The next day, the army set out again and advanced towards Linzi.
Zhang Er and his entourage, who had just escaped from Boyang, suffered an unprecedented blow when they learned that Zhao Xie, their ally who had been intended to serve as a retreat, had suddenly rebelled.
In the previous battle against the powerful main force of the Chu army, Zhang Er, who lacked courage and strategy, was no match for Xiang Yu, who had fought for many years and was invincible.
The two armies had equal numbers of men, but after months of fighting, the Chu army suffered only minor casualties, losing 20,000 to 30,000 men, while he suffered heavy losses.
—Of the 200,000 troops temporarily mobilized from Zhao, as many as 100,000 were killed in the battle.
Of the remaining 100,000, 40,000 resisted stubbornly and were captured, leaving only 60,000 survivors who secretly escaped from Boyang with him in the middle of the night, and hurried all the way to Linzi, where they had a chance to catch their breath.
Zhang Er had lived for most of his life and had experienced countless storms. Although he knew that the situation was unfavorable, he still had the Zhao territory in the rear and the Dai and Yan countries as allies, so he always felt that there was still a way out.
So when the morale of the generals was low, he could still put on a smile and boost morale.
However, as soon as the military news of the allies' rebellion arrived, he became demoralized and even more depressed than his subordinates.
Although he still had 200,000 Qi soldiers under his command, Zhang Er knew very well that the people of Qi had always been submissive to him, an outsider who took advantage of the situation and claimed to be king.
His regime was temporarily unsustainable, so he had no choice but to hastily appoint a man named Tian as the King of Qi, hoping to repeat the old trick of supporting Zhao Xie to win back the hearts of the people of Zhao.
However, he did not expect that his many evil deeds, such as heavy taxation and extortion, constantly forcing the people to join him in resisting the powerful Chu army, resulted in heavy casualties, soaring food prices, and people's miserable lives, which had already aroused deep resentment from the people of Qi.
He himself is living in dire straits, so how could he be willing to accept the advice of a fake king who is obviously his puppet!
People like Tian Rong, who were quite famous in Qi at that time, were also hated by the people when they did this, and ended up having their heads cut off in their sleep by the people of Qi. What about Zhang Er, who was just an outsider
Although they were both foreign armies, the Chu army, which had not harmed anyone, provided relief to orphans, and released prisoners, was much more tolerant and merciful than them!
Such a sharp contrast appeared after such a short period of time. The people of Qi were naturally even more unwilling to submit to Zhang Er.
Seeing that Zhang Er's army was at a disadvantage, the cities and counties in Qi, which had long been prepared to take advantage of the situation, took the initiative to defect, opened their gates to the Chu army, and surrendered.
Zhang Er was so angry that he almost vomited blood when he learned that except for a few old capitals where he had sent heavy troops to garrison, most of the cities and counties in Qi surrendered without a fight, and some even turned around and joined the Chu army in order to drive them out of Qi.
Faced with the Qi people who were full of complaints, he really had no words to express his grievances.
Who doesn't know that only by treating the people with kindness can you win their hearts
He clearly has the intention, but not the strength!
The powerful army of Chu was coming with great force. If he did not rely on levies, he would not be able to support 400,000 soldiers, let alone care about the lives of the people of Qi who were of no use to him for the time being!
Unlike the State of Chu, which occupied two extremely fertile tracts of land in the east and west and had obtained all the wealth from the treasury of the Former Qin Dynasty, it could be rich and generous and spend its money at will, and had no need to pursue such a small amount of money.
Although he knew that the situation was unfavorable, Zhang Er was unwilling to sit and wait for death.
After being in despair for half a day, he quickly came to his senses and decided to use Linzi as a fortress. Before the Chu army arrived, the entire army would devote all its efforts to building camps in preparation for future defense.
At the same time, he ordered his men to fortify the city and clear the fields so that the Chu army would not be able to get any food or fodder within a hundred miles.
He personally inspected the granaries in the city and listened to his subordinates' reports. He felt relieved when he heard that the grain was enough to feed the people in the city for half a year.
If they could really hold out for half a year, they would surely be able to survive until the day when the Chu army confronting them outside the city ran out of food and exhausted soldiers and was forced to retreat.
As long as he can calm down, he still has a chance to make a comeback.
