There is no such high-speed and effective communication channel as the Han Ting, even if the distance is relatively close, but it was still after Xiang Kang knew the specific situation, and Zang Di, the king of Yan, received the news that Zhao Xie, the king of Zhao, had asked to depose the king.

It was also a coincidence that when he heard the news, Zang Di was drinking with his favorite concubine in his arms, but when he heard this, Zang Di, who was feeding the favorite concubine, was so shocked that his mouth opened wide all of a sudden, and the favorite concubine reacted a little slowly, and directly poured a full glass of wine into Zang Di's throat trachea, almost choking Zang Di to death on the spot, and was so angry that Zang Tu only coughed a little, and kicked the favorite concubine to the ground with an unprecedented kick, and roared: "Drag this cheap girl out and beat her to death!" ”

"The king spares his life! The king spares his life! The slave and maid will never dare again, no more! ”

The crying and pleading of the favorite concubine did not make Zang Di change her mind, and after thinking about it for a moment with a blue face, Zang Di suddenly roared and shouted: "Come on, go and call Zang Quan, Zhao Shi (Han surname) off the tail, Zhai Xu and Zhang Sheng to the widow, the sooner the better!" Let's just say that the widow has important matters to discuss with them! ”

According to Zang Di's request, after a period of time, Zang Di's eldest son Zang Quan, Yan Xiangzhao waded off the tail, Guangyang County Shou Zhai Xu, and Zang Di's favorite favorite minister Yan Guoshang's doctor Zhang Sheng, rushed to meet Zang Di one after another, and Zang Di, who had been thinking with a black face, also temporarily retreated after several cronies arrived, and told them the news of Zhao Guo that he had just received. As a result, Zang Quan, Zhao She, and Zhai Xu were all shocked when they heard this, and they all felt incredible, and they all said in surprise: "How is it possible? Just for his son to connive at the guests and kill an official, or is it Zhao Guo's own officials, King Zhao actually took the initiative to ask for the abolition of the king? ”

Zang Di nodded with a gloomy face, and Zhang Sheng, who knew the most inside information, said: "It's not surprising at all, the emperor and the imperial court deliberately let King Zhao restore the capital of Handan before, separating King Zhao from our Yan Kingdom, and it is clear that he is preparing to attack King Zhao, and the real power in King Zhao's hands has always been pitifully small, even if he wants to resist, it is difficult to resist, and then the emperor only needs to send someone to hint at the threat, and it is not surprising that King Zhao's soft bones made such a choice." ”

"Doctor Shang, listen to what you mean, King Zhao was forced by the emperor and the court to do this?" Zang Quan asked in surprise.

"Eighty percent of the time." Zhang Sheng replied very calmly: "Otherwise, Zhao Xie will ask himself to abolish the king unless he is crazy, although the real power in his hands is very small, but if it is the eldest prince, will you be willing to take the initiative to give up the throne?" ”

Zang Quan thought about it carefully and found that this is indeed the truth, no matter how small the real power is, being a king is more comfortable than being a prince, if it is not cornered, no matter who it is, he will definitely not be willing to take the initiative to give up the throne.

"It doesn't matter if Zhao Xie was forced by the court and the emperor or not." Zang Di suddenly spoke, and said gloomily: "The next king with a different surname that the emperor wants to abolish will only be one of the widows and Wu Rui. The widow has long seen that it is impossible for Xiang Kang's little vertical son to tolerate the existence of us kings with different surnames, and just wants to turn the world into his home and replace us kings with different surnames with his son. ”

Zhao Shi turned his tail and Zhai Xuan didn't dare to talk, Zang Quan nodded slightly, but Zhang Sheng said very directly, and said: "The emperor's next target can only be our king." Because Wu Rui's strength is too weak, even if he rebels, he can't threaten the emperor and the court, but we are different, our strength can form a certain threat to the court, and we also border the Xiongnu, once we join forces with the Xiongnu, it will definitely pose the greatest threat to the court, so if the emperor wants to continue to attack, the target will only be our king. ”

