Chapter 232: Attacking Luoyang in the open and breaking through Wuguan in secret
The water of the Zhang River flows continuously, as if it were time, flowing forward without stopping. The blood-soaked river has washed it clean, and the pile of corpses that blocked the river has disappeared, as if nothing had happened. However, the princes will not forget, and history will not forget, the shocking battle that took place here.
Luo Ling and Xiang Yu stood on the shore with their hands behind their backs. Xiang Yu said with a smile, "Lord Luo, Ji is going to be the common ruler of the world. After we invade Guanzhong and destroy the Qin court, Ji will restore your country in Zhaocheng, and some of the Luo people scattered across the country can also move back."
Luo Ling shook his head and said, "No need for that. King Su said that Luo State should not exist, and it is not something that can be rebuilt by human power now."
Xiang Yu naturally didn't understand. In fact, Luo Ling himself had doubts, but he was already extremely wise and no one in the world could surpass him, so he didn't ask.
When Xiang Yu heard that Luo Ling was not going to restore his country, a gleam of light flashed in his eyes, and he couldn't help but say with a hint of joy: "Lord Luo, in this battle, that brat Zhang Han fled alone. Even if he gathered the defeated Qin soldiers, I'm afraid there wouldn't be many. After this battle, how long do you think the tyrannical Qin can hold on?"
Xiang Yu's great victory achieved amazing results under Luoling's arrangement. Although the princes' army could not defeat Zhang Han, they were still able to defeat the defeated Qin army.
Xiang Yu was best at fighting a crushing battle, but with Luoling's arrangements and the assistance of the princes, this war turned into a war of annihilation.
The main force of the Qin army was almost wiped out in one battle, and the entire Shandong province was wiped out. This battle completely changed the offense and defense, just like the Zhao State after Changping. Unless the Shandong princes made fatal mistakes and committed suicide, the Qin court could only die a slow death.
This is why the princes said that Xiang Yu’s achievements in this battle were no less than those of King Wu of Zhou in the Battle of Muye.
Luo Ling looked at the slowly flowing river and said calmly, "The situation has been determined. It's time to end it. No one can make more contributions than you, King Xiang. You are the future ruler of the world. You should think about how to plan for the future of the Xia people."
Xiang Yu said with a cold light in his eyes: "It's not over yet."
Hearing this, Luo Ling turned his head and glanced at Xiang Yu and said, "King Xiang, you look very similar to someone."
Xiang Yu asked curiously, "Who is it? There are not many people in this world who can be compared with Ji."
Luo Ling did not answer, "It's just that I feel that you two are very similar in some aspects. If I have the chance in the future, I will tell you."
After saying that, he turned and left. Xiang Yu frowned, feeling a little unhappy. He thought that Luo Ling's attitude was not the right one to have towards the common leader of the world, but in the end he suppressed the urge to explode and rubbed his eyebrows with his hand.
Luo Ling's heart was filled with coldness. Just now, Xiang Yu said that everything was not over yet. He immediately understood what Xiang Yu wanted to do. He saw the shadow of the First Emperor in Xiang Yu, who was equally domineering.
…
In Xingyang City, Zhang Han wrote to Fusu with grief to report the current situation, "Handan was defeated, the king and the princes were defeated, and the country was in turmoil. I am really ashamed of your trust and kindness, but I want to say that the Chu thief Xiang Ji is a rare military commander in the history. For now, we can only defend the city and never fight him in the field."
What Zhang Han didn't know was that when his letter was delivered to Fusu, another piece of news also reached Xianyang.
…
The mountains were green and lush, and not a single bird song could be heard between the mountains. Looking down from the sky, in the valleys, there were countless twisted corpses lying around, with white bones sticking out of the corpses. There were chaotic green rock fragments everywhere, countless black broken arrows, broken white feathers falling, broken armor stuck on the ground, blood blending into the mountain springs, turning them into red blood fountains, weapons being thrown casually on the ground, and countless corpses between the cliffs being smashed into meat paste, with red and white mixed together. It was an extremely tragic scene.
Han Xin was wearing general armor and had a sharp sword on his waist. He looked at his masterpiece with a confident and heroic look on his face. Behind him were Fan Kuai and others. Although they already knew the result, they still couldn't believe it. Looking at the young man in front of them, they couldn't help feeling inferior to him.