Thinking of this, Zhang Er couldn't help but grit his teeth and hated Zhao Xie, who was short-sighted and cowardly!
If he had known this would happen, he should not have worked with Chen Yu to support him to the position. In the end, he got bitten back when the time came.
The army led by Xiang Yu arrived at the city after several nights. Seeing that there were fortifications outside Linzi City, it was difficult to conquer it for a while, so he changed his idea of a quick battle.
Along the way, he has quietly changed his habit of using force to defeat force and ending war with war.
If you can lose as few soldiers and generals as possible, do so.
Seeing that Zhang Er was prepared, he ordered his army to surround the city, with several layers of soldiers guarding each gate to ensure that the enemy would not have a chance to escape.
Unlike the Chu army which had won great victories all the way and was in high spirits, Zhang Er's army, which was already uneasy due to a series of tragic defeats, felt extremely distressed when they saw that they were surrounded in the city.
Zhang Er was also very nervous and couldn't sleep every night. Soon, many blisters appeared on his mouth. Every time he popped them, it hurt so much.
What disturbed Zhang Er the most was that this Chu army, led by the notoriously violent and impatient Xiang Yu, was not only skilled in quick field battles, but was also surprisingly patient.
Since he surrounded the city tightly, Xiang Yu seemed like a different person. He never launched a strong attack, but just stood there quietly, looking calm and composed.
In late August, clothes are given out in September.
In a blink of an eye, two whole months had passed.
Zhang Er was really confused.
How come the Chu army remained motionless and had such good patience
The situation was quite different from what Zhang Er had imagined. The increasingly anxious Zhang Er did not know that the Zhao territory, which he thought was still safe, had actually fallen into the hands of Han Xin during the two months when he was besieged in Linzi City.
Less than half a year had passed since the day of the expedition to Lingbi, but they had easily recaptured most of Qi territory, with a total loss of only 30,000 men. Han Xin's army also swept through Wei and Zhao...
Linzi, unaware of itself, has become an isolated city.
Faced with an opponent of mediocre ability, who foolishly defended an isolated city and didn't even know that he would run out of soldiers and food sooner or later, Xiang Yu knew that he only needed to wait quietly and he would soon reap the fruits of victory.
Of course, there is no need to rush.
At the end of September, when food and grass were running out and Zhang Er was almost unable to sit still, Lu Bu, with only his 2,000 cavalry, suddenly arrived at the Chu army camp outside Linzi City.
After several months, everyone in the Chu camp was secretly surprised to see General Lu suddenly, but they made way for him without hesitation.
Before Lu Bu could utter a word, he saw the black mass of Chu soldiers in front of him suddenly split into two sides and automatically made way for a wide passage.
Lu Bu raised his eyebrows and raised the corners of his mouth in satisfaction.
—We should really let that tactless Zhou Lan learn from her.
The jade lion was like a knight on its back, walking to the main tent with its head held high, then lowering its long neck to allow Lu Bu to flip over and jump off.
With the king's order in front of him, Lu Bu had a smooth journey and strode into the tent, just as Xiang Yu and Fan Zeng were discussing something.
As everyone knows, Lu Bu is the only one in the entire army who has the privilege of being able to enter the account without notification.
Therefore, before others arrived, the two of them had stopped talking and looked in the direction of the footsteps at the same time.
When Lu Bu approached, he blinked, bowed calmly, and sat down in his old seat.
According to etiquette, when a subject meets his lord, he should kneel down.
However, although Lu Bu had been forced to follow these rules by the nagging old man, he always pretended to be ignorant and never obeyed them. He pretended to be a straightforward and reckless man, and always sat down hastily with his hands clasped.
He was used to being the leader of a powerful force. Even if he had to submit to Hanzi temporarily for revenge, he would never be willing to perform such a great courtesy!
Lu Bu was as rude to the king as usual, but neither Fan Zeng, who was smiling, nor Xiang Yu, who unconsciously curled the corners of his lips, felt that there was anything wrong.
His eyes finally caught sight of the familiar bright pheasant tail feathers in the usual place. As he watched it sway proudly with its owner, the curve of Xiang Yu's lips became more and more obvious.
