Chapter 15 Chapter fifteen

Zhang Er and Zhao Wangxie fled into Julu City and were surrounded by Qin General Wang Li.Chen Yu collected tens of thousands of Changshan's remnant troops in the north and stationed in the north of Julu City.Zhang Han's army was stationed in Jiyuan, south of Julu City.Zhang Han built a tunnel to connect with the Yellow River, and transported military supplies to Wang Li.Wang Li's troops had plenty of food and food, and rushed to attack the giant deer.The food in Julu City was exhausted, and the army was weak. Zhang Er sent people to call Chen Yu many times to rescue him. Because there were no rescuers, Zhang Er was furious and resented Chen Yu. He sent someone to reprimand Chen Yu, saying: "At the beginning, I was a life-and-death friendship with you, but now King Zhao and I are about to die overnight, and you have tens of thousands of troops. If you refuse to rescue each other, where is the friendship of life and death? If you want to keep your promise, why don't you fight to the death with the Qin army? Besides, there is still a tenth or two hope of winning."

Chen Yu said: "I estimate that even if we march forward, not only will we not be able to save Zhao, but the whole army will be wiped out in vain. Besides, I don't want to die together because there are still bigger things waiting for me to do. I want to fight for Zhao. Mr. Wang and Mr. Zhang took revenge on the State of Qin. Now they must die together, like giving meat to a hungry tiger. What good is there? I don’t care about death, it’s just that death is useless, but I will definitely do what Zhang Er said. " So he sent 5,000 troops to try to attack the Qin army, and the whole army was wiped out when they reached the front line.

In this way, Zhao Guo sent envoys to Pengcheng Palace to ask Chuhuai King for help.Song Yidao: "Now, the state of Zhao is in critical condition. This is a great opportunity to divide Xiang Yu's strength. The strategy we discussed can be implemented." King Huai said, "There is no such candidate." Song Yi said: "Among all the people who can lead troops, who do you think is the most useless and useless?" King Huai said, "There is indeed one." Song Yi said, "Liu Bang." King Huai said, "But will Xiang Yu agree?" Song Yidao: "It depends on whether Liu Bang is smart."

In the next day, King Huai of Chu was discussing matters with everyone in the main hall.He said: "King Zhao sent an emergency call for help, saying that the main force of the Qin army stormed the Zhao army's camp in Hebei. Song Yi said: "I think that the morale of the Qin army is at its peak, so we should avoid its sharp edge, and wait for the other countries to send troops, and then act accordingly." Xiang Yu said: "Your Majesty, I, Chu State, is the leader of all the countries. The princes should look at me. Why do you want to take action? No matter what the princes are, I will bear the brunt of it. I will immediately send troops to rescue Zhao Guo. If I send troops, who dare not come out?!"

Fan Zeng said: "General Lu Gongyu's words are very true. Before General Xiang Liang was alive, our Chu army fought for the first place everywhere. The prestige of Chu State was achieved, not waited for. The dignified Chu State must always be the leader among the princes. In other words, is it my Chu people's style to wait and see and delay? Please make an order immediately, and we will order the princes to help Zhao destroy Qin!" King Huai of Chu said: "The situation in the State of Zhao is critical. How can I sit idly by? Spread the will of the widow, gather all the troops, mobilize food and grass, and go north within three days."

Fan Zeng asked: "The enemy is now, dare to ask the king who is the coach of the north?" King Huai of Chu asked, "Who do you think can be used?" Fan Zeng said: "Our Jiangdong soldiers are used to fighting. General Xiang Liang relied most on our army during his lifetime. After General Lu Gongyu succeeded General Xiang Liang, he was deeply loved by the soldiers. General Yu has the courage to defeat the enemy and the spirit of defeating the enemy. , I think that General Yu is worthy of this job." King Huai of Chu was silent.The elders talked a lot.Xiang Yu looked at Liu Bang, and Liu Bang lowered his head, pretending not to see it.Lu Qing came out of the squad and said: "Your Majesty, the veterans think that Duke Lu is brave, but if you want the princes to be under my control, you should choose someone with high morals and respect to be the commander of the north."

Fan Zeng sneered and said, "Hmph, respected? Going north to save Zhao is not a sacrifice or hunting. Wouldn't Zhang Han be merciful if he saw someone with high morals?" Song Yi said: "Song Yi thought that Master Ling Yin's words were not unreasonable. His virtue and prestige are for the princes to see. With the strength of our Chu army alone, we will never be able to defeat Zhang Han. Only by using vertical and horizontal alliances and joining forces with the princes can we win There is a chance of winning. Therefore, the coach of Beishang should have prestige among the princes."

