Chapter 20 In the first session, Che Ying made a surprise move in the bloody battle in Taoshui Canyon

Finally, Qin Xiaogong received an urgent secret report from the scouts sent by Jingjian that the six countries would not attack Qin within two months. At this time, the lingering rain in the Weishui River had finished falling, and it was just when the sun was drying the land.After reading the secret report, he rode his horse out of the city and galloped westward for more than 30 miles along the north bank of Lishui River.The fields were verdant and the sun was shining brightly, and the haze in Qin Xiaogong's heart finally eased a little.On the galloping horseback, his first thought was, how to use these two months to save the day?In the Warring States where the weak prey on the strong, any promises and covenants are unreliable.Jing Jian said that nothing happened for two months, he must have tried his best.Even so, it is difficult to guarantee that there will be no other changes in the upper echelon of Wei State in two months.Qin State wants to eliminate the danger of annihilating the country this time. It is important to secretly mediate and divide the six countries, but this is by no means the fundamental point of eliminating the crisis.The most important and most fundamental thing is that Qin must seize the short time gained by mediating and splitting to make a difference, at least completely relieve the worries in the west, and turn the enemy from two sides into one side of defense.However, the dangerous tribes in the western frontier have not launched a rebellion openly, can the Qin army preemptively strike?These tribes are different from the six kingdoms of Shandong. They are still the subjects of Qin State when there is no rebellion, and even if they win without reason, there will be endless troubles.Dozens of tribal countries, large and small, will no longer trust Qin State from now on, leading to continuous turmoil and rebellion. This is difficult for any big country to deal with, and Qin State is still poor and weak.However, if they passively wait for them to launch a rebellion and then attack them, Qin will inevitably fall into a two-front battle. Even if it wins, it must be at the cost of losing cities and land in the east.If it's not done well, the Qin State may lose Guanzhong and be squeezed back to the Longxi River Valley again!Regardless of the ending, Qin must avoid it.However, where is the balance between them?You might as well send an operator to Longxi to discuss with Zuo Shu Zhang Yingqian to see if there is a good way to solve the problem as soon as possible.

When the sun was westward, Qin Xiaogong returned to the city on horseback. When he came to the gate of the Guofu, he was about to dismount when he heard a rumbling sound coming from behind.Turning around, I saw a group of chariots rushing towards, and the drivers were all young soldiers!Qin Xiaogong was surprised. The old chariots in Liyang City had been abandoned long ago. How could there be so many young soldiers driving chariots into the streets?At this moment, a young general on the leading chariot raised his hand and shouted, "Stop!" More than a dozen chariots came to a screeching halt.Qin Xiaogong got off his horse next to the big tree on the street, wanting to see what military this team of chariots were doing.At this moment, the little general with a sword jumped out of the chariot neatly, leaned over to inspect the wheels in front of the chariot in the middle, knocked and beat, it didn't finish for a moment.Qin Xiaogong joined the army as a young man and was quite familiar with chariots. He couldn't help walking up to the chariot and asking, "Is it a sick chariot?" , I'll try the car." The young general looked up, and saw a solid and heavy general standing in front of him, wearing a soft armor and a cloak, and hurriedly cupped his hands and said, "Yes, please ask the general to test the car."

Qin Xiaogong skillfully stepped onto the chariot, drove forward for a while, turned back, and jumped off the chariot lane: "The axle of this chariot is too worn and is about to break. It needs to be replaced with a new axle." The young general showed admiration and said loudly: "General, I will replace the new axle immediately!" Qin Xiaogong asked: "What use are you waiting to drive out of these old chariots?" Newcomers who have been on the battlefield learn to kill with chariots, and in case of a crisis, these old chariots can also be sent to the battlefield!" Qin Xiaogong was very pleased, and smiled: "You have this expectation, you can be called a general. This year How many? It turned out to be a black eagle swordsman?" Qin Xiaogong pointed to the iron black eagle on the young general's chest and praised in surprise.This black eagle emblem is an outstanding symbol of the Qin army to the best in fencing competitions, and it is extremely difficult to obtain.

The young general stood up and cupped his hands, "The last general is eighteen years old this year. He was a senior colonel in the army when he was sixteen. He got the Black Eagle Swordsman." Qin Xiaogong smiled in surprise: "Sixteen years old? One year earlier than me? What's your name?" "The last general, Che Ying, the army calls me Che Ying." Qin Xiaogong's heart moved, thinking: "Zi Che? Zi Che family? You, do you have a relationship with the three heroes of the Zi Che family in Mu Gong's time?" The young general pondered for a while, and said in a low voice: "General, Mr. Mu, Mr. Che, is the ancestor of the last general."

