Qin Official

At the end of March, with the launch of the Central Plains offensive, Heifu had marched to Chenggao.

Chenggao is the Hulao Pass in later generations. This place is the east gate of Luoyang. Heifu placed the command post and the Wing Battalion here, so he can command the battle of Xingyang nearby. In the past few months, Xiang Liang of the Chu army in Liang also The "Eighteenth Route" county officials came to invade Chenggao. However, the Qin army was larger and had an advantage in the west and east of Chenggao. The Chu soldiers were not united and did not gain any advantage. Now they are on the defensive. The battle line is slowly moving. Push eastward.

The 30,000 Qin army forwards led by Li Bi, Luo Jia and others have crossed the Si River and surrounded Xingyang. Xingyang has Hongtong Road and Huaisi in the east, Mang Mountain in the north and the Yellow River, Jingsuo in the south, and Chenggao in the west. Connecting to Luoyang, the terrain is dangerous. It is the hub of north and south and the tunnel of east and west. No matter how you look at it, it is a battleground for military strategists.

The Qin army also followed Hei Fu's request and set up a posture in Xingyang, setting up siege equipment, clearing the surrounding Chu army strongholds, and cutting off the connection between Xingyang and Daliang. It looked menacing, but in fact , but only used 30% of the force.

Anyone with a discerning eye on the black husband’s side can see this:

"The generals appointed by the regent, such as Li Bi, Luo Jia, Yang Xi, etc., are not only former generals, but also people who were defeated by Xiang Ji in the Battle of Xihe..."

Chen Hui from Yuyi Camp explained this: "In the Spring and Autumn Period, Meng Mingshi, Xiqishu, and Bai Yibing lost their troops and humiliated the country in the Battle of Xiao, and were captured. The people of Jin thought that Duke Mu of Qin would complain about this. The three generals have entered the bone marrow. If these three people return, they will be cooked. However, Duke Mu of Qin felt that the fault was his own, but he did not kill the three people. Instead, he restored the official ranks of the three people as before, and became more and more generous. He hoped that they could avenge their shame and finally Defeating the Jin army in the Battle of Wangguan was a shame for Wei."

"Don't kill the defeated generals and make them serve their crimes. This is the ancient system of Qin. If the first emperor doesn't kill Li Xin and Meng Tian, ​​then he can assist the regent of Xia Gong in the north of the Great Wall and drive the Huns from the north. If it is like the Chu people, the losers may die. If you use an ax and axe, you may kill yourself out of fear of sin, how can you sum up your success or failure to avoid making the same mistake again?"

The purpose of their wing battalion's existence is to summarize the experience of past battles, why they won and why they lost. The experience of these "defeated generals" is very good material.

"Ever since Li Bi and Luo Jia left the country in Xihe, they have devoted themselves to avenging their humiliation and avenging the people of Xihe. They often live in the military camp, never return home, share the same food and clothing with the soldiers, and practice day and night. Only then can the army look new today."

However, after all that, Chen Hui also understood that the regent was to use the same defeated generals who were defeated by Xiang Ji in the Battle of Xihe half a year ago. In addition to making them realize their shame and become brave, the purpose was to make Xingyang look like there was a glimmer of hope. , to attract Chu army reinforcements to rescue Xingyang.

Heifu even requested that anyone who found a messenger seeking help from Xingyang should be killed and spared.

But the news reported by forward Li Bibu shocked Heifu: Xingyang's defenders originally numbered 20,000, but they withdrew 15,000 before the Qin army arrived. And after so many days, not even a letter for help was sent out from the city. hair……

Heifu noticed something fishy and called Chen Hui, "How many days has Xingyang been under siege?"

"It's been seven days."

"In the past seven days, what have been the movements of the Chu troops in Liang and Chen?"

"Since Xiang Sheng's tribe crossed eastward from Honggou, Xiang Liang's scouts have often gone to Xingyang to spy, but they have only made limited attempts. Xiang Liang's main force is still in Daliang and has no intention of aiding the West."

