Li Fangzong of the Chu army passed the news of the Chu army's willingness to surrender to the envoy of the Zhao army, and the envoy of the Zhao army did not dare to assert it. After determining that Li Chi had no other conditions, he could not continue to embarrass the Chu army and delay time, so he had to immediately send the news back to Youzhou City. And Zhao Xun and others, who were making secret arrangements, were stumped by the news from Xuzhou.

"Surrendered? How so? Even after Zhao Xun heard the news, he was also surprised. It's not that the surrender of the Chu army is impossible, but that the Chu army surrendered too quickly and too simply. Zhao Xun immediately asked the secret agents in Xuzhou to step up their efforts to investigate the details of the Chu army, and to investigate in detail whether the surrender of the Chu army was true or false.

"Could it be that this Chu army is really going to surrender? Will Li Chi be so willing? I think that at the beginning, he and the Qi army fought for the land of Yangzhou, but the sky was dark, and the blood was left in the river, and a dozen was a few years. Can ...... now His Majesty always had a sense of disbelief. Situ Liang rubbed his eyebrows and said with a wry smile.

"Yes, Li Chi is not like a willing lord like this. In the land of Xuzhou, it has been operating for many years, in order to fight the Qi army, but it has spared no effort. Even if it is to reduce the army and restore the people's livelihood, it should be to accumulate strength. Now, how can we be so easily frightened that we are about to surrender without a fight? Lu Ziliang also said in disbelief.

The faces of Lu Ziliang and the others not only showed disbelief, but also a little annoyance. Speaking of which, the premise of the Privy Council's plan to attack the east and the west is to let the Chu army and its own side stalemate. Even if it doesn't cause a big war, it still has the intention of a big war between the two sides. And Chu Jun's tough attitude in the past ten years is also the reason why the Privy Council has set this basic strategy. Who would have thought that the Chu army, which used to be tough and good at fighting, is now directly weakened, which makes the set strategy of attacking the east and the west unable to continue, and will even cause a series of troubles.

Of course, Lu Ziliang and other privy envoys also knew that the Chu army could not be blamed for these things. After all, how the Chu army is not something they can decide. And the direct surrender of the Chu army also has great benefits for Da Zhao.

"King, is this operation in the north of Yongzhou temporarily stopped?" Privy Deputy Yang Wangqing said in a deep voice.

"How's the preparation now?" Zhao Xun asked in a condensed voice.

Yang Wangqing said: "In the southeast of Liangzhou, the south of Bingzhou, and the southwest of Jizhou, we have secretly mobilized our troops and began to move southward gradually. In addition, the western part of Yuzhou has also made corresponding preparations. Once the war began, the main attack in the north, and the headquarters of Yuzhou contained the armies of the kings of Hanzhong and Luoyang in the east of Jingzhou. The grain and grass materials needed by various ministries have already been transported to various places. ”

Zhao Xun frowned and said: "In this way, this war in Yongzhou is already on the verge of being ready to be sent and has to be sent, how can this be stopped?" Continue to prepare, as for the Chu army, wait for the information to the west to come back. After all, even if Li Chi wanted to surrender and didn't discuss it with us, he wouldn't spread the news. ”

Although Zhao Xun said this, everyone was still a little anxious, but at this moment, they had to wait for the news from Xuzhou while making the predetermined arrangements.

Dozens of days later, Xuzhou reported back the situation of the Chu army during this period of time.

"King, it seems that this Li Chi is only afraid that he has no intention of fighting again. The surrender of the Chu army is only afraid that it is true. Situ Liang finished reading the information sent back from Xuzhou and said in a muffled voice.

Yang Wangqing said in a deep voice: "Lord Situ means to say that this Chu army purged some time ago? This doesn't mean that they really want to surrender. ”

Situ Liang said: "In the past ten days, the Chu army has carried out a major purge of the Chu army, and the military generals and local civil officials are all in it, and there are no less than seventy or eighty officials who can go up to the ranks. As far as we know, a large part of these soldiers are leading generals and colonels who insist on fighting with us. ”

"Having said that, there are also some generals who are going to surrender. In addition, a number of local officials have also been eliminated. What's more, these purged officials are all guilty of disrespecting the king's orders. Although this has the intention of the surrender of the Chu army, it does not mean that it is ready to clean up the interior and fight with our Great Zhao. Lu Ziliang also said unwillingly. If it is according to Situ Liang, this plan is to attack the west, I am afraid that there will really be a problem.

