In most cases, a longitudinal chief will be elected, which is a common practice.

In the previous campaigns against Qin organized by the Central Plains countries, Wei and Qi repeatedly competed for the position of the commander, the purpose was very simple, that is, to enhance their deterrence and appeal among countries by attacking the Qin State, which was similar to the struggle for the hegemony of the Central Plains.

Thinking back to the war between Song Xianggong and Chu back then, it was because Song called on a group of half-weak and not strong countries to prepare to crusade against disobedient neighbors, but Chu did not abandon Song, so that the two sides had contradictions.

And in the end of that incident, it was the state of Chu that took the position of chief of the column from the hands of the Song state.

It can be seen from this that the position of the longitudinal chief should not be given up casually.

But this time it was very strange, it was obviously the king of Qi who abandoned the Qin State that had formed an alliance with him, and even made a rake to let the world see clearly the untrustworthy measures of the Qi State to treat the alliance as nothing, but in the end, it was actually the Zhao State that became the chief of the alliance, which really made Meng Zhong feel very incredible.

Wei gave up the position of the chief of the joint column to the state of Zhao, which is very understandable, after all, now, Wei and Han have gradually fallen behind in the wars against the state of Qin over the years, and they are eager to draw the state of Zhao to their side and conclude the alliance of the three Jin to jointly fight against the state of Qin, but the state of Qi will give up the position of the chief of the joint column to the state of Zhao, which is a little difficult to figure out.

It is justifiable to take advantage of the great opportunity of the Central Plains countries to pull the tiger's skin, and they actually gave it to Zhao Guo like this? Qi really takes care of Zhao Guo's ally!

At the beginning of February of the sixth year of the reign of King Wei of Wei, Meng Zhong, who had lived with his family for a whole New Year, went straight to Daliang with only a few guards, preparing to inquire about the situation in person - he always felt that Qi Guo's measures this time were too child's play, and he really didn't dare to imagine that it would be done by a big country.

After nearly half a month's journey, Meng Zhong arrived in Daliang in late February.

Arriving at Daliang, Meng Zhong immediately came to Xue Gongtianwen's mansion.

To tell the truth, with Meng Zhong's current status and prestige in the Wei State, he can indeed not dump Tian Wen, but the problem is that in the current Wei State, in addition to Wei Wangyun, he can only discuss this matter with Tian Wen and Zhai Zhang, and even to a certain extent, Tian Wen should be the most well-informed person in Wei State, after all, his connections and eyelines are all over the world.

Knowing that Meng Zhong came to visit, Tian Wen asked his staff member Feng Tan to go out of the house to greet him.

When Feng Tan came out of the mansion to take a look, he saw Meng Zhong standing on the steps outside the mansion gate with his hands behind his back, looking at the street in front of him calmly.

I have to say that seeing Meng Zhong's bearing, it is really hard for people to imagine that this person is only twenty-one years old.

"Yun Chengjun."

After tidying up, Feng Tan stepped forward with a smile on his face.

Seeing this, Meng Zhong turned around and returned the salute with a pleasant face: "Mr. Feng." ”

Feeling Meng Zhong's attitude towards himself, Feng Chen was very emotional, and felt that the young man in front of him was still so humble and polite, and approachable.

You must know that last year, after the Wei Wangyu summoned Meng Zhong to canonize him, and then Xihe Confucianism came forward to spread the good name for Meng Zhong, Meng Zhong is now very famous in the Wei State, chasing the late Gongsun Xi and Zhai Zhang, who is now the great Sima, and is gradually regarded by the Wei people as the new famous general of the country.

However, in this case, Meng Zhong himself was not arrogant, and he was still as peaceful as before, which made Feng Tan have to secretly praise in his heart, sighing that this disciple who is worthy of being a saint of the three schools of Taoism, fame, and Confucianism, has really to catch up with many people in terms of his own state of mind.

While welcoming Meng Zhong into the mansion, Feng Tan said with a smile: "Knowing that Yun Chengjun came to pay a visit, Xue Gong immediately ordered him to go out of the mansion to greet him...... Having said that, the government hadn't heard of Yun Chengjun's return to Daliang before, so what was the matter? ”

It can be seen that Feng Tan also has some doubts about Meng Zhong's rush back to Daliang.

Hearing this, Meng Zhong explained: "At the end of the first month, I received a letter from Da Sima, learning that the Qi State had deposed the emperor and in turn called on the countries to crusade against the Qin State. ”

"I see."

Feng Tan suddenly realized, and then stroked his beard and said with a strange expression: "This time Qi Guo's move, I also feel ...... Too child's play! ”

Speaking of this, he paused slightly, and then nodded again, feeling that it was not inappropriate to use "child's play" to evaluate Qi Guo's actions this time.

