Chu and Han contend for the throne

Chapter 231 Returning to Jiangdong
On the north bank of the river, Mei Yan fled north in a hurry surrounded by his own soldiers.

Looking at the dozens of remnant soldiers around him, Mei Cheng couldn't help feeling sad. The 10,000+ Hengshan army, including more than 2 elite veterans who had been following him since he rebelled against Qin, died in the first battle. Mei Cheng Geng Sheng and Geng Sheng also died in the rebellious army, and the military adviser Geng Wang was also lost when crossing the river.

"Military division, where is the military division?" Mei Yan looked around blankly and asked, "Have you ever seen the military division?"

Dozens of soldiers following Mei Yan shook their heads one after another. Mei Yan asked several remnants of the soldiers again and again, and finally a military commander replied: "General, the military division has been taken captive by the Chu army."

Mei Yan couldn't help feeling very sorry when he heard the words, that Geng Wang was also taken away by the Chu army.

"General, are you taking a break?" a soldier gasped and said, "I really can't walk anymore."

Mei Yan thought that this place was already on the north bank of the river, and the Chu army would not be able to catch up so quickly. Immediately, Mei Yan ordered to rest on the spot, and sent people to collect the remnants. At dusk, they actually gathered more than 500 remnants. However, just when Mei Yan packed up the remnant soldiers and prepared to return to Zhuyi, the shocking news suddenly spread to the army.

At dinner time, two personal soldiers came to Mei Yun with a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy.

When Mei Yan put down his rice bowl and looked intently, it turned out to be the crown prince Wu Chen. Mei Yan was really surprised. He got up and shouted: "Prince?! How did you get here?!"

"General!" Seeing Mei Yan, Prince Wu Chen burst into tears, "Ah, ah, ah..."

"Prince!" Mei Yan hurriedly stepped forward to support Wu Chen, and said anxiously, "What's the matter, what's the matter?"

"General, the father is dead, Zhuyi is also lost, and the queen mother and several younger brothers are also lost on the way to escape." After crying for a long time, Wu Chen finally stopped his grief. Hearing this news, Mei Yan suddenly It was like pouring cold water on him, and his heart was icy cold. Although he was mentally prepared, he still couldn't bear to hear the sad news all of a sudden.

After a long while, Wu Chen said, "General, what shall we do now?"

Mei Yan sighed, and replied: "Prince, the only plan now is to go to Guanzhong to join the King of Han."

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Chaisang, the county government lobby.

Po Jun strode into the lobby, clasped his fists to Xiang Zhuang and said, "My lord, the general caught a guy named Geng Wang by the river, and it is said that he is Mei Yan's military advisor!"

Xiang Zhuang said without hesitation: "Bring it up."

"Here!" Po Jun suddenly agreed and took the order.

Bai Lixian shook his feather fan and leaned into Xiang Zhuang's ear and said, "Your Majesty, the surname Geng is a common surname in Lingnan, and it is also a prominent family. It is well-known among the barbarians in the Wuling area. Xi Meiyan rebelled against Qin. Brother Gengwang led five thousand strong men to join forces, among them three thousand strong men from barbarians."

When Xiang Zhuang heard this, his heart moved slightly.

In the Battle of Fanyi, Mei Yan’s 10,000+ army collapsed, and most of the [-] Hengshan veterans were killed. Hengshan Kingdom can be said to be doomed soon. If there is no accident, now Gongsun Wu’s Linjiang army should also be in the city of Luyi At this time, the defense of Zhuyi is empty, and the city will fall only overnight.

If Hengshan Kingdom perishes, Hengshan and Lujiang counties will also be divided by Chu State and Linjiang State.

According to the agreement, Chu State will get Lujiang County. However, it will not happen overnight if the Chu army wants to completely annex Lujiang County, especially the counties of Nanye, Ganxian, and Yudu in the south of Lujiang County, as well as Luling, In the counties of Anping and Yichun, the mountains are high and the waters are far away, and the roads are dangerous and obstructed. It is difficult for the Chu army to exert influence in a short period of time.

Moreover, it is impossible for Xiangzhuang's army to stay on the Lujiang River for a long time. After driving the thousands of remnants of Mei Yan back to the north bank of the river, Xiangzhuang should return to Jiangdong with the army. At that time, Xiangzhuang will leave at most five thousand elite soldiers, plus one The general is guarding Lujiang, and with such a small force, it is a bit stretched if he wants to control more than [-] counties in Lujiang County.

Then, it is extremely important to disturb the local powerful forces in Lujiang. The surname Geng is a common surname in Lingnan. , then the counties of Nanye, Ganxian, and Yudu in the south of Lujiang County may be passed on.

While Xiang Zhuang was thinking about it, Po Jun had already escorted an unkempt Hengshan general into the lobby.

"Presumptuous, Mr. Geng Wang is a famous person today, how dare you be so rude?!" Xiang Zhuang immediately stood up, first reprimanded General Pojun without explanation, and then took two steps forward to personally give Geng Wang untied the rope on his body, and then repeatedly apologized to Geng Wang, "I have no way to govern the army, and I hope you will forgive me."

After finishing speaking, Xiang Zhuang glared at Po Jun again, and shouted: "Get lost!"

"Here!" Po Jun bowed, turned around and walked out of the hall in despair, but even though he was reprimanded by Xiang Zhuang, Po Jun felt flattered in his heart, as if he had received a compliment. As a veteran who has followed the king for many years, He could tell at a glance whether the king was reprimanding him for real or not, even though he scolded fiercely, it was just a show.

