Zang Di's rebellion was indeed much more convenient and easier than Zhao Xie's, just an order, the six counties of Yan State immediately began to recruit troops on a large scale, expand the army, and transfer grain, grass and various military supplies hoarded in various key cities, almost a large-scale direct preparation for rebellion.

In this regard, although the officials directly under the Han court in the Yan State also immediately noticed that the situation seemed to be wrong, the excuse for Zang Di to do this was to prepare to resist the Xiongnu entering the Central Plains, which was definitely justified, plus the Xiongnu were famous for their love of fighting in winter, and the Han army in Daijun and Yanmen and other places was also desperately preparing for war, and strictly guarded against the Xiongnu, so the direct officials of the Han court could not oppose and stop it, and could only report to Han Ting and Xiang Kang through various light and dark channels, reminding Xiang Kang to guard against Zang Di.

Seeing that something is wrong, there is also Xiang Kang for Zang Tu's crown prince Zang Yan, for the sake of his own future, Zang Yan also carefully reminded Zang Tu not to do too much, so as not to arouse the suspicion of Xiang Kang and Han Ting, Zang Tu of course not only did not listen, but also asked Zang Yan to shut up and not interfere in his own decision-making, Zang Yan, who did not have much real power in his hands, was helpless, so he could only pray for God's blessing and not let Xiang Kang overreact to Zang Di's actions, while allowing his father of Yan Wang to act wantonly.

During the busy preparations, accurate news related to Zhao Xie also came from Xianyang, saying that Xiang Kang had renamed Zhao Xie as the Duke of Donghai and rewarded ten cities including Donghai County Zhitan City, and also pardoned the crimes of Zhao Xie's son, and it was rumored that Xiang Kang did not want to abolish Zhao Xie's throne, but Zhao Xie repeatedly kowtowed and repeatedly asked for the abolition of the king, Xiang Kang reluctantly abolished Zhao Xie's title of King of Zhao, and renamed one of his sons who had just turned one year old as King Zhao.

Of course, Zang Tu and his party scoffed at such rumors, in addition to laughing at Xiang Kang's hypocrisy and shamelessness behind his back, they were ready to rebel against Zhao Hui of Julu County, the same clan of Zhao Xie, and as soon as the anti-flag was raised, they immediately sent people to Julu to persuade Zhao Hui to change his independence and proclaim himself King Zhao to confront the Han Dynasty. At the same time, the envoy sent by Zang Di to contact Han Xin also went south to Huaiyin early with heavy gifts, and Han Xin, who was usually able to help Yan Jun a lot.

As for the plan to rebel against Wu Rui, Zang Di adopted Zhang Sheng's suggestion and prepared to send someone to contact Wu Rui after the date of the army was determined, so as to prevent Wu Rui, a wall grass who could even sacrifice his own son-in-law, from defecting and secretly informing the Han court, which ruined the major event of his rebellion.

Quite a surprise to Zang Di, the day after receiving Zhao Xie's news, a Han court envoy suddenly came to Jixian County with Xiang Kang's edict, Zang Di, who had not had time to make all the preparations for rebellion, did not dare to slack off, in order to avoid arousing the vigilance of the Han court, he greeted the arrival of the Han court envoy very warmly, and bowed down in front of the Han court envoy according to the rules, and listened to Xiang Kang's so-called bullshit edict respectfully.

In the edict, Xiang Kang actually announced that the Fanyang Iron Mine in Yi County in Guangyang County, Yan State would be directly under the Han Dynasty, and also asked Zang Di to choose a suitable location next to the Fanyang Iron Mine, build a small city before the first month within a limited time, and hand it over to the Han Court. However, fortunately, Xiang Kang was not an iron ore mine for nothing, and announced in the edict that the two cities of Gaoyang and Aling in Julu County would be assigned to Yan State as compensation for the Han Dynasty's return to Fanyang Iron Mine.

They are already preparing to rebel, of course Zang Di will not mind temporarily assigning the Fanyang iron mine, which is not very large, to the name of the Han Ting, what interests Zang Di is why Xiang Kang is willing to exchange two cities for an iron ore, so after respectfully receiving the order, during the banquet to entertain the envoys of the Han Court, Zang Di was extremely curious to inquire about the reason for this matter.

