Chapter 803 Wu Chu’s struggle for hegemony (Part 2)
The academy has entered a graduation period. Students who have studied for many years are graduating one after another, and most of them choose to go to other countries to look for opportunities.
The monarchs of this era are also very down-to-earth. If you have the ability, they will use you. There are opportunities to display your talents and high-ranking officials and generous salaries.
If a monarch does not do this and clings to the idea that the nobles own everything and the common people have no chance, their ancestral halls will basically be burned down.
It doesn't matter how nice it sounds, actual benefits are the real driving force.
The students taught by Li Yunze all have at least one skill.
And they are basically pragmatic, and the results can be seen after using them.
As soon as such an immediate example came out, the kings and families of various countries were overjoyed, and their feelings towards Li Yunze and Confucianism naturally soared.
With real-life examples, it has inspired more students who want to stand out with knowledge and change their lives and destiny to travel hundreds and thousands of miles to study.
Seeing more and more people coming to study, Shaozheng was ready to expand the academy again.
"No need to expand."
Li Yunze waved his hand to stop Shao Zhengmao and said, "Only three thousand students are accepted here."
Shao Zhengmao was puzzled, "There is more to learn..."
"preferred selection."
“They are all excellent...”
Li Yunze glanced at him and said, "We will accept those who have graduated, in order of performance. Tell those who have not been selected, either continue to wait, since they will be recruited once a year anyway. Or go to those who have already graduated, they can also accept them."
only."
Shao Zhengmao was surprised, "They can also accept disciples?"
"Why can't we accept disciples?"
Li Yunze spread his hands and said, "Those who are capable can naturally recruit disciples. As long as they remember the core teachings of Confucianism and embrace martial arts, and can read "The Whispering Confucius" well."
"You recruit a group of people from among the students and travel around the world to see if the Confucian disciples who have graduated still strictly follow the Confucian teachings when accepting disciples. If they violate the spirit of martial arts, then expel them."
Shao Zhengmao didn't know why Li Yunze insisted on accepting only three thousand disciples, but he didn't ask any more questions and went about his business after answering.
Li Yunze is here to look for Fan Li.
"Master."
Seeing Li Yunze come in, Fan Li picked up a stack of papers on the desk and said, "The plan to invest in Wu has been written down."
After taking it and reading it carefully, Li Yunze nodded with satisfaction, "It's well written, especially about holding the right to mint coins. You learned a lot."
"It's all taught well by Master."
Li Yunze waved his hand, "Go to Wu State and just do your own thing. Don't ask or interfere with Wu Zixu and your senior brother. They have their own things to do."
"yes."
"besides."
Li Yunze continued to urge, "After you are done with Wu State, you can go to Yue State again."
"Yue Kingdom?" Fan Li looked puzzled, "May I ask Master, why is this?"
"When the Wu State becomes stronger, the Yue State will become uneasy." Li Yunze explained a few words. "This is a good opportunity for you to send warmth. Invest in the Yue State according to the conditions of the Wu State. Of course, it will take time."
Put it off a bit and wait until Wu and Chu are at war before starting."
"yes."
Fan Li first saluted and responded, and then asked the doubts he had always had in his mind, "Master, we have invested so much money, what should we do if they regret it?"
"Repent?"
Hearing this inquiry, Li Yunze actually smiled, "I'm afraid you haven't heard a word of it."
"Keep a respectful distance from ghosts and gods."
"If I get angry, all ghosts and gods will stay away from me in awe!"
Here in the Kingdom of Wu, King Helu of Wu appointed talented people to enhance the country's strength.
Wu Zixu promoted politics, Sun Wu trained troops, and received funding from Li Yunze, which caused his national power to grow rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye.
After several years of preparations, Wu State, whose national power is growing day by day, has the basic conditions to start a war with Chu State.
The envoys of Wu State, who had been active for a long time, hit it off with Jin State. Jin State mobilized troops and horses to the border, attracting a large number of Chu State's defense forces.
At the same time, envoys from the State of Wu spread rumors in the State of Qin that the King of Chu intended to depose the crown prince, which aroused the suspicion of the State of Qin and delayed its dispatch of troops to rescue Chu.
Wu Guo then rebelled against Tong, a vassal state of Chu.
When the news reached Zhanghuatai, the king of Chu, who had a miracle doctor taking care of his body, was furious and immediately sent an army to deal with his disobedient younger brother.
Chu State's treacherous ministers were in charge and the state affairs were in chaos, and they didn't even know that Wu State had already intervened in it.
When the Chu army attacked Tong State, they were ambushed by Sun Wu in Yuzhang.
In this era, wars were usually open and frontal battles, but there were also ambush battles.
For example, the Battle of Weishan broke out between Jin and Qin, where the Jin army ambushed the Qin army.
It's just that there are too few such things and it's not mainstream.
The Chu army was really defenseless here, and was defeated by tens of thousands of Wu elites led by Sun Wu. Even the leader, Gongzi Fan, was captured.
For Sun Laoliu, ambushes and the like are routine operations.
"Go directly to attack Yingdu next?"
Wu Zixu, who was once a native of Chu, looked around the battlefield filled with the corpses of Chu soldiers, with a look of uncontrollable satisfaction on his face.
Ever since his whole family was killed, Wu Zixu only had endless hatred for Chu.
He wished that all Chu people would die.
"This battle destroyed Chu's mobile combat capability." Sun Wu responded, "Yingdu is already empty. It will take a long time for Chu troops from all over the country to come to rescue."
