The younger brother of the First Emperor

Chapter 201: Don't listen to Ying Zi's words, and you will suffer the consequences
Diyi, one of the cities of Qi State, was located north of the Ji River.

The reason for this name is that this city was originally the capital of the State of Man.

The state of Souman was a Di regime, belonging to a branch of the Chang Di.

Three hundred years ago, Diyi was a very famous city.

Time flies, and Diyi has long lost its former glory and has become an ordinary small town with city walls in Qi State.

Under the protection of Qi soldiers, Ying Chengjiao looked at Diyi from afar.

The sun is shining and the air is fresh.

The wind in May is neither cold nor hot, and it feels quite comfortable when blowing on people.

Figures were coming and going on the city walls of the ancient city, and the tightly closed city gates in broad daylight exuded a solemn and murderous atmosphere.

The boy twitched his nose, but could not smell any blood, only the faint fragrance of grass and trees.

I lowered my head and looked around, but there was no trace of blood or human tissue in sight.

Behind the young man were rows of tents arranged in a disorderly manner, which did not look neat at all.

The young man mentioned this matter to Qi's general Tian Dan, asking why they didn't plan the camp carefully.

The young man remembered that the old general had a hint of contempt in his eyes at the time:
"Yingzi doesn't understand war. War doesn't depend on whether the camp is in good order."

Ying Chengjiao stopped talking, he really didn't understand.

But he remembered that the camps of the army led by Lian Po were very tidy.

The young man breathed a sigh of relief. This was the first time in his life that he had personally been to a large battlefield.

The Qi army dispatched 150,000 troops.

The Yan army on the opposite side dispatched 210,000 troops.

In nearly a month, Yan general Ju Xin successively conquered two cities of Qi, one large and one small.

The small town is Diyi in front of us.

"Yingzi, stop looking." Tian Dan picked up the boy with one arm and said with a smile, "What can you see outside? I'll take you to the city to see it tonight."

The sun is high now and it is almost noon.

Ying Chengjiao's face showed hesitation, his eyes were wandering, and he seemed afraid to look the veteran in the eye.

Tian Dan was surprised. Ying Zi was not the kind of person who was afraid to speak.
"Are the Qin people also so unhappy?"

Ying Chengjiao's face showed a trace of anger, as if he was too embarrassed to show off:
“I want to tell you, General, don’t underestimate the enemy!
"Ju Xin became famous under King Wuling of Zhao. He was proficient in military tactics and wrote nine chapters of Ju Zi!
“When I was in Yan State, I found that Juzi’s battle formations were changeable, depending on the time, situation and person.

“During the war between Yan and Zhao, if the generals of Yan were actors, there might not be any Zhao now.

"The defeat of Yan State last year was not the fault of the Yan army, but the fault of Yan General Li Fu."

The young man looked into the veteran's eyes and saw that the contempt was even more obvious.

The young man didn't know whether this was a contempt for him or for the Yan army.

Tian Dan has them all.

He felt that the young man was ignorant of warfare and he also looked down on the generals of the Yan State from the bottom of his heart.

The veteran nodded nonchalantly:
"What Yingzi said is absolutely right, I will keep it in mind.

"In the evening in Diyi, Shan repeated it to Yingzi."

Ying Chengjiao's annoyance became more obvious, and he raised his voice:

"General, please let me go to Diyi first!

“It is unreasonable for Yan to launch an unjust war.

"Let me try to persuade them and see if I can take back Diyi and Liaocheng without bloodshed and let them return to Yan State."

The veteran refused without a second thought.

The State of Qi needed a war to establish its prestige.

We finally got the Yan State. How can we let it go back without fighting?

If the State of Yan were really persuaded to return, the only one who would benefit would be the young man in front of him, and its reputation would be raised to a higher level.

Qi did not show its muscles and failed to intimidate other countries.

What if the Queen Mother passed away and the states of Chu and Wei took the opportunity to launch a surprise attack?

Do you still rely on Yingzi's mouth?
"Come here, escort Yingzi back to his tent." The old general handed Ying Chengjiao to his personal soldiers and said to the anxious young man with a smile, "Yingzi is still talking nonsense, but I have already recovered Diyi."

The personal soldier carefully picked up Ying Chengjiao.

Ying Chengjiao struggled hard and warned loudly:

"General! This battle won't be that easy! We won't be able to take Diyi in a short time! Don't let the soldiers waste their lives in vain! Let me try..."

The boy's voice became smaller and smaller, and he was carried away.

Tian Dan's face did not look good, and the crutch he was leaning on was deeply stuck in the soil.

Wouldn't this shake the morale of the army?

If any of his subordinates dared to say this in public, he would definitely behead them as a warning to others!

The veteran looked around, trying to see if the soldiers around him were affected by the boy's words.

Seeing that Qi Bing's faces were still full of confidence, the veteran felt relieved.

Although the number of Qi soldiers was 60,000 less than that of Yan soldiers.

