across the Quartet

Chapter Five

Tick, tick.

Among the sharp howls and hoarse moans, there was the regular sound of water.

This is the deepest part of South Korea's national prison, where the most heinous people are detained.The cruelty of the torture and the cruelty of the wardens make everyone who has been in and out of this place a secret.It was rumored that [-]% of the prisoners sent in would not survive the day of their execution.

Human body odor, the smell of blood, moldy wooden fences, festering and rotting flesh, all kinds of smells are intertwined; this smell is so strong and disgusting, it is like a poisonous snake in the stomach On, more and more tightly wrapped.

But, in order to meet that person, they had to walk down.

The leading man in black took out a soft silk handkerchief to cover his mouth and nose; a bowed jailer opened the last door for him.

"Young master, he—he's right here."

This stone room is not as narrow as it looks from the outside.The brazier and torches hanging on the wall were suddenly lit, illuminating the figure in the center.It was a tall man, with loose white hair hanging down to his waist, stained with blood; his once luxurious clothes had been turned into ragged rags, revealing his muscular and well-defined body underneath.It's a pity that there is hardly a piece of intact flesh below his neck. Apart from the ferocious welt marks, there are also burnt burns. It can be seen that he has suffered extremely tragic torture.Several huge iron cables were suspended from the zenith, interlocking his limbs, looking like an insect stuck to a spider's web.

The man in black couldn't help but let out an exclamation after only seeing the miserable condition of the prisoner.

"This... Brother Wei Xian, how could it end up like this—"

The iron chain trembled slightly, making a dull crashing sound.

"Hengyang-jun, don't come here unharmed."

The man did not open his eyes.In fact, his upper and lower eyelids were glued together with dried blood.However, his voice was low and calm, unhurried, like the owner of a grand house entertaining distinguished guests with wine and meat.

"Zhuang's clothes are not covering the body. I'm afraid I will insult the son's respect. Please turn your back."

"My dear brother, why are you still like this..." Young Master Cheng choked up and could hardly continue.

After the first battle in Zhangshui, Wei Zhuang knew very well that such a large-scale move could not be hidden from South Korea.Although he is very popular in the army, and there are many soldiers who are loyal to him, but as long as the envoys sent by the Qin State ask him for a while, King Han will soon find out the truth of the battle.And his enemies in court will never let go of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to punish him.Therefore, his confidantes persuaded him not to return to Xinzheng, and simply fled to Yangdi with some soldiers who were willing to follow him, and then made plans.But Wei Zhuang was contrary to what everyone thought.He believes that the monarchs and ministers of South Korea are mainly divided into two factions at this time. One is headed by the King of Han. Although he is annoyed that his move has angered the people of Qin, he is more worried about who else will be able to resist once Qin invades South Korea; , On the contrary, there is a glimmer of life.The other faction is Qin's middlemen. These people will definitely torture and interrogate him for something in his hands. Before they know the whereabouts of that thing, they dare not easily put him to death.Since neither faction would kill him, and he had other plans in Xinzheng, why didn't he go back and accept the crime.

After returning to the capital, everything happened as Wei Zhuang expected.The state of Qin quickly sent an envoy to question the king of Han, asking him why he broke the covenant and conspired with the state of Zhao to attack the Qin army.The king of Han was terrified, and when he was held accountable, Wei Zhuang took on the responsibility of attacking Qin, but he did not admit that he had formed a private alliance with Zhao Guo.King Han was furious, and in order to appease the envoy of Qin, he immediately sent Wei Zhuang to prison.However, when Qin's envoy urged him to send the head of Weizhuang and cede the land to plead guilty to King Qin, King Han secretly hesitated.His beloved daughter, Honglian, also cried and pleaded for mercy under his seat.

"...South Korea has been at war with Qin for decades, but has never won; our country has not been humiliated enough? Why is it finally winning now, but the general of this battle is executed instead?"

Hearing what Honglian said, although Han Wangan just shook his head and sighed back then, his heart shivered - yes, no matter what methods Wei Zhuang used, he finally defeated Qin's army!This is almost unimaginable for the Koreans who have lost their troops and abandoned countless lands and cities in the past 30 years, and have to be obedient to Qin as loyal servants.

