Wang Dao suggested that at this moment, the water in Jingnan is completely muddy, and it is inconvenient to continue to investigate whether there are officials here who collude with the Shu army. simply let the officials and generals of Jingnan take turns with Jingbei. In this way, you can also stabilize the place in the shortest possible time.

If anyone doesn't want to, wouldn't it just prove that they have a ghost in their heart? At that time, no matter what reasons he had, the king of Hanzhong and the king of Luoyang would do something against them, and no one would be on their side.

Jiangling Mansion is extraordinary, from the Spring and Autumn Period, here is the largest city in the whole south, once as the capital of the southern overlord Chu State, flourished for a while, and then rose in vain, Jiangling faced a catastrophe, countless temples were destroyed, the scholar family was slaughtered, and once declined, until the establishment of the Han Dynasty, Jiangling as the economic and political center of the south, re-emerged.

After the two empires of Great Chu and Great Yan, Jiangling Prefecture, which is adjacent to the Yangtze River in the south, became more and more powerful and became the most prosperous city in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River. Although it is not the seat of Jingzhou, it is still the most important city in Jingzhou and one of the most prosperous.

The capital city of Jiangling, also known as Jiangling City, is now the most important city in the south of Jingzhou occupied by the kings of Hanzhong and Luoyang. As the waterway gateway to Yangzhou in the east and Jiangzhou in the south, and at the same time, it is also the nearest supply station for the defense line of Jinglingfu in the upper reaches of the Shu Kingdom. Especially after the southern princes joined forces to resist the enemy, it also became a hoarding point for Shu and Qi to support the Jingbei defense line and transport materials.

Therefore, Jiangling Mansion and Jingling Mansion, the places along the Yangtze River, the king of Hanzhong will never let Shu occupy. Otherwise, the land of Jingzhou will not be able to resist in the face of the attack of the Shu army.

In order to successfully complete the rotation of officials and generals in Jingzhou, the king of Hanzhong and Wang Dao pulled the people of Qi to question the envoys of Shu together, so that they could not act rashly. For Shu, there is no certain certainty, no internal response, and it naturally does not dare to use force against Jingzhou easily.

Faced with the people of the King of Hanzhong, the King of Luoyang and the King of Shu, the people of the King of Shu naturally did not admit it, but pointed to the King of Hanzhong and others to deliberately frame themselves. The Shu army's idea of attacking Jiangling Mansion was indeed true, and it also bribed the officials and generals of Jiangling Mansion and Jingling Mansion. It's a pity that all the previous efforts were in vain because of this rumor.

The officials who worked so hard to spend a lot of money to buy are useless at the moment. This made the people of the Shu army suffer a loss, and now, being persecuted by the people of the king of Hanzhong and the king of Luoyang, the envoys of the Shu army have long been angry in their hearts. As a result, the envoys of the various princes were entangled in Gangneung Mansion, while the king of Hanzhong and Wang Dao were busy adjusting the officials and garrison generals of Gangneung Mansion and Jingling Mansion.

Needless to say, the alliance was delayed. For the king of Hanzhong, even if the alliance is delayed, Jingzhou cannot be taken away by Shu, otherwise, the consequences will be unimaginable.

In Jiangling Mansion, which fell into rumors and chaos, the King of Luoyang, who was sitting in Nanyang Mansion, also welcomed guests. The envoy of Zhao directly found the Luoyang Palace, of course, this is not Luoyang City, it is the newly built palace of the Luoyang King in Nanyang Mansion City.

Because after the fall of Dongyongzhou, Zhao Xun not only did not embarrass his family, but also released them later, which made the king of Luoyang learn that after the envoy of Zhao State, he did not refuse because he was a hostile vassal state, but directly met with this envoy of Zhao and Zhao.

The king of Luoyang also knew very well that although after the fall of Luoyang, his courtier Xu Ji surrendered to Zhao Xun in order to protect his family. But the main credit for the preservation of his family is not because of Xu Ji's surrender. On that day, the Zhao army had already entered Luoyang City, even if Xu Ji led the people of Luoyang Mansion to resist, it would not be beneficial to the situation in Luoyang City.

Therefore, the king of Luoyang still has a trace of gratitude to Zhao Xun. Especially after the loss of Dongyongzhou and the loss of most of its foundation, the king of Luoyang, who had no heart to fight, looked at the problem very differently than before. It can be said that if it weren't for his younger brother King Hanzhong and himself being the people who the King of Shu would have killed, maybe he would have persuaded the King of Hanzhong to merge the power in his hands with the King of Shu.

