Chapter 402: Don’t Lose the Han Festival
The chaos started from the outermost part of the camp. At first, faint shouts could be heard outside the camp, and then people could only be heard fighting at the gate of the camp. Then the chaos began to spread to the entire camp.
The middle-aged scribe frowned and looked around, only to see a follower running towards him with a hurried expression, and he hurriedly greeted him. Before the attendant could speak, he ordered, "Go and find out what happened."
“But what should you do, my lord?”
The attendant asked worriedly.
I am the only entourage that my lord brought when he entered Yong Kai's army camp. If he leaves and something happens to my lord, what will happen?
"Don't worry, I'll be waiting in this tent. Unless it's the last moment, the rebels won't rush into the tent."
Seeing that his entourage was still hesitating, the middle-aged scribe yelled, "What are you still waiting for? Go quickly!"
The entourage gritted his teeth, nodded, turned around and ran towards the most chaotic place.
The middle-aged scribe turned back to the handsome tent, packed up his belongings, and made sure there was nothing to destroy. Then he sat down upright, closed his eyes and rested.
It’s just his solemn expression that shows that he is not actually calm inside.
After a while, I saw the entourage crawling into the camp, shouting, "The master is not good! The barbarian is coming!"
The middle-aged scribe opened his eyes and said in a deep voice, "Don't panic, tell me slowly, what is going on?"
"There are many barbarian soldiers outside. I heard that Meng Huo personally led the troops to fight them."
“Why did you call me? Have you found out?”
“I heard that Meng Huo killed Yong Kai and then led his men to surround this place...”
When the middle-aged scribe heard this, his expression finally changed. He stood up suddenly, took two steps back and forth, and finally sighed and said in a rather resentful voice, "Yong Kai made a mistake!"
At this time, he could already guess that it was most likely Yong Kai who was intercepted when he sent someone to deliver the letter last night.
Otherwise, why has he been quietly coming to Yong Kai's military camp for so many days, and everything has been fine all the time? But last night he sent someone to deliver a message, and this morning Meng Huo called Yong Kai over to discuss matters, and something suddenly happened?
“Master, let’s leave quickly, we can’t stay here anymore.”
The follower saw that the middle-aged scribe was still in a mood to stand there and sighed, so he couldn't help but said anxiously.
“Let’s go? Where to go?”
The middle-aged scribe smiled bitterly and shook his head, "If someone discovered it last night, then Meng Huo waited until before sunset today to launch his attack. It means that he has been preparing for a day and a night. I am afraid that this place would have been tightly surrounded."
“Even Yong Kai is trapped, how can the two of us break through this heavy siege?”
When the follower heard this, his face turned pale and asked, "What should we do?"
“What else can we do? Just obey fate.”
The middle-aged scribe said, sat down on his seat again, and closed his eyes again.
“My lord, my lord, if I go to explore the road again, I will definitely find a way to take my lord out.”
The attendant crawled to the feet of the middle-aged scribe and begged with tears, "I only ask the Lord not to do this. Our royal family cannot lack the Lord!"
“Don’t act like a little girl!”
The middle-aged scribe opened his eyes and shouted softly, "You are being underestimated! Is there anyone in our Wang family who is afraid of death? Before I came, I had already entrusted the promotion of Honghua to the Prime Minister. For the sake of the two brothers of my Wang family, the Prime Minister For the sake of going to the national crisis together, I will not treat the Wang family badly."
"Lord!"
The entourage wanted to persuade again, but the middle-aged scribe yelled and cursed, "Get up quickly! When the rebels outside come in and see you like this, don't they think they are laughing at the joke of my Wang family?"
After hearing this, the attendant had no choice but to get up, wiped his tears, and stood quietly behind the middle-aged scribe as he usually did.
Sure enough, after a while, the curtain of the camp was suddenly opened, and a tall figure appeared at the door of the camp, casting a dark shadow that enveloped the entire camp.
A strong smell of blood began to fill the tent as people came in.
“甔甔…”
A voice that did not sound like a human came out of the visitor's mouth, "It is indeed here."
The middle-aged scribe opened his eyes and saw that this man was nine feet tall, with a ferocious face, like a ferocious beast. He was holding a square halberd in his hand. The blood on the halberd was not dry, and drops of blood occasionally dripped from the tip of the halberd.
With a "thud" sound, he threw a round object over. The object rolled several times, and finally rolled in front of him and stopped motionless.
At a closer look, it was Yong Kai’s head.
The man's head was wide open with an angry look, and he looked like he was determined to die.
The middle-aged scribe trembled slightly, then let out a long sigh and asked slowly, "Where is Meng Huo?"
"Is it necessary for King Meng to come to kill you?"
E Shun laughed ferociously, raised the square halberd in his hand, and was about to stab him hard.
The attendants beside him rushed over and stood in front of the middle-aged scribe, shouting loudly, "Don't kill my lord!"
