Chapter eight hundred and seventy-seventh Chu and Han to envoy
Chang'an, Shuhou Mansion.
Lin Ze was reviewing the endless memorials with a natural expression.
Wu Fan stood in front of Lin Ze with a respectful expression, bowed and said: "To the Lord of the Kingdom, after Long Qie rebelled against the Han and surrendered to Chu, the King of Han Liu Ji, with the help of Confucianism, worshiped the legendary soldier Jiang Shang as his commander, and
The 50,000 Han troops guarding Linzi led by Jiang Shang went south to meet Xiang Ji."
"In this battle, the Han army lost 15,000, and the Chu army lost nearly 20,000, but the winner was not completely determined. However, the Han army had a slight upper hand and took the opportunity to recover Huaiyin and several surrounding counties. Xiang Ji led the Chu army to retreat to Yandu.
."
"The spies lurking in the territory of Han and Chu have received news that both sides are preparing to add more troops to the battlefield. In the near future, war will continue to break out."
Lin Ze's pen paused for a moment: "What is the current situation in the war between Chu and South Vietnam?"
Wu Fan bowed and replied: "Reporting to the lord of the country, Chu Commander Fan Zengshen has learned a true military strategist and has mastered military skills. The South Vietnamese army of 80,000 was defeated one after another. Now there are only about 40,000 left, and morale is very low."
"If the South Vietnamese soldiers were not all Buddhist believers, and the actual commander this time was Buddhist Xuantang Buddha, they would have been defeated long ago."
"Now the South Vietnamese army retreats to Jingnan, and Fan Zeng leads the Chu army to press forward step by step, with the potential to kill them all."
Lin Ze raised his eyebrows and asked: "Xiang Ji encountered big trouble in the north, so he never thought of transferring his capable general Fan Zeng there?"
Wu Fan replied: "It is rumored that Xiang Ji personally gave the order. Fan Zeng is only allowed to move westward, and Fan Zeng is not allowed to move northward."
Lin Ze frowned slightly: "What is Di Xin's plan? Will you risk your life to drag the Buddha into trouble?"
Wu Fan could only reply: "I don't know."
Lin Ze thought for a moment and said, "Send someone to keep a close eye on the situation. If there is anything unusual, report it as soon as possible."
Wu Fan bowed and responded: "No."
Lin Ze continued to write and review the memorial, but saw Wu Fan still standing there and asked: "Is there anything else?"
Wu Fan replied: "Reporting to the lord of the country, spies inquired and learned that the Chu-Han war was at a stalemate. In order to break the stalemate, both the King of Han and the King of Chu sent envoys to Western Qin, hoping to seek help from Western Qin."
"The spies have come to report that the envoys from Chu and Han are already on their way and will arrive in Chang'an within five days to ask for an audience with the king."
Lin Ze was stunned when he heard this and asked: "Do you know who the envoys from the two countries are?"
Wu Fan thought for a while and replied: "The name of the Han envoy is Li Shiqi. It is rumored that this person is a township party of Liu Ji, the king of Han. When Liu Ji was chased by the king and fled to Mangdang Mountain for refuge, this person never left him.
, so he received a heavy responsibility from Liu Ji."
"When the Han Dynasty selected envoys this time, Liu Ji was worried that the leader of the country would be unfavorable to the envoys, so he did not want to choose Li Shiqi. However, the Han Dynasty had just witnessed the rebellion of Long Qie. In order to prevent others from being traitors, he deliberately angered the country.
The Lord has brought great disaster to the Han country, so I had no choice but to choose him."
Lin Ze showed a displeased look on his face: "If the two countries are at war and don't kill the envoys, how can I be a person who doesn't even understand this principle?"
Wu Fan quickly said: "Of course the leader of the country is not this kind of person. The Han people will only be laughed at by the world for being such a villain."
Lin Ze nodded heavily and said: "Write this down and order the Han State to compensate for this. If the Han State does not comply, let Zhang Han lead his troops to visit the Han State."
