Chapter 257 The King is a True Hero
After finally escaping from the pursuit of the Chu army, Liu Bang's group faced this unprecedented defeat and naturally wanted to share the blame.
But the pot is too big, and the Han Dynasty is even in danger of collapse. Who dares to take responsibility?
Luo Yi took a deep breath and said, "I am also the King's second assistant. This time, the defeat was caused by Yi..."
"It's my fault!"
A loud voice interrupted Luo Yi, it was Liu Bang!
Everyone shifted their gaze from Luo Yi to Liu Bang, who looked guilty but still said generously, "It's my fault.
Zi Yu had warned me to retreat before, but I was overconfident and thought I could defeat Xiang Yu. I didn't expect that I would be defeated to this extent. "
"Your Majesty!"
Luo Yi called out, and Liu Bang said firmly: "Zi Yu, I am sorry for you. If I ask you to share the blame for me, how can I still call myself a real man?
I know that you take the blame for me because you are worried that I will never recover.
But don't worry, Zi Yu. I am over fifty years old and have experienced countless setbacks. Even when I have achieved nothing, I still have great ambitions and will never fail here.
The vast majority of you are my loyal followers, nominally my ruler and my subjects, but in reality you are brothers.
I believe that even now, you are still willing to follow me.
When we first started the army to overthrow Qin, we only had a few thousand people, but we conquered the great Han Kingdom.
Now we still have Guanzhong and Bashu, which are the foundation for Qin to conquer the world. Is there anything to be afraid of?"
Liu Bang took all the responsibility on himself, and his words made everyone cry but also moved them passionately.
"Your Majesty, I am willing to die for you!"
Liu Bang's childhood friend was the first to bow deeply, and the atmosphere in the tent changed instantly. Luo Yi looked at the scene with a smile on his face.
Liu Bang never lets down his guard at critical moments. When everyone's mentality is about to collapse, the monarch needs to stand up and tell everyone that we can still fight, you are all fine, and it is my responsibility.
Liu Bang achieved this perfectly. Luo Yi secretly sighed in his heart: "This is a wise leader. King of Han, you really did not disappoint me. You are a true hero."
"Your Majesty!"
Suddenly, a voice came from outside the tent, and Lu Ze hurried in from outside. Several people's faces changed slightly.
Liu Bang ran over and cried, "Brother, in the chaos of the army, the queen was separated, and Ying'er and Le'er both fell into Xiang Yu's hands. I hate it so much."
The corners of Luo Yi's mouth twitched. If he hadn't seen Luo Xin coming, Luo Yi would have gone down to pick up the child.
Upon hearing this, Lu Ze's face changed drastically. After losing Lu Zhi and Liu Ying, the Lu family no longer had any special status in Liu Bang's group and became a hero like Fan Kuai.
But now that things have come to this, Lu Ze gritted his teeth and accepted this cruel fact, "Your Majesty, I have recruited warriors in Wei and Han, and spent all my family wealth to get 50,000 people. With these people, plus the generals, at least it will be no problem to defend the main road to Guanzhong.
The prime minister is guarding Guanzhong. As long as he is given time, he will be able to send the Qin people from Guanzhong to come.
Your Majesty, you are a rare hero. Xiang Yu's temporary victory does not mean anything. I believe you will be able to regroup."
Lu Ze's ability can be seen from these few short sentences. He is a visionary man.
Especially when something might happen to Lu Zhi, he decisively changed his position in Liu Bang's group and completely put himself in the position of a meritorious official rather than a relative.
Liu Bang's eyes lit up, and he held Lu Ze's hand tightly and said, "Only in times of turmoil can we find loyal ministers. I will definitely reward you handsomely for your kindness today."
Lu Ze appeared in Liu Bang's army with a large number of soldiers, which was truly a timely help.
Although Liu Bang was still the king of thousands of miles of territory, no matter how much potential he had in the future, that was only the future. The current Liu Bang was extremely weak.
Lu Ze gave him a tonic.
When everyone was rejoicing, Han Xin and Luo Cai came hurriedly. Han Xin walked into the tent, clasped his fists and sighed, "My king, I am late. I really failed to live up to your expectations. I was only able to gather 50,000 defeated soldiers. The casualties were too heavy. Those elite soldiers died under the trampling of the defeated soldiers before they even had a chance to fight on the battlefield."
The casualties are all in the past. The most crucial thing now is that Han Xin has gathered 50,000 defeated soldiers, plus the 50,000 troops that Lu Ze had before.
One hundred thousand people!
Liu Bang even wanted to fight Xiang Yu again, but the idea disappeared as soon as it came up.
Forget it, Xiang Yu was really fierce. After the battle with Xiang Ying, Liu Bang completely gave up the idea of fighting a battle in the field with Xiang Yu.
