After listening to Mr. Uncle Sun's heartfelt words and advice, he resolutely decided to betray Xichu, and after betting on the side of the Han army that must win, Qi Wang Tian Jiao, who had no deep enmity with the Han army, of course, warmly entertained Mr. Uncle Sun with the gift of receiving guests, what wine and food, singers and dancers and silk and bamboo bells and the like, poor Lu Jia and Sui He were thrown into the big ding by the guards of the Qi palace in accordance with the rules of this era, and cooked alive with water and water, so as to prove Tian Fei's determination and sincerity to abandon Chu and join the Han, also took revenge for Mr. Uncle Sun by the way.

Next, when discussing with Mr. Uncle Sun how to act together, Tian Jiao of course chose the most convenient and labor-saving method, while sending envoys to contact Uncle Zhou, telling him his decision, so that Uncle Zhou could rest assured that he would join forces with the Qi army on the front line of Licheng to break the enemy, while blocking the news, and sending a secret envoy to the main general of the Qi army on the front line of Licheng, Tian Bu gave an order, so that Tian Bu would obey Uncle Zhou's orders and command, help the Han army break through the Jishui natural danger, and suddenly stabbed the Chuji coalition army in the back.

Seeing that Tian Jiao was so well-behaved, obedient and sincere, Mr. Uncle Sun was overjoyed, of course, he immediately patted his chest and promised to get Uncle Zhou's warrant as soon as possible, forcing Tian Heng, who was under the banner of the Han army, to lead the rebels of Qi to leave Qi and go to Jibei to accept the Han army, and also promised that if Tian Heng dared to be disobedient, he would definitely let the Han army send troops to help Tian Jiao clean up Tian Heng.

There was an accident, just as Tian Jiao and Mr. Uncle Sun were exchanging cups, a guard outside the hall suddenly entered the report, saying that the Qi army soldiers had not been able to achieve all the success of the envoy group of the Western Chu army, and there were two Lu Jia and Sui He's entourage who had not been caught in the post house because they happened not to be caught, and they searched everywhere and were nowhere to be found. Tian Jiao frowned when he heard this, and said: "Oh no, if these two horsemen are allowed to escape from Linzi and send the news to Jibei, not only will Tianbu not have a chance to make a sudden move, but I am afraid that there will be danger." ”

"King Qi rest assured, it won't have much to do with it." Mr. Shusun hurriedly said: "When the foreign minister set off, our army was already preparing to attack Luoyin, and it was less than a hundred miles away from Jishui. You only need to immediately seal the border and give General Tabe's side a few days to cross the Jishui with General Tabe's answer, and then we don't have to worry about any more contingencies. ”

Tian Jiao thought about it, so he immediately sent a fast horse to the border to give an order, so that the soldiers of the Qi army could temporarily block the border traffic and buy time for the Qi army on the front line as much as possible.

Mr. Shusun's suggestion is very correct, but after all, Mr. Shusun doesn't know much about the internal situation of Qi State, let alone the intricate and chaotic relationships within the Qi royal family with many members, so what neither Mr. Shusun nor Tian Jia knows is that in fact, not long after Tian Jia made the decision to abandon Chu and join Han, there were already suspicious members of the Qi royal family who took action and contacted other warlord forces in Qi through various channels to inform them of this amazing news......

This is not counting, what Mr. Shusun didn't expect was that because of the heavy rain for several days, the land was soft and the large-scale siege weapons were difficult to move, the bowstring became soft and unusable when exposed to water, and it was difficult to rush to cross the Jishui skyrocketing, even if he took Luoyin with all his might at any cost, he couldn't quickly cross Jishui, and he didn't know that Mr. Shusun's side would succeed so smoothly and so quickly, in fact, on the same day that Mr. Shusun persuaded Tian Jiao to surrender, the northern line corps of the Han army took advantage of the interlude period of continuous spring rain to launch an attack on Luoyin Xiaocheng......

