Take the city to the Warring States

Chapter 127 Zhao State Situation

Zhao Wuming and Xue Qian of Xindu Xue Mansion sat down as guests and hosts. Xue Qian held up his drunken toast to Zhao Wuming: "The fourth young master came to my house as a guest for the first time. There is nothing to entertain. Only these drinks, please invite the fourth young master." Haihan".

"Brother Xue is being polite."Zhao Wuming quickly picked up the wine bottle, saluted Xue Qian, and then drank it down in one gulp.

Xue Qian drank all the fine wine in the wine bottle, and looked at Zhao Wuming with some emotion: "The years have passed by for a year. Think about it, I was waiting under the fourth son's tent a year ago. Gathering the rout army, defeating Wei Ang, and stopping Pang Juan What a joy. I thought that as soon as the king's reinforcements arrived, we would be able to make extraordinary achievements under the tent of the fourth son, but God did not fulfill his wish. The king cut the military power of the fourth son. From then on, in this year, the fourth son There is no news at all."

"As soon as the king's reinforcements arrived, he immediately issued an order to ask my son to return the three thousand soldiers and horses who were entrusted to the king by those remote princes. The king's order was hard to violate, so he left without saying goodbye. I also ask Brother Xue to forgive me."After Zhao Wuming finished speaking, he stood up from his seat and saluted Xue Qian.

Seeing Zhao Wuming salute, Xue Qian hurriedly stood up and helped each other: "I can't do it, the fourth son is a son, and I can't be a son with a big gift. I'm just chatting at this time, and I don't mean to blame at all."

"It's always rude to say goodbye without saying goodbye, brother Xue naturally deserves it."Zhao Wuming looked at Xue Qian and explained to him.

Xue Qian pointed to the seat, showing a wry smile: "If the fourth son does not sit back in the seat, today's small talk will not be able to continue."

"Brother Xue, please..."Zhao Wuming smiled and made a gesture of invitation to Xue Qian. Seeing that Xue Qian sat first, Zhao Wuming also sat down on the seat again.

Xue Qian looked at Zhao Wuming, with a hesitant look on his face: "There is a sentence that I don't know whether I should ask or not."

"It's just a small talk, Brother Xue, but it's okay to say."Seeing Xue Qian's hesitation, Zhao Wuming was slightly surprised.

Xue Qian pondered for a while, and organized words in his mind: "The fourth son has not been in Xindu for a year, maybe he didn't know that Gao Zhao used the name of the fourth son to gather the poor family in the court. Although the power is weak at this time, the people from the poor family The officials have some power to protect themselves. It’s just that Gao Zhao, who is under the banner of the fourth prince, has the permission of the fourth prince.”

"Gao Zhao once turned to my son and proposed to recruit the poor family. Considering the misery of the poor family officials, I immediately asked Fan Shun to assist him. Now I don't know what their situation is like in the past year."Zhao Wuming thought of the day when Gao Zhao took refuge, and explained to Xue Qian.

Xue Qian was relieved, listened to Zhao Wuming's inquiry, and immediately said: "The fourth son was suddenly cut off by the king, there are many soldiers in the Handan garrison who fight for the son, but they are so light-spoken that they can only talk in private but dare not say it clearly. Zhongbai officials knew it well, but none of them defended the son. After half a month after the son left, the king held a grand court as usual. Gao Zhao led a group of poor officials to question the king. Although he was punished by the king, he let the officials Looking sideways, the officers and soldiers of the Handan garrison gradually approached them. So far, the power of the humble family has just formed in the court. Some soldiers asked me whether Gao Zhao was really a member of the fourth son. I didn't know it at the time, so I didn't reply immediately. Until Fan Shun stepped forward, and the Handan garrison believed Gao Zhao's identity. So the poor family and the Handan garrison joined forces, making the Han family forces in the court completely gain a foothold."

"Handan garrison?"Zhao Wuming fell into deep thought, he didn't expect these people to be a group of people who value love and righteousness.

