Updated: 2013-07-15

The Zhao army sent an envoy to ask the Chu army to surrender, which was a great difficulty for the Chu army in Xuzhou. The strength of Zhao Guo, the Chu army is very clear. Not to mention that the Chu army living in a state is the joint efforts of the entire southern princes, but it can only be equated with the Zhao army, how can the Chu army be the opponent of the Zhao State alone?

Of course, the southern princes joined forces, and in terms of military strength, they were more than the northern overlord Zhao State. Although the state of Zhao is large, its borders are also very large. Not to mention, it is the land of the two states in the Western Regions, and the Zhao State also sent two soldiers of the Praetorian Guard to garrison the place. If the southern princes can really join forces to confront Da Zhao, the attack is insufficient, but the defense will definitely be no problem. However, can the southern princes really join forces?

As for the Chu army who received the 'force' from the Zhao army, not to mention the thoughts of Li Chi, the king of Chu, even the generals of the Chu army, were also extremely angry. How can they say that they are also princes of the same place, and now they are so 'forced' by Zhao Jun, how can they accept it? As a result, many Chu officials of the Chu army generals and colonies asked Li Chi to fight against the invasion of the Zhao army in Xuzhou. At the same time, many generals and colonels were asking Li Chi to expand the army.

Of course, among the Chu army, there were also many civil and military officials who did not agree to 'engage' with the Zhao army. After all, the comparison between the strength of the Zhao State and the strength of the Chu Army is clear at a glance, and the two sides are not on the same level at all. Once the 'engagement' is fought, it will be difficult for the Chu army to match it at all. Instead of fighting to the death with the Zhao army, it is better to talk to the Zhao army about the conditions and surrender the Zhao state.

However, among the Chu army, the voice of the battle still prevailed. After all, Zhao Jun had already done this, and the King of Chu did not reply accurately. If you go to surrender now, who knows what will happen. Even those who are facing the battle may not necessarily be sincere for the good of the Chu army.

The situation of Li Chi, the king of Chu, is not better than others at the moment, and it is difficult to decide whether to fight or surrender. Zhan, he understands very well the huge gap between him and Zhao Jun. drop, not only unwilling, but also the generals below are also unwilling. Li Chi's control of the Chu army was naturally no problem, but he was also unwilling to let the old ministry that had followed him for many years not have his own choice.

"Li Yan, you are in charge of the intelligence of my Chu army, how is the operation of the Zhao army's border land now?" In the palace of the king of Chu, Li Chi, the king of Chu, Li Hao, the prince of the king, and his subordinates, such as General Wei and General Sizhen, gathered together to discuss the situation in front of them. It can be seen from the 'color' of these people's faces that Zhao Jun put a lot of pressure on Chu Jun.

Li Yan said with a solemn face: "The Zhao army has gathered no less than 70,000 troops in the Haizhou Mansion and Pengzhou Mansion in the north of Xuzhou and the Huai 'Yin' land in the west. If there is a war, we will be attacked on both sides. ”

General Wei Li Wu said in a condensed voice: "Yanzhou and Yuzhou? Isn't there a need for Zhao Jun to stay here? To the south of Yuzhou, but to Jingzhou and Yangzhou, do they dare to 'pump' troops from the south? ”

Li Yan smiled bitterly: "Since the Zhao army annexed the Yanzhou army, the Zhao army has already had eight town troops, eight town Janissaries and five town cavalry. In the past few years, the Zhao army has reorganized and replaced the armies of various towns, and has formed a strong combat force. In various places, between local governments and counties, there are also local county soldiers and government soldiers, who are reserve soldiers for town soldiers, janissaries and cavalry. ”

After a pause, Li Yan took a deep breath and said in a deep voice: "To say something that the generals and adults don't like to hear, the military strength of the Zhao army is not only not comparable to us, but even if the southern princes join forces, they cannot match it. As long as Zhao Jun is willing, he can pull out hundreds of thousands of troops at any time. Don't forget, the development of Zhao Jun in the past few years has hoarded a lot of money, grain, grass and war horses for them. ”

After Li Yan finished speaking, everyone was speechless. They were also aware of the gap between themselves and Zhao Jun, but being said like this by Li Yan still made everyone feel cold.

