After returning to the camp with the main force of the Western Chu army, Xiang Yu's face has always been gloomy and very frightening, just a few words, and ordered the rear team of the Western Chu army to continue to build offensive weapons, ordered the rear to send troops to reinforce the front line, and sent people to Hanoi to investigate the specific situation of the Western Chu Division, and then did not say a word for a whole day, cronies such as Fan Zeng and Cao Zhi did not dare to say anything, for fear that Xiang Yu, who had provoked the temper of the bear, would make him do something that he could not return under impulse.

The more suppressed the anger, the more terrifying it was when it erupted, and a day later, Xiang You finally sent someone to send a report, admitting that he had indeed suffered a crushing defeat in Hanoi, and he was extremely shameless to put all the blame on others, for example, the reinforcements of the Han army suddenly appeared, and the subordinates led by Xue Gong panicked, timid and afraid of battle, and the friendly army of Zhao State was afraid of the battle, hiding behind and watching the Western Chu army being surrounded and beaten by the Han army. In short, everything is someone else's fault, and General Xiang You was just dragged back by his pig teammates, so he accidentally suffered a defeat.

It's a pity that General Xiang You's hand may be able to hide it from other commanders, but it is destined to hide Xiang Yu, who is better at frontal hard battles than anyone else......

"Excuses! Only make excuses! How about the sudden arrival of reinforcements from the Han thieves? What about Xue Gong's gang being timid and afraid of war? What if the Zhao State thief army doesn't dare to move forward? What kind of questions are these? Only when the commander takes the lead and motivates the soldiers to fight bravely, which of these problems can not be solved? Fought like this, and even made excuses with a face?! ”

"Someone! Immediately send someone to Chaoge, take Xiang You to the king, and bring him to Xingyang to punish him severely! ”

Under the residual anger, Xiang Yu once wanted to kill his relatives with righteousness, and escorted Xiang You, who had lost his face, to Xingyang to punish the crime, but Master Xiang Boxiang next to him naturally panicked, and quickly put down the elder shelf to ask Xiang Yu for guilt, and pleaded with a handful of snot and tears for Xiang Yu to be extrajudicial and give off his precious son. And considering that Master Xiang Boxiang is one of the very few important ministers of the Western Chu Army who can influence Xiang Yu's decision, in order to sell Master Xiang's favor, Kuai Che and Li Zuoche also stood up to help Master Xiang, and begged Xiang Yu not to worry too much about Xiang You's fiasco.

"King, victory or defeat is not a common thing in soldiers, General Xiang You unfortunately suffered defeat this time, the main reason is that the reinforcements from Guanzhong of the Han thieves suddenly arrived and stabbed us in the back, and defeat is not a crime of war. I also hope that the king will be lightly punished, and don't punish the general severely for an accidental defeat, which will chill the hearts of our soldiers. ”

To put it mildly, considering that Xiang You is his cousin after all, and Xiang Bo's father and son are also members of the Xiang family who firmly support their righteous destruction of Xiang Kang, Xiang Yu finally changed his mind, and instead shouted to demote Xiang Youjue to three levels, and made meritorious contributions, Master Xiang breathed a sigh of relief, and hurriedly thanked Xiang Yu for his precious son, and also thanked Kuaicher Li Zuoche who helped to intercede.

Seeing that Master Xiang received his favor, Kuaiche struck while the iron was hot, and took the opportunity to say to Xiang Yu: "King, our partial division unfortunately suffered a small setback, and the pressure of the Han thieves on the battlefield in Hanoi has been greatly reduced. What to do next, I hope the king will make a big plan as soon as possible. ”

Xiang Yu nodded, and then said: "What this king means is that after Xiang Sui, Huan Chu and Xiang Han and their rear army arrive, we will first attack Ao Cang and then take Xingyang, gradually cut off the wings of Xiang Kang's rebel thieves, and then annihilate the main force of the Han thieves, what do you think?" ”

"If we had already fought according to this step, why should we have to requisition troops from the rear to reinforce the front line?"

