Eastern Jin Dynasty: My powerful father

Chapter 202 The war is coming

Twenty miles east of Luoyang is Hongchipi.

Hongchi is an important lake around Luoyang. Valley water flows into Luoyang and flows eastward into this lake.

The scenery here is beautiful. During the Han and Wei Dynasties, dignitaries living in Luoyang often visited here.

However, time has changed and the picturesque scenery has long been abandoned.

Today, the Yan army and the Chu army are camping on the west side of Hongchi. There are two camps, one in the north and one in the south, looking across the river.

The terrain here is open and flat, suitable for cavalry operations, and it was the place chosen by Murong Ke for the decisive battle.

A scribe crossed the valley river. There was still a long way from the Yan army's camp, when a group of sentry riders surrounded him.

The scribe's name was Meng Jia, who served as a lieutenant in Huan Wen's Sima Mansion.

Facing the Xianbei cavalry who surrounded him, Meng Jia calmly explained his purpose of coming, and the entourage around him translated for him. It turned out that he came to pay homage to the camp on Huan Wen's order.

When Murong Ke heard about this, he knew that this must be the envoy sent by Huan Wen to arrange a battle, and immediately asked people to welcome Meng Jia in.

In the handsome tent, Meng Jia bowed to Murong Ke:

"Meng Jia, the envoy of Chu, met King Taiyuan."

Without waiting for translation, Murong Ke said in fluent Chinese:

"Mr. Meng, no need to be polite, please get up."

When Meng Jia heard this, he straightened his back again.

Murong Ke looked at him carefully and saw that his appearance was outstanding, so he couldn't help but praise:

"Mr. Meng is really extraordinary. May I ask what your current position is?"

This is not the first time someone has praised Meng Jia like this.

In the early years, when Chu Pei was still alive, he passed by Jiangzhou and visited Yu Liang, who was the governor of Jiangzhou at the time.

Because he had heard of Meng Jia for a long time, he asked Yu Liang to introduce him to him. Yu Liang told Chu Pei that Meng Jia was at the banquet and asked Chu Pei to find it on his own. In the end, it was because of his outstanding demeanor that Chu Pei was able to recognize him in the crowd. Meng Jia.

Meng Jia served brothers Yu Liang and Yu Yi successively, and went to Jiangzhou as an official. After Yu Yi's death, he joined the shogunate of Huan Wen, first joining the army, and later being promoted to serve as a lieutenant.

Therefore, when Murong Ke asked Meng Jia about his position, Meng Jia said frankly:

"Tian is engaged in the profession of Zhonglang."

Murong Ke nodded and then asked Meng Jia's purpose.

And things happened just as Murong Ke expected. Meng Jia came here just to make a fight with Murong Ke on behalf of Huan Wen.

"The Duke of Chu has said that the Chu and Yan families have been sending troops for a long time. Rather than stalemate on both sides of the valley and wasting our savings, it is better to use a powerful army to determine the winner."

Murong Ke nodded slightly and said:

"This king also has this intention. I also ask Mr. Meng to tell Duke Chu that I am willing to fight with Duke Chu at Hongchipi at noon tomorrow."

Before Meng Jia could breathe a sigh of relief, Murong Ke smiled again:

"The Duke of Chu claimed that he would use his majestic troops to determine the winner, but he used a trick last night, which may not be fair and just.

"I am very curious as to who offered this conspiracy to Duke Chu."

Meng Jia said calmly:

"The King of Taiyuan is too worried. Mr. Chu has never had any tricks. Instead, he regrets that the flaw was discovered by the King of Taiyuan.

"Otherwise, we will definitely be able to attack the Yan army together with the two generals Zhou Cheng and Lu Hu at the foot of Luoyang City."

Murong Ke burst out laughing when he heard this. After a moment, Murong Ke calmly asked:

"I wonder if there is anyone like Mr. Meng among the Chu army?"

Meng Jia said seriously:

"Under Duke Chu's tent, there are fierce generals like clouds and advisers like rain. There are countless people who can defeat me."

Murong Ke asked again:

"How is Wang Meng like him?"

Meng Jia said without thinking:

"The most prodigy of the world."

Murong Ke nodded and talked to Meng Jia again. After asking for no information, he let him go.

