In mid-February, Zhuang Ji, a rebel general of Chu State, once again made trouble in Chu State, brazenly raised troops in the name of "eradicating treacherous evils", gathered tens of thousands of troops, and put on a posture of wanting to attack Chu Ying.

After learning of this, Xiong Heng, the king of Chu, and Yin Zilan were greatly frightened, and immediately summoned Zhuang Xin, a scholar who had returned to Chu after the New Year.

At that time, Xiong Heng, the king of Chu, asked Zhuang Xindao: "Now Zhuang Ji rebelled again for no reason, can Qing know?" ”

Of course, Zhuang Xin was aware of this, after all, it was he who secretly wrote to ask Zhuang Ji to raise an army to rebel, so as to force Xiong Heng, the king of Chu, to order Zhaoju to be recalled to Chu Ying.

But at this moment, he pretended not to know, pretended to hesitate and said: "The minister also does not understand why Zhuang Ji innocently raised a rebel army, if the king is not to blame, the minister implores to go to see Zhuang Ji in person and ask the reason." ”

When Xiong Heng, the king of Chu, heard this, he immediately urged Zhuang Xin to set off quickly.

After obtaining the permission of the king of Chu, Zhuang Xin immediately went to Yiling, the site of the rebels, and naturally met his fellow clansmen, Zhuang Ji, the leader of the rebels.

Seeing Zhuang Xin coming, Zhuang Ji set up a banquet in the military camp to entertain the latter, and during the banquet, he smiled and teased Zhuang Xin: "You were the one who wrote to me to raise troops after the year, and today you came as a messenger of the King of Chu, do you want to persuade me to stop the army?" ”

Zhuang Xin didn't bother to pay attention to Zhuang Ji's boring joke, and Zhengse said: "This is a last resort for the country. ”

Seeing that Zhuang Xin was serious, Zhuang Ji pursed his lips, and then took the wine cup and said indifferently: "For the sake of the love of the same clan, I only agreed to your request, but I don't like to be kept in the dark. ”

Zhuang Xin hesitated for a moment, but finally said, "Meng Zhong of Fangcheng, have you heard of it?" ”

"Of course."

Zhuang Ji touched his chin and said with interest: "I have always paid attention to the movements of the Qin army. The Meng Zhong you are talking about is very remarkable, with only 50,000 soldiers against more than 200,000 Qin-Chu coalition troops, but they did not fall behind at all, but made Sima Cuo and Bai Qi suffer big losses again and again...... However, I heard that Meng Zhong is from Wei, right? Why, the dignified doctor Zhuang Xinzhuang is colluding with Wei State behind his back and plotting against him? ”

"Hugh is going to make such a joke."

Zhuang Xin said unhappily.

Zhuang Ji was bored, but he didn't care, and after touching his chin and thinking for a while, he suddenly asked in a serious tone: "That Meng Zhong...... Is it credible? ”

Zhuang Xin glanced at Zhuang Ji with a little surprise, and then nodded and said: "This person is the high foot of Master Zhuang Zhou, both talent and virtue are of the highest grade, and Dr. Qu Yuan Qu is also full of praise for this person." ”

Hearing this, Zhuang Ji nodded thoughtfully, and immediately, he seemed to think of something, and said with a chuckle: "Then again, since you and Qu Yuan both have the intention of expelling Zilan, why don't I take advantage of this time to capture Chu Ying?" Whether it is Zilan or Xiong Heng at all times, they can ......"

"I said, Hugh is going to make such a joke!" Zhuang Xin said unhappily.

Unexpectedly, Zhuang Ji took a sip of the wine cup and said lightly: "However, I'm not joking......"

Zhuang Xin was stunned, and then said in a deep voice: "Zhuang Ji, although Dr. Qu and I want to change this country, it is not in this way...... The civil strife of my Chu people will only benefit all countries, whether it is Qin or Wei and Han......"

