"You'er's attack on Chu will definitely achieve great results."
Li Si walked into the palace gate with a happy face. He nodded to the several lieutenants who greeted him, and then strode into the depths of the towering Qin Palace.
Li Si was very happy.
Because since the war against Chu officially started, all the good news coming back from the front line was good news.
Initially, when Li Xin chose to divide his forces and lead 30,000 strange troops to insert from the flank of Chu State, the strategy of raiding Shouchun was reported back to the Qin court.
There was an uproar in the entire Qin court. Headed by Bang Wei Wei Liao and several veterans on the battlefield, they criticized Li Xin's tactics, believing that this strategy was too dangerous and strange, and that one careless move could lead to destruction.
Some people even quietly discussed the mistake in this selection of generals, thinking that Meng Wu should be the main general and Li Xin the deputy general.
Many veterans were not optimistic about Li Xin's strategy. Under this situation, Li Si was naturally worried.
He was a disciple of Xun Qing, a master of Confucianism and Legalism, and a good master of state governance.
However, he is an outsider in matters of military warfare. At most, he can talk to people based on the art of war he has seen, but he is not very good at putting it into practice.
Since the veterans all say that Li Xin is not good, then most likely he is not good.
Li Si felt a little regretful that he actually entrusted Li You to Li Xin's command. If something happened, everything would be over.
But his decision to let Li You go to the battlefield was actually not wrong.
Qin's destruction of the six kingdoms has come to an end.
There are only Qi, Chu and Zandai left in the world. If Li You doesn't rush to the battlefield to get some military glory when Chu is destroyed, there will be no way to quickly achieve meritorious service and be promoted in the future. Not to mention that Li You was uneasy because of the incident involving Princess Zhao Tuo. Going to the battlefield to perform meritorious service was also a way to cheer him up.
Of course, the most important thing is that Qin is strong and Chu is weak. In the eyes of knowledgeable people, they all know that Qin will destroy Chu.
So Li Si was very relieved about this war.
I just didn't expect that Li Xin was so unreliable that he would choose such a dangerous strategy.
Fortunately, after Li Xin broke into Chu, good news came back to Qin every once in a while.
Li Xin has conquered Pingyu.
General Li has taken the sleeping hill.
The bold General Li has captured Hu Yi.
General Li, who is brave and skillful in fighting, has crossed the Ying River and is about to go to Xia Cai to drink Ma Huai River.
South of the Huai River is Shouchun...
The Chu State seemed not to have expected Li Xin's tactics, and allowed Li Xin's strange army to rampage in its hinterland and march towards Shouchun, the capital of Chu.
Li Xin's heart-stealing tactic is about to succeed!
"Li Xin is the flying general among the few!"
At the great court meeting, Qin Wangzheng personally praised Li Xin as "Flying General" in front of all the ministers, and his pride was beyond words.
The king also praised Li Xin for his bravery and courage, and his legacy of Wu'an. He compared Li Xin with Bai Qi, who had gone deep into the Chu territory alone and defeated Yan Ying. This made the veteran generals remain silent and did not dare to slander Li Xin's strategy. .
This made Li Si, who seemed worried at first, feel happy again.
"You'er followed Li Xin to defeat Shouchun and captured Fuchu. This is a great achievement. When he returns to Qin, the king will definitely promote him to the next level. This will also make him feel at ease and cheer up."
"When the time comes, I will become a Tingwei, and You'er will be a noble of the right concubine. The king may even let him become the princess, fulfilling his wish."
"But if the king chooses Zhao Tuo for Princess Yinman, I have to enlighten You'er and make him give up his intention to compete. I must not anger the king because of a princess and delay my future."
Li Si strode forward while thinking in his heart.
He had already received a hint from Qin Wangzheng that after the battle against Chu, he intended to let him serve as a Tingwei.
Tingwei is in charge of criminal and prison law matters.
In the Qin State, where the country is governed by law and the law is supreme, the position of Tingwei can be said to be extremely powerful and is a truly powerful position.
This made Li Si excited. This was the time when he had served Qin Wangzheng for many years and was about to be rewarded.
Therefore, he was even more unwilling to antagonize Zhao Tuo, who was favored by the king, so as not to anger the king and delay his own future.
"Isn't she Princess Shang? Your Majesty has ten daughters, and one of you will always have your turn."
While thinking about it, Li Si had already arrived at the gate of the palace where Qin Wangzheng summoned him.
"I wonder what good news is coming back from the front this time. Could it be that Li Xin has crossed the Huai River and his troops are surrounding Shouchun?"
