Ji Li sent Qi to Qi, and finally Qi agreed to send troops to help Wu. After completing his mission, Ji Li did not return to Wu State, but hurried to Lu State.
The national power of Lu State is much weaker than that of Qi State. If Qi State does not send troops to help, Lu State will not dare to do so. Now that Qi State has sent troops, it will be much easier to persuade Lu State.
Ji Li did not stop all the way, killed two horses, and hurried to the state of Lu. Then he told the Marquis of Lu about Qi's decision to send troops. After hearing this, the Marquis of Lu quickly decided to send troops with the state of Qi. After receiving the commitments from Qi and Lu, Ji Li breathed a sigh of relief.
And with Qi and Lu sending troops to contain it, Huai did not dare to attack Wu with all its strength.
On the other side, the envoys who went to the Chu State for help also arrived at the Chu State to receive them. The Chu State had been trying to go north to seize the Five Kingdoms of Hanshui for many years, but was repeatedly blocked, so it developed eastward along the Yangtze River.
Originally, the King of Chu did not want to send troops to attack Huaihe, but the Wu State promised great benefits and said that if it occupied Huaiguo, the Chu State could attack the Han River countries from both sides, so the King of Chu agreed.
...
Huai State's army gathered together, tens of thousands of troops and more than a thousand warships, and moved down the river in a mighty manner to attack Wu State in the south. Huai State was well prepared for this battle, and it could be said that it had well-equipped troops and adequate food supplies.
Wu Guo's navy was no match at all. They were defeated in three battles and almost completely wiped out. They had to retreat. The Huai army took advantage of the situation to cross the river. The army quickly set up camp on the north bank of the Yangtze River.
The Huaiguo army has high morale, sharp soldiers, and tacit cooperation, especially the elite among them who wear rattan armor. This rattan armor is woven from old vines in the mountains and has been specially treated to make it extremely tough. In addition, craftsmen also attached a layer of rhino skin or elephant skin to the surface of these rattan armors.
This kind of armor has extremely high defense. At the same time, after Huai State annexed Han State, all the craftsmen of Han State were also taken over, and the forged bronze swords were extremely sharp.
As soon as the Huai army came into contact with the Wu army, the Wu soldiers fell like wheat. The Wu soldier's long spear pierced the rattan armor and was unable to pierce the tough rattan armor. Instead, it was directly cut open. The Huai soldier's long spear thrust out and killed him instantly.
For a time, the Wu army was retreating steadily. Seeing that the Wu army was defeated, Wang Sheng immediately waved his left and right chariots to attack. Hundreds of chariots were launched, the wheels rolled like muffled thunder, and the horses' hooves beat on the ground.
Seeing Huai's chariots dispatching, Wu Guo ignored the defeat of the Chinese army and had no choice but to let the chariots attack. But soon the Chinese army could not withstand it and retreated continuously. The left and right chariots attacked. The Chinese army was defeated. As a result, the Chinese army of Huai State cooperated with the chariots to attack from the flank. There were Huai State chariots in the front, Huai State soldiers and Wu chariots on the side. It soon became irresistible.
The army suffered heavy losses, with countless casualties. Wu Hou had to lead the defeated army to retreat, and then prepared to rely on the strength of the city to resist the Huai army.
In the Huaiguo camp, the army won a battle, killing thousands of Wu soldiers, riding hundreds of chariots, and capturing countless prisoners. Wu suffered heavy losses, and Wang Sheng was very happy.
Then let the military commander write down the meritorious service, and prepare to wait until the war is over to discuss the merit and reward him. At the same time, the state of Wu was in a state of gloom and gloom. Although they knew that the Huai State was powerful, they did not expect that the Huai Army was so powerful. Just one battle caused Wu State to suffer heavy losses.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. Mr. Ji has sent people back and persuaded Qi and Lu to send troops to help. As long as we persist, Huai will retreat, and we will regain the land when the time comes."
"If Qi and Lu win a great victory, Huai will definitely flee in panic. If our army pursues them in succession, we will definitely defeat Huai and occupy the land of Huai."
