Chapter 17 Chapter Seventeen

In Liu Bang's tent, the generals are complaining to Liu Bang. Guan Ying said: "Mr. Zifang is a man of his own opinion. The generals under Pei Gong's account were all talented, and they can be called shining stars. Now, they have worked hard to speculate on Zifang's intentions. I can only act on standby, like limbs that have lost their heads, at a loss." Lu Wan said: "Zifang is a good counselor, but not a good commander. This kind of disadvantage is most obvious in Brother Xiao He. Brother Xiao He has long been famous, and his ability in food and grass supplies and military and political affairs is in Zifang. However, due to the unpredictability of Ovary’s combat, Brother Xiao He was often confused about where to send the food and grass, and ended up falling into non-malicious sabotage. Brother Xiao He contacted me to convey orders, which made Zi Fang exhausted, and Brother Xiao He also exhausted."

Liu Bang didn't answer, but thought about it and said, "Let's take down Baima City first." ... After Baima City was defeated, Liu Bang was wearing armor and was visiting the wounded soldiers one by one. Zhou Bo praised Zhang Liang's unique tactics to Liu Bang and said: "Mr. Zhang Liang invented some special semaphore. He selected capable semaphore soldiers to stand on a high place, surrounded by huge shields. As a general, I only need to look at the semaphore and press Just follow his orders. As for what is going on in Mr. Zhang Liang's strange head, I really don't know."

Fan Kuai sued Zhang Liang: "I climbed up to the east wall and cut off twenty-two heads. He suddenly ordered all of them to go down. What is this? I am a pioneer! Suddenly let me climb down the ladder. This Forget it, the north is so empty, we don’t want to fight. We have to attack the east. I had to take my brothers to climb the wall on the east again. When I went up, they were all enemies! That’s right! Only one head was cut off this time.” Liu Bang said, "Because the coach is there." Fan Kuai said: "That's right. He already knew. But I don't know!" Liu Bangdao: "This kind of tactics has deceived the enemy as well as our own people. Is that what you mean?"

At night, in the tent of Liu Bang's army in Baima City, Zhang Liang took off the handsome sword from his waist, put it in front of Liu Bang with both hands, and wanted to resign as the commander-in-chief. Zhang Liang said: "I'm supposed to be a counselor, so I can't personally command the battle. During these few months, I have struggled." Liu Bang said with a smile: "I thought I would entrust everything to you, and I would be at ease. .But, as a general, is there so much to worry about? I'm just taking a nap right now." Zhang Liangdao: "Under my command, there will be a few victories at the beginning, which will boost morale, but soon there will be other reasons that will slow down the whole army, and maybe the army will collapse without attacking."

Liu Bang said, "Mr. is very frank." Zhang Liangdao: "After the few victories, I hope to return to the ranks of counselors and concentrate on what I love, which is to advise the coach." Liu Bang asked: "Next. What advice does my counselor have?" Zhang Liangdao: "We should go south! Attack Nanyang! According to my strategy, we can take Nanyang quickly, obtain the weapons of Nanyang City and the grains in the vast area around Nanyang County, and fill the stomachs of the soldiers!" Liu Bang said: "I hope we can enter Guanzhong before Xiang Yu."

At the head of Julu City, Zhao Wangxie leaned on the female wall worriedly, looking at the dark Qin army outside the city. Zhang Er said: "Your Majesty has been standing here for two days, please take care of your body." Zhao Wangxie said: "If the city is destroyed, the Zhao country will be gone. What else should I take care of? The scouts I sent out have returned? Xiang Yu's troops are ready to cross the river, right?" Zhang Er said: "Tan Ma reported that Xiang Yu's 40,000 troops have already started crossing the river." Zhao Wangxie said: "Forty thousand? Does he only have such a small army?"

