Chapter 27 Chapter 27 Welcome to the decisive battle

The battle for hegemony between Chu and Han has not been won or lost. Before Xiang Yu went to the east to attack Pengyue, Chu and Han confronted each other in Guangwu Mountain (Heyin County, Henan Province). At that time, there was a thousand-ren deep valley between the two armies, so direct combat was impossible.But the distance between the two parties is so close that they can even see each other's face and hear each other's voice.At this time, Xiang Yu shouted to Liu Bang across the Valley of Guangwu: "The world has been in chaos for many years. The young people have been conscripted into military service, and the old and weak have also been conscripted to work in water and land transportation. The people are exhausted. All this is due to the two of us. In order not to plunge the people of the world into dire straits, why don't you and I fight alone and fight it out, what do you think?"

Regarding this, Liu Bang sneered and said: "Wars must be fought with brains, and I am not an animal, so why bother fighting with you!" This anecdote fully shows that the two men have completely different personalities.It is very natural for the commanders-in-chief of both sides to fight alone to determine the outcome of the two armies-such a suggestion was put forward by Xiang Yu.What is worth noting here is that Xiang Yu, who has never cared about the suffering of the people, actually spoke words of sympathy for the people.Could it be that Xiang Yu felt compassion for the common people suffering from the war at this time?

Once, Xiang Yu, who asked Cao Jiu to guard the Chengcheng City while advancing eastward by himself, had originally issued an order to kill the people of Waihuang City who had resisted for many days and finally surrendered, but because of the persuasion of a thirteen-year-old boy And take it back into life. This may be due to long-term fatigue, or it may be due to the fact that he has become more generous to others since falling in love with Yu Ji. Although Xiang Yu's army had a large number of soldiers, they were exhausted from running around, and at the same time, there was not much rations left.In comparison, although Liu Bang is slightly inferior in military strength, the soldiers are full of energy due to sufficient rest and food, and the military food is also quite rich.

Therefore, Liu Bang's Han army had the upper hand over Zhu Xiang Yu's Chu army.For this, Xiang Yu also had to admit. Liu Bang, who had the upper hand, had to take advantage of this opportunity for one thing-to ask Xiang Yu to return his parents and wife who had been captured. For this purpose, a peace treaty must be concluded.Liu Bang then sent a subordinate named Hou Gong as an envoy to conduct peace talks. In the end, he decided to use the Henan divide as the boundary, and negotiated that the west of the river should belong to Han, and the east should belong to Chu. It was put into practice when it was established.

Xiang Yu breathed a sigh of relief, unarmed, and set off back to the east.Liu Bang is also preparing to set off to the west. "Why do you want to go back to the West?" Zhang Liang asked at this moment. "Does this still need to be said? Go back and let the soldiers rest for a period of time, so as to prepare for the confrontation with Chu in the future!" Liu Bang replied. "No! We must launch a pursuit against Xiang Yu!" Zhang Liang said in a strong tone that was rarely seen on weekdays. "But we don't have many soldiers!" "After meeting with Han Xin and Peng Yue's troops, our number of soldiers will surpass that of Chu. If we don't take advantage of this time to attack Chu, we will undoubtedly go back to the mountain. Let Xiang Yu go back to the east now. The next time he appears, he may not be We can handle it."

"why?" "Once the wealth owned by Xu Fu in Langya is discovered, Xiang Yu will receive a million reinforcements. Due to the chaos in the world this time, Xu Fu can no longer hide the fact that he has a huge wealth. If this wealth is plundered by Xiang Yu, even if we take the entire Even Guanzhong's wealth can't match it!" Zhang Liang said so forcefully. "Really? Then let's march east!" Liu Bang immediately decided to pursue Xiang Yu.He sent urgent envoys to Han Xin and Peng Yue, agreeing to meet at a place called Guling and then attack Chu. Liu Bang marched to Guling, but waited left and right, but did not see the troops of Han Xin and Peng Yue.

