69novels Chapter 745 Wang Li saw the opportunity and attacked Yangping Pass!
Chapter 745 Wang Li saw the opportunity and attacked Yangping Pass!
Therefore, although the Xianyang Palace was not burned down, it was destroyed beyond recognition due to looting and other acts. After Lü returned to Xianyang, he directly requisitioned Li Si's former residence as his office. After all, Li Si was the prime minister of the Qin Dynasty at that time and was deeply trusted by Qin Shihuang. Naturally, his residence was magnificent and majestic.
In fact, it was not that General Lu did not want to repair the Xianyang Palace, but because he was too short of funds. Among all the princes in the world at that time, General Lu's financial situation could be said to be the most embarrassing one. Not to mention such a large project as repairing the Xianyang Palace, even maintaining the daily expenses of the army was already a difficult task for him.
At this time, a shocking news came - Wang Ben had died! This news was like a heavy bomb, causing an uproar in the entire Xianyang city. Especially Wang Li, after learning of his father's death, he was so furious that he wanted to lead the army to avenge Wang Ben on the spot.
Faced with Wang Li's impulsiveness, General Lu had to personally stop him. He tried his best to persuade Wang Li, telling him that it was not a wise move to send troops at this time. Not only could it not avenge Wang Ben, but it might put them in a greater predicament. After some difficult persuasion, Wang Li finally put aside the idea of revenge temporarily, but his dissatisfaction with General Lu deepened.
In Wang Li's eyes, Jiang Lu was not the orthodox King of Qin. The reason why he was able to take the leadership position was entirely due to the recommendation of Wang Ben and himself. Otherwise, who would know this unknown Jiang Lu? Now that Wang Ben has passed away, Wang Li has only one thought in his mind, that is, to avenge his father. Jiang Lu was able to stop him, not because of Jiang Lu's noble status, but because Wang Li still had a trace of reason and knew that acting impulsively at this time would only bring more trouble.
Ninety percent of the soldiers in Xianyang obeyed Wang Li's orders and ignored General Lu's orders, so Wang Li was not worried about this. However, the reason why Wang Li did not go to seek revenge immediately was actually very simple. You know, Yangping Pass alone was not something he could conquer. Now the entire Xianyang City only had 20,000 soldiers at most, and not only was there a shortage of troops, but also a serious shortage of food and grass. If they were to go on an expedition for more than a month, they might not be able to hold on.
In General Lu's eyes, Gao Yao did not take advantage of the situation to capture Xianyang, nor did he send a large army to attack Xianyang. This was completely beyond his expectations. After all, with Gao Yao's current strength, it should not be difficult to capture Xianyang. But Wang Li is now taking the initiative to attack, which is undoubtedly a futile move. He simply does not have enough strength to confront the Southern Border Army head-on. Once Wang Li really leads his troops to the expedition, the entire Xianyang will almost become an empty city, with no defenses at all. Wouldn't it be easy for Gao Yao to capture it at that time?
Jiang Lu had actually thought about how to strengthen his own strength, but he knew that in order to truly achieve this goal, he must obtain strong support. However, Wang Li's attitude made him feel very helpless. Wang Li seemed to have a laissez-faire attitude towards many things, which made it difficult for Jiang Lu's many plans to be put into practice.
General Lu originally planned to strengthen his strength by restoring the economy and then expand his army. But the problem was that the land suitable for farming around Xianyang was quite limited, and the food produced in the short term could not meet his needs for recruiting soldiers. Faced with such a reality, General Lu could only sigh in despair.
Although Wang Li was angry, he was not stupid enough to seek revenge without considering the consequences. He knew very well that in his current situation, even if he wanted to seek revenge, it would be futile. Moreover, he also knew that if he wanted to seek help from others, the possibility of success would be equally slim.
In this case, Wang Li simply drank in his mansion every day to relieve his boredom and helplessness. However, this situation did not last long. Soon, Wang Li received an important news - Hanzhong's southern border army was preparing to attack Nanjun, and had begun to transfer soldiers from all over Hanzhong to Nanjun.
This news was great news for Wang Li! He was secretly delighted. Originally, Yangping Pass required at least tens of thousands of troops to garrison, but now the number of troops has been reduced to less than 5,000. This undoubtedly gave him a great opportunity.
The geographical location of Yangping Pass is extremely important. It is like an indestructible barrier, guarding the strategic point. As long as Wang Li can successfully capture Yangping Pass, he will have the initiative to counterattack and have the opportunity to fight back.
Moreover, Yangping Pass itself is a fortress that is easy to defend but difficult to attack, with steep terrain and strong fortifications. Wang Li is full of confidence in his military ability. He believes that as long as he can capture Yangping Pass, even if the Southern Border Army goes all out and mobilizes 30,000 to 50,000 troops, it may not be easy to recapture it.
What's more, the Southern Border Army is now facing the dilemma of fighting on two fronts, fighting against himself and the Wu Army. In this case, the Southern Border Army's manpower will inevitably be stretched to the limit and it will be difficult to take care of both. Wang Li felt that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and he could take advantage of the opportunity and deal a fatal blow to the Southern Border Army.
Thinking of this, Wang Li gave an order without hesitation: "Gather the troops immediately and prepare to march to Yangping Pass!" His voice echoed in the tent, full of majesty and determination.
"Yes!" Following Wang Li's order, a voice of reply came from outside the tent. Then, a messenger quickly took the order and rushed away like a flying bird to convey Wang Li's order.
After Wang Li made his move, General Lu also got the news quickly. When he learned that Wang Li had begun to mobilize troops and prepare to launch an attack, he suddenly felt anxious and helpless. He knew that his army was relatively weak at the moment, and if he attacked forcefully at this time, his chances of winning would be slim.
So, General Lu led his guards without hesitation and rushed to the city gate, hoping to stop Wang Li before he arrived. When General Lu arrived at the city gate, he happened to meet Wang Li head-on.
"General Wang Li, you absolutely cannot do that!" General Lu shouted anxiously, "Our army is at a disadvantage right now, and a strong attack is not a wise move. We should keep our troops in place, sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, and conserve our energy. I am also deeply saddened by the unfortunate death of General Wang Ben, but please put the overall situation first!"