God of War through the ages: Han Xin

Chapter 21 Crossing the Yellow River East
Han Xin and Liu Bang pay close attention to all the information from Shandong, because Xiang Yu, the overlord of Western Chu, and Tian Rong, who has established himself as the king of Qi, have already fought.

Xiang Yu was full of anger towards Tian Rong.When his uncle Xiang Liang was there, Tian Rong was very disrespectful to his uncle. He was known as "Negative Xiang Liang" in history, and he did many things to feel sorry for his uncle.Xiang Liang was attacked and killed by Zhang Han in Dingtao, and Tian Rong refused Xiang Liang's "contribution" to send troops to join Chu.Later, he led the Chu army to break the siege of the giant deer, and Tian Rong was helpless, watching from the sidelines.Tian Rong actually had the nerve to be angry because he didn't get the title of king?
What Xiang Yu couldn't tolerate the most was that Tian Rong didn't make any contribution in the great cause of anti-Qin, but in the end he got rid of the three Qi kings established by Xiang Yu-Qi Wang Tiandu, Jiaodong Wang Tianshi, and Jibei Wang Tian'an. All three.In Xiang Yu's view, compared with Liu Bang, who has a mediocre personality, Tian Rong is a greater threat to himself. Allowing Tian Rong to develop in Qilu will seriously threaten the security of Chu State.If Tian Rong is not removed, Xiang Yu will not be able to rest in peace!

In the first month of the second year of the Han Dynasty (205 BC), Xiang Yu finally dispatched troops, and his destination was Chengyang (northeast of Heze, Shandong Province today). This is the duel field agreed between him and Tian Rong. The old grievances between Qi and Chu are settled together today.Tian Rong is also looking forward to this opportunity to prove himself, as long as he can defeat Xiang Yu, he will be the number one general in the world, the overlord of the Eastern Qi Dynasty!
Tian Rong still underestimated Xiang Yu. Although Xiang Yu was brutal, his individual combat ability, to be fair, was indeed the best in the world, and he had no rivals.Xiang Yu has a quality that Tian Rong can't match, that is, Xiang Yu's arrogance overflows.Xiang Yu rode a black horse, crossed a big halberd, and stood in front of the battle, which was enough to make his opponent frightened. Tian Rong obviously couldn't do this.

This battle of Chengyang also proved this point. Tian Rong made the most noise before the match, but victory requires real skills, not a storm of words.When the Qi and Chu armies fought, maybe Tian Rong would regret his impulsiveness. The combat effectiveness of the Chu army was indeed not blown out, and all of them were desperate.

When Julu rescued Zhao, under the call of Xiang Yu, the Chu army broke the boat to show that they could not retreat. They fought bloody battles with the Qin army under the Julu city. The will of the Chu army was cruelly tempered to the greatest extent. benevolent.In contrast, the Qi army was scattered and had not been tempered by the devil's battlefield. It was far inferior to the Chu army in terms of fighting spirit and actual combat ability.

In the battle of Chengyang, Xiang Yu won a complete victory, Tian Rong was completely defeated, and the Qi army was completely wiped out by the Chu army.Tian Rong fled to Pingyuan to take refuge like a bachelor, but was killed soon after, and his head was naturally given to Xiang Bawang for kicking.When Xiang Yu stepped on the bloody and muddy head of Tian Rong, he smiled contemptuously, just because you, a bad boy, are worthy of fighting for the world with the widows?

Xiang Yu has always had three favorites: black wind and lightning, black horse, long-sleeved and graceful poppies, who slaughter wherever they pass.Xiang Yu is born with a brutal temperament. He only respects himself and never respects others. He does not know how to respect life.Liu Bang won the world with benevolence, Xiang Yu won the world with killing, and killing people non-stop is the greatest source of his happiness.Cruelty and inhumanity are Xiang Yu's real character label, rather than emphasizing love and righteousness.

Burning people's houses, murdering people, stealing people's wealth, and prostitution, these are Xiang Yu's favorite things to do.This is true for breaking Han, it is true for breaking Qin, and it is also true for breaking Qi. "Historical Records · Xiang Yu's Benji": "Burning the barbarians to the north, the walls and houses in the city of Qi, all of them were killed by Tian Rong, and the old and weak women were taken prisoner. They went to Beihai, and many were destroyed."

After the Chu army passed, Qi land was in ruins, with corpses everywhere, all rooms were empty, there was no rooster crowing, no dog barking, it was as silent as hell.

The angry people of Qi started a tragic resistance, and they gathered in teams under the banner of destroying Chu and Fuqi with one shot, and they must seek justice from Xiang Yu for the dead Qi people's elders.Especially the tens of thousands of Qi soldiers who were scattered by the Chu army, they wiped away their tears, buried the bones of their relatives, and then found Tian Rong's younger brother Tian Heng, and asked Tian Heng to be the Qi general and lead them to revenge!

