The most powerful emperor Liu Bang

Chapter 25
Liu Bang made Han Xin the general, and the preparations for the Han army to return to Guanzhong from Hanzhong accelerated.In the second year, Liu Bang let Cao Shen and Fan Kui be the vanguard, and he, Han Xin, Zhou Bo, Guan Ying and others led a large force to attack Guanzhong from the Chencang trail.

Guanzhong was originally the territory of the Qin State. In order to prevent Liu Bang from advancing eastward, Xiang Yu arranged for three generals from the Qin State to guard this place, namely, Zhanghan, King Yong, Dong Yi, King Zhai, and Sima Xin, King Sai. Of Qin, King Yong was the most powerful, and his capital was in Feiqiu.

As a general, Han Xin knew that the strength of the Han army was not too strong, and it was best to adopt protracted tactics in the battle against Sanqin.But Liu Bang was eager for success and insisted that Han Xin take Guanzhong quickly.Han Xin was the new general, and he had to listen to the King of Han's words, so he had no choice but to attack blindly regardless of whether the conditions were ripe or not.

But you must know that the princes of the Three Qin Dynasty were all generals of the Qin State in the past, and they were not so easy to deal with, especially King Yong Zhanghan, who knew the art of war quite well. Seeing the strength of the Han army, he simply hid in the abandoned city and could not come out. , Ren Hanjun tried every means to provoke, but he refused to accept the move.

After the Han army arrived in Sanqin, they eliminated King Sai and King Zhai successively, and the situation was very good.Seeing this situation, Liu Bang asked Han Xin to step up the siege of Feiqiu on the one hand, and on the other hand led most of the Han army to continue eastward.At this time, Han Xin suggested to Liu Bang: "This is not a big king. The Han army is not yet stable, and its military strength is not enough to compete with the Chu army. For the current plan, it is better to concentrate the superior forces and defeat them one by one. If the troops are divided into battles, the stalls will be spread too much. It will not only weaken the combat effectiveness of the Han army, but also easily attract the siege of the Chu army. If this continues, the situation in Guanzhong will be very dangerous."

Liu Bang said: "Why not? The Han army took Guanzhong by surprise. Now that the Chu army is not prepared, it is a good opportunity to attack. If they take precautions, they will break the difficulty of Chu."

"I am afraid that the Chu army is not so easy to break. Now Wei, Zhao, Dai, etc. are all attached to Chu. Once they attack Chu, their allied countries will inevitably gather to help. It is difficult for the Han army to attack Chu, and then there are other countries. Helping each other makes it more difficult to win, please think carefully about it, Your Majesty." Han Xin analyzed.

Liu Bang said: "I have also studied "Taigong Art of War" with Zifang for a few days, and I know very well that soldiers are precious and fast. If everything is waiting for the chariots, horses and guns to be assembled, the enemy will have built the city wall as high as the sky, and the opportunity will be missed."

"Then how about the Han army marching eastward after capturing the abandoned hill?" Han Xin took a step back and said.

"Don't discuss this matter again. I have made up my mind, so I will march in two ways. After I break Shangluo and defend the enemy, I will join forces and advance eastward." Liu Bang made up his mind and said.

Seeing Liu Bang's stubbornness, Han Xin couldn't force him to persuade him, so he could only follow him. After all, he is the boss.Acting rashly is a taboo for military strategists, and Han Xin was very worried about the Han army.Feiqiu had already made him rack his brains. He used sneak attack, strong attack, burning, digging tunnels and other methods, all of which were solved by Zhang Han one by one.Han Xin thought that it might take ten or eight days, and when the food in the city ran out, the man surnamed Zhang would come out and surrender on his own initiative.

Liu Bang led the army to attack Shangqiu and Luoyang excitedly. At first, he also won a few small victories, which strengthened his confidence in the rapid eastward expedition.Unexpectedly, when they forcibly crossed the Luo River, they were severely beaten by the Chu army. The two sides fought fiercely for a day, and the Han army was defeated, losing most of their troops.Liu Bang led a group of defeated soldiers back to Liyang.Only then did he believe Han Xin's words, and to compete with Xiang Yu for the world, he should not rush for it, but take it slow.

