The Eternal Beauty of the City of Wealth

Wu Zixu immediately offered advice to Ji Guang: "Your Majesty, the flood in Chu is severe, and most of the soldiers have been transferred to the disaster area for disaster relief."

"Why don't we take this opportunity to attack the less damaged areas of Chu?"

"There aren't many soldiers there now, so it's easy to take."

Ji Guang was very happy after hearing this, and he also wanted to make a difference.

He wanted to let the ministers and the people in the court see that he was not a mediocre king.

So he readily agreed and ordered Wu Zixu to lead 100,000 troops to attack the border town of Juchao of the Chu State.

After receiving the report, the King of Chu was furious. He immediately appointed Wu Qi as the general and mobilized an army of 100,000 to fight against the Wu army.

But distant water cannot quench immediate thirst. Wu Qi's army had just gone halfway when Chi Hou came to report that Juchao had been captured by Wu's army.

Wu Qi was shocked after hearing this. He thought that Wu Zixu was too powerful. He captured Juchao City so quickly.

He hurriedly ordered his army to speed up and sent a messenger eight hundred miles to report the news to the king.

Duke Ling of Chu was also frightened after seeing the report. He did not expect Wu Zixu to act so quickly.

He immediately ordered Wu Qi to recapture Juchao at all costs.

After capturing Juchao, Wu Zixu immediately opened the granaries to release grain and issued a notice to reassure the people.

The troops rested for only one day before breaking camp and heading straight for Zhongli, another city in the Chu State.

Zhongli garrison commander Meng Xian looked out at the endless Wu army outside the city and shouted, "It's over!"

"How can my mere twenty thousand defenders be a match for the Wu army? Is it God's will that I, Meng Xian, shall perish?"

Deputy General Ma Zhao clasped his fists and said, "General! It's said that those who understand practical matters are heroes. You must never go to a tiger mountain knowing there's a tiger there."

"General, why don't you just listen to me and surrender the city? Our families and I are all in Zhongli now."

"The city is definitely not defensible. If the Wu army breaks into the city, your family and mine will be wiped out."

"If you surrender to the Wu army, even if you and I are killed, our families and clansmen will be saved. Please think twice, General!"

Meng Xian angrily pounded his fist on his mouth: "Ah! I miss my lifelong reputation!"

"In the end, I had to surrender! How unwilling I am to accept this!"

Ma Zhao also shook his head helplessly: "Alas! General! For the sake of our parents and descendants, you and I have no choice but to do this!"

Meng Xian gritted his teeth and stamped his feet: "Alright! This general agrees to surrender!"

When the Wu army arrived at the foot of the city, Wu Zixu saw two generals standing on the city wall and hurriedly bowed to them.

"Are those Generals Meng Xian and Ma Zhao?"

The two men clasped their fists in return and said, "It's us, may I know who you are?"

"Generals! I am Wu Zixu!"

"Oh! It's Da Sima! My apologies!"

"Generals! I have long admired your great names and do not wish to see soldiers on both sides suffer unnecessary casualties!

"If the two generals can surrender the city, I will definitely ask the King of Wu to commend you for your achievements!"

Meng Xian clasped his fists and said, "General Wu! The King of Chu has ignored the suffering of the people and indulged himself in pleasure, while also waging war against foreign enemies!"

"General Wu is a peerless hero! We've both wanted to join him for a long time, but we've never had the chance!"

"Meng Xian is willing to surrender the city and pledge his loyalty to the general. I beg the general to grant my wish!"

"Alright! In that case, please, Generals, order the soldiers to leave the city and accept the surrender!"

Yes! Yes! The two men agreed and opened the city gate. Meng Xian, holding the seal in his hand, led 20,000 troops out of the city to accept the surrender.

Soon, 20,000 people piled up all kinds of weapons such as long spears and iron halberds into a small hill and knelt on the ground with bare hands.

