After the assassination attempt, Qingji's army quickened its march even further. Why did Qingji dare return home to seize the throne with only fifteen thousand men?
The Wu Capital was a fortified city of the southeast. With the number of men Qingji had, taking it by storm was utterly impossible, and surrounding it was even less feasible. Sun Wu was right here, and the principle of surrounding an enemy only with ten times their strength appeared in his military treatise.
The real reason was that, as Qingji marched south, countless nobles and soldiers of the Wu State brought their own provisions to join him. In just over ten days, more than fifty thousand people had already joined his army.
"Everyone in the Wu State knows the Crown Prince's reputation for benevolence, righteousness, and chivalry. You are a hero of the realm, while Helü is a rebellious minister who usurped the throne. Would it not be foolish to follow Helü rather than you?"
Such was Qingji's prestige within the Wu State. As long as he returned and appeared unstoppable, the whole realm would follow him like shadows following a form.
The Wu State quickly split into two factions. As Qingji cut his way to the walls of the Wu Capital like a blade splitting bamboo, the voices on Helü's side grew ever quieter.
Qingji's great army encamped outside the Wu Capital and began making preparations under Sun Wu's direction.
According to the old customs of the Spring and Autumn period, both sides had to exchange a round of insults before battle to prove they had just cause for war.
Besides, Qingji had a bellyful of pent-up anger. He took out the eighteen charges against Helü that he had written back in the Luo State and read them aloud outside Gusu.
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