Han Dang is stronger

Chapter 478 Decided to destroy Chu
The news of Yafu Fan Zeng's resignation and his departure soon spread like a thunderbolt to every battalion and army of the Western Chu Army, and shocked countless generals and soldiers of the Western Chu Army.

On this historical level, old man Fan's influence on the Western Chu Army is even greater and more difficult to replace. No matter how the Western Chu Army has risen and fallen over the years, no matter what big or small events, they cannot do without it. Old man Fan advises Xiang Yu, gives advice, and because Xiang Yu almost never cares about civil affairs, old man Fan handles almost all major and minor matters related to the national economy and people's livelihood for Xiang Yu.

I don’t know how many local officials were selected and appointed by Mr. Fan on Xiang Yu’s behalf. I don’t know how many policies that are necessary to restore the farming economy to the people were actually formulated and promulgated by Mr. Fan. Officials, big and small, were recruited into the army, not to mention how much money, food, and military supplies the Western Chu Army spent on the battle. Old man Fan personally arranged and raised them. Because of Xiang Yu's irascibility and lack of kindness, I don't know how many generals and soldiers of the Western Chu Army were comforted by Old Man Fan for Xiang Yu. Reward and punish deeds under pressure, promote, appoint and dismiss.

It is no exaggeration to say that without old man Fan, the princes outside the Guan who were forced to submit to Western Chu would have been completely torn apart when Xiang Yu was shot by an arrow, and the Western Chu army would definitely not be able to survive Peng Feng's chaos. The level of paralysis, and there is no possibility that it will still be able to persist until now despite repeated heavy losses from the outside and rampant internal traitors.

But no one thought that after doing so many things for the Western Chu Army, and having worked so hard for Xiang Yu's great cause of overlord, Old Man Fan would leave the Western Chu Army alone without even saying hello. He disappeared without a trace in the middle of the night, abandoning Xiang Yu, the overlord of Western Chu who he had followed for many years, and countless soldiers of the Western Chu Army who loved and respected him sincerely.

The camp of the Western Chu Army was in an uproar. While the countless generals and soldiers of the Western Chu Army were stunned, their morale and morale were inevitably greatly affected. They also scrambled to find out the reason why Old Man Fan left overnight. Either they gloated over others' misfortune, or they refused to admit their mistakes out of face, or they didn't dare to repeat the same mistakes when the rabbit died and the fox grieved. Xiang Yu.

It is very ridiculous that the next day old man Fan left without saying goodbye. Xiang Yu, who had refused to evacuate from the Puyang battlefield before, remembered what old man Fan had insisted on before, and finally made up his mind to retreat to the south and give up the impossible to achieve. Under the Puyang plan, he took the initiative to retreat and return to the hinterland of Western Chu, and started preparing to retreat south that day.

Of course, the Western Chu Army was preparing to retreat with great fanfare, and of course it was reported to Xiang Kang very quickly. At the same time, relying on the careful efforts of the Han Army, the news that Old Man Fan left the Western Chu Army camp was also reported to Xiang Kang almost at the same time. Of course, Xiang Kang attached great importance to this, and immediately asked Chen Ping, the chief of the Han Army's special agent, to confirm the authenticity of this news at any cost.

The secret agents of the Han army in charge of Chen Ping have always been able to work effectively. It was only in the evening of the day that Chen Ping sent accurate information to Xiang Kang. What's more, at this time, accurate news came from the battlefield of Qidi, which confirmed Uncle Zhou's loyalty to Xiang Kang. He not only beat off the envoy sent by the Western Chu Army to instigate the rebellion, but also sent troops immediately Going south, the remnants of the Chu-Ji coalition army who fled south to the front line of Boyang launched an attack.

After carefully understanding Zhou Shu's belief in beating away the envoys of the Western Chu army, Xiang Kang was relieved, and suddenly said without thinking, "Zhujishi's luck is good, if there is no accident, this time He can take a big credit for nothing."

Xiang Kang said this very abruptly, but Zhang Liang and Chen Ping next to him immediately understood Xiang Kang's meaning, and immediately nodded in agreement, and then Chen Ping laughed again: "Maybe this is God's compensation for General Zhu. , in the previous few wars, he was always responsible for the dirty work, not to mention fighting tough battles, and it was destined that it would be difficult for him to have a chance to make meritorious deeds. The ministers always wanted to remind the king to give him some compensation. Such a kind person, let him choose such a great contribution in vain."

