Han Dang is stronger

Chapter 322 The Key to the South Route
Next, of course, it is time to take a look at the situation on Linjiang Wang Yingbo's side. As mentioned earlier, in order to strengthen their own strength and weaken the enemy's support, Xiang Kang and Xiang Yu made the decision to contact Yingbo almost at the same time. Xiang Yu decided to use orders and lures to draw Yingbo's army into the Chu-Han battlefield, and let the Yingbo army act as cannon fodder for the Western Chu army to attack the Han army; Bu Chu Touhan suddenly stabbed another dangerous enemy Liu Laosan from the back, splitting and neutralizing the enemy's strength.

Prior to this, the Western Chu army had never had any conflicts with the Yingbo army, and Yingbo had always recognized Xiang Yu as the leader of the princes and alliance, and at least surrendered to Xiang Yu in honor; Once fought a battle in Wancheng, and forged a lot of hatred; so in terms of the background and premise of fighting for Yingbo, the Han army was obviously at a disadvantage, and the difficulty of success was far higher than that of the Western Chu army.

It is also because of this that Xiang Kang can only try his luck with the intention of giving it a try. Even if he devises a divorce, Xiang Yu has somewhat doubted Ying Bo, and Xiang Kang dare not say that he has any confidence in being able to win Ying Bo. When Bu won over, he had to be mentally prepared that the persuasion envoy would never come back.

Chen Hui, a guest of the Han army who has been to Zhao for many times, volunteered and resolutely requested to carry out this dangerous mission. When he volunteered, Chen Hui told Xiang Kang clearly, saying: "I am incompetent. I have been to Zhao several times before. Zhao Guojun and his ministers were not able to sincerely sign an alliance with our country, which led to them repeatedly betraying the king and causing great harm to our country. To make atonement, go south to Jiangling and try your best to persuade the king of Linjiang to abandon Chu and vote for Han, if you still can't succeed, I am willing to die to apologize!"

Xiang Kang knew very well the reason why Chen Hui had failed to succeed in several previous missions to Zhao. He knew that it was because Zhao Xie and Zhang Er were too capricious, and he had betrayed the interests of Zhao. Wuxin has little to do with Chen Hui, the envoy. In addition, this mission is too dangerous. The envoy does not have enough guts and courage, and has almost no confidence in success.So after much deliberation, Xiang Kang still nodded and agreed to Chen Hui's initiative to invite Yingbu, and asked Chen Hui to lead ten entourages to go south via Yingchuan, and then disguised as ordinary people to travel through Nanyang County where Liu Laosan lived, and come to Nanjun to contact Yingbo .

After a lot of hard work and a certain amount of luck, Chen Hui and his party finally passed through the dangerous Nanyang County, went south to Deng County, took a boat down the Han River, and abandoned the boat at Jingling. Landed on the shore, hired private vehicles to go westward to Jiangling, traveled thousands of miles, and finally arrived at Jiangling City, the capital of Yingbu.However, after entering the city, Chen Hui was not in a hurry to go to the gate of the palace to ask to see Yingbu. Instead, he sent people around to inquire about whether the envoys of the Western Chu Army had come to Jiangling first.

Fortunately, because the envoys of the Western Chu Army also had to pass through Yingchuan County, the enemy-occupied area, the envoys sent by Xiang Yu did not come to meet Yingbo in advance. After confirming the news, Chen Hui was overjoyed and then ran to the Yingbo revealed his identity outside the gate of the palace and asked to meet with Yingbo to present his credentials.Unfortunately, Yingbo not only refused to meet Chen Hui, but also ordered Chen Hui to leave Jiangling immediately, and Chen Hui was not allowed to stay in the city.

"Please report to the King of Linjiang again." Chen Hui said to Linjiang Dianke, who had been chasing guests, "Just say that the reason why he refused to summon the envoy is very clear. Just drive the little envoy away. King Linjiang is not afraid that King Xichu will suspect that he is deliberately leaving room for him. In fact, he still intends to contact us Hanwang at any time? In this case, why doesn't King Linjiang let the little envoy be taken away immediately? Take it down and behead it in public, so as to completely eliminate the suspicion of the king of Western Chu?"

"Sir, aren't you afraid of death?" Linjiang Dianke asked in surprise.

"To die loyal to the Lord, what is the pity of death?" Chen Hui replied proudly, and then said: "But before the little envoy dies, please be sure to meet the king of Linjiang with the little envoy, so that the little envoy can complete the mission of the King of Han." Please, present our letter of credence to the King of Linjiang face to face, so that such a small envoy can die without regret even if he is decapitated immediately."

Suspiciously looked at Chen Hui, seeing that Chen Hui's face was full of frankness and did not seem to be fake, Linjiang Dianke ordered Chen Hui to wait for a while, and went back to the palace to report Chen Hui's original words to Yingbo, and then another period passed In time, the Dianke came back to Chen Hui and said: "Our king said, for the sake of you being a loyal man, you can die without any regrets. Come with me into the palace to meet our king." .”