When Han Xin came to see Liu Bang, Liu Bang took the initiative to admit his mistake and said: "I regret that I did not listen to the general's words, which led to this defeat."

"Victory and defeat are a common matter in military affairs. Which cook doesn't play a few bowls. It's just that the King of Han was eager to care and didn't know the reality of the Chu army, which led to this defeat. However, the Han army is already in the middle. As long as you fight steadily, recharge your energy, and advance step by step , There will be a day when Chu is broken." Han Xin comforted Liu Bang.

"What? Which cook doesn't make a few bowls, it's fresh." Liu Bang thought it was too vulgar for Han Xin to compare him to a cook. Besides, the words seemed to teach him a lesson, and he was unhappy, so he immediately asked: "The general said That's right, I'm a little impatient, and I can't drink too much and become a big fat man if I'm impatient. It's just that you said we've been locked, can the waste hill be broken?"

Han Xin didn't know what Liu Bang was talking about, so he replied directly: "Zhang Han is not an idler, and a strong attack will not be effective. I want to adopt a strategy of besieging and not fighting. When the food in his city is exhausted, he will surrender without a fight."

Liu Bang said: "Wild Hill has been surrounded for ten months, and the food supply should have been cut off long ago. It can still persist now, which shows that there is a large amount of food in the city. If it continues, the Chu army will not be dragged down. I'm afraid it will drag us down." It's broken, and once the reinforcements arrive, I'm afraid it will never be conquered. The general is familiar with military books, so there's nothing he can do about this lonely city?"

One sentence made Han Xin feel a little restless. He once boasted in front of Liu Bang, saying that he was very good at leading troops to fight, but now an isolated city cannot be attacked for a long time, how can he explain it?He had no choice but to bite the bullet and say: "Your Majesty, don't worry, if I can't take down Feiqiu within half a month, I would rather resign from the position of General!" After finishing speaking, he got up and left.

Looking at Han Xin's leaving figure, Liu Bang said in his heart: "You still dare to pick on my thorns and bicker with me, you are still tender." Guan Ying watched them discussing issues from the side, and did not dare to intervene.

Han Xin issued a military order in front of Liu Bang. After returning, he did not dare to neglect, and immediately led several generals to besiege the city on tall horses to check the terrain.When they came to the east of the city, they saw a small river flowing out of the city. Han Xin had an idea, and immediately remembered the saying in the book of war: "People can't attack false weapons with weapons, and fire can't attack easily with water." Abandoned Hill City has used almost all methods, but there is no water, why not give it a try?This idea made him excited all of a sudden. He knew that Weishui was nearby, so he led his men to walk straight towards Weishui.

Weishui is a very wide river. It was at the turn of summer and autumn, and the water level was still high, so it could be used.But the Weishui River was still some distance away from the abandoned hill, and there was no river in the middle, which made Han Xin feel worried.He walked back and forth a few times to see that the distance was about ten miles away, calculated the date, and immediately made a decision: "Dig, mobilize a hundred thousand troops, and finish the work within five days. Dig a big river from the Wei River to the abandoned hill. I want water." Flooded hills!"

The project of diverting the Wei River into waste was completed on schedule.The wall of the abandoned mound was built with dry fortifications. It is strange to say that it cannot be attacked by people, and cannot be smashed by a strong attack. The fire attack burns and becomes stronger. When it is flooded with flood water, a large area of ​​it collapses in an instant. The Han army took the opportunity to attack the city, and the soldiers and civilians in the city were caught off guard and raised their hands to surrender.King Yong Zhanghan saw that the general situation was over, knowing that the Han army would not tolerate him, he committed suicide on the spot.So far, the King of Han has completely occupied Guanzhong.

Liu Bang gradually became bigger, which was the last thing Xiang Yu wanted to see.There are no two suns in the sky, there are no two masters in the country, and there is no room for two tigers on one mountain.When Xiang Yu had almost cleaned up the other princes, Liu Bang led several princes to attack Pengcheng at this time. Guan Zhong rushed over.

Facing a powerful enemy, Liu Bang was under a lot of pressure for a while. He didn't expect Xiang Yu to follow him so quickly. He asked Zhang Liang for advice. Zhang Liang said: "Among the heroes in the world, there are only three who can face Xiang Yu. The Han general Han Xin , General Yingbu of Chu, General Peng Yue of Wei, if you can get the help of these three people, you can almost defeat Xiang Yu."

