The great man will live forever

Chapter 262 Victory or defeat in a matter of seconds
  Back to 7 days ago, Liu Han, who learned that Cen Peng had made a serpentine move in Luoyang and almost reached Chengdu all the way, was naturally very happy. The world domination was just around the corner.

"What a great man, Delong Wangshu. His talent is no less than Feng Yi."

At that time, general Cen Peng accompanied Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu to personally conquer Longxi and surrounded Kaixiao in Xicheng (now northwest of Ankang, Shaanxi).

In order to rescue Kui Xiao, Gongsun Shu sent more troops to Gui (now Tianshui, Gansu; Gui sounds like guī), which restrained a large number of Han troops.

Emperor Guangwu saw that Xicheng and Shanggui could not be captured for the time being, so he left the edict to Cen Peng and returned to the capital first.

Cen Peng received the edict and read it, and it read: "If the two cities are defeated, we can send troops to the southern mountains to Shu. If people are not satisfied, after pacifying Long, they will look back at Shu. Once the troops are sent out, their heads will be white."

The general meaning is: "If we capture the two cities in Longdi, we can lead the army to attack Gongsun Shu in Shu. The most painful thing for people is that they are always dissatisfied. I am the same. I have already obtained Longdi and hope to obtain Shu. Therefore, every time I send troops, my hair and temples turn white."

Cen Peng observed the terrain in the Xicheng area and decided to use flooding. He asked each soldier to carry a cloth bag, fill it with soil, block the water flow in the valley, and lead it to the West City.

But at this time, the groundwater in the city also gushes out, and the pressure inside and outside the city wall is balanced, but it does not collapse.

While the two sides were in a stalemate, general Wei Xiao, who had gone to Gongsun Shu to ask for reinforcements, arrived with a large group of Shu soldiers. Cen Peng saw that there were many enemy troops and that his army had run out of food and fodder, so he ordered his troops to retreat and withdrew the Han army that surrounded Shanggui.

The Han army retreated, and Wei Xiao led his troops to pursue and attack. Cen Peng personally broke off the rear and protected the Han army's smooth return eastward, avoiding losses...

Later, Kai Xiao's son Kai Chun surrendered to Emperor Guangwu. Cen Peng was ordered to lead troops to attack Shu. He first captured Jingmen and then Pingqu.

Cen Peng ordered his men to stick to their camp, and he led his elite troops to attack Sichuan from the waterway, advancing with overwhelming force all the way to the hinterland of Bashu.

Cen Peng led his army to capture Wuyang (now east of Pengshan, Sichuan), and then commanded the elite cavalry to attack Chengdu. The Han army attacked fiercely, and the Shu soldiers were disbanded.

Gongsun Shu only thought that the Han army was still thousands of miles away. When he heard that Cen Peng was only a few dozen miles away from Chengdu, he couldn't help but turned pale with fright. He struck it with his staff and said, "What kind of god is this!"

……

This is the origin of Delong Wangshu, but in later generations this idiom is usually regarded as a derogatory term, used to describe someone who is greedy, unsatisfied, and trying to get more.

But in fact, after careful analysis, you will find that the original meaning of Delong Wangshu may not be this. Not only does it not have a derogatory meaning, but it has a complimentary meaning.

From the letter Liu Xiu wrote to Cen Peng, we can read the following information:

First of all, Liu Xiu himself must have outstanding military talents. He saw a crucial point, that is, if he wanted to build a great cause and bring peace to the world, he must win the two lands of Long and Shu.

Secondly, Liu Xiu's letter was also a spur and encouragement to Cen Peng. People are most afraid of being complacent and unmotivated. Liu Xiu was tantamount to telling Cen Peng, "The revolution has not yet succeeded, comrade, you still need to work hard."

In addition, this letter also revealed Liu Xiu's hardships in starting a business, otherwise he would not have lamented that "every time he sends out troops, his hair will turn white."

It can be said that Liu Xiu completed his great cause of "ZTE" by constantly "getting Long and looking at Shu". It can be seen that "getting long to look at Shu" does not refer to greed, but to striving for one's lofty ideals.

