Wu military camp village.

In the big tent of the Chinese army, Xiong Zidan and the thief knelt on the ground with a blood-stained robe, looking ashamed and embarrassed, and said to Qingji: "King, please be guilty!" ”

"What are you two guilty of?"

Qing Jixuan helped Xiong Zidan and the thief up, and said with a serious sigh of relief: "Victory or defeat is a common thing in soldiers. My Wu army was only defeated for a while, why bother? ”

"Besides, the blame is not on you, the division of Shen Xi of Chu is the elite of the world for fame, and it is shameful to be defeated at the hands of the division of Shen Xi."

"However, the widow hopes that he can be ashamed and brave!"

"No!"

Qingji is very open-minded.

Suddenly, he ran into the strongest elite army of Chu State, the division of Shen Xi.

And there are only more than 10,000 rabble under his command, which is a celebration of jealousy, and it is also the end of sinking into the sand.

With the trump card of Shen Xi's division, it is not easy for the Wu army to annihilate the Chu army on the frontal battlefield.

Tingwei Wu Zixu frowned, stepped forward and said, "King, the Chu army may no longer fight with our army head-on." According to the scouts, the Chu army built hundreds of large and small walls in the area of Jifu, with strict fortifications and strong garrisons. ”

"In addition, the terrain of Jifu is quite complicated, there are mountains, rivers and hills, and our army wants to break the camp built by the Chu people one by one, I am afraid that it is in its hands!"

Hearing this, Qing Ji squinted his eyes, nodded and said, "Chu people, this is preparing for a protracted battle with our army. ”

To fight, or not to fight?

In fact, the choice is not on Wu Jun's side.

The Wu army could choose to retreat and stick to the line of Qian, Liu, and Ying, but it was bound to be surrounded and intercepted by the Chu army, and then Wu and Chu fell into a state of fierce war.

This is exactly what Qingji does not want to see.

It is not that Wu State cannot withstand the toss of a protracted war, but in the long run, Wu's national strength will also be on the verge of collapse, which is not in line with Qingji's strategic purpose.

Qingji is to slowly encroach on the cities and lands of the Chu State, not to swallow them!

As the so-called hundred-legged insect dies but does not stiffen.

What's more, the state of Chu is still in a state of half-death?

Therefore, no matter whether the Wu army advances or retreats, it is inevitable that it will have to fight with the Chu army and start a protracted tug-of-war.

Qingji can only pin his hopes on Jin Guo now.

If the Jin people can agree to unite the princes and send troops to attack Chu together, then take this opportunity, and the Wu State can take the opportunity to make peace with the Chu State and sit at the negotiation table to give each other's terms.

Imagine the Chinese network

Or, under the pressure of the alliance of the princes, the Chu army on the front line of Jifu will not be forced to take the initiative, and then Qingji will be able to find fighters and decide the battle.

……

Chu State, Yingdu Palace.

Xiong Zhen, the king of Chu, was sitting in the side hall with his wife Meng Huan, and Gongzi Jie (Zilu) and Gongzi Qi (Ziqi) to discuss major matters.

Zilu and Ziqi are both half-brothers of Xiong Zhen, and like Zixi, they hold important positions in the court and have a lot of right to speak.

At this moment, Xiong Zhen said worriedly: "The second and third sons, the widow is suitable to get the secret music." Qingji sent an envoy to Xintian to lobby the Duke of Jin and Liuqing, unite the princes of the Central Plains, and attack Chu together. ”

"Bo Gu has persuaded the Jin people that he will soon ally the princes in Zhaoling and attack my Chu State!"

"What?"

As soon as they heard this, everyone present changed color when they heard it.

In the whole world, the most feared opponent of the Chu State is the Jin State.

Because of the thirteen direct wars between Jin and Chu, the Jin State was eleven victories and two defeats.

How can it not be scary?

Of course, in the previous foreign wars of the Chu State, in the face of military powers, they all lost more than they won.

For example, in the decades of fierce battles between Wu and Chu, Wu Guo won six times, drew three and lost one!

