In his view, the once powerful Chu State perished due to constant retreat. During the Spring and Autumn Period, Chu was so majestic and domineering, and its continuous progress made Chu from a country of less than fifty miles away to a country of five thousand people.
The king of Chuzhuang has become a blockbuster without even mentioning it. He leads his troops to conquer the Central Plains. His dominance extends from the south of the river to the edge of the river. Chu can compete with the Xia with its own strength!
However, national power always declines. Although in the era of the Seven Kingdoms, the Chu State became the oldest empire that was difficult to turn around, but it was not until King Huai of Chu came to the throne that it began to decline. The Chu State continued to suffer setbacks in the confrontation with Qin.
It began to retreat from Hanzhong and Danyang. From then on, it was out of control and retreated all the way. It lost Yanying, Qianzhong and Chenying, and finally fell.
In Xiang Ji's view, Fan Zeng's plan was a good one. He exchanged space for fighter opportunities, gave up the difficult-to-defend lands of Han, Wei and other allies, lured Heifu into the hinterland of Chu, constantly divided his troops to garrison the occupied land, and finally used a defensive counterattack
Reversal of decline.
But this is too much to take for granted. If Heifu is not in a hurry to make a rash advance, but instead proceeds steadily, spending half a year or even a year to digest Han and Wei, slowly strangle the Zhao State in Hebei, and then recruit hundreds of thousands of troops to deal with the Chu State, then it will be time
what to do?
The Chu State will be surrounded by enemies on all sides and will have no allies. It will fall into endless difficulties and become a monkey strangled by a boa constrictor.
So if you can't retreat, you can't retreat. This battle of Xingyang does seem to be a trap set by Heifu, but isn't it a good opportunity for them to change the situation of the battle?
Xiang Ji did not rush directly to Xingyang to confront Heifu's main force, but still adopted the method of "surrounding Wei and rescuing Zhao".
"The main force of the Qin army is between Gongxian and Xingyang, and is divided into Hanoi. However, Luoyang and the rear are empty. Most of them are civilians and new soldiers, and there is still a lot of grain and fodder stored in various warehouses."
Xiang Ji set his sights on the area between Heluo and Luoyang, which was gained and lost by the Chu State. Passing from Chen County, Zhengdi, that is, Yingchuan County, was the only way to go. However, there were three mountain systems blocking Yingchuan and Luoyang.
On the map, from north to south, Xiang Ji identified these obstacles one by one.
"Taishi Mountain (Song Mountain)."
"Keishan."
"There is also Kongtong Mountain (West Taishan Mountain)."
The three mountain systems are not closely connected, so there are three passes leading to the road.
"One is the Xingyang and Chenggao Road between Taishi Mountain and the river."
This road was the first choice for the Qin army to go east from Luoyang, so they fought for Xingyang so urgently.
"The second one is the Shenyuan Road. There is a narrow valley road in Taishi Mountain and Jishan Mountain. This is the shortcut from Yangzhai to Luoyang. There is the Shenyuan Pass on the Eling Slope. It was originally owned by South Korea and was owned by the Qin Army in January.
Seized by Chen Yingbu..."
If the Chu army attacks these two roads, they will fall into the dilemma of being outnumbered and outnumbered.
But there is a third one, which is the wider Ru River.
Passing through Yingchuan and heading north along the Ru River to feed on food from Yangzhai, Xiang Ji's friend Zheng Chang, who had died in the past and was in hiding, was there as the "Korean Prime Minister".
"As long as our army defeats the Wu Guang Department of the Qin Army in Jiaxian, it can enter the upper reaches of the Yishui River from Ruyang, attack Xincheng, Yique, burn Heifu's grain road, and threaten Luoyang, then its troops will return to reinforce them.
Zhongfu of the land can help the county princes to support Xingyang. Not only can he save Zhongli Mei, but he can even keep Xingyang intact and let the allies of Han and Wei in the Central Plains understand that Qin is not invincible!"
Fan Zeng was not optimistic about this strategy: "There is Guangchengze in the upper reaches of Ru River, which is four hundred miles away. The land is moist and the roads are obscured. It is not easy for the army to pass."
