『ps: It was past twelve o'clock when I got home yesterday. I was so tired that I couldn't open my eyelids. I fell asleep on the bed without even taking a shower.

The following text

Just as Zhai Zhang said in front of King Wei, Meng Zhong had his own judgment.

The reason why he was persuaded by Bao Yuan was not because he realized that Wei and Han had to take advantage of the opportunity of the five countries to attack Qin, but that he really saw hope of defeating Qin from this risky behavior.

Otherwise, even if he thinks that Bao Yuan’s view is correct, he will give up in danger.

And in the hope that Meng Zhong saw, the cavalry of his coalition forces would play a very critical role.

Cavalry, at least as far as the current mainstream cavalry are concerned, are not very suitable as the main force on the battlefield. At most, they will assist the main force to face the enemy. For example, when appearing at the right time, sneak attack the enemy's main lineup to achieve a surprise victory. However, in terms of frontal combat capabilities, cavalry can hardly defeat the close infantry formation.

However, at the strategic level, the role of the cavalry has increased several times. For example, a while ago, Meng Zhong sent Meng Hu and Hua Hu to lead 4,000 cavalrymen in Fangcheng to the hinterland of Qin, sneaked into the heart of Qin, and attacked Taolin, Baigu and other cities, and burned down nearly ten cities outside the city before the Qin State's autumn harvest. This directly led to the Qin army garrisoning on the front line falling into a food shortage, forcing the Qin army commander Bai Qi and deputy general Sima Cuo had to retreat, and retreated for more than 200 miles in one breath.

With only 4,000 Fangcheng cavalry, it was easy to achieve the goal that more than 200,000 coalition forces had to pay a huge price to achieve. This shows the role that cavalry can play at a strategic level.

It is precisely because of this that in the subsequent war against Qin, Meng Zhong inevitably had high expectations for his coalition cavalry. He planned to divide the battlefield into two levels: one level, that is, his more than 200,000 coalition forces fought head-on with the Qin army led by Bai Qi, Sima Cuo, Huayang Jun Mi Rong and others; and at another level, he planned to call Fangcheng cavalry, including the Zhao cavalry under the command of Fengyang Jun Li Dui, to go deep into the hinterland of Qin to destroy.

For example, destroying Qin's farmland facilities, sneaking into Qin's granaries, and cutting off the Qin army's food route. In short, it is to prevent Qin from concentrating on fighting the coalition forces, and by the way, fundamentally weakening Qin from the inside.

Bao Yuan also praised this strategy after learning about it, but what they did not expect was that just half a month after they decided to adopt this strategy, a large number of enemy cavalry appeared around the battlefield where they were.

According to the news sent back by the cavalry responsible for inquiring about the enemy, the enemy's cavalry basically held iron swords and wore leather armor, but at the same time, these people would hang chains made of beasts' teeth around their necks, wear a cloak made of beast fur outside the leather armor, or simply a cloak of animal fur.

How to say it, this cavalry looks very strange at first glance, as if it has both the Central Plains and the Foreigners' cultures, but it is neither completely like the Central Plains people nor the Foreigners' race.

Because I felt strange, Meng Zhong called Dou Xing and Wei Qing to the tent and asked if they had heard of such a group of people.

As a result, after listening to the description, Dou Xing immediately replied: "June of Yancheng, this is the cavalry of Yiqu Country."

"Yiqiu Kingdom? It seems like I have heard of it..." Meng Zhong touched his chin and recalled.

Seeing that Meng Zhong did not seem to be very clear about the affairs of Yiqiu Kingdom, Dou Xing and Wei Qing were not surprised. Not to mention that Meng Zhong was born in the Song Dynasty, he had few opportunities to get in touch with the alien races on the grassland, even though Meng Zhong had lived in the Zhao Kingdom for a period of time, he was only exposed to those aliens who were assimilated by the Central Plains culture.

For example, Fei Yi, the former prime minister of Zhao State who was born in the Baidi tribe, Lou Yan, who was born in the Lou Fan, Qiu He, who was born in the Xiongnu, etc.