In an instant, Qin Xiaogong was very pleasantly surprised.The three heroes of the Ziche family were the three famous generals and virtuous ministers of Duke Mu of Qin Dynasty.Duke Mu was ignorant when he was about to die, so he ordered the three heroes to be buried, which aroused the deep sorrow of the old Qin people, and the mourning songs spread all over the fields and villages of Qin State, and spread to the eastern countries.The three sages were buried, the Ziche family was wiped out, and Qin State also declined strangely.After more than a hundred years, there were no famous generals or ministers in Qin State.This is a long night in Qin State, and it is also a tragic story familiar to the old Qin people.As a monarch, Qin Xiaogong is very familiar with this period of history.Often in the middle of the night, he would hum the deep and sad ballad in his study, silently introspect and think deeply, and encourage himself not to repeat the mistakes of his ancestors.Today, I unexpectedly met the descendants of Zi Che's family. He felt a rush of heat in his chest. He stepped forward and grabbed the young general's hands, "Che Ying, can you sing that song "Yellow Bird"?"

The young general nodded with tears in his eyes, "General, will you sing "Yellow Bird" at night?" "Heart sacrifice to the sages, let's sing together." Qin Xiaogong also burst into tears. Che Ying said tremblingly: "General, this is in front of the gate of the state mansion, so it's better not to sing "Yellow Bird"." Qin Xiaogong said loudly: "Che Ying, I am the king Ying Quliang, let's sing..." In an instant, Che Ying burst into tears, fell to her knees, and choked up, "Your Majesty—!" This song "Yellow Bird" entrusts the old Qin people's deep yearning for Zi Che's three heroes, and also implies With heavy condemnation of Qin Mugong.What a thrilling omen that the monarch is going to sing "Yellow Bird" today!How can a young and wise general be indifferent to the suffering of his own family?For a moment he burst into tears.At this time, the young soldiers on the chariot also got out of the chariot and knelt down and shouted, "Your Majesty—!"

Qin Xiaogong helped Che Ying up, and waved to the young soldiers: "Come on, let me sing "Yellow Bird", remember the sages, and be vigilant and introspective." Then, he took Che Ying and the young soldiers and stepped on the ground. The Qin people sang the deep and sad "Yellow Bird" with heavy steps during the funeral: When Qin Xiaogong excitedly pulled Che Ying back to the Zhengshitang study, it was already dusk.Qin Xiaogong happily ordered Uncle Hei to arrange wine and meat, and had a drink and talk with Che Ying.Seeing the smiling face that the monarch had never seen before, Uncle Hei was also so happy that he walked very lightly.With tears in his eyes, Che Ying narrated the ups and downs of more than 2,000 members of the Zi Che clan fleeing to Longxi. Qin Xiaogong was so moved that he wept.Thinking that the foundation of Ziche's family is still in Longxi, he can't help but feel very worried. There is going to be a big war there, and Ziche's family is in danger of extinction?He asked anxiously: "Che Ying, are you clear about the situation in the western frontier?" Che Ying nodded and said, "I generally know." Qin Xiaogong said: "Longxi has become a dangerous place for the country, does the patriarch of the Zi Che clan know about it?" " Che Ying shook her head and said, "The clan doesn't know, but our army will be able to win the battle, so you don't need to worry too much." Qin Xiaogong sighed heavily, and then compared the current danger facing Qin and Longxi's left and right Embarrassed, I told the wise and handsome young man in front of me one by one, and finally said seriously: "Che Ying, take me a warrant and rush to Longxi quickly. The fastest secret of the entire Ziche clan has been transferred to the Chencang area. The Ziche clan cannot be wiped out."

Che Ying did not answer, but raised her head for a while and said: "My lord, the army secretly marched into Longxi to attack the rebellion by surprise. If a large force is used to relocate the clansmen, the rebel clan will be alerted. The national crisis is the most important thing, and the chaos is the first." Qin Xiaogong couldn't help but sigh with emotion—only these few words showed Zi Che's true nature of righteousness!He felt sincere admiration for the calm courage of this young man who had not yet been crowned in terms of age, nodded and said, "Che Ying, what you said is very good. However, how can the State of Qin sit back and watch Zi Che's family suffer another catastrophe?" ?”

