Huang Zhong was supposed to deal with the intelligence of Qi and Lu at the border of Tang land, and because there were some matters to be finalized by Chu Chao Hui, he went to the Throat Pass ten days ago. When he arrived at the mouth of the throat city, Huang Zhong realized that two big events had already happened in the country of Zhao.
One big event was that Duke XI led 10,000 soldiers and horses and attacked the southern border of Zhao by boat. The 6,000 defenders of the southern border of Zhao were defeated by Zuo Yi's design of a sneak attack, and the defenders of Zhao were killed and captured by more than 3,000, while more than 1,000 of them fled back to the capital of the king of Zhao to report to the king of Zhao.
Bo Yao, who was in charge of the military power, was shocked at the news and after discussing with the old Wen Zai, he decided to lead 30,000 soldiers and horses to go down to the southern border, determined to eliminate Gong Zi Xie, the great scourge of the evil spirits, at one go.
Just two days after Pak Yiu left with his troops, Manzai, who was busy with his official duties, suddenly fell unconscious.
After the doctor tried his best to save him, he woke up, but his mouth and eyes were distorted, his whole body was paralyzed, and he couldn't even speak anymore. If Zheng Yuming had been there, he would have seen that Wenzai was suffering from a stroke.
When Zheng Yuming was a guest at King Zhao's capital palace, he had cautioned Zhao Xuan when he saw the already obese Wenzai gorging on fatty meat.
Unfortunately, people in this era generally didn't think that obesity was bad for your health, and Zhao Xuan didn't think much of Zheng Yuming's reminder.
Zhao Guowen Zai because of body fat overwork, triggered a cerebral hemorrhage stroke paralyzed, woke up after the sanity is not clear.
Zhao Xuan would be relieved to leave home because he relied on Old Manzai and Bo Yao to help him hold the court. The two courtiers that Zhao Xuan relied on were his right and left arms.
Now that one of them has left the capital with his troops, and the other one has become delirious with a sudden illness, there is a vacuum of power in the court of the King of Zhao.
At this time, the Right Honorable Minister, who was in close contact with the Yan emissaries, together with the conservative forces, blocked the news of Wenzai's illness and prepared to stage a coup to install Zhao Rui, the son of the Queen of Zhao, on the throne.
The reason why the conservative faction of the Zhao state embraced Zhao Rui was that the Yan emissary, in place of the Queen of Zhao, promised to restore the old system of fiefs as long as Zhao Rui became the lord of the Zhao state. For the ministers of the royal court who had been deprived of their fiefs, the temptation of restoring the fiefs was so great that it was enough to make many nobles desperate for this bait.
The departure of Bo Yao and the sudden illness of Wen Zai provided the conservative faction with an opportunity for a coup. As soon as Wenzai fell, the conservative faction led by the Right Honorable Doctor usurped the command of the guards of the royal capital and closed the four gates of the royal capital, forbidding the entry and exit of people to prevent the news of Wenzai's illness from leaking out and being known by Boyo.
Although Zhao Xuan is far away from the capital, the right doctor is in control of the royal court, but he does not dare to immediately embrace Zhao Rui. Zhao Xuan's prestige in Zhao is too high, the right doctor is not sure that in the case of Zhao Xuan is not dead, the Zhao Rui can sit firmly on the throne.
The coup regime can be consolidated only with Zhao Xuan's death. How to kill Zhao Xuan will be accomplished by the Yan team. The soldiers of Zhao are loyal to Zhao Xuan, and the Right Honorable Doctor does not dare to send them to murder Zhao Xuan.
The Queen of Zhao is the sister of the same mother of the King of Yan, and the difference between the King of Yan and the Queen of Zhao is sixteen years. When the Queen of Zhao was three years old, her mother died. The King of Yan was then the Crown Prince and had already started a family, so when he saw that his sister had no one to take care of her, he took her to his own residence to raise her.
Although the Queen of Zhao and the King of Yan were brother and sister, they were in fact like father and daughter, and the King of Yan loved his sister, who had lost her mother since childhood. With the King of Yan as her protector, the Queen of Zhao's status in Yan was highly respected, and her character was unusually capricious.
