Han Dang is stronger

Chapter 276 How Can You Be Undefeated?

Exactly as Zhang Liang had expected thousands of miles away, after slaughtering Xiong Xin with his own hands, although he refused to admit his mistake and listened to other people's explanations and persuasion, after gradually calming down, he saw Cao Jiu, Fan Zeng and other confidantes On this matter, Xiang Yu had a mournful expression on his concubine's face, but gradually regretted it.

The thought of regret is getting stronger and stronger, and Ma Daha, like Xiang Yu, can see that although no one in the civil and military affairs of Chu State dares to accuse him of wrongdoing in person, his attitude towards him has obviously changed, and almost all of them have become indifferent to him Many, even Chen Ying, a veteran of the Chu State who firmly stood on the side of the Xiang family during the military power struggle, no longer had the usual kind and gentle smile.

Cao Jiu, Fan Zeng and other absolute confidants were loyal to Xiang Yu as always, but they didn't mention a single word about Xiong Xin in front of Xiang Yu. They used silent protests to express their dissatisfaction with Xiang Yu's impulsive execution of Xiong Xin.

Of course, Xiang Yu, who is notoriously hot-tempered, couldn't bear this kind of atmosphere, and his chest gradually ignited raging anger. He urgently needed to find a punching bag to vent, and it was just like what Zhang Liang was worried about. Xiang Yu soon remembered that it made him go crazy with jealousy. His cousin Xiang Kang.

It was still Master Xiang Boxiang who reminded Xiang Yu of Xiang Kang. After burying Xiong Xin with the ceremony of the Son of Heaven, seeing Xiang Yu's gloomy expression, Master Xiang Boxiang persuaded: "My lord, the matter is over, so don't take it to heart. Come on, it’s good that Emperor Yi is dead, at least we don’t have to worry about someone tipping off that little bastard Xiang Kang and ruining your big business.”

Under Xiang Bo's reminder, he thought of Xiang Kang, who was thousands of miles away, and his heart became inexplicably angry. Xiang Yu, who had been holding back a fire in his heart, suddenly shouted: "Immediately call all the officials for this king to discuss important matters!"

According to Xiang Yu's request, the Western Chu civil and military officials who were qualified to participate in the meeting soon gathered in the main hall. Xiang Yu was not polite, and said straight to the point: "I called you here to discuss the crusade against Xiang Kang's rebels! My king is currently injured. He has already recovered, and our soldiers have rested enough, it is time to march into Guanzhong, and wipe out Xiang Kang, that rebellious and anti-national traitor, you say, how should we march in?"

The sky is still a little blind. After hearing Xiang Yu's words, Xichu Wenwu not only did not speak enthusiastically, but actively offered advice for Xiang Yu to deal with Xiang Kang, a scum. On the contrary, most of them looked at each other in blank dismay. Standing up, he said cautiously: "My lord, is it too hasty to enter the military pass now?"

"Why is it too hasty?" Xiang Yu asked displeased.

"Your Majesty Mingjian." Lu Qing said more cautiously: "Now the world is still undecided. Among the feudal lords of the world that you entrusted, Your Majesty, there are still Zang Tu, Zhang Han, Dong Yi and Tian Du who have not been able to get all the land that you entrusted to them, Your Majesty. The city is unable to provide strong support for our army. Zhao Guo has not yet surrendered. In addition, our Western Chu soldiers have been fighting for years, and our soldiers are exhausted. Your Majesty is too eager to launch the Western Expedition now."

"Your Majesty, what Lu Lingyin said is very true." Xianyin Moke also mustered up his courage and said: "Continuous battles have left countless lands deserted, and it is very difficult to collect food, grass and military supplies. Every movement of the army is like a golden mountain and a sea of ​​food. We, the people of Western Chu, are afraid I can't afford it."

