Luoyang.

Shang Shu ordered Pei to lie in front of the Son of Heaven Cao Fang and Empress Dowager Guo, crying silently.

Cao Fangmu ran, her face was a little pale. Empress Dowager Guo clenched her fist hidden in her sleeve, her nails digging into her palm, and her heart hurt. However, she refused to let go, only this pain could make her sober and keep her from collapsing.

The situation deteriorated much faster than she expected. Youzhou Thorn Shi Chen Tai was defeated by Deng Ai, now Deng Ai has more than 40,000 horses, has been killed by Youzhou into Jizhou, Jizhou Thorn Shi Pei Hui led the army to meet the battle, one defeated in Yi County, two defeated in Changshan, and now has retreated to Julu, according to the city and defended.

Julu is one of Jizhou, once Julu is lost, Jizhou will only have Handan and Yecheng in the south to hold on. Julu is a big city, and it stands to reason that it will not be a problem to hold on for a while, but if you consider that the Wei Ba they are facing is famous for attacking the city, no one dares to have any unrealistic ideas about Julu.

They all knew very well that if Deng Ai wanted to attack the city, then Julu would definitely not be able to defend it.

Pei Hui is Pei Qian's younger brother, Pei Qian came to see the driver today, but he did not ask for reinforcements for his younger brother, but asked for guilt - for Pei Hui lost half of Jizhou. In less than half a month, Pei Hui was defeated twice and lost half of his territory, no matter what, this is a sign of incompetence.

And the consequences of losing Jizhou are very serious.

For the time being, after the fall of Youzhou, Wei still controls the two states of Jizhou. The importance of the annexation of the state lies in the geography and the strength of the Qianghu in the north, so that the Wei state still maintains a certain military strength. However, Jizhou is the only remaining grain bags and money strings in Wei, and it is the main source of grain in Wei. Once Jizhou is lost. Relying only on the annexation of states, Wei could not support it.

From this point of view, Pei Hui's responsibility is naturally not small.

But Empress Dowager Guo knew that this responsibility could not be fully borne by Pei Hui. Whether it was Pei Hui or another person, in front of Deng Ai's superior forces, they were not opponents. Pei Hui did not surrender to Deng Ai like Chen Tai after the defeat of the first battle, which is already commendable.

After listening to Pei Qian's suggestion, Empress Dowager Guo did not say anything. After Pei Qian left, she immediately called Guo Xiu.

"Wei Ba is aggressive. Yanzhou and Youzhou fell one after another. The army is besieging on three sides, Luoyang is in danger, why hasn't Jiang Wei moved yet? ”

Guo Xiu frowned and pondered for a long time: "He is waiting for my news." ”

"And when are you going to do it?" Empress Dowager Guo lost her composure just now. Her eyes were bloodshot at the moment. The face is red for a while and white for a while. The hair that was originally combed neatly was also a little scattered, which invisibly exposed the panic in his heart.

Guo Xiu bowed and said, "Queen Mother, it's not that I don't want to do it. It's that there's no chance to do it. Wei Ba's soldiers are in Luoyang, and now they are like a bamboo, and if he wants to negotiate according to the previous conditions, it is impossible for him to agree. I wouldn't have been able to get close to him without the conditions to make him tick. ”

Empress Dowager Guo said sharply: "Then what kind of conditions do you need to make him excited?" ”

Guo Xiu was silent for a long time: "Surrender and ask for a marquis." ”

Empress Dowager Guo's breath was heavy, her chest rose and fell violently, and she weighed it for a long time: "Filial piety, it is not bad to be able to be a marquis and succeed the blood food of the ancestors." Compared with the assassination of Wei Ba, it should still be an acceptable result. In case of an assassination failure, not only will the emperor's last wish not be fulfilled, but my Guo family will also suffer a catastrophe, and the price will inevitably be too great. ”

Guo Xiu smiled bitterly: "Queen Mother, the price is indeed not small, if there is another choice, I am not willing to take this risk." However, does the Queen Mother have any other choice? There are no eternal secrets in the world, there will always be a day when they will be exposed. The Cao family and the Xiahou family both have an extremely close relationship with Wei Ba, once they know that the Son of Heaven is not the bloodline of the Cao family, can they still tolerate our existence? At that time, the Guo family will also be destroyed, and the last wish of the first emperor will also be frustrated. What's even more terrifying is that there will be no chance for Jiang Wei at that time. ”

Empress Dowager Guo shook her head in frustration, "But Jiang Wei can't count on it now." ”

"Otherwise, Jiang Wei guards Tongguan and controls Guanzhong. At the moment, it seems that his strength is not strong, but if I succeed in assassinating Wei Ba, Shu Han will fall apart, and no one can match Jiang Wei, he will be enough to control one side. He has Yongzhou, Yizhou, and Liangzhou in hand, plus the merger and Jizhou under our control, and still has half of the country and the strength to fight. ”

Empress Dowager Guo didn't say anything. It's a trade-off she's thought about countless times. Without her consent and her cooperation, Guo Xiu would not have been able to get to this point. It's just that she is a little scared now, Wei Ba is pressing forward step by step, Luoyang is in danger, and the possibility of Guo Xiu assassinating Wei Ba is getting slimmer and slimmer. In case of failure, the remaining foundation of the Guo family will be thoroughly investigated.

Heaven will not give you another chance to escape death.

"You go and tell Wei Ba that I can agree to such conditions." Empress Dowager Guo turned her face and stared at Guo Xiu deadly: "You must be sure before you can make a move, don't act rashly." If God doesn't give us a chance, it's a big deal, I run away with the Son of Heaven, it's better than a broken family. ”

Guo Xiu frowned, hesitated for a long time, stopped talking, bowed, and turned to leave.

