure arranged by Hei Fu riding forward accompanied by Ji Ying and others.
The man, who was about forty years old, walked two arrows away. Hundreds of strong soldiers lined up in a row. Before the man arrived, they had been shouting for a while:
"Wancheng has surrendered, and you have been abandoned by Sima Yang and Gantang. Why don't you surrender!?"
The man dismounted and stopped. Several people stood in front of him with shields and protected him carefully. He took a deep breath, and after thinking for a long time, he said loudly:
"I am the disciple of Marquis Tongwu, riding Sima Wang Yi!"
…
This person is the Cavalry Sima Wang Yi who was captured by Heifu during the Battle of Jiangling a year ago!
Wang Yi was originally a general under Feng Wuze. At that time, Xinyi rebelled, Lao Feng died in the battle, and Yang Xiong was killed. Seeing that Wang Yi was not so determined to die, Heifu also knew that he was Wang Jian's nephew, so he spared his life.
, I was treated well in Gangneung.
After being under house arrest for more than half a year, the world situation has undergone a huge reversal. The South has gradually gained the upper hand, and now even Wang Ben is dead...
When Heifu asked Wang Yi to be taken to the front line to persuade him to surrender, he was interested in his identity as "Wang Ben's disciple".
"As for Wang Ben, if he tells it, it will be easier to win the trust of ordinary soldiers."
Standing under the city of Rang County, being stared at by tens of thousands of eyes in front of and behind him, Wang Yi looked a little ugly and thought to himself:
"Brother, please don't blame me. I just want to prevent the Pinyang Wang family from depriving themselves of blood."
So he closed his eyes and shouted loudly: "Wang Yi is here today to tell the second and third sons something."
"It's about the death of my brother, Marquis Tongwu!"
"My brother Wang Ben, the Grand Lieutenant of Great Qin, Marquis Tongwu, and head of the Wang family, is no longer here!"
Hundreds of big men will repeat these words, and the sound will be loud enough to be heard in the city.
"What!?"
The soldiers of the Northern Army who stood firm at the head of Rang County were petrified for a moment. They couldn't believe this was true!
They were ordered to stay in Rang County because they believed in Marquis Tongwu and believed that he was invincible and would not abandon his soldiers.
But now, if Marquis Tongwu is really gone, where will they have the courage to resist the rebels who are twice their size?
Everyone turned to look at the captains. The three captains looked at each other and asked them to release arrows, but the range of the arrows was not enough. Even if one or two of them flew by the wind, they were blocked.
Finally, the eldest one gritted his teeth and ordered to his personal guards:
"Shout back, curse the rebels, and be sure to cover up those nonsense!"
But it is a pity that there are 70,000 people besieging the city. If you really shout, it is far larger than the city...
Not long after, an even more disturbing voice came in again.
"Marquis Tongwu was initially misled by a treacherous minister and rebellious son. He didn't know that Marquis Wu Zhong was following the imperial edict to attack Jingnan in the north, so he took you and others to fight against the rebels in Nanyang."
"But recently, Marquis Tongwu saw that Xianyang killed Feng Quji and killed the young master Gao. These are all false emperors Hu Hai, and the treacherous minister Zhao Gao harmed the loyal ones."
"The Marquis of Tong Wu submitted a letter to ask Zhao Gao to be executed, but was framed by the Zhao thieves. Hu Hai issued twelve gold medals and summoned the Marquis of Wu to return to the court, hoping to kill the entire Wang family on trumped-up charges."
"The Marquis of Tongwu knew that Yi was in the south, but it was too late. His old injury recurred, and he died of anger. He only had time to leave a letter to the Nanyang County Governor before his death."
"Now Nanyang Shou has been ordered by Marquis Tong Wu. Anyway, Wancheng has surrendered. Wang Yi just knew that before his death, brother Cong didn't say a word about family affairs. He only said, 'I made the mistake of being the enemy of Wu Zhong, and I have accumulated anger to this point.
, If you can do it anyway, I will die without regrets'..."
"Before he died, Marquis Tongwu pointed angrily at the west and shouted three times..."
What's the matter with the three calls?
Even though the three captains asked their personal guards to order everyone not to listen, the soldiers still couldn't help but raise their heads and wait attentively.
As the three armies of the Northern Expedition shouted in unison, a roll of white silk was also unfolded under the city, with six large ink characters written on it!