In early March, Meng Zhong arrived in Korea with several guards, and met with the Korean monarch Han Wangji at the Korean capital of Sinjeong.

In view of the fact that Meng Zhong had helped the Wei and Han armies reverse the defeat during the Battle of Yique, and later helped Korea recapture Xincheng and Yiyang, two important cities to defend against Qin, it was learned that Meng Zhong had come to Korea this time, and Korea received him with a very high standard.

Prime Minister Gong Zhongmin and Da Sima Storm Kite went out of the city to greet each other, and I have to say that this kind of treatment, in addition to the monarchs of various countries, almost only big people like Xue Gongtian Wen have enjoyed it.

Of course, in Meng Zhong's own view, the reason why South Korean Prime Minister Gong Zhongmin personally went out of the city to greet him has a lot to do with his younger brother Gong Zhongxuan, after all, Gong Zhongxuan is currently serving by Meng Zhong's side, mainly responsible for Fangcheng's trade with South Korea, in addition to food, Gong Zhongxuan also helped Fangcheng purchase a batch of South Korean forged weapons and crossbows, at the beginning of last year, when Qin General Bai Qi attacked Fangcheng, he had suffered a big loss in Yangguan this batch of Korean crossbows.

Later, when he met with Han Wang, Meng Zhong thanked South Korea for his support on behalf of Fang Cheng, after all, Fang Cheng actually did not have any special products, so in the trade between South Korea and Fang Cheng, it was actually South Korea that suffered, and even so far, Meng Zhong still owes South Korea a lot of money.

Of course, South Korea is not selfless, and the reason why Han Wangji and Han Xianggong Zhongmin allowed Fang Cheng to pay credit was mainly because of Meng Zhong's ability and Meng Zhong's rising status in the Wei State.

No, a few years ago, during the battle of Yique, Meng Zhong was only a division commander, three years later, Meng Zhong has been the king of Yuncheng, holding Yuncheng, Yeyi, Wuyang three fiefdoms, and even more and more people regard it as Zhai Zhang's successor, in other words, investing in Meng Zhong is investing in a great Sima of Wei in the future, considering that South Korea must rely on the strength of Wei to resist Qin, in advance of a figure who will definitely become the great Sima of Wei in the future, this is obviously a far-sighted approach.

After meeting Han Wangjiao, Han Wangjiao held a banquet in the palace to entertain Meng Zhong, and the treatment was so generous, I am afraid that Tian Wen will be even more jealous of Meng Zhong after learning about it.

After the palace feast, the Minister of State Gong Zhongmin and the big Sima Storm Kite invited Meng Zhong to live in the house of the two, considering the friendship with the two, Meng Zhong finally chose the Storm Kite, after all, the Storm Kite kept saying that he was a brother, and Meng Zhong really couldn't refute the face of this old brother.

The next day, Storm Kite took Meng Zhong to visit the military camp outside Xinzheng City.

According to Storm Kite, the South Korean army gathered in this military camp this time is the army that is preparing to go to the Qin State, and Storm Kite smiled and asked Meng Zhong to comment.

Although Meng Zhong smiled and excused himself, he still carefully visited the military camp and the about 50,000 Korean soldiers in the barracks.

It must be said that just looking at South Korea's army, no one will think that this is a small country - and in fact, South Korea, as one of the three Jin Dynasty, has never been a small country, and if you go back decades or even hundreds of years, the successive Korean monarchs have not been faint monarchs.

Some people may ask, since the Korean monarchs of the past dynasties are not faint monarchs, why is Korea, as one of the three Jin Dynasty, not as strong as the Song State now?

The reason is very simple, the most fatal reason for South Korea's weakness is because he is too close to Qin, to put it mildly, South Korea was beaten too badly by Qin.

Don't look at today's Qin State as the biggest obstacle to the eastward advance into the Central Plains, but before that, South Korea was the closest stumbling block to Qin, but South Korea was beaten too badly by Qin, and Qin turned the spearhead to Wei.

