God of War through the ages: Han Xin

Chapter 10 Pei Gong Ding Guanzhong

Xiang Yu became a god in the first battle of Julu, and Liu Bang, the Duke of Pei, was still on his way to the west. Liu Bang had been thinking about when he could enter Xianyang and become the king of Guanzhong.

But what Liu Bang didn't expect was that this seemingly hopeful sunny road is also full of thorns and even traps.The development of the situation also proved this point. In February of the third year of Qin II (207 BC), Pei Gong led his army to attack Changyi County (now west of Jinxiang, Shandong).Liu Bang thought that a battle could be won, but he bumped his head against a big tree, and Changyi remained motionless.

It is worth mentioning that Liu Bang did not fight alone, but temporarily added a friendly army, which was the army of the famous anti-king Peng Yue at the end of Qin Dynasty.Although the number of Peng Yue's army is not large, there are only more than 1000 people, but with the addition of Liu Bang's thousands of people, there is nothing to do with a lone army in a small county, which is indeed embarrassing enough.

Liu Bang was not convinced. After annexing an army of 4000 people led by the unknown Ganghou Chen Wu, plus a reinforcement army from the State of Wei, there are more than [-] people under Liu Bang's command!This mixed army rushed to Changyi again, only to be hit all over the head again.

Before Changyi came down, Liu Bang first bypassed this hard bone and looked for another delicious food.Liu Bang's next offensive target was Chenliu, an important town in the Central Plains (now southeast of Kaifeng, Henan), and the first person who persuaded Liu Bang to attack Chenliu was the famous Gaoyang drinker in history-Li Shiqi from Gaoyang.

When meeting Li Shiqi, Liu Bang once again committed the old problem of "rogue". The symptom is disrespect for sages, especially his attitude towards Confucian scholars.One of the most famous allusions about Liu Bang's disrespect for Confucian scholars is that this old guy likes to pull the Confucian crown from the head of the Confucian scholar and use the Confucian crown as a chamber pot to urinate.Later generations of Confucian scholars did not have much affection for Liu Bang, and this is also the reason.

Li Shiqi was a famous Confucianist in the world, and he was over sixty years old. It is said that Liu Bang should greet him backwards, and invite him to sit at the table.The results of it?When Mr. Li walked into Liu Bang's reception room, he found that Liu Bang was reclining on the couch, stretching out his two stinky feet with his socks off in the basin, and two beautiful maids were kneeling on the ground, washing Pei Gong's feet.

Li Shiqi was so angry that he almost didn't swear in person. Liu Bang didn't like Confucian scholars, but he liked straightforward "rogues".Li Shiqi was not a person who talked big and asked for food. He proposed to Liu Bang the strategy of seizing Chenliu and occupying the land of the Fourth World War. The reason was that Liu Bang was short of soldiers and food, and Chen Liu had a lot of food, so he could get it as a warehouse. Eat, and then Xu Tu went west.

Although Liu Bang treats people foolishly, and even insults them face to face, he is as good as others.With the cooperation of Li Shiqi, Liu Bang took down Chenliu without any effort, with enough soldiers and food, he could enter Guanzhong, and retreat to defend Xu Bian.

Perhaps because he learned the lesson of the failure to attack Changyi, Liu Bang adjusted his strategic direction this time. Instead of attacking a city every time he encountered it, he adopted a big leap strategy, that is, he no longer entangled in the gains and losses of a city and a place, so as to annihilate the city. The vital force of the Qin army is the main goal, and it must win Guanzhong before Xiang Yu and become king.At this time, Liu Bang may have had a premonition that after Qin was destroyed, there would be a battle between him and Xiang Yu.

In March, Liu Bang led his army to attack Kaifeng (now southeast of Kaifeng, Henan), but the door was closed again. Liu Bang did not stay under Kaifeng City, but immediately turned hundreds of miles northeast, and moved to Baima (to the east of Huaxian County, Henan), with the goal of Qin general Yang Xiong is a Qin army.

