At the end of Qin, I became a son of the plane

Chapter 189, Xiang Yu, unwilling to be subordinated by others, and the Qi people who fought against each other

On August 37, the 8th year of the First Emperor's reign, the Chu army camp was in Boyang, Jibei County.

This period of time was extremely difficult for Xiang Yu. His uncle died in battle, and his entire army of hundreds of thousands was destroyed. Even if they stayed in Boyang, the Qin army might invade at any time. It was a critical time for Xiang Yu to survive. Not an exaggeration.

Finally, Tian Heng's envoys came to discuss an alliance, and the two parties reached a mutual protection agreement. At the same time, Xiang Liang's army's defeat continued to gather in Jibei County. Xiang Yu took in these defeated troops and increased his total strength to 5. It looks like he has recovered a bit.

But at this time, bad news came from the Chu region. The nobles of Sishui County supported Xiong Xin as the king of Chu, and Song Yi, the governor of Sishui County, was appointed as the magistrate of Chu State. They also cut off the grain and grass transported from Sishui County to Jibei County. They This large army has become a lone army without a rear.

Three days ago, King Xiong Xin of Chu sent an order to Xiang Yu's troops to retreat to Tan County.

This order made Xiang Yu furious. The three counties of Eastern Chu were all captured by his uncle and nephew with one shot and one sword. This Xiong Xin came out of nowhere and occupied their uncle and nephew's territory. He even looked at him. If you become a subordinate, this is simply going against Tiangang.

"It's my fault that I didn't notice the dissatisfaction of the nobles of Chu, so that they escaped from the control of our army." Fan Zeng said guiltily.

After Xiang Liang and others captured Sishui County, the Chu nobles also discussed with Xiang Liang and Fan Zeng to appoint a clan member of the Mi family as the king of Chu. However, they had already decided to support a clan member of the Tian family as the king of Qi. Avoid competing with Xu Fan for the ownership of Chu State.

Of course, in this case, the two of them could not say it clearly. They could only tell these Chu nobles that the time had not come yet.

Who knew that Xu Fan had already occupied most of the Chu Kingdom, and he had strong soldiers and horses, and was far stronger than Xiang Liang. If Xiang Liang dared to compete with Xu Fan for the Chu Kingdom, their army would have been annexed by the Han army.

"Dividing people into acres", "Equalizing land", "Bill linking military service to land" and "Food collection bill" all hit the pain points of the nobility of Chu. Blocking people's wealth is like killing their parents, and these policies of the Han Dynasty have already Instead of killing the parents of these nobles, we want to dig up their ancestral graves.

So when news came from Qi that Xiang Liang's entire army had been wiped out, the nobles in Chudong were not thinking about the Qin people coming over, but worried about whether the Han people would come over. After all, the defense of Sishui County at this time was unprecedentedly weak.

Xiang Yu said angrily: "This matter has nothing to do with Yafu. It is all a secret collusion between the villains of Chu."

When Xiang Liang supported Li Tianjia as the king of Qi, he abandoned the state of Chu and supported the state of Qi. The nobles and tyrants in the entire Chu region were dissatisfied with him to the limit. Use my soldiers from the state of Chu to become your state of Qi. Xiang Liang, you traitor.

In the eyes of the nobles of Chu, Han was a more terrifying enemy than Qin. They lived in fear every day, fearing that Han would invade Sishui County and destroy their current life.

But he did not consider the feelings of the nobles of Chu State, so he laid hidden dangers for today's matter. If Fan Zeng wants to use Qi State as his foundation, he will naturally ask the nobles of Qi State to join Xiang Liang's army. This will naturally affect the nobles of Chu State. Interests.

What intensified this conflict was that Xiang Liang supported Tianjia as the king of Qi, instead of the Xiong named Mi as the king of Chu. When the news reached the Chu land, all the nobles of the Chu state who had taken refuge with Xiang Liang were shocked. They did not even Dare to believe this is true.

At that time, the king of Chu did not dare to do this to them, the nobles of Shiqing and Shilu. How could Xu Fan, a mud-legged person, dare to do this? They really didn't dare to kill people. Do you know how many kings of Chu in the past were killed by us?

If Xiang Liang can always win, the nobles in the eastern Chu region can still tolerate it. Xiang Liang has led the army outside Chu for a long time, and he can tolerate their marginalization. At least Xiang Liang is in front to prevent Xu Fan from invading their territory. land. But his defeat and death intensified all the conflicts.

But even Fan Zeng did not expect that the nobles of the Chu State would abandon them and set up their own business. The three counties of Chudong were all out of the control of Xiang Liangjun. This was obviously a premeditated move by the nobles of the three counties of Chu. They had secretly planned it a long time ago. There is contact.

