My father, King Chu, was besieged at Gaixia

Chapter 133: Virtual and Submissive
Jiujiang Kingdom, outside Yinling County.

A thick layer of white frost covered the withered wild grass, and gusts of fierce wind blew past like ghosts and wolves, picking up helpless branches and leaves and throwing them into the air from time to time, playing with them wantonly. The huge sun slowly climbed up to the sky, its color was cold and white, its light was dim, and it revealed an inexplicable dusk.

The Han army camp led by Lu Ze himself and the 30,000 Jiujiang troops led by Jiujiang King Ying Bu set up their battle formations and confronted each other.

Inside the tent, Lu Ze and Zhang Liang sat opposite each other, while Chen Xi, Gu Feng, Guo Ning, Guo Meng and other generals under their command sat on their left and right, looking at the geographical map of Jiujiang County hanging in the tent, planning how to break the deadlock and inflict heavy damage on the aggressive Ying Bu's army.

Ying Bu was not good at plotting and military planning, but he was good at marching and fighting. Xiang Chang came alone and shot the Han envoy Sui He to death in the tent of the commander-in-chief of the army, forcing him to break with the Han camp completely and there was no possibility of peace. His war instinct was awakened.

On the second day after Xiang Chang left, Ying Bu decisively left the infantry behind and marched slowly, and personally led 3,000 cavalry. With the help of stirrups, a powerful weapon, they traveled day and night, crossed the Huai River, quickly entered the territory of Jiujiang Kingdom, and launched a surprise attack on Quyang County.

Lü Ze followed Zhang Liang's advice and hastily transferred Gu Feng and Chen Xi to Quyang County and Zhongli County to guard against Ying Bu. These two counties were the first to be attacked after entering Jiujiang.

Gu Feng had just arrived in Quyang with an army of 10,000. Before they could gain a foothold, Ying Bu's 3,000 cavalrymen arrived and rushed into the city almost at the same time.

Ying Bu, however, made full use of the essence of the cavalry's sudden attack and fierce aggression that he had learned from Overlord. The Jiujiang Army of Ying Bu was originally composed of the descendants of the old Chu. Now that they had returned to their homeland, they knew that if they could not take back the territory, they would be surrounded by the Han army and die. Therefore, they burst out with super combat power, and won with fewer troops. The Gufeng Army, which was caught off guard, was killed and thrown into chaos. Like a headless fly, it could not organize an effective defense and collapsed in one fell swoop.

Gu Feng, under the protection of his personal cavalry, rushed out of the south gate and escaped. After running for more than ten miles, he found that Ying Bu did not chase him. Gu Feng did not rush to Zhongli County where Chen Xi was stationed, nor did he send soldiers to send information. Instead, he made a wrong decision to gather the scattered soldiers who had escaped from the city and tried to find an opportunity to counterattack.

Losing a city and abandoning a place is a serious crime, and Gu Feng wanted to make up for it. At this time, he knew that Ying Bu only had 3,000 cavalry and no infantry behind him, and cavalry were not good at defending a city.

It must be said that Gu Feng still didn't understand Ying Bu, who had learned the true art of military tactics from Xiang Yu, well enough. For Ying Bu, who had cavalry at his disposal, defense? It was simply a joke!

He defeated the 10,000 defenders in the city and forced more than 2,000 of them to surrender. What made Ying Bu most happy was that he captured more than 2,000 war horses.

Five hundred cavalrymen were left behind to guard the prisoners and defend Quyang, while Ying Bu selected the best and strongest soldiers from the prisoners to replace the lost cavalrymen, making up the number to 2,500 again. He then replaced his troops with new horses and personally led them out of the city again, heading towards the next city, Zhongli County.

Not long after leaving the city, Ying Bu defeated Gu Feng, who was unaware of the Kitchen God's evil intentions and had unrealistic intentions, and dispersed the thousands of soldiers he had gathered with great difficulty. Gu Feng was almost stabbed to death by Ying Bu's spear.

