Qin State, Tongguan.

In order to prevent the morale of the army from being shaken, the news of the loss of Xianyang was tightly sealed, and at this time in Tongguan, except for the main general Wang Jian who knew that the Han army had entered the pass, no one knew about the changes in Xianyang City behind him.

These days, the Qin army, under the command of Wang Qian, thwarted more than a dozen large-scale siege operations by the Korean army. Tactically speaking, the Qin army was victorious, at least for this moment, Tongguan was still in the hands of the Qin state. But strategically, the Qin army was a failure. Because since the Han army began to attack Tongguan, it has lost 30,000 troops, and correspondingly, the casualties of the Qin army have also exceeded 10,000. There are very few of the more than 10,000 troops who originally guarded Tongguan who can survive until now. Most of the Qin troops guarding the city now came from Qi County to reinforce them.

If it was 30,000 Qin troops facing 70,000 Han troops, with Tongguan Jiancheng, the Qin army would have a lot of confidence. But with the 10,000 army being inexplicably transferred back to Guanzhong, there were only 20,000 Qin troops left in Tongguan to face the 70,000 Han army, and in a certain way, the Qin army was no longer in the upper hand!

In just ten days of siege battles, the Qin army suffered more than 4,000 casualties, and the Korean army suffered slightly larger casualties, but less than 10,000. According to this ratio, after the Qin army was annihilated, the Korean army would be left with nearly 20,000.

Of course, the outcome of a war is by no means a simple comparison of numbers, it is difficult to say whether the Korean army can withstand this casualty, the more the Qin army fights to the end, the fewer and fewer soldiers, and the proportion of casualties will increase suddenly! It's just that according to this battle situation, most of the people who have the last laugh are the Korean army!

The Qin army didn't dare to think about it, and he didn't have time to think about why the garrison strength in such an important place as Tongguan was so small! They naturally didn't know that while the Han army was attacking Tongguan, it also launched a fierce attack on the Qin State from the direction of Nanyang and Hanzhong! Qin's troops are already stretched! They just know that they want to live on this battlefield where either you die or I die. You have to kill all the enemies in front of you!

The fierce battles day after day made the nerves of both sides begin to become numb, eating, sleeping, and getting up to fight, this is what the soldiers of Qin and Han do every day. The difference is that some people will die in battle, and some people will survive by luck. Death means the end, it means liberation. Those who survive will continue to eat, sleep, and fight. No one knows when it will be an end, everyone only obeys the orders of their superiors, layer upon layer, and the supreme commanders of the two armies, Wang Jian and Wei Yun, undoubtedly decide the fate of nearly 100,000 people.

"General! Someone is begging to see you under the city! When Wang Jian heard that Han Jun had sent someone to see him, the surprise on his face flashed.

His first reaction was that Han Jun wanted to persuade him to surrender. After all, no matter how you look at the Qin State, there is a taste of exhaustion. The west of Xianyang no longer belonged to the Qin state, and the armies of Qin and Han faced each other across the Jingshui, and the current situation was that the two sides were jealous of each other, maintaining a subtle shape. Tongguan, which he guarded, was extremely important at this time. If he surrenders to Korea, the Korean army can enter Guanzhong in a steady stream, and now the balance of Guanzhong will be broken, and the only fate of Qin is to completely abandon Guanzhong. If you try your best to ensure that Tongguan is not lost, you can buy time for the Qin State. Even if South Korea sends a large army, it can only make a detour to Namyang.

The second reaction was that the Korean army sent assassins to approach him under the pretense of peace or something, and then suddenly attacked! Once you die. The defenders of Tongguan are bound to be in chaos, and the South Korean army can quickly capture Tongguan. Attack the Qin State with the Han army in Xianyang City! But this idea was quickly vetoed by Wang Qian. The reason is very simple, he was assassinated twice or three times in the past few years, and he has long prevented this situation. After all, the assassination was inferior, and compared with the assassination of himself, South Korea was probably more willing to assassinate the King of Qin.

"Hang him up to the city! General Ben wants to see it. What kind of conspiracy is the Han army playing again! Wang Jian simply did not delve into the intention of the Han army's envoy, but he still retained a bit of caution. Tong can't open the city gate, even if a person has peerless martial arts, he can't set off much wind and waves!

"Whoa!" The guards took the order and left.

