Chu and Han contend for the throne

Chapter 220 The War of Destruction
Xiang Zhuang said: "It seems that someone has weaved a big net against us Da Chu!"

Bai Lixian shook his feather fan and said: "Your Majesty, it seems that some people feel guilty, but this is also expected. After all, when our Great Chu becomes stronger, it is bound to use troops against the surrounding forces. Your Majesty's ambition is not just To be the king of Chu is to be the emperor of the Great Chu Empire in the future, isn't it?"

Xiang Zhuang waved his hand and said, "Ziliang, what do you think we should do now?"

Bai Lixian pondered for a moment, and said: "Your Majesty, although the princes from all walks of life are coming fiercely, their distances from Jiangdong are not the same, so it is difficult to form a real joint attack. Therefore, it is not difficult to defeat each of them. I think , we should concentrate our superior forces to defeat one or two of the princes first."

"Then, who should be the first to attack?" Bailixian's opinion coincides with Xiang Zhuang's. As a time traveler, Xiang Zhuang has come into contact with the strategic thinking of a great man in later generations. The classic quotation of that great man is , Injuring the enemy's ten fingers, it is better to cut off one finger, and stretching out five fingers to poke someone is definitely not as powerful as making a fist!
Bailixian said: "Ordinarily, Yingbu should be the first to be attacked, because the Huainan army poses the greatest threat to Jiangdong."

Having said this, Bai Lixian said again: "However, Yingbo is sitting in the three counties of Xue, Surabaya and Donghai, with an area of ​​several thousand miles and hundreds of thousands of armors. It is very difficult to quickly and severely damage the Huainan army. It is absolutely impossible to destroy the Huainan Kingdom, so, for the Yingbu Army, I believe that defense should be the main priority."

Xiang Zhuang said: "You mean to use Wu Ruijun for surgery?"

"Yes, it's Wu Rui's army!" Bailixian said, "The threat of Wu Rui's army is second only to the Yingbu army, and it is by no means comparable to that of Zhou Yin, Jin She, and Li Zuoche. , and then block the British army with generals, Zhou Yin, Jin She, and Li Zuoche will never dare to cross the river rashly."

"Defeat Wu Rui's army?" Xiang Zhuang touched the beard on the corner of his lips, and suddenly said, "Why don't you simply destroy Hengshan Kingdom?"

"Well, to destroy Hengshan Kingdom?" The feather fan in Bailixian's hand stopped suddenly, and he said inexplicably, "Your Majesty, what you mean is to unite with Linjiang Kingdom to kill Hengshan Kingdom? Destroy the country in one fell swoop?"

Xiang Zhuang said: "If the king of Linjiang is willing to send troops, why not?"

Bai Lixian pondered for a moment and then said: "But have you ever thought about it, if you want to destroy the Hengshan Kingdom, it may not be enough to just defeat the Hengshan Army, at least you must also break through the capital of the Hengshan Kingdom, Zhuyi, but in this way, my great Chu The elite soldiers will have to go deep into the hinterland of Hengshan, and if the troops cannot make a quick victory under the expedition, the situation may get out of control."

Bai Lixian's worries were not unreasonable. If Xiang Zhuang led the main force of the Chu army deep into the hinterland of Hengshan, he would not be able to retreat in less than three to five months. However, after such a long time, the surrounding princes had already arrived at Wu. In the middle of the city, if this happens, the Chu army will immediately fall into a dilemma, internal and external difficulties.

What is even more frightening is that once the princes from all walks of life come to Wuzhong City, the situation in Jiangdong, which has finally calmed down, will immediately get out of control again, and the remnants of Xiang Guan will definitely take the opportunity to rebel. Most of the clans that turned to Xiang Zhuang would fight back, and even the gentry clans that originally supported Xiang Tuo might turn back.

This kind of situation has not never happened before. When Zhou Bo and Guan Ying's army crossed the river, many gentry secretly joined the Han army. However, after Xiang Tuo crossed the river, these gentry quickly turned back again and rejoined the state of Chu. Therefore, apart from the old aristocratic families with deep roots, these gentry and clans only have interests in their eyes.

It was difficult for Xiang Zhuang to make a choice for a while. If Hengshan could be wiped out in one fell swoop, it would undoubtedly greatly deter the surrounding hostile forces. After this battle, few of the surrounding hostile forces would dare to provoke the Chu army. Xiang Zhuang can also let go of his hands and feet to rectify the overall military and political situation in Jiangdong.

Right now, Jiangdong is only calm on the surface.

In fact, under the calm water surface, there is still a raging undercurrent. If Xiangzhuang wants to truly calm Jiangdong, it will not take three to five years to even think about it, especially the implementation of the farming-study warfare system is a long-term and arduous project. However, it took nearly 20 years for Wei Yang to implement reforms in Qin, and Xiang Zhuang would never hesitate to do so.

If the state of Chu wants to vigorously reform and implement the system of farming, reading and warfare, it is absolutely impossible without a stable surrounding environment. From this point of view, it is necessary to destroy Hengshan to establish its prestige.

Moreover, Jiangdong is now initially settled, and a political compromise has just been reached between Xiangzhuang and the nobles, nobles, and clans. The overall situation is good, and it is just right to use foreign troops in one go. There will be a fierce game in the future, and at that time, Chu will be unable to use its troops abroad.

However, just as Bai Lixian worried, once the battle cannot be settled quickly, and once the main force of the Chu army falls into a bitter battle in Hengshan, then Yingbu, Zhou Yin, Jin She, Li Zuoche, Si Wuzhu, and Si Luoyao will all be defeated. His ilk will never miss this opportunity. When the princes from all walks of life come to the city of Wuzhong, the Jiangdong foundation of Chu State will be over.

