Chapter 274: A Century of Vengeance and Feud

"One incompetent general brings suffering to the entire army."

In mid-March, a few li south of Qi City, the Chu army had arrayed itself with its back to the city. Watching his utterly exhausted Chu soldiers, who had been retreating in defeat for half a month, Grand Pillar of the State Xiang Yan's heart was filled with solemn tragedy.

As early as February, although Xiang Yan had detected Wang Jian's intention to suddenly strike the Chu rampart encampment with his main force and had evacuated the soldiers and laborers in advance, he had still misjudged the combat strength of the thirty thousand elite warriors Wang Jian had handpicked. They bit down on the Chu army's tail and fought a great battle by the Ying River, leaving ten thousand Chu soldiers dead and thirty thousand laborers scattered and captured.

Xiang Yan could only fight while retreating. He did not obey the King of Chu's order to withdraw south toward Shouchun on the Huai River, because he believed the Ying River would provide the Qin army with a continuous supply of grain boats.

He employed the same old trick he had used against Li Xin, continuously retreating eastward where no great rivers flowed, hoping to stretch the Qin army's supply lines. At the same time, he left laborers with little combat ability in the various cities while keeping his fighting forces concentrated. He hoped that the Qin army would be forced to divide its troops while attacking cities and seizing territory, bringing the numbers both sides could commit to battle closer to even.

Only in this way did the Chu army have any chance of victory.

According to the plan, the Qin army should have grown wearier and its numbers more and more divided. But Wang Jian seemed to see through his intent. Abandoning his usual prudence, after crossing the Honggou Canal and the Ying River, he had his soldiers carry only ten days' rations. Ignoring the many "traps" Xiang Yan left along the way, he brought his main force to bear, relentlessly dogging the Chu main force.

Although the two main armies had not yet clashed, the operating zones of the scouts they sent out overlapped completely, and scattered skirmishes occurred every day.

Wang Jian's objective was obvious: as long as he could force a decisive battle with the Chu main force early and defeat it, Chu would lose its ability to resist. Then the main army could advance to the Sui River to rendezvous with grain boats sent by the northern army, or retreat back to the Ying River and Honggou Canal to forage, and then slowly capture the cities and towns of Chu.

When Xiang Yan learned that the Qin army's Meng Wu division had already broken through Ruyin, crossed the Ying River, and appeared several dozen li to his southeast, and that the northern army led by Qin commander Feng Wuze was roaming as far north as Fulai Fortress over a hundred li away, he finally realized: he had intended to lure Wang Jian into a trap, but unbeknownst to him, Wang Jian had instead encircled him!

This kind of grand strategic envelopment spanning several hundred li was terrifying. Xiang Yan understood he had no more room to retreat; continuing to pull back would only shrink the encirclement. His only chance was to stop south of Qi and fight the Qin army to the death!

But in his heart, he was no longer certain of victory.

"Grand Pillar of the State must not speak such disheartening words."

The weather was overcast and damp, a fine drizzle falling. Seeing Xiang Yan sigh after inspecting the army's condition, Left Marshal Zhao Hua consoled him: "The Qin army has also been dragged by our forces in a running pursuit of over two hundred li. The Chu people are weary, but the Qin army is weary too. Moreover, Qi City has tens of thousands of dan of grain, enough for our entire army to eat for six more days. The Qin army, in order to pursue us closely, set out with only a small amount of rations, their baggage train left far behind. By now they must be close to running out of food. This is the moment they are at their weakest!"

What's more, Qi City was the place that had brought the Chu army luck in the last war. Over a year ago, it was here that Xiang Yan had rallied the Chu army and marched toward Chengfu, tailing the arrogant Li Xin and crushing him in one blow.

Although the desolate, empty winter landscape of that time had now changed into the lush green garments of spring, Zhao Hua believed that the Grand Pillar of the State could surely recreate that miracle here!