He could only choose Qi, the richest and most populous land in the world, as Xiang Liang's place of dominance. This was the best choice for Xiang Liang.

Anyone with some knowledge will understand that the focus of Xiang Liang's management in the future must be the state of Qi. Otherwise, why would Xiang Liang, a general of the state of Chu, go to the state of Qi to support a king of Qi?
They, the powerful nobles of the Chu region, will definitely be marginalized by Xiang Liang. Even areas such as Kuaiji County, Donghai County, and Sishui County may be abandoned. After all, these are too far from the core area of ​​​​Qidi, and there is no danger to defend them. , they will most likely be exchanged by Xiang Liang for the territory of Xue County and Dong County occupied by the Han army.

Fan Zeng, as Xiang Liang's chief adviser, did not notice this. He thought it was a dereliction of duty on his part.

For the nobles of Eastern Chu, with the Han State at the front, the Qin State was no longer their biggest threat. Instead, the Han State, which was very close at hand, was their biggest threat.

But when the Chu nobles saw Xu Fan annihilating the Qin army by tens of thousands, beating even the tyrant Ying Zheng to a point of helplessness, they could only lower their heads and pretend not to see all this, and even prayed that Xu Fan would not stare. to their hometown.

However, Xiang Liang was at his most powerful at that time, with 15 troops and defeated Feng Jie's 10 troops. The dissatisfaction of the nobles of Eastern Chu could only be suppressed in their hearts.

After it was confirmed that this was true, all the nobles of Chu State were dissatisfied with Xiang Liang. We looked forward to you as the leader to help us fight against Qin and restore the country, but we did not expect that you, the leader, would sell us out. Even if you, Xiang Liang, become the king of Chu yourself, it is better than being the king of Qi.

No matter how dissatisfied they are, they cannot abandon Xiang Liang. After all, after Xiang Liang is a noble, they still have power in Chudong. If Xu Fan comes here, their noble status, huge family property, and vast fields will be swallowed up by Xu Fan, a mud-legged person.

But Fan Zeng smiled bitterly. He understood that this matter was ultimately caused by his poor thinking. He had originally planned to use Qidi as the foundation for Xiang Liang to fight for hegemony in the world. This was already the best choice for Xiang Liang due to the situation in the world at that time.

All their privileges were abolished by the Han Dynasty, but they had to bear the same responsibilities as ordinary people. Aren't they just ordinary people?

So they immediately supported King Xiong Xin of Chu, recruited troops and horses, and wanted Xiang Yu to withdraw his troops to protect the safety of Surabaya.

After all, Fan Zeng was a rare wise man in the world. The heroic actions of the Chu nobles made him understand that the fear of the Chu nobles towards Xu Fan exceeded that of the tyrant Ying Zheng.

Long Qie asked: "Major General, Fan Canjun, what should our army do now? The Chu soldiers in the army are panic-stricken. Dozens of them even fled our camp today. Will our army return to retake Surabaya and other counties or counties? If we continue to fight against the Qin army, we must make a decision quickly."

In fact, he also wanted to retreat. Now there are hundreds of thousands of Qin elites in Qi. With their current strength, there is no way they can be the opponent of these Qin troops. It is better to take back Surabaya and other territories before making plans.

Xiang Yu categorically objected: "We cannot return. As long as we retreat, the army will collapse."

I don’t know if Xiang Yu is lucky or not. At the beginning, he led the Qi people who fled from Qi to Tan County. Therefore, the main component of Xiang Yu’s army was the Qi people. This was also the reason why they lost Chu. Xiang Yu’s group The reason why the army can still be maintained.

Because the families of Xiang Yu's soldiers were all in Qidi, they joined Xiang Liang's army with the mentality of revenge against the Qin army. This group of people accounted for more than 90% of Xiang Yu's army, and there were only four to five thousand Chu soldiers in Jibei County, so they This army can also maintain stability.

But Xiang Yu understood that if his army retreated back to Chu, the Qi soldiers would definitely abandon themselves and join others, but he could not reveal his intention to withdraw.

"Report, Major General, there is a letter from General Xiang Bo!"

Xiang Yu immediately took the letter written by Xiang Bo to read, and then said with a look of astonishment: "Uncle asked us to surrender to the King of Han."

Fan Zeng immediately took Xiang Bo's letter. After reading it, he thought for a long time and asked, "Yu'er, do you want to join the King of Han?"

Xiang Bo's approach is the best choice for them now. With the support of the Han army, their food routes are opened again. They don't have to worry about food shortages. They also have the help of the Han army to deal with the Qin army. It can be said that becoming the king of Han's subordinates can both Solving their current predicament can not only avenge Xiang Liang, but also fight back against Song Yi and other Chu nobles who betrayed them.