If such a person dies like this...

Wei Zhuang's situation in prison was not comfortable.However, he is indeed still alive.

The first ten days were extremely difficult.The most vicious methods were not the original cruel officials in the prison, but the people sent privately by some ministers—the purpose was naturally Yao Jia's account book.They didn't have any definite evidence in their hands; it was just that according to the news from Luo Wang, the time when the account book was stolen was very consistent with Han Fei's death, and it was said that Han Fei had a close relationship with Wei Zhuang in Xinzheng before his death.Therefore, assuming that this matter was really done by Han Fei, it is very likely that the account book has already been in Wei Zhuang's hands.

For such a lynching to extract a confession, Wei Zhuang had long been prepared.Although Guigu's internal strength can't help him resist the severe physical pain, what's more terrifying than this is that he has long experienced the pain of breaking his meridians and making life worse than death in order to practice the secret technique.

"...Is this all you can do?"

On the 11th, Wei Zhuang, who had never said a word about any kind of cruel punishment, suddenly burst out laughing.

He thought of the day when the Wei family was wiped out.The day of the vertical and horizontal battle.The day when he became obsessed with practicing secret techniques, passed out in the forbidden area, and woke up to find that his head was covered with gray hair.

What can I do with a mere soldering iron?

Half a month later, the person he was waiting for finally arrived.

Young Master Hengyang Jun turned around slowly.He really couldn't bear to look at the appearance of this former friend.

"Wei, you have been greatly favored by the young master many times." The prisoner behind him suddenly said.

"...Your brother is serious." The young master deliberately thought that Wei Zhuang probably thought that he had pleaded for him in front of his father... In fact, he didn't have the guts to do so.But at this time, it's better to answer vaguely, it's not bad to let him think so.

Wei Zhuang said slowly: "In the past ten days, Mr. Xiangguo and Young Master Xin have sent several groups of envoys to ask Wei to write a confession, saying that Wei was ordered by Lord Hengyang. The matter was groundless, but they heard that Wei had a close relationship with the young master back then, and designed a poisonous scheme to frame the young master. Zhuang originally thought that the young master would send assassins to make Wei die in prison in order to protect himself. I don’t think that Young Master not only didn’t do that, but came to visit in person. The virtuous Lord of Hengyang, Mr. Wei only really saw it today.”

Young Master Cheng was terrified when he heard it at first, and even started to be secretly afraid, thinking that perhaps it would be better for him to send an assassin... But what Wei Zhuang said later made him dismiss this idea.

"My son, Yu Wei, has the grace of rebirth. From then on, Wei, in South Korea, only recognizes the son as the master, and serves the son as if he is serving the emperor, and he has no second thoughts."

The young master was startled intentionally, and almost burst out laughing.He kept his face as quiet as possible.

If he can get such a strong support from Wei Zhuang, his power in South Korea will be even more powerful, and he will no longer have to worry about people from the son Xin's faction framing him.What's more, now that the threat of the Qin State has reached the point where it is as close as a knife, if Xinzheng is besieged, there will be a "general" like Wei Zhuang who can repel the Qin army with [-] infantry to protect him from escaping safely. out of danger.

Young Master Cheng had acquainted with Wei Zhuang before, so he couldn't say that he had no affection at all, but he always had a little bit of precaution: after all, Wei Zhuang's martial arts were too high, and he was too shrewd, so he couldn't figure it out.Until this time, he was moved by Wei Zhuang's tone of affection and sex, and he couldn't help thinking of himself as Wei Zhuang's "benefactor" in his heart, and finally believed in his loyalty.

Wei Zhuang sneered in his heart.Those who support Gong Zixin in the court want to force him to write a confession, blaming Lord Hengyang, this is not a lie.However, it is not good for him to be trusted by the young master; on the other hand, if he uses this opportunity at the right time, it will be an excellent opportunity to win the trust of Mr. Hengyang.

