After learning that his son had been sent back from Luoyang by King Zhao with an edict, Li Chi did not continue to ask the envoys of Zhao other questions. At this moment, there was only one thought in his mind, whether some of his actions had been known to Zhao Xun.

During the time when Li Chi, the king of Chu, waited for his son's return, the Zhao army had already appeared in the northern, western and southern borders of Xuzhou. Even, the Zhao army has occupied several cities in Xuzhou in the border land, blocking all the possible escape roads of the Xuzhou Chu army.

What made Li Chi and the top echelons of the Chu army breathe a sigh of relief was that the Zhao army did not continue to advance, but stayed in the place, as if waiting for something. Now, Li Chi and the others suddenly felt that there seemed to be a sharp sword on their heads, which could fall at any time. Li Chi and many others began to regret it, if they had no other ideas at the beginning and surrendered directly to the Zhao army, how good it would be, why not be so worried all day long.

A few days later, Li Hao finally rushed back day and night. As soon as he entered Xuzhou, he was hurriedly summoned by Li Chi to gather together, wanting to know what the edict that Li Hao brought to Zhao Xun was.

In the palace of the king of Chu, Li Chi gathered the upper officials of the Chu army again. The exhausted Li Hao also appeared among everyone. Everyone looked at Li Hao blankly, waiting for Li Hao's reply.

"Hao'er, how could you be sent back by King Zhao? Didn't you already participate in the Zhao army, and participated in the Zhao army's attack on Dongyongzhou, and even fought with the southern princes? Li Chi, the king of Chu, was the first to ask.

Li Hao frowned, although he didn't know what was going on in the Chu army now, but from Li Chi's words, he knew that his father was also an unwilling member. I wanted to directly say what Zhao Xun meant to him, but looking at General Wei, Li Zhe, Li Ying, who was also his uncle, and several of his cousins, they all looked at him intently, and immediately swallowed the words he wanted to say in his heart.

"Father, King Zhao sent me back, not because of the current situation of the Chu army. Didn't you say at the beginning that you would surrender to the Zhao army, and the Zhao army also agreed to our annexation. But why is this happening? Also, who told you that the Zhao army was going to fight with the southern princes? ”

General Wei Li Zhe was taken aback and said, "No war? How can it be? Didn't it mean that the Zhao army had gathered nearly 100,000 troops in Dongyongzhou, and the southern princes had also gathered more than 100,000 troops in the north of Jingzhou? Besides, the Zhao army has occupied the land of Dongyongzhou, captured the family of the king of Luoyang, and defeated the reinforcements of the king of Hanzhong, do they all sit idly by? Could it be that the King of Qi and the King of Shu watched their northern lands gradually be swallowed up by the Zhao army? Aren't they afraid that Jingzhou will be captured by the Zhao army? ”

Li Hao sneered: "Great war? Zhao Jun and the southern princes? Absurd! Dongyongzhou was occupied by the Zhao army, and the kings of Luoyang and Hanzhong were naturally unwilling. However, do the two of them have the ability, or dare to fight Zhao Jun to the death? As for the King of Shu and the King of Qi, are they willing to start an all-out war with the Zhao army for the land of Dongyongzhou of the King of Luoyang? ”

"For the King of Shu and the King of Qi, as long as the Zhao army has not invaded the land of Jingzhou, they will not wholeheartedly help the Zhao army in the area of the King of Hanzhong and the King of Luoyang. And the Zhao army now has no intention of going south to Jingzhou, let alone a full-scale war with the southern princes. It can be said that neither the Zhao army, nor the Qi army, nor the Shu army, are willing to engage in a full-scale battle at this time. The Zhao army was not prepared for a full-scale war, as were the kings of Shu and Qi in the south. In the original expectation of the two of them, it should be us who are fighting Zhao Jun now. ”

"Therefore, Dongyongzhou was conquered by the Zhao army, and the most anxious ones were not the kings of Qi and Shu, but the kings of Luoyang and Hanzhong. But without the assistance of the kings of Qi and Shu, the kings of Hanzhong and Luoyang were not opponents of Zhao Jun at all. Now, in the land of Jingbei, although there are more than 100,000 people in the alliance of southern princes, 30,000 or 40,000 of them are young and strong. Among them, the armies of the King of Shu and the King of Qi totaled only 20,000 people. The rest were the armies of the kings of Hanzhong and Luoyang. Do you think that the king of Hanzhong and the king of Luoyang are determined to fight to the death with the Zhao army at this moment? ”