Half an hour later, the envoy of the Han army, who had been inspected layer by layer, appeared in front of Wang Qian. Wang Jian glanced at the envoy of the Han army without sadness or joy, and said in an extremely flat tone: "Say it! Who sent you? ”

The envoy of the Han army smiled slightly, shook his head and said, "Who does the general think it will be?" ”

Wang Qian's eyebrows instantly furrowed, and he said unhappily: "If General Ben knows, why should he ask you?" ”

The guards on the side took the opportunity to say: "Whoever is coming, report the name quickly!" Otherwise, the sin will be judged by detail! ”

The envoy of the Han army snorted coldly, knowing that the two of them sang and harmonized just to give themselves a dismount! The state affairs of the Qin State have been so difficult, but they still can't let go of the pride they once had. Wang Qian's tone is so unkind, if he replies respectfully, wouldn't he have fallen into the prestige of South Korea?! What's more, whether or not the peace talks are successful or not will not have much impact on South Korea. With such confidence, the envoy of the Han army didn't mind having a good deal with Wang Qian.

The envoy of the Korean army just snorted coldly, but did not answer. The atmosphere froze all at once. Wang Jian restrained the anger in his heart, made a round, and said, "I don't know who the messenger represents and why he came. ”

The envoy of the Han army glanced at Wang Jian with a straight face, and said jokingly: "I originally thought that the Qin State was a wild place and did not know etiquette, but now it seems that there are still people like the general who understand!" ”

Wang Qian's face suddenly turned pale, and he couldn't bear to be angry. The envoy of the Han army breathed a sigh of relief, but it was also appropriate, and said: "I am here on behalf of the king of Han, and I want to see the king of Qin, and I hope that the general will introduce me on my behalf!" ”

Wang Jian nodded, but did not answer, and began to quickly think about the purpose of King Han sending someone to see King Qin. Whether it is to show off its military power and force the Qin State to cede land to Korea and sue for peace, or simply humiliate it, and then destroy the Qin State Sheji, both are possible! If it is the latter, it is a big sin to let the Korean army envoy out of Tongguan without permission!

"The messenger has no basis for his words, but can he have a token?" Wang Jian asked calmly.

The envoy of the Han army immediately showed the token to Wang Qian, and then said calmly: "Outside Tongguan, there is still a carriage and a number of entourage!" If the general has no objection, please open and close the carriage and let the horses enter the customs. I will ask you to retreat twenty miles, and the general will not have to worry! ”

This is the agitation, if Wang Jian is generous and confident, he will definitely open and close a carriage to enter the customs. If Wang Jian was worried about Han Jun's deception, he refused to open the door. Undoubtedly, it is falling behind!

"If you talk about carriages, there are still a lot of Tongguan. Presumably, the messenger's chariot must have come from a long journey, since he entered my Qin realm, how could he bother the envoy to exhaust the horse-drawn cart?! It is better to send someone to inform the king of this matter first, and if the king agrees. The general then ordered all the envoys' retinue to be brought into the city, and then sent men to escort the envoys to the king. If the king refuses, the envoy can only return to Luoyang! Wang Jian is reasonable.

The envoy of the Han army just smiled slightly and said, "Then there is General Lao!" ”

There is no doubt that the Qin State, which is in a dilemma, will definitely smell a hint of wind when he learns that the King of Han has sent him as an envoy to the Qin State. Even if he had bad intentions, King Qin would definitely summon him to confirm this.

Qin now has no secrets in front of South Korea, and the envoy of the South Korean army immediately resigned. Leave enough time for Qin to react.

After sending off the envoy of the Han army, Wang Jian issued two instructions, the first was to send heavy troops to protect the envoy of the Han army, so that he could not find out the reality of the Qin army in Tongguan, and the second was to send someone to report to Liyang in an urgent manner for 800 miles, and inform the king of Qin of the news of the arrival of the envoy of the Korean army, and ask the king of Qin to decide.

It is only more than 200 miles from Tongguan to Liyang, and if you don't care about horsepower. It can be reached in two days. In view of the dense number of post stations in various important cities in Korea, the Qin State also established a well-connected gallop road in Guanzhong. At an expedited speed of 800 miles, only five hours later, the King of Qin, who was in Liyang, learned the news that the envoy of the King of Han had arrived in Tongguan.

"Your Majesty! The minister thought that he might as well let the Korean envoy pass through Guò Tongguan and test the meaning of South Korea! Zong Zhengying said.

"The minister seconded the proposal! Since South Korea is willing to send envoys, there is room for things to turn around! Even if the two countries are still fighting to the death. It can also buy time for Keqing! Shaofu also said.

