activa-t Chapter 551 Conquest of Chu 7
Chapter 551 Conquest of Chu 7
Wang Jian's move was extremely clever. By not killing Xiang Yu, he not only demonstrated the victor's "tolerance" and avoided escalating hatred, but also turned Xiang Yu's bravery into propaganda material that highlighted the Qin army's strength.
More importantly, sparing the life of Xiang Yu, the eldest grandson of the Xiang family and the beloved grandson of Xiang Yan, was like planting a thorn in the heart of the Chu army, a crucial bargaining chip that could be used to restrain or even persuade Xiang Yan to surrender in the future.
Soon, Xiang Yu was secretly escorted by an elite squad and imprisoned in the direction of Xianyang.
While the Qin army besieged Chencheng like an iron barrel, the Chu state did not sit idly by. Inside the capital city of Ying, King Fuchu of Chu, after experiencing a mental breakdown and the disastrous defeat of tacitly approving a sneak attack on the economic zone, finally awoke somewhat from his dazed state in the face of the imminent threat of Chu's demise.
After repeated persuasion from some insightful ministers, Fu Chu finally realized that relying solely on military force was insufficient, and the moral high ground could not be completely ceded to Qin. He ordered the government to take the lead in gathering scholars and writers who still harbored loyalty to Chu to organize a counterattack.
Soon, articles and proclamations with a tone different from the *Da Qin Xin Bao* began to circulate in the Chu region, especially in Yingdu and its surrounding areas. Although the printing quality was rough and the reach was far less than that of the Qin state's newspapers, they still managed to make their voices heard.
These articles vehemently criticized the Qin state for its "betrayal": "The ink on the alliance treaty was barely dry when the Qin army marched south. What credibility does such a wolfish and predatory state have? To falsely accuse our Chu state of being immoral is a complete distortion of the truth and utterly shameless!"
They ridiculed Qin's label of "benevolence and righteousness": "Qin's laws are harsh, treating human life as worthless, cutting off noses and feet, and severely punishing minor crimes. How dare such a tyrannical regime claim to be benevolent and righteous? It's utterly ridiculous!"
They further extolled the "heroism" of the Chu army and the "loyalty" of Xiang Yan: "General Xiang Yan was appointed to a critical mission and turned the tide in Chencheng. With the Chu soldiers and civilians united in their hatred of the enemy, we will surely drive the Qin invaders out of our territory and restore our land!"
In some teahouses and taverns, storytellers began to receive hints or funding from the government, and the stories they told gradually took a different turn. They began to recount the heroes of Chu's history who resisted foreign invasion, fabricated some "rumors" of Qin army burning, killing, and looting, and tried their best to portray the tragic heroism and determination of Chu's soldiers and civilians to resist.
While these public opinion counterattacks were far less extensive and sophisticated than Ying Wuyou's plan, they did, to some extent, re-unite the scattered hearts of the people at this critical juncture for the survival of the Chu state. They restored some sense of identification with the Chu state among the scholars and common people who were still observing, and bought a little breathing space for the crumbling Chu court.
Meanwhile, Xiang Yan's eldest son, Xiang Liang, relying on his familiarity with the terrain and his personal bravery, survived countless near-death experiences and finally broke through the Qin army's layers of blockade, secretly sneaking back to Yingdu. Without even taking a rest, he immediately sought an audience with the King of Chu.
In the imperial court, Xiang Liang knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face: "Your Majesty! Chencheng has been heavily besieged by Wang Jian. Although my father has tried his best to defend it, the city's food supplies will eventually run out, and the morale of the soldiers will also be worn down! Chencheng is the shield of Yingdu. If Chencheng falls and General Xiang is defeated, then the gates of Yingdu will be wide open, and our Great Chu... the state that has lasted for hundreds of years, will be in imminent danger! The Qin army is besieging without attacking, hoping to subdue the enemy without fighting! I beg Your Majesty to quickly send reinforcements and transport food supplies. If we can coordinate from within and without, we may be able to defeat a part of the Qin army, open up the supply route, and then the siege of Chencheng can be lifted, and the fate of the Great Chu state can be continued!"
