God of War through the ages: Han Xin

Chapter 20 Go East, Go East!
Han Xin and Liu Bang's eyes were aimed at the east at the same time.

From Xianyang to Pengcheng, the linear geographical distance is [-] kilometers.Between the two places, there are magnificent post stations such as Ningqin, Hanguguan, Mianchi, Henan, and Daliang. Basically, they meander eastward along the Yellow River. This is also the route chosen by Han Xin and Liu Bang.In fact, in addition to this road, there is another road, which is to go south from Wuguan, pass through Nanyang, pass through Chenjun, and cross Mangdang Mountain. This is Liu Bang's marching route from Chu State to Guanzhong.

The northern battlefield is the main battlefield. The Han army will fight the Chu army on the Yellow River, but Han Xin has not given up on the southern battlefield, at least Liu Bang will not give up.Because Liu Bang got a very important piece of news, the general entrenched in Nanyang, an important town on the southern line, was a friend Liu Bang met in Pei County back then, and his name was Wang Ling.

In the turbulent situation of the hegemony in the late Qin Dynasty, Peiren Wangling can be regarded as a well-known figure.Liu Bang is now very prosperous, but when he was playing on the streets of Peixian County in the early years, he was still the younger brother of the local powerful Wang Ling, and he served Wang Ling as a brother.

Later, Liu Bang raised troops in Peixian County, but Wang Ling ran to Nanyang, thousands of miles away from Peixian County, and pulled up a team of thousands of people.Liu Bang once sent someone to contact Wang Ling and persuaded Wang Ling to enlist his army under the name of the Han army, but the stubborn Wang Ling flatly refused.He used to be Liu Bang's eldest brother, but now he wants to be Liu San's younger brother. Wang Ling can't get rid of this face.

But they are all from Pei after all, and their relationship is not bad, Wang Ling will not turn against Liu Bang just because of this matter.Although both parties have small calculations in their hearts, they still have to cooperate when it is time to cooperate. Liu Bang once sent an army to join the troops from Wang Ling, preparing to forcibly kill Pei County, and then Liu Bang's family came to Guanzhong.

It's a pity that the matter was not confidential, and was discovered by Xiang Yu. Of course, Xiang Yu would not let Liu Bang's family, who was controlled by him as a hostage, slip away, and none of them would even try to escape.When this part of the Han army rushed to Yangxia (now Taikang, Henan), it was intercepted by a large number of Chu troops. The Han army wanted to break through the Chu army's defense line?Not yet.

Xiang Yu was stunned when he knew that the wonderful tactic of "building the plank road brightly and crossing the old warehouse secretly" was proposed by the coward Han Xin.Xiang Yu suddenly recalled that Han Xin had given him advice many times, but he never accepted it.Xiang Yu seemed to be a little regretful. He knew Han Xin was a talent. If he didn't want to use it, he might as well kill him, but now it has become a serious problem for him.

But Xiang Yu still tried to convince himself, so what if Han Xin is capable?With the strength of Liu Bang's men, how can they be the opponents of Jiangdong's children under the Overlord's command!Xiang Yu has always only believed in muscles, not in the brain. Xiang Yu has repeatedly proved that strength can overcome strategy, so why should he care about Han Xin.

Xiang Yu quickly forgot about Han Xin, but Ba Wang firmly remembered Wang Ling's name.In Xiang Yu's view, Wang Ling is a man of courage, known in history as "a man who is less literary and arrogant, and more outspoken". He is a typical heroic character of the quack, which is most suitable for Xiang Yu's temper, so Xiang Yu will give Wang Ling a high look, not Han Xin.

In Xiang Yu's subconscious mind, he believed that only people with Wang Ling's personality could accomplish great things, and that Han Xin would be a coward under the crotch when he became a general of Han.Xiang Yu will never understand that competition in this world depends not on well-developed muscles, but on a brain full of wisdom. Xiang Yu's final failure is inevitable.

It is said that Liu Bang is thick and black, but Xiang Yu is actually thicker and darker than Liu Bang. Xiang Yu always likes to forcefully break through the most basic moral bottom line of human beings to serve his own interests.Xiang Yu wanted to win over Wang Ling, but there were many ways, but Xiang Yu chose the most scolding method, which was to take Wang Ling's mother who stayed in Pei County as a hostage, and force the Queen Mother to write a letter to Wang Ling, so that Wang Ling would submit to Western Chu. .

