Rebirth of Wu Ba Spring and Autumn

The time has entered the 44th year of Wu Shihuang, that is, 470 BC, the eighth month of the lunar calendar.

Because of the sudden rebellion of mercenaries such as the Medes, Assyrians, and Lydians, the Western Expeditionary Army of the Wu Empire suffered a disastrous defeat and was defeated in Boeotia. Fortunately, not many Wu troops died.

In the naval battle that broke out in the Aegean Sea, the navy of the Wu Empire won a complete victory, successfully crushing the fleets organized by various Greek city-states, and gained a lot.

This victory and one defeat made Qingji feel very complicated.

The defeated Wu army had to flee to Sadi city in Lydia with Qingji.

Qingji gathered the defeated troops in Sadie City.

"Your Majesty, I went west with an army of 25 horses, and only 6 came back!"

"..."

Qingji was speechless.

So, just the Battle of Thermopylae and Boeotia, the Western Expeditionary Army was wiped out by 19 people in two battles?

impossible.

The real Wu army, that is, the more than [-] cavalry, has the strongest combat effectiveness.

A cavalryman with two horses runs fast. How can the enemy catch up with two feet?
As for the 19 people, Qingji reckoned that most of them were rebels or disappeared, and they didn't want to come back to gather.

This is also normal.

The Western Expeditionary Army of the Wu Empire had a very complicated composition of troops.

Medes, Khwarizmites, Stygians, Assyrians, Israelites, Lydians, etc., there are warriors of all nationalities.

Loyalty to the Wu Empire?

Optional.

What they really cared about was the bounty offered by Qingji.

The fiasco this time also made Qingji realize that it might be because he didn't give enough money, was eager for success, and often sent the mercenaries to death as cannon fodder, which led to the rebellion of those mercenaries.

Of course, there may be other reasons as well.

"How many people from my Wu army have returned?"

"Your Majesty, the casualties of our Wu army are also very serious. There are about 3 cavalry returning to Sadie City."

"That is to say... more than ten thousand people died in battle?"

"Yes. But there should be some soldiers who haven't returned in time."

Such casualties also made Qingji feel uncomfortable.

"woo woo woo woo……"

At this time, there was a burst of crying full of sorrow.

Qing Ji looked up and saw that it was his eldest grandson Wu Ji who was squatting on the ground and crying, still wiping away his tears.

"Wu Ji, why are you crying?"

"Grandfather, less than 50 of the [-] Red Flame Army soldiers led by grandson came back... At that time, grandson was in a tight siege, and they were the ones who desperately rescued him, and Uncle Jiu (Wu Zhang) came to reinforce him with troops , that saved me."

Wu Ji choked and said, "If not, grandson won't be able to come back."

Qing Ji squinted his eyes, patted Wu Ji's shoulder, took off his cloak, put it on Wu Ji, and said earnestly: "A man, don't shed tears lightly."

"It's only 3000 people who died, what is it? The imperial grandfather will give you another 30, [-] horses!"

"You will have revenge in the future."

"promise!"

Hearing this, Wu Ji felt a little relieved.

You can't say Qing Ji's words in front of the soldiers, otherwise it will be very "offensive"...

"Smile."

"Grandson can't laugh."

"laugh."

Only then did Wu Ji forced a smile, but the smile was uglier than the cry.

Qing Ji shook his head, then looked around and saw that the generals in the big tent of the Chinese army were all dejected, and waved his hand: "Second and third sons, one failure does not prove anything."

"Failure is the mother of success!"

"We can fail ten times, a hundred times, countless times! But the Wu Empire still exists, I'm still here, you're still here!"

"What about the Greeks and Macedonians? They only need to fail once!"

"We can afford to lose, they can't afford to lose!"

"Your Majesty Shengming!"

The generals shouted in unison.

After a pause, Qingji said again: "This time, the second and third sons have to learn from experience and lessons."

"Why did you lose the battle?"

"Is our army not strong enough? Not elite enough? Morale not high enough?"

"No, not at all!"

"It's because we don't know enough about the enemy, and we haven't prepared enough!"

Qing Ji said earnestly: "The sudden rebellion of the Lydians and Assyrians in the army caught us off guard. These are not problems."

"In another year and a half, after our army has regrouped, we will still be able to regain the lost ground and wipe out Macedonia, Thrace, Scythia, and the Greek city-states."

Wu Ming stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, do you still want to fight against Macedonia and the Greek city-states?"

"Are you afraid?"

"No."

Wu Ming sighed: "Your Majesty, recently, the officers and men in the army have been homesick, and they don't adapt to the local climate. Some of them, like your Majesty, have contracted unknown diseases, which may be caused by acclimatization."

"In the long run, I am afraid that the non-combat attrition of our army will intensify, which is not conducive to combat."

Hearing this, Qingji couldn't help but fell into deep thought.

Today, it has been more than a year since the army marched westward, and it is understandable that the soldiers are homesick.

Furthermore, now Qingji's body does not allow high-intensity marching and fighting life, so what can I do?
"Teacher...return to court."

Under such circumstances, Qingji had no choice but to issue an order for the class teacher to return to the court.

"Father, my son is willing to stay in Lydia!"

Wu Fan volunteered.

"My son is also willing!"

Wu Zhang bowed to Qingji and said: "Father, if you don't take revenge, I swear you will not be a human being!"

"it is good."

Qing Ji looked at the two sons who were most capable of leading the army in front of him, and felt very relieved.

"Wu Zhang, you stay in Lydia, and I will give you [-] cavalry and mercenaries... No, you have to adapt the locals and train them into an army for combat, not simple mercenaries."

"promise!"

"Wu Fan, if you stay in Syria, I will give you [-] cavalry, and you can also recruit troops on your own to form an army."

"promise!"

It is worth mentioning that over the past year or so, the Wu Empire has continuously sent troops to the mainland, investing about 30 cavalry back and forth to implement the military occupation.

Qingji now only leaves Wu Zhang and Wu Fan so many soldiers and horses, and there is a lot to do.

After all, they have the right to conscription and can recruit and train troops by themselves.

Given time, Qingji believed that Wu Zhang and Wu Fan, who gathered the hearts of the people and had no shortage of money, food and soldiers, would surely be able to destroy the Macedonian Kingdom and the Greek city-states.

After Qingji explained some more things, accompanied by Wu Ji and a group of old guards, he boarded the ship back to the Wu Empire.

At this point, the first Western Expedition of the Wu Empire came to an end.

Although there was a defeat in Boeotia, for the powerful Wu Empire, it was still a defeat without pain.

The Wu Empire basically occupied the entire territory of the Achaemenid Dynasty...

wrong!

Qingji suddenly realized.

"Wu Ji, and the Persians used to occupy a place, but my Wu army did not take it down."

"Grandfather is talking about the Indus River?"

"good."

Qing Ji waved his hand and said, "I will give you 3 soldiers on foot and horses, you must attack there."

"promise."

Seeing that Qingji was so persistent and still obsessed with the area of ​​the Indus River, Wu Ji had no choice but to go all the way to lead the troops to capture it, so as to settle Qingji's concern.

After all, it was in South Asia, a fertile, fertile, ancient land.