Chapter 230: Defeat those who are attacked, and subdue those who are struck

If this were a world of immortals and heroes, the sky above the old lands of the four kingdoms of Zhao, Song, Han and Luo must be filled with the murderous aura of countless armies.

After defeating Xiang Liang, Zhang Han wrote a letter to Fusu analyzing the situation in the world.

"Your Majesty, your subject Zhang Han bows his head.

From the death of the previous emperor to the uprising of the traitor Chen Sheng, although there were many rebellions in the world, the Qin Dynasty still controlled Guanzhong and Bashu.

This is the foundation that enabled the previous king to conquer the world. You are a monarch who is no less capable than the previous king. Isn't it God's will that you will prosper the Qin Dynasty?

The land of Three Jins is surrounded by mountains and rivers. If we take over here, we will get the Central Plains. Wei and Han have been defeated, and the coalition forces of Chu and Zhao are insignificant. Only Luo Gongling can still fight.

I will achieve victory for your majesty, and the Luo clan will be annihilated again, just as it was when your majesty the First Emperor was alive."

Zhang Han did not brag about destroying the Luo family in one battle. What he envisioned for Fusu was to destroy the heroes of Shandong.

By then, the Luo family would be just one family. Could one person fight against the million-strong army of the Qin Dynasty?

They could only flee to all corners of the world like they did during the time of the First Emperor, or hide in some counties that the Qin Dynasty could not control.

Fusu in Xianyang City looked at Zhang Han's memorial and remained silent for a long time. The Luo family stood against him, which made Fusu feel uncomfortable.

He had many ideals he wanted to achieve, but people actually live in a shell throughout their lives. Ultimately, his identity as the Emperor of Qin drove him to issue a general mobilization edict to the world.

"My princes, clan members, and noble relatives:

I am well, and all my ministers are well.

It has been more than 800 years since our ancestor Zaofei founded the country in Qinchuan. From a mere 200-li fiefdom to the current territories of 5,000 li in all directions, could this be achieved by human power alone?

But when the Chen rebels started an uprising, he was the only one who shouted loudly to the world, and the whole of Shandong followed suit in rebellion. At such a critical moment of life and death, all the clan members and nobles were in Guanzhong. It was not until the Prince of Handan led the people from Mount Li that the rebellion was put down. It must be said that this was the mistake of the late emperor.

I rewarded my clan members and meritorious officials based on their bloodline merits, and the rebellion in Shandong was gradually quelled. This was probably God's favor to the Qin Dynasty again.

The King of Handan wrote to me asking for the subjugation of Shandong, and I agreed. But since inconsistent orders would bring disaster, considering the precedent of the Zhou Dynasty, I granted the King of Handan the title of Grand Marshal, a rank above all other kings, and made him Grand Marshal. I also gave him the Sword of the Emperor of Qin, and ordered him to control all military and national affairs in Shandong. All other kings and princes must obey his orders.

This is all I can do. When the war is won, I will reward everyone from the generals to the soldiers generously."

Zhang Han was shaking all over when he received this edict. He was in charge of all military and national affairs in Shandong, and he also had the Qin Emperor's Sword, which allowed him to execute the princes who disobeyed his orders without reporting to the emperor later.

Faced with such favor, Zhang Han could only sigh to the sky: "As a minister, having reached this point, is there anything else I can pursue?"

So he dispatched various troops, and hundreds of thousands of them gathered on this land. Luo Ling commanded the troops of the Shandong princes to harass Zhang Han. Both sides were putting extreme pressure on each other.

"Lord Luo, King Lu Qian of Jiaodong was defeated by Zhang Han in time to retreat, and his men were scattered. What should we do?"

Luo Ling's eyes instantly turned cold when he heard this, and he said in a cold voice: "Let Qi Wangcheng receive his army, and warn the kings again not to fight a decisive battle with Zhang Han's main force."

