Chapter 33: War in Chen County (Part 1)

  Chen Yu rode on horseback, seeing the numerous rioters who lacked weapons and armor, their morale greatly boosted by his empty promises, each with bloodshot eyes, running frantically like wild beasts. He couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  Zhang Er rode his horse to Chen Yu's side, smiling and praising: "Brother is indeed brilliant. Now the morale of the soldiers has greatly increased and the army can be used, Chen County can be taken down with one breath! Haha!"

  "Big brother looks at me highly! I owe it all to big brother's teachings that I have achieved what I am today!"

  Chen Yu bowed respectfully and said to Zhang Er:

  Zhang Er was very satisfied with Chen Yu's courtesy, and grasping Chen Yu's arm, he leaned in close and whispered: "If you were to let these rioters run amok in Chen County, my younger brother would surely know that Chen County is where the capital of our Wei State lies."

  "Don't worry, big brother. These rioters have no military discipline and are just wasting food and grass. However, the city of Chen is strong and has a good army. Now that these rioters have been tempted by wealth and glory, their morale has greatly increased. With tens of thousands of these rioters who are eager to fight for wealth and glory attacking the city first, if Chen city falls in one breath, then we only need to seal off the fake marquis title."

  "However, with Chen County's high walls and strong city, the Qin army has many soldiers. Can these kinds of rioting civilians in Chen County not be harmed? They will definitely suffer a loss of one-tenth, and the remaining people can be suppressed by our 20,000 elite troops."

  Chen Yu pointed to the large army on the main road, with neat clothes and sharp weapons, marching in formation. This was Zhang Er's true elite, all the acquired weapons and armor were used to arm these more than 200,000 people, incomparable to those over a million undisciplined civilians without even helmets or weapons.

  "If Chen County cannot be taken in one swift motion, then these tens of thousands of greedy and disorderly people can serve as the vanguard, exhausting the physical strength of the Qin army defending the city and dispelling their vigilance. Once the Qin army is weary, my brother can lead his elite troops to launch a surprise attack, and Chen County will surely fall into our hands."

  "Haha, haha."

  Zhang Er patted Chen Yu's arm and burst out laughing.

  ……

  At the time when all people in Xianyang were in a state of confusion due to Hu Hai's three decrees, Li Si, Feng Quji, Feng Jie, Wei Liao and Yao Jia, among many other high-ranking officials of Qin, arrived at the temporary campsite of the Xianyang Garrison.

  King Li immediately took these originally garrisoned Wei troops south to Chen County, taking the first step in Hu Hai's plan.

  At this moment, more than 100,000 Xiangyang guardsmen are dressed in bright armor and their battle flags are fluttering in the wind. They form a neat array on the plain, with an aura of sternness that shoots straight up to the sky.

  "General Wang, the Emperor is overworked. His Majesty has ordered me to come and bestow upon you your official seal and see you off! General Wang, this journey of yours will be long and arduous, so be careful in all things and by no means underestimate the enemy and mistake the great plan of His Majesty."

  Li Si patted Wang Li's shoulder and solemnly said to him.

  "Your Excellency, the Chancellor, can rest assured that I will not disappoint Your Majesty's expectations! For Your Majesty's sake, even death is a swift pleasure!"

  Wang Li's firm way.

  "King Li, receive the seal and symbol!" Li Si shouted loudly. As he spoke, Li Si lifted up the copper plate covered with white silk held by the soldiers behind him, took out the commander's seal and the military tiger tally.

  "Wang Li knelt down on one knee and raised his hands high, shouting: 'Your humble servant Wang Li receives the imperial seal!'"

  Wang Li took the imperial seal and stood up, bowing to the surrounding officials including Li Si and others: "Your honors, please convey my words to His Majesty. I was in Chen County, and Chen County has lost me, and I will report this to His Majesty."

  Having said that, Wang Li turned around and mounted his horse, shouting loudly: "The whole army sets out!"

  Li Si and others all heard the determination of death in Wang Li's heart, they all bowed to Wang Li and watched him leave.

  One hundred thousand Qin soldiers and horses neighed and shouted, "Rumbling" along the Wuguan Road heading south.

  Wuguan Road, the main road from Guanzhong to the southeast through Wuguan. It is the main road from ancient Guanzhong to the southeast through Wuguan. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Wuguan was the southeastern gateway of Qin State and a fortress against Chu State.

