Does Lu have any generals who are good at fighting and can compete with Chu generals Xiang Mo and Xiang Pei?
The answer is no.
Therefore, after the spring of this year, when Qi General Tian Dan led the three elite Qi armies of Jimo, Beihai, and Langya to withdraw from Lu and retreat to the mainland to prepare for a full-scale decisive battle with the Chu army, Lu could only go alone.
Resisting the Chu army's offensive on his own, the pressure increased dramatically.
I remember that when Tian Dan was still in Ningyang, he used three Qi troops under his command to guard the main road from Ningyang to Qufu, the capital of King Lu. Chu general Xiang Mo led his troops to attack several times, but failed to break through Tian Dan's blockade.
.
When Tian Dan withdrew his troops from Ningyang, the general guarding the place became Lu's general "Ji Wu". Tian Dan's previous defensive line was suddenly broken through by Xiang Mo.
In just three or four days, Chu State General Xiang Mo advanced the battle line to the Si River branch to the west of Qufu - let's call it "Qushui".
This river, which is about fifteen feet wide, is already the last line of defense in Qufu, the capital of the King of Lu. Once this river is breached by the Chu army, the Lu people can only rely on the city wall of Qufu to resist the Chu army's offensive.
Make a final desperate fight.
To be fair, the river water of about fifteen feet cannot be called a natural moat at all, especially when faced with the Chu army, which has good water resistance. Fortunately, although the Lu State lacks both generals who are good at fighting and brave soldiers, Lu State's
The mechanism technique can produce unexpected results in this kind of defensive battle.
No, taking advantage of the entire winter last year, the State of Lu vigorously built many war weapons, such as crossbows, machine-shaped crossbows, etc., which were placed all over the Qushui River. Even the craftsmen of the State of Lu even used them for reference.
The continuous crossbow of Wei State.
These war weapons became the biggest problem for the Chu army in conquering Qushui.
On March 18, Chu general Xiang Mo organized his third offensive and prepared to attack Qushui.
"Dong dong - dong dong - dong dong -"
Amidst the rumbling of war drums, thousands of soldiers from the Chu State rushed to the river bank holding the planks needed to build a pontoon bridge.
However, at this time, on the other side of Qushui, the army of Lu State had launched a volley of bows and crossbows. The overwhelming arrows were like a torrential rain, pouring down on the Chu army. This scene was something that even Xiang Mo had experienced during his half-life as a soldier.
After many battles, I also feel my scalp is numb.
Otherwise, it was just that the Lu army's volleys of bows and crossbows were too dense, so dense that even a bird might not be able to cross the waterfront defense line, let alone the Chu soldiers.
"ah--"
"Ahh——"
"I don't want to die..."
"Mother……"
On the west bank of Qushui, the Chu army's grain recruits fell on the river bank one after another, or fell down in the middle of building a pontoon bridge. They turned over and fell into the river, and were swept downstream by the slightly turbulent river. On this battlefield, the Chu army suffered heavy casualties.
.
Of course, for the Chu army, the loss of thousands or tens of thousands of grain and soldiers was completely negligible. Even at critical moments, even the regular army of Chu could be sacrificed to win the victory. Such "self-inflicted damage"
The war method of "one thousand, just to kill eight hundred enemies" has always been a characteristic of Chu's wars.
But the problem is that in this battle against Qushui, the Chu army has already reached the standard of "losing one thousand to oneself", but "killing eight hundred enemies" is still far away.
At this moment, Chu State General Xiang Mo experienced firsthand the helpless feelings of the Qin Army in the "Battle of Hangu" during the "Battle of Wei and Qin Sanchuan": No matter how brave your army is, I only use long-range bows and crossbows.
Weapons are used against you so that you can't even touch the hem of our army's clothes.
This is exactly what happened at the moment. Facing the Lu army's unreserved volley of bows and crossbows, the Chu army not only suffered heavy casualties but also made no progress.
As one of the newly promoted "Three Pillars" of Chu State, Xiang Mo never imagined that one day he would lead an army to attack the weak Lu State and find himself in such a situation.
He had never imagined that a river that was only a dozen feet wide would be as difficult to cross as a natural chasm.
"General."
Xiang Mo's general "圜鱼" came to the formation, clasped his fists and said, "General, this is not the way to go. Please allow me to lead a regular army to attack and open up the situation for our army."
