Even though the hundred officials were unwilling, King Zhao had already made up his mind, and the new Imperial History of the Metropolitan Procuratorate agreed, and the Privy Council also agreed. Therefore, the rectification of the secret guard was implemented very smoothly.

Zhao Guo is now at war outside and stable internally, so there is no external interference from the outside world when the secret guard rectifies everything. In the inner city of Youzhou City, near the Zhao Palace, and in opposition to the Nine Divisions, four new yamen were established. Among them, the embroidered clothes guard is adjacent to the internal affairs office, and is not close to the other four yamen related to hundreds of officials.

After the secret guards were rectified and the responsibilities of each secret guard yamen were announced, whether it was a central official or a local official, they were much more careful in doing things. In the past, only the inspectors sent by the Metropolitan Procuratorate patrolled the place, but now, around them, and even beside them, there were still hidden guards of the imperial court, and they couldn't be careless. The ability of the secret guards, in this inspection of the officials, they have clearly understood.

While Zhao was rectifying its internal affairs, the southern princes were not idle. Whether it was Murong Cheng, the king of Qi, or Situ Che, the king of Shu, both of them knew at this moment that after the Chu army was annexed by the Zhao army, they would become the next target of the Zhao state.

Therefore, the two kings are stepping up their preparations for war, and at the same time, they are also beginning to restore people's livelihood. The princes who have been able to persist until now are not ordinary people, and naturally they also understand the importance of people's livelihood to them. In addition, the two also began to contact the king of Luoyang and the king of Hanzhong to organize the alliance.

Originally, I thought that the Chu army could delay the Zhao army in Xuzhou for a while, but I didn't want to fight, not to mention the civil strife in the Chu army, and in just a few months, the Chu army all surrendered to Zhao, which made both the king of Qi and the king of Shu feel that the soldiers of Zhao were approaching and an indescribable pressure was coming.

In particular, Murong Cheng, the king of Qi, originally hoped to be able to draw the water division of the Chu army over and lay a defensive network on the Huai River in the north of Yangzhou. didn't want to fight, but he was still one step too late for Zhao Jun and let Zhao Jun take the lead. Now, the Huai River and Hongze Lake line have been changed to the naval division of the Zhao army, which is gradually expanding.

Originally, for the King of Qi, the Huai River and Hongze Lake were Yangzhou's natural defense network. If you have a sailor, you can keep the enemy out. After all, without a water division, it is impossible for the army to fly across the river. Therefore, in the past, in Yangzhou, there was a Yangzhou Huaihe River sailor on the first line of the Huai River.

It's a pity that Murong Cheng wanted to be treacherous and raided the Xuzhou army when he attacked Situ Lei, the king of Yong, but was besieged by the rest of the princes. However, the four northern prefectures of Yangzhou were lost to the hands of the Xuzhou army, and even the Huaihe River division was forced to surrender to the Xuzhou army. The king of Qi not only lost the Huai River sailors, but also lost all the ships and shipwrights in the north of Yangzhou to the hands of the Xuzhou army.

After the Xuzhou Army and the Qi Army fought for nearly two years, the Xuzhou Army, which was renamed the Chu Army, was defeated and returned. Although Li Chi, the king of Chu, was defeated and negotiated peace with the Qi army. However, he did not return the Qi army sailors that he had received in the past according to the wishes of the Qi army, nor did he return the shipwrights taken from Yangzhou.

Li Chi can persist in the land of Xuzhou for more than ten years, and he has his own ability. Although it was weak, it also knew that if the Qi army obtained the water division again, then the Chu army would be at an absolute disadvantage. Even if the two sides negotiate peace first, it is difficult to guarantee that the Qi army will not raid across the river and enter the territory of Xuzhou.

And Murong Cheng, the king of Qi, was also worried about the situation in Jingzhou at that time, and he couldn't delay too much. In addition, in his opinion, even if the Chu army now has a water division, it will not be able to cause harm to his side. Therefore, Murong Cheng did not force the Chu army to return the sailors and plunder his own shipwrights and withdraw. It is the northern land of Yangzhou, and there is no other water division.

After all, the formation of a sailor is not only a matter of soldiers and money and food, but also warships. In the past, the Chu army occupied the four northern provinces of Yangzhou, and then withdrew the army, in order to ensure the defense of the Huai River, but the shipyard in Yangzhou was not much left. And the shipwright was even packed and taken away by Chu Jun. What was left for the Qi army was only a few small fishing boats. Obviously, this fishing boat cannot be used as a naval warship.

