Chapter 62: A Ghostly Alliance!

  Just as Gongzi and the Chu State's ruler and ministers were debating about forming an alliance, news of Qin's victory arrived from a thousand miles away in Yong.

  After half a month of pursuit and siege, the Qin army finally surrounded the remaining 80,000 troops of Yiqu in Jicheng. On March 25th, Bai Qi led the army to launch a general attack, after a day of fierce battle, the Yiqu army was defeated. Less than 30,000 Yiqu cavalry escaped from the siege of the Qin army and retreated back to Yiqu through the Di Dao. Yiqu's vitality was severely damaged and could no longer pose a threat to the Qin state.

  Chu State's auxiliary capital, Chen County.

  After finally deciding to form an alliance with Qin, Chu's attitude made a one hundred and eighty degree turn. The Qin envoys naturally moved out of the dark and damp relay station and into a luxurious and majestic courtyard with pavilions, small bridges and flowing water.

  On the moonlit willow tip, in the courtyard where the Qin state envoys resided, two men clad in luxurious attire were engaged in a lively conversation.

  "Gao Ling Jun, this time the alliance between Chu and Qin is a matter of great disagreement among our country's rulers and officials! You also know that our Chu State has been wary of your Qin State due to the incident with King Huai. If news of this alliance gets out, who knows what kind of chaos will erupt among the people!" said Huang Xie, the Left Tutor of Chu State, raising his cup slightly and speaking with a worried expression.

  "Huang Zuo's concerns are also normal human emotions. However, the current situation is different from the past. When the matter of Prince Huan occurred, my Qin state was ruled by the Queen Dowager, and all matters were decided by her. Now that the Queen Dowager has returned power to King Qin, our king's actions aim to establish trust and righteousness throughout the world. Although we have repeatedly offended your noble country, we absolutely will not resort to deceitful actions."

  The young master of the city explained that whether Qin State values trustworthiness or not depends on its ruler. At that time, deceiving King Huai of Chu into entering Wu Pass was entirely the queen dowager's idea - what great vision can a woman have?! Now it is the wise, brilliant and divine king of Qin who is in power, he is an idealistic person with ambitions, he will not betray trust, so you people of Chu State can rest assured!

  The prince of the city then solemnly guaranteed, "Our national monarch also knows that the upper and lower levels of Chu are cautious about the alliance between the two countries. That's why I was sent to your country from afar, offering the capital of Ying as a token of our sincerity. Please inform King Chu again, the intention of Great Qin is very sincere. As for the reaction of the people, hum, I think your country still has many ways to deal with these commoners. Once the draft of the alliance between the two countries is ready, your country will hand over the national letter to me, and Great Qin will immediately return Yingduo, without any delay."

  "With your words, Gaoling Jun, I can also put my mind at ease. Gaoling Jun, come, let us drink to the eternal friendship between Qin and Chu with this cup."

  "Please, come in!" Gongzi Shi said with a smile.

  "Please!" Huang Xie raised his cup in invitation.

  After discussing official business, the two of them naturally started talking about romantic affairs. During their conversation, they were extremely pleased and felt as though they had met too late in life. Taking advantage of the wine's effects, Huang Xie suggested bringing Gongzi Shi to the Smoke Willow Lane to look for Yuezi, in order to fulfill his duties as a host. Gongzi Shi also wanted to experience the soft music of Wu and Yue, so he didn't decline and happily agreed.

  In this way, the two of them arrived at Chen County's most famous brothel - Xiangxiang Pavilion. After appreciating the music and dance for a while, Huang Xi saw that Gongzi Shi was almost drunk, so he immediately arranged for the top courtesan to accompany Gongzi Shi to Wushan together.

  The next day, Gongzi Shi woke up with a headache and dizziness, only to find a pair of jade arms embracing him, still asleep. Looking at the beauty in front of him, Gongzi Shi's eyes flashed with a hint of complacency, but he put on a flirtatious expression and teased: "Beauty, the spring night is short, let me take good care of you again."

  A woman's cry of surprise suddenly echoed through the room, but it was immediately cut off and turned into a series of coquettish gasps, with soft murmurs resonating throughout the entire room.

  The Chu King's palace, Left Servant Huang Xie was making a report to the Chu King.

  "How is it? Has the true intention of Qin been clarified?" King Chu asked with a serious face.

  Zhuang Xin went into the palace to advise himself after the court meeting, thinking that Qin Guo was a country of tigers and wolves, speaking without faith. For now, agreeing to form an alliance is possible, but it's hard to guarantee that Qin Guo won't make some small moves behind our backs. It's best to investigate Qin Guo's true intentions.

  Huang Xie was the official in charge of this matter, and he also pleaded for Qin State on the court, saving Gongzi Shi's life. So King of Chu deliberately got Huang Xie to get Gongzi Shi drunk, and the subsequent night tour of Xiao Xiang Guan was just a further attempt to numb Gongzi Shi, using beautiful women to lure out the true intentions of Qin State.