Xue Qian looked at Zhao Wuming lost in thought, and explained to Zhao Wuming: "After the four sons left the Handan garrison, the king expanded the number to 15 with the original skeleton. In name, my father Guowei Xue Li commanded, but in fact the soldiers Not completely convinced, but only respecting my father's modest reputation in the army, so he was at peace."

"What about private soldiers?"Zhao Wuming continued to ask questions.

Thinking of the private soldiers of the nobles, Xue Qian expressed emotion: "In the first battle, the imperial army suffered the most losses, followed by the private soldiers. After the fourth son left, the private soldiers were disbanded on the spot, and the king ordered the imperial army to expand to 15. I heard that the imperial army commander Shen Tuxiu and those generals all hated the Fourth Young Master. They said that the Fourth Young Master avenged his personal revenge and wanted to protect the defenders of Handan, which is why he caused such heavy losses to the Imperial Army. Therefore, you should be careful about them when you reply to the letter this time."

"They're all clowns, bullying the weak and fearing the tough, why should I be afraid of them."Thinking of Shen Tuxiu, a sneer flashed across the corner of Zhao Wuming's mouth.

Seeing that Zhao Wuming was a little worried, Xue Qian continued to remind: "Fourth son, don't be careless. I heard that Shen Tuxiu intends to seek refuge with the second son, Zhao Yu. If the two join forces, the situation will be unimaginable."

"Zhao Yu? It seems that this year when my son is away, Xindu's splendor is not inferior to Handan at all."Thinking that the two enemies were about to come together, the cold water at the corner of Zhao Wuming's mouth became more and more icy.

Xue Qian gradually frowned, and seemed hesitant to say what he said next.

"If you have something to say, it's okay to say it, why do you need to hide it between you and me at this time."Looking at Xue Qian's expression, Zhao Wuming knew that he had something to say, so he immediately asked.

Xue Qian's lips moved, and he made a firm decision in his heart, and then he said slowly: "The Fourth Young Master didn't know something, right after the Fourth Young Master left without saying goodbye. It is decreed that the third son Zhao Fan will go to guard, and the third son Fan will be the prefect of Daijun."

"Daijun?".Zhao Wuming was taken aback for a moment, isn't Lou Fan's south just Daijun? .

Hearing Zhao Wuming say the word Daijun, Xue Qian frowned a little bit more: "Daijun blocks Loufan in the north and defends Zhongshan in the south. It is the most important county in the north of our country. It is the most important county of our country in Zhao. For food and grass in the north, there are more than [-] soldiers and horses at the same time. If the matter is urgent, you can call on the nobles of the county, and the assembly of [-] private soldiers should not be underestimated."

"30 soldiers and horses, plus 40 private soldiers."Zhao Wuming only felt a scoop of cold water falling from the sky, and his heart was instantly chilled.Just now I was thinking that if Lou Fan was put down in Seoul, he could go south and kill Zhao Fan.Unexpectedly, it was discovered in a blink of an eye that he had [-] soldiers and horses in his hands. It seems that he still needs a chance to destroy him.

40 soldiers and horses attacked like Mount Tai. Xue Qian took a deep breath: "Zhao Yu is the Lord of Anyang. In the past, Anyang was the old capital of our country with a prosperous population. If Zhao Yu wants to call up an army urgently, he can recruit more than [-] troops." .

Although Zhao Wuming didn't understand why Xue Qian suddenly mentioned Anyang, he still listened carefully.

Xue Qian paused for a moment, and asked Zhao Wuming: "Fourth son, do you know what kind of situation the crown prince is facing now."

"I don't know, please tell Brother Xue."Zhao Wuming shook his head slightly, looking at Xue Qian.

Xue Qian pondered for a while, and then continued to analyze Zhao Wuming: "The second son Zhao Yu and the third son Zhao Fan have been close friends for a long time, and they regard the prince as a stumbling block. Zhao Yu is good at buying people's hearts, so that he can be valued by all officials, and he also controls Anyang soldiers. There are more than [-] horses. With Zhao Fan, the third son of Daijun, as a strong support, the eunuch Ling in the palace and the imperial army to which Shen Tuxiu belongs are even more willing to take refuge. At this time, the prince is already in danger."