But isn't it, in October last year, Qi agreed to the Qin and Qi mutual emperor proposals put forward by the Qin State, and the Qin State proclaimed each other emperors, but in less than two months, the Qi State abolished the emperor title on its own, and in turn called on the Central Plains countries to crusade against the Qin State, which is equivalent to offending the Qin State to death for no reason.

It seems that ordinary people really can't do this kind of operation, and they don't know what the monarchs and ministers of Qi are thinking.

A moment later, Meng Zhong saw Xue Gongtianwen in the study of the mansion.

Seeing Meng Zhong's first glance, Tian Wen frowned as usual.

It is no wonder that even though Meng Zhong's position in Wei is now more and more stable, and Tian Wen also admits that the existence of this person is greatly beneficial to Wei, he still doesn't like Meng Zhong, on the one hand, of course, because Meng Zhong has offended him, on the other hand, I am afraid that as Feng Tan said, Tian Wen is secretly jealous of Meng Zhong's smooth sailing in Wei.

After all, it was only less than three years after Meng Zhong defected to the Wei State that he was worshiped by the King of Wei as the King of Yuncheng, and it seems that such a thing is almost unprecedented, you must know that the Wei State is not like the Yan State.

"Xue Gong."

“…… Yun Chengjun. ”

After reluctantly greeting Meng Zhong, Tian Wen frowned and asked Meng Zhong, "What are you doing in Daliang?" ”

Meng Zhong chuckled, and beside him, Feng Chen, a peacemaker, explained to Tian Wen on behalf of Meng Zhong.

"Have you received a letter from Zhai Da Sima?"

After learning the inside story, Tian Wen was not surprised, after all, he also knew that Zhai Zhang admired Meng Zhong very much.

After thinking about it, Tian Wen nodded and said, "Yes, Li Dui, the Fengyang Jun of the Zhao State, does intend to organize a coalition army to crusade against the Qin State...... As for what you said, why Qi Guo acquiesced to Zhao Guo as the chief of the joint column, I have also carefully considered this matter...... I think it may be because of the frequent movement of my Sanjin before, which made King Qi aware of the crisis. ”

I have to say that Tian Wen's speculation is also a bit reasonable, after all, just as the countries of the Central Plains do not want to see the alliance between Qin and Qi, the two countries of Qin and Qi do not want the Three Jin Dynasty to unite with the outside world, you must know that once the Three Jin Dynasty unites, it is almost equivalent to the Jin State, the overlord of the Central Plains in the old days, and it is a powerful force that even Qin and Qi cannot compete with.

Not to mention that there is also Song Guo on the side of the Three Jins.

Therefore, when it was learned that the Three Jin Dynasty had signs of uniting with the outside world, the Qi State immediately gave up its position of alliance with the Qin State and curried favor with the Three Jin Dynasty in turn, which also made sense...... But it always felt like something was wrong.

Seeing that Meng Zhong was still a little suspicious, Tian Wen sneered and said, "Taking advantage of the fire to rob and fall into the well, isn't this what King Qi has always done?" ”

“……”

Meng Zhong glanced at Tian Wen with a strange expression, it was hard to imagine that this demeaning sentence of the monarch of the Qi State actually came from the mouth of Tian Wen, the noble son of the Qi State.

Having said that, from the perspective of facts, in fact, Tian Wen is right, if it is said that in the world today, the monarch of Qin State cares the most about face, then the second place must be Qi State.

It was obviously an alliance with Zhao State, but when Zhao State attacked Qin State, he attacked Zhao State; Obviously, he supported Zhongshan to contain Zhao, but when Zhao attacked Zhongshan, he took the opportunity to attack Zhongshan; Obviously, he formed an alliance with Yan to contain Zhao, but when there was civil strife in Yan, he took the opportunity to attack Yan.

I have to say that if you want to make a list of "the most untrustworthy allies", then Qi will definitely be on the list, and the degree of shamelessness is simply indistinguishable from that of Qin.

It's just that these words, even if they are said from outsiders, they always feel strange when they come out of Tian Wen's mouth, after all, Tian Wen's words are equivalent to scolding King Qi Wei, King Qi Xuan, and King Qi Tiandi, and Tian Wen is the grandson of King Qi Wei and the nephew of King Qi Xuan.

It can only be said that Tian Wen's hatred for Qi Wang's field has reached a certain height, and he even hates his grandfather, King Qi Wei, and I don't know if he is angry that his grandfather did not pass the throne to his father Tian Ying.

"Xue Gong...... Be cautious. ”

Feng Tan reminded Tian Wen in a whisper.

