still carefully studied Uncle Zhou's military intelligence report, and Xiang Kang knew that Uncle Zhou really had no way to ask for help from him, and he prepared a table of meals but welcomed more than two tables of guests, and he really couldn't deal with it, so he opened his mouth to himself.

Xiang Kang and Uncle Zhou underestimated Xiang Yu's importance to the battlefield on the northern front, although Xiang Kang and Uncle Zhou both agreed that Xiang Yu was likely to send troops to rescue Zhao, but they didn't expect Xiang Yu to be able to exhaust his troops to this point, in the case of the Xingyang War in full swing, he actually transferred 130,000 troops from the rear of Chu to the north to aid Zhao, although this gave Peng Yue a good opportunity to take the opportunity to stir up trouble in the rear of Western Chu, but it also laid the strength advantage of the Western Chu army on the northern front battlefield.

This is not counting, according to Xiang Yu's order, Jibei Wang Tiandu also led 50,000 troops to join the queue to reinforce Zhao, and what caught Uncle Zhou off guard was that because of Zhao Xiangzhang'er's envoy pleading, and Xiang Yu also sent someone to say hello, Xiang Yu actually jumped out and intervened after killing Tian Rong of Tianshi, and dispatched 60,000 troops to rescue Zhao, further expanding the strength advantage of the anti-Han coalition army on the battlefield on the northern front.

The Western Chu army was 130,000, the Jibei army was 50,000, the Qi army was 60,000, and the main force of the Zhao army was more than 70,000 who returned from Hanoi to the north, and the anti-Han coalition army suddenly reached an astonishing more than 310,000! And even if the Han army on the northern front adds the Wang Ling Department who had just taken Daijun, as well as the newly incorporated Dai Jin Zhai coalition army and the Xia Shuo army in Jingcheng, the total strength has only just exceeded 90,000, less than one-third of the enemy, so even Uncle Zhou did not dare to guarantee that he could still win, so he had to ask Xiang Kang for assistance.

Fortunately, although the anti-Han coalition army has a large number of troops, its overall quality is not very high, and the overall combat effectiveness cannot catch up with the real main force of the Western Chu Army. Therefore, Uncle Zhou did not make too harsh demands on Xiang Kang, but only asked Xiang Kang to send part of the main force from Hanoi County to the north, take advantage of the situation to attack Julu, the current capital of Zhao State, cut off the galloping connection between the anti-Han coalition army and the rear, and also forced the anti-Han coalition army to divide troops to the south to rescue, so as to share part of the pressure on the frontal battlefield for the Han army on the northern front, and then Uncle Zhou hoped to reverse the situation and break the anti-Han coalition forces individually.

After carefully understanding these circumstances, before the Han army that was pursuing the defeated troops of the Western Chu army withdrew, Xiang Kang hurriedly discussed countermeasures with Zhang Liang and Chen Ping in the Han army banner array outside Puyang City, and discussed how to send troops to reinforce Uncle Zhou. However, after thinking about it carefully, Chen Ping put forward a different opinion to Xiang Kang, and said: "Wang, in the current situation, is it still necessary for us to divide troops to reinforce the northern front?" ”

"What does Mr. Chen Ping mean by this?" Xiang Kang was a little surprised, and then immediately understood what Chen Ping meant, and hurriedly said: "Mr. Chen Ping wants to suggest that we ignore the northern front and take advantage of the current opportunity to attack the hinterland of the Western Chu thief army with all our might?" ”

"Not bad." Chen Ping nodded and said: "Puyang's Western Chu thief army has been defeated, there is no way to stop our main force from taking advantage of the void to enter the hinterland of Western Chu, General Peng Yue They temporarily contain the main force of the Western Chu thief army for us, we take this opportunity to attack the hinterland of Western Chu in a big way, and General Peng Yue's army is flanked back and forth, and there is every hope that the main force of the Western Chu thief army will be directly defeated." ”

"If we do this, the Western Chu thief army on the northern front will become a rootless army, and the Chuqi-Zhao coalition army will also collapse, even if we don't send troops to reinforce the northern front, General Zhou Shu is sure to defeat them directly. Taking a step back, even if General Zhou still has no chance of winning at that time, it will not be too late for us to send troops north to help him flank the bandit army on the northern front. ”

"King, this is also a good choice." Tang Bing, the old man of Shangshan, interjected and said: "At present, General Zhou is facing off with the thief army on the northern front in the Dongyuan area, and it is very easy to withdraw to Jingcheng, as long as we let General Zhou retreat to Jingcheng to hold the danger, we can be invincible immediately, and hold on until we and the main force of the Western Chu thief army divide the victory and defeat, there is absolutely no problem." ”

