Chapter 17 Chapter Sixteen

Liu Bang, who was defeated in Pengcheng, was almost in a desperate situation. He was so embarrassed on the way to escape that he had to sit on a saddle to catch his breath.However, at this moment, Zhang Liang has drawn a grand plan for him to rise again. April 205 BC. In the morning light, the land on the outskirts of Pengcheng is lush and green, birds are singing in the morning breeze, there is no one in the green wheat fields, and there are no patrol soldiers on the road. Looking from a distance, there are no longer big flags with the word "Chu" floating on the city tower. When the flags are unfurled in the wind, the big "Han" characters are clearly displayed.

When Liu Bang, the king of the Han Dynasty, led his own team, together with soldiers from the five princes of Sai, Zhai, Wei, Yin, and Henan, a mighty 560,000 people dug out the overlord's lair and entered Pengcheng majestically. Here, there are mountain-like treasures that Xiang Yu ransacked and snatched from the Afang Palace; there are cloud-like beauties who were looted from the Qin Palace that he burned for three months.Altars of fine wine were opened, and pigs, cows, sheep, and dogs were boiling in the cauldron. The victors of ancient wars have the right to control everything, and they must indulge in all sounds, colors and delicacies.Pengcheng began to become a city that never sleeps. From the palace to the barracks, there were music, music, wine and meat everywhere...

Once people can do whatever they want without restraint, they will be farther away from others. Dawn, the capital of the princes and lords, after the nightly carnival of the victors and occupiers, only when dawn came, did they fall asleep wearily.However, they never dreamed that at this moment, disaster suddenly fell from the sky. In the silence of dawn on the outskirts of Pengcheng, suddenly like a tsunami, thousands of horses and troops suddenly emerged from the ground and swept across the west gate of Pengcheng. Most of the defenders on the tower were so drunk that they lay on the ground like dead pigs.The few soldiers standing guard were full of complaints, others were drinking wine all night, and they were sleepy and hungry, but no one came to replace them, and the generals were sleeping soundly with their arms around beautiful women.Just when they were full of anger and had nothing to vent, they saw the Overlord’s team suddenly appearing under the city like heavenly soldiers and generals. The guards gloated and thought, let the Chu army take care of these bastards who were getting carried away, and opened the city gate to surrender. Chu Jun.

The 30,000 elite soldiers led by Xiang Yu were an angry army, and they were killed with a vengeance.Of the 540,000 troops led by Liu Bang, a large part of them were the five-way princes' army who had been coerced by him. His arms are completely equal to a disarmed armed force.From Liu Bang to the generals and lieutenants, big and small, they all believed that Xiang Yu was still on the land of Qi State in the north.Although he had already defeated Tian Rong and forced Tian Rong to go into exile in the plains and was killed by the common people, he burned down the capital of Qi State, murdered the surrendered soldiers, and plundered women, old and young. The land of Qi State was almost trampled by his horse The mud turned into ruins.However, Tian Heng, Tian Rong's younger brother, led a small number of fleeing Qi troops, recruited tens of thousands of people who were unwilling to be slaughtered by Xiang Yu, and raised the banner of rebellion in Chengyang.2135 years later, in the 1930s of the 20th century, an outstanding painter Xu Beihong also created a famous oil painting "Tian Heng Five Hundred Soldiers".Due to Tian Heng's resistance, Xiang Yu had to stay and attacked Chengyang many times but failed to conquer it.At this moment, he heard that Liu Bang captured his Pengcheng.Therefore, he left some generals to continue to attack Tian Heng, and he personally led 30,000 elite soldiers to fight back to Pengcheng overnight.He silenced the flags and drums along the way, and quietly pushed into Pengcheng. At dawn, the Han army was still sleeping soundly, and launched a fierce attack by surprise.

When the Chu army rushed into the city like a tide, the Han army woke up from a drunken dream.Some have not yet understood what is going on, and have been hacked to a bloody, decapitated place.Some stood up and fled, before they could put on their armor or hold their weapons, they ran around in a daze, and just ran into the knife edge of the Chu army.Even the soldiers who put on their armor and took their swords, no one cared about anyone at this time, and no one listened to anyone's call, swarmed out from the east, south and north gates, and fled.The armies of the princes of the Five Routes had no choice but to follow them. When they heard that the Overlord had returned, they were frightened out of their wits and hurried away with their respective teams.