The envoy of the Han court did not hide it from Zang Di, and told Zang Di the truth after a few cups of yellow soup, and said: "King, in fact, the imperial court has long been paying attention to Fanyang iron mine, although the ore output of Fanyang iron mine is not very large, and the iron content is not particularly large, but the iron smelted is the most suitable for making weapons and armor, especially suitable for building the sabers used by our Han cavalry, as well as the armor used by our Han heavy armor soldiers, the quality is far higher than the sabers and heavy armor made from other iron mines, so the imperial court is willing to exchange two cities for your Fanyang iron ore." ”

"Is there such a thing?" Zang Di, who didn't know how to smelt, was surprised when he heard Daqi and asked, "Is the iron smelted by Fanyang Iron Mine so good?" ”

"Absolutely." The envoy of the Han court replied truthfully: "Yang Buyang Neishi personally played His Majesty, saying that he organized people to mine the iron of Kyushu for comparison, and found that the saber made of the steel produced by Fanyang iron ore can blow hair and break hair, sharpen iron like mud, and be tough far above the sabers that our Han cavalry used to equip before, even if the heavy armor created is thinner than the heavy armor we used before, it can be invulnerable, and even a strong crossbow cannot be shot through within twenty steps, so after the emperor heard this, he immediately decided to requisition your Fanyang iron ore." ”

Yang was not one of Xiang Kang's oldest lackeys, he had long been responsible for supervising the manufacture of various weapons for the Han army, and the swords, steel armor and gunpowder were all from the workshops he managed, and he was one of the important behind-the-scenes heroes of the Han army's domination of the world. Because of this, Zang Di was inevitably overjoyed in his heart, and hurriedly said: "So that's the case, no wonder Your Majesty has personally issued an edict to let the widow build a city next to the Fanyang Iron Mine, which seems to be specially used to hoard the ore produced by Fanyang Iron Mine." ”

"The king misunderstood." The envoy of the Han court shook his head while drinking wine, and said: "Although the iron quality of Fanyang iron ore is good, but it contains a little less iron, if the iron ore is mined and transported to Guanzhong for smelting and forging, it will be too labor-intensive and material-intensive, and there will be a lot of wasted time, so in order to save costs and time, the emperor and Yang Neishi plan to do so." ”

"How are you going to do that?" Zang Di hurriedly asked.

"Establish a large workshop in the Fanyang Iron Mine to directly forge sabers and heavy armor." The envoy of the Han court said casually: "There are several coal mines around Fanyang, and the coal produced can be transported to Fanyang to make iron directly, so Yang Neishi suggested that a workshop be established directly in Fanyang, and the nearby coal was transported to smelt steel, and weapons and armor were forged to supply the imperial court, so as to save time and cost, and His Majesty the Emperor allowed it, so there was a matter of asking the king to send someone to build the city." ”

After that, the envoy of the Han court added: "King, please hurry up on this matter, as early as when your subordinates set off, Yang Neishi was already dispatching manpower to prepare for the craftsmen to move to Fanyang Iron Mine, and at the latest before the first day of the first lunar month, they must rush to Fanyang to establish a new workshop, don't come with those items for ironmaking, your city has not been built yet." ”

Zang Tuhaha was big and said, "So that's the case, it's a trivial matter!" Please ask the pedestrians to play back to the imperial court, just say that the major affairs of the country of soldiers, in order not to delay the major affairs of the imperial court, it will not take until the first month, before December, the widow will definitely build a new city next to the Fanyang iron mine for the imperial court! ”

When the envoy of the Han court heard the great joy, he hurriedly thanked Zang Di, and took the initiative to say: "After the ministers go back, they will definitely report the situation to the court for the king, and ask Yang Neishi to send craftsmen in advance, so that Fanyang Iron Mine can produce sabers and heavy armor for the court as soon as possible." ”

