Originally, Meng Zhong would go to Handan of Zhao State on behalf of Wei State to participate in the 'Five Kingdoms Expedition to Handan Conference'.

But the rumor that Duan Ganyin told today, the rumor about the conflict between Song Wangyan and the crown prince Dai Wu, made Meng Zhong feel particularly concerned.

Dai Wu, the crown prince of the Song Kingdom, is the most upright and gentlemanly among the princes of all countries that Meng Zhong has seen, and even a little pedantic, there is no way, who let Hui Ang and Xue Juzhou teach this prince to become a Confucian disciple?

But despite this, the personal charm of the crown prince Dai Wu is second to none in Meng Zhong's opinion, at least in his opinion, he is even better than Zhao Wang He, not to mention the rumored ** and masculine Wei Prince Wei Yuan, in short, the crown prince Dai Wu is in charge of the Song Kingdom, and Meng Zhong is very supportive.

On the contrary, in case something happens to this tolerant and benevolent prince, His Royal Highness......

Meng Zhong didn't dare to imagine.

Because of his heavy heart, at the celebration banquet in the palace that night, Meng Zhong seemed a little distracted.

Seeing this, Da Sima Zhai Zhang pulled Meng Zhong outside the hall in the name of going to the toilet halfway, and whispered: "The king celebrates your achievements, so he set up a banquet tonight, but your performance tonight is sorry for this banquet......

Hearing this, Meng Zhong smiled bitterly and informed Zhai Zhang of the rumors told by Duan Ganyin, only to hear Zhai Zhang's frowns.

He said to Meng Zhong, "How did the Duan Gan clan find out? After the old man returned to Daliang, he sent people to Pengcheng in the Song Kingdom, and the envoy has not returned to the ......."

"It is said that I learned about it from a businessman who came to Daliang to do business." Meng Zhong explained.

As he spoke, he paused, looked at Meng Zhong and whispered, "Da Sima, I care a little about Song Guo...... According to my original estimate, Tancheng did not fall so quickly, and it could be held until the end of today, until the beginning of next year due to the exhaustion of firewood and grain in the city and was broken by the Qi army, but according to rumors, Tancheng fell after less than three months...... It doesn't feel right to me. ”

Zhai Zhang looked at Meng Zhong with a slight frown and asked, "Do you want to go to the Song Kingdom immediately?" But aren't you going to Handan to attend the meeting of the 'Five Kingdoms'? ”

Yes, the Five Kingdoms War Qi Conference was set up in Handan, Zhao State, which was determined by Wei Ran, the former minister of Qin State, and the reason for this is nothing more than that each country sent people to Handan of Zhao State to put pressure on Zhao State to force Zhao Wang He to agree to Zhao State's actions and if Zhao State also crusades against Qi State, then the Five Nations War Conference will be held in Handan of Zhao State nearby to discuss the specific strategy of crusading against Qi State.

The delegates on the Wei side's side were obviously Meng Zhong.

Meng Zhong originally thought that it was not a bad thing for Marquis Wei Ran's proposal, but at that time, he didn't expect that the battle situation on the Song State's side would be so severe.

Thinking of this, he pleaded with Zhai Zhangdao: "Da Sima, can you please go to Zhao State to attend the meeting on your behalf?" ”

"Huh?"

Zhai Zhang stroked his beard and looked at Meng Zhong stunned, and then said in a somewhat strange tone: "Meng Zhong, the old man went to the Zhao State to attend the meeting on your behalf, although there is no problem, but you must know that this meeting is not just to discuss the strategy of crusading against the Qi State......

Yes, the five-nation meeting to be held in Handan this time is actually more important to determine the commander of the five-nation alliance army.

Regarding this position, Meng Zhong's voice is quite high, and on the Qin side, people like Wei Ran, Sima Cuo and others all agree that Meng Zhong should hold this position, but Bai Qi is very dissatisfied with this, and argues with Meng Zhong for a few words, but in general, the competitiveness is not very high.