Geng Wang, who had become a prisoner, couldn't help feeling emotional, and immediately bowed deeply to Xiang Zhuang, and said in a shy voice: "A general who has been defeated cannot be treated like a king." Geng Wang really didn't expect that Xiang Zhuang would come to this place However, Geng Wang didn't think that Xiang Zhuang would let him go. In his opinion, Xiang Zhuang probably just wanted to show off the victor's prestige.

"You deserve it, sir." Xiang Zhuang smiled slightly and said solemnly, "Sir, please take a seat."

Geng Wang didn't make any gestures, he cupped his hands and took his seat casually.

Xiang Zhuang turned around and waved again, his soldiers had already offered wine and meat, and poured a small half cup of clear shochu into Geng Wang's wine glass, Geng Wang didn't think too much, picked up the wine glass without covering his sleeves He drank it all in one gulp, but as soon as the wine entered his throat, he realized that something was wrong, so he smacked his mouth and said, "Your Majesty, is it poisonous wine?"

Xiang Zhuang was silent, but he and Bai Lixian looked at each other and laughed.

"However, this poisonous wine tastes quite good, and I need to drink it to my heart's content." Geng Wang said again, "How about another cup?"

The soldier standing next to him poured half of the glass into Gengwang's wine glass again, and Gengwang drank it all in one gulp, the soldier poured it down again, and Gengwang drank again, within a short while, Gengwang had already drank After drinking eight cups, the weight is almost four catties, even for Qin Jin, that is no small matter. When Geng Wang wanted to drink the ninth cup, he finally passed out on the spot.

As soon as Xiang Zhuang waved his hand, two soldiers had already stepped forward, supporting Geng to look down.

Bai Lixian smiled and said: "Your Majesty, it seems that Gengwang has good wine, this is easy to handle."

No matter who, as long as there is a weakness, there is always a way to subdue it. Since Geng Wang is good at wine, he can definitely use his weakness to win over him, not to mention that Geng Wang may not be very loyal to Mei Yan and Hengshan Kingdom. , he was a member of the Geng family first, and then Mei Yan's military adviser.

Xiang Zhuang said: "Ziliang, when he sobers up, you can have a good talk with him."

Bai Lixian cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, don't worry, I will definitely persuade Geng Wang to surrender."

Xiang Zhuang nodded, and ordered Jin Xiang who was guarding outside the hall: "Go, send someone to invite General Gao Chu."

"Here!" Jin Xiang took the order and left, and after about half an hour, Gao Chu boldly entered the hall of the county government office, and bowed to Xiangzhuang and Bailixian respectively.

Looking at Gao Chu, Xiang Zhuang seemed hesitant to speak, as if he was still hesitating.

How could Bai Lixian not know Xiang Zhuang's intention?He shook his shoulders and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, General Gao Chu is brave and resourceful, and his martial arts skills are outstanding. With him guarding Lujiang County, he will be safe."

Xiang Zhuang shook his head and said, "This kid has always been defiant, and I'm afraid that he might miss a big deal."

Xiang Zhuang is naturally very clear about Gao Chu's temperament. This kid is brave and resourceful, and he is studying military science hard recently. He is definitely a rare general, but his temper is a bit irritable. If he wants to stand alone, It still needs to be refined and polished. This time guarding Lujiang County is undoubtedly an excellent opportunity for training.

But before that, Gao Chu had to add a curse.

Hearing that he had the opportunity to guard the Lujiang River alone, Gao Chu couldn't help but be overjoyed. As a general, how many people can resist the temptation to stand alone?However, looking at Xiang Zhuang's intentions, he still seemed a little uneasy, so Gao Chu said anxiously: "My lord, the general will definitely save himself three times a day, and never lose his temper again!"

Xiang Zhuang thought for a while, but still shook his head: "Forget it, you should stay Ziliang."

"My lord, don't, don't." Gao Chu heard the words and said urgently, "The military adviser has to stay with the king to make plans, how can he stay in Lujiang? Besides, Hengshan Kingdom is about to fall, and Linjiang Kingdom is our Great Chu Allies, the rest of Nanyue and Minyue are nothing to be afraid of, and it is enough to have the last general sitting here."

Baili Xiandao: "Your Majesty, I think General Gao Chu is competent."

Xiang Zhuang pondered for a moment, finally nodded and said: "Okay, I will leave you five thousand elite soldiers, but your task is not only to defend the six counties in the north of Lujiang River, you also have to find a way to pacify the counties in the west and south of Lujiang River. , The widow also left you a big helping hand, you have to make good use of it."

"Arm help?" Gao Chu said in amazement, "Who is it?"

"You'll know when the time comes." Xiang Zhuang said after a pause, "Go down first."

"Here." Gao Chu bowed, turned and went away, Bai Lixian shook his feather fan, and said to Xiang Zhuang, "My lord, the overall situation here is settled, we should return to Jiangdong."

"Yes." Xiang Zhuang nodded, and said, "It's time to go back." I don't know what the situation in Jiangdong is now. Liyang is guarded by Meng Ji and more than 3000 elite Qin troops. It should be fine, but guarding Dan Xiang Tuo, who was on the front line of Tutu and Qu'a, had to face Yingbo's Huainan army, Xiang Zhuang still felt a little uneasy.

And Pang Yu's [-] elite soldiers should almost encounter the Eastern Ou Army, right?When guarding Hangu Pass in the past, Pang Yu's performance was astonishing. Even the old man Liu Bang suffered a great loss under his hands. Ou Jun should not be a problem.

Xiang Zhuang didn't expect that Pang Yu would...

(End of this chapter)