The messenger retreated in a hurry. Luo Ling walked out of the house, looked at the starry night sky, and began to calculate the winning rate of the decisive battle between the two sides. The so-called military strategy is a means of constantly increasing the winning rate of one's own side before the war.

Under Luo Ling's command during these days, the Qin army's losses were naturally greater, but the Qin army had a very strong foundation that could not be compared with the Shandong princes.

Especially since Zhang Han was no ordinary person, the Shandong kings relied on their bloodline and status to hold high positions, and the ones with truly high tactical qualities were actually the ministers under their command. What happened to the King of Jiaodong this time was bound to happen sooner or later.

After calculating for a while, Luo Ling's frown gradually relaxed, "It's almost done. Now we just need a bait, let's go with Qiwang City."

The only one who can be used as bait without being eaten and who listens to Luo Ling very much is Qi Wangcheng. Especially since his brother, the King of Jiaodong, has just made a mistake and is busy fighting back, he will definitely agree and is the most suitable candidate.

As expected, King Cheng of Qi patted his chest and promised that he would complete Luo Ling’s mission. “Lord Luo, Cheng knows that the reason you are friendly to Cheng is because of the heroic act of King Xianmin who died for the country.

If Cheng wants to restore Qi, he can't just go with the flow like he is now. He will have to pay with blood and sacrifice. The Lu family has supported the country for a thousand years and has been deeply influenced by the Luo family. They know very well that nobility always comes with sacrifice. You can rest assured. "

Luo Ling's eyes were complicated when he heard that. The Lu family was the one that was most influenced by the Luo family in this world. Perhaps it was because there was too much blood mixed in, or perhaps it was because their ancestors were too heroic.

When Lu is alone, he may be no different from other nobles, but as long as he stands with Luo, regardless of his IQ and ability, this awareness immediately rises, which is very reliable.

Xiang Yu was sharpening his sword, so Luo Ling naturally would not place all his hopes on Xiang Yu.

In Luo Ling's view, Xiang Yu was a sharp knife for executing his strategy. He expected Xiang Yu to be like his ancestor Wu Gong, who could kill generals and seize flags, and entangle Zhang Han's main force from the front.

The other kings will follow Luo Ling's plan to attack other princes of the Qin Dynasty, cut off Zhang Han's wings, and eventually hunt Zhang Han down.

Zhang Han sensed the movements of Luo Ling and others, which was also what he wanted to do. Although he had taken the initiative to attack and achieved many results in recent days, the huge Qin Dynasty was really short of talents.

Among the princes and dukes appointed by Fusu, there were very few who could be of great use. Under the repeated attacks of the Shandong princes, they suffered a lot of losses. If this continued, Zhang Han felt that there was no need to fight a decisive battle and he could just retreat back to Han to regroup.

The only difference between the two sides was the choice of the place for the decisive battle. In the end, Luoling made the better move. Zhang Han led a large army to Handan County, and hundreds of thousands of troops were deployed among the cities in the county.

…

King Lü Cheng of Qi led the Qi army and was surrounded by Zhang Han for dozens of miles outside Handan City. He said to his ministers, "My lords, we are trapped here today. Lord Luo and I have been relatives for thousands of years. He will definitely lead his army to rescue us. But if we don't fight bravely, I'm afraid we won't be able to survive until the rescue arrives."

Although this was Lu Cheng's deliberate bait, there was a possibility that some would die in the battle. Everyone had a stern look on their faces and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, destroy the tyrannical Qin, and we, the subjects, will have no choice but to die."

The Qi army arranged their chariots and other equipment into battle formations, but the Qin army continued to use bows and crossbows to clear the way with a rain of arrows. This method of attack was a devastating blow to the unarmored army, and any carelessness would result in huge casualties.

The Qi army naturally refused to be outdone and fought back from a high position. However, as they were surrounded, the morale of the Qi soldiers was greatly affected. The Qin soldiers stepped over the bodies of their comrades, while the Qi soldiers moved away the bodies of those who had been shot. Blood flowed on the ground and soon accumulated into small puddles.