Lü Buwei had already set off for Handan the day before, and whether Zhao Guo could change his mind or not decided the national fortunes of Qin State in a certain way. Whether the envoys of the King of Han brought peace or war also affected the Qin state. It is impossible for Qin to pin all its hopes on Korea, but it is clear about the purpose of going to Korea. It's always good.

King Qin turned his gaze to Bai Qi, the Wu'an Jun who had not yet left Liyang, Bai Qi's tone was still calm, and he didn't seem to be shaken by the envoy sent by South Korea, and said: "Neither humble nor arrogant, deal with it calmly, and South Korea can't underestimate my Great Qin!" The minister thinks that there is no harm in the king seeing the Korean envoy! ”

King Qin nodded, although he was very unhappy in his heart, but the form was stronger than people. This is like a person who occupies the house handed down by your ancestors, and sends someone to negotiate with you, the real strong person must be too lazy to negotiate, whoever dares to grab his own things, just grab it back! Even, snatch up the other party's things. The Qin State is now a weak person who is anxious, and when he loses his ancestral inheritance, he has to worry about whether the other party wants his own life.

I still have to learn from the first king, when the first king ascended the throne and succeeded to the throne, with the acquiescence of the Empress Dowager Xuan, the four nobles were arrogant, but in the end, it was the first king who laughed last. What Gou Jian can do, I Zhao Zhu (Yingzhu) can do the same!

"Then refurbish your armament and prepare for the visit of the Korean envoy!" The King of Qin gave an order!

Three days later, Tang Ju, the envoy of the King of Han, arrived in Liyang and asked to see the King of Qin, and the King of Qin allowed him to summon the three dukes and nine Qings to see him.

Perhaps in order to show his great power demeanor, King Qin did not send people to embarrass Tang Ju, but he was not too close, and he was entertained, according to the previous rules, and did not deliberately curry favor because the Korean army pressed the border.

At the official court meeting, the first thing King Qin said was to ask Tang Ju, "Mr. Wen, a widow, is a Wei man who once served An Lingjun, why did he work for Korea?" ”

This sentence can be described as a heart-wrenching statement. not only secretly satirized Tang Ju's disloyalty to Wei, but also provoked the relationship between Tang Ju and King Han.

"The minister heard that Baili Xi is a Chu person, but he has served in Yu State and Qin State successively. Before Guan Yiwu became the prime minister of Duke Qi Huan, he also served beside Gongzi! It can be seen from this that if you want to display your ambitions and benefit all the people, how can nationality become an obstacle! Many of the ministers of the Qin State are counted up to three generations, and many of them are from Shandong! Wei State was treacherous, died and the country was destroyed, and the ministers naturally looked for another master. If the king is like the king of Han who practices benevolent government and is known for his faithfulness, the ministers may not be able to serve the king! Tang Ju replied with a smile.

King Qin smiled awkwardly and did not continue to dwell on this issue. If you continue to entangle, according to the other party's sharp teeth, you can't please yourself! And, most critically, it's a waste of time.

"Sir has come from afar, what do you have to teach the widow?" King Qin had a posture of seeking advice. But the form is victorious and arrogant, and it is clearly in vain.

"Don't dare to be taught! But there is a little news for the king! ”

"Please speak, sir!"

Tang Ju looked around at the ministers of the Qin State and sighed: "The 200,000 troops of the Yan State are crusading against the Qi State, and the Qi State has cut the land of Nanyang and Gulu, and has already sued for peace with Korea. Zhao Guo lost tens of thousands of soldiers, and he has already retired from Hanoi and Shangdang! The 100,000-strong army of the Korean Bashu went down the river. After surrounding Yingdu, the state of Chu could not resist, and had already appointed Yin Qiliang to ask Luoyang for peace! ”

The surprise on King Qin's face flashed, the first two news had been verified by the Black Ice Platform in Handan and Linzi, as for the Chu State, although there was no news yet, but South Korea had no need to deceive itself when it had a big advantage! Other words. The reason why the state of Chu failed to support the state of Qin was because of the siege of Yingdu. This couldn't be worse news! But it is still within the tolerance of the Qin State.

King Qin laughed dryly, and then regained his expression without sadness or joy.