Zhang Er said: "Information says that Xiang Yu divided the army into three groups. The vanguard was led by Yingbu. He threw away his supplies and armor and used them all for assault. His central army has about 30,000 people and is marching in a hurry. More troops was left behind." Zhao Wangxie asked: "What do you think? Speak from your heart." Zhang Erdao: "This way of playing, it's as if Qin Jun had already prepared his pockets, and he came right in the middle of his chest!" Zhao Wangxie asked again: "Is there any movement from the princes outside the city?"

Zhang Er said, "Same as usual." Zhao Wangxie sighed helplessly again. Xiang Yu immediately stood on the mound, looking at the flowing water of the Yellow River. At this time, the river water was like thick juice cut from dried yellow bark. Although the river channel was very narrow, it had a majestic momentum. Fan Zeng said: "The troops led by General Yingbu and General Pu who were sent to the front line of the Yellow River earlier have collected a large number of small boats and are preparing to cross the Yellow River in one fell swoop." Yu Ziqi said: "All the soldiers of Yan, Dai, and Qi are hiding in their shells, and they dare not show their breath. They already know that the Chu army has only 70,000 people. Even if the general comes to the battlefield in person, I don't know if they will be willing to contribute. .”

Xiang Yu thought for a while, and then said: "For Chu people, going to war is strength in itself. You must keep this in mind!" Xiang Yu asked people to plant banners on the mound by the river, and he himself stood on the highest point above the soldiers, saying: "Brothers, don't try to cross this Yellow River alive! Go forward with the determination to die. Let's go! There is a giant deer in front of us. The most powerful army of the Qin army is waiting for us there. Our soldiers are few in number and we don't have enough weapons. But we must go. Tyrant Qin is the common enemy of the people all over the world. It's time. This is our last battle against Daqin, and we will die like men. At this time, those who are afraid can come out instead of going."

No one stood up.Ying Bu shouted: "Follow General Yu, you will never return!" All the Chu soldiers shouted: "Follow General Yu, we will never return!" There was the sound of boat chiseling not far away.Some soldiers shouted: "The ship has sunk!" A ship sank into the water.Xiang Yu said: "This is what I ordered to scuttle all the ships! If you don't go back, you don't need it." Following his words, the ships sank one after another.Xiang Yu went on to say: "It takes three days to go to Julu from here. Everyone will be given three days' worth of rations, including me."

