Chu and Han contend for the throne

Chapter 221

Wuzhong, Chu Palace.

Although it was late at night, the main hall of the palace was brightly lit. More than a dozen lamps illuminated the whole hall as bright as day, and at the same time illuminated the dignified faces. Xiang Zhuang was on the throne, and Xiang he , Xiang Tuo, Huan Chu, Ji Bu, Zhongli Mei, Yu Ziqi, Wu She, Shusun Guan, Qu Yi and other civil and military officials sat on the left and right sides.

A screen was placed facing the main hall, and a map was hung on the screen.

Holding a feather fan, Bailixian was standing in front of the map and talking eloquently: "According to the information sent back by the elaboration, the general of Hengshan Kingdom, Mei Yan, has assembled an army of [-] in Fanyi, and there are more strong men coming from here. Dozens of counties from Hengshan and Lujiang counties are constantly gathering in Fanyi, it seems that Hengshan is planning to go to war."

Xiang Zhuang nodded, looked around the crowd and said, "Who knows the details of Hengshan Kingdom?"

"Old minister knows a thing or two." As soon as Xiang Zhuang's words fell, Uncle Sun Guan sat up from the seat, bowed his hands to Xiang Zhuang, and said loudly, "Hengshan and Lujiang have more than 20 counties under the rule of the Hengshan Kingdom. , with a population of nearly one million, and the total number of registered households is more than [-], if one family produces one man, at least [-] strong men can be recruited!"

"20 strong men?!" Xiang Tuo, who was sitting at the bottom left of Xiang Zhuang, changed his face slightly when he heard this.

Uncle Sun Guan stroked his long beard, and said: "Hengshan has more than 20 strong men, but it doesn't mean that Mei Yan can suddenly gather [-] troops, but the old minister thinks that suddenly gathering [-] to [-] troops should be done. It is possible, because Wu Rui has a good reputation in Hengshan and Lujiang counties, and he is very popular among the people."

"An army of [-] to [-]? Can't you?!" Wu She was shocked when he heard the words, "If Wu Rui could really gather an army of [-] to [-], why did he only bring three soldiers when Liu Bang ordered the princes of the world to gather at Gaixia? Thousands of troops?"

Uncle Sun Guandao: "Wu Rui has always cared about the people in the country. Since he was named the Queen of Hengshan, he rarely raised troops. Therefore, when Liu Bang issued an edict to order the princes of the world to go to the League, he only brought [-] elite soldiers from Mei Yu. These [-] elite soldiers are veterans who were the first to join forces with Wu Rui and who once conquered Guanzhong."

Xiang Zhuang nodded and said, "Mei Yan's [-] elite soldiers are indeed very strong."

Huan Chu, Ji Bu, and Lu Ziqi who were sitting on the left and right also nodded in agreement.

When in Zhaodi, Xiangzhuang's remnants of the Chu army had a confrontation with Meiyan's [-] elite soldiers, especially in the battle of Jipu. Meiyan's army also left a deep impression on Xiangzhuang, Yu Ziqi and others. In my impression, this is definitely an elite army that has experienced many battles, not a group of farmers, woodcutters or hunters who gathered suddenly.

Xiang He frowned, and said again: "Since Wu Rui has always been sympathetic to the common people, even if Liu Bang issued an edict, he only dispatched [-] elite soldiers to meet the occasion, so why did he go out of his usual way this time and summon the young men of the country?" Did Wu Rui get some kind of stimulation, or did Wu Rui really think that I, Da Chu, was easy to bully?"

"Well, this old man doesn't know." Shu Sunguan said and sat back on his lap.

Bai Lixian shook the feather fan in his hand, and said: "I know this, the king of Hengshan Wu Rui is very ill, and the military and political affairs of Hengshan Kingdom are temporarily replaced by Prince Wu Chen, but Wu Chen is young, and the power is actually in the country In the hands of Prime Minister Wu Zhong and General Mei Yan, the large-scale assembly of Hengshan's strong men is probably Wu Zhong and Mei Yan's idea."

"So, Wu Zhong and Mei Yan are ready to throw the whole country's soldiers in a showdown with me, Great Chu?"

Xiang Zhuang was also a little startled secretly, he really didn't expect that Hengshan Kingdom would have such strong strength!

You know, after three years of chaos at the end of the Qin Dynasty, plus five years of fighting between Chu and Han, the population of the whole of China has dropped sharply. Even Liu Bang, the king of Han, can barely scrape together more than 20 troops. There are only 30 troops, but a small Hengshan country can suddenly gather 20 strong men?

But after thinking about it, this situation is actually reasonable.

The chaos at the end of the Qin Dynasty and the struggle between Chu and Han, the battlefield was always north of the Yangtze River, and the most serious population loss was only in Guanzhong and the counties of the Central Plains. The Linjiang Kingdom, Hengshan Kingdom, and Jiangdong to the south of the Yangtze River did not actually suffer too much war. They devastated and even accepted many refugees from the Central Plains, especially Jiangdong, whose population nearly doubled!
The reason why Hengshan Kingdom didn't show its mountains and dews before was because Wu Rui was relatively low-key.

Qu Yi, who had just rushed back to Wuzhong from Danyang, said: "Your Majesty, Wu Rui has been operating in Hengshan Country for many years. There is plenty of food and grass, and the country is strong. If the whole country invades, it is entirely possible to mobilize an army of [-] to [-]. The minister thinks we Da Chu should plan ahead and prepare as soon as possible, otherwise, when the Hengshan army comes to attack, the situation will be passive."

Xiang Zhuang twitched his beard that curled up at the corners of his lips, and said decisively: "Since Hengshan is going to fight for our lives with Great Chu, how can we not accompany you?" After saying this, Xiang Zhuang said again, "As the saying goes, strike first If you are strong, you will suffer disaster if you strike last, and you will fight left and right, so before the Hengshan Army has finished gathering, strike first!"