Wu Zixu was very happy. After taking the seal, he walked into Zhongli City hand in hand with the two men.

After taking Zhongli City, Wu Zixu was not in a hurry to advance further.

Now the officials sent by the king to take over the city have not arrived yet, so I cannot be impatient for quick success, so as to avoid a fire in the rear.

So he ordered the soldiers to enter the city to rest and continue their advance after the receiving officials arrived.

The next day, Chi Hou came to report that the Chu reinforcements were only five miles away from the city.

Meng Xianma and Ma Zhao were shocked when they heard this: "Master Sima! Look! This..."

Wu Zixu smiled and said, "Don't worry, Generals. I have a plan to repel the enemy!"

"Generals, you are doing this and that... this and that... Do you understand?"

The two of them were delighted after hearing this: "We understand, General!"

Half an hour later, Wu Qi led his army to the city of Zhongli.

Seeing that the city gate was closed and the drawbridge was high, he immediately asked someone to knock on the door.

Meng Xian Ma Zhao stood on the city wall and shouted down, "It's General Wu below the city! I am Meng Xian, the garrison commander of Zhongli!"

"Oh! It's General Meng! I heard that Wu Zixu has come to besiege the city, so why is there no sign of him?"

Meng Xian pretended to be puzzled and asked, "Who told you that, General? Why didn't I see it?"

Wu Qi was stunned. Could it be that Chi Hou’s information was wrong?

"In that case, then you should open the city gates and let the army in!"

"General, wait!"

A deputy general beside Wu Qi hurriedly intervened, "General! In times of emergency, caution is the best course of action!"

"In my opinion, it is better to station the troops outside the city. It is better to be safe than sorry."

"If there is a fraud, our army will be completely wiped out!"

Wu Qi nodded: "Yeah! That makes sense!"

Then he shouted towards the city: "General Meng! Our army will remain outside the city and will not enter!"

"Send out some wine and meat to reward the brothers!"

"Yes! I obey your command!" After saying that, he winked at the soldiers, and the soldiers understood.

The prepared wine and meat were immediately loaded onto the chariot and sent out of the city.

When the reinforcements saw the wine and meat, they immediately cheered and lined up to receive them.

In a short while, hundreds of carts of wine and meat were distributed.

A surrendered soldier couldn't bear to see his compatriots wiped out.

He approached Wu Qi and whispered, "General! There's a knockout drug in the wine. Don't drink it! Run!"

"Ah! What? Are you serious?"

"Seriously! Let's go!" the surrendered soldier said and turned around and left.

At this moment, countless Wu soldiers suddenly rushed out from the city gate, holding long spears in their hands and shouting loudly as they charged towards the Chu army.

Wu Qi saw that things were going badly, so he immediately jumped onto his chariot and shouted, "Retreat! Retreat quickly!"

The soldiers also saw the Wu army rushing out and quickly picked up their weapons to prepare for battle.

For those who drank the wine first, the drug had already taken effect, and some soldiers collapsed to the ground with powerlessness.

The others who didn't have time to drink or didn't get any wine were immediately frightened and ran away in all directions.

Wu Qi, realizing the situation was hopeless, jumped onto his chariot and ran back...

After chasing for thirty miles, Wu Zixu ordered his men to stop, as he knew very well that one should not pursue a desperate enemy.

All of his 100,000 troops were mobilized to fight, leaving Zhongli City empty.

If Meng Xian turned against him and attacked him from both sides together with Wu Qi, he would be in big trouble.

So he ordered his men to call back the troops and retreat to Zhongli City.

After running fifty miles, Wu Qi breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Wu Zixu had not caught up with him.

He ordered his men to count the troops, and only then did he discover that 40,000 men were killed and more than 10,000 were injured.

He was so angry that he yelled, "Meng Xian Ma Zhao! How dare you betray your country and surrender to the enemy!"

"I will report this to the king upon my return! I will definitely exterminate all nine generations of your clan!"