Today, Cen Peng is only one step away from gaining control of Shu. As long as he completely breaks through Chengdu, he will have a glorious achievement in unifying the world.

"But will Gongsun Shu jump to the wall again?"

Although he had been reminded, Liu Han was worried. There were many things that could lead to the other. After thinking about it, he wrote to Liu Xiu again. Liu Xiu was shocked when he saw it, and regretted that he had forgotten Liu Han when he came to Luoyang. the words said.

"Your Majesty, it shouldn't be possible, right? With General Lai She's lessons learned, General Cen Peng will probably take more precautions."

Liu Xiu said worriedly: "You can't be careless about this matter. The more critical the moment, the more careful you must be to avoid Gongsun Shu playing dirty tricks again."

It must be said that Liu Xiu had a strong vision and structure. He immediately sent someone to notify Cen Peng, but it was still a step too late.

Just when the Han soldiers on the front line thought that Cen Peng could undertake the great task of pacifying Shu alone, a man quietly appeared and changed everything in an instant.

That man's name was Fu Lu, and he was the number one assassin in Gongsun Shu's Dacheng Dynasty. Lai She died at his hands. After he succeeded in assassinating Lai She, Gongsun Shu gave him ten beauties, a mansion and a compound, and a thousand taels of gold...

At that time, Cen Peng garrisoned troops in Peng Ming (in today's Jiangkou Town, ten miles northeast of Pengshan, Sichuan). The reason why it is called this strange name is because a famous person died here.

This man is the legendary old god Peng Zu who lived to be [-] years old. He did not know that he was foolish, but the donkey traveled here and became an immortal. In order to commemorate him, the locals called this place "Peng Mu".

After setting up camp, Cen Peng asked the local people, "What is the name of this place?"

"Go back to the general and call Peng Ming."

"Huh?" Cen Peng was obviously stunned for a moment, and then he showed displeasure and said to the general: "My name is Cen Peng, but here I am called Peng Ming. It sounds awkward!"

Cen Peng wanted to move the camp, but it was getting late at that time and there were many inconveniences. He could only tell everyone, "Be careful and move out of camp immediately tomorrow morning."

"promise!"

Just as the troops were preparing to rest, a soldier suddenly broke into Cen Peng's tent.

"General."

"what happened?"

"General, a man who fled from Shu, said he has important military information to report back."

Cen Peng was overjoyed when he heard about it, "Hurry, bring him to see me."

He immediately summoned the person who came, and naturally searched him before coming, so that the person had no weapons on him.

"You said you have important information?"

"Yes, General." The man looked rather wretched, "Sichuan currently only has..."

He went straight to the topic and began to talk about intelligence. He told Cen Peng about Chengdu in a very serious manner. As he was talking, he suddenly burst into action, grabbed the soldier's weapon and stabbed Cen Peng.

Cen Peng, who was thinking about how to quickly capture Chengdu, had no time to react and was stabbed in the vital part. He vomited blood and died before he saw it.

"what!"

"General."

The soldiers under the tent were in chaos, and they swarmed up to kill the assassin without even having time to ask his name. All this happened in the blink of an eye.

Cen Peng sighed and said, "It's destiny that Peng will die." Then he died.

"Book of the Later Han Dynasty" says: "There are many generals who have made great contributions to the generals of Zhongxing. Only Cen Peng and Feng Yi, who have the title of Fang Fang, are from the west of Hangu and south of Fangcheng. The achievements of these two generals are really great."

If Feng and Jia do not attack, Cen Gong's loyalty will be enough to feel that the three armies are enemies, so they can achieve a long-term goal and finally make them happy. In the past, Emperor Gao (Liu Bang) was jealous of the name of Bai people, and if he violated it, he would be blessed; he conquered the south (Cen Peng), who hated the land where Peng died, and left it to cause disaster.