When Zhao Xuan visited Yan, the Queen of Zhao was deeply attracted to Zhao Xuan at the first sight and made a fuss in front of the King of Yan that she would not marry him. When Zhao Xuan asks for her hand in marriage, the king of Yan immediately agrees, and because of his love for his sister, he agrees to marry her with six good horses as a dowry.
In ancient times, the victory or defeat of war basically depends on the good and bad of the war horse, there are good horses, such as having a winning weapon. All the countries with good horses in Great Qin prohibited the exodus of their own stallions. While the king of Yan coveted the rich bride price of Zhao, his love for his sister was one of the main reasons why the king of Yan was willing to take a good horse as his dowry.
Zhao Xuan has been getting meaner and meaner to Yan in the last few years, and the king of Yan already had a big problem with his son-in-law. The Queen of Zhao's letter of distress is sent to the King of Yan, the King of Yan reads it and becomes furious, his own sister, who he loves like a jewel, will be repudiated by Zhao Xuan, how can the King of Yan tolerate it, and he immediately leads 20,000 soldiers and horses to march into Zhao, wanting to seek justice for his sister.
"Yan and Zhao are separated by Qi, can Qi agree to Yan borrowing the road to attack Zhao?" Zheng Yuming asked.
"Your Excellency, there were frequent peasant uprisings within the state of Qi, like the fire of a star starting a prairie fire, the ruler of Qi was unable to suppress it by deploying his Huben, so he asked his ally, Yan, for assistance, and it was on the pretext of helping to quell the unrest that the king of Yan led his army through the state of Qi and into the territory of the state of Zhao." Huang Zhong explained.
"So that's how it is." Zheng Yuming sighed, this was truly a ring of influence. All the factors that were unfavorable to Zhao Xuan exploded in a concentrated manner.
The movements of Zhao and Yan, Wu's intelligence officers all flew pigeons to the country at the first time. The strategy of the Right Honorable Doctor closing the city gates to block the news was useless to the intelligence officers of Wu.
Because people can't walk out of the royal city, but birds can fly freely. Relying on the intelligence sent back from all over the world, Chu Chao Hui was the first to grasp the latest movements of the countries.
"King Yan is preparing to move in the front canyon?" The change in Zhao came so suddenly that Wu Mu sweated as he listened.
"Not bad, after King Yan led his troops into Zhao territory, he divided five thousand of his elite troops, dressed as Zhao soldiers, and rushed to the annexed country's canyon to ambush them, while the remaining fifteen thousand men marched into the capital of the King of Zhao to eradicate the forces of resistance and help his nephew ascend to the throne."
"Zhao Xuan only has less than 2,000 guards, and when he encounters the 5,000 Yan soldiers in ambush, he's surely doomed." Zheng Yuming muttered.
Huang Zhong glanced at Zheng Yuming and explained Chu Chao Hui's plan, "The Great General believes that Zhao Xuan's death is beneficial to our country!"
Zhao harem dispute triggered into today's situation, is Chu Chao Hui did not expect, Chu Chao Hui originally only wanted to give Zhao Xuan wear some small shoes, cause Zhao Yan to cross swords. Although Chu Chaohui utilized Gongzi Xie to lure Bo Yao away from Zhao Wangdu to facilitate the movements of King Yan and Queen Zhao, with Zhao Xuan's prestige in Zhao, Chu Chaohui didn't think that Queen Zhao would succeed in the coup d'ι at.
When Zhao Xuan returns to the country, the hearts of the people of Zhao will naturally gather around Zhao Xuan, and any coup d'ι at against Zhao Xuan will not be solid. Chu Zhaohui originally did not expect the King of Yan and the Queen of Zhao to subvert Zhao Xuan's regime, but only hoped to use the King of Yan's hand to cause trouble and weaken Zhao's strength.
Now Wenzai's sudden illness has given the coup a chance to succeed. The King of Yan, with the royal court's oracle, can walk in Zhao territory in a big way, and Zhao's local armies, when they see Yan soldiers, can't figure out the situation and don't dare to act easily.
As soon as Chu Chao Hui learned that the Yan soldiers had gone to the canyon to ambush and murder Zhao Xuan, he immediately ordered Huang Zhong to go and intercept Zheng Yuming halfway and make sure to stop Zheng Yuming from traveling with Zhao Xuan. The reason why he sent Huang Zhong to go in person is because Huang Zhong is proficient in the languages of various countries and can play the role of many people from the vassal states.
