When Li Jian left Lingshou, the king of Zhongshan had already ordered to use the bronze sent by Zhao to cast a bronze tripod to record Sima Xi's achievements in expanding the territory, and ordered to give Sima Xi's family the privilege of "thirty-five non-pardons for capital crimes", as long as Sima Xi's family is not guilty of rebellion, they can be pardoned once. showed everyone the great grace to Sima Xi. At the same time, Sima Xi's military power was restored, and it was hoped that he would make persistent efforts to conquer Sancho and return.

King Zhongshan would never have imagined that Sima Xi took advantage of King Zhongshan's suspicion to let Sima Qian contact King Zhao, and did the opposite, taking advantage of the characteristics of Gongsun Hong and Le Chi to aggravate King Zhongshan's suspicions. This move was supposed to be a very thrilling step, but unintentionally inserted willows, and the queen of Yin who Sima Xi helped at the beginning unintentionally completed the final assist to help Sima Xi escape the catastrophe. In fact, Sima Xi had already made a decision, once the King of Zhongshan ordered him to return to Lingshou, he led the army to kill the King of Zhongshan and defected to the Zhao State.

In any case, Sima Xi, who had passed the thrilling pass, regained military power, led the Zhongshan soldiers, and captured Sanqiu in one go, and since then, more than a dozen cities west of the Great Wall of Yan have become the territory of Zhongshan, and Zhongshan has also expanded its land for hundreds of miles, achieving the greatest record after being attacked by Zhao. The army is about to triumph.

After returning to Handan, Li Jian kept telling Zhao Yong what he saw and heard in Zhongshan.

"In the past few days of Lingshou, the minister observed that King Zhongshan Duoxi was with the scholars, but he alienated those civil and military generals. Zhongshan Palace, extremely luxurious, gold and silver utensils, abound, jade bronze, dazzling. The King of Zhongshan himself is also dressed in brocade, and the harem concubines are even more so. In comparison, the king's Hanyuan Hall looks shabby. ”

When Zhao Yong and the people of the White Tiger Hall heard this, they burst into laughter, "The widow was the original builder of the Hanyuan Palace, and Xu Shaofu persuaded the widow to save and save every day, and he was distressed. If he heard that the Zhongshan people wore those gold and silver artifacts on their bodies, he would probably vomit blood. ”

Listening to Zhao Yong's ridicule, everyone couldn't help but laugh again. Indeed, compared with a low-key rich man like Zhao Yong, King Zhongshan has a bit of the style of a rich man. Of course, everyone knows that what the strength of Zhao Guo is now, and it is a piece of cake to arrange it like Zhongshan, and it will even be excessive. But Zhao Yong spent his money on the army, and on himself, he was reluctant to spend it. Since the extremely strict thrift order was issued, the extravagance of the Zhao State has slowly been cut off. Unexpectedly, this trend became popular in Zhongshan.

"Has the King of Zhongshan agreed to our borrowing of the Dao?" Le Yi asked.

"I already agreed. He also ordered Fuliu, Ningjia, Guxian and other cities to see our army passing, as long as they did not enter the city, they could be released. ”

"So simply? Isn't this like the habit of the King of Zhongshan? Fei Yi said.

"It's strange, but it's not like that." Li Wei replied, "When the minister left Lingshou, Sima Xi's army was already on the way back, and it was with the return of such an army that the King of Zhongshan had the confidence to agree to our request." ”

"What's more, because Sima Xi is powerful, Gongsun Hong and Le Chi have lost their original status, and King Zhongshan believes that the two of them are connected with my Zhao State, and he has long since stopped the two of them from holding important positions. Now that the 'collaborators' have been eliminated, the King of Zhongshan can sit back and relax. ”

Zhao Yong sneered, "It's still Lord Guowei who is right, if this matter ends with Sima Xi being killed, then Zhongshan Guozuo may be extended for a few years, since the King of Zhongshan himself helped us clear the obstacles, it is no wonder that the widow accepts his favor." Since the widow said that he wanted to watch the newly minted Dading with him Zhongshan King, he would definitely not break his word! ”

Everyone nodded. Wei Yu predicted before Li Wei went that the rise and fall of Zhongshan Guozuo depended on the suspicion of the king of Zhongshan, a monarch who had no confidence in his ministers, and had already lost this duel.

