Spring and Autumn I Am King

Go east of the river, and the waves will be washed away.

In the north of February, it is still warm and cold. On the edge of the Yangtze River, the spring breeze has already greened the south bank of the river, but it is already extremely warm.

Zhufangyi of Wu State, that is, Zhenjiang in later generations, in the Spring and Autumn Period, the mouth of the Yangtze River is still here. Outside Zhufang City, is the widest place on the water, twenty miles wide, and at first glance, you can't even see the outline of the other side, only a few looming sandbars floating in the middle of the river. The warm evening wind blew sparkling waves, and the river tide beat on the embankment of Zhufang Wharf and retreated in loneliness...

A doctor wearing a typical Chu-style crown is standing here, with a handsome face and a triangle under his chin fluttering in the wind. Surrounded by his subordinates, Yueren buns and rattan soldiers, he stared at the vast river without blinking.

His name is Wen Zhong, and he was originally from the state of Chu. Because he was unhappy in the state of Chu, he entered Yue and became a doctor. He was called "Doctor Zhong". It was also bad luck. He had just entered Yue a few years before he caught up with the battle of Fujiao. Wu Wangfuchai defeated Yuewang Goujian, and Goujian suffered the shame of Kuaiji. Please come down to Wu to serve Fuchao, Fan Li to accompany him, and Wen Zhong to stay. He handled state affairs at home, managed everything in an orderly manner, and at the same time blamed the brutality of the people of Wu for the poor life after the defeat of the Vietnamese.

After Goujian returned to the country, with the assistance of Fan Liwenzhong, he taught lessons for three years. Finally, nine years ago, when King Wu sent troops to defeat Huaibei, he raised the banner of Yuyue again to revive the country of Yue. , and once pushed the front to the capital of Wu State, almost capturing the Prince of Wu State alive.

However, after Zhao Hou Wuxi dropped the water intentionally or unintentionally, half of the elites of Wu State could return smoothly. After returning to Jiangdong, Fu Chai began to launch a crazy revenge against Yue State!

Over the past few years, the Wu Guoyue Kingdom has been fighting almost every year, and the front lines have been pulling in three rivers and five lakes.

If it is one-on-one, Yue State is not necessarily an opponent of Wu State, but Fuchai's previous construction and military use exhausted the people's strength, and Zhao State was defeated, and morale was low. The Yue people, encouraged by military merit, were not afraid of death, and they were all ashamed of the king.

Even more deadly, Wang Sunsheng of Chu State was also named Bai Gong. He set up a shogunate in Juchao, organized a group of people to settle fields, and at the same time continuously launched a water army to attack Wu State.

Under the encroachment of Chu State and Yue State, the once mighty Wu State was gradually weakened. With the help of Zhao State's secret money and grain support, it was able to barely keep Jiangdong and Jiangbei, which are equivalent to two counties.

The real decisive battle happened two years ago.

Wen Zhong had a fresh memory of that battle.

Two years ago, at the age of Zhao Wuxi's destruction of Zhongshan, and Zhao Guo had no time to take care of the south, Goujian decided to launch an offensive against Wu.

The Vietnamese army mobilized the whole country and went aggressively. They invaded the territory of Wu. After Wu Wang Fuchai got the news, he also swore to lead his troops to attack.

With the battle of Li and the battle of Fujiao, this is the third decisive battle of the Wu Guoyue Kingdom, and it is also a collision that determines the national fortunes of both sides.

This battle was directed by Gou Jian himself. He divided the 30,000 people who came out of the country into three armies. At night, the two armies on the left and right marched to cross the river first. When Fuchai heard the drumming of the upper and lower reaches, he mistakenly thought that the Vietnamese army was crossing the river at night and came in two ways. After the Vietnamese army detected the division of the Wu army, Gou Jian led the elite Chinese army to cross the river without beating drums or burning fire. Wu Jun didn't stay behind much, so he hurried to take on the battle and was beaten to pieces. Gou Jian set fire to Wu Jun's camp, and the fire could even be seen in Gusu City, which was dozens of miles away.

In the darkness of the night, the upper and lower armies of Wu State saw the fire in the rear, and they were shocked. They were about to return to the army to rescue, but they were chased by the Vietnamese army and the left and right armies across the river, and they were defeated.

Fuchai's main force was damaged by more than half, and he retreated to Wuxi to accommodate the skirmishers, rectify the team, backed by Hengshan, and defended by the stream. However, Goujian did not let him go, and the Vietnamese army followed closely behind, pressing in to the front of the formation and yelling.

At the same time, Fan Li repeated his old tricks, led the boat division to bypass Zhenze (Taihu Lake), ran to the side and rear of Wu Jun, and followed the example of Wu division to enter Ying, abandoning the boat, and the navy jumped over Hengshan on foot, and suddenly launched to Wu Jun's side Surprise attack. During the melee, Wu Shangjun's general Xumenchao was killed in battle, causing the Wu army to waver. Wu Wangfucha saw that the situation was unfavorable, so he had to withdraw his troops again.