Zhuang Ji snorted lightly when he heard this, and said to himself: "What you say is like the words of women and children, it is particularly ridiculous!" …… Xiong Heng is even more unbearable than King Chu Huai, although King Chu Huai is mediocre, but at least he is unwilling to betray the interests of my Chu State, and he does not hesitate to succumb to the Qin State for this, and Xiong Heng is like such a faint king......"

Zhuang Xin immediately interrupted Zhuang Ji's words and said in a deep voice: "But neither Dr. Qu nor I want to change the country in this way. …… Our Chu State is now divided, and at present, the only way to unite the Chu people is to resist the Qin State and other countries. Civil strife is absolutely unavoidable. ”

As he spoke, he looked up at Zhuang Ji, arched his hand and said sincerely: "I always think that the king is by no means hopeless, and this country is not hopeless, but it will take some time...... Zhuang Ji, please be patient a little more. ”

"......" Zhuang Ji glanced at Zhuang Xin deeply, and then said lightly: "In my opinion, the victory or defeat in the land of Wanfang is not enough to weaken the Qin State, and the one who can really weaken the Qin State is Bashu." Only by occupying Bashu can our Chu State have the hope of resisting the Qin State. …… I have sent men to Bashu, but my army alone is not capable of capturing Bashu. ”

Of course, Zhuang Xin understood the meaning of Zhuang Ji's words, nodded and said, "Please be patient a little longer." ”

"What I have is patience, but I'm afraid that I will lose the ...... when the time comes" Speaking of this, Zhuang Ji glanced at Zhuang Xin and hinted: "I hope you and Qu Yuan ...... Let's do it as soon as possible. ”

"Hmm." Zhuang Xin nodded.

After drinking this wine, Zhuang Xin immediately returned to Chu Ying and asked to see Xiong Heng, the king of Chu.

Upon learning that Zhuang Xin had returned to Duying, Xiong Heng, the king of Chu, immediately summoned him and asked Zhuang Xin urgently: "Have you seen Zhuang Ji?" What did he say? ”

Zhuang Xin arched his hand and said: "Back to the king, Zhuang Ji has no ill will towards the king, but he is just annoyed that the king bent to Qin, he said, my Great Chu and Qin have a common hatred of the sky, how can I bend the knee to Qin?" ”

Hearing this, Xiong Heng, the king of Chu, breathed a sigh of relief, after all, Zhuang Ji was at least not targeting him.

You must know that with Zhuang Ji's current reputation in the Chu State, if this person plays the banner of eradicating the faint king, in fact, a large number of Chu people will rush to join him - this point, Xiong Heng himself is still clear.

"Is there a way to tell Zhuang Ji to quit the army?" Xiong Heng asked.

Zhuang Ji pretended to hesitate, and then said: "The minister also persuaded Zhuang Ji, but Zhuang Ji was resolute, and only if the minister withdrew his order and dissolved the alliance with Qin, he would be willing to withdraw his troops......

"What?" Xiong Heng, the king of Chu, was stunned when he heard this, and then gritted his teeth and said hatefully: "This reckless man...... Can he know that if the alliance with the Qin State is broken, the Qin State will inevitably raise troops to attack our Great Chu again, and how can my Great Chu resist it? Is it just the rebels under his command? ”

Zhuang Xin was silent.

After venting for a while, Xiong Heng, the king of Chu, calmed down, and asked Zhuang Xin with a tired face: "What do you think is good now?" ”

Zhuang Xin pretended to hesitate for a moment, and then said cautiously: "According to the minister, Zhuang Ji is determined this time, unless the king takes back his fate, he will never give up, for the sake of today's plan, the only way to do this is to recall Dr. Zhao and return to Chu Ying......"

Xiong Heng, the king of Chu, was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and then said thoughtfully: "The widow knows, so let's go back and rest first." ”

Of course, Zhuang Xin guessed that Xiong Heng must be preparing to discuss with Ling Yin Zilan, and he was not in a hurry, and when he heard this, he said, "The minister will retire." ”

Sure enough, after Zhuang Xin retired, Xiong Heng immediately sent someone to summon Zilan, the younger disciple of Ling Yin, and told Zhuang Xin's words to the latter.