After hearing the persuasion of his ministers, Wu Hou made up his mind to continue to hold on, waiting for the Huai Kingdom to withdraw, and then pursue them one after another.
In the northern border of Huai State, since Huai State annexed Zhong Wu, Huai State has built several strong cities here to resist the attacks of Qi State and Lu State.
After the Huai army went south, the Qi and Lu armies also went south to attack Huai. At the same time, Chu State also sent troops from the west to attack Han. Suddenly, the armies of the Three Kingdoms attacked, and letters asking for help came from all over.
Huai army camp. Wang Sheng looked at each battle report with an ugly expression.
News of the attack by the Qi, Lu, and Chu Kingdoms has come. Although no city has been breached yet, if reinforcements are not sent out as soon as possible, the remaining troops may not be able to hold on.
As for Wu State, a great victory made him feel that it was not difficult to annex Wu State. But at this juncture, he was reluctant to give up attacking Wu. The Huai Kingdom has elite soldiers and is defending the city. If he can defeat the Wu Kingdom as soon as possible and then return to rescue, he will not only be able to annex the Wu Kingdom, but the Huai Kingdom will also be able to defend it.
It's just that this approach has great benefits and greater risks, so I hesitated for a while.
Seeing that the Lord was a little hesitant, the minister next to him, Gong Yangshuo, stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I have a son who is ten years old this year. He often plays with a slingshot."
"It's normal for children to like to play." Wang Sheng said casually.
"I came home once and saw him standing motionless in the courtyard. I was a little surprised and asked him what was wrong."
Wang Sheng became interested and motioned for him to continue.
"My son said that he saw a cicada on the big tree. It climbed very high and was singing loudly. But it didn't know that there was a mantis under the leaves not far behind it, and it was quietly approaching it. Prepare to hunt it down.”
"That's it?" Wang Sheng was a little disappointed.
"Sir, don't worry! Behind this praying mantis, there is another oriole, which is stretching its neck, ready to find the right opportunity to eat the praying mantis!"
"The oriole only saw the praying mantis in its eyes. How did it know that I had been standing under the tree for a long time and was about to shoot it down with a slingshot!"
"The three of them only saw the benefits in front of them, but did not realize the danger behind them. Your Majesty now sees the fat piece of Wu Kingdom, and Qi Luchu took the opportunity to attack, so are we now like a mantis and a oriole? Generally, are you in danger?"
After Wang Sheng heard Gong Yangshuo's words, he immediately made a decision in his heart. Let go of the benefits that seem to be within your reach. Then he said: "I understand your advice."
"According to Chuan Gu's order, the army marched back to the Huai Kingdom. This time we must give Qi, Lu, and Chu a good look!"
"Here!"
After hearing Wang Sheng's order to return home for rescue, everyone in the army suddenly became excited.
"The king has lived for ten thousand years, the Huai Kingdom has lived for ten thousand years, and King Wen has lived for ten thousand years!"
"The king has lived for ten thousand years, the Huai Kingdom has lived for ten thousand years, and King Wen has lived for ten thousand years!"
A sound like a roaring mountain and a tsunami spread throughout the camp. After Wang Sheng gave the order, the army began to return. However, the Huai Kingdom retreated in no hurry. He even laid a trap. If the Wu Kingdom dared to pursue, the ambush troops would be out and Wu would retreat. The country will definitely be defeated.
After Wang Sheng issued the order, the army crossed the river and returned. After seeing Huai's retreat, Wu State celebrated with their crowns and then led the army again to prepare for the pursuit.
As a result, they just fell into Wang Sheng's trap. Wang Sheng's ambush troops came out, and the Wu army was defeated like a mountain. The army was defeated. After Wang Sheng defeated Wu, he no longer had any worries, so he led his army back.
...
In the third year of King Ping's reign, Huai attacked Wu and won a great victory. The three kingdoms of Qi, Lu, and Chu attacked Huai, but Duke Zhao refused to make a decision. Gongyang remonstrated: "Have you heard that the mantis stalks the cicada and the oriole is behind you?" Duke Zhao then returned to the army to rescue. ——"Huai Palace Spring and Autumn"
