This is also the largest tactical counterattack of the Han army since the formation of the army, in order to ensure the annihilation of the Western Chu army on the Puyang battlefield in one fell swoop, Xiang Kang in addition to the Xingyang battlefield from the main force of 80,000 elite eastward, and Zhou Zeng and Chao Zhi before the Guanzhong requisition of 30,000 recruits from the hinterland of Sanchuan to the front to participate in the battle, a total of 110,000 troops to the east, in addition to Zheng Bu was also ordered to lead 40,000 troops from Baimajin to the south to participate in the battle, a total of 150,000 troops to attack Puyang, in one fell swoop to create the highest record of the Han army in a single battlefield.

Don't think that the strength advantage of the Han army is not very large, after recruiting new soldiers from the rear to supplement the main army many times in succession, the overall quality of the Western Chu army has actually declined quite seriously, and the overall combat effectiveness is no longer compared with the elite of the Western Chu army brought by Xiang Yu from the Qidi battlefield, while the number of recruits in the Han army is only about half, and the rest are all mature troops with combat experience, and there are many elite veterans with rich combat experience in the army, and for the first time, the number of soldiers and the number of troops have comprehensively surpassed the Western Chu army.

As for the equipment, not to mention, the bronze weapons and various light and heavy armor left by Qin Shi Huang and Qin II in Guanzhong alone were enough for the Han army to arm more than 100,000 new conscription troops, and the quality was all the best in the Bronze Age.

Even so, in order to respect the customs and habits of this era, and in order to boost the morale of the army and boost morale, when the oath was set off, Xiang Kang still invited the most famous goddess stick of this era, the Han army lady appointed by himself, to wish Xu Cheng, and let her divinate the good fortune and evil in front of the Han army soldiers in public, and predict the victory or defeat of this Eastern Expedition - although it was only a passing motion, Xiang Kang already knew what hexagram Xu Cheng could tell on the first day.

The scene is over, but the solemnity of the ceremony has nothing to say, especially during the period when Xu Cheng slowly walked up to the high platform in a gorgeous costume and worshiped heaven and earth with various cumbersome rituals, from a distance, the smoky Xu Cheng trance goddess went down to earth, and there was really a sense of otherworldly sacredness, which made many particularly superstitious Han soldiers intoxicated, and prayed silently in their mouths, Xiang Kang shouted regret, and said secretly: "It would be nice if she was more beautiful, and if her appearance was higher, she would be matched with her temperament, I'm afraid that my little wife Bo Zhanzhi and Qi Min won't be able to catch up with her. ”

In the end, there must be no need to be wordy, according to Xiang Kang's request, Xu Cheng really took up a good hexagram, announcing that the Han army would definitely win a complete victory in this expedition, and the defeat of the Western Chu thief army had long been destined by God. In this regard, of course, the soldiers of the Han army were full of joy and morale, and Xiang Kang also hurriedly climbed the high platform in person, pretending to thank the gods of heaven and earth for their blessings.

Or after worshipping heaven and earth, Xiang Kang took the time to see Xu Cheng's current appearance, the result may be that he hasn't been able to meet a woman for a long time, Xu Cheng at this moment actually made Xiang Kang feel an itch, far more graceful than the moving figure was set off by a gorgeous dress, and his ordinary appearance also looked far more charming than usual because of the addition of a sacred temperament, if it weren't for the fact that the audience was full of Han army civil and military officers and soldiers of the three armies, Xiang Kang really wanted to take advantage of the obscenity of his unscrupulous boss, Tease this female subordinate who usually doesn't look down on her.

Probably sensing Xiang Kang's ill-intentioned gaze, Xu Cheng first rewarded Xiang Kang with a pair of white eyeballs, and then said in a low voice: "King, don't be scared, you can announce that the three armies are marching." ”

Xiang Kang remembered that he had bigger things to do, and hurriedly announced loudly to the Han soldiers in the audience: "The worship of heaven and earth has been completed, and the three armies of the Han State obey the order and immediately march to Puyang!" ”

"Be cautious of the king's orders!"

