The stairs extending from the ship to the city wall were hopelessly short.
Qin soldiers were notorious for their ferocity, and many Chu soldiers were frightened by the strange explosion. When they saw Qin soldiers coming from the ladder, they turned around and ran away, ignoring the generals who were supervising the battle and scolding them at the top of their lungs.
A small pocket of people on the crowded wall began to flee, and panic soon spread to the entire crowd.
The general tried to rebuild morale, but no matter what he did, what he promised, or what he threatened, he could not stop the Chu soldiers on the city wall from disintegrating.
His shoulders slumped.
"General, run! Another city gate has been opened, we can escape!" The servants protected him, "They came by boat, there are not many cavalry, we can run!"
The general sighed, then clenched the sword in his hand and fought again.
In fact, although the Qin soldiers had already climbed the city wall, if he fought a street battle, he might be able to save E. But he couldn't kill all the soldiers he brought with him, otherwise even if he saved E, he would lose everything when he returned to report.
After Wu Qi's death, unlike the other six states that actively carried out reforms, the Chu State still implemented the feudal system in most places, and the feudal lords had great power. They had complete administrative and military power in their own territories.
This is one of the reasons why it was difficult for Qin to defeat Chu. For other countries, the Qin army only needed to defeat their main forces and capitals; for Chu, the Qin army had to wipe out many vassal states.
The Chu State was now controlled by the three great noble families of Zhao, Qu, and Jing. Under the noble families were feudal lords who were dependent on them. The governor of Eyi was one of them.
Now the King of Chu and the three nobles Zhao, Qu and Jing are at loggerheads because of Li Mu's plot to sow discord. The commander of Eyi does not trust that the King of Chu will make up for his losses while he is defending Eyi.
It is more likely that the King of Chu would take this opportunity to take back his power.
But if the losses of his personal soldiers are not too great, his family will protect him and the King of Chu will not be able to do anything to him.
After hesitating for a while, although the commander of Eyi was very angry, he gave up his only chance of victory and announced his retreat.
The governor of Eyi sighed and fled with them.
He found that the Qin soldiers brought by Li Mu were not many and would probably leave after taking Eyi, which would not affect the heartland of Chu State, so it would not matter even if Eyi was lost.
Li Mu preferred to fight personally on the battlefield against the Xiongnu, but this time he only gave orders and did not leave the ship.
While the Qin soldiers were fighting on the city wall, Li Mu was turning his empty teacup around, thinking about what to do after occupying Eyi.
The teacup is a porcelain cup made by Zhu Xiang when he was bored.
Firing ceramics requires a relatively high temperature. Charcoal and coal have been used to reach the temperature required to fire ceramics during iron smelting, but no one has tried it. Zhu Xiang gave the craftsmen an inspiration for their research, and they quickly figured out how to make ceramics, and are now looking for a more suitable formula.
Zhu Xiang said that he would give the ceramic making method to the old King of Qin first, and he wondered whether the old King of Qin would agree to let him stay in the south for a few more years.
Zhu Xiang really disliked the depressing atmosphere in Xianyang.
After conquering this vast and barren land, which was considered by others to be barren but very fertile in Zhu Xiang's eyes, the King of Qin probably would have no choice but to keep Zhu Xiang here and let him farm for a few more years.
"General, the Chu people have opened the city gate and are fleeing. Should we chase them?" asked the deputy general.
Li Mu put down his teacup and said, "You lead a cavalry to chase them. Come back after chasing them for a hundred miles."
The deputy general received the order: "Yes!"
Li Mu ordered another deputy general, "After they leave, close the city gates, repair the city defenses, replenish weapons, and prepare to defend the city. Also pass on my order, do not disturb the people. Prisoners can also be used as military merits, so do not kill them; and the reward for breaking the city does not need to be plundered, I can find it for them."
Another deputy general quickly said: "Yes, sir!"
Before he left, he hesitated for a moment, and asked anxiously, "General, with so few of us, can we defend Eyi?"
Li Mu said: "Yes."
He didn't explain the reason, but the deputy general looked relieved and left with a happy smile.
Li Mu stretched his arms and shoulders, then stood up and walked out of the ship.
He stepped onto the corpse-strewn city wall of Eyi and looked at the flames all over the city.
Some wealthy families left with the Chu soldiers and set fire to the city before leaving, causing riots.
