When the King of Chu found that Li Ran could not change his original intention no matter what, he completely gave up the idea of forcing Li Ran to become a Chu minister.
At the same time, he suddenly understood something.
That is, there are always some people in this world that he cannot get no matter what. After all, everyone’s pursuits and beliefs are different.
Although he can pass on his ambitions and aspirations to everyone, not everyone will be infected after all.
Just like the Li Ran in front of me now.
He seems to have completely different principles from others.
On the one hand, this person will never settle for the status quo, never allow himself to be in his comfort zone.
Therefore, the sense of gaining material abundance does not make him happy.
On the other hand, this man's aspirations seemed to be different from those of all the generals, and he was extremely indifferent to fame.
Therefore, the sense of gain from success and fame cannot make him happy.
In short, this person does not seem to be a "person" in the true sense. Therefore, as a "human", it seems that all his needs are invalid.
And this may be the reason why Li Ran can always achieve "wins thousands of miles away".
As the famous saying of later generations:
Without indifference, there is no clear ambition; without tranquility, there is no far-reaching goal.
After understanding this, King Chu no longer pressed him, because he already had a rough idea of what kind of person Li Ran was.
After King Chu left, Sun Wu walked over from the side, looked at the empty gate of Xiangyuan, and couldn't help but fall into deep thought for a moment.
"Huh? What are you thinking, Chang Qing?"
Li Ran asked when he saw this.
Sun Wu came back to his senses and looked thoughtful:
"Sir, by revealing his true feelings to the King of Chu today, wouldn't it make the King of Chu more suspicious of you?"
"Now that the King of Chu knows that your husband will never become a Chu minister no matter what, how can he still allow your husband to leave Chu in the future?"
It's true that before Li Ran explained all this, King Chu had already had murderous intentions towards Li Ran.
Now that Li Ran has said this and categorically concluded that he will never become a Chu minister in this life, how can the King of Chu let Li Ran leave alive?
What Sun Wu is worried about is Li Ran's situation in the future, which may become even more dangerous!
"Haha, it doesn't matter. I believe that after today, King Chu will wake up."
Li Ran's answer seemed careless, with a look of disapproval on his face.
"Oh? What do you mean, sir?"
Sun Wu asked in confusion.
At this time, Li Ran continued to speak:
"The King of Chu should understand that while he cannot recruit Li Ran, it is absolutely impossible for him to kill Li Ran."
"Not to mention him, not even Prince Qiji, or Wu Ju, they can't kill Li Ran."
"Since I can't completely stay in the Chu Kingdom, and can't get rid of me, then the King of Chu will understand that instead of ending up with these infamy, instead of having to bear the infamy of killing virtuous people, it would be better to be a favor and let me go in the future. Go. This may be more beneficial to Chu State."
Although the King of Chu was weak in wisdom for a while, he was still a heroic leader after all. Is what he is planning to gain or lose at this moment?
Won't
This can be seen from the fact that he had planned to give up the throne to the prince Qiji early in the morning. He sincerely hopes that Chu State can become strong again.
And killing Li Ran can indeed eliminate a long-term worry for Chu State, which may benefit Chu State in the near future.
However, if we look at the longer-term future, his move will be detrimental to the Chu country.
Although it was difficult for King Chu to see through the trade-offs and considerations for a while, he could not always be kept in the dark.
Sun Wu nodded upon hearing this, and the stone hanging in his heart finally fell to the ground.
"The Chu army is about to set out. If it goes as expected, the King of Chu will definitely summon Chang Qing to accompany the army. After all, Chang Qing's battle in Chaoyi has already made the world famous. How can the King of Chu not use Chang Qing?"
"It's just that Zhu Fang's battle is extremely important to both Chu and us."
"Changqing, remember, we must capture Qingfeng alive, and we must not repeat the mistakes of the Chaoyi battle!"
The look on Li Ran's face was particularly solemn.
"Wu, remember this!"
Sun Wu immediately bowed his hands and saluted.
He understood that the importance of Qingfeng was self-evident. If this battle repeated the mistakes of the Chaoyi battle, it would be an unbearable burden for Li Ran.
"Thank you, sir. Go and get ready."
…
The next day, Zichan and Xiangxu also came to say goodbye.
The meeting of Shen has come to an end, and Zheng and Song did not bring many soldiers this time, so Chu's intention to lead troops to besiege Zhu Fang City has nothing to do with them.