Xiang Yu could imprison Wang Ling's mother's personal freedom, but he could not make her betray her moral choice. The old lady told the envoy of Wang Ling who came to discuss related cooperation with Xiang Yu in tears: "The king of Han is kind, and he has great love in the world. , will be able to be the lord of the world and love the people of the world. Please tell Wang Ling to follow the King of Han forever, and don't betray your own conscience, otherwise I will not forgive him under the nine springs."

The old lady spoke to such a degree that the emissary already knew what the old lady was going to do, but before he could stop her, the old lady drew her sword out of its sheath and killed herself with the horizontal sword.After Xiang Yu learned of the situation, he was really furious, and sternly cursed that the Queen Mother didn't know what to do, and she couldn't let her go even if she died!Xiang Yu, whose facial expression was already severely distorted, angrily ordered to throw Wang Ling's mother's body into the hot oil pan, while cursing endlessly.

His mother committed suicide and the news that her body was cooked spread to Nanyang, and Wang Ling wept bitterly.Originally, Wang Ling had a certain fondness for Xiang Yu. He and Liu Bang deliberately kept a distance, which meant that he was closer to Xiang Yu, but Xiang Yu used such cruel methods to deal with his mother. How could Wang Ling not hate him!Xiang Yu's rude behavior completely angered Wang Ling. It is absolutely impossible for Wang Ling, who serves his mother to be filial, to take refuge in Xiang Yu again. He can only lean towards Liu Bang.

The time has come to October of the second year of the Han Dynasty (205 BC), which is the beginning of a new era.

The high command of the Han army received a clear message: In order to prevent the Han army from rushing eastward, Xiang Yu, the overlord of Western Chu, made Zheng Chang, his friend in Kuaiji and the magistrate of Wu County, the king of Han, in charge of the territory of the old Han, and led the Han soldiers. Prevent the Han army from advancing eastward.And Han Cheng, the king of Han when Xiang Yu was entrusted in Guanzhong, was killed shortly after Xiang Yu returned to Pengcheng.

The military intelligence related to South Korea immediately aroused Liu Bang's infinite nostalgia for a person, that is Zhang Liang.Zhang Liang has been away for a long time, and there is no news. Liu Bang doesn't know how Mr. Zifang is now, and he is very worried.

After saying goodbye, Zhang Liang floated back to Kanto. His mission was to spy on Chu State's intelligence and look for opportunities to lure Xiang Yu into the quagmire so that Liu Bang could advance eastward.It has long been rumored in the Jianghu that Zhang Liang failed to kill Qin Shihuang with Dazhui in Bolangsha.Zhang Liang was born in a family of prime ministers in South Korea. His family background was noble and he had great prestige in the Jianghu. Therefore, Zhang Liang could use his special status to wander among the princes and carry out "sabotage" activities.

Zhang Liang knew the strong pressure of the Chu army on the Han army, and only by making Xiang Yu's eyes firmly attracted to the Eastern Front battlefield could he relieve the pressure of the Han army entering the Kanto to the greatest extent.At this time, Xiang Yu was still fighting with Tian Rong, who proclaimed himself King of Qi, and Zhang Liang found an opportunity.

On the one hand, Zhang Liang wrote to Xiang Yu, sending troops to Guanzhong to smooth things over for Liu Bang, saying that Liu Bang had no ambitions, only wanted to get Guanzhong, and would not and would not dare to go out of Guandong to fight for the world.On the other hand, Zhang Liang collected a letter written by Qi Wang Tianrong to Peng Yue who was traveling in Shandong. Tian Rong persuaded Peng Yue, who had more than [-] armed forces, to join him in rebelling against Chu.Zhang Liang must find a way to make Xiang Yu and Tian Rong fight. He handed Tian Rong's letter to Peng Yue to Xiang Yu, saying that Tian Rong is ambitious and wants to join forces with Zhang Er, the king of Zhao in Changshan, to destroy Chu. Please overlord quickly destroy Qi Yian world.

