Chapter 9: The Troops Advance a Thousand Miles, Pressing in on Chengdu, Inviting Wolves into the Home, Qin Occupies Guangyuan

  The Chu and Shu armies clashed in Fuling County, Sichuan. The Chu army killed 80,000 Shu soldiers (10,000 cavalry and 70,000 infantry), captured nearly 10,000 war horses, and seized 800,000 sets of armor and weapons, as well as a large quantity of grain and fodder. As a result, the Chu army's cavalry increased by 10,000 men, growing to 70,000 horsemen.

  The Chu army then marched from Badong County, Wushan County, through Fuling County, down to Yunyang County, before splitting into two routes. One route was led by Tang Mi with an army of 100,000 Chu soldiers, marching from Yunyang County, down to Liangping County, Dianjiang County, Yucheng (Chongqing), Luzhou City, Yibin City, Neijiang City, and advancing all the way to Ziyang City, nearing Chengdu City. The other route was led by King Hui of Chu with an army of 100,000 Chu soldiers, marching from Yunyang County, breaking through Dazhou City, Bazhong City, Guang'an City, Nanchong City, Suining City, and approaching Mianyang.

  Half a year later, the two armies of King Hui of Chu and Tang Mi converged in Jianyang City. Along the way, the Chu army recruited local militia, gaining 50,000 soldiers, with 20,000 guarding Wushan and 30,000 guarding Yucheng (Chongqing).

  The Lord of Shu saw that the Chu army was approaching in two routes and was about to reach Chengdu, so he urgently sent a letter to Duke Huiwen of Qin (who had not yet been crowned king) for help. Duke Huiwen of Qin received the letter from the Lord of Shu asking for help, and immediately summoned his civil and military officials to discuss it. "Now, King Huai of Chu is leading an army of 200,000 to attack Shu and has reached Chengdu. The Lord of Shu has asked me for help. If I send troops to rescue him, Qin and Chu will inevitably become enemies, and one day they will fight each other. If I don't rescue him, Chu will destroy Shu and move north to take over the land up to Nanzheng." Gan Long said: "If the Chu army destroys Shu, it will definitely move north to take Hanzhong. At that time, if we send troops to resist the Chu army, it will become a confrontation between Qin and Chu. The Chu army is powerful, and based on the current strength of the two countries, I fear that Qin cannot withstand Chu. It's better to take advantage of the fact that the Lord of Shu still has tens of thousands of soldiers in Chengdu, and order a general to lead 100,000 elite troops south to enter Chengdu, under the pretext of helping Shu, but actually taking control of Guangyuan as preparation for taking over Shu in the future. King Huai of Chu may have a large army of 200,000, but after a year of continuous fighting, he is already exhausted. Chengdu is far from the capital of Chu, and the Chu army's reinforcements are weak. The combined forces of Qin and Shu will be able to withstand the 200,000-strong Chu army, and with time, the Chu army's food and grass will not last, and King Huai will naturally retreat. Your Majesty can then control Shu without shedding blood." Duke Huiwen of Qin listened and said: "Good!" He immediately ordered General Sima Cuo to lead 100,000 elite Qin troops to rush to Chengdu to resist the Chu army. The Lord of Shu knew that Qin was a country of tigers and wolves, and inviting the Qin army into Shu to protect the country was like inviting a wolf into one's home. But he had no other choice, because if he didn't do so, King Huai would definitely not spare Shu, and the Chu army would definitely annihilate the Shu army. He had no way out, and his only hope for survival led him to invite the wolf to resist the tiger. As a result, the Qin army finally arrived in Shu, and Chengdu was temporarily preserved. However, from then on, Shu owed a debt of gratitude to Qin that could never be repaid, and Shu became a puppet state of Qin, with its army becoming a puppet army of Qin as well. Sima Cuo's 100,000-strong Qin army occupied Guangyuan, and took control of Mianzhu, Deyang, and the outskirts of Chengdu, tightly controlling the Lord of Shu's army.

