Chapter 70: The strategy of Chu State [two in one]
When the battle report from the "Hexi War Zone" was sent to Wei Crown Prince Zhao Hongrun, the Chu State's troop dispatch situation was also sent to the latter in written form by the Qingya people distributed on the border between Qi and Chu.
As a member of the "Four Kingdoms Alliance of Wei, Qin, Chu and Wei", the Chu State sent troops in two general directions, one was the "Sishui County" direction, and the second was the "Land of Wu and Yue", which was the Yue State.
At the end of July, after the Chu State announced that it would side with the Wei State and declare war on the five countries of Korea, Qi, Lu, Song, and Yue, Xiong Tuo, Lord of Yangcheng, the Prince of Chu, ordered the general Xiang Kuan who was stationed at Zhaoguan. ” and ordered him to go out to conquer the country of Yue.
Except for the "Pseudo Song Dynasty", which was purely a supplementary country in the "Five Kingdoms Alliance of Han, Qi, Lu, Yue, and Song Dynasties", the overall strength of the Yue Kingdom was the weakest. Although the soldiers and civilians of Wu and Yue were indeed brave, the national strength of the Yue Kingdom, which had not been restored for a long time, was The foundation is too poor. During the "Four Kingdoms' Battle of Chu", the Qilu Allied Forces and the Wei Army led by Wei Gongzi Run on the front battlefield restrained the main force of the Chu State. This allowed Wu Qi, the general of the Dongou Army in the land of Wuyue, to successfully invade the Chu State. The hinterland - although it was eventually blocked by Qu Ping, Lord of Xiling, who was the Three-Day Pillar of Chu State at that time, and led his army, it did not join forces with the armies of Qi, Lu and Wei at the foot of Shouying City, the capital of the King of Chu.
However, this time, Wei and Chu became allies, and half of Qi's army was restrained by Wei Gongzi Run in the land of Song and Lu. The remaining half of the army could only stick to the mainland and was unable to support Yue. This made Chu When sending troops to attack Yue, he had no worries.
On the first day of August, Chu general Xiang Kuan raised 200,000 troops at Zhaoguan to attack Yuezhang, the lost territory of "Diyang County". After a siege battle that only lasted two days, "Yuezhang County" was captured by Xiang Kuan.
After that, Chu general Xiang Kuan divided his troops into two groups. On one side, he ordered his deputy general Xiang Xu to lead an army of 80,000 to the northeast and attack Zhufang, Yunyang, Qu'a and other places. However, he himself Then he led the army to march into "Yuan Ling" and then to "Zhang Di".
But having said that, although the Yue State was the weakest in the "Five-Nation Alliance" excluding the Puppet Song Dynasty, Xiang Juan, who shouldered the heavy responsibility of sending troops to the Yue State, was not at ease.
Because in a sense, the fighting methods of the Dongou Army of the Yue State are somewhat similar to the Beibo Army of the Song State. When they are unable to resist the enemy head-on, they will choose guerrilla tactics, while the Wuyue Army will choose guerrilla tactics. Compared with the Central Plains, it is extremely backward. Although it cannot be said to be barren, there are many remote mountains and dense forests that are inaccessible. To be honest, it is not an easy task to fight against the Yue Kingdom in such harsh terrain.
At least, Xiang Juan really hopes to change with his brother Xiang Mo and be transferred to the "Sishui War Zone" instead of here.
Because the war in the Vietnam War Zone cannot even be called a war at all. If you insist on describing it, it is nothing more than the armies of the two countries playing hide and seek in this deep mountain and dense forest. One side is searching and suppressing, and the other side is hiding and counterattacking. That's all, there are almost no large-scale wars like those in the Central Plains region.
Although there are no large-scale wars like those in the Central Plains region, in terms of danger, this place is no less dangerous than the Central Plains battlefield.
Compared with the Dongou Army of the Yue Kingdom, the soldiers and generals of the Chu Army were actually more fearful of the local indigenous people whom they contemptuously called "Yue Yi".
The Yue Yi are barbarians living further south in the land of Wu and Yue. In terms of culture, they may still be stuck in the stage of slash-and-burn farming. Once upon a time, these local indigenous people were enemies of the Yue people. However, because they have a common enemy of Chu, they The leader of the Yue people, who is now the king of Yue, Shaokang, persuaded the barbarians in the south to side with the Yue people and jointly fight against the Chu state.