But as veterans of the Wei State, Dou Xing and Wei Qing knew something about Yiqiu State.

Yiqu is said to be a branch of the Western Qiang tribe before the Shang Dynasty. They initially had wars with the predecessor of the Zhou royal family, the Ji tribe, until the Ji tribe moved south to Qishan due to the Di people in the north.

At the end of the Shang Dynasty, King Zhou defeated virtue. When Xibo Hou Jichang wanted to overthrow the Shang Dynasty, he listened to the suggestion of Jiang Taigong and attracted hundreds of vassal tribes under the Shang Dynasty. Because of the distance, Yiqu became the earliest vassal tribes to win over by Zhou Dynasty.

Since then, the relationship between Yiqu and Zhou State has gradually become closer, and Yiqu also learned Central Plains culture through Zhou State.

After King Wu of Zhou destroyed Shang, Yiqu first surrendered to the State of Zhou and obtained the status of a prince. He became one of the hundreds of princes under the rule of Zhou. It was not until King You of Zhou that "beacon fires play with the princes" that he came to make the beautiful people laugh and made fun of the princes. Later, Quanrong rebelled against Zhou, and his troops broke into Haojing but the princes in the world were not saved, which led to the almost destroying of the state of Zhou.

It was during this period that Yiqiu announced his separation from the rule of the Zhou royal family and followed the Central Plains to establish a country.

Subsequently, in order to step up their growth while the influence of Zhou was weak, Yiqu began a long foreign war. It was during this period that Yiqu faced the Qin State, which also had this purpose. In order to expand its territory and strengthen itself, the two sides launched a long confrontation and war.

"I see."

After listening to Dou Xing telling the story of Yiqiu, Meng Zhong suddenly realized.

After suddenly realizing it, he asked Dou Xing in surprise: "Why did Dou Sima know so clearly?"

Hearing this, Dou Xing pretended to be unhappy and said, "Is it true that in the eyes of Yanchengjun, Dou is a reckless man who is not good at studying?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he started to laugh.

Yes, Dou Xing has always been addicted to alcohol and martial arts, and most of his spare time use it to drink. Looking at his rough face with a scattered face, he doesn't look like the kind of person who can calm down and read ancient books.

Beside, Wei Qing smiled and told Meng Zhong the reason: "It's because of the rhinoceros."

In ancient times, "玉" was used to refer to powerful people, such as rhino soldiers, rhino soldiers, rhino army. Therefore, as the name suggests, the position of rhino head actually refers to the Grand Sima of the Wei State. However, because Gongsun Yan, who once served as rhino head, was so famous that people generally believed that rhino head refers to Gongsun Yan, but in fact it was not.

Similarly, the title of Xiwu, or official position, refers to the deputy position designated by Xishou in Wei State, and is a general who needs to be responsible for fighting on the front line of the battlefield.

For example, Meng Zhong now has enough qualifications to be called Xiwu.

But similar to Gongsun Yan, Xiwu and Gongsun Xi were so famous that people mistakenly thought Xiwu was the nickname of Gongsun Xi, but in fact this was just an official position in the Wei State.

Perhaps when Shi Ling recorded Meng Zhong's achievements in the future, he would also use Xiwu or even Xishou to refer to it. After all, this is indeed Meng Zhong's identity or official position in Wei State. However, if there is no note, later generations may misunderstand that it was Gongsun Xi and Gongsun Yan's brothers, and they were confused about it.

Of course, Meng Zhong would not think about this at this time. He was very curious about Wei Qing mentioning Gongsun Yan: "Xi Shou? Gongsun Yan?"

“That’s right!”

Wei Qing nodded and explained: "At that time, Huixiang was forced away by Zhang Yi, and Xishou replaced Huixiang... Oh, by the way, Huixiang is also the teacher of Yan Chengjun, right?"

"Well, but it was Mr. Zhuang who collected it on his behalf...you continue."

"Here...... In short, Xishou took over Hui Xianghe's will to resist Qin and joined forces with other countries to attack Qin. It happened that the King of Yiqu was impressed by the Central Plains culture and asked Xishou for advice. Later, Yiqu also joined the ranks of attacking Qin.... During that period, Yiqu and our Wei Kingdom had a very good relationship, and the two countries often united to fight against Qin. Later, for some reason, the relationship between Qin and Yiqu gradually eased..."

Speaking of this, Wei Qing frowned and added: "But I still didn't expect that the Yiqiu Kingdom would actually send troops to aid Qin Kingdom. These two countries have been a feud for hundreds of years."

Hearing this, Meng Zhongwei frowned and thought for a while, and said, "Wei Qing, you can send someone to communicate with the Yiqu cavalry to see if you can avoid getting into evil with the Yiqu cavalry. You have a kind attitude. If the other party is unwilling to retreat, try to ask what is the reason for helping Qin... If Qin has given them some benefits, tell them that Wei can promise them greater benefits as long as they are willing to give up helping Qin."

Hearing Meng Zhong's words, Dou Xing asked incrediblely: "Jun Yancheng is actually afraid of Yiqu?"

He really felt it was strange. After all, Meng Zhong was not afraid of Qin, the most powerful state in the Central Plains today. He had several times blocked Qin's plan to enter the Central Plains eastward. But in front of Yiqu, who was far weaker than Qin, he showed this... Well, humble?

Meng Zhong shook his head when he heard this and said, "If you can reduce an enemy through words and wealth, why not do it? I am not afraid of Yiqu, but before Yiqu shows obvious hostility, I will be the first to show hostility. This is undoubtedly pushing Yiqu to the Qin side, which is not a wise decision."

Dou Xing and Wei Qing looked at each other and nodded convincingly.

Although they may be a little disrespectful to the deceased Gongsun Xi, the two of them sincerely felt that the young Yanchengjun in front of them was indeed better than the Xiwu they had previously respected, no matter which aspect they were in.

"Then, I will send someone right away... No, I will go there in person."

Wei Qing replied with his fists.

"It's been a labor."

In the evening of that day, Wei Qing returned to the camp again to see Meng Zhong. Seeing that his face was not good, Meng Zhong guessed that Wei Qing's trip was not going smoothly.

Sure enough, Wei Qing said to Meng Zhong after saluting: "The Lord of Yancheng, the Yiqu cavalry said that they would not withdraw from this war, saying that this was the order of their king."

Meng Zhong frowned: "What's the reason?"

"The person who had a brief conversation with me was a 'thousand commander', similar to the 'thousand general' of the Qin army. He was a general who was in charge of about a thousand soldiers. According to what he said, he didn't know why Yiqiu Kingdom wanted to help Qin, but this was the order of their king, and they must obey the king's order..."

Meng Zhong thought for a while and asked, "Does the 'king' mentioned by the other party refer to the King of Yiqu? Where is this person? In Yiqu Country, should he lead the army in person?"

Hearing this, Wei Qing showed a strange expression on his face, shook his head and said, "In fact, that person doesn't know. According to him, his king... that is, King Yiqiu, is still a guest in Xianyang."

"oh?"

Meng Zhong frowned and murmured: "Is it because of our coalition forces of all countries that Qin wants to win over Yiqu?"

"Oh, this is not. According to the other party, King Yiqu has been visiting Xianyang for at least three or five years. By the way, there is something that makes me feel very strange... When talking about Qin, the commander of thousands of people was very angry and said that Qin had swallowed their territory and lured their tribesmen over the years, but King Yiqu turned a blind eye to this matter and was always happy to be a guest in Xianyang... The people of Yiqu suspected that the Qin people might have tempted their king with beauty."

"There is still this?"

Meng Zhong looked surprised. He finally understood why Wei Qing had a strange expression just now.

If you think about it carefully, this matter is indeed strange. A dignified monarch who abandons his subordinates and travels to neighboring countries to visit him for at least three or five years, and even ignores his own country. Such a monarch is really strange.