These two armies are very interesting. They started fighting from the white horse, and moved southwest while fighting until they reached Qu Yuju (now Zhongmoudong, Henan), which is only a few dozen miles away from Kaifeng, where Liu Bang was before.This time Liu Bang finally got the hang of it, and ate up the Qin army in Quju.Next, Liu Bang's goal was Yingchuan, the old capital of South Korea, Yangzhai, which was also the hometown of Zhang Liang, Liu Bang's chief advisor.This should be the weak area where the Qin army was stationed, and Liu Bang easily took Yingchuan.

Interestingly, here, Liu Bang got a famous general who is also the king and grandson of South Korea, and his name is Han Xin!Of course, this Han Xin is not the same Han Xin, he is the famous Han Wangxin in the history of Chu and Han, not the main character Han Xin from Huaiyin. For the convenience of narration, he will be called Han Wangxin from now on.

In June, Liu Bang's army entered Nanyang County. The situation was indeed as analyzed. The Qin army in Nanyang was vulnerable and beat up the Nanyang County guard in Ji County (now Ye County, Henan Province).However, although he couldn't beat Liu Bang, he could kill Liu Bang. He fled back to Wancheng (now Nanyang, Henan Province) with his remnant soldiers.The city of Wancheng is full of food, and the people of Wanshou are tough, Nanyang Shouning would rather die than surrender, and Liu Bang is in a dilemma, which is very embarrassing.

Liu Bang's luck was very good. When Liu Bang was at a loss, Chen Hui, a member of Nanyang County, came to Chuying and proposed to Liu Bang a mutually acceptable plan as his political spokesperson: hand over the Qin army in Nanyang County to Liu Bang. Commander, go west with him, and Liu Bang agrees to continue to stay in Nanyang.

This request was not too much for Liu Bang. Liu Bang readily agreed to Chen Hui's conditions, and then surrendered to Liu Bang in Nanyang.The military iron gate defending the southeast of Xianyang, the capital of Qin, was successfully opened by Liu Bang, only one step away from Xianyang and Liu Bang.

To the southwest of Xianyang and to the northwest of Nanyang, there are only three strategic strongholds with military defense value in the large area in between. Counting from Nanyang to the northwest, they are Danshui County, Wuguan, Shangxian, and Yaoguan (that is, Lantian off), Lantian County.These military strongholds are small in scale and far less valuable than Nanyang's military defense to Xianyang. Therefore, the strategic significance of Liu Bang's taking Nanyang is self-evident.

The situation is becoming more and more favorable to Liu Bang, and Liu Bang is getting more and more enlightened. Moreover, Liu Bang pays more attention to the political offensive in the war. He ordered: Wherever the army passes, they will be captured and plundered, and those who violate it will be beheaded!Wherever the Chu army passed by, the people of Qin all looked forward to surrendering.

Look at the attitude of the Qin people towards Liu Bang: Qin and the people are all happy.Xiang Yu's later failure was that he stood on the opposite side of history.

The road to the West Expedition is smooth, Liu Bang is smiling, Guanzhong is close at hand, and the king of Guanzhong is about to be crowned. All this makes Liu Bang feel a little bit elated.But at this time, a news that shocked Liu Bang suddenly came from Hebei: Zhang Han, the supervisor of Qin Shaofu, led 20 Qin troops to surrender to General Xiang Yu of Chu!
Liu Bang heard it right, Zhang Han did surrender to Xiang Yu.

Why did Zhang Han do this?Did he forget the deep blood feud between Qin and Chu?Have you forgotten that he is now the only backbone of the Great Qin Empire in distress?Zhang Han has not forgotten, but the current Zhang Han is no longer the passionate Zhang Han in the past, he is just a walking corpse that has lost his ideals and soul.When Wang Li was severely suppressed by the Chu army at the foot of Julu City, Zhang Han led his army to flee the scene, which is enough to prove this point.

