Knowing that his son Xiang Rong had made several feins to lure the enemy, although the Qin army sent a message to warn, he cowered behind the barrier, and when he didn't come out after all, Xiang Yan just sighed and talked to Zhaohua in the tent about something that seemed unrelated.

"Shouchun has a turtle room, which enshrines the carapace of a turtle, it is said that it was born in the Yellow Emperor, Shennong's world, lived for 3,000 years, all the turtles in Jianghuai, are its descendants. It's a pity that he was killed when the king of Song and Yuan, but the tortoise shell was immortal for a hundred years, and after the Chu State destroyed the Song Dynasty, the above good brocade scarf was wrapped and hidden in the temple. ”

"Zihua Lingyi is in Jiangdong, so I must have seen a lot of turtles?"

"Often."

Zhaohua responded: "Jiangdong fathers, Changyun turtle Chitose swims on the lotus leaves, where it is born, the beast has no tiger wolf, the grass has no poisonous sting, the riverside people, often raise the turtle with food, wait until it grows to a foot in size, and then offer it to Bu Yin, and remove the turtle's belly armor on an auspicious day for divination. ”

Xiang Yan said: "However, the king dispatched troops, and he must first drill turtle divination on the temple to determine the good fortune, and this time is no exception, but this time the tortoise shell was scorched three times in a row, and the old man could only learn from the fighting of the year in order to calm the hearts of everyone. ”

He smiled helplessly, divination was unfavorable, which cast another layer of gloom on the hearts of the king of Chu and his ministers.

"It's just that this turtle turned against me during divination, and when I came to the front line, I hit my head on a hard tortoise shell."

Xiang Yan said that the turtle shell refers to the barrier built by Wang Jian on the front line with the strength of hundreds of thousands of people, no matter how the Chu army challenges, it is just shrinking and not fighting.

"Wang Qian, this old turtle."

Xiang Yan couldn't help but scold, he didn't know the opponent's thoughts, the only advantage of the Chu army was the psychological self-confidence after the defeat of the Qin army last year, but if it was full of energy, it would decline and exhaust, and this self-confidence would fade over time.

This is not the first time Wang Jian has used this tactic, a few years ago, Wang Jian commanded the Qin army to attack Zhao, because Zhao General Li Mu used soldiers like a god, so he failed to make a contribution, so Wang Jian took the soldiers to shrink for half a year, and Li Mu held on, and finally made Zhao suspicious, and killed Li Mu with a discordant strategy, which led to the Qin army that had been holding back for half a year, like a bamboo, to conquer Handan in one fell swoop.

Right now, he took out this trick to deal with Chu State, Xiang Yan asked himself if he would not fall into Li Mu's fate, but the trouble was that the tortoise carapace was extremely hard, the spear was invulnerable, and it also had a sharp mouth, and if he was not careful, he would gnaw off a piece of meat.

Knowing this, even if his own army had not yet been fully assembled, he would launch an offensive, so that the Qin army could not build a barrier with peace of mind.

"There are actually many ways to kill turtles."

Zhaohua said: "If you can't crush its carapace head-on, why don't you try to cut it through the gap between the dorsal armor and the abdominal armor?" ”

Xiang Yan thought thoughtfully: "Zihua's strategy, is it to cut off his food?" ”

"Not bad!"

Zhaohua pointed to several roads on the map, which were found by the Chu army scouts risking their lives:

"The army is holding each other, taking heavy grain and grass as the first, and the Qin army has hundreds of thousands of soldiers and soldiers, consuming 30,000 stone of grain a day!"

"There are three routes for its grain, Rushui, Yingshui, and Chasm, all of which are waterways, which is why it is easier and faster to transport grain than our army. Grain was transported from Yangzhai, Xinzheng, Xiangcheng, and Aocang in Dang County in Qinyingchuan County to the lower reaches of the river, and docked at Shangcai and Ruyang, and then transported by chariots, horses, and manpower chariots to the frontline fortress camps......"

"We can't do anything about the grain and grass in the rear of the Qin army and the grain ships on the waterways, but if the Shangzhu State can use the army to advance and make a decisive battle, and then send a car to ride around, and destroy its wharf granaries in Shangcai and Ruyang, then within half a month, the Qin army will be chaotic! Our army took advantage of the situation to attack, although we dare not say that we can completely defeat the Qin army, but at least we can destroy its barriers and make it retreat! ”

Xiang Yan and Zhaohua made a strategy to attack the baggage first, but when Zhaohua and others rode with tens of thousands of chariots of the Chu army, they realized that they were thinking too simply.

