Chapter 205: Borrowing the Way

Among the five dynasties and ten kingdoms, most of the founders have already fought viciously, and among them, Zhu Wen, Li Keyong, Wang Jian of Qianshu, Yang Xingmi, Ma Yin and others fought the most. But there are also some wars that have been experienced very often. Among them, Meng Zhixiang of Houshu is the representative. Qianshu was not destroyed by Meng Zhixiang, but was killed by the Later Tang Zhuang Sect (Zhuang Zong's three arrows took revenge, and then favored Youling, and was killed by Youling), and Meng Zhixiang, as a relative and cronie of Zhuangzong, was sent to Xichuan to preside over government affairs. Not long after Meng Zhixiang arrived in Xichuan, there was an incident in Luoyang, Zhuangzong hung up, and Mingzong became the emperor. So Meng Zhixiang became the sole ruler of Sichuan, and he no longer had dealings with the Central Plains.

In this way, Meng Zhixiang actually did not have many generals, after Meng Chang ascended the throne, he successively killed several authoritarian generals, and took all the power of Shu into his own hands, so that the strength of the Shu army was actually declining. However, the short man is tall, and the lame man is the general, and this Gao Yantao can also be regarded as the famous general of the Shu army. It's a pity that this famous general encountered the Zhou army's successive defeats, although it was better than Wang Zhaoyuan, but the situation was also very embarrassing. As a result, his famous general is becoming more and more unreused in Meng Chang's eyes. Even Meng Chang once sighed on a formal occasion: "The north is unstable!" "The so-called northern defense line, he Gao Yantao accounted for a large part.

At that moment, after listening to Zhao Jiza's provocative words, Meng Chang sighed: "Hey." If he can't, who can he send? Meng Chang glanced at Zhao Jiza, Zhao Jiza's heart was shocked, he was afraid that Meng Chang would send him out. Why? In the past, Zhao Jizha was a bit of a well-watching the meaning of the sky, he felt great, but in fact, he was very shallow, after a trip to the Chu State, he was fooled by Zhao Pu for a while, so that Zhao Jizha was enlightened and sobered up. He is reluctant to rush to send troops, it is already a fact that the army of Shu is weak, even if it is the former general and the living Zhuge King of Shu, Zhaoyuan, he can't do it, let alone his "Sai Zhuge ". Besides, the main task of Zhao Jiza now is to lurk beside Meng Chang, earn an official hat for himself in Dachu at a critical moment, and live the rest of his life comfortably. Who wants to risk sending troops to the Northern Expedition. Anyone is willing to take a tiger to bite a sheep, but if you take a sheep and bite a tiger, as long as your brain is so-called normal, you won't do it.

Zhao Jizha said: "Your Majesty, the State of Chu does have a proposal for our army to go on a northern expedition, but they also put forward a compromise proposal. ”

"What do you suggest?" Meng Chang asked. In fact, he was not interested in these suggestions at all, but now that he has been in the Four-Power Alliance, the Khitans are fighting with the Zhou army, and the Chu State is also rushing up, presumably the Han State will also send troops, so he is not famous in Dashu, and he has lost his reputation, which makes people laugh at him, in case he is in danger in the future, and others do not rescue him, then it will be miserable? Since the covenant is clearly written in black and white, it is more or less necessary to express it.

Zhao Jizha said with a smile: "Your Majesty, the Chu army wants to borrow from our Dashu!" ”

Meng Chang was stunned for a moment, blinked his eyes and said, "Borrow? What a way to borrow the Tao? ”

"They wanted to lead the army through Hanzhong and attack Fengxiang City in Guanzhong from Fengzhou. Your Majesty, what do you think? Zhao Jiza asked.

"Hmph. What does the state of Chu mean, do they think that our Shu army is so unbearable? Meng Chang actually launched a surge. The middle-aged man's eyes widened, as if he had been insulted.

"Your Majesty." Zhao Jiza hurriedly knelt on the ground, he pondered and said: "At the beginning of the year, the minister went from Chengdu to Jinling, and he spent nearly twenty days in Jinling. And now the envoy of the State of Chu has been working non-stop all the way, from Jinling to our Chengdu, and it has only taken 5 days. ”

Madame Blossom was on the side and said, "Why are they in such a hurry?" ”

"Niangniang is right, why are they in such a hurry? Your Majesty, according to the minister's opinion, the reason why they are in such a hurry is probably because the military situation is urgent and the opportunity is fleeting, so they are in such a hurry! Zhao Jizha said: "Since they are so anxious, they must be thinking about how to persuade our country to send troops, and if our country does not send troops, they hope to borrow it." This should be out of consideration that time is not waiting, and it should not be intended to humiliate our country! Zhao Jizha analyzed. He was arguing with Chu State in and out of his words, and there was a deeper meaning in his words, Chu State really had to win this Northern Expedition, and attached great importance to it, if our Dashu delayed the time of Chu, I am afraid that Chu State must have a grudge against our Dashu!