After hearing this, Xiang Mo glanced at Niyu, then focused his eyes on the battlefield again, and asked in a calm tone: "Are you sure you can break through the Lu army's defense line?"
"Uh." Niyu hesitated for a moment and said in a low voice: "Only fight to the death!"
"..." Xiang Mo shook his head slightly and said lightly: "Since you are not sure, then retreat..."
"General?!" Niyu opened his eyes wide and wanted to argue, but Xiang Mo's eyes widened and he shouted in a deep voice: "Back off!... I have my own discretion as to when to send out the main army, and it's not your turn to make your own decisions.
!”
Niyu opened his mouth, but in the end he couldn't resist Xiang Mo's power and left the formation with a bit of annoyance.
After taking a look at the back of Niyu leaving, beside Xiang Mo, Xiang Pei, Lord of Xinyang, said with a chuckle: "This young general is very courageous. After seeing the Lu army's volley of bows and crossbows, not only did he have no timidity,
Instead, he took the initiative to ask for a fight... It would be a pity for such an outstanding boy to die here, right?"
Xiang Mo smiled lightly.
Just as Xinyang Lord Xiang Pei said, it was precisely because he cherished the talents of Ni Yu, a young general, that he severely scolded Ni Yu and prevented Ni Yu from leading troops to attack, because he knew very well that in the Lu army, this kind of situation could be called water-splitting.
In the face of the dense rain of arrows, no matter how outstanding the martial arts skills are, the end will probably not be any better than those who recruit soldiers with food.
You must know that the various war weapons of the Lu State were originally developed for the army of the Chu State.
For example, the mechanical crossbow box. In the war between the Lu Army and the Wei Army, this weapon has been fully proven to be ineffective against Wei soldiers, because most of Wei's regular troops wear iron armor and hold iron shields and swords.
The soldiers, with their strong defensive capabilities, could use their shields to withstand the Lu Army's crossbow box, but the Chu Army's army could not do this. Most of the Chu Army's shields were made of wooden materials and had better outer coverings.
It has a layer of cowhide, so when faced with Lu's mechanical crossbow box, the shield may be exploded by a few crossbow bolts.
As for the grain-recruited soldiers who may not even have shields, Lu's mechanical crossbow box is simply their nemesis.
After taking a long breath, Xiang Mo frowned and said, "The soldiers are starting to get a little impetuous..."
"It's inevitable." Xinyang Jun Xiang Pei said casually, and then turned his gaze to the other side of the river.
On the other side of the river in Qushui, deer antlers made of hardwood can be seen everywhere, one after another, and behind these antlers defense areas are high earth platforms, which are filled with Lu's ballistae.
Even siege weapons like jinglan were densely arranged on the other side of the river.
To be honest, this kind of defensive position is really a bit despairing.
"Damn Tian Tan!"
Xiang Mo couldn't help but curse secretly again.
He knew very well that from the beginning of winter last year to the beginning of spring this year, it was precisely because Qi Jiangtian was blocking his advance in Ningyang that the Lu State had a whole winter to build various war weapons and bring Qushui into the country.
The border defense line was built to be impregnable. If it weren't for Tian Dan's obstruction, Xiang Mo would have captured Qufu by now.
You know, the start of his Chu army this time can be said to be a 50% victory rate start - Zhao Run, the crown prince of Wei, captured Ningyang for their Chu army, and took this city just a stone's throw away from Qufu, the capital of King Lu.
Dozens of miles of city were completely left to them, so what else could they do?
However, Tian Dan destroyed the advantage that the Chu army inherited from the Wei army and forced the war here to the beginning of this year, giving the Lu State more than two months to deploy its defense line.
And the most disgusting thing is that Qi general Tian Dan walked away after the incident, leaving Xiang Mo to face Lu's Qushui defense. It was simply unreasonable!
I believe Xiang Mo's mood at this moment is quite similar to that a few months ago when Tian Dan suddenly patted his butt and led his troops away after learning that Wei Gongzi Run had been confronting him for several months.
After calming down, Xiang Mo whispered to Xiang Pei, Lord of Xinyang: "It seems that the defense of the Lu army cannot last long. When the arrows in their army are exhausted, our army will capture Qushui."
Xinyang Jun Xiang Pei nodded in agreement.
In fact, the two of them have been frequently dispatched in the past few days, trying to forcefully cross Qushui. They have sensed the guilty conscience and fear of Ji Wu, the general of the Lu army on the other side of the river, so that as long as the Chu army launches an offensive against Qushui, General Lu will
Ji Wu then ordered the crossbowmen and war weapons in the defensive position to fire volleys, lest the Chu army break through the line of defense.