  The army of King Huai of Chu marched from Badong and Wushan to Chengdu and Mianyang, swallowing the entire Chongqing area, northwest Guizhou and eastern Sichuan in one go. After nearly a year of running and continuous battles, the soldiers and horses were already very tired. At this time, the Shu state's army in Chengdu still had 150,000 troops, together with the 100,000 Qin troops led by Sima Cuo, totaling 250,000 soldiers. King Huai of Chu saw that the Qin general Sima Cuo was leading 100,000 Qin troops to rescue the capital of Shu, and the Qin and Shu armies only defended without fighting, so he had to temporarily give up his plan to destroy the state of Shu. He led the army back to the capital of Chu, Jingzhou, in 324 BC (the third year of King Huai of Chu). The Wuguo was established, governing a vast area including Baxi and eastern Sichuan. Later, Wuguo was changed to Bayu Prefecture, with its administrative center moved from Wushan to Yuzhou (now Chongqing), covering an area equivalent to the current provinces of Bazhong, Nanchong, Suining, Ziyang, Yibin in eastern Sichuan and the entire city of Chongqing. The Qianzhong Prefecture was no longer a small piece of northeastern Guizhou during the time of King Wu of Chu but expanded to cover the entire province of Guizhou. In just over a year, King Huai of Chu expanded his territory by 1,500 miles, gaining new land that was twice as large as the Qianzhong Prefecture established during the time of King Wu of Chu. When the news reached the capital of Chu, the whole country rejoiced, and the people's morale was boosted. On the way back to the army, another 50,000 soldiers were recruited to garrison Bayu.

  King Hui of Chu led the great army back to Jingzhou, and ordered the generals Quiguo and Tangmao to lead 100,000 troops each from Jiujiang and Changsha, marching south to capture Xiangtan, Zhuzhou, Hengyang, Chenzhou, Yuzhang (Nanchang), Yichun, Fuzhou, Ji'an, and Ganzhou in Hunan and Jiangxi provinces. The territory expanded by a thousand miles, and six new counties were established. At this time, the Chu state's territory had reached 7,500 miles, with a population of over 35 million people, occupying the entire area of present-day Hunan, Jiangxi, and Guizhou provinces. The administrative region was divided into eight prefectures and 54 counties, with an army of 1.1 million soldiers. In these two years, Qin did not expand its territory but increased its military by 100,000 troops. However, it gained a small advantage, which was the surrender of the king of Shu. King Huiwen of Qin led an army of 100,000 to guard Chengdu at the invitation of the king of Shu, in order to resist the attack of the Chu army. After the war, the Qin army refused to leave and occupied not only Guangyuan but also Deyang, basically controlling Shu militarily. At this time, Qin's population was still over 7 million, with an army of 700,000 soldiers, a ratio of three times that of Chu. However, in terms of overall strength, Qin was still far behind Chu. If King Hui of Chu had also expanded his military like King Huiwen of Qin, disregarding the lives of his people, then the Chu army would have become 3.5 million soldiers.

  However, when Duke Huiwen of Qin ordered General Sima Cuo to lead 100,000 Qin troops to rescue Shu, it was undoubtedly a blatant provocation to King Huai of Chu. For the hot-blooded and overbearing King Huai of Chu, it was difficult to swallow this insult. Nevertheless, the Western Palace of King Huai of Chu was the younger sister of Duke Huiwen of Qin, while Nan Gong Xiu, the Southern Palace of Duke Huiwen of Qin, was also the younger sister of King Huai of Chu. How could they turn against each other? From then on, the relationship between Qin and Chu deteriorated from good to bad, eventually leading to a life-and-death showdown in 325 BC, when the 200,000-strong Chu army led by King Huai clashed with the allied forces of Qin and Shu, numbering over 200,000, at Hanyin Pingchuan. This was the famous Battle of Hanyin.