Chapter 10 4. Great Qin Army

Above the desert, Han Tan, Prince Qin's secret envoy and his confidant who helped him kill Zhao Gao, stands in front of his tent. In front of him is the mighty Qin army, with black flags, black military uniforms, and well-forged armor. , weapons, indestructible chariots, and vigorous horses all merged into a black torrent, exuding the breath of death.The camp behind him stretches as far as the eye can see, stretching for dozens of miles. In just two months, Han Tan lived up to his trust and traveled day and night inside and outside the Great Wall as well as in the vast desert to reassemble the disintegrated Northern Border Corps of the Empire.Back then, this 300,000-strong regiment galloped across the desert to deter the Huns and defend the northern frontier of the empire.After Fusu and Meng Tian were murdered, the Corps lost its soul and leading figures, and fell into disintegration. Zhao Gao and Hu Hai were suspicious, and simply abandoned this great Qin army outside the Great Wall, letting it fend for itself. At that time, he was unwilling to let the Northern Corps return to Guanzhong to quell the rebellion.They buried the Great Qin Empire for their own selfish desires.

Now, this corps has regrouped under the banner of Prince Qin, ready to fight bloody battles to defend the land of Guanzhong and the homeland of Qin.Although the number is only 100,000, which is one-third of the number when this army went out, they are all elites of the Northern Corps. Even if they were abandoned by those in power in the desolate desert, they did not collapse. The military discipline survived tenaciously, ready to fight again for the Great Qin Empire at any time. Han Tan stared at the orderly and mighty phalanxes passing by—the infantry phalanx, the cavalry phalanx, and the chariot phalanx. The blood in his body began to boil. He saw it from the resolute expressions on the soldiers' faces. It is the confidence to win, the high morale and the courage to face death.The army trained by Qin Shihuang has always been invincible and invincible.Han Tan believed that once this large army set foot on the straight road and headed for Guanzhong, blood would flow like rivers wherever it passed, and no one could stop this iron flow. In front of him, he was simply vulnerable.

He remembered that the secret envoy he sent must have already arrived in Xianyang, and wondered if he could deliver the news to Ziying smoothly.The great Qin army is ready to go, just waiting for the order from Prince Qin. In Xianyang City, the night is getting dark.In a house where Ziying was held, a room was still lit.Ziying and the queen did not fall asleep, the husband and wife sat opposite each other, thinking silently. "There is still no news from General Han?" the queen asked in a low voice. Ziying nodded, and then comforted the queen: "Don't worry, Han Tan is loyal and effective. He will definitely live up to his mission, regroup the Northern Xinjiang Corps, kill them back to Guanzhong, and drive away these traitors."

The queen shook her head, "I'm not worried about General Han's failure to complete his mission, but I'm worried about the safety of the king. We are now in the mouth of a sheep, and life and death are completely controlled by the rebels. If the king makes a mistake, Qin will have no hope of restoring the country." .” Ziying met the queen's worried eyes, feeling a pang of sadness in his heart.Originally, they were a family of four and lived a happy life, but all this was disrupted by the flames of war everywhere.The current situation is turbulent, and as members of the clan of Qin, they are also frightened.But at that time, he was not in his position and did not plan for his own affairs, so he could only wait and see what happened.Ever since Zhao Gao pulled him into the position of King of Qin, Ziying and his family lived in fear and anxiety every day. Zhao Gao, the powerful official inside, was staring at him, and the anti-Qin rebels were approaching step by step. The feeling was like being pressed on the stove Same as baked.

Later, although the powerful minister Zhao Gao was successfully eradicated, the Great Qin Empire was also on the verge of collapse, and the rebels hit the doorstep, so he had no choice but to donate the national seal, temporarily becoming a king of subjugation.Although the last hope is still there, the preparations for the restoration of the country are being carried out in secret, but I am imprisoned here, and I am a fish and a knife. If there is a disturbance, my life may be lost.Danger could happen at any time, and the queen's concern is reasonable. Ziying walked over, stroked the queen's shoulder, and looked at her with firm eyes: "I will be fine, and I will not let you and your two sons be in danger. We must restore the country and drive the rebels out of Guanzhong Otherwise, even if I die, I will have no face to meet the First Emperor and my ancestors."

The queen said in a complaining tone: "After eradicating Zhao Gao, why did you insist on staying in Xianyang? It would be great to set off for the north with General Han at that time! No matter whether you can restore the country or not, you don't have to live in fear. Insulted by the rebels." Ziying shook his head and said, "I can't go. If I, the King of Qin, run away, the rebels will probably kill Xianyang to vent their anger. The reason why I stay is to win more life for the elders in Guanzhong and make them less Suffer a little. This is the only thing I, the good-for-nothing king of Qin, can do for them. If I abandon my people, escape alone, and let the rebels kill them, even if I can save my life, There will never be peace in this life, and we will be condemned by conscience. Besides, we fled with General Han. The goal is too big. I will be lost. I stay in Xianyang, I can attract the attention of the rebels, let them ignore the movement in the north, and buy time for General Han, so that he has the opportunity to call the Great Qin Army and fight back to Guanzhong."

