Chu State, Han River Plain.
The originally expected war did not break out. After Wu Qi saw that the Chu State had adopted the method of forming a stronghold and fighting a dull battle, he did not attack by force. Instead, he sent two partial divisions to outflank the army on the left and right, while the frontal army practiced training, or sent small groups of troops with Chu State's scouts and wood gatherers. The team performs strangulation.
Although large-scale wars did not occur, fighting between dozens and hundreds of people took place every day.
Holding on to the camp does not mean that only food and water are enough. Collecting firewood is also very important.
There are thousands or even tens of thousands of people in a camp, and even more people in a city. These people need to make fires to eat and consume a lot of firewood every day.
Although there is accumulation in the city and the camp, whenever there is an opportunity, the generals guarding the city will send people to collect firewood to supplement consumption.
Especially in a situation like the current confrontation between the two armies.
Although the casualties in this kind of strangulation battle are not high each time, the casualties accumulated over time are equally staggering. But even with such heavy losses, the princes, ministers and nobles of Chu State did not flinch. This was completely different from the previous noble style of conserving strength.
Wu Qi asked the secret guards to pass back the news about the Chu Kingdom, and soon discovered from this information that the King of Chu actually distributed all the land in the Hanshui Plain and Nanyang Basin to the feudal lords and nobles. After seeing this After receiving the information, he immediately understood why these ministers, nobles and lords worked so hard.
"This King of Chu wants us to fight head-on with these lords and nobles! Use our hands to get rid of these nobles." Wu Qi looked at the information and chuckled.
"Xiang Guo, what should we do?" asked a general next to him.
"Of course we can't let them get what they want!" Wu Qi said: "This attack on Chu State has been prepared for a long-term war. With the foundation of Huai State, we can sustain it, but Chu State cannot."
"Furthermore, the Chu State is reluctant to attack the outside world because of the pressure of the war. If this is the case, then order the entire army to postpone the attack. These nobles and lords will help us when the time comes!" Wu Qi said with a smile.
"As long as we show weakness to our enemies, those noble lords will soon split."
As Wu Qi issued the order, the fighting on the Hanshui Plain suddenly dropped by more than half. Even with Wu Qi's deliberate indulgence, these ministers, nobles and lords from various places were now able to fight with Huai's army.
The crisis that was once overwhelming just disappeared quietly. After the existential crisis disappeared, all kinds of selfishness that had been suppressed began to appear.
The Hanshui Plain and the Nanyang Basin are the two most prosperous regions in Chu State, and their importance to Chu State is undoubted.
This time, the King of Chu took out all the land in the Hanshui Plain and Nanyang Basin and distributed it to the nobles and princes of various places. This was almost the most elite part of the land controlled by the Chu King's royal family.
The nobles and princes from various places who received these land rewards were also overjoyed. After receiving these land rewards, many people's land directly increased by one-third. Such a generous reward made the nobles and princes swear to defeat the Huai State and defend the Chu State.
You must know that the land in the Hanjiang Plain is fertile and the water source is convenient. It is a rare good farmland that can be harvested even in drought. It can be said to be the granary of the Chu State. The average grain output per acre is as high as two acres in the border areas.
For these fiefdoms, the nobles and princes spent a lot of money to recruit soldiers. Originally, after recruiting soldiers, these noble lords should gather together for unified deployment, and then go to various cities and camps to defend.
The Hanjiang Plain and the Nanyang Basin are the two major grain-producing areas of Chu State. These two areas were divided among the nobles and lords. As long as these nobles and lords could hold on, their influence on Chu State would become greater and greater in the future.
Similarly, after losing these two areas, the strength of the Chu royal family was greatly reduced. The King of Chu also used this method to tell the nobles and princes from various places that Chu would no longer implement reforms and would delegate power to the nobles.
After paying for two sacred lands, Qu Qing and the King of Chu finally asked these nobles and lords to use all their strength to resist the Huai Kingdom.
The calculations of Qu Qing and the King of Chu were almost perfect. According to their plan, these noble princes of the Chu State suffered heavy losses in the Huai State's attack, and the royal family would move westward to Ba with the royal family's heritage.
If these nobles and nobles really block the Huai State, the Nanyang Basin and the Hanjiang Plain will also become the territory of these lords and nobles, which can serve as a buffer between the Chu State and the Huai State. However, King Chu and Qu Qing know very well. , how can a group of insects stop a tiger?
From the beginning to the end, neither Qu Qing nor the King of Chu believed that these princes and nobles could win.
After discovering that Huaiguo's offensive intensity had declined, these princes and nobles began to have their own little thoughts.
A sentence said by Cao Zi at that time is very suitable to describe these noble princes, that is, meat-eaters are despicable and fail to plan far.
It’s not that they don’t have vision. On the contrary, many ministers, nobles, and monarchs are very farsighted and smart. But when a large number of nobles, ministers, and monarchs get together, do you think they will become smarter? On the contrary, they will become idiots who only care about immediate interests.
This scene has not happened once in history.
After discovering that Huai Guo did not continue its fierce attack, these ministers and nobles no longer agreed to unified command of their private soldiers. At the same time, these officials and nobles were worried that the King of Chu would regret it later, so they led their soldiers to the fiefdoms on the Han River Plain to prepare to garrison the fiefdoms.
Before the war ended, these officials and nobles began to divide the territories entrusted by the King of Chu. At the same time, after the King of Chu gave up a large number of rights, these officials and nobles also began to fight for it.
The originally unified defense line on the Han River became completely chaotic, and the feudal lords, ministers and nobles began to fight for power.
Seeing this situation, the military strategists who followed the Huai army were also dumbfounded.
"Aren't they afraid of our sudden attack?"
"Of course they are afraid, but everyone is lucky! Or they think that as long as they go back, they can stop us again."
"Not long ago, they were able to unite as one. It was because we oppressed them and forced them to do so. Now without the oppression, they are just a ball of sand."
Wu Qi looked at the news sent back by the secret guards. In just one month, many of the princes, nobles and ministers of Chu State had already begun to fight over the issue of demarcation. He immediately laughed and said: "The timing Arrived!"
"Order the army to prepare. Tomorrow we will prepare food at the third watch, assemble the army for food at the fourth watch, and destroy the enemy camp at the fifth watch!"
"Here!" Everyone in the camp responded in unison.
(End of chapter)