But now Meng Zhong wants to rush to the Song State, and even seems to help the Song State resist the invasion of the Qi army in advance, so he is absent from the meeting, and naturally he can no longer hold the position of the commander of the coalition forces - there is no conspiracy here, just because the commander of the coalition forces is responsible for the convening of the armies of the five countries and the route of the grain route, in short, various arrangements must be made in advance before the coalition forces are dispatched, if Meng Zhong is far away in the Song State, he will naturally not be able to take charge of this matter, then he can only give up.

Meng Zhong obviously understood the meaning of Zhai Zhang's words, and said with a light smile: "I don't care about that position. ”

“……”

Zhai Zhang looked at Meng Zhong for a long time, and suddenly said jokingly: "If it weren't for the old man who appreciates you very much, he would have slapped you down at this time." If the old man is ten years younger, he will definitely compete with you for this position, but I didn't expect you kid to care...... That's it, since you have made up your mind, the old man will ask Tang Zhi to go to the meeting on your behalf. By the way, so regarding the position of commander-in-chief of the coalition forces, do you support the violent kite of South Korea, or the white rise of the Qin State? …… The old man personally thinks that this position is best not to fall into the hands of the Qin people, so as not to cause any changes in the future. ”

"Not really."

Of course, Meng Zhong knew what Zhai Zhang was worried about, and when he heard this, he shook his head and smiled: "The Qin State is now eager for my Wei State to use all its national strength to annex the Qi State, and to fight with those Qi people who are unwilling to be notified by the Wei State, how can it be possible to deliberately make trouble at this time and let the Wei State turn its attention to the Qin State again?" …… However, what Da Sima said is also reasonable, so let's ask Da Sima to tell him when he sends someone to inform Brother Tang, and let him recommend Le Yi of Yan Guo as the coach on my behalf......"

"Le Yi?" Zhai Zhang's face showed a little surprise: "Don't choose a violent kite?" ”

Meng Zhong explained with an embarrassed but polite smile: "Brother Storm Kite...... is not Le Yi's opponent, he can't control Bai Qi. ”

When he said this, he actually muttered a little in his heart.

Because in his opinion, in fact, Le Yi can't control Bai Qi, after all, Bai Qi is such an arrogant person.

Hearing Meng Zhong's words, Zhai Zhang stroked his beard and said in surprise: "Le Yi, the old man remembers that he was your deputy general in the early years, right?" How could this man be so capable? But I've never heard of any extraordinary deeds from him all these years...... Wait a minute, it's rumored that you and Le Yi don't have a good relationship, so the two of you parted ways? ”

Obviously, Meng Zhong had also heard similar rumors, shrugged his shoulders and said: "It's just a rumor, Le Yi and I are siblings. ”

Hearing this, Zhai Zhangsui didn't ask any questions, nodded and said: "Okay, I'll send someone to Yecheng and ask Tang Zhi to go to Handan on your behalf, and according to your meaning, recommend Le Yi of Yan State as the commander of the coalition forces...... What about you, when do you plan to go to the Song Kingdom? ”

"The sooner the better." Meng Zhong whispered: "If you can, I hope to leave tomorrow......"

Hearing this, Zhai Zhang glanced at Meng Zhong with a strange expression and said, "As far as the old man knows, the king originally planned to keep you in Daliang for a few days, trying to make you and the prince more close...... That's it, let's talk about this old man, and I think the king can understand. ”

Speaking of this, he patted Meng Zhong on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Song Guo's side has been unstable recently, you have to be careful when you go, the old man is still counting on you to take the old man's seat." ”

"Thank you Da Sima for your concern......"

As soon as he said this, Meng Zhong's heart suddenly moved, and he thought of the deep meaning behind Zhai Zhang's words.

This big Sima deliberately mentioned the words of succession right now, wouldn't he be worried that he wouldn't come back after returning to the Song Kingdom this time?

