King Chen came down to the city in his royal chariot, surrounded by his ministers, entered the palace, and ascended the throne of King Chu. After all the ministers paid their respects, King Chen discussed with everyone the matter of destroying Qin. At this time Wang Zhi stood up and said: "Your Majesty, although the people have gathered, they cannot go into battle without training. In the past, when the Qin State unified the six kingdoms, many experts were hiding among the people. Now you should publish a recruitment list as soon as possible. Those who People will definitely come to apply. If the king can get a general like Ge Ying who can lead troops, he can send troops to attack Qin." Seeing that Wang Zhi's words were reasonable, King Chen asked him to write a recruitment list, and then Copy it into dozens of copies and post them everywhere. The main idea of the article is:
Chen Shengjin, the king of Zhang Chu, announced to the world with great righteousness: Now the second generation is cruel and unjust, Zhao Gao is dictatorial, causing harm to the country and the people, resulting in the killing of the royal family and the loss of life. Now King Zhang Chu is doing justice for heaven, punishing the people for crimes, raising a large number of righteous soldiers, and vowing to destroy Qin. Only because of the lack of talents, it was impossible to send troops. However, the King of Chu is thirsty for talents and admires Weibin. If he can find great talents, the King of Chu will definitely entrust him with important tasks, such as commanding troops and seals, and relieving the people. If there is such a great scholar in the country, after seeing the list, please come and register and show your talents without hesitation.
As soon as the announcement came out, there were a lot of people applying. First, there was a man from Shangcai named Cai Ci, who was already fifty years old. He was the governor of Fangyi County. When he came to Chencheng, he said to King Chen: "Now that Ge Ying's army is going deep alone, please send more troops." The troops and horses attack from all directions from east to west, north to south, and the land of Shandong will not be owned by Qin. When Qin loses sight of one thing and loses another, the king will seize the opportunity to send powerful generals to enter the pass westward, and Xianyang will be under control." King Chen immediately Worship Cai Ci as the Shangzhu Kingdom. Then another person came. He was Kong Yu, a contemporary great scholar who was named Lord Wentong by Qin Shihuang. When King Chen heard that Kong Yu had come, he was very happy and said: "This is a great Confucian of our time." He personally led his generals to the outskirts to greet him, and then held his hand and said, "Sir, he is a famous person in Qin State, and the First Emperor of China respects him." I'm an honored guest, and I didn't want to come here today. I'm really honored to meet you!" Kong Yu said: "The Qin State is pursuing tyranny, and the people of the world are in panic. Thanks to the rise of heroes, I am willing to do your best!" King Chen was overjoyed. He drove Kong Yu into the city in a luxury car and worshiped him as Grand Master on the same day. The arrival of Kong Kun shocked scholars all over the world, so people from all walks of life, including Confucian scholars from Qin, also came to join the army.
There is another talented person in Chen County. His surname is Zhou Mingwen and his courtesy name is Zhang. After he saw the announcement, he came to see King Chen with his sword on his back that same day. When Cai Ci of Shangzhu State heard that Zhou Wen had arrived, he happily said to King Chen: "This man once served as a guest under Huang Xie, Lord Chunshen, and later served as a military officer in Xiang Yan's army. He is also a wizard. Ah!" King Chen received him warmly. I saw that Zhou Wen was elegant and suave, and he was not confused in his late years, which is when he was full of energy. King Chen talked with him about the art of war and strategy, and Zhou Wen could answer questions fluently. King Chen sighed: "Thousands of troops are easy to get, but a general is hard to find! If I get my husband, it's like King Lu Mu got Wu Qi." So he immediately became a general.
Deng Zong from Ruyin came to join the army with thousands of soldiers. Deng Zong was superb in martial arts, skilled in bow and horse, and became a general. There was also a rich man named Song Liu from Zhi County who came to see King Chen. King Chen said: "Currently, the chariots and horses, weapons, military tents, arrows and crossbows are not fully prepared. I am worried about this matter. I heard that strong men spend their money and show justice. If we can help each other with all our resources, it will be a great blessing for the world." Song Liu He generously said: "I came here just for this matter. Now that I know the king's ambition, I am willing to donate all the money to the army for the king's use!" King Chen was very happy and asked Song Liu to Go home and prepare your things immediately. The next day, Song Liu indeed delivered dozens of carts of money and treasures. King Chen was overjoyed and made him a general. Then the sergeants were asked to take the money and materials to make weapons and uniforms and armor. In short, the people of Chu area, ranging from hundreds to thousands, whether they were fleeing soldiers or homeless people, came one after another and actively participated in the uprising. King Chen was busy recruiting new soldiers and discussing with everyone who to choose as generals. He was very busy.
