Chapter 74 Fire in the Backyard
In 513 BC, in mid-November of the first year of King Qingji of Wu, the war in Wu took a new turn.
On the eastern front, the armies of Wu and Chu were in a stalemate. The Wu army still controlled the Yangtze River, defended Zhenzi, Tong, and Li, and confronted the Chu army.
The Chu army was isolated and helpless, and had run out of food and supplies. It was only a matter of time before it collapsed without a fight.
On the northern front, Yunyang and Zhufang in Wu were invaded by Han army. Fortunately, Wu army fortified their defenses and did not engage in a major battle with Han army. Therefore, Han army could only patrol in the northern part of Wu and pretend to move forward!
On the southern front, the Yue army had already divided its forces, breaking down the barriers built by Sun Wu one by one, and advancing towards Wudu by land and sea at a very fast speed.
At this time, the crisis in Wu State has not been resolved!
Qingji knew very well that even if Wu won this battle, it would be a pyrrhic victory!
"Your Majesty, the envoy from Chu requests to see you."
Qingji was discussing matters with his three trusted generals, Heifu, Mengben and Xiong Zidan, when he saw a junior officer coming in to report.
"not see."
Qingji replied without thinking.
Qingji knew very well the purpose of the Chu army envoys' visit!
The war had progressed to this point and Wu had suffered such heavy losses, how could Qingji tolerate the Chu people getting away with it?
Hei Fu, who was standing to one side, said worriedly, "Your Majesty, the Chu and Han armies are no longer a concern. What I am worried about is the Yue people. According to the battle report sent by General Sun a few days ago, the Yue barbarians are heading towards Wudu with all their strength."
"General Sun estimates that the Vietnamese army will be able to reach Wudu in five days at most!"
"Right now, there are less than a few thousand soldiers in the capital who can fight. Even if we add the troops of Grand Commander Sun, we may not be able to hold out for much longer given the fortifications of Wudu!"
Qingji's expression was also quite solemn. He said, "Heifu, are you asking me to agree to the Chu army's request for peace and sign a ceasefire alliance with them?"
"Not really."
Hei Fu sighed and said, "Whether to fight or make peace with the Chu army is up to the king. However, the Chu army is now on the verge of collapse. It has no food or grass, and it will not last for a few days!"
"Now, it depends on who can outlast the other."
Without a doubt, this is a big gamble!
If the Yue army takes the lead and captures the capital of Wu, it will be Qingji who fails. He will then face the dilemma of the destruction of his country and the ruin of his family. It is possible that the Wu Kingdom will be destroyed, or Helu will come to power again.
If the Chu army could not hold on and surrendered to the Wu army, Qingji would be able to allocate part of his forces to reinforce the Wu capital which was already in imminent danger!
It's not a pleasant feeling to have a fire in the backyard.
Xiong Zidan, who was sitting on one side, said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, many Chu soldiers have surrendered in recent days, which shows that a large number of Chu soldiers have already fled."
"Why don't you take action here, and speed up the collapse of the Chu army?"
"good!"
Qingji stood up, paced a few times, and looked like he was in deep thought.
Xiong Zidan's words woke him up!
Suddenly, an idea flashed in Qingji's mind.
"Meng Ben, have the grain and fodder for the capital arrived yet?"
"Reporting to the king, the first batch of 50,000 dan of rice and millet, as well as 1,000 dan of various cured meats have arrived in Zhenzi, and more food will be delivered to the front line later."
"good!"
Qingji then said sternly: "Immediately have people prepare enough rice, millet and bacon, and cook outside the Chu army's camp! I want to see how long the Chu army can hold out!"
"promise!"
Qingji's strategy was indeed quite damaging.
To this day , the Chu army is basically out of food, and no soldiers have starved to death. However, relying solely on fishing and hunting is simply not enough to meet the daily needs of the army.
In addition, every time Shen Yinshu sent out soldiers to fish and hunt, they would be intercepted and killed by the Wu army from time to time, so the Chu army could harvest very little game, wild fruits and other food!
Look, when the Wu army was cooking outside the Chu army camp and feasting on their food, the hungry Chu army soldiers could only watch them drooling as they devoured meat and rice in big mouthfuls!
“What a sin!”
A soldier from Chu, standing on the arrow tower of the camp, said with a look of grief and indignation on his face, "Why are we starving here while Wu Manzi is eating and drinking outside?"
"Stop yelling and save your energy."
A Chu soldier beside him
Hearing this, the Chu army officers and soldiers all around stared at the scene of the Wu army soldiers queuing up for food outside the camp, with their eyes glowing green, as if they were people who were about to die of thirst in the desert and suddenly saw an oasis.
The Wu army outside the camp was really dishonest.
A group of Wu soldiers were seen eating large chunks of cured meat and rice, and they shouted towards the camp: "Comrades of Chu! My king has ordered that anyone who leaves the camp and surrenders will be guaranteed to have their lives and full meals!"
"Are there still hungry soldiers in the army? Come out and take off your armor and surrender!"
"See those big pots of broth? They're for you surrendered soldiers!"
At Qingji's instruction, the Wu army soldiers shouted loudly, trying to lure the Chu army in the camp to surrender.
This method indeed greatly shook the morale of the Chu army, causing many Chu soldiers to wonder whether they should leave the camp and surrender.
Seeing this, the Chu army general Shen Yinshu had to send a team of thousands of people out of the camp to fight and try to grab some rice and bacon.
It’s a pity that Shen Yinshu’s wishful thinking will ultimately fail!
"Shoot!"
Following an order from a captain of the Wu army, the archers who had been prepared immediately formed several rows and fired rounds of arrows at the enemy soldiers who were running out of the camp.
“Puff, fuss!”
The rain of arrows was like a swarm of locusts, instantly claiming the lives of many Chu soldiers!
Not only were they caught off guard, they were also exhausted from hunger and had no time to dodge the dense rain of arrows fired at them by the Wu army.
The soldiers of the Wu army, who had long been on guard against this move by the Chu army, also took up their weapons and waited for the enemy to come and kill them!
However, what was surprising was that many Chu soldiers ran over , threw down their weapons and surrendered decisively.
Only a small number of Chu soldiers managed to escape back to the camp and save their lives.
At this point in time, how could the soldiers of the Chu army, who couldn't even afford to eat, have the energy to fight?
"withdraw troops!"
In desperation, Shen Yinshu could only order the troops to retreat.
At this moment, seeing the retreating Chu army, Qingji did not let his own soldiers pursue them.
It’s not that Qingji doesn’t want to wipe out the Chu army in the camp in one fell swoop, but the time has not come yet!
He just wanted to use this battle to test the weakness of the Chu army.
Now it seems that the Chu army is really at the end of its rope, and most of its soldiers don't even have the strength to fight!
