In mid-March, the Xingjun troops sent by Wang Jian came to Zhongli City on the south bank of the Huaihe River.
Zhongli County Duke Zhong Liran was afraid of the power of the Qin army to destroy Chu. He opened the city gate without hesitation and surrendered to the Qin people.
After capturing Zhongli, Xingjun continued eastward, paving the way for the subsequent large forces along the way.
After the army was raised, Zhao Tuo's troops, who were members of the Hei Army, followed closely and returned to this city that was of great significance to them last year.
"Mei... Doctor Zhongli, the Qin army suffered a great defeat last year. Everyone said that after Chu's great victory, the Qin people would not dare to invade Chu for ten years. At that time, only the doctor could understand the general situation and secretly helped the Qin army to cross the border. Huai, now that I think about it, with such a discerning power, we are not as far away from each other."
"Doctor Zhongli, the person who slandered your name last year was the villain Wei Bao. I have killed him and presented his special head. I ask the doctor to forgive the villain for his sins because of our old friendship."
Zhong Liran looked at Zhongli Mei, who was wearing a crown on his head and had the title of the fifth official of the Qin Kingdom, with fear on his face. He knelt in front of Zhongli Mei and kept kowtowing and begging for mercy, fearing that the other party would have a grudge and find an opportunity to deal with him later.
After the Qin army crossed the Huaihe River from Zhongli last year, he was afraid of being angered by the king of Chu. While using a large amount of treasures and money to bribe the king's favorite minister Jin Xia, he also put all the blame on the traitor Zhongli Mei, making Zhongli Mei the king of the world. The villain who knows how to rebel against Chu. Therefore, he can be exempted from guilt and be safe and sound.
Little did he know that before he could catch his breath, the situation had changed drastically in just one year.
Not only did the huge Chu Kingdom disappear in the blink of an eye, Zhongli Mei, who he reported as a "traitor" and was wanted by the King of Chu with a reward, took off in the Qin Kingdom. Not only did he hold a high position, but he also followed the Qin army. When he came to Zhongli, he was so frightened that he could only kneel in front of Zhongli and beg for mercy.
Zhong Lizhen glanced at Wei Bao's head, which was covered in blood and his eyes were still open. Then he glanced at the fearful and trembling Duke Zhongli in front of him, and a wry smile appeared on his face.
What Zhong Limei did last year was not "knowing the general trend". He really wanted to use the trick of false surrender to plot against the Qin army and achieve a great feat. Unexpectedly, Zhao Tuo came up with a trick, and not only allowed the Qin army to successfully cross the Huaihe River, but also kidnapped himself to the Qin State, transforming him into a "traitor" of the Chu State.
However, this is a secret that only Zhao Tuo and Zhong Lizhen know.
Since Zhao Tuo said to the outside world that Zhongli Mei was sincere in surrendering to the Qin Dynasty, Zhongli Mei would naturally not speak nonsense. He could even think that countless years later, someone who was willing to compile history books would make a note in the history books.
"Qin general Zhao Tuo left Zhongli in the east. Zhongli, a native of Yinlu, was staying in this city. Hearing Zhao Tuo's name, he yearned for him and wanted to join Tuo's army. Therefore, he proposed a plan to Zhongli County Duke. It was obviously a fake surrender, but in fact he was secretly aiding the Qin army. Crossing the Huaihe River... finally achieved great success, this is Zhongli Mei's wisdom in knowing people."
Zhong Lizhen smiled and shook his head.
"It's all because of General Zhao's ability to recognize people. If General Zhao hadn't cherished his talents and was willing to reuse and support him, I, Zhongli Mei'an, would be as distinguished as I am today. Without General Zhao, I'm afraid today's Zhongli Mei would be just like Zhong Liran. As a person who has subjugated his country, he bows his head to the victor, just to survive."
Zhongli Mei thought to himself, when the generals outside Shouchun City were rewarded and promoted, although he did not say the words "Lu Wan's orders shall belong to the generals" like Lu Wan did on the spot, he was not less grateful in his heart. .