It just so happened that the reward for the Qin soldiers’ capture of the city had been received.
Li Mu grew up in the army and naturally knew that the soldiers would plunder money and property after breaking into the city.
If the rewards are not enough, relying solely on laws will not only fail to stop them, but will also affect morale.
But he did not leave after conquering the city. Instead, he immediately incorporated Eyi into Qin territory, quickly restored its productivity, and appeased the people to work with peace of mind. Therefore, Qin soldiers were not allowed to plunder.
In order to satisfy the generals and soldiers, he set his sights on the wealthy families in the city.
The wealthy families in the city must have had a lot of connections with the Chu nobles. And in terms of numbers, they don't farm themselves and can't provide food and grass for Qin. So even if they are destroyed, it won't have much impact on the city.
Of course, all the property of the wealthy families who escaped would be confiscated, and the remaining wealthy families would probably offer large sums of money to buy their lives.
Li Mu had been thinking about how to pacify the soldiers and the people, and did not think about whether the Chu people would counterattack.
When the garrison commander and the county governor fled, his strategic goal had been achieved.
When he rested in Xianyang, he was not just idle. He benefited a lot from the lessons of Bai Qi and Fan Ju, two elders who were originally enemies.
Li Mu's mind was no longer just thinking about the military situation, but also about the government. That's why he used the strategy of sowing discord before leading the troops to set out.
The escape of the county governor and the garrison commander confirmed his guess—the conflicts between the king of Chu and the feudal lords were rather acute, and they did not dare to fight Qin with all their might, fearing that their own power would be weakened and they would be swallowed up by the other side.
Therefore, as long as they knew when to stop, did not go deep into their hinterland, and took the approach of gradual encroachment, the king and feudal lords of Chu would not unite and form a unified force to confront the outside world.
Although Eyi was a strategic location, after the Chu State moved its capital to Chendu, the core hinterland of Chu State moved from the Yangtze River to the Huai River, so it was more difficult for the Chu State to send troops to Eyi.
The Qin State occupied the intersection of the Han River and the Yangtze River. The two waterways for transporting logistics and troops were combined into one line. As long as he could hold on for ten days at most, the King of Qin would definitely send troops from the Han River to support him.
Afterwards, Zhu Xiang led his people to cultivate land and comfort the people here, and this area would soon become a new grain-producing area for the Qin State.
Therefore, Li Mu no longer cared what the Chu people would do. The King of Qin would not give them a chance.
"Send someone to congratulate His Majesty." Li Mu stood on the city wall and fanned his nose and mouth with his hands to dispel the smell of blood and burnt flesh. "Mu has taken Eyi. From now on, the land of Chu is open to the Qin army to roam."
"only!"
The old King of Qin had just finished his busy schedule and sent away the Qin soldiers who were going to attack the Zhou royal family.
Prince Zhu has learned abacus and is clacking away on it, reviewing the logistics needed for his old father to lead the troops.
Someone came to report that General Li Mu had urgent news.
Prince Zhu immediately looked up: "Could it be that Zhu Xiang has done something stupid again?"
The old King of Qin said, "If Zhu Xiang did something stupid, he would write a document and report it himself, so there is no need to worry too much. Could it be that Li Mu lost the battle and he asked me for military support? Send him in!"
The messenger knelt down, and the joy on his face made the old King of Qin and Prince Zhu feel relieved.
Judging from his expression, Li Mu must have achieved victory. I wonder which city he conquered, and whether he really occupied Yunmengze.
"Report to the king!" The messenger knelt down and said, "The general has occupied Eyi, the place where the Han River and the Yangtze River meet! The general congratulates the king, and from now on, the gates of Chu will be wide open, allowing the Qin army to gallop!"
Jiangshui is another name for the Yangtze River at this time.
The messenger kowtowed, waiting to hear the King of Qin's applause.
But he waited for a long time and didn't hear the King of Qin speak.
The messenger was just staring blankly, and the old King of Qin actually stuttered: "Where? Where did he occupy?"
The messenger said, "Eyi."
The old King Qin asked, "Where is Eyi?"
The messenger was confused: "Eyi... Eyi is Eyi."
Taizizhu smoothed his chest and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He couldn't believe it and said, "Eyi? You mean, Li Mu occupied the former secondary capital of Chu so quickly?"
The messenger said, "Yes! General, it took you less than half a day to capture Eyi! Now the city walls have been repaired to prevent the Chu State from attacking the city!"
