A thousand-year-old family that began with the Battle of Makino

Chapter 51 King Zhuang dominates
The seventeenth year of King Chuzhuang and the one hundred and seventy-fourth year of Bai Kingdom

Spring:

After two years of governance by Sun Shuao, the state of Chu's national strength improved a lot, its granaries were overflowing, and its soldiers' armor was as smooth as a mirror. King Zhuang of Chu took advantage of the situation and ordered Yin Sunshu'ao to general the center army, Zi Zhong to general the left army, and Zi Fan to general the right army. King Zhuang of Chu personally led all the elite troops of the three armies of Chu to march north to Zheng.

This was the largest, most majestic, and fiercest offensive that Chu had launched in recent years. On the road to Zheng, there were fierce battles, rolling chariots, and dense yellow sand. The air seemed to be filled with sharp metal, which cut into people's lungs when inhaled. Facing such a great opportunity and a majestic army, King Chuzhuang, standing on the chariot, felt as if everything he wanted was within easy reach.

Soon, the Chu army surrounded Zheng Guo. When Zheng Xianggong saw this battle, he was so frightened that he did not dare to leave the city to fight. The Chu army had no choice but to continue the siege. After seventeen days of siege, Duke Xianggang of Zheng prepared to sue for peace and ordered a divination, but the divination showed unlucky. He prepared to fight the Chu army, but the divination showed auspiciousness, so Zheng Xianggong made up his mind to fight the Chu army to the death.

Then he said to Zheng Jun: "I originally wanted to surrender to save the people of Zheng State, so I asked God for divination, but God said no, this would make our Zheng State destroyed, so I asked again, is it okay to resist desperately? ? God said yes, so we have a chance to defend the city and preserve the country.

Therefore, soldiers, God wants us to defend the city to the death. Do we want to disobey God's order? Is it okay to go against the grain? No, we must obey God's will and never take a step back! "

King Chuzhuang saw that Zheng still refused to surrender after so many days, so he ordered the Chu army to be divided into three parts: one to defend the camp, one to rest and prepare for replacement, and one to attack the city. The three parts took turns.

So after three months of fierce fighting on the city wall, the Chu army finally occupied the city wall of Zhengdu with its superior strength. Seeing that the situation was over, Zheng Xianggong had no choice but to bare his chest and arms, lead the sheep in person, and plead guilty to the king of Chuzhuang for peace, saying:

"I couldn't obey God's will, failed to keep my promise and serve you well, and made you come to our city with anger. This is my sin. How dare I not obey your orders at all? I can deal with it how you want. Me, even if you throw me to a distant seaside, or let me serve you as a slave, it is up to you.

However, if you can honor the friendly relations between the two countries in the past, reserve sacrificial places for King Li, King Xuan, Duke Huan, and Duke Wu, and do not destroy their countries, let us serve you instead, even as a county of Chu State. It is also a favor to us. Not only that, this is also my wish, but I dare not ask for such a hope. I say so much just to express what is in my heart, and I ask you to consider it carefully. "

Seeing Zheng Xianggong's behavior, the King of Chuzhuang was about to agree to his request. The people next to him said: "Your Majesty, you can't agree to him. Once you have gained a country, you can no longer practice pardon. How can you still have the meat in your mouth?" Discard it?"

King Chuzhuang said: "Their king can be subordinate to others, which will definitely gain the trust of the countrymen and use the countrymen reasonably. Even if we occupy such a country, I am afraid it will be difficult to govern. Let them be released!"

So he ordered the Chu army to retreat thirty miles and allowed Zheng to make peace. Then he established an alliance with Zheng Xianggong and agreed that Zheng would send his hostage Liang Chu to Chu as a pledge and form an alliance with Chu.

On the other side, the Jin State sent troops to prepare to rescue Zheng. On the way, they heard that Zheng and Chu had made peace, and asked the generals whether to continue fighting with Chu. A disagreement immediately arose within the Jin army.