Zhang Er and Chen Yu saw that King Chen was recruiting troops and selecting generals, but he ignored them, so they talked privately: "Your Majesty did not listen to our advice and established a king on his own. It turns out that he is a very selfish person. This kind of approach He may not win the hearts of the people. I think he is stubborn and will not succeed in the future." Chen Yu said: "Isn't it true? Cai Ci took the post of Shangzhu Kingdom because he was old, and Zhou Wen became a general because he was a little famous. And that Song Liu, Because we were rich, we also served as generals. We were no less famous than any of them before. But we only got the position of captain. Isn’t this looking down on others! The king has turned a blind eye to us these past few days, which is really too much!" Zhang Er was disappointed and said: "No matter what else, I have a way to achieve our fame and wealth with the help of the king's power." Chen Yu asked what the way was. Zhang Er said: "Now they are selecting generals and are going to attack in four directions to capture the land. I heard that they will also send an army to Hebei, but the generals have not been decided yet. It is a place we are familiar with, so why not go there tomorrow? When we go to court, we will take the initiative to ask the king to send you and I to lead the troops." Chen Yu said happily: "This is indeed a good idea, but what if the king doesn't let us lead the troops?" Zhang Er said coldly. He said: "If he doesn't let us lead troops, he will do the next best thing. We can be a deputy general. In any case, let's get to Hebei first." The two of them discussed it.
Early the next morning, Zhang Er reported to King Chen: "Your Majesty mobilized the troops from Liang and Chu to invade Guanzhong. I heard that he would also send troops to Hebei. I have stayed in Zhao for a long time before. I am very familiar with the mountains and terrain there. I hope your king can send me and Chen Yu to lead the army, and we will be able to capture the land. This will not only strengthen the Chu State, but also prevent the Qin army from going south. It will also be extremely beneficial for your army to enter the pass. ." After hearing Zhang Er's words, King Chen was silent for a long time, and then said: "Sir, you are a great talent. Sooner or later, I will discuss things with you. You'd better not leave!" Zhang Er said: "Your Majesty, we have all day. I feel uneasy about enjoying the salary but not making any achievements for you. If the king thinks that we are not of much use, then allow us to serve as deputies and follow the army to Hebei to help the general to make achievements!" King Chen still did not agree, so he said : "Sir, please step aside for now. I will arrange for you to go there then."
After leaving the court, the two returned to their residence. Chen Yu said: "The king really doesn't need us, what should we do?" Zhang Er said angrily: "'Shu Zi is not enough!' I didn't expect this garrison to despise us to such an extent! Huh! We will resign when the time comes!"
A few days later, King Chen saw that soldiers and horses from all walks of life were arriving one after another, and the generals were also determined. He counted the number of people and found that the total number of troops exceeded one hundred thousand. The garrisoned teams lined up their camps in the suburbs for dozens of miles. King Chen was overjoyed and gathered civil and military officials to discuss the expedition. Cai Ci of the Shangzhu Kingdom said to King Chen: "Although the general has been appointed, the newly recruited sergeants have not fought yet and do not know the rules of war. If they want to know the rules, they must obey the general's orders, so the general is very important. Now The king should build an altar to worship the general, and use a grand ceremony to show his authority to the general, and then he can go to war." King Chen ordered the soldiers to build an altar outside the city. After the altar was built, the king of Chu's flags were placed around it, and it was also equipped with white flags, yellow axes, military symbols, seals and ribbons.
One morning, the ministers gathered around King Chen and came to the altar of general worship. King Chen was very happy when he saw that the general altar was very tall. He straightened out his robes, straightened his sword and stepped onto the high altar. King Chen stood on the altar, looked around, his heart was surging, and he burned incense to worship heaven and earth, and then read loudly:
"Soldiers of the Chu State: In today's world, the Qin State has long lost the support of the people. The cruelty of the Second World War has caused great misfortune to the people of the world! I and other people with lofty ideals, relying on righteousness today, vow to wipe out the violent Qin! Qin will not be destroyed I will never give up!" As soon as he finished speaking, all the soldiers shouted in unison: "We will never give up until we destroy the Qin Dynasty!" The voice was very loud. King Chen continued: "Today, the rebel army already has 100,000 people. Today, I am holding a grand ceremony to worship the generals. The purpose is to show the power of the Chu State and the majesty of the generals. Now the generals who have been named are invited. Come on stage and accept your appointment.”
