Chapter 125 Death of Wei Qing
Although Yan State was weak, that was only compared with several major powers. If it was really incapable, Xia Chenyan of Chu State would not have chosen Yan State as a breakthrough point to destroy the coalition.
The killing of the Marquis of Yan would have unpredictable consequences for the states of Qi, Yan, Luo and Zhao.
But it was a good thing for Qi State. The ministers who seized power in Ji City quickly ordered the troops that had entered Qi State to return, because the news of Linhu's invasion had already reached Ji City.
The State of Yan was willing to offer the city to the State of Qi as an apology to end the war between the two countries, and was also willing to hand over the body of the Marquis of Yan to the State of Qi for disposal.
This move was too cruel. It made the people of Qi helpless. One moment they were worried about the attack from Yan State, and the next moment the body of the Marquis of Yan was thrown at them.
The reason why Yan State was so anxious was that compared with the long preparation time before the war among the other Xia countries, the Hu people always came and went like the wind.
By the time Jicheng received the news, it was probably already a human tragedy in the vast forests and plains in the north of Yan State.
The Qi army hurried back to the country, and then learned that Yan had withdrawn its troops. Only then did they feel relieved and immediately prepared to take over the cities of Huai and Si.
When Qin and Wei saw that the Qi army did not stay in Huai and Si, they just felt relieved, but then they saw the Qi army returned to Huai and Si. In addition, when the Qin army passed through Wei territory, they directly robbed it. Now the three countries were once again on the verge of a war in the Huai and Si area.
The Chu State received news of the withdrawal of troops from the eastern battlefield, but this great happy event did not make everyone laugh out loud.
Because the defeat on the front battlefield was so devastating, the Chu army suffered no less than 100,000 casualties, and the mountains and plains were littered with their corpses.
Countless corpses were crowded in the farmlands or at the foot of the mountains. The streams and rivers had been dyed red. Arms and heads cut off by swords were scattered all over the ground. Bright red blood flowed from every part of the body and seeped into the ground beneath the corpses.
There were also some that were turned into meat paste after being crushed by chariots, with only a thin layer of armor left to prove that someone once wore it in battle.
After the Wei army's soldiers broke down the Chu army's formation, the Chu army fled in all directions like a flock of sheep that was suddenly frightened and exploded, running around in all directions, and then were charged by the Wei chariots, and died in the massacre without any chance to fight back.
When the organized elite troops like Wei Wuzu appeared on the battlefield in large numbers, the nature of the war changed completely.
Seeing this complete victory, Wei Houqing could no longer control himself and laughed wildly: "After twenty years of forbearance, we have driven out Qin and defeated Chu. Today is the day for our hegemony to finally come true!"
This was originally just a casual sigh, but to the ears of Han Houcheng and Zhao Houyong, it was clear evidence that Wei Houqing did not take the two countries of Han and Zhao seriously at all.
The two men could not help but feel angry and murderous, "The three families divided Jin, it was not just you, Wei Houqing, who did it alone!"
They both smiled respectfully and said, "After this battle, Wei will be the strongest among all the nations in the world, and no one will be able to compete with you anymore.
You defeated 300,000 troops of the State of Chu with an army of 30,000 and beheaded more than 100,000 of them, an achievement that even the State of Jin could not achieve.
The king is able to sit in Luoyi peacefully, all thanks to you. We are willing to serve you as our lord and go to Luoyi to meet the king. Such a great deed deserves a reward."
Emperor of Zhou.
Although there has been no news about him for many years, he will always be a person that the princes of various countries cannot ignore. As long as he sits on the throne and stays in the royal city, he will always tell the people of the world that the Son of God lives in peace in the world.
This is Bang Zhou's world!
Wei Houqing's eyes were full of excitement, and he said proudly: "It is time to meet the emperor and let all the princes in the world come to Luoyi to pay homage to me and the emperor."
Wei Houqing has become so arrogant that he doesn't even address him as the king.
Han Houcheng and Zhao Houyong looked at each other, then looked away and began to chase the defeated Chu army. Although it was necessary to attack Wei, it was equally important to attack Chu.