Especially now that he has returned to Zhongli in splendor and splendor, and seeing the former Zhongli County Duke kneeling in front of him like a slave, that feeling is even stronger.
If we say that when he was in Xianyang, Zhongli Mei surrendered to Zhao Tuo in order to survive and chose to kneel down and bow down because he had no other choice.
Now, he has truly developed the desire to die.
"I once heard that "a man who knows oneself will die, and a woman who likes one's face will die." The general recognizes me and knows me, so that I, Zhongli Mei, can be like a man and establish myself in the world with merit. I will repay the favor with my life. ! "
…
Just when Zhongli Mei settled his grudges, Zhao Tuo led his troops eastward again. The vanguard of the Qin army raised an army and had arrived thirty miles west of the city of Shandao (Xuyi) in the state of Chu.
"Captain Lieutenant, the local Chu people we captured said that the garrison of Shandao was transferred to Huaiyin by the puppet king two days ago, which is similar to what the envoy sent by Shandao County Duke said."
"Everyone in the local Chu
There are rumors that the puppet king Xiong Qi heard that the general led our Qin army to conquer, and he was afraid, so he prepared to shrink his troops and led the Chu army south with Xiang Yan to avoid the front of our army. "
Listen to the report from your subordinates.
The commander of this rising army, Colonel Meng Tian, nodded slightly.
He sat on his horse and looked ahead.
The road leading from Zhongli to Shandao is only a few meters wide and can only accommodate a carriage. The road is winding, with countless water plants growing on both sides. The thick green reeds are as tall as a person, swaying in the spring breeze, making a "rustling" sound.
Further back, there is an endless stretch of water and lakes, large and small, staggered, with countless tall reeds and weeds growing in them, blocking people's sight.
Such a scene gave Qin Jun walking on this road an extremely depressing feeling.
Meng Tian looked away and let out a long breath.
Although the ancestor of the Meng family came from the Qi State, Meng Tian was a native of Guanzhong. He grew up in the loess-laden land of Guanzhong. He grew up drinking water from the Wei River. He was accompanied by bows and horses since he was a child. He often galloped in the wide wilderness. I have seen this kind of Huainan water scene.
Now walking on this watery road that he had never seen before, even Meng Tian felt depressed and chest tight, let alone those ordinary Guanzhong Qin people.
But this is the only way to the good road, and it is a road that he cannot avoid no matter what.
In this battle against Chu, Zhao Tuo, who was once Meng Tian's subordinate, showed great success. Not only did he defeat a hundred thousand Qi troops, but he also went all the way south and broke through the outer city of Shouchun. Although Zhao Tuo did not conquer the Chu Palace, everyone in the Qin army knew that Zhao Tuo was capable of defeating the capital of the Qin Dynasty alone. The reason why he did not do so was just to share the credit with everyone. In this way, everyone was happy. Invisibly, everyone owed him Zhao Tuo a favor.
Meng Tian's mood is very complicated. With his loyal character, he will not feel resentful or jealous of Zhao Tuo because of this. He is not such a villain.
But unwillingness to admit defeat and comparison are always indispensable, especially when Zhao Tuo was a lieutenant, he was Meng Tian's subordinate. Now, whether it is military position or title, they have all jumped to his head. How can he feel calm? .
This is also the reason why Meng Tian has been unwilling to talk to Zhao Tuo. It is not out of resentment, but because he has always been arrogant and arrogant, and he can't let go of his face and use his identity as a subordinate to meet his former subordinates.
"The Meng family has been famous for generations. I, Meng Tian, have been practicing archery and horse training since I was a child, and I am familiar with military books. How can I be inferior to him, Zhao Tuo? I just stay in the palace and have no chance to make meritorious deeds. If I am allowed to gallop on the battlefield, I should be no weaker than Zhao Tuo!"
This is what Meng Tian thinks. The reason why he is dissatisfied with Zhao Tuo is because he, Meng Tian, has never been on the battlefield.