"There are four fortresses in Guanzhong. It is easy to defend and difficult to attack. If we are not prepared enough, we will rashly send troops. I am afraid that we will lose the battle. Please think twice."

"Your Majesty, let's wait a little longer. Let us accumulate more strength in the Western Chu Kingdom, and wait for the princes to settle down and free up their hands to support our Western Expedition, and then it is not too late to march into Guanzhong."

There were continuous voices of opposition, Cao Jiu and Old Man Fan, whom Xiang Yu trusted the most, remained silent all the time, did not stand up to support Xiang Yu, and obviously also opposed Xiang Yu's launching a large-scale western expedition now.But fortunately, evil people will eventually have evil rewards. Just as Xiang Yu's face became more and more ugly, a voice suddenly sounded and said loudly: "Shut up, gentlemen! Don't ruin my king's affairs! Our army will not enter the military pass at this time. When do you wait?!"

Xiang Yu followed the sound with some surprise, but saw that it was Kuai Che who stood up to help overcome all opinions, Kuai Che also bowed his hands to Xiang Yu and said: "My lord Shengming, if our army wants to enter Guanzhong, it is better sooner rather than later. The sooner you can enter the army, the better!"

"Tell me your reason." Xiang Yu asked happily.

"The minister complies with the decree." Kuai Che sang promises, and said: "Our army is currently marching into Guanzhong, which has three advantages. First, it can prevent Xiang Kang's rebellious minister from having enough time to stabilize the situation in Guanzhong, win over the hearts of the people in Guanzhong, and train recruits to improve the army's combat capabilities. It also gave the survivors of the Tyrant Qin Dynasty who refused to submit to Xiang Kang's rebellious ministers the opportunity to launch a rebellion, and they should cooperate with the inside and outside to welcome our army into the customs."

"Secondly, the princes of the world are still vigorous, and they are greedy for the money, food and treasures in Guanzhong, or they want to expand their territory, or they are eager to get the land and cities that you have entrusted to them. Correspondingly, actively help our army to attack the city, seize the land, and seize Guanzhong. On the contrary, if our army does not move for a long time, Xiang Kang's rebels will have a chance to defeat the princes around him like they did with Wei Bao and Chai Wu. After the other princes settle down, they must be greedy for enjoyment, not enterprising, and will not take the risk of entering the army again, so as to help our army fight against Xiang Kang's rebels!"

"The third is that Xiang Kang is currently out of justice and has no help. No one in the world dares to collude with him. Even Zhao, the only alliance with him, is angry with him and refuses to go north to rescue Daijun and other places in Taiyuan. , may turn against him at any time! If the king does not seize this golden opportunity, the time will be delayed for a long time, and the princes of the world are all planning for their own interests, and they are likely to be drawn and divided by Xiang Kang's rebels, and they will no longer work together to fight against this rebel , so Your Majesty must not hesitate, must gather troops and horses as soon as possible, contact the princes of the world, and march into Guanzhong together!"

After speaking loudly, Kuai Che added, "As for food and grass, that's not a problem at all. Although there is a shortage of food in Chu, there is still a mountain of food and grass in Ao Cang, which is enough to support the king's western expedition, so why worry about it?" Is it difficult for the people of Chu to afford it?"

Xiang Yu was so happy that he smiled directly, and said to Lu Qing and others who were firmly opposed to him immediately launching the Western Expedition with a smile: "Did you hear that? If your cowardice and short-sightedness are eliminated, then it will be called a serious disaster!"

Unable to distinguish Kuai Che, Lu Qing and others could only shut their mouths helplessly, and Xiang Yu said proudly: "That's it, immediately gather troops and horses, dispatch military supplies, rations and grass, contact the princes of the world, and make an appointment to go west! Doctor! Kuai Che, he will be promoted to the position of Zuo Tu doctor immediately after writing this book, and he will march west to Guanzhong with this king!"

