He Lu was a little irritable when he heard the news. Wu Zixu persuaded him: "Zuo Sima does not have many troops, and he has no baggage, so he is bound to not be able to fight for a long time, we only need to send an army to meet the rear team." It is imperative that we enter Yingdu as soon as possible. ”

He Lu took his advice and sent the right army to attack the left Sima. He issued another order, saying: "Zuo Sima Xu, who was a widow's retainer, can capture him alive and reward 1,000 slaves, and get 500 of his heads." ”

Zuo Sima was wounded in the first attack, though not quickly fatal; However, the medical conditions at that time were extremely poor, and the wound quickly became infected. When Zuo Sima learned that He Lu was still advancing, he offered himself a reward, so he said to his subordinates:

"I've decided to die on the battlefield, but I can't let him get my head. When I die, who will help me escape? ”

A Wu Guoren who fled back from his family with him back then said: "My lord, my position is low, but I have followed my lord for the longest time. Do you think I can? Jubei had been serving as a centurion under him, and Zuo Sima looked at him with a smile and said, "Of course, it's my fault that I didn't promote you earlier." He turned his head to the crowd and continued: "Our mission is to annihilate the enemy forces in Dongdong, but reinforcements from the State of Wu have already arrived, and we are running out of time. Pass my order, have breakfast before sunrise tomorrow, and attack after sunrise! ”

Two bloody battles followed, with Zuo Sima completely annihilating Wu's rear army and retreating north before being surrounded by Wu's right army, while the rear army was in hot pursuit. Zuo Sima was wounded again and died soon after. Jubei wrapped his head in a shirt, then cut it off and took it into hiding. After the recovery of the state of Chu, Jubei handed over the head to Shen Zhuliang (later Ye Gongzigao), the son of Zuo Sima, and the remains of that outstanding politician and military strategist were buried in the ground.

King Chu Zhao's situation was even more miserable, and his escape party included two elder brothers, Xihe Ziji, several doctors including Zhong Jian (the grandson of Zhongyi, the Duke of Xianyun), his sister Ji Mi, and dozens of soldiers. They didn't even have a car, and the soldiers had to play the role of porters; King Chu Zhao had undergone rigorous military training and could maintain his marching speed like everyone else. But Ji Jike suffered, she couldn't keep up with the team, so she begged King Chu Zhao not to take care of her at the risk of being chased by the enemy army, and asked to leave herself behind.

King Chu Zhao couldn't help but burst into tears, and he immediately ordered Zhong Jian to carry his sister and follow the team. Zhong Jian was young and strong, good-looking, tall and strong, and he took on the obligation to take care of the little princess throughout his escape. As a result, the arduous experience eventually turned out to be a beautiful marriage.

The fugitives did not dare to take the main road or approach the densely populated area (for fear of being found out by the Wu people). The winter of that year was particularly cold, and in order to keep out the cold, people found any tattered clothes and wrapped them around their bodies, and as a result, they were dressed in various colors; Everyone had chilblains on their faces and hands; From afar, they looked like a group of dervishes (because the procession was in order), but up close they looked like deserters.

The soldiers were often so cold that they couldn't sleep, and the young and frail Ji Mi sometimes cried at night, and no matter how strong she was, her heart would be broken and weeping because of her subtle sobbing. So her big brothers would take off their "hundred clothes" and cover her. Later, on the way, an official from Dayi found this peculiar team and brought them supplies and even ten chariots, so that they could continue to flee with dignity.

King Chu Zhao planned to go to Yun County, which was located on the east bank of the Qingfa River and southeast of Suiguo, and Dou Chengran's son Dou Xin was serving as the county magistrate in Yun County at that time. Yunxian is the throat of the north-south traffic, from Yunxian to the north through the three passes of Dabie Mountain can reach Huaishang, to the northwest can reach Qin. Since the royal family had sent an urgent report to the counties of Huaishang, King Zhao of Chu was ready to wait for reinforcements to arrive in Yun County.

In order to avoid the enemy, the route of the team's advance is a fan-shaped curve; Because they chose routes that passed through poor mountains and rivers, they were harassed and robbed by the local indigenous mountain people, who were not at ease in times of peace, let alone war.

One night, a group of bandits attacked while the fugitives were asleep. The frenzied bandit leader actually waved his Ligo and slashed down at King Chu Zhao. At the moment of lightning, the doctor Wang Sun jumped up to block the blow for him. The soldiers woke up and grabbed their weapons and charged at the enemy, but after a moment of resistance, the bandits realized that they were no match for the regular army, so they whistled and fled into the endless darkness of the jungle.

The next day, the team was blocked by the bandits as they marched into a wilderness. Unlike last night, the bandits beckoned their counterparts from all over the country. They were dressed in a variety of clothes and armed with weapons, more than three times as many as the fugitives.

The soldiers formed a dense formation, surrounded the brothers and sisters of King Chu Zhao in the middle, and arranged the chariot in the flank and rear. The bandits had never seen a regular army fight, and one by one they craned their necks, their eyes widened, and they watched intently. At the sound of the order, the sergeants paused with their shields in their hands and made an astonishing collision sound, and then raised their spears and exhaled "hehe" and pushed forward. The bandit leader roared, and the rabble rushed with weapons and shouts.

They did not taste the pain of being killed and wounded until they rushed within the range of the Chu army's attack, and those who ran at the front fell one after another, and those behind took the opportunity to throw off their weapons and rush to the shield, but the soldiers in the second row stabbed out the shield with their swords and assassinated them. The soldiers in the front row of the Chu army fell, and the soldiers behind them immediately filled up. Occasionally, there would be a gap in the shield array, but when some of the bandits rushed in, the gap was immediately closed, and those who were enclosed in it were unlucky—and after the battle, it was discovered that the unfortunate ones who had fallen into the enemy line had died quite badly.

The phalanx advanced a dozen paces, held on to the spot for a few moments, and then slowly retreated. The bandits were overjoyed and shouted, "They're back!" Let's work hard! They're going to be finished! ”

The phalanx was not crushed by the strong enemy, and was still slowly retreating. With every few steps back, the corpses of the bandits were revealed, their bodies and faces covered with wounds and the marks of their military boots, and half-coagulated purple-black blood mixed with internal organs lying slimily on the ground. The cries of the bandits began to be hysterical and trembling, and experienced soldiers could understand what they portended - the already bloody battle scene of the enemy was frightened.