Different from the fighting methods of the Central Plains countries, the Yue Yi are good at hunting their enemies in the deep mountains and dense forests. They mostly go out in twos and threes, using blow darts, short crossbows and other weapons as weapons, and the arrows are all fed with poisonous juice collected from poisonous weeds.
, often a trivial arrow can paralyze the whole body of a Chu soldier and kill him due to poisoning.
At the beginning, the Chu State wanted to conquer the land of Wu and Yue several times, but almost every time it ended in haste because the reward from attacking this place was far from being able to make up for the expenditure of sending troops.
You know, the Yue people are even poorer than the civilians of the Chu State, not to mention the local aborigines who they despise as Yue Yi. They have almost no wealth that is worth looking at. In this case, the Chu State attacked Wu Yue
What reward does land have? No reward!
But the situation in recent years has been different. The leader of the Yue people, Shaokang, was not satisfied with proclaiming himself king in the mountains and forests. He not only restored the Yue State, but also formed an alliance with Qi, Chu's enemy for at least thirty years, seriously threatening the Chu State.
Chu State's ownership of this land.
Just like Wei's attitude towards Song County, Chu also regarded the land of Wu and Yue as its own forbidden land - it is undeniable that this land is indeed very backward, but what is mine is mine, even if it dies there.
Therefore, the Chu State was actually very resistant to the Qi State's support for the restoration of the Yue State. It was just that when Qi State allied with Lu and Wei, the momentum was so great that the Chu State did not dare to cause trouble.
Now that Wei and Chu have formed an alliance, this is the opportunity to destroy the Yue State and redefine the eastern border of the Chu State.
The State of Chu did not seek to destroy the people of Wu and Yue lands, but only sought to defeat what they regarded as the "Puppet Yue".
At the same time that Chu general Xiang Kuan sent troops to the land of Wu and Yue, on the third day of August, on the front battlefield of Chu State, Chu Gongzi Yangcheng Jun Xiong Tuo personally served as the commander-in-chief and appointed the new general "Xiang Mo", one of the three pillars.
, and "Jingyun", the son of Jingshe who inherited the title of "Shouling Lord", served as deputy generals, and brought the other Chu generals Xiang Yan, Xinyang Lord Xiang Pei, as well as Ji Cong, Shen Tukang, Hou Yu, Si
Defeat Changhe, Tu Shen, Gongyang Jian, Biancang Ke, Zhou Wei, Mou Luo, Ni Yu, Yu Ji, Wu Kang and other dozens of generals, with "Zhengyang Army", "Xinyang Army", "Hufang Army"
"Army", "Xiyang Army" and more than a dozen reorganized Chudong armies attacked "Sishui County".
This time, the total strength of the Chu army exceeded 500,000, and it was said to be one million, which can be described as a menacing force.
Sishui County was originally the territory of the Chu State. It was not until Qi King Lu Xi called on the allies to launch the "Qi, Lu, Wei and Yue Four Kingdoms Attack Chu Campaign" that Sishui County was captured by the Qi, Lu, Wei and Wei Allied Forces. Like the "Xiangcheng" and "Fangcheng" within the territory
"Zhong", "Zhi County", "Suixi", etc., including "Fuli Fortress", were all declared to have fallen. In the end, even the Chu Kingdom's royal capital Shouying was captured by the coalition forces.
Around the time when Chu Gongzi Yangcheng Jun Xiong Tuo took control of Chudong, the Chu State recaptured the royal capital Shouying. Tian Dan, the Qi general who was stationed in Shouying at that time, saw that the Chu people were coming in force, and the Qi State had not yet calmed down at that time.
The princes were in civil strife, so they returned Shouying to the Chu people in a disguised form and retreated to Fulisai.
Now, Xiong Tuo, Lord of Yangcheng, the son of Chu, led hundreds of thousands of troops to conquer Surabaya under the slogan of "recover the lost territory and punish Qi", approaching Fuli Fortress. When the news reached Linzi, the capital of King Qi, Linzi also
Greatly shocked.
On the fifth day of August, King Lu Bai of Qi invited Zhao Zhao, Prime Minister on the left, Tian Tao, Prime Minister on the right, as well as Bao Shu, Guan Zhong, Lian Chen and other officials to the palace to discuss the matter with them.