Liu Bang was extremely excited. He pulled Luo Yi and said happily, "Zi Yu, Han Xin really lived up to our expectations. He annihilated tens of thousands of people. Meng Tian can no longer pose a threat. This has completely solved our army's worries. We can march to Guanzhong calmly."
Luo Yi was also secretly shocked in his heart. Looking at Han Xin's battle against Meng Tian this time, the whole process can only be described as a beating. Meng Tian can be regarded as a famous general who repelled the Xiongnu in the north. He is a genius in commanding troops, but when facing Han Xin, it can only be said that there is a gap between geniuses.
Although he had the assistance of the generals from Pei County, it was beyond everyone's expectation that Han Xin, leading a group of new recruits who had never seen blood, could defeat Meng Tian's elite Qin army in this way.
Whether from the arrangements before the battle or the dispatch during the battle, Han Xin used his troops like an antelope hanging on a horn, leaving no trace.
All kinds of incredible ideas and extremely flexible scheduling can always fill in the reserve team at the critical moment and critical position.
He hardly ever wasted the strength of any detachment and was able to mobilize the power of the entire army to the maximum extent. This level of command made the generals in Pei County stare with their eyes popping out, not knowing how he did it.
Front hall.
Luo Cai's beautiful face was full of smiles. She looked at Han Xin and said, "This is success and fame. Building on the reputation created by Meng Tian, the whole world will know your name, and you will go down in history books."
Han Xin said in high spirits: "This is not enough. I still remember what Cai Niang said at the beginning, that only kings, dukes, generals and ministers can help. I will never forget it."
Luo Cai was stunned, and said, "That was just a word of encouragement, why did you take it seriously?"
Han Xin said nothing, but just looked at Luo Cai and smiled.
Luo Cai reacted instantly and realized that Han Xin's intention was not towards the Luo family, but towards herself, and she immediately said coquettishly: "You..."
At this time, Liu Bang's guards came to the front hall and said respectfully with a look of reverence: "General, the master invites you to the camp to discuss matters."
When Han Xin arrived at the camp, he saw that everyone's faces looked strange. They were excited but also sad. It seemed that something had happened that made everyone very troubled.
Only Luo Yi had an obvious look of joy on his face, without any trace of sadness. Han Xin thought to himself that it didn't seem to be a bad thing.
When Liu Bang saw Han Xin come in, he quickly asked him to sit down, and Han Xin sat below Luo Yi.
He is now almost clear about everything with Luo Cai. Luo Yi is also very clear about this matter, but Luo Yi is not the head of the family after all, so Luo Ling still needs to give the final nod before it can be done.
After Han Xin sat down, Liu Bang said directly: "Duke Xiang Yu of Chu first defeated Wang Li and others in Handan County, killing two kings. The next day, he defeated Qin general Zhang Han. In one day, he fought nine battles and killed four kings and five marquises. His power shocked the world. The princes in Handan County recommended Xiang Yu as the common leader of the world because of his great achievements. He will rule the world after Qin is destroyed."
Then he told everyone the news from Central Plains.
Han Xin immediately knew why everyone had that expression. Xiang Yu's defeat of the Qin army was naturally a good thing. The princes of Shandong were all rebels. Now Xiang Yu had basically destroyed the Qin Dynasty in one battle. At least there was no problem in destroying Qin.
As for Xiang Yu becoming the common ruler of the world, Liu Bang's group did not originally regard becoming the common ruler of the world as a strategic goal, so there was no competition.
But Xiang Yu's behavior was a little unexpected. His 400,000-strong army was completely wiped out. If Liu Bang continued to march westward, it would become a question whether he could enter Guanzhong first. Everyone present remembered that during the alliance meeting, Xiang Yu personally expressed his ambition to enter Guanzhong first.
Han Xin thought for a moment and said slowly: "Zhang Han and Meng Tian were defeated one after another. The tyrannical Qin is doomed. However, Zhang Han is a famous general after all. If he occupies Xingyang and the granary behind it, unless our army attacks from Nanyang and cooperates to cut off the grain route, Zhang Han will still be able to hold on."
In Zhang Han's previous plan, the person who occupied Nanyang County was Meng Tian, who had destroyed Liu Bang, so that the important city of Xingyang would be unbreakable.
But now Liu Bang is behind him. If Liu Bang gives up entering Guanzhong and instead joins forces with Xiang Yu to attack him, Zhang Han will not be able to hold on.
Liu Bang was very hesitant. He didn't know what to do now. Should he follow Xiang Yu and beat the downed dog to please the future ruler of the world, or carry out the previous plan, break into Guanzhong, and be crowned king based on his merits.
