Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 464: Mighty
July, the fourth year of Emperor Tianwang of the Han Dynasty.

Although the Three Kingdoms had fought many times in the past, the situation in the world has not been as chaotic as it is today for a long time.

The Han Kingdom took control of Guanzhong, and the Zhou Kingdom retreated to Bashu. Cracks began to appear in the relationship between the Chen Kingdom and the Han Kingdom, and the Chen Kingdom once again conspired with the Zhou Kingdom.

The sky was gloomy and the water was rushing, constantly hitting the warships.

The sailors worked hard and did not dare to slack off.

The envoy of the State of Chen stood at the bow with a serious expression.

Several deputy envoys stood a little further away and didn't say much.

The current situation is just like the weather, gloomy, depressing and disturbing.

Especially for those ministers of the State of Chen who fled to Jiangdong and only thought about protecting themselves, this year was not a good year. They were looking forward to peace, hoping that nothing would happen, and hoping that everything would not be beyond their ability to cope with.

The chief envoy stood at the bow of the ship, but the deputy envoys were reluctant to pay attention to him.

After all, the envoy was a rough warrior. Generally speaking, envoys were usually famous people in the country, but this time the situation was different. Their purpose was to get people, break the alliance, and scold people.
Obviously, celebrities can't handle these things.

Chen Xu was reluctant to send out a famous scholar who could accomplish such a task. The Hu people were very cruel. When killing people, they didn't care whether you were a famous scholar or not. They didn't follow any invisible rules.

The ship is now heading towards Hai'an.

After all, it is faster to travel from Chen State to Han State by boat.

The land route in between has suffered from war and is really difficult to travel.

The chief envoy's surname was Xu, a native southerner. He had made military achievements in the past and was later promoted by Emperor Wen to be an official. He was then sent to the remote place of Yazhou, where he served as an official for several years. When Chen Xu came to power, he was promoted to be an official in the capital because of his merits. The good days had just begun and he had not had time to enjoy them, but now he had to go to the north as an envoy.

The reason was that he was tall and had a loud voice and would not bring shame to the State of Chen.

Shi Xu could only silently mutter in his heart that he was unlucky.

If I had known this earlier, I would rather be dumb!
However, he was also a military man after all, so although Envoy Xu was reluctant, he was not too afraid.

When he walked out of the house with a knife in his hand, he was no longer afraid of death. After experiencing so many things, he was even less afraid now. Even if he was killed by the Hu people, it didn't matter. At least his family would be well taken care of. Apart from anything else, the emperor still attached great importance to the heroes who died in battle and never owed them anything.

Envoy Xu began to slowly organize his words in his mind, thinking about what he would say to the Hu people when he met them later.

The deputy envoys were in a very miserable state. They did not have the courage of the chief envoy and at this moment they were only thinking about how to save their own lives.

The Han army's warships had appeared in the distance. When the two sides encountered each other, because they had greeted each other in advance, the warships did not make things difficult for the Chen envoys, but instead protected them.

The warship sailed like this for a long time, and finally arrived at the dock on the coast before dark.

This place has been renovated and expanded several times, and there are several large ships moored here, which looks majestic.

There were officials waiting here, and their attitude was quite respectful. After the two sides met, there was no excessive greeting, and Envoy Xu was just asked to leave.

Everyone got on the car and drove all the way to the city, where they were taken to an official office to pay a visit to the general.

But when Messenger Xu came in, he found that the place was empty and there was no general at all.

Envoy Xu was a little annoyed and asked loudly, "Where is the northerner in charge? Is this the etiquette of the northerners to treat envoys?!"

He really had a loud voice. When he shouted like that, the messengers around him were all startled, but they did not dare to stop him.

"There's no northerner in charge, but there is a southerner!!"

Then a voice was heard from outside the door, and then an armored general led many armored soldiers into the house. Messenger Xu was stunned and looked at the general. After a moment, he was shocked.

"General Wang!!"

"Xu Hun, you are so impressive! How can an illiterate person like you become an envoy?"

The person who walked in was none other than Wang Lin. Wang Lin walked all the way to Envoy Xu. The envoy, who had just looked so brave and fearless, was frightened by him and took several steps back, almost falling to the ground.

