Chapter 2003: Chen Ping advises
Chapter 2003 Chen Ping’s Admonition
Chapter 2001: Chen Ping’s Admonition
Withdrawing troops is undoubtedly a difficult decision for Liu Ji.
You must know that the Shu Kingdom has occupied the entire Nanjun County except Jiangling City and most of Xiangyang County, which is much larger than the Jiangxia County occupied by the Chu Kingdom.
If the main force is transferred back to Yizhou at this time, if the defenders fail to withstand the Qin army's counterattack, all the previous efforts of the two countries will be in vain.
Liu Xiu was also shocked when he heard Liu Ji's words and said: "Brother King Shu, are you sure you are joking with me?"
Liu Ji did not dare to look directly into Liu Xiu's eyes. He felt ashamed of Liu Xiu, and his momentum naturally weakened.
You must know that after Liu Xiu occupied Jiangxia County, in order to let Shu share the pressure of the Qin army, he deliberately did not occupy other areas.
The newly captured cities after Chu invaded Jingbei were all given to Liu Ji in accordance with the covenant, so the land in Jingbei occupied by Shu was much larger than that of Chu.
Liu Xiu continued to lead the army and stayed in Jingbei, just to fulfill his obligations as an ally. Even if he completely defeated the Qin army, he would not gain an inch of territory, and all the benefits gained would belong to the Southern Han Dynasty represented by Liu Ji.
With such a caring ally, Liu Ji wanted to withdraw his troops back to Yizhou at this time, which was tantamount to betrayal for the Chu State. After all, once the Shu army left, the Chu State would face the Qin army's revenge alone. The pressure is great.
Liu Ji naturally knew that withdrawing troops at this time was both unethical and a pity, but he had an instinctive fear of Chi You in his heart.
When the Southern Barbarians invaded, Liu Ji personally led his army against Chi You. However, he was defeated in one battle and his entire army of 50,000 men was wiped out. Even he himself was almost killed by Chi You. Fortunately, Xing Tian rescued him and saved his life.
After that, Liu Ji, in alliance with Liu Yu, repelled Chi You's invasion, but a deep shadow was left in his heart, and he was both jealous and afraid of Chi You.
No one knows the horror of Chi You better than Liu Ji. Now that Chi You and the Nanman army are about to make a comeback, he will naturally worry about the loss of Yizhou.
Before the war started, Liu Ji was already confused and decided to withdraw his troops back to Yizhou without consulting his military adviser Chen Ping.
Liu Ji knew that he was sorry for Liu Xiu, but he couldn't open his face to apologize, so he lowered his head and said nothing, but it was self-evident.
"you you…"
Liu Xiu pointed at Liu Ji and was so angry that he couldn't speak. After a long time, he said helplessly: "I'm so confused."
"Um?"
Liu Jize frowned and asked, "What do you mean by this?"
"Brother King Shu, I think you haven't discussed this with Chen Ping, right?" Liu Xiu asked.
Liu Ji showed a displeased look and said, "I am the king of Shu and the lord of Yizhou. Why do I need to discuss it with others?"
Liu Xiu was stunned for a moment when he saw Liu Ji being so abnormal, and then said in a concentrated voice: "Brother King Shu, your heart is... confused."
Liu Ji was suddenly startled, a trace of confusion flashed in his eyes.
Am I confused?
Seeing that Liu Ji had begun to reflect, Liu Xiu took advantage of the victory and pursued it, admonishing: "Brother Wang does not need to worry about the safety of Yizhou.
If the Nanman King really wanted to attack Yizhou, why would he only send an army of 30,000 people?
Moreover, Zhu Rongchi is also a master in the art of war, so he should know the importance of soldiers' speed, but can news of the barbarian army attacking the city come from Yinan counties? "
Hearing this, Liu Ji suddenly looked puzzled.
Yeah, Chi You's 150,000-strong army was repulsed by himself and Liu Yu. What's the use of sending 30,000 troops now?