Seeing that everyone was silent, Luo Yi said, "Pei Gong, my elder brother Ling is in Handan with Xiang Yu. I believe that Xingyang can be captured at any time. We must capture the king first. The tyrannical Qin still has millions of people in Guanzhong. If we cannot kill the Qin royal family cleanly, there will be another series of wars later, which will be detrimental to the world. Please ask Pei Gong to enter Guanzhong."
Liu Bang's eyes lit up. What Luo Yi said was exactly what he wanted. Everyone wanted to enter Guanzhong and support Liu Bang as king, so naturally they would not object and agreed.
After everyone left, Han Xin asked in confusion, "Sir, Xingyang is an important town. Even if I lead my army to attack, I'm afraid it will take a long time to fight Zhang Han. Why do you say that Xingyang can be captured anytime?"
Is it just to allow Pei Gong to enter Guanzhong?
It shouldn't be, that's not Luo's style."
Luo Yi heard this and smiled, "Xiang Yu will probably soon break through Xingyang, pass Luoyang, and enter Guanzhong. Whether Pei Gong can become the king of Guanzhong depends on you. There will probably be many tough battles in Guanzhong, so you have to hurry."
Han Xin was puzzled, and then he recalled that his future brother was the legendary figure who drove back the Qin army with just a word on the bank of a river.
Although Luo Yi has not shown any ability in this area since he joined Pei Gong's army, he is a member of the Luo family after all. Who knows whether he can do it?
Luo Yi is like this, and Luo Gongling, who enjoys high prestige in the entire Luo family, is the head of the Luo family. Maybe he can be like this too, right?
…
Fusu received the news of the defeat of Zhang Han and Meng Tian at the same time. It was obvious that he could not accept this cruel fact psychologically and he fainted. The ministers hurried forward to wake him up.
After waking up, Fusu looked at the two war reports on the table, recalled the past, and murmured softly: "The seven generations of the Qin kings were brave and powerful, and the kings of other countries prospered for one generation, but in two generations, there were many incompetent kings.
Loyal ministers and generals like Li Mu all died at the hands of the king, and eventually the country collapsed.
If God did not love Daqin, why was Daqin the only one to produce wise rulers?
When his father passed away and Hu Hai succeeded to the throne, the power of the Qin Empire collapsed like a river or a waterfall.
In the past, all the talents of the six kingdoms gathered under the banner of the Qin Dynasty. It took seven generations of heroic rulers to unify the world under the leadership of the Qin Dynasty.
But now there are many talented people among the remnants of the rebels in Shandong, while the Qin Dynasty has the whole world but lacks talented people, so the current offensive and defensive situation is reversed.
How much does the present Qin resemble the former Shandong states, and how much does the Shandong rebels’ vigor and vitality resemble the former Qin?
Since I ascended the throne, I have implemented benevolent policies, and the people in Guanzhong love me, but I still cannot stop the decline of the Qin Dynasty, and the Qin Dynasty is still moving closer and closer to destruction.
The King of Handan and the King of Linzi were both famous generals. They would have been prominent even in the days when the Qin Dynasty unified the world, but now they have suffered a miserable defeat.
My Lords, why is this?
Fusu's absent-minded words made all the ministers in the hall turn pale. The more they thought about it, the more frightened they became. It was only a short time since the Qin Dynasty unified the world, and the previously invincible Qin army suffered huge defeats in succession, and the Shandong states that were previously full of incompetent people now produced many talented people.
Everyone couldn't help but think of the manifesto issued by the Luo family.
There is nothing more terrifying than being rampant with violence, being despised by God and having your luck run out.
"His Majesty!
Although there is a saying that fate is in the world, since you ascended the throne, the power of the Qin State has gradually improved. At least the people of Guanzhong are still willing to support you. "
Fusu was slightly encouraged after hearing this. His benevolent policies might not be able to spread throughout the entire Qin Dynasty through numerous officials, but there would be no problem in influencing the area around Xianyang City.
Although his morale was somewhat depressed due to the tragic defeat, he never thought of giving up. He did this not only for the Qin Dynasty, but also for the whole world.
When Meng Yunzi was alive, he often told him that he should be a benevolent monarch and free the people of the world from the onerous Qin laws. Now Meng Yunzi is dead, but Fusu has not changed his ambition and he remains the same as before.
