Chapter 260 The Military Genius, Chu and Han!
When Liu Bang led the army back, he found out that the King of Qi was attacking the domestic nobles and cutting off Xiang Yu's food supply from behind. Xiang Yu was so angry that he had to attack the King of Qi first, and Xingyang, which he had just captured, was slightly empty.
Liu Bang became excited now. If I can’t defeat Xiang Yu, how can I defeat you?
In addition, the soldiers trained by Han Xin were really useful, and the Xingyang City that Xiang Yu took more than half a year to capture was captured again by Liu Bang in just over a month. This important city once again returned to Liu Bang's hands.
Xiang Yu arrived in Qi and easily defeated the King of Qi's army. Then the King of Qi retreated into the big city again and refused to surrender.
Xiang Yu helplessly discovered that although he had won countless battles, the strength of his territory had not increased at all, and instead his soldiers continued to be lost.
Since they were winning all the time, there weren't sudden large casualties, but the number of soldiers was still reduced little by little with each battle.
Xiang Yu was a little confused and didn't know why this happened?
If you can win the war, why can't you conquer the world?
After Luo Yi contacted the princes and returned to Liu Bang, he learned about Liu Bang's previous visit to Han Xin's army, which made him feel helpless.
Liu Bang was always a man who always delivered on important matters, but sometimes he still acted like a gangster. If he did this too often, it would lead to disunity between the monarch and his subjects, especially for someone like Han Xin who was more grateful. It wasn't like he didn't have other options, so he had to do this.
Luo Yi thought with some relief that it was fortunate that Acai was by Han Xin's side. At this time, Han Xin was heading to Zhao with the new soldiers he had just recruited from Wei and had trained for just over a month.
The land of the Three Jins is surrounded by mountains and rivers, especially the land of Zhao, which is truly a land of great beauty. In the late Warring States Period, it was able to resist the powerful Qin, which shows the strength of the Zhao State.
Han Xin likes this kind of complex terrain the most, as it means he has countless room to maneuver. Although he is best at commanding troops, as a top figure in the military strategy school, his strategy is also top-notch.
After entering Zhao, Luo Cai asked directly: "My dear, Zhao is strong and cannot be compared with Wei. What is your plan?"
Han Xin laughed and said, "In the past, the Wei Wuzu were invincible, but they were repeatedly defeated by the princes. This is because the commander of the Wei Wuzu lost Wu Qi.
When Bai Qi attacked the State of Chu in the past, he was unable to move forward when he reached Yancheng, and his army of hundreds of thousands could not capture it. Finally, he used water attack and easily broke through Yancheng.
This is the reason why human power is not as strong as mountains and rivers, and the edge of a sword is not as strong as water and fire.
In a strategically located place like Zhao, the outcome of a war depends on the commander rather than the soldiers. Your Majesty's army of 600,000 was defeated by Xiang Yu in just half a day.
The King of Zhao was an old fool who could only talk nonsense. Even though Zhao had tens of thousands of capable soldiers, they were useless under his command.
They are afraid of Xin's reputation and will certainly not dare to attack.
But the King of Zhao wanted to defeat Xin and make himself famous. As long as he spread the news that the army of tens of thousands had only five or six thousand combat-capable soldiers, the King of Zhao would surely come out in full force.
That will be the time of his death.”
Luo Cai saw that Han Xin's thinking was extremely clear and understood that Han Xin had made thorough preparations. It was obvious that he had sent spies to Zhao State a long time ago and had a thorough understanding of the situation in Zhao State.
However, when the king and his ministers of Zhao heard that Han Xin was leading his army to attack, there was chaos. Han Xin had already become famous among the princes of the world.
The King of Zhao asked in some fear: "Han Xin is a famous general in the world, and he has never been defeated. Now he leads an army of 100,000 to attack us. How can we resist him?"
Cheng'an Jun of Zhao immediately stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, don't panic. Han Xin's 100,000-man army is just a lie. A few days ago, spies reported that King Liu Bang of Han took a large number of soldiers from Han Xin's camp to resist the Overlord.