Tian Heng led the Qi people and began to attack the Chu army, still in Chengyang.Xiang Yu was inconceivable to Tian Heng's resistance, Tian Rong was so strong, he was killed by me, where did Tian Heng have the courage to dare to challenge the widow?The Chu army accepted the challenge from the Qi people, but the result surprised Xiang Yu. The Qi people fought fiercely and could hardly hold back their emotions. They fought endlessly with the Chu army.

The information was sent to the Hanwang Palace in Liyang at the first time, and Han Xin, who was still discussing military issues with the Hanwang, keenly realized that the main force of the Chu army was firmly nailed to Chengyang by Tian Heng, and Pengcheng must be empty. It is an excellent time to enter the hinterland of Chu State.

Liu Bang is always looking forward to returning to his hometown as soon as possible and seeing his relatives. What makes Liu Bang angry is that Xiang Yu was not born in Pengcheng, so what qualifications does he have to occupy Pengcheng?That is Liu Bang's hometown.Now that the opportunity has come, how could Liu Bang miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

But what is surprising is that Liu Bang decided to attack eastward to expand the strategic living space of Han, but left Han Xin in Guanzhong, and led the main force of the Han army east to Hangu Pass.

Why didn't Liu Bang let the general Han Xin go out to fight?There is no historical record of this, but there are two possibilities:

[-]. Liu Bang didn't want Han Xin's prestige and power to grow, and Han Xin took advantage of it. What did he do, soy sauce?Liu Bang didn't believe that his military ability was much worse than Han Xin's. He should give himself a chance to prove it.

[-]. Liu Bang's opponent at this time was not Xiang Yu. After all, Xiang Yu was fighting endlessly with Tian Heng in Chengyang, and the goal of Liu Bang's eastward expedition was to capture the city and strengthen cooperation with the anti-Chu forces.In other words, this Eastern Expedition is based on politics, diplomacy, and military, so Han Xin's military genius is not needed for the time being.How can you use a bull knife to kill chickens? Han Xin's bull knife is not easy to use. Liu Bang should keep this bull knife well and save it for killing Xiang Yu in the future.

From the perspective of the essence of human nature, the first point is the most likely, but from the perspective of the actual situation, the second point is most likely to be Liu Bang's choice.Liu Bang's journey to conquer the world has just begun. He will not be jealous of Han Xin at this time. If Han Xin is forced to run away again, Liu Bang will not even have a place to cry.Han Xin is the greatest military guarantee for Liu Bang to conquer the world, and he will never do stupid things like breaking his own wings.

And Han Xin should have no objection to Liu Bang's choice. Han Xin has never looked at Wei Bao, Zhao Xie, Chen Yu and other mediocre boys. You really don't need a sledgehammer to kill a chicken.What Han Xin was waiting for was the opportunity to use his sharp blade to kill Xiang Yu, the bull. Wei Bao and others were really not opponents that Han Xin should look up to.Although Liu Bang was the supreme ruler of Han, in terms of military affairs, Han Xin was in charge, and Liu Bang was only Han Xin's deputy general.

There may be another reason that prompted Liu Bang to let Han Xin stay in Guanzhong, that is, Liu Bang was still worried about Zhang Han who was sticking to the abandoned hill.In case Zhang Han really broke free from Fan Kuai's clutches, Xiao He was just a civil servant, he didn't understand military affairs, so he couldn't deal with Zhang Han, a veteran soldier.

If there is chaos in Guanzhong, it will inevitably greatly affect Liu Bang's military operations in Guandong. At that time, Liu Bang will lose his position and it will almost be a disaster.With Han Xin sitting in Guanzhong, ten Zhang Han plus Zhang Ping are not Han Xin's opponents. When the end of the Guandong is fixed, then change people to guard Guanzhong, transfer Han Xin to Guandong, and compete with Xiang Yu.

The main force of the Han army slowly left Liyang. Han Xin watched Liu Bang go away. Thinking that Liu Bang was about to stage a wonderful show in Kanto, Han Xin felt a little itchy, but it is not yet his true military genius. It's time, just wait.

Han Xin stayed in Guanzhong, and basically had nothing to do. The local administration and military supplies were all in charge of the prime minister Xiao He.Before Liu Bang left Guanzhong, he also ordered Xiao He to be the agent of the King of Han to take charge of all matters, and it was not convenient for Han Xin to intervene.The only thing that can arouse Han Xin's interest is Zhang Ping who fled to the north to continue playing hide-and-seek with the Han army, but is Zhang Ping Han Xin's opponent?

In the end, the Han army conquered the northern land and captured Zhang Ping.As for Zhang Han, the "King of Yong", who lived like a year in the abandoned hills, Han Xin didn't even bother to talk to him.Although Zhang Han's life is still going on, he has already become a dead person.