"How many soldiers and horses are there in the country of Zhao?"Zhao Wuming weighed in his mind, he never thought that the situation that his elder brother was facing was so bad.

Xue Qian looked at Zhao Wuming, then wrote a number on the case table, and pointed twice: "There are more than 120 million soldiers and horses registered."

"That is to say, Zhao Yu and Zhao Fan have obtained half of the military power in the country. So where is the remaining half of the military power?"After Zhao Wuming listened, he nodded thoughtfully.

Xue Qian pointed upwards with his hand: "In the hands of the king, he is confronting Wei Guo in front. Among them, there are 15 defenders in Handan, 15 forbidden troops, and 30 soldiers and horses from the princes from all over the country."

"How much military power does my elder brother have?"Listening to Xue Qian's analysis, Zhao Wuming frowned.

Xue Qian shook his head and sighed slightly: "The crown prince has no military power in his hands. Last year, although the fourth son let the crown prince temporarily command the imperial army, but the military power returned to Shen Tuxiu once the king came to the imperial army."

"No military power?"Zhao Wuming thought of the strategy set in Seoul, it seems that it will take some effort to put the eldest brother on the throne.

The room fell silent, Xue Qian looked at Zhao Wuming.His lips moved, and he spoke after a long time: "Actually, it can't be said that there is no such thing at all. At least my father is now gradually leaning towards the prince. With my father's prestige in the army, soldiers and horses from all over the country can still give a little bit of favor. 15 troops guarding Handan. If the fourth son can make a gesture of supporting the prince, I dare not say that there will be soldiers from all over the country, but at least the 15 soldiers defending Handan should be biased towards the prince. It must have been the surprise attack on Handan by the Wei State. If it were not for the fourth son, they would He has long been the soul of the dead under the sword of Wei Guo. The soldiers in the army have always valued friendship, as long as the young master comes forward and adds my father's attitude, they will definitely not hesitate."

"Even so, the eldest brother only has 15 soldiers and horses."Thinking of these, Zhao Wuming felt a headache.

Xue Qian smiled suddenly, and the depressive atmosphere was immediately emptied: "The position of Prince Bao is not due to the fact that two armies are at war. Although military power is important, it is not the only one. Even if the second son Zhao Yu and the third son Zhao Fan jointly rebelled, and the 30 guards on behalf of the county Will the army and the [-] private soldiers obey a prefect who has only been in office for a year? Except for the forbidden army and the Handan garrison, the rest of the soldiers and horses do not have too much direct impact on the crown prince."

"Brother Xue's words are reasonable, but this young master is worrying too much. It seems that the current plan is to help my eldest brother gain the support of the Handan defenders, so as to stabilize my eldest brother's position as the crown prince."Zhao Wuming only felt a bright light in front of his eyes, and he kept fighting, which made his thinking fall into limitations.Thinking about it now, I really thought too much just now.

Xue Qian shook his head slightly, showing a hint of a smile: "Don't worry, Your Majesty is here. It would be an unwise choice for the 15 Handan defenders to join the prince immediately. Otherwise, why did the eunuch Ling and Shen Tuxiu not agree?" Immediately stated that the reason for taking refuge in the second son Zhao Yu was not because the king was ill, and he was afraid of trouble."

"King Zhao is sick?"Zhao Wuming looked at Xue Qian suspiciously, why did King Zhao fall ill after not seeing him for a year when he was leaving.

Xue Qian pointed to the top, and explained to Zhao Wuming: "The king has been worried about Handan this year, so he fell ill, and the illness was a little serious. Otherwise, why did my father, who was always neutral, show his preference for the prince. The reason is, I'm afraid that the battle for the reserve position is about to reach its final moment."

"So that's the case. It seems that King Zhao's body really can't hold on anymore."Zhao Wuming looked at the corner of Xue Qian's mouth with a smile, at this moment he suddenly understood.Why did Xue Qian invite himself to the Xue Mansion and say such a thing.

(End of this chapter)