They went around in a big circle, and when they approached the opposite shore of Shangcai Wharf from the south bank of Rushui, which was not protected by barriers, they were stunned to find that the wharf was also tightly protected by barriers and corner towers.

What surprised the Chu people even more was that in addition to the very strict defense of the wharf where the grain ships docked, the road from the wharf to the granary in the city, and from the granary to the barracks more than ten miles away, was also built on both sides.

This kind of road protected by barriers is called "Yongdao", and it is precisely after repairing the corner tower of the barrier in front of that Zhang Han and other military officers retreated with the people to rush to repair, just to ensure the safety of the grain road.

"I never thought that Wang Jian would attach so much importance to the grain road, and he didn't leave the slightest flaw......"

Zhaohua looked at the river and sighed, and Xiang Yan's evaluation of Wang Jian flashed in his mind: Old turtle.

……

Seeing that the Chu army was slowly retreating again, Dongmen Leopard lowered his halberd hand in frustration, and said in disappointment: "These Chu troops are really courageless, why did they withdraw again?" ”

When they were guarding the frontline barriers, they also encountered several attacks by the Chu army, but they only challenged it, and the Qin army did not come out, so they retreated by themselves.

Ten days ago, the Nanjun Corps was given a new task, and Li You was ordered to return to Shangcai to guard the wharf, granary, and grain road. As the Qin army's barrier camp advanced, this place was already in the rear, and Dongmen Leopard thought that he would never see half of the Chu army again, but unexpectedly, today a seemingly elite Chu army chariot rode on the opposite bank!

Not waiting for him to be happy! Chu Jun is gone again? How can you not be angry?

Heifu said: "If you come over, you will be hit by half-crossing, even if you are lucky enough to gain a firm foothold, this pier has been built like a fortress, and the corner tower is built with three-way earth, how to break it?" If you come rashly, you may be wiped out, and the Chu army will not dare to gamble. “

Another five hundred lords, Lixian, also came over and said: "Commander, our army will not attack, the Chu army is cautious, when will this battle really start?" ”

"It's been fighting for a long time."

Heifu said: "The contest between the two main generals is in full swing!" ”

Unlike the slightly anxious subordinates, Heifu can see it, this kind of confrontation of hundreds of thousands of people, more than 1,000 people under his own command, not even a black pawn, the veterans on both sides just don't cross the river, what can the soldiers do?

After that, Heifu ordered: "Let the Yu cavalry take the cavalry to patrol along the river, and beware of the Chu army not retreating, and cross the water at night!" ”

Although Heifu was extremely cautious, the Chu army did not dare to take risks after all.

In the next half month, although the weather was getting colder and colder, the grain ships on the Rushui River were still in an endless stream, and the grain trucks were also safely coming and going in the Yongdao, transporting 20,000 stone of grain every day to supply the 150,000 soldiers and men of the Southern Army. The surplus is stored in the Shangcai granary, because after a month, when the heavy snow falls, the water may be partially frozen, making it difficult to sail.

In December, there was a lot of rain and snow, outdoor activities were basically extinct, and the Chu army also stopped the senseless nuisance.

Before they knew it, the Qin army and the Chu army had been facing off on the front line for more than two months. During this time, the Qin soldiers had a good life, protected by barriers, and were not afraid of the Chu army's rash attack. They also had plenty of food and winter clothes and bedding to protect them from the cold, so they could wash and wash every few days and clean their personal hygiene to avoid diseases.

The only problem is that I am so idle and panicked, and I have nowhere to spend a lot of time every day except for duty and training.

The others were okay, Dongmen Leopard, Ji Ying and other active ones were already restless, and they complained to Heifu: "I just feel that this is not a war, but idleness, and if you put it at home, I am afraid that you will be sentenced to the crime of impotence!" ”

Heifu couldn't help it, so he just let everyone find something to do on their own.

It was cold outside in December, and everyone could only throw pots in the tent, or break their wrists, and whoever lost would take off a coat and go outside for a run, and for a while, the Qin army barracks were full of philosophical atmosphere.

In January, when the ice and snow melted, everything recovered, and the sun was shining, everyone shouted and went out to do activities, but there were too few entertaining games in those years, nothing more than practicing archery or playing stone throwing......

The so-called stone-throwing over-distance, in Hefu's view, is the competition of throwing stone balls and standing long jump, the first few days are a little interesting, and after a few days, everyone is tired.

After the end of the daily training on this day, Dongmen Leopard and the others were bored basking in the sun, when suddenly, the back of the head was hit by something!

"Who did it?"

Thinking that someone was teasing him, Dongmen Leopard turned his head scolding, and found that Heifu was smiling and watching from a distance.

"It turned out to be a rate of long ......"

