Chapter 14: Doctor Sun Ping
After Ji Zha left the camp, Qingji ordered all the generals to come to the central military tent to discuss matters.
Qingji looked around, at the generals on his left and right, and said, "Pass the order down, the whole army should prepare their weapons, cook, and gather their strength. At midnight tomorrow night, we will attack the second west gate of Wudu City."
"promise!"
All the generals sang in approval.
Meng Ben, who was standing to one side, was puzzled and asked, "Sir, didn't you and Ji Zi agree to attack from the East Second Gate? Why did you attack the West Second Gate of Wudu?"
Hearing this, Qingji just smiled calmly and said, "It's not that I don't trust Ji Zi, but Ji Guang and Wu Zixu are cunning. I'm afraid they don't trust Ji Zi and will use his tricks to set an ambush in the east of the city."
"If that's the case, why can't I take advantage of the enemy's main force defending the east side of the city and attack the west side of Wudu when the defenses are empty?"
Upon hearing this, Meng Ben and other generals suddenly understood.
"Young Master is wise!"
The generals were about to leave when a soldier suddenly entered the tent and reported, "Sir, there is a messenger in the city who wants to see you."
"Messenger? Whose messenger?"
"The man claims to be a messenger from Sun Ping, the Southern Lieutenant and Senior Official."
"Please come in!"
"promise!"
Qingji did not have a deep impression of Sun Ping.
He only knew that Sun Ping was originally from Qi, and his ancestor was Chen Hugong, the founding king of the State of Chen. He was of noble birth and his family had been prominent for generations!
Sun Ping was an even more remarkable person. Thanks to the influence of his ancestors and his own great contributions, he was granted the title of minister.
What is a Qingshi?
The Qingshi is the highest-ranking official under the monarch, second only to the emperor and above everyone else!
A minister is similar to a prime minister of a country, but there are some differences.
It depends on the national conditions!
For example, the ministers of Jin were all hereditary feudal lords with enormous power.
Most of the ministers in other countries had the right to handle government affairs, but their personal power was very limited .
Sun Ping was a minister of Qi State, which was itself an honorary title.
Two years ago, there was civil unrest in Qi State. To avoid the chaos, Sun Ping and his family moved to Wu State.
The King of Wu at that time knew of Sun Ping's talents, but considering that the latter had a very high status in Qi in the past, he gave him too much gold and title, which aroused the dissatisfaction of the people.
He neglected Sun Ping and was afraid that the world would laugh at him for not being able to appoint talented people to important positions!
Because of this, King Liao of Wu was in a dilemma!
Fortunately, Sun Ping did not seem to be greedy for fame and fortune. He retired to the mountains and forests and lived a leisurely life at home.
King Liao of Wu then appointed Sun Ping as Zhong Daifu, a hereditary title. However, this was still an honorary title and he could only receive a certain salary regularly!
It was not until Helu killed the king and usurped the throne to become King of Wu that Sun Ping was re-employed.
But Sun Ping was only appointed as the Southern Commander and was not given any title!
The Southern Commander was a military officer who guarded the city gates. He was responsible for guarding the two southern gates of Wudu City. His authority was neither great nor small.
It’s not that Helu couldn’t see Sun Ping’s talents and couldn’t appoint the right person to the right position!
But it was Sun Ping's own request.
Sun Ping claimed that he had not made any contribution to the State of Wu and could not accept a higher title. Helü had no choice but to let him do as he pleased.
…
It is said that after Ji Zha returned to the capital of Wu, he sent people to secretly contact the ministers and officials in the city to start an uprising together and to welcome Qingji's army into the city.
When Ji Zha learned that Helü had withdrawn the soldiers who were responsible for guarding the imprisoned ministers, he sensed something bad was happening.
But, the arrow is on the string and must be shot!
Ji Zha was not afraid of death, nor was he afraid of being disgraced.
The fight between Qingji and Helu is like a fight between two tigers, and one of them will die!