"Your Majesty, there is a plan in the end, which can induce the rebellion to start early. I don't know if it is feasible?" "Okay, tell me quickly! I'm in trouble." Qin Xiaogong was very excited. "Your Majesty sent an officer to pretend to be an envoy of the Wei State to test the Longxi tribe. If they are really ready to rebel, they can agree to advance the date of the rebellion. At that time, 50,000 of my cavalry will lie in ambush on the main road that must pass through the east. In the canyon, gather and annihilate them all at once." With a loud sound of "Pa!", Qin Xiaogong jumped up and said, "Okay! What a fantastic idea!" He couldn't help laughing for a while, and the sound shook the room.After laughing for a while, Qin Xiaogong turned his head and said, "Che Ying, I didn't expect to meet you today, it's God's will. I will send you to do this big event, how about it?"

Che Ying got up, bowed her hands solemnly, "The final general will never disgrace his mission!" Qin Xiaogong smiled generously and said, "Che Ying, from today onwards, you are the former general of Zuo Shuchang Yingqian!" "Follow the king's order!" Che Ying was full of heroism, but without the slightest impetuosity. "Che Ying, you still have to go with me to meet the Queen Mother. If the old man knows that you are a descendant of the Zi Che family, he will be very happy." "Your Majesty, at the moment when the country is dying, I want to go to Longxi in the starry night. When I return from the battlefield, Che Ying will report victory to my Majesty and the Queen Mother." Che Ying's eyes glistened with tears.