Well, when Messenger Xu left the house with a knife, he went to join Wang Lin.

Wang Lin's influence in the State of Chen was unimaginable. Even Wu Mingche, the top general of the Southern State, was worried that he would not be able to control his troops because of Wang Lin, so he quickly summoned his guards to kill him.
Envoy Xu was surprised, "Isn't the general in Gwangju?"

"Why, do I need to report to you where I'm going? And you, how did you become a messenger?"

"I"

Envoy Xu didn't know how to answer for a moment.

When the deputy envoys saw this situation, they didn't know whether they should be happy or scared.

The mastermind's momentum just now was that he was going to take them to their deaths, but he actually knew Wang Lin! ! How can this be explained?
Wang Lin looked at the troubled messenger and his expression gradually softened.

"How is your old father at home?"

“He’s been dead for three years.”

"Hey, get up."

Envoy Xu stood up, lowered his head and said nothing.

Wang Lin waved his hand and said, "You are also a brave man. How come you are so timid now? Since you are an envoy under the imperial order, you should not be like this. Just say whatever you want to say. Don't let personal interests override public interests!!"

At this time, Wang Lin was even still educating his former subordinates on how to do things.

Messenger Xu raised his head, with great confusion in his small eyes.

How do you say this?
The main purpose of his mission this time was to reprimand the northerners for their rudeness and for taking in several rebel generals without any regard for the alliance between the two sides. He sternly demanded that the other side return Ouyang He, Chunyu Liang and others, otherwise he would break the alliance.

But he couldn't just yell at Wang Lin, could he?
When he was serving as an officer under Wang Lin, his father was seriously ill and he wanted to leave secretly, but was caught. Wang Lin learned the reason, gave him money, and asked him to go home to visit his father and come back after making sure everything was fine. Wang Lin had done him a favor, so he could not insult him no matter what.

Envoy Xu was silent for a moment, and then said helplessly: "I came here this time to ask the Han Kingdom to return the traitors Ouyang He and Chunyu Liang."

"Oh?"

"Ouyang He was originally a general of the State of Chen, but he defected to the State of Han. Chunyu Liang was the commander-in-chief, but he killed the soldiers and betrayed during the war. The State of Han and the State of Chen were allies, and we should not allow such evil people to stay. You..."

Messenger Xu hesitated for a moment, but ultimately failed to curse.

If he had known that Wang Lin was in Hai'an, he would never have come.

Wang Lin waited until he finished speaking, and then slowly said: "I have heard about Ouyang He, but I don't know where he is. There is no Ouyang He here. Even I don't know him, how do you know?"

The people of Chen had long known that the Han people would say this, so Envoy Xu immediately replied: "General! Even if Ouyang He is not here, what can Chunyu Liang say? We saw him being taken away by the Han army with our own eyes!"

"Chun Yuliang is not with me either. If you want to take him away, you can go to Yuzhou. He may be there."

Envoy Xu said solemnly: "If so, I'm afraid the alliance between Chen and Han can only end here. Han did not keep its promise and took in Chen's rebel generals. If we hadn't been there to contain him in Nanyang, how could the Heavenly King have conquered Chang'an? Your Majesty was generous and believed the Heavenly King's words and sent troops to join the expedition. Why did Han break its promise?"

Envoy Xu finally got into the state.

The face of the messenger was revealed.

Wang Lin sneered, "Containment?"

"If it weren't for Your Majesty, would Chen Bing have been able to capture Anzhou when we marched into Nanyang?"

"When they were defeated and chased by Yuwen Yong, if it weren't for Gao Yanzong, would Chen Bing have been able to escape alive?"

"If it weren't for His Majesty's attack on Chang'an, I'm afraid Yuwen Yong's army would have already reached Lianghuai! Not to mention taking Jiangling!"

"On the contrary, Lord Chen, the two sides went to war together. As soon as he captured Nanyang, he couldn't wait to drive out his allies and enjoy the fruits of victory alone. When he found that he couldn't win, he began to ask for help from his allies. When he found that his allies were too powerful, he stopped attacking and began to communicate with the enemy privately. Who is the one who betrayed his trust?"

Envoy Xu was furious and was about to explode, but when he saw Wang Lin's cold face, he dared not say anything more.

