In the Yingshui camp of the Qin army, a three-foot-high banner (dào) was erected outside the general's tent, representing the identity and majesty of the general Li Xin.
However, the first thing Meng Wu announced in the commander's tent was: "Li Xin has been defeated."
The generals already knew the result, and there was silence in the tent, with a layer of gloom covering everyone's faces.
Whether it was those who agreed with Li Xin's surprise attack strategy or the generals who had always been unfavorable about this strategy, by now, everyone knew that something was wrong.
Li Xin's 30,000 chariots and cavalry were nearly annihilated by the Chu army, leaving only a few thousand people fleeing in panic. How pitiful. Correspondingly, it also means that Qin's war against Chu has failed. At least they can no longer complete the strategic goal of destroying Chu.
Not only will their previous efforts be wasted and they will not be able to achieve meritorious service and be promoted, but they will also be looked down upon by countless Qin people after returning to Xianyang. This battle against Chu not only had high hopes from the king, but also placed the aspirations of countless Qin people.
No one would be willing to do so. In addition to scolding Li Xin in their hearts for his rashness and recklessness, the generals were also thinking of remedies.
But at this time, Meng Wu said: "I want to lead the army back to Huaiyang and give up the attack on Xiangcheng."
Hearing this, the generals were in an uproar, even more excited than when they heard the news of Li Xin's defeat.
General Pi Yang Yuan stood up first and said with excitement: "General Meng, this must not be done!"
"Although General Li was defeated, there is still hope for a turning point in the war against Chu. After days of fierce attacks by our army, the north wall of Xiangcheng is about to collapse, and there are countless casualties among the Chu troops in the city. Our army has been attacking the city for days. Although we have suffered losses, we are still in danger. There are still more than 60,000 soldiers here who can fight. If we attack fiercely for a few days at most, our army will be able to capture Xiangcheng!"
"If our army can capture Xiangcheng, we can open up the road to the south. Maybe we can defeat the Chu army that intercepted General Li, and then we can take advantage of the opportunity to seize the city in Huaibei. In that case, this time we attack Chu , even if we are unable to destroy Chu, we can at least capture many cities, enough to answer to the king."
Another general, Han Zhong, also agreed: "Yes, General Meng. If we withdraw at this time, our army's previous achievements will be wasted. And if General Li is defeated, he will definitely come north from the sleeping hill to join our army in Xiangcheng." , if the general withdraws his troops at this time, the Xiangcheng defenders will leave the city, which will definitely block General Li's escape route, and General Li will be trapped in death. This is absolutely impossible."
"Yeah yeah……"
Other generals and colonels also echoed.
Meng Wu gave everyone a cold look.
He knew very well what these people were thinking.
Everything they said was an excuse.
It was nothing more than seeing that Xiangcheng was about to be conquered, and the credit was about to be obtained, and no one was willing to give it away.
Li Xin's defeat must be a serious crime.
Although their team did not participate in Li Xin's surprise attack and would not bear too much responsibility, they have been stuck under Xiang City with no success. Who would be willing to go back like this?
At this time, as long as we attack fiercely for a few more days, we can capture Xiangcheng and chop off the heads of tens of thousands of Chu people in the city. This is all military merit!
Such a great victory, compared with Li Xin's defeat, wouldn't it highlight their contribution even more? Even if they failed to destroy Chu this time, they could return to Qin with their heads held high without worrying about being punished.
To be honest, Meng Wu was also very excited. Taking Xiangcheng and destroying the tens of thousands of Chu troops in the city would not only give them merit, but also eliminate Chu's effective forces, giving Qin a greater advantage when it attacks Chu next time.
only……
Meng Wu thought of the letter written by Li Xin that he received last night. The letter was written on silk and was delivered by Li Xin's bodyguard day and night. Meng Wu burned it after reading it.
The content of the letter is very important and very surprising.
Li Xin said in the letter that the reason why his raid on Shouchun failed this time was because someone within the Qin army leaked his plan, allowing Li Xin's surprise attack route to be known to the Chu army, so Xiang Yan could gather Chu in advance. The soldiers from the eastern border intercepted Xia Cai in Juyang, and finally caused the Qin army to suffer a major defeat.