Zhang Han discovered the strong resistance after advancing for only a short while, so he ordered the troops to stop the attack and began a real siege. In this place where there was no village in front and no shop behind, Qi's food and grass could not hold out. Within a few months, the Qi army would either starve to death or fight the Qin army on its own.

As the Qi army led Zhang Han to Handan, the Shandong princes, under the command of Luo Ling, began to fight against the Qin army princes in several directions.

Surrounding the city of Handan, on the vast land of Zhao, flags were waving everywhere, the rumbling sound of chariots could be heard, and elite cavalry were galloping among them. The cold armor was bitingly cold under the reflection of the sun.

Xiang Yu was riding a tall horse, which was a divine horse with shiny fur and extraordinary handsomeness. In the end, Xiang Yu had to wrestle with the horse and knock it to the ground before he could surrender.

Luo Ling looked at the 30,000 elite Chu troops and said loudly: "Duke Chu, we are going to rescue the King of Qi. If we can win, then win. If we can't win, then we will be in a stalemate. Shandong has many heroes and we will definitely win in the end. This battle will make the Qin court dare not look east to the land of Han and Zhao."

Xiang Yu raised his head and laughed, "Don't worry, Lord Luo. Wherever I lead my troops, I will win. It's not just the lands of Han and Zhao. This battle will make Zhang Han lose. The Three Jins will all be in my hands. Just wait and see."

His words were full of confidence. Hearing this, Luo Ling smiled and said, "If Duke Chu can really defeat the main force of the Qin court in one battle, I will report to King Bingsu and ask him to send down wind, rain, thunder and lightning to drive us to break through Hangu Pass and enter Guanzhong. Then the position of the common lord of the world will be yours, Duke Chu."

The common ruler of the world!

The light in Xiang Yu's eyes became brighter and brighter. He laughed loudly with heroic spirit and said, "If Ji can become the common ruler of the world, I will definitely let the people of the world sing praises to the grace of the Su Wang every day. Although Ji is a descendant of Luo Huiyan Gong, if he becomes the common ruler of the world, he must still be qualified to offer sacrifices to the Su Wang."

When Xiang Yu said this, Luo Ling was a little stunned. Although Xiang Yu's words revealed a strong ambition to seize the status of the main branch of King Su's descendants, these words still made his mind churn. He looked up at the sky, but King Su did not react, which meant that King Su did not care about this.

The belief in Su Wang is very complicated. In the eyes of ordinary Shandong common people, Su Wang is God. They have not been to school and do not know the original meaning of Su Wang. They just think that Su Wang is the name of God, so "May Su Wang be with you" is equivalent to "God bless you."

However, in the eyes of educated people and the people of Luo, there is a huge difference between the two. Su Wang is a richer image. Although he is one with the sky, he has richer emotions. A more academic way of saying it is the personification of the sky.

Luo Ling took a deep breath and said solemnly: "The Su Wang is like the sky. He will not change because of the amount of faith. The Su Wang will bless everyone who believes from the bottom of their hearts until the end of their lives."

Xiang Yu squeezed his horse's belly, and began to pace in place. He said in a deep voice: "Lord Luo, the Su Wang is like the sky, so this is the sky that wants the Chu State to prosper, and the Su Wang wants the Xiang family to prosper."

Luo Ling looked at the heroic Xiang Yu and said in a loud voice: "Lord Chu, you are the Lord of Arms who has descended to the earth, and the Su King will be with you. Lead the Chu army to pursue the position of the common lord of the world. That is what the Chu people have wanted for a thousand years, and now it is in front of you.

If you can really defeat Zhang Han and make the State of Chu more glorious than ever before, even the previous kings of the Mi and Xiong clans would congratulate you."

Wuzhui began to run forward slowly, and Xiang Yu's voice came, "Xiang has a clear conscience. Even if I stand in the ancestral temple of the previous kings of Chu, I can still proudly say that I am a Chu man and I am worthy of the previous kings and ancestors."

