Chapter 366: The river is boiling and the mountains are collapsing!

Chapter 366: The river is boiling and the mountains are collapsing!

"Xiang Yu, you must not forget that you are no longer just yourself. You represent the entire Chu State, the ardent expectations of the elders and fellow villagers of Jiangdong, and tens of thousands of brave and fearless soldiers are following you closely. I am certainly aware that this approach may not be appropriate, but what can I do now? Do you really intend to ignore the life and death of the Chu army? If anything goes wrong in this battle, I am afraid that our Chu army will not even find a place to settle down!" Hearing this, Xiang Yu couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

"Alas, Xiaochuan can be Meng Yi, and he can also be Yi Xiaochuan of the Chu army. The key to the problem is how you view his identity and everything related to it." At this time, Fan Zeng sighed and said one more sentence.

This is the most significant difference between Fan Zeng and Xiang Yu. In fact, Xiang Yu was not unaware of the reasoning behind many things, nor was he unable to understand the deep meaning behind them. However, due to his temperament, he often went against Fan Zeng in many decisions. In the original long river of history, Xiang Yu and Fan Zeng often held their own opinions and argued with each other, and Xiang Yu was often stubborn and arbitrary.

This situation was largely due to Xiang Yu's past success. The foundation of the Xiang family was built by Xiang Liang, and Fan Zeng worked closely with Xiang Liang, complementing each other. From the beginning of Xiang Yu's command of the army to the conquest of Xianyang, he had a smooth journey and met almost no rivals. After Xiang Liang's death, Xiang Yu took over the banner of the Chu army. There was no strong opponent who could compete with him.

But Xiang Yu's situation today is completely different. Before he could raise his army to start the rebellion, Xiang Liang was tragically killed by Gao Yao. This change made Xiang Yu suddenly lose a person he could rely on, so he had to think more carefully about everything.

After that, he was frustrated again and again by Gao Yao. These setbacks also prompted a radical change in Xiang Yu's growth path. The once smooth-sailing and high-spirited King of Western Chu has now gone through hardships and gradually learned to be patient and strategic. Although his temper has not changed, he speaks and acts more cautiously, relies more on Fan Zeng, and respects Fan Zeng more.

"Father, I understand, but Xiaochuan..." Xiang Yu frowned, listening to Fan Zeng's words, his heart was full of entanglement and helplessness. He hesitated again and again, his lips trembling slightly, but finally chose to compromise silently. However, when he thought of Yi Xiaochuan, Xiang Yu couldn't help feeling a little guilty.

Xiang Yu had always felt sorry for Yi Xiaochuan, after all, they had been through many ups and downs together and had established a deep friendship. At this moment, making such a decision made Xiang Yu feel extremely heavy.

"Don't worry, it was Xiaochuan who brought up the matter. We must ensure that Xiaochuan is safe and sound no matter what." Fan Zeng saw what Xiang Yu was thinking and comforted him, "Besides, it can be said that you still underestimated Xiaochuan too much."

"Hmm? What does that mean, father-in-law?" Xiang Yu was stunned when he heard that, and looked at Fan Zeng with a puzzled look on his face.

Fan Zeng stroked his beard and said slowly: "To put it simply, Xiaochuan is not as simple as you think. In fact, Xiaochuan sees many things very clearly. For our Chu army, this may be a matter of life and death; but for Xiaochuan, isn't it the same?"

Fan Zeng's words were full of mystery and meaning. He did not reveal all the truth, but left some suspense and room for maneuver. Because some things can only be told by Yi Xiaochuan himself, and even if Fan Zeng knew it in his heart, he would not reveal it rashly.

As early as when Yi Xiaochuan came to join Xiang Yu, Fan Zeng had already seen through the clues, but he chose to remain silent and did not expose it on the spot. In fact, Yi Xiaochuan was indeed cleverly using the power of the Chu army to achieve his goal - revenge. And the object of Yi Xiaochuan's hatred, whether it was the high and mighty court or the insidious and cunning Gao Yao, was Xiang Yu's sworn enemy, and this hostile relationship was almost irreconcilable. Because of this, the two sides naturally had a common goal. Under this circumstance, working together is undoubtedly the best choice.

As for the tragic attack in which Sun Xiongxin died in the Southern Border Army, it was actually Fan Zeng who instructed Yi Xiaochuan to carry it out. In a sense, this move can be regarded as a "letter of surrender". By completing such a key task, Yi Xiaochuan showed Xiang Yu's sincerity and determination. Similarly, Yi Xiaochuan could also bring helpful information to the Chu Army, but more importantly, his understanding of Gao Yao was helpful to the Chu Army.

