Without the command of their commander, the Chu army was in a state of chaos. They were crowded in the three passes and could not move for a while. At this time, Zheng Jun outside the pass began to shout, "Listen to the Chu army stationed at Xinyang Pass and the auxiliary army in Hubei. The officers and soldiers who lay down their weapons and surrender will be treated with courtesy by our Zheng army. They will not kill, humiliate, or search their pockets. Those who are willing to go home after surrender will be given travel expenses. Those who have made meritorious services will be rewarded heavily. Those who refuse will be Those who surrender and resist to the end will be killed without mercy!"
At first, the Chu army who was closing the gate did not pay attention in the bustling noise. Later, when the voice was shouted over and over again, the Chu army finally gradually heard it clearly. For a while, everyone looked at each other and couldn't make up their minds. The city gate tower The archers of the Chu army on top were still shooting arrows downstairs. From time to time at the door, the Chu army who was hit by arrows screamed and fell to the ground, "Fuck her, if this battle is not fought, the Chu people will not attack us at all." These Edi people should be treated as human beings!" A thick voice sounded from the Chu army in Guanxia.
"Yes, I quit. We have no share in studying, and we have no share in being an official. Being a bear soldier is afraid that we will rebel. He only issues short swords, not long spears and bows. Who are I working for?" Someone in the Chu army immediately echoed.
"Brothers from Hubei, let us first rush to the city tower and chop off the Chu dogs who shot our brothers. The big man who started shouting raised the knife in his hand and took the lead in rushing towards Guanli. Immediately behind him came He followed a large group of people, all of them holding their knives high and following him to kill him.
Seeing this scene, Chen Xiaomu immediately took out the Weeping God Trumpet on his horse and played the exciting "Battle March". During the sound of the trumpet, everyone in the Zheng Army and the Hubei Army outside the Pass felt as if they had been beaten to death. Rush towards Xinyang Gate Road.
A red sun was about to burst out on the distant horizon, and thick smoke was still billowing from the Xinyangguan city tower. After a night of fighting in the pass, the pass slowly calmed down. Chu, who took the lead in fighting back to the pass last night, The military man was brought to Chen Xiaomu by Zhang Yun.
The big man was about to kneel down and salute, but Chen Xiaomu helped him up first. "What's your name? Where are you from Chu State?" Chen Xiaomu asked kindly.
The big man clasped his fists in fear, "To tell you, Jun Ye, this villain's name is Xun Ergou, and his family is in Chenzhou, Hubei Province, Chu Kingdom."
"Oh, then do you think life is better in the current Chu country or in the original E country?" Chen Xiaomu asked him.
Xun Ergou hesitated for a moment and asked in confusion, "Hasn't the State of E been destroyed by the State of Chu for more than ten years? No matter how good it is, you can't go back!"
"So, do you think your life in Hubei was better back then?"
Xun Ergou nodded and said, "Master Jun, when the E Kingdom was destroyed, I just remembered it, but I heard from my father that the old emperor of the E Kingdom was really good to us people. The only taxes he collected were other things. Half of the country, they still provide relief every time there is a famine. It’s a pity that the old emperor is a good person, but he is too weak-tempered and let the robbers take away a good country. Before I joined the army, I was a butcher. I originally killed a pig at home. Selling meat, although the tax is not light, I can live a comfortable life. But the Chu people saw that our business was more profitable, and they were jealous, so they simply organized a unified slaughter. Only the Chu people could kill pigs and sell meat. His qualifications, and his rhetoric about knife control and the like, have made us people in Hubei miserable and our families can no longer survive. We have no choice but to come and eat food and serve as soldiers, and we can barely make ends meet!"
"If someone helps you restore the original E country, would you be willing to serve as a soldier and fight?" Chen Xiaomu continued to ask him.
"Yes, not only I am willing, I think all the people from Hubei who are soldiers in the Chu army are willing. Anyway, if you don't serve as soldiers, you won't even have enough to eat, let alone support your family. I just heard that the old emperor is no longer here. , I wonder who can stand up for us people?" Xun Ergou sighed.
"Your old emperor is gone, but his daughter is still there. How about letting her stand up for you?"
Xun Ergou hesitated for a moment and asked cautiously, "Master Jun, is this old emperor's daughter a woman?"
"Pfft", Chen Xiaomu was teased by Xun Ergou and couldn't help laughing, "Of course the old emperor's daughter is a woman, what? You look down on women?"
