As Meng Zhong had judged before, because the cavalry was much faster than the foot soldiers, even if he stayed in Mengyi for two days, he finally arrived at Pengcheng in front of the army led by Sima Cuo, Le Jin and others.

In order to avoid unnecessary trouble, after arriving in Pengcheng, Meng Zhong asked Meng Hu and Hua Hu to camp outside the city with 3,000 square city cavalry, and he immediately entered the city to meet his brother Hui An.

Unexpectedly, the doorman in his brother's mansion said that Hui Ang was not in Pengcheng recently, but on Tancheng's side.

This is troublesome, after all, the cavalry of the city under his command of three thousand square meters is stationed outside the city, and he has to talk to Peng Cheng to avoid any misunderstanding.

Not to mention that the cavalry under his command also needed some dry food.

Originally, if I talked to my righteous brother Hui Ang about these things, Hui Ang would have instructed the officials of Pengcheng, but what should I do now?

Meng Zhong is here in Pengcheng, but he knows his brother-in-law Hui An.

“……”

After thinking for a while, Meng Zhong's eyes fell on the palace.

Yes, there is another who can do everything that his brother-in-law Hui Ang can do, and has more power than Hui Ang.

That is the monarch of his Song Kingdom, Song Wang Yan.

After thinking about it, Meng Zhong had no choice but to come to the palace and said to the guards guarding the palace gate: "I am Meng Zhong, the younger brother of Huixiang, please see King Song if I have something important, and I implore the guards to report on my behalf." ”

Hearing these words, the guards outside the palace gate looked at each other, did not dare to disobey, and immediately entered the palace to inform Song Wangyan of the matter.

At the same time, Song Wangyan was practicing swords shirtless in the school field in the palace.

Don't look at Song Wangyan who is nearly sixty years old now, his hair and beard have become gray one after another, but because he has been practicing martial arts for a long time, his physique is still strong, and he is also full of strength when he wields the sword at this moment.

It can be seen that when Song Wangyan had not seized his brother's throne and was still serving as the Grand Sima of the Song State, he must have been a fierce general, and he was afraid that he would not be inferior to Dai Busheng.

Here, Song Wang Yan was wielding a sharp sword, and out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a palace guard hurriedly walking in and whispering a few words to the waiter who was waiting on the side.

Immediately, an attendant stepped forward and said cautiously: "Great King, there is a person outside the palace gate who claims to be Meng Zhong, the younger brother of Hui Xiang, and asks to see the king. ”

Hearing this, Song Wangyan's movements in his hands paused, and his face showed a little surprise.

With a chuckle, he said casually, "That kid came to see the widow, which is rare...... Let him in. ”

"Whoa!"

After getting the permission of Song Wangyan, an attendant personally went to the palace gate and invited Meng Zhong, who was waiting there, to this side.

When he saw Meng Zhong following this attendant from a distance, Song Wangyan also put on a posture and stood there with a sharp sword, letting the two palace maids wipe the sweat on his back for him.

I have to say that in terms of this momentum, Song Wangyan is really not inferior to Zhao's master's father, at least among the monarchs of various countries that Meng Zhong has seen so far, in terms of momentum, it should be Zhao's master's father and Song Wangyan.

In addition, whether it is Yan Wangzhi, Zhao Wanghe, Wei Wangji, and Han Wangji, they are not as good as these two.

"King, Meng Zhong, the younger brother of Huixiang, is here."

After the attendant replied to King Song, Meng Zhong also took a few steps forward and bowed his hand: "Meng Zhong, meet King Song." ”

Song Wangyan nodded, and then carefully looked at Meng Zhong in front of him.

He still remembered that when he first saw this kid, he was only fourteen years old, and he still looked quite thin, and in a blink of an eye, six years later, this kid has grown taller and bigger, and his achievements are becoming more and more astonishing.

Suddenly, Song Wangyan noticed the sharp sword hanging from his waist, and the corners of his mouth raised a few inexplicable smiles.

Because he is very familiar with the scabbard, it was when Meng Zhong got married in Mengyi a few years ago, one of the congratulatory gifts he gave to Meng Zhong Throughout the Song Kingdom, only the crown prince Dai Wu, Dai Busheng, Hui An, and Meng Zhong received the honor of being given the sword by the monarch.

Probably noticing that Song Wangyan's gaze fell on the sword at his waist, Meng Zhong immediately explained.

It stands to reason that no matter what country he is in, he naturally needs to untie the sword he carries before entering the palace, and the same is true for Meng Zhong, before he enters the palace, the guards outside the palace gate also ask him to untie the sword.