After hearing this, Zilan frowned and said, "Brother Wang, the younger brother suspects that Zhuang Xin has ulterior motives. …… It is difficult to guarantee that he will not secretly fornicate with Zhuang Ji, and deliberately asked Zhuang Ji to raise troops to make trouble, forcing the king to recall Zhaoju. The king also knew that Zhuang Xin had resolutely opposed the conclusion of an alliance between my Great Chu and the Qin State. ”

“……”

King Xiong Heng of Chu was silent for a moment.

In fact, he also had some doubts about Zhuang Xin about this matter, but he still believed in this, that is, Zhuang Xin's loyalty.

The same is true of Qu Yuan.

Xiong Heng didn't know that Qu Yuan was loyal to his Chu State, but when Qu Yuan pointed his nose and scolded him in front of him, no one could bear it; Second, the current situation in China is not enough for him to use Qu Yuan.

"What about you?" Xiong Heng asked Zi Landao.

Hearing this, Zilan frowned and pondered for a long time, then sighed and said: "Although the younger brother thinks that there must be something strange in it, but the matter has come to this point, and the only way to recall Zhaoju ......"

In fact, he was even more afraid of Zhuang Heng's rebellion than Xiong Heng, the king of Chu, because Xiong Heng was protected by Zhuang Xin, even if the rebels entered Chu Ying, Zhuang Xin would inevitably come forward to protect Xiong Heng, but he Zilan ...... Zhuang Xin was afraid that he would be killed by the rebels.

Although Zilan also knew that recalling Zhaoju at this time would inevitably make Sima Cuo and Bai Qi, the two Qin generals, dissatisfied, but at this moment, he couldn't care so much.

Seeing that Zilan also agreed to recall Zhaoju, Xiong Heng, the king of Chu, naturally did not hesitate any longer, and immediately issued an order, ordering Zhaoju to immediately lead the army back to aid Chu Ying.

Of course, at the same time, he didn't forget to send someone to inform Sima Cuo and Bai Qi.

About half a month later, at the end of two months, the messenger of Xiong Heng, the king of Chu, arrived in Wancheng.

At this time, Sima Cuo and Bai Qi had already led the army to Fangcheng and built a camp in the area of Fangcheng.

In view of the fact that Fangcheng was too close to Yangguan and was likely to be attacked by the Wei army under Meng Zhong, Sima Cuo and Bai Qi did not let the army be stationed in Fangcheng, but scattered around Fangcheng, and each Qin camp was kept at a distance of twenty miles from Yangguan.

In this way, even if the Wei army under Meng Zhong attacked Fangcheng, the rest of the Qin army could quickly respond.

During this time, the Wei army did not harass the Qin army, and the Qin army did not immediately attack Yangguan, not to mention Yangguan, the Qin army stepped up time to build a camp and build siege equipment, and strive to capture Yangguan in one fell swoop.

Just when the Qin army was busy preparing for war, Sima Cuo and Bai Qi received a letter from Xiong Heng, the king of Chu.

At the same time, two letters arrived from the Qin State, as well as a batch of grain and grass transported from Wuguan.

At that time, Bai Qi was inspecting the construction of the camp when he saw Sima Cuo coming from afar with a group of people.

After meeting, Sima Cuo first called out a young man from the crowd behind him, and said to Bai Qi: "Bai Zuogen, this is the old man's inferior grandson, Jin, don't you want to greet Bai Zuogen?" ”

Jin, that is, Sima Cuo's second grandson, Sima Jin, was arrested by Tingwei last year for causing trouble at the entrance of Xianyang Street, although Sima Cuo learned about this, but for the sake of face, he did not interfere with Tingwei's mansion, but in order to repay Sima Cuo's favor, Bai Qi entrusted Marquis Wei Ran to fish Sima Jin out of Tingwei's mansion.