In Meng Wu's view, Li Xin's words inevitably seemed to shirk responsibility, but if he thought about it carefully, it also frightened Meng Wu.
Xiang Yan's banner was clearly still stuck in Xiang City, but he ran hundreds of miles away to the Xiacai area in Juyang, which was the only way Li Xin could attack Shouchun. How to explain this coincidence? ?
The Chu troops recruited from the eastern part of Chu State were supposed to come to Xiangcheng to support them, but instead they all went south to intercept and kill Li Xin. How did the Chu people know and deploy their troops in advance?
Everything proves that Xiang Yan has an intelligence source that lets him know the route of Li Xin's surprise attack, so that he can make corresponding arrangements.
There's a mole!
But Meng Wu didn't dare to talk nonsense, because that person's identity was too important, and he and Li Xin were not something he and Li Xin could slander and accuse at will without evidence.
According to Qin law, those who make false accusations will be punished.
Therefore, Meng Wu was also very entangled at the moment. The generals were unwilling to withdraw their troops. If they were forced to withdraw, they might be unstable. But if the siege of Xiangcheng continues, and the man in Huaiyang City is really a traitor, serious trouble will surely arise. Thinking of these words, Meng Wuzhi felt like a light on his back, and could not sit still.
At this time, the generals were still persuading Meng Wu, hoping that he could continue to attack Xiangcheng.
Meng Wu took a deep breath and finally thought of a way.
"In this case, the army continues to attack Xiangcheng. We must capture this city in five days!"
"In addition, if General Li is defeated in this battle, the news will spread to the rear, which may cause uneasiness among the Chu people. Yang Yuan, please arrange a group of soldiers to retreat to Huaiyang to take charge of the army and implement military management to prevent the local Chu people from moving!"
…
Xiangcheng.
Zhou Wen looked out from the broken female wall and saw the brightly lit Qin camp in the distance. Countless figures were filing out with torches and running towards Xiangcheng. At the same time, war drums were playing.
"Is the Qin army going to attack at night again?"
Zhou Wen took a breath. You must know that usually when two armies are fighting, they will try their best to avoid night battles unless necessary.
Especially in siege battles, without daylight, it is easy for soldiers climbing the city to be affected. Many people simply missed and fell down before they could climb the wall. The casualties of the attackers would be very high. Unless they want to take advantage of the unpreparedness of the defenders to launch a sneak attack, few generals would choose to attack the city at night.
The Qin army had attacked the city several times day and night before. Although the Chu army in the city was exhausted, the Qin army also suffered heavy casualties. Within a few days, it gave up the night battle and only attacked the city during the day.
Why did they launch a night attack again today? Is the Qin army commander crazy?
Zhou Wen quickly retreated from the city wall and rushed to the commander's tent in the city to report.
At the same time, the tired Chu soldiers in the city also received military orders and went to the city wall to defend themselves against the enemy.
In Xiang City, after hearing Zhou Wen's report, Xiang Qu, the leader of the Chu army who was sitting here, was not only not in a hurry, but instead laughed and said: "The Qin army is going to attack Xiang City at night, hahaha, it seems they are in a hurry!"
"They're in a hurry!"
Smiling, Xiang Qu's face turned red with excitement.
He whispered: "This is a signal. Counting the time, my father should defeat Li Xin. He is about to arrive. At that time, we will have the opportunity to fight back."
Xiang Qu stood up immediately and issued an order: "Let the ten thousand elites in the city who have not been on the city wall to fight be ready. It is time to use them in the next few days!"
…
Huaiyang, the former Chu State Chen Ying.
"Young Master Qi."
Xiong Qi held a silk letter in his hand and murmured this title.
Lord Changping of Qin.
Qi, the prince of Chu State.
These are his two identities.
In the first half of Xiong Qi's life, he lived in Qin as Lord Changping.
Together with Chang Wenjun, he worked for the King of Qin to quell the Lao Ai Rebellion and attack Lu Buwei's party. After that, he worked conscientiously in the position of Prime Minister of Qin for nearly ten years. For Qin's great cause of dominating the world, Xiong Qi could be said to have dedicated his whole life.
However, later on, he found that his heart had changed.
King Qin wanted to annex the world, and Chu was the country he was destined to perish.