The Vietnamese army crossed the river in Lize, and attacked at Wuxi, winning two battles and two victories. The morale was high. Now they pursued the victory and attacked the suburbs of Wucheng again, building Yuecheng outside Xumen, thus starting the two-year siege of Suzhou ...

Gusu City is the only legacy Wu Zixu left to Wu State. Although this virtuous prime minister died in a wrongful way, his grace has continued to this day. The great city of Helu is one of the best cities in Jiangdong, and it is indestructible. Although Fan Li learned from the hearsay of Zhao's artifact "the trebuchet", he made a similar "flying stone". Rather, it is difficult to cause critical damage to the city. In addition, the Yue Kingdom hurriedly raised its troops before, and failed to kill people with soft knives as in history, and used the grain borrowing plan to make Wu State run out of food. The city is high and the pool is deep, and it persisted for two whole years without falling!

But the Yue people did not sit idle outside the city. In the past two years, they cut off the communication between Gusu and the outside world, and sent doctors and generals to attack the Wu city in the rear, Nanwu City, Gansui, Yunyang, and Yanling. A city was lost... Even the old capital of Wu, Wucheng, fell into the hands of the Yue people.

Today, under the leadership of Wen Zhong, they finally occupied Zhufang, the last city of Wu State in Jiangdong.

On the big river, a huge boat master is chasing them, but it is not the boat of Yue, but the boat of Chu State, the boat of Bai Gongsheng...

What Wen Zhong paid attention to was the next move of this domineering county magistrate.

...

Bai Gongsheng was standing on top of a huge building ship at the moment, squinting his eyes as he watched his elite soldiers defeat and frighten Wu's navy ships one by one.

His car is called "Divine Phoenix", with a height of three floors, with a wide and sturdy hull, floating on the river surface like a huge water fortress, majestic. Each floor of the ship building has its own use, whether it is a place to hide soldiers, or a storehouse for arrows, or a place for paddling, which is very detailed. And the way this behemoth fights is the arrow tower, which is full of soldiers with bows and crossbows. The crossbow was originally an invention of the Chu people. The strong bow and strong crossbow combined with the tall body of the ship building allowed the navy of the Chu State to stand tall and shoot arrows at the boats of the State of Wu, killing them without fighting back. force.

In addition to the towering ships, which stand like a forest, there are also various warships under Bai Gongsheng's command, such as the big wing, the small wing, and the scorpion. The boat division, and the powerful water force formed after nine years of operation in Anhui.

In contrast, Wu Guoze lacked national strength, and still used the old ships they used to defeat Zhao Guozhou's division in Langya. No new ships have been launched for several years, and morale is low, how can there be no reason to be invincible? Therefore, Bai Gongsheng has won many battles in the past few years, and has continued to advance along the Yangtze River to the hinterland of Wu.

Seeing that the last remaining soldiers of the Wu people will flee to the estuary by the wind and the current, Wang Sunsheng will not let anyone chase them deeply.

It has not been seen for several years, Bai Gongsheng already has the prestige of a gentleman. When he stepped on the back of Hu Ben to disembark, a doctor from the country of Yue came to greet him on the shore, and saluted with a smile on his face:

"Foreign ministers, I have met Duke Bai! On behalf of the widow lord, I greet the King of Chu and make Yin Wuyi!"

"You are the famous doctor of Chu and Yue?" Bai Gongsheng showed no pride at all, and returned the ceremony to the doctor of the Yue State, and gave him a ship of captured Wu State armor as a gift.

He had lived in Wu State for many years, and knew all about Wu Yue's grievances. Wen Zhong and Fan Li can be called Goujian's right-hand man. Fan Li is in charge of the outside, and Wen Zhong is the master of the inside.

Without them, Goujian's dream of restoring the country is just a rant. In Baigongsheng's mind, the vulgar and backward Wu Yueyang people, without the support and help of the talents of the state of Chu, how can they build a strong state?

Today, Bai Gongsheng sees that Wen Zhong has an extraordinary conversation. Although he has been in the country for many years, he still wears the clothes of the state of Chu, and his heart is filled with love. But now Wenzhong's status in Yue Kingdom is equivalent to Ling Yin, and Baigong, a feudal county magistrate, has the same status as him, so how could it be said that he would take effect?

"Shen Zhuliang, you claim to be the first county magistrate in the state of Chu, but you are blinded, and you have delayed a lot of talents..." Bai Gong immediately slandered his domestic political enemy Ye Gong Shen Zhuliang. Chong Fanli and even Zhao State's Taifu Ling Jiran once took refuge with Ye Gong, but Shuzi was only raised, and all three of them ran away later.

Ye Gong's choice of the people he uses is the most serious drawback of the Chu state, that is, he only values ​​the nobles and not the scholars. Bai Gongsheng often sighed bitterly at this outdated system and vowed to change the state of Chu from the bottom up, so that the phenomenon of "Chu talent for Jin use" and "Chu talent for Wu use" will disappear!

