Chu and Han contend for the throne

Chapter 455
Unknowingly, time has entered September in 185 BC. As the weather gradually turned cooler, the plague that ravaged most of the summer finally showed a tendency to converge.

However, for this plague, the state of Chu has already paid a very heavy price. Among other things, the cost of conscripting doctors from various counties and purchasing herbal medicines on a large scale is a huge expense. It's easy to control, if the drug dealers are allowed to sit on the ground and raise the price, the price Chu State will pay may be even greater.

In addition to the huge consumption of money and food, the loss of personnel is even worse.

It has to be said that Xiangzhuang's emergency measures are quite effective. Due to the barriers of Mian, Baishui, and Jiangshui, as well as the strict blockade of the navy, the plague was finally controlled between Nanyang and Nanjun counties. Even if it only affected two counties, it was enough to cause heavy losses to Chu State.

Now the plague has not completely subsided, and the casualties cannot be counted for the time being, but Xiang Zhuang estimates that at least 20 people will die from the plague, and this is just the people. Apart from the people, more than 6 soldiers of the Chu army died of the plague. Ten thousand people, Xiang Zhuang must admit that in the ancient times when medicine was backward, influenza was indeed a super killer!
In the Mianshui War between Chu and Han, the number of soldiers killed by the Chu army from the beginning to the end was only more than 5, but it was just a plague, which caused the Chu army to lose more than 6 soldiers, which made Xiang Zhuang bleed every time he thought about it , because the 6 people who died of the plague were all young and strong men, and the population base of Chu State was not strong enough to make Xiang Zhuang completely ignore the [-] men!

Moreover, the biggest trouble with the plague is not the plague itself, but the aftermath of the plague, such as the identification of the soldiers of the Chu army who died of the plague, the issue of compensation, and the post-disaster reconstruction of Nanjun and Nanyang counties. The large-scale disinfection of water sources in the two counties, etc., are complicated, and all of them are extremely labor-intensive.

The only good thing is that Ling Yin Xiangtao has rushed to Nanyang camp without hesitation, and all matters unrelated to military affairs have been handed over to Xiangtao. Apart from taking charge of the overall situation, Xiangzhuang no longer has to do everything himself.

At this time, Xiang Zhuang was inspecting a water source surrounded by civil and military officials, which were more than a dozen deep wells.

Although the plague has subsided, it does not mean that one can take it lightly. In fact, there are still as many as 10,000+ soldiers of the Chu army who have been isolated and treated. For a short period of time, it is very important to keep the water source clean during this period.

If the water source is polluted, all previous efforts will be wasted.

While walking, Xiang Zhuang ordered Zidu, who was in charge of water source security, to say: "General Zidu, you are right, you can do a hundred and fifty percent. Although the epidemic situation has eased, you must not take it lightly?"

Zi Du hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, don't worry, I will take care of you."

As soon as the words fell, Qu Bucai, the commander of Wumuya, suddenly came to Xiang Zhuang in a hurry, and took out a small volume of secret letters from his belt and handed it to Xiang Zhuang: "My lord, this is a letter sent by a flying pigeon from Xianyang." !” Of course, Xianyang’s Flying Pigeon letter could not be directly sent to Nanyang Daying, it was forwarded through Ziling and Jiangling.

Xiang Zhuang unfolded the secret letter and read it hastily, his face suddenly darkened.

Only one thing was mentioned in the secret letter, the ebony dead men lurking in Xianyang accidentally caught a glimpse of Han Prince Liu Heng and Yaxiang Baimo leaving Xianyang overnight, heading towards Luoyang.

Then Xiang Zhuang passed the secret letter to Xiang Ta, Xiang Tuo, Bi Shu, Bai Lixian and other civil and military officials to circulate one by one.

After the ministers had finished circulating it, Xiang Zhuang took the lead to ask Baili Xiandao: "Ziliang, what do you think about this matter...?"

Bai Lixian shook the feather fan in his hand, and said in a deep thought: "Liu Bang led the army, and as a rule, he would leave the prince to supervise the country, but now the Han prince Liu Heng and Bai Mo went to Luoyang overnight, which shows that something happened in the direction of Luoyang is enough to shake the country. big event."

"An event that can shake the foundation of the country?" Wu She frowned slightly, and asked subconsciously, "What event would it be?"

"There are only two possibilities." Bailixian raised his left hand and extended his middle finger, and said, "First, the enemy's army is approaching the city of Luoyang, but our Great Chu did not attack Luoyang at all. Qi, Han, and Zhao Guozheng Being harassed by the Huns, it is also impossible to threaten Luoyang, so this possibility can already be ruled out."

Wu She said again: "But I don't know what the second possibility is?"

Xiang Zhuang's eyes were fixed, and he said in a deep voice: "Could it be that Liu Bang has already walked out of Yaoshan? This old man's life is really hard."

"That's right, the second possibility is Liu Bang's call!" Bai Lixian smiled slightly, and said, "It's just that Liu Heng and Bai Mo can run away overnight, which shows that Liu Bang's situation is very bad. If so, there are nine out of ten reasons that the death is imminent, so the prince and Yaxiang were rushed to Luoyang to entrust the funeral."

"Tuo Gu?" There was a gleam of coldness in Xiang Zhuang's eyes.

There was also a cold light in Bai Lixian's eyes, and he said in a deep voice: "My lord, this may be a good opportunity to surrender without fighting!"