"Reply to the King of Handan and the King of Linzi. If we can defend, then do so. If we cannot, then retreat to Hangu Pass. Guanzhong has natural defenses and millions of people. We can still fight."
Although Zhang Han and Meng Tian suffered a huge defeat, Fusu knew that it was not because Zhang Han and Meng Tian were incompetent. Their abilities had been demonstrated in the past. Even if they were punished, the Qin court would not be able to find generals stronger than these two.
Zhang Han felt relieved after receiving Fusu's reply. As long as Xianyang was still willing to support him, he still had hope of turning the tables. The world's major granaries were basically still in the hands of Qin, and he could even wear down the Shandong princes.
Liu Bang led his army and pretended to leave Nanyang and head towards Luoyang to cut off the food supply route to Xingyang. This was also within the expectations of Meng Tian and Zhang Han. Meng Tian led his army to build a defense line in the Luoyang area.
But he didn't know that these soldiers going to Luoyang were newly recruited soldiers and were just a cover.
This was a strategy employed by Han Xin. He used fake troops to delay the steps of Meng Tian and Zhang Han, and even confuse the princes of Shandong so that they would not rush to break through Hangu Pass. While secretly, he led the real elite army to capture Wugu Pass.
As time passed, the status of Hangu Pass gradually declined, while the importance of Wugu Pass gradually increased. Fusu naturally placed his trusted descendants of the Ying clan here to guard the place.
Faced with the sudden arrival of Liu Bang's army like a heavenly army, they were terrified and organized a defense hastily, but were soon defeated by Han Xin and Liu Bang's brave old men.
But Han Xin really couldn't be happy. A full 20,000 people died in this siege. Even the previous annihilation battle against Meng Tian did not have such heavy casualties.
Liu Bang said in fear: "The general said before that Ji would lose most of his troops at Wuguan Pass, but Ji was skeptical. Today, when I saw the general commanding the siege, I realized that I was flattering Ji. If they really attacked with their strength that day, they would definitely be killed in Wuguan Pass and could not enter."
The far stronger strength than before defeating Meng Tian, coupled with Han Xin's use of troops which far exceeded Liu Bang's command ability, plus the unexpected sneak attack, the three combined resulted in considerable casualties. If the previous plan had been followed, there would have been heavy casualties and perhaps no progress.
Zhang Liang said with some regret: "If it was the former Wuguan Pass garrison, I would have been able to take it without bloodshed, but after Emperor Fusu ascended the throne, many important passes were guarded by new guards."
The reason Zhang Liang was able to run around freely when he attempted to assassinate Qin Shi Huang was because he had many friends. He also had a deep understanding of many people within the Qin Dynasty. Unfortunately, Fusu's rise to power made many of his plans come to naught.
Han Xin quickly drew a part of the army from Wugu Pass to supplement his own forces. He was not worried that these Qin people would rebel, because those he selected were those whose families were not in Guanzhong, and some were even in Wugu Pass. Controlling the soldiers' families meant controlling the soldiers themselves, which was a very useful method in extraordinary times.
Liu Bang followed Zhang Liang's advice and asked Han Xin for his opinion. He decided to take advantage of the fact that the news of the fall of Wuguan had not yet reached Xianyang and march directly to Xianyang with light equipment.
The walls of Xianyang City were basically non-existent. The last step in Liu Bang's cause of becoming king was to defeat the camp deployed in Lantian, which was the last resistance force besides the palace guards. As long as the Lantian camp could be defeated with lightning speed, Emperor Fusu would have no choice but to surrender or commit suicide.
Everyone knew that this was the most critical moment. There was only one war left before Liu Bang was crowned King of Guanzhong. As long as he won this war, they, the former common people, would be able to rise to power with Liu Bang.
The position of king, prince, general and minister is right in front of you.
————
After defeating Meng Tian in Huaiyin, Emperor Gaozu wanted to break through Wuguan. Upon hearing about the great victory in Handan, he wanted to join forces with Ji to attack Zhang Han and Meng Tian.
Marquis Ying said: "Zhang Han and Meng Tian were but small soldiers. They captured the bandits and the king, broke through Wuguan, entered Guanzhong, Fusu died, Han Tian died, and they used force to force them. This is not what a wise man would do."
Gaozu appointed Huaiyin as the general and openly attacked Luoyang to relieve the enemy's defenses. He secretly sent elite troops to Wuguan Pass overnight, and broke through it in one day, entering Guanzhong. - "Records of the Grand Historian: Annals of Gaozu"
(End of this chapter)
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