novelhk Chapter 746 Wang Li turned against Lu and made Lu hang himself in despair!
Chapter 746 Wang Li turned against Lu and made Lu hang himself in despair!
As General Lu spoke, he quickly walked to Wang Li's side and continued to persuade him earnestly. However, this time Wang Li ignored his advice and didn't even look at him. Wang Li waved his hand, signaling the army behind him to continue moving forward, and then slowly turned his head and looked at General Lu indifferently.
"My lord, if I don't take revenge, I'd be unworthy of being a son!" Wang Li's voice was cold and firm, "My lord, there's no need to persuade me anymore!"
"General Wang Li, you..." Before Jiang Lu could finish his words, Wang Li raised his hand to interrupt him. Wang Li's face was as gloomy as water, his eyes were as cold as ice, and his voice was low and firm: "My lord, guard Xianyang!"
This sentence hit Jiang Lu's heart like a heavy hammer, and he felt like he was falling into an ice cellar. He widened his eyes and looked at Wang Li in disbelief, as if he didn't recognize the person in front of him.
Wang Li did not hesitate at all. He kicked his horse's belly and galloped out of the city. The sound of horse hooves echoed throughout the long street, raising a cloud of dust, as if announcing his determination and departure.
Jiang Lu stood there blankly, looking at Wang Li's back as he walked away, feeling lost. He recalled the look Wang Li had given him just now, which was an undisguised look of contempt and disdain, as if he was mocking his incompetence and overestimation of his own abilities.
General Lu couldn't help but smile bitterly, he knew that Wang Li would never obey his orders. Before, when Wang Ben was there, Wang Li would reluctantly cooperate with him, but now that Wang Ben was gone, those soldiers only listened to Wang Li, what could he do?
General Lu shook his head helplessly. He realized that the situation was hopeless and there was no chance of turning back. Wang Li's departure took away more than 90% of the soldiers, which made Xianyang almost an undefended city. Now, any 5,000 soldiers could easily capture Xianyang.
At this time, General Lu's heart was filled with helplessness and bitterness. He could only smile bitterly, then turned back silently, ready to convey this bad news to other clan members. He knew that this news was undoubtedly a heavy blow to them, but he had no choice.
General Lu decided to let the remaining clan members flee for their lives, because he knew that he could no longer protect them. As for the final outcome, he was no longer able to care. He knew that even if he surrendered, he would not be able to escape death. In this case, he simply decided to end his life in a decisive way.
There was a reason why General Lu thought this way. He knew that the princes would definitely not help them, let alone accept them. Because for the princes, doing so would be of no benefit, and it was also inconsistent with the fundamental purpose of their sending troops. In the end, they would all become tools for the enemy to kill in order to boost morale.
Even if he went to Gao Yao, Jiang Lu knew that he would definitely die. Even if he didn't die in public, Gao Yao would definitely get rid of him in secret. Jiang Lu had no doubt about this. As for Wang Li's departure, whether the attack was successful or not, Jiang Lu was very sure that Wang Li would not be able to come back alive. Gao Yao was not a fool, how could he not have made preparations in advance? Moreover, Wang Li did not have enough supplies and logistical support, so this was undoubtedly a doomed adventure.
Even if Wang Li won a battle by chance, the final result would not change at all. This was already determined when Wang Li insisted on leading the army to the battle. Wang Li had neither the ability to change his fate nor the ability to change the outcome.
Therefore, Jiang Lu made up his mind to kill himself. He felt that he had done his best. In fact, this idea had already sprouted in his mind the moment he learned of Wang Ben's death. Once Hanzhong was lost, Xianyang would become an isolated city. Even if Wang Li and some old Qin officials who had been following them around, how much use would they have?
Thinking of Wang Li and those loyal Qin officials, Jiang Lu decided to try again. But Wang Li's departure was like cutting off his last chance of survival. No matter how hard he tried, it was useless.
Just like that, three days after Wang Li left, General Lu finally chose to hang himself in the dilapidated hall of Xianyang Palace. However, Wang Li did not know this news, and perhaps even if he knew it, he would probably not take it to heart.
At this moment, Wang Li could no longer suppress his excitement. The moment he heard the news, he led his army to gallop away without hesitation, like an enraged lion, eager to show his majesty and strength.
He had no idea that all this was a trap carefully set by Zhang Liang. It was true that the troops were deployed, and it was also true that the garrison at Yangping Pass had less than 5,000 men, but what Wang Li did not know was that outside Yangping Pass, Ying Bu was leading 20,000 soldiers, waiting for him to fall into the trap.
Zhang Liang took great pains to set up this trap. He skillfully used various strategies. He first sent more troops to Yangping Pass to let Wang Li know that the Southern Border Army attached great importance to Yangping Pass. Then he transferred troops to the vicinity of Nanjun to make Wang Li's spies mistakenly believe that the main force had been transferred to the vicinity of Nanjun. Then, he secretly transferred troops to further confuse the enemy. In this way, Wang Li's spies were completely misled and did not realize the real situation outside Yangping Pass at all.
Ying Bu led his 20,000 troops and secretly left the pass without anyone noticing, hiding quietly in the mountains and forests. They kept a distance of at least 15 miles from Yangping Pass to ensure that they would not be discovered. At the same time, Ying Bu also sent a small number of scouts to keep an eye on the surroundings so as to keep abreast of the whereabouts of Wang Li's army.
Hiding in the mountains and forests was already a piece of cake for the Nanjing soldiers, and it was not a problem at all. Not only that, even the methods used by the soldiers to make fire and cook were very particular - they would use smokeless stoves. There are many advantages to doing this: First, it can effectively avoid causing forest fires. Specifically, it is necessary to ensure that there are no flammable materials within a circle of at least 1.5 meters from the center of the fire source, and the grass on the ground is cleaned; second, the selected location is close to the water source, but will not pollute the river water; third, the selected place will not be infested with wild animals, so as to minimize the risk of being discovered while ensuring safety.
More importantly, this hidden location was nearly 15 miles away from Wang Li's army. Even if Wang Li sent scouts to investigate, the maximum range they could explore was only 5 miles, which was already the limit. It can be said that in order to ensure safety and feasibility to the greatest extent, the Nanjing soldiers made careful considerations and arrangements in all aspects.