And Murong Cheng, who was busy with the land of Jiangzhou and Jingzhou, did not have the time and energy to spend too much energy to reorganize the water division. In addition, the Qi army's northern attack was not impossible to break the defense. And the weakness of the Chu army did not make Murong Cheng care too much.

However, the Chu army surrendered to Zhao, but let the Qi army be guarded by no water division in Yangzhou, and was directly under the front of the Zhao army. This made Murong Cheng, the king of Qi, feel a great threat.

You must know that the land under the jurisdiction of the Qi army now is only Yangzhou and Jiangzhou, plus one-third of Jiaozhou and Jingzhou. But the Qi army was attacked on all sides. To the east was the Zhao navy, and to the south was the territory occupied by the Zhao and Shu armies in Jiaozhou. To the west is the Shu army. Originally, the north was the Chu army, but the Chu army was weak and did not pose much of a threat to Murong Cheng, the king of Qi.

But now that the Chu army has surrendered to Zhao, the land of Xuzhou has fallen into the hands of Zhao, and the Qi army will have another big enemy in the north. As a result, the situation of the Qi army is very bad.

The Chu army surrendered to Zhao, and the Zhao state occupied Xuzhou. It's not just for the Qi Army, it's a great threat. For the other princes, how could it not be? Needless to say, the king of Luoyang now has only most of Jingzhou under his jurisdiction that is jointly occupied with the king of Hanzhong. The king of Hanzhong is slightly better, but it is only a line better than the king of Luoyang. In addition to occupying the land of Jingzhou with his brother King Luoyang, he also occupied the land of Hanzhong and Xiyongzhou. However, the king of Luoyang without Luoyang no longer has much strength. In addition, the current king of Luoyang has no intention of fighting with Zhao State. In other words, it no longer has the intention of princes competing for hegemony. As for the threat of Zhao, he only passively cooperated with the king of Hanzhong in Jingbei to defend.

However, the land of Xiyongzhou is threatened by the Zhao State. Especially after the fall of Dongyongzhou and the hands of Zhao, the land of Xiyongzhou became even more dangerous. As for the land of Hanzhong, although it is located in the rear, to the south is his younger brother and his own enemy, Situ Che, the king of Shu. Therefore, the pressure on him now is even worse than that of King Qi. After all, King Qi's foundation and strength are far from being comparable to King Tufei in Si Hanzhong. He is also a prince who has the intention to ally and resist the Zhao State.

The only one that was not directly threatened by the Zhao State belonged to the Shu State, which was located in the southwest, with the king of Hanzhong and the king of Luoyang in the north, and the land of Jiangzhou in the east of the Qi state. As for the south, it is a country of foreign races such as Chenla. And the place where Shu and these foreign tribes are connected, the terrain is complex, and it is not afraid of foreign invasion.

Despite this, Situ Che, the king of Shu, did not feel the slightest ease, especially after the Chu army surrendered to Zhao, and after Xuzhou quickly gained a foothold, Situ Che, the king of Shu, felt the pressure doubled. After all, the princes in the north were gradually wiped out by Zhao Xun, and even if his Shu Kingdom was peaceful, sooner or later there would be a scene of Zhao troops approaching the city.

Therefore, under the planning of the king of Hanzhong, several other princes had the intention of alliance. Although it is not well organized, it is better than fighting separately before. The current Murong Cheng and Situ Che have clearly felt the powerful threat of the Zhao State. They all knew that Zhao Guo's next move could only be to attack them in the south. After all, the other princes fell one by one. If they are still fighting on their own and fighting among themselves, without Zhao Guo's southern attack, I am afraid that they will already start to decline.

Therefore, Situ Fei, the king of Hanzhong, sent people to persuade Murong Cheng, the king of Qi, and Situ Che, the king of Shu, to let them put down their internal fighting and form an offensive and defensive alliance to resist the Zhao state.

However, among the southern princes, the kings of Qi, Shu, and Hanzhong were all very alliances, but the kings of Luoyang were not very interested in this. Since then, Dongyongzhou was lost, Luoyang was conquered by Zhao, and after the important ministers under his command were surrendered to Zhao, the king of Luoyang lost the heart of the princes to fight for hegemony. Maybe it's for other reasons, in short, the king of Luoyang is not very interested in the coalition army against the Zhao State, and even the Luo army under his command is not very concerned now.