Xiang Yin led his army to flee south, and the battle report along with his secret letter was delivered to the hands of the King of Chu, every word of which was written with blood and tears.
"Your Majesty, I am guilty of this defeat, and the only way to repay your kindness is to die.
After several months of fighting, I have observed that not only is Wei's Wu Zu extremely powerful, but its national strength is also greater than that of Chu.
There are many talented people in the Wei army who are far superior to our generals. These are probably the talents that have flowed into Wei from various countries in the past 20 years.
On the other hand, although our army is large in number, it comes from different feudal lords, and it is extremely difficult to dispatch them. Moreover, those who command the troops are almost all nobles, and many of these nobles are incompetent and cannot be used for important tasks.
Your Majesty, the reason why the State of Chu is now the dominant power in the world is because of its vast population.
However, once other countries began to reform, especially large countries like Qi and Qin, Chu, which did not reform, would definitely be at a disadvantage.
You are a wise and intelligent sage king. If you cannot reform the law, how can future kings be successful?
I am willing to sacrifice my life to keep the Wei army here to fight for a chance for peace talks between you and Chu. As long as we can save the country of Chu, it is still not too late.
That is all I have to say. I hope that one day I will be able to hear the news that the State of Chu has received the mandate from Heaven in the underworld, which will be regarded as fulfilling the trust of my ancestors. "
Xiang Yin was a little dazed after sending the letter. He was the patriarch of the Xiang family. In the entire Chu State, only the King of Chu and the Prime Minister had more power than him. The King of Chu trusted him very much. It was for this reason that Xiang Yin realized that he could not go back.
He must die here, at the hands of Wei, so as to prove the strength of Wei. This way, when the King of Chu implements the new law, there will be fewer voices of opposition.
When the King of Chu received the letter, his hands were also shaking. He understood what Xiang Yin meant, "Sima, why is it so?
Can't I suppress the voices of the nobles in the country? I actually want you to pay with your life."
But thinking back to the discussion with his uncle twenty years ago, he felt a little powerless.
The aristocracy of Chu was too powerful, far beyond the reach of Wei.
Therefore, Wei Houqing could easily suppress the opposition in the country, but the King of Chu was hesitant when he looked at the loyal nobles in the hall. He didn't know whether he would be killed directly by these nobles if he carried out reforms.
But thinking of Xiang Yin who was determined to die, the King of Chu made up his mind that he must reform the law even if it meant death.
Xiang Yin led the elite troops to cover the rear, allowing a large number of defeated soldiers to cross the Han River and reorganize the defense. As long as they could build strong defenses and clear the fields, and then hold the city, the Wei State, which had come from afar, would surely retreat.
Wei Houqing looked at Xiang Yin, who was personally wearing armor and leading the elite soldiers of the Xiang family to temporarily stop the Wei Wuzu. Even a man like him could not help but sigh: "The Xiang family of Chu really has the style of the Luo family. If you capture Xiang Yin's head, I will reward you handsomely.
If we cannot break through the Han River defense line within half a month, we will leave and retreat to Nanyang."
Wei Houqing was able to take it or leave it. He had never intended to destroy the State of Chu in one battle. If he defeated the State of Chu in this way, wouldn't he be handing Bashu over to the State of Qin? His goal was to make Bashu a meat grinder between the two countries, not to provide benefits to the State of Qin.
Therefore, it is necessary to attack the State of Chu, but the extent of the attack depends on the strength of the State of Qin.
If Qin knew what Wei Houqing was thinking, it would definitely be glad that it did not go east. Otherwise, Wei Houqing would definitely not mind giving Qin another righteous stab in the back.
Wei Houqing estimated that it would take half a month, but it took ten days just to capture Xiang Yin. It would be impossible to succeed if they continued to march south. Thinking that after this battle, the strength of Chu State was greatly damaged and it no longer had the ability to compete with Wei State, he returned directly.
With the end of the frontal battlefield, the war on the Bashu Plain also gradually came to an end. The Chu State lost many cities and retreated to the fortified cities.
But this does not mean that the State of Chu has completely abandoned this vast plain. Instead, there is chaos in the State of Chu, and a large amount of supplies are piled up on the front line to prevent the State of Wei from attacking again.
