As of the beginning of July, the king of Chu, Xiong Heng, married the daughter of the Ying clan of the Qin State has been basically implemented, and Xiong Heng established the Ying clan as the queen, announcing that the two countries of Qin and Chu have restored the old diplomatic relations.

At this point, Jingyang Jun Yingfu's task has been completed, and Sima Cuo's second task has just begun.

On the second day of the seventh month, Sima Coo's visit to Xiong Heng, the king of Chu, and the mention of the joint crusade between Qin and Chu against Wei and Han.

During this period, Sima Cuo said that if the state of Chu was willing to assist the state of Qin in its crusade against Wei and Han, then the state of Qin was willing to return all the land of the state of Chu that had been seized after the "Battle of Danyang and Lantian", and promised the territory of Wei and Han south of Yingshui to the state of Chu.

I have to say that this is indeed a very tempting condition for the Chu State, so much so that the King of Chu, Xiong Heng, can't help but be moved, not to mention Ling Yin Zilan, as if she is a lobbyist of the Qin State, persuading her brother from time to time.

Only the scholars Zhao Ju and Zhuang Xin resolutely opposed it.

Compared with Zhuang Xin, Zhao Ju's idea is relatively pure, that is, he thinks that the Qin State is not credible.

Zhao Ju is very clear about the truth of "lips and cold teeth", although the relationship between Wei and Han and other Chu states is not harmonious, but no matter how you say it, it is the three kingdoms of Wei, Han and Chu that jointly resist the threat of Qin, once Wei and Han are swallowed up by Qin, you say that Qin guarantees that it will not annex Chu? Zhao Ju did not believe it.

Zhuang Xin's idea was even better on the basis of Zhao Ju, and he also took into account Qu Yuan, who was in Fangcheng.

Perhaps Zhao Ju thought that the biggest threat to Chu was Qin, while Zhuang Xin believed that the biggest threat to Chu was Yin Zilan, a group of traitors who betrayed the country to seek glory, and only by trying to expel these traitors and welcoming Qu Yuan back to China to re-preside over the reform of the law, could he Chu achieve nirvana.

In order for Qu Yuan to return to Chu to be reused, it is necessary to use the influence of Wei and Han, that is, to take advantage of what Qu Yuan said on the day about "the three kingdoms together" and "sending ministers to each other".

How could they go against the grain and form an alliance with Qin to crusade against Wei and Han?

But unfortunately, at present, Xiong Heng, the king of Chu, has just married a Qin woman, and the relationship between Qin and Chu has improved sharply, and the power of the "pro-Qin faction" in China has increased greatly.

Sure enough, although Xiong Heng, the king of Chu, hesitated for some time, he finally agreed to Sima Cuo's suggestion and ordered Yin Zilan to cooperate with Sima Cuo to form a Qin-Chu coalition army.

And Zilan handed over the matter to Zhaoju.

There is no way, after all, the generals of the Chu State are now withered, and the only trustworthy one is Zhaoju.

Although Zhaoju opposed the formation of a Qin-Chu coalition to crusade against Wei and Han, the king's order could not be disobeyed, and under the order of Xiong Heng, the king of Chu, he could only go against his original intention and cooperate with Sima Cuo to form a coalition army.

At this time, Sima Cuo had also returned the defense pass to the state of Chu, and brought the army under his command from Wujun to the Hanshui area, with a total of 60,000 troops.

Together with the troops stationed in the Hanshui area by Bai Qi, the Qin army totaled 130,000.

On the Chu side, Zhao Ju also barely scraped together 60,000 or 70,000, and continued to recruit soldiers, hoping to get 100,000 - this is also the meaning of Xiong Heng, the king of Chu, and Ling Yin Zilan.

As for the issue of grain and grass, don't look at the vast territory of Chu, even if it has been defeated and retreated by Qin in recent years, the land area is still not less than that of Qin, but in the final analysis, Chu is still not a country rich in grain.

Therefore, Sima Co wrote a letter to inform the country that he hoped to requisition a batch of grain from Bashu and transport it to Chu by water.

And this means that this crusade against Wei and South Korea will have to wait until at least after October.

After learning about this, Bai Qi sneered again and again.

He pays attention to the speed of soldiers, while Sima Cuo likes to plan step by step, and I have to say that the way the two of them use soldiers is destined to cause conflicts with each other.

