Although Prince Shen did not say much on the surface, his excited expression was undeniable.
However, Prince Shen still inquired in detail, "Can this matter be confirmed? My Great Chu is currently raising troops to attack the state of Yue. If it were according to the ways of the Wei people, they should send troops to stop my Great Chu at this time."
Prince Shen frowned and said, "Could this be a stratagem of the Wei people, deliberately luring my Chu state into lowering its guard against the Wei people, and then seizing the opportunity to lead a large army to sneak attack my Chu state."
Zheng Dan pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "From what I understand, the Wei people should not interfere with my Great Chu anymore."
"Oh? Why?"
Zheng Dan explained, "According to the reports, there is a major problem on the northwestern border of Wei. A powerful enemy has invaded Wei's territory and captured many Wei cities in one go."
"The Wei people's attention is all drawn to the northwest, so they should truly be unable to spare any effort to worry about matters in the south."
"Is that so?"
Prince Shen said with a hint of suspicion, "The Western Army of Wei is also a strong force in Wei, always known for its fierce combat. It is precisely at this time that there is a major incident in the northwest?"
"The northwest has encountered a formidable enemy? Who is it? Could it be that the Xiongnu have invaded Wei's territory again?"
Zheng Dan shook his head and said, "No, the Xiongnu have not invaded Wei for decades, and it is not the Xiongnu this time either."
"Then who is it?"
"It is said to be a powerful empire that has come from afar." Zheng Dan hesitated, "This information is also vague, and I cannot discern its truth or falsehood."
Prince Shen frowned deeply and looked into the distance. Is this truly a great opportunity for the state of Chu?
...
Across the vast land, an army was marching slowly, their heavy steps kicking up dust from the ground, a restless aura seemingly emanating from the sky.
Although it was autumn, in the territory of Yue, this still made people feel that a lingering heat had not yet dissipated.
The Chu army marched on the land of Yue. Although Chu and Yue were different, for many soldiers of Chu, they quickly adapted to the climate in Yue.
Compared to the unfamiliarity with the local conditions and the unsuitability of the climate when attacking Wei, the Chu soldiers had a high tolerance for Yue.
The combat effectiveness of the Chu army in Yue was not diminished in the slightest. On the contrary, because this was a war of annihilation, many Chu nobles had great confidence in this expedition, hoping to gain the greatest benefits after the war. Therefore, the Chu soldiers who marched this time were almost all elites of the Chu army. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
It is also necessary to mention Chu's military system here.
Although Chu had established a complete centralized state, the influence of clans in Chu was still very great. Many large clans still held a pivotal position in Chu.
For example, the enfeoffment system was a great embodiment of the influence of Chu clans in Chu.
These feudal lords could almost control all the population, troops, and resources in their fiefdoms, and all the armies in the fiefdoms were managed and owned by the feudal lords themselves.
Therefore, for Chu to send troops to fight, not only must the Chu court agree, but the King of Chu must also consult the consent of the majority of feudal lords and clans.
Because Wei had always been the most powerful state in the Central Plains, except for a very small number of feudal lords, the feudal lords of Chu were not very enthusiastic about fighting Wei.
This led to the fact that the combat effectiveness of the Chu army was originally inferior to that of the Wei army, and the Chu army had always been unable to send its elite troops to the front line, and had always been in a passive position in its campaigns against the Wei army.
Most of Chu's feudal lords adopted a "don't release the eagle until the rabbit is seen" approach, being indifferent to wars that did not offer significant benefits, and only caring about their own gains and losses.
However, the situation regarding the campaign against Yue this time was different. The campaign to attack Yue this time was undertaken with the intention of completely annexing Yue.
The old King of Yue, Si Wujiang, had always been a kind-hearted person with a soft personality. Yue's foreign policy had always been one of bowing and scraping to seek peace. On several occasions, under the coercion and temptation of Chu, Yue had ceded a considerable amount of territory.
In the eyes of Chu nobles, Yue was a complete pushover. Therefore, when the Chu feudal lords learned that they were going to completely conquer Yue, they were all eager to get the greatest benefits from this campaign against Yue.
Therefore, the army led by Prince Shen this time can be said to be the representative of Chu's strongest fighting force.