The Myth of Daqin: The Soul of Yi Xiaochuan

In the end, Hu Hai decided to appoint Wang Li and Feng Jie as the main generals, leading two armies respectively, to attack Jiuyuan.

Moreover, Wang Li served as the commander-in-chief of the army, commanding 30,000 troops drawn from various counties in Shandong, plus the 50,000 new troops recently formed by Wang Li and the 20,000 vanguard troops led by Feng Jie.

After Wang Li received the order, his heart was full of worries.

Zhao Gao's plan seemed clever, but it was actually fraught with risk. As the army was on its way, Wang Li found Feng Jie.

"Marquis Changzhi, this battle is dangerous. Zhao Gao's plan is too reckless. We must be on guard." Wang Li said solemnly.

Feng Jie also had a worried look on his face. He sighed and responded, "Marquis Wucheng is right, but it's hard to disobey the emperor's will. We can only do our best."

Meanwhile, in Jiuyuan City, Meng Tian received a secret report that the enemy was about to attack. He remained calm and summoned his generals.

"Although the enemy troops are divided into two groups, we have already made preparations." Meng Tian said in a deep voice, "We must let them know that Jiuyuan City is not so easy to break through!"

On the other hand, the special forces sent by Zhao Gao sneaked into Jiuyuan City and spread all kinds of rumors in the city, causing people to panic like frightened birds.

Immediately, the Jinyiwei led by Zhao Da noticed the unusual movements in the city, quickly found out where these people came from, and immediately reported it to Meng Tian.

Under Meng Tian's careful arrangement, this team suffered heavy casualties.

Wang Li and Feng Jie's army advanced as planned and arrived at the valley where Shangjun and Jiuyuanjun met.

But he found that the road ahead was blocked, with huge rocks and trees lying all over the place, making it difficult to move forward.

Suddenly, large rocks, large logs and crossbow arrows from both sides of the upper valley shot down like raindrops.

"Oh no, there's an ambush!" Wang Li shouted.

Feng Jie also reacted immediately. He quickly waved the military flag in his hand and shouted loudly: "Quick! Form a defensive formation!"

The soldiers moved into a defensive formation.

However, crossbow arrows came like heavy rain, huge rocks rolled down, and many soldiers cried out in pain and fell in a pool of blood.

"Meng Tian! You despicable villain!" Wang Li roared angrily, his eyes burning with rage.

"Hmph, Wang Li, stop talking nonsense. Today is the day you die!" Meng Tian sneered above Shanggu.

Just as Wang Li was commanding the army to retreat, Li You led the elite troops to block the exit of Shanggu from the rear.

"Wang Li, you can't escape!" Li You shouted loudly with a ferocious smile on his face.

Wang Li struggled to resist Li You's attack. Sweat oozed from his forehead and his breathing became rapid.

"Brothers, don't panic, keep forming!" Wang Li shouted.

Feng Jie led the vanguard to try to break through the obstacles. He waved his sword and shouted loudly: "Brothers, follow me!"

The soldiers were encouraged, they roared and followed Feng Jie to charge forward.

For a moment, shouts and sounds of weapons clashing were heard one after another, and the entire Shanggu fell into chaos.

The battle on Wang Li's side was fierce. Although the Qin soldiers were well-trained, they were a little panicked when faced with the sudden attack.

"Hold steady! Don't panic!" Wang Li shouted loudly, holding a long sword and personally killing several enemy soldiers.

Feng Jie's vanguard's charge was blocked, resulting in significant casualties. He secretly resented Zhao Gao's blunder, gritting his teeth and saying, "Zhao Gao, what a fool!"

At this time, Meng Tian commanded with confidence, constantly changing the formation to attack the weak points of the Qin army. His eyes were sharp, and he kept issuing orders: "Attack the left wing, and outflanking the right wing!"

Wang Li knew that he would surely be defeated if he continued like this. He observed the terrain around him and found a small hill on one side.

So he ordered some soldiers to launch a feint attack, while he led the main force to quietly move towards the hill.

"Brothers, follow me!" Wang Li shouted in a low voice, his voice revealing firmness and courage.

Feng Jie understood his intention upon seeing this. He brandished his weapon and shouted, "Brothers, charge! Meet up with General Wang Li!"

Meng Tian saw the Qin army change their strategy and knew they were going to be tough to deal with. However, he remained calm and ordered Li You to go around the hill to cut off the Qin army's retreat.

"Li You, you must cut off their retreat!" Meng Tian said seriously.

"Yes, sir!" Li You replied, leading a team of elite soldiers and quickly running to the back of the hill.

After Wang Li and Feng Jie reached the hill, they quickly organized fortifications, bringing in stones and building a simple defense line.

However, Li You was extremely fast and soon led his troops to the rear of the hill.