Lu Qing said: "General Song Yi has close contacts with other countries. He is a highly respected veteran. He is good at vertical and horizontal skills, so he can be the commander in chief." Song Yi watched everyone's reaction, and when he saw Liu Bang, Liu Bang bowed his head.Liu Bang peeked at Fan Zeng.Fan Zeng didn't look at him, but said, "There is nothing to talk about with Tyranny, only to fight to the death!" King Huai of Chu said: "Then, let it be like this, Song Yi listens to the order." Song Yi said: "The minister is here." King Huai of Chu said: "The widow made you a general, commanding the three armies, and made you the champion of Qingzi, and negotiated with the princes. Xiang Yu listened to the order."

Xiang Yu said: "The minister is here." King Huai of Chu said: "I will appoint you as the second general, and Fan Zeng as the last general, to assist the general in leading the army northward." Xiang Yu was a little caught off guard, but seeing the other two people come out to kneel and accept the order, he had no choice but to kneel and accept the order. King Huai of Chu said again: "Gu Wang thinks that it is difficult to form a corner by only going to the north road. Your highness, general, who would like to lead another division to attack Henan and form a situation of encirclement, in order to join forces to destroy Qin?" Looking down, he looked at Liu Bang.

Xiang Yu turned his head abruptly, his eyes swept towards His Highness like lightning, a little angrily.All the generals dare not answer even if they want to.The oil from the candles in the big tent dripped, dripping... like a silent heartbeat.King Huai opened his mouth to speak but there was no sound, which means, who can share the worries of the lonely king. Liu Bang's hand grasped the hilt of the sword on his waist, timing!The time has come to divide troops, decentralize power, and act independently.He suddenly said loudly: "The general is willing to go. My lord, although the general came from Luzuo, he was born in Chu, and he never dared to forget his desire to destroy Qin. Hearing General Xiang's words just now, his heart was already turbulent. Although the general is no match for General Xiang in bravery, and he is no match for General Fan in strategy, I hope to spread his blood on the battlefield...to take advantage of the might of the army in Hebei to respond to the guerrilla attack in Henan and do our best."

