The dusk is dim and the setting sun is like blood. The battlefield where blood flows into a river under the afterglow makes people feel depressed.

The broken limbs of the Zhao army were everywhere, with the battle flags abandoned by the Zhao army and the broken chariot railings everywhere. No one had expected that such a siege battle that was originally determined to win would end in such a bleak end.

Zhao Yong's face was tense in front of the Zhao army's tent farther away.

In front of him, there were already a lot of generals and lieutenants kneeling in densely. Zhao Zhang knelt at the forefront of the team, showing a look of panic.

More than 8,000 casualties, two captains of a captain were damaged, and almost all of the siege equipment were lost. As the commander of this siege, Zhao Zhang, is undoubtedly to blame.

You should know that in the past decade, the Zhao army has been smooth sailing against foreign wars and has won almost every battle. Such a tragic failure is unique. This failure is undoubtedly a huge ridicule for the now extremely powerful Zhao army.

Zhao Xin, who was standing beside him, looked carefully at his father. Seeing that although his face was tense and his expression was as normal, he could not see anger. His eyebrows were frowning as if he was thinking about a problem.

Sure enough, Zhao Yong's brows gradually spread and he spoke in a deep voice, "All up, today's defeat, the crime is not on you, it is because of my underestimation of the enemy."

"I didn't expect that Zhongshan Kingdom would have such an elite army. It seems that Zhongshan has been established for more than 200 years, and it is still somewhat capable and should not be underestimated."

Zhao Zhang did not get up, but still knelt on the ground and kowtowed and cried, "Father, today's soldiers were killed and injured, and my sons are in charge of being the commander. If they were careless, they might cause dissatisfaction among the soldiers. I hope my father will blame me for his morale to calm the army."

A dozen Ming generals and lieutenants behind him also roared, "Please give your father a punishment."

Seeing that Zhao Zhang was so responsible, Zhao Yong felt a little relieved, so he nodded and issued an order, "I passed on my edict to remove General Zhao Zhang from his post and demoted him to the chief lieutenant, and still retain his original position. The other generals and lieutenants will be deducted for one year."

"Thank you for your kindness, Master, Father," the generals and lieutenants bowed down one after another, and thanked you, and many people secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhao Zhang stood up, hesitated for a while and said carefully; "Father, now all the siege equipment is destroyed. If we want to rebuild it, it will take at least ten days. Look..."

"Since you can't attack the city, then don't attack for the time being." A glimmer of light flashed in Zhao Yong's eyes.

"I didn't plan to conquer Lingshou in one battle. Today's attack is nothing more than a try. If I can win it in one fell swoop, it would be better. If I can't, it doesn't matter. It's just that the performance of this elite unit of Zhongshan Army today was beyond my expectations, so it caused such a huge loss."

Zhao Zhang was stunned and said in confusion: "Don't attack? If the defenders in the city refuse to fight, wouldn't we have to spend a long time? This is not in line with our original plan. Besides, over time, there may be changes in the south."

The south side Zhao Zhang pointed to was nothing more than the attitude of the four countries of Qi, Qin, Wei and Han. Although Qi agreed to see that they did not interfere with Zhongshan, it did not mean that they had completely kept their trust and gave up Zhongshan. For Qin, although they were still in the honeymoon period with Zhao, they could not be happy to see Zhao dominate. Not to mention Wei and Han, although they belonged to the Three Jins and maintained a state of disagreement for a long time, they had always done many things that were in harmony with each other. After all, no one wanted anyone in the Three Jins to be far ahead of the other two countries.

Zhao Yong did not explain much, but just glanced at Zhao Zhang lightly and said, "You should know that Zhongshan is not a solid piece of iron. If we step up the attack, Zhongshan will face life and death, and will naturally work together and unite to the outside world. But if we suspend the offensive, siege instead of attacking, or even make some peace talks, this will inevitably make them careless and fall into internal strife again."

Zhao Zhang asked strangely, "Father, are you so confident that there will be civil strife in Zhongshan?"

Zhao Yong smiled when he heard this, but he didn't say anything, but just reminded him, "You will lead your troops back to the camp and count the casualties and losses to Sima Tian's unruly."

"No!" The generals took the order and turned around and left. Zhao Zhang felt a little confused when he saw his father's appearance in a group, not like the way he pretended to stabilize the morale of the army. He wanted to ask for details, but suddenly remembered what Tian Buli told him to say less and do more. He suddenly felt a sudden stern, and he stopped asking more questions and turned around and left.