The old King Qin sat there blankly for a while, and said, "Li Mu... General Li, do you have any documents?"
The messenger then handed over the document.
The old King of Qin unfolded the document. Li Mu wrote in detail the time of his strategic advancement, down to the exact day and hour.
So the old King of Qin saw that Li Mu's fleet flew across the surging Yangtze River to Eyi, and then captured Eyi within half a day, capturing tens of thousands of Chu soldiers.
Now these Chu soldiers are repairing the city walls and restoring the houses.
The old King of Qin read the document over and over again, rubbed his eyes, and handed the document to Prince Zhu.
Prince Zhu read the document over and over again, and stammered, "How come this ship is so fast?"
The messenger said, "We have installed a sail on the ship."
Prince Zhu: "What is that sail?"
The messenger described the sails to the King of Qin and Crown Prince Zhu.
King Qin and Crown Prince Zhu asked again about the new type of navy built by Li Mu, then stroked their chests and gasped for a long time.
This naval master could be so powerful? Black gunpowder could be used on the battlefield? The small countries around Yunmengze were tricked into surrendering by Zhu Xiang's tricks
This Li Mu, this Li Mu...
"Hahahahaha, Wu'an Jun, Wu'an Jun, no wonder Zhu Xiang said he was Wu'an Jun, he is indeed my other Wu'an Jun!" The old King of Qin slammed the table and laughed, finally accepting this happy event, "Okay, okay, from now on I can directly station troops and store food at the confluence of the Yangtze River and the Han River, and erode the State of Chu! The State of Chu has already fallen into the pocket of Qin!"
Prince Zhu stood up, smiled and bowed to the old King Qin to congratulate him: "Congratulations, my Lord."
"Congratulations, hahaha." The old King of Qin laughed, "Pass on my order, Meng Wu leads 100,000 troops to support. When you arrive in Eyi, the 100,000 troops will be led by Li Mu. From then on, General Li Mu will handle the war in the south on his own."
Prince Zhu asked, "Let Meng Wu stay there?"
The old King of Qin said, "Yes, let him stay there to look after Zhu Xiang. I'm afraid Zhu Xiang will be late again. When I call Zhu Xiang back, he can come back with Zhu Xiang."
Prince Zhu sighed: "I'm really worried about Zhu Xiang."
The old King of Qin said with a smile: "Seeing how powerful Li Mu is, you should be relieved. He can protect Zhu Xiang. The biggest worry for the people of Chu is that in addition to the Great Wu'an Jun, there will be another Little Wu'an Jun."
The old King of Qin did not intend to confer the title of lord on Li Mu immediately.
The Qin State was very strict in enfeoffment of monarchs. Generals who had made many more contributions to the Qin State than Li Mu were not enfeoffed as monarchs. It was obvious that Li Mu could not be enfeoffed as a monarch based on this one contribution alone.
However, the ability that Li Mu has shown now has made the old King of Qin have already reserved a title for him.
Bai Qi's title of Lord would not be inherited by his descendants. When Bai Qi passed away, the King of Qin would let Li Mu become the next "Lord Wu'an".
But the person who conferred the title of lord on Li Mu might not be the old King of Qin.
It was Prince Zhu, Prince Zichu, or Prince Zheng.
But as long as Li Mu did not die early, he would definitely become the "Marquis of Wu'an".
This is talent.
The old King of Qin asked the messenger to retreat and rest temporarily, and then went back with Meng Wu.
The old King of Qin then stood up, turned around a few times, waved his fist, and laughed heartily: "Zhu Xiang's vision for identifying people is really strong. I will never doubt the talents he recommends again!"
Taking advantage of his father's good mood, Prince Zhu half-jokingly said, "We'll know which talents Zhu Xiang has taken a fancy to by seeing if he will bring them to Zheng'er to be his teacher. It is said that when Zhu Xiang first met Li Mu, he encouraged Zheng'er to call Li Mu his teacher. His eyes are really sharp. I wonder how much Zheng'er can learn from him."
The old King of Qin said with a smile: "Zheng'er has so many talented people teaching him. It's not bad if everyone learns a little."
He sighed and said, "If Zhu Xiang had been born a few decades earlier, if I could live another 20 or 30 years, I might have been able to unify the world. Now, I can only leave it to you."