Kuai Che hastily saluted and thanked him, but when he raised his head, Kuai Che found that among Xiang Yu's three most trusted courtiers, Master Xiang Bo was full of disdain, old man Fan and Cao Jiu were full of indifference, and Kuai Che immediately felt indifferent. I understand, I know that they don't want to see themselves being reused by Xiang Yu, and quickly join the decision-making level of the Chu army as a rookie, and take away their power and Xiang Yu's trust in them.Kuai Che didn't mind, he just said in his heart: "Your Majesty has the knowledge of people, so what if you are unhappy?"

After the Western Expedition decision was forcibly finalized by Xiang Yu, although they were not very happy, Cao Jiu, Fan Laotou and others did their best to help Xiang Yu plan the Western Expedition plan, and soon decided to divide the army into three groups to attack Guanzhong. Among the soldiers and horses, Dong Yi, Zang Tu, Zhang Han, and Sima Xin formed the North Route Army, which marched into Shangjun and Yunyang of the Han Army, and the South Route Army, composed of Liu Laosan, Yingbu, and Wu Rui, marched against the Han Army's Hanzhong Bashu and other places.The Central Route Army was led by Xiang Yu himself, commanding Sima Ang, Shen Yang, Tiandu and Tianshi and other princes to directly attack Hangu Pass and attack the pass from the front.

In addition, Xiang Yu adopted Kuai Che's suggestion and sent someone to issue an ultimatum to the State of Zhao, demanding that the State of Zhao immediately sever the covenant with Xiang Kang, send troops to attack Hedong, and promised to divide Hedong to the State of Zhao after victory. In this way, Zhao Guo's loss on the northern line was compensated.

Both Kuai Che and Xiang Yu were doing too much, because when Xiang Yu's envoy arrived in Zhao State, the news of Daijun's fall had already reached Julu, and they hated Xiang Kang's selfishness and unwillingness to help Zhao Guo keep Taiyuan, Daijun and other places. Without Xiang Yu's instructions, Zhao Wangxie and Zhang Er, who were furious, had already made up their minds to break off diplomatic relations with Xiang Kang. At this meeting, Xiang Yu sent someone to issue an ultimatum, promising to compensate Zhao for the land east of the country. Of course, Er didn't hesitate, and immediately agreed to Xiang Yu's request, and called Chen Hui, the envoy of the Han army, to announce the decision to break off diplomatic relations with Chen Hui in front of Xiang Yu's envoy, and asked Chen Hui to leave Zhao Guo within a time limit.

For the next few days, Zhao Xie and Zhang Er continued to entertain Xiang Yu's envoy every day. They entertained Xiang Yu's envoy with all the wine and beauties they could, and tried their best to please Xiang Yu's envoy.However, when Xiang Yu's envoy was about to return to Pengcheng, an urgent report came from Shangdang, saying that Xiang Kang sent an envoy to Jiaodong via Zhao State to negotiate and contact with Wangtian City in Jiaodong. Zhao Xie originally planned to order Shangdang Zhao Jun drove the envoy of the Han army back to Guanzhong, but after thinking about it, he changed his words and said: "Give Shangdang an order to take down the envoy of Xiang Kang's rebel, and bring Julu immediately."

"Why did Your Majesty make such a decision?" Zhang Er asked.

"Calculating the time, Xiang Kang must not know that we have decided to break off diplomatic relations with him, thinking that we are still his allies who can respond to his requests." Zhao Xie said with a sneer, "So there is likely to be some important secret hidden in his emissary. His envoy took it down, and if he finds out something useful to the King of Western Chu, it can be presented to the King of Western Chu to prove our determination to break off ties with Xiang Kang'er."

Zhang Er thought about it, and said: "Your Majesty is wise, Tian Shi and the King of Western Chu have many quarrels. Xiang Kang traveled thousands of miles to contact him. There must be a major conspiracy. If we can ask the secret, the King of Western Chu must be very happy." Huanxi can repair the rift between us and King Xichu to a large extent. It’s just that if we do this….”