How can you worry about your own confusion and make it happen? Praising: Jiaodong (Jia Fu) salt official, Zhengnan (Cen Peng) Wan thieves. The strange front shocks the enemy, and the country is plotted from afar. "

After the general was assassinated, the Han army, which was alone and in danger, naturally did not dare to attack Chengdu again, so they had to retreat to a safe place and wait for new orders.

In Luoyang, Liu Xiu burst into tears when he learned about this.

"I regret not listening to Qiang'er's words!"

Immediately, a special decree was given to Cen Peng's family with all the tribute paid by King Rengui of Qiong Valley who came back in admiration, and he was given the posthumous title of Zhuang Hou in recognition of his military wisdom and courage displayed after thousands of miles of detours.

At that time, Wu Han stayed in Yiling, repairing the boats, and then led his [-] troops back to Jiangxi. When Cen Peng was assassinated, Liu Xiu asked Wu Han to also lead his army.

Someone whispered: "Your Majesty, the prince said that Wu Han likes to rob, and the past events in Nanyang are still fresh in his mind. Is it inappropriate to let him be the coach now?"

"Indeed, but who else can we find to replace Wu Han now? Well, I will tell him not to cause too many killings."

It has to be said that anger can make people think poorly. In less than half a year, Gongsun Shu twice successfully assassinated all the commanders of the northern and eastern fronts carefully prepared by Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu.

Cen Peng, the general of Zhengnan, also became the only general among the twenty-eight generals of Yuntai who died on the front line.

This made everyone angry and wanted to kill Gongsun Shu right away. He immediately ordered the Grand Sima Wu Han who was still in Yiling to rush to Cen Peng to take over the troops, and his tone was urgent and stern.

In December of the 35th year of Jianwu ([-]th year), the Grand Sima Wu Han, who received the order from Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu, set out from Yiling and led [-] troops up the river and hurried to the front line.

Gongsun Shu sent troops to "encircle and intercept" along the way, determined to prevent Wu Han and Cen Peng's troops from joining together.

However, Wu Han, who was furious and determined to take revenge, hit him head-on. The morale of the Han army soared. Wu Han won many battles and attacked the city all the way. They were invincible. They captured Guangdu (now Dongzhonghe Town, Shuangliu County, Sichuan) according to the order of Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu, and directed their troops towards Chengdu.

Gongsun Shu's generals felt that the situation was over and began to flee. Even if Gongsun Shu killed the fleeing general's family, he still could not stop him.

At this time, Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu may have felt that Gongsun Shu's defeat was certain and there would be no chance for a comeback; or he may be worried that Gongsun Shu would repeat his old tricks again, so he sent powerful assassins to deal with Wu Han.

Therefore, Liu Xiu once again showed his broad mind and wrote a very generous letter to Gongsun Shu to persuade him to surrender. On the one hand, he told him that he would not pursue the assassination of Lai Xi and Cen Peng's hatred, but his treatment would remain the same;
  On the other hand, it is also an ultimatum, a last "friendly reminder".

Don’t say you don’t predict what you say!
  Liu Xiu's mind can be regarded as the broadest emperor in Chinese history, bar none.

The death of his second sister, niece, and many relatives in Xiao Changan was partly Cen Peng's idea, but he forgave Cen Peng.

His eldest brother was forced to death by Zhu Tuna, Li Yi and others, and even humiliated him. He wanted to take the opportunity to kill him too and prevent him from going to Hebei to pacify him. However, he swore to Luoshui to forgive Zhu Tuna, and he kept his promise. arrive.

Liu Xuan was considered the mastermind who killed his eldest brother, but he collected the bodies for others, and there was Liu Penzi, who had been an emperor, and he also served him delicious food and drinks, so that he could start well and end well...

Even though he clearly knew that Liu Xiu was tolerant, Gongsun Shu was "a bastard who eats weights - he is determined". He said that he would never bow to Liu Xiu and admit defeat.

People who have been emperors, especially real emperors, and have enjoyed power will not give up easily.

Power is extremely terrifying. In history, what has caused the greatest harm to mankind is not natural disasters, plagues, or famines, but unchecked power.

