Chapter 40 Chapter Forty

There were cheers in Xingyang City, the Han army and the people lined the road to welcome the King of Han, and the people shouted: "Long live the King of Han!" Liu Bang led Zhang Liang and the generals into the city and was cheered by the people.Zhou Bo raised Xiang Yu's handsome flag with his big dagger.The banner was half burnt and drooped in the wind. Liu Bangzhi said proudly: "Zifang, this battle is unusual! I will definitely record it in bamboo and silk in the future, and I will never forget it!" Fan Kui said: "Your Majesty, Fan Kui doesn't understand. We spent so much effort, we didn't catch Fan Zeng, and we didn't cut off many heads. What are we doing when we come back with a broken flag?"

Zhang Liangdao: "Before this battle, although our army defeated the Chu army in Pengcheng, Xiang Yu was in Qidi and did not participate in the battle. He led 5,000 men back and killed more than 500,000 coalition troops. We have never We have never defeated him! When our soldiers saw Xiang Yu, they were like mice seeing a cat. They broke out in cold sweat before the battle started, and they were terrified. Today is different. We won and defeated Xiang Yu. This is our head Defeat Xiang Yu once!" Liu Bang said: "I have taken the risk of using an empty city plan and going all out to attack, just to let everyone take a look at Xiang Yu's handsome flag and see that Liu Bang is not a coward! The Han army is not a bag! Is Xiang's army invincible? Wrong This myth no longer exists! Xiang Yu, the overlord of Western Chu, is no longer invincible! Look at the armies, look at their faces. Don’t you find the difference? That fear, cowardice and hesitation, from now on no longer exists!"

Only then did the generals understand, and shouted: "Your Majesty is wise! The Han army will surely win!" Liu Bang looked at his army, and the boredom in his heart was finally swept away. The imprisoned Lu Zhi sent a blood book, stating the place where he, the old man and the Cao family were imprisoned. Zhang Liang analyzed: "The Queen's letter has stated their situation, as well as the terrain and guarding situation. I suggest that Send a group of people, led by capable and loyal people, to secretly rescue them." Liu Bang said: "Can this work? What if the rescue is not possible and the lives of the grandpa and the others are killed?"

Zhang Liangdao: "If Xiang Yu wanted to kill him, he would have done it long ago. I thought that the queen and his party would still be alive and that letters could be sent. It must be that Xiang Yu and Fan Zeng disagreed about this matter. So neither killing nor letting go, yes They were kept to blackmail the king, so they were imprisoned in Pengcheng and the news was blocked." That night, in the Pengcheng slave camp, Lu Zhi, Shen Shiqi, Liu Taigong, Xiaoxian, Liu Fei, and Cao's group secretly came to the edge of the dog hole in the earth wall, looked around, and then drilled one by one. past.According to the prior arrangement, they left the camp and headed west along the path by the river, instead of taking the official road.There is a small stream five miles away. After crossing the stream, there is Xia Houying leading people on the other side to meet him.

Liu Fei carried Liu Taigong on his back and walked like flying.Liu Taigong looked around vigilantly, surprised and nervous. Cao's strength was exhausted, and she fell to the ground with a plop. She just stepped on a big pebble and sprained her foot. She struggled to get up, but she couldn't. Everyone stopped. Lu Zhi ordered: "Don't stop! Run quickly." Then he said to Cao Shi: "I will carry you." Cao said desperately, "Leave me here." Without saying a word, Lu Zhi held his breath and carried Cao's family on his back. Cao said: "What's the use of this! I'm just a village woman, and you are the queen!"

Lu Zhi gritted his teeth and said, "You are Liu Fei's mother. The child cannot lose his mother." Lu Zhi struggled to carry Cao Shi on his back.Cao Shi bit her lips tightly, her eyes were moist. On the east bank of the stream, Liu Fei carried Liu Taigong on his back, and his feet were already wading.Everyone crossed the river right away or waited for Lu Zhi and Cao Shi to have a dispute.During the stalemate, Lu Zhi ran out from the grass with Cao on his back.Lu's pheasant was exhausted and finally fell down.Liu Fei carried Cao's family on his back, and Shen Shiqi supported Lu's pheasant, and they all stepped into the stream.

At this time, there was a loud sound of hoofbeats behind him, and there seemed to be hundreds of horses.Yong Chi yelled: "Everyone who is going forward, listen up, take another step forward, and shoot to kill!" In an instant, Yong Chi led the cavalry and chased him up from behind.Several people were held down at once, only Xiaoxian struggled to get up, and tried her best to go to the other side.Cao Shi begged: "Yong Chi, let her go, she is just a servant girl, not a relative of the King of Han." Yong Chi's face was sullen, he bent his bow and set up an arrow, and the arrow feathers fell into shooting stars. Xiaoxian was pierced by the feather arrow and fell into the stream.

