"PS: Thanks to "MasterYoung" for rewarding 10,000 starting coins~』

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Around April, Zhuang Xin returned to Chuying.

However, as he approached the city gate, he saw some fleeing refugees with their families in tow.

At first, Zhuang Xin didn't care, after all, not all of the Chu people in the north of the Han River, such as Li County and Sui County, defected to Fangcheng of the Wei State, and more or less some people fled to the south of the Han River, but the number was not large.

Unexpectedly, after he got out of the carriage and asked the refugees who had fled, he was shocked to find that the other party did not flee from Zhucheng north of Hanshui at all, as he imagined, but from Wujun and Qianzhong.

The reason for this is that the famous general of the Qin State, Sima Cuo, is attacking Wujun.

After learning about this, Zhuang Xin was also shocked and asked eagerly: "What about defending the pass?" ”

The Hanguan in his mouth, also known as the Jiangguan, it is located on the west side of Wujun, it is the pass built by the Chu State in order to resist the Shu State, and later the Chu State intends to get involved in the land of Bashu, and it is from this Hanguan to send troops.

Until a few years ago, Sima Coo of Qin State captured the land of Bashu and established Shu County, and Chu State was defeated in front of Qin's army, and since then he has retreated to defend the pass, and never set foot in Bashu again.

After hearing Zhuang Xin's inquiry, one of the refugees replied: "The Qin army sailed down the river, first attacked Wujun, and then broke through the defense ......."

Hearing this, Zhuang Xin chuckled in his heart.

You must know that the significance of Hanguan and Wujun to the Chu State is like Yanyi on the Han River, once it is lost, the Qin army can attack Qianzhong and Yiling, and finally attack the royal capital of the Chu State-Ying.

Thinking of this, Zhuang Xin didn't care about anything else, and immediately entered the city, went straight to the palace, and asked to see Xiong Heng, the king of Chu.

At this time, Xiong Heng, the king of Chu, was drinking in the palace in the company of two beautiful women, and his playful attitude was different from the past, and today Xiong Heng was also full of sorrow, even if he was accompanied by a beautiful woman, he also felt extremely bored.

As for the reason, it is nothing more than a national disaster.

And when Chu Wang Heng was drinking alcohol, he suddenly heard a waiter come to report: "Doctor Zhuang Xin asks to see." ”

Hearing this, King Heng of Chu frowned, but after hesitating for a while, he still sent someone to summon Zhuang Xin.

After a while, I saw Zhuang Xin led by two attendants to the main hall, and bowed his hand to the king of Chu: "Great king." ”

"Hmm."

Xiong Heng, the king of Chu, replied, and asked casually with the wine bottle: "What is Zhuang Qing asking to see the widow?" ”

Zhuang Xin looked at the two beauties beside King Chu, and said, "The minister has something important to enlighten the king, please ask the king to retire the beauty!" ”

Xiong Heng frowned and glanced at Zhuang Xin when he heard this, if it were on weekdays, he would definitely be angry, but today, he really had no interest in playing with the beauty, so after listening to Zhuang Xin's words, although he was a little unhappy in his heart, he didn't say anything, and waved his hand to signal the two beauties to retreat for the time being.

Seeing this, Zhuang Xin said: "My lord, the minister heard that the Qin State sent the general Sima Wrong to go out of Bashu and captured the defense of our country......

Xiong Heng snorted lightly when he heard this, and sneered: "Qing learned today? ”

As soon as he heard this, Zhuang Xin guessed that the fact that he was not in Chu Ying a few days ago must have been known by the king in front of him, so he hesitated and explained: "The minister went to ...... a while ago."

Unexpectedly, before he finished speaking, Xiong Heng interrupted him impatiently: "Okay, the widow knows that you went to Yanyi." Although you leave Daying without permission, but for the sake of your worries about the country, the widow will not punish you. …… Say, what is the important thing to see the widow today? ”

Seeing this, Zhuang Xin first thanked the king for his innocence, and then asked Xiong Hengdao: "King, there is a Qin general Bai Qi in Hanshui who is planning to capture Yanyi, and in the west of the river, there is Sima who has captured the pass, and my Great Chu is attacked by the enemy on both sides and is in danger. ”

『…… It's right to drink, which eye do you see a widow playing with a beautiful woman?'

