Chapter 73: Helu and Goujian's Evil Plan
After the assassination attempt, Qingji's army's marching speed increased. Why did Qingji dare to return to the country to seize the throne with 15,000 people?
Wudu is a strong city in the southeast region. If they want to attack it by force, it is impossible with the number of troops under Qingji. If they want to besiege the city, it is even more impossible. Sun Wu is here, and the principle of "besiege it if there are ten" is in his military book.
The real reason was that as Qingji moved south, countless Wu nobles and soldiers brought their own food and supplies to join him. In just over ten days, more than 50,000 people had joined his army.
"The people of Wu know that the crown prince is a benevolent and chivalrous man. You are a hero in the world, but Helu is a traitor who wants to seize the throne. Isn't it stupid to follow Helu instead of you?"
This is the prestige of Qingji in the State of Wu. As long as he returns to the country, he seems to have unstoppable momentum, and the whole world will follow him.
The Wu State was quickly divided into two factions. As Qingji killed his way through the Wu capital like a hot knife through butter, the voice of Helu's side became increasingly muted.
The army led by Qingji was stationed outside the capital of Wu and began to deploy according to Sun Wu's command.
According to the old rules of the Spring and Autumn Period, both sides would definitely scold each other before going to war to prove that they had a legitimate reason to do so.
What's more, Qingji was already filled with anger. He took out the eighteen charges against Helu that he had written back when he was in Luo State, and recited them outside the city of Gusu.
This letter, written by Confucius' student himself, produced a great effect. It satirized King Helu of Wu from beginning to end, and made him so angry that he roared in the hall, "Qingji is a traitor!"
But he could not say anything to refute. The ministers of Wu were all watching closely. Except for Helu's confidants, no one else wanted to get involved in the internal strife among the royal family of Wu.
It can be seen that King Helü of Wu was unpopular. Even after serving as King of Wu for so many years, he still failed to gain the recognition of Wu's ministers.
Regardless of the current situation in the city, Qingji relied on his elite troops. Now the number of troops under his command had reached 80,000.
Although most of them were auxiliary troops who could not withstand a single blow, after a little training from Sun Wu, they were able to use siege tools in a professional manner.
Qingji was once the most powerful general of the Wu State. He was always successful in leading his troops to charge into battle on the battlefield, but he was not good at sieges. He basically sent out his soldiers in a swarm and rushed up the long ladders.
However, due to the lack of means to defend the city, the defenders had an advantage, but it mainly depended on the elite level of the soldiers on both sides, so he always succeeded.
But Sun Wu did not think so. His understanding of war was ahead of his time. Attacking and defending a city were completely different from field battles.
"Prince, attacking a city is not simply a matter of filling it with the lives of soldiers. Taking down a small city is nothing more than a fight between the elite troops of both sides.
But if we encounter a strong city like Luoyi, do we have to use the lives of soldiers to fill it? Even if we have more soldiers, it will not be enough.
You have been in Zhaoyi for several years. Think about it, a city as big as Zhaoyi, I am afraid that it may not be able to be conquered even after a siege of two or three years."
Qingji nodded and said, "Indeed, since the gradual collapse of etiquette and laws, the princes of various countries no longer abide by the city-building regulations in the Zhou Li, and have begun to make their capitals higher and thicker. Now it is really becoming more and more difficult to attack the city."
Sun Wu laughed and said, "The best military operation is to attack the enemy's plans, the next best is to attack their alliances.
Therefore, when attacking a city, one must first attack the people's hearts, that is, one must try to divide the people's hearts.
The goshawk in the sky feeds on the rabbits on the ground. The hawk's hooked claws can easily pierce the rabbit's body. There is such a huge disparity in power between the two. Will the rabbit just give up resistance?
In order to survive, it will definitely try its best to fight the goshawk for the last time.
If even animals behave like this, would any intelligent person just stick out his neck and wait to die?
If the soldiers defending the city are determined to sacrifice themselves, then it is the mistake of the attacking generals.
Your Highness, please look at this and see why I left one of the city walls open. This is to tell everyone that things are not out of control yet.
This unencircled city wall will make everyone feel that there is still a chance to escape, which is one of the strategies to win over people's hearts and minds.
You have an outstanding prestige and are well-known throughout the world for your trustworthiness. If you promise the soldiers and civilians defending the city that you will not kill innocent people if they surrender, then the soldiers and civilians of Wudu will certainly not resist to the death.
Could it be that Helu was unaware of this situation?
I predict that he will force the soldiers and civilians of Wudu to fight, and even use killing to intimidate the soldiers and civilians. So as long as we surround them and fight slowly, our army will not suffer many casualties, but the city of Wudu will collapse on its own. "
This theory was so novel that Qingji had never heard of it before. His face was full of admiration: "Changqing, every time I see you, I don't know what words to use to praise you.
I can only say that you are the leader of the world's generals, and you can become a saint who can be a model for generals for all eternity."
Qingji handed over all command power to Sun Wu, and the army began to launch a tentative attack on the capital of Wu.