After being reminded by Feng Chen, Tian Wen stabilized his mind and said in a deep voice: "Regarding your question, I think so...... Maybe the State of Qi actually didn't want to crusade against the State of Qin, but the King of Qi saw that my Sanjin was getting closer and closer, and he was terrified, so he preemptively called on the countries to crusade against the State of Qin, and expressed his position of wanting to dissociate himself from the State of Qin, and by the way, he instigated my Sanjin and the State of Qin to fight each other, weakening the State of Qin on the one hand, and weakening the Sanjin State on the other...... This is explained. ”

"Hmm......"

Meng Zhong pondered for a moment and felt that Tian Wen's explanation also made some sense.

At this time, I heard Tian Wen say: "Is there anything else to do with Yun Chengjun?" If there is nothing else important, Yunchengjun please take care of himself. ”

Seeing Tian Wen hinting that he was leaving, Meng Zhong didn't care, and arched his hand and said, "Then don't you disturb Xue Gong in the next place." ”

After speaking, he was just about to turn around and leave, when he heard Tian Wen suddenly say to him: "By the way, Yunchengjun, Tian recruited a strange person named Mangmao a while ago, this person is well versed in the art of war, I'm afraid he is not under Yunchengjun." ”

『……』

Of course, Meng Zhong could hear the provocative meaning in Tian Wen's mouth, and he was a little amused when he heard the words: "Then congratulations to Xue Gongxi." ”

"Humph!"

After a while, after Meng Zhong walked out of the mansion, Feng Chen, who had sent him out of the mansion, confessed again and again: "Yuncheng Jun, you also know Xue Gong's temperament, please don't take it to heart......

Meng Zhong smiled and said with relief: "Mr. Feng, don't worry, I've known Xue Gong for five years, right?" Where would you not know Xue Gong's temperament? Having said that, the mangmao in Xue Gong's mouth ......"

Feng Tan understood and immediately explained: "This person is from Linfen, and he is quite famous in the local area, and after Xiahou Zhang personally went to persuade him, although this person voted for Xue Gong......"

"Linfen?"

Meng Zhong frowned slightly, and asked in surprise, "I remember that Linfen is near Anyi, right?" Isn't that in Hedong County? …… Is this man really familiar with the art of war? Quite famous? ”

Of course, Feng Tan understood what Meng Zhong meant, and shook his head when he heard this, and said: "The specific situation is not clear below, I only heard that this person refused to come out, and I don't know if it is true or not...... Before the winter last year, Xiahou Zhang brought that Mangmao to Daliang, and now he lives in the mansion, exchanging the art of war with Xue Gong every day, which is deeply loved by Xue Gong......"

"Xue Gong also knows the art of war?" Meng Zhong asked casually, after all, in his impression, although Tian Wen was regarded as the commander of the coalition forces once or twice, it was only the nominal commander, and the one who really commanded the army was Tian Zhang, the famous general of the Qi State.

But as soon as these words are spoken, they inevitably change their taste.

No, Feng Chen's face was embarrassed, and he said curtly: "Although it is not as good as Yunchengjun, but Xue Gong ...... I still know some of the art of war......"

"That's not what I mean...... It's me who lost my words. ”

"Yuncheng Jun is serious."

After saying goodbye to Feng Chen, Meng Zhong took a few guards to Duan Gan's mansion, preparing to visit Duan Gan's family, after all, he came to Daliang and did not visit Duan Ganyin, Tian Di, and Ram Ping's elders, and he really couldn't say anything about the etiquette, not to mention that when the Wei people in China had a dispute over his appointment as the king of Yuncheng last year, it was Duan Gan's, Tian Huang and others who used their fame to eliminate all doubts for Meng Zhong.

And on the way to Duan Gan's mansion, Meng Zhong naturally inevitably thought of the mangmao in Tian Wen's mouth.

To be honest, Tian Wen's intentions, he could see through at a glance, it was nothing more than to block him - but that's all.

With his current status in the Wei State, even if that Mang Mao is as strong as Bai Qi of the Qin State in terms of using troops, he can't shake his current status of Meng Zhong, just like Zhai Zhang couldn't shake Gongsun Xi's status back then.

Considering that Tian Wen was quite confident when mentioning that mangmao, Meng Zhong was also quite interested in that mangmao.

It's a pity that he doesn't have time at the moment, otherwise, he would like to meet that mangmao to see if this person has real talent and learning.

If that Mangmao was really capable, he didn't mind helping Tian Wen.

At the same time, Feng Chen was returning to Tian Wen's study.

It's also strange to say, although Meng Zhong just said, "Xue Gong also knows the art of war?" "That rude words, but Feng Tan is not angry, on the one hand, Meng Zhong is qualified to say this, on the other hand, Feng Tan also believes that it is just the unintentional words of that Yuncheng Jun.

It's a pity that Tian Wen and Meng Zhong never deal with each other, otherwise, Feng Tan actually hopes that these two can work together, after all, this is also conducive to Tian Wen's foothold in Wei.