"Now, Zhao Jun is busy taking control of the land of Dongyongzhou. And the king of Qi and the king of Shu were unwilling to fight the Zhao army for the land of Dongyongzhou of the king of Luoyang. Although the king of Luoyang and the king of Hanzhong had the idea of recovering Dongyongzhou, they did not have that strength. Therefore, between Dongyongzhou and Jingbei, the two sides each gathered nearly 100,000 troops, but they had no intention of fighting. ”

After a pause, Li Hao said in an even more cold tone: "In addition, from what I know, King Zhao has no intention of fighting with the southern princes at all. It is the land of Dongyongzhou, where a large number of grain and grass materials are transported from the rear every day. It is conceivable that the army of more than 100,000 in Jingbei consumes much grain and grass in a day. ”

"Zhao Jun did not collect taxes from the land of Dongyongzhou, so the hearts of the people in Dongyongzhou were quickly won by Zhao Jun. The longer the time drags on, the more stable Zhao Jun will stand in Dongyongzhou. The Zhao army had vast rear support, but what about the coalition forces in Jingbei? Can they? Therefore, even if there is no war, if it drags on like this, it will eventually collapse the Jingbei Coalition Army. ”

"Although in the land of Dongyongzhou and Jingbei, neither side has the intention of a major war, but neither side has the intention of immediately reducing the garrison. And at this moment, there was a problem with our Chu army. And King Zhao also needs to have a place to divert his attention, so that the confrontation situation can be reduced. ”

"Therefore, your current actions have not only been known to Zhao Jun for a long time, but also what Zhao Jun wants to see." At the end, Li Hao said angrily.

"What? How so? Isn't it clear that the King of Qi and the King of Shu are not aware that Dongyongzhou is occupied by the Zhao army, so will the land of Jingzhou be far away? Without the land of Dongyongzhou as the periphery of Jingzhou, how long can he hold out in Jingzhou? Li Chi said in a lost voice.

Li Hao said bitterly: "Father, you are right, but after all, the land of Dongyongzhou is not the territory of the King of Shu and the King of Qi. Your own interests are the highest. The land of Dongyongzhou is the northern periphery of Jingzhou, but the land of Jingzhou is the periphery of the Qi army and the Shu army. The King of Qi and the King of Shu need Jingzhou to exist, but whether the land of Dongyongzhou exists or not does not have too much to do with them. ”

"If you don't have an accident, the coalition forces in this Jingbei land, maybe under the pressure of the Zhao army, will still fight with the Zhao army. However, with your changes, the Zhao army will inevitably shift its energy northward, and the Jingbei coalition army, which has reduced the pressure, will also breathe a sigh of relief. Between the two, there is no possibility of a major war. ”

Listening to Li Hao's words, Li Chi was suddenly speechless, it turned out that the speculation of himself and others was fundamentally wrong. He regarded the Zhao army and the southern princes as his successful pawns, and Zhao Jun, why didn't he use himself and the Chu army as pawns? His every move has already been under Zhao Jun's surveillance......

As soon as he thought of this, the little thought in Li Chi's heart suddenly disappeared. The original fierce fighting spirit has completely disappeared.

Li Fangzong sighed secretly and said, "Shizi, in this way, you came back this time because there was a problem with my Chu army, and King Zhao deliberately asked you to come back?" ”

Li Hao said in a sullen voice: "Of course, all your actions here are under the attention of King Zhao. ”

"The prince also stayed in the Zhao army for more than a month, and also participated in the Zhao army's raid on Dongyongzhou. So, with what the Son of the World sees and understands, how far is the gap between us and what we are? Now there are more than 70,000 Zhao troops outside Xuzhou, and our Chu army also has 780,000, and even with the conscripted young people, there are more than 100,000. Can we use the strength of our Chu army to defeat the Zhao army outside the Xuzhou boundary? If the Zhao army in Xuzhou is defeated, we will pull in the king of Luoyang, the king of Hanzhong, and even the king of Qi and Shu, can we compete with the Zhao army? At the very least, can we retain the current status of our Chu army? Li Zhe said in a condensed voice.

