Chapter 5 5. Avoid the heavy and take the light, the Chu army tried the Qin soldiers

After killing Song Yi, Xiang Yu completely got rid of the shackles, and suddenly felt a lot more relaxed. He ordered the army to be rectified and marched towards Julu.In December of the third year of Qin II (207 BC), Xiang Yu led the rebel army to Zhangshui in the south of Julu County. What kind of enemy will Xiang Yu face next?How will the young general face it?The generals of the Chu army were all sweating secretly. At that time, the situation of Julu was like this. Qin general Wang Li's army surrounded Julu, while Zhang Han's army was stationed in the south of Wang Li's army. In a pincer attack situation.Wang Li's army was a frontier defense army built by the famous Qin Dynasty general Meng Tian, ​​while the main force of Zhang Han's army was Lishan prisoners. Both armies were experienced and brave in battle, and there were about 300,000 troops.And what about Xiang Yu's army?In addition to the former Xiang family army, Chen Ying and Yingbo's rebel army also included, the total number was only 40,000, and it was definitely a "hodgepodge".Xiang Yu's army is compared to Zhang Han's army, which is equivalent to the "no-name army" versus the "regular army", and there is a huge gap in all aspects.

When Xiang Yu wanted to fight Zhang Han, he seemed to be hitting a stone with an egg. All the princes who came to reinforce him knew that this battle would determine the future war situation.What's more, Zhang Han's army is so powerful that they are unwilling to fill in their own army. They just watch from the sidelines, and no one is willing to really contribute.If Xiang Yu wants to fight, he has no reinforcements, so he can only use his own 40,000 against the Qin army's 300,000. A few people in the Chu army had heard of Zhang Han's name, and they said: "Zhang Han is a famous murderer, and his soldiers are all prisoners of death in Lishan..." This kind of word spread quickly, and it didn't take long for everyone to be in the same room. Talk about all the horrors of Zhang Han's army.For a time, rumors flew and people panicked.Xiang Yu soon felt the panic in the army. He thought: If the soldiers feel panic before the battle is fought, isn't this doomed to lose?Find a good way to boost morale.

One day, when the generals were discussing matters, Xiang Yu pointed to the map and asked Yingbo, "Where do you think the Qin army's weaknesses are?" Said: "No matter how tight the arrangement is, there will be loopholes. If you find the loopholes of the Qin army, you will find the key to victory." Everyone muttered in their hearts: Is it so easy to win?Xiang Yu seemed to guess what everyone was thinking, and he smiled confidently: At this time, maybe no one would have thought that the rebels would win, except me, right?I, Xiang Yu, have such courage and such extraordinary resourcefulness.

When everyone saw Xiang Yu wandering in front of the map, talking to himself, they secretly guessed what Xiang Yu was thinking.Xiang Yu suddenly turned around and said, "Yingbu, General Pu, how about ordering you two to lead 20,000 troops to cross the Zhang River and fight the Qin army?" Didn't 20,000 soldiers cross the Zhang River to die?Fan Zeng said hesitantly: "General, 20,000..." Xiang Yu saw everyone's doubts, and smiled and said: "You lead 20,000 troops, avoid the main force of the Qin army, and attack the grain between Zhang Han and Wang Li. Said, bring back more food and grass.” Only then did Yingbo and the others understand that this was for us to fight guerrilla warfare, and they immediately gained confidence.20,000 people went to the grain road and only took grain and grass. The pressure was not great, so they quickly responded: "Observe!"

This step is a military strategy adopted by Xiang Yu after careful consideration.Zhang Han's Julu strategy was almost impeccable. Wang Li's army besieged Julu, and Zhang Han's army blocked the south of it, transporting food and grass while attacking reinforcements.If there is a reinforcement to rescue Zhao, the two armies will serve as horns for each other, taking care of both fighting and reinforcement, and waiting for the reinforcement to die.The two armies fixed on the giant deer like a vise.But Xiang Yu still found a flaw in this deployment, which is the grain path between the two vises.Cutting off the grain path is equivalent to cutting off the connection between the two vises. If the grain path is blocked, you can hope to win by concentrating on attacking one of them.Xiang Yu sent Yingbu and others to attack the grain road and rob grain and grass. First, he wanted to prove his own judgment and find out the enemy's situation; second, he used guerrilla warfare to confuse the Qin army;Xiang Yu is full of confidence in his plan. If he wins this step, the next strategy will be easier to formulate. Zhang Han's 300,000 troops are not scary.

