Lin Ze stood on the high platform, looking at the 100,000 troops lined up in front of him. He waved his hand and said loudly: "The target is Pei County, the whole army is setting off."
After receiving the military order, the 100,000-strong army immediately set off and marched toward Peixian County in the southeast.
Zhuang Zhou, who was next to Lin Ze, saw this scene and couldn't help asking: "Isn't my junior brother's purpose this time to capture the land of Yanzhao? Now that most of the land of Yanzhao is in the hands of my junior brother, why do I still want to attack?
Pei County?”
At the end of the sentence, a look of worry appeared on Zhuang Zhou's face and he said: "Now the era of great strife has just begun, and Confucianism has not yet harvested Liu Ji's luck. If my junior brother destroys Liu Ji, it may stop Confucianism from harvesting luck."
The result is that Confucianism emerges decisively, and Confucianism will probably not give up."
"At the beginning of the dispute, it is not appropriate for my junior brother to have too much conflict with Confucianism, so as not to hurt both sides and let Qin and Buddhism take advantage."
Lin Ze smiled softly and replied: "Brother, don't worry. Junior brother's attack on Peixian County with great fanfare is just a show. As long as the Confucians are not stupid, this battle will never happen."
Zhuang Zhou asked in return: "Junior brother doesn't want to attack Peixian, why do you mobilize troops like this?"
Lin Ze chuckled lightly and said: "Junior brother did this for two reasons: one is to superficially express his dissatisfaction with Liu Ji's capture of Jin, in order to cover up the fact that junior brother was deliberately trying to seize his territory."
"Second, take this opportunity to get as much benefit from Confucianism as possible."
"You have to do a whole show. Since my junior brother planned this matter for Liu Ji to attack Jinyang, he was wrong in the first place. If he only captured the land of Yanzhao and then stopped, it is very likely that he would fight endlessly with Liu Ji over the land of Yanzhao in the future.
"
"The only way is to give Liu Ji a painful beating once and for all and make him personally admit that the land of Yanzhao belongs to the Western Qin. If there is a dispute in the future, justice will be in hand and the name will be justified."
Zhuang Zhou nodded slightly, accepting Lin Ze's statement. At the end, he couldn't help but remind him: "Junior brother has a good plan, but you have to pay attention to the size and don't go too far. Don't let the Confucians fail and make things worse.
"
Lin Ze smiled brightly and said: "Brother, don't worry too much. Junior brother knows well. If something unexpected happens and the matter cannot be ended, we can only ask senior brother to take action to maintain superficial peace with Confucianism."
When Zhuang Zhou heard this, he shook his head and said with a smile: "You, you, senior brother, I am almost your subordinate."
Lin Ze said shamelessly: "They are all working for the Dao Palace, senior brother, you don't have to be so clear about it."
Zhuang Zhou...
…
At the Peixian County Government Office, Liu Ji was pacing back and forth in the courtyard, fidgeting. The news that the land of Yanzhao was gained and lost made him extremely anxious.
It didn't matter that the land of Yanzhao was not secure. What worried him even more was that after Lin Ze captured Handan, he did not stop and gathered a large army, seeming to intend to go south.
In order to fight against Lin Ze, Liu Ji communicated with Confucian scholars and invited a Confucian sage to come to Peixian County to calm people's hearts.
On the other side, Liu Ji quickly recalled the army that was fighting in Qi and Wei. If Lin Ze really attacked Peixian, he would have enough troops to defend Peixian.
A few days later, what Liu Ji was most worried about happened. Scouts came to report that Lin Ze personally led an army of 100,000, less than a hundred miles away from Peixian County.
Liu Ji hurriedly came to Zhang Liang to ask: "Lin Ze's army is attacking. Pei County has insufficient troops and no danger to defend. What should we do?"
Zhang Liang thought for a moment and said in a deep voice: "With the current plan, my lord has only two options."
"First, urge the Confucian sages to come quickly. With the Confucian sages here, even if Pei County is lost, the Lord will be safe and sound."
"Secondly, if the Confucian sages do not arrive, my lord can only give up Peixian County and avoid it for the time being. As the saying goes, if you keep the green hills, you will not be afraid of running out of firewood. There is no need for my lord to fight for a moment and fight with Lin Ze."
"The days are long, and when my lord's strength increases, today's humiliation will be repaid a hundredfold."
Obviously, Zhang Liang was worried that Liu Ji would not escape because of face, which was a bit unnecessary.
When Liu Ji heard the last sentence, he quickly said: "In that case, then pack up and rush to Linzi, Qi. It happens that the palace of Qi is still well preserved and can be used by the orphans to stay."
Zhang Liang smiled bitterly and said: "If my lord really wants to leave, it is best to inform Confucianism and listen to Confucianism's suggestions."
Liu Ji thought for a while and realized that Zhang Liang's words made sense, so he told the guards at the door: "Go and invite some Confucian gentlemen to come over and discuss matters."
As soon as Liu Ji finished speaking, there was a burst of noise outside the lobby, but it was several people stationed around Liu Ji from the Confucian School who came together.
When he heard that Liu Ji wanted to abandon the city and flee, one of the leading Confucian scholars immediately said: "Pei Gong must not do this. Xiaosheng contacted Yan Sheng, Zeng Sheng, Zhong Sheng and others the day before yesterday. The three sages all said that Pei Gong only needs to hold on.