Fan Zeng and Xiang Yu viewed Yi Xiaochuan from different perspectives. Fan Zeng saw Yi Xiaochuan as an equal companion who could be used by each other, while Xiang Yu saw Yi Xiaochuan as a close friend, so the way they treated him was slightly different.

At this time, the war was also going on in the southern border. After the soldiers sent by Gao Yao arrived in Long County to pass on the order, Ying Bu fell into hesitation after hearing Gao Yao's order, and even repeatedly confirmed Gao Yao's order.

After all, it was already a difficult and unsustainable thing to hold on to Long County at this time. However, what was jaw-dropping was that Gao Yao even tried to let Ying Bu directly attack Yecheng! Faced with such an outrageous order, Ying Bu was really confused and puzzled. Judging from the current situation, Ying Bu racked his brains and could only come up with a seemingly reasonable explanation: that is, he had become a discarded pawn. Perhaps Gao Yao wanted to use Ying Bu to attract more imperial troops that were pouring in like a tide, so as to create more favorable conditions and opportunities for his subsequent other plans.

Although it is not impossible to attract the imperial army, the problem is that once the enemy is successfully attracted, it is likely to be a dead end! If they are really trapped in the desperate situation surrounded by the imperial army, it will be extremely difficult and dangerous to break out. And according to Gao Yao, they can only lead 12,000 troops at most. With such a small force, they have to fight against the huge imperial army head-on and decide the winner. The chance of winning in the end is very small, almost close to zero.

However, what puzzled Ying Bu was why Gao Yao made such an arrangement. He had just won a brilliant victory. It was reasonable not to reward him. After all, he had just joined the Southern Border Army and needed to accumulate more merits to consolidate his current position. However, sending him to carry out such a difficult and dangerous task was really puzzling. At this moment, the problem facing Ying Bu became extremely simple and clear: should he leave immediately or bite the bullet and lead the troops to the battle?

It was almost a pipe dream to lead troops to rebel. However, it was not impossible for Ying Bu to leave alone. But should he really give up and leave resolutely? This choice made Ying Bu deeply entangled.

After a fierce inner struggle and repeated weighing, Ying Bu finally decided to lead his men to the battle. Although he was still uneasy, after careful consideration, he knew that he could not easily give up everything he had. Ying Bu's considerations were mainly two issues. On the one hand, he thought that Gao Yao had just made great contributions and there was no need for Gao Yao to target him. On the other hand, he was somewhat worried. Judging from the impression Gao Yao gave him, if he really betrayed Gao Yao and left, it would be difficult for him to leave Long County.

Ying Bu led 12,000 soldiers directly out of Long County and headed straight for Yecheng. This was Long County's only geographical advantage. The second establishment of Xiang County in Gaoyao's plan was mainly for the convenience of circulation. Different counties had their own characteristics. Long County was the most convenient location to connect to Yecheng. In the case of a forced march, it would take at most one day to reach Yecheng.

Shortly after Ying Bu sent out his troops, in Yecheng, the people sent by Gao Yao had already passed the news to the city, and people in various parts of the city also began to prepare for the detonation of black gunpowder.

At night, in the County Magistrate's Mansion in Yecheng, Li Xin was studying the surrounding maps. At the same time, he was constantly estimating the current military strength of the court and the possible actions of the Southern Border Army.

"Report, Long County has sent out more than 10,000 soldiers, heading straight for Yecheng!" At this moment, a messenger suddenly came to pass on the situation and battle report of Long County. Upon hearing the news, Li Xin stood up from behind the desk.

"Where is the Southern Border Army now?" Li Xin asked immediately after arriving at the main hall entrance.

"We are already halfway through the journey, General, do we need to mobilize the garrisons of the surrounding counties?" After the messenger reported, he couldn't help but remind him. Li Xin simply waved his hand. After all, the matter had already been agreed with the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan. Now all that was left was to defend the city. However, he couldn't understand why Long County only sent out more than 10,000 troops to attack Yecheng.

"Go ahead, investigate further and report back. At the same time, order all units to prepare to defend the city."

"Yes." After Li Xin finished his instructions, a messenger went down to pass on the message. Li Xin then returned to the main hall. At this time, Li Xin was ready to have a cup of tea and rest. After all, Li Xin was over 60 years old at this time, and his energy was not as good as before. It was important to rest early and prepare to deal with the Southern Border Army.

"Boom, boom, boom..." The next moment, a series of vibration sounds suddenly sounded, as if the entire earth was shaking, which shocked Li Xin.

"Someone, someone, go check what happened and see if there was an earthquake!"