"That being the case, there's nothing more to say."

"Please inform the Heavenly King that from now on, Chen and Han will no longer be allies!! Merchant ships from Chen will never cross the Huai River again!"

Envoy Xu expressed his final intention, breaking the alliance. Wang Lin was not surprised, as they had expected this day to come a long time ago.

The reason why the State of Chen chose to ally with the State of Han was because it was badly beaten by the State of Zhou. But now the State of Zhou is even worse off, so they naturally have to change their alliance partner.

Wang Lin wasn't really angry, but there was a hint of contempt in his eyes.

"Chen Xu is a man of integrity. At least he knew to inform us first. It's a pity that he is inferior to the Heavenly King."

Envoy Xu's face became solemn, "My lord is kind and benevolent, which cannot be compared with the Hu people."

Although Chen Xu had some minor flaws, he did not harm the people. The officials he arranged at the local level were all good. They developed people's livelihood, built water conservancy projects, increased grain production, and reduced taxes several times. He would not levy taxes by force unless it was absolutely necessary. This could be considered a wise ruler at the time. After all, this was an era when talented people emerged in large numbers.

If Chen Xu's merits and demerits are compared with those of emperors of other dynasties, he is just above average. But if compared with the emperors of this era, he is simply a saint!

He just allocated money to build temples, which is ten times or even a hundred times better than the crazy Gao Yang who randomly grabbed tens of thousands of civilians to build pagodas, carve Buddha statues on mountains, and build Buddhist wonders everywhere! !

Moreover, after he came to power, he treated the army well. He improved the treatment of officers and soldiers, prohibited the discrimination of various armies based on region, and posthumously honored and commemorated some generals and soldiers who had fought and died for the country in the past.

Therefore, in the State of Chen, although Chen Xu did not reach the level of Emperor Wen, he was still known for his benevolence and generosity.

Wang Lin didn't say anything more, nor did he make things difficult for the envoys, allowing them to go back.

Envoy Xu glanced at Wang Lin, but said nothing and left.

Wait until these people leave.

Several generals just walked into the house.

Ouyang He was clearly among them. Not only Ouyang He, but also Cao Qing, who was the first to come for refuge, was among them.

After these people came in, Ouyang He was the first to ask, "My Lord, why did Envoy Chen come?"

"It's to take you back. It seems that Chen Xu still values ​​you very much and wants to take you back to be the Third Duke!"

Ouyang He couldn't help laughing.

Cao Qing and others also laughed.

After the two of them finished laughing, Wang Lin said seriously, "Mr. Chen came and told us about the breaking of the alliance."

"I heard earlier that Chunyu Liang had surrendered, and it turned out to be true. The Chen envoy said so. It seems that the Chen people may take action."

"What do you think we should do?"

"Prince, you should take the initiative and capture Lianghuai!"

"The armies of Lianghuai were led by Huang Fachu and Chunyu Liang in turn in the past. Now, one of them is detained in Jiankang, and the other has surrendered to us. What are we waiting for? Instead of waiting for the Chen people to take action, we might as well take action first. The cities of Lianghuai were severely damaged in the war, and the Chen people have never had time to repair them. We will surely be able to capture Lianghuai by advancing by land and sea!"

Ouyang He suggested, and Cao Qing hurriedly followed, "General! Isn't it a good time to make achievements now? I would like to be the vanguard. Although Chen State has many naval forces, the capable generals are all in Jiangling. If we send troops quickly, they will not have time to react. By then, the credit will have been won, and we can directly report it to His Majesty."

"How can you send out troops without permission?!"

Wang Lin glared at them and reminded them, "Don't forget, His Majesty trusts us so much that he even lets you stay under my command. If you are caught because of inappropriate words, you all should calm down and stop talking nonsense!"

"However, Chunyu Liang has already surrendered, so it won't be difficult to take over Lianghuai and Jiangling. We can wait a little longer."

Han, Chang'an.

As the Zhou army retreated, the Han army continued to attack. Wei Xiaokuan led the way, persuading many officials in Guanzhong to surrender or defeating them, causing Guanzhong to gradually fall into the hands of the Han army.

Liu Taozi also ordered Shi Wansui to divide his troops and capture the prefectures and counties east of Chang'an.

