Time entered the sixth year of King Wu Qingji, that is, 508 BC, the beginning of spring.

After the Wu army successfully captured Tong, Qunshu, Chao, and Zhongli, and defeated the Chu army, they quickly captured the four cities of Chu State: Liuyi, Qianyi, Yingshi and Chengfu.

Because Shen Zhuliang took away many of the garrison troops when he led his army to retreat, the Wu army did not encounter much decent resistance when they attacked the city. Some feudal governors even opened the city directly to surrender and admitted the Wu army into the city.

.

Yangcheng, the main tent of the Chinese army.

Yin Nangwa, the commander of the State of Chu, looked at Shen Yinshu who was standing in front of him and bowing in salute. He couldn't help but get angry. He blew his beard and scolded with eyes wide open: "Shen Zhuliang! How can you still have the face to see me?"

"The defeat of Juchao, the loss of an army and the humiliation of the country, the Wu army defeated Zhaoguan, Chao, Tong, Shu, and Zhongli in succession! In just two months, with a radius of nearly a thousand miles, more than a dozen cities fell to the hands of the Wu barbarians.

!”

Nang Wa said angrily: "That is the territory that our ancestors of Chu State spent hundreds of years to conquer!"

"Now you are retreating without a fight, handing over Chengfu, Liuyi, Qianyi, and the Ying family to the Wu people! The loss of land is so great that we, the Chu State, have never seen it before since the founding of the country!"

"Death! Why don't you die?"

No wonder Nang Wa would be so angry.

Because within two months, the Wu army captured the vast territory west of the Chu River in one fell swoop. It was more than a thousand miles long from east to west and hundreds of miles wide from north to south, which was equivalent to more than half of the Yue Kingdom.

Moreover, there are more than a dozen wealthy cities in it, with a population of hundreds of thousands, and they are considered sacred places!

How could Nang Wa not be angry about this?

If the Wu army only captured the land of Tongshu, that would be enough, it would still be reasonable.

But Shen Zhuliang even lost Zhaoguan, and the four cities of Chengfu, Liu, Qian, and Ying were also surrendered to the Wu army!

This made Nang Wa have to wonder whether Shen Zhuliang was a spy of the Wu State, specially placed to harm the Chu people in the Chu State?

His father, Shen Yinshu, lost 80,000 troops in the Battle of Zhizi.

As his son, Shen Zhuliang did not hesitate to make more concessions. In just two months, the Chu Kingdom fell to more than ten cities!

Could it be that this father and son were sent by God to punish Chu?

Seeing the silent Shen Zhuliang, Nangwa became even more angry and said angrily: "Come here! Pull Shen Zhuliang out to my order! I will punish you!"

"Wait a minute!"

Just when the two soldiers rushed in and wanted to pull Shen Zhuliang out, Zixi, the Zuo disciple on one side, finally couldn't help but stop him.

"Your Majesty, please calm down."

"Master Shen, how do you want me to calm down?"

Nang Wa Yu glared with still angry eyes and said: "Shen Zhuliang's crime is unforgivable! He can't escape the blame for losing his army and losing his land!"

The Chu State has always been very harsh in punishing defeated generals.

A defeated general like Shen Zhuliang was bound to be executed by his entire family.

If it weren't for the fact that Shen Zhuliang was a clan general, the angry King of Chu might not even be able to spare Shen Zhuliang's three clans!

Zixi hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, please be patient for a moment. I think that the reason why Shen Zhuliang abandoned Shouliu, Qian, the Ying family and Cheng Fu must have hidden secrets. Why don't your Majesty Yin listen to Shen Zhuliang's defense?

Make a decision?"

"good!"

Nang Wa then looked at Shen Zhuliang with a gloomy expression.

Shen Zhuliang glanced at Zi Xi gratefully, then took a deep breath and said: "Ling Yin, Zuo Tu, I'm telling you the truth. The reason why I gave up Liu Qian, Ying family and Cheng Fu are with you."