But even when the country has weakened to this day, in recent generations, the kings of Han still invested a lot of money, vigorously improved the smelting industry, and strived to always maintain a better weapon than the Qin state - not because of how wise the Han kings were, but because they had no choice, after all, once they fell behind in the army's weapons, the Han army, which had little chance of winning against the Qin army, would lose its only advantage.

Therefore, it can be said that the reputation of "the world's strong soldiers come from Korea" is of course because of South Korea itself, and on the other hand, it comes from the pressing of the Qin State step by step.

Aside from the weapons and armor of the South Korean army, Meng Zhong also spoke highly of the quality of the Korean soldiers.

Contrary to what the world misunderstood, the Korean army has never dared to relax in the training of soldiers because the country has been threatened by the Qin state for many years, and as far as Meng Zhong has seen with his own eyes, the quality of the Korean army is definitely not inferior to the armies of Zhao, Wei, and Song - of course, the Wei army mentioned here refers to the general Wei army, not the Wei military force.

It can be said that the only shortcoming of the South Korean army is the small number of troops.

This is also something that cannot be helped, after all, in South Korea in the long war with Qin, there are basically fewer wins and more defeats, not only lost a large number of troops, but also lost a large area of land and cities.

According to the bitter words of the storm kite in a casual chat with Meng Zhong, the army available to South Korea today is about 100,000, and if the whole country is mobilized, it will be about 150,000 to 200,000.

To be honest, this is a very dangerous message given the strength of the wars of the Central Plains countries in modern times, which means that Korea will gradually be unable to support the coercion from the Qin state.

To put it mildly, the Qin State can now destroy Korea at any time, as long as the Qin State uses more than 300,000 troops.

The reason why South Korea is still alive is that on the one hand, it is all supported by Wei State, and on the other hand, it is because Qin State does not want to startle the snake - sending 300,000 troops to destroy Korea, causing panic among the Central Plains countries, and making all countries unite to resist Qin? This is not the strategy of smart people.

On the premise of not seriously alarming the Central Plains states, encroaching on Wei and Han little by little was the strategy of the Qin state.

Two days later, on March 16, Storm Kite took Meng Zhong to Yiyang.

On the way, the group passed through the new city.

After the Battle of Yiyang and before the Battle of Yique, Xincheng was guarded by Qin General Xiang Shou, which was another front-line city of Qin State after Yiyang.

Later, during the Battle of Yique, the Storm Kite recaptured the new city with the help of Meng Zhong, and built the new city located on the west bank of Yishui into the second line of defense against the Qin state.

As for the first line of defense, it is naturally Yiyang, which is located on the north bank of the water.

On the way from Xincheng to Yiyang, Meng Zhong saw many small military camps, one in the east and one in the west, and counted carefully to see if there were more than a dozen.

When he asked Storm Kite, Storm Kite explained: "These camps along the way can effectively resist the invasion of the Qin army. ”

Meng Zhong disagreed, and asked the tyrant kite rhetorically: "However, in my opinion, these camps are like soldiers holding torches at night, they are purely targets. …… Your country set up these camps between Yiyang and Xincheng, and I suspect that it may have been convenient for the Qin army in the end. If I were a Qin general, taking advantage of your country's unpreparedness to attack these camps, and then using this to cut off the connection between Yiyang and Xincheng, wouldn't Yiyang fall into the hands of Qin again a few months later? ”

Hearing this, Storm Kite frowned and asked, "What should I do then?" ”

Meng Zhong Zhengse said: "I look at the two places between the two places of Yushui and Yishui, the land is fertile and the pasture is abundant, your country can consider developing here, if you are worried that the fields cultivated here will be destroyed by the Qin State, then you might as well graze horses and train cavalry here...... This plain is very suitable for cavalry activities, if your country does not train cavalry to control this area, then in the future, the cavalry of the Qin State will come to control it, you know, the Qin State is also vigorously cultivating cavalry...... As for these camps, they can be used to train cavalry, but it is best not to expect them to play a role in delaying the offensive of the Qin army after the fall of Yiyang, believe me, if I were a Qin general, I would be the first to fight these camps, not Yiyang. ”