But when he was thinking about what to say, he saw Zhai Zhang patting him on the shoulder, and said with a smile: "Okay, let's go back, it's been a long time, in case the people in the hall mistakenly think that we fall into the toilet pit, it's not good." ”

Seeing that the dignified Great Sima of Wei State actually said such a vulgar thing, Meng Zhong suddenly couldn't cry or laugh.

That night, after the banquet in the palace was over, Wang Wei sent someone to leave Meng Zhong.

A moment later, under the leadership of two palace attendants, Meng Zhong walked to the side hall and met Wei Wangyun and Zhai Zhang.

After Meng Zhong saw the salute, Wei Wang pointed to Zhai Zhang and asked Meng Zhong: "The talented and widowed people listen to what Da Sima said, and Qing wants to leave for the Song Kingdom tomorrow?" ”

"Yes."

Meng Zhong nodded and explained: "There may be rumors that the King of Song and the crown prince Dai Wu are at odds, and the prince is raising troops to attack Pengcheng, but the minister does not know whether this matter is true or not, and he is uneasy, so he wants to go to the Song Kingdom as soon as possible to find out, and ask the King of Wei for permission." ”

Wei Wangjun nodded and said: "Qing is originally a Song person, but for the benefit of my Wei country, Qing Cai has not returned to his homeland for a long time, and sincerity is loyalty!" Now that the dispute between Wei and Qin has eased, how can the widow prevent Qing from helping the Song State? Just ......"

He paused, and said to Meng Zhong with some embarrassment: "It's just that my Wei State is temporarily unable to send troops to follow the Marquis of Yun to ...... for the time being."

"King Wei is too worried."

Meng Zhong Zhengse said: "This battle is commanded by the subordinates, and the subordinates naturally understand what a great price Wei and Han have paid in order to win this battle. Although the joint attack of the five countries is imminent, the army of Wei really needs to repair and rest......"

Hearing Meng Zhong say this, Wei Wangyun was very happy, and nodded again and again and said: "Qing is really reasonable, in this way, although the army that previously attacked Qin needs to be repaired, the widow can draw 2,000 people from the palace guards of Daliang to escort Qing to the Song State, I hope Qing will not dislike the lack of people." ”

Of course, Meng Zhong couldn't dislike those two palace guards, after all, the palace guards of Daliang were also Wei Wushu, although because of the lack of battlefield experience, they were not as good as the Hedong Wushu in terms of combat effectiveness, but at least they were also the foundation of Wei Wushu, which was selected after layers of screening, whether it was weaponry or personal physical fitness, it was not comparable to ordinary Wei pawns.

The question is......

"King Wei's kindness is in his heart, although two thousand palace guards are not a lot, but a cup of water is not enough to save the car's salary, and after two thousand palace guards are transferred, it will make the palace defense empty......" Meng Zhong politely rejected Wei Wang's kindness.

Indeed, for the battlefield of the Song Kingdom, where there are hundreds of thousands of warring people at every turn, although the strength of the two thousand Daliang palace guards is not weak, it is still difficult to help in general.

Seeing that Meng Zhong insisted on refusing politely, Wei Wangjun no longer insisted on it, after all, his original intention was just to entrap Meng Zhong, just like Fang Cai Zhai Zhang deliberately mentioned to Meng Zhong and told Meng Zhong to take over his class in the future, in the final analysis, he was still afraid that Meng Zhong would not return to Wei after returning to Song this time, so that Wei would lose a better general than Pang Juan.

Therefore, as long as the purpose of the show of favor is achieved and Meng Zhongyan refuses, Wei Wangyun will certainly not care.

In the early morning of the next day, when the Wei people of Daliang were still immersed in the joy of welcoming the return of Marquis Mengzhong to the capital yesterday, Meng Zhong took more than 100 Fangcheng cavalry with him and embarked on the road to the Song Kingdom.

On the way, Meng Zhong looked at a bamboo book handed to him by Zhai Zhang, which roughly recorded what Wei Xizuo had heard about the progress of the Qi State and the Song Dynasty.

According to these sources, Qi's army is now mainly concentrated in the north and southeast of Weishan Lake, and the northwest of Song, such as Taoyi, is not a big threat for the time being.