Xiang Kang nodded with a smile, and admitted that there might be a cause and effect in the dark, and after a little calculation, Xiang Kang ordered: "Xu Ji, send someone to invite Guangwu Jun and Lou Shilang here immediately. Just say that I have good news to tell them, and I also have important matters to discuss with them."

Xu Ji sang promises, and immediately sent people to follow the order, while Zhang Liang on the other side asked with a smile: "Your Majesty, have you made up your mind to launch a war to destroy Chu?"

"Such a good opportunity, I can't miss it again." Xiang Kang nodded, and said with a smile: "Mr. Zifang, you are good at strategy, and Mr. Chen Ping is good at strategy. Although I am not bad at tactics, if you listen to it, you will know that we are the best. Let’s ask Guangwu Jun and Lou Shilang for their opinions.”

After saying that, Xiang Kang asked someone to bring food and drinks again, and prepared to discuss the next strategy and tactics with several important advisers. After a while, Li Zuoche, who was proficient in tactics, and Lou Jing, who had unique insights in all aspects Xiang Kang did not hide anything from them, and immediately told them all the ins and outs of Old Man Fan's departure in anger, as well as the latest situation at Qidi, and then said: "The situation is probably like this. Fighting opportunities are rare. This king has made up his mind. Seize this opportunity to launch the battle to destroy Chu. Give my brother and the Xichu bandit army a final blow to end this troubled world. I just don't know what you are Opinion."

Lou Jing's stable personality is well known in history. After a little calculation, he said: "My lord, are you being a little too aggressive? Although we have a sure chance of winning in the battlefield of Qidi, Tian Heng is still alive. The human and material resources of Qidi are still too late to be integrated and utilized. Should we wait a little longer? After we have completely pacified Qidi and transformed the human and material resources of Qidi into our strength, it will not be too late to launch the battle to destroy Chu? "

"Lou Shilang, I'm afraid you are a little too conservative this time." Li Zuoche immediately objected: "In my opinion, the king's decision is the most correct. The Chu thief army has a chance to breathe, so when we completely pacify Qi and launch the battle to destroy Chu, the Western Chu thief army must have re-expanded the army and established strong camps in various dangerous areas. It's going to be harder, it won't be easier."

"Don't forget Huainan and Jiangdong." Li Zuoche added: "Although the hinterland of Western Chu has been severely damaged at present, Huainan and Jiangdong further south have been slightly damaged by the war, and there is still room to dig. Coupled with the militaristic character of the King of Western Chu, if he is given time, it is definitely not impossible to raise a large number of troops again."

Lou Jing nodded, admitting that this is indeed the case, but Xiang Kang said: "There is a more dangerous possibility, without Yafu's restraint and obstruction, with Liu Ji's traitorous skills, it is certain that my elder brother will be reused quickly. If we give him more time, with his ability and the remaining strength of the Western Chu bandit army, our troubles will only be even greater."

Lou Jing smiled awkwardly, and said: "It seems that the minister is not thoughtful enough, the minister takes back what he just said, please decide, the king, how should we fight the battle to destroy Chu?"

"That's why I invited Mr. Guangwu here." Xiang Kang turned to Li Zuoche and said with a smile, "Mr. Guangwu, it's time for you to show your talents. What's your opinion on how to fight the battle to destroy Chu? Please speak freely." Bar."

Li Zuoche thought about it for a while, and then he cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I don't dare to take a high opinion. I only have a superficial and foolish opinion. I think that in the battle to destroy Chu, it is best for us to try to defeat the Western Chu thieves one by one. Weaken it, and then try to wipe out the remaining main force of the Western Chu thief army, don't take chances and hope to destroy Chu in one battle."

"As for the reason, it's also very simple." Li Zuoche went on to say: "The Western Chu bandits currently have more than 15 troops on the Puyang battlefield, and their strength is still higher than our main force in the middle. The hope of winning is very small, and we can only rely on General Zhou to come to help, and the two armies will work together to ensure a stable chance of victory. However, General Zhou not only has to score troops to deal with the capricious Tian Heng rebels, but also has to take responsibility Annihilating the remnants of the Chu Ji bandit army that still has a little more strength, it will definitely be difficult to join forces with our main force in the middle in a short time."

