Han Dang is stronger

Chapter 428

The pursuit battle outside Wancheng was definitely the happiest battle the Han army fought against the old enemy Nanyang army. First, the Han army's partial division Ding Ji chased and beat the Nanyang army's buttocks, and cleaned up like melons and vegetables. Soldiers of the Nanyang Army who were left alone, and then the cavalry of the Han Army rushed forward, brandishing their sabers, rushing from left to right among the defeated Nanyang Army soldiers who were fleeing for their lives, as if entering no man's land, they joined forces with the infantry to kill the Nanyang Army to death. The armor was removed, the mouse ran around with its head in its arms, and the corpses were scattered all over the field.

Immediately afterwards, when Gongsun Tong's troops of the Han Army, which was deployed fifteen miles to the south in advance, joined the battlefield and lined up to stop the Nanyang Army's defeated brigade, it sounded the death knell of the Nanyang Army. , almost completely wiped out the Nanyang Army's defeated brigade, and surrounded the carriage of "Liu Lao San" among the chaotic troops, cheering and dismembering the stubborn "Liu Lao San" with knives, and beheaded at the same time. Many generals of the Nanyang Army won a hearty chase victory.

During this period, Gongsun Tong, the general of the Han army, kept Xiang Kang's advice in mind. Even though he had received the good news of "Liu Lao San" being executed, he did not dare to take it lightly. The soldiers of the Nanyang Army in the car captured or beheaded, trying not to let a suspicious enemy slip through the net.However, it is a pity that after careful identification after the war, it turned out that the one who fled in a car with the handsome flag was Ji Xin, the general of the Nanyang Army who looked quite similar to Liu Laosan. Can find the whereabouts of the real Liu Laosan.

What's even more outrageous is that not only Liu Laosan himself, but several core backbones of the Nanyang Army, Han Xin, Fan Kui, Zhou Bo, Cao Can, etc., also disappeared on the battlefield. He was beheaded and killed on the battlefield by the generals of the Han army. In addition, the Han army also captured or killed the generals of the Nanyang army Chen Xi, Jin She and Guo Ting.

After these situations were reported to Xiang Kang, Xiang Kang, who was familiar with Liu Laosan's temperament, was not surprised, but immediately sent people to Jiyang to inquire about the situation of the Western Chu Army's Li Ji Division, and then he did not leave Xiang Kang's office. Unexpectedly, the detailed work of the Han army soon confirmed that the banner of Liu Laosan reappeared in the small city of Jiyang, and the remnants of the Nanyang Army who escaped from the battlefield by chance also rushed to Jiyang to fight with Liu Laosan. rendezvous.

"Let our army rest for a day, seize the time to rescue the wounded and reorganize the army, and tomorrow we will go south to attack Jiyang, and wipe out the remaining Nanyang bandits!"

This was a decisive decision made by Xiang Kang, but it is a pity that Xiang Kang's decision was decisive, and the decision of the Western Chu Army and the remnants of the Nanyang Army was even more decisive. The army raised up, and the scouts who monitored the enemy in Jiyang sent an urgent report, saying that the Western Chu Army and the remnants of the Nanyang Army had abandoned Jiyang last night, and fled directly to the south from the east bank of Yushui.

"Skipping so damn fast!"

Hearing this news, of course Xiang Kang immediately cursed, and immediately began to think about whether he should go after him with all his strength.It turned out that Zhang Liang, who was a little lacking in tactics, first saw the danger, and hurriedly said to Xiang Kang: "Your Majesty, you must not hesitate, you should pursue it with all your strength, and you must not let the Nanyang and Western Chu thieves escape the Han Dynasty." Water, otherwise, with the natural dangers of the Han River and the support of Nanjun's money and food, we don't know how long it will take to wipe out Liu Ji's bandit army and Xichu bandit army."

Xiang Kang subconsciously wanted to nod, but Lou Jing next to him said, "Your Majesty, I don't think it is necessary to chase immediately. It is impossible for us to catch up with the enemy, and it is even more impossible to stop the Nanyang and Western Chu thieves." After escaping the Han River, instead of letting our soldiers work hard in vain, it is better to let our soldiers rest for a while, and also take back other cities in the hinterland of Nanyang, clear our rear hidden dangers, and then make plans to go south. "

"What does Minister Lou mean?" Zhang Liang, who is not very good at tactics, asked suspiciously: "Although the Nanyang bandit army and the West Chu bandit army set off from Jiyang last night, it is very difficult to catch up with them if they chase us directly. But they went south from the east bank of Yushui, and they took only ordinary roads, and if we go south along the Chi Road from the west bank of Yushui, it is entirely possible to rush to Deng County to prevent the bandits from crossing the river before these two bandits?"

