Chapter 46 The fifth section: the arrow leaves the string and destroys the longbow

During the outing in spring, the Lantian camp suddenly boiled! Although he encountered unexpected opposition in the court, Meng Ao never gave up his plan to raise troops in the coming spring.The Qin army at the time of Lord Wu'an's Baiqi was invincible in all battles, and their veteran generals naturally became famous generals who were discolored by the six kingdoms.However, after Bai Qi's death, the Qin army was defeated three times in a row and had to retreat to Hangu Pass to take a defensive position.Such a great humiliation, not only a group of veterans were furious, Meng Ao was even more heartbroken.After all, Meng Ao is the top general, no matter according to the tradition of the Qin State or according to the laws of the Qin State, a general who has been defeated three times in a row is an unforgivable crime.Although the three wars were ordered by the king to send troops, after the defeat, no one of the generals was blamed, but King Qin Zhao issued a letter of guilt to the government and the public to bear the responsibility for all the defeats, but the defeats were ultimately fought by the generals themselves. What's in your heart is He An?Meng Ao remembered very clearly that when Lord Wu An had a disagreement with King Qin Zhao, their generals were all on the side of Lord Wu An.But from the bottom of my heart, a group of senior veterans who had experienced many battles at that time thought that Mr. Wu An was overly cautious.For this reason, he and Wang Yan went back to Xianyang privately to persuade Lord Wu An once, advocating not to fight against the king's order, but to send troops according to the order. Given the disorganization and panic of the six kingdoms at that time, there should be no doubt about victory.Lord Wu An replied coldly: "The opportunity is not there. Once the opportunity is over, even if there is a strong force, there is no chance of victory. The country of Zhao has become a mourning army, and the whole country is united in their desire to burn jade and stone together. How can a general ignore it!" The two men Neither spoke at that time.After leaving Xianyang, Wang Yan muttered a few words: "What's the point? On soldiers or on the way? I've been away from the battle for too long." He didn't respond to Wang Lu, but he didn't think Wang Lu was wrong in his heart.Meng Ao is still like this, how about a group of invincible generals galloping to conquer and kill?As for King Qin Zhao, who was really alienated from the battle, he even thought that the Qin army could take anything from the six Shandong kingdoms at any time!

It is precisely because of the lingering arrogance and impetuosity of the temple king and the generals in front of the battle that when Lord Wu An refused to lead the troops to fight, King Zhao of Qin followed Fan Ju's recommendation and sent the exaggerated general Zheng Anping to attack Zhao. , As a result, 30,000 sharp soldiers of the Qin army died in battle, and Zheng Anping led the remaining 20,000 troops to surrender to Zhao.When the news came, the whole country was in an uproar!The generals of the Qin army angrily reprimanded Zheng Anping for being a thief, and vowed to avenge the Qin army.As a result, Wang Ling was "forced" to go out and attack Zhao again. As a result, the five schools were killed again, and it was almost impossible to return to the army.In the second defeat, the generals were still not sober, but their desire for revenge was even stronger.Wang Lu was immediately "forced" to replace Wang Ling as a general, and led an army of 200,000 to attack Zhao for the third time. As a result, he encountered the Allied Army of the Five Kingdoms to rescue Zhao led by Lord Xinling, which led to an unprecedented defeat for the Qin army.At this point, a group of veterans were so ashamed and indignant that they screamed for the final bloody battle!It also has to be said that King Qin Zhao was superior. He was sober after being defeated in the third war, and strictly ordered the Qin army to only take a defensive position and not to fight again.A group of generals who gradually calmed down learned from the painful experience, and only then did they admire Jun Wu'an's insight into grasping the opportunity and his calm and clear disposition, and they were no longer impetuous.Even so, the revenge of the soldiers of the Qin army is always haunting.