Xia Houying, who was lying in ambush on the opposite bank, froze for an instant, like a thunderbolt, Xiaoxian is his woman!Lu Wan held Xia Houying firmly, and several guards dragged Xia Houying away. Lu Wan said in a low voice: "Hold it! Don't expose it, go!" A big hole has been dug, Lu Zhi and others are in the hole, their hands and feet are bound.Two lines of Liu Taigong's tears already flowed down involuntarily. Liu Taigong said: "We will never escape again, let us out." Yong Chi said: "Is your son Liu Bang a son of a bitch?" Liu Taigong said: "I..."

Yong Chi said: "Say, I'll let you go." Lu Zhi said: "Grandpa, you are the father of the King of Han, don't you have such dignity?" Liu Taigong said: "But he is going to bury us. If we go into the soil, even Zhou Gong's father will not be blessed." Cao said: "Bah! If you die, you will die! Instigate, you are so shameful!" Lu Zhi said: "Since I met you, this sentence is the most pleasant." Cao said: "I really feel a little bit sad to die with you!" Cao Shi and Lu Zhi smiled at each other. The soil has reached everyone's chest.Lu Zhi closed his eyes and didn't even look at Yong's teeth.The soil has reached everyone's jaws.

The scouts came to report: "Stop, General! General Longqie has an order to escort the youngest of Han Wang's family back immediately." Yong Chi asked: "Did General Longqie ever say that the dead are alive?" The scout said: "Not yet." Yong Chi shouted: "Don't stop, keep going!" The soil continued to rise, and everyone had difficulty breathing.Yong Chi smiled triumphantly. At this time, from a distance, Long Qi personally brought dozens of cavalry to rush there!He ordered loudly to stop.In an instant, the cavalry surrounded the infantry who were being buried.Long Qi dismounted, approached Yong Chi slowly, and knocked him down with one punch.

