Chapter 1378: The Han Banner (Sixty-Seven) Suspicion in the Heart and Joy in the Body

Mingtai stepped into Zhou Yu's camp with brisk steps. After hesitating for a few days in Xingping, Zhou Yu broke out of camp and marched to Xianyang under Ying Ying's king's order. He arrived at the outskirts of Xianyang five days later and set up camp. The camp formed a horn with Xianyang, and what puzzled Zhou Yu was that Lu Chao did not make any reaction in the face of such a situation that was obviously extremely unfavorable to him. Instead, his vanguard troops retreated back again. some distance.

Could it be that Lu Chao wanted to gather all the forces that opposed him under Xianyang City and then wipe them out in one fell swoop? The question is, where does Lu Chao get his confidence? In Xianyang City, the combat effectiveness of the 30,000 Xuanyi Guards has always been superior to other armies. Even the frontier army led by him, the combat effectiveness is not inferior to the Hangu Pass border army. Now the number of troops on both sides is almost equal, but the imperial court occupies The advantage of the home field, the several large granaries in Xianyang City and the craftsmen camps concentrated here can ensure the logistics of the imperial army, but Lu Chao has to transport supplies all the way, even if the counties along the way surrender +pig+ Pig + Island + Novel ww.zhom captured Lu Chao, but they could provide food and grass, but not ordnance. Even the most common arrows, Lu Chao had to transport from Hangu Pass.

Zhou Yu was puzzled and couldn't figure out the key here. It would be fine if Lu Chao was a mediocre general, but the ability that this person had shown over the years was not at this level at all. There must be something fishy here. Zhou Yu, who couldn't figure out the joints here, has become much more haggard in the past few days. When the two sides are fighting, the most important thing is to know yourself and the enemy. You can see your own strength at a glance, but you don't know Lu Chao's trump card. This is Great hidden danger.

"General Zhou has commanded his troops well. When Ming entered the camp, this murderous and fierce aura hit his face, it was suffocating!" Mingtai clasped his fists with his hands, saluted Zhou Yu, and said with a smile.

"Commander Ming is joking. Compared with the Xuanyi Guards, Zhou's subordinates think they are far inferior. Even the elite action team of Heibingtai is far superior to Zhou's troops." Zhou Yu returned the courtesy and asked Mingtai entered the Chinese army's tent.

"As soon as General Zhou arrived, the bandits were not far away from death, and the king was finally relieved." Mingtai said with a smile: "To be honest, since the bandits started their army, the king has been unable to sleep at night and has no food to eat. Taste.”

"Lu Chao is a rebellious minister and a traitor. He goes against the trend. Naturally, he will not last long. I just wonder what the king has in mind?" Zhou Yu asked, it would be fine if Ying Ying did not know how to fight. The problem is that this king also came from the military. He came out and was no stranger to the military.

"Your Majesty wants to fight the bandits openly and openly. What does General Zhou think?" Mingtai asked. "In fact, the king is also making preparations for this."

Zhou Yu pondered for a moment, "Commander Ming, there is something you don't know whether to say or not?"

"Of course it can be said that the king sent Ming here just to listen to General Zhou's opinion." Mingtai said with certainty.

"Lu Chao marched his troops from Hangu Pass, and the momentum along the way was like breaking bamboo. Everywhere looked at the wind and fell.

The thieves' army went smoothly. Now the situation is strong and the morale is high, but our army has been suppressed, and the morale cannot match that of our opponents. At this time, in a decisive battle with the enemy, the outcome can only be said to be 50-50. "Zhou Yudao, actually in Zhou Yu's heart. At this time, the decisive battle with Lu Chao is about to happen. The number of winners and losers is probably 46 or even 37. The soldiers and horses at Hangu Pass have been fighting, and his frontier troops have been fighting for many years. There was peace with the Chu people in the south. There had been no war for many years, and Xuanyiwei fought even fewer battles. Looking back, Xuanyiwei's most recent battle was between Xuanyiwei and Zhao Guo led by King Wulie of Qin more than ten years ago. In Zhao Mu's battle at Hangu Pass, Xuanyi Guard suffered heavy losses and a large number of veterans died. Although the newly recruited soldiers were selected from the best, they had not been polished by the fire of war. It is not so reassuring to engage in such a decisive battle where the outcome is determined by one battle.

"What does General Zhou mean?" Mingtai asked.

"We have the strong city of Xianyang to rely on, so we naturally have to maximize this advantage. The Xuanyi Guards will defend the city, and our troops will respond from the outside. Even if the bandits are powerful, as long as they cannot attack Xianyang City, it will take a long time. A large loss will inevitably damage the morale of the army, and it is not as convenient for them to replenish food, grass, ordnance as we are. We only need to spend more time with them, and the outcome will be tilted in our favor. This is one of them."

Mingtai nodded slightly.

"Secondly, we can't just look at the outcome of this battle, but also consider the Han and Chu countries. The Han people are indeed holding back their troops now, but it does not mean that they are unprepared. The speed of the Han army's dispatch of troops is far from what we expected. Comparably, once they make up their mind to send troops, they can send out hundreds of thousands of troops in a very short period of time. As for the Chu State, they have already taken action. Zhou led his troops to leave, and the south was empty. The Chu people sent out troops in large numbers. Our southern territory has almost completely fallen, so what we have to consider in this battle is not only to win, but also to preserve our strength as much as possible. If both sides suffer, it will be of no benefit to our Great Qin, and we are afraid that we will be separated from the bandits. The day there is a victory or defeat will be the day when our country, Qin, will be destroyed.”