  Today, the starting point of the ancient road is Lantian Ba, where the rear base of the Qin State's large army was located. From Guanzhong, take any road to Lantian Ba, and then go through Lantian Valley, Wu Pass, and exit the southeastern mountainous area to reach Nanyang County and the former Chu Jing Xiang region, becoming the largest outlet for Guanzhong to connect with the southeast.

  Wang Li led his army out of Wuguan and into Nanyang Commandery, from where he could directly reach Chen Commandery.

  The Qin army's expedition would always have the King of Qin or the Emperor bestowing a seal, personally seeing them off. However, this time Wang Li's army quietly departed from Xianyang on the eleventh day of the fourth month in the first year of the Second Qin Dynasty, without any ceremony to bid farewell, no wine was offered, and no sendoff was given.

  On the eleventh day of April in the first year of the Second Qin Dynasty, amidst the chaos and commotion in Xianyang, everyone was focused on discussing Hu Hai's "Three Edicts of Self-Blame". Meanwhile, Wang Li's army quietly set out on an expedition, with only a few attentive individuals noticing that the invincible Qin army had once again departed from Wu Pass.

  ……

  The sun is getting higher and higher in the sky.

  Kuxian (around present-day Xiayi, Henan) was over 300 li away from Chenxian (around present-day Huaiyang, Henan). At the fifth watch (around 3-5 am), Zhang Er and Chen Yu ordered the army to break camp. After more than 100,000 refugees hastily packed their bellies, they set off on the road and rushed straight to Chenxian.

  As it was almost noon today, the morale that had been stirred up by Chen Yu's empty promises earlier had long been overwhelmed by the growing hunger in their stomachs and the increasingly heavy legs under them.

  Apart from the more than 20,000 well-equipped elite soldiers led by Zhang Er himself, the remaining over 100,000 people who followed in a disorderly manner would occasionally have small groups of three to five people secretly looking for shaded areas to escape the scorching sun and rest before catching up again. Some simply lay motionless on the ground, while others slipped away directly.

  Chen Yu looked at the increasingly slow and disorganized troops, his brow furrowed with concern. He rode up to Zhang Er's side and said, "Big brother, this won't do. These refugees have no military discipline whatsoever, they're completely in disarray. If we hadn't let them plunder a few villages along the way, I'm afraid most of them would have dispersed by now."

  "Big brother, shouldn't the whole army take a break for a while, have lunch and then continue on the road? I'm afraid that if we keep going like this, by the time we reach Chen County, out of our 100,000-strong army, only 20,000 elite soldiers with armor will be left, and the rest will be barely enough to fill one or two units."

  "The villagers who were just captured, I have already interrogated them. Thirty miles ahead is Chen County. Pass down the order, once we reach Chen County, reward the entire army with fine wine and meat for their enjoyment. Except for those who were promised to be made marquises by my brother, all others will be promoted three ranks."

  Perhaps it was the added bonus of third-class wine, or perhaps it was the fine wine and meat, or perhaps it was the thirty miles still to go before reaching Chen County, or maybe it was the women and treasures of Chen County that stimulated these rioters who had been swept along, but in any case under the incitement of the horsemen sent out by Chen Yu to shout loudly, everyone summoned up their last ounce of strength and once again let out a loud yell as they desperately charged forward.

  The marching speed suddenly increased greatly.

  Thirty li away, before long, the tall city walls of Chen County were in sight.

  "Pass down the order, have the entire army set up camp five miles outside the city and start cooking. Launch a full-scale attack on the city after one hour!"

  Zhang Er looked at the city wall of Chen County and felt a sense of relief in his heart, then loudly commanded.

  Chen County, as the seat of Chen Prefecture, basically has all the civil and military officials of Chen Prefecture within it. Chen County was also the old capital of the former Chu State, and its status was slightly lowered only after the former Chu State moved its capital to Yingdu in Huainan.

  Although Chen County is no longer the capital city, its strategic position has not weakened in any way.

  After Qin unified China, Chen County was used as the administrative center of Chen Commandery, gathering grain and fodder, and assembling heavy troops. It is no exaggeration to describe today's Chen County as a place where many soldiers and generals have come and gone.

  Long before Zhang Er and Chen Yu's rebel army arrived, the county magistrate of Chen had already received reports from villagers who had fled to inform him that a large group of rebels was heading straight for Chen County. As a result, the gates of Chen County were now closed tight, with Qin soldiers armed to the teeth lining the walls on all four sides.