"Or have you broken Shouchun and caught the good news that came back from Fuchu?"
Li Si had already learned that a messenger from the front line rushed into Xianyang early this morning. It seemed that it was a good news from Li Xin.
However, when he walked into the palace, he was stunned.
Slips and slips were scattered all over the floor.
Qin Wangzheng sat on the couch with a dark face.
Yao Jiayi sat aside with a cold face.
Li Si's heart skipped a beat, knowing that something was not going well.
Without Wei Liao, Wei Zhuang, Feng Quji and other important military officials, there were only two confidants of the king, Yao Jia and himself. Coupled with Qin Wangzheng's expression, Li Si knew that the matter was very difficult.
"Li Xin lost."
Qin Wangzheng said coldly.
"This morning, military information came from the Mengwu Department. Li Xin captured Caihou, but was intercepted from the rear by Xiang Yan. He was severely defeated. Now he is fleeing westward in a hurry. Of the 30,000 elites, there is probably not even one out of ten."
Li Si swallowed his saliva, and his good political quality allowed him to immediately suppress the shock and worry about Li You, and hurriedly raised his hands and said: "Your Majesty, don't be anxious. Although Li Xin was defeated, General Mengwu still has 70,000 troops. The outcome of this battle against Chu is yet to be determined."
"Well, I mean the same thing."
Qin Wangzheng nodded and said coldly: "Wei Liao thinks that once Li Xin is defeated, it is no longer possible to destroy Chu this time. He wants to let me withdraw my troops and look for opportunities again. Haha..."
"It's easy for him, Wei Liao. This time, in order to destroy the Chu Kingdom, I dispatched 200,000 troops and spent countless amounts of food and fodder. I even told the world and declared my heart. How can I give up the war easily!"
"Li Xin is defeated if he is defeated, but Meng Wu still has 70,000 soldiers and more than 100,000 auxiliary soldiers, more than when Wang Ben destroyed Wei. Why can't he win the Chu State? I want to issue an edict and order Meng Wu will be the main general and let him take charge of the campaign against Chu."
"We will never give up until Chu is destroyed in this battle!"
Li Si saw that Qin Wangzheng's words were resounding, and knew that the king had made up his mind. He called Li Si here not to discuss, but to ask him to offer advice and suggestions based on this decision.
His son was trapped in the battlefield of attacking Chu, and he did not know whether he was alive or dead. Naturally, Li Si did not agree with Wei Liao's strategy of withdrawing his troops.
After thinking for a moment, he nodded in agreement and said, "What the king said is that General Meng Wu should be the main general and lead the army to advance steadily. It may take some time, but with the strength of our Qin State, it will be a matter of time to capture Jingchu." .”
"It's just that now that Li Xin has been defeated, this news should not be spread in the country, otherwise it will cause fear in the head of Guizhou, disturb the hearts of our people, and give some people with treacherous intentions an opportunity to take advantage of."
"I ask your Majesty to block this news until General Meng Wu defeats the Chu army. Then it can be released together. If there is news of a great victory, Li Xin's incident will not cause waves."
Qin Wangzheng showed a rare smile. He nodded and said: "You are right. At this time, it is really inappropriate for this news to spread. Yao Jia."
"I'm here."
Yao Jia hurriedly stood up and accepted the promise.
"You are responsible for this matter, from the high officials and nobles to the heads of the people and Guizhou people. Anyone who dares to speak out about Li Xin's affairs will be punished!"
At the end of the sentence, Qin Wangzheng had murderous intent in his eyes.
Li Xin was his chosen general.
Talking about Li Xin's defeat, isn't it just talking about his mistakes in the selection of generals in the Qin Dynasty?
Can this be allowed?
Soon, Li Si and Yao Jia were ordered to retreat.
After the two left, Qin Wangzheng was still sitting on the couch, looking forward with a daze in his eyes.
There is a distance of two to three thousand miles from the front line of Chu Chu to Xianyang. Even if Xinqi keeps running day and night to deliver messages, it will take at least half a month or even more than twenty days. So what they knew about Li Xin's fiasco was actually news a long time ago.
But Qin Wangzheng was not too worried about the safety of the Mengwu Department.
Because of Meng Wu's calmness, 70,000 soldiers and more than 100,000 auxiliary troops, and the help of Lord Changping in Huaiyang City, there is no risk of defeat in the short term, which is enough for Qin Wangzheng to change his strategy and let Meng Wu Lai presided over the attack on Chu.