Xiang Tuo suddenly stood up and said, "Your Majesty, how far have you hit?"

Suddenly a stern light flashed across Xiang Zhuang's eyes, and he said solemnly: "He wants to kill me, so I will kill him!"

As soon as these words came out, Xiang Ta, Xiang Tuo, Huan Chu, Ji Bu, Zhong Limei, Yu Ziqi, Wu She, Shusun Guan, Qu Yi and others who were sitting on the left and right all changed their faces and stood in front of the screen. Bai Lixian's expression remained constant. As early as in Shanyin County, Xiang Zhuang had actually revealed his intention to destroy Hengshan Kingdom, but he hadn't made up his mind at that time.

But this time, Xiang Zhuang seemed to be determined to destroy Hengshan Kingdom.

Xiang He sat up on his knees, bowed his hands to Xiang Zhuang first, and said worriedly: "Your Majesty, it may not be easy to destroy the Hengshan Kingdom, and the army is on an expedition. Once Yingbu, Zhou Yin, Jin She, Li Zuoche, Si Luoyao, Si Wu and all other armies came to attack Jiangdong, so what should we do?"

Xiang Zhuang shook his hands at Baili Xian, and said, "Zi Liang, tell me."

"Here!" Baili Xian bowed to Xiang Zhuang with his feather fan in his arms, then looked around at the civil and military officials in the hall, and said, "If you want to destroy the Hengshan Kingdom, there are two key points, one is to gather all the elite, Before the other hostile forces from all walks of life can react, attack the Lujiang River quickly and break the Meiyan army; secondly, persuade the king of Linjiang to join the lieutenant and attack the Hengshan Kingdom together!"

Before the court meeting, Xiang Zhuang had actually checked with Bai Lixian repeatedly, and it was still possible to destroy the Hengshan Kingdom.

Judging from the information, Mei Yan, Ying Bu, Zhou Yin, Jin She, Li Zuoche, and Si Luoyao are all gathering troops. Although there is no news about Si Wuzhu's side, they will not stand still if they think about it. The seven princes besieged Jiangdong seems to have a huge momentum, but in fact it is not a cause for concern. The Chu army can use the time difference to defeat them one by one.

Before Bai Lixian finished speaking, there were murmurs in the hall. Most people expressed doubts about Bai Lixian's words, but some people seriously weighed the possibility.

After a long while, Qu Yi said: "Military Master, it will not be easy to capture Lujiang and defeat Mei Yan's army with lightning speed, right?"

"It's not easy, but it's not impossible." Bailixian shook his feather fan and said with a smile, "As long as we do two things well, it's not difficult to realize this intention. First, mobilize enough troops in the direction of Dantu and Qu'a First, set up a posture of aggressively attacking Huainan, and second, secretly mobilize elite troops, take small roads and attack Fanyi."

Xiang Zhuang got up slowly, looked around at the civil and military officials and said: "The widow decided to lead [-] elite soldiers to take the small road and attack Fanyi. Chongli is going to Linjiang Kingdom, we must persuade Linjiang Wang Gongwei to send troops to attack Hengshan Kingdom together!"

"Here!"

"Here!"

Xiang Tuo and Wu She got up on their knees at the same time, bowing to Xiang Zhuang.

Xiang Zhuang's gaze turned to Xiang Ta again, and he said solemnly: "Forage, equipment, collection and allocation of labor, and all affairs of the country, I will be there for you."

Xiang Ta got up and bowed his hands, "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will not disgrace my life."

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Longxi, the camp of the Han army.

When Liu Bang was drinking with Zhang Liang and Chen Ping according to the case, Xia Houying suddenly walked in in a hurry and said loudly: "My lord, good news, there is news from Hengshan that Mei Yan has gathered more than [-] people in Fanyi. A large army, and more strong men are gathering from various counties to Fanyi, it seems that Hengshan Kingdom is going to fight Chu Kingdom desperately!"

"Huh?" Liu Bang put down his glass of wine and said in amazement, "When did Wu Rui become so belligerent?"

Zhang Liang and Chen Ping were also slightly surprised, and Chen Ping asked immediately, "General Xiahou, Mei Yan has gathered so many troops, and Hengshan King Wu Rui didn't stop him?"

Xia Houying clapped her hands and said, "Sir, I don't know something. Wu Rui is seriously ill in bed and is about to die. Now, all affairs in the country are decided by the Prime Minister Wu Zhong and the General Mei Yan."

"So that's how it is." Liu Bang said, "Hehe, this is really God's help."

Liu Bang knew that Wu Rui was a low-key person and would probably not disobey his edict, so it was inevitable to send troops to Jiangdong. Rui Ye only sent 3 elite soldiers, but he never thought that Wu Rui fell ill and Mei Yan became so belligerent again.
This time, it is enough for Xiang Zhuang's children. The Seventh Route Allied Forces and Hengshan Kingdom are coming out in full force. Most likely, Yingbo's rebel will not fall behind. Even if Chu Kingdom cannot be destroyed this time, It is absolutely no problem to beat the Chu army's vitality seriously, so, when Liu Bang leaves the customs three years later, what will Xiang Zhuang'er use to contend with him?
At that moment, Liu Bang drank all the water and wine in the wine cup, got up again, and said to Zhang Liang and Chen Ping, "Ovary, Chen Ping, the five thousand good horses that Luo Jia sold from the Yue family have arrived. It's camp, let's go, go with the widow to have a look, and by the way, I will pick two fine horses for you to mount, ha ha."

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PS: No update at night.

(End of this chapter)