Liu Bang had no other way but to try to do it.He conspired with several counselors including Zhang Liang for a while, and worked out the plan.Liu Bang acted according to his plan, and he won the support of Peng Yue and Yingbo successively.

At this time, Han Xin was attacking the city north of the Yellow River. Liu Bang thought it was his own army, so he could use it whenever he wanted.

The defense line of Xingyang and Chenggao was the lifeline of the Han army. Chu and Han started a tug-of-war here. Several large cities along the line were seized and seized again, which was extremely fierce.At the moment of crisis, Liu Bang urgently dispatched Han Xin's troops to cross the Yellow River to support him, but he didn't expect to arrive for a long time.Liu Bang wrote to question him, Han Xin wrote back and said: "I was restrained by the Chu army, and I can't extricate myself. Once relieved, I will rescue him immediately. I hope the King of Han will persist for a while." Liu Bang stared angrily.

It turned out that Han Xin heard that Peng Yue and Yingbu had not made an inch of contribution to the King of Han, but he promised them that they would be crowned kings after defeating Xiang Yu. However, Han Xin had made the greatest contribution in helping the King of Han to pacify the Sanqin and return to Guanzhong, but the King of Han did not have any rewards.Now that the enemy is in front of him, the King of Han has offered to reward other meritorious people, but he has nothing to say about himself. What kind of medicine does the King of Han sell in the gourd?Thinking this way in his heart, he must work hard.After Zhang Liang learned of this situation, he pointed out this point to Liu Bang, saying: "If you promise General Han to lift the siege of Xingyang and give him the area north of the Yellow River, maybe he will come right away."

Liu Bang suddenly realized, and then said: "Yes, why didn't I think of this!" He quickly wrote to Han Xin and told Han Xin that after the matter is completed, he is willing to make him king with the current lands of Dai and Qi, and let him come quickly rescue.

Han Xin was originally a poor child, because he didn't have any in the past, once he had some power, he would pay more attention to material things.So when I see other people "sisters and brothers are all brothers", I feel itchy. Now that the King of Han may be the king in the future, and his territory is larger than others, I feel greatly satisfied psychologically and feel very happy. I immediately decided to do my best. The headquarters joined the Guanzhong defense line to prevent the Chu army from advancing westward.

It is Liu Bang's usual practice to reward in time for meritorious deeds.Han Xin was the first to capture Guanzhong. It's not that Liu Bang didn't expect to reward him heavily, but because he just broke the rules and promoted him to be a general, he wondered how to reward him?So there was no other reward.Liu Bang said that he didn't expect this, he was deliberately modest in front of Zhang Liang, and he also felt that Han Xin would not be so eager for quick success, and afterward, it turned out that he was passive and sabotaged because he didn't get the reward in place, and he felt uncomfortable, feeling that this kid was a bit self-respecting , the tail is too big to lose, take one at a critical time.

Peng Yue was active in the rear of Chu, and Xiang Yu's capital Pengcheng was threatened, and Xiang Yu had to go back to save it.The main force of the Han army was therefore a little more relaxed.Liu Bang, as a strategist, took the opportunity to let Han Xin return to the north of the Yellow River, and attacked those vassal states that had been willing to be Xiang Yu's minions and Pengcheng's defeat.At that time, Wei, Zhao, Dai and Qi were the first to bear the brunt of this situation.He intends to take revenge, but the main thing is to expand his strength and seize territory.

Cao Bao, king of Wei, saw the Han army approaching fiercely, and made a careful deployment, using the Linjin River as a barrier, and placed heavy troops in Puban to resist the Han army.

The reason why Han Xin is a great military strategist is that before every battle, he must first figure out the situation thoroughly.Before attacking the State of Wei, he first sent dozens of scouts to sneak across the Linjin River to find out the situation. In the appearance of forcing the crossing, secretly let the main force go around the upper reaches of the river dozens of miles away, and use a self-made wooden baby jar like a boat to carry the Han army to the territory of Wei State in batches.This kind of boat is very small, and it can only carry two or three people at a time. It took the Han army two days and two nights to pass.At this time, Cao Bao was still in the dark.

