Qin Shi Ambitious

Page 334

"Zhao Gao wants to cooperate with me again?"

Having finalized his offensive strategy, His Highness the King of Qi looked at the Luo Wang envoy kneeling before the main tent and chuckled: "What does he want?"

"Your Highness, the Imperial Physician's meaning is: Your Highness can gain control of the area east of Hangu Pass, but the area west will fall into a trap."

The Luo Wang assassin, whose level was only Earth-rank, tensed his muscles under Ji Yan's sword aura. This mission required him to infiltrate the Qi army and pay homage to the world-renowned King of Qi. His superiors had assigned it to him, and he had no right to refuse.

Since entering the military camp, his life no longer belonged to himself, but was determined by the word of this King Qi.

"anything else?"

As soon as Lu Wei finished speaking, the assassin from Luo Wang suddenly trembled, as if he was having some kind of fantasy.

"Li You, the Prefect of Sanchuan, and the Imperial Physician wish that His Highness Prince Qi could either kill him or hand him over to the Luo Wang (a powerful organization)."

After waiting a few breaths, he forced himself to speak, his voice trembling.

"Okay~" Lu Wei hadn't expected his domineering aura to develop so quickly, so he smiled slightly:

"But I want Hangu Pass!"

Chapter 422 Night Battle

"He wants Hangu Pass?"

Zhao Gao did not feel offended after receiving Lu Wei's reply, for he would absolutely not give up Hangu Pass.

But since the other party is willing to talk, at least it can buy me some time.

"Acheng, you go and negotiate with him. The price for Hangu Pass is separate."

Zhao Gao summoned his younger brother Zhao Cheng, who had returned from the northern frontier, and gave him careful instructions.

"Are we really going to hand over Hangu Pass to those rebels?" Zhao Cheng asked hesitantly.

"Of course not. You can raise the price, gradually loosen your stance, and show that we are willing to consider it."

After Zhao Cheng withdrew, Wu Chen, who had become Zhen Gang, and Zhou Zhang, who had become Duan Shui, entered and knelt down to report: "My lord, His Majesty is currently holding a banquet. As you instructed, he sent someone to inform Prime Minister Li to pay his respects."

“Very good. His Majesty hates being disturbed during banquets. Li Si is extremely anxious because Li You is trapped, so he may speak inappropriately. If this happens a few more times, His Majesty will dislike him.”

Zhao Gao nodded in satisfaction: "You can go to Hangu Pass now."

"I will obey your orders, sir."

Wu Chen and Zhou Zhang went to Hangu Pass to assist Zhao Yi in defending the city. The two had a deep grudge against the Farmer Clan, especially Zhou Zhang, who personally killed two of the Farmer Clan's leaders. Even from the Farmer Clan's perspective, Tian Meng was killed by him.

Their mortal enmity makes their stance trustworthy. With Wu Chen and Zhou Zhang in place, Hangu Pass will never surrender to the Qi foreign enemy, which is mainly composed of farmers.

As for Li Si, once he loses all of Hu Hai's trust, he can then present the evidence of Li You's troop deployment, and the Prime Minister's fate will be sealed.

"Have Yan Le 'protect' His Majesty the Emperor's safety these days."

After issuing three orders, the only thing Zhao Gao was unsure about was Lu Wei's attitude outside the pass.

According to the information, this guy started fighting against the Luo Wang organization when he was thirteen years old, and he helped a farmer's caravan kill a Luo Wang member with the rank of "Kill".

Based on the analysis of the other party's early investigation, it is likely that Zhuang Jia of Zhuangshan also died at their hands.

The conflict between the two sides intensified, culminating in the eve of his becoming the leader of the knights.

These experiences often led Zhao Gao to have increasingly lower expectations for the Luo Net's targeting of farmers:

At the beginning, Luo Wang took the initiative to scheme for the position of the leader of the peasant family.

Then, Luo Wang wanted to limit the power of the peasants to the Qi region.

Furthermore, in Sanghai, he was forced to cooperate by Lu Wei pointing a sword at him.

When the First Emperor died, Zhao Gao was still thinking that at worst, he could just cede the land of Qi and half of the land of Chu.