The storm kite pondered for a moment, and then nodded solemnly: "My brother is right, when I go back to Xinzheng in a few days, the king will start this matter." ”

Immediately, he added with a smile on his face: "Regarding the training of cavalry, my brother needs a lot of help...... It would be great if my brother could help me train a cavalry in Korea......"

Meng Zhong thought for a while and said, "I'm afraid it's ...... to send someone to your country to train cavalry alone It can be like this, it just so happens that my Yuncheng is preparing to expand the cavalry, and Da Sima can send some people to Yuncheng, and when the time comes, my brother Mu Wu will train them according to the requirements of the cavalry of the other city, and after that group of people are called qualified cavalry, return to your country, and then Da Sima will use this group of people as the backbone to prepare for cavalry, wouldn't it be twice the result with half the effort? ”

Hearing this, the storm kite's eyes suddenly lit up, and he said again and again: "Okay! Good! That's a good idea! …… Don't be polite, brother, give me a hard drill. ”

Meng Zhong smiled but did not speak.

About two days later, Storm Kite and Meng Zhong arrived in Yiyang, the city closest to Qin, or the border fortress.

As the original capital of South Korea, Yiyang was the size of a large county from the beginning, and had a fairly strong city wall, so that during the reign of King Wu of Qin, the Qin general Gan Mao not only spent more than half a year in order to build this city, but also mobilized a full hundred thousand troops before and after, and spent a great price to build this city.

It is no exaggeration to say that the foundation of Qin's frequent attacks on Korea in recent years is because Qin occupied this Yiyang, which made countless Qin people see the hope of slowly annexing Korea, and also made Korea more and more afraid of Qin.

However, during the Battle of Yique, Korea took the opportunity to recapture the city of Yiyang, which greatly increased the confidence of the Koreans.

After taking Meng Zhong into Yiyang City, Storm Kite personally led Meng Zhong to visit the city, hoping that Meng Zhong could make a constructive evaluation of the city.

In view of the large amount of money owed to South Korea, Meng Zhong was not easy to refuse, and after carefully visiting the entire city, he said to the storm kite: "Yiyang, it is a strong city, as far as I know, the Qin State also paid a huge price in order to conquer Yiyang, as far as I am concerned, this city has been very good in defending against foreign enemies, at most I can only give some small advice." ”

The storm kite hurriedly said, "Brother, please speak." ”

Seeing this, Meng Zhong thought for a while and said, "The little suggestion I said is actually to check and fill in the gaps. …… How was Yiyang captured in the first place? It is nothing more than being besieged by the Qin army for several months, in this case, why not build Yiyang into a city that is not afraid of siege? For example, digging ditches to divert water into the city, and opening farmland inside and outside the city to accumulate grain and grass......"

Hearing this, the storm kite frowned and said, "I can still understand the reclamation outside the city, but the city ...... There are many people in the city, and I am afraid that there will not be enough vacant land to open grace, not to mention, in the reclamation of fields outside the city, I am worried that it will be destroyed by the Qin army......"

"I've heard of people who choked on food and stopped eating and almost starved to death. …… Yiyang is quite close to the Qin State, and the fields outside the city are destroyed by the Qin army, which is also inevitable, but you can't give up the Tuntian strategy because you are worried about the destruction of the Qin army, right? What's the difference between this and choking? ”

"Hmm." Storm Kite nodded in agreement.

“…… As for the large number of people in the city, they can all be relocated to the hinterland of the country......"

"Emulate Fang Cheng?" Storm Kite asked in surprise.

He knew that Fangcheng was now a city completely garrisoned by the army, there was not a single ordinary person in the city, and the affairs of Tuntian were all in charge of the soldiers.