There are only about 5,000 or 6,000 soldiers in Han Xin's camp who can fight. The rest are new recruits who are not worth worrying about. Besides, there is no way there are 100,000 of them."
As soon as Cheng Anjun said this, the atmosphere in the hall instantly warmed up. An army of 100,000 could not defeat the State of Zhao, but could a few thousand people dare to provoke the State of Zhao?
You are not a peerless warrior like the King of Chu who can kill hundreds of people with his own hands!
King Zhao laughed loudly and said, "I once heard Lord Cheng An say that there is no such thing as a war in which the weak defeats the strong.
To defeat the strong with the weak is actually to use your strongest force to attack the weakest force of the enemy. The weak will be scattered when attacked, and after the collapse, the entire army will become a weak army. This is the principle of defeating the strong with the weak.
Now there are only five or six thousand combat-capable soldiers in Han Xin's army, but I have fifty thousand combat-capable soldiers, which is beyond the reach of Han Xin. Can Han Xin still win?
Pass on my order, contact the King of Dai, fight against Han Xin, and after defeating Han Xin, recapture the land of Wei. I will give the Overlord a great gift."
Cheng An Jun was the most knowledgeable person in the palace about military affairs. He also did not think that Han Xin had any chance of winning. The gap in strength was so huge that if he wanted to create a miracle, he must send an army of Xiang Yu's type to attack directly and use tactics to defeat strategy. Only then would it be possible.
Although Han Xin was a famous general, as a fellow military strategist, Cheng Anjun did not think that he could lose with such a huge advantage.
If Li Mu, a former famous general of Zhao State, knew what he was thinking, he would definitely take out a foolish King Zhao who was passed down from his ancestors. Then, upon closer inspection, he would find that Cheng An Jun already had one, and even better, so he didn't need to give it to him at all.
Han Xin got the information from the spy and learned about the King of Zhao's movements. He laughed loudly and said, "It is just as I expected."
So he began to arrange various ambushes and strategies. Han Xin had 20,000 veterans who had served in Wei for half a year, and 30,000 new recruits. These people were certainly not enough to fight Xiang Yu. It was estimated that before he could use any strategy, Xiang Yu would be killed with a charge. However, it was more than enough to fight King Zhao.
If it were not for the purpose of expanding the victory and conquering Zhao and Dai in one battle, Han Xin would not have gone through so much trouble. He was confident that he could have used the 20,000 men in his hands to defeat the Zhao Dai army head-on.
"Warfare is about courage. The first time you are strong, the second time you are weak, and the third time you are exhausted."
"You must be ready to survive if you are ready to die."
"Xiang Yu sank his boats and broke his cauldrons, defeating the Qin army."
“Between life and death there is great terror, but also great courage.”
“Don’t collapse, don’t disperse, don’t be startled, don’t be afraid, don’t be terrified. With these five, you can live in the face of death.”
Han Xin murmured softly every word and sentence left by these sages, what is a natural talent? Even if it is not a military book, Han Xin can still find out how to command troops from it.
He deeply understood that commanding an army meant commanding the hearts of the soldiers, which was what he was best at, so he was able to command a much larger number of troops than other generals without collapsing.
The Zhao Dai army and the Han army started fighting. The Zhao Dai army had the apparent advantage, but Han Xin had already begun to cut off the Zhao Dai army's food and grass. An army of 200,000 needed too much food and grass. As long as one or two places were burned, the food and grass of the entire army would be reduced.
At the same time, they kept sending out decoy troops, pretending that the Han army had hundreds of thousands of troops, in order to undermine the morale of the Zhao Dai army and confuse the Zhao Dai army's cognition, even though the King of Zhao reported to the entire army that the Han army had only a few thousand people.
However, seeing is believing, and the Zhao Dai army certainly believed what they saw. The King of Zhao’s report actually affected their morale even more.
At the same time, they gradually lured the Zhao Dai army into the encirclement that had been set up long ago.
Although Cheng Anjun did not realize that Han Xin's strategy was to annihilate the Zhao Dai army, the Zhao Dai army was short of food and grass, and a direct attack was unsafe.
