Chapter 22 4. The covenant of monarchs and ministers, Gan Mao took Yiyang lightly

After the death of King Huiwen of Qin, King Wu of Qin ascended the throne.During the reign of King Wu, Gan Mao and Chi Liji were the left and right prime ministers respectively assisting King Wu of Qin.King Wu of Qin often said to his left and right that if we could let our troops, chariots, and commercial vehicles pass through Sanchuan unimpeded and destroy the Zhou Dynasty, even if we let our people die, we would be satisfied. After Gan Mao heard about it, he offered advice to King Wu: "If your lord wants to destroy the Zhou Dynasty, South Korea is the country we must attack first. However, it is not guaranteed to attack South Korea with the current strength of our Qin State. We can ally with Wei. If we combine the forces of the two countries to attack South Korea, South Korea will definitely lose."

King Wu of Qin said: "The prime minister's words are very reasonable. I don't know who to send to the state of Wei to persuade the king of Wei to join forces to attack Korea?" Gan Mao cupped his hands and said, "I can go to have a try, but ask Xiang Shou to go with me." King Qin Wu was very happy, and gave Gan Mao several carts of jewels and hundreds of attendants, and sent him on the road. After Gan Mao and his party arrived in Wei State, Gan Mao suddenly changed his mind and said to Xiang Shou: "Go back immediately and tell the king that Wei State has agreed to form an alliance with Qin State and attack South Korea, but South Korea still cannot fight. The reason is waiting for me to go back. Tell the king again."

When Xiang Shou returned to the state of Qin, he told the king of Qin Wu exactly what he had said. King Wu of Qin was puzzled, so he asked Xiang Shou Ganmao's intention in doing so. The king said." King Qin Wu couldn't sit still in the court, so he came to Xiyang to wait for Gan Mao. A few days later, Gan Mao came back from the state of Wei and met King Wu of Qin in Xiyang. King Qin Wu's first sentence was to ask Gan Mao why he suddenly changed his mind again, did he encounter any obstacles, or South Korea formed an alliance with other countries again. Gan Mao said: "Your Majesty has thought too much. In fact, the reason is not here. After I talked about the Wei King Alliance in Wei State, I suddenly thought of a problem. I think it is necessary to talk to you, and then I will not attack Han. Decide."

Qin Wuwang asked suspiciously: "What's the problem with the prime minister?" Gan Mao said: "Yiyang is a big county. It is called a county, but in fact it can be called a county. Yiyang is located in a dangerous place, easy to defend and difficult to attack. Our Qin army has traveled thousands of miles, and we are not familiar with the environment and other factors. , it will be too difficult to attack." Qin Wuwang said: "The prime minister means that he wants to give up attacking South Korea?" Gan Mao shook his head and said, "No, this is actually not my biggest concern. It will take a long time to attack South Korea, and what will happen during this period is really unpredictable."

Qin Wuwang asked suspiciously: "What does the prime minister mean?" Gan Mao said: "Your Majesty, let me tell you a story. Once upon a time, there was a man with the same name as him who killed someone. Someone told his mother that your child killed someone. There is no better way to know a child than a mother. Of course his mother did not believe it." Then another person told her that your child really killed someone. She still couldn't believe that the child was brought up by herself, and his every move was in her own eyes. How could he kill someone? Then another person Tell her that your child has indeed killed someone. Her heart is shaken, and she feels that even if she knows her child well, she can’t figure out his heart. She was afraid, so she lost her housework and ran away.”

King Qin Wu said: "The story is very exciting, but I don't know how it has anything to do with what the prime minister is worried about." Gan Mao said: "I'm just using this story as a metaphor. It will take a long time to attack Yiyang. During this time, there will be some people who slander me around the king, saying that I can't take Yiyang down, or say If one person says this, the king may not take it seriously, but if many people say this, the king's confidence will definitely be shaken, and I am afraid that the king will make that wrong decision." King Wu of Qin then asked, "Which decision do you fear I will make?"

Gan Mao said: "If my guess is correct, after I have not captured Yiyang for a long time, Chi Liji and Gongsun Shuang will definitely meet the king and slander the ministers. The king will definitely believe their words and order the ministers to withdraw." King Qin Wu said: "It's just that the widows don't listen to them, so the prime minister should feel relieved." Seeing that he had persuaded King Wu of Qin, Gan Mao led an army to attack Yiyang. In the end, what Gan Mao expected was right, because the climate was not acclimatized, and Yiyang occupied an area that was easy to defend and difficult to attack. After more than five months, Yiyang was not defeated.

At this time, Chi Liji and Gongsun Shuang really went to see King Wu of Qin. Chu Liji said: "Your Majesty, it took so long for Gan Mao to attack a small county in South Korea. It proves that he really doesn't have the ability to command a battle. If he continues for such a long time, he will definitely lose !" Gongsun Shuang also echoed and said: "The prime minister is right. It is better to withdraw our troops and return to Qin before it reaches the expected point. Firstly, it will reduce unnecessary damage; secondly, we can gather strength and look for opportunities to fight again. Han."