Kuaiche slandered in his heart, of course he didn't dare to say it, but he just arched his hand and said: "The king, your subordinates are foolish, I'm afraid it's not enough to do this." The Han thief army is tenacious, and the Bashu can provide a steady stream of military supplies and soldier supplies for Xiang Kang's rebels, only with the strength of our Western Chu country, if we want to destroy the Han thieves, there is really some insufficient strength, even if it is finally destroyed, I don't know how much time and troops it will take, so His Majesty believes that it is best for us to actively contact the princes outside the Guanwai and use their strength to break the thieves together, so it is possible to achieve rapid success at the minimum cost. ”

"The foreign ministers also believe that it is necessary to step up contact with the princes outside the Guanwai and actively use their power to break the thieves." Li Zuoche also said: "Xiang Kang's rebel thieves continue to send troops from the rear to reinforce the front line, his rear strength has been greatly reduced, among the princes outside the Guan, even if there is only one road to kill into Guanzhong, or cut off the road connection between Xiang Kang's rebel thieves and Guanzhong, the situation on the Xingyang battlefield will inevitably be completely reversed, so that our army can take the initiative and destroy the enemy easily." ”

"Of course these kings know." Xiang Yu said impatiently: "This king has been doing this for a long time, in addition to winning over the Zhao State, this king has also sent someone to contact Shenyang, persuade him to rein in the precipice, get lost, and send troops north to attack Luoyang, and ask Liu Jitun to force him to obey his fate. In addition, this king has also sent people to northern Jin to contact Zhang Han, Dong Peng, and Sima Xin, and asked them to take advantage of the situation to send troops to attack Yunzhong Shangjun. Do you need to be reminded of such a simple thing? ”

"The king forgives his sins, and his ministers think that this is not enough." Kuaiche cautiously retorted, and said: "Especially on the southern front, our army has carefully investigated the news, the most critical reason why Shen Yang betrayed Chu and surrendered to Han is that he is dissatisfied with the king You only gave him a county of Yingchuan, and he has a grudge against the king, and now he is openly betraying Chu, he will definitely be afraid that the king will ask for guilt in the future, and with a messenger to persuade him, I am afraid it will be difficult for him to get lost." ”

"And if Shen Yang continues to be obsessed, not only will the army of the King of Nanyang not be able to quickly go north to reinforce us, but there will also be no way to take advantage of the situation to enter the pass from Wuguan, and with the strength of his army alone, he can play the dual role of protecting the rear and covering the flanks for Xiang Kang's rebels. So for Shen Yang, our best way should be to do both grace and power and do our best to bring him back. ”

"How do you do that?" Xiang Yu asked casually.

"Your Majesty suggests that it is best for the king to transfer an army as soon as possible and return to Daliang from Kaifeng and Wei to the hinterland of Yingchuan." (There is a Fangshan mountain range to block, and there is no way to go south directly to Yingchuan from the Xingyang battlefield.) ）

Kui Che said very calmly: "At the same time, the king sent another envoy to tell Shen Yang clearly, just say that the king you swear publicly that you will never investigate Shen Yang's previous betrayal, and after the Han thief is killed, he will also seal Sanchuan County to Shen Yang as compensation." In this way, Shen Yang's heart will inevitably be greatly moved, and our army will send troops to attack Shen Yang from the north and south with the king of Nanyang, and he will inevitably fall to us more easily under fear. And even if Shenyang continues to be obsessed, with the help of our partial division, the king of Nanyang will have a great chance of quickly attacking Shenyang, taking Yangzhai and Yangcheng to attack the hinterland of Sanchuan, and cutting off the road connection between the main force of the Han thieves and the rear. ”

After thinking about it, he found that he was least afraid of a decisive battle with the Han army in the field, and at the same time needed time to wait for the rear reinforcements to come to help attack the fortifications, rather than letting the main army all idle on the Xingyang battlefield, it was better to divide a partial division to force Shen Yang to defect or help Liu Laosan kill Shen Yang as soon as possible, not only to block Xiang Kang's flank, but also to take the opportunity to lure Xiang Kang to send troops for a decisive battle. Xiang Yu nodded decisively and said: "This plan is feasible, I will let Gong Ao lead 30,000 troops south to help Liu Ji force Shen Yang to submit." ”

