Chapter 25 Chapter 25 The Grand Army Division Exits

Xiang Yu, who had rushed back from Chengyang of Qi State, did not take a straight line of action, and stormed Pengcheng from the east.In this regard, he is indeed worthy of being a great strategist. The method he adopted was: while heading south, he made a detour to the west of Pengcheng. For the Han army occupying Pengcheng, the west is their way back.They believed that Xiang Yu, who sent troops to the northeast, would definitely attack from the east.Once it is known that Xiang Yu's army has appeared west of Pengcheng, the Han army will be greatly shaken psychologically. Xiang Yu stormed the Han army stationed in Su County, west of Pengcheng, and trampled them down.The Han army in Su County always thought that they were the rear guard. They never dreamed that the enemy's first attack would be added to their heads, so they didn't even have time to adopt a fighting posture.

Xiang Yu, who defeated the Han army in Suxian County with the posture of sweeping fallen leaves in the autumn wind, confronted the main force of the Han army at the Suishui River east of Pengcheng.Zhang Liang was completely right, Xiang Yu's army was not at all tired.Not only that, but they hated the Han army to the extreme.Hearing that his home property was robbed and his children were taken away, one can imagine the extent of the same hatred. Of course Xiang Yu won a big victory. The Han army fled desperately, and Xiang Yu pursued him relentlessly. The Han army who were chased to the bank of Sui River had no choice but to jump into the river.If you don't jump in, you will still be pushed down or kicked down by Xiang Yu's army one after another.

It is said that hundreds of thousands of Han troops fell into the Sui River and died, and the river was blocked. Liu Bangzhi's main force was also heavily surrounded by Xiang Yu. ——My life is over! Just when Liu Bang was about to accept his fate, a hurricane suddenly blew from the northwest.In an instant, trees were broken, houses collapsed, and sand and gravel were raised.Due to the thick sand and dust filling the area, although it was broad daylight, the surroundings suddenly became dark.The main force of the Chu army led by Xiang Yu was in the southeast direction, so they were hit by the gust of wind head-on, and the generals scattered in panic.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Liu Bang was able to lead dozens of cavalry to break through the siege and flee.He wants to flee to his hometown Pei.Under this circumstance, he knew that Pei was not a place to live for a long time, but at least he had to take his family out. Pei County was also in chaos. ——A large army is coming to attack! ——It was the Chu army led by Xiang Yu! Since this is the birthplace of Liu Bang, king of the Han Dynasty, if the Han army came, they would sincerely welcome them.If it was the Chu army opposing the Han, the situation would be different.Xiang Yu's army was famously brutal, so he had to run for his life.Especially Liu Bang's family needs to hide immediately.

It wasn't just Xiang Yu's Chu army who rushed towards Chao Pei.The first to arrive was Liu Bang, who came in desperation, followed by the Chu army who was chasing after him.There are only dozens of horsemen who flee, and tens of thousands of troops are pursued.Under such circumstances, it is no wonder that the residents could not see the Han army at all. If the Liu Bang family knew that the King of Han was coming, they might have waited at home, but they only heard the rumor that "the Chu army is attacking". "It's easy to be found when you gather together, everyone hurry up and escape!"

When Liu Bang was not at home, Shen Shiqi, who was in charge of managing everything, ordered the members of the Liu family to do so. Therefore, when Liu Bang came, all his family members disappeared.Since Xiang Yu's army followed closely behind, Liu Bang had no time to look for it. In the chaotic Pei County, Liu Bang met his son Xiaohui and daughter Lu Yuan, and brought them out. This is the greatest fortune in misfortune. In addition to the main room, Liu Bang also had several concubines. There were eight sons alone. Xiaohui and Lu Yuan were born to the main room, the Lu family.The Lu family only gave birth to these two children.

Liu Bang, with his two children, fled to the west.The pursuers were getting closer.The horse on which he was riding was exhausted from running so hard.The excessive load of the carriage is also the reason why it cannot be fast. "It's all because of you! So the carriage is overweight, so of course it can't run fast!" When he came to a place called Xiayi, Liu Bang kicked his two children off the carriage after saying this. Xia Houying, who was accompanying him, was taken aback, and quickly jumped off the carriage while picking up the two children. "Such a father is too cruel!"