"Great General's words are right on the mark!" Wu Mu slapped his leg in favor of it, Wu Mu, as a merchant, had a very strong opinion of Zhao Xuan's boycott of Wu goods three years ago. The view of Zhao Xuan is not good, Zhao Xuan's death is beneficial to Wu, Wu Mu of course support.
Gongsun Pan sighed and did not make a comment. He had a fair impression of Zhao Xuan, but Gongsun Pan was already a minister of Wu, and standing for the interests of Wu, Gongsun Pan would not raise any objections.
Once Zhao Xuan died, Bo Yao, who led 20,000 men in the southern border, would surely avenge Zhao Xuan, and the emerging nobles who loved Zhao Xuan would inevitably rise up in response. A battle between the old and new forces was inevitable. It was really hard to say how far Zhao would go in terms of civil unrest.
When Wu Mu and Gongsun Pan left, Zheng Yuming sent Da Niu to stand sentry at the entrance of the tent.
"Huang Zhong, how is the Great General going to deal with Zhao?" Zheng Yuming didn't feel that Chu Chao Hui would only stand idly by as Zhao was in civil unrest.
"It's true that Your Excellency knows the Great General best." Hearing Zheng Yuming ask the question, Huang Zhong smiled. "The Great General is preparing to annex Zhao first."
"First annexation of Zhao?" Zheng Yuming surprised, Chu Chaohui appetite is really big, over there Qi and Lu two countries have not yet made a move, here first focus on Zhao.
"The Great General said that Zhao is an opportunity sent from the heavens and must not be seized." Huang Zhong looked excited and
Zhao is the second strongest state of Qin, if successfully annexed Zhao, there will be no rivals in this world, rotten to the roots of the Qi and Lu can be done later, the annexation of those two countries easily comparable to the Tang land, the difficult thing is how to restore people's livelihood.
"On what pretext?" Zheng Yuming asked in a deep voice.
"Converting Chaos to Righteousness."
"Zhao Xuan is dead, what's the point of supporting Zheng?" Zheng Yuming shook his head, supporting the right is supporting the royal family of Zhao, Zhao Xuan is gone, the right can only be his son Gongzi Rui.
"Zhao Xuan also has a concubine son, Zhao Jing, when I set out, the Great General had already ordered that the hidden lines lurking in the capital of the Kingdom of Wu be ordered to spare no effort to rescue Zhao Jing, and that the Kingdom of Wu would later use military force against Zhao in Zhao Jing's name." Huang Zhong toted out Chu Chao Hui's plan against Zhao.
The plan was quite confidential, and Huang Zhong hadn't dared to say anything in front of Gongsun Pan and Wu Mu just now.
Zheng Yuming was dumbfounded after hearing this, Chu Chaohui is too good at borrowing power, once Zhao Xuan died, with Zhao Jing as a puppet, Wu not only went out on a limb, but also gathered opposition.
"You go down and have a good rest, tomorrow we will depart for Xu Guo." Zheng Yuming pressed his temples, there were too many changes and a bit of indigestion.
"Noe! I will go and rest now." Huang Zhong saluted and exited.
That night, two more groups of sentries came to the Wu camp, and these two groups of sentries were also sent by Chu Chao Hui to inform Zheng Yuming to change the route. In order to prevent Huang Zhong and Zheng Yuming from missing out, and also to prevent Huang Zhong from being unable to deliver the letter in case of an accident on the road, Chu Zhaohui sent two more groups of people. After all, Chu Zhaohui is most concerned about Zheng Yuming's safety.
The sun rises early on summer mornings, and it was but a little after five o'clock when the east was reflecting the rising sun, and Woody, who had been staying in the wilderness, tiptoed four dog-legs into the tent.
As soon as Wood entered the tent, he noticed that the owner, who was supposed to be sleeping, was still sitting in a chair in front of his bunk, and on the simple table next to the chair was a smoldering oil lamp, which had apparently just been extinguished.
Woody, conscious of his nightly escapades being bumped into by his master, rushed closer to his master, his dog's head rubbing vigorously against his master's thigh in a gesture of goodwill.