Xiong Heng glanced at Zhuang Xin, he was very dissatisfied with the latter's words, and he said coldly: "This matter has been handed over to Ling Yin, and Ling Yin will find a way to persuade Qin to withdraw his troops." ”

Hearing this, Zhuang Xin's face changed slightly.

In fact, the reason why he asked so much was to wait for Xiong Heng to say that "the widow is also worried about this", so that he naturally offered the suggestion of "asking for help from the Wei State", but he never expected that the monarch in front of him had handed over the matter to Ling Yin Zilan.

The way to persuade Yin Zilan to retreat from the Qin State, then do you still need to think about it? Nine times out of ten, it is to cut the land and beg for peace with the Qin State!

Thinking of this, Zhuang Xin asked eagerly: "King, I don't know how Ling Yin wants to persuade the Qin army to retreat?" ”

Hearing this, Xiong Heng was silent for a moment, and then said in an inexplicable tone: "When Lixian was attacked by the Qin army that day, Xijun Jinghao wrote a letter and sent it to Qin to ask the reason. A few days ago, Qing was not in Daying, and the reply letter of Marquis Wei Ran was sent to the hands of Xijun, according to what he said, the Qin State attacked my Great Chu this time, because he hated my Great Chu for betraying the Qin State at the beginning, if my Great Chu is willing to surrender to the Qin State and restore the old diplomatic relations between Qin and Chu, Wei Ran will plead with Xiang Shou to intercede with the King of Qin on behalf of my Chu State, so that the Qin army will retreat, and there will be no disputes between the two countries of Qin and Chu in the future. ”

"Sure enough!"

Zhuang Xin said secretly in his heart, and then said tentatively: "The king hasn't promised the Qin State yet, right?" ”

Xiong Heng was silent for a moment when he heard this, and finally said truthfully: "After discussing with Ling Yin yesterday, the widow has written a letter of state, and ordered Xijun to go to Qin as an envoy to ......"

As soon as he heard this, Zhuang Xin's face changed greatly, and he said urgently: "Please send someone to recover the messenger quickly, otherwise this matter will become a foregone conclusion, and everything will be closed!" ”

Xiong Heng frowned and looked at Zhuang Xin, and asked puzzledly, "Why did Qing say this?" ”

Seeing that the monarch in front of him didn't understand the reason, Zhuang Xin pressed the anxiety in his heart, and said: "The king can't listen to the nonsense of the Qin State, what the Qin State said to fight with my Great Chu, in fact, it is not the case, the reason why the Qin State attacked my Great Chu this time is because the Qin State was blocked by the Wei State when it attacked Korea, and suffered a defeat in Yique in South Korea, which made nearly 100,000 Qin troops almost annihilated, so he made peace with Wei and Han, and turned to seek my Great Chu, and wanted to coerce my Great Chu to send troops to attack Wei and Han in total......"

Speaking of this, he bowed his hand and said, "Great King, the minister implores me to send someone to recall the Emperor immediately." If you want to relieve my Great Chu of today's calamity, you can ask for help from Wei and Han, and you must not surrender to Qin......"

As he spoke, he saw that Xiong Heng was indifferent, and couldn't help but shout with some excitement: "King! ”

"Enough!"

Hearing this, Xiong Heng slapped the table in front of him and interrupted Zhuang Xin's words.