Liu Bang kicked off his child three times in a row, but was rescued by Xia Houying each time. "This is a matter of life and death, how can you still take care of the child! Why did you go against my will and save the child to increase the weight of the carriage!" Liu Bang shouted angrily, putting one hand on the hilt of his sword. "Although it is a matter of life and death, is it right for a father to act like this!" Xia Houying said confidently. Running desperately, Liu Bang finally got rid of the pursuers. After Liu Bang sent the two children to Fengcheng, which was safe and sound, he continued to walk west.

Kicking his own child off the carriage was actually done by Liu Bang for others to see. Some of Liu Bang's personal staff were sitting in the carriage.What he did was nothing more than to show that he valued the retainers who lived and died together more than his own family.This practical action moved the retainers more strongly than any eloquence. The child who was kicked down will definitely be rescued by Xia Houying, who is agile in his hands and feet-this point has long been within Liu Bang's calculations. Xia Houying, who was later named Marquis of Ruyin, used to serve as a stable official in Peixian County, and was engaged in the work of a post station (post station) driver.Liu Bang's position at that time was the head of the post station, and he got along with Xia Houying day and night.Therefore, the friendship between Xia Houying and Liu Bang's family is extraordinary.For him who is proficient in driving skills, rescuing people who fell from the carriage is nothing at all.

This record in "Historical Records" describes Liu Bang as an extremely ruthless father.In fact, Liu Bang loved his son so much that he entrusted Shen Shiqi, a reliable figure, to take care of his family in Pei County.Because Shen Shiqi dispersed Liu Bang's family in time, the two children had a chance to be rescued. Shen Shiqi in disguise served Liu Bang's father and Lu's family, but was discovered by the Chu army and captured. The Chu army pursued the defeated Han army and headed west. Xiang Yu was traveling in a luxurious royal car, and only Xiang Yu and his concubine Yu Ji were sitting in the huge carriage.