At this time, the Jin army was divided into three armies. Xun Lin's father was the general of the middle army, and Xianhu was the assistant of the middle army. Shihui will be the superior general, but Queke will be the superior military assistant. Zhao Shuo was the general of the lower army, and Luan Shu was the assistant of the lower army. Zhao Kuo and Zhao Ying were both appointed as officers of the Chinese army. Gong Shuo and Han Chuan were appointed as military officers. Xun Shou and Zhao were both appointed officers of the lower army. Han Jue was appointed Sima.

Xun Lin's father, the general of the Chinese army, believed that Chu was strong and stable and could not compete with it, so he wanted to withdraw his troops. The officers and soldiers of the army will agree with Xun Lin's statement.

However, Zhongjun Zuo Xianyu believed: "The reason why Jin can dominate the world lies in the bravery of the army and the hard work of its ministers. Now that we have lost the princes, can we say that we have tried our best? If we have enemies but do not fight them, can we say that we have done our best?" Are you brave? If the hegemony created by Duke Wen is thrown away from our hands, then I might as well die."

Therefore, Xianyu led the army of the deputy general of the Chinese army across the Yellow River without permission to pursue the Chu army. Xun Shou believed that Xianyu's approach was too radical. If something went wrong, how would he be responsible?

Sima Han Jue was worried that Xianyu would go deep into the army alone, so he suggested that Xun Lin's father lead the rest of the army to cross the river. Xun Lin's father agreed and ordered the Jin army to cross the Yellow River, but they only stayed on the other side of the Yellow River and did not advance further, because the opinions of the generals within the Jin army were still very inconsistent, and the three armies were doing their own things.

At this time, King Zhuang of Chu had already marched north to Xin, planning to drink the Yellow River and return home with his troops. Hearing that the Jin army had crossed the Yellow River, King Chuzhuang wanted to withdraw his troops immediately, but at this time minister Wu Shen advocated fighting, and Sun Shuao immediately came out to oppose it, saying:

"We invaded the State of Chen last year, and this year we invaded the State of Zheng. Will there be no war in the future? If we cannot win after the battle, how much loss will we suffer! By then, eating Wu Shen's meat will not be enough to atone for our sins. !”

Wu Shen said: "If you win the battle, it means your uncle Sun has no strategy. If you fail to win, my meat will also fall into the hands of the Jin army. Where will it be your turn to eat?" Sun Shuao didn't want to have a meaningless argument with him. So he ordered the carriage to turn south and turn the flag upside down.

Wu Shen hurriedly said to King Zhuang of Chu: "Xun Linfu, the central general of the Jin Kingdom, was recently appointed, and his orders will not be carried out smoothly. Furthermore, his central commander, Zuo Xianyu, is headstrong and unkind. If you are unruly and unruly, you will definitely refuse to obey Xun Lin’s father’s orders.

They are three commanders who want to act with authority but cannot do so. If you want to obey what they do, then there is no superior in the army. Whose orders should the army obey? This time, the Jin army was bound to fail. Besides, if you use the dignity of a king to avoid the ministers of other countries and spread the word, what will other countries think of you? How can the country suffer such humiliation? "

King Zhuang of Chu felt embarrassed after hearing this, so he asked Sun Shuao to turn the shaft of his chariot and march north, stationed in Guandi to wait for the Jin army. The Jin army was stationed between Ao and Hao. On the one hand, the Chu army sent envoys to negotiate an alliance with the Jin army in order to paralyze the Jin army and set a date for the alliance. On the other hand, they sent military generals to challenge the Jin army on bicycles, constantly provoking and testing them.

Xu Bo of Chu State drove a chariot, Le Bo was on the left side of the chariot, and Uncle She was on the right side of the chariot. The three men drove chariots to the Jin army camp and continued to provoke them. The Jin people could not bear it and sent people to chase them. Xu Bo quickly drove back and ran back. After the Jin people caught up, they attacked from both sides.