"Zhang Pushe, there is no way to solve the problem of our ships quickly." Lou Jing's words made Zhang Liang shut up, and then said: "The Nanyang bandits currently guarding Deng County will be Liu Jipifu's brother-in-law, Lu Shizhi. , is also Liu Jipifu’s confidant who will never surrender to us. Even if we can rush to Deng County before Liu Ji and Liji two husbands, Lu Shizhi will definitely transfer the boat first, so that we cannot cross the Han River , and then he can use these boats to help the remnants of the Nanyang bandit army and the Xichu bandit army cross the river at other crossings, but we can only look at the river and sigh, watching the enemy regain their footing on the south bank of the Han River."

Even if he rushed to Deng County first, there was still Yushui Dahe to the east, which had obtained the replenishment of water from the Tang River. Without boats, it would be difficult to cross the river to intercept the enemy. Considering this, Zhang Liang could only nod helplessly. Said: "What Lou Shilang said is very true. It is really difficult for us to stop Liu Ji and Li Jipifu from escaping the Han River."

"Don't worry, Zhang Pushe, if you can't stop it, it might not be a good thing." Lou Jing said surprisingly, and then turned to Xiang Kang and said: "My lord, the Nanyang rebel army is at the end of the road, and the Western Chu rebel army is far away from the mainland, and all the money, food and supplies are supplied by Nanyang. If the pursuit is too hasty, the two thieves will join forces to fight to the death, and we will be eager to break through. But if we delay the pursuit and let the two thieves Liu and Li get a breathing space, the two thieves will inevitably have rifts and conflicts, and even turn against each other. Then send troops to break it, and it will be several times easier."

"Your Majesty, what Lou Shilang said is very true." Chen Ping stood by Lou Jing's side this time, and said: "Lijifu has always been greedy for profit, and the Nanyang bandit army is now few in number. Water can only rely on the Xichu bandit army to guard the Hanshui line of defense and resist our army going south, but it only sends troops to protect the city land for the Nanyang bandit army. How could Li Jipifu be willing to suffer such a big loss? Wedding dress?"

"That's why I also think that instead of letting our soldiers continue to go south without taking a rest, to strive for the slight hope of annihilating Liu Ji and the two thieves on the north bank of the Han River, it is better to lure the Liji who have already wavered in their position. Eli, try to encourage his greed, use his hands to get rid of Liu Jipifu, and then deal with Lijipifu who has no foundation in Nanyang and Nanjun, it will definitely be much easier."

Xiang Kang sat down slowly, and after thinking for a while, he said: "Then how to do it? This king has something to say first, so I can't give Li a few letters to the king of Nanjun."

"It is not necessary for the king to crown Li Jipifu as king, it is enough to let Li Jipifu see the hope of becoming king." Chen Ping replied: "I suggest that the king might as well send an envoy to chase the Western Chu bandit army. Tell Li Jipifu clearly that our army went south this time only to capture Nanyang and Yingchuan counties, and we have no interest in Nanjun. Keep chasing."

"In addition, let's tell Li Jipifu that the reason why you and the king of Western Chu are fratricide is all because of Liu Jipifu's slander and frame, and he took the lead in provoking the war between Han and Chu at Hangu Pass. The main power of the man has been wiped out, and your hatred has greatly diminished, my lord. You intend to negotiate peace with the king of Western Chu. As long as the king of Western Chu is willing to hand over Liu Ji to us, we can use the existing territory as the boundary with the king of Western Chu. Share the world."

"In this way, Li Jipifu will definitely be tempted, and he will definitely see the opportunity appear." Chen Ping continued: "Li Jipifu must know, as long as he takes this opportunity to capture and kill Liu Jipifu, and annex Nanjun in one fell swoop, Then if we succeed in peace talks with King Xichu, he can become the uncrowned king of Nanjun. If we fail to negotiate peace with King Xichu, he can also sit on the wall and watch the wind in Nanjun. Whoever crowns him king will work for him. "

"Brilliant plan!" Lou Jing applauded: "There is another advantage of doing this, that is, those generals of Western Chu who are loyal to the King of Western Chu will also support Li Ji to annex the Nanyang bandit army, because standing on the side of the King of Western Chu, they He would definitely not be willing to fight bloody battles to protect the land of the city for Liu Jipifu who was already at the end of his life, and he would definitely agree with Liji to take the opportunity to annex the land of Nanjun for the Western Chu Army. "

Considering that it is very difficult for the self-army to prevent Liji and Liu Laosan from escaping the Han River, and considering that Liji is much easier to deal with than Liu Laosan, Xiang Kang nodded quickly and said: "Okay, let's go!" If we do this, we will immediately send someone to chase after Lipifu, and lure him to help us kill Liu Jipifu. Our main force will take a rest for a while, calmly take down other cities around Wancheng, and then consider how to go south to capture Deng County Other places and Nanjun."