In fact, not long after King Lu Bai of Qi came to power, Qi State adopted a diplomatic strategy of trying to reconcile with Chu State.
This is the suggestion of Shangqing Gaoxi.
Shangqing Gao Xi believed that after the Qi State experienced the "passing of the late king Lu Xi" and the "rebellion of the princes", its momentum and prestige in the eastern part of the Central Plains had been greatly affected, while the Wei State took advantage of the "Five Directions Expedition" With the astonishing victory of the "Battle of Wei", the momentum is growing day by day. If things go on like this, Wei will definitely threaten Qi's position in the Central Plains. Therefore, in Gao Xi's view, the biggest threat to Qi right now is not Chu over there, but to the west. Wei State.
If this was just a judgment made by Shangqing Gaoxi at the beginning, which had not yet been implemented, then after Wei Gongzi Zhao Run executed the Qi envoy Tian Hu, Shangqing Gaoxi resolutely proposed "Suppress Wei and repair Chu." After dispatching the "Langya Army" and the "Eastern Navy" to garrison the Song Dynasty, they also sent envoys to the Chu State, hoping to resolve the war with the Chu State.
It is for this reason that Xiong Tuo, the prince of Chu and Yangcheng, initially planned to stand by and watch this unprecedented battle and let the other countries in the Central Plains fight to the death, while he, the Chu State, took this opportunity to work hard to develop its national strength.
However, Xiong Tuo, Lord of Yangcheng, did not expect at that time that he would be moved by a few words conveyed by his cousin-in-law, Prince Zhao Run of the State of Wei, to Wei envoy Tang Ju.
Seeing the solemn atmosphere in the palace, Right Prime Minister Tian Dan took the lead to break the silence: "It's not surprising that the Chu State supported the Wei State this time. After all, the Chu people have had a grudge against me, Da Qi, for a long time. Although the Chu State and the Wei State also have some differences It was a mess, but in the final analysis, it was just a mess between Yangcheng Lord Xiong Tuo and the State of Wei. But now, Wei Gongzi Zhao Run married Yangcheng Lord Xiong Tuo's sister Mi Jiang as his wife, and made her his concubine. Relying on this marriage alliance, the Chu State will also side with the Wei State."
After hearing this, Guan Zhong, Uncle Bao and others also showed helpless expressions.
Although the Qi State has recently intended to repair the relationship with the Chu State, it is still not enough to repair the relationship. Wei Gongzi Zhao Run married the sister of Xiong Tuo, the king of Yangcheng, Mi Jiang. This is a heavyweight marriage. Wait for Wei Gongzi Run. After becoming the king of Wei in the future, Mi Jiang, the daughter of Chu, will be the princess, and Zhao Wei, the son of Mi Jiang, will be the crown prince of Wei. He will have to call Xiong Tuo, Lord Yangcheng, the uncle of the future king of Chu. This is like this kind of relationship. How can we win over Chu State if we have no connections?
More importantly, after Xiong Tuo, Lord of Yangcheng, took control of Chudong, he implemented the decrees suggested by his uncle "Xiong Hao, Lord of Runan" during his lifetime. Generally speaking, it was to regulate the class contradictions within Chu State and develop basic national strength. This means that in the next twenty years at least, the Chu State will focus on its internal affairs and will not aspire to be the hegemon of the Central Plains.
Because there is no conflict between Chu and Wei.
Of course, this is also the reason why the State of Qi misses the State of Chu - the State of Chu, under the power of Xiong Tuo, the king of Yangcheng, does not have much conflict with the State of Qi.
Therefore, in general, Chu State was a country that could have stayed out of this unprecedented war. However, Chu State resolutely supported Wei State. It has to be said that the existence of Wei Crown Princess Mi Jiang played a role in this matter. It has given a lot of impetus.
And Qi State had nothing to do about this. After all, there is a difference between closeness and distance. No matter how much they said to Xiong Tuo, Lord of Yangcheng, they would not be as useful as a few words from Mi Jiang, the Crown Princess of Wei.
After a moment of silence, Zhao Zhao, the left prime minister, said in a deep voice: "No matter what, the Chu State has now raised its flag to support the Wei State. So, what Da Qi should consider now is how to resist the Chu State's army..."