Wu Fan was stunned when he heard this, and responded without changing his expression: "I obey."
"The envoy from Chu State is named Xiang Zhuang. It is said that he is a younger brother of Xiang Ji. He is currently one of the few young talents in the Xiang family."
Lin Ze said with a strange look on his face: "Didn't Han Xin wipe out all the Xiang clan back then? There are still some fish that slipped through the net, but they can actually cultivate young talents. It's really hard for them."
When Han Xin destroyed Chu, Xiang Ji escaped alone. In order to have backup to deal with Xiang Ji, Lin Ze sent an order to Han Xin to arrest the entire Xiang family and imprison them secretly.
Unexpectedly, Xiang Ji became Di Xin, and Lin Ze's good move was greatly compromised.
It had been several months since Di Xin established the Chu Kingdom again, and he had not mentioned the redemption of his people at all, which shows that he really didn't care about it.
Lin Ze looked at Wu Fan and asked with great interest: "Both Chu and Han have sent envoys to ask for help. In your opinion, who should I help?"
Wu Fan replied without thinking: "The king should not help anyone."
Lin Ze asked with a smile: "Why is this?"
Wu Fan said with a natural expression: "As the saying goes, the snipe and the clam compete with each other to make a profit. At present, Chu and Han are the snipe and the clam, and Western Qin is the fisherman. No matter who you help, it will not be Western Qin who benefits in the end."
"It is only in the interests of Western Qin that the two sides do not help each other. When Chu and Han are greatly weakened and exhausted, Western Qin will send out troops again, at least to capture the territory of Chu and Han, or at worst to destroy Chu and Han in one fell swoop."
Lin Ze continued to ask: "It's a good idea. If you were asked to receive envoys from Chu and Han, what would you do?"
Wu Fan thought for a moment and replied: "Don't agree, don't refuse, first drag the two parties until the two countries get deeper and deeper and find it difficult to extricate themselves."
Lin Ze asked politely: "What else?"
Wu Fan had a flash of inspiration and said: "At a certain time, send people to hint to the two countries, making them mistakenly think that they will help themselves and continue to delay."
Lin Ze was a little dissatisfied and said: "What else?"
Wu Fan's face fell and he said: "I am stupid and can only think of this. If there are any shortcomings, please let me know."
Lin Ze said calmly: "Why not hint to one party that the other party's conditions are better, so that they mistakenly think that Xi Qin intends to help the other party?"
Wu Fan's eyes lit up and he said: "The king wants to take this opportunity to gain benefits for Western Qin?"
Lin Ze shook his head: "That's not the case. As you said, I just want this war to last longer, which is more in line with the interests of Western Qin."
"Besides, it is difficult for Chu and Han to offer benefits that would make Gu tempted."
Wu Fan suddenly realized: "I understand."
Lin Ze said with a smile: "Now that you understand everything, I will leave it to you to receive the envoys from the two countries."
Wu Fan smiled bitterly and said: "Wei Chen is willing to share the worries of the king, but his ability is limited and he is worried that he will disappoint the king."
Lin Ze waved his hand and said: "Don't think too much, just do what you just said. If there are any shortcomings, you should think about it carefully in the five days before the messenger arrives."
Wu Fan could only bite the bullet and replied: "I obey my orders."
…
Outside Chang'an City, two carriages flying different flags met unexpectedly.
Almost at the same time, Xiang Zhuang and Li Shiqi, who were sitting in two different carriages, reached out and touched the hilt of the sword.
If the opponent is killed here and the task of requesting Western Qin to send troops is equivalent to half completed.
The two secretly measured each other's strength, and when their murderous intentions began to rise, a figure descended from the sky and said with a hearty smile: "My official, Wu Fan, the Minister of Punishment of the Western Qin Dynasty, welcomes the arrival of the two envoys."
Xiang Zhuang and Li Shiqi immediately let go of their sword hilts, got off the carriage, and said with bright smiles: "Xiang Zhuang of Chu State (Li Shiqi of Han State) has met Mr. Wu."