After Wu She's injuries were stopped, King Chu asked in a low voice:
"How many troops are left?"
"I have collected the remnant troops, and now there are more than 2,000 of them. You Yin is also leading hundreds of people behind the palace. There are about 3,000 people in total, and they are all heading here!"
When King Chu heard that there were only three thousand left, his heart sank.
"A few hundred of the more than 3,000 people are seriously injured and can no longer fight. Please ask Wang Jia to go up the mountain as soon as possible and settle down at the flat top of the mountain before resting!"
Wu Ju also saw at this time that King Chu was exhausted and could no longer move. Therefore, four soldiers were ordered to step forward and carry Wu She, and the other two soldiers supported Wu She. They also arranged secret sentries along the way to the top of the mountain.
Although Wu Ju is over seventy years old, he has served as the right commander after all, and his physical strength is still very good. But Yin Randan on the right was a civil servant and it was quite inconvenient to travel, so he was left to come to the rear.
After most of them reached the top of the mountain, they found a flat area and cleaned it up, and the King of Chu settled down. In order for Wu She's injury to be better taken care of, the King of Chu also kept him by his side.
Not long after, You Yin Randan also arrived. More than 3,000 people gathered together, and sentries, scouts, and spies were deployed along the way. At this time, a team of more than a thousand people gathered on the top of the mountain.
The King of Chu knew that the number of troops was not large, but he still had some support. And as Wu Ju, Ran Dan and others also arrived one after another, everyone began to think about how to escape.
Wu Ju drew their location and surrounding environment on the ground.
"Your Majesty, I have already sent someone to send a letter to the fourth prince. Of course, we cannot sit here and wait for death. It would be great if we can wait for an opportunity to cross the river. If that is not possible, we will hold on to this place and the only way to retreat is to come to the mountain!"
The situation is not optimistic, but it is not desperate.
"Well... Wu Qing is the most expert in marching and fighting, so I will do as you say!"
At this moment, a spy came back and reported:
"Your Majesty, the Wu army is less than twenty miles away from this mountain. There are about four to five thousand people, and there may be a large army to follow!"
Wu Ju only replied:
"Explore again!"
"promise!"
The spy heard this and withdrew, then Randan added:
"Now that we can no longer escape, the top priority is to set up camp here, but the first thing is to eat food!"
Because of last night's defeat, their food, grass and baggage supplies were naturally cut off. How to provide food and food for so many soldiers has naturally become an extremely serious problem.
"Is there anything to eat along the way?"
The noble king of Chu has always been indifferent to grains, so naturally he doesn't know what can and cannot be eaten.
"Your Majesty, there are some wild wormwood along the way, plus some horses. We can still hold on for a few days, but if it goes on for a long time, it may not be good!"
When the King of Chu heard this, he just sighed and said:
"It's just because I insisted on going my own way that this catastrophe ended up... Hey... I'm the one to blame!"
At this time, Randan bowed and said:
"It's a good thing that your Majesty can take the blame and blame himself. But as of now, we are still not out of trouble, so this is not the time to feel sorry for ourselves!"
"But Qing... I know that you also have resentment in your heart."
"I dare not hold any grudges. It is true that this matter should not all be blamed on the king. It can only be said that the people of Wu are cunning, and they seem to have received guidance from experts behind the scenes... In addition... the king may have been deceived by Guan Cong!"
When King Chu heard this, he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows:
"Oh? But why did you say this?"
"King Cong Xian planned to station the Chu army in Suo, and then disappeared. Moreover, I came with him to observe that King Wu Yuji's habits of marching and setting up formations in the past were also very different from before. I thought that these two There may be some connection between them!”
"Guan Cong?... Why would he do this? I treat him well!"
"This... I don't know..."
The King of Chu fell into deep thought. He was quite conceited. The reason why he just admitted his mistake was just to stabilize the hearts of everyone.
Now that Randan could blame Guan Cong and Wu Wang Yuji for this defeat, he was able to smooth things over for himself.
After hearing this, King Chu gritted his teeth and said:
"I must cut this man into pieces with a thousand swords!"
"Your Majesty, how to deal with Guan Cong still needs long-term consideration. How to get out of trouble is the top priority right now!"
After hearing this, King Chu couldn't help but nodded and stood up:
"Thank you, Sir Wu Wu. Please arrange the defense here properly. I will go and see the soldiers now!"
Then, King Chu and You Yin Randan came to the soldiers. These soldiers experienced a disastrous defeat last night and fled here. Their morale was low and they were resting in place. There were even some new recruits who secretly hid aside and wiped their tears.
When the King of Chu saw this, he comforted the wounded soldiers and sighed:
"Hey... I regret that I should not have believed the words of the traitor and rashly camped against the water. You have all suffered from me... you have suffered!"
When Ran Dan heard what King Chu said, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart. This was the reason why he asked King Chu not to feel sorry for himself. Because, from King Chu's words, it was obvious that he did not correctly realize his mistake.
The fault of the King of Chu was not that he should have listened and obeyed, but that he should not have rashly led his army to conquer in person. Wu Jun was obviously well prepared. After several provocations, the King of Chu finally failed to calm down. The fall of Laidi made him lose his mind. At this time, coupled with the fact that Guan Cong secretly promoted fire, this finally led him to cause a catastrophe.
The so-called king's personal expedition is actually not impossible. But usually the following two conditions must be met. One is that it is forced and has to be done; the other is that the battle must be won, and the battle must be won. The King of Chu obviously did not meet these two conditions.
In this battle, he neither had to fight it personally, nor was he actually sure of victory.
But at this moment, the King of Chu put all the faults on Guan Cong, and his only fault was that he should not trust the traitor, that's all.
The King of Chu was about to speak again, when a spy came to report again, saying that the Wu army's four thousand soldiers and horses had camped ten miles down the mountain. Although they had not yet surrounded the mountain, they had made it impossible for the Chu army to go down the mountain and cross the river.
King Chu clasped his hands behind his back and walked around.
"Are we going to send a large army to Laishan?"
"Absolutely not. This place is easy to defend and difficult to attack. We can still hold on here. Unless it is absolutely necessary, it is never too late to go to Laishan. If the king leaves this place, the soldiers will only lose more morale. By then, they will be out of control. , the defeat will only be faster. In that case, the king will be even more dangerous!"
Ran Dan hurriedly stopped and told the pros and cons.
"If your Majesty sticks to this place, the longer the delay, the longer it takes. Once the reinforcements arrive, maybe there will be a turn for the better!"
The King of Chu looked at the sluggish soldiers of the Chu army and almost said something like "It would be great if Li Ran was here." But in front of two powerful ministers, it was inconvenient for him to say these words.
King Chu returned to the open space on the top of the mountain and looked at Wu She lying down:
"How extravagant...I'm afraid this time I really can't fly!"
"Your Majesty, don't worry too much. Even if we risk our lives, we will escort your Majesty out of danger!"
"She, I know that... some things are not something that you just have to fight to the death to get away with."
At this moment, King Chu's mood seemed to be affected by the soldiers, and he became increasingly depressed.