Shortly after Meng Jia left, news came from Murong Ke's eyes and ears in Luoyang and Jin Yong. It turned out that Huan Wen sent an envoy to appease Zhou Cheng and Lu Hu.

Xi Luo Teng, the general of Wu Huan of Yan State, wondered: "Why did Huan Wen just appease the two of them and not take the opportunity to persuade them to surrender?"

Shi Shenyin, the chief of the left side of Murong Ke's tent, explained to him:

"If Huan Wen wants to persuade the two of them to surrender now, he must promise heavy profits. However, Zhou Cheng and Lu Hu are fickle. Even if they surrender, Huan Wen will not believe them. Therefore, it is better to temporarily send envoys to appease them.

"After the battle between Yan and Chu, if you can win by luck, you can use the power of victory to make a small profit and persuade them to surrender."

After saying that, Shen Yin sneered and said:

"This is just Huan Wen's wishful thinking."

After hearing this, everyone expressed their agreement.

Even when Murong Huang was alive, Murong Ke was already commanding the Yan army. Over the years, he would win every battle and conquer every attack, and his ability was deeply trusted by the Yan people.

Even though Zhou Cheng and Lu Hu were destined to sit on the sidelines, the Yan army still had a strength advantage with a hundred thousand infantry and cavalry.

No matter how outrageous the shouting was before the battle, by now, Huan Wen and Murong Ke already knew how many soldiers the other side had brought.

Compared with the confidence of his generals, Murong Ke did not dare to be careless.

After witnessing last night's conspiracy, Murong Ke knew clearly that the combination of Huan Wen and Wang Meng might be the strongest opponent he had ever encountered since joining the army.

When Meng Jia returned to the Chu army's camp, the night was dark.

Huan Wen had not fallen asleep and was waiting for Meng Jia in the handsome tent.

As soon as Meng Jia entered the tent, Huan Wen couldn't wait to ask about the Yan army's military appearance, morale and even the amount of food and grass.

He sent Meng Jia as an envoy, naturally hoping that Meng Jia would take the opportunity to observe the situation inside Yan Camp while paying homage to the camp.

However, Meng Jia found nothing. He felt ashamed and said:

"Wei Chen was blindfolded when he entered the camp, and no information was obtained."

Huan Wen was quite disappointed, but he also knew that this was because Murong Ke was cautious and Meng Jia was not to blame. Huan Wen comforted him and said:

"Being able to make an agreement with Murong Ke to fight tomorrow has fulfilled your mission. Today Zhonglang takes the risk to visit the camp, and I will take credit for you.

"Meng Zhonglang has worked hard all the way, please go back to your tent and rest."

Although the two armies are fighting without killing envoys, not everyone abides by this rule.

Therefore, Meng Jia should be credited with taking the risk to visit the camp.

Meng Jia resigned after hearing this.

After he left, Huan Wen sent someone to invite Wang Meng over.

Although the two of them had already decided on tomorrow's formation and tactics, the stakes were so high that Huan Wen still hoped to check in with Wang Meng to fill in the gaps.

Just as Wang Meng said to Quan Yi when he left Chang'an, as long as Huan Wen has the ability to recognize people, he is confident that Huan Wen will obey his words.

Murong Ke and Murong Chui were also having final discussions on the formation of troops for tomorrow's battle.

During the long night, it was not only Huan Wen and Murong Ke who had no intention of sleeping.

From Liangzhou to Jiangdong, from Liaodong to Yizhou, the outcome of this battle between Huan Wen and Murong Ke affects everyone's hearts.

On August 354, the tenth year of Yonghe (AD ), the sky was bright.

Huan Wen left the remaining 5,000 Guanzhong Prefecture soldiers to guard the camp, and led the 80,000 allied troops of Chu and Liang out of the camp.

Murong Ke left 10,000 soldiers to guard the camp and rushed to the battlefield with the rest. A world-famous battle was about to break out at Hongchipi.

　Today's update is weak, only 5,000. I really didn't mean to write less. Today is a recommendation, and the results are related to the subsequent recommendation positions. Even if I am lazy, I will not choose this day.

　　Mainly because I have been thinking about the battle process. A crushing game is easy to write, but a closely matched matchup does require careful planning.

　　I will definitely write more tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)