Chu and Han contend for the throne

Chapter 377 Lead the snake out of the hole
When Xiang Zhuang hurried back to the upper study room, several chief ministers who had been summoned also arrived one after another.

Xiang Zhuang raised a secret letter in his hand to several chief ministers, and said in a deep voice: "I just received a letter from Feige from Xianyang, old Liu Bang really can't hold back!"

Bai Lixian put down the feather fan and said calmly: "This is also expected."

Xiang Ta, Xiang Tuo, and Wu She also showed solemn expressions, and Liu Bang still made a move!
Wu She pondered for a moment, then asked: "My lord, has Wu Muya detected the attacking direction of the Han army?"

Xiang Zhuang shook his head and replied: "I don't know about this yet. The Han army is gathering now. If there is no accident, the main attack direction of the Han army this time should still be Jingxiang."

Bashu has the natural danger of Jinniuguan. Even if the Han army mobilizes millions of troops to attack, it will only consume food in vain. It is unlikely that the Han army will directly rush to help Huainan.

"Your Majesty, beware of the barbarians around you." Bai Lixian shook his feather fan again and again, and said in a deep thought, "Nowadays, spies from various countries have almost spread all over Chu, and it is not difficult for old Liu Bang to know that we are talking to Shanyue, Wuxi barbarians are fighting, if Liu Bang really decides to attack Jingxiang, he will inevitably incite these barbarians to attack behind their backs."

The war between Chu State, Shanyue, and Wuximan suddenly broke out two years ago.

The reason for the outbreak of the war is actually very simple. With the development of Chu’s industry and commerce, the economic plunder of Shanyue and Wuxi Man was inevitable. Chu’s merchants did not show any aggressiveness at first. They used wine, paper, Porcelain was exchanged for barbarian fur, livestock, and precious medicinal materials at equal value, and the two parties were happy to cooperate.

But the good times didn’t last long. Some Chu merchants soon discovered that human trafficking is more profitable. They only need to hire dozens of strong men to plunder a barbarian village. The captured barbarian men can be sold as coolies in handicraft workshops. They were sold into prostitute villages, and the old people and children were all killed brutally.

Of course, the barbarians would not be caught without a fight, so they started a fierce resistance.

The hatred of the barbarians for the slave traders soon spread to all the Chu merchants. They killed all the Chu people who went deep into the barbaric land, and then began to walk out of the mountains, and began to attack and loot the villages, market towns and even cities of the Chu people frantically. Therefore, The war between the barbarians and the state of Chu broke out.

However, the scale of wars with the barbarians was not large. The barbarian army rarely exceeded a thousand soldiers, and the Chu army that encircled and suppressed the barbarians usually had only a few hundred people. Xiang Zhuang didn't take the mustard moss disease of the barbarians very seriously. In fact, because Shanyue and Wuxi Man lived in deep mountains and old forests, it would be too costly to send a large army to encircle and suppress them, and the effect would be poor!
However, once the Han army suppresses the border, these barbarians can no longer be taken lightly. When all the troops of the Chu State go to Jingxiang to confront the Han army, the defenses in the hinterland of Jiangdong, Jingxiang, and Bashu will inevitably become empty. A small number of barbarian troops can penetrate deep into the hinterland of Chu State, posing a serious threat to the security of Chu State.

"That's true." Xiang Zhuang patted his forehead and said, "These barbarians are really a headache."

"Your Majesty, there is also the Nanyue Kingdom!" Xiang He reminded, "The Nanyue Kingdom has also formed an alliance with Han and Qi. Maybe Zhao Tuo will send troops to attack me, Da Chu."

"Nanyue Kingdom doesn't need to worry." Bai Lixian shook his feather fan and said calmly, "There are five mountains between Nanyue and Chu. The mountains are dangerous and deep, and the roads are long and obstructed. The state of Chu can only make wedding clothes for Liu Bang, which is of no benefit to him, and the reason why Zhao Tuo formed an alliance with Qi Han is just to protect himself."

Xiang Zhuang deeply believed that Zhao Tuo had never had the idea of ​​taking over the Central Plains in history.

"But you still can't take it lightly." Xiang Zhuang thought for a while, then turned his head to Wu She and said, "Master, you have to take a trip to Panyu to tell Zhao Tuo about your interests."

"Here." Wu She bowed deeply, and responded respectfully.

Xiang Zhuang said again: "Now let's discuss how to deal with Wuxi Man and Shanyue?"

Before the decisive battle with the Han army, all worries must be relieved first. However, the barbarians are not easy to deal with. Last year at the beginning of the year, Gao Chu led five thousand elite soldiers into Wuling to try to wipe out the Wuxi barbarians. As soon as they retreated, these barbarians immediately emerged from the deep mountains and old forests, killing people and setting fire everywhere.

Xiang Ta and Xiang Tuo remained silent, there was really nothing they could do.

Bai Lixian shook his feather fan and said suddenly: "Your Majesty, I have a plan to destroy the barbarians."

"Oh?" Xiang Zhuang immediately lifted his expression when he heard the words, and said anxiously, "Zi Liang said quickly, what's the plan?"

Baili Xiandao: "Wuxi Man and Shanyue have lived in the deep mountains and marshes for many years, and they are very familiar with the local terrain. If you send a large army to encircle and suppress them, you will not even see their shadows. Therefore, if you want to defeat the barbarians, The only way is to lure the snake out of the hole, lure Wuximan and Shanyue out of the deep mountains and swamps, and then encircle and wipe them out!"