The old King of Qin couldn't help feeling jealous of his descendants.
Prince Zhu said: "Zhu Xiang once said that if a person is full after eating ten cakes, it does not mean that he only needs to eat the last cake to be full. If Zhu Xiang had appeared a few decades earlier, even if he entered Qin, Qin would have needed to develop step by step and conquer the world bit by bit."
The old King Qin sighed and said, "Yes."
He smiled and said, "You are becoming more and more eloquent, and less and less afraid of me."
Prince Zhu said embarrassedly: "If I don't work harder, it will make my father sad. Besides, Xia Tong and Zheng Er are both very good. As an elder, I don't want to lose to them."
"It's good to have ambition." The old King of Qin patted Prince Zhu on the shoulder and said, "I used to think you were mediocre. Now I see that you have the appearance of a wise ruler. Although you are a different wise ruler from me, your father is looking forward to your achievements."
Prince Zhu said excitedly: "Yes! I will definitely live up to your expectations!"
Prince Zhu was so excited that he couldn't help crying.
This was the first time since he was a child that he had heard his father's straightforward recognition.
The old King Qin kindly wiped away his old son's tears, patted him on the shoulder, and said nothing more.
He was really relieved.
He really felt sorry too.
If he could unify the world, this son would probably become a good ruler who could carry on the past and govern the people.
What a pity. What a pity.
I hope Xia Tong and Zheng'er will not disappoint my expectations, and I hope Zhu Xiang can live longer.
The news that Li Mu won a great victory and fled all the way to Eyi soon spread in Xianyang.
The Chu royal relatives had very complicated feelings.
They dared not show their complicated emotions under the pressure of the old King Qin, which made their mood even heavier and more complicated.
They looked towards Zhu Xiang's villa (actually Zheng'er's villa) with extremely cold eyes.
Bai Qi, who burned the ancestral tomb of the Chu State, was good friends with Zhu Xiang. Li Mu, who immediately took credit for the arrival of the Qin State, was a friend of Zhu Xiang. Why did Zhu Xiang always have a problem with the Chu State
Even Madam Huayang murmured a few words to Zichu.
However, after muttering, Lady Huayang said, "Forget it. Qin will destroy Chu sooner or later. If it does, I won't bother to listen to all the complaints anymore."
Zichu: “???”
Is this something his "naive" stepmother would say
Zichu was extremely surprised. After asking indirectly, he learned that after Lady Huayang became friends with Xue Ji, she accepted her statement that she would become the future Queen Mother of Qin, and her family would remain rich and powerful forever, and would have nothing to do with Chu.
Anyway, Qin could not help but destroy Chu, so why should she worry? Of course, she stood firmly on the side of Prince Zhu and Prince Zichu, and acted as a queen mother who enjoyed wealth and glory.
Zichu really didn't know what to say.
He finally understood why his father doted on Madam Huayang so much.
Zichu's biological mother, Xia Ji, was a little "inferior" in this respect.
Xia Ji cried to Zichu and asked him whether Qin had the potential to annex Chu and whether it also had the potential to annex Han.
Zichu said coldly: "Qin has the potential to unify the world."
Xia Ji cried, "When I unify the world, I can also enfeoff my own kingdom."
Zichu said: "You are not a member of the Korean royal family, so why bother to think about the future of the Korean royal family? Even if the country is closed, it will not be on your family."
Xia Ji choked on her tears.
Zichu said, "Mother, think about it. What is the difference between your family being officials in Han and being officials in Qin? Do they have to recognize the royal family of Han?"
Xia Ji's lips moved but she remained silent.
Zichu said: "Mother, Han will perish in my hands."
Xia Ji was shocked: "You..."
Zichu stood up and bowed: "I will destroy the Three Jins, unify the world, and hand it over to Zheng'er. Your mother will also be the Queen Mother of Qin in the future."
After Zichu left, Xia Ji sat there for a long time.
She was thinking about the Korean girl she had stuffed into her son's yard.
Did her son tell her that although he accepted those women, no matter how many offspring he had in the future, the throne of King of Qin would definitely belong to Zheng'er
Does it have to be only Zheng'er's
In fact, Xia Ji had already realized that what she did might be in vain.
There are too many capable people around Zheng'er.
But her family told her that because there were too many talented people around Zheng'er, their son might not be able to tolerate Zheng'er.
No king would tolerate his son having power that rivals his own at such a young age. This must be the case with his own son too.