Everyone present nodded together, all agreeing with Zhang Sheng's analysis, and Zang Di asked again: "You say, should the widow sit and wait for the court and the emperor to abolish the widow or even kill him directly?" Or do you want to fight hard and fight with the court to break the net? ”

The atmosphere in the hall became extremely tense because of this, and after exchanging a few glances with each other, Zang Quan, who was the eldest son but was forcibly taken away by Xiang Kang, took away the position of the crown prince, gritted his teeth and said: "Please make a decision from my father, no matter how my father decides, my sons and others are willing to follow to the death!" ”

Zhang Sheng, who had long seen Xiang Kang's intention to eradicate the evil intentions of the king with a different surname, also immediately agreed, expressing his full support for Zang Di's decision, but Zang Di was silent, but turned his gaze to the remaining Zhao Shi and Zhai Xu, Zhao Shi and Zhai Xu, after quickly glancing at each other, he immediately got up and bowed to Zang Di, and said in unison: "Please make a decision, and your subordinates are willing to follow to the death to repay the king's kindness!" ”

Zang Di nodded with satisfaction, and then said: "It's not the widow who is unfaithful, it's the injustice of that Kang Xiaozi, who hides rabbits and dead dogs, and wants to eradicate all of us who helped him destroy Western Chu, and he refuses to leave any of them!" Since he is so vicious, the widow has no choice, and the widow decides to raise an army against the Han! ”

Unlike Zhao Xie, who is like a puppet, Zang Di's control over Yan is obviously countless times stronger, so after he directly announced the decision to rebel, several cronies didn't even blink an eyelid, and immediately bowed down all of them, swearing to follow Zang Di to raise an army, and be unswerving. Zang Di was also very happy to see it, first picked up a few cronies one by one, swore that he would not treat these cronies badly in the future, and promised to change the title of eldest son Zang Quan to the crown prince after the matter was completed, and then said: "Let's discuss it now and see how to do it." ”

Again, Zang Di's control over Yandi was very strong, and it was far more convenient than Zhao Xie to rebel, so after just a little discussion, Zang Di and others decided to use the excuse of resisting the Xiongnu entering the Central Plains to recruit a large number of soldiers in the territory to expand the army, and then take down all the officials directly under the Han court in Yandi and execute them, and raise the flag to rebel and become independent.

With Zang Di's control over Yan Di, it is certainly not difficult to do this, but the consequences of raising the flag and rebelling must be weighed, so after agreeing on the plan, Yan Xiangzhao turned his tail and immediately said: "King, it is easy to raise troops, but once we raise troops, the imperial court will definitely send troops to quell the rebellion as soon as possible, and how we should resist it at that time, we must prepare early." ”

Zang Di immediately nodded and said: "Our Yan country is sparsely populated, money and food are thin, with the strength of our country, it is difficult to resist the imperial army of Xiang Kang Xiaozhuzi, the widow intends to send envoys to contact the Xiongnu and borrow troops from the Xiongnu for help, I don't know what you think?" ”

Zhao Shi's expression was obviously a little hesitant, and he hesitated for a moment before saying: "Great King, although borrowing troops from the Xiongnu is a way, the Xiongnu barbarians will definitely not help us in vain, if they take the opportunity to ask us for the city land, what should we do?" Our Yan country has a small population, little money and little food, and if we cede some cities and land to the Xiongnu, our national strength will definitely be weaker. ”

"The Huns are insatiable, even if we make concessions in terms of city land, they will only gain an inch step by step." Zhai Xuan also said: "If we cede the land of the city every time we borrow troops from the Xiongnu, we are afraid that even if we block the counterinsurgency army of the imperial court, we will be eaten by the Xiongnu in one bite." ”

"Don't worry, the king is expected to think that we only need to agree to a few conditions for the Xiongnu, even if we don't cede the land of the city, the Xiongnu should send troops to help us." Zhang Sheng said.

