In the early morning of the third day of September, when it was still dark and bright, nearly 500,000 Chu troops from Longji Mountain and even Fuli Fortress officially evacuated southward to break out of the encirclement.
It was impossible to hide such a big move of half a million people from the eyes and ears of the Qi army. It didn't take long for Qi King Lu Xi to hear about it.
"Hahaha, that Xiang Mo was afraid, he backed down."
In front of Ji Zhao, Tian Kuang, Tian Tao and other Qi ministers, and even in front of Lu's lord Shu Pan, Qi King Lu Xi danced with joy, as if he were a child.
Everyone in the palace was already familiar with this, because although King Lu Xi of Qi was a wise leader who brought Qi to the top, he had always been moody and had a perverse personality. Sometimes he was as innocent as a child, and sometimes he was as innocent as a child.
He is as cold as a butcher and is a king whose thoughts are difficult to understand.
Fortunately, Lu Xi was not bloodthirsty. His biggest punishment was to remove the official who offended him from his position, so as not to endanger the official's life. Otherwise, the saying "accompanying the emperor is like accompanying a tiger" refers to this kind of situation.
The unpredictable king.
"Congratulations to the King of Qi, congratulations to the King of Qi."
The leader of the Lu State smiled and complimented the King of Qi, Lu Xi, and the King of Qi, Lu Xi, also smiled and praised the State of Lu. The general idea was, "How could the State of Qi be so successful without the support of the powerful war weapons of the State of Lu" and so on.
It seemed that the two kings were complimenting each other, and everyone in the palace was not surprised.
After the two men calmed down, Left Prime Minister Ji Zhao raised his hands and said: "Your Majesty, Xiang Mo's retreat means that the important areas of Su County behind the Fu Li Fortress were probably captured by Ji Run and Tian Dan..."
Before he could finish speaking, Tian Huan, the right minister who was not dealing with Ji Zhao, grabbed the conversation and said, "Your Majesty, I personally think that our army will pursue us immediately and cover up the killing. We cannot ask Xiang Mo to retreat calmly."
"Isn't this nonsense!"
Tian Tao glanced at Tian Kuang, the Prime Minister with the same surname but different origins, with some displeasure.
Because everyone can see that this is what Zuo Xiang Ji Zhao wanted to express just now, but Tian Huang actually snatched the former's words away, which is really rude.
"I'm so ashamed to have the same surname as these people!"
Tian Tao secretly despised Tian Kuang, and then glanced at Ji Zhao.
Under Tian Bao's gaze, although Ji Zhao was stunned for a moment when Tian Huan preempted him from speaking, he was not anxious or annoyed, and quietly waited for the latter to finish speaking, with his face as usual. This magnanimity and magnanimity made him
Tian Tao was deeply admired.
King Lu Xi of Qi had obviously noticed this, and he loved Ji Zhao even more. After listening to Tian Huang's suggestion, he nodded and then said to Ji Zhao: "Does Prime Minister Zuo have anything to add?"
Ji Zhao glanced at Tian Kuang, then bowed his hands and saluted, and said politely: "What the right prime minister said is absolutely true. However, when we advance, we should be wary of Xiang Mo ambushing our army... Xiang Mo is a general who is good at fighting. How could he not know him?"
If he withdraws his troops, he will definitely pursue him later. If nothing happens, he will definitely leave a few troops behind. If our troops rush forward greedily, we may risk losing our troops and destroying our generals."
"It's rare that this kid is so considerate at such a young age."
King Lu Xi of Qi secretly praised him and asked: "In your opinion, how should our army pursue it?"
After hearing this, Ji Zhao saluted again and said calmly: "I personally think that it is better to send out cavalry and chariot troops to pursue the Chu army for the purpose of 'driving' away. I don't need to kill many Chu soldiers, just let them pass by on the way."
There is no time to stop, rest and breathe, like this. By the time the Chu army escapes to the vicinity of Suxian County, their physical strength is already exhausted. I think my brother Ji Run and General Tian Dan will probably not miss this opportunity."
King Lu Xi of Qi nodded repeatedly when he heard this.
Isn't that right? The total Chu army in Longji Mountain and Fulisai is about 500,000. How could they all be killed in an instant?