But the King of Zhao did not listen to Cheng Anjun's advice, and said to himself: "The Han army is not strong enough. As long as they are pushed to the water, our army will be able to defeat them overnight. Then we can return home. Do we still need food and grass?"
So he once again encouraged the Zhao Dai army to attack. At this point, Han Xin understood that as long as the Han army held on, the Zhao Dai army would collapse without a fight.
But of course he would not wait quietly, and announced to the whole army, "The Zhao Dai army is short of food and grass, so they are rushing to attack our army. There is a big river behind us. If we hold on, we will live, otherwise we will die."
Han Xin was good at commanding the army and had never been defeated, so the morale of the Han army was high. Han Xin also ordered Fan Kuai and others to lead 3,000 elite troops to stand by.
When the King of Zhao saw Han Xin fighting by the water, he laughed out loud: "I never thought Han Xin was just a man of empty reputation. Fighting by the water must terrify the Han army. This is a victory bestowed upon me by God."
So they beat the drums again, but they did not expect that the Han army would bravely take the lead. The Zhao Dai army's formation was a little chaotic, and the two sides fought fiercely. Fan Kuai and others led the elite troops directly into the Zhao Dai army. Countless troops with Han army flags emerged from all directions. They were not the thousands of people that King Zhao said, but clearly tens of thousands of people!
When two brave men meet in a narrow road, the braver one prevails. The Zhao Dai army was frightened by the deafening shouts of the Han army. The morale of the elite soldiers with their backs to the water was even stronger. They charged forward regardless of casualties. The hesitant vanguard of the Zhao Dai army finally collapsed and fled in all directions. These people wanted to return to the barracks, but found that it was already filled with the flags of the Han army.
The fire in the granary became the last straw that broke the camel's back. The Zhao Dai army either surrendered or died in the trampling of the fleeing troops.
Of course Han Xin did not burn the food supplies. That was just a trick and no one would carefully distinguish it under such circumstances.
The King of Zhao was killed immediately, and the King of Dai knelt before Han Xin and said, "General, I am guilty."
Han Xin was so excited that he ordered the King of Dai to be dragged away. "Cainiang, the next stop is the State of Yan."
Luo Cai said softly: "I'm afraid there is no need to fight against Yan State. As long as my beloved sends a letter of persuasion, the King of Yan will come to surrender."
Han Xin smiled and said, "That's exactly what I want. Let's first collect the troops and cities from Zhao and Dai. After this battle, I'm afraid we'll have an army of 300,000.
If we conquer Yan, we can go south with the King of Qi to attack Chu. Cai Niang, the world will be stable. On that day, Xin can go to Zhaocheng to ask for marriage from my elder brother."
Luo Cai was no longer shy.
She just sighed slightly and said, yes, everything will be stable soon.
In just less than two years, they defeated Wei, Zhao, and Dai in succession, and then pushed north to Yan. It was truly shocking and no one could have imagined that with two thousand miles of land, more than a hundred cities, and hundreds of thousands of troops, they could be defeated to such an extent.
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Xin was appointed a general of the Han Dynasty and marched westward to destroy Qin. He defeated Meng Tian, secretly broke through Wuguan, and conquered Lantian. The Qin court was then destroyed. When he arrived at Chu and Han, he was appointed a general. Within three years, he conquered the Three Qins, destroyed Western Wei, destroyed Zhao and Dai, and conquered Yan with kindness and power. This is what is called a man whose achievements are unparalleled in the world and whose strategies are unparalleled in the world.
When it came to Xiang Yu, he gathered an army of millions and surrounded him. He was as easy to control as using one's arms. He retreated without scattering and was defeated without breaking down. Xiang Yu was brave and courageous, but he could only cry out in despair. He was trapped in the net and could never get out. Emperor Gaozu then gained the world.
Xin's military skills were like those of a fairy or a god. He left no trace and could easily draw up strategies from military books. Within four years, he conquered the world and was victorious. He was a famous general in ancient times, even Lü Sun and Wu Bai were invincible. People at that time said: This is a peerless national hero. Is it human power? It is a gift from heaven! - "Historical Records: The Biography of Huaiyin Marquis"
(End of this chapter)
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