Seeing that the atmosphere at the banquet had become better due to two consecutive pieces of good news, Luo Yi stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, Xiang Yu has won a great victory. The situation in the world will definitely change drastically. In particular, the kings in the Central Plains will probably completely submit to Xiang Yu. Xiang Yu has mobilized the power of the world, and we are definitely no match for him."
Liu Bang knelt down slowly at the table and asked his ministers, "You are welcome to speak freely. At this critical moment, we should pool our wisdom."
Zhang Liang, who had followed Liu Bang directly after the King of Han was killed in battle, knew that it was time to show his worth, and he said immediately: "Your Majesty, I think that Xiang Yu is fierce in the field, and the Chu army is unstoppable under Xiang Yu's leadership.
In this case, you should not confront Xiang Yu head-on when he is at his peak. Instead, you should make many allies and make Xiang Yu run for his life. Although Xiang Yu is strong, most of his subordinates are useless and drunkards.
As long as they continue to harass Xiang Yu's rear, slowly cut off the Chu army's food and grass, and wear down their numbers and morale, after this kind of increase and decrease, the power Xiang Yu can use will become less and less, and then they can settle the matter with one blow.
Therefore, the first things to be dealt with are the new princes that Xiang Yu will surely enfeoff in the Central Plains, pacify Zhao, Dai and Yan, contact Qi, and at the same time form an alliance with the princes of Jiujiang and other states to fight Xiang Yu together.
This will definitely be a protracted war. Your Majesty, you must manage Guanzhong well, otherwise you will not be able to withstand such a consumption."
Han Xin couldn't help but look at Zhang Liang when he heard this. He really didn't expect that there was someone who had such similar ideas as himself. The difference was that Zhang Liang proposed the plan of the entire Liu Bang group, while Han Xin was considering how to defeat Xiang Yu on the battlefield.
Seeing Liu Bang's happy face, Han Xin immediately said: "Your Majesty, I have studied Xiang Yu's tactics. Xiang Yu will not be defeated tactically. Therefore, if you want to defeat Xiang Yu, the commander must be able to fail but not collapse. At the same time, you need a large number of brave generals to assist you and cut off Xiang Yu's Chu army.
I am willing to lead 10,000 elite soldiers to Zhao and Dai to help you eliminate those princes."
"Ten thousand?"
Liu Bang asked in astonishment, "Only ten thousand is enough? Is Zimu kidding?"
Everyone also looked at Han Xin with surprise. He dared to go to Zhao Dai with 10,000 people. He was really brave and skilled.
Han Xin said confidently: "Of course it's not a joke. Xiang Yu's subordinates are all mediocre. I will recruit tens of thousands of refugees and train them while fighting. Elite soldiers have their own tactics, and new soldiers have their own tactics."
Seeing that Han Xin was sure that he could do it, Liu Bang immediately became solemn and said, "General, I grant you the seal of the prime minister and the seal of the general. You will be above all other ministers. I will give you whatever resources you want. If you can really pacify Zhao and Dai, I will definitely reward you greatly.
As for Xiang Yu, I will hold him back in Han territory."
Han Xin smiled and said, "Your Majesty, just wait for my victory report."
Liu Bang said, "I am worried about you going to Zhaodai alone. If something unexpected happens, it will be too late to regret. Fan Kuai and others are all brave. You can pick some of them to take with you. I am fighting Xiang Yu and my main job is to defend the city. It is a waste for me to have these brave generals here."
Luo Cai frowned slightly as he stood below, but said nothing. He was just secretly on guard in his heart. Han Xin didn't think so much about it. These generals came from rich backgrounds and had served under him many times, so he agreed without thinking.
Seeing this, Liu Bang smiled with satisfaction.
This should have been an extremely solemn meeting to share the blame after the defeat, but no one expected that it would turn into a plan for the future.
It seems that this failure did not have any major impact on the Han Dynasty.
But after all the generals left, Liu Bang sat dejectedly in the camp. Luo Yi knew that this failure was still a big blow to Liu Bang.
————
According to historical records, after experiencing such a tragic defeat in the Battle of Xiang and Ying, Liu Bang's group did not show any signs of disintegration, but instead became more closely united. Such political groups are extremely rare throughout history, which shows the political charm of Liu Bang.
However, the impact of the Battle of Xiang and Ying on the Han Dynasty was still huge. Liu Bang missed the first opportunity to ascend the throne, which led to a huge change in the power structure within the group of meritorious officials. Han Xin and others left Fengpei meritorious officials far behind, and even Zhang Liang, a meritorious official who joined later, was awarded a high title because of his outstanding performance in the Chu-Han contention.
The impact of the war goes far beyond this. The author will describe in detail in subsequent chapters how Dong'a Houluo's fate changed and how the princes prospered.
In short, this war changed the fate of countless people, or in other words, the fate of countless political groups. For any editor who attempts to tell the history of the early Han Dynasty, this must be written in bold and vivid colors. - "The Rise and Fall of the Han Dynasty"
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
