The distance is too far, and the road is extremely unsmooth, of course, Zhou Shu, the commander of the northern line of the Han army, could not clearly grasp the situation of Tian Heng's rebellion in the rear of Qidi, and could only follow the established plan, first deliberately leaked Tian Heng's information to the Qi army after a period of time, and when Zhao Di's spring ploughing was about to end, the northern line corps of the Han army, which had led as many as 140,000 troops, suddenly made a big move, marched east along the gallop road, and officially launched the eastern expedition of the northern front, which had been delayed for a lot of precious time.

Prior to this, according to Xiang Kang's order, Zang Di, the king of Yan, who had surrendered to the Han army under the persuasion of Li Shiqi, also sent his son Zang Yan to lead 30,000 cavalry from Yandi to the south, rushed to the battlefield of Qidi to help the Han army, obeyed the command of Uncle Zhou, and assisted the Han army in launching a military operation to seize Qidi.

Yan Wang Zang Di also showed enough sincerity this time, the Yan land of this era was relatively sparsely populated, the degree of development was not high, and Qin Shi Huang suffered a lot of losses in the war to unify the six countries and the anti-Qin war, the total strength of the country together has not reached 50,000, and more than half of the army was dispatched to the Han army in one go, and the sincerity of surrendering Xiang Kang and optimistic about the Han army is naturally self-evident. So after confirming this situation, not only was the Han army all overjoyed, but Uncle Zhou also applauded happily and said happily: "Okay, this time not only is it more certain, but you don't have to worry about Zang Di's duplicity and suddenly stabbing us in the back." ”

However, out of tactical needs, Uncle Zhou did not ask the Yan army to rush directly to the plain battlefield to meet the Han army, but asked the Yan army to go straight to Nanpi through Wuyuan, preparing to let the Yan army cross the Yellow River in Nanpi, and also confusing the judgment of the Qiji coalition army, so that the Qiji coalition army could not confirm the first place of the Han army's crossing of the river, forcing the Qiji coalition army to divide troops to reinforce Nanpi and dilute the enemy's river defense forces.

During this period, the Han army fleet that had been assembled in the Puyang area before, of course, also set off on schedule according to the time required by Uncle Zhou, and rushed to the Jibei battlefield to assist the Han army's northern line corps to cross the river.

It's a pity that the reputation of the Han army in terms of fraud is too stinky, no matter how Uncle Zhou spread the rumors in advance, set up a false appearance, and wanted the Qiji coalition army to think that the Han army is ready to do it again when the spring flowers bloom, Tian Ji, the general of the Jibei Army who was ordered to guard the important town of the plain, was not fooled, and never relaxed his vigilance against the Han army, so just confirmed the news of the Han army's sudden large-scale move through detailed work, the Jibei army and the 20,000 Qi troops who had rushed to help immediately prepared for battle, and strictly guarded the docks and ferries such as the plains, Qixian and GaotangIn addition, 4,000 troops were dispatched north to Nanpi to prevent the Yan army from crossing the river in Nanpi first, and then going south to meet the Han army's attack.

In addition, after receiving the fast horse warning from Tian Ji, Tian Da, the current king of Jibei who ascended to the throne by bribing Master Xiang Boxiang, also immediately went north from Boyang, and personally led the reserves of the Jibei Army assembled in Licheng to the plains to help, and at the same time sent light cars and fast horses to ask for help from the Western Chu Army.

This is also related to the future and fate of the Han army and the Western Chu army of an important decisive battle, if the Han army wins, successfully eliminate Tian Da and Tian Jiao, the last two warlords still attached to the Western Chu army, then the Western Chu army will fall into a completely isolated and helpless passive dilemma, and then as long as the Han army digests the results of victory, then it can be like Liu Laosan in history, just by relying on the army to drown, the Western Chu army can be drowned. And once the Northern Front Corps of the Han Army loses the Eastern Expedition, not only does it not know how long the time to unify the whole country will be delayed, but the Western Chu Army, which has been greatly injured, may even have a chance to turn the tables in the overall strategic situation!

Probably evil has evil retribution, Uncle Zhou, who gave Xiang Kang to help him, was very unlucky this time, when the news of his sudden launch of the Eastern Expedition reached Chu, his most dangerous opponents of the Eastern Expedition, Liu Laosan and Han Xin, assisted Xiang Zhuang, the commander of the Western Chu Army, happened to be in the Wuyan area and around Juyeze, and achieved two decisive victories against the Peng Yue Army, not only severely damaged the main force of the Peng Yue Army that had just opened up the contact with the Han Army, but also attacked the secret grain land of the Peng Yue Army and succeeded in snatching a large number of grain and grass military supplies that the Han Army had just supported to the Peng Yue Army. killed many old courtiers of the Western Chu Army who had defected from Pengcheng with Peng Yue and Feng Zhong, and basically shattered the Han army's dream of relying on Peng Yue's army to share the pressure on Zhou Shu's army.