By the way, the reason why Zheng Guo did not bring many troops was because Zichan knew the fundamental reason why King Chu wanted to hold an alliance from the beginning.
How smart is Zichan?
How could he not know that the Shen Zhihui was just an excuse for the King of Chu to coerce the Central Plains countries to attack Zhongli?
He wanted to use this as an excuse to send out a large army to attack Zhongli, and use this to punish those "disobedient people" who were secretly in cahoots with Zhongli and even the Kingdom of Wu.
And does the King of Chu care about the number of soldiers brought by the kings of other countries?
of course not.
Not only would he not care, but perhaps the King of Chu would prefer that other countries send as few as possible.
Why?
First of all, the King of Chu knew of course that these allies were unable to do anything even though they were here.
Secondly, if there are too many allies, it will be disadvantageous for the Chu State to achieve unified coordination.
So Zichan simply came without troops. It can be said that Zichan's move was completely in line with the potential needs of the King of Chu.
As for Zheng Guo, he could also stay out of the situation.
Therefore, from the beginning to the end of the Shen Zhihui, King Xiong Wei of Chu never showed any shame to Zichan.
And what about the Song Dynasty?
They didn't bring any soldiers. What's going on?
Logically speaking, unlike the Zheng State, the Song State was a large country adjacent to Zhongli. Now that it has agreed to participate in Chu's alliance, it should send troops.
After all, the Song State sending troops was the key to expressing its attitude and position.
And this is the cunning point of Song Guohua's family.
Of course, the Hua family of the Song Dynasty also knew the true purpose of the Chu State's convening of the Shen Alliance Meeting, and they did have an unexplained ambiguous relationship with the Qingfeng of the Zhongli Kingdom.
So, if they really come with troops, wouldn't it be equivalent to shooting stones in the foot?
Therefore, they, Fahrenheit, were fortunate enough to do everything without stopping, and they also did not take any soldiers with them.
Then aren't they, the Song Dynasty, afraid of being implicated?
Hey, they are really not afraid.
After all, in the final analysis, this alliance is based on the dignity of our Song Dynasty, not to mention that even the veteran figure of the Annihilation Alliance, Xiang Xu, is here this time. Even if you, Chu State, dare not do anything to our Song State, Hua Clan.
Therefore, from the perspective of the Hua family of the Song Dynasty, Hua Feisui, as the Sima of the Song Dynasty, came to the alliance without any soldiers, which was quite confident.
Therefore, since neither Zheng State nor Song State sent troops, Zichan and Xiang Xuna naturally did not have to participate in Chu State's battle to attack Zhongli. Therefore, leaving early was a safer move for them, so as not to It’s a long night with many dreams.
"Ziming, you are in the Chu Kingdom. Remember that self-protection is the most important thing. You must not act rashly or put yourself in danger."
"In addition, there are some things in Chu State. Ziming can just turn a blind eye and close his eyes. There is no need to speak out unless it is absolutely necessary."
Zichan warned him a lot, fearing that Li Ran would do something like the Battle of Chaoyi again.
But at the same time, he was also worried about Li Ran's safety alone in Chu State.
From this, it is not difficult to see that in Zichan's mind, Li Ran's safety is closely related to the survival of the Central Plains countries.
——
Chapter 298_There are bad people and good people in Song Dynasty
Zichan and Xiangxu said goodbye to Li and then went back to the camp to prepare. He also sent an envoy to inform the King of Chu.
When the King of Chu heard this, he couldn't help being furious:
"What a Song! You have secretly communicated with Qingfeng and came without any soldiers. Now you want to leave early?! This is really unreasonable! Send the order and don't allow the Song! Wait until we capture Zhongli. I will let the Song people go back."
Obviously, he was not angry with the State of Zheng, but with the State of Song.
Hearing that King Chu was furious, no one in the main hall dared to say a word.
After waiting for a long time, someone finally stood up, knelt down in the hall with his hands folded, and said loudly:
"No, Your Majesty! This alliance is to seek the friendship of the Song Alliance. If we hold the Song people, I am afraid that the world will not accept it! Please think again, Your Majesty!"
The person speaking in front of the hall at this time was Shen Wuyu. As mentioned before, this person is best at admonishing directly. Therefore, he was never liked by the King of Chu.
"Hmph! Since the people of Song Dynasty are so rude, why should I treat each other with courtesy?! I have made up my mind on this matter, no need to say anything more!"