Now, they're actually demanding Hangu Pass...

Thinking back on all this, Zhao Gao was filled with regret: if he had sent a top-tier "Heavenly Net" instead of a "Killing Net" when he first designed the Farmer's Clan, and killed thirteen-year-old Lu Wei, who was still serving in the Luqiu Pavilion, on the merchant's journey, none of this would have happened...

“Wang Li and the Great Wall Legion have returned to Shangjun. They can return to Guanzhong by going through Beidi County from Hetao. I have no worries now that these 300,000 troops have returned.”

...

The Great Wall army, which Zhao Gao had high hopes for, did indeed arrive in Shangjun, but Wang Li was very dissatisfied with the order to detour through the Hetao region back to Guanzhong.

Or rather, he was utterly disdainful of the very idea of ​​retreating.

Marquis Wucheng of the empire had just quelled the grasslands and completed the orders of the First Emperor, so his achievements were no less than those of his father, Wang Ben.

Now the six kingdoms have rebelled again, but less than half a year has passed. How can a peasant army organized in such a short time compare with the elite troops of the empire?

Wang Li believed that as long as he gave the order, he could first destroy the Qi army in Yan, then march south to sweep away the three Jin states, then destroy Qi, and finally send his army into Chu, and the rebels could be easily wiped out.

At that time, he will surpass his grandfather, Wang Jian.

Why bother guarding Hangu Pass in such a miserable state?

But there was nothing Wang Li could do; unable to persuade Zhao Gao, he had no choice but to follow the other's strategy: the Great Wall army's supply lines would all be allocated from Guanzhong.

Originally, a large portion of the supplies would have been transported by Ao Cang along the tunnel, but the Qi army dispatched a detachment of cavalry to block them north of the Yellow River, cutting off this supply route.

Hearing that these rebels only had two thousand cavalry, Wang Lisi laughed: the Great Wall Legion, whether it was the Anbei Garrison Army or the Golden Fire Cavalry that suffered heavy losses in the battle against the Wolf Clan, could easily deal with them.

'A man lives between heaven and earth...'

Thinking of this, Wang Li clenched his fist and slammed it on the table. The guards at the door trembled, and they heard him shout, "The entire army packs its belongings and heads east to return to Guanzhong immediately!"

Ultimately, however, he chose to obey orders.

Zhao Gao not only represented the Luo Wang organization, but also His Majesty the Emperor.

Although this emperor doesn't seem to possess the same imposing presence as the former emperor, and not everything he does aligns with Wang Li's views, he is ultimately the sole master of the empire...

However, while Wang Li wanted to leave, Han Xin took the initiative to enter Yanmen County from Yan, attempting to head south to Taiyuan.

From these large counties near the border, the rebels had the opportunity to obtain horse farms.

Upon learning this, Wang Li ordered the vanguard to retreat first, intending to personally lead his elite armored soldiers to finish the battle before leaving.

It shouldn't take too long.

------

In the Xingyang area, the Qi army's attack began again. Li You, looking haggard, recited the instructions to arrange the support.

Although Li Si came from a humble background, he lived a relatively comfortable life from the time he could remember. However, as he grew up, he studied Legalist doctrines and occasionally Confucian classics, and he was not very skilled in military command.

This time, the enemy's target was still the area connecting the northern section of Xingyang and Aocang. Li You knew that the enemy's goal was the supply route, so his pre-planned arrangements, even if not ingenious, were at least quite comprehensive.

But in a war, the ultimate goal of all military operations is to achieve victory. Cutting off the supply lines is merely a means to achieve this goal. By focusing only on the supply lines, Li You overlooked the threat within Xingyang.

In the dead of night, the Yin-Yang Blood Handprint ignited the blood of a Qin soldier, and the twisted, black-armored Qin soldier on the street fell down with a silent scream of pain.

Not far away, the black Qilin's Qilin thorn also pierced the neck of a Qin soldier. After the two dealt with their respective opponents, their bodies transformed into the appearance of the dead and continued their patrol.

In the shadows, the rather mismatched duo of Gai Nie and Dao Zhi, using their cover, slowly approached the prefectural governor's mansion...

Outside the city, Lu Wei personally supervised the battle tonight.

