Zitong City.鲲
The flag of the Qin army fluttered in the wind.
Zhang Ji, the general of the Qin army, stood at the top of the city and laughed loudly as he looked at Liu Sui who fainted on the ground. The surrounding Shu troops hurriedly helped Liu Sui onto his horse and ran back with him.
Ha ha!
Zhang Jiken came to the tower to sit and drink tea. Isn't this what he was waiting for? After suffering a loss at Jianguan before, he finally let go of the depression.
In the distance, a group of dusty soldiers and horses also appeared in the field of vision, and the Chu army had arrived.
"General, do you want to shoot an arrow?"
Now, the dozen or so Shu troops are still within shooting range.鲲
There was a bit of disdain in Zhang Ji's laughter.
"That's it. Let the few remaining defeated generals go. Maybe they are more willing to surrender to those who defeated them, so let them continue to escape."
"Compared with this, we should hurry up and invite the other two generals. Since the Chu army and the Shu army have finished fighting, it's time for us to go up."
"As you command!"
The soldier turned around and was about to send a message when Fan Chou and Meng Da had already arrived at the top of the city. Fan Chou spoke first.
"Old Zhang, I heard that the Chu people won the battle? How many people do they have left?"
Zhang Ji looked back, touched his chin and said.鲲
"The spies said that the battlefield was very tragic. The Shu army was scattered by the floods and was killed by the Chu army. Now Wei Yan stayed there to collect the surrender troops and only sent his subordinates Lu Xun and Huo Yi with four soldiers. Five thousand people chased Liu Quan. If you ask me this number, I’m afraid they haven’t counted their own people clearly yet.”
Then you have to hurry up.
Fan Chou showed a bloodthirsty smile.
"First eat the soldiers and horses that are in your mouth. How can Wei Yan withstand the 30,000 elite soldiers of the Qin Dynasty with a patchwork army?"
"Haha, since you have the same idea, let's prepare our troops and set off without further delay. General Meng Da, I will ask you to stay in Zitong."
Zhang Ji nodded. He and Fan Chou have partnered many times and they still have a good understanding.
This is of course the best choice. After all, although the officers under Meng Da's command defected to the Qin army, the two armies had a lot of personal grievances, and it was inevitable to be suspicious of them if they acted together. Of course, there were also officers who opposed surrendering to the Qin army, but they were removed by Meng Da's tactics.鲲
In this case, it would be best not to go to the battlefield.
Meng Da was happy in his heart, but there was a look of confusion on his face.
"The two adults have worked hard all the way from Hanzhong to Jianguan, and then from Jianguan to Zitong. Now they only have a night's rest, and they are chasing the Chu army non-stop. Meng Da feels ashamed in his heart. It is better for the two adults to leave one behind. General defends the city, and I will go out with the adults!"
Fan Chou was simple-minded. Hearing this, he felt a little more favorable towards the surrendered general. He was about to agree but was interrupted by Zhang Ji.
Although Zhang Ji's martial arts skills were mediocre, he was a little more thoughtful. He understood that Meng Da was showing his loyalty, and now was also a good time to appease Meng Da's surrendering army.
"Zijing just needs to stay in Zitong to defend the city. We don't trust others to defend the city!"
"Before departure, the young master repeatedly confessed that over the years, Zi Jing helped the young master secretly subdue the Shuzhong family, and also looked for opportunities to welcome our troops into the pass many times. His hard work is very meritorious! If the rebellion in Hanzhong had not been quelled, the young master would have come to reward him personally. In addition, The memorial for you to commend me has been sent to Chang'an. I just need to wait for your majesty to stamp it with the jade seal and the decree comes back. You will be a general of Qin like us."
"There's no need to call us adults politely. I'll just wait for brothers to be worthy of each other."
Mengda was overjoyed when he heard this, his face flushed, and he immediately bowed to the north.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, Your Majesty for your kindness. Meng Da will do his best until he dies."
Fan Chou and Zhang Ji helped Meng Da up with kind faces, and Zhang Ji explained again.
"Zijing only needs to sit in Zitong. We need Zijing to put more thought into the food and fodder for our army."
It was Zhang Ji's idea to let Meng Da take charge of the grain roads in the rear. After all, the Qin army was also an army from afar and did not understand the roads of Shu. If they were responsible for it themselves, I'm afraid they would have to rely on robbery.
