With just a blink of mind, Meng Zhong made a decision.

He decided to follow Sima Cuo to Tancheng in the Song State instead of going to the Zhao State.

There are various reasons for this, such as that he wants to keep an eye on the Qin army, lest the Qin army do anything hurtful in his Song Kingdom, and for example, he also wants to take this opportunity to see his righteous brother Hui Ang, teacher Zhuang Zhou, and even go to Tancheng to meet his brother Le Yi, who is very likely to be in the Yan army at this moment.

Of course, as for the main reason, it is that he does not want to set foot in Zhao as an enemy.

What's more, there are Zhai Zhang and Bai Qi in the crusade against Zhao Guo, and it doesn't matter if there is him or not.

I have to say that at the moment when Handan was surrounded by the Qin army and Fengyang Jun Li Dui was forced to withdraw his troops back to aid Handan, Qi's crusade against Song had already failed, and the next thing was nothing more than Qin and Wei using their own diplomatic means to draw Zhao to their own side as much as possible.

In contrast, it was the East Road battlefield that made Meng Zhong feel more concerned.

After all, he didn't know that the current commander of the Yan army was his brother Le Yi, and he hadn't learned that the Yan army was crazy about releasing water when attacking Tancheng.

It's no wonder, who made Wei Ran guess that Yan might have been commanded by Ju Xin's army, with Meng Zhong's understanding of Ju Xin, the latter might not be merciful in the crusade against Song State.

After learning of Meng Zhong's attitude, Zhai Zhang did not stop it, but privately told Meng Zhong to be careful of Sima Cuo and Qin Jun It is undeniable that Sima Cuo's character is worthy of respect, but as a loyal minister of Qin, Sima Cuo may not do anything to abolish personal affairs for public purposes.

If the situation changes, Sima Cuo and the Qin army under his command may not become the enemy of Wei again.

This point, whether it is Zhai Zhang or Meng Zhong, is very clear in their hearts.

Later, Meng Zhong met with Sima Cuo and conveyed to the latter that he wanted to go with him to reinforce Tancheng.

Of course, Sima Cuo would not refuse Meng Zhong and the Fangcheng army under his command, after all, this time he was ordered to go to Tancheng in the Song State to fight against the Qi Yan coalition army, Sima Cuo was also a little apprehensive about this, after all, the famous general Kuang Zhang of Qi was here, as long as Kuang Zhang was still alive in this world, no one would dare to despise the army of Qi State.

Later, after Meng Zhong left, Sima Cuo's guard Ding Bao smiled and said to his general: "It seems that Bai Zuo is going to be disappointed even more, he has been looking forward to fighting side by side with this Fang Cheng Commander......

"Hehehe." Sima Coo stroked his beard and smiled.

In fact, he was also very curious, if Meng Zhong and Bai Qi fought side by side, how powerful a deterrent would the two of them be, after all, these two were the best young generals Sima Cuo had met so far, and almost no one could compare with these two people throughout the Qin and Wei countries.

But unfortunately, perhaps the heavens didn't want him Qin to set foot in the Central Plains so quickly, so after giving him a white rise from Qin, he guided Meng Zhong, who was not far behind, to Wei and arranged for these two to become opponents.

The next day, June 19, Zhai Zhang led 40,000 Wei troops under his command, following the army of Fengyang Jun Li Dui and slowly marched towards Zhao.

At this time, the nearly 60,000 Qin troops led by Sima Cuo, including Meng Zhong's nearly 20,000 square city troops, a total of 80,000 Qin and Wei coalition troops, were slowly rushing towards Tancheng of the Song State at the same time.

As for Jing's army, it was still stationed in Taoyi.

Given that Taoyi had been recovered by the combined forces of Qin and Wei, the most convenient route to Tancheng was to travel down the river along Surabaya to Pengcheng and then from Pengcheng to Tancheng.

But in this way, Meng Zhong and the others could not pass through Mengyi, could not go to meet the teacher Zhuang Zhou, and could not visit the Meng clan people who were still living in Mengyi at the moment, so Meng Zhong and Meng Hu, Hua Hu, and Le Jin The three brothers summed up, and finally decided that Le Jin would temporarily follow Sima Cuo's army to Pengcheng, while Meng Zhong would take Meng Hu, Hua Hu and four thousand square city cavalry to Mengyi, and finally the two sides converged in Pengcheng.

Considering the speed of the cavalry, Meng Zhong felt that even if he stayed in Zhuangziju and Mengyi for a day or two, he would still be able to arrive in Pengcheng before Sima Cuo, Le Jin and the others in the end, so as not to miss the big event.

