On the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month, light snow.

Puyang Ferry, West Bank.

In the snow, there are countless soldiers and horses, and a black flag is waving, which is extremely dazzling in this white world.

There is a vast snow and ice, and even the river that surging in the past is now three feet frozen.

The Qin general Meng Ao stood on the chariot, and snowflakes fell on his face, and it was cold and cold.

With the sound of hooves, a Qin army scout rode his horse from the river to salute Meng Ao.

"The ice layer is thick, and you can cross the river, General."

Meng Ao nodded slowly and waved his hand.

"Pass."

Amid countless dense footsteps, 100,000 Qin troops swept across the Yellow River and rushed straight to Hedong County, Wei State.

On the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhiyi fell.

On December 11th, the leisure sun was broken.

On December 12th, Jieyi fell.

On December 13th, Qishi City fell.

On December 15th, the Yan Family fell.

On December 19th, the Qin army surrounded the capital of Hedong County, and the former capital of Wei, Anyi.

In just twelve days, more than 30% of the territory of Hedong County of Wei State had been conquered by the Qin army.

The world is shaking.

On December 29th, the prime minister of Wei State, Mengchangjun Tian Wen rushed to Handan urgently and was received by Zhao He, the king of Zhao State.

"King, the Qin people are betraying their alliance and are unyielding!" Although Mengchangjun was not tall, his voice was quite loud when he spoke. His beard kept beating with the opening and closing of his lips, but from the many spits that were spitting out, it can be seen how angry the Wei Prime Minister was at this moment.

Zhao He didn't feel much disgusted with Mengchangjun's anger. Anyway, everyone sat far away. Although they were eating and drinking, they didn't have to worry about Mengchangjun's saliva spraying on the table on his side.

Zhao He slowly raised his wine, took a sip, and drank the famous Handan spirit wine, but it was not a problem for Zhao He.

Zhao He knocked on the table and said, "Mr. Xue, I believe you are very clear. Qin is also a great country after all, and is not the object of orders I can order. Although I do have an alliance with Qin at present, you should also be very clear about the small actions that Qin had secretly instigated Chu to do before? I have no way to order the Qin people to withdraw from Hedong."

Mengchangjun nodded and said, "What the king said is very much. Although Zhao and Qin are both great powers, as the leader of the alliance, Zhao State can lead Wei, Han and Qin to defeat Qi, and can still share the benefits to various countries. But what about Qin State? These seeds of Di Rong's mixed residence in Qin State still preserve the habit of ancestors' savages, and they will send troops to loot the territory of other countries at will. It's not human! Now, Zhao State is the leader of the alliance, and with the benevolence and righteousness of the king, I believe that I will not sit idly by and watch the atrocities of the Qin people and send troops to uphold justice for our Wei State."

Zhao He laughed at the sound, but did not answer.

Although your words from Mengchangjun are indeed very consistent with my wishes, you are just wanting to send troops to help you guard Hedong. You Wei people are too beautiful, right?

He picked up a piece of beef, gently dipped it in the sauce and put it into his mouth. The delicious beef and sauce aroma were mixed in his mouth and then put it into his stomach. Zhao He breathed a sigh of satisfaction.

I never ate caviar in my previous life, but I didn't expect that I could eat it after traveling through time...

Zhao He said: "Mr. Xue, although I really want to rescue Wei, after all, we are all allies, right? But... if you, Wei, don't send a soldier, you, but let me send troops to rescue Hedong, isn't that right?"

Mengchangjun smiled bitterly and said, "The King doesn't know anything. The Wei army also acquired a lot of land last year. Now the division of troops has long been insufficient. The troops can be used now are only 80,000. To be honest, with the current combat power of the Qin army, the 80,000 Wei army is not an opponent, so we have to ask the king for help."

When Zhao He heard this, he couldn't help but look at Mengchangjun more. It seemed that Mengchangjun was still a little clear in his heart.

Zhao He thought for a while and said, "Where is King Han? Is there no explanation on King Han?"

Since decades ago, the then overlord Wei State was defeated by Qi State and went downhill, Qin State, which had been suppressed by Wei State for nearly a hundred years, happened to usher in Shang Yang. After the reform, it reversed the situation between Qin and Wei State, allowing Qin State to suppress Wei State to fight.

After losing Xihe County, not only Wei State, but Han also had to face Qin's military front. So since then, Wei and Han often came together to fight against Qin State.