Although exhausted, the Chu army with rich combat experience took advantage of its superiority in soldiers and defeated the chasing Han army.The Han army had no choice but to flee into Guling City, dig deep trenches, and stand ready. "Han Xin and Peng Yue agreed to send troops, but they didn't come. Why?" Liu Bang asked Zhang Liang. "The Lord should understand this reason." Zhang Liang replied. "Oh..." Liu Bang was speechless.It turned out that when they were asked to send troops, Liu Bang was vague and did not agree on the remuneration. ——When I win, I will definitely not treat you badly.You believe me!

He just told them so. I should make a clear promise to them... Liu Bang understands this very well.If he was in Han Xin's or Peng Yue's position, in order to send tens of thousands or even tens of thousands of troops, unless there is a specific commitment, hesitation is inevitable. "How much land should I promise to give them?" Liu Bang asked. "You should be more generous. Would a person who wants to be an emperor care about this piece of land?" Zhang Liang replied. "Okay, then give them all! The land from the east of Chen (Henan Province) to the seaside is given to Han Xin, and the land from Suiyang to the north of Gucheng is given to Peng Yue."

Liu Bang sent an envoy to carry the oath engraved on the bamboo slips, which is extremely solemn this time. All the heroes are trying to win the world, but in this final stage, only Liu Bang and Xiang Yu are left.The heroes who were screened out from the battle for supremacy now adopt a wait-and-see attitude of "which side is more beneficial" to decide whether to advance or retreat.Rushing to follow the loser will of course result in a big loss. Up to now, no one can judge which of Chu and Han will belong to the world. "This decision is extremely wise! In this way, the world will definitely return to Han." Before the envoy returned, Zhang Liang had already asserted so.

Liu Bang knew very well the worth of the princes.Chen Yidong's huge territory from the east to the sea should be bigger than Han Xin himself hoped.The part promised to Peng Yue is also land that exceeds his worth. "Really?" Liu Bang smiled knowingly. "That's right! The original five-to-five situation has now become six to four. In this way, we can sit back and relax." Zhang Liang replied. "Six to four is not perfect, is it?" "No, if we can maintain a ratio of 6 to 4, the situation in the world has been settled." Zhang Liang said with confidence.

