Mythical Qin: I, Gao Yao, will never be a eunuch!

It took less than an hour from attacking Wushang County to capturing it, but it took a full four hours to clean up the battlefield, comfort the people, treat the wounded, and other follow-up matters.

The sun was setting and the dusk was getting darker. Gao Yao stood in the courtyard of the Wushang County government office, looking into the distance with a serious expression. He knew that this war had just begun, and the real battle would begin next. Wushang County was just an appetizer.

"Erniu!" Gao Yao suddenly shouted.

"I am here!" Erniu ran over and said respectfully, "My lord, what's wrong?"

"Notify the navy immediately and ask them to transport another 10,000 soldiers to Wushang County as soon as possible! We must increase our military strength to prevent the Chu army from attacking." Gao Yao said in a firm tone.

"Yes." Erniu took the order and left.

In this battle, the Southern Border Army performed well, with only more than 300 casualties, while the Chu Army suffered heavy losses, with nearly 800 killed, more than 400 captured, and the rest fled.

However, Gao Yao was clearly aware that it was not the time to relax. They needed follow-up support to arrive as soon as possible to consolidate the defense of Wushang County. Moreover, the news that Wushang County was raided by Gao Yao could not be concealed for long. Once Xiang Yu knew about it, he would definitely lead his troops to attack.

Although the news that Gao Yao was here had not been exposed, he knew that the pressure he faced was still huge, because they were about to face the siege of the Chu army, which was undoubtedly a severe test.

After all, Gaoyao is like a nail stuck in Kuaiji. If the Chu army cannot pull out this nail, they will have trouble sleeping and eating. Since there are 5,000 people, there may be 50,000 people. Therefore, Fan Zeng will not sit idly by for such a threat as Gaoyao. The existence of Gaoyao is like a nail stuck in Kuaiji, reminding the Chu army at all times that we may launch an attack at any time.

In fact, all this was the result of Gao Yao's discussion with Xiao He, Han Xin, Cao Shen and other generals before the war. Although Gao Yao's move was very risky, he still insisted on his own opinion. After all, the talents available nowadays are indeed a bit scarce, and they can only choose to take a risk.

Gao Yao's original intention was to take Shanyin County directly and expand his sphere of influence. However, because Fan Zeng was too vigilant, this plan could not be implemented. The top counselor was indeed not easy to deal with. Facing such a strong enemy, Gao Yao had to readjust his strategy. Now, all he can do is to nail it here like a nail and never retreat easily. As long as Gao Yao does not withdraw his troops, the Chu army must be distracted to deal with it. Either do your best to recapture Wushang County, or divide your troops to defend Wushang County to prevent Wushang County from sending troops to attack the hinterland of Kuaiji again. In any case, the Chu army cannot ignore the threat posed by Gao Yao.

Although the Southern Border Army did not have any advantages in terms of popular support and geographical location, it had a unique advantage - sufficient manpower. If the 50,000 troops led by Han Xin were short of manpower, he could always mobilize another 50,000 troops to provide support in the central Fujian region. However, the total manpower of the Chu army was only 60,000.

Although this force is not small in the whole world, the gap is obvious compared with the southern border army. Therefore, capturing Wushang County is undoubtedly the safest and most reliable strategic choice. At this moment, what Gao Yao has to do is to defend Wushang County with all his strength. This will allow Han Xin to capture the entire Minzhong as soon as possible. If the Chu army divides its troops to attack Wushang County, it will cause Han Xin to be unable to defend Minzhong. If it does not divide its troops, it will have to worry about the people of Wushang County raiding Shanyin County and even Wu County cutting off its retreat.

Xiao He, Han Xin, and Cao Shen could all clearly see the current situation. As a counselor in the Chu army, Fan Zeng could also see the current situation. The court's attack on the southern border was inevitable. It would not be long before the court's army would arrive in the southern border. Fan Zeng used a delaying strategy.

Han Xin also understood the other party's intention, so he took this more risky approach. Otherwise, once the Chu army began to rely on the city to resist the southern border army step by step, it would not be very difficult to completely capture Kuaiji, but it might not be possible within three months. By then, if the imperial army had already reached Ba County and Shu County and directly attacked the southern border, it would be a two-front war.

Therefore, the timing of this battle is related to the key point of the subsequent entire southern border campaign, and the key point of the Chu army is to delay. Han Xin used the special advantage of the navy to force the Chu army to split up. Once the troops were divided to face the southern army, Minzhong would not be able to delay for long. At that time, the battlefield would be directly dragged into Kuaiji, and the Chu army's activity space would be further reduced, and the speed of defeating the Chu army would be further accelerated.

At the same time, on the other side in central Fujian, Wu She had successfully contacted Ji Bu of the Chu army.