Meng Ao and a group of generals began to seriously figure out the strength of the Shandong army, silently prepared their troops, and waited for the opportunity of the revenge war.Three years later, that is, the year before King Qin Zhao became paralyzed, Meng Ao secretly wrote a letter requesting a tentative attack on Shandong.Ten days later, Meng Ao, who was secretly summoned by King Qin Zhao, listened to Meng Ao's military strategy for an entire hour without saying a word.King Qin Zhao only said three words in the end: "If you don't use troops for a long time, the people who destroy the country will lose their morale. However, it is not suitable to fight at the moment, and it is okay to attack Zhou and the three Jins with light soldiers. If you move the army without authorization, don't say that I will kill the general again." Meng Ao generously agreed, and King Qin Zhao issued the edict to go to war.

For five consecutive years, the tentative attack has been a great success.In order to prevent the generals from rushing forward rashly, Meng Ao always adopted the method of rushing and raiding: sending up to 50,000 troops in each battle, carrying half a month's food and grass with the army, not deploying a large camp, and returning to Hanguguan immediately after the first battle.In the first battle, the general Ying Yu commanded 50,000 cavalry to attack South Korea, captured the two cities of Yangcheng and Yingshu, and wiped out 40,000 cavalry of the Korean army.In the second battle, Meng Ao personally led his troops, with two elite cavalry from Wang He's Mausoleum as the main force, rushed to Zhao Guo for a long distance, captured 23 counties in ten days, killed 90,000 Zhao troops, and quickly returned to the army.Just at this time, the Duke of Western Zhou, who was entrusted by the Zhou royal family, was overwhelmed by his own strength, and secretly contacted more than 20 remaining small vassal states to join forces in Yique and cut off the passage between Hangu Pass and Xindeyang City.Meng Ao was reported to be the first to dispatch, and sent Ying Yu to command another 50,000 troops to suddenly attack the Western Zhou Dynasty!Thousands of crossbows were fired at the entrance of the city. The Duke of Western Zhou panicked and immediately went out of the city and surrendered. He sacrificed 36 small castles and 30,000 Zhou people.This was the third battle, and it went surprisingly smoothly.The only regret is that after entering Qin Dynasty, 30,000 old Zhou people who were disorganized and unbearable toiled in farming and fighting, fled eastward in large numbers and returned to the Eastern Zhou Dynasty in the second year. If King Qin Zhao hadn't strictly ordered them not to stop their pursuit, how could this Eastern Zhou Dynasty have survived to this day?In the fourth battle, veteran general Huan He rushed to attack Wei State, captured Wu City in one fell swoop, and returned to the army immediately.Although all four battles were victorious in this way, the Three Jins were greatly shocked. The two countries of Korea and Wei paid tribute to Qin, and for the first time in the world, a rare "warring state submission" appeared.But Meng Ao and a group of veterans knew very well that even if they won this small battle a hundred times, it would not be worth any battle in Wu An Jun Bai Qi's life!If they don't go out in a big way, this generation of veterans will never have the chance to take revenge.Now that King Zhaoxiang of Qin has just died, and the new king has just ascended the throne, Qin is in need of a great battle to regain its prestige.In terms of strength, the main force of the Qin army has once again reached 600,000. If it doesn't come out now, when will it be!

However, a group of ministers headed by Gang Chengjun Cai Ze opposed it. Meng Ao has always paid attention to the court situation, and knows that the opposition of the ministers in power has complicated reasons.The most important point is that the new ruler has no talents, and the ministers are deeply afraid that if the war starts, the new ruler will not be able to inspire the power of the whole country, but will produce unpredictable changes.Secondly, the ministers have misgivings about the military ability of a group of veterans including Meng Ao. Although no one will openly say it, everyone knows this doubt.But this is the reason why the ministers made it clear that Qin State needs to enrich its national strength, and the current army should not move lightly.To be honest, Qin Chuan experienced heavy rain, coupled with the earthquake in Longxi and the death of the King of Qin, which really made the State of Qin feel a bit embarrassed.However, in Meng Ao's view, this did not damage the vitality of the Qin State at all. The so-called chaos was completely caused by the inability of the ministers in charge to respond!If Shang Jun, Zhang Yi, Qi Liji, Wei Xun, Fan Ju, etc. were all in power, how could they be caught off guard when the old Qin King was dying?Although you, Cai Ze, did not actually take pictures, you are still the minister of state in the name of the highest title. You clearly care about your loss of power and do not premeditate state affairs. It is really unreasonable to oppose sending troops for reasons!The old man clearly said to send troops in the coming spring, but what does it have to do with the catastrophe and the state funeral?Could it be that the old king of Qin will not be buried for a year?Could it be that within a year you waited for a group of ministers in charge to be unable to manage even an old disaster?What a strange thing!Because of such thoughts, Lao Meng Ao angrily denounced Cai Ze at the meeting of the new ruler.If it wasn't for the sudden onset of the new monarch, old Meng Ao would definitely lose peace with General Cai Ze.