"So we must not be in a hurry, we must fight steadily." Li Zuoche continued: "For General Zhou's side, in addition to letting him leave enough troops to deal with Tian Hengpifu, we also have to do our best to fight for Chu Ji's rebel army. The remnants of the Chuji remnants were wiped out in the hinterland of Xue County, and the remnants of the Chu Ji rebel army were not given the opportunity to join forces with the main force of the Western Chu rebel army, making it more difficult for us to destroy Chu."

"With Uncle Zhou's strength, as long as he can encircle the remnants of Chu Ji's bandit army, it will definitely be no problem to wipe them out." Xiang Kang thought about it and said, "The difficulty lies in the open terrain in Xue County, and the encirclement and annihilation battle is difficult. Coupled with Liu Ji and Han Xin adding to the chaos, it must be more difficult for Uncle Zhou to encircle and annihilate them."

"Your Majesty, a wise man is bound to make a mistake. It's rare to see you make a mistake." Zhang Liang reminded with a smile: "My lord, why did you forget Jing Jia and Peng Yue who are entrenched in Juyeze? With their current As far as strength is concerned, it is definitely not certain to deal with the remnants of Chu Ji's bandit army alone, but it is definitely not a big problem to entangle the remnants of Chu Ji's bandit army for a while. They just need to buy a little time for General Zhou Shu, and General Zhou Shu will have it. Are you ready to annihilate the remnants of the Chu Ji bandit army?"

Xiang Kang patted his forehead, and only now did he realize that he had indeed forgotten about Peng Yue—but this cannot be completely blamed on Xiang Kang. His vitality was bruised again, and he had been hiding around Juyeze to lick his wounds afterwards, and he didn't show any decent performance, so Xiang Kang didn't immediately remember that there was such a guerrilla behind the enemy's flanks on the Xuejun battlefield.

After repenting, Xiang Kang nodded quickly and said: "That's it, give Peng Yue an order immediately, let him immediately enter the hinterland of Xue County, try to find a way to entangle the remnants of Chu Ji's bandit army, and create an annihilation for Uncle Zhou." Chance for the remnants of Chu Ji's bandit army."

After everyone sang promises, Xiang Kang turned to Li Zuoche and asked, "Mr. Guangwu, how should we act in the middle? How should we gradually weaken the Western Chu bandit army?"

"On the middle road, we can only fight steadily and step by step. At the same time, we will deploy troops from the rear to reinforce the battlefield in the middle road and strengthen our troops in the middle road." Li Zuoche replied: "As for how to gradually weaken the army of the Western Chu bandits, we can only do it. It may be playing by ear on the way of pursuit. Fortunately, the temper of King Yixi Chu told him to give up many cities and land and withdraw directly to Pengcheng. If we do this, we will be sure to eat up his remaining troops one by one, so that even if he retreats to Pengcheng, he will not be able to bring back too many troops."

"However, if the situation is beyond the expectations of my subordinates, and the king of Western Chu resolutely abandons the city land that is doomed to be impossible to defend, and concentrates all his troops to go south, then we will be in more trouble." Li Zuoche continued: "When we arrive at that At that time, we can only find ways to use the rivers and roads to make a fuss, and even take the risk of confronting the main force of the Xichu bandit army head-on, exhausting our troops, and we can hope to turn the situation around when our reinforcements arrive."

"Don't worry, with my elder brother's temperament, he will never give up so many cities and land directly, and concentrate all his troops to go south. He is too rigid about the gains and losses of one city and one place." Xiang Kang replied confidently, even more Confidently said: "And even if he has this plan, I will try every means to let him divide his troops to defend the city, and create opportunities for us to defeat the rest of his army one by one."

Knowing that Xiang Kang has always played Xiang Yu like a monkey, Li Zuoche, Zhang Liang and others immediately nodded in agreement. Then Xiang Kang discussed carefully with everyone present and decided to let Qi Ji lead the Sanchuan Han army to go straight to Puyang For reinforcements on the battlefield, Han Wangxin was asked to send troops from Yingchuan, via Chenliu Waihuang, directly to Dingtao to join forces with the Han army in the middle road, and at the same time to order Uncle Zhou to arrange for a general to lead a partial division to deal with Tian Heng, and lead the main force to go south. Annihilate the remnants of the Chu-Ji coalition forces, and then rush to join forces with the main force of the Han army in the middle, and launch a decisive battle to destroy Chu.

