Chapter 8 Seeking Help from Chu
"Your Majesty, it's Da Sima!"
The soldiers beside Helu pointed at the flags in the direction of the entrance and were overjoyed.
Wu Zixu, wearing helmet and armor, was leading hundreds of chariots and thousands of elite soldiers to frantically attack the chariot defense line of Qingji's army.
"kill!"
Under the command of Wu Zixu, the chariots of Helu's army quickly penetrated into the valley entrance and fought their way out.
The chariots that were originally lying across the valley entrance, cutting off the retreat route of Helu's army, were all overwhelmed. In a moment, people and horses were thrown to the ground, and corpses were everywhere.
Wu Zixu’s purpose was very clear, which was to rescue Helu!
At this time, it was impossible for Helu's army to turn the defeat into victory.
Only by rescuing Helu will they have a chance to continue mediating with Qingji’s army!
"My king! Retreat!"
Wu Zixu rode in a chariot and drove straight forward, waving the blood-stained halberd in his hand and killing many enemies.
Hearing Wu Zixu's shout, Helu finally woke up from his dream and quickly turned the chariot he was in around and evacuated!
Seeing this, Qingji's face darkened.
How could he just sit there and watch the duck that was already in his mouth slip away?
"Stop Ji Guang! Kill him at all costs!"
Qingji's idea was similar to Helu's.
Both of them knew very well in their hearts that as long as the other died, they would be able to rest assured and become the sole ruler of the Wu State!
"Kill them!"
Wu Zixu stood calmly on the chariot and directed the battle.
The chariots of Helu's army then formed a cone formation, firmly protecting Helu's chariots in the middle, and fought hard to charge out.
The soldiers of the Qingji Army who came closer tried to stop the enemy's attack, but they were unable to withstand it!
The army that mourns will win!
When forced into a desperate situation, the soldiers of Helu's army were all fearless and were able to protect their king with their flesh and blood.
Finally, with the desperate protection of Wu Zixu and other soldiers, Helu was able to escape and leave Hulukou.
Qingji could only look at Helu's back as he walked away, feeling extremely regretful!
Fortunately, Qingji's army achieved remarkable results.
After Helü fled, the soldiers and chariots under his command gave up resistance and surrendered one after another.
In this battle alone, Qingji's army beheaded more than 4,000 enemy soldiers and nearly 10,000 enemy soldiers surrendered!
This allowed Qingji to completely seize the initiative in the war.
It is only a matter of time before Helu dies!
…
The Palace of King Wu.
Helu, who successfully escaped, sat on the ground gasping for breath, still in shock.
Everything that happened not long ago made Helu feel like he was in a dream!
He couldn't believe that he was defeated so thoroughly by the little boy Qingji!
This was hard for Helu to accept.
Helü looked at Wu Zixu, who was sitting opposite him in a bloodstained battle robe, with a look of shame on his face, and said, "Zixu, what should I do at this moment?"
Helu felt extremely complicated because he had not listened to Wu Zixu's advice before, which led to this great defeat.
He knew that his talent was not as good as Wu Zixu's, but he didn't expect the gap to be so huge!
If Helu had listened to Wu Zixu's advice and stopped while he was ahead, instead of pursuing the enemy rashly and being ambushed by Qingji's army, Helu would definitely not have ended up in such a miserable situation at this moment.
"Your Majesty, the royal army is no longer able to defeat Yu Qingji's rebellion."
Wu Zixu shook his head and sighed, saying: "For now, Your Majesty only has two choices!"
"First, we will hold the capital of Wu and at the same time send an envoy to the State of Chu to ask for help."
"Second, abandon Wudu and lead the old troops south to seize Wuyuan, Xing, and Yuer, form an alliance with Yue, and resist Qingji's army together!"
There are two choices, and Helu can only choose one.
Giving up the capital of Wu was hard for Helu to accept!