Xiang Liang was very cautious in using his troops, and he was very cautious when facing Heifu's encirclement and reinforcements. But what about his nephew who was always known for his recklessness?

Chen Hui reported: "Li Shiqi of Yingchuan sent an envoy to report that Xiang Ji's main force had already pulled out of camp, but in the end it stopped between Xu and Ye and stopped going north."

"Has it been seen through?"

Heifu was a little regretful. Their plan was to attract more than 50,000 people from Xiang Liang of Daliang to go west for rescue. Xiang Ji of Chen County recruited more than 40,000 local people to expand the army and cross Korea, which was still an "ally" of Chu State, to come to the rescue.

When the main force of the Chu army, a total of 100,000, gathered in this area, they used the total force of 200,000 to 300,000 from Henan, Hanoi, Nanyang, and Yingchuan to fight a battle of annihilation and determine the country in one battle!

It's a pity that the enemy is not a fool. He probably saw something fishy and left this inevitable place unsaved.

Since the Chu people were not fooled, Hei Fu's plan to complete his victory in one battle seemed to have failed.

"Why bother? For this world, long-term pain is worse than short-term pain."

Heifu shrugged: "Even if the Chu army avoids the battle and does not save Xingyang, it will just be a slow death..."

Tactically luring the enemy is just a trick to get lucky. What really makes the Chu people uncomfortable is the well-coordinated strategy. The current Qin army is like a giant python, slowly wrapping around the little monkey of Chu, its squirming body full of muscles, from Jiaodong, Jiangdong, Hengshan, Nanyang, Yingchuan, Sanchuan, and Hanoi all tightened their grip, just waiting to break the monkey's bones and swallow it in one bite!

"No matter how hard you struggle, the outcome is doomed."

Since the other party refused to cooperate, Hei Fu ordered:

"Tell the forwards that there is no need to keep it away. Since the equipment is ready and the morale of the soldiers is high, let's launch a strong attack on Xingyang. The main force will also cross the Si River and prepare support in the surrounding areas in case the Chu army really comes to rescue."

Like the black snake Xinzi hesitating, he issued the verdict against Xingyang:

"Within five days, this city must be captured. It must be clean and tidy. Let this battle be the first bell to announce the demise of the Chu Kingdom!"

…

"Father Zhong thought that Xingyang could not be saved."

At the same time, in Zhaoling County, Chen County, Xiang Yu, who was prevented from sending troops, put down the letter sent from Daliang and looked at Fan Zeng, who came here specially from Huainan.

"A father also wants to stop me?"

Fan Zeng said: "Xingyang really cannot be saved. Zhongli Mei also saw it. Heifu's move was to lure our main force to the west, and then rely on the divisions from Nanyang and Hanoi to cut off our retreat, and use several times the force to defeat the Chu army." During the encirclement and annihilation, he specifically warned Shangzhu State not to assist them."

Xiang Ji said: "But Zhongli Mei is staying in Xingyang, how can I just sit back and ignore him?"

Fan Zeng said: "The reason why Zhongli Mei stayed behind was to use thousands of people and an isolated city to delay time so that our army could prepare. If Shangzhu State did not want to let him down, it should not rescue him, but should bring him with him." The main force retreats."

Xiang Ji sneered: "How can Heifu be defeated without a fight if he just avoids fighting?"

In the past six months, although he had not lost a single battle, he felt aggrieved in all the battles he fought. In the Battle of Xihe, everyone in the Six Kingdoms saw that Heifu had entered the pass first and occupied Xianyang. They all felt timid and unwilling to fight with him. Fight in advance.

Only Xiang Ji told the truth in one sentence: The Battle of Xihe was probably the last war that neither side could afford to lose...

"I said at that time that once we retreat and use Heifu's army to combine with the soldiers in Guanzhong, within a year, the number of soldiers will be several times that of the six countries, and the six countries will also be scattered, just like in the past, they will be divided by each other. Break."

Everything was exactly as Xiang Ji expected. Just as he was returning to Huainan from thousands of miles away, Heifu had sent Han Xin to seize Hedong and severely damage Wei.