Li Hao glanced at Li Zhe and the other generals on the list of King Zhao angrily, and said coldly: "In a head-to-head battle, even if the Zhao army doesn't use their earth-shattering thunder, 10,000 Zhao troops can completely defeat our 20,000 Chu army." More importantly, the Zhao army occupied a vast area, and there was no need to worry about grain, grass, materials, soldiers, horses, and money. ”

"Even if the Zhao army does not go to war and traps us to death in Xuzhou, it won't be long before the current 70,000 or 80,000 troops of our Chu army alone can drag us to death. If we add the young and strong, the grain and grass materials will not be guaranteed. Don't forget, when our army and the Qi army were fighting, a large part of our grain and grass was obtained from the merchants of Zhao State. Now, will the merchants of Zhao still come to Xuzhou? ”

"Secondly, even if we can forcibly recruit tens of thousands of young men, the Zhao army can pull out more than 100,000 soldiers at any time. Don't forget, Zhao Jun's territory is several times ours. In addition, the Zhao army has county soldiers and government soldiers in various places, and they can become soldiers at any time. Not to mention the more than 200,000 town soldiers, Praetorian Guards and cavalry stationed on the northern border and in the Western Regions. Even if we can pull the king of Luoyang and the king of Hanzhong, we are too far away from the king of Luoyang and the king of Hanzhong, and we can't cooperate well with each other at all. ”

"Therefore, we fought against the Zhao army, and in the end there was only one ending, that is, we were completely wiped out by the Zhao army." Li Hao said word by word. He had seen the strength of the Zhao army, and he knew better the strength of his Chu army. The comparison of strength between the two sides is no longer on the same line at all.

Li Zhe opened his mouth, and in the end, he could only sit down in despair and stop making a sound. The reason why Li Zhe is like this, he knows very well that this time he will be included in the Zhao army, and these people will definitely not be able to fall well. If they had directly surrendered to the Zhao army before, they would still have a chance to come out in the future. But after this time, they will never have any more chances in the future. Lives are even at risk.

Suddenly, the whole room fell silent, and no one continued to speak. After a while, Li Chi asked, "Then what is the order that King Zhao asked my son to bring back?" ”

Li Hao hesitated for a moment, and said: "Naturally, let the Zhao army enter the country, hand over the military power of the Chu army, have the reorganization of the Zhao army, local government affairs, and officials sent by the Zhao State to take over." The generals and officials of our Chu army, if they want to continue to be officials, they can only do so after studying at the Royal Academy of Youzhou City. If they refuse to obey, then the Zhao army outside the boundary of Xuzhou will no longer pay attention to the surrender of our Chu army and will attack in an all-out way. As for the father and the generals, it is easy for Luoyang City to meet King Zhao. ”

Everyone knew that it seemed that this order was the same as that of the envoy of Zhao State a month ago, but they all knew that there was still a big difference in it. This time, Xuzhou's civil and military rights must be handed over at one time. And those who continue to be officials do it no longer have a time limit of half a year to a year to study at the Royal Academy. It is not impossible to even let them study at the Royal Academy of Zhao for several years.

Li Fangzong saw other problems from Li Hao's hesitation, and he believed that if it was just these secret orders, there was no need to let Li Hao turn back, and he could just let the envoy of Zhao State give an order. But Li Hao is still back, and he must have other secret orders, and he can't let others know. Suddenly, Li Fangzong felt a trace of fear.

Perhaps, the Chu army was destroyed, and the Li clan was defeated. Zhao Xun didn't want the Li family to exist, but now, you just gave him the opportunity and excuse to start. Li Fangzong lamented in his heart, but he couldn't say anything more.

"You all go down and prepare for the transfer of power, this king does not want any more accidents. If any of you are confident that you have the ability to compete with Zhao Jun, then you can clean up the trouble you have created yourself, and it has nothing to do with my Chu Army or my Li Clan. Go down and make good arrangements, and the generals below should also be prepared. If anyone dares to disagree, they will be killed. Li Chi said gloomily. At this moment, he no longer had the idea of retaining the Chu army by fighting the southern princes and the Zhao army.

After the generals left, Li Chi couldn't help sighing and said to Li Hao: "Okay, they are all gone, Zhao Xun still has any secret orders, but it doesn't hurt to say it." This time, what price does Zhao Xun need for our Chu Jun and Li clans? How many people need to be sacrificed? ”

"Father?" When Li Hao heard this, he couldn't help but be stunned.