As Xiang Yu appeared in front of the Chu army, cheers rang out continuously. For ordinary Chu people, Xiang Yu was an excellent lord. These ordinary soldiers did not need high titles and positions, but preferred generals who could share weal and woe with them.

Xiang Yu was very kind to his soldiers, sharing wine and meat with them. He was always willing to help soldiers when they were in trouble, so he had a high prestige among ordinary soldiers, and the soldiers were willing to die for him. As the saying goes, victory comes when the upper and lower levels are united, and most military factions built up the morale of the troops in this way.

Xiang Yu rode on his black horse and shouted in front of the Chu army: "Chu people, attack the unjust and punish the tyrannical Qin. This is the decree of King Taiyi. We are marching out from Jiangdong to avenge the Chu people. You are all the bravest men in the world. Today, after crossing the Zhang River, Handan is in front of us. There are 500,000 Qin people there. Are you afraid?"

The messengers passed the message down one by one, and a deafening shout was heard, "Don't be afraid!"

There were actually quite a few Luo people in Xiang Yu's army, and there were also quite a few Luo people who grew up in Chu. After these people migrated and fled to Jiangdong, which had been ruled by the Xiang family for hundreds of years, they quickly integrated into the local community and intermarried with each other. However, they still harbored hatred towards the Qin Dynasty in their hearts, and now they were eager to follow Xiang Yu to destroy the tyrannical Qin.

Xiang Yu led his army across the Zhang River, a large river flowing out of the Taihang Mountains and one of the sources of the water system in Handan County of the State of Zhao.

When Zhang Han learned that a Chu army of only 30,000 soldiers was heading towards him, he looked around in disbelief and said, "30,000 soldiers?

"The Chu thief Xiang Liang was defeated by me with 100,000 men, and how dare he come to die with 30,000 men? Does he think that they are brave warriors of Luo State and can defeat ten with one?"

Although the combat effectiveness of the Chu army was the best among the Shandong states, in Zhang Han's view, there was no essential difference. The Qin Dynasty had a total of 400,000 troops around Handan. Even if a part of them was to besiege the Qi army, it was too easy to defeat a Chu army that could only be said to be a small force.

In the big tent, Zhang Han held the Qin Emperor's sword given by Fusu and asked solemnly, "Where are the King of Xingyang, the King of Jinzhong, and the Marquis of Yi?"

Two kings and one marquis immediately stepped out, and Zhang Han said in a loud voice: "Lead the King of Xingyang with 100,000 soldiers to annihilate the Chu army."

Although Zhang Han did not take the Chu army seriously, he still gave his all when selecting generals. Prince Ying of Xingyang, Prince Baili of Jinzhong, and Wang Li, Marquis of Yi, were all relatively outstanding generals in the army.

Especially Wang Li, Marquis of Yi, the deputy of the Great Wall Legion, was born into the Wang family, the second most powerful general family in the Qin Dynasty. His grandfather Wang Jian was the first meritorious minister in conquering the six kingdoms, and his father Wang Ben was also a famous general. He also married a princess of the Ying clan, the daughter of the First Emperor. The Wang family was a genuine in-law.

If Wang Jian had not retired too hastily, and if the First Emperor had not wanted to weaken the Wang family's existence and influence, so he promoted the Meng family, the Wang family would have been the number one military family in the Qin Dynasty today.

Now that Fusu has come to power, he has made use of clan members and in-laws. Although Meng Tian has been crowned king, Wang Li feels that he still has a chance. After all, Fusu is his biological uncle. Based on Fusu's character, isn't his nephew closer to him than Meng Tian, ​​an outsider?

The three of them quickly went to the military camp with military tokens to mobilize troops. Although they were led by Prince Ying of Xingyang, they were actually led by Wang Li. After all, Wang Li was the real battle-hardened man.

“Tap, tap, tap!”