I saw him look at Zhuang Xin, and after taking a slight breath, he restrained the anger in his heart, and said in a deep voice: "Qing may not know, as early as when Qing went to Yanyi, the widow had already sent an envoy to Wei to beg the King of Wei to send troops to rescue, but there has been no response so far...... According to Ling Yin, Wei and Chu are connected by waterways, and if Wei really has the intention of helping my Great Chu, within 30 days, Daying will be able to get good news, but now that the news has not been received for a long time, it can be seen that Wei does not intend to help, or rather, Wei wants to sit back and watch our Great Chu and Qin fight to lose both...... Even so, he could only temporarily submit to the Qin State. ”

Hearing this, Zhuang Xin shook his head again and again, sighed and said, "The king has been deceived by Ling Yin. …… Although Wei is connected to our Great Chu by waterways, Chuyi and Liangyi are more than 1,000 miles apart, and counting the time when the King of Wei summoned important ministers to discuss after learning about this, how can 30 days be enough? It must have been Zilan who had privately gained benefits from Wei Ran's side and deceived the king with lies, so that the king would agree to surrender to the Qin State as soon as possible......"

As soon as the words fell, suddenly a waiter walked in from outside the hall and said, "King, let Yin Zilan ask to see him." ”

Chu Wang Xiong glanced at Zhuang Xin, nodded and said, "Summon." ”

After only a moment's work, he saw that the Chu State was somewhat similar to Xiong Heng in terms of age and appearance, and Yin Xiong Zilan stepped into the hall, and after seeing Zhuang Xin standing in the hall, Zilan was not surprised.

To be precise, Zilan came in a hurry because she heard that Zhuang Xin was asking to see the King of Chu and seemed to be interested in discussing something important.

After saluting the elder brother Xiong Heng, the king of Chu, Zilan smiled and said to Zhuang Xin: "I heard that Dr. Zhuang helped Zhaoju resist the Qin army in Yanyi a while ago? ”

As soon as he heard this, Zhuang Xin knew that Zhao Ju had not revealed to Xiong Heng, the king of Chu, and Ling Yin Zilan that he had visited Fangcheng of Wei during that time.

But he didn't want to explain anything to Zilan, and saluted Zilan as if perfunctory.

Seeing Zhuang Xin so rude, Zilan was also a little annoyed in her heart, but considering that the Zhuang family had a traitor Zhuang Ji, Zilan finally endured it.

After all, the rebel general Zhuang Ji has a lot of power in the Chu State, whether it is the Chu State Court or Ling Yin Zilan, they all want to take it for their own use, so naturally they can't be too mean to the people of the Zhuang family.

At this time, Xiong Heng, the king of Chu, pointed at Zhuang Xin and said to Zilan: "Zilan, Zhuang Qing just pointed out that Liangyi of Wei is thousands of miles away from my Daying, although I have not received a reply from the King of Wei for a month, but this is not enough to conclude that Wei refuses to send troops to aid my Chu State, what is your explanation for this?" ”

Seeing that her brother's face was a little unhappy, Zilan hurriedly explained: "Brother Wang, as far as my brother knows, although the King of Wei did not reject my envoy of Great Chu in person, my envoy of Great Chu has repeatedly wanted to see the King of Wei but was prevaricated by Wei with various excuses, which is an indisputable fact. …… Now the Qin State sent Sima Wrong troops out of Bashu to attack Wujun, and the soldiers also pointed directly at Daying, while the Wei State did not give a positive reply for a long time. ”

In fact, this is not wrong, so after Xiong Heng heard his brother's explanation, the unswerving color on his face faded a little.

Seeing this, Zhuang Xin immediately said: "Don't listen to Ling Yin's one-sided words, the Wei State will inevitably send troops to rescue my Da Chu!" ”

Hearing this, Zilan didn't wait for Xiong Heng to speak, so she asked Zhuang Xin, "Oh? So according to Dr. Zhuang, when will Wei send reinforcements? Could it be that we have to wait until the Qin army breaks through Yanyi and occupies Qianzhong and Yiling, causing two Qin troops to come to our Daying City, and at this time the Wei army Shanshan appears and comes to the rescue? ”

"......" Zhuang Xin opened his mouth, but there was no way to refute it.

It's no wonder, after all, the current Wei State is indeed this kind of attitude, it hopes that the Chu State will devote all its forces to fight a fierce war with the Qin State and weaken the strength of the Qin State, and then it will think about rescuing the Chu State.