Chen Hui heaved a sigh of relief, and hurriedly saluted and thanked the Dianke, and then followed him into the palace, and went up to the so-called Linjiang Palace with a calm expression, and finally met the most key figure in the current Chu-Han struggle for hegemony on the southern front —— Linjiang Wang Yingbu, who once attached to the Young Marshal Army for a short time.

Yingbo spoke very directly, just after seeing Chen Hui finish his salute, he immediately said, "Tell me, you would rather lose your head and see this king, what exactly do you want to say?"

"The envoy has the guts to come here to persuade the king to abandon Chu and return to Han, and send troops to help the king of Han defeat the king of Western Chu." Chen Hui answered more directly.

"Abandon Chu and return to Han?" Ying Bu laughed outright, and said with a big laugh, "Xiang Kang's traitor is talking in his sleep? Why should this king abandon Chu and return to Han, and help him attack the King of Western Chu?"

"Based on the battle between Chu and Han, our King of Han will definitely win." Chen Hui said in a deep voice, "So, for your own benefit, Your Majesty, the best choice is to abandon Chu and return to Han, follow the example of King Shenyang of Han, and join our King of Han."

Yingbu laughed even more, and said: "Follow Han Wang Shenyang? You probably don't know, sir? Just yesterday, I just received accurate news that Nanyang King Liu Ji had killed Shenyang's traitor in Kunyang. You Do you want me to emulate him?"

"Shen Yang has already died in battle?!" Chen Hui was startled, but his face remained calm, and he just cupped his hands to Ying Bu and said, "If this is true, then the envoy must congratulate you, Your Majesty. As long as we make a wise decision, we Hanwang will not be able to grant you the land of Nanyang and Yingchuan together as our country."

"The land of Nanyang and Yingchuan?" Ying Bu's eyelids twitched slightly, and he said with a sneer, "Listen to you, the condition for Xiang Kang's traitor to win over this king is to seal Nanyang County to this king?"

"It used to be, but now the land of Yingchuan must be added." Chen Hui replied: "In order to persuade you to abandon Chu and return to Han, our King of Han could only take out a county in Nanyang as a thank you gift for you, Your Majesty. , but now that King Han has unfortunately died in battle, and Yingchuan has no owner, of course we Hanwang have to use the fertile land of Yingchuan to thank you, Your Majesty."

"It's easy to say." Ying Buyi sneered, and said: "Xiang Kang, a rebel with a red mouth and white teeth, promised to seal the land of Nanyang and Yingchuan to this king. Can he do it?"

"Of course it can be done." Chen Hui replied confidently, and then said: "If the king wants to ask the reason, then the minister will still give the same answer, because in the battle between Chu and Han, our King of Han will definitely win!"

Knowing that his chances were limited, Chen Hui did not wait for Yingbo to refute, and immediately said: "Your Majesty, you, the King of Han and the King of Western Chu are all comrades-in-arms against Qin, and you have fought alongside them? Don’t you know how much the King of Chu is strong? In terms of military use, the King of Western Chu is the same as our King of Han. Fighting a lot, defeating the crowd with the few, can the King of Western Chu match this point?"

"In terms of governance, the King of Western Chu and our King of Han are very different. Wherever the troops of the King of Western Chu went, they always searched the people's wealth and fished out their resources. They only cared about the present and never considered the future. Don’t repent! And what about our Han King? Every time his rebel army goes to a place, doesn’t it first appease Li Shu and restore farming, and no matter where it goes, it is not the people’s support? As things go on, one goes up and down the other, and the West Chu King How could it be our Hanwang's opponent?"

"As for morality and virtue, I am afraid that the King of Western Chu himself must admit that he is far inferior to our King of Han in these respects, right? If it wasn't for our King of Han who first raised the banner of righteousness and laid the foundation of Huaisi with our own hands, and then offered it to the King of Chu to establish the country , I am afraid that the king of Western Chu is still a rootless apple with nowhere to rely on?"

"Marching and fighting, governing morally, our King of Han is far superior to the King of Western Chu. It is already clear who will win and who will lose in the battle between Chu and Han. If this is the case, why do you continue to lose The king of Western Chu, who will be buried with him in the future? Why don’t you quickly abandon Chu and return to Han, and stand by the side of the king of Han, who is bound to win, and help the king of Han to defeat the king of Western Chu, and get rewarded by the land and city rewarded by our king of Han. foundation?"

The situation is different. In history, Yingbo decisively abandoned Chu and returned to Han because he offended Xiang Yu first and was afraid of Xiang Yu's revenge.And now it is also the same reason, Ying Bo who has not offended Xiang Yu, of course, will not be easily moved by Chen Hui's words.After thinking about it for a while, Yingbo sneered and said, "There are a lot of fallacies one after another. Since you said that Xiang Kang will win, what are you going to do to persuade me to abandon Chu and return to Han? Wouldn't it be better to conquer the world by yourself?"