Qi Wang Tianrong was tossing around in Shandong all day long, which caused huge military pressure on Pengcheng, where Xiang Yu was located not far away.Xiang Yu has always regarded Tian Rong, who is fierce by nature, as his greatest enemy, and he must destroy all of them quickly.Even if Zhang Liang didn't persuade him, Xiang Yu would still settle the score with Tian Rong. What's more, Xiang Yu received Zhang Liang's previous letter saying that Liu Bang would never come to Kanto.

Xiang Yu has always acted without principles, and he has never been filtered by his brain, but it is not fatal for him to be deceived by Zhang Liang.If Xiang Yu went west to find Liu Bang's training stall, Tian Rong on the east front would be even more dishonest, and he might not be able to make much noise.

Xiang Yu's biggest weakness is that he doesn't understand politics, and he can't understand the guiding significance of politics to the military. He has done another stupid thing that is politically fatal.Xiang Yu forcibly took Xiong Xin, Emperor of Chuyi who had no power and power and was demoted to the south of the Yangtze River, to Pengcheng, but secretly instigated Jiujiang Wang Yingbu, Hengshan Wang Wu Rui, Linjiang Wang Gongao and others to kill Xiong Xin in the river, Shen in the river.

For Xiang Yu, Xiong Xin, who had an unknown origin, should not have been established back then, which caused him to suffer a lot of uselessness.After Xiang Yu became the general of the princes, he regarded Xiong Xin as a burden. Under pressure, Xiang Yu did not kill Xiong Xin for a while.But the existence of Xiong Xin hinders Xiang Yu politically, so it is better to kill Xiong Xin who is in the way, so as to avoid future troubles.

Xiang Yu didn't think that Xiong Xin was recognized by the world as the anti-Qin leader after Chen Sheng, and if he killed Xiong Xin, he would be trapped in the quagmire of injustice.Xiong Xin was forcibly named King of Chu by Xiang Liang, and made great contributions to the anti-Qin cause, but was killed innocently, and received universal sympathy from the people of the world.Xiong Xin was killed, which gave the anti-Xiang Yu forces an excuse. Later, Liu Bang used this to beat Xiang Yu politically, which made Xiang Yu very embarrassed.

But Xiang Yu never believed that politics could defeat military affairs, so what if he killed Xiong Xin, Liu Bang came and fought me for [-] rounds if he had the ability, the winner would be king!
Zhang Liang has already smelled the imminent war from Xiang Yu's various performances, and he has already completed the strategic task of drawing Xiang Yu's attention to the Eastern Front for Liu Bang. Liu Bang's side.

Zhang Liang was about to return to the team. In terms of geographical distance, Zhang Liang was in South Korea at this time, not far from Guanzhong.But between South Korea and Guanzhong there is a Henan country, and Wang Shenyang of Henan is still attached to Xiang Yu's banner. For safety reasons, Zhang Liang still carefully took a small path, hiding at night and going out at night. Finally, on a sunny day, he saw The king of Han who thinks about it day and night.

Seeing Mr. Zifang's sudden return, the King of Han's excitement can be imagined.Farewell to praise, lovesickness will last forever!Liu Bang held Zhang Liang's hand tightly, looked him up and down, and murmured, "Farewell for a few months, sir, you've lost weight." Zhang Liang was also very excited. Liu Bang knew how to hurt others, unlike Xiang Yu, who was ruthless.

Zhang Liang glanced behind Liu Bang, he saw a smiling general standing behind Liu Bang, Zhang Liang asked Liu Bang, this must be General Han.Liu Bang immediately introduced Han Xin to Zhang Liang. This was the first face-to-face communication between the two great geniuses.

Zhang Liang has already heard the legendary story of the King of Han making Han Xin a great general, repairing plank roads, crossing Chen Cang secretly, talking and laughing about the legend of the Three Qin Dynasty. Although Han Xin's functions overlap greatly with his own, Zhang Liang still compliments him very generously Han Xin's military genius.

Han Xin also admires Zhang Liang, this is a living legend!At that time, Bo Langsha almost smashed Qin Shihuang into meatloaf with a big iron cone weighing 120 jin.Moreover, Han Xin's strategy of "building the plank road brightly and crossing the old warehouse secretly" is based on Zhang Liang's persuasion to Liu Banghuo to ablate the middle way. It is a great work. Zhang Liang completed the first half and Han Xin completed the second half.

