Chapter 1438: Han Banner World (One Hundred and Twenty-Eight) Give Me One Reason

Qu Wan's life was undoubtedly very frustrating. His homeland was now broken into pieces and on the verge of extinction, but he had no place to use his strength. He was trapped in the southern part of Qin and could not move. Lacking food and grass, he had to seize several prefectures and counties in Sanchuan County of Qin as a temporary shelter. At the same time, he threatened and extorted the Qin people to get some more food and grass, barely enough to keep his remaining hundreds of thousands of men from starving.

But it was not just that everything would be fine after having a full stomach. The morale of the army fell to the bottom. There were deserters every day. The Han people occupied Wuguan and could hold the large army, but it was no problem for a few people to cross the mountains. Those soldiers who missed their hometown began to secretly leave the army and deserted when they saw no way out.

It was mid-October now, and winter was approaching. The wind was getting colder, but his soldiers were still wearing thin summer clothes. Wintering became a problem for him. He needed a lot of cotton-padded clothes and quilts, but it was obvious that the counties he occupied could not provide such a large number of military supplies. Many Chu people in these places had fled, and now they had to support hundreds of thousands of troops. It was polite to describe them as penniless.

Qu Wan was preparing for another armed demonstration to ask the Qin people for what he needed. Of course, if the Qin people didn't give it to him, he would fight. If he didn't fight, would his soldiers freeze to death when winter came?

Zhao Shucheng crossed the mountains with a few trusted guards on a rainy night. It was after going through untold hardships that he arrived at Qu Wan's station, Danfeng County. Although the Han people did not block the mountains tightly, there were still mobile sentries and patrols. These Han people were not interested in the sporadic escape of the Chu army soldiers. For them, these Chu soldiers who had even lost their weapons and armor were no longer soldiers. They ran away. But for Zhao Shucheng, it was very different.

The order he brought to Qu Wan this time was too important, so important that he didn't even dare to let others do it. If the people sent out fell into the hands of the Han people and the plan was leaked, the Chu State would never be able to save the situation. Because of this, as the highest person in charge of the Chu army's secret forces, he decided to go on this trip himself.

Dressed as a woodcutter, he hid during the day and went out at night, and lost several pounds of weight. Finally, he arrived at Danfeng County without any danger. Danfeng County has completely become a military camp. There is almost no civilian in sight, and what shocked Zhao Shucheng even more was that he could not see a trace of life on the faces of these Chu soldiers, only numbness and desolation.

This added countless worries to his heart. Is such an army still useful?

After seeing Qu Wan, he was even more surprised. When Qu Wan led the army on an expedition, he was also in the team that saw him off. At that time, Qu Wan was full of vigor and vitality. But now standing in front of him was a man who looked a little depressed. You know, Qu Wan is less than fifty years old. The black hair before the expedition is now mottled. The wrinkles on his face are just like the bark of an old tree.

"General Qu!" He exclaimed with emotion. In the past few months, the general who shouldered the lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers, the torment he suffered in his heart can be imagined. What kind of pressure would make a person prematurely old to such an extent!

"Zhao Shucheng, General Zhao!" Qu Wan widened his eyes. Looking at the person coming, he could hardly believe his eyes. Previously, his personal soldiers reported that there was a messenger coming from Yingdu. He thought it was another meaningless messenger who came to urge him to attack Wuguan and return to the country for rescue. If he could defeat them, would he still need them to urge him? But he never expected that the person standing in front of him was Zhao Shucheng.

"You, why are you here? Yingdu, what happened to Yingdu?" In Qu Wan's mind, it was correct that Zhao Shucheng should be in Yingdu.

"Yingdu is fine now." Zhao Shucheng looked at Qu Wan and said, "But if we don't react, something will happen soon."

Qu Wan let out a long breath, "How are the recent troops of Chu now? You also know that I am here, and the sources of information in Chu are not well-informed."

"The Prime Minister and the Grand Commandant are preparing to fight the enemy in the Jingzhou area. Now they have mobilized nearly 500,000 troops from various places and concentrated them in the Jingzhou area. The defense line has been almost built." Zhao Shucheng said slowly: "The fate of Chu depends on this battle."

"Five hundred thousand?" Qu Wan smiled bitterly: "Five hundred thousand people are concentrated in the Jingzhou area. There is no depth and no way to fight back. How can we fight this battle? Can we hold on? Wait until the Han people retreat automatically? I'm afraid we can't hold on even if we want to!"

"Yes, although we have 500,000 people, there is a big gap between us and the Han people in terms of combat effectiveness and war preparation. We don't expect to defeat the Han people, but we hope to use our lives to buy time." Zhao Shucheng looked at Qu Wan with a sharp look.