Fan Zeng understood that these Chu nobles were worried that the King of Han would annex them, so they took such drastic actions. But if these people dare to stab them in the back, they will accept their revenge. If you are not afraid of the King of Han annexing them, then we will surrender to the King of Han and let them The most feared thing will happen.

Of course, as a counselor, he handed over this most important choice to Xiang Yu. Xiang Yu smiled and said: "Father, let me tell you a story that happened when I was a child. Back then, my uncle and I were forced to move to Guanzhong by the Qin officials. Outside Xianyang City, we encountered the scene of Ying Zheng's patrol. It was really Che Linlin at that time. , Ma Xiaoxiao, Ying Zheng was sitting on a luxurious six-horse chariot. Thousands of warriors were guarding Ying Zheng alone, and hundreds of thousands of people bowed their heads for Ying Zheng alone. At that time, I said, "He can take his place." "

(I have changed it here. Now the First Emperor has not been to Kuaiji County, but Xiang Yu has been to Guanzhong. It is not surprising that he said this.)
Xiang Yu said with a smile: "My uncle was shocked at that time. Xiang Liang covered my mouth and told me not to talk nonsense, otherwise it would bring disaster to the whole clan."

Then Xiang Yu looked at Fan Zeng and said: "Father, I don't even accept Ying Zheng, how can I become Xu Fan's subordinate, and I don't think I am inferior to Xu Fan. I can do what Xu Fan can do. I can do what Xu Fan can’t do.”

Xiang Yu looked at the map of Qi and said proudly: "If Xu Fan is not counterattacking Meng Tian's 30 Northern Xinjiang army, I, Xiang Yu, can also annihilate Feng Jie's 15 army."

Fan Zeng sighed inwardly when he understood Xiang Yu's thoughts, because the path Xiang Yu chose was not an easy one, and he would lose everything if he was not careful.

Long Qie thought for a while and persuaded: "Major General, this is not an easy road to take. Now we are not only short of food and grass, but also extremely short of weapons and equipment. In this state, it is almost impossible to fight against hundreds of thousands of Qin troops. .”

Although 20,000 defeated troops took refuge with Xiang Yu, they were able to escape Zhang Han's pursuit only by throwing away their helmets and removing their armor. In other words, the soldiers who took refuge with Xiang Yu were in a blank slate with nothing. Now Xiang Yu not only has to feed these soldiers , but also find ways to replenish weapons and equipment for them.

Xiang Yu sneered and said, "The nobles of Chu have betrayed us, so I, Xiang Yu, will abandon them. My uncle gave me a good idea. The value of the three counties of Chu is not low. It is not too much for us to trade 3 sets of weapons and armor to the King of Han." Well, when the equipment is complete, I will attack the Qin army eastward."

Long Qie smiled bitterly and said: "The King of Han is not stupid, how could he agree to such a deal with the young general."

In Long Qie's view, the three counties of Chu are no longer theirs. It is simply impossible to exchange territory that is not theirs for 3 weapons and equipment. The young general is just having a whim.

But Fan Zeng said: "The King of Han is certainly not stupid, but he is very likely to agree. The three counties of Chu were recovered by our Xiang clan, and the legal authority of the three counties is with us, and the King of Han is only short of the three counties of Chudong. The Kingdom of Chu has been restored, and the King of Han desperately wants to get the land of these three counties. However, we and the King of Han are allies, and he cannot attack the three counties. But now we hand over the legal system to the King of Han, and the King of Han occupies the land of the three counties in the east of Chu. Everyone in the world has nothing to say.

The King of Han values ​​​​the rules the most. He is willing to pay tens of thousands of sets of weapons and armor for this legal system. Not to mention, our army is now helping him resist the Qin army in Qi. Without us, the Qin army in Qi will attack. The Central Plains is also detrimental to the King of Han's own great cause. With these two points in mind, the King of Han must be willing to make this deal. "

Xiang Yu said: "Reply to my uncle and say that we are willing to exchange the three counties of Chudong for 3 sets of weapons and armor."

August 37, the 8th year of the First Emperor's reign, Jiaodong County, Jimo.

At this time, Jimo has become a city stained red with blood. A large number of corpses under the city exude a foul smell. Flies are flying everywhere like dark clouds, and the buzzing sound is irritating.

Feng Jie shouted to a group of poorly dressed prisoners: "You are the rebels of the country. Not only will you be killed, but your family will also be killed."