Fortunately, the siege of the Han army was quite smooth, relying on a large number of siege weapons and absolute superiority, it also took less than a day, the Han army successfully took Luoyin, and at the same time, the Han army's partial division Lu Kuang's division also successfully took the county, successfully cleared the remnants of the Jibei Army on the north bank of Jishui, and finally opened the way for the Han Army's northern line corps to enter the Licheng battlefield.

The distance was less than 100 miles, and it had just arrived in the afternoon of the next day, and the Chu-Qi-Ji coalition army that had set up camp on the south bank of Jishui had already received the news of the fall of Luoyin, and then Xiang Zhuang, the commander of the Western Chu army, did not dare to slack off, and hurriedly ordered the Western Chu Chu army, the Jibei army and the Qi army, which did not know about the Linzi changes, to strengthen their vigilance, and sent scouts to closely monitor the movements of the Han army, and then asked his deputy Liu Laosan: "Is there any new news on the Qi side?" Tian Jia promised to send us reinforcements, when will they arrive? ”

"There's no news yet." Liu Laosan replied: "But it's not surprising that the Qi army will first withdraw from the Jiaodong battlefield and withdraw to Linzi to assemble, and then it will take some time to rush to the Licheng battlefield to reinforce us." ”

"Urge a little, tell Tian Jiao about the situation in Luoyin, and tell him to send reinforcements as soon as possible." Xiang Zhuang casually ordered, and said: "Send me another letter to my brother, and ask him to send us reinforcements as soon as possible." ”

When Liu Laosan agreed, there was a sudden message from outside the tent that Tian Da, the king of Jibei, asked to see him, and Xiang Zhuang, who was not as arrogant as his cousin, hurriedly got up and went out of the tent to greet him, but Tian Da was already alone and rushed in directly, and hurriedly said as soon as they met: "Zuo Sima, something is wrong!" 100,000 urgent! ”

"What's so urgent?" Xiang Zhuang asked suspiciously.

Tian Da didn't answer in a hurry, but looked left and right first, and asked in a low voice: "Zuo Sima, the stakes are very high, are the people here reliable?" ”

"King Jibei is assured and absolutely reliable." Xiang Zhuang replied casually, and a sense of foreboding suddenly arose in his heart.

Tian Da nodded, then took out a very small roll of white silk, handed it to Xiang Zhuang and whispered: "What I just received was sent to Xiao Wang by a fellow of Xiao Wang's clan in Linzi, using carrier pigeons. Tian fake, that puppeteer, has betrayed us! ”

Before Tian Da's words were finished, Xiang Zhuang and Liu Laosan's faces had already changed together, and when they hurriedly opened the small silk scroll and took a closer look, they saw that such a line of words was clearly written on the silk in small block letters-Tian Fake betrayed the king of Western Chu and has surrendered to the Han thief!

Some couldn't believe it, pinched his thigh, and carefully looked at the words on the silk, Xiang Zhuang asked Tian Da with a pale face: "King Jibei, is the news reliable?" ”

"Absolutely reliable!" Tian Da replied categorically in a low voice, and said: "The person who sent the news to Xiao Wang is not only Xiao Wang's blood relative, but also serves in the palace of King Qi, and can directly participate in the military affairs of Tian Qiao's husband. ”

Xiang Zhuang was completely stunned, but Liu Laosan's face was blue and black for a while, and he gritted his teeth and whispered after a while: "What a powerful thief, even Tian Fake Pifu can rebel, this time, we have no hope in Licheng." ”

"Immediately summon the generals in the army and discuss countermeasures!" Xiang Zhuang commanded with red eyes.

"Wait." Liu Laosan hurriedly drank and said: "Zuo Sima, the matter is too big, the less people know about it, the better, otherwise if you leak a little rumor, the consequences will be unimaginable!" According to the opinion of the last general, it was enough to invite General Xiang Guan and Han Xin to come. ”

Xiang Zhuang originally lacked assertiveness, and after listening to Liu Laosan's words, he just nodded immediately, and quickly sent someone to pass Xiang Guan and Han Xin to meet, and then in a short time, Xiang Guan and Han Xin rushed to the big tent of the Chinese army almost at the same time, and immediately learned from Xiang Zhuang that Tian Jiao had betrayed Chu and surrendered to Han. Needless to say, if it weren't for Liu Laosan's eyes and quick hands to cover Xiang Guan's mouth, Xiang Guan's roaring voice would definitely be able to directly overturn the Chinese army tent of the Western Chu Army.