"That's right. Your Excellency. Zhao Yong looked at Le Yi.

"The King."

"A letter to Le Chi and Gongsun Hong, the widow is willing to invite the two to settle in Handan." Zhao Yong smiled evilly, "Since the King of Zhongshan suspects that these two people and I, Zhao Guo, are suspected of collaborating with the enemy, then the widow will let this matter become true!" ”

"Yes." Le Yi replied, he believed that the two people who couldn't stay in Zhongshan would definitely accept this invitation. Whether it is Gongsun Hong or Le Chi, it will be a very important helper for Zhao Guo. And through this matter, those ministers who are grateful to Zhao will definitely do what they can when Zhao attacks Zhongshan.

Fifteen days later, Zhao Yong ordered that with the general Pang Cong as the general, he commanded 30,000 Zhao troops, set out from Handan, and the troops were divided into two routes to attack the two cities of Fuliu and Ningjia in Zhongshan; With Li Yan as the general, he commanded an army of 30,000 on the North Road, went out of Hongshangsai, went south along Yishui, and attacked the three cities of Tangxian, Zhongren and Gucheng in Zhongshan. At the same time, the two cities of Shiyi and Fenglong could not hold out, and stubbornly defended the defense line of the Hutuo River, and Qiu Ye went out of the Jingcheng Pass, leading the cavalry to wander on the south bank of the Hutuo River, looking for an opportunity to annihilate the Zhongshan troops. The Three-Way Army, counting the grain and grass logistics baggage troops, about 200,000 people, began the second war against Zhongshan with the momentum of crushing. This time, the result that Zhao Yong hopes for is the destruction of the country.

Fuliu, located in the east of Shancheng, Huaishui originates from Yuanshi County, goes north through Fuliu, and reaches the territory of Qi and intersects with the Hutuo River. This place is the border between Zhongshan and Qi, and it is also the main road to Qi. It is also a developed waterway hub. The reason why Zhao wanted to occupy this place first was to cut off the road for Qi to enter and exit Zhongshan, completely close the war between Zhongshan and Zhao, and isolate Qi from the outside.

When the defenders of Fuliu saw the Zhao army, although they were a little surprised by the size of the Zhao army, why it was different from what the king of Zhongshan said when he gave the order, but since Lingshou had an order, as long as the Zhao army did not enter Fuliu, there was no need to worry, even if the Zhao army was stationed outside the city, the Fuliu garrison also routinely asked about the whereabouts of the other party, and when he was told that this was the army that went north to support the Yan State, he hurried back to the city. There was no abnormality in this army, so that at dawn on the second day, when the Zhao army was already arrayed and ready to attack, the Zhongshan soldiers in Fuliu were still asleep.

Pang Cong is not a person who likes to disturb other people's dreams, but sometimes, it is not necessarily. He looked at the hour, the sun had not yet jumped out of the horizon, but the Zhao army troops were ready, so the flag waved, the Zhao army's snare drum broke the silence of the earth, and the fierce shouting of killing, instead of the bronze bell, sounded the first death knell of the war against Zhongshan.

Due to the sudden nature of Zhao's attack, when the army defending the city found that Zhao's camp tent had changed, the sky was not yet bright, and the well-trained Zhao soldiers took advantage of the night to complete the assembly and deployment of the troops, and when the sun was about to rise, the Zhao troops who had begun to attack the city were already presented in front of the Zhongshan soldiers. I saw a group of Zhao soldiers setting up ladders and dragging siege rams, marching towards the city walls and gates of Fuliu. The generals defending the city were in a hurry, arranging to do a good job of defense and reporting the situation to the main general.

The Zhongshan soldiers, who had been woken up from their dreams, were tempted to complain about those who disturbed their dreams, but clusters of arrows had already pierced the sky and crossed the city walls, and some had already passed through the tents and carried some of their comrades away from their sleep. And Zhao Jun did not skimp on his arrows, and rockets coated with fire oil also began to ignite everywhere in the city.

