bookrebus Chapter 773: Emperor Chu’s Escape Plan
Chapter 773: Emperor Chu’s Escape Plan
The Prime Minister's heart trembled, and he said with wide eyes,
"Your Majesty, crossing the Yuan River from Yiyang and heading north, isn't that the direction the Yan army is marching?"
When these words were spoken, all the civil and military officials in the court were shocked.
"What? The Qian Kingdom sent envoys to the Yan army?"
"Oh no! The Qian Kingdom doesn't intend to cooperate with us, but chooses to cooperate with the Yan people instead."
"Why would two non-adjacent countries send envoys? It's hard to guess."
"Have you not seen how Yan, Qi, and Liang came together to destroy the Kun Kingdom?"
"Oh no! Apart from Yan and Qian, the only country left in the world is our country, sandwiched in the middle."
"Our army has no chance of winning against the Yan Kingdom alone. If the Qian Kingdom is added to the mix, these two superpowers will attack our country from both sides. Within half a month, our country will be destroyed."
"No wonder the Qian Kingdom didn't reply to our letter for ten days. It turns out they were planning to secretly negotiate with the Yan Kingdom."
"What should we do? What should we do?"
The ministers were in a panic and said all kinds of things.
Xiong Ren knocked hard on the table to quiet everyone down and said,
“Back then, the Qian Kingdom secretly supported a cult that caused chaos within the Yan Kingdom, resulting in the deaths and injuries of hundreds of thousands of civilians.
The Yan army fought against the Qian army, killed 300,000 Qian troops, and surrendered 100,000.
This is an irreconcilable blood feud.
In addition, when the State of Yan was at Mount Tai, it had already announced to the world that it wanted to unify the world. How could they let go of the only remaining State of Qian?
I believe that Yan will not negotiate peace with Qian."
The Prime Minister said anxiously,
"Alas, Your Majesty, it's better to be safe than sorry. If Yan and Qian really unite, we will be completely finished.
Your Majesty, please quickly send people to chase after those Qian people's envoys and capture them!"
Xiong Ren immediately shook his head and said,
"To chase and kill the Qianren envoy is to seek death!
It was unlikely that the Yan people would ally with the Qian people, and this mission was most likely just wishful thinking on the part of the Qian people.
If we hunt down and kill the Qian people's envoy, the Qian Kingdom will certainly be furious. Then the two countries will not need to unite, and it will directly give the Qian Kingdom a reason to send troops to our country, and our only way of retreat will be cut off!
Besides, those Qian people were all cavalry and had horse carriages, and they ran very fast.
"The postman came to report. We will discuss and send more people. The Qian people will have already crossed the river and may have even run to the Yan army camp."
When the King of Chu said this, all the ministers felt that it seemed to be the case.
Xiong Ren said weakly,
"Right now, we can't really count on the Qian Kingdom to come forward. It's fine if they don't join forces with the Yan Kingdom to fight us, let alone help us.
Let's discuss how to fight."
At this time, a strong general who was eight feet tall stood up and said,
"Your Majesty, I wish to lead the army to Yiyang and, taking advantage of the Yuan River, engage the Yan people in a decisive battle.
The Yan people's artillery and thunder are very powerful. It is meaningless to defend the city walls. When the 800,000-strong army arrives at Yingdu, they can simply blow up the city gates and collapse the city walls and come in. Then we will still end up being slaughtered.
It would be better to use the river to resist the Yan army. The Yan army's warships are all on the Yangtze River, and to reach the Yuan River, they need to go around Dongting Lake.
I am willing to lead my troops to Yiyang to fight a decisive battle with the enemy and demonstrate the pride of the Great Chu!
If I am defeated, Your Majesty, I ask you to head east to Nanjing, sail out to sea, and take our remaining navy to Izu, Ryukyu, and Dongying to conquer them."
Although this general wanted to take the initiative, he was not confident that he would win.
But he had thought of a way out.
There are still a number of ships in the Jinling Shipyard, and their emperor can take a ship out to sea to attack those small island countries and continue to dominate the world.
Of course, the sea is rough and it is easy for boats to capsize and people to die.
But there is a saying that goes, the bigger the wind and waves, the more expensive the fish.
Compared to being captured and taken back as slaves or placed under house arrest, it is better to take some risks and try your best at sea, where there is more hope.
The Emperor of Chu also thought of this, and all the civil and military officials in the court also thought of this.
Xiong Ren thought for a moment and said,
"General Li Lei is right. Defending the city is useless. The Yan army is coming in with such large numbers and strength that our army will be unable to resist. Instead of doing that, it is better to defend the enemy at Yuan River."
Li Lei continued,
"Your Majesty, there are currently 230,000 troops and 5,000 imperial guards in the city.
There is not enough space on the boat for so many people. I beg Your Majesty to give me 200,000 central troops so that I can fight the enemy to the death.
Your Majesty moved the capital with the court, taking away the 5,000 imperial guards and 30,000 central troops.
We will set off for Jinling tomorrow.
Avoid being caught up by the Zhennan Army cavalry."
Xiong Ren pondered for a moment and said,
"How about this? You will set off with the 200,000 troops. Also, immediately send someone to Jinling to inquire how many ships are left there and how many people can be taken away. This way, we can prepare."
"As ordered!"
"General Li, I remember you are from Yiyang, right?"
"Your Majesty, that's right. I was born and raised in Yiyang and know the terrain very well. Your Majesty, rest assured. I will definitely take advantage of the terrain and fight the enemy to the death!"
"Okay, I will order you to be the commander-in-chief and mobilize 200,000 troops to Yiyang to resist the Yan army!"
"The minister obeys the order!"
When Xiong Ren's imperial edict was issued, Li Lei immediately went to the central army camp, took the position of commander-in-chief, and led an army of 200,000 to deploy defenses.
……
On the other side, two envoys from the Qian Kingdom, escorted by a hundred elite cavalrymen, crossed the Yuan River by boat and rushed towards the north.
After such a wild ride, the carriage was about to fall apart, and so were the people.
The two old guys, Gong Yangzhan and Wenbo, were shaken badly.
There were complaints all along the way.
Finally, they arrived in Shishan County in the evening two days later.
At this time, the Yan army had just arrived in Shishan County, and Wan Da's army's camp was stationed for dozens of miles.
Looking at the endless alliance, Gong Yangzhan sighed,
"As expected of the Yan State, this is just the Eastern Route Army, and it already has 800,000 soldiers. Who can defeat such a powerful force?"
The eight legions of the Yan army always make people mistakenly believe that they have 800,000 troops.
After all, a legion has 100,000 people, which is common sense.
But in fact, among the eight legions, namely the Tianyu Army, Yuying Army, Shenfeng Army, Feiying Army, Zhennan Army, Pingnan Army, Zhengnan Army and Zhige Army, the number of people in the Tianyu Army and Shenfeng Army exceeded the standard.
The Tianyu Army has 150,000 soldiers, and the Shenfeng Army has more than 140,000 soldiers.
The main combat force alone was as many as 900,000, plus auxiliary troops, civilian laborers, etc., the total number was over one million.
Such a large army is certainly not just for the purpose of conquering the State of Chu.
In the eyes of the State of Yan, the old and powerful country dominating the south - the State of Qian - is the biggest boss and the ultimate goal, and they must go all out.
Hearing Gong Yangzhan praising the Yan army camp, Wen Bo, who was standing beside him, lifted the carriage curtain and said,
"What's going on? Has Lord Zhisu been frightened by the Yan army?"