In March of the second year of the Han Dynasty (205 BC), the main force of the Han army came to Linjin County, Heshang County (now Dalidong, Shaanxi Province), and was about to embark on a ship from the south bank of Luoshui, where Linjin was leaning, and cross the Yellow River eastward.

The place name of Linjin is quite unfamiliar now, but not far to the southwest of Linjin, there is a famous place name, Shayuan.During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, during the struggle for hegemony between Eastern and Western Wei, the powerful prime minister of the Eastern Wei Dynasty, Gao Huan, crossed the river from Puban on the east bank of the Yellow River, and forcibly killed him in Shayuan. His old life was almost lost.

The water marching route of the Han army was different from that of Gao Huan 700 years later. Gao Huan set out from Hedong and had to pass through Pubandu to enter Guanzhong, while Liu Bang did not need to pass through Pubandu if he wanted to enter Hedong by water from Guanzhong.If the wind is smooth, you can directly reach Fenglingdu at the big bend of the Yellow River, where the Han army will go ashore.

Unlike the last time Liu Bang went to the south bank of the Yellow River to enter the hinterland of Henan, this time Liu Bang chose to go to the north bank of the Yellow River to enter the hinterland of Hedong, because Henan is basically controlled by the Han army, and Hedong is not yet Liu Bang's territory. Liu Bang needs to win Hedong and expand Guanzhong. Strategically, he stabbed the tip of the knife under Xiang Yu's nose little by little.

The opponent Liu Bang faced in Hedong was Wei Bao, the famous anti-king at the end of Qin Dynasty.

At this time, Wei Bao was no longer the king of Wei, but the king of the Western Wei Dynasty. This was the result of Xiang Yu's enfeoffment.During the Warring States period, the territory of the Wei State was mainly in the Kaifeng area of ​​Henan Province, and Wei Bao, as the king of Wei, should have his fiefdom near Daliang (that is, Kaifeng), but because Xiang Yu took a fancy to Daliang, he wanted to use Daliang as Pengcheng's western front military Fortress, so Wei Bao was driven to Hedong, where he set his capital in Pingyang (now Linfen, Shanxi), and guarded the courtyard for him.

Wei Bao was extremely dissatisfied with Xiang Yu's arrangement. Although Hedong was the old capital of Wei State and was rich in salt and iron, it was still a bit desolate compared to the prosperous Daliang City at that time.Wei Bao hated Xiang Yu, but the Western Wei State did not have the military strength to ask Xiang Yu for an explanation, and he did not dare to challenge Xiang Yu.Now the sudden arrival of Liu Bang, the king of Han, made Wei Bao's eyes brighten. The one who can make the widow return the beam must be the king of Han!

Wei Bao did not hesitate to add the King of Han to his friend list, of course, there was only one condition: after Chu was destroyed, Liu Bang would return Daliang to him.Facing the big pie falling from the sky, Liu Bang smiled from ear to ear, held Wei Bao's hand, and said with a smile: Once the matter is completed, I will make my brother the king of the Eastern Wei Dynasty and lead the beam.Wei Bao also laughed, Hanwang is really a straightforward person, no worse than Xiang Yu's sweetheart, so it's settled.

Wei Bao has found a high-quality partner, and it is no longer a luxury to return to Daliang. The cooperation between Liu Bang and Wei Bao is tantamount to opening the door to Wei State.From a geographical point of view, the headquarters of Wei State (Daliang) is very close to Pengcheng. If an offensive and defensive alliance can be established with Wei State, Han State will get a strategic springboard to Pengcheng.

Xiang Yu enfeoffed the vassal states and divided the old land of Wei State into three parts. The main part of Daliang was directly controlled by Chu State, and Wei Bao was enfeoffed in Hedong. Between Daliang and Hedong, there was still a Yin State, in the Yellow River of Henan Province. The north bank was established as Hanoi County in the Han Dynasty.

The allied forces of the Han and Wei dynasties left Hedong and rushed into the territory of Yin with lightning speed.

The King of Yin at that time was Sima Ang. Sima Ang was not a particularly famous figure during the Qin and Han dynasties, but he had a particularly famous great-great-grandson, which can be said to be well known to everyone—the Tai Shigong who compiled the "First History of the Thousand Years" and "Historical Records". Sima Qian.

Perhaps it was out of gratitude to Xiang Yu for enfeoffing himself as the King of Yin at the beginning, when it was more beneficial to choose to submit to Liu Bang, Sima Ang chose to fight the Han army with toughness against toughness.The result is that there is no suspense. How can the Hanoi army be the opponent of the Han army?

When the defeated King Sima Ang of Yin was tied up and thrown in front of Liu Bang, the King of Han smiled and immediately untied him and invited him to sit down, offering comforting words.Although Liu Bang abolished Yin State and changed it to Hanoi County, Sima Ang's Yin Army remained as a friendly army of the Han Army.

