Chapter 66: An Alliance Sealed in Blood

  At any time, a person's identity is always the most useful weapon. Just like now, Meng Zhu was hesitant to stay in Korea or go to Qin State, but as soon as Taizi Ran revealed his identity, Meng Zhu decided to serve Korea.

  To look at a country's future, apart from its geography and population, what is more important is to look at the virtues of its ruler. When Duke Wu of Wei went down along the western river, he sighed and said: "How beautiful! The solidity of the mountains and rivers, this is the treasure of Wei!" Wu Qi retorted: "It lies in virtue, not in strategic advantages."

  Korea is now in a state of war on all sides, with no natural barriers to protect it, and its situation is precarious. However, through these wars that shook the world, Meng Wu discovered the "virtue of a king" - on the one hand, he sent troops to defeat Zhao and Wei, and on the other hand, he pursued and defeated the strong Qin state. This shows his proactive and courageous side in changing his circumstances. Reducing taxes, erecting monuments to commemorate fallen soldiers, raising their children and supporting their elderly, this shows his benevolent side.

  Meng Zhuang thought that if the Crown Prince Ran was just an ordinary prince, although he had saved his family's life, he could repay him in ten years. After all, Korea may be good, but it is not easy to rise, and he prefers Qin State which has a solid foundation like Mount Hua. He had no reason to give up the easy one and choose the difficult one.

  But now it is Prince Ran who has saved his own son, and the world knows that King Han is old and ill, and Prince Ran will ascend to the throne in a few years. If he were to abandon Prince Ran at this time, he would truly be blinded by greed and have the heart of a wolf and the lungs of a dog.

  The Crown Prince noticed Mong Ruo's wavering intention and took the opportunity to have a midnight conversation with him, painting his grand vision - how to change the law, how to strengthen Han, and how to conquer the world. The result of this conversation was that the Crown Prince successfully won back his first great general, and incidentally rewrote the fate of the Mong clan.

  If it weren't for the meeting with the alliance after dawn, Prince Yan really wanted to have a good chat with Meng Huo all night. It's not easy to have someone of the same age, especially when the other person is a future general, and Prince Yan can talk freely about the military reforms he has been thinking about in his heart, this feeling is really great. The two of them talked and laughed, completely disregarding etiquette, pointing at the mountains and rivers, and stirring up words. Prince Yan was convinced by Meng Huo's rigorous reasoning and analysis, and Meng Huo was deeply shocked by Prince Yan's various fanciful ideas!

  The alliance meeting is approaching, and the crown prince was awakened after only sleeping for two hours to bathe and change clothes. In ancient times, the alliance meeting was a sacred matter, especially before the Spring and Autumn period. However, during the late Warring States period, the ritual music collapsed, and in reality, many countries held meetings but did not form alliances, relying on sending hostages to guarantee the execution of the treaty. Many rulers had experience as hostages in other countries, with the current King of Qin being the most famous example, known as a wise ruler. For Crown Prince Yan, the most exciting thing is that after this alliance meeting, he won't have to be sent as a hostage; otherwise, wouldn't he still have to "exile abroad"? Such a "stimulating" experience is not something Crown Prince Yan wants to go through.

  Regarding the alliance, although the process of forming an alliance is complex, the final treaty is often extremely simple. For example, when Duke Huan of Qi signed the Huaiyi Treaty, it only had five clauses, which can be translated into modern language as follows:

  1. Unfilial sons should be killed, and the crown prince cannot be arbitrarily removed or replaced. Concubines cannot be promoted to wife status.

  2. Respect and honor virtuous and talented individuals.

  3. Respect the elderly and care for the young.

  4. Promote virtuous and talented individuals, and do not arbitrarily kill high-ranking officials.

  5. Do not build embankments and dams at will; if you need to build them, notify other countries first.

  The crown prince was very clear that the execution of the alliance relied not on gods, but on strength. At present, the alliance is beneficial to Han, Zhao and Wei, once the common interest disappears, the alliance can be dissolved at any time. However, although he thought so in his heart, the crown prince did not dare to have a slight disrespectful expression.

  At this moment, the alliance ceremony of the three countries of Han, Zhao and Wei officially began.

  First, the rulers of the three kingdoms respectfully informed the gods and ancestors about the alliance, including the mountains, rivers, and various deities. Then, they came to a pre-dug square pit where a white horse was slaughtered by a shaman. The left ear was cut off and placed on a jade-decorated plate, while the blood of the white horse was collected in a jade container. Next, the alliance document was written with the blood of the white horse; afterwards, the leaders of the three kingdoms, King Zhao, King Wei, and King Han, dipped their fingers in the blood and smeared it on their mouths. Finally, led by King Zhao, they declared the oath to the gods.

