Han Dang is stronger

Chapter 441 Return to Guanzhong
When the news of Ziying's rebellion and arrest was sent to Xiang Kang, Xiang Kang was already on his way back to Guanzhong, and the main force of the Western Chu army led by Xiang Yu had also withdrawn to Pengcheng. The war is temporarily over.

Originally, Xiang Yu was absolutely unwilling to take the initiative to retreat to show weakness, but there was no other way. The three main forces of the Han army had already concentrated in the middle of the battlefield, and their accumulated strength completely overwhelmed the Western Chu army. They have raised some troops, but these troops are still scattered in various parts of Western Chu for training. It is difficult to complete the assembly and formation in a short period of time. They rush to the front line to reinforce and obey orders. It is obviously courting death to attack the Han army, and they can only take the initiative to withdraw. Set up defenses on the chasm, waiting for the Han army to launch an attack.

Xiang Kang, who is still not sure about destroying Chu, is too lazy to pay attention to Xiang Yu. He released the news that he was seriously ill in Xu County, and confirmed that Xiang Yu had withdrawn from the border to deploy defenses. Xiang Kang took the Han Army Central Corps and retreated to Yangdi. , via the Gou family in Yangcheng to withdraw to Sanchuan, the Zhou Shu Corps of the Han army also took the initiative to withdraw to Puyang, preparing to return to the northern line to wipe out the remnants of the enemy, and by the way, prevent Zhao Wangxie, who was forced to surrender to the Han, from having any strange intentions.

Not to mention, when he heard that Xiang Kang was seriously ill, Xiang Yu actually believed it a little bit, and subconsciously came up with the idea of ​​turning around and cleaning up his scumbag cousin. If it is true that Xiang Kang's illness is true, they are willing to lose their heads to Xiang Yu as a chamber pot. At the same time, the generals of the Western Chu Army such as Xiang Zhuang, Ji Bu, and Xiang Sheng also strongly oppose it. It's really a shitty serious illness, so to speak, it's hard to hold Xiang Yu, whose limbs are seriously overdeveloped.

However, Kuai Che, Xiang Zhuang and others were also scolded for this. Not long after, news came that Xiang Kang voluntarily withdrew from Sanchuan. He believed that the scumbag cousin must have done so because of illness, and Xiang Yu immediately counterattacked against him. Kuai Che, Xiang Zhuang and others scolded them bloody, cursing them for being cowardly and for wasting their precious opportunity.

There is no way to scold, the scumbag cousin has already slipped away brazenly, the Han army has a superior force in the middle battlefield, but also has the danger of mountains and rivers, actively attacking for a decisive battle not only has no chance of winning, but also is in danger of being dumped by the Han army. So Xiang Yu had no choice but to listen to Kuai Che's suggestion patiently, and decided to temporarily withdraw to Pengcheng to regroup, and let the soldiers of the Western Chu Army who had been fighting for many years take a break, and then seek revenge against their scumbag cousin in the future.

Xiang Kang still ignored the actions of the Western Chu Army. After withdrawing to Sanchuan, Xiang Kang quickly completed the deployment and adjustment of the middle road, and reassigned Zhong Limei, who owed Zheng Bu's favor, to Zheng Bu's command, and strengthened the Zheng Bu Corps. He returned to Puyang and was responsible for confronting the Western Chu army. Zheng Bu commanded the immovable Long Qie and Zhu Jishi to lead the troops to garrison Sanchuan, and joined forces with Fu Kuan and Qi Ji to lead the Sanchuan defenders to form a defense against the Western Chu army's counterattack. The second line of defense also allowed the soldiers of the Han army, who had also been fighting for many years, to take a break.

It is worth mentioning that during this period, taking advantage of the opportunity that the main force of the Western Chu Army was restrained by the Han Army, the Peng Yue Army, which had been hit hard by the Western Chu Army before, not only gained a precious respite, but also seized the opportunity under the banner of the Chu Army. Several small towns around Juyeze regained some vitality to some extent, recruited and accepted traitors, and re-raised an army of 7000 to [-] people. As an envoy, Ling Yin and Chen Ying came to Sanchuan to get in touch with Xiang Kang, and asked Xiang Kang to support his army with weapons and supplies, and help him regain Chu.

Prior to this, Chen Ying, who had temporarily attached himself to Xiang Kang, was also considered a member of the Young Marshal Army. After a few years, he met Xiang Kang, who had become the King of Han, again. Of course, Chen Ying sighed and lamented the impermanence of life. He didn't care about what happened before, and greeted him very politely, and received him as an empty Ling Yin with corresponding standards, and agreed to help Peng Yue without hesitation, and provided Peng Yue with the necessary help as much as possible.