The anger of the Dongmen leopard suddenly disappeared, and when he looked at the rolling on the ground, it was a spherical thing.

"Isn't this a bow!"

Seeing Piju, Dongmen Leopard and Ji Ying and others did not show much interest, these years, Keju is mostly a personal game, similar to the ball or shuttlecock kicking in later generations. I heard that the people of Qi like it very much, there are often people who perform on the streets of Linzi, and they can kick for an hour in a row, and there are technical actions such as kicking, knee topping, flying with both legs, stopping bowing with one foot, jumping up and hooking, etc., but this kind of sport is not very popular in Qin State, maybe it is Qin people's clumsy nature, and they don't like this kind of trick that requires too much skill.

"It's not just any Keju."

Heifu stomped the bow firmly under his feet, looked at his lazy subordinates, and smiled: "Aren't you complaining that there is nothing to do all day?" I'm going to teach you a new way to play today! ”

……

"It's cold in the past few days, but the old general has come to patrol the camp, it's really hard!"

In the camp of the "Southern Army" of the Qin State, Meng Wu, a general of the Southern Army who was nearly fifty years old, greeted him with a smile, and wanted to help Wang Qian, who was gray-haired and wearing a big fur, to get out of the car, but was grasped by the old general's hard and cold thick iron hand.

"General Meng, I'm getting this old?"

Wang Jian smiled, not at all the aging and weakness that he had recuperated in Pinyang a year ago, but he was full of energy, he looked at the burly Meng Wu in front of him, much taller than himself, and after a few words of greeting, he walked hand in hand with him to the barracks.

The military officials along the way greeted Wang Jian one after another, and unlike Wang Jian who was received affectionately when he inspected the Northern Army and the Chinese Army, there was no trace of nostalgia in the respectful and solemn expressions of this group of people.

Indeed, Meng Wu's subordinates were different from Wang Qian's old subordinates such as Qiang and Yang Duanhe. The Montessori has its own system, and together with the Wang family, it can be called the two most prestigious generals of the Qin State.

Wang's ascension to the peak, although it was not until Wang Jian and his son destroyed several countries in a row, but as early as the time of his uncle Wang Yi (hé), he had already been quite reused by King Qin Zhao, and he and Lian Po held each other in Changping, regardless of whether they were up or down.

But in Wang Yi's later years, the limelight was completely overshadowed by another person, that is, Meng Fu from the Qi State.

Since the death of Wu'an Jun Baiqi, Meng Fu is the most relied on general of King Qin Zhao and King Xiang of Qin Zhuang, he even broke Han Zhao Wei, set up Sanchuan County, and captured Wei 20 cities to set up Dong County. By the time Qin Wangzheng succeeded to the throne, Meng Wei was already ranked above Wang Qi and Duke Qi, as if he was the first general of Qin.

Since his death, his son Meng Wu has inherited his father's title, and because Meng Wu has old wounds, Meng Wu has gradually become inferior to Wang.

However, Qin Wangzheng has always cultivated Mengshi as a force to counterbalance Wang Qian's father and son, and especially admired Mengwu's son Meng Tian very much, making him a general in the last battle against Chu. It's a pity that Li Xin and Meng Tian failed, and in the face of the humiliation of losing their teacher and land, Meng Wu had no choice but to stand up with his injuries and illness and clean up the mess for his son.

With a division of 100,000, he confronted the Chu army in Shangcai and Yangcheng for a year, and did not let the Chu people continue to expand the results of the war, waiting for Wang Jian to lead the army to come.

Therefore, the relationship between Wang and Meng is delicate, Meng Wu is not only a junior, a subordinate, but also a competitor, and it is also the back hand of King Qin arranged on the front line to balance Wang Qian......

However, both of them are old oilmen who have been immersed in the battlefield officialdom for decades, and they are like close old friends, and there are endless laughter and laughter along the way.

Wang Jian patrolled the camp this time, and according to the usual practice, he still asked the cook to add food to the soldiers, let them eat a mouthful of meat, eat well with them, and go deep into the barracks to talk to them, and eat with the soldiers in person.

Although the soldiers treated him respectfully and lukewarmly, the soldiers admired the old general very much, and every time Wang Jian entered a battalion, he would cause huge cheers.

And, everywhere he went, Wang Jian would ask the local generals and lieutenants a question.

"Drama in the army?"

Meng Wu was stunned for a moment, and then responded: "Recently, it is common for soldiers to play in the camp, mostly throwing stones and over-distance, but ......"

Wang Jian raised his head: "But what? “

"However, I heard that the Nanjun soldiers who were ordered to garrison the Shangcai granary are quite different, and each battalion likes to play a new game, called football!"