Chapter 2: The Crown Prince
Korean palace grand hall.
Since receiving the urgent report from Huayang, the Korean palace has been shrouded in gloom. The ministers who rushed to the scene are discussing the current crisis with different opinions.
Everyone is clear about what Huayang means to Korea, and Huayang is the northern barrier of the new Zheng city. If Huayang is lost, the Zhao-Wei coalition army can arrive at dawn or dusk. The sixty-mile plain from Huayang to Xinzheng will become a horse racing field for the cavalry of Zhao and Wei. Even if the road is blocked by heavy snow now, the slowest infantry in the coalition forces will take no more than two days to besiege Xinzheng.
The ministers were divided into two factions, one led by Zhang Ping, who strongly advocated for seeking help from the state of Qin. After all, at present, Qin and Han have an alliance treaty, and it is reasonable that Qin will not refuse. Moreover, the combined forces of Wei and Zhao totaled 150,000, while the entire population of Han was only 300,000, with 100,000 concentrated in Shangdang Commandery, and only 100,000 troops available to fight around Xinzheng, including the 20,000 besieged in Huaiyang. Therefore, relying solely on Han's strength is completely unable to withstand the combined forces of Zhao and Wei.
Zhang Ping is the son of Zhang Kaidi, who served as prime minister for King Zhao of Han, King Xuanhui of Han and King Xiang of Han. Now Zhang Ping has taken over his father's position, serving the current king of Han with the honor of being a chancellor. For four generations, they have been in charge of the state, their name is renowned throughout the country of Han. Without a doubt, Zhang Ping's influence among the high-ranking officials is immense.
Another group advocated seeking peace with Zhao and Wei, after all, they were also part of the three Jin states. Even if there were some differences, it was still an internal contradiction among the people. Moreover, the arm really couldn't twist the thigh, and seeking peace would be acceptable in terms of face. The reputation of Qin's cruelty had spread far and wide, and they feared that seeking help from Qin would be like driving out a tiger to invite a wolf, easy to invite but hard to send away.
No matter which group of people, they all think that Huayang is beyond salvation. For the time being, stability should be the main focus, and Xinzhen should be defended.
The King of Korea looked at the ministers below who were arguing and was also annoyed. The national strength of Korea was weak, only slightly stronger than that of Yan. However, it was located in a strategic location, standing at the narrow pass of Hangu and blocking the road of Qin's eastward expansion. For two years, they had finally made peace with Qin and gained temporary relief. But unexpectedly, the treacherous Wei state turned against them, targeting Korea itself. If only they had known earlier, they would not have sent troops to rescue Wei last year.
Looking back on the early years of my reign, I joined forces with Wei to attack Qin with an army of 240,000. What a spirited and heroic atmosphere it was! At that time, I took the former kings as examples and wanted to force Qin to return the lost territories (referring to the 14th year of King Xiang of Han, when Han, Qi, and Wei jointly attacked Qin and stationed troops at Hangu Pass. In the 16th year of King Xiang of Han, Qin returned the land outside the Yellow River and Wuzei to Han).
Who would have thought that in the Battle of Yique, 240,000 allied forces were no match for 100,000 Qin troops. It was also in this battle that Bai Qi, who had been unknown until then, rose to fame with a single victory, and Korea was forced to cede most of its territory east of Anshi.
From then on, the self-governing Korea was defeated by Qin one after another. It is well known that the military strength of Korea is weak. In foreign wars, the only thing that can be praised is the destruction of Zheng, and apart from this, it is almost always defeated in battle.
Of course, Korea is not without achievements, but they are all following other countries to pick up cheap ones. Soon, the Korean king was numb from one defeat after another. As for the oath to revive Korea when he ascended to the throne, King Korea had long forgotten it.
"It seems that I, a humble person, have indeed grown old, and have begun to reminisce about the past." King Han sighed silently in his heart.
The King of Korea has indeed grown old and his body is no longer as robust as before.
The current King of Han only wants to maintain stability, and has already lost the heart to make progress. In fact, the King of Han also knows that seeking help from Qin is a helpless move, but surrendering to Wei and Zhao may not be a good idea either. Zhao and Wei want to push themselves to the forefront of blocking the Qin army's eastward advance, while Qin wants to win over Han, making it convenient to gradually encroach on Wei. After all, Han is surrounded by major powers on all sides, being treated as a soft persimmon to be squeezed.
Just as King Han was indulging in his fantasy outside, the debate within the palace also gradually became clear, with Zhang Ping's "Pro-Qin faction" gaining the upper hand.
The King of Korea was about to announce his decision to seek help from the Qin State, but suddenly found that the Crown Prince Yan on the left side of the palace had not spoken a word, as if thinking deeply.