"Tian fake ......."

"General Xiang Guan, calm down! Don't speak loudly, once this thing spreads, our morale will be over immediately! The thief army of the Qi State may also act immediately! ”

"Brother Guan, don't speak loudly, I called you here to discuss with you how to deal with this matter, not to let you shout and let our soldiers know."

After finally calming down the overly impulsive Xiang Guan, Xiang Zhuang turned to the silent Han Xin and asked, "General Han, you have a lot of ideas, according to your opinion, how should we deal with this matter?" ”

"Don't worry about Zuo Sima, we still have plenty of time to solve this problem." Han Xin pondered and replied: "The inner line of the King of Jibei is the news sent to us by carrier pigeons, the speed is much faster than the carriage and horse, if nothing else, the Tianbe side will definitely not have time to know the news, we only need to discuss how to deal with the attack of the Han thieves, we can deceive all the important generals of the Tianbe and Qi thieves to take down, take away their seals, and take over their military power." ”

"And then?" Xiang Zhuang hurriedly asked, "It may be easy to take Tianbu, but the other generals and soldiers of the Qi State Thief Army may not listen to us?" If they are not satisfied, and they have secretly made contact with Tian Fake Pifu and Han thieves, it is still a hidden danger for us? ”

"Three ways." Han Xin replied: "One, dismiss on the spot, distribute food and let them go home. Second, find a reliable person to temporarily serve as the commander of the Qi army, and use the excuse of going south to escort grain and grass, so that the Qi thief army can go to Xue Di to accept the incorporation of our Western Chu army. ”

"Third......." Han Xinbi drew a murderous gesture and said: "Follow Bai Qi, take advantage of the Han thieves who haven't had time to go to the banks of the Jishui River and kill them all!" ”

If it is said that it is Xiang Yu who will lead the Western Chu army, then needless to say, none of the nearly 20,000 Qi soldiers under the command of Tian Bu will definitely not survive, but fortunately, Xiang Zhuang's heart is far less vicious than Xiang Yu, so after thinking for a while, Xiang Zhuang still said: "Although it is convenient to dismiss on the spot, if these Qi soldiers are put back, they will definitely be absorbed by the Qi State thief army immediately and become our threat again." Let's take a little risk and let the Qi State Thief Army go to Xue Di to accept our incorporation. ”

"Without further ado, it must be done immediately." Han Xin said: "Otherwise, if the Tabe side receives the news, they will definitely not come to our camp to send them to death again." Also, it is best to ask the King of Jibei to choose a reliable person from the Tian clan to replace Tian as the chief general of the Qi army, so that it is easier to be accepted by the Qi soldiers. ”

Xiang Zhuang and the others nodded yes, and everyone hurriedly discussed at the moment, and soon decided that Tian Pai, the general of the Jibei Army, who was more familiar with the situation of the Qi army, would take over from Tian Pai, and lead the 1,000 Jibei Army to lead the Qi army south, and then the Western Chu Army would allocate 10,000 troops to monitor the Qi army going south at full speed to Xuedi, and then discussed how to deal with possible emergencies, and finally sent people to the Qi army camp, and invited Tian and his main assistants to the Western Chu army camp to participate in the meeting in the name of discussing the battle plan.

The plan went more smoothly than Xiang Zhuang and Liu Laosan and others expected, Tian Bu's personality was originally magnanimous, and attached great importance to unity, before he had time to receive the news of Linzi, he soon led several of his main deputies to the camp of the Western Chu army to meet Xiang Zhuang, and then without the knowledge of the Qi army soldiers, they were all taken down by the guards of the Western Chu army who suddenly rushed out, and the seals they used to lead and command the army were also snatched away by the guards of the Western Chu army.