"This, this" Xun Ergou muttered for a long time before he finally said, "Master Jun, there has never been a woman as emperor in history!"
"Women are generally kind-hearted. When I become the emperor, I might treat you better than the old emperor! What's more, she is the old emperor's daughter."
"That's true." Xi Ergou thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.
"Then do you think this is good? I am appointing you as the commander now. You can help us collect some of the Hubei soldiers who were scattered last night to form an Hubei army. They will be under the control of General Zhang Yun. When the time comes, Zhang Yun will How about General Yun allocating some more military expenses to you?" Chen Xiaomu said to Xi Ergou in a negotiating tone.
"Master Jun, this commander is a high-ranking official. I was just a senior officer in the Chu army. I'm afraid I won't be able to do it!" Hearing that Chen Xiaomu wanted to appoint him as commander, Xi Ergou suddenly felt at a loss.
"Not everyone is born to be an official. Learn by doing. How about you give it a try first?" Chen Xiaomu advised him.
"Okay, since this military master thinks so highly of me, I'll do it." Xun Ergou rolled up his sleeves and turned around to collect the scattered Hubei soldiers.
"Mr. Chen, this person seems to be illiterate. He probably can't even write a military report, and he doesn't even have a city government. You promoted him from a junior officer to a commander in one fell swoop. Level 6, are you a little willful?" Zhang Yun immediately said to Chen Xiaomu when he saw Ergou Xun walking away.
Chen Xiaomu glanced at Zhang Yun, "General Zhang, can't you see that this battle has come to this point? Now that Xinyang Pass is broken, there will no longer be any dangerous pass in Chu State that can stop us from advancing. Yecheng, the capital of Chu, has made progress. Originally, I estimated that the restoration of Hubei would take three months, but now it seems that it can be completed in more than a month at most."
"Mr. Chen, did I hear you correctly? Are you going to attack Yecheng, the capital of Chu?" Zhang Yun's eyes were as wide as bells.
Chen Xiaomu nodded and said, "You heard me right, I want to march into Yecheng, the capital of Chu, to force the Emperor of Chu to sign a city-wide alliance with me, so that Chu will give up the land of E that it originally annexed."
Zhang Yun shook his head in disbelief and reminded: "Mr. Chen, although the Chu State is currently lacking in military strength, Yecheng is the capital of the Chu State after all. Even now, the garrison will not be less than 150,000 people. We can't do that with a small number of people." , It’s like hitting an egg against a rock!”
Chen Xiaomu reached out and patted Zhang Yun's shoulder and said with a smile: "General Zhang, I, Chen Xiaomu, am neither stupid nor stupid. I will never touch an egg against a stone. I know what I should do. Our top priority now is to get Ximen first." Ruoen set up the team for the restoration of the country first, so as not to be caught off guard! Do you know that Ergou you just looked down on, why should I use him? You said he is illiterate, in my opinion, in the country of E In the early days of the restoration of the country, we need people like this. What's wrong with being illiterate? Isn't he very attractive? He was not the one who led the fight back last night. According to my prediction, we are still fighting with the Chu army. Besides, he is illiterate and doesn’t have that many tricks up his sleeve, and he has a particularly good impression of Ximen Ruoen’s father. Wouldn’t it be good to give him a little training after the restoration of the country and make him responsible for guarding the safety of the palace?”
"Then my cousin is not the prime minister?" Although Zhang Yun thought it was too early, he still joked.
Unexpectedly, Chen Xiaomu actually nodded and replied: "Yes, if there is no other candidate for the emperor Ximen Ruoen, I would like to recommend Mr. Du to be the first prime minister after the restoration of Hubei."
"What about yourself, Mr. Chen? You are the most serious contributor to the founding of Hubei!" Zhang Yun asked curiously.
"I don't want an official position, and besides, I'm not from your country of E. Being an official of your country of your country is unfair, so why don't I just be a person of idle clouds and wild cranes?"
"Impossible!" Zhang Yun shook his head, "At that time, if you say you don't want the official position, our emperor will definitely give it to you!"
"If it doesn't work out then, I will be a consultant." Chen Xiaomu said with a smile.
"Advisor?" Zhang Yunke had never heard of an official position with this name. He asked in surprise, "Mr. Chen, does this consultant have a higher official position than the prime minister?"