Xiang Liang's lament struck King Fu Chu and his ministers like a hammer blow. Looking at the haggard and tattered Xiang Liang, and considering the precarious situation, Fu Chu finally understood that Xiang Yan and the main force of the Chu army were Chu's last remaining assets. If they were unwilling to invest further, everything would truly be over.
Under immense pressure to bring about the fall of his kingdom, King Fu Chu of Chu finally made a difficult but correct decision. He nearly emptied the royal guards and the last reserves of troops in Yingdu, and urgently conscripted troops from surrounding unconquered areas, piecing together a force of 180,000 men.
He also ordered the remaining royal treasury to be opened, and a valuable amount of grain was collected. He appointed Jing Qi, a general of the royal family, as commander-in-chief, and Xiang Liang as deputy commander, to carry his royal orders and rush north to relieve Chen City!
Inside Chen City, the atmosphere was heavy, but not hopeless. Xiang Yan, the last pillar of Chu, displayed the composure and resilience of a renowned general. He was well aware of the brilliance of Wang Jian's siege strategy, but he also understood that every perfect strategy has its weaknesses, and the long encirclement itself was its biggest flaw.
He did not remain holed up in the city and wait passively. On the one hand, he constantly sent out small elite troops to harass the Qin army's supply lines at night or in bad weather, and to attack lone patrols, preventing the Qin army from resting on its laurels.
These small-scale battles, with varying degrees of success and failure, successfully slowed down the Qin army's progress in completing the encirclement and also honed the morale of the troops within the city.
On the other hand, he actively utilized Chencheng's existing network of connections as the former capital, and through clandestine channels, he made contact with areas outside the city that were not yet fully controlled by the Qin army, as well as with some local powerful families and wandering knights, in order to obtain as much intelligence as possible from the outside world.
When Xiang Yan learned through a highly secretive channel that reinforcements from Yingdu had been dispatched, and that his son Xiang Liang was personally leading the way as his deputy, the heavy burden that had been weighing on his heart finally eased somewhat. He knew that his opportunity had arrived!
He immediately summoned his core generals and conducted secret military deployments in a secret underground chamber of the city lord's mansion.
"Gentlemen, Wang Jian wants to starve us out. His camp is strong and his forces are numerous. A frontal breakout would be like throwing an egg against a rock." Xiang Yan pointed to the detailed map drawn on the wall and calmly analyzed, "However, his forces are scattered along the long encirclement line, which gives us an opportunity."
His finger pointed to a treacherous valley northeast of Chencheng on the map: "This is Sparrow and Rat Valley. It's the junction of the Qin army's left wing under Wang Ben and the main force of Wang Jian's central army. Junctions are often weak points in defense. Wang Ben is young and impetuous, and his military tactics tend to be offensive. He may not be able to make this kind of monotonous defensive task completely impenetrable. Moreover, the terrain here is complex, which is conducive to stealthy approach."
He surveyed his generals, his eyes gleaming: "My plan is that General Jingqi's reinforcements will come from the south with great fanfare, serving as a decoy to lure Wang Jian's main force to intercept and besiege them. Wang Jian's attention will inevitably be drawn to them."
His finger pointed heavily at Sparrow Rat Valley: "And we, on the other hand, will secretly assemble the city's most elite 30,000 infantry and cavalry. When the fighting in the south is at its fiercest and the Qin army's attention is firmly drawn, we will suddenly strike from here like a sharp knife! Our goal is not to annihilate the enemy, but to quickly tear open a gap at all costs to receive the vanguard of reinforcements and smuggle some grain, especially seeds and medicine, into the city! As long as the grain can get in, morale will be stabilized, and we can continue to hold out in Chen City, waiting for the world to change!"