Having said this, he paused and glanced at Right Prime Minister Tian Bao intentionally or unintentionally.
Tian Dan and Zhao Zhao have been close friends for nearly ten years, so they naturally understood the intention of the latter's look, so they agreed and said: "What Mr. Zuo Xiang said is absolutely true. Tian thinks that the king should transfer Tian Dan back as soon as possible."
Fu Li Sai, only Tian Dan can withstand Chu's million-strong army."
"Will Tian Dan be transferred back to Fu Li Sai at this time?"
Shiqing Guan Zhong was stunned for a moment, and he was really confused.
You must know that in his opinion, Wei Gongzi Run, who currently commands the Yanling Army of the Shang Shui Army and is stationed in "Ningyang", is no less of a threat than the Chu State's army. Why did the left prime minister Zhao Zhao and the right prime minister Tian Bao
But it seems that he wants to transfer Tian Dan back to Fulisai. What should Wei Gongzi Run do?
Guan Zhong didn't think that Shang Qing Gao Xi could stop that Wei Gongzi Run.
But after thinking about it carefully, Guan Zhong understood.
In his opinion, although for unknown reasons, Wei Gongzi Run has always maintained a stalemate with Tian Dan after garrisoning in Ningyang. The two have not yet broken out into a fierce battle. Even if Tian Dan forced a fight several times, Wei Gongzi Run did not.
action.
To be honest, such a passive and lazy way of commanding troops is not at all like Wei Gongzi Run's character. You must know that Wei Gongzi Run was a commander who advocated offense during the nearly ten years of southern and northern wars.
His character is equally strong.
It can be seen that Wei Gongzi Run must have some other plans in mind. At least he has not considered fighting his Qi army at all - it is very likely that he wants to sneak attack South Korea, Guan Zhong personally thinks so.
If Wei Gongzi Run really has no intention of war with his Qi State and his goal is only for South Korea, then transferring Tian Dan and his troops to Fuli Fortress can be regarded as leaving a disguised escape route for his Qi State.
Especially now, the Chu State is aggressively attacking Sishui County. This is an excellent opportunity for the Qi State to withdraw its troops from Ningyang and send troops to Fulisai without causing the world to think that the Qi people are afraid of Wei Gongzi Run.
As for whether Wei Gongzi Run will take the opportunity to attack Lu after Qi's army withdrew from Ningyang, Guan Zhong has no doubt: If Wei Gongzi Run really wants to attack Lu, after he succeeds in sneak attack on Ningyang, there will be many opportunities to capture Lu.
Qufu, the capital of the country.
Based on the ability of Wei Gongzi Run to lead troops in battle, and the strength of the two powerful Wei armies, Shang Shui Army and Yanling Army, if the former really wanted to attack Lu, Qufu would have been defeated long ago before Qi's Jimo Army rushed to support Qufu.
The Wei army captured.
But did Wei Gongzi Run do that?
No!
Moreover, during this period, did any Wei soldiers set foot in the territory of Lu?
No!
It can be seen that Wei Gongzi Run never thought of attacking Lu.
As for the Song Dynasty that was restored to Tengcheng, Guan Zhong didn't think about it at all: I didn't care whether he lived or died!
Thinking of this, Guan Zhong nodded slightly and was about to say something in line with the Right Prime Minister Tian's taboo, but suddenly he heard Shi Qing sneer and say: "Only Tian Tan can resist the Chu army? Mr. Right Prime Minister, I don't dare to say this."
I agree. Ignoring other people for now, just "Linzi Tian Family" is
There are many talents, whether it is Mr. Tian Ao or Mr. Tian Wu, I believe that they are all capable of blocking the Chu army. I do not necessarily have to transfer Mr. Tian Dan back to Fulisai... Could it be that Mr. Right Prime Minister thinks that Wei
Isn’t the threat from Young Master Run inferior to that of Chu’s army?”
"I, a member of the Tian family in Linzi, want you to come and make noise?"
Glancing at Lian Chen calmly, the Right Prime Minister Tian Tao said seriously: "Uncle Tian Ao is old and can hardly regain the bravery of the past. In recent years, brother Tian Wu has been taking care of all military affairs.
If, as Lord Lian Chen said, our clan brother Tian Wu is transferred to Fulisai, who will be in charge of Julu County?"