But when those palace guards were inspecting this sword, they were shocked to see the words "Song Yanming Craftsman was cast in a certain year and month", and their faces were full of shock.

Subsequently, after Meng Zhong explained that this sword was given by Song Wangyan, who of those palace guards would dare to ask Meng Zhong to put down this sword again?

In this way, Meng Zhong was able to enter the palace of King Song with his sword.

As for Meng Zhong's explanation of the sword, Song Wang Yan laughed at it, after all, he still trusted Meng Zhong very much.

He smiled and said to Meng Zhong, "Do you always carry this sword with you?" ”

"Yes." Meng Zhong thought for a while, but still said a word of gratitude: "This sword is strong and sharp, and it can be called sharpened like clay...... Thank you King Song for the sword. ”

"Hahahaha."

Song Wangyan smiled quite happily, and then said: "Meng Zhong, I heard that you are now in the Wei State, and you are already a general with tens of thousands of troops, what's the matter, how about two moves with the widow?" ”

Hearing this, Meng Zhong calmly refused: "Please forgive me for refusing!" ”

"Huh?" Song Wang Yan frowned when he heard this, and said deliberately: "What? Even if he became a general of Wei with tens of thousands of troops, didn't he dare to fight with a widow in sword skills? ”

"Nope." Meng Zhong said lightly: "I'm just afraid of hurting King Song." ”

“……”

Hearing these unkind words, the attendants, palace maids, and guards on the side all changed color, and while they looked at each other, they all looked at Meng Zhong with shocked eyes.

It's no wonder, after all, Song Wangyan's temper has always been bad, so that whether in the palace or in the court, most of the attendants and courtiers around Song Wangyan are careful to flatter, even if it is Meng Zhong's righteous brother Hui An, who is known as upright, without involving issues of principle, he also tries to pick up good words, so as not to anger Song Wangyan.

It is not unreasonable for the world to accuse the Song Dynasty of tyranny, and when this prince is angry, he will indeed do some tyrannical things, such as killing his disobedient subjects, and even shooting prisoners with bows and arrows for fun, etc.

Regarding this matter, Mencius once talked to Meng Zhong, thanks to the fact that Song Wangyan had Hui Ang by his side, and Song Wangyan also trusted Hui Ang, so under Hui An's persuasion, Song Wangyan was finally able to curb some of the cruelty in his bones, otherwise, I am afraid that there is not much difference from the Xia Wei Shang in history.

I saw that under the frightened gaze of the attendants, palace maids, and guards from the side, after hearing Meng Zhong's unkind words, Song Wangyan first stared at Meng Zhong with a gloomy face, and then suddenly laughed: "You kid, you are still unpleasant in the past." ”

"The king doesn't blame this man for being rude and offended?"

The attendants, palace maids, and guards on the side were simply unbelievable.

You must know that when Song Wangyan lowered his face, they were afraid that as outsiders, they were also frightened.

But who would have thought that the monarch in front of him would actually laugh out loud in the end.

Is it because this Meng Zhong is Hye Sang's younger brother?

No, even Hui Xiang wouldn't talk to this monarch like that.

Just when everyone was puzzled by this, Song Wang Yan beckoned a guard to the front, and then handed the sword in his hand to the latter, and in an instant, he took the robe from the hand of a palace maid and draped it over his body.

During this period, he was still chatting with Meng Zhong: "Some time ago, Wei Ran of the Qin State visited the widow and heard him say that the Wei State sent Zhai Zhang and you to lead reinforcements to support my Song State...... Taoyi recovered? ”

Meng Zhong nodded and said, "It has been recovered by our side, and now it is being garrisoned by Jing Hui." ”

Hearing this, Song Wangyan nodded slightly, and then couldn't help but ask: "What is the loss of Taoyi...... Is it serious? ”

"Fortunately, it's not serious."

As he spoke, Meng Zhong told the general situation of Taoyi.

When he learned that Taoyi had been recovered by the Qin and Wei coalition forces almost without any losses, Song Wangyan was slightly moved and looked at Meng Zhong with a complicated expression.

With his own people, of course Song Wangyan knew that whether it was Sima Cuo or Zhai Zhang, he would not care whether Taoyi's loss was serious or not.

Come to think of it, only Meng Zhong, a Song man, will really consider the interests of his Song country.