…………

Liu Laosan's luck was indeed unassailable. At noon the next day, when the envoys sent by Xiang Kang finally caught up with the Western Chu Army, Liu Laosan, who had only more than 1000 remnants and defeated soldiers, happened to be on the way. By Liji's side, I heard that Xiang Kang sent an envoy to contact Liji. Of course, Liu Laosan did not dare to have any ambiguity, and he didn't care whether Liji was willing or not. He just insisted on accompanying Liji to meet the Han army envoy. It was hard to refuse, so I had no choice but to acquiesce in Liu Laosan's accompanying interview.

The next thing is relatively simple. After meeting with Liji, the envoy of the Han army only needs to submit Xiang Kang's letter to Liji, explaining his purpose of coming, and he doesn't need to spend any words to persuade Liji to kill Liu Laosan. Nanjun proclaimed himself king, and Liji also understood Xiang Kang's hint, laughed but flatly refused, and said: "Go back and tell your king, and say that this general is here to reinforce the king of Nanyang, whether you want to withdraw directly to Hanshui, This general has his own opinions and will not obey your majesty's arrangements. Also, if you want to ask for peace, you can just send an envoy to contact our majesty. This general has no right to intervene in such a big matter."

After dismissing the envoys of the Han army in a few words, Liji patted Liu Laosan on the shoulder again, and said with a smile: "Nanyang King, don't worry, let's not say that our king will never agree to Xiang Kang's traitor's peace proposal. The Han traitors will negotiate peace, and our king will never agree to hand you over to the traitor Xiang Kang, what kind of person is our king, don't you know Nanyang Wang?"

"Thank you, General Li." Liu Laosan laughed and said, "The King of Western Chu is righteous, Xiao Wang certainly knows this, so how could he be worried that he will hand over Xiao Wang to the Han thieves in order to negotiate peace with the Han thieves? "

The political genius Liu Laosan was of course trying to force a smile. When the evening was approaching, he finally withdrew with the Western Chu Army to the Huyang City on the east bank of Yushui, and then entered the residence arranged for him by the magistrate of Huyang County. The third child sat down on the central seat, his face was so gloomy that he could almost drip, and for the first time, he didn't ask about the situation of the army's accommodation in the city, and he was just in a daze with a sullen face.

He also said that Liu Laosan was saddened by Wancheng's disastrous defeat, and Xiao He who was next to him persuaded him: "Your Majesty, don't worry too much, victory or defeat is just a matter of military affairs. Although we lost the capital of Wancheng, Nanjun is still in our hands. We only need to After crossing the Han River, using the natural danger of the Han River to block the army of Han thieves, and spending a little time recruiting troops in Nanjun, we will soon be able to make a comeback."

"I wish it was that easy." Liu Laosan smiled wryly, and said, "I'm afraid that when we arrive in Nanjun, Liji will soon take my head off and take the opportunity to annex Nanjun and Changsha, which we finally won. north of the county."

"What does your Majesty mean by this?" Xiao He asked in shock.

Liu Laosan smiled wryly, and then told about the fact that Xiang Kang sent an envoy to contact Liji today. Xiao He, who is also a political expert, was of course shocked when he heard it, and blurted out: "The Han thieves are clearly trying to drive the tiger away." Swallow the wolf, instigate Li Jipifu to help the Western Chu army directly annex our southern territory!"

"Wrong." Liu Laosan said with a sneer: "That traitor Xiang Kang is not instigating Li Jipifu to help the Western Chu army annex our territory, but to lure Li Jipifu to annex our city and land, and establish himself as king! Look! Well, after we withdrew from the Han River, it would be better if the Han bandits rushed south to attack Nanjun. Liji, who relies on us for money, food and military supplies, would not dare to mess around, but if the traitor Xiang Kang refuses to go south, If you even turn around and go north, Liji will definitely attack. It’s fine to just put the king and you under house arrest, if we don’t cooperate, he will kill us with a sword!”

