Qin Official

In early October of the fourth year of King Chu's reign, Xiang Yan felt as if his chest was oppressed by a black cloud, making him breathless as he watched the black mark on the map as the symbol of the Qin army approaching the border of Chu.

In the past half month, the intelligence returned by the frontline scouts has been constantly updated. The number of Qin troops has continued to rise from the initial 200,000 to 300,000, until recently it was "suspected to be 500,000 or 600,000"!

"More than 600,000 people..."

Just hearing this number, Xiang Rong, Xiang Yan's son, exclaimed.

"The total number of Huaibei, Lu, Huainan, Jiangdong, and Jiangnan in the Chu State is only over 600,000 households..."

Of course, there is some water in this number. Many Yue barbarian settlements in the Jiangnan and Jiangdong areas cannot count their household registrations, and nobles including Xiang, Zhao, Jing, Qu and other nobles also have a lot of dependent people. But in general, all Chu The number is no more than five million.

"Qin used all the strength of the country to attack Qin, and Chu could only use its own troops to resist Qin."

If you want to use the same army to fight against the Qin army, then each household will have to recruit one soldier. This means that the Chu State must have at least one-tenth of the population out of labor and rush to the front line. In the Qin State, this may not be difficult, but In Chu State, this is absolutely impossible!

Because the system of the Chu State is very different from that of the Qin State, its army is composed of three parts. The essence is the "left and right Guang" who are stationed in the capital. This army of 20,000 people is the standing army of the Chu State. The King of Chu only sent the right Guang. Transfer it to Xiang Yan for use.

In addition, there are county divisions, which are the local troops of Chu State. They were mainly deployed in the border areas of Chu State and were led by county officials, mostly in Huainan and Huaibei. These county divisions formed the main force of the Chu army.

But most of them were private soldiers of nobles from various places. After the princes and nobles received the call from the King of Chu, they gathered together with the temporarily recruited territorial armed forces. Although the combat effectiveness of the soldiers of Xiang, Zhao, Jing, and Qu is no less than that of the county division, most of the private soldiers are complex in composition and their combat effectiveness is worrying. Moreover, due to the different enthusiasm of the nobles for the war, some people support the clan while others do not. Hidden half of the weapons.

Therefore, Xiang Yan currently has only more than 100,000 soldiers and 200,000 civilians at his disposal. This is already the limit of Chu's load.

At this moment, following an announcement, the door of the big tent was opened, and a middle-aged nobleman in his thirties entered the tent and bowed to Xiang Yan.

"Zhaohua arrived with his private troops under the king's orders! I haven't seen you for half a year, but Shangzhu Kingdom is still in high spirits!"

Xiang Yan quickly helped him up: "Zihua worked hard! I wonder how many people Zihua brought here from Jiangdong?"

Zhaohua responded: "Thirty thousand people!"

"Thirty thousand..."

Xiang Yan nodded. The three major princes of the Chu State, Zhao, Jing, and Qu, were descended from the Zhao family, Ziliang, the son of King Zhao of Chu. Many famous ministers of the Chu State, such as Zhao Xishe, Zhao Yu, Zhao Ju, and Zhao Yang, were all descended from the Zhao family. Today, It has been inherited for three hundred years, but it declined after moving east. It is no longer as prosperous as the Jing family, and its territory is not as large as the Qu family, but Zhaohua brought more people than the Jing family.

Zhaohua Zhibing, who was also a young general Xiang Yan was very optimistic about, took him to the map, pointed to the situation on it and said: "In this situation, which battle did Zihua have in mind?"

Zhaohua looked at the intertwined situation of the two armies on the map and was a little worried: "It is very similar to the battle between Qin and Zhao Changping..."

They are both wars that determine the fate of the country. Both sides gather large armies at the border, and fierce battles may break out at any time.

"Of course, but Qin and Zhao fought in Changping, the Qin army was far less powerful than it is today, and the Chu state couldn't even gather 450,000 men." Xiang Yan shook his head helplessly.

The eighteenth generation in-laws of Qin and Chu were originally equally matched, but over the past hundred years they have waxed and waned. Now the strength of the country can be seen in its military strength.

Art of War: The first is measuring, the second is measuring, the third is counting, the fourth is weighing, and the fifth is winning. Degrees arise from the vastness of the land. The vastness of the land determines the amount of supplies. The amount of military endowments determines the number of soldiers. The number of soldiers determines the combat effectiveness of the army. The combat effectiveness of the army determines the outcome. Therefore, a victorious army is like pitting yi against baht, using strong military strength to attack a weak enemy; while a defeated army is like pitting baht against yi, using weak military strength against a powerful enemy.

Last time the Qin State rushed to attack Chu, the two sides were still using baht against baht. Now, they are using baht against yi...

The past cannot be changed. Xiang Yan can only hope that this battle can repeat the miracle of last year, giving the Chu State a chance to revive and slowly reverse its disadvantage!

So he smiled and asked the two juniors Zhaohua and Xiang Rong: "Then, wait and see, how should our army respond now? Should we learn from Lian Po in defense? Or learn from Zhao Kuo in attack?"

Xiang Rong replied: "At present, the Qin army is large and the Chu army is small. In my opinion, we should concentrate our troops on Chen Ying and other key areas to defend for several months. When the snow falls, the Qin army will retreat..."

Zhaohua thought otherwise: "The area around Shangdang Changping has crisscrossed mountains, ravines, and many passes, so Lianpo can build fortifications and defend for several months. However, Qin and Chu are facing each other in Huaibei, where there is a flat river and smooth flow of boats and vehicles. As long as the Qin army is willing, they can We can march straight in at any time like last time, so Shangzhu Kingdom cannot imitate Lian Po and cannot defend it!"

