Chapter 364: Xiang Yu takes the initiative to serve as the vanguard, and the princes compete with ea
Even though Zhao Xie was as slow as a snail, he finally realized: It turned out that all this was Tian Du's deliberate ridicule of him! Not only that, Tian Du even wanted him to be the vanguard of the charge, which was simply pushing him into the fire pit! Zhao Xie was not stupid at all. He was as clear as a mirror in his mind, and he knew very well that this so-called leading the charge was definitely not a good job.
At this moment, what needs to be considered is not just how to capture Xianyang, but more importantly, how much benefit can be gained after successfully capturing Xianyang? After all, it is easy to say that you should lead the charge, but once it is put into practice, how can you estimate the loss of troops? Everyone present is well aware of the interests involved. Therefore, in response to Wei Bao's suggestion, everyone expressed their approval on the surface, but in fact, when it comes to the matter of actually leading the charge, they all backed off.
Just as everyone was looking at each other in a stalemate, Xiang Yu, who had been sitting next to Wei Bao in silence, suddenly stood up and shouted without hesitation: "I'll do it!" His voice was like a loud bell, and the whole tent seemed to tremble slightly.
"Since all of you gentlemen are unwilling to take on this important task of being the vanguard, then I, Xiang Yu, will step forward! Overthrowing the brutal and ruthless Qin Dynasty is an urgent matter and cannot be delayed for a moment. However, before that, I have one more important matter that requires your approval."
"Just say it!" Looking at the reactions of the surrounding kings, Wei Bao knew that it was time for him to express his opinion. Since Xiang Yu took the initiative to stand up, this was naturally the best. However, Xiang Yu obviously had conditions. He just didn't know whether the people present could accept this condition.
"Food and grass. Our Chu army has come a long way from Kuaiji. It is a fact that we are short of food and grass. The vanguard army will naturally have no problem, but I need your help with food and grass."
After hearing Xiang Yu mention the matter of food and grass, everyone present had unchanged expressions, but in fact they were all relieved in their hearts. Food and grass were indeed the top priority in the war, but compared to food and grass, they were more worried that Xiang Yu would propose something more difficult, such as the right to occupy Xianyang in a limited way, etc.
Although strength still has the final say, many things cannot be concealed in front of so many kings. Once the news here spreads, it will be embarrassing in front of the world.
"That's fine. General Xiang has brought it up. I'll just say it. Since we are an alliance to fight against the tyrannical Qin, we should cooperate sincerely. General Xiang is willing to be the vanguard, which is great. But someone might drag his feet. So I suggest that we keep the military rations in a unified place. This way, we can avoid any accidents. The Chu army's rations will also be paid from this. In this way, no one will feel that there is a problem. What do you think?"
At this time, Wei Bao expressed his opinion without hesitation: "In my opinion, we should put all the food and grass in a centralized place so that they can be uniformly allocated and managed!" His words were like a bombshell, instantly detonating among the crowd. The originally calm scene suddenly became tense, and the faces of the other princes present changed subtly.
They knew very well that they had only agreed to give Xiang Yu a portion of the grain before, but now they wanted to manage all the grain in their hands in a unified way. The meaning of the two was completely different. In this way, it was like putting a yoke on themselves and being firmly restrained by others. Because once the grain was managed in a unified way, the right to distribute it would be in the hands of others, which would undoubtedly have a significant impact on the interests of the princes themselves.
"King Wei, you said that all the grain and grass should be put together, but who should be responsible for keeping them? And how should they be properly kept?" At this time, King Han Han Cheng could no longer suppress the doubts in his heart and asked bluntly.
After all, the most critical issue for everyone is who should be in charge of this vital grain. If Wei Bao wants to manage this batch of grain himself, Han Cheng would rather choose to withdraw from this so-called coalition. The reason is that this place is Hedong County, which is Wei Bao's sphere of influence, and Wei Bao has a full 50,000 elite troops under his command. In this case, if Wei Bao is allowed to control the grain, then how this war will proceed will probably depend on Wei Bao alone. Wouldn't this become a one-man show for Wei Bao?
By then, wouldn't the other princes become chess pieces at the mercy of others? So Han Cheng must figure this out and must not follow blindly.