"Song people are rude" is of course just a cover. In fact, everyone knows, why did the King of Chu take the Song hostages in Chu State?
Obviously, it was to fundamentally cut off the connection between Song Dynasty and Zhongli.
But Song State is different from Xu State. After all, Song State is also a big country. Secondly, the Song State is the initiator of the Army Annihilation Alliance. If you control the Song people in the Chu State, it is tantamount to directly declaring war on the Central Plains.
Why did the Hua family of Song Dynasty dare to come without troops? Didn’t you just see through this?
"Your Majesty, Xiang Xu of the Song Dynasty was the man who first initiated the annihilation of troops. He is now too old to take on the task. If he is not careful, he will die in Chu. How can your Majesty be able to shoulder the responsibility?"
"What's more, the person who secretly communicated with Qingfeng was the Hua family. As a Sima of the Song Dynasty, Hua Fei Sui did not want to lead troops here. It was also this person."
"I believe that the crown prince of the Song Dynasty and Master Zuo are innocent people. I hope that Master Zuo will return first because he is old. As for Hua Feisui, I can hold on to them."
What Shen Wuyu said was very direct and very reasonable and beneficial. No matter how ruthless the King of Chu was, he could not fail to understand the joints involved.
Therefore, King Xiong Wei of Chu issued an order to seize Hua Feisui on the grounds that "the Song people were late". On the other hand, they sent someone to send the Crown Prince of Song and Xiang Xu off, as well as Uncle Zheng and his entourage.
…
Just a few days after Zichan and Xiangxu left, the King of Chu issued an order, appointing Wu Ju as a general to lead the Chu army, lead the coalition forces of other countries, and march to the front line of Zhu Fang in a mighty manner.
As Li Ran expected, Sun Wu was indeed recruited by the King of Chu and appointed Shen Yin, the Sima leader of the left army.
This was the first time that Sun Wu was awarded a serious military title by the Chu State.
Sima of the Zuo Army, as the name suggests, is the leader of the Zuo Army. This position is equivalent to the mid-level commander of the Chu State, with as many as three to five thousand people under his command.
As mentioned earlier, among the three armies of the Chu State, the left army is responsible for charging, the middle army is responsible for holding on, and the right army is responsible for breaking up the rear. The three armies either perform their own duties or advance in coordination, and each assumes different responsibilities at different times.
The fact that Sun Wu was awarded the position of Sima of the Left Army fully shows that the King of Chu valued Sun Wu very much, and this attack on Zhufang City was probably to let Sun Wu take the lead.
It was in these little-known wars that Sun Wu's military talents were gradually demonstrated.
…
In June, the sun shines brightly.
After Wu Ju led his army to the front line, he followed the plan proposed by Li Ran and summoned envoys from various countries to discuss matters and asked which country was willing to be a pioneer officer.
Obviously, this kind of inquiry is just a formality.
All the countries in the Central Plains have no enmity or enmity with Na Qingfeng, so why should they sacrifice their lives for the Chu Kingdom?
Therefore, as Li Ran expected, the generals of the various countries looked at each other and were unwilling to say anything.
Wu Ju pretended to be furious, and after waiting to no avail, he actually took action.
"But in just over a month, you have completely forgotten the words of the general alliance?!"
"How dare you show your face to others with such treachery?!"
To put it simply: you shameless bastards, I feel ashamed for you!
Of course, in this case, there will naturally be more elements of performance.
Of course, the generals of various countries also know that people have to bow their heads under the eaves. They are currently in the military camp of the Chu State. If what they said is not true at that time, if they are suddenly attacked again, they will not suffer. live.
Therefore, in the face of Wu Ju's anger, the envoys of the various countries had no choice but to look at their noses, their noses and their hearts, and kept pretending to be dead.
When Wu Ju saw this, he immediately followed Li Ran's plan and without any explanation, directly handed over the command of the coalition forces of various countries.
The generals of the various countries were about to refute, but unexpectedly Wu Ju glanced at him coldly.
"Don't you agree?"
"Okay, if you feel that this move is inappropriate, then please show your sincerity in the alliance that day and lead the army to Zhufang City first!"
You don’t give me the right to command, right?
Okay, then you go and attack the city.
You can't form an alliance with me, Chu State, and then blatantly mess up your back foot like this, right?
As soon as these words came out, there was a sudden silence in the camp.