Pei County, just wait for them to come for help."
"Yan Sheng said personally that the supporter behind Lin Ze is Tao Gong. The relationship between Confucianism and Tao Gong is very good. For the sake of Confucianism, Lin Ze will not embarrass Pei Gong too much."
"Besides, there seems to be a misunderstanding in this incident. If Lin Ze really comes with troops, Pei Gong can clear up the misunderstanding, so that the two tigers will not fight and Qin will benefit."
Liu Ji looked a little ugly and said: "What if Lin Ze doesn't care about Confucian face and has to kill me?"
The leading Confucian scholar looked dissatisfied and said: "How could a person like Yan Sheng deceive Duke Pei on such a matter? I hope Duke Pei will pay attention to his words."
Liu Ji wanted to say more, but Zhang Liang saw something was wrong and quickly said: "Since the relationship between Confucianism and the Taoist palace is very good, can some of the great sages send envoys to Lin Ze's army to communicate in advance?"
The leading Confucian scholar glanced at Zhang Liang and said calmly: "Mr. Zhang, there is no need to provoke me and others with words. When Lin Ze's troops arrive at the city, I and others will go to the opponent's military camp and try to prevent Pei Gong from being hurt and insulted by the opponent."
Zhang Liang chuckled and said, "I hope so."
…
After three days of rapid march, the army led by Lin Ze finally saw the city wall of Peixian County.
As a county, Pei County is not the seat of the county government. The city wall is not high. With less than 20,000 defenders in the city, Lin Ze does not need a hundred thousand troops at all. He only needs 50,000 troops to easily defeat this city.
The county seat was captured.
However, this time, Lin Ze did not come to attack the city and seize territory, so the army camped outside the city and stopped.
Then Lin Ze stood on horseback three hundred meters in front of the gate of Peixian County, and said loudly: "Where is Liu Ji? Today I am leading an army here to seek justice for my dead brother, and I also ask Liu Ji to come out and answer.
."
Lin Ze's voice was not loud, but it spread clearly throughout Pei County. Liu Ji naturally heard it, but he did not dare to meet Lin Ze.
In Liu Ji's impression, Lin Ze has always been a decisive and decisive figure. If he really appeared in front of Lin Ze, the latter might kill him with one sword.
Just because Liu Ji didn't show up, it didn't mean that no one from Peixian County showed up. The five Confucian scholars who had previously advised Liu Ji not to abandon the city fulfilled their promise and came to the city wall.
The first Confucian scholar took the lead to salute Lin Ze and said: "Confucian disciples pay homage to Immortal Lin Ze of the Taoist Palace."
As the saying goes, don't hit someone with a smiling face. Before there was any conflict of interest, Lin Ze still smiled at the five people in a very kind way and nodded in return.
The leading Confucian scholar then asked: "I wonder why Immortal Lin Ze led his troops to invade Pei Gong's territory?"
Lin Ze looked at the few people and said calmly: "The reason for this must be explained clearly only when the person involved, Liu Ji, comes over. As Confucian disciples, they seem to have little to do with this matter. It seems that there is no need for me to tell you.
"
The leading Confucian scholar smiled and replied: "I have an irreversible relationship with Pei Gong, and some things have the same meaning as those of the lower class."
"Oh," Lin Ze replied without hesitation: "If I want to take Liu Ji's life and pay homage to my dead brother, how many of you would be willing to take your own life?"
As soon as Lin Ze said this, a look of embarrassment suddenly appeared on the face of the leading Confucian scholar, and he didn't know how to answer the question.
Lin Ze snorted and said: "No need to say more, let Liu Ji come out. I will give him a quarter of an hour. If he hides and refuses to come out, I will directly order to attack the city and dig the ground for three days."
Ruler, find him."
"If he is willing to come out and explain clearly, for the sake of Confucianism, I may not embarrass him. If he is guilty and refuses to explain, if I take action without seriousness and beat the person to death, Confucianism will not blame me.
."
The leading Confucian scholar did not expect that Lin Ze's attitude would be so resolute. He looked at his companions and said, "I would like to ask Immortal Lin Ze to exercise some restraint. The lower class will come to him right now."
After saying that, he walked down the city wall and went to find Liu Ji.
Liu Ji heard that the Confucian scholar said that Lin Zefei had to see him, and he was very unhappy and said: "What if I go and the other party kills people directly with his supreme cultivation?"
"In this case, how can Sir explain to the Confucian sage?"
The Confucian scholar smiled bitterly and said, "But Lin Ze wants to see you by name. If he doesn't see you for a quarter of an hour, he will most likely order an attack on the city."
"Once the city is broken, I'm afraid both sides will not even have the chance to negotiate. At least now, the other party has said that it is possible to negotiate. With Lin Ze's status, he will not go back on his word."
Liu Ji firmly refused and said: "That's because you don't understand him. Lin Ze is a person who cannot be bound by morality. I am not willing to risk my life."
As soon as Liu Ji finished speaking, an ethereal voice sounded: "As long as I'm here, you don't have to worry about this."
While Liu Ji looked stunned, the Confucian scholar looked happy, bowed and said: "Xiaosheng, I sincerely welcome Yan Sheng to come."
Then, a young Confucian scholar with a jade-like face and a gentle and elegant appearance appeared in front of Liu Ji. It was the Confucian sage Yan who had returned.