"Yes, with the army tuntian. …… Yiyang is the closest city to Qin, and in my opinion, it can be transformed into a military garrison, as for daily needs, as long as a military city is set up in the city, it is not only convenient to govern, but also convenient to resist the invasion of Qin. ”

Hearing this, the storm kite stroked his beard and said with some hesitation: "Can ...... It is not a trivial matter to move all the Chinese people in Yiyang to the mainland. ”

Meng Zhong smiled and said, "This, it's up to your country to judge for yourself to see if it's worth it." ”

"Hmm......"

Storm Kite nodded thoughtfully.

In the days that followed, about 50,000 Han troops marched from Xinzheng to Yiyang, where they were stationed outside the city to join forces of Wei, Zhao, Qi, and Yan.

Subsequently, around the beginning of April, on the side of Fangcheng of Wei, Wei generals Menghu, Huahu, and Lejin led thousands of Fangcheng cavalry and nearly 20,000 Fangcheng troops to bypass Yingshan and cross Rushui, and went straight to Yiyang to join the coalition army.

At the same time, Dou Xing, Wei Qing and others, the subordinates of Sun Jian, the eastern guard of the Hedong of the Wei State, also led about 30,000 Wei troops from the east of the Hedong River to cross the river to the south and come to Yiyang.

At the same time, the armies of Zhao, Qi, and Yan also marched towards Yiyang.

The troop movements of the various countries naturally could not hide from the eyes of the Qin State's spies.

During the period from March to April, the Qin spies who were arranged in the Central Plains countries sent the news of the preparations of the countries to jointly attack the Qin State to Xianyang, the capital of the Qin State, through various channels.

For this, Qin Wangji was furious, and even blamed the minister of state, that is, his uncle Marquis Wei Ran.

After all, the proposal of Emperor Qin and Qi was put forward by Wei Ran, although Qi State accepted his Qin State proposal at the beginning, but in just two months, Qi State unilaterally tore up the alliance, and did not count the dethronement of the emperor, and also called on the Central Plains countries to crusade against him Qin State, in Qin Wangji's view, Wei Ran's trip to Qi State this time was not effective, but had the opposite effect.

But considering that Wei Ran was his uncle, although Qin Wangji was angry, he couldn't say it too seriously, and just asked Wei Ran to solve this joint attack on Qin as soon as possible.

Hearing that Wei Ran was reprimanded by Qin Wangji, Bai Qi immediately came to Wei Ran's mansion.

At this time, Bai Qi had already been awarded the title of national lieutenant by Qin Wangji because of his previous crusade against Zhao and his meritorious defeat of Zhao generals Li Ji and Han Xu, replacing the veteran Sima Cuo.

But to be honest, Bai Qi doesn't feel any pride in this matter, first, Zhao General Li Ji and Han Xu are two wastes in his eyes - what is there to be proud of in breaking the two wastes?

Second, since the battle of Wanfang, the relationship between Bai Qi and the former national lieutenant Sima Cuo has been greatly improved, and he has long regarded Sima Cuo as incompetent as before, and even because of the fact that he was named a national lieutenant, Bai Qi also specially visited Sima Cuo, hoping that Sima Cuo would not be misunderstood.

At that time, Sima Cuo's attitude was very easy-going, and he smiled and said that Bai Qi's promotion to national captain was recognized by him, after all, Bai Qi was better than him and younger than him, and he was more suitable for the position of national lieutenant, but Bai Qi was a little embarrassed to say it.

When Bai Qi arrived at Wei Ran's house, Wei Ran was pondering in the study against a map of the countries, and when he noticed Bai Qi walking into the house, his reaction was also very easy-going, and after glancing at Bai Qi, he looked at the map in front of him again, and asked casually: "Coming?" ”

"Hmm."