The Han army quickly captured Anyi, the capital of the Wei state, with lightning speed, and then launched an attack on the Wei army guarding Puban from behind.The army of Wei State was small in the first place, and the king of Wei had once attached himself to the king of Han, but seeing the strength of the Han army, he immediately surrendered again.

Han Xin took the king of Wei and his army leaders into custody, waiting for the king of Han to send them off.He went to the palace to inspect it, and found that one of the ladies was extremely beautiful, and she couldn't help loving life, so she received it in his account that night.After some lingering, Han Xin talked with the lady, and learned that she was Cao Bao's concubine, and he loved her even more.His wife's surname is Bo, and his official name is Bo Ji.She also liked Han Xin's grown-up Yingwei, and said, "I would like to serve you a dustpan for the general." Han Xin agreed, "Yes."

In a few days, Liu Bang came to Wei State to test Han Xin's harvest. In order to show his merits, Han Xin showed Liu Bang all the property and beauties in the palace.When Liu Bang saw Bo Ji, he said, "This lady is not bad." When he stayed in the palace at night, he asked Bo Ji to serve him. Take it with you.Han Xingan couldn't help being jealous, he could only blame himself for not hiding Bo Ji.Liu Bang didn't know the reason, but he felt that he, a great general, pretended to be deep after winning a few big battles, and it seemed that he couldn't delegate too much power to him.

After Liu Bang inspected Han Xin's battle results, he returned to Chenggao with Bo Ji.At this time, Xiang Yu had returned to Xingyang from Pengcheng. Hearing that the Han army had taken back Wei Guo and occupied Chenggao, his eyes were red and he vowed to compete with Liu Bang.He found out that Liu Bang was in Chenggao, and mobilized 20 troops to kill him like a hungry tiger.Liu Bang knew the fighting style of the Chu army too well. When Xiang Yu went crazy, he was really unstoppable. Whoever fights with him will be unlucky. At this time, the best way is to avoid his edge and leave if he can't win.Liu Bang saw that Chenggao was difficult to hold for a while, so he took Xia Houying and others to escape secretly from Chenggao's north gate while it was dark.They crossed the Yellow River overnight, and arrived at the camp where Han Xin and Zhang Er were stationed before dawn. At this time, the two of them hadn't woken up yet. .”

Han Xin and Zhang Er were called out, and hurried to Liu Bang, Liu Bang blamed him for his lack of strict military management and neglect of defense, saying: "From now on, the military command of the two of you will be cancelled, and you will stay in the army for use. "

When the two of them heard this, they could only blame themselves for sleeping too hard. Even the King of Han came under their noses, but no one noticed beforehand, they were too careless.This is the arrival of the King of Han, if Xiang Yu touches it unexpectedly, why not move his head!So they had nothing to say about Liu Bang's punishment.

Liu Bang took Han Xin's military power easily, and he was very proud, thinking that tigers would also nap sometimes.This left the two of them hanging out for a few months before returning the power to them, but also entrusted them with the hard task of attacking Dai, Zhao, and Yan, and asked them to cooperate with Peng Yue to attack Pengcheng from the rear of Chu. , to disperse Xiang Yu's troops.Liu Bang brought a part of the army with him, recovered Chenggao for the second time, and stationed in Guangwu.

Han Xin led tens of thousands of people to conquer several countries one after another, and the next step is to attack Qi.Qi State is in the north of Chu State and has a large area. There are more than [-] cities in the territory, Mount Tai and the sea in the east, Zhuo River in the west, Jishui in the north, and Chu State in the south. The geographical location is very special.Li Shiqi, Liu Bang's counselor, learned that Han Xin was going to attack Qi, so he said to Liu Bang: "Qi is powerful and its people are cunning. The Han army will attack it with only tens of thousands of troops. It may be difficult to win in a short time. Qi Wang Tian Guanghe I have the friendship of a friend, so why not let me persuade him to submit to the King of Han, or avoid fighting with each other."

Liu Bang said: "This is the best. Although Han Xinxin's soldiers are good at tactics, Qi has always been strong. I am worried that he has fewer troops and is not Qi's opponent. Besides, Qi Guosu has relations with Chu. Xiang Yu sees that he will not be safe, so he must send troops Reinforcement, that way victory or defeat is unpredictable. If you can persuade the king of Qi to surrender, it is equivalent to making a great contribution to the Han army. However, the king of Qi is very surly, and his military strength is above all the princes. Now let him not fight And surrendering, I am afraid it will not be an easy task.”

