Yang Duanhe was stunned for a moment, then nodded and praised:
"That's how you should reply."
Although this is just a common sentence, it has different meanings depending on the direction of understanding.
Because no one knows whether it is "all under control" to destroy Chu or "all under control" to defend the enemy.
Or maybe it was just a sentence of resignation to prevent Ying Zheng from getting angry and punishing...
Therefore, even if these words fall into the hands of the enemy, it does not matter. At the same time, telling the truth to Ying Zheng avoids the crime of "deceiving the emperor."
Ying Zheng was furious at this time.
Of course, his anger was not directed at Yang Duanhe and Shen Bing, but at Lord Changping.
"How dare you, Mr. Changping, betray me."
"Not only did you betray me, but you also burned down Chencheng. This is unbearable."
"If I catch you, I will cut this guy alive!"
But Ying Zheng knew in his heart that all this was actually caused by him.
Because he sent Lord Changping to Chencheng to appease the Chu people in order to force them to rebel.
It's just that Ying Zheng didn't expect that Lord Changping was so capable and could actually confuse the people of Chu and inflict heavy damage on Chen City in such a short period of time.
Therefore, the loss of food and grass in Chencheng would directly affect Yang Duan and the war ahead.
But of course, Ying Zheng would not admit this mistake.
Ying Zheng thought to himself that it was okay to have an unfavorable start this time. Resting for a few months and waiting for a good harvest of food and grass before attacking again would not waste much time.
It's just that I haven't seen Yang Duanhe's report, so I feel strange secretly.
Normally, no matter whether it is good or bad, the marching commander should report the battle situation to him in a timely manner, but why this time...
Ying Zheng also said that Yang Duanhe was worried about his governance, so he sent a letter in a gentler tone.
This letter is both comfort and inquiry.
To comfort means to tell Yang Duanhe that he will not be blamed for this failure.
The reason for asking is to know the status of the battle.
When he received the reply "Everything is under control" from Yang Duanhe, Ying Zheng couldn't help but frowned.
Whether or not this is said is almost the same, but the subtext seems to be that it will develop in a favorable direction.
Is this still a favorable direction?
Ying Zheng couldn't figure it out after much thought, so he had no choice but to give up.
At this time, Zhao Gao came in, cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, Wang Jian would like to see you."
Ying Zheng responded quickly:
"Please."
Wang Jian came into the tent and paid homage to Ying Zheng:
"Your Majesty, my subordinates are old and frail. Although they want to continue to serve your Majesty, they are unable to do so."
"This time I have come here to resign from the post of General to retire and return to my hometown to take care of myself. I hope your Majesty will grant me your permission."
Ying Zheng was shocked:
"Why did the General say this?"
Wang Jian sighed and said:
"Your Majesty, Lian Po also gets old sometimes, let alone his subordinates..."
Ying Zheng waved his hand and said:
"General, you are too humble. Although you are a little old, you have been in the army for a long time. Now you are still walking as fast as flying. How can you be called old?"
"It won't be too late to say it in a few years."
Wang Jian was a little surprised. He had thought that Ying Zheng would simply agree to his request to retire and return to his hometown, but he didn't want to...
In the next second, Wang Jian understood that perhaps there was something wrong with the attack on Chu.
No wonder Wang Jian didn't know that Ying Zheng was worried that the news of Lord Changping's rebellion against Qin would cause the nobles of Zhao and Wei to follow suit, so he vigorously blocked the news.
Of course, this cannot be blocked for a long time, but it can be blocked for a while.
Wang Jian didn't hear about it because he didn't participate in military affairs during this period.
Ying Zheng didn't say much, he just waved his hand and said:
"General, it's better to go back and recuperate. Don't bring up the matter of retiring and returning home again."
What else could Wang Jian say, so he just agreed and then retreated.
In fact, Wang Jian did guess what Ying Zheng was thinking.
Ying Zheng was thinking that if the combination of Yang Duanhe and Shen Bing could not win the Chu State, he would have to use Wang Jian again, so he would not let Wang Jian go at this time.
If you want to leave, you have to wait until you capture Chu.
As for the remaining states of Yan, Dai and Qi...if other Qin generals cannot capture them, then Qin's reputation is in vain.
Therefore, it was really not a good time for Wang Jian to come and ask for his resignation. If it had been a few days earlier when the war situation was going smoothly, Ying Zheng might have agreed.
The Qin army here in Bucheng has already begun to take action.
This was after the Chu army arrived at Bucheng and built a walled city.
Shen Bing and Yang Duanhe had some discussions about this.
Yang Duanhe was a little anxious:
"I think we should counterattack while the Chu army has not yet established a firm foothold."
"Otherwise, once they build a walled city or even block the river, we will be controlled by them."
What Yang Duanhe said makes sense. Especially rivers, if they are blocked, it will cause a lot of trouble.
But Shen Bing didn't think so.
"The Chu army is extremely vigilant at this time. If our army attacks, the Chu army may find that the situation is not right."
"When the time comes, we won't be able to give him a head-on blow, which may even ruin our plans."
"I think that when most of the city wall is built, the Chu army will breathe a sigh of relief and think about a long-term war."
Yang Duanhe thought it made sense, so he agreed to Shen Bing's plan and waited for a few days.
Xiang Yan was just as Shen Bing thought. During this period, he was a little frightened because he was afraid of a sudden counterattack by the Qin army.
Although the facts told him that the Qin army's food and grass were burned and the only way to defend was to defend, Xiang Yan still felt that something was wrong, but he did not understand what went wrong.
This may be his battlefield-experienced intuition, and he felt that the Qin army should not be defeated so easily.
It wasn't until the walled city was erected in front of the defense line and the river was blocked again that Xiang Yan breathed a sigh of relief and said it was just his imagination.
Of course, only the Bucheng section of the river is blocked.
The Chu army had more than 300,000 people in the port city, and their supplies had to be transported continuously along the river to the port city. Naturally, they could not block the river behind them and cut off their own supply lines.
That evening, Xiang Yan finished inspecting the camp as usual. When he returned to the tent, he was exhausted both physically and mentally. He lay down on the bed before he could take off his armor.
During this period, Xiang Yan was very busy with the war, and sometimes even led his troops into battle himself.
I don't feel tired when I'm in a state of mental tension and excitement. Once the battle situation stabilizes and I relax a little, waves of fatigue and sleepiness come over me like a tide.
This made Xiang Yan fall asleep as soon as she lay down on the bed, and even snored.
However, within less than a minute of incense, Xiang Yan was awakened by the sound of drums. He sat up from the bed and shouted loudly:
"Where's the drum sound coming from?"
Soon I saw Xiang Bo hurried in and reported:
"General, the Qin army is coming to attack."
Xiang Yan suddenly stood up and ordered:
"Don't panic, the Qin army is just preventing us from building fortifications, prepare to meet the enemy!"
No wonder Xiang Yan thinks so.
Because it is obvious that if the Qin army really had the strength to counterattack, it should attack the Chu army's stronghold before it was repaired instead of waiting until now.
But what Xiang Yan didn't expect was that what he faced was a full-scale counterattack by the Qin army.