In the hut of the slave quarters in Pengcheng, Lu Zhi was lying upright on the mat, seemingly stiff.She stared blankly at the roof of the hut.Shen Shiqi served Lu Zhi carefully, and handed the porridge bowl to Lu Zhi's mouth, but the porridge flowed down, and Lu Zhi still didn't touch a grain of rice. Lu Zhi murmured: "Xiaoxian...Xiaoxian..." Shen Shiqi shook his head sadly and said: "Madam, don't do this, Xiaoxian has already gone! But we are still alive! Alive!" Lu's pheasant was startled, and looked at the judge to eat it.The two are relatively miserable.Lu Zhi finally couldn't help it, sat up, hugged Shen Shiqi and cried loudly.Shen Shiqi was stunned, his face turned pale with shock, and the porridge bowl suddenly fell on the table.Shen Shiqi wanted to push Lu's pheasant away, but Lu's pheasant hugged him tightly and did not let go.Finally, slowly, Shen Shiqi also hugged Lu Zhi... After Han Xin defeated Wei and Dai, his next target was Zhao.Zhang Er wanted to fight Chen Yu even more.This pair of old friends from the past and now old enemies are about to have a fight to the death.At this time, the struggle between Chu and Han had entered its third year. In the tenth month of winter, in the valley of the Taihang Mountains, Han Xin and Zhang Er led more than 20,000 troops to attack the State of Zhao.In the bleak cold wind, Han Xin and Zhang Er were looking at the map unfolded by the soldiers.Behind them, the soldiers of the Han army marched forward. Han Xin said: "This time we are attacking Zhao Guo, and it is winter, and the march is very difficult. General Zhang also suffers and suffers. The king of Han asked you to come, and the time was not chosen." Zhang Er said: "It is my honor to fight with the general." Han Dao said: "This time, I have no choice but to cross the mountains from Jingxing and enter the north of Xiangguo. The only way to ensure safety is to pass quickly before the enemy understands my intentions. Other methods will not work. Sometimes, fighting depends on the sky, not the art of war." When Zhang Er heard this, his complexion was a little ugly. Regardless of opening his ears, Han Xin pointed to the map and continued: "The first battle must be the upper gate. This has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times. As long as anyone guards this gate and controls Jingxingkou, there will be one man in charge of the gate, ten thousand husbands. Invincible momentum." The scout rushed over, knelt down and reported, "General, Chen Yu's army, which claims to be 200,000, has gathered near Jingxingkou and is ready to fight our army." Han Xin asked, "Who is leading the army?" The scout said, "It's Li Zuoche, the former general of Zhao Guo's elder sect, who is known as Lord Guangwu!" Zhang Er said: "Ordinary people, nothing to worry about." Han Xin said: "If the military strength is equal and the terrain is not good for me, I still have the confidence to defeat him. However, this time we attack, with 30,000 new recruits, we are at a clear disadvantage to his more than 100,000 veterans who are used to fighting. This battle has not yet started, and the opponent has already taken advantage of the three aspects of time, location, and people." Zhang Er asked: "What does the general mean?" Han Xin smiled and said: "I mean, Chen Yu must also understand the current situation deeply, so he will not wait to ask for a fight, and will not easily let go of this good opportunity to make contributions. And this point will be Our only chance." In the King Zhao Palace of King Zhao City, Chen Yu and Zhao Xiegao were sitting in the hall, and Li Zuoche was reporting: "My lord, according to the information collected by my subordinates, due to the tense situation in Xingyang, the King of Han was forced to deploy troops on the front line of Xingyang, so that Resist the pressure of the Chu army. And Han Xin must retain some troops to guard the captured Wei and Dai lands. The troops that can be brought to Jingxingkou are very limited. According to the report of the investigation, it is estimated that Han Xin's troops will never exceed 30,000 And I have assembled a military force. In addition to the troops guarding the various places, there are more than 100,000 troops from various ministries who have reached Jingxingkou, which is about five times that of the Han army. The situation is extremely favorable for me.” Zhao Xie and Chen Yu were overjoyed. Chen Yu said: "Okay, this time, let the King of Han show our strength! We want to capture Zhang Er Nasi alive! Fight a beautiful victory!" Li Zuoche, Lord Guangwu, was not so optimistic. He hurriedly said, "I report to Your Majesty that the situation is favorable, but you should still treat it with caution. If you rely on your strength and underestimate the enemy, you must not do so. Han Xin's outstanding performance in the offensive and defensive battles of Weidi His performance has proved that he is really good at strategy and is a first-class tactician. Therefore, we must not take it lightly!" Chen Yu said: "He came at the right time. I think the king of Wei is too stupid to be worth mentioning. Han Xin's victory is not because of himself, but because the king of Wei didn't know it!" Li Zuoche said aggressively: "Then, Your Highness thinks that Yong Wangzhang's strategic courage is better than that of Wei Wang? Didn't Han Xin defeat him in the same way?!" Chen Yu said: "Hmph, Zhang Han has lost his nerve. Of course he is not Han Xin's opponent! I just want to win the battle thoroughly, teach Han Xin and Zhang Er a good lesson, and at the same time dampen the spirit of the King of Han, so that he can know , we will not let him manipulate you. Your Excellency is the leader of the army. If Han Xin has not arrived, he will be timid for three points, can this battle still be fought?" Li Zuoche asked politely: "Does Your Highness doubt your courage?" Zhao Xie saw that the two were arguing, and hurried out to persuade them.Chen Yu made up his mind, and asked as calmly as possible: "What's the general's plan?" Li Zuoche said: "I plan to set up an ambush at the mouth of Jingxing. In this way, we can defend the pass and block Han Xin. After seven days, when the Han army runs out of food and supplies, he will be defeated before I attack. Follow the attack with the switch, and if you hold on to it, you will surely defeat Han Xin." Chen Yu said disdainfully: "Our military strength is five times that of his, and we still have to be on the defensive. There is no such reason!" Li Zuodao said: "I think that Han Xin and Zhang Er took advantage of the momentum after the great victories in Wei and Dai to launch an expedition against us. Their morale is quite high and should not be underestimated. I heard that, 'A thousand miles of food, a soldier has hunger. The most troublesome thing for them should be grain and grass. The terrain of Jingxingkou is very favorable to us. The roads there are narrow, and grain trucks cannot go side by side, and cavalry cannot form a line. Therefore When marching, there must be a long line. The difference between the vanguard and the supply team is hundreds of miles. Please allow me to take 30,000 surprise soldiers to attack their food and grass supply team from the small road, and hold the defense line with deep trenches and high fortifications. Do not fight against it. Come on, Han Xin and Zhang Er's army must not fight, retreat, and have no place to rob food. Within ten days, the heads of these two enemy generals will be presented at your feet. Otherwise, if we underestimate the enemy, Instead, they will be defeated." Chen Yu said: "Zhao Guo is a majestic teacher of the king and a righteous army in the world. There is no need for conspiracy!" Zhao Xie said: "Not only is Han Xin's strength small, but the troops from far away must be exhausted. If he followed the general's advice and avoided attacking, wouldn't he be ridiculed by the princes of the world!" Chen Yu said: "Yes, we are timid and timid to fight, which will become an excuse for them to bully us in the future. They should be allowed to cross Jingxing and line up on the plain. Everyone will fight in a dignified manner, and we will win and lose!" Li Zuoche said: "No! How could this be possible? This is a war! Not in ancient times!" Chen Yu said: "General, if I can also win a big victory, I will choose an upright style of play!" Li Zuoche said: "Don't take unnecessary risks!" Chen Yu stood up, bowed to Zhao Xie as if there was no one else present, and then left. Soon, Zhao Xie handed over the military command to Chen Yu, and Li Zuoche became Chen Yu's deputy.