Li Shiqi said: "What the King of Han said is true, but now the general trend of the world is obvious. It is nothing more than a contest between the two forces of Chu and Han. The other princes are just falling with the wind. Even if Qi is a little stronger, it will not be able to keep it in the end. Han The army has already captured most of the area north of the Yellow River, and the Chu army has been mobilized by you. It will only be sooner or later that the world will return to Han. Faced with this situation, if King Qi is wise, he should have the heart to return to Han. Now Han Xin's army is overwhelming , I will rely on Hanwang Tianwei again, and rely on my sharp tongue to say that I will surrender to the king of Qi, there should be no big problem."

Liu Bang said: "Then it's Mr. Lao. It's just that the king of Qi is moody, so you should be careful."

"Don't worry, King Han, I'll act according to my own circumstances." Li Shiqi agreed, and went to Qi State in a few days.

When Li Shiqi saw the king of Qi, he first showed him the general situation of the world, and then showed off the myth that Han Xinxin's soldiers were like gods, and the Han army was invincible and invincible wherever he went, so that the king of Qi could listen to it. With dazed eyes, he pondered for a while before saying: "As long as the people of Qi can be spared from suffering, I would rather surrender to the King of Han."

Li Shiqi was very happy when the King of Qi agreed. He praised the King of Qi and said, "This is a wise decision. As an old friend, I will definitely recommend you to the King of Han and let you be king in Qi."

The two men here have made peace, and Han Xin is still stepping up the attack on Qiguo.After receiving the report, the King of Qi immediately asked Li Shiqi what was going on, and said: "You let me submit to the King of Han, but the Han army is still attacking me. Are you paralyzing me?"

Li Shiqi didn't hear right, so he hurriedly said: "How dare you do that? I'll go to Han Xin now and tell him to stop Qi's attack immediately. It must be because the King of Han hasn't told him to send me to make peace with you, and I'm also to blame." He did not inform King Han and General Han of the results of our negotiations in time."

King Qi said: "I believed your words and agreed to solve the problem peacefully. Therefore, I did not take any precautions against the attack of the Han army. If there is any fraud in it, the state of Qi will die. In order to show sincerity, you cannot leave here. I will take you as a hostage." You can quickly write a letter to inform King Han and Han Xin of Qi's agreement to surrender, and ask them to withdraw their troops immediately, otherwise, it means that you are deceiving me, and I will kill you first."

Li Shiqi felt that it was okay to do this, because it was the established policy of the King of Han to come to persuade the King of Qi, and Han Xin was his good friend. He believed that Han Xin's army would stop fighting as soon as his handwritten letter arrived. And rejoice in being spared a bloody battle.So he said with confidence: "No problem, I will write to General Han immediately. The day the letter arrives, it will be the time when the Han army retreats. Please rest assured, King Qi."

Han Xin was at the border of Qi country at this time, and Li Shiqi's letter arrived in his hands within half a day.After reading it, he immediately discussed with Lieutenant General Zhang Er, preparing to retreat.At this time, Kuai Che, the counselor, said: "No. The king of Han asked you to lead tens of thousands of soldiers to attack Qi, and you can take it in a few days. What a credit. The tongue is going to snatch this great achievement, how can we give it up? The King of Han has not told you not to fight now. It is not wise to do so, and it is against the King of Han’s will to stop fighting just because of a letter from Li Shiqi. order, and it may delay the opportunity of the war. So I advise the general to take down Qi State in one go."

"But the state of Qi has already agreed to make peace, so it seems unreasonable to attack again. The King of Han sent Mr. Li to the state of Qi to persuade them. I'm afraid it was to save the frontline soldiers from suffering some losses. Since we are close, we know the outcome of the negotiation. It should be earlier, the King of Han will definitely instruct us to withdraw our troops when he finds out later, how will we explain it then?" Han Xin analyzed.

"The King of Han once promised that you would be king here after you conquered Qi. If you don't occupy this place now, why would the King of Han give it to you?"

