Zhou Wen stood at the top of Xiangcheng City, raised his eyes and looked up, and saw a Qin army of about 5,000 infantrymen in the northwest, slowly walking along the south bank of Yingshui River.
This is the vanguard of the Qin army.
Behind it, there was more smoke and dust, and it was clear at a glance that there was a large-scale army marching there, at least tens of thousands of people.
"As expected, Shangzhu Kingdom knew what was going to happen. The Qin army has already crossed the river at the upper reaches of Yingshui River. Unfortunately, Li Xin is too cautious. If he dares to cross the river at this stretch of Yingshui outside the city, we can go out of the city and beat him to death.
Cross over and strike."
Zhou Wen shook his head regretfully.
He is from Chen Ying. When he was young, he was Chun Shenjun's disciple and learned some military skills from his sect. Later, Chun Shenjun was ambushed by Li Yuan and Zhou Wen joined the Xiang family again.
He had good eyesight and served as the "sun-sitter" in the Chu army who specialized in observing the enemy's situation and calculating time.
Seeing the Qin army coming from the northwest, Zhou Wen turned to his subordinates and said, "The Qin army has arrived. Go quickly and report to Shangzhu."
After a while, Xiang Yan took his son Xiang Qu and stood at the top of Xiangcheng.
Outside the city, countless black flags were fluttering in the wind, dust filled the sky, and a marching team of more than ten miles appeared in the distance.
On the north bank of Yingshui, a Qin army also appeared and built a military camp there.
The Qin army's vanguard, which was the first to arrive on the south bank, also began to set up camp by Yingshui River.
Dozens of ships came to the upper reaches of Yingshui to build a pontoon bridge under the cover of the Qin army's two camps. As long as the pontoon bridge was built, the Qin army could use this bridge to communicate between the north and the south, and there was no need to take a long detour from upstream.
"Father, the Qin army has just arrived and has not yet established a stable foothold. And since it has traveled a long distance, the soldiers must be exhausted. Why not let me lead the army to attack and catch him by surprise?"
"If we can defeat the Qin army's vanguard in one fell swoop, we might be able to defeat the Qin army and attack the army behind them, causing a great chaos to the Qin army. Then my father will lead his troops out of the city and start a chase to the north. Maybe we can build a stronghold in one battle.
Do great work, defeat the Qin army, and capture Li Xin alive!"
Xiang Qu pointed at the Qin army outside the city with an excited expression. In his bright eyes, he seemed to have seen the victory scene of defeating the Qin army in one fell swoop.
Xiang Yan glanced at him and sneered: "I don't know how high the sky is. It's ridiculous to expect to win this kind of war involving hundreds of thousands of people in one battle."
As he spoke, Xiang Yan stretched out his hand and pointed at the Qin army marching in the smoke and dust in the distance.
"You only saw the Qin army marching from a distance and their footing was unstable, but you didn't see that the Qin army was very neat and tidy, with no confusion among the ranks. The infantry was also covered by chariots and cavalry on both sides. This is the enemy.
"The generals are well prepared. If you dare to lead your troops out of the city to attack, I'm afraid you will be faced with a hail of Qin crossbow arrows, followed by a charge by Qin's chariots and cavalry, and then by their infantry."
"At that time, my army had not even left the city, and you were afraid that you would have been defeated, and you would have been expelled by the Qin people to attack my city gate. You said that at that time, should I let you in, or lock you out of the city?"
Seeing Xiang Yan's playful look, Xiang Qu suddenly blushed with embarrassment and said weakly: "Father is right, I was rash just now."
Seeing his son lower his head to admit his mistake, Xiang Yan nodded.
"Qu'er, you have to remember that this war is related to the life and death of our Chu country, and we must not take it lightly. The rash tactics you just used will never work. We must put defense first."
….
As he spoke, Xiang Yan raised his head and looked into the distance, his eyes falling on the very conspicuous general's banner.
"This Li Xin has some abilities. Although he is young, his formation is very stable and he doesn't give me a chance. This battle looks like it will only be worn out slowly."