When Liu Bang was woken up to tell the news that Xiang Yu had entered Pengcheng, he couldn't believe it.Xiang Yu didn't have wings, so could he fly back suddenly?When the shouts of thousands of troops and horses came from far to near, he hurriedly dressed and was surrounded by guards, got into the carriage, and galloped towards the north gate.He saw fleeing soldiers all around, and some generals on horseback drove them back and forth, but it was of no avail. The chaotic army is like a flood breaking a bank, who can turn the tide? There are also teams that got the news early, although they also fought a bloody battle and fought hard.Helplessly, the army was defeated, and persisted until noon, but retreated outside the city.The Chu army chased and killed the Han army to Guxian and Surabaya, where there were densely packed corpses lying bloody, headless, armless, and disemboweled.Under the sunshine in early summer, a stench of smoked sky evaporated.

Hundreds of thousands of soldiers were killed along the way, which is so shocking! The remaining 100,000 or 200,000 defeated troops continued to flee desperately to the south.He was chased by the Chu army to the Suishui River east of Lingbi.In the front, there was a torrent of river blocking, and in the back, there were wolves and tigers chasing after them. Some jumped into the river to escape and drowned, some were killed and thrown into the river, and some were wounded and rolled into the water.The corpses in the river piled up more and more, and some of them could escape to the other side by stepping on the floating corpses out of the water.The blood stained the river red, and the corpse stopped the Sui River. Groups of old ravens hovered in the air, croaking and neighing, falling down from time to time to peck at the corpse.

There are more than one hundred thousand Han soldiers who died by the Suishui River alone, how shocking it is! People today in the 20th century can hardly imagine the brutality of this hunt.Thanks to Sima Qian, with the integrity and conscience of a historian, he left us a shocking record with his giant pen: In the middle of the day, the Han army was defeated.The Han army all left, and followed each other into the valley and Surabaya; more than 100,000 Han soldiers were killed.The Han soldiers all went south to the mountains, and Chu pursued them to the Sui River in the east of Lingbi.However, the Han army was overwhelmed by Chu, killing more than 100,000 Han soldiers, and all of them entered Sui Shui, and Sui Shui did not flow.

However, in the "Gaozu Benji" in the same book by this great historian, he changed his style of understatement: "Fight against the Han in Pengcheng, Lingbidong, and on the Suishui River. Defeat the Han army and kill more soldiers. The Sui water does not flow." Alas!The great Sima Qian is still like this, it has to make people laugh. Where is Han Wang Liu Bang at this moment? When Liu Bang drove out of the north gate under the protection of Teng Gong Xiahou Ying and his guards, he realized that there were much fewer Chu troops outside the north gate. Perhaps it was because the two to three hundred thousand troops had fled south. Most of the Chu army was attracted.Xia Houying immediately summoned thousands of fleeing Han troops, and when someone found out that it was the king's chariot, they immediately gathered and formed a team and ran northward.

After only a few tens of miles away, the Chu army found a carriage fleeing northward under the guard of soldiers. It was believed to be Liu Bang, the king of Han, and immediately mobilized the Chu army several times their size to chase after it.Seeing that the Han army was right in front, the Chu army immediately divided into three groups and encircled the Han army in three layers. Liu Bang had become a turtle in a urn, waiting to die. Unexpectedly, there is an unexpected situation in the sky. Before, there was still a fiery red sun above the head. At this moment, a dark cloud came over from the southeast. It didn't take a while to cover the sky and block out the sun, making the sky and earth dark.All of a sudden, a strong wind blew up, flying sand and rocks, and even the trees were broken, and there was a dull thunder in the sky again.The gust of wind blinded people's eyes and made it hard to breathe.