The soldiers under the altar shouted together: "Long live Zhang Chuguo! Long live the king! Long live! Long live! Long live!" The soldiers were filled with indignation and eager to try. King Chen signaled silence with his hand. When the soldiers saw King Chen's gesture, they immediately became silent. King Chen said: "I would like to worship Wu Guang as the first general to fight against the Qin Dynasty. He will act as a false king. The governor will attack Yingchuan County with his troops, seize Sanchuan County again, and wait for an opportunity to enter the pass." After Wu Guang heard the order, he One walked up to the general altar. King Chen added: "I specially worship Zhou Wen as the second general to fight against Qin. He will lead his troops to respond to General Ge Ying, capture Kaifeng, Daliang, seize Sanchuan County, and wait for an opportunity to enter the pass." Zhou Wen heard the call and stepped up to the general altar. King Chen added: "I specially worship Wu Chen as the general of the third route to fight against Qin. He will lead his troops to capture the entire territory of Hebei, restrain the Great Wall Army from going south, and ensure that the west route army enters the pass. I especially worship Deng Zong as the general of the fourth route to fight against Qin. He will lead his troops. Capture Jiujiang County and ensure the security of the rear. I specially worship Song Liu as the fifth general to fight against Qin, lead his troops westward, capture Nanyang County, and wait for an opportunity to enter Wuguan."
After the five generals heard their names, they all boarded the general altar and stood respectfully in front of King Chen. After King Chen read out the list, he awarded them yellow yue and seal ribbons, and each bowed to the general's flag. Finally, he said: "You have become the generals in charge of the army, shouldering the heavy responsibility of fighting against the powerful Qin. I hope everyone will work together." , serve the country. Please do not worry about the strength of your strength or the difficulty of the task." The generals said in unison: "We have accepted the order of the king, and we will not hesitate to go through fire and water!" King Chen nodded. , let’s give everyone a farewell drink. After a while, the commander issued a loud marching order, and then the golden drums and trumpets sounded together, and soldiers and horses from all walks of life headed in different directions to the front line against Qin.
Zhang Er, Chen Yu and other teams did not hear the call after they finished walking. They were furious and went straight to see King Chen and said: "Didn't the king promise to let us go to Hebei with the army a few days ago? But he didn't know why he didn't use us? But It doesn't matter, you have officially worshiped the military minister as the general, we will go with him and we will definitely serve the army!" King Chen said: "Both of you are talented and virtuous, how can you go to war?" Zhang Er said: "Now that all the soldiers and horses are on the front line, how can we do it without fighting? It is our wish to seize land for the country. We must not just sit back and enjoy our salary for nothing!" After saying this, he resolutely resigned. King Chen had no choice but to say: "Well, I will make you a former captain of the army and follow the army." The two said goodbye immediately and left in a hurry.
Seeing the two men leaving in a hurry, Wang Zhi said to King Chen: "Your Majesty, these two people must have gone never to return!" King Chen asked Wang Zhi how he knew. Wang Zhi replied: "The two of them have tried to persuade the king not to become king, but you have not listened to them. Now that they are resigning and leaving in such a panic, they may have other plans! If they do anything to disgrace the king in the future, I'm afraid that It is difficult to control them. Now I boldly ask your Majesty: Bring them back quickly and arrange another position?" King Chen laughed and said: "What you said is wrong. I think these two are just talkers and have nothing to do with them. Real talent and learning. Don't worry, these two people are nothing to worry about! Nothing to worry about!" Seeing that King Chen knew people so well, Wang Zhi had to sigh and retreat.
After Zhang Er and Chen Yu left Chen Cheng, they were in a good mood and said: "This trip between us is like a bird flying into the sky or a fish entering the sea, no longer bound by the net! Haha! Chen Sheng is not good enough to plan big things!" So he galloped on his horse and caught up with Wu Chen and others. After they met, they said that the king had made them the left and right captains. The military minister said: "You two are today's geniuses. The king appointed you to my army. It is really overqualified and underused. But with your help, it will be too easy to capture Hebei!" The two were also modest, and they The guard Shao Sao met each other, and then they all mounted their horses and headed north.