Li Chi, who was a little old, said in a sullen voice: "Now, my Chu army is only more than 50,000 people, and even if the soldiers who were dismissed before are recalled, it is only 70,000 or 80,000. As for the Zhao army, the Zhao country has as many as seven or eight hundred thousand soldiers. Although most of them are guarding various places, if they really want to march south, the Zhao army can dispatch about three or four hundred thousand. ”

Li Chi didn't continue, but this heavy gap made everyone feel difficult to breathe.

"Right now, Zhao Jun has sent an envoy and given us an ultimatum. And the movement of the Zhao army's army also shows that they are going south. The Zhao army pacified the northern border troubles and pacified the land of the Western Regions. Next, the entire Great Yan Kingdom, that is, south of the Yangtze River, has not yet been controlled by it. Zhao Jun returned to the south to march, which is also clear to all of you. Now, how should our Chu army respond, you can all share your opinions. ”

Li Chi asked unhurriedly, as if the Zhao army's army was 'approaching', and he didn't care at all. But no one in the house answered.

Li Chi said lightly: "Do you have any opinions and opinions, but it doesn't hurt to say it, now that the situation is like this, this king will not blame you because of your opinions and opinions." ”

After a long time, no one spoke, Li Chi looked at his son and said in a deep voice: "Hao'er, you are the son of this king, you speak first." ”

Li Hao glanced at everyone and said in a deep voice: "Father, the child thinks that it is better to negotiate terms with Da Zhao and return to Da Zhao." The north, west and southwest of Xuzhou are all the territory of Dazhao. And to the east, it is also the scope of activity of the Great Zhao Navy. From the child's point of view, there is only one ending in the final battle with Da Zhao, that is, the Chu army no longer exists, and the people of Xuzhou are in the flames of war. All of you who are doing it will become sinners who have plagued the people of a state above history. ”

General Wei Li Wu said in a sullen voice: "Shizi, although my Chu army is defeated by Great Zhao, the arrogance of the Zhao army does not take me in his eyes at all. If we don't fight with one, we will surrender, and the Zhao army will be able to accept the soldiers of the Chu army, but for us, we are only afraid of ......"

Zhendong General Li Yi also frowned slightly and said: "The minister also thinks that General Wei's words are reasonable, but we have to fight to the death with Zhao Jun." It's just that if we surrender here, the king, the prince of the king, and everyone who is doing it will be despised by Zhao Jun, thinking that we are cowardly and afraid of things, greedy for life and afraid of death. Seriously, my Li family can ......"

Li Wu and Li Yi's words are also what the generals of the Li clan are worried about. Since ancient times, there is nothing to surrender generals, but the princes who surrender often do not end well. And the Li family is also a big family, and the Chu army is headed by the Li family. They can't help but think about themselves.

"Fangzong, what do you think?" Li Chi asked Li Fangzong, who was sitting on the side and had not spoken.

Li Fangzong, Li Fanglin and Li Fangyu are all officials in charge of government affairs in the Chu army, which can be regarded as the civil official system in the Li family and the Chu army. At the same time, they are also the more talented and far-sighted people in the Li family. The Chu army's move to dismiss some of its soldiers, restore the livelihood of the local people, and win the hearts of the people was also a suggestion put forward by Li Fangzong and other civilian officials.

Li Fangzong said unhurriedly: "Battle and surrender are all in the king's thoughts. If we want to fight, it is naturally impossible for our Chu army alone, not so much to fight, not to say to die. Therefore, if you choose to fight, you must pull in other princes in the south. If you can't, the minister thinks it's better to surrender directly. ”

"Fang Zong knows what you are worried about, but if we fight with Great Zhao, Zhao Jun will look up to us? Now that Da Zhao has made a move against our Chu army, it can only be suppressed by the whole army, and it will never give us the opportunity to fight first and then surrender. ”

"Great Zhao pacified the north, the land of the Western Regions, it can be said that Zhao has no external troubles now, and has begun to carry out the operation of recovering the world. And this will be the first battle of the Zhao army to pacify the world. With the momentum of a great victory, the Zhao army naturally wanted to play the majesty of the first battle with the fastest and most rapid posture, so as to deter the other princes. ”

Glancing at everyone, Li Fangzong said coldly: "So, this time, either unite the princes to face the battle, or simply surrender." In this way, the Zhao army can not only increase its momentum, but also accept us in order to set an example for the other princes who surrendered. If we have the idea of fighting first and then surrendering, that is the real death. Because, the Zhao army also needs to be an example to the southern princes and an example to fight against the Zhao army. ”

"Then unite the southern princes and fight against the Zhao army. Our Chu army was destroyed by the Zhao army, and their other princes will do the same in the future. Only by joining forces with us can we resist the southward movement of the Zhao army. Li Wu said in a muffled voice.

