When Su Yi heard this, he stopped talking, looked at him and said, "Do you mean to persuade Chen Ba to surrender?"
"Yes." Lu Fan returned: "Chen Ba's 30,000 Chu border troops are not weak in combat power. Chuzhou has a high city and a deep pool. If we attack by force, there may be heavy casualties, and the people of Chu are not The people in the city who support the King of Chu are in a state of flux. At this time, persuading him to surrender may be effective, so I am willing to serve as an envoy and go to lobby him."
There is no problem in persuading the opponent to surrender before the war. There is no problem in going through this process. As the commander-in-chief of the first army, Su Yi has certainly thought about it before, but based on various circumstances, he thought that Chen Ba would not be able to surrender.
Now that Lu Fan said this, after thinking about it, he could only say: "Well, since Mr. Lu is willing to give it a try, then I will wait for good news."
"Commander, let's get ready." Lu Fan didn't do anything, and after saluting, he withdrew from the military tent.
After he left, Su Yi didn't say anything else about the matter. Instead, he looked around and said, "Continue to discuss the war."
As he spoke, he also drew out his sword from his waist and pointed sideways at the military map on the wall:
"This is Baolin Road. Before Chuzhou is conquered, if the King of Chu escapes, he will most likely pass through here. General Wei will lead three thousand troops..."
He drew another stroke on the map with his sword: "Third Infantry Army, move to the North Waterline..."
"The first, sixth, and seventh formations of infantry troops are sent to the east, west, and northwest theaters respectively..."
"After completing the military deployment to Chuzhou, a feint attack was launched from three sides at Chen time the next day to disperse the enemy's defensive forces."
"At the same time, launch a general attack at the south gate of Chuzhou, striving to quickly break through the enemy's southern defense line..."
The edge of his sword kept moving back and forth on the military map, and the generals listened attentively.
From Su Yi's attitude, it can be seen that he did not have any hope for Lu Fan, or in other words, he had already expected that Chen Ba would not surrender.
Let's talk about Lu Fan. After taking the initiative to request the order, he didn't delay for a moment. He immediately took the envoy's flag and went to Chuzhou alone.
The place where the Qin army was stationed was only forty miles away from Chuzhou. He had one man and one horse, and it didn't take long to reach the city.
At this time, Chuzhou's defense was very tight. When I looked up, I saw that the gates of the city were full of defenders. Before Lu Fan could get closer, an officer had already drawn his bow and fired an arrow randomly at the city. At the same time, he shouted loudly. :
"Stop whoever comes!"
This arrow was a warning, so it was not accurate. The arrow shot hard and hit the ground in front of him with a bang, causing the horse to neigh.
Lu Fan quickly reined in the reins, raised his head and shouted: "Don't shoot the arrow! I am the envoy of Qin, and I came here to see General Chen Ba——"
Hearing what he said and seeing his civilian attire and messenger flag, the Chu army officer frowned, then put away his bow and waved to a soldier: "Report to the general."
"No!" The soldier accepted the order with his fists clasped, turned around and ran quickly down the city defense.
Lu Fan was not in a hurry. He rode his horse and waited under the city. At the same time, he raised his head and looked around, sizing up the Chuzhou city defense. He secretly thought that the appearance of Chu State's 30,000 border troops should not be underestimated.
This army was transferred back from Nanping Pass by the King of Chu. It has been in the bitter cold of the frontier all year round, and its combat power is much higher than that of other troops in the Chu State.
Moreover, Chen Ba's ancestor was a Chu general. Although he had doubts about King Chu's decision-making, he was still very loyal and was the general responsible for the last line of defense of Chu. This is why Su Yi believed that he would not surrender.
Time passed slowly, and it was not until half an hour later that the city gate slowly opened after receiving orders from the superiors.
When Lu Fan saw this, he immediately became energetic. He quickly got off his horse, held the horse's reins, and walked quickly towards the city.
As soon as he came in, he handed the reins to a soldier and said without thinking of himself as an outsider: "Please feed me some fodder."
Soldier Chu looked around with a confused look on his face.
The Chu army officer from before stretched out his hand with a cold face and said: "This is the envoy, please."
"Ah, thank you." Lu Fan cupped his hands and left.
Not long after, the two came to the meeting hall. At this time, all the generals of the Chu army gathered here, all wearing armor and hanging swords on their waists. When they saw Lu Fan, they all glanced over.
The latter did not rush. After entering the hall, he bowed his hands and bowed to Chen Ba who was standing just above him. He saluted and said, "I met General Chen when I was under Lu Fan."
Chen Ba had a resolute appearance. He was about forty years old and had a beard. He put his helmet on the table and tied his hair with a wooden hairpin. He glanced at Lu Fan and said, "Since I am an envoy, then what should I do?" Do you represent King Qin or Su Yi?"
This question made Lu Fan stunned for a moment, and then he said with a smile: "I am here for the peace between Qin and Chu, and for the talks between the Qin army and your army."
"In this case, I cannot represent the King of Qin, so how can I talk about the affairs of the two armies here." Chen Ba's question was still tricky.
Lu Fan continued with a gentle smile and said: "General, what you said is wrong. My king is a wise king and has always advocated the peaceful settlement of the Jiangnan issue. Therefore, this meeting is also done with the king's intention in mind."
"Peacefully resolve the Jiangnan issue? Huh!" Chen Ba sneered and said straight to the point: "According to the envoy's words, are you planning to persuade me to surrender?"
"This." Unexpectedly, he was so direct. Lu Fan choked on the words he had planned. He rolled his eyes and said, "General, why did you say this? I came here for the sake of you and our army. Today At this point in the war, the general has only 30,000 troops. How can he defend such a huge Chuzhou? If we continue to fight, we will only increase casualties."
"Haha." Chen Ba smiled and said coldly: "Looking at the historical records, our Chu army fought bloody battles and defeated hundreds of thousands of troops many times with a small number of troops. What's more, today's Chuzhou is impregnable. Today's Chu army is The morale is like a rainbow, if the enemy comes, they will only be hit head-on!"
"General." Lu Fan said sternly: "Do you want to watch the soldiers and civilians of the Chu Kingdom in the flames of war? Think of those young men! Think of the people who have left their homes! The unification of Jiangnan is already the general trend. Why should a general act against heaven? Why not obey heaven's way and be loyal to the Lord? In this way, he will surely leave a good reputation!"
"The King of Chu welcomed foreign enemies into the country and caused chaos in the Central Plains, causing turmoil in many parts of the Chu country and displacing the people. A talented person like the general, and even a general of China, knows the importance of the nation, how can he be loyal to such a monarch..."
"Shut up!" Chen Ba interrupted him angrily, "This is our country's military affairs, it has nothing to do with me! And you also said that as a general, you should serve your country, and you will be buried in horse leather! How can we surrender without a fight!"
"General..."
Lu Fan wanted to persuade him again, but Chen Ba said in a trembling voice: "It's useless to talk more! Our country of Chu is also a country of etiquette and will not kill its envoys. Please give me your permission. While it's still early, I advise you to leave quickly, otherwise , I’m afraid I have nowhere to stay at night.”