The Han army in the audience replied neatly, and then the soldiers of the three armies of the Han army answered neatly, and then under the leadership of the Han army general Ding Ji, the Han army forward first drove eastward, first crossed the gap that had already built dozens of pontoon bridges, and sang military songs to advance to the Puyang battlefield. Xiang Kang also turned to Xu Cheng again, and said in a much gentler tone than usual: "Xu Taizhu, it's hard work, go back and rest." ”

"My lord, can I ask you for one thing?" Xu Cheng made a rare request to Xiang Kang and said: "Your Majesty is brave and wants to follow the king to the east to conquer Puyang, please ask the king for permission." ”

"Hey, are you reluctant to leave me?" Xiang Kang was a little inexplicably happy in his heart, and asked with a busy smile: "Xu Taizhu didn't stay in the rear to rest, how could he have the idea of going to the front line to supervise the battle with this king?" Taizhu doesn't know that military conquest and sleeping in the open are not ordinary hardships. ”

"It doesn't matter, the folk girl has suffered." Xu Cheng replied with a smile: "Don't hide it from the king, your subordinates have never left their hometown Wenxian since they were young, and they finally went on a long trip to Xingyang, and most of the time they were trapped in Guangwu Mountain City. ”

Xiang Kang, who was affectionate to Xu Cheng again, was speechless, so he could only nod, agreed to Xu Cheng's request very depressedly, and then left the high platform in a gloomy manner, but what Xiang Kang didn't notice was that looking at his departing back, Xu Cheng's eyes were not only much gentler, but a naughty smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

After Ding Ji's army crossed the chasm and marched eastward, Xiang Kang also immediately led the main force of the Han army to Puyang, and strode eastward along the spacious gallop road left by Qin Shi Huang, during this period, Chen Ping, who was in charge of intelligence work, sent another report on the latest information collected by the enemy in Puyang, but Xiang Kang regretted that it may be because of the tight security of the Western Chu army, the intelligence of the Western Chu army collected by the Han army was still very brief, and it only confirmed that the strength of the Western Chu army in Puyang was about 120,000 people as the results of the previous preliminary investigation. I also heard that the main generals of the Puyang Western Chu Army were Gongao, Xiang Han, Huan Chu and Zhonggong, and other information was still very general and vague, and even the Puyang Western Chu Army did not know how many cavalry and how much grain and grass there were.

Seeing Xiang Kang's disappointed face, Chen Ping guessed the reason, and hurriedly explained: "The king forgives the sin, after the Western Chu thief army withdrew to the city of Puyang, they immediately took a full defensive, prohibiting any idle outsiders from entering and leaving their military camp, and attracting river water to fill the camp trenches, our meticulous work is that it is difficult to get close to their camp, so there is really no way to get more enemy military information." ”

"It's okay, understandable." Xiang Kang replied magnanimously, and handed the information he had just received to Zhang Liang, Tang Bing, Wu Shi and other strategists to read, and asked casually: "Mr. Chen Ping, in your opinion, is there any hope that our eastern expedition to Puyang will lure the Western Chu thief army out of the camp and directly fight a decisive battle in the field?" ”

"I'm afraid there's little hope." Chen Ping replied: "The Western Chu thief army directly withdrew to Puyang to re-arm, and also followed the example of Zhang Han back then, attracting the water of the big river (Yellow River) to fill their camp ditch, clearly wanting to hold on to wait for help, and wait for Xiang Yu to calm the rear and then return to the division to meet them, in this case, as long as Cao Ji is not stupid, he will definitely not risk the battle, but will only defend the camp and jam the throat of our troops in the hinterland of Western Chu." ”

"Okay." Xiang Kang laughed at himself: "Feng Shui takes turns, first my second uncle Wu Xinjun Xiang Liang, then my cousin Xiang Yu, the overlord of Western Chu, and now it is finally my turn to face the difficult problem of the Han King, I hope I don't repeat their mistakes, and I can't take the camp that the enemy is holding on." ”

"King, this has always been your forte." Tang Bing smiled and said: "I heard that Cao Ji and your Xiang family are world friends, you should know his situation very well, right, can't you think of a way to be opportunistic like usual and lure Cao Ji out of the camp for a decisive battle?" ”

"Difficult." Xiang Kang shook his head and said: "Cao Ji is indeed a family friend of our Xiang family, but I don't have much contact with him, I just dealt with him for a period of time when I was under the second uncle's account, and I don't have a deep friendship, I know very little about him, I only found that his character is quite stable, and he is also very down-to-earth, except for some face-loving, I didn't find any weaknesses in his personality." ”

"Great, why don't you do it." Zhang Liang proposed: "Use our old method to send a capable envoy to find an excuse to meet with Cao Qi, take the opportunity to spy on the internal military situation of the Western Chu thief army, and also take a look at what kind of situation Cao Ji is in now, and whether there are any loopholes to exploit." ”

Sending envoys to swagger and deceive and take the opportunity to spy on the military situation is Xiang Kang's usual means, Zhang Liang put forward such a suggestion, of course Xiang Kang will not refuse, after a little calculation, he immediately nodded in agreement, and took the initiative to say: "Use the excuse of persuasion to contact Cao Ji, and by the way, I will clearly tell Cao Ji my attitude, for the sake of him who once saved my uncle, as long as he lays down his arms and surrenders, not only will I not kill him, but I will definitely not treat him badly." ”