"It's possible." Xiao He nodded quickly, and said, "Nanjun has a vast land and few people, money and food are scarce and miasma is everywhere. There is no need for Xiang Kang's traitors to take it down immediately, and they deliberately give Li Jipifu a chance. There is absolutely no possibility of this .”

"That's why this king is so worried." Liu Laosan sighed, and murmured: "When I was on the road, this king wanted to talk to Li Jipifu several times to be open and honest, and persuade him not to be such a relative. It's easy for the enemy, but you don't know how greedy and selfish that man is. The temptation of the throne and the territory is placed in front of him, and the traitor Xiang Kang will definitely fan the flames behind his back, instigate and seduce, and it must be true Say nothing."

"Then what else can the king do?" Xiao He asked quickly.

"Ben Wang thought about it and found that we still have two options." Liu Laosan said with a sullen face: "First, after passing the Han River, if the traitor Xiangkang is really not in a hurry to go south, it will give us a little respite. If there is an opportunity, we will act first, kill Li Qifu first, and annex the Western Chu Army under his command!"

"Your Majesty, this must not be done!" Xiao He quickly objected, and said in a deep voice: "If we do this, let alone whether we can do it, even if we can, with our current strength, how can we successfully annex the West? Chu army? Also, doing so will definitely anger the king of Western Chu completely, and if we offend the king of Western Chu, we will be even more unable to stop the army of Han bandits."

Liu Laosan nodded silently, acknowledging that what Xiao He said was true, Xiao He hurriedly asked again: "My lord, what is the second solution?"

Liu Laosan hesitated for a long time, and then said slowly: "The second method is to follow the example of Xiang Kang's traitor back then, and take the initiative to donate our remaining city land to the Western Chu Army, and take our remaining troops with us. Go to the King of Western Chu, and start over from the beginning under the command of Xiang Yu."

Xiao He opened his mouth completely, but after a long time, Xiao He nodded his head slowly and said: "This is the safest way, take the initiative to dedicate so many lands and cities to the King of Western Chu, and the King of Western Chu is overjoyed. It won't treat us badly, and we still have hope to start from scratch. It's just..., it's a pity to do this."

"Strictly speaking, it's not a pity." Liu Laosan said weakly: "We snatched Nanjun from Yingbupifu in the first place, and it hasn't been long since we snatched it. The people there haven't attached us yet. Withdrawing to Nanjun, it is difficult to stand firm. The Han bandits only need to let a partial division and Yingbu Puff enter Nanjun, and they are likely to take Nanjun back. At that time, we will go to the King of Western Chu again. It's not so easy to say."

After saying that, Liu Laosan said with a wry smile: "Don't forget, before this, because our foothold in Nanjun was not stable and the people's hearts were not attached, we moved all the family members of the local chief officials of Nanjun to Wancheng for the sake of prudence. See Chapter 410 of this book), and now that those people have fallen into the hands of the traitors, with Xiang Kang’s ability as a traitor, how could he not use these people to make a big fuss?"

"My lord, have you made up your mind?" Xiao He asked hesitantly.

"If only I could make up my mind so easily." Liu Laosan smiled wryly, and said, "No matter how remote and barren South County is, it is still a piece of land. Ask this king to hand over the last piece of land and surrender himself to Xiang Yu. How could this king be so easy to be willing to call himself a minister and general?"

Xiao He closed his mouth, while Liu Laosan waved his hand again, and said, "Don't bother me, let me think about it carefully, and go do what you should do. Remember, it's better to bring Hu Yangcheng with you." Take everything with you, Hu Yang will definitely not be able to keep it, and it won’t be long before it will belong to the traitors.”

Xiao He sang promises with a heavy expression, and left to go on his errands, leaving Liu Laosan to sit on the spot, and even though his body was exhausted, Liu Laosan stayed up all night, thinking about countless problems in his head all the time, " Do you want to take the risk of returning to Nanjun? After arriving in Nanjun, will this king be sure to hold on to Liji and win the time and opportunity to make a comeback? Will Liji, greedy for profit, covet the land of the city and kill me directly?"

After all, Liu Laosan is Liu Laosan. Although the process of making a decision was extremely painful, when the sky became light the next day, Liu Laosan still made a decision. He slapped the case in front of him heavily, gritted his teeth and said: " Back then, the traitor Xiang Kang was willing to give up dozens of cities in the three counties. Could this king be inferior to him? Instead of risking his life in South County and waiting to die, it would be better to ask Xiang Yu to go to his army and start from scratch!"

(End of this chapter)