King Huai of Chu said: "Pei Gong is willing to fight, it is the most appropriate." Liu Bang said: "My lord, the last general to send troops out of Henan has ambitions, but he is just afraid that he will not be able to catch him." All the generals discussed: "If there are no soldiers, why send troops?" King Huai of Chu said: "The widow will increase your troops to make up 20,000 troops." Liu Bang said: "Thank you, my lord! Liu Bang has something else to say, my lord, today the north and south are attacking Xianyang. The soldiers in Hebei include General Song, General Xiang, and General Fan. They have experienced many battles and won many battles. They must be the first to drive As for entering Tongguan, Liu Bang thought that today, it is not as good as the monarch and his ministers discussing in person, the rewards and punishments for entering the pass first." King Huai of Chu thought for a while and said, "Okay... the widow issued an order, and the one who enters Dingguan first will be the king!" Upon hearing this, Liu Bang, Xiao He, Fan Kui and all the generals knelt down.Xiang Yu and the others knelt down after thinking about it... Song Yi sat on the west side of King Huai's palace, and the wine and meat were placed on the table intact.Song Yi lowered his hands and put them on his lap politely, as if he was wandering. King Huai had a concubine in his arms and was eating and drinking. He asked drunkenly, "What time is it?" The eunuch said: "Going back to the king, it's already time." King Huai said, "You all step back." As a result, all the servants and eunuchs retired.King Huai raised his head, his drunkenness disappeared instantly, and he waved to Song Yi.Song Yi got up, came to King Huai, and sat down respectfully. King Huai asked, "Where are the people from Marquis Gang Wu?" Song Yidao: "I have secretly led the troops out of the city and headed west. I ordered him to hide his flag, disguise himself as a refugee army, set up camp during the day, and travel in the dark. He must not meet other troops." King Huai asked, "Is there any news from Liu Bang?" Song Yi said: "He has taken in tens of thousands of people you sent, and he is probably drunk with joy at this moment, and is sleeping soundly with his woman in his arms." King Huai said: "It's not that I was treacherous, but I did it out of necessity. I hope that one day Liu Bang will know the truth, so don't hold grudges against me." Song Yi said: "Your Majesty, Liu Bang is a smart man, and he is a guy with self-knowledge. He should understand what role he is playing. Giving him soldiers and letting him leave Xiang Yu is already a great kindness to him. He should be content .” King Huai nodded and said, "In this way, I will feel at ease. Remember, after you go out to fight, you must not only control Xiang Yu, but also pay close attention to the movements of Marquis Gang Wu. Only when you get Guanzhong can you be free from Xiang Yu's lustful power." In Xiang Yu's barracks, Zhong Limei was reporting: "We need doctors to treat diseases, a large number of doctors, and a large amount of herbs. In addition, we have to collect hay for horses dozens of miles away. There is no grass near here. Bare. Also, we don’t have many arrowheads. Some crossbow arrows can only be fought by soldiers sharpening the front of the bamboo. This kind of arrows can’t even penetrate cloth armor..." Xiang Yu said impatiently: "Okay, okay, Yafu will decide about the supplies. Tomorrow morning, the whole army will set off after breakfast." Han Xin interjected, "It might as well delay for a few days... Let Song Yi go first." Xiang Yu asked, "Who is talking?" Han Xin came to salute. Xiang Yu said: "It's you again! The halberd master! Ah, I remembered, Zhong Limei recommended you here. Zhongli Mei, after we have finished discussing, you take some money and reward him. I heard you told him He is indeed a guy with a bad idea about passing through the Qin army camp. But this kid is lucky, he should be rewarded." Taking advantage of this opportunity, Han Xin quickly took out the letter from his sleeve, walked up to Xiang Yu and Fan Zeng and said, "Here is a small study of Zhang Han's customary tactics and the tactics used to deal with the Qin army. Please have a look at it, General. It only takes a moment to finish the battle." After reading it, the small ones are specially written to be as simple and easy to understand as possible..." Xiang Yu shouted: "Zhongli Mo! Take this lunatic away! If he is so unruly, he will be sent to death squads!" Han Xin hurriedly said: "General, please take a look at what I wrote..." Zhongli Mo pulled him and said, "Stop talking too much!" Then he pushed Han Xin away. Seeing Han Xin's funny look, Yu Ji laughed beside her.Xiang Yu saw that her mood suddenly improved, and said: "You know what? All the people, every single one of them, talked about annoying problems in front of me all day long. Only You Yuji, you can let me sit down quietly. It's really good. Tomorrow, you can go out with me." Yu Ji was very pleasantly surprised. After the army set off, several troops had their own concerns.One day in Fan Zeng's tent, Ji Bu went to inquire about the news and came back to report: "General, it's the same as yesterday. Lord Qingzi Champion said: "There is a plan, but it's in my chest. Leave it to me. I'll ask him again." , he ignored it.” Fan Zeng nodded and said, "It's been ten days, and it's still the same." Ji Bu said: "Song Yi is like a businessman who sells himself and brags. He always talks about his love for Chu, and his loyalty to King Huai with passion, but it always seems to be to cover up his selfishness. He seems to be doing it for his son. Song Xiang sent envoys to Qi continuously, and envoys from Qi also came frequently. And Anyang is the closest to Qi." Fan Zeng said: "This is really a big liar! Remember, you can't tell General Yu the truth. His mind is full of Guanzhong struggles and his heart is very irritable. Once you tell him, you don't know what will happen to Song Yi. If it is not done well, it will cause the collapse of the Chu army." At this time, Xiang Yu was patrolling the camp.The soldiers were hungry and cold, and their morale was low. Yu Ziqi said: "The small town of Anyang has neither Qin's granary nor any villages nearby. Soldiers went out in groups to find food