In other words, after the fall of Dongyongzhou, the current king of Luoyang has understood why his father handed over the Yongjun power to Situ Che instead of his eldest son.

"What? Surrender? Descend Zhao? Hearing what Ye Lei, the envoy of Zhao State, said, the king of Luoyang was immediately stunned, and immediately reacted, his face was strange, and he said continuously: "Impossible, this is impossible!" ”

"Impossible? Why not? Since you don't want to fight among the princes, why don't you submit to my Great Zhao and enjoy peace under my Great Zhao? At least, if you don't have any intention of fighting between the princes, you don't have to worry about the situation in Jingzhou. ”

"How can this king say that he is also a prince, and he has tens of thousands of troops under his command, how can he surrender to Zhao? This kind of loss-making business will not be done by this king. The king of Luoyang, who was told by Ye Lei, the envoy of Zhao State, suddenly felt relaxed and said indifferently.

Ye Lei smiled disapprenously: "Great King, you are indeed a prince of a land, but your foundation in Dongyongzhou has fallen into the hands of my Great Zhao, and most of the official systems under your command have also been surrendered to Zhao." The money and food accumulated by the Luo army, and the opportunities all fell into the hands of my Da Zhao. What is the current situation of the Luo army, I am afraid that you yourself know best, the king. ”

"Without Dongyongzhou, your strength will be half gone, and half of the area under your jurisdiction will be gone. Without civil officials, even if you occupy half of Jingzhou, you can't isolate your share from the king of Hanzhong. Without the large amount of money in Luoyang City, the only way to catch up with the king of Hanzhong in terms of military strength could not proceed smoothly. In this way, the king has lost the basis for competing with the other princes of the three routes. ”

The king of Luoyang's face froze, and said coldly: "Even so, this king is still the king of Luoyang, and he still has tens of thousands of troops. Why did this king give in to the Zhao Kingdom? Is it better to surrender a prince than a prince of a land? This king thinks about it, no one wants to be a general, to be a general who has nothing and give up his identity and status as a prince and king. ”

Ye Lei laughed and said in a loud voice: "The princes and kings? In the past, the king of Tang was also a prince king, but what was the result? The king of Tang destroyed the hands of the king and the king of Hanzhong, but the heir of the king of Tang surrendered to my Da Zhao and did ordinary people in my Da Zhao. Of course, he has now become a wealthy businessman. ”

"The king of Chu is also a prince king, but he wants to be hostile to my Great Zhao, and as a result, he died and his clan was destroyed. Don't talk about his identity, his status, I'm afraid that when he is dying, he thinks that it is better to live. As for the prince of Chu, he was implicated by Li Chi, the king of Chu, and he also died on the spot. ”

"Is it to be an ordinary person and live happily, or to be a prince and king who knows that he is going to decline but does not repent? Everyone who has their own opinion when it comes to the end of the day. So, what do you think, Dawang? ”

Ye Lei's words suddenly made King Luoyang's face turn blue. Ye Lei's words clearly told him that surrendering now would save his life. Otherwise, when the Luo army is no longer in decline, or when the Zhao army and the Luo army are in a decisive battle, the king of Chu will be his own end. The other party said it very clearly and straightforwardly, but he also had to let the king of Luoyang suppress the anger in his heart.

Seeing that the other party was so persecuted, the king of Luoyang said coldly: "The Chu army was defeated, and the king of Chu died, that is because the Chu army is too weak." Although our Luo army is not strong, there are still several princes behind our Luo army who are helping out. Now, compared to you, Zhao Guo has already gotten the news, I am waiting for the southern princes to be about to form an alliance, and it is not certain who will win and who will lose in the future. ”

Seeing that Ye Lei still wanted to continue to refute himself, the king of Luoyang continued: "If you have the ability to defeat us directly, you will not come to persuade this king to surrender, but directly overwhelm the territory." As far as this king knows, your Zhao Kingdom also has a lot of internal problems now. This king sees you today because of the love of King Zhao who released this king's family in the past. As for persuasion, this king thinks there is no need for you to continue. ”

Seeing that the king of Luoyang was like this, Ye Lei was not angry, and directly asked the king of Luoyang to resign. Ye Lei's indifferent departure also made the king of Luoyang feel a little puzzled: Could it be that Zhao Guo really didn't care about the existence of his own princes and kings? Could it be that my Luo Jun is so unbearable in the eyes of your Zhao Jun?