This is indeed a good choice, Xiang Kang was inevitably a little moved, and quickly turned his attention to Zhang Liang, who was good at strategy, Zhang Liang understood, and hurriedly said: "King, standing in the personal position of the foreign minister, of course the foreign minister very much hopes that you will go all out to enter the hinterland of Western Chu and receive Han Cheng, the monarch of the foreign minister." However, from the king's point of view, the foreign ministers feel that it is a little too risky for us to march into the hinterland of Western Chu on a large scale now, so please think twice about the king. ”

"Mr. Zifang, the Western Chu thief army is currently under attack on its back, and even the national capital Pengcheng has been occupied by our friendly troops, why is it too dangerous for us to take advantage of the situation to enter the hinterland of Western Chu?" Wu Shi, another old man from Shangshan, asked suspiciously.

"Mr. Qiliji, we are now marching into the hinterland of Western Chu, and there are two major dangers." Zhang Liang raised two fingers and said, "First, we don't know how long General Peng Yue and they can hold out, and we don't even know if he is still in Pengcheng now. If we now march into the hinterland of Western Chu on a large scale, and Peng Yue has been defeated or even annihilated by the main force of the Western Chu thief army, then our trouble will be big, and the Western Chu thief army will have no worries, and can meet us with all its might, and we will have the convenience of requisitioning grain on the spot, and the military grain and grass will be more secure than ours, and our chances of winning will definitely not be very great in a head-on decisive battle. ”

"Second, after we march into the hinterland of Western Chu on a large scale, the rear will inevitably be empty." Zhang Liang continued: "When the time comes, the Western Chu thief army on the northern front will take advantage of the situation to go south, take the opportunity to cut off our grain routes, and even take advantage of the situation to attack Aocang and Sanchuan, cutting off our connection with the rear of Guanzhong, how will we deal with it?" ”

No one dared to deny this possibility, Chen Ping and the two old men of Shangshan could only keep their mouths shut, but Li Zuoche, who had just joined the Han army for only a few hours, opened his mouth and said to Xiang Kang: "Great King, the criminal ministers also think that you have entered the hinterland of Western Chu in a big way, and the time is not ripe enough, it is better to continue to be patient, continue your previous strategy of frontal stalemate and flank development, and when the time is really ripe, it is not too late to send troops to destroy Chu." ”

"Please ask Guangwujun to try to elaborate." Xiang Kang, who has a sparse history, has long wanted to test Li Zuoche's true quality in person, and immediately spoke.

"Then the sinner is abrupt." Li Zuoche said: "The criminal minister thinks that there are three points that are destined to be difficult for you to destroy Chu immediately, the first is that the main force of the Western Chu army still has the strength to fight, and the overlord of Western Chu is brave and invincible, and can fight well, even if you send the main force to fight with it, you may not dare to say that you have the certainty of victory." Therefore, the king, you are now marching into the hinterland of Western Chu, which is really a bit risky, and once you fail, you may lose all your efforts, causing you to be at a disadvantage in the overall strategy. ”

"Second, your strength is not enough to sweep the world, my lord." Li Zuoche continued: "At present, the king only has the upper hand in the overall strategy, and you can take an offensive in one strategic direction, but you must take a defensive position in another strategic direction, and you do not have the strength to launch a full-scale offensive and quickly dominate the world. Under such circumstances, if you leave the enemy on the northern front, which is much easier to deal with, and take the risk of attacking the main force of Western Chu, which is the most powerful, and fighting a strategic decisive battle with little certainty, it is tantamount to giving up the easy and the difficult, abandoning the flat road and taking the rugged path, and there is a danger that you will not be able to reach it if you want to hurry. ”

"And the third?" Xiang Kang asked thoughtfully.

"The third is that you have too many enemies and too many hidden dangers, your current king." Li Zuoche replied: "Zhao Guo in the north and Liu Ji in the south are both enemies of the king, and they may take the opportunity to stab you in the back at any time." The Tian and Tian of the Qi State are both vassals of Western Chu, and it is difficult to fight for them, even if you win them, you will definitely not dare to completely rest assured of them. In addition, Zang Di of Yan State is also riding on the wall to watch the wind, once you see that Western Chu is powerful, it is also possible to suddenly become your enemy, if you can't completely destroy these enemies, or let them really submit to you, the king will not be able to launch a war to destroy Chu with peace of mind. ”

"Therefore, the guilty minister is foolish, the king, it is best for you to give priority to sending troops to the northern front at present, and make every effort to help General Zhou Shu destroy the enemy on the northern front as soon as possible." Li Zuoche continued: "Doing this not only has the certainty of victory, but also can eliminate the hidden dangers of the northern front, and can further strengthen the strength of the king, and gain the upper hand in the overall strategy, and then launch a battle to destroy Chu, which is more certain." ”