"You want to go west tonight?" Qin Xiaogong was surprised. "Your Majesty, if you come up with an amazing plan, it's very quick to be a soldier. If Che Ying arrives one day earlier, our army will have a better chance of winning." Qin Xiaogong was filled with emotion, and patted Che Ying on the shoulder and said, "Good general. Now, let's prepare immediately. Uncle Hei, tell Liyang Lingzi'an to dispatch fifty iron cavalry immediately and wait in front of the gate of the state mansion." "Yes!" Uncle Hei quickly walked out of the Political Affairs Hall. At midnight, Che Ying, carrying Qin Xiaogong's warrant and an armored knight pretending to be the guard of the Wei envoy, left the west gate of Liyang City, and then swept westward like a violent storm. At this time, Longxi was still calm on the surface.But under this calm surface, there is a huge storm that is about to break out.The instigation of Zhao's special envoy and the promise of occupying the west of Qin rekindled the dormant grassland dream of the Rongdi tribe.Sixteen tribal leaders, including Xibin, Quanqiu, Daluo, Dali, Hongfa, and Huangfa, made an alliance with their blood. They publicly elected Chayun Shanyu, the leader of Xibin, as the leader of the alliance. Qin!Zhao Guo's special envoy announced on behalf of the six countries in the Central Plains that after Qin was eliminated, the six countries would never go west to the mouth of Chencang Valley, and Longxi, Yunzhong, Jiuyuan, Yinshan and Mobei Grasslands would always be ruled by the Rongdi tribe!The entire Rongdi area was stirred up by this exciting promise.The herdsmen packed up their harnesses and swords one after another, and teams of shirtless cavalry roared and charged again in the mountains and grasslands of Longxi. Scattered wildfires of rebellion were gathering rapidly.Yingqian, the head of Zuoshu in the mountains of Longxi, naturally smelled the strong smell of blood.But Yingqian is not a reckless commander, he knows that he must not attack right now, for the sake of the peace in the west of Qin State, he can only strike later.Although he felt anxious about the pressure in the east, he could only fight tough battles after watching the rebel forces grow stronger. Just when Yingqian was anxious, a group of cavalry flew into Longxi Mountain in the dark night.In the Qin Army's secret camp, the lights of the Chinese Army's big tent were on all night long.At dusk the next day, a group of red-clothed knights surrounded a luxurious merchant from the state of Wei, quietly left the valley of the Qin army, flew north, detoured around the western desert of the Northland, and then headed south rapidly. A few days later, an astonishing news spread across the grasslands and mountains: on the sixth day of May, the six kingdoms of Shandong will aggressively attack Qin.Zhao Guo's special envoy was beheaded by He Shayun, the special envoy of the alliance leader, to sacrifice the flag because he opposed the king's order announced by the special envoy of the alliance leader of Wei State.The entire area inhabited by the Rong and Di tribes became active immediately. The 16 tribes participating in the rebellion gathered 80,000 cavalry, and they all assembled in the Taoshui River Valley, waiting for the sixth day of May when they would march eastward. On the fourth day of May, the special envoy of the King of Wei presented a batch of jewels to the leaders again, and led his ten entourages to bid farewell to Cha Yundan and returned to Wei to return to his command.That same night, the 50,000 cavalry of Zuo Shuchang Yingqian drove out of the narrow and long valley in the upper reaches of the Weishui River, and moved silently to the main road to the east - the dense forests on both sides of the Didao Canyon and ambush them. On the sixth day of May, the sky was clear and sunny.The 80,000 cavalry of the Rongdi tribe marched eastward like a tsunami.According to their speed and knight tradition, they can drive to the entrance of Chencang Valley within a day, and if it goes well, they can also capture Yongcheng with a drum.The special envoys of Zhao Hou and Wei Wang have already explained that Qin's army is all concentrated in the east, and there is no stationed defense in the west of Liyang!Therefore, the Rongdi cavalry didn't even send out the ranger scouts ahead, and the 80,000 troops drove straight in. The vast mountain in the upper reaches of Taoshui River was originally called Daban Mountain, and it entered Liupan Mountain hundreds of miles east.Among the two continuous mountains, there is a grand canyon. Taoshui flows through the canyon, and the two banks are trails that have been walked by horses and pedestrians for thousands of years.This is the only way for Rongdi to reach the Central Plains, and people at that time called it Di Dao.The Taoshui, which flows north-south, narrows suddenly after entering the canyon, but it can only flow down the mountain on the west side of the canyon. On the east side of the river channel, there is a gravel hillside more than two feet wide connecting the mountain.The so-called Didao is just a sidewalk on this wide and gentle slope.Although this Didao is in a canyon, it has water, grass and cover, which is very convenient for pedestrians to rest.Therefore, all the business travelers who came here and there regarded Didao as a blessing, and no one thought that it would become the most dangerous military fortress. However, the commander of the Qin Army, Ying Qian, had his eye on this canyon early on.This was originally the base of the early Qin tribe, and Yingqian had been stationed in Longxi for three years, so he was very familiar with the mountains and rivers here.Just because the Rong and Di have become subjects of the Qin State, and the Hu people further away are mainly nomadic in the Yinshan Mobei, and there has been no war in the west of the Qin State for a long time, so the significance of the fortress here has been ignored by people.This time to intercept Rong Di, Yingqian naturally chose Didao Canyon without hesitation.Not to mention that this is a must pass by Rong and Di, but only the vast mountains and dense forests on both sides of the strait, the hillsides are neither steep nor slow, and the trees are neither sparse nor dense, which is convenient for charging and concealing. It is really a rare place for cavalry to ambush!Yingqian divided the 50,000 cavalry into four ambush routes, ambushing 3,000 cavalry at the valley entrance in the north, blocking the retreat; Specially intercept and kill the enemies who slipped through the net and swam desperately; the remaining 30,000 main forces were all in ambush in the mountains and forests on the east bank for more than ten miles.Yingqian became cruel and wanted to wipe out all the Rongdi cavalry without leaving behind!He issued the strictest order to all the ministries, whoever dares to let go of a Rongdi cavalry will exchange his head for it! The Rongdi cavalry entered