Power is destructive, expansionary, paralyzing, exclusive, destructive, crazy, bellicose, confrontational, arbitrary, and corrupt.

Therefore, power needs to be restricted, supervised, decomposed, and checked and balanced.

In the history of human civilization, the greatest invention is not dazzling technology, shocking art, or classic works, but the successful domestication of power.

Gongsun Shu might not be willing to give up his power until the last moment.

Moreover, he still has hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers and generals in his hands. He will not be captured and killed until the last moment.

Time passed. Unlike later generations, wars in ancient times were often calculated in months or years. The war lasted until 36 AD. In July of the 12th year of Jianwu, Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu, who was commanding remotely from two thousand miles away, wrote to Wu. Chinese.

Remind him that Gongsun Shu still has hundreds of thousands of troops. If he is trapped and stubborn, it will still be difficult to deal with him. At this time, you must be cautious and guard against arrogance and impetuosity.

The best strategy is to stick to Guangdu, recharge your batteries, wait for work, and wait for the impatient Gongsun Shu to attack. Never take the initiative to confront them head-on.

If they dare not come over, and you lead the army to slowly advance and force them, you must take a preemptive strike and drag them down until they are exhausted before attacking, so that you can win a complete victory!

At the same time, he also told Wu Han not to rob or attack ordinary people.

I have to say that Liu Xiu's plan is very good. This is called stopping with silence, allowing the enemy to take the initiative to reveal flaws.

It's a pity, but Wu Han, who now has a series of victories and a strong fighting spirit, doesn't think so. Instead, he thinks that the best defense is to attack, and he is still waiting to destroy Shu.

As the saying goes: "When generals are out, military orders will be ignored."

He thought that although this was safe, it was time-consuming and labor-intensive. Why would he play so many tricks when he could be killed with a single blow?

Wu Han himself had a strong character, and Liu Xiu was worried every time he went on an expedition. When the generals saw that the battle formation was unfavorable, some became frightened and lost their fighting spirit. But Wu Han was in good spirits, arranging weapons and reviewing troops.

When Liu Xiu found out, he sighed: "Wu Gongchai is so powerful that he is like an enemy of the country."

No one is perfect. Not everyone is Liu Xiu. His strongest generals are Feng Yi and Cen Peng. Unfortunately, Feng Yi died of illness and Cen Peng was assassinated.

Now the strongest one is Wu Han. He has shortcomings, is very impulsive, and likes to lose his temper, but he also has many advantages. He is brave, loyal, and willing to sacrifice his life...

He believes that the situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly. Now his side has high morale and one is worth ten; Gongsun Shu's side has low morale and many people are fleeing the battle.

As long as our side dares to "show the sword", bravely rush forward and kill boldly, it is likely that we only need to launch a symbolic attack to win a complete victory and invade Chengdu.

Therefore, Wu Han personally led [-] elite infantry and cavalry to attack and threaten Chengdu. More than ten miles away from Chengdu, we camped on the north bank of the Yangtze River and set up a pontoon bridge.

At the same time, Liu Shang, the deputy general and Wuwei general who came from the northern front, led more than [-] people to camp on the south bank of the Yangtze River. The two military camps are more than [-] miles apart and can echo each other from a distance.

Of course, Wu Han was still loyal to Liu Xiu. After setting up camp, he reported his attack plan to Liu Xiu, just like Ma Di later wrote to Zhuge Liang after setting up the street pavilion.

Liu Xiu was shocked when he saw it, "How could this Wu Han do this? I knew he wouldn't be needed."

"Your Majesty, it is taboo to change generals on the spot."

"Oh, that's all. I'll write him a decree."

Liu Xiu hurriedly wrote a letter to blame Wu Han. First, he scolded him for not listening to his own suggestions, making his own decisions and underestimating the enemy's advance. Then he helped him analyze the dangers of dividing his troops to attack. He also ordered Wu Han to immediately change his plan and lead his army back to Guangdu.