"What are the conditions?" Zang Di hurriedly asked.

"Back to the king, three conditions should be fine." Zhang Sheng replied: "The first is to ask the king to surrender to the Xiongnu, temporarily claim to the Xiongnu, and in the future change to pay tribute to the Xiongnu every year." The second is to liberalize border restrictions, especially the iron trade. The third is to promise to lend the road to the Xiongnu, so that the Xiongnu can make a detour to Shanggu County to enter the military Dai County, Hengshan County and Yanmen County. The Huns will definitely be tempted and will definitely agree to send troops to help us. ”

"Brilliant plan! That's it! Zang Di was overjoyed when he heard this, patted his leg and said: "Anyway, they are all ministers, and it is the same for the widow to whom he is a minister!" It is a good way to borrow the road for the Xiongnu to enter the Central Plains, the more the Xiongnu make trouble in the Central Plains, the more Xiang Kang's little vertical son has no way to deal with our Yan State with all his strength! ”

After all, they are both from the Central Plains, and in this matter, Zhao Shi and Zhai Xuan didn't dare to open their mouths casually, but just closed their mouths and remained silent. Zhang Sheng, the pioneer of the leading party, said: "King, if we just borrow troops from the Xiongnu for help, I'm afraid it is not enough, after all, the Xiongnu are far away from our Yan country, and the west and south are controlled by the Yueshi and the imperial court's army, and it is difficult to send troops to help us in time, so your subordinates believe that if we want to ensure the success of the army, we must do two more things." ”

"Those two things?" Zang Di asked again hurriedly.

"First, persuade Wu Rui, the king of Hengshan, to raise troops with us." Zhang Sheng said: "The matter of Zhao Xie, the king of Zhao, it is impossible not to arouse Wu Rui's vigilance, plus his son-in-law Yingbu has also died in the hands of the emperor, we only need to send a person who can speak well, carry your secret letter to Hengshan, and explain to Wu Rui the reason for the cold lips and teeth, we should have a great confidence in persuading Wu Rui to join us in raising an army against the Han, and then as long as he raises troops to respond to us, he can relieve us of countless pressures." ”

"The widow has long had this intention, no matter whether he succeeds or not, he should go all out to persuade Wu Rui to join us in the army." Zang Di immediately nodded, and asked again: "In addition to persuading Wu Rui and the widow to raise troops together, what else should the widow do?" ”

"Get Han Xin to our Yan Kingdom!"

Zhang Sheng's words were astonishing, and seeing that Zang Di, Zhao She, and the others widened their eyes together, Zhang Sheng hurriedly added: "Don't misunderstand, the king is not talking about the Han Xin who was named the minister of Liang by the emperor, but the general Han Xin of the original Nanyang Kingdom." ”

"Scared the widow, the widow thought you were talking about Liang Xiang Han Xin." Zang Di breathed a sigh of relief, and asked curiously: "Aiqing, for no reason, how could you persuade the widow to get Han Xin from the Nanyang Kingdom?" ”

"Because this person is of great use, if you can reuse him, the king, he will definitely be able to help the king a lot in your army!"

Zhang Sheng replied in a deep voice, and then explained: "King, do you remember when we sent troops to help Uncle Zhou deal with the Chuqiji coalition army?" After our army returned home in triumph, the subordinates carefully asked the prince and General Li about our defeat in Jishui, and wanted to know whether Uncle Zhou deliberately weakened our Yan army that time, although it turned out that time it was indeed our prince who was too greedy to cause the defeat of Jishui, but his subordinates inadvertently learned from the prince and General Li that Uncle Zhou, the chief general of the imperial court, was very jealous of Han Xin in Nanyang Kingdom, and believed that Han Xin was the only person in the camp of the Western Chu army who could match him. Every time he fights against Han Xin, he doesn't dare to win by surprise, he only dares to win with more troops! ”

"And this?" Zang Di was very interested when he heard this, and said in surprise: "Even Uncle Zhou's puppet is so jealous of that Han Xin? ”

