God of War through the ages: Han Xin

Chapter 25
The hinterland of Hedong will become the stage for Han Xin alone.

The main force of the Wei army was still basking in the sun on the east bank of Pubandu. Wei Bao never dreamed that Han Xin had already reached the east bank of the Yellow River, right in the shadow of his back.What should Han Xin do next?Go straight to Pubandu and fight the main force of the Wei army?No, Han Xin understands a truth: take the bottom from the bottom.

why?Very simple, within the territory of the Western Wei Dynasty, the capital Pingyang was in the north, Pubandu was in the south, and Anyi (now Xia County, Shanxi Province), an important town, lingered among them.If the Han army takes Pingyang, it will be able to stab Wei Bao severely in the abdomen.At the same time, the Han army could cut off the Wei army's escape route to the east, squeeze the Wei army in the Yellow River triangle, and then encircle and annihilate them.If they rushed directly to Pubandu, the frightened Wei army would disperse like birds and beasts, which would not be conducive to the Han army's gathering and annihilating them.

Han Xin also noticed a place on the east bank of the Yellow River tens of miles north of Pubandu, named Dongzhang, which is an important traffic route from Anyi to Pubandu.Moreover, Dongzhang is located at the junction of Yuncheng Basin and Gufeng Mountain in Hedong. If the Wei army defends Dongzhang's danger in the north, the Han army will not be able to go south to get through Pubandu. Therefore, Han Xin's first goal after crossing the river is to conquer Dongzhang. .

Guarding Dongzhang was Wei General Sun Wei.

Although Sun Yan was not well-known in the military circles of the Wei State, Han Xin did not dare to neglect because of Dongzhang's special geographical location, and decided to go out in person to advance and retreat with Cao Shen.When Han Xin beat Sun Xun, it was unavoidable that he was suspected of bullying the younger, but Han Xin firmly believed that killing chickens with a sledgehammer is the most reasonable strategic choice, and don't take the so-called old saying "how to use a sledgehammer to kill a chicken" as a golden rule.To deal with weak enemies, one should cut the mess quickly.If the weak is against the weak, it will affect the military deployment of the main force, and the night will inevitably have more dreams.

It is not clear how many Wei troops Sun Wei had under him, and the number should not be too small, but for Han Xin, whether there are more or less Wei troops is just a difference in numbers.Han Xin doesn't even serve Xiang Yu as a dish, let alone Sun Xun!

The main force of the Han army should be recruited into the army in the latest phase, because the previous main force of the Han army was chased and killed by Xiang Yu in Pengcheng.After this group of recruits from the Han army joined the army, they were personally trained by the general Han Xin. They had enough time to prepare for the battle, and their combat effectiveness can be imagined.

The brothers of the Han army admired their legendary general. Han Xin pointed to the east, and they would never go west. It was an honor for the brothers to follow the general.When Han Xin slowly drew his sword out of its sheath, the Han army knew that the general had issued an order to attack, and the Han army, like tigers and wolves, rushed into the Wei army's formation in an instant.

It was a battle, the Han army defeated the Wei army, and Sun Wei didn't know whether he was alive or dead.Han Xin was tired of killing, he threw his sword on the ground, and before he had time to wipe off the blood on his face, he gulped down the water in the water bag.The Han army knelt on the ground from Cao Shen down, flatteringly praised the general for his mighty invincibility.

Conquering Dongzhang cut off the direct connection between Pubandu Wei Army and Anyi Wei Army. Next, Han Xin will take down Anyi, Wei Bao, and Hedong, and continue to add a lot of color to the splendid scroll of his life. .

Fortunately for Han Xin, the Han army launched a battle in Dongzhang where they smashed dishes and bowls. There was no movement in Anyi, more than 100 miles away. It seems that the Wei general Wang Xiang who guarded Anyi did not know that the Han army had taken Dongzhang .Very good, Han Xin knows how to deal with Wang Xiang.

The Han army captured Dongzhang. Although the Wei army in Anyi did not know that the Han army had crossed the river, the Wei army at Pubandu, which was closer to Dongzhang, must have known about it, which must have alarmed Wei Bao.Therefore, Han Xin should try his best to take Anyi in the shortest possible time, guard the danger of Anyi, and prevent the Wei army at Pubandu from fleeing eastward.The general ordered that all the ministries should follow my order and command, and move towards Anyi with lightning speed. The speed must be fast.

Han Xin is good at fighting surprise attacks. He often stands proudly in front of the enemy before he rubs his sleepy eyes. Chen Cang is like this, and so is Anyi.Before Wang Xiang in Anyi City understood, the commando of the Han army had already surrounded Wang Xiang to death. Dozens of swords and spears surrounding Wang Xiang shone coldly in the sun, and Wang Xiang was speechless.

