After the defeat of Yishui and Junxiang, the Wu army knew that the Qin division was brave and extraordinary. The Wu army had no choice but to tighten the battlefield, shrink the main forces around Yingdu, and prepare to use Yingdu as a base to confront the Qin-Chu coalition army.

So the king of Wu redeployed the Wu army, and ordered Fufu and Gongzishan to lead 5,000 troops to defend Yingdu; The army led 5,000 soldiers to guard the wheat city; Bo Ya led 5,000 troops to guard the prison profit; He Luzi led a large army and Sun Wu to garrison Jinan City.

In the area of Yingdu, the Wu army marched step by step, connecting into a base, wanting to fight a protracted battle with the Qin-Chu coalition army.

He Lu was worried that the Qin army was strong and feared that the troops would be insufficient, but it was extremely unreliable to recruit troops in the Chu State. The hearts of the people of Chu are not attached, and they regard Wu as an enemy, and they are not available. He Lu has been worried, and he doesn't know what to do.

One day, King Wu summoned Sun Wu into the tent to discuss military affairs.

The two monarchs and ministers sat down cross-legged and were silent for a long time, and only then did they sigh and say quietly: "It's a pity that the widow has made a lot of mistakes in the strategy of 'Dingchu'. In retrospect, the 'weak' policy formulated by Aiqing that day was the best choice. It's a pity that our monarchs and ministers were carried away by the victory, failed to judge the situation, and lost a great opportunity. Even if he negotiates peace with the King of Chu now, it is no longer possible. With the defeat of Yishui and Junxiang, the Qin-Chu coalition army will be more confident and confident, and it seems that it will not cede land and negotiate peace with our army again. ”

Sun Wu knew that King Wu was testing himself, and with the current situation, could there still be any possibility of peace. Sun Wu said bluntly: "This time and that time!" Our army was defeated in a row, and the Qin-Chu coalition army was greatly boosted. The feasibility of negotiating a peace alliance has definitely been lost now, and the minister's greatest concern is the situation in the country, so don't go wrong. ”

He Lu nodded, thinking that the Qin-Chu alliance army was approaching Yingdu day by day, and the troops in his hand were not good, so he asked: "Now the Qin State has sent 500 times. The Chu army has now amassed tens of thousands of troops. Our army is unsustainable, does Aiqing have a good plan? ”

Sun Wu pondered for a while, and said: "The Chu people are not available, and it is difficult to recruit troops in the country. It is better for the king to send envoys to Tang and Cai to recruit troops, and the minister believes that Tang Hou and Cai Hou will not refuse. ”

He Lu thought that Sun Wu's words were not bad, and ordered the master Zichuan to be a special envoy for conscription, that is, to go to Tang and Cai to recruit troops for the use of Wu's army.

It is said that the Qin-Chu coalition army and the Wu army formed a stalemate in the Yingdu area. Because the Wu army was defending the city, it did not take the initiative to go out of the city to fight the coalition army, even if the coalition army scolded outside the city. made a lot of tricks to lure the enemy, but Wu Jun also ignored them. The Qin-Chu coalition army did not dare to drive its troops deeper, fearing that they would fall into the encirclement of the Wu army.

The two armies faced each other, and the coalition forces outside the city were naturally the most anxious. The Qin army traveled thousands of miles, hoping to achieve a quick victory. If this continues, the situation will not be good.

Qin Shuaizi Bo consulted with Chu Shuaizixi. Zixi said: "Now the Wu army is defending in Yingdu. You can't easily attack to win. But Tang and Cai were allies of Wu. If the two countries take advantage of our army's unpreparedness and lead their troops to help Wu, they must not be guarded. ”

When Zi Bo heard this, he felt that Zixi's worries were very reasonable. He said: "Tang Guo is weaker than Cai Guo, and it is easier to attack. It is better to take this opportunity and send a secret army. Go and destroy the Tang Kingdom first. As soon as the Tang Kingdom is destroyed, knocking on the mountain and shaking the tiger, how dare Cai Guo move? Naturally, he did not dare to send troops to help Wu. After getting Tang and Cai Erguo, we can concentrate on dealing with Wu Jun. ”

Zixi is deeply kind. He allocated 3,000 soldiers and horses from the Chu army. Zibo also allocated 3,000 soldiers and horses from the Qin division, ordered Zihu to be the general, and Dou Xin was the vice, under the banner of the Chu army, secretly led the troops to infiltrate the border of the Tang State, and was determined to destroy the Tang Dynasty and restore his life.

It is said that Zihu led 6,000 soldiers and horses, first to the east, and then to the north. The Chu army marched day and night, but on the 3rd, the army came to the realm of the Tang Kingdom.

This Tang State is only a small country, even the whole country is less than 5,000 soldiers and horses. The main forces are basically placed in the area of the capital to protect the safety of the Beijing division. And there were not many troops defending the city above the border, so the Chu army drove straight in, and basically arrived under the capital of the Tang State without much resistance.

When the Zihu soldiers came to the city, Tang Hou was already frightened.

