Summoning the world to be one

Chapter 641 Zhao Guo Refuses to Rescue Qin

Chapter 642: Zhao Guo Refuses to Rescue Qin

In the fifth year of Tiantong, on the eighth day of April, Murong Ke led an army of [-] to conquer Huayang. Qin Huai, the general of Hangu Pass, learned that Deng Jun had given up his plan to attack Chang'an, and instead attacked Hongnong County, intending to fight against Deng Jun in the east. After attacking Hangu Pass from both sides, he was shocked. Under the suggestion of general Shen Zhi, he ordered Shen Zhi to lead [-] troops to garrison Strider Pool, delaying the speed of Murong Ke's army moving eastward, in order to buy time for Zhao Jun to go south.

In the fifth year of Tiantong, on the ninth day of April, Shen Zhi led an army to Strider City. As soon as he entered the city, Shen Zhi sent people to take over the defense of the entire city. Collect rolling logs, boulders and other materials for defending the city outside the city.

But Shen Zhi went straight to the county government office, found the magistrate of Strider Chi, and asked as soon as he opened his mouth, "Do you know where Deng Jun is now?"

The county magistrate originally planned to say hello to Shen Zhi, but who knew that Shen Zhi was so impatient. Fortunately, although he was only a small county magistrate, he still had some understanding of Deng Jun's movements, so he replied: "Back to Shen Zhi!" General, according to the news reported by the spies sent by the lower officials, Deng Jun should have conquered Hu County and headed for Hongnong City. However, Hongnong City has less than a thousand defenders. I think Deng Jun will not need two days. You can take it, and according to the speed of Deng Jun's advance, you will reach the Strider Pond within seven days."

"Oh? What's your name? As a civil servant, how can you know Deng Jun's movements so well?" Hearing the county magistrate's answer, Shen Zhi was a little surprised. From Shen Zhi's point of view, the county magistrate could know Deng Jun's movements. It's hard to find where the army is now, but I didn't expect that he even had a unique opinion on how long Deng Jun's marching speed would take to reach the city of Strider. General civil servants.

The county magistrate smiled shyly, and replied: "General Hui, the name of the subordinate is Yan Xiong. He has been interested in military affairs since he was a child, and has also dabbled in a lot of hunting, but because he is weak, he cannot join the army, so he abandoned martial arts and followed literature."

"That's very rare! This general came to Strider, and he only brought two lieutenants with him, not a single commander in the army. Since County Magistrate Yan is quite interested in military affairs, please trouble Magistrate Yan for the time being. I will also serve as the chief secretary of the general, and after repelling the Deng army, I will be appointed to the imperial court and ask for credit for the county magistrate Yan." Shen Zhi praised, and at the same time let Yan Xiong serve as his chief secretary, after all, he came too late this time. In a hurry, except for two lieutenants, there is not a single civil servant in the army, and many things are difficult to deal with. Since Yan Xiong has such insight, Shen Zhi simply handed it over to Yan Xiong.

"Here! Thank you, General, for your attention!" Yan Xiong said happily. He also knew that Shen Zhi was really a strong man, but this was also an opportunity. Yan Xiong was not willing to be just a small county magistrate. Shen Zhi was the mainstay of the Qin State in the future. , being able to form a good relationship with Shen Zhi will be very helpful to his future career.

"Very good, then I'll leave it to County Magistrate Yan!" Shen Zhi nodded with a smile and said.

"Dare you disobey?" Yan Xiong responded.

At the same time, Li You, Prime Minister of Qin State, who was sent by Qin Emperor Yingzhuang to ask for help from Jinyang, also came to Jinyang City, the capital of Zhao State. However, after he expressed his intention to come to Honglu Temple, Zhao Guojun and his ministers did not meet him immediately. He, because up to now, Zhao Guo has already had different opinions on whether the covenant with Qin needs to be preserved.

Zhao Guo's Imperial Palace, in the side hall of Chengqian Palace, Zhao Guotai Empress Dowager Song, Zhao Guo's Prime Minister Zhuang Ping, Situ Lin Qingfeng, Sikong Zuo Sheng, Zongzheng Zhang Ying and several people gathered together. Except for the battle with the Hu people in the northern border, all the soldiers were here. After Li You entered Jinyang City, the Song family recruited all these ministers. Empress Dowager Song and Empress Dowager Meng are regents, and the five assistant ministers assist the government, but the real power is in the hands of Song. The little emperor and Meng are just mascots for display.