Le Bo shot the horse on the left, and Uncle She shot the man on the right, making it impossible for the two corners to get close. After shooting, there was only one arrow left in the quiver. Lobo saw an elk appearing in front of him, so he shot the elk in the back with an arrow.

At this time, Bao Gui of the Jin State was leading his men to chase after him. Le Bo asked his uncle to stop his chariot and send his uncle to take the elk and offer it to Bao Gui, saying, "Because it is not the hunting time yet, and the animals that should be sacrificed have not been delivered yet. You guys have worked hard chasing us all the way, and it’s time for dinner, so I would like to dedicate this to you and your entourage as a meal." After that, he drove away.

The Jin people still wanted to pursue, but Bao Gui stopped them and said, "The left chariot on the left is good at archery, and the chariot on the right is good at rhetoric. They are both gentlemen! Killing a gentleman is not tolerated in the world!"

Wei Qi of the Jin State had previously failed in his request to be a public official, so he was angry and wanted to cause the Jin army to lose the battle. Zhao Zhan had previously asked to be a minister, but failed to get it. At the same time, he was angry that he had let go of those who challenged Chu, so he asked to lead troops to challenge Chu, but was not allowed. He asked to summon the Chu people to join the alliance, and he was allowed to do so, so he and Wei Qi accepted the order and went to the Chu camp.

At this time, Chuke said: "These aggrieved guys are gone. If we don't make preparations, we will definitely suffer defeat." The generals of the army thought it was reasonable, so they sent Gong Shuo and Han Chuan to lead their troops to set up a position in front of Aoshan. There were ambushes at seven places. Upon seeing this, Zhao Yingqi also sent his men to prepare boats by the river first to prevent any unexpected events, but Xianyu did not take it seriously.

Here, Zhao Zhan and Wei Qi arrived at the Chu camp at night. When they were about to enter the Chu camp, they saw the Chu army waiting in full formation. They reacted and quickly turned around and drove away. King Chuzhuang sent people to chase them, and then ordered everyone to The Chu army attacked day and night, and soon approached the Jin army's camp.

When the Jin army saw the Chu army coming, they hurriedly formed a formation. Seeing that the Jin army's formation was unstable, Sun Shu'ao immediately ordered the entire army to press forward. The Chu army advanced quickly, with chariots galloping and infantry running quickly to cover the Jin army.

Xun Lin's father was beaten to a loss, and he immediately beat drums in the army and said: "The one who crosses the river first and returns will be rewarded." The middle army and the lower army rushed to get on the boat, while the people on the boat kept hacking and killing those who wanted to cross the river quickly. The fingers of the boat picker, so the severed fingers on the boat can be held up with hands.

In the end, the Jin army's middle and lower armies suffered heavy losses, but the upper army was able to escape intact due to Shi Hui's advance preparations and Shi Hui's personal attack. Then the Chu army entered Bidi, while the Jin army crossed the river overnight to return home.

At night, at dusk, at the Yellow River ferry, the defeated Jin army made the entire ferry noisy all night long. This battle caused Jin to suffer too much loss, and the three armies were defeated.

After the Battle of Bi, King Chuzhuang advanced to the edge of the Yellow River. Looking at the mighty Yellow River, King Chuzhuang asked the soldiers to let their horses out to drink some water.

The eighteenth year of King Chuzhuang and the one hundred and seventy-fifth year of Bai Kingdom

King Zhuang of Chu led his army to attack the Central Plains countries, forcing Zheng and Xu to surrender, and then attacked Xiao. Because Song helped Xiao, he attacked Song and made it sign an alliance with Chu. As for the Jin State, its strength was greatly damaged after the Battle of Bi. It could no longer maintain its hegemonic status and had no strength to help these countries.

In this way, several major small vassal states in the Central Plains abandoned the Jin State and sought attachment to the Chu State, so King Zhuang of Chu became another overlord of the Central Plains after Jin Wengong.

(End of this chapter)