"Xiang Kang was the one who forced this king to do this unrighteous act." Zhao Xie interrupted with a sneer, and said, "If he had extended a helping hand in time, how could our Taiyuan, Yanmen and Daijun have fallen? Since He was unrighteous first, so don't blame this king for retaliation!"

In this way, it was still expected by Zhang Liang that he hated Xiang Kang's reluctance to save him and was eager to please Xiang Yu. Sure enough, Zhao Guo immediately took down the envoy Xiang Kang sent to contact Tianshi Tianrong, and also sent a letter from the Han army envoy. The letter of credence written by Xiang Kang to Tianshi Tianrong was found on him. After the envoy and the letter of credence were sent to Julu, Zhao Xie was overjoyed when he saw that Xiang Kang actually encouraged Tianshi and Tianrong to attack Xiang Yu. Without hesitation, he sent people to escort the envoys of the Han army and the State Secretary to Pengcheng, and expressed his sincerity to Xiang Yu.

It was both coincidental and destined that while the envoys of the Han army and the letter of credence were still being sent to Pengcheng, Xiang Yu had already received a reply from Tiandu Hetian City to his request to send troops to Guanzhong. Said that Tianshi Tianrong refused to give up the Linzi County assigned to him by Xiang Yu, and he was preparing to solve this problem with Tianshi Tianrong force, and he couldn't help Xiang Yu at all.

Xiang Yu was even more annoyed by the reply from Tian Shi (also known as Tian Fu). He still signed his name as the prime minister of the state of Qi, expressing his refusal to recognize Tiandu, the king of Qi who was canonized by Xiang Yu, and blatantly despised Xiang Yu's authority to the extreme.

Seeing that Tian Shi and Tian Rong not only refused to give him face, but also dared not to recognize his canonized king of Qi, Xiang Yu certainly did not hesitate in his rage, and immediately ordered Tian Du to send troops to attack Tian Shi and Tian Rong, and decided to send troops to Tian Shi and Tian Rong. All help.Seeing that the situation was not good, Kuai Che could only stand up to dissuade him, saying: "Your Majesty, the Western Expedition is imminent, and it is better not to cause extra problems. Since Tian Shi and Tian Rong refuse to send troops, then we don't need to force them to send troops. Let Tian Du guard Jibei carefully, block Tianshi Tianrong's west exit road, turn around after we break through Guanzhong, and then kill the two rebels Tianshi and Tianrong before it is too late."

After saying that, Kuai Che quickly analyzed for Xiang Yu: "My lord Mingjian, Tian Shi and Tian Rong have no ambitions, but they are just two guard dogs. At most, they just want to separate the territory and protect themselves. It is nothing to worry about. The world The only thing that can pose a threat to you, Your Majesty, is Xiang Kang's traitor, and you must not delay the Western Expedition because of a small loss, and give Xiang Kang's traitor the opportunity and time to take advantage of it."

Xiang Yu, who has never had any assertiveness, was a little shaken, but Xiang Bo ran out to fan the flames again, saying: "Your Majesty, Tianshi and Tianshi are so bold that they not only refused to hand over the land and city that you entrusted to Tiandu, but also still use Qi Wang and Qi Xiang to give up the land and city." Since they are so close at hand, they dare to do this, spread it, and everyone in the world will follow suit, how can you order the world to command the princes to enter the pass?"

Kuai Che had the urge to tear Master Xiang's stinky mouth apart, but Xiang Yu was hesitant, and said after a while: "Let me think about it before making a decision. Anyway, we are still preparing military supplies, and we still have time to decide what to do. what to do."

Under such a background, when Zhao Guo sent someone to send Xiang Kang's envoy and the letter of credence to Xiang Yu, seeing that Xiang Kang dared to encourage Tian Shi and Tian Rong to attack his rear, Xiang Yu became more and more furious. If he didn't want to, he decided to postpone the time for the westward expedition, and first personally lead the main force to the north to eliminate the hidden danger behind Tian Rong, Pingtian City.

