Fire is like a long snake.

Wandering on the mountain plank road in Ziwu Ridge.

After crossing another mountain ridge, we reached the core area of ​​Jushui Army. Meng Hu stared at the towering black mountains, praying in his heart that he had not arrived too late.

"Report to the general, the scouts have traveled more than ten miles and found no trace of the enemy." In the darkness, a bunch of torches came from the plank road in front. It was the scouts of the Qin army who were exploring the road and sent people to report back.

"What happened in terms of military production? Are the beacons for help still burning?" Meng Hu asked.

"Our army's scouts have already contacted the defenders. However, the situation of the army is not good. More than half of the guards' team of county soldiers were injured and killed. Now, even the craftsmen have been sent to the battlefield." The scout looked on.

Be careful and report it truthfully.

"Send the order: speed up, at all costs, we must arrive at the army at the right time." Meng Hu ordered in a deep voice. At this moment, his heart was as hard as steel. No matter how many casualties fell into the canyon, he would still be there.

Can't stop him.

People's mood will change with changes in power, status, and environment.

At that time, Meng Hu, who led a team of side cavalry to rescue Li Yuan outside Xingyang, gradually transformed from a simple general to a comprehensive civil and military minister after experiencing both military and local experience.

As the only surviving child of the Meng family, Meng Hu possesses the excellent qualities inherited from three generations of the Meng family. After following Li Yuan through several battles and experiencing many dangers, Meng Hu has now truly escaped from the

Instead of a small group of border troops, we considered the problem from the perspective of the Qin State as a whole.

How will Qin develop in the future?

This is a difficult problem faced by important figures in the Qin State such as Li Yuan, Meng Hu, and Chen Ping. When he was not at the center of the Qin State, Meng Hu hardly considered the overall situation.

Years later, when he looked at the Qin State and the Qin Army again, his mood completely changed.

Among them, Li Yuan's judgment on the situation in the world and the future of Qin had a great influence on Meng Hu.

"Although it will take several wars to unify Guandong, if Qin really wants to do that, it is not impossible. However, the key to unifying Guandong does not lie in occupation, but in the attachment of people's hearts. If the people of Guandong cannot accept it from their hearts

If the Qin State is accepted, then this formal occupation will be meaningless——!"

"So. What we have to do now is to be patient, to stay connected, and to look for every possibility to stir up internal turmoil within the enemy. Next, the Qin army entered the Chu territory with the purpose of rescuing the people of the Chu territory from danger. Last year, we

What we did in Zhao is pretty good. We can do the same in Chu—"

When the temptation to achieve reunification loomed before him, Li Yuan revealed his true thoughts for the first time to the three giants Chen Ping, Meng Hu, and Li Zheng before heading to Yanbei.

learn from mistakes.

The First Emperor used force to wipe out the six kingdoms and achieve unification. However, this overly strong approach also left hidden dangers for the destruction of the Qin State. When the New Qin Dynasty faced opportunities again, Li Yuan chose to fight steadily and solve the problem of Guandong step by step.

Those potential enemies, but now, the two enemies in the north, Zhao Di and Yan Di, no longer exist.

The remaining Chu State also split into Western Chu and Eastern Chu. If Xiang Yu and Yingbu can be provoked to fight each other and fight internally, the unification of Qin will be a smooth process.

As a military official of a country, Meng Hu also has a clear understanding of the current national strength of the New Qin Dynasty. If the military practice of all people as soldiers is still implemented as in the time of the First Emperor, there will be no problem in recruiting an army of 500,000, but the result of this will be

, that is, the economy that Qin State had finally developed was on the verge of nervous collapse.

Using both economic and military means to further oppress and undermine the enemy's fighting spirit is the current strategy adopted by the Qin State, and through the change of hands between Zhao and Yan, facts have also proven the accuracy of Li Yuan's idea.

According to the situation in the world at the end of the sixth year of Qin and Xinli, if the Qin State devoted all its efforts to wipe out Guandong, it is estimated that it would take one year to defeat the weak Western Chu and Eastern Chu. As for other remnants such as the Western Wei Dynasty, there is no need to consider it at all. The reason why the Qin State

Keeping Wei Bao alive is just an extra layer of buffer.

Years of fighting required a huge amount of equipment and manpower.

During this riot in Hanzhong, Chen Ping, Meng Hu, and Li Zheng, who were familiar with the internal situation of Qin, did not complain about Hanzhong. The lack of major generals in the Guanzhong area led to the refugees gaining power, because they knew that with the vast territory of Qin State, Li Yuan was in control

The nearly 150,000 generals have been used to their limit.

In the north of Yan, the 50,000 Qin army commanded by General Han Xin had to face the troops of King Youxian and King Youguli of the Xiongnu on their own, and they also had to beware of possible assassinations by the Western Chu army from Qi. This small amount of troops was really

It can't be too much.

In the Hexi and Longxi areas, Luo Jia's 20,000 elite cavalry and Li Zhongxiang's Western Region Allied Forces, about 8,000 men, were stationed in a long area. Opposite of them were the elusive Huns who often came to plunder from the depths of the desert.

, these Xiongnu barbarians often go south when the autumn is high and the horses are fat, and then return after plundering enough wealth and slaves. In order to stop these bandits who come and go without a trace, the Qin army must have a strong and rapid mobile force.