The territory of the Western Wei State is like an irregular trapezoid, and Anyi is in the middle of this trapezoid. If the Han army takes Anyi, the Wei State is completely lost, and the Han army can concentrate its forces to fight the war of annihilation.Facts have also proved Han Xin's strategic judgment. After the loss of Anyi, a large number of Wei troops were squeezed into the narrow strip between the east and north banks of the Yellow River and could not move.

Wei Bao had already received the exact news after the Han army smuggled into Xiayang, and this news made Wei Bao break out in a cold sweat.who?Han Xin!Wei Bao sat slumped on the mat, his eyes glazed over. He still hasn't understood how Han Xin crossed the river without a large number of boats.

When the spies said that Han Xin built countless rafts, put clay pots on them, and floated eastward, Wei Bao was completely dumbfounded. What was in Han Xin's brain?How could he come up with this way to deceive the widow!At this time, Wei Bao finally understood that the Han army built a large number of warships on the west bank of Pubandu, but they did not board the boats to cross the Yellow River, just to hold himself back and buy time for Han Xin to cross the river in Xiayang.

Now Wei Bao has no time to beat his chest and feet. According to reliable information, the Han army has captured Anyi, captured Wang Xiang alive, and cut off the escape route of the Wei army.How to do?There are three roads before Wei Bao: [-]. Kneel down and surrender; [-]. Suicide and martyrdom;

The first choice is the easiest to do, just kneel on the ground and kowtow, but can Wei Bao still trust Liu Bang?When he scolded Liu Bang in front of Li Shiqi back then, didn't Liu Bang hold grudges at all?In the future, what face will I have to hang around in the rivers and lakes.The second choice, Wei Bao never thought about it that way, he didn't have the courage to commit suicide.Now it seems that there is only a third option to try. If you can break out of the siege of the Han army, the road will be open to the sky, and there is still a way out.

In September of the second year of the Han Dynasty (205 BC), the Han army and the Wei army met on a narrow road in Pingyang. When Han Xin smiled and admired the trembling Wei Bao opposite him, he issued a final general attack order: Do not capture Wei Bao today, Ashamed of the King of Han!
One of the biggest characteristics of Han Xin's soldiers is that he can adapt to the place, the person, and the time. He is not rigid in his use of troops, and has truly reached the realm of "water has no permanent form" as Sun Wu said.Han Xin ruled the army, walking like the wind, running like thunder, sitting like a pine, and his military laws were strict without losing his fairness, so everyone was willing to die for the general.

There are many criteria for a strong combat effectiveness, but one of the most important and fundamental is cohesion. An army without cohesion cannot be said to have any combat effectiveness at all.Under the training of Han Xin, although there are tens of thousands of men like one man, the Han army advances when it advances, and retreats when it retreats. No one is afraid to die, and no one strives for merit.

In front of such an army, does Wei Bao still have a way out?The answer is obviously no.

Time quickly proved this point. After Han Xin issued the general attack order, the Han army rushed to the shore like a frenzy, rushing for thousands of miles, eloquently, and went straight to the enemy leader.The Wei army has already lost its combat effectiveness. What kind of strong soldiers can Bai Zhi's men train?When arrayed, it was loose, as if it had just woken up.Is such an army still capable of fighting?One can imagine the fate of a group of fat sheep facing a group of hungry tigers.

If a commander has a strong sense of honor hunger, then his soldiers will also have a strong sense of honor hunger, and vice versa.Before Xiang Yu is eliminated, Han Xin's hunger for honor will not disappear. Although Wei Bao is just a small cake, it is enough for Han Xin to squeeze between his teeth.

The Han army rushed into the Wei army's formation, like a tiger stalking a flock of sheep. The Wei army was beaten by the Han army, crying and howling. Except for those who died under the sword of the Han army, everyone else fled in all directions. As for the bachelor Wei Wangbao, with Han Xin here, he still Where can I escape?

"Historical Records Biography of Marquis of Huaiyin": "Believe in rebellion against the captives." Han Xin easily drew another thick red line on his credit book.Han Xin was one step closer to the end of the 110-meter hurdles as he tugged at the dazzling red rope.As for Wei Bao, Han Xin could not do anything to Wei Bao without getting instructions from the King of Han, and he and Wei Bao had no personal enmity, so he simply gave Liu Bang a favor.

The tied up Wei Bao was like a zongzi, and was stuffed into an old horse-drawn prison cart by Han Xin, and then sent to Liu Bang's palace in Xingyang.Along with Wei Bao were the family members of King Wei, and one of them was Wei Bao's beloved concubine Bo Ji.