In addition, Xiang Kang naturally had to let the main force of the Han army in the middle prepare to pursue the pursuit immediately. As soon as the main force of the Western Chu army moved, he immediately dispatched troops to start the pursuit. .

The matter was not over yet. During this period, when the Han army officials wrote the official documents and orders for Xiang Kang, after careful consideration, Xiang Kang told Chen Ping alone: ​​"Mr. Chen Ping, work hard, and personally write for this The king gave Jing Jia and Peng Yue an order, and the tone of the order was as strict as possible, telling them to entangle and stop the remnants of the Chu Ji bandit army no matter what, and to cooperate with our northern front army to wipe out the Chu Ji bandit army in the hinterland of Xue County. Finally Clearly remind them that this is the opportunity this king gave them."

Chen Ping blinked his eyes, nodded and sang promises immediately, and then personally wrote a rather stern attack order for Xiang Kang to Jing Jia and Peng Yue, the self-appointed King of Chu and Chu Xiang, and clearly reminded them that it was from Xiang Kang. Xiang Kang was satisfied with the opportunity after seeing it in person, so he signed the order with his seal, and sent a reliable messenger to Juyeze to deliver it to Peng Yue and Jing Jia immediately.

On the side of the Western Chu army, with an army size of more than 15, they have to carry a large amount of food, grass and military supplies. At the same time, they have to consider the problem of dealing with the pursuit of the Han army. If the Western Chu army wants to retreat in an orderly and smooth manner, the preparation work is of course not done overnight. It took more than two days for the Western Chu army to finish all these intricate tasks, and it was only then that they decided to leave the camp and go south in the early morning of the next day, retreating to Pengcheng via Dingtao.

It's still ridiculous, and it's still at this time that Master Xiang, who replaced old man Fan as Xiang Yu's chief deputy, considered whether to order Tao Shoujun to retreat with the main force of the Western Chu Army with food and grass in advance. When asked this question, Xiang Yu was also extremely hesitant and reluctant. After thinking for a long time, he said: "This matter will be decided after we arrive in Dingtao. Just ask Dingtao to make preparations in advance to take us south to Jishui. , I will talk about other things later."

Master Xiang hurriedly agreed, but Kuai Che on the other side moved his lips, but for some reason, after hesitating for a while, Kuai Che swallowed the words that had come to his lips again, not daring to speak to Master Xiang. In front of him, he didn't dare to provoke Xiang Yu, who was in an extremely bad mood since Old Man Fan left without saying goodbye.

Early the next morning, the Western Chu army officially began to retreat. The 15 troops were divided into three groups. Zhou Lan led the army to open the way first. Xiang Bo and Huan Chu led the main force to protect the grain and military supplies. On the Puyang battlefield, head south towards Dingtao at a steady speed of forty miles a day.During this period, Xiang Yu turned his head and glared at the Han army camp under Puyang City more than once, gritted his teeth and said, "Zhuzi, if you have the guts, come after me! As long as you dare to come face-to-face with this king, I promise to kill you to pieces!" Do not stay behind!"

The Western Chu army had just started to retreat, and they could turn around and fight decisively at any time. Of course, Xiang Kang would only send troops to pursue him if he was stupid. I did one thing - I worked with Zhang Liang, who is outstanding in writing, to write a Han army call, a call to persuade Tao Junmin to open the city and surrender immediately when the Han army arrived at the city, and insisted that Xiang Yu was going to abandon Dingtao soldiers The officials fled back to Pengcheng directly, so that Dingtao military and civilian officials were prepared in advance to welcome the Han army into the city to calm the people.

After the call-to-action was written, he read it carefully and felt satisfied, so Xiang Kang also handed the call-to-action to Chen Ping, and ordered: "Send capable and meticulous workers to go south first, and post this call-to-action in Dingtao before the Western Chu army arrives in Puyang. At the gate of the city, you must let my elder brother know that I look down on him at all, and it is expected that he will voluntarily give up Dingtao Town and flee south directly."

Chen Ping took it with a sly smile, and suggested: "Your Majesty, do you want to stop being angry with the King of Western Chu? Just write him a letter, urging him to retreat to the south of the Huai River and give up the land north of the Huai River. In exchange for us reconciling with him and a truce?"

"Don't worry, take it step by step." Xiang Kang said with a smile: "Such a big move, save it for later use."

(End of this chapter)