At the beginning of February of the sixth year of Changping, that is, at the beginning of February of the first year of the Great Zhao, the southern princes officially began to meet in Jiangling Mansion in Jingzhou to discuss the affairs of the alliance. Jiangling Mansion is located in the south of Jingzhou, with the hinterland of Jingzhou to the north and the sphere of influence of the kings of Hanzhong and Luoyang, Jiangxia to the east, the sphere of influence of the Qi army, and the south and southwest to the sphere of influence of the Shu army. Therefore, by choosing this place, all the princes can be taken into account, and no king of Qi and king Shu will be dissatisfied because of the difference in status.

Luoyang, the former national capital, is now a front-line city of Zhao. The current Dongyongzhou has become the frontline of the Zhao State against the southern princes. Luoyang City, on the other hand, became the base camp of the Zhao army on the front line. Now sitting in Dongyongzhou is Situ Liang, the former military governor in charge of the military affairs of Dongyongzhou.

Situ Liang is the privy envoy of the Great Zhao Privy Council, which is in the Zhao State, and what Zhao Xun set up is a kind of yamen equivalent to the General Staff. There is no actual leadership over the army, and of course, Zhao Xun will not let the Privy Council command the army.

However, the Privy Council has the power to counsel military affairs, and in wartime, has the power to decide the general planning of the war situation, while the three provinces and nine ministries have no right to interfere. In addition, the Privy Councillor and the Privy Counsellor may be appointed at any time as the head of the front-line leadership, of course, this is only a temporary position, not long-term, and will not exist for long.

In Zhao Xun's plan, the army that existed separately was the largest town, that is, 25,000 to 30,000 people as a whole. No matter how large it is, it requires multiple armies to join forces in the war, and the commander is an officer appointed temporarily. Zhao Xun knew very well that in the feudal era, the army was far from being as easy to control and obedient as later generations. Otherwise, there would be no situation in which the monarchs of the past dynasties suppressed the generals.

"An alliance of princes? It seems that this southern prince also feels the threat of my Zhao State. However, they did pick a good time. Knowing the situation, Situ Liang said with a slightly solemn face.

Regarding what has happened in the court in the last month or two, Situ Liang is naturally clear. In the entire territory of Zhao State, officials are now being adjusted and favoritism and malpractice are investigated. Especially after killing two or three hundred officials in a row, both the central and local governments began to fall into slight turmoil.

Although these turmoil could not shake the rule of Zhao, they also had to make Zhao stop any large-scale external actions and other major changes, and instead enter into internal adjustments. It can be said that the current Zhao State, in the short term, will not use force easily. At the very least, there will be no big action. Before the internal adjustment is completed, Zhao Guo's center of gravity will not shift outward.

Zhao Xiong, the general of the Tenth Town Town Army, frowned and said, "Although the army cannot be easily dispatched, we cannot sit idly by and watch the southern princes smoothly form an alliance. Otherwise, our next move will not be smooth. We are not afraid of the kings of Hanzhong and Luoyang, and the land of Jingzhou and Xiyongzhou, in our eyes, is not an insurmountable problem. However, if we add the Qi State and the Shu State, it will be difficult for us to go south in the future. ”

Situ nodded and said, "You're right, forming an alliance now, over time, is indeed not good for us." In particular, the Qi army and the Shu army will support the king of Hanzhong and the king of Luoyang, and let them delay and consume us. However, the official has already reported the situation here to the king, and asked for the intention of seeking an opportunity to fight. Come to think of it, the king's reply should also arrive. ”

"Governor, the king has an order!" As soon as Situ Liang's words fell, Zhao Jie, the general of the Ninth Town Town Army, walked in with a smile on his face, still holding the military edict with a purple cover in his hand.

"Oh? It's so good, I'm still talking about it! Situ Liang took the military order with a smile, opened it and looked at it, and a smile gradually appeared on his face.

"Governor, what does the king say? Is there any intention for us to strike? Zhao Jie asked eagerly.

Situ Liang raised his head and smiled: "What? Can't wait? General Zhao knows the current situation of my Great Zhao, but I am afraid that at this moment, there will be no full-scale war with the southern princes. ”

Zhao Jie squeezed his hands and said urgently: "However, the southern princes have already begun to prepare for the alliance, are they just looking at it like this?" Even if I need internal stability and adjustment in Zhao State, the garrison of Dongyongzhou can also attack. ”

Zhao Xiong said in a deep voice: "Lao Jiu, don't forget, there are only fifty or sixty thousand troops in Dongyongzhou, but the southern princes have hundreds of thousands of troops. Once the two sides officially engage in war, it is not something that our Dongyongzhou garrison can solve. When the time comes, it will lead to the opening of the battle on all fronts. This matter is not something that we can decide lightly. ”

Situ Liang smiled: "It's okay, this operation, my garrison in Dongyongzhou is enough." Although the southern princes were preparing for a formal alliance, this was not an easy task. The king has given us an order to fight on our own. When necessary, he can lead the army to attack the land of Jingbei and Xiyongzhou. ”

"In addition, after the rectification, there is news from the Shadow Guard, among the southern princes, the king of Luoyang has no intention of the Luo army, and he has not invested his energy in the affairs of the alliance, and because of this, the king of Shu, Situ Che, began to secretly fight the idea of the territory of Jingzhou occupied by the king of Luoyang."

