Chu and Han contend for the throne

Chapter 237 Solid as a Rock

"Death!" Meng Ji yelled, and cut the Hanjun Xiaoxiao in front of him into two pieces, and then kicked the lower half of the Hanjun Xiaoxiao's body off the building. The dead soldiers of the Han army at the head of the city have basically been killed, only about a few dozen people are still fighting in the corner, and it will be a matter of time before they are killed.

Without the support of the Jinglan, the ladder, and the siege engine, the Han army's offensive suddenly suffered a setback.

The heavy armor and light soldiers of the Han army that were crowded outside the north gate were smashed to pieces by Meng Keng's three hundred heavy cavalry and the subsequent nearly thousand light cavalry. It was difficult to organize a decent offensive.

"Wuuuuuuuuuuuu..." Suddenly, a low-pitched horn sounded outside the city.

When Meng Jie looked back anxiously, he saw the Han army lined up in the distance suddenly turned around and began to retreat slowly.

In less than a quarter of an hour, teams of the Han army completely disappeared from the sight of the soldiers of the Chu army. Seeing this scene, Meng Ji couldn't help crying inwardly. Taking advantage of the situation and rushing for a while, even if the three-way Han army could not be completely defeated, it would be more than enough to severely injure them.

Amidst the hurried footsteps, Meng Keng, who was in heavy armor, also went up to the top of the wall boldly, and bowed to Meng Yu again: "General, the last general is lucky to live up to his fate!"

Meng Ke patted Meng Keng on the shoulder and said, "Meng Keng, good job!"

After saying that, Meng Ji took another two steps forward and jumped onto the battlement, then raised his horizontal knife and roared, "Great Chu is mighty!"

"Great Chu is mighty!" First Meng Keng and the nearby Chu army veterans, then the Chu army veterans in the distance, and then all the prisoners who had survived the deadly battle, all roared hysterically, and at the end, there was a chaotic roar. They converged into a uniform chant sound, like a thunderbolt about to break through the sky.

Meng Ji retracted his knife and sheathed it, but the roar of the veterans and prisoners continued.

As a veteran who has experienced many battles, Meng Ji did not stop them, because Meng Ji knew that whether it was a veteran or a prisoner, this meeting would need to vent their emotions. Many robes around him have left forever, and others will definitely not be able to understand their feelings at this moment.

However, Meng Ji believes that after venting, these prisoners will fully grow up and become veterans of the Chu army whose spiritual will is stronger than a rock. In the near future, the remaining 5000 prisoners will become a force that cannot be insulted. At that time, if Zhou Yin, Jin She, and Li Zuoche wanted to threaten Liyang again, it would be a dream come true!
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More than ten miles away, Li Zuoche was leading his army to retreat slowly.

Li Zuoche couldn't help but change slightly when he heard the chant sound like a tsunami coming from behind him. Various emotions such as frustration, helplessness, shock, and disappointment surged into his chest in an instant. Where did it come from, and where did Xiangzhuang recruit it?His defense is simply stronger than a rock!
Li Zuoche knew better. After this battle, it would be difficult for the Han army to threaten Jiangdong again. Unless the king of Han personally sent a large army to attack Jiangdong. In the past few years, what should he do with Li Zuoche, a lone army, and Jiujiang, an enclave of the Han Dynasty?
Li Zuoche never believed that Xiang Zhuang would just let it go.

Jiangdong has not really been devastated by the flames of war. Manpower, material resources, and national power still exist. No matter how difficult it is, it is absolutely no problem to recruit tens of thousands of elite soldiers to cross the river to the north and attack Jiujiang. They are short-sighted and only calculate their own interests. How can the Han army resist it?

Today, Li Zuoche has to think about his own future and destiny. Once Xiangzhuang's soldiers come to Jiujiang, the fall of Jiujiang is inevitable.

Once Jiujiang falls, what will happen to his more than 2 remnants under Li Zuoche's command?

It was obviously unrealistic to go back to Guanzhong. Neither Linjiang nor Liang would let him go there. Li Zuoche didn't think he had the skills of Xiang Zhuang to take [-] remnants of soldiers and fight back to Guandong.

If Jiujiang can't be defended and Guanzhong can't go back, where should Li Zuoche go?

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On the way back to the six counties, Zhou Yin, Zhou Huan and his son were also worried about their future.

Zhou Huan lashed the horse's buttocks under his crotch, and chased after Zhou Yin, and said depressedly: "Father, did you really withdraw the troops like this?"

Zhou Yin said: "If you don't withdraw your troops, what else can you do?"

Zhou Huan said: "If we can't take down Liyang, and can't pull out the nail in Jiangbei, the Chu army can cross the river to the north at any time. Once Xiangzhuang's troops come to Jiujiang, Jin She and Li Zuoche may not join us at all. The anti-Chu army, when the time comes, how can I compete with Xiang Zhuang with the 3-odd troops under my father's command?"

Zhou Yin sighed, "Let's take a step and see."

After this pause, Zhou Yin said again: "It's really not possible, you can cut off the head of the father and go to Xiang Zhuang. Anyway, my Zhou family is from the old Chu family. It was the father who betrayed the great Chu and killed the old king. , has nothing to do with the Zhou family, and my father heard that Xiang Zhuang's man and employment are not like the previous kings, as long as my father dies, I think he will not pursue the past. "

"Father!" Zhou Huan said miserably, "How can this be done? Even if the child is desperate to die, he will never do this!"