“Stop!”
Only two loud shouts were heard.
One voice came from a middle-aged scribe, and the other voice came from Meng Huo, who had just half-stepped into the tent, holding a pine-patterned gold sword in each hand.
Eshun was extremely powerful, and he could use the square halberd in his hand with ease. When he heard this, he quickly took it back.
“Get out of the way.” The middle-aged scribe ordered the entourage standing in front of him.
"Lord."
"Get out of the way, he is going to kill me. If you can't stop him, don't lose your life in vain."
Sou Sui escaped from death, his legs were trembling, but he still insisted on standing in front of the middle-aged scribe. After hearing this, he trembled and walked aside again.
“Are you the Han who came to persuade Yong Kai to surrender?”
Meng Huo stood in front of the middle-aged scribe, looked at him coldly, and asked.
"it's me."
The middle-aged scribe stood up slowly and stood tall.
Hearing that the middle-aged scribe admitted his identity, Meng Huo was furious and stabbed his chest directly with the unsheathed sword.
This time, the entourage didn't have time to block him. He was so frightened that he almost screamed out when he opened his mouth.
The middle-aged scribe stood still, with no fear on his face. He actually closed his eyes and waited for death.
The tip of the sword barely pierced his skin, almost piercing his chest.
Meng Huo's eyes flashed with strangeness, and he suddenly put his sword back, "Aren't you afraid of death?"
The middle-aged scribe smiled indifferently, "Since I stepped into this military camp, I have spared no effort in doing so. Why should I fear life or death?"
Meng Huo saw this man's extraordinary popularity and his expression remained unchanged in the face of life and death. He couldn't help but feel some admiration. He put his swords back, followed the etiquette of the Han people and asked, "May I ask your name, sir?"
The middle-aged scribe returned the courtesy and said, "I am Wang Shi, the prefect of Yizhou County in the Han Dynasty. I don't know who you are?"
“It turned out to be King Meng. The scholar observed that King Meng was very knowledgeable about etiquette, so why did he do that rebellious thing again?”
Wang Shi looked at Meng Huo with bright eyes and asked with an awe-inspiring expression.
"Rebellion?" Meng Huo shook his head in amusement, "It's not rebellion. Now there are three masters in the world. Who is the rebel and who is the rebel?"
Speaking, he looked at Wang Shi and continued, "Mr. Wang, some of you Han people once said that if Qin loses its deer, the whole world will chase it away. Isn't today's Han Dynasty just like the Great Qin back then?"
When Wang Shi heard this, he immediately became furious and said, "The Emperor of Han is still in Jincheng. How can you say that he has lost his deer?"
“Is there an emperor who prefers to live in one corner?”
Meng Huo sneered.
"The thieves are powerful, so the emperor has to temporarily stay in Jincheng. One day, the Han Dynasty will finally rise, and the emperor will return to the old capital of the Central Plains!"
"I'm afraid Mr. Wang won't be able to see that day." Meng Huo stared at him and said, "Now that the plot between you and Yong Kai has been exposed, and Yong Kai has been crowned the head, have you ever thought about yourself?"
Wang Shi laughed and said, "Do the barbarians also want to imitate others and persuade them to surrender?"
When Meng Huo heard Wang Shi calling him a barbarian, he felt ashamed and resentful and said, "Old man, do you really think I don't dare to kill you?!"
Wang Shi said sternly, "Is Wang Yiqiang someone who is afraid of death? Back then, Su Ziqing was intimidated by the Xiongnu for nineteen years, but he still remained unyielding! Although I, Wang Yiqiang, dare not compare myself, I must not lose the Han Dynasty!"
Seeing Wang Shilin's inviolable appearance, Meng Huo was shocked and was forced to take a step back.
"King Meng, the Prime Minister's heavenly troops are right in front of you, but you still don't repent. When the time comes, Yizhou County's barbarians will be killed and injured countless times, all because of your fault. Don't make any mistakes!"
Wang Shi took another step forward and said, "Listen to me, why don't you surrender the people of Yizhou County as soon as possible?"
Meng Huo pointed his sword at Wang Shi and told him not to come forward. He shouted, "What a joke! If you really want to protect the people of Yizhou County, then you shouldn't send troops to Yizhou County. I will protect them." .”
“To put it bluntly, if you Han people didn’t think you were noble, looked down on us barbarians, and bullied us barbarians, how could I have rebelled against you?”
Wang Shi sighed with emotion, "In the past, the Han Dynasty was beyond the reach of Nanzhong, and could only let you Nanzhong clan do whatever you wanted. King Meng's words are just to cover up his own mistakes."
“Besides, now that the prime minister is leading his troops south, he will certainly accomplish something. King Meng, please don’t make any mistakes.”
When Meng Huo was exposed by the king, he immediately became angry and said, "Don't say this again. Now that you are in my hands, I only ask you, will you surrender? If you don't surrender, even if I want to let you go, just wait and see." Look at the general behind me, is he willing or not?"