Just as Xiang Yan was sighing, suddenly a soldier came to report.
"News from Xinyi?"
Xiang Yan was stunned for a moment and hurriedly asked the soldiers to bring the messenger up.
There is no silk book full of text, only the dictation of the messenger.
The more Xiang Yan listened, the more surprised she became, and her eyes bulged.
He murmured: "What a Li Xin..."
…
West of Xiangcheng.
Shang Cai.
Thirty thousand Qin troops are setting up camp outside Shangcai City
camp.
"I really didn't expect that Li Xin didn't attack Xiangcheng. Instead, he took us around to Shangcai. It has been more than ten years. I didn't expect that I, Li You, would one day come back here."
Li You stood outside the city, looking at the weather-beaten walls of Caicheng in front of him, and couldn't help but sigh.
The Li family is from Shangcai.
He, Li You, grew up here since he was a child. He also had cockfights and horse racing in this city when he was a child, leaving an impressive memory.
Of course, what Li You misses the most is the unforgettable youthful romance.
Outside Shangcai City, there is an orange grove.
Boys and girls, lingering love.
There is a dead duck in the wild, which is wrapped in white grass. There is a girl who is pregnant with spring, and she is lured by good luck.
In the forest there are cypress trees, and in the wild there are dead deers. There are pure bunches of white grass, and there are women like jade.
Feel comfortable and free! I feel so comfortable! I feel so comfortable that the dragon barks!
They made an oath of eternal love and promised to stay together forever, but the oath was broken as the Li family entered Han Valley from the west.
Li You's eyes blurred, recalling the infatuated words that lingered in his ears.
This place of Shangcai is Li You's lost youth.
"It has been more than ten years. I think she has become a woman, and she even has children around her knees."
Li You shook his head and sighed, feeling a little disappointed in his heart.
"Brother Li, what are you sighing about here?"
A voice suddenly sounded, which scared the hair on Li You's body.
Li You looked back and saw Zhao Tuo standing behind, staring at him doubtfully.
Li You was shocked. Zhao Tuo was competing with him for the princess. He didn't know if he heard what he said to himself just now. If he did, it would be troublesome.
Thinking of this, Li You couldn't care less about the title of "Brother Li" and hurriedly explained: "I'm thinking about the time when my father took me and my second brother to lead a yellow dog, and we all went to Cai Dongmen to chase cunning rabbits.
Now that I’m visiting the old place again, I can’t help but sigh.”
Zhao Tuo blinked and became even more confused.
"But isn't this the North Gate?"
Li You suddenly turned red and stammered: "Then...what does that matter? I haven't asked you yet why you suddenly appeared behind me and startled me. When did you appear?"
Zhao Tuo smiled and said: "I just received an order from General Li to go to the city for a military meeting. When I passed by, I saw you there, so I thought of coming to say hello. I didn't hear anything, so I left first.
.”
Saying that, Zhao Tuo cupped his hands and walked forward past Li You.
"Did he really not hear it?"
Li You glared hard at Zhao Tuo's back.
He turned around and asked the soldiers standing guard in the distance: "Why didn't you notify Zhao Tuo when he came over?"...
The short soldiers looked innocent, but they were General Li's favorites, a dignified military commander, an old subordinate of your Li You, and a right concubine with a higher title than you. A person of this level, let us
Don't open your mouth and say it's a surprise for you. How dare we disobey.
Li You didn't make things difficult for him. After scolding him, he turned to look at the direction Zhao Tuo was entering the city and whispered: "It's great to have Li Xin appreciate him. In the end, we don't have to go to the battlefield to see Zhenzhang. Since Li Xin brought
When I come here, I don't think I will deliberately suppress me, and I will give my father some face. Just wait, when I go to the battlefield to face the Chu army, my performance, Li You, will definitely not be worse than yours, Zhao Tuo!"
At this moment, in the middle of Shangcai City.