The bows and crossbows that the soldiers of the Zhao State are now equipped with are composed of two parts. Some of them were purchased from Korea, which were used in the border counties, and a small part of the light crossbows were used on the cavalry of the Zhao State. Needless to say, the quality of South Korea's bows and crossbows has also made South Korea a lot of money thanks to Zhao's continuous procurement. There are also some bows and crossbows, which come from Zhao Guo's own arsenal. But these crossbows from the arsenal are not the previous Zhao crossbows, but the Korean crossbow craftsmen hired by Zhao Yong for a lot of money. To this end, Zhao Yongdi ordered people to open a military construction on the outskirts of Handan that specialized in making bows and crossbows, and these Korean engineers provided bows and crossbows for Zhao State here. In order to keep it secret, Zhao Yong had to order the construction of a barracks on the periphery of the military building, and moved the Juanjia battalion of the Jianling Battalion to this place to protect this group of master craftsmen. The weapons built by the engineers have also become an important source of weapons for the troops near Handan. Most of Pang Cong's troops are from Handan, and they use the weapons they have created. Although it is slightly less than the weapons purchased by South Korea, it is still more than enough than Nakayama.

Even the stupid generals knew that they had been deceived by the Zhao people, and at this moment there was no other way to think of except to resist. However, when the general of Fuliu had just entered the city wall, he saw the siege troops of Zhao State, who had already climbed the ladder and engaged in a white-knuckle battle with the Zhongshan soldiers. As a fortified city, it is impossible for Fuliu to be without defensive facilities, but because the Zhao army is suddenly attacking, the defenders on the city wall are far from enough to launch all the defensive measures, and they can only watch the Zhao army climb the city wall along the ladder. The city wall several zhang high did not stop the pace of the Zhao army, and the locust-like flying arrows kept the Zhongshan defenders under the city wall.

The first to climb the city wall, is the Zhao army's roll armor battalion, this army in the war against Lou Fu and Lin Hu, relying on far less than the enemy's number, held the city in the clouds, completed Zhao Yong's plan to put the place of death, after returning, Zhao Yong once again expanded the roll armor battalion, making it the main force of the Zhao army. After the soldiers of the Roll Armor Battalion climbed the tower, they brandished Changge and engaged in a white-knuckle battle with the Zhongshan people. Chang Ge waved his shield, and the ordinary two or three Zhongshan soldiers couldn't get close, and occasionally injured them with one or two blows, and they were also resisted by the perverted defense. The Roll Armor Battalion was built according to the standards of Wei Wushu, not only did its endurance surpass that of ordinary soldiers, but its defensive work also far exceeded that of other soldiers, not to mention its weapons. As soon as Pang Cong came up, he let them take the lead, hoping to use the melee advantage of this army to quickly resolve the battle.

In fact, the soldiers of the Juanjia battalion quickly gained a foothold at the head of the city, and suppressed the steady stream of Zhongshan soldiers who climbed the head of the city at the stairs of the city, and the Zhongshan people had to choose other places to climb the tower. The archers behind them shot desperately at this group of "invulnerable" soldiers, and occasionally one or two archers with good skills hit the head, and Zhao Jun died on the spot, and the others were just hanging a lottery, nothing serious. Occasionally, one or two soldiers of the Roll Armor Battalion fell from the top of the city, some were killed instantly, some were seriously injured and disabled, and they were immediately surrounded by the swarming Zhongshan soldiers, two or three people could not beat them, and seven or eight people surrounded them, and these brave soldiers were put to death, and the scene was extremely bloody.

The bloody battle of the Juanjia battalion, in exchange for the precious opportunity to ascend the city, the follow-up troops of the Zhao army were able to quickly climb the city wall and occupy the city tower, at the same time, the Fuliu city gate was also repeatedly beaten with the battering ram, and was successfully broken by the Zhao army, the two armies launched the most fierce competition in the small door hole, in the space where only a dozen people passed, the black pressure was all human heads, the robe in front had just died, and the people behind were stepping on the corpses of the same robes. This is the most primitive and barbaric scene, the king is defeated, and this is it.

Pang Cong knew that he had won this game.

Two more.

(End of chapter)