"Luring out the barbarians?" Xiang Tuo said, "I'm afraid it won't be easy?"

Bailixian said: "Just transfer the soldiers from all counties, and don't worry about the barbarians not being fooled."

Xiang He said again: "I'm afraid that old man Liu Bang will make an appointment with the barbarians. In this way, my great Chu has to resist the Han army and guard against barbarian raids. It will be difficult to balance the beginning and the end."

Bai Lixian smiled slightly and said: "Liu Bang can send envoys to contact the barbarians, and we can also send people to pretend to be Han envoys to contact them. If Liu Bang agrees with the barbarians on the time to attack, we can also send people to make an appointment with the barbarians on the attack time. Let the barbarians attack ahead of the Han army."

"Good!" Xiang Zhuang slammed the festival hard, and said in a deep voice, "Just do it like this!"

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The wilderness in the east of Xianyang City has now become a noisy barracks.

After Liu Bang's edict was promulgated, the soldiers from all counties and counties began to gather one after another, and then drove to Xianyang in teams. After Xianyang gathered together, they would leave Wuguan and go down to Nanyang to go straight to Jingxiang.

Wearing a brocade cloak, Liu Bang slowly boarded the east gate of Xianyang surrounded by Zhang Liang, Chen Ping, Zhou Bo, Bai Mo, Lu Tai and Prince Liu Heng. But they all tended to Liu Heng. Faced with the firm opposition of all the ministers, Liu Bang chose Liu Heng in desperation.

Standing on the watchtower and condescendingly looking down, teams of pawns are marching past Xianyang City in a slightly disorganized formation. In addition to the pawns of the Han army, there are also a large number of barbarian cavalry, including Xiutu people and Hunxie people. , There are also Yuezhi people. For this expedition, Liu Bang mobilized almost all the troops, and also recruited [-] Huqi!
In this decisive battle, Liu Bang decided to fight in person.

One reason is that Liu Bang is worried about handing over the soldiers of the whole country to others. On the other hand, Liu Bang faintly feels that this is probably the last time he will go to war in his lifetime, so he wants to defeat Xiangzhuang with his own hands, and then destroy the state of Chu with his own hands. , Dominating the world is his long-cherished wish, and he doesn't want to leave regrets in his life.

"President of the country." Liu Bang looked at the menacing army passing by outside the city, and suddenly asked Xiao He, "Is the food and grass ready?"

Xiao He bowed deeply, and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, don't worry, there is still 120 million shi of grain left in Xianyang Taicang. In addition, the minister has already issued grain collection orders to the counties. If there is no accident, at least 200 million shi can be collected! Yes! The 300 million shi army rations are enough to support an army of 60 for half a year's battle."

The so-called grain collection is actually apportionment, and the burden is passed on to all the common people. outside), but compared to the six countries in the Kanto, the Qin Congress gave compensation for the title of nobility.

There is no doubt that grain requisition will increase the suffering index of the people and weaken the ruling foundation of the ruler.

Liu Bang sighed softly, if he hadn't lost the largest granary in Bashu, why would he need to forcibly collect grain from the people?Collecting grain is drinking doves to quench thirst.

After a long while, Liu Bang asked Lu Tai again: "General, when will the army be assembled?"

Lu Tai hurriedly said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, the cavalry, including Hu Qi from all tribes, can be assembled within half a month. It may take longer for the pawns of the counties and counties, but forty days should be enough."

For this expedition, Liu Bang mobilized more than 50 cavalry. If it wasn't for the counterattack of the Huns, he even wanted to transfer the [-] soldiers stationed in Jiuyuan to the Jingxiang battlefield.

"Forty days?" Liu Bang nodded lightly, then turned his head and asked Bai Mo, "Ziyan, how is the arrangement for contacting Qiang, Di, Shanyue, Wuxi Man and Nanyue?"

Bai Mo replied: "The envoys sent to Qiang, Di, Ranlong, Shanyue, and Wuximan have already set off, and they should have met the leaders of all tribes at this meeting. As for Nanyue, due to the long distance, I'm afraid they won't be there for a while. "

As mentioned earlier, various countries successively established secret service agencies similar to Wumuya of Chu State. The secret service agencies of Han State were controlled by Bai Mo. Except for the envoys sent to contact Qiang, Di, and Ranlong from Xianyang, the rest went to Shanyue, The envoys of Wuxi Man and Nanyue Kingdom were sent from nearby Ziling and Jiangling.

Xiang Zhuang was speechless for a while, then turned his head to Liu Heng and said, "Heng'er, I will leave Guanzhong to you."

Liu Heng bowed to the ground, and replied with sincerity and trepidation: "Father, my son will definitely do my best to ensure that Guanzhong is not lost."

Liu Bang nodded, then turned to Bai Mo and said, "Ziyan, the prince is still young, so I will leave everything to you."

"Don't worry, Your Majesty." Bai Mo cupped his hands and said solemnly, "I will do my best to assist the prince. As long as I have a breath, there will be absolutely no mistakes in Guanzhong."

Liu Bang nodded again, and sighed: "In this way, the widow can rest assured."

Turning around again, Liu Bang suddenly puffed up his chest and took a deep breath. In an instant, his whole demeanor changed. The ambition and boldness of decades ago seemed to return to him, and he smiled at Zhang Liangdao: "Zifang, this is probably the last expedition for us two old guys, hahaha..."

Zhang Liang smiled slightly, and said loudly: "Old man, he will die after death."

"En." Liu Bang nodded heavily, and said loudly, "This time, either Xiang Zhuang will die, or the widow will die!"

(End of this chapter)