My father, King Chu, was besieged at Gaixia

Chapter 159 Two Thieves
Zang Tu waved his hands and said coldly: "What are they dissatisfied with? Which of their military strategies and abilities can compare with these two generals? Right now, we need people. If I don't use Wang Zhou and Ji Bi, then how can I use these useless people?!"

Zang Yan slumped his face, touched his chin and said angrily: "These generals said that when it comes to loyalty to you, it still depends on them. Wang Zhou and Ji Bi are outsiders after all. I think they are right."

Zang Tu's expression softened upon hearing this, and he smiled calmly, "That's fine, I know this too. Wang Zhou and Ji Bi were originally Qin generals, with outstanding military strategies and extraordinary military exploits, not inferior to me. After being recruited by Han Xin, they confronted the fierce Chu general Li Yi for many years in Qi without losing the upper hand. They surrendered after being defeated this time, and I bought their talents with high positions and generous salaries. How can I not be grateful and fight to the death? Doesn't this save us energy? Of course, you can also tell those generals that I had to do this. After the Chu soldiers are driven away, hehe, whether the two generals live or die, won't we let them control it then?"

Zang Yan suddenly realized, nodded, and said no more.

The ceremonial procession had just arrived at the palace, and before they had even entered the palace gate, deafening shouts and charges suddenly came from the direction of the south gate, mixed with the faint sound of sharp metal colliding.

Zang Tu and Zang Yan were both shocked and surprised: the Chu army had just defeated the Han army, and now they were attacking the city again? That was wrong, why did they only choose the south gate to attack the city? Zang Tu was about to order the guards beside him to check, when he saw Gao Mao, who had just stepped down as the chief general of the city defense, galloping over like a stray dog ​​under the protection of a dozen guards.

From a distance, his roar could be heard: "My king, something bad has happened. It turns out that Generals Wang Zhou and Ji Bi had secretly defected to the Great Chu. After taking over the city defense, they immediately ordered the soldiers they brought to control the South Gate, then opened the city gate and sent a signal to bring the Great Chu army into the city."

Hearing this, Zang Tu's eyes turned dark and he almost fainted on the spot.

He stretched out his short, invisible neck, panting heavily, his thick chest rising and falling sharply, and drew out the long sword from his waist, roaring, "Where are these two bastards? They have colluded with the Chu State before Han Xin's body is cold. I will personally kill these traitors!"

Hearing Zang Tu's words, the generals gathered around him all showed strange expressions.

Han Xin died at the hands of Liu Bang, and the two generals Wang Zhou and Ji Bi defected to Chu in an act of revenge for their former master. If we really talk about who betrayed their former master, it would be you, the king, right?

If you had not betrayed your former master and killed all the powerful generals under his command in order to consolidate your own royal power, why would you have no generals to use when the Chu army is approaching and you have no choice but to use generals like Wang Zhou and Ji Bi who have suspicious origins?
Therefore, the root of your current situation lies in yourself.

Of course, no one dared to say this.

At this moment, Zang Tu was extremely annoyed, and the doubts about the two thieves Wang Zhou and Ji Bi when they came to surrender also surfaced in his mind again.

When he received the two generals that day, he was very surprised. Li Yi had fought against the two of them for several years with a weak force and had not been defeated. Now he had received strong support from the 40,000 troops that the Overlord had plundered from the two kingdoms of Hengshan and Linjiang. Logically, the two thieves should not have been spared. How could they not only escape safely, but also lead an army of 4,000 people with bright armor and neat formations?
Isn't this quite unreasonable?

I also blame myself for being obsessed with the devil at that time. Under the strong pressure of the Chu Dynasty destroying the Han camp and sweeping the world again, I was anxious day and night, so I was so overjoyed at these two people who suddenly came to surrender, and I turned a blind eye to the doubts about them...

Zang Tu slashed at the air with his long sword, and the sharp blade danced like a silver snake. With a "crack", the blade, which seemed sharp but was actually extremely thin, broke in the middle in full view of everyone.

This scene was so unexpected.

The generals and ministers around him opened their eyes wide in surprise, but they all kept silent out of tact.

The scene fell into an eerie silence for a moment.

Zang Tu then remembered that since he became the King of Yan, he disliked the long sword he used in battle because it was too heavy, so he asked the craftsmen to specially forge such a sword with gorgeous decorations, extremely thin blade, and symbolic significance far greater than its practicality.

When he usually wore it, it certainly made him, the King of Yan, look wise and brave. But now when he actually needed to use it, it unexpectedly caused such a big mistake.

"Your Majesty, let's escape. Generals Ji and Bi have been harboring evil intentions for a long time. The Chu army is rushing into the city and we can't stop them! I just ordered Weiwei Yuan Chu to seize the north gate. If we go out from the north gate, we can still escape." Gao Mao shouted.

