Although the Battle of Dingzhou was far away from King Zhong, his eyes never left there, and new news would come from the dispatched scouts every day.
As Emperor Qianwen was worried, Prince Zhong had already had an idea, and he had already coveted the position of Emperor Daqian, but because Emperor Qianwen was quite tough, he could never find a suitable opportunity.
Now that it's better, I don't know what style the new king has. He actually led his army to attack Qian's army and gained a certain first-mover advantage. This made King Zhong become excited. This was a great opportunity for him. .
After the news came that Emperor Qianwen's vanguard army was defeated and he was recruiting new soldiers in Daliang City, King Zhong had secretly issued an order and the army began to gather. The soldiers from Jizhou also secretly advanced towards Liaozhou. There was a huge emptiness in Daliang. He It will look like an army is coming.
King Zhong also knew that his secret deployment of troops could not be hidden from the emperor's imperial guards, but he was not afraid. At this time, Emperor Qianwen probably had no time to deal with him, and no spare power to stop him. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Chance.
When an opportunity arises, what King Zhong needs to consider is when to send troops to achieve the effective result of one blow. That is, it cannot be too early, otherwise Emperor Qianwen's strength is still there, and the loss of a strong attack will be too great; nor is it too late. , otherwise it would be a serious matter if the Jin army takes the lead.
After all, King Zhong's troops were still too small, only 50,000. Excluding the troops that had to stay behind, he could only use 40,000. This is the saying that good steel should be used on the blade.
While Prince Zhong was still hesitating, or waiting, his aide Xiuzhe had already hurried to the back garden with a hint of urgency on his face.
"What happened?" Just hearing Xiuzhe's slightly hasty footsteps made Prince Zhong feel a little bad.
"Your Majesty, things are not going well." Xiu Zhe said and sent the information he had just obtained to King Zhong. When the information from two sources fell into his eyes, King Zhong's expression quickly became solemn. stand up.
About ten breaths later, Prince Zhong threw the information onto the stone table in front of him and said angrily, "So, the emperor has been prepared for it?"
"It seems so, or maybe not." Xiu Zhe nodded first, then shook his head.
"Tell me about it." Prince Zhong's heart has slowly calmed down, and the trace of impatience has disappeared. From this point of view, his Qi nourishing skills are still good.
"Your Majesty, the dispatch of the Dianzhou Army is probably because the emperor has been prepared for a long time. He has been guarding against the King of Western Shu for a long time. That's why the troops were dispatched to Shuzhou this time. However, the timing of dispatching the troops was a little late, so I We can say that we have been prepared for it, but it is not for this military action of King Jin. Of course, these are not important. What is important is that there are 20,000 extra troops in Daliang City. This is what gives us a headache. , if the king really wants to send troops, they will be a huge obstacle in front of us." Xiu Zhe changed his voice and mentioned the matter of recruiting troops in Daliang City.
King Zhong can understand this idea. In any case, the Dianzhou Army has already been dispatched. This is a fact that cannot be changed. It is even conceivable that once the King of Western Shu retreats, it will not take long for the Jin Army's retreat to be blocked. If so, , Unless they can capture Dingzhou City in a short period of time, a major defeat is undoubtedly inevitable.
Even if it is something that cannot be changed, it is useless to think about it. On the contrary, in Daliang City, in a short period of time, 20,000 soldiers were first sent to Dingzhou, and now another 20,000 soldiers were recruited. This ability to assemble a large army, this sub-war force This is what scares King Zhong.
I originally thought that when the opportunity was right, King Zhong would only need to lead a large army to the city, and Daliang City would become an undefended treasury for anyone to seize. But now it seems that Daliang City with such a strong recruiting ability is not so good. What if tens of thousands of troops were suddenly armed in Daliang City when the troops came to the city, wouldn't they have to prepare to attack the city? In this way, not to mention how much time would be wasted and how much damage would be done to oneself, Even if Daliang is captured, can the overall situation be stabilized with the remaining soldiers in hand? At the same time, other vassal kings suddenly appeared at the gate of Daliang City. What can they use to resist? Are they going to hand over the benefits to others?
If the attack of the Dianzhou Army was still within the understanding of King Zhong, then the performance of Daliang City at this time was completely incomprehensible to him.
To say that Emperor Qianwen was not short of money, even vassal kings like them had to pay them some silver taxes in the name of tribute every year. Although the amount was not a lot, it was still a revenue. If Daliang City had such a background , why not recruit troops earlier, but must wait until wartime, until the critical moment?