"My dear friends, Li You, Prime Minister of the Qin Kingdom, came to Jinyang in person. It seems that the Qin Kingdom has reached a critical moment of life and death. What should I do, Great Zhao?" Song asked.

In the past, although Qin and Zhao were allies, their communication with each other was just to send an envoy to each other. They had never tried to send a prime minister to Jinyang, but now Qin actually asked a prime minister to come to Jinyang in person. How bad the situation is.

"Indeed!" Situ Lin Qingfeng nodded and said, "According to reports from the Central Plains spies, Deng Jun has captured the land to the west of Wugong County, and he will be approaching Chang'an City in a few days. He also entered Guanzhong and is attacking Hongnong County. He intends to attack Hangu Pass with Xue Rengui's troops outside the pass. If the army besieges the city of Chang'an, Qin will be hopeless."

Although the great war broke out in Guanzhong this time, Deng Guo is the common enemy of Qin and Zhao. Once Qin is destroyed by Deng Guo, it will only be bad for Zhao Guo, so Zhao Guo has sent countless spies to go deep into the country. In the land of Guanzhong, the war between Deng and Qin was closely watched.

"Empress Dowager, now that the state of Deng is very powerful, I think that Zhao and Qin are dependent on each other. As the saying goes, if Deng Guo destroys Qin, in the future when Deng's army comes to Dazhao, I fear that Dazhao will be alone. So I invite the Empress Dowager, Send troops to help Qin." Zongzheng Zhang Ying came out and said.

Zhang Ying's idea is the idea of ​​most of Zhao's ministers. Since the disastrous defeat in the Central Plains a few years ago, Deng Guo has been a big rock on Zhao Guo's chest. If the country becomes an ally, if this time they watch Deng Guo destroy Qin and hoard troops in Guanzhong, then Deng will be even stronger. Once Deng completely digests the Guanzhong, it will definitely send troops. Zhao Guo, at that time, will not be as powerful as Deng Guo. Does Zhao Guo have any allies, how can he compete with Deng Guo?So Qin cannot perish.

"Hehe! Send troops?" Hearing Zhang Ying's words, Prime Minister Zhuang Ping sneered and said, "Master Zongzheng said lightly, how many troops are you sending? Where are the soldiers? My Great Zhao has 50 elites, and 30 of them will follow the general to fight in northern Xinjiang. The Hu people's army is anxious, and it is impossible to tell the winner in a short period of time. The rest of the soldiers and horses need to be stationed in Jinyang and other places. What about the soldiers? With the current strength of Deng Jun, if we want to save the Qin State, my Great Zhao's soldiers going south must not be less than 20. Could it be that in order to save a Qin State, my Great Zhao will send out all the soldiers?"

"Master Zhuang, do you mean that you don't want to save Qin? Then let me ask you, once Qin is annexed by Deng, how will I, Zhao, resist it?" Zhang Ying asked back.

"Stop arguing!" Seeing that Zhuang Ping and Zhang Ying were arguing again, Mrs. Song quickly stopped her, then looked at Lin Qingfeng, and asked, "Lin Situ, what do you think?"

Among the five assistant ministers, Zhuang Ping and Li Rubing have a lot of black history, and the Song family doesn't trust them at all. Among the other three, Zhang Ying's ability is limited. If he is not the leader of the clan, he has no qualifications to be a minister of the assistant government at all. Yes, as for Zuo Sheng and Lin Qingfeng, the Song family trusted Lin Qingfeng the most. After all, before Lin Qingfeng came to Jinyang, Zuo Sheng couldn't compete with Zhuang Ping and Li Rubing at all, but since Lin Qingfeng came to Jinyang, The situation turned around. Besides, the reason why the Song family was able to monopolize the power was all due to Lin Qingfeng's support and planning.

