The defeat of Zhao Kuo caused a huge disagreement between the government and the opposition of Zhao State about whether to continue to attack Chu.

At this time, there were three forces in the temple of Zhao State, one bright and one dark, in the bright place was the Wenchen group headed by Xiangguo Li Si and the military general group led by the general Zhao Kuo, and the other force hidden in the dark was led by Liu Bang of the internal history.

Over the years, Liu Bang's power has continued to grow, and in the name of selecting talents for the imperial court, he not only promoted fellow villagers such as Xiao He, Cao Shen, Fan Xu, and Zhou Bo, but also found a large number of geniuses such as Chen Ping, Zhang Liang, and Han Xin from the exiles of various countries.

At the court meeting, Li Si and all the ministers of Xiangguo believed that the time to use troops against Chu at this time was not the time, and the previous defeat was the proof, if they did not learn from the lessons of the past, they would definitely follow in the footsteps of the Qin State; However, the generals led by the above general Zhao Kuo insisted that in the previous battle, Chu and Zhao had already lost both, and at this time, if they could take advantage of Xiang Yu's new victory and attack Chu again without defense, they would be able to be ashamed, otherwise it would be even more difficult to fight again until the vitality of Chu recovered.

Regarding whether to fight or not to fight, the two sides debated for three days, and it seemed that either side was reasonable, but Zhao Wangjia was hesitant for a while. When he arrived in the Scattered Dynasty, Zhao Wangjia sent someone to send a message to Liu Bang and let him stay.

"The court meeting has been arguing for three days, and Qing has never said a word, I don't know what the reason is?" Walking out of the main hall, Zhao Wangjia asked Liu Bang to accompany him, and walked all the way to the study of the king of the east side hall.

"The king, Weichen is foolish, it is beyond my power to decide whether to fight or not to fight! Xiang Liang's death, how could Xiang Yu give up? The minister asserted that he would do it again in less than half a year. If so, why am I subject to others? In today's situation, it is better to fight late than to fight early, and it is better to slow down the attack than to have a quick decision! Please think twice. Liu Bang followed Zhao Wangjia and said as he walked.

Zhao Wangjia's eyes flashed after hearing this, and he smiled: "Liu Bang, I don't want you to have such a strategy, it's rare!" It's a rarity! ”

But Liu Bang replied with a humble face: "Weichen does not dare to deceive the king, these words are from the mouth of Han Xin, a guest of the courtiers. ”

"Han Xin?" Zhao Wangjia suddenly stopped, "Who is Han Xin?" ”

"As for those who believe in Han, the country's warriors are unparalleled! If the king only wants to be a prince, he can believe in nothing, but if he wants to go down for a day, he must use Han Xin! Liu Bang recommended Han Xin to King Zhao with Liu Bang's own considerations. Han Xin is his cronies, as long as Han Xin is in charge of the army, he will have the capital to really compete with Li Si and Zhao Kuo from now on.

"Oh? How could this man be so talented? Zhao Wangjia was a little incredulous.

"Han Xin's talent is comparable to Sun Wu and Bai Qi! The king doesn't need it, it's too late to regret it! Liu Bang solemnly recommended again.

Zhao Wangjia pondered for a moment, and then nodded: "Since Qing is so respected, he must have something outstanding, so make him a general!" Zhao Wangjia agreed very reluctantly, and suddenly promoted a cloth-clothed guest to a general, maybe the government and the opposition should talk about it again.

I never thought that Liu Bang was not satisfied: "King, Han Xin is not a general, and he can move his heart!" ”

Zhao Wangjia frowned: "If Yiqing sees it, what position should Han Xin entrust?" ”

"With Han Xin's ability, he can be the general of the unified army, and he can be the only one!" Liu Bang raised his head and secretly glanced at King Zhao's face, and then continued, "To destroy Chu, we must march in two directions, and the main army and Xiang Yu will fight in front; Another road of surprise soldiers, interspersed to the side of the Chu army, cut off its grain route, so that it could not take care of each other, and this road general is none other than Han Xin. ”

Zhao Wangjia took another step: "Qing's words are also taught by Han Xin, right?" ”

Liu Bang smiled and said nothing, which can be regarded as a tacit acquiescence.

Zhao Wangjia has always been obedient to Liu Bang's words, and today I saw Liu Bang recommend Han Xin many times, and from the words, Han Xin seems to have real talent and learning, Zhao Wang thought about it again and again, and finally spoke: "The military plan should not be hasty, immediately announce Han Xin into the palace!" This king wants to test his talents! ”

"King Shengming." Liu Bang hurriedly praised.

Liu Bang knew that with Han Xin's talent, as long as he saw King Zhao, he would definitely be reused. Sure enough, Zhao Wangjia hated Han Xin late, and issued an edict the next day: "It is imperative to cut down Chu, choose a good day, set up an altar to worship the generals, and swear to go on the expedition." ”

The previous two-way battle strategy of attacking Chu has been recognized by the ministers at the court meeting, so that there is no dispute that Zhao Kuo will lead the main army, but who will be the commander of the army on the other side? For a while, the generals in the army speculated, and everyone felt that they were the best candidates for generals.