No one knows the noble children of South Korea better than Wei Zhuang.They are rebellious and cowardly, suspicious and credulous; they may doubt the intentions of others to be kind to themselves, but they will never doubt that they have someone who is kind to him.Therefore, from the very beginning of the conversation, Wei Zhuang deliberately put himself in the position of a sheltered and repaying benefactor, so that Young Master Cheng would not doubt him.

Sure enough, Young Master Cheng comforted him with kind words, saying that he would definitely ask for leniency for him in front of his father; then his tone changed, and he said worriedly in the same tone as he used to treat his subordinates: "My dear brother, you are not here! A few days later, there was another big commotion in the court. The King of Qin blamed Han and Wei for failing to win the battle of Ye. In order to apologize to the King of Qin, the Kingdom of Wei offered Liyi, and our country decided to donate Nanyang!!”

Wei Zhuang shook his head and said, "Nanyang is the foundation of Xinzheng. If Nanyang is lost, Xinzheng will be lost forever."

"That's right. I advise my father that the matter has come to an end. It is better to recruit soldiers and fight to the death. If Qin can win Nanyang without a single soldier, then our country will be powerless to resist. Father and the court But none of the elders are willing to listen to me... Brother, brother, is there still a chance of life in Korea today?"

Wei Zhuang lowered his head and said in a deep voice, "Han Han is hopeless."

"This..." The young master was startled by the categorical words in his words, and couldn't help feeling sad. "Since Han Wuzi more than 450 years ago, the foundation of our country's ancestors is going to be ruined in our hands... My brother, you are a descendant. Now that things have happened, there is a way to persuade Qi, Chu, Zhao, Wei and other countries to ask them to send troops to rescue ? After all, Han is the throat of the world, once it falls into the hands of the Qin people, the other five countries will be extremely dangerous!"

"My lord, even if we have the heart to ask for help, the general situation of the world today is very different from that of Lord Xinling."

Wei Zhuang closed his eyes tightly, but he seemed to see the mountains and rivers in the four seas, slowly unfolding under his feet.

"The six countries in Shandong today are all weak and weak. Even if Su and Qin are revived, they will not have the strength to reorganize and consolidate. Wei and Han are similar. The whole country is poor and weak, and it is difficult to protect itself. The ministers of the DPRK and China who were bribed by the Qin people were restrained, and it was difficult to act independently; Yan State was too remote and the national strength was insufficient; There has been no war for 40 years. Only the state of Chu is slightly stronger. However, Qin State often led the coalition forces of South Korea and Wei to attack Chu State. There were old grievances. Moreover, King Chuyou was said to be the son of Lord Chunshen, so he could not get all the nobles of Chu State. support, there is even the danger of civil strife. According to my speculation, once Xinzheng is besieged, I am afraid that no country will send troops to rescue it.”

Young Master Cheng turned around abruptly, and said in a trembling voice, "Then, can we just sit and watch the country be destroyed and the ancestral temple not survive like the Emperor Zhou of Luoyang?"

"... I wonder if my lord has heard of 'boa'?"

"What is that?"

Wei Zhuang calmly recounted the story of "The Giant Python Swallows the Deer", and finally said: "...Although the elk is weak, it can still take revenge. Now Qin is like this giant python. It wants to annex not only South Korea, but also It is the whole world. Perhaps when the Qin State poured all its strength into attacking Shandong, none of the six countries were its opponents; It's the same. Your Highness, you are destined to be the one with the horn of the elk."

Seeing that Young Master Cheng still didn't understand, Wei Zhuang had no choice but to continue patiently: "For example, if Qin Guo sends a [-] army to besiege Xinzheng, our country will not be able to resist; but if South Korea is already a part of Qin State, how much will King Qin leave in Xinzheng?" Defenders? Three thousand, five thousand?"

"I understand!" Young Master Cheng suddenly realized, "My dear brother means... we should preserve our strength first, and after Qin State annexes the six countries, we will try to raise troops secretly, catching them off guard..."