Fully aware that the mountain god's belongings were made of stone, Gu Feng was completely frightened and did not even dare to go to Zhongli County. He took a detour and fled directly to Shouchun to report the death to Lu Ze and Zhang Liang.

Compared to Gu Feng, Chen Xi had more time and arrived a day earlier. But thinking that Gu Feng was in front of him, Ying Bu couldn't fly over even if he had wings. After the soldiers moved in, they were very slow and unhurried. Naturally, as expected, the same old story as Gu Feng was repeated.

After taking two cities in succession, Ying Bu's army was at its peak and marched non-stop straight towards Yinling County.

Yinling County did not have any powerful generals from the Han camp, and the number of soldiers was no more than a thousand, so Ying Bu took it without any difficulty.

However, his good luck ended there.

After transferring the armies of Gu Feng and Chen Xi to the north, Zhang Liang estimated that the two generals might not be able to resist Ying Bu's offensive. At his suggestion, Lu Ze personally led thousands of cavalry and marched urgently for several days to rush to the two counties to meet up.

On the way, he met Gu Feng and learned that Quyang County had been lost. Lü Ze was shocked and surprised at the speed of Ying Bu's cavalry. Not long after he started walking, he unexpectedly met Chen Xi and learned that Zhongli County had also been lost. He was even more shocked and did not dare to neglect it. He led his army straight to Yinling County.

Therefore, on the second day after Ying Bu captured Yinling County, Lu Ze led his cavalry to the city.

Ying Bu's army was small and his cavalry was not good at defending the city. They were forced to retreat outside the county unwillingly after being charged by Lu Ze's army.

Ying Bu was also very surprised that Lü Ze's army arrived so quickly. Knowing that if he retreated at this time, Lü Ze's army would attack immediately and the two counties he had captured would be lost, Ying Bu led thousands of cavalry to stick with them. As soon as Lü Ze's army left the city, he harassed them and forced them to stay in Yinling County and unable to move north.

Lü Ze had no choice but to send troops from Shouchun, and Zhang Liang was forced to come to plan military strategies. At this time, Ying Bu's infantry also came from the rear. The armies of both sides gathered more and more in the tiny area of ​​Yinling County, and fought several battles, with both sides winning and losing.

Yinling County could not accommodate tens of thousands of troops, so Lu Ze and Zhang Liang set up the commander's tent directly outside the city.

Lu Ze's army had more than 40,000 soldiers, while Ying Bu's army had less than 30,000 soldiers. Ying Bu's army was powerful, while Lu Ze's army had ample military supplies. The two sides were evenly matched and the battle situation became stalemate for a while.

"Ying Bu is flexible and cunning in employing his troops. He rarely engages in long-term offensive and defensive battles. But we must be on guard against him suddenly abandoning Yinling and heading south to attack Lujiang County." Zhang Liang coughed a few times and whispered, pointing to the map.

During this period, he has been helping Lu Ze plan military strategies and win over the hearts of the people in the old Chu area. He is busy until midnight every day. Zhang Liang's arrow wound has healed, but his face is still as pale as grease due to overwork, and he looks quite sick.

"Report, General, 'Ji's successor' Shusun Tong requests to see you." The usher came out of the tent door and bowed to report.

When Zhang Liang heard this, he was horrified and stood up hastily, but his robe caused the plates and bowls on the desk in front of him to fall to the ground with a clanging sound.

While Lu Ze waved his hand to bring Shusun Tong in, he comforted Zhang Liang: "Military Advisor, don't panic. This may be good news. It's not impossible that Shusun Tong killed Xiang Chang's son in Linjiang Kingdom..."

Lu Ze was halfway through his speech when he saw Shusun Tong coming into the tent and could no longer continue.

Shusun Tong's clothes were torn into rags, his hair was disheveled and his eyes were bloodshot, like a demon. The exposed skin on his cheeks, neck, hands, etc. was cut by the knife-like cold wind, leaving blue and cracked skin. He was shivering all over and looked horrible.

——The word "crushing defeat" was written all over his face, how could he have a great victory? "Linjiang Kingdom is finished, it has fallen into the hands of Xiang Chang. General, military advisor, you must make plans early." As expected, as soon as he entered the tent, Shusun Tong's words completely dispelled the luck of everyone in the tent.