Subsequently, Meng Zhong made this request to Sima Cuo, which made Sima Cuo feel very deeply.

Because to tell the truth, Meng Zhong, as the general of Wei, does not need to communicate to him in everything, but Meng Zhong even takes time to return to his hometown to visit the small things of the clansmen, which is nothing more than respecting him, the commander of the Qin-Wei coalition army.

Thinking about his deputy general Bai Qi, who is like a donkey, and then looking at Zhai Zhang's generals, Sima Cuo suddenly envied Zhai Zhang: Don't look at the aspect of leading troops to fight, Meng Zhong and Bai Qi are equal, but in terms of life, Meng Zhong is far from being comparable to Bai Qi, and he is worthy of being a disciple of Master Zhuang!

After informing Sima Cuo of this matter, Meng Zhong left 1,000 cavalry for Lejin, and then took Meng Hu, Hua Hu and the rest of the 3,000 or so Fangcheng cavalry, temporarily left the army and went straight to Mengyi.

Since the whole army was cavalry, the marching speed was far from comparable to that of foot soldiers, and in just one day, Meng Zhong and the cavalry of the 3,000 square city under his command arrived in Mengyi.

Seeing the familiar Mengyi from afar, the Mengyi disciples in the cavalry of the 3,000 square city couldn't help but chat.

Among them were Menghu and Huahu, who patted their chests and swore to the cavalry under their command that after returning to Mengyi, they would invite their soldiers to eat wine and meat, and the cavalry of Zhufang City could laugh.

And just when everyone was rejoicing, there was a warning signal from Mengyi.

Hua Hu was stunned for a moment, then he understood and said to his subordinates: "Mengyi must have mistaken us for the cavalry of Zhao State......

No, when Meng Zhong ordered his cavalry to stand by, and then approached Mengyi with Menghu and Huahu, he found that the door of his Meng's clan was closed, and some of the young Zhuang people in the clan were holding weapons to the sentry box.

Seeing this, Meng Hu shouted loudly: "Don't shoot arrows, it's me, Meng Hu!" ”

Hearing this voice, there was a commotion in Mengyi, and immediately, the voice of the patriarch Meng Hu came from the village: "Ah Hu? Is it Ah Hu on the other side? ”

Seeing this, Meng Hu left Meng Zhong and Hua Hu behind, and rode close to the township, so that the people in the town could see the truth.

"It's really Ah Hu...... Oh, and Ah Zhong and Hua Hu. Quick, open the door. ”

Under Meng Hu's orders, the young men of the Menghu clan hurriedly opened the closed village gate, and immediately, Meng Hu walked out with more than a dozen Menghu people holding weapons and wearing armor.

At this time, Meng Zhong and the others had also turned over and dismounted, walked to Meng Hu with the reins, hugged their fists and greeted with a smile: "Uncle Meng Hu." ”

"Haha."

Seeing Meng Zhong, Meng Hu and the others, Meng Hu's face was full of joy, but he didn't forget to blame Meng Zhong: "Why didn't you send someone to inform the city in advance?" It's so bad that we think it's the cavalry of Zhao State who is attacking......"

As he spoke, he glanced at the dense Fangcheng cavalry in the distance, and couldn't help but ask out of caution: "Ah Zhong, Ah Hu, that is the cavalry under your command, right?" ”

Before Meng Zhong could explain, he heard Meng Hu laugh beside him: "Let's try the vigilance of the township, well, it seems that he is still very vigilant now......

"You kid!" Meng Hu smiled and scolded and patted Meng Hu's shoulder, but immediately, he found that Meng Hu didn't move after being slapped by him.

Turning his head to look at Meng Zhong again, Meng Yu sighed inexplicably in his heart: These boys who call him uncle have grown up.

Subsequently, at the signal of Meng Zhong, the Fangcheng cavalry, who was born in Mengyi's children, took the lead in coming to the gate of the township, and chatted with the familiar clansmen after dismounting.

At this time, the elders of the clan, Meng Jian, and others came when they heard the news, and they were also quite happy to see the young people gathered at the entrance of the township.

I have to say that the year before last, a large number of Mengyi's children followed Mengzhong to Fangcheng, which was certainly a way out for Mengyi's children, but it also made the families in Mengyi's area deserted.

After all, the young people have dragged their families to Mengzhong, and in addition to the old people, there are only some young people who are unwilling to leave their hometowns, which are naturally not as lively as they once were.

And today, Meng Zhong led many Mengyi children back to their hometowns, even if most of them were clansmen of the Xiang clan, Hua clan, Wu clan, and Le clan, the elders of Meng Jian and Meng were also very happy.

