Chu and Han contend for the throne

Chapter 357 Surround Qi and Rescue Zhao
Xiang Zhuang smiled slightly, and then said: "Liu Bang can't care about the Kanto anymore, so now we have to go all out to stop Han Xin, at least we can't let him easily take over Liang."

In all honesty, Xiang Zhuang is really not interested in Liang Land, but Han Xin cannot be taken advantage of for nothing.

Xiang He said: "It's not easy to stop Han Xin. So far, less than 10 people have fled into Jiujiang and Hengshan counties, but the Qi army has captured and killed dozens of Taixue students sent to the counties of Liangdi! "

Wu She sighed, "Having Zhao Yan's help, Han Xin can pacify Liang with half the effort."

Xiang Tuo also said: "Yes, it seems that Liang's territory belongs to Qi and it is inevitable, unless the army is mobilized to fight for it."

Baili Xiandao: "Right now, Jingxiang, Bashu are all working hard to prepare and train government soldiers, while Jiangdong's veterans have been drawn out, and new recruits are also being trained. The only thing that can be mobilized now is the forbidden army, but the forbidden army has also replenished a lot. Veterans also need integrated training, so it's better not to send troops if you can."

Xiang Zhuang said: "For a mere Liang land, there is no need to go to war."

The current state of Chu is like the state of Qin in the history of China, just after Shang Yang’s reform. It is in a critical period before the explosive growth of national power. Once all the soldiers are trained, Chu's national, financial and military strength will usher in an explosive growth!
At that time, Chu will have an overwhelming advantage over Han and Qi!

Therefore, Xiang Zhuang will never go to war with Qi State for Liang land at this time. Firstly, Xiang Zhuang does not want to interrupt the process of Chu State’s energy accumulation, and secondly, Liang land is really not worth the price. Although Liang land is in the hinterland of the Central Plains However, since the end of the Qin Dynasty, the land of Liang has been war-torn for a long time, and it has already been empty and dilapidated.

However, just as Xiang Zhuang finished speaking, Qu Bucai walked in with a solemn expression.

"My lord, this is the letter from the flying pigeon that I just received." Qu Bucai said as he handed a small scroll to Xiang Zhuang, and said, "The pigeon is sent from Linzi."

Linzi?Xiang Zhuang's heart trembled slightly, and he took the secret letter from Qu Bucai.

After reading the secret letter, Xiang Zhuang couldn't help frowning, and the civil and military ministers who had been watching Xiang Zhuang with concern all the time were slightly startled. Could it be that another major event happened in Linzi?What's wrong with Han Xin?

Xiang Zhuang handed the secret letter to Xiang He, then looked around everyone and said: "According to the information provided by Wumuya, at least [-] watchmen are gathering from the counties of Qidi to Pingyuan County of Jibei County, and the grain stored in the warehouses of Linzi is also Sending a large number of them to Pingyuan, it seems that Han Xin intends to destroy Zhao Guo in one go."

"One hundred thousand pawns?"

"To destroy Zhao country?"

"Han Xin really dares!"

"The Qi army is almost in full force, right?"

"Yeah, Qi Kingdom is almost empty now!"

"No, Qi has a total population of less than 300 million, and the total number of pawns is at most 30. Adding the full number of soldiers and soldiers, there are only 40. The previous defeat in Huainan has already reduced Qi's population by 10,000. + People, now there are another [-] troops stationed in the five counties of Liang, and another [-] soldiers will be recruited to attack Zhao, will there be any soldiers in Qi?"

Xiang Ta, Xiang Tuo, Wu She, Bi Shu, Bai Lixian and others started whispering.

"Map!" Xiang Zhuang waved his hand, and Jin Xiang had already brought up a screen with two forbidden soldiers, and found the map of Hebei from the bookshelf as quickly as possible, and hung it on the screen.

Xiang Zhuang compared the distance from the plain to Handan on the map, and his face suddenly sank.

The straight-line distance from the plain to Handan is less than [-] miles. Even at the normal marching speed of [-] miles per day, it only takes eight days for the army of Qi to reach the city of Handan. Eight days is not short, but it is long Not long, in such a short period of time, it is almost impossible for Chu to make a difference, so it is no wonder that Han Xin dared to come out in full force!

Xiang He passed it on to Xiang Tuo after watching the intensive, and then stepped forward and said, "There are two questions now: First, should we rescue Zhao Guo? Second, if we want to save it, how should we save it?"

"Zhao Guo must be saved!" Xiang Zhuang patted the map with a determined expression.

Indeed, Zhao Guo and Liang Guo are not the same concept at all. In the nearly 20 years of Chu-Han struggle, the entire Liang land has almost become a ruin, and there is no value for fighting or rescue. Therefore, Xiang Zhuang does not mind Han Xin's annexation Liang State, but Zhao State, especially the more than ten counties near Handan, is a prosperous place with dense population and fertile land.

If Han Xin is allowed to destroy the State of Zhao, if the State of Qi is allowed to annex the State of Zhao, then the population and number of strong men of the State of Qi will increase exponentially, that is to say, the source of soldiers of the State of Qi will suddenly double!And Han Xin is very good at commanding large corps to fight. Once the number of troops under Han Xin's command exceeds 50, who can beat him in the world?

You know, Han Xin has super command ability, and his military orders can even go directly to the Ministry and Qu.