Peng Yue lost this time in Han Xin's extraordinary tactical prediction, preemptively predicted that Peng Yuejun, who had just recovered some vitality, did not dare to directly enter the army in Qiuqiu, Luxian and other places, and would definitely pick up the persimmon and pinch it softly, first hit Zhangxian Wuyan and other places where the Western Chu army was weak, and then wait for the opportunity to harass the Western Chu army and the Chidao artery that connected with Qidi, Han Xin persuaded Xiang Zhuang to prepare for the march in advance, and just confirmed through the beacon tower that Peng Yue's army was attacking Wuyan, and the partial division of the Western Chu army in Xuanqiu immediately dispatched in a big way, Rushed to Wuyan to engage the Peng Yue army who were besieging the city.

I didn't expect the Western Chu Army's partial division to come so quickly, and the unprepared Peng Yue Army was caught by the Western Chu Army on the saltless battlefield and was forced to take the risk of fighting, but because the Western Chu Army's partial division originally had a military advantage, coupled with Liu Laosan's fierce generals Cao Shen and Fan Xu's brave rush to kill, Peng Yuejun, who had just gasped, was beaten by the Western Chu Army and fled.

Next, Liu Laosan and Han Xin, of course, strongly persuaded Xiang Zhuang not to waste his strength to pursue Peng Yue, who was good at escaping, and led the army to directly attack Peng Yue's lair, and near Peng Yue's lair, they once again grabbed the main force of Peng Yue's army who retreated in a roundabout way and beat Peng Yue to flee for his life, not to mention that they successfully destroyed Peng Yue's lair, smashed Peng Yue's material base relying on Juye Ze to harass the hinterland of Xue County, and forced Peng Yue to flee to Juye Zexi to ask for help from the Han army. Temporarily defused the flank threat of the Western Chu army going north to reinforce the Qidi battlefield.

Under such circumstances, after receiving the news of Uncle Zhou's troops, Liu Laosan, who was anxious to make a comeback, of course, strongly advised Xiang Zhuang not to wait for Xiang Yu's order, and directly led the Western Chu Army Division to immediately go north to reinforce Jibei.

Fortunately, the Western Chu Army's partial division was received from Zhou Shu's eastward advance news on the edge of Juyeze, and it would take about three days to return to Lu County no matter how fast it was, plus the Western Chu Army's partial division had just run hundreds of miles to fight two big battles in a row, and the soldiers needed a little time to rest and recuperate, and at the same time from Lu County to the north to the plains for reinforcements, no matter how rapid the march took more than eight days, plus the Jibei Army spent a lot of time to explore the Han army's attacking army and ask for help from the Western Chu Army. Therefore, Uncle Zhou still has hope to break through the Yellow River defense line and take the tactical initiative before Liu Laosan and Han Xin, the two troublesome enemies arrive.

Liu Laosan, who has crawled out of the pile of dead people countless times, of course also understands this truth, on the way back to Shilu County, after carefully calculating the time, Liu Laosan also said to Han Xin: "Calculate the time, even if Uncle Zhou's puppet advances eastward at a normal marching speed, he can at least arrive at the plain battlefield ten days ahead of us, if the Jibei army and the Qi army can hold these ten days, it is good to say, if they can't hold these ten days, let Uncle Zhou's puppet cross the river first, my battle may not be big." ”

"The thief has more than ten days." Han Xin replied coldly: "When I was under the account of Xiang Kang's traitors before, I already knew Uncle Zhou's personality and tactical style very well. So I can be sure that when he sends troops to the east this time, he will definitely let the brigade escort the grain and grass and military supplies to follow, let the main soldiers travel lightly and quickly, and rush to the west bank of the river as quickly as possible to launch a rush to cross, plus he will definitely dispatch a fleet from Puyang Sanchuan down the river, and he does not have to worry about collecting ships, so I estimate that the main force of the Han thieves can at least arrive at the plain battlefield more than fifteen days ahead of us. ”

"Uncle Zhou is so powerful?" General Liu Laosan asked suspiciously.