"King, that's not enough." Kui Che said again: "Although Liu Ji and Xiang Kang's rebel enmity is as deep as the sea, and it is impossible to reconcile, we must also prevent him from preserving his strength and dare not fight to the end with Xiang Kang's rebel thief." In addition, further south, on the side of Yingbu, the king of Linjiang, his army could not be idle, and his subordinates suggested that the king might as well send a messenger to tell Liu Ji and Yingbu clearly, that after defeating Xiang Kang's rebels, he would divide Hanzhong to Liu Ji, and Ba County and Shu County to Yingbu, and ask them to send troops to the north to help us fight against Xiang Kang's rebels. ”

"Also." Kui Che hurriedly added: "The king might as well make a clear promise, if Shen Yang refuses to give in, then as long as Liu Ji helps us destroy Shen Yang, you will give Yingchuan to Liu Ji, so that Liu Ji will definitely go all out to destroy Shen Yang, and as long as he succeeds, Xiang Kang's flank of the traitor will be in an emergency immediately, and the situation will immediately become favorable to us." ”

"Okay, that's it." Xiang Yu nodded again and said, "I will send someone to contact Liu Ji and Yingbu in a while, and ask them to immediately send troops north to help us." ”

"King, why do you need to ask Yingbu to send troops north directly?" Old man Fan raised a different opinion and said: "Wouldn't it be more convenient to ask him to enter Ba County directly from Wuxian, or to ask him to enter Wuguan through Nanyang soldiers?" It can also make Xiang Kang's rebels dare not transfer the army of Bashu Hanzhong too much to reinforce Sanchuan, and directly alleviate the frontal resistance for us. ”

"Father, it is indeed a way to let the King of Linjiang directly enter Bajun or Wuguan, but there are two points, but it is destined to be impossible to succeed."

Kui Che immediately retorted and said calmly: "First, the Shu Road is too difficult, the grain and grass transfer is too inconvenient, even if the King of Linjiang receives the order to send troops, it is difficult to exert enough pressure on Xiang Kang's rebels, and the Han thief army only needs to hold the danger and fortify it layer by layer, which is enough to buy countless time for Xiang Kang's rebels." Second, Bajun and Wuguan are thousands of miles away from Xingyang, and it is difficult for our king to grasp the movements of the Linjiang king's army. Therefore, the best way can only be to let the king of Linjiang send troops to the north and directly join the Sanchuan battlefield, so that our king can grasp his movements at any time, so that the king of Linjiang does not dare to have the idea of preserving his strength. ”

Kuaiche's previous favor played a role at this moment, and Master Xiang Boxiang immediately jumped out and said: "Great King, what Doctor Kuai said is extremely true, without you personally staring at it, Yingbu's puppet is likely to have the idea of preserving his strength, and maybe it is possible to covet the benefits promised by Xiang Kang's traitor, and betray Chu and join Han like Shenyang's traitor." So the best way is to pull him to the Sanchuan battlefield and force him to attack Xiang Kang's rebels with all his might, so as to prevent everything from happening. ”

Master Xiang Boxiang was indeed able to influence Xiang Yu's decision, considering that he couldn't control Yingbu at all because the distance was too far, Xiang Yu quickly nodded and said, "Yes, Yingbu should be asked to go north directly, so that we don't have to worry that he won't be able to work." ”

"There is also the army of Zhao State, we must also strengthen the fight and use."