Back then, when Han Xin divided his troops from Guanzhong to the Northern Expedition, he had only 20 old, weak, sick, and disabled under his command. However, after he wiped out several countries in the Han Dynasty, the number of troops under his command expanded rapidly to more than [-]. This shows that However, Han Xin's generals don't need to be all elite soldiers or veterans, even if they are newcomers who have just been recruited, they can show enough combat effectiveness.

Therefore, once Qi State is allowed to destroy Zhao State, once Han Xin is allowed to get hundreds of thousands of strong men from Zhao State, then Qi State will become a strong enemy that is not lost to Han State. The long-awaited situation of the Three Kingdoms will probably come true, but this is absolutely unacceptable to Xiang Zhuang.

Therefore, no matter what, Han Xin cannot be allowed to destroy Zhao Guo!

More than 160 years ago, in order to save the country of Zhao, the military strategist Sun Bin directed a wonderful show of besieging Wei and saving Zhao. Today, Xiang Zhuang will also come to surround Qi and save Zhao, completely killing Han Xin's ambition to annex Zhao!
"Zhao Guo must be saved!" After a pause, Xiang Zhuang said again, "There is nothing much to say about this."

Xiang He nodded, and said again: "Okay, the question now is, how to save Zhao Guo?"

Xiang Tuo said: "The military rations are not a problem. The Qin family's 20 shi of rice has already been transported to Ziling."

Wu Shedao: "The biggest problem is the distance. Pingyuan County is only four to five hundred miles away from Handan, but Ziling is more than 2000 miles away from Handan. Even if it is a quick march of two hundred miles a day, it will take more than half a month. To arrive, not to mention the Huainan country and Liang land on the way, so it is already a miracle to be able to arrive in Handan within two months."

"Our army doesn't need to go to Handan." Bai Lixian shook his feather fan and said, "Just go to Linzi."

Xiang Zhuang couldn't help but glanced back at Bailixian, thinking that Ziliang was thinking of going with him, and gathered together to save Zhao!

"Going to Linzi?!" Xiang Tuo's expression moved slightly when he heard the words, and he said, "What does the military division mean to take advantage of the great opportunity when the Qi army is out and the country is empty, to attack Linzi in one fell swoop and destroy Qi?"

Bai Lixian shook his head and said calmly: "No, the general is too optimistic. You need to know that Linzi is not so easy to get. If you want to take the opportunity to destroy Qi, it will be even more difficult. Our army is attacking Linzi , but to force Han Xin to return to the teacher to save himself, so that the danger of Handan will be resolved without a fight, and the state of Zhao will be preserved."

Wu Shedao: "The problem is that Linzi is more than 500 miles away from Ziling, and it will take at least half a month to march quickly, and there is Huainan in the middle. Since the battle of Huainan was captured and released by the Qi army, Ying Bu's attitude towards me, Da Chu, is much more ambiguous, and if I, Da Chu, sends troops, I'm sure Yingbu will drag my back and cut me off."

The study room became quiet in an instant, Wu She's worries were not unfounded.

Nowadays, the relationship between Huainan State and Chu State is indeed very delicate. Although the two countries have not terminated the alliance, Huainan State has not been so friendly to Chu State in many cases. In recent months, Huainan Army has repeatedly rushed into Jiujiang The governor of Jiujiang County has asked the court to intervene several times in order to rob houses.

Xiangzhuang did indeed send people to Pengcheng to protest, but the Huainan army remained the same.

If the Chu army used the Huainan country to attack Qi at this time, the Huainan army would probably steal the Chu army's back route. If this is the case, then the trouble will be serious.

In the suffocating silence, Xiang Zhuang suddenly said: "Since the Huainan army may cut off my food supply, then this expedition, our army does not need to carry any more food and grass!"

"Huh? No food?!"

"What do the soldiers eat without food?"

Everyone looked at each other in blank dismay, only Bai Lixian was thoughtful. He vaguely guessed that the king probably wanted to follow the example of Liang Jun when Chu and Han were fighting each other to raise food on the spot. It caused great damage to Huainan State and Qi State, and weakened the national strength of the two countries.

Xiang Zhuang said again: "This time, the widow will personally lead the Xiao cavalry army to go out!"

Xiang Ta, Xiang Tuo, Wu She, Bi Shu and other civil and military ministers suddenly changed their faces. When they were eager to advise and dissuade them, they were forced back into their throats by Xiang Zhuang's gesture. I scanned them one by one, and then said: "When the widow is not in Ziling, the prince will supervise the country, and Ling Yin, the general, the doctor, and the general will assist him with all their strength!"

Xiang Zhuang's decision was made, Xiang Ta, Xiang Tuo, Wu She and Bi Shu didn't dare to say anything, so they had to agree.

Right now Xiang He, Xiang Tuo, Wu She and Bi Shu went down to get ready, the army was about to go out, everyone had a lot of things to do, Xiang He had to prepare ten days' worth of dry food for the soldiers, and Xiang Tuo had to call the For the meritorious veterans who have been knighted and returned to their hometowns, Bi Shu is going to call the soldiers of the Xiaoqi Battalion, and Wu She is going to issue a proclamation.

Only Xiang Zhuang, Bai Lixian, Jin Xiang, and Hu Yan were left in the study.

After thinking about it, Xiang Zhuang ordered Jin Xiang again: "Zi Cheng, go and call Mrs. Ying."

Xiang Zhuang was really worried about Yingzhen. He was worried that Yingzhen would take the opportunity to make trouble when he was away on an expedition. To be on the safe side, it was better to bring her with him.

(End of this chapter)