At this time, Xia Houying called a general over and asked him to lead the two thousand soldiers to break through to the east with shouts, and then called dozens of cavalry to stand by. Just as the Chu army was blown dizzy and couldn't stand on their heels, suddenly they heard shouts of killing all over the place, and saw the Han army striding eastward to kill.The Chu army was afraid that the King of Han would be let go, so they all followed the Han army in pursuit. At this moment, Xia Houying gave an order, and dozens of cavalry surrounded Liu Bang's carriage and galloped northward. It was getting dark, and the Chu army behind did not catch up for a while, so they could finally catch their breath.At this time, Liu Bang raised the curtain and looked out. The familiar scenery of mountains and rivers immediately made him feel a strong sense of intimacy. Only then did his heart relax from the high tension, and he suddenly realized that he had returned to himself. hometown. To the north is Pei County. "Mr. Teng, I want to go home and have a look, and take the family out by the way." "Listen everyone, head to Pei County!" As soon as Xia Houying gave the order, Liu Bang asked again, "Have you seen Zhang Liang?" Xia Houying replied: "I saw that Cheng Xinhou was ill and was escorted out of the east gate by several people." "Send some people to look for it." The men who were sent to find Zhang Liang went eastward.The rest continued north, and were soon enveloped by night. In the middle of the night, Liu Bang and his party came to the outskirts of Peixian County. They didn't dare to enter the city rashly because they didn't know the reality. They saw the county town was completely dark, there were no lights, and it was silent.After sending two people to investigate, they came back and said that there was no Chu army in the city, so they entered the city. Peixian County had obviously been ransacked by the Chu army, the city gates were broken, and it became an undefended deserted city emptied of death.When Liu Bang came to his house, he saw the ruined walls, the ashes after the catastrophe, and his relatives were gone.Liu Bang stood there for a long time, dejectedly, and said softly, "Let's go!" Xia Houying said: "Should I find someone who didn't run away and get something to eat for the King of Han, even if it's hot soup!" "Don't disturb your parents and folks, let's go!" Liu Bang was indeed sleepy and hungry. After this day of desperate running, his skeleton seemed to be shaking.Now that he has suffered such a disastrous defeat and is extremely embarrassed, how can he face his fellow villagers? Teng Gong found some dry food from a soldier.This was prepared before entering Pengcheng, and there was already an indescribable strange smell. He brought it to Liu Bang and said, "King of Han, let's eat together. It may be difficult to find food in the middle of the night." Liu Bangzheng was hungry, so he quickly took it and took a big bite. The unpleasant musty smell made him almost vomit.These days in Pengcheng, I am tired of eating delicacies every day, and chewing the soldier's dry food is really like pig and dog food.People are always like this, the expensive is expensive, the cheap is cheap, no matter what happens, he still gobbles up the rare dry food. He lay tiredly on the carriage, turned around and headed west, towards Fengyi.He was extremely depressed, and since entering Pengcheng, his mind is now cleared up.During those days and nights of debauchery and drunkenness, both Zhang Liang and Chen Ping had repeatedly advised him to rectify military discipline and take charge of the military administration, but they did not attract his attention.He misjudged the military situation in the north, and mistakenly believed that although Tian Rong was destroyed, Tian Heng rose again, and Xiang Yu was fettered by Qi State and could not escape for a while.Taking advantage of this opportunity to let the soldiers have fun is also a reward for their daily hard work, otherwise who would be willing to risk their lives to follow?What's more, the occupation of Pengcheng, the capital of Chu, is indeed a great event worthy of celebration, and it is not too much to enjoy him for a few days. I did not expect to suffer such a disastrous defeat! In the haze, Liu Bang fell asleep, but in the dream, he was in desperate situations, jumping off cliffs and stabbing himself with swords, without a moment of peace, like a lost dog. He woke up again, the east had already turned white, and the carriage was still running with bumps.He suddenly heard miserable crying on the side of the road, and hurriedly asked, "Who is crying?" The carriage stopped, and Mr. Teng replied, "It's two children." "Why are they crying?" Liu Bang asked. The two dirty and tattered children were a man and a woman. They replied that they escaped from Pei County with their grandfather and mother. They were chased by the Chu army on the way. Not to grandfather and mother. "What's your last name?" The younger sister replied, "My surname is Liu." The elder brother hurriedly pulled the younger sister's clothes with his hands, trying to stop her. "Who is your father?" The elder brother said: "Tell me first, what kind of army you are, and then I will tell you!" Duke Teng said, "We are the Han army." "I don't believe it, you are lying, you are Chu Jun!" "Son, I won't lie to you. We are really the Han army. If you don't believe me, take a look. Isn't this the King of Han?" Liu Bang raised the curtain with his hand. The two children saw it, and burst into tears, shouting loudly, "Father! Father!" Liu Bangcai found out that it was his son and daughter. He hurriedly jumped out of the car, hugged the two children in his arms, and burst into tears. "Quickly tell father, where did grandfather and queen