But in view of the fact that Sima Cuo is the main general, even if Bai Qi is dissatisfied in his heart, there is nothing he can do.

As early as late July, when the Qin-Chu coalition was still in the run-in stage, he had sent someone to invite Bai Qi and Zhaoju to discuss the specific strategy of conquering Wei and Han.

In Sima Cuo's strategy, Wancheng was the first to be conquered, because after Wancheng was defeated, the territory of Chu Fangcheng was basically occupied by the Qin army, although there was still a Fangcheng, but from the perspective of geographical advantages, Fangcheng could not turn over any tricks.

Then, it was purely a question of attacking Korea or Wei.

If you attack Korea, then after capturing Wancheng, you will break the north, and then cross Rushui and attack the hinterland of Korea.

If you attack Wei, then attack Fangcheng, then occupy Yuncheng and Xudi, invade Yingnan, and finally point directly to the capital of Wei.

Sima Cuo's proposition is to attack South Korea.

The reason is very simple, because Korea is weaker than Wei, and it is Sima Cuo's consistent proposition to be weak first and then strong.

After listening to Sima Cuo's words, Bai Qi, who had been clasping his arms and not saying a word from beginning to end, suddenly sneered, and seemed to be a little disdainful.

Seeing this, although Sima Cuo was a little annoyed by Bai Qi's disrespect for him, he still patiently asked, "What is Bai Zuo's objection to this?" ”

Bai Qi snorted coldly, and said lightly: "I don't have any objections in Xia, I think the strategy of the national captain is very good, such as letting Meng Zhong's Meng Tiger ignore it, attack South Korea or something first, and I'm not afraid of being cut off by that Meng Zhong......"

Under Zhao Ju's strange gaze, Sima glanced at Bai Qi and said lightly: "When did you say that you don't care about Fang Cheng?" After defeating Wancheng, the second target is Fangcheng. ”

Hearing this, Bai Qi was stunned, and then said strangely: "Captain Guo, don't you change your strategy because of this?" ”

"Of course it's not for the sake of Bai Zuo." Sima Cuo said expressionlessly: "After defeating the lower city, you can threaten Yingnan, so that Wei State will not dare to send heavy troops to support Korea...... If Wei dares to do this, I will send an army out of Fangcheng, attack Yingnan, and threaten the hinterland of Wei. Is Bai Zuo more satisfied with this explanation? ”

Bai Qi, who would be mistaken, gritted his teeth secretly, and said expressionlessly: "Hmph, let's take the city first!" ”

Sima Cuo didn't care about Bai Qi's hard mouth, he didn't think that his 200,000 Qin and Chu coalition troops would not be able to take a small square city.

After the discussion, Bai Qi and Zhao Ju each returned to their respective armies.

It is worth mentioning that during the formation of the army by Zhaoju, Zhuang Xin came to visit him every once in a while, hoping to find out Sima Cuo's strategic proposition from Zhaoju's mouth.

Zhao Ju naturally understood Zhuang Xin's intentions, which was nothing more than wanting to report to Fang Cheng.

Once or twice, Zhao Ju could still pretend that he didn't know, but Zhuang Xin came frequently, and he was also a little flustered, so he couldn't help but persuade Zhuang Xin: "Doctor Zhuang's move is like walking on a cliff, and if you are not careful, you will cause death." ”

However, Zhuang Xin was not afraid, and Zhengse said: "I died for the country, and I died as I deserved!" ”

This sentence made Zhao Ju a little ashamed, after all, although he advocated resisting the Qin State, his attitude was indeed far less firm than that of Qu Yuan and Zhuang Xin.

In the end, Zhao Ju really didn't dare to contact Zhuang Xin anymore, so he hid in the military camp to train the soldiers.

However, he also has his own way, that is, to delay time, after all, if he is ready one day later, Wancheng and Fangcheng will have one more day to prepare for the battle.

But it's a pity that Sima Cuo didn't plan to use troops against Wancheng and Fangcheng immediately, so Zhaoju's approach was purely to make himself a little more relieved.

At this time, on the side of Wancheng and Fangcheng, Han Xiao and Meng Zhong were actively preparing for the war.