Hedong and Hanoi have been pacified one after another, and Liu Bang will lead his army to cross the Yellow River south and march towards Pengcheng on the south bank of the Yellow River.Just as Liu Bang was getting ready to cross the river and was about to board the boat, someone suddenly reported: "Chen Ping from Yangwu is here to vote." When Liu Bang heard that Chen Ping was coming, he smiled from ear to ear, and immediately invited Mr. Chen to meet the widow.

Chen Ping, this is another Han Xin-style legendary genius. In the magnificent and soul-stirring Chu-Han struggle for hegemony, the name Chen Ping, like Han Xin, is destined to be unavoidable.

In terms of talent, Chen Ping is not inferior to Han Xin, but what Han Xin studies is the art of war, while Chen Ping studies the art of Huang Lao Taoism.Chen Ping's family background is similar to Han Xin's, and they are all poor. But Chen Ping is luckier than Han Xin in that Chen Ping has an elder brother Chen Bo who loves his brothers.Chen Bo worked hard to cultivate the only [-] mu of land in his family, and all the income he got was used for Chen Ping's study trips, no less than Han Xin who couldn't even afford to eat.

"Learning literary and martial arts, goods and the emperor's family." Chen Ping has learned a lot of "conspiracies and tricks", and always finds a platform to realize his ambitions.Because Chen Ping was from Wei, the first leader he served was Wei Bao's brother, Wei King Wei Jiu, and Chen Ping served as a servant of Wei.

The temple is too small to accommodate a big Buddha, and a grass-roots team like Wei Jiu is not the place for Chen Ping to stay. Chen Ping tries to trick Wei Jiu, but Wei Jiu not only refuses to listen, but listens to the villain's slander and distances himself from Chen Ping.Chen Ping, like Han Xin, did not stay here, but had his own place to stay. Chen Ping patted his butt, and fired Boss Wei's squid very coolly.

Chen Ping's next buyer was Xiang Yu, who was still a general of the princes at that time.

When Xiang Yu divided the kings, Sima Ang, the king of Yin, was indifferent to Xiang Yu. Xiang Yu suspected that Sima Ang was going to rebel against Chu, so he sent Chen Ping to take the subordinates of the former king of Wei Wei Jiu to teach Sima Ang, and the battle was successful.Xiang Yu likes Chen Ping very much, maybe because Chen Ping is a famous handsome guy, unlike Han Xin who is almost clumsy and looks pleasing to the eye.Xiang Yu granted Chen Ping the title of Lord Xinwu, and jumped into the middle and high-level ranks, while Han Xin was still standing guard in the wind and rain.

Although Xiang Yu had a high regard for Chen Ping, he was still wary of Chen Ping. When Xiang Yu was still fighting hard with Tian Heng's Qi army in Chengyang, he heard that Liu Bang had captured Yin, and Sima Ying surrendered to Han. Xiang Yu was furious .Xiang Yu naively believed that Sima Ang's descent to Han must have been due to the failure of the original Wei officials headed by Chen Ping to complete the task, which caused Yin to rebel against Chu. Xiang Yu was going to kill these Wei officials to relieve his depression.

When Chen Ping got the news, he was so frightened that he jumped up and cursed. He knew it was time to change his boss.Chen Ping fired Boss Xiang again in a smart way, you can play by yourself, the master won't accompany you anymore.Like Han Xin's choice of abandoning Chu and returning to Han, Chen Ping also defected to Liu Bang.

In fact, besides Liu Bang, who else could Chen Ping choose?Unborn geniuses like Han Xin and Chen Ping are humiliating themselves by going to Wei Bao, Chen Yu and others to beg for food.Only Liu Bang is the most likely to provide them with a stage to showcase their talents.

Chen Ping's life experience is very similar to Liu Bang's. When the two of them talked together, they would lose their temper. Liu Bang admired Chen Ping's free and unrestrained temperament, which was a trait that Han Xin did not possess.So when the two first came to vote for Liu Bang, Liu Bang took a higher look at Chen Ping.

Liu Bang began to reuse Chen Ping instead of Han Xin, which has something to do with Chen Ping's higher starting point in the arena.Wei State servant, Chu State captain, Xinwu Lord, these identities are very socially recognized. Han Xin is a small halberd bearer, who in the world recognizes it?
Liu Bang worshiped Chen Ping as his captain immediately, and stayed with him for reuse.Some important ministers and generals of the Han Dynasty were jealous of Chen Ping's favor, and often quarreled in Liu Bang's ears, but Liu Bang ignored him at all, and instead trusted Chen Ping even more, making Zhou Bo, Guan Ying and others spit out sour water.

(End of this chapter)