It is rare to have the opportunity to really speak freely in front of Xiang Yu, Kui Che has no reservations this time, and hurriedly said: "Zhao Guo has been repeatedly untrustworthy, in more than half a year, he has betrayed us and Xiang Kang rebels several times, and they are extremely shameless, and now even if they have sent troops to Hanoi and turn their faces against Xiang Kang's rebels and start a war, we must also guard against them from only being false and wronged, quietly preserving their strength, and even greedy for benefits, and suddenly stabbing us in the back." Fortunately, his subordinates have already thought of a plan, the king only needs to act according to the plan, and the army of Zhao will definitely not make any reservations, and will do their best to help us attack the Xiangkang thief army, and will never rebel against Chu and join the Han again, becoming a hidden danger behind us. ”

"Oh, what's the doctor's plan? Come on. Xiang Yu became interested.

"It's very simple, just ask the king to secretly promise to crown Zhao Xiang Zhang Er as the king." Kuaiche said in a deep voice: "Zhao Xie is only named King Zhao, but in fact, all the power of Zhao is in the hands of Zhang Er, and Zhang Er has long had the heart to establish himself as a king, but because of his prestige, he does not dare to trespass." If the king secretly promised him that after the destruction of the Han Dynasty, he would divide the land of Zhao into two and make him a prince, then Zhang Er, who actually held the power of Zhao State, would definitely do his best to help our army crusade against the Han thieves, and he would not regenerate his repetition heart. ”

"Brilliant plan! That's it! Xiang Yu applauded, Old Man Fan and Cao Ji also gasped, all admired Kui Che's ruthlessness, mastery and use of people's hearts, Master Xiang also applauded loudly, only Li Zuoche, who was born in Zhao State, smiled bitterly, and secretly lamented that the mother country would be divided again, but he did not open his mouth to oppose - who called Li Zuoche had already betrayed Zhao State?

Seeing that Xiang Yu finally obeyed his words completely, Kui Che was overjoyed, but he couldn't help but feel proud in his heart, and said secretly: "Xiang Kang is a traitor, as long as we adopt these correct strategies of combining vertical and horizontal, I see what tricks you can play." ”

When Kui Che was proud, Master Xiang Boxiang, who was anxious to help his precious son atone for his sins, suddenly remembered a big event, hurriedly got up and walked in front of Xiang Yu, and whispered in Xiang Yu's ear: "King, the old man has forgotten a major event, do you remember the Korean Situ Zhang Liang Zhang Zifang who secretly contacted us before?" He is still by Xiang Kang's side now, and he can get in touch with the military affairs of the little evil animal, why don't we use Han Cheng's life as a threat, and then lure him to be a high-ranking official, forcing him to act as an internal response for us, and always report the decisions and trends of the little evil animal? ”

Xiang Yu's eyes lit up, and he immediately nodded and said, "Okay, I'll leave this matter to Uncle Ji, the sooner you get in touch with him, the better." ”

…………

"Ahh

At the same time, in the Guangwu camp of the Han army, Zhang Liang, who was discussing with Xiang Kang and Chen Ping, suddenly sneezed, and after rubbing his nose, Zhang Liang continued: "King, since we have found out accurate information that proves that Qi Wang Tian City and Qi Xiang Tian Rong have been poisoned by the Western Chu thief army, then we should go all out to win over Peng Yue, the great Kou of Juye Ze, who was canonized by Tian Rong of Tian City, and bring him over, let him wander and fight in the rear of the Western Chu thief army, and share the pressure on the frontal battlefield for us. ”

"It's a good idea, and I already had plans to win over Peng Yue." Xiang Kang said with some concern: "But we have never had contact with him before, and we basically don't know anything about his situation, so we suddenly sent someone to win him over and let him risk his life at any time to wander around and fight in the rear of the Western Chu thief army, I'm afraid it's not so easy, right?" ”

"Don't worry, the foreign minister can assert that as long as the king makes a move to win over Peng Yue, he will definitely not refuse." Zhang Liang replied very confidently: "There are two reasons, first, Peng Yue is an ambitious person, he is a thief in Chu, and he refuses to attach himself to the king of Western Chu nearby, but he is willing to seek the near and far, and chooses to submit to the weak Qi State, which is enough to show that he is a person who would rather be the head of the chicken than the queen of the ox. ”