"Haha, how about this, I recommend someone, let Zhao Wang Shen Yang be in charge of grain and grass?" At this time, the King of Wei naturally heard the hidden meaning in Han Cheng's words, and he didn't hesitate to express his thoughts directly. He chose Zhao Wang Shen Yang to be responsible for managing all grain and grass. The territory of Zhao Wang had nothing to do with Hedong County, and the two sides had no interests. Now that Wei Bao said this, everyone present fell into thought, and Zhao Wang Shen Yang obviously did not expect that Wei Bao would let him manage all the grain and grass.
Among the princes, Zhao Wang Shenyang had the smallest territory and the least military force. In fact, the threat to the other princes was naturally greatly reduced. In addition, he had no vested interest in Wei Bao. After Wei Bao said this, everyone began to think carefully.
"I have no objection, no objection." At this time, Qi Wang Tiandu was the first to speak up and said he had no objection.
"I have no objection either." After hesitating for a while, King Han Han Cheng also expressed that he had no objection.
Following the two's statements, the others also gradually expressed their opinions, and the matter was settled on continuing to plan the attack. Xiang Yu was not polite and directly scheduled to set off in three days as soon as the food and grass arrived.
The other princes naturally had no objections and agreed with Xiang Yu's idea. After Xiang Yu left Wei Bao's central army tent, he went straight back to his own tent.
At this time, Yi Xiaochuan and Fan Zeng were sitting quietly in the tent, their eyes occasionally looking towards the tent door, anxiously waiting for Xiang Yu to return. Time passed by, and finally, a sound of footsteps came from far away, and then the curtain was lifted, and Xiang Yu's tall and mighty figure appeared in front of them.
Xiang Yu strode into the tent with great speed, his face still showing his excitement. He did not take a break, and could not wait to tell the two what he had just experienced.
"This Wei Bao is really an extraordinary person! His ambition is staggering, and his thoughts are so deep that we can't figure him out. We have to be on guard against him!"
"What does your father-in-law mean?" Xiang Yu was also stunned when he heard Fan Zeng's words.
"Well, this Wei Bao is indeed not to be underestimated. In my opinion, this man is by no means an ordinary person, and Wei Bao's real purpose is actually quite simple. In this battle, he wanted to take the lead and insisted on going to war. To put it bluntly, Wei Bao was only after a false name - the title of the leader of the coalition. If he wins this battle, his prestige will surely be at its peak, and people will come to him in droves. On the surface, he took the initiative to donate food and actively promoted the formation of the coalition, but in fact, he did it to gain fame for himself."
"It's okay, it saves us a lot of trouble." After a short pause, Fan Zeng was relieved. After all, the most important issue for the Chu army now is the issue of military rations. Solving the problem of military rations is the first condition.
"Then it's up to you, Xiaochuan, to take the pass and advance to Xianyang. You play a crucial role!" At this moment, Xiang Yu slowly turned his head and cast his eyes full of expectation and trust at Yi Xiaochuan. One of the key factors that made him dare to resolutely take on this extremely difficult pioneer task was his undoubted belief in Yi Xiaochuan's ability. After all, if Yi Xiaochuan could give full play to his unique identity advantage and help the Chu army to advance quickly, then Xianyang City would inevitably become the hand of the Chu army.
Yi Xiaochuan nodded slightly and responded confidently: "Brother Yu, don't worry. I have already made a plan for this matter. Long before we set out, I had sent people to spy on the enemy's intelligence. I believe it won't take long before we can roughly understand the current deployment of the Qin army. By then, it will naturally not be difficult to conquer this pass. It's just that..." When he said this, Yi Xiaochuan suddenly showed a little depressed, and his words stopped abruptly.
Seeing this, Xiang Yu frowned slightly and asked in confusion: "What's wrong? What happened to make you so sad?" Fan Zeng, who was standing nearby, patted Xiang Yu's arm gently, as if to signal him to stay calm.
"Xiaochuan is worried about the situation in the southern border. The occupation of the southern border has now entered a white-hot stage. According to the news just received, the imperial army has won a great victory, and Xiangjun has almost fallen into the hands of the imperial army."
"Haha, isn't this a good thing?" After hearing Fan Zeng's words, Xiang Yu, who was dissatisfied with Gao Yao, thought that this was a good thing and there was nothing wrong with it.
"Haha, you have fought against the Southern Border Army and the Imperial Army before. If you look at it from your perspective, do you think it is reasonable for the Imperial Army to advance so quickly? The Southern Border Army has only lost about 30,000 to 40,000 people, but it has been retreating as a whole. From the overall situation, something is obviously wrong. What Xiaochuan is worried about is that the battle is going too smoothly."