Lian Chen shook his head and said: "Julu County, the enemy in the past was South Korea, but this time South Korea used troops against Wei, how could the Koreans be stupid enough to attack our Julu County? Although Da Qi has not formed an alliance with South Korea,
On the matter of boycotting the Wei State, our two countries have the same attitude. Lian does not think there is any threat from Julu County. Now the biggest threats to Da Qi are one is Wei Gongzi Run who is stationed in Ningyang, and the other is
It is Chu Gong Xiong Tuo who is trying to attack Fulisai. I think Lord Tian Dan should be allowed to stay in Ningyang to prevent Wei Gongzi Run from invading Lu. Then Lord Tian Ao and General Tian Wu should be invited to go south to guard Fulisei.
, to resist Chu's troops and horses, this is a perfect strategy."
Tian Tao had no way to refute Lian Chen's words. After all, he and Left Chancellor Zhao Zhao did have selfish motives in this matter, because they did not support war with Wei from the beginning, and even now, they still hope to start a war with Wei.
Wei Guo maintains the last trace of friendship and does not really become enemies.
It's just these inner words that he can't say aloud at this time. After all, Qi and Wei have declared war on each other. If he speaks inappropriately, he may be labeled as disturbing the morale of the military.
In the end, Qi State still did not dare to transfer Tian Dan back, so it had to sit in Tian Ao in Julu County. Tian Wu and his son transferred to Fulisai, and appointed Tian Ao as the commander-in-chief to stop the Chu army.
On the ninth day of August, Chu Gongzi Yangcheng Jun Xiong Tuo personally led an army of 500,000 people to Fuli Fortress and set up camp in front of the fortress. At this time, Qi generals Tian Ao, Tian Wu and others had also arrived at Fuli Fortress.
This "Battle of Fulisai" can be regarded as the largest legion war that has ever broken out in the Central Plains. The number of participants in the battle is shockingly twice that of the "Xihe War Zone". It is a pity that Fulisei is impregnable, even if it is Qi.
Generals Tian Ao, Tian Wu and others used an army of 100,000 to challenge Chu's army of 500,000, which was said to be one million. In a short period of time, the Qi army still did not show any disadvantage.
Xiong Tuo, Lord of Yangcheng, was also troubled by this. While ordering his soldiers to build trebuchets and other siege equipment, he summoned his generals to discuss strategies.
During this military meeting, Xiong Tuo, Lord of Yangcheng, reluctantly asked the generals about the strategy for attacking the fortress.
In fact, he was not the only one who was helpless, many of the Chu generals present were also in mixed moods. You must know that Fulisai was built by the Chu State to withstand the year after year of attacks by the Qi State during the period of Qi King Lu Xi. It is said that
In order to build this fortress, the Chu State requisitioned millions of civilians, and everyone worked together to make this fortress impregnable.
Just like the Tianmen Pass and Mengmen Pass that were lost and recovered by the Wei State, when the Chu people built Fuli Fortress, they did not consider the possibility that the fortress would fall into the hands of the Qi State, so they did not leave any backdoor.
As for looking at this magnificent fortress now, even with the absolute advantage in military strength, it is difficult to advance even an inch.
At this time, the deputy general Xiang Mo made a suggestion to Yangcheng Lord Xiong Tuo: "Sir, Fuli Fortress is easy to defend but difficult to attack. General Mo thinks that instead of storming the fortress, it is better to take a detour and attack its rear..."
This tactic is actually not new, because during the "Four Kingdoms' Battle of Chu", King Lu Xi of Qi was also blocked by General Xiang Mo of Chu who was stationed at Fulisai, making it difficult for him to advance.
But at that time, King Lu Xi of Qi had two sharp swords, one named "Wei Gongzi Run" and the other named "Tian Dan". These two led their respective armies to defeat "Qi County" and defeat "Zhi County". "Zhao County", occupying the Luohe River, turning Fuli Fortress into a lonely fortress.
At that time, Xiang Mo, the Chu general who was stationed at Fulisai, was afraid that his retreat would be cut off and his 500,000-strong army would be surrounded by the Qi, Lu, and Wei coalition forces, so he had no choice but to withdraw.