"That's right. At that time, not only our country, but we will also have to contact the princes of other countries, and raise troops one after another to make them unable to look after each other. For the current plan, the most important thing is to let the young master leave the royal capital safely. In addition, we have to take some things from Xinzheng."

"what?"

Wei Zhuang smiled slightly and remained silent.Young master Cheng understood, and hurriedly ordered the confidantes who followed him to retreat outside the cell to wait.Wei Zhuang looked around, but still didn't dare to rest assured, so he used secret techniques to gather the voice into a bunch, and directly transmitted it to Young Master Cheng's ears.

"Xinzheng was built on the old capital of the state of Zheng, and it was divided into two cities, the east and the west; the Yellow River in the east, and the Shuangji River in the west, and the city wall was built along these two rivers. And just north of Wangcheng, and southeast of Dongcheng, there is a huge warehouse. The warehouses in Dongcheng mainly store grain and grass. If Xinzheng is besieged, the grain and grass will be enough to support the whole city for more than a year. However, Wei was worried that once the Qin army launched a general attack, the defenders of the royal city would not be able to last long. Instead of handing over the food and grass to the Qin army, it would be better to set fire to the city before it was broken.

"It's not the case with the warehouse in Xicheng. Although there are some money grains, it's just a deception. The underground of this warehouse is actually the treasury of South Korea. Although South Korea is weak, there are still hundreds of thousands of gold in the treasury. Yu Jin, as well as the rare treasures, books and classics handed down from generation to generation, and tens of thousands of weapons and armor, are more than enough to support an army. My son, these are the foundations of your future army, and you must not let them fall into the hands of Qin. human hand."

"...Yes, yes." Young Master Cheng murmured, "But, what can I do?"

"My son should find skilled craftsmen from folk secrets, build a tunnel under the warehouse in the west, pass through the bottom of the Shuangji River, and lead to the outside of the city. Southwest of Xinzheng is the tomb of the Korean royal family. You might as well be there Arrange for manpower to transport these things to a more secret place. I have asked someone to calculate that the Shuangji River is only three feet five feet deep, and the storage cellars in the West City are only two hundred feet away from the city wall. Building such a tunnel is not enough. It will be completed in about a month. The most important thing is of course to replace the officials who manage the warehouse and the treasury with your son."

"This...Your brother is very reasonable, but even if the officials guarding the warehouse are my people, there will be people from the king's side to check the treasury on a regular basis. If there is a shortage of inventory, the culpability is..."

"Young master is right. If the treasures in the warehouse disappear without reason, it is usually impossible for people to not notice. However, if we remove some of them first, use fakes to make up for them, and then remove the rest at a special time, we will definitely No one will pursue it."

"When?"

"The day Xinzheng City was broken."

Young Master Cheng's eyes widened, and it seemed that even his tongue froze, but he involuntarily nodded.

"On that day, the young master ordered people to transport all the treasury out through the tunnel, and finally penetrated the top of the tunnel, let the river pour in, and destroy the tunnel—this matter will not leave a trace. At the same time, Wei will understand People create disturbances in the city and lure the Qin army stationed outside the city to enter the city, and the son's plan after leaving the city will be smoother."

"Not bad, not bad. But, like this, my brother, you are in a very dangerous situation?"

"At that time, Zhuang begs the young master to allocate hundreds of dead soldiers to my subordinates. I will fight to the death, and the rest can only be resigned to fate. As long as the young master is safe, there is hope for Korea to recover!"

When Wei Zhuang spoke so impassionedly, Jun Hengyang couldn't help crying and almost lost his voice.He raised his right arm, swearing that he is authentic, he will rescue Wei Zhuang from here soon, and preside over the secret plan of building the tunnel for him.Wei Zhuang silently nodded in agreement.

Young Master Cheng dusted off the dust from his clothes and crown, and left the state prison dignifiedly.

The strange thing is that with the same brocade clothes and crown, he looked so dejected and helpless before visiting the prison; after he came out of that dark place, he was full of energy, eager to start working hard right away.

confidence.Jun Hengyang couldn't believe it, it was actually a gift from a prisoner.

TBC