Li Xin pointed to the map that was spread out and said to everyone: "It's about a hundred miles from Shangcai to Pingyu. The soldiers rested in Shangcai for one day, and then they can rush east to Pingyu. At the speed of a chariot, it can take up to two days."
In time, I can reach Pingyu. The small town of Pingyu can be captured in one battle, and then I will immediately command Qinqiu."
"There is a long distance between Pingyu and Xiangcheng. Even if the news leaks, it doesn't matter. By the time Xiang Yan receives the news that I am attacking Pingyu, I will have already captured the sleeping hill. While Xiang Yan was shocked, he had to resist on the one hand.
Mengwu's attack requires us to re-mobilize our forces on the one hand. If the Chu army wants to catch up with us, it will probably take several days!"
"In this way, one step is faster and each step is faster! By the time Xiang Yan has gathered the troops to chase us, by that time, my strange army will have already drank from the Huai River and looked at the Shouchun City Wall!"
Li Xin was high-spirited, raised his head, glanced at everyone, and said with a smile: "General Mengwu is dull in fighting. When I lead you to destroy the country and capture the king, he will probably still be entangled with Xiang Yan in Xiangcheng, hahaha...
…”
Seeing Li Xin laughing, Xin Wu, who was sent by Mengwu to follow Li Xin, also laughed out loud.
Zhao Tuo also smiled helplessly.
Even the deputy general Meng Wu was suppressed by Li Xin's ax and axe. How could they dare to say no? This Qin army has long become Li Xin's voice.
When Li Xin finished laughing, Zhao Tuo saw that the atmosphere was about to change. He took a deep breath and said bravely: "General Li, the carriage is fast and we can reach Pingyu in two days. Most of my troops are infantry.
I'm afraid I can't keep up. Why don't you let me go to the rear to escort the grain and fodder to Caicheng City, and follow slowly to provide supplies."
Hearing this, Li Xin frowned.
A batch of grain and grass was stored in Shangcaicheng City, which could last for more than half a month for the 30,000-strong army. Although it could not last for long, it was still better than nothing. It was not impossible to have a group of infantry escort and follow behind.
It's just the choice of escort.
Li Xin glanced at Zhao Tuo and spoke first to let the others go down.
He then said to Zhao Tuo: "I know that you, Zhao Tuo, are afraid that you will be promoted too quickly and arouse the jealousy of others, so you deliberately stay behind and let others take the credit, right?"
"Zhao Tuo, don't be afraid. What the king loves most today are our brave and courageous young people. The more meritorious service you make, the faster you will be promoted, the more the king will like you! Even if you cause others to be jealous, it doesn't matter, as long as
With the king's favor and trust, who dares to be dissatisfied with us?"
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Speaking of this, Li Xin smiled proudly, raised his head and said, "You saw how arrogant and domineering Meng Wu was during the previous military meeting. Even the deputy generals wanted to suppress me. What happened in the end? He just bowed his head in front of me, haha.
.”
Hearing this, Zhao Tuo was speechless.
Why did he want to gain success? He just wanted to hang behind Li Xin by escorting the grain and fodder. If the front army was defeated, as the rear army dozens of miles away, he could at least have a reaction, not to mention retreat.
Time.
But before Li Xin finished speaking, he showed a joking smile to Zhao Tuo.
"The thing you said about escorting the grain is feasible, but I have a good candidate for the person responsible for escorting it."
"Li You."
"Let him escort the grain in the back, and you and I can build meritorious deeds in the front. In this way, wouldn't it be easier for you, Zhao Tuo, to want Princess Shang? When we return in triumph, who in Xianyang City will not say that you, Zhao Tuo, are better than Princess Shang?"
He Li You is stronger, hahaha!"
Li Xin patted Zhao Tuo on the shoulder and laughed.
How could he not have heard about the fight between this younger brother and Li You for the princess?
Take action when it's time to take action. Now that Li You is in the rear, even if Chu is finally destroyed, Li You's achievements are far from being comparable to that of Zhao Tuo, and he is not qualified to compete with Zhao Tuo for the princess.