Xiang Ji disagreed. In his view, all military miracles require people to take the initiative to create. There is no reason to win by retreating blindly: "Because of this, the Qin army was not well prepared, which gave our army an opportunity."
Can be multiplied."
He was confident enough that he could safely evacuate Luoyang with his army, or even take more risks and launch a fierce attack on Hei Fu from the rear that he had not expected...
Fan Zeng was still worried: "What should we do if the army is cut off from Nanyang by Heifu and is trapped in Luhun?"
He said sincerely: "Shangzhu State is now the backbone of Chu State, not a general charging into battle."
"If I don't fall into the trap, who can?"
However, Xiang Ji insisted on his own opinion, and the military order to break up the camp and march westward was about to be issued.
Fortunately, at this time, a letter arrived, completely disrupting their plans.
"There's no need to save him."
After reading it, Fan Zeng seemed to be relieved, but full of regret, and handed the bloody battle report to Xiang Ji:
"Xingyang fell, Zhongli Mei fell into darkness!"
…
Zhong Lizhen knew that if Xiang Ji heard about what he had done, his eyes would definitely be filled with disbelief and anger at being betrayed!
But he doesn't seek to be understood. This time, he wants to be a lone hero like he did when he sneaked into the Qin State many years ago.
"Zhongli Mei."
The voice rang out, and the person interrogating him was a Qin official named Chen Hui. His eyes looked at Zhong Lizhen full of caution.
"I once heard that Yafu, a minister of Xiang Ji Gukun, is Zhongli Mei, and Long Qie is a member of Zhou and Yin Dynasties. As a minister of Gukun, you are the Duke of Zhongli County, why do you want to surrender?"
Zhongli Mei looked at the four guards beside him who could kill him at any time, and said with a smile: "Although I am a general under Xiang Ji, the rewards I receive are not as good as those two mediocre people like Shen Yang and Zheng Chang.
Now I am trapped in an isolated city, but most of the guards in the city have been transferred by Xiang Yu. He also ordered me to hold on for fifteen days. There must be some villain who will harm me..."
"Tens of thousands of the Qin army have crossed the Si River, cut off the Chu army's tunnels, and besieged Xingyang. They have set up siege equipment. The soldiers in the city are afraid of the Qin army's thunder and fire, and they are in panic all day long. The soldiers have no fighting spirit, and there are no generals.
Fighting spirit, there is no rescue outside. I have fought hard for three days and it is the limit. Instead of thousands of people being reduced to powder when the city is defeated, it is better to open the city early and save the lives of all the soldiers in the city."
After all, he failed to stick to his promise of fifteen days. Although the Qin army did not use the secret weapons that shocked the world in Wuguan this time, the regular flying rocks and arrows were enough to suppress the Xingyang defenders.
.
On the third day of the Qin army's attack, the city gate was broken. No matter how hard it was to hold on, when the Chu people were planning to fight to the death, Zhongli Mei suddenly issued an order to surrender...
According to the practice of Chu generals committing suicide and martyring their country after a defeat, Zhongli Mei should have died, but instead of committing suicide to preserve his dignity, he threw away his weapon, allowed the Qin soldiers to capture him, and claimed that he was willing to surrender to Heifu.
"Return?"
Chen Hui sneered: "In the battle of Runan, Xiang Ji killed over 10,000 of my soldiers and cooked all the common captains. How cruel was the method. The old Northern Expedition troops in the army hated the Chu people and did not want to accept surrender. Aren't you afraid of being killed after surrender?"
"
Zhong Limei said: "I heard that the Qin army defeated the Zhao army in Hebei, and Zhao's 40,000 soldiers were completely wiped out, let alone me? I did not participate in the battle of Runan, nor did I kill the communist captain. On the contrary, many years ago,
I got acquainted with Duke Xia, the regent of the Great Qin Dynasty, so he can be considered an old friend..."
The reason for this was widely spread among the Chu army, but few people knew about it in the Qin Dynasty. After all, it was related to the less glorious scene in the regent's early years.
Chen Hui was responsible for sorting out the intelligence of Wing Camp and knew a lot about it. He sneered and said: "I heard that you have a grudge against the regent."