I didn't hear Korea, but after hearing Korea, Meng Changjun's face became a little angry.

"The king doesn't know anything. The king of Han obviously was jealous of our Great Wei who obtained too much in the battle against Qi, so this time he actually stood on the side of Qin and was reluctant to send troops to aid the Great Wei."

Zhao He thought for a while and said, "Actually... Wei State can consider giving up some benefits to South Korea. Hanoi, South Korea is just a river away from Hedong. As long as the King of Han is willing to send troops, I think the problem in Hedong is still easy to deal with."

Mengchangjun smiled bitterly and said, "The foreign minister actually thought about this proposal from the king. As early as the day when the foreign minister learned that the Qin people sent troops, the foreign minister immediately sent an envoy to Xinzheng, hoping to sell five cities in exchange for the King of Han to send troops to support Hedong, but he was still rejected by the King of Han. If not, why would the foreign minister come to Handan to trouble the king?"

Zhao He's face changed slightly.

Is this King of Han so determined to stand on the side of the Qin people?

For some reason, Zhao He always felt that King Han was more like an act made by anger than the best decision made by weighing the pros and cons.

Zhao He sighed with regret. It seemed that it would be difficult to pull South Korea back into the camp of the Three Jins before the end of this war.

A little troublesome.

Zhao He thought for a while and said seriously: "Mr. Xue, I will never hide it from you. Naturally, I definitely don't want Qin to get Hedong. But now, in addition to the necessary garrison forces, most of the other troops in Zhao are guarding Qi, and they also confront the Chu people in Jucheng. This Qi and Hedong County are thousands of miles apart. Now it's the heavy snow in the middle of winter. Even if I want to support Hedong, where will the troops come from?"

Mengchangjun obviously foresaw Zhao He's argument, and immediately spoke: "Go back to the king, although the Qin people are fierce, the Wei Dynasty is not completely powerless to resist. In terms of the current situation of the war, the Great Wei Dynasty can hold on until next spring. As long as Zhao can send troops to support next spring, or use border cavalry troops to go south or use Handan's main force to advance west, the Hedong siege can be resolved. In this way, Qin is futile, and both Zhao and Wei are beneficial. I wonder what the king thinks?"

When Zhao He heard this, his smile remained unchanged, but his heart was stagnant.

This Mengchangjun is really a ghost, and he is so desperate that he wants to pull me to help him.

To be honest, Zhao He actually didn't want to deal with this war.

Originally, in Zhao He's imagination, it was inevitable that the Qin people would send troops, but the route of sending troops should be to go east along the Guhan Channel, and use Han to invade Wei's territory to directly threaten Daliang City. On the one hand, it could force Wei to cede more land to the Qin State Taoyi, and on the other hand, it could also use this to make Zhao State lose one ally.

However, the Qin people chose to attack Hedong by Zhao He's surprise. This actually shows one thing, that is, the Qin leadership was not very confident.

In other words, if Qin State went to war head-on with Zhao State at this moment, the King of Qin and Wei Ran would not have much confidence in their hearts.

It is precisely because of this that Qin did not choose to achieve more immediate results, and could most directly echo Chu and curb Zhao's eastward exit from the Central Plains, but chose to attack Hedong more conservatively.

Obviously, Qin's intention was to first take Hedong steadily, enhance its strength and confidence in entering the Central Plains, and then slowly join forces and find opportunities to deal with Zhao.

If you think about it carefully, this is quite in line with the forbearance of the Qin King today.

But it is precisely because of this that Zhao He has a big and small problem.

Zhao He rolled his eyes a few times, coughed, and said, "Mr. Xue, let's do this. I have to discuss with you. How to proceed in detail this matter should take a few days to answer. But don't worry, Wei is an ally of Zhao, and I will definitely not sit back and watch Wei be invaded by Qin."

Mengchangjun was stunned when he heard this, and then a look of dissatisfaction flashed across his face.

In Mengchangjun's opinion, Zhao He's words were obviously too perfunctory.

So Mengchangjun said seriously: "I will not hide it from the king. Foreign ministers still hope that the decision of Zhao will be more firm. Foreign ministers have also heard of the king's speech on the New Year's Day discussion. Due to the secret instigation of some countries and people with dissentful hearts, many people seem to be quite dissatisfied with the king's remarks at that time, and some even hope that the Wei Dynasty can join the anti-Zhao ranks. Please think twice about this in this way."