Meng Tian believed that as long as the king allowed him to go to the battlefield, his performance would never be worse than Zhao Tuo's, and his title would soon rise like Zhao Tuo's.
So this time Wang Jian attacked Chu, Meng Tian was very happy, thinking that he was about to shine and achieve some amazing feats.
Who knew that Wang Jian's tactics were conservative and he only used his country's power to compete with the Chu people. Meng Tian came here excitedly, but he could only stay in Huaibei for half a year, without any chance to express himself and make meritorious deeds.
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It is better to face the enemy and have a chance to make a contribution than to follow the army behind.
The facts were as he expected. Along the way, all the Chu cities he passed such as Quyang and Zhongli surrendered. Although the enemy cities surrendered not much merit, they were still meritorious, and Meng Tian was promoted to the nobility. The experience value is slowly increasing.
However, as they got closer and closer to Huaiyin where the Chu army was entrenched, the terrain the Qin army passed along the way became more and more complex.
Especially in the west of this good road, there are a large number of water lakes. They are crisscrossed and become a natural barrier. The only way for the army to go east was the one under their feet.
When Meng Tian first met, he was very wary of such terrain.
But soon, the manager of Shandao City, the Duke of Shandao County, sent an envoy to surrender to him. He also said that the Chu army previously stationed in Shandao had been transferred by Xiang Yan, and the traitor Xiong Qi was about to lead his troops south to avoid the Qin army's front.
Such news did not make Meng Tian take it lightly. He sent people to capture many local Chu people nearby. Seeing that the situation reported by these Chu people was not much different from that of Shandao County Duke's envoy, he was slightly relieved and led his soldiers to embark on the journey. This path leads straight to the good path.
The Qin army had 10,000 men, and 3,000 men were in front to clear the way. They also sent out cavalry scouts to explore from a distance to prevent enemy troops from attacking from the front. There were also 3,000 people in the rear pushing grain and baggage. Meng Tian led his four thousand main force in the middle.
On the narrow road, 10,000 Qin troops meandered forward like long snakes, at a rather slow pace.
As he got closer and closer to the good road, Meng Tian's feeling of uneasiness became stronger and stronger. Especially every time he looked at the tall and dense reeds on both sides of the road and the puddles in the swamp, he felt very Shocked.
"If the enemy lays ambushes on both sides, when our army passes by, the killing generals will come out and cut my army into two...hiss..."
Meng Tian also sent people to explore on both sides, but it was of little use.
Because the reeds and water plants were so dense, once the Qin soldiers got in, they would lose their way in a blink of an eye. Let alone checking whether there was an enemy ambush inside, they would lose their bearings after just a few turns.
Not to mention that there are swamps and depressions under the reeds. Except for the Chu people who live here all year round, outsiders like them will fall into the deep water and die quickly if they take a few steps.
Moreover, a Qin soldier discovered the figure of the turtle in the swamp.
Those ferocious-looking beasts lurked in the unknown depth of water, exposing their backs like dead wood, staring at outsiders like them with cold eyes.
Just thinking about such a scene makes people's scalp numb. Even the most courageous and courageous soldiers in the Qin army did not dare to explore the reeds on both sides.
And even if someone is willing to explore, it is not practical, because the speed of exploration is too slow, but they are shouldering the task of marching. If they were delayed, they would even have to spend the night on this road. Just thinking about it made people's scalp numb.
Therefore, Meng Tian could only bite the bullet and lead his soldiers on this unique road, hoping to reach Shandao City as soon as possible. The terrain there is open and adjacent to the Huai River, so he can communicate with the Qin Army's boat division on the Huai River.
"It's almost time. We should only be about ten miles away from the good road."
Most of the day later, as he got closer and closer to his goal, Meng Tian let out a sigh of relief.
This terrible road is finally coming to an end.
However, just when Meng Tian felt slightly relaxed.
Suddenly I heard screams coming from behind.
"Chu Jun!"
"It's Chu Jun!"