Zang Di nodded with a smile, smiling very happily, and then after sending away the envoy of the Han Court, of course, Zang Di immediately gathered a few of his close confidants and told them about this important matter. As a result, Zang Quan, Zhao Shi and the others were of course very surprised when they heard it, and they all said: "There is still such a thing? The iron produced by Fanyang Iron Ore is actually the most suitable for making sabers and heavy armor? ”

"Really?" Zhang Sheng was very suspicious, and said a little suspiciously: "Such a coincidence? Fanyang Coal Mine, which is close to Jixian County, can actually produce such good iron? How come I've never heard about this before? ”

"Doctor, I'm afraid you're lonely about this." Shangyang County Shou Zhai Xuan hurriedly said: "Although the Fanyang Iron Mine is not very large, but long before the Violent Qin conquered the Six Kingdoms outside the Guan, there were craftsmen there who made excellent swords, and I heard that the sharpness can be comparable to the famous fish intestine sword, but later the skills were lost. (Non-fiction, Yanxiadu in Yi County, Hebei Province, has unearthed the oldest steel weapon in China.) ）

"Is there such a thing?" Zhang Sheng paused, and then said in surprise: "So, this matter should be true?" If the imperial court really sends craftsmen who can make sabers and heavy armor to Fanyang to set up a workshop, we only need to take down that workshop, and we will no longer have to worry about being able to defeat the sabers and heavy armor used by the imperial army. ”

"That's why the widow brought you here." Zang Di said excitedly: "The widow has decided, postpone the date of our army, and also slow down the speed of our recruitment, don't arouse the alarm of the imperial court for the time being, and wait for the imperial court to send those craftsmen and set up that big workshop in Fanyang, and then we will do something!" ”

Everyone nodded yes together, and they all thought that it was not too late to wait for the key ironcraft workshop to be built before raising troops, but Zhang Sheng expressed concern and said: "King, the time is rare, postponing the date of the army will not only cause the news to leak, but also miss the best period to raise troops in winter, and the situation will probably be unfavorable to us?" ”

"There are not enough sabers and heavy armor, and the situation is also not in our favor." Zang Di said: "Before this, we spent countless manpower and material resources to imitate sabers and heavy armor, and we have never succeeded once, not to mention the saber that is tough and sharp enough to allow all our cavalry to fight on horses, but we can't even make a piece of heavy armor, and now Xiang Kang's little vertical man actually gave us such a big gift, of course we can't miss it." ”

On the one hand, it is the most suitable date for raising troops, and on the other hand, there are sabers and steel armor that can greatly enhance the combat effectiveness of the Yan army's infantry cavalry, Zhang Sheng is inevitably hesitant, but Zang Di, who was so anxious that he stretched out his claws in his throat, did not hesitate anymore, and immediately clapped his hand and said: "Just do it, postpone the matter, and expand the army to 30,000 first, so as not to arouse the suspicion of the imperial court." Hurry up and build Fanyang New Town, let the imperial court send craftsmen who can make sabers and heavy armor as soon as possible, and when Fanyang's workshop is completed, it will not be too late for us to raise troops again. ”

Zang Quan, Zhao She, and the others agreed, Zhang Sheng hesitated again, and obediently sang a promise, and then said: "King, what about the Huns and Han Xin?" The envoy we contacted with the Xiongnu has already been sent, and Han Xin's side, the person we went to find him has also been sent? ”

"It's okay, it doesn't affect anything." Zang Di said casually: "Let's not say that our envoy is likely to bargain with the Xiongnu for a while, even if the Xiongnu agree, they will definitely wait for us to have an incident before they send troops, I don't believe that the Xiongnu will sell such a good friend of ours." As for Han Xin's side, it's easier to handle, Yan Country is so big, he came to Yan Kingdom, what's so difficult to hide for a while? ”

In this way, because he coveted the treasure of the Han army, riding a war saber and infantry steel armor, Zang Di not only decisively postponed the time to raise an army against the Han, but also sent his prince Zang Yan to Fanyang to build a new city on the bank of the Yishui River, and at the same time Zang Di also told his more pro-Han baby son Zang Yan: "This is a good opportunity to show loyalty to the emperor, no matter what you think, before the first day of December, no matter what, you must build Fanyang New City to the widow!" If possible, build more houses in the city so that the craftsmen sent by the emperor can live directly in them! ”