The turning point of the matter was after Lu Buwei was ordered to investigate the military supplies of the treasury. Lu Buwei did not participate in organizing the prestigious state funeral ceremony, so he made a special trip to visit the General's Mansion the next day after the court meeting.Meng Ao was about to go to the Lantian camp to report the situation of the court meeting to the generals, but he didn't even say he didn't see him.At this moment Meng Wu went back to the mansion, stopped his father and said in a low voice: "This new crown prince is Fu Busu, father shouldn't be neglected." Meng Ao said coldly: "What does vulgarity have to do with me? Civil servant!" Meng Wu hurriedly pulled his father aside and said urgently: "It is imperative to investigate the treasury, so none of the ministers dare to come? Lu Buwei is not going to participate in the state funeral. He is here to do this tricky job. If father is rash Going away, wouldn't it be another resistance to sending troops?" Meng Ao nodded suddenly, and immediately ordered Chang Shi to postpone the trip to Lantian, then turned around and went to the gatekeeper Lu Buwei to welcome him into the main hall.

"It's a routine matter, and it won't delay the general's schedule." Lu Buwei didn't take his seat, obviously planning to leave after talking. "Where are you talking? Prince Fu, please sit down. Serve tea!" Once Meng Ao understood, he was extraordinarily bold. "Lv Buwei was ordered to investigate the treasury's military supplies. One informed the general, and the other came here to ask the general for an arrow." "Business is easy to talk about! Come, drink the old man's cup of Sichuan tea first!" "Good tea!" Lu Buwei took a sip from the thick teacup, and couldn't help but exclaimed in surprise, "The juice is still clear and mellow, and its color and fragrance are comparable to Wu tea. Lu Buwei has never heard of such a good tea in Shu!"

"Wu tea is very good!" Meng Ao, who always despised Chu Wu, knocked on the big case, "It's so light that it loses its taste after being boiled in the stove for a while. When Shu tea is put in the stove, it will be as strong as before three or five times!" "Oh? But why?" "The mountains and rivers are different, how can there be any other!" Meng Ao slapped the table with emotion, "Shu Mountain is majestic, clouds and mists are dense, Shu water is turbulent, stirring up the atmosphere of the earth! More fundamentally, the land of Shu belongs to Qin, Li Bing controls the water, and the tea trees are not strong! "

Lu Buwei couldn't help smiling: "The tea tree is strong because it belongs to Qin, and the general has a wonderful theory!" "Don't you think so?" Meng Ao was surprised, "How strong was Zhenze tea before Wu was destroyed? As soon as Wu was destroyed, Zhenze returned to Chu, hehe, Zhenze tea is soft and light, and it is filled with tea stoves to boil. You can't eat either!" "That's how it is!" Lu Buwei laughed loudly, "The general said that Zhenze fierce tea is a thick old tea stalk, and it is naturally boiled! Soft and light, that is the top grade Zhenze spring tea. It needs to be boiled, simmered, Lightly boiled, its charm is clear and fragrant, how can you get a strong man full of beef and mutton!"