After a long while, Xiang Zhuang said, "Ziliang, go back to Wuzhong first."

Bai Lixian nodded silently. He also knew that this decision was very important to Xiang Zhuang and Da Chu, so this decision was definitely not easy to make.

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Fanyi, Hengshan army camp.

Mei Yan was patrolling the entire battalion surrounded by Lieutenant General Geng Sheng and Military Adviser Geng Wang.

At the end of the Qin Dynasty, when Mei Yan had just rebelled, the brothers Geng Sheng and Geng Wang were still bandits who gathered in the mountains and forests. When the two brothers heard Mei Yan's name, they brought six thousand strong men to join him. Cited as his confidantes, the two brothers did not disappoint Mei Yan's expectations and became Mei Yan's right-hand men.

Later, various rebels invaded Xianyang, the Qin Empire perished, and Xiang Yu divided the world. Although Mei Yan had great achievements, because he was Wu Rui's general, he only conferred [-] marquises. This made Geng Sheng and Geng Wang brothers very unconvinced. , because the contributions of Wei Bao, Zang Tu, Zhang Er and others are completely incomparable with Mei Yan, but they are all named kings.

But now, Mei Yan is finally looking forward to the opportunity to become the king again. About a month ago, the King of Han issued an edict to Hengshan Kingdom, and said: Chu has no way, Xiang Zhuang is stupid, and he acts against the law, so that the people in the east of the river are in danger. Call the princes of the world to attack them, and the one who goes down to Jiangdong first will be the king of Chu!

At this time in the Hengshan Kingdom, Hengshan King Wu Rui was already ill, and all state affairs were temporarily handled by the prince Wu Chen, but Wu Chen was only a 16-year-old child, how could he know anything about military and political affairs?Therefore, the military and political affairs of the Hengshan Kingdom were actually all in the hands of Prime Minister Wu Zhong and General Mei Yan.

Although the Prime Minister Wu Zhong is the uncle of Wu Rui's family, he is a close confidant of Liu Bang, the King of Han. Speaking of which, Wu Zhong actually has no skills. The reason why Wu Rui appointed him as the Prime Minister of Hengshan Kingdom is to reassure Liu Bang, because Wu Rui is a smart man. He could see that Liu Bang actually didn't trust the princes from all walks of life.

Therefore, as soon as the edict of the King of Han was delivered, Wu Zhong immediately asked Mei Yan to go to the palace to discuss matters.

What Wu Zhong meant was, of course, to carry out the edict of the King of Han to the letter, and use all the best soldiers from Hengshan to attack Jiangdong, but Mei Yan firmly opposed it, because Mei Yan knew very well that Jiangdong was not easy to fight, and Xiangzhuang was even more difficult to deal with!
However, after returning to the General's Mansion, Mei Yan was persuaded by brothers Geng Sheng and Geng Wang.

In particular, Geng Wang's words deeply moved Mei Yan. Geng Wang said, a man standing in the world should hold a three-foot sword and make unworldly feats. How can he be timid and wise to protect himself?Mei Yan is right when he thinks about it, his life is only a few decades, why can't he win a job quickly, why can't he win a prince for himself and his descendants?

The next day, Mei Yan approached Wu Chen, stated his new proposition, and reached an agreement among the ministers. What can Wu Chen, a young and inexperienced prince, immediately agree to the request of the two of them, and soon, a large number of strong men came Gathering from various pavilions, townships, and counties to Fanyi, at the same time, grain, grass and equipment began to be continuously transported to Lujiang.

Lieutenant General Geng Sheng said to Mei Yan while walking: "General, as of now, Fanyi has assembled 4 strong men, and within half a month can add another [-]!"

"10 people? Not enough." Mei Yan shook his head and said, "We need to recruit more capable men."

"One hundred thousand is not enough?" Geng Sheng said in amazement, "General, Xiang Zhuang has only 10 cavalry, even if you add Xiang Tuo and Xiang Guan's soldiers and horses, there are only [-] troops at full strength, and you have to face Huainan King The king of Dongou, the king of Minyue, Zhou Yin, Jin She, Li Zuoche and other armies are besieging us, how many soldiers and horses can we allocate to deal with us?"

Mei Yan shook his head and said, "The King of Dongou and the King of Minyue are nothing but clowns, lacking in cunning, Zhou Yin, Jin She, and Li Zuoche can't do much. Although the Huainan King has a strong army, he may not be willing to attack with all his might Jiangdong, therefore, we must be mentally prepared to face the Chu army alone."

After this pause, Mei Yan said again: "If we face the Chu army alone, 20 soldiers are still not enough. With Xiang Zhuang's ability and the strength of the Chu army, our Hengshan army needs at least [-] troops to ensure victory!"

"20 troops?!" Geng Sheng exclaimed in shock, "General, this is the army of the whole country!"

"If you don't send the whole country's soldiers, how can you destroy the Chu country?" Mei Yan said coldly, "You think Xiang Zhuang is easy to provoke?"

"The general said it well, the soldiers of the whole country are the soldiers of the whole country!" Geng Wang, the military strategist, slammed the festival fiercely, and said very excitedly, "If you want to fight, then just fight hard."

Mei Yan nodded, and told Geng Wang: "Military Master, please write a letter immediately, and ask the Prime Minister to issue another official document, ordering each county, township, and pavilion to send out one household, and come to Fanyi to gather in a certain period of time!" "

"Here!" Geng Wang suddenly agreed and took the order to go.

(End of this chapter)