Tang Hou saw that the Chu army surrounded the capital city in layers, and it seemed that it was difficult to fly. Tang Hou first sent an envoy out of the city to negotiate peace with the Chu army. Zihu is not allowed. Tang Hou lowered the book again, and was willing to proclaim himself a minister to Chu. And the state of Chu must want to destroy the Tang in order to beat the state of Cai, so Zihu still refused the request of the marquis of Tang to surrender.

Tang Hou was helpless, knowing that the Chu army would want to destroy himself, so he killed himself in the palace.

But Tang Guoshizi (Chujun) Min is straightforward, has always liked to practice martial arts and archery, and is a man. In the past, Tang Hou was bribed by Nangwasuo, but Tang Hou did not allow it, so Nangwa imprisoned Tang Hou. It was this Shizimin who sent the minister Gongsun Zhe to Chu to save his father, and later Gongsun Zhe stole a horse to redeem Tang Hou.

It seems that this Tang Shizimin is not an idle person.

When Tang Shizi saw that his father was tied to death, he temporarily took over the power and called on the whole city to defend the city to the death. He also wanted to send a messenger to break through the siege and go out of the city, and report to the king of Wu.

Tang Shizi experienced the city tower to defend against the enemy, and at the same time ordered the minister Gongsun Zhe to gather weapons to defend the city, such as sasswood, rolling stones, arrow clusters, etc.; While trying to escort the messenger to break through.

On this day, the Qin division began to launch a siege battle. This Qin soldier is self-defeating in the plains, but it is a shortcoming for siege. This besieging army each has half of Qin Chu's troops. After all, the Qin soldiers and the Chu soldiers were very different in terms of mutual coordination and military habits, so at the beginning, the coalition forces did not take advantage of half of it.

The coalition army attacked the city for three days in a row, and Zihu and Gu Xin were both the first soldiers, standing under the city and personally commanding the town. The soldiers on the ladder kept climbing towards the high walls of Tang City. However, it is always at the moment of zuihou that one by one falls straight down. The Tang soldiers in the city had no way to retreat, so they had to fight to the death, so the combat power released was extraordinary, far exceeding Zihu and Gu Xin's imagination.

Seeing that the siege of the city could not be carried out for three days, Zihu ordered the troops to be dismissed, let the army retreat 2 miles to the village, let the soldiers rest temporarily, and try to break the city.

When Tang Shizi saw the coalition retreating, he discussed with Gongsun Zhe how to break out of the city.

Shizi said: "Tang is a lonely city, it is really difficult to support the attack of the Chu army, we defend it like this, sooner or later the city will be broken." It is better to take advantage of the retreat of the Chu army and break through. ”

Gongsun Zhe nodded and said: "The minister can escort the prince to break out of the city, a few days ago, the messenger tried to break through many times but failed, and now the Chu army has retreated, and there is an opportunity to take advantage of it." ”

Shizi said abruptly: "Now there is no point in the messenger breaking through. Even if King Wu knew the news of the Chu army's attack on Tang, it would be too late to solve the danger under the city. ”

Gongsun Zhe was silent for a long time, and said in a deep voice: "It seems that far water can't quench the thirst of the near, and the king of Wu can't reach the whip, so the minister asks the prince to prepare early and break out of the city." ”

The prince shook his head and said sadly: "Since I am the prince of the Tang Kingdom, how can I abandon the city and flee?" I mean, sir, escorted my family out of the city, and I want to live and die with it! ”

Gongsun Zhe wanted to persuade him again, but the prince waved his hand and stopped: "Mr. doesn't need to say anything, you can quickly dispatch the elite soldiers, I should be used as a cover, go out from the back city, and then go west and flee to Wu!" ”

In the middle of the night of the second day, the sky was overcast and the moon was dim. I saw that the back gate of Tang City quietly opened a crack. After a while, seeing that there was no movement, the city gate gradually opened, and a team of chariots and horses could be faintly seen leaving the city quietly.

There were not many men and soldiers in this group, and there were mainly a few large carts, and the people outside the cars were disguised as civilians. Behind this squad, followed by a light horseman, all of them picking up bells and wrapping their feet, did not make much noise.

The procession marched very slowly, taking advantage of the reckless night, all the way east.

As he was marching, he suddenly found that there was a torch waving in front of him, and Gongsun Zhe knew that it was the Chu army patrolling the sentry, so he didn't say anything, and sneaked around on his own.

"Zhanzhu, who are you?" It seems that Chu Whistle spotted this team and stepped forward to shout.

At this time, only a few strings were heard, and the few Chu soldiers who came forward howled a few times and fell to the ground.

It turned out that this was the outpost of the Chu army. Zihu's army went down to the village 2 miles south of Tang City, but in order to prevent the Tang soldiers from breaking through and escaping, several strongholds were set up around Tang City, and outposts were set up.

Gongsun Zhe led the family of the prince out of the city, and the prince led the light cavalry to break into the stronghold of the Chu army. The Chu army thought that the Tang army was robbing the camp at night, so they asked for help from the camp while holding the enemy.

When Zihu and Dou Xin led the army to come, the prince retreated while fighting and retreated to Tangcheng. (To be continued......)