Chapter 267 Even a tiger won’t eat its own cubs
Xiang Yan still overestimated Bai Qi's bottom line.
good,
As the most legendary general in the Warring States Period, Bai Qi gives the outside world the impression of being steady.
How can you not be stable if you win every battle?
In fact,
Bai Qi was not a rigid person. Sometimes he did not mind being naughty and using "stability" as a disguise to confuse his opponents and then carry out his adventurous actions.
As long as victory can be achieved, the means are not important.
For example, this time.
Bai Qi expected that Xiang Yan was a person who sought stability, so when choosing the target of attack, he deliberately chose the Chu general Jingyang who was guarding Nanjun, rather than Wanjun guarded by Xiang Yan.
As soon as Xiang Yan led his troops out of Wan County, the Fourth Corps of the Black Water Army stationed in Wuguan, under the command of the young and brave general Li Xin, headed straight for Wancheng.
The target was the 50,000 troops of Xiang Qu stranded there.
…
When Xiang Yan received the news during the march, his subconscious reaction was: "Is there really a garrison at Wuguan?"
A bit confused...
He had previously concluded that Bai Qi was setting up an empty city plan at Wuguan, so he only left 50,000 troops to cover the rear.
I never imagined that the situation would be like this.
Now both armies of Chu were in danger and needed reinforcements. Xiang Yan had no choice but to allocate another 50,000 troops and order them to rush back immediately to rescue Xiang Qu.
Xiang Yan still led an army of 100,000 southwards and was able to barely cope with the situation.
All I can say is,
Xiang Yan still underestimated the wickedness of human nature, as Bai Qi's killer move had not yet been used.
…
October 10th.
Fifty thousand Chu troops were ordered to return to support Wancheng. Because they were in a hurry, they chose to pass through Nanyang County.
In no mood,
The army had just entered Nanyang County when it was attacked by an unidentified force.
Almost the entire army was wiped out.
The ones who ambushed them were none other than the Eighth Army of the South Vietnamese Army, which had been lurking in Wuguan before and quietly followed the Fourth Army of the Blackwater Army out of the pass.
The Chu army suffered a major setback without anyone noticing.
After defeating 50,000 Chu troops, the Eighth Corps of the Nanyue Army, under the command of Corps Commander Xiong Kuo, was divided into two, with 50,000 heading north to cooperate with the Fourth Corps of the Black Water Army to complete the encirclement and suppression of Xiang Qu's troops.
Half of them stayed in Nanyang County to block the possible arrival of Xiang Yan's army.
Xiang Yan probably never dreamed that Bai Qi not only stationed troops in Wuguan, but also two full legions, which completely confused Xiang Yan.
This also changed the entire situation of the battle.
In this battle, Bai Qi consciously pulled and mobilized the Chu army to find gaps, creating a situation where he was outnumbered and thus formed an overall military advantage.
It seems simple, but no one knows how much calculation and planning goes into it.
…
In a certain place, the central army tent.
When the 50,000 Chu troops were attacked, Xiang Yan had already led his troops into the territory of Nanjun.
The small Nanjun County gathered a total of 600,000 troops from the Chu and Yue countries. There were troops stationed near almost every city to ensure the supply of food and fodder.
Originally Xiang Yan was planning how to cooperate with Jing Yang to repel the Vietnamese army.
Unexpectedly, before he could take any action, such bad news came from the rear, shocking Xiang Yan so much that he felt dizzy and almost fainted on the spot.
After all, Xiang Yan was a famous general of the Chu State and had been tempered on the battlefield for a long time.
Logically speaking,
The mental quality shouldn't be so bad.
Firstly, this involves the safety of the eldest son Xiang Qu. As the saying goes, worry makes one confused. Emotions are bound to fluctuate and it is difficult to remain calm.
More importantly,
Xiang Yan knew very well that the battle that had just ended seemed to be just a local ambush. Although the Chu army suffered casualties, they were not seriously injured.
The reality is,
That battle had already determined the direction of the current Chu-Yue War.
Chu has already lost!!!
If we think further, this war will even affect the national destiny of the two countries Chu and Yue.
It’s chilling to think about it.
"Bai Qi ..."
Xiang Yan both admired and hated this man. He really didn't expect that Bai Qi, the Marquis of Wu'an, who was always known for his steadiness, would use such a risky tactic.
This tactic would become ineffective if Xiang Yan launched a tentative attack on Wuguan.
Just as the saying goes,
If it is real, make it empty; if it is empty, make it real.
"General, isn't the 8th Army of the South Vietnamese Army stationed in the western part of Guanzhong?" The deputy general complained, "The border of Guanzhong is not peaceful at all. The Xiongnu have been making such a fuss recently. Isn't the Kingdom of Yue afraid of trouble on the border?"
"have no idea."
This is also what Xiang Yan is quite confused about.
When the war just started, Xiang Yan had already taken into account the variable of the Yue State's Wuguan garrison. If this army really wanted to go out of the pass, the worst that could happen was to send another 50,000 troops back to support.
That's exactly what he did.
Who could have thought that Bai Qi would be so adventurous as to mobilize the troops stationed in Guanxi to join the war.
This is because the Chu State’s intelligence was outdated.
In the past two years, under the leadership of Xun Yu, Lian Po and Bai Qi, with the help of Yue State's strong material supply capabilities, local garrison troops and border troops have been reorganized in the Guanzhong Plain.
The Eighth Corps of the South Vietnamese Army had completed its mission a year ago. The reason why it had not been transferred and was still stationed in Guanxi was, firstly, that there was no suitable place to use it, and secondly, it was also to confuse outsiders.
Unexpectedly,
It was actually used by Bai Qi and became the killer weapon that determined the outcome of the war.