"If the number of troops under his command is the same, the last general doesn't even have to be afraid of Xiang Kang's traitor, and he dares to guarantee that he can win." Han Xin replied very directly, and said: "Only when I met this Uncle Zhou, I didn't dare to say that the guarantee had a chance of winning." ”

Liu Laosan, who knew how arrogant Han Xin was, was speechless, and had to say: "No wonder when he was in Pengcheng, Xiang Kang's traitor was able to abandon the army and chase this Uncle Zhou's puppet for dozens of miles overnight, and it is no wonder that Xiang Kang's traitor was able to put so many old troops without using it, and let this puppet lead the army on the northern front for him and be in charge of the war on the northern front alone, it seems that this puppet is really a bit capable." ”

After muttering, Liu Laosan asked Han Xin again: "Then in your opinion, are the Jibei Army and the Qi Army sure that they will be able to hold the Dahe defense line and hold out until our reinforcements arrive?" ”

"I don't know how the Jibei Army and the Qi Army are deployed on the east bank of the Great River, and the last general can't be sure." Han Xin shook his head and said, "But one thing the last general can be sure of is that as long as the Jibei army and the Qi army can confirm the real crossing location of Uncle Zhou's pifu in advance, then they will hope to hold the river and hold out until our reinforcements arrive." ”

"Where is the thief most likely to cross the river?" Liu Laosan hurriedly asked.

"It's possible in Gaotang or in the county, but it can't be a plain." Han Xin replied: "The plain is located on the Chidao Road, which must be the focus of the defense of the Jibei Army and the Qi Army, plus the Jibei Army still has a fleet that can transport troops to fight and prevent the Han thieves from launching a robbery. Attacking the plains openly, secretly crossing Gaotang or Qixian, as long as a sufficient number of troops are sent across the river, it will be much easier for the main force of the Han thieves to cross the river. ”

"Of course, the thieves can also cross the river in Nanpi." Han Xin added: "However, Nanpi is too far away from the plain, even if the partial division successfully crosses the river, it will be difficult to go south as soon as possible to meet the main force to cross the river, and there is still the danger of being surrounded by us on the east bank of the river, so even if the Han thieves enter Nanpi, it is just to bluff, lure the Qiji army to divide troops to strengthen the defenders of Nanpi, and dilute the strength of the river defense, it is impossible to really launch a rush in Nanpi first." ”

Liu Laosan nodded slowly, and said: "In this way, the most likely place for Uncle Zhou to launch a rush should be one of the counties or Gaotang, where it is likely to be the largest?" ”

"Mustache!" Han Xin replied categorically, and said: "The Ming attack on the plain attracted the attention of the Qiji coalition army, and the fleet suddenly went up the current to Gaotang to transport the partial division across the river, the speed is too slow, it will give the Qiji army the opportunity to divide troops to reinforce Gaotang in time, and go down the river to Qixian County, but it can be much faster, so if I am Uncle Zhou's husband, I will definitely choose to launch a rush in Qixian County, and send one of my partial divisions across the river first." ”

also knew that Uncle Zhou, like Xiang Kang, liked to avoid reality and make up for nothing, Liu Laosan nodded again, and then said: "Let's just do it, I'll go to see Xiang Zhuang Zhuzi, tell him your analysis, and persuade him to write a letter to the Qiji army immediately, so that the Qiji army can focus on Qixian County." ”

Han Xin did not object to Liu Laosan's decision, but when Liu Laosan went to see Xiang Zhuang, Han Xin's heart was a little drummed, and he said secretly: "What I want to get, it stands to reason that Uncle Zhou's puppet must also be able to think of it, this puppet should not play another trick and find another way to cross the river, right?" ”

The limitations of the times once again limited Han Xin's thinking, and after thinking about it repeatedly, Han Xin found it unlikely, because there are only a few ferries in the plain area suitable for a large number of troops to cross the river, and the remaining ferries are either too small or too far, and Uncle Zhou's room for tricks is not very large, plus considering the speed of maneuvering of the Han army's fleet, Han Xin still insisted on his judgment and said secretly: "It will only be the county, and Uncle Zhou will not have any other choice." ”

…………

Of course, Han Xin didn't know that he had miscalculated this time, in fact, after Julu suddenly sent troops to the east, Uncle Zhou did not divide the main army to rush lightly and rush to the Yellow River to launch a rush to cross, as he guessed, but chose to follow the orthodox marching method, so that the main force of the Han army marched fifty miles a day along the spacious galloping road, and it took a total of eight days to rush from Julu to the plain.

However, Han Xin did not guess wrong in other aspects, on the way to the west, the strong Han Army's northern line corps really divided into two partial divisions, one to the northeast of 20,000 people to the county ferry, the other more than 10,000 people to the southeast to the Gaotang ferry, and sure enough, the Qiji coalition army guarding the Yellow River defense line could not judge the Han army's rush to the crossing, and had to take a stupid way to divide the troops to reinforce the county and Gaotang, and diluted the already inferior river defense forces.