Lü Bu was completely unaware that the foolish king was staring at the two feathers on his head without saying a word, and Fan Zeng inexplicably praised him: "Fengxian has been busy and tired, why don't you go back to the tent to rest first, and then come to see the king?"
What did he labor for
There was a hint of confusion in Lu Bu's eyes, but he didn't dare to ask directly.
He rolled his eyes and simply said modestly: "I am paid by the emperor and I am loyal to the emperor. Why should I talk about hard work?"
After hearing this, Fan Zeng sighed even more.
Fengxian was truly loyal and brave, not taking credit for himself and not seeking fame.
It is human nature to engage in intrigue and compete for credit.
Even a straightforward person like Long Jue could not escape this habit: sometimes he would rather fight for more merit than use strategies, and would always use brute force to defeat everything, just to rely on his bravery to defeat more enemies so that he could ask for rewards in the future.
This is not the case in Fengxian.
Before the troops move, food and fodder must go first. Food and fodder are the basis of the expeditionary army's morale, and the importance of ensuring their safety is self-evident.
Although many people know this, there are very few generals who are willing to give up the opportunity to charge into battle and strive for military merit, and personally go to perform the thankless job of escorting the corridor.
If it weren't for the report from Deputy General Zhou Lan, the Lian Ao who was responsible for transporting food and grass from Guanzhong, or Han Xin who was entrusted by Fengxian to march north to Zhao, they would have praised Fengxian's feat of leading 2,000 light cavalry to guard the tunnel and completely annihilate Peng Yue's army in the military report, and wrote about it in detail...
They probably don't know until now that the military supplies that were continuously sent to the front line so that the troops had no worries were actually the result of Fengxian's hidden merits.
It is precisely because Fengxian had a far-sighted vision and unique strategy, and ordered Han Xin to march north with the Longyuan Sword, that we have achieved today's complete victory.
Lu Bu was completely unaware of the good things those bastards had done behind his back on their own initiative. He just thought that he had been kind-hearted for a rare time, and that he would have to run away soon, so he gave these lucky fools a tiring and thankless job.
Seeing that old man Fan cared about him, he was stunned for a moment, then just thought it was just a casual courtesy and didn't take it to heart.
Xiang Yu's eyes had silently moved down from the eye-catching pheasant's tail feathers to the handsome profile of his beloved general, who had deep contours and a heroic look. He suddenly asked, "Fengxian has come suddenly. Is there anything important?"
"Nothing important." Lu Bu scanned Xiang Yu from head to toe several times, making sure that the Overlord was alive and well, without any missing limbs, before he said casually: "I heard that the king was in a stalemate with the thief Zhang in Linzi, so I took the liberty to come and see if I can lend a hand to the king."
After resting in Chaoge City for half a month, he was afraid that more thugs would take advantage of the opportunity to break in, so he simply picked up his weapons and went to patrol along the grain route.
No one knew where Chen Yu had gone. He had disappeared since then. Apart from some hungry bandits who attacked him without knowing the consequences, he had not harvested any grain and was just serving as a guard for the grain carts in vain.
Every time he felt bored, he couldn't help thinking that he would leave Chu camp soon and return to a carefree life. He couldn't help but become a little more... tolerant towards that fool. Miraculously, he endured this boring job and worked for several months.
Now that the overall situation in the Central Plains has been settled, with only the isolated city of Linzi where Zhang Er is located, Xiang Yu, who always advocates a quick victory, has been dragging it out for so long that he can't help but feel a little restless.
This is really not the usual behavior of that fool.
This is so out of character. Could it be that the fool has suffered some serious injury and is unable to take charge of the overall situation, so other generals who are more stable and advanced have taken over
After days of wild thoughts, Lu Bu finally could not resist urging his soldiers to follow him on the journey, and they hurried to Linzi.
Xiang Yu sensed the concern in the words, and his heart warmed up, and his expression softened a little.
He considered his words for a moment and was about to speak, but his quick-thinking father beat him to it.
Fan Zeng had no idea that he had spoken too quickly and had actually interrupted the king.
Unconsciously bearing the king's burning gaze, he looked at Lü Bu intently, and explained the recent siege situation to the wise general whom he trusted very much with all sincerity, and then asked expectantly: "Does Fengxian have any good plan?"
Hearing this, Lu Bu's expression became grim, as if he was lost in thought.