However, the glorious record of Yan's 600,000 soldiers being defeated by Zhao's 130,000 soldiers made the Qi soldiers full of confidence and determined to win.

"Go up to the big tent!" Tian Dan ordered.

He is going to attack the city.

All the generals gathered in the big tent to discuss matters.

After the discussion, they dispersed and prepared for the siege half an hour later.

Lu Zhonglian, who had been waiting outside the tent for some time, walked into the tent after all the generals had left and saluted Tian Dan:

"Meet the general."

Tian Dan immediately returned the greeting, his expression obviously much more serious and formal than when he faced Ying Chengjiao:

"Mr. Lu is so polite."

The veteran general knew that Lu Zhonglian had played a vital role in the Battle of Handan, and that he had truly experienced large-scale warfare and had made successful plans.

Unlike an eight-year-old child who can only read the words on the bamboo slips.

"General, could you please tell me your battle strategy?" Lu Zhonglian knew that the war was about to start and time was pressing, so he spoke his mind.

Tian Dan nodded, and without further ado, he told him all the battle strategies he had just studied.

After listening to what Tian Dan said, Lu Zhonglian lowered his eyes to look at Tian Dan's cane, and clasped his hands together:

"The general attacked Di... but couldn't take it!"

Tian Dan frowned.

First, Ying Chengjiao poured cold water on him, and then Lu Zhonglian poured cold water on him, and he began to get angry.

The old general who usually respected Mr. Jixia very much snorted coldly:
"I, Tian Dan, once defeated the Yan State, which had tens of thousands of chariots, with an inner city of only five li, an outer city of only seven li, and a few poorly-equipped soldiers, and recovered the lost territory of Qi.

"Now I have an army of 150,000, but you said I can't conquer a small Diyi. Why is that?"

Lu Zhonglian was about to explain, but Tian Dan didn't want to listen.

The old general called for people to take Lu Zhonglian away from the tent.

Half an hour later, the Qi army attacked the city and the war began.

The battle lasted for three months, but Diyi was still not captured.

Ying Chengjiao and Lu Zhonglian were strolling in the military camp.

During these three months, the two had not seen Tian Dan.

Every time he reported something, Tian Dan rejected it.

The boy's nose was filled with the familiar smell of blood, and his ears were filled with the familiar roars.

The plants grew and became more luxuriant due to the watering of human blood.

In times of hunger, people eat grass; in times of war, grass eats people.

Bloodstains can be seen everywhere on the land.

The red ones were just splashed on, and the black ones were splashed on earlier.

The young man looked at the shadowy figures on the city wall, and at the Qi soldiers around him, almost all of whom were injured, and lowered his head silently.

He was in a very depressed mood. For the first time, the cruelty of a large battlefield appeared so clearly and intuitively before him.

People who were alive yesterday can’t even put their bodies together today.

Human life is not as important as the weeds under your feet; it disappears quickly and suddenly.

This battle lasted from early May to August and is not yet over.

The boy didn't know how many more people would die.

But he knew that more people would die on the road to Qin's unification of the world...

"Then die..." He suddenly said this.

As soon as he said this, he was shocked. He was stunned, not knowing when he became so cold-blooded and didn't take human life seriously.

He remembered the words he asked Li Si to convey to his commander.

He changed that sentence. The original words were: When you stare into the abyss, the abyss is also staring into you.

At this moment, the boy deeply understood the meaning of this sentence.

While he is influencing the world, he is also being influenced by the world.

The influence of the world is subtle and he is usually unaware of it.

By the time he realized it, he had completely changed beyond all recognition and was no longer the same person as when he first came through.

He vomited violently when he thought about the time he picked up his brother and saw hundreds of corpses.

He closed his eyes, feeling both panicked by the sudden change and puzzled by why he kept vomiting.

What's so scary about a corpse?

Is there anything to vomit about this?
People can't even empathize with their former selves.

Lu Zhonglian looked at the boy with his eyes closed, staying beside him in silence.

He heard what the boy said.

He wasn't the least bit surprised.

How could a person who is determined to start a revolution and take collective action against the nobles who control the world care about human lives?

This eight-year-old boy was able to give up his supreme power, so what else could he not give up?

If he had not understood this point, how could Lu Zhonglian have given up the noble men he had supported for so many years and kneeled down to surrender?
The higher the position a person holds, the easier it is for him to sacrifice others; the more important he is to himself, the more reluctant he is to give even the slightest bit.

But the people who can change the world are precisely those who are in high positions.

Originally, Lu Zhonglian thought that this would be a vicious circle.

The nobles in high positions all tried their best to fight for power and profit.

How could they be willing to use their own fame and fortune to help those whom they consider to be untouchables?

And those who were originally untouchables climbed to the position of nobility, most of them not only would not help the untouchables who once shared the same suffering with them, but would also grit their teeth and jump up to trample on them even more fiercely.

Most of these nobles who climbed to the top exploited the common people much more cruelly than those who were born as nobles.

Lu Zhonglian hated nobles.