Under Fan Zeng's order, Ji Bu immediately went to Minzhong to intercept the Southern Border Army led by Han Xin. However, the speed of the Chu Army lagged behind that of the Southern Border Army. When Ji Bu arrived in Minzhong, half of Minzhong had already fallen into the hands of the Southern Border Army under the leadership of Han Xin. After a little thought, Ji Bu gave up the originally planned ambush location and chose another ambush location in Nantong County that Fan Zeng had told him to ambush before he left.

This was also Fan Zeng's backup plan. After all, after calculating the extremely fast marching speed of the Southern Border Army, he had to guard against possible accidents. Fan Zeng prepared a second ambush location in order to defeat the enemy's spirit.

When Ji Bu just arrived in Nantong, a messenger reported that Wu She from Minzhong Prefecture was coming to visit. Although Ji Bu was a little confused, he still met Wu She as soon as possible.

Ji Bu looked at Wu She in front of him, and couldn't help but feel a little curious. He knew that Wu She was a counselor under Tang Sheng, the governor of Minzhong County, but now he appeared in front of him, so he must have some ulterior motive.

"Wu She meets General Ji Bu!"

In the military tent, Wu She saluted Ji Bu the moment he saw him, with a gleam of light in his eyes.

"Are you Tang Sheng's retainer?"

Ji Bu looked at Wu She with a hint of vigilance and confusion in his eyes.

"Exactly."

Wu She nodded, a smile on his face, looking very confident.

"What are you here for this time?"

Ji Bu frowned, a hint of displeasure in his tone.

"The general entered Fujian without reason, and the county governor sent me to ask the general why he led his troops into Fujian."

Wu She did not state his purpose at the first time, but asked Ji Bu in the name of Minzhong County, which was also to test the attitude of the Chu army.

The imperial court did allocate Minzhong as Chu territory to Xiang Yu, the King of Chu. However, before that, Xiang Yu and Fan Zeng had already launched an uprising and elected Chu Sun Xiongxin as the King of Chu. It was definitely inappropriate to have two Kings of Chu in one Chu army, and who would be the King of Chu would determine the future of the Chu army.

Ji Bu was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "We are here to pacify Minzhong on the orders of the King of Chu. Do I need to explain this to you?"

Wu She smiled and said, "General, you misunderstood. The county governor did not mean that. However, the Chu army has now established Sun Xiongxin as the King of Chu, and Xiang Yu has been canonized as the King of Chu by the court. We in Minzhong will naturally obey the orders of the King of Chu, but I don't know which King of Chu you are obeying?"

After hearing what Wu She said, Ji Bu's face showed a fierce look, even a hint of rage, but after thinking for a while, he suppressed his temper.

"Of course, we support King Huai of Chu. Wu She, you are so brave that you actually came to our Chu army camp to stir up trouble. Are you really not afraid of death?"

Ji Bu was originally going to get angry, but after thinking about this critical time, and considering that the Southern Border Army was attacking, he must have a purpose for appearing in the Chu Army as Tang Sheng's retainer and speaking like this.

However, Ji Bu was still somewhat helpless. This Wu She was really not good at talking. He was the only one here today. If a brave general like Long Ju was here, Wu She would definitely lose his life today.

Ji Bu could see that at this critical moment, the other party came most likely to surrender to the Chu army.

The Southern Border Army launched a war without declaration, and Minzhong lost half of its land. Now the remaining options for Minzhong are either to join the Southern Border Army or to join the Chu Army. If the other side really intends to join the Southern Border Army, then what they are waiting for is not a small figure like Wu She, but a siege by the Southern Border Army.

"Mr. Wu She, just tell me your purpose. If you don't speak frankly at this time, you may not have another chance," Ji Bu said expressionlessly looking at Wu She.

Wu She's heart tightened. He knew that time was running out. If he didn't tell his true intentions, he might not have a chance. So he took a deep breath and said calmly, "General, you are wise. Wu She came here to represent Minzhong County to surrender to the King of Chu."

Hearing this, Ji Bu nodded slightly. Although he had already guessed this, Ji Bu did not immediately believe Wu She's words, but continued to remain vigilant.

At this time, Wu She was relieved, because he learned from Ji Bu's answer that the Chu army still supported King Huai of Chu. This made Wu She feel relieved, because it meant that the Chu army was not blinded by the immediate benefits given by the court, and they still adhered to their beliefs. If Ji Bu said that he would obey the imperial edict, then Wu She would definitely be disappointed. But from Ji Bu's attitude, he obviously didn't care about the imperial edict.

Wu She knew that Sun Xiongxin and Gongzi Gao were actually pawns in the hands of others. Sun Xiongxin was just a puppet of Xiang Yu, while Gongzi Gao was a puppet of Gao Yao. However, Wu She was clearly aware that there was a clear difference between the two. Although they both carried a certain reputation, the role of this reputation was very different.

Unlike Gongzi Gao, Sun Xiongxin had the historically significant title of "King Huai of Chu". Although he was actually just a puppet, this title could bring a sense of identity to the people of the old Chu.