After realizing this, Meng Zhong secretly breathed a sigh of relief, because the Qi army's strategy of advancing meant that his hometown would not be too threatened in a short period of time, and his teachers and his relatives would not be persecuted by the Qi army.

But from the overall situation, Meng Zhong was also very worried about the fall of Pengcheng, after all, Pengcheng was the capital of the Song State, once it fell, the blow to the Song army was very big, and it was not good that before the armies of the five countries converged in Handan, the Song State would be captured by the Qi army in one fell swoop.

At that time, even with the help of the Five Nations Alliance, which helped the Song State recover its territory, the Song State would inevitably follow in the footsteps of the Yan State back then.

『…… I hope Peng Cheng can hold on for a while longer."

Meng Zhong prayed secretly in his heart.

Meng Zhong's hometown Mengcheng is not far from Daliang, about more than 400 miles, and in the case of day and night, Meng Zhong arrived in Mengcheng in just four days.

After arriving in the area of Mengcheng, Meng Zhong took the lead in coming to Mengyi, sat on horseback and watched from a distance, and saw that the village in Mengyi was quite quiet, and he was really relieved to see the smoke of the cooking.

"Let's go, let's go."

After instructing more than 100 Fangcheng cavalry under his command, Meng Zhong rode a war horse and quickly approached Mengyi.

At this time, some children who were already playing in the wilderness outside the village saw Meng Zhong and his group, and hurriedly ran back to the village to inform the adults of the incident.

After a while, the alarm sounded in the village, and several young people in the clan quickly closed the gate of the village, standing on the guard tower and peeking outside the village, until they saw a few flags of the 'Fangcheng Army', they lifted the warning and cheered: "The Fangcheng Army is the cavalry of the Fangcheng Army. ”

At this time, Meng Zhong also slowly stepped forward and asked gently, "I am Meng Zhong, is Uncle Meng Yu here?" ”

"Meng Zhong?"

"It's Brother Mengzhong......"

"Young Patriarch be careful......"

After a little surprise, the door of the village slowly opened, and a young man walked out with some trouble, and asked with some caution, "Is Brother Meng Zhong on the other side?" ”

"Huh?" Meng Zhong was stunned, and he didn't recognize the person for a while, until the young clan brother ran in front of him, and he vaguely recognized it: "You are ...... Mengao? ”

As he spoke, he turned over and dismounted, stepped forward and patted Meng Ao's arm, and said with a smile: "Good boy, I haven't seen you for a few years, you have grown so tall?" ”

"Hey, hey." Meng Ao smiled, and then asked Meng Zhongdao, "Brother, why are you back?" Two months ago, a clansman went to Fangcheng, and Brother Mengsui said that you are leading troops to attack the Qin State......"

Meng Zhong was about to explain, when he looked up, he saw the patriarch Meng Que walking towards this side with several young people in the clan, and immediately stepped forward to salute: "Uncle Crane." ”

"It's really Ah Zhong."

Meng Ju stepped forward laughing, grabbed Meng Zhong's arms with both hands, and looked at them carefully, his face full of joy.

Immediately, he glanced at the more than 100 Fangcheng cavalry in the distance behind Meng Zhong, and when he saw that no one stepped forward, he knew that these people were not his Mengyi disciples, so he asked, "Are you alone?" Ah Hu, Hua Hu, didn't they say that they were with you? ”

"Ah Hu, Hua Hu, and Le Jin slowly led the troops back, it may take a few days to return to Daliang, I heard that the battle situation on the Song side is not good, so I rushed to ...... in advance."

"Hmm." When it came to the war in the Song Kingdom, the smile on Meng Yu's face gradually put away, and he saw that he invited Meng Zhong and more than 100 Fangcheng cavalry into the village, and said to Meng Zhong: "Indeed, the war situation in the east is very unfavorable, in mid-June, Pengcheng sent people to the Shangqiu area to recruit troops, and asked the counties in the western Song Dynasty to recruit militia to rush to the east, Meng Zhi represented my Mengcheng, and brought about 3,000 people to Pengcheng...... For your sake, Shang Qiu Ling didn't say anything, but like those in Yucheng, he was reprimanded by Shang Qiu Ling's good students......