Everyone applauded together, and then under Xiang Kang's dictation, Chen Ping hurriedly picked up the pen and made a book, and wrote a letter of persuasion for Xiang Kang, explaining to Cao Ji in Xiang Kang's tone, and trying his best to persuade Cao Ji, who had a deep relationship with the old Xiang family, to take the initiative to lead the army to lay down his arms and surrender, and come to Xiang Kang's side to enjoy more and better glory and wealth, and directly promised fiefs and food to Cao Ji. After Xiang Kang saw the applause and signed the seal, he immediately arranged for a capable envoy and a few meticulous people who were good at detecting the enemy's situation to dress up as an entourage, and asked the envoy to go ahead of the car and rush to Puyang to contact the Western Chu army, and take the opportunity to probe the internal situation of the Western Chu army, which was difficult for the Han army to contact.

It's a pity that the shameless purpose of Xiang Kang and others failed this time, three days later, the envoy of the Han army who was light and simple rushed to the camp of the Western Chu army under Puyang City, and asked Cao Ji to see him, Cao Qi, who was quite an ancient gentleman, did not think much about it, and immediately agreed to meet him, but Xiang Yu stayed to help him with the counselor of the military aircraft, but the Western Chu doctor Kuaiche stopped Cao Zhi and said: "Da Sima is slow, the lower officials think that it is better for us not to see it." ”

"Why?" Cao Ji asked: "The two countries are fighting, and if they don't kill the envoys, Xiang Kang's envoy of the traitor asks to see him, and he hasn't been slow to treat the envoy we sent to contact him before, why don't we see it?" ”

"The lower officials don't think that's necessary." Kui Che replied: "Xiang Kang sent an envoy against the thief, it is nothing more than persuasion or a battle, Da Sima, you are loyal to our king, of course, it is impossible to accept the persuasion of the Han thief, the king repeatedly explained when he left, he asked us to only guard the camp, not to go out of the camp to fight, and we could not agree to them to fight." Why, then, should we receive their messengers? ”

"And Da Sima must also know very well that Xiang Kang is a well-known thief." Kui Che added: "He sent an envoy to contact us, it is very likely that he has other plans, if we summon his envoy, we will fall into his calculations and fall into his trap, so the lower officials think that it is better for us not to see the envoy of the Han thief." ”

Listening to what Kui Che said reasonably, the old man Fan, who Cao Zhi respected very much, told him before leaving, so that Cao Zhi could listen to Kui Che's good words and persuasion, for the sake of Old Man Fan's face, Cao Zhi hesitated, but nodded, and sent someone to send the Han army envoy away, the Han army envoy repeatedly pleaded to no avail, and had to leave with his entourage dejectedly, and he was unable to step into the Western Chu army camp from beginning to end, let alone find out what enemy military information useful to the Han army.

When the Han envoy returned to Xiang Kang, the main force of the Han army, which was marching with a large amount of grain and grass and military supplies, had just crossed Yan County not far, and had not yet had time to prepare to go south from Hanoi to join the army of Zheng Bu's division. Now it's troublesome, we can't communicate with the messengers, and it will definitely be more difficult for us to be opportunistic. ”

The enemy had too little grasp of the situation, and Cao Zhi refused to even see the envoy, and the resourceful Zhang Liang and Chen Ping inevitably had a feeling that the tiger gnawed on the hedgehog and had nowhere to eat, but Tang Bing and Wu Shi, the old men of Shangshan, were not in a hurry, and after discussing a few words in a low voice, Wu Shi also asked Xiang Kang: "King, do you definitely need to send an envoy into the camp of the Western Chu thief army?" To meet with Cao Ji for you? ”

"It doesn't have to be." Xiang Kang replied: "It's just that if we can find out more about the internal situation of the Western Chu thief army, and try to know ourselves and the enemy, then we will have a better chance of winning the decisive battle in Puyang." ”

"Understood." Wu Shi nodded, and immediately said: "King, since this is the case, then let the old man run for you, the old man expected that for the sake of the old man's meager reputation, Cao Ji should not be closed to the old man, and he would give the old man a little thin face, and let the old man go into the camp to meet him." ”

"Good idea." Zhang Liang next to him applauded and said: "The great name of Shangshan Sihao is famous all over the world, and he has great prestige among scholars and scholars, even if he is not much better than Huang Shigong, the mentor of the foreign minister, Mr. Qili Ji personally came forward to serve as our envoy, Cao Ji will give some face and meet Mr. Qi Li Ji in person." ”