"But, you are the King of Qin. Once you have something wrong, what's the point of restoring the country?" No matter how Ziying comforted her, the queen still couldn't calm down. Unlike Ziying, she can think from the perspective of the overall situation. The problem is that she can sacrifice everything for Qin, all she thinks about is her husband and son. Ziying smiled wryly, facing his wife who loves him deeply, what's the point of talking about those great principles, lofty ideals, and sacred missions? "Don't worry, before Liu Bang entered Xianyang, I had disbanded thousands of imperial guards. They were all skilled in martial arts and loyal. They were the elite of my Great Qin warriors. I let them be broken up into pieces and scattered among the people. Keep in touch with the general. As long as I give an order, these thousands of dead soldiers will regroup and come here to rescue us. Under their protection, we can join forces with the army led by General Han and realize the plan of restoring the country .It's just that the time is not ripe yet, when our army approaches Xianyang, it's time to make trouble."

At this time, someone outside was tapping on the window lattice lightly, and Ziying and the queen stood up vigilantly.Ziying walked to the window and asked in a low voice, "Who?" Someone outside the window replied: "Your Majesty, I am an old slave." Ziying recognized the old eunuch Ying Fu.Ying Fu once served Qin Shihuang, and was given the surname Ying by the first emperor because of his loyalty and prudence.After Ziying eradicated Zhao Gao, he felt that Ying Fu was a trustworthy person, so he transferred him to his side as his confidant.Ziying was imprisoned here by Liu Bang. Thanks to Ying Fu, he managed to buy off the guards and was able to communicate with the outside world at any time.

Ziying opened the door, and Ying Fu led a person in, and reported, "Your Majesty, General Han's envoy has arrived." "Any news about General Han?" Ziying's brows were beaming with joy, the queen finally showed a long-lost smile, and the gray-haired Ying Fu followed suit. They had been looking forward to news from Han Tan day and night, and now it finally arrived. The secret envoy took out a kit from his bosom, and presented it to Ziying with both hands respectfully.Ziying opened the kit and took out a silk book from inside. "General Han is really the savior of the widows. He has assembled a hundred thousand troops and is ready to go. He is waiting for my order." Ziying was a little carried away, and his voice raised unconsciously.

"Hush..." Ying Fu reminded him to keep his voice down. "You immediately inform the Prime Minister, Yu Shi, and Taiwei to come here as soon as possible. I want to discuss the specific action plan with them." Ziying whispered to Ying Fu. "Is it safe here? Do you want to change the place?" The emissary asked worriedly. Ziying smiled slyly, "The most dangerous place is the safest. That Liu Bang is a hundred secrets. He thought that he had won the support of the people in Guanzhong and had a firm foothold here. He felt that I was no threat to him, so the guards were lax. I just want to take advantage of his negligence, restore the country under his nose, and make him pay for his actions."

The owner of the restaurant in the alley was about to close when a person flashed out from the shadows. The person who came was the mysterious old man, Liu Bang's father-in-law Lu Gong.The boss looked into the alley, made sure that no one was following him, and quickly let Mr. Lu into the shop. Lu Gong sat down, and the boss brought a bowl of hot mutton soup to drive him away from the cold. "Is there any news?" Duke Lu asked. "I'm going to find you. The spies I sent to northern Xinjiang sent news that Han Tan has gathered an army of 100,000 and is preparing to counterattack." "Is there any movement from Ziying?" "The old eunuch Ying Fu brought someone to see Ziying today. It should be Han Tan's secret envoy. I guess they are discussing the action plan now, and they will take action soon." Lu Gong sighed, "This Liu Bang is too careless, why didn't he send someone to watch over Ziying?" The boss was a little embarrassed, and said: "This subordinate is also careless, please punish me, my lord." "what happened?" "I just learned that before surrendering, Ziying disbanded the only remaining elite army in Xianyang, the imperial guards, and all of them hid in the civilian population, waiting for an opportunity to act. Their task should be to rescue Ziying during the implementation of the restoration plan. Infants, important ministers, clan nobles. What happened right under my nose, but I didn’t realize it, it really shouldn’t be.” "This is what the saying goes, 'it's dark under the lights', the place where you are most familiar and confident, but also the easiest to be negligent, turning a blind eye to the danger around you." "what should I do now?" "Wait and see what happens! Liu Bang is my son-in-law. I married E Ji to him because I wanted to use him for revenge. In order to achieve my own goals, I even got my daughter involved. Therefore, I want to help Liu Bang now, even if I am a father. A little compensation for my daughter!" "Do you think Ziying's plan will be successful?" Lu Gong shook his head, "It's hard to say. Now there are not only Liu Bang's 100,000 troops in Guanzhong, but also Xiang Yu's 400,000 princes' coalition army, whose strength is five times that of the Qin army. From the Battle of Julu, we can see Xiang Yu's ability. Ren can be said to be a rare military genius. Looking at the world, there is no opponent for him. Although he and Liu Bang have conflicts, it is an internal matter of the Chu army. Once the Qin army comes, they will join hands to meet the enemy. With a commander like Xiang Yu and an absolute advantage in military strength, I don’t think the Qin army has much chance of winning. Although they were once a powerful army that swept the world, their combat effectiveness cannot be underestimated, but there is no outstanding general as commander. It may not be Liu Bang and Xiang Yu’s. opponent". "Then there is no hope for Ziying to return to the country, and he can only throw himself into a trap?" Lu Gong still shook his head, "That's not necessarily the case, it depends on how Ziying arranges. If he can bear it for a while, let Liu Bang and Xiang Yu fight, and then recall the main force of the Qin army when they are both defeated, there is still a great chance of winning .But I’m afraid that there will be long nights and many dreams. If something happens during the period, the risk of waiting is very high. Everything depends on God’s will!"