Chapter 24 Chapter 24 Chu and Han struggle for hegemony

Emperor Yi died in October of the first year of the Han Dynasty.However, Liu Bang, who burned the plank road and seemed to lock himself in Hanzhong, took action two months ago. He returned to the East by the forgotten way.This path seems to be designed for surprise attacks. Liu Bang's army suddenly appeared in Yongdi, west of Xianyang, and immediately defeated Yongwang Zhanghan in a place called Chencang, and surrounded Feiqiu after chasing it.He even dispatched generals to attack Longxi, Beidi, Shangjun and other places. The king of Sai, Chang Shixin, the king of Zhai, Dong Yi, and the king of Henan, Shenyang, all surrendered without a fight.

This thing is ironic.Xiang Yu redefined the name Guanzhong, divided it into four, and stuffed Liu Bang to the border.As a result, Liu Bang occupied most of Guanzhong at once.Not only that, he also crossed the Hangu Pass, making Henan County in the east a bridgehead. Of course King Xiang was furious about this, but at the moment he was in a state of desperation, Tian Rong, who proclaimed himself King of Qi, had to attack, and Qi Zheng showed signs of uniting with Zhao to fight against Chu. Crusade against Qi in the North?Or attack the Western Han?Xiang Yu couldn't make up his mind for a moment.At this time, Xiang Yu's spies caught a person who might be a secret envoy in Changshan. This was a man who had escaped from prison and had a secret letter written in silk wrapped around his abdomen.

This is an oath with the words "Qi and Zhao agree to work together to defeat the tyrannical Overlord of Chu (Xiang Yu)". At the same time, a letter written by Liu Bang's retainer Zhang Liang was also delivered to Xiang Yu, which read: Liu Bang, king of the Han Dynasty, wanted to take the land in Guanzhong because the promised things were not realized.Fortunately, I have now become the king of Guanzhong as agreed, and I have no other wishes so far. I will live here for a long time in the future, and I have no intention of going east. "Actually, it's not unreasonable for him to do this..."

There were indeed promises in the past, and Liu Bang was indeed tricked once.Xiang Yu, who set up the plan, of course understood Liu Bang's indignation. If it were me, I would still be furious and go to great lengths to get back the promised land, right?The passionate man Xiang Yu actually resonated with Liu Bang. "Okay, now we have decided to attack the north first!" Xiang Yu then decided to give priority to attacking Qi Guotian Rong. The mobilization order was issued.Xiang Yu ordered Yingbu, the newly crowned king of Jiujiang, to send troops, but Yingbu sent only a few thousand soldiers.Moreover, Ying Bu himself only sent his generals to come because of his illness.

"Damn tattoo cloth! I have to show him how to look good in the future!" Xiang Yu gritted his teeth and said regretfully.That's how he is, always creating enemies to be defeated in the future.Once confronted, his style is to annihilate the enemy, so the enemy will desperately resist.Xiang Yu had to fight hard every time he fought, and it can be said that he reaped the fruits of himself. Even so, Xiang Yu is indeed a strong man.He personally led the army to the north, confronted Tian Rong in Chengyang, and defeated it. Tian Rong was defeated and went to the plain, where he was killed by the people.Xiang Yu continued to go north, burning all the cities of Qi, and killing all the Qi soldiers who surrendered, and all the old and weak women captured were slaves.

Under such circumstances, even though they occupied the land, they could not win the hearts of the people. The people of Qi would rebel against Xiang Yu whenever they had the opportunity.Tian Heng, Tian Rong's younger brother, summoned the old Qi soldiers and raised a rebellious flag against Xiang Yu in Chengyang.Therefore, Xiang Yu could not return to the south, so he had to stay in Qi State and continue fighting.Qi soldiers were afraid that they would be killed if they were defeated, so they all fought to the death, and Xiang Yu could not easily suppress them. "Damn Qi Bing! This time, I must deal with them more severely! Either burn them to death slowly, or smash them into pieces!" Xiang Yu glared angrily at the city wall of Chengyang, which had been unable to be captured for so long.