Zhao Yong was silent for a long time, his face looked thoughtful, and suddenly said, "Zhao Xin."

"I am in a humble position."

"I want you to do one thing, go alone."

Seeing that the Lord’s Father’s face was solemn, Zhao Xin felt strange and asked, “What are the Lord’s Father’s instructions?”

"Go and meet someone for me and ask a question."

Zhao Xin was stunned, not quite understanding why Zhao Yong said this seriously, and said incomprehensiblely, "Master, where did you ask me to go and who did you see?"

"Go to Lingshou City."

Zhao Xin was stunned for a moment and suppressed the shock in his heart. Seeing that the Lord's father's expression was not like a joke, he said skeptically; "Master, you are not looking for happiness with the little one. Today, the army has not yet broken through Lingshou City for a day. How can you get in with me alone?"

Zhao Yong smiled and said, "Of course I won't make you happy."

"There is a small river two miles eastward. There is a trail that can directly lead to Sima Xi's mansion. I will ask Han Sheng to take you there. However, that trail can only accommodate one person in and out. In order to dig deep in concealment, the air below is not smooth, and ordinary people will be frustrated if they can't walk far. I heard Han Sheng say that you have good martial arts skills and your internal cultivation skills are even more amazing. Is there any such thing?"

Several thoughts flashed in Zhao Xin's heart, and then he suddenly realized that Sima Xi was a chess piece buried in Zhongshan by Zhao Yong. No wonder, no wonder, no wonder Sima Xi, as a prime minister, did not place the stability of the country first, and used the boastful Confucian scholars, fanned the flames everywhere and provoked the internal strife in Zhongshan, and instigated King Ji Shang of Zhongshan to first call himself king to make enemies, and then attack Yan and cut off his own arm.

This can also explain why civil strife suddenly occurred in Zhongshan before the war. First, Yuan Qian was assassinated, and then Sima liked to frame Ji Xin and killed them all without real evidence. This is not to force a general with heavy troops to rebel. After all, it was a good deal for Zhao State.

Then, no matter whether he intercepted Gu Ji's troops or not, there would inevitably be civil strife in Shiyi. Eigai Gu Ji would either kill Ji Xin by the imperial edict, or Ji Xin would fight back and kill the two of them. In short, Shiyi would inevitably cause chaos, and the Zhao army would have a chance to take advantage of it. However, Zhao Xin's disruption made the ending greatly improved. Not only did Zhao take down Shiyi without losing one soldier and one soldier, but he also went to the city of Shao.

No wonder it was such a coincidence that Ji Xin's youngest son Ji Mu escaped by "lucky". It turned out that they were all within the control of the master's father. It seemed that Ji Xin's family was killed, but the master's father was killed.

Thinking of this, Zhao Xin couldn't help but secretly see his master's father, and his heart was awesome. He thought that although this master's father seemed generous and not care about the details, he was actually as meticulous as his hair. The layout was really amazing. You should know that Sima Xi was a powerful minister in Zhongshan and was in power. No one would have thought that he was Zhao's father's man, a spy sent by Zhao State to Zhongshan State, who disrupted Zhongshan State with one hand and gave Zhao State an opportunity to take advantage of it.

Seeing that the master's father looked at him strangely, Zhao Xin remembered that he had not answered him yet. He scratched his head and said embarrassedly, "It's not a big deal. It's just that I met a strange person before. He learned some Taoist techniques of self-cultivation and character cultivation. He can usually be light and healthy. I think if he is just a depressed person, he should not be able to defeat me."

Zhao Yong did not speak, but just looked at Zhao Xin with a smile and suddenly asked, "You are so smart, you must have already understood the relationship, otherwise you will definitely get to the bottom of it according to your personality, but right?"

Zhao Xin smiled and said, "I probably understood a little, but I was still a little surprised. I really didn't expect Sima Xi to be bribed by you, the master, and I'm afraid most people in the world wouldn't believe it if they said it."

Zhao Yong's face turned dark and his expression seemed a little gloomy. He said for a long time, "You are wrong. He was not bribed by me. He is a Zhao person. He has a talent for being a worldly master, but he is willing to do a meticulous work because of his promise to me. I am sorry for him. The reason why he was able to become a prime minister in Zhongshan is mostly because of his own talent, and I have not helped much."
Chapter completed!