Although this move indeed made it difficult for the Chu army to advance, the arrow consumption on the Lu army's side was also extremely serious - after all, these arrows either hit the other side of the river or fell into the river, which was almost difficult to achieve.
Recycled.
It is for this reason that Xiang Mo and Xiang Pei, knowing that it is almost impossible for the soldiers recruited by their command to break through Lu's Qushui defense line, still persevere in attacking every day, just to consume the Lu army's arrows.
After all, judging from the amount of arrows consumed by the Lu Army in the past few days, even if the craftsmen of the entire Lu State worked day and night to polish arrows, they could not keep up with the rate of consumption on the front line.
And once the crossbow arrows among the Lu army generals on the other side of the river are exhausted, haha, what awaits them will be a massacre by the Chu army.
Therefore, regardless of Xiang Mo, Xiang Pei and Xiang Pei are currently helpless against Lu's Qushui defense, but in terms of the overall strategy, they seem to have vaguely seen the dawn of victory.
At the same time, on an earthen platform about three miles away from the Qushui battlefield, Huan Hu, the former great thief who had newly joined the Lu Kingdom, was taking Chen Shou and Jin Gou to observe the battle at close range.
"How stupid..."
Looking at the battlefield with his arms folded, Chen Shou frowned and said, "That Ji Wu, couldn't he see that the Chu army was deliberately consuming the crossbow bolts in his army?"
Hearing this, Huan Hu chuckled and said: "I guess it's not that Ji Wu didn't expect it. I don't think he was that stupid. He probably panicked... After all, this is the last line of defense for the Lu State."
.Once Qufu is captured, the young masters of big families like them will probably become prisoners of the Chu State and lose everything... How can we not panic?"
After saying these words, he secretly added in his heart: In fact, it was not just Ji Wu who was panicking when facing the Chu army?
Before the winter of last year, Huan Hu had already abandoned Pi County and led his Suiyang army across Weishan Lake and stationed in Xuecheng.
Originally, he planned to garrison Xuecheng. On the one hand, he would use the city guard "Ji Yi" of Xuecheng to repel the main army of Chu led by Xiong Tuo, Lord Yangcheng of Chu. On the other hand, he would also see if there was any chance for Ji Yi to die there. In the hands of the Chu army, he could legitimately occupy Xuecheng and become his stronghold in the state of Lu.
Unexpectedly, before the spring of this year, Huan Hu received an order from Qufu. King Lu and San Huan unanimously asked Huan Hu to lead his troops to retreat and stick to Lu County.
The State of Lu only had two counties, one was Lu County and the other was Xue County. The land area was not much larger than that of Wei State. Now, King Lu and San Huan unanimously asked him, Huan Hu, to lead his troops to retreat and stick to Lu County. This He was told clearly that Xue County was likely to be abandoned.
After realizing this, Huan Hu could only give up his original plan and honestly led his soldiers to withdraw to Lu County. After all, he did not want to go alone when the whole country of Lu adopted conservative defensive tactics. Facing the hundreds of thousands of troops from Chu Yangcheng Lord Xiong Tuo.
After watching for a while, Huan Hu chuckled and said: "No matter what, the Chu army cannot defeat Qu Shui today. It is useless to watch any longer. Let's go back."
Chen Shou and Jin Gou nodded, followed Huan Hu down the platform, and then returned to Qufu.
Returning to Qufu, Huan Hu took Chen Shou to the Lu Palace and presented himself to Lu Wang Gong Shupan.
After seeing Lu Wang Gong Shupan, the Lu monarch couldn't wait to ask Huan Hu: "General Huan Hu, how is the situation over there in Qushui?"
Huan Hu truthfully told King Lu the result of the confrontation between the two armies that he saw at the defense of Qushui, and pointed out: "Although the Chu army is currently unable to take a step beyond Qushui, as far as I can see, the army under General Ji Wu's arrows , I’m afraid the crossbow arrows and the like will consume a lot of money, and if things go on like this, I’m afraid they won’t be able to sustain them for long…”
After hearing this, Lu Wanggong Shupan looked sad and said melancholy: "What should we do?...Does General Huan Hu have any wise ideas?"
Before Huan Hu could speak, Chen Shou said in a deep voice: "King Lu, Chen thinks that we should take the initiative at this time..."