Not long after, the King of Han in Xingyang received this generous gift from his general.But Liu Bang was kind by nature, he didn't kill Wei Bao, in fact there was no need to kill Wei Bao, as long as Wei Bao knelt in front of him, tremblingly begging himself to let him live, Liu Bang had already avenged him.Killing the enemy is certainly a temporary solution, but it is better to raise the enemy and let him see himself enjoying himself every day. This is a better way of revenge than killing.

From a political point of view, Liu Bang's killing Wei Bao at this time is tantamount to setting a bad example for other princes who have returned to Chu from the Han Dynasty. Who will dare to return to Liu Bang in the future?With Liu Bang's superb political acumen, he would never do such a stupid thing.Liu Bang scolded Wei Bao a few words, then smiled and untied the rope on Wei Bao's arm, and comforted him with kind words, as long as you love Han, Han and Wei share wealth, and no one will break his promise.

Wei Bao was so grateful that he fell to the ground speechless.

Han Xin didn't care how Liu Bang dealt with Wei Bao. He was still cleaning the battlefield in Hedong and cleaning up those remnants of the disobedient Wei army.In fact, the main force of the Wei army had been wiped out by Han Xin, and the remaining small units of the Wei army would not have the courage to fight Han Xin decisively.

Han Xin swept back and forth across the river in a relaxed mood. The general rode his horse with a sword, and galloped with a long smile. The big banner with the word "Han" fluttering in the wind behind him, and the soldiers followed closely behind, proudly welcoming the next glory.The general dismounted, and the generals lined up in two rows, like stars supporting the moon.

It didn't take much time, all 52 counties of the Western Wei Kingdom had been captured by Han Xin.What Han Xin has to do next is to eliminate Zhao Guo, which is actually controlled by Cheng Anjun and Chen Yu, and open up the northern strategic channel.Han Xin has sent envoys to Xingyang to discuss the next battle plan with the King of Han on behalf of Han Xin.

The king of Han hosted a banquet in honor of the envoy of the general. Before drinking, the envoy presented the account book of the original Western Wei state on the case of the king of Han and asked the king of Han to have a look.Liu Bangxi flipped through these books with a smile on his face. There was nothing interesting about them, and he couldn't understand them anyway.Then the King of Han ordered that the title of the Western Wei State be cut off, and the fiefdom of the Western Wei State be changed to three counties, namely Hedong, Shangdang, and Taiyuan.

After the Western Wei State was wiped out by the Han State, both sides of the Yellow River and the north and south rivers became Han territory. The strategic depth of Guanzhong advanced hundreds of miles to the east, and Hebei was close at hand. Overcome Zhao, Ding Dai, Xia Yan, Ping Qi, and finally fight Xiang Yu to the death.

Today Han Xin's envoy came to Xingyang to discuss this matter.Accompanying the envoys to Xingyang were the anti-king Wei Bao's mother, and Wei Bao's beloved concubine Bo Ji who looked like a queen.

Han Xin has been active on the western front these days, and he doesn't know much about the situation on the eastern front, especially Xiang Yu's movements.Liu Bang gave Han Xin's envoy a detailed introduction to the situation of the confrontation between the Han army and the Chu army in Xingyang. At this time, Xiang Yu was still nesting in Pengcheng and did not have much military action.

As for the northern line, the whole of Hebei is controlled by the acting king Chen Yu. Although Zhao Xie is called Zhao Wang, he has no power.The current situation in the world can be roughly divided into three parts: Liu Bang's Han, Xiang Yu's Chu, and Chen Yu's Zhao.Chu and Han are in opposition, while Zhao Guo sits on the mountain and watches the fight between the two tigers.Chen Yu, Xiang Yu, and Liu Bang all had a lot of troubles. Xiang Yu was entrusted to the princes, and Chen Yu had no share, while Liu Bang fooled him with a fake head with ears open.

On the surface, it is very beneficial to Liu Bang for Chen Yu to remain neutral and not fall for Xiang Yu.But on the other hand, if Chen Yu is not attached to Han, Liu Bang will lose the strategic town of Hebei, and it is very uneconomical to carry a heavy burden with one arm.From this perspective, Chen Yu's non-attachment to Han is objectively helping Xiang Yu, which Liu Bang cannot tolerate.

The strength of the Han State has just recovered after the fiasco of Pengcheng. Now is not the time for a decisive battle with the Chu army. The Han State needs to further reduce the strategic encirclement of the Chu State. Zhao State is an important link for the Han State to achieve this strategic goal. Take it down.Both Han Xin and Liu Bang regard Chen Yu as their next prey, and there is another point that cannot be ignored, that is, the role of Zhang Er, the former Changshan King beside Liu Bang.