After hearing his grandfather's words, Sima Jin immediately bowed to Bai Qi and said, "In Xia Sima Jin, I have seen Bai Zuogen, thank you Bai Zuogen for your help." ”

"Haha, it's not a big deal."

Bai Qi laughed, looked Sima Jin up and down, and saw that Sima Jin was thirteen or fourteen years old, looking quite heroic, full of the appearance of a son of a family, lacking experience.

He turned his head to look at Sima Cuo, and when he saw the latter nodding, he said to Sima Jin with a smile: "The national lieutenant handed you over to the subordinates and asked the subordinates to discipline you strictly, do you have any objections?" ”

Sima Jin shook his head again and again, and then said happily: "It is really an honor to listen to it under the account of a hero like Bai Zuogen......

"Oh? Seriously? ”

Bai Qi was stunned, he didn't expect Sima Jin to respect him so much.

"Of course!" Seeing that Bai Qi was a little unconvinced, Sima Jin said anxiously: "You are the famous general that my generation longs for...... During the Battle of Yique, you defeated the Xi Wu of Wei and the Storm Kite of Korea in one fell swoop......"

Bai Qi glanced at Sima Cuo, who was a little ugly, and then deliberately said: "But in the battle of Yique, Bai was defeated......

"This is not a crime of war."

Sima Jin shook his head and said with a serious face: "It's just that Meng Zhong took advantage of the fatigue of Bai Zuo's army to wait for an opportunity to counterattack and seize the opportunity, not so much that Bai Zuo was defeated by that Meng Zhong, but that Bai Zuo was dragged to the ...... defeat by Gongsun Xi and Storm Kite because of the lack of troops."

"Hahaha."

Bai Qi was overjoyed when he heard this, touched Sima Jin's head and said to Sima Cuo: "I like this kid!" ”

After that, he still did not forget to tell Sima Jin solemnly: "But there is one thing you said wrong, I was indeed defeated by Meng Zhong, not by Gongsun Xi or Storm Kite...... Those two are not worthy! ”

"......" Sima Jin looked at Bai Qi blankly.

Seeing this, Bai Qi smiled and said, "You will understand in the future." ”

At this time, Sima Cuo, who was beside him, coughed and said in a deep voice: "Okay, Jin, since you have arrived in the army, you must abide by the discipline in the army, you ...... first."

Speaking of this, he suddenly glanced at Bai Qi, and his voice stopped abruptly.

Bai Qi immediately understood, summoned the guards behind him, and ordered: "Sima Jin, you follow my guards to the camp first...... For the time being, you are Bai's guard, do you have any objections? ”

Sima Jin shook his head again and again, and obediently followed Bai Qi's guards and left.

Looking at Sima Jin's departing back, Bai Qi smiled and praised: "Very good boy." ”

Hearing this, although Sima Cuo was also happy in his heart, he still said with a straight face: "Since Bai Zuo looks down on this inferior grandson more, the old man handed over this son to Bai Zuogen to teach, hoping that Bai Zuo will not condone and discipline ...... strictly."

Hearing this, Bai Qi smiled bitterly and said, "The national captain is too strict. ”

He once thought that Sima Cuo was just strict with outsiders, but he didn't expect that he was also strict with his children and grandchildren, which made Bai Qi gradually relieved Sima Cuo's dissatisfaction with his various behaviors.

"A recent shipment of grain and grass has arrived?" He asked casually.

"Hmm." Sima Cuo nodded, stroked his beard and said: "That batch of grain has been transported to Wancheng, according to the news sent by Wancheng, it is probably enough for our army to eat for about a month." Follow-up grain and grass will be escorted to this ...... one after another."

Speaking of this, he took the two bamboo books from the hands of the accompanying soldiers, and immediately turned his head to Bai Qi and said: "These two letters were sent to Wancheng along with the grain and grass, one was written by the king to you and me, and the other was written by the marquis to Bai Zuogen. ”

Hearing this, Bai first took the letter written by King Qin himself, spread it out and glanced at it roughly.

