Zhongshan Kingdom is located in the northern part of the Taihang Mountains and controls Jingxing, one of the eight mountains in Taihang.

If you look at the entire land of North China from the map, the Zhongshan Kingdom and the Taihang Mountains it relies on directly divide the Zhao Kingdom into two parts.

Xianyu, the predecessor of Zhongshan Kingdom, was a branch of Bai Di. As early as the Spring and Autumn Period, it fought many times with Qi State, Jin State and other great powers in the Central Plains.

After the Xianyu Alliance was destroyed by Zhao, one of the Six Ministers of Jin, some Xianyu people did not choose to surrender, but fled to the Taihang Mountains.

The wheel of history passed from the Spring and Autumn Period to the Warring States Period. The originally powerful Jin State was divided into three parts, and most of the huge force pressing on the Xianyu people immediately dissipated.

Under the leadership of the first king, Duke Wen of Zhongshan, the Xianyu people gradually left the Taihang Mountains and established their own country, the Zhongshan Kingdom.

At this time, after the death of Zhao Xiangzi, the Zhao family was greatly weakened due to internal power struggles and was unable to cope with the attack from Zhongshan Kingdom.

Therefore, after careful consideration, the Zhao family chose to seek help from their ally, the Wei family under the rule of Wei Wenhou.

Wei Wenhou, with General Le Yang as the main general, spent three years finally destroying the Zhongshan Kingdom and seizing the entire Zhongshan land.

When Wei Wuhou arrived, the Wei State was limited by the war with Zhao State and Chu State, and had no spare time to take care of the enclave of Zhongshan in the northeast.

After the Duke of Zhongshan, Ji Hengli, worked hard to govern for twenty years, and while the Wei State had no time to take care of it, the Zhongshan State was restored again in 380 BC.

The first difficulty that the Zhongshan Kingdom encountered after successfully recovering its power was the offensive from its old rival, the Zhao Kingdom.

In 377 BC and 376 BC, Zhao State attacked Zhongshan State twice, but was defeated by Zhongshan's army both times.

When Zhao Zhong, the current King of Zhao, had just succeeded to the throne, Zhongshan State, with Xiang Guo Lechi as its general, led the Zhongshan Army to recapture Lingshou, Fanwu, Fuliu and other cities that had been occupied by Zhao State.

Pushed back to the front line of Zhao Guohao County.

For Zhao Zhong, the current king of Zhao, the Zhongshan Kingdom is not only a serious concern of Zhao State, but also a shame that he has to clear up.

Over the years, Zhao Zhong wanted to lead his army to attack the Zhongshan Kingdom countless times, but he always chose to put it on hold because of the wars launched by the Wei Kingdom.

However, these wars are not without benefits for Zhao State. In recent years, relying on the land seized from Qi State, Zhao State has achieved three-sided encirclement of Zhongshan State.

Now that the army of Wei State has moved south to attack Chu State, King Zhao Zhao Zhong can't wait to destroy Zhongshan State in one fell swoop.

…

"Father, now our Zhao Kingdom's 100,000 troops have been assembled in Dai County, Handan and Hejian."

Moving his fingers over the three points on the map, Master Zhao Jie bowed to King Zhao Zhao Zhong.

"As soon as my father gives the order, the entire army will divide into three groups and march directly to the capital of Zhongshan."

A smile appeared on his face. Zhao Wang Zhao Zhong looked at his son with satisfaction, "Yes, with such ambition, I, Zhao, will definitely be able to destroy the Zhongshan Kingdom this time."

After giving some words of encouragement to the young master Zhao Jie, King Zhao Zhong turned his eyes to the Prime Minister Zhong Le.

"Prime Minister, I wonder how much food and baggage the army has?"

Faced with King Zhao's inquiry, Prime Minister Zhongle did not reply. Instead, he gestured with his eyes to Prince Zhao Yu who was standing beside him.