"The second reason is that there is a lesson from the surrender of the Qi army, and it is also destined that he must fight to the death with the Western Chu army." Zhang Liang said again: "The king of Western Chu is tyrannical and unkind, when he was in Qi before, even the soldiers of Qi who had surrendered to him were all buried alive by him, Peng Yue returned to Qi to attack Chu, and he would inevitably be afraid that the king of Western Chu would treat him like this, and the disaster of killing would be in front of him, and we would tempt him to take advantage of him, so he naturally would not have any reason to refuse." ”

Xiang Kang naturally knew far better than Xiang Yu how to combine vertical and horizontal, and after only a little calculation, Xiang Kang decided to make Peng Yue the general of the Han army and the Marquis of Tao, and eat the five counties to seal the city, so as to win over Peng Yue for his own use. In addition, considering that he sent an envoy to venture deep into the enemy's rear anyway, Xiang Kang decided on his own that Yongya, who once admired him very much and was still in Fengyi, was named the Marquis of Changyi, and had 2,000 households in the city, so that Yongya could raise troops to respond to Peng Yue and help Peng Yue make trouble in the rear of the Western Chu army.

The matter is not over, after Xiang Kang made these two decisions, Zhang Liang proposed again: "Great King, since you are extremely worried about Liu Ji, the puppet king of Nanyang, because of the fact that he sent troops to Yexian, and even prepared to mobilize General Zheng Bu to prevent accidents, then why don't you think about fighting for Yingbu?" Pull him over and let him be of use to us? If this move is successful, Liu Ji's rear will be in an emergency, so how can we worry about Liu Ji's threat to our flank? ”

This time, without Xiang Kang opening his mouth, Wu Shi, one of the old men of Shangshan, had already said with a smile: "Mr. Zifang, aren't you joking?" Peng Yue was afraid that the Western Chu thief army would seek revenge on him, and it was possible that he would be co-opted by us, but why did Yingbu turn his back on Chu and surrender to Han instead? The king of Western Chu not only has no enmity, but also treats him well, but we once fought with him in Nanyang and formed a grudge, what reason does he have to abandon Chu and return to Han to help us deal with the king of Western Chu? ”

"Not necessarily." Zhang Liang shook his head and pointed out: "If the king of Western Chu wants Yingbu to send troops to deal with us, it is nothing more than two ways, one is to force Yingbu to send troops as his so-called alliance leader, and the other is to take out the land of Bashu in Hanzhong as a bait to induce Yingbu to send troops, but Yingbu still has a Liu Ji by his side to be appeased, and the foreign minister estimates that the king of Western Chu Dingtian also promised to give Bashu to Yingbu as a reward after the victory, and in addition, he can't take anything decent to lure Yingbu to send troops." ”

"If the King of Western Chu uses the first method, of course Yingbu will never agree, and it will definitely be much easier for us to bring him over." Zhang Liang continued: "Even if the king of Western Chu is generous, gives everything he has, and really agrees to give the land of Bashu to Yingbu, Yingbu may not be tempted. The reason is also very simple, Bashu is too remote, and the transportation with Nanjun is too inconvenient, even if Yingbu gets it, it will not make much sense. ”

Speaking of this, Zhang Liang paused for a moment, and asked gloomily: "In that case, if you divide the interests that are enough to make Yingbu tempting, why won't Yingbu be tempted to follow Shenyang and submit to us instead?" ”

Xiang Kang thought about looking at Chen Ping, Chen Ping blinked his triangular eyes, and suddenly said: "It's worth a try, not to mention anything else, just a rich and prosperous and populous Nanyang County is enough to make Yingbu tempted." However, it is just to lure him to benefit, I am afraid that the strength is a little insufficient, and the best way is to lure him to benefit while casting a discord, so that the king of Western Chu will be suspicious of Yingbu, so that we can be more sure to win Yingbu over. ”

Xiang Kang smiled and said, "Then don't be scared, let's do it, let my brother have doubts about Yingbu first." ”