In order to completely muddy the water in Sizhou, Yang Jian immediately sent an envoy to persuade Wang Shichong to go south after he evacuated Mianchi. The envoy he sent was Gao Jiong, one of the nine elders of the Sui Dynasty.
Gao Jun was humble, not arrogant, good at identifying and recommending talents, and careful to protect meritorious ministers. Historically, he was said to have civil and military talents and an understanding of world affairs.
Gao Ying had been in power as Sui Prime Minister for nearly twenty years. He had devoted himself to his duties and made outstanding achievements. When he saw Emperor Yang's extravagance, he was very worried. He made some discussions and reported him. He was killed at the same time as He Ruobi. He died at the age of sixty-six.
Gao Ying has been the prime minister for more than 20 years. He thought that being a messenger would be easy, but he didn't expect that this trip would be far more difficult than imagined.
"Mr. Zheng, Prince Liang sent me here this time to..."
Before Gao Ying could finish speaking, she was abruptly interrupted by Wang Shichong.
"Who are you calling Mr. Zheng? Don't call me nonsense. I haven't accepted the title Dong Zhuo assigned me."
Dong Zhuo's paper sealing the king's policy can be said to have completely disrupted the world, and now all states in the world are at war because of it.
During this enfeoffment, Wang Shichong was granted the title of Duke Zheng by Dong Zhuo. However, Wang Shichong was afraid of the Qin and Jin attacks and never dared to accept the title.
Of course Wang Shichong wanted to accept the position of Duke Zheng, but neither Qin Wen nor Qin Hao accepted Dong Zhuo's enfeoffment, and the Qin family and his son had always been flaunted as loyal ministers of the Han Dynasty. If he rashly accepted the position of Duke Zheng, it would be equivalent to giving Qin and Jin an excuse to attack him.
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Hearing what Wang Shichong said, Gao Ying couldn't help but frown, and then he changed his tone and smiled: "The King of Liang sent me here this time to inform the Marquis that the war is about to end and our army is preparing to withdraw from Sizhou.
But the two counties of Hedong and Hanoi have no intention of handing it over to Qin Hao."
The news of Dong Zhuo's death was blocked by Yang Jian. At present, except Qin Hao, no other princes know the news.
As Yang Jian's envoy, Gao Ying naturally would not expose this news, so he still claimed that he was Dong Zhuo's envoy.
Wang Shichong frowned when he heard this, and said in a deep voice: "What on earth does Dong Zhuo mean?"
"Of course Prince Liang wants you to become the new Governor of Hedong."
Wang Shichong saw through the deeper meaning at a glance, and then sneered: "Dong Zhuo probably wants to drive the tiger away and devour the wolf."
But Gao Ying laughed and said: "Master Hou, are you comparing yourself to a tiger, but Qin Hao to a wolf?"
"you……"
Wang Shichong couldn't help being speechless after being poked in a sore spot. After all, how could he dare to call himself a tiger in front of Qin Hao? He was more like a cat. In the past few years, he had been pretending to be a grandson in front of the Qin family's father and son.
Gao Ying also noticed something, and immediately stopped provoking Wang Shichong, and advised: "The reason why Qin Hao was able to defeat our Liang army was the result of the joint efforts of all the princes in the world, but he seemed to want to fight Sizhou alone. This
It would be unfair to the other princes.
It’s okay if the other princes are far away and can’t allocate territory, but Shangdang is right next to Sizhou, so it’s completely reasonable for you, Lord Marquis, to acquire Hedong County..."
Gao Ying had all his good words, and Wang Shichong was obviously very attracted to Hedong, but he couldn't make up his mind because he was afraid of Qin Hao.
Until Gao Ying left to persuade the other three princes to the south, Wang Shichong still had not made up his mind, and Gao Ying's departure was still not smooth.
Of course Wang Shichong also wanted Hedong. After all, the 19 counties in Hedong County were much richer in terms of population and economy than the 13 counties in Shangdang County.