Zhang Yuanjing said slowly: "If the Chu army really wants to fight with us, it will never carry out any major purge at this time, even if it is because we are powerful and want to rectify our own forces, they will not be purged on a large scale, they can completely change their positions, transfer those who do not respect the king's orders from the vacant school, or put them under house arrest." After all, such a purge will inevitably make the people in the Chu army unstable. ”

"Secondly, these cleansed people, in addition to disrespecting the king's orders, have one thing in common. That is, most of them have a secret connection with the Qi army in the south. We bought or co-opted some people in the Chu army, and conversely, the same is true for the Qi army in the Chu army. Especially after my Great Zhao sent an envoy to Xuzhou, the actions of the Southern Qi army were even greater. Most of these people who were cleaned up were people who were bought by the Qi army. ”

"However, among the people who were purged, there were also officials close to us."

Zhang Yuanjing said with a smile: "The problem is here, if the Chu army surrenders and wants to fight with us, it is right to deal with the officials who have a relationship with us, and it will be a great harm to deal with the officials who have a relationship with the Qi army." ”

"The contrast of strength between the Chu army and us is obvious. If the Chu army wants to protect itself, it is naturally impossible for them to rely on the Chu army alone. Then, they can only pull the southern princes. And the one closest to the Chu army and the most likely to support the Chu army is only the Qi army. ”

"If the Chu army wants to fight, it needs the help of the Qi army. It purged the officials and generals under its command who were connected with the Qi army, and the Qi army would not care about this? Like us, we buy some important officials of the Chu army, and the Qi army can too. Even, the Qi army is now only afraid that after the defeat of the Chu army, it will annex part of the Chu army. By doing this now, the Chu army is severing its ties with the Qi army. Even if the king of Chu was dissatisfied with the fact that his soldiers fell to the Qi army, he should not be directly purged, but let them go to the front line and let these people pull the Qi army into the water. ”

Zhao Xun nodded and said, "What Yuan Jing said is reasonable, it seems that this Chu army is only afraid of death this time and really has no intention of fighting again." In addition to the reasons mentioned by Yuan Jing, in addition, up to now, the Chu army has no intention of expanding the army, that is, the soldiers who were laid off in the past have not continued to be recalled. In all parts of Xuzhou, except for the garrisons in the border areas who continued to be strictly guarded, the other armies showed no signs of easy mobilization. ”

Situ Liang carefully looked at the information again, and sighed: "Our momentum is too big. Li Chi has occupied the land of Xuzhou for more than ten years, from the beginning of the rebellion to the present, the entire land of Xuzhou is basically in the period of the Great War. The people of Xuzhou have long been tired of war. And we made a big noise, asking the Chu army to surrender, implement the new policy of Zhao in Xuzhou, and reduce taxes and other favorable measures. Now, not only Chu Jun himself understands the gap between us, but they also have no support and support from the people of Xuzhou. Even, many local people and local government officials demanded that Li Chi surrender to Dazhao. After all, the difference in strength between the two sides is too big. These people and local officials also knew that the Chu army alone was powerless to fight us. ”

Lu Ziliang said abruptly: "I miscalculated, it seems that it will affect our plan to attack the west." ”

Zhao Xun said with a smile: "It's okay, the Chu army is willing to surrender, which is the best thing for us." After all, it is definitely the best thing for us to be able to take down a prince and a state without bloodshed. ”

Yang Wangqing said: "Great King, do you mean that we now accept the surrender of the Chu army?" However, if this is the case, then the king of Hanzhong and the king of Luoyang will definitely go all out to guard against the land of Yongzhou, and the Qi army in the land of Yangzhou will also be more vigilant against us. And the king of Hanzhong, the king of Luoyang and the army of Qi are still allies, and they will join forces to deal with us. Even if the Shu army is there, it will not cause chaos in their rear when the time comes. After all, the land of Yongzhou is also the northern defense line of the King of Shu. ”