I hate myself even more that one day I will become the person I hate.

Therefore, he did not take up a career as an official, but only taught at the Jixia Academy.

Will fight against Qin for the justice in his heart.

Because of what he believed in, he refused to accept any gifts of thanks from the State of Zhao and left.

He thought his life would end up like Zhuangzi's, until he met Master Chengjiao under the guidance of his good friend Kong Bin...

Lu Zhonglian believed that if he were born in the Qin royal family, he would never be able to be so selfless as he was as a young man.

This is a rebellion against oneself...

His good friend Kong Bin said that the boy was not actually a gentleman, but Lu Zhonglian disagreed.

Who said that Master Chengjiao is not a gentleman?

This is such a gentleman!
"Gentlemen." A soldier ran up to Ying Chengjiao and Lu Zhonglian and saluted.

Ying Chengjiao opened his eyes.

From the armor the soldier wore, which was different from that of ordinary Qi soldiers, we knew that he was one of Tian Dan's personal soldiers.

The soldier did not wait for the two to reply, lowered his head and said in a deep voice:

"The general invites you two gentlemen to meet and talk."

Ying Chengjiao and Lu Zhonglian looked at each other and said:
"lead the way."

The young man turned his back to the setting sun and walked following his personal soldiers.

The setting sun is like blood.

The Chinese military tent.

Ying Chengjiao and Lu Zhonglian entered together.

Three months later, they finally met Tian Dan again.

Compared with three months ago, Tian Dan looked much more haggard and old, with red bloodshot eyes.

The old general waved his hand and asked the soldiers leading the way to retreat.

The personal guards saluted and left the tent, leaving only Tian Dan, Ying Chengjiao and Lu Zhonglian in the tent.

The old general struggled for a moment, then bowed with a look of shame on his face, weeping and complaining:

“Three months ago, you two gentlemen said that I could not capture Diyi.

“I am a birdman who is arrogant and self-righteous and won’t listen to advice.

"Please tell me, gentlemen, how did you make that judgment?"

Lu Zhonglian from Qi did not expect that the battle would force the old general into such a situation. He took two quick steps to support Tian Shan:
"Mr. Tian, ​​why is it so?"

Tian Dan bowed his head and bent his back, refusing to get up:
“In Linzi City, there are already children singing.

"He wore a large crown like a winnowing basket, and a long sword to support his chin. He attacked the Di tribe but could not defeat them, and piled up their dry bones into a hill.

"If this is the case in our country, what about other countries?

"Please, gentlemen, tell me a good strategy to break through the city!"

Ying Chengjiao saw the veteran's grief, but he didn't feel anything, as if he was watching a cutscene.

It was as if the person standing in front of me was not a living person.

Just an NPC.

The boy didn't know what was going on with him and didn't want to think about it.

He said nothing, ignored the two people in the tent, and walked towards the table in the middle of the tent.

It's like a player who enters an NPC's room and searches around for items.

In addition to writing brushes, inkstones, and maps on the desk, the most eye-catching items are eight small tablets.

There are all eight tablets with the same inscription.

The boy looked carefully and recognized them all.

【God】

【Landlord】

【Soldier Leader】

【Japanese Master】

【Moon Lord】

【Yang Lord】

【Yin Lord】

【Four Seasons Master】

Having been in Qi for more than half a year, he believed that he had not learned much of the Qi language, but the common characters were no longer difficult for him.

Written on the tablet are the Eight Gods of Qi.

According to legend, after Taigong Wang was granted the title of Duke of Qi, he worshipped these eight gods as orthodox gods.

Today, the royal family of Qi is no longer the descendant of Taigong Wang, but the eight gods worshipped by Taigong Wang are still believed by the people of Qi.

Among all the countries, except for Chu, Qi was the country that attached the most importance to gods and immortals.

From time to time, people who went out to sea would say that they had been to an overseas fairy island and had been rewarded with objects by the fairies.

Ying Chengjiao found it very interesting. He grabbed the sign with "God" in his hand, shook it slightly, and asked Tian Dan:
"General, are you offering sacrifices to the eight gods and praying for victory in this battle?"

The old general responded with shame.

The young man laughed and said:

"The most important affairs of a state are war and sacrifice.

"Now that the general is both engaged in war and performing sacrifices, how can this battle not be won?

“How can we, who have never fought in a war, compare to a famous general like the general?

"The general promised me to visit Diyi three months ago, and I have long wanted to ask the general to fulfill his promise.

"Unfortunately, the general was busy with military affairs this March and we haven't been able to meet. Now we finally meet.

"I wonder if the general can take the boy and stand on the city wall of Diyi tonight?"

Lu Zhonglian turned his head to look at Ying Zi. He didn't expect Ying Zi's words to be so vicious. Every word he said hit Tian Dan in the heart.

He felt sorry for it, but held back from saying anything.

"Tian Dan is guilty!" Tian Dan regretted his decision and said bitterly: "Qi is not guilty enough!"

(End of this chapter)