One day in late July, Han Xiao, the guard of Wancheng, came to Fangcheng in person to discuss countermeasures with Meng Zhong.

During this period, he said to Meng Zhong: "I have just received news from China that China is preparing to fortify Rushui to resist the Qin army. If Wancheng is attacked and cannot be supported, the country wants me to retreat to Rushui, and Da Sima (Storm Kite) is currently consolidating the defense in Rushui. ”

I have to say that this is indeed bad news, but Meng Zhong can also understand South Korea.

After all, although there is a Chu Fang City on the side of Wancheng, this ancient Great Wall does not defend the north but not the south, and not only will it not be of much help to resist the Qin-Chu coalition army coming from the south, but it may become a burden.

Therefore, it is not incomprehensible that South Korea has decided to retreat to Yesu.

"What instructions do you have?" Han Xiao asked Meng Zhong.

Hearing this, Meng Zhong said truthfully: "I received a letter from Da Liang a few days ago, Da Liang ordered me to guard Fangcheng, and the country has already requisitioned troops to send troops here......

Speaking of this, Meng Zhong couldn't help but feel a little worried in his heart.

The reason is very simple, that is, Wei did not dare to transfer the Hedong Army and the Hanoi Army to this side, but prepared to gather the defenders of Yingnan counties together and send them to Fangcheng to reinforce him.

Thinking about it carefully, Meng Zhong is not difficult to understand, after all, the Hedong Army has to defend against the Qin State, and the Hanoi Army has to defend against the Zhao State, but the question is, the garrison army in the Yingnan region of the Wei State is purely just a security and robbery soldier far away from the battlefield, even if these people get together, can they stop the armies of Qin and Chu?

There is a clear gap between the army in charge of law and order and the army used for conquest!

Both in terms of the quality of the non-commissioned officers and in the armament.

However, Zhai Zhang, who succeeded Gongsun Xi as the Great Sima, sent a handwritten letter.

Zhai Zhang said in the letter that Fangcheng would give up if he couldn't do it, as long as Meng Zhong blocked the passage of "Yangguan-Yeyi", and if necessary, he would order the Hanoi army to go south to rescue.

This finally made Meng Zhong feel a little more at ease.

Of course, what made Meng Zhong feel even more reassuring was the 5,000 new cavalry soldiers who gradually formed their combat strength, as well as the 20,000 new soldiers he recruited from Yeyi during this time, and the many crossbows and arrows he entrusted Gong Zhong to bring on credit from Korea.

In general, the gradual strengthening of Fang Cheng's troops was what made him feel at ease the most.

But even so, he still had some worries in his mind.

The fall of Fangcheng is nothing, but once Yangguan is lost, the Qin-Chu coalition army can invade Wuyangyi and Yeyi, compared to Yeyi, Wuyangyi makes Meng Zhong feel more worried, after all, there are families of the children of his Mengyi families, as well as his mother, wife and sister.

"Why don't you let them go back to Song to avoid it?"

In this regard, Meng Sui made a suggestion in private: "I mean, aunt, sister-in-law, and Xiaoyan are ......."

Of course, Meng Zhong understood what Meng Sui meant.

It was impossible for him to order everyone in Wuyangyi to return to the Song Kingdom for refuge, because it would affect the morale of the whole army—if he didn't know that there was no chance of victory, why would he let the families of the clan soldiers flee back to the Song Kingdom for refuge first?

can let his mother, wife, and sister go back to the Song Kingdom for refuge alone, what is this?

Shaking his head, Meng Zhong reluctantly smiled and said, "Don't be so troublesome, just win this battle?" ”

Meng Sui glanced at Meng Zhong, nodded after half a sound and said, "Okay, if necessary, I will let Ah Hu take Aunt They." ”

Meng Zhong opened his mouth and didn't speak again, just picked up a letter sent by Zhuang Xin again.

One white start is enough to give him a headache, plus a Sima mistake, even Meng Zhong has little chance of winning.

But in the letter sent by Zhuang Xin, there was a record of something that made him quite concerned, that is, Bai Qi and Sima Cuo seemed to be at odds.

"Can you think of a way out of this, instigate Bai Qi and Sima to make mistakes, so that my Fang City has a better chance of winning?"

Looking at Zhuang Xin's letter, Meng Zhong thought secretly.