knife

Chapter 629 Four-way Collaboration
Is the present-day Tong'an city comparable to the Hangzhou city of yesteryear?

In Li Dachui's opinion, there was absolutely none.

At that time, the newly established State of Chu only had twelve commanderies, a population of several million, and an armored force of just over one hundred thousand. Compared to the newly unified and militarily powerful State of Qin, it was indeed not on the same level.

At that time, places like the southwest were not yet under the jurisdiction of the Chu state!

If they lose the Battle of Hangzhou, the State of Chu will naturally cease to exist, and the Xiang clan, the Chu clan, and other major clans that founded the state will definitely be purged.

Relying on their abundant supplies and naval advantages, the twelve counties of Chu gave their all to support the Battle of Hangzhou.

There is another crucial factor that neither the Xiong nor the Xiang families are willing to mention: the unwavering support from the Demonic Sect.

At that time, the Qin state had quite a few innate masters.
They did consider using their innate advantage as experts to conquer Hangzhou.

However, Qingfeng's fleeting appearance immediately dispelled the thoughts of these innate masters.

The meaning of "gentle breeze" is quite clear.

If you don't make a move, I won't make a move either. But if you dare to make a move, then I'll kill you, and that will be a perfectly legitimate reason.

Those experts who helped Qin defeat Dayong back then were all very familiar with Qingfeng's abilities.

No one wants to be Qingfeng's enemy.

Because he represents someone who has already been reserved by the King of Hell, the Black and White Impermanence are waiting on the side with chains.

It was precisely because of these various external factors that the Qin army could only fight in a methodical and serious manner.

The result was that the war dragged on for five years, and neither side could sustain the fight any longer.
Li Qing eventually gave up.

There are also rumors that Li Qing gave up in the end out of consideration for Qingfeng.

At that time, Qingfeng had already made it clear that he supported the State of Chu in challenging Li Qing to a duel.

However, as the people from that time passed away one by one, these rumors eventually disappeared into the dust of history, and their authenticity could no longer be verified.

The Qin state was unwilling to discuss these matters.
The State of Chu later turned against the Demonic Sect, and it would never claim that the Demonic Sect played a crucial role in its founding. In fact, it could be argued that without the Demonic Sect, there would be no State of Chu.

Over the next few centuries, the State of Chu deified the Xiong and Xiang clans, thus solidifying their unshakeable and supreme position within the state.

But now?
The situation now is completely different from that time.

The state of Chu was already internally divided.

One group consists of staunch supporters of both the Xiong and Xiang tribes.
The other part, however, became Jiang Qian's die-hard fans.

At that time, the people were terrified of the Qin state that had destroyed Dayong. In any case, the Xiong and Xiang clans were locals, so people naturally supported them in their struggle against outsiders. Over the centuries, the conflict between powerful clans and ordinary people became increasingly serious, reaching an irreconcilable point in many places. Not rebelling was already the lowest possible level of defiance.

That's why Jiang Qian went to Yunwu Mountain with Li Dachui. She wanted to get the Xiong and Xiang clans moving first so that she could legitimately remove these two biggest obstacles. The wealth of these two clans was enough for Jiang Qian to hold on for a few more years, and then build a powerful army to launch a northern expedition while Qin was in turmoil.

It must be said that if Jiang Qian's idea succeeds, it will indeed solve many problems.

Unfortunately, they ultimately failed due to an unsolvable bug involving Li Dachui and Qingfeng.

Putting all that aside, there's also the ambition of Na Wei to take control of the Danyang court. The Chu region is bound to be turbulent and rife with conflict.

Leaving aside Jiang Qian, even Li Dachui has his own influence in the Chu region.

Naturally, they also wanted to fuel the flames.

Xiang Ying actually dreamed of a resounding victory, just like in the Battle of Hangzhou hundreds of years ago.
In Li Dachui's view, it was a complete joke.

“Most of my forces in Chu have been wiped out by Xiong Yi and Xiang Ying, and those who survived have gone into hiding!” Jiang Qian said. “However, they can still do many things. For example, if Xiong Yi wants to rescue Xiang Ying, he needs to mobilize local troops from various counties. My men can delay, postpone, or even obstruct the local troops from going out. It’s too easy to find an excuse.”

"The Divine Cult still has strength in Chu, and now the five banners have finally been united as one. They can organize some real and fake uprisings and riots. As a result, those Xiong Yi supporters who want to send troops will have to consider the consequences of their backyard being on fire and their base being destroyed. As for those who do not want to send troops, they will have a legitimate reason to leave Xiong Yi speechless!" Li Dachui said with a smile.

“That’s what I think too.” Jiang Qian nodded. “As long as Danyang can’t send enough reinforcements, our chances of taking Tong’an County and defeating Xiang Ying will be much greater!”

Li Dachui turned to look at Wang Dao and Yao Dali: "The navy will be divided into two parts. One part will be responsible for cutting off any support from Chu to Tong'an County by water, whether it be supplies or troops. The other part will go down the river, firstly to seek out the remaining Chu navy for a decisive battle and try to completely annihilate them, and secondly to provide weapons, supplies, and even direct military assistance to the resistance forces in various places!"

“I obey!” Wang Dao glanced at Yao Dali and said, “Protector, Empress Dowager, I will go to find Chen Yan. I am more familiar with the waterways of Chu than General Yao, and I have many acquaintances and friends along the river!”

“Alright!” Li Dachui said, “As for how to allocate the troops, your navy can discuss and decide on its own. However, I must remind you that you should not underestimate Chen Yan just because you defeated him in the last battle. In the Battle of Red Cliffs, if Jiang Jiang hadn’t personally come to the battlefield to cheer him on, that battle would not have been won so easily!”

"Understood, sir!" Both men nodded repeatedly.

Yao Dali, in particular, had a deeper understanding of Chen Yan's abilities. In that battle, he charged directly into Chen Yan's army formation, and almost destroyed more than a dozen warships.

"Xiangyang City must prepare for battle!" Li Dachui said to Kang Zhen. "Xiang Ying will use every force he can, and Li Guohua is one of them. Moreover, Xiangyang City is extremely attractive to Li Guohua. If we can take it, he will definitely fight without hesitation. Li Xiu should try his best to eliminate Li Guohua's idea. As long as Li Guohua feels that there is an iron plate in front of him, the possibility of him kicking it hard is still very low."

Jiang Qian continued, "This time, Xiao Zhongren didn't back down. Instead, he retreated to Moshan to deal with Li Guoxiu. This allows him to do some things and also keeps Li Guohua in check. In addition, I have ordered the experts from the five banners of the Divine Sect to gather at Moshan. It won't be long before Moshan is full of heroes. Also, Protector Li, I think you can make some moves in Hanzhong and show some support outside the pass. This way, you can always distract Linghu Ye and prevent him from fully supporting Li Guohua. You might even be able to draw manpower from Li Guohua."

"This time, we'll be working together from all four sides to try and take down Xiang Ying in the shortest possible time!" Li Dachui waved his hand.

"I'm afraid it will be very difficult to catch Xiang Ying!" Jiang Qian said with a smile.

“After annihilating his troops, he escaped alone. When he returned to Danyang, both his reputation and strength would be greatly diminished. Under these circumstances, his fight with Na Wei would show that they were evenly matched and had a back-and-forth battle!” Li Dachui laughed loudly.

(End of this chapter)