Duke Shupan of Lu turned his head to look at Chen Shou. He didn't know whether it was because of Chen Shou's title of "King of Lu" or because of the latter's words of "taking the initiative".
"Take the initiative?" King Lu frowned and looked at Chen Shou, as if waiting for the next step.
Seeing this, Chen Shou said seriously: "Chen only knows that "if you defend for a long time, you will lose", but you have never heard that you can win by passive defense alone..."
King Lu opened his mouth and murmured: "These words seem a bit familiar..."
Chen Shou smiled lightly and said calmly: "These are the words of my Highness, the Crown Prince of Wei."
"Yes, yes." King Lu nodded, with various contacts with Zhao Hongrun flashing through his mind, and he said with a hint of melancholy: "Wei Gongzi Run is indeed a commander who advocates active attack, even if he is forced to take the initiative to attack due to the situation. The defense is always waiting for opportunities to counterattack, but..." He raised his head and said with a wry smile: "But the national conditions of Wei and our country are different. Our country does not have as elite and brave soldiers as the Wei army. Even if they want to fight back, they still... There is nothing I can do."
This is not true. After all, in these years, whenever Qi organized an expedition against Chu, Lu's army could not be said to be purely an army responsible for logistics, but it was far from fighting on the front line.
In the nearly thirty years of cooperating with Qi to attack Chu, the soldiers of Lu almost only operated various war weapons in the central position, and rarely fought with the Chu army with real swords and guns.
The army has long been accustomed to this kind of war mode. Now you want it to take the initiative and attack the Chu camp. Isn't it difficult for others to do so?
You must know that without the assistance of various war weapons, both the army of Qi and the army of Lu will inevitably be greatly reduced. Is it possible that the soldiers of Lu will have to bring those heavy war weapons to attack Chu
military?
"It's not too late to change now."
Chen Shou said seriously.
"Let me think about it..." King Lu said hesitantly.
After a while, Huan Hu and Chen Shou left the Lu palace.
On the way back to Huan Hu's mansion, Chen Shou couldn't help but frown and said, "These Lu people are too weak."
When Huan Hu heard this, he laughed and teased: "Aren't you comparing the State of Lu with the State of Wei?" After that, he said seriously: "The State of Wei is located in the land of four wars. More than ten years ago, there were South Korea in the north and South Korea in the south.
There is the State of Chu, and both countries are eyeing the State of Wei. To the west, there are Yinrong in Sanchuan and Qianghu in Hexi. They invade Wei from time to time and plunder. Therefore, the people of Wei are fierce and fierce, especially after the appearance of Wei Gongzi Zhao Run.
It became even more powerful in terms of momentum... Like Wei Gongzi Run with 30,000 soldiers to fight against Chu's 160,000 army, like Wei using the power of one country to resist the siege of five forces. This kind of courage is rare in the world.
"
After a pause, he continued: "As for the land of Qilu, since Qi King Lu Xi came to power, there have been very few strong enemies intruding. The people of Qilu and Lu are enjoying peace. How can you expect them to be like you, the Wei people?"
Chen Shou nodded when he heard this.
In fact, to be fair, the Lu State is really not weak. For example, in the Qushui area, Lu general Ji Wu led a mere 20,000 to 30,000 troops to defend the entire Qushui defense line. He forcefully called Chu general Xiang Mo and Xiang Pei's 200,000 troops.
It is difficult for the Chu army to cross the water. How can this strength be considered weak?
In the final analysis, the weakness of the Lu State lies in the country's "rest in a corner" mentality.
Unlike the Wei people, who were often harassed and attacked by forces such as Han, Chu, Sanchuan, and Hexi, the folk customs were generally tough. Because of this, the Wei Wu Army, the Suppression Army, the Hedong Army, the Hexi Army, etc. that were later formed by the Wei State were
The bravery is not necessarily inferior to that of the Shang Shui army, just because the Wei people are generally brave and bloody.
The Lu State is different. The Lu State has long been accustomed to being a vassal state of the Qi State. Following the powerful Qi State during the reign of King Lu Xi of Qi, there is no need to fear South Korea or worry about the Chu State. At that time, the Lu State's army was the largest.
His opponents may just be bandits entrenched in Mount Tai.
In a country that enjoys such peace and tranquility, how can its people be so bloody?