In the letter, he first emphasized the great significance of this war to the Qin state, and then encouraged Sima Cuo and Bai Qi, hoping that the two would put aside their prejudices and work together sincerely.

It can be seen that the contradictions between Sima Cuo and Bai Qi have been known to Xianyang.

Bai Qi did not suspect that Sima Co secretly complained to King Qin, after all, King Qin said it in the letter, and he did not blame Bai Qi at all, this is obviously not Sima Coo's complaint, otherwise, even if there was Marquis Wei Ran on the Xianyang side to intercede for Bai Qi, King Qin would also reprimand Bai Qi in the letter.

Moreover, if Sima is wrong, he will not do this kind of thing behind his back-if he wants to complain, he will write a letter to the king of Qin openly, which is still clear in vain.

Immediately afterwards, Bai Qi took the letter from Marquis Wei Ran, opened it and glanced at it twice.

Just by looking at it twice, a surprised expression appeared on his white face.

Seeing this, Sima Cuo asked curiously, "What did the Marquis say in the letter?" ”

Bai Qi didn't hide it, and said with a chuckle: "It's just something about Meng Zhong...... After I returned from defeat the year before last, I entrusted the Marquis to send someone to investigate the details of Meng Zhong. As he spoke, he looked at the letter in his hand and praised it: "This Meng Zhong...... It's amazing, I thought he was born in the Song Kingdom, but I didn't expect that he was only born in a small family called Mengshi in the Song Kingdom, and he was not a child of the clan, but he was born like this, and when he was fourteen years old, he was recruited by the Song State as a pawn, and he was promoted to a sergeant because of his merit, and then because of the recommendation of his righteous brother Hui An, he went to the Zhao State to ......"

"Hui'an?"

Sima Cuo asked in surprise: "Prime Minister of Song, Hui An, the most trusted courtier of Song Wangyan?" ”

"Exactly!"

Bai Qi nodded, then licked his lips and continued: "After arriving in the Zhao Kingdom, Meng Zhong was immediately favored by King Wuling of Zhao and promoted to the rank of guard Sima ......"

"Zhao Wuling King Zhao Yong?"

If it was said that the previous Hui Ang only made Sima Cuo feel a little surprised, then when Bai Qi mentioned King Zhao Wuling, Sima Cuo's eyes showed a shocked look.

It's no wonder, after all, Lord Zhao's father has a great influence on the Qin State, he is the only male lord of the Qin State in modern times who can force the Qin State to change the monarchy, and for a certain period of time, even the Qin State has to look at the face of the Zhao State.

It's a pity that after the drastic change in the Dune Palace, Lord Zhao's father died, and Zhao's influence on Qin was greatly reduced.

But even so, Master Zhao still has a very high weight in the hearts of the Qin people, no, as soon as he heard that Meng Zhong was once favored by King Zhao Wuling and promoted to guard Sima, Sima mistakenly guarded Meng Zhong, and immediately rose to a higher height again.

"No wonder that Meng Zhong knows how to train cavalry...... Sima Co immediately said: "I just said that in the past, only Zhao had cavalry, and I never saw any cavalry in Wei...... Wait, how can the Marquis be able to probe in such detail? ”

"Li Shi."

Bai Qi looked at the letter in his hand, frowned slightly, and said, "It was Li Shi who told the marquis." ”

"Li Shi?" Sima was stunned and asked, "Who is that?" ”

"It's the envoy of the Song Kingdom."

Flicked the letter casually, Bai Qi chuckled and said: "Li Shi sent an envoy to my Great Qin on behalf of Song Wangyan, and the Marquis came forward to entertain this person, during which the Marquis asked casually, and asked if Li Shike had heard of a countryman named Meng Zhong in the Song Kingdom, but he didn't expect ......."

Speaking of this, he couldn't help but turn his head to look in the direction of Yangguan, and muttered secretly in his heart: You kid, are you so famous in the three kingdoms of Qi, Song, and Zhao?