Seeing this, Zilan made a "look" gesture to Xiong Heng, the king of Chu, and immediately sneered at Zhuang Xin: "How can Wei State rescue my Great Chu in vain? What Wei Wei and Tian Wen thought in their hearts, I can also guess a thing or two, it is nothing more than hoping to weaken the Chu State with the hand of my Great Chu, so that Qin and Chu will be fighting between the two countries, and he Wei will profit from it. In that case, why don't I, Da Chu, temporarily submit to the Qin State and try to get the Qin State to attack Wei and Han? ”

Hearing this, Zhuang Xin said lightly: "Ling Yin Ke knows that once my Great Chu surrenders to the Qin State, I will inevitably be involved in the war between the Qin State and Wei and Han?" So that thousands of my sons and daughters of the Chu State will pay for the ambition of the Qin State? ”

Zilan was slightly stunned when she heard this, and then sneered: "Doctor Zhuang, don't misunderstand, even if something like that happens in the end, the reason is not on my Chu State, but on the Wei State, if the King of Wei is willing to send troops to help my Great Chu, why should my Great Chu succumb to the Qin State?" ”

Hearing this, Zhuang Xin said in a deep voice: "Then what if there is a way to persuade the King of Wei to send troops to rescue my Da Chu?" ”

"Huh?"

Zilan was slightly stunned.

Even Xiong Heng, the king of Chu, was a little surprised, and asked curiously, "Is there a way to persuade King Wei?" ”

In fact, Zhuang Xin was not completely sure in his heart, but now, he could only insist, after all, he could not sit back and watch his Chu State submit to the Qin State, otherwise, Qu Yuan's plan for the three kingdoms of Wei, Han and Chu would come to naught.

Thinking of this, he swore and said: "I will vouch for it in the next place!" Please ask the king to quickly send someone to recover Xiyi, take back the letter of state, and go to Wei in person to persuade the king of Wei to send troops to rescue, if it doesn't work, he will be demoted to a commoner! ”

"This ......"

Xiong Heng, the king of Chu, who was undecided, couldn't help but turn his head to look at Zilan.

Zilan thought for a while and said, "Brother Wang, the younger brother thinks that this matter is unnecessary...... As the so-called distant water is difficult to save the near fire, when Dr. Zhuang personally went to Wei and persuaded the King of Wei to send troops to support my Great Chu, I am afraid that the Qin army under the command of Sima Cuo has broken through Wujun and Qianzhong and invaded Yiling...... Yiling is the tomb of the first king, if the Qin army invades this place and causes a lot of trouble, what face will our descendants have? And now, the Qin state is strong and the Wei and Han countries are weak, rather than uniting with Wei and Han and being broken by the Qin state one by one, it is better to be happy with the Qin state...... The Qin State has always coveted the richness of the Central Plains, as long as my Great Chu obeys the Qin State, how can the Qin State abandon the rich Central Plains and attack my Great Chu Southern Barbarian Land? ”

Hearing this, Zhuang Xin's beard trembled angrily, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Does Ling Yin really want to make my son of Da Chu sacrifice for the ambition of the Qin State?" ”

Zilan immediately retorted: "Wouldn't there be casualties when fighting against the Qin army? What is the difference between dying at the hands of the Qin people and dying at the hands of the armies of Wei and Han? ”

"Absolutely!"

Zhuang Xin Zhengse retorted: "Joining forces with Wei and Han to jointly fight against Qin is a weak alliance, even if it helps Wei and Han defeat Qin, Wei and Han are not able to annex our Great Chu; But the Qin State is different, if the Qin State is helped to hit the Wei and Han countries hard today, so that the Wei and Han countries are annexed by the Qin State, the Qin State will become stronger and stronger, and he will not be able to stop it at all! …… What's more, if the king joins forces with Wei and Han to resist Qin, the king is still the king of one country, and with the alliance with Qin, the king is a vassal vassal, how can it be said that there is no difference?! …… Has the king of my Great Chu been reduced to becoming a vassal of another country? ”

Listening to Zhuang Xin's righteous words, Xiong Heng, the king of Chu, hesitated.