When Zhao He heard this, his face changed immediately.

Mengchangjun, a bastard, is threatening that if I do not help Wei, Wei will join the anti-Zhao alliance?

Zhao He took a deep breath.

Stay stable.

Must be stable.

What we need to stabilize is not only Zhao He's emotions, but also Wei's ally.

Looking at the world, except for the Yan State who was coerced to send troops, the only real ally of Zhao State is Wei State.

If Wei State also stood opposite to Zhao State, then Zhao State would be a true enemy of the world and would become the second Qi State.

Given the current situation where Zhao State just annexed Qi State, this is definitely a worst change.

Zhao He coughed heavily and slapped the table: "Mr. Xue is right!"

The table slapped Mengchangjun, and the wine lord that had just been raised in his hand was shaken out and spread onto the sleeves of the robe.

Zhao He stood up and left the seat, grabbed Mengchangjun's hand enthusiastically, and shook it hard: "Mr. Xue, the friendship between Wei and Zhao has a long history and can stand the test. If Zhao has a trustworthy ally in this world, it must be Wei! As for the personal relationship between you and me, think about Xue Yi's current situation, Mr. Xue, don't you need to say more, right?"

Mengchangjun was obviously confused by Zhao He's sudden enthusiasm and nodded in a daze.

Zhao He said seriously: "You are also a Qi country. You should know that the Qi people are very brave, right? Without the force to suppress the troops, Qi will be in chaos in this minute. Originally, the number of troops under suppression is actually enough to have 100,000 or 80,000, but the Chu people have to run to Jucheng without knowing it, which has dragged my 100,000 army. So, it's not that I don't want to save it, but it's really the difficulty for Da Zhao now."

Mengchangjun came to his senses at this time and said, "But..."

Zhao He directly interrupted Mengchangjun: "But! What kind of person is I? I have always been heart-wrenching and unreserved when dealing with my allies. Let's do this, I have a plan now. Mr. Xue, do you want to listen?"

What can Mengchangjun say? Of course: "Please say it, king."

Zhao He let go of Mengchangjun's hand, sat back on his seat, quietly wiped his hand with the inner layer of his sleeve, and said quietly: "In the current situation, whether it is Daliang or Handan, it is actually a very difficult thing to rush to Hedong. Mr. Xue still has to admit this."

Mengchangjun didn't speak.

Zhao He continued: "But people often say, 'It is a muddle of loss, and it is a muddle of harvest'. This tells us that we should look at something with a dynamic perspective."

Mengchangjun's heart moved, as if he understood something, and said, "So what the king means..."

Zhao He smiled and said, "I mean it very simple. Why do you have to save Hedong? Isn't it enough to just defeat Tao County?"

Mengchangjun was silent.

After a long time, Mengchangjun said, "Hedong is the former capital of my Great Wei, how can we not save it?"

Zhao He smiled and shook his head, saying, "Mr. Xue is also a talented man. Haven't you discovered why Wei failed back then? Because the territory of Wei was divided into two parts, east and west, it is always easy to be unable to look after each other. He was attacked by Qin, Qi and Chu from three sides, which eventually led to failure. Now that time has changed, there is only Hedong County, the last place in the western part of Wei. Instead of continuing to involve Wei's military forces, it is better to simply abandon Hedong and capture Tao County, Qin. Tao County is well known to the world. If Tao County is exchanged for Hedong, Wei will not only completely throw away the burden of the west, but also connect all the eastern territory. From then on, it will be a big profit."

After a pause, Zhao He whispered softly: "And, after doing this, will Xue Yi's territory... be more likely to expand?"

Meng Changjun licked her lips and suddenly felt a little dry.

What Zhao He said actually makes sense to Mengchangjun.

The focus of the Wei State is in the Central Plains. Hedong County is just an enclave for the Wei State. The more important significance is that it is the place where Wei State started.

But Mengchangjun is not from Wei, so Mengchangjun doesn’t care about the ancestral land.

As a first-class wealthy county in the Central Plains, Tao County has a smaller area and population than Hedong County, but from the perspective of economy and national strength, it has helped Wei State more.

Mengchangjun thought for a while, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that this idea was good, but he was still hesitant: "But if the Qin State seized Hedong, that wouldn't be great."
Chapter completed!