After thanking Xiang Kang repeatedly, Chen Ying said cautiously: "King of Han, foreign ministers have a presumptuous and unfeeling request. We, the King of Chu and Shangzhu Kingdom, heard that your army has a new trebuchet. If we can directly break through the city wall, our Chu army must attack the city if we want to restore the old land. If it is convenient for the King of Han, how many craftsmen who can build this kind of trebuchet will be sent to us?"

Seeing Xiang Kang's displeasure, Chen Ying quickly changed his mind and said, "Don't worry, the King of Han. We also know that such weapons cannot be easily shown to others. If the King of Han thinks it is not possible, we will never force it."

"You guys are smart." Xiang Kang snorted coldly in his heart, and then said: "Master Ling Yin, it's not that this king is reluctant to give it to you. There are two reasons. One is that the materials of this trebuchet are too rare and the production is too expensive. Even if it is given to you, it will be difficult to use it given your current situation. Second, the Western Chu thieves still have vitality. If the craftsmanship of the trebuchet is passed on and is obtained by the Western Chu thieves, it will definitely bring us great benefits. Trouble. So there is no way, I can help you with anything, but the new trebuchets cannot be given to you.”

Chen Ying quickly nodded and bowed to express his understanding, and very smartly took the initiative to withdraw the request. Xiang Kang nodded, and then casually ordered: "Lord Ling Yin, go down and rest first. How to support you will be discussed by the king and the ministers." I'll give you an answer."

Chen Ying quickly agreed, and took the initiative to resign knowingly and wisely, while Xiang Kang snorted coldly at his back: "I have a big appetite, and I even want a counterweight trebuchet. Do you want all the gunpowder?"

"Your Majesty, calm down." Chen Ping persuaded from the side: "Peng Yue and Jing Jia are indeed a little greedy, but they are still useful to us now, there is no need to be as knowledgeable as them for such a trivial matter."

It is precisely because Peng Yue and Jing Jia are still useful at present that Xiang Kang didn't take this matter to heart. After a little discussion with Chen Ping, Zhang Liang and others, Xiang Kang quickly decided to send it to Peng Yue. A batch of food, ordnance, and weapons helped Peng Yue continue to make trouble under Xiang Yu's nose. In addition, he decided to let Zheng Bu send troops to attack Zhencheng, Duguan and other eastern county cities, and actively opened up contact with Peng Yue's army so that Peng Yue's army The urgently needed supplies and weapons were delivered to Peng Yue.

"My lord, we can't blindly help Peng Yue Jingjia without expecting anything in return. We also have to ask Peng Yue to help us a little bit." Zhang Liang made a suggestion: "Before now, the main force of the Western Chu bandit army was concentrated on the Xingyang battlefield. Relying on Juye Ze, he continued to harass and attack the East China Sea Road and the cities along the way, which indeed helped us a lot. But now that the Western Chu bandit army has withdrawn to the mainland, if he is still active in the southern part of Ju Ye Ze, it will not only give us a lot of help. We can't help much, and it may affect our future invasion of Western Chu. The minister believes that we should designate an attack direction for Peng Yue, so that he can pose an effective threat to the Western Chu thieves and not waste our support for him. money, food and weapons."

"Mr. Zifang is right." Xiang Kang nodded immediately, and then asked: "In Mr. Zifang's opinion, which direction should we let Peng Yue develop?"

"Xue Jun is in the east of Juye Ze." Zhang Liang replied immediately: "Xue Jun is the only way for the Western Chu bandit army to connect with Jibei. Xue Jun can not only weaken the national strength of the Western Chu bandit army, but also indirectly support General Zhou Shu, so when Qi is in emergency, the Western Chu bandit army's attempt to rescue Qi will also be affected."

"Wonderful strategy." Xiang Kang applauded, and said: "Letting Peng Yue enter Xue County, not only can he help Uncle Zhou, but it may also annoy my bad-tempered elder brother, and personally take the army to Xue County to find Peng Yue's reckoning will further consume the national power of the Western Chu bandit army."

After making up his mind on this idea, Xiang Kang gave Chen Ying the list of supplies from the Han army to support Peng Yue's army at the banquet for Chen Ying that night, and also asked Peng Yue to focus on Xue County to cooperate with Han Uncle Zhou's corps marched into the land, Chen Ying, who was short-handed, agreed, and soon set off to return to Juyeze to report Xiang Kang's answer to Peng Yue and Jing Jia.

It was only after sending Chen Ying away that Xiang Kang thought of an important question, and said worriedly: "We let Peng Yue focus on entering Xue County, so we didn't accidentally help Liu Ji a lot, right? Liu Ji Pifu's hometown is close to Xue County, and he has been active in Xue County for a long time after he raised his army. He is very familiar with all kinds of situations in Xue County. If my brother decides to send a partial division to reinforce Xue County's troops, he is an ideal candidate. ? If my elder brother just asked him to help others, it’s okay, but if he was asked to lead the army alone, then this traitor would be a dragon back to the sea.”