After half a ring, he said to Zhuang Xin: "It's better to be like this, my Great Chu will temporarily surrender to the Qin State, and during this period, Zhuang Qing will go to the Wei State to persuade the King of Wei that if the King of Wei is willing to send troops to rescue, then my Chu State will unite with Wei and Han to fight against the Qin State......"

Hearing such childish words, Zhuang Xin really didn't know what to say.

Shaking his head, Zhuang said with a hard smile: "King, do you still remember the 'Six Hundred Miles of Business in the Land'? Diplomatic relations with other countries, the most important thing is credibility, if my Great Chu surrenders to Qin today, and tomorrow will unite Wei and Han, where is the credibility of the country? What is your credibility, Dawang? ”

As he spoke, he arched his hand and pleaded: "King, without further ado, please send someone to recover Xijun as soon as possible, otherwise the Qin State will get the king's credential and publish it to the world, how can Wei and Han send troops to rescue again?" ”

Before the words fell, Zilan dissuaded her: "Brother Wang, don't!" Wei and Han are weaker than Qin, and they may not dare to risk offending Qin to rescue our Great Chu. ”

"This is a big mistake! The King of Wei is not a faint monarch, how can he sit back and watch the Qin State annex my Great Chu? As the saying goes, if my Great Chu falls, the next one to die must be Wei and Han...... Therefore, the king does not have to hesitate, Wei will definitely send reinforcements! ”

"The King's ......"

"The King's ......"

"Enough!"

Faced with the quarrel between Zhuang Xin and Zilan, King Xiong of Chu was overwhelmed, and after drinking the two of them, he frowned and said, "Rong widow...... Think again. ”

As soon as he heard this, Zhuang Xin said anxiously: "Xijun's carriage is a hundred miles a day, and the king hesitates a little at the moment, so he can't catch up with it......"

Hearing this exhortation, Xiong Heng, the king of Chu, was troubled, and in a fit of anger, he brushed his sleeves away and hung Zhuang Xin and Zilan in the palace.

Seeing this, Zhuang Xin let out a long sigh, and after taking a deep look at Ling Yin Zilan with a smile on his face, he left the palace without saying a word.

Considering that Jinghao, who went to Qin to deliver the letter of state, set off yesterday, the time was very rushed, and he might not be able to recover the letter in time, and now that King Xiong Heng of Chu is hesitating, it is naturally even more hopeless.

Thinking of this, Zhuang Xin was upset, and after returning home, he drank a few bowls of wine without saying a word, and then wrote a letter, preparing to send someone to send this letter to Yeyi and give it to Qu Yuan, so that Qu Yuan could know about it, and by the way, let Fang Cheng be on guard.

It's not that Zhuang Xin regards Qu Yuan, Meng Zhong and others more seriously than Chu State, and does not hesitate to reveal secrets for this, but he knows very well in his heart that the real threat to his Chu State comes from Qin State, neither Wei State, nor South Korea, nor Fangcheng.

And now, he is powerless to prevent the state of Chu from succumbing to the state of Qin, so he can only use the power of Wei and Han to stop the state of Qin, therefore, the city where Meng Zhong is located has become particularly important - in the future, if the two countries of Qin and Chu really organize a coalition to crusade against Wei and Han, as long as Han Xiao of Wancheng and Meng Zhong of Fangcheng can block the alliance of Qin and Chu, then Wei and Han will not suffer too serious losses, and they can still have the strength to resist Qin, otherwise, it will be a situation where the three kingdoms of Wei, Han and Chu are broken by Qin one by one.

It is worth mentioning that although this letter was written, Zhuang Xin did not immediately send a trusted servant to Yeyi, he was still waiting, waiting for Xiong Heng, the king of Chu, to change his mind.

For this reason, he also sent two domestic servants to guard outside the palace to see if Xiong Heng, the king of Chu, had sent someone to recover Xijun Jinghao.

However, until it was close to dusk, Zhuang Xin still did not receive any news.

With a long sigh, he summoned the two servants who had followed him to Yeyi a few days ago, and instructed them to leave the city before closing the city gates, and deliver the letter to Yeyi overnight and hand it over to Qu Yuan.

