Chapter 8 2. Soldiers approaching the city

Xiang Yu's 400,000 allied forces approached Hangu Pass.His position at this time is the general of the princes, that is, the commander-in-chief of the princes' coalition forces. With his bravery, he has established the status of the princes' overlord.Xiang Yu is a lonely hero. At the beginning of the uprising, under the instructions of his uncle Xiang Liang, he took advantage of the opportunity to meet with Yin Tong, the prefect of Kuaiji County, and killed dozens of guards who were planning to avenge Yin. regime. Later, Xiang Liang made Xiong Xin, the grandson of King Huai of Chu, the new King Huai of Chu.But after Xiang Liang's death in battle, the situation took a turn for the worse. King Huai of Chu was unwilling to be the puppet of Xiang's family, and took advantage of Xiang Liang's death in battle to plan to seize power.He merged Xiang Yu's army with Lu Chen's army who was not reused by Xiang Liang, and himself served as the commander.He also appointed Lu Chen as Situ (Minister of Civil Affairs), and Lu Chen's father, Lu Qing, as Ling Yin (Prime Minister); he added Liu Bang as Marquis of Wu'an and Xiang Yu as Marquis of Chang'an.He wanted to use the power of Liu Bang and others to restrain Xiang Yu, balance himself in the middle, and hold power.

Afterwards, the troops were divided into two groups, one with Song Yi as the general, Xiang Yu as the second general, and Fan Zeng as the last general. , Go west directly to Guanzhong.According to the agreement of King Huai of Chu "the king who enters the customs first", the intention to favor Liu Bang and restrain Xiang Yu is very obvious.Xiang Yu felt aggrieved and waited for an opportunity to regain military power. On the way north, Song Yi hesitated, wanting to reap the benefits of the fisherman after the Qin army and the Zhao army were both defeated.The army stayed in Anyang for more than forty days.Xiang Yu was furious, and once again staged a wonderful beheading operation, beheading Song Yi, the general appointed by King Huai of Chu, and seized the military power.To do great things is to be resolute, decisive, and ruthless. This principle has been confirmed by Xiang Yu.

Later, Xiang Yu broke the boat, and the generals of the Chu army defeated the Qin army under Julu City with one against ten, and convinced the reinforcements of the princes who were watching from the sidelines. Xiang Yu became famous through the Battle of Julu, but his brutal nature made him make a serious mistake very quickly.After Zhang Han led his troops to surrender, he was worried that the surrendered Qin army would launch a rebellion, and killed 200,000 surrendered soldiers on the way westward, completely discrediting his image and becoming a murderous devil in the eyes of Qin people.

Now, the devil Xiang Yu has arrived outside Hangu Pass, and under his command is a mighty army of 400,000.Xiang Yu, a tall and powerful man, sat on his horse and looked at Hangu Pass. The representative followed behind him. Xiang Yu knew that Liu Bang had entered Guanzhong before him, but he was very disdainful of Liu Bang.At the beginning, Liu Bang was betrayed by his subordinates, and the Qin army pressed him every step of the way. When he had nowhere to go, he came to seek refuge with his uncle Xiang Liang.If it weren't for Meng Xiangliang to take in and cultivate him, where would Liu Bang be today?Even if he entered Guanzhong first, would he be willing to do this as the king of Guanzhong?He defeated the main force of the Qin army and made great achievements in battle. He was the number one hero in overthrowing Tyranny. Although Ziying surrendered to Liu Bang, Liu Bang was only accepting the surrender for himself.He is the overlord recognized by the princes, and Liu Bang has to listen to his own arrangements.

Thinking of this, a sneer appeared on the corner of Xiang Yu's mouth.Before his smile disappeared, the scouts in front rushed over and reported to him: "My lord, the Hangu Pass is guarded by Peigong's army. The gate is closed and we are not allowed to enter." Xiang Yu's subordinates have also started Call him "King". Xiang Yu's eyes widened, he couldn't believe that Liu Bang could do such a thing. "Have you found out? Why doesn't Liu Ji let me enter? Did you tell them that we are an anti-Qin rebel army and a friendly army?" The scout felt aggrieved, and argued: "The soldiers guarding the pass are at war, saying that King Huai made an appointment first, and the first to enter the pass will be the king. Now the pass belongs to their king Liu Ji. Without the permission of the king of Guanzhong, no one can pass through."

Xiang Yu's anger went straight to his forehead, but he still suppressed his anger and said: "We are ordered by King Huai of Chu to go west to the pass after breaking the siege of the giant deer. They have no reason to stop us from entering the pass. You go and tell them your interests and let us go. They switch right away." After the scouts left, Fan Zeng approached Xiang Yu and reminded him: "Yu'er, Liu Bang has King Huai backing him, and he has ulterior motives, so you have to be careful." Xiang Yu nodded and didn't speak, his anger had already accumulated to the verge of a volcanic eruption.