"Marshal, what should we do now?" asked the deputy general.
They are really in a dilemma now.
If we go north to rescue, we will face the blockade of the Vietnamese army and may not be able to make it in time;
Don't rescue.
He was Xiang Yan's eldest son and the hope of the next generation of the Xiang family.
Xiang Yan looked deep and silent for a long time before he said, "Contact Jing Yang and evacuate Nanjun together."
"Retreat, retreat?"
The deputy general wondered if he had heard it wrong.
"Yes, retreat, immediately, right now!"
Xiang Yan was obviously in great pain making this decision, because it was tantamount to giving up his son Xiang Qu, but as a general of the State of Yan, he had the responsibility to defend the territory and had to do so.
It is obvious that Xiang Qu cannot be saved. If we hesitate any longer, until the 200,000-strong Yue army takes care of Xiang Qu and turns its guns on him, we will have to concentrate our forces to fight in Nanjun.
At that time,
How can the 300,000 Chu troops fight against the 500,000 Yue troops with low morale?
The Chu State had a total of 700,000 troops. The loss of 100,000 elite soldiers was already a serious blow. If the casualties continued to increase, it would shake the foundation of the Chu State.
Xiang Yan didn't dare to take the risk.
"Then, what should we do with the young marshal?" the deputy general asked cautiously.
Xiang Yan had a blank expression on his face. "Xiang Qu was also a general of the State of Chu. It is not shameful for him to die fighting for his country."
The deputy general was silent, paused for a moment, and then said: "Marshal, if we withdraw our troops like this, how will the king explain it?" Things developed too quickly and they had no time to ask for instructions from the royal court.
"If the king blames me, I will bear the responsibility alone."
Xiang Yan still has this sense of responsibility. Even if we take a step back, when a general is away from the court, he may not be able to obey the orders of the king.
The deputy general had nothing more to say.
…
Xiang Yan still has a lot of prestige in the Chu army, even though Jing Yang is strictly speaking a senior.
After carefully analyzing the situation, Jing Yang very much agreed with Xiang Yan's judgment. The two armies cooperated with each other, got rid of , and withdrew from Nanjun.
Xiang Qu's troops became abandoned pawns and were swallowed up by the Yue army.
Xiang Qu himself also died heroically in battle...
The sudden Chu-Yue War ended suddenly in this way.
It was really unexpected.
…
Wuguan Fortress.
Putting down the military report he had just received, Bai Qi felt a little regretful.
He had originally planned to use this battle to completely cripple the State of Chu, but he did not expect Xiang Yan to be so decisive. Once he found that the situation was not right, he immediately led his troops to retreat.
He could even abandon his son.
With the Chu army retreating, it was difficult for Bai Qi to order a pursuit.
Firstly, after leaving Nanyang County, the Yue army was unfamiliar with the Chu environment and had not made war plans in advance. If they rashly pursued, they would likely fall into the enemy's trap.
Xiang Yan and Jing Yang are not pushovers.
Secondly, in order to prevent the State of Wei from having a reason to intervene, Bai Qi launched a blitzkrieg from the beginning, preparing for a quick victory.
Even if Chu asked Wei for help, it would be too late to respond.
If the large-scale encirclement and suppression is changed into a large-scale pursuit, it will inevitably turn into a protracted war. By then, the Wei State will really become a time bomb.
It is still unknown who will win.
Although he decided not to pursue the matter, Bai Qi would not give up the meat he had obtained. After asking the Minister of War Lian Po for command, he issued a series of orders in the name of the Ministry of War.
Huang Zhong led the First Legion of the Black Water Army to escort the Chu prisoners of war back to Xianyang. Although there were not many of them, there were still about 40,000 to 50,000 people in total.
If this happened in Chu, it would be a bunch of time bombs.
Li Xin led the Fourth Army of the Black Water Army back to Wuguan to garrison.
The Fifth Corps of the Blackwater Army was still stationed in Nanyang County, the Second Corps of the Blackwater Army that had gone out on an expedition was stationed in Nan County, and the Eighth Corps of the Nanyue Army was stationed in Wan County.
That is to say,
In this battle, Bai Qi not only commanded his army to annihilate 100,000 elite soldiers of the Chu State, but also captured two counties of the Chu State in one fell swoop, biting off another piece of meat from the Chu State.
This was enough to cause pain to the State of Chu for a long time.
…
Shouchun, the royal palace.
It was not until Xiang Yan and Jing Yang led their troops to withdraw from Nanjun that King Fu Chu of Chu received the detailed battle report from the front line. After reading it, his face was so gloomy that water seemed to drip out of it.
This is what we call disaster from the sky.
"Your Majesty, what should we do with the two generals Xiang Yan and Jing Yang?" asked Chunshen Jun Huang Xie.
Although Xiang Yan acted decisively and recovered a lot of losses for the State of Chu, preventing it from falling into a more embarrassing situation, which was considered a meritorious service, he still suffered heavy casualties and the loss of two counties.
This sin,
If we investigate it seriously, it's enough to deserve beheading.
"What do you think we should do?" The King of Chu looked gloomy.
Although Chu State was a powerful country in the Warring States Period with its vast territory and abundant resources, it did not have many famous generals.
Not to mention the Qin State which was led by the famous generals, it was even inferior to the Zhao State and the Qi State.
Xiang Yan and Jing Yang, especially the veteran Xiang Yan, are the last cards of the Chu State. If Xiang Yan is dealt with, who will lead the Chu army?
The Xiang family and the Jing family were both among the four great noble families of the Chu State, and they could not be disposed of at will.
The key point is that Xiang Yan's eldest son died.
“…”
Chunshen Jun was also confused by the question and didn't know how to answer.
The king and his minister were speechless.