As a result, the command of the coalition forces was naturally transferred to Wu Ju of Chu State.
Now that Wu Ju had achieved his wish, how to break through Zhu Fang City as soon as possible became his only urgent problem to be solved.
As mentioned earlier, the large city of Zhu Fang is easy to defend but difficult to attack. If Qingfeng chooses to fight to the death with the Chu State and rely on the supplies already prepared in Zhu Fang City to hold on to the city for several months, then there will definitely be no problem.
After all, the Hua family of Song State, the Ji family of Lu State, and even the Wu State of Xu State did not know how much supplies they sent to the city.
Once Wu Ju chose to attack by force, the huge battle losses would be unacceptable to Chu.
Therefore, this battle must not only be won, but also fought skillfully, and the final victory must be won at the minimum cost.
But it is easy to say, but easier said than done?
Qingfeng was determined to be a coward and hide in Zhu Fang City. What could Wu Ju do?
Lure a snake out of its hole?
Repeating the old trick, just use the same method against Fang Fan last time? It's definitely not easy to succeed here.
After all, Qingfeng is completely different from Zhufan who has no scheming intentions.
So how should we fight this battle?
Wu Ju couldn't help but fell into deep thought.
When he was puzzled, he suddenly thought of Sun Wu, and immediately sent someone to the Zuojun camp to ask Sun Wu to come and talk.
During the battle of Qunshu, he had seen Sun Wu's abilities with his own eyes.
Although he didn't want to expose his shortcomings in military ability in front of Sun Wu, it was a pity that he had no choice. When the matter came to a close, it would be good to have one more person to discuss it.
"Doctor, are you looking for me?"
"Oh, sir, I wonder what you think about this battle? Do you have any good strategies to break the situation?"
Faced with such a predicament, the only one Wu Ju can count on now is Sun Wu.
"Sir, the general led a small team to conduct reconnaissance a few days ago and discovered that there is a mountain stream trail behind the mountain on the right side of Zhu Fang City. This path is usually fed by spring water from the mountain stream. The water is so strong that it is impossible for people and horses to move. But recently due to the approaching summer, There is little rain, so it may be passable in the short term, and the other end can lead directly to the city!"
Who is Sun Wu?
How could we not realize that this military strategist had the right time and place?
In fact, he had only arrived for a few days, but as soon as he arrived, he immediately went to observe the terrain near Zhufang City in person, and found a mountain stream path that could sneak into Zhufang City.
"oh?"
"Where is it?"
When Wu Ju heard the sound, he immediately became interested and hurriedly walked out of the tent to watch.
Sun Wu came to him and pointed to Zhu Fang City not far away. He saw a majestic mountain on the right side of the city gate, rising from the ground, towering into the clouds, majestic and steep.
"From the woods on the east side of the foot of the mountain to the north, this road was originally built by nearby mountain people when they went up the mountain for hunting. It was later abandoned because the mountain stream changed its course. Therefore, few people know about it."
"Wu personally went to investigate. This trail can only accommodate one person. It is rugged and steep and difficult to pass. However, the end of the trail is on the other side of the mountainside. Standing on the mountainside, you can see what is going on in the city."
"The general thought that if our army attacks the city at night and attracts the attention of the defenders in the city, we can send another surprise force to escape through the mountains and into the city. By then we will cooperate with the inside and outside, and we will definitely succeed!"
Although the difficulty of this plan is a bit higher, it is still feasible.
The most important thing is that this was proposed by Sun Wu.
After Wu Ju listened, he was silent for a long time, and finally nodded and said:
"Well, at this time, this is the only way to try."
"Okay! If that's the case, then please ask the chief minister to lead the troops in person!"
"Please, sir, please don't refuse! It's a very important matter. Our country, Chu, can only win this battle, not lose it!"
Wu Ju took this battle very seriously. But even so, Wu Ju still played a trick here.
There is no doubt that Sun Wu is Li Ran's right-hand man.
If Sun Wu can be allowed to put himself in danger and use Qingfeng's hand to get rid of Sun Wu, then even if Wu Ju can't kill Li Ran, he can still make Li Ran lose this arm!
original:
In the seventh month of autumn, the princes of Chu attacked Wu. Song Dazi and Zheng Bo returned first. Song Hua, Fei Sui and Dr. Zheng followed. ——"Zuo Zhuan·The Fourth Year of Duke Zhao"
(End of chapter)
