Chapter 1056: Success in the East and Success in the West (Forty-Nine)

Meng Tian held three pillars of fragrance in his hand, bowed three times in the air, and placed them in an incense burner on the table in front of him. Behind the incense burner stood a spiritual tablet, which was Li Xin's spiritual tablet.

After three bows, Meng Tian sat down. There was a sumptuous banquet in front of the incense burner. He picked up the wine pot and filled the wine glasses on both sides. Meng Tian picked up the wine glass and raised his glass to the memorial tablet: "General Li, I salute you. .”

He tilted his neck, drank the wine in one gulp, and put down the glass. Meng Tian's face was extremely complicated. "You and I have been officials in the same court for twenty years, but who knows that we have never had a drink at the same table. Wine? It’s a pity to think about it, but this regret can never be made up for.”

He sighed, filled the glass again, and drank it dry.

Twenty years ago, when King Wulie of Qin came to the throne, Meng Tian was already a general, commanding an army of 200,000 and stationed at the border of Qin and Chu. However, because he was not a close associate of King Wulie of Qin, he had always been under suspicion. The general who moved his nest was the only one in the history of the Qin Dynasty. The reason why King Wulie of Qin never touched him was simply because he was highly qualified and had never made any mistakes.

However, Li Xin has emerged as a new force in the past twenty years. With the support of King Wulie of Qin and the support of the veteran general Ying Teng, Li Xin conquered the east and west, destroyed countless countries, and gained the reputation of the God of War. The Zhao State and Zhao Mu were in the east and the west, and they were equal in the world. However, because Meng Tian was stationed on the border of Qin and Chu, Qin and Chu were wary of each other, and basically had no military exploits to gain, so his reputation was gradually overshadowed by Li Xin.

Meng Tian was not without resentment in his heart. If these wars launched by the Qin State were not led by the young Li Xin, but by himself, I believe he would have won more easily.

But as time went by, Li Xin matured day by day, commanding more and more troops, and finally caught up with him in military rank. Meng Tian was also amazed by the battles he commanded, and he finally gave up. He had the idea of ​​competing with Li Xin. The young Li Xin had grown into a world-famous general that he even felt inferior to.

But now, Li Xin, whom he was also convinced by, is gone forever. Li Xin is only in his early forties this year, but he is already in his sixties.

Meng Tian regretted in his heart that Li Xin's death was an irreparable loss for Da Qin. Da Qin's generals were already showing signs of being inactive. Even though Lu Chao was good, it was a pity that he was still a little younger and made many mistakes, leading an army alone. There was no problem, but it was difficult to summon the entire team, and Wang Jian, whom he had once been optimistic about, disappeared without a trace following the defeat of his father Wang Xiao.

"Da Qin is in a precarious situation!"

As a general who was not completely trusted by King Wulie of Qin, but who could command hundreds of thousands of troops and remain standing for twenty years, Meng Tian was well versed in politics. When he learned that Li Xin was defeated and died in the prairie , he already understood that this time the Qin-Han War was over. The 100,000 Qin troops under his leadership swept across the Wei State and captured the beams, but he also knew very well in his heart that this was not a reflection of the true strength of his opponent Ye Zhen. In fact, Above, the troops led by Ye Zhen are no less than his. The Central Field Army has more than 50,000 troops, the newly formed Wei army has 30,000 troops, and Zhou Changshou's Zhao army also has nearly 30,000 troops. The opponent has more than 100,000 troops. However, he did not seriously fight with him, and often ran away at the touch of a button. He actually gave up Wei to him easily. This made him more cautious, which was very disrespectful. Reasonable thing. Even if the Zhao army may not obey his command, the newly formed 30,000 Wei army is basically led by Han army officers. Together with Ye Zhen's own army, they have exceeded 80,000 people, which is enough. The ability to fight with yourself.

Meng Tian even wondered if the other party was trying to kill people with a borrowed knife, allowing him to occupy Wei State first, and then they would counterattack and defeat him. However, where did they get the confidence?

To lure the enemy deeper and allow himself to penetrate deeper? Meng Tian had not considered this possibility before, but after taking Daliang, his army and Lu Chao's army had already been united, so it was basically impossible.

But now, Meng Tian understood that the most deadly threat was not Ye Zhen on the opposite side, but the Zhao State behind him. It was time to withdraw, and while withdrawing, he completely knocked down the Zhao people who were already half lying down. , has become Qin's only choice. As for the fat piece of Wei, how much Qin can swallow depends on the confrontation with its opponents at the negotiation table.

There were slight footsteps behind him, and Meng Tian was a little surprised. When he set up a table of sacrificial wine in the woods in the backyard of the Wei Palace, he had already ordered that no one should come in without his own order. Who was this? How dare he barge in so boldly? He turned around angrily, and when he saw the person coming, his face was filled with surprise at first, and then a sudden realization.

"I know who it is. His steps are as light as a cat. My subordinates walk like tigers and leopards, but they have never been so tiptoeing!" Meng Tian was sitting there, looking at the person coming, and said sarcastically.