The country that Xiong Qi's ancestors once ruled, that ancient country with Zhu Rong's blood and inheritance for eight hundred years, was about to perish in the hands of the Qin people, and it would also perish in the hands of Xiong Qi.
Whenever he thought about this, Xiong Qi felt his heart hurt.
Although he is a child abandoned by his father in the Qin Kingdom, the blood of the Xiong family named Mi is still flowing in his body.
Does he, Xiong Qi, really want to destroy his ancestral country with his own hands?
His clan brother Chang Wenjun told him that Qin was strong and Chu was weak, and Qin's destruction of Chu was the general trend. They could not stop it, so it was better to focus on the longer term.
Fusu!
The child born to Chu Nu has the same blood as them, and is also a true descendant of Zhu Rong.
They only need to influence Fusu and make Fusu like the culture of Chu, the clothes of Chu, and everything about Chu...
It doesn't matter if Qin destroys Chu, as long as the two of them can help Fu Su ascend to power.
At that time, when Qin Wangzheng is dead and Fu Su succeeds to the throne, the rulers of the world will still be the descendants of the ancestor Zhu Rong, who are from Chu!
Fusu will promote the culture of Chu throughout the world, allowing everyone in the world to wear Chu clothes, speak Chu language, worship the phoenix of Chu, worship the ancestor of Zhu Rong, and worship the god of Taiyi.
The state of Chu died.
But the whole world will become the new Chu State.
Wouldn't it be wonderful to change the world like this?
Xiong Qi was once persuaded by Chang Wenjun, and the two of them worked hard to influence Fusu. With their efforts, Fusu, who had neglected to pay attention because the King of Qin was busy with political affairs, really developed in the direction they expected.
Fusu spoke of the sound of Chu, wore Chu clothes, was fond of Confucianism, loved to read silk paintings from Chu, and even liked to eat tangerines from Chu. He always had a sense of compassion in his heart, which was completely different from his father Qin Wangzheng.
Although they are said to be from Qin, they are actually more like Chu people.
Just when Chang Wenjun was complacent and thought their plan was going to succeed.
Xiong Qi discovered that Qin Wangzheng had seen through everything.
"It's useless. The more we make Fusu look like a Chu man, the less likely the king will let him take over Qin."
Xiong Qi murmured to himself that he understood the politics of King Qin and Lord Chang Wen's plan was destined to fail.
If Fusu, who is very much like the Chu people, cannot inherit the throne, then the Chu Kingdom will be dead in the past 800 years, but it will be really dead.
From that moment on, Xiong Qi had new ideas in his mind.
"I don't want Chu to perish."
Xiong Qi stood up from the couch, his eyes becoming firm.
"I am Xiong Qi, a descendant of Emperor Gaoyang, and a true son of the Chu Kingdom!"
"How could I let my motherland perish!"
A sound of footsteps approached quickly.
Xiong Qi's cronies walked in hurriedly and reported: "Junhou, there is news from the army that General Mengwu will arrange a song of soldiers to come and take over Huaiyang. He said that he is afraid that the news of General Li Xin's defeat will cause a stir here. The people of Chu were uneasy and sent a special army to guard them."
Xiong Qi was startled.
He served as prime minister for ten years and stayed in Huaiyang for another year. He had already established informants and confidants everywhere, so he had already received the news before the soldiers sent by Mengwu arrived.
"Did you notice something?"
"Or maybe Meng Wu is too prudent and that's why he arranged it like this."
Xiong Qi's eyes narrowed.
After thinking for a while, he whispered: "No matter what the reason is, those five thousand people cannot be allowed to enter the city, otherwise it will be difficult to accomplish anything. I can only start the attack in advance, but it is only two days away from the time agreed by Xiang Yan. I think he will be able to arrive in time and the impact will not be big."
With that said, Xiong Qi left his bed and said to his relatives: "Let's go, follow me to wake up the Chu people in this city. Let Huaiyang become the Chen Ying capital of our Chu country again."
"Wei, Lord."
The confidant promised.
Xiong Qi stopped and gave the confidant a cold look.
"Don't call me Junhou again."
"Call me young master."
"I am Qi, the Young Master of Chu Kingdom!"
Thanks to book friend 20181204222721987 for the reward and all book friends for voting and supporting, thank you!
(End of chapter)