Soon, Guo Xiu went out of the city, with new negotiation conditions, and went straight to Mengjin. Wei Ba has already arrived at the Wild King of Hanoi, and he will go directly to the Wild King to ask for Wei Ba to seek the last opportunity.

……

Changshan County, Zhending City, Hutuo River.

A big ship slowly docked on the dock, the boat lowered the gangplank, and Zhao Tong appeared on the side of the board. Pan Ziyu and Sun Dahu were standing behind Zhao Tong, they were all dressed in linen and filial piety, and Zhao Tong was holding Zhao Yun's spirit card in his hand, with a sad face.

Behind them, sixteen strong men carried Zhao Yun's coffin.

When Deng Ai had not yet invaded Jizhou, Pan Ziyu escorted Zhao Yun's coffin, went down the river, turned to the sea, and turned into the Bohai Sea. As soon as they arrived in the Bohai Sea, Deng Ai had already defeated Pei Hui and pocketed half of Jizhou, and Pan Ziyu immediately transferred from the mouth of the Qinghe River to the inland river, and returned to Zhending by water.

Returning to the roots is everyone's dream. Even if it is a 10,000-mile campaign, whenever possible, the government will transport the bodies of fallen soldiers back to their hometowns for burial. Only that kind of rout, which is impossible to clean up, will it be stopped. Burying bones in a foreign land, even for people who have achieved fame and died in the end, is an incomplete ending.

But for the officials of Shu Han, returning to the roots is an unattainable dream. Especially for the old ministers of the Yuan Cong department, most of them are thousands of miles away from their hometowns, and their hometowns are all in the territory of the Wei State, and it is impossible to go home for burial. Therefore, whether it is Liu Bei or Zhang Fei, they can only be buried in Yizhou.

From this point of view, Zhao Yun is lucky, although he failed to take another look at his hometown when he was alive, but after his death, his soul returned to his hometown and was buried in the ancestral grave of the Zhao family, and there is also a good saying: Zhen. This is a gift from the Son of Heaven to reward his loyalty and great concern.

For Zhao Yun, this should be a good ending.

Surrounded by the elders and villagers who rushed to hear the news, Zhao Guang and Zhao Tongyi, who had returned home in advance, carried Zhao Yun's coffin back to Zhao's house, and they will set up a mourning hall here for people to pay homage. Even though it has been more than half a year since Zhao Yun died and he has returned to his hometown, the burial ceremony has not yet entered the agenda.

The reason is very simple, Wei Ba, the king of Jin, wants to sacrifice in person, but at present, Jizhou has not been conquered completely, and he is in Luoyang, so he can't come for the time being. Therefore, Zhao Yun had to wait, wait for Wei Ba to take Jizhou, come to Zhao's house in person, fill the soil with a shovel, and send Zhao Yun into the soil for peace.

This is actually very normal, the Han Dynasty emphasized filial piety, and after entering the collection, it is also normal to enter the soil after another year or even three years. It's just that in the era of war, the living have to survive, and there are not many such etiquettes. If today's unification is in sight, the identity of the Zhao family is special, of course, it can be implemented accordingly.

……

After being busy, Zhao Tong and Zhao Guangcai had time to sit together and exchange their respective situations. Speaking of which, the two brothers haven't seen each other for years.

"You are the eldest son, the head of the family." Zhao Guang smiled: "With you at home, I still have something to worry about." ”

"What about you?"

"I still have to take filial piety into battle. His Royal Highness the King of Jin has an order to let me assist Wei Feng, lead the heavy armored cavalry, and attack south with Deng Ai. ”

Zhao Tong raised his eyebrows slightly. The heavy armored cavalry is the most elite cavalry under Wei Ba, and Zhao Guang originally commanded the light cavalry formed by Liaodong Zahu, although it is also considered elite, compared to the heavy armored cavalry, whether it is strength or status, it is undoubtedly weaker. Wei Ba transferred Zhao Guang to the heavy armor cavalry, and he assisted Wei Feng, which was naturally a promotion of Zhao Guang.

"Then you are so self-conscious, the battlefield is dangerous, you have to pay attention to yourself."

"I know it." Zhao Guang laughed: "I was originally an adventurous person, unlike my brother, seeking stability. ”

Zhao Tong smiled a little bitterly.

"But don't be disappointed." Zhao Guang put away his smile and continued: "King Jin said that you can be on your own because of stability. It can not only govern the army, but also govern the people. So, after the filial piety is over, he will arrange for you to go to Liaodong. I listened to him, as if he was going to merge the Liaodong Prefectures with the newly conquered Sanhan, and build a new Haizhou as a base for future expeditions to the East. ”

"Still going to the East?" Zhao Tong was surprised. "East of Samhan, what else is worth fighting?"

"There is also the Wa Kingdom, and there are ......" Zhao Guang scratched his head: "To the east of the Wa Kingdom, it is said that there is still a large piece of land, which is more advantageous than the conditions of the Han Dynasty. The king of Jin said that after the remnants of the Shang Dynasty died in the country, they may have gone there. ”

Zhao Tong remembered. He is also a participant in the meeting of the building boat, how can he not know. It's just that I don't know when Lu Dao will be, he, like everyone else, only treats those as talking points, but not as land within reach. He thought for a moment and sighed softly: "I am indeed too steady, my pace is not decisive enough, and my vision is a little conservative. ”

Zhao Guang laughed, leaned over and patted Zhao Tong's hand: "Don't blame yourself." Of our brothers, you are the most like your father. However, Hu'er is a bit like a princess, you better hurry up and have another sister-in-law. Your steadiness and sister-in-law's intelligence are the next generation of family heads that my Zhao family wants. ”

Zhao Tong also smiled

(To be continued......)

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