These thoughts also made the king of Luoyang feel a little discouraged. What the envoy of Zhao said was good, and the king of Luoyang gradually gave up control of Jingzhou, which he was not happy with. After all, even if he was willing, the tens of thousands of soldiers under his command would not be reconciled. However, the loss of soldiers, the loss of a large amount of money and food, and the loss of the civilian system that managed the local government made it difficult for him to have any practical thoughts about Jingzhou. Especially in the land of Jingbei that confronted the Zhao army a few years ago, it consumed a large amount of money, food and materials for the king of Luoyang, and suddenly made him overstretched.

There is no one in the management place, and there is no money to recruit troops and horses, which is also one of the main reasons why the king of Luoyang gave up his control of Jingzhou and gave up the idea of fighting among the princes. Coupled with the official system under his command, especially the surrender of all the old ministers of Dayan that he had always relied on, he completely lost the heart of the princes to fight for hegemony.

Even so, after learning that the King of Shu was ready to fight his own idea and annex his subordinates, he was still angry. Needless to say, the transfer of generals and school officials from Jingnan and Jingbei to the king of Hanzhong was naturally approved by the king of Luoyang. Although the king of Luoyang no longer has the idea of princes competing for hegemony, this does not mean that he is willing to give up the power in his hands and give up his status as a prince. Therefore, Zhao Guo's persuasion, whether it is reasonable or not, will not accept it.

Just when the princes of Jiangling Mansion were arguing about the idea of attacking Jingzhou because of the Shu army, something that made the king of Hanzhong panic appeared. Zhao's garrisons in the eastern part of Liangzhou, the southern part of Bingzhou, and the land of Eastern Yongzhou began to have a small commotion. As soon as Zhao moved, the king of Hanzhong had to turn his energy to his northern jurisdiction of Xiyongzhou. You must know that these regions of Zhao State just surround their own Xiyong Prefecture.

At this moment, the king of Hanzhong could no longer care about arguing with the people of the Shu army, and while letting his subordinates continue to carry out the issue of the rotation of officials and colonels, he also began to ask the Shu army and the Qi army for support.

When they first heard of the changes in Zhao State, both the King of Qi and the King of Shu were shocked and hurriedly sent people to inspect the situation in Zhao State. In their opinion, Zhao Guo should not act at this time, and they also understand the internal situation of Zhao State. Although there was no civil unrest, most of the officials were replaced, causing some commotion.

King Qi rose the earliest, and naturally had the most spies in various places. And the King of Shu inherited the power of King Yong, and he was also not weak with the King of Qi. Therefore, at the same time that the king of Hanzhong got the news, the king of Qi and the king of Shu also found out the changes in the Zhao state.

The king's request for help and help was not granted by the envoys of the king of Shu and the king of Qi, because they knew that the state of Zhao was not prepared for a big war at all. The so-called abnormal movement is just the appearance and activity of a small group of people and horses on the border between Xiyongzhou and Zhao, and there is no large army. After all, there was no large-scale transportation of grain and grass, conscription of baggage teams, and people's husbands in Zhao State, and the garrisons in the vicinity of Zhao State and Xiyong Prefecture did not have the action of transferring large armies.

Therefore, the people of the King of Qi and the King of Shu believed that Zhao would not really attack Xiyongzhou at this moment, and their purpose was to disrupt the alliance, or delay the progress of the alliance, so that the Zhao army could reach the shortest time difference between the completion of the alliance of princes and the internal recovery of Zhao. Therefore, the king of Qi and the king of Shu had no intention of sending troops to support, and even suggested that the king of Hanzhong should focus on the affairs of the Shang Council, and as for the defense of Xiyongzhou, he only needed to strengthen the vigilance.

The refusal of the Qi army and the Shu army made the king of Hanzhong extremely annoyed, and the alliance was in the end, but he fought alone. Xiyong Prefecture is its own, isn't it their protective net? However, the king of Hanzhong also thinks that what the Shu army and the Qi army said is reasonable, and this Zhao State is only afraid that it is because of the affairs of the alliance this time.

Of course, the king of Hanzhong was not careless. Xiyongzhou is its own, not someone else's. And the last time Zhao State attacked the Chu army under the pretense of attacking it, in fact, the matter of raiding Dongyongzhou was still hovering in the mind of the king of Hanzhong. No one dared to guarantee that this time Zhao State would not be another raid by Zhao State.

Therefore, the king of Hanzhong had to let go of the dispute between Jiangling Mansion and the king of Shu, and had to put down the affairs of the alliance, and went to Xiyongzhou in person to be responsible for the defense of Xiyongzhou.