General Wei Li Han sneered: "Alliance with the southern princes? Will they? Will they care about the existence of my Chu army? On the border with us, there is only the Qi army. Not to mention the hatred between Qi Jun and us, that is, Qi Jun is willing, but do they dare? The Qi army was not afraid that the Zhao army would go directly into Yangzhou along Yuzhou? Don't forget, in the eastern sea of the Qi army, Da Zhao's navy is still 'wandering' in the sea. In addition, in the land of 'Jiao' states in the south, Zhao Jun also occupies a large area. ”

"In addition, the Qi army is still fighting a small-scale 'engagement' with the Shu army, but no one dares to guarantee that they will not trigger a bigger war when the Great Zhao army attacks us. So, Qi Jun, we don't have to count on it. ”

"In addition to our Chu army, what also borders the Zhao army is the jurisdiction of the king of Hanzhong and the king of Luoyang. The part of Yongzhou in the land occupied by the kings of Hanzhong and Luoyang, bordered the Zhao army. Counting on them? Do you think it's possible? In short, General Ben didn't think that the two 'bastards' Situ Hao and Situ Fei would take care of the overall situation and contain the Zhao army in the west. From General Ben's point of view, it was already very good that they were not secretly glad that the Zhao army did not attack them. ”

Li Hao said: "You are all my elders, and most of them are also members of the Li clan. When it comes to surrender, I am also extremely unwilling like you. However, the general trend of the world is becoming clearer and clearer. No matter what, the world is unified after all. Whether it is the Zhao State in the north that dominates the world, or a certain prince in the south who seizes the world, it has nothing to do with our Chu army. ”

"There is only one position in that place, and there can only be one country in the whole world. Ladies and gentlemen, whether you follow the general trend or seek 'selfish' interests is all within your thoughts. If my Chu army is as strong as the Zhao army or the Qi army and the Shu army, let alone surrender, the envoy of the Zhao army dares to be so arrogant, we can take his head. However, the current situation is not what we think, and our Chu army has now become the first knife of the Zhao army to the south. ”

"Since last year, we have dismissed the soldiers and restored the people's livelihood, and the people of the entire Xuzhou land are thinking about our good. But if we fight with the Zhao army this time, the people of Xuzhou are afraid that they will no longer support us, nor will they 'provoke' us. Based on what we did in Xuzhou this year, King Zhao will not easily attack our Li family. You must know that even the kings of the Western Regions surrendered, and Zhao Xun did not go to death. According to General Li Yan's investigation, the kings of the Western Regions who lived in Youzhou City, the leaders of the northern Turkic tribes, and the leaders of the Tatar people also lived well under the rule of the Zhao army. ”

Li Hao's words also made some generals who were worried about the Li family and some generals who originally had other ideas in their hearts change their minds at this moment. The comparison between the strength and weakness of their own side and Zhao Jun, they are not unaware. However, as Li Hao said, they were unwilling, but now that the Zhao army was 'approaching', they were powerless to resist, and they had no choice, so it could be said that there was no way to retreat. In addition, Li Hao is the son of the king, and the meaning of his words must be related to Li Chi, the king of Chu. Even if it wasn't what Li Chi meant, Li Chi must have known it.

Since the king of Chu does not approve of the war, or has the idea of surrendering, why should they continue to pretend as subordinates. If the Chu army was on par with the Zhao army, they would naturally not surrender, and even if Li Chi intended to surrender, they would stop it. However, Chu Jun and Zhao Jun are not above the same level at all.

Of course, not everyone is willing to accept surrender. Wei generals Li Wu, Li Quan and others were unwilling to surrender to the Zhao army. After all, they are now the Wei generals of the Chu army, and each has nearly 10,000 soldiers in their hands, and if they surrender to the Zhao army, they will never have such a position.

"Alright, don't argue. The envoy of the Zhao army came to 'force' to surrender, even if we want to surrender, we have to talk to Da Zhao about the conditions, and we will never surrender directly because of the other party's words. You are all loyal men of our Chu army, surrender or not, and negotiate the conditions with the envoy of the Zhao army in the coming day. As for you, you all live here with this king, and together with this king, negotiate terms with Zhao Jun. If it succeeds, it will fall, and if it fails, then it will fight. Li Chi glanced at the arguing people, and said with the same face as his face remained unchanged.