Chen Shou believed that if it were his Wei army stationed in Qushui at this moment, how could he easily let the Chu army camp on the west bank of Qushui and attack Qushui day after day?
Wei generals with bad tempers, such as Jiang Bi, may have already attacked Qushui.
In the first battle of Northern Xinjiang between Wei and Han, wasn't it Jiang Bi who cost the three armies of the North (now Shangdang Army) under his command casualties of more than half, and was able to defeat the Han general Jin Mao at a loss?
Another example is Prince Zhao Run, King Yu Zhao Ke, Shao Hu, Sima An, etc. If you think about it carefully, there are few commanders in Wei who are not short-tempered. How could they be like the generals in Lu who beat them like this?
Such a coward - even though the enemy army had already attacked a place only thirty miles away from the royal capital, they still wanted to defend passively and pinned their hopes on "making the Chu army retreat in the face of difficulties" rather than defeating the Chu army.
In Chen Shou's opinion, this is simply ridiculous!
Shaking his head, Chen Shou asked Huan Hu: "Do you really think such a country can really stop Chu's attack?"
Huan Hu smiled when he heard this and said: "If the armies of Wei and Han were to attack Lu with hundreds of thousands of troops, I would immediately flee as far as I could, but the Chu army... ha,
It’s not invulnerable.”
"Oh?" Chen Shou asked in surprise: "Are you sure you can help the State of Lu defend Qushui? Or should you say defend Qufu?"
"Why should I go to guard Qushui?"
Huan Hu chuckled and said: "The Qushui is only a dozen feet wide. At present, the war weapons of the Lu State can only hold back the Chu army. Once the arrows are exhausted, the Chu army will definitely be able to capture the Qushui, even if you are added to it."
I'm afraid it will be difficult to reverse the situation..."
"What do you mean?" Chen Shou asked unexpectedly.
"Xue Di." Huan Hu narrowed his eyes and lowered his voice and said: "You said that Lu's soldiers are unreliable. I don't deny it, but at this moment, there is a veteran general from Qi in Lu's territory..."
"Well." Huan Hu nodded and said in a deep voice: "The reason why Tian Ao resisted the Chu army for the Lu State time and time again was simply because he was afraid that the Lu State would fall too quickly and endanger his Qi State... He also never wanted the Lu State to fall.
If you are destroyed, you will definitely not refuse to join hands with me."
"But Tian Ao is still in Xuedi..." At this point, Chen Shou seemed to understand something, and asked in surprise: "Are you planning to lead your army back to Xuedi?"
"Why not?" Huan Hu said with a smile: "Xue Di has many hills and lush vegetation. It is the best place to ambush the Chu army. Although Xiong Tuo, the king of Chu Yangcheng, has hundreds of thousands of people under his command, in such a complex situation
Under such terrain, it is difficult to fully utilize the strength of hundreds of thousands of troops. Once I cut off his return route, then these hundreds of thousands of troops will probably... haha."
"What should we do here in Qufu? As soon as the water in Qufu broke, Xiang Mo came to the city with his troops." Chen Shou asked in shock, but as soon as he finished speaking, he saw Huan Hu's expression that was half-smiling but not smiling, and his heart suddenly changed.
Understood.
Also, Huan Hu's surrender to the Lu State was just to gain a piece of territory, and his surrender to the King of Lu was just to borrow a name. To be more serious, whether it was the King of Lu or San Huan, even if these people were dead,
What does it have to do with him?
In fact, it would be better if these people died, so that Huan Hu could secretly control the country by supporting any descendant of the Lu royal family.
Of course, the premise is to repel the invading Chu army, otherwise everything is empty talk.
Thinking of this, Chen Shou lowered his voice and said: "When do you plan to lead the army back to Xuedi?"
"Wait until the two things are ready." Huan Hu said calmly.
"Two things? Which two things?" Chen Shou asked curiously.
Huan Hu chuckled and said, "First, the various war weapons that King Lu promised us are not yet ready."
Chen Shou nodded knowingly and asked: "What about the second one?"
"Second..."
The smile on Huan Hu's face slowly faded, and he said expressionlessly: "The so-called destruction and then establishment, you and I alone cannot save this country. We can only call on the Lu people in the country to make them respond to our army... And in
Before that, we must first break the Lu people's dream of peace and let them experience the pain and humiliation firsthand..."
"..."
Chen Shou opened his mouth, and immediately seemed to understand something, turning his head to look in the direction of Xue Dian.