Qin Wuwang felt that their words were not unreasonable, so he sent an order to say: "Send someone to notify Gan Mao quickly, tell him to cancel the war with Han, and withdraw troops back to Qin immediately." The herald reported the news to Gan Mao, and Gan Mao thought, the king really did this.After thinking about it again and again, he took a pen and wrote a letter to the herald, asking him to deliver the letter to King Qin Wu himself. Gan Mao said in the letter: Your Majesty, have you ever remembered our agreement in Xiyang? I was worried that Your Majesty would do this, so I took so much pains to talk to Your Majesty so much.Although the king didn't witness the situation in Yiyang, he should have an understanding in his heart.Yiyang is easy to defend and difficult to attack. In addition, the soldiers are not acclimatized, and their combat capabilities are greatly reduced. This prolongs the combat time.I hope that the king will keep his promise in Xiyang at that time, don't listen to other people's words, and give me some more time. It will be a matter of time before Yiyang is taken down.

When King Qin Wu saw the letter, his heart was agitated, and he did agree to Gan Mao.Thinking of this, he wrote another reply letter to Gan Mao. The letter said: I have forgotten the agreement with Xiyang. After reading the prime minister's reply, I feel so ashamed.Just as the prime minister expected, when Yiyang was not captured, many people from the court came to see the widow and persuade them to withdraw their troops and return to Qin.At that time, the widow felt that what they said was not unreasonable, so they decided to withdraw their troops.The Yiyang agreement mentioned in your reply made me change my original intention. Thinking about the situation at that time, the prime minister was worried about what happened today, so he deliberately said those words.Here, the widow takes back the words in the previous letter to withdraw troops back to Qin, and supports you in capturing Yiyang.And give you another 200,000 troops to help you defeat Korea.

After handing over the letter to the herald, King Wu of Qin immediately issued another decree: "Now about the matter in Yiyang, I don't want to hear any more advice to retreat."After careful consideration, the widow decided to continue to support Gan Mao's campaign against Han, and dispatched 200,000 troops to support him.If there are still obsessive people who come to persuade me, I will punish them severely! This decree really worked, and many ministers who were about to persuade them gave up their thoughts, but they all wondered how the king's decision became so fast, how did they know about the agreement between King Wu of Qin and Gan Mao. Then Qin Wu Wang transferred a general to lead 200,000 troops to support Gan Mao. When Gan Mao saw King Qin Wu's reply, his heart was beyond words.His Majesty's actions, in the eyes of others, are desperate, and it proves that His Majesty believes in me and has not forgotten the covenant of Xiyang.His Majesty trusts his ministers so much, if I can't take Yiyang down again, I will discredit him, and His Majesty will definitely be ridiculed by many ministers behind his back. Gan Mao thought about it: Yiyang's defenders, relying on geographical advantages to resist tenaciously, is the real reason why they still haven't won.After such a long period of large and small battles, our Qin army has adapted to the soil and water and the combat mode. It is just that the number of troops is too small to slow down the progress of the battle. Now the king sent 200,000 troops to support him, which just solved his problem The top priority is to conquer Yiyang just around the corner. The general defending the city of Yiyang was relieved when he heard the news that Gan Mao was going to withdraw his troops.But not long after he was relieved, the spies reported back: King Wu of Qin changed his decision. Instead of ordering Gan Mao to withdraw his troops, he transferred 200,000 troops from Qin to support Gan Mao! The general who defended the city turned pale with fright, and his heart, which had just calmed down, hung up again. "Be sure to guard it for me, and immediately send someone to ask the king for help!" He ordered. It's a pity that he knew it too late. Yiyang is thousands of miles away from the capital of South Korea. In terms of time, in less than half a month, the reinforcements can't catch up.But the 200,000 troops supporting Gan Mao are almost at Yiyang. So far, Gan Mao did not launch an attack on Yiyang City, but rectified the army before the reinforcements arrived. Three days later, the reinforcements finally arrived, and the morale of the two armies rose sharply as soon as they met.Gan Mao took this opportunity to attack Yiyang. South Korea's reinforcements were still on the way, and Yiyang could no longer support it. After five days of tenacious resistance, Yiyang City was finally breached, and the Qin army beheaded 60,000 people, winning a complete victory. Gan Mao won the victory in the end, the important reason was his careful consideration. After he returned to Qin, King Wu of Qin showed Gan Mao a basket full of slander letters.Gan Mao said at the time: The credit this time is not due to the minister, but to the king. If the king hadn't insisted on his own ideas, he might have ordered the minister to withdraw his troops long ago, but King Wu of Qin admired Gan Mao's foresight very much. Gan Mao's strategy is that he foresees that King Qin Wu may be disturbed by left and right, and cannot give him full trust, so he was vaccinated in advance and signed a covenant between the monarch and his ministers.Facts have proved that the strategy adopted by Gan Mao was correct, and King Wu of Qin gave him strong support for this reason, and finally won the victory with Yiyang.