"General Xiang, don't come unharmed, your Zhoukou has been occupied by the Song army, and Suizhou has become an isolated city, we can only fight again, do you still want to continue to insist?" Tian Wuji looked at Xiang Chu opposite and directly explained his intention.

Xiang Chu laughed, looking indifferent: "Could it be that General Tian came here today just to persuade me to surrender?" If this is the case, then please go back, my father Xiang Tong fought for Dachu all his life, and finally died on the battlefield, as a son of man, even if I can't do my last bit for the country, I will never surrender to the enemy and commit treason. ”

Tian Wuji really wanted to persuade Xiang Chu to surrender, and the Taishou of several important towns in Chu State surrendered Deng Yuanjue one after another, and even generals like Zhou Yunjing also surrendered. Seeing that the gap between Qi and Song to attack Chu was getting bigger and bigger, Tian Wuji was injured, so he hurried to Suizhou to meet Xiang Chu, if he could persuade a famous family like the Xiang family to surrender to Daqi, then the major forces attached to the Xiang family would also surrender, and the gap between Song and Qi would be narrowed in a short time.

"When it comes to your father, General Xiang, don't forget, he died at the hands of the Song people, you didn't avenge your father, but fought with me here, have you thought about it, who will benefit in the end?" Tian Wuji couldn't directly persuade him to surrender, and he wanted to provoke Xiang Chu's hatred for the Song State.

Xiang Chu didn't say anything after hearing this, although he understood Tian Wuji's intentions, he also had to admit that there was some truth in what he said. On the surface, he was defending Great Chu against the invasion of Qi, but in fact, he was helping Song to keep the Qi army out of the gate of Chu.

Seeing that Xiang Chu lowered his head and pondered without speaking, Tian Wuji added another fire: "General Xiang, our Daqi is not your enemy, Song Guo is, you and I can only consume the final outcome of the city being ruined, and it doesn't matter if you die yourself, but who will avenge General Xiang's revenge?" ”

Speaking of this, Tian Wuji looked at Xiang Chu's expression again, saw that he was already a little angry, and continued: "Since you are unwilling to surrender to my Great Qi, I will not force you. But this does not affect our handshake and make peace, as long as you are willing, our two families will send troops together to deal with Deng Yuanjue. Xiakou City, which is two hundred miles away, is the place where General Xiang died in battle, and now it is Xiao Che, the third prince of the Song Kingdom, who is guarding there, don't you want to take back the city and take off his head? ”

Xiang Chu took a deep breath, trying to calm his mind: "General Tian's proposal is indeed very tempting, but I want to know, if I promise you, after retaking Xiakou City, will it belong to my Great Chu, or to your Qi Kingdom?" ”

Tian Wuji thought for a while: "It's not a secret, you also know that the purpose of our Daqi to take Xiakou is to facilitate the march into Shouchun and Jizhou, and it is also to contain Deng Yuanjue, so Xiakou's role in our hands is greater than that in yours, I hope you can give it to me." Don't worry, I won't let you suffer, in order to compensate for the loss of your troops, we are willing to pay you one million taels of silver, and during this period, I will be responsible for all your military expenses. ”

Xiang Chu couldn't make up his mind for a while, so he had to say: "This matter is very important, I have to think about it, you give me some time, and I will reply to you after thinking about it." ”

Tian Wuji frowned: "It's okay to take time to think about it, but now that the Song army is about to occupy half of the Chu State, General Xiang, you should make a decision as soon as possible, I will come to you again in three days, and then it will be up to you to decide whether to fight or not, and I will leave." ”

"General, I think what Tian Wuji said is not unreasonable, there is only one dead end in Suizhou, maybe we still have a chance to go out." Back in the city, Huang Guixuan first said what he thought.

There was a hint of worry in Xiang Chu's expression: "I don't know what happened to me trapped in Suizhou, it's just that Tian Wuji, an old fox, must not have any good intentions when he came to persuade me." There are only 50,000 defenders in Suizhou, if I promise him, how many people will I take to fight Xiakou? If he brought too many soldiers, would he take the opportunity to sneak attack Suizhou? If there are fewer soldiers, will he sneak up on me? Even if there is nothing wrong all the way, will he be able to tolerate me after he defeats Xia Kou? You must know that Suizhou has cut off the connection between Xiakou and Xiangyang, and if it were me, I would also take this opportunity to sneak attack Suizhou. ”

"Why don't we change the conditions, we can cooperate with the Qi State, but they have to go to the Yicheng of the Song State first, and then send troops from Yicheng to Xiakou. In this way, Xiakou's supply line could be connected to Xiangyang, and the troops were dispatched from the two cities separately, which also prevented Tian Wuji from sneaking up on us on the march. Huang Guixuan gave advice.

