At the end of Qin, I became a son of the plane

Chapter 223: The building will face its own problems

While Chen Ping was battling wits and courage with the nobles of Sanchuan County, the coalition forces were also rapidly advancing towards Guanzhong.

On October 37, the th year of the First Emperor's reign, the coalition troops marched to Xin'an County.

On October 29, the coalition troops marched to Mianchi County.

On November 3, the coalition troops marched to Shaanxi County.

On November 40, coalition troops finally arrived in front of Hangu Pass.

The last time the allied forces attacked Hangu Pass was in the sixth year of King Qin's reign.

When Wei State lost a large area of ​​land under Qin State's continuous attacks. King Jingmin of Wei felt that it was difficult for Wei alone to resist the Qin army. Accepting the minister's suggestion, he sent envoys to the State of Zhao to form an alliance with it, and proposed to establish an alliance to resist Qin.

Through diplomatic activities, responses from various countries were obtained. In the sixth year, in addition to Qi's attachment to Qin, Zhao, Han, Wei, Chu, and Yan formed a coalition and jointly elected Zhao general Pang Nuan as commander. Pang Nuan believed that the army attacking Qin repeatedly attacked westward but was blocked at Hangu Pass (now north of Lingbao, Henan). It was better to detour to Puban (now southwest of Yongji, Shanxi), cross the river south (now the Yellow River), and make a detour to After Hangu Pass, you can take things by surprise.

The Five Nations Allied Forces branched out of Puban and made smooth progress. At the end of the day, they met the Qin army led by Lu Buwei. Lu Buwei analyzed the situation of the coalition forces. The Chu army came from afar, the soldiers were tired, and their combat effectiveness was not strong. However, Chu was a big country and had a greater influence. If the Chu army was defeated, the coalition forces would collapse without a fight.

On November 10, Ji Bu, the commander-in-chief of the Hezong South Route Army, led an army of to Wuguan City, and was the first to start the battle against Guanzhong.

The usually majestic and towering palace now felt a bit desolate. In the main hall, all the civil and military officials of Qin State also felt a bit of panic in their hearts.

In fact, Xiong Xin and Song Yi also wanted to send 5000 people to join the coalition. At least they had the status of allies, so that the big men would not attack them, but Zhou Zhangli ignored Xiong Xin's messenger. In Zhou Zhang's view, Sishui County and Donghai County are just stored in the hands of two people, and they will be dealt with after the big man is free.

They are all bad news. Every time Zhao Gao reports one, the hearts of the civil and military officials of Great Qin will drop a little, and their faces will become more and more ugly. Taiyuan County was established in the fourth year of King Zhuangxiang of Qin, and it is already considered an older territory of Great Qin. The history of Hedong County is even more than a century old. This can almost be regarded as one of the core territories of the Qin Dynasty. But now it is all lost. The Qin Dynasty has returned to hundreds of years ago overnight.

So it was decided to use elite troops to take advantage of the coalition forces' lack of precaution at night to raid the Chu camp. The Chu army found out and retreated eastward on their own. When the armies of the four countries heard that the Chu army had retreated first, their morale was shaken. All the generals asked to withdraw, and Pang Nuan had no choice but to agree. Therefore, the armies of Han, Wei, and Yan returned home first. Pang Nuan was angry at Qi and attached itself to Qin. He led his army to capture Qi's Rao'an (now southeast of Yanshan, Hebei) before returning to Zhao.

Even though Guanzhong is still in their hands now, the death of the First Emperor has made many ministers feel that the destiny of the Qin Dynasty is not there, and the building will collapse.

Zhangtai Palace, Xianyang, Guanzhong.

On November 3, the Hezong North Route Army arrived at Pubandu, but was blocked by the Qin Army's -strong army from entering Guanzhong.

Thirty years later, the coalition forces came to Hangu Pass again. Xu Fan, Wei Wang Jiu, Zhao Wang Xie, Xiang Bo, Tian Jie and others looked at this towering pass with emotion. This time they were different from their predecessors. They were confident that they could conquer this pass. Xu Fan immediately ordered people to build stone cannons, intending to use them to completely destroy this great pass.

But Zhao Gao ignored the noise and continued: "The guard of Wuguan, Hengqi, came to report that the rebel general Ji Bu led an army of 10 to storm Wuguan. Hengqi came to report that the battle was fierce, and the rebels' crossbows were like rain. The soldiers of Guan were unable to fight back and asked the court for support with crossbows and arrows."

On the same day, the last two anti-Qin forces in Kanto, Chen Yubu led 5000 people to join the Hezong coalition, and Han Guangbu also led 5000 people to join the Hezong coalition. So far, all the anti-Qin forces in Kanto have come under Hangu Pass.