It is true that there was no news of the barbarian army attacking the city from the border. "In this case, Zhu Rongchi has no intention of attacking Yizhou. He is just sending troops to deal with the Qin army just to show off?" Liu Ji suddenly realized.
Liu Xiuze smiled and said: "That's right, otherwise the number of barbarians coming this time would be far more than 30,000, but 100,000."
Hearing this, Liu Ji couldn't sit still anymore, got up and left directly, and went to discuss with military adviser Chen Ping.
Looking at Liu Ji's leaving figure, Liu Xiu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Liu Ji was stabilized. Otherwise, if the Shu army was allowed to retreat to Yizhou, the consequences would be really disastrous.
"With Mr. Chen Ping's intelligence, he will definitely convince Liu Ji." Liu Xiu whispered to himself.
Chen Ping naturally lived up to Liu Xiu's expectations.
With an intelligence attribute of 98 points, Liu Xiu could see the situation in Yizhou so clearly. It was naturally impossible for Chen Ping, who had an intelligence of 101, not to be able to see the situation.
After Chen Ping learned that Liu Ji wanted to withdraw his troops, he gave up Liu Ji's plan to withdraw his troops with just a few words, and he understood Chi You's thoughts thoroughly.
…
Liu Ji immediately took a breath after hearing this and said in shock: "How dare this barbarian be so bold and dare to take advantage of the three major princes of the Central Plains with just a small area of the Southern Barbarians? He is simply looking for death."
“Although the King of the Southern Barbarians is a wise man, he only has a small cleverness rather than a great wisdom.”
Chen Ping's wise eyes flashed with a trace of ridicule, and he said with a faint smile: "He only wanted to let the Qin army weaken our army, but ignored that if our army suffered too many casualties, Qin Hao, a tiger, would occupy Yizhou. , his Nanman’s situation will only become more difficult.”
"That's right. Now that I know Zhu Rongchi's intentions, I will naturally not send any more troops back to Yizhou."
"No."
Chen Ping shook his head and said: "My lord, we should send some troops back to Yizhou to aid."
"Why is this? Isn't it just following the barbarian's wishes?" Liu Ji asked puzzledly.
“My Lord, most of our elite troops and generals are now gathered in the north of Jing. There are not many generals who can resist the Southern Barbarians. Besides, how can the Southern Barbarian King just give up?
If our army never responds with reinforcements, the Southern Barbarians will definitely continue to increase their troops, and when the number increases to a certain level, they will actually attack us, which will be self-defeating.
So, even if he knew it was a trick, in order to stabilize Yinan and not be too passive in the face of the southern barbarians, he still had to call back some of his soldiers. "
Under Chen Ping's persuasion, Liu Ji decided to order Peng Yue and Cao Shen to lead 30,000 elite troops back to Yizhou to guard the Yinan area and guard against the 30,000 barbarian soldiers of Gonggong.
Peng Yue, together with Han Xin and Yingbu, are known as the three famous generals of the early Han Dynasty. He is currently the general with the highest command under Liu Ji, and his military force is second only to Fan Kuai, who ranks fourth. Only with him in Yinan can Liu Ji feel at ease.
Before leaving, Liu Ji grabbed Peng Yue's hand and warned him to only defend and not attack, and that he must exercise restraint and never start a war unless it was absolutely necessary.
After Peng Yue returned to Yizhou with 30,000 troops, the total strength of the Shu-Chu coalition forces dropped to 230,000. They were: 140,000 Shu troops and 90,000 Chu troops, but the total strength of the Qin army rose to 210,000.
The military strength gap between Qin and Shu and Chu has further reduced, and has been shortened to only 20,000 troops.
Although the disadvantage in terms of military strength has been moved back, in terms of the overall situation, the Qin army is still passively beaten, mainly because too many places in Jingbei have fallen, just like a ship leaking everywhere. It is too difficult to plug all the loopholes.
Although Xiangyang City is still stable, Jiangling City is almost exhausted and may be attacked by the coalition forces at any time.
First update. I was originally going to add another update, but because the National Day holiday is approaching, I have to work overtime today on the weekend, which is uncomfortable.
(End of this chapter)