After the quartermaster finished distributing the food, Xiang Yu said to the Yellow River: "Farewell, fathers and folks, farewell, homeland, let our blood flow into a river and drown the evil Tyranny!" Standing on the mound, Xiang Yu lifted up the cooking pot himself, threw it on the ground and smashed it to pieces, and then picked up a hammer to break the pot.The soldiers also rushed to follow Xiang Yu's example.In the process of 70,000 people smashing the pot and throwing the steamer together, a kind of intense emotion was like overwhelming the river, causing great waves in people's hearts.So many people are acting together, producing a common intense sentimental emotion, so they are all of one mind. The earth, the clear sky. The wilderness of Julu is a vast and boundless yellow land, extending to the distant horizon that can be seen by the naked eye, but if you look carefully, you will find that there will be small hills rising up on the ground as you like, or sinking very steeply. It is really a sight to create a series of gullies like cracks in the ground. There are camps of the Qin army on all the small hills.There are thousands of soldiers stationed in each camp, and there are corridors connecting the camps to the camps. It was as if the entire suburban land had become a fortress.What makes people feel funny is that among the Qin fortress groups connected by long corridors, there are some camps built by reinforcements sent by Yan, Dai or Qi.Moreover, they all acted as if they were fighting, each with its own flag waving in the air. Xiang Yu said: "The enemy and we are intertwined, but there is no battle here. Now, the morale of the coalition forces of various countries is extremely low, and the Qin army has an overwhelming advantage in numbers. They probably don't take us seriously at all!" Fan Zeng asked, "Are you attacking today?" Xiang Yu said, "They are lighting up the smoke." Fan Zeng said, "It's breakfast." In the barracks of the Qin army and the armies of various small countries, there was smoke from cooking breakfast. Xiang Yu said: "Order Yingbu to attack the tunnel!" Yingbo followed Xiang Yu's order and led his army straight to the corridor. The corridors built by Zhang Han are generally equipped with tents for protection.But there are also places where there are no camps nearby, only the corridor lying there pitifully like a dead snake.Yingbo aimed at such a place and let the main force kill them. The soldiers and engineers took up tools and completely destroyed the corridor. On the high ground of the Qin army, Su Jiao climbed up to observe the Chu army under the guard of his own soldiers.The scout reported: "Our army has recaptured most of the tunnels that the Chu army invaded, and the battle is still in progress." Su Jiao smiled contemptuously and said, "Even if the Chu army comes, what can they do to me? According to my imagination, the troops sent by Chu and other small countries are of the same kind, and they will definitely dig out their holes and get inside like field mice." It’s not a big deal to go and observe the situation again. I didn’t know until this morning that the Chu soldiers who appeared in this vast wilderness had foolishly exposed the entire army as soon as they arrived, and immediately started to destroy the corridor. On the contrary, I am a little worried for the soldiers of the Chu army." The counselor asked, "Why?" Su Jiao said: "This is the so-called Jing barbarian. It's so pitiful! They don't understand the principle of war at all. Isn't this asking for their own destruction?" In Xiang Yu's big tent, Yu Ziqi came to report: "Yingbo killed the first Qin general. However, the Qin army has a large number of soldiers and strong crossbows, and Yingbo is struggling to support him." Xiang Yu said: "Order Yingbu to continue attacking the tunnel, even if he hits the last person, he will stab the Qin people's ass with pain!" Yu Ziqi led the way out. Xiang Yu walked up to the sand table and pointed it out to Fan Zeng: "Let's call the place where General Bu destroyed the tunnel a gap. These breakpoints are at the southernmost tip of the Qin army's occupied area. There are ravines and ravines in this area. In terms of action, it will bring a lot of inconvenience, and it is not a battlefield where troops can be deployed. However, it is precisely this kind of place that has become Qin's sore spot. In fact, our early offensive also wanted to prick Qin's army with a thin needle That's all, but the pain in his heart will quickly spread to the entire Qin army. Below, the Qin army had to repeatedly send troops to these gaps, and issued orders to the distant camps one after another to go into battle. They followed Arriving at the battlefield in sequence from far to near. On this battlefield, it is difficult for us to form huge pressure all at once due to the need to mobilize troops in the narrow space between ravines. Of course, for General Bu, it was unfortunate. It is a great fortune. General Bu can only encounter small groups of troops in front of him, and will never encounter large groups of troops. However, the Qin army can take turns to go into battle and rest in turn to relieve the fatigue of the soldiers. General Bu can only be like a The small wheels are panting and spinning continuously, and there is no time to stop. However, we can rest assured that General Bu is like an animal, and he will not