Night raids were not easy for either the defenders or the attackers in this era, but the Qin army was mixed with a large number of temporarily conscripted civilians, and the psychological fear of these people could easily spread to the entire army.

This is largely due to the fact that although Li You had no problem with troop deployment, he never considered cultivating the morale of his troops.

The constant retreat strategy exacerbated the fear among the lower-ranking soldiers: they didn't know how many enemies were outside, only that the generals above them were always very nervous whenever the Qi army arrived...

Break through Aocang tonight, and take Xingyang tomorrow!

Chapter 423 Are You Good at Guessing?

"Mr. Wei Zhuang, is there anything you can teach me?"

Not everyone can remain calm when facing Shark Tooth. At least for Wei Zhuang himself, Zhao Tuo's reaction did not disappoint his status as the deputy general of the Southern Army.

Because they dared not live with the Yue people, the temporary earthen fortresses built in the Lingnan area were poorly defended, which made the invasion of the quicksand much easier.

Wrapped in a black linen robe from the Baiyue region, Chi Lian's voluptuous figure, partially concealed by the wide robe, exudes even more allure, easily making one's heart race and mouth water.

However, the similar symptoms of the two Qin soldiers at the gate were clearly unrelated to this: the breath of the red-chained snakes coiled around their bodies was the closest they had ever heard to death since birth.

The cold, rough snakeskin rubbing against their necks was an extremely unpleasant sensation, but they dared not raise their hands or make a sound to provoke the vicious woman in front of them.

Both of these red-banded snakes are native to Lingnan. The red-banded snake befriended them easily; Baiyue is truly a wonderful place for her.

"You recognize me?" Wei Zhuang, also shrouded in the same black robe, was poorly disguised. His long white hair hanging down his chest was a feature that would be hard to find even in the Baiyue region. "It seems the Empire has taken the arrest warrant for Liu Sha very seriously, and it has even been sent to General Zhao."

Even if Wei Zhuang completely concealed his appearance, the Shark Tooth Sword in his hand could not deceive anyone.

Zhao Tuo dared not discuss the topic of the wanted poster any further, so he said, "I have long admired the great name of the disciples of Guigu since I was a child."

"Is that so?" Wei Zhuang's lips curled up under the brim of his hat. "I don't like that answer."

After he said that, from Zhao Tuo's perspective, the Shark Tooth Sword seemed to move forward slightly, but when he blinked again, it hadn't changed position at all.

"But since General Zhao recognizes me, then the rest is easier to discuss."

Wei Zhuang gracefully sheathed his sword, the sword energy drawing several fiery streaks in the air.

The sight of the blade that could have killed him being sheathed slightly eased Zhao Tuo's tension, but he dared not be careless: if the person in front of him wanted to kill him, they might not need that sword.

"Please enlighten me, Mr. Wei Zhuang."

Zhao Tuo bowed respectfully.

The quicksand are wanted rebels by the empire, and Zhao Tuo's actions seem somewhat cowardly, but it is not shameful to do so in order to save one's life.

Not everyone can survive the Shark Tooth Sword. Anyone who achieves this feat must either be stronger than Wei Zhuang or still have value to their existence.

"Ren Xiao has already lost; you should already know this news."

After the other party nodded silently, Wei Zhuang continued, "In the present world, Qin and Qi are fighting in the Central Plains. As the successor general of the Southern Army after Ren Xiao's death, you are building cities and guarding passes in Baiyue, cutting off transportation routes. It is clear that you are not loyal to that empire."

"The empire's conquest of Baiyue cost millions of soldiers, laborers, and immigrants. Even Ren Xiao's 200,000-strong army has been defeated in the Central Plains. Even if I march north, I will not be a match for the Qi army."

Zhao Tuo raised an eyebrow and quickly retorted, "If I lose again, all the hard work I've put into conquering Baiyue over the years will be for naught. This is not only a loss for the empire, but also a loss for the entire Chinese nation."

"Although there are some selfish excuses in this reason, it is the best option at present."

As he spoke, Zhao Tuo felt a pang of regret for his carelessness in being caught off guard by the quicksand attack that night. He would never have made such a mistake if he were in the Central Plains.