…………

By the way, let's take a look at the situation of Zang Tu's contact with Han Xin, Zang Tu sent to Huaiyin to ask Han Xin to go out of the mountain The messenger is called Zhang Xin, who is the brother of Zang Tu's favorite minister Zhang Sheng, who changed his identity incognito, and arrived in Huaiyin at the end of October, without much effort, Zhang Xin found Han Xin who returned to his hometown and lived in seclusion on the bank of the Huaishui River - it is really not difficult to do this, as long as you ask who has drilled someone else's crotch near Huaiyin, you can immediately find the famous Han Xin.

After finding Han Xin, Zhang Xin did not rush to contact Han Xin, but patiently waited for Han Xin's routine daily fishing to no one, Zhang Xin held the gift that Zang Di gave to Han Xin, and came to Han Xin with a smile to identify himself, presented Zang Di's handwritten letter to Han Xin, and invited Han Xin to return to Yandi with him to work for Zang Xin.

Han Xin is not entirely a political idiot, just after reading Zang Di's letter touting himself, Han Xin already understood Zang Di's intentions, and asked after a little calculation: "King Yan wants to invite me to Yandi, he is not afraid of arousing the suspicion of the court and the emperor?" ”

"General, if you are afraid, our king will not send his subordinates all the way here to find you." Zhang Xin replied very directly, and said with a smile: "Please rest assured, general, not only will you be very safe, but our king will definitely treat you as a guest and promise to obey you." ”

Han Xin gently stroked the simple fishing rod in his hand, and after thinking about it for a long time, Han Xin suddenly immersed the invitation letter written by Zang Di to himself into the river water, and rubbed the words on the silk with both hands. Our king is full of sincerity to you. ”

"I know that your king is sincere, so I have to destroy this letter."

Han Xin replied quietly, and at the same time continued to scrub the words on the silk until all the words on the white silk were washed away, and no residual words could be seen, Han Xin wrapped a stone in the white silk and threw it into the waves of Huaishui in the distance, and then said: "Leave ten gold for me as the travel fee, and we will go separately." ”

"General, did you agree?" Zhang Xin asked in surprise, and seeing Han Xin nodding, Zhang Xin hurriedly said, "Then why go separately?" The lower official has already prepared the carriage and horses for you, and also prepared the introduction, we can go together? ”

"You want to die?" Han Xin asked coldly: "My identity is special, I have long been targeted by the pavilion chief and pavilion guards here, if we take a car with you, we will not be able to get out of Huaiyin County, and we will already be taken." Give me ten gold, and then leave the forged quotation you forged for me, and we will go separately and meet in Jixian County. ”

Zhang Xin thought about it and found out, so he hurriedly took out the official Yan official forged quotation and handed it to Han Xin, and gave Han Xin some more travel expenses, Han Xin categorically refused, and said: "Remember two points, first, if you are taken down on the way back, you must say that you are my old department, and you will visit me by the way when passing by Huaiyin." Second, if you arrive in Yandi before me, be sure to tell your king that if you want to take any action, you must do it in winter, and don't delay it until spring! Otherwise, even if I arrived in Yan Kingdom, I was destined to have no effect! ”

Zhang Xin hurriedly agreed, and then carefully looked at the surrounding people, and then said goodbye to Han Xin, Han Xin did not return the courtesy, just silently stared at the Huaishui waves in front of him, or after Zhang Xin walked away, Han Xin said to himself: "The eldest husband was born between heaven and earth, and he would rather die vigorously than be lonely and old on the bank of the Huaishui River for life." ”

By the way, if Tai Shi Gong did not deliberately slander, after being renamed Huaiyin Hou, Han Xin, who was unwilling to be lonely, was indeed ready to rebel when Chen Feng rebelled, but he was not cautious enough, and when he met the younger brother of the doorman, he was attacked by Empress Lu and Xiao He first.