Chapter 258: The State of Wu, Leading the Trend of the Times
"Except me and Chu and Wu, Qi's military strength in this year's battle is the best among all other countries," Wei Ju said.
This is not wrong.
Jin and Chu fought several battles with more than 100,000 troops on both sides. The troops of other countries did not reach that level.
Now, 100,000 Wu troops are marching north, and Qi State has also mobilized 100,000 troops. Judging from the number of people participating in the battle, it is indeed a large scale and has great significance for the times.
What is the significance? It only means that in addition to Jin and Chu, the scale of wars in other countries has begun to become larger, which is very likely to cause the remaining countries to follow suit, and wars that break out later will use more and more troops.
Wei Ju has this understanding, which shows that he has a glimpse of the future.
Zhiyao said: "I wonder if the Wu army and the Qi army recruited Li Shu?"
The saying "No scholars can be conquered without education" was implemented in Jin State, but other countries in the south did not pay attention to this practice.
The Chu State, which was once extremely prosperous, went on many expeditions. Not all of them were trained soldiers. Many of them were strong men drawn from the surrounding barbarians.
The folk customs of the Wu State were similar to those of the Chu State but even more unreasonable than the Chu State. They faced the danger of losing their country several times and dragged ordinary people to the battlefield early.
In the confrontation between Wu State and Yue State, both sides did not care about Li Shu's life and death at all, and they fought a total war.
Therefore, Chu, Wu and Yue were different from the other countries in the Central Plains. They did not have the custom of war to make ordinary people go away.
As the Jin State and the Chu State repeatedly competed for hegemony, the Chu State was assimilated to a certain extent by the other countries in the Central Plains. It gradually stopped recruiting ordinary people to the battlefield, and later it no longer recruited strong men from the barbarians. This was when the kings and ministers of the Chu State discovered that the quality of the soldiers was getting better and better.
The more miserably the mission was defeated, the more it became clear that the army should focus on quality and not pursue quantity.
What can be seen is that the more times Chu and Jin fought, the less and less they paid attention to the quantity of the army, and gradually pursued the quality of the army, and even created elite troops such as the "Left and Right Guang".
Wei Ju curled up the corner of his mouth and said a little mockingly: "The civil war in Qi continues, so how can there be a hundred thousand 'scholars', 'disciples', and 'xians'? Furthermore, since Qi Linggong, Qi has begun to recruit martial arts
People have old customs.”
Why is it a mockery? The main reason is that Qi Linggong did a big thing. One time, he recruited warriors from the people to participate in the war. He gathered 120,000 people to fight head-on with the Jin army. Then, the Jin army used a legion of troops to press him to the ground and rub him. With this
The facts prove that it is a big joke that a ragtag group of so-called martial arts warriors went to fight the Jin army.
However, Qi State did not give up on seeking a way to strengthen its army because of the joke made by Qi Linggong. It has been exploring new directions for a long time, but it has not found the right method. For the time being, it has not been able to successfully train soldiers by "martial arts warriors"
Train to become an elite force.
Zhiyao agrees with Wei Ju's judgment that the 100,000 Qi army must not be all trained soldiers. With Qi's current national strength, it is enough to have 30,000 to 40,000 regular troops.
This can be seen from the fact that Guo Shu only brought 60,000 Qi troops with him. It was all just because untrained people relied on city defenses to defend, but being dragged into the wilderness to fight in the wilderness was simply a way of giving away lives.
Because the Wu Army and the Qi Army had not officially entered into battle, Zhiyao and Wei Ju could only exchange information on the various formations of the Wu Army and the Qi Army.
"The Wu army's front line is extremely long, reaching Kebo in the west and Boshan in the east. The Qi army has to deploy defenses everywhere." Zhiyao did not show the map of mountains and rivers, but just talked about it.
The relevant mountain and river map belongs to the Zhi family, and it is the result of Zhi Yao's order fifteen years ago.
Zhiyao didn't take out the map of mountains and rivers because he definitely didn't want Wei to know what Zhi was doing.
Besides, maps and other things have always been strategic items, so how can they be easily shown to others?
Wei Ju only learned about some place names such as "Kebo" after he came here. He didn't go there to check it out in person, and he didn't know the local terrain and environment.
"How many miles long?" Wei Ju asked.
Zhiyao didn't know the exact length, so she thought about it and said, "About two hundred miles."
This data is generally reliable, and a more accurate figure is eighty kilometers.
Zhiyao added: "There is a plain to the east of Ai Yi, and the decisive battle between Wu and Qi must be here."
This "Ai" is a city in the State of Lu, and now Shusun Zhouchou is stationed there with the defeated generals of the remaining army of the State of Lu.
Wei Ju was not surprised that Zhiyao had determined the location of the decisive battle between the Wu Army and the Qi Army. Firstly, Zhiyao's military capabilities were there, and secondly, the Wu Army and the Qi Army needed a sufficiently open terrain for a decisive battle.
"Where does the confrontation begin?" Wei Ju asked.
Without even thinking about it, Zhiyao said: "With the nature of the Wu people, they will definitely drive the Lu army. When Shusun Zhouqiu arrives at Ailing, he will fight."
Wei Ju said in a daze: "I guess that's how it is."
Wei Ju felt a little stupid when he asked just now. The reason is that the three views of the Wu people are different from those of other countries in the Central Plains.
In fact, this is also the case. Chu people often say that they are barbarians, but the real barbarians are Wu people. As a result, the kings and ministers of Wu State are even more untrustworthy than those uncivilized barbarians.
It's not a coincidence, it's simply inevitable. When Zhiyao was explaining to Wei Ju, Fu Chai was giving orders to summon his uncle Sunzhou Qiu to come and obey his orders.
