Chapter 61: Qin and Chu Form an Alliance?

  As the main force of Qin army in Hexi and Hedong prefectures retreated, the armies of Han, Zhao and Wei took over large tracts of Qin territory without bloodshed.

  On March 11, Korea took Deokji and Seongan, Wei State broke Musoi, and Zhao State fell to Xiyang. On March 20, Zhao State broke Puyang, Korea fell to Pingyang and Jincheng, and Wei State occupied Quwo and Anmen. On March 26, Zhao State marched south in one direction, successively defeating Shaoliang and seven surrounding cities, Korea recaptured Sinseong and Yangin, and Wei State was like breaking bamboo, successively falling into Fenying, Ji, Puyi, Yangjin, and Yanshi five cities.

  At the same time, Qin State concentrated heavy troops around Dingyang and Anyi cities. Zhao and Wei States had been attacking for a long time but failed to capture them, suffering heavy losses, so they gave up their plan of strong attack and switched to siege.

  From then on, Wei State occupied the entire Hedong Commandery except for Anyi. The area of three hundred miles in circumference east of the Yellow River, south of the Fen River and north of the Wei River was returned to Wei State.

  Zhao State obtained all areas between the Fen River and the Yellow River, its influence extending to half of Hexi County, opening up and expanding territory by 500 miles.

  Korea then seized the vast territory east of Bianqu, Wusui and Jian, greatly increasing its strategic living space, and wrapped up the entire Zhou royal family.

  Chu State, Chen County.

  The Qin state delegation traveled over mountains and across rivers for half a month before finally arriving at Chen Cang beside the Ying River.

  Chen Ying was originally named Chen County. After the Qin state captured the capital of Ying, it occupied the eastern part of Jingling, attacked Anlu, took Yiling in the west and burned the tombs of the former kings of Chu. The army of the king of Chu dispersed and fled to Chengyang, then moved its capital to Chen. To show that the state of Chu did not forget the shame of losing Ying, the king of Chu ordered that Chen County be renamed Chen Ying, as a secondary capital of Chu.

  The first thing the King of Chu did after arriving in Chen County was to summon Zhuang Xin back to Chu. Before Bai Qi's attack on Chu, Zhuang Xin had remonstrated with the King of Chu not to indulge and trust Zhou Hou, Xiahou, Yingling Jun, and Shouling Jun, a group of sycophantic ministers, and to prioritize state affairs instead. The King of Chu did not listen, and Zhuang Xin left Chu for Zhao. Now realizing his own extravagance and recklessness, the King of Chu decided to make amends for past mistakes, granting Zhuang Xin the jade tablet and enfeoffing him as the Lord of Yangling.

  In the following years, King of Chu had a wise and virtuous rule, befriending worthy ministers and keeping petty men at bay. He gathered troops from the eastern regions, totaling over 1 million, and recovered 15 cities along the Yangtze River that Qin had occupied, turning them into prefectures to resist Qin.

  The news of the Qin state's loss of 200,000 troops and the great chaos within the pass had already been known to all in Chu. They all thought that taking advantage of the internal disorder of Qin, it would be better to attack Yingdu. When Gongzi Shi and his party entered Chen County, Chu had actually assembled an army of 100,000 men, preparing to send Jingyang as a general to attack Yingdu, also known as Nangong in Qin. If everything went smoothly, the Chu army would also go north to NanYang, straight to WuGuang.

  The arrival of the Qin state delegation caused a stir in Chen County. The Qin state had attacked Chu three times, "never failing to win battles or capture cities, and never failing to break through defenses". Chu not only lost large tracts of land but also suffered over 600,000 casualties among its people.

  Many people in Chen County were followers of the King of Chu who had fled from other places. Even among the original inhabitants of Chen County, many relatives had died at the hands of Qin.

  The two countries of Qin and Chu have such deep hatred, naturally there will not be a single person from Chu who will show courtesy to the Qin envoys. The more polite ones glared at each other, while the less polite ones had already started throwing rotten vegetables, stinky eggs, and even stones to welcome the arrival of the Qin envoys.

  The situation did not improve until the King of Chu sent a guard to escort them. The Qin envoys were thus heavily guarded and proceeded with trepidation into the relay station.