It is no wonder that because of the relationship between Mengzhong, it seems that the Mengshi, Xiang, Wu, Le and other families living in the Mengyi area seem to have formed a community of interests, and the relationship is more intimate than before.

While everyone was chatting, several elders such as Meng Jian and Meng Zhong walked up to Meng Zhong and the others.

At this time, Meng Jian asked Meng Zhong: "Ah Zhong, didn't you serve as the commander of Fangcheng in the Wei State, why did you bring the troops back to the Song State today?" …… Could it be that Wei ordered you to reinforce my Song State? ”

Meng Jian was Meng Sui's grandfather and one of Meng Zhong's most respected elders in the clan, and when he asked, Meng Zhong explained with a straight expression: "Yes, Qin and Wei learned that Qi and Zhao were crusading against the Song State and formed an alliance to come for reinforcements. A few days ago, Sima Cuo of Qin and Sima Zhai Zhang of Wei had just recovered Taoyi......"

Hearing this, several clansmen who followed behind Meng Jian couldn't help but whisper.

"Let me tell you, it's the armies of Qin and Wei, you don't believe it......"

"It's really ......"

Seeing that Meng Zhong was a little confused, Meng Jian explained with a smile: "A while ago, I heard that Sima of Jingjun was defeated by Taoyi, and the Qi and Zhao coalition forces may move their troops south, and my Mengcheng side is also recruiting soldiers, and your Uncle Meng Zhi was recruited to the county army in Mengcheng, ready to support Cao County at any time...... At that time, some people in the clan panicked about this, and it was the old clan that sent a few clansmen to Taoyi to investigate, but they never thought that Zhao Jun was confronting an army...... It should be the Qin-Wei coalition in your mouth, right? ”

"It should be." Meng Zhong nodded, and then said with relief: "The clan can rest assured now, the coalition army has repelled the Qi and Zhao coalition forces, and now Jing has also re-stationed in Taoyi ......."

"Good, good."

Meng Jian nodded with relief, and then, I saw him look left and right, and asked with a bit of a desire to speak, "Ah Zhong, that ...... What about Ah Sui? Didn't he come back with you this time? ”

Of course, Meng Zhong knew that the old man in front of him missed his grandson, and when he heard this, he explained: "Ah Sui is still in Fangcheng...... Among the brothers, Ah Sui was a steady and careful man, which is why he ......"

"The old man understands, the old man understands."

Meng Jian nodded with a little regret, and then looked at Meng beside him with envy.

is also from his grandparents, Meng is talking to his grandson Meng Hu at this time, although seeing his grandson's hippie smiling face, Meng is making a straight face at the moment, but the joy in his eyes is not difficult to see.

After chatting with the elders for a few words, Meng Zhong threw his cavalry to Meng Hu and Hua Hu, and he went straight to Zhuangziju.

Similar to the elders of the Meng, Mengjian and other clans, Zhuangzi and Uncle Zhuang were also very happy to see the returning Meng Zhong.

Especially Meng Zhong is now the Fang Cheng Commander of the Wei State, but he still kowtows in front of himself in a proper manner, although Zhuangzi waves his hand on the surface to show that he is not interested in Taoism, but seeing his disciples respect himself so much, he is naturally happy in his heart.

Subsequently, without waiting for Zhuangzi and Uncle Zhuang to ask, Meng Zhong took the initiative to tell the two old men about the current situation.

To be honest, in fact, Zhuangzi doesn't like to listen to this, after all, he is a quiet person who has escaped the world, and naturally he doesn't want to hear the world's fights and killings, but it is his beloved disciple Meng Zhong who tells this, so he barely listens.

But Zhuang Bo is different, he is still very concerned about the Song State, when he learned that the Qin and Wei countries temporarily put aside their prejudices against each other in order to rescue the Song State, he said happily: "My Song State is now allied with the Qin and Wei countries, so I can not be afraid of Qi and Zhao." ”

As he spoke, he looked at Meng Zhong and said happily, "Ah Zhong, you have really grown up now...... The age of the weak crown holds tens of thousands of soldiers, which is really rare in ancient times. ”

was praised by the respected elders, even if it was Meng Zhong, he couldn't help but feel a little happy.

Seeing this, Zhuangzi took a deep look at his disciples, and immediately sent Uncle Zhuang away: "Uncle Zhuang, you go and cook a few dishes first, and I'll talk to Ah Zhong." ”

"Okay." Zhuang Bo left with a smile.