"I agree with that..." In fact, Liu Bang is also very clear. Once Han Xin and Peng Yue surrendered to the Han, the heroes who ruled all over the country will definitely have the impression that "the situation in the Han seems to be improving". After the Han conquered the world, of course, when it comes to rewards for meritorious deeds, it would be more beneficial for those who took refuge earlier.Therefore, everyone should be scrambling to come and seek refuge.It is not impossible for those who have already invested in Chu to see the wind and turn the rudder. When the situation of five to five becomes six to four, the side with six points is two points stronger than the opponent in terms of strength, which is the decisive gap.Liu Bang understood this very well, but he was not sure that Han Xin and Peng Yue would definitely come over.Therefore, he guessed that there must be some basis for Zhang Liang's assertion. "Did you use a trick?" Liu Bang asked. "The envoy sent by Chu to King Qi (Han Xin) happened to be caught by me..." Zhang Liang replied with a smile. Han Xin is not the only one who intends to win over Han Xin's army. Of course, Chu Fang also had contact with Han Xin.At this moment, Han Xin is weighing the situation of Chu and Han to decide where to go. "What kind of conditions did Xiang Yu propose?" Liu Bang asked, leaning forward slightly. "Fortunately, we got the upper hand. What Xiang Yu reminded was 'never treat you badly'. This is exactly the same as what we reminded earlier." Zhang Liang replied. "Did you let the messenger go?" "Let go is let go, but I exchanged Xiang Yu's letter." "What kind of letter should I replace it with?" "Han Xin tried to test King Xiang before, and this time Xiang Yu asked the messenger to send a letter back. I rewritten this letter into an arrogant tone within the scope of not arousing suspicion. In this way, Han Xin will definitely lean on us. "Zhang Liang said happily. Han Xin is a famous figure who "has suffered humiliation under the crotch". Born in Huaiyin (Jiangsu Province), he was idle when he was young, and often lived a life of depending on others. When he was a diner at the pavilion chief's house in Nanchang, he lived there for several months, which caused great displeasure to the pavilion chief's wife.One morning, the pavilion chief and his wife ate breakfast alone in their room instead of preparing a meal for Han Xin.Knowing that he was no longer welcome, Han Xin left that day.One day during this period of debauchery, a local young man who made a living as a butcher said to Han Xin in a provocative manner: "Hey! You are quite big, and you often wear a sword. I think you are actually just a coward! If you really have the guts, draw your sword and stab me...I told you to draw your sword and stab me, do you hear me!" Han Xin remained silent. "Could it be that you are dumb, can't you hear what I said! Since you are a coward, you can crawl under my crotch!" The other party deliberately entangled. Han Xin stared at the other person's face. After a while, he got down on the spot and got under the young man's crotch. This incident spread throughout Huaiyin Street. When Xiang Liang responded to the rebellion of Chen Sheng and Wu Guangzhi, when he led his troops through the vicinity of Huaiyin, Han Xin once joined the army, but he was not particularly valued, and was only assigned to a corporal level position.After Xiang Liang was killed in battle and Xiang Yu took over as the leader of Chu, Han Xin was promoted to general.At this time, in order to get ahead, he had put forward a lot of suggestions.But it is impossible for a person like Xiang Yu to adopt the advice of the subordinate generals. After the fall of Qin, Han Xin knew that he would never have a chance to succeed under Xiang Yu's command, so he turned to Liu Bang's camp, which was sealed off from Shu.In fact, it was not being poached, but finding a way to join with great difficulty. Han Xin has a kind of charm, but this charm is not easy to be noticed.When he was an official in the reception position, he was sentenced to be beheaded for the crime of sitting on someone. When he was about to be beheaded, he sighed and said to himself: "It seems that the king of Han did not intend to win the world. Otherwise, he would not be able to To execute such a strong man..." Xia Houying, who heard this sentence, found that Han Xin's appearance was extraordinary, so he ordered the execution to be suspended. Because Han Xin was almost beheaded, it was the first time he met someone who discovered his charm.Later, he was highly valued by Xiao He and promoted from colonel to general. In the fourth year of the Han Dynasty, Han Xin, who sent troops to Yan in the north and Qi in the east, established himself as the king of Qi.Liu Bang was surrounded in Xingyang at that time, so although he expressed dissatisfaction with Han Xin's self-reliance, he had to admit it. Han Xin is now a general in charge of his own affairs.However, it is not yet the leader of a large group fighting for world hegemony.Liu Bang and Xiang Yu are left as contenders for hegemony, and Han Xin can only choose one of them. Neutrality is not allowed.Regardless of whether it is Liu Bang or Xiang Yu, once the opponent is defeated, the next thing to do is to wipe out the miscellaneous troops who have never followed him.In terms of size, the Han Xin Legion is at best a relatively large local legion and should be included in the crusade. Before the outcome of the Chu-Han contest is announced, it is necessary to have a clear attitude on which side to take refuge in.For this reason, Han Xin considered again and again, and at the same time did not forget to collect information from all aspects, and sent secret envoys to spy. Wu She, Kuai Tong and other lobbyists came to advocate "a third of the world's plan". When the world was divided into two, the battle between Chu and Han was unfolding, and Han Xin had no room to wave his hand.If it is divided into three, Han Xin will have the opportunity to leap onto the stage as the third force.When thinking of this, Han Xin was a little eager to try. "However, this is unlikely..." Han Xin immediately denied this possibility.Compared with Chu and Han, Han Xin's power is still obviously inferior.Han Xin, who personally led the army, knew this very well. Although he is quite ambitious. What he wants to be is not one-third of the world, but "king of the world".However, there is no such power at present.Therefore, the smarter way should be to closely follow those who may win the world first, and then wait for the opportunity to seize power. Therefore, in addition to the question of strength, whether it is easy to seize power is also one of the key points for judging. As far as friendship is concerned, Han Xin has a relatively deep relationship with Liu Bang, and he once served as a general of the Han Dynasty.Although he also stayed in Xiang Yu's camp, he never had a chance to be promoted there. It is true that Xiang Yu has eyes but does not know Mount Tai.However, it may be easier to seize power from such a person—while Han Xin was making many judgments, he received a report from an envoy sent by Xiang Yu.