But on the day of the oath of worship, everyone was dumbfounded, and no one would have thought that the person who walked up to the platform with Zhao Kuo to accept the letter of King Zhao would be a little-known junior, Han Xin, a deserter from the Chu army......

At this time, half a year had passed since Zhao Kuo's defeat, and in this half year, Xiang Yu led his army to capture dozens of cities in Northern Chu one after another, and the number of soldiers and horses had grown to 500,000.

On the eve of the army's expedition, Ji Xue found Zhao Kuo in the study: "If you want to destroy Xiang Yu, you should first remove Fan Zeng." After half a year of investigation, Ji Xue has made it clear that although there are many civil and military ministers in the Chu State, only Fan Zeng is the only one who can really pose a threat to the Zhao State, as long as Fan Zeng is eliminated, it will be much easier to deal with Xiang Yu.

"It's just that Xiang Yuzun Fan has become the second father, I'm afraid it's not easy to get rid of it!" Zhao Kuo had a lot of worries in his heart.

"Childe, Xiang Yu is very suspicious, as long as he uses a little counter-strategy, Xiang Yu will inevitably fall for it." Knowing that the other side can survive a hundred battles, through many understandings, Ji Xue has already seen Xiang Yu's Achilles' heel.

Within half a month, the counter-plot really worked, and Xiang Yu thought that Fan Zeng had colluded with the Zhao army, so he ordered his military power to be reduced. Fan Zeng was extremely angry, and immediately said: "Chu Di has been decided, please do it yourself, the minister is old and weak, I wish to give the bones to the ears!" ”

This was Fan Zeng's angry words, but he didn't expect Xiang Yu to nod his head and agree without hesitation. Fan Zeng had no choice but to leave Pengcheng, he was angry and sad along the way, and before he could go far, he had a back gangrene attack and died with a whimper.

As soon as Fan Zeng died, there was no one to make up ideas for Xiang Yu. Zhao Kuo then took advantage of the situation to wave his army south, and the two armies of Chu and Zhao launched a fierce battle in Huaibei, and finally stalemate on the Surabaya line, with the Chu army in the west and the Zhao army in the east. At the same time, Han Xin's 30,000 strange soldiers had also crossed the Huaishui and penetrated directly into the heart of the Chu State, cutting off the grain transportation channel behind Xiang Yu in one fell swoop. The rear was tight, Xiang Yu had to send troops back to help, and the Chu army suddenly fell into a passive situation of fighting on two fronts.

Zhao Kuo and Xiang Yu confronted each other on both sides of Surabaya for five full years, during these five years, Han Xin's army became stronger and stronger behind Xiang Yu's back, and after more than 70 battles, Han Xin finally completely wiped out the living force of the Chu army in Huainan. In the face of the increasingly difficult to transport grain and grass supplies to the front line, Xiang Yu finally couldn't hold on, he sent people to Zhao Kuo's army, asking for an armistice and peace, the two sides with Huaishui as the boundary, Huainan to Chu, Huaibei to Zhao.

The envoy of the Chu army thought that this matter was extremely difficult, but he never thought that Zhao Kuo would readily agree without saying a word.

"It must be Xiang Yu's plan to delay the army! The general must not be gullible! The Chu soldiers are exhausted, this is the will of heaven to kill Chu! If you don't take it by opportunity today, you will regret it! After sending off the envoy of the Chu army, Deputy General Li You couldn't help but remind.

"How can you hide from me in a shoddy trick?" Zhao Kuo smiled slightly, "If Xiang Yu wants to make peace, I will make peace with him!" ”

"Could it be that the general wants to do what he wants?" Li You suddenly realized in an instant.

"This battle will be the final decisive battle, order the whole army, the Chu army will immediately attack and cover the kill, and inform General Han Xin that Xiang Yu's way to flee south must be cut off and encircled the Chu army!" Zhao Kuo stroked his snow-white beard and ordered solemnly.

The envoy rushed back to the camp in a hurry and told Xiang Yu about Zhao Kuo's acceptance of the armistice agreement, Xiang Yu was overjoyed and issued the order to withdraw the troops that night. What Xiang Yu never expected was that the Chu army had just withdrawn from the camp and was violently attacked and killed by the Zhao army. The Chu army was already hungry and exhausted at this time, and it was still able to barely hold on to the village, but now it retreated to the wilderness, with no danger to rely on, and under the interception and killing of the Zhao army's flying cavalry, it completely collapsed in an instant. The army was defeated, Xiang Yu had to retreat all the way south with the remnants, and finally came to the lower ground in the early morning of the next day.

After counting the men and horses, there were about 100,000 people left, but most of the ordnance, grain and grass were lost.

Just when Xiang Yu gathered the rout and was about to stick to it and wait for help, he never thought that the general who guarded Cai suddenly raised troops and rebelled against Chu after receiving Xiang Yu's letter asking for help. The Tu Bu army first crossed the river to conquer Yingshou, cutting off the only way for Xiang Yu to retreat south, and then joined forces with Han Xin in Huainan to jointly attack Xiang Yu in the north.

Xiang Yu had no rescuers outside and no food and grass inside, and he fell into a desperate situation in an instant.