General Yingbu and General Pu received the military order and led 20,000 elite soldiers across the river the next day, heading straight for the Qin army's food road.The tunnels between the Qin army were just channels for exchanging information and transporting food and grass. Zhang Han never paid much attention to it. The small group of Qin troops stationed thought they were far away from the flames of war, and they were usually very slack.So when Yingbo and General Pu came, the Qin army couldn't recover and was wiped out in one fell swoop. Yingbo and others successfully completed the task of cutting off the connection between the two armies.Next, Yingbo took advantage of the dangerous terrain to temporarily stand under the tiger's claws.

Besides, Zhang Han has carefully analyzed the situation of the war, and it is expected that Xiang Yu is the most likely to act first in the rescue of Zhao's reinforcements.Zhang Han fought Xiang Yu once, and he had lingering fears about Xiang Yu's bravery and invincibility.So as soon as Xiang Yu arrived in Zhangshui, Zhang Han paid close attention to his movements, waiting for him to come to his door. On this day, Zhang Han suddenly received a report that the grain road was attacked and the grain and grass were robbed. Zhang Han was dubious when he heard this, and said with a smile: "Xiang Yu would not do such a small thing, right? If it is true, it also shows that he has You know yourself!" Zhang Han has been paying attention to the movements of Xiang Yu's main force, but he did not expect that Xiang Yu would send a small team to attack the corridor.Although this small battle did cause him some trouble, he believed that Xiang Yu didn't dare to face the main force of the Qin army, which meant that the rebel army had nothing to worry about.In fact, Zhang Han's underestimation and negligence left Xiang Yu a lot of loopholes, and Xiang Yu's goal of confusing the enemy was achieved in this way.

The news of Yingbo's victory came, and the soldiers were all elated, "It seems that the Qin army is not as powerful as the rumors..." "What kind of murderous demon king, I think it is exaggerated..." Next, Yingbo sent someone to Xiang Yu Reported the situation of the war: "The Qin army stationed in the tunnel is very slack, and Zhang Han's grain transport troops seem to be listless..." This confirmed Xiang Yu's guess: the tunnel is weak, and the Qin army is exhausted.This is good news for Xiang Yu, a small victory, let Xiang Yu see the problem of Qin Jun.

The meaning of this battle is not only these. The rebels who were watching from the sidelines all increased their confidence when they heard the news that Yingbo had defeated the Qin army. They even blamed themselves for not making the first move. There were also people who offered to cooperate with Xiang Yu. This person was here to watch The long time Zhao general Chen Yu. Chen Yu and Zhang Er, who was besieged in Julu City, were sworn brothers. Zhang Er and Zhao Wang were besieged, and Julu City was in danger. The great savior of the deer siege.Therefore, Chen Yu wanted to cooperate with Xiang Yu to fight this battle and break the siege of Julu as soon as possible.Chen Yu came to Xiang Yu's tent in person and said to Xiang Yu: "I am willing to obey the general's command and defeat the Qin army together." When Xiang Yu heard this, he was very happy, thinking that this small battle was really worthwhile, and immediately Someone came to help.So Xiang Yu and Chen Yu discussed that Chu Yu should make a gesture of saving Zhao, attract Wang Li's attention, and restrain Wang Li's army.Chen Yu was ordered to go back, and immediately marched towards Julu. According to the plan discussed with Xiang Yu, he continued to harass Wang Li's army, causing Wang Li to suffer.

At this time, Xiang Yu's preliminary preparations for the Battle of Julu were completed, and only his own hard blow remained. Sun Tzu said: If you know yourself and the enemy, you will never be imperiled in a hundred battles.Before the Battle of Julu began, Xiang Yu carefully analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of both the enemy and ourselves, and was ready to use his own strengths to attack the enemy's weaknesses, and formulated a strict plan for this.Sending Yingbu to attack the Qin Army's tunnel was just a small test of the Qin Army, but it played a huge role: it boosted morale and broke the myth that the Qin Army was invincible; the most important thing was to find out the weaknesses of the Qin Army and confuse the Qin Army; It also cut off the passage between Zhang Han's army and Wang Li's army. This battle really killed multiple birds with one stone.Chen Yu's invitation to fight gave Xiang Yu another chance, setting off one smoke bomb after another for the appearance of the main force of the Chu army. Qin Jun really couldn't figure out what medicine was sold in Xiang Yu's gourd.Before the curtain of the Battle of Julu was opened, we had a taste of Xiang Yu's unconventional military thinking. This kind of courage to break the rules made him the biggest winner of the Battle of Julu.