After Uncle Zhuang left, Zhuangzi turned his head to look at Meng Zhong and said lightly: "At a young age, you are quite complacent to lead a large army to help your homeland repel the invading enemy, right?" ”

Hearing the teacher's tone, Meng Zhong hurriedly said, "The teacher has misunderstood, and the disciple will never dare to be complacent because of this. ”

"Heh, you are shrewd, you know that the old man wants to admonish you, but ......"

After a pause, Zhuangzi looked at Meng Zhong and whispered, "Ah Zhong, do you really think that this time Qin and Wei joined forces to aid the Song State, the potential threat of the Song State has been eliminated?" ”

Meng Zhong was stunned, then shook his head and said: "Of course not, as long as King Qi still has a heart for my Song Kingdom, there will always be a threat to my Song Kingdom." ”

"No, the old man didn't mean that."

Shaking his head, Zhuangzi Zhengse said: "The old man refers to the diplomatic relations between Qin and Wei and the Song State, do you really think that the diplomatic relations between these two countries and the Song State can last for a long time?" …… You must know that there are irreconcilable interests between Qin and Wei. ”

"......" Meng Zhong nodded thoughtfully.

Of course, he understood what the teacher meant, and the teacher was nothing more than saying that there was a fundamental contradiction between Qin and Wei, that is, the Qin State wanted to set foot in the Central Plains, but the Wei State was in front of the Qin State.

This is precisely the most irreconcilable fundamental contradiction between Qin and Wei.

Based on this, Zhuangzi Zhengse said to Meng Zhong: "Based on this, between Qin and Wei, Song will inevitably lose one of its allies in the future...... So which side do you think is more likely to be lost? ”

Hearing this, Meng Zhong calmed down and pondered carefully.

It cannot be denied that Zhuangzi is right, although both Qin and Wei sent troops to help the Song State this time, but in view of the irreconcilable contradictions between the Qin and Wei countries, the Song State tried to find a left and right between the two countries, which was also destined to be unacceptable to the Qin and Wei countries.

Song will either stand on the side of Wei and resist Qin, or they will stand on Qin's side and flank Wei, only in this way will Qin and Wei continue to help Song.

Considering that the strength of the Qin State was too strong, once it set foot in the Central Plains, it would also be a great threat to the Song State, Meng Zhong felt that it was more likely that the Song State would be on the side of the Wei State, and this might mean that he Song State would lose the support of the Qin State in the future.

Thinking of this, he frowned and said, "Compared with the loss of the Wei State, it should be that the possibility of losing the Qin State is higher. However, the Qin State needs the Song State to contain the Qi State......"

Hearing this, Zhuangzi shook his head and said, "When you were young, you saw the books written by Hui Shi, and you should know that everything in the world is not absolute, and there is a connection between them...... The Qin State needs the Song State to contain the Qi State, because the Qin and Qi countries regard each other as fierce rivals for world domination, but on the other hand, the two countries of Qin cannot unite to defeat the rest of the countries first, so as not to be taken advantage of by other countries when the two countries clash......"

"Qin and Qi united? This...... Is it possible? Meng Zhong was a little confused.

Zhuangzi shook his head and said: "Everything in the world is not absolute, so can't Qin and Qi temporarily put aside each other's prejudices? …… As you said, this time Qin and Wei intervened to force Zhao to withdraw their troops, and I believe that Qi will also give up attacking Song soon after learning of Zhao's withdrawal, but if you think about it carefully, can this really make Qi give up capturing Song? Or is it that this incident has given Qi a wake-up call, and made Qi understand a truth, if he wants to capture Song State, he must get the tacit approval of Qin State...... And once Qin is moved by Qi State, then the next time Qi State sends troops to attack Song State, Qin State will help Qi State contain Wei State, so that Wei State does not dare to reinforce Song State...... And this is the hidden danger that the old man said. ”

“……”

Hearing this, Meng Zhong's face changed slightly.

If you think about it, this inference of the teacher is indeed very likely.

Don't look at the current stable diplomatic relations between Qin and Song, but this is based on the fact that the existence of Song is beneficial to Qin, but if Song stands on Wei's side to help resist Qin, then Song will undoubtedly become Qin's enemy, that is, a secondary enemy after Wei.

Then the question arises, in this case, is it possible for the Qin State to secretly reach a tacit agreement with the Qi State on the condition of abandoning the Song State? That is, Qi took Song, Qin fought Wei, the two sides did not interfere with each other, and joined forces to resist the rescue of Wei and Song by the rest of the countries.

In this way, Qi can get Song, and Qin can get Wei, and the interests of the two sides are not conflicting.

When you think about it, it's not impossible.