Xiang Yu's 30,000 troops, a mixture of infantry, cavalry and charioteers, crossed the river with high morale. Wang Li was simply not a commander who could lead 100,000 men, and it was impossible for 100,000 men to be deployed head-on on the battlefield.

There were over ten thousand people, stretching out in a row. Naturally, these one hundred thousand people were dispersed and led by three people, and then they followed Wang Li's command to encircle the Chu army from all directions.

Xiang Yu naturally knew this was the scenario. He sent out three troops to engage with the armies led by the three men respectively. He immediately keenly realized that one of the armies had the most chaotic dispatch; that was the King of Jinzhong, Bai Li.

Xiang Yu raised the sharp spear in his hand, and immediately wanted to take advantage of the fact that the Qin army had just arrived and had not yet established a firm foothold to win the first battle. "Chu people, follow me and charge!"

Xiang Yu led the way, and his personal guards followed behind him. Then they watched their lord fall into the crowd like a huge rock, and everyone on their horses fell to the ground in an instant.

Countless weapons were smashed by Xiang Yu's tremendous force. No one could withstand a single blow from him. The personal guards instantly rushed into the gaps created by Xiang Yu, the chariots charged through them, then the cavalry rushed in, and the armored infantry charged behind the chariots.

Xiang Yu went straight for a general. The Qin general was too close to him, less than a hundred meters away. There were no more than a hundred soldiers in a straight line between the two of them. For Xiang Yu, the soldiers at this distance were equivalent to dead people, and the hundred or so soldiers were just decorations.

Xiang Yu rushed forward, wielding his spear and no one could match his opponent. He broke bones and tendons at every turn, like a demon lord descending to the earth. The Qin people were horrified and did not dare to stop him. The Qin general watched helplessly as the enemy's main general rushed towards him. He was also a brave general, so he roared and was about to move forward.

Xiang Yu laughed wildly, "Looking for death", stretched out his spear and stabbed, with such speed and force that the Qin general had no time to react and was immediately chilled to the heart. Xiang Yu looked at the dead soul under the spear with disdain. Since his debut, no one was any different in front of him, no matter if it was an ordinary soldier or a so-called general, no one could be his match.

For him, beheading generals and seizing flags was as easy as eating and drinking. Killing hundreds of people would not make him feel tired at all. The appearance of such a person on the battlefield would really deal a huge blow to the enemy's morale. Anyway, now this battalion of Qin soldiers directly scattered, and the Chu army shouted loudly, each of them fighting ten against one, and followed behind Xiang Yu, directly blowing up this battalion. Xiang Yu drove this battalion of troops and rushed towards other battalions like a sharp sword.

"Don't stop, charge with me!"

Xiang Yu's battle strategy was to be fast, to use speed to defeat the slow, to concentrate his forces, to use his strength to bully the weak, to disrupt the enemy's formation, and then to continue to kill generals and seize flags, to completely mess up the opponent's command system, to mess up the entire enemy army, and finally to rush directly to the location of the enemy commander and carry out a beheading.

It is both simple and difficult. Simple means that the tactics are simple, but except for a general like Xiang Yu whose personal martial arts skills are extremely abnormal and whose battlefield sense is extremely keen, it is difficult for others to succeed.

Xiang Yu was really too powerful. Although he did not have the strongest army in the world like the Luo State Warriors, the elite troops of the Chu State, under the leadership of him, who had the maximum strength of human beings, were not inferior to the organized Luo State Warriors in combat effectiveness. The Chu people's ability to defeat ten enemies with one was not an adjective, but a fact.

The entire Qin army camp was thrown into chaos by Xiang Yu. It was really because they appeared at an inopportune time. They had just barely gained a foothold when they encountered the Chu army, whose morale was high and energy was at its peak. More than 20,000 people under the command of Jinzhong King Baili were almost defeated in a short period of time.

Marquis of Yi Wang Li and Prince Ziying of Xingyang quickly led their troops to come to support. When Xiang Yu heard from the scouts that Qin troops were coming to support from both sides, he almost laughed out loud. What stupid generals were these?