Thinking of this, Song Wangyan nodded in his praise and said, "You did a good job. …… Taoyi is the great town of our Song country, accounting for nearly 20% of the country's tax revenue, if Taoyi is destroyed, the loss of my Song country will be great...... You did very well. ”

Hearing this, Meng Zhong clenched his fists and said, "This is the joint efforts of the Qin and Wei coalition forces and the Jing Wei army, not the work of the next person. ”

Hearing this, Song Wangyan was slightly amused, glanced at Meng Zhong when he heard the words, and asked with a smile: "Is it Jing Yu who asked you to intercede for him in front of the widow?" ”

Meng Zhong did not speak.

After all, when he led his army to leave Taoyi, Jing Wei did ask him to intercede in front of Song Wangyan, which is why he mentioned Jing Yi.

Seeing that Meng Zhong didn't speak, Song Wangyan chuckled and said, "It seems that the widow guessed it...... This Jing Xuan, who was not effective in battle, was easily captured by Li Dui Taoyi, how do you say the widow should punish him? ”

Glancing at Song Wangyan, Meng Zhong said lightly: "A few years ago, I saw that Jing Jun's Sima was not very good at leading troops to fight, but he was loyal to King Song...... A few years have passed, but Jing Yu, who is not good at leading troops to fight, is still serving as a military commander, and I don't think there is any need to worry about King Song punishing him extra heavily because I intercede for him. ”

"......" Song Wangyan stared at Meng Zhong for a moment, frowning slightly: "You are really unpleasant." …… Did you also speak to King Wei like that? ”

"How so? King Wei has never offended him," Meng Zhong said lightly, .......

"This kid really dares to say anything......

The attendants, palace maids, and guards on the side were so frightened that they were afraid that Song Wangyan would be angered by Meng Zhong, so that even they were killed.

But the strange thing is that although Meng Zhong spoke so unkindly, Song Wangyan still did not get angry.

Because he knew that the young man in front of him was a loyal person who really cared about him in the Song Kingdom, even though this person now held an important position in the Wei State.

Although Song Wangyan has a tyrannical temperament, he has never killed loyal people who care about the country, and the people he killed in the past were either those who had a set on the surface and a set behind their backs, or those who only knew how to flatter.

As for important ministers like Hui An, although Hui Ang inevitably had disputes with Song Wang Yan on issues of principle, and Song Wang Yan was so angry many times that he wanted to kill Hui An, but it has been proved that Hui Ang is still alive and well, and he is still the minister of Song and the most trusted courtier of Song Wangyan.

Those sycophants, kill and kill, anyway, this kind of person will never be lacking, and they will come as soon as they are called, but virtuous ministers like Hui Ang, who are beneficial to the country, cannot be harmed, this point, even if it is a cruel and tyrannical Song Wangyan, it is also very clear.

And Meng Zhong is obviously also a loyal person who is beneficial to the country.

On the way to lead Meng Zhong to the main hall, Song Wang Yan asked Meng Zhong, "How did you think of coming to see the widow today?" Oh...... Hui Ang isn't here, is he? Looks like you're here for something. ”

Seeing that Song Wangyan saw through the intention, Meng Zhong did not hide it, and said truthfully: "A while ago, I went to Mengyi to visit the clansmen, so I did not go with the Qin army...... If nothing else, the Qin army will have to arrive in Pengcheng in a few days, and the cavalry under my command will have little dry food left......"

Song Wangyan nodded and said, "The widow knows, and the widow will order it later." ”

"Thank you, King Song."

"You're welcome. …… Anyway, the Qin and Wei coalition forces are also here to aid our Song State this time, and the Song State naturally wants to supply grain and grass. After that, Song Wangyan asked Meng Zhongdao: "Hui Ang is not in Pengcheng, where do you plan to settle down today?" ”

"Just live outside the city."

"Outside the city, ......" King Song pondered for a moment, and then said meaningfully: "Speaking of which, you have recaptured an intact pottery for my Song Kingdom, even if the widow gives you a mansion in the city, it will not be too ......much."

However, before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by Meng Zhong: "King Song's good intentions are in the heart, but this Pengcheng may not come often in the next, rather than being empty, it is better to give it to other meritorious courtiers." ”

Seeing that Meng Zhong rejected him without appreciation, although Song Wangyan was a little annoyed in his heart, he couldn't do anything about Meng Zhong, and said softly: "Even if the widow wants to drink a few bowls of wine with you, you won't agree?" ”

Of course, Meng Zhong didn't want to drink with Song Wangyan, if it weren't for the fact that the cavalry under his command would not alarm Pengcheng, and besides, there was a lack of food and grass in his army, he didn't want to come to see Song Wangyan at all, not because of his brother Meng Bo, in fact, even Meng Zhong couldn't tell what the reason was.

Anyway, he just didn't want to stay with Song Wangyan.