Liu Bang, king of the Han Dynasty, did the opposite, welcoming those who surrendered and giving them preferential treatment. The generals have ten thousand people, and if one county surrenders, ten thousand households will be sealed. As recorded in "Historical Records", he showed a magnanimous attitude. There are vast hunting grounds and gardens everywhere in the territory directly under the Qin Dynasty for the emperor and nobles to hunt, and the common people are not allowed to enter.Liu Bang opened these lands for people to cultivate, and was widely loved by the people.Therefore, Liu Bang does not need to worry about the people's rebellion behind him like Xiang Yu.

Liu Bang issued an amnesty order whenever he had the opportunity, and personally toured various places, diligently comforting the people. In February of the second year of the Han Dynasty (205 BC), Liu Bang removed the Sheji of Qin and newly established the Sheji of Han. "She" is a shrine dedicated to the god of the earth. The general setting is to build an earthen altar with trees planted around it. In some places, an altar is set up where there are many trees. These trees are colored with special pigments. "Ji" is the shrine dedicated to the God of Valley. When there is land and someone grows grains, there is a country.Therefore, Sajik represents the country.Establishing one's own country is tantamount to declaring that Han has "established a country".

After Liu Bang crossed the Yellow River, Wei Wangbao joined the Han camp, led his troops to attack Hanoi, and captured the King of Yin.Sima Ang, the king of Yin, was originally a general of Zhao's army. He was conferred here because of his meritorious service in pacifying Hanoi for Xiang Yu. After that, Liu Bang crossed the Yellow River and went down to Luoyang.At this moment, someone from Xincheng and Rural Three, Dong, begged Liu Bang: "Report to Your Majesty..." In the Qin system, there is one pavilion for every ten miles, and one township for ten pavilions, and each pavilion has a "chief", and each township has "three elders".When Liu Bang was young, he served as the head of the pavilion in his hometown.The three elders of the township are equal to the head of the village.

"What's your matter, tell me!" Liu Bang replied. "Emperor Yi collapsed..." "Is this true?" "Reporting to the king is absolutely true. It is said that the overlord of Chu ordered the king of Linjiang to kill him in the south of the Yangtze River. Everyone in the south of the Yangtze River and the east of the river knows about this matter...Xiaomin came to report this matter for the purpose of asking for instructions. What measures should Your Majesty take in the future?" "Oh..." Liu Bang looked back at Zhang Liang. "Emperor Yi is the lord, the king must show his face and cry, this is the rule." Zhang Liang said in a low voice.