After all, it was the person who had just surrendered, and he lacked understanding of Xiang Kang's personality and temper, and after talking endlessly, Li Zuoche inevitably peeked at Xiang Kang's expression a little nervously. Fortunately, Xiang Kang and Xiang Yu's tempers have always been two extremes, although similar words will definitely make Xiang Yu burst into a rage, after Xiang Kang heard it, he gradually smiled and said: "In the end, it is Guangwujun, it really deserves its reputation, to be honest, I also think that our current strength is not enough to launch a battle to destroy Chu." ”

Li Zuoche breathed a sigh of relief, and Xiang Kang said again: "Mr. Chen Ping, Dongyuan Gong, I know that your suggestion is reasonable, and now we still have the option of taking advantage of the situation to enter the hinterland of Western Chu, but there is no way, at present, I am really not sure that I can defeat my overlord brother, so let's give priority to cutting off his wings, and wait until we first kill his accomplice lackey, and then concentrate on cleaning him up, so that we can be sure of victory." ”

They all knew Xiang Kang's temper very well, and knew that even if their opinions did not match Xiang Kang's wishes, Xiang Kang would not alienate himself because of such a thing, so Chen Ping and Tang Bing immediately bowed and expressed their support for Xiang Kang's decision, and then Chen Ping also asked: "Wang, since you have decided to send troops to reinforce the northern front, do you plan to personally lead the troops north, or do you want to send another general north to help General Zhou?" ”

"The transportation is inconvenient, and the distance is too far, so I can't risk leading the troops north in person." Xiang Kang immediately shook his head, denied the possibility of personally leading the army north, and said: "Let Zheng Bu go, take Zhong Liwu, Guan Ying and Gongsun with them, and help Uncle Zhou solve the problem of the northern line as soon as possible." ”

Zhang Liang and Chen Ping's eyelids moved, and they secretly admired Xiang Kang's careful consideration in choosing the main general of the reinforcements - Guan Ying and Gongsun Tong are both younger, and their qualifications are not as good as Zheng Bu's, and there will definitely be no situation where the command is not moving, although Zhong Liwu's seniority and age are similar to Zheng Bu's, he was rescued by Zheng Bu once on the battlefield of Wuguandao, and he owed Zheng Bu a great favor, and let Zheng Bu be the chief general of the reinforcements, he would not dare to disagree - and on the contrary, if it was replaced by Ding Ji or Long He as the main general of the reinforcements, At the very least, it is difficult for Zhong Liwu to command like an arm.

However, Tang Bing, the old man of Shangshan, put forward his opinion and said: "My lord, General Zheng Bu has a steady personality and is cautious, and he is indeed an ideal candidate to lead the army to reinforce the northern front, but the old minister is foolish, General Zheng Bu's actions seem to be a little lacking in flexibility, how to solve this point?" ”

"It's too easy." Xiang Kang smiled, bowed to Li Zuoche, who had just surrendered, and said, "Aren't we adding a resourceful Guangwu Jun now?" Let Guangwujun go out with the army and help Zheng Bu with advice, isn't it okay? ”

"Let the sinners go?" Li Zuoche opened his mouth wide in surprise, and said: "King, the criminal minister is a person who has just surrendered, and the Zhao country is the mother country of the criminal minister, so you are so relieved of the criminal minister?" ”

"Don't use suspicious people, don't suspect people, this has always been the king's principle of employing people." Xiang Kang replied with a relaxed expression, and said: "That's it, Guangwujun, this king now appoints you as the counselor of the Han State, and goes to Zhao State with General Zheng Bu to help him make suggestions, kill the enemy and make meritorious contributions, and when you return triumphantly, this king will give you a reward for meritorious deeds and promote your official position." ”

I never expected Xiang Kang to reuse himself so quickly, and was surprised that Xiang Kang and Xiang Yu acted differently, of course, Li Zuoche hurriedly saluted and thanked Xiang Kang, and Xiang Kang waved his hand and said: "No need, Guangwujun, you can abandon the darkness and turn to the light, and choose to help this king pacify the world as soon as possible and end the war, which is already the best thank you to this king." ”

In this way, after considering all aspects, on the same day that he took Puyang for the second time, Xiang Kang finalized the strategic decision to give priority to the northern front, and quickly decided to transfer 70,000 troops from the main force of the Han army to the command of Zheng Bu, the general of the Han army, and directly cross the river north in the nearby Baimajin, and take the current capital of Zhao along the Chi Road, Julu City, besiege Wei to save Zhao and force the anti-Han coalition army to divide troops to go south to rescue Julu, and at the same time make every effort to cut off the Chi Road connection between the anti-Han coalition army and the rear of Qi and Chu.