get down." Fan Zeng said: "Our army has crossed the Yellow River. When all the ministries are assembled, there will be a total of 40,000 people. Although there are only 40,000 people, their morale is high. At this time, the only victory for our army is to attack the Sujiao Army with lightning, so that Zhang Han has no time to support them. , and they can break the siege of the giant deer smoothly. If they miss one blow, when Wang Li and She Jian come to encircle him, no matter how brave the general is, there is no chance of winning." Xiang Yu said, "I can't wait any longer!" Fan Zeng said in surprise, "What?" Xiang Yu said: "You don't have to wait for the whole army to cross the river, gather the troops that have already crossed the river, and attack immediately!" Xiang Yu picked up his big lance, put on his helmet, and walked out, saying as he walked, "Please stick to the main camp and wait for my return." Fan Zeng watched Xiang Yu go out, worried in his heart, and then showed appreciation. By the river, dusk fell, Xiang Yu ordered the army to gather, and the black army stretched endlessly.He himself jumped up the hill by the river, so that all the soldiers could see him. Xiang Yu said loudly: "Brothers! The hope of overthrowing Tyranny lies with us. In front is Su Jiao's troops. This man is known as the ever-victorious general. Today is the time for us to end his ever-victorious. With the swords in your hands Tell them, we are the invincible army! Let's make meritorious deeds!" The generals in charge of delivering the orders kept repeating Xiang Yu's words to the outside world until they spread far and wide to the ears of every soldier.The atmosphere at the scene aroused the high fighting spirit of the Chu army. No one hesitated, and immediately cheered loudly, "Here! Here! Here!" On the side of the Qin army, Su Jiao came to the battlefield in person, observed the opponent, and said to his staff: "Order the Chinese army to continue to press forward until the crossbow arrows of the main Chu army are out of range." After speaking, Su Jiao waved his hand majestically.The Qin Dynasty's black shirt army immediately launched a fierce attack on Yingbu's army. Soon, the sound of beating drums shaking the sky suddenly came from the south. The spy report came: "General, a Chu army rushed straight down from the high slope." Su Jiao asked, "How many people are there?" The scout said: "I don't know, I saw the Chu army all over the mountains and plains crossing the hills and approaching our army." Su Jiao said to himself, "Xiang Yu is here!" The staff asked strangely: "What kind of play is this? Now that the two wings are encircled, even if Xiang Yu has three heads and six arms, he will be chopped into meat paste." At this time, another scout arrived, saying: "The vanguard of the Chu army is now ten miles away from our central army. The Chu army in red shirts and red banners are everywhere. They use the cavalry as the vanguard, and they have dispersed our army and deployed in the plains." the infantry." On the high slope of the Chu army, Fan Zeng looked down from the hill, and saw a ribbon-shaped "red tide" dividing the "black cloud" into pieces. After losing contact with each other, small groups of Chu troops were still fighting. He showed a strong nature and resisted desperately, but he couldn't resist the red-eyed Qin Jun at all. Zhong Limei said: "General Yu's vanguard has been inserted into Su Jiao's heart." Fan Zeng said, "I'm worried about him." Zhong Limei said: "The army that was crossing the river was intercepted by a large group of enemy light cavalry, and has now engaged in fierce battle." Fan Zeng said: "Go to the river immediately and organize an army to cross the river." Xiang Yu's attire is white, with a silver helmet, a white leather military uniform, and a galloping black horse under his crotch, as if a white light is speeding through the Qin army's position on dark clouds. When this silver light group suddenly appeared in front of the eyes, all the Qin soldiers present lost their ability to resist. They couldn't imagine that this was the enemy general. In an instant, they seemed to be frightened by the whirlwind-like momentum, and died. Hiding in Tibet naturally created a gap.This is Qin Bing making way for Xiang Yu, who is galloping like a horse.The soldiers of the Qin Army who gave way to the road all showed a dazed look. The people around Su Jiao were no different from those Qin soldiers.When Su Jiao regained his composure, Xiang Yu had already come to him. Xiang Yu, who was galloping towards him, almost bumped into Su Jiao who was about to mount his horse. Su Jiao was startled, not knowing what was happening in front of him, so he quickly dodged and raised his left arm to resist.With a flash of silver light, Xiang Yu's sword immediately fell on Su Jiao's head, and cut off his helmet, splitting Su Jiao's head in two. Without the leader, the Qin army immediately collapsed. Qin Jun, who was following behind, was in a mess.Xiang Yu was killing and killing, and suddenly saw the surroundings brighten up, and the soldiers of the Qin army were becoming rarer and rarer, and they had completely collapsed. At this moment, Tan Ma came to report: "A huge army is coming from the west." Xiang Yu asked, "Whose banner is it?" Tan Ma said, "Wang Li." Xiang Yu said to himself: "Wang Jian's grandson?" His eyes seemed to burst into flames.