This time, we will join forces with the Yue Kingdom to attack Wu. If we can destroy Fuchai, it will be a great achievement. At that time, we will see who can stop him from entering Ying to take charge of the court and carry out reforms!

Regarding Bai Gongsheng, Wen Zhong did not dare to be careless. When he led his army on the northern expedition, Fan Li once warned him to be careful about this person.

Bai Gongsheng is the grandson of King Ping of Chu. He was exiled from childhood and was brought up by Wu Zixu in Wu State. Later, he joined Zhao State for personal ambition. More than ten years ago, he complained that Zhao Hou treated him unfairly, and he betrayed Zhao again. After returning to Chu State, he relied on his own grandson to obtain a small title of "chao doctor", and he had his own team and territory.

This person is not simple. Relying on the mere 3,000 people in his hand, he has swept across Qunshu and re-established the rule of Chu State locally. After he was named Duke Bai, he showed extraordinary ambitions. His territory was different from the feudal feudalism of other counties and districts in Chu State. Instead, he imitated Zhao law and boldly used scholars and commoners as generals and issued laws and decrees. , swept away the accumulated abuses, and also created a "Chu Wuzun" who was only loyal to him.

This army has strict military discipline, changed the atmosphere of the large but weak Chu army, and repeatedly defeated the general Xumenchao of the Wu State in Huainan. In cooperation with the boatmen, they occupied many cities in the Wu Kingdom, such as Jiuzi (Wuhu), Yuanling (Xuancheng) and other places, and the Yue people took Tongrui as the boundary.

This person was born in Jianghuai, breaking Fan Li's original plan of bordering Chu with the great river. There are many Yue tribes in that area, hoping to follow Goujian. It seems that border disputes between the two countries are inevitable in the future.

However, Fan Li also reminded Wen Zhong to have a good relationship with him. Bai Gongsheng will never be an enemy of Yue in a short time, but an ally.

Not to mention that King Xiongzhang of Chu was the grandson of King Goujian of Yue, and besides Chu and Yue, both sides had common enemies.

Wu country? The state of Wu has become indistinguishable from extinction.

Now, a behemoth stronger than Duke Bai and even more powerful than the State of Chu is entrenched in Huaibei, and has stretched out his hand to the place across the river from them...

The purpose of this meeting between Duke Bai and Wen Zhong was to reaffirm the alliance between Chu and Yue, to exchange information, to unify the pace of the two countries, and to complete the plan to destroy Wu.

After the two sat down at the small pavilion by the river, Duke Bai said, "As early as last month, the two armies of Zhao State, Xu and Zhong Wu, were ready to move. A team of navy sailors stopped in the Hangou to prevent the navy of Chu State from entering the canal."

Dazai Bo Xi, who was guarding Jiangbei in the Wu Kingdom, seemed to regard himself as the county governor of the Zhao Kingdom, and let the Zhao army pass the way, so the Zhao army's forward 3,000 people had arrived in Hancheng (Yangzhou) under the leadership of Qu Ao. Prevent Chu and Yue from attacking Jiangbei.

"It is not wise to start a war with Zhao at this time."

Noticing Bai Gongsheng's anger, Wen Zhong quickly reminded.

Thinking of the 150,000 troops assembled by the Duke of Zhao when they attacked Qi, Wen Zhong was a little shivered. The Yue Kingdom was only 30,000 foot armor when it was full, and it was damaged a lot in the war with Wu Kingdom. Bai Gongsheng's subordinates are the same number. If they rashly clash with Zhao people, they may not win the battle on land. I am afraid that even the destruction of Wu will be delayed~www.wuxiaspot.com~ Now the best way is to endure this. Tone, please ask Chu State's navy division to cross the river, anyway, Zhao State's navy division is weak. Then the Yue Kingdom broke through Gusu and destroyed the Wu Kingdom in one go. In this way, the Chu and Yue countries could complete the division of Jianghuai and Jiangdong.

"Yuejun has been besieging Wucheng for two years, but he has not been able to break it. If the troops are insufficient and need help, the doctor can speak bluntly."

Bai Gongsheng's words are thorny. Chu and Yue are allies, but they are also competitors. He is eager to expand the territory, and he covets the most fertile and densely populated Jiangdong land in Wu. If Wen Zhong allowed the Chu army to go to Wucheng, I feared that this area would not be owned by the Yue Kingdom after the war.

So Wen Zhong politely declined Bai Gongsheng's "kindness" and told him good news.

"Just yesterday, the foreign minister received a letter from the young uncle, saying that the widow monarch had led the army to break through the outer city of Wu, and the husband had retreated to guard the platform of Guxu."

He smiled and said: "The foreign minister promises that as long as Duke Bai can stop the Zhao people and prevent them from going south, within ten days, the state of Wu will be destroyed!"

ps: there is only one chapter today