Unlike other generals, Sun Wu did not directly send slave soldiers to consume the city's resources. Instead, he first used his improved catapults to launch rounds of attacks on Gusu City in order to suppress the morale of the soldiers in the city.
As a military sage, Sun Wu not only updated the previous combat concepts, but also had a high level of attainment in the innovation of military equipment in order to cooperate with the tactics.
After a round of heavy bombing, the walls of Gusu City were littered with rocks and rubble, and the defenders on the walls were stunned.
They had never seen such catapults. Although the city walls of Wudu could not be destroyed by these rocks, the blow to the defenders' morale was huge.
Then Sun Wu still did not attack. He pointed at Wudu and said to Qingji: "Prince, from now on, we should attack Wudu from time to time every day to tire out the defenders of Wudu.
Then a siege slope was built at the west gate, which was higher than the city wall, and archers were placed on the slope to provide cover for the soldiers.
After that, we will attack from both sides simultaneously and we will surely win in one go!"
In Gusu City, King Helu of Wu mobilized all the soldiers and appointed his most loyal guards as the supervisory team.
All the nobles in the city were mobilized and required to take their private soldiers and servants to defend the city walls to the death.
He also promised in front of everyone, “Anyone who dares to retreat and wants to surrender will be killed immediately, and all his property will be confiscated and distributed to other brave warriors.
Regardless of whether they were common people or nobles, the women in their families were sent directly to become camp prostitutes.
As long as you defend Wudu and perform great deeds, I will reward you with gold, silver, jewelry, and noble women."
Gold, silver, jewelry, and even noble ladies. If you can marry them, you can even directly become a noble.
Helü was indeed vicious. He did not keep the properties for himself but distributed them among others. This gave some people the motivation to work for him, although there was a high probability that they would end up as cannon fodder.
Helu's behavior naturally aroused the resentment of many people, as this matter had nothing to do with them.
At first they were loyal to Wu Bo Liao, but suddenly Wu Bo Liao was killed, Crown Prince Qingji fled, and Helu became the King of Wu. Now that Qingji has come back, Helu should abdicate.
"Helu is truly a tyrant. He is a traitor who killed the king and seized the throne, but he forced us to die for his ambition. How unfair it is to us.
He wantonly trampled on his relatives and nobles, and destroyed the families of innocent nobles, common people, and wealthy families at will. This is not what a normal monarch should do.
If Crown Prince Qingji ascended the throne, he would have a noble character and be able to understand people's hearts. Even if he was at the end of his rope, he would not drag innocent people to be buried with him."
A member of the royal family of Wu sighed, "Helü has gone mad. He knows that he cannot win the support of the people of Wu. With Crown Prince Qingji leading his troops back to the country, he is in a state of panic all day long. Now he wants us to follow him to death. This is a dream!
Crown Prince Qingji has allies who supply him with food and grass, but Helu is alone and cannot defend the capital of Wu. Once the city is broken, Helu will surely die, so he wants to drag us down with him.
I believe that now both the nobles and the people in the city are very dissatisfied with Helu, but they allow him to control them because they are afraid of his cruelty.
If there is a sudden chaos in the city, we can open the city gate and present it to the prince."
Such exchanges are everywhere in Wudu, and countless people have different thoughts in their hearts.
Another day of siege ended, and Qingji let the soldiers have a good rest.
All the noise of the day seemed to have disappeared, and a bright moon shone down, falling on the top of the city. The soldiers defending the city hid in the barriers on the top of the city. The sounds of painful wailing were everywhere. In order not to affect the morale, countless corpses were dragged down and then burned directly.
On the top of the Wudu city wall, Helu's face was gloomy. The offensive of Qingji's army was becoming more and more fierce, and the increasingly high earth slopes outside the city made him feel frightened.
Although we can still hold it now, it is only a matter of time before it falls.
"Qingji, why don't you die like your father did? The two thousand miles of Wu State and the millions of people are all mine. If I am gone, you will never get them."
Helü's expression was somewhat ferocious, especially because of the chaotic inheritance of the throne of Wu, which led him to believe that he was the heir to the throne of Wu, so he killed Wu Bo Liao.
"What Wu needs is not a reckless man like you, but a king like me."
"Doctor Bi Dan, when will the Yue army arrive?" Helu asked with a gloomy face. He felt a little uneasy. Logically, he should have received the news that the Yue army was on the way.
In fact, when Qingji was on his way to Wudu, seeing how brave and unstoppable Qingji's army was, Helu had a premonition that Wudu might not be able to withstand Qingji's sharpness, and his throne might be unstable.
Once Qingji captures Wudu, he will definitely kill me.
Helü was even prepared to learn from King Zhou. If the city was broken, all the precious things in Wudu would be burned to ashes, leaving absolutely nothing for Qingji.
Helu's trusted doctor Bi Dan did not want Helu to lose at all.
After all, it was he who came up with the idea to assassinate Wu Boliao, and he sent people to find Zhuan Zhu and Yao Li as assassins. Even if other nobles in Wudu could survive, Qingji would definitely kill him.