Lin Qingfeng came out slowly, cupped his hands and said, "Empress Dowager, Lord Zongzheng is right. Zhao and Qin are now in a relationship of lips and teeth. The death of the lips and the coldness of the teeth will not be of any benefit to Da Zhao. However, what Zhuang Xiang said Yes, but it is the current predicament of my great Zhao. If you want to save Qin, you must be able to compete with Deng Jun. As far as I know, there are now 70 Deng Jun besieging the pass, and Qin Jun is now There are only more than 40 left. In this way, to save Qin, I, Da Zhao, must dispatch at least 70 to [-] soldiers and horses. With Da Zhao's current strength, it is impossible to do so, but if there are not so many soldiers and horses, even sending troops Going south, facing the [-] Deng army, it is just a drop in the bucket, it is useless, it is better to preserve the strength to deal with the powerful Deng country, so it is not that Da Zhao does not save Qin, but that although Da Zhao has the heart, he is powerless!"

Lin Qingfeng's words revealed Zhao Guo's current predicament, and the few people present were speechless. Even Zhang Ying, who advocated sending troops, had nothing to say at the moment. After all, with Zhao Guo's current strength, Qin can't be saved at all. If there is no war in northern Xinjiang, maybe we can still fight, but the current situation does not allow it. If we force troops to go south, the 10,000+ Deng army in the Central Plains may go north. At that time, I am afraid that before Deng Jun broke through Chang'an City, Zhao Guo's Jinyang City was broken by Deng Jun.

Mrs. Song thought for a while and said to Zhuang Ping: "Mr. Zhuang, with Da Zhao's current situation, there is really nothing that can be done about Qin's affairs. I will trouble you to meet Li You and tell him to let him go back!" It has been decided not to send troops to support the Qin State, so the Song family naturally has no need to see Li You, but since Li You has come, it is not good to drive him away without a reasonable explanation, after all, there is still a gap between Qin and Zhao. As for the paper covenant, after much deliberation, it would be best for Zhuang Ping, the Prime Minister of Zhao Guo, to send Li You away.

"Here!" Zhuang Ping responded, and his face turned bitter immediately. This is not a good job. Li You came all the way, so how can he be dismissed with a few words, but Li You is the prime minister of a country, the Song family If I don't see him, the only one who can talk to him is himself, the prime minister of Zhao, so even if Zhuang Ping is reluctant, he has to go and see Li You.

After the discussion in the side hall of Chengqian Palace was over, Li You came to Honglu Temple and sent someone to invite Li You.

When Li You heard that Zhuang Ping was coming, he suddenly felt cold. After all, if the Song family wanted to see him, they only needed to send a small official or an internal servant to pass on the news. How could Zhuang Ping, the Prime Minister of Zhao Guo, be used? ?And now that Zhuang Ping is here, it means that Zhao Guo will probably not send troops, but Li You is unwilling to give up. Zhao Guo is the last hope of Qin Guo, because if Zhao Guo does not send troops, it will be as miraculous as white Qi, also can't turn the tide of the fallen, only Zhao Guo sent troops to the south, Qin Guofang has a glimmer of life.

"I've met Mr. Zhuang!" Li You saluted immediately after seeing Zhuang Ping, with a very upright attitude.

"Li Xiang is polite, please sit down!" Zhuang Ping responded.

After the two sat facing each other, Zhuang Ping spoke first and said, "The purpose of Prime Minister Li's coming to Jinyang, I know a thing or two about the truth, but the situation your country is facing now, I, Da Zhao, can't do anything about it, please forgive me !"

If Li You's heart was only half cold before he said it, now after listening to Zhuang Ping's words, Li You's heart is completely cold. Tongue persuaded him, but now Zhuang Ping directly refused, which meant that this decision had reached a consensus in Zhao Guochaotang, and it was impossible for Zhao Guo to send troops.

But Li You didn't want to give up because this was Qin's last hope, so he said to Zhuang Ping in a pleading tone: "Mr. Zhuang, I think Mr. Zhuang is very clear about the strength of the Deng country. Only you and our two countries can work together." In order to be able to compete with it, your country and our country are already in a close relationship. Once the great Qin falls, your country will not be able to survive alone. To save Qin is to save Zhao. This truth will not be understood by Zhuang Xiang. Please be kind to Zhuang Persuade the Empress Dowager, please!"

Hearing this, Zhuang Ping shook his head, and said: "How can you not know what Li Xiang said? But now, [-]% of my elites from the Great Zhao are all following General Li Rubing to fight in the northern border. To save each other, I ask Li Xiang to understand that if your country can last until General Li Rubing ends the war in the northern borders, you can show affection and reason with the Empress Dowager, but now, no!"