The generals and colonels left one after another, and soon, in the study, Li Chi, Li Hao, General Wei, Li Han, General Li Yi of Zhendong, and Li Fangzong gathered together.

"Li Yan, this king asked you to check the situation, how did you check?"

"Returning to the king, the Wei generals Li Wu, Li Quan, and Tian Chao, when the army was withdrawn, they did not remove the soldiers, and after the arrival of the Zhao army's envoy, it expanded a lot. There are also many changes in the generals under his command. According to his subordinates, his original intention was just that he was unwilling to let his soldiers abandon their armor and return to the field. ”

Li Chi and others also know about these. At the beginning, Li Chi listened to the advice of Li Fangzong and other civilian officials, restored the people's livelihood, and abolished the army, but Li Wu and others were 'fiercely' opposed.

"However, since then, the Zhao army sent an envoy last month, and the king has no intention of mobilizing the army. Li Wu and the others walked together, and seemed to have a connection with the people of the Qi army in the south. ”

"'Bastard' stuff! This king said why he first asked to 'fight' with Da Zhao during this month, and then asked to go to the front line of Huai' 'Yin', when he actually colluded with the Qi army. Li Chi was immediately furious.

Li Fangzong said lightly: "King, if we surrender to the Zhao army, we will basically lose real power." At the very least, most people will have no real power. Even if he continues to participate in military politics, he needs to take a new assessment and study at the Royal Academy of Zhao State. ”

"Surrender to the Zhao army, the generals will have no power, even when it comes to ability, most of them are afraid that it will be difficult to enter the eyes of the Zhao army. And take this opportunity to surrender to the Qi army, and the Qi army will definitely be reused at this moment. After all, the Qi army now urgently needs to expand its strength, whether it is to defend the Zhao army or to deal with the Shu army, more troops are needed. ”

"Hao'er, you go, personally send someone to take over their army. Those who dare to disagree will be killed. Even if he doesn't surrender, this king doesn't need subordinates who don't obey orders. Li Chi said with a murderous face, "In addition, send someone to take down all these 'bastards' and put them on death row." ”

"Fangzong, is there only one way for us to surrender?"

Li Fangzong smiled bitterly and said, "King, the current situation is even worse than we expected. The comparison of troops, this subordinate does not need to say much, the previous discussion has already been obvious. Even among the people of Xuzhou, they also hoped that our army would surrender to the Zhao army. ”

"Why is this so? In this year, our Chu army has never suffered the people. Li Han and the others said angrily.

Li Fangzong said astringently: "The kings should know very well that after the arrival of the envoy of the Zhao army, the whole of Xuzhou also began to spread the policy of Great Zhao, and they have already treated the policy of Xuzhou after the surrender." ”

"Although we have been restoring people's livelihood and working for the benefit of the people this year. However, the various policies under our rule are far worse than those under Zhao Jun's. As far as the common people are concerned, they naturally hope for a better life, and they do not want to be caught in the scourge of war. In the past few years, the people of Xuzhou have suffered from the scourge of war. ”

Li Chi smiled bitterly: "I, Li Chi, Xuzhou, have been in Xuzhou for more than ten years, not only can not bring benefits to the people of Xuzhou, but also let these war disasters continue for years. Let's do a good thing for the people of Xuzhou this time. ”

"The king......" Li Han and the others said in unison, wanting to persuade and block, but they didn't know where to start.

"Haha...... Time is also fate, I, Li Chi, can be from a small people to a prince, I am satisfied. You don't need to say anything about it, just decide. Li Fangzong, you go to negotiate with the envoy of the Zhao army, and you will say that our Chu army has surrendered. ”

Li Fangzong said in a condensed voice: "The king's move will benefit the people of Xuzhou. His Majesty believed that King Zhao would not embarrass the Li family. ”

Li Chi smiled: "It's okay, if Zhao Jun deliberately makes it difficult, I, Li Chi, will be on the head and recognize him to take it." ”

Li Fangzong passed the news to the envoy of the Zhao army, and the envoy of the Zhao army did not dare to make a claim. After confirming that Li Chi had no other conditions, he immediately sent the news back to Youzhou City. And Zhao Xun and others, who were making secret arrangements, were stumped by the news from Xuzhou.