After getting Gong Zhongle's hint, Prince Zhao Yu immediately stepped forward and said, "I would like to inform my father that the prime minister and his sons and ministers have already prepared the food, grass and baggage for the army, and they will definitely be able to ensure the supply for the war."

In response to Prince Zhao Yu's report, King Zhao Zhao Zhong just nodded lightly and said nothing more.

Seeing this situation, he glanced at his proud younger brother Zhao Ji, and felt a bit complicated in his heart.

A moment later, when the pre-war meeting came to an end, the ministers and generals who attended the meeting retreated, leaving only King Zhao and the Crown Prince in the hall.

"Father."

"What's the matter?"

Looking at his father's graying hair and his face full of vicissitudes of life, Prince Zhao Yu felt quite reluctant, "Can I let my son lead the army on behalf of my father?"

As soon as Zhao Yu finished speaking, he met Zhao Zhong's somewhat majestic gaze, and felt the severity contained in it.

However, Zhao Yu did not show any timidity. Instead, there was a hint of worry in his eyes.

"My father is old, so I'm afraid there will be a lot of inconvenience on the battlefield. Besides, my son has grown up and can take care of my father's worries."

When Zhao Zhong heard his son's words, most of the majesty that belonged to King Zhao on his face immediately disappeared, replaced by the tenderness of a father towards his son.

Slowly walking up to Zhao Yu, Zhao Zhong patted his shoulder gently, "Yu'er, my father is very pleased that you have such a heart. But..."

A touch of determination appeared in his eyes, and he heard Zhao Yu say: "But there are some things that the father must do personally; there are some shames that the father must personally wash away."

After passing Prince Zhao Yu and walking step by step to the palace gate, Zhao Zhong suddenly stopped moving forward.

"As the prince, you shoulder the heavy responsibility of a country. After your father goes to war this time, you must work with the Prime Minister to stabilize the Zhao Kingdom."

"As for the battle formation, you don't have to worry as your brother is by your side. Just stay in Handan and wait for the news of your father's triumphant return."

After finishing speaking, Zhao Zhong continued walking forward without caring about Zhao Yu behind him.

"Father..."

After a long time, Prince Zhao Yu's call dissipated in the hall.

…

Zhongshan Kingdom, the capital of the country is Lingshou.

"I report to you, Your Majesty, that the State of Zhao has assembled an army of 30,000 troops in Dai, and seems to be preparing to go south to attack Hongshang Fortress."

"Explore again."

"Here."

Leaning over to look at the map in front of him, Zhongshan Gong Ji Heng's face looked particularly solemn.

"Counting the 30,000 from Daidi this time, the 50,000 from Handan, and the 20,000 from Hejian, Zhao has a total of 100,000 troops this time."

"For our country, Zhongshan, the State of Zhao has really made great efforts."

After sighing, Zhongshan Duke Ji Heng raised his head and looked at the two people beside him.

"Prime Minister, General Long Jia, what do you two think?"

The two people sitting on both sides of Zhongshan Gong Ji Heng at this moment are the current Prime Minister of Zhongshan Kingdom, who once led his army to defeat Zhao Jun many times.

And the other person was none other than Wei State General Long Jia.

Before deciding to send troops to attack Chu, Wei Feng had some discussions with Prime Minister Gongsun Qi and Sima Sun Boling, and they believed that Zhao would definitely take this opportunity to send troops to Zhongshan.

These days, Wei State has been secretly preparing to help Zhongshan State cope with Zhao State's offensive through various methods, and Long Jia, who is in the capital of Zhongshan State, is one of them.

Although the Wei State and the Zhongshan State once had a hatred of annihilation, they have never been eternal enemies. Today, the non-contiguous territories determine that there is a natural basis for cooperation between the two parties.

Long Jia has been in Yecheng for a long time and has a detailed understanding of Zhao State and Zhao Jun. This is why he was sent to Zhongshan State by Wei State.
Chapter completed!