Bai Qi nodded, clenched his fists and said, "I heard that the countries of the Central Plains jointly crusaded against my Great Qin, causing the Marquis to be reprimanded by the king. ”

"yes." Wei Ran stroked his beard and smiled helplessly: "King Qi's field...... I don't know what he's thinking, isn't it good that my Great Qin will form an alliance with it, and the two countries will each conquer the countries? ”

Seeing the wry smile on Wei Ran's face, Bai Qi said in a deep voice: "Don't worry, the Five Nations Alliance is not in the eyes at all, and if Bai Qi is here, the Alliance of All Nations will not want to threaten my Great Qin!" ”

"I believe that." Wei Ran smiled and nodded, and then handed a bamboo album to Bai Qi, and said: "This is the information sent by the detailed work sent to various countries, there is the approximate troop movement of the coalition forces of various countries, and the generals who led the army to the battle, you can take a look first." ”

Bai Qi took the bamboo book, spread it out, and swept his eyes over the names on the bamboo book one by one.

"Fengyang Jun Li Dui, is the father of that Li Ji, right? Waste one! Lian Po? Where did it come from? I've never heard of it. …… Storm kites? Rubbish. Yun Chengjun? Who's this? Probably also a waste...... Not? Meng Zhong?'

"Yuncheng Jun Mengzhong?" Bai Qi took a closer look over and over again, thinking that he would not be mistaken, and asked Wei Ran with a somewhat strange expression: "That guy Meng Zhong, was named the king of Yuncheng by King Wei?" ”

Wei Ran, who was staring at the map, looked at Bai Qi with interest when he heard this, and teased: "With so many names on the bamboo book, you see a Meng Zhong?" ”

Being teased by Wei Ran in person, Bai Qi was also a little embarrassed, and explained: "I am not afraid of the rest of the people, but Meng Zhong...... Well, I'm not saying I'm afraid of him, I just think this guy is the trickiest......"

As he spoke, he glanced down at the bamboo album in his hand, frowned and muttered in a low voice: "You were actually named the king of Yi?" ”

It's no wonder that Bai Qi doesn't have a taste in his heart, after all, Meng Zhong is not only his old enemy, but he is still one or two years younger than him, but now Meng Zhong has been named the king of Yuncheng by the King of Wei, but he Bai Qi has not yet received the title of Yi Jun, and he always feels that he is compared to the other party.

It's also a shame that Bai Qi has now replaced Sima Cuo as the lieutenant of the Qin State, otherwise, I'm afraid he will be even more unbalanced in his heart: Why don't I have my old enemy official rank high?!

As if seeing through Bai Qi's thoughts, Wei Ran smiled, immediately put away his smile, and said in a deep voice: "Defeat that Meng Zhong, and I will ask the king to make you a ...... Wu Anjun! ”

Hearing this, Bai Qi suddenly perked up, and then looked at the bamboo book in his hand with a solemn expression.

At this time, the rest of the names on the bamboo book had been ignored by him, and he only stared at the words "Yuncheng Jun Mengzhong".

It doesn't matter if he has a fiefdom or not, Bai Qi doesn't care at all, but he is quite eager for the title of Wu Anjun, after all, only when he gets this title, he will not be compared to Meng Zhong on the other side.

It's just that if you want to get the title, you have to defeat Meng Zhong, and defeat Meng Zhong......

"You simply said that you won the defeat of the coalition forces...... What's the difference between the two?'

Glancing at Wei Ran, who was smiling, Bai Qi muttered to himself.

In his opinion, if he could defeat Meng Zhong, the rest of the coalition would not be enough to reverse the victory.

The problem is to defeat Meng Zhong, which is not an easy task.

So far, he has never won.

He slowly exhaled, the corners of his mouth rose slightly, and he said to Wei Ran with a smile: "Then...... When there was a marquis of Lao Sui, he was the last general to show his merit to the king. ”

"Hahaha, that's easy to say."

Brushing his beard, Wei Ran laughed.

He was very satisfied with Bai Qi's confident appearance.