In an era without railways, roads, and airplanes, it would usually take less than a few months to arrive after receiving the news, gathering troops, preparing military supplies, and then traveling thousands of miles to get there.
Even the Chu army near Yingdu had to travel ten days and a half.
The reason why Sun Wu went to great lengths to use Tong Guo as bait was to buy this time.
"It has to be quick."
Sun Wu said to Wu Zixu, "Not only must we attack Yingdu before the Chu army's reinforcements arrive, we must also arrive before the King of Chu escapes."
Mentioning the King of Chu, Wu Zixu gritted his teeth and roared, "I will never let him go."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "Don't worry." Sun Wu smiled and nodded, "I'll help you."
The two looked at each other, their eyes full of confusion.
It's about sympathy, not bumping into mountains.
"It's still a long way from Yingdu." Wu Zixu calmed down and asked slightly confused, "How can we speed up?"
"Of course, the baggage was abandoned, and the whole army went into battle lightly."
Sun Wu's response shocked Wu Zixu, "Abandon the baggage? Without food and grass supplies, what will the army eat?"
"Of course we need to rely on the enemy for food."
Sun Wu said lightly, "Sweep the towns and villages along the way and eat the Chu people's food."
Wu Zixu really didn't realize that Sun Wu was so cruel.
How can anyone who goes to the battlefield be ruthless?
Those who cannot be ruthless usually die the quickest when they go to the battlefield.
"But you can't go too fast." Sun Wu explained with a smile. "If you run too fast, it may make King Chu despair and flee directly. You must control time and speed, give him empty hope, and make him feel that there is a chance."
Enough to defend Yingdu."
After all, Yingdu is the capital of the Chu State. If it is captured, not to mention the direct destruction of the Chu State, but the prestige will be greatly damaged and internal turmoil will be inevitable.
What's more, there is an ancestral temple in Yingdu and the tombs of successive Chu kings.
After losing these, the King of Chu who abandoned his illness was considered to have reached the end of his career.
So as long as he is not in a completely desperate situation, he will still hold on to a glimmer of hope.
"If you want to take revenge, take a detour and cross Yingdu with an elite army." Sun Wu told him to "lay an ambush on the only way for the King of Chu to escape westward."
Without the slightest hesitation, Wu Zixu nodded immediately, "Yes."
"There is only half a month." Sun Wu solemnly told him, "After half a month, I will march to the capital of Ying."
"I believe you!"
With no backup or supplies, he took his troops through remote places and detoured to the heart of Chu State.
If Sun Wu's army did not come at the appointed time, Wu Zixu would be dead.
The kind that you can't even run away from.
But Wu Zixu believed that Sun Wu could do it, and he also believed that he would be able to take revenge!,
Facing an unprecedented threat and crisis, Chu State exploded with the greatest stress reaction.
The King of Chu, who hurriedly returned to Yingdu from Zhanghuatai, frantically sent envoys to attack in all directions, mobilizing all the troops and horses that could be mobilized to snipe the Wu army that was approaching Yingdu.
The Chu army's mobile force was indeed defeated, but the size of the Chu army distributed in various places was still far greater than that of the Wu army.
Following the king's order, more and more Chu troops began to dispatch.
Unfortunately, they suffered an unprecedented dimensionality reduction blow.
Sun Wu, the sixth man, skillfully used ambushes and night attacks, had Wu soldiers wear Chu army clothes and hold Chu army flags to pretend to be attacked by friendly forces, set fire to mountains, dug embankments and flooded them, and even used the weather to launch offensives in foggy and rainy days, etc.
Wait for combat methods.
These Chu soldiers had never heard of fighting methods, and they were stunned.
The Wu army tried every possible means, except not to fight the Chu army head-on.
After several battles in succession, the Chu army lost consecutive battles and was almost beaten to the point of doubting their lives.
They never thought that war could be fought like this!
More than ten days later, Sun Wu's army arrived at Yingdu City.
The king of Chu was desperate.
He summoned the queen, the princess of Qin who was supposed to be his daughter-in-law, and told him, "I will run away to the west to attract the attention of the Wu army. You take the prince from the north to ask Qin to send troops to help!"
After that, he put his crown and sword, as well as the national treasure of Chu State and his clan jade, into the hands of the queen. "I have lost my ancestral temple and the tombs of my ancestors, and I have no face to live in the world. You tell the prince, you must do it."
Revenge for the poor!"
When Sun Wu learned that King Chu's chariot was being escorted by the defenders of the royal city and was desperately trying to break out of the encirclement and escape to the west, he was not too surprised.
These are all things that I have thought of before.
Sun Wu just randomly arranged a group of soldiers and horses to pursue them, and then spent his energy on attacking Yingdu.
King Chu, who broke through the siege, looked at the capital in the distance, which was in flames, with tears on his face.
He lost the ancestral temple and the tombs of his ancestors.
When the frustrated King of Chu fled westward under the protection of his guards, he encountered a Wu army less than a hundred miles away from Yingdu.
"Abandon the sick old dog!"
Wu Zixu, whose beard and hair were all white, roared at the King of Chu on the carriage, "But you still remember Wu Zixu!!"
Seeing the furious Wu Zixu, King Chu felt a trace of regret in his heart. He had known that today...
He knew he couldn't run away, so he yelled at Wu Zixu, "Traitor! I killed your whole family, and you really want to take revenge, right? I won't give you a chance to take revenge today! Hahahaha~~~"
Amidst the laughter, Wu Zixu watched with splitting eyes as King Chu drew his sword and wiped his own neck!