  The treaty stipulates: "Whenever Zhao, Wei, and Han do not attack each other, they will share the same likes and dislikes, sympathize with each other's difficulties, and rescue each other from disasters. If anyone harms Zhao, then Wei and Han will attack him; if it is in Wei, then Zhao and Han will also do so; if it is in Han, then Zhao and Wei will also do so. They will exchange gifts and come and go on the roads without obstruction. If they plot against each other's non-cooperation, they will punish those who do not submit to justice. Whoever betrays this treaty, the gods will clearly punish him, and he will be defeated by his own army, and his country will be destroyed."

  They made three copies of the treaty, each of which was held by one of the three states. With this, the alliance ceremony came to a successful end. From then on, Han, Zhao and Wei became allies in both attack and defense; if any one state were invaded by another country, the allied states had the obligation to send troops to rescue it.

  Just as Han, Zhao and Wei announced their alliance, Yiqi Qingyang also welcomed a large army that had disappeared for nearly a month.

  Two months ago, the King of Yiqu led 150,000 Yiqu wolf cavalry to avenge his brother's death. Now, only 25,000 cavalry remain, which can be described as a crushing defeat. Fan Jie witnessed the glory of this army and experienced its downfall. If it weren't for Fan Jie being physically strong and knowing some assassination techniques, he would have doubted whether he could survive the exhaustion of marching thousands of miles.

  I was still a bit too careless, originally I just wanted to drag out the White General's army as long as possible, so that the Crown Prince would have more time to plan for greater benefits. Who knew the joke would go too far, and the White General would seal off all escape routes of my own army with lightning speed.

  Helpless, the 80,000 Yiqu cavalry could only break through with all their might. What a brutal battle it was, with 50,000 Yiqu cavalry falling on the charging road. After breaking out of the Qin army's encirclement, Bai Qi still did not let go of the Yiqu, and 50,000 Qin iron cavalry pursued and killed them all the way. The King of Yiqu had no choice but to lead his remaining troops to flee west into the Yue Shi.

  The Yuezhi were the mortal enemies of the Xiongnu, and together with the Donghu they formed a pincer movement against the Xiongnu. The Yuezhi did not expect that the normally obedient "Xiongnu" would actually invade them, and they were caught off guard. The Youxun cavalry had not been resupplied for a long time and would not be polite, and they launched a campaign of burning, killing, and looting. The enraged Yuezhi mistakenly believed that the Xiongnu had rebelled, and immediately assembled a large army with the intention of annihilating the "Xiongnu people".

  Just as the Moon clan was angrily approaching, the "Xiongnu people" suddenly disappeared. The Moon clan was naturally very angry and unwilling. At this time, the Qin army that followed Yiqiu to come was unfortunately hit by the Moon clan's army, and was immediately beaten up by the Moon clan as a "co-conspirator". Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Yiqiu people finally got rid of the Qin army's pursuit and returned to Qingyang after a long journey.

  "Your Majesty, the current situation is that the State of Wei has suffered a great loss. The State of Qin having met with such a great disaster will not let things go so easily. For your sake and for the sake of the State of Wei, we should make plans as soon as possible." Fan Yu said with a tired expression.

  Fan Yi and the Crown Prince's original plan was to have Yiqu send troops to wreak havoc in Guanzhong, but they didn't intend to hurt Yiqu too much. After all, a time bomb only makes people panic when it goes off occasionally; if it really explodes, it may be satisfying for a moment, but then there is no more threat afterwards. Yiqu was the time bomb at the rear of Qin State, but now it has suddenly exploded - what can be done about it?!

  After this campaign, Gongzi Heng seemed to have aged a lot. At the beginning, he led an army of 150,000 men, how magnificent! Sweeping across Guanzhong, wherever they went, they were invincible! But he didn't know when to stop and rest on his laurels, exhausting his troops until they were almost completely defeated! Earlier, Fan Sui had also tactfully warned that the Qin general Bai Qi was a military genius and Gongzi Heng should be careful not to have his retreat route cut off. Gongzi Heng, however, swore that he had secured the retreat route, but unexpectedly, the secret path he thought he had under control had already been taken over by the Qin army.

  "Mr. Zhang, the only troops I have left that can fight are these 25,000 cavalrymen. The remaining 300,000 are all old, weak, women and children, who cannot withstand a single battle. I really have no other choice! Alas, I regret not listening to your words!" Yiqiu Hong said dejectedly.

  "In my opinion, stubbornly defending is not a good strategy. Since we can't defend it anyway, why not go north of the Great Wall, release our horses and troops outside. This way, we can avoid the Qin army's sharp edge, recover our energy, and after ten years or so, we may be able to return to Qingyang and avenge our past shame."

  "Let's just go with Mr.'s idea then!" Yi Qu Hong said weakly.

  (Tomorrow will continue with two more updates! Come and ask for recommendations!)