Liu Bang already knew Zhang Liang's weight, and now he has another Han Xin of equal weight in his tent, one is his chief of staff, and the other is his commander-in-chief, both are geniuses who have not been born in a century.Later, Xiao He provided military funds for him, Zhang Liang on the left pointed out plans for him, and Han Xin on the right resolved military doubts. The division of labor was reasonable and the collocation was perfect. At the same time, it was used by Liu Bang, which gave Liu Bang a great sense of strategic security.

The "Troika" officially hit the road. Their first stop was the eastern part of Sanchuan County (now the narrow and long area east of Hangu Pass in Henan, west of Kaifeng, north of Dengfeng, and south of the Yellow River). Henan Wang Shenyang.

Shen Yang was originally a close minister of Zhang Er, the current king of Changshan. Because when Xiang Yu was in the Julu War, Shen Yang captured Sanchuan County earlier, so Xiang Yu divided the land according to his merits and made Shen Yang the king of Henan.Although Shenyang's territory is not large, but because the Henan king's fiefdom is located at the junction of Qin, Chu, Zhao, Qi, and Jin, its strategic significance is very important. Breaking through Henan, Pengcheng, the capital of Chu, is right in front of Liu Bang!
In October of the second year of the Han Dynasty (205 BC), Liu Bang, king of the Han Dynasty, drove out of Hangu Pass along the Wei River and came to Shan County not far away.Liu Bang took Shanxian County as the frontline command center of the Han army. He was based in Shanxian County and commanded the advance and retreat of various ministries, especially the military operations against Henan.

Henan Wang Shenyang knew that Liu Bang had asked him a multiple-choice question, either choose Chu or return to Han, and it was impossible to sit on the fence and wait and see.In fact, Shen Yang already had the answer. He is not Xiang Yu's direct descendant. Now Xiang Yu is going to compete with Tian Rong of Qi State, so he has no time to look around.Henan State was attacked by the Han State, and Xiang Yu was very likely to be worthless. Under such circumstances, would Shen Yang be guilty of being cannon fodder for Xiang Yu?
In the end, Shen Yang made up his mind to return to Han. His former master, Zhang Er, the king of Changshan, was driven out of Changshan with guns and sticks by Chen Yu and Tian Rong's Qi soldiers. In the country, Chen Yufu appointed the acting king Zhao Xie as the king of Zhao, and he himself became the acting king.Zhang Er knew Liu Bang when he was young, and the two had a good friendship. Under the persuasion of Gan Gong, a disciple of the Qi people, Zhang Er fled to the west in a hurry to beg for food from Liu Bang.

Shen Yang was thinking: People like Zhang Er are ashamed to defect to Liu Bang barefoot. He has land and soldiers, so what's the shame in surrendering to Liu Bang?After making up his mind and not hesitating anymore, shortly after Liu Bang left the pass to guard Shan County, Shen Yang submitted a letter of surrender to the King of Han with a clear face, expressing his willingness to follow the King of Han to rule the world with the land of Henan, the soldiers, and the food.

The King of Han was overjoyed.

Obtaining Henan is very important to Liu Bang. This is an important strategic springboard. It can be connected to Zhao, Qi, and Dai in the north, Chu in the east, and Korea in the south. There is a lot of room for strategic maneuvering.However, in order to consolidate his rule in Henan, Liu Bang had to get rid of one person, that is, the new king of Han, Zheng Chang, who was stationed on the south side of Henan.Zheng Chang is Xiang Yu's direct descendant, and Yangcheng where he lives is very close to Henan and Guanzhong. Once Zheng Chang attacks Guanzhong, it will definitely cause a lot of trouble for the Han army's eastward strategy.

Speaking of Korea, Liu Bang suddenly remembered that there were many Koreans in his Han army.In addition to Zhang Liang and Han Xin, there is also Han Xin (namely Han Wangxin) who was also looked at by Liu Banggao. It is time for Han Wangxin to work for him.

Although Zheng Chang has become the new king of Han, he has no connections in Korea, while Han Wangxin is the authentic king and grandson, and his box office appeal in South Korea is very strong.Liu Bangli Han Wangxin is the most suitable choice for Han Wang.Zhang Liang agreed with this decision very much. He also had a certain understanding of Han Wangxin. With this person guarding South Korea, he could defend the strategic security of the headquarters in Guanzhong.