These are the prisoners of Xiang Liang's army captured by Feng Jie and others. There are more than 6 people, and these people are the best death squads. Naturally, Zhang Han and Feng Jie will not waste these manpower, but escort them to Jimo City. , to fill the trenches for the siege, it would not be a pity if all these people died.

Then Feng Jie pointed his long sword at Jimo City and said: "But now Great Qin gives them a chance to make meritorious deeds. As long as you can make a contribution in conquering Jimo City, you and your family will be exempted from the guilt. I, a member of the Qin Army, got 100 acres of land. Listen clearly, as long as you can conquer Jimo, not only will you be free of all guilt, but you will also get 100 acres of land. Even if you die in battle, these 100 acres of land will belong to your relatives. .”

"Rush over, that's your only chance to atone for your sins, kill!"

"Kill!" he yelled weakly.

Under the supervision of the Qin Army Supervisory Team, 5000 death squad soldiers carried ladders and pushed the well rails towards Jimo. There were hundreds of shield soldiers on both sides, holding long shields as high as a person, covering the soldiers advancing on the carts.

Even if they don't want to fight each other with Tian Heng, there are 5000 Qin Army supervisory troops behind them, and there are tens of thousands of Qin Army crossbowmen next to them. As long as they dare to turn around, they will be shot by the supervisory troops.

The Qin army did not care about the casualties of these death squads at all. Every time they led these death squads to attack the city, they were extremely violent. As long as they could kill the enemy and destroy the city wall, the Qin army's generals would attack regardless of casualties. For the Qin army, as long as they can destroy a little of the city wall, they will make money.

"Archer shoots!" Tian Heng roared with red eyes.

He had never hated his lack of ability so much. The people below him were all his compatriots, but in order to defend the city, he had to let his soldiers kill his own people. For the Jimo soldiers who defended the city, such an attack was extremely destructive to morale. They can only kill each other in front of their own countrymen but there is nothing they can do.

In fact, Tian Heng also thought about counterattack. Before the Qin army surrounded Jimo, he led 1 soldiers to defeat the Qin army's vanguard, demoralize the Qin army, and lay a good foundation for the next step of defending the city. Unfortunately, Tian Heng encountered It was Zhang Han who had already equipped 5000 elite cavalrymen with a three-piece suit.

When Zhang Han encountered Tian Heng's army, he directly charged with cavalry. This new type of cavalry was displayed in front of Tian Heng for the first time. His elite soldiers were defeated by the Qin army's cavalry. Almost all the 1 troops fell to the Qin army's horseshoes. under.

Under such a blow, the morale of the Qi army plummeted, and they no longer dared to think about field battles. They could only hide in the Jimo city wall to resist the Qin army.

But even Tian Heng did not expect that Feng Jie and Zhang Han would use the prisoners of Xiang Liangjun to kill each other. Every day such an siege was carried out, the morale of the Qi army was reduced by one point. Tian Heng had no idea about this. There is no way.

"Archers shoot!" Feng Jie ordered his archers.

"Boohoo!" Long arrows all over the sky rushed towards the Jimo city wall at the same time, making a huge roar. This sound made the Qi soldiers on the wall tremble with fear.

"Escape!" Tian Heng shouted, and all the soldiers on the tower looked for cover.

The sharp and piercing sound of long arrows on the Jimo City Tower continued to sound. The long arrows hit everything that could be hit. The long arrows hit the city wall and made a "ding-dong" sound. When they hit the wood, they made a "bang-bang-bang" sound. A large number of soldiers were also The screams and exclamations of being shot resounded throughout the city wall. The soldiers on the wall suppressed by the Qin people's bows and arrows did not dare to raise their heads.

But the suicide squads attacking the city below continued to climb the ladder. Feng Jie didn't care about the life or death of these people at all, so the long arrow suppressed it for a particularly long time. Even if these suicide squads had already started to climb the ladder, the archers on his own side might shoot their own people. He didn't care either.

Relying on such extreme lunge coordination, many members of the death squads climbed onto the city wall.

When Tian Heng saw this scene, he drew his sword and roared with red eyes: "Kill the soldiers!"

Under the leadership of Tian Heng, Qi soldiers killed the members of the death squad. The two sides started a fierce hand-to-hand battle, and soon Tian Heng and the others cut down all the death squad members on the city wall.

A death squad soldier who fell on the tower vomited blood and said with difficulty: "Hold on and avenge us."

After saying this, the soldier died.

Tian Heng said angrily: "The archers counterattack."

"Boohoo!" The long arrows shot towards Qin's archer formation, causing huge casualties to the Qin army.

Feng Jie ordered the archers to retreat, and the supervising team supervised the death squads to continue fighting until they suffered more than half of their casualties before giving the order to retreat.

(End of this chapter)