Spiritual country.
In the court meeting hall, King Ling was also discussing with the ministers about Qin's sending troops.
He said straight to the point: "At present, the Qin army continues to move south after leaving Shanyu Pass, and the Chu army is also frequently mobilizing to the north. The King of Qin never fights unprepared battles. From this point of view, this war is inevitable ."
"What do you think of the war between the north and the south?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Ling Xiang was the first to say: "Isn't this exactly what our country wants? The longer Qin and Wu Chu fight, the better, and the more fierce the better. In this way, in the end, all the countries will be exhausted, and our country will Is the biggest winner.”
"Having said that, it may be difficult for Wu Chu to defeat the powerful Qin with the current military and national strength. I am a little worried that King Qin is taking Wu Chu back too fast." King Ling said.
"On this point, your Majesty, you can rest assured." Huang Zu received: "Wu Chu not only has the Yangtze River, but Chu also has the important land of Xiangyang. No matter how powerful the Qin army is, it will never be a short-term gain."
"Old General Huang's words make sense." Cheng Ping echoed: "And in my opinion, once the war between the north and the south breaks out, the two kings of Wu and Chu will definitely send envoys to ask our country to send troops."
"In Master Cheng's opinion, how should I deal with the envoy when the time comes?" King Ling said.
"Your Majesty must agree to them. Otherwise, Wu Chu will not be willing to fight. But if he agrees, whether or when to send troops is up to us." Cheng Ping said.
"That's right." Huang Zu agreed deeply: "The best time for our country to send troops is when the war is at a stalemate and King Qin has no time to look east."
"Well..." After listening to what the two of them said, the Spirit King couldn't help but nodded slowly.
Lingguo's decision was clear, and the old fox had nothing to gain. It was absolutely impossible for him to help Wu Chu in vain.
Qin's army moved south, and Chu's troops were also rushing to the front line.
More than ten days later, Xiangyang City.
The title of the greatest city in the world is not unfounded. This city is not only majestic and tall, but the buildings within the city are also extremely prosperous.
At this time, Chu Commander Han Zhou had arrived with his troops. Together with the original defenders of Xiangyang, the total army was 150,000. This was also the entire Chu State's available troops.
Large quantities of grain, grass, ordnance were also transported to Xiangyang in carloads for hoarding purposes.
It is obvious that Hanzhou intends to establish a long-term defensive posture here.
By holding on to Xiangyang and benefiting from the city, he was very confident as long as supplies continued.
In the meeting hall of Xiangyang Mansion, the Chu generals gathered and lined up on both sides.
Han Zhou walked up to the commander's office, took his seat and looked at the local officials first, and asked directly: "Have all the money, food, and material reserves been stored in the treasury?"
"Don't worry, Commander Han. The preparations in Xiangyang alone are enough for our army to defend for one year." The official returned.
"Okay! In this case, coupled with domestic dispatch, with the huge city of Xiangyang, what's the problem in guarding it for three to five years!" Hanzhou's confidence increased again, and he said after saying: "After this batch of grain and grass supplies enter the city, Immediately seal the city gate and strictly prohibit pedestrians from going out. No one is allowed to open or close the gate without military orders!"
"No!" Everyone responded.
At this moment, a sergeant also hurried in.
"Report~~~~~"
"Reporting to Commander Han, there is an emergency in Zaocheng. General Kong Wei wrote a letter in his own hand."
As the sergeant spoke, he also took out a silk letter from his arms and raised his hands high.
"Send it up."
"promise."
After receiving the letter, Han Zhou opened it and glanced at it briefly, then waved to the sergeant.
The latter understood, bowed and left.
After he left, a partial general couldn't help it anymore. He stepped out of the queue and clasped his fists and said: "Han Shuai, this is already the second urgent letter from General Kong. If our army does not send troops to support again, I am afraid that Zao City will be in danger." That’s it.”
Hearing this, Han Zhou glanced at him and said in a calm voice: "The Qin army is attacking Zaocheng, and if our army wants to support it, it needs to go around Hanjiagou. But I expected that with Su Yi's habits, At this time, Hanjiagou has probably been occupied by the Qin army, and the main road has been blocked."
"But Han Shuai." The general continued: "Zaocheng is an important line of defense in Xiangyang. This place cannot be lost easily."
"That's wrong." Hanzhou said: "Zaocheng is only one county, and the city defenses are dilapidated and insufficient to defend against the enemy. If we transfer the main force there, once we are defeated, the consequences will be disastrous."
"Even so, we can't just sit back and watch Zaocheng fall. And when the time comes, we can return to Xiangyang from Zaocheng."
"How can Qin's cavalry be left to you?" Han Zhou glared at the general, "Is Xiangyang more important or Zaocheng? You don't have to care about the gains and losses of a county, and you can't be led by the enemy."
"this……"
After hearing what he said, everyone looked at each other and could not say anything.
Hanzhou's intention was obvious and he had already planned to give up the rescue in Zaocheng. For him, the best strategy was to concentrate his troops in Xiangyang. If he attacked rashly, he would most likely fall into Su Yi's scheme.
Countries all over the world have been fighting for years. Su Yi has long been famous all over the world and is a well-deserved famous general. Hanzhou is somewhat afraid of him psychologically.
This is also because he suffered defeat at the hands of Su Yi.
Zaocheng is only more than a hundred miles away from Xiangyang. After the two urgent letters were sent out, it was like a stone sinking into the sea, and the despair in Kong Wei's heart became deeper and deeper.
The city defense was devastated, with blood and carved feathers everywhere, and many Chu soldiers were also cleaning the battlefield.
The Qin army did not launch a series of strong attacks, but even so, Kong Wei knew that he could not defend for two days.
Not only him, but the Chu army below also knew that their only hope lay in reinforcements.
At this moment, his deputy general walked over quickly, clasped his fists and said, "General, I just received news that the county magistrate has fled to Xiangyang overnight."
"What?" Kong Wei frowned.
Obviously, the local county magistrate also felt that a disaster was coming and ran away in advance. If this news spread, it would be another blow to morale.
The deputy general hesitated to speak, paused for a long time, and then said: "My department has asked for help twice, so we are working hard. Commander Han should have received the letter long ago and sent troops to support, but until now..."
"What do you want to say?" Kong Wei asked with a frown.
The deputy general bravely said: "General, please forgive me for speaking frankly, we, we are afraid that the main army has given up. If we continue to fight, there will be no chance of death, and Zaocheng will be destroyed."
After listening to what he said, Kong Wei couldn't help but take a deep breath, weighed his left and right, and asked: "How many brothers do we have?"
"There are less than two thousand soldiers left to fight." The deputy general returned.
"Two thousand people..." Kong Wei's eyes flashed with confusion: "With Zaocheng's dilapidated city defenses, if the Qin army attacks again tomorrow, I'm afraid they won't be able to withstand it..."
"Yes, General, there is no reinforcement, and there is no point in defending any longer. The sacrifice will be in vain, so why not conserve our troops." The lieutenant general was worried. In fact, he was somewhat greedy for life and afraid of death.