By the time the overcast rain ended, Xiang Yan had also regained his confidence. He ordered his son Xiang Rong to leave with over a hundred men and head to Xiapi, two hundred li to the northeast, and to the Xiang clan's fief of Xiaxiang to see if he could bring back more people. He himself rode with Zhao Hua and others to survey the surrounding terrain and choose a site for the decisive battle.

"This overcast, rainy weather is a good thing for us."

Xiang Yan said to Zhao Hua and the generals of the Jing and Qu clans. The roads were muddy, the fields flooded, the rivers swollen. The Qin people were not necessarily accustomed to this climate, and the advance of Meng Wu's division, several dozen li to the south, would also become extremely difficult.

Although Wang Jian was formidable enough to set a grand encirclement several hundred li wide for Xiang Yan and the hundred thousand Chu troops within Chu's own territory, he could not have predicted the weather. Thus, a flaw had appeared in this encirclement: neither the southern nor northern Qin armies could reach this place in a short time, which gave the Chu army an opportunity.

But how could Wang Jian not know this? The Sun Watcher Zhou Wen reported back that over a hundred thousand Qin troops had halted over ten li to the west and were once again setting up camp, showing no urgency to attack the Chu army.

"Wang Jian wants to wait for the northern and southern armies to converge, then strike us with twice the numbers."

Xiang Yan understood this old adversary's plan very well. Inside the command tent, without bothering to dry his beard and hair, he pointed at the map with rain-soaked fingers: "The Qin bandits' northern army, Feng Wuze's division, is blocked by Fulai Fortress and will need three days to arrive! The southern army, Meng Wu's division, is force-marching a hundred li for advantage and has also encountered rain; at the earliest, they can only arrive tomorrow!"

Only one opportunity lay before Xiang Yan: to exploit the time gap and first defeat the Qin central army opposite him, whose numbers were not much different from his own! If he could do that, there might still be a sliver of hope!

"The art of war says: 'When the enemy surrounds us, cutting off our front and rear, this is a trapped army under heaven. If used boldly, it wins; if used cautiously, it loses.'"

Since Wang Jian was encamped and not advancing, Xiang Yan could only take the initiative to counterattack and assault the Qin army!

"Jing Rui, Jing Ju!"

In the commander's tent, Xiang Yan first called out the names of the two Jing clan brothers.

"Your father, Grand Marshal Jing Yang, was full of stratagems. He dispatched troops to rescue Yan, used schemes to defeat Qi and Wei, and awed the feudal lords with his might. Today, Chu is in imminent peril. Are you two willing to lead the Jing clan troops and fend off the enemy for me?"

Jing Rui was brave and fond of drink but prone to recklessness; Jing Ju had petty cleverness but liked to speculate. Neither was someone Xiang Yan liked. But the Jing clan was the foremost of the three great ducal houses, with a full twenty thousand troops, so he had no choice but to rely heavily on them.

Right now, Xiang Yan hoped the Jing brothers would take the Jing clan troops south to intercept Meng Wu's division, which could reach the battlefield at any moment. As long as they could hold them off for one more day, then his own side would still have a chance of victory when attacking Wang Jian's army alone.

The two Jing brothers exchanged a glance and left to carry out the order. Xiang Yan then called upon the Qu clan, Zhao clan, and Xiang clan leaders, totaling ninety thousand troops, divided under nine Colonels. This was all the military strength he had at his disposal.

"The Qin army has just arrived; their camp ramparts are not yet solid. Tonight, set up the Four Martial Assault Formation. Use war chariots and elite cavalry to startle and throw their army into chaos. Tomorrow, after the morning meal, we will fight them to the death!"

That night, the advance and rear guard forces of both sides clashed countless times within an area of over ten li. The Chu army continuously tried to use their familiarity with the terrain to harass the Qin camp, but the Qin army set up defenses everywhere and gave the Chu army no opening to exploit. Moreover, a light rain began falling in the middle of the night, so the Chu army's plan to burn the camp also ended without result.

The next day at noon, the sudden rain cleared. After letting the entire army eat their fill, at the first ke of the Mao hour (9-11 AM), over ninety thousand troops filed out of camp in a continuous stream, arraying their battle formation across a front four to five li wide, and then slowly advanced toward the Qin camp over ten li to the west!