After a long time, Qin Wangzheng sighed softly, and the figure of a young man seemed to appear in front of him.
"Thanks to you, I chose Meng Wu. Otherwise, if I really chose Meng Tian, there would be no chance of success in this battle."
"Your contribution will be remembered by me."
"It's just, are you okay with Li Xin's defeat?"
…
"I'm sick."
"No, it's because of the cold."
To the east of Qiyi, Zhao Tuo sneezed several times and felt a little chilly. He could only huddle in the carriage, wrap himself in a few clothes, and listen to the rustling of rain outside the carriage.
Their current location is more than ten miles east of Qiyi.
Yesterday, after knowing that Zuo Sima of Chu State was leading an army of 10,000 to pursue them, Zhao Tuo felt an urgent sense of crisis.
He asked Black Butt to lead his troops to snatch enough supplies from the city, and after arranging for the soldiers to rest and eat for a while, he ordered the army to set off, marching day and night, first running some distance away from Qiyi.
As a result, they didn't travel more than ten miles when they encountered a winter rain.
The winter rain in Huaibei is not heavy, but the area near Qiyi is mostly lakes and swamps. When it rains, the roads become muddy.
It was a cold winter, coupled with the rain and dew, everyone was shivering.
Zhao Tuo was exhausted from recent work and his resistance was reduced. When he was soaked by the rain, he felt dizzy, his eyes were swollen, and he had a fever. He thought he was sick.
He could only shrink into the carriage and let his men lead him forward in the rain in a daze. Zhao Tuo had no idea what was happening outside.
"Marquis, heavy rain blocks the road, making it difficult for us to move forward."
Shejian reported to him with a panicked expression.
"Marquis, Zuo Sima of Chu State has led his army to catch up. He is only ten miles away from our army."
Black Butt also came from behind in a panic, running and screaming.
"So fast?"
He was startled, and then he heard horses neighing and people screaming everywhere. Countless Chu troops wearing red armor surrounded them from all directions. These Chu troops were extremely brave and killed five thousand Qin soldiers to pieces. No power to fight back.
A Chu man even stabbed Xiqigu over with his sword, kicked Shejian into the air, and slapped Hei's buttocks down.
The Chu man jumped in front of him, held the shining sword in his hand and said with a ferocious smile: "Fortunately, it rained heavily and the road was blocked. Only in this way can we catch up with you. This is your fate!"
As he said that, the Chu man stabbed his throat with the sword in his hand.
At this moment, he saw Chu Ren's face clearly.
It was Dou Yuan, the son of the county official who was kidnapped from Qiyi by the Qin army.
"Evil thief, what crime do I have with you? You kidnapped me and ran away, leaving me to die!"
But then, Dou Yuan's face changed again, and he turned into Huan Zhao, whom he hadn't seen for a long time.
"Traitor, you gave me a heart attack, give me my life!"
When the sword blade struck, Huan Zhao's face changed again, turning into a ferocious Li You.
"You thief, give me back my princess!"
When the sword blade struck, a bolt of lightning pierced the sky and illuminated his face.
…
"Bah, I'm actually having such a dream."
Zhao Tuo woke up covered in sweat.
As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw that he was in a strange room, lying quietly on the couch.
He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and when he touched his forehead, the fever on his head seemed to have subsided.
But when he thought of the dream just now, Zhao Tuo still felt a little frightened, and hurriedly shouted outside the house: "Gu, Xiqi Gu!"
Hearing the sound, Xiqigu opened the door and walked in.
"Marquis, it's great that you're awake."
Zhao Tuo asked hurriedly: "Did the Chu army come after you?"
"Don't worry, Lieutenant Commander, Shejian has sent cavalry in the rear. If any traces of the Chu army are found, they will definitely come and report." Xiqigu responded.
"It's better to be cautious Shejian."
Zhao Tuo breathed a sigh of relief and saw through Xiqigu's opened door that the rain outside had stopped.
He took another look at the house he was in. It looked like a bedroom in a middle-aged man's home, and he couldn't help but ask, "Where is this?"
"Our army was traveling all night. On a rainy day, the roads were blocked and we could not move forward. The military commander fell ill again, so we asked General Xin for instructions to rest in a nearby village and wait for the rain to stop before heading north." Xiqigu replied.
"Um."
Zhao Tuo was moved in his heart and asked again: "What kind of village is this?"
Xiqigu smiled, showing his yellow teeth.
"Daze Township."
Thanks to book friend Kun Linyuan Shan for the reward and all book friends for voting and supporting, thank you!
(End of chapter)