Of course, Tian Bu and the others who were suddenly captured were inexplicable, and even if Xiang Zhuang personally told them the news that Tian Jiao had betrayed Chu, they couldn't believe it at all, but Liu Laosan and others, who had already suffered enough losses in this regard, couldn't help but say, and immediately ordered the officers and men of the Western Chu Army to put them all into prison cars and temporarily detain them in the Western Chu military camp. Seeing that the matter was irreparable, Tian Bu stopped yelling and shouting grievances, but asked Xiang Zhuang with red eyes: "Zuo Sima, since you must take away the military power of the last general, then the last general has no way to resist, and the last general only asks you one word, what are you going to do with the soldiers of our Qi country?" ”

"Don't worry, general, I won't do anything to them." Xiang Zhuang replied apologetically: "As long as they don't resist and don't make trouble, I will let General Tian lead them south to Xue County to accept the incorporation of our Western Chu army, and I will definitely not do anything to them." ”

I have been dealing with Xiang Zhuang for a while, and I know that Xiang Zhuang is not the kind of person who is untrustworthy, for the sake of the innocent soldiers under his command, Tian Bu gritted his teeth and said: "Okay, I believe that your Zuo Sima will not lie, let me go for the time being, I will write you a warrant, let Tian Si, who is temporarily in charge of the army for me, hand over the army to you, and let him obey the orders of the Tian faction." Otherwise, even if you take my seal to take over the army, Tian Si may not listen to you. ”

Xiang Zhuang hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded, and then Tian Bu really wrote such a warrant to his subordinate Tian Si, signed it, handed it to Xiang Zhuang and said: "Zuo Sima, please don't lie to me, in the Qi army in Licheng, there are many soldiers who have followed me in the southern and northern wars for many years, they are all innocent, if you lie to me, I will not spare you." ”

"General Tabe is relieved." Xiang Zhuang replied solemnly: "Not only will I not lie to you, but I can also guarantee that as long as your Qi army does not play tricks to accept the incorporation in Xuedi, I will also truthfully report your situation to my brother King Xichu and ask him to reuse it for you." ”

After seeing the warrant written by Tian Bu himself, Tian Si who stayed in the Qi army camp was strange, but because he had always been loyal to Tian Bu, he was forced to choose to act according to the order, and obediently let the Tian faction, the general of the Jibei Army, take over the Qi army, and then when the Tian faction ordered the Qi army to abandon the camp and go south overnight to escort the grain and grass, most of the Qi soldiers were also very strange, but they still happily obeyed the order.

After all, the soldiers of the Qi army also knew that as long as they could leave the battlefield in Licheng, they would no longer have to tie their heads to the waistband of their trousers and fight with the Han army. - However, even if the soldiers of the Qi State are not happy, it is useless, the main generals have been secretly taken down by the Western Chu Army, and the command system of the Chinese army is controlled by the Jibei Army, as long as the officers and soldiers of the Qi Army make a slight move, the Western Chu Army and the Jibei Army, which have been secretly ready for battle, can immediately kill them all over the field and fall apart.

The Qi army, which gave up most of its weapons and baggage, retreated lightly, went south very fast, and traveled south for more than 40 miles that night, losing the ability to directly threaten the Qi-Ji coalition army, and the next day under the follow-up and monitoring of 10,000 Western Chu troops, they traveled south along the Chi Road all the way to the vicinity of Boyang, the national capital of Jibei, completely away from the Jishui battlefield, and Xiang Zhuang, Liu Laosan and Tian Da and others, who had been worried, were quietly relieved.

It was also on the same day that the envoy sent by Tian Jiao from Linzi to give an order to Tian Jiao arrived in Licheng, and he was immediately taken down by the soldiers of the Western Chu army who were closely monitoring the road to the west, and Tian Jiao was found from him to ask Tian Jiao to lead the Qi army to rebel. As a result, after seeing Tian Jiao's order, although they had already known about this situation, Xiang Zhuang, Tian Da and others couldn't help but scold, and they couldn't wait to devour Tian Jiao, who almost killed the Chuji coalition army completely.