After a while, the scout ran back with an arrow stuck in his shoulder. "General, they have a tough attitude. They are determined not to let us enter the customs, and even shot arrows and injured their subordinates." Xiang Yu couldn't control it anymore, he looked back at Fan Zeng, Fan Zeng nodded to him, motioning him to do what he wanted.Xiang Yu turned to Yingbo and gave an order: "Yingbo, mobilize your army and take Hangu Pass for me." Yingbo took the order and left. There were not many defenders stationed by Liu Bang at Hangu Pass, and they couldn't stand a storm from the brave Yingbu. Hangu Pass was quickly lost, and 400,000 troops marched in. Xiang Wangying).

Taking advantage of the opportunity of the army camping, Fan Zeng came to Xiang Yu and said to him: "Now we are forcing the pass and we are already at war with Liu Bang. Why don't you take this opportunity to wipe out Liu Bang in one fell swoop, cut off an arm of King Huai of Chu, and let him take advantage of the opportunity? You can’t do anything anymore. In this way, no one in the world can compete with you, and the future situation will be completely controlled by you.” Xiang Yu was a little hesitant about Fan Zeng's plan to eradicate the weeds. After all, he and Liu Bang were both subordinates of King Huai of Chu in name, and they were allies against Qin.Moreover, he and Liu Bang used to be brothers, and they had a good relationship in the past, because a fight over a trivial matter, fighting in the same room, would make people all over the world laugh.In his heart, the conflict at Hangu Pass is like a fight between brothers because of verbal discord, it has not yet reached the point where they have completely turned their faces and become irreconcilable.

Seeing that Xiang Yu didn't speak, Fan Zeng became a little anxious, and urged, "Yu'er, you can't have the kindness of a woman to make a big deal!" Xiang Yu waved his hand impatiently, "I haven't fully figured out this matter yet. I want to hear what Liu Ji is thinking. I want to hear his own explanation. I shouldn't act too hastily, otherwise I will give others a blame."After that, he turned around and went to patrol the camp. Looking at the back of Xiang Yu going away, Fan Zeng scolded: "I want to save face, but I can't let go of your noble figure!" .

When the news of Xiang Yu's breakthrough reached Bashang, Liu Bang was also taken aback, but he quickly calmed down.All the people under his command gathered in his big tent, waiting for his dispatch, in case of accidents. Fan Kuai asked eagerly, "Pei Gong, what should we do now?" Liu Bang took a breath and said: "Don't panic, I thought about it, it's not too much to ask Xiang Yu and the allied forces of the princes to enter the pass. Everyone is against the Qin army. The matter is a matter of reason. Xiang Yu breaking through the pass does not mean that he will turn against me and drive me out of the pass. Based on my understanding of him and past friendship, he will not do so absolutely. The key now It is to deal with him and let him fulfill the covenant with King Huai."

Fan Kuai said: "We fought with him at Hangu Pass, won't we turn our backs?" Liu Bang waved his hand and said, "I will explain this matter to him in the future, just find an excuse and cover it up. Now you have to restrain the soldiers under your command, and you must not stir up trouble and intensify the conflict." Lu Wan added: "Let's be loose on the outside and tight on the inside. On the surface, you can't draw swords and bows, so as not to give people facts, but in private, you must strengthen your guard, and you must be defensive!" Liu Bang nodded.Everyone left with apprehension.After everyone left, Liu Bang felt waves of fear attacking him.In front of his subordinates, he must act calm and composed. If he loses his position, his subordinates will panic even more.But now alone, Liu Bang realized the seriousness of the situation.The two armies stationed at Xianyang city, my own army of 100,000 and Xiang Yu's army of 400,000 are close at hand. Although the relationship between them is not broken, the conflict has a long history. disaster.The victorious euphoria surrounding him these days has been swept away by the sudden turn of events. At the beginning when troops were sent to guard Hangu Pass, many people opposed it, thinking that the coalition of princes led by Xiang Yu was marching into the pass. Doing so would be tantamount to challenging the coalition of princes headed by Xiang Yu and would arouse internal strife among the rebels.But Liu Bang insisted on his own opinion, and he tried it with a fluke mentality to see if he could prevent the coalition forces from entering the customs.If Xiang Yu insisted on entering Guanzhong, he would not insist on blocking it, just let him go.But he didn't expect that Xiang Yu's temper was so violent that he directly called in without saving any face for himself.Liu Bang had the feeling of being kicked out of the house and entered the house by others.But in the face of Xiang Yu, a behemoth, he was obviously not an opponent, so he had to hold back for the time being. Liu Bang paced back and forth in the big tent, thinking about how to negotiate with Xiang Yu to resolve the imminent crisis. In Xianyang City, the mysterious old man and the restaurant owner met again. "Xiang Yu has entered Guanzhong. I heard that there was a battle with Liu Bang's guarding troops before Hangu Pass. Now Liu Bang is in a bad situation! The main force of the Qin army summoned by Ziying is ready to go, and Xiang Yu's coalition forces are eyeing. Liu Bang's strength The weakest, facing enemies from both sides." The old man looked at the sky, thought for a long time, and finally said: "We can't reveal Ziying's plan, but Liu Bang still wants to help him. Xiang Yu is notoriously cruel. If he is the governor of Guanzhong in the future Master, the people of Qin State are about to suffer. I can't just sit idly by!" "What are you going to do?" The old man did not answer his question directly, "The situation in Guanzhong is complicated now, and several forces are entangled in the competition. Who will be the final winner?"