As for other aspects, the Qin army must also keep a force in Jiuyuan, Sanchuan Hulao Pass, Nanjun, Yingchuan, and Handan and other directions. Otherwise, once the empty space is taken advantage of by the enemy, the result is very likely to end with the enemy.

Like the former Qin Dynasty, which was caught off guard by the Kanto Rebellion, they could only hastily organize a prisoner force to go into battle.

——.

In the seventh year of the Qin and Xin calendar years, the seventh day of the first month.

After three days and three nights of continuous trekking, the Menghu Army finally arrived at Jushui. By this time, the battle between the Jushui soldiers had turned into a meat grinder hand-to-hand battle.

Peng Sheng resisted very tenaciously and built more than 250 guards. In the end, only about 20 people were still holding on. As for the craftsmen, the casualties exceeded 300.

If Meng Hu's scout troops hadn't arrived first and reported the news of the impending reinforcements, Peng Sheng would have been unable to stop Lu Ze's attack even if he could create sky fire from time to time.

On Ziwu Ridge.

The refugee team was in chaos, and the deafening shouts and fighting sounds of the Qin army generals coming from the bottom of the mountain made these Qiang and Di people, who were frightened by the Qin army, lose their minds.

"Qin reinforcements are coming, we can't hold them anymore."

"Don't panic, Qin Gou's numbers won't be large. Let's charge again. As long as we capture the weapons, Qin Gou will take them and we won't be able to do anything." A close confidant of Lu Ze was still boosting morale, but his words were very serious.

Obviously, the number of people you can influence is limited.

Morale waxes and wanes.

Peng Sheng and others, who had been attacked for dozens of days, finally had a moment of pride and pride.

When he saw the familiar flag of the Qin Army appearing in his eyes, Peng Sheng couldn't help but burst into tears. At this moment, he felt as if he had walked away from the edge of life and death and come back again. While feeling lucky, he also had a deep feeling.

A deep desire for revenge.

"Brothers, pick up the weapons you made with your own hands, let us kill the enemy——!"

"Da Qin, Da Qin, kill!"

These shouts merged into a torrent in the darkness, awakening the Qin army soldiers who were still breathing in every corner of the army.

"We have won!" On the long steps leading to the military building, among a pile of fallen corpses, a bloody hand slowly stretched out. He groped back and forth and held a broken blade in his hand.

On the battlefield.

Most of the refugees have already begun to flee.

These guys who burned, killed and looted based on their impulse had high morale when times were good, but when times were bad they were just a mess. Not even Lu Ze could make such a rabble regain their confidence.

After shouting for a while to no avail, Lu Ze was also ready to retreat. Lu Ze and his cronies, who had been fighting and retreating, retreated from the front line. Along the way, in addition to the chaotic refugees, there were dead generals of the two armies.

's corpse.

"Kill those who resist, and those who surrender will avoid death!" At the foot of the mountain, the soldiers of the Menghu Army were shouting in unison. Upon hearing the Qin Army's persuasion to surrender, many refugees who were not determined began to kneel to the ground, preparing to surrender.

Now they also know something about Qin's attitude towards prisoners. Generally speaking, as long as they are not heinous criminals, they can avoid death. Of course, it is inevitable that they will be taken to a bitter and cold place to work as free coolies after becoming prisoners.

But it's nothing, at least there's something to eat.

"Well!"

Lu Ze panicked, his foot was in the air, and his body suddenly tensed up. When he looked down, he saw that his abdomen was bright red, and a dirty black blade was inserted into his abdomen, but the person holding the blade was

He was a Qin craftsman whose face was covered in blood and one of his legs was broken. His face was completely unclear.

"Ah, it hurts me to death." Lu Ze yelled, angrily stabbing the enemy on the ground into the chest with his sword.

This sword was extremely fast and extremely accurate. The body of the craftsman who was stabbed only bounced a few times before making no sound again.

Lu Ze panted heavily. After killing the enemy, he stumbled forward a few steps, and then rolled down the steps with an unsteady thud.

The long steps were originally at an angle of thirty degrees. Lu Ze's head rushed down and rolled down. He immediately hit the crowd like a ball. The fleeing refugees in front did not have time to watch out and were knocked around by Lu Ze.

, among them there were those who could not stand the arrogance. After being hit, no matter who it was, they immediately stepped down with a big foot in anger, and the broken blade on Lu Ze's abdomen was strengthened several times.

Originally, Lu Ze's clothes were thickened in winter, and although the sting he received had hit a vital point, if he had been bandaged properly and treated, he could have stopped the bleeding and been rescued. However, after experiencing the accident of being rolled down and trampled, Lu Ze's body was covered in wounds.

Dozens of pairs of feet stepped on him, and by the time his confidants helped him up in panic, this warrior among the refugees had already let out more air than inhaled it.

Lu Ze died in the rebellion.

The armed refugees who lost their command fled in all directions in the areas of Jushui and Ziwuling. These guys who were accustomed to wandering in the mountains and forests were in groups of three or five, running in the wilderness without knowing the direction, not knowing that they were walking toward death step by step.

Night in Qinling Mountains.

It is a paradise for beasts. In the winter of 200 BC, tigers, leopards and wolves were ruling this area. For these hungry animals who were wondering where the food was, the fleeing refugees were the most delicious food they were eyeing.
Chapter completed!