After the scolding, Xiang Zhuang, Liu Laosan, Tian Da and others of course hurriedly discussed the next countermeasures, and then needless to say, including Liu Laosan, they all thought that they should take the initiative to abandon the Licheng battlefield, and took advantage of the opportunity that the Han army was still moving south from Luoyin, and quickly withdrew the army to Boyang to rebuild the defense line, and waited for the follow-up reinforcements of the Western Chu army. However, Han Xin resolutely opposed this move, and said loudly: "Why do you want to give up the Licheng battlefield? We still have Jishui in the flood season on the battlefield of Licheng to defend, how can we defend it when we go south to Boyang? Retreat over Wenshui and continue to guard the river, not to mention that the amount of water in Wenshui is far smaller than that of Jishui, what should Boyang City on the north bank of Wenshui do? ”

"But we can't hold the water now?" Liu Laosan said helplessly: "Even if we rely on the Jishui River, we can temporarily block the Han thieves and the Yan thief army, but the Qi thief army has surrendered to the Han thief, Zhou Shupifu will definitely order the Qi thief army to continue to send troops, along the gallop to Licheng to attack our flank, and to meet his thief army to cross the river, how can we possibly hold Licheng?" ”

"Pei Gong rest assured, the last general has already thought about it carefully, as long as we act according to my plan, we will not only be able to defend Jishui and block the Han thieves, but also don't have to be afraid that the Qi State thief army will send troops to the west and attack our flanks." Han Xin replied confidently.

"And what are you going to do?" Liu Laosan hurriedly asked.

"Of course, I will immediately send someone to contact Tian Heng, the rebel army of Qi State." Han Xin replied: "Tian Jiao Pifu shamelessly betrayed our Western Chu army, the Han thief will definitely sacrifice Tian Heng Pifu to curry favor with Tian Jiao, and will definitely force Tian Heng to lead his army west out of Qi State, and come to the front line of Licheng to participate in the war, we only need to promise Tian Heng, saying that after defeating Tian Jiao, he will be crowned King of Qi, and he will definitely not refuse." Then, we can let him ...... on the way out of Qi in the west. ”

After talking about his first step plan, Han Xin continued: "It doesn't matter if this plan doesn't work, Tian Heng Pifu has reached the front line, and he can still suddenly stab the Qi thief army in the back, as long as we defeat the Qi thief army with the help of Tian Heng's rebels and resolve the danger on the flank, then we can resist the Han thieves without distraction and hold on until the follow-up reinforcements from our Western Chu region arrive." ”

Xiang Zhuang, Liu Laosan and Tian Da listened to the calculation, and Han Xin said again: "Zuo Sima, Pei Gong, and the King of Jibei, we really can't take the initiative to retreat anymore, if we take the initiative to give up Licheng again, we will lose the entire Jibei, and also lose our last hope of counterattacking Qi, only by fighting to the death at any cost, using Jishui and geography to keep Licheng, we can hope to keep Jibei, and only then can we hope to counterattack Qi and save Qi that still has hope to keep,"

After all, it is related to his own vital interests, after thinking about it for a while, Tian Da gritted his teeth, patted the case in front of him and said: "What General Han said is extremely true, if he gives up Licheng again, this king will be equivalent to giving up the entire territory of Jibei, even if he keeps the national capital Boyang, what's the point?" If you don't retreat, you will fight to the end with the Han thieves and Qi thieves in Licheng, even if you die on the battlefield in Licheng, this king will definitely not take a step back! ”

Qidi is already Liu Laosan's last hope for fishing in troubled waters, of course, Liu Laosan is also on Tian Da's side, determined to gamble with the Chuji coalition army for his hope of resurrection, Xiang Zhuang hesitated for a long time, nodded and said: "For our last hope in Qidi, let's defend the battlefield of Licheng." ”

"Zuo Sima's confidence in saying this seems to be a little insufficient." Han Xin smiled slightly and said: "But it doesn't matter, the opportunity has come, we only need a little trick, we will definitely be able to give the Han thieves a head-on blow, defeat the rampant momentum of the Han thieves, and also boost the morale of our army." ”