"Come on! Good tea is good if you have the strength to restrain food. What do you want to do with Laoshizi Shenyun?" "The general likes hard-boiled tea, how about Buwei giving you a cart every year?" "A gentleman's word!" "A four-horse horse is hard to catch!" The two laughed, Meng Ao waved his hand, and Chang Shi standing beside the big screen held a bronze command arrow.Meng Ao said with a smile: "The sixteen military camps in the Qin State are the ones that Prince Ren is investigating." Lu Buwei took the heavy command arrow and bowed solemnly: "There are 33 treasury and military warehouses in total, and the investigation will not take a day. Gong, what does the general think is better to investigate first?" Meng Ao said with a smile: "This is the official business of Prince Fu and Guowei, I only want to protect the military treasury and not interfere." "So I will leave." Lu Buwei was about to leave the case and get up. However, Meng Ao waved his hand and said, "Wait a minute, sir." Seeing Lu Buwei stunned and confused, Meng Ao said in a low voice, "Whether Qin Jun is going east or not, the reason for Gang Chengjun's officials is really because of Lao Lin's calamity, and because of the strength of wealth? "Lu Buwei nodded in relief: "The general thinks it's not about disasters and strength?" Meng Ao sighed: "I'm ashamed that I can't win the trust of the ministers!" I thought that Gang Chengjun and others doubted the ability of a group of generals on the battlefield. If so, excuse me, the general is wrong." Seeing that Meng Ao's eyes widened, Lu Buwei said frankly, "Lu Buwei doesn't need to hide, before the court meeting Gang Chengjun has written a letter, advocating that the Qin army should delay its eastward march because the Qin State’s vitality is not yet full; once the national power is strong, "Cai Ze is willing to supervise the transportation of food and grass for the general, and he is sincerely interested in it. I hope the king will allow it!""