Zhao Gao, who has power all over the world, is good at doing his best in Xianyang, and there are already flames of war outside the pass. The allied forces of the princes and allies led by Xiang Yu are fighting in the direction of Xianyang day and night, and Ying Huhai and Zhao Gao already know that Peigong Liu Bang's army has conquered Xianyang. Nanyang has already reached the city of Wuguan!

For Hu Hai and Zhao Gao, what they need to do most now is not to work together to overcome the national calamity, but to shirk each other's excuses and put the big hat of perishing Qin on each other's heads.However, the catalyst for the political break between Hu Hai and Zhao Gao was an unexpected name: Pei Gong Liu Bang.

The reason is not difficult to guess. When Ying Huhai and Zhao Gao were arguing with each other, Liu Bang led his army to win Wuguan, getting closer to Chang'an, and Liu Bang has far stronger political operation ability than Xiang Yu. After leaving Wuguan, he sent people to sneak into Xianyang privately, found Qin Prime Minister Zhao Gao, and reached a preliminary agreement: After Liu Bang entered Xianyang, Liu Bang would divide Wang Guanzhong with Zhao Gao.

Zhao Gao is a smart man, the Qin Dynasty is rotten to the root and cannot be saved, the two armies of Chu are about to attack Xianyang City, so it is better to leave a way out for yourself.While Zhao Gao was in secret contact with Liu Bang's envoy, he was worried because Hu Hai knew about it. This is a felony of treason!Once Hu Hai used this excuse to launch a surprise attack, Zhao Gao would be powerless to fight back.

In August of the third year of Emperor Qin II (207 BC), Lang Zhongling and Prime Minister Zhao Gao suddenly launched a mutiny in Xianyang Palace. Zhao Gao's son-in-law and Xianyang Ling Yan Le led more than a thousand soldiers to force their way into the palace with sharp eyes. Standing firmly in front of the second emperor who knew he was at the end of the road.Hu Hai knew what Zhao Gao wanted, and after Zhao Gao instructed Yan Le to reject all the requests, he committed suicide by committing suicide at the age of 24.

Although the second emperor passed away, Qin could not be without a king, and Zhao Gao obviously could not be the emperor of Qin Dynasty, so Zhao Gao picked out another scapegoat from the descendants of the Qin clan, Ying Ziying, the last emperor of Qin. Although "Qin III" Ying Ziying inherited the position of Ying Huhai, his identity is no longer the emperor of Qin, but the king of Qin.Prime Minister Zhao Gao believed that the territory of the Qin Dynasty had returned to the Warring States Period at this time, and it was not all in the world anymore, so it was inappropriate to call the emperor again.Under Zhao Gao's order, the emperor's honorary title was abolished and the title of King Qin was restored.

The Great Qin Empire no longer exists, but the State of Qin is still there. After all, the new Qin King Ying Ziying is still a descendant of the Qishan Ying surname, and he will never be willing to be at the mercy of Zhao Gao.Ying Ziying knew that he was selected by Zhao Gao as a prepared scapegoat. Zhao Gao dared to kill Hu Hai today and himself tomorrow.

After conspiring with her two sons, Ying Ziying made a plan: when the enthronement ceremony was about to be held, Ying Ziying claimed that she would not be sick.Despite Zhao Gao's urging, Ying Ziying would not come out.Zhao Gao couldn't wait any longer, so he came to Zhai Palace in person and ordered King Qin to ascend the throne as soon as possible.

The moment Zhao Gao just stepped into the gate of the palace, dozens of armored warriors suddenly crowded out of the palace. Ying Ziying gave an order, and before Zhao Gao could yell out, the traitor who had brought disaster to Qin was dead.Then, the king of Qin issued an order: the tribes of Yi, Zhao and Gao.The power of the Qin State has returned to the royal family of the Ying surname, but the world of the Qin State no longer belongs to the Qishan Ying surname.In today's words: history is about to turn a new page.