Tang Ju caught a glimpse of many ministers of the Qin State who were already pale, and knew that the King of Qin was just a strong outsider, so he decisively took a dose of fierce medicine, and said: "When the ministers came, Luoyang just received a joint letter from Han Teng and Le Cheng, half of the Guanzhong land west of Xianyang. The coefficient has already fallen into the hands of South Korea! The two asked King Han to send 200,000 troops, and 100,000 all the way from Yaoguan to Guanzhong. One route crosses Luoshui to the east of the river and destroys the Qin State Sheji! King Han is still having trouble making up his mind! ”

Hearing Tang Ju's revelations, the monarchs and ministers of the Qin State could no longer sit still. Even Bai Qi stared at Tang Ju, wanting to hear his next remarks. Obviously, if Korea does this, the end of the Qin State will come! But the reason why Tang Ju appeared in Liyang. Obviously, there are different voices in the Korean court! There is room for things to turn around!

Tang Ju smiled slightly, obviously enjoying the worried appearance of the monarchs and ministers of the Qin State, and said, "However, some people said it. The Qin State also resisted Xirong, had the merit of guarding the frontier, and was kind to the world, so it should not be lightly exterminated by the Qin State! The reason why Korea destroyed Wei was because Wei was treacherous and repeatedly attacked our Korea. When Han, Zhao and Wei formed an alliance, Wei both rebelled, intending to raid Xinzheng and destroy our Korea, and was defeated by my Korea. In such a situation, there is no way to comfort the souls of the dead in all countries and appease the anger of the people! ”

"Although the Qin State has repeatedly opposed my South Korea, it is mostly for the traitors and villains to provoke it, which is not the original intention of the king, nor the original intention of the Qin State! Now that the Korean army has invaded Guanzhong, most of the Qin State is aware of the mistake, so there is a minister who has written to the minister, please keep the Qin State Sheji, and the two countries of Korea and Qin will rebuild the old goodwill, isn't it beautiful?! ”

The kings and ministers of Qin were all irrefutable. These words are sanctimonious and hypocritical, but South Korea's strength is there, and Qin can only believe that it is all true. According to Korea, the demise of Wei was not the original intention of Korea, but its own destruction. After all, South Korea pays attention to benevolence and righteousness, how can it destroy a country of a thousand times lightly?! Although the standard of benevolence and righteousness was set by King Han, South Korea is always famous, isn't it?!

What the monarchs and ministers of the Qin State care about is Tang Ju's last paragraph, what does it mean that the Qin State is deceived by the villain?! What does it mean that King Qin is innocent and Xungui is innocent?! If South Korea blames all the blame on Wei and Xinlingjun, it is naturally understandable to pardon Qin! If there are still traitors and villains in the Qin dynasty, then South Korea has a righteous and bright reason to "clear the monarch's side" for the Qin state. In addition, listening to South Korea's meaning, it seems that occupying half of Guanzhong is to punish Qin State, in order to teach Qin State a lesson, if this is the case, then Qin State still has the opportunity to ask for half of Guanzhong's land from South Korea! If it can, except for the King of Qin, the State of Qin can pay any price!

King Qin pondered his tone and sighed, "Fa Han is indeed not unpopular! It's just that the widow was confused for a while, and he listened to Xin Lingjun, oh, no, Wei Wuji's demagogy offended South Korea, and he was really ashamed! The widow is willing to return the Hedong army to Guanzhong, cut the land of the county to Korea, and hostage the prince to Luoyang, but begging Korea to return the hometown of Longxi and Xianyang to the widow, and the widow is grateful! ”

The king of Qin has determined that according to the character of South Korea who does not see rabbits and does not scatter eagles, and does not appoint the crown prince to hold hostages in Luoyang, South Korea will not believe the sincerity of Qin if he says anything. He simply got off the donkey down the slope, put all the fault on Xinlingjun, and sent the prince as a hostage to seek compromise.

In addition, compared with Guanzhong, Shangjun or Hedong are all dispensable. Guanzhong is the foundation, the foundation is unstable, and no matter how lush the branches and leaves are, they are floating clouds. Although once such a condition is agreed, it basically means that the Qin State is completely cut off from Shandong by South Korea, but the Qin State has declined into such a state, where is the ability to get involved in the war in Shandong?!

Recuperation is what Qin Guo needs to do the most, and now that he has suffered losses and humiliation, Qin can only knock out his teeth and swallow it. King Qin just hopes that his compromise can be exchanged for the trust of South Korea, after all, he is the king of Han, and he also knows that the foundation of Qin is in Guanzhong, and he finally paid nearly 100,000 casualties to attack Guanzhong, how can he give up lightly?! (To be continued......)