Xiang Kang was overjoyed when he heard this, but he was a little worried, and said busily: "Mr. Qiliji, it is extremely dangerous to go to the enemy camp, and you are so old, let you go straight to the enemy camp with a light car, Xiao Wang really can't bear it." ”

"Thank you for your concern." Wu Shi thanked him and said: "But it doesn't matter, the old man can still hold up this old bone, so please ask the king for permission to let the old man serve as the envoy of our army, and go to the Xichu thief camp for you to find out the enemy's situation, so as to repay the king's kindness." ”

Xiang Kang pretended to persuade a few words, but Wu Shi insisted on being a spy for Xiang Kang in person, Xiang Kang also changed his mind and agreed, and hurriedly arranged a gorgeous float for Wu Shi to ride, and asked the capable and meticulous work selected before to continue to pretend to be his entourage, protect Wu Shi's light car and rush forward, and came to the Western Chu camp to contact Cao Ji.

The distance has become shorter, just at noon the next day, Wu Shi rushed to the outside of the Western Chu military camp by car, and asked the Western Chu soldiers guarding the camp gate to meet Cao Ji, but the Western Chu military gate officer saw that Wu Shi had already had a white hair, and replied politely: "Old man, it's not that the villain doesn't pass on the word for you, it's our big Sima who has issued an order, and then there are Han army envoys to visit the camp, and they won't see anything, so there is no way, I can only ask you to go back." ”

"Don't even see the old man?" Wu Shi smiled slightly, and said: "Please ask the general to report to the great Sima of your army, just say that it is Qili Ji Wu Shi, one of the four Hao of Shangshan, ask to see, if the great Sima of your army is still missing, the old man will not be reluctant, he will leave immediately, and he will not embarrass the general again." ”

After Wu Shi finished speaking, the captain of the entourage arranged by Xiang Kang immediately stepped forward and stuffed a valuable piece of jade into the hands of the Western Chu military officer, who was greedy and bribed, and saw that Wu Shi was extraordinary, so he nodded and said: "Then please wait a while, the old gentleman will go to the next for you, but there is a word in the next, I really don't have this certainty." ”

"There's General Law."

Wu Shi smiled and thanked, the official of the Western Chu Army also personally rushed to the Chinese military camp of the Western Chu Army to pass the word for Wu Shi, Wu Shi wanted to stay in place and wait, but it was already summer, the red sun was like fire, and the old and immortal Wu Shi was nearly eighty years old, so he really didn't dare to be exposed to the sun for a long time, so he could only return to the carriage with the support of his entourage and sit under the umbrella to hide from the cold.

At this time, Wu Shi's turbid old eyes suddenly moved, and he glanced at a detail - at the camp gate, a soldier of the Western Chu Army suddenly went out with a bucket, walked to the side of the Western Chu army's camp trench, filled a bucket of water brought by the West Chu Army from the Yellow River in the canal, and couldn't wait to lie on the side of the bucket and gulp the cow to relieve the heat - the Yellow River water in this era is still quite clear, and there is no big problem in drinking it directly, let alone it has been slightly precipitated in the ditch.

Seeing this scene, Wu Shi's eyes rolled, and he hurriedly whispered to the entourage next to him: "If you can get in for a while, you must pay attention to the water intake problem of the Western Chu thief army." ”

At the same time, in the big tent of the Western Chu Army, the herald had already forwarded Wu Shi's message to Cao Ji, but Cao Ji was also immediately taken aback, and blurted out: "Qili Ji Wu Shi, one of the four Hao of Shangshan? Xiang Kang is a traitor and a thief, and he actually sent such a virtuous and respected celebrity to be a messenger? ”

"Da Sima, no matter who it is, it's best not to see it." Kuacher next to him hurriedly dissuaded.

Kuaicher's words this time are tantamount to saying in vain, everyone must know how famous the four old men of Shangshan are, even the old hooligan Liu Laosan who likes to pee in the Confucian hat has to be respectful to them, and even the national major events such as changing the prince have changed their minds because of the appearance of the four old men of Shangshan, not to mention Cao Yao. So Cao Ji immediately glared at Kui Che, and shouted angrily: "What kind of reputation does Shangshan Sihao have among scholars? Mr. Qili Ji among them came to visit in person, if the handsome man is not seen and spread out, the corporal of the world will not say that we Xichu do not respect the elderly, and do not respect the famous people? ”

Kuaiche, who was also a scholar, had no choice but to shut up, and Cao Ji hurriedly shouted: "Quick, go out of the camp with Ben Shuai to meet Mr. Qiliji." ”