The general content is: "I have given you many orders, why did things go wrong again when things came to a head? I underestimated the enemy's penetration, and built another camp with Liu Shang. If things were urgent, it would be too late.

If the enemy sends troops to contain you and attacks Liu Shang with a large force, and Liu Shang is defeated, you will also be defeated. Fortunately, everything is fine now. You can lead your troops back to Guangdu as soon as possible. "

However, it was too late. After all, the round trip from Chengdu to Luoyang is more than [-] miles, and even the "six hundred miles" expedited trip will take about seven days.

Before the edict arrived, Gongsun Shu immediately noticed it keenly and immediately deployed a counterattack. He was Liu Xiu's biggest opponent. If it were another person, he might be Gongsun Shu who would dominate the world.

Gongsun Shu sent the Grand Situ Xie Feng and the Jinwu Yuan Ji to lead an army of [-], divided into more than [-] battalions, and took turns to attack Wu Han from the front. At the same time, he sent other generals to lead more than [-] people to control the pontoon bridge, contain Liu Shang, and envoys. He cannot rescue.

The battle lasted for a whole day, but Wu Han, who was outnumbered, was defeated and forced to retreat to the military camp for defense.

Only at this time did Wu Han understand the huge strategic gap between himself and Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu.

But it's too late to say anything now. He and Liu Shang are divided and surrounded. If he can't find a solution and break the crisis, it is very likely that they will be defeated one by one, and then he will be the one who loses in the end.

Everything is up to you!

Wu Han thought about it and summoned his generals to give him a lecture: "Now that we are surrounded by Liu Shang in two places, and we are not able to take over the situation, the disaster in the future is incalculable. Now we need to hide our troops to find Liu Shang in the south of the Yangtze River, and join forces to defend the enemy together." .

If we can work together and fight on our own, great achievements will be made; if not, there will be no remnants of defeat. The chance of success or failure lies in this battle. "

Wu Han had quite a lot of combat experience. First, he prepared troops, rewarded the soldiers, and conducted some battlefield mobilization to mobilize the high morale of the soldiers to fight for survival and continue fighting;

Then, set up a maze to create an illusion. The gates of the military camp were closed, a no-war sign was hung, and silence was maintained for three days. Put up more flags in the military camp and light more fireworks to keep the smoke and dust flowing.

Waiting until midnight, he found that there was no movement from the enemy troops on the opposite side, so Wu Han quietly led his army to join Liu Shang. This "empty city strategy" that was difficult to distinguish between true and false actually managed to hide it from Xie Feng on the opposite side.

The next day, Xie Feng, who was kept in the dark, still divided his troops into two groups according to the plan and attacked Wu Han and Liu Shang separately.

Wu Han led the entire army to attack him head-on.

"Kill!"

"Come on!"

The battle was very fierce. It lasted from morning to afternoon. Wu Han finally defeated the enemy army and killed the great Situ Xie Feng and the Jin Wu Yuan Ji sent by Gongsun Shu. They won a complete victory.

After the victory, Wu Han did not dare to neglect, and quickly reported the victory to Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu, and conducted deep self-reflection and self-criticism.

Liu Xiu was very happy, "This Wu Han knows how to adapt to situations. Yes, I have never misjudged him."

Then he wrote a letter to praise Wu Han, and then said: "It is very appropriate for you to return to Guangdu. Gongsun Shubi will not dare to ignore Liu Shang and attack you.

If he attacks Liu Shang first, and you lead all the infantry and cavalry from Guangdu fifty miles to the enemy, and you happen to encounter his danger, you will definitely be able to defeat the Shu army. "

After that, the two armies fought fiercely between Guangdu and Chengdu. The Han army was victorious in eight battles and besieged Chengdu.

For a time, it seemed that Chengdu had been defeated and Gongsun Shu's demise was close at hand.

Unfortunately, things in the world are often unsatisfactory, prosperous and then declining, with repeated twists and turns. When a person is most proud, when he is closest to success, he often needs to be cautious and cautious.

Otherwise, it will be heaven and hell in just one thought.

(End of this chapter)