"Furthermore, the Shangzhu Kingdom ordered me to coordinate the grain and grass in the country. If there are 400,000 people in Huainan, Huaibei, and Jiangdong, the grain stocks in Huainan, Huaibei, and Jiangdong will only be enough to feed 400,000 soldiers in February or March of the next year. Maybe our army will not wait for the Qin army to retreat. We need to run out of food first..."

This is also one of the reasons for Xiang Yan's distress. A large amount of land and population are concentrated in the hands of various public clans, and not much is turned over to the national treasury. In addition, the kings and ministers of Chu are extravagant, and there is always no way to save much food. This time, when troops are used, each family Soldiers must prepare their own food and weapons.

"Looking at the Qin State, it used cattle fields and water to provide food, and enforced strict governance. It also rested for a year and waited until the country had a good harvest before sending out troops. If it were to fight with it for a long time, the first one to be unable to hold on would be the Chu State!"

Xiang Yan pondered, and Xiang Rong asked: "Does Zihua think we should attack?"

"There is no way to defend, and no way to attack. Although the Qin army's battle line is long, it is coordinated from end to end. It can be saved by attacking Cai Zeyang City. And no matter which point they attack, the Qin army outnumbers our army. It would be bad to attack rashly. .”

"What about that?"

Under the current situation, Zhaohua has no good solution: "We can only hope that the Qin army will take the initiative to attack. Our army's advantage is to wait for work..."

To put it bluntly, the initiative in this war does not lie with the Chu State.

"Zihua is right."

Xiang Yan first affirmed Zhaohua's suggestion, but then shook her head and said, "What a pity, Wang Jian is not Li Xin! He will never attack rashly!"

Xiang Yan's prediction was quickly confirmed. A few days later, a sentinel reported that Wang Jian had divided his 600,000 troops and stationed them on a two-hundred-mile front from Yangxia to Shangcai. After those troops arrived, they did not immediately send troops to attack Chu. They spent the whole day building barriers outside the city camp at the junction of Qin and Chu, as if they were going to stay there forever...

"really."

Although Xiang Yan saw through Wang Jian's plan, he was helpless and could only say bitterly:

"It seems that Mr. Wang Jian is not planning to compete with me on whose military battle is more sophisticated. What he wants to compete with me is the national strength of Qin and Chu, and each other's patience!"

…

In the first month (October) of the twenty-fourth year of the Qin Dynasty, after several days of construction, the Qin army camp outside Shangcai City has begun to take shape.

The people led by Heifu were all gearing up to enter the Chu territory to start a war. Unexpectedly, Li You once again issued an order from the old general Wang Jian: "Everyone leads the supervision of the civilians and builds barriers in front of the camp..."

The so-called barrier refers to a defensive wall. After learning this order, the impatient Dongmen Bao suddenly went crazy: "Are we here to attack Chu or to defend the enemy? Why are the Chu soldiers not seen? Want to build barriers first? Isn’t this a sign of cowardice?”

"The Art of War says that those who cannot win must defend."

Heifu, on the other hand, looked like he had anticipated everything and said with a smile: "Choosing to defend first when the opportunity is immature is a safe way. It is better than General Li Xin who rashly divided his troops to attack in the last battle and ended up overthrowing the army and killing the general. .”

It is not just the Nanjun soldiers who are ordered to build the fortress. The entire "Southern Army" commanded by Meng Wu has 150,000 soldiers and civilians. They must complete the more than ten miles long fortress this month, and they must compete with the "Chinese Army" stationed in Yangcheng and Ruyang. , the "Northern Army" garrisoned in Yangxia was in the shape of a corner.

Naturally, such matters are directed by professional officials. The person in charge of the general project is a "supervisory censor" from Xianyang named Linglu. Under him is "Sikong", an official from the Qin State who is responsible for civil engineering. Nanjun Ten thousand soldiers were ordered to protect the work of ten thousand civilians, and a military commander Kong came to supervise the work...

Heifu is no stranger to the position of Sikong, because the County Sikong is under the jurisdiction of the County Lieutenant's Office. Counting his subordinates, he also has the position of "Military Sikong" in the army, responsible for marching, camping, and siege and defense operations. work.

The Qin army was very efficient in doing things. Wang Jian's order was not issued until the morning. In the evening, an army commander came down to the camp.

It was getting dark outside, and Hei Fu was delivering military duties in Li You's camp. At this time, a short-distance soldier came in and whispered a few words to Li You. Captain Li threw away the small chess piece in his hand that was used to mark the strength of the enemy and our troops. , smiled and said: "I never thought I could meet an old friend here, Hei Fu, follow me out to meet this Jun Sikong!"

When leaving the tent, Heifu smiled and said, "Could it be that the captain's old acquaintance happened to be here?"

"It's more than just an old acquaintance."

For a confidant like Heifu, Li You didn't have to hide anything, and whispered: "He is a talent discovered by my father and recommended to the Shaofu as an official. When he was in Xianyang, he often came in and out of my house..."

While he was talking, a man came to the front with his bodyguard. Heifu saw that although he was tall and burly, like a martial artist, his face was very gentle, like a civil servant. He wore a double crown on his head, and his title was at least an official. , because he had been responsible for setting up camp in Tugong for several days, and his black official uniform was dusty.

This person stepped forward, bowed to Li Youzuo, and said in a pure Guanzhong accent: "I have seen the captain!"

"Zhang Jun, what is your relationship with me? What do you call me a subordinate?"

Li You laughed loudly, helped Jun Sikong up, pointed at Heifu, and introduced the two of them to each other.

"This is my most capable commander, Hei Fu!"

"This is Jun Sikong from Xianyang Shaofu, Zhang Han!"