Shusun Zhouqiu was the commander-in-chief of the Lu army this time. He did not dare to refuse Fu Cha's call and spent eight days bringing 10,000 Lu troops to the Wu army's camp.
"Why are there so few troops?" Fu Chai seemed very annoyed when he learned that there were only 10,000 Lu troops.
Shusun Zhouqiu hurriedly explained: "More than ten thousand are on the way."
Fucha said displeasedly: "I will lend you ten thousand troops and immediately send troops to attack Qi's army."
So urgent?
Shusun Zhouqiu was very hesitant in his heart and wanted to ask Fu Chai to give the newly arrived Lu army some time to rest. Seeing the displeasure on Fu Chai's face, he did not dare to express his request, so he could only respond: "No!"
Later, Shusun Zhouqiu accepted the 10,000 Wu troops borrowed by Fu Chai, and saw that those Wu troops almost died of myocardial infarction.
As for the Wu people, isn't it normal for them to have black-tooth carvings and seams on their crowns?
In fact, they wear their hair loose, have patterns tattooed on their bodies, cross their arms and cover their clothes to the left when standing. This is the custom and etiquette of the Ouyue people. They dye their teeth black with grass juice, tattoo flowers on their foreheads, apply green elixir, and use catfish.
Fish skin is used to make hats, and the sewing is rough. This is the custom and etiquette of Wu State today.
Shusun Zhouqiu mainly saw that the Wu army had various weapons, and suddenly thought that Fu Chai had no good intentions in leaving the rabble to him.
"If I lose to the Qi army, what good will it do to the state of Wu?" Shusun Zhouqiu must think clearly.
Of course it is good for the Wu State. It once again proves that the Lu State is a useless country. There will be no equality in forming an alliance with the Wu State in the future. Fu Chai can more confidently exploit the Lu State. In view of the poor performance of the Lu State in the "Battle of Ailing", the kings and ministers of the Lu State can only endure it.
.
Especially this time Fu Chai had a plan on the battlefield.
Zhiyao, who had been paying close attention to the movements of the Wu Army and the Qi Army, received the report and rushed with Wei Ju. When he arrived, he saw the Lu Army, and the Wu Army and the Qi Army were fighting fiercely.
Zhiyao and Wei Ju will definitely not get too close to the battlefield, and they must also be careful not to get too close to the Wu Army or Qi Army to avoid being attacked or involved in the battle group.
"The Lu army and the Wu army have been defeated!" Wei Ju said after watching for a while.
Yes, I didn't see the previous battle situation because I arrived late. The situation on the battlefield was clearly that the Wu-Lu coalition army could not withstand the Qi army's offensive and showed its defeat.
Zhiyao said not so confidently: "Is this a 'for a while'?" As soon as he finished speaking, there was new movement.
I saw another Wu army suddenly appear from the corner of a low mountain, and it looked like it was heading directly towards the Qi army's center.
Because they were a bit far away, Zhiyao and Wei Ju could only tell which country's army they belonged to, but could not tell who the commander was from the flags.
The sudden appearance of the Wu army obviously surprised the Qi army. The central army of the Qi army was slightly confused and then calmed down. Then a Qi army attacked head on and fought with the Wu army that suddenly appeared.
Wei Ju asked: "How about moving forward?"
I can't see it very clearly, so I want to get closer.
In fact, they could go directly to the Qi Army. The Commander-in-Chief of the Qi Army would welcome Zhiyao and Wei Ju's arrival and provide necessary security.
But Zhiyao had no idea of visiting the Qi army as a guest. The reason was of course that he once captured "Linzi" and plundered Qi's ritual utensils, and then the Zhi family kept invading Qi, even if Qi did something.
The probability is extremely low, if it does happen, it’s definitely enough, so you can’t just send it to your doorstep!
When Wei Ju saw Zhiyao not answering, he seemed to think of something and stopped insisting.
On the battlefield, the Wu and Lu coalition forces were indeed defeated, and their defeat was quite embarrassing. The Lu army turned around and ran away, while the Wu army ran around in the mountains and fields. The Qi army did not pursue the Wu army soldiers who fled into the mountains and forests, and captured them from the plains.
The Lu army who fled due to the terrain gave chase for a while, but they only pursued for a few miles and then stopped pursuing them.
Fu Chai had high hopes for the second Wu army, but they actually had no choice but to defeat the Qi Central Army. Seeing that the Wu and Lu coalition forces in the first "formation" had been defeated, they were furious and sent the Wu army in the third "formation" to fight.
That "formation" can be interpreted as a phalanx, that is, Fu Cha sent three phalanxes at once to initiate an offensive.
"I knew that the Lu State was weak, but I never thought that it would be so weak that it would be a meal for everyone!" Fu Chai was really angry and happy, and his state seemed to be a bit schizophrenic.
There were still two phalanx formations on the Wu Army side fighting the Qi Army. Not long after, the second "formation" was also defeated by the Qi Army. This really frightened the Wu general Ru Cao who led the third "formation" into the battle...
The frightened Ru Cao was a little unsure and looked towards the camp frequently.
At this time, the sound of gold ringing sounded in the Wu Army camp.
Fucha, who sent three phalanxes to fight in succession, saw that he had lost two games in a row. His face was very gloomy at first, which frightened the nobles of Wu, Yue and Lu present and felt uneasy.
"A small defeat today is a big victory tomorrow!" After Fu Cha finished speaking, he burst out laughing "ah ha ha ha".
Zhiyao and Wei Ju, who were purely spectators, were looking at each other.
"Wu's army actually lost to Qi's army?" Wei Ju found it a bit incredible.
But Zhiyao said: "The Qi army will be in trouble tomorrow."
If the Wu army was really so vulnerable, how could the Wu Kingdom be so prosperous now?
In this way, there is only one truth left, and that is...