"The Han people have a total of 20 main armies, and now there are as many as 16 Han armies concentrated in Jingzhou." Zhao Shucheng said: "General Qu, do you understand what I mean?"

"Trade life for time!" Qu Wan murmured: "I understand, we use 500,000 people to defend to prolong the war and hold the main force of the Han people in Jingzhou so that they can't take care of other things. At this time, if there are any problems in the Han country? Or if there are foreign enemies attacking, Chu will be saved."

He suddenly shouted, "Qin people, the only hope is Qin people."

"Not only the Qin people, but also you, General Qu. You still have an army of 150,000. Even if we can't take Wuguan and go back to rescue, we can go and attack the Han mainland." Zhao Shucheng said fiercely.

"But I have no food and supplies. Do you think I haven't thought about it? If I have enough food and grass, I can attack Tai'an, capture Tai'an and Wulong, and then go straight to Yingzhou County, attack Yingshui, and fight We can't go to the mainland of Han Dynasty, but there are hundreds of thousands of us who can't go to war on an empty stomach!" Qu Wan said in pain.

"So this time I will come here in person. The first thing is to inform you about this matter, and the second thing is to solve the problem of food and grass supply for you." Zhao Shucheng said: "After meeting you, I will go to Xianyang to meet the road. Super. Our Chu is really dead. Is it possible that the Qin State can survive alone? If they can't cooperate with us sincerely, it will be their turn after our country is destroyed."

"If I have enough food and grass, I can attack the Han mainland and force the Han army to retreat." Qu Wan's face regained its luster, and his eyes once again shone with luster. "But how do you convince Lu Chao? As far as I know, Han Wang Gaoyuan gave Lu Chao a ten-year promise, promising not to attack Qin for ten years."

"In the face of national interests, promises are as stinking as bullshit!" Zhao Shucheng said coldly: "The relationship between Lu Chao and Gao Yuan is extremely complicated. If we talk about personal grudges, I am afraid that Lu Chao is the one who wants Gao Yuan dead the most. In ten years In time, Lu Chao will be able to compete with Han with the power of Qin? Lu Chao must be very clear about this. This is our only chance, why is it not their only chance? Otherwise, why would you be here? Can you stay until this time? The Qin people are still providing you with the necessary food and grass, because Lu Chao is also waiting for an opportunity. "

"Now, you are a hungry wolf locked in a cage by Lu Chao. As long as the opportunity comes, he will let you out as soon as possible."

"But the purpose of my coming is not just to help you out. This time, I want to make Lu Chao understand that if he still has the idea of ​​​​preserving his strength and sitting on the mountain to watch the tigers fight, then he will wait to perish with our Chu country. , If we don’t fight hard at this time, everything will be over.”

"You go to Xianyang, and I will rebuild morale in Danfeng. As long as there is a possibility of returning home, the soldiers will burst out with great enthusiasm." Qu Wan waved his fist, "No hope makes people despair, but as long as there is a glimmer of A little hope can bring out the best in people. No one wants to be a slave to the country.”

Ten days later, Qin State, Xianyang, Heibingtai.

This huge black palace used to be the symbol of the highest power of the Qin State. It was here that generations of Qin kings gave orders and ruled the country. But now, this black palace has changed its owner. Although the Qin State still exists in name only. There is an owner, but everyone understands that the baby king who is only a few years old sitting on the throne is just a puppet, and the person who controls him now lives in the Black Ice Platform Hall.

Lu Chao, who took over Heibingtai, removed all the changes made to Heibingtai during Ying Ying's reign. All the comfortable decorations were swept away, restoring it to the appearance of King Wulie of Qin. The huge palace was empty, except for the geographical maps crisscrossing the ground, which looked more like a caricature no matter how you looked at them.

Zhao Shucheng noticed that at the location of Jicheng, the capital of the Han Dynasty, the hall was not uniformly black, but bright red, so red that it was a bit dazzling.

"Please take a seat, General Zhao!" Lu Chao sat cross-legged on Pu Tuan. In front of him was the bright red color. "There is no need to say these words, because I understand them all. I also know that without the Chu State, our Qin State will be unable to survive alone. But at least the current Qin State can still survive for ten years. In ten years, a lot may happen. An accident, for example, Gao Yuan suddenly fell ill and died? As long as he died, would we have a chance? So, give me a reason, if there is no answer that satisfies me, I would rather wait for such an accident that is not easy to happen. I never want to go to a certain death situation.”

"The State of Chu will never lose quickly!" In front of such a smart man, there was no need to say any unnecessary words. Zhao Shucheng simply said: "General, the State of Chu can drag the main force of the Han people in Jingzhou and make them fall into the quagmire. "(To be continued.)