"Your Majesty, it's impossible?" Lou Jing said a little strangely: "Not long after Liu Jicai returned to the tent of the King of Western Chu, there are so many heroes and senior generals in the Western Chu bandit army, and he alone leads the army to reinforce Xue County. Is it his turn?"

"It's hard to say, don't underestimate this traitor's ability." Xiang Kang shook his head and replied: "Don't underestimate my father Fan Zeng's ability to know people, and my uncle Xiang Bo Master Xiang's insatiable greed."

"My lord, then we can't let General Peng Yue give up entering Xue County just because of Liu Jifu?" Chen Ping asked with a wry smile.

Of course, it was impossible for Xiang Kang to let Peng Yue focus on entering Xue County because he was worried about giving Liu Laosan a chance, but this incident also reminded Xiang Kang, and Xiang Kang had to say in his heart: "Don't relax. Be wary of Liu Laosan, even if there is no way to deal with him now, we must make some preparations in advance so that we can deal with him in the future."

When he was thinking about how to deal with Liu Laosan, a name that had been forgotten for a long time suddenly jumped into Xiang Kang's mind. Although the hope was not very high, whether that person was still alive was also a big question, but he decided to try his luck. Planning, Xiang Kang still beckoned Chen Ping to the front, and whispered in the ear of Chen Ping, the chief of the Han army's special agent: "Arrange special manpower, go to Pengcheng, and ask Liu Jipifu's subordinates. Is the one named Cao Wushang still alive? If this Cao Wushang is still alive, then..."

After finishing these things, Xiang Kang, who had not returned to Guanzhong for more than a year, led Zhang Liang and Chen Ping, and set off from Xingyang to return to Guanzhong under the protection of five thousand elites. Various work situations, dealing with many major military and political affairs that must be decided by oneself, and preparing to recruit soldiers in Guanzhong, where the potential is still deep, organize and train a new force to continue to reinforce the Han army, so as to meet the future decisive battle between Chu and Han.

By the way, in order to disgust Han Xin, Xiang Kang still didn't forget to let people spread rumors everywhere when he set off to disgust Han Xin, saying that he decided to return to Guanzhong to recuperate because of his unhealed illness.

On the way, Xiang Kang finally received the news that Ziying had been captured for rebellion in Guanzhong. Of course, Xiang Kang, who had been mentally prepared for this, was not surprised. On the contrary, many Han soldiers, including old Shangshan Tang Bing, were furious. They all came forward to persuade Xiang Kang to use this excuse to cut Ziying's weeds and get rid of the roots once and for all, but Xiang Kang smiled slightly and replied: "No hurry, give the order to Uncle Ya and the others. First, take Ziying's two sons and his colleagues. The whole family of Dang was hacked up, and Ziying was sent to watch the punishment, as for Ziying himself, I will personally punish Ziying when I return to Guanzhong."

It was only after crossing Taolin Sai and officially returning to the Guanzhong Plain that Xiang Kang really knew how much the new farm tools he invented in advance had bought him into the hearts of the people in Guanzhong.Even though Xiang Kang didn't deliberately ask, under the organization of local officials along the way, countless Guanzhong people rushed to meet Xiang Kang and his party on both sides of Chidao. From Ningqin to Xianyang, Xiang Kang's car passed every place, There were crowds of people on both sides of Chidao, and most of the welcome people had sincere and happy smiles on their faces, thanking the hypocrite Xiang Kang who allowed them to avoid the disaster of war and live a good life from the bottom of their hearts.

In return, Xiang Kang, who is good at acting, of course got out of the car from time to time, helped the old man Baifa who was kneeling beside Chidao, and repeatedly told the local officials to let the people in Guanzhong use the substitute field method for the upcoming spring plowing. In order to have a better harvest in the coming year.As a result, of course, this hand won the tears of gratitude from countless people in Guanzhong, and many Baifa old men who were picked up by Xiang Kang himself burst into tears.

The climax was of course when Xiang Kang returned to Xianyang, just after crossing the Bashui pontoon bridge, Xiang Kang saw the densely packed road on both sides of the west, all of them were soldiers and civilians of Xianyang who followed Zhou Zeng, Chao Zhi and others to welcome him. After Xiang Kang’s carriage stopped in front of the crowd, Xiang Kang himself just stood up on the carriage, tens of thousands of Xianyang soldiers and civilians cheered and worshiped all over the place, and the voice of Long Live the King was like a tide. Come on.

Seeing this scene, besides being excited and moved, Xiang Kang couldn't help but murmur to himself, "Although I don't sit back and enjoy the benefits like Liu Laosan, he will come to buy people's hearts after Xiang Yu burns Xianyang into ruins. It is much more difficult than him to gain the support of the people in Guanzhong, and there will be some hidden dangers. But if this step can be achieved, Xianyang and countless cultural treasures can be preserved, and so many innocent people can be saved and let them escape I should be content with the butcher's knives of my elder brother and the princes outside the pass."