"Consultant is not an official position, how should I say it?" Chen Xiaomu raised his head and thought for a moment, then said: "Actually, this consultant is just a false position, similar to what I am now. He comes up with ideas behind the emperor, but has no decision-making power. The emperor thinks your idea is good. , maybe it will be used, and if the idea doesn't suit her, she can just ignore it."
"Haha, what do you call an official? You might as well go home and coax your children!" Zhang Yun laughed.
The two were joking when Ximen Ruoen came over. From afar, he heard Zhang Yun's words about going home to coax the children, and asked with a smile, "General Zhang, this is the time when you are doing something big, why are you doing this again?" Suddenly you have to go home to comfort your children?"
When Zhang Yun saw Ximen Ruoen, he quickly pretended to kneel down and shouted: "Long live my emperor before I meet you!"
Ximen Ruoen quickly stretched out his hands to help him up, and said angrily: "It's still early! Besides, I may not be the emperor by then."
As soon as Chen Xiaomu heard what Ximen Ruoen said, he immediately said seriously to Ximen Ruoen: "Your Royal Highness, General Zhang is really not joking. I predict that you will ascend the throne in more than a month at most. You can't consider you now." My brother who was lost outside, even if your brother comes back now, these generals who followed you in the expedition will not support him as the new emperor of Hubei!"
"So fast?" Ximen Ruoen looked at Chen Xiaomu with shock in her eyes. In her mind, such a big thing as the restoration of the country might not be possible for ten or eight years. Now she still has more than a month. She was about to ascend the throne, and she really wasn't even mentally prepared.
"Don't be too busy fighting with us on the battlefield recently. Your most urgent matter now is where you will be enthroned in more than a month. Should the country's name be changed? Will the country's capital remain in the former country of E? The old capital, Dongdu, as well as the reign name and the candidates for officials in the DPRK, are all things you have to consider. It would be great if Mr. Du were here now, but he has not arrived yet, so you have to make some plans in your mind first. , will be supplemented and improved in the future.”
After Ximen Ruoen heard Chen Xiaomu's words, he immediately felt as if a big mountain was pressing down on him! It made her feel a little breathless.
After capturing Xinyang Pass, Chen Xiaomu did not give the Chu court a chance to breathe. In addition to deploying 2,000 troops from Zhang Yun's tribe to guard Xinyang Pass, he also integrated some troops from the Hubei auxiliary army in Xinyang Pass to make up enough troops. More than 20,000 people rushed to Wusheng Pass behind Xinyang Pass overnight. After a night of rapid march, Chen Xiaomu's leading troops had arrived outside Wusheng Pass at noon the next day. Wusheng Pass did not have a tower as high as Xinyang Pass, and it was far away. The city wall of Wusheng Pass does not look like a city wall. It looks like a winding hill. There are less than 5,000 Chu troops in the pass. Except for Wu Ting, the tooth general guarding the pass, and his more than 100 personal guards, they are Chu soldiers. people, and the rest are auxiliary troops recruited from Hubei.
Wu Ting had not received news of the fall of Xinyang Pass until now. After hearing the report from the soldiers defending the city, Wu Ting climbed up the wall of Wusheng Pass and watched the troops outside the pass who were wearing both Chu and Zheng armors. The motley crew, for a moment, couldn't figure out what was going on.
This strange motley army outside the city finally stopped about a mile away from the Wushengguan city wall, and began to assemble the trebuchet on the ground slowly. Only when the trebuchet was completed did Wu Ting see it. This is a trebuchet. It's not that he has never seen a trebuchet before. It's just that this is the first time he has seen a trebuchet that can be taken apart and carried with him and then assembled and used.
Wu Ting was shocked when he saw the trebuchet taking shape. He understood that the motley army outside the pass was coming with bad intentions. He hurriedly waved his hand to all the archers on the city wall to prepare their arrows for firing. At this time, the trebuchet assembled outside the pass had already been thrown out. For the first explosive package, Wu Ting only saw an oilcloth package with a small puff of smoke rolling in the air and flying towards him. He quickly dodged to the side on the city wall. It may be that the trebuchet did not have enough projectile power. , the oilcloth bag did not hit the city wall, but hit the root of the city wall. With a loud bang, a thick smoke carrying sand and stones rose into the sky, and a large gap was opened in the city wall of Wushengguan. , Wu Ting was also directly knocked off the city wall by the impact of the explosive, and his ears were buzzing from the shock.