It should be noted that a rabbit will kick off an eagle when it is anxious, let alone 500,000 Chu soldiers?
If these people, fearful or even desperate because they are being closely pursued by the Qi army, risk everything to launch a counterattack against the Qi army, even if the Qi and Lu coalition forces number 250,000, it is difficult to say that they are completely sure to withstand this attack.
Counterattack.
Instead of doing this, it is better to chase slowly and let the Chu soldiers gradually use up their physical strength while fleeing for their lives. In this way, it will be easier for the Wei army on the west route and the Qi army on the east route in Suxian to intercept them.
Thinking of this, King Lu Xi of Qi ordered: "Tian Bao! I ordered you to take charge of the "far crossbow chariot" and follow the arrangements of the left prime minister to pursue the Chu army in Fuli fortress."
"Yes." Tian Bao bowed his hands and bowed. Then he turned around and walked out of the hall.
At this time, King Lu Xi of Qi stood up and said to Ji Zhao: "My son-in-law."
Ji Zhao was stunned and didn't react for a while.
Because King Lu Xi of Qi almost never called him this way in such formal occasions, and usually called him "Left Prime Minister".
Only in private, such as when there are only two of them, Lu Xi would call him "my son-in-law", "my son", "my son", etc.
"...My son-in-law is here." After hesitating for a moment, Ji Zhao bowed his hands and saluted.
I saw King Lu Xi of Qi inviting the leader of the Lu Kingdom to walk out of this palace with him, and he ordered as if casually: "The war is about to begin, you are in charge of the 'Flying Bear Army'."
After saying that, he and the leader of the Lu Kingdom left the palace.
When passing by Ji Zhao, who was stunned, Shupan, the lord of the Lu Kingdom, looked sideways at Ji Zhao, as if he wanted to remember the young man's face firmly in his heart.
On the other hand, all the Qi officials in the palace looked even more horrified at this moment.
For example, Tian Huan's face was extremely ugly, uglier than ever before.
"King? Big..."
Tian Kuang raised his hand, hoping to call Qi Wang Lu Xi to stop him, hoping that Qi Wang Lu Xi would take back this ridiculous order.
However, King Lu Xi of Qi had already held the hand of the leader of Lu State, and the two of them walked out of the palace together.
Looking at the leaving figure of Qi King Lu Xi, Tian Kuang became more and more jealous and turned to look at Ji Zhao hatefully.
Seeing this, Ji Zhao couldn't help but smile bitterly in his heart.
He knew very well why the right minister was so jealous, and why the Qi ministers in the palace were so shocked. The reason was that the "Flying Bear Army" was an army personally controlled by the kings of Qi in the past dynasties, and was equivalent to the "King Soldiers" of Chu State.
』.
In terms of status, in Wei State, only Zongwei Yu Linlang can be compared with him. Other than that, even the sixth battalion of the garrison is not qualified for this qualification.
Since it is a king's soldier, as the name suggests, this is the most elite army in Qi State. Both in terms of weapons and equipment and training level, it is much higher than the local armies of Qi State such as Langxie Army and Beihai Navy.
And more importantly, this army is of extraordinary significance.
Therefore, it is no wonder that Tian Huan and other Qi officials were shocked.
"This is really...an unreasonable disaster."
After receiving many angry and jealous stares from the Tian Huan family for no reason, Ji Zhao shook his head and walked outside the palace.
Outside the palace, Fei Wei, the captain of his clan's guard, stood.
When he saw the wry smile on His Highness's face, Fei Wei was stunned for a moment and whispered, "Is it that guy Tian Guan again?"
"Be careful what you say." Ji Zhao scolded him lightly, and after some hesitation, he told Fei Wei about Qi King Lu Xi's recent appointment.
When Fei Wei heard about this, his eyes widened in shock and his face was filled with joy.
After all, he has also lived in Linzi for nearly two years. Of course, he is well aware of the status of the "Flying Bear Army" in the Qi State. It is an army that even the famous general Tian Dan of the Qi State has no chance to command. In the past, only the King of Qi and his family were the only ones.
Can take charge.