"Then I don't know when General Li will be able to defeat the Hu people and return to Jinyang?" Li You asked as if he had grasped a life-saving straw. If Li Rubing could end the war with the Hu people in a short time, would Qin The country can still sustain it. After all, there are still tens of thousands of elites in Chang'an City, and there is also a famous general, Bai Qi. It is not a problem to support it for two or three months.

Zhuang Ping shook his head and said: "I don't know the truth. The Hu people have been preparing for this trip to the south for a long time. Now General Li Rubing is leading the army to a stalemate with him. When it will end, the truth is hard to say, and it will be soon." Two or three months, slow as a year and a half, who can say for sure?"

After a year and a half, the state of Qin has long been cold. Li You said sadly after hearing the words, "That is to say, your country will not send troops no matter what?"

Zhuang Ping heard the words and explained: "Li Xiang, it's not that we don't want to send troops, it's really powerless!"

Is there a difference?Whether it is intentional not to send troops, or really powerless, it does not make any difference to Qin, because if Zhao Jun does not come, it is only a matter of time before the city of Chang'an is destroyed.

"I understand the truth. If this is the case, then the truth will not stay in Jinyang any longer, so I will leave!" After finishing speaking, Li You got up and was about to leave.

"Wait a minute Li Xiang!" Suddenly, Zhuang Ping stopped Li You.

"Is there anything else for Prime Minister Zhuang?" Li You asked a little strangely, since Zhao Guo had already made up his mind that he would not send troops to rescue Qin Guo, so why did Zhuang Ping stop him?

Zhuang Ping said: "Li Xiang, my Dazhao is still an ally with your country. Although Dazhao is unable to send troops to save your country, he will not sit back and watch his allies fall. If Chang'an really falls, your monarchs and ministers can go north to Dazhao. Zhao took refuge, and after defeating Deng with all his strength in the future, Da Zhao can definitely help Qin restore the country."

Although the result of Qin's demise cannot be changed, Zhao still hopes that Qin's monarchs and ministers can judge the situation and go north to Zhao. After all, Qin still has many talents, such as Li You, Bailijin, Bai Qi, Yinghuai and others , if all of them can come to Zhao State, it will definitely increase the strength of Zhao State, especially Bai Qi, who is known as the second in the world, is a famous general who is much more powerful than Li Rubing. Together, it might be impossible to compete with Deng Guo's famous generals. After all, compared with the disparity in strength between Deng and Qin, Zhao Guo is still capable of fighting Deng Guo. The only thing he lacks is a peerless commander who can compete with Deng Guo's famous generals However, if Bai Qi joined, Zhao Guo would have a lot of confidence, and he would not be incapable of fighting back against Deng Guo.

How could Li You not know about Zhuang Ping's innocence? Zhuang Ping obviously took a fancy to Qin's civil and martial arts. As for helping Qin to restore the country in the future, Li You would not believe a word of these words, let alone Zhao's Strength, whether you can defeat Deng Guo, you can say that you can defeat Deng Guo, how can Zhao Guo be so kind to help Qin Guo restore the country?Isn't this just cultivating an opponent for yourself?

So Li You shook his head and said: "No need, as Qin people, we should live and die with Great Qin when Great Qin is in danger. How can we abandon our ancestors' foundation? If we do this, we can survive in the end , I will not have the face to meet my ancestors in the future, although I, a member of Daqin, cannot turn the tide, but I still have this bit of backbone, thank you, Mrs. Zhuang, for your kindness!"

After all, Li You left. On the same day, Li You left Jinyang City and went south to Chang'an. For Li You, returning to Jinyang City without success this time meant the end of Qin State. It has been judged, the question is how long the desperate Qin can last.

After Li You left, under the advice of Lin Qingfeng, Zuo Sheng and others, the Empress Dowager Song of the State of Zhao issued an edict to mobilize the elite from Hebei to the south to garrison the front line of the Yellow River to deal with Deng after the Qin Dynasty was destroyed. To be honest, Zhao Guo no longer has any illusions about the territory in the south. Once Deng Jun marches northward, these places will definitely not be able to hold. place, deploy defenses along the north bank of the Yellow River.

(End of this chapter)