Ji Zha only wanted to resolve the civil war in Wu as soon as possible. Whether Helu or Qingji won, it didn't matter to Ji Zha.
Because no matter what the outcome is, Ji Zha will choose to retire and never care about worldly affairs again!
It was midnight, a dark and windy night.
East of Wudu City.
Ji Zha was standing on a chariot, holding a bronze sword. Behind him were private soldiers wearing various costumes, but each of them was holding a weapon!
These private soldiers were all private soldiers and retainers provided by the various ministers and officials.
In terms of individual combat capability, they are better than the regular army!
"My friends, please follow me to eliminate the traitors and welcome back the king's master!"
"kill!"
Ji Zha arrived as promised with hundreds of private soldiers, trying to capture the city gate in one fell swoop.
Before giving the order to launch the attack, Ji Zha had already ordered his men to move dry firewood from the chariots, pile them up and light them, using the fire as a signal to guide Qingji's army outside the city into the city.
"Shoot!"
Following Ji Zha's order, the private soldiers following him drew their bows and arrows and shot and killed many enemies who were caught off guard.
The soldiers of Helu Army who were in charge of defending the city suddenly woke up from their dream and quickly picked up their spears and fought with these private soldiers.
With a "swish" sound, Ji Zha stood on the chariot, swung his sword like a blue dragon emerging from the sea, and with one sword he cut the enemy soldier's throat, quickly ending his life.
He was old but still strong. With his sword and the speeding chariot, he killed many enemy soldiers in less than an incense stick of time!
"superior!"
"Stop them!"
"Release the arrows!"
The soldiers of Helu Army on the top of the city wall hurriedly drew their bows and arrows, and a volley of arrows were shot at the private soldiers below.
“Puff, fuss!”
Most of these private soldiers did not wear armor or carry shields, so when arrows were shot at them, they could only swing their swords to block them and chop away arrow after arrow.
But in this dark moment, how many people can block the chaotic arrows in front of them?
Therefore, under several rounds of arrow rain from Helu's army, the private soldiers suffered heavy casualties.
Fortunately, the distance from the bottom of the city to the top of the city is not far!
The private soldiers took advantage of the situation to attack the city road and fought one-on-one with the enemy in the narrow corridor.
In an instant, the east side of Wudu city gate was filled with wailing and corpses were strewn everywhere!
Ji Zha led his troops to quickly seize the city gate and opened it wide, ready to welcome Qingji's army in.
At this time, the bonfires were burning and the smoke was billowing, forming a scorching fire dragon.
Such a big noise, such a conspicuous fire, can be clearly seen from more than ten miles away!
However, Ji Zha could not wait for Qingji to lead his troops into the city!
Ji Zha's heart couldn't help but skip a beat.
At this critical moment, could it be that something went wrong with Qingji?
While Ji Zha was waiting for Qingji's army, Helu was also waiting for Qingji to lead his army to attack!
Wu Zixu was indeed a man of great foresight.
After guessing that Ji Zha might be in cahoots with Qing Ji and secretly colluding with the ministers in the city to start a rebellion, Helu did not dare to delay and quickly dispatched troops and concentrated all forces to the east of Wu capital.
Prepare to catch the turtle in the jar and capture Qingji and his followers in one fell swoop!
However, the development of things was somewhat unexpected.
Ji Zha and Helu waited for a long time, but they did not see Qingji's army rushing in, and there was no one in sight outside the wide-open city gate!
Helu was dumbfounded when he saw this and said, "Qingji hasn't shown up yet!"
"Could it be that Qingji doesn't trust Ji Zha and thinks this is a false surrender plot by Ji Zha and me?"
Wu Zixu, who was standing on the side, was feeling very confused.
At this time, thousands of soldiers of Helu's army had already been lying across the streets, waiting for Helu's order to rush forward and strangle the rebellious private soldiers and the soldiers of Qingji's army who entered the city!
Wu Zixu and Helu had been watching from the top of the tall building for a long time, but there was no sign of Qingji's army.