Thinking of this, Fei Wei lowered his voice and said happily: "Your Highness, this is a great good thing! ...In the past, His Highness was in Qi State. Although he was protected by the King of Qi, he had no military power and was ultimately unstable. But now,
The King of Qi entrusts the Flying Bear Army to Your Highness, which is obviously to give His Highness the support... If Your Highness is worried about not being able to conquer this army, it happens that the brothers have been idle in Qi for almost two years, so you might as well stuff them into the Flying Bear Army, I
The custodian will firmly control this army for Your Highness."
"Isn't it appropriate?" Ji Zhao frowned and said.
After all, in his opinion, he is now favored and valued by King Lu Xi of Qi, which has aroused the hostility of many people. Now that he is in charge of the Flying Bear Army, doesn't this make those people even more jealous?
At this time, Fei Wei, the chief of the imperial family, lowered his voice and said: "The King of Qi has repeatedly paved the way for His Highness to take over the power of Qi State, but Your Highness has been hesitant and repeatedly refused... This is not a wise move...
…Your Highness, even if you don’t think about yourself, you should also think about Your Highness the Princess and the unborn Crown Prince, right?”
The princess and prince he refers to are Ji Zhao's wife, Kui Ji, the daughter of King Lu Xi of Qi, and her unborn child.
After hearing Fei Wei's persuasion, Ji Zhao couldn't help but hesitate.
Seeing this, Fei Wei tried to persuade him while the iron was hot: "Tian Huan, regardless of whether you control the Fei Xiong Army or not, he is at odds with Your Highness. Based on my humble position, once the King of Qi is gone in the future, you and Tian Huan will not be in harmony with each other."
The Tian family is bound to become an enemy. Since they will be enemies sooner or later, why bother about making grudges?" At this point, he said with a strange expression: "You are just too soft-hearted. If it is His Highness Prince Su, hum! Then Tian Guang may be
I don’t know where the bones are anymore.”
"...Hongrun is not as domineering as you said." Ji Zhao glanced at Fei Wei angrily, then lowered his head and thought.
In fact, he understood all the principles Fei Wei said.
It's just that Ji Zhao, or Zhao Hongzhao, was favored by the King of Wei since he was a child. He was well-dressed and well-fed and surrounded by people from an early age, which made him look very indifferent to the things outside him. Moreover, because of his mother's concubine Wu Guifei's
Influence, he also doesn't like to argue with others.
But now after hearing Fei Wei's persuasion, Ji Zhao suddenly realized that he was no longer the Rui King of Wei, but the Left Chancellor of Qi, the son-in-law of King Lu Xi of Qi, and the husband-in-law of Ji Ji.
He is the father of the unborn child in her belly.
"To take charge of the power of Qi...?"
Ji Zhao turned around and glanced at the palace, just in time to see Tian Huan and a group of Qi Dukes talking in low voices with ugly faces while slowly passing by them.
When he noticed Ji Zhao, Tian Huan snorted coldly, his eyes filled with hostility and disgust.
Looking at this scene, Ji Zhao had a question that had puzzled him for a long time: on the one hand, King Lu Xi of Qi paved the way for him, but on the other hand, he turned a blind eye to Tian Huan's hostility towards him, Ji Zhao, with disgust.
Suddenly, a guess that shocked even Ji Zhao gradually emerged in his mind.
"Your Majesty...don't you want me to use the Binhaitian clan as a stepping stone to establish a firm foothold in the Qi Kingdom?"
The more he thought about it, the more likely it was, and Ji Zhao's heart was beating fast.
On that day, Qi King Lu Xi personally led the Qi and Lu coalition forces of about 250,000, and formally entered the fortress after Xiang Mo, the defender of Fuli Fortress, evacuated the fortress.
On the same day, Qi Duke Tian Yi led hundreds of crossbow chariots and thousands of cavalry to pursue Xiang Mo.
As Ji Zhao expected, Xiang Mo indeed prepared an ambush at the rear.
The two armies retreated as soon as they came into contact. Chu's army was victorious because of its large number of people, while Tian'an's army was victorious because of its sophisticated weapons and equipment, including long-distance crossbow chariots and other war weapons.
Therefore, neither party gained any advantage.
After that, the Chu army continued to retreat southward, while Tian Bao's army slowly drove behind.