"Shut up! I ask you, when you escaped from the South Gate, did the Chu army enter the city through the South Gate?" Zang Tu was like an angry wolf, emitting a terrifying and murderous aura, and roared at Gao Mao.

Zang Tu knew Gao Mao very well. The reason he was promoted to the general of the kingdom was not because of his outstanding military strategy and personal bravery, but because he was loyal, obedient, and mediocre enough!

Zang Tu was a fierce general who led a large army to rebel against his former master, so how could he not be wary of his generals? Therefore, those who were reused by him were first loyal, and secondly, their military strategies were at least inferior to his.

For example, Gan Meng, who was guarding Zhuo County, was as loyal to him as Gao Mao, but he was much better than Gao Mao in terms of military strategy. It was precisely because of this that the position of general fell on Gao Mao.

Gao Mao shuddered at his roar, his face turned pale, and he stammered, "The Chu army should have returned and has not entered the city yet. The fierce battle at the South Gate is between the Yan army defending the city and the armies of Wang Zhou and Ji Bi, who are fighting for the gate!"

When the generals and officials heard this, they were stunned: "Didn't you listen to what you said? The Chu army hasn't even entered the city, and you're scared out of your wits? You're a great general in vain!"

Zang Tu snorted coldly. At this moment, his thoughts were clearer than ever before:
"I think so! Wang Zhou and Ji Bi had just taken office as the chief commanders of the city defense. If they suddenly rebelled, the soldiers of Ji County would definitely not follow them. They could only rely on the 4,000 soldiers they brought. And their 4,000 soldiers were evenly distributed by me to the four city gates, with only 1,000 soldiers at each gate. With only 1,000 soldiers, it would be difficult to completely control a city gate under the counterattack of the Dayan city defense soldiers who have an absolute advantage in manpower!"

Zang Tu was able to defeat his former master and control both Yan and Liaodong. His territory was vast, so how could he be incompetent? Now he was forced into a dead end, and the instincts of the general, who had been corrupted by wine and sex and covered with fat, began to awaken.

When the generals heard this, they were all surprised. Lieutenant Yu Hang bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, what you said is absolutely right. We are far inferior to you!"

Zang Tu did not hesitate, and immediately shouted with angry eyes:
"All soldiers, follow me and take back the city gate! As long as we move fast enough and reach the South City Gate before the Chu army, and cooperate with the city defense soldiers to kill the two traitors and their rebellious soldiers, Ji County will still be in our hands!"

As he spoke, Zang Tu "rolled" down nimbly from under the blue silk umbrella embroidered with dragons and phoenixes and the sedan chair inlaid with gold and silver. Then, without even bothering to put on armor, he jumped onto a warhorse and stabbed the horse's butt with the half-broken dagger in his hand!

The warhorse raised its head and let out a long howl, its mane standing straight up. It struggled with its neck, carrying Zang Tu's round body, and rushed back towards the direction it came from.

After only charging out for a short time, the horse's pace slowed down noticeably, and even seemed to be dragging its feet a bit - one must admit that this Prince of Yan was really too heavy!
Thousands of Zang Tu's guards and elite cavalry were inspired by seeing their king suddenly become so fierce and his reasonable words. They shouted loudly and urged their horses to follow closely.

General Gao Mao and Crown Prince Zang Yan looked unhappy, but they had no choice but to follow. The other generals and officials did not dare to say much, and followed in silence. Zang Tu rushed towards the South Gate with a worried heart, of course, he was not as confident as he appeared.

In what he said just now, he deliberately did not mention the soldiers of the Great Chu Army who were watching covetously outside the city.

In fact, with Xiang Chang's cleverness, how could he not seize such an opportunity? Even at this time, the Chu army had already joined in, cooperating with the two rebels' chaotic armies, and slaughtering the Yan army defending the city!
But even so, he still wants to give it a try!
I can't just listen to the words of that loser Gao Mao and abandon the huge foundation that I have worked hard for half my life to build, run away like a stray dog, and live a life of constant fear!

In that case, it would be better to die in battle in Ji County!
Besides, he was far from being at the end of his rope! He still had strong support beside him - brave warriors and sharp soldiers!

I have to say that Zang Tu was right.

Generals Wang Zhou and Ji Bi transferred the guards of the South Gate in the name of the defending generals and replaced them with a thousand soldiers under their command. Then they suddenly opened the city gate and sent a signal to the Chu army outside the city.

The Yan soldiers guarding the city discovered the clues almost at the same time. Under the command of the frightened and angry generals and officers, they launched a fierce attack in an attempt to recapture the South Gate and close it again.

The scouts of the Great Chu army outside the city saw the chaos at the South Gate and the signal sent out, and immediately passed it back to the Great Chu commander's tent and reported it to Xiang Chang.