"That's because the King of Han doesn't want to make more enemies, and hopes to defeat the King of Western Chu sooner." Chen Hui immediately replied, "That's right, the advantage of our King of Han is not that great right now. Completely defeat the king of Western Chu to rule the world. But if you have your help, your lord, as long as you take advantage of the opportunity of Nanyang puppet king Liu Ji to go north, and the rear is empty, suddenly send troops to Nanyang and stab Liu Ji puppet king in the back, then The battle situation in the Central Plains will definitely be completely reversed, and it will be a hundred times easier for us King of Han to defeat the King of Western Chu. The great opportunity to help our King of Han to make achievements is in front of us, why do you want to miss it, my lord?"

After a pause, Chen Hui hurriedly said: "Furthermore, if you continue to assist Chu to attack Han, the King of Western Chu, what else can he give to thank you? He will sacrifice Liu Ji and take Nanyang and Liu Ji's Ying Chuanfeng to you? Will he sacrifice himself and cede the land of Western Chu to expand the territory for you? After taking down the fertile land in Guanzhong, he will be willing to give up the fertile land in Guanzhong? Foreign ministers speculate for the king. No matter how generous you are, the most you can do is to agree to take the land of Bashu as a gift to thank you, the king, but what is the use of the land of Bashu in your hands? Nanjun, Changsha and central Guizhou are already far enough away. Don’t tell me, my lord Deserving only of these remote and smoky places forever?"

Chen Hui's words finally touched the key point. The reason why Yingbo has stayed put and did not get involved in the Chu-Han War is that besides not wanting to be cannon fodder for Xiang Yu, another important reason is that Yingbo knows very well that Xiang Yu I can't come up with anything decent to reward myself!The north has been blocked by Liu Laosan, and the Lujiang and Minzhong in the east is both Chu and remote and barren. Even Xiang Yu is willing to look down on Yingbu. Only Bajun and Shujun in the west can be thrown to him by Xiang Yu as a bone. But these two counties are also remote and far away, even if they are taken by Yingbo, it doesn't mean much. On the contrary, it will increase the cost of governance. Only the prosperous and prosperous Central Plains can now satisfy Yingbo's growing appetite.

Because of this, Yingbo finally showed a calculated expression. Seeing that he was beginning to waver, Chen Hui hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, you can think about it again, how easy it is to help the King of Han defeat the King of Western Chu now, as long as you go to Kuang Kuang It is enough to enter Nanyang on the road. But if you want to help the king of Western Chu to attack our Han king, how difficult is it? From Nanjun to Bashu Hanzhong, the road is narrow and far away, rugged and difficult, and the transportation of grain and grass is enough. You have a headache, we The army of the King of Han only needs to defend against danger, how sure are you, Your Majesty, of victory?"

"Of course, your Majesty still has the option of directly sending troops to join the Sanchuan battlefield." Chen Hui added: "But if you do this, Majesty, seeing you send troops to Sanchuan, there is no way that the King of Xichu will force you to fight every hard battle. The reason why you stand in the front? Have you forgotten the lesson of Zhao’s army in the Battle of Hangu Pass? Your Majesty is now a body of ten thousand gold. Do you still want to be arbitrarily punished by the King of Western Chu like before? Enslaved, driven as a vanguard?"

Chen Hui's words got to the point again. He has been the Linjiang King for half a year, and he is used to the luxurious life of wealth and comfort. Yingbo didn't want to go to Xiang Yu's tent to work as a cow or a horse and tied his head like before. Charged for Xiang Yu on the waistband, fought tough battles to attack fortified cities to consume his strength, and in the end it was in vain to benefit others.

It was just to impress Yingbo again and again, and he really wanted Yingbo to make up his mind to betray Xiang Yu, who had followed him for many years, and go to war with him. Next, go to the posthouse to rest first, let me think about it carefully, and then I will give you an answer."

Of course, Chen Hui didn't dare to hope that he could persuade Yingbo to turn against him with just a few words, so he hurriedly cupped his hands to thank him, and presented Xiang Kang's letter of credence with both hands, and then said: "My lord, if the envoy's expectations are not bad, I will wait three or two days." In the near future, the envoy of the King of Western Chu should also come to Jiangling to visit you. If this is the case, please send more people to secretly keep an eye on the envoy of the King of Western Chu and his entourage. Your Majesty will definitely find something unexpected at that time."

"What do you mean by that?" Ying Bu asked warily.

"Forgive my envoy for making a fool of yourself, just temporarily suspend the king's appetite." Chen Hui smiled and cupped his hands and said: "In short, the king will definitely find out how much trust the king of Xichu has in you, and how relieved he is, maybe You will also find out how the King of Western Chu intends to treat you at the critical moment."

(End of this chapter)