On the same day that the main force of Zhou Shu's corps arrived in the plain, the Han army fleet that was going down the river from Puyang also arrived at the plain ferry to join the main force of Zhou Shu's corps, and was immediately protected by the Han army officers and soldiers. During this period, the armed fleet of the Jibei Army also took the initiative to attack, trying to sink some of the Han ships, reducing the pressure of the Qiji coalition army to defend the river, and relying on the familiarity with hydrology, the Han fleet also had the protection of armed ships, successfully killed more than ten Han ships, and achieved the first victory in river defense by great surprise.

After suffering a loss in the water war, Shen Kun, the general of the Han army who commanded the fleet, of course, could only run to Uncle Zhou in front of him to ask for guilt, but fortunately, Uncle Zhou didn't mind much, waved his hand and said: "I don't blame you, you came from afar, you are not familiar with hydrology and geography enough, the river is not as wide as the Yangtze River, it is very easy for the enemy's warships to rush into our fleet, it is normal to suffer some losses, and then we can protect our fleet." ”

After Shen Ke hurriedly thanked Uncle Zhou, the general of the Han army next to him, Worm Da, asked curiously: "General Zhou, now you can say, where are we crossing the river?" Gaotang upstream, or Suxian downstream? ”

"It's not in Gaotang, it's not in Xianxian." Uncle Zhou replied with a smile: "Right here, just cross the river in the plain." ”

"Right here?" Insect Da was a little dumbfounded, looked at the Qiji coalition army waiting on the other side of the Yellow River, and then looked at the Jibei army fleet showing off its might on the river. Not only is there the most defenders of the Qiji Thief Army, but also the sailors of the Jibei Thief Army are stationed, crossing the river here, we are not only stressed, but also very dangerous? ”

On the contrary, it was Uncle Zhou who selected the Han Army's temporary sailor commander Shen Ke who was not afraid, and immediately said: "General rest assured, when crossing the river, the last general will guarantee that he will stop the sailors of the Jibei Thief Army, and will never let them touch our troop carrier!" ”

"There's no hurry, wait a few days." Uncle Zhou's answer once again surprised the Han army present and said with a smile: "I still need a few days to prepare before I can launch a river crossing." ”

"General Zhou, the last general is presumptuous, and I really can't figure it out." Lu Kuang on the other side couldn't help but interject and said: "From Julu to the east into the plain, you don't want to divide the troops to go first, forget it, how come you arrived at the plain, our fleet also arrived on time, you still have to say that it will take a few days to prepare?" This time has been delayed for a long time, so that the reinforcements of the thief army have rushed to the east bank of the river first, and it will not be more difficult for us to start crossing the river again? ”

"Even if we start crossing the river tomorrow, it's too late." Uncle Zhou replied: "The main force of the Jibei thief army has already been deployed on the east bank of the river, and the main force of the remaining reserves has already assembled in Licheng to wait for orders, calculate the time, and at the latest within tomorrow, their reinforcements will be able to reach the east bank of the river, so even if we cross the river tomorrow, there is no way to break through the river before the arrival of the enemy's reinforcements. ”

"And." Uncle Zhou added: "It's not that I haven't considered sending the elite to go first, and first come to the west bank of the river to launch a rush to cross, but there is no way, the Jibei thief army is ready to have a sailor to intercept our troop fleet, if we don't solve this problem, even if we take the elite first, we are not sure that we can cross the river successfully, and we may suffer heavy losses, so I can only dispel this idea." ”

"So how do we solve this problem and make sure that the river crossing is successful?" All the generals of the Han army present raised this question in their hearts.

As analyzed by Uncle Zhou, in the evening of the same day, Tian Da, the king of Jibei, really rushed to the plain battlefield with the reserves of the Jibei Army, but fortunately, no matter how much Tian Da poured everything he had, he only brought more than 10,000 reserves, and he still could not reverse the disadvantage of the Qiji coalition army. In addition, because Tian Heng temporarily dragged the main force of Qi State, and the Western Chu Army's partial division also needed time to go north, the Han army's strength advantage was still very obvious, and no matter which ferry port it was, there was hope of winning the ferry.

It is precisely because of this that even if he saw the main force of the Han Army's northern front and the troop transport fleet meeting at the Plain Ferry, Jibei Wang Tianda, Jibei Army General Tian Ji, and Qi Army General Tian Be, who led 20,000 troops in advance to help the Jibei Army, had to have the same question in his heart, "Will the Han thieves really fight us hard and cross the river directly on the plain?" Shouldn't you be playing some tricks of attacking the plains on the surface, but in fact suddenly launching a sneak attack on other ferries? ”