Doctor Bi Dan thought about it and said to Helu: "Your Majesty, I have thought hard and the only country that can come to your rescue is Yue State!"
Helu was surprised and said, "Yue? How could Yue come to rescue me? Moreover, Yue is a small and weak country. Can it defeat Qingji? I'm afraid that even if all the soldiers in the country are mobilized, the ruler and ministers of Yue will not agree to it."
The strength of Yue State has always been inferior to that of Wu State, especially since Wu State has the support of Luo State, it is a powerful country in the southeast that can compete with Chu State for a while.
If it weren't for the complex terrain of Yue State, with most of its territory in mountains and many areas being relatively rugged, Wu State would have annexed Yue State long ago.
Although Helü was on the throne for a short time, he never stopped attacking the State of Yue, as the two sides had a feud.
No matter how he thought about it, it was impossible for the State of Yue to come to rescue him.
Bi Dan advised: "Your Majesty, you and Yue have only national hatred, no personal hatred. Doesn't Qingji have national hatred?
Who doesn't know about Qingji's bravery in Wu and Yue?
Doesn't Yue worry about Qingji becoming the king of Wu? This is impossible. The king and his ministers of Yue will definitely prevent Qingji from ascending the throne.
If you can agree to cede the five cities on the border of Wu and Yue, and promise gold, jade, jewelry, cloth, and beauties from Wu, I believe Yue will certainly send troops. "
Five cities on the border of Wu and Yue?
Helu's face turned dark. He immediately understood what Bi Dan was talking about. It was the five most strategic cities that Wu wanted to attack Yue. If Wu lost these five cities, it would suffer countless casualties if it wanted to attack Yue.
Bi Dan was right. If the State of Yue was willing to pay such a price, it would definitely send troops.
Doctor Bi Dan said again: "Your Majesty, you can cede three cities first, and then cede two more cities after the war is won. After you defeat Qing Ji, you can kill the Yue army in Wu territory, or even annex Yue directly."
Thinking that after failure, Wu would no longer belong to him, and hearing Bi Dan's vicious plan, Helu thought it was feasible, so he gritted his teeth and said, "Bi Dan, I'll leave this matter to you. As long as Yue can send troops, I can agree to any conditions!"
After getting Helu's promise, Bi Dan went to contact the State of Yue with joy on his face.
When the Yue State heard the news, the king and his ministers were very excited. Yue State had always been suppressed by Wu State. Now that Wu State was in civil strife, it was a good opportunity to take advantage of the situation and even suppress Wu State.
King Gou Jian of Yue said proudly: "My lords, this is a great opportunity for Yue.
Regardless of who wins or loses between Qingji and Helu, the strength of the Wu State will certainly be greatly reduced after this civil strife.
Furthermore, if we can seize the five cities between Wu and Yue, we will no longer be in danger of extinction in a short period of time."
The officials of Yue State all thought that this was a good time to send troops, but only Doctor Wen advised: "Your Majesty, the gap in strength between Wu and Yue is too great.
The Crown Prince Qingji of Wu was like a tiger in the mountains waiting to devour its prey, and the King Helu of Wu was a cruel and cunning wolf; neither of them could be provoked by the State of Yue.
If the limited military force of Yue State were deployed in this battle, it would be completely destroyed in an instant.
To stabilize the country's territory, it is not enough to have a strategic location. If the country is extinct, then at that time, even if you have a city, what can you do?"
When Gou Jian heard this, he thought that what Doctor Wen said made sense, but this was indeed a great opportunity for the State of Yue, and he was unwilling to give it up just like that.
Doctor Wen hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, it is better to deceive Helu.
First send out the army to take over half of the cities, then bring the army back halfway to attack the other half of the cities.
There was civil strife in the Wu State, so the soldiers must have no intention of fighting.
You can promise them a safe departure, ask them to hand over their weapons and armor and return to Wu, then kill them on the way. In this way, the five cities will fall into the hands of Yue and the strength of Wu will be weakened."
Everyone looked at Doctor Wen in shock, your advice before was quite consistent with your usual integrity, but I didn't expect you to come up with such a vicious plan.
There is no talk of faith and loyalty at all!
Doctor Wen covered his face and confessed: "Yue is weak, so we can only use such a clever trick. Otherwise, no matter whether Helu wins or Qingji ascends the throne, the army will be at the gates of Yue in just three to five years. I really have no other ideas."
King Gou Jian of Yue was a vicious and cruel person. Doctor Wen's strategy was very much in line with his wishes. He said with a smile: "Doctor Wen is a wise man of Yue. With your assistance, won't Yue prosper?
According to the plan of the Grand Master Wen, he deceived Helu and the Wu garrison.
Helu and Bidan never imagined that Gou Jian and his ministers had the same idea as them.
Why do I find this kind of vicious plot so interesting every time I write it? Maybe there is something wrong with me~
There is also in the afternoon~
(End of this chapter)
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