  Upon arrival at the relay station, except for Gongzi Shi in the carriage, everyone else in the delegation was disheveled. After tidying up a bit, Gongzi Shi hurried to the palace to request an audience with King Chu, but the eunuch Li refused on the grounds that it was already late and King Chu was resting.

  The prince's request to see the King of Chu was not granted, so Gongzi Shi visited various high-ranking officials in Chu that night, but they all refused to see him. Some claimed to be ill, while others said they were already asleep. Some spoke politely, while others frowned and responded coldly.

  The next day, Gongzi Shi and his party were kept waiting for two hours before being allowed to attend the "morning court" of Chu State! By this time, it was already three poles high in the sun, which made Gongzi Shi exclaim, "Chu State's morning court is really early!"

  Having eaten so much humble pie, the rest of the team was already resentful, but Gongzi Shi seemed exceptionally calm. He is the envoy, but what good does a successful mission do for him? The credit for resolving the Qin state's crisis still goes to the King of Qin, and he can at most gain a reputation for being diligent. As someone in a high position, he has already been rewarded with everything that can be rewarded, and enfeoffed with all that can be enfeoffed. But if the mission fails, the King of Qin's reputation will be the first to suffer a blow, and his royal brother will have a hard time enduring it.

  Of course, Gongzi Shi knew that he was playing with fire and that the slightest carelessness would lead to a disastrous outcome. But since Gongzi Shi dared to do so, he naturally had his own plans. What he wanted to do was make this visit look extremely successful while burying hidden dangers. When the time came, he would be rewarded by the King of Qin for his achievements, and what joy could compare to that!

  "The king has an order, declaring the Qin state envoy to pay respects." Along with the eunuch's sharp and fine voice, Gongzi Shi walked into the imperial court.

  He looked up and saw a large pot of boiling oil standing on the Chu State's imperial court. The Qin State's deputy envoy immediately changed his expression, subconsciously glancing at Gongzi Shi beside him. Gongzi Shi also noticed this anomaly, but his face remained unchanged, calm and composed.

  "Who is standing under the stage?" King Chu asked knowingly, taking the lead in questioning.

  "The envoy of Qin State, Wanhou and Gaolingjun Zhao Shi pays respects to Your Majesty." Gongzi Shi bowed politely and asked after the king's well-being.

  "Hmm." King Chu snorted proudly and continued, "The noble envoy is not enjoying himself in Xianyang, what brings him to my kingdom of Chu?"

  "I have come on the orders of my king to make peace between Qin and Chu. This is a letter from my king, please let the king read it." He then took out the letter from his bosom and handed it over to the eunuch.

  The King of Chu snatched the imperial edict from the eunuch's hand, threw it to the ground and loudly rebuked: "Qin is the eternal enemy of our great Chu. In the past, they flooded Yingdu, and later burned Yiling. Is this what you call friendship? Such mockery, do you think my soldiers are not advantageous?"

  Before Gongzi could react, King Chu shouted towards the guards outside the door: "Come in!"

  "Agreed!"

  "Throw these two Qin envoys into the oil cauldron and fry them!"

  The guards listened and were about to come in to execute the punishment, but the face of the Qin state's deputy envoy turned even paler, his face ashen. However, Gongzi Shi burst out laughing loudly, causing the entire court to be shrouded in suspicion. Could it be that the Qin state's envoy had been frightened silly and not only didn't beg for mercy but was also unusually happy?

  "Hold on, Your Majesty!" Left Tutor Huang Xie stopped the guards and turned to face King of Chu, "The Qin envoy has come from afar, their words are not yet finished. If you were to boil them in oil right now, I fear that it would spread and damage your reputation, saying that Great Chu is intolerant and lacks generosity. Moreover, when two countries are at war, they do not kill the envoys! Please reconsider, Your Majesty."

  "Hmm!" King of Chu raised his foot and looked proud, but did not refuse to speak. The rest of the Chu state officials also watched Gongzi Shi with great interest, but no one else begged for mercy.