The Central Plains were defeated, the Northern Xinjiang Army and the nearly 50 elite Qin Army in Qi were wiped out. Great Qin's famous ministers and generals were killed and captured. Great Qin suffered unprecedented heavy losses.

In the end, the armies of the Six Kingdoms in Shandong were just one move away and failed to capture Xianyang, the capital of Qin. This battle is also called the "Battle of the Most" and was the last time the six Shandong kingdoms jointly attacked Qin.

At this time, Hu Hai was just a young man in his early twenties. Suddenly faced with such overwhelming pressure, he simply couldn't bear it.

After hearing the news, there was a bit of noise in the quiet hall. They had already expected the arrival of the coalition forces, but they were still very frightened when they actually invaded the pass in front of a 40-strong army.

Zhao Gao, the commander of the CRRC Mansion, read a memorial aloud: "Feng Wuze, Marquis of Wuxin, came to report that the 40-strong allied force from the Kanto region had arrived at Hangu Pass but had not yet attacked Hangu Pass.

After hearing so much bad news, Hu Hai, the second emperor of Qin who had just taken over the throne, said with a hint of tears: "Prime Minister, can Marquis Wu Xin withstand the attack of Xu Fan, the false king of Han?"

Prime Minister Feng Quji's face was ugly. He was a bit complaining about the First Emperor. Fusu was obviously more mature and stable, but the First Emperor refused to choose and chose Hu Hai to ascend the throne. He didn't look like a human master.

As a result, the road to the west was blocked by the Han State. Xiong Xin and the others could not send troops even if they wanted to. They could only wait in Pengcheng in despair and wait for the outcome of the war. They even wanted to overthrow the Qin Dynasty to victory. In this way The severely damaged Han State would not attack them.

"The governor of Shangjun came to report that the rebel general Wu Sheng led an army of 3 people to capture Taiyuan County. The rebels continued to move north to attack Yanmen County."

"Wang Zai, the guard general of Linjin Pass, came to report that the rebel general Ge Ying had captured Hedong County and now led an army of 7 to camp at Puban Ferry. He wanted to cross the Yellow River and invade Guanzhong, but he had been repulsed."

But he still said: "Hangu Pass is our great Qin's natural barrier. It has blocked the armies of the six kingdoms in Guanzhong many times, and this time will be no exception."

Hu Hai finally stopped being so panicked.

But neither Zhao Gao nor Li Si, Yao Jia and other important officials of the Qin State believed this.

Thanks to the allied forces of the princes resting in Luoyang City, and the end of the autumn harvest in Guanzhong, Feng Quji recruited all the soldiers he could recruit in Guanzhong. Children ranging from 15 years old to 60 years old were recruited into the army by him. , in order to boost morale, all Qin soldiers were promoted to the first level of title before the war started. Together with the 5 soldiers supported from Shu, the entire Guanzong force finally reached more than 10 again.

But they were not optimistic about the quality of the soldiers. They were old and young. If the terrain in Guanzhong was not so dangerous and they could guarantee safety by guarding a few dangerous places, they would all be discussing how to surrender to the rebels.

Li Si has been in the Xianyang court all year round and is familiar with the statistics of Daqin's counties. He also knows the harm done to Daqin by the defeat of the Central Plains. He can no longer see young people walking on the streets. After the Battle of Changping, Daqin was once again forced into a desperate situation. , except this time the enemy is attacking their capital.

And even if it resists the enemy's attack in this way, it is extremely dangerous for Da Qin, because at this time Guanzhong is already in a somewhat unbearable posture.

First of all, there was the wave of refugees. Thanks to the continuous execution of Qin officials by the coalition forces of the princes, Qin officials rarely surrendered to the coalition forces, but this did not mean that they were willing to fight to the death with the coalition forces. A large number of local Qin aristocrats learned that the rebels were coming. Worried that they too would be hanged, they dragged their entire family to Guanzhong.

Although these people also know that Guanzhong is dangerous, the Central Plains is even more dangerous now, especially the Qin officials with Chinese nationality and the powerful Qin State, who dare not stay in the Central Plains.

As soon as the news of the annihilation of Meng Tian's army spread throughout the world, the Qin nobles from all over the country began to flee back to Guanzhong. There were almost hundreds of thousands of people. In normal times, it would not be a big deal for these people to escape to Guanzhong.

But for Guanzhong this year, it has become an unbearable burden. Originally, because too many young men died in the war, the entire Guanzhong lacked labor, the autumn harvest was affected, and the production reduction was extremely serious. Now there are hundreds of thousands more people, and the situation has been stable for hundreds of years. Prices in Guanzhong have begun to rise, especially food prices, which are soaring. There are already many families in Xianyang City who are unable to have enough to eat despite their best efforts.

There is a shortage of food in Guanzhong. How can this battle be fought? What makes Li Si even more desperate is that although the rebels have an army of 60 to 70, they are not short of food.