Not to mention the foot soldiers, even the senior staff on horseback were exhausted.Even so, he would not ask them to ride together in the royal chariot.He who doesn't know what hard work is, naturally won't be considerate of others.If you don't know how to be considerate of others, you just don't have compassion. "That's why I often say that you must win a war. To win, you need great strength. Strength is everything... A person must have the strength to pull mountains." Xiang Yu, who was sitting in the imperial chariot, stroked Yu Ji's cheeks. hands say. After Liu Bang was defeated, the princes who followed him took refuge in Xiang Yu one after another, this was because of "strength".In Xiang Yu's view, the ability to regain Pengcheng was indeed due to the bravery of the generals.But this power actually comes from the anger of being ravaged in his hometown, Xiang Yu did not understand this. It is absolutely impossible for Xiang Yu to do the same thing as Liu Bang to kick his own child off the carriage just to show others.Xiang Yu couldn't even understand the effect of doing so. "Your Majesty is truly great..." Yu Ji looked at Xiang Yu's face with a dazed expression. Xiang Yu hugged her.This is April, so the imperial chariot did not let down the curtain.The marching soldiers could clearly see Xiang Yu embracing Concubine Yu in the imperial chariot. "Everyone is watching..." Yu Ji struggled in Xiang Yu's arms and said. "Let them see what's the matter!" Xiang Yu hugged Yu Ji even tighter.You can hug your own woman if you want, so why not worry about it!If you want to learn from me, you have to become a bully like me!However, it takes strength to do this.Do you have this ability! From the staff down to the soldiers, all abandoned their wives and children to join the army.When they saw Xiang Yu embracing his lover without any scruples, they couldn't help but think of their wife who stayed in their hometown. At this time, Liu Bang met Zhou Luhou's army near Xiayi.Zhou Luhou is the elder brother of Liu Bang's royal family Lu.With his own troops as the backbone, Liu Bang recruited soldiers who had been defeated and hid in various places one by one. He had already reached the size of an army, and entered Xingyang City with this posture. Now, with Xiang Yujun chasing him, he had no choice but to escape back to Guanzhong.If you want to stay in Guanzhong and fight for world hegemony, you have to hold Xiang Yu's army somewhere and use this time to regroup.In order to achieve this goal, Liu Bang incited Yingbu, the king of Jiujiang, who was the most vulnerable among the princes, to rebel. Xiang Yu issued a mobilization order to the princes during the alignment, but Ying Bu sent only a few thousand soldiers as mentioned above.Xiang Yu had a grudge against Ying Bu, so he repeatedly sent people to question him severely and asked him to explain. "Could it be that King Xiang intends to attack me?" Ying Bu was worried about this day and night. Ying Bu, who has insight into Xiang Yu's character, is shaken in his attitude.And Liu Bang took advantage of this. When he received information of Ying Bu's rebellion, Xiang Yu sent troops to attack Xiang Sheng and Long Qie as generals.As a result, the tattooed cloth was broken, and he fled to the Han Dynasty by the way.Liu Bang thus achieved his goal of holding Xiang Yu in one place for several months. Liu Bang took advantage of this time to escape into Xingyang City. On the one hand, he let the soldiers recharge their energy and energy, and on the other hand, he built a defensive road to the Yellow River, in an attempt to obtain food from Ao Cang. Ao Cang is Qin Shihuang's grain warehouse base in Ao Mountain, northwest of Xingyang.As long as this place is secured, there is no need to worry about food issues. Liu Bang took this as a base, sent Han Xin and Zhang Er to send troops to pacify Zhao in the north, and beheaded Zhao Wangxie and Chen Yu.In other words, Chen Yu was killed by his former best friend Zhang Er. Liu Bang made Zhang Er the king of Zhao. Zhang Er died two years later and was succeeded by his son Zhang Ao as King Zhao.Zhang Ao later became Liu Bang's son-in-law.In other words, Princess Lu Yuan, who was kicked off the carriage by her father Liu Bang in Xiayi, became Zhang Ao's wife. Liu Bang's Northern Expedition finally succeeded, and Xiang Yu, who was running around, launched an attack on Xingyang, where Liu Bang was located. Xiang Yu launched a focused attack on the supply route connecting Xingyang and Aocang. Once the supply line was interrupted, Xingyang would lose its source of food. Soon, Xiang Yu stopped attacking Liu Bang's supply line and surrounded Xingyang City instead. Liu Bang fled here in May of the second year of the Han Dynasty, and Xiang Yu's siege began in April of the third year. Of course, an army with a problematic food source cannot fight for a long time. Liu Bang was troubled by this. "I don't want the world, and I will be satisfied if I can keep Guanzhong... Let's make peace with him on the condition that the west of Xingyang is returned to Han and the east is returned to Chu?" Liu Bang discussed with his staff. "It's not feasible to divide the world by half," Zhang Liang said. "why?" "As long as there is Fan Zeng in Xiang Yu's camp, they will never accept this condition. It's okay if the Lord wants to try, but it's best to find a way to get Fan Zeng out of Xiang Yu's camp." Liu Bang still sent an envoy to Xiang Yu to make a proposal of "two-point plan", but it was rejected. "The Han Dynasty is on the verge of collapse. If you don't attack and destroy it in one go at this time, you will regret it in the future." Xiang Yu obeyed Fan Zeng's words and stepped up his siege. In this era, the legacy of the Warring States Period still exists, and envoys or lobbyists frequently travel between the opposing camps of the two armies. In the city of Xingyang, once they saw the envoy sent by Xiang Yu, they would first put out sumptuous delicacies, and then pretended to say, "I'm sorry, we thought you were sent by Yafu (Fan Zeng), but you are just Xiang Yu's envoy!" Retire delicacies and replace them with coarse vegetables.These advanced psychological tactics appear again and again. After receiving the emissary's report, Xiang Yu suspected that Fan Zeng had colluded with Liu Bang, so he gradually reduced his power. Fan Zeng was very depressed.If Liu Bang had been killed at the Hongmen Banquet at that time, Pengcheng would not have been robbed later, and he would not have had to work so hard to surround Xingyang.But Xiang Yu not only didn't reflect on it, but recently looked at him with suspicion. Due to his age, Fan Zeng became quite stubborn.When he is unhappy, he will show it unabashedly.Xiang Yu was naturally resentful about this.Get rid of this old man as long as you find an excuse-Xiang Yu began to have this idea. ——Because Yafu is old, I can't bear to let you take on this hard job again. Every time Xiang Yu reduced Fan Zeng's power, he used this excuse; and although Fan Zeng was old, he was still sensitive, and he knew that Xiang Yu had doubts about him. One day, Fan Zeng said to Xiang Yu: "The situation in the world is roughly determined. The next thing, the king can figure it out! I am willing to retire from the scene and spend the rest of my life as a man without an official." "Okay!" Xiang Yu agreed on the spot. This point makes the old man even more angry, and anger is of course not good for the body.The Chinese have always believed that anger can lead to malignant tumors. On the way back to Pengcheng in Xingyang, Fan Zeng died of a malignant tumor called gangrene on his back.