"You mean...to add insult to injury?" As he spoke, Xiang Zhuang picked up a piece of quicklime and threw it into a well.

"Yes, falling into a well!" Bai Lixian pointed to the deep well with a feather fan in his hand, and said, "Today's Han country is like a person who fell into a well. Just throw a few more stones into the well, and he can be buried alive without bloodshed!" Said After this pause, Bai Lixian said again, "I think sending people to spread rumors in Guanzhong at this time will have a miraculous effect."

"This is a great plan!" Bi Shu couldn't help but praised, "My senior brother can be summoned to Luoyang Tuogu by the King of Han, which shows that Liu Bang will entrust him with important tasks. The death is imminent, and the group of old and important officials under his tent may not be convinced, and there will be chaos in Guanzhong if there is any disturbance."

"Good!" Xiang Zhuang slapped Jie severely, and ordered Qu Bucai to say, "Old Qu, this matter is up to you to arrange!"

"Here!" Qu Bucai responded with a bang, turned around and left in a hurry. About a quarter of an hour later, a carrier pigeon flew from the camp of the Chu army into the night sky and went straight to Jiangling. It was Qu Bucai. The secret letter sent to the Wumuya branch in Xianyang is just that the pigeons in the camp of the Chu army cannot fly directly to Xianyang, so they can only use Jiangling as a transit.

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Besides, Liu Heng, Bai Mo, and Chen Ping supported Liu Bangling's coffin and drove back to Guanzhong, but they kept the funeral in secret.

Two days later, the Imperial Forest Army had just passed the Xinguan (Tongguan Pass for later generations) under construction, and a shocking news suddenly spread to the Imperial Forest Army.

"What did you say?!" Chen Ping stared at his uncle and grandson in disbelief, and said in a deep voice, "The news of the king's death has spread throughout Guanzhong?"

Liu Heng, who was in the chief position, also had his eyes wide open, his face full of disbelief, while Bai Mo, who was at the bottom right of Liu Heng, frowned deeply, lost in thought.

Uncle Sunying didn't dare to hide anything, so he reported truthfully: "Prince, everything is true and there is no deception!"

"How is this possible?!" Chen Ping spread his hands together, and said incredulously, "Other than the king, the prime minister, this Grand Master, and General Uncle Sun, only the dozen or so imperial guards knew about the death of the former king. It has only happened three days, how could it spread throughout Guanzhong? Isn’t it logical?”

"Oh, what a mistake!" Bai Mo suddenly slapped his forehead and said, "You actually neglected the ubiquitous Ebony Cliff!"

"Wumuya?!" Chen Ping heard the string song and knew the elegant meaning, and said, "The prime minister said that the news of the king's collapse was spread by the people of Wumuya?" It makes sense for the people of Wumuya to spread the rumors.

But after thinking about it again, Chen Ping's face changed drastically again. Although what Wumuya spread was rumors, it happened to be the truth. As a result, they were extremely passive. Apart from anything else, they were on their way back after receiving the letter. What will Lu Wan from Xianyang do?I'm afraid this guy will turn around and go back to Jiuyuan?And Lu Tai, what kind of reaction will he have?
"This matter is no small matter." Chen Ping calmed down and said to Bai Mo, "Prime Minister, I'm afraid we can no longer follow the original plan. At least the arrangements for Lu Wan and the general have to be advanced."

Bai Mo nodded, and said decisively: "In this way, the Xianyang side will be handed over to you, Grand Master, and I will leave for Jinyang day and night!" General Shusun, you lead fifty riders to Shangjun day and night, and you must block Yulinkou to prevent rumors from spreading out of the Inner Great Wall!"

"Here!" Uncle Sunying responded abruptly, and took the lead to take the order.

Watching the figure of his uncle and grandson going away, Chen Ping said worriedly: "Prime Minister, are you sure about this matter?"

"Who dares to say that this matter is completely sure?" Bai Mo smiled wryly and shook his head, then cheered up and said, "But now, we can only pin our hopes on the champion, we have no choice, don't we? "

Chen Ping responded with a wry smile. Now that things have happened, it seems that he really has no other choice but to trust Zhou Guanfu.

At that moment, Bai Mo turned around and gave Liu Heng a deep bow, and said, "Your Majesty, I'm leaving now."

"Father, you must be careful." Liu Heng couldn't help admonishing a few words, Bai Mo bowed again, turned around and left.

Until this moment, Liu Heng still didn't know the overall plan of Bai Mo and Chen Ping. Bai Mo had already set off for Jinyang, but looking at Chen Ping's appearance, it seemed that he didn't intend to tell Liu Heng the overall plan. Depressed, but actually held back and didn't ask any questions, just put on a look of letting the prime minister and grand master take care of everything.

Chen Ping pondered for a while, then suddenly summoned a guard of the imperial forest, and said: "You take a hundred guards of the imperial forest and go ahead, and be sure to find someone who looks like the former king at the village pavilions in the counties along the way. If things fail, you are the only one to ask!"

"Here!" Yu Linwei agreed and took the order to go.

Only then did Chen Ping turn around and give Liu Heng a shallow bow, and said, "Your Majesty, the old minister wants to rebuild the Black Ice Terrace."

"Black Ice Terrace?" Liu Heng paused in his heart. Isn't this the secret service agency of Gu Qin?But after being stunned for a moment, Liu Heng readily agreed, "If the grand master thinks it is necessary, he should do it as soon as possible."

(End of this chapter)