It may be that seeing Meng Zhong frowning and falling into contemplation, Zhuangzi said lightly: "This is just a speculation of the old man, just want to tell you, don't be complacent because of some things in front of you, Lao Tzu once said, misfortune and fortune rely on, blessing and misfortune lurk, now due to the intervention of Qin and Wei, Qi is destined not to capture Song, in this "Zhou Yi" has a saying, poor is to think about change, Qi can not fight against Qin and Wei, then it may not be impossible to change the strategy, divide the diplomatic relations between Qin, Wei and Song, and even reach a private agreement with Qin...... So, it's far from the time to be complacent. ”

"The disciple has been taught."

Meng Zhong bowed respectfully, and immediately, he couldn't help but smile and said: "Speaking of which, although the teacher is not more than five miles away, he can clearly see the affairs of all the countries in the world. ”

"Huh."

Zhuangzi smiled faintly and said with a slight sigh: "As long as you can see the stakes of the matter, it is not difficult to infer the reaction of the kingdoms, however, this is not something to be praised, on the contrary, it is a very sad thing. In this world of loss, everyone pursues profit and does ......"

I have to say that Zhuangzi was actually very disgusted with wars between countries and deceit, and once upon a time he didn't want to listen to these things, let alone discuss the situation in the world with others.

It's a pity that his disciples have now entered the worldly world full of deceit, in this case, even if Zhuangzi is quiet and inactive, he can't help but want to mention a few words to his disciples, as much as possible to help them see the trend of the world clearly, lest the disciples be left behind by the general trend and encounter accidents.

He Taoism has always had the admonition to follow the sky, and this "heaven" is of course not just a simple sky, or a god imagined by man, but a constant law of evolution between all things.

Therefore, as long as his disciples can see the general trend of the world clearly, then his disciples will naturally be able to follow the heavens and not become the opposite of the heavenly way.

Looking at the disciple in front of him listening to his teachings with a serious face, Zhuangzi couldn't help but sigh secretly.

After all, he is still a mortal, and he can't reach the true realm of leisure, because he still can't let go of his worries about his disciples.

In this way, Meng Zhong lived in Zhuangzi for two whole days.

During these two days, Meng Zhong often walked around his residence with his teacher Zhuangzi, sometimes listening to Zhuangzi's lectures on the Taoist scriptures, and sometimes listening to Zhuangzi commenting on the countries of the world and the trends between them.

And Meng Zhong was also secretly surprised by this, don't look at his teacher Zhuangzi's age, his legs and feet are not good, even if he goes out for a walk on weekdays, he will not go out of the five miles of land, but this teacher's views on today's countries are often to the point.

For example, Zhuangzi warned Meng Zhong that he should find a way to let Wei and Zhao resolve their past grievances, Qin was unreliable, and only Wei and Zhao and Korea could unite to block Qi and Qin.

At the same time, the Song State could also avoid being annexed by the Qi State because of the union of the Three Jin Dynasty.

In this regard, Meng Zhong frowned and said: "However, the Zhao State is now controlled by Fengyang Jun Li Dui, and Li Dui is friendly to the Qi State, and may not be able to unite with the Wei State......

Hearing this, Zhuangzi said lightly: "Li Dui's control of Zhao State is destined to not last long, firstly, the Qin people will not let Li Dui continue to control Zhao State, and secondly, Li Dui's defeat in Taoyi this time has greatly reduced his prestige, and it is not difficult for the old man to speculate what will happen to Zhao State next." …… If King Zhao is in a hurry, he will most likely take this opportunity to regain power, but as you said, King Zhao is a person with a deep city, so he will probably not depose Li Dui at this time, on the contrary, he will continue to let Li Dui serve as the minister of state, but it is difficult for Li Dui to control Zhao as he did in the past, and he will inevitably return some power to King Zhao. At the same time, in order to make up for the impact of this defeat, and also to take revenge on the Qin State, Li Dui may call on the countries to crusade against the Qin State, and the attitude of the Song State and the attitude of the Wei State may determine the attitude of the Qin State towards the Wei and Song States......"

“……”

Meng Zhong nodded, thoughtful.

Two days later, on June 22, Meng Zhong bid farewell to his teacher Zhuangzi, and led 3,000 square city cavalry with Meng Hu and Hua Hu to embark on a new journey to Pengcheng.

During this time, there was a question that always bothered him.

Will the two countries of Qin and Qi really unite?

I have to say that if this speculation turns to reality, it will be a very unfavorable thing for the rest of the countries.

Especially for the Wei and Song Kingdoms.

Once the Qin and Qi were allied, the Wei and Song dynasties would become victims of the Qin and Qi countries compromising and retreating to each other.