"Good boy." Seeing Zhou Huan's resolute expression, Zhou Yin couldn't help feeling very relieved, what more could a husband ask for if he had a child like this?However, the thoughts in Zhou Yin's heart became more determined. If the situation is really irreversible, he can only...

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Before Xiang Zhuang's army arrived in Wuzhong, the news of Yingbo's retreat and Liyang's great victory arrived one after another. Xiang Zhuang immediately asked Jin Xiang to call Bai Lixian into his tent. Now, the seven-way coalition forces besieging Jiangdong have collapsed. After the state of Chu turned from danger to peace, it is bound to have to show something next, and it is not indecent to come and not to go, isn't it?
Applying the terminology of later generations, the Chu army should collect war dividends next!

While thinking about it, Bai Lixian had already entered the big tent, bowed his hands to Xiang Zhuang and said, "Your Majesty."

Xiang Zhuang got up to return the salute, and solemnly invited Bai Lixian to the table, and then said: "Zi Liang, Zhou Yin, Jin She, and Li Zuoche have suffered a serious setback in Liyang, and have already retreated!"

"Oh?" Bailixian said happily, "I congratulate Your Majesty."

Xiang Zhuang waved his hand and said, "Ziliang, now is a good opportunity to recover Jiujiang!"

"Great King Mingjian." Bai Lixian deeply believed that after the war, the Chu army would of course have to show something. If they didn't take this opportunity to punish these princes who dared to provoke the Great Chu, what would be the prestige of the Chu State?Where is the might of the Chu army?

Since it is a punishment, the scale of the battle must be controlled, so Huainan and Minyue are obviously inappropriate. Huainan is too powerful, and Minyue is too far away. The expedition of labor teachers can easily shake the foundation of Chu, except for Huainan. , Minyue Kingdom, Hengshan Kingdom, and Dongou Kingdom have been destroyed, so there are only Zhou Yin, Jin She, and Li Zuoche in Jiujiang left.

Moreover, considering the strategic situation, Jiujiang cannot be left alone. Regardless of whether Zhou Yin, Jin She, and Li Zuoche are still as loyal to Liu Bang as before, at least in name, Jiujiang is still the territory of the Han Kingdom. The existence of the enclave is like putting a sharp knife on Chu's weakness. How can Chu be negligent?

Xiang Zhuang stroked the growing bushy beard on the corner of his lips, and said, "Ziliang, how do you think this battle should be fought?"

Bai Lixian shook his feather fan and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, I think Jiujiang must be taken down, but how to take Jiujiang down needs to be carefully thought out. Zhou Yin, Jin She, and Li Zuoche combined at least There are still [-] to [-] troops, and they are all elites. Although they cannot compare with the Chu army, they are veterans who have experienced hundreds of battles."

"That's right." Xiang Zhuang nodded and said with deep conviction, "We must not underestimate the combat effectiveness of the Han army just because of the disastrous defeat of Zhou Yin, Jin She, and Li Zuoche in Liyang."

In the Battle of Liyang, the reason why the Han army was defeated was, on the one hand, because of Meng Ji’s strong defense, which was as solid as a rock. Save yourself, and this gave the Chu army a chance to breathe. If the Han army had attacked with all their strength from the beginning, Li Yang might have lost it long ago!

Bailixian paused for a moment, then said: "Your Majesty, it's better to wait for the doctor to come back."

"Ziliang, your idea coincides with the widow's, ha ha." Xiang Zhuang smiled slightly, and said again, "The widow has already edited a book, and sent people to Zhuyi day and night to forward it to the doctor. After receiving the book , the doctor will go straight from Zhuyi to the six counties to lobby Zhou Yin, and if nothing happens, Zhou Yin should return to Dachu."

Bai Lixian continued: "So, the ones who really need to be crusaded this time are Jin She and Li Zuoche!"

At that moment, Xiangzhuang and Bailixian got up at the same time, and strode to the screen where the map was hung. Bailixian pointed to the map with the feather fan in his hand and said: "Look, my lord, this is Jiujiang. Zhou Yin occupies the central, western and southern parts of Jiujiang. , Jin She and Li Zuoche are entrenched in Quyang, Yinling, Dongcheng, and Zhongli in the northeast of Jiujiang, very close to Huainan Kingdom!"

Xiang Zhuang's eyes narrowed in an instant, Bai Lixian's meaning had been made very clear, if the Chu army wanted to send troops to the counties in the northeast of Jiujiang, if they wanted to spend a small amount of effort to achieve the purpose of punishing Jin She and Li Zuoche, then It is necessary to consider the factors of Huainan country. As long as the Huainan army intervenes, many changes will happen to the situation in Jiujiang.

Baili Xiandao: "Your Majesty, I suggest forming an alliance with the Huainan Kingdom and jointly punish Jin She and Li Zuoche!"

"Alliance with Huainan?" Xiang Zhuang couldn't help but fell into deep thought when he heard the words. Chu State bordered Huainan, and there was only one river across it. Not to mention the iron rule of far-distance relations and close-attack, the two countries are natural enemies only from the perspective of geopolitics. Alliances are obviously not desirable, but for now, alliances are acceptable.

Because in the next few years, Xiang Zhuang will devote himself to domestic reforms.

Once the reform is pushed forward, it will inevitably cause turmoil in the entire country in the early stage, and it will also cause ideological confusion among the nobles and scholar-bureaucrats. The national power and military strength of Chu State will also decline. This is the most critical and dangerous period for Chu State. , if there are a few allies in the north to protect the security of Chu, it will undoubtedly be extremely beneficial.

(End of this chapter)