Wang Shi looked at Meng Huo, shook his head firmly but slowly and said, "I won't surrender."
Meng Huo was shocked and angry. At this time, you are still so stubborn?
However, if such a righteous man really killed him, Meng Huo would naturally be a little reluctant to do so.
But if we don’t kill him, how can we deal with Eshun?
After all, Gao Ding had just died, and he had promised him revenge.
Before coming here, Eshun said that the Han people who came to persuade them to surrender must be killed.
“My king, please get out of the way. Since he refuses to surrender and lets me kill him first, I will consider it as a small revenge for King Gao.”
As expected, Eshun shouted from behind.
Wang Shi glanced at Eshun indifferently, then turned to Meng Huo and said, "Shi can be killed but not humiliated. King Meng, can I ask you a favor?"
When Meng Huo heard this, he thought he had finally figured it out and said quickly, "Of course it's okay. What's the matter?"
"Please lend me your sword."
Looking at Meng Huo's suspicious look, Wang Shi smiled and said, "King Meng is surrounded by warriors to protect him. At this time, the entire army is under your control. Are you still afraid of being imprisoned by a mere rank?"
“Don’t worry, I promise in the name of the Wang family of Guanghan County in the middle of Sichuan that I will not do anything detrimental to the king.”
After hearing this, Meng Huo couldn't wipe his face. He handed over a sword in his hand and said, "I forgive you for not daring."
Looking at Wang Shi's thin body, he thought he was not a brave man, but just a scholar. He was not afraid of what Wang Shi might do with his sword.
Wang Shi took the sword, took off his outer cover, and carefully wiped the blood on the sword until it was clean. Then he untied the hair on his head and turned it into a disheveled look, covering most of his face. All covered.
Meng Huo looked at his strange appearance, frowned and asked, "Sir, what do you mean?"
Wang Shi replied calmly, "I failed the prime minister's trust and was captured by barbarians. I have no face to see the world."
After saying that, he took the sword and wiped it on his neck!
Then his body fell limply to the ground.
"Lord!"
The attendant next to him finally cried out and threw himself on the king.
Meng Huo did not expect that this king would be so stubborn and would not even give him a chance.
At the moment, he closed his eyes, let out a long sigh, and then bowed deeply to Wang Shi's body.
After the attendant cried a few times, he remembered something.
Hurryly arranging Wang Shi's body, turned around, took out a piece of clean clothing from the luggage he brought with him, and carefully covered Wang Shi's face.
Then he took a few steps back, knelt down and kowtowed nine times.
Finally, he turned around, kowtowed to Meng Huo and said, "I beg you, your Majesty, to send someone to bury my master, and not to disturb his eternal rest."
“Don’t worry, I will ask people to give Wang Taishou a generous burial. If anyone in the army dares to disturb his peace, he will not be spared lightly.”
Meng Huo felt that what he saw was extremely shocking, and he quickly agreed.
He actually directly recognized Wang Shi as the governor of Yizhou County.
The entourage kowtowed a few more times and said, "The villain thanks King Meng for his kindness on behalf of the Lord. The Lord has only the villain following him now. The villain's life and death must not be taken into consideration by the king."
"The villain just wants to save one life, and help the Lord keep an eye on his resting place, so that no one after him will know where he is. The villain promises that when someone from the Wang family comes, he will kill himself and follow him underground. Lord."
“A righteous man is a loyal servant!”
Meng Huo sighed, glanced at the sword on the ground, and said, "Just keep this sword with the prince. It is a blessing to be able to accompany such a righteous man."
After saying that, he turned around and walked out.
At the beginning of June of the third year of Jianxing, Wang Shi, the governor of Yizhou County, persuaded Yong Kai to surrender, and it was almost done. However, when Yong Kai sent someone to deliver the letter, the messenger was accidentally intercepted by Meng Huo.
Meng Huo lured and killed Yong Kai and took his entire army.
Wang Shi refused to surrender during the Han Festival and committed suicide.
On the second day after killing Yong Kai, Meng Huo led his entire army to turn around and retreat towards Yizhou County.
After Zhuge Liang learned about Wang Shi’s affairs, he rushed to the scene with his army. He himself wore sackcloth and cried bitterly in front of Wang Shi’s tomb.
The followers left by Wang Shi finished telling the story of Wang Shi's life in front of the tomb, saying that he had never done anything wrong to the Han Dynasty, and then he touched the monument and died.
Everyone felt his loyalty, so they buried him next to the king's tomb.
Zhuge Liang left ten soldiers behind and asked them to guard the two tombs until they could move back to Shu after the southern expedition.
Guan Xing and Zhang Bao fought hard, and Zhuge Liang, the prime minister of the Han Dynasty, sent them to continue leading the front army and pursue Meng Huo's army in the direction where it left.
(End of this chapter)