the Taohe Gorge, still brandishing their knives bare-chested and roaring forward.When 80,000 cavalry were installed in the nearly 20-mile-long canyon, the drums of war in the dense forests on both sides of the strait suddenly sounded, the horns blew mournfully, and the rolling wood and rocks flew down with arrows and rain, and the black cavalry on the east bank slopes overwhelmingly crushed the top of the mountain. kill.The Rong and Di cavalry were caught off guard and swirled and surged like a tide, but the cavalry in front of and behind the horse were turbulent, intercepting and killing them head-on.To the west is the surging Taohe River, where there is no way to retreat and no way to escape.The main force of the Qin army on the east bank took five thousand horses as a round, launching waves of powerful charges, charging into the canyon in turn! The Rongdi cavalry has been famous since ancient times, and it has always caused headaches for the princes of the Central Plains.Reluctantly, they ran into the nemesis of hundreds of years-the old Qin cavalry, and their prestige was greatly reduced.Since the demise of the Yin and Shang Dynasties, the Qin tribe, an outcast of the Yin and Shang Dynasties, has become the only tribe in the Central Plains that has fallen into the sea of ​​Rong and Di.In order to survive, they were half-agricultural and half-pastoral, and everyone was a soldier. They fought to the death and became stronger as they fought. Not only did they occupy almost the entire valley area in the upper reaches of the Weishui River and the Jingshui River, but they also killed the Rongdi tribes to strike peace with them.By the end of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the 50,000 to 60,000 cavalry of the Old Qin tribe had become a force that the Hu people in the west turned pale.At that time, King You of Zhou was in a daze, favored Baosi, and wanted to abolish the eldest and establish the young. Prince Yijiu's uncle was a prince of the State of Zheng, so he joined forces with Rong, Di and Hu to march eastward, break through Gaojing, kill King You of Zhou, and support Yijiu on the throne.Unexpectedly, Rong Di Shanyu was so ambitious that he not only stayed in Haojing, but also planned to go east to the Central Plains.In the new Zhou Dynasty, King Yijiu repeatedly issued edicts to King Qin, but the princes of the Central Plains were all old chariot soldiers. They were afraid of fighting against the Rongdi cavalry, so they did not come to King Qin's rescue for a long time.In desperation, the new emperor Yijiu traveled nearly a thousand miles secretly to find the tribe of the old Qin.The leader of the Qin people, Ying Xiang (Qin Xianggong), was extremely keen, and he saw the great opportunity for the old Qin tribe to return to the Central Plains. He personally led 50,000 elite cavalry to secretly advance eastward, and fought with nearly 100,000 Rongdi cavalry in the Gaojing field. big fight!After three days and nights of fierce fighting, the Rongdi and Hu cavalry were defeated, and only 30,000 to 20,000 remnants fled back to the Western Regions.Since then, the Qin people have grown in prestige, not only becoming the founding princes of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, but also becoming the feared enemies of the Rongdihu tribes in the west.From a general point of view, without the state of Qin guarding the west gate of the Central Plains, it is entirely possible for Rong Dihu to repeatedly attack the Central Plains like a flood!It is precisely because of this historical deterrent force that the unification of Xirong in Qin Mugong's era did not take much effort, and the unification of the west was achieved by half fighting and half persuading surrender.For more than a hundred years after Duke Mu of Qin, there has been no real war between Rongdi in the west and the people of Qin.As the Qin State gradually declined, the Rong and Di tribes also gradually relaxed their awe of the old Qin people.In this rebellion, they were even more convinced of the "Qin Ruo" evaluation of Zhao Guo's secret envoy, and they marched eastward, and they were determined to win.They really did not expect that the old state of Qin would have such a powerful and elite cavalry!When the rumbling war drums rolled all over the mountains and plains like thunder, when the old Qin people's excited and familiar shouts of killing were deafening, and when the black cavalry group came from the top of the mountains and dense forests, the Rongdi cavalry suddenly fell into a state of panic. middle.Shayun Lao Shanyu and a group of leaders were at a loss, they simply didn't know which direction to order to charge?Soon, they felt hopeless.The mighty charge of Qin's iron cavalry was obviously intended to kill them and wipe them out!Otherwise, how could the people of the Central Plains completely ignore the military training of "the army must be surrounded"? Seeing that they must die, the Rongdi cavalry, led by the leaders of various ethnic groups, fought desperately.From noon to dusk, there were many corpses in the canyon who were killed by arrows, stones, rollers and trees. The north and south valleys were killed by the Qin army's cavalry, and the corpses sealed the mountain road.The billowing Tao River close to the West Mountain was actually stained red with blood!As dusk fell, the Qin army's iron cavalry phalanx turned into scattered cavalry charging, with torches all over the mountains and fields, and war drums shaking the sky and the earth. No matter what the Rongdi cavalry shouted, the Qin army just charged and killed in turn, and it seemed that no one was allowed to live in front of them!Corpses were strewn all over the field, blood gurgling.After the sun went down, there were less than 20,000 remnants of the Rongdi cavalry.Their fighting spirit was completely broken, and they dismounted together, dropped their swords, rushed to the riverside and knelt down on the ground together, hissing and crying. The black cavalry surrounded them, and the bloody swords hung over their heads like a jungle... Che Ying, who was covered in blood, trembled, and said in a low voice, "Master Zuo Shu...let them go." Under the banner of the big black banner, the left arm of Zuoshu Zhang Yingqian was still bleeding, holding the third bloody long sword in his right hand, and shouted fiercely: "Let go? They are all wolves! Wolves!" Cut off everyone's right arm and left foot, and climb back!" Under the torches, black cavalry lined up a long corridor.More than ten thousand Rongdi knights walked slowly into the iron cavalry corridor, and every time they passed, there was a flash of sword light and a mournful roar.When the moon climbed to the top of the mountain, bloody men with broken arms and stumps wriggled everywhere on the mountain plain outside the Tao River Canyon, screaming in despair and pain everywhere, and even tigers, wolves and beasts avoided the terrifying canyon far away.