Zhao Xiong said: "What does the governor mean to stir up internal discord among them? However, even if the King of Shu had the idea of fighting the King of Luoyang, this would not make the other kings who were committed to the alliance ignore the overall situation. In addition, now in addition to the king of Luoyang, whether it is the king of Hanzhong or the king of Qi, they have all received a direct threat from our Great Zhao, and they are afraid that they will not fall out with the king of Shu because of the matter of the king of Luoyang and become hostile. ”

Situ Liang said with a smile: "King Qi may not, but King Hanzhong may not." The land of Jingzhou was jointly taken by the king of Hanzhong and the king of Luoyang, because in order to resist the counterattack of the king of Shu, the king of Hanzhong and the king of Luoyang did not refine the dividing line between the two sides of Jingzhou. It can be said that in the land of Jingzhou, the forces of the king of Hanzhong and the king of Luoyang have been fused. ”

"In addition, the king of Luoyang and the king of Hanzhong are still the princes of Wang Shizi who were dissatisfied with the inheritance of King Yong's great cause by Situ Che, the king of Shu, and the two of them are not only enemies with my Da Zhao, but also enemies with Situ Che. Situ Fei is unwilling to be defeated by the hands of my Great Zhao, and he is also unwilling to be defeated by the hands of Situ Che. Defeat and the hands of my Great Zhao may be able to save his life, but if Situ Che takes down his territory, he will die without a place to be buried. ”

Therefore, even if the king of Luoyang loses his fighting spirit and confidence, the king of Hanzhong will not be willing to let the king of Luoyang be taken by the king of Shu, let alone let the land of Jingzhou fall into the hands of the Shu army. If the land of Jingzhou falls into the hands of the Shu army, he will be the king of Hanzhong and defeated and the hands of my Great Zhao. At that time, the king of Shu could completely force the king of Hanzhong and directly ally with the king of Qi alone. The king of Hanzhong, who lost the land of Jingzhou, was no longer enough to ally with the king of Shu and the king of Qi. ”

"Therefore, we have to spread this news in Jingzhou, and in addition, we must attack Hangu Pass."

"Attack Hangu Pass?" Zhao Xiong was surprised: "Since you want to make hostility between the King of Hanzhong, the King of Luoyang and the King of Shu, why do you still attack Hangu Pass?" Originally, the king of Hanzhong was not the opponent of the king of Shu, plus us, I am only afraid of ......"

Situ Liang looked at the south from afar, and said in a deep voice: "The internal fighting among the southern princes will not really start a full-scale war after all, at most it will be a debate. Compared with the King of Qi, he also did not want the land of Jingzhou to fall into the hands of the King of Shu, so the King of Shu would not use troops in Jingzhou. ”

"As far as we are concerned, no matter how infighting the southern princes are, they have nothing to do with us. It is beneficial for us to prevent the alliance of southern princes from forming a real alliance, and in addition, if we can take Hangu Pass, it will be the most beneficial thing for us. ”

"In this way, I'm afraid that the garrisons of Bingzhou and Liangzhou will have to move!" Zhao Xiong said softly.

Situ nodded and smiled: "It's okay, the king has already ordered all the surrounding departments to assist us in our actions." We don't need to let the town soldiers, forbidden army and cavalry of Liangzhou and Bingzhou really act, we only need to make a little move to contain the army of the king of Hanzhong in Xiyongzhou. In the end, it made him feel that I, Da Zhao, are busy with internal stability now, and I will not really choose to take action at this moment. ”

"Besides, it's best to be able to take Xiyongzhou, even if you can't take it, it doesn't matter, after all, our goal is not to conquer the city, but to make the action of the Southern Princes Alliance not work well."

Zhao Xiong nodded and said: "The last general understands, but, from what we know, this King of Luoyang is now only afraid that he is no longer the ambitious King of Luoyang, even so, plus we let go of his family, why not send someone to woo him?" If the king of Luoyang can surrender, it will also be a great good thing for us. ”