On the evening of the second day after returning to Xianyang, Xiang Kang took time out of his busy schedule to meet Ziying once, just like the last time when he surrendered to Xiang Kang in Zhidao, Ziying's face was also full of despair and hope. At a loss, he was as distraught as a walking corpse, and he was kicked by the guard until he remembered to bow down to Xiang Kang.

"Yonghou, a few days ago, I saw your two sons, as well as the last few loyal officials of the Qin Dynasty and their whole family, beheaded in front of you. How does it feel?"

It was Xiang Kang who spoke first, and Xiang Kang's words made Ziying immediately recall the horrific scenes, his whole body began to tremble, and his lips also began to tremble.Xiang Kang said again: "Do you know, it wasn't this king who killed them, but you."

"This king treats you well. Back then, Qi State surrendered without any resistance. Your uncle Yingzheng starved King Qi to death. Your Qin State surrendered to this king because it was desperate. Not only did this king not kill you You were starved to death, and you were named Marquis Yong. You never lacked in clothes and food, and you never owed any salary, money and food that you deserved. But how did you repay this king? If you were not unwilling to give up, you would With fantasies in mind, how could Wang Ming and Gao Jia, former officials of the Qin Dynasty, die because of you? How could their more innocent family members be implicated?"

"The king killed them for self-defense, because if the king didn't kill them, they would kill the king for you and kill the officials and soldiers under the king's command. That's why the king had no choice but to kill them. Going back to the source and really killing them It’s you. If you hadn’t harbored objections and acted, they would still be subjects of Han, and their innocent family members would still be able to live happily in this world.”

Xiang Kang's words made Ziying unable to refute, and did not dare to refute, heartbroken and extremely desperate, Ziying could only bow his head to Xiang Kang repeatedly, and said with tears: "Please die, guilty minister. Your Majesty, please punish the guilty minister..., the crime you deserve!"

"This king actually doesn't want to kill you." Xiang Kang sighed, and rarely said from the bottom of his heart: "This king originally planned to demote you as a commoner if you made any mistakes, and move you to live outside the pass. You know how much the six countries outside the Guanzhong hate you for violating the Qin royal family. But there is no way, your crime is too serious, and you even wrote a bloody edict to encourage the people in Guanzhong to rebel against this king. If this king spares your life, others If you learn from others, I will not be able to be the King of Han as the King of Han."

"Because you voluntarily surrendered and saved countless lives, I will leave you a whole body." Xiang Kang sighed again, and said, "I will give you a piece of white silk, and I will wash one tonight." Take a bath, I want to eat something to eat, change into clean clothes tomorrow, commit suicide in front of the tomb of your father, King Qin Zhuangxiang, and then bury you next to your doctor’s tomb, do you think this king has done enough for you? ?”

"Thank you, Your Majesty, and the criminals thank you for your kindness like heaven."

What else can Ziying say?Why can't I just bow my head to Xiang Kang again and again, thanking Xiang Kang for his extra kindness, Xiang Kang waved his hand and asked the guards to escort Ziying out, then turned to Xu Ji next to him and said, "This king really I don’t want to kill him, but there’s no other way, if I spare him and start rebellion, more people will die innocently in the future.”

"Your Majesty, you are already kind enough." Xu Ji replied respectfully, "If it were someone else, how could it be possible to leave a whole body for such a traitor?"

Xiang Kang, who really didn't want to kill his son and baby, sighed for the third time, then stood up, and commanded grandly: "Go, go back to the harem, and pay the public rations."

"Your Majesty, what is the public ration?" Xu Ji asked a little strangely.

Xiang Kang, who accidentally used a modern word, smiled wryly and didn't explain it. He just said casually: "Xu Ji, you seem to have only one wife and one concubine? I reward you with two beauties, and work hard on them when you have time. You are my confidant, and the son you gave birth to is of course my son's confidant, how hard we all work."

In this matter, Xiang Kang really resigned to his fate. The remaining roots of the enfeoffment system have not been eliminated, and he was forced to admit that the princes and kings such as Zhao Xie, Yingbo, and Zang Tu continued to be kings. If he wanted to complete the great cause of unification, Xiang Kang can only follow the example of Liu Laosan in history, having more sons and more people, replacing these princes and kings one after another with his own sons, and then gradually weakening his grandsons and great-grandchildren with the system of grace, and using time to eliminate the enfeoffment system The aftermath of this backward system.

Therefore, Xiang Kang has another important mission when he returns to Guanzhong, which is to go back to the harem to sleep more often when he has time!

(End of this chapter)