Could it be that he was just on guard against himself? Or was he taking the initiative to show weakness? Waiting for the vassal king to jump out and enter the trap prepared by Emperor Qianwen, just like the current King of Jin? The tangled look on his face fell into Xiu Zhe's eyes, and he knew what his king was thinking, so he shook his head lightly and said: "Your Majesty, judging from the current situation, it is not the emperor who is showing weakness. , of course, this has something to do with the fact that he did not insist on expanding the number of troops, but more importantly, the reason why the recruitment went so smoothly this time was entirely because of one person."
"A person? Who?" King Zhong's appetite was aroused by Xiuzhe's words. His mind quickly flashed through Fan Shitong, the left servant, Bailigui, the internal minister, Du Jin, and even the Minister of War, Cheng Bailin. He also thought of it, but rejected them one by one.
Among these people, most of them are good at internal fighting, and their ability to fight for power is good, but when it comes to military talents, they are far behind. Even the Minister of the Ministry of War is just because he is obedient, but as long as Emperor Qianwen He will faithfully carry out his orders and that's why he got this position. He won't believe how capable he is.
If not these people, then who would it be?
Just when Prince Zhong was still thinking hard but couldn't figure it out, Xiu Zhe had already told the answer, "Your Majesty, he is the young Duke Zhong."
"Shen Ao?" King Zhong looked stunned, "He? Is he responsible for the recruitment?"
"Yes. At the beginning, the emperor handed over the conscription to his eunuch chief Yan Fu and the military department Cheng Bolin. Duke Zhongguo joined later. It was precisely because of his joining that the source of troops was greatly opened, so that it was easily completed. After recruiting 20,000 troops, we easily completed the second 20,000 troops. Our scouts came back and said that if Duke Zhongguo still wanted to recruit another 20,000 troops, it might be a bit laborious to recruit a few more 20,000 troops. , but it’s not impossible.”
"Hiss!" After hearing this, King Zhong finally couldn't help but take a breath of cold air.
How come Daliang City has only so many people, so many soldiers can be recruited again and again? Could it be that the magic of the Loyalty Guild can spread the beans to form an army? "Come, Xiu Zhe, tell me about him." How is it done?”
Xiu Zhe had already understood this matter carefully before he came. When faced with Prince Zhong’s questions, he answered them in detail one by one. In just a moment, he explained the matter clearly. At this moment, Prince Zhong He also had a look on his face that looked like he was sighing. By linking it to the economy, instead of talking about national justice, he simply got things done? It seems that although this guy is young, he knows very well what ordinary people need most. He He is very capable of grasping people's hearts, amazing, amazing!"
While King Zhong was still sighing, Xiu Zhe had already thought of more things. "Your Majesty, as you said, this son is indeed very powerful, but such a person is used by Emperor Qianwen, which is really not good for Your Majesty. .”
"Huh?" King Zhong's gaze pierced like a sharp arrow and fell on Xiuzhe's body, like needles on his back. Apparently, King Zhong was dissatisfied with his words.
Come to think of it, without Shen Ao, how could there be a prince who can stand up now?
It's just that there is never any friendship to talk about in politics, and all he cares about is interests. Prince Zhong's cold eyes just glanced at Xiu Zhe, and then he sighed softly, "That's all, I'll leave this matter to you. You do it. Remember, you must act covertly. There are many masters around me, so you must plan carefully before taking action."
"Please rest assured, Your Majesty, my visit to Daliang City will definitely not disgrace my mission." Xiu Zhe clasped his fists with a determined look on his face.
Shen Ao was capable, but it was a pity that he could not be used by King Zhong. Even so, he could only be killed.
There is a saying that if you cannot have it, then there is only one way to destroy it.
...
Daliang City.
Shen Ao had no idea that he had become a thorn in King Zhong's side, a thorn in his flesh, and even a target to be killed. At this time, he was accompanying Yan Fu, the chief eunuch, and Cheng Bolin, the Minister of War, looking at the 20,000 new troops who had just been recruited. Conduct queue drills.
"Haha, that's right. The boys are all in good spirits and of the right age, hahaha." Cheng Bailin glanced at the face and body of a sergeant who was training, like an old bachelor sizing up his new wife. Generally, the eyes are full of desire and satisfaction.
"It's very good. His Majesty will be very satisfied when he sees it. Lord Zhongguo did a good job." Yan Fu also grinned, which was completely different from the cautious way he usually followed the emperor. It seemed that Emperor Qianwen was no longer around. , he can reveal his feelings more.
Shen Ao, who was praised by others, stood aside without speaking, with a faint smile on his face. But the more he looked like this, the more Yan Fu and Cheng Bolin admired him. Young people can win without being arrogant. It is really a rare thing to have merit but not be proud of it.
And if you follow Shen Ao's gaze, you can see that what he sees is his personal leader of the Sifang Sect, Feng Wanli, and not far away is Sun Fuhu, who has returned to the Yi Sect.