"That's right, if the king is interested, he can personally ask the prince and General Li Lao." Zhang Sheng nodded, and said: "And that's not all, out of curiosity, His Majesty the Emperor tried his best to find out how His Majesty the Emperor had personally conquered Nanyang Kingdom, and found that even our Emperor Majesty, who had never lost a battle, only dared to rely on the strength advantage to win every time when he met Han Xin's horseman, and never dared to be opportunistic in front of Han Xin. Therefore, His Majesty kept an eye on you for the king at that time, thinking that this Han Xin could be of great use! ”

"Aiqing, such a talent, why do you only recommend it to the widow now?" Zang Di beat his chest a little and said, "If you had said it earlier, the widow would have sent someone to hire him to Yan Guoda!" ”

"My lord, did your subordinates dare to say it at that time? Do you dare to use that Han Shin again? Zhang Sheng replied with a wry smile: "The emperor and the imperial court captain Zhou Shu are so vigilant people, if you invite him to the Yan Kingdom, the imperial court must not immediately suspect the intention of your intentions, the king?" ”

Zang Di thought about it and found out, so he quickly changed his words and asked, "Then do you know where that Han Xin is now?" ”

"Back to his hometown Huaiyin." Zhang Sheng hurriedly replied: "In order to buy people's hearts, His Majesty our Emperor issued an order after forcing Pengcheng to surrender, announcing that the generals and officials of the Western Chu State would no longer be held responsible, and that Han Xin returned to his hometown Huaiyin to live in seclusion. However, that Han Xin is also a celebrity in Huaiyin, and many people know his whereabouts, so it is very easy for you to find him, the king. ”

"Then don't hang on." Zang Di didn't think about it and said: "You are responsible for this matter, immediately send someone to Huaiyin with heavy gifts, invite that Han Xin to Yan Kingdom to help the widow, and clearly tell him that as long as he Han Xin is willing to serve the widow, the widow will definitely not treat him badly, and he will definitely obey him!" ”

Zhang Sheng hurriedly agreed, and Zang Di continued to arrange manpower, rushed to the grassland and Hengshan respectively, persuaded Wu Rui to raise troops to respond to him and borrow troops from the Xiongnu for help, and let Zhao Shi and his eldest son Zang Quan be responsible for the expansion of the army.

The matter is not over, after Zang Di made these arrangements, Zhang Sheng said to Zang Di again: "Great King, with the treacherous caution of His Majesty the Emperor, he will definitely pay attention to our every move at all times. The national strength of our Yan Kingdom is weak, and if we let the imperial court attack us first, we will inevitably suffer a big loss. Therefore, His Majesty thinks that as long as we expand the army to more than 50,000, no matter whether the imperial court has any action, we should immediately raise troops and kill the imperial court by surprise! ”

"Father, the doctor is right." Zang Quan hurriedly echoed: "It is now close to late autumn, if nothing else, we will definitely be able to expand the army to more than 50,000 in winter, and at the same time, the autumn grain has also been put into storage, not only do we not have to worry too much about the problem of food and grass in winter, our army can also take the opportunity to meet the army of the imperial court in winter, we are all from the north, and the situation will definitely be more favorable to us than the soldiers of the imperial court to adapt to the winter climate in the north." ”

"It's more than that." Zhang Sheng said gloomily: "The Xiongnu are more adapted to the winter climate than us, and we invite them to send troops to fight south in winter, not only will it be easier for them to agree, but they will definitely be able to help us more when they get to the battlefield." ”

"Then let's raise troops in the winter." Zang Di made up his mind and said extremely coldly: "If Xiang Kang's little vertical son can't hold his breath, he will send troops to deal with us in winter, and we will just use the climate advantage to deal with his army." If he did not dare to send troops to fight us in winter, he would not have dared to send troops to fight us in the winter, and after a few months, we would have consolidated our foundation in Yandi and established an alliance with the Xiongnu, and the situation would only be favorable to us. ”