The problem is that in the area they want to go to, the Chu army seems to have already captured a round of granaries. If you go to rob the people, firstly, it will be difficult to manage in the future, secondly, it will take too much time and miss the opportunity to fight, and thirdly, the young master will definitely be blamed if he finds out.鲲
"Brother Zhang, just don't worry, Da will live up to his trust!"
Meng Da assured the two of them, but in fact Liu Xu had already taken away half of the food and grass in the treasury when he went on the expedition.
The amount of food and grass consumed by the army during marching operations and where the army is stationed is very different.
Later, when the Qin army of 30,000 troops sets off, they may have to take away half of the remaining supplies. Mengda's remaining army may have to go to the market to purchase military rations. But Meng Da thinks it doesn't matter. The worst case scenario is to rob Zitong's family. If the Chu army can do it, our Qin army can't?
······
In the evening, the Qin army pursued them to a temporary camp.
The surrounding layout was simple, with only some rough fences and traps built, and there was still a faint residual warmth from the extinguished cooking fire.鲲
Fan Chou looked at Zhang Ji who was touching the charcoal ashes in the cooking pit and said.
"Why don't we rest here tonight, which will save us the effort of setting up camp. The soldiers are also tired."
"Okay, but the campground is a little crowded."
Zhang Ji looked around and said absently.
"The Yulin Army should number about five thousand, so we should not be careless. Build a few more watchtowers and place some hidden sentries around them."
Fan Chou looked at Zhang Ji in disbelief.
"What? Are you still afraid that they would dare to turn around and attack us?" Ao
You must know that the Chu army sneaked into the hinterland of Shu from Yong'an. They slept in the open and attacked day and night, and finally defeated Liu Huang's army. They must have reached the end of their strength now, and Fan Chou didn't quite believe that they still had the guts to make trouble with Tai Sui.
Zhang Ji gave Fan Chou a roll of his eyes and explained helplessly.
"Be careful with the Wannian ship! You know the importance of this trip south. If the Yulin Army hadn't changed so suddenly, the young master would have only had time to mobilize the troops in Hanzhong. I'm afraid the news would have spread back to Chang'an, and Marquis Wen would have rushed to Shu. The country is trying to steal credit."
In Zhang Ji's view, the Qin army's march south should be at the beginning of next spring, or at the earliest by the end of this year!
It was a complete surprise to win Zitong this time. Everyone thought that the Chu army and the Shu army would fight to the death in the east. Unexpectedly, the Chu army actually reached the northern border and caused great chaos. The Qin army was completely unprepared! But he got a bargain for nothing, and even had the opportunity to pocket most of the Shu land.
cut!
Seeing Zhang Ji worrying about gains and losses, Fan Chou sneered and said.鲲
"You are still a little suspicious."
"Lu Xun and Huo Yi may have an elite force at their disposal, but we are waiting for work in Zitong. Aren't we just bullying him into a tired army that has been fighting for a long time? If he dares to turn around and touch us, it is like an egg touching a rock!"
"As for the entire northern border of Shu, it has almost been penetrated by Wei Yan. At present, his miscellaneous surrender troops are more than his own troops. Our top priority is to eliminate the elites of Lu Xun and Huo Yi. At that time, Wei Yan will probably I can’t even control his surrendering troops!”
"Let me see, the most important thing is the word 'quick'. Destroy Lu Xun and Huo Yi, then Wei Yan, and finally Liu Zhang. The Shu Kingdom will be stable, and Ji Shu will control Yong'an County at most. Young Master knows , and also praise us for our ability to do things!"
When Zhang Ji heard this, he felt that it was pretty much the same, and he was a little surprised.
"Ha, you are such a reckless man, and you can occasionally tell some truth. Yes, what we should worry about most is that if it takes too long, that old guy Liu Zhang will simply give up Yong'an and Jiangzhou, and lead Ji Shu's army into Shu to confront our army. .To deal with the Yulin Army, we want to take advantage of his illness and kill him! Kill him before Liu Zhang can react and kill him at the gates of Chengdu. A big deal can be accomplished!"
The two laughed a lot, adding a bit of joy to the scene of river clams fighting and the fisherman profiting.鲲