  "It seems that the State of Chu still has wise men." Gongzi Shi smiled and said, "My great Qin indeed captured your capital Yingdu, and also accidentally burned the Yi territory. On the battlefield, in order to win, generals will stop at nothing, it's just human nature. Your army is brave and good at fighting, our army had no choice but to use this tactic, it was a helpless move. But this is a crime of war, not the intention of my king. Now the king of my great Qin has realized his mistake in invading your country, and wants to renew old friendships with your country, put down arms and stop fighting, what does your majesty think?"

  "Just because of your noble words, you think that once the war is over, it's just over? Do you think the great army of Chu is just for show?" The King of Chu was unforgiving, and although Qin knew they were wrong, their mistake was too great, how could Chu forgive?!

  "In order to show our country's sincerity, we are willing to return the land of Yingdu and the surrounding 200 miles to your country." Gongzi Mi tempted him with benefits.

  "Hahaha!" King Chu seemed to have heard the most pleasant joke in the world, and sarcastically said: "Your Qin state has lost no less than 200,000 troops in the two cities of Ye Wang and Yi Que. Now, internally there is chaos within Guanzhong, externally Han, Zhao, and Wei are attacking the two counties of He Xi and He Dong, I'm afraid you're too busy to take care of yourselves. No need for you to return it, I'll just take it myself."

  The young master of the city did not get angry, but smiled calmly and replied: "I don't know where your majesty's confidence comes from. Although our great Qin has lost 200,000 soldiers, we can still gather an army of 70 or 80 million in a short time. Now, although Yiqiu is rampant in Guanzhong, it is getting weaker with each battle, and now there are less than 50,000 left. Our great Qin will soon be able to annihilate Yiqiu. As for the two counties of Hedong and Hexi, our great Qin has an army of no less than 200,000, which is enough to take them by storm, but also sufficient to defend the city. But your majesty now has only 200,000 soldiers in the whole country, laboring to launch a distant expedition, I don't know how much chance you have of winning against my southern county's 80,000 elite soldiers."

  The King of Chu's expression changed, and Gongzi Shi took advantage of the situation to speak: "The current danger is only because our great Qin was careless for a moment. Once we destroy Yiqu, our great Qin will have no more worries in the back, and when the time comes, our army will come out of Hangu Pass, and the territories of Hedong and Hexi will return to our great Qin's possession. Then our country will send Wu Anjun to lead the army to support Nangong, and won't Your Majesty worry about being defeated again?"

  "But our emperor is benevolent and does not wish for the two countries to engage in consecutive years of war. He wishes to turn swords into jade silk, offering 200 li of land to seek peace. This sincerity can be witnessed by heaven and earth. I hope your majesty will clearly understand!"

  "Hum! Will the State of Qin be so kind? What conditions do you have, speak freely." The King of Chu sneered at this, as Qin has never made a losing deal, they must have some ulterior motive.

  "Han, Zhao and Wei will surely expand their territories in all directions after this great victory. Our Great Qin has the solid defense of Hangu Pass, so we didn't expect the three Jin states to join hands. The three Jin states will definitely turn their attention elsewhere if they cannot expand westward. Looking at the three countries of Yan, Qi and Chu, only your country is currently the weakest. It's very likely that the three Jin states will take action against your country next. If the three Jin states launch an attack, what will your country use to defend itself?"

  The young master of the city first threw out a bomb to intimidate Chu State, and then said: "Although my great Qin can resist the three Jin states alone, it is not willing to add more casualties. Therefore, the alliance between Qin and Chu is inevitable. If the three Jin states advance westward, your country will go north to harass, if the three Jin states advance southward, my great Qin will go east out of Hangu Pass. In this way, the three Jin states will be exhausted from running around, and our two countries will also be safe."

  The ministers spoke to each other, and had to admit that this was a good plan. Although Qin was greatly defeated, its strength still remained. If they could retake Yingdu without bloodshed, Chu's strength would also recover somewhat. Only a few ministers believed that Qin was a country of tigers and wolves, which had always been untrustworthy, and should be decided with caution.

  "Very well! In that case, I will follow your words, and the State of Chu is willing to form an alliance with your country. However, you must first return Yingdu, as a demonstration of your sincerity." The King of Chu made his final decision.