Facts have proved that Xiang Kang made a fairly correct decision, because the Han army led by Zheng Bu had not had time to set off north, and an urgent report was sent from the rear, saying that Liu Laosan and the Western Chu general Li Ji (real name) had joined forces to defeat the main force of the Anglo-Bu army in Wancheng, and the Anglo-Bu army had suffered heavy losses and had been forced to flee to Nanjun in embarrassment.

Even Chen Ping and Zhang Liang were very surprised by this news and said, "How is it possible? Shen Yang is just that, why is Yingbu not Liu Jipifu's opponent? I remember that during the Central Plains War, Liu Jipifu's battlefield performance was not even half of Yingbu's? ”

"Nothing strange." Xiang Kang was not surprised, and said: "To tell you the truth, this is the real reason why I don't dare to enter the hinterland of Western Chu on a large scale at present, Liu Ji himself is not difficult to deal with, but as long as he reuses the general named Han Xin, even I dare not say that I am sure that I can take over Liu Ji's army." ”

Still didn't understand why Xiang Kang was afraid of Han Xin, who was ridiculed as a crotch child, Chen Ping could only change his words and ask: "King, what should we do now?" If Yingbu is quickly destroyed by Liu Ji, and Liu Ji frees his hand, our southern front will definitely be in danger again, otherwise what else? Let General Li Shang send troops from Hanzhong, take the Wuguan Road to attack Danshui in Xixian County, and besiege Wei to save Zhao to share the pressure for Yingbu? ”

"Mr. Chen Ping, remember, you must not underestimate Liu Ji." Xiang Kang's tone was serious, and he said: "The troops in the hands of Li Shang do not have any advantage in front of Liu Ji, and he also asked him to take the initiative to attack, that is to take the risk of General Li Shang and our Hanzhong defenders, if they are not careful, Li Shang and they will be in danger of being wiped out!" ”

Seeing Xiang Kang's serious tone, Chen Ping could only reluctantly agree, and Xiang Kang instructed again: "Tell Li Shang to go east from Fangling and directly reinforce Yingbu's homeland, and clearly tell Li Shang and Yingbu that I don't expect them to attack, as long as they can hold Nanjun and contain Liu Ji's main force for me for a long time, I will give them a great credit." ”

Chen Ping sang a promise and hurriedly drafted an order for Xiang Kang, but Xiang Kang turned his gaze to the southwest again, and said secretly with great anxiety in his heart: "Can Yingbu escape back to Nanjun smoothly?" If he is killed by Liu Laosan on the way to escape, then my southern front problem will definitely only be more troublesome. ”

This time it was Xiang Kang's turn to turn into a crow's mouth, in fact, before Xiang Kang even received the news of the defeat of the Yingbu army in Wancheng, the traitor Yingbu of the Western Chu army and his remnants of thousands of people had already been caught up by the pursuers of Liu Xiang's coalition army, and they could not withdraw from Hanshui and fled back to their homeland, and were directly surrounded in Dengxian County on the bank of the Hanshui River.

After being trapped, Yingbu once planned to hold on to help, waiting for the Han army in Hanzhong or the local rear army to send troops to rescue, but Liu Laosan seized the fighter plane and attacked the city day and night, and at the same time deliberately let go of the path leading to Fangling in Deng County, and lured the Yingbu army to break through and go west. In the end, seeing that Liu Xiang's coalition army was attacking fiercely, Yingbu's selfishness of wanting to live still prevailed, gritted his teeth and crossed his heart, and simply took the remnants of the army out of the city to break through, and fled to Fangling by taking a small road, Liu Laosan took the opportunity to send troops to pursue, and broke Yingbu again on the mountain road, and the remnants of Yingbu were almost wiped out, and Yingbu himself and Chen Hui, the envoy of the Han army, finally escaped to Fangling with less than 20 horsemen to save their lives. At this moment, Li Shang, the general of the Han army stationed in Hanzhong, had just received Xiang Kang's order to send troops to reinforce Yingbu.

After this battle, the leaderless Nanjun and other places naturally became Liu Laosan's mouth, not to mention, the southern front of the Han army was also in danger again, and at the same time, Liu Laosan also had a very clear attitude, and openly said to his subordinates: "Next, we can only do our best to help the King of Western Chu destroy the Han, and we must not let the King of Western Chu lose in the hands of Xiang Kang, that little traitor." Only if the king of Western Chu wins the Chu-Han War, we can hope to keep the land and the city, but if Xiang Kang's little traitor wins, we will be destroyed by him sooner or later, no matter how much land and city we have conquered in the south! ”