and searched all the villages, but soon there were no more. The common people were the first to go hungry, and the soldiers struggled to find food. What's worse, the soldiers began to worry about keeping warm as it got colder every day. Rarely, the soldiers had to cut down what little trees they had to make fire. You see..." Xiang Yu looked into the distance, only the bare trunk remained of the lonely tree, he said: "The whole army has been stranded here for forty-six days. My brothers are here to fight, not here to suffer. They They're all tigers, not hungry dogs! Where's that guy?" Yu Ziqi said: "He has been with the envoys of the State of Qi for the past few days, and he should be drinking in the camp of the Chinese army at this moment." Xiang Yu couldn't bear it anymore, and walked towards Song Yi's camp. When he arrived at Song Yi's Chinese army camp, he kicked open the door and broke in.Xiang Yu reprimanded Song Yi loudly in front of those retainers and generals: "Do you want to spend the winter in a place like Anyang? Why don't you want to go to the Julu battlefield?" After hearing this sentence, Song Yi's face was full of smiles, and he called out: "Mr. Lu!" Xiang Yu said: "Don't call me Lu Gong. I am a general. Thanks to the great king, I sent Xiang to fight in Julu and break the siege of Zhao. Now, you and I don't fight, but drink and live here. Could it be that your king Won't you blame it? Could it be worthy of the king's trust and respect?" Song Yidao: "Young General Yu, don't be impatient. Do you know the gadfly? Gong Yan should go to Julu to defeat Zhang Han's army as soon as possible, but Zhang Han is like a gadfly. If you only use your hands to hit it, you can't even get under the gadfly. The lice and bedbugs were killed together. Now Zhang Han is attacking Zhao’s Julu City. Even if he wins, the Qin army will be extremely exhausted. I should wait until the Qin army is exhausted to attack. There is a chance of winning, and it is not appropriate to act too hastily at this moment. I, Song Yi, are definitely not as good as the Duke when it comes to fighting on the battlefield, but if you manage the army in this way, the Duke is not as good as me, Song Yi." Xiang Yu was at the end of his reasoning, and because of this, his inner anger gushed out, and he shouted loudly: "The soldiers are all starving!" Song Yi said: "In war, soldiers must endure hardships, and only soldiers who can endure hardships can win battles." Xiang Yu said: "In spite of this, Master Qingzi, the Champion, holds banquets day and night to entertain Qi's envoys. Doesn't he take the suffering of the soldiers at heart?" Song Yi said: "General Yu! Your Majesty entrusted the affairs of the Zongheng Lianzhong to me, not General Yu. The reception of Qi's envoys is for the benefit of Chu State. It is indeed good. Some soldiers may be cold and hungry. And blame others, it all stems from their lack of love for Chu State. General Yu should punish the soldiers properly!" After speaking, he started drinking again and put Xiang Yu aside. In Xiang Yu's army tent, after Ji Bu reported to Xiang Yu, Xiang Yu said: "I have long been tired of hearing the deceitful words of how sincere and patriotic he spewed out, but I still have some scruples and have not publicly shown it. It's just dissatisfaction with him. Now it seems that he is busy with private affairs such as getting his son to go to Qi to be the prime minister!" After speaking, he took a deep breath and walked out of the tent.When he got outside, he raised his neck and glanced to the side, and found that there was a silk script on the wall, on which was written a military order issued by Song Yizhong's military tent. Xiang Yu asked: "What is this?" Yu Ziqi said: "Yesterday you went to the camp of the Central Army to ask Master Qingzi Champion for an explanation, and he posted this military order on the entire army early this morning." Xiang Yu took a closer look and saw that it said: "Fierce as a tiger, ruthless as a sheep, greedy as a wolf, those who are too strong to be enslaved, will be killed." Xiang Yu knew he was talking about himself, but he didn't speak, and went back to his tent silently. It was night when Xiang Yu got on his horse and was about to leave, and Yu Ziqi followed.Xiang Yu said sternly: "Anyone don't follow me!" Xiang Yu's actions were as swift and swift as a short sword. He galloped away from his barracks alone, and rushed into Song Yi's barracks on his horse.He pushed away the guards and rushed into the sleeping tent, pulling aside the curtain.On the bed, Song Yi moved his head, raised his fat upper body, looked at Xiang Yu in a daze and asked, "What, is it Duke Lu?" As soon as Song Yi finished speaking, the knife in Xiang Yu's hand fell heavily on his head.Song Yi's head was chopped off, and the surrounding area was splattered with bright red blood.All the families will rush out and surround Xiang Yu.Xiang Yu looked at them contemptuously.At this time, there was shouting outside.Fan Zeng, Yu Ziqi, and Ji Bu rushed over with their soldiers and surrounded the base camp in Anyang. Fan Zeng came over and shouted: "No one is allowed to act recklessly, or they will be shot to death!" Xiang Yu ordered: "Call all the generals of the army to come here!" After the generals from all walks of life were gathered together, Xiang Yu announced loudly: "Song Yi colluded with Qi and took Chu as his own. The king knew the situation and issued a secret edict to Yu himself, and he was executed accordingly." All the generals bowed down in awe.Xiang Yu also said: "As early as when the army was raised in Jiangnan and Wuzhong to cross the Yangtze River and cross the Huaihe River, how could there be such a deceitful person as Song Yi! They were all desperate men who gathered for the rejuvenation of Chu. My uncle Xinling died for righteousness, We should follow his example to destroy the tyrant Qin, shed blood, and be a generous husband, instead of shrinking and living here and being ridiculed by the Qin people! Please show me the integrity and courage of the Chu people, and follow me, Xiang Yu, to go Rebuild my great Chu's glory!" As he said, he choked up and shed tears. Seeing Xiang Yu weeping, the people present were very moved. They all exposed their right shoulders and swore at Xiang Yu, shouting: "Da Chu!"