"Mr. Li is my old friend. He is now staying in Qi State as a hostage. If I ignore it, I'm afraid it will be bad for him." Han Xin said.

"For big things, you can't be too concerned about small losses. I dare to ask the general, is it more important for you to gain a country or keep a friend?" Kuai Che further encouraged.

Han Xin still couldn't make up his mind, and the deputy general Zhang Er suggested from the side: "General, don't think too carefully. Kuai Che's words are reasonable. The King of Han has not told us to stop attacking Qi. Li Shiqi is now in Qi. We have not Seeing him in person, how can I know if there is any fraud in it, how can I waste all my previous efforts with just a few pieces of bamboo."

Han Xin couldn't stand the repeated persuasion of several people, and he was a person who cared about gains and losses, so he decided to continue to attack Qi.

I don't know if Li Shiqi's letter to Liu Bang was not delivered, or if it was delivered, the King of Han didn't believe it, but he didn't reply for a long time.Here, Han Xin's troops attacked Qi State more violently.Based on this, Tian Guang judged that Li Shiqi's coming here was a conspiracy and killed him immediately.

Liu Bang received Li Shiqi's letter half a month later than Han Xin's. The reason was that the central Han army was surrounded by the Chu army at this time, and the envoys sent back by Li Shiqi took many detours. Only arrived at Hanying.Liu Bang contacted Han Xin immediately after seeing the letter and asked him to truce.Reluctantly, Han Xin was fighting Tian Guang and Long Qi, the general of Chu State who came to reinforce him, and couldn't stop, so he had to swallow Qi State in one go.In one battle, 20 Chu troops were killed, General Long Qi of Chu was beheaded, Qi Wang Tian Guang was captured, and his younger brother Tian Heng was driven to sea as a pirate.

After Han Xin settled all these, he just announced the good news to Liu Bang. In the letter, he said tactfully: "It is too late to receive the order from the King of Han. The arrow is on the string, so I have to send it. But Li Shiqi was killed because of this, and I am deeply disturbed."

Liu Bang counted the time, Han Xin received Li Shiqi's letter before the Han army aligned to start the war, and suspected that Han Xin did it deliberately because of greed for merit.But when he learned that he had wiped out 20 Chu troops in one fell swoop, which was Xiang Yu's new force, he couldn't help being overjoyed, and he stopped pursuing the loss of Li Shiyi.But I got a better understanding of Han Xin. Li Shiqi was his close friend. Han Xin was able to betray him at a critical moment, and even put him to death.Liu Bang also knows that those who do great things should not worry too much about their children's personal relationships, but when it happens to his subordinates, he still hopes that they are all loyal and reliable people, especially for himself, and there is no false element.

At the end of the letter, Han Xin proposed to Liu Bang: "After Qi was destroyed, Tian Guang's remnants were still very powerful, and Qi people were too cunning and difficult to tame. Please allow me to be a fake king of Qi here, otherwise I can't Subdue them."

When Liu Bang saw this, he was furious, thinking that I hadn't pursued Li Shiqi's death, but you still had the nerve to propose to become the king there. This is obviously arrogance, self-respect, and blackmailing the king!In addition, the Central Han Army is currently under heavy siege by the Chu Army. Not only did you not come to relieve the siege, but you reached out to ask for officials at this time. What do you mean?Thinking of this, Liu Bang suddenly became disgusted, and yelled at the case: "Damn it, you want to be a fake king of Qi, this..."

Before he could say the words after "this", Zhang Liang and Xiao He who were sitting next to him kicked him together.What a smart man he is, he immediately understood what Zhang Liang and Xiao He meant, and immediately changed his words: "Damn it, what a man is a fake king of Qi, if you want to be the real king of Qi!" : "You tell General Han, I will make him King Zhenqi."

Zhang Liang and Xiao He looked at each other and smiled knowingly.Just now Liu Bang was kicked by the two of them below, and he immediately understood that Han Xin is now leading the army, if he is not named King of Qi, he may turn against him, so why would he have to pay for it?So even though I was very reluctant in my heart, I still did the fake show.This is where Liu Bang is witty and generous.

Han Xin became the king of Qi as he wished, so he was naturally happy in his heart.But he didn't know that Liu Bang had a greater grudge against him from then on.

(End of this chapter)