"But son, what do you think about this matter?" King Han gazed at his beloved child with a concerned expression.
It was only then that everyone suddenly discovered that the crown prince, who had just recovered from a serious illness, was unusually proactive in his attitude and rarely spoke about state affairs.
"Perhaps it's because she has just recovered from a serious illness and her mind is still uneasy." The loyal imperial physician thought to himself.
"Isn't he intimidated by the mighty Zhao and Wei armies?" A few of the officials thought to themselves that if the future King of Han was so timid, they could take advantage of him and gain power for themselves.
The Crown Prince is the only legitimate son of the current King of Korea. Although there are many illegitimate sons, they are all young and not favored. Therefore, in the future, the one who can inherit the throne will be none other than the Crown Prince.
This is also a blessing for Korea. Otherwise, if there were another situation like the one before King Hwang's accession to the throne where he competed with his brothers Gise and others for the position, the already weak national strength of Korea would be even more dangerous.
The king of Han's call finally pulled the crown prince back from his deep thoughts. Looking at King Han's loving eyes and the anxious or worried eyes of the officials, Crown Prince Yan smiled helplessly in his heart.
Zhao and Wei's attack on Han was something that happened within their expectations, indeed, it was expected. Because the Crown Prince Yan was no longer the original Crown Prince Yan, his soul had merged with a young man from over 2,000 years later.
The process of fusion is brief yet long, it's brief because the time is indeed short, but it's long because of the pain, that kind of pain those who have experienced it never want to come again.
I was just about to fall off the cliff, when suddenly a bright light appeared in front of me. Immediately after that, a soul tried to drill into my brain and compete with me for control over my body. Fortunately, I had been mischievous since childhood, physically strong and healthy, and at the peak of youth, so I barely managed to suppress this soul.
That soul was about to be dispersed by itself, but instead gave up resisting and merged with its own soul. It was at this moment that a vast amount of information flooded into its mind. It couldn't withstand it for the time being, and fainted for three days and three nights.
It wasn't until these three days and nights that I finally understood the ins and outs of things. The era in which I lived was called the Warring States Period by later generations, and my country, Korea, was surrounded by enemies on all sides - Wei and Zhao to the north, Qi to the east, Chu to the south, and Qin to the west. We were constantly at war, constantly defeated, and constantly bullied by others. In the eyes of historians, it was a completely tragic era.
The merged soul also has a tragic story. A military enthusiast in the future, using his researcher identity, secretly activated the country's immature time machine, attempting to go back one month to save his wife who died unexpectedly. Unexpectedly, the time machine inexplicably transported him to the Warring States period, turning his body into powder, leaving only a wisp of soul.
Through the fusion of souls, Prince Yan understood that it was now 273 BC. His own country would be destroyed by Qin in 43 years and become the first state to perish among the Warring States' seven powers. Later, Zhao, Wei, Chu, Yan, and Qi would successively fall to Qin. The Qin state unified the world, but the ancestral temples and altars of the six states were not preserved.
When he knew that his country would be destroyed by Qin, the crown prince was filled with grief and indignation. When he knew that the tyrannical Qin dynasty would perish in the second generation, the young master was overjoyed. Even after the fall of Qin, Korea briefly restored its state, but it was also short-lived like a mayfly.
When he learned about the advanced technology of later generations, the prince was extremely shocked. The world is so big, and there are still many lands that can be opened up outside of China. It turns out that the place where he lived was just a small earth, and its outer space was an even more vast universe. The prince suddenly realized that fame and wealth were just empty, and prosperity was ultimately just a dream. What is truly valuable is to protect one's own country and one's own people. Not seeking to leave a name in history, but only seeking to be at peace with oneself.
Later generations said that the greater the ability, the greater the responsibility. According to the memory of the merged soul, this year will trigger the Huayang War. In the original history, Korea would seek help from Qin, and Bai Qi led the army to march 100 miles a day, arriving in Huayang after 8 days. The Zhao-Wei coalition forces were completely unprepared, and the Qin army annihilated 130,000 Wei troops and drowned 20,000 Zhao troops in one battle. After that, they took advantage of their victory to capture Quanxian, Caiyang, Changsha of Wei State, and Guanting of Zhao State. At that time, the six states were shocked, and the world was even more afraid of Qin.
However, Taizi Ran did not expect the Battle of Huayang to come so quickly, so quickly that he didn't even have time to prepare.
Thinking of the scene of national destruction and family annihilation decades later, the crown prince's heart was filled with a sense of urgency. He spoke out: "Your Majesty, I, your subject, oppose seeking aid from Qin, and also oppose making peace with Zhao and Wei!" The whole hall was shocked at once.