It is conceivable that the military strength of the Chu State is not strong, at most it is just to bully the vassal states like Cai, Song, Wei, and Lu.

When encountering such a hard stubble as Wu State, Chu State is overstretched, let alone the old overlord Jin State?

"If the princes join forces to attack Chu, how can my Chu State stop it?"

Xiong Zhen sighed and said: "Now, the two armies of Chu and Wu are fighting fiercely against Jifu, and they can't hold each other, and there are not many soldiers to fight in the country. Qingji Pifu, so calculating, he was able to persuade the Jin people to unite with the princes to fight Chu! ”

Xiong Zhen hated itchy.

At this time, the state of Chu was attacked by the Wu army, and lost its division and territory one after another, how could it still be stationed on the front line of Fangcheng and block the troops of the princes' coalition led by the Jin State when the number of troops was already small?

Ziqi pondered for a moment, and after thinking about it, he said: "The king, the alliance of the princes is not to be defeated. Why not outwit? ”

"How to outwit?"

"Since Wu can send an envoy to persuade the Jin people to send troops, why can't I, the Chu State, send an envoy to persuade the Jin people to stay still?"

Ziqi said slowly: "Wu Chu is fighting fiercely, and he can't hold each other, it must be something that the Jin people like to see." If the alliance of the princes intervenes, then our Chu state will not be able to catch it, and we can only negotiate peace with Wu State. ”

"And negotiating peace is tantamount to fueling the arrogance of the Wu people, and the national strength of Wu will be further strengthened, and the rise will be unstoppable!"

"Wu State, it was originally supported by the Jin people to deal with my Chu State. Once the state of Wu rises and takes the place of my state of Chu, won't the Jin people be the remnants of raising tigers? ”

After a pause, Ziqi said again: "Therefore, why didn't the king send an envoy to Xintian to persuade the Duke of Jin and Liuqing to stop meeting the princes of the alliance?" ”

"This ...... If the Jin people insist on uniting the princes and attacking our Chu State, what should they do? ”

Xiong Zhen asked with a frown.

"If the situation really gets to that point, the king should prepare for the worst."

"Worst-case scenario?"

"That is, hand over the Marquis of Cai, and cede more than ten cities west of the Great River, and the vast territory with a radius of nearly 1,000 miles, to the State of Wu, so that Chu and Wu can fight the army, and the State of Chu will make every effort to deal with the coalition of princes who come from afar."

Hearing this, the corners of Xiong Zhen's mouth couldn't help twitching.

The previous kings of the Chu State were all people who defended the land and opened up the territory, how did he come to his generation and repeatedly lost his teachers and land?

That's more than a dozen cities, a territory of nearly a thousand miles, how can it be handed over!

Ziqi said: "Or, the king should recruit heavy troops again and reinforce Jifu, so that our Chu army can defeat Wu Shi, and then regain the lost territory, and force Qingji to make an alliance under the city." ”

Xiong Zhen glared and said, "What? And more troops! Our Chu State has been adding conscripts again and again for several months, and the feudal lords in various places are already dissatisfied, and it is fearful that there will be chaos if they recruit again. ”

"Could it be that even the widow's guards were sent to the frontier?"

Who would have thought that a Chu State, which claims to have hundreds of thousands of armor and thousands of military vehicles, can mobilize so few soldiers and horses.

It's not that Chu really has no soldiers to fight, but that the feudal lords everywhere are crying poor and unwilling to send their own private soldiers to the front line to die.

If it is a foreign expansion war, it will be profitable, but in this Great Patriotic War, except for the verbal reward of the king of Chu and some property, the feudal lords will not get anything!

People's hearts are unpredictable!

Xiong Zhen felt a deep sense of powerlessness in his heart.

"Your Majesty, then you can only try to break up the alliance of princes first. If the Jin people cannot be convinced, the king can also send an envoy to sue the Song, Lu, Wei, and Cai countries, and order them not to obey the Jin people to attack Chu, and the violators will be retaliated against by our Chu State in the future. ”

Ziqi sighed and said: "Only by coercing the princes of the Central Plains in this way can they make them think deeply." ”

"Good!"