General Han Xin didn't have much feeling for this king and grandson of the same clan with the same name and surname as himself, and he had no interest in being the king of Han.Han Wangxin has lived in South Korea for a long time and has deep connections. However, he has lived in Chu since his grandfather's generation. His thinking, life and sense of belonging have already been Chu-like. It is indeed more appropriate for Han Wangxin to go to South Korea to become king.

And Han Wangxin, who has been living in the shadow of General Han Xin Wei'an, also hopes to have a chance to prove his military ability.Liu Bang believed that Han Wangxin would not let him down, so he allocated an army to Han Wangxin, worshiped Han Wangxin as the Taiwei of South Korea, and ordered him to march towards the old place of South Korea.Liu Bang promised Han Wangxin: Get rid of Zheng Chang, and you will be Han Wang!

Many people underestimated Han Wangxin's military ability, thinking that he just relied on the golden signboard of "King Han Xiang's grandson" to make a living in the Jianghu. up.

Zheng Chang looked down on this desolate Korean king and grandson at all, but the result made Zheng Chang want to cry without tears. It didn't take long for him to serve in more than a dozen cities under the jurisdiction of Han Wang, and they were all drawn into him by the previously inconspicuous Han Wang Xinhua. pocket.

Hearing that Han Wangxin was playing smoothly in South Korea, Liu Bang couldn't help but also come to join in the fun. After arranging matters in Shan County, Han Wang drove to Henan County to cheer and cheer for Han Wangxin.Seeing Han Wangxin's crazy performance, Zheng Chang couldn't hold on anymore. In such an isolated city, Xiang Yu didn't send a single reinforcement. How could this little force withstand the attack of the Han army?Forget it, a hero knows current affairs, so why bother to hang himself on a tree.

"Historical Records Biography of Han Wangxin": "When the king of Han arrived in Henan, Han Xin rushed to attack Han Wang's Changyang City. Chang surrendered." Zheng Changcheng stood in front of Han Wangxin with Han Wangxin in fear, and Han Wangxin laughed.

Liu Bang did not forget his previous promise. In November of the second year of the Han Dynasty (205 BC), Liu Bang officially made Han Taiwei Han Xin the King of Han.However, although Han Wangxin was named the King of Han, he did not station in South Korea, but led the South Korean army to follow the main force of the Han army to move around.

This should be the meaning of the general Han Xin. Han Wangxin stationed in South Korea means that the Han army will lose a new force.The main strategic task of the Han army now is not to attack cities and territories, but to find fighters to destroy Xiang Yu's Chu army, and the princes' allies who stand in Xiang Yu's camp.

The situation is becoming more and more favorable to the Han army. The battle between the Chu army and the Qi army has become dark clouds over the city. Xiang Yu and Tian Rong are like two irritated roosters standing on the cockfighting field, ready to fight, and have no time to look around.According to common sense, the Han army can take advantage of this strategic gap to go north to Zhao State, eat up Chen Yu's army, and at the same time expand the strategic depth to the northeast of the Han State's Guanzhong headquarters.

Inadvertently, the territory of the Han State expanded rapidly, from the original Hanzhong Bashu to the entire Guanzhong, Longxi, and Henan, basically restoring the territory of the Qin State before Qin Shihuang came to the throne.This means that Liu Bang has the opportunity to repeat Qin Shihuang's sweeping of the six countries in the Kanto region, and the Han army basically has no worries.

Liu Bang knew that the battle for hegemony with Xiang Yu was long-term and arduous, and it was impossible to end all wars through a large-scale battle. Liu Bang began to deliberately manage Guanzhong as his strategic base.I want to fight with Han Xin on the front line for many years, and the rear of Guanzhong needs a minister who is good at managing internal affairs to manage it. Naturally, this task must be handed over to Prime Minister Xiao He.

The king of Han sent an order to Nanzheng. Prime Minister Xiao He's mission in Nanzheng was over, and he immediately left for Liyang, the temporary capital of Han, to start a new mission.With Xiao He as the steward, he will continue to provide the necessary military supplies and stability to the front line. As long as there is no chaos in Guanzhong, the Han army will have no worries and can expand eastward with all its strength.

(End of this chapter)