Seeing that the alliance could not be formed, it was caused by rumors that caused internal chaos. Now, Zhao caused an incident on the border of Xiyongzhou and lured the king of Hanzhong away, which made Wang Dao very worried about the alliance. At this moment, he already believed that the rumors were definitely used by Zhao Guo to sabotage the alliance. As for the situation in Xiyongzhou, it must be that Zhao Guo saw the alliance of the princes and wanted to break him up. The situation in the territory under the jurisdiction of the king of Hanzhong has changed abruptly, how can the king of Hanzhong still have the heart to join the alliance? The king of Qi and the king of Shu refused to send practical support, which made Wang Dao gradually lose much hope for the alliance.

Although the King of Qi and the King of Shu both have the intention of alliance, they both have the heart of attacking and defending the alliance. It's a pity that the two great princes, the King of Qi and the King of Shu, do not want to let themselves suffer losses, and the King of Shu even wants to annex the land of Jingzhou.

In Luoyang City, Situ Liang also got a reply from the king of Luoyang. Situ Liang was not surprised by King Luoyang's refusal. Although he knew that the king of Luoyang had lost the capital and ambition of the princes to compete for hegemony, even if he had the possibility of surrendering, the king of Luoyang was still the king of Luoyang after all, and he was a prince of a place, and once he wanted to persuade the king of Luoyang to surrender, Situ Liang understood that it was impossible. If the king of Luoyang agreed to surrender, it would make Situ Liang feel surprised.

"Unfortunately, it didn't work out!" Zhao Jie, the general of the town army, sighed with a little pity. If the king of Luoyang surrenders, it will be a great good thing for Zhao State, and the next Zhao army's actions will be much more convenient. Even if the king of Luoyang surrenders, with their garrison in Dongyongzhou, they can take advantage of the situation and occupy the land of Jingzhou.

Situ Liang said disapprerovingly: "The king of Luoyang will not surrender is also expected by this official, after all, he is a prince of a land, how can he be surrendered by us in a few words." Since he is not willing to surrender, let him have some fodder. In addition, now that the king of Hanzhong has also been pulled away from Jingnan, if the king of Luoyang causes trouble again, the princes will be allied, but I am afraid that it will not have any effect. ”

"The Flying Eagle Guard and Shadow Guard in Jingzhou were ordered to continue to spread rumors and pull the King of Luoyang in. General Zhao Xiong, lead your troops and begin to move towards Hangu Pass. In addition, the idea of sending a small team of men and horses outside Hangu Pass to attract the defenders of Hangu Pass should make them feel that our army outside Hangu Pass is only to attract the army of Hangu Pass, and prevent them from returning to the west and north of the land of Sanfu. ”

Zhao Xiong said in a deep voice: "What does the governor mean is to make the king of Hanzhong, who will take Chang'an, think that our army outside the Hangu Pass will not really take action against this danger, so that he can devote his energy to the north and west of Chang'an?" ”

Situ Liang shook his head and smiled: "Not only do you want Situ Fei to think that we won't do anything in this dangerous pass, but even in other directions of Xiyongzhou, I, Zhao Guo, don't really mean to do it." Let them feel that our purpose is to bring him back to Xiyongzhou and break away from the Huimeng. ”

Zhao Xiong nodded and said: "The last general understands, the governor wants the king of Hanzhong to leave Xiyongzhou, and also to facilitate our raid at Hangu Pass." ”

Zhao Jie on the side was puzzled: "Since we need the King of Hanzhong to leave Xiyongzhou, why do we need to take small actions around Xiyongzhou to attract the King of Hanzhong back?" It's better to ......."

Situ Liang said with a smile: "If you don't attract the king of Hanzhong back from Jingzhou, and don't let him see in person that my Da Zhao has no intention of attacking Xiyongzhou, the purpose is only to sabotage the alliance of the princes, how can this king of Hanzhong rest assured about the defense of Xiyongzhou?" Will it give us the opportunity to attack Xiyongzhou? ”

"In addition, the return of the king of Hanzhong to Xiyongzhou is also beneficial for us to win over and suppress the king of Luoyang. The king of Luoyang and the king of Hanzhong are now the weak side, and the two can be well linked. It can be said that since the fall of Dongyongzhou, the king of Luoyang has almost been a vassal force of the king of Hanzhong. The farther away the king of Hanzhong is, the more beneficial it is for our actions. ”

"By the way, because of the problem of the Shu army bribing the generals of the Luo army, the officials of the generals of Jingnan and Jingbei were exchanged. Since these people can be bought by the Shu army, it means that they can also be bought by us. is using their connection with the Shu army to coerce and lure, but it may not be impossible for us to use. ”