They dared to provide support after their friendly forces were bombed. The premise of support was that the friendly forces could still stabilize. Now this Qin army was completely out of control. The Chu army was hunting down the Qin army that was running around, and Xiang Yu led his most elite guards to rush to Jinzhong King Bai Li. After killing Bai Li's guards, he didn't even think about leaving any survivors and killed Bai Li directly.

Wang Li and Ziying who rushed over saw this scene and were instantly furious. They did not expect that the King of Jinzhong, who was chatting and laughing with them half a day ago, would die right in front of them. The most important thing was that the commander of the Chu army seemed to cast a cold gaze on the two of them, overlooking the heavy soldiers.

Xiang Yu naturally would not stop. Ziying and Wang Li soon discovered that they had come too fast. There was no order or discipline at all on this chaotic battlefield.

Wang Li was quite experienced and immediately ordered his soldiers to form a battle formation to resist the attack of the fleeing soldiers. Ziying actually chose to order his soldiers to retreat slightly to avoid the rushing soldiers. When Xiang Yu saw this, his eyes lit up and he immediately ordered the Chu army to shout: "The Qin people are defeated, retreating means running away."

In the days when communications were not smooth, organizing the retreat of tens of thousands of people was always a very risky task, and it was easy for the retreat to turn into a defeat.

The Qin people under Ziying's command had already seen their comrades fleeing and were in panic. Now they heard their commander ordering them to retreat. When they heard the Chu army shouting, they immediately became confused and the military orders were inconsistent.

How could Xiang Yu, with his keen battlefield instincts, let it go? He immediately sent his entire army forward, causing the Qin army to become even more chaotic.

As the front army retreated, the defeated soldiers charged forward and the entire army exploded. Ziying looked grim upon seeing this, knowing that he had made a big mistake. He wanted to make amends but didn't know how.

Once the army is in chaos, it will no longer be under the control of the generals. Xiang Yu led the Chu army to attack the Qin army. Prince Ying of Xingyang soon saw the Chu general who killed the King of Jinzhong coming towards him. Seeing the inhuman Xiang Yu, he knew how the King of Jinzhong died just now.

Wang Li did not expect that the situation would deteriorate to this extent so suddenly. The King of Jinzhong and the King of Xingyang died, and the 60,000-strong army trampled on each other, with countless casualties. With such a great victory in a short period of time, the morale of the Chu army was even higher. Wang Li had only 40,000 troops under his command, and they were frightened by the power of the Chu army and trembled in fear.

Xiang Yu killed two kings in a row, his body covered in blood, and he felt refreshed. He then went towards Wang Li's troops and broke through three camps in a row, beheading their generals and seizing their flags. The Qin soldiers were in an uproar and dared not look directly at him. Wang Li saw that the situation was hopeless and the Chu army was coming towards him. Thinking that Ziying and Bai Li were both dead, he could not survive alone. Thinking of Fusu's trust in him, he could only commit suicide in grief.

Xiang Yu took down Wang Li's body, looked at the Qin soldiers fleeing everywhere, turned and headed towards Handan City. He did not forget that Zhang Han was his target.

————

Xiang Yu then led 30,000 troops across the river to attack Zhang Han. Qin generals Ziying, Wang Li and Bai Li were ordered to lead 100,000 Qin troops to stop him.

Yu said: "The hatred between Chu and Qin is evident to all. If we do not avenge them, we will die. Why do we sink our ships and break our cauldrons to show our determination to die?"

The Chu army said, "We will respect your words."

The Chu army had been holding on to food for three days and was able to defeat the Qin army with one man against ten. Yu invaded the Qin camp, killed Bai Li and Ziying, and forced Wang Li to death.

He then led his troops northward to attack Zhang Han.

I haven’t finished writing the big chapter yet. I’m so tired. I have to take the bus to work tomorrow. What bad luck.

(End of this chapter)