Meng Chang heard the meaning of these words, he snorted heavily, sat on the throne, and stopped talking. Apparently he was thinking about it. And Madame Hua Rui was on the side and said, "Your Majesty, even if you are not an adult, don't pull someone else's platform." The concubines have been reading the correspondence between His Majesty and Emperor Chu all these years. Emperor Chu has always respected His Majesty, and this time it is so urgent, presumably the reason explained by Lord Zhao. And if Your Majesty is furious because of this, I am afraid it will hurt the harmony between the two countries! ”

"Then I pretend not to know, besides, what if Chu Junlai doesn't leave in Hanzhong!?" Meng Chang said.

"Your Majesty, this shouldn't be." Zhao Jiza explained on the side: "This time the pseudo-Zhou suddenly attacked the Khitan, and the Chu State was not prepared at all. In a hurry, they could not raise enough food and grass, and they did not have so many people to carry food. The envoy of the Chu State said that he was willing to exchange gold for my grain and grass in Dashu. ”

"Oh. They are rich in Chu! Meng Chang said.

"Your Majesty, it doesn't matter if there is money in Chu or not. This Chu army came from afar, but all the grain and grass were supplied by my Dashu. This is equivalent to the lifeblood of the Chu army being controlled by our Dashu. In this way, how could the Chu army behave recklessly under the rule of my Dashu? Isn't he afraid that we will cut off his food and grass? Zhao Jiza said.

"Hehehe," laughed Madame Blossom.

Meng Chang turned his head and said, "Concubine Ai, what makes you laugh so much!" ”

Mrs. Hua Rui said with a smile: "Your Majesty, the concubine thinks that this Emperor Chu is really leaking. The state of Chu and the pseudo-Zhou are incompatible, and it is impossible for them to stop hoarding grain and grass on Bianjing. Now what is the army that has no food, and wants to buy grain from our Dashu. It's just that he wants to hand over his grain to our Dashu and let us rest assured. ”

"Niangniang is right. This Chu State and Pseudo-Zhou are simply red-eyed. At present, the main force of the Zhou army is in the Yanyun area, which is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Chu State, and it is impossible for them not to act. If we are at this time and have an awkward relationship with the Chu State, firstly, we will be bound by an alliance, and secondly, it will be similar to cutting off people's financial routes. The minister thought that it was better to agree to them. ”

Meng Chang nodded: "The army has not moved, and the grain and grass go first." They are willing to do this, and it can be regarded as a little sincere. But how many men are they going to do in total? ”

Seeing that Meng Chang was moved, Zhao Jizha said: "It's just 30,000 horses." ”

"Oh, so little?" Meng Chang was a little strange, he dispatched 50,000 troops back then, but he didn't get a single fart, but he lost his troops.

"If the Chu army is a sneak attack, it is more expensive, not more!" Zhao Jiza explained: "If the battle situation is favorable, they are likely to increase their troops further!" ”

"Oh." Meng Chang's eyes rolled, and he asked, "Zhao Aiqing, do you think the Chu army can win by sneaking up on Fengxiang from our Fengzhou?" ”

"This... This depends on whether Zhou Jun is prepared or not. Zhao Jiza said hesitantly. It's really hard to say this, let's say it's defenseless, this is not to say that there is no deterrent power in the majestic Shu Kingdom, and hostile countries are not defended on the border. However, if you want to say that you are prepared, in case the Chu army wins a battle, it does not mean that the combat effectiveness of the Chu army far exceeds that of the Shu army. Rice can be eaten "chaotically", but words cannot be "chaotic" to say. So, Zhao Jiza came to an ambiguous situation.

Fortunately, Meng Chang didn't ask, "Zhao Aiqing, then do you think Zhou Jun is defenseless." Meng Chang "touched" his chin and asked, "Zhao Aiqing, if... I mean, if the Chu army wins, will our Dashu send troops to support, or will we continue to watch from the sidelines? ”

Zhao Jiza's heart was relieved, what he was waiting for was Meng Chang's words, he smiled slightly: "Your Majesty, we have an alliance with the Chu State. Not sending troops now is not a breach of the covenant. The point is that we were not prepared because of the rush of the matter. And the Chu army was impatient, so we let the Chu army play the striker. Now that we're ready, we're naturally going to send troops! ”

With a "snap", Meng Chang couldn't help but slap his palm and laughed: "Wonderful." Zhao Aiqing, you are worthy of being called 'Sai Zhuge 'such a change, and you live up to my reuse of you! ”

"It is the honor of a minister to serve His Majesty!" Zhao Jizha said.

"But what if the Chu army is defeated?" Meng Chang rolled his eyes and asked again: "It doesn't matter if the Chu army is defeated, in case the Zhou army pursues it, how can we hold the four states of Longxi!" "You can't do things that can't fight wolves, but get bitten by wolves, not to mention that the person who fights wolves is not himself.

"If the Chu army is defeated, let the Chu army help us defend the four states of Longxi. In all fairness, the strength of the Chu army is naturally inferior to that of the Chengdu Forbidden Army, but compared to Gao Yantao's army, it is still stronger. With them to help defend, it shouldn't be bad! Of course, if His Majesty has anything to consider, he can order the people of the Ministry of Rites to discuss with the envoys of the Chu State. Now that the State of Chu is in a hurry, even if His Majesty puts forward some harsh conditions, the State of Chu will definitely accept it. Zhao Jizha said with a smile.