Although Zhang Er and Chen Yu are known as the "two gentlemen of the Liang Dynasty" and boasted to the outside world that they have a life-and-death friendship, the facts have already proved that the two are just a community of interests.If it weren't for Chen Yu's hatred for Zhang Er, Liu Bang wouldn't have killed a person who looked exactly like Zhang Er to cover Zhang Er, which shows how deep the hatred between the two is.

When Liu Bang gave the fake Zhang Er's head to the envoy Chen Yu, Zhang Er who was hiding behind the scenes could imagine how humiliating it was. To express such anger, only Liu Bang and Han Xin could do it.The Han army wants to further expand its strategic depth, and Zhao Guo must bear the brunt of it. Zhang Er naturally strongly advocates cutting Zhao, and he must seek justice from Chen Yu.

Seeing Zhang Er angrily attacking Zhao Zhili, Liu Bang and Han Xin's envoys all laughed. They knew what Zhang Er was thinking.Besides, attacking Wei, Zhao, and Qi from the northern line was a strategic decision made by the high-level officials of Han before. With or without Zhang Er, Han Xin wanted to attack Zhao, but now Zhang Er jumped out and just gave Zhang Er a favor.

The decision to defeat Zhao will not change. The next step to discuss is how many Han troops need to be dispatched to take Chen Yu.How many troops does Chen Yu have under his command?According to "Historical Records Xiang Yu Benji", when Zhang Han was besieging Julu, Chen Yu stationed in the north of the city had "tens of thousands of generals and soldiers", known as the Hebei Army.This did not include the original troops of Zhao Xie and Zhang Er, plus the recruited stragglers and new recruits, Chen Yu's total strength would not be less than 20, which was still a conservative figure.Chen Yu's army is said to be [-], which may not be enough, but it will not be much less.

In a country of 20 people, there must be 20 people fighting against it. When Qin destroyed Chu, Li Xin boasted that 60 would be enough to destroy Chu, but was beaten to shame by Xiang Yan. It was Wang Jian who sent out Qin's 20 troops. Only barely destroyed Chu.Liu Bang calculated his family fortune. After the defeat of Pengcheng, more than [-] main forces of the Han army were killed and injured.Xiao He and Han Xin will not recruit too many new soldiers in Guanzhong, and some of them will be left to guard Guanzhong and some will follow Liu Bang to guard Xingyang. There are not many troops who can mobilize to attack Zhao.Although the Han Kingdom has newly won the three counties of Hedong, even if they recruit troops in Hedong now, they still need to be trained and registered, and the time is too late.

Liu Bang felt a little sorry for Han Xin. He didn't have many troops at his disposal, and it was hard for a clever woman to cook without rice. If Han Xin was only given a small amount of troops, would Han Xin be able to defeat Chen Yu?You must know that Xiang Yu's so-called Great Deer Victory is nothing more than bullying the few with more.

Liu Bang looked at Han Xin's envoy with a shy smile on his face, and after muttering for a long time, he finally burst out a sentence: "How many troops do you want to use to defeat Zhao?" , Where can Liu Bang collect 10 horses for Han Xin?
The envoy replied to the king of Han: "The general has something to say, thirty thousand is enough."

Han Xin is the biggest military guarantee for Liu Bang and Xiang Yu to compete for the world. Even if Liu Bang sells iron, he must meet Han Xin's requirements.Let alone [-], Han Xinzhen asked for [-], and Liu Bang temporarily recruited a strong man to make up enough of this number.

Who will lead the [-] Henan Han troops to the north to join Han Xin?Liu Bang glanced at Zhang Er, who was sitting next to him, and smiled. There was no more suitable candidate than Zhang Er.One is that Zhang Er hates Chen Yu deeply, and he is very eager to have the opportunity to seek revenge from Chen Yu; the other is that Zhang Er has lived in Zhao for a long time, and has very deep connections in Zhao's officialdom.Letting Zhang Er go north to fight can serve as a guide. After all, Han Xin is not familiar with Zhao Guo's place of birth.

Zhang Er was very grateful to the King of Han for his decision.

Ever since he was defeated by Chen Yu and fled to the Queen of Han, what Zhang Er did every day was to sleep and eat.Seeing other people's meritorious deeds and their own idle food, Han Wang has no gossip, and there is no guarantee that the people around Han Wang will have no thoughts. Only after making great contributions can Zhang Er eat with peace of mind at Liu Bang's place.Every time he thinks of Chen Yu, Zhang Er's teeth itch with hatred, but unfortunately there is no chance of revenge.Now Liu Bang has given the opportunity to Zhang Er, and Zhang Er is very excited.

Outside the city of Xingyang, the King of Han watched Zhang Er lead [-] soldiers away in a dusty hoof.

(End of this chapter)