By now, even Chang'an has been controlled by the Han army. The Zhou army has basically withdrawn from here, and its army is fighting with Wei Xiaokuan in Tianshui.

Officials from other places fled towards Bashu.

When Liu Taozi captured Chang'an for the first time, Guanzhong could no longer be defended. He had to withdraw his troops that time because he was unable to follow up and his soldiers were arrogant after his great success. Now, with more and more soldiers in Xia and Ling, Liu Taozi has enough power to control the Guanzhong area and reach out to further places.

At that moment, the morale of the Han army was extremely high. In contrast, the Zhou army was becoming increasingly unable to defeat the Han army and was frequently defeated.

Zu Ting rushed into the palace with a document in his hand and a smile on his face.

Liu Taozi was looking at the map with Gao Changgong and discussing the advance of the battle line.

This battle started when the Han-Chen coalition forces attacked Nanyang and has continued until now. The fighting is still going on. According to Zu Ting's estimation, this war may last at least two years.

After Zu Ting walked in, Gao Changgong looked up at him.

After the news of Zu Ting wearing Gao Changgong's mask to guard the city spread, Gao Changgong's reputation actually increased a lot, although he was already very famous.

There is no mention of Zu Ting riding a horse and shooting in the folk rumors. It just says that Zu Ting wore Gao Changgong's mask and scared Yuchi Jiong's army so much that they fled without fighting. Everyone said that the Zhou people were so scared when they saw Gao Changgong's mask that they dared not fight.

"Grandfather, what's the good news?"

Zu Ting waved the document in his hand and finally laughed out loud, "Yuwen Yong is dead!"

"what?!"

Gao Changgong was shocked.

Zu Ting handed the document in his hand to Liu Taozi. While Liu Taozi was reading it, he said, "I was wondering why Yuwen Xian suddenly withdrew and stopped defending. It's just as I expected!"

"Yuwen Yong died, and Yuwen Xian was anxious to return and inherit the throne, so he gave up Chang'an."

"Hey, the morale of the Zhou people has completely collapsed. Yuwen Yong is dead, and Yuwen Xian is about to take the throne. Isn't this a good time to send the prince back?"

Gao Changgong was stunned. "Send it back?"

"Why?"

He doesn't know about this yet.

Zu Ting explained: "It is to let them fight for it."

"But didn't our grandfather say that Zhou should be destroyed as soon as possible? If we exert pressure from the outside, they will not fight. It is only when we retreat that they will fight."

Zu Ting grinned.

"Whether or not to fight has nothing to do with whether there are powerful enemies outside. Since ancient times, there have been many cases where there were powerful enemies outside and people fell into internal fighting. "

"Besides, I have met this Yuwen Yun. He was acting in front of me, so I just played along. I am not afraid of his talent, but I am afraid of his lack of ambition! I saw that he was an ambitious brat the other day. Such a guy has no idea of ​​the importance of things, and he can be used as a good weapon in our hands. In addition, in addition to the crown prince, I am also going to select some ministers to send back together."

"But the Queen Mother and the Empress cannot be sent back."

There was a gleam in Zu Ting's eyes, and one plan after another seemed to appear in his mind.

"Your Majesty, you can prepare for the general attack."

"Send the prince back first, and let them continue their internal struggle. We will take the opportunity to arrange food, fodder and troops to the destination, and then choose the best time to suddenly send out the troops."

"Destroy the Zhou Kingdom and unify the country."

Gao Changgong appropriately broke Zu Ting's beautiful dream.

"Grandfather, I have read your strategy and calculated it. According to your method of sending troops, we will not have enough food and grass."

"If we can't defeat the enemy in a short period of time, I'm afraid our current foundation will be severely damaged. Since my ancestor wants them to fight among themselves, I think it's better to pacify Guanzhong first, give them a chance to breathe, let them fight among themselves, and then go."

"No!"

Zu Ting's expression was extremely solemn.

"If we let them gain a firm foothold, even if Yuwen Yun kills Yuwen Xian, it will be useless. We cannot hesitate to unify the country!"

"The general trend is on my side. It is overwhelming and can be decided in one battle. There is no time to hesitate!!"

(End of this chapter)