  Huang Xi did not dare to be slow, and immediately respectfully replied: "Report to the king, everything has been investigated clearly. This time Qin Guo indeed wants to offer Yilingdu, but it is not for an alliance, but to stabilize our country. According to what Zhao Shi said after drinking wine, Qin Guo suffered a great loss of 250,000 troops and 1 million stones of grain in this great chaos, which can be said to have been severely damaged. In addition, Han, Zhao, and Wei are attacking the two counties of Hedong and Hexi, and Qin Guo does not want to fight on three sides and be attacked on four sides. Therefore, after confirming that Yilingdu cannot be defended, it was decided to actively offer it, in exchange for peace between Qin and Chu. After a year or so, when the situation is stable, Qin Guo will mobilize the entire country's troops to conquer Chu Guo at once.

  "What?! The State of Qin wants to destroy our humble Chu State! How can this be?!" Upon hearing Huang Xi's revelation of the true intentions of the State of Qin, the King of Chu was immediately shocked.

  The state of Qin used Yingdu as bait to lure in the state of Chu, causing Chu's relations with the three states of Han, Zhao and Wei to deteriorate. If Chu really formed an alliance with Qin, once Qin betrayed its promise and destroyed Chu, it was likely that the three Jin states would not provide support and might even kick them while they were down.

  "Unless we abandon our alliance with Qin? Anyway, we can take down Yingdu, and Qin and Chu are eternal enemies, no need to offend the three Jin for this." Chu asked tentatively.

  As the trusted advisor of the King of Chu, Huang Xie frowned slightly and said: "The king has already agreed to form an alliance. It's not suitable to go back on his word now. The State of Qin might get angry and launch a military campaign. Your Majesty should know that even though Qin is severely weakened at present, it's still not something we can contend with for the time being."

  "Forming an alliance won't work, and not forming one also won't work. Then, my dear, what should we do?" The King of Chu was somewhat worried, now it's hard to get off the tiger's back, if only he had known earlier, he wouldn't have made such a hasty decision.

  "In my humble opinion, it's better to form an alliance first and stabilize the Qin state. Then send a secret envoy to visit the three states of Han, Zhao, and Wei to explain this matter. When the Qin state has requests for our Chu state, we just need to make some gestures, but absolutely must not conflict with the three Jin states."

  "In that case, won't we still offend the state of Qin?" The King of Chu still felt it was somewhat inappropriate.

  "No matter whether we offend the State of Qin or not, the heart of our great Chu will never die. It's just that at present, our Chu is weak and small, so we can only delay as much time as possible. Once we recover our capital Yingdu without bloodshed, our strength will be restored more quickly. I think if Your Majesty continues to employ wise and capable ministers, distance himself from petty men, and the three armies fight with all their might, it won't take long for our great Chu to be able to contend against Qin. Moreover, we can pretend to get along with Qin on the surface while secretly getting along with Qi and Yan; in this way, when something happens, there will also be troops to support us."

  "Alright! I will follow your words, Left Assistant. The State of Qin has repeatedly humiliated our previous king, now I want to use the same method to deal with them and play a trick on the State of Qin once. Left Assistant, prepare for the alliance as soon as possible, I am eager to return to Yingdu."

  "Yes sir!" Huang Xie immediately took orders and left.

  Under the full promotion of Chu State, the alliance between Qin and Chu was quickly finalized, all details were drafted, only waiting for the two national leaders to meet, swear blood oath and announce it to the world. The Qin state showed sufficient sincerity, after receiving the guarantee from Chu State that Qin and Chu would be friendly and supportive to each other for generations, immediately ordered the great army of Qin to withdraw from the surrounding area of Yingdu within 200 miles.

  The 100,000-strong Chu army gathered by the river immediately entered Yingdu, and after being away from Yingdu for five years, there were finally troops of the state of Chu in what was supposed to be their own capital.

  On this day, the streets of Yingdu were empty. The surviving Chu people offered food and drink to welcome their own sons and younger brothers who had returned as soldiers. Some cried, some laughed, some were mad with joy, and some were stunned. They had originally thought that they were already citizens of a defeated nation, subject to the control of Qin, but unexpectedly, fortune had turned in their favor, and they witnessed the royal army retaking Yingdu.

  In 273 BC, on March 30th, the State of Chu recovered its capital Yingdu and thirteen surrounding cities including Zifang, Yiling, and Jingling. On that day, the State of Chu announced an alliance with the State of Qin. However, nobody knew that the Qin-Chu alliance, which was highly anticipated by the State of Qin, was actually a farce from the very beginning due to the sabotage of Gongzi Shi.

  I have a piece of news to share with everyone, starting from the day after tomorrow at 2 pm, this book will start its weekly historical genre strong push, I'm nervous, rolling on the ground begging for recommendations and collections. Next week, there will be an explosive release, no matter what, at least two chapters! Just seeking everyone's affirmation! Please help!