"The old man knows this letter, it's just a delay, how could he!" "No way. Mr. Gang Cheng is not good at being tolerant of others. If he doubts the general's talent, can he invite himself to serve in the army?" After a moment of silence, Meng Ao smiled lightly: "The future will be long, right and wrong will come to light, there is no dispute." "You don't need to worry about it, the general, but you can send troops, and there is no way to stop them!" Lu Buwei resigned with a sigh. Throughout the entire winter thereafter, Meng Ao always received reports from the far and near military almost every three or two days, saying that Lu Buwei had inspected the garrison supply camps one by one, and he was more skilled in weapons and supplies than the Guowei Fucheng who was conducting the investigation together. The weapons of the heavy camp were in disrepair, food, fodder, clothing and armor were improperly kept!Meng Ao was suddenly disturbed, and quickly dispatched several capable military officials to the military camps at each pass to supervise the repairs, but in the end, Lu Buwei repeatedly found out the flaws.Meng Ao was very frustrated, thinking that the new king of Qin sent such a troublesome new official who insisted on putting three fires on him, obviously he was trying to slow down the troops.When Lu Buwei rushed to Lantian Camp for the final investigation in the snow at the end of the twelfth lunar month, Meng Ao and the generals no longer wanted to deal with this upstart, so they only sent a long history to accompany Lu Buwei to settle the matter.In the first lunar month, this Lu Buwei, who was not yet a new year, actually searched more than a dozen official treasuries in Guanzhong in one go, and there were still flaws in the treasury. At the end of February, the river ice melted, and an emergency edict recalled Meng Ao Xingye to Xianyang. Meng Ao never imagined that the new King of Qin would issue an edict on the spot—the army should be prepared, and the troops would be dispatched within three months!Leaning on the big pillow, King Qin panted and pushed a roll of bamboo slips in front of him: "Old General, if it wasn't for the detailed investigation, I really didn't know that the Qin State treasury is so rich. If there is no war, it will be a waste of things. However, everyone There are too many leaks in the military treasury, and the loss is too great, which is heartbreaking. This is the inventory, and the old general must clean up the barracks treasury before sending troops." Meng Ao's heart was beating violently, and he was impassioned when he took the inventory : "My king is not worried! The old minister will definitely build a good arsenal!" Going back to the mansion and opening the brochure, Meng Ao was shocked to see it!130,000 dendrobiums of millet were corrupted, more than 60,000 pieces of military bows and crossbows were in disrepair, 16,000 tents were mildewed, more than 3,000 axles of vehicles were broken, more than 6,000 carriages were damaged, 13 military ships leaked water, and leather bridles for war horses More than 30,000 pieces were broken... A total of thirteen items were listed, including the number of items, the location of the treasury, the seal of the general, and finally the two Yangwen seals of Prince Fu Lubuwei and Guowei Sima Geng. Without verification, Meng Ao believed in the authenticity of the inventory. The laws of the State of Qin: the treasury storage is divided into three categories, one is the royal treasury, which only stores the royal utensils and goods of the royal palace; goods; one is the military depot, which is specially used for storing military utensils and fodder.Only in terms of military utensils, it is divided into "Weiku" and "Yingku".The Weiku is the special treasury of the Lieutenant's Mansion that is in charge of storing all military supplies; the camp warehouse is the military barracks warehouse that belongs to the general who leads the troops.At the end of each year, all camp treasuries have to report the total consumption and the demand for the coming year to the Guowei Mansion, and then the Guowei Mansion will report to the Taicang Order of the Guofu. Payment in installments.In the Warring States Period, wars occurred frequently. In order to avoid delays, the amount of utensils and money allocated by the Guowei Mansion to the military barracks has always been more than three months. It is directly integrated with Yingku.Even under normal circumstances, the barracks treasury has at least one month more storage.As a result, the barracks treasury is mostly full, while the Wei treasury is often half or empty.In other words, the storage of military utensils is actually mostly in the military camp treasury, not in the Guowei treasury.However, all the treasury of the army is in charge of the grain and grass battalion, and the generals of the supply battalion are all steady and brave generals without exception.Even if there are a few military officials who are proficient in warehousing in the camp, it will not be possible for the generals of the camp to regard the storage as a major event.Most of the time, the grain, grass and military equipment in the barracks are stacked in the open air, and there is almost no way to cover them with wheat straw or tents in rainy and snowy weather.Meng Ao also served as a supply general for three months, and he clearly remembered that every time the military officials of Guowei's Mansion came to check the grain and supplies, they would frown and sigh, and finally they would shake their heads and leave silently.Now that I think about it, I really turned a blind eye back then.This Lu Buwei is also unbelievable, in just three months, he has surveyed the treasury of the whole country so thoroughly, especially for the treasury of the big army camp, he almost combed it carefully, which is really unconvincing. Meng Ao didn't say anything else, Pegasus went straight to Guowei's mansion, and asked for sixty warehouse officers. "Old brother is talking nonsense!" Sima Geng, who was also gray-haired, laughed. "Your old brother only said if you have it? Will you give it?" "Don't say sixty, I'm afraid there are not six." "The majestic Guowei Mansion, there are not even sixty warehouse officials!" "Old brother, the storekeepers are not craftsmen, they are