When the emperor died, his subjects had to be naked and weep loudly.Liu Bang, a savage, does not understand such rules, but for Zhang Liang, who was born in the family of a Korean prime minister and has a lot of knowledge and memorization, how to obey the emperor's funeral is common sense. Liu Bang exposed his upper body on the spot and cried bitterly on the ground.Zhang Liang and all his officials looked up to him. "Now Xiaomin knows what to do. Xiaomin will rush back and ask the villagers to wear mourning..." The third old Dong Gong resigned hastily in order to tell the villagers. When alone with Zhang Liang, Liu Bang said: "The long-awaited opportunity has finally arrived." This refers to the time of confrontation with the Overlord of Chu.This opportunity will come sooner or later, and knowing that Emperor Yi is dead now, it should be an excellent opportunity. "It's too early." Zhang Liang replied quietly. "Why? The princes surrendered to me one after another, while Xiang Yu was busy attacking Qi in the north. His capital, Pengcheng, was already empty. If we launch an attack now, we can easily capture it." "This is equivalent to breaking through the empty door!" "Don't say such nasty things, okay?" "Pengcheng can indeed be captured easily. However, Xiang Yu will lead his troops back from Qi immediately!" "Those soldiers were already exhausted due to the delay in taking Chengyang of Qi State. I will go up and shout now, how many princes and soldiers do you think can be summoned?" "About five or six hundred thousand?" "Even if it's only half a million, it's enough. What else is there to be afraid of?" "The Chu soldiers who attacked Chengyang were only trapped there for a while, and they were not tired of field battles. In fact, they have been resting all the time. It is wrong to think that they are exhausted." "Really? According to my experience, siege warfare can also be exhausting!" "It's because of the hard work of the generals. The soldiers have nothing to do, so how can they be tired? And when they hear that their hometown is in danger, the soldiers will be particularly excited. This power must not be underestimated." Zhang Liang tried his best to restrain Liu Bang, who was eager to try, but Liu Bang thought it was a godsend opportunity and he didn't want to miss it. "I'm not underestimating Xiang Yu's military strength, but we have 500,000 troops!" "Most of the 500,000 troops are the soldiers of the princes. They are indeed grateful for the magnanimity of the Lord, so they came to surrender, but this does not mean that they are truly convinced." "Isn't this considered convincing?" Liu Bang was a little surprised.When he captured the city, he restrained himself from plundering, in order to win people's hearts.I dare not act rashly towards the beautiful women in Xianyang. After putting in so much effort, can't I still win "convincing"? "It will take a while for people to be fully convinced. There are signs, but in my opinion, it's not quite there yet." "I think it's time to mature!" "Maybe the lord is right. If not, our 500,000 troops may be torn apart at any time once there is a priority." "Would it? Anyway, I mean after it's done." "It's tantamount to gambling." "Just bet!" Liu Bang said decisively. "In this case, let's do it! Just, let me remind one thing: Don't rely too much on the 500,000 troops. When fighting, you can only lead 200,000 troops." Zhang Liang said while nodding. He also has the determination to make his next bet.Using bets to determine fate is sometimes necessary. Liu Bang announced the funeral of Emperor Yi, and at the same time, sent envoys to announce to the princes: The emperor of communism in the world, we all worship him from the north.Today, Xiang Yu murdered Emperor Yi in the south of the Yangtze River, which is an act of great treason and injustice.Yu hereby publishes this mourning, and hopes that all the princes will be plain (meaning wearing mourning clothes), and all the soldiers in the pass will be dispatched to recover the land of the three rivers (Henan, Hanoi, and Hedong), and they will float down from Jianghan in the south. In addition to the Chu people who killed Emperor Yi. This notice, although euphemistically worded, is actually tantamount to a mobilization order. Liu Bang then summoned an army of 560,000 from the five princes. From Luoyang to Pengcheng is the eastward route of the Longhai Railway today. This area is an area where the tributaries of the Yellow River and the Huaihe River criss-cross like a chessboard. Most of the army led by Liu Bang moved eastward along the waterway. Xiang Yu was leading an army to attack Qi at this time, and he was in Chengyang at the end of the Shandong Peninsula in the north.Due to the stubborn resistance of the Qi army, he brought all of Pengcheng's troops here. Pengcheng has almost become an empty city. Liu Bang's army captured Pengcheng easily. But the military discipline at this time was quite head-shaking, and the biggest sticking point was the awareness of the "big army".Zhang Liang said that fighting must be regarded as leading only 200,000 troops, and his intention was to prevent soldiers from having a sense of "big army".However, in order to eliminate the soldiers' fear of Xiang Yu, many commanders and generals claimed that their army was a million-strong army, which made all the soldiers have a sense of "big army".The biggest disadvantage of this kind of awareness is that it is easy to generate dependence. ——This is an army of millions, I don't have to work hard, someone will fight well. Moreover, the huge mixed army is quite difficult to lead. "Historical Records" entered the state of the Han army in Pengcheng, and recorded: Now that he has entered Pengcheng and received his goods, Baomeiren, Hijijiu will meet at a high level. In other words, robbing property, embracing beauties, and having feasts and carnivals for days.It is conceivable that the military discipline is disordered and morale is low. At that time, Xiang Yu was like a fierce spirit in the eyes of ordinary people, and no one could beat Xiang Yu-people believed in it.In fact, Xiang Yu completed the great cause of destroying Qin because of people's fear of him. Therefore, many commanders and generals of the Han army only dared to claim to have "a million troops", but did not dare to use the words "destroy Xiang Yu".When they motivated their subordinates, they used the slogan "Taking Pengcheng". As long as Pengcheng is captured, the war will end-the soldiers of the Han army all have this illusion.Therefore, after victory entered the city, they drank and made noise to the point of forgetting themselves. Xiang Yu, who was besieging Chengyang, received the news that Pengcheng had been occupied by Liu Bang's army. He blushed and gnashed his teeth and roared: "Damn Liu Bang rat thief! How despicable is the act of breaking into the empty gate!" He selected 30,000 elite soldiers from the encircling army, and handed over the rest to the generals. He led the troops himself and rushed all the way back to Pengcheng. "Kill all the Han soldiers! Don't let any one go! Kill! Kill!" Xiang Yu on horseback roared again and again.