He remembered that there were 1 million shi of grain in Aocang. According to the rebel army of 5000 and 60 million civilians maintaining the grain road, the rebels consumed 100 million shi of grain every month, which was less than 320 million shi a year. The rebels They can play for four years, but it is absolutely impossible for Guanzhong to last four years.

Yao Jia, the censor doctor, was not as far as Li Si thought. He said slowly: "Prime Minister, the natural barrier of Hangu Pass is no longer enough. The rebels have stone cannons that can fire 300 kilograms of stone bullets. In such an important town like Xingyang, If it can’t withstand the rebels’ stone bullets, I’m afraid Hangu Pass won’t be able to withstand them either.”

Yao Jia is almost 70 years old this year. He has taken life and death lightly. He just doesn't want to see the career he has worked hard for all his life disappear. If the Qin Kingdom is destroyed, what is the career he built? A passing cloud? Even if it was for himself and to repay the First Emperor for his kindness, he wanted Da Qin to persevere. "Yes, the rebels still have stone cannons. They used stone cannons to attack Hangu Pass. What should we do?" Hu Hai panicked again.

The civil servants of Great Qin had expressionless faces. They didn't know much about war, and they didn't even know what a stone cannon looked like. They only knew that this thing could shoot 300 kilograms of stone bullets.

Feng Quji shouted: "The rebels have stone cannons, why don't we fight this battle! There is no invincible weapon. Although stone cannons are powerful, they must have their flaws. As long as we find a way to deal with them, we can deal with them."

Most of the generals in Da Qin had red eyes. On the one hand, it was because the situation in Guanzhong was urgent, and many of them stayed up all night to deal with military affairs.

On the other hand, they are also thinking of ways to deal with the stone cannon. It can shoot 300 steps and can project 300 kilograms of stone bullets. This is a weapon beyond their understanding. If they have more time, they can still think of ways to deal with the stone cannon, but It can't be done now.

Colonel Qiang Huang said with red eyes: "We can only take the initiative to destroy the enemy's stone cannon. I heard that this stone cannon is 7 feet tall and weighs more than a thousand kilograms. Once assembled, it cannot be moved, and the stone cannon is less than 300 steps away from the city wall." Position, it can be destroyed with one charge."

But the generals present rolled their eyes. This was all nonsense. The key point was that they could not defeat the rebels in the field, otherwise the rebels would not have reached Hangu Pass. Moreover, if they take the initiative to attack and are ambushed by the rebels and take the opportunity to enter Hangu Pass, the consequences will be even more unbearable.

Yao Jia thought for a while and said: "We can't just defend. With the current momentum of the rebels, death will definitely be a dead end. Moreover, the rebels' stone cannons continue to hit Hangu Pass, which will easily cause instability in the morale of the army. If Hangu Pass is attacked, It collapsed, which is even more unbearable for me, Da Qin.”

It is very possible that the generals present understood what Yao Jia said, because Xingyang was captured by the rebels who destroyed the city wall.

Yao Jia said: "The rebels are not monolithic. We have to find ways to drive a wedge between them. One of the rebels, Xiang Yu, captured Linzi, the land of Qi, and proclaimed himself the king of Qi. This caused dissatisfaction with Tian Heng, a relative of the clan of Qi. The two of them can be said to be on the same page. In the land of Yan, Han Guang and Chen Yu have already passed the conflict. If the rebel general Lu Chen hadn't stopped them, the two rebels would have fought on their own. "

The situation in Yan was also extremely complicated. Chen Yuxian became the king of Yan, but was defeated by Meng Tian, ​​rescued by Tian Heng, and then captured Liaodong County.

At that time, the Qin army in Yan State was encircling the land aggressively. The powerful nobles of Yan State were overjoyed to know that Chen Yu had established a foothold in Liaodong County, thinking that there was still hope for Yan State.

As a result, Chen Yu, in order to repay Tian Heng's life-saving grace, led 2 Yan troops to attack Qi. Although they were attacking the Qin army, they were attacking the Qin army of Qi.

The powerful nobles of Yan State were completely disappointed with Chen Yu, and they turned to support Han Guang to continue fighting against the Qin army.

But this is unacceptable to Chen Yu. He is the king of the Yan State. He is still fighting for the Yan State and the Qin people. It’s just that the Qin people in Yan are too powerful. He wants to accumulate strength and refuses to repay favors. How could it be that these powerful aristocrats of Yan State could not understand themselves and actually rebelled against themselves? This made Chen Yu feel very sad.

But from the perspective of the powerful nobles of the Yan Kingdom, you, Chen Yu, were elected as the King of Yan by them, and you failed to protect the Yan Kingdom. This is because you have let us down. You have ruined nearly 100,000 young men of the Yan Kingdom. Okay, we forgive you. , after all, Meng Tian is powerful.