The country changed hands, and the world changed color!
At the moment when Zhao Gao's head fell to the ground, "Chu General Pei Gong" Liu Bang had already conquered Wuguan, Shangxian, Gaoguan, and Lantian.On Bashang, tens of miles east of Xianyang, the flags of Great Chu were flying all over the sky. Liu Bang, the Duke of Pei, rode his horse in brocade clothes, Xiao He and Zhang Liang followed with galloping horses.

The joy of victory lingered on everyone's face, because they knew that the Chu people had strangled the Qin people, and Qin Ziying would have nowhere to escape!
In October (i.e. the first month) of the second year of Prince Qin’s baby (206 BC), after bargaining with Liu Bang’s camp, the plain chariot with a white horse and the king of Qin’s neck with silk on his neck slowly left the gate of Xianyang Palace and headed for the agreed surrender site. Road (today's southeast of Xi'an).Later, under the guidance of Ying Ziying, Liu Bang supervised all the troops under his command to enter Xianyang, the former capital of the Great Qin Emperor, in an orderly manner.

The most important thing Liu Bang did after entering Xianyang was not to appease the people of Qin, but to rush into the palace of the Qin Dynasty, flirting and having fun with the beauties who had served Qin Shihuang, almost forgetting the historical mission he had undertaken.Fortunately, Fan Kuai and Zhang Liang came forward to dissuade him in time, so Liu Bangcai accepted his fascination, strode away from the Qin Palace, returned to Bashang, and continued to realize his dream of conquering the world.

In Bashang, Liu Bang summoned well-known fellow villagers from all over Guanzhong, and he wanted to announce his political policy in Guanzhong as the new ruler.First of all, it is legal. Liu Bang proposed the famous simple law in history-the three chapters of the contract, that is, "the murderer dies, and the wounding and theft are punishable."Killing people in troubled times is not a crime, which is very detrimental to consolidating the social stability of the new regime, so Liu Bang must use strong means to maintain social stability.

Faced with Liu Bang's various good governance, what is the reaction of Qin's elders? "Yixi, I'm afraid Peigong will not be the king of Qin."

History has given the correct answer, but not everyone agrees with such an answer.Who is this guy?Who else could it be besides Xiang Yu, the general of the princes!Hearing that Duke Pei had settled in Guanzhong, Xiang Yu was furious: Liu Bang, such a mediocre person, what qualifications does he have to be the king of Guanzhong!Although Liu Bang has obtained Guanzhong now, so what!Xiang Yu can take back Guanzhong from Liu Bang, and that Xiang Yu is still the king of Guanzhong.

Xiang Yu believes that he has enough strength to defeat Liu Bang, because he has 40 elite princes in his hands, while Liu Bang only has 10 horses in his hands, so he cannot be his opponent.However, Xiang Yu is still worried about the loyalty of the 20 Qin troops who surrendered with Zhang Han to him. After all, Qin and Chu have feuded for hundreds of years, and it cannot be forgotten overnight.

Xiang Yu is really ruthless!In order to relieve himself of this concern, he did not hesitate to risk the world's displeasure. On a dark and windy night of one month, he ordered the armies of the princes who had blood feuds with Qin to push 20 unarmed Qin people into the big pit dug in advance and bury them all alive!

Seeing his brothers who had fought with him for many years were pushed into a pit by the Chu army and buried alive, Xiang Yu's guest, Zhang Han who was preparing for Qin, wanted to cry but had no tears.

Xiang Yu never cared what others thought of him, he only cared about whether he could get the benefits he wanted, morality and conscience were never options for Xiang Yu.Xiang Yu firmly believed that for his own benefit, the 20 Qin people must die, and the villain Liu Bang who fished in troubled waters should also die.

Xiang Yu rode a black-tailed horse, holding his sword against the wind, and the horses of hundreds of thousands of soldiers, princes and generals, marched westward tragically under the setting sun, following the pulse of history.The hooves and feet raise dust, covering the sky and the sun wherever they pass.

(End of this chapter)