Li Chi said coldly: "Zhao Xun asked you to come back, it won't just let us surrender smoothly!" The Zhao army has pressed the border and has trapped our Chu army to death in Xuzhou. If there were no other secret orders, he directly ordered the Zhao army to advance, or it would not be long before our Chu army would be defeated and lost. Don't forget, the people of Xuzhou don't support our war with Zhao Jun. ”

Li Hao said astringently: "King Zhao already knows about any current moves of the Chu army, and King Zhao is also clear about the plans of my father and the generals. King Zhao asked the child to come back, not only because the child knew the strength of the Zhao army, and asked me to tell my father and the generals of the Zhao army about the strength of the Zhao army, so as to discourage the Chu army to fight, but also because the king of Zhao needed to pay the price for those who proposed to use the Zhao army and the princes' alliance to fight and stand on their own feet. ”

"It's so ruthless...... Li Chi immediately understood the purpose of Zhao Xun's intention, "Who are they?" ”

"Wei General Li Zhe, Li Ying, Li Zuo ......" Li Hao said the names of more than a dozen generals and civilian officials in a muffled voice.

"I borrowed the hand of this king to get rid of those in the Chu army who were unwilling to give up their power, and also greatly weakened my Li clan. And he, Zhao Xun, doesn't have to bear any infamy, but I'm the one who did it, but I can't continue to come out again. Li Chi muttered to himself gloomily.

"That'...... Father, this ......" Hearing his father say this, Li Hao also understood the problem, but now they can't choose.

Li Chi said in a sullen voice: "It's too late to regret!" That's it, don't subtract our Li Chi. Zhao Xun will not rest assured, sacrificing them and protecting my Li family, this is also a choice that has to be made. Five days later, we will gather them again to discuss the matter of demoting Zhao, and then take action. ”

Li Fangzong, who left the palace, immediately invited his two younger brothers, Li Fanglin and Li Fangyu, to the mansion after returning to the mansion.

"Big brother, why are you so nervous?" Seeing his eldest brother's heavy expression, Li Fanglin asked urgently.

Li Fangzong said coldly: "My Chu army is in danger now, and so is the Li family. I don't know how many people the Li family will survive after this time. ”

Li Fanglin was taken aback and said, "Big brother, why do you say this?" ”

Li Fangzong said in a deep voice: "Li Hao must have other military orders when he comes this time, I look at Li Hao's expression today, this Li Hao must have something to hide." The Chu army repeatedly, it would be strange if King Zhao bypassed these reluctant guys so easily. I just don't know how many people will be abandoned by Li Chi. ”

Li Fanglin exclaimed: "Big brother, you mean ......"

"That's right, in order to give Zhao Jun an explanation, someone must bear this responsibility. And King Zhao also needs the influence of the Li clan in the Chu army to be minimized, so the king of Chu has to do it himself this time. In this way, King Zhao can be satisfied. ”

glanced at his two younger brothers, and said in a deep voice: "Now, you immediately go back and prepare, leave here, go to Huaiyin, and surrender to Zhao Jun." ”

"Big brother, since King Zhao wants my Li clan to weaken, why don't we flee."

"Escape? You and I are all named in the Zhao army, where can we escape? The Chu army is gone, and the Zhao army is the biggest prince in the world, in the future, the whole world will be Zhao Xun's, put aside the responsibilities you shouldn't bear, go to serve under the command of King Zhao. ”

"Big brother, what about you?" Li Fangyu said urgently.

"Me? I stay here, I am Chu Jun Zuocheng, how can I leave easily? In addition, I also want to see, what will this Li Chi do? He had long persuaded him not to have a fluke mentality, but he didn't stop. Now, hum ......"

"You join Li Huaiyuan's Zhao Jun, which is also a good thing for me. In addition, when Zhao Jun is moving, the two of you also have a great role. Even if the Li clan is gone, you and I still exist. We don't have to pay for the unworthy Li Chi. ”

Now, for Li Chi, Li Fangzong is completely hopeless. Earlier, it was said that Zhao would be reduced, and Xuzhou had already accepted the situation of Zhao. Seeing that the Zhao army was going to fight with the princes, he wanted to stand on his own. Even if the Zhao army outside the boundary of Xuzhou is not as strong as itself, but the army is weak, and the people have no intention of fighting with the Zhao army, how can they win? Just because he was not a descendant of the Li family, he did not let his three brothers and some side soldiers take charge. The huge Chu army is completely the private soldiers of Li Chi and his descendants. It is also the reason why the Chu army has never been able to leave Xuzhou and has no great talents to join, and the fundamental reason is that Li Chi does not want these people with the surname Li to hold too much power.