But you established a foothold in Liaodong County and did not attack the Qin army of Yan State. Instead, you went to Qi State to attack Tian Heng. What's going on?

Your people are in the State of Yan, and the Qin army is massacring your people. You have an army and instead of saving your own people, you go to help the people of Qi. You like to help the people of Qi so much, so you go to be the king of the state of Qi. We Yan people He did not recognize you as the king, so the powerful nobles of Yan State pushed Han Guang out to fight with the Qin army.

When Lu Chen arrived at the Yan State, the situation in the Yan State became even more chaotic. It was almost a war between the Three Kingdoms. Lu Chen quickly recruited the Qin army in the Yan area and conveniently took over the Qin army's territory in the Yan area.

He handed over more than 500 officers of the Qin army to the Yan people to vent their hatred, thereby diverting the hatred of other Qin armies, and thus obtained the rich land of the Yan State south of Yanshan Mountain.

At this time, Han Guang occupied most of the territory of Yuyang County and Shanggu County, while Chen Yu occupied most of the territory of Liaodong, West Liaoning, and Youbeiping County. The situation of Yan State being divided into three parts was formed.

Logically speaking, in such a three-point situation, Chen Yu and Han Guang should form an alliance to deal with the most powerful Han army.

But the Han army was so powerful that Chen Yu and Han Guangdu did not dare to regard Lu Chen as their enemy.

So Chen Yu and Han Guang both regarded the other as their biggest enemy, and wanted to eliminate the other's power first, and then find a way to dominate the Yan Kingdom.

It was Lu Chen who led the army to prevent the two from fighting, but he was unable to resolve the conflict between the two, and even wanted to dominate the Yan Kingdom.

Finally, Zhang Liang asked the two men to each send an army to join the coalition of princes and jointly attack Guanzhong, and decide the ownership of Yan State based on merit. That's why Han Guang and Chen Yu each sent an army to Sanchuan County.

All this information was reported by Heibingtai. In Yao Jia's view, the coalition of princes was nothing more than a piece of loose sand, and a slight differentiation could make them fall apart.

But Li Si asked: "The four rebels you mentioned can only send 2 troops in total. Even if they retreat, it will not matter to the overall situation. The main force of the coalition now is the puppet Han army."

Yao Jia smiled and said: "As long as these four rebel armies are fighting among themselves, when the time comes to consolidate the territory, the Yan territory will definitely be at war. How dare Xu Fan continue to lead the main force to siege Guanzhong?"

"Moreover, the city heard that Xiong Xin in Sishui County wanted to join the Hezong rebels, but the puppet Han Prime Minister Zhou Zhang actually did not allow it. His Majesty could instigate Xiong Xin to rebel. If they attacked Chen County, the capital of the rebels, even if Xu Fan wanted to You have to find a way to retreat from your own nest.”

Li Sidao: "Xiong Xin only has two counties, and he doesn't dare to attack Xu Fan's territory."

Yao Jia said: "Your Majesty will give him this confidence. The army assembled in Shu will not come to Guanzhong, but will go directly down the river to attack the rebel Nanjun. If the rebels cannot take care of the end, they will definitely withdraw from Hangu Pass."

Li Si shook his head and said: "It's too difficult. Fifty thousand people can't penetrate the rebel territory. The rebels can easily raise an army to stop the army in Shu. Moreover, there are still 10 rebels in Wuguan. As long as they mobilize this army, The army in Shu will definitely return without success."

Li Si could not see any chance of success in this strategy.

Yao Jia said calmly: "Right Prime Minister, do you have any clever ideas to repel the rebels?"

Li Si was dumbfounded. Under this situation, he could not think of any way to defeat the coalition of princes.

Although the strategy Yao Jia mentioned was a narrow escape from death, given the situation in Guanzhong at this time, they seemed to have no other choice.

Prime Minister Feng Quji thought for a while and said, "You can try the strategy of the imperial censor."

Li Sidao: "Prime Minister, I am more worried about the food crisis in Guanzhong than the war. Now the price of food has reached 500 yuan per stone, and it continues to rise. But if this continues, it will definitely affect the morale of the army. Soldiers It is impossible to continue fighting while seeing your relatives starve to death.”

Feng Quji thought for a while and said: "Your Majesty, the situation in Guanzhong is now in crisis. I think we should recruit the eldest son back to Xianyang and use the clan members to deal with the rebellion in the world."

The people who caused the food crisis were all powerful. It was really difficult for ordinary people to handle this crisis. He thought of Fusu, the young master in Shangjun.

No matter how high the status of that group of profiteers was, it could not be higher than that of Young Master Fusu. In the current situation in Da Qin, only those clan members were willing to risk their lives to protect it.

(End of this chapter)