Today, Xiang Mo also made a similar suggestion, suggesting that Xiong Tuo, the king of Yangcheng, send out his troops in two directions, to attack "Suixi" all the way to the northwest, and to attack "Siyi" all the way to the northeast. He did not believe that he could garrison under such an offensive as his Chu State's. The Qi army at Fu Li Fortress still dared to stay in the fortress instead of returning to support Qi's homeland.
After hearing Xiang Mo's words, Xiong Tuo, Lord of Yangcheng, thought about it and agreed.
But just when he was about to give the order, someone outside the tent suddenly reported: "Young Master, Mr. Wei Run sent someone to send an urgent letter!"
Xiong Tuo, Lord of Yangcheng, was quite surprised. He blinked and thought for a moment, and finally invited Wei Gongzi Zhao Run's messenger to the tent in front of the generals.
After all, his cousin Mi Jiang, whom he regarded as his biological sister, married Zhao Run and became the crown prince of the Wei people. This matter was no longer a secret in Shou Ying and even Chu Dong. In addition, the current harmony between Wei and Chu made the Lord of Yangcheng Xiong Tuo believed that there was no need to hide things, and it was better to be open and honest, which could also consolidate his position as the crown prince.
After a while, two Green Crows walked into the tent. After one of them took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to Yangcheng Lord Xiong Tuo, the two of them said goodbye very simply.
In front of the generals in the tent, Xiong Tuo, Lord of Yangcheng, opened the letter. After a rough glance, his brows furrowed unconsciously, and then he showed a bit of gnashing of teeth.
Seeing this, veteran Xiang Yan asked curiously: "Master, I wonder what Wei Gongzi Run wrote in the letter?"
I saw Xiong Tuo, Lord of Yangcheng, grinding his teeth and saying through gritted teeth: "That fellow Zhao Run wrote to me and told me that he was preparing to attack the State of Lu..."
Upon hearing this, all the generals present were stunned.
Seeing the puzzled expressions on the faces of the generals in the tent, Xiong Tuo, Lord of Yangcheng, said helplessly: "I know Zhao Run too well. He doesn't want to attack Lu. The purpose of writing this letter is just to urge him." We, ask our side to send troops to Song County as soon as possible... I estimate that he stationed in Ningyang, mostly to make South Korea relax its vigilance, so as to facilitate sneak attacks on South Korea in the future. Maybe Tian Dan of Qi State has pushed him too hard these days. , and Zhao Run doesn’t want to go to war with the Qi army, so he urges us to send people there as soon as possible to take his place and challenge the Qi army under Tian Dan.”
At this point, he said bitterly: "He just wants me to wait for him to hold Tian Dan back in vain!"
After hearing this, the generals in the tent suddenly realized that this time they sent troops from Chu State, Lu State was also within their attack range. As for the purpose, of course it was to seize Lu State's craftsmanship and technology.
If Wei Gongzi Run really attacks Lu and captures this country, it will be a huge loss for Chu. Don’t think that Chu and Wei are allies, and Chu can take advantage of Wei’s army without any sacrifice. It is not that easy to get back the craftsmanship and technology of the Lu State that are in the hands of Wei Gongzi Run.
But just like the last time when Wei Gongzi Run sent Wei envoy Tang Ju to persuade Yangcheng Lord Xiong Tuo to send troops to support Wei, Chu State had a need for Lu's craftsmanship, which meant that he was destined to be led by Wei Gongzi Run, and even Knowing that they were being cheated, the Chu State had to endure their emotions and thank Wei Gongzi Run for his "adult beauty" and left the Lu State to them.
"That guy Zhao Run... Hey, General Xiang (mo), could you please lead the troops to Ningyang? I feel that among our army, only the general can compete with Tian Dan." Finally, Mr. Yangcheng Xiong Tuo said helplessly to Xiang Mo.
"Young Master Miao praised me, Xiang Mo did his best."
Xiang Mo lowered his head humbly, cupped his fists and accepted the order.
The next day, Chu general Xiang Mo led more than 100,000 Chu troops and went north to Ningyang on the border of Qi and Lu. He took over Wei Gongzi Run and his Wei army, and restrained Qi general Tian Dan. In exchange for this, he reached a tacit agreement with Wei Gongzi Run and defeated the Wei army. He handed over the attack on Lu to Chu.
And this also means that Wei Gongzi Zhao Run, who has been stationed in Ningyang for several months, will finally take action.