Zheng Yuming was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't even notice Woody entering the tent, and only realized that his pet was back when Woody showed his affection and pampered him.
Daylight has already dawned, Zheng Yuming did not sleep all night and did not sleep, he casually washed up, changed clothes, ready to go out for a walk. Coat lying on the ground of the big cattle heard the movement, quickly climbed up to follow Zheng Yuming behind, the night sneak wood also closely followed the master leg side.
"Yu Di!" Zheng Yuming had just stood on the hillside when Zhao Xuan sought him out.
"Good morning, Brother Wang!" Zheng Yuming saw Zhao Xuan and barely kept his usual state.
The familiar man in front of me would be a warmthless corpse before the sun set.
"Yudie, didn't you have a good night's rest?" Zhao Xuan stared at Zheng Yuming's eyes that were flushed with a hint of red.
Zheng Yuming lowered his eyes and laughed dryly, "There are a few mosquitoes flying around the tent at night, disturbing sleep."
"Mosquitoes are abominable, why doesn't Yu Di use mosquito repellent?" Wu's mosquito repellent is very smart, after lighting, mosquitoes smell the odor and avoid far away, this way traveling, mosquito repellent makes the mission personnel free from bites.
"Ordered mosquito repellent's, but went out in the middle of the night didn't notice." Zheng Yuming round lie.
"I see!" Zhao Xuan understood the reason why Zheng Yuming hadn't slept all night and was filled with pain. "It's a pity that Yu Di has to go to Xu Guo, or else he would have followed my brother across the canyon and could have had a good rest by the afternoon."
"When Yuming returns from his visit to Xu, he will definitely pay another visit to Brother Wang." Zheng Yuming glanced at Zhao Xuan and immediately averted his eyes, unable to bear facing it again.
This living, breathing person in front of him was about to die under the random arrows and swords of Yan's soldiers.
"Yu Di, going forward to Xu Guo will take two more days to arrive, the round trip will take four long days, you only have less than two thousand escorts, the number of escorts is too small, why don't you allocate one thousand soldiers from my brother here for protection?" Zhao Xuan felt that the front is his own vassal state, his own sphere of influence, it's safe to be in his own place, he can allocate soldiers to protect Zheng Yuming.
"No!" Zheng Yuming shouted back, only to realize after shouting that his voice was too high and he shouted too quickly. "Yuming thank you for your brother's kindness, the number of guards around Yuming is not large, but each of them can be one against three or four, the road to Xu Guo is still safe, and it's enough to have them as guards."
In front of the canyon, there are 5,000 Yan elite soldiers ambush, Zhao soldiers and mission personnel, but more than 1,700 people, these 1,700 people, against three times their own ambush, the end of the miserable can be expected. If Zhao Xuan divided another 1,000 soldiers to escort Zheng Yuming, then there are only 700 people, 700 people against 5,000 ambushes, only to be wiped out.
Zheng Yuming agreed with Chu Chao Hui's plan, but when faced with Zhao Xuan, who was alive and well, Zheng Yuming's heart was in turmoil. Standing on his own ideals, the interests of his own country, Zheng Yuming in any case can not prevent Zhao Xuan to go to his death. But when Zhao Xuan proposed to divide a thousand soldiers to protect Zheng Yuming, Zheng Yuming no acceptance of the face.
If Zhao Xuan has more men and horses, he will be able to resist for a longer period of time, so perhaps he will be able to escape with a chance of survival? Zheng Yuming at this time, already confused what his heart in the hope.
"Hehe, for brother is also just a proposal." Zhao Xuan was rejected by Zheng Yuming in a single breath and looked gloomy, Zhao Xuan thought that Zheng Yuming was not assured of him and was wary of him, which is why he splintered his mouth to reject his good intentions.
With this misunderstanding interlude, Zhao Xuan became relatively silent. When the camp soldiers cooked breakfast, Zhao Xuan excused himself and went back to his camp.
After breakfast, the soldiers pulled out of camp and loaded up, and within half an hour the two missions were packed and ready to go on their respective journeys.
Zhao Xuan rode his horse and stood before the group, looking at the Wu envoys and men fading away, Zhao Xuan suddenly hit his horse and chased after them.
Zhao Xuan caught up with the Wu delegation, drove his horse to the front of Zheng Yuming's mount, met Zheng Yuming's stunned gaze, and said in a low voice. "Yu Di! There is something that my brother would like to say alone."