inspectors, restraints and orders. How many do you think there are?" Meng Ao suddenly laughed: "Brother, you mean, one storekeeper can manage multiple warehouses?" "Not too old and confused." Sima Geng muttered. "Okay! Give three!" "Three? I only have two!" "Okay! One family!" "Old brother too!" Sima Geng didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "My more than 20 treasuries are scattered like stars in various counties and counties. Can one run over? I will be dragged by Taicang and Da Nei to help the treasury. Another one, old man Do you still want to be the backing of the army?" "Bird!" Meng Ao couldn't help frowning, "In that case, Lu Buwei has got the old man right!" "Lu Buwei?" Sima Geng suddenly smiled, "The old brother only went to him, there is no mistake!" "I don't even have an old brother, but I have a prince Fu? Thanks to your good rules!" "How do you know? Lu Buwei's weapon storage, I'm afraid I have to worship him as a teacher." Seeing that the old Sima, who has always been cautious, admired Lu Buwei so much, Meng Ao's heart skipped a beat again, and he strode out with his hands together, mounted his horse and left the city, crossing the Weishui Baishi Bridge and heading towards Luzhuang.Meng Ao heard from Meng Wu that although this Lu Buwei became the Prince Fu, he was aloof from the imperial court. Unless he was ordered to, he usually lived in his own manor in the south of the city, and the mansion in the city was probably empty.When he arrived at the gate of Dezhuang, he tied up his war horse, and Meng Ao went to the gate with his whip without reporting his number.The servant in the hall wanted to stop him but didn't dare, so he ran past Meng Ao and went to the village to report. "The old man greets you. If you dare to ask, is it the general?" A white-haired old man bowed his head in the corridor of the main hall. "You know the old man?" Meng Ao was a little surprised. "I have seen General Mengwu. My husband has not returned from the Prince's Mansion. Please, General." Meng Ao was about to leave, but suddenly his heart moved and he walked in unconsciously.The four-bay hall is spacious and simple, with large square bricks on the soles of the feet, and a straw mat in front of several large tables. There is no carpet, no expensive ritual vessels such as bronze tripods, and even the large screen in the middle is a very ordinary wood. color.Meng Ao sized him up and couldn't help laughing: "People say that the Lu family is as rich as a country, but it's so simple if you don't want to." The old boss Ximen who stood beside him replied: "Justice does not gather wealth. My husband has always hated luxury. It's the same." Meng Ao nodded his head, stood up and said with a smile: "Mr. Xiangbo's old informant: He gave me a problem, and I want to ask him for someone who knows how to store. I don't have time for tea, so I leave." Said After he cupped his hands, he strode away. What Meng Ao didn't expect was that at the second watch of the night, the old man brought a letter from Lu Buwei and three middle-aged people to the general's mansion.There are only two sentences in Lu Buwei's letter: "Follow the general's order, and send three warehouse deacons. The general can treat them as military officials. If they make an inch of merit, they are also the way to establish themselves. Don't worry about it!" Ximen The old boss said that these three deacons were all cadres of Lu's Trading Company back then, and they managed Chencheng Dacang exclusively, without any mistakes for more than ten years.After Meng Ao asked a few words, he was relieved to see that the three men were all capable. He immediately ordered Chang Shi to assign the three men a job, and they will stay in the camp of the Chinese army first. At dawn the next day, Meng Ao left Xianyang with a full set of military officials during the war. For one month, the Lantian camp was busy all the time. The military lights were brightly lit at night, and horns rang frequently during the day. There were no sounds other than the shouts of killing.Repairing weapons and supplies, disposing of moldy and rotten armor, weeding out the wounded, old and young, rectifying the supplies and soldiers, rectifying large equipment, adjusting the fortress and cavalry, determining the marching strategy, etc. After a month of intense tossing, the Qin army, which had not fought for a long time, lost 300,000 soldiers. The elite army finally assembled at Lantian Camp and Hangu Pass. On the morning of April 16th, Meng Ao issued an order to raise his account.The first commanding arrow was raised, and suddenly there was the sound of horseshoes coming from outside the tent. The tent was full of generals who were wondering, but the white-haired Sima Geng had already stumbled into the tent, waved his hand at Meng Ao and fell to the ground in the two rows of generals. between the piers.Meng Ao rushed down the handsome table and hugged the old Guowei, and pinched the Renzhong acupoint with his right hand. "Secret order... Hurry up..." Sima Geng fell into Meng Ao's arms like a wisp of anger. "Carry it into the back tent for treatment! Quick!" Meng Ao shouted while unloading Sima Geng's waist bag. The imperial edict unfolded with a clatter, Meng Ao let out a muffled groan as soon as he glanced at it, a mouthful of blood suddenly spewed out, and his sturdy body in full armor fell down on the handsome table like a mountain!Meng Wu in the front row rushed forward, hugged his father and entered the back tent.Veteran Wang Yanda was shocked, angrily stepped forward to pick up the edict, and fell to the ground as soon as he rolled his eyes. The edict fell to the ground with a clatter, and the two lines of large characters pierced people's eyes like an awl—the king of Qin passed away suddenly!Go east and stop the soldiers!Wang Ling, Meng Wuliu, Lantian, King Meng Ao will return the capital immediately! The big tent was as quiet as a valley, panting like a pack of suddenly injured wolves.All of a sudden, there was a flash of lightning and thunder, and heavy rain poured down. The boundless rain curtain enveloped the world, mountains and rivers.A huge white banner was slowly raised in front of the large tent of the Chinese army, and the Lantian barracks, which was more than 30 miles long, was submerged in the vast ocean.