Xiang Chu thought for a while and added: "These are not enough, Tian Wuji must promise that during our joint dispatch of troops, his soldiers of the Qi State cannot appear within a hundred miles of Suizhou, so that even if he wants to sneak attack Suizhou, we will have enough time to react, so that we will not be completely defenseless." ”

Huang Guixuan nodded: "That's right, who do you plan to give the responsibility of defending the city, general?" ”

Xiang Chu looked solemn: "Suizhou is our foundation, there is no room for loss, if we lose it, we will be finished." So I plan to ask Mr. to sit in charge himself, and although the younger brother is young, he is extraordinary in martial arts, and he is also a fierce general, so I will leave him to assist you. ”

Huang Guixuan didn't feel surprised, "Don't worry, general, I'm here, Suizhou is here, Tian Wuji's side you have to be more careful, once you find something wrong, withdraw immediately." ”

Xiang Chu explained a few more words: "Chen Shaodong from Shouchun's side will transport the first batch of grain and city defense equipment over next month, whether he really helps us Dachu, or has surrendered Deng Yuanjue, the relationship with him must be maintained, Zhoukou is lost, our supplies have to be all pointed at him, he is directly related to how long we can defend." ”

Huang Guixuan nodded heavily: "I have my own measure, general, don't worry." ”

"General, the spies have come to report that Tian Wuji has evacuated from Suizhou and went straight to our Yicheng with a detour of 100,000 troops." Xun Yuqing received the battle report and immediately reported to Deng Yuanjue.

Deng Yuanjue sneered: "Let him go, send an order to Yicheng Taishou, let him withdraw to Jizhou with the people of the whole city and all the supplies, and don't leave any supplies for the Qi army." ”

Deng Wenhao was a little surprised: "Xiang Chu will actually reach a reconciliation with Tian Wuji, after the Qi army occupies Yicheng, the next step should be to jointly send troops to attack our Xiakou, so did you send Chen Shaodong to provide supplies to Xiang Chu before?" ”

Deng Yuanjue tapped the table lightly with his index finger and said with a smile: "How could it be wrong?" If Chen Shaodong still provided him with supplies during Xiang Chu and Tian Wuji's joint attack on our Xiakou, would Xiang Chu still suspect Chen Shaodong in the future? Besides, Tian Wuji promised to reimburse him for all the military expenses of Xiang Chu's attack on Xiakou this time, even if we asked Chen Shaodong to stop supplying Suizhou, it would not change any situation. ”

"The third prince has no experience in big battles, will he be the opponent of Tian Wuji and Xiang Chu?" Xun Yuqing was even more worried about whether Xia Kou could hold it.

Deng Yuanjue still looked confident: "Don't worry, although I don't know if the third prince can do it, but I know that Yan Chixing will definitely do it, and the apprentices he taught can't even lead soldiers to fight, wouldn't it be a joke." ”

When Xun Yuqing and the others enlisted in the army, Yan Chixing had already gone into hiding, they didn't know how powerful Yan Chixing was back then, and now Deng Yuanjue respected him so much, so he temporarily put his mind at ease.

"Now that General Wu and General Zhou are on Jiang Huanchu's side of the battlefield, will it be a bit wasteful, should one be transferred back?" Xun Yuqing asked again.

Deng Yuanjue looked in the direction of Shuzhou City: "Yes, it's really a bit of a waste, it's time to transfer them all back." However, Jiang Huan Chu is also a trouble in Chen Liu, so he has to find a way to get him away first. Yuqing, you pass on my military order and let Wu Teng lead his troops to attack and open the blockade. Kaifeng only has 30,000 defenders, and if Jiang Huan Chu dares not to save it, let Wu Teng attack it directly. If he goes to the rescue, let Wu Teng ambush him on the road, and then withdraw to Kaifeng. In addition, you write a letter to the eldest prince, saying that I have something important to discuss with him and invite him to come to Shouchun. ”

Ten days later, Tian Wuji set off from Yicheng with an army of 70,000 and went straight to Xiakou, and Xiang Chu of Suizhou also went with an army of 30,000 to help in the battle. At the same time, Wu Teng, the general of the Song State, led 80,000 troops to attack Kaifeng, which was occupied by the Qi State, and Jiang Huan Chu, the fourth prince of the Qi State, was preparing to lead his troops back after receiving Lei Ming's request for help.

"I don't know why the general summoned me?" Xiao Yin, who had just rushed back to Shouchun, went straight to Deng Yuanjue's camp.

Deng Yuanjue was not polite to him, and went straight to the point: "The Qi-Chu coalition army is about to attack my Xiakou, do you think the third prince can hold it?" ”

Xiao Yin touched his head, not understanding why Deng Yuanjue asked himself a military question: "Does the general plan to let the third brother be in charge of defending the city?" He has no experience in leading the army alone, and this time the opponents are Tian Wuji and Xiang Chu, will it be too hasty? ”

Deng Yuanjue pretended to be puzzled: "Of course he is responsible, wasn't it all decided when we were in Shuzhou?" Once Xiang Chu retreated to Suizhou, he went to Xiakou to garrison, and now he rashly replaced him, just afraid that the third prince would be dissatisfied. ”

Xiao Yin was a little anxious: "But Xiakou is very important, once it is lost, the Qi army can directly take Jingzhou City, thus threatening the entire Jizhou County." ”

Deng Yuanjue shook his hand: "It's okay, don't forget that General Xun also has a naval army in Xiakou, Tian Wuji and they want to capture it is not so easy, besides, the third prince is a disciple of Yan Chixing, and the level of his leadership will definitely not be bad, maybe after this battle, my Great Song Dynasty has another tiger general." ”

Xiao Yin became even more anxious after hearing this: "That being said, the third brother has no experience after all, in order to prevent it, please send another general to defend the city." As for the third brother, you can let him be his deputy, start with some small battles first, and if he really does it, it will not be too late to entrust him with a heavy responsibility. ”