This is because this city is the capital of the State of Wu, with fertile land and a large population. It is not only the political center of the State of Wu, but also the economic center of the State of Wu, as well as a rare military stronghold!
For Helü, abandoning Wudu would not only make him lose the capital to fight against Qingji, but also make him lose the legal legitimacy of his position as King of Wu.
"Zi Xu, if I hold the capital of Wu and send envoys to ask for help from Chu, what will happen?"
Helu asked hesitantly.
Hearing this, Wu Zixu sighed in his heart!
As Helu's most trusted minister, Wu Zixu naturally preferred Helu to choose the first strategy.
Hold on to Wudu and seek help from Chu!
However, as a mortal, a mortal with extremely strong obsessions, Wu Zixu instinctively and psychologically rejected any connection with the State of Chu and any alliance with it.
Why?
Because there was a deep hatred between Wu Zixu and the State of Chu and the deceased King Ping of Chu.
Wu Zixu was a native of Chu!
When his father Wu She was King Ping of Chu, he was the Taifu of Crown Prince Jian and was responsible for teaching Crown Prince Jian.
That year, King Ping of Chu proposed to marry Meng Ying, the eldest sister of Duke Ai of Qin, to his Crown Prince Jian, and ordered Fei Wuji to go to Qin to welcome .
Fei Wuji discovered that Meng Ying was beautiful and urged King Ping of Chu to marry her!
King Ping of Chu was lustful and switched girls, letting a woman from Qi impersonate Meng Ying and marrying her as his wife.
Therefore, King Ping of Chu was particularly fond of Fei Wuji!
A year later, Meng Ying gave birth to a son, Xiong Zhen (now King of Chu), and the scandal of King Ping of Chu occupying his daughter-in-law who had not yet married began to leak out.
Fei Wuji was worried that Prince Jian would be unfavorable to him after he succeeded to the throne, so he simply falsely accused Prince Jian and Wu She of conspiring to launch a rebellion with foreign aid from Qi and Jin.
King Ping of Chu believed it to be true and sent Chengfu Sima Fenyang to kill Prince Jian. The latter fled to Song State, but Wu She was implicated and his entire family died tragically!
Fortunately, Wu Zixu escaped from the State of Chu in time and saved his life.
However, Wu Zixu always wanted to avenge the blood feud between himself and the State of Chu!
As fierce and violent as he was, as well as able to endure humiliation and endure heavy burdens, that's why he joined Helu's army, offered advice and devoted all his energy to the cause.
He hoped that one day he would be able to lead his army to attack Chu and directly capture Yingdu, in order to avenge his father and brothers!
However, Helü now chose to seek help from Chu. How could Wu Zixu not feel complicated?
Helpless, Wu Zixu could only sigh and said: "If the king asks for help from Chu, he should send an eloquent lobbyist to lobby Yingdu. The King of Chu, Xiong Zhen, is young and cannot manage state affairs!"
"All state affairs are controlled by Nang Wa, Zi Xi and Queen Mother Meng Ying."
"Now the king wants to lobby the State of Chu, maybe this is the way to start."
Wu Zixu pondered and said, "Zixi is a kind and upright person, so he can be put aside. Nang Wa is the prime minister of Chu State. He is treacherous and greedy. Your Majesty may as well use the rare treasures in the treasury to bribe Nang Wa!"
"As for Madam Meng Ying, I don't know her very well, but I guess that as a woman, she should like beautiful jade objects. Your Majesty may as well cater to her taste and present her with precious treasures and playthings."
"If we can really bribe Nang Wa and Meng Ying, great things can be expected. Then our Wu Kingdom will not have to cede cities and lands, or cede less cities and lands in exchange for reinforcements from Chu!"
"color!"
Hearing this, Helu couldn't help but be overjoyed.
Wu Zixu is indeed a man of extraordinary talent. He was able to come up with such a countermeasure in a short period of time, and he is well aware of the major events in the world!