As he walked, suddenly someone in front of him called him on the right: "Mr. Feng." ”

Feng Tan looked up, and saw a man in his thirties standing on the path, and he smiled and bowed: "Mr. Mang." ”

It turned out that this man in his thirties was the Linfen wizard that Tian Wen had recently recruited, Mangmao.

"Mr. Feng, this is ...... Coming back from outside the house? Mang Mao asked curiously.

Feng Tan shook his head and explained: "No, I just sent Yunchengjun on behalf of Gong Xue." ”

"Yun Chengjun?" Mang Mao raised his eyebrows when he heard this, and asked in surprise: "Could it be that he is the hero of the battle of Yique, Yuncheng Jun Mengzhong?" ”

"Exactly!" Feng Tan smiled and nodded, and then said to Mang Mao: "Speaking of which, Xue Gong also mentioned Mr. Mang in front of Yun Chengjun. ”

"Mention, mention?" Mang Mao's expression was a little stiff for some reason, he licked his lips and asked, "What did you say?" ”

"How? It is to praise Mr. Yun Chengjun in front of him......" Feng Tan said with a smile: "I'm afraid Mr. Mang doesn't know, although Xue Gong and Yun Chengjun are ministers in the same dynasty and have also sent envoys to Zhao Guo together, but the relationship between these two in private is not good...... It's not that the personal relationship is not good, it's just that Xue Gong has some prejudice against Yun Chengjun, in fact, Yun Chengjun is a virtuous person worthy of respect. ”

Mang Mao nodded thoughtfully, and followed Feng Tan to Tian Wen's study.

At this time in the study, Tian Wen was reading a bamboo slip, and out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Feng Tan and Mang Mao walking in, and asked casually, "That guy is gone?" ”

Feng Tan smiled helplessly, nodded and said, "Yes, Yun Chengjun has already taken his leave." …… Xue Gong, just chatted with Yun Chengjun below, and heard him say that he was going to live in Daliang for a while, and wait and watch the war of the countries against the Qin State this time, does Xue Gong want to invite him to the mansion as a guest? ”

"Invite him to the house?"

Tian Wen frowned, and said in his heart that I was too late to annoy that Meng Zhong, what did I ask him to do?

Just as he was about to say this, he suddenly saw Mang Mao standing beside Feng Chen, his heart moved slightly, and asked, "Mr. Mang." ”

"Xue Gong." Mang Mao was shocked and agreed.

I saw Tian Wen brushing his beard, and asked Mang Mao with a straight face: "If I invite that Meng Zhong to come to the banquet, can you be sure that you will use your 'invulnerable array' to stump that Meng Zhong?" ”

"This ......" Mang Mao swallowed his saliva and said unconfidently, "In the next ...... Ignorance. ”

"I don't know?" Tian Wen frowned and asked, "Didn't you say a few days ago that no one in the world can break your invulnerable array?" ”

"No, no, as I said before, no one has been able to break it so far, but that Meng Zhong ...... I mean Yun Chengjun, according to legend, this person is familiar with Taoism, fame, Confucianism, law, and soldiers, and he ...... in the next " Speaking of this, Mang Mao secretly glanced at Tian Wen's expression, and saw that his face was full of displeasure, so he immediately changed his words: "If you want to stump Yun Chengjun, I think my military formation needs to be improved......"

As soon as he heard this, Tian Wen's face turned slightly pale, nodded and said: "Okay, then Mr. will improve the art of war, and on the day of success, teach me a hard lesson for Na Mengzhong!" ”

"Whoa, whoa......"

Mang Mao reluctantly agreed, and then said, "Then I will retire first." ”

"Well, go ahead." Tian Wen nodded.

Seeing Mang Mao walking past with his head bowed with an uneasy expression, Feng Tan frowned slightly, feeling that Mang Mao's expression was a little panicked, and he was no longer full of confidence before.

But after thinking about it, Feng Tan was also relieved, after all, Tian Wen asked the object of Mang Mao's stump was Meng Zhong, and if it was him Feng Chen, wouldn't he be in a hurry about it? How can it be!

It's normal for Mangmao to feel tricky about this.

A month later, around late March, Zhao sent Fengyang Jun Li Dui to Daliang to discuss with Wei the details of sending troops to attack Qin.

During this period, the king of Wei summoned Hedong Shougong Sun Zhu and the great Sima Zhai Zhang to Daliang to discuss with Li Dui.

A few days later, the Great Sima Storm Kite of Korea also rushed to Daliang to discuss the crusade against Qin.

After eliminating the Song State, which had already stated its position in advance not to participate in this crusade against Qin, only Qi and Yan had not yet sent envoys to participate in this crusade against Qin.