"Didn't you say that King Yiqiu is a very wise man. He once made a special trip to the Central Plains to learn my Central Plains culture?" Meng Zhong asked in confusion.

Wei Qing shook his head with a strange expression: "I feel puzzled... I once heard Xi Wu mention that Xishou had a high evaluation of King Yiqiu at that time."

Meng Zhong shook his head and said incredibly: "The beauty plan...? He can actually be confused and fascinated by the monarch of a country and ignore his own country. I want to see it if I have the chance."

Speaking of this, he slowly breathed a sigh of relief, restrained the smile on his face and said in a deep voice: "Back to the point... In other words, Yiqiu will not withdraw from this war. They have decided to help Qin, right?"

"According to the following understanding, this is the case." Wei Qing nodded and said.

Hearing this, Meng Zhong nodded slightly and then said, "Okay, I understand. Thank you for your hard work in Sima Wei. Let's go back to the account first."

"Here! Let's leave."

Looking at Wei Qing's departure back, Meng Zhong frowned deeply.

To be fair, he was already under great pressure to face a Qin State alone and really did not want Yiqiu State to intervene. Therefore, whenever possible, he would prefer to use speech and wealth to put Yiqiu State out of the matter.

But unexpectedly, King Yiqu seemed determined to stand on the side of Qin, and the soldiers of Yiqu had various complaints and even resentment towards Qin.

"There is no choice. Since you are destined to be an enemy, you have to consider starting first..."

With his hands on his back and walking in the tent, Meng Zhong decided to deal with these Yiqu cavalry first.

After all, the existence of the Yiqu cavalry made almost all the strategies he had formulated before, making it more difficult to defeat the Qin State. He had to think of another way to defeat the Qin army assisted by the Yiqu cavalry.

But logically speaking, there is another solution, that is, to solve the Yiqu cavalry first.

As long as the Yiqu cavalry was annihilated, the situation would return to what he had originally predicted, and the strategy he had formulated at that time could be used again.

This is the same as when there is actually water in the kettle, pouring out the water, filling it with water, and then boiling it again. It looks stupid, but logically speaking, this plan is actually the most worry-free and labor-saving. [ps: Let me explain this chapter, I won’t go into details here.]

But the problem is that there are a large number of Yiqu cavalry. According to the rough estimate of Fangcheng cavalry sent out, at least there are nearly 10,000 people. Just because the 4,000 Fangcheng cavalry under Meng Zhong's command wanted to swallow this cavalry in one go, the chance of victory was not great.

Fortunately, in his coalition, there were not only Fangcheng cavalry, but also about 3,000 cavalry in the State of Zhao.

If the two cavalrymen of Wei and Zhao were in one place, although the number of people was still much smaller than the Yiqu cavalry on the opposite side, they might not be unable to win.

After all, the border cavalry of Zhao State defeated the powerful army of foreign races such as Lin Hu, Xiongnu, Lou Fan, etc. Strictly speaking, it was the teacher of the cavalry of other cities. Meng Zhong did not think that such two Central Plains cavalry would lose to Yiqu. In fact, Yiqu also belongs to the category of the Central Plains countries.

The only problem is that Fengyang Jun Li Dui is not firm in his intention to continue to attack Qin. A few days ago, he tried to win over Tian Chu and Le Yi to suppress the "Fighting Sect" Bao Yuan and Meng Zhong Li Du, Tian Chu and Le Yi. Let's just say that they have reached a tacit understanding of "Fighting Sect".

Unlike the "Fighting Sect", Bao Yuan and Meng Zhong's purpose are the same. On the "Fighting Sect", there are really three people and three ideas.

As for Fengyang Jun Li Dui, he probably wanted to stop when he saw the good. The reason why he acquiesced to the stalemate between Qin and the coalition was purely to gain some benefits from Qin, whether it was for himself or Zhao; Tian Chu, he probably hoped that Qin and the Three Jins would continue to fight fiercely in order to divert the attention of the countries to him Qi; as for Le Yi, his purpose was the most complicated, and even Meng Zhong could not understand what he wanted.
To be continued...