Xiang Yan had his reasons for choosing to advance in the morning. The Chu camp was south of Qi City, backed by the city walls, facing south from the north. The Qin camp faced east from the west. Therefore, with the weather clear today and the sun emerging again, when they marched out to offer battle in the late morning, the sun was in the east. The Qin army, emerging to form ranks, would be facing directly into the dazzling sunlight, which was more advantageous for the Chu army.

After all, it was a camp only set up temporarily the day before yesterday. The Qin army had no rampart protection and dared not simply hold the camp and avoid battle as they had in winter. Thus, upon hearing the great beating of drums from the Chu camp and seeing them pour out in full force to form ranks outside, they knew Xiang Yan intended to fight a decisive battle and did not show weakness.

Wang Jian immediately ordered each Commandant to lead their troops out of camp and also form ranks in front of it, waiting at ease on the higher ground to the west for the Chu army to attack.

The Qin central army originally had one hundred fifty thousand combat soldiers. Because some troops and all the heavy baggage had been left behind along the way, they currently had one hundred twenty thousand combat troops.

Combined with the Chu army's ninety thousand, a total of over two hundred thousand troops from both sides arrayed themselves across this land spanning several dozen li. They filled the hills, farmlands, and even the streams, standing densely packed. The halberds and spears they held truly looked like an endless forest. The neighing of men and horses was more clamorous than any city.

For a time, southwest of Qi City, banners blotted out the sun, and war drums and horns sounded without cease. The many days of overcast rain seemed to be utterly dispersed by the killing aura of these two hundred thousand men. Dazzling sunlight broke through the clouds, making the great banners of both commanders-in-chief shine brilliantly.

Beneath the Chu army's crimson commander banner, Xiang Yan's beard and hair bristled. He wore a suit of vivid crimson armor, a pair of burning phoenix reliefs soaring across the bronze plates. His greatcloak, lifted by the wind, also seemed a billowing flame under the rising sun's rays, reigniting the already chilled hearts of the Chu people.

Standing upon his chariot, Xiang Yan solemnly shouted: "The King of Qin harbors a greedy and base heart, sending troops to encroach upon us, desiring to destroy our altars of state, to exterminate our people. The Qin bandits have been in our borders for half a year. We have no more road to retreat! Fight and live; cower and die! Whether your families, wives, and children shall become Qin captives, whether the eight-hundred-year altars of the Chu state survive or perish—all hinges on this single battle!"

Ten li away, Wang Jian's tall fanged banner and great standard, with their dragon flags and feathered canopies, also fluttered in the wind.

The old general Wang was as radiant and spirited as ever. Though his armor could not compare to the Chu Grand Pillar's ostentatious splendor, it was still awe-inspiringly majestic. His hair was all gathered under a brown-eared pheasant cap, a long sword hung at his waist. Watching the endless crimson Chu formation drawing ever closer in the distance, he smiled and had his soldiers relay his words to the Qin army:

"By the Great King's command, we have raised all our hosts, displayed our might and surging wrath, donned our armor and readied our blades, roused our officers and massed our troops, and pressed upon the borders of Chu for half a year now. You have all eaten well and rested for half a year precisely for this day! We are no lone army; the northern and southern forces will arrive in a flash. And after this battle, we shall report our victory before the King, bestow merit and rank upon you all, and the three-thousand-li domain of Chu shall become the homesteads and fields registered under your names!"

As the soldiers of both Qin and Chu roared at the top of their lungs, they could also hear the familiar yet strange accents of the other side, piercing through the ten-li distance and surging toward them!

Both Wang Jian and Xiang Yan understood clearly.

Qin and Chu, two states bound by twenty-three generations of marriage alliances and blood oaths.

Since the time of King Hui of Qin and King Huai of Chu, over a hundred years of accumulated hatred and entanglements.

These two sworn enemy states were about to, right here, south of Qi, decide the final victor!

PS: Chapter 3 will be in the evening, begging for monthly tickets.

(End of Chapter)