Situ Liang said with a smile: "The king's intention is to secretly accept the Chu army, on the surface, we are still fighting against the Chu army, and after taking Luoyang, we will accept the Chu army." ”

Zhao Xun nodded and said, "That's basically the case, but, just in case, we can't tell Chu Jun directly about the situation." After all, we don't dare to guarantee that when the Chu army learns that we are attacking the king of Hanzhong and the king of Luoyang, will it pull the king of Hanzhong and the king of Luoyang together to resist our army. ”

Lu Ziliang said with a little worry: "Can this Chu army see what we mean? ”

Zhao Xun said in a deep voice: "There are also smart people in the Chu army, and they must be able to see that we have other meanings. It's just that they don't know what our purpose is. Even if they report the situation to the king of Hanzhong and the king of Luoyang, then we will first make some moves against the Chu army to dispel the vigilance of the king of Hanzhong and Luoyang, so that the king of Hanzhong and the king of Luoyang think that this is the Chu army trying to pull them into the water. ”

…………

After Li Chi and other core personnel of the Chu army waited for nearly a month, the envoy of the Zhao army finally replied. However, the result of the reply made Li Chi a little incomprehensible.

The reply of the envoy of the Zhao army was to accept our submission, but not now. Fangzong, what do you think? What exactly does this Zhao Jun mean? What do they want to do? Now that it has been accepted, why not be idle to take over Xuzhou? The sooner we take us, the better it will be for Zhao Jun? Li Chi once again summoned Li Hao, Li Fangzong and others to think about the meaning of Zhao Jun's reply.

Zhendong General Li Yi said with some annoyance: "What does Zhao Jun mean by this? What do they want to do? Don't trust us? Rather than being toyed with by them like this, it is better to have a big fight with them. In Li Yi's eyes, the reply of the envoy of the Zhao army was clearly contempt for the Chu army.

"That is, my Chu army has already promised to return to Shun, and they still play this ambiguous trick and roast us on the fire, what does this mean?" Li Han and others were also a little dissatisfied. Since then, after Li Chi expressed his intention to surrender to the envoys of the Zhao army, these core personnel of the Chu army were a little impatient.

"Don't even quarrel, fight? It's easy to say, want to die? Li Chi said angrily.

Li Fangzong pondered for a while, his face turned sideways, and he exclaimed: "Great King, if your subordinates are not mistaken, this Zhao army sent envoys to force surrender, and even dispatched troops at the border to make a big noise, and its original intention is not us at all. ”

"What?" Li Chi and the others were taken aback, "Fangzong, do you mean that Zhao Jun had no intention of attacking us?" No intention of attacking us? But ......"

Li Fangzong settled down and said bitterly: "It's not that we have no intention of attacking us, but that we are not Zhao Jun's first merit target." Perhaps, in Zhao Jun's view, our Chu army is simply a turtle in an urn, or vulnerable, and is never taken into account by them. And our direct surrender this time was also unexpected by Zhao Jun. Therefore, it took almost a month to reply. ”

"Zhao Jun, dare you look down on us so much? Hateful ......" Li Chi didn't speak, and Li Yi and the other generals immediately became angry. I wanted to say a few more cruel words, but after thinking about the actual situation, I finally fell silent again.

Li Fangzong looked at the silent Li Chi and said, "King, this is just your subordinate's speculation." Of course, from the minister's point of view, Zhao Jun did not deliberately despise us, but their original goal was not us. ”

Li Chi said slowly: "If you say so, it must be eight or nine." Judging from the current situation, I am afraid that your speculation should be true. Moreover, I'm afraid that Zhao Jun also wants us to understand that these are. ”

Li Fangzong smiled bitterly and said, "That's right, the reply of the envoy of Zhao Jun is to let us understand these things. However, this also shows that the king and the Li family must not be in danger of their lives. ”

"Alas...... Zhao Guo's actions are really different. We are now the target of the Zhao army to attract the other princes, and the other princes are unaware. Li Chi smiled bitterly.