While roasting on the charcoal basin, Shusun Tong recounted in detail the evolution of the situation in the Kingdom of Linjiang, especially how Xiang Chang had changed the situation, stirred up storms, and killed people indiscriminately since his arrival.

After he finished telling the story, he felt warmed up and his face became rosy, but the face of the army commander, Lu Ze, turned blue and purple rapidly, which was visibly turned to the naked eye.

Military advisor Zhang Liang shook his head and smiled bitterly, not looking very angry. However, Lu Ze felt a suffocation in his chest and was inexplicably resentful. He held back his anger while holding the sword, and only then did he refrain from suddenly attacking and killing Shusun Tong.

Zhang Liang attached so much importance to Xiang Chang, but Lu Ze didn't take it seriously. In his opinion, even if Xiang Chang's methods were clever, with the cunning Shusun Tong around, and successfully persuading the general Huang Jizhong to defect to the Han camp, even if Xiang Chang couldn't be eliminated, it would not be easy for Xiang Chang to control the Linjiang Kingdom in a short time.

As long as he could tie up Xiang Chang in the Kingdom of Linjiang for a period of time, it would be enough for him to eliminate Ying Bu, the threat to him, and then he would have no worries. He could then lead his army straight into Jiangling City and force the timid King Gong Wei of Linjiang to make a decision and kill Xiang Chang.

In his opinion, this plan was extremely sound and foolproof. However, he never expected that in such a short period of time, before they defeated Ying Bu, Xiang Chang had already taken over the Linjiang Kingdom. This was simply unbelievable.

Linjiang Kingdom was a huge vassal state, and Shusun Tong had the advantage of taking the initiative. How incompetent and stupid could someone be to squander such a good situation and ruin it so thoroughly? - Or was Xiang Chang really a god who had come to earth?
Although Liu Bang was very wary of this meritorious official of the Han camp, which made him privately dissatisfied, and even when he heard that Xiang Yu had made him queen, he was tempted to do something, but in the end he calmed down his heart and chose to continue to be a loyal official and filial son of the Han camp.

In his view, the dirty tricks between him and Liu Bang were nothing more than internal conflicts within the Han camp, and after all, they were all family.

It has to be said that Lu Ze's view of the overall situation is reasonable. Of course, this is also related to the fact that he has already caught the rabbit and put it in his waist - his sister Lu Zhi has given birth to the second generation of the Liu family. The big pie of the Han camp is indispensable for their Lu family.

Therefore, seeing that Xiang Chang was really trying to turn the doomed situation of the Great Chu into a reality step by step, especially if he continued like this, it would endanger the basic foundation of the Han Dynasty, which would also affect the fundamental interests of their Lu family. Naturally, Lu Ze jumped up like a cat whose tail was stepped on.

Chen Xi and Gu Feng looked at each other. They naturally knew what it meant for Da Chu if Linjiang Kingdom fell into Xiang Chang's hands.

They had not participated in the Battle of Gaixia, and had not really witnessed Xiang Chang's fierce tactics. But now, through Shusun Tong's narration, Xiang Chang led only a thousand cavalrymen into Linjiang, and in a very short period of time, a country changed its master, and thus took full control of the whole country. This mysterious operation really surprised them. Moreover, they knew Shusun Tong well enough, and knew that he was not a good person, but he suffered such a big loss at the hands of Xiang Chang, especially when he escaped back in such an embarrassing state, which further predicted Xiang Chang's cruelty.

"Military advisor, what should we do now?" Contrary to his usual low-key and calm demeanor, Lu Ze looked at Zhang Liang, his words unconsciously carrying a hint of urgency that had never been seen before.

Lu Ze didn't care about Zhang Liang's previous dissatisfaction with his surveillance. At this moment, the two had the same goal, so he naturally regarded this wise counselor as someone he could rely on.

Zhang Liang, who had been looking pensive, sighed again and was about to speak, but Shusun Tong, who was eager to show his worth, spoke first: "Robbery!"

Seeing that everyone in the tent was looking at him, Shusun Tong had obviously thought it over carefully in order to make up for his mistake. He said: "Now that Xiang Chang has taken over Linjiang Kingdom, the next step must be to transport the food of Linjiang Kingdom to the Great Chu Army Camp at Gaixia to solve the problem of food shortage of the Great Chu Army. In other words, we have not lost yet and there is still a chance. As long as we rob the food halfway, even if Xiang Chang gets Linjiang Kingdom, it will be nothing but a waste of effort."

Lu Ze thought this was reasonable and became more energetic. Still feeling worried, he turned his gaze to Zhang Liang.

Zhang Liang nodded calmly, looked up at Lu Ze, and said seriously: "This is indeed our only chance to turn the tide and turn the situation around!"

"Okay! Let's do it! This time I will go and meet Xiang Chang in person!" Lu Ze's long-suppressed aura was released at this moment, surging like a river tide, and his power was unmatched. "Linjiang Kingdom has only 50,000 troops in total, and they have to leave troops to guard the city. Xiang Chang leads only about 10,000 troops to escort military supplies. As for the combat effectiveness of the Linjiang Kingdom army, haha. I will lead 30,000 troops in person, wait for them to tire out, and set up an ambush in advance, which is enough to defeat them in one fell swoop."

The generals in the tent had no objection to Lu Ze's extremely arrogant and confident words, which regarded intercepting Xiang Chang's grain team as taking candy as a piece of cake. Instead, they all looked as if it was a matter of course.

Yes, with only a few thousand Linjiang soldiers, they had come a long way, were exhausted, and had to divide their attention to protect the military rations. It was undoubtedly like dancing in shackles. Facing the encirclement of enemies that were several times their number, there was no doubt that they would be wiped out in one fell swoop.

Chen Xi thought of a thorny problem and said hesitantly, "It shouldn't be difficult for us to defeat Xiang Chang. The only thing we are worried about is that Ying Bu's tens of thousands of Jiujiang troops are watching closely. If we withdraw most of our troops, how can we resist him?"

"Send an envoy to negotiate peace with Ying Bu." Zhang Liang seemed to have made up his mind and said without hesitation, "You can give the entire Jiujiang County to Ying Bu in exchange for his consent."

The territory of Jiujiang State included the three counties of Jiujiang, Lujiang and Yuzhang in the Qin Dynasty. The most important places of the old Chu, such as Shouchun, Liuxian, Chengfu and Shuxian, were all in Jiujiang County. Therefore, Zhang Liang's proposal to assign Jiujiang County to Ying Bu was very sincere.

"Will this guy agree? Liu Jia and Sui He, who were sent by the King of Han, both died at his hands. He seems to be extremely hostile to our Han camp. And what if he pretends to agree, pretends to be friendly with us, and then secretly sends a message to Xiang Chang to be on guard, and then attacks us secretly himself, what should we do?" Lu Ze did not feel reluctant to send Jiujiang County away, but he had other worries.

Zhang Liang smiled, waved his hand and said calmly: "Ying Bu is a man who cherishes his life when doing great things and forgets his life when seeing small gains. To put it bluntly, he cares less about morality and more about personal gain. He is easily confused by the small gains in front of him and has no foresight and planning. If such a huge Jiujiang County is placed in front of him, he will definitely be tempted and will definitely agree."

Undoubtedly, Zhang Liang and Xiang Chang were no different, both of them saw through Ying Bu and thought he was dead.

"Who is qualified to be sent as an envoy to Ying Bu's army?" Lu Ze asked.

Zhang Liang closed his eyes slightly and remained silent.

Lu Ze came to his senses, turned his head, and cast a cold look at Shusun Tong.

Shusun Tong, who had just made his presence known, was shocked. He did not expect the boomerang to hit him so quickly. He was so frustrated that he wanted to slap himself in the face. He looked around and found that there was really no one more suitable than himself to be the envoy. He smiled bitterly and agreed. Even though Ying Bu had a history of killing envoys many times, he had no choice but to bite the bullet.

(End of this chapter)