However, he could also see that his rejection of Song Wangyan's kindness several times had made the monarch a little displeased, so he refused a little tactfully: "This wine, I think it's better to wait for my brother-in-law to come back before drinking it." ”

Song Wangyan thought about it carefully, and felt that Meng Zhong's proposal was not bad, after all, when Hui Ang was there, this kid would not sarcastically mock him several times.

I have to say that Song Wangyan knew that Meng Zhong was loyal and righteous, and he wanted to make him Song stable in this troubled era, so he was more tolerant of him.

At this time, Meng Zhong suddenly asked, "By the way, why did my brother-in-law go to Tancheng?" Could it be that the battle situation in Tancheng is tight? If this is the case, I hope that the king of Song will send someone to supply grain and grass as soon as possible, and rush to Tancheng immediately......"

"There's no need to rush."

Song Wang Yan was secretly moved by Meng Zhong's eagerness for his Song Kingdom, waved his hand and explained: "At present, there is a prince stationed in Tancheng, and the offensive of the Qiyan coalition army is not fierce, there should be no change in a short period of time, the reason why Hui Ang went to Tancheng is just that Wei Ran of the Qin State wants to go to Tancheng to have a look...... By the way, Meng Zhong, how much do you know about this Wei Ran? ”

"Wei Ran?" Meng Zhong was puzzled and asked, "What?" ”

I saw that Song Wangyan squinted his eyes and said in a deep voice: "The widow looks at this person, his joy and anger are invisible, and he has a very good city, which makes people incomprehensible...... When he arrived in Pengcheng a while ago, the widow and Hui Ang held a banquet to entertain him, and during the banquet, he mentioned you, saying that you had obstructed his Qin State several times over the years, and used this matter to test the attitude of our Song State towards the affairs of Qin and Wei...... At that time, Hui Ang said, Qin and Wei, I don't want to participate in the affairs of the two countries, and although Wei Ran smiled and didn't say anything at the time, the widow always felt that he was quite dissatisfied with this......

"The teacher must have been prescient......

Recalling the reminder given to him by his teacher Zhuangzi when he was in his hometown, Meng Zhong thought secretly in his heart.

He asked the Song king: "If one day, my Song kingdom is destined to lose the support of one of the two countries of Qin and Wei, I don't know which side the Song king will stand on?" Qin State? Or the State of Wei? ”

Song Wangyan was slightly stunned, and after glancing at Meng Zhong, he frowned and pondered, "Probably...... Will choose Wei State. ”

Hearing this, Meng Zhong secretly praised in his heart, secretly praising Song Wangyan for still having eyesight.

As he spoke, he told Song Wangyan about his teacher Zhuangzi's warning, only to hear Song Wangyan frowning frequently.

I have to say that whether it was Song Wangyan or Hui Ang before, it was not that they had not considered what impact the contradictions between Qin and Wei would have on the Song State, but as for the speculation that Qin State gave up Song State and secretly formed an alliance with Qi State, these two really did not consider it.

However, when you think about it, this speculation is not impossible.

Thinking of this, he told Meng Zhongdao: "In a few days, when you arrive in Tancheng, tell Hui Ang what you just said, and ask him to send someone to keep an eye on Wei Ran's movements." …… If he is dissatisfied with the attitude of our Song State and sends an envoy to Qi State before and after this war, then my Song State ...... You have to be vigilant against the Qin State. ”

"I made a note of it."

Meng Zhong clenched his fists.

On the same day, only about an hour after Meng Zhong left the palace, Song Wangyan sent officials from Pengcheng to escort a batch of grain and grass to the garrison of the Fangcheng cavalry, which also had a lot of wine and meat, which made the Zhufangcheng cavalry very happy.

So, the cavalry of Zhufang City buried the pot and cooked rice, and ate wine and stew.

The next day, Sima Cuo and Le Jin led the Qin-Wei coalition army to Pengcheng and joined forces with Meng Zhong.

Subsequently, Sima Cuo met with Song Wangyan on behalf of the Qin State.

Although Meng Zhong actually didn't want to see Song Wangyan, considering that Song Wangyan heard his words yesterday, whether there would be any changes when he met Sima Cuo today, Meng Zhong finally followed Sima Cuo to the palace.

Facts have proved that his worries are too much, the Song Dynasty has been the monarch for decades, and the city government is naturally very deep, even if he learned from Meng Zhong yesterday that the Qin State may abandon his Song State and use his Song State as a sacrifice for an alliance with the Qi State, but when he saw Sima Cuo today, he still talked with Sima Cuo eagerly, and held a banquet to entertain Sima Cuo and Jin Kuang and other Qin generals.