Kuai Che saw that he was in a hurry, and hurriedly stood up again to persuade him: "Your Majesty, you must not delay the time of the Western Expedition. The envoys to contact the princes have already been dispatched, and the princes of the world are already in Mobing Lima to accompany you to launch the Western Expedition. , if we delay sending troops to the west, the morale and fighting spirit of the princes will be frustrated!"

Doctor Zuo Tu, what should we do if the rear suddenly catches fire after our main force advances westward? " Cao Jiu asked with a sneer.

"The northern line is in charge, enough to prevent any eventuality." Kuai Che immediately replied: "If the king is worried that relying on Tian Du's army alone will not be able to prevent Tian Shi Tian Rong from going south to attack our rear, you can send a support army. Going north to help Tiandu guard Jibei is enough to prevent Tianshi Tianrong from going south, and there is no need to waste time with our main force going north to deal with them."

Xiang Yu, whose ears are extremely soft, was a little shaken again. He never thought that old man Fan suddenly said, "My lord, I think it's better not to ignore the threat of two fellows, Tian Shi and Tian Rong. They have formed a deep hatred with you, Your Majesty, and now that you have sealed the fertile land of Qi State to Tiandu, they must be deeply attached to you. Seeing you, Your Majesty, leading the main force to go west, there is a chance Multiply, they will definitely go south to sneak attack at any cost, and if there is any mistake in our rear, the consequences will be unimaginable."

"Your Majesty, my subordinates also think that we should give priority to dispatching troops to the entire territory." Cao Jiu also said, "There are four fortresses in Guanzhong. It is easy to defend but difficult to attack. It is difficult to get off if you are eager. If time is delayed for a long time, there may be danger in our rear. The open terrain of Qidi is conducive to our army's quick battle and quick decision. After we have quickly captured Tianshi and Tianrong, we can go westward with confidence and take advantage of the great victory to attack Xiang Kang's rebels with all our strength."

Seeing Xiang Yu nodding his head slowly, Kuai Che also understood that the situation was not good, so he could only say in a dying struggle: "Cao Sima, Yafu, if Xiang Kang's rebels surround Wei and rescue Zhao, take the opportunity to send troops outside the pass to attack the princes outside the pass who have surrendered to our king. , how should we rescue?"

"Wouldn't that be better?" Cao Jiu immediately said, "Xiang Kang's traitor sent troops outside the pass. We first asked the princes outside the pass to besiege his troops who left the pass, and then turned back to attack him. Wouldn't it be more sure to defeat Xiang Kang? The thief quickly defeated?"

"It's easy for Cao Sima to say it." Kuai Che moaned in pain: "The princes outside the pass have their own interests. Without the presence of the king, which one of them is willing to really help the allies?"

Master Xiang Boxiang was not happy when he heard it, and immediately said: "Mr. Zuotu, what you said is wrong. Our king is so powerful that he orders the princes to rescue allies. Who dares not to obey? Who dares to pretend to be a snake? "

Kuai was completely speechless, but Xiang Yu quickly made up his mind, and immediately said: "Yafu and Cao Sima are still right, we must give priority to clearing up the hidden dangers behind us. That's it, first send troops to the ground, and then Then turn around and deal with the traitor Xiang Kang. If the traitor Xiang Kang dares to take the opportunity to send troops to the east, ask the princes outside the pass to entangle him first, and then deal with him as a traitor when we are free."

Kuai Che didn't have the energy to speak anymore, but just silently watched Cao Jiu, Old Man Fan and others excitedly helping Xiang Yu plan the Northern Expedition, and after a while he said in his heart: "It's either short-sighted, or jealous of talents, or arrogant and conceited. Surrounded, how can we be undefeated?"

(End of this chapter)