"What General Zhou said is absolutely true. After I go back, I will naturally convey General Zhou's words to the king as they are. At that time, the king may even summon General Zhou to the palace to ask for advice. Please make preparations for General Zhou." Ming Ming The stage stood up.

"Thank you very much, Commander Ming. By the way, Commander Ming, Black Ice Platform is well-informed. What's the situation at Yingchuan now?" Zhou Yu asked.

"Hey!" Mingtai sneered: "Tan Feng had a good idea. He wanted to take advantage of the chaos on our side to capture Wulong and Tai'an and expand his territory, but he didn't want the Han army to take over. Cheap, his old nest Yingchuan has been raided by the Han army, and Wulong has also been lost. This man is now hiding in Tai'an, and the Han army has been pressing forward relentlessly. He is like a rabbit that can't grow its tail. "

Listening to Mingtai's words, Zhou Yu couldn't help but feel sad. Now that Da Qin's people are in disarray, the two hungry wolves of Han and Chu have pounced on Da Qin's sick tiger and bitten it fiercely. Even if Xianyang wins this battle, it will probably be difficult for them to move forward in the future.

"I wonder if the king has any other instructions?" Zhou Yu asked.

"This time the bandits raised an army to rebel. The Qin Dynasty was in silence. There were only a few who raised troops to serve the king. Only General Zhou did not hesitate. The whole army came. The king was very moved. So General Zhou, you are about to be promoted to a higher rank. As far as I know , you will soon become the Marquis of our Great Qin."

"Ah?" Zhou Yu was a little surprised.

"Xingping Hou, the food is in the Xingping County you just conquered. The entire county is used as the general's food!" Mingtai showed envy on his face, "In addition, in order to commend the general and your subordinates, For this righteous deed, the king specially allowed the general to bring three thousand soldiers into Xianyang City to be reviewed by the king. The king personally awarded these soldiers with silver rewards and new armor and weapons. "

"This, this is not something that Zhou Yu should be responsible for. The king attaches so much importance to it, but it makes Zhou Yu panic." Zhou Yu was not too excited. If it was before, Da Qin was still at the height of its power and could get the title, it would be It's a happy event, but now, even if you are granted the title of Marquis, what can you do?

"When thousands of horses were in silence, General Zhou's actions were very impressive. It's nothing more than icing on the cake. It's only the help in times of need that makes people remember it fresh. These days, the king always laments that it takes time to see people's hearts, and talks about the grievances he suffered in the past few years. Your Majesty!" Mingtai said with a smile.

"Zhou was ordered to guard the south. He has tens of thousands of elite soldiers and generals under his command. Why should I feel aggrieved? Please give me your command and reply to the king. One day later, the general will lead three thousand men into the city to be reviewed."

Mingtai laughed and stood up, "That's it. Ming's mission out of the city has been completed. General Zhou, you might as well choose the soldiers who will enter the city in three days. You can choose those who are strong and capable." , the king was delighted to see it.”

"How natural!" Zhou Yu laughed.

As soon as Mingtai left, all the generals in the tent gathered around to congratulate Zhou Yu. In Da Qin, it was not an easy task to be granted a title of marquis. You had to make special achievements. Now that Zhou Yu was granted the title, their tribesmen Naturally, the general will not be pulled down. At least he will be promoted two levels above the casual position. Although it has no practical meaning, at least his salary will be much higher. More importantly, after winning this battle, , Zhou Yu, who has made great achievements, will definitely be reused, and it is not difficult for them to fight for each other. Looking at the entire Daqin, there are really no people who are better than Zhou Yu in terms of qualifications. Those who can stand shoulder to shoulder with Zhou Yu Almost all of them became rebels. The only rising star, Bai Qi, is still entangled with the peasant uprising army in Nanyang County. This time, he has not made any achievements. Even if he has the trust of King Qin, he has no way to defeat Zhou Yupan.

Because they are Meng Tian's subordinates, they have been suppressed for many years, and now they finally see the light of change, how can they not be happy?

"The reward for entering the city this time is a rare reward for us Qin soldiers. As far as Zhou knows, when the late king was in power, he conquered all directions and expanded the territory. Such rewards were only given a few times, so This time there are 3,000 people, and the central army will send 1,000 people, and the remaining 2,000 people will be selected from each department, and each department will have a few hundred people!" Looking at the excited subordinates, Zhou Yu simply came to the rescue. All dipped.

"Thank you, Lord Marquis!" The generals were overjoyed. If Zhou Yu only brought people from his central army for such a matter, everyone would have nothing to say. Now that Zhou Yu is willing to share this opportunity equally with his subordinates, everyone can naturally take the opportunity to show off their close soldiers.

Just when Zhou Yu's troops began to select people and get the latest Kaijia, weapons, and war horses for these people, Lu Chao was standing in the Chinese army's tent ten miles away from Zhou's camp, with a smile on his face. He said to a spy who came from Xianyang City: "Go back and tell your master that I know everything and everything is going according to his plan."

After watching the spies walk out of the tent, Lu Chao stood up: "Generals, make final preparations for the attack. Tomorrow, we will conquer Xianyang City and complete our first goal." (To be continued.)