mother go?" His son told him: "Uncle Li Shiqi fled from his hometown with his grandfather, queen mother, and us. The Chu army pursued them closely. I don't know where they fled." Liu Bang looked around in a daze, wondering where his father and wife Lu were now?Maybe he has fallen into the Chu army, and if so, he really doesn't know what to do! Xia Houying stretched his neck to look around, as if he heard the sound of a horse crying in the distance, and hurriedly urged: "King of Han, quickly take the son and princess to the carriage, there are pursuers coming from behind!" Liu Bang's carriage had just driven out not far away, when he saw the dust flying behind him and the sound of horses' hooves. Seeing that the pursuers were getting closer, Liu Bang said to his sons and daughters: "You should go down. You must not admit that you are the sons and daughters of the King of Han, run for your life!" "No, father, my son will not go down!" "Father, I'm afraid..." Liu Bang was heartbroken, and while the carriage was going uphill to slow down, he picked up a son and a daughter and put them under the carriage. The two children held on tightly to the carriage, crying and begging: "Father, don't leave us!" "Father, let us escape with you!" While the guards were fighting with several pursuers, Xia Houying stepped forward, picked up one in each hand, and put them back into the cart: "King of Han, there are not many pursuers, let them escape together!" The guards who killed the pursuers came after them again, and they continued to run forward.Seeing that Fengyi was getting closer and closer, another pursuer came from behind. This time the number of people was obviously more than last time, and the closer the chase was, the pursuer was divided into two groups to outflank it. The carriage was driving through the dense forest. Seeing that there was no way to escape, Liu Bang pushed the two children down without saying a word: "Run for your life!" The two children had just rolled onto the grass, when Xia Houying grabbed them again, forced them into the car, and said, "What time is it now, can we leave them alone?" Fortunately, in Fengyi City, there was a Han army, who came desperately after getting the news, and blocked the pursuers.Obviously, Fengyi can't stay for a long time. After a short rest, he continued to flee westward.Liu Bang knew that Hou Lu's brother, Zhou Lvhou, was stationed in Xiayi with an army, and he could walk southwest for a day or two to get there, and he could stop there to catch his breath. After walking for about a day, it was quiet, and neither ran into the Chu army nor met any of our own people.Passing by Fengyi not only had a full meal, but also brought enough food, so everyone's mood was much better.While holding one of his sons and daughters in his arms, the King of Han was full of licking feelings to ask questions. He was talking happily, immersed in the family happiness, when he suddenly heard someone report that a Chu army appeared from the south and was coming north. So they accelerated their march again, but they didn't expect that the carriage suddenly got stuck in the mud.In addition, there were two more people sitting on the car, and the spokes of the car sank deeper and deeper. No matter how much you whipped the shaft horse, Liu Bang could already hear the hurried footsteps of the Chu army, and he became angry when he was in a hurry: "You two are really not Be obedient, I told you to get out of the car long ago, as long as you can keep your father, you can be kept, why should we all die together!" He pushed the two children out of the car with one palm. Xia Houying suddenly said: "King of Han, the goal of riding is too big, and the only way is to take the main road. It is much safer and more convenient to ask Han Wang to change horses and take the small road." Liu Bang accepted this suggestion and abandoned his cart to ride a horse. The son knelt on the ground and cried and begged: "Father, if you want to throw me away, throw me away, and take my sister with you, Father!" This son is the kind-hearted prince Liu Ying who later succeeded him to the throne. Xia Houying once again lifted the two weeping children from the mud and put them on his horse one after the other.Liu Bang was silent, with a look of shame on his face. It seems to be destined, this son who has not been thrown away three times, after becoming the prince, Liu Bang tried to abolish him many times, but in the end he failed. The Chu army approached, and the King of Han and his entourage flew into a narrow path in the dense forest and disappeared without a trace. On the way to Xiayi, he collected some scattered Han troops along the way.At this moment, I heard a Han soldier who had escaped from the Chu army say that he saw with his own eyes that the Grand Duke, Empress Lu, and Li Shiqi who followed them had been captured by the Chu army and detained by the Overlord in the Chu camp. When Liu Bang received the news, it was like a thunderbolt from the blue sky, his heart was on fire, and his liver and gallbladder were torn.Although he was defeated in Pengcheng this time, it cannot be said that he will never recover from a setback, because Guanzhong is still safe and sound, Xiao He stayed behind in Sanqin, and his lair still exists.But this time defeating Pengcheng can be regarded as the heaviest loss since his uprising. He almost wiped out his entire army, and almost even himself and his father, wife and children were captured by Xiang Yu. It is not easy to make a comeback! What distressed him most of all during his narrow escape was that his team suffered heavy losses.The soldiers of the five princes are of course unreliable. This group of people depends on whoever is strong, and they are capricious.Most of his own army must have been