He originally thought that Meng Zhong, like him, was an unknown junior before the Battle of Yique, but he never expected that Meng Zhong became famous much earlier than him, and his reputation in Qi and Zhao was much higher than him.

This made Bai Qi feel a little unhappy, as if he had been left far behind by his opponent.

On the side, Sima Cuo asked puzzledly: "Song sent an envoy to Xianyang?" Could it be that the State of Qi wants to attack the State of Song again, but the State of Song can't hold it out? ”

"I don't know." Bai Qi shook his head and put away the letter.

Seeing this, Sima Coo's beard pondered for a moment, and then guessed: "As far as the old man knows, in recent years, the Qi State has tried to attack the Song State several times, but they have all been repelled by the Song State, but considering that after the death of King Zhao Wuling two years ago, the Zhao State has concluded an alliance with the Qi State...... Coupled with the Yan State, maybe the Qi State and Zhao Yan will attack the Song State together. ”

Bai Qi asked in surprise: "The national captain seems to know the affairs of the Song State very well?" ”

Sima Cuo smiled and explained: "Song Guo, I have been secretly in contact with my Great Qin, and my Great Qin also needs Song State to contain Qi State...... According to the old man's opinion, the king may not sit idly by and watch the Qi State annex the Song State. ”

Speaking of this, he stroked his beard and frowned, "In this way, the situation is complicated. ”

"Hmm. Wei is also an ally of the Song State, if there is no Great Qin, if the Qi State marches to attack the Song State, there is a chance that the Wei State will send troops to help, but for now, ......"

"In other words, I, Great Qin, am helping the Qi State in disguise?"

"Hmm......" Sima Cuo nodded thoughtfully, and then said to Bai Qi: "Forget it, this matter has nothing to do with you and me, you and I just need to obey Xianyang's orders......"

Hearing this, Bai Qi nodded.

At this moment, a soldier suddenly came to report: "Qi Yu Guowei, Qi Yu Bai Zuo Geng, Chu Ying has a messenger with a letter from the King of Chu." ”

“……”

Sima Cuo and Bai Qi glanced at each other, and immediately met with the messenger and saw the letter written by Xiong Heng, the king of Chu.

Seeing the content of the letter, whether it was Sima Cuo or Bai Qi, they immediately frowned.

"These Chu people are simply useless!"

Bai Qi immediately scolded: "That Zhao Ju has ulterior motives, now it's okay, Chu State simply withdrew its troops." I really don't know what my Great Qin wants this kind of ally to do! ”

Seeing that Bai Qi's face was full of anger, Sima Coo's beard stroked his beard and soothed: "There are rebels in the Chu State, and the King of Chu has recalled the army, which is understandable......"

"Does the lieutenant really think so?" Bai Qi glanced at Sima Cuo and asked rhetorically.

"......" Sima strooped his beard and didn't speak, looking at his face, he was obviously very dissatisfied with Chu Guo's behavior.

After thinking for a while, he persuaded Bai Qi and said: "The affairs of the Chu State, let's put it down first, at least the Chu State has not colluded with Wei and Han, today's matter, you and I are based on the facts of Xianyang, and we have Xianyang to decide." ”

"Hmm!" Bai Qi nodded heavily.

A few days later, Sima Cuo and Bai Qi received a message from Zhao Ju, which was probably nothing more than Zhao Ju had to withdraw his troops in order to return to Chu Ying.

Soon after, the Qin army received the news that the Korean army had launched a large-scale counteroffensive against the north.

Upon learning of this, Sima Cuo could only divide his troops with Bai Qi, and Sima Cuo led the army to Xibei to resist the Han general's violent kite, while Bai Qi continued to garrison the army in the area of Fangcheng, preparing to attack Yangguan.

During this period, Sima Zhai Zhang, the great master of Wei, also led 780,000 Wei troops from Yanyi to Yangguan.

At this time, the strength of the Wei and Han armies had actually surpassed the Qin army......