Finding Zhao Xuan chasing after him, Zheng Yuming was tense, thinking that his morning's abnormality today had caused Zhao Xuan to be suspicious.
"Brother Wang, please!" Zheng Yuming walked with Zhao Xuan to where the envoys couldn't hear the talking.
"Yu Di! You and I have known each other for four years, Xuan has hated each other since the day he met Yu Di." Zhao Xuan spoke with deliberation.
"Yuming also feels a similarity of intent with brother Wang." To be honest, aside from the insurmountable generation gap in thought, Zheng Yuming shared many of the same opinions as Zhao Xuan.
Zhao Xuan looked straight at Zheng Yuming with a sincere gaze in his eyes. "Yudie's character is too benevolent, and he always looks at people with pure goodness."
Speaking here, Zhao Xuan said meaningfully, "Yu Di! You have to know that you can't be on the defensive! Especially those close to you."
"Defense? Someone especially close?" Zheng Yuming, who was originally apprehensive, was clouded by Zhao Xuan's words.
"Ai!" Zhao Xuan sighed and found that hints could not make Zheng Yuming understand, the meaning of his words was to remind Zheng Yuming to beware of Chu Chao Hui, Zhao Xuan analyzed from the perspective of his own observations that Chu Chao Hui was taking advantage of Zheng Yuming and using Zheng Yuming to control Wu.
Zhao Xuan originally did not want to voice his judgment. A trip to Haojing, Zheng Yuming little white rabbit image, in Zhao Xuan's heart more and more three-dimensional, see the Wu delegation far away, Zhao Xuan heart surged an impulse, he does not want the little white rabbit in the future by the Chu Chaohui that big big gray wolf mutilation.
"Yu brother is responsible for the burden of the state of Wu, the power must not fall, the power if all fall into the hands of the people who have the heart, Yu brother's life will be worried!" Zhao Xuan spoke long and earnestly.
"You mean Asahi? That's impossible!" Zheng Yuming was stunned, not understanding how Chu Chaohui could give Zhao Xuan such a feeling.
"I hope it's because my brother is overthinking!" Seeing that Zheng Yuming didn't trust his judgment, Zhao Xuan was disappointed.
"If there is ever a day when Yu Di has a crisis, don't ever forget that there is still a brother for me, and I will definitely shelter Xian Di!"
No matter what motives Zhao Xuan had within these words, no matter if Zhao Xuan's judgment was wrong, such a heartfelt attitude still moved Zheng Yuming.
"Thank you for defending Brother Wang! As Brother Wang moves forward, be careful..." Zheng Yuming wanted to remind Zhao Xuan offhandedly, and reason blocked at the critical moment. "Beware of the canyon beasts."
"Haha! Yu Di don't worry, my brother's Huben is very valiant, the district beasts can only become prey under the general's arrows." Zhao Xuan laughed bashfully and waved his hand with disinterest.
"In that case, Yuming wishes brother Wang a safe journey!" Zheng Yuming said goodbye to Zhao Xuan with a strong smile.
"Yu Di take care along the way!" Zhao Xuan also returned the salute on his horse, and after saying goodbye, Zhao Xuan turned back on his horse.
In the summer sunlight, Zhao Xuan, dressed in tight black clothes, rode his brownish-red steed into the distance.
The sun is so bright, life is so vivid, Zheng Yuming only felt a scene in front of him blinding, stabbing his eyes blurred.
Until the Zhao delegation team was so far away that it was out of sight, Zheng Yuming, who was dressed in a silver summer coat, was still standing still.
"Duke! Your Excellency!" Boss Mao walked over to Zheng Yuming and asked for orders, "Your Excellency, is it ready to go?"
"Oh, go!" Zheng Yuming woke up from his trance, rode his horse back two steps before stopping, looked back towards Zhao Xuan's faraway road, finally his teeth clenched, and used his whip to whip the white horse hard, the white horse ate the pain, and raised its hooves to run north. Mission personnel and guards, hurriedly followed closely, a few moments of effort, the fork in the road back to quiet.
Long sideburns burrowed out of the grass, sniffed, followed the mark left by the wood, and spread his legs to chase the dust ahead.