killed or injured, and it would be difficult to recover for a while. Liu Bang clearly realized that in the future, relying on his own strength alone, it might be difficult for him to compete with Xiang Yu in the final victory or defeat.He thought that he only owned Guanzhong, and gave the Guandong area to those who could defeat Xiang Yu, so that everyone could form a force and jointly attack the overlord of Chu. Only in this way could it be possible to defeat Chu together.But who can it be sealed to? As soon as their team climbed a hill, they saw a small group of Han troops resting by the roadside.Liu Bang was very happy when he saw that it was his own team.What made him even more overjoyed was that he unexpectedly met Zhang Liang here.When the city was broken, He Jian led dozens of soldiers to guard Zhang Liang who was ill, and rushed out of the city. They quickly turned into the mountain path and abandoned the Chu army.When Zhang Liang was in exile when he was young, he was very familiar with the terrain in this area, and he did not expect to meet the King of Han here. Liu Bang asked everyone to get off their horses and rest. This place is not far from Xiayi. Xia Houying sent someone to report to Zhou Lvhou first.There were so many thorns here that there was nowhere to sit, so the guards lifted the saddle down for the King of Han to sit on.The King of Han ordered another saddle to be placed beside him, asked Zhang Liang to sit down, and said to him: "Recently on the road, I have been thinking about enfeoffing the land of Kanto to a few people who are strong enough to defeat Xiang Yu. Strength to defeat Xiang Yu. I don’t know what Zifang thinks? If it is feasible, who should I unite with to defeat Xiang Yu now?” Zhang Liang nodded and said thoughtfully: "Yes, the King of Han has just defeated Pengcheng, and the Han army has suffered heavy losses, and it is difficult to recover for a while. The overlord will take advantage of the opportunity when Chu is strong and Han is weak, and attack me in a big way. What the King of Han sees is very true, we must unite as soon as possible. A group of people who can compete with Xiang Yu and win in the end. I think there are three people who can break through, if they can all stand on the side of the King of Han, why not be able to defeat the Overlord!" Liu Bang, who had been exhausted for the past few days, suddenly cheered up, and hurriedly asked, "Who is the first one?" "Jiujiang Wang Yingbu." "Isn't he one of the most valiant generals under Bawang? It's not bad if he doesn't attack me for Xiang Yu!" "Yingbo has long been in the same bed with the Overlord, and Xiang Yu used his hands to get rid of Emperor Yi, so that Yingbo could take the blame for him, but Yingbo sent someone disguised as a robber to kill Emperor Yi, which showed that he was never willing to be with Xiang Yu. Get on a boat." Liu Bang nodded in agreement. "In addition," Zhang Liang said, "this time Xiang Yu led his troops to the north to attack Qi. Originally, he ordered Yingbo to lead his troops to fight Tian Rong with him, but in the end Yingbo only sent a small army to perfunctory, so the Overlord He is very dissatisfied with him, and sooner or later he will be dealt with, Yingbu also understands this in his heart. If the King of Han sends someone to contact him and agrees to make him king, he will definitely fall to the King of Han." "Okay! Where's the second one?" Liu Bang asked. "The second is Peng Yue." Zhang Liang said. "That's right, Peng Yue was Xiang Yu's deadly enemy in the first place." "Yes, when Qi Wang Tianrong rebelled against Xiang Yu, he supported Peng Yue to oppose Xiang Yu in Liang. It should not be too late. The King of Han must send someone to negotiate with them as soon as possible. That would mean that the overlord's left and right arms are being pulled." Liu Bang said happily: "Okay, I will immediately send Xiao He to Ying Bu's place, and then send a competent person to see Peng Yue. Then who is the third?" "The third one..." Zhang Liang smiled and said, "It's like the King of Han himself wears an extremely sharp sword, why would he borrow a weapon from others?" Liu Bang was dumbfounded and didn't know what to say. Seeing that he was not aware of it, Zhang Liang further reminded him: "The King of Han has someone who is more powerful than the previous two and can make Xiang Yu more afraid!" "The person you're talking about is..." Zhang Liang said: "I'm talking about Han Xin, the great general Han Xin who personally ascended the altar in Nanzheng!" "It's him?" Liu Bang was quite surprised, he never expected Zhang Liang to have such a high opinion of Han Xin. When it comes to Han Xin, Liu Bang's mood is very complicated. He admits that this man is a rare talent, but he is always worried.The more others admired Han Xin, the more uncomfortable he felt.He could not do without Han Xin, but he was worried about Han Xin, and the tragedy was made step by step. Zhang Liang said: "Han Xin is a rare general. He is worthy of a heavy responsibility, but he can be alone. You have to fully trust him, and he can open up a new situation for you. The king of Han should not have any hesitate." Liu Bang was silent, always unwilling to promise readily.Based on his intuition, he felt that even if he relied on Han Xin to defeat Xiang Yu, one day he would become a more terrifying person than Xiang Yu. "The king of Han is eager to give away the land outside the pass. If he gives it to these three people, Chu will definitely be destroyed." After Zhang Liang made some suggestions, it was as if the clouds cleared and the mist cleared. Liu Bang's depressed mood for the past few days finally became brighter. Xia Houying came to report to him that Zhou Luhou personally led troops from Xiayi to welcome the King of Han.