The purpose of joining forces at Yangcheng is to temporarily avoid the attack of Wu troops."

"Not only that, I also want to persuade you two to abandon Yangcheng!"

"What!"

Nang Wa was furious again, pointed at Shen Zhuliang's nose and cursed: "Shen Zhuliang, are you afraid to fight? You are afraid to fight, but my son Chang (Nang Wa) is not afraid to fight!"

"Not only did you lose your troops and land, but you still dared to instigate this order to abandon the defense of Yangcheng. What crime should you be guilty of?"

Hearing this, Shen Zhuliang just shook his head and said: "Your Majesty, please forgive me for speaking frankly, it may be difficult to defend the city. The Wu army has a new type of siege equipment called the 'trebuchet', which is very powerful. It relies on the power of the trebuchet. , the Wu army will capture Zhaoguan within ten days!"

"I wonder, how much stronger are the fortifications of Yangcheng than Zhaoguan?"

After hearing this, Nangwa and Zixi couldn't help but look at each other with shocked expressions on their faces.

Naturally, they knew everything about the strength of Zhaoguan.

Zhaoguan is easy to defend but difficult to attack. It is the most powerful pass in the southeast and ranks second only to Fangcheng among the many great passes in Chu State.

With 10,000 soldiers stationed there, even in the face of an enemy attack ten times larger than our own, it would be indestructible within three months, and the enemy would not be able to capture Zhaoguan in less than a year and a half.

However, such a majestic pass, with ten thousand soldiers stationed at Zhaoguan, actually fell in ten days?

If what Shen Zhuliang said is true, Wu Jun's trebuchets are indeed powerful.

Moreover, the fortifications of cities like Qianyi and Yangcheng are far inferior to those of Zhaoguan, so it is obviously difficult to resist the Wu army armed with trebuchets!

Shen Zhuliang successively attacked Liu, Qian, Ying and Chengfu's four cities and retreated without fighting. In order to preserve their strength, they joined forces with the main force of the Chu army and waited for opportunities to counterattack.

"Wu Jun's trebuchet, is it really that powerful?"

Nang Wa asked with a frown.

"I am absolutely telling no lies!"

Shen Zhuliang said seriously: "Your Majesty, Shen Zhuliang knows that he cannot escape his guilt. However, the most urgent task now is to defeat the Wu army and regain the lost territory!"

"Do you have any good ideas?"

Shen Zhuliang immediately walked to the sheepskin map hanging on one side, pointed to a place, and said: "Our army should give up raising the city again, deplete the land, lure the enemy deep into the area, and fight the Wu army in the Jifu area!"

"Chifu, the terrain is complex. There are mountains, rivers and hills, which can serve as barriers. The trebuchets are of little use. If our army loses to the Wu army by then, we can avoid its sharp edge and build more fortifications in Jifu's land to attract the Wu army to attack. ."

"From Zuzi to Jifu, there are seven to eight hundred miles in length and breadth, and the road is winding and winding for more than a thousand miles. It will be very difficult for the Wu army to transport their grain, fodder, and baggage."

"In half a year, our army only needs to mediate between Ji Fu and Wu Jun for half a year, and Wu Jun will collapse!"

Hearing this, Nangwa and Zixi couldn't help but nodded slightly in agreement.

If the Wu army's siege equipment called trebuchets were really indestructible, the Chu army would really have to avoid its edge, pin the enemy firmly on the ground, and then wait for an opportunity to counterattack.

For an army like Wu's army, which was busy on expeditions and whose logistical supply lines were too long, it was extremely dangerous to go deep into the enemy's hinterland.

Qingji could clearly recognize this.

However, if he does not defeat the main force of the Chu army, he will need to use more troops to garrison the new land, and Wu and Chu will continue to fight fiercely around this land.

Romance

This is not what Qingji wants to see.

Therefore, knowing that there are tigers in the mountains, we prefer to go to the Tiger Mountains!
Chapter completed!