That's why Xia Ji had a glimmer of hope.
"Is what Yi Ren said true?" Xia Ji said to herself, "Will he not change?"
She could do nothing but talk to herself.
All decisions can only be made by her son himself.
When Zichu returned to the small courtyard of Zhu Xiang's house, Meng Wu was laughing loudly and sounded like he was drunk.
The cold expression on Zichu's face melted and he stepped into the courtyard.
"I heard you laughing from a long way away." Zichu said, "Are you so happy going to the south?"
Meng Wu had a drunken look on his face, rubbing his hands and saying, "Of course I'm happy! My father said that to achieve the greatest achievements, one must follow a good commander! If he follows Bai Gong, he will definitely be more famous!"
Lin Zhi laughed and scolded: "Can you be more capable? You should regard Li Mu as your opponent and defeat him!"
Zichu sat down next to Lin Zhi, took a sip from the wine bowl, and agreed, "Yes, you should defeat him. How can you think of following him? You are older than him, and you have more experience in Qin than him. Don't be so useless."
Meng Wu smiled and said, "I am confident in my talent for leading troops. I know how to be most successful."
Lin Zhi and Zichu both showed contemptuous gestures towards Meng Wu.
“Shameful.”
"Don't tell me I know you."
"Why don't you learn from Bai Gong?"
"Learn from Lord Lian and become Lord Bai's rival."
"It seems that Lord Lian has never fought Lord Bai?"
"Now?"
Lian Po cursed: "You two bastards, do you want to be beaten?"
Bai Qi drank silently and didn't want to pay any attention.
Fan Ju stroked his beard and said, "After you go to the south, please take good care of Zhu Xiang and don't let him run around again."
Meng Wu patted his chest and said, "If he dares to run around, I'll tie him up!"
Xunzi said suspiciously, "You'd better keep your word."
Meng Wu patted his chest and said, "Of course!"
Lin Zhi held Zichu's shoulders and said, "Write it down!"
Zichu said, "You bear witness."
The two men recorded the incident, asked Meng Wu to put his fingerprints on it, and would give it to him the next day after Meng Wu sobered up.
Zichu laughed heartily, putting his worries behind him.
In Qianzhong County, Zhu Xiang carried a hoe in one hand and a letter in the other, tilting his head and saying, "Why did they all go to Eyi? Forget it, it doesn't matter if it's not Chendu."
Zhu Xiang looked up at the paddy field that had been dug and a look of joy appeared on his face.
The Jianghan Plain is great, it's really suitable for farming. Dongting Lake has been conquered, and he should go to Dongting Lake to lead the eradication of snails.
Once the snails in Dongting Lake are eradicated, we can dig canals to drain the water and turn the swamp into rice fields. We can also start building mulberry-based fish ponds.
Li Mu must have captured a lot of Chu soldiers when he attacked the Chu city, and asked them to come to Dongting Lake to farm. Although it was a bit hard, it was better than having their heads chopped off as a military merit.
"Should we bring Zheng'er here?" Zhu Xiang hesitated for a moment and shook his head. "The environment here is not good. Let's wait a little longer."
Zheng'er, who was far away in Chengdu, was now sitting on the doorstep, his chin in his hands, looking into the distance expressionlessly.
"Zheng'er, do you miss your uncle?" Li Bing came over with his coat on and sat down side by side with Ying Xiaozheng.
Ying Xiaozheng muttered: "Has my uncle forgotten me?"
Li Bing smiled and said, "How is that possible? It's just that the journey to Qianzhong County is too long, the living conditions are too difficult, and there will be attacks by Chu soldiers, so he left you in Chengdu."
Ying Xiaozheng let out a long sigh.
Of course he knew the reason, but he hadn't been separated from his uncle for a long time, and he was not used to living alone.
Even when he was separated from his uncle, he was with his aunt. Now he is alone in Chengdu and is really unhappy.
"Zheng'er, do you want to go?" Li Bing asked, "If you really want to go, it's not impossible. I will personally escort a batch of food to support Li Mu."
Li Bing was worried that Zheng'er would be left alone in Chengdu after he left. It was safe to travel with the fleet, and Li Bing thought that even if Zhu Xiang asked Zheng'er to come back, he should let Zheng'er meet his uncle first.
Otherwise the little fat guy will become thin.
(End of this chapter)