Zhong Lizhen smiled and said: "Whether it is revenge or mercy, Duke Xia knows best. Now he is in charge of the world, and his former enemy is a prisoner. Don't you want to see him?"
When people are rich and proud, they always need someone to show off to, and old friends, preferably old friends who have had special occasions, are undoubtedly the best witnesses.
"The regent has so many things to do, how can he have time to see you, a prisoner of Chu?" Chen Hui gestured with his hands and asked the guards to take Zhongli Mei down.
"Wait a minute!"
Zhongli Mei said loudly: "Even if the world only thinks that the two of us have enmity, accepting my surrender will be beneficial and harmless to the regent."
"I once heard that Shi Chenhui, the governor of Nanyang County, once said to Lü Yan that if his husband aspires to be a king, he will definitely settle his personal grudges and show his virtue to the world. Although Lü Yan has some troubles with him, if he surrenders, it will be like being sent to his door.
Not only will Duke Xia not be in trouble for his daughter's horse bones, but he will make a good living, promote him to a high position, and then publicize it in a big way, hoping that other counties will follow suit."
"Sure enough, after Lu Jie surrendered, countless people from Wang Ben's old tribe surrendered. During the Battle of Lantian, more people surrendered first, and Chen Changshi was also trusted enough to sit in the court. Today, he was even more condescending to interrogate
Get up with me."
Zhongli Mei looked at Chen Hui: "The people of Chu are willing to follow Xiang Ji, just because they are afraid that Xia Gong will settle accounts in the autumn. Seeing that Zhongli Mei, who had an enemy with Xia Gong, is still alive and getting a generous reward, they will rush to join him, just like the warriors in the past.
Guan, it’s about Lantian.”
"I can be Xiang Ji's minister with bones and bones, and I can also be Xia Gong's horse bones!"
After Chen Hui was silent for a long time, he suddenly burst into laughter: "Okay, what a 'boneless minister'!"
"It doesn't matter, stay or not, see or not, please report to Duke Xia for his decision!"
Persuading Lu Ye was Chen Hui's favorite work. Zhong Lizhen's words somewhat convinced him. After thinking deeply, people were optimistic about Zhong Lizhen, so he stood up and left.
Zhong Lizhen knew that Chen Hui definitely did not dare to make decisions on his own and went to find his master.
Zhongli Mei breathed a sigh of relief, everything he had to do had been done, and the rest would all depend on God's will.
If Heifu orders his execution, he will bear the infamy of being greedy for life and surrendering to the Qin Dynasty, and this will end his life.
But Zhong Lizhen has no regrets. He wants to give it a try and fight for the last hope for Chu State by himself!
"Many people asked me whether the situation today would be completely different if I had killed Mr. Hei in Anlu."
"I don't know, but I do know that if Mr. Hei suddenly dies now, the situation in the world will be turned upside down!"
The victors will fall apart because Heifu does not have a perfect successor, and they will go their own way. The defeated countries such as Chu and Zhao will win opportunities again.
Zhong Lizhen's surrender is true or false. He understands that he will not be able to find an opportunity in the short term. This requires long-term lurking and management to win Heifu's trust and finally find the opportunity to carry out a fatal blow!
Looking at what Heifu did, he believed that Heifu really needed a surrender general from the Chu clan...
"A scholar dies for a confidant, and the three generations of the Xiang family have treated me well."
"I am willing to use my body as a sharp sword to be the one who stabs Qingji!"
This is Zhongli Mei's plan, his gamble.
Thinking of this, Zhongli Mei, who had been fighting hard for three days and nights, even though his whole body was injured and his hands were tied, he still put his head on the wall and fell asleep like this. For a while, the snoring in the cell was so loud that Lili
Dozens of guards outside were amazed.
"This prisoner of Chu is really a strange person!"
In the dream, there are still gold and iron horses, and the bright red flag of the Chu army. General Xiang Yan is still alive, he is still young, and he has the courage to enter the enemy country alone. The Chu country is full of talents, and the Chu people live a proud and confident life...
A dream is a dream after all.
I don’t know how long he slept for, maybe it was a moment, maybe it was several hours later, Chen Hui asked someone to wake Zhongli Mei up, and frowned and said to him: