My father, King Chu, was besieged at Gaixia

Chapter 141: Personal Risk
Gu Feng fled dozens of miles in one breath, and unexpectedly met Feng Wuze, Guo Ning and Guo Meng who were also fleeing for their lives. The four generals stopped at a valley until their horses were exhausted, and asked the guards to pull their mounts to feed water and food. The four of them frowned and gathered together to discuss the next strategy. As they talked to each other, the four of them started to quarrel. You blamed me for not fighting well, and I ridiculed you for your weak offensive, and the argument continued.

"Haha, four fish that escaped the net, four dogs that lost their homes, defeated generals who lost their troops and humiliated their lives, useless on the battlefield, as soft as a woman's butt, but off the battlefield they are full of energy and arrogant, really admirable!"

An old and mocking voice suddenly sounded above the four men's heads. The four generals thought it was the Chu cavalry coming, and were frightened to the point of paleness. They hurriedly grabbed their weapons to defend themselves.

When he looked up, he found that it was old Deng Shusun Tong, who had also thrown away his armor and weapons, looked disheveled, and had a head of disheveled hair shivering in the cold wind. He immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"We are both defeated generals, do you still have any glory? You are humiliating us like this, believe it or not, I will kill you with one sword." Being humiliated by the old Confucian scholar whom he always looked down upon, Guo Ning was extremely angry, and shouted loudly while grasping the hilt of the sword.

"Kill me? The commander-in-chief was defeated and beheaded, but the four generals are safe and sound, without a scratch. If you want to kill me, you should think more about how the King of Han will "reward" you when you return to the Han camp, right?"

Shusun Tong's words were like a sharp knife, stabbing the four generals in the heart.

The four generals had a dispute because they were worried about this. General Lu Ze was not only the commander, but also Liu Bang's brother-in-law, and had made great contributions to Liu Bang's Han camp. Now he died in battle, but the four of them were intact, especially since 30,000 troops were completely wiped out. How could Liu Bang forgive them?
"Lord Ji, our guilt is certainly not light, but you lost the Linjiang Kingdom, do you think you have done anything meritorious? We all have shit on our butts now, so don't laugh at Zhongji. You came here eagerly, do you want to teach us something, or do you want to laugh at us on purpose? If you want to laugh at us, please get out." Gu Feng stopped the angry Guo Ning and looked up at Shusun Tong.

Shusun Tong sighed, and the mockery on his old face quickly disappeared. With the support of his disciples and guards, he walked down the hillside and bowed to the four generals.

"It is not without lessons. The only way to get away with this crime now is to make up for the crime with merit. First, send someone to report the whole story of this battle to the military advisor and the King of Han immediately. Especially the military advisor, ask him to persuade Wu Rui to send the remaining troops of the kingdom to pursue the Overlord and his son. Second, you rush to Chen Xi's army and order him to immediately mobilize all his troops to intercept the Overlord and his son halfway. Third, I will rush to Ying Bu's army as an envoy and give him the original land of Jiujiang Kingdom, as well as the land of Linjiang Kingdom, in exchange for his sending troops to attack the Overlord. In this way, if the three armies come out together, it will be like a huge rock crushing an egg. No matter how brave the Overlord is, he will be destroyed. And as long as the Overlord and his son can be destroyed, even if we lose this battle, we will not be guilty, and we may even be meritorious. This is our only chance at the moment."

When Guo Ning, Guo Meng and Feng Wuzhe heard this, they all thought it made sense and nodded repeatedly.

Gu Feng thought for a while, then smiled bitterly and sighed, "It could also be the beginning of our eternal doom, or even the entire Han camp. After all, if these three armies are defeated again, the lands of Jiujiang, Linjiang, and Hengshan will all belong to the Overlord of Chu. If we get these three lands, Chu will truly be resurrected and have the strength to compete with the Han again."

Before the other three generals could say anything, Shusun Tong scolded them, "If you are afraid of wolves and tigers, what can you accomplish? Just tell me whether you will do it or not."

Gu Feng and the other three generals looked at each other, their expressions changed several times, and finally they gritted their teeth and nodded heavily.

Shusun Tong was very happy.

At the foot of Zhucheng. Early morning.

As the giant sun in the east could not wait to climb up to the sky, waiting to watch the great show of the battle between the two armies in front of the city, the sound of horse hooves like rolling thunder suddenly came from the northeast and northwest directions, and then dust like a yellow dragon rose into the sky. Two powerful armies, each with 20,000 people, came flying in, and entered the camp of the Great Chu Army and joined them amid the thunderous cheers of the Great Chu Army.

They watched helplessly as the 30,000 Chu troops under the city grew to 70,000, the camp expanded rapidly, and the Chu soldiers chopped and split the felled trees in front of the position, making them into ladders, nest carts and other siege equipment. The defenders on the top of the city wall looked at them in shock and were in a panic.

Xiang Chang, standing in front of the formation, looked at the panicked appearance of the defenders on the city wall, smiled coldly, bid farewell to his father Xiang Yu, and under the escort of Xiang Xi, Meng Xia and other thirty elite Chu cavalry, he held high the banner and arrived at the north gate of Zhu City with high spirits, asking to see Hengshan King Wu Rui.

The sudden appearance of 40,000 reinforcements was naturally another of his tricks. Last night, he arranged for 20,000 Chu troops to sneak out of the barracks and hide in the valleys more than ten miles to the northeast and northwest. In the early morning, they dragged branches and raised dust, and came with great fanfare, deceiving the momentum of 40,000 troops, which put great pressure on the defenders in the city.

People in the city did not seem to have expected that the Chu army would send an envoy to seek a meeting, especially when the envoy was Xiang Chang, the eldest son of the Great Chu State. It was half a day before the city gate was opened. Gao Mao, the chief guest of the Hengshan Kingdom, came out with a sullen face and welcomed Xiang Chang into the city with some resentment.

Well, no one would be in a good mood if someone came to attack them with a large army.

Seeing the city gates gradually closing, his son once again personally risked his life and fell into misfortune, especially since Wu Rui's daughter died at his hands. Even though Xiang Chang had repeatedly warned him before he left, Xiang Yu still couldn't suppress his impatience. He galloped to the front of the city on his black horse, roaring like thunder: "Wu Rui, if my son is harmed in the slightest, I will capture your Zhu city and kill all of your family members, including your nine clans!"

After saying this, he drew his bow like a full moon, the string vibrated like thunder, and with a "duang" sound, an arrow hit the plaque on the north gate, making a big hole in it.

As the wood chips from the plaque fell, the Chu army in the Great Chu camp suddenly waved their weapons, shook their arms, and shouted at Zhucheng: "Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Tens of thousands of troops roared at the same time, the sound shook the earth, and rushed towards the city wall of Zhu like a strong wind.

The defenders on the city wall turned pale and their legs were trembling.

Gao Mao, a courtier who had just entered the city, heard Xiang Yu's roar outside the city. His face was filled with anger and looked as ugly as rotten pig liver. Who in the world didn't know the fierce reputation of the Overlord? Especially since he had committed many massacres in the city, who dared to ignore his threats? At this time, tens of thousands of Chu soldiers shouted "kill" outside the city. The shouts were filled with the boiling fighting spirit. Even with the strong and thick city walls, people still didn't feel much sense of security.

Gao Mao's resentment disappeared unconsciously. He swallowed his saliva, and the anger on his face turned into a smile very smoothly: "My Lord, we are all descendants of the old Chu, and now we are fighting against each other, which is really lamentable..."

"Where is Wu Rui?" Xiang Chang suddenly interrupted him and asked directly.

"Huh? Uh! King Hengshan is waiting for the eldest prince in the palace now, please..." Gao Mao, who was also riding on a horse, lowered his shoulders unconsciously and reported carefully.

"In the palace? How dare you!" Xiang Chang raised his eyebrows, furious. "He chose to serve the Han camp as a dog instead of being crowned the king of the Great Chu State. My father and I are here to call the culprits for this traitorous, mean, and self-degrading lowly creature, not to bow to him. Now the Overlord has his troops stationed outside the city, and I, as the eldest son of the Great Chu State, have come to see him. He actually dared not to come to greet me in person, but to squat in the palace waiting for me to see him? Who gave him the courage? Does he want to die? - Let him come to see me, now! Right now!"

As Xiang Chang finished speaking, Xiang Xi, Meng Xia, and the thirty elite guards who had come to escort him all looked furious and shouted at the imperial guest Gao Mao, "Tell Wu Rui to come and see us immediately! Right now!"

The hundreds of strong and powerful guards of Hengshan Kingdom were frightened by the thirty elite cavalrymen of the Chu State, and they retreated in panic. As for Gao Mao, he clearly sensed Xiang Chang's murderous intent from his shouting, and his face turned pale. He whipped his horse hard, turned around and ran away in panic.

Just on this street inside the north city gate, Xiang Chang stopped moving forward, dismounted from his horse, and stood proudly.

Xiang Xi kicked open the door of a nearby house that looked quite wealthy, and directed two guards to borrow a piece of document, carry it out, and place it in the middle of the street.

Xiang Chang walked over and sat on the big horse and golden sword. Meng Xia snatched the blue silk umbrella from the guard of honor, and with one hand on the sword and the other hand on the umbrella, he shielded Xiang Chang from the scorching sun.

The soldiers, merchants and common people on the surrounding walls, city walls and behind the houses kept looking out and peek at the nobleman who was like a sword that had been tempered a thousand times, sharp, upright, brilliant and dazzling, making people feel intimidated at the sight of him. No one dared to say a word.

On the street inside the north gate of Zhu City, for a moment, the only sound could be heard was the chirping of the autumn wind, and there was no other sound at all.

Not long after, a hasty and chaotic sound of horse hooves sounded. At the end of the street, Wu Rui, the King of Hengshan, who was over fifty years old, rode a white horse and was surrounded by a large group of tall and short, imposing and important officials of the kingdom. He was still a few dozen meters away from Xiang Chang. He dismounted, waved his hand to keep the important officials where they were, and walked slowly towards Xiang Chang.

This was the first time Xiang Chang met Wu Rui. He was wearing a gorgeous robe embroidered with taotie patterns in gold thread and a crown inlaid with sparkling gems. He walked calmly and steadily, his eyes were deep and sharp, and his brows revealed an unquestionable meaning. He looked extremely majestic.

It has to be said that Wu Rui is worthy of being a young man who became famous and established the first generation of the foundation of such a large territory. King Linjiang and Gong Wei are like dogs and pigs compared to him.

"Wu Rui, since you defected to Liu Bang and rebelled against Overlord, you are no longer the King of Hengshan of our Great Chu. And now you are still wearing the royal crown and robes. Haha, you are really shameless." Xiang Chang looked Wu Rui up and down unscrupulously. For this elder who was old enough to be his grandfather and was highly respected in the old Chu, not only did he not have the slightest respect, but he directly humiliated him.

In the rear, all the important officials and generals of the Hengshan Kingdom showed anger on their faces, but they were frightened by the roar of the Chu army outside the city just now, and no one dared to refute.

Most of them had followed Wu Rui in Xiang Yu's camp a few years ago, and had witnessed Xiang Yu's unparalleled power in defeating the arrogant Qin army, and were deeply afraid of him. When they didn't see him, they dared to talk nonsense, but now there was only a thin city gate between them, and they could even smell his fierce and violent aura, so how could they dare to speak nonsense to his son?
In response to Xiang Chang's extremely insulting words, Hengshan King Wu Rui was calm and amiable. Just as he was about to speak, a slender and beautiful middle-aged noble man who was hidden in his shadow stepped forward and said gently, "Master Chang, do you think that the people of Hengshan Kingdom are all cowards and that you can persuade them to surrender with just your three-inch tongue? Besides, the Chu army outside your city is no more than 30,000. Although Zhu City has only more than 10,000 defenders, it has strong walls to rely on, but it is not easy to capture."

Xiang Chang's eyes sparkled. It was the first time since his rebirth that he faced this legendary strategist who had a profound influence on future generations. He bowed slightly and chuckled, saying:

"So it's you, the military advisor of the King of Han. If I, Xiang Chang, have to say what I admire most, it's the military advisor. He carries a big mouth on his shoulders and comes here like a gossiper to spread rumors, deceive people's minds, and fool fools. He does a business without any capital. If it succeeds, the rewards are extremely rich, and his family will enjoy wealth and honor for generations. As for failure, it is the bad luck of the fool who was deceived, and he will die and his country will be destroyed. As for you, you will not suffer any loss. You can just pat your butt and change to another one to continue to deceive. For example, Shusun Tong deceived the Kingdom of Linjiang, and the commander Gong died, and the general Huang Jizhong's clan was destroyed. Did he get hurt at all?"

"Like now, it's the same. The military advisor asserts that there are only 30,000 Chu troops outside the city, and he is trying his best to encourage the Hengshan Kingdom to resist stubbornly. As for whether there are 30,000 or 60,000 Chu troops outside the city, is it important to the military advisor? It doesn't matter! What the military advisor wants is for the Hengshan Kingdom to firmly resist the Chu army, and fight each other to death, and it would be best if they beat their brains out. Anyway, the worst result is that the 60,000 Chu troops break through Zhu City and kill the Hengshan Kingdom, from the king to the ministers, and all the family members without leaving a single person alive. What loss will it have for the military advisor himself? For the entire Han camp, it may even be of great benefit!"

The important officials and generals of the Hengshan Kingdom all changed their expressions. The more they thought about it, the more they felt that it was right. When they turned their heads to look at Zhang Liang, their eyes were not right.

Even though Zhang Liang didn't turn around, he could feel that Hengshan King Wu Rui behind him also frowned and looked dissatisfied.

Zhang Liang knew his good brother very well. He was a brave and intelligent man, a real hero. But his only shortcoming was that he was too smart and lacked courage. He was very easy to succumb to the strong and would never put himself in danger. Therefore, in order to strengthen his will to resist the Chu army, he had to give him a full sense of security and let him feel that he would win.

Among the three kingdoms of Linjiang, Hengshan and Jiujiang established by Xiang Yu, Wu Rui was the best at internal affairs. Under his governance, the Hengshan Kingdom had a population of 500,000 to 600,000 people. With the benefits of fish and salt, copper and iron, bamboo and wood in the territory, and the opening of rivers for trade and transportation, it became extremely wealthy. Once they defected to Xiang Yu, there was no doubt that Xiang Yu's Chu army would be even more powerful and difficult to control in a hurry.

(End of this chapter)