Once it is confirmed that Wei will not return, Chu will fight to the death with Qin!
Having lost Nanyang, we must never lose Shu.
The allied forces of Zhao, Wei and Han marched towards the royal capital in a mighty force, but when they arrived outside the royal capital, they saw the emperor's army already ready for battle.
"Marquis Wei, Marquis Han, Marquis Zhao, the emperor knows the purpose of your visit and asked me to come and greet you. It is not convenient to bring so many soldiers to the royal capital. Please bring your personal guards with you."
According to the regulations, when there is no order from the king to come to the royal capital, the princes are naturally not allowed to lead their armies. If it is the King of Chu, then he will naturally not care about anything and will not care about the rules of the emperor.
You are the king, and I am the king too.
However, the three monarchs of Zhao, Wei and Han have no intention of becoming kings at present, especially after the Zhou royal family annexed most of the territory of Song, its strength is not weak.
So the three of them took hundreds of personal guards to Luoyi, while the main army remained outside the royal capital.
Han Houcheng and Zhao Houyong did not expect that things would go so smoothly. They easily separated Wei Houqing and his invincible Wei Wuzu.
If both sides only bring some personal guards, then Han and Zhao can bring elite troops that are no less than Wei Wuzu. Double the force is enough to completely kill Wei Houqing!
After defeating the State of Chu, Wei Houqing was so proud of himself that he wanted to meet the Emperor of Zhou and get the Overlord Set that every prince wanted.
After turning a hill, the outline of Luoyi could be seen in the distance, and Wei Houqing's eyes were almost shining.
Right there!
The highest pursuit of every prince is to become the overlord of the world, to receive the nine gifts of the governor, and to rule the world on behalf of the emperor.
He had already begun to imagine that after he officially obtained the Overlord Set, he would use the Emperor's order to order those small countries that were easy to defend but difficult to attack to follow the State of Wei into battle, otherwise they would be directly wiped out.
“Puff!”
This is the sound of a sword piercing flesh. Wei Houqing has heard it too many times in the past few months, but why is it happening here?
Then he saw Han Houcheng and Zhao Hou with cold faces. How could Wei Houqing, who was used to stabbing others in the back, not know what was happening?
He was shocked and angry and said: "You guys..."
Han Houcheng said coldly: "Wei Qing, you are a shameless villain. The emperor is a virtuous person. You actually still want to receive the gift of the overlord. It's just a dream. Die."
Wei Houqing was naturally unwilling to sit and wait for death, and shouted: "Kill me, and the Wei Wuzu will definitely kill you all!"
Han Houcheng laughed loudly and said, "Wei Qing, do you think we are the only two who want to kill you? Your sons may have taken the military orders to take over your Wei Wuzu.
As for your ministers, they are all greedy and can be bribed with gold, silver, treasures, fiefs and estates.
Everyone is waiting for you to defeat the State of Chu, and then kill you directly. You are such a pathetic person.
Duke Xiang of Luo said in the past: "You rose by this, and you will fall by this!"
Now I can say this to you. You rose to power by betraying your allies, changed the Wei Dynasty by killing your son, and gained loyalty with high positions and generous salaries. Now you are dying because of your allies and son, and your ministers are betraying you for even more benefits.
This is probably the law of nature, retribution will come.”
The emperor's minister who came to greet the three people was stunned. He did not want to get involved in the infighting among the princes, so he led the emperor's personal army away from this chaotic place.
As for meeting the emperor, now that this has happened, there is no point in meeting him.
The emperor's ministers left here cursing.
Wei Houqing was so angry after being scolded by Han Houcheng that he vomited blood, but he could not say anything until the guards protecting him fled in all directions. He fell in a pool of blood with a look of unwillingness on his face. A generation of overlord died in such a cowardly way in the royal capital.
With the death of Wei Houqing, the resources of Wei State were quickly divided up. Some of the Legalist scholars who were dependent on Wei Houqing were absorbed by the old aristocracy, while others directly left Wei State and prepared to change their monarch.
As for dying for Wei Houqing, that's really a joke.
Finally killed him!
(End of this chapter)
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