In order to break the situation, Xiang Ji chose to attack Heifu's base camp in Huainan and Hengshan. He wanted to find the seven-inch python, but encountered a smooth scale body. At the same time, the Qin army opened battlefields in the Central Plains and Shangdang at the same time. , Zhao Guo's strength was also greatly damaged.

In this regard, Xiang Ji, who was far to the south, was unable to save him. Although he won a battle in Runan and killed the communist captain, he could not achieve greater results in Nanyang.

"Why do I win every battle, but Chu is losing more and more?"

Xiang Ji could feel the black python tightening around Chu. He tried his best to move his limbs, but to no avail. He only felt extremely aggrieved.

Fan Zeng said: "There is a huge disparity in strength, and the people of Han and Liang are not loyal. What the Chu army can do now is not to attack or defend, but to retreat! Preserve every Chu soldier, and do not let them die in vain in Han and Liang. Every one of them can Individuals are the backbone of Chu’s comeback.”

"When will we retreat?"

"Return to the land of Chu, to a place where the people can do their best to assist our army and fight Qin to the death."

Xiang Ji frowned: "If we follow Yafu's plan, not only will Xingyang be abandoned, but Han and Liang will also be abandoned?"

"Shangzhu Kingdom."

Fan Zeng sighed:

"I have lived for more than seventy years, so I understand a truth."

"It is better to trust others than to trust oneself. At this point in the war, in this situation, except the Chu people themselves, no ally can be relied on! Whether it is South Korea or the county officials in Liang who have submitted to Chu, at this moment, thousands of people You can’t put it behind us, but you should move it back to Chu and put it behind Heifu!”

"Heifu must divide his troops for defense, so the further east he goes, the fewer troops he can use for fighting. Back then, Wang Jian did not dare to attack Chu unless he had an army of 600,000. But now, how many do Heifu have under his command? The total of the three armies of Nanyang, Henan, and Huainan , is it three hundred thousand?"

Fan Zeng said: "Therefore, our army should retreat to the time when the Qin army divides its troops and stays in the newly occupied city, to the time when the other people are proud and weak, to the time when we are dedicated and the enemy is divided, to the time when Heifu thinks that the Chu people If you are timid, move eastward quickly, a decisive battle with me will determine the situation in the world!"

"At that time, the Qin army will fight hundreds of miles across the country. The Shangzhu Kingdom only needs to rely on the Chu people and a good battle to reverse the decline in one fell swoop!"

After Xiang Ji was silent for a long time, he couldn't help but laugh: "My father often criticized me for gambling when I use troops. When did you learn to gamble?"

Fan Zeng shook his head: "When we were in Xihe, I made a mistake and always wanted to be safe. But in this situation, sometimes we can only rely on gambling in order to break the situation."

Moreover, gamblers are only derogatory when they lose...

Back then, didn't General Xiang Yan rely on space to pull the Qin army's supply line and eventually get fighter planes? The only question is, will this tactic be effective against Heifu, who has always been as steady as Wang Jian in using troops?

But after Xiang Ji was silent for a long time, he joined hands with others.

"Although Yafu's plan is good, Zhongli Mei has never betrayed me, and Ji cannot betray him either!"

Fan Zeng only felt desperate. His mouth was dry when he just said it. Could it be that he had just said it in vain?

"Xiang Yu, you..."

He makes decisions based on emotion rather than reason. This is Fan Zeng's biggest frustration.

But Xiang Ji stopped Fan Zeng and said: "Planning and planning are my father's strengths, but fighting on the battlefield is my father's. I am brave in fighting. When we were at Xihe, our army retreated. From then on, we retreated again and again, from Guan Return to Guandong from the west. If we sit back and watch Xingyang fall today and abandon it without saving it, I am afraid that the morale will be even lower, and even the people of Chu will fall apart. What qualifications do I have to let others follow me and fight to the death?"

"So Xingyang can give up."

"But Zhongli Mei, Ji must save him!"

His words were unequivocal:

"I at least want to give it a try!"

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