The two received the master's instructions, drove the carriage out of Chu Ying, and went to Fangcheng non-stop, and after a full ten days of travel day and night, they finally arrived in Fangcheng again and handed over the letter to Qu Yuan.

After receiving Zhuang Xin's letter and seeing the contents of the letter, Qu Yuan was also anxious and hateful, and immediately went to Fangcheng to inform Meng Zhong of the matter.

Compared with Qu Yuan's annoyance and anxiety when he received this letter, Meng Zhong seemed very calm, and his calmness made Gong Zhong feel a little incredible.

So Gong Zhong asked Meng Zhong extravagantly: "Fang Cheng Ling has expected this? ”

"No, I didn't." Meng Zhong shook his head.

Indeed, he didn't know that in addition to sending Bai Qi to attack Chu, Qin also sent Sima Coo to attack Chu from another direction, so when he saw Chu general Zhaoju Kankan blocking Bai Qi in Hanshui, he was also secretly relieved in his heart, how could he expect that things would change?

And Gong Zhong Xuan was even more puzzled after hearing Meng Zhong's answer: "Since I didn't expect it earlier, why is Fang Cheng Ling so calm when he learns such bad news?" ”

Meng Zhong shrugged his shoulders and said, "Since the matter has happened, whether it is urgent or not, how has the situation changed?" ”

Gong Zhong was stunned for a moment, and then chuckled and praised: "It is worthy of Master Zhuang's high feet, and this bearing alone is beyond the reach of ordinary people." ”

Hearing this, Meng Zhong said helplessly: "Mr. Gongzhong praised it, but he just forced a smile. ”

In all fairness, isn't Meng Zhong really in a hurry?

How can it be!

Once the two countries of Qin and Chu form a coalition army, Wandi and Fangcheng will inevitably be the first targets to be attacked by the Qin-Chu coalition army, and the Qin army has 60,000 or 70,000 troops under the command of Bai Qi alone, plus the Qin general Sima Cuo and the army of the Chu State, the total strength of the Qin-Chu coalition army will reach 200,000.

And how many troops are there in the land of Wanfang?

Han Xiao in Wancheng only has a military strength on his side, and on the side of other cities, even if you count the armies of Zheng Zheng and Cai Wu, it is less than 30,000, and the total Wei-Han coalition army is less than 40,000, what can you do to resist the Qin-Chu coalition army whose number may reach 200,000?

Fortunately, Zhuang Xin's news came early, and before Chu was forced by Qin to form an alliance to crusade against Wei and Han, Meng Zhong still had time to make some preparations in advance for this war that might break out.

For example, write a letter to Da Liang, telling Wei Wangyu and Wei Xiangtian Wen, who originally wanted to sit back and watch the Qin State and Chu State fight each other, informing them that the chickens had flown and the eggs had been broken, and asked them to send reinforcements quickly.

Another example is to send someone to inform the violent kite in South Korea, and by the way, find a way to get a batch of crossbows from South Korea.

After all, South Korea's crossbow is a weapon for defense.

"It seems that it is impossible to avoid fighting him after all......

After sending someone to send a letter for help to Daliang, Meng Zhong came to the wall of Fangcheng and looked far away to the southwest.

In that direction, in the area of Yanyi on the north side of the Han River, there was the military camp of the Qin general Bai Qi.

Half a month later, the Qin general Bai Qi, who was blocked by Zhaoju in Hanshui, also received a letter from the Marquis Wei Ran from Xianyang.

After a cursory look at the contents of the letter, his expression became a little subtle.

The content of the letter is very simple, that is, the Marquis Wei Ran hopes that Bai Qi will assist Sima Cuo and organize the Qin-Chu coalition army to capture Wancheng and Fangcheng......

Yes, assist Sima Cuo.

"Shh

Seeing this, Bai Qi pursed his lips, looking a little displeased.

actually asked him to be a deputy general for a veteran who was over half a hundred years old?

"Humph! It's all to blame on Meng Zhong's bastard, so that I couldn't do my best in Yique, otherwise, Sima mistakenly gave me the rank of deputy general!"

Bai Qi scolded in his heart.