During the banquet, Song Wangyan also expressed his gratitude to the Qin State and the King of Qin several times, as if his conversation with Meng Zhong had never happened yesterday.

Seeing this scene with his own eyes, Meng Zhong himself felt a little funny.

It's funny that he is inevitably influenced by the world's erroneous perception of Song Wangyan, is Song Wangyan really the kind of tyrant who draws his sword and kills people without a word, has no mind and no city?

How can it be!

Most of the time, Song Wangyan killed people just for fun, and the people he killed were just innocuous criminals and prisoners, but there were very few examples of people who actually drew their swords and killed people because they disagreed.

As far as Meng Zhong knew, at present, only Tang Ying, who was killed by Song Wangyan during the Song State's attack on Teng State, had a serious dispute with Hui An, and killed Tang Ying in a fit of rage.

It seems that Tang Ying is quite wronged, but I believe that as long as someone hears Tang Ying's bastard words at that time, they will not feel that this person is wronged.

At least that's what Meng Zhong thinks.

After a day of repairs in Pengcheng, Sima Cuo led the Qin-Wei coalition army on the road to Tancheng, and after about four or five days of travel, the army arrived at Tancheng.

At that time, when it was learned that the Qin-Wei coalition army had arrived in Tancheng, the crown prince Dai Wu personally led many generals and officials of Tancheng such as Hui Ang and Dai Busheng out of the city to greet them, not only to welcome Sima Cuo, the captain of Qin, but also to welcome Meng Zhong.

During this time, Meng Zhong noticed that Marquis Wei Ran was also in the greeting procession, and he was talking to Sima with a smile.

As he entered the city, Meng Zhong took a moment to convey the warnings of his teacher Zhuangzi and the orders of Song Wangyan to his brother-in-law Hui An, who only heard Hui Ang frown.

He said to Meng Zhong: "This matter is very likely...... I thought that Wei Ran just wanted to see the reality of the Qi State, but I didn't expect him to stay in Tancheng for nearly a month, and I also thought that he had the intention to send an envoy to the Qi State after the war, but in this matter, I can't wait to confront him face to face, so I can only secretly try to do it, so as not to make another mistake after the Qin people are recognized by my Song State. …… In short, since the Qin State did not hesitate to form an alliance with the Qi State in order to attack the Wei State, we only need to try to destroy the diplomatic relations between the two countries, and we cannot directly tear our faces with the Qin State. ”

As he spoke, he smiled and said to Meng Zhong: "Okay, this matter will be handled by the brotherhood, as for you...... I think you'll have to explain it to the prince. ”

"Explain?" Meng Zhong was a little puzzled.

"Of course." Hui Ang said with a strange expression: "Why did your brother Le Yi, who was once inseparable, defect to the Yan Kingdom and became the commander of the Yan Army, and why did the soldier Rong Yi sent by the prince to protect you also become the general of the Yan Kingdom, you have to explain these to the prince." ”

Hearing this, Meng Zhong was also quite surprised: "The generals of the Yan army on the other side are Le Yi and Rong Yi?" …… Isn't it drama? ”

"It's not drama, it's Le Yi." Hui Ang nodded, and then added: "In addition, there is also a general named Zhao Hao. ”

From the side, Meng Hu and Hua Hu listened with strange expressions.

Le Yi, Zhao Hao, Rong Yi...... Good guys, the generals of the Yan army on the opposite side of the relationship are all acquaintances.

Tens of thousands of Qin and Wei coalition troops arrived in Pengcheng, and the Qi and Yan coalition forces naturally would not be unaware.

No, when the crown prince Dai Wu set up a banquet for Sima Cuo, Meng Zhong and others, Tian Tu, the chief general of the Qi army, immediately convened the generals in the tent of his own military camp to discuss countermeasures.

At that time, Tian Touch looked around at the generals in the tent and said in a deep voice: "According to the scout's report, tens of thousands of reinforcements from the Song State have arrived in Tancheng today, and looking at the banner, it seems that the troops sent by the Qin State and the Wei State are the troops. …… There are many banners with the words 'Qin State Captain Sima' in the Qin army, and I guess it is very likely that the famous general of the Qin State led the troops in the wrong way, and as for the Wei army, it is mostly the banner with the words 'Wei Fangcheng' and 'Wei Fangcheng Lingmeng'......"

"Huh?"

Le Yi, who originally folded his arms and closed his eyes to recuperate, suddenly opened his eyes when he heard this.

Beside him, Rong Yi's eyes widened in surprise.

Wei Fangcheng Lingmeng?

Isn't that ......

Glancing at each other, Le Yi and Rong Yi were silent.