Meng Zhong nodded knowingly.

In the past, the Song State recruited militias, such as the conscription of various families in various countries, although the number of displaced people and serfs was allowed, but the proportion of the two was not allowed to be too different, for example, the Mengshi clan received the target of sending troops ten times, that is, a total of 720 famous soldiers, but among them, there were only more than 300 Meng, and the rest were homeless people, slaves and so on.

The combat effectiveness of these exiles and slaves is so low that they are not like words, and at best they are the icing on the cake on the battlefield, and their ability to fight is far inferior to that of the clansmen of various families who have been trained since childhood, so in this regard, Shangqiu Ling has always been strictly controlled, and all families are not allowed to use exiles and slaves to fill the number - what is the use of the army formed by those people?

But in recent years, on the Mengyi side, the Mengshi, the Le's, the Xiang family, the Wu family, etc., these surrounding families who have a friendship with Mengzhong, have continuously placed the young clansmen in the clan to Wuyangyi and joined the Fangcheng Army, where are there enough clansmen to respond to Shangqiu's conscription order? Therefore, it can only be filled with exiles and slaves.

This was originally not allowed, but as Meng Ju said, for the sake of Meng Zhong's face, Shang Qiu Ling was open to Mengyi and Mengcheng, and did not delve into this matter.

Subsequently, Meng Zhong also met several elders such as Meng Jian in the clan.

Meng Que told him that Meng Zhi, who had led his troops to Pengcheng a few days ago, sent someone to send back the news, saying that the battle situation in Pengcheng was quite unfavorable, so Meng Que was discussing with several elders of the clan in the past few days to see if he wanted to take his clan to Fangcheng.

However, several elders were very hesitant and reluctant to give up the fields handed down by their ancestors, so the matter was delayed until Meng Zhong arrived in Mengyi today.

Hearing this, Meng Zhong asked in surprise, "Is the battle situation on Pengcheng's side very unfavorable?" To what extent? ”

Meng Yu shook his head and said: "According to Meng Zhi's letter, the soldiers on the side of Pengcheng have almost no fighting spirit, and they have been defeated and retreated by the Qi army, or some of the courtiers of Pengcheng persuaded the king to move the capital to avoid trouble, and they were killed by the king several times......"

Meng Zhong's brows furrowed when he heard this, and he suddenly asked, "What about the crown prince Dai Wu?" …… I heard in Wei that the crown prince Dai Wuxing was attacking Pengcheng and wanted to seize the throne, is this serious? ”

Hearing this, Meng Ju looked at Meng Zhong in surprise, and then said, "I didn't know about it until Meng Zhi went to Pengcheng and wrote a letter there to come back. However, it was not the crown prince Dai Wu, but the prince's subordinate Dai Jing, during the period when he led the troops back to Pengcheng, he wanted to seize the city and force the king to pass the throne to the prince, but was killed by the king with his troops, and then the king was angry and called Dai Busheng to capture Dai Wu, it is said that Dai Wu did not want to see the civil war between Pengcheng and Tancheng, I don't know whether he escaped or took the initiative to be captured by Dai Busheng, anyway, the Tancheng army that followed the prince is now a piece of scattered sand......"

“……”

Meng Zhong opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.

Suddenly, he stood up and walked outside the house as he spoke: "Uncle Crane, please send someone to report to Master Zhuang and tell Master Zhuang to visit his old man's house after I settle the affairs of the Song Kingdom......

"Okay." Meng Yu nodded, and then asked, "Ah Zhong, where are you going?" ”

Hearing this, Meng Zhong stopped, looked back at Meng Hu, and clenched his fist with his raised right hand.

"Go to Pengcheng and beat up a certain confused old thing!"

“……”

Meng Yu and Meng Jian looked at each other.