Li Fangzong said: "It's not that the other princes don't realize it, but the Zhao army's movements are too big, and our Zhao army is the easiest one to attack when it goes south." ”

"Then between you, where is the real purpose of this Zhao Jun? Which prince is it? ”

"Luoyang, Chang'an, Jingzhou, Yangzhou, and Jiaozhou are all possible. Among them, Luoyang and Chang'an are located directly south of the Zhao army, and the Zhao army attacks here in the same way as attacking us. Jingzhou and Yangzhou were within the attack range of Zhao State in Yuzhou. Especially in Jingzhou, the kings of Hanzhong and Luoyang were not long after they were taken from the hands of the Tang kings, and although the places had been stabilized, they were certainly not as stable as Chang'an and Luoyang, which were occupied by the two kings. ”

In addition, Tang Wen, the son of the Tang army, is still in the Zhao army, playing his banner, and the Zhao army can get the support and support of the local people, big clans and some generals of the original Tang army system who surrendered to the two kings. After all, Zhao Jun was much stronger than the King of Hanzhong and the King of Luoyang, and it was much better under the command of Zhao Jun than under the King of Hanzhong and the King of Luoyang. ”

"The land of Jiaozhou is now divided among the Qi army, the Shu army and the Zhao army, plus the local heroes and the local natives. After the Zhao army occupied the Liuqiu Islands and Qiongzhou Island, they could quickly transport the army from the rear by sea ships, take the land of Jiaozhou, and set a wedge behind the Shu army and the Qi army, so that the Qi army and the Shu army would be suppressed by the Zhao army on their backs. With the support of the eastern islands and sea ships and the navy, it is not impossible for the Zhao army to take Jiaozhou. It is said that now the people of the Zhao army have begun to approach Linyi and Zhenla in the south of Jiaozhou, and have occupied many places in the north of Linyi. ”

Li Chi took a deep breath and sighed: "What a Zhao Xun, what a Zhao country." Even in the south, we have begun to expand our territory, and we are far inferior. Returning to the Zhao Kingdom, the king was convinced. ”

Li Yi suddenly said: "Since the Zhao army is not attacking us, but has other goals, then why don't we secretly spread the news and let other princes join forces with us to fight against the Zhao army?" ”

Li Chi said coldly: "Join forces with other princes? You go and tell the other princes that the Zhao army is not going to attack us now, but to attack the other side? Will they believe it? Even if they believe it, the Zhao army's army outside our borders will change from a fake attack to a real attack, and when the time comes, these princes will only think that we are trying to pull them into the water in order to resist the Zhao army. ”

"Besides, there are as many as a few states in the places that Fang Zong is talking about, and in these places, these princes have taken precautions. You say that these are the real targets of Zhao Jun's attack, do you think they will believe it? ”

"I'm afraid that if the other princes don't join forces at that time, we will be killed by Zhao Jun first. It's not that the princes don't know that they can join forces to resist the Zhao army. But how can we join forces? Unattacked princes willing to expend their armies in the territory of other princes? Are they willing to let their subordinates fight for the other princes? ”

"If the southern princes all want to connect with Zhao Jun, they are all on the unified level, this union may be possible. Just like the king of Hanzhong and the king of Luoyang, Chang'an and Luoyang were under the front of the Zhao army. That's it, they joined forces, in addition to the fact that they were all Situ family, but also because they did not recognize the status of Situ Che, the king of Shu, in order to jointly protect themselves. ”

Wang Shizi Li Hao said helplessly: "In this way, we can only do what Zhao Jun wants, and in terms of understanding, we will play the banner of fighting to the death with Zhao Jun." ”

Li Chi said in a condensed voice: "Since you are unwilling to continue fighting, and you have the intention of surrendering, then cooperate with Zhao Jun's actions." Hao'er, my father intends to let you go to Youzhou City. ”

Li Fangzong nodded and said: "That's fine, the king can arrange it like this, and we can also show our sincerity to Zhao Jun, and at the same time, it is also good for Wang Shizi to go to Zhao Jun and get acquainted with King Zhao and Zhao Jun's important ministers earlier." In the future, you will be the main personnel of the Li family. ”

"Wang Shizi? Don't call it that way anymore, lest you get into trouble. Hao'er, remember, watch more and talk less! Li Chi said lightly.