"Oh no, the enemy is coming!" a soldier exclaimed.

Wang Li and Feng Jie were attacked from all sides, and the situation became increasingly critical. Just as everyone was about to despair, a cloud of dust suddenly rose in the distance, accompanied by the sound of horse hooves.

"It's reinforcements!" Feng Jie shouted loudly.

It turned out that when Wang Li realized that Zhao Gao's plan was too risky, he specially arranged for his deputy general Lei Ling to lead an army of 20,000 and follow far behind.

Meng Tian decisively ordered a withdrawal, but Li You was unwilling to give up and wanted to fight again.

Meng Tian stopped them, saying, "The enemy reinforcements have arrived. There is no point in fighting again. As long as we have the green mountains, we will never run out of firewood."

Wang Li and Feng Jie breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Meng Tian's army marching away.

Feng Jie sighed, "In today's battle, Meng Tian truly lived up to his reputation. If Marquis Wu Cheng hadn't anticipated the enemy, I'm afraid we would all have perished here."

Wang Li nodded in agreement, and the two men reorganized the army and returned to the camp to report the battle situation to the court.

However, at the same time, the rebels were in high spirits and fought bravely.

They quickly broke through the city gate of Chen County and captured Chen County.

After Chen Sheng and Wu Guang entered Chen County, they learned that there were many old aristocratic forces in the city, including Wei Wangjia's half-brother Ningling Jun Wei Ju, his brother Wei Bao, as well as Zhang Er, Chen Yu, Zhou Shi, Cai Ci, Wu Chen and others.

Chen Sheng and Wu Guang decided to summon Zhang Er, Chen Yu, Zhou Shi, Cai Ci, Wu Jiu and other nobles as well as the elders and heroes of the county to discuss the matter together.

Everyone gathered together and the atmosphere was tense and warm.

Among them were some flatterers who said to Chen Sheng in a fawning manner, "General, you have clad yourself in strong armor and wielded sharp weapons. You have conquered the wicked and rebuilt the state of Chu. You have performed great services and deserve to be the King of Chu!"

Chen Sheng's heart was moved when he heard this, but he remained calm. He turned to Zhang Er and Chen Yu, two former ministers of the State of Wei, and asked, "Do you think I can become the King of Chu?"

You should know that Zhang Er and Chen Yu were both from Daliang. When Zhang Er was young, he was a retainer of Lord Xinling. He served as the magistrate of Huang County in Wei State and later became the defender of Daliang.

Chen Yu was Zhang Er's confidant. Because Chen Yu was much younger than Zhang Er, he served Zhang Er like a father or brother, and Zhang Er also treated Chen Yu like his son.

When Wang Ben captured the Wei capital Daliang, Zhang Er was one of the defenders of Daliang and had already reached the rank of minister.

As Zhang Er's adopted son, Chen Yu was also serving in the army at the time. He was a doctor and also participated in the defense of Daliang.

After the fall of Daliang City, the two began to flee. The First Emperor offered a reward for the heads of Zhang Er and Chen Yu, one thousand gold coins for Zhang Er and five hundred gold coins for Chen Yu.

Later, Zhang Er and Chen Yu avoided villages and towns, and entered forests whenever they came across them, wandering around the Central Plains for several years.

It was not until the Qin army moved south to Lingnan and north to attack the Xiongnu that the Central Plains was left with a lack of military forces.

The two men found Chencheng and settled there, changed their names and surnames, and worked as gatekeepers (minor officials guarding the city gates). They were truly sworn brothers.

So, when Zhang Er heard Chen Sheng's question, he just frowned slightly and did not speak. His eyes revealed a hint of dissatisfaction and disdain, and it seemed that he was unwilling to pay any attention to Chen Sheng.

Seeing this, Chen Yu hurriedly stepped forward, his expression showing a hint of anxiety. He quickly replied, "The world has long suffered from the tyranny of Qin. Now, General, you are here to eliminate this tyranny. Upon arriving in Chencheng, you have proclaimed yourself King of Chu. I'm afraid the people will not support you. I suggest that you postpone your title of kingship for now. Instead, lead your troops westward and send people to establish descendants of the six kingdoms as kings to reinforce you. From this point on, we can destroy the tyranny of Qin. Once you control Xianyang and command the other princes, you can then claim the title of King of Qin again, and your ambition to dominate will be realized."

Chen Sheng snorted inwardly, and a hint of coldness flashed in his eyes.

He thought to himself, "Hmph, if your plan goes as it does, and Wei Ju succeeds the throne, and you, Zhang Er and Chen Yu, become generals and prime ministers, and help you raise an army to reclaim the old territory of Wei, then what are all the hard work and sacrifices we've fought for? Are we going to give all the inheritance we've conquered to you nobles? Why should you be so high and mighty, enjoying such privileges all the time?"