"Meng Tian, ​​don't you feel uncomfortable if you don't ridicule me every time we meet?" The visitor walked up to Meng Tian angrily. When he saw the spiritual tablets on the table, he wordlessly clasped his fists and bowed to the ground, then stretched out his hand. He pulled the chair across from him and sat on Meng Tian's side.

"Leading troops to fight well, instead of galloping on the battlefield, I choose to do these dark things." Meng Tian said unceremoniously.

Zhongli chuckled, "You have all done upright things. Someone has to do these dark deeds. Meng Tian, ​​my military talents are limited and I cannot compare with you. Naturally, I have to find another way. Otherwise, I How can I be like you and be granted the title of Marquis Kaifu?"

Meng Tian sighed and looked at Zhongli for a while, "I didn't expect you to come in person!"

"There is nothing unexpected. The king's illness will not last more than a few days. He wants to see you for the last time!" Zhongli grabbed the wine glass in front of Meng Tian, ​​poured a glass and drank it, but his eyes were always staring at Meng Tian. .

Meng Tian smiled bitterly, "Now that we have reached this point, the king still doesn't believe me? In fact, as long as you send an edict, I will go back naturally, so there is no need for you to come in person!"

"Your Majesty is really in trouble!" Zhongli said sternly: "I'm not going back to Xianyang."

Meng Tian lowered his head and remained silent. No matter whether King Qin Wulie was too real or too fake, for him, the result was always the same.

"Li Xin has been the king's companion since he was a child, and he has a deep affection. The king was seriously ill, and this blow was just to delay the time." Zhong Li said carefully and carefully: "The king also knows about my friendship with you, so let me I came here to reassure you that the king has no intention of killing you, but just wants you to retire."

"When a new king comes to power, he should be the emperor and his ministers. This is what should be done. What's more, the king doesn't trust me at all. He didn't touch me before. He was just worried about my influence in the army and the influence I brought out. This is just an army of 200,000. In the past two years, General Zhou Yu was sent to my army, and many generals were sent there one after another. Zhou Yu was also a talented person. I must have felt that Zhou Yu was the king now. I have been able to control the troops I left on the border between Qin and Chu, but on this side, I face the formidable enemy Ye Zhen of the Han army. Speaking of which, the king finally believes that I will not betray the Qin Dynasty. Knowing that at such a pass, I I will never trade the interests of Da Qin for my own interests." Meng Tian raised the wine jar and took a few gulps.

"A gentleman can be deceived."

Zhongli grinned, "Your Majesty is your Majesty, he just bullies you, what can you do? Meng Tian, ​​you are getting old, come down, go back and take care of yourself, Han Yi plays with your grandson, it's not a bad thing." Kind of fun.”

"You are here, how can I not leave?" Meng Tian exhaled a long breath: "Who will take my hand?"

"Lu Chao!"

"Not bad at all!" Meng Tian nodded, "At least it won't be bad."

"Lu Chao is a close disciple of Mr. Li Ru, and he is highly valued by the king."

"But he is a scholar himself. Although he is familiar with military books and can be considered sane when fighting a war, when it comes to a critical moment, big problems may occur!" Meng Tian said: "There is a huge gap between talking about war on paper and reality. It's a pity that Wang Jian is gone, otherwise it would be better to have Wang Jian come."

"Wang Xiao committed suicide. Before he died, he ordered 20,000 Qin troops to surrender to the Han army!" Zhong Li suddenly said, "This is the latest news."

Meng Tian groaned and looked at Zhongli in shock, "Where is Wang Jian? There are still 30,000 troops?"

"Wang Jian led 30,000 Qin troops into the desert!" Zhongli said.

"This is their only way to escape." Meng Tian said: "Wang Xiao is absolutely determined, but he ordered an army of 20,000 to surrender without a fight. The king will probably be very angry."

"All Wang's family members in Xianyang have been imprisoned," Zhongli said.

Meng Tian fell silent again and shook his head. After a while, he shook his head again, "How did Li Xin die? Is there a detailed military report now? I can't believe that Li Xin still has tens of thousands of troops." Under such circumstances, the entire army will be destroyed, and I will be trapped as well."

"I know you want to know the detailed military information, so this time, I also brought detailed military reports about this battle, including reports from the soldiers who escaped, as well as Dan Yu's report, and my Hei Bingtai's report from other places. Information gathered from other parties." Zhongli took out a large stack of papers from his arms and placed them in front of Meng Tian. "I'm not sure about some of them, and neither is the Fourth Prince. You can help me take a look, maybe I can. Identify some issues.”

Meng Tian remained silent and began to read these files one by one.

Half an hour passed and Meng Tian finished reading all the files.

"But there's something wrong with the rain!" he said flatly.

"You think so too? The fourth prince and I also find it very difficult to understand."

"From the comprehensive analysis of the information you brought, Li Xin may have had a chance to come back. At least he had a chance to come back, but he gave up categorically. Instead, he threw himself alone. He wanted to fight tens of thousands of troops to death. Even if he wants to kill Gao Yuan, how can he let Dan Yu lead five thousand cavalry to leave the battlefield under such circumstances? If he had these five thousand cavalry, he would be more likely to succeed," Meng Tian said.

"So, Dan Yu disobeyed the military order and escaped privately!" Zhong Li's eyes instantly showed murderous intent. (To be continued)