Xiang Chang led a group of generals out of the camp and walked to the front of the battle. From afar, he looked at the South Gate, where shouts of killing were shrill and high-pitched and the battle was in chaos. His eyes were as bright as a blade. He turned around and shouted to Li Yi:
"General Li Yi, what are you waiting for? Send out troops immediately, and join forces with Generals Wang Zhou and Ji Bi to capture the South City Gate!"

The reason why Xiang Chang did not take Ji County, which had high walls, abundant food and fodder and was difficult to attack, seriously was because he heard Li Yi's report that there were two traitors, Wang Zhou and Ji Bi, in Ji County.

After receiving 40,000 fresh troops from Xiang Yu, Li Yi ordered them to ambush secretly in a valley, then he pretended to be defeated and retreated, luring Wang Zhou and Ji Bi into the encirclement and surrounding them.

Wang Zhou and Ji Bi knew they had fallen into a trap and were unwilling to sit and wait for death, so they attempted to lead their troops to break out. However, they were naturally defeated by Li Yi in one fell swoop, and the two were captured alive and eventually surrendered to Li Yi.

Li Yi undoubtedly had a very strategic vision. After he pacified Qi in one battle, he naturally turned his attention to the three kingdoms of Yan, Zhao and Han, which were like three nails in the side.

These three countries have all surrendered to the Han camp, and must be eliminated!

Among the Three Kingdoms, Yan was the closest to Qi, so Li Yi planned to attack it first.

After discussing with the two generals Wang Zhou and Ji Bi, he ordered them to select 4,000 soldiers from their captured and surrendered troops, pretend to surrender to the State of Yan, gain the trust of Yan King Zang Tu, and then take action secretly.

The two generals really did not let him down. They deceived Zang Tu very smoothly and opened the South Gate.

Hearing Xiang Chang's military order, Li Yi was overwhelmed with emotion and was about to follow the order when Qu Fu suddenly frowned and said, "Wait! These two generals are surrendered generals after all. Can we trust them? What if they surrender to the State of Yan and their false surrender turns into real surrender? The fight for the South Gate is just a trap to lure us in. What can we do?"

Li Yi raised his eyebrows and was about to refute.

He has fought with Generals Wang Zhou and Ji Bi for many years and is more familiar with them than himself. Since they have chosen to join the Great Chu, they will never go back on their word.

Without waiting for Li Yi to generously vouch for his life, Xiang Chang said without question: "In my opinion, these two generals are loyal and righteous men, and will never betray us again. General Li Yi, you can leave immediately!"

Li Yi was radiant. He felt that this Master Chang was exactly what he wanted since they met. Not only was he straightforward, generous and cheerful, but he was also calm, wise and decisive. It could be said that he had great charisma and was very impressive!

Li Yi led his 3,000 infantrymen and rushed towards the South Gate.

When they rushed to the South Gate, they saw Generals Wang Zhou and Ji Bi had already joined the battle. Their bodies were covered with warm blood plasma and their heavy armor was in tatters.

The Yan army was too numerous. Nearly half of their one thousand soldiers had been lost. The situation was extremely dangerous.

The Yan defenders knew very well what it would mean if the city gate was lost, so they attacked fiercely, crazily and intensely, leaving them no chance to breathe.

"Brother, what are the Chu army doing? Why haven't they arrived yet? If you are a step later, our brothers will die here!" Ji Bi waved his spear and fought desperately against the overwhelming attack of the Yan defenders while shouting angrily.

"If I die here, I will die here! As a general, how can I bear death?!" Compared to Ji Bi's anxiety and unwillingness, Wang Zhou was much calmer and composed. He answered with his face covered in blood, while desperately killing the Yan soldiers.

Before Ji Bi could reply, a thunderous voice rang out from outside the city gate: "The Chu army is coming!"

Then, Li Yi was seen leading thousands of Chu infantrymen, pouring into the South Gate like a mighty tide, and joining the armies of Wang Zhou and Ji Bi who were holding on tightly, and launching a counterattack against the endlessly numerous Yan defenders.

With the addition of thousands of Chu cavalry, the pressure on the remnants of Wang Zhou and Ji Bi's army was suddenly relieved. Then they were shocked to find that the Yan defenders on the opposite side were very powerful and almost killed them all. It was like they had hit a hammer. No matter how crazy, roaring, and jumping, they were still forced to lose their footing and were hammered back step by step.

The defenders of Dayan were also shocked!

Even though they had seen the Great Chu Army defeat Han Wangxin's army on the city wall, and now they were fighting with them in person and felt the fierce impact of the Great Chu Army with their own eyes - compared with it, their own Great Yan Army was almost vulnerable, and the shock in their hearts was simply beyond words.

Seeing this scene, the remaining troops of Wang Zhou and Ji Bi seemed to be injected with chicken blood. They screamed loudly, and their extremely tired and even wounded bodies were filled with strength again. They followed the Great Chu Army and rushed forward!
(End of this chapter)