But taking Hedong would be tantamount to taking food from Qin Hao's tiger's mouth, which forced Wang Shichong to treat it with caution.
Among all the princes in the world today, Wang Shichong believed that he had the deepest entanglement with Qin Hao. After all, he was like a dog at the beginning. Qin Hao drove him out of Yanmen, and he had no choice but to seek refuge with Zhang Jiao.
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At that time, the Yellow Turbans were so powerful that Wang Shichong also thought that the Yellow Turbans would conquer the world, but the Yellow Turbans were defeated by Qin Hao in several battles. Even Wang Shichong was forced to surrender to the Han Dynasty, and finally became neighbors with Qin Wen again.
After several years of wandering around, Wang Shichong developed a deep fear of Qin Hao, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that it was a shadow in his heart.
When the princes gathered for an alliance, Wang Shichong could have gone to participate in the alliance, but the reason why he didn't go later was because he was afraid of seeing Qin Hao, a nightmare.
Therefore, although the temptation of Hedong is great now, Wang Shichong cannot muster the courage if he must confront Qin Hao.
Unlike Wang Shichong who was timid, Wang Mang was overjoyed after learning about it. He saw the last hope from this incident, otherwise Shangdang would be hard-pressed to escape the fate of being annexed sooner or later.
The next day, Wang Mang went to persuade Wang Shichong in person, and the first thing he said was: "Brother, really don't want Hedong County?"
"No fool would want it."
Wang Shichong asked with a bitter look on his face: "But once we send troops to Hedong, we will completely offend the Qin family and his son. When the Qin and Jin armies invade at the same time, what will the little Shangdang do to resist?"
A strange look flashed in Wang Mang's eyes, and he smiled lightly: "Brother, if Qin and Jin cannot attack at the same time, do you have the courage to fight?"
Wang Shichong was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said: "This is impossible, Qin Wen and Qin Hao are father and son. Regardless of the Qin army or the Jin army, sooner or later they belong to Qin Hao. As long as Qin Hao gives an order, the Jin army will definitely gather to cooperate with his actions."
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Wang Mang smiled leisurely and said: "Brother, do you think that if Yuanmeng invades the Hetao at this time, will the Jin army still have the strength to cooperate with the Qin army to attack us?"
Wang Shichong was stunned when he heard this, and then said with a serious face: "This is impossible. The Jin army now has strong soldiers and horses. Yuan Meng's invasion of Hetao at this time is tantamount to a head-on confrontation. Temujin cannot be so stupid."
Wang Mang looked into Wang Shichong's eyes and said seriously: "Brother, just tell me, if this is all true, do you have the courage to fight?"
There was a glimmer of hope in Wang Shichong's eyes, but it soon dimmed again, and he said feebly: "But even if the Jin army is unable to invade, our army is still no match for the Qin army?"
"What if Zhang Yang, Zhang Chao, and Wang Kuang also send troops together?"
Wang Shichong's eyes were full of disdain: "The three of them are eager to hug Qin Hao's thigh, how can they dare to take the initiative to offend Qin Hao?"
"Big brother just needs to tell little brother, if all this is true, do you have the courage to fight?"
"Assuming all of these are true, the chance of success in snatching food from Qin Hao's mouth will reach 50%."
"What about seizing part of the land east of Hedong and then rapidly expanding the army there?"
Wang Shichong was stunned when he heard this. He didn't expect to use Hedong to quickly expand his strength. After thinking for a while, he replied: "If this is true... 70%."
Wang Mang looked at Wang Shichong with stern eyes and asked: "With a 70% chance, brother, do you dare to give it a try?"
Wang Shichong subconsciously clenched his fists and said thoughtfully: "If this is really possible, then why not fight for my brother? Qin Hao will come knocking sooner or later anyway."
"good."
Wang Mang was relieved when he heard this. Although Wang Shichong was extremely afraid of Qin Hao, he still had the courage to fight and resist, and this was enough for Wang Mang.
Wang Mang put his hand on Wang Shichong's shoulder and said confidently: "Brother, believe me, I will definitely achieve this."